"“I was walking on father’s right side, and I saw the shot fired..." Mosiah Hancock

[kirtland r.m.]

Mosiah Hancock, who was a boy of about ten at the time, quotes Joseph Smith as saying just a few days before his death: “The United States will spend her strength and means warring in foreign lands until other nations will say, “Let’s divide up the lands of the United States”, then the people of the U. S. will unite and swear by the blood of their fore-fathers, that the land shall not be divided.

“Then the country will go to war, and they will fight until one half of the U. S. army will give up, and the rest will continue to struggle. They will keep on until they are very ragged and discouraged, and almost ready to give up–when the boys from the mountains will rush forth in time to save the American Army from defeat and ruin. And they will say, ‘Brethren, we are glad you have come; give us men, henceforth, who can talk with God’. Then you will have friends, but you will save the country when its liberty hangs by a hair, as it were”. (Mosiah Hancock Autobiography, pg. 28, BYU Special Collections)

When I read these prophecies, I sometimes tend to fear what we may have to endure in the last days. But then, when I also read how the Lord has protected His Saints in all dispensations, I find great comfort and peace. For instance, Levi Hancock, the father of the Mosiah Hancock quoted above, was a close friend and body guard of Joseph Smith. They observed many miracles of protection in Nauvoo: “Father had a great deal of opposition in Nauvoo. One day as father and I were walking down Water Street, and we came within twenty feet of the Mansion, an east window raised up, and Francis M. Higbee took deliberate aim with a rifle, and shot father in the left breast.

“I was walking on father’s right side, and I saw the shot fired, and heard the thud as the bullet struck, but father stopped and picked up the bullet from the ground, and reaching it toward heaven with his right hand, said, “I thank thee, O God the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that thou didst destroy the power of this bullet”. As soon as the shot was fired, the window was shut down. I suppose Higbee thought father was gone this time for sure, but father had been shot at many times by the mobbers and apostates. Father had had the temple in his care for sometime, and some were jealous of the honors conferred upon him.” (Ibid. pg. 31)

[standsresolute]

I'm familiar with these stories and love them dearly. Thank you for sharing.

[JulieCochran]

Where can you find the autobiography of Mosiah Hancock? I would live to read these.

[JohnnyL]

Is the Church hiding things? I'd say it's more guilty of hiding the positive truth than the negative.

There are lots of stories church members have never heard, unless they really go looking especially in the journals/diaries. It's good to hear some choice experiences.

[simpleton]

Is the Church hiding things? I'd say it's more guilty of hiding the positive truth than the negative.

There are lots of stories church members have never heard, unless they really go looking especially in the journals/diaries. It's good to hear some choice experiences.

An understatement.

[simpleton]

I have the journal of Levi and Mosiah Hancock, very interesting faith promoting journals, he Mosiah was an uneducated man, but very faithful to the cause of Christ and both very faithful to Joseph. Also they were direct descendants of those that fought against the British in the war of independence.

[kirtland r.m.]

Where can you find the autobiography of Mosiah Hancock? I would live to read these.

You got it, and it's free. I have quoted from it on the forum in the past, enjoy.http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MHancock.html
Here is a little more information on Mosiah's father Levi. Not just Joseph and Sidney Rigdon, but 28 others are called to travel to Missouri and teach by different routes as they traveled to the west. Levi Hancock and Zebedee Coltrin were called by the Lord to serve as companions on this journey. Levi shares the following:
“We then went to Winchester in Randolph County [Indiana], and stopped at the county seat on the head waters of the White River. We saw there a school master and introduced the Gospel to him. He was so well pleased with the message that he spread the news as fast as possible and called a meeting. After the meeting he wanted to be baptized, so we went to the water with him and baptized him. Soon after this we were happy to hear that nearly all the people wanted to hear us so we went to the courthouse and got permission to hold a meeting there. After this meeting we were able to baptize several others. … We continued to preach here in the region and around about, until we had raised a large branch of the Church … and in a short time we had … about one hundred members.”
Autobiography of Levi Hancock, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.

There were those in town who didn’t understand the new religion and proceeded to persecute the elders. Levi and Zebedee had an appointment to meet with investigators the next day at 11 a.m., but had just received a note that they were to leave town by 10 a.m. Initially, the two elders thought they would obey the order, but then decided to keep their meeting. Levi then records the following in his journal:
“The next morning Sunday came and we were prepared for the worst. It was my turn to speak and I sang too. Zebedee gave the prayer. Bill Walker placed himself at the door and looked as surly as a bull; he was my friend. He said nothing, but something said to me, that I should not be hurt. So I commenced talking and soon forgot myself and said what came to my heart. I mounted the bench and walked in among the same crows who had written that letter. I said, ‘You wrote to warn me to leave this place before then, but you see I am still here. …I am a cousin to the first man who signed the Declaration of Independence. Now, if you want to reveal anything to me, come on I am ready.’ Nothing was said, so I sat down, and Zebedee then took hold of the subject and gave a good sermon. He opened the door for baptism. We felt the spirit of the Lord there with us. After the meeting we went to the water and baptized seventeen of that crowd, who the day before were going to mob us.”
Laureen Gaunt, “Research and Perspective: The Pioneer Saints of Winchester, Indiana,” Ensign October, 1992, pg. 56.

