In a listing of purported false prophecies of Joseph Smith, Dick Baer offered the following from D&C 88:87 as one example:
December 27, 1832. Doctrine & Covenants, Section 88:87.
87. 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.
As of October 10, 1981 more than
54,326 days have come and gone and the moon has not been bathed in blood, the
sun has not refused to give light and the stars have not become exceedingly
angry and cast themselves down. I don't
know of any way that this prophecy can be made to come true in Joseph Smith's
timing (Dick Baer, Letter to Family
& Friends)
As it turns out, this is not an example of a false prophecy;
instead, it is an example of a fulfilled prophecy. As John Tvedtnes
noted:
This prophecy has actually been
fulfilled several times. E.g., when Krakatoa exploded in 1883, the atmosphere
was filled with dust and ash which obscured the sun and turned the moon
blood-red. There was darkness at noon over a 240-mile radius. A similar darkness
covered a 500-mile radius when Tamborain volcano in Sumbawa exploded in 1815.
The same phenomenon happened more recently with the explosion of Mt. St. Helens
in the USA. If the "stars" are meteorites, then they, too, have
fallen in great showers (e.g., the great "falling of the stars" on
November 13, 1833, seen by tens of thousands of people all over what was then
the United States). If, however, they are real stars, then perhaps this cannot
even happen, since this would destroy the universe. If the reference is to real
stars, then we must consider that Christ, who first uttered this prophecy
(Matt. 24:29), is a false prophet along with Joseph Smith. Perhaps we should
also add Joel, whose prophecy in 2:10, 2832; 3:15 was paraphrased by Christ,
and Peter, who cited Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21). Isaiah used similar wording
when he spoke of the coming attack on Babylon by the Medes (see vs. 17) and
Persians (which occurred in 539 BC):
"For the stars of heaven and
the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be
darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to
shine." (Isa. 13:10; see also vs. 13) Note vs. 9, "Behold, the day of
the Lord cometh..." (In Isa. 24:23, he speaks of the moon being confounded
and the sun ashamed when the Lord reigns in Jerusalem.)
Christ said that there were some
living in his day who would not die before the fulfilment of the prophecy in
Joel! Peter said that it was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost! To John (Rev.
6:12-17), the event was yet future. (He based his writing on Isa. 13:9-13; 2:10
and Hos. 10:8; cf. Luke 23:30.) Obviously, the expression "not many
days" cannot be taken as literally as Mr. Baer does (he counts the exact number
of days up to the time of his "letter"). Prophecies are accomplished
in God's time, not man's. (John A. Tvedntes, A Reply to Dick
Baer)
Further Reading:
Resources
on Joseph Smith's Prophecies
