Being
familiar with prophecies made by Joseph Smith about the future of the Church
and comparing them with actual progress is one more way for Church members to
know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
This
is the message delivered Jan. 29 by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Council of
the Twelve, who spoke at the Institute of Religion at Utah State University's
annual Joseph Smith Memorial Lecture ."Today we see the fulfillment of
what the Prophet was shown about the growth of the Church," said Elder
Ballard.
The
apostle, whose ancestry goes back to the Prophet's older brother, Hyrum, told
the audience of 2,500 people that he often thinks of his forefathers. "I
find myself asking the question, `Am I doing all I can to move forward this
great work that they helped to start more than 168 years ago?' "
In
his address, Elder Ballard related some of the persecutions and trials faced by
the Prophet Joseph and other early Church leaders. He used statistics to show
how the Church has grown through the decades, slowly at first, and then more
quickly, with the numbers of missionaries and baptisms doubling and tripling in
the last few years.
"We
must never forget Joseph Smith's perseverance in the face of incredible
hardship and opposition to bring forth the priesthood, new scriptures, complete
doctrines, full ordinances, and covenants to exalt men and women through
membership in the restored Church," the apostle advised.
Elder
Ballard also shared an incident from early Church history that had been
recorded by Wilford Woodruff. The elders in the Church were gathering in
Kirtland, Ohio, to prepare to travel to Missouri and rescue saints who were
being heavily persecuted there. In a meeting, many elders stood and shared
their testimonies. Afterwards, the Prophet spoke.
"
`Brethren, I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies
here tonight,' " Elder Ballard quoted Joseph Smith as saying. "But I
want to say to you before the Lord that you know no more concerning the
destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You
don't comprehend it.'
"You
will detect in this statement by Joseph Smith no element of cautious
forecasting," observed Elder Ballard. "He certainly did not predict
future growth based on past trends. He gave a bold statement, a prophecy -
given by the Spirit of the Lord to a prophet of God.
"To
know the proclaimed vision of the work that the Church was to accomplish as
declared by the Prophet Joseph Smith and to review Church growth from the
Prophet's time to ours are, to me, additional reasons to know without question
that he, indeed, was a prophet of God," Elder Ballard declared. (Growth
fulfills prophecy, Church News, February 11, 1989)
As it was quoted in part in the above article, let me quote in
full Wilford Woodruff’s April 8, 1898 General Conference talk:
In 1833 the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints was driven out of Jackson County, Mo., for the word of God
and testimony of Jesus Christ. There Bishop Partridge was tarred and feathered
by the mob. That was the time of the falling of the stars in that country. Soon
afterwards Bishop Partridge called for volunteers to go to Kirtland to see the
Prophet. Two men volunteered out of those who had been driven from Jackson
County. One was Parley P. Pratt and the other was Lyman Wight. They went to
Kirtland and laid before the Prophet the circumstances, and the Prophet called
these two men, and others, to go abroad and gather up the strength of the
Lord's house and to prepare the camp of Zion. Parley P. Pratt came to my house.
I had just been baptized. I was engaged for a year in furnishing lumber by
contract. Parley P. Pratt told me it was my duty to lay aside all my temporal
matters, go to Kirtland, and join Zion's camp. I obeyed his counsel. I arrived
in Kirtland on Saturday and there met with Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the
street. I was introduced to Joseph Smith. It was the first time that I had ever
seen him in my life. He invited me home to spend the Sabbath with him, and I
did so. They had meeting on Sunday.
On Sunday night the Prophet called
on all who held the Priesthood to gather into the little log school house they
had there. It was a small house, perhaps 14 feet square. But it held the whole
of the Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were
then in the town of Kirtland, and who had gathered together to go off in Zion's
camp. That was the first time I ever saw Oliver Cowdery, or heard him speak;
the first time I ever saw Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, and the two
Pratts, and Orson Hyde and many others. There were no Apostles in the Church
then except Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. When we got together the Prophet
called upon the Elders of Israel with him to bear testimony of this work. Those
that I have named spoke, and a good many that I have not named, bore their
testimonies. When they got through the Prophet said, "Brethren I have been
very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want
to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies
of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't
comprehend it." I was rather surprised. He said "it is only a little
handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and
South America it will fill the world." Among other things he said,
"it will fill the Rocky Mountains. There will be tens of thousands of
Latter-day Saints who will be gathered in the Rocky Mountains, and there they
will open the door for the establishing of the Gospel among the Lamanites, who
will receive the Gospel and their endowments and the blessings of God. This
people will go into the Rocky Mountains; they will there build temples to the
Most High. They will raise up a posterity there, and the Latter-day Saints who
dwell in these mountains will stand in the flesh until the coming of the Son of
Man. The Son of Man will come to them while in the Rocky Mountains."
I name these things because I want
to bear testimony before God, angels and men that mine eyes behold the day, and
have beheld for the last fifty years of my life, the fulfillment of that
prophecy. I never expected to see the Rocky Mountains when I listened to that man's
voice, but I have, and do today. I will say here that I shall not live to see
it, you may not live to see it; but these thousands of Latter-day Saint
children that belong to the Sabbath schools, I believe many of them will stand
in the flesh when the Lord Jesus Christ visits the Zion of God here in the
mountains of Israel. And while I bear testimony before God, angels and men,
that mine eyes behold the fulfillment of the revelation given that night, I
just as much believe the remaining part of it will be fulfilled as I stand here
in the flesh. I rejoice at seeing the progress of the work that lies before us.
There is a great work before this people in the fulfillment of these prophecies
that have been given. Joseph Smith was full of revelation. He foresaw this
people, and this work until it was wound up.
My prayer to God is that we may
pursue such a course that we may enjoy and receive all these blessings, and our
posterity after us. Amen. (Conference
Report, April 1898, 57-58)
Further Reading: