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. . . that I should bear witness unto the truth. John 18:33 // David E. Robinson, Publisher
. . . if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle? I Corinthians 14:8

No.011
08/29/12

The White Horse Prophecy

[Ed.]This issue was compiled when news commentator Glenn Beck spoke at his Restoring Honor Rally on the Washington Mall last year. I am publishing it now in light of the Republican Convention, in Tampa, Florida, that has just nominated Governor Mitt Romney to be our next President of the United States of America. The White Horse Prophecy is a statement made in 1843 by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, regarding the future of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and the United States of America. The Latter Day Saints, according to the prophecy, would go to the Rocky Mountains and ... be a great and mighty people, identified figuratively with the White Horse described in the Revelation of John. The prophecy further predicts that the United States Constitution will one day hang like a thread and will be saved by the efforts of the White Horse. Origins Joseph Smith, Jr., first leader of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and purported source of the White Horse Prophecy. Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith went to Washington D.C. seeking help for his persecuted followers but received nothing but frustration. Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that from then on Smith and his followers considered themselves the last Real Americans, (and) the legitimate heirs of the pilgrims and Founding Fathers, who would be called upon one day to save the U.S. Constitution. Smith responded that when the Constitution hangs by a thread, Latter Day Saint elders will step in on the proverbial white horse to save the country. 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. A compilation of statements of leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) by BYU Studies also shows that a number of them spoke of its importance. Orson Hyde for instance, a Smith contemporary, wrote that Smith believed the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow, while the LDS Churchs fifth presiding bishop Charles W. Nibley, stated: 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. Years later in 1928, the LDS Church Apostle Melvin J. Ballard 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 con1

Joseph Smith, Jr., first leader of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and purported source of the White Horse Prophecy.

In 1844, Smith rejected the platforms of the major candidates for President of the United States and decided to conduct his own third-party campaign for the Presidency. At the time of his death on June 27 of that year, the Latter Day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois. Following a succession crisis in which Brigham Young was seen as Smiths successor by the majority of the Latter Day Saints, the Mormon migration to the Intermountain West began under Youngs direction in February 1846. Historical use Brigham Young, who assumed the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith. Joseph Smiths successors attribute the phrase hang by a thread to him, and continue to make theological references to it. In 1855 Brigham Young

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sequence of what the Lord has revealed and what this people, 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. Authenticity Eliza R. Snow, noted LDS poet, writer, and leader of the churchs womens auxiliary (the Relief Society). The authenticity of the White Horse Prophecy is debated by the LDS Church. It was made public after his death by one of his associates, Edwin Rushton. Rushtons manuscript was written around 1900. Although some elements of the statement were confirmed by contemporary LDS Church leaders as having been taught by Smith, the prophecy as a whole has never been officially acknowledged or accepted, and has been repudiated by the LDS Church since 1918 though it is often cited by followers of the Church. In early 2010, the LDS Church issued a statement saying 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. In 2010 the journal BYU Studies also published an article establishing Edwin Rushton as the author of the prophecy and that it was not reliable. It claimed

Rushton had embellished on Brigham Youngs (in 1854) and Eliza R. Snows (in 1870) reminiscences that Joseph Smith had once said the U.S. Constitution would hang by a thread. It also noted the prophecys claims that the Latter Day Saints in the Rocky Mountain were supposed to stand against worldwide financial and political disaster, and the foreign nations led by the Russian Czar. The prophecy remains a salient feature of the LDS perspective on the relationship between religion and government, evidenced by many popular references to it, including Glenn Beck and Sen. Orin Hatch. Interpretation Many people outside the LDS Church have speculated, on the basis of the White Horse Prophecy, that Mormons expect the United States to eventually become a theocracy dominated by the LDS Church. This question has arisen periodically as prominent Mormons have sought political office in the United States such as during the 2010 campaign of Rex Rammell for the governorship of the state of Idaho. Glenn Beck LDS conservative commentator Glenn Beck, speaking at the Restoring Honor rally in 2010. On November 14, 2008, following President Barack Obamas election, conservative personality and 1999 Mormon convert Glenn Beck told Bill

OReilly while a guest on The OReilly Factor, that we are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance, I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up. Washington Post journalist Dana Milbank, who authored the 2010 critical polemic Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America, has written on Becks perceived affinity for the prophecy and thus described Becks views as essentially White Horse Prophecy meets horsemen of the apocalypse. In discussing whether Becks wording was coincidental, Milbank noted that ten days earlier, Beck was interviewing U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Mormon, and 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. Milbank also notes that two months later when Becks Fox show started in January 2009, Beck had Hatch on, and again prompted him by declaring I believe our Constitution hangs by a thread. LDS blogger and religious commentator Joanna Brooks, who has written extensively on the importance of Mormonism to Becks political worldview, has also alluded to the potential connection of Becks proclamations and the White Horse Prophecy.

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