Hyrum Smith's patriarchal blessings

Subject:	Hyrum Smith's patriarchal blessings.
Date:	Mar 26 16:09
Author:	Butch
Mail Address:	`butch_65@lycos.com`

Hyrum Smith received two patriarchal blessings, one from his father, Joseph Sr. and one from his brother, Joseph Jr.

I finally received a copy of these blessings from a family member who found them while doing our genealogy. Hyrum is our fourth great-grandfather. My admittedly imperfect transcription of the two blessings will follow with words that I could not quite make out surrounded with question marks.

I find quite a few things interesting about the blessings. In the blessing from his father there is a rant about the death of Alvin and the curses to the doctor who murdered him. Anyone who has read Lucy Mack Smith’s “History of Joseph Smith” will find the hatred towards that doctor a common theme; and it is my opinion that this is the impetus for the blood atonement doctrine and for murder being unforgivable.

One other thing of note is the obsession with “riches of this earth”. Again from Lucy’s book you can see the sheer poverty of this family growing up and thus the obsession with wealth.

God protecting the “secret pacts [parts]” is interesting as well.

Blessing from Joseph Smith Jr. to Hyrum Smith:

Blessed of the Lord is brother Hyrum for the integrity of his heart he shall be girt-about with strength and faithfulness shall be the strength of his loins. From generation to generation he shall be a shaft in the hand of his God to execute judgment upon his enemies, and he shall be hid by the hand of the Lord that none of his secret pacts shall be discovered unto his enemies unto his hurt. His name shall be called a blessing among men. His acquaintance shall be among kings; and he shall be sought for that he may sit in council, by nations and kings that afar off and thousands of souls shall he be an instrument in the hand of his God in bringing unto salvation. And when he is in trouble and great tribulation has come upon him, he shall remember the God of Jacob and he shall shield him from the power of Satan. He shall receive counsel in the house of the most high that he may be strengthened in hope. He shall be as a cooling spring that breaketh forth at the foot of the mountain, one shadowed with choice trees bowed down with ripe fruit that yieldeth both nourishment to the appetite and quencheth the thirst, thereby yielding refreshment to the weary traveler; and the goings of his feet shall ever be by streams of living water. He shall not toil nor want for knowledge for the Lord his God shall put forth his hand and lift him up and shall call upon him with his voice in the way wherein he is traveling, that he may be established forever. He shall stand in the rocks of his father and be numbered among those who hold the right of patriarchal priesthood, even the evangelical priesthood, and power shall be upon him that in his old age his name may be magnified on the earth. Behold he shall be blessed with an abundance of riches of the earth: gold, silver, and treasures of precious stones, of diamonds and patina. His chariots shall be numerous and his cattle shall multiply abundantly: horses, mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, and swift beasts that he may magnify the name of the Lord and benefit the poor: yea this shall be the desire of his soul, to comfort the needy and bind up the broken in heart. His children shall be many and his posterity numerous, and they shall rise up and call him blessed. And he shall have eternal life. Amen.

Given in Kirtland, December 18, 1933. and recorded September 1835.
Oliver Cowdery, clerk and recorder.

Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr. to Hyrum Smith:

The blessing of Hyrum Smith who was born in Tunbridge, Orange County, Vermont, February 9, 1800. Hyrum, thou are my oldest son, whom the Lord has spared unto me when my eldest was taken at an untimely age, but thy ?dead? brother whom thou dids’t love around whose heart thine affections were twined has been taken in the vigor of youth even in the morning of his days; his seat is vacant this day but his spirit is at rest. Wo be to the man who sought his fall by which means he was deprived of leaving seed to rise up in his inheritance to call him blessed. Therefore, that his name may not be forgotten (I) make this mention of him in thy blessing that it may be recorded with the same for my posterity to look upon; and as you are now my eldest your seed may look upon this in after years and remember the sorrows of thy father and the sorrows of my family. God is just and he will reward the enemy of my son four fold. So much I have found in my heart to say to perpetuate the memory of thy brother who was an upright man. Behold thou art Hyrum; the Lord has called thee by that name and by that name he has blessed thee. Thou hast borne the burden and heat of the day; thou hast toiled hard and labored much, for the good of thy father’s family: thou has been a stay many times to them, and by thy diligence they have often been sustained, thou hast loved thy father’s family with a pure love, and hast greatly desired their salvation, thou hast always stood by thy father and reached forth the helping hand to lift him up when he was in affliction; and though he has been out of the way through ?, thou hast never forsaken him, nor laughed him to scorn, for all these kindnesses the Lord my God will bless thee. I now ask my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ to bless thee with the same blessings with which Jacob blessed his son Joseph for thou art his descendant and thy posterity shall be numbered with the house of Ephraim and with them thou shalt hand up to crown the tribes of Israel when they come shouting to Zion. Thou shalt live to see thy Redeemer come in the clouds of heaven and thou shalt lift up thy head with gladness and ?have? the holy throng with uplifted hands. Thou shalt stand before Kings and Rulers and bear testimony of the Lord. Thou shalt proclaim the gospel to may nations and bring many souls to the knowledge of the truth, thou art numbered with the horns of Joseph; for thou shalt raise many people togther. Thou shalt escape the hands of thine enemies and triumph over all who oppose thy way in truth. Thou shalt be blessed with the good things of this earth in rich abundance. The Lord will ?sanctify? his choice blessings upon thee and upon thy seed after thee, and thou with them shall have an inheritance in Zion, and they shall possess it from generation to generation, and thy name shall never be blotted out from among the just; for the righteous shall rise up and also thy children after thee and say thy memory is just, that thou wert a just man and perfect in thy day. Thy name is written in heaven and thy salvation sealed on high, even so, Amen.

Subject:	Fascinating patriarchal blessings!
Date:	Mar 26 16:55
Author:	thor hiyadoll
Mail Address:

It is interesting to me to see how high an opinion the Smiths had of themselves and the place in the world they believed they should be in. I noticed in the J. Smith Sr. blessing Hyrum is commended for not laughing his father to scorn when the father was "in affliction" or "been out of the way". J. Smith Sr. certainly had the reputation of being a drunk, and apparently was depressed much of the time. I wonder if this part of the blessing is a reference to that.

Subject:	out of the way through wine
Date:	Mar 27 23:10
Author:	ruldx2
Mail Address:

Bushman in Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism says the word is "wine" where the transcription above has ? (p. 208 n. 55). If Bushman admitted the word is wine, it must be true and unmistakable. Bushman, as usual, tries to spin it apologetically though by saying it must have been an early thing, before the church was organized and that JS Sr got over it. Maybe. But the wording doesn't sound that way to me. Sounds like he still has a problem when JS Sr says, "thou HAS NEVER forsaken him nor laughed." If JS Sr was over it he would have said "thou never forsook him", made it past, not past participle, or whatever that tense is called. The past participle tense suggests (to me) that the possibility of doing it (forsaking) still exists, up to the present. (any English teachers out there to help with this?)

Robert Anderson in Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith also mentions in on p. 55, n. 4 and references Bushman.

Subject:	Thank you
Date:	Mar 28 12:27
Author:	Butch
Mail Address:

it does look like wine. I guess this is the problem when an amateur tries to do "advanced history" to quote BKP.

;-)

Subject:	So much for divine inspiration
Date:	Mar 26 17:06
Author:	Stray Mutt
Mail Address:	`straay@bellsouth.net`

Both promise Hyrum a long life and protection from his enemies. Oops.

Subject:	Thanks for these. Very interesting.
Date:	Mar 26 18:54
Author:	Wulfen
Mail Address:

But are you sure the phrase is "secret pacts"? There's a place in the Bible where it talks about the Lord protecting one's "secret parts" from one's enemies.

Subject:	You are right. thanks for the correction.
Date:	Mar 26 19:09
Author:	Butch
Mail Address:	`butch_65@lycos.com`

If you would like a scanned in copy of these you can email me.

Subject:	Joseph Smith as prophet
Date:	Mar 26 22:51
Author:	lm
Mail Address:

These blessings were indeed fascinating. I found some of the specific prophecies Joseph Smith made to be especially revealing as to Joseph's prophetic prowess:

1. "His acquaintance shall be among kings; and he shall be sought for that he may sit in council, by nations and kings that afar off . . ."

2. "And when he is in trouble and great tribulation has come upon him, he shall remember the God of Jacob and he shall shield him from the power of Satan."

3. "Behold he shall be blessed with an abundance of riches of the earth: gold, silver, and treasures of precious stones, of diamonds and patina. His chariots shall be numerous and his cattle shall multiply abundantly: horses, mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, and swift beasts that he may magnify the name of the Lord ..."

Reality Check:
1. Hyrum never made the acquaintance of any kings, or sat in councils of far off nations.

2. Hyrum's 'great tribulation' in Carthage Jail resulted in his death, not much of a shield there!

3. I can't speak for Hyrum's collection of patina, but it's clear he didn't have much in the way of chariots, camels, or dromedaries.

This blessing is quite a confirmation of Joseph Smith's complete ineptitude as a prophet. When it lacks in foretelling it attempts to make up in pompous, egoistic, grandiosity.

I also found one other thing interesting: people are only supposed to receive ONE patriarchal blessing. Hyrum received two - each quite different from the other. Which one is it supposed to be?

Subject:	You forgot...
Date:	Mar 28 09:46
Author:	Brigham Monson
Mail Address:

The Prophet also said "...and power shall be upon him that in his old age his name may be magnified on the earth."

I don't recall him being an old man when he was killed in 1844.