White Horse Prophecy Fulfilled?

The likes of Mitt Romney and Jeff Flake undoubtedly view themselves as the Elders who are meant to save the Constitution hanging by a thread. And yet, surprisingly to many observers, these Constitution Savers now endorse Joe Biden, who vows to take our Nation further down the road of Socialism. It’s as if Flake and Romney and many other so-called conservatives (Colin Powell, Tom Ridge, Bushes, Kasich, McCains, Dwayne Johnson, etc.) are so fixated on the current president’s personality, that abortion, gay marriage, taxes, and freedom all take a back seat. Joe Biden, he’s our man! Even if he is the exact opposite of conservatism, at least he’s not Trump. Oh and by the way, we’re going to save the Constitution, because we have the Priesthood.

The White Horse Prophecy is not completely verifiable although it’s attributed to Joseph Smith by Edwin Rushton in the year 1900. He was “said” to have made this prophecy in 1843. The substance, which is embellished at each telling of it, of the Prophecy, is:

In 1855, Brigham Young 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.”

In 1858, Orson Hyde, another contemporary of Smith, wrote that Smith believed “the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and… if the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of [the LDS] Church.”

In 1922, the LDS Church’s fifth presiding bishop, Charles W. Nibley, stated that “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.”

In 1928, the LDS apostleMelvin 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 consequence of what the Lord has revealed and what [the Mormons], 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.”

In 1942, J. Reuben Clark, an LDS apostle and a member of the church’s First Presidency, said that “You and I have heard all our lives that the time may come when the Constitution may hang by a thread…. I do know that whether it shall live or die is now in the balance.” On the Constitution, Clark went on to cite its “free institutions,” separation of powers, and the Bill of Rights. He added that “if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship… we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution.”

In a 1986 Brigham Young University speech, LDS president Ezra Taft Benson stated, “I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church – men and women who will subscribe to and abide by the principles of the Constitution.”

In 2010, Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke at a Constitution Day Celebration and warned about the importance of preserving the US Constitution. To that end, he claimed that “all citizens—whatever their religious or philosophical persuasion” should maintain several responsibilities regarding the Constitution: understand it, support the law, practice civic virtue, maintain civility in political discourse, and promote patriotism.

The greatest irony of all? It just may be that Mormon Elder Harry Reid ends up saving the Constitution hanging by a thread. How so, you ask? Because in 2013, Mormon Senator Harry Reid led the charge to change the rules from a 60 vote majority rule to a 51 vote majority rule for Federal Judicial appointments. This was intended, it is assumed, to help Obama and other Democrats get their Federal Court Nominees through when the seats in the Senate are so very close (i.e. upend built-in checks and balances). This has led to President Trump getting 3 Justices on the Bench (including Amy Barrett) and potentially 2-3 more in the next 4 years if he is re-elected. Assuming they are all true conservatives (not likely but maybe), this ALONE could help save the fragile Constitution now hanging by a thread for a bit longer.

In the meantime, Elder Harry Reid, not Mitt Romney or Jeff Flake, may have saved the Constitution. And Mitt and Jeff and other great Mormons are voting in favor of abortion and Black Lives Matter and Antifa instead of riding on White Horses.