Blessing from Oliver Cowdery, 22 September 1835

Now, after writing these blessings at the mouth  of the 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...

View Glossary

I greatly desired to know the mind of the Spirit concerning this my brother, with whom I had labored so  many years; and accordingly I besought the Lord in prayer and fasting, who opened the heavens upon me, and thus, while  in the heavenly vision, I wrote the following blessing, which is in part of that which was shown and declared  should come upon my brother: therefore, let no one doubt this correctness and truth; for they will verily be  fulfilled.

Blessed of the Lord is my brother, for the integrity of his heart and the steadfastness of his soul. Upheld by the  arm of the Almighty he shall never fall, but shall be strengthened by his right hand till he overcomes. Like Jacob of old he shall wrestle with the  angel, and as a prince shall he have power with God, and shall prevail. Ever faithful to <his> friends and true to his word, the goodness  of the Most High shall sustain him, and thousands shall stand up to defend him from the hand of his enemies, and put forth  the hand and ward off the blow were it needful: but ere his foes are aware he shall be hid under the pavillion of the  Lord Jehovah; for, with the voice of his thunder shall he strike terror to their hearts, and as with the wings of an eagle  shall my brother be carried beyond all harm, by the power of the Annointed. From amid the burning bush, like Mo ses of old, shall he hear the voice, saying, I am the God of thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I have seen, I have seen, the  affliction of my people and am come down to deliver them: go, thou, and say to the strength of my house, To your tents,  O Israel: build up the wastes and raise up the foundation of desolation that this generation has made. Thus shall he be hon ored of the Lord, and thus shall it be recorded of him, that the generations to come may bless his name, in Israel, saying, The  Lord make thee as Joseph the Seer, who was of the house of Ephraim, the brother of Manasseh: the Lord do thee good and  bring peace and blessings opun [upon] thy house as he brought them upon the house of Joseph the Seer, who was raised up of a choice  vine from the stem of Jacob through the root of Joseph, even that Joseph who was separated from his brethren— For, like Jo seph of old shall he be: he shall save the just from desolation, by the wise counsel of the Almighty; for by his direction  shall they gather into store-houses and barns, till they overflow with the richness of the fruit of harvest: and by this  means shall the just be saved from famine, while the nations of the wicked are distressed and faint. In due time  shall he go forth toward the north, and by the power of his word shall the deep begin to give way and the ice melt be fore the sun. By the keys

In the early church, the term keys referred to JS’s authority to unlock the “mysteries of the kingdom.” Early revelations declared that both JS and Oliver Cowdery held the keys to bring forth “those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden because of...

View Glossary

of the Kingdom shall he lead Israel into the land of Zion while the house of Jacob  shouts in the danse and in the song— Joy, O my soul, in that day, for thou shalt be with him and bear  thy part in the keys which are confirmed <upon> thee for an everlasting priesthood

In the early 1830s, often referred to an “order of men set apart for sacred offices”; also referred more generally to power or authority from God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands to adult male members of the church in good standing...

View Glossary

, forever and ever— Joy, O  my heart, in that day, with thanks giving and with praise, for thou shalt stand with him before the  hosts of Israel— the lame shall leap as a hart, the old shall renew his strength, and the virgin of Israel,  with the youth, shall exalt the name of our God upon harps and instruments of tens[e] strings. He shall be  a shure arrow in the bow of his God, for he shall be hid under the shadow of his wing. His loins shall be like iron,  girded by the hand of the Lord, and his feet shall be swift to execute the commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

View Glossary

of the Most  High when he shall say, Destroy. His name shall be had in everlasting remembrance, and his name <seed> after him,  for they shall be saved to the uttermost. His fame shall be sounded in foreign lands, even to the ends [p. [15]]