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Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, is viewed by the movement's adherents as a prophet in the tradition of the ancient prophets recorded in the Bible. During his life, Smith made several prophecies, many documented in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of scripture in several of the movement's denominations.
Mainstream sources note Smith's prophecies failed to come true. After Smith famously gave a public prophecy that Missouri Governor Boggs would be violently killed within a year, Boggs was shot in an assassination attempt; Multiple Smith confidants reported firsthand knowledge that Smith had attempted to have Boggs killed.
Mormon views
Members of the LDS church regard Smith as a prophet who correctly predicted the rise of their church, They argue that Joseph Smith predicted he would find "three witnesses to the word of God", and later found three men who would corroborate his story of the plates. After his loss in the 1838 Mormon War Smith correctly predicted that he and his fellow prisoners would not be killed; The group were allowed to escape custody and flee to Illinois. Smith prophesied that Mormon enforcer Porter Rockwell would never be harmed by bullet or blade; Though he violently killed others and was repeatedly charged with murder, Rockwell died in jail of natural causes.
Mainstream views
Mainstream sources note many of Smith's predictions failed to come true. Smith predicted that his firstborn son would one day translate the Golden Plates; the son died in infancy. During the Winter of 1829–30, Smith predicted that a buyer for the Book of Mormon copyright would be found in Canada; The trip to Canada failed to find result in a buyer. Smith later reported that some revelations are "of the devil".
On December 25, 1832, at the height of the nullification crisis where South Carolina threatened civil war, Smith predicted a war "that will shortly come to pass". In actuality, the crisis was averted and the United States remained at peace throughout Joseph Smith's lifetime.
In 1841, Joseph Smith publicly prophesied Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs would be assassinated within the year. This event occurred within the context of heated conflict between Mormons and Missourians. Boggs was shot by an unknown assailant on the evening of May 6, 1842. He was seriously injured but survived and lived until 1860, contradicting Smith's prediction. Orrin Porter Rockwell, an associate and bodyguard of Smith, was arrested on suspicion of the crime but ultimately released as a grand jury found no evidence of his involvement. Smith confidants John C. Bennett, Joseph Jackson, and William Law would each later report that Smith had ordered Boggs be murdered.
Throughout his career, Smith made comments suggesting the end of the world was near and the current generation of followers would not perish without witnessing it.
See also
- List of non-canonical revelations in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- Miracles attributed to Joseph Smith
- One Mighty and Strong
Notes
- Abanes, Richard (2003). One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 461–67. ISBN 1-56858-283-8.
- "IRR web site list of false prophecies". 16 August 2011.
- "A Sample of Joseph Smith's False Prophecies". www.utlm.org.
- Haroldsen, Edwin O. (August 1995). "Good and Evil Spoken Of". Ensign. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- Dona Hill, Joseph Smith: The First Mormon (Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York, 1977) p. 244.
- Sonne, Kristen (June 21, 1998), "Rockwell's colorful history recounted", Deseret News, archived from the original on October 21, 2013
- Joshua M'Kune statement, quoted by Vogel
- Whitefield, Jim (August 2012). The Mormon Delusion. Volume 1. Paperback Version. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-4092-5904-6.
- Harris, Matthew L.; Bringhurst, Newell G. (15 November 2015). The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09784-3.
- Miller, Rod (2011). The assassination of Governor Boggs. Springville, Utah: Bonneville Books. ISBN 978-1-59955-863-9.
- Bushman, Richard Lyman (13 March 2007). Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4000-7753-3.
References
- Quinn, D. Michael (1994). The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-056-6.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1902), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1904), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1905), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 3, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1908), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 4, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1909), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 5, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1912), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 6, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Roberts, B. H., ed. (1932), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 7, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.
- Vogel, Dan (2003). Early Mormon Documents. Vol. 5. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN 1560851708..
- Wall, Jim M.; et al. (2006). 2007 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret Morning News. ISBN 1590387341.
External links
- Favorable
- Doctrine and Covenants
- "World of Abraham"
- "Samples Of Prophecies Of Joseph Smith That Have Been Fulfilled" from FAIR
- Fulfilled Prophecies of Joseph Smith
- Joseph Smith Prophecies
- Unfavorable
- The False Prophet, Joseph Smith "And It Didn't Come to Pass..." by Ed Decker
- Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry