SL82N@cc.usu.edu (09/23/90)
Hello,
IJ just thought I'd write a few things in regards to Deuteronomy 18:20-22,
and how some people take this scripture and try to prove that Joseph Smith
was not a prophet of God.
"" But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a w ord
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.
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: thou shalt not be afraid
of him."
KJV (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
By reverting to this scripture for proof that Joseph Smith is not a
prophet, you must also accept the fact that there are some prophets in
the Bible that are not true prophets (that is, or course, if you accept
this scripture literally).
According to this rule that people impose on proving the validity of
a prophet, let's look at how reliable the prophecies of Moses are, since
most Christians accept Moses as being a prophet.
Moses in Genesis 17:1-14 states that God gave Abraham an everlasting
covenant and that the toden of that covenant was circumcision; which was
also to be everlasting. verse 14 indicates that any "man child whose
flesh of his foreskin is not circumcized, that soul shall be cut off from
his people; he hath broken my covenant."
This is clear, but Paul rejects the everlasting quality of this covenant
and indicates in Romans, chapter 4 and Galatians, chapter five, that
circumcision availeth nothing. The covenant was not to be everlasting as
predicted by Moses in his writings about Abraham. Moses said it was an
everlasting covenant, Paul said it was not. Who was right?
Moses also predicted that hte Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood was to be
an everlasting priesthood.( Numbers 25:10-14 and Exodus 40:12-15). Yet,
Paul says that the priesthood was changed (Hebrews 7:12). If the Levitical
Priesthood was to be everlasting, why was the priesthood changed? Where is
the Levitical Priesthood today? If a person is locked into this sort of
literalism, then, Paul or Moses must be denounced as a false prophet.
Also, according to this rule, Jeremiah fails as a prophet. In fact,
Jeremiah was so upset that his predictions weren't coming to pass that he
called God a liar! (Jeremiah 15:18). If a person is an extreme literalist,
Jermiah's prediction of the seventy years of captivity did not come to
pass. It was less than seventy years. Jeremiah also predicted that King
Zedekiah would die in peace and that odours would be burned for him.
(Jeremiah 34:4-5). Instead, Zedekiah had his eyes put out, his children
slaughtered, and he died in a Babylonian prison. On another occasion
Jeremiah prophecied that King Jehoiakim "shall have none to sit upon the
throne of David,"(Jeremiah 36:30), and yet the very next king was
Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoakim. (See 1 Chronicles 3:16 and Jeremiah 37:1)
There are others, but according to Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Jeremiah is
out as a prophet!
Jesus prophesied that the only sign he would give to the pharisees
concerning his resurrection would be the sign of Jonah, "for as Jonah
was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son
of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
(Matthew. 12:39-40) If Christians can make this prophecy work, then
Good Friday has to be changed to Good Thursday, however, since the
Jewish day begins at sundown, make that Good Wednesday Evening.
It seems that the literalism that some people use in quoting Deuteronomy
18:20-22, could leave us with just a very few prophets to worry about.
I don't mind valid criticism of Joseph Smith, but I do very much dislike
double standards. What is the word that Jesus used so often? Hypocrisy.
I accept Moses and Jeremiah and Paul as prophets, and Jesus as the Christ.
But, I don't accept the idea that prophets cannot make mistakes. Even
Paul admitted to uncertainty at times when after giving counsel to
prospective missionaries on the subject of marriage he said, "I think also
that I have the Spirit of God."(1 Corinthians 7:40) I also believe that
most prophecies, if properly understood, are supportive of the above
prophets I have mentioned.
another one of your brothers,
Michael
"If ye love me, keep
my commandments."
St.John 14:15