Joseph Smith Sr. Blesses His Son to Continue in the Priest's Office Until Christ Comes (Kirtland, 1833)

On January 23, 1833, during the second day of a conference of high priests and elders held in an upstairs room of Newel K. Whitney's white store in Kirtland, Ohio, the participants engaged in the ordinance of washing hands, faces, and feet. This gathering, intended to organize the School of the Prophets and facilitate the sanctification commanded by a December 1832 revelation, was marked by spiritual manifestations, including speaking in tongues. As the formal washing commenced, the participants first washed their own hands, faces, and feet as a testimony of being clean from the blood of that generation. Following this, Joseph Smith Jr. girded himself with a towel and washed the feet of the assembled elders. When his father, Joseph Smith Sr., presented himself to be washed, Joseph Smith Jr. paused to ask for his father’s blessing. Joseph Smith Sr. granted the request by laying his hands upon his son's head, in the name of Jesus Christ, and pronounced that he should continue in the priest's office until Christ comes. Following this blessing, Frederick G. Williams, moved by the Holy Ghost, washed the feet of the President, Joseph Smith Jr.