Joseph Smith's prophetic advice on George A. Smith's lungs
Published October 4, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
During a meeting with the Twelve Apostles, Joseph Smith told George A. Smith that if he would go preach and perform his duty, the Lord would provide him with the strength of lungs he required for the ministry.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 21, No. 2, 8 January 1859, p. 23):
I was very unwell, and my lungs were so weak that I could not preach. Joseph said to me, 'Go and preach, and do your duty, and your lungs will be strengthened.' I went, and my lungs were strengthened.
In Their Own Words
“Brother George A. Smith, I don’t know how I can help him to a living, but to go and preach, put on a long face, and make them doe over to him. If he will go, his lungs will hold out. The Lord will give him a good pair of lungs yet. — Millennial Star 21:2”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 8 January 1859 (Vol. 21, No. 2). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1859-01-08_21_2 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 21, No. 2, 8 January 1859, p. 23 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1859-01-08_21_2
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