Analysis of Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Civil War Prophecy "Very thus saith the Lord, concerning the [1][/b] wars that will shortly come to pass [2][/b] beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls, and the days will come that [3][/b] war will be poured out upon all Nations beginning at this place for behold the southern states shall be divided against the Northern States, and [4][/b] the Southern States will call on other Nation[s] even the Nation of Great Britain as it is called and they shall also call upon other Nations in order to defend themselves against other Nations and thus war shall be poured out upon all Nations and it shall come to pass after many days [5][/b] Slaves shall rise up against their Masters who shall be Marshaled and disciplined for war [6][/b] and it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will martial [marshal] themselves also and shall become exceeding angry and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation and [7][/b] thus with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn and with famine and plague, and Earthquake and the thunder of heaven and the fierce and vivid lightning also shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all Nations that the cry of the saints and the blood of the saints shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth from the earth to be avenged of their enemies wherefore stand ye in holy places and be not moved until the day of the Lord come, for be hold it cometh quickly saith the Lord."- Doctrine and Covenants 87; online at http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/871. Four weeks before this prophecy, on November 24, 1832, a tariff nullification ordinance was passed in South Carolina. This ordinance dismissed "certain acts of the Congress of the United States" (see Ford, The Federalist"). In October 1832, U.S. President Andrew Jackson warned forts in S.C. that a confrontation with the state was possible.2. The idea that a war would break out, starting in South Carolina, was common knowledge at this time. On December 21, 1832 the Painesville Telegraph (only 10 miles from Smith"s home) ran an article entitled "The Crisis," which discussed the potential civil war. Also, the Morning Courier and New York Enquirer ran articles expressing concern about a possible war (these sources are cited frequently in Church publications at the time (i.e. The Evening and Morning Star).3. Smith"s prophecy fails here due to his prediction that the civil war would bring war to "all nations." This did not happen.4. Although the southern states did ask Great Britain for help, Great Britain never got directly involved in the war, and Great Britain never called upon other countries "to defend themselves against other Nations."5. Although some slaves surely did rise up against their masters, this did not happen in large numbers. In fact "between 60,000 and 93,000 blacks served the Confederacy in some capacity" (see Williams, "Blacks Who Fought For the South," Washington Times) during the war.6. "The remnants" which were defined by Joseph smith as Native Americans ("Lamanites") never did "vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation" because of the war.7. Nations did not come to a "full end" due to the war, and there was no increase in famine, plague, earthquakes, or thunder and lightning.
Does such a failed "prophecy" qualify as scripture? If not, does that disqualify doctrines and covenants as a portion of scripture? What makes one a "true" prophet or a "false" prophet?
Some Seventh-day Adventists claim that Mrs. White's statements regarding the Civil War provide evidence that she was a prophet of God. For example, in the June 1999 issue of Hour of Prophecy Newspaper, Adventist author Nell Casey proposes that one of Mrs. White's statements on the Civil War is evidence of her divine inspiration:
[blockquote]While most of her [Ellen White's] work was not about future events she did predict some things that give clear evidence of her divine gift:
[blockquote]"God is punishing the North, that they have so long suffered the accursed sin of slavery to exist; for in the sight of heaven it is a sin of the darkest dye. God is not with the South, and He will punish them dreadfully in the end." Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 359, 1863 [/blockquote](Hour of Prophecy Newspaper, Vol. 30, #6, p. 8) [/blockquote]
Ellen White makes two claims in this quote:
[ol][*]God is punishing the North for allowing slavery to exist.[*]God is not with the South, and they will be punished. [/ol]
First, the idea that God was punishing the North for allowing slavery to continue was widely acknowledged among Christians. In fact, Abraham Lincoln himself felt the North's military failures in the early years of the war were due to God's chastisement. Mrs. White's testimony was simply one of many Christian voices proclaiming the same warning throughout the North. This part of her testimony was not unique to her--it was simply a repetition of what many other Christians were already saying.
