In the following from the March 15, 1890 issue of the Juvenile Instructor, we have a late recollection of various prophecies from Joseph Smith. To be sure, many can be dismissed as being evidence of divine inspiration as the source is late, and many of the events happened pre-1890 when it was recorded. However, there is also a prophecy of the then-future Cold War between Russia and the USA, something that would not take place until after 1945 (55 years later):
Elder Jesse W. Fox,
Sen., received the narration from Father Taylor, the father of the late President
John Taylor. The old gentleman said that one time the Prophet Joseph was in his
house conversing about the battle of Waterloo, in which Father Taylor had taken
part. Suddenly the Prophet Joseph turned and said, “Father Taylor, you will
live to see, though I will not, greater battles than that of Waterloo. The
United States will go to war with Mexico, and thus gain an increase of territory.
The slave question will cause a division between the North and the South, and
in these wars greater battles than Waterloo will occur. But,” he continued with
emphasis, “when the great bear (Russia) lays her paw on the lion (England) the
winding up scene is not far distant.”
These words were
uttered before there was any prospect of war with Mexico, and such a thing as
division in the United States was never contemplated. Yes, these fierce
struggles came, and though Joseph himself was slain before they occurred,
Father Taylor lived to witness some of the world’s most remarkable battles.
The struggle between
the Bear and the Lion has not yet happened, but as surely as Joseph the Prophet
ever predicted such an event, so surely will it not fail of its fulfillment. ("A
Russian Naval Station," Juvenile Instructor 25, no. 6 [March
15, 1890]: 162)
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