On October 7, 1835, Joseph Smith pronounced the following blessing and prophecy upon Newel K. Whitney:
He said blessed
of the Lord is brother Whitney, even the Bishop of the Church of Latter-Day
Saints, for the Bishoprick shall never be taken away from him while he liveth.
and the time cometh when he shall overcome all the narrow-mindedness of his
heart, and all his covetous desires that so easily beset him. He shall deal
with a liberal hand to the poor, the needy, the sick and afflicted the widow
and the fatherless. Marvelously and miraculously shall the Lord his God provide
for him, even, that he shall be blessed with a fulness of the good things of
this earth, and his seed after him from generation to generation. And it shall
come to pass, that according to the measure that he metes out with a liberal
hand unto the poor, so shall it be measured to him again by the hand of his
God, even an hundred fold. Angels shall guard his habitation, and protect the
lives of his posterity; and they shall become very numerous on the earth.
Whomsoever he blesseth, shall be blessed and whosoever. he curseth shall be
cursed. When his enemies seek to hurt or destroy him, let him rise up and curse
them and the hand of God shall be upon his enemies in judgement: They shall be
utterly confounded and brought to desolation. Therefore, he shall be preserved
unto the utmost, for his life shall be precious in the sight of the Lord. He
shall rise up and shake himself as a Lion. As a Lion riseth out of his nest and
roareth until he shaketh, the hills, as a Lion goeth forth among the lesser
beasts, so shall the goings forth of him be whom the Lord hath anointed to
exalt the poor and humble the rich. Therefore, his name shall be on high and
his rest among the sanctified.
Commenting on the prophetic nature of this blessing, Duane Crowther noted the following:
1. His bishopric shall never be taken away while he
liveth.
Newel K. Whitney was called to be the Bishop of
Kirtland in December of 1831. (See D & C 72) After the Saints left that
area he moved West and was appointed Bishop of the Commerce (Nauvoo) middle war
(HC 4:12) and later of the Nauvoo 7th ward. (HC 5:119) There he served until
the Saints moved westward once again. On October 7, 1844, he was sustained as
the first, or presiding Bishop of the Church. (HC 7:297, 462, 629) In this
position, he presided over the Church at Winter Quarters and later in Salt Lake
City. He held this position, in literal fulfillment of Joseph’s prophecy, until
his death on September 23, 1850.
2. He shall deal with a liberal hand to the poor,
sick, the widow and the fatherless.
Elder Whitney was always diligent in his efforts to
aid the needy. As Bishop to the Ohio Saints he was given the responsibility of
disturbing supplies to all who were living under the United Order. In so doing
he went out of his way to care for those with special problems. A good example
of this effort is found in the Prophet’s record of a banquet Elder Whitney
served:
Thursday, 7
[January, 1836].—Attended a sumptuous feast at Bishop Newel K. Whitney’s. The
feast was after the order of the Son of God—the lame, the halt, and the blind
were invited, according to the instructions of the Savior. Our meeting was
opened by singing, and prayer by Father Smith; after which Bishop Whitney’s
father and mother, and a number of others, were blessed with a patriarchal
blessing. We then received a bountiful refreshment, furnished by the liberality
of the Bishop. The company was large, and before we partook we had some of the
songs of Zion sung; and our hearts were made glad by a foretaste of those joys
that will be poured upon the heads of the Saints when they are gathered
together on Mount Zion, to enjoy one another’s society for evermore, even all
the blessings of heaven, when there will be non to molest or make us afraid. (HC
2:362-63)
Speaking of the same affair Newel’s wife said,
This feast for the poor . . . lasted three days,
during which all in the vicinity of Kirtland who would come were invited and
entertained. The Prophet Joseph and his counselors were present each day,
talking, blessing and comforting the poor by words of encouragement and their
most welcome presence. He often referred to it afterwards and testified of the
great blessing he felt in associating with the meek and humble whom the Lord
‘delights to own and bless.’ He said it was preferable and far superior to the
elegant and select parties he afterwards attended, and afforded him much more
satisfaction. (Jenson, Andrew, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia
[Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1901], vol. 1, pp. 225-26)
3. He and his seed shall be blessed with a fullness
of the good things of this earth.
Newel K. Whitney had real ability in the field of
merchandising and continually prospered in that line of endeavor. He became the
junior partner in the company of Gilbert and Whitney in Kirtland. This business
was later dissolved and he opened the Newel K. Whitney & Co. store
independently in Kirtland. He was well liked and the Saints patronized his
store in large numbers. Concerning his merchandising abilities his wife said,
He was a young man who had come out west to seek his
fortune. He had thrift and energy and accumulated property faster than most of
his associates. Indeed, he became proverbial as being lucky in all his
undertakings. He had been trading at Green Bay, buying furs and skins from the
Indians and trappers for the eastern market, and exchanging them for goods
suitable to the wants of the people in that locality. In his travels to and
from New York he passed through the country where we resided; we met and became
attached to each other, and my aunt granting her full approval, we were married.
Our tastes and feelings were congenial, and we were a happy couple with bright
prospects in store. We prospered in all our efforts to accumulate wealth; so
much so that among our friends it came to be remarked that nothing of N. K.
Whitney’s ever got lost on the lake, and no product of his was ever low in the
market. (Ibid., p. 223)
Five days after his death the Deseret Weekly News made
this comment concerning his business dealings:
In him, the Church suffers the loss of a wise and able
counselor and a thorough and straightforward business man. It was ever more
gratifying to him to pay a debt than to contract one, and when all his debts
were paid he was a happy man, though he had nothing left but his own moral and
muscular energy. He has gone down to the grave, leaving a spotless name behind
him, and thousands to mourn the loss of such a valuable man. (Ibid., p.
227)
4. His home shall be guarded by angels.
While it is very difficult to show whether or not
angels did keep guard over Elder Whitney’s home, at least two experiences took
place there which show that he was clearly in contact with the powers of
heaven. One of these experiences took place just three months before Joseph
Smith came to live with the Whitneys in their Kirtland home. At that time Newel
and his wife had embraced the Campbellite faith and were earnestly seeking to
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In November of 1830 the couple had this
experience, which was recorded by Newel’s wife:
One night—it was midnight—my husband and I were in our
house at Kirtland praying to the Father to be shown the way when the Spirit
rested upon us and a cloud overshadowed the house. It was as though we were out
of doors. The house passed away from our vision. We were not conscious of
anything but the presence of the spirit and the cloud that was over us. We were
wrapped in the cloud. A solemn aura pervaded us. We saw the cloud and felt the
Spirit of the Lord. Then we heard a voice out of the cloud saying, ‘Prepare to
receive the word of the Lord, for it is coming.’ At this we marveled greatly,
but from that moment we knew that the word of the Lord was coming to Kirtland.
(Ibid., p. 223)
When the Prophet came to Kirtland in early 1831 he
told Newel, “You prayed me here, now what do you want of me?” (HC 1:146)
Shortly afterwards, as Joseph and his wife were saying with the Whitneys,
Sister Whitney commented,
I remarked to my husband that thus was the fulfillment
of the vision we had seen of a cloud, as of glory, resting upon our house.
(Jenson, op. cit., p. 224)
Almost a year later, when Newel was first called to be
a bishop, he had another experience in the same home. He had been uncertain as
to whether he could fill the office or not and had commented to the Prophet, “I
cannot see a Bishop in myself, Brother Joseph; but if you say it’s the Lord’s
will, I’ll try.” The Prophet replied, “You need not take my word alone. Go
and ask the Father for yourself.” That night he prayed in his home and asked
the Lord if he should accept the position. There in the solitude of his chamber
he received his answer. A voice from heaven spoke to him and said, “Thy
strength is in me.” (Ibid.) The message served to dispel all his
doubts, and Newel sought out the Prophet and told him he was willing to accept
the office to which he had been called.
. . .
5. His posterity shall become very numerous
Newel K. Whitney has a numerous posterity. His family
came to the West and has grown rapidly. A glance of the Whitney listings in the
Salt Lake City telephone directory alone bears witness to this. Among the best
known of his descendants are his daughter, Sarah, who was the first women given
in plural marriage in this dispensation, and his grandson, Orson F. Whitney, a
noted author and civil servant. (Duane S. Crowther, The Prophecies of Joseph
Smith [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1963], 272-75, 276, emphasis in original)
Further Reading:
