View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 14

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|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 14: False Prophecy"
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|T=[[../../]]
|A=Jerald and Sandra Tanner
|<=[[../Chapter 13|Chapter 13]]
|>=[[../Chapter 15|Chapter 15]]
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|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 14
|H=Response to claims made in The Changing World of Mormonism, "Chapter 14: False Prophecy"
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|L1=Response to claim: 417 - Joseph Smith gave many false prophecies
|L2=Response to claim: 417 - Joseph Smith received a false revelation to go to Canada and sell the Book of Mormon copyright
|L3=Response to claim: 418-419 - In 1835 Joseph Smith prophesied that the Lord would come in "fifty-six years," or when Joseph was 85 years old
|L4=Response to claim: 420-421 - Joseph prophesied that a temple in Missouri would be built "in this generation"
|L5=Response to claim: 424 - Joseph's "Civil War prophecy" could have been deduced from the news at the time
}}
</onlyinclude>		

==Response to claim: 417 - Joseph Smith gave many false prophecies==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph Smith gave many false prophecies.
}}
{{propaganda|None of the examples mentioned by the Tanners&mdash;or many others raised by other critics&mdash;withstand examination.
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: 417 - Joseph Smith received a false revelation to go to Canada and sell the Book of Mormon copyright==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|claim=
Joseph Smith received a false revelation to go to Canada and sell the Book of Mormon copyright.
|authorsources=<br>
*David Whitmer, ''An Address To All Believers In Christ'', 1887, pp.30-31
*B.H. Roberts, ''A Comprehensive History of the Church'', vol. 1, p.165"
}}
{{misinformation|Whitmer's recollection is suspect, and the original revelation has now been published.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith receive a revelation instructing him to to sell the copyright to the Book of Mormon in Canada and later claim that the revelation was false?}}
{{:Question: Are there any eyewitness accounts of the events that resulted in the trip to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?}}
{{:Question: How did the erroneous story of the attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright develop over time?}}
{{:Question: How does David Whitmer's account of the attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright compare to those of the eyewitnesses?}}

==Response to claim: 418-419 - In 1835 Joseph Smith prophesied that the Lord would come in "fifty-six years," or when Joseph was 85 years old==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
In 1835 Joseph Smith prophesied that the Lord would come in "fifty-six years," or when Joseph was 85 years old.
|authorsources=<br>
*''History of the Church'' 5:336
*''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', Autumn 1966, p.76
*Daily journal of Abraham H. Cannon, October 14, 1886, BYU Library
*''History of the Church'' 2:188
}}
{{misinformation|Joseph was not nearly as certain of this as the authors are.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that Jesus Christ would return in 1890?}}

==Response to claim: 420-421 - Joseph prophesied that a temple in Missouri would be built "in this generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph prophesied that a temple in Missouri would be built "in this generation."
|authorsources=<br>
*Doctrine and Covenants 84:2-5, 31
*George A. Smith, ''Journal of Discourses'' 10:344
*Orson Pratt, ''Journal of Discourses'' 13:138, 362; 14:275; 17:111, 292
*''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', Autumn 1966, p.74"
}}
{{information|The term "this generation" did not mean that it would be within a single person's lifetime.
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: 424 - Joseph's "Civil War prophecy" could have been deduced from the news at the time==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph's "Civil War prophecy" could have been deduced from the news at the time.
|authorsources=<br>
#''The Evening and the Morning Star'', vol. 1, issue 8
}}
{{misinformation|Nobody was predicting a civil war at that time.
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because a civil war was "inevitable," and "anyone" could have predicted it?}}

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