The Prophecy
As they prepared to leave Argentina, there were many
tearful goodbyes to members and friends alike. One meeting was important. It
was the German testimony meeting held in the Rivadavia meetinghouse on the
evening on July 4 with thirty-five attending. It was a cold winter evening, and
all were dressed with extra clothing. Elder Ballard spoke slow enough that President
Stoof could translate to the members. Elder Ballard at the end of his talk made
a bold and exciting prediction. Elder Vernon Sharp recorded the prophecy: “The
work of the Lord will grow slowly for a time here just as an oak grows slowly
from an acorn. IT will not shoot up in a day as does the sunflower that grows
quickly and then dies. But thousands will join the Church here. It will be
divided into more than one mission and will be one of the strongest in the Church.
The work here is the smallest that it will ever be. The day will come when the
Lamanites in this land will get the chance. The South American Mission will be
a power in the Church.” (Mark L. Grover, Planting the Acorn: The South
American Mission [Provo Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young
University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 136-37)
The image of the sunflower and the oak tree to
describe the slow growth of the Church was used by Elder Ballard in an earlier
talk given to the Church in 1913. Melvin
J. Ballard, in Conference Report, April 1913, 16-17. I am using the text of
the prophecy as quoted in Bryant S. Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary
Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1949),
100. It is important to recognize that this prophecy was not recorded in the
official record of the mission, nor was the prophecy mentioned in Pratt’s
diary. As the meeting was set to begin, Dr. Ossorio came to the apartment and
had some questions. [Rey L.] Pratt visited with him in an adjoining room, and
it is not clear how much of the German meeting Pratt attended and whether he
actually heard the prophecy. Elder Pratt was in charge of recording the history
of the mission and this may be the reason it was not mentioned in his diary or
the Manuscript History. They came into the meeting at the end and Pratt spoke,
as did Dr. Ossorio. Elder Vernon Sharp attended the entire meeting and also
spoke. He copied down the prophecy as it was given and later typed it on a 4x6
card. He states in his diary the following: “We had a wonderful spirit manifest
in the Testimony Meeting and Pres. Ballard gave a prophecy which I have on file
in my card index. It is Relative to the expansion of the work here in S. A.
Pres. Pratt, myself and a friend who was in Salt Lake 48 years ago spoke. The
meeting lasted 1½ hrs.” Sharp, journal, July 4, 1926, and “Life History of James
Vernon Sharp,” 48. That original card was in the possession of the Sharp family
but a copy was placed in his diary, which is where Bryant S. Hinckley got the
quote for the book. The prophecy published by Hinckley was edited. I visited
with the family and photographed the original card. The following is the exact
way the prophecy was written on Elder Sharp’s card, including spacing and
errors. The card was typed, with exception of the first line, which was
handwritten.
(B.A.) Buenos Aires
GIVEN BY APOSTEL MELVIN J. BALLARD,
JULY 4, 1926
in a testimony meeting of German Saints.
Work will go slowly for a time just as an oak
grows slowly from an acorn. Not shoot up in a day
like a sunflower that grows quickly an thus dies.
Thousands will join here. Will be divided into
more than one Mission and will be one of the
strongest in the Church. The work here is the smal
that it will ever be. Day will come when the Laman
ites here will get the chance. S. A. Mission to be a
power in the Church.
He has seen and talked with Jesus Christ and
knows that He lives as well as he will ever know.
Also to him, Ballard has been revealed things tha
were to happen in the future and they have done
so, has healed the sick in cases to numerous to
mention bringing them as it were from the very
jaws of death. (Ibid., 145-47, n. 131,
comment in square brackets added for clarification)
Here is the image of the card with the prophecy (taken from ibid., 136):
From
ibid., 136:
Photograph of the card with Melvin J. Ballard’s
prophecy about missionary work in South American. Courtesy of Mark Grover. Photograph
taken at the home of Susan Sharp Hutchinson (Sharp’s daughter).