If you have ever been approached by Mormons (the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” or LDS Church) their 'missionaries' from that church have probably told you some of their key beliefs, and told you that they are the only true church, or the most similar to the Christian Church, of all existing religions. Their belief system is built entirely on a very few basic concepts and keys. It is crucial that you study these keys, and see them in their reality. Let's look at the basic philosophy of the Mormon beliefs :
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THEY SAY : Mormonism began when Joseph Smith, a young man in western New York, was spurred by a Christian revival where he lived in 1820 to pray to God for guidance as to which church was true. In answer to his prayers he was visited by God the Father and God the Son, two separate beings, who told him to join no church because all the churches at that time were false, and that he, Joseph, would bring forth the true church. This event is called “The First Vision.” (In 1828, eight years after he says he had been told by God himself to join no church, Smith applied for membership in a local Methodist church.)
HOWEVER : The “First Vision” story in the form presented to you was unknown until 1838, eighteen years after its alleged occurrence and almost ten years after Smith had begun his missionary efforts. The oldest version of the vision is in Smith's own handwriting, dating from about 1832 (still at least eleven years afterwards), and says that only one personage, Jesus Christ, appeared to him. It also contradicts the later account as to whether Smith had already decided that no church was true. Still a third version of this event is recorded as a recollection in Smith's diary, fifteen years after the alleged vision, where one unidentified “personage” appeared, then another, with a message implying that neither was the Son. They were accompanied by many “angels,” which are not mentioned in the official version you have been told about. Which version is correct, if any? Why was this event, now said by the church to be so important, unknown for so long?
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THEY SAY : In 1823 Joseph had another heavenly visitation, in which an angel named Moroni told him of a sacred history written by ancient Hebrews in America, engraved in an Egyptian dialect on tablets of gold and buried in a nearby hill. Joseph was told it was the history of the ancient peoples of America, and that Joseph would be the instrument for bringing this record to the knowledge of the world. Joseph obtained these gold plates from the angel in 1827, and translated them into English by the spirit of God and the use of a sacred instrument accompanying the plates called the “Urim and Thummim.” The translation was published in 1830 as The Book of Mormon.
HOWEVER : The only persons who claimed to have actually seen the gold plates were eleven close friends of Smith (many of them related to each other). Their testimonies are printed in the front of every copy of the Book of Mormon. No disinterested third party was ever allowed to examine them. They were 'retrieved' by the angel at some unrecorded point. Most of the witnesses later abandoned Smith and left his movement. Smith then called them “liars.”
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THEY SAY : The Book of Mormon is a religious and secular history of the inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere from about 2200 BC to about 421 AD. It tells the reader that the American Indians are descended from three groups of immigrants who were led by God from their original homes in the Near East to America. One group came from the Tower of Babel, and two other groups came from Jerusalem just before the Babylonian Captivity, about 600 BC. They were led by prophets of God who had the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is thus preserved in their history, the Book of Mormon. The most important event during this long history was the visit of Jesus Christ to America, after his crucifixion, when he ministered to (and converted) all the inhabitants.
HOWEVER : Scripture does not support this AT ALL. Read for yourself :
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I (Luke ) wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven... He (Jesus) showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days... On one occasion... He gave them this command : “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but IN A FEW DAYS, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”...After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1 : 1-10
“...And I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth... I will not LEAVE YOU as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, THE WORLD WILL NOT SEE ME anymore, but you will see me.” John 14 : 16-18
Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 15 : 5-7
Now, brothers, I (Peter) know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God... and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus. He MUST REMAIN IN HEAVEN until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago Acts 3 : 17-23
(Jesus says) “For lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matt. 24 : 27
Jesus clearly said He could NOT send the Spirit unless HE LEFT.
Yeah, but “...I will not LEAVE YOU as orphans; I will come to you.” So, who comes, the Spirit, or the Son? THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME. Read : You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8 : 9-10
Jesus HAD TO leave to send the Spirit. Peter told us HE HAS TO REMAIN in Heaven. The angels told us HE would return in the same way. And HE told us ...as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. I have a friend in Sweden. The Day Jesus Christ comes back, I will NOT run to the phone to call her (from New England) and say, “Look! LOOK! Here comes Jesus!” She will see him. I can't call my friends in New Guinea either. WHEN JESUS CHRIST COMES TO THE EARTH, EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM.
