Commenting on the contingent/conditional nature of prophecy in the Bible and uniquely Latter-day Saint Scriptures, Duane Crowther wrote the following:
Prophecy Is Not Predestination:
Prophetic Outcomes May Be Changed
Prophetic Outcomes May Be Changed
Several misunderstandings have been observed which should be commented upon in this setting. One such misunderstanding is the erroneous belief that prophecy is a type of predestination, which inalterably fixes the course of future events. Prophecy is not predestination. It does not govern what will come to pass. The scriptures teach that when conditions pertinent to the prophesied situation change, the outcome of prophecy may also change. Revealed chooses to alter His intentions. He may reveal new prophecy to His spokesmen indicating different outcomes to earth events. An understanding of this principle is basic to man’s understanding of many of his manifestations of God. Many examples of this principle from the scripture can be cited . . . [In] the account of Ahab, a wicked king of Israel. Ahab caused Naboth to be slain in order to obtain a vineyard which Naboth owned. Because of the king’s wickedness, the Lord sent Elijah to make this prophecy to Ahab:
Thus saith the Lord, Has thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity . . .
. . . for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. (1 Kgs 21:9-22)
Yet the scripture records the repentance of Ahab, which altered the condition upon which the prophecy was based. Because of Ahab’s penitence, the will of the Lord changed. A new prophecy was revealed through Elijah, in which God’s retribution was postponed:
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house. (1 Kgs 21:27-29. For the fulfillment of this prophecy on Ahab’s wicked son, Joram, see 2 Kgs 9:22-10:11)
Another example of new prophecy being revealed because of changing conditions is found early in the history of the nation of Judah, when Rehoboam and his people were under attack by Shishak, king of Egypt. A prophetic warning was spoken against the princes of Judah by the prophet Shemaiah, who warned, “Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak” (2 Chron 12:5). But then the condition changed. “The princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous” (2 Chron 12:6). With their repentance, the Lord chose to lighten His judgment upon them. A new prophecy was revealed through His prophet:
When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the handoff Shishak.
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdom of the countries. (2 Chron 12:7-8. Verses 9-12 tell the fulfillment of the latter prophecy).
In yet another situation which exemplifies this principle of altering prophecy, a conditional warning was spoken by a man of God to King Amaziah during his rule in Jerusalem. The king was told that he would die in a contemplated battle against the Edomites if he used the 100,000 mercenaries he had hired from Israel:
There came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.
But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. (2 Chron 25:7-8)
Amaziah took heed to the prophecy and sent the mercenaries away. Consequently, in the battle his life was spared and he was able to conquer the Edomites (the children of Seir) (see 2 Chron 25:9-12).
. . . .
Similar examples are found in latter-day scripture. For instance, the Lord revealed His will that the saints should gather to Zion, the New Jerusalem. His will that the saints should gather to Zion, the New Jerusalem, in numerous revelations through His prophets (see, for example, D&C 45:64-66; 57:1-9; 66:11; etc). Yet the saints were not willing to support the gathering process fully. Less than half the number specified by the Lord, for example, were willing to participate in Zion’s Camp (the call was for 500 men; they eventually marched with 205. See D&C 103:35-36; History of the Church 2:87-88; also D&C 105:16-17). Some members of the Church, within Zion’s Camp and elsewhere, fell into transgression; others refused to contribute their funds for the upbuilding of Zion. The conditions changed. The Lord, altering His will because of the attitudes of Church members, revealed a new policy through the prophet Joseph Smith:
Verly I say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption of mine afflicted people.
Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now.
But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them;
And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom;
And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.
And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.
I speak not concerning those who are appointed to lead my people, who are the first elders of my church, for they are not all under this condemnation;
But I speak concerning my churches abroad-- there are many who will say: Where is their God? Behold, he will deliver them in time of trouble, otherwise we will not go up unto Zion, and will keep our moneys.
Therefore, in consequence of the transgressions of my people, it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion. (D& 105:1-9)
And still the saints wait, for the Lord desires that the Church as a people “may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands” (D&C 105:10).
When the Lord reveals through His prophets that which will come to pass, it is not absolute, it is not unalterable, it does not govern the future. If conditions change, God, in his justice and mercy, will alter the events He brings to pass. Man, in his wickedness, may forfeit promised blessings, but it is man upon whom the responsibility must rest. As the Master revealed:
Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?
I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. Btu wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath and not from above. (D&C 58:31-33)
His is the pledge that “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say: but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10. See also D&C 132:5; 130:20-21; 82:3).
Thus a pattern is established. A prophecy may be given which foretells future events. It may reach far into the future and deal with events completely foreign to the era in which it was spoken, yet it will describe or imply a condition and foresee the results of that condition. However, if when the time of fulfillment draws near, those involved alter the condition through wickedness, repentance, or other pertinent action, God may exercise His power and change the outcome. If the outcome is to be different from that foretold by His prophets, He will reveal new prophecy to his servants which will set forth the altered course of events. (Duane S. Crowther, Thus Saith the Lord: The Role of Prophets and Revelation in the Kingdom of God [Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers & Distributors, 1980], 174-76, 177-78, 179-80. Italics in original)
