855 
 
IJOSEPH THE SEER 
 
 -HIS- 
 
 PROPHETIC MISSION. VINDICATED, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 DIVINE ORIGIN 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOOK OF MORION DEFENDED AND MAINTAINED, 
 
 BY W. W. BLAIR. 
 
 LAMONI, IOWA: 
 
 PRINTED BY THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION OF THE C 
 i 
 > REORGANIZED CHURCH OF CHRIST. 
 
 
JOSEPH THE SEER; 
 
 HIS 
 
 PROPHETIC MISSION VINDICATED, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 DIVINE ORIGIN 
 
 OF 
 
 IDE BOOK OF MORION DEFENDED AND MAINTAINED; 
 
 BEING A REPLY 
 BY ELDER WILLIAM W. BLAIR, 
 
 Of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Litter Day Saints, 
 
 TO ELDER WILLIAM SHELDON, 
 
 Of the Second Adventist Society. 
 
 PLANO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION OF THE REORGANIZED 
 
 CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 1877. 
 
n croft Library 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE severe trials to which the Truth of God lias been subjected in all 
 the past, have always resulted well in bringing its high importance, its 
 essential impregnability, and its perpetual beauties into clearer, grander 
 light, disclosing more plainly its deep, and broad, and immovable foun- 
 dations. They have also resulted well in revealing the dark and delu 
 sive ways of error, ways so common to the conceited, the self-sufficient,, 
 and the bigot, who, with blind heart, and clamorous tongue, or pen,, 
 would compel all others into their mazy lines of thought, and into their 
 devious and inconsistent modes of religious, moral, social, and scientific- 
 conduct. Truth gains and error loses in every fairly conducted conflict- 
 Such, we trust, will be the ultimate fruits of the recent malevolent 
 attack of Rev. William Sheldon upon the faith and doctrines of the Lat- 
 ter Day Saints, to which we reply in the following pages. Truth will 
 arise and prevail. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, in his arguments, draws heavily on various anti-Mor- 
 mon writers, from Howe to Ann Eliza. From these he takes his cue ; 
 and from their productions he obtains his chief enlightenment, and his 
 loftiest inspirations ; yet, notably, he fails to give them their proper cred- 
 its. This literary piracy will be found to be quite in keeping with the 
 general tenor of his work, as we proceed. 
 
 It will also be seen that he is a prince among cavilers, and that he 
 is as feeble in his sophisms as he is fertile in invention. He builds, 
 with affected seriousness, his men-of-straw ; and then, with self-compla- 
 cent, pompous puffs, topples them over, and then applauds himself for 
 decisive victories. 
 
 He attempts, with persistent zeal, to make the Book of Mormon and 
 the Inspired Translation claim for themselves what they do not claim, 
 viz., that all their historical and epistolary parts were written with un- 
 
IV. PREFACE. 
 
 erring precision, and infallible accuracy, and under the fullest and 
 highest measure of inspiration ; but in this attempt he fails, miserably. 
 
 He seeks to force upon the standard writings of the Church such 
 '-sense and meanisg as are utterly foreign and contrary to them ; and this 
 lie does, evidently, with the base purpose of making them appear false 
 l and contradictory. 
 
 We regret that Mr. Sheldon has quoted our works so inaccurately, 
 'and that he lias cited passages so incorrectly ; for it tends to perplex 
 tlie reader, both as respects his statements, and, possibly, in respect to 
 our answers; beside which it places him in the attitude of either a 
 heedless, or a lawless controversialist. 
 
 'It is quite impossible in these pages to notice more than the major 
 ''and more important part of the objections urged by Mr. Sheldon; and 
 tills we cannot do in a manner nearly so extended as we could wish, 
 and as we know their importance demands ; but we have undertaken to 
 ceply to all those of any real force or value. 
 
 If in anything in this work we have descended to too low a plane 
 ila. our argument, our main apology is, that we thought it best, in the 
 i Interests of truth, to follow our opponent wherever he went, in order to 
 tilash the true light upon his dark and crooked ways, and thus disclose 
 ^iiis errors. 
 
 We have frequently emphasized passages quoted, and we have done 
 so in order to call special attention to the matter under consideration ; 
 lint we disclaim any intention of thereby changing the sense of such 
 passages. 
 
 We submit our work to the careful and considerate attention of the 
 reader, asking that it be judged upon the merits of its facts, and not 
 ^upon the excellency of its diction, or the beauty and finish of its periods. 
 
 We regret its brevity, and its imperfections ; especially when we 
 consider the weighty matters of which it treats. 
 
 We have written it in the interests of truth diamond truth and 
 far the promotion of the righteousness of God among men, and to fur- 
 tfcer the cause of "full salvation." And with this consciousness we send 
 it out, humbly asking for it -the best blessings of heaven, a respectful 
 reception among men, and a fair hearing by all into whose hands it 
 may come. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PROPHETIC MISSION OF JOSEPH SMITH VINDICATED, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BOOK OF MORMON MAINTAINED, 
 AND DEFENDED. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 We have recently read in the World 9 s Crisis for July, 1875, & 
 lengthy article, entitled "Mormonism Examined; or, Was Joseph 
 Smith a Divinely Inspired Prophet ?" from the pen of Elder Wm~ 
 Sheldon, a minister of the Advent Church, and sometime editor 
 of the Christian Advent Times, and more recently his book entitled 
 "Mormonism Reviewed," and feeling that they should be answered^ 
 we now undertake this review. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon doubtless availed himself of all the arguments hith- 
 erto used by opponents of the Latter Day Work, selecting such as 
 he thought he could use with effect, and has then added to them an 
 occasional one that has at least the merit of being new. His affected 
 fairness is painfully apparent, while his false inferences, his bald 
 mis-statements, and his frequent false and garbled quotations, place- 
 him in an unpleasantly low rank among controversialists. This we 
 very much regret, as from a brief acquaintance with the gentleman 
 we had expected of him better things. His course adds but another, 
 to the long list of evidences, stretching down through the ages, that 
 men, when they have an end in view, usually, spare no effort, and 
 use without scruple any means to attain it "the end [with them}; 
 justifies the means." 
 
 We are not averse to criticism, but, on the contrary, admire it 
 when it is conducted with fairness and skill; but when it degener- 
 ates into quibbling, low trickery, and contemptible pettifoggery 
 then the less of it the better. 
 
6 The Divine Calling of 
 
 O 
 
 We have no quarrel with any for not believing as we do; all may 
 believe as they think best, and we are morally bound to respect them 
 in that right; for the right of private judgment, and the fact of 
 personal responsibility, are inherent in man, and ordained of God. 
 What we ask, and all that we ask, is, for others to bear in mind that 
 the Latter Day Saints, as well as themselves, should be respected in 
 their rights, and be treated in respect to their faith and icorks, 
 honestly, fairly and courteously. 
 
 As for Mr. Sheldon, the propriety of his efforts, the strength of 
 his arguments, the piety of his motives, and the extent of his success 
 in proving that "Mornionism" is false in its foundations and in its 
 leading facts, the reader must form his own judgment as we 
 progress. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon postulates the following: "The claims of Mormonism 
 to divine origin, stand or fall with a correct answer to the simple 
 question, Was Joseph Smith a true prophet;" and he then attempts 
 to prove that there are historical errors in the Book of Mormon, 
 assuming that if there are, then Joseph Smith, who translated the 
 book, must be a false prophet. This claim is certainly a novel one. 
 
 To make a translator responsible for the truth or falsity of the 
 facts he translates, is probably an original idea with Mr. S., and 
 one that he feels is quite indispensable to his success. Sensible, fair- 
 dealing people, hardly think of holding Pope responsible for the 
 truth or falsity of Homer's Illiad, or Odyssey, because he translated 
 them; nor would they hold the translators of the Bible responsible 
 for the character of its contents, but only for the faithfulness with 
 which they performed their work of translation. 
 
 Now, the Book of Mormon in more places than one admits that 
 there may be errors and imperfections in it. It does not claim abso- 
 lute perfection as to its contents in all, and in every respect. Its 
 historical parts do not claim to be written by revelation, or by such 
 measure of inspiration as to exclude errors and defects in language, 
 and style ; nor does it claim to be absolutely correct in all its his- 
 torical dates. Nephi, the very first writer in the book is conscious 
 that through his inherent "weakness" his record might be, possibly, 
 faulty. He says. 
 
 "If I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because 
 of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the 
 flesh." 1 Xephi 5: -IT. 
 
 That some of the sacred historians "of old" did "err" in some of 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 their writings is too well known to need any argument to prove it, 
 as may be seen by comparing the historical books of the Old Testa- 
 ment. Nor is the New Testament free from this defect. One 
 instance may suffice for this place. In Acts, 1 : 18, 19, we are told 
 that Judas obtained for betraying Christ, money with which he 
 bought a field; but in Matthew 27 : 5, 6, 7, we are told that the 
 chief priests with that money bought the field. So of Paul, 1 Cor. 
 10 : 8, compare Num. 25 : 9. Here are conflicts, which with others 
 that occur, prove that the writers of the New Testament history 
 made some mistakes they did "err" in, at least, a few things. 
 Mr. S. quotes the Book of Nephi : 
 
 "And it came to pass in the thirty-fourth year, in the first month, in the fourth 
 day of the month, * * * then behold there was darkness upon the face of the 
 land. * * * And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days. 11 
 Nephi 4: 2. 
 
 This, Mr. S. claims, was the time of Christ's crucifixion, as pre- 
 dicted by the Lamanite prophet Samuel; and, that its occurring on 
 the "fourth day" of the "first month," instead of the fourteenth day 
 of the first month, Jewish time, proves the account false, the Book 
 of Mormon untrue, and Joseph Smith, its translator, a false prophet. 
 Now, if Mr. S. had read and honestly considered the preceding 
 paragraph, he might have spared us the necessity of exposing what 
 savors strongly of craftiness, and even downright trickery. It reads : 
 
 "It was a just man who did keep the record ; * * * and now it came to pass, 
 if there was no mistake made in the reckoning of our time." 
 
 Here is a frank admission of a possible error in the record, as to 
 time. Why did not Mr. S. cite this qualifying statement? Evi- 
 dently because he knew that his argument would thereby be stripped 
 of its force. 
 
 The Nephites reckoned time under three different eras; the first 
 dating from Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem, 1 Nephi, 1:2. Jacob 
 1:1, etc.; the next dating with the beginning of the reign of the 
 Judges, Alma, 1:1; 2:1; also, book of Nephi, 1:1; and the 
 next with the birth of Christ, Book of Nephi 1 : 6-8. Whether 
 their months were after the Jewish style, or not, is uncertain. 
 Their months may have begun with the going out of Lehi and his 
 family from Jerusalem. As to whether "the first month," of Nephi 
 4 : 2, was really intended for Jewish time, or for time peculiar to 
 the Nephites, it is not our province now to determine. Whatever 
 the time was, Jewish or Nephite, the writer of the book does not 
 
8 The Divine Calling of 
 
 claim that it was absolutely correct. Joseph Smith translated it as 
 he found it; and the correctness or incorrectness of those dates can- 
 not affect the truthfulness of Joseph Smith's calling. 
 
 TIME OF CHRIST'S BIRTH. 
 
 Mr. S. next affirms that '-the Book of Mormon locates the birth 
 of Christ too late in the world's history to harmonize with the Bible/' 
 because it is stated in 2 Nephi 11:4, that the Messiah should come 
 in six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, which 
 was in the first year of King Zedekiah's reign. Mr. S. enters into 
 a lengthy argument to prove that the birth of Christ occurred "just 
 five hundred and fifty-three years from the first of Zedekiah." 
 
 As to the precise number of years between those events, chrpnol- 
 ogists differ. All that seems necessary now is to find what was 
 intended by the statement in question ; for it is a wise maxim that 
 "the thing intended, is the thing said." The text reads: 
 
 "For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hun- 
 dred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem.'' 
 
 Here is a text similar in structure, in which the Lord said to 
 Abraham : 
 
 "Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve 
 them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.' 1 Gen. 15 : 13. 
 
 Now, In Ex. 12 : 40, it is said, "The sojourning of Israel, who 
 dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." Here is a 
 difference of thirty years, when we descend to verbal niceties, be- 
 tween the time as promised, and the recorded time of history. Will 
 Mr. S. impeach the Almighty, or invalidate Bible history, because 
 of this discrepancy ! The grounds here presented are much better 
 for his doing so, than are his supposed grounds for invalidating the 
 testimony of Nephi. For in one case there is an admitted verbal 
 difference, of thirty years, while in the other there is not. What 
 was evidently intended in the promise to Abraham, was, that about 
 four hundred years, in round numbers, would measure Israel's cap- 
 tivity in Egypt. So in regard to the "six hundred years" predict- 
 ed by Nephi, a fair interpretation would be that "in about six hun- 
 dred years." 
 
 But we need not dwell upon this, for it is a well known 
 fact that there is quite a difference of opinion about the date 
 of our Savior's birth, and Mr. S/s statement is only his personal 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 opinion about that matter. Tegg, editor of "The Chronology, or 
 Historian's Companion/' makes it about six hundred and four year& 
 from the first of Zedekiah. Rollin makes it about six hundred; 
 Usher, Petavius, Jackson, Hales, and Bunsen, near the same; and, 
 as we have seen, Mr. S. fixes it at just precisely "five hundred and 
 fifty-three/' a difference of forty-seven years. It may be well to re- 
 mark that Mr. S. reaches his very precise figures, by means of his 
 forced interpretation of Daniel 9 : 25. Mr. S. and his fellows, have 
 devoted not a little labor to "the time question," for the last twenty- 
 five or more years; and, if they succeed as well in the future as they 
 have in the past, they will convince others, even if they fail to con- 
 vince themselves, that they know but little in reckoning time. 
 Their erroneous methods of interpretation, which have involved 
 them in serious blunders and painful mistakes, proclaim them "blind 
 guides;" especially upon questions of time. "By their fruits ye- 
 shall know them/' 
 
 That Mr. S, has gone wide of the mark, as is usual, in stating that 
 it was but five hundred and fifty-three years from the first of Zede- 
 kiah to the birth of Jesus, we will now proceed to show, and that,. 
 too, in part, from this same prophecy of Daniel : 
 
 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to- 
 finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation 
 for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision 
 and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, 
 that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto 
 the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and three score and two iveeks; the 
 street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after three 
 score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people 
 of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; and the 
 end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are 
 determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week', and 
 in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease > 
 and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until 
 the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. "-~ 
 Dan. 9:24-27. 
 
 That the days composing these periods signify so many years af 
 common time we fully believe. 
 
 Now, it should be carefully noted that the "seventy weeks," (or 
 four hundred and ninety years), are divided into periods of "seven 
 weeks, and threescore and two weeks," (or four hundred and 
 eighty-three years), leaving "the week," or, "one week," (seven 
 years), as the last and concluding period. Now, "from the going 
 
10 The Divine Calling of 
 
 forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto 
 the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and 
 two weeks," or four hundred and eighty-three years. This cer- 
 tainly does not relate to the commandment of Cyrus to build the 
 temple as Mr. S. claims, for that was issued, according to Rollin, 
 (Hist. Cyrus, ch. l,art. 3, sec. 2.), A.D. 536, or about from five hun- 
 dred and sixty-two to five hundred and sixty-seven years before 
 'Messiah the Prince" was manifested, which evidently occurred 
 at his baptism by John, (see John, 1 : 29-41), and with this agrees 
 the dates in the Bible, Ezra 1:1. The "commandment" predicted 
 was clearly that one which should effect the restoration of Jerusalem 
 and the Jews, and eventuate in the building up of their city "the 
 street," "and the wall" and all this "even in troublous times," for 
 such are the terms of the prophecy. Twenty years after the decree 
 of Cyrus, in the sixth year of Darius, "the temple was finished and 
 dedicated," but "the walls remained as the Assyrians had left them" 
 at the close of the terrible seige seventy years before (a). Fifty- 
 eight years after the temple was dedicated, or "B.C. 457, Ezra 
 arrived from Babylon with a caravan of Priests, Levites, Nethinims, 
 and lay people." Ibid. This was by the commandment of Ar- 
 taxerxes [Longimanus], Ezra 7 : 1-28. And the effect of this 
 "commandment" was to restore Jerusalem to its former state, before 
 the captivity, in respect to its civil government, and religious 
 services : 
 
 "And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set mag- 
 istrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, 
 all such as know the laws of thy God ; and teach ye them that know them not. 
 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let 
 judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to ban- 
 ishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment." Ezra 7: 25, 26. 
 
 It is true that the building of "the street," and "the wall" did 
 not take place till about thirteen years after this, in the twentieth of 
 Artaxerxes, or about B.C. 444-5, but the "commandment to restore 
 and to build Jerusalem" was given to Ezra. This work of build- 
 ing "the wall" was done when Nehemiah was Governor of Judea. 
 Neh. 2. And this building was done "even in troublous times," for 
 
 * "They which builded on the wall, and they which bare burdens, with those 
 that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with 
 the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword 
 girded by his side, and so builded." -Neh. 4: 17, 18. 
 
 (a) Bible Diet., Smith, Art. Jerusalem. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 11 
 
 Now, "from the commandment" of Artaxerxes to Ezra, to "res- 
 tore" Jerusalem to its former religious and civil estate, (which we 
 see went forth about B.C. 457), to the announcement of "Messiah 
 the Prince," (John 1 : 29-41) A.D. 30, would be four hundred and 
 eighty-seven years. From this take off four years for the fact that 
 our A. D. begins, it is said, four years after Christ was born, and 
 this would leave just four hundred and eighty-three years, or, "seven 
 weeks, three score and two weeks/' 
 
 That "the week" the last period "in the midst" of which "he 
 shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation [under the law] to cease" 
 measures the three and a half years of Christ's active ministry, the 
 terminating of the law of sacrifices by the sacrifice of himself on 
 the cross, (Heb. 10 : 4-12, &c.), with the three and a half years of 
 his ministers fruitful labors in establishing the New Covenant among 
 the Jews, is very probable, if not conclusive. 
 
 And further; that the "seven weeks" or forty-nine years refer 
 to the peculiar period immediately following the "going forth of the 
 commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," is, I think, quite 
 evident; and that the period of "threescore and two weeks" or 
 four hundred and thirty-four years are to be added to the forty- 
 nine years, making four hundred and eighty-three years, thus bring- 
 ing us to the times when the Messiahship of Jesus was announced, 
 I also think is beyond question; but of this we have not time to 
 write at length. 
 
 Eollin, whose chronological dates differ from those of Usher, Hales, 
 Haydn, and others, thinks the beginning of the "seventy weeks" 
 should date from the twentieth of Artaxerxes, instead of the seventh, 
 for the reason that at that time Nehemiah was appointed governor 
 of Judea, and specially commissioned, by decree of the King, to 
 build the walls of Jerusalem (b). If llollin's Chronology were 
 correct his position would be good. He locates the seventh of Ar- 
 taxerxes B.C. 467, instead of B.C. 457, as Usher, and others; 
 and the twentieth of Artaxerxes B.C. 454, instead of B.C. 445, 
 as Usher and others. But we believe the "seventy weeks" dates 
 from the commandment to Ezra. 
 
 Having discovered very near, if not the exact year to date the 
 beginning of the famous "seventy weeks," we now have to look after 
 that period between either the seventh or the twentieth of Artaxerxes, 
 and the first of Zedekiah, in order to learn how long it was from the 
 
 (&) See Hist, of the Persians and Grecians, Chap. 1. Sec. 6. 
 
12 The Divine Calling of 
 
 latter to the birth of Christ; for that is the point upon which Mr, 
 S. claims that he has wrecked the authenticity of the Book of Mor- 
 mon, and the prophetic mission of Joseph, the Seer. From the 
 first of Zedekiah, (2 Chron. 36 : 10), to the seventh of Artaxerxes 
 and the "commandment" to Ezra to "restore" Jerusalem. (Ezra 
 7 : 7), is one hundred and forty-two years. To this add four hun- 
 dred and fifty-seven and we have five hundred and ninty-nine years 
 to A.D. 1. Or, taking Rollings dates, we have the last of Zedekiah 
 in B.C. 589, to which the eleven years of his reign should be added, 
 and we have six hundred years to A.D. 1, instead of "just five hun- 
 dred and fifty-three years from the first of Zedekiah to Messiah," as 
 is so boastfully claimed by Mr. S. 
 
 We could wish that the chronology of the past was more perfect, 
 but imperfect as it is we can approximate the truth, and 
 that answers the practical purposes of the case. In the confessed 
 defective state of chronology, especially that prior to A.D. 30, we 
 are quite safe in trusting the dates of the Book of Mormon. They 
 may be trusted as safely, at least, as any. One thing we have dem- 
 onstrated, and that is, that Mr. S. has grievously erred in his state- 
 ments on time, in his interpretation of Daniel, and in these bitter 
 and groundless charges against the authenticity of the Book of Mor- 
 mon and the prophetic character of Joseph the Seer. In his ma- 
 levolent haste, he has plunged, as we have seen, into an error of 
 forty-seven years in reckoning time; and he also errs in his state- 
 ment that "the first year of Zedekiah began the seventy years cap- 
 tivity," (of the Jews). It began in the reign of Jehoiakim, in the 
 fourth year, or about B.C. 606 (c). 
 
 PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH. 
 
 In the next place, Mr. S. undertakes to show that the Book of 
 Mormon is false from its statement that Christ should be born "at 
 Jerusalem." (Alma 5 : 2). Now, if Mr. S. had quoted the context, 
 the reader of his article could have seen at a glance what was meant 
 by Alma. I will quote it, "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, 
 at Jerusalem, which is the land of our forefathers." We have no 
 apologies to ofier for the grammatical construction of this passage; 
 what we wish to know is, ichat it means. That it refers more es- 
 pecially to the vicinity of, and not necessarily to the very limits 
 within the city, is, I think, quite apparent. The word at, is a prep- 
 
 (c) Vide Jer. 25 : 11-18; 2 Chron. 35 : 5-7; Rollin, Hist. Assyrians, Chap. 2. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 13 
 
 osition; and primarily signifies nearness, presence; as, at the sea; 
 at the grave; at the river; etc., etc. Some suppose, and not with- 
 out reason, that Bethlehem, of Judea, the birth-place of our Savior, 
 was a suburb of Jerusalem, and could, in that sense, be reckoned a 
 part of Jerusalem. Mr. S. states that "the Bible often affirms that 
 he was born at Bethlehem." We deny it. It often affirms that he 
 was born m Bethlehem. 
 
 When considering the import of the text in question, it should 
 be borne in mind that Alma was many thousand miles away from 
 the place of which he speaks, and therefore his description of it, 
 relatively, was eminently proper, and sufficiently plain for all but 
 those who would "make a man an offender for a word/ 7 
 
 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. S. says, that "the Book of Mormon clashes with the Bible in 
 its claims concerning the Melchizedek priesthood under the law/' 
 
 It does claim that there were many besides Melchizedek who were 
 priests of the Melchizedek order, not "under the law," though some 
 of them lived during the times of "the law/' 
 
 Mr. S. argues, substantially, that Israel had no other than Aaronic 
 priests, and they only under the law. Moses was a priest, (Ps. 99 : 
 6), and officiated as such, (Ex. 24 : 4-8), before Aaron and his 
 sons were set apart to. minister in the priest's office, (Ex. 28 : 1). 
 Now, as there are but two orders of priesthood mentioned in the 
 Bible, we think that he must be assigned to one of those two orders. 
 And inasmuch as he held priestly authority and power over both 
 Aaron and his sons, before and after they were set apart, are we not 
 forced to conclude that he held the higher priesthood, the 
 Melchizedek ? 
 
 Certainly, Mr. S., rash as he is, will not dare say that Moses was 
 not a priest; nor can he with truth say that he was an Aaronic 
 priest. To what order lie would assign him it is difficult to con- 
 jecture; yet of one thing we may rest assured, he will not allow that 
 he was a Melchizedek priest, for that would utterly spoil his argu- 
 ment; for he claims that oidy Melchizedek and Christ were priests 
 of that order. If Moses belonged to neither the Melchizedek nor 
 the Aaronic orders, then he must have belonged to some other order. 
 Will Mr. S. please arise and explain ; for he would have it that only 
 Christ and Melchizedek belonged to the one order ; and, only Aaron 
 and his sons to the other; nevertheless Moses was a priest of God, 
 
14 The Divine Calling of 
 
 and the leading type of Christ. Will Mr. S. say that he was a sore 
 of provisional priest, a make-shift, and belonging to no order ? 
 
 We believe that Moses was truly a priest, and that he was not an 
 Aaronic priest, either, but that he was a Melchizedek priest, and 
 hence was a fit type of the Lord Christ. Abel was evidently a 
 priest, (Gen. 4:3-5); so also was Noah, (Gen. 8:20, 21); so 
 Abraham, (Gen. 22 : 13); and so Jacob, (Gen. 31 : 54; 46 : 1); so 
 also was Job, (Job 1:5; 42 : 8), who, it is probable, was not a 
 Hebrew. Nor is this all, for Jethro was evidently a priest, accredited 
 and honored of God; for, 
 
 "Jethro, Moses 1 father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God ; 
 and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in- 
 law before God." Ex. 18 : 12. 
 
 That this eating "bread" was a religious ceremony, (like the 
 sacrament under the gospel), and not ordinary feasting, is seen in 
 the fact that it was done "before God," under the administration of 
 a "priest," and at a season when this priest offered "a burnt offering 
 and sacrifices for God" 
 
 Furthermore, that Jethro was a priest accepted and ordained of 
 God, is seen in the fact that Aaron, and all the elders of Israel, 
 honored his ministrations by their presence, and did "eat bread" 
 with him, which they would not have done if he had not been a 
 priest of God ministering in righteousness. That he was a priest of 
 God is further evident from the fact that he "rejoiced for all the 
 goodness which the Lord had done to Israel," (Ex. 18 : 9), in de- 
 livering them from Egypt; and from the fact that he said, "Blessed 
 be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyp- 
 tians;" and from the still greater fact, that he gave to Moses im- 
 portant, acceptable, and highly enlightened counsel in regard to the 
 organization and government of Israel. To Moses he said : 
 
 "Hearken now unto roy voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be 
 with thee; * * * So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and 
 did all that he said. 11 Ex. 18 : 19, 24. 
 
 Certainly an idolatrous priest would not have proffered counsel, 
 especially such wise counsel. And, it is furthermore certain that 
 Moses would not, for one moment, have received counsel from any 
 other than a priest of God. To say that Jethro was an idolatrous 
 priest would be to say that God taught superior wisdom to his own 
 minister, Moses, through an idolater. 
 
 Inasmuch then as Jethro was a priest of God, he, too, must have 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 15 
 
 belonged to one of the two orders Melchizedek, or Aaronic. If 
 we say that he was an Aaronic priest, we deny the Bible account; 
 but if we say, that he was a Melchizedek priest, then we say, that 
 which is, we think, conclusive to every intelligent, unprejudiced 
 mind. 
 
 Besides those priests already mentioned there were others, not of 
 the order of Aaron, who did minister before the Lord with accept- 
 ance, between Moses and Christ: Samuel, (1 Sam. 7:9); David, 
 (2 Sam. 6 : 18) ; Elijah, (1 Kings 18 : 30-38). These, with others, 
 officiated as priests with favor before the Lord; for the Lord an- 
 swered their ministrations with blessing. And, inasmuch as all these 
 aforementioned persons, some of whom were not even of Israel, did 
 minister in the rites, ceremonies, and ordinances of the priesthood, 
 both before and after the times of Moses, either by the command- 
 ment, or with the approval of Grod, is it unreasonable, or contrary to 
 the Scriptures to believe, or claim, that God did call persons on this 
 continent, in ancient times, to minister in'the priesthood, as is 
 taught in the Book of Mormon ? But enough on this topic for the 
 present; we shall have occasion to consider the subject of the priest- 
 hood at greater length ere we conclude this review. 
 
 TITHES. 
 
 Another huge stumbling-stone, one upon which Mr. S. proposes 
 to wreck Mormonism, he finds in the saying of Alma, that "our 
 father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he possessed." 
 Alma 10 : 1. Mr. S. tells us that "tithes" "means a tenth/' This 
 we deny. "Tithes" means tenths', or may mean a tax, a revenue 
 arising from titbings; and this latter is clearly the sense in which 
 Alma wished to- be understood. The word "tithes" may mean the 
 sum total of what is gathered by tithing, as an amount of revenue 
 gathered und!er the order of tithing. Mr. S. says the text from 
 Alma, "Our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he 
 possessed," states, in effect, that Abraham paid "a tenth of one 
 tenth part of all ^he possessed ,* * * which would be only a 
 hundredth." Now we venture the assertion, that no sensible, hon- 
 est person, unless he be blinded by prejudice, would ever put such 
 a construction upon the passage. The manifest meaning of the 
 passage is this : Abraham paid tithes composed of one tenth part of 
 aU that he- possessed. 
 
1.6 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Here is a text from Deut. 26 : 12, which we present for the future 
 consideration and critical labor of Mr. S. Perhaps we may next 
 hear of his undertaking to prove Moses a false prophet, and the 
 Bible a humbug, because the text is so very like the offensive one 
 irom Alma: "When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes 
 -of thine increase the third year." This was the commandment to 
 the people of Israel, and refers directly to the manner in which they 
 should pay their tithing as may be further seen from Deut. 14 : 28. 
 Would it not be consistent now for Mr. S. to set himself vigorously 
 -at it to write another work, warning the people against Moses 
 and the Bible, because that in the Bible Moses instructs Israel in 
 "tithing all the tithes" of their increase? Mr. S., with his critical 
 tact, could easily prove the Bible false, and Moses an impostor ! 
 Why, Moses! you command "tithing all the tithes!" You are as 
 faulty as Alma! Why that would give you only a "tenth of one 
 tenth part, which would be only a hundredth !" Leaving this matter 
 between Moses and Mr. S., we pass on. 
 
 AARONIC PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. S. objects that, "The Book of Mormon locates the Aaronic 
 priesthood among the descendants of Manasseh, instead of Levi, in 
 opposition to the Bible." It should be borne in mind that this 
 particular priesthood is called the Aaronic or Levitical, in order to 
 distinguish it from the higher or Melchizedek; and because that in 
 the organized Mngdom or commonwealth of Israel, it was delegated 
 to Aaron and his seed. But we are not aware of any passage in 
 the Bible that would prevent the scattered branches of Israel, or 
 -those who become "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the 
 promise," from holding and exercising the same or similar priest- 
 hood authority as did Aaron and his seed, with, or without the 
 ceremonial law. But how does Mr. S. know that those of Manas- 
 -seh's seed whom he mentions were professedly priests of the Aaronic 
 order? They do not claim to be of that order; and the Latter Day 
 Saints do not claim that they were. Mr. S. simply assumes as much, 
 and then undertakes to prove it by quoting, 
 
 "And it came to pass that I, Nepal, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that 
 'they should be priests." 2 Nephi 4: 5. 
 
 There is here not even the slightest hint that they were Aaronic 
 priests. As we have before seen, there were many priests among 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 17 
 
 the people, both before and after the giving of the law, who were 
 not called Aaronic priests. 
 
 God never had a special people whom he did not bless with priest- 
 hood privileges and powers, whether during the times of the Patri- 
 archs, or from Moses to Christ, or under the gospel dispensation. 
 And inasmuch as the Nephites were a righteous people and specially 
 favored of God, it is but reasonable to suppose that they would en- 
 joy the privileges and benefits of the priesthood. It is not impossible 
 or improbable, that the Nephites held priesthood similar, or identical 
 with that of Aaron. The text is silent on this point, yet Mr. S. 
 assumes that it claims Aaronic priesthood. But of this priesthood 
 matter, more hereafter. 
 
 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 
 
 The next objection urged is, that "the Book of Mormon conflicts 
 with the Bible in locating the second coming of Christ in the past," 
 because it states that Christ appeared to the Nephites "within a 
 year after his crucifixion." Book of Nephi 5:5. Christ said, 
 
 "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; [in Judea] them also I must 
 bring, and they shall hear my voice" John 10: 16. 
 
 Now, inasmuch as he was "not sent but unto the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel," (Matt. 15 : 21), it must follow that the "other 
 sheep" were "of the house of Israel," and they not in Judea. 
 Christ's ministry before his crucifixion was confined to Judea; so that 
 the fulfillment of this promise must have been accomplished after 
 his crucifixion, and in another locality than Judea, and to others of 
 "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" than those dwelling in Judea. 
 The Book of Mormon, and that only, affords the true meaning of 
 Christ's words, and in that we find an easy and rational solution of 
 the otherwise unanswerable questions as to ivhen, where, and how, 
 this promise of Jesus had its fulfillment. For it states (Book of 
 Nephi Y : 2) that Jesus, after his resurrection did minister in teach- 
 ing a branch of the "lost sheep," the Nephites on this continent. 
 Christ certainly appeared to Paul some years after he had ascended 
 to the Father, for Paul testifies: 1 Cor. 15 : 8: 
 
 "And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 11 
 
 Now it is evident that Paul saw him as truly and as literally as 
 did any of the apostles. This is the sense of his testimony. Again : 
 
 "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? 11 1 Cor. 9: 1. 
 
18 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, 
 and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth." Acts 
 22: 14. 
 
 These texts teach the personal appearing of Jesus to Paul. 
 But further : 
 
 "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, 
 Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness 
 also at Rome. 11 -Acts 23: 11. 
 
 That Paul actually saw the Lord Jesus on earth, personally, we 
 further learn from the direct testimony of Barnabas. 
 
 "But Barnabas took him, [Paul], and brought him to the apostles, and de- 
 clared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken 
 unto him." Acts 9: 27. 
 
 This puts the matter beyond question, that Paul not only saw the 
 "light from heaven" and "heard a voice/' but that he likewise 
 actually and literally saw the Lord Jesus, and heard "the voice of 
 his mouth" "in the way" going to Damascus, i. e., in the highway. 
 
 It seems from Eusebius that the early Christians believed that 
 Christ appeared to many, after his ascension. He says: 
 
 "Besides these, ['Cephus, 1 'tho twelve, 1 l five hundred brethren at once,' 
 'James 1 ], there still was a considerable number who were apostles in imitation of 
 the twelve, such as Paul himself was, he [Paul] adds, saying, 'afterwards he 
 appeared to all the apostles. 1 " Eccl. Hist. 42. 
 
 By this we learn that these last mentioned "apostles" were others 
 besides the first "twelve" and Paul, and they, too, saw Christ. 
 Again, Paul says he appeared unto "the twelve;" i. e., evidently, 
 after his ascension, for, after the death of Judas there was but "the 
 eleven," until after the ascension. And again, Paul says he ap- 
 peared to "above five hundred brethren at once/' The facts of his- 
 tory favor the idea that there was no assemblage after the crucifixion, 
 of so many Saints, (especially brethren"), until after the ascension. 
 Evidence is abundant that our Savior appeared, personally, to many 
 in Judea, after his ascension. Mr. S. says this appearance to Paul 
 "was a vision;" by which he probably means a trance, ecstasy, or 
 spiritual view. That the word often signifies this, we know; but in 
 Paul's case it certainly signifies something different, as is apparent 
 from the different descriptions given of it. The first and most 
 natural meaning of the word vision is literal, natural, actual sight. 
 In this sense it is used, no doubt, in respect to Paul's seeing Christ; 
 also in Luke 2-1 : 23, where it is said that certain women "had also 
 
Joseph Smitli Defended. 
 
 seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive/' That this is 
 the true sense may be seen by consulting Luke 24 : 4-10. So also 
 of Luke 1 : 11, 22, where Zachariah saw the angel Gabriel, "on the 
 right side of the altar of incense," in "a vision/' Why should it be 
 thought strange that Christ appeared on earth after his ascension, 
 and before his second coming? We read in the Scriptures of his 
 appearing to some many years before his first coming, such as to 
 Nebuchadnezzar, for instance : 
 
 u Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no 
 hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Dan. 3: 25. 
 
 Again, to Abraham, Gen. 18 : 13, 17, 20, 26, 30; to Jacob, Gen. 
 32 : 30, and to Moses, Ex. 3 : 2, 4, Ex. 6:3. Of these last men- 
 tioned appearances, and others, Eusebius makes these judicious re- 
 marks, 
 
 "That the divine word, therefore, pre-existed and appeared, if not to all, afc' 
 least to some, has been thus briefly shown." Eccl. Hist. 18, 
 
 He further says, (what must be evident to every candid, intelligent 
 mind), that, 
 
 t: To suppose these divine appearances were the forms of subordinate angels 
 and servants of God, is inadmissible; since, as often as any of these [angels] ap- 
 peared to men, the Scriptures do not conceal the fact in the name, expressly- 
 saying that they were called not G-od, nor Lord, but [only] angels." EccL 
 Hist. 11. 
 
 Now, inasmuch as Christ appeared to his people before his first 
 advent, and to Paul, and others in Judea, after his resurrection and 
 ascension, it is not unscriptural, nor incredible, that he, after his 
 ascension, should appear to his people on this continent, as stated in 
 the Book of Mormon, especially when we consider his promise, that 
 "other sheep" than those in Judea should hear Jus voice. Christ's 
 first coming was to dwell with, and minister for his people; and his 
 second coming is for the same purpose. His appearance at divers 
 times after his ascension, including his resurrection, can no more be 
 called his second or third coming, than his various appearances be- 
 fore his incarnation could be called his first coming. Christ did 
 "appear" to Paul, and doubtless to others after his ascension; and 
 he will "appear" again to all his 'Saints, at his glorious coming and 
 kingdom to dwell with them in regal power and glory forever and 
 ever. These events will differ, not in regard to their literality, or 
 being personal; but in the surrounding circumstances, and in the 
 results. 
 
20 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "THE SCRIPTURE WHICH SAITH." 
 
 Mr. S. next finds a "clash/' where there is none; and in this he 
 'evidently strives to excel. He says. 
 
 u ln the book of Ether, sixth chapter, purporting to have been written many 
 -centuries before the first advent, and to have been translated and transcribed by 
 Moroni, wo read concerning 'the scripture which saith, there are they who 
 ^were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be 
 first. 1 Mark this point, [says Mr. S.], as none of the Old Testament Scriptures 
 were then written, what scriptures can here be referred to but those in the 
 JjsTew Testament, where we find similar language. 1 " 
 
 In reply we have to say, first, that the Old and New Testaments 
 <do not contain all the scriptures as Mr. S. would seem to claim; 
 ;and in the second place, the words he quotes are the words of 
 "Moroni, who lived four hundred years after Christ, and not the 
 
 words of Ether, as he falsely claims; and lastly they are not the 
 
 words of the New Testament at all. 
 
 "NO VARIABLENESS." 
 
 He next objects: 
 
 "In the fourth chapter of the book of Mormon we read, l For do we not read 
 fchat God is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; and in him is no varia- 
 bleness, neither shadow of changing?" Yes, [says Mr. S.], we 'read 1 it, but 
 where? In the New Testament, which claimed to be unknown to Mormon." 
 
 If Mr. S. had been as eager to learn the genuine spirit and doc- 
 trine of the Book of Mormon as he has been to conjure up faults, 
 and to manufacture errors, he would have found divers places where 
 the sentiments of the passage he quotes are written. 
 
 In Mosiah 1 : 8, is a passage having this import; and in Nephi 
 11 : 1 : "I am the Lord, I change not;" and in 2 Nephi 12 : 7: "I 
 -am the same yesterday, to-day and forever;" and then in Alma 5:3: 
 '"Neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath 
 lie a shadow of turning from the right to the left." Moroni pro- 
 fessed to quote only the sense of what they read, and not letter for 
 letter; and surely, he had abundant grounds, as we have seen, from 
 the records of his fathers. 
 
 In the next place he objects to the following passage found in 
 Moroni 8:2: "The whole need no physician, but they that are sick;" 
 ^'language borrowed, [he says], from the Savior/' 
 
 Now the text, with its context, reads as follows : 
 
 "And the word of the Lord came to me [Mormon] ly the power of the Holy 
 Ghost, saying, Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 21 
 
 your God. Behold, I came into the world, not to call the righteous, but sin- 
 ners to repentance; the whole need no physician, lut they that are sick; wherefore 
 little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin." 
 
 Here we see that the passage does not purport to be '-borrowed 1 ' 
 from any place, but that it was a direct revelation from Christ to 
 Mormon. 
 
 If we are to condemn the Book of Mormon because sentiments 
 and phrases are found in it similar to those found in the Old and 
 New Testaments, then we may condemn the book of Micah, because 
 in its fourth chapter there is found a prophecy similar in sense and 
 letter to that found in Isaiah, second chapter. We may go further 
 and condemn the Bible because in it are phrases and sentiments 
 similar to those found in the Brahmin's Veda, which claims to be 
 the oldest of books, and which was compiled as early, at least, as B. 
 C. 1200. In it is a prayer similar to that taught by our Savior, "O 
 God have mercy, give me my daily bread/' Rig-Veda 6 : 47. 
 Shall we say that because Jesus taught similarly, that he, therefore, 
 "borrowed'' from the Veda? We should, if we adopted the reason- 
 ing of Mr. "S. Again, (Rig- Veda 9 : 113, 7): "Where life is free, 
 in the third heaven of heavens, where the worlds are radiant, there 
 make me immortal.' 7 The logic of Mr. S. would make David and 
 Paul borrow some of these ideas, and some of this language, from 
 the Rig- Veda ! 
 
 ZEND-AVESTA. 
 
 Again; in the Zend-Avesta there are many ideas and phrases 
 similar to what is found in both the Old and New Testaments. Of 
 this Dr. Haug remarks: 
 
 "The Zoroastrian religion exhibits a very close affinity to, or rather identity 
 with, several important doctrines of the Mosiac religion and Christianity." 
 Chips from a German Workshop, p. 125. 
 
 There is one place in it where the Supreme Spirit proclaims him- 
 self "I am who I am; 7 ' a similar name to that of Jehovah given 
 by him, Ex. 3 : 14. Now, shall we argue from these coincidences 
 that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, or any part of 
 them, have been copied "borrowed" from those ancient books? 
 The fallacious method of reasoning adopted by Mr. S. would force 
 us to do so. The Book of Mormon claims that the same God who 
 inspired the prophets and seers in Judea, inspired prophets and 
 seers in America, whose writings we find in the Book of Mormon. 
 
22 The Divine Calling of 
 
 This being true, ifc is no wonder that we find the same general ideas, 
 the same doctrines and phrases in the Book of Mormon, that we 
 find in the Bible. Of this the Lord says: 
 
 ' Therefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. 
 And when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of the two nations 
 shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many, that I am 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and that I speak forth my words ac- 
 cording to mine own pleasure." 2 Xephi 12:7. 
 
 Will Mr. S. have us believe that two or more revelations from 
 God to as many different persons, at as many different times, touch- 
 ing the same things, must differ in sentiment, and in phraseology ! 
 
 It would seem so, for he is condemning the Book of Mormon on 
 the ground that in it are found sentiments and phrases similar to 
 those found in the Bible. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Here comes another insurmountable stumbling block in the way 
 of Mr. S. He says : 
 
 "The Book of Mormon blunders into the claim that about one hundred years 
 before the first advent, the name 'Christian 1 was in common use on this con- 
 tinent; thus clashing with the Bible which affirms, 'the disciples were first 
 called Christians at Antioch.' Acts 11: 26." 
 
 That the disciples upon the eastern continent were "first called 
 Christians at Antioch," we do not deny; and that this was all that 
 Luke intended, must be apparent to every fair-minded reader. 
 Luke did not claim to write by revelation or prophecy; and as a 
 historian he only wrote of facts as he knew and believed them. He 
 referred only to those connected with the Church of Christ on the 
 Eastern Continent, and did not profess to know or write of matters 
 beyond that. But the statement that people on this continent were 
 called Christians, even "one hundred years before the first Advent," 
 Mr. S. cannot disprove. The very name, as well as the doctrine 
 and mission of Christ, was known hundreds of years before the first 
 Advent. So also that other prominent New Testament name of our 
 Savior, "Son of God/' If the leading New Testament names of 
 our Savior were known and used so long before the first Advent, 
 why should it be thought incredible that one of the leading New 
 Testament names of his disciples should likewise be known and used 
 equally as long before ? The Nephites foreknew the name, and mis- 
 sion, and peculiar doctrines of Christ, hundreds of years before the 
 Advent, and they lived in conformity with his gospel, and why 
 
Joseph. Smith Defended. 23 
 
 might they not be called by a name in their language that was the 
 exact equivalent of the English word "Christian?" For my part I 
 can see no reason against it, but, on the other hand, many good 
 reasons for it. Eusebius informs us that: 
 
 "The very name of Jesus, as also that of Christ, was honored by the pious 
 prophets of old. * * * Moses attaches the name of our Savior Jesus Christ; 
 * * * the prophets that lived subsequently to these times, also plainly announced 
 Christ before by name" Eccl. Hist., pp. 21, 22. 
 
 Again he says: 
 
 "For as the name Christians is intended to indicate this very idea, that a man, 
 by the Jcnowkdge and doctrine of Christ, is distinguished by modesty and justice, 
 by patience and a virtuous fortitude, and by a profession of piety towards the 
 one and only true and supreme God ; all this was no less studiously cultivated 
 by them than by us." p. 26. 
 
 Moses, we are told by Paul, esteemed "the reproach of [for] Christ 
 greater riches than the treasures of Egypt/' Moses, then knew 
 something of Christ and of his doctrine, as did, no doubt, some of 
 his people. 
 
 THE PLATES. 
 
 Mr. S. next undertakes to make a conflict between the Book of 
 Mormon and the testimony of Joseph, in regard to the disposal of 
 the plates after Joseph translated them. The Book of Mormon says 
 concerning Joseph : 
 
 "Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, 
 and obtained the witness which I have promised thee, then shalt thou seal up 
 the book again and hide it up unto me. 11 
 
 Now, Mr. S. says that it is claimed by Mr. John Taylor that the 
 plates "when he [Joseph] got through translating, they were deliv- 
 ered again to the angel." "So [says Mr. S.], he did not hide up 
 the plates, as stated in the Book of Mormon." The Book of Mor- 
 mon does not state, nor even intimate, the manner in which Joseph 
 was to "hide up" the plates. There are very many ways in which 
 we may "hide up" plates, or other things, without putting them 
 into the ground as is urged by Mr. S. 
 
 To hide up anything is to conceal it, to secure it, or screen it 
 from public observation. This was certainly done when the plates 
 were put into the hands of the angel. 
 
 THE THREE DISCIPLES. 
 
 Mr. S. objects that Jesus is made to say to three of his disciples: 
 
 "Ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I come in my glory t 
 
24 The Divine Calling of 
 
 ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, from mortality to immortality. 1 ' 
 Nephil3:3. 
 
 And that: 
 
 u ln the next paragraph it is added, 'whether they were mortal or immortal, 
 from the day of their transfiguration I know not. 1 * * * Nephi says he did not 
 know whether they were mortal or immortal equivalent to saying that he did 
 not know whether Christ lied or told the truth." 
 
 It is not infrequent that people, even disciples of Christ, are told 
 that which they do not fully understand when told. Jesus told his 
 disciples in Judea to go and "preach the gospel to every creature; 7 ' 
 yet it required no less than a miracle, and another command, to 
 make Peter Jcnow, fully, the nature and scope of his mission, (Acts 
 10 : 19-35). Jesus foretold the facts of his death and resurrection, 
 yet his disciples did not intelligently believe him on this point, till 
 after his resurrection and appearance unto them. 
 
 Mr. S., who professes to be a disciple of Christ, does not believe 
 in a pre-millennial kingdom, yet Christ plainly teaches it in Matthew 
 25:1; 13:47-49, and elsewhere. Mr. S. also believes that 
 the Adventists are the "wise virgins' 1 of Matthew 25 : 4, and that 
 they, since A.D. 1833, have been sounding the midnight cry; where- 
 as Christ says the midnight cry comes to [not from] the wise, as well 
 as to the foolish virgins, and that it finds them asleep, or slumber- 
 ing. Mr. S. believes also that while they have been sounding the 
 midnight cry, for the past forty or more years, Christ, "the bride- 
 groom tarried;" whereas Christ says, that after the midnight cry is 
 made there is no tarrying, and, that so sudden would be the coming 
 of the bridegroom, that the foolish virgins would not have time to 
 get the needed oil to fill their lamps. Now, because Mr. S. and 
 his co-religionists believe contrary to what Christ says, or because 
 they at least fail to believe what he does say, would it not be indeli- 
 cate, not to say unchristian-like, for us to charge that their want of 
 intelligent belief is "equivalent to saying they did not know whether 
 Christ lied or told the truth?" We think so. 
 
 PEOPLE OF ZARAHEMLA. 
 
 Here another terrible fault is conjured up. He says : 
 
 u The first chapter of the Book of Omni represents Mosiah as going from the 
 land of Nephi to Zarahemla, about three hundred years after Nephi reached 
 America; 'and they discovered a people who were called the people of 
 Zarahemla. Now there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; 
 and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly because the Lord had sent the 
 people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 25 
 
 Jews.' In the next paragraph we are told, [says Mr. S.], their language had 
 become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they de- 
 nied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah could 
 understand them, Yet, [says Mr. S.], the same paragraph tells us that they 
 came out of Jerusalem at the time Zedekiah was taken to Babylon about three 
 hundred years previously. At this time they rejoiced that the Lord had sent 
 Mosiah, and yet did not believe that there was a Lord in existence. Glad of 
 the records, yet could not understand each other's language their language 
 having been so corrupted in a little over three hundred years." 
 
 A more shameful effort at garbling texts is seldom, if ever, seen 
 than this. It would put the most unblushing infidel critic to shame. 
 Amaleki records the fact, that Mosiah, being warned of God, fled 
 out of the land of Nephi, and went to the land of Zarahemla, both 
 he and others who accompanied him. 
 
 "And they discovered a people who were called the people of Zarahemla. 
 Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; and also 
 Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of 
 Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained a record of the Jews. 1 ' 
 
 This u great rejoicing" took place evidently, not when the people 
 were first discovered by Mosiah and his company, but when the 
 people of Zarahemla became acquainted thoroughly with the new 
 immigrants, their doctrines and their tidings, as we shall further 
 see : 
 
 "Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zara- 
 hemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was 
 carried away into Babylon. * * * And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, 
 they had become exceeding numerous. Nevertheless, they had many wars 
 and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time r and 
 their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with 
 them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people 
 of Mosiah, could understand them. But it came to pass that Mosiah caused 
 that they should be taught in his language. n 
 
 There is nothing contradictory in this brief narrative; neither 
 anything impossible or incredible. Amaleki first states the fact of 
 the discovery of Zarahemla and his people, and then states, as one 
 of the results, that there was "great rejoicing." But he does not 
 intimate that this rejoicing took place immediately upon the dis- 
 covery, but after the people of Zarahemla could understand Mosiah 
 and his people, and had been instructed by them. Furthermore, it 
 was at the time of their discovery, and also before it, that the peo- 
 ple of Zarahemla denied the being of their Creator; and at that 
 time it was that "the people of Mosiah" could not understand them. 
 
 Mr. S. argues that it is incredible that these two peoples, having 
 
26 The Divine Calling of 
 
 a common origin, coming from the same country about three hun- 
 dred years before, could have so corrupted their language as not to 
 understand each other. If Mr. S. was instructed in philology, or 
 was very observant of current facts, he would know that there was 
 nothing improbable in it; especially when we consider that they of 
 Zarahemla "brought no records with them." Language changes 
 constantly among all nations, and among some far more rapidly than 
 with others; and that, too, where they have an extensive literature 
 or "records." It would be next to impossible for the English 
 speaking nations of to-day to understand the English of but a few 
 hundred years ago. So great have been the changes of language in 
 England, alone, that people from one shire cannot well understand 
 those of another. The languages of men, like their forms of religion, 
 are subject to rapid and extensive change. Max Muller. M. A., 
 Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, England, a competent au- 
 thority says : 
 
 "The meaning of words changes imperceptibly and irresistibly. Even where 
 there is a literature, and a printed literature, like that of modern Europe, four or 
 five centuries work such a change that few even of the most learned divines in 
 England would find it easy to read and to understand accurately a theological 
 treatise written in England four hundred years ago. The same happened, and 
 happened to a far greater extent, in ancient languages. Xor was the sacred 
 character, attributed to certain writings, any safeguard." Chips From a German 
 Workshop, p. 130. 
 
 These facts amount to conclusive proof in favor of what is said in 
 regard to the language of the people of Zarahemla having become 
 so corrupted, as stated by ximaleki. 
 
 PLATES OF ETHER, 
 
 Mr. S., in the following, undertakes to show that there are very 
 damaging contradictious in the Book of Mormon in its statements 
 concerning the plates written and hid up by Ether. Now it should 
 be borne in mind that one class of these statements is prophetic, 
 fortelling what should occur with the plates, another, giving com- 
 mands touching their disposal; and, lastly, the purely historical 
 account of their origin, transmission, and final disposition. Whilst 
 the first claims to be fully inspired, the latter makes no such claim. 
 Prophecy and history are two quite different things. The one 
 claims absolute divine perfection, in its sense, its import, and in all 
 its facts; while history Bible history Scripture history seldom 
 makes such claim. Scripture history claims to be essentially true 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 27 
 
 in its statements, but it does not usually claim to have been written 
 with such full measure of the Holy Spirit as to secure it against 
 verbal errors, and even errors in some of its minor and unimport- 
 ant facts. 
 
 DEFECTS IN SCRIPTURE HISTORY. 
 
 When we reflect one moment upon the discrepancies omissions 
 and contradictions between the Books of the Chronicles and the 
 Books of the Kings, between the four several gospels, and between 
 the four gospels and the Acts; also between the Acts and the Old 
 Testament history, we see the folly of claiming for the writers of 
 those books what they never claim for themselves, i. e ., full and 
 absolute inspiration. 
 
 As to prophecy, holy men and women speak as they are "moved 
 upon by the Holy Ghost;" but history is a narration of matters as 
 the writers know them, understand them, and believe them. Hence 
 Luke (1 : 13), thought it good to write what he knew, and believed, 
 and had a "perfect understanding of," as it had been delivered to 
 him by those who "from the beginning were eye-witnesses and minis- 
 ters of the word. Luke did not claim to write by direct revelation 
 from God to himself, but simply what he had learned from persons 
 who were, as he believed, competent witnesses. Luke omits many 
 facts found in the three other gospels, but these omissions do not 
 invalidate anything he may have written, and no one but a quib- 
 bling critic would argue as much. The evangelists differ widely in 
 regard to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, yet this differ- 
 ence arises mainly, if not entirely, from omissions some failing to 
 write just the same things that were written by others. In the 
 Acts three different accounts are given of the conversion of Saul, 
 (9 : 3-20; 22 : 6-16; 26 : 12-18). In these there is considerable 
 discrepancy, and some direct contradiction. This could not occur if 
 all Scripture history was fully and perfectly inspired of God. Again 
 Paul, that faithful, devoted servant of Christ, takes occasion to in- 
 form us that some of his writings were not indited under the in- 
 spiration of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 7 : 6, 12, 25, 40; 2 Cor. 8 : 
 8: 11 : 17, &c.) 
 
