LDS Critics and Biblical Prophets Being Prophets Only When they are Acting As Such

Latter-day Saints believe that, as Joseph Smith said on the 8^th February 1843, “a Prophet was a Prophet only, when he was acting as such” (source). While they may not always allow for this for Latter-day Saints, some anti-Mormon authors will admit pretty much the same for the biblical prophets. As one Evangelical wrote:

God did not forbid people to criticize his anointed ones. For example, in Genesis 20:7 God warned Abimelech the king of Gerar, to restore Sarah to Abraham, “for he is a prophet.” But this did not prevent Abimelech from questioning Abraham’s deception (vv. 9-10). It is one thing to do violence against God’s anointed; it is another thing to criticize them when they err. Even true prophets, when they are not speaking prophetically, can be mistaken (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:3, cf. vv. 4-17). (Robert M. Bowman, Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Biblical Guide to Doctrinal Discernment [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1992], 36-37, emphasis added)