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 BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 <> 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
MORMONISM 
 
 AND 
 
 THE MORMONS: 
 
 A 
 HISTORICAL VIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RISE AND PROGRESS 
 
 OF THE SECT SELF-STYLED 
 
 LATTER-DAY SAINTS. 
 V^v I sK 
 
 BY DANIEL -P. KIDDER. 
 
 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the LATTER TIMES 
 some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, 
 and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their 
 conscience seared with a hot iron. 1 TIMOTHY iv, 1-3. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 
 
 1856. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by 
 G. LANE & P. P. SANDFORD, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
 Court of the Southern District of New-York. 
 
BANCF"- 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IT is due to the writer, no less than to the 
 reader, that the circumstances which have call- 
 ed forth the present volume should be stated. 
 On the 13th of Nov., 1840, I was at a place 
 called Fulton City, on the upper waters of the 
 Mississippi river, waiting for the descent of 
 some steamboat in which I might take passage. 
 About day-break the next morning a boat was 
 hailed, and I went on board. The bustle of 
 embarkation was hardly over before I learned 
 that the boat was owned and principally man- 
 ned by Mormons, being called Nauvoo. It 
 moreover carried Joseph Smith, Jr., in the cha- 
 racter of passenger ; although hi reality he was 
 chief director of the whole concern. It ap- 
 peared that among the multitudes drawn toge- 
 ther at the Mormon settlements in the west, 
 were a number of individuals more or less ac- 
 quainted with navigation. In order that their 
 talent might not be unemployed, Smith and his 
 coadjutors had purchased a steamboat, and com- 
 menced running it on the river for purposes of 
 speculation, and also doubtless with a view to 
 accommodating their colony a* Nauvoo. On 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 board this boat was a small, but promiscuous 
 company of passengers, most of whom, having 
 embarked without a knowledge of the peculiar 
 company into which they would be introduced, 
 soon found themselves annoyed by a system of 
 surveillance that was maintained over them. 
 If in their conversation any remarks were 
 dropped indicative of doubt concerning the 
 truth of Mormonism, or of want of respect to- 
 ward the leaders of that sect, they were almost 
 sure to be reported to Smith. He, as the leader 
 and champion, took it upon himself to chastise 
 with severe words any who had thus offended. 
 He did not explain the manner of his informa- 
 tion respecting the expressions of those with 
 whom he had not conversed ; but asserted him- 
 self to be " a discerner of spirits," and affected 
 to disclose what was in the heart of others. In 
 short, his repeated treatment of those who did 
 not acknowledge his pretensions, exemplified 
 an assertion of his own, viz., that in order to 
 get through the world to the best advantage, he 
 had learned to browbeat his way. I had at 
 that time but little acquaintance with the doc- 
 trines or peculiarities of Mormonism, and there- 
 fore felt bound to avail myself of all the facili- 
 ties for gaining information, in the midst of 
 which I was so unexpectedly thrown. 
 
 I will neither attempt to detail what passed 
 in the course of the two or three days I spent 
 in company with the individual referred to, nor 
 inquire what agency his prophetic knowledge 
 had in running the boat out of her proper course, 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 and driving her upon rocks, at a moment when 
 he himself was assisting the pilot at the wheel! 
 It was by the last-mentioned circumstance that 
 my passage on the Nauvoo was interrupted, and 
 the poor boat left fast upon the upper rapids of 
 the Mississippi, until a rise of water took her off. 
 
 Perhaps this untoward event was in judg- 
 ment upon the prophet for violating the com- 
 mand of one of his own revelations, which 
 originating, as it would appear, in his having 
 been sadly frightened in a passage on one of 
 the lakes, forbade himself and his elders ever 
 exposing their precious lives to the perils of 
 navigation otherwise than by canal ! 
 
 On leaving the Nauvoo for another boat, 
 which came to our relief, several passengers 
 of the former requested me to draw up a state- 
 ment of what we had witnessed for publication 
 at St. Louis. This I declined, tmt promised at 
 a future day to prepare an article for the press, 
 in which, without setting down aught on the 
 score of the personal treatment we had received, 
 I would endeavour to place the subject of Mor- 
 monism in its true light. Such an article was 
 prepared for publication in the Methodist Quar* 
 terly Review. It however being rather too long 
 for an insertion in that periodical, the editor and 
 others recommended its revision with a view to 
 publication in its present form. 
 
 The works adopted as a basis of the review 
 were, 
 
 I. The Book of Mormon, translated by Jo- 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 seph Smith, Jr., third edition, carefully revised 
 by the Translator. Nauvoo, Illinois, stereo- 
 typed. Cincinnati, 1840. 
 
 II. Doctrine and Covenants of the Church 
 of the Latter-day Saints ; carefully selected and 
 compiled from the Revelations of God, by Jo- 
 seph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rig- 
 don, Frederick G. Williams, (Presiding Elders 
 of said Church,) Proprietors, Kirtland, Ohio, 
 1835. 
 
 III. History of Mormonism ; or a faithful Ac- 
 count of that singular Imposition and Delusion, 
 with Sketches of the Characters of its Propa- 
 gators, to which are added, Inquiries into the 
 probability that the Historical Part of the Golden 
 Bible was written by one Solomon Spalding, 
 and by him intended to have been published as 
 a Romance. By E. D. Howe. Painesville, 
 Ohio, 1840. 
 
 IV. A brief History of the Church of Christ 
 of Latter-day Saints, (commonly called Mor- 
 mons,) including an Account of their Doctrines 
 and Discipline, with Reasons of the Author for 
 leaving the Church. By John Corrill, a Mem- 
 ber of the Legislature of Missouri. St. Louis, 
 1839. 
 
 These books, not having been published in 
 the Atlantic states, have been beyond the reach 
 of many into whose hands this volume will fall. 
 
 From them, as containing authentic data upon 
 several branches of the subject, extracts have 
 been freely made, while various other sources 
 of information have been resorted to, including 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 nearly all the official Mormon publications, a 
 volume of the Millennial Star, published in 
 England, and the Times and Seasons, now 
 edited by Smith, at Nauvoo. 
 
 A want of materials has not been the diffi- 
 culty in the present undertaking : but to select 
 such as would repay the reader for examination 
 was a task which it would perhaps be vain in 
 me to suppose accomplished. In refuting pre- 
 tensions intrinsically absurd, argument itself 
 becomes supererogation. To invest with inte- 
 rest a subject which of itself is low and grovel- 
 ling, can only be done by elevating that subject 
 to a rank it never deserved. These considera- 
 tions have hitherto induced the comparative 
 silence of the press upon the proper merits of 
 Mormonism. The delusion in the mean time 
 has spread, until its growing evils have won 
 for it a consequence to which the Christian and 
 the philanthropist can be no longer indifferent. 
 Smith already claims to have more than one 
 hundred thousand followers. Such claim is 
 doubtless made for effect, and is grossly exag- 
 gerated. Nevertheless, from an examination 
 of the various letters and reports published in 
 his official paper, I am forced to the conclusion 
 that the Mormons actually number at the pre- 
 sent time about EIGHTEEN THOUSAND. They 
 are distributed nearly as follows : Nauvoo and 
 vicinity, eight thousand five hundred. Other 
 parts of the United States and Canada, three 
 thousand. Great Britain, six thousand five 
 hundred. 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 While many have feared lest any refutation 
 of their principles should only give them in- 
 creased notoriety, and while the materiel of a 
 complete and convincing exposure of their er- 
 rors and schemes has been accessible to but 
 few, they have by no means been indifferent to 
 the power of the press as an auxiliary to their 
 efforts. They have published several newspa- 
 pers in the United States, and one in England. 
 A third and stereotype edition of the Book of 
 Mormon has been issued in this country. The 
 same work has been republished in England, 
 together with a hymn-book, and various circu- 
 lars and pamphlets setting forth their dogmas. 
 A book has been prepared to operate in their 
 behalf in Germany. One of their elders was, 
 by the last intelligence, proceeding across the 
 continent of Europe on a mission to Palestine. 
 A newly ordained teacher had sailed for South 
 Australasia, and another in the army ordered 
 to India. 
 
 Let any one reflect upon the ruinous nature 
 of this delusion, and on the spiritual blindness 
 and misery it will inevitably entail upon its 
 successive victims, and answer if American 
 Christians have not been criminally indifferent 
 to their duty both of informing themselves and 
 the world of its true character. Ignorantly it 
 has been received by thousands. The leaven 
 of corruption has begun to work far and near, 
 and who can tell how many souls will be con- 
 taminated, or how many years shall pass, ere it 
 will be thoroughly purged out ! 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 In the facts which this work exhibits, the 
 reader will find the spread of Mormonism ac- 
 counted for on natural principles, altogether 
 independent of its claim to the divine sanc- 
 tion. It will be understood that our only oppo- 
 sition to Mormonism is on the ground of its 
 being a religious imposture. 
 
 That its adherents are entitled to all the 
 rights and immunities of freemen we strenuous- 
 ly maintain. That they have been wickedly 
 persecuted is beyond a doubt ; and that this 
 circumstance has been a prime cause of their 
 recent increase is equally clear. Finding the 
 plea of persecution to be their strong hold, it is 
 not wonderful that they should resort to it when 
 hard pressed for arguments. Hence it appears 
 to have become their habit to meet whatever is 
 said respecting the origin of their sect with a 
 flat, but unsatisfactory denial. This undoubt- 
 edly is their shortest course, and that which is 
 least hazardous of self-contradiction. How 
 much weight such denial is entitled to, may be 
 seen in its conflicting with the plainest certified 
 and circumstantial evidence. 
 
 To prevent this retreat from investigation 
 under cover of a denial to well-authenticated 
 facts, I have been obliged to preserve in bor- 
 rowed language many statements that could 
 have been made at once more brief, and more 
 agreeable to the reader in another dress. 
 
 The present work was not undertaken from 
 a desire to interest the curious, or to edify the 
 learned. To place within the reach of all who 
 
10 PREFACE 
 
 might desire them, the means both of under- 
 standing and of exposing the schemes of Mor- 
 monism, and the fanaticism of the Mormons, 
 was the leading design of the writer. Utility, 
 correspondent to this object, has been preferred 
 in all cases to embellishment. I have not been 
 insensible to the vast field for speculation which 
 is opened in the facts here narrated, especially 
 when they are viewed in comparison with the 
 fanaticisms of former ages. This I cheerfully 
 leave to others. To exhibit facts, not theories, 
 has been my simple aim. 
 
 The general style of a review has been pre- 
 served. To use the utmost fairness has been 
 my aim. Wherein I have failed I hope will be 
 shown. 
 
 That these pages may be instrumental in 
 checking the progress both of fanaticism and 
 of infidelity, is the sincere desire with which 
 they are now submitted to the public. 
 
 Some delays in the issue of this work, not at 
 first anticipated, have on the whole perhaps 
 been beneficial, as they have enabled the writer 
 to imbody, in an appendix, the more recent facts 
 that have come to his knowledge, up to the very 
 date of publication. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Prevalence of imposture Religion its favourite dis- 
 guise Character of Mormonism Causes of its spread 
 Extent of the delusion It furnishes capital for infidelity 
 Design of this work Wickedness and folly of persecu- 
 tion The true remedy Notice of Howe's History 
 Corrill's Golden Bible Topics of inquiry. 
 
 THERE are no limits to imposture. It has 
 flourished in all ages and in every nation. 
 Sometimes its very simplicity has won for it 
 compassion ; at others its hideous features have 
 frightened men into compliance with its man- 
 dates. Here it has moulded the dies of the 
 counterfeiter, and there it has woven the 
 gloomy mask of superstition. It is capable of 
 wearing, with equal grace, the fantastic garb 
 of professed jugglery, and the grave insignia 
 of the priesthood. Now it conjures up the con- 
 trivances of a petty bargain, and anon it plots 
 the scheme of a political intrigue. It prepares 
 the potion of the empyric, and furnishes testi- 
 mony to its marvellous effects. It lurks in the 
 courts and cabinets of kings, and is itself en- 
 throned in the tent of the wandering gipsy. 
 In short, its history in different places and in 
 
12 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 successive periods illustrates a metempsychosis 
 more subtle than the Brahmin ever conceived ; 
 while its ubiquity has only been second to that 
 of the spirit of evil in the heart of man. But 
 of all the protean shapes it assumes, sanctity is 
 its favourite. Of all the garbs in which it has 
 ever been arrayed, none other so completely 
 hides its deformity as that of religion. 
 
 It is no gratifying reflection that this enlight- 
 ened age, and this intelligent country, have 
 witnessed the rise and spread of one of the most 
 absurd and pitiful delusions of which there is 
 any account. Every one has heard of the 
 " Golden Bible," and of the Mormon prophet. 
 While the very pretensions of either have car- 
 ried self-refutation to the minds of many, their 
 very extravagance has presented a charm to 
 others. 
 
 Associated on the one hand with a moneyed 
 speculation, and on the other with some pecu- 
 liar notions of religion which had been before 
 assiduously propagated, and which were already 
 popular in some parts of the country, these ex- 
 travagances did not fail to attract admirers. 
 Minds already settled in the principles of truth, 
 or expanding in the higher pursuits of know- 
 ledge, found it an unwelcome task to investi- 
 gate gravely such a subject, and little appre- 
 hended what would grow out of it. Thus 
 neglected by some, and despised by others, 
 Mormonism grew up by degrees, shaping its 
 character to suit the times. It first spread 
 among those who were sufficiently weak to be 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 13 
 
 gulled into a belief of its absurdities. It soon 
 had an equal currency among those who were 
 either so unfortunate or so unprincipled as to 
 find it for their interest to follow its leaders, or 
 join its abettors. 
 
 Persecution at length arose. Sympathy 
 added to the number of the persecuted. The 
 claims of their cause in the light of natural and 
 civil justice induced many to think there might 
 be similar grounds for their pretensions to reli- 
 gious orthodoxy. 
 
 From these, and other causes that will be 
 hereafter indicated, we find that after the lapse 
 of ten years from its origin, the devotees of 
 Mormonism are not numbered by scores or by 
 hundreds, but by thousands. It is still on the 
 increase. Its emissaries, with a zeal worthy of 
 a better cause, have not been content with go- 
 ing through the length and breadth of our own 
 land, they have crossed the Atlantic, and from 
 the subjects furnished by certain classes of so- 
 ciety in the old world, they are pouring in their 
 proselytes among us by the ship load. 
 
 Gladly would we have been excused from 
 the task of examining the claims of Mormon- 
 ism and the Mormons, did not a regard for truth, 
 together with the dictates of conscience, urge 
 us to undertake it. 
 
 Justice to the world and to posterity calls 
 upon Americans of the present generation to 
 record facts connected with this subject which 
 are now and here notorious, but which perhaps 
 are unknown abroad, and which ere long might 
 
14 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 become questionable by confused tradition, and 
 eventually lost in the oblivion of time. Con- 
 science, moreover, adjures us to repel the pre- 
 sumption by which the evidences of Mormonism 
 have been asserted to compare with those of 
 Christianity. On the ground of this presump- 
 tion, the Mormon teacher already assumes to 
 place himself on a level with the evangelists and 
 the apostles in the propagation of his sect. The 
 avowed infidel wields the same presumption 
 with an equal zest in his attempted subversion 
 of all revealed truth. There are strong grounds 
 of probability that a disposition to sport with 
 the credulity of mankind, and thus to make 
 capital for skepticism, not only laid the corner- 
 stone of Mormonism, but has planned and car- 
 ried up the whole superstructure. Certain it 
 is, that no scheme could have been devised for 
 that purpose with the hope of producing more 
 fruitful results. 
 
 In the progress of the present work we shall 
 be obliged to unmask deception, and to place 
 before the world the principal agents of this 
 imposture in their true and attested character ; 
 yet we hope to do it in fairness and candour, so 
 that could we gain the attention of any individ- 
 uals exposed or already subject to the mental 
 and spiritual contamination of which there have 
 been such unhappy examples, we trust they 
 may here find an antidote. At the same time, 
 appealing to reason, to justice, and to the rights 
 of man, we hope to rebuke that spirit of anar- 
 chy and intolerance which thinks to smother 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 15 
 
 investigation on any subject, or to crush down 
 even error itself, by means of oppression. 
 
 The Mormon, however mistaken in any of 
 his views, is none the less a citizen. While 
 he therefore, in common with all others, is 
 amenable to the laws of his country, he deserves 
 equally with them to be maintained in the ex- 
 ercise of all his rights, by the supremacy of the 
 laws, and the integrity of that country. Nor 
 can those rights be infringed upon with impu- 
 nity. Aggression is sure to beget retaliation ; 
 and when once the restraints of law have been 
 broken over, especially by a community, where 
 can we expect the torrent of evil consequences 
 to be stayed ? The aggressor of to-day may be 
 the victim to-morrow, and thus onward till the 
 nation is plunged in a civil war of extermination. 
 While then we have much to lay to the charge 
 of those whom we believe to be the authors of 
 a scheme of vile deception, we by no means 
 hold guiltless those who, by injudicious and 
 illegal opposition, have done more to advance 
 that very scheme, and multiply its deluded vic- 
 tims, than could ever have been done by its 
 original contrivers, had they been left to them- 
 selves. 
 
 Nor is it merely in view of the past that we 
 record these sentiments. The numbers attach- 
 ed to the Mormon community, and their pecu- 
 liar policy toward those without its pale, give 
 cause of apprehension for the future. It is ex- 
 ceedingly important, therefore, that the inhabit- 
 ants of this country, and of our great west 
 
16 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS 
 
 especially, should fully understand this subject, 
 and their duty with respect to it. Patience 
 under any aggravations will be the mark of dis- 
 cretion. Truth and reason are the only wea- 
 pons they can use with safety either in attack 
 or defence. Let knowledge and piety be dif- 
 fused let the pure principles of the gospel be 
 disseminated and practised, and there will be 
 nothing to fear. But in the absence of these, 
 there will be no barrier against the giant strides 
 of fanaticism, and no restraint upon the extra- 
 vagances of human passion and folly. 
 
 A strong presumption in favour of the truth 
 of Scripture history arises from the fact that 
 when it was published to the world no part of 
 it was contradicted. Although numbers refused 
 their assent to the doctrines of Christianity, and 
 were interested to oppose them, yet there has 
 come down to us no contemporaneous denial of 
 its premises, no exposition of the deceptions on 
 which it was based, if such existed. 
 
 Such a presumption in favour of Mormonism 
 is wholly destroyed by the existence of two of 
 the works, whose titles are given in the pre- 
 face. Howe's History of Mormonism, on ex- 
 amination, appears to be what its title indicates, 
 " a faithful account of that singular imposition 
 and delusion" during the first years of its rise 
 Its author did not content himself with record- 
 ing facts merely upon the strength of publii 
 notoriety, but in every practicable instance hi 
 has collected the concurrent and certified tes 
 timony of living witnesses. He has imbodiei 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 17 
 
 the depositions and certificates of a large num- 
 ber of respectable citizens in western New- 
 York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, respecting the 
 pretended discovery, translation, and publica- 
 tion of the Book of Mormon, and also respect- 
 ing the character of those engaged in the affair. 
 Whatever may have been the success of this 
 work on its publication, the author will not fail 
 to realize a rich reward in the approbation of 
 all who become acquainted with his industry, 
 and especially in the gratitude of coming gene- 
 rations, should they be so unfortunate as to need 
 demonstrative arguments in refutation of the 
 system of imposture, whose origin he has de- 
 lineated. 
 
 CorrilPs " Brief History" comes from an- 
 other, and a very different source. Its author 
 was for several years a member and an elder 
 of the Mormon church. He explains the pro- 
 cess by which he became such, and the reasons 
 why he continued so long an adherent to prac- 
 tices which his good sense and better feelings 
 condemned. He also testifies to the incredible 
 inconsistencies which at length drove him to 
 the extremity of casting off his allegiance to a 
 false prophet. His work is by no means full 
 and explicit, and insomuch fails to be satisfac- 
 tory. Nevertheless, in several respects, it is 
 valuable. It was manifestly an object for the 
 author, in justification of himself, to state the 
 very best arguments that exist in favour of Mor- 
 monism such as had been successful with 
 himself, and with those among whom he had 
 2 
 
18 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 been able to propagate the system ; and we are 
 disposed to pardon the generality of his re 
 marks, and the reserve in his statements, when 
 we consider that to have divulged more would 
 have seemed like bearing witness against him- 
 self, and glorying in his own shame. Query. 
 Why were not some of the elders of Israel, or 
 of the apostolic church, at least as honest as 
 this man, so that if, in the course of long and 
 painful experience, they became convinced of 
 their delusion, they would, like him, have con- 
 fessed it, arid thus set up a waymark for their 
 countrymen and their children in coming days ? 
 
 These works correspond in all the important 
 particulars which they both contain, and from 
 them will be abridged the facts which imme- 
 diately follow. 
 
 In the year 1827 it began to be rumoured 
 that a " Golden Bible," or, in other words, a 
 new revelation, recorded upon plates of gold, 
 had been found in Ontario county, New-York, 
 by one Joseph Smith. 
 
 In the year 1830 a publication made its ap- 
 pearance, entitled, " The Book of Mormon," 
 purporting to be a translation of said record. 
 Upon the divine authenticity of that book, upon 
 its asserted miraculous preservation " in the 
 bowels of the earth," and upon its equally mi- 
 raculous discovery and translation, are predi- 
 cated both the truth and the consistency of the 
 whole system we are now discussing. It con- 
 sequently becomes us to collect whatever light 
 may be thrown upon the origin of so unusual a 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 19 
 
 publication. Upon the Book of Mormon rests 
 the whole fabric of Mormonism : let us exa- 
 mine whether it be not a sandy foundation. 
 That was the starting point of the whole pro- 
 phetic race : let us see whether it is from 
 above or below. That is the fountain which has 
 sent forth the whole flood of blessings or of 
 curses attributable to this system : let us prove 
 whether its waters are sweet or bitter. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Character of inspired men Vicious habits of the Smiths 
 Cupidity of Harris A chance lie Contradictions in 
 maintaining it A speculation contrived Money-digging 
 on the Susquehannah A runaway match Shocking des- 
 titution of moral principle. 
 
 WE will indulge for a moment the hypothe- 
 sis that for wise and worthy reasons God did 
 see proper then and there to make a revelation 
 to the human family. It next becomes import- 
 ant to inquire who are the chosen vessels by 
 whom the Almighty condescended to dispense 
 such grace to the world. From what we know 
 of the former-day saints and prophets, men " of 
 whom the world was not worthy," we should 
 expect if there were any righteous upon earth 
 any full of faith and of the Holy Ghost any who 
 were watching with prayers and tears for the 
 coming of the Lord, that the election would be 
 made from among them. If this could not be 
 so s we should at least look for the chosen ones 
 
20 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 among the members of moral and respectable 
 society. Both these expectations are doomed 
 to disappointment by the facts in the case 
 Here is the testimony. 
 
 "Manchester, Ontario Co., N. F., Nov. 3, 1833. 
 " We, the undersigned, being personally ac 
 quainted with the family of Joseph Smith, Sen. 
 with whom the Gold Bible, so called, origi 
 nated, state that they were not only a lazy, in- 
 dolent set of men, but also intemperate, and 
 their word was not to be depended upon, and 
 that we are truly glad to dispense with their 
 society. 
 
 PARDON BUTTS, WARDEN A. REED, 
 
 HIRAM SMITH, ALFRED STAFFORD, 
 
 JAMES GEE, ABEL CHASE, 
 
 A. H. WENTWORTH, MOSES C. SMITH, 
 JOSEPH FISH, HORACE N. BARNES, 
 
 SYLVESTER WORDEN." 
 
 " Palmyra, Dec. 4, 1833. 
 
 " We, the undersigned, have been acquainted with 
 the Smith family for a number of years, while they 
 resided near this place, and we have no hesitation in 
 saying, that we consider them destitute of that moral 
 character which ought to entitle them to the confi- 
 dence of any community. They were particularly 
 famous for visionary projects, spent much of their 
 time in digging for money which they pretended was 
 hid in the earth ; and, to this day, large excavations 
 may be seen in the earth, not far from their resi- 
 dence, where they used to spend their time in dig- 
 ging for hidden treasures. Joseph Smith, Senior, and 
 his son Joseph, were, in particular, considered en- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 21 
 
 tirely destitute of moral character, and addicted to 
 vicious habits. 
 
 " Martin Harris was a man who had acquired a 
 handsome property, and in matters of business his 
 word was considered good ; but on moral and reli- 
 gious subjects he was perfectly visionary sometimes 
 advocating one sentiment, and sometimes another. 
 And in reference to all with whom we were acquaint- 
 ed, that have embraced Mormonism from this neigh- 
 bourhood, we are compelled to say, were very vision- 
 ary, and most of them destitute of moral character, 
 and without influence in this community ; and this 
 may account why they were permitted to go on with 
 their impositions undisturbed. It was not supposed 
 that any of them were possessed of sufficient charac- 
 ter or influence to make any one believe their book 
 or their sentiments, and we know not of a single in- 
 dividual in this vicinity that puts the least confidence 
 in their pretended revelations. 
 
 " George N. Williams, Clark Robinson, Lemuel 
 Durfee, E. S. Townsend, Henry P. Alger, C. E. 
 Thayer, G. W. Anderson, H. P. Thayer, L. Wil- 
 liams, George W. Crosby, Levi, Thayer, R. S. Wil- 
 liams, P. Sexton, M. Butterfield, S. P. Seymour, 
 D. S. Jackways, John Hurlbut, H. Linnell, James 
 Jenner, S. Ackley, Josiah Rice, Jesse Townsend, 
 Richard D. Clark, Th. P. Baldwin, John Sothing- 
 ton, Durfey Chase, Wells Anderson, N. H. Beck- 
 with, Philo Durfee, Giles S. Ely, R. W. Smith, 
 Pelatiah West, Henry Jessup, Linus North, Thomas 
 Rogers, 2d, Wm. Parke, Josiah Francis, Amos Hoi- 
 lister, G. A. Hathaway, David G. Ely, H. K. Je- 
 rome, G. Beckwith, Lewis Foster, Hiram Payne, 
 P. Grandin, L. Hurd, Joel Thayer, E. D. Robinson, 
 Asahel Millard, A. Ensworth, Israel F. Chilson." 
 
 After these statements, certified by sixty-two 
 men of character and standing, who may be 
 
22 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 considered as representing the entire commu- 
 nity in which this affair took its origin, we may 
 safely regard the character of the persons whc 
 " got up" the Book of Mormon as established ; 
 at least up to the period when that work was 
 published. 
 
 Martin Harris, above and hereafter referred 
 to, was second in importance only to Smith. 
 Indeed, had it not been for his money, which 
 he supposed profitably invested, there is no 
 probability that the miraculous book would have 
 ever been published. Thus the discovery and 
 translation of the record would have been 
 equally vain. 
 
 It will now be curious to observe several 
 particulars which are vouched for by the regu- 
 larly-sworn affidavits of different individuals. 
 
 1. When Joseph Smith, Jr., first pretended 
 to have found a Golden Bible, it was merely in 
 jest, not expecting that any would be simple 
 enough to .believe him. Peter Ingersol, his 
 neighbour and confidential friend, thus testi- 
 fies : 
 
 " One day he came and greeted me with a joyful 
 countenance. Upon asking the cause of his unusual 
 happiness, he replied in the following language : 
 ' As I was passing, yesterday, across the woods, after 
 a neavy shower of rain, I found, in a hollow, some 
 beautiful white sand, that had been washed up by the 
 water. I took off my frock, and tied up several 
 quarts of it, and then went home. On my entering 
 the house, I found the family at the table eating din- 
 ner. They were all anxious to know the contents 
 of my frock. At that moment I happened to think 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 23 
 
 of what I had heard about a history found in Canada, 
 called the Golden Bible ; so I very gravely told them 
 it was the Golden Bible. To my surprise, they were 
 credulous enough to believe what I said. Accord- 
 ingly, I told them that I had received a command- 
 ment to let no one see it, for, says I, no man can see 
 it with the naked eye and live. However, I offered 
 to take out the book and show it to them, but they 
 refused to see it, and left the room.' ' Now,' said 
 Jo, ' I have got the damned fools fixed, and will car- 
 ry out the fun.' Notwithstanding, he told me he had 
 no such book, and believed there never was any such 
 book, yet he told me that he actually went to Willard 
 Chase, to get him to make a chest, in which he might 
 deposit his Golden Bible. But, as Chase would not 
 do it, he made a box himself, of clap-boards, and put 
 it into a pillow-case, and allowed people only to lift 
 it, and feel of it through the case." 
 
 2. As is usual, in such cases of fibbing, his 
 stories were contradictory. Here is part of the 
 testimony of Willard Chase. 
 
 " In the fore part of September, (I believe,) 1827, 
 the prophet requested me to make him a chest, in- 
 forming me that he designed to move back to Penn- 
 sylvania, and expecting soon to get his gold book, he 
 wanted a chest to lock it up, giving me to understand, 
 at the same time, that if I would make the chest he 
 would give me a share in the book. I told him my 
 business was such that I could not make it : but if 
 he would bring the book to me, I would lock it up 
 for him. He said that would not do, as he was com- 
 manded to keep it two years, without letting it come 
 to the eye of any one but himself. This command- 
 ment, however, he did not keep, for in less than two 
 years twelve men said they had seen it. I told 
 him to get it and convince me of its existence, and I 
 
24 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 would make him a chest ; but he said that would not 
 do, as he must have a chest to lock the book in, as 
 soon as he took it out of the ground. I saw him a 
 few days after, when he told me that I must make 
 the chest. I told him plainly that I could not, upon 
 which he told me that I could have no share in the 
 book. 
 
 " A few weeks after this conversation, he came to 
 my house, and related the following story : That 
 on the 22d of September he arose early in the morn- 
 ing, and took a one-horse wagon, of some one that 
 had stayed over night at their house, without leave 
 or license ; and, together with his wife, repaired to 
 the hill which contained the book. He left his wife 
 in the wagon, by the road, and went alone to the hill, 
 a distance of thirty or forty rods from the road ; he 
 said he then took the book out of the ground and hid 
 it in a tree-top, and returned home. He then went 
 to the town of Macedon to work. After about ten 
 days, it having been suggested that some one had got 
 his book, his wife went after him ; he hired a horse, 
 and went home in the afternoon, stayed long enough to 
 drink one cup of tea, and then went for his book, 
 found it safe, took off his frock, wrapt it round it, 
 put it under his arm, and run all the way home, a dis- 
 tance of about two miles. He said he should think 
 it would weigh sixty pounds, and was sure it would 
 weigh forty. On his return home he said he was 
 attacked by two men in the woods, and knocked them 
 both down and made his escape, arrived safe, and se- 
 cured his treasure. He then observed that if it had 
 not been for that stone, (which he acknowledged be- 
 longed to me,) he would not have obtained the 
 book. A few days afterward, he told one of my 
 neighbours that he had not got any such book, and 
 never had; but that he had told the story to de- 
 ceive the d d fool, (meaning me.) to get him to 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 25 
 
 make a chest. His neighbours having become dis- 
 gusted with his foolish stories, he determined to go 
 back to Pennsylvania, to avoid what he called perse- 
 cution. His wits were now put to the task to con- 
 trive how he should get money to bear his expenses. 
 He met one day, in the streets of Palmyra, a rich 
 man, whose name was Martin Harris, and addressed 
 him thus: 'I have a commandment from God to 
 ask the first man I meet in the street to give me fifty 
 dollars, to assist me in doing the work of the Lord, 
 by translating the Golden Bible.' Martin being na- 
 turally a credulous man, handed Joseph the money. 
 In the spring, 1829, Harris went to Pennsylvania, 
 and on his return to Palmyra, reported that the pro- 
 phet's wife, in the month of June following, would be 
 delivered of a male child that would be able, when 
 two years old, to translate the Gold Bible. Then, 
 said he, you will see Joseph Smith, Jr., walking 
 through the streets of Palmyra, with a Gold Bible 
 under his arm, and having a gold breast-plate on, and 
 a gold sword hanging by his side. This, however, 
 by the by, proved false. 
 
 " In April, 1830, I again asked Hiram for the 
 stone which he had borrowed of me ; he told me I 
 should not have it, for Joseph made use of it in trans- 
 lating his Bible. I reminded him of his promise, and 
 that he had pledged his honour to return it ; but he 
 gave me the lie, saying the stone was not mine, nor 
 never was. Harris at the same time flew in a rage, 
 took me by the collar and said I was a liar, and he 
 could prove it by twelve witnesses. After I had 
 extricated myself from him, Hiram, in a rage, shook 
 his fist at me, and abused me in a most scandalous 
 manner. Thus I might proceed in describing the 
 character of these high priests, by relating one trans- 
 action after another, which would all tend to set them 
 in the same light in which they were regarded by 
 
26 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 their neighbours, viz., as a pest to society. I have 
 regarded Joseph Smith, Jr., from the time I first be- 
 came acquainted with him until he left this part of the 
 country, as a man whose word could not be depend- 
 ed upon. Hiram's character was but very little bet- 
 ter. What I have said respecting the characters of 
 these men will apply to the whole family. What I 
 have stated relative to the characters of these indi- 
 viduals, thus far, is wholly true. After they became 
 thorough Mormons, their conduct was more disgrace- 
 ful than before. They did not hesitate to abuse any 
 man, no matter how fair his character, provided he 
 did not embrace their creed. Their tongues were 
 continually employed in spreading scandal and abuse. 
 Although they left this part of the country without 
 paying their just debts, yet their creditors were glad 
 to have them do so, rather than to have them stay, 
 disturbing the neighbourhood. 
 
 " Signed, WILLARD CHASE. 
 
 " On the llth of December, 1833, the said Wil- 
 lard Chase appeared before me, and made oath that 
 the foregoing statement, to which he has subscribed 
 his name, is true, according to his best recollection 
 and belief. FREDERICK SMITH, 
 
 " Justice of the peace of Wayne county. 
 
