In a discourse from April 6, 1843 (as reported by Willard Richards), Joseph Smith was recorded as saying the following:
<then Re[a]d> 14 Rev— 6
verse another angel fly in the midst of heaven; for the hour of his Judgmnt is
come.— to exterminati[o]n— from the commenceme[n]t. commence when angel
commences preachi[n]g this. gospel <1 day— 1000 years—>. 1000 year as 1
day.— 41. yrs 8 months.— only 6 years from the voice, saying, if thou live till
thou art 85,— <years old &c> Hosea 6th chapter after 2 days &c,
2520 years which— bri[n]gs it to 1890.— [John] Taylor says 45 years according
<to>— bible recokoning. the coming of the Son of man never will be, never
can be till the judgm[en]ts spoken of for this <hour> are poured out,
<which Jud[g]ments are commenced.—>
This discourse is often used as evidence that Joseph Smith falsely
prophesied the Second Coming would take place in 1890. On this, see:
Did
Joseph Smith Predict that the Second Coming would happen in 1890/91?
In this post, we will focus on the above quoted portion vis-à-vis
the 41 years and 8 months and the hour of God’s judgment.
Commenting on Joseph’s understanding of Hosea, Revelation, and the
time of “the hour of [God’s] judgment,” Vern Swanson succinctly noted that
1849, April:
Beginning of the hour of Judgment
Joseph Smith, Jr., using
Revelation 14:7 and D&C 130:15, and calculating the “hour” to be
one/twenty-fourth of 1,000 years, came up with 41 years and 8 months. Joseph
then subtracted this number from his birthday on the 23 December 1890. The date
sets for the Second Coming of Christ in the clouds. This extended “tribulation”
or judgment period is longer than the seven years or three and a half years usually
allotted to it. Joseph did not say this was a prophecy, but only his
“conclusion.” (Vern Grosvenor Swanson, Hour of God’s Judgment: Joseph
Smith’s Paradigm of the Last Days [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2022], 300)
Elsewhere, he discussed this issue in more detail:
Since “1000 years” can be
interpreted to mean “a day with the Lord,” then 1/48th of a day “one
hour” equal 41 years 8 months (close to 41.66 years) (see also Ezekiel 9:1-7,
and D&C 88:84, 104). This Hour of God’s Judgment in Revelation is not just
referring to a period of “extermination” or cleansing but to other kinder and
sweeter judgments. According to Joseph’s reckoning, instead of looking backward
to 1832 it may mean “forward.” The Hour was to begin six years hence in April
of 1849 (Or the date could be from the first time he heard the voice, which
could be 25 Dec. 1832. The meaning of the six years may be 6 of April 1843;
then add six years taking it to 6 April of 1849, then adding it with 41 years 8
months, it equates [but not precisely] to 23 December of 1890. We can feel
fairly sure that Joseph “reckoned” that in 1849 the House of God’s Judgement
would begin and the Tribulation would ensue. This was “only 6 years from the
voice . . .” or April of 1843. Then add the hour [41 years 8 months] of
tribulation commencing in April 1849, you get the Lord’s coming privately on
Joseph’s birthday, 23 December 1890). On the Hour of Judgment, Joseph set a
time-limited of nearly forty-two months. Then, afterward a personal epiphany
would occur; after that the Coming of the Son of Man could occur.
As far as we know, Christ did not
come in the year 1890 . . . Since Joseph did not live to eighty-five, this
calculation had little significance impact upon Latter-day Saint literature and
news in contemporary 1890. Now, 130 years later, we still await the day of the
Lord’s coming, but the paradigm of the Hour of God’s judgment still seems
viable in modern contexts. Joseph continues his discourse:
Hosea 6th chapter, 2 days, etc.,
2,520 years, which brings it 1890. Gaylor says 45 years according to bile
reckoning. The coming of the Son of Man never will be, never can be, till the
judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out, which judgments are
commenced. (WJS [1980], p. 160 [6 April 1843]; TPJS, [1974] p.
286 [6 April 1843[. See Matthew 24:27-30. The author was unable to discover the
identity of one Mr. Gaylor [perhaps his name is Gaylord?])
It is obvious that the prophet has
fixated on 1890 as a target date which might have had some personal viability
but not for the world in general. While it is true that judgments commenced
during Joseph’s day; the major judgments of The Hour would not have commenced
at this early date, nor would occur, in his mind until 1849. Joseph Smith in
the above quote was referring to Hosea 6:2, “After two days will he revives
us: in the third day he will raise [restore] us up, and we shall live in his
sight.” This scripture is a prophecy regarding the resurrection; did it
have something to do with Joseph Smith’s own resurrection?
This idea revolves around the
subjunctive phrase, “If you live . . . “ from Joseph’s discourse. This phrase
may related to the idea as in the resurrection. The entire proposition may mean
several things, under various scenarios. One of these is that Joseph Smith may
have been resurrected in 1890 (Even though the RLDS Church exhumed the bodies
of Joseph and Hyrum in the 1920s and had their bones examined, they may have
already been resurrected. Joseph Smith called it the “fundamental part” or
“seed” [DNA?], while the Discourses of Brigham Young [1954, page 372]
said “fundamental articles” was what the new resurrected would be made from,
not old decayed “dry” bones [HC, 5:339]). In the end analysis, Joseph
himself was perplexed with the “if you should live till 85” voice and was
seeking answers. But we know that Wilford Woodruff took it seriously and may
have believed in either the resurrection of Joseph Smith or the Second Coming
for that date (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal [25 Dec. 1879], p. 537. The entry
noted, “W. Woodruff said he did not believe that any person who lived to see
‘1890’ would be able to see any United States for he believed the Union would
be broken by that time. Let the historian[s] see if he guessed right.”).
In erstwhile Latter-day Saint
apostle Moses Thatcher’s sermon of 3 August 1886 at Lewiston in Cache County
Utah, he blurted out regarding the vision for 1890, “And that man raised up
will be no other than the Prophet Joseph Smith, in his resurrected body” (From
notes of Thatcher’s sermon taken by W. f. Burton and printed in a flyleaf.
Thatcher later said these notes did not get at the essence of what he said.
Lorenzo Snow wrote a pamphlet disavowing the sermon). Perhaps this, and surely
some of Thatcher’s other statements were out of harmony with the First
Presidency and the other apostles. Some apostles believe that Woodruff’s polygamy
manifesto was made in 1890 knowing that it would be a short “bridge” time until
their deliverance of God. Joseph’s resurrection may have been in the Brethren’s
mind, but to voice it so publicly was a breach by the easily offended Thatcher.
Now back to the topic; the idea of
a day equals a thousand years is used. Joseph employed it as evidence that the
second coming of Christ would not be before 1890. Unfortunately, Joseph merely
used the word “etc.” to come up with 2,520 years (John Hagee [1998] p. 189,
believes that it is a period of actual days, “after the day Israel signs a
seven year peace accord with the Antichrist.”). It is seven prophetic years of
260 days, which equals 2,520 days, but here it is employed to mean a day equals
a year. In prophetic parlance, a day can be a day, a year, or a thousand years.
It is difficult to trace Joseph’s
thinking of Hosea’s prophecy being fulfilled in the latter days and it is not
just relating to Christ’s resurrection (Nyman, Monte S., Wayne R. Shute, Randy
L. Bott, Ephraim: Chosen of the Lord [1999], p. 43). What we don’t know
is the beginning date or an ending date for the 2,520 years. Of course, how
Joseph related 2,520 to AD 1890 is beyond us. He did refer to an unknown person
named “Gaylor” who was some unknown person who did Biblical reckoning that must
have figured into Joseph’s thinking.
There is another answer that may
fit the puzzle. The idea that if Joseph Smith had lived until he was 85 years
old, the world would, in fact, be ready for the Millennium and the Lord’s
coming. If Joseph lived to “complete his work” he surely would have brought
this world “around” enough to be ready to meet the Savior at this early date of
1890. But, of course, his martyrdom by evil men precluded this from happening
and us from knowing about it. But it is interesting that December 23rd
date also corresponds closely with the day and month of the famous Mayan
prophecy of AD 2012.
Do all these indeterminate
machinations make Joseph Smith a false prophet? Absolutely not. As Joseph
wrote, “I was left to draw my own conclusions.” Thus, Joseph did as all others
did; he extrapolated, reckoned, speculated, supposed, guessed at, and gave it
his best shot. Andrew Ehtat noted:
And while Joseph never expressed
in binding prophecy that Christ would come at some specific time as other
non-Mormon Millennia lists did, nevertheless, the common knowledge of his hopes
were so compelling that many in Utah as 1890 approached were readying
themselves for the event. (Andrew Ehat, “Joseph Smith’s Introduction of Temple
Ordinances and the 1844 Mormon Succession Question,” Master’s Thesis,
Department of History [BYU, 1981], 144)
From what newspaper and diaries at
the time give us, the passing of this “prophecy” was of non-plus
significance. It was no big affair and eliciting relatively little comment.
