Pratt: Joel’s prophecy was not fulfilled at Pentecost
interpretation
On: pour out my spirit upon all flesh
Source quotation · Orson Pratt, as reported by George F. Gibbs, 2 December 1877; Journal of Discourses 19, pp. 168–169, two paragraphs from “These words were spoken” through “should their revelations be written.”
These words were spoken by the inspired man long before the first coming of our Savior; they refer to the future condition of the world, a state of things that has never been known to have existed upon our earth since the Prophet lived here. All flesh should be under the influence of the Spirit of God, and not only all human flesh, but also the animal creation, and all things living. The effect of the outpouring of this Holy Spirit upon mankind will be to cause the young people to prophecy, making revelators of them, and the older ones to dream dreams. This prophecy was quoted by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, when under the influence of the same Spirit. It was not referred to, however, with the intention of declaring its fulfillment at that time, but merely to inform the unbelieving Jews that it was the same Spirit which Joel spoke of. It will be remembered that on the morning of the day of Pentecost, about 120 disciples had received this Spirit. On that occasion, while assembled in the Temple, it operated so powerfully upon them, that the illiterate and unlearned were enabled to speak in different languages, and that it manifested itself in the form of cloven tongues, like fire in appearance. The people who witnessed these operations marveled and wondered exceedingly. But some were inclined to evil, and accused these men of God of drunkenness. It was then that the Apostle Peter, in order to correct any false impression upon the minds of the congregation, arose, and after denying the accusation of these evil-disposed persons, said, "This is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel," quoting the prophecy nearly word for word.
Some have supposed that the prophecy was then fulfilled. It is very evident to every one who will reflect for a few moments, that such was not the case, but that the Spirit which rested upon those one hundred and twenty was the same Spirit that should, in the last days, be poured out upon all flesh. It is still further evident that it was not then fulfilled, as appears from the following: "I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth—blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," etc., having reference to His second coming, when these great events should take place. It is generally believed, by the various Christian churches, that there are to be no more revelations, or visions, or dreams, given by the Spirit of God, and this belief has been entertained for generations by millions of people terming themselves Christians. But when this prophecy is really fulfilled, all men and women upon the earth will become revelators, receiving from the heavens information and knowledge by the power of that Spirit poured out upon them. I think our present Bible will then be greatly enlarged, should their revelations be written.
Orson Pratt on the outpouring of the Spirit · Journal of Discourses, vol. 19, discourse by Orson Pratt delivered in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, 2 December 1877, reported by George F. Gibbs, beginning p. 168. Selected unit pp. 168–169. JournalofDiscourses.com transcription (https://journalofdiscourses.com/19/29) retrieved 1 October 2026, collated word by word against the Internet Archive JoDV19 OCR text layer, with page images inspected where the witnesses differed; wording and spelling follow the print, punctuation and capitalization follow the electronic witness. HTML markup removed and whitespace normalized. No passages omitted within the selected unit. Print readings restored: “young people to prophesy, making” → “young people to prophecy, making”; “evident to everyone who” → “evident to every one who”.
Source reuse and transcription
Nineteenth-century historical source text, public domain. Print witness: https://archive.org/details/JoDV19/page/n175/mode/2up.
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2026-10-05T15:53:51+00:00
These words were spoken by the inspired man long before the first coming of our Savior; they refer to the future condition of the world, a state of things that has never been known to have existed upon our earth since the Prophet lived here. All flesh should be under the influence of the Spirit of God, and not only all human flesh, but also the animal creation, and all things living. The effect of the outpouring of this Holy Spirit upon mankind will be to cause the young people to prophecy, making revelators of them, and the older ones to dream dreams. This prophecy was quoted by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, when under the influence of the same Spirit. It was not referred to, however, with the intention of declaring its fulfillment at that time, but merely to inform the unbelieving Jews that it was the same Spirit which Joel spoke of. It will be remembered that on the morning of the day of Pentecost, about 120 disciples had received this Spirit. On that occasion, while assembled in the Temple, it operated so powerfully upon them, that the illiterate and unlearned were enabled to speak in different languages, and that it manifested itself in the form of cloven tongues, like fire in appearance. The people who witnessed these operations marveled and wondered exceedingly. But some were inclined to evil, and accused these men of God of drunkenness. It was then that the Apostle Peter, in order to correct any false impression upon the minds of the congregation, arose, and after denying the accusation of these evil-disposed persons, said, "This is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel," quoting the prophecy nearly word for word.
Some have supposed that the prophecy was then fulfilled. It is very evident to every one who will reflect for a few moments, that such was not the case, but that the Spirit which rested upon those one hundred and twenty was the same Spirit that should, in the last days, be poured out upon all flesh. It is still further evident that it was not then fulfilled, as appears from the following: "I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth—blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood," etc., having reference to His second coming, when these great events should take place. It is generally believed, by the various Christian churches, that there are to be no more revelations, or visions, or dreams, given by the Spirit of God, and this belief has been entertained for generations by millions of people terming themselves Christians. But when this prophecy is really fulfilled, all men and women upon the earth will become revelators, receiving from the heavens information and knowledge by the power of that Spirit poured out upon them. I think our present Bible will then be greatly enlarged, should their revelations be written.