W. W. Phelps reproduced, with some textual differences at times, D&C 87 during the U.S. Civil War. Here I will reproduce them as part of my ongoing research into D&C 87 specifically as well as Joseph Smith’s prophecies in general (see my Resources on Joseph Smith’s Prophecies):
From W. W. Phelps, Almanac for
the Year 1861: Being the Thirty Second Year of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. (From April 6, 1830) (Salt Lake City: Deseret News
Office, 1861), 20:
A REVELATION AND PROPHECY BY THE PROPHET,
SEER, AND REVELATOR, JOSEPH SMITH.
GIVEN DECEMBER 25th, 1832
“Verily
thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass,
beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate
in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be
poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place; for behold, the Southern
States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the South States will
call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and
they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against
other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall
come to pass after many days, slaves shall rise up against their Masters, who
shall be marshalled and disciplined for war: And it shall come to pass also,
that the remnants who are left of the land will marshall themselves, and shall
become exceeding angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation; and
thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall
mourn, and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes, and the thunder of Heaven,
and the fierce and vivid lightening also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be
made to feel the wrath, and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God,
until the coasumption decreed, hath made a full end of all nations; that the
cry of the Saints, and of the blood of the Saints, shall cease to come up into
the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their
enemies. Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of
the Lord come; for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
The version as found in W. W.
Phelps, Almanac for the Year 1861: Being the Thirty Second Year of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (From April 6, 1830) (3d ed.; Salt
Lake City: Deseret News Office, 1861): 20 reads the same except this revised
edition adds a note at the end:
On the 20th day of December, 1860, South
Carolina seceded.
The revelation would be
reproduced in Almanac for the Year 1862: Being the Thirty Third Year of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (From April 6, 1830) (Salt
Lake City: Deseret News Office, 1861): 3-7
A REVELATION AND PROPHECY BY THE PROPHET,
SEER, AND REVELATOR, JOSEPH SMITH
Given December 25th, 1832.
“Verily
thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass,
beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate
in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be
poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place; for behold, the Southern states
shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call
on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as It Is called, and they
shall also call up-on other nations, in order to defend themselves against
other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall
come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their Masters, who
shall be marshalled and disciplined for war: And it shall come to pass also,
that the remnants who are left of the land will marshall themselves, and shall
become exceeding angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation; and
thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall
mourn, and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes, and the thunder of Heaven,
and the fierce and vivid lightening also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be
made to feel the wrath, the indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God,
until the consumption decreed, hath made a full end of all nations; that the
cry of the Saints, and the blood of the Saints, shall cease to come up into the
ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies.
Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord
come, for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
TWENTY
YEARS AGO.
Joseph Smith lived twenty years ago, and
warned the world, like all the prophets before him, of approaching wickedness
and trouble. In this Almanac, we reprint his Revelation on the rebellion of
South Carolina, and now republish his “friendly hint to Missouri.” It shows the
man of God so plain, that all lovers of ‘peace’ will prize it as one of Joseph’s
diamond blessings for an enemy UPON REPENTANCE. The just and noble minded will
see by it, that a pure fountain brings PURE PRINCIPLES. Read and rejoice over
the good advice of a good man.
One of the most pleasing scenes that can
transpire on earth, is, when a sin has been committed by one person against
another, to forgive that sin: and then, according to the sublime and perfect
pattern of the Savior, pray to our father in heaven, to forgive also. Verily,
verily such a friendly rebuke is like the mellow zephyr of summer’s eve: it
soothes; it cheers and gladdens the heart of the humane and the savage.—Well might
the wise man exclaim: “a soft answer turneth away wrath:” for men of sense,
judgment, and observation, in all the various periods of time, have been witnesses,
figuratively speaking, that water not wood, checks the rags of fire.
Jesus said, “blessed are the peace makers,
for they shall be called the children of God;”—wherefore if the nation, a
single state, community, or family ought to be grateful for anything, it is
peace. Peace, lovely child of heaven; peace, like light from the same great
parent, gratifies, animates and happiness below, and bliss above. He that does
not strive with all his powers of body and mind: with all his influence at home
and abroad, and to cause others to do too, to seek peace, and maintain it for
his own benefit and convenience, add for the honor of his state, nation and
country, had no claim on the clemency of man; nor shall he be entitled to the
friendship of woman, or the protection of government. He is the canker worm to
gnaw his own vitals, and the vulture to pray upon his own body; and he is as to
his own prospects and prosperity in life, a felo-de-se of his own pleasure. A
community of such beings are not far form hell on earth, and should be let
alone as unfit for the smiles of the free; or the praise of the brave. But the
peace maker. O give ear to him! for the words of his mouth, and his doctrine,
drop like the rain, and distil as the dew; they are like the gentle mist upon
the herbs, and as the moderate shower upon the grass. Animation, virtue, love,
contentment, philanthropy, benevolence, compassion, humanity, and friendship,
push life into bias, and men a little below the angels, exercising their
powers, privileges and knowledge, according to the order, rules and regulations
of revelation, by Jesus Christ, dwell together in unity: and the sweet odour
that is wafted by the breath of joy and satisfaction from their righteous
communion, is like the rich perfume from the consecrated oil that was poured
upon the head of Aaron; or like the luscious fragrance that rises from the
fields of Arabian spices; yea more the voice of the peace maker.