For example, the Lutheran Historical Society reports:
[blockquote]Most preachers North and South alike argued that the war was God's punishment of the nation on account if its sins. The greatest national sin denounced by preachers in the North was slavery. Four aspects of the slavery issue received condemnation in Northern Lutheran sermons. First, Lutheran preachers condemned the practice of slavery itself. Early in 1861, Pastor Samuel Aughey told his congregation in Lionville, Pennsylvania, that slavery contradicted the principle of human equality enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and represented a satanic blight upon the nation. Second, Northern Lutheran preachers denounced federal laws that accommodated slavery and thereby made the entire nation, North as well as South, complicit in its sin. Third, Northern Lutherans denounced Confederate attempts to justify slavery on the basis of scripture. Finally, Northern Lutheran preachers denounced the long silence of their own and other churches over the issue of slavery, and confessed that by attempting to preserve a false peace they had probably contributed to the calamity of war. (Paul A. Baglyos, Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic Newsletter, Winter 1999) [/blockquote]
Second, Mrs. White said the South would "be punished." It would have been more impressive if Mrs. White had said outright that the South was going to lose the war. After all, by 1863 the tide of the war was beginning to turn against the South. Nevertheless, she remained cautious, merely saying the South would be "punished." Does this ambiguous statement give "clear evidence of her divine gift?" You decide.
Others who never claimed prophethood also predicted an armed conflict. ***** reformer David Walker wrote of a coming split in the Union as far back as 1829:
[blockquote]In fact, they are so happy to keep in ignorance and degradation, and to receive the homage and the labour of the slaves, they forget that God rules in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, having his ears continually open to the cries, tears and groans of his oppressed people; and being a just and holy Being will at one day appear fully in behalf of the oppressed, and arrest the progress of the avaricious oppressors; for although the destruction of the oppressors God may not effect by the oppressed, yet the Lord our God will bring other destructions upon them--for not unfrequently will he cause them to rise up one against another, to be split and divided, and to oppress each other, and sometimes to open hostilities with sword in hand. (David Walker, 1829) [/blockquote]
Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President, alluded to a coming judgment in a letter he wrote in 1781:
[blockquote]And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis-a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? that they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. (From Notes on Virginia) [/blockquote]
According to the White Estate, Ellen White provided Adventists with unique information--information that was apparently unavailable to the general public:
[blockquote]
The visions at Parkville, Michigan, January 12, 1861; at Roosevelt, New York, August 3, 1861; and at Battle Creek, January 4, 1862, put Adventists in the unique position of knowing, first, of the coming war and its ferocity and long duration, and then, its philosophy, with the assurance that God had a controlling hand in the affairs of the nation. They had an inside view of victories and losses and the potential of its becoming an international conflict.
"The God of Heaven has revealed to us that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today obtained his prophetic calling by the choice and with the full approval of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head of this church." This statement by Glenn L. Pearson in his handbook for Mormon missionaries, The Book of Mormon Key to Conversion, points to the heart of the truth or falsehood of Mormonism. Pearson contends that all objections to Mormonism really amount to one single objection " that Joseph Smith was not a prophet, nor were his successors. This could not be more true. If Joseph Smith were not a prophet, then the Book of Mormon is not true, the succession of prophets have built upon lies, and the LDS Church has as its foundation a liar and false prophet. If Smith was a true prophet of God, then the LDS Church is the only true church of Christ on earth, and the rest of Christendom is no more than a tattered relic of an apostate church.
The Bible tells us how to recognize a false prophet. Moses shared what God told him about recognizing when a message is not from God and whether a prophet is a true prophet or a false one. In Deuteronomy 18:21-22 we read, "And if thou say in thine heart, 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." If a man prophesies in the name of God, and the prophecy does not come to pass, the prophecy and the prophet are false! In verse 20, God is pretty direct about His feelings towards those who utter false prophecies, "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." Some well-meaning Mormons find it trivial to engage in discussions on what prophecies may have happened or not, but such discussions go to the heart of the issue. If Joseph Smith is a false prophet, evidenced by speaking false prophecies, then their faith is built upon a liar who God said shall die!
Deu 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deu 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
Many folk will argue that if a prophesy comes to pass then the prophet is of God. I would contend that a prophet from God would have a true prophesy but the fact that a predicted event comes to pass does not in itself prove anything.
I believe the above Scripture bears this thought out. If the teaching or event carries us away from Christ as our focus or leads us unto another doctrine other than what has been taught us then we know that this is a false prophet.
