Joseph Smith's White Horse Prophecy

[_Philo Sofee]

I'll play TBM defender here:

The White Horse Prophecy is not doctrine.

[_RockSlider]

The alledged text is at fair, its likely as reliable as anywhere
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/P ... e_prophecy

[_sock puppet]

It was also my understanding that the prophecy involved a war where the USA main land had been invaded by a foreign army and the people are totally isolated in various groups and that the righteous among those peoples/groups would gather into a single safe place in the mountains, and it would be from this mountain group that the elders would emerge and save the constitution, which at this time is indeed hanging by a single thread.

No, Rock, that's just the Mormon version of the plot of Red Dawn.

[_sock puppet]

Several older LDS (60s/70s) I am in contact with (once a week) spoke of the constitution hanging by a thread and that if Obama is re-elected it will be the end of the world. This was in the past month or two.

Dementia sets in early with those tea-totaling Mormons.

[_Nightlion]

Okay. Here it is in it fulness. Seems like everybody wants to keep us from the entire text.
I hope I did not make any copy paste errors.
Let's have a look.

The White Horse Prophecy
The following is from the journal of John J. Roberts, Para-
dise, Utah. It is readily available from several websites on
the internet, none of which report a source for their copy
other than the unpublished diary. The connection between
John J. Roberts and Edwin Rushton, who reported the
conversation, is not clear.
The Roberts diary entry follows:

“On about the 6th of May, 1843, a Grand Review of
the Nauvoo Legion was held in Nauvoo. The Prophet
Joseph Smith complimented them for their good dis-
cipline and evolutions performed. The weather being
hot, he called for a glass of water. With the glass of
water in hand, he said: “I will drink to your toast to the
overthrow of the Mobocrats,” which he did in the fol-
lowing language:

“Here’s wishing they were in the middle of the sea in
a stone canoe with iron paddles and that a shark swal-
lowed the canoe and the Devil swallowed the shark and
himself locked up in the northwest corner of Hell, the
key lost and a blind man hunting it.”

The next morning a man who heard the Prophet give
the toast returned to visit the mansion of the Prophet
and so abused him with bad language that he was or-
dered out by the Prophet. It was while the two were out
that my attention was attracted to them, and hearing the
man speaking in a loud tone of voice, I went towards
them, the man finally leaving. There were then pres-
ent the Prophet, Theodore Turley and myself [Edwin
Rushton]. The Prophet began talking to us of the mob-
bings and deriding and persecutions we as a people
had endured, “but we will have worse things to see.
Our persecutors will have all the mobbings they want.
Don’t wish them any harm, for when you see their suf-
ferings you will shed bitter tears for them.”

While this conversation was going on we stood by his
south wicket gate in a triangle. Turning to me, he said,
“I want to tell you something of the future. I will speak
in a parable like unto John the Revelator. You will go
to the Rocky Mountains and you will be a great and
mighty people established there, which I will call the
White Horse of peace and safety.” When the Prophet
said, “You will see it,” I said, “Where will you be at
that time?” He said, “I shall never go there. Your en-
emies will continue to follow you with persecutions
and they will make obnoxious laws against you in Con-
gress to destroy the White Horse, but you will have a
friend or two to defend you and throw out the worst
parts of the law so they will not hurt you so much. You
must continue to petition Congress all the time, but
they will treat you like strangers and aliens and they
will not give you your rights, but will govern you with
strangers and commissioners. You will see the Con-
stitution of the United States almost destroyed. It will
hang like a thread as fine as a silk fiber.” At that time
the Prophet’s countenance became sad, because as he
said, “I love the Constitution; it was made by the inspi-
ration of God; and it will be preserved and saved by the
efforts of the White Horse, and by the Red Horse who
will combine in its defense. The White Horse will find
the mountains full of minerals and they will become
rich (at this time, it must be remembered, the precious
metals were not known to exist in either the Rocky
Mountains or California). You will see silver piled up
in the streets. You will see the gold shoveled up like
sand. Gold will be of little value then, even in a mer-
cantile capacity; for the people of the world will have
something else to do in seeking for salvation. The time
will come when the banks of every nation will fall and
only two places will be safe where people can deposit
their gold and treasure. This place will be the White
Horse and England’s vaults. A terrible revolution will
take place in the land of America, such as has never
been seen before; for the land will be left without a
Supreme Government, and every specie of wickedness
will be practiced rampantly in the land. Father will
be against son and son against father; mother against
daughter and daughter against mother. The most ter-
rible scenes of bloodshed, murder and rape that have
ever been imagined or looked upon will take place.
People will be taken from the earth and there will be
peace and love only in the Rocky Mountains. This
will cause many hundreds of thousands of the honest
in heart of the world to gather there, not because they
would be Saints, but for safety and because they will
be so numerous that you will be in danger of famine,
but not for want of seed, time and harvest, but because
of so many to be fed. Many will come with bundles
under their arms to escape the calamities for there will
be no escape except only by escaping and fleeing to
Zion. Those that come to you will try to keep the laws
and be one with you for they will see your unity and the
greatness of your organization. The Turkish Empire of
the Crescent will be the first power to be disputed, for
freedom must be given for the Gospel to be preached
in the Holy Land. The Lord took of the best blood of
the nations and planted them on the small islands now
called England and Great Britain and gave them power
in the nations for a thousand years and their power will
continue with them that they may keep the balance of
power; and they will keep Russia from sweeping her
power over the world. England and France are now
bitter enemies but they will be allied together and be
united to keep Russia from conquering the world. The
two popes, Greek and Catholic, will eventually come
together in their decline and be united. The Protestant
Religions do not know how much they are indebted to
Henry VIII for throwing off the Pope’s bill and estab-
lishing the Protestant faith. He was the only monarch
who could do so at that time and he did it because the
nation was at his back to sustain him. One of the pe-
culiar features in England is the established Red-coat;
a uniform making so remarkable a target to shoot at,
and yet they have conquered wherever they have gone.
The reason for this will be known to them some day as
red is seen in a different color threading through under
all history. The lion and the unicorn of England comes
from there being so much blood of Israel in the nation.
While the terrible things of which I have mentioned
are going on, England will be neutral until it becomes
so inhuman that she will interfere to stop the shedding
of blood and history will be more properly understood.
England and France will unite together to make peace,
not to subdue the nations. She will find this nation so
broken up and so many claiming government, till there
will be no reasonable government. Then it will appear
to the other nations, or powers, as though England had
taken possession of the country. The Black Horse will
flee to the invaders and will join them for they have
fear of becoming slaves again; knowing that England
did not believe in slavery, they will flee to them that
they believe will make them safe. Armed with British
bayonets, the doings of the Black Horse will be ter-
rible.” Here the Prophet said that he could not bear to
look longer upon the scenes as shown to him in vision
and he asked the Lord to close the scenes.

Continuing, he said: “During this time the Great White
Horse will have gathered strength, sending out elders to
gather the honest in heart from among the Pale Horse,
or people of the United States, to stand by the Constitu-
tion of the United States as it was given by the inspira-
tion of God. In these days which are yet to come God
will set up a Kingdom never to be thrown down, but
other Kingdoms to come into it, and those Kingdoms
that will not let the Gospel be preached in their lands
will be humbled until they will.”
“England the Germany, Norway, Denmark, Switzer-
land, Holland and Belgium have a considerable amount
of the blood of Israel among the people which must be
gathered out. Those nations will submit to the nations
of God. England will be the last of the nations to sur-
render, but when she does she will do it as a whole in
comparison as she threw off the Catholic power. The
nobility knows that the gospel is true, but it has not
pomp enough, and grandeur and influence for them to
yet embrace it. They are proud and will not acknowl-
edge the Kingdom of God or come into it until they see
the power it will have. Peace and safety in the Rocky
Mountains will be protected by the Guardians, the White
and Red Horses. The coming of the Messiah among his
people will be so natural that only those who see him
will know that he has come, but he will come and give
his laws unto Zion and minister unto his people. This
will not be his coming in the clouds of Heaven to take
vengeance on the wicked of the world.”
“The temple in Jackson county, Missouri, will be built
in that generation. The saints will think that there will
not be time to build it, but with all the help you can re-
ceive, you can put up a great temple quickly. You will
have all the gold, silver and precious stones you need,
for these things will only be for the beautifying of the
temple. Also, all the skilled mechanics you want and
the Ten Tribes of Israel will help build it. When you
see this land bound with iron, you may look forward to
Jackson county.”
At this point, he made a pause, and looking up as though
the vision were still in view, he said: “There is a land
beyond the Rocky Mountains that will be invaded by
the heathen Chinese unless great care and protection
be given.” Speaking of the heathen nations, he said:
“Where there is no law there is no condemnation; this
will apply to them. Power will be given to the White
Horse to rebuke the nations afar off, and you obey it,
for the laws go forth from Zion. The last great struggle
that Zion will ever have to contend with will be when
the whole of America will be made the Zion of God.
Those opposing will be called Gog and Magog. The
nations of the earth will be led by the Russian Czar
and his power will be great, but all opposition will be
overcome and this land will be the Zion of our God.
Amen.”

[_Nightlion]

I will read this through and write up something soon.

[_Yoda]

Thank you for including the entire White Horse Prophecy text, Nightlion! I look forward to your comments.

[_Tobin]

I'll be interested in Nightlion's take on this, but I don't put much faith in it. It is the recollection of one man and the whole thing sounds very unlike Joseph Smith. If there were several references by different people or various accounts by Joseph Smith where he had stated this in different versions, I'd be much more interested.

[_MCB]

Whether or not Joseph Smith spoke this prophecy in those exact or approximate words, it is still part of LDS culture, and many still take it seriously. Therefore it a legitimate subject for discussion.

[_MCB]

Uther's post on the Mormon Jesus thread reminded me of this, which is so similar to the White Horse. It was originally written in Latin, rather than Old English or Welsh. Ironically, although it is Welsh in subject matter, scholars say that Geoffrey of Monmouth did not know that language.:

http://www.caerleon.net/history/geoffrey/prophecy1.htm

It is too long for cut and paste.