 Now, inasmuch as Bible historians did not always profess to 
 write under the full inspiration of God's unerring Spirit, are we 
 justified in demanding of those who wrote Scripture history on this 
 continent, that their historical writings shall be so fully and perfectly 
 
28 The Divine Calling of 
 
 inspired of God, as to be absolutely full and complete, and without 
 error in letter, or defect in matter'/ We think not. Such a claim 
 by those versed well in Scripture matters exhibits unfairness, preju- 
 dice, or ignorance. But we do not admit the contradictions claimed 
 by Mr. S. We utterly deny them, except, possibly, in one point, 
 and that one of no essential historical value. 
 He says : 
 
 1. u Moroni says the plates found by the people of Limhi were kept by king 
 Benjamin, that the world should not see them ; but the Book of Mosiah says 
 that the people of Limhi did not find the plates till after king Benjamin 
 was dead. 
 
 2. "Moroni testifies that they were not to be translated till after Christ wag 
 'lifted up upon the cross;' but the book of Mosiah informs us that they were 
 translated by king Mosiah, 'and caused to be written,' even hundreds of years 
 before the crucifixion ; and yet Moroni pretends to translate them again after 
 the cross. 
 
 3. u Moroni informs us that the stone interpreters of the brother of Jared 
 were sealed up with the plates ; but the book of Mosiah makes no mention of 
 finding stones with the plates, though Amrnon talks to Limhi about stone inter- 
 preters possessed by Mosiah off in a distant land. What became of these scal- 
 ed interpreters? 
 
 4. 4t Moroni tells us that Jared's brother's stone interpreters were sealed up 
 with the plates that Limhi's people found, for the express purpose of enabling 
 the finders to translate them ; yet, according to the book of Mosiah, the finders 
 could not translate them, not finding with the plates anything but swords and 
 breast-plates ; and finally, Ammon tells king Limhi that Mosiah 'hath where- 
 with he can translate,' called interpreters ; and after a while the plates are car- 
 ried over to Mosiah in Zarahemla, arid Mosiah translates them with his own 
 interpreters 'set in two rims of a bow.' But what became of the interpreters 
 that were sealed up with those plates found by Limhi's people? 
 
 5. "Mosiah not only had interpreters before receiving the twenty-four plates 
 found by the people of Limhi, but he had previously exercised his gift of inter- 
 preting languages, and his uncle before him. also, by which Ammon knew that 
 he possessed this gift ; and an instance is given of its exercise in a book written 
 by Omni, before the book of Mosiah : 'And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, 
 there was a large stone brought unto him, with engravings on it ; and he did 
 interpret the engravings, by the gift and power of God.' So Mosiah did not 
 need the interpreters of Jared's brother ; but still the question continues to 
 come up, since they were sealed at God's bidding, what became of them ? 
 And, as Moroni claims to have had them, where did he get them ? 
 After Moroni represents God as saying to Jared's brother, 'These two stones 
 will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also' that is, with the plates 
 'wherefore I will cause in mine own due time that these stones shall magnify to 
 the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.' Moroni adds, 'After Christ 
 had truly showed himself unto his people, he commanded that they should be 
 made manifest. * * * Behold I have written upon these plates the very things 
 that the brother of Jared saw.' Again he adds, 'I am commanded that I should 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 29 
 
 hide them up again in the earth, * * * and he also hath commanded that I 
 should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the inter' 
 prefers.' Where did he get them, seeing they were not found when the people 
 of Limhi found the twenty-four plates, with which they were hid ? 
 
 6. "Mosiah's stone-interpreters, 'set in two rims of a bow, 1 which he possess- 
 ed previous to the finding of these twenty-four plates by the people of Limhi, 
 'were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to 
 generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages' (Mosiah, 12th chapter); 
 while the 'two stones 1 possessed by the brother of Jared were given to him by 
 the Lord after confounding the language at the tower, without any 'rims of a 
 bow. 1 But when Nephi came to America, he was very careful to tell us about 
 bringing Laban's sword, Lehi's compass, and the brass plates taken from Laban, 
 but not a word about these precious stone interpreters, which 'were prepared 
 from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation.' 
 Where did Mosiah get his interpreters, seeing they were not imported from 
 Jerusalem, and seeing preceding generations on this continent were unknown 
 to him till after he possessed those interpreters? Here is another puzzle, or 
 crooked story." 
 
 Precisely, Mr. S. As you have rendered it, it is a "puzzle;" 
 and as you have told it, it is a "crooked story/' It is a fair speci- 
 men of your work. Your garbled quotations, your unfair inferences, 
 and brazen misstatements, have perverted the facts and quite dis- 
 torted the entire account. 
 
 Allowing that, possibly, there is a mistake in the person's name 
 who is said to have kept the plates of Ether and the interpreters, 
 (Ether 1 : 11), a matter of no historical moment as affecting the 
 value of the record, (Moroni claims to be writing only a small 
 abridgment, Ether 1:1, and to write from memory, Ether 2:1, 
 and no intimation is given that he writes in a way to preclude 
 possibility of verbal errors, such as in names, etc.) allowing that it 
 should have been Mosiah, instead of Benjamin, your second state- 
 ment is quite untrue, viz, that Moroni said "they [the plates] were 
 not to be translated till after Christ was 'lifted up upon the cross/ " 
 It was not the plates of Ether, as a whole, but the remarkable things 
 seen and heard by the brother of Jared when in the presence of the 
 Lord upon the mount: 
 
 "And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount 
 from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen [in the 
 mount] ; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men, until after 
 that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did King Benja- 
 min keep them, that they should not come unto the ivorld, until after Christ 
 should shew himself unto his people." Ether 1: 11. 
 
 Your statement that, "Moroni pretends to translate them [the 
 
30 The Divine Calling of 
 
 plates] again after the cross/' is wholly without foundation. The 
 account states that he abridged what he found on the plates of 
 Ether; and he professed to give but a part only of what he there 
 found : 
 
 "I [Moroni] give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from 
 the tower down until they [the Jaredites] were destroyed. 11 Ether 1:1. See 
 also paragraph 9. 
 
 You next state that "the book of Mosiah makes no mention of 
 finding stones [interpreters] with the plates/' Suppose it does not, 
 does that omission prove that they were not with the plates? It 
 proves nothing of the kind. Matthew omits many things concern- 
 ing Jesus which John and others mention. These omissions by 
 Matthew disprove nothing written by John and others, nor do they 
 invalidate either account. Paul, in the description of his remark- 
 able conversion, as told to King Agrippa, (Acts, 26 : 12-19), omits 
 some important items from the account which himself gives of it at 
 another time before the Jews (Acts, 22 : 6-16). He omits to tell 
 King Agrippa the important fact, that he was blinded by "the glory 
 of that light," and that he was "led by the hand of them that were 
 with" him. He omits to tell how Ananias came and instructed him, 
 and said unto him, "Brother Saul, receive thy sight/' and how 
 Ananias commanded him, saying, "Arise, and be baptized, and 
 wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." All these, 
 and many more omissions are found in comparing the different 
 accounts of Paul's conversion, but these do not invalidate each other, 
 even though they are found in the same book, and written by one 
 and the same person. 
 
 The Book of Mosiah is simply silent upon the point as to whether 
 : the two stones" given to Jared's brother were found by the people 
 of Limhi with the twenty-four gold plates of Ether, or not; yet it 
 is implied, from Mosiah 12 : 3, that they were with the plates when 
 found. For it is said : 
 
 11 And now he [Mosiah] translated them by the means of those two stones 
 which were fastened into the two rims of a bow." 
 
 This is the account that Mormon, the father of Moroni, gives. 
 He is the one who translated and greatly abridged the records 
 handed down to him; and he says: "I cannot write the hundredth 
 part of the things of my people." Words of Mormon 1:2. It is 
 Mormon who says that Mosiah translated the plates found by the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. . 31 
 
 people of Limhi, by "means of those stones which were fastened 
 into the rims of a bow." 
 
 STONE INTERPRETERS. 
 
 Your next statement that "Ammon talks to Limhi about stone 
 interpreters possessed by Mosiah off in a distant land," is entirely 
 untrue. Ammon does not mention "stone interpreters." What he 
 said to Limhi, touching the matter of translation, reads as follows : 
 
 "Xow Ammon said imto him, I can assuredly tell thee, King, of a man that 
 can translate the records : for he has wherewith he can look, and translate alii 
 records that are of ancient date ; and this is a gift from God." 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 Now Mosiah the first, as we may call him, who was a great pro- 
 phet, and who lived some years before Mosiah the second, was pos- 
 sessed of the gift and means of interpretation. "He did interpret 
 the engravings [found upon 'a large stone'] by the gift and power 
 of God." Omni 1:9. To interpret is to translate, to unfold, to 
 explain, or reveal, to make known what before was hidden or mys- 
 terious. That this means was handed down with the records to 
 Benjamin, and then to his son Mosiah, is highly probable, if not 
 absolutely certain; for we read that "the sacred things," which in- 
 cluded "the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass," 
 [containing the five books of Moses, the records of the Jews down 
 to the first of Zedekiah, also the prophecies of the prophets down to 
 and including much of the prophecies of Jeremiah] (d). "And 
 also the plates of Nephi, and also the sword of Laban, and the ball 
 or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was 
 prepared by the hand of the Lord, that they thereby might be led, 
 even according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto 
 him"(e), were to be "handed down from one generation to another, 
 or from one prophet to another" (/). 
 
 This may serve to explain why we find Mosiah the first (#), Mo- 
 siah the second (7i), and Ameliki(i), all conversant with the fact, 
 and possessing the means of interpreting languages. For it is cer- 
 tain that the wonderful "directors" given to Lehi, and "handed 
 down from one prophet to another," was an important means of 
 revelation and divine instruction to those prophets. In describing 
 
 (d) I Nephi 1 r 46. (e) Meeiah 1 : 3, (/) 1 Nephi 5 : 47. (g) Omiii 1 r 9. 
 (7i) Mosiah- 1 r3. (i) Omni 1 :12. 
 
32 The Divine Calling of 
 
 their importance and utility, also the manner in which instruction, 
 guidance and revelation were obtained by them, Nephi says : 
 
 "And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to 
 be read, which did give us understanding concerning the way of the Lord ; and 
 it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and dili- 
 gence we gave unto it." 1 Nephi 5 :12. 
 
 Here is a means of revelation given to Lehi, and handed down 
 from one prophet to another, reaching Mosiah the second, by which 
 we see that he had a means of interpretation besides the "two 
 stones" mentioned in connection with the plates of Ether. Of the 
 character of these "directors" we further learn by Alma's instruc- 
 tion to his son Helaman: '-And now, my son, these directors were 
 prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, 
 saying, I will bring forth out of darkness unto light, all their secret 
 works, and their abominations." Thus we see again that they were 
 a means of revelation, so that, as Ammon said, Mosiah had "where- 
 with he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; 
 and it is a gift of God." 
 
 "INTERPRETERS." "TWO STONES." 
 
 But, further, it is not impossible that, in the providence of God, 
 the very "two stones" given to the brother of Jared came into the 
 possession of Mosiah the first, and so passed down to Mosiah the 
 second; and that he had them prior to the time of his receiving 
 the twenty-four plates of Ether. Coriantumr, the last of the Ja- 
 redites, was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, and "he dwelt 
 with them for the space of nine moons." Omni 1 : 10. By this 
 we learn that some knowledge of the Jaredites was had by the peo- 
 ple of Zarahemla. We further learn that something of the history 
 of the Jaredites was obtained from "a large stone," the "engrav- 
 ings" on which were interpreted by Mosiah the first. par. 9. Here 
 are channels through which much was learned by them of Zara- 
 "hemla, and finally by them of Nephi in regard to the Jaredites. 
 And might it not be that "the two stones" given to Jared's brother 
 found their way through the Zarahemlaites to Mosiah the first, and 
 so to Mosiah the second? We see nothing improbable in this; 
 certainly nothing impossible. 
 
 "INTERPRETERS" SEALED UP. 
 
 You next state that "Moroni tells us that Jared's brother's stone 
 interpreters were sealed up with the plates that Limhi's people 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 found, for the express purpose of enabling the finders to translate 
 them." This statement is not true. The nearest to it is a saying; 
 of Moroni concerning the Lord's instructing the brother of Jaredi 
 as follows : 
 
 "The language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will* 
 cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men r 
 these things which ye shall write." Ether 1: 10. 
 
 Your next statement that "the finders [meaning, probably, the 
 people of Limhi] could not translate them, not finding with the* 
 plates any thing but swords and breast-plates," is wholly unwar- 
 ranted. They may have found many things which they failed to 
 mention. As we have already seen, important items may be omitted* 
 in an account without vitiating that account. 
 
 Luke, in giving his account of the sermon on the mount, omits* 
 many important items in that sermon, when we compare it with 
 Matthew. What folly it would be to say that Jesus really taught 
 at that time only what Luke mentions! Also, Luke omits a part of 
 the Lord's prayer. Matthew fails to mention the fact, time, and' 
 place of the ascension of Christ. Mark omits to mention the earth- 
 quake which occurred at the resurrection. Matthew, Luke, and* 
 John, omit to mention the "young man, sitting on the right side,, 
 [in the sepulchre], clothed in a white garment." Mark 16 : 5: 
 And all but John fail to mention the "two angels in white, sitting; 
 the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of 
 Jesus had lain." Now these omissions are just as important and 
 just as damaging, as is that in regard to the stone interpreters. All 
 you can say in truth is that Mosiah does not mention, directly, that 
 the stone interpreters were found by the people of Limhi with the 
 twenty-four plates of Ether. To say more than this is unwarranta- 
 ble and unfair. 
 
 MR. S. PERVERTS HISTORY. 
 
 We pass by your fifth paragraph, as we have already answered 
 and refuted what you there say. However, the latter part of that 
 paragraph, where you say again that the interpreters "were not 
 found when the people of Limhi found the twenty-four plates, with 
 which they were hid," is so like your former self, that we will re- 
 mind you that your statement is naked assumption. You, with 
 characteristic effrontery, make the text state that which is not there. 
 The text neither states, nor implies, that the interpreters were not 
 found with the plates. 
 
34 The Divine Calling of 
 
 MOSIAH'S STONE INTERPRETERS. 
 / 
 
 Tou assume, as usual, that "Mosiah's stone interpreters," "set in 
 'two rims of a bow," which you say he possessed previously to the 
 ^finding of these twenty-four plates by the people of Limhi, ivere not 
 4ke o)i(> given to the brother of Jared. This we have before shown 
 is utterly groundless, as the probabilities are that they were the 
 "very ones given to the brother of Jared, and were either found with 
 the plates by the people of Limhi, or came down to Mosiah, the 
 second, and his predecessors, by way of the Zarahemlaites; for the 
 Zarahemlaites knew of the history of the Jaredites through Co- 
 riantumr, the last Jaredite king, as also through their writings on 
 .stone, as we have already seen. 
 
 r jbe "beginning" mentioned, is most probably the beginning of 
 'the Jaredite nation. 
 
 INTERPRETERS, HOW OBTAINED. 
 
 As to your question : 
 
 ^."Where did Mosiali get his interpreters, seeing they were not imported out 
 of Jerusalem, and seeing that preceding generations on this continent were 
 .unknown to him till after he possessed the interpreters?" 
 
 We reply, first, he had two ways of obtaining the interpreters 
 given to Jared's brother, as we have already seen; and, in the next 
 place, it is possible he used the "directors" as interpreters, for we 
 have seen that they were a prominent and efficient means of divine 
 revelation. And as to your assumption that "preceding generations 
 on this continent were unknown to him [Mosiah] till after he 
 possessed these interpreters/' (namely, those deposited with the plates 
 found by the people of Limhi), we reply that it is simply false to 
 the record, and you owjlit to know it. For, as we have seen before, 
 the knowledge concerning the Jaredites came by the way of Cori- 
 -antumr, the last Jaredite king, who lived for a time with the 
 'Zarahemlaites, who finally became identified with the Nephites; 
 2md, likewise, by means of the history translated by Mosiah, the first, 
 from that "large stone." 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 35 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 THE INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Mr. S. devotes a large proportion of his second chapter to an 
 endeavor to make a very marked contradiction between the Book 
 of Mormon and the Inspired Translation of the Bible, in the teach- 
 ings of Christ. He urges what is not true, that the Book of Mor- 
 mon agrees precisely with our common version of the Bible, in 
 respect to the teachings of Jesus; and he then argues that if the 
 Book of Mormon and the Inspired Translation were both true, and 
 divinely inspired, they would exactly agree in language and in fact. 
 
 Now it happens that in the Book of Mormon there are many 
 things taught by Christ which are not taught in the New Testament 
 at all. In the next place sentiments taught by our Savior in the 
 New Testament are found in the Book of Mormon clothed in quite 
 different language. For instance : 
 
 "Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the king- 
 dom of heaven. * * * * And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost" Nephi 5 : 9. 
 
 The words in italics are not found in the New Testament of the 
 common version, but in both the Book of Mormon and the Inspired 
 Translation. Again; in the Book of Mormon it is written: 
 
 "Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also ivritten 
 before you, that thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger 
 of the judgment of God." Nephi 5: 10. 
 
 Again : 
 
 "Therefore, if ye shatt come unto me-, or shall desire to come unto me, and 
 rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, go thy way unto thy 
 brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with 
 full purpose of heart, and I will receive you." Ibid. 
 
 As before, the words in italics are not found in the common ver- 
 sion, nor does the text agree exactly with the Inspired Translation. 
 Now these quotations, with scores of others, in which there are 
 
36 The Divine Calling of 
 
 striking verbal differences between the Book of Mormon and the 
 common version in regard to the teachings of Christ, show con- 
 clusively that Joseph Smith did not copy from the common version, 
 as Mr. S. boldly and impudently asserts. He says: "The fact is, 
 when preparing the Book of Mormon our version was freely used, 
 with all its defects." The reader can judge from the above how 
 much of truth there is in this statement. 
 
 The Inspired Translation does not profess to be a translation of 
 or from the Book of Mormon, but only to be a translation, in part, 
 of the Bible; therefore we may not look for verbal agreement even 
 where the same principles and sentiments are taught. In many 
 instances in the Book of Mormon texts, professedly from Moses and 
 the prophets, are found to differ, verbally, and sometimes in senti- 
 ment, widely, from the common version. For instance: 
 
 "Hearken and hear this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of 
 Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the name 
 of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth 
 nor in righteousness; nevertheless they call themselves of the holy city, but they 
 do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts: Yea, 
 the Lord of Hosts is his name. Belwld, I have declared the former things from 
 the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them. I 
 did show them suddenly, and I did it because I knew thou wert obstinate, and 
 thy neck was an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; and I have, even from the 
 beginning, declared to thee, before it came to pass I shewed them thee; and 
 shewed them for fear lest thou shouldst say, mine idol hath done them, and my 
 graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them. Thou hast seen 
 and heard Sill this; and will ye not declare them?'' 1 Xephi 6: 1; with Isa. 
 48: 1-6. 
 
 Again : 
 
 "The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jeru- 
 salem : And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the 
 Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be 
 exalted above the hills, and all nations shah* flow unto it, and many people ghall 
 go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
 house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk 
 in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord 
 from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke 
 many people ; and they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their 
 spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
 shall they learn war any more. house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in 
 the light of the Lord ; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his icicked 
 way*. 
 
 "Therefore, Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, be- 
 cause they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 37 
 
 Philistines, and they please "themselves in the children of strangers. Their land 
 also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures their 
 land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land 
 is also full of idols they worship the work of their own hands, that which 
 their own fingers have made : and the mean boweth not down, and the great 
 man humbleth not himself, therefore, forgive him not. 
 
 " ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear 
 of the Lord, and * * the glory of his majesty shall smite thee. And it shall 
 come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness 
 of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 
 For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations; yea, upon every 
 one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up; and 
 he shall be brought low." 2 Nephi 8: 4, 5, 6; with Isa. 2: 1-12. 
 
 The words in italics are wanting, or differ in connection, in the 
 common version, while the asterisks indicate that in those places in 
 the common version there is something more than in the Book of 
 Mormon. It will be seen on careful reading that the sense is materi- 
 ally better, and clearer, in the texts from the Book of Mor- 
 mon (y). 
 
 The extracts here given, and the texts cited, utterly disprove the 
 statement of Mr. S. that the common "version was freely used, by 
 Joseph, with all its defects/' when "preparing the Book of 
 Mormon/' 
 
 The thought that the illiterate young man, Joseph Smith, did 
 copy from the common version, making all these important changes 
 in the texts, and changes that greatly improve the texts, is quite 
 groundless and inconsistent. He did not copy from the common 
 version. He was not qualified, naturally, for making those impor- 
 tant changes. Nor will it do to say that he copied from Mr. Spaul- 
 ding's manuscript; for no intelligent Presbyterian minister would 
 dare change the text of the Bible, as it is everywhere changed in 
 the Book of Mormon. In its language, and in much of its subject mat- 
 ter, it agrees with neither the commen version nor the Book of 
 Mormon, in respect to the teachings of Christ. The Book of Mor- 
 mon does not claim to agree with either the Inspired Translation or 
 the common version. It claims to be a record given to another 
 people, under somewhat dissimilar circumstances, and having quite 
 different surroundings. If the Book of Mormon claimed that the 
 teachings of Jesus, as therein found, were identically the same as 
 that which he gave to his disciples in Judea, then we might expect 
 the Inspired Translation to agree with it, so far as facts and senti- 
 
 (j) Sae also 2 Nephi : 9, with Isa. 51 : 17-20, Ac. 
 
38 The Divine Calling of 
 
 merits are concerned; but not necessarily in regard to forms of lan- 
 guage, for the language of the two peoples was manifestly different 
 in some degree. 
 
 In translating the Book of Mormon it was evidently intended to 
 transfer, so far as practicable, the forms of speech peculiar to the 
 language in which it was found; while in the Inspired Translation 
 the apparent object seems to be, (1), to restore essential parts that 
 had been taken away, especially from the gospel, and, (2), to strike 
 out what had been added by uninspired men, and, (3), to give the 
 sense, rather than the form of speech, in those passages where the 
 meaning -was ambiguous and the sense obscure. Many of the forms 
 of speech peculiar to the Israelites of eighteen hundred years ago, 
 and well adapted to their modes of thought and expression, are quite 
 unsuited to the people of the nineteenth century, so great has been 
 the change in language. And it is not at all surprising, that in 
 correcting and translating the Scriptures by inspiration, the sense, 
 rather than the forms of the text should be given. 
 
 The Book of Mormon is a work quite distinct from the Inspired 
 Translation; and, while we may expect that there will be no con- 
 siderable differences between the two records, we may not expect to 
 find precisely the same sentiments, no more and no less, taught in 
 both of them; neither to find the same forms of speech even when 
 the same sentiments are taught by the same person. The same 
 truths may be and often are taught by the same person under dif- 
 ferent forms of language. Man, with prolific mind and facile tongue, 
 is not a mere machine that he should always give to the same 
 thought the same form of words, as Mr. S. would argue. 
 
 GRAMMAR. 
 
 Mr. S. next finds fault with the grammar of Joseph's Inspired 
 Translation, and quotes Rev. 1 : 3, as a specimen of it. This is a 
 specimen, not of "Joseph's grammar," but that of King James* 
 translators'. "The Holy Scriptures, translated and corrected by 
 the Spirit of Revelation, by Joseph Smith Jr., the Seer," was not 
 a translation of the entire text of the common version, but only a 
 translation of some parts of it, a "correction" of others, while many 
 parts of it were left untouched. Corrections were made by striking 
 from or adding to the text; as also by transferring the sense of 
 certain texts into more correct and suitable forms of words, but the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 39 
 
 text quoted by Mr. S. is one of that very numerous class left as found 
 in the text. 
 
 As for the matter of grammar, there is no little difference among 
 grammarians of to-day in regard to it; while there is a very striking 
 difference between those of the present and those of preceding times. 
 The translator^ of the "common version" were very learned men, 
 and, no doubt, good grammarians, for their times. We should not 
 judge them hastily by our standards, lest coming generations, 
 measuring us by theirs, pronounce us equally faulty. Grammar 
 changes with the education and tastes of the people. But Mr. S., 
 with characteristic assurance, tells us, that "Inspiration gives the- 
 language, as well as the thoughts." Hence he argues that Joseph's 
 defective grammar (according to his standard) is evidence that he 
 was not a prophet of God. If the logic of Mr. S. was valid, it would 
 prove that the Bible, being defective in its grammatical construction, 
 was not inspired, and that its inspiration would come and go accord- 
 ing to its grammatical or ungrammatical construction or translation. 
 This is worse than nonsense. 
 
 With the Germans, and other nations, it is a rule to put the noun 
 before the adjective, thus horse black; tree tall; woman beautiful; 
 but with the English speaking nations it is just the reverse black 
 horse; tall tree; beautiful woman. That usage which is a law 
 among the one people, is a violation of law with the others. If 
 inspiration is subject to the laws of grammar will Mr. S. kindly tell 
 us which class of laws, for they differ widely, as we see, among the 
 different nations. Are they those of ZENODOTUS of Ephesus ? or 
 ARISTOPHANES of Byzantium? or are they those of MURRAY and 
 KIRKHAM? or PINNEO and QUACKENBOSS ? Pray tell us, Mr. S.,. 
 for it is important to find the exact and only grammatical channel 
 through which inspiration may come to us! 
 
 We apprehend that God may inspire persons to speak and write 
 irrespective of men's notions as to what is or is not grammatical. 
 The chief value of any communication depends, not upon its strictly 
 grammatical qualities, but upon the quality and amount of intelli- 
 gence it conveys. The loftiest principles, and the grandest truths, 
 are often found in broken and unpolished sentences, even as the 
 purest gold, and the most precious gems, are found with the confused 
 quartz or the shifting sands. The sense of a sentence is the measure 
 of its worth; its structure is of secondary importance. As the style 
 
40 The Divine Calling of 
 
 of garment is to man, so is the form of language to sentiment it is 
 its clothing. 
 
 If Mr. S. persistently objects to the inspiration of a work on the 
 grounds of defective grammar, we propose that he enters upon a 
 criticism of the Old and New Testaments, which he professes to 
 Jove so dearly, and to believe so firmly, and then inform us as to 
 whether they are inspired records or not. As to inspiration giving 
 "the language, as well as the thoughts," it is true in part, and only 
 in part. 
 
 DEGREES OP INSPIRATION. 
 
 There are different degrees of inspiration, as one may readily see 
 on reading the Scriptures, unless they are blinded by prejudice or 
 be-fogged by the commentaries, creeds and catechisms of uninspired 
 men. That degree of inspiration which gives the prophetic word, 
 and the open vision, is greater than that which inspires a dream or 
 moves to write current history. That degree that enabled Jesus to 
 know what was in man, and to work his wondrous miracles, was far 
 greater than that which inspired the council of '-apostles and elders 
 at Jerusalem," (Acts 15 : 29), or that which moved Paul to write 
 the seventh chapter of First Corinthians. Paul says: "I think also 
 that I have the Spirit of God." The degree of the Spirit which he 
 then possessed was so small that there was no certainty that what 
 he wrote at that time was inspired of God at all. 
 
 If inspiration always "gives the language, as well as the thoughts," 
 why is there not an exact verbal agreement between the evangelists 
 when they describe the same events, or rehearse the same teachings ? 
 And why is not the language of James, and John, and Jude, as 
 precise and scholarly as that of Paul and Luke ? And why is there 
 as wide a difference between the style of language found in Ezekiel 
 and that of David, or Isaiah, or Solomon, as there is between the 
 terse sentences of Josephus, and the polished periods of Gibbon ? 
 The language of Habakkuk, and Job, and Nahum, and the Psalms 
 is lofty and elegant, while that of Daniel, Hosea and Malachi, is 
 plain, vigorous, and unpoetic in comparison. 
 
 Inspiration is: 
 
 u The conveying of certain extraordinary and supernatural notions or motions 
 into the soul; or it denotes any supernatural influence of G-od upon the mind of 
 a rational creature, whereby he is formed to any degree of intellectual improve- 
 .ment." 
 
Joseph Smith. Defended. 41 
 
 These are the judicious remarks of Dr. Buck, and their propriety, 
 we think, may not be questioned. He further aptly says in regard 
 to the various measures of inspiration : 
 
 "1. An inspiration of superintendency, in which God does so influence and 
 direct the mind of any person, as to keep him more secure from error in some 
 various and complex discourse, than he would have been merely by the use of 
 his natural faculties. 
 
 "2. Plenary superintendent inspiration, which excludes any mixture of error at 
 all from the performance so superintended. 
 
 "3. Inspiration of elevation, where the faculties act in a regular, and, as it 
 seems, in a common manner, yet are raised to an extraordinary degree, so that 
 the composure shall, upon the whole, have more of the true sublime, or pathetic, 
 than natural genius could have given. 
 
 U 4. Inspiration of suggestion, where the use of the faculties is superceded, and 
 God does, as it were, speak directly to the mind, making such discoveries to it 
 as it could not otherwise have obtained, and dictating the very words in which 
 such discoveries are to be communicated, if they are designed as a message to 
 others." 
 
 INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Mr. S. next undertakes to show a huge error in the promises made 
 in the "Book of Covenants relative to the Inspired Translation. He 
 argues that the promise, "My Scriptures shall be given as I have 
 appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety," means that all the 
 Scripture ever inspired of God was to be given to the Church in 
 the Inspired Translation. There is scarcely any occasion to reply 
 to so stupid a statement. The promise was: "My Scripture shall 
 be given as I have appointed;" and then comes the promise, "And 
 they shall be preserved in safety;" and then follows the advice: j 
 
 "And it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning them, and 
 not teach them until ye have received them in full." D. C. 42 : 15. 
 That is, the Church was not to teach those Scriptures which God 
 had "appointed," ordained, or decreed, to give to the Church, until 
 they had those "appointed" Scriptures "in full." It remained for 
 the Church to wait and see what Scriptures God had "appointed" 
 unto them, in what he should give in the Inspired Translation; for 
 it was the Inspired Translation that was spoken of. 
 
 SPIRITUAL CREATION. 
 
 The next point that Mr. S. urges against the Inspired Transla- 
 tion is, in that it says : 
 
 "For I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have>poken, spiritually, 
 before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, 
 had created aU the children of men, and not yet a man to till the ground, for in 
 heaven created I them, and there was not yet flesh upon the'earth, neither io. 
 
42 The Divine Calling of 
 
 the water, neither in the air; but I, the Lord God, spake, and there went up a 
 mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And, I the Lord 
 God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the 
 breath of life; and man became a living soul; the first flesh upon the earth, the 
 first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created, but spiritually were 
 they created and made, according to my word." Gen' 2: 5-9. 
 
 Here is the full text, underlined as we find it in the article of 
 Mr. S. He then quotes Gen. 6:52: 
 
 "And he called upon our father Adam, by his own voice, saying/I am God; 
 I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh" 
 
 Mr. S. thinks [this is contradicted, directly, by Paul, 1 Cor. 15 : 
 41-49, where he says: 
 
 u The first man Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a 
 quickening spirit. Howbeit that which was natural first, and not that which is 
 spiritual; but afterwards that which is spiritual; the first man is of the earth 
 earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. 11 
 
 Now, when the Lord says, "I made the world, and men before 
 they were in the flesh" it is easy to see that the creation of man 
 here spoken of, is not the one alluded to by Paul, when he says, 
 "The first man is of the earth, earthy." Paul clearly refers to the 
 creation of the earthly tabernacle, the fleshly body of man, while 
 Gen. 2 : 4, 5, 6, 9, and 6 : 52, as clearly relate to their spiritual 
 creation. Mr. S. would deny that the spirits of all intelligent be- 
 ings are, in any sense, pre-existent. Here is the main issue be- 
 tween him and the text quoted from Genesis. 
 
 Now the common version, with all the other versions that have 
 fallen under our notice, teaches that, '-In the day that the Lord God 
 made the earth and the heavens," he made "every plant of the field 
 before it icas in the earth^ and every herb of the field before it 
 grew." Gen. 2 : 4, 5. Now, inasmuch as the Lord did so much 
 for the vegetable world in its pre-existent state, is it at all surpris- 
 ing that he created and fashioned man's spirit before it took a taber- 
 nacle of flesh, and even before there was any kind of flesh, either in 
 the air, or in the water, or upon the earth ? We think not. 
 
 There are a great many texts that teach the pre-existence of 
 spirits, a doctrine very fatal to the theories so fondly entertained by 
 Mr. S. and his fellows. The Bible proclaims the Lord as "the God 
 of the spirits of all flesh." Num. 16:22; 27:16. And Paul 
 declares him to be "the father of spirits." Heb. 12 : 9. 
 
 Now, that the spirit of at least one man pre-existed, is, we think 
 quite evident; and if the spirit of one pre-existed, pray why not 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 all? The law governing one case clearly governs all, for God is no 
 respecter of persons. Of "the man Christ Jesus/' that his spirit, 
 as a conscious, active entity, did exist ages before he took an earthly 
 body, a fleshly tabernacle from the womb of Mary, is placed beyond 
 question by his own words, and by the words of prophets and 
 apostles. Hear him : 
 
 "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave- 
 the world, and go to the Father." John 16: 28. 
 
 And Jesus commends this belief in his pre-existence as an im- 
 portant element in the true faith, for he says : 
 
 "For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have* 
 believed that I came out from God." Verse 27. 
 
 Again he says: 
 
 "And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory 
 which I had with thee before the world was." John 17:5. 
 
 Again : 
 
 "The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to- 
 the world." John 6 : 33. 
 
 John testifies of him : 
 
 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word. 
 was God. * * * All things were made by him. * * * And the Word was 
 made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:1,3, 14. 
 
 Paul says: 
 
 "By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth v 
 visible and invisible. 1 ' Col. 1: 16. 
 
 And of his incarnation Paul says : 
 
 "When he [Christ] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering 
 thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me." Heb. 10: 5. 
 
 This "body" was evidently "prepared" of God in the womb of 
 the virgin Mary ; and into this "body" at its birth, the pre-existent, in- 
 telligent spirit of Christ entered, and accomplished the work assigned 
 of the Father for the redemption of man. Now Paul draws a parallel 
 between Christ, who came into the world to save man, and man whom 
 he came to save. He says: 
 
 "Forasmuch then as the children [whom he came to save] are partakers of 
 flesh and blood, he also likewise took part of the same; that through death he- 
 might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 3 : 14., 
 
 When he says that "the children are partakers of flesh and blood," 
 he says, in substance, that "the children" had an existence before- 
 
44 The Divine Calling of 
 
 they partook of "flesh and blood;" and especially when he says u he 
 also, likewise [in like manner] took part of the same" [flesh and 
 blood] ; thus putting Christ and the children on the same grounds. 
 This places the matter beyond refutation, that the spirits of all men, 
 as well as the spirit of Christ pre-existed. 
 
 With this idea in the mind, we can easily reconcile and under- 
 stand many passages in both Testaments, which otherwise would 
 remain profoundly mysterious. Such, for instance, as the following : 
 
 "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" 
 John 9: 2. 
 
 This question pre-supposes a conscious, responsible pre-existence; 
 and Christ's disciples thought, no doubt, that the spirits of all men ex- 
 isted in a state intellectual consciousness and moral freedom, similar 
 to that of "the angels which kept not their first estate," mentioned 
 by Jude, (verse 6), and "the angels that sinned," mentioned by 
 Peter. (2 Pet. 2:4), and the devil, who "abode not in the truth," 
 mentioned by our Savior, (John 8 : 44). Again : 
 
 "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou 
 hast understanding. * * * "When the morning stars sang together, and all the 
 sons of G-od shouted for joy." Job 38: 4, 7. 
 
 Christ was one of the morning stars, (Rev. 22:16), and is it im- 
 probable that those who are ministers of God with him were also 
 morning stars? As for "the sons of God," Jesus was one, and Adam 
 was another. Luke 3 : 38. This being the case, it is conclusive 
 that Adam's children, too, those whom Christ came to save and 
 bless, were likewise, in their pre-existent state, "sons of God." Paul 
 said to the Athenians, "We are also his offspring." Acts 17 : 28. 
 The sons of God could have "shouted for joy" at the founding of 
 our earth only in a pre-existent state. So much for the pre-exist- 
 ence of the spirit of man; and yet but a small amount of the avail- 
 able proof has been adduced. 
 
 As to the pre-existence of the spirits of all flesh, one thing we 
 think is clear, and that is that the law of existence that appertains 
 to one class of spirits appertains to all. There certainly is nothing 
 in the Scriptures nor in philosophy against this idea, but, on the 
 contrary, very much to favor it. Of the condition of spirits in their 
 pre-existent state but little, comparatively, is said. However, the 
 doctrine of pre-existence is much more ancient than apostolic times, 
 and it was extensively taught in the first centuries of the Christian 
 era, as may be seen by consulting the early Christian Fathers. We 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 45 
 
 have seen on page nineteen, that Eusebius held to the pre-exist- 
 ence of Christ. To this we refer the reader. 
 
 Mr. S. attempts to make the Inspired Translation contradict itself 
 in regard to the creation, by confounding the two creations, spiritual 
 and physical, in one. This is a genuine Infidel trick, and Mr. S. 
 probably borrowed it frem that class of critics. The first chapter 
 in the Inspired Translation embraces an epitomized statement of the 
 creation, while the chapters following contain a recapitulation, and 
 more detailed account. The same thing is true of the common ver- 
 sion. Reading the account of the creation with .this view in the 
 mind, as one evidently should do, there is then not the least appear- 
 ance of contradiction. Here is a passage he uses with evident satis- 
 faction to prove a conflict: 
 
 "And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men, and, not yet a 
 man to till the ground." Gen. 2 : 6. 
 
 And then opposes to it the following: 
 
 u Let us make man in our own image." Gen. 1:27.' 
 
 Now Mr. S. knew when he wrote the statement, that the quotation 
 from Gen. 2 : 6:, was qualified and explained by its contexts, so as to 
 make rt relate to the creation of spirits, or the spiritual ereation, 
 for they read: 
 
 'Tor I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, 
 before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. * * * And I, the Lord 
 God, had created all the children of men, and not yet [at the time when he 
 created the spirits] a man to till the ground, for in heaven created I them, and 
 there was not yet [at the time the spirits were created] flesh upon the earth, 
 neither in the water, neither in the air." Gen. 2:5, 6. 
 
 Nothing can be plainer than that these texts relate to the creation 
 of pre-existent spirits before there was any kind of flesh on the 
 earth. At the eighth verse of the same chapter begins the account 
 of man's physical creation: 
 
 "And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed 
 into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul ; the first flesh 
 upon the earth, the first man also." 
 
 That this relates to man's physical creation is further apparent 
 from what follows in the next verse : 
 
 "Nevertheless, all tilings were before created, but spiritually'were they cre- 
 ated and made according to my word." Yerse 9.J 
 
 Mr. S. then charges that there is a conflict between, the account 
 (in. chapter 1 : 22-26) of the creation of the lower orders of animal 
 
46 The Divine Calling of 
 
 life, and the account of the creation of man which follows, (in verses 
 27-30), and the statement in chapter 2:8, where it says that man 
 ^ras the first flesh "upon the earth," as though it was a question 
 only and merely of time, whereas, it is clearly one of rank, position, 
 and dignity. Man was the "first flesh upon the earth," from the 
 fact that God placed them in the first rank in dominion, and made 
 them first in physical excellence, and gave them dominion over all 
 the earth, and over every living thing. Gen. 1 : 28-31. 
 
 JOSEPH, HIS TWO FATHERS. 
 
 Hr. S. next avers that 
 
 "Joseph's inspired version clashes with itself and with reason, by giving two 
 natural fathers to Joseph, the husband of Mary, * * * in rendering Matt. 1 : 4, 
 4 Jacob begat Joseph,' and in translating Luke 3 : 30, Joseph Vas from the loina 
 of Heli.' Certainly he could not have been begotten by Jacob, and also come 
 from the loins of Heli." 
 
 We think that he could, Mr. S., just as well as that Jesus could 
 come of the "loins" of David, and at the same time be begotten by 
 the Holy Ghost. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, when under the 
 inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declared^ that God had sworn unto 
 David 
 
 "That of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ 
 to sit on his throne." Acts 2: 30. 
 
 Now, Joseph was only the putative father of Jesus, and in this 
 manner did Jesus descend from the loins of David. It was a cus- 
 tom of the ancient Hebrews, (Gen. 38 : 8), and a laic under the 
 Mosaic polity, for a man to marry his brother's widow and raise up 
 seed unto his brother. And it was especially provided 
 
 "That the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his broth- 
 er which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel." Deut. 25: 6. 
 
 Now Joseph, the husband of Mary, was the natural son of Jacob, 
 but, under the law we have cited, he was reckoned from "the loins" 
 of Heli ; for Joseph's mother was first married to Heli, and, as he 
 died without seed, Jacob took her to wife and their first born was 
 Joseph, who by the lav: was reckoned as Heli's son, and as being 
 "from the loins of Heli." It will be seen on comparing Matt. 1 : 
 15 with Luke 3 : 23, 24, that Matthan (Matthat, Greek) was the 
 father of both Jacob and Heli, and that Heli was not the father of 
 Mary, as Mr. S. asserts; for the lineage is reckoned in the male line 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 47 
 
 and not in the female, as claimed by Mr. S. Of this matter Euse- 
 bius, a competent authority, says: 
 
 "Thus, then, wo shall find the two [Jacob and Heli] of different families, 
 [Jacob, through Matthan, his natural father, is of the family of Solomon; while 
 Heli, his brother, had the same mother, his father under the law being Matthan, 
 while his natural father was Melchi, who was of the family of Nathan], Jacob 
 and Heli, brothers by the same mother. Of these, the one, Jacob, on the death 
 of his brother, marrying his widow, became the father of a third, viz., Joseph; 
 his son both by nature and calculation. Wherefore it is written, Jacob begat 
 Joseph. But according to the law he was the son of Heli; for Jacob being his 
 brother raised up seed to him. "Wherefore, the genealogy graced also through 
 him, will not be rendered void." Eccl. Hist. 33. 
 
 The Son of God was "made of a woman, made under the law," 
 (Gal. 4:4); yet his genealogy, as provided for by the law, and as 
 we have seen in the history of the case, is traced in the male line, 
 through his supposed father, back through "the loins of David;" so, 
 under that same law, and according to the same custom, is Joseph 
 reckoned "of the loins of Heli. Mr. S. has the same grounds for 
 saying that Peter's statement makes David the natural progenitor 
 of Jesus, that he has for saying that Joseph Smith's translation 
 makes Heli the natural father of Joseph. The cases are parallel. 
 Jesus was not the natural son of David, though he was reckoned, 
 under the law governing genealogies, as proceeding from his "loins;" 
 and Joseph was not the natural son of Heli, yet under the law he 
 was reckoned as descending from his "loins." 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 Mr. S. next finds fault with the Inspired Translation because it 
 introduces baptism in the days of Adam. It is not so much with 
 the fact of baptism as it is for using the term baptism, which he 
 tells us is "a Greek word with an English termination." Baptism 
 is not a Greek word. It is purely an English word, though derived 
 from the Greek, as are thousands of other English words. Baptism 
 is the name of a religious ceremony; and, so far as its mode is con- 
 cerned, is performed by immersion. Immersion is not always bap- 
 tism; for a person may be immersed in a variety of ways, as by ac- 
 cident, or force, without the least reference to religion. Now, in 
 translating a word from the original that signified the religious cer- 
 emony of baptism, why not call it baptism as Mr. Smith has done? 
 The duty of a translator is to transfer the sense and import of words 
 found in one language into words having the same sense and import 
 in another language. This Mr. Smith has done. 
 
48 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Mr. S. next says : 
 
 "If Adam's baptism, as recorded by Joseph, was a true pattern, all subse- 
 quent baptisms are faulty : 'Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught 
 away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was 
 laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water; and thus he was 
 baptized.' (Gen. 6:67). Why, [says Mr. S.] was not baptism subsequently 
 administered on the same principle, if this was really God's work?" 
 
 Simply, we reply, because there was no occasion for it, God hav- 
 ing, after the baptism of Adam, provided suitable administrators. 
 Will Mr. S. deny that God may, and often does, accomplish the 
 same ends in different ways? God bestowed the Holy Gho&t 
 "through laying oa of the apostles hands" in "the city of Samaria/' 
 (Acts 8 : 18), and then bestowed it upon Cornelius and his- house- 
 hold while they were listening to the discourse of Peter, (Acts 10 : 
 44). Christ's ministry usually traveled as men generally do, when 
 they went forth to preach, yet we read of an extraordinary case of 
 journeying wherein the Lord stepped out of his usual way of doing 
 things : 
 
 "The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no 
 more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Phi-lip was found at Azotus." 
 Acts 8:39,40. 
 
 A crafty critic might claim that Philip's ease was "a pattern," 
 and urge that all Christ's ministers, in all ages, should be 
 "caught away" by the Spirit, as- Philip was; and then we would 
 be equally as reasonable as Mr. S. There are ordinary methods 
 for caring the sick, for making bread, for raising fish, for making 
 oil, for feeding the hungry, and for making wine, yet tnis does 
 not preclude the Lord's accomplishing the same things in an 
 unusual manner. And when the Lord, in an extraordinary way, 
 performs any work, professed Bible believers are scarcely justified 
 in assuming that as "a pattern" for all coming time. 
 
 BAPTISM, OF ANCIENT DATE. 
 
 As for baptism being a very ancient rite, there is much evidence 
 to prove it. Baptism was clearly no new thing to the Jews, for 
 when John came preaching "the baptism of repentance for the re- 
 mission of sins," "all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem," 
 responded to the call, (Mark 1 : 4, 5); which they would not have 
 done if that distinguishing ordinance had been new and strange to 
 them, either in fact, or in the mode of its administration. Again, 
 the question addressed by the Priests and Levites to John : "Why 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 49 
 
 baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that 
 Prophet?' (Jno. 1:25), is conclusive that they understood well 
 concerning baptism, and that the ministration of 'Christ, Elias, and 
 "that Prophet," in the looked fir dispensation, would be eminently 
 distinguished by that ordinance. Anciently, when a Gentile was con- 
 verted to the Hebrew faith, he was baptized. Baptism was prac- 
 ticed to a great extent among the Pagan nations of the East, both 
 before and since the Christian era. Whence did this ancient prac- 
 tice, whether among Hebrews or Pagan nations, originate? Evi- 
 dently from the religious ceremony of baptism given of God to bis 
 people in the beginning. 
 
 The idea of the One God; of the virgin-born Redeemer: paradise ; 
 the fall of man; the temptation through the serpent; the cross and 
 its wondrous saving power; sacrificial offerings, and the atonement 
 for sin; the incarnation of the Creator; the crucifixion; the resur- 
 rection; the pre-existence and immortality of man's spirit; the 
 reign of the Holy One in peace and glory; preaching to the spirits 
 in prison; the New Jerusalem; the renewal of the earth, and the 
 final restitution, etc , etc , ideas held in part or in whole by many 
 of the ancient Pagan nations of the East, as also in part by the 
 ancient Peruvians and Mexicans are all referable to the one 
 source, viz., an early revelation given to God's people ; of which 
 these ideas, corrupted though they be, are the remaining traditions, 
 brought down from Adam and the antediluvian patriarchs to Noah; 
 and from Noah, through his posterity, to the Tower; and from the 
 Tower, at the confounding of languages, they were borne out with 
 the various streams of emigration to all the different parts of the 
 world. 
 
 These traditions and practices bear the unmistakable impress of 
 those -grand truths that distinguish original Christianity, as taught 
 by the prophets, and by Christ and his apostles; and which, as 
 taught in the Inspired Translation, the Book of Mormon, and the 
 Book of Doctrine and Covenants, were revealed of God to the first 
 patriarchs and prophets, from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to 
 Moses. 
 
 As the limpid and refreshing streams of the mountains, springing 
 from the bosom of eternal snow, go down and are defiled and dark- 
 ened by mingling with the turbid river of the valleys, sweeping on, 
 and on. to the great sea, so these wondrous, heaven-born truths, 
 given to man in the morn of time, and coming down through the 
 
50 The Divine Calling of 
 
 ages, have become obscured and polluted as they have been mingled 
 with the corrupting systems and creeds of men, till, at length, but 
 a dim shadow, a faint likeness, of their former character and excel- 
 lence remains. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. S. next attacks Joseph's account of the baptism of 0. Cow- 
 dery and himself, after their first ordination by the angel; also the 
 statement of the angel concerning < 'baptism by immersion for the re- 
 mission of sins." 
 
 BAPTISM, ITS MODE. 
 
 "If baptism is immersion, [says Mr. S.], then this angel really talks about 
 immersion by immersion. * * Such an angel ought to go to school before 
 discoursing on baptism.' 1 
 
 Baptism, as a Christian rite, a religious ceremony, (and that is 
 what the angel was talking about), is more than mere immersion, 
 as we have said before. Baptism, as that term has been used in the 
 true Christian Church, is a religious ordinance, and is designed both 
 for the remission of sins and as a means of initiation into the fold 
 and Church of Christ the family of God. To this agree both the 
 Scriptures and the primitive church history. Now, it was eminently 
 proper that the angel should explain both the object of baptism, and 
 the mode of administering the rite, especially when we consider that 
 Joseph and Oliver had been reared in the midst of a people who 
 held that baptism by sprinkling or pouring was valid. The angel, 
 like a true minister for Christ, addressed himself to the manifest 
 wants of the case, speaking to the understanding of the young men, 
 and making his instruction plain to their comprehension and con- 
 clusive to their judgment. If his manner had been mysterious, and 
 his instructions ambiguous, then there would have been good ground 
 for questioning his mission. A true teacher, whether angel or 
 otherwise, will suit his instruction to the needs, and to the under- 
 standing of those whom he addresses. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 51 
 
 BAPTISM FOR REMISSION OF SINS. 
 
 Mr. S. next objects : 
 
 "If baptism is 'for the remission of sins,' in the Mormon sense of the state- 
 ment, instead of the Bible sense, why need Joseph have been baptized, seeing 
 that his sins previously had been forgiven him?" 
 
 On similar grounds, Mr. S., that Cornelius and his household, 
 whom "God hath cleansed," (Acts 10 : 15), needed to be baptized. 
 Peter said : 
 
 "Forasmuch as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed 
 on. the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God? 11 Acts 
 11: 17. 
 
 "Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have 
 received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be bap- 
 tized in the name of the Lord, 11 Acts 10: 47, 48. 
 
 This case is directly in point, as showing that the Lord may for- 
 give an unbaptized person their sins, under extraordinary circum- 
 stances, and yet the person be a proper subject for future baptism. 
 Mr. S. further says : 
 
 "Here was a divinely inspired man engaged in translating ancient records, 
 and still a sinner, not having been baptized for the remission of sins, which 
 Implies, according to Mormon interpretation, the forgiveness of sins. 11 
 
 Mr. Smith, like Cornelius and his household, whose case we have 
 just cited, had been graciously "cleansed," or forgiven his sins, as 
 Joseph's record states; and for the matter of God's using him as an 
 instrument to do his work, and to promote his glory without previous 
 baptism, there is nothing either unreasonable or unscriptural in it. 
 Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, who was neither a Christian nor 
 friendly to the gospel, was moved of God to prophesy concerning the 
 death and mission of Christ, (Jno. 11 : 49-52); Balaam was used 
 of God as an instrument through whom to foretell the future history 
 of Israel, and the coming of Christ, (Num. chapters 22, 23, 24); 
 Pharaoh, (Gen. 41 : 1); Abimelech, (Gen. 20 : 3-7); Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, (Dan. 2); and others not identified with God's people, were 
 used of God in revealing his marvelous purposes and doings to man. 
 So also Joseph us, the Jewish general and historian, (Wars, B. 3, 
 ch. 8, sec. 9). With these precedents before us, it is not at all 
 strange to Bible believers that the Lord should call and use Joseph 
 in the divine work of either prophesying, baptizing, ordaining, or 
 translating records, prior to his baptism, in laying the foundation of 
 the Latter Day Work. 
 
52 The Divine Calling of 
 
 ORDINATION OF JOSEPH AND OLIVER. 
 
 Mr. S. professes to see something very unreasonable in Joseph 
 and Oliver mutually ordaining each other after having been ordained 
 by the angel. He says the angel "virtually repudiates his own act 
 of ordination by commanding them to ordain each other." We are 
 not aware of there being any Bible precedent by which to prove the 
 scripturalness of this procedure, yet there is an act of our Savior in 
 which the same principle is involved: 
 
 "And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou 
 wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched 
 him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 
 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself 
 to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unta 
 them." Matt. 8: 2-4. 
 
 Jesus did not "repudiate his own act/' by commanding the leper 
 to comply with the law provided for cleansing leprosy, (Lev. 13 
 3-10); nor did the angel repudiate Ms own act of ordination by 
 commanding Joseph and Oliver to comply with the law governing 
 ordinations. The command was highly proper, and in perfect har- 
 mony with the teachings and doings of Christ and the apostles, who 
 always paid respect to the law and order of God. Though the leper 
 was "immediately" cleansed by Jesus, yet he was commanded to 
 "offer the gift that Moses had commanded, for a testimony unto 
 them" (meaning, evidently, the priest and the people who chanced 
 to know his leprosy) ; so Joseph and Oliver, though ordained by the 
 angel, yet were commanded to ordain each other, upon vote of 
 the Saints, "for a testimony to them," and to all interested, and in 
 respect to the law and order of God. 
 
 SONS OF LEVI. 
 
 Again Mr. S. objects, that 
 
 "This same angel intimates that the sons of Levi are again to offer an offer- 
 ing unto the Lord, which would be a repudiation of Christ, the great anti-typical 
 sacrifice, by again introducing the shadow." 
 
 Their making in the future an offering unto the Lord would be 
 no more a repudiation of -Christ, than Christ's eating the passover, 
 in the future, in the kingdom of God, (Luke 22 : 16), would be a 
 repudiation of Christ himself. It is not improbable that in the 
 world to come, when Christ reigns as King of kings and Lord of 
 lords, many ceremonies will be performed, not as types pointing to 
 the future, but as memorials commemorative of the past, such as the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 53 
 
 passover once was, and such as the sacrament now is. On this 
 hypothesis we can explain and reconcile the prophetic visions of 
 Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 48: Zech. 14 : 16-21; Isa. 66 : 21-23, etc. 
 Ceremonies may be, and sometimes are, both typical and commem- 
 orative at the same time. Such was the passover. It pointed back 
 to that terrible night in Egypt when the Lord destroyed Egypt's 
 first-born and passed over faithful Israel, and also pointed forward 
 to the Lord Jesus, "our passover" lamb. 
 
 God has promised by Isaiah, that, in the final gathering of Israel 
 from all lands, and from the "isles of the sea," (Isa. 66 : 19, 20), he 
 will "take of them for priests and Levites." He has also prom- 
 ised that 
 
 "He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that 
 they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offer- 
 ing of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, 
 and as in former years." Mai. 3:3,4. 
 
 It would not be an easy task to prove that these promises were 
 conditional, or that they have been already fulfilled, yet some will 
 even undertake to do one, or both. The texts, with their contexts, 
 show that they are not conditional ; and further, that they remain 
 to be fulfilled in the future.] 
 
 JOHN, A PRIEST. ' 
 
 ^Mr. S. says: 
 
 !^"There is no proof that John was ever ordained a priest. This point needs 
 proof not conjecture. If he was not an officiating priest, how could he hold 
 the keys of the Aaronic priesthood?" 
 
 John was the only son of an officiating priest, (Luke 1 : 5), and 
 had a right to the priesthood of his father, (Lev. 7 : 35, 36; Mai. 
 2 : 5). Of the chief and most important duties of a priest, the Lord 
 says by Malachi, chapter 2:6, 7 : 
 
 "The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity "was not found in his lips; 
 he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 
 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at 
 his mouth; for he is tlie messenger of the Lord of hosts" 
 
 John filled this description of a priest in a very eminent degree. 
 And Jesus testifies of him : 
 
 "This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, 
 who shall prepare thy way before thee." Matt. 11: 10. 
 
 Besides this, while the Jews questioned the authority of Jesus, 
 they never questioned the priesthood authority of John, which 
 
54 The Divine Calling of 
 
 they evidently would have done if they had known that he did not 
 hold the priesthood. The masses recognized his priestly authority 
 to teach and reprove them, as maybe seen in the fact that "all Judea 
 and Jerusalem" answered to his call, and were baptized of him ID 
 the river Jordan. (Mark 1). The mere fact of the ordination of 
 Zacharias, or Caiaphas, or Annas, as well as John is not mentioned 
 in Scripture, but it would be folly to deny their ordination simply 
 because the Scriptures are silent upon that point. Such reasoning, 
 which is quite common to Mr. S., would deny that the apostles of 
 Christ were baptized, simply because no mention is made, in direct 
 terms, of that fact. The Jews, as well as all the Israel of God, well 
 knew that no person could minister in matters of religion without 
 proper priesthood authority. They, as well as Pagan worshippers, 
 had too much sound, practical sense to accept the religious ministra- 
 tions of any person unless they were satisfied that they held proper^ 
 lawful authority. 
 
 MORE TRUTH THAN FOUND IN THE BIBLE. 
 
 The reader will have noticed ere this, that Mr. S. argues upon 
 the assumption that all questions relative to matters of religion must 
 be settled by direct proofs from the Bible. Direct evidence from 
 that source is very excellent, but there are many superior proofs 
 that can only be inferred; and there are thousands of valid proofs 
 in matters of religion outside of the Bible. To claim that all the 
 facts and proofs peculiar to the Christian religion are embraced 
 within the Old and New Testaments is preposterous. If we had all 
 the teachings of Jesus, and all the teachings of his apostles, and all 
 the writings of the prophets, yet that, great as it would be, would 
 not compass all that relates to matters of religion in Christ Jesus. 
 The apostles had the "law and the prophets." And, without doubt, 
 they had many more sacred writings than what we now have in the 
 Old Testament, for both the Savior and the apostles quote script- 
 ures not found in the common version; and besides this, many 
 quotations are made by Josephus, professedly from the old prophets, 
 which are not now to be found in the Old Testament, as may be 
 seen by consulting Whist&n's Josephus, pp. 38, 66, 67, 126, 277, 
 etc., etc. They had also the teachings of Jesus, the thousandth 
 part of which we probably have not, (Jno. 21 : 25); and then they 
 had the constant revelations of the Comforter, (Jno. 14 : 26; 16 : 
 
Joseph Smith. Defended. 55 
 
 13, 14, 15). Now, if we had all this, still we would riot be justi- 
 fied in claiming that we had all the truths of God. 
 
 If we had the books of all the ancient prophets and seers men- 
 tioned in the Bible, some twenty or more in number; also all the 
 writings of the early Christian Church for the first three centuries, 
 especially the first epistle which Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 
 (1 Cor. 5 : 9); likewise "the epistle from Laodicea," (Col. 4 : 16); 
 the epistle of Jude on the common salvation, (Jude 4); and the 
 "many" gospels mentioned by Luke, (Luke 1 : 1), we, no doubt, 
 would be furnished with evidences on doctrine and history which 
 would be of use in solving questions of importance in respect to the 
 Christian religion. The idea that nothing relative to doctrine, cer- 
 emony, or practice, in church affairs can be true except there can 
 be found for it in the Bible a direct verbal proof, or an unquestion- 
 able precedent, is highly absurd. If the early Christians had been 
 subjected to such an iron rule the gospel would have been fettered, 
 and the Church manacled. All the truths of Christ's religion are 
 harmonious. There must be no conflict, no contradiction, no con- 
 fusion ; and there is none in the revelations of the past or the pres- 
 ent, and surely there will be none in the future. 
 
 PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Now, in respect to the subject of the priesthood, Mr. S. seems 
 painfully sensitive. It would seem that he cannot say enough 
 against the idea that there is an authorized priesthood in the Church 
 of Christ. He attacks it again and again, conscious that if the idea 
 proves true, his labors in the ministry, and that of many others, 
 would be found of no authority in Christ, and of no gospel power or 
 value. God is Judge of all, and we will have no controversy as to 
 whether Mr. S. holds authority from Christ or not; but we shall 
 attempt to prove that there is in the Church of Christ an authorized, 
 ordained priesthood, whatever may be the conclusions of Mr. S. and 
 his fellows. 
 
 NECESSITY FOR PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 That any religious system could exist without an authorized 
 priesthood to teach its doctrines, administer its rites, govern its 
 membership, and have the lawful and special watch-care of all its 
 interests, is an idea quite foreign to all ancient forms, whether 
 Christian, Jewish, or Pagan. The ancient Jewish religion, author- 
 ized of God, was of far less importance and value than the religion 
 
56 The Divine Calling of 
 
 of Christ, and yet it was of so much importance in the sight of God 
 that none were permitted to minister the laws and ceremonies ap- 
 pertaining to it but those who were legally and properly called to 
 those sacred offices. There was authoritative power given to those 
 ministers, and the power and grace of God attended their faithful 
 ministrations. There was also a specific order provided by which 
 ministerial authority was both delegated and transmitted, so that 
 there need be no mistake in regard to the matter of priesthood 
 authority. This was eminently wise and just, as order and good 
 government are indispensibly essential. Inasmuch, then, as the 
 religion of Christ, and the Church of Christ, are of far greater im- 
 portance, for time and eternity, than that of the Jews, why is it not 
 at least equally important, to have an authorized priesthood, and well 
 defined rules in regard to delegating and transmuting authority in 
 the Church of Chr 
 
 But some will say. i; Where are those rules? we do not discover 
 them in the New Testament." Very true, we do not discover them 
 there in their completeness, and there is good reason for it. The 
 New Testament contains but a portion of the writings given to the 
 primitive Church. When we consider how the early Christians 
 were persecuted and driven from place to place by Jew and Gentile, 
 we may wonder only that so much has been preserved to us. Bing- 
 ham, in his Antiquities of the Christian Church, when speaking of 
 the writings of the primitive church, s 
 
 "An exact and authentic catalogue of these first foundations, would be a 
 rery useful and entertaining thing; but at this distance of time, it is impossible 
 to gratify the world with any such curiosity, whatever pains should be taken 
 about it Yet there are some scattered remains and fragments to be collected 
 eut of the ancient writers.'* p. 57. 
 
 In view of the foregoing facte. we may not look to find in the 
 writings of the primitive Church anything beyond fragmentary evi- 
 dences in regard to the subject of priesthood, and to those we appeal. 
 
 WHAT IS PRIESTHOOD? 
 
 We may first enquire as to what the priesthood really is. Web- 
 ster gives a fair definition when he says it is u The order of men set 
 apart for sacred oflices; the order composed of priests." Buck in- 
 forms us that a priest is ;% a person set apart for the performance of 
 sacrifice, and otJf-r omces and ceremonies of religion" Both Buck 
 and Webster tell us that "the word priest is a contraction" of the 
 word . and :; of the same import with Et<1?r" Smith, in 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 57 
 
 his Dictionary of the Bible, says, "Its root-meaning uncertain as far 
 as Hebrew itself is concerned, is referred by Gesenius to the idea of 
 prophecy." He further says that Saalschutz considers the primary 
 meaning of the word as equivalent to minister. 
 
 ORIGIN OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Of the origin of the priesthood Smith remarks: 
 
 "The idea t>f a priesthood connects itself, in all its forms, pure or corrupted, 
 with the consciousness, more or less distinct, of sin. Men feel that they have 
 broken a law. The power above them is holier than they are, and they dare 
 not approach it. They crave for the intervention of some one of whom they 
 can think as likely to be more acceptable than themselves. He must offer up 
 their prayers, thanksgivings, sacrifices. He becomes their representative 'in 
 things pertaining to God. 1 He may become also (though this does not always 
 follow) the representative of God to man. The functions of priest and prophet 
 may exist in the same man." 
 
 The foregoing may serve to place the subject properly in the mind 
 of the reader, and dispel any prejudice he may have against the 
 idea of a real, genuine priesthood in Christ's Church, and to forever 
 explode the doctrine held by some that a priest must necessarily 
 offer bloody sacrifices. 
 
 ALL CHRISTIANS NOT PRIESTS. 
 
 Now, Mr. S. claims that there was no priesthood in the primitive 
 Church, but that the entire body of Christians, old and young, male 
 and female, ministers and members, constituted the priesthood. To 
 prove this, he quotes 1 Pet. 2 : 9, Rev. 1 : 6, etc. Peter says, "But 
 ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." 
 
 Now this is clearly to be understood in a qualified and restricted 
 sense, evidently meaning that the Church as "a chosen generation," 
 and, as the people of God, possessed within their midst this "royal 
 priesthood." 
 
 A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS. 
 
 A passage precisely the parallel of that in Peter is found in Ex. 
 19 : 6; and its interpretation is furnished in the subsequent facts of 
 Jewish history, so that there can be no cavil as to what was intended 
 in the promise there made. It reads, "And ye [Israel] shall be unto 
 me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." Now this certainly 
 did not mean that each individual Israelite, male and female, should 
 be a priest; if it did, then the promise has failed. It is clear that 
 no such thing was intended, but only that as a nation and people 
 
58 The Divine Calling of 
 
 they should possess the distinguished privilege of having among 
 them heavenly appointed priests, a priesthood appointed of God. 
 Israel was "a kingdom of priests/' yet the priestly office was restrict- 
 ed and confined to probably less than one in thirty of their number. 
 The primitive church was "a royal priesthood/' yet the priestly office 
 was exercised by the few, and not by all. 
 The learned Bingham says : 
 
 "But when his [God's] ministers are to be distinguished from the rest of his 
 people in the church, then the name clerici, or clergy, was their appropriate 
 title, and the name of the other, laymen. Arid this observation will help to set 
 another sort of persons right, who confound not only the names, but the offices 
 of laity and clergy together; and plead that originally there was no distinction 
 between them. The name of priesthood, indeed, is sometimes given in common 
 to the whole body of Christian people ; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; but so it was to 
 the Jewish people, Ex. 19: 6: l Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and 
 an holy nation ;' yet every one knows, that the offices of priests and Levites 
 among the Jews, were very distinct from those of the common people, not by 
 usurpation, but by God's appointment. And so it was among the Christians, 
 from the foundation of the church/' Ant. Chris, Church, p. 40. 
 
 Bingham further remarks: 
 
 u Tertullian says it was customary among heretics to confound the offices of 
 the clergy and laity together.' 1 
 
 The reader will make special note of this. Again : 
 
 "St. Jerome observes, They [the early Christians] reckoned that to be no 
 church, which had no priests" 
 
 Again Bingham says: 
 
 "St. Jerome, who will be allowed to speak the sense of the ancients * * * 
 says that both in the Old and New Testament the high priests are an order, the 
 priests another, and the Levites another." p. 50. 
 
 "Tertullian, in his book De Baptismo, says, The right of baptizing belongs to 
 the chief priests." 
 
 Says Bingham : 
 
 "These allegations, are sufficient evidences, as to matter of fact, and the prac- 
 tice of the church in the first three ages, that there was then an order of chief 
 priests, or bishops, superior to the presbyters, settled and allowed in the Chris- 
 tian Church. 1 ' 
 
 Of the "chief priests" he further says : 
 
 "It was no human invention, but an original settlement of the apostles them- 
 selves, which they made by divine appointment. 1 ' p. 54. 
 
 Again Bingham: 
 
 "Now this is most expressly said by Theodoret, that he [Ignatius] received 
 the gift of the high priesthood from the hand of the great Peter. 11 p. 60. 
 
Joseph. Smith Defended. 59 
 
 Again : 
 
 "If it be enquired, as it is very natural to ask the question,why Optatus gives 
 all three order of Bishops, Presbyters [Elders] and Deacons, the title of priest 
 hood, answer is plain and obvious; because according to him every order had its 
 share though in different degrees, in the Christian priesthood. "Which is not, as 
 some imagine, a power to offer Christ's body and blood really upon the altar, as 
 a propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead, (which is such a notion of the 
 Christian priesthood, as no ancient author or ritual ever mentions); but it con- 
 sists in a power and authority to minister publicly according to God's- apoicb- 
 ment in holy things, or things pertaining to God. And there are several parts 
 to this power, according to the different participation of which, in the opinion 
 of Optatus, Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons had each their respective share in 
 the priesthood. Thus it was one act of the priest's office to offer up the sacri- 
 fice of the people's prayers, praises, and thanksgiving to God, as their mouth 
 and orator, and to'make intercession to God for them. Another part of the 
 office was in God's name to bless the people, particularly by admitting them to 
 the benefit and privilege of remission of sins ly spiritual regeneration or "baptism*. 
 And thus far Deacons were anciently allowed to minister in holy things, as me- 
 diators between God and the people. Upon which account a late learned 
 writer joins entirely with Optatus, in declaring Deacons to be sharers in this 
 lowest degree of the Christian priesthood. Above this was the power of offering 
 up to God the people's sacrifices at the altar; that is, as Mr. Mede and others 
 explain them, first the eucharistical oblations of bread and wine, to agnize or 
 acknowledge God to be the Lord of the creatures; then the sacrifice of prayer 
 and thanksgiving in commemoration of Christ's bloody sacrifice upon the cross, 
 mystically represented in the creatures of bread and wine ; which whole sacred 
 action was commonly called the Christians' reasonable, unbloody sacrifice, or the 
 sacrifice of the altar. Now the Deacons (as we shall see in another chapter) 
 were never allowed to ofter these oblations at the altar, but it was always a pe- 
 culiar act of the Presbyter's [Elder's] office, which was therefore reckoned a 
 superior degree of the priesthood. Another act of the priestly office was to 
 interpret the mind and will of God to the people; as also to bless them solemnly 
 in his name." pps. 246, 247, 248. 
 
 JOHN, THE APOSTLE, A PRIEST. 
 
 We now turn to Eusebius, from -whose writings we obtain further 
 evidence that there was a priesthood in the primitive Christian 
 Church. First, u Polycrates, who was Bishop of the church of Eph- 
 
 esus," says: 
 
 u John, that rested on the bosom of our Lord, who was a priest that bore th- 
 sacerdotal [priestly] plate." 
 
 This plate was thought by some to be similar too, if not identical 
 the ephod of the high priest. 
 
 ORIGEN, A PRIEST. 
 
 Eusebius says of Origen, "He had not yet obtained the priesthood 
 by the laying on of hands." p. 240. Again, : ] 
 
6'0 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "At this time Origen, being compelled by -some necessary affairs of the church, 
 went to Greece by way of Palestine, where he received the ordination to the 
 priesthood, at Cesarea, from the bishops of that country. 1 ' p. 243. 
 
 Much more evidence might be given from this source, but this 
 may suffice, as we establish the fact by Busebius that there was a 
 priesthood in the primitive ciiurch, and that it could be obtained 
 only by legal ordination, and not t>y virtue of being merely a mem- 
 ber, as Mr. S. claims. We further see that the Apostle John '-was 
 a priest that bore the sacerdotal plate," the insignia of the high 
 priest. From Bingham we learn, by abundant proofs, not only that 
 there was in the primitive church an ordained priesthood, but one 
 of degrees, and that it was '-no invention'' of man, but ordained of 
 God, and that none but heretics opposed the idea. We also learn 
 that there were "chief priests/' "high priests/' "priests," and "Le- 
 vites." We also learn from him of the distinction of their respec- 
 tive offices, and of their degrees of authority and spiritual power. 
 We also learn how the early Christians interpreted 1 Pet. 2 : 5 and 
 Rev. 1:6. that they interpreted them as meaning the same as the 
 promise in Ex. 19 : 6, viz.. that there was in the church "a royal 
 priesthood/' and not that every member was an officiating priest, as 
 Mr. S. and his kind would hold. Such a claim is the height of ab- 
 surdity, and savors much of "Mystery Babylon." 
 TRANSMISSION OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Not only was there a priesthood in the primitive church, but there 
 were strict rales in regard to its transmission. As it was important 
 tinder the law that "no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he 
 that is called of God as was Aaron/' so under the gospel, it was, and 
 is, essential that no man takes the ministry or priesthood upon him- 
 self, except -he be called of God a,nd ordained according to the divine 
 yule. Persons taking part in the ministry must be ordained by those 
 having authority, otherwise their ministrations are valueless. To 
 act "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost," is to act by their authority. This authority no one can get 
 from the Bible, but only by being divinely called and set apart to 
 minister in that name. It would be far more safe and proper for 
 persons to read the statutes of our land, and then, without being 
 duly called to, and legally qualified in an office, to undertake to 
 officiate therein, than to read the Bible and then, without divine 
 calling and consecration, undertake to officiate in the things of God. 
 Are the things of God less important than those of human govern- 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 61 
 
 merits? And should they not be more carefully guarded? Should 
 the offices in Christ's church be less protected from encroachment, 
 from lawlessness, abuse and* confusion, than the offices in humai* 
 governments? To state these questions is to answer them, with any 
 thoughtful, unprejudiced mind. 
 
 Mr. S. claims that the Aaronic priesthood was not in the primi- 
 tive Church. He says, "It never had a place there." Possibly it 
 did not, so far as name is concerned, and yet be in it in fact, so far 
 as authority is co&cerned. This authority, or priesthood, was not 
 denominated Aaronic or Levitical, until, in Israel, it was given to- 
 Aaron and the family of Levi, yet the same priesthood in kind ex- 
 isted before, Ex. 38 : l-3 ; 41; Num. 3 : 12, 
 
 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD, 
 
 Mr. S. also tells us that the Melchizedek priesthood was not ia 
 the Church; and further, that Christ was not a priest tiH he reached 
 heaven ! If no one can hold the Melchizedek priesthood on earth, 
 how did ifc happen that Melchizedek was so favored as to hold and 
 exercise it in the times of Abraham? If Christ did not hold priest- 
 hood on earth, by what authority did he baptize, ordain others-, 
 preach the gospel, and administer the sacrament of bread and wine ? 
 He was very particular to comply with the law of baptism, and is it 
 presumable- that he would be* less particular in* respect to priestly 
 prerogatives? He verily performed the functions of a priest, even 
 to the offering of a bloody sacrifice, which he offered upon the cross; 
 and shall we say that he did all this without holding priesthood 
 authority?' Nay, verily. The idea is as false as it is derogatory to- 
 the character of our Great High Priest. He was priest when he 
 offered himself upon Calvary for a ruined race ; and he was a priest 
 before that lie was manifestly one from the beginning of his min- 
 istry. 
 
 "But," says Mr. S., "Paul says, 'If he were on earth he should 
 not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts aecordS- 
 ing to the law.'" Precisely; he would not be that kind of a priest 
 of which Paul is speaking an Aaronic priest, but this is not to say 
 but what he would be a Melchizedek priest. 
 
 CHRIST WAS A MELCBIZEDEK PRIEST. 
 
 Christ was a priest while on earth, for it was here that he began 
 the work of sacrifice and offering. None could administer in that 
 respect unless he was a priest. The sacrifices and offerings of 
 
82 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Christ and his ministry differ in kind from those of the Aaronic 
 priests under the law, yet both orders of priests ministered before 
 the Lord. And that Christ was a Melchizedek priest while on 
 earth, is seen in the fact that "the high priest entereth into the holy 
 place;" so Christ must be a high priest before he could enter into 
 the antitypical "holy place/' even heaven, (Heb. 9 : 23-25). 
 
 OTHER MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTS. 
 
 We have shown, on pages 13 and 14, that Moses held higher 
 priesthood than Aaron; and that Jethro was a priest of God, though 
 not of the order of Aaron; also that many of the patriarchs, includ- 
 ing Melchizedek, were priests; and we have also shown the proba- 
 bilities of some of them having been of the Jhigher order with Mel- 
 chizedek. And we are not alone in concluding that they were Mel- 
 chizedek priests. Smith, in his Dictionary of the Bille, says that 
 the New Testament writers "recognize in Christ, the First-born, the 
 King, the Anointed, the Representative of the true primeval priest- 
 Jiood after the order of Melchizedek, from which that of Aaron, how- 
 ever necessary for the time, is now seen to have been a deflection. " 
 Art. Priest. This is the very sensible result of his profound re- 
 searches upon this subject; and it is in harmony with the state- 
 ments made by Joseph Smith, the young prophet and seer, in Doc- 
 trine and Covenants 104 : 3 : 
 
 "There are, in the Church, two priesthoods, namely: the Melchizedek, and 
 the Aaronic, including the Levitical priesthood. Why the first is called the 
 Melchizedek priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest: 
 before his day it was called the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God: 
 but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the 
 <too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called 
 that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek priesthood. All other 
 authorities, or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood ; but there 
 are two divisions, or grand heads one is the Melchizedek priesthood, and the 
 r other is the Aaronic, or Levitieal priesthood. * * * The second priesthood is 
 called the priesthood of Aaron, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his 
 seed, throughout all their generations. Why it is called the lesser priesthood 
 is, because it is an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek priesthood." 
 
 Here is furnished a reasonable solution of what would otherwise 
 be a very complicated and troublesome question. That there were 
 various priestly offices before the law, under the law, and under the 
 gospel, is manifest from the Scriptures and church history; but their 
 respective degrees of authority, their duties, rights, and privileges, 
 as also the manner in which they were conferred and transmitted, 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 63 
 
 are matters not so clearly and definitely stated as could be desired. 
 If we had all the sacred writings given before the law, under the law, 
 and under the gospel, with the full history of the church for the 
 first three centuries, then, no doubt, much if not all of the difficulty 
 that now surrounds this subject would be removed. 
 
 BOTH PRIESTHOODS BUT ONE. 
 
 It would seem that before the law, all the priestly offices were 
 held as belonging to one priesthood; and that also under the gospel 
 they were so held, though the same priestly authority that was con- 
 ferred upon Aaron and his seed existed before the times of the law, 
 and was likewise in the church after the law, as a code, was abro- 
 gated. Both priesthoods are but one priesthood, and are two only 
 in the sense of there being two divisions. 
 
 "All other authorities, or offices in the church [including the Aaronic priest- 
 hood] are appendages [something added] to this [Melchizedek] priesthood." 
 D. &0. 104:3. 
 
 This may account for there being more offices in the early Christian 
 Church than there appears to have been among God's people in the 
 times of the patriarchs, though both peoples held to the same priest- 
 hood. And it may also explain any real or seeming difference in 
 the arrangement of the priesthood in the church now, from what 
 there was in any former time. 
 
 OFFICES OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 "When he [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave 
 gifts unto men. * * * And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
 some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." Eph. 4: 8-11. 
 
 These were different officers, yet all and each possessed authority 
 in the priesthood of the Christian Church. And it is a fact to be 
 borne in mind, that all these were not called and ordained at once, 
 but only as the Master saw that there was need for them; and this 
 principal applies with equal propriety in these latter times. 
 
 JOHN BAPTIST RESURRECTED. 
 
 We had almost forgotten to reply to another marvelous objection of 
 Mr. S. He claims that it should be proven if John the Baptist 
 "was raised from the dead before ordaining Joseph/' The Scrip- 
 tures teach that 
 
 "Many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves 
 after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." 
 Matt. 27:52, 53. 
 
64 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Is there anything incredible in the idea that John was one of that 
 number? We think not. It is probable that all the bodies of the- 
 Saints who were found worthy came forth at that time ; and none, 
 we trust, will question the worthiness of John. 
 
 JOSEPH AND OLIVER ORDAINED BY JOHN BAPTIST. 
 
 "How [says Mr. S.] did Joseph know that it was John that ordained him?"" 
 Probably in a similar manner as Daniel knew that it was "the 
 man Gabriel" whom lie had seen in a vision, (Dan. 9 : 21); or that 
 Mary knew that it was "the angel Gabriel" that ministered to her, 
 (Luke 1 : 26); or that Paul knew that it was Jesus that appeared unto 
 him in the way to Damascus. These parties were fully satisfied that 
 the ministrations in their cases were genuine and really divine. All 
 the surrounding condition were such as to forbid imposture. So in 
 regard to the ordination of Joseph and Oliver by the angel, John 
 the Baptist. We herewith subjoin portions of their account of that 
 very remarkable event. Joseph says : 
 
 "We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month, 
 (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of 
 the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, as we found mentioned 
 in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and 
 calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light 
 and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying unto us, 'Upon you, 
 my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, 
 which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repent- 
 ance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never 
 be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering 
 unto the Lord in righteousnes. 1 " Times & Seasons, vol. 3, p. 726, 
 
 Oliver's testimony is as follows : 
 
 "After writing the account given of the Savior's ministry to the remnant of 
 the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easily to be seen, as the prophet 
 said would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of 
 the people. On reflecting further, it was easily to be seen, that amid the great 
 strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from (Grod to administer 
 the ordinances of the gospel. For, the question might be* asked, have men 
 authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelation ? when his 
 testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy? arM his religion based, built, 
 and sustained by immediate revelations in all ages of the world, when he has 
 had a people on earth ? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by 
 men whose craft would have been in danger, if once permitted to shine in the 
 faces of men, they were no longer to us; and we only waited for the command- 
 ment to be given, 'Arise and be baptized.' 
 
 "This was not long desired before it was realized. The. Lord, who is rich in 
 mercy T and ever willing to> answer the consistent praye? of the humble, after we 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 65 
 
 had called upon him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, con- 
 descended to manifest to us his will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, 
 the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted, and 
 the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously 
 ooked for message, and the keys of the gospel of repentance ! What joy ! What 
 wonder! What amazement! While the world was racked and distracted 
 while the millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men 
 were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld our ears 
 heard. As in the 'blaze of day;' yes, more above the glitter of the May sun- 
 beam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, 
 though mild, pierced to the centre, and his words, *I am thy fellow-servant, 1 
 dispelled every fear. We listened we gazed we admired ! 'Twas the voice 
 of the angel from glory 'twas a message from the Most High ! and as we heard 
 we rejoiced, while his love enkindled upon our souls, and we were rapt in the 
 vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere: uncertainty 
 had fled, doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled 
 forever ! 
 
 u But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our 
 hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed (for who would not have 
 bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the 
 holy priesthood, as he said, l Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of 
 Messiah, I confer this priesthood, and this authority, which shall remain upon 
 earth, that the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in right- 
 eousness." 
 
 "I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic 
 beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion ; but you will believe 
 . me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin 
 to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy per- 
 sonage. No : nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or 
 comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were 
 delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit ! Man may deceive his fellow man ; 
 deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have 
 power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till nought but fiction feeds the many, 
 and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave ; but one 
 touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, 
 or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes 
 it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind ! The assurance that 
 we were in the presence of an angel ; the certainty that we heard the voice of 
 Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by 
 the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this ex- 
 pression of the Savior's goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am 
 permitted to tarry, and in those mansions where perfection dwells, and -sin never 
 comes, I hope to adore in that DAY which shall never cease! 1 ' Messenger and 
 Advocate, October, 1834. 
 
 Where was there a chance for these men to be deceived ? Their 
 hearts were set to do the will of God; and at the time of the vision 
 they had gone "aside from the abodes of men/' and called upon the 
 Lord in a fervent manner, or, as Joseph puts it, "We, on a certain 
 
.66 The Divine Calling of 
 
 day, went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord ;" and here, 
 under these circumstances, they heard Hhe voice of the Lord/' and, 
 "The vail was parted and the angel of the Lord carne down clothed 
 with glory; * * * then his voice, though mild, pierced to the cen- 
 ter, and his words, 'I am thy fellow servant' dispelled every fear/ 7 
 Surely, we may say with Oliver, "Where was room for doubt?" 
 It is preposterous to claim that they were deceived. The whole of 
 the surroundings of the case, as they give it, utterly forbid such an 
 idea. They saw the vision, and received the ordination, as they 
 claim, under the hands of the angel, or else they were the vilest im- 
 postors known to history. They could not have been deceived in 
 the matter. These men lived and died bearing this testimony, Jo- 
 seph Smith at Carthage Jail, Illinois, and Oliver Cowdery at or near 
 Far West, Caldwell county, Missouri. 
 
 We have occupied more space in considering this question of the 
 priesthood, and its restoration in the latter days, than we had in- 
 tended. The only apology that we offer, is, that the subject seems 
 .to demand it. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEHI'S PLATES OF BRASS. 
 
 Mr. S. thinks he has discovered another error in the prophecy of 
 Lehi respecting the brass plates, where he says that 
 
 "These plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and 
 people, who were of his seed." 1 Xephi 1 : 48. 
 
 Mr. S. says: 
 
 "Whether this language be applied to the material of the brass plates, or to 
 the record contained upon them, the statement has proven untrue. These 
 plates of brass are represented as having been carefully preserved by the 
 .Nephites, and to have been handed down by them till the days of Mormon, be- 
 ing carefully kept from the Lamanites, who were of Lehi's seed. 1 ' 
 
 This is a technical quibble at most, and Mr. S. might with equal 
 propriety question the prophecy of Jesus, in Luke 21 : 24. But 
 how does Mr. S. know that the Lamanites were reckoned as the 
 "seed" mentioned in Lehi's prophecy? The prophecy implies that 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 67 
 
 the plates would go only to the righteous; and subsequent history 
 shows that they did go only to them, while the contents of the plates 
 went to many of Lehi's posterity who were not righteous. The 
 plates and other sacred things, were to be handed down "from one 
 prophet to another," (1 Nephi 5 : 47), and so they were, until they 
 reached Mormon, who hid them up unto the Lord, and wrote as 
 follows : 
 
 "Having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer that the 
 records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to 
 fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them), 
 therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill 
 Cumorah, all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the 
 Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni."- 
 Mormon 3:2. 
 
 This confirms the supposition that the plates of brass were de- 
 signed to go to none others than the righteous of Lehi's posterity; 
 and the recorded facts of history in the Book of Mormon show its 
 accomplishment. In 1 Nephi 1 : 23, 35, 46, 47, we first learn of 
 the plates of brass, and something of their contents; and in para- 
 graphs 25, 49, we learn the purpose for which they were taken from 
 Laban; and in chapter 6:1, we find them in the hands of the 
 prophet Nephi, as the teacher of his people; and in chapter 5 : 47, 
 we further learn that the Lord purposed that these records, with 
 other "sacred things," should "be kept for the knowledge" of 
 Nephi's people. 
 
 From Nephi they passed on down among the righteous, "from one 
 prophet to another," going first to Jacob (&) ; Jacob to Enos (7) ; 
 Enos to Jaroni (m); Jarom to Omni (V); Omni to Amaron (o) 
 Amaron to Chemish (j>); Chemishto Abinadom (#); Abinadorn to 
 Amaleki (V); Amaleki to Benjamin (s); Benjamin to Mosiah (7); 
 Mosiah 2nd to Alma (11) ; Alma to Helaman (i?) ; Helaman to Shib- 
 lon (z0); Shiblon to Helaman 2nd (x) Helaman to Nephi (y); 
 Nephi to Nephi 2nd (z) ; Nephi to Amos (a) ; Amos to Amos 2nd 
 (6); Amos 2nd to Amaron (c); Amaron to Mormon (<#); Mormon 
 hides them up in Cumorah, except those given to Moroni (e), and 
 Moroni hides up the balance (/). 
 
 In this long line of transmission, we see that the sacred things, in- 
 
 (fc) Jacob 1:1; (Z) Jacob 5:9; (m) Jarom 1:1; (w) Jarom 1:6; (o) Omni 1:2; (p) Omni 
 
 : 3 ; (3) Omni 1:5; (r) Omni 1:6; (s) Omni 1 : 12 ; ft) Mosiah 1:3; (w) Mosiah 13 : 1 ; 
 
 (v) Alma 17 : 5 ; (w) Alma 30 : 1 ; (a;) Alma 30 : 5 ; (y) Helaman 2:6; (z) Nephi 1 : 1 ; (a) 
 
 Nephi 1:6; (6) Nephi 1:7; (c) Nephi 1 : 11 ; (d) Mormon 1:1; 2:3; (e) Mormon 3:2; 
 (/) Moroni 10: 1. 
 
68 The Divine Calling of 
 
 eluding the brass plates, were kept among the righteous of Lehi's 
 posterity, thus establishing the idea that only the righteous of 
 Lehi's posterity were the promised "seed." Nor is this method of 
 interpretation peculiar : 
 
 "They which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." Gal. 3 : &. 
 "And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the- 
 promise." v. 29. "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the 
 children of God; but the children of promise are counted for the seed." 
 Rom. 9: 8. 
 
 The principle applying in the case of Abraham, applies equally 
 well in the case of Lehi. The Lord said that it was not meet for 
 him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone* 
 but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might 
 "raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise." Those who* 
 by righteousness proved themselves to be the Lord's "seed," were 
 the seed of righteous Lehi, and the ones to whom the promise 
 was made. 
 
 WHO SHOULD SEE PLATES OF MORMON. 
 
 And now comes one of the characteristic perversions of Mr. S. 
 He says: 
 
 "The plates of the Book of Mormon were to be seen by three witnesses, and 
 l none else;' yet they were shown to eight others." 
 
 And to prove his assertion, he quotes D. 0.4:3: 
 
 i; This generation shall have my word through you ; and in addition to your 
 testimony, the testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain, 
 tmto whom I [will] show these things, and they shall go forth with my words 
 that are given through you ; yea, they shall know of a surety that these things 
 are true; for from heaven will I declare it unto them; I will give them power 
 that they may behold and view these things as they are; and to none else will. 
 I grant this power to receive this [same] testimony, among this generation." 
 
 In the first place Mr. S. has not quoted correctly, and in the next 
 place he has utterly perverted the sense and intention of the test. 
 The word will enclosed in brackets, he has quoted shall; the word 
 same, enclosed in brackets, he has left entirely out. In this we see 
 recklessness and unreliability, whether for want of honest purpose, 
 or through lack of mental calibre, we shall not undertake to decide. 
 The word same is very essential to the passage, as it points to the 
 identity and quality of the testimony spoken of. No one but the 
 three, in connection with Joseph, should have "this same testimony" 
 relative to the plates; which testimony was, (1) the hearing the; 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 69 
 
 voice of God out of heaven concerning the plates, and their trans- 
 lation by Joseph; and (2) that the Lord, (not man), would show 
 the plates unto them: 
 
 "They shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from lieaven will I 
 [GodJ declare it unto them; I [God] will give them power that they may be- 
 hold and view these things as they are ; and to none else will I grant this power 
 to receive this same testimony, among this generation." D. & C. 4: 3. 
 
 Nothing is here said or intimated that no others were to see the 
 plates, but only that no others were to see and hear, and know of 
 them in the"same manner. The testimony of the Book of Mormon 
 relative to the plates being shown is as follows : 
 
 "And behold, ye [Joseph] may be privileged that ye may show the plates 
 unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work : and unto three shall they be 
 shown by the power of God: wherefore they shall know of a surety that these 
 things are true." Ether 2:1. 
 
 By this we learn that Joseph was privileged to show the plates 
 unto those who should assist to bring forth the Book of Mormon; 
 and then that "unto three shall they be shown by the power of God." 
 Again : 
 
 u Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of 
 whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that 
 the eyes of none shall behold it, save it be that three witnesses shall behold it by 
 the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered, and they 
 shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein. And there is 
 none other which shall view it, save it be a few, according to the will of God, 
 to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men." 2 Nephi 11: 17. 
 
 PLATES, BREAST-PLATE, ETC. 
 
 Mr. S. next says : 
 
 "These three witnesses were not only to see the plates, but also other things 
 mentioned in a revelation to Joseph for the three. 'Behold, I say unto you, that 
 you must rely upon my word, which if you do, with full purpose of heart, you 
 shall have a view of the plates, and also 1 of the breast-plate, the sword of Laban, 
 the Urim and Thummim, which was given to the brother of Jared upon the 
 mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors 
 which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red 
 Sea; and it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that 
 faith which was had by the prophets of old. And after that you have obtained 
 faith, and have seen them with your eyes, you shall testify of them.' But they 
 never testified of them; hence the revelation is unreliable." 
 
 How does Mr. S. know that they never testified to seeing them? 
 Hundreds of people are now living who will bear witness that they 
 did testify that they saw them. And besides, if they had never 
 
70 The Divine Calling of 
 
 seen them, it would not prove that "the revelation is unreliable/' as 
 Mr. S. affirms, unless it could be shown that they, on their part, 
 complied with the conditions of the promise. Mr. S. says, impliedly, 
 that they were to testify to seeing them by a icritten statement. 
 This he is not warranted in doing. It is neither expressed, nor im- 
 plied, that they were to give a icritten statement of seeing the breast- 
 plate, Urim and Thummim, etc. 
 
 o. COWDERY'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 As to seeing the "Urim and Thurnmmi," 0. Cowdery, in a letter 
 to W. W. Phelps, Sept. 7th, 1834, writes: 
 
 "Near the time of the setting of the sun, Sabbath evening, April 5, 1829, my 
 natural eyes, for the first time beheld this brother, [Joseph Smith] . He then 
 resided in Harmony, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. On Monday, the 6th, 
 I assisted him in arranging some business of a temporal nature, and on Tuesday 
 the 7th, commenced to write the Book of Mormon. 
 
 "These were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice 
 dictated by the inspiration of Heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this 
 bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as 
 he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have 
 said, 'Interpreters,' the history, or record, called l the Book of Mormon. 1 " 
 Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 1, No. 1: also Latter Day Saints' 1 Herald, Yol. 2. 
 No. 3. 
 
 D. WHITMER'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 David Whitmer, now living at Richmond, Mo., one of "'the three 
 witnesses," recently said to a reporter of the Chicago Times, that he 
 had free access to the room where the translation was going on, at 
 the time Joseph and Oliver were at his father's house, (for'they 
 went there from Harmony), 
 
 "And was an eye-witness to the method of procedure. The plates were not 
 before Joseph while he translated. * * * The method pursued was common- 
 place, but nevertheless effective. Having placed the Urim and Thummim in 
 his hat, Joseph placed the hat over his face, and with prophetic eyes read the 
 invisible symbols, syllable by syllable and word by word, while Cowdery or 
 Harris acted as recorders. * * So illiterate was Joseph at that time, that he 
 didn't even know that Jerusalem was a walled city, and he was utterly unable 
 to pronounce many of the names which the magic power of the Urim and 
 Thummim revealed, and therefore spelled them out in syllables, and the more 
 erudite scribe put them together. The stone was the game used by the Jare- 
 dites at [from?] Babel. I have frequently placed it to my eyes, but could see 
 nothing through it. I have seen Joseph, however, place it to his eyes and 
 instantly read signs one hundred and sixty miles distant, and tell exactly what 
 was transpiring there. When I went to Harmony after him, he told me the 
 name of every hotel at which I had stopped on the road, read the signs, and 
 
Joseph Smith. Defended. 71 
 
 described various scenes without having ever received any information 
 from me." 
 
 Of "the stone," or "interpreters," Mr. Whitmer is represented 
 as saying: 
 
 % u But a stone had been found with the plates, shaped like a pair of ordinary 
 spectacles, though much larger, and at least half an inch in thickness, and per- 
 fectly opaque, save to the prophetic vision of Joseph Smith. On the tablets or 
 plates were engraven the records of the tribe of Nephites, and the stone wa& 
 the Urim and Thummim, by which the seers of old had deciphered the mysteries, 
 of the universe." Chicago Times, Aug. 7, 1875. 
 
 Here are definite testimonies, by 0. Cowdery and D. Whitmer,. 
 that they not only saw the plates, but also the Urim and Thurnminu 
 If they and Martin Harris omitted mentioning in writing, that they 
 saw the breast-plate, sword of Laban and directors, that would be no- 
 evidence at all that they had not seen them. They frequently tes- 
 tified, orally, to the fact, and 0. Cowdery and D. Whitmer, have 
 testified freely and pointedly, as we see, in writing, that they saw 
 the Urim and Thummim, or "stone interpreters." 
 
 MR. S. THINKS THE PLATES MAY HAVE BEEN 
 COLORED TIN! 
 
 u Perhaps they saw some plates which might have been tin, colored in some' 
 dye that would give them a golden complexion, to those not familiar with that- 
 metal; they might have heard a ventriloquist affirm they were translated by 
 divine power, or they might merely have heard the voice of God through Joseph: 
 they testify that an angel came down from heaven and brought the plates, per- 
 haps on the strength of Joseph's statement, for they do not affirm that they saw the 
 angel ; but whether they saw the plates thus prepared or some other kind, they 
 failed to see the rest of the furniture promised. 1 ' 1 
 
 The latter clause is a groundless assumption, and by what we have 
 already seen we know it is false; and by the testimony of many 
 witnesses now living we know the conjectures to be wholly false, as 
 they testified to seeing "the furniture promised," as Mr. S. is pleased 
 to call them. As for their seeing "plates which might have been 
 tin, colored in some dye that would give them a golden complexion;" 
 and that "they might have heard a ventriloquist affirm they were 
 translated by divine power;" and that "they might merely have 
 heard the voice of God through Joseph;" and, further, the proba- 
 bility that "they testify on the strength of Joseph's statement that 
 an angel came down from heaven and brought the plates;" and 
 lastly, that "they do not affirm that they saiv the angel'' is so weak, 
 so preposterous and puerile, and so false to the written record, that 
 
72 , The Divine Calling of 
 
 we should not consider a reply called for, did not the article in which 
 it appears fill a large space in the leading organ of the society of 
 which Mr. S. is a prominent minister and champion. 
 
 DOES MR. S. THINK THAT COWDERY, WHITMER, AND HARRIS 
 WERE IDIOTS? 
 
 ' Mr. Martin Harris was aged near forty-five years at the time of 
 the translation, was a well-to-do farmer, and a sensible, intelligent 
 man, and an honored member of society. Oliver Cowdery was a 
 school teacher before he began to write the translation of the plates, 
 and was a highly intellectual man, a good citizen, and possessed a 
 fair education. After breaking off his active connection with the 
 Church he practiced law at Elkhorn, Wis., after which he went to 
 Missouri, where he died sometime after 1847. We have been in- 
 formed by credible witnesses that in 1846, or 1847, he attended a 
 conference at Carterville, a hamlet near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and 
 was there re-baptized, and re-ordained to the office of an elder, at 
 which time, from the public stand, he bore testimony to the truth 
 of the Book of Mormon and the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith. 
 After this he returned to Missouri, soon after which he died. He 
 recognized the fact, seemingly, of the priesthood being, in part, with 
 that people who were following under the leadership of Brigham and 
 a portion of the Twelve, though he did not endorse that leadership; 
 and he also felt the necessity of doing his "first works" over again, 
 before passing into the presence of that God whose voice he had 
 heard, whose Spirit he had enjoyed, and in whose work he had been 
 for many years actively and prominently engaged. While in the 
 practice of law at Elkhorn, many of the Saints questioned him in 
 regard to his former testimonies in respect to the Book of Mormon, 
 Joseph, and the Church, and he constantly affirmed those testimonies 
 to be true. Of this we have been told by Brn. Wm. Aidrich, John 
 C. Gaylord, James M. Adams, and others. As for David Whitmer, 
 he still lives, and his reputation for intelligence and probity, as a 
 man among men, is most excellent. Of him the reporter of the 
 Chicago Times, who interviewed him, says: 
 
 "He is now seventy years of age, but as hale and hearty as most men of fifty. 
 In person he is above the medium higlit, stoutly built though not corpulent, 
 his shoulders inclining to stoop as if from so long supporting his massive head 
 rather than from the weight of years; his frank, manly, and benevolent face 
 closely shaven, and his whole exterior betokening him to be one of nature's 
 gentlemen. The rudiments of education he'Uearned in school, and a life-time'of 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 73 
 
 thought and research have served to expand and store his mind with a vast 
 fund of information. The Times reporter found him at his pleasant, two-story, 
 white frame residence, near the centre of the town of Richmond, Mo., and in 
 company with Hon. J. T. Child, editor of the Conservator, was admitted, intro- 
 duced, and received a cordial greeting. "When the object of the call was made 
 known, Mr. Whitmer smilingly and meditatively remarked that it was true he 
 had in his possession the original records, [manuscripts?], and was conversant 
 with the history of the Church of Christ from the beginning, but was under 
 sacred obligations to hold both history and records sacred until such time aa 
 the interests of truth and true religion might demand their aid to combat error. 
 Presently he became quite animated, arose to his feet and with great earnest- 
 ness and good nature spoke for half an hour on the harmony between the Bible 
 the original Book of Mormon, showing how the finding of the plates had been, 
 predicted, referring to the innumerable evidences, in the shape of ruins of great 
 cities existing on this continent, of its former occupation by a highly civilized 
 race, reverently declaring his solemn conviction of the authenticity of the records 
 in his possession, and closed by denouncing the Latter Day Saints of Utah aa 
 an abomination in the sight of the Locd. * * * When the question of polyga- 
 my was broached, and it was asked if the original Book of Mormon justified the 
 practice, Mr. Whitmer most emphatically replied : 'No ! it is even much more 
 antagonistic to both polygamy and concubinage than is the BibJe. Joseph 
 Smith never to my knowledge advocated it, though I have heard that he virtu- 
 ally sanctioned it at Nauvoo. However, as I cut loose from him in 1837, 1 can't 
 speak intelligently of what transpired thereafter.' David Whitmer believes in 
 the Bible as implicitly as any devotee alive; and he believes in the Book of 
 Mormon as much as he does in the Bible. The one is but a supplement to the 
 other, according to his idea, and neither would be complete were the other 
 lacking. And no man can look at David Whitmer's face for a half hour, while 
 he charily and modestly speaks of what he has seen, and then boldly and earn- 
 estly confesses the faith that is in him, and say that he is a bigot or an enthusi- 
 ast. While he shrinks from unnecessary public promulgation of creed, and feels 
 that the Brighamites and Danites and numerous other l ites' have disgraced it, 
 yet he would not hesitate, in emergency to stake his honor and even his life 
 upon its reliability. * * * Neither does he believe that the Book of Mormon 
 is the only record of the lost tribes hidden in the earth, but, on the contrary, 
 that the caves hold other records, that will not come forth till all is peace, and 
 the lion shall eat straw with the lamb. Three times has he been at the hill 
 Cumorah and seen the casket that contained the tablets and the seer-stone." 
 Chicago Times, Aug. 7, 1875. 
 
 The foregoing description of Mr. Whitmer is probably correct, as 
 also the statement of his testimony, in the main. 
 
 Now we ask, Is it at all probable, nay is it possible, for these three 
 intelligent men to have been deceived in regard to the quality of the 
 plates, or the fact of seeing the angel come "down from heaven," 
 bringing the plates and laying them before their eyes, so that they 
 "saw the plates and the engravings thereon ;" and the further fact 
 that they were shown unto them "by the power of God and not of 
 
74 The Divine Calling of 
 
 man," and that "the voice of the Lord commanded" them that they 
 should bear record of it; and, finally, that the voice of the Lord 
 declared to them that the plates had "been translated by the gift and 
 power of God," all of which is set forth in their joint testimony in 
 the prefatory pages of the Book of Mormon? Is it possible, we 
 again inquire, for these men to have been deceived in all or any of 
 these things? "We think all right-minded people will say, No; they 
 saw and heard what they testify of, or they were vile deceivers. 
 The dye - colored - tin - plate - ventriloquist - second - hand - testimony- 
 "through-Joseph-Smith" theory is as foolish as it is false, and is use- 
 ful only as showing to what absurd extremes some men will go in 
 order to shield themselves and their theories from the force of true, 
 direct, and unimpeachable testimony. These men sai0, and heard, 
 and kneic, when in the full vigor of life, when free from excitement, 
 and when all the conditions forbade deception; and they in cool and 
 sober moments testify, and testify the same things all their lives, 
 and the dying go down to their graves with their words of testimony 
 on their lips, while the living, bending under the weight of accumu- 
 lated years, boldly, yet meekly and joyfully, affirm the truth of their 
 former testimony. They were not deceived. 
 
 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 Passing over one or two unimportant points, and the trifling re- 
 marks of Mr. S. concerning them, we next notice his effort to prove 
 Joseph Smith a false prophet because the New Jerusalem has not yet 
 been built. He says : 
 
 "Over forty-two years ago Joseph Smith prophesied that the new Jerusalem 
 should be built in Western Missouri, and that the temple should be reared in 
 this generation : 'Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jeru- 
 salem shall be built by the gathering of the Saints, beginning at this place, even 
 the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation; for 
 verily this generation shall not all pass away, until an house shall be built unto 
 the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of 
 the Lord, which shall fill the house. 1 D. C. 83: 2. This revelation was given 
 in September, 1832, over forty -two years ago, and yet there is no sign of a tem- 
 ple in W r estern Missouri; and not a trace can be found of the New Jerusalem 
 there; so the prophecy limiting the building of the temple to 'this generation 1 is 
 a failure." 
 
 Not exactly, Mr. S. The conclusion to which you jump with 
 such eagerness is not a very sensible one, and does great injustice to 
 the text. The text says "this generation shall not all pass away, 
 until an house shall be built," etc. This implies that the most or 
 
' Joseph Smitli Defended. 75 
 
 greater part of it would pass away; i. c., that the house would not be 
 built until the dosing times of this generation. The word "genera- 
 tion," as here used, plainly signifies the life or age of man, and not 
 the average age of man, as is urged by Mr. S. The Lord said to 
 Abraham, concerning the deliverance of his posterity from Egypt : 
 "In the four} h generation they shall come hither again." Gen. 15:16. 
 Now, if Mr. S. had lived in the times of Abraham, and had reasoned 
 as he now does, he doubtless would have said that the above revela- 
 tion to Abraham. was false, because Israel did not "come hither again" 
 in just four of his generations of thirty years each or one hundred 
 and twenty years. The "fourth generation" from the time of prom- 
 ise, measured, as we see, four generation of almost one hundred and 
 eight years each. 
 
 That the gathering of the Saints to the center stake, (Independ- 
 ence, Mo.), and the building of the temple, was to take place after 
 many years from the giving of the revelatien in question, is appar- 
 ent from another revelation, one given thirteen months before the 
 former one; it reads: 
 
 "Ye can not behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design 
 of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory 
 which shall follow, after much tribulation. For after much tribulation cometh 
 the blessing. "Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with muc?i 
 " D. C 58:2. 
 
 The Church has been passing through "much tribulation" ever 
 since the times in which the foregoing was given, but especially 
 since November, 1833, when most violent persecutions began- to 
 come upon them. Men were whipped, tarred and feathered, impris- 
 oned, brutally beaten, and many were killed at different periods from 
 1833 to 1845, whilst women and children suffered for food and shel- 
 ter, and all manner of indignities, arid even death, and worse 
 than death. Then there came the great latter-day "departing from 
 the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, 
 teaching lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot 
 iron;" and this has caused untold and immeasurable "tribulation," 
 and the end is not yet. It was not until after all this that the 
 Saints were to be "crowned with much glory," a condition of things- 
 that can be fully realized only in the final restoration and gathering 
 of the Saints, and the building up of Zion and the temple of the 
 Lord. From all this we learn that the speedy building up of "the 
 center stake" and "the temple, was not contemplated in the re vela- 
 
76 The Divine Calling of 
 
 tions of Joseph, yet "this generation shall not all pass away, until an 
 house shall be built unto the Lord." 
 
 MR. S. AS A MATHEMATICIAN. 
 
 We can not close on this point until we give the reader a speci- 
 men both of the profound ekill of Mr. S. as an arithmetician, and 
 of his remarkable zeal in pointing out the errors(?)of his fellowmen. 
 In his anxiety to make out his case he undertakes, in a very elabor- 
 ate manner, to enlighten us with respect to "the length of a gener- 
 ation in Mormon literature," and he says "it is easily learned." His 
 first term in the proposition is : 
 
 "His [Moroni's] word shall hiss forth from generation to generation. 
 
 That is after the Book of Mormon came forth. His next is: 
 
 "Joseph, my son, if thou livest till 'thou art eighty -five years old, thou shalt 
 -see the face of the Son of Man. 11 
 
 And now comes his statement : 
 
 "As Joseph was born in 1-805, his eighty-fifth year would be in 1890, when 
 Christ's coming is due according to this revelation." 
 
 And now his conclusion : 
 
 "So if the generations, during which the words of God written by Moroni 
 were to 'hiss forth,' began with the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, 
 and end at the coming of the Son of Man in 1890, there are only sixty years 
 given for two generations, and only thirty years for one generation ; and taking 
 this measurement for a generation, that temple should have been built over 
 twelve years ago." 
 
 And now the final result: 
 
 "The truth is, the prophecy is a failure." 
 
 There are too many ifs in this proposition to make it even inter- 
 esting, to say nothing about its inaccuracies. Archimedes, if he 
 possessed the needed fulcrum, could have raised the earth. In the 
 : first place, it is not strictly authentic with the Reorganized Church 
 that Joseph had a revelation locating the time of the coming of the 
 Son of man. We do not admit the one quoted in evidence, as it 
 came from the Brighamite publications. It may or may not be 
 -genuine. In the next place, the Book of Mormon may "hiss forth" 
 to many generations after Christ comes, and no doubt will; so we 
 are not, necessarily, compelled to locate the "two generations" claimed 
 by Mr. S. on this side of his coming. And, finally, Mr. S. errs 
 egregiously, in interpreting the promise, "His word shall hiss forth 
 ifrom generation to generation." If his words "hiss forth" to par- 
 
Joseph Sniitli Defended .. Iff 
 
 ents, and then to their children, it fulfills the promise. If it goes to 
 parents, children, grand-children, and great grand-children, then 
 they "hiss forth from generation to generation" just as truly, only 
 on a more extended scale. 
 
 "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers- 
 upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me-."" 
 Ex. 20:5, 
 
 In this passage the word generation is used to convey the same 
 idea or meaning as that from Moroni. It relates to successive gen- 
 erations of posterity, and has no direct reference to mere periods of 
 time. Mr. S. and his fellows seem very partial to all questions of 
 time, and mathematical calculation; but their past history admon- 
 ishes us that they are not always, if ever, accurate, and therefore 
 need close watching. There are too many ifs and huts in their 
 methods, for profit. 
 
 BOOK OF LEHI. 
 
 Mr. S. next finds fault because the book of Lehi was not pub- 
 lished. He quotes: 
 
 "The Lord God hath said, that the words of the faithful should speak as it 
 were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the 
 words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him 
 good, will he establish his word." 2 Neplii 11: 17, 
 
 "But a part of the words, (118 pages), called the book of Lehi," [says Mr. SJ r 
 "were never published, the manuscript having been stolen, as we learn from 
 the ninth section of the Book of Covenants." 
 
 Yes, they were stolen ; we learn this from the section cited, and 
 also from the lips of the late Martin Harris, Sen. He told the 
 writer, in 1860, all about the leading circumstances connected with 
 the theft. Mr. Harris, by much persuasion, obtained them from 
 Joseph in order to read to his wife, and to some very pious (?) 
 friends who were at the time visiting at his house, whom he hoped 
 to benefit by showing them the manuscript. Before retiring for 
 the night he took the manuscript and put it in a bureau drawer, and 
 locked the drawer ; he then locked the parlor in which the bureau- 
 was, putting both keys in his pocket. This was the last he ever 
 saw of the manuscript. But this did not prevent "the words of the 
 faithful" Lehi from going forth in the Book of Mormon. Let 
 us see: 
 
 "And now,, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you 
 have written, which have gone out of your hands>are engraven upon the plates 
 
78 The Divine Calling of 
 
 of Nephi. Yea, and you remember, it was said in those writings, that a more 
 particular account was eiven of these things uoon the plates of Nephi." D. & 
 C. 9:8. 
 
 From "the plates of Nephi" then, we get not only what was in 
 the book of Lehi, but "a more particular account." Nephi's plates 
 contained in part, "an abridgement of the record" of his father, 
 Lehi. 1 Nephi 1 : 7. Messrs. Cowdery, Harris, D. Whitmer, and 
 probably others, were most likely knowing to the fact, from obser- 
 vation, that the writings from "the plates of Nephi" contained "a 
 more particular account" of those matters found in the book of Lehi; 
 so there was no possible room for deception on that score. Mr. S. 
 inquires, "Is it not strange that inspiration could not have forseen 
 all this?" (that is the theft of the manuscript). And we may with 
 equal propriety inquire, Was it not strange that inspiration could 
 not have forseen "the loss of the book entitled the Common Sal- 
 vation?" (Jude 3); and of the many gospels? (Luke 1:1); and 
 of the prophecy of Enoch? (Jude 14); "the book of Nathan the 
 prophet?" and "the book of Gad the Seer?" (1 Chron. 29:29), 
 with twenty-five or more books, either cited or quoted in the Bible, 
 but now lost? And "Is it not strange that inspiration could not 
 "have forseen" that King Jehoiakim would burn the prophetic roll 
 of Jeremiah ? (Jer. 36 : 23) ; or that the Philistines would capture 
 "the ark of the covenant of God?" (1 Sam. 4 : 4, 11). 
 
 THE INSPIRED TRANSLATION AGAIN. 
 
 Mr. S. affirms that, 
 
 "The inspired version betrays itself in first rejecting certain names given in 
 t)ur version, as being incorrect, and subsequently adopting the same names as 
 being correct. We present a few samples. Our version of Matt. 24: 37, reads, 
 'But as the days of Noe were, 1 etc.; but Joseph's inspired version repudiates 
 Woe,' and substitutes l Xoah.' " 
 
 We have before said that much of the "Inspired Translation" 
 was simply a revision and correction of the most essential parts of 
 the text, and not a complete translation of the entire Bible. This 
 may account, in a measure, for many seeming irregularities in both 
 the letter, and historical statements, of the Inspired Translation. 
 We remark again, that the evident object in giving what is called 
 the Inspired Translation, was to relieve the Scriptures of gross and 
 harmful errors, whether of doctrine, morals, history, etc., and to 
 restore valuable portions that had been taken away. Now, as for 
 the difference in spelling a name, "Noe," or "Noah;" "Sion," or 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 79 
 
 "Zion;" "Jeremy," or "Jeremiah/' there is no evidence but that 
 < 'inspiration" may use both forms, as they both signify precisely the 
 same thing. The spirit and substance of a matter is of chief im- 
 portance. And this may be clearly seen in the quotations of Jesus 
 and the apostles from the various prophets. They seldom quote 
 letter for letter, but mainly the substance ; from which we may learn 
 that "inspiration" is concerned most entirely, if not quite, about the 
 sense and meaning, and application of things. Again, says Mr. S : 
 
 "The inspired translation, is made to address Joseph thousands of years 
 before he was born, in the following two verses : 'These are the words which 
 I spake unto my servant Moses. And they are true even as I will. And I 
 have spoken them unto you. See thou show them unto no man, until I com- 
 mand you, except they that believe.' Gen. 3: 32, 33." 
 
 This statement is utterly untrue. All of the words quoted are in 
 parenthesi*, at the close of a chapter, and were given to Joseph in 
 explanation of the origin of the preceding revelation, and are words 
 of instruction to Joseph. If Mr. S. had put them in parenthesis, 
 as he found them, he would only have done his bounden duty. To 
 leave out the parenthesis in his quotation, is just as vicious as to 
 have mutilated the text by leaving out or adding words. It is a 
 gross perversion, and utterly beneath a fair-dealing controversialist. 
 Mr. S. says: "This putting two verses into the book of Genesis ad- 
 dressed to Joseph was certainly a wonderful blunder on his part." 
 But they were not intended as a part, neither are they a part of 
 the narrative of the Book of Genesis. We find in John 7 : 39, and 
 Acts 22 : 2, that John and Luke introduce, in parenthesis, expla- 
 nations touching the teachings of Jesus; and Paul, in a similar 
 manner as Joseph, in the verses in question, introduces an explana- 
 tion respecting the revelation to Moses. The cases are exactly 
 parallel. And, by the way, those two verses are of great value, as 
 settling the authorship of Genesis, and the perplexing question as 
 to how Moses, if he wrote the book, (which some question), obtained 
 the information contained therein, especially that which relates to 
 the creation, the fall of man, and other kindred matters. Some 
 think that as "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp- 
 tians," and probably had access to the ancient documents in the 
 archives of the priesthood, he, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, was 
 enabled to collate important facts, and make such extracts as were 
 essential, and that he embodied them in what is now the book of 
 Genesis. 
 
80 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "Ewald, the keenest of critics, and the most learned of skeptics, concerning the 
 authorship of the Pentateuch as a whole, does not hesitate to ascribe to Moses 
 the tables of the law, and the substantial groundwork of the system that bears 
 his name." Genesis and Geology, by Prof. Thompson, D. D., LL. D. 
 
 Yet Professor Thompson thinks that Genesis was made up, 
 largely, of oral traditions and written documents, and further says: 
 
 "The composer of Genesis, as we possess it, may have worked up materials 
 already extant in the form either of oral traditions or of written documents be- 
 fore him." 
 
 Yet he believes that those portions relating to the creation were 
 in a direct manner displayed by God to man. He writes : 
 
 "A probable conjecture is, that what here is given in narrative passed before 
 the mind of the original narrator in a series of retrospective visions ; that it was 
 a panoramic optical presentation, as, in a prophetic vision, future events are made 
 to pass before the mind in a scenic form." 
 
 But he does not claim that Moses had this vision. Smith, in his 
 Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Pentateuch, says: 
 
 ""We can hardly escape the conviction that it [Genesis] partakes of the na- 
 ture of a compilation. It has indeed a unity of plan, a coherence of parts, a 
 shapeliness and an order, which satisfy us that as it stands it is the creation 
 of a single mind. But it bears also manifest traces of having been based upon 
 an earlier work ; and that earlier work itself seems to have had embedded in it 
 fragments of still more ancient documents. * * * The history contained in 
 Genesis could not have been narrated by Moses from personal knowledge; but 
 whether he was taught it by immediate divine suggestion r or was directed by the 
 Holy Spirit to the use of earlier documents, is immaterial in reference to the 
 inspiration of the work." 
 
 These quotations may serve to illustrate the mystery and uncer- 
 tainty among learned men, as to who wrote the Book of Genesis; 
 and as to whether, if Moses wrote it at all, he wrote the whole or 
 any part of it by revelation direct from God. Now, the verses in 
 question decide this important matter, when it is said, "These are 
 the words which I spake unto my servant Moses/' 
 
 BAPTISM UNDER THE LAW. 
 
 Mr. S. continues: 
 
 "In the Book Mormon, baptism is enjoined in connection with the law of 
 Moses, and numerous instances are recorded where it is said to have been ad- 
 ministered. 
 
 He points to this as proof that Joseph Smith was not inspired of 
 God, and that the Book of Mormon is not a divine record. This 
 mode of reasoning would condemn the four gospels, for each of them 
 informs us of the administration of baptism by John the Baptist, 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 81 
 
 and by Christ and his disciples, for some years before the abrogation 
 of the law. Such logic would impeach the divine mission of Jesus 
 and John the Baptist. If baptism could be administered in Judea 
 for many years in connection with the law, and by those who were 
 so very exact in keeping the law as was John and Jesus, and the 
 Jewish disciples, then it might be administered by a branch of Israel 
 in America, under similar circumstances. It was not "a requirement 
 under the law," as Mr. S. would claim that the Book of Mormon 
 teaches, but it was a requirement superior to the law, as is taught in 
 the Book of Mormon, and as is seen in the ease of Jesus, John, and 
 their disciples. That baptism was an ancient rite among many dif- 
 ferent nations is now generally conceded. Smith, in his Diet. Bible, 
 Art. Baptism, says: 
 
 "It is well known that ablution, or bathing, was commoni n ancient countries 
 as a preparation for prayers and sacrifices, or as expiatory of sin. * * * There 
 is an universal agreement among later Jewish writers that all the Israelites were 
 brought into covenant with God by circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice, and that 
 the same ceremonies were necessary in admitting proselytes. These usages of 
 the Jews will account for the readiness with which all men flocked to the bap- 
 tism of John the Baptist." 
 
 By this we learn, what we have hitherto remarked, that baptism 
 was not new and peculiar to the times of John, Jesus, and the prim- 
 itive Christians, but was an ordinance dating back to a very earlj 
 antiquity. 
 
 BAPTISM OF CHILDREN. 
 
 And now comes an effort of Mr. S. which exhibits most clearly, 
 intentional perversity. We regret it deeply, as it is a most unpleas- 
 ant thing to think that any person would purposely misrepresent 
 the views and statements of others. He says : 
 
 "The Book of Mormon clashes with Joseph's revelation concerning the bap- 
 tism of children. In the eighth chapter of Moroni we find the following re- 
 marks : 'For I have learned the truth, that there have been disputations among 
 you concerning the baptism of your little children. And now, my son, I desire 
 that you should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from 
 among you.' Again : 'I know that it is solemn mockery before God that ye 
 should baptize little children. 1 And again : l He that saith little children need 
 baptism, denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement.' 
 Yet on page page 225 of the Book of Covenants, Joseph thus speaks of John 
 the Baptist: Tor he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was or- 
 dained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old.' " 
 
 Mr. S. knows that "childhood" has its different stages, and 
 reaches up as high as twelve or fifteen years. He furthermore 
 
82 The Divine Calling of 
 
 knows that the interdictory texts from Moroni relate to ''little chil- 
 dren/' and not to children of advanced age, for the texts road so, liter- 
 ally. And he also knows that the text, "For he was baptized while 
 he was yet in his childhood/' implies that he was in the advanced 
 stages of his childhood, bordering upon that period denominated 
 youth. His quotation from "Apostle Pratt/' that "baptism always 
 precedes ordination/' is not legitimate in his effort to make the Book 
 of Mormon and the revelations of Joseph "clash." That quotation 
 has nothing to do with the texts which he falsely claims are contra- 
 dictory, and he is aware of it. 
 
 Ishmael was a "child" when he was fourteen years old, Gen. 21 : 
 14; Samuel was a "child" when he was old enough to minister be- 
 fore the Lord, 1 Sam. 2:18; Jesus was a little child, or "young 
 child/' at his birth, Matt. 2 : 11, 18; and he was still a "child" 
 when twelve years old, Luke 2 : 40, 42. It was "little children" those 
 who were not capable of believing intelligently on Christ, and of re- 
 penting of actual sins, that Mormon was writing about to Moroni, 
 and Mr. S. was not ignorant of the fact. As for the early ordina- 
 tion of John the Baptist, that of Jeremiah was at a still younger age : 
 
 "Before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained 
 thee a prophet unto the nations." Jer. 1: 5. 
 
 PRINTING HOUSE. 
 
 He next denounces the revelations of Joseph as spurious, because 
 a commandment to build a printing house at Kirtland, 0., for the 
 printing of the Scriptures was not accomplished, and because the 
 Inspired Translation was "published at Piano, 111.," instead of at 
 Kirtland, and in the house spoken of. If a failure on the part of 
 men to keep a commandment was proof that the command was not 
 of God, then farewell to the Bible both Old and New Testaments 
 farewell to the inspiration of Jesus, and Moses, and all the prophets 
 and apostles; for, from Adam and Eve in Eden, to John upon Pat- 
 mos, commandments have been received from God and not kept; 
 and the fact is so patent to all Bible readers that quotations, or even 
 citations, in proof, are not needed. The history of the race is the 
 history of man's disobedience to the commands of God. If it was 
 not manifest that our critic was crafty, we might think him crazy. 
 
 WORD "MORMON." 
 
 He next complains that Joseph did not "study and learn, and be- 
 come acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 83 
 
 and people," as he was commanded to do, D. C. 87 : 5. And he 
 does not approve of Joseph's analysis of the word Mormon, and of 
 his statement that in its root-meaning it signifies "more good/' Well, 
 from the manner in which Mr. S. handles the English, his mother- 
 tongue, it would hardly be safe to accept him as a competent critic, 
 nor his opinions as proper criterions. Mr. Smith studied the Eng- 
 lish branches, especially grammar, under Dr. McLellin, after the 
 date of this revelation, March, 1833, with remarkable success, as 
 the writer had it from Mr. McLellin in 1873. He afterwards stud- 
 ied Hebrew, making wonderful proficiency, under Messrs. Peixotto 
 and Noah. He likewise studied other languages with some success. 
 He also studied history, etc., etc. But suppose he studied none of 
 the above, that would not prove the revelation commanding him to 
 study, false, as any one of fair common sense may see. As to whether 
 Mr. Smith's explanation of the word Mormon is good or not, the 
 matter lies so far above the reach of Mr. S. that we may not trouble 
 ourselves in regard to his opinion about it for at least one millenium. 
 
 APOCRYPHA. 
 
 Again says Mr. S.: 
 
 t; In March, 1833, a revelation was given to Joseph, assigning reasons why he 
 need not translate the Apocrypha, which reasons render his translation of the 
 Bible equally needless. l Yerily, thus saith the Lord unto you, concerning the 
 Apocrypha, there are many things contained therein that are true, and it is 
 mostly translated correctly; there are many things contained therein that are 
 not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men. Verily, I say unto you, 
 that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated. Therefore, 
 whoso readeth it let him -understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth, and whoso 
 is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom ; and whoso receiveth 
 not the Spirit cannot be bene&tted; therefore it is not needful that it should be 
 translated.' D. C. 88: 1. If the possession of the Spirit will lead to a discrim- 
 ination between truth and error in the Apocrypha, so that a translation is need- 
 less, the same would be true with the Bible, and consequently render Joseph's 
 work in translating it needless." 
 
 That the Spirit of God will enable its possessor to judge between 
 good and evil, truth and error, is just as true as the words of Jesus 
 and theJApostles. Heb. 10 :15; John 14 : 26; 16 : 13; and 1 Cor. 
 2 : 15. "He that is spiritual judgeth all things/' But there is this 
 notable difference between the Apocrypha and the Bible : the latter 
 is "Holy Scriptures" while the former is not; and not being so, 
 although it contained many truths which might be gleaned out from 
 its errors by the spiritually minded, there was no need of its trans- 
 lation. The revelation under consideration does aot even intimate 
 
84 The Divine Calling of 
 
 that the Apocrypha was in any sense Holy Scriptures but only that 
 it contained many truths and many errors; and they were of no vital 
 importance beyond what may be found in Joseph us, Philo, or sim- 
 ilar works. 
 
 JOSEPH VS. HIS TRANSLATION (?) 
 
 Mr. S. says: 
 
 "Joseph had no faith in his own translation, unless he was a dishonest man, 
 for our version of Heb. 11 : 40, which reads, 'That they without us should not 
 be made perfect,' is rendered by Joseph's version thus : 'Without suffering they 
 should not be made perfect.' Yet nine years after finishing this translation, 
 Joseph falls back on to the common version to prove baptism for the dead in 
 these words : Tor their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as 
 Paul says concerning the fathers,' 'that they without us cannot be made perfect ; 
 neither can we without our dead be made perfect.' D. C. 110: 15. If Joseph 
 was an honest man, he never would have quoted spurious scripture to prove any 
 doctrine." 
 
 To this we reply, (1) that the Inspired Translation was not yet 
 published, and was not in common use; hence the propriety of not 
 quoting it in discussing, popularly, any doctrine. And, (2) Joseph 
 quotes the passage, (Heb. 11 : 40), not because baptism for the 
 dead was in fulfillment of it, but because the idea, or principle, 
 embraced in those words fitly applied in illustrating his argument. 
 Paul, when at Athens (Acts 17 : 28) quoted the Greek poet, Aratus, 
 not because the quotation was genuine Holy Scripture, but because 
 the ideas embraced in it were true, as Paul used it, and suitable to 
 the occasion; so with Joseph, and neither were dishonest. And, 
 lastly, the passage, though improperly translated, was not spurious. 
 Coin issued at the United States Mint, though it contain more alloy 
 than is legal, yet it is not spurious. A legal document, whether 
 deed, bond, mortgage, bill of sale, license, power of attorney or what- 
 ever it may be, if it le improperly worded, yet it is not, therefore, 
 spurious. That which is spurious is counterfeit, illegitimate, not of 
 genuine origin, intentionally false or corrupt. 
 
 INTERPRETERS. 
 
 Mr. S. has, for the want of a better subject, taken another bout 
 at the -interpreters." He would like to make the Book of Mormon 
 cross itself in its history of their origin or transmission. But this 
 he cannot do. He says: 
 
 "Joseph tells us that the stone -interpreters, which he claims to have found, 
 'were given to the brother of Jared;' (D. C. 15: 1); and Moroni, who claims to 
 have found the same interpreters, says in the first chapter of Ether, 'I have sealed 
 
Joseph Smith. Defended. 85 
 
 up the interpreters,' that is with the plates. So far they agree; but upon ex- 
 amining the Book of Mormon we find that Mosiah's stone-interpreters are the 
 ones handed down with the records, and not those given to Jared's brother." 
 
 We have shown, hitherto, that all the probabilities favor the idea 
 that the interpreters with which Mosiah translated the "twenty-four 
 plates found by the people of Limhi," were found with the plates; 
 for, though the record is silent, directly, as to the finding the inter- 
 preters with the plates, yet the stone-interpreters are first mentioned 
 after finding the plates, and in immediate connection with the transla- 
 tion, "by means of those two stones which were fastened into the two 
 rims of a bow/' Mosiah 12 : 3. The silence of the record as to find- 
 ing the interpreters with the plates, directly, is no evidence at all 
 against their having been found with them. The silence of Mat- 
 thew, Luke, and John as to Jesus saying, "these signs shall follow 
 them that believe," is no evidence that he did not say so; and the 
 silence of Matthew, Mark and John is no proof that Jesus did not 
 say to the penitent thief, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 
 So the silence of Mosiah as to finding the "interpreters" with the 
 plates, is not evidence that they were not found with them. Joseph 
 testifies that the angel told him that with the plates "there were 
 two stones in silver bows." (//). 
 
 David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mor- 
 mon, now living at Richmond, Mo., described the "interpreters'' to 
 a Chicago Times reporter, in August, 1875, as follows : 
 
 "But a stone had been found with the plates, shaped like a pair of ordinary 
 spectacles, though much larger, and at least half an inch in thickness, and per- 
 fectly opaque save to the prophetic vision of Joseph Smith." 
 
 0. Cowdery testifies that Joseph translated the plates by means 
 of "the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, 
 'interpreters.'" (7i). Now all these testimonies are substantially the 
 
 same, and fix the identity of the "interpreters," or "two stones which 
 were fastened into the two rims of a bow," (Mosiah 12 : 3) as being 
 the same as the two stones (Ether 1 : 18, 11) given to the brother 
 of Jared. We have shown in another place the possibility of 
 Mosiah's having obtained the stone interpreters by the way of Cor- 
 iantumr, the last Jaredite king, or in connection with other im- 
 portant discoveries, (among them Jaredite engravings), made by 
 the people of Zarahemla, (Omni 1:9, 10), many years before the 
 
 (g) Times and Seasons; Mil. Star; also Pearl of Great Price, 41. 
 (A) Times and Seasons, page 201. 
 
86 The Divine Calling of 
 
 times of Mosiah 2d. Here are two valid solutions of the question 
 as to how Mosiah became possessed of the ;> 'two stones" "interpre- 
 ters" given to the brother of Jared. And he might have obtained 
 them in either of these ways. 
 
 Mr. S., by a technical criticism, strives to make the Book of Mor- 
 mon say that the "interpreters" of Mosiah were handed down from 
 Jerusalem. He says, '-Mosiah conferred his interpreters upon Alma, 
 together with the plates:" 
 
 t: Xow after Mosiah bad finished translating these records * * * he took the 
 plates of brass, and all the things he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, 
 who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and 
 conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve 
 them, and also a record of the people, handing them dowu from one generation 
 to another, even as they had been handed down/Vom the time Lelii left Jerusa- 
 lem." Mosiah 13:1. 
 
 Now, the chief object in this passage is that of "the records;" 
 and it is of these, and not, necessarily, of the interpreters that Mo- 
 siah speaks, when he says, <: as fAryhad been handed down/row? the 
 time LeJii left Jerusol .-m." 
 
 "And these records [thus handed down] did contain the five books of Moses, 
 which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, 
 who were our first parents; and also a record of the Jews from the beginning, 
 even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah; and 
 also the prophecies of the holy prophets from the beginning, even down to the 
 commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which 
 have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah." 1 Xephi 1 : 46. 
 
 To these were added the records of succeeding Nephite prophets, 
 and, finally, in the times of Mosiah 2nd, the "twenty-four plates" 
 found by the people of king Limhi. It is manifestly the records 
 that Mosiah alludes to as having < ; been handed down //0m the tune 
 that Laid left Jerusalem" This is evidently the sense and intention 
 of the passage. Our common version says : 
 
 "Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 
 unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, * * to be taxed with Mary 
 his wife, being great with child.' 1 Luke 2:4. 5. 
 
 Yet none would question but what it was intended to say that 
 it was Mary, and NOT Joseph who was "great with child." It also 
 says: 
 
 "But as they [the disciples] sailed, he [Christ] fell asleep; and there came 
 
 down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water" Luke 8:23. 
 
 Though there are verbal defects in these passages, the meaning of 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 87 
 
 them is quite apparent; and yet they afford ample grounds for a 
 crafty critic to build up a flimsy argument upon. 
 
 FEET WASHING. 
 
 Mr. S. says : 
 
 "Feet washing is pronounced an ordinance, and restricted to the priesthood, 
 (D. C. 85:45, 46). We will not argue the question as to whether feet washing 
 was ever an ordinance in the church, or not; but it certainly was not restricted 
 to the ministry in its administration, if Paul's testimony has any weight: 'If she 
 has washed the saints 1 feet. 1 " 
 
 Oh, no! feet washing "was not restricted to the ministry in its 
 administration," not by any means; and it is good that it is not. 
 Persons could wash their own feet; and both men and women could 
 "wash the saints 1 feet/' But feet washing as an "ordinance" that 
 of which the Doctrine and Covenants speaks, is a very different 
 thing. Partaking of bread and wine, anointing with oil, and being 
 immersed, are "not restricted to the ministry" in their administra- 
 tion, except when used as ordinances of the Church, and then, like 
 feet washing, ilinj are. Feet washing was appointed to his ministry 
 by the Savior, (John 13:4-15). 
 
 PRIESTHOOD COVENANT. 
 
 Mr. S. says : 
 
 u The breaking of the priesthood covenant is pronounced an unpardonable 
 sin: 'But whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it, and altogether 
 turneth therefrom shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the- 
 world to come. 1 (D. C. 83 : G). Covenant-breaking is poor business, if the cove- 
 nant is a good one; but Christ restricts the unpardonable sin to one thing 
 blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. After Peter had lied, and cursed, and 
 swore, and had thus broken his ministerial covenant, he found pardon, and sub- 
 sequently spent long years in the ministry. 1 ' 
 
 That Peter sinned, and sinned greviously, none can deny; but to 
 vsay that he broke his priesthood covenant, is to say what is evident- 
 ly not true. If he had broken that covenant, and "altogether" turned 
 "away therefrom," his case would have been vastly different. That 
 would have involved his knowingly, willingly, and willfully turning 
 away from God; which would have embraced, substantially, his sin- 
 ning against the Holy Ghost. It is he who not only breaks "this 
 covenant after he hath received it," but also "altogether turneth 
 therefrom," "that shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor 
 in the world to come." Mr. S. has a peculiar faculty of cutting a 
 sentence in two, as above, and then arguing against a detached and 
 incomplete part, j 
 
88 The Divine Calling of 
 
 ST. JOHN TO TARRY. 
 
 He next finds fault with the revelations of Joseph, because it 
 is claimed that Christ said unto John : "Thou shalt tarry until I come 
 in my glory, and shall prophesy bofore many nations, kindreds, 
 tongues, and people." D. & C. 6 : 1. Mr. S. says: 
 
 "History affirms that John died at Ephesus. But if history is false, as John 
 never disguised himself when alive, why does he not come out like a man and 
 show himself, and settle some of these theological disputes in the land, and also 
 let us know whether he helped ordain Joseph? Why sneak around in this way?" 
 
 If Mr. S. had lived in the days of the first Christian disciples, he 
 probably would have reasoned in a similar strain concerning Jesus. 
 The Pharisees of those times said, "Master, we would see a sign from 
 thee," (Matt. 12 : 38); and some said, "If he be the king of Israel, 
 let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him," 
 (Matt. 27 : 42). And no doubt many said, If Jesus is actually 
 risen from the dead, why does he not come out like a man and show 
 himself, and settle some of these theological disputes in the land, 
 and also let us know whether he had raised up many of the 
 bodies of the saints, why skulk around in this way? The heav- 
 ens were not bound to gratify the morbid curiosity of the sign-seek- 
 ers in those days, nor are they now. Jesus was not shown openly 
 to the world after his resurrection, "but unto witnesses chosen before 
 of God," (Acts 10:41). God's wisdom, anciently, and inodernly, 
 is very different from that of man's. 
 
 As to John's death, history is conflicting and unsatisfactory. 
 Smith, in his Dictionary of the Bible, says : 
 
 "The very time of his death lies within the region of conjecture rather than 
 of history, and the dates that have been assigned for it range from A. D. 89 to 
 A. D. 120." 
 
 That the early Christians, with John, understood that he was not 
 to die, but remain till the second coming of Christ, is apparent from 
 John 21: 22, 23: 
 
 "Jesus saith unto him, If I will .that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? 
 Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that 
 disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I 
 will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee ?" 
 
 ADAM MICHAEL AN ANGEL. 
 
 Mr. S. objects further to the revelations of Joseph, because one, 
 in D. C. 104 : 28, calls Adam "Michael, the Prince, the Archangel." 
 He says : 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 89 
 
 u The Bible never represents saints as turning into angels at any past or future 
 time." 
 
 Well, the Bible does not contain all the truths there are, either 
 in heaven, or on earth; and yet the Bible does teach that men be- 
 come angels. In the Hebrew, in Isa. 42 : :19; Hag. 1 : 13; Mai. 3 : 
 1, what in the common English version is "messenger," is there 
 "angel." In Revelations 1 : 20; 2:1, 8, 12, etc., the elders in 
 charge of the seven churches of Asia, are called by the Holy Spirit, 
 angels. And in Rev. 19 : 10, the angel who ministers to John says: 
 U I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." 
 0/here signifies, clearly, from among. He was, therefore, "from 
 among" those, John's "brethren that have the testimony of Jesus, 
 * * * for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." Again, 
 "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he 
 shined forth from Paran, and he came with ten thousand of saints; 
 from his right hand went forth a fiery law," (Deut. 33:2). Now 
 David calls these "saints" "angels." "The chariots of God are 
 twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them 
 as in Sinai in the holy place," (Ps. 68 : 17). This identifies these 
 "saints," as being the "angels" of God. These may have been of 
 that company of saints composed of Enoch and others, who were 
 translated. 
 
 Bingham, in his Antiquities of the Christian Church, p. 75, states 
 that the Bishops were called the "'angels of the churches; a name 
 which some authors suppose to be used by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11 : 10." 
 Now, inasmuch as the ministers of God, under the Old Testament, 
 and the New Testament, were called angels, why may not Adam be 
 be also called an angel ? And inasmuch as the personage who min- 
 istered to John, and who was "of" John's brethren, was called an 
 angel, and was an angel, why may not others of John's faithful breth- 
 ren, and Adam pre-eminent among them, become "angels?" Jesus 
 says : 
 
 u They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resur- 
 rection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither can 
 they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels." Luke 20 : 35, 36. "But 
 are as the angels of God in heaven." Matt. 22: 30. 
 
 Being then "as the angels of God in heaven," and "equal unto 
 the angels," will Mr. S. tell us wherein they differ from them. And 
 inasmuch as they are changed into the condition, and nature, of "the 
 angels of God in heaven," are they not, substantially, angels? It is 
 
90 The Divine Calling of 
 
 true that man was made "a little lower than the angels," (of heaven), 
 being made liable to death, possessing less power, and having a more 
 limited sphere than they, but that is not to say that men may not 
 become angels, in a limited sense, while in this life, and "as the an- 
 gels of God in heaven" in a world to come. Christ, before his in- 
 carnation, ministered as the '-'angel of the Lord." Gen. 22 : 15; Ex. 
 3 : 2, 6, 14; Acts 7 : 30-35; Gen. 48 : 15, 16, with Heb. 1 : 2, 3, 8, 
 10; 1 Cor. 15 :47. Arid he is now "a quickening Spirit." 1 Cor. 
 15:45. 
 
 Inasmuch as resurrected holy men are made "equal unto the an- 
 gels" and -as the angels of God in heaven." why riot those who are 
 translated Enoch, Elijah, and probably others why not they be 
 "equal unto/' and "as the angels of God in heaven ?" This is further 
 seen in the fact that the Lord promised to send '-Elijah the prophet" 
 (Mai. 4 : 5, 6) "to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation," 
 Heb. 1 : 14. In Luke 9 : 30, 31, Moses and Elias (Elijah) appear 
 in the capacity of angels, though not in the name of angels. 
 
 ''There talked with him [Christ] two men, which were Moses and Elias; who 
 appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Je- 
 rusalem." 
 
 Angels were frequently called men (Gen. 18 : 2; Josh. 5 : 13, 15; 
 Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10; Heb. 13:2, etc., etc.). Now, all these 
 proofs place the matter beyond question: (1) that men in this life 
 are sometimes called angels; and (2) that translated persons, and 
 resurrected persons, become -equal unto," and "as the angels of God 
 in heaven ;" and (3) that some of them have ministered in that 
 capacity. 
 
 THREE FUTURE WORLDS. 
 
 Mr. S. next opposes the idea that there are "three future worlds 
 celestial, terrestial, and telestiaL" He says: 
 
 "Celestial means heavenly; terrestial means earthly; but what does telestial 
 mean?" 
 
 Why, Mr. S., it means "the glory of the stars," (1 Cor. 15 : 21), the 
 last and least "order" of glory in the resurrection, (1 Cor. 15 : 21, 23, 
 24), and is to be possessed by those worthy of it, when the Lord judges 
 all men "according to their works" (Rev. 20 : 13; Rom. 2:6; Matt. 
 16 : 27; Rom. 14 : 11, 12). It is not "the Restorationist's hell/' 
 as you flippantly assert; but it is that condition of future being and 
 glory into which "they who are thrust down to hell * * who are not 
 redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 91 
 
 even Christ the Lamb shall have finished his work," (D. C. 76 : 
 shall finally be brought. "The wicked shall be turned into 
 and all the nations that forget God/' (Ps. 9 : 17); yet "death 
 heW shall deliver up the dead which are in them, and they shall be* 
 "judged every man according to his works/' (Rev. 20 : 13). Jonah 
 says: "Out of the belly of hell [a place of God's punishment] cried 
 I, and thou heardest my voice/' (Jonah 2:2). So from these, and* 
 other Bible testimonies, we learn, that although the wicked may, 
 and do, go down to hell, it is for their punishment, and reform, and 
 that it is not the purpose of God that they should eternally remain 
 there; nor is it his purpose that they should become unconscious at 
 death and remain so till they are resurrected and judged, and then 
 be annihilated; for that would defeat justice and pervert equity,, 
 and render forever impossible the just judgment of God, "who with- 
 out respect to persons judgeth according to every man's work" (1 
 Pet, 1 : 17). 
 
 That all the race (with one class as an exception they who SIB, 
 against the Holy Ghost), will be subdued unto God, and will finally 
 know and confess Christ, is evident from the Scriptures. Paul says: 
 
 'That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and- 
 things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should con^. 
 fess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2.; .10, IK 
 
 John says: 
 
 "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the- 
 earth, and such as are in the sea, and all thai are in them, heard I> say ing, Bless- 
 ing and honor, and glory and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne^. 
 and unto the Lamb forever and ever," Rev. 5 : 13. 
 
 There is a wide difference in men's works, and consequently there 
 will be a wide difference in the degrees of their condemnation and 
 rewards, and in their future conditions. 
 
 They of the telestial glory dwell outside of the city New Jerusa- 
 lem, and where God and Christ are they cannot come : 
 
 'Tor without [the city] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and mur- 
 derers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Rev. 22:15. 
 
 "And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, 
 for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differ one from another 
 in glory in the telestial world ; for these are they who are of Haul and of Apollos, 
 and of Cephas ; these are they who say they are some of one and some of an- 
 other, some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias* 
 and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch, but received not the 
 gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets*; neither the everlasting 
 covenant: last of all, these all are they who will nott be -gathered with the -saints,. 
 
92 The Divine Calling of 
 
 to be caught up unto the church of the first born, and received into the cloud; 
 these are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, 
 and whosoever loves and makes a lie; these are they who suffer the vengeance 
 of eternal fire; these are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath 
 of Almighty God until the fullness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all 
 enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work, when he shall deliver 
 up the kingdom and present it unto the Father spotless saying : I have overcome 
 and have trodden the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God: 
 then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory to sit on the throne of 
 his power to reign forever and ever. But, behold, and lo, we saw the glory 
 and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the 
 stars in the firmament, or as the sand upon the sea shore, and heard the voice 
 of the Lord saying : These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess 
 to him who sits upon the throne forever and eter; for they shall be judged ac- 
 cording to their works ; and every man shall receive according to his own works, 
 and his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared, and they shall be 
 servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, 
 worlds without end." D. C. 76: 7. 
 
 The foregoing is a brief explanation of what the telestial glory is, 
 or means. In it we see the benevolent provisions of an All-wise 
 God for the future conditions of erring man. 
 
 The terrestial glory is greatly in advance of that of the telestial 
 world, while the celestial is vastly superior to the terrestial, it being 
 the glory of the Father and the Son, where they who enjoy it are 
 made possessors of all things those things that "eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man/' except as 
 revealed unto some by the Spirit of God. With "the second death" 
 and eternal perdition for those only who become like the devil and 
 his angels. 
 
 The teachings of the Scriptures and the verdict of all right-mind- 
 ed people, is, that all mankind, without respect of persons, should 
 be judged according to their icorks; and this provision of the three 
 glories, or "three future worlds/' as Mr. S. is pleased to call them, 
 meets all the demands of the case, manifesting alike the justice, the 
 equity, and the love of God. 
 
 That doctrine is neither sensible nor Scriptural, however popular 
 it may be, that reckons all sinners alike in the sight of God that 
 ranks the midnight assassin, the red-handed murderer, and those of 
 the viler sort, with the Sabbath-breaker, the common liar, or the 
 petty thief, in the same class. All are transgressors, but not to the 
 same degree; and therefore justice, equity, and mercy demand that 
 there should be a difference in their judgment. Jesus teaches in 
 plain terms that "it shall be more tolerable" for one class of sinners 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 93 
 
 in the day of judgment than for others, (Matt. 11 : 22, 24; 10 : 15; 
 12 : 41, 42). But this could not be true if all kinds and classes of 
 sinners went down to hell at death and remained there worlds with- 
 out end, as some teach; or if the wicked were unconscious after 
 death till their resurrection, and were then simply judged and anni- 
 hilated, as others teach. God is just, and his tender mercies, are 
 over all his works, to do right by them. 
 
 THE SOUL OP MAN. 
 
 Mr. S. next enters into a profitless quibble in regard to what is 
 said in the revelations about the soul of man, "And the spirit and 
 the body is the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead 
 is the redemption of the soul/' (D. C. 85 : 4). "0 God, receive my 
 soul/' (Mosiah 9:5). Mr. 8. says : 
 
 "Did he mean receive my spirit and body?" 
 
 To this we reply, that the meaning of a word is to be deter- 
 mined by the office it performs in a sentence. This is an essential 
 law of language. Consequently, when I speak of a door, I may 
 speak of an aperture or passage-way into a room or building, or, of 
 that which fills the aperture, or shuts up the passage. When we 
 speak of a gate, we may mean the opening, or entrance, or we may 
 mean that which closes up the entrance. When we use the word 
 cleave, it may signify adhere, unite; or it may mean, to part, separ- 
 ate, divide. The meaning of these words and thousands of others, 
 soul included, has various meanings, which can be determined only 
 by the office they perform in their connection with other words. 
 
 The soul, in Gen. 2 : T "man became a living soul/' relates to 
 man as a living being composed of body and spirit, (Eccl. 12:7; 
 Jas. 2 : 26. So Lev. 23 : 30 ; Acts 27 : 37 ; 1 Pet. 3 : 20, etc.). But 
 in Gen. 35 ; 18, "as her soul was in departing," and 1 Kings 17 : ' 
 21, "let this child's soul come into him again; and Prov. 16 : 24, 
 "Pleasant words are sweet to the soul;" and Matt. 10 : 28, "Fear 
 not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul;" and 
 Acts 14 : 22, "confirming the souls of the disciples;" and Rev. 6 : 
 9, "I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the 
 word of God, and for the testimony which they held," with scores 
 of other passages which might be quoted, the word soul clearly re- 
 lates, not to the body, but to the spirit of man. So then, the spirit 
 of man is the soul as taught in Mosiah, and the spirit and body is 
 
The Divine Calling of 
 
 also the soul, as taught in D. C. 85 : 4; and there is no contradic- 
 tion, though Mr. S. would love to make it appear so. 
 
 NON-ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 !Mr. S. complains that: 
 
 * 4 In translating the Book of Mormon, words arc often used not contained in 
 %he English language. The following is a sample: 'a fifth part of their ziff. 1 
 ilos, 7:1." 
 
 These words were transferred, probably, because there were no 
 English equivalents for them. If "ziff" was some kind of metal, as 
 is rather likely, it is not at all strange that there was not, at the 
 time of the translation, an English equivalent for it. A number of 
 aew metals have been discovered since then, and there may yet be 
 *nany more discovered, and possibly the very kind in question. 
 
 GIFT TO TRANSLATE. 
 
 ~Mr. S. wishes to know: 
 
 '"(I) Was the gift [to translate] in the stone-interpreters, or in Joseph? (2) 
 H Joseph himself had the gift, what need of the stones? (3) If the gift was in 
 the stones, how could Joseph lose it, without losing the stones? 1 ' 
 
 To the first question we reply: the gift was in both, in the 
 stones as a means, and in Joseph as an agent to use that means. To 
 tlie second we reply : Though Joseph was the agent to translate, yet 
 the stones were necessary as a means by which to work. In reply 
 to the third we have to say, that Joseph might have lost liis power 
 s a seer, and in this sense lost his gift to translate; or he might have 
 lost the stone, which was a means in translating. An astronomer 
 may lose the telescope by which he traces the pathway of the stars, 
 =aad discovers and visits those beautiful islands of light in the limit- 
 less expanse of the heavens, or he may lose his natural sight the 
 power to use that wonderful instrument. 
 
 TRIM AND THUMMIM. 
 
 Mr. S. now proceeds to enlighten us in regard to the Urim and 
 Thummim. He says: 
 
 "The Jewish High Priest never read languages by this means, but wore them 
 upon his breast-plate, they were not used to read through, but were outward 
 emblems of divine illumination upon the heart of the wearer. 11 
 
 Brown, in his Diet, of Bible, art. Urim and Thummim, says, 
 "What they were cannot be determined." Smith, in his Diet. Bi- 
 &, says: 
 
 4; In what way the Urim and Thummim were consulted is quite uncertain. 
 

 Joseph Smith Defended. 95 
 
 Joseplms and the rabbins supposed that the stones gave out the oracular answer by 
 preternatural illumination. But it seems to be far simplest, and most in agree- 
 ment with the different accounts of inquiries made by Urim and Thummim, 
 (1 Sam. 3: 18, 19; 23:3,12; 28:6; Judg. 20:28; 2 Sam. 5; 23, &c.), to suppose 
 that the answer was given simply by the word of the Lord to the high priest 
 (compare John 11:51), when he had inquired of the Lord, clothed with the 
 Ephod and breast-plate. 1 ' 
 
 Who should better understand than "Josephus and the rabbins?" 
 None, we think, but those who are favored with a divine revelation, 
 or with experimental knowledge, as Joseph and the first Elders and 
 members of the church. The opinions of "Josephus and the rab- 
 bins" are in essential accord with the statements of Joseph, 0. Cow- 
 dery, M. Harris, D. Whitmer, and others, and quite adverse to the 
 opinion volunteered by Mr. S. The Septuagint Bible renders the 
 signification of Urim and Thummim, as "revelation and truth" 
 Whiston, in a note, on p. 94, Josephus j says that the "shining stones" 
 were used in revealing the will of God, after & perfect and true man- 
 ner to his people Israel. Of these stones Josephus, Ant. Jews, B. 
 3, ch. 9, par. 9, says, "Now this breast-plate, and sardonyx left off 
 shining two hundred years before I composed this book." With the 
 information we have before us, one thing is certain, and that is, that 
 the Urim and Thummim, as Joseph claims, was a divine means of 
 revelation from God, "after a perfect and true manner;" and that 
 it was through the "preternatural illumination" of the stones. That 
 it was a means of obtaining revelation and instruction directly from 
 God is seen in the fact that Joshua "shall stand before Eleazer the 
 priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment [decision, 
 revelation] of Urim before the Lord," (Num. 27:21); and that, 
 "When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, 
 neither by dreams, nor l>y Urim, nor by prophets," (1 Sam. 28 : 6). 
 In all these evidences we see that it was a means of revelation from 
 God, enabling those gifted with the power to use it to read and learn 
 in regard to hidden matters, and know what was otherwise secret 
 and unrevealed. 
 
 FIRST GIFT. 
 
 Mr. S. thinks he has found "a direct collision" in the fact of Jo- 
 seph's having the gift of prophecy, in connection with 0. Cowdery, 
 May, 1829, when they baptized each other, whereas a command- 
 ment was given in March, 1829, two months before, saying to Jo- 
 seph: 
 
96 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "And you have a gift to translate the plates, and this is the first gift that I 
 bestowed upon you ; and I have commanded that you pretend to no other gift 
 until my purpose is fulfilled in this, for I will grant unto you no other gift until 
 it is finished." D. C. 4: 1. 
 
 That this could have no direct reference to spiritual gifts, such as 
 discerning of spirits, visions, angelic ministrations, revelations, etc., 
 etc.. is evident from the fact that Joseph possessed all these for 
 months, and years, prior to the revelation. It referred, no doubt, 
 to matters of translation, the chief topic of the clause quoted, and 
 to showing the plates to others. Joseph had "the gift" to translate 
 only the unsealed part of the plates, and he was not privileged to 
 show the plates to any until the translation was completed; for Jo- 
 seph says; 
 
 'The same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge : 
 that I should be responsible for them : and that if I should let them go carelessly, 
 or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use my 
 endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger should call for them, they 
 should be protected.'' Millennial Star, voL 14, Supplement, page 6. 
 
 And it was further said to Joseph : 
 
 "I have caused you that you should enter into a covenant with me, that you 
 should not show them [the plates] except to those persons whom I commanded 
 you, and you have no power over them except / grant it unto you." D. C. 4: 1. 
 
 Xow this was said to Joseph because Martin Harris "desired a 
 witness [at the hand of the Lord] that you, my servant Joseph 
 Smith. Jr., have got the plates of which you have testified and borne 
 record that you have received of me/ ; (D. C. 4 : 1). In June of 
 1829, Martin Harris obtained from the desired witness, in connec- 
 tion with P. "Whitrner and 0. Cowdery. Xow Joseph had the gift 
 to trantlatc the plates, but not to sliou: them until the translation 
 was finished. This is the easy and natural solution of what Mr. S. 
 has labored hard to make : 'a puzzle." and a contradiction. 
 
 IMITATING BIBLE. 
 
 Mr. S. says: 
 
 "The Book of Mormon betrays its weakness in imitating the style of Bible 
 phraseology a style in common use at the time our Bible was first translated 
 into the English language, but which has long since ceased to be used, except 
 as it is retained in our version of the Bible." 
 
 All critics do not agree with Mr. S. on this point. Some hold 
 that the dissimilarity in the style of the two books, in respect to 
 their phraseology, is evidence that the Book of Mormon is spurious. 
 That the style of speech in the Book of Mormon is somewhat like 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 97 
 
 that of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is true; but that 
 it is strikingly so, is not true, as any one who carefully reads the two 
 books can see. That the diction, or manner of expression, peculiar to 
 both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is largely and mainly due 
 to the style of the originals, is, we think, a well attested fact; though 
 of the Bible Mr- 8. asserts to the contrary, holding that its style of 
 phraseology is due to that which was common to its translators. 
 Max Miiller, one of England's most eminent scholars, in one of his 
 Essays on the Science of Religion, holds the very opposite of Mr. S. 
 Prof. Miiller, in his admirable and successful effort to prove that the 
 Hebrew original of created "bara," (Gen. 1 : 1, etc.), signifies "to 
 create out of pre-existing matter," says: 
 
 "In the minds of those whom Moses addressed, and whose language he spoke, 
 it [the phrase, or form of expression, by which he speaks of God's creating 
 heaven and earth] could only have called forth the simple conception of fashion- 
 ing or arranging. * * * To find out how the words of the Old Testament were 
 understood by those to whom they were originally addressed is a task attempted 
 by a very few interpreters of the Bible. The great majority of readers transfer 
 without hesitation the ideas which they connect with words as used in the nine- 
 teenth century to the mind of Moses or his cotemporaries, forgetting altogether 
 the distance which divides their language and their thoughts from the 'thoughts 
 and language of the wandering tribes of Israel." 
 
 Again: 
 
 "It is well known that we have in the language of the New Testament the 
 clear vestiges of Greek and Roman influences, and if we knew nothing of the 
 historical intercourse between those two nations and the writers of the New 
 Testament, the very expressions [phraseology] used by them, not only their 
 language, but their thoughts, their allusions, illustrations and similes, would* en- 
 able us to say that some historical contact had taken place between the philos- 
 ophers of Greece, the lawgivers of Rome, and the people of Judea. * * * Why 
 should there be any hesitation in pointing out in the Old Testament an Egyp- 
 tian custom, or a Greek word, or a Persian conception. If Moses was learned in 
 all the wisdom of the Egyptians, nothing surely would stamp his writings as 
 more truly historical than traces of Egyptian influences that might be discovered 
 in his laws." 
 
 Now all this teaches that the style of expression the phraseology 
 as well as the ideas, of God's ancient people are sought to be 
 preserved in the common version of the Bible. And it is not at 
 all strange that there should be some similarity between the w-ritings 
 of the ancient Nephites in America and the ancient Israelites in 
 Judea; for both sprang from the same nation, having the same 
 language in the main, and the same Scriptures up to the time of 
 
98 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Jeremiah, and were taught by the same Spirit from one and the 
 same God, and the same Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 ELI AS GABRIEL. 
 
 Mr. S- objects to the revelations of Joseph because that in D. C. 
 26 : 2, it is said: "Which Zachariah he [Elias] visited, and gave 
 promise that he should have a son, and his name should be John," 
 whereas in Luke 1 : 19. the angel's name is said to be "Gabriel." 
 
 Angels, as well as others, may have different names. Peter was 
 sometimes called Cephas and sometimes Simon. Jesus had many 
 titles Christ, the Lord, the Holy One. Messiah, Immanuel, etc., 
 etc. Mr. S. says "it is a trick of rogues." to change ones name. 
 \Yas it a "trick of rogues" for Peter, and Jesus, and Jacob, and 
 Abraham, and Saul of Tarsus, and hosts of other Bible worthies, to 
 change their names? Are you not rather sweeping in your denun- 
 ciations, Mr. S ? In your effort to thus strike down "Mormonism," 
 are you not fighting against the facts of the Bible? Men of God, 
 as also Christ, have various names, which are alike honored of God 
 by their being used by the Spirit of God. Why then should it be 
 thought unreasonable that angels should have different names, and 
 that the angel who announced to Zacharias the birth of John should 
 be called both Elias and Gabriel? Presumptive evidence that the 
 angel "Gabriel" was none other than "Elias" lies in the peculiarity 
 of the promise: "And he [John] shall go before him in the spirit 
 and power of Elias," (Luke 1 : 17), from which it maybe easily in- 
 ferred that "Elias" (Elijah, Heb.) would be "his angel," to watch 
 over, direct, and aid him, in his life and ministry. Further evidence 
 lies in the promise made through Malachi, 4 : 5, "Behold, I will 
 send you Elijah [Elias, Gr.], the prophet before the coming of the 
 great and dreadful day of the Lord," which Jesus applies to John 
 the Baptist; (Matt. 11 : 1-4: 17 : 12); and yet which John denies, 
 (John 1 : 21). when he said he was not the Elias. John was the 
 Elias to that generation, inasmuch as he acted under the minis- 
 tration of Elias (Elijah, Heb.). his angel: yet personally he was not 
 the Elias. but only John the Baptist. In this we have a rational 
 solution of a seeming contradiction between the testimony of John 
 and Christ; and by this we also obtain a clue to the idea that the 
 angel Gabriel was none other than the prophet Elijah, who was 
 translated without seeing death, (2 Kings 2:1, 11). Inasmuch as 
 John was to go before Christ "in the spirit and power of Elias," 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 99 
 
 [Elijah], what more proper than that this translated prophet should 
 announce to Zacharias the birth and mission of John? And what 
 more proper than that this translated prophet, now that his condition 
 was so changed toward God, should, like Abram, Jacob, Saul, Peter, 
 and others, have "a new name," and be called "Gabriel," as well as 
 "Elias?" These ideas are in exact accordance with Bible facts; and 
 the thought that the angel Gabriel is the translated prophet Elijah, 
 is good evidence of the divinity of that revelation of the young Seer 
 in which it is found. 
 
 THE PLATES, AND THE WITNESSES. 
 
 We now come to another link in the lengthy chain of objections 
 urged by Mr. S., and to the weakest and most unreasonable so far. 
 Itls in regard to the testimony of the three and the eight witnesses 
 to the Book of Mormon. Mr. S. admits what no reasonable and in- 
 formed person can well deny, that " Joseph might have had plates of 
 some kind, either found or prepared to imitate gold;" yet he claims 
 that the witnesses, all of them, the three and the eight, were mis- 
 taken that is, deceived and that their testimony is contradictory ; 
 and that many of its essential parts are based on second-hand testi- 
 mony "on the strength of Joseph's word." Mr. S , in his method 
 of argument, reaches the very climax of absurdity, and exposes him- 
 self on every hand to contempt for his wit, and to painful distrust 
 of the piety of his intentions. He inquires, 
 
 "How did the three witnesses see the plates? In a revelation made to them 
 'previous to their viewing the plates 1 it was said to them : 'It is by your faith 
 that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which was had by the 
 prophets of old. 1 D. C. 15 : 1. How much faith would it require to see a piece 
 of gold where it really existed? Not much; but where it did not exist, it 
 might ,need considerable faith to view it. Doubtless this might have been so 
 with these sacred plates; they believed that what they saw was gold; that an 
 angel brought them ; and that the voice of God endorsed the translation, being 
 told all this by Joseph. 11 
 
 The eight witnesses (not the three), claim that the plates "have 
 the appearance of gold ;" and claim also to have handled them with 
 their hands, and to have hefted them likewise. Mr. S. questions 
 the propriety of their faith having anything to do with their seeing 
 the plates, and argues substantially, that they only imagined that 
 they saw them. It is not at all strange that most implicit faith 
 (not imaginings) should be required of the three witnesses, who saw 
 the plates in the hands of the angel of God, in an open vision. 
 
100 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "Without faith it is impossible to please God.' 1 Heb. 11: 6. 
 
 u Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his 
 servant was healed from that hour." Matt. 8:13. 
 
 "But the word preached did not profit them, [Israel], not being mixed with 
 faith in them that heard it. 11 Heb. 4: 2. 
 
 "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Rom. 14: 23. 
 
 "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether 
 prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith." Rom. 12 : 6. 
 
 "Then came the disciples to Jesns apart, and said, Why could not we cast 
 him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief." Matt. 
 17:20. 
 
 "And he did not many mighty works there [in his own country] because of 
 their unbelief." Matt. 13: 58. 
 
 "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him 
 that belie veth." Mark 9 : 23. 
 
 "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." Isa. 7 : 9. 
 
 Time would fail us to cite the innumerable evidences that God 
 works among his people according to their faith. Why should a 
 professor of the religion of the Bible scoff at the idea that these three 
 witnesses must have faith in God in order to be worthy to behold 
 the wonderful vision by the power of God, of these sacred plates? 
 Has he forgotten the scriptures? Or is he so unfair, so partisan, 
 as to allow that faith was essential in the service of God in ancient 
 times, but not necessary now I 
 
 ' As to his insinuation that the witnesses merely imagined that 
 what they saw was gold, its folly is so self-evident that a reply is 
 scarcely needed. The eleven witnesses, 0. Cowdery, M. Harris, 
 D. Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, sen., Jacob Whitmer, 
 Christian Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, jun., John Whitmer, Hyrum 
 Smith, and Samuel H. Smith. were men of at least ordinary natural 
 abilities, while many of them had a fair English education, and a 
 moderate acquaintance with the common affairs of business. Now 
 it is highly improbable, if not quite impossible, for an illiterate 
 young man of from twenty-three to twenty-five years of age, as was 
 Joseph Smith, with whom they were most intimately acquainted, 
 and with whom they were frequently associated, to have deceived 
 these eleven witnesses in the manner claimed by Mr. S. The idea 
 is absolutely preposterous, and reflects but little credit upon the 
 sagacity of the one who originated it. Gold, as a medium of ex- 
 change, was then in common use, so that persons doing any business 
 at all would have some actual knowledge as to what was gold, and 
 what was not. To think that Joseph Smith could have prepared a 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 101 
 
 large book of plates, "having the appearance of ancient work, and 
 of curious workmanship, which have the appearance of gold/' and 
 could have imposed them upon eleven sensible, intelligent men, some 
 of whom were skilled in all the common affairs of life, may do for 
 idiots, for men without brains, but not for those who have an or- 
 dinary measure of common sense. 
 