Sorry for veering off slightly, my mind has taken to wandering lately.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Analysis of Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Civil War Prophecy "Very thus saith the Lord, concerning the [1][/b] wars that will shortly come to pass [2][/b] beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls, and the days will come that [3][/b] war will be poured out upon all Nations beginning at this place for behold the southern states shall be divided against the Northern States, and [4][/b] the Southern States will call on other Nation[s] even the Nation of Great Britain as it is called and they shall also call upon other Nations in order to defend themselves against other Nations and thus war shall be poured out upon all Nations and it shall come to pass after many days [5][/b] Slaves shall rise up against their Masters who shall be Marshaled and disciplined for war [6][/b] and it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will martial [marshal] themselves also and shall become exceeding angry and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation and [7][/b] thus with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn and with famine and plague, and Earthquake and the thunder of heaven and the fierce and vivid lightning also shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all Nations that the cry of the saints and the blood of the saints shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth from the earth to be avenged of their enemies wherefore stand ye in holy places and be not moved until the day of the Lord come, for be hold it cometh quickly saith the Lord."-** *Doctrine and Covenants 87; online at http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/871.** *Four weeks before this prophecy, on November 24, 1832, a tariff nullification ordinance was passed in South Carolina. This ordinance dismissed "certain acts of the Congress of the United States" (see Ford, The Federalist"). In October 1832, U.S. President Andrew Jackson warned forts in S.C. that a confrontation with the state was possible.2.** *The idea that a war would break out, starting in South Carolina, was common knowledge at this time. On December 21, 1832 the Painesville Telegraph (only 10 miles from Smith"s home) ran an article entitled "The Crisis," which discussed the potential civil war. Also, the Morning Courier and New York Enquirer ran articles expressing concern about a possible war (these sources are cited frequently in Church publications at the time (i.e. The Evening and Morning Star).3.** *Smith"s prophecy fails here due to his prediction that the civil war would bring war to "all nations." This did not happen.4.** *Although the southern states did ask Great Britain for help, Great Britain never got directly involved in the war, and Great Britain never called upon other countries "to defend themselves against other Nations."5.** *Although some slaves surely did rise up against their masters, this did not happen in large numbers. In fact "between 60,000 and 93,000 blacks served the Confederacy in some capacity" (see Williams, "Blacks Who Fought For the South," Washington Times) during the war.6.** *"The remnants" which were defined by Joseph smith as Native Americans ("Lamanites") never did "vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation" because of the war.7.** *Nations did not come to a "full end" due to the war, and there was no increase in famine, plague, earthquakes, or thunder and lightning.
Sorry for the length, but you asked for it. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that wars and calamities would begin on the earth until Christ comes again. Fort Sumter was the beginning of everything and that the signs of the times were to begin at this time. ONCE AGAIN YOU MISUNDERSTAND WHAT JOSEPH SMITH IS SAYING.
War in the Last Days
The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote that the"appearances of troubles among the nations became more visible this season than they had previously been since the Church began her journey out of the wilderness. The ravages of the cholera were frightful in almost all the large cities on the globe. The plague broke out in India, while the United States, amid all her pomp and greatness, was threatened with immediate dissolution. The people of South Carolina,in convention assembled (in November), passed ordinances, declaring their state a free and independent nation; and appointed Thursday, the31st day of January, 1833, as a day of humiliation and prayer, to implore Almighty God to vouchsafe His blessings, and restore liberty and happiness within their borders." It was the intent of South Carolina, following the day of prayer and humiliation, to sever ties with the United States on the first day of February; however, "President Jackson issued his proclamation against this rebellion, called out a force sufficient to quell it, and implored the blessings of God to assist the nation to extricate itself from the horrors of the approaching and solemn crisis.
"On Christmas day [1832]," the Prophet Joseph recorded, "I received the following revelation and prophecy on war [D&C 87]." (History of the Church,1:301.)
Conflict did seem possible in the political turbulence of the early 1830s, as President Joseph Fielding Smith noted: "Scoffers have
said it was nothing remarkable for Joseph Smith in
1832, to predict the outbreak of the Civil War and that others who did not claim to be inspired with prophetic
vision had done the same. It has been said that Daniel Webster and William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 had predicted the dissolution of the Union. It is well known that senators and congressmen from the South had maintained that their section of the country had
a right to withdraw from the Union, for it was a confederacy, and in 1832, war clouds were to be seen on the horizon. It was because of this fact that the Lord made known to Joseph Smith this revelation stating that wars would shortly come to pass, beginning with the rebellion of South Carolina, which would eventually terminate in war being poured out upon all nations and in the death and misery of many souls. It may have been an easy thing in 1832, or even 1831, for someone to predict that there would come a division of the Northern States and the Southern States, for even then there were rumblings, and South Carolina
had shown the spirit of rebellion. It was not, however, within the power of man to predict in the detail which the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, what was shortly to come to pass as an outgrowth of the Civil War and the pouring out of war upon all nations." (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:358"59.)
