JOSEPH SMITH AS PROPHET COULDN'T GET THE PRESENT RIGHT NEVER MIND THE FUTURE

The Mormon Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was founded in 1830 by a man called Joseph Smith who claimed to be a prophet of God. Was he really a prophet of God? We will soon see that he wasn’t. He was behind scriptures such as the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.

 

How to Answer a Mormon by Robert A Morey is an excellent refutation of the Mormon claim that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. It copies the prophecies so you can read them for yourself and make your own choice.

 

Smith once said that there were men on the moon dressed like Quakers. The Mormon apologists say that only one Mormon journal said this and they do not believe it because there is nothing to support it. But the Mormons take one man’s word, Smiths, for several things they believe so they should in this one.

 

They take just one testimony as true in relation to some of the prophecies that Smith made that came true. Of course Smith had to be right sometime and many times you can see what is 50% or more likely to happen and chances are your predictions will be right most of the time. But the moon men prophecy was recorded by top Mormon Oliver Broadman Huntington who said that he knew Smith said it and that Smith even described the clothes they wore (page 78, How to Answer a Mormon). The Mormons are casting aside an eyewitness testimony just because they don’t like it.

 

They will say the prophecy was written down too long after the time it was spoken to be reliable. But in this case there can’t be smoke without fire. Memories are accurate with such startling interesting revelations so time is irrelevant. Huntington did not give a huge pile of detail but the amount that would be expected after such a long time. Had he written too much it would mean he was imagining memories or was using a diary from the times.

 

The prophecy was printed in a Mormon journal and you can be sure they would have made sure it was authentic before they published it.

 

The doctrine that there were men on the moon had major implications for Mormon theology. The Mormons could not see how their Gods could make planets that were destined to be empty when the Gods’ glory depended on having as many children as possible. Mormon doctrine says there are loads of worlds not just this one and people live on them.

 

BOOKS CONSULTED

 

A GATHERING OF SAINTS, Robert Lindsay, Corgi, London, 1990

A MARVELLOUS WORK AND A WONDER, LeGrand Richards, Deseret Books, Utah, 1976

AN ADDRESS TO ALL BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, David Whitmer, Board of Publications of The Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Lacy Road, Independence, Missouri

ARE THE MORMON SCRIPTURES RELIABLE? Harry L Ropp, IVP, Illinois, 1987

ASK YOUR BISHOP, Ira T Ransom, 317 W 7th South, Brigham City, UT 84302

CHANGES IN JOSEPH SMITH’S HISTORY, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1965

CHANGING OF THE REVELATIONS, Apostle Daniel McGregor, Church of Christ, Independence, Missouri

GOD’S WORD FINAL INFALLIBLE AND FOREVER, Floyd C McElveen, Gospel Truth Ministries, Grand Rapids, 1985

CONCISE GUIDE TO TODAY’S RELIGIONS, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Scripture Press, Bucks, 1983

HOW TO ANSWER A MORMON, Robert A Morey, Bethany House Publishers, Minnesota, 1983

JOSEPH SMITH AND MONEY DIGGING, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1970

JOSEPH SMITH’S BAINBRIDGE NY COURT TRIALS, Wesley P Walters, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Salt Lake City, 1977

LARSON’S BOOK OF CULTS, Bob Larson, Tyndale, Wheaton, Illinois, 1988

MORMONISM SHADOW OR REALITY? Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1972

MORMONISM, AA Hoekema, Paternoster Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1978

MORMONISM, MAGIC AND MASONRY, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1988

MORMONISM, MAMA AND ME, Thelma Geer, Calvary Missionary Press, Arizona, 1983

MORMONISM, THE PROPHET, THE BOOK AND THE CULT, Peter Bartley, Veritas, Dublin, 1989

NEW LIGHT ON MORMON ORIGINS, Rev Wesley P Walters, Utah Christian Tract Society, 1967

NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY, Fawn M Brodie, Vintage, New York, 1995

SOME MODERN FAITHS, Maurice C Burrell and J Stafford Wright, IVP, Leics, 1988

THE BIBLE UNEARTHED, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, Touchstone Books, New York, 2002

THE BOOK OF COMMANDMENTS, Church of Christ, Temple Lot, Independence, Missouri, 1995

THE BOOK OF MORMON, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret Enterprises Ltd, Manchester, UK, 1972

THE CASE AGAINST MORMONISM, VOL 2, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1968

THE FACTS OF MORMONISM ARE STRANGER THAN FICTION, Charles Crane and J Edward Decker, Christian Information Outreach, Kent, 1982

THE HUMAN ORIGIN OF THE BOOK OF MORMON, Wesley P Walters, Ex-Mormons for Jesus, Florida 1979

WHY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST WAS ESTABLISHED ANEW IN 1929?, Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, Independence, Missouri