What did Joseph expect would be happening during the Hour of His Judgment that
would last from April of 1849 to December 1890? Now that it is the important
question. Again, in the 1843 discourse we learn what is on his mind:
Jerusalem must be rebuilt and
Judah return, must return and the temple water come out form under the
temple—the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to build
the walls and the temple etc., and all this must be done before [the] Son of
Man will make his appearance; wars and rumors of wars. Signs in the heavens
above on the earth beneath, Sun turned into darkness, moon to blood.
Earthquakes in divers places, oceans heaving beyond their bound. (WJS [1980]
p. 180. [JS Diary by Willard Richards, 6 April 1843]. Also see HC, 5:337
[6 Apr. 1843])
This author believes that while
Joseph Smith’s “reckoning” may have been faulty in some ways, his understanding
of an Hour of His Judgment lasting for 41 years 8 months was totally sound and
inspired of the Lord. Therefore, this period will be the ne plus ultra time
frame for the last day events of a tribulation, gathering and judgment
duration, before the Coming of the Son of Man. His time frame was correct, but
his placement of it in the nineteenth century was not. The author accepts this
concept as the central framework for his own eschatological thesis. While no
other Latter-day Saint author has chosen to do so, he thinks that it subsumes
other prophetic intervals within its rather lengthy forty-two year interval.
And this will, in all eventuality, be the key to understanding the last days
from the latter days. (Ibid., 79-81)
Previously, Swanson wrote the following which is related to the above:
DOES JOSEPH NOW KNOW THE DAY OR
HOUR?
But of that day and hour no one
[man] knoweth; no, , not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only.
(Matthew 24:44, Inspired Version; Matthew 24:36, KJV)
While alive, Joseph Smith
definitely did not even know the year of the coming of the Lord in glory. This
is proved by his own statements, especially surrounding the 23rd of
December 1890 episode. Now as a resurrected being in charge of the Dispensation
of the Fullness of Times, he is probably organizing the very events of the end
times. And of course, do does the Savior and many of His closest angels. Mark
13:31-32 is comparable to Matthew 24:36 and Luke 21:34-38, but it has inserted
the phrase that “neither the Son” knew the day and hour. But that was then and
this is now.
Joseph Smith’s Inspired Version of
Mark leaves this insertion out. Christ spoke this verse while living on this
mortal Earth and maybe He did not know at that time. Now, as a resurrected and
exalted being, possessing the fullness of the glory and power of the Father
(see D&C 93:16-17), He knows the very year, month, and day. After sitting
on the right hand of th Father, we cannot conceive of any reason that the Son,
a member of the Godhead, would not have known everything about His own return.
Every benighted end-time
eschatologist has memorized this scripture from Matthew 24:36, and cites it
even as they predict the day, if not the hour, of this-or-that event concerning
last days prophecies. Quite a few Latter-day Saints have predicted the times,
seasons, or even a year of Christ’s coming. Members and non-members of the
Church have not thing in common, none got it right. George Q. Cannon, counselor
in the First Presidency, had practical things say about that.
I . . . call your attention to the
predictions of the Son of God concerning the last days, and the circumstances
which would surround His people previous to His making His second appearance on
the earth. Great interest had manifested at different periods by the
inhabitants of the earth who have believed in Jesus, respecting his second
coming. Great desires have been manifested from time to time to understand the
signs of His advent, and some have gone so far as to predict the day and even
the exact time when He would make his appearance. According to the revelations
that we have received upon this subject, the day and the hour are not revealed
unto man, neither is it probable that they will be, but we have been told that
the time is near at hand, and that it is our duty as a people of God, to
prepare ourselves for that great and terrible day (George Q. Cannon, JD
26:40-41 [7 Dec., 1884])
The prophet Spencer W. Kimball
felt quite certain that our behavior could hasten or delay the Lord’s coming.
He wrote, “The time of Christ’s return is affected by our conduct . . . IN my
estimation, the Lord’s time table is directed a good deal by us. We speed up
the clock or we slow the hands down and we turn them back by our activities or
our procrastinations” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W.
Kimball, p. 441. Elder Bruce R. McConkie once wrote the opposite, that the
end-time time table was not changed by the righteous but by the wicked). Like
the verse that says “our days are numbered,” where some have said that even
this verse is malleable, as seen in the phrase “his days were lengthened” (see
Job 14:5 and Proverbs 3:2).
In the last days there may be
three days for the “coming” of Jesus Christ. The first will be to the western
continent, Zion, to New Jerusalem, where He will come quietly and suddenly. The
second will be the great council at Adam-ondi-Ahman, which again will not be a
public assemblage and the wicked will know nothing of it. Third will be the
very public and grand return that the scriptures so vibrantly proclaim on the
Mount of Olives and His coming to the whole world a half hour later. The
righteous members of the Church who are versed in last day signs and have the
comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost will respond to those momentous events as
they unfold in a placid and serene manner (We will be emotionally moved to be
sure, yet not screaming and crying as if it were the “end of the world” even if
it is the end of the world. Think of the difference between a Latter-day
Saint funeral and a secular one; the Saints are more joyfully, and in contrast
their neighbor is out of their minds about death and dying). Orson Pratt, in
1859, spoke of these phenomena:
But, as a general thing, the
Saints will understand the signs of the times, if they do not lie down and go
to sleep. . . . When a man has this [spirit of prophecy], though he may appeal
to ancient prophets to get understanding on some subjects he does not clearly
understand, yet, as he has the spirit of prophecy in himself, he will not be in
darkness; he will have a knowledge of the signs of the times; he will have a
knowledge of the house of Israel, and of Zion, of the ten tribes and many
things and purposes and events that are to take place on the earth; and he will
see coming events, and can say such an event will take place, and after that
another . . . and he will have his eye fixed on the signs of the times, and
that day will not overtake him unawares; but upon the nations it will come as a
thief unto the mighty men and upon the chief captains, who will gather up their
hosts upon the mountains, hills, and valleys of Palestine, to fight against the
Jews; and they will be as blind as the dumb ass (Orson Pratt, JD
7:189-90 [10 July 1859]).
Latter-day Saints are most
fortunate because we have the ancient and modern scriptures of the Restoration,
and early and current prophets and apostles to aide us in our understanding and
preparation for the last days. While our Dispensation Head did not know the
date of the Second Coming of Christ, and fumbled with it several times, he
firmly believed that the prophets, when it becomes expedient to know, will
surely know the day and hour. Even the Saints as a people will instinctively be
sensitive to the hour of the Lord’s visitation. In 2017, a self-styled
Latter-day Saint prophetess, Julie Rowe criticized The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints and its general authorities for not warning its members of
the imminent need for “tent cities.” The prophet was right and she was wrong. A
rather lengthy 1843 quote form Joseph Smith Jr. paints the picture;
Christ says no man knoweth the day
or the hour when the Son of Man cometh. This is a sweeping argument for
sectarianism against Latter-day-ism. Did Christ speaks this as a general
principle throughout all generations? Oh no, he spoke in the present tense. No
man that was then living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. No
for this would be a flat contradiction with other scriptures for the prophet
says that God will do nothing but what he will reveal unto his servants the
prophets [Amos 3:7]. Again, we find Paul 1st of Thessalonians 5th
Chapter expressly points out the characters who shall not know the day nor the
hour when the Son of Man cometh, for says it will come upon them as the thief
or unawares. Who are they? They are the children of darkness or night. And so
the Saints he says: yea are not of the night nor of darkness that that day
should come upon you unawares.
John the revelator says in the 14th
chapter 7th verse that the hour of his [Lord’s] judgments is come.
They are precursors or forerunners of the coming of Christ. Read Matthew 24 and
all the prophets. He says then shall they see the Sign of the coming of the Son
of Man in the clouds of Heaven How are we to see it? Answer, As the lighting up
of the morning or the dawning of the morning cometh from the east and shineth
unto the west—So also is the coming of the Son of Man. The dawning of the
morning makes its appearance in the east and moves along gradually so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be. It will be small at its first appearance and gradually
becomes larger until every eye shall see it. Shall the Saints understand it? Oh
yes, Paul says so. Shall the wicked understand? Oh no, they attribute it to a
natural cause. They will probably suppose it is two great comets coming in
contact with each other (WJS [1980], [6 April 1843], pp. 180-81)
From this we conclude that Joseph
Smith did not know, while he was a mortal man, the hour, day, month, or even
year of the Lord’s second coming. He said that the prophet at the time has a
right to know from God. Joseph admitted that he was making a guess when he said
1890 and that he might, on a personal level, have been correct. He never said
it was a date sent from God to the world, but to him personally; in fact, he
said that God wouldn’t tell him and he was left to his own conclusions. Joseph
said, “Jesus Christ never did reveal to any many the precise time that He would
come. Go and read the Scriptures, and you cannot find anything that specifies
the exact hour He would come; and all that say so are false teachers” (TPJS,
[1974], p. 341 [10 Mar 1844]). The difference is now, as a resurrected being in
charge of this dispensation, he surely has inside clearance to know and to
organize the kings and times of the last days. (Ibid., 38-41)
Further Reading: