White Horse Prophecy

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Joseph Smith, Jr., first leader of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons), made an 1843 statement, an apparently-embellished version of which, in around 1900, would become known as the White Horse Prophecy.

The White Horse Prophecy is the popular name of an influential but disputed version of a statement on the future of the Latter Day Saints (popularly called Mormons) and the United States. It was given by Edwin Rushton in about 1900, and supposedly made in 1843 by

Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.[1]

The Latter-day Saints, according to Rushton's version, would "go to the Rocky Mountains and... be a great and mighty people," associated in the prophecy's figurative language, with one of the biblical four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation.

Smith's supposed original statement predicts that the

US Constitution will one day "hang like a thread" but be saved by Latter-day Saints. The embellished version portrays it to be "by the efforts of the White Horse."[2]

On the basis of either Rushton's version or Smith's original statement, some critics of Mormonism and some Mormon folk doctrine enthusiasts hold that Mormons should expect that the US will eventually become a theocracy dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3][4]

The idea that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will at one or more times take action to save an imperiled US Constitution has been referenced by numerous Church leaders, but as to the Rushton version of the Prophecy, the Church has stated that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy'... is not embraced as Church doctrine; while numerous

Mormon fundamentalists continue to preach the doctrine."[5]

Background

Death on a Pale Horse by the artist Benjamin West. Joseph Smith, June 15, 1844: "[the steamboat] Maid of Iowa come down the river about 2 or 3 o'clock While I was examining Benj Wests painting of Death on the Pale Horse which has been exhibiting in my reading room for 3 days."[6]

white horse" to save the country.[9]

Joseph Smith is said to have made his statement in early May 1843, while the Latter-day Saints were headquartered in

temple that the Latter-day Saints had planned to build in Jackson County, Missouri "will be built in this generation."[2][11]

Edwin Rushton, half a century after Joseph Smith's death, described what would become known as the White Horse Prophecy.

In 1844, Smith rejected the platforms of the major candidates for

Mormon migration to the Intermountain West began, under Young's direction, in February 1846.[13]

Disputed authenticity

The authenticity of the White Horse Prophecy is much disputed. Most of its symbolistic content was not attested to during Smith's lifetime but was instead asserted by Rushton many years after Smith's death.

Mormon fundamentalist Ogden Kraut.[16]

In 1918, Joseph F. Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dismissed the White Horse Prophecy as a "ridiculous story... and a lot of trash that has been circulated about... by two of our brethren who put together some broken sentences from [Joseph Smith] that they may have heard from time to time."[17] In his 1966 book Mormon Doctrine, Latter-day Saint theologian (and later apostle) Bruce R. McConkie wrote, "From time to time, accounts of various supposed visions, revelations, and prophecies are spread forth by and among the Latter-day Saints, who should know better than to believe or spread such false information. One of these false and deceptive documents that has cropped up again and again for over a century is the so-called White Horse Prophecy."[18]

In early 2010, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement stating that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy' is based on accounts that have not been substantiated by historical research and is not embraced as Church doctrine."[5] Also in 2010, Latter-day Saint historian Don L. Penrod examined significant differences in two early handwritten accounts of the prophecy, noted some words and phrases that were not characteristic of Joseph Smith's speaking style or current in his time, and speculated that Rushton had "in his elderly years recorded some things that [Smith] actually said, mixing in words of his own creation." It additionally noted that "memories of words and events, especially many years later, are often faulty."[14]

Similar statements

Several sources attribute to Smith the idea that the US Constitution would one day hang by a thread, and Church leaders have issued similar warnings about the Constitution.[9][19]

Brigham Young

Brigham Young, who assumed the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith

In 1855, Brigham Young reportedly wrote that "when the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the 'Mormon' Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it."[9][20]

Orson Hyde

In 1858, Orson Hyde, another contemporary of Smith, wrote that Smith believed "the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and... if the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of Church."[9][21]

Charles W. Nibley

In 1922, the Church's fifth

presiding bishop, Charles W. Nibley, stated that "the day would come when there would be so much of disorder, of secret combinations taking the law into their own hands, tramping upon Constitutional rights and the liberties of the people, that the Constitution would hang as by a thread. Yes, but it will still hang, and there will be enough of good people, many who may not belong to our Church at all, people who have respect for law and for order, and for Constitutional rights, who will rally around with us and save the Constitution."[22]

