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John Hyrum Koyle - Bishop

Recently I started studying about Bishop Koyle and his life and prophecies have been an exciting material to read and ponder. As I continue my studies on him and his prophecies I wanted to start a thread about who he was and what a great impact he had in Church history and in the Utah state in general. Please feel free to comment and add information (specially his prophecies) and of course, your thoughts about him.

John H. Koyle was born on August 14, 1864 at Spanish Fork, Utah County. He married Emily Arvilla Holt 9 December 1884. They had four sons and three daughters. Gradually he became known as a visionary man. He grew to dream about a wide variety of subjects, including world affairs. Many of his predictions came true and earned him a following of faithful admirers.

He said that he received the visit of Angel Moroni who showed him where the treasures of the Nephites were hidden near Salem, Utah. There is a
coming calamity on Earth, Koyle was told, with financial collapse, starvation,
natural disasters. Paper money would be worthless, and $20 bills would blow
like trash in the gutter, not worth the trouble of bending over to pick them up. A
bushel of gold would buy a bushel of wheat.

But the Nephite treasure would provide for all who needed its help. It would
save the people who came to it, the greatest welfare program the world ever
has seen. Thus Koyle called it the Relief Mine.

When the Church announced that its next temple would be built in Mexico, the Bishop said "President Smith wouldn't have made that promise if he had seen what I saw in a dream. I saw Mexican soldiers driving these Saints out of Mexico, and they were allowed to take only one piece of baggage each with them. There won't be enough of our people in Mexico to support a temple if this happens." (Pierce, p. 23).

Word soon spread of Bishop Koyle's prophecy about the temple NOT being built in Mexico at this time. Here were two prophecies being circulated, but they contradicted each other. Both men claimed divine instruction. Then came the revolutionary forces of General Francisco Madero and Pancho Villa in the revolutionary uprising in Mexico. General Madero had no use for the Mormons, who wished to remain neutral; neither had the U.S. Government given any favorable aid for their revolution. In 1912 these revolutionaries began their attacks on border towns, including also the Mormon settlements. They actually drove the Mormons from Mexico, allowing them to take only "one piece of baggage each", just as Bishop Koyle had seen in his dream. The Mormon Mexican colonies were broken up. No temple would be built there.

Source 7

John Hyrum Koyle, died at age 84.
His followers, and they still may number in the hundreds, perhaps
thousands, say he was guided by God. The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints says he was a heretic. Bishop Koyle was excommunicated when he refused to shut down the mine.

When I was reading his prophecy concerning the Temple in Mexico, I could imagine the reaction of the Church leaders and in Utah in general regards to this farmer who claimed no Temple was going to be built there and it actually happened.

What are your thoughts about Bishop Koyle?. And why did the Church excommunicate him when he refused to shut down the mine? after all, he did not break any rules, if he believed in the mine, he had all the right to keep it up.

Edited: JB on 13th Sep, 2010 - 12:55am

Bishop Koyle Hyrum John

When he was an old man, one of the General Authorities called him and asked him to meet with a few leaders of the Church in Salt Lake City.

Bishop Koyle had been told, by one of the Three Nephites, never to write anything down at all about the mine. During this meeting with the GAs, he was badgered, with the GAs telling him that if he did not stop his Thursday evening meetings, close down the mine, and sign a paper repudiating his claims, he, his wife, and all of their friends who were associated with the mine would be excommunicated. They promised him that they would NOT make this meeting, nor any of the conditions public.

He finally agreed to sign the statement. As I said, he was an old man, in his 80s at the time.

He went home that night, a very dejected, sad man. For over 50 years, he had been hounded, ridiculed, and persecuted by the very people who should have taken the time to ask the Lord themselves and find out what he was all about. This was the last straw.

The next day, the statement he had signed was published in the Deseret News. He was so angry about it that he redoubled his efforts, including his meetings at his home.

There are claims that he was excommunicated. However, there is no record of his excommunication, and his records show that when he died, he was a full member of the Church. This is because he had received his Second Anointing, back in the early 1900s, before they were stopped for normal members of the Church. After receiving that ordinance, a person CAN NOT be excommunicated. The Lord can judge such a person, be they are beyond the judgement of the organization of the Church.

I got this story directly from some friends of his who attended that meeting with him, and continued to attend his meetings.

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One of his greatest detractors was James E. Talmage. Elder Talmage was a scientist, and used his credentials to mock Bishop Koyle and the mine.

Some time after Elder Talmage died, Bishop Koyle reported to some of his friends, that Elder Talmage had come to him in spirit, and begged forgiveness. Apparently, until Bishop Koyle forgave him, Elder Talmage was unable to progress any further.

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One of his most remarkable predictions had to do directly with the works in the mine. He predicted every rock formation and every little change that the miners would come across. He also predicted that at a certain point, the miners would run into a spring of water. Because of this, he had them cut the mine shaft in an absolutely straight line, with a very slight uphill grade. He also had them cut a small channel in the shaft as they went.

When they were getting very close to the point where he said they would run into the water, one of the miners commented to him that they hadn't hit it yet. He asked exactly where they were at the time. They were 18 inches away from the point where he had predicted.

He told the miner to keep going, and let him know if they passed that point without finding the water.

Less than 2 inches from the predicted point, they hit water. The stream still runs down that shaft, in the channel that was dug for it.

BTW, I personally know people who have been in the mine, and have seen the stream of water flowing.

John Hyrum Koyle - Bishop Studies Doctrine Mormon

Nighthawk, I read that Apostle Mark E. Petersen was the person heading Bishop's Koyle trial for excommunication and that a formal trial was set on April 1, 1948. It was reported that Bro. Koyle attended the court and that he was excommunicated that same day. By the other hand, as you well pointed out he has made his Call and Election sure, so how he could possible be excommunicated?.

I found this: The Bishop obediently came to the trial, only to find that it was merely a pre-arranged formality. The decision and judgment had already been made. "It was not much more than an announcement, swift and to the point, with no defense allowed, . ." and then the job was done. John H. Koyle was excommunicated from the Church.

Both Church records and personal interviews with Mark Petersen indicate that the action taken against Koyle was not from the local level but rather it came in a directive from the First Presidency wherein the leaders of the Palmyra Stake were counseled to deprive Koyle of his membership. Accordingly, Apostle Mark E. Petersen was sent to Spanish Fork as an advisor to the local authorities. (Historical Study of the Koyle Relief Mine, 1894-1962, Christianson, p. 55).

https://www.josephjdewey.com/weblog/article.php?num=1891

There are also few good questions on this site. "If Koyle had been misled by the devil, then he should have been brought to trial in 1894. Action should have been taken before so much work had been completed at the mine and before so many thousands and thousands of Church people became involved. Why was he brought to trial 54 years later?".

Bishop Koyle Hyrum John

Here is another little tidbit about Bishop Koyle.

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J. GOLDEN KIMBALL

President J. Golden Kimball was one of the Seven Presidents of the Seventies and knew Bishop Koyle from the missionfield. This man was close enough to the Lord that his name was mentioned by the Nephite messengers. They instructed Bishop Koyle that he should give Pres. Kimball 500 shares of stock--whether he could pay for it or not. Later, Golden Kimball was invited by Bishop Koyle to come down for a visit, which he did. After the Bishop related the whole story, Golden paced the floor back and forth without saying a word. Then, Bishop Koyle said, "Well, do you believe it or not?" The reply was, "How much is the stock?" When he asked for 500 shares, Golden was astounded when Bishop Koyle handed him a certificate already filled out eighteen years previous for that amount. J. Golden Kimball was a friend to Bishop Koyle and a strong supporter of the mine throughout his life.

One interesting story about the Bishop and J. Golden Kimball is this one:

One day J. Golden Kimball received word that Bishop Koyle wanted to see him as soon as possible, so he drove right down to the mine. Koyle immediately got into the subject that was causing him considerable distress by saying, "Golden, the Lord showed me in a dream that Joseph Fielding Smith is preparing a conference sermon that is against the Dream Mine and the Lord doesn't want him to deliver it. I want you to go up there and tell him not to give that sermon."

"Not me!" replied Golden. "I'm not going to put my head in the lion's mouth." Koyle
grabbed Kimball by the coat collar and said, "Golden, God hates a coward." He looked a little sheepish and replied, "All right, Bishop, I'll tell him, but I don't have any faith that it will do any good." The Bishop smiled and retorted, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the faith."

Kimball returned to Salt Lake City and went directly to Joseph Fielding Smith's office. Smith was at his desk, so J. Golden walked over and said, "Brother Smith, you're not supposed to deliver that conference sermon that's against the Dream Mine." Smith jumped up and shouted, "How did you find out about that sermon? I haven't told anyone." Golden replied, "Well, the Lord knows and He told Bishop Koyle about it."

When conference came, Joseph Fielding Smith delivered a sermon, but it made no mention of the Dream Mine.

The question so often arises: How could so many members of the Church, even many leaders, be wrong in their judgment against the mine? The Lord doesn't volunteer information about everything he does, even to his church representitives. Every man, even the President of the Church, is often persuaded by his own opinions and those opinions of others.

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I did not write this. It came from the Dream Mine Yahoo group.

Bishop Koyle Hyrum John

Howdy all...

