Joseph Smith: OT Prophets Roamed British Isles

Journal of Discourses 5:22; “Nearly twenty years ago, I was in a place in England in which I felt very curious; but I did not know at the time what it meant. I went through a town called Chadburn, beyond Clithero. Before I went there, some persons told me that there was no use in my going, and asked me what I wanted to go to Chadburn for, saying it was the worst place in the country; for the sectarian priests had preached there faithfully thirty years without making any impression. Notwithstanding that, I went, and preached once, and baptized twenty-five persons, where the priests had not been able to do a thing.

I went through the streets of that town feeling as I never before felt in my life. My hair would rise on my head as I walked through the streets, and I did not then know what was the matter with me. I pulled off my hat, and felt that I wanted to pull off my shoes, and I did not know what to think of it.

When I returned, I mentioned the circumstance to brother Joseph, who said, “Did you not understand it? That is a place where some of the old Prophets traveled and dedicated that land, and their blessing fell upon you.” –  Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1857

2 Timothy 4:3-4; “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

I’ve noticed in the journals of Mormon history, there’s a lot of bragging going on, and stories that are quickly made up in order to generate goose-bump moments to reel people in. Mr. Kimball’s account of his experience in England, and Smith’s off the cuff lie is just such a case.

Remember what Lucy Smith said about her son Joseph? She said he could come up with the most colorful tales you could imagine…

Lucy Mack Smith & Joseph’s Stories – Mormon Quotes

Ensign, January 1992, pg. 22; “From his mother’s account, we know that the visions Joseph experienced while receiving Moroni’s instructions must have been vivid. She wrote: “During our evening conversations, Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of travelling, and the animals upon which they rode; their cities, their buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life with them.” (Biographical Sketches, p. 85.)”

If the townsfolk in Chadburn resembled Nineveh in the days of Jonah, is it any wonder they’d accept this man’s tall tales of a false god?

Where is the proof no one accepted the other preacher’s?

What about Isaiah 55:11 that tells us His word never comes back void?

And where in the world did Smith come up with the story of the OT prophets being in England?

Where in the Bible does it tell us any of the OT ever spent time in the unknown regions of the British Isles during their day?

And last, but certainly not least, what did Smith mean when he said the OT prophets’ blessings ‘fell upon’ Heber Kimball?