 Says Mr. S., "They believed that what they saw was gold;" and 
 he thinks "tin plates, dipped in a dye that would give them a golden 
 color to superficial observers, would suffice in the hands of Joseph 
 to get such a certificate/' as is given by the eight witnesses. If 
 they could be so easily duped in respect to color, how then in res- 
 pect to the great number of the plates, and how in respect to their 
 being "of ancient work, and of curious workmanship?" If there 
 had been but one plate, and that without engravings, it would have 
 been next to impossible for the young and inexperienced Joseph to 
 have deceived the eleven witnesses, or even the eight, in respect to 
 its material, and general character. But for him to prepare a large 
 book of plates, and those plates elaborately engraved with characters 
 that had "the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workman- 
 ship" a work requiring great labor arid most consummate skill 
 and then palm them upon eleven rational men as genuine records, 
 records of very remote ages, and sacred at that, is quite past belief. 
 The facts are, their testimony is true, and valid for the purposes for 
 which it was given, or else these witnesses are deceivers of the 
 basest class. The eight witnesses say : 
 
 "We did handle with our hands * * * as many of the leaves as the said 
 Smith has translated; * * * we have seen and hefted, [i.e. lifted, for the pur- 
 pose of judging of their weight], and know of a surety that the said Smith has 
 got the plates of which we have spoken. 11 
 
 Mr. S. affirms. 
 
 "The testimony of the eight witnesses disagrees with the three. They do 
 not claim that an angel brought the plates from heaven for them to view, and 
 they deny that they were in the possession of the angel. 11 
 
 It is true that "TVieydonot claim that an angel brought the 
 plates from heaven for them to view;" but it is not true that "they 
 deny that they were in the possession of the angel." They simply 
 testify that when they saw them, handled them, and hefted them, 
 that then Joseph Smith did have the plates. As to the fact of the 
 angel's having them both before and after, that time, they do not 
 
102 The Divine Calling of 
 
 testify, and this was very proper. In regard to the testimony of 
 the three witnesses, in particular, Mr. S. says: 
 
 "They believed that what they saw was gold; that an angel brought them; 
 and that the voice of God endorsed the translation, being told all this by 
 Joseph. 1 ' 
 
 In the first place the three do not testify as to the plates being 
 gold, or as to their believing they were gold, as before seen. In 
 the next place, these are not very judicious comments upon the in- 
 telligence and shrewdness of the three witnesses, of whom, Mr. S. 
 knows nothing personally, and but little of their history; and, to 
 our mind, his view of the case is very damaging to his judgment. 
 For Mr. S. to assume that three such intelligent and experienced 
 men as 0. Cowdery, D. Whitmer, and M. Harris were, would give 
 to the world a certificate so definite in its details, and so highly im- 
 portant and consequential in its claims, and all based on the say so 
 of Joseph Smith, is to exhibit on the part of Mr. S. a sorry want of 
 mental acumen. And for them to testify, "we also know that they 
 [the plates] have been translated by the gift &&& power of God, for 
 his voice hath declared it unto us;" and also testify, "we have seen 
 the engravings which are upon the plates, and they have been shown 
 unto us by the power of God and not of man;" and further, t; we 
 declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down 
 from heaven, and lie brought and laid before our eyes, that we be- 
 held and saw the plates , and the engravings thereon;" and still fur- 
 ther, "the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear 
 record of it;" and for them to do all this upon the mere word or 
 representation of Joseph to them "being told all this by Joseph," 
 as Mr. S. puts it, is for them to do a most improbable thing. 
 
 They testify that "the voice of the Lord" commanded them to 
 bear record of the witness that God gave them concerning the Book 
 of Mormon. They testify that "an angel of God came down from 
 heaven, and HE brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld 
 and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon." They testify that 
 the plates "have been translated by the gift and power of Gfod, for 
 his voice hath declared it unto us." And yet Mr. S. has the hardi- 
 hood to state that 
 
 "These witnesses do not say that they saw the angel come down; they were 
 doubtless told so by Joseph. Nor do they affirm that they heard the voice of 
 God; it doubtless came through Joseph's revelation, commanding them to tes- 
 tify. Thus they saw no angel, and heard no voice; they simply affirmed on the 
 strength of Joseph's word ; If they really had seen an angel, they would have 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 103 
 
 said so. If they had heard a voice from heaven, they would have said so. Nor 
 is it sure that they saw the plates, except by faith through Joseph" 
 
 This is the extreme of nonsense. It is more it is basely false, 
 as Mr. S. well knows. If they, personally, saw not the plates, and 
 the engravings thereon; and if they saw not '-an angel of God" 
 come down from heaven; and if the angel of God did not bring the 
 plates and lay them before their eyes; and if they did not hear the 
 voice of God to themselves; and if the plates were not shown to 
 them i; by the power of God and not of man," then they were base 
 and willful impostors, for they unequivocally affirm as much. The 
 disgraceful prevarications imputed to them by Mr. S., have not the 
 slightest foundation in fact; and they would have been heartily 
 spurned by those .men of God. and hurled back with scorn upon 
 those who might have suggested them. 
 
 0. Cowdery, who became an attorney of pronounced ability, al- 
 ways bore an undeviating testimony of the Book of Mormon till the 
 cold waves of death swept him from the shores of tim? into the world 
 of spirits. And he, after years of reflection and profound thought 
 upon the matter, never marred his testimony by such quibbles as 
 are presented in the criticisms of Mr. S. 
 
 Martin Harris, now passed within the vail, whose years reached 
 more than fourscore and ten, reaffirmed his testimony, time after 
 time, for all these forty-five years, and would have scorned the 
 thought of having it explained after the manner of Mr. S. 
 
 David Whitiner, now aged over seventy years, a man who, by his- 
 upright life, commands the respect and esteem of all who know him, 
 a man of high intellectual attainments, as noticed in the former part 
 of our article, he, too, unflinchingly and unqualifiedly, maintains 
 his former testimony concerning the Book of Mormon. He would 
 despise the thought of his testimony being based upon such grounds 
 as are assumed by Mr. S., or of explaining away its point and force, 
 as Mr. S. has sought to do. 
 
 Joseph, in his History of the Church, gives an account of the 
 manner in which the three witnesses obtained the evidences upon 
 which their special testimony is based. He says : 
 
 u Xot many days after the above commandment [D. C. 15] was given, we 
 four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and myself, agreed 
 to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the 
 fulfillment of the promise given in the revelation that they should have a view 
 of the plates, &c. "We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient 
 to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down, we be- 
 
104 The Divine Calling of 
 
 gan to pray in much faith to AlmigLt/ G-od to bestow upon us a realization of 
 these promises. According to previous arrangements I commenced by vocal 
 prayer to our heavenly Fatber, and was folJowed by each of the rest in succes- 
 sion. "We did not, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of the divine 
 favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling 
 on and praying fervently to G-od in rotation, but with the same result as before. 
 Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw 
 himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the 
 cause of our not obtaining what we wished for; he accordingly withdrew from 
 us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in 
 prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding 
 brightness: and behold, an angel stood before us; in his hands he held the 
 plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of; he turned over 
 the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discover the engravings 
 thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, 
 'David, blessed is the Lord and he that keeps his commandments. 1 When, im- 
 mediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, 
 saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have 
 been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have 
 seen is correct and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.' 
 I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I 
 found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, 
 however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested 
 me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which 
 we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained 
 our desires, for, before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our 
 view, at least it was again to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same 
 things, whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in ec- 
 stacy of joy, "Tis enough; mine eyes have beheld, 1 and jumping up, he shouted 
 'Hosannah, 1 blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly. 
 
 "Having thus, through the mercy of G-od, obtained these manifestations, it 
 now remained for these three individuals to fulfill the commandment which they 
 had received, viz., to bear record of these things; in order to accomplish which, 
 they drew up and described [subscribed] the following document. 1 ' 
 
 Here follows the testimony of the three witnesses as found on the 
 first leaves of the Book of Mormon. It will be observed that "they" 
 (the "three witnesses'') "drew up and described [subscribed] the 
 following document" (their testimony). 
 
 To the question, "Did you go to England to lecture against Mor- 
 monism?" a question propounded by Sr. H. B. Emerson, of New 
 Richmond, 0., in 1870, Martin Harris replied: (See True Latter 
 Day Saints Herald, for October 15, 1875): 
 
 "I answer emphatically, No, I did not; no man ever heard me in any way 
 deny the Book of Mormon, the administration of the angel that showed me the 
 plates; nor the organizition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 
 under the administration of Joseph Smith, Jr., the prophet, whom the Lord 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 105 
 
 raised np for that purpose in these latter days, that he might show forth his 
 power and glory. The Lord has shown me these things by his Spirit, by the 
 administration of holy angels, and confirmed the same with signs following, step 
 by step, as the work has progressed, for the space of fifty-three years." 
 
 He further said : 
 
 W"I do say that the angel did show to me the plates containing the Book of 
 Mormon. Further, the translation that I carried to Prof. Anthon was copied 
 from those plates." "I do firmly believe and do know that Joseph Smith was 
 a prophet of God." Herald, vol. 22, p. 630. 
 
 Before us is a letter just received, written by Elder Charles Deny 
 who for many years was an active minister in the Church in Eng- 
 land; and this letter contains important information as to the atti- 
 tude of Martin Harris toward the Book of Mormon, when he was 
 lecturing in England against the evils of Brighamism. It reads : 
 
 o o o o 
 
 "In the Herald of October 15, 1875, 1 find a communication from Martin Harris, 
 one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, in which he declares that he 
 did not go to England to lecture against Mormonism. That declaration is true; 
 but it may be interesting to know what he went therefor. Not having a MiUenial 
 Star by me of that date, I cannot tell exactly the time, but think it was in 1846. 
 My first wife, (then Anna Stokes), told me that she saw him in Birmingham, 
 in the Saints 1 Meeting House. He had gone there from this land to oppose the 
 pretentious of Brigham Young and the Twelve, who were then laying the 
 foundations for polygamy and the Brighamite rule. A young man of her ac- 
 quaintance, in the presence of the assembly, presented to him his testimony with 
 his name in connection with the other two witnesses' names, and asked him if 
 that was his name, Martin replied, 'It is.' 'Did you put your name to that testi- 
 mony?' Martin answered, l l did; and that Book of Mormon is the Book of G-od. 
 I know 'more about that book than any man living.' " 
 
 It should be borne in mind that these three witnesses withdrew 
 from active fellowship in the Church as early as 1838; but not for 
 want of faith in the Book of Mormon, or in the prophetic mission of 
 Joseph. Some if not all of them, thought the Church was swerving 
 from the right, and was tending to apostasy. And it is probable 
 that personal grievances and personal interests had much to do with 
 them in shaping their course toward the Church. But amid all 
 their trials and afflictions, and though separated in their associations 
 from the Church, and having many strong inducements to abandon 
 their faith in the Book of Mormon, they nevertheless have steadfastly 
 maintained, with cheerful and earnest zeal, and with a loving hope 
 in God, their marvelous and highly important testimony. If they 
 had remained in full and active fellowship with the Church and in 
 the ministry, it might have' been argued that all their interests and 
 
106 The Divine Calling of 
 
 surrounding influences were of such a character as to forbid their 
 turning from, or retracting their testimony. But these reasons can- 
 not now be assigned for their steadfastness. There were many 
 causes to prompt them to deny the work, and man}' surroundings 
 well calculated to draw them away from the faith ; but their love of 
 God and his truth, their sincerity of heart, their honesty of purpose. 
 and their exceeding great knowledge by the ministry of angels, by 
 the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Hy the voice of the Lord, and by the 
 many wonderful dealings of God within their observation and ex- 
 perience, all united to render it morally impossible for them to 
 recant and turn away. 
 
 Joseph, Oliver, and Martin their united testimony lives to-day. 
 though they have passed away to that God who gave them being. 
 They were competent and credible witnesses; and their joint testi- 
 mony is now in force. And David Whitmer, spared of God for 
 some wise and important end we trust, is still a witness for God. and 
 for his strange and nmrvelous work. Men of intelligence, men of 
 integrity, fearless and unflinching men. their testimony and their 
 memory will live and be honored, when their defamers and traducers 
 will have gone down into oblivion, or are remembered only with 
 pity and with shame. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mr. S. nexts claims that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, and 
 the Book of Mormon untrue, because they teach that the spirit 
 or soul of man is a conscious being, a living, active entity, and re- 
 mains such after the death of man. He says : 
 
 '-"While the Bible represents death as reducing man to a state of unconscious- 
 ness till the resurrection, the Book of Mormon affirms 'that there is a space be- 
 tween death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happi- 
 ness or in misery.' Alma, ch. 18." 
 
 Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon do teach that the soul of 
 man survives the death of man. and that it exists in the intermedi- 
 ate state as an intelligent, active agent, possessing all the faculties 
 and powers peculiar to the intellectual, spiritual part of man in this 
 life. It is an exalted and cheering doctrine; one in harmony with 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 10T 
 
 the wisdom and love of God, while its opposite, the soul- killing doc- 
 trine, is cheerless, degrading, repulsive, and utterly dishonorable 
 toward God and man. 
 
 The sleep, or mortality of the soul or spirit, is utterly repugnant 
 to the natural sense, the common sentiment, and the universal God- 
 given instincts of the race. For proof of this we consult the history, 
 poetry, painting and sculpture of all nations and ages, and they all 
 teach us, that man, everywhere; during all past time, believed the 
 soul was a real substantive being, and possessed of intense conscious- 
 ness and activity when no longer "in the flesh." The ruins of an- 
 cient Babylon, and Nineveh, and Thebes, and Memphis with their 
 temples, tombs, and monuments open their stony lips and proclaim 
 to us in their glyphs and sculpturings, how prominent was this sen- 
 timent in those times so near the tower of Babel and the flood. And 
 when we examine the antiquities of America, the same kinds of evi- 
 dence meet us. 
 
 All minds, from the gifted and cultured Plato, to the rude savage 
 of the forest, have been thoroughly possessed with this elevating and 
 ennobling thought, a thought so important and effectual in restrain- 
 ing evil, and inciting to that which is good an incalculable power 
 in lifting up the race into better conditions of life and being. We 
 trace this instinctive sentiment in man as readily as we can trace in 
 the lower orders of creation the instinctive traits peculiar to them. 
 The works of the honey-bee, the spider, the ant, the beaver, the 
 swallow, and a thousand others of the lower orders, teach us that 
 the Creator has for wise and benevolent purposes, endowed these 
 creatures with knowledge, wisdom, and skill suited to their wants 
 and conditions. This instinct is in some sense, prophetic revealing 
 to the inner consciousness facts and conditions not known by actual 
 experience. Man and the lower orders are alike, to a degree, in 
 this respect. 
 
 A wise and loving God would never have implanted in man the 
 belief instinctively of a conscious existence after death unless 
 such a belief had a basis of fact in the divine economy and was 
 proper, and unless such a state of existence was real. As soon would 
 he endow the lower orders of creation with instincts, and then not 
 provide them with those things, circumstances, and conditions to 
 which those instincts invariably point or lead. Inasmuch, then, as 
 the race is universally possessed with this sentiment, (except in 
 cases of extreme barbarism, moral degredation, or perverted educa- 
 
108 The Divine Calling of 
 
 tion), it is conclusive that the sentiment is a true one, and that it is 
 ordained of God. 
 
 Our experiences in life are such as to prove that the soul or spirit 
 of man is a living entity, a being distinct from the physical body, 
 superior to the body, and not dependent upon it for its existence. 
 The soul retains its perfect identity, its force and capacity, though 
 the body be wasted with disease, or deprived of many of its mem- 
 bers. 
 
 u The emaciated, consumptive patient, with only snatches of sleep, toils at 
 his intellectual labors, even after reduced to a slender diet of bread and water, 
 and with a vigor of Mind unsurpassed in days of health and refreshing enjoy- 
 ments. The whole history of the malignant epidemic cholera presents the 
 Mind as sparkling as ever in the midst of the ruins of organic life, in which are 
 included the brain as well as the almost pulseless heart, and the expiring func- 
 tions of every other organ, closely representing the disembodied soul." The 
 Soul and Instinct, 115. 
 
 The late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Kerr, 
 retained great strength of intellect, and force of spirit, until the im- 
 mediate hours of death, though he had wasted slowly away in his 
 physical powers to a mere skeleton. Of the late Hon. Wm. Gr. 
 Brownlow, of Tennessee, it is said, "Latterly he was decrepit to the 
 verge of utter helplessness, but his mind and temper remained un- 
 weakened." And now comes the Hon. A. H. Stephens, who "has 
 been dying for the last twenty years," and who is as thin as a ghost, 
 and, physically, as helpless as a child, who, being wheeled into the 
 United States Court Room in his invalid chair, in which he sits, elec- 
 trifies and astonishes his hearers with a lengthy, "clear, strong," and 
 eloquent argument, without the aid of manuscript or brief, following 
 all the intricate windings of "the case with a hawk-like alertness that 
 showed his intense intellectual activity." All this shows both the 
 superiority of the soul above the body, and the fact of the soul be- 
 ing a separate entity and independent of the body in its faculties 
 and powers. 
 
 'Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by 
 day." 2 Cor. 4:16. 
 
 "For when the body oft expiring lies, 
 Its limbs quite senseless, and half closed its eyes, 
 The mind new force and eloquence acquires, 
 And with prophetic voice the dying lips inspires. 1 ' 
 
 Man is, in some sense, an animal machine. The soul is that which 
 thinks, perceives, reasons, imagines, wills, hates, loves, rejoices and 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 109> 
 
 sorrows, hopes and worships and all this while residing within, and 
 having intelligent control of the body. The soul sustains a similar 
 relation to the body that the intelligent engineer does to his engine. 
 As the engineer, to control his engine, must be in contact with it,, 
 so the soul, to control the body, must dwell within it. As the en- 
 gine represents the body, so the steam represents the blood, and the 
 intelligent engineer the soul. And as the engineer may live and 
 have active being while his engine is wrecked and destroyed, so the 
 soul of man may live when free from the body when "dust returns 
 to dust as it was before, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." 
 Intelligence, and volition, are not the inherent properties of mat- 
 ter, but they are of the soul, and this demonstrates that the soul is 
 above and superior to matter. Mind controls matter, and is capa- 
 ble of self-action and self-determination. The brain, is the seat of 
 the mind, but it is not the mind itself, as some would claim. It is 
 simply the organ of the mind, the instrument through which the 
 mind operates, and manifests itself. The brain, in its mental opera- 
 tions, acts only as it is acted upon by the intelligent soul. The 
 brain is the soul's chief instrument; the body with all its parts ren- 
 dering subordinate service. 
 
 "In his lecture on 'Does Death End All? 1 in Boston, recently, Joseph Cook 
 used this illustration of the immortality of the soul : l As, therefore, from the 
 structure of the eye we may infer the existence of a wholly external agent, 
 light; or from that of the ear, the existence of a wholly external agent, sound; 
 so from the absolute inertness of the cerebral structure in itself, we must attri- 
 bute its activities to an agent as external to it as sound is to the ear or light to 
 the eye. That agent is invisible to the external vision, and intangible to the 
 external touch. It is positively known to consciousness, or the internal vision 
 and touch. That agent is the soul. As the dissolution of the eye does not de- 
 stroy the light, the external agent which acts upon it, and as the dissolution of 
 the ear does not destroy the pulsation of the air, the external agent which acts 
 upon it, so the dissolution of the brain does not destroy the soul, the external 
 agent which sets it in motion. 1 " 
 
 We demonstrate the existence of the soul by the ideas it origin- 
 ates, and the work it performs. We see its work in music, poetry, 
 painting, language, invention, mechanic arts, and in many other 
 ways. While the body attains perfection in about from twenty to 
 twenty-five years, or earlier, the intelligent soul continues to improve, 
 and enlarge its capabilities and powers, till seventy, eighty, or more 
 years pass away, and this, too, while the body is wasting, and fail- 
 ing in its natural powers. 
 
 The human mind, or soul, is evidently constituted after the pat- 
 
110 The Divine Calling of 
 
 tern of the Divine inind, or soul. The Infinite Mind, which de- 
 signed, originated, and constructed the universe in all its parts, has 
 its counterpart (in its constitutions, though not in greatness and ex- 
 cellence) in the mind of man which designs, originates, and achieves 
 the wonderful works of art seen in the world's history. Inasmuch 
 as the works of the former proclaim His personal being as a spirit, 
 so the works of the latter prove that the spirit or soul of man is a 
 personal being. And if the works of God prove the immortality of 
 the Mind of God, why shall not the intellectual works of man prove 
 the immmortality of the mind of man ? Does not the spirit, the in- 
 tellectual part of man, exist on the same plan with that of the "Fa- 
 ther of spirits?" Who dare say it does not? That the spirit or 
 soul of man is a real being, a separate entity, a self-acting agent 
 when in the body of flesh or out of it, is, we think, just as reasona- 
 ble, and demonstrable, as that the "Father of spirits" is a separate 
 entity, a self acting Being. 
 
 Lest some should think us irreverent in comparing the soul of 
 man with the Divine Soul, we will give them our scriptural grounds 
 for doing so : 
 
 "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth.*' Isa. 1 : 14. 
 ^Behold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." Isa. 42:1. u Be thou in- 
 structed, Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee. r Jer. 6: 8. 
 
 Thus far of God. Of man God says : 
 
 "Love the Lord your God with all your soul' 1 ' Deut. 11 : 13. u Come unto 
 me, and hear, and }*our soul shall live.'' Isa. 55: 3. 
 
 As relates to both God and man, the term refers, we see, to the 
 intelligent, conscious nature. The immortality of the soul may be 
 clearly inferred in its desires for immortality ; its hopes of immortal- 
 ity; its instinctive convictions of immortality; its adaptability for 
 immortality; and, finally, in its essential likeness to God. 
 
 Who that has traced the development of the intelligent soul from 
 the cradle to the grave, that has seen it battle with the ills and the i 
 obstacles of life, until it has won triumphant victories throughout 
 the realms of mind and matter, in every department of life, and 
 Unally, in its explorations, planted its conquering standards upon 
 the starry plains of infinitude who that has seen this can believe 
 in the mortality of the soul, or that it sleeps in unconsciousness at 
 death? Such a belief degrades man. and dishonors God, his Maker. 
 
 As such doctrine is irrational, and unphilosophical, so it is un- 
 scriptural and utterly contrary to the belief of the chosen people of 
 
Joseph Smitli Defended. Ill 
 
 God first the Jews and after them the early Christians. Wherev- 
 er, in the Old Testament, the spirit, or soul of man is spoken of, it 
 is treated as something distinct and separate from the body of man. 
 A few instances shall suffice: 
 
 "And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called 
 his named Ben-oni. 1 ' Gen. 35:18. 
 
 Dr. Clarke renders the Hebrew text of this: "in the going away 
 of her soul." In either case the soul did not die with the body, nor 
 sleep with the body. The conscious activity of the soul is here 
 plainly taught, in its "departing," "going away." 
 
 Elijah prayed : 
 
 "0 Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And 
 the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, 
 and he revived." 1 Kings 11 : 21, 22. 
 
 In this case, the child's soul left, or "departed" away, and at the 
 prayer of the man of Grod it returned and "came into him." The 
 soul is here spoken of as existing for a time, at least, out of the body ; 
 and then, the same soul, returning "into him." Now, if the soul 
 could exist outside of the body from the time of the child's death 
 till it was restored, why not exist for a longer time? Aye, forever? 
 Again : 
 
 "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the 
 son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek. 18:4. 
 
 Here we see the father, and the son living men are each pos- 
 sessed of a soul, and that soul an intelligent, responsible agent capa- 
 ble of sinning, and of becoming dead in sin "in trespasses and sins." 
 
 The inherent nature of a spirit is life, activity, intelligence. The 
 word spirit is often used to signify the same as soul. This should 
 be noticed briefly, at the least. 
 
 u And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits 
 of all flesh, set a man over the congregation." Num. 21: 15, 16. 
 
 Here the dual, or compound nature of man flesh, and spirit is 
 clearly seen. The term spirit, or its equivalent, in ancient times 
 signified primarily, and generally, a real substance, though highly 
 'refined or sublimated, and not merely disposition, energy, breath, or 
 ardor. Locke, the author of a treatise On the Human Understanding, 
 explains it thus : 
 
 "Spirit is a substance in which thinking, knowing, doubting and a power of 
 moving, do subsist." 
 
112 The Divine Calling of 
 
 And it is clearly of individual, substantive spirits, that Moses 
 speaks in the foregoing text. And the same may be said of the 
 following. 
 
 "But there is a spirit in man,'and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them 
 understanding." Job. 32: 8. 
 
 So of this : 
 
 u The Spirit itself boareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of 
 God." Horn. 8: 16. 
 
 While the first "Spirit" is undoubtedly the Holy Ghost, the sec- 
 ond "our spirit" is as evidently the intelligent part of man the 
 soul. Again : 
 
 "For what man knov;eth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is 
 in him ?" 1 Cor. 2: 11. 
 
 Here "the spirit of man/' is his intelligent part. And what is 
 true of these texts is true of hundreds more. We have now learned 
 from the Scriptures what part of man is conscious, and therefore 
 responsible. And we shall pursue our further investigation from this 
 standpoint. 
 
 We are now prepared to understand the inspired writer when he 
 describes the death of man : 
 
 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return 
 unto God who gave it." Eccl. 12 : 7. 
 
 So also of the following texts : 
 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat* fall into the ground 
 and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." 
 John 12: 24. 
 
 As in the death of the seed, the living, active part is separated 
 from the mere body that contained it, and then passes with special 
 activity into other living, intermediate conditions before reaching 
 the same kind of a ~body that it leaves; so also it is with the conscious, 
 spiritual part of man. Death is the separating of the vital, active 
 part from the inert. In this view of the matter the words of the 
 proto-martyr Stephen are full of solemn, cheering significance, and 
 are easily understood. 
 
 "And they stoned Stephen, [he] calling upon God, and saving, Lord Jeses, re 
 ceive my spirit." Acts 7:59. 
 
 Now Stephen knew where Jesus was, that he was at the right hand 
 of God in heaven, and he evidently knew his spirit would survive 
 his death, and be separated from his body, and that by God's grace 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 113 
 
 it would go into the presence of Jesus. Hence he prayed in the 
 manner quoted. 
 
 While Jesus told the wicked Jews, "ye shall die in your sins; 
 whither I go, ye can not come/' (John 8 : 21); yet he promised his 
 disciples, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be," (John 12 : 
 26. And to Peter, 
 
 u Whither I go thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me after- 
 ward." John 13:36. 
 
 And for all his disciples he prayed, 
 
 "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where 
 I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me." John 
 17:24. 
 
 This hope of being with Jesus, in the presence of God, at death, 
 is sublime, and very, very comforting. Such it was to Paul the 
 Apostle; and such it was to all the intelligent early Christians. A 
 few passages in Paul's writings may suffice for the present : 
 
 u For me to live is [to serve] Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the 
 flesh this [service of Christ] is the fruit of my labor; yet what I shall choose I 
 wot [know] not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, [desires], having a desire 
 to depart, [from the flesh], and to be with Christ; which is far better. Never- 
 theless to abide in the flesh is more needful for yon." Phil. 1 : 21-24. 
 
 The sense of this passage is so manifest that no lengthy explica- 
 tion is needed. The question with Paul was, as to whether it were 
 better, all things considered, for him to "abide in the flesh 7 ' for the 
 good of the church, or to die, depart from the flesh, arid to be with 
 Christ, which, for him, personally, would be "gain" and, "far 
 better/' This sense of the text harmonizes beautifully with what 
 he afterwards, on the eve of his martyrdom, wrote to Timothy: 
 
 "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." 
 2 Tim. 4:6. 
 
 So also does it with 2 Cor. 5 : 6, 8. 
 
 "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in 
 the body, we are absent from the Lord; * * * We are confident, I say, and willing 
 rather to be absent from the body, and to be preset with tho Lord." 
 
 No amount of skillful perversion can make these texts sustain 
 the mortality, or the sleep of the soul at death, when that term is 
 applied to the spirit or sentient part of man. A living man is often 
 called a soul, but a dead man, never. Hence the term always re- 
 lates to a living being. Peter, too, taught the entity, and conscious- 
 ness of man's spirit after death. He says : 
 
114 The Divine Calling of 
 
 u Yea, I think it meet, as long as 7 am in this talernack, [fleshly body], to stir 
 you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this 
 my tabernacle, [bodv], even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me." 2 Pet. 
 1:13, 14. 
 
 The evident sense of this is, that Peter, in his intellectual, spirit- 
 ual nature the soul lived in his fleshly body as in a "taberna- 
 cle," or house j and that his intelligent soul would "put off" the 
 fleshly "tabernacle" in death, as Jesus had shewed him. (John 21 : 
 18, 19). To say that he would put it "off" from his breath, or 
 from his natural life the blood is absurd; and to say that his soul 
 or spirit would remain in him. asleep, at death, is to flatly contra- 
 dict the text. When persons put "off" their clothing, they are the 
 same persons they were when they had their clothing on. .So with 
 Peter, his "tabernacle" was his mortal clothing; this he could "put 
 off" from his soul, and did put off at his death. 
 
 In another place Peter teaches the entity of the spirits of the 
 dead, and their consciousness, when he says: 
 
 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he 
 might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, [his flesh], but quickened 
 ^resurrected] by the Spirit, [Holy Spirit] : by which [Spirit], also, he went and 
 preached unto the spirits in prison: which [spirits] sometime were disobedient, 
 when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark 
 -was a preparing."! Pet. 3: 18, 20. 
 
 That these were the spirits of the dead, and that Christ preached 
 to them in their disembodied state, is made clear from what follows: 
 
 "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick [living] 
 and dead. For, for this cause [the coming judgment] was the gospel preached 
 also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to [the same as] 
 men in the flesh, but live according to God [according to God's laws] in the 
 spirit" Pet. 4:5, 6. 
 
 Prof. Taylor Lewis says: 
 
 u We are taught that there was a work of Christ in Hades. He descended 
 into Hades; he makes proclamation 'ekeruxen 1 in Hades to those who are there 
 *in ward. 1 " Bailey, Discrepancies of the Bible, p. 192. 
 
 Alford says : 
 
 il l understand these words to say that our Lord, in his disembodied state, did 
 go to the place of detention of departed spirits, and did there announce his work 
 of redemption, preach salvation in fact, te the disembodied spirits of those who 
 refused to obey the voice of God when the judgment of the flood was hanging 
 over them. 11 Ibid. 
 
 Prof. Hindekoper: 
 
 "In the second and third centuries, every branch and division of the Christian 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 115 
 
 Church, so far as their records enable us to judge, believed that Christ preached 
 to the departed." Hid. 
 
 For further information in respect to the spirits of the wicked 
 dead being "in prison/' we refer the reader to Isaiah 24 : 21-23, 
 Zach. 9 : 11, Ezek. 32 : 18, 21, 23, 27, 31, 32. In harmony with 
 these texts is the saying of the Psalmist, "The wicked shall be 
 turned into hett, and all the nations that forget God." 9 : 17. It 
 will not do to say that hell is simply the grave, as some do; for that 
 would rob the passage of its significance. Being " turned into hell," 
 is threatened as a terrible punishment, but decent burial in the grave 
 is, by the righteous, esteemed a blessing. That the souls of the 
 wicked, at death, go to "hell," or the "prison," is clearly taught by 
 the Savior: 
 
 "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which, after he hath 
 killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him. 1 ' Luke 12 : 5. 
 
 Again : 
 
 "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels 
 into Abraham's bosom : [presence, society] : the rich man also died, and was 
 buried ; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham 
 afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 1 ' Luke 16:22, 23. 
 
 In this the entity of the spirit, and its active, and intense con- 
 sciousness after its separation from the body, is made as plain as 
 language can make it. To illustrate, and further confirm the grounds 
 we have taken, we appeal to history. Joseph us relates of Moses, 
 that in his last address to his people he said : 
 
 "When souls are about to leave the body, they speak with the sincerest free- 
 dom." Ant. B. 4, ch. 8. 
 
 It may be well to here remark that Josephus often quotes, from 
 Moses and the prophets, such passages as we have not in the Bible. 
 In his discourse concerning Hades the state of the dead he says 
 that the souls of the just dwell in a peaceful, delightful region, 
 where "the countenance of the fathers, and of the just, which they 
 see, always smiles upon them, while they wait for that rest and 
 eternal new life in heaven which is to succeed this region. This 
 place we call The Bosom of Abraham ." This makes it plain that 
 the Jews believed in the conscious condition of the spirit after death ; 
 and it enables us to see why Jesus used the term "Abraham's bos- 
 om." The people to whom he was speaking were familiar with that 
 term, they knew its meaning, hence it was suitable in describing the 
 condition of righteous Lazarus, with the righteous dead. 
 
116 The Divine Calling of 
 
 The Christians of the first three centuries believed the doctrine 
 we advocate. St. Clement in his first epistle to the Corinthians, 
 says : 
 
 "Peter, by unjust envy, underwent, not one or two, but many sufferings; till 
 at last, being martyred, he went to the place of gkry that was due to him. For 
 the same cause did Paul in like manner receive the reward of his patience. 
 Seven times he was in bonds ; he was whipped, was stoned ; he preached both 
 in the east and in the west, leaving behind him the glorious report of his faith ; 
 and so having taught the whole world righteousness, and for that end traveled 
 even to the utmost b.ounds of the west, he at last suffered martyrdom, by the 
 command of the governors, and departed out of the world, and went unto his holy 
 place." Apostolic Fathers; Wake's Trans, p. 60. 
 
 Comment here is needless. Of the martyrdom of St. Ignatius, 
 who, it is claimed succeeded the Apostle Peter at Antioch, it is said 
 in an epistle from the Church at Smyrna, where he suffered : 
 
 "Wherefore, with much readiness and joy, he left Antioch and came to Selu- 
 cia; from thence he was to sail. And after a great deal of toil, being come to 
 Smyrna, he left the ship with great gladness and hastened to see the holy Poly- 
 carp, his fellow-scholar, who was bishop there; for they had both of them been 
 formerly the disciples of St. John. Being brought to him, and communicating 
 to him some spiritual gifts, and glorying in his bonds, he entreated, first of all 
 the whole Church, (for the churches and cities of Asia attended this holy man 
 by their bishops, and priests, and deacons, all hastening to him, if by any means 
 they might receive some part of his spiritual gift), but more particularly Poly- 
 carp, to contend with God in his behalf, that being suddenly taken by the beasts 
 from the world, lie might appear before the face of Christ." Apostolic Fathers, p. 179. 
 
 And now in regard to the martyrdom of Poly carp (the one alluded 
 to, historians assert, in Rev. 2 : 10), and others with him: 
 
 "Wherefore being supported by the grace of Christ, they despised all the 
 torments of the world ; by the suffering of an hour redeeming themselves from 
 everlasting punishment. For this cause, even the fire of their cruel and barbar- 
 ous executioners seemed cold to them ; whilst they hoped thereby to escape that 
 fire which is eternal, and shall never be extinguished ; and beheld, with the eyes 
 of faith, those good things which are reserved for them that endure to the end; 
 l which neither ear has heard, nor eye seen, nor have they entered into the 
 heart of man.' But to them they were now revealed by the Lord; as being no 
 longer men, but already become ANGELS." p. 193. 
 
 Eusebius, in giving an account of the martyrdom of Lucius, rep- 
 resents him as saying to his judge: 
 
 U I thank thee, for now I am liberated from wicked masters, and am going to 
 the good Father and King, even God." Eusebius' Eccl. Hist., ch. 17. 
 
 Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, in the third century, says of the 
 Christian martyrs: 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 117 
 
 "But these same martyrs, who are now sitting with Christ, and are the sharers in 
 his kingdom," &c, &c. Vide ch. 42. 
 
 Space would quite fail us to give all the testimonies of the 
 early fathers which sustain the Bible doctrine of the conscious con- 
 dition of the spirits of the dead. But we must not dismiss Eusebius 
 until we present his testimony concerning the "soul-sleeping" pro- 
 fessors of those early days. He says, chapter 37 : 
 
 "But about this time, (A. D. 244), also, other men sprung up in Arabia as the 
 propagators of false opinions. They asserted that the human soul, as long as 
 the present state of the world existed, perished at death and died with the body, 
 but that it would be raised again with the body at the time of the resurrection." 
 
 This is, identically, the theory of Mr. S. and his fellows. Through 
 the means of a large council, headed by Origen, these heretics were 
 prevailed upon to abandon their "false opinions." 
 
 We must not omit to quote the testimony of another one from 
 among the "cloud of witnesses" furnished us by the primitive Chris- 
 tians. Tertullian, that learned advocate and unflinching defender 
 of the faith of the early Christians, in his book, De Anima, says: 
 
 "We had a right, after what was said by St. John, to expect prophecyings ; 
 and we not only acknowledge these spiritual gifts, but we are permitted to en- 
 joy the gifts of a prophetess. There is a sister amongst us who possesses the 
 faculty of revelation. She commonly, during our religious services on the Sab- 
 bath, falls into a crisis or trance. She has then intercourse with the angels, 
 sees sometimes the Lord himself; sees and hears divine mysteries, and discov- 
 ers the hearts of some persons; and administers medicine to such as desire it; 
 and when the Scriptures are read, or psalms are being sung, or prayers are being 
 offered up, subjects from thence are ministered to her vision. We were speak- 
 ing of the soul once when our sister was in the spirit I do not recollect exactly 
 what. After the service she allowed the rest of the people to go away, as she 
 always did on such occasions, and then communicated to us what she had seen 
 in her ecstasy, which was then more closely enquired into and tested. She in- 
 formed us that she had seen a soul in a bodily shape; that it appeared to be a 
 spirit; but not empty and formless and wanting a living constitution; but that 
 its form appeared so substantial that you might touch or hold it It was tender, 
 [delicate], shining, of the color of the air, but in everything resembling the liu- 
 inanform" Hist. Supernatural, vol. 1, p. 443. 
 
 Tertullian, and also Ireneus, flourished in the second century; the 
 latter being "a disciple of Poly carp/' Their testimony is conclusive 
 that the early Christians believed that man's spirit was actively con- 
 scious after death; also that the spirit had real substance, and was 
 in the general form of the body of man. When we consider that 
 air, light, electricity, magnetism, etc., are real substances, and yet 
 some of them impalpable, and others imperceptible to the natural 
 
118 The Divine Calling of 
 
 sight, we may not doubt that spirits have substantial existence, 
 though they be not apparent always to our natural vision. 
 
 Doubtless all the enlightened primitive Christians believed as did 
 Tertullian, Ireneus, Polycarp, Lucius, St. Ignatius, and those of their 
 times, that the soul of man possessed consciousness after departing 
 from the body, and that it was in the form of the human body; for 
 we find that the disciples mistook Jesus in the obscurity of night 
 for a spirit : 
 
 "And about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking up- 
 on the sea, and would have passed them. But when they saw him walking 
 upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, [spectre] and cried out." 
 Mark 6: 48, 49. 
 
 Again, when Jesus was resurrected from the dead he appeared, 
 unannounced, to his disciples who were assembled in an upper room, 
 that was evidently but very dimly lighted, and 
 
 u They were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 
 [spectre]." Luke 24:37. 
 
 This took place after they had been under the teaching of Jesus 
 for at least three years and a half; and it cannot be claimed that 
 the disciples were ignorant and superstitious in respect to the exist- 
 ence and form of spirits, for those were topics about which the 
 Pharisees and Saducees were at direct issue, and were likely often 
 discussed, and about which the disciples could but feel deep interest, 
 as they were so intimately related to their mission preaching the 
 gospel of salvation to all men. They believed in the fact of spirits, 
 and that they existed in the form of man, otherwise they would not 
 have taken the living Jesus to be a spirit. Jesus now instructs 
 them somewhat in regard to spirits when he said : 
 
 "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." v. 39. 
 
 The fact of spirits existing, and in the human form, is here ad- 
 mitted by Jesus; but they did not possess, he said, a body, or "tab- 
 ernacle," of fash and bones. 
 
 We can not better close this part of our subject than by consider- 
 ing a portion of the Revelation of St. John. When on the Isle of 
 Patmos, he was shown a series of remarkable events touching the 
 interests of the church, and among them the overthrow of "Babylon 
 the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." 
 Prior to her complete destruction, and before the resurrection of tlie 
 righteous dead, the following occurs: 
 
 "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 119 
 
 hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great 
 mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great 
 city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Rev. 18 ; 
 21, 22. 
 
 Here we see that "heaven/' and "holy apostles and prophets" 
 were called upon to "rejoice over her;" and in the opening verses of 
 the next chapter we get their response : 
 
 "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven^ saying r 
 Alleluia: Salvation, and glory and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 
 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore r 
 which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood 
 of his servants at her hand." 19: 1, 2. 
 
 Now, from what we have seen in the instinctive sentiment of the 
 race, in the experiences of life, in the teachings of philosophy, in the 
 revelations of the Old Testament and the New, as also in the testimo- 
 nies of the Jewish historian, the early Christians and martyrs, we are 
 by these evidences, great in amount and unimpeachable in character, 
 fully warranted in concluding that the soul of man, after it leaves the 
 body, is intensely and actively conscious and capable; and that the 
 doctrine of the death of the soul with the body, or the sleep of the 
 soul with the body at death, is a base and contemptible heresy. 
 
 Mr. S., to establish his soul-sleeping theory, distorts and perverts 
 the Scriptures in a manner that clearly evinces the badness of his- 
 case. We will give a few instances : 
 
 "The living know that they must die; but the dead know not any tiling." 
 
 This, clearly, has no reference to the spirit only, or the soul of man, 
 but to the man, composed of body and soul. The man proper being 
 dead his body gone to the grave, and his spirit to God being 
 disorganized, could not know any thing. We might as well expect 
 life and activity in a grain of wheat that has fallen in the ground 
 and died. The life that was once in such a grain is now separated 
 from it, and passed into other conditions; therefore that particular 
 grain is dead, and lifeless, but the life that was once in it is still in 
 existence, and active. 
 
 u David [says Mr. S.] affirms of the dying man : 'In that very day his thoughts 
 perish. 1 " 
 
 Very good ; a man's thoughts may perish in many ways, and yet 
 he retains his power to think. But this quotation should be under- 
 stood, as relating to a living man who dies; that man as a compound 
 being, body and spirit, no longer thinks, or acts, and for the best of 
 
120 The Divine Calling of 
 
 reasons, because death has separated his spirit from his body. But 
 the text does not intimate but that the soul of that man may think 
 and act. Again he quotes : 
 
 "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Pa. 
 115:17. 
 
 This clearly relates to the dead body, that which goes down to 
 the dust, and not to "the spirit of man that goeth upward." Eccl. 
 3:21. Again: 
 
 "In death there is no remembrance of thee." Ps. 6:5. 
 
 If Mr. S. had given the context, it would have explained at once 
 the meaning of what he did quote. I will give it: "In the grave 
 who shall give thee thanks." This completes the verse, and the 
 sentence, and enables us to better understand the text. This text 
 relates to the body, and not to the soul, evidently. Mr. S. next 
 quotes the words of Job 14 : 21 : 
 
 "His [the dead man's] sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they 
 are brought low, and he perceiveth it not of them. 11 
 
 This, like the first texts considered, cannot be made to relate to 
 the spirit of man, which goes to God at death, but was doubtless in- 
 tended to apply to that part of man which goes to the grave. And 
 as for Job, his teachings between the beginning of his afflictions and 
 their close, as also those of the "three miserable comforters," whose 
 words are so often quoted by Mr. S. and his co-religionists, we do 
 not accept them in the discussion of doctrine. Elihu, who was sent 
 of God, to Job, says of Job, (34 : 35), "Job hath spoken without 
 knowledge and his words are without wisdom," and, "he [Job] mul- 
 tiplieth words without knowledge," (35 : 16). And the Lord says 
 of Job, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without 
 knowledge," (38 : 2). Please excuse us, Mr. S., if we take no fur- 
 ther notice of the teachings referred to in Job. 
 
 Mr. S. next quotes: 
 
 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and hell [hades the state 
 of the dead} delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged 
 every man according to their works." Rev. 20: 13. 
 
 But where is "death," Mr. S.? You have left that out; but we 
 do not say you did it intentionally; oh no! but the passage as you 
 quote it is much better suited to your theory, if possible, and looks 
 suspicious. John says, "death and hell delivered up the dead which 
 were in them! 1 Here is a delivery of the dead from two places. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 121 
 
 Plato, the learned Greek, tells us that hell hades is "the world of 
 spirits," (Plato, by Pond, p. 125). As Hades is a Greek word, the 
 profound Plato has no doubt given us its true signification. Wm. 
 Smith in his Diet. Bible, says: 
 
 u The word sheol [Hebrew] is never used of the grave proper, or place of 
 burial of the body. It is always tlie abode of spirits, LIKE THE GREEK HADES." 
 Note on Hell. 
 
 This being true, when "hell delivers up the dead which were in" 
 it, of course it delivers up its spirits. And this makes it conclusive 
 that "death" here means the grave, or other repositories of the bodies 
 of the dead. This renders the text plain to the comprehension. 
 
 This second, and last resurrection, is clearly that of "the unjust;" 
 for this is after the "thousand years," (vs. 3, 5, 7), while that of 
 the righteous takes place at the beginning of "the thousand years." 
 (vs. 4, 5). So that the spirits that hell now delivers up, are the 
 spirits of the wicked dead, "and they were judged every man ac- 
 cording to their works. 
 
 Mr. S. asserts that 
 
 "Peter, an eye witness of the scene, did not think that Moses 1 spirit was 
 there, [on the mount with Christ], but Moses himself, else he would not have 
 proposed to build a tabernacle for Moses, for he was not foolish enough to talk 
 of building a tabernacle for a spectre." 
 
 The disciples, we have seen, thought the resurrected Jesus was "'a 
 spirit," and its not impossible for Peter to have mistaken the spirit 
 of Moses for Moses in the flesh. Yet we do not believe he was de- 
 ceived at all, but knew that the spirit of Moses was present. Peter 
 had more experience in spiritual things than Mr. S., and held en- 
 tirely different views in respect to the existence, form, power, and 
 ministrations of spirits. The dead body of Lazarus was called Laz- 
 rus, and such usage was and is common, and why not the spirit of 
 Moses be recognized as Moses, and called Moses. Surely the intel- 
 lectual man is more worthy to retain the name than the dead body; 
 yet either may do so. 
 
 Now Moses' spirit did, evidently, appear with Elias' (or John 
 the Baptist's) spirit, on the mount, and minister to Jesus. That this 
 "Elias" was John the Baptist is seen by reading the 10th to 13th 
 verses, inclusive, of Matthew 17th chapter. After they had seen 
 the vision, 
 
 ."His disciples asked him, saying, "Why then say the scribes that Elias must 
 first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first 
 
122 The Divine Calling of 
 
 come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, 
 and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed, [had behead- 
 ed him]. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. Then the disciples 
 understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." 
 
 This forever settles the matter, that the Elias who appeared with 
 Moses on the mount to Christ and his three disciples, was none other 
 than John the Baptist, who had been beheaded but a few months 
 before. It was fitting, upon this august occasion, that the two priest- 
 hoods, Melchizedek and Aaronic, should be represented by Moses 
 and John the Baptist. Moses had been dead for near 1500 years, 
 and John the Baptist for but a few months; the resurrection had 
 not yet occurred, therefore it was the spirits of these servants of 
 God who now appear and minister. Here were "spirits of just men 
 made perfect." 
 
 But Mr. S. says this was "a vision." If he intends by this to 
 say that it was not real, but merely a trance, then he clearly perverts 
 the sense of the text. Peter declares of this occurrence : 
 
 "We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto 
 you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-uritnesses of 
 his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory; when 
 there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved 
 Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we 
 heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." 2 Peter 1: 16-18. 
 
 It was a vision, it is true; and the first and most obvious meaning 
 of that word is actual, literal sight. In this vision the disciples saw 
 three persons : 
 
 u And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias 
 [John Baptist] ; who appeared iti glory, and spake of his decease which he 
 should accomplish at Jerusalem. 1 ' Luke 9:30, 31. 
 
 They saw Jesus literally, for Jesus was there personally, but not 
 more so, evidently, than Moses and Elias. Now, if John the Bap- 
 tist and Moses, in their spirit state, could minister on the mount 1800 
 years ago, why not other servants of God, in their spirit state, min- 
 ister to and for Joseph and Oliver in this age? Clearly they could; 
 but like Moses and Elias they could only appear "in glory," which 
 they did do. It is not at all strange that the spirits of the just 
 should, on very extraordinary occasions, appear "in glory" and min- 
 ister to men in the flesh; especially when we remember that they 
 are members of "the family" of God "in heaven and earth," (Eph. 
 3:15). Paul teaches that the saints, by virtue of being children 
 of God, (of "the family in heaven and earth"), are brought into 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 123 
 
 fellowship with all that pertains to that "family." For he says : 
 
 "Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
 heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable company of angels, to the gener- 
 al assembly arid church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to 
 God the Judge of all, and to the SPIRITS of just men made perfect:' 1 Heb. 12 - 
 22, 23. 
 
 John Baptist u was a, just man and a holy" (Mark 6 : 20). Jesus 
 commanded his saints to be perfect, (Matt 5:48); and the means 
 for making just men perfect is made clear in 2 Tim. 3 : 17, Eph. 4 : 
 13, Matt. 19 : 21, Col. 1 : 27, 28, etc., etc. Just men are made per- 
 fect by gospel means. 
 
 The physical body is the mortal part of man ; the spirit soul 
 is the intellectual life, the active "inner man." The latter never 
 dies, in the sense of ceasing to exist, but the body does. Salvation^ 
 through Christ, by the resurrection, secures immortality to the l>ody? 
 hence Paul says : 
 
 u This corruptible [body] must put on incorruption, and this mortal [bodyj 
 must put on immortality." 1 Cor. 15: 53. 
 
 Thus making man, the compound being, as a whole immortal. 
 The natural man and the physical body, is in a mortal and corrupr 
 tible condition ; but in the resurrection, the body, the man as a 
 whole, will put on the eternal condition, becoming immorcal and in- 
 corruptible. 
 
 Mr. S. contemns the claim of Joseph where he says (D. C. 110 f 
 18) that he could give u a plainer translation" of Mai. 4 : 5, 6, than, 
 that found in the common version, and Inspired Translation. H'e 
 says Joseph in this repudiates his own translation. We have to re- 
 mind Mr. S. again, that Joseph did not profess to translate, revise^ 
 or correct every part of the Bible; and this is one among many pas- 
 sages that he did not translate. Might not a translator give "a 
 plainer translation" of a passage giving it in simpler terms, terms- 
 easier of comprehension for inexperienced and uncultured mindsy 
 and yet give an equally true translation ? We think so ; and we think 
 this was substantially what Joseph intended. 
 
124 The Divine Calling of 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mr. S. quarrels with Joseph and the Book of Mormon, because the 
 latter says that the Nephites, within thirty years after they left Je- 
 rusalem, appointed Nephi their king, and also built "a temple like 
 unto Solomon's;" and this, too, when Larnan and some others were 
 separated from them. Among the first needs of society is that of 
 government ruling authority and what is more natural than that 
 these Israelites, few in number though they were, should seek to 
 establish the form of government peculiar to their nation, and the 
 then existing nations of earth ? Nothing could be more reasonable. 
 The fewness of their numbers argues nothing. Many governments, 
 ancient and modern, have been founded with but a few persons. 
 Rome, that great nation which conquered the whole known world, 
 was founded by Romulus, B. C. 753, and the few who were with 
 him in his "small castle on the summit of Mount Palatine." 
 
 In respect to the "temple," nothing could be more natural, and 
 likely, than for these zealous religionists to desire, and to build at 
 the earliest practicable moment possible, a suitable house for pub- 
 lic worship. And nothing could be more likely than for them to 
 build such a house "after the manner of the temple of Solomon." 
 They knew of the temple of Solomon its grand, historic associa- 
 tions they remembered it with reverent pride as the place where 
 they had worshipped the God of their fathers, and what is more 
 natural, and likely, than for them to build their* first "house of wor- 
 ship, though it might be very small, and very rude in comparison, 
 after the form, pattern, or "manner," of the venerated temple of 
 Solomon ? Onias, and the captive Jews in Egypt, "built [in the 
 city of Heliopolis] a temple and an altar to God, like indeed to that 
 in Jerusalem, but smaller and poorer. * * * Onias found other Jews 
 like to himself, together with priests and Levites, that there per- 
 formed divine service." Jos. Antiq., B. 13, ch. 3. And they claim- 
 ed to do this in fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah : 
 
 u ln that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of 
 Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign 
 and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt." Isa. 19 : 19, 20. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 125 
 
 These captive Jews, and the Nephites, were doubtless actuated 
 by similar impulses, and prompted by similar motives. But Mr. S. 
 says it was an "enormous temple/' a "mighty temple," a temple of 
 "huge dimensions," and his statements here are just as false as we 
 have found them in scores of other places. Nothing is said, or inti- 
 mated as to the size of the temple, but only as to the "manner," 
 fashion, or model of its construction. "The manner of the censtruc- 
 tion" of it "was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workman- 
 ship thereof was exceeding fine." 2 Nephi 4 : 3. Again : 
 
 "And I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon, save it 
 were not built of so many precious things ; for they were not to be found upon 
 the land." Idem 
 
 Mr. S. avers that there could have been "a working force of only 
 eighteen men and boys to build that mighty temple." Let us see. 
 There were four families that went out in the exodus of Lehi, viz : 
 
 Lehi, wife, and four sons total, 6. 
 
 Ishmael, wife, and five daughters total, 7. 
 
 Ishmael's two sons "and their families, 11 probable total 12. 
 
 Zoram, Laban ? s servant, 1 . 
 
 Making in all, ~2& 
 
 Zoram and the four sons of Lehi marry the five daughters of Ish- 
 mael, giving us nine families in all, seven of whom are young fami- 
 lies. Lehi, soon after leaving Jerusalem, has two sons born to him 
 (1 Nephi 5 : 36), and after this some daughters (2 Nephi 4 : 2). It 
 is not improbable that Ishmael had children born to him after 
 leaving Jerusalem, but of this we shall not conjecture further. 
 
 The increase of this company would naturally be very rapid; (1) 
 because seven of the families were young, five of them very young; 
 
 (2) because their plain, rural living, would conduce to fecundity; 
 
 (3) because the people of those eastern countries and warm climates, 
 married young and reproduced abundantly; and, (4) because the 
 Israelites took pride, and religious care in being fruitful in family 
 increase. Marriage in those warm climates took place at as early 
 even as ten years with females, and fourteen with males. A fair 
 average would not likely be above sixteen with females, and twenty 
 with males. It would probably be less, especially with this company 
 of Israelites, as all their surrounding conditions would invite early 
 marriages. Malthus claims that one hundred per cent, is the nat- 
 ural average increase of the race (except in times of war, famine, or 
 pestilence) for every twenty-five years. But that is where commu- 
 
126 The Divine Calling of 
 
 nities are made up of all ages from the infant to the aged. The in- 
 crease of these Nephites should not be judged by such a standard, 
 for their situation in respect to age, and manner of life, favored their 
 rapid and large increase. 
 
