History of the Church 2:190; “The Blessing of David W. Patten David W. Patten’s blessing: O God, give this Thy servant, a knowledge of Thy will; may he be like one of old, who bore testimony of Jesus; may he be a new man from this day forth. He shall be equal with his brethren, the Twelve, and have the qualifications of the prophets before him. May his body be strong and never be weary; may he walk and not faint. May he have power over all diseases, and faith according to his desires; may the heavens be opened upon him speedily; that he may bear testimony from knowledge; that he may go to nations and isles afar off. May he have a knowledge of the things of the Kingdom, from the beginning, and be able to tear down priestcraft like a lion. May he have power to smite his enemies before him, with utter destruction. May he continue till the Lord comes. O Father, we seal these blessings upon him. Even so. Amen.” – February 15, 1835

2 Timothy 3:7; “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Today we’re looking at the unfulfilled blessings, and false prophecies administered to Mr. David W. Patten by Oliver Cowdery in 1835.

The first, and foremost problem we have with the prophecies/blessings they doled out is the manner in which they delivered them. The actions of everyone involved resembled a séance, or someone seeking guidance from a fortune-teller.

In most cases, the blessings never came true, nor did the prophecies. In this particular case, Mr. Patten was killed in the Battle of Crooked River in October 1838, six months after Smith uttered a false prophecy that he’d be going on a mission for the Church.

You can also read this prophecy in D&C 114:1, and a follow-up of it in D&C 124:130, which in, and of itself, is another false prophecy.

Now if these things weren’t bad enough, there’s even more to the story with Mr. Patten. The reason for the Mormon folklore story of Cain being Bigfoot originated with David Patten, who supposedly claimed he saw Cain/Bigfootwhile out on a mission.

We counted nine false promises, and/or prophecies/blessings in this go-round. You can read them below. Oliver Cowdery’s words are in blue.

Lie #1

‘…may he be like one of old, who bore testimony of Jesus’

There’s not been one documented LDS apostle, or prophet, who’s bore testimony of Jesus, and this would include Mr. Patten himself.

Lie #2

‘…may he be a new man from this day forth. He shall be equal with his brethren, the Twelve, and have the qualifications of the prophets before him.’

Since they used the word ‘prophets’, we’re left to believe Cowdery was speaking of prophets from the OT era. With that being the case, it’s a false prophecy/promise. One of God’s top requirements for mankind, and prophets included, was honesty.

Lie #3

‘May his body be strong and never be weary; may he walk and not faint.’

Mr. Patten was killed three years later, so this obviously didn’t come to pass because of his death in 1838.

Lie #4

‘May he have power over all diseases, and faith according to his desires…’

Ditto.

Lie #5

‘…may the heavens be opened upon him speedily; that he may bear testimony from knowledge…’

This is especially sad because it didn’t look like he ever gained a saving knowledge of Jesus.

Lie #6

‘…that he may go to nations and isles afar off…’

This too is false. While Mr. Patten served many missions in the short amount of time he was in Mormonism before he died, he never left the US.

Lie #7

‘May he have a knowledge of the things of the Kingdom, from the beginning, and be able to tear down priestcraft like a lion.’

Tragic. Mr. Patten was the one spreading the false gospel with a priestcraft of evil, not the Christians whom they fought against.

Lie #8

‘May he have power to smite his enemies before him, with utter destruction.’

He was obviously left without power to smite his enemies with utter destruction. His enemies, on the other hand, were not.

Lie #9

‘May he continue till the Lord comes. O Father, we seal these blessings upon him. Even so. Amen.’

Just like all the other blessings/promises given to their twelve apostles, this gentleman didn’t live to see Jesus’ return.