In April 1843, when the threat of secession was not so immediate, the Prophet again stated: "I prophesy, in the name of the Lord God, that the commencement of the difficulties which will cause much bloodshed previous to the coming of Son of Man will be in South Carolina. It may probably arise through the slave question. This a voice declared to me while I was praying earnestly on the subject, December 25th, 1832." (History of the Church, 5:324.)
D&C 87:1. "The Wars That Will Shortly Come to Pass . . . Will Eventually Terminate in the Death and Misery of Many Souls"
The war that started with the rebellion of South Carolina marked the beginning of the era of war that will last until the Savior returns to establish peace. In the American Civil War, "the personal valour and the enormous casualties"both in absolute numbers and in percentage of numbers engaged"have not yet ceased to astound scholars and military historians
everywhere. Based on the three-year standard of enlistment, some 1,556,000 soldiers served in the Federal armies, which suffered a total of 634,703 casualties (359,528 dead and 275,175 wounded). There were probably some 800,000 men serving in the Confederate forces, which sustained approximately 483,000 casualties (about 258,000 deaths and perhaps 225,000 wounded). "The cost in treasure was, of course, staggering for the embattled sections. Both governments, after
strenuous attempts to finance the prosecution of the war by increasing taxes and floating loans, were obliged to resort to the printing press to make fiat money. While separate Confederate figures are lacking, the war finally cost the United States over $15,000,000,000. In sum, although the Union was preserved and restored, the cost in physical and moral suffering was incalculable, and some spiritual wounds caused by [this] holocaust still have not yet been healed." (Warren W. Hassler Jr., in New
Encyclopaedia Britannica [1978], s.v. "Civil War, U.S.") D&C 87:2. Has War Been Poured Out on All Nations?
In 1958 Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin noted: "The Prophet Joseph gave us this marvelous revelation in 1832. The Civil War came in 1861; the war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864; Italy and Austria in 1865 and 1866; Austria and Prussia in 1866; Russia and Turkey in 1877; China and ***an in 1894 and 1895; Spanish-American in 1898; ***an and Russia in 1904 and 1905; World War I in 1914"1918; then the next war was a comparatively small one, Ethiopia and Italy, when the people in that land of Ethiopia were taken over and controlled by Italy. I am grateful to the Lord that they now have their freedom. Then, the World War
just passed [World War II] and, of course, the Korean War. [Since 1958 there have been, among numerous other wars, the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia, the war in Angola, the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars in the Holy Land, and the Persian Gulf War.]
"These nations of Russia, China, Korea, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Arabia, Lebanon"all of these nations are now in an attitude of war of some kind. Just what the results are going to be, I do not know. Of course, from the revelations we can and do know that someday there will be one great war in a certain area, that area possibly may be in and around some of these countries I have mentioned, probably around Israel." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1958, p. 33.) Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, in a lecture given in
1942, explained: "We hear a great deal and we see a great deal in the prints today about this great second world war. I think in a previous talk I said I did not call it the second world war. This is the first world war. It is only a part, a continuation of the war of 1914 to 1918, and even that was not the beginning. I have been asked a great many times if I thought this present war was the great last war before the coming of Christ, and I have said yes; but I do not mean when I say this that we will not have another spell, another armistice, when they may lay down their arms for a season only to get ready to take them up again, although I hope that will not be the case. I think the great world war commenced in April, 1861. At any rate, that was the beginning of the end. . . ."Based upon what the Lord says in this Section 87 of the Doctrine & Covenants"the Section on war which I read"I place the time of the beginning of the end at the rebellion of South Carolina. I say I place it there. I beg your pardon. The Lord places
it there because it says beginning at this place these things would take place." (Signs of the Times, pp. 138, 149.)
D&C 87:3. Southern States Will Call on Great Britain Elder James E. Talmage said: "While no open alliance between the Southern States and the English government was effected, British influence gave indirect assistance and substantial encouragement
to the South, and this in such a way as to produce serious international complications. Vessels were built and equipped at British ports in the interests of the Confederacy; and the results of this violation of the laws of neutrality cost Great Britain fifteen and a half millions of dollars, which sum was awarded the United States at the Geneva arbitration in settlement of the Alabama claims. The Confederacy appointed commissioners to Great Britain and France; these appointees were forcibly taken by United States
officers from the British steamer on which they had embarked. This act, which the United States government had to admit as overt, threatened for a time to precipitate a war between this nation and Great Britain." (Articles of Faith, pp. 25"26.)
