Joseph Holbrook Dreams of Fleeing a City and Crossing a Flooded River — A Prophetic Vision of His Conversion and Pioneer Journey

In December 1832, just weeks before his baptism, Joseph Holbrook had a vivid prophetic dream that prefigured his entire spiritual journey:

'I dreamed I was in a certain city where people were engaged in their various business matters when all of a sudden a voice was heard from the heavens saying, "Up, get ye out of this city for behold I will destroy this people, and flee ye into the west." The people all heard the voice...they halted, looked amazed for a moment and then pursued their course as before. Shortly the voice was heard the second time...and again the third time...but the people paid no attention to it, so I stopped and marvelled and said I am not going to stay here so I started out of the city to the west.'

He found a wide, deep river impossible to cross — but he plunged straight in and was immediately on the western bank, with a voice saying: 'You are now baptized.' He was then presented with three roads up a hill. Two wound easily around the hill. One went straight up. His companions urged him to take the easy roads. He refused each time, kept to the straight road, and reached the summit — only to look back and see that nearly all who had taken the winding roads were 'lost,' wandering in increasing darkness with no road, needing 'thousands of years' to return to the base of the hill.

At the top, a voice told him: 'Few there be that will ever come to the top of the hill, few there are that will be saved.'

This dream came true in precise detail over the next fourteen years: baptism in January 1833, the exodus from Missouri, the trek westward — always keeping to the straight path.