In a revelation received on August 12, 1831, we read the following:
But verily I say unto you, that it
is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon
the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief.
Nevertheless, I suffered it that ye might bear record; behold, there are many
dangers upon the waters, and more especially hereafter; For I, the Lord, have
decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters; yea, and especially
upon these waters. Nevertheless, all flesh is in mine hand, and he that is
faithful among you shall not perish by the waters. . . . And now, behold, for
your good I gave unto you a commandment concerning these things; and I, the
Lord, will reason with you as with men in days of old. Behold, I, the Lord, in
the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my
servant John, I cursed the waters. Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh
shall be safe upon the waters. And it shall be said in days to come that none is
able to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is upright in
heart. And, as I, the Lord, in the beginning cursed the land, even so in the
last days have I blessed it, in its time, for the use of my saints, that they
may partake the fatness thereof. And now I give unto you a commandment that
what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren
concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their
faith fail and they are caught in snares; I, the Lord, have decreed, and the
destroyer rideth upon the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree. (D&C
61:3-6, 13-19)
Commenting on the fulfillment of these passages, B. H. Roberts
wrote the following in his A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University
Press, 1965): 1:275-78 (cf. B. H. Roberts, "The
Fulfillment of Prophecy," Improvement Era 6, no. 11 [September
1903]: 801-9):
JOSEPH
SMITH'S PREDICTION OF DESTRUCTION UPON THE WATERS; MORE ESPECIALLY OF THE
INLAND WATERS OF NORTH AMERICA AND OF WESTERN MISSOURI
"Nothing very important occurred until the third day, when
many of the dangers so common upon the western waters manifested themselves;
and after we had encamped upon the bank of the river at McIlwaine's Bend,
Brother Phelps, in open vision by daylight, saw the destroyer in his most
horrible power ride upon the face of the waters, others heard the noise, but
saw not the vision" (History of the Church, Period I, Vol. I,
p. 203). Then in the revelation given at that time, this: "Behold there
are many dangers upon the waters, and more especially hereafter; for I the
Lord, have decreed in mine anger, many destructions upon the waters; yea, and
especially upon these waters. * * * I, the Lord, have decreed and the destroyer
rideth upon the face thereof; and I revoke not the decree" (Doctrine
and Covenants, sec. lxi).
It is a matter of common knowledge that great indeed has been the
destruction on these western streams more especially since that time, almost
annually. But in May and June of 1903, the destruction upon these western
streams, in and about the localities referred to, in the above prediction,
reached a climax. High water trouble began on the lower Mississippi as early as
the month of March, and about the middle of the month, the Mississippi, at
Memphis, registered on the gauge 39.8 feet—the highest ever recorded up to that
time. This circumstance created great alarm throughout the lower Mississippi
country, and the press of the United States discussed quite generally the
necessity for governmental action to provide for strengthening the Mississippi
levees, the necessity of forest preservation on the head waters of the great
streams, and also the building of reservoirs in the same region for the purpose
of holding back freshet waters, and thus prevent the possibility of such floods
as were threatening to overwhelm the lower Mississippi country. A few weeks
later, points in Kansas and Missouri became the flooded regions, and the
disasters were thus described by an eastern journal:
"The floods that wrought so much havoc along the Kansas and
Missouri rivers have now subsided, so that their direful results can be calmly
calculated by the authorities of the many cities and towns relieved from the
awful strain of the three days of death and devastation.
"Minds unclouded by the fear of pending disaster look upon
wrecked homes and hopes, fearful loss of life, blotting out of families,
irreparable wrenching apart of parents and children, brother and sister,
sweetheart and betrothed, and finally, upon the terrible commercial loss that
is represented in figures that climb close to the quarter of a billion mark.
"Kansas City and Topeka suffered the most serious losses in
lives and property, although all along the course of the Kansas, or, as it is
locally called the Kaw river, the damage was great, and in many of the
riverside towns there was a loss of life from the sudden encroachment of the
angry waters.
"The physical conditions against which the submerged cities
had to battle during the height of the flood are thus briefly summarized:
"Train service annulled.
"Waterworks shut down.
"Street cars stopped.
"Fire companies paralyzed.
"Electric light plants out of business.
"Not a manufacturing plant in operation.
"Wholesale mercantile district submerged under fifteen feet
of water.
"Water rushing through streets like mill races.
"Fires breaking out in spots in the flooded districts.
"Kansas City, Kansas, and the near by towns, suffered most.
The towns of Armourdale, Argentine and Harlem have been completely wiped off
the map, and are now lying submerged by the widening river. No living human
being remains in the unfortunate towns.
"Kansas City, Kansas, was cut off for three days from
communication with the outside world except by trolley to Leavenworth, from
which point relief was rushed to the stricken city. The population of 20,000
was starving, and fought like wild beasts for the 100,000 rations that were
hurried to them from the fort.
"The hospitals of the city were soon filled and the post
office was turned into one for the occasion. Thieves, taking advantage of the
situation, looted and raided the houses that had been deserted by the
occupants. Bands of citizens were organized to patrol the streets, and armed
with guns they shot the ghouls without mercy. One thousand regulars were asked
for to preserve order in the stricken city.
"Kansas City, Mo., just across the river in ordinary times,
but now cut off by a sea of raging waters, was powerless to assist her
neighbor. Only one bridge that had formerly connected the two cities was left
standing, and that was surrounded by miles of water.
"Families caught by the floods in their homes fled to the
roofs of houses and cried for help. Their destitute situation was apparent from
the highlands, but there was no way to reach them. No boat could live in the
rushing torrent of the Kaw. These marooned families vainly hoisted white flags
of distress, and while their awful plight was plainly visible to those on
shore, there was no way in which succor could be sent to them. The victims
shrieked in their agony, and their pitiful cries were plainly heard by those
who were powerless to aid them."
A summary of the destruction to property in this region of country
by reason of the floods was given in the press dispatches of June the 7th, in
the aggregate, as nearly $12,000,000; and the lower estimate of the loss in
crops was $5,000,000. The magazines for July, 1903, that dealt with the subject
of the Missouri and Kaw river floods charged that the daily papers exaggerated
the losses sustained, especially by the farmers; and yet, this same
magazine, The American Review of Reviews, July, 1903,
estimates the loss in Kansas City alone at $7,000,000 and speaking of the loss
of stock and property in the Kaw valley, it remarks that "it is no light
thing for a thriving section to have ten million dollars or more swept
away" (p. 77). So that this conservative magazine, after having an opportunity
to correct and comment upon what it calls the exaggeration of the daily papers,
places the losses sustained in the flooded districts even beyond the high mark
of the passages quoted in this writing from the daily press." (Improvement
Era, September, 1903.)
This summary of the flood conditions for 1903 is preserved here
without change because it may be regarded as somewhat typical conditions that
have prevailed in this district of the great western regions of the United
States since that time and occasionally they have been repeated at intervals to
quite an extent. In 1927, however, the destructiveness of floods in the several
great river valleys centering in the Mississippi valley regions especially
referred to in the Prophet's predictions, reached apparently a climax and
aroused the nation to a policy of "flood control" that will be
memorable, and marks with singular emphasis the fulfillment of the predictions
of the Prophet quoted in this note.
The seriousness of these calamities in that year may be understood
by the fact that congress took action by the adoption of what is known "as
the army engineer's plan" which called for an appropriation of
$325,000,000 for flood control in these regions which was immediately passed by
both house and senate and signed by the president for flood control.
As further evidence of the great disaster through floods on these
waters in 1927, it may be further stated that to take care of those rendered
homeless and dependent upon outside sources for food, shelter, taking care of
the sick and the like, the Red Cross organization established along the flooded
region 149 major concentration centers for care of the refugees driven from
their homes. The number of the refugees given succor in the concentration camps
during the emergency period numbered more than 330,000 persons, the total
number of refugees given relief in the emergency period was 607,236 of whom
33.4% were white and 66.6% were negroes. On August 20, of that year there still
were 65,527 refugees being fed at the expense of the Red Cross funds. At that
time there had been 90,111 families given rehabilitation aid through the same
agency. Hospital relief was administered to these refugees, 296,872 occulations
were administered and vaccinations to the number 121,705 were given by August 1
of the disastrous year.
The survey made by the Red Cross investigators set down the flood
territory (estimated) to be about 3,800,000 acres of which 82,800 remained
inundated as late as August 20. The total loss of animals in the flooded
territory are approximately given as follows: Horses and mules, 25,325; cattle,
50,490; swine, 148,110; fowl, 1,276,570. An audit of the Red Cross funds on
August 10 of that year showed total expenditures for food relief up to that
time amounting to $9,638,374, while commitments then outstanding for food
relief totaled $12,392,417.
A meeting at Peoria, Ill., of representatives of those affected by
the floods at which were gathered also many prominent national characters, read
a proposal before the conference for the members to urge upon congress an appropriation
of $100,000,000 per annum over a period of ten years for purposes of flood
control, showing the aroused seriousness of the people in the region
"where the destroyer did ride upon the face of the waters."
Further Reading:
Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies
