During his life, Smith made several prophecies, many documented in the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of scripture in several of the movement's denominations.
[4] They argue that Joseph Smith predicted he would find "three witnesses to the word of God", and later found three men who would corroborate his story of the plates.
After his loss in the 1838 Mormon War, Smith correctly predicted that he and his fellow prisoners would not be killed; the group were allowed to escape custody and flee to Illinois.
Porter Rockwell, an associate and bodyguard of Smith, was arrested on suspicion of the crime but ultimately released as a grand jury found no evidence of his involvement.
[11] Throughout his life, Smith made comments suggesting the end of the world was near and the current generation of followers would not perish without witnessing it.