“Thus saith the Lord God of my fathers unto me, A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins. … It should not be surprising, either, that Joseph of Egypt, whose posterity was foreordained to take the gospel to all nations, would prophesy of his namesake who would become the great Prophet of the Restoration: After all, Joseph Smith was called, ordained, and given the keys to begin what Peter called “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” ( Acts 3:21), and what Paul described as “the dispensation of the fulness of times,” in which God would “gather together in one all things in Christ” ( Eph. It should not be surprising to find the Prophet Joseph spoken of in the scriptures. 5:11–14.) Lehi quoted it when he found it on the plates of brass. This seer-obviously Joseph Smith, Jr.-was prophesied of in the original records of Moses. 50:35)-and the seer who would arise in the “latter days” and would be called “Joseph … after the name of his father” ( JST, Gen. If we search the Joseph Smith Translation, however, we can add to the list the names of Noah (see JST, Gen. 44:28) and John the Baptist (see Luke 1:13). 13:2) Maher-shalal-hash-baz, Isaiah’s son (see Isa. 17:19) Josiah, a righteous king of Judah (see 1 Kgs. These include Isaac, son of Abraham (see Gen. In the King James version of the Bible, for example, only a few individuals (other than Christ) are prophesied of by name. (See Bible Dictionary: s.v., Joseph Smith Translation.)
The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible is a direct fulfillment of that prophecy. The Prophet Joseph Smith was “raised up” so that the Lord’s words could be “had again among the children of men-among as many as shall believe” ( Moses 1:41). 13:28) therefore, he made provision to restore them. To undertake a meaningful search for such references, we need to keep in mind that the Lord knew many “plain and precious things” would be lost from the Bible ( 1 Ne. Still, there are many references to the Prophet in the Bible that confirm that testimony. I usually reply that the only sure evidence of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s divine calling is a personal witness from the Holy Ghost.
I am sometimes asked if there is any evidence in the Bible that foretells the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith.