The Vision of Lucious Gration

[Jojo Bags]

Has anyone ever heard of the following alleged prophecy?  I can't verify it anywhere else.  I had heard about it about 35 years ago.

Quote

The Vision of Lucious Gration

The following vision was printed in a book called The Hope of Zion in about the year 1739. It was attributed to a Catholic Priest by the name of Lucious Gration.

"The old time gospel with the gifts thereof, are lost. False doctrines prevail in every church and in every land. All we can do is to exhort the people to be just, fear God, and shun evil, and pray, pray.

"Prayer and purity may cause an angel to visit a deep and distressed soul. But I tell you God will, in one hundred years, have spoken again. He will restore the old church again. I see a little people led by a prophet and faithful elders. They are persecuted, burned and murdered, but in a little valley that lies on the shores of a great lake, they will grow and make a beautiful land, have a temple of magnificent splendor, and also possess the old priesthood with Apostles, Prophets, Teachers and Deacons. From every nation will true believers be gathered by speedy messengers and then will God, the Almighty, speak to the disobedient nations with thunder, lightnings and destruction, such as never heard of in history.

This book The Hope of Zion was found in the University Library in Basel, Switzerland. Elder Carl Geistner, copied the above from the book in place and Elder Hiram Harris and others claim to have seen the prediction in 1920. Elder Carl Weiss of Salt Lake City on September 17, 1931, stated that he positively read the same prediction in a book in the University Library at Basel, Switzerland in 1921, but did not think to get the page number or other identification.

Since printing the first edition, we have had several others testify that they had read the same prediction in Basel

Elder Enoch Muelenstein of Lund, Idaho, also saw it while serving a mission in Switzerland; however, on a return trip there, he was unable to find the book. Apparently, no other copies have never been found.

 

[LeSellers]

5 hours ago, Jojo Bags said:

Has anyone ever heard of the following alleged prophecy?  I can't verify it anywhere else.  I had heard about it about 35 years ago.

Yes, I've heard of it, and read it several times in the past.

There is no way to determine its verity.

I have no reason to doubt it, and believe it is a true record.

Lehi

[omegaseamaster75]

35 minutes ago, LeSellers said:

Yes, I've heard of it, and read it several times in the past.

There is no way to determine its verity.

I have no reason to doubt it, and believe it is a true record.

Lehi

I have never heard of it and have every reason to doubt it. 

Show me the book. Aas books go it is not that old of a book there must be a copy of it somewhere? If there is fine, but until then it is just a nice story.

[zil]

IMO, if that language is meant to be a direct copy of a text written in 1739, I've got serious doubts.  That language does not read like 1739 to me.  That what is described is what happened is irrelevant - someone could easily have made all that up after the fact, and that's how it reads to me.  (Fortunately, I don't need the quote to be true or false to know the truth.)

PS: If it was published publicly in 1739, there's a fair chance that Catholic priest would have been excommunicated (at best).

[Just_A_Guy]

BYU Studies did an article on this some time ago:

 

https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/5506/5156_1

[lonetree]

34 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

BYU Studies did an article on this some time ago:

 

https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/5506/5156_1

Thank you for the fascinating article. Reminds me a little of the story around the 'Secret Gospel Of Mark'. 

[omegaseamaster75]

As suspected...mormon folk lore

[NeedleinA]

Like the BYU studies article mentioned, the "The Vision of Lucious Gration" was passed around the missionaries on my mission 20 years ago too. It of course had made its way into the mission some how and then been photo copied, passed on and probably still there today. At least when I was on my mission, there were strict guidelines as to which reading materials were approved or not, needless to say this was not approved. 

I remember others (non-approved) floating around:
1. A paper on the earth returning to presence of God, speed through heavens, heart attacks, fear
2. A paper on 666 from the Pope's crown
3. The different races of men explained in a flow chart
4. etc.

A lot of funky stuff out there to sift through (avoid) as a young missionary, yikes...

Edited March 19, 2016 by NeedleinA