D&C Use of “Generation”
(c) Copyright Christian R. Jurado and Mormon Fortress, 2000. All rights reserved
One of the favorites among LDS critics is a prophecy given in Doctrine & Covenants 84:1-5 in which the Lord speaks of a city and a Temple being built in Western Missouri. This prophecy was given on September 22 and 23, 1832. The verses are attacked from two fronts, focusing primarily on verses 3, 4 and 5.
Verse 3 reads:
Which city [New Jerusalem] shall be built, beginning at the temple lot,
which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of
the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith Jun., and
others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
The critics of this verse point to the idea that the Temple to be built was to be dedicated by Joseph Smith himself. Since the Temple was never built, and Joseph Smith is dead, then it must be a false prophecy because it has no chance of coming true.
This method of attack is based upon the reader being unfamiliar with the history, and the text of the verse. Notice the text doesn't state that the Temple itself was necessarily to be dedicated by Joseph Smith. It was the Temple LOT which was dedicated by Joseph Smith. Did he do so? Yes! The verse is not actually a prophecy at all, but a comment on history. Joseph Smith dedicated the Temple lot on August 3rd, 1832 in Independence, MO over a year BEFORE this Scripture was received from the Lord. The prophecy in this verse was that the city SHALL be built, beginning at the Temple lot which was already in place and had been already dedicated by Joseph Smith Jr.
The critics still have one more issue, the text of verses 4 and 5....
Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall
be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the
place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation. for
verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built
unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the
glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.
The critics state here that since the temple was to be reared in that generation, and that was over one hundred sixty years ago, the prophecy must have been false and therefore marks Joseph Smith as a false prophet.
I have heard several explanations for this, one being that the temple being refered to here is the Temple in Kirtland, OH. It was in Kirtland that Joseph Smith received this prophecy and therefore is what the Lord meant by “this place”. Another explanation I have heard was that the term “generation” is meant to mean “Dispensation” and since the current dispensation is still in place, the prophecy still has plenty of time to be fulfilled.
I disagree with both of these explanations. In studying this area of scripture I consulted other scriptural references that were similar in language. Jesus Christ once prophecied of His return at the Second Coming, at the conclusion of which He states in Matthew 24:34:
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not come to pass, till all
these things be fulfilled.
The generation on the earth at the time of this prophecy has been dead now for nineteen centuries. By the logic of the critics, if Joseph Smith is a false prophet, then so is Jesus Christ. We know however that Jesus Christ cannot lie or be wrong, and those of us with a testimony of the truth of Joseph Smith’s role as a prophet of the Living God know that Joseph Smith would not give a false prophecy either. So what do they mean when they say “this generation”? For the answer to this we turn to the Joseph Smith translation of Matthew, Chapter 1 verse 34.
Verily, I say unto you, this generation, in which these things shall be shown forth, shall not pass away until all I have told you shall be fulfilled.
So what Jesus refered to by “generation” was the generation in which
the prophecy would come true... The future generation of earth’s inhabitants
who would be alive when the Second Coming takes place. His message is that all of the things He spoke of would take place quickly, within the span of a single generation. Now if we apply this new understanding to Doctrine & Covenants 84:4,5 we now understand that the prophecy given by Joseph Smith teaches us that the building of the city of New Jesrusalem, and the temple in it, would all take place quickly, in the space of a single
generation.
I testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet of the Living God. In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
Christian R. Jurado
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