Refuting Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy Credit to Many Prophets One Message Let’s analyse perhaps the most accurate of Joseph Smith’s predictions. In this prophecy, he predicted that Northern and Southern states of America would go to war: “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; And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. 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.” Source: “Doctrine and Covenants, section 87.” —— Mormons believe that the American Civil War of 1861 – 1865, which was fought between the North and South and took place nearly 30 years after Joseph Smith made the prediction, fulfilled this prophecy. The Civil War prophecy became one of the most widely published revelations by Mormons. Not surprisingly, it received greatest attention during the Civil War, as many viewed the conflict as a vindication of the prophetic powers of Joseph Smith. —— Is this a genuine prophecy? It does seem to be accurate from a historical standpoint: the American Civil War was preceded by the rebellion of South Carolina and it was indeed a conflict between the Northern and the Southern states. While the prediction is accurate, it did not require any special insight into the unseen. When one looks to the social and political landscape of the United States at the time that Joseph Smith made this prediction, it becomes clear that it could easily be the result of a perceptive mind, based on existing disputes and tensions which were prevalent. —— The American Civil War historian James McPherson offers a summary of conditions prior to the Civil War that contributed to it and exacerbated tensions. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, there were a number of expected dividing lines as the country grew in the period from 1800 – 1850, such as that of rich versus poor, Catholic versus Protestant and rural versus urban. But the greatest danger was the issue of slavery, because slavery was associated with competing ideals that just happened to also have geographic associations. So serious was the division that McPherson writes that the slavery issue ”would probably have caused an eventual showdown between North and South in any circumstances.” Source: “James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, p. 8.” —— Congressman John Randolph made exactly such a prediction in the House of Representatives in 1807, over 20 years before Joseph Smith: ”If ever the time of disunion between these States should arrive, the line of severance will not be between Eastern and Western, but between slave-holding and non-slave-holding States.” Source: “Aaron Scott Crawford, John Randolph of Roanoke and the Politics of Doom: Slavery, Sectionalism, and Self-Deception, 1773-1821, p. 172.” —— American statesman John Calhoun stated in 1847, more than a decade before the breakout of war: ”The day that the balance between the two sections of the country – the slaveholding States and the non-slaveholding States – is destroyed is a day that will not be far removed from political revolution, anarchy, civil war, and widespread disaster.” Source: “James A. Colaiaco, Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July, p. 62.” We can see that a conflict between the North and South was a very real prospect around the time that Joseph Smith made his prediction. But what about the detail that Joseph Smith provided in his prophecy, such as the rebellion of the state of South Carolina? He seems to have predicted exactly which state would rebel. What are the chances of that? In fact, the selection of South Carolina as the catalyst of the war did not require any special insight. For example in November 1832, just prior to Joseph Smith having made his prediction (According to official Mormon sources, Joseph Smith made his Civil War prediction on December 25, 1832. See “Doctrine and Covenants”, introduction to section 87.) South Carolina had advocated the doctrine of “nullification” arguing that it could nullify federal laws or taxes that they ruled to be unconstitutional. In other words, they openly declared their support for rebelling against any federal regulation that went against their interests. Source: South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification, November 24, 1832, see this website: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/ordnull.asp So the rebellion of South Carolina was a real threat at the time that Joseph Smith made his prediction; the history of the state made it the logical and intuitive choice to include in his prophecy. —— Joseph Smith’s False Prophecy of the US Government Being Overthrown Credit to Many Prophets One Message In 1843, Joseph Smith prophesied that the United States Government would be overthrown within a few years: “I prophecy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left for their wickedness in permitting the murder of men, women and children, and the wholesale plunder and extermination of thousands of her citizens to go unpunished.” Source: “History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 394.” To give some background to this prophecy, Joseph Smith along with thousands of Mormons had settled in the state of Missouri in 1838. Political and religious differences between old Missourians and newly-arriving Mormon settlers provoked tensions between the two groups. Seventeen Mormons were killed, while others surrendered to state troops and agreed to forfeit their property and leave Missouri. Source: “Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, pp. 365 – 367.” As a result of such persecution, Joseph Smith prophesied that unless the United States government rectified the injustices then it would suffer divine retribution and come to an end within a timeframe of a few years. In the years that followed, the United States government did not rectify any of the wrongs committed against the Mormons in Missouri. In fact, a United States Governor went on to have Joseph Smith arrested and tried for treason. Source: “Daniel H Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pp. 1346 – 1348.” In 1844, Joseph Smith was murdered by an armed mob in jail while he was awaiting trial. In spite of all this, the United States government still stands, over 170 years later. —— Joseph Smith’s False Prophecy of the “Wicked” in His Generation Being Wiped Out In a failed prophecy, Joseph Smith predicted that the wicked people of his generation, those who he saw as ungodly, would soon be wiped out by disease, famine and natural disaster unless they repented and turned back to God: “And now I am prepared to say by the authority of Jesus Christ, that not many years shall pass away before the United States shall present such a scene of bloodshed as has not a parallel in the history of our nation; pestilence, hail, famine, and earthquake will sweep the wicked of this generation from off the face of the land, to open and prepare the way for the return of the lost tribes of Israel from the north country… Repent ye, repent ye, and embrace the everlasting covenant and flee to Zion, before the overflowing scourge overtake you, for there are those now living upon the earth whose eyes shall not be closed in death until they see all these things, which I have spoken, fulfilled.” Source: “History of the Church, Vol. 1, pp. 315 – 316.” No such mass repentance ever took place, as even at the time of his death his followers were not even 1% of the population of the United States, and yet a widespread destruction of the wicked of his generation never occurred; biblical disasters such as disease, famine and earthquakes never transpired. —— Joseph Smith’s False Prophecy of Jesus Returning Within 56 Years In this failed prophecy, Joseph Smith foretold that the second coming of Jesus would take place within 56 years: “President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it; and it was made known to him by vision and by the Holy Spirit… it was the will of God that they should be ordained to the ministry and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the coming of the Lord, which was nigh – even fifty six years should wind up the scene.” Source: “History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 182.” This prophecy was spoken by Joseph Smith in 1835 and is recorded in official Mormon sources. Jesus didn’t come back in 56 years so it’s a false prophecy.