(Number 4 in a series)

Me: As you are an authority on Mormonism, I am certain you are familiar with the Bible passages that are prophecies of Mormonism and the Book of Mormon?

Mormon: Why, yes, I am. I have memorized all of them, since they are powerful confirmations of the Restored Gospel. The "two sticks" prophecy at Ezekiel 37:16; the "fruitful bough by a well" prophecy at Genesis 49:22; the "other sheep" prophecy at John 10:16; the "familiar spirit out of the ground" prophecy at Isaiah 29:4; the prophecy about Professor Anthon and the "sealed book" at Isaiah 29:14... I know them all.

Me: ALL of them?

Mormon: Yes, I know them all and can recite them from memory.

Me: I'll bet you that you have not memorized at least two more Bible prophecies of Mormonism that you have not mentioned.

Mormon: That's not likely. I am not a betting man, but I don't think you can give me a Bible prophecy about Mormonism that I don't know about.

Me: Then you can give me the Bible citation for the prophecy about the incident when Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered in 1832, and the prophecy about the Saints relocating to Utah?

Mormon: Er... I wasn't aware of any such prophecies in the Bible.

Me: But you have maintained that the Bible does prophesy about later events in Mormonism?

Mormon: Of course. We only need the Holy Spirit to see that they are actual prophecies of the events of the Restoration. Where are those two prophecies?

Me: When Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered, one of the mob tried to force a vial of poison into his mouth, and in doing so broke a tooth off, leaving him with a life-long lisp. That was prophesied at Psalm 3:7.

Mormon (opens his quad and reads): "...O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly."

Me: The mob was led by men who suspected Smith of making improper advancements to their sister. It seems that this prophecy is labeling Smith as an enemy of God, ungodly.

Mormon: But...

Me: And the Saints being forced to move to Utah was prophesied at Jeremiah 17:5-6.

Mormon (reads): "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited."

Me: That certainly is an accurate description of Utah in the 1840s: "...a salt land and not inhabited." That is where Jeremiah said those would end up that "trusteth in man, ... and whose heart departeth from the Lord." It sounds like Brigham Young.

Mormon: But...

Me: If you have the proper Spirit, you will see that these prophecies are as spot-on as the ones you have memorized.

-----------------
Previous posts in this series:
#1: Baptism wording: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1013735
#2: "sun" vs. "son": http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1089659
#3: Name of church 1834-1838: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1102694

that is so funny, Richard! Way to go!

Brilliant!!

Now,what about the wolves in sheep's clothing verse??


'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits...On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name... and do many mighty works in Your Name?'

Brilliant!
I delight in these!
They're doctrinal points disguised as harmless fun.

Thanks for putting the other three on one page for reference!

These are great......but will they listen? Thanks for this series. It is appreciated even if they don't listen.

These are excellent examples of how the scriptures can be infinitely interpreted to extricate any desired meaning. This is, of course, behind people saying that they will always find something new from the scriptures, something that fits in their current life situation. The above bible quotes could totally be intended references as told in the story above, but they may also be random quotes that have sufficient similarity so that our pattern-seeking machinery (the brain) finds an "obvious" connection. This is why I find scripture study very frustrating; yes, there are interesting points and quotes (say, by Jesus in the Bible), but lots of it is a form of an analogy. Just tell me how it is, how the universe works, and while I'm sure it's too much for my mortal brain to grasp, I'll take a stab at understanding it rather than trying to decipher the meaning behind some ancient analogy that was written down from decades to hundreds of years after the events had taken place, and during that time passed on orally.