180 years ago today - 1840: 6 July

[Patriarchal blessing of Arnold Stephens, given by Joseph Smith, Sen.]

... if faithful thou shalt see the sons of God come from the North Country, & thou shalt be crowned with them, and shall meet them in their armies as the Lord leads them by his Prophet, and when the highway is cast up thou shalt rejoice in the glory of God. ... his glory shall rest upon thee & thy face shall shine as the face of Mosses, & many will behold and tremble, & many cannot look upon thee for brightness. ... Thou art called to preach the Gospel and thou hast a great work to do thy mission is beyond the mighty waters thy call is in the East--West North & South even in South America and thou shalt not have passed over half the cities, till the son of man comes in the clouds of heaven, Angels shall minister to thee, the Nephites shall visit thee even the ancient fathers that tarried on the Earth--Thou shalt see the Revelator John, and shall stand upon the earth when he shall lead in his armies from the North ... thy privilege is to stand when the Savior comes and then be crowned in the blessing of Joseph and stand with the 144,000 upon Mount Zion-... I now seal thee up to eternal life and seal thee against the destroyer and the Devil and all abominations and confirm thee in the name of Christ and by the authority of my office--Even so--Amen."

[Typescript; William Smith Patriarchal Blessing Book, pp. 196-198, RLDS Archives, Selected LDS Patriarchal Blessings, New Mormon Studies CD ROM, Signature Book, 2009, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]