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Matthew
7:14-16
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.k16l By
their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17Just so, every good tree
bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.18A good
tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good
fruit.19Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut
down and thrown into the fire.20So by their fruits you will know
them
SALVATION
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life
Interesting Quotes from Joseph Smith, the Founder of Mormonism
Joseph Smith boasted that he did more than Jesus to keep a
church together.
"God is in the still small voice.
In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the
devil--all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false
swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll
down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. 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. A large majority of the whole have
stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did
it. I boast that no man ever did such a 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, vol. 6, p. 408-409). Click here
to see this quote in context.
Joseph
Smith said the Book of Mormon was more correct than the
Bible.
"I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon
was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone
of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding
by its precepts, than by any other book," (History of
the Church, vol. 4, p. 461).
Joseph Smith made a false prophecy (one of several).
".
. .I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless
the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the
Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes
committed by her officers that in a few years the government
will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be
so much as a potsherd left . . . " (History of the
Church, vol. 5, p. 394). Click here
to see this quote in context.
Joseph
Smith said mothers have babies in eternity and some are on
thrones.
"A question may be asked, ‘Will mothers
have their children in eternity?' Yes! Yes! Mothers, you
shall have your children," (Journal of Discourses, vol.
6, p. 10). "Eternity is full of thrones, upon which
dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory,
with not one cubit added to their stature," (Journal of
Discourses, vol. 6, p. 10).
Joseph
Smith said that God was not always God.
“We have
imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I
will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you
may see. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they
are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know
for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may
converse with him as one man converses with another, and that
he was once a man like us; yea, that God the Father of us
all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did,
and I will show it from the Bible” (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.345-346. Italics in original).
Joseph
Smith said there are many gods.
"Hence, the doctrine
of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any
other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . .
Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us
there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in
all and through all," (History of the Church, vol. 6, p.
474). "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a
council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a
plan to create the world and people it," (Journal of
Discourses, vol. 6, p. 5).
Joseph
Smith said the Trinity is three gods.
"I have always
declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a
separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the
Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these
three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods,"
(Teachings of Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370).
Joseph
Smith said God was once a man.
"God himself was once
as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in
yonder heavens...I say, if you were to see him to-day, you
would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves, in all
the person, image, and very form as a man....it is necessary
that we should understand the character and being of God, and
how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came
to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God
from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take
away and do away the veil, so that you may see....and that he
was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of
us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself
did." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 3).
Joseph
Smith said our greatest responsibility is to seek after our
dead.
"The greatest responsibility in this world
that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead,"
(Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 7).
Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 3, p. 263-264. See reprint in Mormonism -- Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, p. 4.)
Did Joseph Smith make any prophecies? Yes he did. Here are just a few of his false prophecies.
False prophecies of Joseph Smith
History of the Church
Prophecy about Jesus' return within 56 years - "President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it; and it was made known to him by vision and by the Holy Spirit. He then gave a relation of some of the circumstances attending us while journeying to Zion--our trials, sufferings; and said God had not designed all this for nothing, but He had it in remembrance yet; and it was the will of God that those who went to Zion, with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary, should be ordained to the ministry, and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the coming of the Lord, which was nigh--even fifty-six years should wind up the scene." (History of the Church, vol. 2, p. 189). See context.
Jesus did not return within fifty-six years when 1891 arrived.
Doctrine and Covenants
Prophecy that the temple would be built in Missouri within Smith's Generation - "Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion,i which shall be the city of New Jerusalem. 3 Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased. 4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation. 5 For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house... 31 Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses for the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed." (Doctrines and Covenants 84:2-5,31.) See context.
The Mormons were driven out of Jackson County in 1833. They were not gathered there in accordance to this prophecy dealing with building the temple.
The prophecy clearly states that the generation present when the prophecy was given would not pass away until the temple was built at the western boundaries of the state of Missouri which is in Independence. This clearly failed.
All Nations would be involved in the American Civil 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; 2 And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. 3 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, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations," (Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-3). See context
This is clearly another false prophecy since all nations did not get involved in the American Civil War.
Prophesy that the earth will tremble and the sun be hidden in "not many days": "For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig-tree," (Doctrine and Covenants 88:87) See context The sun hasn't yet been hidden nor has the moon hidden its face. This prophecy was given on 12/27/1832. "Not many days hence"? Since the writing of this article on 6/22/06, it has been 63,364 days or 173 years, 5 months, 26 days. I think that 63,364 days is more than "not many days". For reference to January 1, 2000 it was 61,000 days (even), or 167 years, 5 days.
Pearl of Great Price
Prophecy that Isaiah 11 was about to be fulfilled - "In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when 'they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,' but soon would come," (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith, History, verse 40). See context
Isaiah 11:6-9 says, "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7Also the cow and the bear will graze; Their young will lie down together; And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea."
This has not yet been fulfilled. The wolf is not dwelling with the lamb, the calf and the lion are not together, nor are the cow and bear grazing together. The lion is not eating straw like an ox. Nursing children are not playing in the dens of cobras
