Critics have rummaged through Mormon
writings in search of any apparent weaknesses or mistakes committed by LDS
prophets. They claim their findings prove that Joseph Smith and his successors
must be condemned as false prophets and that the Bible is our only reliable
guide. However, upon examination, their argument is obviously inconsistent.
They have resorted to the use of a double standard to maintain their own faith
while condemning Mormonism. The Bible portrays prophets as human, capable of
virtually any human weakness or mistake. These critics, however, defend the
Biblical prophets in spite of their apparent weaknesses, while they condemn LDS
prophets because of their apparent weaknesses.
The following list reveals the wide
latitude for human weakness allowed prophets in the Bible. “Prophet,” as used
here, refers to one whom God has guided by revelation, or to one who has authored
canonical scripture.
Could a prophet .
. .
1. kill? Jg 14:19 (Samson) Ex 2:11-16 (Moses).
2. lie Gen 12:10-20 (Abraham); Jer
38:24-28 (Jeremiah); 1 Ki 2:8-9 (David); 2 Ki 8:10 (Elisha); and Mt 26:69-75
(Peter).
3. get drunk? Gen 9:21 (Noah).
4. boast? 2 Cor 11:16 (Paul).
5. for a small fee, use his
supernatural powers to tell where to find lost animals? 1 Sam 9:6-8, 20.
6. prophesy of an event which fails to
occur? Jon 3:1-10; Jer 18:5-10.
7. gamble? Jg 14:12-20.
8. be angry at God? Jon 4:1, 19
9. believe something unscientific? Lev
11:7; Deu 14:7 (the hare does not chew the cud).
10. curse children? 2 kg 2:23-25
(Elisha).
11. want vengeance? Ps 137:9; Jer
18:19-23.
12. contradict a former prophet? Mt
19:3-8 compare Deu 24:1-4 (divorce); 2 Sa 24:1 compare to 1 Ch 21:1 (who caused
David to sin?); Ex 34:7 compare Ez 18:20 (are children punished for the sins of
their father?); Ex 23:7 compare Ro 4:5 (does God justify the ungodly?).
13. fail to understand a revelation?
Ac 10:3, 17; 1 Cor 13:9-12.
14. advocate divorce? Ezra 9, 10:3, 11,
19, 44.
15. institute strange sounding
rituals? Ex 29.
16. give counsel not approved by the
Lord? 2 Sa 7:1-5 (Nathan).
17. worship false gods? 1 Ki 11:9-10.
18. accept a position as the chief of magicians,
astrologers, and soothsayers? Dan 5:11.
19. break God’s moral law? Jg 1:1
(Samson visits a prostitute); 2 Sa 11 (David and Bathsheba).
20. give two contradictory prophecies?
1 Ki 22:14-18.
21. lie to another prophet in the name
of the Lord? 1 Ki 13:11-32.
22. accuse God of deception and
betrayal? Jer 20:7.
23. go out in public naked? Is 20:1-6
(Isaiah); 2 Sa 6:20-22 (David); Mic 1:8 (Micah).
24. attribute doubtful characteristics
to God? 2 Sa 6:6-7 (God kills in anger); Ex 7:3 (God hardens Pharaoh’s heart);
1 Sa 24:1, 10 (God punishes David for a sin he “moved” him to commit); 1 Ki
22:9-23 (God causes prophets to lie); Ez 14:9 (God deceives prophets); Am 3:6
(God is the cause of evil in a city); Ez 20:25-26, 31 (God gave laws and
judgments which were not good, including child sacrifice); Hos 9;15-16 (God
hates and curses); Deu 20:10-11, Lev 25:44 (God commands and condones slavery);
1 Sa 16:14, 18:10 (God sends evil spirits to influence men); 2 Th 2:11 (God
will delude men); Ex 32;14, Deu 28:68, Am 7:3, 6, Jonah 3:9-10, Jer 26:13; 2 Sa
24:16 (God changes his mind).
God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. 1 Cor. 1:27 (Van Hale, “Could a Prophet . . . ?,” Scrapbook
of Mormon Polemics 1, no. 1 [October 1985]: 9)