The Mormons are WRONG. Jesus Christ WAS NEVER in North America. Also in the Old Testament the Lord told His people time and time again that He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey. He told them they would have all of the middle east. HE never told them He would guide them to LA. No Hebrew group, led by God, ever left Hebrew-occupied Jerusalem, the Holy City of David, THE PROMISED LAND, to head for Los Angeles. (the City of Angels? And by the way, God BEGAN with the Hebrews in the Garden. He followed them to the Ark, to Egypt, and beyond. He gave them the Prophets, the Ten Commandments, the Ark of the Covenant, the war glories in the Promised Land... With all this, when Jesus arrived in Israel, HE did by NO means convert all the Jews. So how did He convert all the Indians in LA?)
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Now, they like to say, “Well, Joseph was a powerful prophet, who WAS visited by a Holy Angel. So, either he WAS a true prophet, or he was a liar.”
Only God knows what compelled Joseph Smith to say what he said. I would just as soon give him the benefit of the doubt, and give them a third option. Satan is known as “Father of Lies“ and is told of “...masquerading as an angel of Light.” I don't know what he saw; could it be that he DID have a visit, one from a demon? (demon, also known as a fallen angel)
One thing is CERTAIN: the definition of a prophet. Let's look at what a true prophet is; what he says, and what MUST occur to validate what he says. Then let's look at what prophet Joe said, and the results of his words.
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“And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously...” Deut. 18:21-22
The fulfillment of a prophecy cannot be delayed long. “They... say, “The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.” Ezek. 12:21-28
Joseph Smith himself (speaking for God) gave tests which could be applied to determine the truth of prophecies or revelations :
“And everything... that is not by me or by my word, ...shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead... For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.” D&C 132:13-14.
Even Joseph Smith had to admit that some of his “revelations” might be of man or even of the devil. Comp Hist 1:165. This is contradictory in concept to the Deuteronomy 18:22 test, which says that the failure of the test indicates that the prophet is false.
Note that the prophecies and promises which are in the D&C “shall all be fulfilled.” If even one remains unfulfilled, then this also is a false prophecy. D&C 1:37
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PROPHICIES OF JOSEPH SMITH
Now we know what a TRUE prophet is. So let's look now at the prophecies of Joseph Smith, upon which the entire Mormon church is built.
The following prophecies made by Joseph Smith HAVE NOT BEEN fulfilled in over 150 years. They are given in approximate chronological order, except for the many Missouri prophecies, which are grouped together.
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SALE OF BOOK OF MORMON COPYRIGHT
Winter 1829-1830. Comp Hist 1:165 Joseph had a revelation that Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery were to go to Toronto to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon to raise money. (Selling your book? Let's raise some money and sell the Bible. They now try to cover up this dismal flop by saying it was the PRINTING RIGHTS they wanted to sell, being too poor to print it themselves.) They went, according to the revelation, but were completely unsuccessful. Joseph Smith “inquired of God” and was told that some “revelations” are not from God.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
September 1830. D&C 29:6. Jesus promises the saints that “Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith... ye shall receive.” (see also D&C 132:40) Joseph Smith believed firmly in this promise (see Chron JS Mar 10, 1844)
The prayers of the faithful Mormons, especially during the periods of conflict in Kirtland, Missouri, and Nauvoo undoubtedly included many requests for divine aid, victory over their enemies, and peace in their lands. Surely they asked for these things. But instead they were driven out and found no peace. This prophecy is probably failing thousands of times a day, as faithful Mormons pray.
SAINTS GATHERED IN ONE PLACE
September 1830. D&C 29:8 God has decreed that the elect shall be gathered into one place “against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.”
The “one place” continued to change as the Mormons were driven from one temporary refuge to the next. After arriving in Utah, the Mormons viewed that as the gathering place. But the modern church apparently no longer believes in this gathering, since it encourages new converts to remain in their homelands. Tribulation and desolation have not been sent forth upon the wicked.