 The four sons of Lehi would easily number, themselves and their 
 children, in thirty years, exclusive of deaths, 48 persons; the two 
 sons of Ishmael, themselves included, 24 persons; Zoram and family, 
 12 persons; Lehi's two sons, Joseph and Jacob, and wives, (marry- 
 ing at eighteen years of age), for twelve and ten years, 15; total, 99. 
 The 70 children of the first sons of Lehi, Ishmael's sons, and Zoram, 
 would give us in 18 years after the exodus 7 new families; in 20 
 years, 3; in 22, 4; in 24, 3; in 26, 4; in 28, 3; in 30, 4; or 28 
 families in all in that time; and the children of these families for 
 the first 7, 35; the 3, 12; the 4, 12; the 3, 9; the 4, 8; the 3, 6. 
 Total, 82. To this add like increase for the probable families of the 
 "sisters" of Nephi, and we have at least twenty more, making the 
 total 102. And to this add the number not counted of the children 
 and heads of the first two, and the first seven families 103, and we 
 have a total of 205 persons in thirty years from Lehi's exodus, less 
 Lehi and Ishmael, who died, leaving 203. Now if one fourth of 
 this number were separated from Nephi and his company it would 
 still leave 150. And if one third of them were children under ten 
 years of age it would leave us 100 persons, or more, ten years of age 
 and upwards. Now for a body of people like this to organize a gov- 
 ernment, in a simple way, isolated as they were, is perfectly reason- 
 able. And for them, being Israelites, to call their ruler a king, 
 would be perfectly natural. And for them to build a house of wor- 
 ship after "the manner" of Solomon's temple, is just what we might 
 expect of them. And as to their wars and contentions with the La- 
 manites, history here repeats itself, for perhaps the thousandth time. 
 And that this company practiced many of the trades of civilization, 
 their tastes and early experiences would lead, and their necessities 
 compel them to do so. There is nothing more natural, and reason- 
 able, than all these things, except to the ignorant or wilfully per- 
 verse. 
 
 In controverting his next subject, that of the reign of the Jared- 
 Ite kings (Ether 1:1), Mr. S. makes no less than four false asser- 
 tions. He states, (1) that there were but " twenty-five successive 
 kings," yet the record shows there were twenty-nine; the first king 
 of the twenty-nine, Orihah, beginning his reign after the long and 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 127 
 
 eventful rule of the brother of Jared. This last with the "twenty- 
 nine," makes the number thirty; though the brother of Jared was 
 not called a kwcj. See Ether 1:1; 4:12; and 5 : 1. He states, 
 (2) that "this last king [Coriantumr] was still alive under the reign 
 of Mosiah the first, about 400 years after Lehi left Jerusalem; the 
 first Mosiah, who was visited ~by Coriantumr, about B. C. 200." 
 Nothing is said in the Book of Mormon, or intimated even that Cor- 
 iantumr visited Mosiah, or that Mosiah saw him. What information 
 Mosiah obtained in respect to Coriantumr, he interpreted from u a 
 large stone" tablet, containing hieroglyphics. Omni 1 : 9, 10. He 
 states, (3) that there was "a space of 2,000 years occupied by the 
 reign of twenty-six [Jaredite] kings;" yet the record claims it was 
 a space dating from some time after the confusion of languages, to 
 about the time the Nephites and Zarahemlaites came from Palestine 
 to America B. C. 600 a period of probably not more than 1600 
 years, making an average of 53 J years for each of the thirty who bore 
 rule. A slight error, Mr. S., of 400 years ! But that is nothing for a 
 man with such an unbounded stomach for crooked things as our critic. 
 And this average, 53 years, was not very long, considering the great 
 age to which people lived between the times of the flood and the 
 time of Christ. The longevity of this people is constantly affirmed 
 in the book of Ether, as also the protracted reign of many of their 
 kings. 
 
 It is affirmed on good authority (Dr. Mussey, in "Health, Its 
 Friends and Its Foes'') that the Arabians of these modern times 
 even, by virtue of their abstemious habits, and simple vegetable 
 diet, live to a great age even to that of two hundred years, in some 
 instances. Goodrich, in his " Universal Traveller" informs us that 
 the Peruvians of the present age are very long lived attaining, in 
 many instances, one hundred years, and more, and that they retain 
 their teeth, their good sight, and very seldom turn grey. The lon- 
 gevity of the Jaredites, a people living under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances, could not be other than very great. 
 
 The Book of Mormon claims that those who should occupy the 
 land after the Jaredites, would not do so till after the Jaredites were 
 destroyed (Ether 4:12); and that only their last king should live to 
 see the people who should succeed them (Ether 6:2), and this was 
 fulfilled when the first Zarahemlaites, as they were called, first came 
 from Palestine to America (Omni 1 : 7. 9, 10) about B. C. 590 to 600. 
 Mr. S. asserts, in effect, (4) that Ether, the last Jaredite prophet, writes 
 
128 The Divine Calling of 
 
 his "record" of the reign of the kings on the same plates used by the 
 brother of Jared; and to clinch his statement quotes, "He [Ether] 
 made the remainder of this record." Now "this record" was simply 
 the "record" of Ether "the book of Ether" (Ether 1 : 1). And 
 "the remainder of this record" was simply the remainder of "the 
 book of Ether" which followed from chapter 6, par. 2. 
 
 Because Ether, the last Jaredite prophet, possessed the "record" 
 and "interpreters" of "the brother of Jared," which record contain- 
 ed the marvelous things shown to the brother of Jared in the mount, 
 "which were forbidden to come unto the children of in en until after 
 he [Christ] was lifted up upon the cross" (Ether 1 : 11); because 
 of this, Mr. S. pretends that the Book of Mormon is false ! He 
 says, "How came Ether by the records several hundred years before 
 the cross?" For the very good reason that he was the last of the 
 Jaredite prophets a prophet of God and because he was not "the 
 children of men/' The term "children of men" means the world 
 those who are not "the children of God." A very wide distinction, 
 though our hypercritic seems to not see it. 
 
 We shall, from this on, pass, without notice, some of the lesser and 
 more contemptible objections and quibbles of Mr. S., lest we weary 
 the reader by introducing them. 
 
 Mr. S. finds fault because the book of Malachi, as found both in 
 the common version and in the Inspired Translation agree, while the 
 words of Malachi, as delivered by Jesus to the Nephites, are some- 
 what different. Joseph did not pretend to either translate or correct 
 the book of Malachi, except, possibly, in a few words. The words 
 of Malachi, as found in the Book of Mormon (book of Nephi, ch. 11), 
 do differ from the common version, and this fact proves a former 
 assertion of Mr. S. false, where he says: "The fact is, when prepar- 
 ing the Book of Mormon, our version was freely used, with all its 
 defects." 
 
 These differing texts are prima facie evidence that Joseph did 
 not copy from the common version; and they furnish a strong argu- 
 ment in favor of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. The superior 
 sense of these differing texts is always found in the Book of Mormon. 
 
 Mr. S. next complains that Moroni saw the "three Nephites," 
 whereas "Mormon [his father] testified that they were taken away 
 out of the land when he was fifteen years old." "How," says Mr. 
 S., "could Moroni have seen them if they were not in the land?" 
 To this acute, and profound question we reply; (1) Moroni could 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 129 
 
 scarcely see them unless they were in the land; and (2) Moroni like- 
 ly saw them when they came back into the land; for, in going away, 
 we have no reason to suppose that they were prohibited from return- 
 ing. We hope this matter will no longer perplex our burdened 
 critic. 
 
 Another difficulty in the way of Mr. S. is the gathering up of the 
 Nephites prior to their national destruction. He says they u were 
 gathered from remote regions in the short space of/our years, * * * 
 men, women, and children, without the aid of railroads, from Min- 
 nesota, Maine, California, Florida, and every other locality, from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific, to the land of Curaorah, in New York, all 
 this, too, within four years" Wonderful, if true ! But the record 
 informs us that this Nephi Lamanite war began in about A. D. 320, 
 (book of Nephi 1:11, with book of Mormon 1:1, 2), and continued 
 until after A. I). 384, (book of Mormon 3:1, 2); a period of sixty- 
 four years. Mormon says : 
 
 "And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, we 
 .had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land Cumorah." 3: 1. 
 
 But for sixty-four years the wars had been in progress, the Ne- 
 phites fleeing many times before the Lamanites, generally, if not al- 
 ways, toward the north and east, till they finally reached Cumorah. 
 
 Similar objections are raised by Mr. S. in regard to the Jaredite 
 wars. He intimates that they were of but four years' duration, where- 
 as, they continued through a long series of years, as any one may 
 learn by reading Ether, chapters 5, 6, and the latter part of ch. 4. 
 
 Mr. S. asserts that the Jaredites and Zarahemlaites lived near 
 each other "about 400 years; and once the Jaredite flocks made a 
 stampede into the land of Zarahemla," Yes, Mr. S., into the land 
 that was afterwards "called by the Nephites, Zarahemla" (Ether 4:4) 
 just as you have called their lands Minnesota, California, &c, &c. 
 This account is in Moroni's abridged record of the book of Ether. 
 Ether 1:1; 4:1; 6:1, etc. Hence it is Moroni and not Ether, as 
 you insinuate, who says the land afterwards, after the times of the 
 Jaredites, "was called by the Nephites, Zarahemla/' 
 
 We have shown on p. 32, that the Jaredites, with the exception 
 of their last king, were destroyed before the Zarahemlaites came to 
 America. 
 
 Another difficulty is sought to be conjured up as follows: 
 
 u And in the days of Coriantor there came many prophets, and prophesied of 
 great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the people, and except 
 
130 The Divine Calling of 
 
 they should repent, the Lord God would execute judgment against them to 
 their utter destruction; and that the Lord God would send forth another people to 
 possess this land { by his power, after the manner which he brought their fathers. 1 ' 
 Ether 4: 9. 
 
 Of this prophecy Mr. S. says: 
 
 "Here Joseph makes a serious blunder, for the Xephites had been brought 
 over the water about 350 JQB.TS previously. ' 
 
 This is not true. We have already proven on pages 34 and 127 
 that the Zarahemlaites (and the Nephites came about the time they 
 did) did not come to America till after the destruction of all the 
 Jaredites except their last king. 
 
 Mr. S. claims that the Book of Mormon conflicts with the Bible 
 when it says, "He did not confound the language of Jared," (Ether 
 1:1), while the Bible states, "The Lord did there confound the 
 languages of all the earth." It is said in the Bible, too, "All coun- 
 tries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn/' (Gen. 41 : 57) ; 
 "And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of 
 Jerusalem, and were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing 
 their sins" (Mark 1 : 5). No sensible person by these latter texts 
 understands that "all," as used in them, means exactly, and absolute- 
 ly, the whole, and every one, but, rather, the larger part; or, a large 
 part. The (one) language of all the earth was confused, but that is 
 not to say but that certain favored persons might have retained their 
 original language. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 131 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 *' Joseph says, 11 continues Mr. S., " '.He that kills shall not have forgiveness in 
 this world nor in the world to come. 1 Doc. & Cov., p. 142. Yet, 11 says Mr. S. r 
 "we are told that Nephi, the hero of the Book of Mormon, 'took Laban by the 
 hair of the head and smote off his head with his own sword. 1 1 Nephi 1 : 35." 
 
 Yes, Mr. S., this is all true; and to be consistent you should have 
 quoted Moses, who said, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20 : 13), and 
 then told us about Samuel, the great prophet, who "hewed Agag in 
 pieces before the Lord in Gilgal" (1 Sam. 15:33). Laban had 
 records that possibly might have belonged in part, or in whole, to the 
 house of Lehi ; at least they were essential for them to have in future 
 time and which they were authorized of God to obtain, (ch. 1 : 20, 
 23, 25). The killing of the prisoner Agag, was immeasurably more 
 condemnable than the killing of Laban. Laban had robbed Nephi 
 and his brethren, and also sought to kill him (1 Nephi 1 : 28). 
 There were no such justifying causes recorded in the case of Samu- 
 el as in the case of Nephi, for the record shows that Nephi slew La- 
 ban by direct commandment of God. And in respect to the quota- 
 tion from Joseph, "thou shalt not kill," etc., it is a part of a series 
 of commandments given to the church in these latter days. 
 
 What might have been justifiable in Nephi'a time, and in the 
 times of Samuel, may now be very condemnable. Men were justified 
 under Moses' law in putting away their wives for trivial causes; but 
 under the gospel they are not. The character of an act is, of right, 
 determined by the condition and surroundings of the one who per- 
 forms it. 
 
 Mr. S. avers that a revelation given by Joseph is false, because it 
 says: 
 
 "So shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people, and to the Nephites, 
 and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites through the testimony 
 of their fathers. 11 D. C. 2 : 6. 
 
 Mr. S. says "there are no Nephites now in existence, according 
 to the Book of Mormon." They lost their national existence, it is 
 true ; but a remnant of them were to be preserved forever, (1 Nephi 
 
132 The Divine Calling of 
 
 4:2; 7:1,2; 2 Nephi 2 : 1, 2, 3, 4; 7:1,2; 11:6; 12:9,12). 
 There were large bodies of the Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and 
 Zoramites all called Nephites who dissented from the Nephite 
 people, and united with the Lamanites (Alma 21:29; 22:3). 
 And this continued from time to time till the nation of the Nephites 
 was blotted out in their last battle (book of Mormon 3:3). Large 
 bodies and small ones, went off by themselves, both by land and sea 
 (Alma 30 : 3, 4, 5 ; book of Mormon 3 : 3, etc., etc.). In these var- 
 ious ways the seed of the Nephites, Jacobites, &c, were to be, and 
 were, preserved; and all this "according to the Book of Mormon." 
 Mr. S. says the Zion mentioned in a revelation through Joseph 
 in March, 1833, D. C. 87 : 8, has been "moved out of her place ;" 
 and that therefore the revelation is false; for it states that "she 
 shall not be/' To this we answer, that the thing intended, was, evi- 
 dently, the locality, site, or place for the building up the city of Zion 
 The same thing is said in another revelation, D. C. 98 : 4 
 
 ;: Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are 
 scattered, they that remain and are pure in heart shall return and come to their 
 inheritances; they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy; to build 
 up the waste places of Zion." 
 
 The meaning in both revelations is obvious, the site or place for 
 building up the city, Zion, should not be changed. Mr. S. quotes : 
 
 "And behold there is none other place appointed than that which I have ap- 
 pointed, neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have 
 appointed for the work of the gathering of my saints, until the day cometh when 
 there shall le found no more room for them; and then I have other places which 
 I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes." Ibid. 
 
 He avers this is false, because other places for gathering were sub- 
 sequently appointed. Other places were appointed, but not until 
 it was found that there was "no more room" for the saints in or about 
 Zion, or in Jackson county, or, finally, in the state of Missouri. 
 For the saints were driven by force, and great violence, first from 
 Independence, the place for Zion, and then from Jackson county, 
 and then, in December, 1838, from the state of Missouri. This was 
 not done by "lewd fellows of the baser sort" alone; but by lawyers, 
 doctors, judges, editors, county officials, the clergy (to their eternal 
 shame), and, finally, by the state authorities, sanctioned by state law ! 
 
 Bigotry, political ambition, love of plunder, fear of the abolition 
 sentiments of the saints, stimulated and urged on by falsehood 
 through the pulpit and the press these things, with the wicked 
 conduct, and the heretical and foolish teachings of a few saints were 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 133 
 
 the causes in bringing about the condition provided for, viz : "when 
 there is found no more room [in Zion] for them [saints], * * * then I 
 have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be 
 called stakes." The saints were commanded to not resist evil ; and to 
 'be subject to the powers that be," and to let "let no man break^the 
 laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need 
 to break the laws of the land." D. C. 53 : 5. Therefore, when 
 driven by mobs, some of whom were organized and officered by men 
 holding civil authority, and by ministers of religion, and finally, when 
 driven by the sanction and order of state authority, certainly there 
 was "no more room" in Zion for the Saints. The evils of Brigham- 
 ism, and other isms that have sprung off in the apostasy from the 
 original faith and doctrine of the church, are but the legitimate 
 fruit of the desperation to which many were forced in the numerous 
 persecutions and drivings of the saints either sanctioned or winked 
 at by the civil authorities town, county, state, and national in 
 Missouri, and in Illinois. These authorities, when they in any man- 
 ner encouraged these persecutions, and when they did not faithfully 
 seek to prevent such things, and to punish, adequately, those con- 
 nected with them, "they sowed the mind!" and they may blame 
 themselves when they "reap the whirlwind ! !" Their treatment of the 
 saints drove thousands of the honest, confiding ones, into the blind- 
 ing, bitter bondage of priestcraft, and thrust them under the influence, 
 and into the very jaws of "devouring wolves," so that but "few" of 
 that old stock will stand, or remain to receive an inheritance in the 
 original Zion. 
 
 In order to make the revelations quoted conflict with the revela- 
 tion of 1841, in respect to building up Zion in Missouri, Mr. S. 
 quotes but part of a clause of the latter revelation, thereby pervert- 
 ing its sense. The entire clause reads : 
 
 It beliooveth me to require that work [of building the city and temple in Zi- 
 on, Missouri,] no more at the hands ofthose sons of men" D. C. 107: 15. 
 
 But this garbler quotes it, "will require that work no more;" 
 leaving out, we see, the concluding and qualifying part of the clause. 
 Such is the pious (?) method of this man who boastfully promises 
 to dig Mormonisni iip by the roots ! 
 
 He finds fault because the formula of words used in baptism, as 
 found in the Doctrine and Covenants, "Having been commissioned 
 of Jesus Christ, I baptize you," &c., is different, in letter, from that 
 found in the Book of Mormon book of Nephi 5:8,- "Having au- 
 
134 The Divine Calling of 
 
 thority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you," c. The sense of 
 the two passages is identical. The latter form was given eighteen 
 hundred years ago, to the Nephites; while the other is given in this 
 century to the church of the Saints. What a prodigious evidence 
 that Joseph is a false prophet ! 
 
 Mr. S. says "it is a well authenticated fact that Christ was born 
 several years before the vulgar Christian era began." And he ar- 
 gues therefrom that the commandment is false which says : 
 
 "The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight 
 hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 
 in the flesh." D. cf. 17:1. 
 
 If the reckoning of Mr. S. should by any means prove true, still 
 the revelation would not be false; for it would be 1830 years, and 
 more; but 1830 years at any rate. It is not a well authenticated 
 fact, chronologically, that Christ was born four years before A. D. 1. 
 The time of his birth is still a disputed point. Scaliger says, "to 
 determine the day of Christ's birth belonged to God alone, not man. 
 (Types of Mankind, p. 666). Says Dr. Moshiem: 
 
 "The year in which it happened has not hitherto been ascertained, notwith- 
 standing the deep and laborious researches of the learned. There is nothing 
 surprising in this, when we consider that the first Christians labored under the 
 same difficulties, and were divided in their opinions concerning the time of 
 Christ's birth." Church Hist , part 1, ch. 3, 1. 
 
 In D. C. 45 : 3-10, is a revelation as to what Jesus said to his dis- 
 ciples on the Mount of Olives in respect to the calamities coming 
 upon the Jews, the second coming of Christ, the end of the world, 
 etc.; and in the llth paragraph it is said to Joseph and others, 
 "behold I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to know any 
 further concerning this chapter, (Matt. 24), until the New Testament 
 be translated." Mr. S. thinks this promise has failed. Let any 
 one read the Inspired Translation, and they will find a vast amount 
 of added information concerning the subject matter of that chapter, 
 especiall yin Luke 17th and 21st chapters; also in Mark 13th and 
 Matthew 24th chapters. 
 
 Of the revelations given by Hiram Page concerning the order of 
 the Church, the building up of Zion and other matters, Mr. S. en- 
 quires :_, 
 
 "Why had not Hiram just as good a right to write from a stone as Joseph 
 had? And if Satan could deceive Hiram through a stone, why could he not de- 
 ceive Joseph in the same way?" 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 135 
 
 We reply, (1) that it was utterly contrary to the established or- 
 der of the Church for any but those who were called of God to that 
 special work, to receive revelations and commandments touching the 
 law and general order of the Church. This may seen by consulting 
 D. C., sec. 19, a revelation given to the Church at the very time the 
 Church was organized. Joseph, alone, was called to that work. 
 The case of Aaron and Miriam, where they usurped the prerogc- 
 tives of Moses, is right in point. See Num. 12 : 18. They erred 
 greatly in seeking to get into Mosses' place. Hananiah usurped 
 the special calling of Jeremiah Jer. 1 :5-10, with ch. 28. Satan 
 deceived Hananiah, moving him to supplant Jeremiah. There is 
 specific order in the government of God's church, as is seen in the 
 cases cited, and as may be further seen by consulting Gal. 2 : 12, 
 with acts 15:19, 28, etc., etc. Hiram violated the provided order 
 of the Church; and seeking the office of another, he was in a condi- 
 tion to be deceived by Satan. When persons attempt to officiate in 
 the things of God, when not properly called and set apart to that 
 work, they are serving the wicked one, and are in a condition to be 
 easily deceived. We reply, (2) that Satan could not deceive Joseph 
 in the same way he did Hiram, first, because Joseph had great ex- 
 perience in the spiritual things of God, and had witnessed much 
 of the cunning wiles of Satan during the seven or eight preceding 
 years; and in the next place, the Lord will not call a person to the 
 specific work of receiving revelations and commandments for his 
 church, and then permit him, if he is faithful, to be deceived by 
 Satan so as to receive and give to the church false revelations. God 
 has promised to be with, and protect, and preserve, his ministry, on 
 the grounds, of course, of their faithfulness in their own calling and 
 office. A counterfeiter can not impose his spurious notes on the 
 skillful, experienced, and faithful cashier on whose bank the notes 
 are drawn, but he may upon the inexperienced, the unwary, the 
 officious and conceited. 
 
 Mr. S. says, " Joseph and Oliver differ in their testimony concern- 
 ing the statement of the angel at their ordination." That is true; 
 but it consists in omissions. Joseph omits in his statements some 
 things mentioned by Oliver, and Oliver omits some things mention- 
 ed by Joseph, yet their testimony is essentially the same. They 
 can not be charged with collusion. Furthermore, they do not differ 
 near so widely as do the evangelists in respect to the teachings of 
 
136 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Jesus, or as does Paul in respect to his own conversion. Acts 22 : 
 6-16; 26:13-18. 
 
 He inquires : "And if the priesthood had been lost so long, why 
 was it not restored before?" For the very good reason (1) that the 
 world was not prepared for it before. The religious intolerance, 
 and the priestly despotism that, by the sanction and aid of civil 
 rulers, had so long held the world under their blinding and tyrannical 
 sway, had to be subdued in part, or be removed, ere such a work 
 could be accomplished. Civil and religious liberty must be firmly 
 established before it was practicable, if indeed possible. The Re- 
 formers did good work in preparing the way, but it remained for 
 "free America/' which is pledged to protect and defend the religion- 
 ist of every creed and belief, to be raised up to an honored and com- 
 manding position among the nations before "the dispensation of the 
 fulness of times" could be successfully ushered in. It required pe- 
 culiar conditions in national and religious matters, under which to 
 begin the sojourn in Egypt, the exodus of Israel, the return from 
 the "seventy years' captivity/' and especially the order of the "new 
 covenant," under Jesus and his Apostles. And in the latter days 
 proper conditions must be had in civil and religious affairs ere the 
 priesthood could be restored, and God's "marvellous work and a 
 wonder" be begun. We reply, (2) that it was not restored before, 
 because it was not so appointed of God. 
 
 Mr. S. next inquires : "Would the world have gone to ruin if 
 Joseph had died in his infancy?" And to this we reply, "would 
 the world have gone to ruin if John the Baptist had died in his in- 
 fancy ? God will judge all men according their light and their works. 
 The Lord, "'whilst he is no respecter of persons," does respect the 
 works of men, "to give unto every man according to his ways, and 
 according to the fruit of his doings," (Jer. IT : 10), whether he has 
 heard the gospel or not. The almsdeeds, the justness, the piety and 
 godly reverence of Cornelius, the heathen man, pleased the Lord, 
 and called forth the angel from the heavens in order that this man 
 and his house might be brought nigh to God, and made partakers 
 of gospel salvation in its fulness and perfection. 
 
 The Lord will finally judge all men. and "give every man accord- 
 ing as his work shall be," (Rev. 22 : 12), whether John the Baptist, 
 Joseph Smith, or even Mr. S. had died in their infancy. 
 
 Mr. S. seeks to make capital out of a revelation to 0. Cowdery 
 in April. 1829, relative to his translating. The Lord had said to 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 137 
 
 him in the preceding revelation that if he sincerely desired it, and 
 was very faithful, he should "receive a knowledge concerning the 
 engravings of the old records * * * by the manifestation of my 
 [God's] Spirit ; yea, behold I will tell you in your mind and in your 
 heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you, and which 
 shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold this is the Spirit of revela- 
 tion." D. C. 7 : 1, 2. 
 
 The promise to him was, not that he should have the Urim, but 
 that he should, if he complied with the specified conditions, receive 
 knowledge "of the old records" by "the Spirit of revelation" in his 
 "mind" and in his "heart." 
 
 u His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones." Jer. 
 20:9. 
 
 The next revelation informs us that he failed to comply with the 
 said conditions, and therefore failed to translate. Peter failed in 
 his faith and therefore sank. (Matt. 14 :30, 31). 
 
 Mr. S. thinks that if Joseph did not have the plates immediately 
 before him when he was translating them, (as stated by D. Whitmer 
 to a Chicago Times reporter, in August, 1875), he had no need to 
 have dug them up. We do not question but what God might have 
 revealed the contents of the plates, through his Spirit, as easily as to 
 reveal any other secret thing; but this was not done. Undoubtedly 
 God, in his wise Providence considered it far better that the plates 
 should be obtained, and kept at hand, and seen and handled by many 
 chosen and reliable witnesses, and then exhibited the same plates 
 by the angel of God to David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, Martin 
 Harris, with Joseph, while the voice of the Lord out of heaven tes- 
 tified to the fact and truthfulness of their translation by Joseph. 
 This course multiplies and strengthens the evidences relating to the 
 truly wonderful matter. 
 
 Mr. S. tells us that "there are a few Mormons who repudiated 
 the revelations of Joseph, and yet cling to the Book of Mormon, 
 thinking that Joseph was all right when he translated, and aposta- 
 tized before giving the conflicting revelations." We are not aware 
 of any Saints who profess to repudiate all Joseph's revelations. 
 There are a very few who repudiate his revelations after about 1833, 
 when they claim he fell and lost his gift. And there are a great 
 many who in practice repudiate his revelations to the Church, the 
 most prominent and numerous of whom are the Utah Mormons. 
 
 We do not believe, with Mr. S., that "he was used alternately by 
 
138 The Divine Calling of 
 
 the Lord, and by the Devil, by the Lord to translate, and at this 
 same time by the Devil to give revelations." 
 
 "The story of engraving such a large book as the Book of Mor- 
 mon on such a small number of plates as Joseph pretended to find, 
 is preposterous/' avers Mr. S. He says that the language in which 
 the plates were written is "claimed to be a little less than the He- 
 brew," "the elaborate Hebrew." These statements are not true. 
 What the Book of Mormon states is this : 
 
 "If our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew. 17 
 Mormon 4:8. 
 
 The plates were written in characters called among the Nephites 
 "the reformed Egyptian." Ibid. The Egyptian, proper, combines 
 in style the ideographic, and the phonetic; and is very comprehen- 
 sive. Mr. S. thinks that one page of their language could not make 
 more than three pages of English. He thinks this a very great dif- 
 ference in the languages, and seeks to invalidate Mr. Smith's pro- 
 phetic mission, and the Book of Mormon on this hypothesis. Now, 
 if he proposes to prove Joseph a false prophet because so large an 
 amount of information is contained in so small a space as would be 
 afforded by the plates, why not be consistent and convict another 
 translator on similar grounds? "Jtfcwe, Mene, Peres" three small 
 words were translated by the prophet Daniel (5 : 26-28) "God hath 
 numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in the 
 balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and 
 given to the Medes and Persians." The first words have thirteen 
 letters, and the latter one hundred and thirty-one. Here is more 
 than ten-fold difference ! There may have been even a wider differ- 
 ence than this between the "reformed Egyptian" and the English. 
 
 In the book of Omni 1 : 7, it is said : 
 
 "The people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedeki- 
 ah, King of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon." 
 
 They are mentioned also in Mosiah 11:8, Helaman 2 : 27, and 
 3:6. In the two last cited places we are informed that with this 
 people came "Mulek," a son of King Zedekiah, not "a leader" of 
 the colony, as Mr. S. asserts, but simply a member of that colony. 
 Nephi, reasoning with the people, said, 
 
 '"Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mu- 
 lek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of of Zedekiah are with us, and 
 they were driven out of Jerusalem ?" 
 
 Mr. S. tells us this account can rot be true, for the reason, he 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 claims, that all the sons of Zedekiah were killed by the King of Baby- 
 lon. It is true that it is stated, 2 Kings 25 : 7, and Jer. 39 : 6, that 
 "they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes;" yet^this does not 
 render it impossible for one, or even more of his sons to have been 
 spared. Josephus informs us that he had many wives. He likely 
 had many sons. Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to slay 
 all the sons born to the Israelites, yet in the providence of Grod 
 Moses was secretly saved. An Egyptian historian, recording that 
 slaughter, and not knowing of the escape of Moses, would, unquestion- 
 ably, have stated that all the doomed innocents were slain. Jewish 
 historians are distinguished for their florid, poetic, and exaggerative 
 style a style lacking the nice precision, and fulness of detail, that 
 distinguishes the historian of Greece, and Home, and the enlightened 
 nations of these later centuries. For instance, Josephus tells us 
 that "when Cestius had marched from Antipatris to Lydda, he found 
 the city empty of its men, for thi whole multitude were gone up to 
 Jerusalem to keep the feast of tabernacles; yet did he destroy fifty 
 of those that showed themselves, and burnt the city." Wars, B. 2:19. 
 "The whole multitude were gone" "yet did he destroy fifty of those 
 that showed themselves. Paul, in Colossians 1 : 23, says the gospel 
 "was preached to every creature which is under heaven" Yet this 
 could have been strictly true of only a part. Daniel prophecies that 
 the third kingdom in the succession from Babylon, the Macedonian, 
 "shall bear rule over all the earth' 7 (Dan. 2 : 39), yet there were 
 large portions of Europe, Asia, and Africa, to say nothing of Amer- 
 ica, over which the Macedonian kingdom did not bear rule. Mr. 
 Newton, in his works, p. 192, makes these judicious remarks, which 
 we submit for the information of Mr. S. and his admirers: 
 
 "General prophecies, like general rules, are not to be understood so strictly 
 and absolutely, as if they could not possibly admit of any kind of limitation or ex- 
 ception whatever. * * * The prophets exhibit a general view of things, with- 
 out entering into the particular exceptions. It was predicted that 'Canaan should 
 be a servant of servants unto his brethren,' and generally his posterity were sub- 
 jected to the descendants of his brethren ; but yet they were not always so ; 
 upon some occasions they were superior." 
 
 And this rule applies with greater force to history, as our quota- 
 tions prove. These thoughts are presented, and these quotations 
 rnade, that we may be guarded against putting too great exactitude 
 and precision, upon passages where the writer thereof did not intend 
 it. That the King of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before 
 his eyes, we do not doubt; yet to believe the Bible we must believe 
 
140 The Divine Calling of 
 
 that at least one (Mulek) was saved from that fate. \Ve turn to the 
 "more sure word of prophecy/' and by that we learn that the Lord, 
 very shortly before Zedekiah and his family were taken captive, 
 made promise through his prophet Ezekiel, in respect to the seed of 
 Zedekiah : 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high 
 cedar, and will set it: I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, 
 and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the 
 height of Israel will I plant it" Ezek. 17 : 22, 23. 
 
 "The highest branch of the high cedar 1 ' clearly relates to the then 
 reigning king of Judah, which was Zedekiah (as "the highest branch 
 of the cedar/' of verse 3, related to king Jehoiachin). And "his 
 young twigs/' as clearly relates to the king's seed. And, "a tender 
 one" "from the top of his young twigs/' can only mean the most em- 
 inent one of his seed. And when the Lord says, "7 will also take 
 of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I irill 
 crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will 
 plant it" etc., etc., it can only mean that the Lord, in some special 
 and extraordinary way, will take "a tender one" of King Zede- 
 kiah's seed, and will establish it, and nurture it, in a superior 
 place "a high mountain and eminent" in some land that belongs 
 to Israel (not Judah). This prophecy must have its fulfillment; 
 but it could not if the claim of Mr. S., that all Zedekiah's sons were 
 slain, was true. The Book of Mormon affords to this an easy and 
 rational solution; otherwise it would be an insuperable difficulty. 
 It must be fulfilled in a manner like that claimed by the Book of 
 Mormon; and America being the land of Israel, as claimed by the 
 Book of Mormon, and as is shown by prophetic blessings (Glen. 49 : 
 22-26; 48: 15-21; Deut. 33: 13-17), it was fitting to describe this 
 choice land as being "a high mountain and eminent * * * the moun- 
 tain of the height of Israel." Mr. S. says that Joseph got himself 
 "in a trap," when stating that one of Zedekiah's sons came to Amer- 
 ica. If Joseph had "copied from the common version, with all its 
 defects," as averred so often by Mr. S., he certainly would not 
 have said that one of Zedekiah's sons came to America. Neither 
 would Mr. Spaulding have said so, had he written the book. The 
 book he claimed to translate does make such claim, and Ezekiel's 
 prophecy sustains it; thus confirming the truth of the book, the di- 
 vinity of Joseph's mission, and catching Mr. S. in the trap he laid 
 for others. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 141 
 
 Mr. S. is horrified at the idea that God should prepare a "compass," 
 or "directors/' to guide Lehi and his family, yet he professes to be- 
 lieve that God provided a beautiful star to guide the wise men to 
 him that was "born King of the Jews" (Matt. 2 : 1, 2, 9, 10). He 
 says "the story about the interpreters, or stone spectacles, is too mar- 
 velous for credence;" yet he can easily believe that Joseph had a 
 silver cup through which he obtained revelations (Gen. 44 : 5), and 
 that the Urim was a means of revelation also (Num. 27 : 21; 1 Sam. 
 28 : 2). He says "the story of Ether's stone candles overtaxes mar- 
 velousness;" yet he readily believes that the "'pillar of cloud by 
 day, and the pillar of fire by night" attended Israel in their exodus; 
 and that "cloven tongues like that of fire" sat upon the disciples 
 (Acts 2:3); and that unconverted Saul "saw in the way a light 
 from heaven, above the brightness of the sun," shining about him- 
 self and those that journeyed with him (Acts 26:13). He shud- 
 ders at the thought that Nephi and Lehi, missionaries whose lives 
 were endangered by enemies, "'were encircled about with a pillar of 
 fire" (Helaman 2:18); yet he can take in at one gulp the three 
 Hebrew children and the fiery furnace (Dan. 3 : 19-27); and with 
 credulous gaze can see Elijah go up into heaven "by a whirlwind," 
 attended by "a chariot of fire, and horses of fire" (2 Kings 2 : 11). 
 
 Bible miracles he rather likes, but those from any other direc- 
 tion he cannot and will not believe, because they are not fashion- 
 able, probably; and because they have not the sanction of his 
 modern c^eed of unbelief in the word of God. Such clear sight- 
 ed people as our critic can see that miracles are easy to be believed 
 if they are only the ones done two thousand years ago and ten thou- 
 sand miles away, and related in their Bible; but any thing outside 
 of that should be belittled, belied, and branded as an imposture. 
 We are forcibly reminded of the ancient Pagans; they could easily 
 believe all the miracles imputed to their deities, but the miracles of 
 the early Christians were spurious! The Jews could believe in the 
 miracles wrought among their forefathers, but the miracles of Jesus 
 and his disciples were either impositions, or were done by Belzebub. 
 Mr. S. would not for the world question but what Elisha made the 
 axe-head to swim (2 Kings 6:6); and that Jesus wrought a mira- 
 cle in order to pay poll-tax for himself and Peter; but no miracles 
 must be wrought in bringing out to America a righteous colony, 
 nor in sustaining them when here ! The sun standing still at the 
 
142 The Divine Calling of 
 
 behest of Joshua is all right with Mr. S., but Israelites on this con- 
 tinent must make no claim to miracles. 
 
 "Hush, hush, my son/' said the pious old lady to her idolized 
 sailor-boy, as he related to her that among the wonders there were 
 flying-fish in the sea, "don't impose on your old mother, and try to 
 fool her with any of your big sailor yarns ;" but when he told her, 
 in solemn tones, that their vessel's anchor dragged up one of the ver- 
 itable chariot wheels of old Pharoh, lost in the Red Sea, she exclaimed 
 with reverential awe, "La's a me ! and did you bring the precious 
 relic home?" Some people will spurn any truth, if it conflicts with 
 their creeds and traditions. 
 
 Orson Pratt describes the body of the plates from which the Book 
 of Mormon was translated as being about eight inches long, seven 
 inches wide, and six inches thick; which would contain 336 cubic 
 inches. Mr. S. thinks gold plates to this amount would weigh "near 
 200 pounds." Here, as usual, he goes wide of the truth. A body 
 of solid gold of such dimensions and of such quality as needed would 
 not weigh near so much ; and a body of finely and elaborately en- 
 graved plates of such dimension would weigh far less; probably 
 much less than 100 pounds. 
 
 Mr. S. now has another fearful spdl about the "interpreters." 
 He seems as rabid at the thought of them as a mad dog at the sight 
 of pure, cool water. For information we refer him to pages 28-34 
 and 71, 84, where we have already disposed of that matter. 
 
 He thinks the story of the utter extermination of the Jaredite 
 nation on this continent is too marvelous for credence ; and, so of the 
 Nephites. He admits that an intelligent class of people dwelt on 
 this continent at one time, but claims that it was "prior to the 
 great deluge I" He says further: "The many traces of an early 
 settlement date back to that dispensation!" Humboldt. Josiah 
 Priest, Stephens, Baldwin, Delafield, and many others who have 
 studied the antiquities of America never dreamed of the sweeping 
 method of this genius from Broadhead I What a pity they had not 
 met and consulted this prodigy of invention ! and that, too, before 
 they had spent so much time and money in elaborating their theories. 
 The idea that Mr. S., who never saw any of these antiquities, and 
 whose ignorance on these matters, he now so plainly exhibits, the 
 idea, I say, that he should oppose his opinions to those of the most 
 renowned antiquarians and scientists of the age, makes him slightly 
 ridiculous. Mr. Delafield has furnished the world with an Aztec 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 143 
 
 Map which outlines the route of those who came and settled in Mex- 
 ico and Central America, and this puts the settling of America this 
 side the Deluge. The Mexicans, and Peruvians, with many of the 
 Indian tribes, and many of the islanders of the Pacific, have a well 
 defined tradition of the Flood, but these all locate the flood before the 
 building up of these great cities and roadways that so abound in 
 America. Mr. Delafield assures us that the style of architecture seen 
 in these ancient ruins is clearly Egyptian. He also assures us that 
 there are striking analogies between the ancient languages of Amer- 
 ica, and those of Asia the Egyptian and Hindoo, especially. And 
 further, that there are strong analogies in the religious notions of 
 the ancient Americans, and the Asiatics, as seen in their traditions, 
 their sculpturing, their religious symbols, etc. He likewise tells us 
 that their style of hieroglyphics bears a striking resemblance to the 
 Egyptian. How exactly this accords with the claims of the Book 
 of Mormon, where it says, in no less than three different places, that 
 the Nephites wrote in Egyptian, the reformed Egyptian. 1 Nephi 
 1:1; Mosiah 1:1; book of Mormon 4:8. Delafield further remarks, 
 that Mexican astronomy, with its divisions of time based thereon, 
 are, in many leading respects identical with that of Egypt. At this, 
 Latter Day Saints are not surprised, for they know by the Book of 
 Mormon that two colonies of intelligent Israelites, who could not be 
 otherwise than well acquainted with the then prevailing system of 
 astronomy of Egypt, came to this land 600 years B. C. and grew into 
 mighty nations. Mr. Delafield claims that in all the analogies dis- 
 covered, as also in tradition that they have "positive evidence of an 
 early identity between the aboriginal race of America and the south- 
 ern Asiatic and Egyptian family." Antiquities of America, p. 51. 
 
 The Book of Mormon asserts that America was settled by two dis- 
 tinct peoples , at two very remote periods of time; the Jaredites com- 
 mencing their settlement some 2150 or 2200 years before Christ, 
 and continuing over a period of from 1500 or 1600 years to the ex- 
 odus of Lehi, and Mulek and his company, B. C. 600, when the Ne- 
 phites and Zarahemlaites succeeded them and continued for 1000 
 years, and were themselves succeeded by the Lamanite nation. It 
 represents the Jaredites, and the Nephites, as being highly skilled 
 in the arts and sciences of civilized life. Now, Baldwin, in his 
 "Ancient America," pp. 155, 156, 264, 271, etc., confirms this view. 
 He says "these old constructions [ruins] belong to different periods 
 
144 The Divine Calling of 
 
 in the past, and represent somewhat different phases of civilization/' 
 So say other authors. 
 
 This theory of Mr. S., like many other of his positions, lacks the 
 essential elements of truth, and common sense; and when these bub- 
 bles are pricked they collapse, and leave a blot on the record of him 
 that created them. 
 
 Mr. S. thinks that Amos, the son of Amos, could not have kept 
 the records for so long a time as is claimed; neither Ammaron, his 
 brother. Holy men of old lived to great ages. Abraham begat a 
 son when he was one hundred years old. Moses, when he died, 
 aged one hundred and twenty years, was in the full vigor of life. 
 Ezra, and Daniel, and many others of God's worthies lived to be 
 very old, and their habits of business followed them to their latest 
 years. Mr. S. labors hard to make the record claim that Amos and 
 Ammaron were aged respectively 150 and 160 years. This method 
 of perversion is a favorite trick with him. Amos 2d might have 
 been less than 130 years old at his death, and Ammaron no older as 
 will appear on examining the record. 
 
 Golour M'Crain, of the Isle of Jura, who died in the reign of 
 Charles I., of England, was over 180 years old. Thomas Parr died 
 in A. D. 1635, aged 153 years; and James Bowles, of Killingworth, 
 in 1656, aged 152 years; and Lady Eccleston, Ireland, in 1691, 
 aged 143 years. In A. D. 1588, Jane Britten died, in Somerset, 
 England, aged 200 years; and J. Forathe, Glamorganshire, A. D. 
 1621, aged 180 years. Joseph Crele, of Caledonia, Wisconsin, died 
 in 1866, aged 140 years. Haydn, Diet. Dates. These are a few 
 from the very many cases of longevity since the times of Christ. So 
 the great ages of Amos and Ammaron are not highly improbable, as 
 Mr. S. pretends. 
 
 Of the brass plates brought out from Jerusalem, (1 Nephi 1 :46, 
 47, 48; Alma 17 : 5), Mr.^S. says: 
 
 "If these imfound brass plates are yet to be seen by all nations," etc. 
 
 There is no promise that they were to be "seen" by all nations; 
 but only that their contents, in part, or in whole, were to go to all 
 nations. And that is being fulfilled, in part, by the circulation of 
 the Book of Mormon; for it is made up, in a measure, of facts con- 
 tained on those plates. 
 
 Mr. S. thinks it contrary to the belief and teachings of the saints 
 that Alma (Mosiah 11 : 22) should be born of the Spirit (or have 
 his sins pardoned, as he puts it) before baptism by water. Nothing 
 
Joseph Smitli Defended. 145 
 
 more strange, Mr. S., than the case of Cornelius, as treated on p. 51. 
 God may pardon peoples' sins before baptism, and give them the 
 Spirit in great power, also; yet it is out of the ordinary course. The 
 Lord increased the widow's oil and meal (1 Kings 17 : 14), but that 
 is not the common way for him to supply the wants of the needy. 
 
 He cavils about the commandment concerning candidates for bap- 
 tism, where it says : 
 
 "All those who humble themselves before God and desire to be baptized and' 
 truly manifest by their works that they have received [of] the Spirit of Christ unto 
 the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his Church." D.~ 
 C. 17:7. 
 
 Mr. S. leaves out the word q/ 1 , inclosed in brackets, when quoting j* 
 and then says: 
 
 "Here the reception of the Spirit and remission of sins is made a prerequisite 
 to baptism." 
 
 Not quite so fast, Mr. S.; a man may receive of a. cup of wine, 
 and still not' receive the cup. Receiving "of the Spirit of Christ unto 
 the remission of sins," means, simply, receiving that which leads, or 
 moves toward that condition. The words to and unto are synony- 
 mous. A man may start to New York, and yet never get there. 
 
 Mr. S. says: 
 
 "The Mormon doctrine of baptism by proxy baptizing the living for the 
 dead establishes the doctrine of salvation without repentance on the part of 
 the sinner." 
 
 This is not true, and Mr. S. knovss it is not the doctrine of the 
 Saints. The doctrine and belief of some of the Saints is that, as 
 the spirit of man, after death, is active and capable, and that, as the 
 judgment of the wicked dead does not take place till after their res- 
 urrection, there is in this fact strong presumptive evidence in favor 
 of the idea that the spirits of the wicked dead are, in the interme- 
 diate state, placed under reformatory influences. The statement in 
 Isaiah 24 : 21, 22, that the "prisoners" shall "be visited," "after many 
 days;" and the statements (1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:5, G) that disobe- 
 dient spirits shall be preached to in the prison, treated on p. 114; 
 with other texts, among them Jonah (2 : 1-4) give ample grounds 
 for believing that sinners, except those of the highest degree, may 
 hear the gospel in the world of spirits, and repent. And it is for 
 this class that baptism is to be administered by proxy. And, as for 
 baptism for the dead, why did Paul speak of it as though practiced 
 in the Church, if it was not so practiced? 
 
146 The Divine Calling of 
 
 u Else what shall they do which arc baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not 
 at all." 1 Cor. 15:29. 
 
 Now it will not do to say that "the dead" here spoken of is the 
 dead Christ, as some do; for here "the dead" is from the Greek, ne- 
 kron and is a plural noun. Besides, it is historically true that such 
 a practice was had in the days of the first Christians. And yet this 
 is not a fundamental doctrine a formally authorized doctrine of 
 the Church of the Saints. 
 
 ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. 
 
 Mr. S. strives to make a conflict in the teachings of our standard 
 works in respect to endless punishment. He argues that when a per- 
 son suffers "endless punishment/' "eternal punishment," "everlasting 
 punishment," "eternal torment," etc., he necessarily suffers that 
 punishment torment eternally, in the most absolute and extended 
 sense of that term. Now the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, uses 
 the words eternal, forever, everlasting, endless, etc , to signify lengthy 
 periods, but not always absolute, unending duration. And this is 
 especially true when describing punishment. See 2 Nephi 1:4; 
 Mosiahll:22; Alma 17:2; book of Mormon 4 : 6, etc. Exodus 
 12:14, 17, 24; Lev. 25:46; Num. 18:8; 1 Sam. 3:13; Isa. 34: 
 10; Amos 1:11; Jonah 2:6; Gen 17:8; 48:4; 49:26; Lev. 
 16 : 34; Hab. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1 : 14. The "everlasting punishment" 
 mentioned in Matt. 25 : 46, it is held by the most eminent scholars 
 of the primitive church, and also of the present times, to mean pun- 
 ishment during a period, the age to which it relates. They inform 
 us that olam, Hebrew, is the same in sense and meaning as aionias, 
 Greek, and that both ordinarily signify age or life; and sometimes 
 an indefinite period. Now the sentiments advocated in D. C. 18 : 
 1, 2, about which Mr. S. makes such an ado, are similar to those 
 just noticed. "Endless punishment," is treated of in the revelation 
 cited as a condition into which persons may be placed, and from 
 which they may be delivered. This is the sum of the matter. The 
 meaning of a word, and the signification of a sentence, can only be 
 determined by what is directly connected with it. Of this Mr. S. 
 seems quite oblivious. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 147 
 
 THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 He says Mahomet had seven heavens while Joseph teaches three 
 kingdoms in the future world. Well, Paul (2 Cor. 12:2) tells of 
 "the third heaven ;" and inasmuch as there is "the third heaven/' 
 there must be the first, and the second. He also tells us, in describ- 
 ing the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15 :41, 42), that 
 
 "There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory 
 of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the 
 resurrection of the dead." 
 
 Joseph and Paul agree, only Joseph calls those conditions king- 
 doms, while Paul calls them glories. The departments, or conditions, 
 are the same, yet described under different forms of speech. God 
 has promised to judge all men according to their works (Rev. 22: 
 12; Rom. 2:6; 14:12; Rev. 20:12, 13; Matt. 16:27, etc., etc.), 
 and has promised that the faithful Saints shall be with Christ 
 (John 17 : 24; 14 : 3; 1 Thess. 4 : 16, 17) and that they shall be like 
 <7An^(Uohn3:3; 1 Cor. 15: 49; Phil. 3 : 21; Col. 3:4; Rom. 8: 
 16, 17); they, then, possessing the same glory, or heavenly condi- 
 tion with Christ, who will occupy the two lesser glories? Evidently 
 those whose "works" under the equitable and gracious judgment of 
 God, render them meet for them. 
 
 Joseph the seer teaches that men's rewards or future condition, 
 will vary as their "works" shall vary; and that, too, even among 
 sinners. John teaches (Rev. 22 : 14, 15) that while "they that do 
 his [Christ's] commandments" "have right to the tree of life, and 
 may enter in through the gates into the city," yet that "without [/. 
 e., on the outside of the city] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore- 
 mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and 
 maketh a lie." We should be glad that after suitable, though ter- 
 rible punishment, there is something better than eternal sleep, or 
 annihilation, for even them who love and make lies ! In these teach- 
 ings Joseph and John are identical. Jesus says: 
 
 "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: [on their re- 
 pentance, evidently] : but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be 
 forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, 
 it shall be forgiven him ; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it 
 shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come" 
 Matt. 12:31, 32. 
 
 The plain inference from this passage is, that "in the world to 
 come," all sins except the one may be forgiven. Here, then, are 
 
148 The Divine Calling of 
 
 three testimonies agreeing, essentially, in the same ideas. The doc- 
 trine held by Mr. S. and others, that all who do not profess Christian 
 faith in this present life are doomed to an absolutely endless sleep, 
 or endless torture, is as horrid and hateful, as it is irrational and un- 
 scriptural. Those who can see nothing better, should not boast of 
 their insight. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 Mr. S. quarrels with the idea that Psalm 85:11, is applied in 
 proof of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He says "the 
 Book of Mormon did not -spring' out of the earth, but was simply 
 dug out." How profound ! Webster says spring means "to proceed," 
 "to issue/' "to issue into sight or notice." And this is precisely 
 true of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He also quar- 
 rels with the application made of Isaiah 29th chapter in proof of the 
 Book of Mormon. He says the passage: "And the vision of all is 
 become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men 
 deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee," was 
 not fulfilled in connection with the Book of Mormon, because only 
 Martin Harris delivered them to the learned man. But Mr. S. 
 should bear in mind that Joseph was a party to this delivering "the 
 words of a book that is sealed" to Mr. Anthon, just as much as 
 Solomon was a leading party in building the temple, though doing 
 none of the mechanical work. "Men" did deliver "the words of a 
 book that is sealed" to the "learned;" for Joseph sent Martin for 
 this very purpose. 
 
 He says Jesus applied verse 13 "to the Jews in his day." Yes, 
 but he did not claim it had its final fulfillment there and then. The 
 13th verse fitted their case and condition, but only in part. Peter 
 accommodates Joel 2 : 28-32, to the day of Pentecost, yet it was not 
 finally fulfilled on that occasion. This practice was frequent with 
 the Apostles. "Out of Egypt have I called my son," (Matt. 2 : 15), 
 was applied to the bringing of Christ out of Egypt; but primarily 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 149 
 
 it related to the calling of Israel out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). This 
 is one specimen out of many that might be cited. Newton remarks, 
 in his work on the fulfillment of prophecy, that "many prophecies 
 of Scripture have a double meaning, literal and mystical, respect two 
 events, and have a two-fold completion." P. 71. 
 
 Mr. S. says "the 'vision of all/ verse 11, had then (in the days of 
 Christ) become to the Jews like a sealed book, that could not be 
 read by the learned, or the unlearned instead of one that could be 
 read by the unlearned Joseph/' But Mr. S. should remember, what 
 is fatal to his logic, viz., that "the words of the book" would be read; 
 for in verse 18 it is said: 
 
 "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the 
 blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." 
 
 So, we see, "the words of a book that is sealed" would be uttered, 
 and heard hence "read." And when Isaiah predicts that the 
 "learned" could not read "the words" of the book that was sealed, 
 it was equivalent to predicting that its language was such as he 
 could not read. For it was not "the book," that he was requested 
 to read, but "the words of" a sealed book. Isaiah predicts that "the 
 words" of the sealed book should be delivered by "men" to the 
 "learned" and this was done by Joseph and Martin, to Mr. Charles 
 Anthon, Professor of languages in Columbia College, N. Y. So pre- 
 cise is the prophecy, and so exact its fulfillment. 
 
 That Isaiah 29th chapter, 4th to 24th verses, did not have their 
 fulfillment in the days of Christ, nor near to that time, but that they 
 were to be fulfilled in these latter days, is made conclusive from the 
 following facts : Firstly, In the the days of Christ there was no 
 "book," neither "the words of a book that is sealed," that was given 
 to the "learned" or the "not learned." The Jewish people had pos- 
 sessed "Moses and the prophets" many centuries before the coming 
 of Christ, the New Testament was not compiled and pronounced ca- 
 nonical till the third Council of Carthage, A. D. 397, and the first 
 book of that compilation (Matthew) was not written till between A. 
 D. 50 and A. D. 60. These books, then, or any part of them, can 
 not be "the book" or "the words of a book that is sealed;" therefore 
 this prophecy did not have its fulfillment in the times of Christ 1 ; 
 and, consequently, the immediate context could not have been ful- 
 filled then. 
 
 Secondly, It is said in the 17th verse: 
 
150 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "Is it not yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful 
 field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?'' 
 
 Here a highly important truth is declared in an interrogatory form, 
 "Is it not yet a little while?" meaning, simply, that it would be 
 but a little while after the events mentioned in the preceeding verses 
 had transpired, until "Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, 
 and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest." That this term, 
 Lebanon, means the same as in Jer. 22 : 23, Ezek. 17 : 3, 2 Chron. 
 
 25 : 18, Zech. 11:1, etc., viz., the land of Judea, is, we think, quite 
 plain. It certainly relates to a land, that, prior to the change prom- 
 ised, had been barren and desolate. For it is to be "turned into a 
 fruitful field;" and yet it shall, after this change, for a time at least, 
 be "esteemed as a forest" an uncultivated and unimproved tract of 
 land. Now the land of Judea, soon after the time of Christ, be- 
 came desolate and barren, as predicted by the servants of God, Lev. 
 
 26 : 33-43; Deut. 28 : 24; 29 : 22, 23; Ezek. 36 : 3-6, 33, 34; 
 Dan. 10:27, etc., etc., but soon after the coming forth of the "book 
 that is sealed," it is to be restored from its barren and unfruitful 
 condition, a change, the very opposite of that which took place soon 
 after the time of Christ. It is a fact, of which all may inform them- 
 selves, that in this nineteenth century, and since A. D. 1827 the 
 time the Bok of Mormon was revealed the land of Judea Leb- 
 anon has been turned into a state of great fertility and fruitfulness. 
 Its "former and latter rain" have been restored, the latter, for the first 
 time with regularity for many centuries, in the fall of 1852. As a 
 result, this land so long barren and desolate, is bringing forth in its- 
 ancient strength and fertility wherever the hand of enterprise and 
 tilth is applied. Here, then, are incontestible proofs that the proph- 
 ecy indicated did not have its fulfillment in the time of Christ, but 
 that in these days it is having a most wonderful, literal, and glori- 
 ous accomplishment. 
 
 Thirdly, In the twenty-second verse it is predicted : 
 
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the 
 house of Jacob : Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now war 
 pale." 
 
 From this we learn, that at the time Lebanon is turned into a 
 fruitful field after the coming forth of the "book that is sealed" 
 the "house of Jacob," including the Jews, of course, would be found 
 in a highly favored condition "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, 
 neither shall his face now wax pale." For seventeen centuries andl 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 151 
 
 more, shame, and/ear have been the portion of the Jews in their cap- 
 tivity and tribulations amid the nations, and this, too, in fulfillment 
 of prophecy Lev. 26 : 36-38; Deut. 28 : 65-67; Zeph. 3 : 19, etc., 
 etc.; and now, within the last one hundred years, and more partic- 
 ularly within the last fifty years, and more especially within the last 
 thirty years, the Jewish race has become eminent in the nations 
 where they dwell, and are highly favored, and are made partakers 
 of honor and fame in well nigh every department of civilized life. 
 Immediately after the time of Christ they were brought to shame r 
 and their faces "waxed pale," through fear, famine, and despair; bub 
 now their shame and fear are removed, and their faces no longer 
 "wax pale;" therefore, these are the days for the accomplishment of 
 the prophecy under consideration, and these are the times for the 
 coming forth of the "book that is sealed." The Almighty has fixed 
 these periods, and marked them in such a manner that the sophistry 
 of "blind guides," nor the "cunning craftiness" of the worldly wise 
 and prudent can disguise their exact loc^tioi in the world's history, 
 their importance and signification. The nineteenth century being 
 thus definitely marked of God, in prophecy and history, as the time r 
 and the only time, in which Isaiah 29 :4-24 finds its fulfillment, we 
 enquire for the "book that is sealed," and for "the words" of that book 
 and can find nothing that fulfills the prophetic description but the 
 Book of Mormon. It comes forth in the exact time required; it 
 comes forth "out of the ground," as required; its "speech" whispers 
 out of the dust, as required; it is the "speech," and "vision," of those 
 people who went out from Jerusalem before its destruction by Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, (intimated in the first four verses), as required by the 
 prophecy. Its language, in the original, was "sealed," so that the 
 learned could not read it, as required by the prophecy; its words 
 were delivered by "men" (Joseph and Martin) to the "learned," just 
 as required. Though the learned could not read "the words" when 
 first delivered, yet after being given to the unlearned they are read, 
 just as required by the prophecy; it comes forth a little while be- 
 fore Lebanon Judea is "turned into a fruitful field," as the 
 prophecy requires; and in, and after, the time of its coming forth, 
 the Jews, for a wonder, are found in a highly favored and prosper- 
 ous condition, as required by the prophecy. It comes richly laden 
 with instruction in spiritual things, and thoroughly freighted with 
 the essential doctrines of the Savior, the Lord Christ, as is intimated 
 in the prophecy; for, "They also that erred in spirit shall come to 
 
152 The Divine Calling of 
 
 understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine" (vs. 24). 
 Now, in all these particulars, as well as in others, the Book of Mor- 
 mon corresponds to, and agrees with the prophecy under considera- 
 tion, and no other book or work under heaven does. For these rea- 
 sons it is conclusive that the book is of divine origin. 
 
 The Book of Mormon having been written by Hebrews who came 
 out from Jerusalem B. C. 600, we might reasonably expect them to 
 be acquainted with, and skilled in the Hebrew language, especially 
 as they carried with them valuable records of their nation; and the 
 book claims that there were. Nephi, in first book of Nephi 1 : 1, 
 says: 
 
 "I make a record in the language of ray father, which consists of the learning 
 of the Jews, and the language of the Egyptians. 11 
 
 And Moroni says : 
 
 "And if our plates had been sufficiently large we would have written in He- 
 brew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have writ- 
 ten in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record. 1 ' 
 Book of Mormon 4:8. 
 
 this remarkable and important claim, that one portion of the 
 ancient inhabitants of America were skilled in writing a modified 
 form of the Hebrew language, is fully sustained by discoveries of 
 such writing, made by scientists and antiquarians long since the 
 coming forth of the Book of Mormon, these discoveries being in no 
 wise connected with the people who believe in the divine authenticity 
 of the book. We first present an article from The Israelite Indeed, 
 a paper edited by Gr. K. Lederer, a converted Jew. Of course we 
 do not endorse the groundless and absurb conclusions of the writer 
 as to how the writer, or writers, of the described relic came to Amer- 
 ica. It will be seen that Mr. Lederer perceives that the Hebrew in 
 which this relic is written is "changed" from the ancient form some- 
 what. and yet it is not in "the modern Hebrew/' which would most 
 likely be the case if a forgery were possible. It will be further seen, 
 that Mr. Lederer thinks the writer of the relic could not have been 
 a Jew, because the Ten Commandments are there rendered differ- 
 ently than in the Bible. The Hebrews of the Book of Mormon hav- 
 ing slightly "changed" the language, which a superstitious Jew 
 would not dare to have done, it is not at all strange that they should 
 modify the form and letter of the commandments, though careful 
 to retain their essential import and meaning. Here is the article 
 referred to: 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 153 
 
 "HEBREW RELICS. 
 
 [These two inscribed stones have been sent to New York by their discoverer and pro- 
 prietor, Mr. David Wyrick, of Newark, Ohio, to Mr. Dwight, to be submitted by him to the 
 examination of the learned, accompanied with full accounts of the discovery, and maps and 
 drawings illustrating the place and circumstances]. 
 
 "We suppose that many, if not most of our readers have seen, in religious as 
 well as in secular papers, the accounts of some relics which were found a few 
 months ago in a mound near Newark, Ohio. These relics consist of stones, in 
 strange shapes bearing Hebrew inscriptions, which makes the case particularly 
 interesting to me, as a Hebrew. I have read, therefore, with great interest, all 
 that has been published concerning them, and studied the opinions of different 
 men of science and learning, who have expressed them in public ; but I desired 
 to see the objects themselves, to put my finger on these relics, which bear in- 
 scriptions of the holy language which once was written with the finger of G-od 
 upon tables of stone; a language spoken and written by the prophets of Israel, 
 who predicted the main features, not only of the history of Israel but also of the 
 world at large. It is one of the peculiar and national characteristics of the 
 Jews, to feel a sacred awe for that language, and even for "the square charac- 
 ters" in which it is written, so that every written or printed Hebrew page is 
 called "Shemos," by which the people mean to say, a paper on which holy 
 names are printed or written. A pious Jew would never use any Hebrew book 
 or paper for any secular purpose whatever, and carefully picks up every bit and 
 burns it. Being now, by the grace of God, an "Israelite Indeed," believing in 
 Him concerning whom Moses and the prophets did write, that sacred language 
 has increased in its charming influence, upon my mind; this may explain my 
 anxiety to see those relics with the Hebrew inscriptions, without, however, en- 
 tertaining the least hope of ever having that wish realized. This time, however, 
 I was gladly disappointed; for, in calling a few days ago on my friend, Mr. The- 
 odore Dwight, ('the Recording Secretary of the "American Ethnological Socie- 
 ty," and my associate in the editorship of this Magazine), my eyes met with the 
 very objects of my desire. That I examined these antiquities carefully, none of 
 our readers will, I think, entertain any doubt. I recognized all the letters except 
 one, (the ayin\ though the forms of many of them are different from those now 
 in use. This, however, is not the case with the stone found first, (viz., in July 
 1860), which has the form of an ancient jar, bearing Hebrew inscriptions on its 
 four sides, which are in perfectly such characters as those generally in use now. 
 I can not form any opinion concerning the use or meaning of this, which was 
 found first, as the inscriptions do not lead to any suggestions whatever. They 
 are as follows: 1. "Debar Jehovah" (meaning the Word of Jehovah). 2. "Ko- 
 desh Kodeshim? (The Holy of Holies). 3. ^Thcrath Jehovah," (The Law of Jeho- 
 vah), and 4. "Melek Aretz," (King of the Earth). 
 
 "What was it intended for? Is it, as some suppose, a relic of ancient Free- 
 masonary? We can not concur with that idea, because the first question which 
 would suggest itself to our mind is: How did this relic get into a mound of the 
 ancient Indians, and this, too, at such a considerable depth, and altogether sin- 
 gular? We must leave the solution of this problem to after-days, when men of 
 industry and love for antiquities shall perhaps succeed in discovering more rel- 
 ics, by which the present ones may find an explanation. 
 
154 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "This, however, is not the case with that before mentioned, which was found 
 on the first of November, last, [I860]. It is evident at least to my mind 
 that the writer, or carver, intended to perpetuate the essence of the Divine law, 
 which could not have been done in a better way than by engraving it on a 
 stone, of such a nature as should be able to resist all influences of the destroy- 
 ing tooth of time. It is also evident to my mind, that the writer was not a Jew 
 or an Israelite, as some suppose, but a proselyte, one who had been taught by 
 a Hebrew, and perhaps converted to abandon his idols, to believe in one living 
 and invisible God, and to keep his commandments. My reasons for believing 
 the writer not to have been a Jew, are briefly these: 1* The veneration which 
 the Hebrews of all classes pay to the Holy Scriptures, and particularly to the 
 five books of Moses, is so great that the slightest alteration, even of a point, is 
 considered sinful; and the roll from which they read in the synagogue, in which 
 is found any alteration, transposition of letter, or incorrectness as, for instance, 
 a cheth instead of a hay, must be immediately laid by, and not allowed to be 
 used, until corrected. A Hebrew, therefore, who knew how to write the Ten 
 Commandments, would have either written them perfectly, or not at all ; and as 
 there are many mistakes in that engraving: some letters entirely wanting, some 
 transposed, and some superfluous, I conclude the writer was not a' Hebrew. 
 2. The order, or rather disorder, in which the Ten Commandments are engraved 
 of which we have nothing of a similar kind elsewhere proves that the au- 
 thor was not a Hebrew. 3. The presence of a human figure, however, is the 
 strongest objection against the supposition that the writer was a Hebrew. 
 Though, in more recent times, after the invention of printing, the Jews began 
 to imitate the Gentiles, in having the figures of Moses, Aaron, David, and Solo- 
 mon on the title-pages of their printed Bibles and prayer-books; yet, in ancient 
 days the age when this stone must have been prepared no Hebrew would 
 have dared to carve any human figure, even that of Moses, in connection with 
 the Ten Commandments. That this figure led to a fatal mistake, is evident from 
 the fact, that the Reverend and learned John W. McCarty, of Newark, Ohio, 
 who first deciphered and read the inscription, read the word Moshe Moses 
 over the head of the figure, in connection with the next line on the bas-relief, 
 commencing: "Who brought thee out from the land of Egypt; 11 thus making 
 Moses instead of Jehovah, the real deliverer of Israel. 
 
 "The discovery of that very remarkable antiquity confirmed rne in my opinion, 
 not that the aborigines of America are of Hebrew descent, but that, at some re- 
 mote age and in some now unknown way, one or more pious and distinguished 
 Hebrews came over to this continent, became the teachers of some of the wild tribes 
 of America, and thus introduced not only the knowledge of the true and living 
 Jehovah, but to some extent Jewish, or rather Mosaic rites and ceremonies also. 
 This, I think, is the real reason why, after the invasion of this continent by the 
 priest-ridden and fanatic Spaniards and Portuguese, so many things resembling 
 Judaism, and the belief in one who came to enlighten them, departed and promised 
 to come again, was found among the southern tribes of Indians, and all pictures, 
 engravings and signs of it were destroyed by superstitious priests and monks. 
 
 "One, or a number of those believing Indians, seeing that, in the absence of 
 their teachers, the people were falling gradually back into their old pagan habits, 
 became alarmed, and fearing that, in a short time, all would be forgotten and 
 lost, concluded to preserve tJie essence of faith at least, by engraving it on a talk of 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 155 
 
 stone. They did it with the best of their knowledge of the Hebrew writing, as 
 well as of the construction of the passage. 
 
 "The form of the characters is neither the modern Hebrew, (adopted by the 
 High council in consequence of the fact that the "Cuthiyiun," or Samaritans, 
 adopted the ancient Hebrew), nor is it the Samaritan, which shows again that 
 the writer or writers had already forgotten much. Of one thing, however, I am 
 morally convinced : that this stone is a genuine relic of antiquity, as it would be a 
 greater difficulty to believe in the invention of such a straage mixture of char- 
 acters, disorder of combination, and innocent blunders, than to believe it the hand- 
 iwork of a generation long since passed away. 11 G-. R. LEDERER, in "Israelite 
 Indeed," May, 1861. 
 
 We next present our readers with an article on the same general 
 subject from The Prophetic Watchman: 
 
 "CURIOUS RELICS ANCIENT ISRAELITES IN AMERICA. 
 
 "We are all more or less acquainted with the so-called 'Indian Mounds,' found 
 in various parts of our country. There are hundreds of them in Ohio alone 
 several near Newark, Licking Co. Pipes, copper beads strung upon a vegetable 
 fibre, human skeletons, skulls, bones of animals and birds, some charred by fire, 
 as if they had been sacrificed upon a burning pile, have been obtained from 
 them. For centuries it has been a most interesting subject of inquiry as to who 
 built these mounds, and whence came their builders. "Within the past few 
 years some relics have been discovered, which are thought to throw light on 
 the subject: 
 
 "The first is a little coarse sandstone, not quite an inch and a half high by 
 about two inches long. It was found in the 'Wilson Mound,' and bears the face 
 of a human being. On the forehead are five distinct Hebrew characters, which 
 are interpreted to mean : "May the Lord have mercy on him (or me) an untime- 
 ly birth, 11 evidently an expression of humiliation. 
 
 u The second relic from the same mound is stone closely resembling limestone- 
 It is rather triangular than square in its form, and yet it differs widely from both. 
 It represents an animal, and contains four human faces, and three inscriptions in 
 Hebrezv, signifying devotion, reverence, and natural depravity. 
 
 "The third stone was found in 1860, about three miles from Newark. lUias 
 a shape like a wedge, and is about six inches long, tapering at the end. On one 
 end is a handle, and at the top are four Htbrew inscriptions. 
 
 "The last relic is an object of much interest. It was found in 1860, and has 
 engraved upon it a figure of Moses, and the Ten Commandments. One side is 
 depressed, and the reverse protrudes. Over the figure is a Hebrew word signi- 
 fying "Moses. 11 The other inscriptions are almost literally the words found in 
 some parts of the Bible, and the Ten Commandments are given in part and en- 
 tirely the longest being abbreviated. The alphabet used, it is thought, is the 
 original Hebrew one, as there are letters known in the Hebrew alphabet [not] now 
 in use, but bearing a resemblance to them. All things on this stone point to the 
 
156 The Divine Calling of 
 
 time before Ezra,* to the lost tribes of Israel, and the theory is, that some one of 
 these tribes found their way into this continent, and settled where the State of 
 Ohio now exists." From the Prophetic Watchman, Sep. 14, 1866. 
 
 Our next is the sum of a lecture delivered in Allegheny City, Pa., 
 in 1866: 
 
 "AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 U A short time since a notice was published in the city papers that there 
 would be an exhibition and a lecture deliverd by the Rev. R. M. Miller, in the 
 First Presbyterian Church, Allegheny, upon some Indian relics lately discovered 
 in some mounds near Newark, Ohio, containing Hebrew inscriptions, and as a 
 matter of course I attended the lecture, as all Latter Day Saints feel considera- 
 ble interest in all the testimony pertaining to the ancient inhabitants of this land; 
 not because they are any way in the dark upon the history of the past in rela- 
 tion to them, but because additional testimony strengthens the evidence in re- 
 gard to the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, in which they have per- 
 fect assurance as being a sacred record, containing the covenant for the gather- 
 ing of Israel, in conformity with the testimony of prophets. 
 
 "The reverend gentleman commenced his lecture by giving a general descrip- 
 tion of the mounds and ancient fortifications in Ohio and the western country. 
 He said that it was estimated there were in the state of Ohio, alone, ten thous- 
 and of them. He gave a very clear and distinct description of the situation and 
 construction of several of them in the neighborhood of Newark, Ohio, from 
 whence the relics he exhibited were obtained. I believe the mounds were 
 from ten to twelve miles apart, where they were found. 
 
 "The first piece he exhibited was a stone head, (or rather a photograph of 
 it), which was cut off of the neck, close to the ears. On the forehead was writ- 
 ten, in Hebrew, "May the Lord have mercy upon an untimely birth. 1 ' He gave 
 it as his opinion that the person who had it deposited with his remains, had 
 been executed, perhaps decapitated. There was charcoal and burnt bones of 
 animals and men in the debris. The original is in the possession of Mr. Tennant, 
 of Newark, Ohio. It was found in a mound three miles from Newark. In the 
 same mound was found a three cornered piece, upon which was carved two 
 human faces and an animal. On the forehead of one of the figures of a human 
 face was a phylacter, in the form of a skull, upon which was carved the letter 
 used to denote the name of the Almighty. On the forehead of the other carved 
 human figure was written in Hebrew, "It is good to love the aged." On the 
 side of the animal was written in Hebrew something denoting natural depravity. 
 The reverend gentleman said it was the same as found in Jeremiah: "the heart 
 is deceitful," &c. Mr. Strock, of Newark, owns this. 
 
 * It appears that "the alphabet used, it is thought, is the original Hebrew," and why do 
 the Hebrew scholars who have examined the inscriptions only think so, and why are they 
 not certain about it? Evidently because there is only in part a resemblance between the 
 letters in these inscriptions, and the most ancient Hebrew alphabet of which Hebrew 
 scholars have a perfect knowledge. The facts developed by these discoveries, coincide per- 
 fectly with a statement of Mormon in Book of Mormon chap. 4, par. 3, who says: "If our 
 plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew, but the Hebrew hath 
 been altered by us also." Again, the Nephites and Zarahemlaites came out from Jerusa- 
 lem just before the time of Ezra, therefore the coincidence is but reasonable. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 157 
 
 "The third piece was in the shape of a wedge. On one side was written, in 
 Hebrew: 
 
 u First side. "The Lord is king of all the earth" 
 u Second side. "The sivord of the Lord is the law." 
 "Third side. "The Holy of Holies." 
 "Fourth side. "The Jew of life is the Lord awaiting souls" 
 
 "The fourth piece was what he called a Teraphim, a household god, and 
 quoted Judges 17 to prove it. 
 
 "This is a stone about eight inches long, three wide, and two thick. There 
 is a depression on one side of about half an inch deep, and in the depression 
 there is cut the figure of a man dressed in priestly robes, and over his head, in 
 the depression, is written the word "Moses" and in lines on the back and edges 
 is written in Hebrew the ten commandments to Israel, written upon the tables of 
 stone by the finger of the Lord, and given to Moses upon the mount. There is 
 some little difference between it and the version we have of it in the Bible. It 
 is a little more brief. For instance, it says, " Who brought theefrom the land of 
 bondage" and "six days shaU ihou labor" In our version we have this addition: 
 "and do all thy work" These are all I can now remember, but I thought the 
 brevity made them more perfect. 
 
 "This Teraphim was found about two and a half miles from Newark, near the 
 base of a very large mound. This mound is composed of stones, and it is thought 
 that 20,000 wagon loads have been carried away, to build the canal some years 
 since. It was 400 feet at the base and 50 feet high. Near its base a small 
 mound was noticed, which was composed entirely of fire-clay, and some of the 
 men at work in that neighborhood, thought for curiosity they would dig into it, 
 and see if any thing particular was in it. The person dug until he came to a 
 piece of wood, upon which he found some copper beads. He took them away 
 and of course exhibited them. This aroused the curiosity of another party, and 
 some two or three persons went and made further search into the fire-clay, and 
 upon lifting up the wood, it proved to be the lid of a box, lined inside with some 
 kind of coarse cloth, but so entirely rotten that it crumbled at the touch. The 
 box contained a skeleton and what had been a neck-lace of copper beads, but 
 the string was also rotten. The party removed the wooden box, and began to 
 dig some deeper. They soon struck a stone box of an oblong shape, cemented 
 together in the middle. They shook and found it contained something, as it 
 made a rattle when shaken. They forced it open, and found its contents to be 
 the Teraphim, or image, having these Hebrew inscriptions upon it. If I remem- 
 ber correctly, this was found in the year 1865, the others some year or two be- 
 fore. This Teraphim is now the property of Mr. David Johnson, of Coshocton, 
 Ohio. The Rev. Miller seems to be a good Hebrew scholar, as he read and 
 criticised the language in the presence of several of the theological professors of 
 the Presbyterian College, Allegheny City. He stated that he had taken them 
 to Cincinnati, and shown them to several learned Rabbies, and they were agreed 
 that the Hebrew characters were of a date beyond the time of Ezra. He described, 
 on a board, the difference of the formation of the letters before and after that 
 period. 
 
 "I will not repeat their theories and conjectures respecting the wanderings of 
 the Israelites to reach this land, but this he said was his conclusion : 
 
158 The Divine Calling of 
 
 "First. That some of the tribes, or parts of tribes of Israel, had cnce inhabited 
 this land. 
 
 "Second. That they were the mound builders; but whether the modern In- 
 dians are their descendants, or whether they had destroyed the Israelites, he 
 could not say; but if the Indians are not the descendants .of the Mound Builders, 
 but had extirpated them, then the question remains, where did these Indians 
 come from ? Who are they ? 
 
 "My own conclusion respecting these things is that of every Latter Day Saint. 
 The relics were hid up, in the providence of God, as collateral testimony of the 
 Latter Day "Work, and especially of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 PITTSBURO, Pa., August 12, 1866. JOSIAH ELLS. 1 ' 
 
 Now, from these relics we learn, just what was claimed by the 
 Book of Mormon over thirty years before their discovery, (1) that the 
 ancient inhabitants of America possessed a knowledge of, and wrote 
 upon enduring substances, a modified form of the Hebrew language; 
 (2) that they possessed the writings of Moses and the prophets up 
 to the times of Jeremiah, including the first part of his writings to 
 chap. 17, verse 9, "The heart is deceitful/' etc. For of these rec- 
 ords it is said by Nephi : 
 
 "My father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of 
 brass, and he did search them from the beginning. And he beheld that they 
 did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of 
 the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; and alao a 
 record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the 
 reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah ; and also the prophecies of the holy prophets, 
 from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah ; 
 and also many prophecies which have been spoken ly tJie mouth of Jeremiah.' 1 ' 1 1 
 Nephi 1 : 46. 
 
 We find (3) that these sacred writings were hidden up in "a stone 
 box," as were the plates of the Book of Mormon. Here, then, is a 
 chain of evidence in support of the claims of the Book of Mormon, 
 that is as strong as it is strange, and one that cannot fail to fasten con- 
 viction upon the mind of the unprejudiced inquirer, while it joyful- 
 ly confirms the faith of the believer. But we have not done with 
 this language question. In our quotation from 1 Nephi 1 : 1, we see 
 that the ancient Hebrews on this continent were not only skilled in 
 writing Hebrew, but also in "the language of the Egyptians." It is 
 stated in Mosiah 1:1, that Lehi had been "taught in the language 
 of the Egyptians/' and that he taught the same to his children; and 
 in Book of Mormon 4 : 8, Moroni informs us that he wrote the en- 
 tire record from which the Book of Mormon was translated, "in the 
 characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian." 
 Now when we find by testimony outside of the Book of Mormon, 
 
Joseph. Smith Defended. 159 
 
 that the ancient inhabitants of America possessed a knowledge of 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics, and sculpturing, and architecture, we have 
 another strong evidence of the divinity of that book. This evidence 
 we have presented, in part, on pages 153 to 158, and we now give 
 more- Mr. Delafield says, in his Antiquities of America, page 41: 
 
 "Still further and more important evidence, however, renders the point con- 
 clusive that southern Asia was the birth-place of this [ancient American] peo- 
 ple, as we detect among them actual traditions of the flood, the building of Ba- 
 bel, and the death of Abel." 
 
 Again : 
 
 "One of the most interesting sources of comparison between Mexico, Peru, 
 and Egypt, is to be found in an investigation of their hieroglyphic system. Each 
 of these countries had a peculiar method of recording events by means of hiero- 
 glyphic signs, sculpturing them on monuments and buildings, and portraying 
 them on papyrus and maguey." p. 42. 
 
 Further : 
 
 u Baron Humboldt considers the Mexican paintings as rather corresponding 
 with the hieratic than the hieroglyphic writings of the Egyptians, as found on 
 the rolls of papyrus in the swathings of the mummies, and which may be con- 
 sidered paintings of a mixed kind, because they unite symbolical and isolated 
 characters with the representation of an action. It is the opinion of the author 
 that further investigations and discoveries in deciphering Mexican hieroglyphic 
 paintings will exhibit a close analogy to the Egyptian in the use of two scriptural 
 systems ; the one for monumental inscription, the other for the ordinary purposes 
 of record and transmission of information. "We find the three species of hiero- 
 glyphics common to Mexico and Egy'pt" p. 46: 
 
 On page 65, Mr. Delafield reviews : 
 
 "The analogical evidence of an identity of the family of Mexico and Peru with 
 that of Hindostan or Egypt, to simplify which we name the several coincidences, 
 which have been specified, in their proper order. 
 
 U I. PHILOLOGICAL. The various analogies in language. 
 
 "II. ANATOMICAL. The peculiar craniological formation common to those 
 countries, as asserted by Dr. Warren. 
 
 "III. MYTHOLOGICAL. The existence of two peculiar modes of worship, 
 [that of Nephites and Lamanites?] addressed to two deities; one sanguinary, the 
 other peaceful. * *. 
 
 "IV. HIEROGLYPHIC. The use of three peculiar systems of hieroglyphic writing 
 of the Egyptians. 
 
 "V. ASTRONOMICAL. 1. Identity in the division of the year, month, and 
 week; and the calculations thereof. 2. Identity in the use of intercalary days. 
 3. Identity in zodiacal signs. 
 
 "VI. ARCHITECTURAL. 1. Identity in sepulchral tumuli [mounds for burial]. 
 2. Identity in pyramidal temples. 3. In the uses of these temples. 4. In the 
 mechanical power which enabled them to move masses that no other races 
 have ever accomplished. 5. Their use of hieroglyphic sculpture on all their 
 
160 The Divine Calling of 
 
 sacred buildings. 6. Similarity in zodiacal and planispheric carvings. 7. Iden- 
 tity in sepulchral ornaments. 
 
 "VII. Identity in practice of embalming and preservation of the royal corpses." 
 
 The ancient Nephites, and Zarahemlaites, were, no doubt, not only 
 acquainted with the language, but also with much about the habits, 
 customs, arts, and sciences peculiar to Egypt; for the Israelites, in 
 all their history from Abraham to Zedekiah, and after, had direct 
 and intimate intercourse with the Egyptians. Therefore it is not 
 strange that we find in Mexico and Peru, as stated by Mr. Delafield, 
 these evidences of Egyptian art and manners, especially that of 
 hieroglyphic writing. In conclusion upon this point we have only 
 to say, that the claim of the Book of Mormon that the ancient in- 
 habitants of America were skilled in the Egyptian language, is now 
 fully vindicated. And here we have another unanswerable proof of 
 the truth of the book. 
 
 Further proof of the Book of Mormon is seen in its statements 
 that highly civilized and cultivated peoples located anciently in the 
 northern part of South America, Central America, and in the south- 
 ern part of North America, where they builded very large and splen- 
 did cities, especially in Central America, and near "the narrow neck 
 of land/' (Isthmus of Panama), making these statements when little 
 or nothing was known to the generality of mankind, in respect to 
 the last named region. Since the coming forth of the book, the dis- 
 coveries of Stephens and Catherwood, and others, have disclosed 
 the fact that in the very region where the Book of Mormon locates 
 them there were many magnificent cities built up by the ancients. 
 Up to the time of the discoveries by Stephens and Catherwood, in 
 1839-1843, that region known as Central America was not sup- 
 posed to contain any interesting antiquities, though considerable 
 had been learned in regard to the antiquities of Peru, and of 
 Mexico. It remained for these gentlemen to bring to light rich 
 treasures of information in respect to the ancient civilizations of this 
 region, and to disclose to the world the fact that here had been the 
 theatre of the grandest industries, and the site of the most cultivated, 
 opulent, and enlightened nations of all antiquity. For ten or twelve 
 years the Book of Mormon had been quietly proclaiming these facts, 
 when its statements were fully confirmed by these timely discoveries. 
 i ^Who is there so blind as not to see the overruling hand of God 
 in these things! Such coincidences are not the result of chance. 
 They exhibit too clearly the work^of an All-Wise mind, to be so 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 161 
 
 considered. Mr. Stephens, in his '"Central America, Chiapas, and 
 Yucatan" vol. 1, p. 98, says: 
 
 "Of the great cities beyond the vale of Mexico, buried in forests, ruined, deso- 
 late, and without a name, Humboldt never heard, or, at least, he never visited 
 them. It is but lately [Mr. Stephens writes in 1841J that accounts of their ex- 
 istence reached Europe and our own country. These accounts, however vague 
 and unsatisfactory, had roused our curiosity; though I ought perhaps to say that 
 both Mr. C. and I were somewhat skeptical, and when we arrived at Copan, it 
 was with the hope, rather than the expectation, of finding wonders. 1 ' 
 
 But it was not long before their labors were rewarded in discover- 
 ing the ruins of many ancient cities, which have been visited since 
 by other antiquarians. 
 
 Another evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon is seen in the 
 fact that it teaches, in Alma 16 : 26, and in Ether 1:11, and else- 
 where, that the ancient inhabitants of America knew concerning the 
 crucifixion of Christ, both by revelation and by history, and were 
 therefore acquainted with the cross as a religious symbol; and in the 
 further fact that the antiquities of America disclose that the cross 
 was so used by the ancients. Baldwin, in "Ancient America " men- 
 tions this fact on pages 109, 110, and 293. Stephens does also, in 
 his "Central America" vol. 2, p. 347, and elsewhere. The testimo- 
 ny of the Book of Mormon, and of the antiquities of America, are 
 one upon this point; the latter and the latest confirming the former. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that many of the ancient inhabitants- 
 of America became idolators (book of Mormon 2 : 3), arid the dis- 
 coveries of American antiquarians fully confirm this. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that America abounds with gold, sil- 
 ver, and many othor precious metals; and discoveries since 1849 
 give special confirmation to this claim. And here we may remark 
 that America, the Book of Mormon claims, is the special heritage 
 of Joseph and his posterity, as provided for in the prophetic blessing 
 of Jacob (Gen. 49 : 22-26, with Gen. 48 : 16-19), and the prophetic 
 blessing of Moses also (Deut. 33 : 13-17). Moses says of Joseph : 
 
 "Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven [the re- 
 vealed will of God], and for the dew [its universal distribution], and for the 
 deep that coucheth beneath [springs, rivers, lakes, seas, and their products], 
 and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun [by the action of its light 
 in the vegetable kingdom], and for the precious things put forth by the moon 
 [in the action of its light on the vegetable kingdom and in respect to the tides], 
 and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of 
 the lasting hills [their various metals, minerals, etc.], and for the precious things 
 of the earth and fulness thereof [embracing the animal, vegetable, and mineral 
 
162 The Divine Calling of 
 
 kingdoms of earth, in their 'fulness'], and for the good will of him that dwelt 
 in the bush [the Lord see Acts 7:30-34]." 
 
 Joseph's portion in Palestine could never fill this description, but 
 the land of America, and that alone, does. The "precious things of 
 the ancient mountains" used in building and beautifying the temple 
 of Solomon did not come from Joseph's portion in Judea, yet they 
 undoubtedly would had they been there. Joseph's portion in Pal- 
 estine was not the "land" alluded to for another reason, it did not lie 
 in the right place; for Jacob said it should be "unto the utmost [the 
 outermost, the farthest, the extreme] bound of the everlasting hills" 
 (Gen. 49 : 26). To go from Goshen, in Egypt, where Jacob was 
 when uttering this prophecy, to "the utmost bound of the everlast- 
 ing hills/' would bring us to the mountain ranges of America, to 
 the land claimed for Joseph by the Book of Mormon. And that 
 America is the special portion of Joseph may be gathered from the 
 prophetic blessing put by Jacob upon the seed of Joseph, as follows: 
 
 "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and 
 Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel 
 which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named 
 on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them [Eph- 
 raim and Manasseh] grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth" 
 
 "The midst of the earth" geographically considered, measuring 
 from where Jacob pronounced the blessing, would be the land of 
 America, precisely. Nor is this all; Jacob predicts in verse 19, 
 that Ephraim's "seed shall become a multitude of nations." In 
 America we find "a multitude of nations"* of one common stock, 
 whose traditions, religious rites and customs, language and language 
 relics, clearly demonstrate their Israelitish origin ; and we find them 
 in the very place marked in prophecy, as the land of Joseph and his 
 seed. Here is another strong proof of the truth of the Book of 
 Mormon. Its claims in this respect are well sustained by the facts 
 of both prophecy and history. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that at the crucifixion of Christ the 
 face of the land in Central America, and around it, was broken up 
 
 * The Book of Mormon states that Lehi was of Manasseh, and some argue thence that 
 "the multitude of nations" found in America cannot be in any sense of Ephraim. We 
 -would remind such reasoners that the seed of Ishmael and his sons, and of Zoram, who ac- 
 companied Lehi, and the seed of those who accompanied Mulek, who finally became blend- 
 ed with the Nephites and Lamanites, may all have been of the lineage of Ephraim. This 
 is neither impossible nor improbable. This, if true, would give large preponderance to 
 Ephraim. Besides this Ephraim and Manasseh, together, were sometimes called Ephra- 
 im. Hosea 5 : 3, 13 ; 6:4,10; Isaiah 7: 8, etc., etc. And this is not strange when wo re- 
 member that Jacob "set Ephraim before Manasseh." Gen. 48 : 20. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 163 
 
 by earthquakes, and that many cities were sunk. Book of Nephi 
 4 : 2-6. Evidences of such a catastrophe have been of late discov- 
 ered. Baldwin, in "Ancient America" pages 274 and 275, says 
 that James S. Wilson, Esq., in 1860, "discovered on the coast of 
 Ecuador, ancient or fossil pottery vessels, images, and; other manu- 
 factured articles, all finely wrought. Some of these articles were 
 made of gold. The most remarkable fact connected with them is 
 that they were taken from <a stratum of ancient surface-earth' which 
 was covered with a marine deposit six feet thick. * * * The ancient 
 surface-earth or vegetable mould, with its pottery, gold-work, and 
 other relics of civilized human life, was, therefore, /below the sea when 
 that marine deposit was spread over it. This land, after being occu- 
 pied by men, had subsided and settled below the ocean, remained there 
 long enough to accumulate the marine deposit, and again be elevated 
 to its former position above the level of the sea." Of these discov- 
 eries, Sir Eoderick Murchison, at a meeting of the Royal^Geological 
 Society, in 1862, says: 
 
 "The discoveries which Mr. Wilson has made of the existence of the works 
 of man in a stratum of mould beneath the sea level, and covered by several feet 
 of clay, the phenomenon being persistent for sixty miles, are of the highest in- 
 terest to physical geographers and geologists. The facts seem to demonstrate 
 that, wtthin the human period, the lands of the west coast of Equatorial America 
 were depressed and submerged^ and that, after the accumulation of marine clays, 
 above the terrestial relics the whole coast was elevated to its present position." 
 
 Now we submit, that, when these lands were "depressed and sub- 
 merged" it was done, not gradually, but suddenly, as the presence 
 of these valuable relics attests. Had they been depressed gradually, 
 through a lapse of years, or months, or even weeks, these valuables 
 would have been removed to places of safety. But the presence, 
 under this marine deposit, of "fossil pottery, vessels, images," "all 
 finely wrought'' and "some of the articles made of gold," demon- 
 strates that the catastrophe by which they were sunken and over- 
 whelmed, was as sudden as that which buried Herculaneum and 
 Pompeii. 
 
 The Book of Mormon, we see, tells us of the sudden depression and 
 submergence of lands, towns, and cities, in these very regions, and 
 travelers and antiquarians, after the coming forth of that book, and 
 near 2000 years after the marvellous event occurred, find abundant 
 evidence to confirm the statement. Hence, in this, we find another 
 remarkable proof of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that there were horses on this conti* 
 
164 The Divine Calling of 
 
 nent more than 3.800 years ago. Ether 4 : 3. Now it was com- 
 monly thought at the time when the Book of Mormon was first given 
 to the world, that there were no horses in America till they were 
 brought by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. But recent dis- 
 coveries of the fossil remains of the horse, in many places in Amer- 
 ica, go to confirm the statements of the Book of Mormon. Prof. 
 Winchell, in his "Sketches of Creation" page 210, says: 
 
 "It is a curious fact that so many generi, now extinct from the Continent, but 
 living in other quarters of the globe, were once abundant on the plains of North 
 America. Various species of the horse have dwelt here for ages, and the ques- 
 tion reasonably arises whether the wild horses of the Pampas may not have 
 been indigenous. Here, too, the camel found a suitable home." 
 
 Recently discoveries have been made of the fossil remains of the 
 horse and some of the other animals mentioned in the Book of Mor- 
 mon. A correspondent of the Eugene City (Oregon) Guard gives 
 the following account of a visit made June, 1877, by himself and an- 
 other person to the so-called fossil beds of Lake county, that State : 
 
 * * * "We found fossil bones of the elephant, camel, horse, and elk, or rein- 
 deer, the horse being much more abundant than either of the others, but all 
 being so clearly marked as to leave no doubt of their identity. There were 
 other bones, apparently of largo animals, but your correspondent was unable to 
 name the animal they once belonged to. Among the fossils found, the smaller 
 quadrupeds had a representation; bones answering to the fox and wolf were 
 found; also others answering to the sheep or goat in size and appearance. 1 ' 
 
 This affords good proof, from the fact that the book stated that 
 which was contrary to the common belief, and subsequent discoveries 
 confirm that apparent!?/ false statement. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts the rapid downfall of "the great 
 and abominable church" after the coming forth of that book : 
 
 "And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon 
 the great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of 
 wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth, and as there began to be 
 wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother 
 of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying, Behold, the wrath of God is 
 upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things; and when 
 the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, 
 which is the great abominable church of all the earth, whose foundation is the 
 devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the 
 way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people, who 
 are of the house of Israel." 1 Nephi 3:51. 
 
 "And after our seed is scattered, the Lord God will proceed to do a marvel- 
 ous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; 
 wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles, and being 
 carried in their arms and upon their shoulders. And it shall also be of worth 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 165 
 
 unto the Gentiles : and not only unto the G-entiles, but unto all the house of 
 Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto 
 Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 
 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the 
 earth cannot be blessed, unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the 
 nations. "Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the 
 eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel, unto those 
 who are of the house of Israel. Wherefore, he will bring them again out of 
 captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance: 
 and they shall be brought out of obscurity, and out of darkness : and they shall 
 know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the mighty one of Israel. 
 And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all 
 the earth, shall turn upon their own heads ; for they shall war among themselves, 
 and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they 
 shall be drunken with their own blood. And every nation which shall war 
 against thee, house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they 
 shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. 1 ' 
 1 Nephi 7:2. 
 
 That this is particularly true of the Papacy, one division of the 
 great and abominable church ) all may know who seek to inform 
 themselves. The shock if. received by the "Young Italy" party un- 
 der Mazzini and others in 1831, and forward; the staggering blows 
 it sustained in 1848-9, at the hands of the Provisional Government 
 and the Roman National Assembly; the wounds it received in 1864 
 by means of the Pope's Ecyclical letter ; and the rapid decline of 
 that form of religion in all its former strong-holds since the king of 
 Italy, in August, 1870, wrenched from the hand of the Pope the 
 sceptre of civil power, has left that church broken, divided, and tot- 
 tering to its final fall. And there is not, probably, one Catholic na- 
 tion that has not been engaged in war since 1830. In these things 
 the predictions of the book prove true. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts, 1 Nephi 7 : 2; 2 Nephi 5:5; 11 : 
 3; 12:13; Nephi 2: 12; 10:1; Mormon 1:9; 2 : 6, etc., etc., that 
 soon after the coming forth of that book the Lord will begin to pre- 
 pare the way for the speedy restoration and gathering of Israel in- 
 cluding the Jews. The interest taken by England, France, and 
 America in the civilization and enlightenment of the aborigines of 
 America and of the adjacent islands, the restored state of the land 
 of Judea, and the highly improved and favored condition of the 
 Jews, go very far to confirm the truth of these remarkable predic- 
 tions. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts that soon after its coming forth 
 "the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people; and 
 
166 The Divine Calling of 
 
 the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even 
 if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire." 2 Nephi 12 : 
 14. And now we see division everywhere, in all departments of so- 
 ciety, especially in matters of religion } politics, and civil government, 
 and between labor and capital. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts with clearness the corrupt state of 
 the world as it is to-day, and the means by which it is caused : 
 
 "And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief, shall 
 be smitten by the land of the Gentiles. And the Gentiles are lifted up in the 
 pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stum- 
 bling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless they put 
 down the power and the miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their 
 own wisdom, and their own learning, that they may get gain, and grind upon 
 the face of the poor ; and there are many churches built up which cause envy- 
 ings, and strifes, and malice ; and there are also secret combinations, even as in 
 times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the foundation 
 of all these things; yea, the foundation of murder, and works of darkness; yea, 
 and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with 
 his strong cords forever. For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, 
 that the Lord God worketh not in darkness. He doeth not any thing save it be 
 for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down 
 his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth 
 none that they shall not partake of his salvation. Behold, doth he cry unto any, 
 saying, Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith, Come 
 unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and with- 
 out price. Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the 
 synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. 
 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation ? Be- 
 held, I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath 
 commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance. Be- 
 hold hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his good- 
 ness? Behold I say unto you nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto 
 the other, and none are forbidden. He commandeth that there shall be no 
 priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up 
 for a light unto the world, that they may get gain, and praise of the world; but 
 they seek not the welfare of Zion. Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; 
 wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment, that all men should have 
 charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity, they 
 were nothing : wherefore, if they should have charity, they would not suffer the 
 laborer in Zion to perish. But the laborer in Zion, shall labor for Zion; for if 
 they labor for money, they shall perish. And, again, the Lord God hath com- 
 manded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should 
 not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; 
 that they should not envy ; that they should not have malice ; that they should 
 not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and 
 that they should do none of these things ;* for whoso doeth them shall perish ; for 
 none of these iniquities come of the Lord ; for he doeth that which is good 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 167 
 
 among the children of men ; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the 
 children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him, and partake of his 
 goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and 
 free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen, and all are alike unto 
 God, both Jew and Gentile. But behold, in the last days, or in the days of the 
 Gentiles; yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles, and also the Jews, both 
 those who shall come upon this land, and those who shall be upon other lands; 
 yea, even upon all the lands of the earth ; behold they will be drunken with in- 
 iquity, and all manner of abominations; and when that day shall come, they 
 shall be visited of the Lord of hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and 
 with a great noise, and with storm and with tempest, and with the flame of de- 
 vouring fire; and all the nations that fight against Zion. and that distress her r 
 shall be as a dream of a night vision ; yea, it shall be unto them even as unto a 
 hungry man, which dreameth, and behold he eateth, but he awaketh and hi 
 soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drink- 
 eth, but he awaketh, and behold he is faint, and his soul hateth appetite: yea r 
 even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against mount Zionr 
 for behold, all ye that do iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder; for ye shall cry 
 out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken, but not with wine; ye shall stagger, but 
 not with strong drink; for behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you, the spirit 
 of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the 
 prophets, and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your 
 iniquity." 2 Nephi 11:14, 15, 16. 
 
 u And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you according as the 
 spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to- 
 pass. And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great 
 worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a rem- 
 nant of the house of Israel. For it shall come to pass in that day, that the- 
 churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say 
 unto the other, Behold, I, I am the Lord's ; and the other shall say, I, I am the- 
 Lord's. And thus shall every one say, that hath built up churches, and not 
 unto the Lord; and they shall contend one with another; and their priests shalJ 
 contend one with another; and they shall teach with their learning, and deny 
 the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. And they deny the power of God, 
 the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people, Hearken unto us, and hear 
 ye our precept; for behold, there is no God to-day, for the Lord and Redeemer 
 hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men. Behold, hearken 
 ye unto my precept : if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand 
 of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath 
 done his work. Yea, and there shall be many which shall say, Eat, drink, and 
 be merry, for to-morrow we die, and it shall be well with us. And there shall 
 also be many which shall say, Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God, 
 lie will justify in committing a little sin: yea, lie a little, take the advantage of 
 one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this. 
 And do all these things, for to-morrow we die; and if it s:> be that we are guilty, 
 God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom 
 of God. Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, 
 false, and vain, and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, 
 and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall 
 
168 The Divine Calling of 
 
 be in the dark; and the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against 
 them. Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted. 
 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their church- 
 es have become corrupted; and their churches are lifted up; because of pride 
 they are puffed up. They rob the poor, because of their fine sanctuaries; they 
 rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek, and 
 the poor iu heart; because in their pride, they are puffed up. They wear stiff 
 necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abom- 
 inations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray, save it be a few, who are 
 the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instan- 
 ces they do err, because they are taught by the precepts of men. 
 
 "0 the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of 
 their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrine, and all those who commit 
 whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord; wo, wo, wo be unto them, 
 saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell. 
 
 "Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of nought, and revile 
 against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth : for the day shall come 
 that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth ; and in that 
 day that they are fully ripe in iniquity, they shall perish. But behold, if the in- 
 habitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations, they 
 shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of hosts. But behold, that great and abom- 
 inable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth; and great 
 must be the fall thereof: for the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they 
 which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will 
 grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger and per- 
 ish: for behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, 
 and stirthem up to anger against that which is good; and others will he pacify, 
 and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say, All is well in Zion ; 
 yea, Zion prospereth, all is well; and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and 
 leadeth them away carefully down to hell. And behold, others he flattereth 
 away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them, I am no devil, for 
 there is none : and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with 
 his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. Yea, they are grasped 
 with death and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been 
 seized therewith, must stand before the throne of God and be judged according to 
 their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a 
 lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. Therefore, wo be unto 
 . him that is at ease in Zion. Wo be unto him that crieth, All is well ; yea, wo be 
 unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of 
 God and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yea, wo be unto him that saith, We have 
 received, and we need no more. And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, 
 and are angry because of the truth of God. For behold, he that is built upon 
 the rock, receiveth it with gladness: and he that is built upon a sandy founda- 
 tion, trembleth, lest he shall fall. 
 
 "Wo be unto him that shall say, Yv r e have received the word of God, and we 
 need no more of the word of God, for we have enough. For behold, thus saith 
 the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon 
 precept, here a little and there a little: and blessed are those who hearken un- 
 to my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom ; 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 169 
 
 for unto him that receiveth, I will give more : and from them that shall say, We 
 have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. 
 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall 
 hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 "Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of hosts; for notwithstanding 
 I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; 
 nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will re- 
 pent and come unto me : for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith 
 the Lord God of hosts. 
 
 "But behold, there shall be many at that day, when I shall proceed to do a 
 marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have 
 made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time 
 to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel ; and also, that I may 
 remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy 
 father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed 
 should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed. And my words shall 
 hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are 
 of the house of Israel. And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the 
 Gentiles shall say, A bible, a bible, we have got a bible, and there cannot be 
 any more bible. " But thus saith the Lord God: fools, they shall have a bible; 
 and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And 
 what thank they the Jews for the bible which they receive from them? Yea, 
 what do the Gentiles mean ? Do they remember the travels, and the labors, 
 and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salva- 
 tion unto the Gentiles? 
 
 U ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? 
 Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to 
 recover them. But behold, 1 will return all these things upon your own heads; 
 for I, the Lord, hath not forgotten my people. Thou fool, that shall say, A bible, 
 we have got a bible, and we need no more bible. Have ye obtained a bible, 
 save it were by the Jews ? Know ye not that there are more nations than one ? 
 Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I re- 
 member those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens 
 above, and in the earth beneath ; and I bring forth my word unto the children 
 of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, 
 because that ye receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony 
 of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one na- 
 tion like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation 
 like unto another And when the two nations shall run together, the testimony 
 of the two nations shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto 
 many, that I am the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and that I speak forth 
 my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken 
 one word, ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not 
 yet finished; neither shall it be, until the end of man; neither from that time 
 henceforth and forever. 
 
 "Wherefore, because that ye have a bible, ye need not suppose that it contains 
 all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written : 
 for I command all men, both in the east, and in the west, and in the north, and 
 
170 The Divine Calling of 
 
 in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which 
 I speak unto them: for out of the books which shall be written, I will judge the 
 world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written. 
 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it : and I shall 
 also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak 
 unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they 
 shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall 
 write it." 2 Nephi 12 : 1-8. 
 
 "Hearken, 0, ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the 
 living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, 
 for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying, Turn, all ye Gentiles, 
 from your wicked ways, and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and de- 
 ceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your 
 idolatries, and of your murders, and of your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and 
 your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, 
 and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and 
 be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people, who 
 are of the house of Israel." Nephi 14: 1. 
 
 "And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should 
 suffer to bring these things forth. And no one need say, that they shall not 
 come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it; for out of the earth 
 shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall 
 come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall 
 come even as if one should speak from the dead. 
 
 "And it shall come in a day when the blood of the saints shall cry unto the 
 Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness; yea, it shall 
 come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become 
 defiled, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day 
 when leaders of churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, even to the 
 envying of them who belong to their churches; yea, it shall come in a day when 
 there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands; 
 and there shall also be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in 
 divers places; yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions 
 upon the face of the earth ; there shall be murders and robbing, and lying, and 
 deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations, when there shall 
 be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord 
 will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of 
 bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity. Yea, it shall come in a day when there 
 shall be churches built up that shall say, Come unto me, and for your money 
 you shall be forgiven of your sins. ye wicked, and perverse, and stiff-necked 
 people, why have you built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why 
 have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon 
 your soul? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God. For behold, the 
 time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled. 
 
 "Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concern- 
 ing that which must shortly come at that day when these things shall come 
 forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if you were present, and yet ye 
 are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your 
 doing; and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 171 
 
 none, save a few only, who do not lift themselves up hi the pride of their hearts, 
 unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and 
 persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every 
 one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye 
 do love money, and your substances, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of 
 your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the 
 afflicted. ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for 
 that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why 
 are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do you not think 
 that greater is the value of an endless happiness, than that misery which never 
 dies, Because of the praise of the world. Why do ye adorn yourselves with 
 that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, 
 and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, why. 
 do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows 
 should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and 
 also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the 
 ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold the sword of vengeance 
 hangeth over you ; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the 
 saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer." Mormon 4: 2-4. 
 
 These predictions clearly portray (1) the condition of the world for 
 the past fifty years, and (2) point clearly to the terrible apostasy in the 
 church of the saints, and (3) to the important fact that said apostasy 
 would be caused by the ministry, of whom it says, "0 ye pollutions, 
 ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will 
 canker, why have you polluted the holy church of God." "Yea, 
 why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause 
 that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to 
 mourn before the Lord ; and also the blood of their fathers and their 
 husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground for vengeance upon 
 your heads. Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you/' &c. 
 These prophecies are plain, and full; and they are having most pre- 
 cise and literal fulfillment. Surely, these prophecies were inspired 
 of God, for no man, learned or unlearned, could have conjectured 
 so many strange and unlikely events events so contrary to what 
 was fondly expected in the times at, and before the coming forth of 
 the Book of Mormon. The moral doctrines of the book are fully 
 equal to any ever given to man. No purer system can be conceived 
 of. It embraces all the moral excellencies of the New Testament, 
 whilst it is quite free from teachings of such questionable morality 
 as are found in 1 Cor. 7 chapter; Rom. 7 : 17, 25; 3:7; 1 Cor. 6 : 
 12, etc., etc., as found in the common version. 
 
 Its theology is strictly Biblical, and Christian; its religious rites 
 and ceremonies are identical with those of the Now Testament, as 
 
172 The Divine Calling of 
 
 also its church polity and organization, though they are more clearly 
 defined, and promulgated, and with greater emphasis. 
 
 Its style is plain, and ancient; its language is simple, comprehen- 
 sive, and utterly free from cultured finish, scholarly taste, or learned 
 structure and order. 
 
 That any one of judgment, on reading the book, could for one mo- 
 ment think that Kev. Mr. Spaulding, a man of poetic nature, roman- 
 tic tastes, and high scholastic attainments, ever wrote the book, or 
 even one page of it, is more than we can believe. Had he, or any 
 man of finished education written the book, their scholarly attain- 
 ments would have been manifest in the style, language, and arrage- 
 ment of the book. 
 
 Further; if Mr. Spaulding, a Congregational (or Presbyterian) 
 minister wrote the book, he would have filled it with his doctrine 
 instead of advocating in it such doctrines as are found in the book, 
 many of which are in no sense Congregational, but rather un-Con- 
 gregational. Every chapter, and every paragraph, in the book, ut- 
 terly refutes the idea that a cultivated minister, Protestant or Cath- 
 olic, ever wrote a page of the book. Such an idea is too palpably 
 false to need a lengthy refutation. And as for the inexperienced and 
 uneducated youth, Joseph Smith's writing or dictating the book, as is 
 rather claimed by Mr. Sheldon, none but those possessed of prejudice 
 and a partisan spirit, or those wanting fair common sense, could en- 
 dorse such an idea. That Joseph Smith, without the inspiration of 
 God, could write that book, abounding as it does in the most accu- 
 rate items of history, declaring improbable historical facts, facts which 
 have since been fully attested by the antiquarian and the geologist; 
 disseminating a system of morals and religion that challenges the 
 criticism, and that is worthy of the admiration of the race; and pub- 
 lishing a series of prophecies the most important and startling, many 
 of which are being fulfilled under our own observation, ^that he could 
 do such a work, under such conditions, it would be for more diffi- 
 cult to believe, than to believe what he claims, viz., the guidance and 
 inspiration of God. 
 
 Mr. S. avers that "the Book of Mormon makes the finder and 
 translator of that book a Gentile." This is another of that large 
 class of false assumptions we have had to deal with all the way 
 through this work. That "the finder and translator" of the Book 
 of Mormon was a citizen of a Gentile nation, and in that sense was 
 a Gentile, we freely admit; but that he was of Gentile lineage, the 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 173 
 
 thing claimed by Mr. S., we deny. Paul was a Roman citizen, 
 Acts 22 : 27, and yet a Jew by lineage, v. 3. The "Parthians, and 
 Medes, and Elamites," of Acts 2 : 9, were by lineage Jews, no doubt, 
 and only citizens of those nations, v. 5. So Joseph Smith was a 
 Gentile in his citizenship, though an Israelite by lineage, as is 
 claimed by the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2 : 2, 3. 
 Mr. S. says: 
 
 "It is insisted that the true church is a miracle-working church and that 
 such are the people called Mormons. Both the Josephites and the Brighamites 
 use this argument to outsiders." 
 
