Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner's Reminiscence of Heber C. Kimball's Prophecy That She Would See Joseph Smith Before She Died

  

Brother Heber C. Kimball prophecied the following to men on one of my visits to Salt Lake. We were standing in the old Endowment House talking about the Prophet when he said, 'Sister Lightner, you will see Joseph again before you die.' After Brother Kimball's death I was sitting in my doorway one very warm Sunday evening. I was living in Minersville then. I sat pondering over a sermon I had heard that afternoon in church and was humming the hymn, "All is Well." There was no screen, neither porch. Suddenly I saw just outside the door three men. The[y] stood about two feet from the ground. These men were the Prophet Joseph, his brother Hyrum, and Heber C. Kimball. Joseph stood in the middle with an arm around each of [t]heir shoulders. They were bowing and smiling at me. Can you imagine my feelings. There before me were the beloved Prophet and Hyrum with my friend Heber as I had known them in real life. The dear Prophet as I had known him when we lived neighbors in th[a]t land where he had inspired his followers to worship their Creator according to the New and Everlasting Covenant as revealed in these last days. Now I was looking into those clear blue penetrating eyes as I had done years ago when he had answered my many questions about the Gospel. Eyes which could read the innermost thought. Joseph and Hyrum who were persecuted, mobbed, and who, like the disciples of Jesus were martyrs for the Gospel's sake, there with our mutual friend, Heber C. Kimball. I looked around, pinched my arm to see if I was dreaming. As they were still smiling and bowing I decided to shake hands with them. Trembling with joy I arose, took a step forward and extended my hand. They began fading away as the going down of the sun. Brother Kimball had helped in the fulfilling of his own prophecy. (Diary of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, 1936, p. 14)