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Mormon Errors
Reprinted from The Carolina Messenger
David R. Pharr
It is fundamental to the Mormon religion
that Joseph Smith, Jr., was a true prophet of
God. The Latter Day Saints claim to have
ongoing revelations and a perpetual line of
prophets, but if their founding prophet was a
fraud, all subsequent claims must surely
crumble.
Two young Mormon missionaries ("elders") were about
to leave my house. Obviously they had been frustrated
by their failure to convince me of their doctrine and
at the door asked permission to declare their
"testimony." I consented, and they boldly testified
that they knew that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of
God. In response I asked if it would not now be fair
for me to give them my "testimony." As they could
hardly object, I then said to them: "My testimony is
that I know that Joseph Smith was a false prophet."
Biblical Background
From the writings of Moses to the Revelation
through John, the Bible warns of false prophets. Such
have been a curse in every age. "There were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you" (II Pet. 2:1).
Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets" (Matt.
7:15). John urged, "Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:
because many false prophets are gone out into the
world" (I John 4:1). It is in view of such
warnings and admonitions that we examine Mormon claims
regarding their founding prophet.
Two Prophets Like Moses?
Two prophets in the Bible have special distinction.
These are Moses and Christ. This is not to say that
Moses was equal to Christ, but that there was a
certain parallel in their work that distinguishes them
from all other Bible prophets--they were law givers
and both inaugurated new dispensations. Moses
indicated this parallel by saying: "The Lord thy
God will raise up unto thee a Prophet... like unto me..."
(Deut. 18:15-19).
From Moses to Christ every true prophet spoke in
harmony with Moses. None inaugurated a new system or
gave a contradictory revelation. This is one reason
why it was said that "there arose not a prophet
since in Israel like unto Moses" (Deut. 34:10).
Thus Isaiah warned not to trust anything except God's
revealed truth which had its foundation always in the
law. "To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there
is no light in them" (Isa. 8:19-20).
But Moses foretold the coming of another prophet
"like unto me"—that is, a law giver. Peter quotes
Moses and shows that the reference is to Christ.
Christ is the prophet like Moses who must be heard in
all things (Acts 3:22-23). Moses was the
law-giver prophet for the Jewish dispensation, but "God...
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son"
(Heb. 1:1-2). All true prophets of the New
Testament dispensation spoke under the guidance of,
and in harmony with, Christ—the only prophet foretold
as like unto Moses.
What is especially significant as relates to Joseph
Smith is that no where does the Bible promise a third
such prophet. Yet Smith claimed for himself, and
Mormons accept it, that he also held such a position.
He is named as "First Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints".1
Even more presumptuous are actual allusions to
Smith being like Moses. "I say unto thee, no one shall
be appointed to receive commandments and revelations
in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jr.,
for he receiveth them even as Moses" (emphasis
added, D.P.).2 In another place Smith
applies to himself the very words which the Bible
applies to the prophetic office of Christ. Claiming to
be giving a revelation from God, he says: "And upon
them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord shall
be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet
Moses, that they should be cut off from among the
people."3 The reader should notice the
similarity of this wording to Acts 3:23, where
Peter is showing Christ to be the prophet Moses
foretold.
"Last Days" Or "Latter Days"?
Joseph Smith is to the Mormons their "latter day"
Prophet. Of course to a lesser degree they have had
and continue to have other prophets, but Mormonism is
built on the premise that Smith was God's special
prophet to the modern world. This directly contradicts
the Bible's declaration that God's Prophet for the "last
days" is Christ (Heb. 1:1-2). We have to
wonder how there can be "latter days" that follow the
"last days."
The New Testament is the Lord's new covenant and it
is an everlasting covenant. An obvious point in
Hebrews 1:1-2 is that Christ is God's final
spokesman to the world. Remember how He emphasized the
everlasting character of His teaching: "Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away"
(Matt. 24:35). Yet when Smith wanted to bring
in the practice of polygamy he used his position as
"the Prophet" to "reveal unto you a new and
everlasting covenant."4
The point to be realized is that Joseph Smith did
not claim to be merely a prophet: he claimed a
prophetic office comparable to Moses and even Jesus
Christ. In fact, the implications of his claim is that
he even supersedes Christ as a later prophet
with a newer covenant.
Prophet of Another God
Claims are made that Smith performed miracles and
that these served as signs to prove he was God's
spokesman. In the first place, it is clear that false
prophets sometimes may produce "signs and wonders." We
recall the tricks of Pharaoh's magicians, and how the
people of Samaria were bewitched by the sorcery of
Simon (Acts 9-11). Paul described "the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonder" (II Thess. 2:9). Jesus spoke of
false Christs and false prophets that would show "great
signs and wonders" (Matt. 24:24).
The evidence is, of course, that Smith failed to
produce any credible miraculous signs.5
Regardless, however, Deuteronomy 13:1-3
provides an especially important consideration. Here
Moses warned that there might be a prophet who would
give a sign or a wonder, but that if he said, "Let
us go after other gods, which thou hast not known,...
thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet..."
The thing to be especially emphasized is that any
prophet who would turn people to another god is not to
be followed. This applies with devastating force to
the claims of Smith because he taught a different god,
not the God of the Bible.
Actually Mormon theology is a strange mixture of
confusing, self-contradictory, and even blasphemous
notions about Deity. Since another article will
examine the Mormon doctrine of the Godhead, it is
sufficient here to summarize that Smith wrote of "the
council of the Eternal God of all other gods."6
Mormon writers affirm that Smith taught that God was
once like we are and that he is an exalted man, and
further that men may progress to become gods
themselves.7 "The Prophet" of Mormonism
also taught that God the Father has "a body of flesh
and bones."8
For Personal Advantage
The Mormon saga of polygamy and Joseph Smith's
changing "revelations," is a bizarre story indeed. The
Book of Mormon condemns it.9
Later Smith promoted and defended it as an
"everlasting covenant."10 Then in
compliance with United States law his successors had
yet another revelation which forbade plural marriages.
(Strange indeed it is that an "everlasting covenant"
could be reversed by congress.) That Smith was
personally married to several women is indisputable
history.11 Aside from the immoral aspects
of this practice, there is a peculiar section of his
prophecy on the subject that is an obvious attempt to
convince his legitimate wife, Emma, that she should
accept these new arrangement or else be punished by
God.12 Apparently Emma was not too happy
with his multiplying wives, so Joseph conveniently
received a prophecy intended to keep her under
control. Such a prophecy is not from God but a
contrived ploy for personal advantage.
Jeremiah wrote of those who "speak a vision of
their own heart" (Jer. 23:16). Micah tells
how: "The heads thereof judge for reward, and the
priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets
thereof divine for money" (Mic. 3:11).
Whether it is for money or for illicit personal
advantage the sin is the same. Joseph Smith spoke a
vision of his own heart to persuade his wife to accept
his polygamy.
A Simple Test
Moses gives an obvious and simple test for
determining the authenticity of a prophet. He explains
that there would be false prophets and raises the
question as to how to determine whether a prophet has
spoken the word of the Lord. The test is: "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. 18:20-22).
It should be remembered that there needs to be but
one prophetic failure for a prophet to be proven
false. The issue is not settled by percentages, that
is, that the prophet was right some of the time. If
God is speaking through him he will be correct every
time. Lists have been compiled which show how
frequently Mormon prophecies have failed, but one
example of things Joseph Smith prophesied which did
not come to pass should completely settle the point.
His prophecies regarding where the Mormon city and
temple would be built, as well as when they would be
built, were stated with exactness. Yet, in spite of
Smith's emphasis that it was God speaking through him,
it is undeniable that these prophecies utterly failed.
According to "the Prophet" the place would be
Independence, Missouri,13 but the Mormon
headquarters was located instead in Salt Lake City. It
was to be built within that very generation,14
but of course it was not. Joseph Smith is proven to be
a false prophet by the simple test of Deuteronomy
18:20-22. His prophecies did not come to pass.
1. The Pearl of Great Price, Title page, 1977 ed.
2. Doctrine and Covenants, 28:2.
3. Ibid., 133:63.
4. Ibid., 132:4ff.
5. Brodie, Fawn M. No Man Knows My History, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, l983, p.112.
6. Ibid., 121:32.
7. Crane, Charles Arthur, The Bible and Mormon Scriptures Compared, (Joplin, MO:
College Press, 1979), p. 70.
8. Doc. & Cov., 130:22.
9. Jacob, 2:23f, 27; 3:5.
10. Doc. & Cov., 132:1ff.
11. Brodie, Ibid., pp. 334ff, 457ff.
12. Doc. & Cov., 132:51ff.
13. Ibid., 57:1-3; 101:20; 124:51-52.
14. Ibid., 84:4-5; 84:31.
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