Do you see Joseph Smith as a true Biblical prophet or a false prophet?Explain, why?

Answer 1

To know the truth?

OK, compare the bible with the book of mormon. Within the first 3 chapters of the first book of Mormon, you will discover AT LEAST 53 major conflicts with the bible.

The bible itself is highly documented, and has never been disproven by archeological evidence and findings.

There is ZERO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE to support the book of Mormon- the writing of citys, and of great wars? Doesn't exist- if it was true, there would have been great archeological evidence to support it.

You say theres been no offical digs for evidence?

I say theres been enough citys, urban areas, and road construction that if ANY evidence was available to support it, a blind person with their cane could see it!!

Also, consider the editiorial revisions from the orginal book of Mormon (First printing) to the current printing. You will discover that significant word changes has taken place, you will discover that in some cases, entire passages have been removed or heavily edited from earlier editions.

Now, if the book of Mormon is the word of God- then why would they have to edit it so heavily?

Simple: they recieved this "revelation" from an Angel (Moroni) and fallen angels are demons.

The bible has always been about the Son of God.

Now, knowing these facts- who would you believe? An angel who sounds like "moron" or the Son of God?

Answer 2

A true prophet, but not a Biblical prophet. The prophets of the Bible (Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist) all lived during the times of the Bible. And their works are recorded in the Bible. Hence "Biblical prophet".

Joseph Smith would be a Latter-Day prophet. He performed mighty miracles, received revelations, communed with angels. And he was not alone. Many of his contemporaries write of their experiences with angels, and although some discontinued in his company, they never, ever denied that they had seen the miracles that they had seen.

Joseph Smith was not the only Latter-Day prophet, however. There have been 14 prophets to follow, and when Gordon B Hinckley finishes his mortal work and joins them (and his wife) there will be called another great man to preside at the head of the LDS Church, another Prophet, Seer and Revelator.

Why do we need a prophet? Because a church without a prophet is like a ship without a rudder. Look at the various religions all over the world and the disunity therein. Just look at Christianity! With all the in-fighting, whose docterine is right? With all the changes that have been made through the centuries, what is true? This is why we need a prophet. And while a word here has changed and a thought there, fundamentally, the meat and potatoes of the docterine of the LDS church has not changed...we still preach faith, repentance, baptism by immersion and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Answer 3

Joseph Smith is not a biblical prophet because he didn't live during the bible times, however he is a true prophet.

Answer 4

I don't need to answer more than what you have already received. You have some great answers from some dear LDS ladies.
Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. He is mentioned in the Bible, just not by name. He that has eyes to see and ears to hear will recognize the truth.
The Book of Mormon is a true book of scripture and doctrine that testifies of Christ and His work with the Israelite refugees here in America. Follow the test in the back of the Book, Moroni 10:3-5 faithfully and you will feel the truth of the work in your heart and in your mind.
Read I Nephi 29 and learn about the need for more scripture and continuing revelation.

Answer 5

I am happy for so many good answers both sides.

The Bible says that it is a serious offense to claim God said something when He actually did not. Before Mormon scripture can be given any credibility at all it must agree with what God has already revealed in the Bible.

LDS criticisms of the Bible typically have more to do with allegations of faulty " transmissions" ( copying of the original texts in the same language ) than with faulty translation. Mormon are given the impression that the Bible has been extensively revised by corrupt transcribers and religious leaders who either removed important ideas or inserted false teaching. As a result, many Mormons do not feel compelled to reexamine their beliefs when Bible passages contradict what their leaders have told them.

God provided 2 main tests for Israelites to determine whether a self-proclaimed prophet was legimate.
1st, he must represent the true God of the Hebrews; prophets who introduced false Gods were to be immediately rejected ( Deut 13:1-3 ). 2nd, they were to reject professing prophets who incorrectly foretold the future ( Deut 18:20-22 ).They were also commanded not to add or take away from the revelations God had given them ( Deut 4:2, Prov. 30:6 )

What you should know that Jpse[ Smith denied the Biblical view of God. He falsely predicted that a war betwen the States would literally become a world war. And although the Bible warns against adding or taking away from what God has commanded, Joseph Smith produced his own version of the Bible in which he took out some parts and inserted others.

Joseph Smith is a false prophet, both Biblically and outside of the Bible.

Answer 6

http://www.fairlds.org/The_God_Makers/tagm36.html

Here are the samples of Joseph Smith's prophecies coming true.

Nina the prophecy meant that worlds wars were about to start it's an allegory statement as to what will happen after the American civil war. Yes he predicted the civil war and where it will start correctly and state it was the start of worldwide wars and that has happened.

Danny if you're Catholic? Then what the popes have said for 2000 years aren't scripture? Catholic dogma says What the pope says and tradition is more important than the bible.

Answer 7

Matthew 23:34- Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city.

Does that sound like God is done sending prophets to us? If He did it in ancient times, why not now?

People will use the verse in Revelation to say that nothing more is needed from God to us today. That scripture is ONLY for the BOOK OF REVELATION ITSELF, not anything to come. If that were the case, then Paul would have been cursed for writing more after Revelation. It may have been put at the last of the bible, but it wasn't written last.

As far as Joseph being a biblical prophet. It depends on what you mean. If you mean a prophet who followed the bible, and what God wanted of him, then YES!! If you mean a prophet like back in biblical times, then I'd say no. He was a prophet for this dispensation of time, not older times. He followed what God wanted him to do, but that in part was different then the other prophets of the bible.

