The Bible contains the histories and the prophecies of true prophets. It also warns there would be false prophets. Note that all the true prophets were rejected by the people of their time as false prophets. So how does one know the difference? The Savior Himself, who was also rejected as a false prophet, told men, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15- 16). The most decisive way to tell is whether the things they prophesied and other revelations are born out by time. Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet of these Latter-days. It has now been one hundred and sixty-eight years since he was killed. How have his revelations and prophecies held up? Do they show he is a true prophet or a false prophet? Here is just a sample of things by which Joseph Smith can be judged.
1. In May, 1833, Joseph Smith taught in recorded scripture that the elements are eternal (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33). In April, 1844, he clarified, “The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed” (The Contributer, Vol. 4, p. 257). He taught matter is indestructible. Only later have scientists themselves discovered and verified that matter can be changed from form to form, but not destroyed. 2. Joseph Smith taught that God’s creations consisted of “worlds without number” (Book of Moses 1:33). So the Number of stars, planets, etc., in the heavens are innumerable to man. This was long before scientists discovered the masses in the universe which cannot be counted, only estimated, and have not even yet all been discovered. 3. Joseph Smith taught in another scripture “…there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of [God’s] power” (Book of Moses 1:35). He further taught that as one earth shall pass away, even so shall another come. So he taught Stars are continually being destroyed, and new ones formed. Scientists now know that heavenly bodies are continually being destroyed and new ones being formed. But this was not known at the time of Joseph Smith. 4. Joseph Smith taught that Heavenly bodies are all in motion (Doctrine and Covenants 121:30, 31). The sun, moon and also the stars make revolutions --- that is, they are all in motion. While most of us understand this today, Joseph received such truths by revelation in 1832 and 1839, years before scientists understood and accepted that all celestial bodies are in motion. 5. Through ancient writings he translated, Joseph Smith revealed that certain stars influence or control others within their same “order.” (Abraham 3:3-4, 9). So he taught some Heavenly bodies “govern” or control others. Today, astronomers have learned that “large gravitational objects exert their influence on objects of lesser mass through curved spacetime.” (Richard Ingebretsen, Joseph Smith and Modern Astronomy, Bonneville Books, 1999, pp. 12-16). Astronomers now know that some stars control others by keeping them in an orbit surrounding them as well as in other ways. These are only some examples, for there are many other natural truths which Joseph revealed which science has since validated.
Let's look at things beyond the natural laws. 6. Prophecy of the Civil War. Early in 1831 Joseph Smith revealed the Lord’s prophecy of a future Civil War in the United States. “Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but, behold, I say unto you, they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your own lands (D&C 45:63). In 1832, on Christmas Day, Joseph Smith added amazing details about this war. “Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; …For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-3). Some may try to argue that events prior to the Civil War could have led many to anticipate it. However, Joseph Smith’s forewarning was ridiculed when told twenty-nine years before it occurred, which was not until 1861. Orson Pratt, called by Joseph as an Apostle, speaks of the ridicule he received. “When I was a [young man], I traveled extensively in the United States and [Canada], preaching this restored Gospel. I had a manuscript copy of this revelation (D&C 87), which I carried in my pocket, and I was in the habit of reading it to the people among whom I traveled and preached. As a general thing the people regarded it as the height of nonsense, saying the Union was too strong to be broken; and I, they said, was led away, the victim of an impostor. I knew the prophecy was true, for the Lord had spoken to me and had given me revelation. I knew also concerning the divinity of this work. Year after year passed away, while every little while some of the acquaintances I had formerly made would say, ‘Well, what is going to become of that prediction? It’s never going to be fulfilled.’ Said I, ‘Wait, the Lord has his set time.’ By and by it came along, and the first battle was fought at Charleston, South Carolina. This is another testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High God: he not only foretold the coming of a great civil war at a time when statesmen even never dreamed of such a thing, but he named the very place where it should commence.” (Journal of Discourses, 18:224-25). 7. Health Warnings. Long before it was known nicotine was actually a poison, Joseph Smith taught, “Tobacco is not for the body… and is not good for man” (Doctrine and Covenants 89:8). For years Latter-day Saints were ridiculed for adhering to this and other health guidelines which Joseph taught as a “Word of Wisdom.” But in the long run, those who believed that Joseph spoke for God and obeyed, have been saved terrible suffering from cancers and other diseases. They have also been spared the struggles to overcome what others learned, too late, was a powerfully addictive drug. Perhaps even more telling was the insights the Lord gave Joseph about the motivation behind those who pushed tobacco and other harmful substances. “In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation” (D&C 89:4). Those Latter-day Saints who believed their prophet and followed the Lord’s Word of Wisdom were not only blessed from avoiding tobacco but later other harmful substances. Warnings to watch for the “evils and designs of conspiring men,” have made faithful saints wary of those pushing other habit-forming drugs now plaguing the world, fostered by crime and drug cartels everywhere. Some debates continue today among professionals about what is best for one’s health, with ever changing results of “studies.” But Latter-day Saints continually find verification of the truths behind the health code Joseph taught in the early 1800’s. It has been shown by a 25 year study that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who obey the Word of Wisdom, are the healthiest and most long lived people in our society. (This study undertaken by Dr. James E. Enstrom, Ph.D at UCLA. A report of his studies was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 81, Issue 23). 