THE EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY
Of all the means by which the claims of a prophet may be tested, it seems to me that an inquiry respecting the fulfillment of his prophecies is at once the most direct and positive. Has he prophesied; and have his prophecies been fulfilled? If they have, who can doubt the prophet's inspiration, or the revelations of God to him? This was the means which the Lord suggested to ancient Israel for the testing of the genuineness of a prophet's claims: "And if thou shalt say in thy heart," said the Lord to Israel, "How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."[1] And conversely, if the thing which the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord comes to pass, then the prophet has spoken the thing commanded him by the Lord—he has not spoken presumptuously and the people are under obligation to respect his message, since he has furnished them the highest possible evidence of his divine inspiration.
I know of no more simple, yet common-sense and effective test than this. Of course it must be understood in applying it that many predictions which prophets utter may not come to pass immediately. Some of them perhaps not in the lifetime of the prophet, or even in the generation in which he lived; for some prophets have been given the power to look into the future, and predict things which the wheels of time will not bring due until the very last generation of men; but if when the time for the fulfillment of the prophecies uttered comes due they are not fulfilled, the world may know that the Lord did not speak through that prophet, but he has spoken presumptuously, without revelation from God, and the people need have no regard for him or his pretended messages.
Of the value of the fulfillment of prophecy as evidence of divine inspiration it is scarcely necessary to speak. It has ever been recognized, and that properly, as a species of miracle; and therefore has been accorded all the value attached to miracles. The Lord himself has recognized the value of the evidence of prophecy; for when he would have Israel distinguish between himself and the gods of the heathens, he issued this challenge to them: "Produce your cause, saith the Lord, bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, and what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods."[2]
From this it appears that the power to foretell future events is regarded peculiarly as one belonging to God alone, or that spirit which emanates from him; and those who possess that power, and can point to the fulfillment of their prophecies in attestation of their inspiration and divine authority may be looked upon as possessing evidence of special and peculiar force in their favor.
Before applying the test here purposed to the prophetic claims of Joseph Smith, I would remark that at least two things in relation to prophecy must be established: first, that the prediction ante-dates the events; and, second, that the events must be of a nature that no merely human foresight or judgment, unaided by divine inspiration or revelation, could have foretold them. Furthermore, I may add, that one's belief in the divine inspiration of a prophet would be materially increased, if his prophecies are of a nature to make them of importance either to the individuals or nations to whom they may be addressed. For I take it as a common-sense idea that God does not give revelation to men or inspire them in relation to trivial or unimportant things; but deals with those matters that are worthy of God's attention and communication. Hence in my opinion, many of those who have made pretensions to the prophetic gift stand condemned, because the things they bring forth are of a nature too trivial to be worthy the notice or intelligence of men, much less worthy the attention of God.
The first prophecy to be considered is one not made by Joseph Smith, but one made of him by the angel Moroni, on the occasion of Joseph's first visit to the Hill Cumorah, when he beheld for the first time the plates from which he afterwards translated the Book of Mormon. But as Joseph Smith is the one who acquainted the world with this prediction I am about to quote, in a certain way it is his prophecy, and will answer all the purposes of a test such as I am making in this chapter. On the occasion of this interview with Moroni, before referred to, that the young prophet might not be deceived by the powers of darkness, he was given a vision of Satan and his hosts and their methods of deception. After the vision closed the angel said:
"Behold, notwithstanding you have seen this great display of power, by which you may be able to detect the Evil One, yet I give unto you another sign, and when it comes to pass then know that the Lord is God, and that he will fulfill his purposes, and that the knowledge that this record[3] contains will go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people under the whole heaven. This is the sign: When these things begin to be known, that is, when it is known that the Lord has shown unto you these things, the workers of iniquity will seek your overthrow: they will circulate falsehood to destroy your reputation, and also will seek your life; but remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter continue to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved to bring these things[4] forth; for in due time he will again give you a commandment to come and take them. When they[5] are interpreted, the Lord will give the Holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands. Then will persecution rage more and more: for the iniquities of men shall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the rock will seek to overthrow this work; but it will increase the more opposed, and spread farther and farther, increasing in knowledge till they[6] shall be sanctified and receive an inheritance where the glory of God shall rest upon them. * * * Your name[7] shall be known among the nations, for the work which the Lord will perform by your hands shall cause the righteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage; with one it shall be had in honor, with the other in reproach; yet with these it shall be a terror because of the great and marvelous work which shall follow the coming forth of this fullness of my gospel."