Melvin J. Ballard

In 1928, the apostle Melvin J. Ballard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints remarked that "the prophet Joseph Smith said the time will come when, through secret organizations taking the law into their own hands... the Constitution of the United States would be so torn and rent asunder, and life and property and peace and security would be held of so little value, that the Constitution would, as it were, hang by a thread. This Constitution will be preserved, but it will be preserved very largely in consequence of what the Lord has revealed and what [the Mormons], through listening to the Lord and being obedient, will help to bring about, to stabilize and give permanency and effect to the Constitution itself. That also is our mission."[22]

Joseph L. Wirthlin

In 1938

Presiding Bishopric in the October 1938 General Conference quoted Brigham Young, and then says, "We see from this prophecy, uttered by a prophet of God that there will yet devolve upon the Priesthood of this Church the responsibility of protecting the rights and the Constitution of our great country."[23]

Then again in general conference in 1941 he says, "If our rights expire in a convulsion, the body politic now being slowly drugged by the opiate of a borrowed prosperity, will suffer a major financial operation, which will cause the death of the world's greatest democracy; and the vultures and the buzzards of some foreign "ism" will be waiting the moment to step in and devour the carcass" and then refers to the Brigham Young prophecy.[24]

J. Reuben Clark

In 1942,

Bill of Rights. He added that "if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship... we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution."[25]

Ezra Taft Benson

In a 1986 Brigham Young University speech, Ezra Taft Benson, then president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated, "I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church – men and women who will subscribe to and abide by the principles of the Constitution."[26]

Dallin H. Oaks

In 2010, Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke at a Constitution Day celebration and warned about the importance of preserving the US Constitution. To that end, he claimed that "all citizens—whatever their religious or philosophical persuasion" should maintain several responsibilities regarding the Constitution: understand it, support the law, practice civic virtue, maintain civility in political discourse, and promote patriotism.[27]

Interpretation

Questions on Latter-day Saint attitudes towards the United States government, whether they are considered on their own or as parts of the White Horse Prophecy, have arisen from time to time as prominent church members have become involved in American politics. The White Horse Prophecy has been characterized as "effectively plac[ing] believers on perpetual Red Alert for the Constitution's possible demise"[28] and as admonishing Mormons to "come to the rescue and restore the true Constitution by any means necessary."[29]

Writers such as Richard Abanes and Elaine Wolff have speculated, on the basis of the prophecy, that Mormons expect that the US will eventually become a "Mormon-ruled theocracy divinely ordained to 'not only direct the political affairs of the Mormon community, but eventually those of the United States and ultimately the world'"[3] and that "a Mormon, if he were elected president, would take his orders from Salt Lake City."[4]

Besides many members of the Republican Party, some Democratic Party church members have also been inspired to run for office by the White Horse Prophecy.[19]

Romney family

In 1967, US presidential candidate George W. Romney said the following on the White Horse Prophecy: "I have always felt that they meant that sometime the question of whether we are going to proceed on the basis of the Constitution would arise and at this point government leaders who were Mormons would be involved in answering that question."[30] In 2007, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney, George's son, told the Salt Lake Tribune, "I haven't heard my name associated with [the White Horse Prophecy] or anything of that nature. That's not official church doctrine.... I don't put that at the heart of my religious belief."[31][30]

Glenn Beck

Media figure Glenn Beck, speaking at the Restoring Honor rally in 2010

US Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Mormon, Beck had remarked, "I heard Barack Obama talk about the Constitution and I thought, we are at the point or we are very near the point where our Constitution is hanging by a thread."[9][32][33] Hatch appeared on Beck's Fox News show in January 2009, and Beck prompted him by declaring, "I believe our Constitution hangs by a thread."[9]

Blogger and religious commentator

Washington Post journalist Dana Milbank has described Beck's views as essentially "White Horse Prophecy meets horsemen of the apocalypse,"[9] but Milbank has also observed that the White Horse Prophecy is "actually a fairly benign prophecy. They're talking about restoring law and order and peace and tranquility. It doesn't sound like a violent thing."[35]

Rex Rammell

Rex Rammell at Campbell County League of Women Voters' General Election Candidates' Forum in Gillette, Wyoming

In 2009, Idaho

gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell announced plans to hold a series of meetings with believing Mormon men, which were to include discussion of the White Horse Prophecy.[36][37] In response, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement that said that the church is "politically neutral" and hoped that "the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church."[38][39]

Rammell later retracted his original plan to limit his meetings to Latter-day Saint men and apologized to "all those citizens who are not members of the LDS faith, who have expressed a sincere interest in attending my meetings and discussing this prophecy and how we can step forward and save the United States Constitution."[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Don L. Penrod (2010). "Edwin Rushton as the Source of the White Horse Prophecy". BYU Studies. 49 (3): 75–115.
  2. ^
    Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research
    (2004). Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  3. ^ a b One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church, Richard Abanes, Basic Books (2003), p. xvii.
  4. ^ a b c Wolff, Elaine (October 17, 2007). "An American president". San Antonio Current. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b "Church Statement on 'White Horse Prophecy' and Political Neutrality", Public Affairs Department, LDS Church, January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Noel A. Carmack (Fall 1996). "Of Prophets and Pale Horses: Joseph Smith, Benjamin West, and the American Millenarian Tradition". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought: 173.
  7. ISBN 1-4000-4270-4
    .
  8. ^ Stewart, D. Michael (June 1976). "I Have a Question". Ensign. Retrieved 17 August 2015. The documents show that Joseph Smith did prophesy a number of times that the United States and the Constitution would be imperiled and that the elders would have a hand in saving them.
  9. ^
    The Huffington Post
    , October 5, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  10. ^ The identity of the "Red Horse" is not stated in the prophecy.
  11. ISBN 978-1-4286-3588-3
    .
  12. Smith, Joseph Jr. (1844). "General Smith's Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States"
    . Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  13. ISBN 978-0-8061-3838-1
    .
  14. ^ a b Don L. Penrod (2010). "Edwin Rushton as the Source of the White Horse Prophecy". BYU Studies. 49 (3): 75–131. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  15. ISBN 0-88290-781-6
    .
  16. ^ Kraut, Ogden (1993). The White Horse Prophecy. Pioneer Publishing. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  17. FairMormon
    . Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  18. ^ McConkie, Bruce R. (1966). Mormon Doctrine (2nd ed.). Bookcraft. p. 835.
  19. ^
    Wall Street Journal
    . p. 13. Still, the prophecy continues to inspire Mormons to run for office, on both sides of the aisle.
  20. ^ A discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 18, 1855. Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 182.
  21. ^ A sermon by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 3, 1858. Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 152.
  22. ^
    ISBN 978-0-385-53388-1
    .
  23. ^ Wirthlin, Joseph L. (October 1938). One Hundred Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Held in the Tabernacle Salt Lake City, Utah October 7, 8 and 9, 1938 With Report of Discourses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. p. 72.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  24. ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Oct 3–5, 1941). One Hundred Twelfth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church History Library. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. p. 72.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  25. ^ "Private Ownership...under the United Order". Conference Report. October 1942. pp. 54–59. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  26. ^ Ezra Taft Benson, The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner, Latter Day Conservative, (16 September 1986).
  27. ^ Oaks, Dallin H. "Fundamentals of Our Constitutions." Utah's Constitution Day Celebration. Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah. September 17, 2010. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/fundamentals-of-our-constitutions-elder-dallin-h-oaks
  28. ^ Reilly, Adam (October 14, 2009). "Latterday Taint". Boise Weekly.
  29. ^ Wurth, Michael (January 19, 2011). "Teabooking 101: Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America". San Antonio Current. p. 11.
  30. ^
    Salt Lake Tribune
    . June 4, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  31. ^ "Is Glenn Beck Attempting to Fulfill the Mormon 'White Horse Prophecy'?". AOL News. October 5, 2010. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  32. ^ Reilly, Adam (December 3, 2009). "Latter-Day Taint". Salt Lake City Weekly. pp. 20–22.
  33. ^ Glenn Beck with Sen. Hatch: 'Constitution is hanging by a thread', GlennBeck.com, November 4, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  34. ^ Brooks, Joanna (October 7, 2009). "How Mormonism Built Glenn Beck". Religion Dispatches. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  35. National Public Radio
    . October 10, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  36. ^ "Rammell unapologetic about meeting with LDS elders". Rexburg Standard Journal. Rexburg, Idaho. December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  37. ^ "Idaho candidate Rammell holding LDS meetings". Deseret News. December 22, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  38. ^ "LDS Church responds to Idaho candidate's 'elders only' meetings". Deseret News. December 26, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  39. ^ "LDS Church issues statement on Rex Rammell". Rexburg Standard Journal. December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  40. ^ "Rammell apologizes for LDS elders only meetings". Rexburg Standard Journal. January 9, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2011.

Further reading

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