Excerpts from Rick Gunder's "Mormon Parallels," #136
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William Miller, founder of the Adventist movement calculates 1843 as the end of the world.
By at least February 12, 1843, they [followers of Miller] came to Joseph Smith's attention during a visit by several young men from New York. Joseph "preached them quite a sermon. Shewed them that the error is in the Bible or translation and that Miller is in want of information." (1842-43 journal)
Joseph Smith believed that Miller's day of advent was set for April 3, 1843. On the preceding day, therefore, April 2, Joseph recorded his well-known revelation that Christ would not come until December 23, 1890 . . . [see D&C 130:14-15]
Sure enough, there was no Second Coming the next day, and Joseph observed triumphantly: "Monday, April 3d 1843 Miller's Day of Judgement has arrived, but tis too pleasant for false prophets"
On April 6, Joseph reiterated the "eighty-five years old" prophecy and promised that, "There are those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes. . . . I prophecy in the name of the Lord God, and let it be written, that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old, 48 years hence or about 1890." Joseph then indulged in calculations based on biblical prophecy, referring ambiguously to the beginning of the "hour of his judgement" and figuring that if a day with God is 1,000 years, then an hour with God is "41 years, 8 months . . ."
Finally, after listening to Millerite predictions continue for a year, Joseph declared in a speech at the unfinished Nauvoo temple (March 10, l844):
. . . I take the responsibility upon myself to prophesy in the name of the Lord, that Christ will not come this year as Miller has prophecyed, for we have seen the bow. And I also Prophecy in the name of the Lord that Christ will not Come in forty years & if God ever spake by my mouth he will not come in that length of time & Jesus Christ never did reveal to any man the precise time . . . & all that say so are fals teachers.
The following description by Alice Felt Tyler ... conveys general impressions held at the time:
' . . . Preparations for the end were made by countless hundreds of joyous or desperate souls. White cloth was purchased and made into ascension robes. Nearly all secular business was neglected . . . Voting was light . . . Tents were put up outside cities . . . and hundreds of people assembled on the night of October 21 [1844] to keep their vigil together. No provision was made for food . . . the tension was intolerable . . . There were several suicides, and as the dawn of October 23 served notice that "time continued" regardless of prophecy, some heart-broken Millennialists were led away insane. '
What you failed to add of Joseph's statment is that if one did calculate a date for the Second Coming but there were no signs in the heavens, then one could rest assured that his or her calculations were incorrect. To him, the signs were the primary indicator, not some calculated date. And what did he say were the signs? Well, the answer to that question entails considerable study. I invite you to investigate. www.mormonprophecy.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Anthony. There is the curious statement above "Christ will not come this year as Miller has prophecyed, for we have seen the bow."
ReplyDeleteI found this reference to a bow in the heavens, but this was before the church was formed.
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Sep 22, 1827 Heber C. Kimball is awakened by a neighbor, John P. Greene, to see a manifestation in the sky: "It was one of the most beautiful starlight nights, so clear that we could see to pick up a pin. We looked to the eastern horizon, and beheld a white smoke arise toward the heavens; as it ascended it formed itself into a belt, and made a noise like the sound of a mighty wind, and continued southwest, forming a regular bow dipping in the western horizon. After the bow had formed, it began to widen out and grow clear and transparent, of a bluish cast; it grew wide enough to contain twelve men abreast. In this bow an army moved, commencing from the east and marching to the west; they continued marching until they reached the western horizon. . . .
... They moved in platoons, and walked so close that the rear ranks trod in the steps of their file leaders, until the whole bow was literally crowded with soldiers. We could distinctly see the muskets, bayonets and knapsacks of the men, who wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; and also saw their officers with their swords and equipage, and the clashing and jingling of their implements of war, and could discover the forms and features of the men. The most profound order existed throughout the entire army; when the foremost man stepped, every man stepped at the same time; I could hear the steps. When the front rank reached the western horizon a battle ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of arms and the rush. No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men, as plainly as ever I saw armies of men in the flesh; it seemed as though every hair of my head was alive. This scenery we gazed upon for hours, until it began to disappear."
