The "Civil War" Prophesy Explained

I'm not going to be talking about politics anymore. The disease has metastasized passed the point of treatment. The patient is now terminal, and when you are dealing with a terminal patient, it's best to try and enjoy the time you have left, spend time with your family, and focus on the things that truly matter in life.

So I thought I would focus on a bit of prophecy, and my personal beliefs concerning it. This prophecy is taken from Doctrine & Covenants Section 87. It's usually called "The Civil War Prophecy", but I believe that it's not really about only the Civil War, and I feel that I'm supported by both history and the words of the prophecy itself. In fact, if you believe that Section 87 is strictly about only the Civil War, then you have to question Joseph Smith's prophetic abilities because the prophecy involves the end of the world, and leads to the second coming. Since the Civil War ended in 1865, and the Second Coming hasn't happened yet (as of 2013), either Joseph Smith was a false prophet, or the prophecy wasn't only about the Civil War.

When you take a step back, and look at the long-view of world history, you'll see that all the recent wars are connected, and could really be viewed from the perspective of a single series of conflicts. When you read Biblical history concerning the nation of Israel, the individual wars aren't as important as the turning points in the nation's history, or that of its neighbors. Although we have many names for the different wars which have been fought across multiple generations, you shall see that they are not unique independent events at all. Without further ado, let's begin analysis of the prophecy...

Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass...

Notice that the prophecy contains the word "wars" (plural) and not "war" (singular). If this prophecy was only about the Civil War, why does the prophecy contain a plural?

...beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls;

This section of verse one is obviously referring to the Civil War, which indeed began with the rebellion of South Carolina. However, the American Civil War was only the beginning.

And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.

Somehow the war spreads to all nations. The verse specifically mentions Great Britain calling upon other nations in order to defend itself from other nations. Obviously this didn't happen during the Civil War, but it did happen during World War I. In fact it was the Germans sinking of a British transport from New York (the Lusitania) that caused the United States to enter World War I.

During the Civil War, the south indeed believed that Great Britain would support them, and the British elite did favor the Confederacy. However, this didn't have a hand in World War I which happened about 50 years after the Civil War ended. So what's the connection between the South (the "Southern States" in the prophecy) and Great Britain? I believe that the connection is in the American President at the time, the transformative Progressive President Woodrow Wilson, who was the son of a Confederate Minister, and who remembers fondly meeting Robert E. Lee during the Civil War.


Woodrow Wilson was a paragon of Confederate ideology, including being an outspoken racist. Just read his Wikipedia entry if you doubt me. In fact I'll copy/paste the relevant section, but not the footnote references for the sake of space. You can read the original content here ...

In his book, History of the American People, Wilson depicted white European immigrants with empathy while African American immigrants and their children were regarded as unsuitable for citizenship and unable to assimilate positively into American society. Wilson believed that slavery was wrong on economic labor grounds, rather than for moral reasons. Wilson idealized the slavery system in the South, having viewed masters as patient with "indolent" slaves, whom Wilson believed were like "shiftless children". Wilson held contempt for the belief that African Americans could be free and self-governing. In terms of Reconstruction, Wilson held the common neo-Confederate view that the South was demoralized by Northern carpetbaggers and Congressional imposition of black equality justified extreme measures to reassert white supremacist national and state governments. Wilson viewed blacks as related to the animal world, having illustrated an elderly black man with monkey features. Wilson publically and privately referred to blacks as "darkies".

In 1912, "an unprecedented number" of African Americans left the Republican Party to cast their vote for Wilson, a Democrat. They were encouraged by his promises of support for minorities. However, once in office, Wilson's cabinet members expanded racially segregationist policies. Black leaders who had supported Wilson in the 1912 election were angered when Wilson placed segregationist white Southerners in charge of many executive departments, and the administration acted to reduce the already-meager number of African-Americans in political-appointee positions. Wilson's cabinet officials, with the president's blessing, proceeded to establish official segregation in most federal government offices – in some departments for the first time since 1863. New facilities were designed to keep the races working there separated.

Woodrow Wilson wasn't JUST an ideological holdover from the Civil War, he was also America's first Progressive President. The Progressive Movement began as the Marxist movement in Europe. Wilson earned his doctorate in Germany, and was a true-believer in Progressivism. In fact, he is arguably the most transformational Progressive President, even alongside other titans like FDR and LBJ. It was Wilson's ideology, the Socialist Progressive ideology, that provides the crucial link between the Civil War, and the wars mentioned in this verse of the prophecy. Indeed war was poured out upon all nations, but not just once, because of Wilson's "leadership" during World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles; he actually sowed the seeds of World War II, which would be fought by his ideological successor FDR.

When you step back, and measure time by the millennia, the two World Wars don't seen distinct front one another, but merely phases of the same war. I believe this is why there is no distinction between World War I and World War II in this prophecy; they are the same war, merely fought across two generations. However, even if we accept World War II as the natural fulfillment of war being "poured out upon all nations", World War II ended in 1945, and yet the Second Coming didn't happen. However, did the larger war really end, or did it just charge fronts?

The Soviet Union was an ally of the United States against Germany during World War II, but the moment that Germany was defeated, the Cold War began. In fact, the countries that Russia "saved" from Germany were immediately absorbed in the Soviet Union, including a large part of Germany itself (known as East Germany). The Cold War lasted officially from 1947 to 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, which was signified by the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Russia and Germany were not different ideologies, but different applications of the same ideology. The Nazi Party practiced nationalist socialism, while Russia practiced international socialism. Even though Russia was our ally against Germany, it's obvious from the facts that they were never our friends, but merely allies of convenience against a common enemy. Once that enemy was eliminated, all bets were off.

So we have a single ideology, a single conflict that started during the American Civil War, spread during World War I and II, and took center-stage during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. However, even though the Soviet Union is gone, is the conflict over? Obviously not, we just re-elected the most Progressive President since LBJ (perhaps even Wilson himself). China (whom we borrow much of the money we use to fund our socialist entitlement programs) practices nationalist socialism, not unlike Germany (minus the genocide). It could be argued that we didn't win the Cold War at all, and even though the Soviet Union collapsed, the ideology of socialism has triumphed.

Now let's move passed our failed war against socialism, and move on to the next verse...

And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war. And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation.

Obviously this verse isn't talking about the black slaves of the South (although that's what people believed when the prophecy was issued). Who are the slaves that rise up and marshal for war? Well, who are we at war with right now? Muslims!

Were Muslims the slaves to socialist countries over the last 100 years or so? Actually yes, although you have to consider a different notion of slavery, and take a more biblical perspective on it. In the Bible, when a nation was conquered by another nation, they had to pay tribute to the conquering nation.

The nation lost control of its military (which was usually disbanded), their relations with other nations, and their internal affairs. This type of slavery is characterized by a national loss of sovereignty.

 The Ottoman Empire was an ally of Germany during World War I. When they were defeated, the League of Nations (a prototype of the United Nations, created by Woodrow Wilson) carved up their territory and created the beginnings of the modern Middle Eastern. The British controlled what was then called the "British Mandate of Mesopotamia". Britain and Russia would constantly vie for influence in the Middle East, installing and removing puppet rulers, and squashing rebellions. Although the Muslims were not "slaves" in the classical sense, they knew they didn't call the shots. It was the Progressives in Europe and Russia that ruled over them.

  
After World War II, Britain lost its ability to control its vast empire, and most of its foreign holdings became independent. However, the United States soon took Britain’s place in order to counter Russian influence in the region. In fact, Muslims were allies of the United States against their Soviet oppressors during the Cold War, especially the "mujahedeen" (freedom fighters) in Afghanistan, where we've been at "war" for over 10 years since 2001.

In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood (maybe you've heard of them) was created (in 1928) to undo what the League of Nations did after World War I. They seek to re-Islamize Muslim countries and establish a new caliphate (like the Ottoman Empire) by overthrowing secular governments like they have in Egypt, and currently are working towards in Syria. The modern Islamic terrorist movement is so perfectly captured by this verse that it's truly amazing. Notice that the function of the Islamic terror isn't to dominate or conquer, but simply to "vex". Nobody believes that these third-world Muslim countries pose a threat to major western countries, but even major metropolitan areas in the heart of the United States aren't safe from the "vexation" of Muslim terror.

Notice that this transition between the World Wars and the "rising up" of the Muslim terrorists wasn't immediate, the verse states that "after many days", which fits the timeframe from the fall of the Soviet Union (in the 90s) and the beginning of the modern Islamic terrorism era (in 2001, although the World Trade Center was bombed by Muslim terrorists as early as 1993). Finally let's move on to the last verses and finish our analysis...

And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations; That the cry of the saints, and of the blood of the saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies. Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.

Although there has certainly been a lot of bloodshed and mourning, most of the content of this final verse hasn't happened yet because we are still living during the "vexation" period of the Islamic terrorists. However, notice how close to the Second Coming we are. The period we are living in is the last era before the final signs (famine, plague, earthquakes, etc.) come to pass.

A few things have to happen before the Second Coming, most of which focus of Jerusalem such as the rebuilding of the Temple. These signs will happen during this current era of vexation, and don't appear to involve the United States directly, aside from being including in the "all nations" that will end at the close of this current era, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

So even though Liberalism is destroying our country, and the "takers" outnumber the "makers", we can take comfort knowing that we are in the Lord's hand, and that this was all foretold in 1832.