Do I believe he was a true prophet? YES!!! Just as I believe that the prophets in the bible were prophets, and just as I believe that the prophet that leads the church today is a real prophet.

It also says in Numbers 12: 6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. Hmm.. sounds like what happened to Joseph to me.

Also, in Ephesians 2:19,20- 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

Answer 8

Joseph Smith's prophesies have come true, whether they were true in his day or not. The gold plates are common items these days: gold-colored CD's that require a special 'reader' to be read. I know you might dismiss this as silly, but when you think about it, it's true. And how many of us get angry, just like God supposedly did at Smith, when Smith supposedly lost part of the writngs on the plates, that were 'given' to him by God? Isn't it frustrating when the disk doesnt burn properly, and when its damaged and won't read?
What about when people scratch a custom-made disk that was given to them as a gift, or for safe-keeping? If they didnt make back-up copies, that's the end of it!
Think about this also: You can now download from the LDS website an entire Book of Mormon and it's study program for free, and burn your own golden plates. (But will we ever really know what Joseph Smith lost in the shuffle?)

Answer 9

Dearie- I know you're wanting LDS to "defend" their faith, so here it is.

Your question is skewed- you give only two options, but there is a third.

No, Joseph Smith was not a Biblical prophet- he would have had to have been born a WHOLE lot earlier than the 1800s for his writings to be included in the Bible.

No, Joseph Smith is not a false prophet. I'm sure there are those who disagree (like everyone who has answered before me, and I'm pretty sure they're not the only ones).

As I said, there is a third option.

That he was prophesied of in the Bible.

Evidence 1) If you've ever read the Talmud (Jewish Bible), or spoken with Orthodox Jews, you might know of a man in their teachings known as the "Messiah of Joseph."

When Jacob, also known as Israel, was dieing, he called all his sons (the fathers of the 12 Tribes of Israel) together and gave them each a blessing. Sadly, these blessings have been lost to the Christian Bible, but the Jewish people have preserved them for us.

I heard a man speak about the research he'd done about this "Messiah of Joseph." He told of a time he spoke to a group of university students in Israel. The students seemed to segregate themselves- Orthodox Jews on one side, the less orthodox Jews on the other, and the Arab kids collected in the middle. As the man spoke, he itemized the qualities of the Messiah of Joseph, comparing them to Joseph Smith. Of the list of 10 or 12 things, he'd only gotten to 3 or 4 when the Orthodox kids started to talk excitedly. He ignored it and continued. He covered another point or two and the other Jewish kids started buzzing, as well. (The Arab kids had no clue what was going on.) The Jewish students realized who/what Joseph Smith was- he was the one Israel was talking about when he spoke to his son.

Evidence 2) In Isaiah chapter 29, verses 11 and 12, there is a comment about a book that is given to two men- one is educated, the other isn't. They are both commanded to read the book, both decline for different reasons. The educated man says the book is sealed. The uneducated man acknowledges his lack of education.

In the course of the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph had copied some characters from the Plates and translated some of them. Martin took the characters and their translation to Charles Anthon, a professor of languages in New York City, asking the professor to translate the book. He declined because "the book is sealed."

When Moroni originally directed Joseph to translate the Plates, Joseph informed Moroni that he wasn't educated. Moroni apparently didn't mind (or at least the Lord didn't), and directed Joseph to translate the records, anyway.

Evidence 3) There's an interesting story in Acts 5. Peter and John are arrested 3 times for preaching Christianity on the steps of the temple in Jerusalem. The first two times, an angel springs them in the middle of the night. The third time, the Sanhedran (Jewish ruling council of the time) realizes that prison isn't going to work, so they bring the two Apostles before them.

Here's the important part, so listen carefully. One of the councilmen named Gamaliel spoke. He reminded the rest of them of a number of other incidents where someone started a group, got killed and the group fell apart. Then he gives this advice- "Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought, but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

Hm- leave them alone, because if their work is of men, it will fall apart, but if it is God's work, you can't overthrow- you'll be found to be fighting aginst God.

Recently I answered a question about what to do about the Mormons.... Here's the link. My answer was voted best, so it will be easy to find.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgQ473RX976eUW5SEDezNAfty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071109070617AAgHBWe&show=7#profile-info-DCspHZE1aa

It doesn't pay to "kick against the pricks."




As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Joseph Smith's "pudding" is the Book of Mormon. Read it, pray about it. Ask God if it's true.

One suggestion before you begin, though. Be humble and willing to admit you may have been wrong in the past. Without this humility, you won't be able to feel God telling you what is true, and the experiment won't work.






A comment about another answer...

SouthPark? You've got to be kidding me! Anyone who thinks that show is a valid, reliable source of information is just plain ignorant. I happened to see their episode on stem-cell research. Uh, sure- re-growing a store? If that's the standard of "truth" they use..... *shake head*

Answer 10

False prophet.

2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

And what I think is the best verse to describe the Mormon church:

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

It just makes sense. The Mormon church is very large and grows rapidly. If that's not the deception of many, I don't know what is.

Besides God said not to add on to his book. If God said that, I have a hard time believing some angel would appear to Joseph Smith and tell him it wasn't the full story.

Answer 11

Joseph Smith even if he were a real prophet would not be Biblical, because nothing he wrote was in the Bible.