 11 Parley Chase affirms as follows : * I was ac- 
 quainted with the family of Joseph Smith, Sen., both 
 before and since they became Mormons, and feel free 
 to state that not one of the male members of the 
 Smith family were entitled to any credit whatsoever. 
 They were lazy, intemperate, and worthless men, 
 very much addicted to lying. In this they frequently 
 boasted of their skill. Digging for money was their 
 principal employment. In regard to their Gold Bible 
 speculation, they scarcely ever told two stories alike." 
 
 3 Finding some persons credulous enough 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 27 
 
 to receive his tales for truth, a moneyed specula- 
 tion was planned. The following is a part of 
 Henry Harris's affidavit : 
 
 " Joseph Smith, Jr., the pretended prophet, used 
 to pretend to tell fortunes ; he had a stone which he 
 used to put in his hat, by means of which he pro- 
 fessed to tell people's fortunes. 
 
 " Joseph Smith, Jr., Martin Harris, and others, 
 used to meet together in private, a while before the 
 gold plates were found, and were familiarly known 
 by the name of the * Gold Bible Company.' They 
 were regarded by the community in which they lived 
 as a lying and indolent set of men, and no confidence 
 could be placed in them. 
 
 " The character of Joseph Smith, Jr., for truth and 
 veracity was such, that I would not believe him un- 
 der oath. I was once on a jury before a justice's 
 court, and the jury could not, and did not believe his 
 testimony to be true. After he pretended to have 
 found the gold plates, I had a conversation with him, 
 and asked him where he found them, and how he 
 came to know where they were. He said he had a 
 revelation from God that told him they were hid in 
 a certain hill, and he looked in his stone and saw them 
 in the place of deposite ; that an angel appeared, and 
 told him he could not get the plates until he was 
 married, and that when he saw the woman that was 
 to be his wife, he should know her, and she would 
 know him. He then went to Pennsylvania, got his 
 wife, and they both went together and got the gold 
 plates he said it was revealed to him that no one 
 must see the plates but himself and wife. 
 
 " I then asked him what letters were engraved on 
 them ; he said italic letters, written in an unknown* 
 
 * He now says Hebrew and Egyptian. Italic letters in 
 Hebrew ! 
 
28 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 language, and that he had copied some of the words 
 and sent them to Dr. Mitchell and Professor Anthon 
 of New- York. By looking on the plates he said he 
 could not understand the words, but it was made 
 known to him that he was the person that must trans- 
 late them, and on looking through the stone was ena- 
 bled to translate. 
 
 " After the book was published, I frequently ban- 
 tered him for a copy. He asked fourteen shillings 
 a piece for them : I told him I would not give so 
 much : he told me he had had a revelation that they 
 must be sold at that price. 
 
 " Some time afterward I talked with Martin Har- 
 ris about buying one of the books, and he told me 
 they had had a new revelation, that they might be 
 sold at ten shillings a piece." 
 
 Abigail Harris has made the following affirm- 
 ation, which is sustained by a similar one from 
 Lucy, the wife of Martin Harris. 
 
 " Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. F., llth mo. 28/A, 1833. 
 
 "In the early part of the winter in 1828, I made a 
 visit to Martin Harris's, and was joined in company 
 by Joseph Smith, Sen., and his wife. The Gold 
 Bible business, so called, was the topic of conversa 
 tion, to which I paid particular attention, that I might 
 learn the truth of the whole matter. They told me 
 that the report that Joseph, Jr., had found golden 
 plates was true, and that he was in Harmony, Pa., 
 translating them. The old lady said, also, that after 
 the book was translated, the plates were to be pub- 
 licly exhibited admittance twenty-five cents. She 
 calculated it would bring in annually an enormous 
 sum of money that money would then be very plen- 
 ty, and the book would also sell for a great price, as 
 it was something entirely new that they had been 
 commanded to obtain all the money they could bor- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 29 
 
 row for present necessity, and to repay with gold. 
 The remainder was to be kept in store for the bene- 
 fit of their family and children. This and the like 
 conversation detained me till about 11 o'clock. Early 
 the next morning, the mystery of the Spirit 
 (being myself one of the order called Friends) was re- 
 vealed by the following circumstance : The old lady 
 took me into another room, and after closing the door, 
 she said, ' Have you four or five dollars in money 
 that you can lend until our business is brought to a 
 close ? the Spirit has said you shall receive four-fold.' 
 I told her that when I gave, I did it not expecting to 
 receive again : as for money, I had none to lend. I 
 then asked her what her particular want of money 
 was ; to which she replied, ' Joseph wants to take 
 the stage and come home from Pennsylvania to see 
 what we are all about.' To which I replied, he 
 might look in his stone and save his time and mo- 
 ney. The old lady seemed confused, and left the 
 room, and thus ended the visit. 
 
 " In the second month following, Martin Harris 
 and his wife were at my house. In conversation 
 about Mormonites, she observed, that she wished her 
 husband would quit them, as she believed it was all 
 false and a delusion. To which I heard Mr. Harris 
 reply, ' What if it is a lie; if you will let me alone 
 I will make money out of it /' I was both an eye and 
 an ear witness of what has been stated above, which is 
 now fresh in my memory, and I give it to the world 
 for the good of mankind. I speak the truth and lie 
 not, God bearing me witness. 
 
 "ABIGAIL HARRIS." 
 
 Joseph Capron, after detailing sundry necro- 
 mantic exploits of our hero, adds, 
 
 "At length Joseph pretended to find the gold 
 plates. This scheme, he believed, would relieve the 
 
30 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 family from all pecuniary embarrassment. His fa- 
 ther told me, that when the book was published, they 
 would be enabled, from the profits of the work, to 
 carry into successful operation the money-digging 
 business. He gave me no intimation, at that time, 
 that the book was to be of a religious character, or 
 that it had any thing to do with revelation. He de- 
 clared it to be a speculation, and, said he, * when it 
 is completed, my family will be placed on a level 
 above the generality of mankind ! !' " 
 
 The scene will now be changed from the 
 state of New- York to that of Pennsylvania, 
 where we shall learn some further particulars 
 respecting the character and operations of these 
 worthies from persons well qualified to judge 
 of both. Smith's father-in-law, Mr. Hale, tes- 
 tifies to the following, among other particulars 
 
 " Harmony, Pa., March 20*A, 1834. 
 
 " I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr., 
 in November, 1825. He was at that time in the 
 employ of a set of men who were called ' money-dig- 
 gers ;' and his occupation was that of seeing, or pre- 
 tending to see by means of a stone placed in his hat, 
 and his hat closed over his face. In this way he pre- 
 tended to discover minerals and hidden treasure. 
 
 " About this time, young Smith made several 
 visits at my house, and at length asked my con- 
 sent to his marrying my daughter Emma. This I 
 refused, and gave my reasons for so doing ; some of 
 which were, that he was a stranger, and followed a 
 business that I could not approve : he then left the 
 place. Not long after this he returned, and, while 
 I was absent from home, carried off my daughter into 
 the state of New- York, where they were married 
 without my approbation or consent. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 31 
 
 " Soon after this I was informed they had brought 
 a wonderful book of plates down with them. I was 
 shown a box in which it is said they were contained, 
 which had, to all appearance, been used as a glass box 
 of the common window glass. I was allowed to feel 
 the weight of the box, and they gave me to understand 
 that the book of plates was then in the box into 
 which, however, I was not allowed to look. 
 
 " I inquired of Joseph Smith, Jr., who was to be 
 the first who would be^llowed to see the book of 
 plates. He said it was a young child. After this I 
 became dissatisfied, and informed him that if there 
 was any thing in my house of that description, which 
 I could not be allowed to see, he must take it away ; 
 if he did not, I was determined to see it. After that 
 the ^plates were said to be hid in the woods. 
 
 " About this time Martin Harris made his appear- 
 ance upon the stage ; and Smith began to interpret 
 the characters, or hieroglyphics which he said were 
 engraven upon the plates, while Harris wrote down 
 the interpretation. It was said that Harris wrote 
 down one hundred and sixteen pages, and lost them. 
 Soon after this happened, Martin Harris informed 
 me that he must have a greater witness, and said that 
 he had talked with Joseph about it Joseph informed 
 him that he could not, or durst not show him the 
 plates, but that he (Joseph) would go into the woods 
 where the book of plates was, and that after he came 
 back Harris should follow his track in the snow, and 
 find the book, and examine it for himself. Harris 
 informed me that he followed Smith's directions, and 
 could not find the plates, and was still dissatisfied. 
 
 " The next day after this happened, I went to the 
 house where Joseph Smith, Jr., lived, and where he 
 and Harris were engaged in their translation of the 
 book Each of them had a written piece of paper 
 which they were c ^mparing, and some of the words 
 
32 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 were, ' My servant seeketh a greater witness, but no 
 greater witness can be given him." 1 There was also 
 something said about ' three that were to see the 
 thing" 1 meaning, I supposed, the book of plates, and 
 that ' if the three did not go exactly according to the 
 orders, the thing would be taken from them.'' I in- 
 quired whose words they were, and was informed by 
 Joseph or Emma, (I rather think it was the former,) 
 that they were the words of Jesus Christ. I told them 
 that I considered the whole of it a delusion, and ad- 
 vised them to abandon it. The manner in which he 
 pretended to read and interpret, was the same as when 
 he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in 
 his hat, and his hat over his face, while the book of 
 plates was at the same time hid in the woods. 
 
 " After this, Martin Harris went away, and Oliver 
 Cowdery came and wrote for Smith, while he inter- 
 preted, as above described. This is the same Oliver 
 Cowdery, whose name may be found in the Book of 
 Mormon. Cowdery continued a scribe for Smith 
 until the Book of Mormon was completed, as I sup- 
 posed and understood. 
 
 " Joseph Smith, Jr., resided near me for some 
 time after this, and I had a good opportunity of be- 
 coming acquainted with him, and somewhat acquaint- 
 ed with his associates, and I conscientiously believe, 
 from the facts I have detailed, and from many other 
 circumstances, which I do not deem it necessary to 
 relate, that the whole ' Book of Mormon' (so called) 
 is a silly fabrication of falsehood and wickedness, got 
 up for speculation, and with a design to dupe the cre- 
 dulous and unwary and in order that its fabricators 
 may live upon the spoils of those who swallow the 
 deception. ISAAC HALE. 
 
 " Affirmed to and subscribed before me, March 
 20th, 1834. 
 
 "CHARLES DIMON, Justice of the peace. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 33 
 
 " State of Pennsylvania, Susquehannah Co., ss. 
 "We, the subscribers, associate judges of the 
 court of common pleas, in and for said county, do 
 certify that we have been many years personally 
 acquainted with Isaac Hale, of Harmony township 
 in this county, who has attested the foregoing state- 
 ment ; and that he is a man of excellent moral cha- 
 racter, and of undoubted veracity. Witness our 
 hands. 
 
 " WILLIAM THOMPSON. 
 " DAVIS DIMICK. 
 "March 2lst, 1834. 
 
 " Rev. N. C. Lewis, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, also certifies and affirms in relation to Smith 
 as follows : 
 
 " I have been acquainted with Joseph Smith, Jr., 
 for some time : being a relative of his wife, and re- 
 siding near him, I have had frequent opportunities 
 of conversation with him, and of knowing his opin- 
 ions and pursuits. From my standing in the Me- 
 thodist Episcopal Church, I suppose he was careful 
 how he conducted or expressed himself before me. 
 At one time, however, he came to my house, and 
 asked my advice, whether he should proceed to trans- 
 late the book of plates (referred to by Mr. Hale) or 
 not. He said that God had commanded him to trans- 
 late it, but he was afraid of the people : he remark- 
 ed, that he was to exhibit the plates to the world, at 
 a certain time, which was then about eighteen months 
 distant. I told him I was not qualified to give ad- 
 vice in such cases. Smith frequently said to me 
 that I should see the plates at the time appointed. 
 
 " After the time stipulated had passed away, Smith 
 being at my house, was asked why he did not fulfil 
 his promise, show the golden plates, and prove him- 
 self an honest man ? He replied, that he, himself, 
 was deceived, but that I should see them if I were 
 3 
 
34 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 where they were. I reminded him then, that 1 
 stated at the time he made the promise, I was fear- 
 ful ' the enchantment would be so powerful' as to re- 
 move the plates, when the time came in which they 
 were to be revealed. 
 
 " These circumstances, and many others of a simi- 
 lar tenor, embolden me to say, that Joseph Smith, 
 Jr., is not a man of truth and veracity ; and that his 
 general character, in this part of the country, is that 
 of an impostor, hypocrite, and liar. 
 
 " NATHANIEL C. LEWIS. 
 
 " Affirmed and subscribed, before me, March 20th, 
 1834. 
 
 " CHARLES DIMON, Justice of the peace" 
 
 Various other statements of similar import 
 were collected in the same vicinity. We sub- 
 join the substance of three which develop 
 some of the worst features of human depravity. 
 
 " Alva Hale, son of Isaac Hale, states, that Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., told him that his (Smith's) gift in seeing 
 with a stone and hat, ' was a gift from God,' but also 
 states 'that Smith told him, at another time, that this 
 
 peeping was all d d nonsense. He (Smith) was 
 
 deceived himself, but did not intend to deceive others ; 
 that he intended to quit the business, (of peeping,) 
 and labour for his livelihood.' That afterward, Smith 
 told him he should see the plates from which he 
 translated the Book of Mormon, and accordingly, at 
 the time specified by Smith, he (Hale) called to see 
 the plates, but Smith did not show them, but appear- 
 ed angry. He further states, that he knows Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., to be an impostor, and a liar, and knows 
 Martin Harris to be a liar likewise. 
 
 " Levi Lewis states, that he has been acquainted 
 with Joseph Smith, Jr., and Martin Harris, and that 
 he has heard them both say, adultery was no crime. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 35 
 
 Harris said he did not blame Smith for his (Smith's) 
 attempt to seduce E. W., &c. Mr. Lewis says 
 that he knows Smith to be a liar ; that he saw him 
 (Smith) intoxicated at three different times while he 
 was composing the Book of Mormon, and also that 
 he has heard Smith, when driving oxen, use language 
 of the greatest profanity. Mr. Lewis also testifies, 
 that he heard Smith say he (Smith) was as good as 
 Jesus Christ ; that it was as bad to injure him as it 
 was to injure Jesus Christ. With regard to the 
 plates, Smith said God had deceived him which 
 was the reason he (Smith) did not show them. 
 
 " Sophia Lewis certifies, that she heard a conver- 
 sation between Joseph Smith, Jr., and the Rev. 
 James B. Roach, in which Smith called Mr. R. a 
 
 d d fool. Smith also said, in the same conver 
 
 sation, that he (Smith) was as good as Jesus Christ , 
 and that she has frequently heard Smith use profane 
 language. She states, that she heard Smith say the 
 book of plates could not be opened, under penalty of 
 death, by any other person but his (Smith's) first- 
 born, which was to be a male. She says she was 
 present at the birth of this child, and that it was still- 
 born, and very much deformed." 
 
 Such men, we are told by the Mormons, were 
 divinely appointed to usher in the fulness of the 
 gospel. All who will not believe this are to be 
 denounced as children of the devil, and heirs 
 of wrath. 
 
36 MOJIMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sidney Rigdon Solomon Spalding -The " Manuscript 
 Found" proved to be identical with the Mormon Bible 
 Spalding's widow Rigdon's retirement at Pittsburgh 
 His subsequent course in Ohio. 
 
 LEAVING the prophet and his worthy coad- 
 jutors in their employment of peeping and com- 
 paring notes on the banks of the Susquehannah, 
 we shall now introduce to the reader an indi- 
 vidual hitherto behind the curtain, but who was 
 destined to act a prominent part in the farce of 
 Mormonism. This is none other than Sidney 
 Rigdon, known at that time in the northern 
 counties of Ohio as a Campbelite preacher of 
 some distinction, and reputed to possess more 
 than ordinary shrewdness. By means of this 
 latter trait, so much in contrast with the gene- 
 ral character of the Smiths, he was enabled to 
 keep his preliminary operations chiefly in the 
 dark. Nevertheless, a combination of circum- 
 stances indicates him to have been the prime 
 mover of the whole contrivance, at least as far 
 as a religious imposture was concerned. 
 
 The leading features of what has been pub- 
 lished to the world, as the Book of Mormon, 
 were conceived and written out as early as the 
 year 1810, or 1811, by one Solomon Spalding. 
 Of the last-mentioned individual we have the 
 following account, written by his surviving bro- 
 ther, a resident of Crawford county, Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 37 
 
 "Solomon Spalding was born in Ashford, Conn., 
 in 1761, and in early life contracted a taste for lite- 
 rary pursuits. After he left school, he entered Plain- 
 field academy, where he made great proficiency in 
 study, and excelled most of his class-mates. He 
 next commenced the study of law, in Windham 
 county, in which he made little progress, having, in 
 the mean time, turned his attention to religious sub- 
 jects. He soon after entered Dartmouth college, 
 with the intention of qualify ing himself for the minis- 
 try, where he obtained the degree of A. M., and was 
 afterward regularly ordained. After preaching three 
 or four years, he gave it up, removed to Cherry Val- 
 ley, New-York, and commenced the mercantile bu- 
 siness, in company with his brother Josiah. In a 
 few years he failed in business, and in the year 1809 
 removed to Conneaut, in Ohio. The year following 
 I removed to Ohio, and found him engaged in build- 
 ing a forge. I made him a visit in about three years 
 after, and found that he bad failed, and was considera- 
 bly involved in debt. He then told me he had been 
 writing a book, which he intended to have printed, 
 the avails of which he thought would enable him to 
 pay all his debts. The book was entitled, the ' Man- 
 uscript Found,' of which he read to me many pas- 
 sages. It was an historical romance of the first set- 
 tlers of America, endeavouring to show that the 
 American Indians are the descendants of the Jews, 
 or the lost tribes. It gave a detailed account of their 
 journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till they 
 arrived in America, under the command of NEPH] 
 and LEHI. They afterward had quarrels and con- 
 tentions, and separated into two distinct nations, one 
 of which he denominated Nephites, and the other 
 Lamanites. Cruel and bloody wars ensued, in which 
 great multitudes were slain. They buried their dead 
 in large heaps, which caused the mounds so common 
 
38 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 in this country. Their arts, sciences, and civiliza- 
 tion were brought into view, in order to account for 
 all the curious antiquities, found in various parts of 
 North and South America. I have recently read the 
 Book of Mormon, and, to my great surprise, I find 
 nearly the same historical matter, names, &c., as 
 they were in my brother's writings. I well remem- 
 ber that he wrote in the old style, and commenced 
 about every sentence with, ' And it came to pass,' or, 
 ' Now it came to pass,' the same as in the Book of 
 Mormon, and, according to the best of my recollec- 
 tion and belief, it is the same as my brother Solomon 
 wrote, with the exception of the religious matter. 
 By what means it has fallen into the hands of Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., I am unable to determine. 
 
 " JOHN SPALDING. 
 
 " Martha Spalding, the wife of John Spalding, 
 says : 
 
 " I was personally acquainted with Solomon 
 Spalding, about twenty years ago. I was at his 
 house a short time before he left Conneaut ; he was 
 then writing an historical novel, founded upon the first 
 settlers of America. He represented them as an en- 
 lightened and warlike people. He had for many 
 years contended that the aborigines of America were 
 the descendants of some of the lost tribes of Israel, 
 and this idea he carried out in the book in question. 
 The lapse of time, which has intervened, prevents 
 my recollecting but few of the leading incidents of 
 his writings ; but the names of Nephi and Lehi are 
 yet fresh in my memory, as being the principal he- 
 roes of his tale. They were officers of the company 
 which first came off from Jerusalem. He gave a 
 particular account of their journey by land and sea, 
 till they arrived in America, after which disputes 
 arose between the chiefs, which caused them to se- 
 parate into different lands, one of which was called 
 
MORMOMSM AND THE MORMONS. 39 
 
 Lamanites, and the other Nephites. Between these 
 were recounted tremendous battles, which frequently 
 covered the ground with the slain ; and their being 
 buried in large heaps was the cause of the numerous 
 mounds in the country. Some of these people he re- 
 presented as being very large. I have read the Book 
 of Mormon, which has brought fresh to my recollec- 
 tion the writings of Solomon Spalding ; and I have no 
 manner of doubt that the historical part of it is the 
 same that I read, and heard read, more than twenty 
 years ago. The old, obsolete style, and the phrases 
 of, 'And it came to pass,' &c., are the same." 
 
 This Solomon Spalding appears to have been, 
 like some other authors, exceedingly vain of 
 his productions : at least, he exhibited and read 
 his principal manuscripts so often to his neigh- 
 bours and friends, that they still recollect its 
 style and tenor. 
 
 The following coincidences are so striking, 
 and so evidently undesigned, that their weight 
 must be felt by every ingenuous mind. 
 
 " Conneaut, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, Sep., 1833. 
 " I left the state of New- York, late in the year 
 1810, and arrived at this place about the 1st of Jan- 
 uary following. Soon after my arrival, I formed a 
 partnership with Solomon Spalding, for the purpose 
 of rebuilding a forge which he had commenced a 
 year or two before. He very frequently read to me 
 from a manuscript which he was writing, which he 
 entitled, the ' Manuscript Found,' and which he re- 
 presented as being found in this town. I spent many 
 hours in hearing him read said writings, and became 
 well acquainted with their contents. He wished me 
 to assist him in getting his production printed, alleg- 
 ing that a book of that kind would meet with a rapid 
 
40 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 sale. I designed doing so, but the forge not meeting 
 our anticipations, we failed in business, when I de- 
 clined having any thing to do with the publication of 
 the book. This book represented the American In- 
 dians as the descendants of the lost tribes, gave an 
 account of their leaving Jerusalem, their contentions 
 and wars, which were many and great. One time, 
 when he was reading to me the tragic account of 
 Laban, I pointed out to him what I considered an 
 inconsistency, which he promised to correct ; but by 
 referring to the book of Mormon, I find, to my sur- 
 prise, that it stands there just as he read it to me 
 then. Some months ago I borrowed the Golden Bi- 
 ble, put it into my pocket, carried it home, and thought 
 no more of it. About a week after, my wife found 
 the book in my coat pocket, as it hung up, and com- 
 menced reading it aloud as I lay upon the bed. She 
 had not read twenty minutes till I was astonished to 
 find the same passages in it that Spalding had read 
 to me more than twenty years before, from his ' Man- 
 uscript Found.' Since that, I have more fully exa- 
 mined the said Golden Bible, arid have no hesitation 
 in saying, that the historical part of it is principally, 
 if not wholly, taken from the ' Manuscript Found.' 
 I well recollect telling Mr. Spalding, that the so fre- 
 quent use of the words, i And it came to pass,' ' Now 
 it came to pass,' rendered it ridiculous. Spalding 
 left here in 1812, and I furnished him the means to 
 carry him to Pittsburgh, where he said he would get 
 the book printed, and pay me. But I never heard 
 any more from him or his writings, till I saw them 
 in the Book of Mormon. HENRY LAKE. 
 
 " Springfield, Pa., September, 1833. 
 
 " In the year 1811, 1 was in the employ of Henry 
 
 Lake and Solomon Spalding, at Conneaut, engaged 
 
 in rebuilding a forge. While there, I boarded and 
 
 lodged in the family of said Spalding for several 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 41 
 
 months. I was soon introduced to the manuscript 
 of Spalding, and perused it as often as I had leisure. 
 He had written two or three books or pamphlets on 
 different subjects ; but that which more particularly 
 drew my attention, was one which he called the 
 * Manuscript Found.' From this he would frequently 
 read some humorous passages to the company pre- 
 sent. It purported to be the history of the first set- 
 tlement of America, before discovered by Columbus. 
 He brought them off from Jerusalem, under their 
 leaders ; detailing their travels by land and water, 
 their manners, customs, laws, wars, &c. He said 
 that he designed it as an historical novel, and that in 
 after years it would be believed by many people as 
 much as the history of England. He soon after 
 failed in business, and told me he should retire from 
 the din of his creditors, finish his book, and have it 
 published, which would enable him to pay his debts, 
 and support his family. He soon after removed to 
 Pittsburgh, as I understood. 
 
 " I have recently examined the Book of Mormon, 
 and find in it the writings of Solomon Spalding, from 
 beginning to end, but mixed up with Scripture, and 
 other religious matter, which I did not meet with in 
 the ' Manuscript Found.' Many of the passages in 
 the Mormon Book are verbatim from Spalding, and 
 others in part. The names of Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, 
 and in fact all the principal names, are brought fresh 
 to my recollection by the Gold Bible. When Spal- 
 ding divested his history of its fabulous names, by a 
 verbal explanation, he landed his people near the 
 Straits of Darien, which I am very confident he call- 
 ed Zarahemla; they were marched about that coun- 
 try for a length of time, in which wars and great 
 bloodshed ensued ; he brought them across North 
 America, in a north-east direction. 
 
 " JOHN N. MILLER. 
 
