The caption over Doctrine and
Covenants Section 130 says, “Items of instruction
given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Ramus, Illinois,
April 2, 1843.” But, the Doctrine and Covenants
Student Manual adds, “This section contains
important items of instruction and doctrinal truths
which the Prophet Joseph learned from God by
revelation” (p. 321). So, although Joseph Smith gave
the instructions, he “learned [them] from God by
revelation” and they were canonized as LDS scripture
in Doctrine and Covenants 130. Smith said in
verses 12-13, “I prophesy, in the name of the Lord God,
that the commencement of the difficulties which will
cause much bloodshed previous to the
coming of the Son of Man will be in South
Carolina. It may probably arise
through the slave question. This voice declared to
me, while I was praying earnestly on the subject,
December 25, 1832.” Smith declares the slave
question in South Carolina may probably
cause the difficulties and bloodshed leading up to “the
coming of the Son of Man (Christ).
The full text of Smith’s December 25,
1832 revelation is now Doctrine and
Covenants 87. LDS often call it “The Civil War
Prophecy” and they believe it proves Smith was a
true prophet. It says,
Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning
the wars that will shortly come to pass,
beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina,
which will eventually terminate in the death and misery
of many souls; And the time will come that war will
be poured out upon all nations beginning at this place.
For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against
the Northern States, and the Southern States will
call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain,
as it is called, and they shall also call upon other
nations, in order to defend themselves against other
nations; and then war shall be
poured out upon all nations. And it shall come to
pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against
their masters and be marshaled and disciplined
for war. And it shall come to pass also that the
remnants who are left of the land will marshal
themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and
shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation. And
thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants
of the earth shall mourn; and with famine and plague,
and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the
fierce and vivid lightening also, shall the inhabitants
of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation,
and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the
consumption decreed hath made a full end of all
nations. (vs. 1-6)
On December 25, 1832, when Smith
received this “revelation,” he lived in Kirtland,
Ohio, next to Painesville, Ohio. Four days before
Smith’s revelation the Painesville Telegraph & Geauga
Free Press reprinted excerpts from “The Crisis,” an
article originally in the New York Currier and
Enquirer. It predicted South Carolina would
soon start a war with the Northern States and also
predicted many other things found in Smith’s “prophecy.”
Other newspapers predicted similar events as early as
July 1832 when Congress passed a tariff act that was
harmful to the South. On November 24, 1832 South
Carolina nullified that tariff act and declared their
state was a free and independent nation. Tensions were
so high that on December 10, 1832 President
Andrew Jackson sent General Scott with part of the army
and a warship to South Carolina and war was expected
then. So, Smith’s prophecy isn’t as unique as
Mormons think it is.
But most of Smith’s predictions in
Doctrine and Covenants 87 did not happen. He
said that “wars will shortly come
to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina”
and that “war will be poured out upon all nations,
beginning at this place” (South Carolina).
Even though the Civil War did begin in South Carolina as
expected, no other war after it had anything to do
with South Carolina. But Joseph Fielding Smith, the
10th LDS Prophet, said that “the Civil War
was the beginning of the war that will bring about the
end of the world” (Doctrine and
Covenants Student Manual, p. 194). South Carolina
did call on Great Britain but they did not
enter the Civil War, nor did they call on other nations
in order to defend themselves against other nations as
Smith predicted. Nor was war poured out upon all
nations as a result of the Civil War. And while the
Civil War produced more casualties for America than any
other war, it did not lead to famine, plague,
earthquake, thunder and fierce and vivid lightening and
“a full end of all nations” as verse six
predicted.
In verse four Smith said “slaves shall
rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled
and disciplined for war.” That didn’t happen in the USA.
The Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual
says that “slaves” rising up against their masters
may refer to slaves all over the world, especially
in Russia and China (p. 195). But that isn’t mentioned
in the text, nor did it happen. Doctrine and
Covenants 130:12-13 shows that it refers to slavery
in South Carolina and the Southern states! Doctrine
and Covenants 87:5 says the “remnants who are left
of the land shall marshal themselves and shall become
exceedingly angry and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore
vexation.” Mormons call non-LDS “Gentiles” and the
Doctrine and Covenants Compendium says the
“remnants” are American Indians. But U.S. history shows
that it was the Indians who were vexed by white men who
put them on reservations.
The Doctrine and Covenants
Student Manual tries to make Smith’s prophecy
true by saying that “remnant always refers to a segment
of the house of Israel” and may mean Indians in
Mexico, Central and South America (p. 195). The authors
obviously accepted the Book of Mormon claim that
Indians in the Americas have an Israelite ancestry.
However, DNA shows that all Indian tribes in the
Americas come from Asian ancestry. Indians in
Central and South America didn’t vex white men either,
so this was a false prophecy.
Those who want to read more about this
prophecy can do so in my book, Mormon Claims
Answered. Next time we will continue our discussion
of Doctrine and Covenants 130.