D&C 87:3. Who Was to Call on Other Nations for Help? "Still another prediction is made in this verse, although probably some readers miss it because the language is somewhat involved. We have already seen that "the Southern States will call on other nations, even ["including" as I interpret it] the nation of Great Britain, as it is called." Immediately following these words we read: "and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations." What is the antecedent of they? It cannot be the Southern States, because the Confederacy was fighting the Northern States only and was not defending itself against "other nations." Furthermore, the verse has already made the point that the Southern States would call (for help) on other nations. To me the antecedent of they is Great Britain and the other nations upon which the Confederacy would call for help, namely, France, Holland, and Belgium. The plain meaning of the words to me last quoted ("and they shall also," etc.) is that even as the Southern States would call for help on other nations, so in turn would Great Britain, France, Holland, and Belgium eventually call for help in other conflicts to follow, in order to defend themselves. Many of us have lived to see the letter and spirit of this prophecy fulfilled in the two World Wars we have passed through. "And then," continues the Lord, "war shall be poured out upon all nations." That is to say, when Great Britain and the other nations mentioned call for help, world war would result. This has already taken place." (Sperry, Compendium, pp. 419"20.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith noted that "following the Civil War the nations, in their great alarm because of the new methods of warfare which were being developed and their fear of other nations, entered into alliances and secret agreements in order to protect themselves from other nations. At the outbreak of the World War, these alliances had reached proportions never before known, and during the war other alliances were made until nearly every nation on the earth had taken sides with the Triple
Alliance or the Triple Entente. It was during the period of the World War, 1914"1918, Great Britain made her appeal to the nations to come to the defense of the standard of Democracy. Her pleadings were heard round the world." (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:361.)
D&C 87:4"5. Who Are the "Slaves" Who Shall Rise Up against Their Masters? This prophecy begins with reference to the U.S. Civil
War, which was fought over the issue of slavery. Many have therefore assumed that Doctrine and Covenants 87:4 refers to slaves who fled the South and fought in the Union armies against their former masters. Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin suggested a further
fulfillment: "I believe, brethren and sisters, that it was intended that this referred to slaves all over the world." Elder Wirthlin mentioned specifically the inhabitants of the former Soviet Union and its satellites and other parts of the world "where the rights and the privilege to worship God and to come to a knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Son is denied them" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1958, p. 32).
D&C 87:6. Will All Nations Be Destroyed?
Elder James E. Talmage taught: "Now, I do not believe in trying to explain away the words of God that predict calamity, but are nevertheless full of assurance unto the righteous, be it a righteous man or a righteous nation. We should awaken to their
dread import. The Lord is dealing with the nations of the earth, and his Spirit has departed in large measure from nations that have defied him and his commandments, and as a result, they, being left largely to themselves, war with one another, and seek
all means by which they can destroy one another most expeditiously. Now, the Lord is not the author of these evil things; the nations are bringing these inflictions upon themselves, and there shall be a consummation brought about as the Lord hath decreed, which shall mean an end of all nations as such, if they will not observe the law and the commandments of the Lord their God." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1923, p. 54.) In the judgments that precede the Millennium, all earthly kingdoms will come to an end and the kingdom of God will triumph and become the one political power during the thousand years of peace and righteousness (see Revelation 11:15).
D&C 87:7. How Serious Is It to Shed the Blood of the Saints? Prior to the Civil War many members of the Church lost their lives at the hand of ruthless mobs. Elder George Q. Cannon wrote: "There is no sin that a nation can commit, which the Lord avenges so
speedily and fearfully, as he does the shedding of innocent blood, or, in other words, the killing of his anointed and authorized servants. No nation which has been guilty of this dreadful crime has ever escaped his vengeance. The thunderbolts of his wrath have been always launched forth for the destruction of the perpetrators of such wickedness. It is a rank offence against the majesty of Heaven and the authority of the Creator, which he never suffers to pass unrebuked; for such men act in his stead, and are his representatives on the earth." (Millennial Star, 4 June 1864, pp. 361"62; see also
Notes and Commentary on D&C 101:81"95 and on D&C 136:34"36.)
Ahem ! What chapter of the book of Prophets is this Joseph Smith Found in ?
__________________
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. Zephaniah 1:14
פרץ
You asked for it so you get the whole explaination and doctrine taught in this scripture. Notice that the south tried to get Great Britain involved and they were ready. The U.S. sued Great Britain because of this and won 15.5 million dollars. This prophecy was prophecying that wars and calamities would begin on the earth starting with South Carolina and would continue until Christ came back. Joseph Smith was stating that the prophecy of wars and rumors of wars in the bible had begun and was about to be fulfilled.
Historical Background
The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote that the
"appearances of troubles among the nations became
more visible this season than they had previously
been since the Church began her journey out of the
wilderness. The ravages of the cholera were frightful
in almost all the large cities on the globe. The plague
broke out in India, while the United States, amid
all her pomp and greatness, was threatened with
immediate dissolution. The people of South Carolina,
in convention assembled (in November), passed
ordinances, declaring their state a free and
independent nation; and appointed Thursday, the
31st day of January, 1833, as a day of humiliation and
prayer, to implore Almighty God to vouchsafe His
blessings, and restore liberty and happiness within
their borders." It was the intent of South Carolina,
following the day of prayer and humiliation, to
sever ties with the United States on the first day of
February; however, "President Jackson issued his
proclamation against this rebellion, called out a force
sufficient to quell it, and implored the blessings of
God to assist the nation to extricate itself from the
horrors of the approaching and solemn crisis.
"On Christmas day [1832]," the Prophet Joseph
recorded, "I received the following revelation and
prophecy on war [D&C 87]." (History of the Church,
1:301.)
Conflict did seem possible in the political
turbulence of the early 1830s, as President
Joseph Fielding Smith noted: "Scoffers have
said it was nothing remarkable for Joseph Smith in
1832, to predict the outbreak of the Civil War and that
others who did not claim to be inspired with prophetic
vision had done the same. It has been said that Daniel
Webster and William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 had
predicted the dissolution of the Union. It is well
known that senators and congressmen from the South
had maintained that their section of the country had
a right to withdraw from the Union, for it was a
confederacy, and in 1832, war clouds were to be seen
on the horizon. It was because of this fact that the Lord
made known to Joseph Smith this revelation stating
that wars would shortly come to pass, beginning
with the rebellion of South Carolina, which would
eventually terminate in war being poured out upon all
nations and in the death and misery of many souls. It
may have been an easy thing in 1832, or even 1831, for
someone to predict that there would come a division
of the Northern States and the Southern States, for
even then there were rumblings, and South Carolina
had shown the spirit of rebellion. It was not, however,
within the power of man to predict in the detail which
the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, what was shortly to
come to pass as an outgrowth of the Civil War and the
pouring out of war upon all nations." (Church History
and Modern Revelation, 1:358"59.)
In April 1843, when the threat of secession was
not so immediate, the Prophet again stated: "I
prophesy, in the name of the Lord God, that the
commencement of the difficulties which will cause
much bloodshed previous to the coming of the
Son of Man will be in South Carolina. It may
probably arise through the slave question. This a
voice declared to me while I was praying earnestly
on the subject, December 25th, 1832." (History of the
Church, 5:324.)
Notes and Commentary
D&C 87:1. What Is the Significance of South
Carolina in This Prophecy?
"At that time [1832] there was considerable
commotion in the United States. The tariff question
was one of great issue. The State of New York,
before its acceptance of the Federal Constitution,
surrounded itself with protective tariffs, and this
policy was gradually approved by other Northern
States. The Southern States, on the other hand,
regarded free trade as best serving their interests, as
their products were limited to a few articles of raw
material, which they exported, while they imported
practically all the manufactured commodities they
needed. In 1824, Congress enacted a protective-tariff
bill. A few years later, a stricter measure was
adopted against Great Britain, in retaliation for
efforts to exclude American trade from the British
West Indies. This met with vigorous opposition in
the South, especially in South Carolina. In this State,
in 1832, a convention of the citizens declared that the
tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 were not binding within
their territory, and fixed February 1st, 1833, as
the date after which they would be considered
abrogated, unless Congress should, before then,
remove the difficulty. Many Northerners were in
favor of carrying the laws of the Union into effect by
means of arms, at that time, and a bill empowering
the President to use force was introduced in
Congress. It was during this political agitation that
the Prophet Joseph made the condition of his
Country the subject of prayer and received this
Revelation (See Sec. 130:12, 13).
"While all of these differences existing between
the North and the South had a tendency to drive the
people apart, yet it was the question of slavery, and
the contention over the expansion of new territory
and the creation of new states and whether or not
slavery should be permitted in such new territory,
that became the crux which brought upon the people
the great Civil War. . . .
