Ezra Benson’s False Interpretation of Testing Prophets

18 October

Deuteronomy 13:1-5; “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”

General Conference, ‘Joseph Smith: Prophet to Our Generation,’ October 1981ezra-taft-benson1; “Joseph Smith obtained this ancient record from a heavenly messenger, just as John prophesied. … Also, in harmony with the testimony of John, the book contains “the everlasting gospel.” It is now preached by our missionaries to the world. …A revealing characteristic of a true prophet is that he declares a message from God. …

The ultimate test of a true prophet is that when he speaks in the name of the Lord his words come to pass. That standard was explained by the Lord to Moses in these words:

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously.” (Deut. 18:22.)

Many prophecies of Joseph Smith are recorded to which this test might be applied…

Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, one of the greatest prophets that has ever lived on the earth. He was the instrument in God’s hand in ushering in the present gospel dispensation, the greatest of all, and the last of all in preparation for the second coming of the Master.” – Ezra Taft Benson

Deuteronomy 18:20-22; “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

Wow, if there was ever a misinterpretation of scripture, this is it! Beware my friends, beware!

In order to get truth we need to go to its source, and that’s the word of God. We read in Acts 17:10-12 of when Paul was sent to Berea with Silas to preach the gospel and they received the teachings by first listening, and then study. The Bereans’ reaction to the gospel is a timeless example of the standards we must hold to when hearing anyone preach, even today.

They listened, took notes, and compared the teachings with what God’s word said before making a full determination. This is what’s desperately needed when reading over the words of Ezra Taft Benson. Oh, if only the Mormon people would’ve done the same thing the Bereans did in their day!

Mr. Benson made a huge mistake by stating the following –

‘The ultimate test of a true prophet is that when he speaks in the name of the Lord his words come to pass. That standard was explained by the Lord to Moses…’

First of all, this isn’t what Moses said. The test to determine if someone is a true prophet isn’t if the guy, or gal, delivers a prophecy that comes true. Anyone can do this. The test is when it doesn’t come to pass. When the prophecy proves to be false, then you know it’s not from God.

A prophet can deliver countless true prophecies, and still be a false prophet. When his prediction/prophecy contradicts the word of God, it’s a sign of a false prophet.

The other main problem in this discourse was the comment the ‘ancient record’ contained the ‘everlasting gospel’. This phrase is from Revelation 14:6 and refers to an angel flying in the heavens who will deliver the gospel.

Revelation 14:6; “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”

Mormons erroneously believe and teach this is either Moroni, or sometimes it’s even Joseph Smith, depending on which Mormon prophet or teacher you’re reading. Additionally, they’re teaching that it already happened! No, no, no, no, no!!!! This is SO wrong!

Remember, some things in Revelation can be applied as life examples for us today, and some things in Revelation have indeed taken place. However, many of the events in Revelation are future events God showed to the apostle John.

When/if a Mormon tries to tell you this angel was Moroni, share this truth with them and ask how it could be Moroni if it didn’t happen yet!!

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