Prophecy is usually delivered via verbal or written means; Joseph Smith predicted the Civil War with such accuracy that no one talks about it (see D&C 87:1-4). He explained in literal, straightforward language the events that were about to transpire. This post is dedicated to my pure speculation of a different kind of prophecy—an event that prefigures another so closely that the first could be called a prediction of the second.
In John, we read the familiar story of the miracle in which Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes to feed the gathered multitudes.
John 6:5-14: "When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world."
How does this miracle prefigure the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? We can compare the two events:
Just as the multitude were without food, the world was in a famine of doctrine, the apostasy. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord..." (Amos 8:11).
Jesus looked on the doctrinally starved world as he looked on the 5000. Jesus already had a plan to rectify each situation.
A lad in the crowd had five loaves and two fish, hardly enough to feed a multitude. Joseph Smith was a young man at the time of his first vision, and was still "unlearned" at the time he received the plates from Moroni. He was given the power to translate part of the plates, and the resulting manuscript was a stack of paper with handwriting on it. How could the two fish and five loaves feed thousands? How could this stack of scribbled paper (the paper itself was referred to as "fools cap" paper because of the water mark on it) end the famine of hearing the word of the Lord?
Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the 5000 gathered there. Jesus blessed the endeavors of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and others in the publishing of the Book of Mormon. Thanks to the contributions of time and money from supporters (Phillip mentions the cost of feeding the multitude), W. B. Grandin was able to produce 5000 copies in the first printing of the Book of Mormon. (I recently learned that Porter Rockwell picked and sold berries to help fund the printing.)
Jesus gave the bread and fish to His disciples first, and they then distributed it to the rest of the multitude. Copies of first editions of the Book of Mormon found their way into the hands of Brigham Young, Parley Pratt, and others who became members of the original Quorum of the Twelve. These men went as missionaries throughout England and America, converting thousands. "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Just as the original Twelve gathered twelve baskets, so the first modern Quorum of Twelve gathered the Saints from the ends of the earth to Zion. There were excess fragments of bread after the 5000 were filled; hundreds of millions of copies of the Book of Mormon have been printed in hundreds of languages.
After witnessing this miracle, many hailed Jesus as "that prophet that should come into the world." The miracles of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as well as the rapid growth of the Church of Christ he founded, all stand as testimony to the divine authenticity of Joseph's calling as a prophet of God.
Luke 13:21 gives a parable about the kingdom: "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Joseph interpreted the parable as a reference to the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Their names and witnesses are attached to the preface of every copy. None of them denied their witness, yet each of them apostatized. This is strong evidence for the authenticity of their witness. Leaven is mold, yeast, a corrupting agent, yet it also supports the structure of a loaf of bread, causing it to rise in the oven. The corruption in the hearts of the three witnesses ultimately supported the authenticity of their witness, as well as the whole kingdom of God.
The Book of Mormon says that Joseph Smith would resemble Joseph in Egypt, his prophetic ancestor. Joseph in Egypt allowed a nation and his family to survive physical famine; Joseph Smith was God's instrument in ending spiritual famine and apostasy.
As I said, the connection between John 6 and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon may be in my imagination, but the number of parallels makes me think otherwise.
