If a single
prophecy is not clearly fulfilled, critics insist, the person making the
prophecy (along with all other contributions by him) must be false. Many of these critics fail to realize,
however, that such a criteria should invalidate most of the Bible prophets as well.
Jeremiah was so upset about his
prophecies not coming true that he (in so many words) called God a liar (Jeremiah
15:18). The prediction by Jeremiah that King Zedekiah would die in peace (Jeremiah
34:4-6) was followed by Zedekiah’s eyes being put out, his children
slaughtered, and he died in prison. In Judges 13:5, of the Bible, an angel
promised Samson’s mother that Samson would “begin to deliver Israel out of the
hand of the Philistines.” Samson consorted with Philistine women, married one,
did not lead an army of Israelites against the Philistines, and finally was
humiliated by the Philistines into Hebrew territory.
Those who believe in these prophecies,
and in the prophecies of Joseph Smith, tend to look for less obvious reasons
certain prophecies have no fulfillment.
In the case of Samson, perhaps the angel’s prophecy went unfulfilled simply because Samson failed to live righteously or according to his calling.
. . .
Similarly, in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 7:5-17, Nathan prophesied to David through his son, Solomon, that the Davidic empire would be established “forever,” that the children of Israel would dwell in the promised land “and move no more,” and that the “children of wickedness” would no longer afflict them. There seem to be no contingencies to these prophecies. Yet what actually happened is that the Davidic dynasty was destroyed. The Israelites were driven and scattered and did leave the promised land. Certainly, they continued to be afflicted and oppressed by their enemies. Thus, it might be suggested, the Bible is not inspired, or Nathan was a false prophet. (Pat Ament, Joseph Smith’s Prophetic Gifts—His Prophecies Fulfilled, ed. Brian Stutzman [2d ed.; 2023], 168-69, 173)
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