"In your hands or that of any other person, so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet!"
About this Quote
The subtext is managerial. “Safe to trust with it” isn’t mystical language; it’s governance language, the rhetoric of control dressed in revelation. Smith doesn’t merely claim access to God; he claims a unique exemption from the corruptions that attend leadership. That move turns ordinary checks and balances into a kind of faithlessness: if he is a prophet, then skepticism becomes not prudence but rebellion.
“Remember” is the pressure point. It asks followers to treat his title as a standing fact that overrides the evidence of the moment. The final flourish - “I am a prophet!” - functions like a gavel. It ends debate by shifting the conversation from conduct to identity: prophets aren’t evaluated; they are believed.
Placed in Smith’s 19th-century context, with a rapidly growing movement, contested authority, and constant external scrutiny, this is crisis rhetoric. It’s designed to consolidate loyalty when charisma risks becoming bureaucracy and when the leader’s expanding temporal power needs a theological seal. The brilliance, and the danger, is that it makes accountability look like apostasy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Jr., Joseph Smith,. (2026, January 17). In your hands or that of any other person, so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet! FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-your-hands-or-that-of-any-other-person-so-much-71716/
Chicago Style
Jr., Joseph Smith,. "In your hands or that of any other person, so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet!" FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-your-hands-or-that-of-any-other-person-so-much-71716/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"In your hands or that of any other person, so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet!" FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-your-hands-or-that-of-any-other-person-so-much-71716/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
