M. Isabella Horne's Witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith's Identity
Published October 21, 2026 at 11:06 PM
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Young Woman's Journal Research
M. Isabella Horne describes her first meeting with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the fall of 1837 at her home in Scarborough, Canada West. Upon shaking his hand, she felt a profound spiritual thrill and immediately recognized him as a Prophet of God, a testimony she maintained throughout her life.
In her autobiography, Mary Isabella Hales Horne records that the meeting occurred in the latter part of the summer of 1837 at her home, where she also hosted Sidney Rigdon and Thomas B. Marsh alongside Joseph Smith. She recalls specifically, 'I said to myself, O Lord, I thank thee for granting the desire of my girlish heart, in permitting me to associate with prophets and apostles.' She further describes the physical sensation of the encounter, noting that the Holy Spirit thrilled her system from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet, and she observed of Joseph Smith that, 'Nobility and goodness were in every feature.'
In Their Own Words
“In the latter part of the summer of 1837 I had the great pleasure of being introduced to, and entertaining, the beloved prophet, Joseph Smith, with Sidney Rigdon and T. B. Marsh. There I was introduced to the parents of the prophet, and also to his cousin, George A. Smith. At a meeting held in that place I received a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr. I said to myself, 'O Lord, I thank thee for granting the desire of my girlish heart, in permitting me to associate with prophets and apostles.' On shaking hands with Joseph Smith, I received the Holy Spirit in such great abundance that I felt it thrill my whole system, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. I thought I had never beheld so lovely a countenance. Nobility and goodness were in every feature.”
— Mary Isabella Hales Horne, autobiography, as cited in Windows: A Mormon Family
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 31 no. 4 (April 1920). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/11084 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Kenneth Glyn Hales, comp. and ed., Windows: A Mormon Family. Skyline Printing, 1985. https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/mary-isabella-hales/ Full first-person account: Kenneth Glyn Hales, comp. and ed., Windows: A Mormon Family. Skyline Printing, 1985. https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/mary-isabella-hales/
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