According to the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants, Section 22, verses 21–23:
And worlds without number have I created... Behold there are many worlds which have passed away by the word of my power; and there are many also which now stand, and numberless are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me; for they are mine, and I know them. The heavens, they are many and they can not be numbered unto man, but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine; and as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works....
In addition, in the Inspired Version of the Bible, Enoch states to God:
And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, and millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations....
In essence these passages from both the Doctrine and Covenants and the Inspired Version state that God has created many worlds in addition to Earth. At the time this was written by Joseph in the early 1830s, there was no evidence or even the slightest indication that inhabitable worlds existed in the universe other than Earth. Yet Joseph claimed they were true and given to him by God.
For over 170 years belief in the truth of these statements has been an exercise of faith—until now. In a recent article at CNN.com, "Galaxy may be full of 'Earths,' alien life," the author states:
As NASA prepares to hunt for Earth-like planets in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy, there's new buzz that "Star Trek's" vision of a universe full of life may not be that far-fetched.
There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of the new book "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets."
Boss said that if any of the billions of Earth-like worlds he believes exist in the Milky Way have liquid water, they are likely to be home to some type of life.
The test of a true prophet is that God reveals His truths through him before the rest of the world comes to that understanding. As Amos 3:7 states, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth the secret unto his servants the prophets." The truth of other inhabitable worlds was revealed to Joseph Smith, Jr. 170 years before the rest of the world came to that knowledge, thus proving Joseph was a prophet of God.
