Question: How can a Latter-day Saint reconcile alleged failed prophecies made by prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

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Question: How can a Latter-day Saint reconcile alleged failed prophecies made by prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

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Introduction to Question

Many critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assert that its past presidents (men that Latter-day Saints consider prophets) have made failed prophecies and that this either proves or provides evidence for the claim that they aren't true prophets receiving revelation from God.

Critics from other sects of Christianity in particular cite Deuteronomy 18:20–22 as proof of a scriptural requirement that we reject someone's claims to prophethood if they make a false prophecy. That scripture states:

20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

22 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: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Other articles on the FAIR wiki discuss how to reconcile failed prophecies from patriarchal blessings.

A set of article on the FAIR wiki discuss claims of Joseph Smith making false prophecies.

Yet another article talks about how to reconcile failed personal spiritual impressions.

This article will outline principles and procedures that a faithful Latter-day Saint can remember and follow when encountering claims of false prophecies made by past presidents of the Church. This article draws on the work of Matthew Roper and John Tvedtnes in formulating said principles and procedures. We strongly encourage reading the cited piece. It is thorough, enlightening commentary on this issue.

These principles can be used to evaluate the prophecies of both modern and ancient prophets. We hope that this article will be helpful for all claims of false prophecies.

Response to Question

1. The Two Models of Prophecy: Film Reel and Weather Forecast

Some religious people have a film reel model of prophecy. This is where the future is already planned out and God, like an old-timey projectionist, can unfurl the reel and see what happens further on in the movie of life, come back to the present, and reveal that will to his children.

Others have more of a weather forecast model of prophecy. This is a model where God makes the best prediction of the future based off of present circumstances. If present circumstances change, then the prophecy does not have to reach fulfillment. God’s formula in scripture seems to be one set up on conditional statements. For instance, God can state that if A, B, C, and D happen then E will happen. Who knows how A, B, C, and D, as the pre-requisite conditions for E to happen, might not obtain? We may make choices right now that change the outcome of the prophecy.

2. God's Foreknowledge May Not be Absolute

A more speculative option (and one that is likely to be much more objectionable for some) but still possible is that God does not have exhaustive foreknowledge of the future. The Church does not take an official position as to how members view God's foreknowledge. They can choose to believe that God has knowledge of all things that will actually happen in the future or that he only has knowledge of a certain amount or degree of future events.

3. Commentary on Deuteronomy 18

If the critics used their own standards, then they'd condemn the Bible as inauthentic.

John Tvedtnes wrote:

Based on the false premise that “all you need is one false prophecy to have a false prophet,” some critics have ignored many of Joseph Smith’s prophecies and have zeroed in on ones they consider to be false. But they typically identify unfulfilled commandments, opinions, and counsel as “false prophecies.” In doing so, they forsake the rules laid out in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, ignoring the fact that the passage defines a false prophecy as one uttered in the name of the Lord which does not come to pass.

The main problem is that the critics do not apply these same standards to biblical prophecies. And when we try to show that, by these standards, many of the biblical prophets fail the tests they have set up for Joseph Smith, we are accused of “Bible-slamming.” To those who ascribe more divinity to the Bible than to God, such a “sin” is worse than blasphemy itself. Honesty, however, impels us to submit the biblical prophets to the same tests as those applied to Joseph Smith.

For this reason, following the logic of the critics, we would have to conclude that Moses-to whom the revelation in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 is ascribed-was a false prophet. In Numbers 25:13, he said, in the name of the Lord, that Phinehas, his grand nephew, would hold the priesthood eternally. But if Hebrews 7:11-12 is correct, the Aaronic priesthood is not eternal. In this particular example, Moses fills the requirement for the test of Deuteronomy much more closely than does Joseph Smith in most of the examples of “false prophecies” cited by the critics. How, then, can Latter-day Saints accept both Joseph Smith and Moses as true prophets, regarding their prophecies as divinely-inspired? The answer lies in the fact that prophecy is typically conditional.

4. Ensure that the account of the prophecy does not misrepresent or misinterpret what the prophet actually said.

• Check sources
• Check interpretation of sources
• Vision or prophecy
• prophetic language
• Is there only one possible interpretation?
• Can the prophecy be fulfilled in multiple ways at different times

6. Verify that the source claims that the prophecy came by revelation from God

A prophet is not always a prophet

7. Remember that most prophecies are contingent on conditions being met—even if that contingency is not made clear by the explicit text of the prophecy

Are there any possible unstated conditions to the prophecy? Are there any stated conditions to the prophecy?

8. Remember the commandment "shall" and the predictive "shall"

One mistake people make in interpreting prophecies is that they mistake a commandment for a prophecy. That is because both use "shall" in their wording often. There's obviously a difference between "thou shall not kill" and "thou shall be in Arizona in four months". One option to consider when confronted with a "failed prophecy" is to see if it was actually a commandment.

Conclusion

If one keeps all of these considerations and questions in mind, one should be able to resolve every question about each prophecy.

Notes