ALL NATIONS SHALL BOW
March 1831. D&C 49:9-10. The nations of the earth shall bow to the Mormon gospel or they “shall come down” and “shall be laid low of power.”
None of the nations of the earth have accepted the Mormon gospel or “bowed” to it, yet none have been “laid low” because of it.
MISSOURI PROPHESIES
Joseph Smith made a number of prophecies regarding Missouri as the location of Zion and the gathering place and refuge for the saints. Since they all have the same general meaning and none of them have been fulfilled, they are dealt with together here.
March 7, 1831. D&C 45:64-74. Saints are to gather riches and purchase an inheritance to be called New Jerusalem, also called Zion, a place of refuge and safety, where the wicked will not come, and against which the wicked will refuse to battle. The righteous will come from all nations and sing songs of everlasting joy. The wicked will fear and stand afar off and tremble, and “all nations shall be afraid.”
July 1831. D&C 57:1-3 Missouri is named as the land consecrated for the gathering of the Saints and the place for the City of Zion and the building of a temple at Independence. It will be purchased by the saints “for an ever-lasting inheritance.”
August 13, 1831. D&C 62:1, 6. The faithful will be preserved and rejoice in Missouri. “I, the Lord, promise the faithful and cannot lie.”
Sept 22-23, 1832. D&C 84:2-5, 31 Zion will be built with its temple at Independence, “in this generation.” This generation shall not all pass away until the temple will be built upon the spot. Orson Pratt in 1870 reiterated the prophecy (JD 9:71, 10:344, 13:362) and insisted that it will come to pass within the generation living in 1832.
Jan 4, 1833. HC 1:315-316. Joseph Smith says “by the authority of Jesus Christ” that “not many years shall pass away” before the wicked “of this generation” will be swept from off the face of the land and the Lost Ten Tribes will be gathered to Missouri, and that “there are those now living upon the earth whose eyes shall not be closed in death until they see all these things, which I have spoken, fulfilled.”
Aug 2, 1833. D&C 97:18-20. Promise that if the saints are obedient the City of Zion (in Missouri) will prosper and become glorious, great and terrible, honored by the nations of the earth. Zion cannot fall or be moved out of its place.
Mormons were driven out of Independence and from all of their settlements in Missouri in 1839. The temple lot is not owned by the Mormon church. No one living in the generation when the prophecy was made is still alive. The wicked of that generation were no more “swept from off the face of the land” than were their contemporary Mormons. The Lost Ten Tribes have not been gathered to Missouri. Nothing in all these prophecies has been fulfilled, even though the majority of the saints steadfastly followed Joseph Smith and were faithful.
POSSESS YOUR LAND
Oct 12, 1833. D&C 100:13-15 Zion (Missouri) will be chastened “for a little season” but then “redeemed.” Dec 10, 1833. HC 1:455. Joseph Smith tells the saints that they should retain their lands in Missouri and seek legal redress against their enemies. If they should not obtain it, God will avenge them with “ten thousand of his Saints” and all their adversaries would be destroyed.
Dec 16, 1833. D&C 101:17-20 Zion (Missouri) shall not be moved out of its place; the Saints will receive their inheritance there, and there is no other place than Missouri appointed by God for the gathering of the Saints.
Feb 24, 1834. D&C 103:5-7 If the Saints will hearken to the counsel of the Lord, “they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour... and... they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever.” Verse 15: “The redemption of Zion must needs come by power;” and God will raise up a man like Moses, namely Joseph Smith, who will enable them to “possess the goodly land” (v. 20). Joseph Smith is to organize Zion's Camp (a Mormon army) and relieve the distress of the Saints in Missouri. Verse 36: “All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness and prayers of faith.”
Spring 1834. Joseph Smith prophesies to the members of Zion's Camp that “within three years they should march to Jackson County and there should not be a dog to open his mouth against them.” Reed Peck Manuscript p. 3 (cited in Tanner, The Mormon Kingdom 1:4)
Zion's Camp was organized but utterly failed and it disbanded in July. Cholera decimated them and the campaign did not restore the saints to their homes. They did not return as Zion's Camp. The Mormons continued to encounter fierce opposition. The Mormons never prevailed against their enemies.
June 22, 1834. D&C 105:13-15. The Lord says regarding Missouri: “I will fight your battles... the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine enemies; and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to blaspheme my name upon the lands which I have consecrated for the gathering together of my saints.”
The Mormons lost all their lands in Missouri; they did seek legal redress but were unsuccessful; their enemies were not destroyed; their wrongs were not avenged; the Mormons were driven out of Missouri within five years. The Missouri opponents of the Mormons were not destroyed, but have remained in Missouri.
Aug 16, 1834. HC 2:145. Joseph Smith says that the Spirit of the Lord tells him that the Saints should be ready to move into Jackson County, Missouri, on September 11, 1836, “which is the appointed time for the redemption of Zion.”
If Zion was redeemed in 1836, it was unredeemed in 1839, when the Mormons abandoned Missouri.
FAR WEST TEMPLE
April 26, 1838. D&C 115. Revelation concerning the city of Far West, Missouri, and the building of a temple there. God commands the temple to be built; the church will be gathered to Zion (Missouri), which will be “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm.” Work on the temple is to commence in the summer of 1838, with construction to begin April 26, 1839, with work to continue “diligently until it shall be finished, from the corner stone thereof unto the top thereof, until there shall not anything remain that is not finished.” (v. 12) Verse 17: “I say unto you, it is my will that the city of Far West should be built up speedily by the gathering of my saints.”
The temple cornerstone was laid, but no more work was ever done and the temple is still not completed. Far West was abandoned by the Mormons soon after this revelation. It would appear that the building of the Far West temple was not the work of God, since God's work cannot be frustrated (see D&C 3:3).
LIBERTY JAIL PROPHECIES
March 20, 1839. D&C 121. This is “Prayer and Prophecies” from Joseph Smith while he was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri. It contains several prophecies:
...he will be avenged of his enemies by the sword (v. 5) (this is phrased as a prayer, but God had promised Joseph Smith that his prayers would be answered; he need only ask. D&C 29:6)
...his friends will not charge him with transgressions (v. 10)
...the hopes of those who do charge him with transgression shall have their hope blasted (v.11)
...God will “change the times and seasons” (v. 12)
...Joseph Smith's enemies will be taken “in their own craftiness“ (v. 12)
...“not many years hence, ... his enemies and their posterity shall be swept from under heaven, saith God, that not one of them is left to stand by the wall.” (v. 15)
...knowledge will be poured down from heaven upon the heads of the Mormons.
None of these prophecies came to pass. Joseph Smith's enemies were not destroyed “by the sword;” rather, the Mormons were successfully driven out of Missouri. His friends did charge him with transgressions within a few years, and those charges (in The Nauvoo Expositor) resulted directly in his arrest and destruction, as his enemies wished. God did not “change the times and seasons,” whatever that means. In general, the enemies of the Mormons achieved their goal of driving the Mormons out and destroying Joseph Smith. Their posterity was not destroyed, but survived. At least, there is no record of the anti-Mormon Missourians being swept away. And what knowledge has been “poured down from heaven” upon the Mormons since 1839? (One might wonder why Smith spent so long in prison; according to the Book of Mormon , Mormon 8:24, faith can make prison walls tumble.)
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING
Joseph Smith prophesied on several occasions that the Second Coming was to be expected very soon.
Feb 14, 1835. HC 2:182. Joseph Smith preached that the coming of the Lord would be in 56 years (i.e., about 1891). This prophecy also occurs in his diary for April 6, 1843 and HC 5:336. See also D&C 130:14-17. Joseph Smith prophesies that “there of those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes.” He prophesies “in the name of the Lord God - let it be written: that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old, 48 years hence or about 1890.” (The official historians have deleted the last phrase, beginning with “48 years” from the church history, but it is contained in the original diary.) The version in D&C 130 is phrased negatively, i.e., Christ will not come before 1890. It is also made conditional on Joseph Smith living to the age of 85. Joseph Smith says (v 16) that it might merely mean that if he lives to 85 he will go where Christ is, and therefore see his face. But that interpretation would not make sense if the revelation is in response to Joseph Smith's inquiry about the time of the second coming (v 14).
The second coming did not occur about 1891, and the Church does not claim that it did. Nor has it occurred since. Joseph Smith did not live to be 85 years old. God must have known that he would not. Why would God make a revelation conditional upon an event which he knew would never happen?
NATIONS SHALL TREMBLE
Nov 3, 1831. D&C 133:42 “...all nations shall tremble at thy presence.”
No one can claim that all nations tremble at the presence of the Mormons.
ENEMIES WILL BE SHAMED
Dec 1, 1831. D&C 71:7-10 Mormons are to call upon their enemies to meet them both in public and in private, and the shame of their enemies shall be made manifest. “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”
The Mormons are generally reluctant to discuss their religion with anyone but prospective converts, but, when they have been willing to meet with their critics and debate, they have not been particularly able to make their opponents' shame manifest. The Missourians and the residents of Hancock County, Illinois, who “formed weapons” against the Mormons, were successful in driving them out.
NEW YORK WILL BE DESTROYED
Sept 22-23, 1832. D&C 84:114-115. New York, Albany and Boston will be destroyed if they reject the gospel. The “hour of their judgment is nigh...”
Newell K. Whitney and Joseph Smith went to New York, Albany, and Boston and preached there. These cities did not accept their gospel. They have not been destroyed.
STARS WILL FALL
Dec 27, 1832. D&C 88:87. Earth shall tremble and reel, the sun shall not give light, the moon shall be bathed in blood, the stars shall “become exceedingly angry” and fall, all “not many days hence.”
More than 59,000 days have now passed, and this prophecy has not been fulfilled. It is doubtful that in any sense the stars will ever fall. (This is a paraphrase of Isa 13:10, as re-paraphrased by Matt 24:29 and Mark 13:25.)
THE UNITED ORDER - EVERLASTING
Apr 23, 1834. D&C 104. Revelation establishing a separate United Order in Missouri, to be “everlasting” (v 1), “immutable and unchangeable” (v 2), to benefit the church “until I come” (v 1). “This is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints...” (v 16).
The United Order (holding all property in common) failed, even though the saints tried valiantly to make it work. It was attempted in Ohio, Missouri and Utah. Nowhere did it survive. It was not everlasting. It was not immutable or unchangeable, since it was tried with numerous variations. It has not provided for the saints. It has not lasted until the Lord has come.
MORMON DEBTS WILL BE PAID
April 23, 1834. D&C 104: 78-83. God's promise to deliver the Saints from their debts. “It is my will that you shall pay all your debts.” The Lord will soften the hearts of their creditors.
Joseph Smith and other prominent Mormons had to flee Kirtland to avoid their creditors, leaving debts of thousands of dollars unpaid. Smith ultimately filed bankruptcy.
APOSTLES IN FOREIGN LANDS AND HEAVEN
Jan 21, 1836. HC 2:380-381. Joseph Smith had vision of the future (thus, by implication, a prophecy) in which he saw “the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth... in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen...” He saw “Elder M'Lellin in the south, standing upon a hill, surrounded by a vast multitude, preaching to them (and performing a miraculous healing).” He also saw Brigham Young “standing in a strange land, in the far south and west, in a desert place... preaching to them in their own tongue..” He also “saw the Twelve in the celestial kingdom of God.”
The Quorum of Twelve as constituted at the time of this revelation never was together in a foreign land as described. William E. M'Lellin never preached in the South, and was excommunicated May 11, 1838, just over two years after the prophecy. Brigham Young never preached to the inhabitants of any “strange land” in their own tongue. If Mormon doctrine is correct, five of the apostles seen by Joseph Smith “in the celestial kingdom” should never be there, because they apostatized or were excommunicated: Lyman Johnson, Luke S. Johnson, William E. M'Lellin, John F. Boynton, and William Smith.
KIRTLAND'S MORMON BANK WILL PROSPER
Jan 1837. LDS Mess & Adv. 3:443 Joseph Smith says it is “wisdom and according to the mind of the Holy Spirit” that the saints should invest in the Kirtland Safety Society. Wilford Woodruff's journal Jan 6, 1837, records that Joseph Smith declared “that he (Joseph Smith) had received that morning the word of the Lord upon the subject of the Kirtland Safety Society,” and that “if we would give heed to the commandments the Lord had given this morning all would be well.” (cited in Tanner, MSR 531) John F. Boynton, apostle, said that he understood that the bank was established because it was the will of God (HC 2:509-510) Joseph Smith prophesied that like Aaron's rod the bank would swallow up other banks “and grow and flourish ... and survive when all others should be laid in ruins.” Zion's Watchman March 24, 1838
The Kirtland Safety Society Bank, renamed the Anti - Banking Company, was organized Nov 2, 1836. It failed to receive a charter from the state, and Joseph Smith and S. Rigdon were convicted and fined $1000.00 for illegal banking. The bank failed miserably. Those who had invested in it lost their investment. (Comp Hist 1:401-402)
KIRTLAND LAND INVESTORS WILL BE RICH
April 1837. LDS Mess & Adv Apr 1837 p 488 “This place (Kirtland, Ohio) must be built up, and will be built up, and every brother that will take hold and help secure and discharge these land contracts shall be rich.”
Nobody became rich investing in Kirtland land contracts. Most of those involved in the Kirtland land speculation, encouraged by Joseph Smith, lost money. Joseph Smith himself went bankrupt and had to flee his creditors.
PROPHECY ABOUT THOMAS MARSH
July 23, 1837. D&C 112. Revelation to Thomas B. Marsh, then the president of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, prophesying that he would be “exalted,” that he would preach to Jews and Gentiles “unto the ends of the earth,” “among the mountains, and among many nations.” Marsh is told that “by thy word many high ones shall be brought low, and .. many low ones shall be exalted.” In verse 11 Marsh is told that “I (God) know thy heart.”
Less than two years later, on March 17, 1839, Marsh was excommunicated. God apparently did NOT KNOW his heart. Marsh never preached the Mormon gospel as was prophesied, but was a bitter enemy of the church for many years. He later repented and rejoined the church, but this prophecy was never fulfilled.
PROPHECY ABOUT DAVID W. PATTEN
April 17, 1838. D&C 114:1. Revelation concerning David W. Patten, an apostle, directing him to settle his business up so that he could go on a mission “next spring... to testify of my name and bear glad tidings unto all the world.”
Less than eight months later Patten was dead, killed leading Mormons in the Battle of Crooked River on October 25, 1838. He never went on the mission as prophesied. It cannot be that his lack of faith frustrated the revelation, since Joseph Smith said of him that he “died as he had lived, a man of God, and strong in the faith.” HC 3:171.
PROPHECY ABOUT OLIVER GRANGER
July 8, 1838. D&C 117:12-15. Revelation and prophecy regarding Oliver Granger: “his name shall be had in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord... let the blessings of my people be on him forever and ever.”
Few Mormons know anything about Oliver Granger beyond this mention in the D&C, and most are even unaware of that. As far as the Mormon people are concerned, Oliver Granger has been forgotten, rather than “had in sacred remembrance... forever and ever.”
JOSEPH WILL BE SUCCEEDED BY HIS SON
April 22, 1839 and Aug 27, 1834. Joseph Smith says that he will be succeeded by his oldest son, Joseph Smith III. (Quinn pp 630, 638)
Joseph Smith III left the main body of Mormons when they went to Utah under Brigham Young. Thus, according to the Utah church, he did not become his father's successor in the Utah church. He became president of the Reorganized Church in 1860.
PROPHECY ABOUT GEORGE MILLER
Jan 19, 1841. D&C 124:20-21. Revelation and prophecy regarding George Miller. He “is without guile; he may be trusted...; I, the Lord, love him... Let no man despise my servant George, for he shall honor me.”
On December 3, 1848, George Miller was cast out by the Mormons. Apparently God was mistaken about Miller.
NAUVOO HOUSE WILL ALWAYS BE SMITH'S
Jan 19, 1841. D&C 124:56, 60. God orders the building of the Nauvoo House, a hotel, in which Joseph Smith and his “house” will have “place from generation to generation.”
Nauvoo House was never fully completed. Joseph Smith never lived in it; his widow Emma was living in it at her death, but his family have not owned or occupied it since then. It is owned by the Reorganized Church of LDS.
CITY OF ZARAHEMLA, IOWA
March 1841. D&C 125:1-4. Revelation directing the Mormons to build a city called Zarahemla in Iowa, across the river from Nauvoo.
No such city was ever built.
QUEENS WILL CONTRIBUTE
Apr 28, 1842. Joseph Smith prophesies about the newly-founded Relief Society: “before ten years... the queens of the earth shall come and pay their respects to this Society. They shall come with their millions and shall contribute of their abundance for the relief of the poor.” (Quinn p. 634)
By 1852 no queens of the earth had done anything resembling what Joseph Smith prophesied, nor have they done so since.
POWER TO DETECT FALSITY
April 28, 1842. Joseph Smith gives the sisters of the Relief Society “and the Elders” the keys of the kingdom “that they may be able to detect everything false.” (Quinn p. 634)
Apparently by the 1980s the Elders no longer had these keys, since they were unable to detect the forgeries foisted on them by Mark Hofmann, but rather esteemed him an authority on rare Mormon documents, paying him thousands of dollars for his forgeries. The church leaders learned of his deception from the secular authorities, when he was arrested for murders he had committed in furthering his schemes against the church. See any of several excellent accounts of this affair, e.g. Naifeh and Smith, The Mormon Murders, New York, 1988.
JOSEPH SMITH WILL TRIUMPH
September 1, 1842. D&C 127:2. Joseph Smith prophesies that he “shall triumph over all my enemies.”
His enemies murdered him less than two years after this prophecy.
JOSEPH SMITH IN PALESTINE
January 20, 1843. Joseph Smith prophesies to Orson Hyde that the two of them will drink wine together in Palestine. (JS MS Diary)
Joseph Smith never was in Palestine. (His drinking wine would have been a violation of the Word of Wisdom)
US GOVERNMENT WILL BE DESTROYED
May 18, 1843. HC 5:394, also Mill Star 22:455. Joseph Smith prophesies “by virtue of the holy priesthood... and in the name of the Lord” that if Congress or the United States will not redress the wrongs which the Mormons suffered in Missouri, and grant them protection, “the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted,” they shall be “broken up as a government” and there will be nothing left of them. (A similar prophecy was made Dec 16, 1843. See Quinn p 641, Chron JS 189)
The United States rejected the Mormons' petitions; their wrongs were not redressed; they were not protected from their enemies. The United States government was never overthrown and is still in existence.
JOSEPH SMITH WILL BE MADE RULER AND STRENGTHENED
July 12, 1843. D&C 132:53. “I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things... and from henceforth I will strengthen him.”
At the time of this prophecy Joseph Smith was at the height of his power. He was never a ruler over any more than at that time. In less than one year he was dead, not strengthened.
MORMONS WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO COOK
Feb 6, 1844. Joseph Smith prophesies that within five years the Mormons would be able to live without cooking their food. (Joseph Smith manuscript diary, omitted from the HC. Cited in Quinn, p. 642).
The Mormons are still cooking their food.
DAVID SMITH WILL BE PRESIDENT AND KING
April 1844. Joseph Smith prophesies that his unborn child will be called David, and will be “president and king of Israel.” (cited in Quinn p 644)
The child was called David. However, he was never “president and king of Israel.” He died in 1904, at the age of 60, having spent the last 27 years of his life in an insane asylum. He was a member of the Reorganized Church. His highest nominal position in that church was counselor to the president, (a thirty-year inmate of an insane asylum, the president's counsel? That was not strategically a wise move at ALL, whether he was 'cured' or not) but he never actually performed any duties as such, because of his mental condition.
