This prophecy was partially fulfilled during the American
Civil War, during which around 180,000 Black men served in the Union army,
which constituted about 10 percent of the total force. Most of these soldiers—by
one estimate about 90,000—were former slaves from the Confederate States who
had fled and joined the Northern forces. By the end of the war, the Southern
states became so strained for resources that the Confederate Congress passed a
bill allowing the armies of the South to draft enslaved workers as soldiers in
the way. The war ended before these soldiers arrived in large numbers. But the
act alone would have been unthinkable in 1832 when Joseph Smith received
section 87.
Taken as a prophecy larger than just regarding the
American Civil War, this revelation may also speak of larger upheavals
throughout the world. When the revelation was given to Joseph Smith, a small
number of European nations ruled the majority of the people on the earth. The millennial
wars of the twentieth century completely overthrew this system, creating
hundreds of new nation states. Dozens of new nations came into being as a
result of the world wars, and other nations went through the dramatic changes.
Even in our time, wars and rumors of war continue among the sons and daughters
of God. (Casey Paul Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and
Covenants, 4 vols. [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2014], 3:308)
Further Reading:
Resources
on Joseph Smith’s Prophecies
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