HANK HANEGRAAF:
Now you do document conclusively in the book that Joseph Smith was a false prophet.
RICHARD ABANES:
Oh absolutely and that’s only one of the many things I have, in fact at the back I have a table that charts out all, not all but many, of the prophecies that Joseph Smith made, of the dates he made them and when they were supposed to come to pass and when they did not come to pass and even further than that I document his own beliefs very early on in Mormonism. For example he believed the world was going to end. Today we have all these end-time doomsday groups, David Koresh Branch Davidians, Aum Shinri Kyo, all of these groups and a lot of people don’t know that early Mormons was a doomsday sect. Joseph Smith and his contemporaries believed the world was going to end within their lifetimes and he preached that. A lot and people don’t know that.
The Truth about Joseph’s Prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ:
- Stephen R. Gibson, “Did Joseph Smith Falsely Prophesy Of Christ’s Return?,” One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) Didn’t Joseph Smith prophesy that Christ would return in 1890?
- Second Coming in 1890 (56 years)—Is it true that Joseph Smith prophesied Jesus Christ’s return in 1890? (Link)
- Alleged false prophecies—Critics claim that Joseph Smith was not a true prophet, and that he made “false prophecies.” (Link)
NOTE: Since Mr. Abanes chose not to be vague as to his claim, we really aren’t sure what statement of Joseph’s he is talking about. Sure, Joseph “believed the world was going to end.” But as to any specific prophecy of a particular time of that occurrence, I’m not aware. Perhaps he is referring to Joseph’s supposed prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ. I’m left to assume this is what he is referring to.
