Enemies Not Destroyed
History of the Church 1:455; “…when the executive fail you, appeal unto the president; and when the president fail you, and all laws fail you, and the humanity of the people fail you, and all things else fail you but God alone, and you continue to weary Him with your importunings, as the poor woman did the unjust judge, He will not fail to execute judgment upon your enemies, and to avenge His own elect that cry unto Him day and night.”
Prophecy given on December 10, 1833.
The Mormons were kicked out of Ohio and God didn’t destroy their enemies. This prophecy was actually part of a letter written by Smith to the Saints after some of them had been killed by the locals in Missouri. While they had settlements in MO at the time their main facilities were in OH.
They were being attacked from all sides and this letter was to encourage them to seek redress from the government and by any means they could find. In the meantime they were told by Smith to flee for their very lives. In June 1834 they fled OH and settled in MO.
None of the promises made by Smith for their afflictions came true. You can read the entire story which is located on pages 453 – 456.
First, the Lord did “execute judgment…and to avenge His own elect.” It was called the Civil War, in which the entire nation suffered greatly; and it was no coincidence that Missouri saw the greatest bloodshed in that war.
Secondly, if you care to actually read the entire letter, you will also read this statement “Behold He will not fail you! He will come with ten thousand of His
Saints, and all His adversaries shall be destroyed with the breath of His
lips! All those who keep their inheritances, notwithstanding they should
be beaten and driven, shall be likened unto the wise virgins who took oil
in their lamps.”
Joseph Smith never meant that the enemy would be destroyed instantly, or that the saints would not suffer. As part of his message to the saints he tells them they they will suffer and be driven before their enemies; but in the end they would again regain their inheritence, as long as they remained faithful. As he is comparing them to the wise virgins it seems obvious that this promise is to be fulfilled at the second coming.
Nothing false about anything here.
So you are going to try and claim that the Civil War was judgement by God for the persecution that the Mormons brought on themselves in Ohio and Missouri? The Civil War was about slavery, state’s rights, and intrusion by the federal government. …
“…no coincidence that Missouri saw the greatest bloodshed in that war.”
Missouri was a keystone in the Union cause. She was also a “border state” during the war. The nation’s major western lines of communication and travel were anchored in the state the Pony Express and the California, Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. The three major waterways of the country, the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers, either passed through or touched the state. According to the 1860 census, Missouri ranked eighth in population, making it an excellent manpower resource for the army. The state was rich in deposits of raw materials — lead for bullets, iron for cannonballs. Its agricultural production could feed an army.
We talk nowadays regarding elections about “battleground states”, Missouri was extremely sought after by both sides of the conflict, so of course there were many skirmishes within her borders, (3rd highest behind Virginia and Tennessee) even though only 13,800 Union Troops lost their lives (9,200 to disease) in Missouri… I say “only” because the total number of Union troops killed during the war was 365,000