In a discourse recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Joseph is recorded as proving the following prophecies:
And I prophecy in
the name of the Lord that the state of Illinois shall become a great mountain and mighty mountain as [a] city
set upon a hill that cannot be hid and a great [candle?] that giveth
light to the world and The
city of Nauvoo als[o]
shall become the Greatest city in the whole world (Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane
Knowlton Coray–B, p. 16)
Yea I I prophecy that
pleasure parties shall come from England to see the Mamoth and like the Queen
of Sheba shall say the half never was told them. School houses shall be built
here and High schools shall be established and the great men of the [earth]
shall send their sons here to board while they are receiving their education
among us and even Noblemen shall crave the priviledge of educating their
children with us and these poor saints shall chink in their pockets the money
of these proud men received from such as come and dwell with us (Discourse, circa 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane
Knowlton Coray–B, pp. 19-20)
Here are some relevant comments from historians on the discourse as
recorded by Knowlton Coray:
JS, Discourse, Nauvoo, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 19 July 1840.
Featured version copied [between fall 1843 and 1850s] in Martha Jane Coray,
Notebook, ca. 1843–1850s, pp. [9]–[22]; handwriting of Martha Jane Knowlton
Coray; CHL . . . The timing of John Smith’s appointment as presiding elder in
Macedonia (an event referred to in the notebook) and internal dating suggest
that Coray made the entries in the notebook sometime between 1843 and 1855. The
first date listed in the notebook is 8 August 1853, and the last recorded date
is 1 December 1854. The notebook contains diary entries, financial statements,
school notes, a copy of Coray’s patriarchal blessing, and transcripts of three
sermons given by JS in Nauvoo, Illinois. (Source
Note
from The Joseph Smith Papers website)
Not in History of the Church or Teachings. Although
the report of this discourse in the Coray Notebook is dated 19 July 1840, there
are reasons to believe that this dating is incorrect, and that Martha Coray
integrated ideas she later learned into her final copy, in Utah, ideas she
learned after the original discourse. Some possible reasons are: (1) The date
"19 July 1840" is penned in a darker ink color and may have been an
afterthought, not part of the original notes; (2) The notation at the end of
the discourse suggests two possibilities: (a) the discourse was given on the
date that the Stake of Macedonia (Ramus) was organized (4 July 1840) or (b) the
discourse was given on the day John Smith was appointed president over the
Church in Macedonia (5 October 1843); (3) Reference to government of the United
States eventually coming to the "verge of crumbling" and the
"constitution [approaching] the brink of ruin" fits more consistently
with 1843 than 1840. Similarly, the idea that the Second Coming would not come
for another "40 years" and the notion that Zion comprehends all of
North and South America were teachings of the Prophet in 1843 and 1844. Because
of these problems the integrity of this report is in question, and we have
chosen to place it here in the appendix. (Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, The
Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of
the Prophet Joseph Smith [Orem, Utah: Grandin Book Company, 1991], 418-19 n. 1)
The July 1840 context suggests that Joseph Smith's
comments about the U.S. Constitution were given not long after his return from
Washington, D.C., where his appeal for redress for the wrongs heaped upon his
people in Missouri had fallen upon deaf ears. The address also gives
significant insight into the marvelous anticipations and hopes the Prophet had
for Nauvoo in its beginning phase. But, as one looks at the city from a later
perspective, it is evident that the prophecies about Nauvoo, like Jackson County
before it, were contingent upon human conditions and failings. (Dean C. Jesse,
"Joseph
Smith's 19 July 1840 Discourse," BYU Studies
19, no. 3 [Spring 1979]: 391)
Further Reading: