I have heard this talk from President Gordon B. Hinckley, quoted as a prophecy by many Mormons. I am not questioning prophecy when it comes, but I do have a problem when members claim that something said by a prophet or an apostle is prophecy when it was not. President Hinckley even said, that he was not prophesying — he said that this was his suggestion for us to get our spending in line with our income and get out of debt.

It was wise counsel.

He was aware of the current day economic situation and he talked with the men at a General Conference Priesthood session in 1998:

Now, brethren, I should like to talk to the older men, hoping that there will be some lesson for the younger men as well.

I wish to speak to you about temporal matters.

Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.

We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.

I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent. (To The Boys and to the Men, President Gordon B. Hinckley, Oct 1998, General Conference)

I believe in revelation, I believe a prophet can receive revelation for the church. I also believe that any person can receive revelation for themselves. In fact, the church admonishes people to pray and receive their own witness.

Even Joseph Smith did not always prophesy. Sometimes he gave his opinion. And many times that was good. But because they give counsel — they are not infallible. And that is good to remember too.

But I have heard too many stories where LDS relate that they paid off their house or something of that sort, and they refer to a prophecy by President Hinckley. Prophecy — no, wise suggestion – yes. Let’s remember what President Hinckley said, when he gave that counsel  “I want to make it clear that I am not prophesying..”

President Hinckley obviously knew the difference between prophecy and suggestion. But too many Mormons think that whenever a General Authority speaks, it is the word of God.