In responding to comments on another post I did quite a bit of research on the question of whether Mormons worship Joseph Smith, so I thought it was worthy of it’s own post.

The question seems to arise due to the amount of praise and attention heaped on Joseph Smith by Mormons. I won’t deny this is the case. We have pictures of Joseph Smith in our churches, we have lessons about him in our classes, we study his life, and we do honestly revere him. But we don’t worship him. Some quotes from LDS leaders past and present should be enough to clarify our position:

President Gordon B. Hinckley said “We do not worship [Joseph Smith] the Prophet. We worship God our Eternal Father and the risen Lord Jesus Christ. But we acknowledge the Prophet; we proclaim him; we respect him; we reverence him as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty in restoring to the earth the ancient truths of the divine gospel, together with the priesthood through which the authority of God is exercised in the affairs of His Church and for the blessing of His people” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Joseph Smith Jr.—Prophet of God, Mighty Servant,” Ensign, Dec 2005, 2–6). See Do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?.

From Apostle Henry B. Eyring “The Prophet Joseph is an example and a teacher of enduring well in faith. I do not worship him, but I thank and love him as the Lord’s prophet of the Restoration. He has helped me pray with the intent to obey. I am better able to feast in the word and the love of God. Because of him I feel the Holy Ghost more often in the moments when I try to build the faith of a person in the Lord’s kingdom. And because of what I know of the Prophet Joseph and the scriptures which were revealed through him, I more often feel the love of God for His children and of His for me when I reach down to lift someone up.” – Henry B. Eyring, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, An Enduring Testimony of the Mission of the Prophet Joseph,” Ensign, Nov. 2003, 92.

Elder Penrose said “I bear testimony to you that I know this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ; that it has been built up by the power of God; that God Almighty has revealed it; that Jesus Christ, His Son, has manifested Himself, and that this Church is His Church, because He has built it up, and He guides and directs and controls it, through His servants who stand at the head of the Church. They are but men. We do not worship any man. We do not worship Joseph Smith, as some people imagine; but we look upon him as a very great Prophet, and we have reasons for this.” – Elder Charles W. Penrose, The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 54, p. 462

Mormons view Joseph Smith the way the children of Israel who were led out of Egypt saw Moses, or how the saints around 60 AD might have seen Peter or Paul. Brigham Young, in a letter to Mary Ann Young (16 Oct 1840, LDS Church Archives), spoke of Joseph Smith as “our Moses that the Lord has given us”.

Though less authoritative, below are links to articles and other informational resources that should make clear how Mormons regard Joseph Smith, and that while we reverence him as a prophet, we do not worship him, nor consider him to be equal to God or Jesus Christ:

Is Joseph Smith Greater than Jesus Christ?
Joseph Smith/Status in LDS belief
Parallel Prophets: Paul and Joseph Smith

Aside from this, a quick Google search for “do Mormons worship Joseph Smith?” will pull up countless responses from LDS faithful stating that they see Joseph Smith as a modern-day Moses, Peter, or Paul, and not a being to worship. If the LDS Church is teaching members to worship Joseph Smith or put him on a pedestal, it seems the message has not gotten through.

It therefore seem fair enough for any Christian to question whether Mormons worship Jesus Christ or Joseph Smith. After all, didn’t Christ say “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”?

But with only slightly closer examination it becomes clear that there is no contradiction between the Bible and Brigham Young’s statement. In fact, they support one another.

As Stephen R. Gibson has pointed out, in every period of time throughout history when there have been prophets or apostles of God upon the earth, rejecting the words of those prophets and apostles has been the same as rejecting God or Christ. As Christ himself stated “He that receiveth you receiveth me” (Matt. 10:40), which means the converse “He that receiveth [not] you receiveth [not] me” is just as true.

If one lived in the time of Moses and rejected the message Moses delivered, he would also be rejecting God. Moses is the passport to heaven for the people who lived in that time, as well as for us, at least in a sense, since we also have his words and are responsible for our obedience or lack thereof to them. Likewise if one rejects Joseph Smith’s teachings, he is rejecting Christ, since Joseph Smith is merely communicating Christ’s teachings to the world.

If that doesn’t do it for you, consider this analogy. Imagine a city surrounded by a wall, with only a single gate granting entrance into the city. We could say that no one comes into that city except by that gate, right? Then let’s suppose a guard is placed by the gate, and no one can enter the gate without first obtaining permission from the guard. Does this invalidate the statement that no one enters the city except through that gate? Of course not, the gate is still the only way into the city, and having a guard at the gate doesn’t change this. The gate is Christ, the guard is Joseph Smith, Moses, Peter, or whichever prophet or apostle is Christ’s authorized representative, depending on time and place.

Mark 13:22 – For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:24 – For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Matthew 24:11 – And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

1 John 4:1 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Corinthians 11:13 – For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

Revelation 16:13 – And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

The logic for many seems to be “Joseph Smith called himself a prophet, the Bible mentions false prophets, therefore Joseph Smith is a false prophet because he is called a ‘prophet’.”

Of course this is a rather weak argument and undermines itself. The very fact that the Bible warns against false prophets leads us to believe there will be true prophets and false prophets, and it tells us how to identify the false vs. the true. If there were to be no true prophets, it would simply have been easier for the writers of the books of the Bible to have declared in simple terms “If anyone claims to be a prophet, don’t believe them, because after the Bible there will be no more prophets.”

The next step in this argument is to bring in the “by their fruits ye shall know them” verses, as follows:

Matthew 7:15-23

15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Many times this scripture is quoted as though it provided all the proof necessary to convict Joseph Smith of being a false prophet, as though it is obvious and no explanation is necessary. But it’s only natural to follow this to the question “What exactly are the evil fruits of Joseph Smith that prove he was a false prophet rather than a true one?”

And that’s where I leave the question to you. What do you think?

But hey, give it your best shot. If you don’t believe Joseph Smith was a prophet who translated the Book of Mormon from ancient plates with God’s help, where do you think the book came from?

There you can read Accurate Prophecies of the Civil War, The Saints to Flourish in the Rocky Mountains, and one my favorites, The Stephen A. Douglas Prophecy.

A: Which prophecies of Joseph Smith are you referring to as false? I can argue specifics but not general statements.

Q: Joseph Smith said “that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (History of the Church, Vol. 4, page 461).

Regarding false prophecies of Joseph Smith

http://www.carm.org/lds/js_false_prophecies.htm

A: When Joseph Smith said “the most correct” he wasn’t making a statement about grammar and punctuation, he was saying it contained more of the pure truth about the gospel of Christ than any other book.

Here are a few responses to the page of failed prophecies, although I don’t have time to address all of them, I haven’t even had lunch yet.

Response to 56-year prophecy – http://www.shields-research.org/General/LDS_Leaders/1stPres/Joseph_Smith/56_Year.htm

Temple built in Missouri in Smith’s generation – it actually says “an house” and doesn’t necessarily refer to a temple in Missouri. A temple was built in Smith’s generation, namely in Nauvoo.

“All Nations would be involved in the American Civil War” – This is a misunderstanding of the statement “And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place”. This isn’t saying that all nations would be involved in the Civil War, but that the Civil War would mark the beginning of other wars worldwide.

Prophesy that the earth will tremble and the sun be hidden in “not many days” – “not many days” means different things to man and God, and it would appear from the scriptures that when God says “not many days” that can easily mean 300 years and when he says “the time is nigh, even at the door” it can mean another 100 years.

“Prophecy that Isaiah 11 was about to be fulfilled” – Same argument here. We’re arguing about what God meant by “soon”.