Joseph Smith's Prophetic Dream of the Burning Steamboat and Heavenly City
Published October 5, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
While traveling to Carthage in June 1844, Joseph Smith related a dream he had experienced a few nights prior while at Jordan's in Iowa to his brother Hyrum and W. W. Phelps. In the dream, he and Hyrum boarded a large steamboat in a small bay near the ocean. Upon hearing an alarm of fire, they jumped overboard and discovered they could walk upon the water, their faith increasing as they progressed. They witnessed a burning boat drifting toward a town, causing mass destruction. They were joined by their brother Samuel H. Smith, who had felt 'lonesome back there.' Together, they arrived at a beautiful city with gold and silver steeples. Taken aboard a small boat by heavenly greeters, they experienced music and the presence of God. Joseph awoke, then fell asleep again and saw the burning boat explode and sink. He also saw William and Wilson Law chased by wild beasts, with two lions rushing from a thicket to devour them. As noted by W. W. Phelps, who accompanied Joseph on the road to Carthage, the Prophet never shared the dream again, as he was martyred about two days later.
In Their Own Words
“While I was at Jordan's in Iowa the other night, I dreamed that myself and my brother Hyrum went on board a large steamboat lying in a small bay, near the great ocean. Shortly after we went on board there was an alarm of fire. The alarm was given that the boat was on fire, and would soon blow up. There was a great rush of the passengers to get off the boat, and get on shore. Hyrum and I jumped overboard, and tried our faith at walking upon the water. We found that we could walk upon the water, and our faith increased as we progressed. We walked a considerable distance, and finally came to a place where the water was very deep. We were not afraid, but felt that we could walk anywhere. Just at that moment I heard the sound of a human voice, and turning around, saw my brother Samuel H. approaching towards us from the east. He said he felt lonesome back there, and wanted to come with us. We told him to come on, and he walked upon the water with us. We soon arrived at a beautiful city, with steeples of gold and silver, and everything that was beautiful to the eye. We were taken on board a small boat by some heavenly greeters, and were soon in the presence of God. I awoke, and then fell asleep again, and saw the burning boat explode and sink in the deep water with all on board. I then turned to the country east, among the bushy openings, and saw William and Wilson Law, endeavoring to escape from the wild beasts of the forest, but two lions rushed out of a thicket and devoured them.”
— W. W. Phelps, as recorded in the History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 609
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 24 December 1877 (Vol. 39, No. 52). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1877-12-24_39_52 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): W. W. Phelps, Joseph Smith’s Last Dream, in Mary Jane Woodger, Ken Alford, and Craig Manscill, "Joseph Smith’s Last Dreams and Other Prophetic Dreams from His Life," LDS Living, December 23, 2020. https://www.ldsliving.com/joseph-smiths-last-dreams-and-other-prophetic-dreams-from-his-life/s/91424 Full first-person account: History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 6, Chapter 26 https://dn760101.eu.archive.org/0/items/HistoryOfTheChurchOfJesusChristOfLatter-daySaints1902-Volume6_249/history_of_the_church_vol_6.pdf
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