Blessing from Joseph Smith Sr., 9 December 1834

Joseph Smith, junior was born in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, December 23, 1805.

Joseph, my son, I lay my hands upon thy head in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to confirm  upon thee a father’s blessing. The Lord thy God has called thee by name out of the heavens: thou  hast heard his voice from on high from time to time, even in thy youth. The hand of the angel of his  presence has been extended toward thee by which thou hast been lifted up and sustained; yea, the Lord  has delivered thee from the hands of thine enemies and thou hast been made to rejoice in his salvation:  thou hast sought to know his ways, and from thy childhood thou hast meditated much upon the great  things of his law. Thou hast suffered much in thy youth, and the poverty and afflictions of thy father

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

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’s family  have been a grief to thy soul. Thou hast desired to see them delivered from bondage, for thou hast lov’d  them with a perfect love. Thou hast stood by thy father

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

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, and like Shem, would have covered his  nakedness, rather than see him exposed to shame: when the daughters of the Gentiles

Those who were not members of the House of Israel. More specifically, members of the church identified gentiles as those whose lineage was not of the Jews or Lamanites (understood to be the American Indians in JS’s day). Certain prophecies indicated that ...

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laughed, thy heart has  been moved with a just anger to avenge thy kindred. Thou hast been an obedient son: the commands  of thy father

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

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and the reproofs of thy mother

8 July 1775–14 May 1856. Oilcloth painter, nurse, fund-raiser, author. Born at Gilsum, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. Daughter of Solomon Mack Sr. and Lydia Gates. Moved to Montague, Franklin Co., Massachusetts, 1779; to Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont, 1788...

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, thou hast respected and obeyed— for all these things the  Lord my God will bless thee. Thou hast been called, even in thy youth to the great work of the Lord:  to do a work in this generation which no other man would do as thyself, in all things according  to the will of the Lo[r]d. A marvelous work and a wonder has the Lord wrought by thy hand, even  that which shall prepare the way for the remnants of his people to come in among the Gentiles, with  their fulness, as the tribes of Israel are restored. I bless thee with the blessings of thy fathers  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and even the blessings of thy father Joseph, the son of Jacob. Be hold, he looked after his posterity in the last days, when they should be scattered and driven by the  Gentiles, and wept before the Lord: he sought diligently to know from whence the son should  come who should bring forth the word of the Lord, by which they might be enlightened, and  brought back to the true fold, and his eyes beheld thee, my son: his heart rejoiced and his soul was  satisfied, and he said, As my blessings are to extend to the utmost bounds of the everlastings hills;  as my father’s blessing prevailed above the blessings of his progen[i]tors, and as my branches are to  run over the wall, and my seed are to inherit the choice land whereon the Zion

In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the work JS was called to do. However, the term Zion was soon used more specifically to describe a community of believers who live in harmony and equality. The Book of Mormon explained...

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of God  shall stand in the last days, from among my seed, scattered with the Gentiles, shall a choice  Seer

The Book of Mormon identified a seer as a “revelator, and a prophet also,” specifying, however, that a seer was “greater than a prophet.” A seer could “know of things which has past, and also of things which is to come.” The work of a seer included translation...

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arise whose bowels shall be as a fountain of truth, whose loins shall be girded with the  girdle of righteousness, whose hands shall be lifted with acceptance before the God of Jacob to turn  away his anger from his annointed

Following a biblical pattern, JS on 21 January 1836 instituted the ordinance of anointing with oil on the head or body as a sign of sanctification and consecration in preparation for the endowment of “power from on high.” This anointing was combined with ...

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, whose heart shall meditate great wisdom, whose intelligence  shall circumscribe and <and> comprehend the deep things of God, and whose mouth shall utter the law of the just: [p. 3]