THROUGH A FRIEND FROM TEXAS we have come in contact with the writings of a lady whom we had never heard of. Since studying her writings we believe that she was a lady of our race, and faith then we decided to see what her message was to the nation of which she was a part, as well as to her race, at her time of writing.
Joanna Southcott was born April 1750 A. D. in the beautiful west country on a humble farm in the parish of Ottery, St. Mary. She is described by those who believed in her message as a woman of a race that bred men and women of blunt honesty and great courage, tenacity of purpose, and deeply rooted love of liberty, civil, and religious. Her family was an old and also a proud one and having fallen on ‘evil days,’ had been reduced to farming on a small scale. Her mother was a deeply religious woman and stated that she had great promise made to her before this child was born, that she would be both a fighter, and a prevailer.
Thus at the age of 18, then Joanna went out into the world to seek her living. And she tells us that in 1792, “The Spirit of truth’ visited her, and she began to write of the things she thought were told to her by this ‘spirit of truth’. She testified that this ‘spirit of truth’ which came to her was in audible words, very distinct as to what was to come upon the whole earth. She was commanded to write of these things as the ‘Spirit of truth’ dictated, but was forbidden to publish them at that time. Thus she wrote and these writings were sealed and witnessed and given into the care of friends, and then placed in a box at the end of each year.
She then wrote for nine years in spare moments of a hard working life. She wrote also as a prophetess, and her writings were to be understood in this manner.
Now it would take an open mind to comprehend that this ‘Spirit of truth’ would come to speak to this young woman, born of a poor family, and help her put forth these writings that were to warn the whole earth that there would be a ‘second advent,’ and that there should over these 2000 years of history be warnings from our Heavenly Father that His people were getting off the beaten path.