David Patten to serve a mission?

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Contents

Criticism

Critics claim that Joseph Smith prophesied that David Patten would go on a mission (D&C 114:1), yet six months later Patten was dead. They insist that this is an example of a failed prophecy that makes Joseph Smith a false prophet.[1]

Source(s) of the criticism

  • Institute for Religious Research

Response

D & C 114 was not a prophecy, it was a mission call. Joseph Smith, under the inspiration of the Lord, issued a call for David Patten to go on a mission the following spring. This call by revelation is not a prophecy that David would serve a mission, but an admonition to set all his affairs in order so that he may perform a mission. Although Patten was killed, his affairs were in order when he died so that his family could endure his absence. This alone indicates the Lord's foreknowledge of Patten's death. And who knows but that Patten served that mission call on the other side of the veil?

In any event, Patten's death would not change the instructional nature of that call. Joseph Smith declared that: To the "great Jehovah . . . the past, present, and future were and are, with Him, one eternal 'now'."[2] The Savior does know all that will happen to us individually, but he still gives agency to us and to others who impact on our lives, which usage often precludes what would have happened if the Lord's will were done on earth as it is in heaven.

There are several Biblical parallels to David Patten's mission call, such as the calling of Judas as an Apostle. As one of the Twelve Apostles, Judas was promised by the Lord that he would sit on twelve thrones with the others and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). Judas, of his own choice (unlike David Patten) never fulfilled this promise of the Lord. This doesn't make the Lord a false prophet in the case of Judas. Nor were the Lord and His prophet, Joseph Smith, mistaken in the case of David Patten.

The Lord knocks at the door and gives the promise or opportunity. Whether we open the door and respond in a way to reap the potential blessing is up to us, and in many cases, up to the righteousness of others. In David Pallen's case, extenuating circumstances prevented him from serving an earthly mission: a mob killed him. To understand the case of David Patten, one might study D&C 124:49, which states if "their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings."

Conclusion

Critics employ a misreading of the call to Patten and a double standard regarding prophecy to condemn Joseph Smith.

Endnotes

  1. [back]  The original form of this article is from Stephen R. Gibson, "Did Joseph Smith Prophesy Falsely Regarding David Patten?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 2005) ISBN 0882907840. off-site. Because of the nature of wiki projects, over time it may have been altered substantially from the original.
  2. [back] Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 4:597. GospeLink

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Prophecy wiki articles

FAIR web site

Prophecy FAIR articles
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Prophets FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Failed prophecies? FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Miraculous events in early Church history FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Nature of Prophets and Prophecy FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Prophetic calling of Joseph Smith FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Prophetic infallibility FAIR link
  • John A. Tvedtnes, "The Nature of Prophets and Prophecy." FAIR link

External links

Prophecy on-line articles
  • "Approaching Mormon Doctrine", news release from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 May 2007. off-site
  • Alma Allred, "Coin of the Realm: Beware of Specious Specie (Review of: "Scripture," In The Counterfeit Gospel of Momonism)," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 137–174. off-site PDF link
  • Shirley D. Christensen, "The Clarion Call of Prophets," Ensign (November 2003): 32. off-site
  • Jeffrey R. Holland, "Prophets in the Land Again," Ensign (November 2006): 104–107. off-site
  • Malin L. Jacobs, "The Alleged Fifty-Six-Year Second-Coming Prophecy of Joseph Smith: An Analysis," (City Unknown: SHIELDS, 13-Jul-97) off-site
  • Bruce R. McConkie, "Are the General Authorities Human?", address at the LDS Institute of Religion at the University of Utah, 28 October 1966. PDF link
  • Robert L. Millet, "What Is Our Doctrine?" The Religious Educator 4/3 (2003): 15–33. PDF link
  • Boyd K. Packer, "On Zion's Hill," Ensign (November 2005): 23. off-site
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "Review of Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism by Ed Decker," FARMS Review of Books 7/2 (1995): 38–105. off-site PDF link
  • W. John Walsh, Joseph Fielding McConkie, and Jeff Lindsay, "Are Prophets Infallible?" off-site

Printed material

Prophecy printed materials
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