8. The Return of Jews to Palestine. Joseph Smith, at the age of 18, was made to understand he would be an instrument in the re-gathering of Israel. In April, 1840, Joseph Smith called Orson Hyde, an apostle, to dedicate the Holy Land for the return of the Jews. Hyde was himself of Jewish descent. Hyde offered a dedicatory prayer on October 24, 1841, on the Mount of Olives. Hyde’s prayer began to be fulfilled within a remarkably short time. After the nearly total exile of the Jews by Romans in 135 A.D., there still remained a few strays. And those numbers were increased through the centuries by families or small groups seeking refuge from persecution in other lands. However, it was just a few decades after Hyde’s dedicatory prayer that organized efforts to return Jews to Palestine really began, in the later 1800’s. As a result, at least 70,000 Jews were in Palestine by the beginning of World War I in the early 1900’s. The final “return” movement surged in 1947 at the end of World War II, when millions of Jews had been systematically slain, and millions more displaced. Many displaced Jews asked to go to Palestine, listing as their only alternative, “Crematorium.” The Bible had repeatedly prophesied that the Jews would return to their homeland. Just prior to the ripe time, Joseph Smith, as God’s prophet, dedicated the land for its occurrence. 9. Abraham’s Covenant is Eternal and is for all Mankind. However, Joseph, as prophet, revealed that God’s blessings do not go to certain people just because of national identity. All men might inherit God’s true blessings. (See Title Page to The Book of Mormon). Furthermore, his revelations show that the fullness of God’s blessings are not in the inheritance of a finite land in this life, but are really to a “far better land of promise” which is Eternal Life with God. (See Book of Mormon, Alma 37:45). He also revealed that Abraham’s covenant of “seed without number” is not fulfilled by a large posterity in this life, but through the continuing of posterity in the Heavens (Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4; 132:30). So Joseph taught that Abraham’s covenant of Land or Seed can be obtained by persons of all nationalities. He truly revealed that God is “no respecter of persons.” 9. The Gathering of the Lost Tribes. While Joseph was an instrument in the return of the Jews, his greater work was in gathering the full House of Israel --- that is the scattered tribes, beginning with Ephraim and Manasseh. But this gathering is offered to all who will come. That gathering work is going on today. This work is the real proof of Joseph’s prophetic calling. Prophecies fill the Bible concerning this re-gathering of Israel in the last days. These prophecies are so predominant, more than one group have believed they were a fulfillment of these prophecies: The Pilgrims who came to America over waters to a Promised Land, and other evangelical groups who spread into the land saw themselves as fulfillment. But only Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fulfill all the characteristics of this “re-gathering.” For the Lord had promised this re-gathering would be “A marvelous work and a wonder” (Isaiah 29:13-14). That is, full of miracles. Not only did many saints come over the seas to the great Promised Land of America, but their great Exodus from Illinois was laden with exact parallels to the miraculous experiences of ancient Israel --- all duly recorded in Church History. They (1) crossed over deep waters on dry land. When Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo, the Mississippi froze, so thousands crossed over on what was as dry land to them. (2) When the poorest and sickest of the Saints had been brutally forced out by mobs, flocks of quail fell into their midst as with the Israelites of old (Exodus 16:12-3). (3) They were led across the plains by following a “river in a straight way” ( as prophesied by Jeremiah 31:9) (4) They settled by a great Salt Sea in the desert. (5) They have made that barren desert to blossom as a rose (Isaiah 35:1). (6) Joseph Smith prophesied before his death that the Saints would settle in the valleys of the great Rocky Mountains. (7) As Isaiah had prophesied, they would ascend to the “ tops of the mountains.” “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,” (Isaiah 2:2) “Utah,” in Indian language means “top of the mountains.” (8) But the most significant witness of all is that in those mountains they established “the mountain of the Lord’s house,”--- a holy temple. It has always been a primary sign that “here is Israel,” when a temple stands in their midst * (citation given below).
10. Prophecies made by Joseph Smith’s followers. While the evidence shows that Joseph Smith was a prophet, the fact is that many of his followers have also prophesied, and had their prophecies fulfilled, which gives layers upon layers of prophetic fulfillment. The examples are far too numerous to cover. But here is one, particularly pertinent to our days. In 1859 Charles W. Penrose, who became an apostle in 1904, published a sermon identifying many of the disasters and disturbances that would accompany the last days. He prophesied “the passions of human nature will be put to the vilest uses [and] new diseases will silently eat their ghastly way through the ranks of the wicked.” (Millennial Star, 21:582). (As quoted in Hoyt W. Brewster Jr., Behold, I Come Quickly, p. 43). The modern day plagues of AIDS and Hepatitis C are clearly a fulfillment of such prophecy. However, what is important is not only that this was prophesied, but that faithful Latter-day Saints are protected by forewarning from these plagues. This protection comes not only through Joseph’s and continual prophetic warnings against immorality, but also through the warnings against consumption of alcohol. Many others who feel they can handle alcohol find later they have succumbed to temptations under its influence. Jesus said we would know prophets by “their fruits.” The fruits of the prophetic word of Joseph Smith and his followers verify over and over that he was a true prophet, called by the Lord to speak again in God’s name in these the Last Days. These few examples are only the tip of the iceberg of their prophetic works.
*These and other parallels are explained in LeGrand Richards, AMarvelous Work and a Wonder, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976.