Joseph Smith — "I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel."
I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Joseph Smith
"I am not afraid of man, nor of devils."
"I am a man of love, and I will love God and all men to the end."
"Love is one of the leading characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the Sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family al…"
"I am a man of God, and I desire to do the will of God."
"I am a man of faith, and I will live by faith to the end."
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker declares himself a chosen agent in establishing a divine kingdom prophesied in the biblical Book of Daniel—a kingdom that would fill the earth and never be destroyed. He isn't claiming passive faith but active, calculated participation: he sees himself as a divinely appointed instrument deliberately working toward a world-altering religious and political transformation with cosmic stakes.
Relevance to Joseph Smith
Smith founded the Latter-day Saint movement believing he was called by God to restore the true church after centuries of apostasy. He translated the Book of Mormon, received ongoing revelations, and literally organized a theocratic city-state in Nauvoo, Illinois. His Council of Fifty was explicitly designed as the embryonic government of God's earthly kingdom, making this statement a direct expression of his deepest institutional ambitions.
The era
In 1840s frontier America, millennial expectations ran extraordinarily high across Protestant denominations. The Second Great Awakening had primed thousands to believe Christ's return was imminent. Smith's statement emerged amid intense American nationalism, Manifest Destiny rhetoric, and widespread belief that America held prophetic significance—making his claim to build Daniel's eternal kingdom resonate powerfully with contemporaries already primed for apocalyptic fulfillment.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].