Mormons, doesn't it bug you that Joseph Smith said he was better at keeping the church together than Christ?

Question

He said, “I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam... Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.” (History of The Church 6:408–409)

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True prophets have made mistakes- like Moses. However no prophet (true prophet, that is) has claimed to be better than Christ.

I think Smith was setting himself up to be a person to be worshipped. I believe it is what is behind all of Mormonism.

The only other being who claimed to be better and wanted tobe higher than God was Satan.

Answer 1

Yes, it does. That is one of the many reasons why I have determined that he was not a true prophet in the way he claimed to be.

Nothing against the Church, but you can only put so many tallies under the "he's human" column before you start to wonder about the story he told. If Joseph can boast and exaggerate his role in this quote, then why not in his First Vision account? In fact, when you consider his previous accounts of the same event, it's blatantly easy to see that this is exactly what he did. No wonder early Church presidents were hesitant to teach the now-official 1838 account, which we know as Joseph Smith - History. It wasn't until Joseph F Smith that church members started referring to Joseph having seen God and Jesus Christ in their journals.

Answer 2

Gumby and TTreePar have great answers. Moses took credit for giving the Israelites water out of the rock and for that reason was not allowed to enter Palestine. John Taylor said that Joseph Smith has done more save Jesus only for the salvation of man than anyone else that has ever lived. The fact that The Church of Jesus Christ has endured for 177 years testifies to the truthfulness of the statement, whether issued in pride or matter of fact is irrelevant. The early leaders were careful to protect themselves from persecution where it was possible to do so. This is not hiding the truth, merely keeping sacred information away from the dogs and swine.
I am a lawyer. I know the evil intent of men to take words and twist them for their own advantage. It better serves all of us to look at the big picture, get a broader perspective. Then you will see how the pieces fit together into a grand and glorious eternal plan.

Answer 3

The church is only about a century and a half old. It is still too early to determine how well it's held up. It was way too early when Joseph said this.

I love all these answers about being human blah blah blah. But when it comes time to believe what the authorities want you to believe about a prophet, he is speaking as god.

Give me thumbs down Mormons, but at least leave a little room in your brain to consider inconsistencies.

Answer 4

Maybe he shouldn't have boasted about it, but technically, he was right. And Jesus even said that there would come some who would do even greater works than what Christ did.

I mean, look, what happened to Christ's followers when He was arrested? Even His right hand man, Peter, denied knowing Him!!

However, when Joseph Smith was killed, there was no shortage of people who still believed him to be a prophet of God. After Christ died, before His resurrection, His church was practically gone. When Joseph Smith died, there were thousands who still believed that Christ came and talked to Joseph and chose him to be a propet, and then most knew that God had chosen Brigham Young to succeed him as prophet.

Answer 5

Nah. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ that I believe. Joseph Smith was the conduit that was used to bring it back to the earth. Joseph has every right to say anything he wishes. He was but a man, and he said as much.

I don't worship Joseph. I worship God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Mere words don't bother me.

Edit: Thanks very much for the thumbs down. It reminds me why I shouldn't waste my time on people that don't care about other's opinions.

Answer 6

Would it be wrong for Henry Ford to say that he was the first to use an assembly line or for Thomas Edison to say that Jesus never invented the light bulb?

If you aren't Catholic, then you pretty much have to agree that the organization Jesus set up fell apart. So far Joseph's hasn't.

Answer 7

I'd like to actually read this for myself. Since I don't have a copy of History of the Church, I can't take your word on it.

gw

Answer 8

Pride led to Smith's downfall... yet this does not necessarily mean he was never used by God. Even Moses was denied entrance into the promised land over ONE mistake. Peter was a chosen apostle yet denied Christ thrice. Balaam was used by God as a prophet yet sold out Israel for bribes and was rebuked by a dumb @$$.

The Book of Mormon mirrors the Bible's teachings and was only translated by Smith, not authored. If I thought for one minute Smith conjured it up on his own I would burn my Book of Mormon.

Unlike most LDS folks, I recognize Smith's errors rather than cannonize them like the LDS do. Unlike the antis I recognize the GOOD things Smith did and do not reject God's work with him while he was humble. Smith is much like King Saul who was hand picked by God yet through pride and disobedience was rejected and his life brought to an untimely end.

Answer 9

Considering there are 13 million members worldwide, I'd say he did something different.

He didn't say he was more powerful than Christ in everything. He only said that in this regard, he had managed to do something others hadn't. Was he prideful? Probably. Good thing he believed in being saved by Jesus Christ.

By the way, if you read the WHOLE book and not just the quotes you want to pick out to attack, you might be able to see the bigger picture instead of focusing on the small things.

Answer 10

I will have to look that up when I get home. So I can see also what part you left out in the middle.