[kirtland r.m.]

I have access to hundreds more of these amazing experiences of the early Saints, many times written in their own words. They are priceless really, I am trying not to overwhelm the forum with posting too many each week, but keep watching. The next one I will do in a couple of days deals with were the ancient city of Bountiful was, hint, more evidence for much of the Book of Mormon history taking place in America's heartland. Right where D.N.A. evidence suggests(my opinion). Although the Nephites were destroyed in battle, the visit of the Savior(after His Resurrection) was such a powerful experience and made such an impression on even the Lamanites remaining that word spread far and wide in the Western Hemisphere of this visit, although somewhat corrupt over time, there is no doubt that it existed still in many cultures.
While on the subject of D.N.A. also, this should not surprise anyone, "Faithful Latter-day Saints should not be afraid to honestly admit that DNA analysis is inconclusive."https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ ... been-found And so the Lord continues to preserve the agency of man even on this issue. Moroni's three keys described in Moroni chapter 10 are still essential to gaining a spiritual witness of any of the scriptures.
Parting thought, many, many of those who lived in the Americas anciently were not descended from Abraham. Does The Book of Mormon Mention Other Peoples In The Americas? (Knowhy #435)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsfJrp-Rdc

[mahalanobis]

I have access to hundreds more of these amazing experiences of the early Saints, many times written in their own words. They are priceless really, I am trying not to overwhelm the forum with posting too many each week, but keep watching. The next one I will do in a couple of days deals with were the ancient city of Bountiful was, hint, more evidence for much of the Book of Mormon history taking place in America's heartland. Right where D.N.A. evidence suggests(my opinion). Although the Nephites were destroyed in battle, the visit of the Savior(after His Resurrection) was such a powerful experience and made such an impression on even the Lamanites remaining that word spread far and wide in the Western Hemisphere of this visit, although somewhat corrupt over time, there is no doubt that it existed still in many cultures.
While on the subject of D.N.A. also, this should not surprise anyone, "Faithful Latter-day Saints should not be afraid to honestly admit that DNA analysis is inconclusive."https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ ... been-found And so the Lord continues to preserve the agency of man even on this issue. Moroni's three keys described in Moroni chapter 10 are still essential to gaining a spiritual witness of any of the scriptures.
Parting thought, many, many of those who lived in the Americas anciently were not descended from Abraham. Does The Book of Mormon Mention Other Peoples In The Americas? (Knowhy #435)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsfJrp-Rdc

Your posts are greatly appreciated and Please continue. Your posts are a big factor in my decision to finally register and join the forum.

[simpleton]

I have access to hundreds more of these amazing experiences of the early Saints, many times written in their own words. They are priceless really, I am trying not to overwhelm the forum with posting too many each week, but keep watching. The next one I will do in a couple of days deals with were the ancient city of Bountiful was, hint, more evidence for much of the Book of Mormon history taking place in America's heartland. Right where D.N.A. evidence suggests(my opinion). Although the Nephites were destroyed in battle, the visit of the Savior(after His Resurrection) was such a powerful experience and made such an impression on even the Lamanites remaining that word spread far and wide in the Western Hemisphere of this visit, although somewhat corrupt over time, there is no doubt that it existed still in many cultures.
While on the subject of D.N.A. also, this should not surprise anyone, "Faithful Latter-day Saints should not be afraid to honestly admit that DNA analysis is inconclusive."https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/ ... been-found And so the Lord continues to preserve the agency of man even on this issue. Moroni's three keys described in Moroni chapter 10 are still essential to gaining a spiritual witness of any of the scriptures.
Parting thought, many, many of those who lived in the Americas anciently were not descended from Abraham. Does The Book of Mormon Mention Other Peoples In The Americas? (Knowhy #435)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsfJrp-Rdc

Priceless is exactly correct. Those journals have affected me since I was first able to read as a youngster, and to this day are my all time favorite reads. Those early day saints had the true light of the gospel. But there were others that also had the light, but let it burn out and apostatized, by the hundreds....

[buffalo_girl]

Parting thought, many, many of those who lived in the Americas anciently were not descended from Abraham. Does The Book of Mormon Mention Other Peoples In The Americas?

One of my dearest friends from my 30's until her recent death was told in her Patriarchal Blessing the she "was of Royal blood".

She always felt ashamed that she wasn't of the Tribe of Ephraim. She felt it was because of her nearly pure indigenous heritage. Her People were from the SE portion of the United States and were force marched to Oklahoma in the 1800's. Her ancestors kept oral records of their lineage. She recalled hearing stories about breastplates and weapons which were considered sacred among her People.

I was not able to convince her that there were other people on this continent who predated Abraham - as were the Jaredites.