It was in September, 1823, that these prophetic words were uttered by Moroni—four years before the plates of the Book of Mormon were given to Joseph Smith to translate;[8] six years before the Priesthood was given;[9] seven years before the church was organized;[10] and fourteen years before the knowledge contained in the Book of Mormon was sent to a foreign nation.[11] This prophecy, however, was first published to the world in 1834, in the Saints' Messenger and Advocate, and is taken from a letter of Oliver Cowdery's to W. W. Phelps, giving items of church history. Subsequently, in 1840, these letters were copied from the Messenger and Advocate into the Times and Seasons, from which I quote[12] the above predictions.
The severe skeptic will insist that the prophecy can only be considered with reference to its fulfillment from the time it was published to the world in the Messenger and Advocate, in 1834; this at first glance would seem to cut down much of the prophetic part of the passages I am considering. It would cut out the prediction that notwithstanding the opposition that would be arrayed against the young prophet he would have power to bring forth the Book of Mormon; that the Lord would give the holy Priesthood to some; that they would begin to proclaim the gospel and baptize by water; and give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This much would be cut out by the skeptic because it could be alleged that all this it is claimed occurred before 1834, the time when the prophecy was first published. Let these items, then, be eliminated; and still the greater part of the prophecy remains to be fulfilled after 1834.
The items left are, first, that a knowledge of what the Book of Mormon contains will go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people under the whole heaven; second those not built upon the rock of truth will oppose the work of God, but it will increase the more it is opposed and spread farther and farther; third Joseph Smith shall be known among the nations because of the work the Lord would perform by his hands—by the righteous he would be held in honor, by the wicked in reproach. All this was fulfilled after 1834, though some of it was in process of fulfillment before and at that time—such as the work thriving in spite of opposition and the name of Joseph being received either in honor or reproach among the people. I now enter into a more particular consideration of the fulfillment of this prophecy.
First, The knowledge of what the Book of Mormon contains will go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people under the whole heavens. In 1834 the Book of Mormon had been published only in the English language, and but little was known of it even in the United States and Canada. Yet here is a prediction that it shall be known in all the world. Since then it has been published in the following languages: French, German, Danish, Italian, Dutch, Welsh, Swedish, Spanish, Hawaiian and Maori. It has also been translated but not yet published in Hindostanee and Modern Hebrew. Proclamation of the new dispensation, and hence also of the Book of Mormon, has been made by the elders of the church of Christ in the following nations: Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Hindostan, Malta, South Africa, Mexico, and to many of the Indian tribes of America; all the states of the American Union, British America, Sandwich Islands, Samoa, Friendly Islands, New Zealand, West Indies, Turkey and Palestine. While this enumeration does not include the principal ones. That a knowledge of what the Book of Mormon contains will yet go to the remaining nations where the gospel has not yet been proclaimed, and into whose language the Book of Mormon has not yet been translated, cannot be doubted; for this item of the prophecy has been so nearly completed that the end is in sight; and if the church while in its infancy and childhood has done so much, it will not fail in its strong manhood to fulfill what remains.
The proclamation of the knowledge which the Book of Mormon contains to all nations and peoples and tongues of the earth, is not an event which could have been foretold by human foresight, or shrewdness, in 1823, or even in 1834. The reception given up to that time to the Book of Mormon was anything but flattering. Only a very few people had received it. All the learned ridiculed it; the Christians mocked and rejected it because it was a new revelation. It will be remembered that it was the universal belief of Christians that the volume of revelation was completed and forever closed; and hence anything that claimed to be a new revelation was summarily rejected. In the face of all these circumstances it required more than mere human foresight on the part of a few obscure and persecuted followers of Joseph Smith to see that the time would come when proclamation of the knowledge contained in the Book of Mormon would be made in all the nations and tongues of the earth.
Second, The work of the Lord will meet opposition, but it will increase the more it is opposed and spread farther and farther. The reader already knows that from its inception the work of the Lord in the new dispensation met with the most violent opposition. Only the year before Oliver Cowdery published this prophecy under consideration, twelve hundred of the Saints were driven from their lands and homes in Jackson County, Missouri, more than two hundred of their houses burned and much other property destroyed. But I am to prove that opposition met the church after 1834, and that in spite of that opposition the work increased, and a knowledge of it became more widely diffused. Be it so. Five years after the expulsion from Jackson County, Missouri, opposition so increased that the inhabitants of the state of Missouri, with the officers of the state at their head, arose against the Saints; directly or indirectly caused the death of some four hundred, and drove between twelve and fifteen thousand from their homes into exile, confiscated their lands, drove off their cattle and wantonly destroyed other property.
Eight years after their expulsion from the state of Missouri, the Saints to the number of twenty thousand were driven by mob violence from the state of Illinois, into the wilderness. They fled beyond the confines of civilization—going a thousand miles beyond the frontiers of the United States, and settled in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains; where, despite the waves of persecution which have broken upon the church, it still lives, its membership more numerous than ever, the faith of the Saints more strongly established; and where from its lofty station it overlooks the world and sends its accredited representatives to all the peoples of the earth, to fulfill the decree of Jehovah that the gospel of the kingdom, in the last days, shall be preached in all the world for a witness and then shall the end come.[13]
It was rather a remarkable prediction that the more the work of the Lord in the last days was opposed the more it would prosper. It was still more remarkable that it should be predicted that opposition would rise against it at all, since the great work had its birth in a land where the constitution of the government guaranteed religious liberty. The marvelous fulfillment of the prediction under these circumstances is evidence that there was behind it more than human foresight.
Third, The name of Joseph Smith is to be known among the nations. The work which the Lord would perform by his hands would cause the righteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage: by the former his name would be held in honor, by the latter in reproach. The probability of Joseph Smith ever being known outside of the nation where he was born was very limited, even in 1834, much less when the prophecy was uttered by the angel in 1823. It was a strange thing to say that his name among the nations would be held either in honor or reproach. But the fulfillment of the prediction will be so generally conceded that to point out the fact is not necessary. It will be enough to say that everywhere the new dispensation of the gospel has been proclaimed, there the people have been made acquainted with the name of Joseph Smith, and there he is known for good or evil—he is held in honor or reproach—the righteous have rejoiced, the wicked have raged, and in many instances have resorted to violence in resisting the message of heaven.
The fulfillment of the three items just considered in the prediction of Moroni proves the genuineness of the prophecy; and therefore I have a right to claim for it the date on which it was first delivered, the year 1823. And when considered from that date—when the existence of the Book of Mormon was as yet unknown except by Joseph Smith; when Joseph Smith was an obscure boy still in his teens and unknown outside of his own family and immediate neighborhood; before the Priesthood had been received, or the remission of sins obtained through baptism, or the Holy Ghost imparted by the laying on of hands; before the work of God prospered in spite of opposition—when considered from that date which places the prediction before all these events, how much more the prophetic character of the prediction stands out in bold relief! And who can question its divine inspiration?
1. Deut. xviii: 21, 22.
2. Isaiah xli: 21-23.
3. Referring to the record of the Nephites, the records lying before them in the stone box from which Joseph had just removed the covering.
4. Meaning the record of the Nephites—the Book of Mormon.
5. The plates comprising the Book of Mormon.
6. Meaning the people who receive the gospel.
7. Meaning the prophet Joseph.
8. The plates of the Book of Mormon were given to the prophet to translate in 1827.
9. It was in May, 1829, that the Priesthood was first given.
10. The Church was organized April 30th, 1830.
11. The first foreign mission in the New Dispensation was opened in England, 1837.
12. Times and Seasons, Vol. II, No. 13.
13. Matt. xxiv: 14.
THE EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY—CONTINUED.
Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, a number of persons who had faith in the statement of Joseph Smith that he had in his possession the gold plates from which he was translating the Book of Mormon, and who believed him to be a prophet, came to inquire through him the will of the Lord concerning themselves in relation to the new dispensation about to be ushered in. Among those who thus came were the prophet's father, Joseph Smith, Sen., some time in February, 1829; Oliver Cowdery, April, 1829; Joseph Knight, Sen., May, 1829; and David Whitmer, June, 1829. The prophet inquired for the will of the Lord concerning these men as they requested, and received for them the word of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim. In each of these revelations is contained, with a little variation, the following prophecy: "A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men * * * Behold the field is white already to harvest, therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God; yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God."[1]
This prophecy that a great and marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men, I say, was uttered before the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed or the church organized. How well it has been fulfilled let the history of the Church of Jesus Christ in the new dispensation, its present condition and the wonder with which the world regards it, answer. Of all the religions that have arisen since the days of Jesus Christ and the apostles, it is looked upon as the most marvelous; its growth, all things considered, has been most wonderful; it has a history the most thrilling; a present interest the most widespread; and a future that challenges more speculation than any other religious organization. The prophecy was a true one—a great and a marvelous work has come forth among the children of men.
On the 24th of February, 1834, Joseph Smith received a revelation, making known to the church how to proceed concerning the brethren who had been driven from their homes in Jackson County, Missouri, the November previous. In that revelation occurs the following prophetic passage: "Verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour, unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour, and by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the Saints, to possess it forever and ever. But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them, for they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be saviors of men; and inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. But verily I say unto you, I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the land of their inheritances, and build the waste places of Zion; for after much tribulation, as I have said in a former commandment, cometh the blessing. Behold this is the blessing which I have promised after your tribulations, and the tribulations of your brethren; your redemption and the redemption of your brethren, even their restoration to the land of Zion, to be established no more to be thrown down; nevertheless if they pollute their inheritances they shall be thrown down, for I will not spare them if they pollute their inheritances."[2]
Condensed the prophecy stands thus: (1) The Saints from the 24th of February, 1834, are to begin to prevail over God's enemies; and are to continue to prevail until the kingdoms of this world are subdued under his feet—provided they hearken to his counsel: the kingdoms of this world will prevail against the saints if they hearken not to the counsels of God: (2) After much tribulation the Saints shall return and build up the waste places of Zion—they are to be restored to the land of Zion; and Zion is to be established, never more to be thrown down—provided the Saints pollute not their inheritances.
The first part of the prophecy has had a remarkable fulfillment. Though there have been individuals in the church of Christ who have failed to walk in the holy counsels of God, and have reaped an abundant harvest of sorrow and shame, and many have made complete shipwreck of faith, still the church as a whole has kept reasonably well the counsel of God. The Saints may not have attained to that ideal obedience to the will of God which all recognize as desirable; but human weakness and all the circumstances by which they have been surrounded considered, I repeat that the church has reasonably well walked in accordance with the counsels of the Lord; and as a result has prevailed, so far, over all the powers that have been arrayed for its destruction. In proof of this let the present condition of the church be contrasted with what it was in February, 1834.
At the time the prophecy of 1834 was uttered, a great part of the church was scattered along the Missouri bottoms, in Clay County, Missouri. The Saints had just been driven from their houses and lands in Jackson County, and were living in log huts and dug-outs,[3] and subsisting, for the time being, upon the charity of the people of Clay County. The rest of the church was scattered in branches through several states of the American Union and Canada. They were without wealth, or influence; derided, scorned, distrusted, hated. Indeed, it is difficult to even imagine a situation more hopeless than that occupied by the church of Christ when this prophecy was uttered.
It would be difficult to determine with any exactness the membership of the church in 1834, or the number of branches; but certainly the membership did not exceed six or eight thousand. Now[4] the membership of the church in Utah and the surrounding states and territories is more than two hundred and fifty thousand, besides those scattered throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Islands. There are about five hundred organized wards, grouped into thirty-six stakes of Zion,[5] each with its high council, its high priests' quorum, its several elders' quorums, etc. In addition to this there are in all the wards female relief societies, improvement associations for both sexes, the primary societies for younger children. There are 504 Sunday schools, with a total membership of 100,000. In 1834 the church had no temple; but now it has four magnificent temples wherein are performed the ordinances of the gospel both for the living and for the dead.
