Vision of the Seven Prophets
of the Latter Days

Given to William Yeager, 1981

Near the top of this mountain of rock appeared a young man. Then it started to rain. This rain was not rain as is normally thought, but was rain that was of the love of God; it was life itself, and it made all things live.

This first man noticed it was raining and was filled with joy. A smile broke across his face, for he was glad to be wet. This first man then threw his head back and gleefully let the raindrops fall on his face and run down over him, soaking him from head to toe.

Then appeared a second man, a bit down the mountain, but still standing on solid rock. As the rain fell the man smiled, for he did not mind that it was raining, but he did not look into the heavens as the man before him did. This second man became very wet.

Next appeared a third man farther still down the mountain, standing on not as stable rock. As the man was getting wet, he pulled the collar of his jacket up, for it annoyed him that it was raining.

After that, a fourth man appeared on the foothills of the mountain, on some boulders. The man noticed that it was raining and that he was getting wet. This fourth man then made a face, reached into his pocket and pulled out a newspaper and promptly unfolded it and raised it over his head.

A fifth man appeared near the bottom of the hill, standing on loose rock. Since it was raining the man got wet. This fifth man became angry; pulled out and unfolded a great wide-reaching umbrella, and raised it over his head. He next walked a few steps to the bottom of the hill and stood on the sand.

A sixth man appeared from behind the fifth. Now both men were under this umbrella. They turned away from the mountain and ran, seeking shelter, into this house a short distance away. This house was apparently at one time up on the solid rock of the mountain, but it had slid all the way down the mountain side; for its original foundations could be seen up high, and it could be seen where the house took its course downwards. This sixth man never got wet; not one drop had touched him.

Then after about half an hour the rain poured with greater force than it had rained yet. The torrents must have been like it was in Noah's time and the water flash-flooded, sweeping this house and its inhabitants away, for the house too stood on sand.

The men in the house were terrified and did not know what to do, for they were surprised and startled. (Isa 33:14) The men were in anguish, and one man said to the other, "If only I had known this was going to happen! I would have prepared! I'm not ready! Oh, I wish it had stormed later!" The other man said, "Maybe we should have paid more attention to the rain and watched the clouds more!"

At that point the house, which was rapidly being carried by the rising waters, crashed into the mountain, destroying it [the house].

A seventh man then appeared on the crown of the mountain; overlooking the destruction below. He smiled, raised his face to the heavens, and then raised his hands to the clouds. The raindrops fell upon his uplifted hands and face, and the rain ran down over him. He was supremely happy and wet.

Given by William Yeager two months after his baptism in 1981. Brother Yeager was not yet familiar with the history of the RLDS Church.

My comments on the vision:

This vision is remarkable, in that it precisely typifies the spiritual condition of both the Church and her prophets up to the present time. The first two prophets, and in particular Joseph Smith Jr., were filled with the Holy Spirit of inspiration and the love of God. The next two prophets, Frederick M. Smith and Israel A. Smith, were receiving less and less of the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual condition of the Church was also declining.

The fifth man, W. Wallace Smith may have received some rain of the Holy Spirit, but he turned from the Lord and quenched that Spirit. It is reported that in 1962 W. Wallace gave a revelation to the quorums, in which the Quorums of Twelve and Seventy were rebuked. The quorums rejected that revelation, and W. Wallace prophesied on the conference floor that there would be no more revelation brought to the church until they obeyed the commandments they already had. Fundamental saints agree that there have been no true revelations brought to the church since at least 1962.

The sixth man was Wallace B. Smith, and he never got one drop of the rain. But notice that he was the authorized successor to the fifth prophet! Some in recent times, claiming themselves to be the next prophet, have said that Wallace B. Smith never had any authority as prophet. This is certainly not true. (See my article "Law of Succession and the RLDS Church")

The seventh man is the seventh prophet of the Restoration who will come forth, and be at least equal to Joseph Smith in divine insight and the love of God. Not W. Grant McMurray, because he was ordained unlawfully and is not a true successor to the Prophetic office. If there is any truth to this vision, there must soon be great catastrophe--not a catastrophe for the true believers, but for those pretenders and false prophets who have attempted to lead the Church by their own might and wisdom, rather than by the leadings of the Holy Spirit. The judgment will be in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

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