HOW SHOULD WE TEST JOSEPH SMITH?

If a man claims to speak for God, what tests does God Himself give us?

Then establish the principle:

We are not judging Joseph Smith's heart.
We are testing his prophetic claims.

And Scripture gives us some remarkably specific tests:

Deuteronomy 13:1–5 — Even signs do not validate a message that contradicts what God has already revealed.

Deuteronomy 18:20–22 — A prophet speaking in God's name is accountable for what he predicts.

Isaiah 8:20 — Teaching is measured against God's revelation.

Matthew 7:15–20 — Jesus warns about false prophets and tells disciples to examine their fruit.

Matthew 24:24 — Impressive signs alone cannot establish truth.

1 John 4:1 — “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits.”

And perhaps most strikingly for Joseph Smith's claim involving an angel:

Galatians 1:8 — even “an angel from heaven” must not be accepted if his message gives another gospel.

That gives us a very clean framework:

TEST 1 — THE MESSAGE

Does Joseph Smith's teaching agree with revelation already given?

TEST 2 — THE PROPHECIES

When he spoke prophetically about future events, what exactly did he say—and what happened?

We will have to be extremely careful here. Critics often circulate supposed “false prophecies” without context. We should use Joseph Smith's actual recorded words and distinguish unconditional predictions from warnings or conditional statements.

TEST 3 — THE TRANSLATIONS

Joseph Smith claimed divine ability connected with producing the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham. The LDS Church acknowledges that the Book of Abraham arose from Egyptian papyri Joseph worked with beginning in 1835, while also explaining that “translation” may have involved revelation rather than conventional linguistic translation. The Church of Jesus Christ

That gives us evidence we can examine without ridicule.

TEST 4 — THE REVELATIONS

Did later revelations agree with earlier revelation?

That brings in matters we have already studied:

God

Jesus

premortal existence

priesthood

temples

eternal marriage

three degrees of glory

baptism for the dead

We shouldn't merely say, “That's different from what I believe.”

We ask:

WHERE DID JESUS AND THE APOSTLES TEACH IT?

TEST 5 — HIS LIFE

This is where plural marriage eventually belongs—but carefully.

The LDS Church itself now states that Joseph Smith introduced plural marriage and had been sealed to more than 30 women by his death in 1844. Official material also acknowledges that the practice was kept private and that the surviving historical record leaves uncertainties. The Church of Jesus Christ

We can examine that history.

But we should not argue:

Joseph Smith sinned; therefore Joseph Smith could not be a prophet.

That test would eliminate David, Moses, Peter—and everybody else.

The relevant question is much narrower:

DID HE CLAIM GOD COMMANDED SOMETHING THAT CONFLICTED WITH WHAT GOD HAD ALREADY REVEALED?

That's a much stronger and fairer question.

And then I think we end the page with something like:

DON'T BEGIN WITH JOSEPH SMITH

That may sound strange.

But don't begin by asking:

Was Joseph Smith a good man?

Was Joseph Smith a bad man?

Was Joseph Smith sincere?

Was Joseph Smith a fraud?

We cannot see his heart.

Begin somewhere else.

WHAT DID HE CLAIM?

WHAT DID HE TEACH?

WHAT DID HE PREDICT?

WHAT DID HE PRODUCE?

DOES IT AGREE WITH WHAT GOD HAD ALREADY REVEALED?

Then return to Paul's extraordinary warning:

“Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you...”
— Galatians 1:8

Paul didn't say:

First determine whether the angel looks convincing.

The message comes first.

THE MESSAGE TESTS THE MESSENGER.

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