"South Carolina took the initiative. From a mere
human point of view this appeared improbable. The
probability was that the Northern States, conscious
of their numerical and financial strength, would
throw down the gauntlet. A bill was before Congress
authorizing President Andrew Jackson to use force in
defense of the Union. But, notwithstanding this, the
North did not begin the war. South Carolina took
the first step, by recalling her representatives in the
United States Senate, November 10, 1860. This was
followed by an ordinance of secession, passed by the
State Legislature on the 17th of November, the same
year. And on the 12th of April, 1861, the first shot of
the war was fired by General Beauregard against Fort
Sumter, and thus the conflict was begun by South
Carolina, as foretold by the Prophet, and not by any
of the Northern States." (Commentary, pp. 533"35.)
D&C 87:1. "The Wars That Will Shortly Come
to Pass . . . Will Eventually Terminate in the
Death and Misery of Many Souls"
The war that started with the rebellion of South
Carolina marked the beginning of the era of war that
will last until the Savior returns to establish peace. In
the American Civil War, "the personal valour and the
enormous casualties"both in absolute numbers and
in percentage of numbers engaged"have not yet
ceased to astound scholars and military historians
everywhere. Based on the three-year standard of
enlistment, some 1,556,000 soldiers served in the
Federal armies, which suffered a total of 634,703
casualties (359,528 dead and 275,175 wounded).
There were probably some 800,000 men serving in the
Confederate forces, which sustained approximately
483,000 casualties (about 258,000 deaths and perhaps
225,000 wounded).
"The cost in treasure was, of course, staggering
for the embattled sections. Both governments, after
strenuous attempts to finance the prosecution of the
war by increasing taxes and floating loans, were
obliged to resort to the printing press to make fiat
money. While separate Confederate figures are
lacking, the war finally cost the United States over
preserved and restored, the cost in physical and
moral suffering was incalculable, and some spiritual
wounds caused by [this] holocaust still have not yet
been healed." (Warren W. Hassler Jr., in New
Encyclopaedia Britannica [1978], s.v. "Civil War, U.S.")
D&C 87:2. Has War Been Poured Out on All
Nations?
In 1958 Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin noted:
"The Prophet Joseph gave us this marvelous
revelation in 1832. The Civil War came in 1861; the
war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864; Italy
and Austria in 1865 and 1866; Austria and Prussia
in 1866; Russia and Turkey in 1877; China and
***an in 1894 and 1895; Spanish-American in 1898;
***an and Russia in 1904 and 1905; World War I in
1914"1918; then the next war was a comparatively
small one, Ethiopia and Italy, when the people
in that land of Ethiopia were taken over and
controlled by Italy. I am grateful to the Lord that
they now have their freedom. Then, the World War
just passed [World War II] and, of course, the
Korean War. [Since 1958 there have been, among
numerous other wars, the Vietnam War in Southeast
Asia, the war in Angola, the Six-Day and Yom
Kippur wars in the Holy Land, and the Persian
Gulf War.]
"These nations of Russia, China, Korea, Syria,
Israel, Egypt, Arabia, Lebanon"all of these nations
are now in an attitude of war of some kind. Just what
the results are going to be, I do not know. Of course,
from the revelations we can and do know that some
day there will be one great war in a certain area, that
area possibly may be in and around some of these
countries I have mentioned, probably around Israel."
(In Conference Report, Oct. 1958, p. 33.)
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, in a lecture given in
1942, explained: "We hear a great deal and we see a
great deal in the prints today about this great second
world war. I think in a previous talk I said I did not
call it the second world war. This is the first world
war. It is only a part, a continuation of the war of
1914 to 1918, and even that was not the beginning. I
have been asked a great many times if I thought this
present war was the great last war before the coming
of Christ, and I have said yes; but I do not mean
when I say this that we will not have another spell,
another armistice, when they may lay down their
arms for a season only to get ready to take them up
again, although I hope that will not be the case. I
think the great world war commenced in April, 1861.
At any rate, that was the beginning of the end. . . .
"Based upon what the Lord says in this Section 87
of the Doctrine & Covenants"the Section on war
which I read"I place the time of the beginning of
the end at the rebellion of South Carolina. I say I
place it there. I beg your pardon. The Lord places
it there because it says beginning at this place
these things would take place." (Signs of the Times,
pp. 138, 149.)
