Foreknowledge

William H. Miles's vision of the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Published October 5, 2026 at 1:39 AM

Contributed by

Millennial Star Research

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While residing in New York on the day of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, William H. Miles saw a bulletin notice announcing their deaths. When he returned to his boarding house and informed William Smith that his brothers were killed, they both had a vivid, seemingly instantaneous realization of the course Brigham Young and the Twelve Apostles would take regarding the future of the Church, with William Smith specifically stating, 'The Twelve Apostles will be chosen to preside over the Church; for my brother's office is to preside over the Church.'

In Their Own Words

“At the time of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, he resided in New York, and William Smith was then President of this Mission, and was at that time preaching doctrine contrary to the will of Joseph: They slept together on the evening of the martyrdom. In the morning he arose and went into the streets, and was attracted to a notice on a bulletin board, at the corner of Broadway and Chain streets, of the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. He was very much astonished, although he had felt that violence would be used against them. To his surprise the whole city seemed stricken with awe and astonishment, fearing the consequences. He returned to the boarding-house where he had left William Smith, and said to him, 'They have killed the Prophet,' when William exclaimed, 'My God, they have slain my two brothers.' They both then proceeded to the bulletin, and before they reached it, as if momentarily struck with a revelation, William said, 'I know the very course Brigham Young will take, and the Twelve Apostles will be chosen to preside over the Church; for my brother's office is to preside over the Church.' — Millennial Star 30:26”

Sources & References

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 27 June 1868 (Vol. 30, No. 26). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1868-06-27_30_26 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high)

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