"Would God that all the Lord's people were Prophets": Part 15

When Life Gives You Lemons

​I hope this Series is edifying for everyone out there, and that you're having as much fun as I am writing about the Top Ten Ways to Spot a False Prophet.

Here is what we've seen so far:

   No. 10: Wells Without Water

   No. 9:  Foxes in the Desert

   No. 8:  Earners of the Wages of Righteouness

​And now, drum roll, please:

No. 7:  The Folly of the Prophets

We return to Jeremiah's Masterclass on false prophets, in which Jehovah rebukes Israel's prophets:

   And I have seen folly in the prophets
   of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal,
   and caused my people Israel to err.

(Jeremiah 23:13)

What does "folly" mean?

The dictionary defines folly as "a lack of good sense, foolishness, or lacking foresight."

I think it's interesting that in Proberbs we're told:

   The folly of fools
   is deceit.

(Proverbs 14:8)

This means that false teachers and false prophets commit "folly" when they themselves become deceived, or when they deceive others (or, usually. both).

Now Let's Make this Personal 

Members of the Church, as we've seen, are gentiles (D&C 109:60).

As we try to understand folly in terms of prophets, the following verse seems particularly relevant to Latter-day Saints:

   And it shall come to pass
   that there shall be a great work
   in the land, even among the Gentiles,
   for their folly and their abominations
   shall be made manifest
   in the eyes of all people.

(D&C 35:7)

What if we applied these words to the Church, meaning the Ephraimite Gentiles?  Instead of thinking this refers to the wicked or non-members, let's re-read the verse and pretend it is speaking about us:
​
   And it shall come to pass
   that there shall be a great work
   in the land, even among the Gentiles,
   for their folly and their abominations
   shall be made manifest
   in the eyes of all people.

(D&C 35:7)

What greater "folly" could there be than for the leaders of the Lord's people to teach them to practice "abominations" in His name?

​Isn't this the story of the Bible?

What could be a greater mockery to God than that?

The Abomination of Desolation

The Lord prophesied something in 1837 that scares me. 

As you read the following prophecy, notice each verse concludes with "saith the Lord":

   A day of desolation, of weeping,
   of mourning, and of lamentation;
   as a whirlwind it shall come
   upon all the face of the earth,
   saith the Lord.

   And upon my house shall it begin,
   and from my house shall it go forth,
   saith the Lord;

   First among those among you,
   saith the Lord,
   who have professed 
   to know my name
   and have not known me,
   and have blasphemed against me
   in the midst of my house,
   saith the Lord.

(D&C 112:24-26)

I guess people could blaspheme in General Conference, "in the midst of my house," but let's pretend the Lord means the temple when he says "my house."  

Could this mean we "blaspheme" the name of the Lord when we use the temple in vain, pretending to act with His authority when in fact we "have not known me?"

Yikes.  Folly is frightening.

And did you notice how the Lord compares his judgment to a "whirlwind?"  That's a particularly graphic way to describe the desolation that shall sweep through us "as a whirlwind."

Can you outrun a tornado?

How fast does your truck need to be to outdistance a hurricane?

The Lord asks rhetorically:

   For behold, and lo,
   vengeance cometh speedily
   upon the ungodly
   as the whirlwind;
   and who shall escape it?

(D&C 97:22)

Who?  Who is going to escape?  Am I?  Will the Church?

The Lord prophesied the fate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1833:

   The ax is laid at the root of the trees;
   and every tree that bringeth not forth
   good fruit shall be hewn down
   and cast into the fire.
   I, the Lord, have spoken it.

(D&C 97:7)

Well, in case we missed it, that language is identical to what John the Baptist prohesied regarding the overthrow of the Jews:

   And now also the axe is laid
   unto the root of the trees:
   every tree therefore
   which bringeth not forth good fruit
   is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

(Luke 3:9)

Umm.  What does this mean? Does it mean our fate will be similar to that of the Jews who failed to repent and follow Christ, who were content to live the law and be good disciples of Moses? 

Worried yet?  Don't be.  We can repent.  And guess who shall escape?

   Zion.

Here is the Lord's promise to her:

   Zion shall escape
   if she observe to do all things
   whatsoever I have commanded her.

(D&C 97:25)

So we needn't focus on the folly of the prophets.  Instead, we can concentrate on becoming pure in heart, for such is Zion.

Using Logic

Let's conduct a little logic expirement. 

We are frequently told the prophet cannot lead us astray (although here Jeremiah tells us that prophets can cause us "to err," but don't worry about that).

So if we frame this proposition logically:

   If a peson is a prophet,
   then they cannot lead us astray. 

Simple enough.  Now, we can make certain logical inferences from (if a, then b) statements.

Unfortunately, we can easily make logical fallacies, too.  One of the most common fallacies is to infer that (if a, then b) means (if b, then a).

For example, if I say that all Boy Scouts have large appetites, is it also true that anyone with a large appetite is Boy Scout?

   No.

Now we get to the important part: there is a logical inference we can ALWAYS make, which is ALWAYS true:

   (if a, then b)
       =
   (if not b, then not a)  

 Correct.

Now let's run our doctrine through to its logical conclusion:

   If a person is a prophet,
   then they cannot lead us astray
        =
   If we are led astray, 
   then they are not a prophet.

This exercise was theoretical because we all know the scriptures do not teach anything of the sort.  

Because, of course prophets can cause us to err.