MORMONS WILL TRIUMPH OVER ENEMIES
June 19, 1844. Mormon Neighbor. Joseph Smith warns others not to interfere in Mormon affairs, “for as sure as there is a God in Israel, we shall ride triumphant over all oppression.”
Within 10 days of this prophetic warning, Joseph Smith was killed by the mob, and within three years the Mormons had abandoned Nauvoo.
PROPHECY ABOUT W. W. PHELPS
Date unknown. Prophecy made to W. W. Phelps, cited in Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain Saints, p. 42, that Phelps would not taste of death till Jesus came.
W. W. Phelps died March 7, 1872, apparently before Jesus came.
JOSEPH SMITH WILL NEVER BE OVERTHROWN
August 27, 1843. HC 5:554. Joseph Smith announces in a sermon: “I (Joseph Smith) prophesy and bear record this morning that all the combined powers of earth and hell shall not and cannot ever overthrow or overcome this boy, for I have a promise from the eternal God. If I have sinned, I have sinned outwardly; but surely I have contemplated the things of God.”
Within a year Joseph Smith was killed, which would seem to qualify as overthrowing and overcoming.
A VAIN PROPHET WILL BE THROWN DOWN
This prophecy by Joseph Smith, although it was fulfilled quickly and literally, is rarely cited by Mormons. July 1828. D&C 3:4. “For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.”
On May 26, 1844, Joseph Smith made the following statement in a public sermon (Brodie p 374, HC 6:408-412): “Come on, ye persecutors! Ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! For I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”
At this time he was secretly married polygamously to over 40 women, some of them wives of men still living. Many who knew of these secret marriages accused him of changing the doctrine of the church to satisfy his own carnal desires, in violation of the Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:23-29, 3:5) and D&C 49:16. Almost exactly one month after this boast, on June 27, 1844, he was killed by his enemies in a gun battle at Carthage Jail.
Joseph Smith died not as a martyr, but in a gun battle in which he fired a number of shots. He was in jail at the time, under arrest for having ordered the destruction of a Nauvoo newspaper which dared to print an exposure (which was true) of his secret sexual liaisons. At that time he had announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, set up a secret government, and secretly had himself crowned “King of the Kingdom of God.”
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CONCLUSION
Summarized above are dozens of prophecies of Joseph Smith, which were not fulfilled. Mormons may object that some of them may still be fulfilled, for example, Jesus will yet come, the Far West temple will yet be built, New York will yet be destroyed, Salem will yet belong to the Mormons, etc. Yet many of the prophecies cannot be fulfilled: the dates for their fulfillment were given, and those dates have passed; the people whose deeds were prophesied have died without their performing those deeds.
Five prophecies fulfilled out of the sixty-five or so found recorded does not even measure up to Hyrum Smith's standard of a “hit one in ten times,” and is far short of the promise (and prophecy) in D&C 1:37 that “ALL” will be fulfilled.
Joseph Smith fails to pass the test of a true prophet, even by his own standards or those of his followers (e.g., Morris).
For amazing, compelling, absolute truth about the misled evil of the cult mormonism, see these links :
Great online books to either read or to download for free... hours of awesome, incredible reading. Definitely a Must-See site!
http://www.mazeministry.com/new/downloadbooks.htm
A MUST SEE PAGE! The worst massacre in U S history (until Okalahoma City), the Mountain Meadows Massacre, a horrifying, soul-aching story that so closely resembles Charlie Manson's blood-curdling Helter-Skelter you will not be able to stop reading. The cold-blooded brutal murder plot of the Mormon false prophet Brigham Young, carried out by his Mormon friends. Look for the death-row confession of one of the Mormon killers, John Lee, who details what the Mormons did.
http://www.mazeministry.com
http://www.exmormon.org/tract2.htm
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Dear Jesus,
I know that you died for me... I know that you rose 3 days later and are alive still. I may not understand it, but I believe it. Please help me to SEE what you want me to see. I know I need you in my heart, and my life. Please come in to me, forgive me of my sins, and wash me. Give me Your Free Gift of eternal life, and show me how you want me to live. I want to turn from this empty life, and live for you, and with you, forever. Thank you God, for saving me, through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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hopeful