Preface written by Oliver Cowdery: “The reader will remember the remarks made at the commencement of the foregoing blessings, pronounced by the first patriarch, and first elder in this church, Joseph Smith, jr. I said that he had authority to bless; this is so, and it may be understood that those men whose names are mentioned in the blessings by his mouth, had long been employed in the work of the Lord, and were personally known to him. I mean those besides his own family, who are myself, Frederick G. Williams, Sidney Rigdon, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, John Corrill and William W. Phelps. Now, after writing these blessings at the mouth of the Seer, I greatly desired to know the mind of the Spirit concerning this my brother, with whom I had labored so many years; And accordingly I besought the Lord with prayer and fasting, who opened the heavens upon me, And thus, while in the heavenly vision, I wrote the following blessing, which is a part of that which was shown and declared should come upon my brother. Therefore, let no one doubt of their correctness and truth, for they will verily be fulfilled. (signed) Oliver Cowdery.” (Patriarchal Blessings Book Volume 2:28, Church Historians Office)
Blessed of the Lord is my brother, for the integrity of his heart and the steadfastness of his soul. Upheld by the arm of the Almighty he shall never fall, but shall be strengthened by his right hand till he overcomes. Like Jacob of old he shall wrestle with the angel, and as a prince shall he have power with God, and shall prevail.
Ever faithful to friends and true to his word, the goodness of the Most High shall sustain him, and thousands shall stand up to defend him from the hand of his enemies, and put forth the hand and ward off the blow were it needful: but ere his foes are aware he shall be hid under the pavilion of the Lord Jehovah; for, with the voice of his thunder shall he strike terror to their hearts, and as with the wings of an eagle shall my brother be carried beyond all harm, by the power of the Anointed.
From amid the burning bush, like Moses of old, shall he hear the voice, saying, I am the God of thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I have seen, I have seen, the affliction of my people and am come down to deliver them: go, thou, and say to the strength of my house, To your tents, O Israel: build up the wastes and raise up the foundation of desolation that this generation has made. Thus shall he be honored of the Lord, and thus shall it be recorded of him, that the generations to come may bless his name, in Israel, saying, The Lord make thee as Joseph the Seer, who was of the house of Ephraim, the brother of Manasseh: the Lord do thee good and bring peace and blessings upon [upon] thy house as he brought them upon the house of Joseph the Seer, who was raised up of a choice vine from the stem of Jacob through the root of Joseph, even that Joseph who was separated from his brethren—
For, like Joseph of old shall he be: he shall save the just from desolation, by the wise counsel of the Almighty; for by his direction shall they gather into storehouses and barns, till they overflow with the richness of the fruit of harvest: and by this means shall the just be saved from famine, while the nations of the wicked are distressed and faint.
In due time shall he go forth toward the north, and by the power of his word shall the deep begin to give way and the ice melt before the sun. By the keys of the Kingdom shall he lead Israel into the land of Zion while the house of Jacob shouts in the danse and in the song— Joy, O my soul, in that day, for thou shalt be with him and bear thy part in the keys which are confirmed thee for an everlasting priesthood, forever and ever— Joy, O my heart, in that day, with thanksgiving and with praise, for thou shalt stand with him before the hosts of Israel— the lame shall leap as a hart, the old shall renew his strength, and the virgin of Israel, with the youth, shall exalt the name of our God upon harps and instruments of tens[e] strings.
He shall be a shure arrow in the bow of his God, for he shall be hid under the shadow of his wing. His loins shall be like iron, girded by the hand of the Lord, and his feet shall be swift to execute the commandment of the Most High when he shall say, Destroy. His name shall be had in everlasting remembrance, and his name after him, for they shall be saved to the uttermost. His fame shall be sounded in foreign lands, even to the ends [p. [15]]
of the earth, as well as nigh at home: for in this the times shall change— a prophet shall have honor in his own country. His learning and wisdom shall astonish the great, for they shall acknowledge that by his intelligence he has far surpassed their learng and their science. In palaces of governors, rulers and kings shall he be honored, even in his person, for God shall give him power to prevail.
He shall be a lawgiver to Israel and shall teach the house of Jacob the statutes of the Most High. His testimony shall shine like the sun, and the weight of his influence shall be like the great river that rises on the east of the lasting hills, and flows into the great deep— so shall his righteousness ever abound. He shall partake of the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: the chief things of the ancient mountains, the precious things that couch beneath, and of the treasures hid in the sand.
The records of past ages and generations, and the histories of ancient days shall he bring forth: even the record of the Nephites shall he again obtain, with all those hid up by Mormon, and others who were righteous, and many others, till he is overwhelmed with knowledge. No precious thing shall slumber from his possession, for he shall be covered with the most choice of all ages, till his soul shall be satisfied and his heart shall say, Enough, Enough!
In his hands shall the Urim and Thummim remain and the holy ministry, and the keys of the evangelical priesthood, also, for an everlasting priesthood forever, even the patriarchal; for, behold, he is the first patriarch in the last days. He shall sit in the great assembly and general council of patriarchs, and execute the will and commandment of God under the direction of the Ancient of Days; for he shall have his place and act in his station. Behold, my brother Joseph is blessed: blessed are all who bless him, and bles sed are all those whom he blesses. Multitudes, multitudes, shall come to a knowledge of the truth through his ministry, and he shall be welcomed into the presence of kings and the great ones of the earth; for he shall claim his place among the nobles of the earth and shall be reverenced by them.
He shall also be filled with abundance of the fat of the earth: his flocks shall bring forth thousands and tens of thousands: his fats [vats] shall overflow with wine and oil: his cattle shall increase to a multitude: he shall have horses and mules, asses, she asses and dromedaries, camels and elephants, and all swift beasts, and when he goes forth in haste his chariots shall roar like the approach of an army: he shall have gold and silver, precious stones, diamonds, pearls, and the pure platina [platinum], with the antiquities of every kind. Thus shall God bless, and thus shall he be prospered: and he shall have peace after a little; for his enemies shall be consumed, many of them, and many shall turn and be his friends in very deed: he shall remain to a good old age, even till his head is like the pure wool. Behold, there is no end to the vision, of the multiplicity of blessings and glories which shall come upon my brother Joseph. He shall possess a mansion on high and have an inheritance in that city which is like pure gold, even like transparent glass. His rest shall be glorious and his name remain forever. Thus closes the vision, and thus it shall be; even so. Amen. Given in the evening of September 22, 1835, and recorded October 3, 1835. Oliver Cowdery.
5 thoughts to “Joseph Smith Jr. Blessing (September 1835)”
I Love the part that says “the lame shall leap as a hart, the old shall renew his strength, and the virgin of Israel, with the youth, shall exalt the name of our God upon harps and instruments of tens[e] strings.”
I also rejoice in the section that declares
“His name shall be had in everlasting remembrance, and his name after him, for they shall be saved to the uttermost. His fame shall be sounded in foreign lands, even to the ends [p. [15]]
of the earth, as well as nigh at home: for in this the times shall change— ”
“a prophet shall have honor in his own country.”
I have faith that this will be fulfilled soon in this country. I hope for it and pray for it. I beg for that time to come soon. May millions come to know brother Joseph again. How loaded that hymn lyric is, few know.
Not only Joseph Smith shall return to live again in time but all those that were scattered in the 1800’s from the lands of their God given inheritance. See D&C 103:11-13, 101:16-18, 38:20.
Like the saints that were driven into the wilderness by the tares in the days of The New Testament these scattered saints of the time when the D&C was written also “will be hid from the world with Christ in God”. Their mortal life remains hid from harm and they are raised again to fulfill all their God decreed work on earth. Thus, no weapon can remove their mortal lives because their mortal life continues on earth in the care of God. Therefore, the lives of the saints so promised will remain in a miraculous manner through the lineage of their posterity till the work to restore all things is done. See D&C 86. Reincarnation is a reality as per my interpretation. Those that have been greatly marred in body more than any usual person could be and still live, these will be healed so as to continue to do a great work on earth in renewed mortal bodies. The healing of at least one of God’s servants will stun the nations. So, we need not think such a marvelous restoration of mortals is too much to believe. See B of M #rd Nephi 16:16-20; 21:1-10.
A couple more thoughts about the meaning of the blessing. What was promised to Joseph about being carried away from all harm as if on eagles wings has happened to other people. For example a women wrote she was about to crash her car at speed into something when she suddenly found her conciousness floating above her car watching the crash take place. She felt no pain at least while floating above. I remember it reported on the KSL News in Salt Lake City that a railroad worker legs were cut off by train wheels. Yet, the worker said he found himself sitting on a rock watching his body writhe in pain as his body was bleeding out. This bilocation of body and spirit is reported by millions around the world. The body can be doing things as talking, walking even when the spiritual body is not within. Joseph flew away from his body before any physical harm was inflicted at Carthage Jail. But also he did not die there. Rather his physical life remained, if only as but a spark of it within cells of Joseph’s physical body. Joseph’s physical, mortal body was hid under the pavilion God gives to shelter mortal life which is a human body. That body marred beyond human semblance even to the point of being but cells, was passed down via Joseph’s posterity till it was time for Joseph to perform again on earth the work God called him from the womb to do. See Isaiah 49. This is what I think happened at Carthage Jail. Joseph was bilocated to rest his spiritual self for the return in another season of human history.
We truly live today in a changed time and season of human life today. This is a day of communication capability that allows the whole world to see the marvelous miracle God will do.
. Many others have been preserved this way. They also have work to do in their future mortal bodies when the wheat springs up again. D&C 86
The above is my attempt to make sense of things. What do you think?
I think I should mention some things about me. My father took his family to Massachusetts where he studied at MIT for a year to be an engineer. We left from Utah and returned to Utah. While coming back we stopped to tour Carthage Jail. I was but three years old. After the tour was about over my father said:” I am going to the car to get my Poloroid Camera and we will take a picture”. I followed my father outside the jail across the dirt parking lot behind the jail house. as I walked several yards behind my father, I was surprised to find myself thinking about who the man was that jumped out of the window during the fight. Was he a good man or bad. He was a prisoner in jail after all. But, he was spoken of as very important. At three years old I usually did not like to think about things like that as I considered thinking to be work. Hence my surprise that I cared to ask the question in my mind. At that wondering thought a voice came into my head. Not a voice through my ears into my head but from inside my head. It was a very high-pitched voice such that I debated whether it was a man or women speaking. The voice said the words a parent might answer to the query I had posed to myself about who was the man who went out the window. The words were said in a very declaratory way that I later thought the voice resembled somewhat like a trumpet sounding. The voice I decided was that of a man. He said: You will learn more about him! I stopped in my tracks. I knew no one was behind me but I turned around to see if my mother had said something. She was backing out the back door of the jail while talking to someone inside the door.
I was perplexed to the point of what I considered severe mental pain. My thoughts then were on how can I rid myself of this very real kind of pain never before experienced by me. However, when I thought to myself that I was only three years old and did not know everything so therefore it was reasonable that maybe people unseen do talk to us. At that thought the pain began to dissipate. Nevertheless, when we took the picture, my parents said smile. I did not feel like smiling and so did not. I was embarrassed to tell my parents about what had happened.
My mother, whose maiden name was Larsen, had a similar experience as a child. Her family lived up Provo Canyon in the summer to get away from the heat. When living at what is known as Vivian Park at the start of the north fork of Provo Canyon her mother sent her to get her younger brother Danny and sister Marion who were playing at the house of little Tommy Monson. As she went up the pathway in front of the house a voice in her head stated two words: “A prophet”. She turned around and ran home crying. I may never have told my parents about my experience and my mother never told me of her experience until she was, I think, in her eighties.
Revelation can be shocking to kids. An other thing about spiritual experiences is that you remember an amazing amount of detail of the time before and after. I remember surprising detail of the inside of the Jail and who was there at the time. I recently learned that we visited the jail again when coming from Massachusetts as per pictures taken. I don’t remember anything about that visit, even though I was a year older.
I continue to learn more and more about Joseph Smith, such as what I now conjecture happened to him at Carthage Jail.
Just one more observation of the meaning of the blessing. Joseph when he returns shall be a straight, sure arrow in God’s bow and a sharp blade in God’s hands. But now he is hidden in God’s quiver and the shadow of God’s hand till the resumption of the mortal servant’s called from the womb mortal mission or use in the battle to gather scattered Israel to God’s government of Zion. And further, the mortal servant is now to shine great evidence and understanding to men so men of the world may fully see through darkness to avail themselves of the Lord’s salvation. Isaiah 49 and 3rd Nephi 16, 21. But God’s mortal servant weapon is hidden from the enemy. He is a weak weapon depending on the Lord to uphold him from falling to death at the hands of the enemy. The arrow and sword’s power are in the arm of God who pulls the bow string and wields the sword. We should keep our minds open that we miss not Joseph as too lowly of person to be acceptable to us like the Jews were not happy with the common laborer that was Jesus to be their long-sought and mighty delivering Messiah. We need to keep in mind that the servant is hid in the quiver and shadow. So just what the non-metaphorical elements of that hiding are might prove to be more than expected or even at first wanted.