Elder Jesse W. Fox, Sen., received the narration from Father Taylor, the father of the late President John Taylor. The old gentleman said that one time the Prophet Joseph was in his house conversing about the battle of Waterloo, in which Father Taylor had taken part. Suddenly the Prophet Joseph turned and said, “Father Taylor, you will live to see, though I will not, greater battles than that of Waterloo. The United States will go to war with Mexico, and thus gain an increase of territory. The slave question will cause a division between the North and the South, and in these wars greater battles than Waterloo will occur. But,” he continued with emphasis, “when the great bear (Russia) lays her paw on the lion (England) the winding up scene is not far distant.”

These words were uttered before there was any prospect of war with Mexico, and such a thing as division in the United States was never contemplated. Yes, these fierce struggles came, and though Joseph himself was slain before they occurred, Father Taylor lived to witness some of the world’s most remarkable battles.

The struggle between the Bear and the Lion has not yet happened, but as surely as Joseph the Prophet ever predicted such an event, so surely will it not fail of its fulfillment.