Though but few individuals in the church can be considered wealthy, yet the Saints are a prosperous, contented, happy people. A greater percentage of them own the homes they live in and the lands they cultivate than is the case with any other community in the world; and they are freer than any other people on earth from those difficulties which perplex mankind. Peace is in their habitations, God is honored at the family altars as well as in the public sanctuaries; faith and confidence in God abound, and on every hand are evidences that the Lord has owned them and blessed them as his people. It is true that the church has had its tribulations. Immunity from them was not promised. The expulsion from the state of Missouri; the exodus from Illinois; the subsequent journey into the wilderness; the desperate struggle for existence in the early days of Utah; the judicial crusade waged against the church during the last decade; these events and all the bloodshed, wholesale imprisonment, and the suffering and sorrow incident to them rise up to proclaim that mob violence and other forces of this world have been employed to destroy the work of God, but they have not prevailed. The church of Christ still exists; its members are more numerous and stronger in faith than ever before; the Saints are more perfectly organized, happier circumstanced, more experienced; they are more confident of God's sustaining power, more convinced of their high destiny and the complete fulfillment of this noble prophecy, namely, that if they continue to hearken to the counsels of the Lord, they will continue to prevail until the kingdoms of this world are subdued under his feet, and the earth given to the Saints to possess it forever and ever.
Of the second division of the prophecy little need be said, except that the first part of it, viz: that which relates to the tribulation which is to befall the Saints previous to the redemption of Zion has been, in part at least, fulfilled; and like the partial fulfillment of the first division of the prophecy, gives good earnest of the complete accomplishment of all that it predicts.
In the fall of 1838, the city of Far West, inhabited by the Saints, fell into the hands of the mob forces of Missouri, and Joseph Smith and a number of his brethren, viz., his brother Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman Wight, George W. Robinson and Amasa Lyman were betrayed into their hands. These men were torn from their families in the most brutal manner. They were tried off hand by a court-martial of the mob officers, and condemned to be shot on the public square of Far West in the presence of their families and the Saints; but one of the officers of the mob-militia—General Doniphan—refused to sanction the murder and declared he would not allow his men to witness it. The other officers were afraid to assume the responsibility of executing the court-martial decision, and the prisoners escaped the fate designed for them. Charges of the most serious nature, including murder, arson, and robbery were then trumped up against them, intending to encompass their execution under civil procedure. Amidst the proud boasts of their captors, who brutally told their heart-broken families and the Saints that they had seen the last of their prophet, a start was made with the prisoners for Independence, Jackson County. The prospects of the betrayed men were most desperate. They were in the hands of a reckless mob whose hatred of them was intense. There was little respect at the time for law in the state. In the language of General Clark (Commander-in-Chief of the mob-militia of the state, then assembled at Far West) addressed to the Saints, their fate seemed fixed, their die cast, their doom sealed.[6]
The start for Independence was made on the 2nd of November; the following morning, after spending a most wretched night, encamped on the banks of Crooked River, Joseph Smith spoke to his fellow-prisoners in low but cheerful and confident tones, and uttered this prophecy: "Be of good cheer, brethren, the word of the Lord came to me last night that our lives should be given us, and that whatever we may suffer during this captivity, not one of our lives should be taken." "Of this prophecy," says Elder Parley P. Pratt, "I testify in the name of the Lord, and though spoken in secret, its public fulfillment and the miraculous escape of each of us is too notorious to need my testimony."[7]
After enduring five weary months of captivity, which had been spent in a loathsome prison, and when the heart of the prophet was breaking within him because of the affliction of his people, betrayed by false brethren and oppressed by those in power, the word of the Lord came to him saying: "The ends of the earth shall enquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall mock against thee, while the pure in heart and the wise, and the noble and the virtuous shall seek counsel, and authority and blessings constantly under thy hands. And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors. And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble, and into bars and walls, thou shalt be had in honor, and but for a small moment and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever."[8]
This prophecy is contained in a letter written by the prophet and his fellow-prisoners from Liberty jail, and addressed to the Saints then settling in Quincy, Illinois, to "those scattered abroad" and "to Bishop Edward Partridge in particular." It was written in March, 1839. The fulfillment of the prophecies contained in the above extract are notorious. While fools hold the name of the prophet in derision the wise and the virtuous from the ends of the earth have inquired and are inquiring after Joseph Smith, and the work he established; and though there were many who turned against him and became strong enemies, for they were strong men, his people were never turned against him by the testimony of traitors. While living his people were true to him, and since his death they have revered his memory.
