Biblical Keys for Discerning True and False Prophets/Authors note

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Author's Note

The current version of this paper is based on personal scripture study I did between 1974 and 1981, during and after my LDS mission. As the long lists of scriptures grew, so did my realization that few people would want to wade through pages and pages of scripture references. For several decades, I let it slide, and over many moves, I lost much of my original typewritten work. Many of my later interests and published essays grew from insights I found from pondering these passages. However, I kept running across people who showed some interest, and a few people who did not, but should have done so. Plus, in my work as a technical writer, I became increasingly familiar with hypertext, I realized that this format could solve some of the problems in presenting this kind of material. If time permits, I may update and improve this material. Any Bible study can be improved. And the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants include additional tests for prophets. (For example, Alma 30-33.) Among my other essays which further explore some of the implications of this study, I include a link to a detailed study I did called “Paradigms Crossed” which explores in more detail there ways and means by which different people viewing the same subject can come to such different conclusions. And I include links to a three part study on “A Model of Mormon Spiritual Experience.” Part 1: Myriad Answers to Prayer Part 2: Encountering Order and Creativity in the Physical World Part 3: Personal Dialogue with Deity For those interested in scholarly issues surrounding Joseph Smith: FAIR—an important site maintained by LDS volunteers at www.fairlds.org Neal Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, formerly the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, at www.farms.byu.edu Jeff Lindsay’s Website site includes valuable Frequency Asked Questions at www.jefflindsay.com