Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Joseph Smith vs. Charles T. Russell on the Survival of the USA After World War 1




Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; And the time will come that 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 the Southern States will call on other nations, 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 then war shall be poured out upon all nations. (D&C 87:1-3)


Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) made some interesting comments about World War 1 (1914-1918) and the destruction of the United States as a result thereof. As Greg Stafford noted:

Russell clearly believed that there would be some sort of “general war” involving the great nations of the earth, including the United States [118], and he thought that this war would close the age and “usher in the Millennial period.” Such a war, then, if it was to occur at all, would begin before 1914. But with all these predictions about what would soon occur, and while still confidently pointing to October 1914, as the “great climax of earth’s troubles,” Russell nevertheless made clear the act that it was not his intention to “enter into the role o prophet to any degree” [119] (Greg Stafford, Three Dissertations on the Teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses [Murrieta, Calif.: Elihu Books, 2002], 84)

The endnotes for the above are:

[118] Indeed, just before October 1914, Russell reminded his readers of his view, which included the prediction of a “great war” in which “the United States will become involved and so fall with the other nations.” Of course, the United States did not fall, nor did the war lead to the period of anarchy that Russell expected would follow the “great war” (“The Present Crisis,” The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, September 1, 1914, reprint pages 5526-5527). See also “Views from the Watch Tower,” The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, October 15, 1914, reprint page 5554.

[119] ”Views from the Watch Tower,” Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, March 1, 1904, page 3327.

What struck me as interesting was how this compares with, and contrasts with, D&C 87:3 and the prophecy of the United States and a then-future World War (or series of World Wars)—Smith never believed that the USA would be destroyed, unlike Russell, as a result of the then-future war(s) after the prophesied Civil War.