William F. Cahoon — Joseph Smith's Prophetic Promise Fulfilled: 'Not a Hair of Your Head Shall Be Hurt' in Zion's Camp (1834)

William Farrington Cahoon, a young member of Zion's Camp, recorded a remarkable firsthand witness of Joseph Smith's prophetic gift and the divine protection that attended the camp as it marched through hostile territory in 1834.

In the spring of 1834, Joseph Smith organized a company of approximately 200 men — known as Zion's Camp — to march from Kirtland, Ohio, to Jackson County, Missouri, to assist the Saints who had been driven from their homes by mob violence. The undertaking was dangerous: the camp would have to pass through territories populated by hostile people who had threatened to destroy the "Mormons." Many of the camp members left their families not knowing whether they would ever see them again.

Before the march began, Joseph Smith made a prophetic pledge to the men of the camp. William F. Cahoon recorded: "Joseph Smith had made this pledge to us, 'If you will go with me to Missouri and keep my counsel, I pledge that I will lead you there and back and not a hair of your head shall be hurt.'"

This was an extraordinary promise. The men were facing armed mobs, disease, the elements, and the hostility of entire communities. Yet Joseph, speaking as a prophet of God, promised that if they would keep his counsel, they would return safely without harm.

Cahoon then recorded the remarkable fulfillment of this prophecy: "This camp marched through a population of tens of thousands of people like lambs among wolves, but no man among them opened his mouth to say, 'Why do you do so?' On we marched singing our favorite song, 'Hark listen to the Trumpeters.'"

The camp of approximately 200 men marched through territories populated by tens of thousands of hostile people — people who had driven the Saints from their homes and had threatened violence — yet not a single person harmed them or even challenged their passage. The camp arrived in Missouri, fulfilled its purpose (which was to deliver aid and assess the situation, not to fight), and the vast majority of the men returned safely.

This account is remarkable as a miracle of prophetic protection for several reasons:

— Joseph Smith made a specific, testable prophecy: that the men would march to Missouri and back without a hair of their head being hurt, provided they kept his counsel.

— The prophecy was fulfilled despite the fact that the camp marched through "a population of tens of thousands" of hostile people, any one of whom could have attacked them.

— The camp's passage was so remarkably peaceful that "no man among them opened his mouth" to challenge or harm them — an extraordinary outcome for a body of 200 men marching through hostile territory.

— While some members of the camp did die from cholera (a scourge that Joseph said came because of murmuring and disobedience), the prophetic promise of protection from physical violence by enemies was fulfilled for those who kept the Prophet's counsel.

William F. Cahoon's testimony stands as a powerful witness of Joseph Smith's prophetic gift and the divine protection that attended those who followed the Lord's prophet. It is a firsthand account of a prophecy made, a prophecy kept, and the remarkable fulfillment of divine protection over a body of men who trusted in the Lord and His prophet.