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This message is a bit long, but it could be a lot longer... Joseph Smith is considered a prophet Mormons, but are you sure he was a true prophet? Test of a prophet: "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 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 18:21-22 Can even a "true" prophet have false revelations? Even Joseph Smith had to admit that some of his "revelations" might be of man or even of the devil. Comp Hist 1:165. This is contradictory in concept to the Deuteronomy 18:22 test, which says that the failure of the test indicates that the prophet is false. Joseph Smith here implies that the prophecy may be false, but the prophet himself is apparently still a prophet. One might ask then, what good is a prophet? Hyrum Smith, who was also a "prophet," on Nov 1, 1831, commented about prophecy and said that "if you hit once in 10 times, that is alright." [quoted by Abraham O. Smoot in 1868 at the Provo School of the Prophets] This also is a contradiction of Deut 18:22. Note that the prophecies and promises which are in the D&C "shall all be fulfilled." If even one remains unfulfilled, then this also is a false prophecy. D&C 1:37. Feb 14, 1835. HC 2:182. Joseph Smith preached that the coming of the Lord would be in 56 years (i.e., about 1891). This prophecy also occurs in his diary for April 6, 1843 and HC 5:336. See also D&C 130:14-17. Joseph Smith prophesies that "there of those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes." He prophesies "in the name of the Lord God - let it be written: that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old, 48 years hence or about 1890." (The official historians have deleted the last phrase, beginning with "48 years" from the church history, but it is contained in the original diary.) The version in D&C 130 is phrased negatively, i.e., Christ will not come before 1890. It is also made conditional on Joseph Smith living to the age of 85. Joseph Smith says (v 16) that it might merely mean that if he lives to 85 he will go where Christ is, and therefore see his face. But that interpretation would not make sense if the revelation is in response to Joseph Smith's inquiry about the time of the second coming (v 14). FULFILLMENT: The second coming did not occur about 1891, and the Church does not claim that it did. Nor has it occurred since. Joseph Smith did not live to be 85 years old. God must have known that he would not. Why would God make a revelation conditional upon an event which he knew would never happen? JOSEPH SMITH WILL BE SUCCEEDED BY HIS SON JOSEPH: April 22, 1839 and Aug 27, 1834. Joseph Smith says that he will be succeeded by his oldest son, Joseph Smith III. [Quinn pp 630, 638] FULFILLMENT: Joseph Smith III left the main body of Mormons when they went to Utah under Brigham Young. Thus, according to the Utah church, he did not become his father's successor in the Utah church. He became president of the Reorganized Church in 1860. JOSEPH SMITH WILL TRIUMPH: September 1, 1842. D&C 127:2. Joseph Smith prophesies that he "shall triumph over all my enemies." FULFILLMENT: His enemies murdered him less than two years after this prophecy. JOSEPH SMITH IN PALESTINE: January 20, 1843. Joseph Smith prophesies to Orson Hyde that the two of them will drink wine together in Palestine. (JS MS Diary) FULFILLMENT: Joseph Smith never was in Palestine. (His drinking wine would have been a violation of the Word of Wisdom) JOSEPH SMITH WILL BE MADE RULER AND STRENGTHENED: July 12, 1843. D&C 132:53. "I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things;... and from henceforth I will strengthen him." FULFILLMENT: At the time of this prophecy Joseph Smith was at the height of his power. He was never a ruler over any more than at that time. In less than one year he was dead, not strengthened. MORMONS WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO COOK: Feb 6, 1844. Joseph Smith prophesies that within five years the Mormons would be able to live without cooking their food. (Joseph Smith manuscript diary, omitted from the HC. Cited in Quinn, p. 642). FULFILLMENT: The Mormons are still cooking their food. DAVID SMITH WILL BE PRESIDENT AND KING: April 1844. Joseph Smith prophesies that his unborn child will be called David, and will be "president and king of Israel." (cited in Quinn p 644) FULFILLMENT: The child was called David. However, he was never "president and king of Israel." He died in 1904, at the age of 60, having spent the last 27 years of his life in an insane asylum. He was a member of the Reorganized Church. His highest position in that church was counsellor to the president, but he never actually served as such. CONCLUSION: Five prophecies fulfilled out of the sixty-five or so found recorded does not even measure up to Hyrum Smith's standard of a "hit one in ten times," and is far short of the promise (and prophecy) in D&C 1:37 that "ALL" will be fulfilled. Joseph Smith fails to pass the test of a true prophet, even by his own standards or those of his followers (e.g., Morris). More failed prophesies can be listed if requested. Now, can any Mormon defend this statement???