In 2 Nephi 3:7-15, we read a prophecy of a then-future prophet (emphasis added):
Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith
the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins;
and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will
I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his
brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them
to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers. And I
will give unto him a commandment that he shall do none other work, save the
work which I shall command him. And I will make him great in mine eyes; for he
shall do my work. And he shall be great like unto Moses,
whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of
Israel. And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land of
Egypt. But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him
will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins-- and not
to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them
of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them. Wherefore, the
fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall
write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that
which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together,
unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and
establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the
knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my
covenants, saith the Lord. And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that
day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O
house of Israel, saith the Lord. And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold,
that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be
confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit
of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this
promise; And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name
of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord
shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people
unto salvation.
Commenting on Joseph Smith and how events, post-1830,
fulfil v. 9 and the promise this prophet would be as great as Moses, Rafael
Diogo Jara listed the following parallels between Joseph Smith and Moses:
· Both
led God's people towards a Promised Land
· Both
spent many years on that pilgrimage, camping and living on provisionally in
many places
· Both
died before they reached the Promised Land, but their successors entered with
the people: In the case of Moses, it was Joshua, and in the case of Joseph Smith,
it was Brigham Young.
· Both
received revelations and possessed unusual divine powers for the blessing of
God's people.
· Both
miraculously gave water for the people to drink: Moses hitting the rock, Joseph
Smith digging in the open while leading the Mormon battalion.
· Both
gave God's law to the people: Moses the stone tablets with the Ten
Commandments, Joseph Smith the gold plates with the Book of Mormon.
· Both
were authors of important sacred books: Moses was the author of the Pentateuch
(the first five books of the Bible), Joseph Smith was the translator, and in
some cases the author, of five sacred books (The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants, the Book of Moses, The Book of Abraham and Joseph Smith-History).
· Moses
began to write the Bible, Joseph Smith revised it to preserve its authenticity.
· Both
recorded the minute details of ministry and priesthood ordinances: Moses in
Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants.
· Both
were military leaders and had to defend themselves from the attack of their
enemies.
· Both
held priesthood names corresponding to the dispensations of the times in which
they lived.
· Their
graves were both unknown.
Therefore, the words of the
prophet Lehi, quoting Joseph of Egypt, that Joseph Smith "shall be great
like unto Moses," was prophetic and fully fulfilled. (Rafael Diogo Jara, Profecías
en Oro [2018], 117-19, my translation of the Spanish)
