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Joseph Smith/Alleged false prophecies/The prophetic test in Deuteronomy 18
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This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Criticism
Critics point to Deuteronomy 18꞉20-22 as a 'test' for a true prophet:
- 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
- 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
- 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.
Critics claim that Joseph Smith made failed prophecies, and as such must be a "false prophet."
Source(s) of the Criticism
- "Remember, in the light of the following list, that according to Deuteronomy 18:20-22, it only takes one false prophecy to make a prophet false, just as it only takes one murder to make a person a murderer. As you read the many false prophecies of Joseph Smith, keep this Biblical teaching in mind." - Ed Decker
Response
Deuteronomy doesn't exactly say that one mistake makes a false prophet.[1] James L. Mays, editor of Harper's Bible Commentary writes:
Prophecy in the names of other gods is easily rejected, but false prophecy in God's name is a more serious matter. This dilemma requires the application of a pragmatic criterion that, although clearly useless for judgments on individual oracles, is certainly a way to evaluate a prophet's overall performance.[2]
Conclusion
A summary of the argument against the criticism.