Apparently Warren Jeffs is back in the sadle… He is now warning President Obama and other politicians that they must let him go and free his people, OR ELSE!!! (free from government oversight doesn’t carry the same gravitas as free “from slavery)The “else”? Ambiguous references to “great destruction in Illinois” and “great storms” throughout the nation.

Time to don my prophecy hat:

“I, not the Lord’s anointed but just an everyday guy, prophesy in the name of, well, common sense, that no one will do anything about this petition and prophecy. I prophecy this because, as everyone knows but most Mormons (mainstream and others) deny to themselves, there are no modern prophecies and no modern prophets. (It also follows that there never were any in the past, but that would make this a revelation, not a prophecy.). We know this, because it has been revealed through historical documentation, the ability of modern people to see through such claims of prophecy, and the complete and utter lack of ability for modern day prophets to predict pretty much anything short of how much tithing they will add to their coffers each year. Jeffs’s prophecy will be ignored.”

(End “prophecy”.)

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the one possibility of this coming true – if Warren Jeffs has convinced his followers to engage in acts of violence and terrorism in order to fulfill his own prophecy. Given that there is virtually no history of acts of violence toward people outside the Mormon fundamentalist and splinter groups (there is plenty of violence aimed inside these groups), this seems unlikely. But that seems like the only possible way this could be realized. And, of course, if that happens, it will have the opposite of the intended effect: the federal government will crack down on them even harder. So, in all likelihood, nothing will come of this and, in a month, it will be forgotten.

The bigger issue, to me, is that this is such a beautiful illustration of the nature of “prophecy.” What is the difference between Warren Jeffs and Joseph Smith or Thomas Monson? Between Smith and Jeffs, I’d say there is very little – prophet, married to many women, writing revelations from prison. Yep, basically Smith. But between Jeffs and Monson? Monson can’t afford (literally and figuratively) to do this kind of thing. When his prophecy doesn’t materialize, what does he lose? Ergo, the obvious conclusion: there are no prophets and never were. Thanks Warren!

(NOTE: If someone has access to the entire packet and prophecy, MSP would be happy to host it. Feel free to send it to one of the admins!)