7 Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers.27 Thus saith the Lord God of my fathers unto me, A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren.8 And I will give unto him a commandment that he shall do none other work, save the work which I shall command him. And I will make him great in mine eyes; for he shall do my work. [2 Nephi 3:7–8]28 And he shall bring them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers; and he shall do whatsoever work I shall command him. [JST, Genesis 50:27–28]
The differences between the 2 Nephi text and the JST may be because Joseph Smith had not completed his work on the JST text, or perhaps Lehi was paraphrasing and adding emphasis on the fulfillment among his people. As noted above, Lehi did not always quote the complete text.
The fruit of Joseph’s loins is divided into two major groups today. The first group is those who were scattered “among all nations, like as corn [wheat] is sifted in a sieve” (Amos 9:9), but have been gathered out as were the first generation of Church members, “the wheat from among the tares.” Of these members the Lord said, “the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh” (D&C 86:7–9). The second group is those known to the members of the Church today as the Lamanites or the American Indians. Both of these groups have confirmed their reverence for Joseph Smith.
Typical of the esteem many early members of the Church held for Joseph Smith is the testimony of Brigham Young, Joseph’s successor as president of the Church:
I honor and revere the name of Joseph Smith. I delight to hear it; I love it. I love his doctrine. What I have received from the Lord, I have received by Joseph Smith; he was the instrument made use of. If I drop him, I must drop these principles; for they have not been revealed, declared, or explained by any other man since the days of the Apostles. If I lay down the Book of Mormon, I shall have to deny that Joseph is a Prophet; and if I lay down the doctrine and cease to preach the gathering of Israel and the building up of Zion, I must lay down the Bible; and, consequently I might as well go home as undertake to preach without these three items.
I felt like shouting Hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom he gave the keys and power to build up the kingdom of God on earth and sustain it.
After Joseph’s martyrdom, Elder John Taylor wrote: “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it” (D&C 135:3). Such accolades as these, representative of thousands of others, have led some to accuse the Latter-day Saints of worshipping Joseph Smith. To that accusation the Church answers with an emphatic no—we do not worship him, but we reverence him as the people of Moses’ time reverenced Moses, or the people of Abraham’s time reverenced Abraham. The reverence given to Joseph certainly fulfills the prophetic words of the Lord to Joseph of Egypt: “He shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins” (v. 7).
The esteem of Joseph Smith among the Lamanites, the other major group of descendants of Joseph of Egypt, was not widespread early because Joseph did not have a lot of association with them. However, the following incident shows how the Lord was working with the Lamanites to acquaint them with him so he could instruct them.
The Indian chiefs remained at Nauvoo until the Prophet returned and had his trial. During their stay they had a talk with Hyrum Smith in the basement of the Nauvoo House. Wilford Woodruff and some of the others were present. They were not free to talk, and did not want to communicate their feelings until they could see the Prophet.
At length, on the 2 day of July, 1843, President Smith and several of the Twelve met those chiefs in the courtroom, and about twenty of the elders. The following is a synopsis of the conversation which took place as given by the interpreter: The Indian orator arose and asked the Prophet if the men who were present were all his friends. Answer— “Yes.”
He then said, “We as a people have long been distressed and oppressed. We have been driven from our lands many times. We have been wasted away by wars, until there are but few of us left. The white man has hated us and shed our blood, until it has appeared as though there would soon be no Indians left. We have talked to the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit has talked to us. We have asked the Great Spirit to save us and let us live; and the Great Spirit has told us that he has raised up a great Prophet, chief, and friend, who would do us great good and tell us what to do; and the Great Spirit has told us that you are the man (pointing to the Prophet Joseph). We have now come a great way to see you, and hear your words, and to have you tell us what to do. Our horses have become poor traveling, and we are hungry. We will now wait and hear your word.
The Spirit of God rested upon the Lamanites, especially the orator. Joseph was much affected and shed tears. He arose and said unto them, “I have heard your words. They are true. The Great Spirit has told you the truth. I am your friend and brother, and I wish to do you good. Your fathers were once a great people. They worshipped the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit did them good. He was their friend; but they left the Great Spirit, and would not hear his words or keep them. The Great Spirit left them, and they began to kill one another, and they have been poor and afflicted until now.
The Great Spirit has given me a book, and told me that you will soon be blessed again. The Great Spirit will soon begin to talk with you and your children. This is the book which your fathers made. I wrote upon it (showing them the Book of Mormon). This tells what you will have to do. I now want you to begin to pray to the Great Spirit. I want you to make peace with one another, and do not kill any more Indians; it is not good. Do not kill white men; it is not good; but ask the Great Spirit for what you want, and it will not be long before the Great Spirit will bless you, and you will cultivate the earth and build good houses like white men. We will give you something to eat and to take home with you.”
When the Prophet’s words were interpreted to the chiefs, they all said it was good. The chief asked, “How many moons would it be before the Great Spirit would bless them?” He (Joseph) told them, not a great many.
At the close of the interview, Joseph had an ox killed for them, and they were furnished with some more horses, and they went home satisfied and contented.
Joseph Smith certainly brought those of scattered Israel and the Lamanites, both of the seed of Joseph of Egypt, to a knowledge of the covenants the Lord had made with their fathers.
Joseph of Egypt prophesied that the seer would do no other work but what was commanded him (v. 8). Joseph Smith was commanded:
7 For thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength.
8 Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.
9 And in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is not thy calling. Attend to thy calling and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound all scriptures, and continue in laying on of the hands and confirming the churches. [D&C 24:7–9]
Joseph Smith fits the second characteristic foretold by Joseph of Egypt.
Joseph of Egypt also said the seer would be made great in the Lord’s eyes (v. 8). Joseph Smith’s greatness is shown by the revelations the Lord gave concerning him. The Church was to “give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith” (D&C 21:4–5). Oliver Cowdery was told: no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. (D&C 28:2; see also 43:2–4). The Lord further promised Joseph Smith: “the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you, while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come; Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another, yea, even unto the church” (D&C 90:3–4). In this promise, Joseph Smith is designated as the head of what Paul calls “the dispensation of the fulness of times” when God will “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). Joseph Smith is thus still doing the Lord’s work behind the veil. As Brigham Young taught: “it is his mission to see that all the children of men in this last dispensation are saved, that can be, through the redemption… . He was foreordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation” (JD, 7:289–90).