Remember the Name “Brunson”
I have recently come upon the name of Seymour Brunson who is an amazing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who was a friend, a saint, a leader and so loved by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Quotes Ring True To Me Today More Than Ever.
D. Michael Stewart, Brigham Young University, Department of History said, “The documents show that Joseph Smith did prophesy a number of times that the United States and the Constitution would be imperiled and that the elders would have a hand in saving them. The first known record of the prophecy dates to July 19, 1840, in Nauvoo, when the prophet spoke about the redemption of Zion. Using Doctrine & Covenants 101 as a text, he said, “Even this nation will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.” (Joseph Smith Papers, LDS Church Historical Archives, Box 1, March 10, 1844.)There are also other documents in Church History files that show that five different early Saints recorded some remarks by the Prophet Joseph Smith on this same prophecy, perhaps voiced by the Prophet a number of times in a number of ways after 1840. Parley P. Pratt wrote in 1841 that the prophet said, “The government is fallen and needs redeeming. It is guilty of Blood and cannot stand as it now is but will come so near desolation as to hang as it were by a single hair!!!!! Then the servants goes [sic] to the nations of the earth, and gathers the strength of the Lord’s house! A mighty army!!!!!! And this is the redemption of Zion when the saints shall have redeemed that government and reinstated it in all its purity and glory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” (George A. Smith Papers, Church Archives, Box 7, Folder 5, January 21, 1841.)
A Revelation and a Prophecy
The first known record of the prophecy [Baptisms for the Dead] dates to July 19, 1840, in Nauvoo, when the prophet spoke about the redemption of Zion.” JSP. What inspired revelation came less than one month later in Nauvoo on August 15, 1840? The Church News said, “During the funeral for Seymour Brunson on Aug. 15, 1840, Joseph Smith cited 1 Corinthians 15 and revealed that the Lord would allow the Saints to be baptized by proxy for their deceased ancestors. These first baptisms were done in the Mississippi River.” The Church News by Christine Rappleye
A quote from Joseph in Nauvoo on July 19th, and a revelation about baptisms for the dead a few weeks later on Aug 15 of 1840, a coincidence? I think not. Great wars and battles bring a great need to baptize for those who didn’t have the opportunity because of death by war and other means. This is the reason for the urgency I feel about getting the message out about this great pioneer and saint, Seymour Brunson. Inspired because of Brother Brunson’s death, our dear Prophet Joseph Smith was to reveal the critical need of baptisms for the dead. What a blessing. Thank you Seymour Brunson for your diligence and service which greatly contributed to the Salvation of those who have passed without the saving ordinance of baptism.
‘Come, Follow Me’: Exploring Historic Nauvoo, Illinois
“It was on a bend in the Mississippi River with a bluff that overlooked the river where early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided to build their new gathering place in the summer of 1838.
Church members had left Ohio and Missouri and took refuge in communities along the Mississippi River, including Quincy, Illinois, and in the Iowa Territory. The area on maps was known as Commerce. Church leaders changed the name of the area to Nauvoo.
Of the 135 sections in the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants that were written during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, nine of them date from the five years he lived in Nauvoo.
It was in Nauvoo, Illinois, that baptisms for the dead was introduced and refined, and the endowment was administered, first in the Red Brick Store and later in the unfinished Nauvoo Temple. Also, the Relief Society was organized in the Red Brick Store in 1842.
Members of the Church left Nauvoo in 1846.
Baptism for the dead and the Nauvoo Temple
During the funeral for Seymour Brunson on Aug. 15, 1840, Joseph Smith cited 1 Corinthians 15 and revealed that the Lord would allow the Saints to be baptized by proxy for their deceased ancestors. These first baptisms were done in the Mississippi River
Doctrine and Covenants 124, received in January 1841, includes the commandment for the Saints to build a temple with a baptismal font (see vs. 29-31).
More directions for baptism for the dead, including witness and record keeping, were received in Doctrine and Covenants 127 and 128.
It was during this time that Joseph Smith was accused in connection with an assassination attempt against former Missouri Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs and Joseph was in and out of hiding to avoid arrest from Missouri and Illinois officials.
He was hiding at the Edward and Ann Hunter home when he wrote the letters in sections 127 and 128.
The Hunter home is next to the West Grove, an outdoor meeting grove that is being regrown. The Hunter home has been rebuilt as part of the Temple District of Nauvoo. From the home’s windows, Joseph would have been able to see the construction of the Nauvoo Temple.
In addition to instructions on baptisms for the dead, he also offered encouragement: “Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad” (Doctrine and and Covenants 128:22).
Doctrine and Covenants 127 and 128 were canonized in 1844.
The Nauvoo Temple’s baptismal font in the building’s basement was dedicated in November 1841 and used before the temple was completed.
The temple’s attic was completed in November 1845 and dedicated and used for administering the endowment. Nearly 6,000 Latter-day Saints received their endowments before moving west. The temple was dedicated in the spring of 1846.
Fire in 1848 and a tornado in 1850 destroyed the temple and only the west face was standing. In the 1930s, the Church began to acquire the property on the temple block. In April 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the temple would be rebuilt. It was reconstructed and dedicated in 2002.” Church News bold and color added.
More about Seymour Brunson
(1798–1840) Seymour Brunson was born in Plattsburg, New York. He served in the War of 1812, and, in about 1823, he married Harriet Gould. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 1831 and ordained an elder by John Whitmer that same month. That December he was ordained a high priest. In January 1832, Brunson was instructed by revelation to “be united in the ministry” with Daniel Stanton (Doctrine and Covenants 75:30, 33), and he served a mission to Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia that year. He moved with other Church members to Caldwell County, Missouri, in 1836 or 1837. In 1839, he moved to Commerce, Illinois, which was later renamed Nauvoo, where he was appointed to the Nauvoo high council (Doctrine and Covenants 124:132). He died at Nauvoo. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWJ1-MCB
References in the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants 75, 124
Additional Information
Biographical facts and sources, The Joseph Smith Papers
Saints, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth
Revelations In Context
Letters on Baptism for the Dead