This was written by Wayne Jackson and appeared in the August 1986 edition of the Christian Courier. The paper was published by the Church of Christ in Stockton, California and was edited by Jackson.
The ancient psalmist inquired, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). The Lord once told of a foolish man who built a house upon the sand, only to later see it come crashing down in a violent storm (Matthew 7:26). Obviously, no dwelling is any stronger than the foundation upon which it is constructed.
The church of Christ is grounded upon Jesus of Nazareth (I Corinthians 3:11) and the bedrock truth that He is the Messiah, the Son of god (cf. Matthew 16:16-18). Allow me to raise this question. What would be our plight should we learn that Jesus was not raised from the dead? Paul argues that we would be forced to conclude that our faith is vain and as a consequence, we are quite pitiable (I Corinthians 15:13-19). We should then be obliged to look elsewhere for the truth.
Though it has suffered some serious setbacks in recent years, the Mormon movement is an influential phenomenon in the west and apparently it is growing throughout the world. There are many admirable qualities about the Mormon people. They are hardworking, benevolent, generally moral and zealous in the propagation of their dogma. As commendable as these traits are, the brutal fact of the matter is, Mormonism was constructed upon a defective foundation. The system is therefore, a false one.
One of the books considered to be inspired by the Mormons is The Doctrine and Covenants, which purports to contain, "Revelations given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet with additions by his successors in the Presidency of the Church" (The Doctrines and Covenants, LDS Church, Salt Lake City, 1952, Title page). On April 6, 1830 when the Mormon church was being organized, Joseph Smith allegedly received a "revelation" which bound his followers to accept him as a prophet of God. It states, "...thou (the church) shalt give heed unto all his (Joesph Smith's) words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, waling in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith" (D&C, 21:4-5). This is the very heart of Mormonism. Was Joseph Smith a genuine prophet? The validity of the Mormon system is determined by the answer to this query.
In this article, we will critically and honestly examine three of Joseph Smith's prophecies. First, in July of 1831, Smith gave a "revelation" to his disciples which asserted that the Mormon temple was to be built in Independence, Missouri. Hear him: "...in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints. Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion... Behold, the place which is now called Independence, is the center place, and a spot for the temple is lying westward upon a lot which is not far from the court house" (D&C, 57:1-3). More than two years later, Smith confirmed that "Zion" (Independence, Missouri) was to be the place; "neither shall there be any other place appointed" (D&C, 101:20). Further, in September of 1832, Smith declared that the, "temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord..." (D&C, 84:4-5). More than 150 years have passed since these "prophecies" were uttered and they have miserably failed. Not one element has been fulfilled as any student of the Mormon movement well knows.
Second, in 1832 Smith claimed to have received certain revelations regarding the coming war between the states. The newspapers of the day of course, were filled with speculation concerning the possibility of a civil war (cf. J. D. Bales, The Testing of Joseph Smith, Jr., Pacific Publishing, p. 12). Here in part, is the prophecy. "For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States and the nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations." He further suggested that this conflict would ultimately result in, "a full end of all nations" (D&C, 87:3, 6). This "revelation" turned out to be blatantly false. Great Britain never entered the civil war, they never called upon other nations to defend them in connection with that war, the struggle between the states was not, "poured out upon all nations" and certainly the civil war did not lead to the, "full end of all nations." Finally, this question might be raised. If Joseph Smith had prophetic insight into the details of the civil war, why is it he never indicated what the final outcome would be as to the victor, North or South? He was strangely silent about that.
Third, during Smith's lifetime there was much speculation concerning the time of Christ's return. True to form, prophet Joseph contributed to the confusion. In April of 1843, Smith told his followers, "I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following: 'Joseph my son, if thou livest until thou art 85 years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter" (D&C, 130:14-15). Since Smith was born in 1805, this suggested that the Lord would come by the year 1891. this chronology is confirmed by an earlier statement that Smith had made. In 1835 Smith said, "...and it was the will of god that those who went to Zion, with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary, should be ordained to the ministry, and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, or the coming of the Lord, which was nigh - even 56 years should wind up the scene" (History of the Church, B. H. Roberts, Ed., Vol. II, p. 182). Again, 56 years from 1835 terminates the prophecy at 1891. Christ did not come in that year. As a prophet, Joseph Smith failed again.
15 centuries before the birth of Christ, Moses set forth the divine standard for determining the credibility of a prophet. "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?' when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
Joseph Smith was not a prophet of God. The Mormon church was erected upon a false foundation. Honest souls caught up in that movement should abandon it and accept the true gospel of the Son of God. As we have opportunity, may we instruct and encourage them to this end.
No comments:
Post a Comment