I became interested in Bishop Koyle and his Dream Mine starting back in the 1950's as a child. I was drawn to it like a magnet. When I was 28 and fresh out of college in practice, the Spirit told me to call the Relief Mine office. I didn't think they would have a phone as the project seemed dead. I phoned and talked to the president of the board, Quayle Dixon. The Spirit also told me to take $300. which was every last cent I had. My wife and I went up to the mine and talked to Bro. Dixon for 3 hours. The Spirit testified to both of us throughout the 3 hours. At the end...he said that Koyle recommended that a family have 100 shares of stock to see them through the hard time ahead. At $3. a share...it came to $300...so we bought our first stock.

The night before 9-11, the Spirit once again spoke to me. This time I was to set up a yahoo discussion group. I didn't' think there would be any interest but I was obedient. The group has grown steadily to about 880 members and still growing. Many people find us with the whisperings of the Spirit directing them.

3 years ago....the Spirit told me to compile as much information together about the mine as I could. So...I took the 3 published books, 2 BYU Master thesis and many stories from old timers I've talked to and put it into a book that is still growing in size. The name of the file is called: AN ONGOING UPDATED DREAM MINE BOOK.rtf and can be reached by clicking or cut and pasting the address below:

https://groups.yahoo.com/group/The-Dream-Mine/files/

I had a good friend that had known Bishop Koyle and was on his board of directors. He was in his late 80s when I met him in the 1990s. He went into a coma at the rest home and the family figured it was his time to go. I went that next saturday to sit with him and say my good-byes as he had been in a coma for 3 days by this point. I was there alone with him for about 20 minutes when he opened his eyes and I started rehydrating him with glass after glass of water. He told me he had been on the other side of the veil in meetings with the bishop and past member of the board. He ended up stronger and healthier than ever after that experience. His son took him out of the rest home and he lived for another few years before dying at age 89.

Having actually been in the mine twice....I can tell you that there is a very special feeling there. This mine was anciently worked by the nephites and it was closed to them because of wickedness and it will be opened once again in our day to feed the masses that will come to Utah (as seen by Pres. Taylor) with just the clothes on their backs.

From 1914 when he was shown the future by 2 of the 3 nephite apostles, many of those prophecies have come to pass exactly as Koyle said they would. I've seen a few more come to pass in my day and the last few are lining up and will also happen.

This project (the Relief Mine) is part of the political Kingdom of God which is the physical arm of the Kingdom...thus not part of the church specifically.

DOC

John Hyrum Koyle - Bishop

I moved my family to Utah for several reasons, but one of them was to be near the Relief Mine. I have a testimony that Bishop Koyle was led by the Lord to ready this project for the last days. The mine has never produced an ounce of gold, and won't, until the time is appropriate. The gold is not to be used to make us rich and greedy, it is for providing relief after a worldwide economic collapse.

After moving to Utah I came across "thus saith the Lord" revelations about the mine. It's one thing to read the story of Bishop Koyle from someone like Ogden Kraut. It's completely a different story to hear what the Lord thinks of the Bishop and the Dream Mine. I already had a testimony of the Bishop, this set of revelations was simply icing on the cake.

Here is the URL where you can download and read them for yourself.

https://www.reliefmine.com/pdf/Excerpts.pdf

Message Edited... Persephone: Do not ask people to contact you. Please read the Rules / Constructive Posting Policy of this Community if you have not yet done so.

John Hyrum Koyle Bishop

Name: Jrkoyle

Comments: Please do not get caught up in his prophesies, whether or not they came true. There are more uplifting and productive hobbies to get involved with. Trust me, John Hyrum Koyle and his dream mine is not one of them. If you look for things that you cannot understand, that is what you will receive.

I grew up on stories about him, his life, and the incredible things he did. I"m sure he was a good man. He seemed to try to do good things. But, please remember, there are two forces in the world, One that is good and one that tries to appear as good. Unfortunately, my great-great-grandfather was a false prophet. He was deceived. He went against the living prophet of his time. Remember also, you will know them by their fruits!

Follow the living prophet! Do whatever you need to study it out and come to your own conclusion and then, I promise, if you follow the living prophet of the Church, you will never go wrong. That may sound naive, but, you'll just have to trust me on this one. John Hyrum Koyle, no matter how right, was wrong. Be careful to not look beyond the mark.

John Hyrum Koyle Bishop Mormon Doctrine Studies

Name: Leslie

Comments: JR Koyle,

You should be ashamed of yourself? Look into all the things that he did that were true.

I have never met Bishop Koyle, but ny reading the accounts about him, one could only conclude that he was true.

Maybe you yourself have lost all faith in him, but don't sit and try to destroy his good name.

It seems ironic that living people can't find better things to do than devalue the deceased.