 Whilst it is insisted by the " Josephites" that the church of Christ 
 should enjoy miraculous powers and blessings, it is also true that 
 the Utah Mormons, in Utah, are not only barren of these divine 
 favors, but that they there in Utah teach that they are no longer 
 needed, they having "the living oracles" to edify and perfect them. 
 It is unquestionably true that ministers belonging to the Utah organ- 
 ization, who received their priesthood in a regular line from Joseph 
 and Oliver, did, so long as they faithfully preached the gospel and 
 ministered in righteousness, possess and enjoy the Spirit of God, and 
 at times in great power, and very notably before the doctrines of po- 
 lygamy, Adam-God, and corrupt tithing were thrust upon, and forced 
 into, the church. 
 
 Mr. S., in order to throw discredit upon the claim of the Saints 
 that the same kind of church organization is needed now in the per- 
 fect Church of Christ as was had in the times of the Apostles, says : 
 
 'In the true church order, G-od has set apostles, it is true, but simply as ma- 
 terial for the foundation, and not as rafters to the building. 
 
 Very well, but is it not essential that the church should always 
 have the same kind of a foundation? And when one part of the 
 foundation of the church is removed by death or apostasy, is it not 
 essential that the want created by such removal should be supplied ? 
 If not, why was Matthias, the thirteenth apostle in number, chosen 
 to fill the place of Judas? and why were "the apostles, Barnabas 
 and Paul," (Acts 14 : 14), chosen of the Holy Ghost, and ordained 
 by the ministry? (Acts 13 : 1-4), and why did the church at Ephe- 
 sus, ninety-six years after Christ, willingly consent to try them who 
 said they were apostles? (Rev. 2:2). Paul, in speaking of the 
 church, says Christ "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and 
 gome, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." Eph. 4:11. 
 Now there is just as much authority for discarding the evangelists, 
 
174 The Divine Calling of 
 
 and pastors and teachers, as for discarding the others. Paul says 
 the officers, all of them, were given for the < 'perfecting of the Saints, 
 for the work of the ministry, for the edifying [building up] of the 
 body of Christ/' Eph. 4:12. And he tells us how long the Lord 
 intended them to continue in this church: 
 
 "Till we all come in [into] the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
 Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness 
 of Christ." Eph. 4:13. 
 
 And he tells us why these officers were given : 
 
 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about 
 by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, where- 
 by they lie in wait to deceive." Eph. 4: 14. 
 
 No one questions but that evangelists, pastors, and teachers, 
 should now be in the church, yet there is more reason for setting 
 them aside as unnecessary, than for setting aside apostles and proph- 
 ets, for the latter are the most important. 
 
 Again, Paul, after describing the gifts and administrations of 
 "the one Spirit," proceeds to say to the Church: 
 
 "Xow ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And G-od hath 
 set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, 
 after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of 
 tongues." 1 Cor. 12:27, 28. 
 
 Here the Church of Christ is compared to the body of man, united, 
 compacted, and vitally connected together in all its parts. Of this 
 another wisely remarks : 
 
 "If his illustrations be worth anything, then a church which has not for its 
 members persons possessed of all these varied gifts, is no more a [perfect] 
 Church of Christ than a body is a human body without its members. A Chris- 
 tian, living church must have members qualified and endowed from the Spirit, 
 with all these gifts, or it is destitute of its members. They are no more living, 
 real members than a wooden leg, or an artificial hand, or a glass eye is a mem- 
 ber of the human body. A church must have its spiritual members, living and 
 complete, or it is no body of Christ." 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 175 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 We now propose to consider the direct question, Was Joseph 
 Smith a prophet of God? 
 
 And before we proceed with the main thread of our argument, 
 and the chief lines of our proof, we pause to briefly notice what Mr. 
 S. urges as a clear proof that, if Joseph was a prophet at all, then 
 he was a false prophet. Mr. S. says : 
 
 "If Joseph really introduced polygamy, it is another proof to Josephites that 
 he is a false prophet." 
 
 Mr. S. should not stop here, but slash away at the prophetic and 
 apostolic claims of others on similar grounds. He should tell us that, 
 if Noah got intoxicated on wine, then he was a false prophet; and that 
 if Abraham and Jacob practiced polygamy, then they were false 
 prophets; and that if Moses killed an Egyptian and hid him in the 
 sand, and if Aaron turned to idolatry while Moses was in the mount, 
 then they were false prophets; and if Samuel hewed Agag, the 
 prisoner, to pieces; and if David murdered Uriah and committed 
 adultery with Bathshebah, and if Gideon went into polygamy and 
 idolatry, then they were false prophets; and, finally, that if Peter 
 cursed and swore, and denied Christ, and dissembled, then he was 
 a false apostle, and was never an apostle of Christ. O consistency! 
 thy name is not Sheldon ! 
 
 In the first place, we know not whether Joseph the Seer did or 
 did not practice and teach polygamy. If he did either, it was done 
 very secretly, and it was done against the law and order of the 
 Church, and against the teachings and protests of himself and Hy- 
 rum up to as late as the Spring of 1844. 
 
 Many good men of times gone by have gone into polygamy and 
 kindred evils, and yet it did not prove that they were never the ser- 
 vants of God. Mr. S. tells us that "Mrs. Young, No. 19, mentions 
 a plural marriage performed by Joseph himself." Mrs. Young is 
 not a competent witness in this case, as she was not born until near 
 
176 The Divine Calling of 
 
 the time of Joseph's death. All she could know of the case would 
 be simply by rumor. And when one so incompetent makes charges 
 of such a grave character their evidence should be treated as of no 
 great or certain value. Besides this, "Mrs. Young, No. 19," has in 
 other ways shown herself an utterly unsafe witness, when she 
 publishes that Joseph claimed to be a new Messiah ! And when 
 she publishes that Joseph counselled a man at Nauvoo to go down 
 the river to a Gentile saw mill and steal a lot of black walnut lum- 
 ber for coffins! And that the man went and did as counselled, and 
 rafted the lumber up the river to the city of the Saints! Mr. S. r 
 can't you see how easy this thing was done? can't you see the 
 man stealing that lumber, and making that raft, and floating it up 
 over the rapids, against a current running from four to eight miles 
 per hour, and no one to see or hear this lumber thief till he safely 
 lands his booty in the city? Of course you can see it, for "No. 19" 
 is just your 'kind of a witness; her testimony is off the same piece 
 with that you are using to prove Joseph a false prophet and the 
 Book of Mormon untrue; and of course you can see the "eternal fit- 
 ness" of her testimony, and accept it for diamond truth ! But you 
 must pardon others if they don't see quite so easily as you do. 
 
 Joseph Smith; was he a prophet of God? Popular opinion an- 
 swers no; and if we were to judge of the divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 or any of the ancient prophets, by the same rule, it would give us 
 the same result; for not one-fifth part of the human family now even 
 profess to believe Christianity. 
 
 Popular opinion is not the rule of evidence by which to deter- 
 mine the truth or falsity of any fact or principle. The rankest 
 errors in religion, in philosophy, and in science, have been highly 
 popular in their time. Known truth is the touch-stone by which to 
 try everything claiming to be true or divine. 
 
 All true principles harmonize. The truths of philosophy, of the 
 sciences, of history, and of divine religion and revelation, do not, 
 and cannot conflict. They will ever, when rightly understood, be 
 found to perfectly agree. 
 
 We test the divinity of the mission of Moses and the prophets by 
 comparing their teachings with known truths. The grandest prin- 
 ciples connected with geology, astronomy, chemistry, and physiology, 
 are outlined in their teachings. The facts of written history, and 
 of universal tradition, and of history as lately discovered chiselled on 
 the stony walls of ancient Egyptian and Assyrian cities, and their 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 177 
 
 crumbling tombs and monuments are also found in their writings. 
 All these are witnesses for Moses and the prophets. But the strong- 
 est external evidence that can be had, evidence that should fully 
 satisfy every one, is the exact agreement between the predictions 
 of these men, and the facts of subsequent history. They predict, 
 with a "Thus saith the Lord," that certain events will transpire, 
 events which human sagacity could not foresee, and history, the 
 faithful chronicler of events as they occur, testifies that the events 
 predicted did transpire. 
 
 True prophecy was always regarded by God's people as one of the 
 crowning evidences of divinity; and it was so taught by Jesus and 
 the prophets, as may be seen by Isaiah 41 : 21-23; Ezek. 33:33; 
 John 13 : 19, etc. 
 
 We read that the early Christians vanquished their opponents 
 successfully by showing the fulfillment of the predictions of Moses 
 and the prophets, and especially of Jesus and the apostles. 
 
 We propose to discuss the prophetic character and mission of Jo- 
 seph Smith, in the light of historical facts, mainly, if not entirely, 
 as compared with his prophecies. 
 
 Joseph, when a boy aged seventeen years, began to know his mar- 
 velous and wonderful mission. This was as early as 1823. At that 
 time, and from that time on, the chief part of Christendom was so- 
 lacing itself with the thought that the world was rapidly improving 
 in morals and religion. Many thought that the millennium would 
 soon be ushered in through the joint efforts of the pulpit, the press, 
 and missionary labors. And it was under the inspiration of this 
 idea, no doubt, that the "World's Peace Congresses" were projected. 
 In the midst of these things, and in opposition to these sentiments, 
 Joseph pronounced the "Thus saith the Lord," and predicted the 
 rise and rapid spread of social, political and spiritual corruption. He 
 declared that iniquity would increase and abound, and that judg- 
 ment would rapidly multiply among the wicked; that there would 
 be great "divisions" among the people; that there would be great 
 contentions, strifes and wars; that there would be unusual tempests, 
 earthquakes, plagues, pestilences and famines; that there would 
 be terribly destructive fires ; that the sea would be greatly troubled ; 
 and that these things would continue to occur till the glorious ap- 
 pearing of the Lord Jesus, which, he said, was near at hand. 
 
 In short, he predicted the very opposite of what was taught by 
 the worldly-wise and prudent, and what was fondly believed by the 
 
178 The Divine Calling of 
 
 masses. In May, 1829, he predicted that the church he was about 
 to found and organize, would become "a great and marvelous work 
 among the children of men/' D. & C. 11:1. Such is its history 
 already, though it has but fairly begun its work. In March of the 
 same year he predicted the coming of the cholera "scourge;" and 
 that it would continue its ravages among the nations, from time to 
 time, till the earth became "empty." D. & C. 4:3. The first case 
 cholera in Western Europe occurred in 1831 ; in Great Britain in 
 1832; and in North America, in the summer of the same year; 
 though it had existed in some parts of Asia for many years before 
 this. The most eminent physicians pronounce it a "dreadful scourge," 
 and state that its "essential character, and true origin are yet entirely 
 unknown." 
 
 He predicted that "the weak and simple" would proclaim the 
 fullness of the gospel "unto the ends of the world, and before kings 
 and rulers." D. & C. 1 : 4. And an unlettered and inexperienced 
 ministry has been fulfilling this since 1830. 
 
 In 1831 he predicted that the time was near "when peace shall 
 be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his 
 own dominion; and also the Lord shall have power over his Saints, 
 and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment on 
 Idumea, or the world." D. & C. 1:6. Here is predicted the 
 marked development of Satanic influence and working; its preva- 
 lence and power in contradistinction to the power of God. The last 
 twenty-six years have witnessed the fulfillment of this prediction in 
 a most wonderful degree, as the reader must be aware, at least so 
 far as relates to the doings of those "spirit manifestations," so utter- 
 ly opposed to Bible Christianity. 
 
 In March, 1831, he prophesied that soon there would 
 
 u Be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in com- 
 motion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delay eth 
 his coming until the end of the earth. And the love of men shall wax cold, and 
 iniquity shall abound; * * * and there shall be earthquakes, also, in divers 
 places, and many desolations ; yet men will harden their hearts against me, 
 [Christ], and they will take up the sword one against another, and they Tvill 
 kill one another. * * * And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me, 
 [Christ], shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for 
 the signs of the comiag of the Son of Man ; and they shall see signs and won- 
 ders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth be- 
 neath ; and they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke ; and before 
 the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be 
 turned into blood, and stars fall from heaven; and the remnant [Jews] shall 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 179 
 
 be gathered unto this place, [Jerusalem], and then they shall look for me, and 
 behold I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with 
 power and great glory, with all the holy angels, and he that watches not for me 
 shall be cut off." D. & C. 45:4, 6. 
 
 Many of the items in the foregoing prophecies have been fulfill- 
 ed, or are in process of fulfillment, while some remain to be fulfilled 
 at no distant day. In December, 1832, he prophesied to the Elders- 
 as follows: 
 
 "And, after your testimony, cometh wrath and indignation upon the people; 
 for after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause 
 groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not 
 be able to stand. And also cometh the voice of thunderings, and the voice of 
 lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the ivaves of the sea, heaving 
 themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion ; and sure- 
 ly men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people." D. & C. 
 85:25. 
 
 Within the past twelve years "earthquakes'/ have been more fre- 
 quent, wide-spread, and terrible; "thunderiwgs" have been more 
 common and frightful; "lightnings" have been more fearful, terrific r 
 and disastrous; "tempests," tornadoes, cyclones, and whirlwinds*, 
 have been more prevalent and destructive than ever known before- 
 in the same length of time. These are facts beyond successful ques- 
 tion. 
 
 In October, 1864, in India, the waves of the sea were driven by 
 a cyclone, inland, and many thousands of lives and many millions of 
 property were destroyed. In November, 1876, in the same region, 
 a cyclone drove the waters of the sea over one of the largest and 
 most populous islands, destroying 257,000 human lives, with an im- 
 mense amount of property. In 1867, at the Island of St. Thomas, 
 the waves rose sixty or seventy feet higher than common, and 
 "heaved themselves beyond their bounds," carrying upon their crests* 
 a United States war steamer, and leaving it high and dry on land. 
 In 1868, I think in June, at the Sandwich Islands, the waves rose 
 fifty to sixty feet higher than was their wont ; and "heaved them- 
 selves beyond their bounds," washing away a number of the little 
 coast towns, destroying life and property. In August of the same 
 year occurred "the great tidal wave" which beat along the Pacific- 
 coast from the bay of San Francisco on the north, to near Cape 
 Horn on the south. At the bay of Valparaiso, and other contigu- 
 ous sea ports, the waves rose fifty to seventy feet higher than usual, 
 tearing the shipping loose from its anchorage in many places, and 
 
180 The Divine Calling of 
 
 bearing the largest vessels in upon the dry land, destroying a great 
 many lives and millions of dollars worth of property. By what 
 means could Joseph predict these numerous and remarkable events 
 so clearly? Only by the Spirit that foresees and foreknows! the 
 Spirit of the living God ! 
 
 In the same prophecy he also tells us that "all things shall be in 
 commotion/' How true we find this to-day! Every department of 
 society, political, social, commercial, scientific, and religious, is great- 
 ly agitated is in great commotion. This is true of America, of 
 Europe, of Asia, of Africa, of every place. The humblest peasant, 
 and the mightiest prince; the Pope with his triple crown, and the 
 cloistered monk; high church-men and low church-men; Pagan, 
 Parsee, Christian, and Jew, all partake of this portentous spirit of 
 -restlessness, this ceaseless commotion. And the elements, too, are 
 unusually agitated, in all parts of the earth ; and it is no wonder 
 -that "men's hearts fail them," and that "fear" has come, and is com- 
 ing, "upon all people." 
 
 On the 25th of December, 1832, Joseph Smith received a revela- 
 tion foreshowing the desolating wars and fearful judgments of the 
 latter days. In this revelation is foretold the war of the late rebel- 
 lion through which our nation passed from 1860 to 1866, which re- 
 sulted in the death of 600,000 persons, and in crippling and disa- 
 bling by disease 400,000 more. The revelation was first printed at 
 Liverpool, in England, in 1851. in a pamphlet entitled "The Pearl 
 of Great Price," though many of the Saints had known of it from 
 1832. Thousands of copies of this work are still in existence, in 
 the hands of the Saints and others. It was published in many lan- 
 guages, and in various other works, at different times before the re- 
 bellion took place, and among them the "True Latter Day Saints 
 Herald," "The Seer," and "The Compendium." It is also publish- 
 ed in Beadle's work against the Mormons, issued in 1870. It reads 
 as follows : 
 
 "Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to 
 pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually termi- 
 nate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war 
 will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place ; for behold the 
 ^Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern 
 -States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, 
 and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against 
 other nations : and thus shall war be poured out upon all nations. And it shall 
 come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 181 
 
 shall be marshaled and disciplined for war, And it shall come to pass also,, 
 that the remnants who are left of the land shall marshal themselves, and shall 
 become exceeding angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation ; and 
 thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn ^ 
 and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes, and the thunder of heaven, and 
 the fierce and vivid lightnings also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to 
 feel the wrath and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until 
 the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations, that the cry of the* 
 Saints, and the blood of the Saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the- 
 Lord of Sabaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies. Wherefore,. 
 stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come : for 
 behold it cometli quickly, saith the Lord. Amen." 
 
 This is one of the most remarkables prophecies of this or any 
 other age. It is lengthy, definite, precise, full of eminent points,, 
 without "ifs," or '-buts,' ; and was the very opposite of the popular- 
 ideas of the times in which it was given, and in which it was first; 
 published. 
 
 Some claim that it has been gotten up since the rebellion to suit 
 the events transpiring during that time. They see that it contains- 
 a true and definite summary of the history made during that period,, 
 yet they dislike to believe that Joseph Smith uttered the prophecy- 
 Such persons usually laud and glorify the prophets of the long-ago., 
 but they will neither hear, investigate the claims of, nor respect 
 modern prophets. They are of that class who revere the seers of" 
 the misty past who lived, and taught, and suffered two thousand or 
 five thousand years before them, but Grod, they conclude, will hold ] 
 no direct communication with man in this age of the world, and a. 
 claim that he may, and does, should be scoffed at as an imposture. 
 
 As we have shown, there is an abundance of documentary evi- 
 dence of the genuineness of the revelation; at least to show that it 
 was in existence in print as early as 1851, nine years before the 
 rebellion. Mr. Beadle, in his work against the Mormons, states that 
 he copied it out of '-The Seer," a work published by 0. Pratt, m 
 Yv 7 ashington, D. C., in 1853, seven years before the rebellion. And 
 Mr. John Hyde, who wrote a work against the Mormons, entitled 
 "Mormonism," which was issued by Fetridge & Co., of New York 
 City, in 1857, cites on page 174, this same revelation, and he did> 
 it in order to prove that Joseph was a false prophet. He verily 
 thought within himself, no doubt, that such a series of wars and ca- 
 lamities as Joseph Smith had predicted could never occur; and he 
 probably felt fully justified in denouncing the prophecy as false. 
 Nor was he alone in the thought that such things could never occur. 
 
182 The Divine Calling of 
 
 It was the universal sentiment with all people, except well-informed 
 Latter Day Saints. They knew of the prophecy and confidently 
 looked for its fulfillment. 
 
 Such an event as the rebellion of the Southern States was improb- 
 able highly improbable at that time as were many, if not all the 
 other events predicted in the prophecy. The prophecy states what 
 was very improbable, that "the Southern States shall be divided 
 against the Northern States. " And yet every Southern State v:as 
 arrayed against the Northern States in the rebellion. The prophecy 
 said the war would Legin at the rebellion of South Carolina. South 
 Carolina began the rebellion, December 20th, 1860; and on the 12th 
 of the following March, war actually began by the Confederacy, her 
 troops firing upon, and capturing Fort Sumpter. 
 
 The Southern States did "call on other nations/' upon Great 
 Britain and France, and this, too, in order to "defend themselves 
 [diplomatically] against other nations;" for, by this time, they had 
 assumed the defensive, as the revelation teaches they finally would 
 do. They sought to be recognized by the nations as belligerents, 
 and thus secure themselves against the influence and co-operation of 
 other nations in favor of the Northern States; and further, to obtain 
 material aid in order to defend themselves against the invading 
 armies of the Northern States. 
 
 "And thus war shall be poured out upon all nations;" that is, 
 beginning with our national rebellion, war would go forth, and final- 
 ly occur among all nations. It is a prominent fact, that, since the 
 beginning of the rebellion, war has been unusually prevalent, wide- 
 spread, and sanguinary. 
 
 Taking advantage of our national troubles. Louis Napoleon, Em- 
 peror of France, and Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, sought, by 
 a bloody war, to establish an empire in Mexico, and to place Maxi- 
 millian upon its throne, but they failed in the attempt. 
 
 South America, Central America, France, Italy, Austria, Den- 
 mark, Spain, Cuba, Holland, Russia, Germany, Greece, Turkey, 
 Egypt, Algeria, China, Japan, Corea, with many districts in Asia 
 and Africa, have been visited with the war-fiend since the rebellion 
 of South Carolina in 1860. 
 
 In these wars millions of lives have been lost and oceans of treas- 
 ure expended; but the end is not yet. The spirit of war seems rife 
 in every land and among all nations. Ilussia, the "Gog" of Ezekiel 
 38th chapter, is just now entering upon a war with Turkey, of huge 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 183 
 
 dimensions, and one likely to embroil all Europe, and Asia, and 
 northern Africa; and one that will materially change the bounda- 
 ries of the nations, and go far to prepare the way for the restoration 
 of Israel and Judah. 
 
 The war equipments of the nations, by land and sea, are far more 
 extensive and highly perfected, than ever before known. For in- 
 stance, the forces of Austria amount at present to 856,980 men. 
 Russia has augmented her armies to 1,519,810 men. The aggregate 
 military strength of Italy is 605,200. The German empire can sum- 
 mon to the field 1,261,160 men. The French army is 977,660 
 strong. The land-forces alone of Great Britain number 478,820 
 men ; besides which her navy is the largest in the world. The 
 Swedish army numbers about 274,510. The number of soldiers 
 now at the disposal of all the European governments amount to be- 
 tween 6,000,000 and 7,000,000, an increase of over one-third in 
 number since 1859. And still they are arming. The trust of na- 
 tions to-day is mainly in their strength, their wealth, their wisdom, 
 and their military prowess, rather than in truth and righteousness 
 before God, and with man. 
 
 "After many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who 
 shall be marshaled and disciplined for war." Not less than 200,000 
 of the blacks were enrolled in the armies of the North; and they 
 were, as the prophecy indicates, "marshaled and disciplined," by 
 white officers; and their arms were directed against their former 
 masters. 
 
 These are facts so patent that comment is not needed. 
 
 And "the remnants who are left of the land, [the Indians], will 
 marshal themselves, and shall become exceeding angry, and shall 
 vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation." This is precisely what has 
 been done. For the Indians did "marshal themselves" against the 
 whites as early as August, 1862, and they have been waging war 
 against them from time to time until the present. The massacre in 
 Minnesota, which took place August, 1862, was a terribly cruel and 
 heart-rending affair. 2,000 persons were barbarously slaughtered 
 in a few hours. Nameless outrages were perpetrated; and the losses 
 sustained, pecuniarily, by the government and by individuals, amount- 
 ed to over $2,500,000 : 
 
 "From the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on the rock-bound coast of New 
 England, in the winter of 1620, until their descendants had passed the center 
 of the continent, and reached the lovely plains of Minnesota, no exhibition of 
 
184 The Divine Calling of 
 
 Indian character had so afflicted and appalled the soul of humanity, as the fear- 
 ful and deliberate massacre perpetrated by them in August, 1862. * * The 
 blow fell like a storm of thunderbolts from the clear, bright heavens. The storm 
 of fierce, savage murder, in its most horrid and frightful forms, rolled on. Day 
 passed and night came, until the sad catalogue reached the fearful jnumber of 
 two thousand human victims, from the gray-haired sire to the helpless infant of 
 a day, who lay mangled and dead on the ensanguined field. * * In two days 
 the whole work of murder was done, with here and there exceptional cases in 
 differemt settlements. And, during these two days, a population of thirty thou- 
 sand, scattered over some eight counties, on the western borders of the State, 
 on foot, on horseback, with teams of oxen and horses, under the momentum of 
 the panic thus created, were rushing wildly and frantically over the prairies to 
 places of safety." Indian Massacres. 
 
 The Indians "marshaled themselves," as foreshown in the proph- 
 ecy, no whites having a hand in that matter. The bad treatment 
 which they had received from the whites the Indian agents and 
 traders in particular had much to do in causing these outrages, 
 it made them "exceeding angry/' yet, as we have said before, the 
 whites had nothing to do in marshaling them, or directing them in 
 their sanguinary work. 
 
 These Indian wars are costly as well as cruel; and hence, in more 
 ways than one, are they "a sore vexation" to our tax-burdened nation. 
 It has been reported that for every Indian captured and killed dur- 
 ing some of the Indian wars since 1862, it has cost the whites the 
 lives of nine white men, and 85,000,000 in money. This may be a 
 slight exaggeration, yet it is probably not far from the truth. The 
 enormous expense, with the loss of human life, and the various per- 
 plexities connected with these wars, and the whole Indian question, 
 are sources of "sore vexation" to the whites, and from which there 
 are no prospects of speedy and permanent relief. 
 
 As for the terrors of "famine and plague" predicted, they have 
 been so widespread and destructive since 1860 that the bare men- 
 tion of them ought to satisfy the reader of the truthfulness of this 
 item of the prophecy. In India alone there has been numerous fam- 
 ines with terrible loss of life since 1860, prominent among them 
 that which occurred in 1866, in which thousands perished of starva- 
 tion weekly. The official report showed that there were a million 
 of deaths in all. And famine is raging in India now. 
 
 In 1867 and 1868 there was a great lack of food supplies in the 
 Southern States; and in England and France hundreds of thousands 
 were in a state of semi-starvation. Germany and Eastern Prussia 
 were in a similar condition, while in Russia both pestilence and fam- 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 185 
 
 ine raged terribly. In Finland, in Algeirs, in Tunis, and in other 
 localities in Europe and Asia, it was no better. "Fully 100,000 
 Arabs have fallen victims within the last six months," wrote the 
 Archbishop of Algiers. Persia has been nearly annihilated of late 
 by famine and pestilence. Of the year 1871, the Chicago Tribune, 
 November 15th, 1871, says: 
 
 "War, famine, pestilence, fire, wind and water, and ice, have been let loose 
 and have done their worst, and with such appalling results, and with such 
 remarkable phenomena accompanying them, that it is not to be wondered at r 
 men have sometimes thought the end of the world had come. 
 
 Want of space forbids our itemizing at any length in regard to 
 the calamities predicted; suffice it to say, that in nearly all parts of 
 the world "famine and plague have sorely afflicted the sons of men, 
 and sent many millions to an untimely grave." 
 
 The latter part of the prophecy states that the "chastening hand 
 of an Almighty God," through the judgments mentioned in the 
 prophecy, will be upon the nations until God "hath made a full end 
 of all nations; that the cry of the Saints, and of the BLOOD of the 
 Saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth 
 to be avenged of their enemies." "The cry of the Saints," and the 
 'blood of the Saints" here mentioned, pointed to their coming per- 
 secutions, barbarously cruel, fiendish, and bloody, as they proved to 
 be. The first very serious persecution of the Saints began at In- 
 dependence, Missouri, July 20th, 1833. An armed mob was organ- 
 ized under the leadership of George Simpson, and was either coun- 
 tenanced or abetted by many ministers of religion and government 
 officials. 
 
 The printing press of the Church was principally destroyed, in- 
 cluding book-work, furniture, apparatus, and type, also the printing 
 office, with the dwelling house of the editor. The Evening and 
 Morning Star, and the Upper Missouri Advertizer, the one a month- 
 ly and the other a weekly paper, were forcibly stopped, and their 
 further publication forbidden. 
 
 A number were whipped, tarred and feathered, among them Ed- 
 ward Partridge and Allen, late of Council Bluffs. Some re- 
 ceived a pelting with rocks and a beating with guns and sticks 
 Ten houses were partly demolished, and standing grain in some places 
 destroyed; but, worst of all, one, a Bro. Barber, was killed, and some 
 others seriously wounded. 
 
 The grounds upon which this persecution began, were, to use the 
 
186 The Divine Calling of 
 
 language of those connected with it, as seen in the published pro- 
 eeedingsj printed in The Western Monitor, August 2d, 1833, for the 
 mobbers "to rid themselves of the sect of fanatics, called Mormons*" 
 "this singular sect of pretended Christians;" "they now number 
 1200 souls in this [Jackson] county." "Elevated, as they mostly 
 are, but little above the condition of our blacks, either in regard to 
 property or education, they have become a subject of much anxiety 
 on that part, serious and well grounded complaints having been al- 
 ready made of their corrupting influence on our slaves." "We 
 are daily told, and not by the ignorant alone, but by all classes of 
 them, that we (the Gentiles) of this county, are to be cut off, and 
 our lands appropriated by them for inheritances. Whether this is 
 to be accomplished by the hand of the destroying angel, the judg- 
 ments of God, or the arm of power, they are not fully agreed among 
 themselves." "They openly blaspheme the most high God, and cast 
 contempt on his holy religion, by pretending to receive revelations 
 direct from heaven ; by pretending to speak unknown tongues by di- 
 rect inspiration ; and by divers pretences derogatory to God and re- 
 ligion, and to the utter subversion of human reason." "What would 
 be the fate of our lives and property in the hands of jurors and wit- 
 nesses, who do not blush to declare, and would not upon any occa- 
 sion hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles, and have 
 been the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures, and have 
 conversed with God and his angels, and possess and exercise the gifts 
 of divination, and of unknown tongues, and fired with the prospect 
 of obtaining inheritances without money and without price may be 
 better imagined than described." "One of the means resorted to 
 by them in order to drive us to emigrate, is an indirect invitation to 
 the free brethren of color in Illinois, to come up like the rest, to the 
 land of Zion. True, they said this was not intended to invite, but 
 to prevent their emigration; but this weak attempt to quiet our ap- 
 prehension, is but a poor compliment to our understandings." 
 
 Here, dear reader, are the main charges upon which over 1200 
 souls were, with violence, sorely persecuted and driven out of Jack- 
 son county, Missouri, the persecutors themselves being the witnesses. 
 
 From July 20th, when the violent persecutions began, till Novem- 
 ber of the same year, the Saints had but little rest from their 
 enemies, though they sought patiently for that protection which was 
 assured by the laws of Missouri, and of our nation, but they sought 
 ii vain. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 187 
 
 While the Saints were fleeing from their merciless persecutors in- 
 to Clay and adjoining counties, the Lord displayed his glory in the 
 heaven?, to the comfort and delight of his smitten and afflicted peo- 
 ple. The heavens, on the night of the 12th of November, were made 
 grandly beautiful by the "falling stars," a sign to the Saints that 
 the coming of Christ is near : 
 
 u ln Zion [Missouri] all heaven seemed enwrapped in splendid fire-works, as 
 if every star in the broad expanse had been suddenly hurled from its course, 
 and sent lawless through the wilds of ether. * * * Beautiful and terrific as 
 was the scenery, which might be compared to the falling figs, or fruit, when the 
 tree is shaken by a mighty wind, yet it will not fully compare with the time 
 when the sun shall become black like sackcloth of hair, the moon like blood, 
 and the stars fall to the earth." Joseph, Smith. 
 
 Most of those driven from Jackson county went to Clay county, 
 where they were received with some degree of kindness. The Saints 
 continued to gather into Missouri, chiefly into Clay, Ray, Davies, 
 and Caldwell counties, until 1837, when persecution again stretched 
 forth her merciless and bloody hand against them, and they were 
 mobbed, robbed, and finally, in the late fall of 1838, driven out of 
 the State into Illinois, under the exterminating orders of Gov. Lil- 
 burn W. Boggs. The Church in Missouri numbered at this time 
 12,000 or more. In this persecution, well nigh every barbarity was 
 practiced that brutal lust or fiendish cruelty could suggest. Prop- 
 erty was stolen and burned ; persons beaten and maimed ; others 
 wounded nigh unto death, and many killed. An infirm old revolu- 
 tionary soldier, when pleading for mercy, and telling of his services 
 as a soldier in procuring our dearly-bought liberties, was hacked to 
 death with a corn cutter; a little innocent lad, who, when hunted 
 like a beast, had taken refuge in a blacksmith shop at Haun's Mills, 
 was shot to death through the head, in cool blood; women were rav- 
 ished, and an amount of exposure and suffering forced upon many 
 that resulted in death, or in permanently impairing their health and 
 usefulness. 
 
 Surely "the cry of the Saints, and of the blood of the Saints," did 
 now, from seven months to five years after the prophecy was uttered, 
 ascend up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 
 
 Professor Turner, sometime of Illinois College, an open and bitter 
 opponent of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, in writing of the 
 conduct of Missouri towards the Mormons, says : 
 
 "Who began the quarrel? "Was it the Mormons? Is it not notorious, on the 
 contrary, that they were hunted like wild beasts, from county ]to county, before 
 
188 The Divine Calling of 
 
 they made any desperate resistance ? Did they ever, as a body, refuse obedi- 
 ence to the laws, when called upon to do so, until driven to desparation by re- 
 peated threats and assaults from the mob ? Did the State ever make one decent 
 effort to defend them as fellow citizens in their rights, or to redress their wrongs ? 
 Let the conduct of its govenors, attorneys, and the fate of their final petitions 
 answer. Have any who plundered and openly massacred the Mormons ever 
 been brought to the punishment due to their crimes? Let the boasting mur- 
 derers of begging and helpless in&ncy answer. Has the state ever remunerated, 
 even those known to be innocent, for the loss of either their properly or their 
 arms? Did either the pulpit or the press throughout the State raise a note of 
 remonstrance or alarm? Let the clergymen who abetted, and the editors who 
 encouraged the mob answer." 
 
 Thus speaks one of our bitterest, yet comparatively honorable op- 
 ponents. 
 
 Nor did persecution stop even here. Its fires were again kindled 
 in Illinois, in Hancock county and vicinity in 1844 to 1846, result- 
 ing in terrible suffering and great loss of life. 
 
 The persecutions of 1838, in Missouri, were clearly set forth in a 
 prophecy given through Joseph Smith, at Kirtland, Ohio, July 23d, 
 1837, one year and more before the persecution occurred. See 
 Doctrine and Covenants 105 : 9. It reads: 
 
 l 'Yerily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross dark- 
 ness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face. 
 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth a day of 
 wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, of lamen- 
 tation and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the 
 Lord. And upon my house [the church] shall it begin, and from my house 
 shall it go forth, saith the Lord." 
 
 The "wrath," the '-burning/' the "desolation," the "weeping/'* the 
 "mourning/' and the "lamentation'' here predicted, which are to go 
 forth among all nations, did come upon the Church suddenly, "as a 
 whirlwind," with all its fearful and terrible destructiveness. No one, 
 unless inspired of God, could have foretold, with such precision and 
 clearness, the bitter persecutions suffered by the Saints in Missouri. 
 
 The persecutions and the scattering of the Saints from Nauvoo, 
 were foretold by Joseph. His death, likewise, he himself foretold. 
 On parting with his wife, at Nauvoo, when he went to Carthage jail, 
 under promise of protection from Governor Thomas Ford, he told 
 her he would never see his family again, that his work was done, 
 that he was going to rest, that the Church would be broken up 
 and scattered, and instructed her to remain with the family at Nau- 
 voo, or take them to Kirtland, Ohio. More than once, just prior to 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 189 
 
 his death, he predicted that if Brigham Young should get the lead 
 of the Church he would lead it to hell. 
 
 It would be the height of folly to say that these prophecies of 
 Joseph, so numerous, so definite, and so unlikely to be fulfilled, were 
 mere conjectures or guesses, like many made by human wisdom 
 alone. That military genius, Napoleon, tried his skill in making 
 predictions. He said, "In fifty years all Europe will be either Cos- 
 sack or Republican." More than the "fifty years" have passed away, 
 and the prediction is found false. 
 
 Vettius Yallens, a wise man of Rome, and a Pagan oracle, predict- 
 ed that, "If it be true as historians say, that Romulus saw twelve 
 vultures at the founding of Rome, that signifies that it should ex- 
 ist for twelve centuries." But Rome, under its eight different 
 forms of government, has existed for more than twenty-six centuries. 
 
 Shameful failure is the fate of human predictions, however wise 
 their authors. 
 
 Joseph was assassinated in Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois, 
 June 27th, 1844, at the age of thirty-eight years and six months, 
 after a most eventful life, seventeen years of which were marked 
 with great activities, great perplexities and numerous persecutions. 
 Those who knew him best loved him most. He was misunderstood 
 and misapprehended by the masses; blindly opposed by the pulpit 
 and the press, in many instances; maligned and slandered by his 
 enemies, and his sentiments perverted, misconstrued and misstated 
 by those who should have been his truest friends. 
 
 His work was great in the foundations which he laid, rather than 
 in the immediate results which he wrought out. The great truths 
 of God, and the exalted principles of life and salvation given to the 
 race through him, will live, and be earnestly cherished by the faith- 
 ful and true, when the hoary errors, and the gilded and flimsy the- 
 ories of uninspired men, will be remembered only with sorrow, and 
 mentioned only with pity and contempt. 
 
 Joseph uttered many predictions concerning the spiritual manifes- 
 tations with which the world is now being deluged and deceived. 
 This he did long before Spiritualism was introduced. In May, 1831, 
 while he was young in years, and limited in worldly wisdom, the 
 Lord said through him to the Elders of the Church : 
 
 "Behold, verily I say unto you, that 'there are many spirits which are false 
 spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world ; and also Satan 
 hath sought to deceive you, that ho might overthrow you." D. & C. 50 : 1. | j 
 
190 The Divine Calling of 
 
 In June, 1831, the following was revealed to the Elders through 
 him: 
 
 "And again I will give you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived ; 
 for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations; where- 
 fore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is acccepted of me, if he 
 obey mine ordinances. He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose lan- 
 guage is meek, and edifieth, the same is of God, if he obey mine ordinances. 
 And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall 
 bring forth fruits of praise, and wisdom, according to \i. e., in harmony with] 
 the revelations and truths I have given you. And again, he that is overcome 
 and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me ; where- 
 fore by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases under the whole heav- 
 ens. And the days have come, according to men's faith it shall be done unto- 
 them." D. & C. 52:4, 5. 
 
 A short time before this revelation was given a number of per- 
 sons in the Church at Kirtland had been deceived and strangely 
 handled by false spirits. Some were so far possessed by them as to 
 lose all control of either mind or body. The physical manifestations 
 were startling and peculiar; while those of a mental or spiritual 
 character were such as to bewilder and mislead the unwary and un- 
 skillful. Joseph and Hyrum readily detected the arch enemy and 
 proclaimed against him. Of this Joseph wrote in his Church His- 
 tory : 
 
 "On the 6th of June, the Elders from the various parts of the country where 
 they were laboring camo in, and the Conference, before appointed, convened in 
 Kirtland, and the Lord displayed his power in a manner that could not be mis- 
 taken. The man of sin was revealed, and the authority of the Melchisedec 
 priesthood was manifested, and conferred for the first time upon several of the 
 Elders. It was clearly evident that the Lord gave us power in proportion to 
 the work to be done, and strength according to the race set before us, and grace 
 and help as our needs required." Times and Seasons, vol. 5, page 416. 
 
 The origin, character, operations, and final state of these spirits, 
 had been revealed to Joseph before this. In September, 1830, the 
 Lord said of them : 
 
 "Behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give 
 me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heav- 
 en turned he away from me because of their agency; and they were thrust 
 down, and thus became the devil and his angels ; and behold, there is a place 
 prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell ; and it must needs be 
 that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents 
 unto themselves, for if they never should have bitter, they could not know the 
 sweet." D. & 0. 28:10. 
 
 Of spirit manifestations Joseph wrote in A. D. 1839: 
 
 "We are to try the spirits and prove them, for it is often the case that men 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 191 
 
 make a mistake in regard to these things. God has so ordained that when he 
 has communicated no vision is to be taken but what you see by the seeing of 
 the eye, or what you hear by the hearing of the ear. When you see a vision, 
 pray for the interpretation; if you get not this, shut it up; there must be cer- 
 tainty in this matter. An open vision will manifest that which is more impor- 
 tant. Lying spirits are going forth in the earth. There will be great manifes- 
 tations of spirits, both false and true. Being born again, comes by the Spirit of 
 G-od through ordinances. An angel of God never has wings. Some will say 
 that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not 
 touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God; a spirit cannot 
 come but in glory; [as Moses and Elias, Matt.]; an angel has flesh and bones; 
 we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God 
 to reveal it; if it be of the devil he will flee from you; if of God, he will mani- 
 fest himself, or make it manifest. "We may come to Jesus and ask him ; he will 
 know all about it; if he comes to a little child he will adapt himself to the lan- 
 guage and capacity of a little child. Every spirit, or vision, or singing, is not of 
 God. The devil is an orator; he is powerful; he took our Savior on to a pinacle 
 of the temple, and kept him in the wilderness for forty days. The gift of discern- 
 ing of spirits will be given to the Presiding Elder. Pray for him that he may 
 have this gift. Speak not in the gift of tongues without understanding it, or 
 without interpretation. The devil can speak in tongues; the adversary will 
 come with his work; he can tempt all classes; can speak in English or Dutch. 
 Let no one speak in tongues unless he interpret, except by the consent of the 
 one who is placed to preside; then he may discern or interpret, or another may." 
 Milknnial Star 17:312. 
 
 By the foregoing we see that Joseph was thoroughly informed in 
 regard to spirit manifestations; and that he foreknew, clearly, the 
 going forth of lying spirits in the earth, and that there would "be 
 great manifestations of spirit, both false and true." 
 
 Nothing short of the Spirit of God, by revelation and prophecy, 
 could impart such facts and information, and so plainly make known 
 the future. Bancroft Libi 
 
 Having examined a few of the many fulfilled prophecies of Joseph 
 Smith, we will add as further evidence of his prophetic character, 
 that he organized the Church of Christ after the Apostolic pattern, 
 given in 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4 : 11; and restored the 
 primitive doctrines and ordinances, as taught and practiced by the 
 first Christian ministry, in all their divine power and simplicity, 
 (Heb.6:l-3; Acts 2: 38; 8:18; 9:12; 19:6; 13:3; 1 Timothy 
 4 : 14; John 13 : 4, 5 ; 1 Cor. 11 : 23-31 ; James 5 : 14, 15; Mark 
 10 : 13-16). He also revived and renewed the same general prom- 
 ises (John 7 : 16, 17; Mark 16 : 15-18; Acts 2 : 38, 39; John 14 : 
 26; 15:26; 16:7,13; !Cor.l2ch.; 1 John 2: 27; 3:24; Luke 
 20 :35, 36; John 5 : 28, 29; 1 Cor. 15 : 22, 23, 41-44; Phil. 3: 20, 
 
192 The Divine Calling of 
 
 21; John 17:20-24; Rev. 20 : 4, 5, 6, 12, 13; 2 Pet. 3 : 13, 14; 
 Matt. 5:5; Rev. 5:10). This he claimed to do in fulfillment of 
 Rev. 14:6, 7; Mai. 4:5, 6; Isaiah 11 : 11, 12; 18:3; Luke 14 : 
 16-24; Matt. 20:6. 
 
 He brought forth by inspiration of God the record of Joseph, in 
 fulfillment of Ezekiel 37:16,17, 18, 19, the "sealed book" of 
 Isaiah 29:11, 12, 18, the "truth" of God, hidden in the earth, 
 predicted by David, Ps. 85:11, as we have demonstrated in the 
 former pages of this work. 
 
 His was the usual fate of God's prophets hated, persecuted, and 
 destroyed by his enemies (Matt. 23 : 34; Acts 7 : 52); yet tenderly 
 and passionately beloved by all those who knew him and who be- 
 lieved him to be a servant of God. "When the murky clouds of 
 prejudice, and the blinding mists of falsehood and superstition shall 
 have passed away, the character and work of Joseph Smith will ap- 
 pear in honor, and millions will revere him as a martyr. 
 
 Joseph Smith, in his religious effort did not introduce "another 
 gospel," nor "preach another Christ;" but he simply preached "him 
 of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of 
 Nazareth;" and, under God, he restored the very gospel taught by 
 the Saints of the first century after Christ, in fulfillment of Rev. 14 : 
 6, 7. He organized the church after the primitive pattern, and set 
 in order the ordinances, rites, and ceremonies, as they were in the 
 apostolic age. He proclaimed the same gifts of the Holy Ghost as 
 were promised by Joel, 2 : 28, 29; by the Lord Jesus, Mark 16 : 17, 
 18; John 14: 26; 15:26; 16 : 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; by Peter, Acts 2 : 
 38, 39, and Paul, 1 Cor. 12 : 1-31; 14 : 1-40, etc. He prophesied 
 of men within and without the Church ; of events that pertained to 
 the Church in blessing and in cursing; of events to transpire in our 
 own nation and among the nations of the earth of wars, famines, 
 pestilences, plagues, earthquakes, tempests, destructions and desola- 
 tions; of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their 
 bounds; of the rapid increase of pride, of spiritual iniquity, and of 
 all kinds of crime and wrong doing. He prophesied of "great 
 changes in the times and in the seasons;" and of the great incoming 
 of satanic power, and the rapid spread and general prevalence of 
 demon-spirit power among the nations. He prophecied of the "temp- 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 193 
 
 tations and great tribulation" and apostasy of the Twelve ; and of B. 
 Young, that ''if he got the lead of the Church he would lead it to 
 hell." He prophecied of the rebellion of the Southern States; of 
 their calling on other nations for aid in defense ; of the slaves being 
 "marshaled and disciplined for war;" and of the Indians becoming 
 exceeding angry, of their marshaling themselves and vexing the Gen- 
 tiles with a sore vexation; and of the wars terminating "in the death 
 and misery of many souls." He also prophesied of his own death, 
 of the manner of it, and about the time it would occur, with many 
 other things we have not time nor space to mention. 
 
 He translated, between September 22, 1827, and July, 1829, a 
 period of nearly two years, the Book of Mormon, which abounds in 
 historical statements relative to the two great and enlightened na- 
 tions which once possessed North, and South, and Central America, 
 and which speaks of their civilization and industries, and of the lo- 
 cality of the great centers of their skilled and cultivated populations; 
 and these things, highly improbable when the young seer gave the 
 Book of Mormon to the world, are now, for the last fifty years, being 
 confirmed by scientific travelers, explorers, and antiquarians. 
 
 This same book abounds with prophecies touching Jew and Gen- 
 tile, churches and nations, priests and people; of Eoman Catholic, 
 Protestant, and Latter Day Saints of their corruptions, their evils 
 and their fate. It speaks of the rapid and favorable changes that 
 would take place in the physical condition of the land of Judea 
 soon after the coming forth of the Book of Mormon that the land 
 which was given by the oath of God to Abraham and to his seed 
 forever, should be turned into "a fruitful field." It speaks of the 
 rapid downfall of "the mother of harlots" soon after the coming 
 forth of "the book," an event which has been transpiring since 1848, 
 and in a striking manner since August 18th, 1870. It speaks also 
 of the work of the Lord beginning at that time for the restoration 
 of the literal seed of Israel to their own lands of promise, and of the 
 favor arid honor which the seed of Israel should receive at the hands 
 of the Gentiles. It speaks of the fact that the ancient civilizations 
 of America were built up by two separate and distinct peoples, one 
 succeeding the other in dominion a matter largely agitated by an- 
 tiquarians and travelers of late, and now generally admitted nations 
 differing widely in their language and their architecture. It tells 
 
194 The Divine Calling of 
 
 of the marvelous wealth of the land in gold and silver and all man- 
 ner of mineral products, a matter of which little comparatively was 
 known till long since the coming forth of the book. Its moral teach- 
 ings and influence are unsurpassed in purity, while its doctrines, 
 plainly expressed, and embraced in simple forms of speech, are the 
 doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Besides translating the Book of Mormon, Mr. Smith revised, cor- 
 rected, and translated the Old and New Testaments or portions of 
 them restoring much that had been lost from the text, and remov- 
 ing from the text many things of a hurtful tendency which had been 
 added by uninspired men. In this translation, in the first eleven 
 chapters, is furnished the easy answer to the question now agitating 
 the enlightened world, as to why, among all the leading ancient na- 
 tions, among them the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians, and many 
 of the Pagan nations of to-day, we find nearly all the leading relig- 
 ious ideas of the Old and New Testaments, though in a mutilated 
 and corrupted form. It informs us that the creation, the fall of 
 man, the scheme of redemption in all its details, the punishment of 
 the wicked, the rewards of the righteous, and the glory of the re- 
 deemed, were all revealed and taught to man from Adam down to 
 Noah, and from Noah to his posterity, thus reaching down to the 
 tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. We can readily see, 
 on reflection, how natural, how easy and certain it was that these 
 wonderful and important ideas should flow out with all the streams 
 of immigration from the Tower, to all parts of the world, and be per- 
 petuated under variously corrupted forms as they have existed in 
 the past, and as they exist to-day. And with this view of the mat- 
 ter, as furnished us by the Inspired Translation, (as also by the 
 Book of Mormon and the revelations of Joseph), we can see why it 
 is that Jesus Christ our Lord was, and is, and is to be, "the Desire of 
 all nations" (Hag. 2 : 7). Every movement of the wheels of time 
 every important change among the nations or among religionists, 
 every discovery in the heavens above or in the earth beneath, every 
 hidden thing uncovered and every secret thing revealed, the revela- 
 tions and miracle-wonders of "the spirits of devils," the revelations 
 and testimony of God's Spirit to man, all bear witness, directly or 
 remotely, to the important and cheering fact that God has spoken 
 from the heavens in these latter days, and caused his "truth to 
 suring out of the earth " and that he called and inspired the youth, 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 
 
 195 
 
 Joseph Smith, as his prophet, seer, revelator, and translator, whom 
 he honored in the founding and building up of his church and king- 
 dom, preparatory to the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and the ushering ir? of the age of millennial glory. And to these 
 facts tens of thousands of honest, rejoicing hearts can hear truthful 
 testimony. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and every effort 
 to disprove that fact only makes it the more apparent that he was. 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 197 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Adam Michael, an Angel 88 
 
 American Antiquities 143, 153, 158 
 
 Apocrypha 83 
 
 Apostasy of Latter Day Saints 171, 173 
 
 Baptism 47,48, 50, 51, 80, 81, 133, 144 
 
 " For the Dead 145 
 
 11 Object of 51,81 
 
 11 Of Ancient Date 48 
 
 " Mode of 50 
 
 Bible and Book of Mormon Compared 36, 128 
 
 Bible Defects in History 7, 27, 33, 86, 135 
 
 " Miracles vs. Those Now 141 
 
 " More Truth Than it Alone 54 
 
 Book of Lehi 77 
 
 Book of Mormon, Coming forth of 148, 150 
 
 " " Historical Errors Possible 6 
 
 u " Morals and Theology 171 
 
 " " Not Found by a Gentile 173 
 
 11 " Prophecies of 165, 16G 
 
 Christ's Appearing Before His Birth and After His Resurrection 18 
 
 " Birth, Place of 12 
 
 " " Time of... 8,134 
 
198 The Divine Calling of 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Christ's Crucifixion, Time of 7 
 
 " Genealogy 46 
 
 " Second Coming 17 
 
 Christian Doctrine Among the Heathen 49 
 
 " Name of 22 
 
 Christians Not All Priests 57 
 
 Church Organization 173, 191 
 
 Cities Sunk at Time of Crucifixion 163 
 
 Confusion of Languages 130 
 
 Consciousness after Death 106 
 
 Covenant Breaking 87 
 
 Criticism on Mormonism Invited 5 
 
 Destruction of Jaredites and Lamanites 129, 142 
 
 Doctrine of Christ 191 
 
 Egyptian Art in Peru and Mexico 159 
 
 " Reformed 138 
 
 Elias Gabriel 98 
 
 Endless Punishment 146 
 
 Errors in Book of Mormon History Possible 6 
 
 " in Bible 7, 27, 33,86, 135 
 
 Feet Washing 87 
 
 Finder of Book of Mormon not a Gentile 173 
 
 Fossil Remains 164 
 
 Generation, What Constitutes 74 
 
 Grammar, Joseph's 38 
 
 Inspiration, Degrees of 40 
 
 Inspired Translation 35, 41, 78, 84, 128, 134 
 
 Interpreters 30, 32, 34, 84, 94, 141, 142 
 
 Jaredites, Destruction of 129, 142 
 
 " Longevity of 127 
 
 Jaredite Kings 127 
 
 John the Baptist Resurrected 63 
 
 " Evangelist to Tarry 88 
 
 Joseph's Land 162 
 
 Joseph and Oliver's Ordination 52, 64 
 
 Joseph as a Translator 6, 94 
 
 Joseph's Ministry and Writings 191, 195 
 
Joseph Smith Defended. 199 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Joseph's Prophecies Fulfilled: Brighamite Apostasy 192 
 
 " " " Famines 184,185 
 
 " " " His Own Death 193 
 
 " " Persecution of Saints 185-188 
 
 " Pestilences and Scourges ..177, 178 
 
 " Slaves Marshaled for War 183 
 
 " " Spiritualism 189-191 
 
 " " " Wars, Foreign 182 
 
 " " u Indian 183,184 
 
 " " " War, Not Peace 177 
 
 " u u War of Rebellion 180,181 
 
 " " " Waves of the Sea 179 
 
 Laban Killed 131 
 
 Lamanites, Destruction of 129, 142 
 
 Land of Joseph 162 
 
 Longevity, Jaredite 127 
 
 " Nephite 144 
 
 "Mormon, 11 Word 82 
 
 Mulek, Son ot >f "Zedekiah 138 
 
 Nephi, a King 124 
 
 " Builds a Temple 124 
 
 Nephites, Destruction of 129, 142 
 
 Longevity 144 
 
 Numbers of 125, 126 
 
 " Perpetuated 132 
 
 New Jerusalem 74 
 
 Oliver to Translate 137 
 
 Ordination, Joseph and Oliver 52, 64 
 
 Organization of the Church 173, 191, 
 
 Papacy, Fall of, Foretold 165 
 
 People of Zarahemla 24 
 
 Plagiarism, Charge of, Refuted 20, 96 
 
 Plates of Book of Mormon 23, 26, 28, 66, 71, 99, 137, 142, 152 
 
 Polygamy Not Joseph's Doctrine 175 
 
 Pre-existence 41 
 
 Priesthood, Aaronic 16, 52, 53, 59, 63 
 
 " Melchisedek . . 13, 55, 59, 61, 136 
 
200 The Divine Calling of 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Printing House 82 
 
 Prophecies of Book of Mormon '. 165, 166 
 
 Joseph 1*17-193 
 
 "Relics 11 1531-55 
 
 . Reformed Egyptian 138 
 
 Second Coming of Christ 17 
 
 "Seventy Weeks 11 of Daniel 9 
 
 Soul of Man 41, 93, 106 
 
 Spiritual Creation 41 
 
 Gifts 192 
 
 Stone, Hiram Page 135 
 
 Testimony of Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris 70, 99, 135, 137 
 
 Three and Eight Witnesses 99 
 
 Three Glories 90, 147 
 
 " Nephites 23 
 
 Tithes 15 
 
 Translator, Joseph as a 6, 94 
 
 Responsible Only for the Faithfulness of his Work ... 6 
 
 Truth, All, Harmonious 176 
 
 Urim and Thummim 94 
 
 Witnesses, Three and Eight 99 
 
 Zarahemlaites 25 
 
 Zion not Removed 132 
 
 Printed at Herald Office, Piano, Kendall County, Illinois. 
 
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