Is the like music of the spheres,
It charms our souls, and calms our fears:
It turns the world to paradise,
And men to pearls of greater price.
So much to preface this friendly hint to the
state of Missouri, for notwithstanding some of her private citizens and public
officers, have committed violence, robbery, and even murder, upon the rights
and persons of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; yet, compassion,
dignity, and a sense of the principles of religion, among all classes; and
honor and benevolence, mingled with charity by high minded patriots, lead me to
suppose, that there are many worthy people in that state, who will use their influence
and energies to bring about a settlement of all those old difficulties; and use
all consistent means to urge the state, for her honor, prosperity and good name,
to restore every person, she or her citizens have expelled from her limits, to their
rights, and pay them all damage! that the great body of high minded and well
disposed southern and western gentlemen and ladies; the real peace makers of a
western world, will go forth, good Samarian like, and pour in the oil and the
wine, till all that can be healed, are made whole; and after repentance, they
shall be forgiven; for verily the scriptures say: “Joy shall be in heaven over
one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons that need no
repentance.”
Knowing the fallibility of man; considering
the awful responsibility of rejecting the cries of the innocent; consistent in
the virtue and patriotism of the noble minded western men, tenacious of their
character and standing; too high to stoop to disgraceful acts, and too proud to
tolerate m anness in others; yea, may I not say without boasting, that the best
blood of the west, united with the honor of the illustrious fathers of freedom,
will move, as the forest is moved, by a mighty wind, to promote peace and
friendship in very part of our wide spread lovely country. Filled with a love
almost unspeakable, and moved, by a desire pleasant as the dew of heaven, I
supplicate not only our Father above, but also the civil and enlightened, the
intelligent, the social and the best inhabitants of Missouri; that they feel
bound by principles of honor, justice, moral greatness and national pride, to
arise in the character of virtuous freemen from the disgrace and reproach that
might inadvertently blur their good names, for want of self-preservation. Now is
the time to brush off the monster, that, incubus like; seems hanging upon the
reputation of the whole state. A little exertion, and the infamy of the evil
will blacken the guilty only; for it is not written, “The tree is known by its
fruit?”
The voice of reason, the voice of humanity,
the voice of the nation, and the voice of heaven seem to say the honest and
virtuous, throughout the State of Missouri; Wash yourselves, make you clean,
lest your negligence should be taken by the world, from the mass of facts
before it, that you are guilty! Let there be one unison of hearts for justice,
and when you reflect around your own fire-ides, remember that fifteen thousand,
once among you, now not, but who are just a much entitled to the privileges and
blessings you enjoy as yourselves; like the widow before the unjust judge, are
fervently praying for their rights. When you meditate upon the massacre at Hawn’s
mill, forget not that the constitution of your state holds this boad truth to
the world: that none shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, but by
the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.” And when you assemble
together in towns, counties or districts, whether to petition your legislature
to pay the damage the Saints have sustained in your state, by reason of oppression,
and misguided zeal; or to restore them to their rights according to republican
principles and benevolent designs, reflect, and make honorable, or annihilate,
such statue law as was in force in your state, in 1838; viz. :”If twelve or
more persons shall combine to levy war against any part of the people of this
state or to remove forcibly by taking arms and assembling to accomplish such
purpose, every person so offending shall be punished by imprisonment n the
penitentiary for a period not exceeding five years, or by a fine not exceeding
five thousand dollars: and imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six
months.”
Finally, if honor dignifies an honest people;
if virtue exalts a community; if wisdom guides great men; if principle governs
intelligent beings; if humanity spreads comfort among the needy; and if
religion affords consolation by showing that charity is the first, best and
sweetest token of perfect love: then, O ye good people of Missouri, like the
woman in scripture who had lost one of her ten pieces of silver, arises, search
diligently till you find the lost piece,a nd then make a feast and calls in
your friends with joy.
With due consideration
I am the friend of
all good men,
JOSEPH SMITH.
Nauvoo, Ill., March 8, 1844
In the same number, on pp. 23-24, Phelps
again reproduces the text of the prophecy:
_1.jpg)
_2.jpg)
A REVELATION AND PROPHECY BY THE PROPHET,
SEE, AND REVELATOR, JOSEPH SMITH.
GIVEN DECEMBER 25th, 1832.
“Verily
thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass,
beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in
the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be poured
out upon all nations, beginning at that place; for behold, the Southern States
shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call
on other nations even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they
shall also call up-on other nations, in order to defend themselves against
other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall
come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their Masters, who
shall be marshalled and disciplined for war. And it shall come to pass also,
that the remnants who are left of the land will marshall themselves, and shall
become exceeding angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation; and
thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall
mourn, and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes, and, the thunder of
Heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightening also, shall the inhabitants of the
earth be made to feel the wrath, the indignation and chastening hand of an
Almighty God, until the consumption decreed, hath made a full end of all
nations; that the cry of the Saints, and of the blood of the Saints, shall case
to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, from the earth, to be avenged
of their enemies. Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until
the day of the Lord come, for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
