False Prophecies of Joseph Smith; John the Apostle
John the Apostle Captured by Assyrians
Encyclopedia of JS Teachings, pg. 402; “The Spirit of the Lord fell upon Joseph in an unusual manner, and he prophesied that John the Revelator was then among the Ten Tribes of Israel who had been led away by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion.”
Mark 1:19-20; “And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.”
How could this be? Look at a history book and you’ll see that the Assyrians took over the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 700 BC. The apostle John lived at the time of Jesus.
Not sure how this is of major consequence, I believe that Heavenly Father uses his servants in and through out time. As a believer that the heavens are not shut, this potential in time differential merely tells me that John may have been needed at that time and place. Much like when John the Baptist came back to restore the Aaronic Priesthood or the additional visitations at the mount of transfiguration and other restorative visits from apostles and prophets of old. Also, I could not find your reference that you are quoting from, is it the Teachings of Joseph Smith? I have an updated version of that called the Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Anyway, I am a huge John fan as he has given us many teaching about the future and the nature of our Heavenly Father and his Children and the hope and greatness of the great Plan of Salvation.
HERMITE
What is missing from this so called dilemma is the understanding that Joseph Smith was speaking of his own time.
Joseph Smith said that John was then (meaning in the 1800’s) among the ten tribes of Israel taken by the Assyrians. He does not say that John was captured by the Assyrians as is being asserted, but that he was among the those tribes, or the descendants of the people who were captured.