On the 8th of July, 1838, a revelation was given concerning the quorum of the Twelve Apostles. A number of vacancies existed in this quorum occasioned through apostasy of several of its members; these vacancies the prophet was commanded to fill; "And next spring," said the revelation, "let them [the apostles] depart to go over the great waters, and there promulgate my gospel, the fullness thereof, and bear record of my name. Let them take leave of my Saints in the city of Far West, on the 26th day of April next, on the building spot of my house,[9] saith the Lord."[10]
Before the date appointed in the revelation for the Twelve to take leave of the Saints at Far West for a foreign mission, viz., the 26th of April, 1839, that city had fallen into the hands of the mob, the church leaders were cast into prison, the apostles were scattered and the great body of the church driven from the state. In the midst of these circumstances it was a matter of open boasting with the mob that there was at least one of "old Joe Smith's" revelations that would fail.[11] They said that there would be no meeting of the Twelve with the Saints on the 26th of April, 1839. But a consultation of the apostles who escaped from Missouri was held early in the spring of 1839, at Quincy, and they resolved return to Far West and fulfill the Lord's commandment, which, as the reader will perceive, partook of the nature of a prophecy. The undertaking was successful. Five of the apostles were at the temple site before day light of the day appointed, together with a number of high priests, elders and priests.
At this meeting they excommunicated a number of persons from the church, ordained Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith apostles, and others were ordained to the office of seventy. The apostles each prayed in turn, and a beautiful hymn called "Adam-Ondi-Ahman" was sung. At the conclusion of the hymn, Elder Alpheus Cutler, the master workman of the Lord's House, laid the south-east corner stone in its position, and stated that in consequence of the peculiar situation of the Saints it was deemed prudent to discontinue further labor on the house until the Lord should open the way for its completion. The apostles then took leave of some seventeen Saints who were present and started on their way to fulfill their missions beyond the Atlantic. Thus the commandment and prophecy which the mobs of Missouri so confidently boasted should fail, were fulfilled.
In a revelation given in March, 1831, after telling some of the judgments and commotions which shall precede the glorious coming of the Lord Jesus, occurs this prophecy: "But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites [the American Indians] shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed."[12]
In order to have a complete understanding of this prophecy it is necessary to explain that the word "Zion" refers not only to a land called Zion, and a city called Zion, but also to a people, as will be clearly seen in the above, where "Zion" is not only to rejoice upon the mountains, but is also to "be assembled together," which really could only be consistently said of a people. In another revelation the Lord says: "Let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion, the pure in heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn."[13] With this explanation of the word "Zion" let us now consider the prophecy:
First, then, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, Jacob, that is Israel, or descendants of Israel, shall flourish in the wilderness.
Second, the American Indians shall blossom as the rose, that is, they will be in a blessed and happy condition.
Third, Zion, the pure in heart, the Saints of God, shall flourish upon the hills, rejoice upon the mountains and shall be assembled together unto the place which the Lord has appointed.
The parts of the prophecy which are in progress of fulfillment are the first and third items. Israel is flourishing in the wilderness, and Zion, or the Saints of God, who are also, for the most part, descendants of Israel gathered from among the Gentile nations are rejoicing upon the mountains; and though the Lamanites are not yet blossoming as the rose, neither has "the great day of the Lord" come; and before that day does come, this second item of the prophecy, referring to the Lamanites, will be fulfilled. Let it be borne in mind that the prophecy was uttered in March, 1831, long ere the Saints had so much as dreamed of settling in the Rocky Mountains.
