I defy all the world to find a passage in the Bible where the Lord says that He ever authorized a man to make a king, or a priest, or even a prophet, without first giving him a vision or by the ministering of an angel.
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"I have a testimony to lay before you, my testimony is that I am a prophet of God; and I know it; and I tell you in the name of Jesus Christ that I am a prophet."
"I am a man of industry, and I will be industrious in all things."
"I told them I was a good boy, and if I had done anything wrong, I was willing to be corrected."
"I am a man of faith, and I will live by faith to the end."
"If I am to be a martyr, I am willing to be one."
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Joseph Smith challenges anyone to find a Bible passage where God authorized a leader — king, priest, or prophet — without supernatural confirmation first. His point: legitimate divine authority always comes through direct experience, a vision or angelic messenger, not human appointment alone. Institutional succession or self-proclamation isn't enough. Real calling requires real supernatural contact, and he argues scripture consistently proves this standard.
This quote is a direct defense of Smith's own divine credentials. He claimed a First Vision in 1820, angelic visits from Moroni delivering golden plates, and John the Baptist restoring priesthood authority. By anchoring his argument in biblical pattern, Smith reframes attacks on his legitimacy — if critics accept Moses, Samuel, and Paul as genuine prophets, they must accept the same supernatural-calling standard applies to him.
Smith delivered this argument during the Second Great Awakening of the 1820s–1840s, when America was flooded with competing revival movements, new denominations, and fierce debates over who held authentic religious authority. Protestant splinter groups had fractured from Rome and Canterbury, yet each claimed legitimacy. Questions of divine succession versus personal revelation were urgent and contested, making Smith's biblical challenge a pointed shot at every rival claim to spiritual leadership.
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