Lucy Diantha Morley Allen — Joseph's Countenance Miraculously Changed; Missionaries Speak of a Living Prophet (c. 1831)

Lucy Diantha Morley, the teenage daughter of Isaac and Lucy Morley, had a remarkable spiritual experience when the restored gospel first came to Kirtland, Ohio, that demonstrates the power of testimony and the spiritual witness that attended the early missionaries and the Prophet Joseph Smith.

In late 1830 and early 1831, missionaries from the restored Church — including Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., and Ziba Peterson — passed through Kirtland, Ohio, on their way to the western frontier. They preached the restored gospel, baptizing over 100 converts in the Kirtland area, including Isaac and Lucy Morley and their family.

Lucy Diantha Morley, a 15-year-old girl, heard these missionaries speak of the Prophet Joseph Smith — a man she had not yet met but who was described as a living prophet of God, chosen by the Lord to restore the fulness of the gospel to the earth. The missionaries spoke of Joseph's visions, of the restoration of the priesthood, of the Book of Mormon, and of the living oracles of God. As Lucy listened, the Spirit of God bore witness to her that these things were true, and that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God.

When Joseph and Emma Smith arrived in Kirtland and lived for a time on the Isaac Morley farm, Lucy Diantha Morley had the opportunity to meet the Prophet personally. Those who knew her recorded that "Joseph's countenance was miraculously changed" — a description that suggests a visible, divine transformation that accompanied the Prophet's presence and ministry. The spiritual power that had been spoken of by the missionaries was confirmed in Lucy's personal encounter with the Prophet.

This account is remarkable as a miracle of spiritual conversion and divine manifestation for several reasons:

— It demonstrates the power of missionary testimony to convey the Spirit of God. The missionaries who passed through Kirtland spoke of Joseph Smith with such spiritual power that a 15-year-old girl received a spiritual witness of his prophetic calling before she ever met him.

— It shows that the Spirit of God confirmed the testimony of the missionaries and the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith to those who were open and receptive, even the young.

— The description of Joseph's "miraculously changed" countenance suggests a visible, divine transformation — a theophanic element that recalls the transfiguration of Moses and the Savior, and that was witnessed by numerous individuals in Joseph Smith's presence.

— It illustrates the role of the Morley family in the early Restoration. Isaac Morley was one of the first converts in Kirtland and opened his home and farm to Joseph and Emma Smith. The Morley farm became a place of revelation and spiritual outpouring during the early Kirtland period.

Lucy Diantha Morley (later Allen) carried this spiritual witness throughout her life. Her testimony stands as a powerful reminder that the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith was confirmed by the Spirit of God to those who sought truth, and that the divine power attending the Prophet's ministry was visible and tangible to those who knew him.

Recording note: Lucy Diantha Morley Allen's recollection of this experience was preserved in Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, comps., 'They Knew the Prophet' (Bookcraft, 1974), a copyrighted compilation not freely available online, so no verbatim excerpt is reproduced here. She was the teenage daughter of Isaac and Lucy Morley, in whose Kirtland farmhouse Joseph and Emma Smith lived during the Prophet's first months in Ohio — placing her, as a young woman, in daily proximity to the Prophet whose countenance she described as miraculously changed.