At this juncture I may be permitted to introduce another prophecy of Joseph Smith's relating to this same subject, and then consider the fulfillment of both at once.
Under date of August 6th, 1842, the prophet records the following in his history: "Passed over to Montrose, Iowa, in company with General Adams, Colonel Brewer and others, and witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun Lodge of the Ancient York Masons, at Montrose, by General James Adams, deputy grand master of illinois. While the deputy grand master was engaged in giving the requisite instructions to the master elect, I had a conversation with a number of brethren, in the shade of the building, on the subject of our persecutions in Missouri, and the constant annoyance which has followed us since we were driven from that state. I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease; and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.[14]"
At that date, August 6th, 1842, the Rocky Mountains seemed like a country afar off to the people of Illinois. The Missouri River was the extreme frontiers of the United States. All beyond that was well nigh an unexplored wilderness filled with savages. The church was fairly settled at Nauvoo, the state authorities were apparently very friendly, the future of the Saints in Illinois seemed propitious. Yet in the midst of all these favorable circumstances the prophet predicted much affliction for some of the Saints, death from persecution for others, apostasy for many, and for the great body of the church an exodus to the Rocky Mountains, where some of those present who were listening to the prediction, should live to assist in making settlements and building cities in the Rocky Mountains where they would see the Saints become a mighty people.
There can be no question as to the reality of these two predictions, the one of March, 1831, and the other of August, 1842, or of their being of a character to test the divine inspiration of him who uttered them. That they were proclaimed some years before the events predicted in them began to be fulfilled, or even there was any thought or prospect of such events taking place, is well known; that the latter prophecy has been fulfilled to the uttermost, the whole history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from August, 1842, until now witnesses. The Saints suffered many afflictions in Illinois. Their homes, fields, stacks of grain, stock and other property were destroyed; their prophets and a number of others were killed outright by mob violence; many more perished from exposure and disease occasioned by being driven from their homes at an inclement season of the year. In those trying times, following the martyrdom of the prophet and the expulsion from Nauvoo, many turned away from the faith, and it is too generally known to need comment, that the great body of the church made its way to the Rocky Mountains, where cities, towns and villages have been founded, the wilderness subdued, and the Saints are fast becoming a mighty people.
1. Doc. and Cov., Sec. xi: 1-4. See also Sec. iv, Sec. vi, Sec. xii, and Sec. xiv, where the same prophecy is repeated.
2. Doc. and Cov., Sec. ciii, 5-14.
3. Holes dug in the ground and covered over with brush and earth.
4. 1895.
5. A stake of Zion is a division of the church comprised of several ecclesiastical wards; and is presided over by a presidency consisting of three high priests.
6. The language of General Clark was: "As for your leaders, do not once think—do not imagine for a moment—do not let it enter your mind that they will be delivered, or that you will see their faces again; for their fate is fixed—their die is cast—their doom is sealed."—Autob. P. P. Pratt, p. 266.
7. Pratt's Autob., p. 210.
8. Mill. Star, Vol. xvii, p. 85; also, Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxii.
9. A temple site had been selected at Far West and an excavation made for the foundation. It is this "spot" that the revelation refers. The excavation for the temple at Far West still remains, or did in 1884, when the writer visited it.
10. Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxviii.
11. One of the leaders of the mob forces by the name of Bogart, referring to this revelation, said to Elder Theodore Turley: "As a rational man, you must give up the claim that Joseph Smith is a prophet and an inspired man; the Twelve are scattered all over creation; let them come here if they dare; if they do they will be murdered. As that revelation cannot be fulfilled, you must now give up your faith. This is like all the rest of Joseph Smith's damned prophecies!" (Cannon's Life of the Prophet, p. 285.)
12. Doc. and Cov. Sec. xlix: 24, 25.
13. Doc. and Cov. Sec. xcvii: 21.
14. Mill. Star, Vol. xix, p. 630.