NOM

For Come Follow Me, Lesson 24, Jun 15-21, 2020, Alma 13-16

If I wanted to encourage thought and try to understand devout believers better, I might ask:
“Why are Book of Mormon prophecies so … prophetic?”

See the Things to consider for this lesson.

And, here’s a list of some other observations about this lesson’s reading.

Enjoy!
A-Bom

You're not seeing what's right in front of your face. President Nelson totally predicted the Covid-19 pandemic. After all, he renamed Family Home Evening to Home Study. Spine tingles, man.

Excellent points one and all. It is so astounding, like Hercule Poirot, Adrian Monk, and Sherlock Holmes solving all their cases!

Another interesting thing to talk about in this regard is how the prophesies of the BoM are so precise and accurate in their predictions leading right up to the time of Joseph Smith, after which they become rare and fuzzy. There are only two future predictions that I can think of. One is that God will raise up a great prophet named Joseph, the son of Joseph, to translate the book, which was fulfilled merely by Joseph saying it. The other is that the remnants of the remnants of the BoM people will rise up and tear the gentiles to pieces "and none can deliver."

The first is easily explained as the author writing himself into the narrative. The second never happened, although it is echoed in D&C 87 where it is prophesied that the "remnants" will rise up with the slaves and start a war that will spill over into all nations.

I have noticed a lot of statements from apologists and leaders reminding members that prophecy is not the same thing as prediction (forthtelling vs. foretelling). It makes you wonder why Book of Mormon prophets could predict details about the future so precisely (far more so than Bible prophets) but modern prophets are always deer in the headlights.

I would be tempted to say the LDS leaders are prophets in name only.