D&C 87:3. Southern States Will Call on Great
Britain
Elder James E. Talmage said: "While no open alliance
between the Southern States and the English
government was effected, British influence gave
indirect assistance and substantial encouragement
to the South, and this in such a way as to produce
serious international complications. Vessels were
built and equipped at British ports in the interests of
the Confederacy; and the results of this violation of
the laws of neutrality cost Great Britain fifteen and a
half millions of dollars, which sum was awarded the
United States at the Geneva arbitration in settlement
of the Alabama claims. The Confederacy appointed
commissioners to Great Britain and France; these
appointees were forcibly taken by United States
officers from the British steamer on which they
had embarked. This act, which the United States
government had to admit as overt, threatened for
a time to precipitate a war between this nation and
Great Britain." (Articles of Faith, pp. 25"26.)
D&C 87:3. Who Was to Call on Other Nations
for Help?
"Still another prediction is made in this verse,
although probably some readers miss it because the
language is somewhat involved. We have already
seen that "the Southern States will call on other
nations, even ["including" as I interpret it] the
nation of Great Britain, as it is called." Immediately
following these words we read: "and they shall also
call upon other nations, in order to defend
themselves against other nations." What is the
antecedent of they? It cannot be the Southern States,
because the Confederacy was fighting the Northern
States only and was not defending itself against
"other nations." Furthermore, the verse has already
made the point that the Southern States would call
(for help) on other nations. To me the antecedent of
they is Great Britain and the other nations upon
which the Confederacy would call for help, namely,
France, Holland, and Belgium. The plain meaning of
the words to me last quoted ("and they shall also,"
etc.) is that even as the Southern States would call
for help on other nations, so in turn would Great
Britain, France, Holland, and Belgium eventually call
for help in other conflicts to follow, in order to
defend themselves. Many of us have lived to see the
letter and spirit of this prophecy fulfilled in the two
World Wars we have passed through. "And then,"
continues the Lord, "war shall be poured out upon
all nations." That is to say, when Great Britain and
the other nations mentioned call for help, world war
would result. This has already taken place." (Sperry,
Compendium, pp. 419"20.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith noted that
"following the Civil War the nations, in their great
alarm because of the new methods of warfare which
were being developed and their fear of other nations,
entered into alliances and secret agreements in order
to protect themselves from other nations. At the
outbreak of the World War, these alliances had
reached proportions never before known, and during
the war other alliances were made until nearly every
nation on the earth had taken sides with the Triple
Alliance or the Triple Entente. It was during the
period of the World War, 1914"1918, Great Britain
made her appeal to the nations to come to the
defense of the standard of Democracy. Her pleadings
were heard round the world." (Church History and
Modern Revelation, 1:361.)
D&C 87:6. Will All Nations Be Destroyed?
Elder James E. Talmage taught: "Now, I do not
believe in trying to explain away the words of God
that predict calamity, but are nevertheless full of
assurance unto the righteous, be it a righteous man
or a righteous nation. We should awaken to their
dread import. The Lord is dealing with the nations
of the earth, and his Spirit has departed in large
measure from nations that have defied him and his
commandments, and as a result, they, being left
largely to themselves, war with one another, and seek
all means by which they can destroy one another
most expeditiously. Now, the Lord is not the author
of these evil things; the nations are bringing these
inflictions upon themselves, and there shall be a
consummation brought about as the Lord hath
decreed, which shall mean an end of all nations
as such, if they will not observe the law and the
commandments of the Lord their God." (In
Conference Report, Oct. 1923, p. 54.)
In the judgments that precede the Millennium,
all earthly kingdoms will come to an end and the
kingdom of God will triumph and become the one
political power during the thousand years of peace
and righteousness (see Revelation 11:15).
D&C 87:7. How Serious Is It to Shed the Blood
of the Saints?
Prior to the Civil War many members of the Church
lost their lives at the hand of ruthless mobs. Elder
George Q. Cannon wrote: "There is no sin that a
nation can commit, which the Lord avenges so
speedily and fearfully, as he does the shedding of
innocent blood, or, in other words, the killing of his
anointed and authorized servants. No nation which
has been guilty of this dreadful crime has ever
escaped his vengeance. The thunderbolts of his
wrath have been always launched forth for the
destruction of the perpetrators of such wickedness.
It is a rank offence against the majesty of Heaven
and the authority of the Creator, which he never
suffers to pass unrebuked; for such men act in his
stead, and are his representatives on the earth."
(Millennial Star, 4 June 1864, pp. 361"62; see also
Notes and Commentary on D&C 101:81"95 and
on D&C 136:34"36.)
Scripture??
