Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, is viewed by the movement's adherents as a prophet in the tradition of the ancient prophets recorded in the Bible. During his life, Smith made several prophecies, many documented in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of scripture in several of the movement's denominations.
Non-LDS sources note Smith's prophecies failed to come true. In 1841, after Smith famously gave a public prophecy that Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs would be violently killed within a year, Boggs was shot in an assassination attempt on May 6, 1842, but later recovered. Lilburn Boggs died on March 14, 1860 of natural causes.
Members of the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, regard Smith as a prophet who correctly predicted the rise of their church. They argue that Joseph Smith predicted he would find "three witnesses to the word of God", and later found three men who would corroborate his story of the plates. After his loss in the 1838 Mormon War, Smith correctly predicted that he and his fellow prisoners would not be killed; the group were allowed to escape custody and flee to Illinois. Smith prophesied that Mormon enforcer Porter Rockwell would never be harmed by bullet or blade; though he violently killed others and was repeatedly charged with murder, Rockwell died in jail of natural causes.
For most of Latter Day Saint history, Smith's most famously cited prediction by adherents was an 1832 prophecy on war. Recorded on December 25, 1832, it was first published as part of the Pearl of Great Price in 1851 and formally canonized in 1876 as scripture in the Doctrine in Covenants. The prophecy stated that war would occur between the Northern states and the Southern states, beginning at South Carolina, spreading to involve Great Britain and other nations, and eventually protracting into a world war that would result in the end of all nations; in addition, it predicted slave and indigenous uprisings. At the time, South Carolina and the federal government of the United States were at odds amid the nullification crisis, but it was peacefully resolved in March 1833. A manuscript version of the revelation recorded by Oliver Cowdery in 1835 reads that the conflict will instead arise "out of rebellions like unto the one of South Carolina." In 1843, Smith restated his position that "in the Name of the Lord God... bloodshed preparatory to the coming of the son of man will commence in South Carolina." Adherents argue that the prophecy was fulfilled through the American Civil War and the attack on Fort Sumpter, however critics argue that conditions for fulfillment, such as British intervention in the Civil War, have largely not been met.
Non-LDS sources note many of Smith's predictions failed to come true. Smith predicted that his firstborn son would one day translate the Golden Plates; the son died in infancy. During the Winter of 1829, Smith predicted that a buyer for the Book of Mormon copyright would be found in Canada, though the trip to Canada ultimately failed to result in a buyer. Smith later reported that some revelations are "of the devil".
In 1841, Smith publicly prophesied Missouri Governor Boggs would be assassinated within the year. This event occurred within the context of heated conflict between Mormons and Missourians. Boggs was shot by an unknown assailant on the evening of May 6, 1842. He was seriously injured but survived and lived until 1860, contradicting Smith's prediction. Porter Rockwell, an associate and bodyguard of Smith, was arrested on suspicion of the crime but ultimately released as a grand jury found no evidence of his involvement. Smith confidants John C. Bennett, Joseph Jackson, and William Law later reported that Smith had ordered Boggs be murdered.
Smith taught followers that they were living in the "latter days". Smith renamed the organization the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" in 1838. In 1843, Smith reported a revelation telling him "Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man". Smith opined "I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time".
Smith also prophesied the overthrowing of the government in consequence of permitting crimes committed in Missouri. see here
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