In the minutes she took for the Relief Society meeting in Nauvoo, 31 August 1842, Eliza R. Snow
recorded a discourse delivered by Joseph Smith. During his discourse, Joseph
Smith is recorded as having said the following:
He said he expected the heavenly Father had
decreed that the Missourians shall not get him— if they do, it will be because
he does not keep out of the way. (source)
The
following is interesting as it supports contingent, not exhaustive foreknowledge,
as Joseph Smith believed that God would preserve him unless “he does not keep
out of the way” and also that God “decreeing” something does not mean it will,
no ifs, ands, or buts about it, take place—genuine free-will decisions could
thwart such.
Of course,
this flies in the face of a lot of false theologies, especially Calvinism. On
this, see, for e.g.:
