Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Luman Shurtliff, Orson Pratt, and Lyman Wight's Recollection of Joseph Smith Believing the Saints Would Move to the Rocky Mountains

The following comes from:

 

Duane S. Crowther, "A Study of Eschatological Prophecies Found in the Scriptures and in the Works of General Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," (M.A. Thesis, Brigham Young University, 1960), 18-19:

 

Luman Shurtliff, upon his arrival in the Great Basin in 1851, also made it clear that the Prophet had definitely contemplated a western exodus:

 

We got into the Salt Lake Valley, September 23, 1851, thankful to the God of Heaven that I and my family were in the valley of the Rocky Mountains—here where the Prophet Joseph Smith had said thirteen years before [in 1838] that the Saints would go if the government did not put a stop to the mobbing and the persecution of them. (“Biographical Sketch of the Life of Luman Andros Shurtliff,” 1807-1864, under date)

 

Orson Pratt also testified that the Prophet had anticipated the exodus long before it transpired. In a public meeting held on April 26, 1846, in the early days of the exodus, he stated:

 

It is eight years today since we all came out of Missouri. Before that time Joseph the Prophet had this move in contemplation and always said that we would send a company of young men to explore the country and return before the families can go over the mountains; and it is decidedly my mind to do so. (“Diary of John D. Lee, 1844, 1846, 1850-1851,” under date above)

 

His testimony was corroborated by Lyman Wight, who stated in a letter to Wilford woodruff that “such a mission was even talked of while in [Liberty] Jail.” (Letter written by Lyman Wight to Wilford Woodruff, dated August 24, 1857)


Further Reading:

 

Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies