As the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed, stoned, punished, and imprisoned the true prophets, and they had to hide themselves in deserts, and dens, and caves of the earth, and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, while they cherished, honored, and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men” (T&C 147:6). This tragic inversion—rejecting the genuine article while embracing the counterfeit—echoes across the scriptures and even beyond the prophetic office itself. It reveals a stubborn pattern: the world rewards what flatters its comforts and ambitions, but recoils from what demands repentance and surrender to God.
Scripture overflows with such examples. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was beaten, thrown into a cistern, and branded a traitor for declaring Judah’s coming judgment (Jeremiah 8:6; 15:11; 15:13 RE). Meanwhile, the smooth-tongued Hananiah promised peace and prosperity, winning the applause of king and people alike—until his false words were exposed by death itself (Jeremiah 10:8-9 RE). Elijah stood alone against 450 prophets of Baal who feasted at Jezebel’s table and enjoyed royal favor; the true prophet was hunted as a criminal while the impostors dined in luxury (1 Kings 4:9, 12-13 RE). Even Moses, sent with signs and wonders, was repeatedly rejected by the very people he was commissioned to deliver; they murmured for a golden calf and longed for the fleshpots of Egypt rather than follow the God who parted the sea (Exodus 10:2; 17:1 RE).
The ultimate illustration, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. On that first Easter morning the religious elite—scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests—had already condemned the true Prophet, Priest, and King. They who loved the chief seats, the long robes, and the greetings in the marketplace (Matthew 10:25 RE) could not abide One who exposed their hypocrisy and called them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 10:33 RE). They preferred the comfort of their temple system and their uneasy alliance with Roman power. So they orchestrated His crucifixion, while the crowds who had once cried “Hosanna” soon shouted “Crucify Him” under the sway of those same leaders. The genuine was excluded; the counterfeit kingdom was preserved—at least for a season.
This pattern is not limited to prophets. Scripture records the same rejection of any voice that threatens comfortable falsehoods. The man born blind in John 9 was cast out of the synagogue simply for testifying that Jesus had healed him—an inconvenient truth the Pharisees refused to accept. Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Ghost, was stoned while the Sanhedrin gnashed their teeth, because his testimony pierced their self-righteous hearts (Acts 4:10 RE). Even the righteous Abel was slain by Cain, whose offering pleased the world’s eye but not God’s (Genesis 3:7-9 RE). In every case, the genuine article disrupts the status quo; the fake flatters it.
False prophets and false systems thrive because they serve the interests of this world’s kingdoms—wealth, influence, political favor, social acceptance. They promise ease, affirm the natural man, and never require the painful surrender of the soul. True messengers, by contrast, call men to let God be their God. They expose the pit that lies at the end of every man-made path.
On this Easter morning, I stand in awe of the living Christ who refused to conform to the expectations of His day. He who was cast out as unworthy by the religious and political powers of His time now extends the same invitation He offered then: to follow the narrow way that leads to life. The resurrection declares with finality that the genuine always triumphs, even when it appears defeated for a season. The stone was rolled away not merely to prove a point, but to open the door for each of us to choose truth over comfort, surrender over self-preservation, and the voice of the Shepherd over the clamor of hired hands.
I add my own quiet gratitude to that of the original reflection. Nothing I possess can repay the debt I owe the Savior who was numbered with the transgressors so that I might be numbered among His sheep. Yet in the small, ordinary moments of daily life—when no one is watching and the choice feels insignificant—I desire to choose the genuine over the appealing counterfeit. May the risen Lord continue to grant us eyes to see clearly, hearts willing to repent, and courage to stand with the excluded One who alone can include us in His eternal kingdom.
Signed,
John The-Not-So-Beloved
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