Joseph Smith Prophesies His Own Martyrdom — 'I Shall Not Live to See My Fortieth Year' (1843–1844)

Throughout 1843 and the first half of 1844, Joseph Smith made a series of specific prophecies that he would not live to an old age and would die a violent death. These prophecies, recorded by multiple contemporaries and in his own journal, were fulfilled on June 27, 1844, when he was martyred at Carthage Jail at the age of 38.

Joseph's prophecies about his own death took several forms:

— On multiple occasions in 1843, Joseph told associates that he would not live to see his fortieth birthday (he was born December 23, 1805, so his fortieth birthday would have been December 23, 1845). He stated plainly that his work would be cut short and that he would seal his testimony with his blood.

— In the spring of 1844, Joseph told the Twelve Apostles in a private meeting: "I am tired. I have been mobbed, persecuted, and hunted... I would rather be dead than alive." He then prophesied that his time was short and that the burden of leading the Church would soon fall to them.

— On June 18, 1844 — just nine days before his death — Joseph addressed the Nauvoo Legion and, according to some accounts, declared: "I am not afraid of death. I have lived until I have seen the salvation of God... I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am as calm as a summer's morning."

— In his final address to the Twelve (the "last charge" of March 1844), Joseph told them: "I am tired. The burdens rest upon me... Brethren, you have got to bear off this kingdom. Whether I am with you or not, the kingdom must roll on." He spoke as one preparing for his own departure.

— On June 24, 1844, as Joseph crossed the Mississippi River to flee to the Rocky Mountains, he paused and told those with him that he was returning to Nauvoo to face what awaited him, prophesying that his blood would be shed.

— On the morning of June 27, 1844, the day of his martyrdom, Joseph told Dan Jones, who was with him in Carthage Jail: "I shall be with you no more... You will see me no more in the flesh." He prophesied that Jones would survive and live to do important work — a prophecy fulfilled when Jones returned to Wales and baptized thousands.

These repeated, specific prophecies of his own violent death — spoken over more than a year, to multiple witnesses, in private meetings and public addresses — stand as a remarkable pattern of prophetic foreknowledge. Joseph knew the manner of his death and the approximate timing, and he walked into it with his eyes open. The fulfillment of these prophecies on June 27, 1844, at Carthage Jail, where he was shot and killed at age 38, testified to the prophetic gift that rested upon him even in his final days.

Joseph's martyrdom also fulfilled the Lord's word to him in Liberty Jail (D&C 122): "The very hairs of your head are numbered... if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers... thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less." Joseph's years were indeed not numbered less than the Lord had appointed, and he completed his mortal mission on the day prophesied.