The Importance of Prophetic Fallibility

Prophetic fallibility is a controversial concept because it's an unmistakably orthodox principle that is far more useful in critiques of other Latter-day Saint principles than their defense. After all, every (internal) criticism of past or present teachings relies on it. Naturally, this can lead to frustration among apologists when it comes up again and again and again in debates. To them, it can seem as though prophetic fallibility does more harm than good as a concept. It's almost as though it were a kind of theological fifth column ("a clandestine . . . faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation's solidarity by any means at their disposal").