Sunday, March 26, 2023

Joseph Smith's Prophetic Blessing to Newel K. Whitney (October 7, 1835)

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:


Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies