Sunday, October 24, 2021

Joseph Smith's Prophetic Advice to Orrin Porter Rockwell

In his popular biography of Orrin Porter Rockwell (1813-1873), Harold Schindler repeated popular purported prophecy of Joseph Smith:

 

I prophesy, in the name of the Lord that you—Orrin Porter Rockwell—so long as ye shall remain loyal and true to thy faith, need fear no enemy. Cut not thy hair and no bullet or blade can harm thee! (Harold Schindler, Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder [Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1966], 108-9)

 

I say “purported” as there appears to be no primary source documentation of this prophecy. However, there does exist second-hand sources and reminiscences, even from critics of the Church, hinting that Joseph probably did offer a prophetic promise to Porter Rockwell in a manner resembling the above narrative. Consider the following:



 

Mother and father were close friends of the Prophet Joseph Smith. One evening they were at the Prophet's home at a party, a man, tired, looking dirty, hungry, unshaven, and with hair hanging about his shoulders, came in. Some of the guests seeing him in the Prophet's house, seized him and were about to throw him out when the Prophet saw his face. It was Porter Rockwell. He had been in prison in Missouri. The Prophet immediately went to him, put his arms about his shoulders, and inquired how he had escaped and how he had been treated. Rockwell told him he made his escape by climbing out of a hole in the ceiling where the stove pipe went through. The Prophet told Porter not to cut his hair but to wear it long, and to live faithful and that his enemies would have no power over him. (Etta Holdaway Spendlove, comp., Memories and Experiences of James Jepson, Jr. [1944], 7)

 

 


 

Orrin Porter Rockwell, as I knew him, was a diamond in the rough. It was great to know his inner self. His honest loyalty to the Church, Country, and friends was deep and lasting. Be abhorred deceit and intrigue as did I. He knew the need and power of prayer, as did I. He knew the need and power of prayer, as did I. He was above average height, quick in movement, with strong arms and chest, and gray eyes—cool and searching. He was always well armed since his Nauvoo experiences, although the Prophet Joseph told him to wear his hair long and he would never be killed by an enemy. He held to that promise and on many occasions when he stayed over night with me, my wife Elizabeth would plait or braid his hair and Porter would comb it into a flare next morning, which emphasized his high forehead, and his aristocratic air. (Flora Diana Bean Horne, comp., Autobiography of George Washington Bean, a Utah pioneer of 1847, and his family records [Salt Lake City: 1945], 175)

 

 


 

"Port," as he is generally termed, is common credited with being the chief of the Danites. He was a faithful friend of Joseph, and in moments of danger was ever near the Prophet. He was apprehended and tried on this charge, but was able to prove that he was a few miles distant from the place at the time of the attempt at assassination. The firing was probably the act of another, but he, doubtless, was no stranger to the Mormons. The Governor owed his preservation to the misdirection of the assassin's pistol, "caused by the reflection of the light upon the "window glass." It is said that Joseph promised "Port" protection to his life so long as his locks were uncut. This story smacks something of Samson and Delilah; "Port," however, still wears unshorn locks. (T.B.H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints [New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873], 140n)

 

 Interestingly, Rockwell would, later in life, cut his hair, and such resulted in adverse results:

 

1855 The widow of the Prophet's brother, Don Carlos Smith, had lost her hair from typhoid fever. Rockwell cut his hair to provide her with a wig—and claimed that henceforth he could no longer control his drinking and swearing. ("Porter Rockwell," in Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker, A Book of Mormons [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1982], 251])

 

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