Why does the Mormon Church still teach that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God?
The ‘building project’ in Doctrine and Covenants 84:1-5was postponed in D&C 124: 49-51, many believe that there will one day be a temple there, however. Anyway, one reason is because so many of his prophecies were correct: Section 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants: Prediction of the Civil War: 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls… 3 For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations. 4 And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war. D&C 49:25 Church members will flour
When he gave that revelation, Joseph Smith laid a very clear condition on the building of that temple. He told the members that the temple would be built IF they were faithful. They weren’t. The members in that area were having some major issues with obedience to the commandments they’d already been given, and because church leaders had to deal with that before anything else, the temple was never built. Does this mean that the revelation was false or not fulfilled? Not at all, because the conditions laid out from the start were never met. Just for future reference, it’s always a good idea to do what research one can before throwing out questions like this. Next time, you might want to look up the actual scripture or revelation. You can find a scripture index on mormon.org or lds.org. Just so you know.
Venus…. is right; the members were not yet living the standard they would have to for Zion, with its temple, to be established in Jackson County, Missouri. This led to their enemies’ being able to force them out of the state; the Lord in D&C 101:1-19 makes this clear. In a revelation recorded in D&C 124:49, 51 the Lord states that He released the Saints from the requirement to build the temple at that time because the actions of their enemies made it impossible for them to comply. The temple will wait. The Bible also records similar situations, such as the promises of God to Israel (given through Moses) if they would keep all of His commandments in the promised land. They didn’t, and eventually lost the promised blessings because of their disobedience, being conquered by their enemies. Yet the Lord has renewed His promises unto their later generations, who will yet receive their fulfillment. Joseph Smith was and remains a true prophet of God.