ReplyDeleteThere are also some interesting parallels between Baha'i Prophecies and Joseph Smith. They are probably just coincidental, but interesting nonetheless,
ReplyDeleteThe founder of the faith, Baha'a'llah claimed to be 'the son of man' or one of the Second coming of Jesus.
joseph smith said the 'one might and strong' would come after his servant "shall fall by the shaft of death". the 'one might and strong' refers to the forerunner to christ, or john the baptist. joseph smith was murdered in 1844, that same year the bab, the forerunner to baha'lluah made his appearance.
ellen white, founder of the seventh day adventists said the second coming would occur in 1844.
an ancient mayan prophecy predicts the second coming of quetzacoatle to happen in 1844.
joseph smith claimed to have recieved a revelation informing him that if he was to live to the age of 85 he would see the face of son of man. the year joseph smith would have been 85 was 1890, the same year the first european met baha'u'llah (who described meeting him like this: "The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow; while the deep lines on the forehead and face implied an age which the jet-black hair and beard flowing down in indistinguishable luxuriance almost to the waist seemed to belie.
No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!)
joseph smith prophecied there would be bloodshed between the north and the south (civil war)just previous to the coming of the son of man. in 1863 abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, the same year baha'llah announced his mission to the world.
Pretty interesting Chris. A lot of parallels. Maybe the 2nd coming did occur in 1844. :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you can place two false prophets side by side, J Smith and W Miller, and folks will denounce one while following the other when they are BOTH FALSE PROPHETS!
ReplyDeleteEllen G. White also was considered a prophet in the same time overlapping Smith.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with White and Muhammad is that neither had witnesses. Ellen was hit in the head with a rock before experiencing her visions. She was then able to experience the visions she claimed. I know of no other prophet who received their calling after getting a whack in the head. Only her.
Joseph Smith said he had visions, but he didn't need to get whacked in the head. He received his calling the old fashioned way. God called him, gave him power and authority and the calling of modern apostles. Those apostles then in turn had visions and revelations. That would be expected if a prophet were a true prophet of God.
He also had revelations when others were present. When has that ever happened with false prophets? Ellen White had no such witnesses. And for that I think those who call him a "false prophet" are delusional. I have many very good friends, but none so good that they would lie for me and take that lie to the grave.
Do you? How many readers have so good a friend, or friends, that they would lie for you and take that lie to their grave?
You're entitled to your opinions about Joseph Smith and Ellen White, but Smith had many things going for him that the others don't. Look at the major events by God.
* Moses and his mission to free the Jews
* Christianity and Christ's mission in the Meridian of Time
* The Restoration of the Gospel
What did they have in common? Witnesses. There were many, and they're the hallmark of true religion. I just spent about two hours watching a movie about William Miller and Ellen G. White. It was entertaining and inspirational, but Ellen and Miller were one-man bands, and if they were prophets, God didn't provide us with a single witness. If in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word would be established, God did not provide us with a single witness other than the principals!
People say that Ellen, while she was having her visions, could not me moved and that at times she wouldn't breathe, and these were signs that they were of God. I'm sorry, but miracles aren't witnesses. I want to see her having a joint revelation when others were present.
Witnesses were a hallmark of Moses fleeing Egypt, Jesus performing miracles and having a Mount of Transfiguration experience and resurrection, and the Restoration of the Gospel. All had witnesses, and God will judge people for rejecting them.
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Joseph Smith gave a conditional statement that if he lived to the stipulated age of 85, he would live to see the face of the Son of Man. There are so many conditional elements to this statement that Joseph Smith himself recognized the problems. If the people of the United States repented of their sins and accepted the Gospel, and didn't murder him and his brother, Hyrum, perhaps the people would have been prepared for Christ's return. And of course God knows everything from the beginning, so His conditional remarks are laced with exceptional meanings. Like, if you win the lottery, Chicago will be made the New Jerusalem and yada, yada, yada!
ReplyDeletePeople take Smith's statement far too seriously. He alone knows when He will return and all the events leading up to it. And when you think of everything that has to happen before that occurs, it's pretty mind-blowing how long it it will be. The Antichrist has to emerge in the Middle East, he will have to conquer his enemies. He will suffer a devastating head wound and make a miraculous recovery of it. The miraculous false Christ/prophet will emerge, the temple in Jerusalem has to be rebuilt and a peace treaty will cause Israel to give up its nuclear weapons for a peace treaty that will be a sham. In the United States, the Constitution will hang by a thread, be saved somehow by the Church elders and Zion will be built. A temple must be built in the New Jerusalem and the lost tribes of Israel will assist.
All that takes time. So it's entirely likely that this is something that your great grandchildren will see. The country must descend into anarchy, civil wars fought and many people, even the Saints, will die because of plagues and other judgments that will be poured out.
So it will most likely not be in our lifetimes. Adam-Ondi-Ahman also must take place. I've always wanted to attend that. So that too is on the agenda. But you can see why all of this could not have occurred if Joseph Smith had lived to be 85. He knew it was unlikely and the Lord knew it. 👍😇
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