Prophecy to Jane Lead, as published in the 1858 Millennial Star

[Jaydes]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Lead

[Calm]

Too small to read and blurs when I make larger, can you give the context and highlights?

[Amulek]

3 hours ago, Calm said:

Too small to read and blurs when I make larger [...]

Quick transcription (probably with some mistakes):

EXTRACTS FROM THE REVELATIONS OF JANE LEADE

(Translated from the German Edition, 1807)

It was shown unto me that the different existing modes of worship are nothing more than Babylonian fantasies, and that an angel is commissioned from the Chief Shepherd to make known that all man-made systems of religion must pass away, like a shadow, before the brightness of a day when nothing but the power of God and the Lamb will endure.

The time is not yet come, but it is not so very far off, when the everlasting Gospel will break forth with power that nothing can withstand; and nothing that is from men will be mixed with it; for it is only those that are like children that will confide therein.

To preach this, an agency will come that will bring back all which was lost in the first Adam. How great the blessing for those that first lay their hands to the foundation of the spotless Church; and how greater still for that man who is chosen from his mother’s womb to be such a remarkable instrument in the hand of God. He will raise a mighty standard to which the dove-like spirits will flee for shelter. The trumpet of the Priesthood will be blown, and the children of bondage will hear the call to come beneath the banner of our God.

All from Abraham’s seed groan in slavery; but the Most High will raise up a Prophet that will bring His people from Babylonian witchcraft, and from the tyranny of the Prince of Darkness.

Like as Moses, Joshua, and Aaron were anointed, as types, to lead the way to the rest of the promised land, even so must this Chieftain be raised up as a terror to unbelievers and a joy to those who are led back to Mount Zion.

The Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek shall be brought forth, that the way to the Holy of Holies may be made known. The sign of these Priests will be the Urim and Thummim, and they will have a right to hold communion with God. And thus will man come back to the state and condition he had before the material world existed, so that he will again have a place above the angels; for to which of them hath God said “Thou art my son.”

THE GATHERING.

I saw an Ark float through the air, as that of Noah did in ancient times over the water; but from this Ark came a voice, saying, “Here is a refuge from the curses that will come like another deluge upon the earth.” Those that had a lofty degree of faith went in, and endeavored to bring others therein also.

I was told this Ark was the Church of the gathering from all people; and it floated here and there, and the voice of a mighty angel came therefrom, saying, “Come from the mazes of Babylon: here is free entrance.” Many came from the ends of the earth; and when the Ark was full, it went to a particular land, and then came back to fetch others. This land was a prepared place to plant the virgin Church, and the beloved Apostle John conducted the very last convoy therein.

Various temples were seen, where the Elders, in long, white, and shining robes, administered in ordinances and with power unknown before. Some went forth with power from this new found land; and so mighty was their testimony, that many came from all quarters to breathe its pure air, and to enjoy the light of its pecullarly clear atmosphere, which changed even the weakness of the body.

I have written this vision so far as the Spirit renews it upon my mind; but the end thereof I do not remember, as I have lost my manuscripts where it was at first written.

[We have seldom read anything more pointed or expressive of the Latter-day Work than the foregoing. It is another evidence that those who are spiritually minded, according to the light and advantages they have, can seek after God and learn of His ways—that He giveth liberally to all who ask wisdom of Him, and upraideth not. It was a conviction of this fact that inspired the Prophet Joseph to ask, and in answer to which he received a knowledge of the Latter-day Work and purposes of God, even before he had obeyed any outward ordinances which entitled him to the spirit of inspiration which made him a Prophet and Seer to the world. Many persons have been inspired by God to do certain works, and proclaim certain truths, who never had an opportunity of embracing the everlasting Gospel. But how much more should those possess this spirit of inspiration and prophecy who have access to God through His holy ordinances.—ED.]

Edited August 2, 2022 by Amulek

[Maestrophil]

I remember a similar article that was published in the Liahona or similar in France about a monk who wrote about seeing the restoration as well - it seemed to good to be true, and later learned it was - it was not real, but invented then swallowed whole and perpetuated.

 

Does anyone know if this is valid, and who this Jane Leade is?  It seems so spot-on, that it is rather miraculous or fraudulent in my mind.

[Calm]

She was apparently English…wonder why this source chose a German translation of her vision rather than going with the original….assuming if it is her actual vision.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Lead

[Calm]

Found this…

https://juvenileinstructor.org/jane-lead-and-the-restoration-or-in-praise-our-heavenly-mother/

https://juvenileinstructor.org/jane-lead-in-the-millennial-star/

This has the English originals

Quote

These lines come from Lead’s A Message to the Phildelphian Society, Whithersoever dispersed over the Whole Earth. Together with a Call to the Several Gathered Churches among Protestants in this Nation of England (London 1696).  Either the German translation or Richards seems to have pulled out a handful of lines, and even mixed up the order.  Furthermore, the line about Adam in the third paragraph and last line of the last paragraph aren’t in A Message to the Philadelphian Society, but she does say things like that in other works.

In response to a comment about the excellent work of tracking down the original English source:

Quote

Thanks, Mark. After going over Lead’s stuff quite a few times, it wasn’t to hard to find these. I think in some cases the original may be a little better. Richards has “how greater still for that man who is chosen from his mother?s womb to be such a remarkable instrument in the hand of God.” The original says, “And thrice great will be the Blessing of him, who is chosen from the Womb, to raise up this Temple, and to be made such a singular Instrument in the Hand of his God.” Pretty cool, I think.

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Calm

[Maestrophil]

2 hours ago, Calm said:

Found this…

https://juvenileinstructor.org/jane-lead-and-the-restoration-or-in-praise-our-heavenly-mother/

https://juvenileinstructor.org/jane-lead-in-the-millennial-star/

These are great - thank you - it seems there is some good stuff, but the quote from teh MS seems to have cherry picked and assembled things in a way that makes it seem deceptively accurate, vs several 'interesting' statements.  🙂

ETA - in reading more of the source material - it seems that it is really hard to take the original author's words at face value as anything about the restored gospel, since 1. they are not all consolidated or spoken as represented in the MS, and 2. All her 'revelations' tend to be about the 'Philidelphian' movement and all temples, orders, priesthoods etc, seem to be supposedly fulfilled or to be fulfilled by this order

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Maestrophil

[Benjamin McGuire]

It seems to me that Richards is probably the one who is cherry picking. The first line in Richard's text comes from the preface to Lead's 1696 volume: The Tree of Faith; or the tree of life; springing up in the paradise of God; from which all the wonders of the new Creation, in the virgin church of the first-born of wisdom must proceed:

"Having given an Account of the Confusion of the Babylonish Forms, being rejected by the head Shepherd; from whom an angel is gone forth that hath sounded the Trumpet, to proclaim, That all Formal Worships set up by Man, and constituted by Rational Inventions, as a Shadow must pass away: For nothing in this Day shall stand but the Power and Spirit of the Lamb; that will cast up his Church into no other Mold, but that in which he himself in his Resurrection-State did Appear. So that the Gathering together of his flocks from all Parts, shall be for the making up this Resurrection Church, as new born into the Faith. ..."

The capitals exist in the source. It highlights what might be considered technical language referring to specific ideas - ideas that do not survive the double translation well. I can understand the confusion in Steve Fleming's blog post on the Juvenile Instructor that was linked over the potential sources. Silbermann's 1807 volume, Es Wird alles Neu Werden: Wichtige Offenbarungen der Jane Leade, is a compilation of several earlier texts - all using the 1696 German translation. They are not re-paginated, so every time a new work begins, the pagination restarts. The second section is titled "Offenbarungen der Jane Leade die letzten zeiten betreffend, nebst Anmerkungen und einer Lebensbeschreibung dieser Engländerin" (roughly translated: Revelations of Jane Leade concerning the last days, together with notes and a biography of this Englishwoman). And it starts right off with a translation of the preface to The Tree of Faith. It seems likely that it was Richards who cut it short. What follows in Richard's text comes from another of Lead's writings (and I would wager that there is some interpolation on Richards' part).

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Es_wird_alles_neu_würden/TnZPAQAAMAAJ

If you download the book as a PDF, you can find that first part on pp. 41-42 of the PDF file.

Jane Lead was one of the most prolific published female writers of her time. But, she was virtually ignored in England (this is to answer Calm's question). Her writings found more engagement in Germany, and were translated into and published much more heavily in German and Dutch (her texts remained in circulation and were discussed through the 18th and 19th centuries). English copies of her work had become quite rare until it was republished in English in 1830 (in Nottingham). Richards wrote his Millennial Star article in 1858. In 1857, he was sent on a special mission to Europe to help bring the missionaries home (in preparation for Johnson's army). It seems reasonable to believe that he encountered Jane Lead's writings during this trip and brought a German text back with him.

Jane Lead was a founding member of a religious group that called themselves The Philaldelphian Society (after the reference in the Book of Revelation). This group didn't last long (it largely fell apart when Lead passed), but they had a long lasting impact - in particular because they were some of the first to seriously incorporate the thought of Jakob Böhme and universalist theology. They were some of the first millinarians, and they also had a number of beliefs that would eventually be further developed within the restorationist movement in which early Mormonism participated.

For an academic overview of later engagement with Lead's writings (including a very brief mention of LDS connections), I recommend Jane Lead and her Transnational Legacy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-39614-3

The Mormon connection is in Chapter 11, and isn't terribly interesting. Mormonism didn't really engage with Lead despite this mention. The connection to Mormon beliefs can only be achieved by this sort of high level presentation of similarities. Close reading of Lead isn't nearly as productive. Beyond this, as Mormonism abandoned much of its restorationist theology, the potential for significant connections to Lead's theology also shrank. And while Lead has a strong precursor to millenialism, it is different enough from the historic premillennialism (or post-tribulation premillennialism) that Mormonism developed to limit the usefulness of sustained comparisons (I say this even as I recognize that these formal descriptive labels wouldn't exist for quite some time - and so have a limited value in describing the development of early LDS thought). Lead found a much more receptive audience in the United States in the Shakers and Southcottians.

Having said all of that, much of the current interest in Jane Lead comes out of second wave feminism.

[Calm]

Very interesting, Ben.  Thank you