42 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " Conneaut, August, 1833. 
 
 u I first became acquainted with Solomon Spalding 
 in 1808, or 1809, when he commenced building a 
 forge on Conneaut creek. When at his house, one 
 day, he showed and read to me a history he was 
 writing, of the lost tribes of Israel, purporting that 
 they were the first settlers of America, and that the 
 Indians were their descendants. Upon this subject 
 we had frequent conversations. He traced their 
 journey from Jerusalem to America, as it is given in 
 the Book of Mormon, excepting the religious matter. 
 The historical part of the Book of Mormon I know 
 to be the same as I read and heard read from the 
 writings of Spalding, more than twenty years ago ; 
 the names, more especially, are the same, without 
 any alteration. He told me his object was to account 
 for all the fortifications, &c., to be found in this coun- 
 try, and said that in time it would be fully believed 
 by all, except learned men and historians. I once 
 anticipated reading his writings in print, but little 
 expected to see them in a new Bible. Spalding had 
 many other manuscripts, which I expect to see when 
 Smith translates his other plate. In conclusion, I 
 will observe, that the names of, and most of the his- 
 torical part of the Book of Mormon, were as familiar 
 to me before I read it, as most modern history. If 
 it is not Spalding's writing, it is the same as he 
 wrote ; and if Smith was inspired, I think it was by 
 the same spirit that Spalding was, which he confess- 
 ed to be the love of money. 
 
 " AARON WRIGHT. 
 
 " Conneaut, August, 1833. 
 
 " W T hen Solomon Spalding first came to this place, 
 he purchased a tract of land, surveyed it out, and 
 commenced selling it. While engaged in this busi- 
 ness, he boarded at my house, in all nearly six 
 months. All his leisure hours were occupied in 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 43 
 
 writing an historical novel, founded upon the first 
 settlers of this country. He said he intended to 
 trace their journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, 
 till their arrival in America, give an account of 
 their arts, sciences, civilization, wars, and conten- 
 tions. In this way he would give a satisfactory ac- 
 count of all of the old mounds, so common to this 
 country. During the time he was at my house, I 
 read, and heard read one hundred pages or more. 
 Nephi and Lehi were by him represented as leading 
 characters, when they first started for America. 
 Their main object was to escape the judgments which 
 they supposed were coming upon the old world. But 
 no religious matter was introduced, as I now recol- 
 lect. Just before he left this place, Spalding sent 
 for me to call on him, which I did. He then said, 
 that although he was in my debt, he intended to leave 
 the country, and hoped I would not prevent him, for, 
 says he, you know I have been writing the history 
 of the first settlement of America, and I intend to go 
 to Pittsburgh, and there live a retired life, till I have 
 completed the work, and when it is printed, it will 
 bring ine a fine sum of money, which will enable me 
 to return and pay off all my debts : the book, you 
 know, will sell, as every one is anxious to learn 
 something upon that subject. This was the last I 
 heard of Spalding or his book, until the Book of 
 Mormon came into the neighbourhood. When I 
 heard the historical part of it related, I at once said 
 it was the writing of old Solomon Spalding. Soon 
 after I obtained the book, and, on reading it, found 
 much of it the same as Spalding had written, more 
 than twenty years before. 
 
 " OLIVER SMITH. 
 
 " Conncaut, August, 1833. 
 
 " I first became acquainted with Solomon Spalding 
 in Dec., 1810. After that time I frequently saw him 
 
44 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 at his house, and also at my house. I once, in con- 
 versation with him, expressed a surprise at not hav- 
 ing any account of the inhabitants once in this coun- 
 try, who erected the old forts, mounds, &c. He 
 then told me that he was writing a history of that 
 race of people ; and afterward frequently showed me 
 his writings, which I read. I have lately read the 
 Book of Mormon, and believe it to be the same as 
 Spalding wrote, except the religious part. He told 
 me that he intended to get his writings published in 
 Pittsburgh, and he thought that in one century from 
 that time it would be believed as much as any other 
 history. NAHUM HOWARD. 
 
 " Artemus Cunningham, of Perry, Geauga county, 
 states as follows : 
 
 "In the month of October, 1811, I went from 
 the township of Madison to Conneaut, for the pur- 
 pose of securing a debt due me from Solomon Spal- 
 ding. I tarried with him nearly two days, for the 
 purpose of accomplishing my object, which I was 
 finally unable to do. I found him destitute of the 
 means of paying his debts. His only hope of ever 
 paying his debts, appeared to be upon the sale of a 
 book which he had been writing. He endeavoured 
 to convince me, from the nature and character of the 
 work, that it would meet with a ready sale. Before 
 showing me his manuscripts, he went into a verbal 
 relation of its outlines, saying, that it was a fabulous 
 or romantic history of the first settlement of this 
 country, and as it purported to have been a record 
 found buried in the earth, or in a cave, he had adopt- 
 ed the ancient, or Scripture style of writing. He 
 then presented his manuscripts, when we sat down 
 and spent a good share of the night in reading them, 
 and conversing upon them. I well remember the 
 name of Nephi, who appeared to be the principal hero 
 of the story. The frequent repetition of the phrase, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 45 
 
 ' I Nephi,' I recollect as distinctly as though it was 
 but yesterday, although the general features of the 
 story have passed from my memory, through the 
 lapse of twenty-two years. He attempted to account 
 for the numerous antiquities which are found upon 
 this continent, and remarked, that after this genera- 
 tion had passed away, his account of the first inha- 
 bitants of America would be considered as authentic 
 as any other history. The Mormon Bible I have 
 partially examined, and am fully of the opinion that 
 Solomon Spalding had written its outlines before he 
 left Conneaut." 
 
 The reader will now desire to know by what 
 process the " Manuscript Found" came into the 
 hands of Rigdon, and, after having been reno- 
 vated, interpolated, and rigged out to suit his 
 plan, was transferred to the hands of a noted 
 money-digger at a distance from the place where 
 it was designed more especially to operate, in 
 order to be " got up" in a miraculous manner. 
 The latter part of this process, viz., the trans- 
 fer, was so easy and practicable, that any one 
 may comprehend it by a moment's reflection, 
 although not demonstrated by positive evidence. 
 We think, moreover, that the former part is 
 made very clear, by the facts which Mr. Howe 
 has collected. 
 
 In order to ascertain what disposition Spal- 
 ding made of his manuscripts, he sent a mes- 
 senger to look up said Spalding's widow, who 
 still survived. From her it was ascertained that 
 the family, after removing from Ohio, resided 
 about two years in Pittsburgh, and subsequent- 
 ly went to Amity, Pennsylvania, where the 
 
46 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 author died in 1816. His widow then removed 
 to Onondaga county, New-York, married again, 
 subsequently lived in Otsego county, and thence 
 removed to Massachusetts, where she was 
 found. 
 
 She stated that Spalding had a great variety 
 of MANUSCRIPTS, one of which she recollected 
 was entitled, the " Manuscript Found." While 
 they lived in Pittsburgh, it was taken, she be- 
 lieved, to the printing-office of Patterson and 
 Lambdin, but whether it was ever brought back 
 to the house again, she was quite uncertain. 
 If it was, however, it must still be in a trunk 
 with his other writings, which she had left in 
 Otsego county, New- York. 
 
 " The trunk, referred to by the widow, was sub- 
 sequently examined, and found to contain only a sin- 
 gle manuscript book, in Spalding's hand-writing, 
 containing about one quire of paper. This is a ro- 
 mance, purporting to have been translated from the 
 Latin, found on twenty-four rolls of parchment in a 
 cave, on the banks of Conneaut creek, but written 
 in modern style, and giving a fabulous account of a 
 ship being driven upon the American coast, while 
 proceeding from Rome to Britain, a short time pre- 
 vious to the Christian era, this country then being 
 inhabited by the Indians. This old manuscript has 
 been shown to several of the foregoing witnesses, 
 who recognise it as Spalding's, he having told them 
 that he had altered his first plan of writing, by going 
 further back with dates, and writing in the old Scrip- 
 ture style, in order that it might appear more ancient. 
 They say that it bears no resemblance to the ' Man- 
 uscript Found? " 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 47 
 
 Recourse was now had to the firm of Pat- 
 terson and Lambdin, in Pittsburgh ; but here 
 death had interposed a barrier to full inquiry. 
 
 " That establishment was dissolved and broken up 
 many years since, and Lambdin died about eight 
 years ago. Mr. Patterson said he had no recollec- 
 tion of any such manuscript being brought there for 
 publication, neither would he have been likely to have 
 seen it, as the business of printing was conducted 
 wholly by Lambdin at that time. He says, how- 
 ever, that many manuscript books and pamphlets 
 were brought to the office about that time, which re- 
 mained upon their shelves for years, without being 
 printed, or even examined. Now, as Spalding's 
 book can nowhere be found, or any thing heard of 
 it after being carried to this establishment, there is 
 the strongest presumption that it remained there in 
 seclusion, till about the year 1823, or 1824, at which 
 time Sidney Rigdon located himself in that city. 
 We have been credibly informed that he was on 
 terms of intimacy with Lambdin, being seen fre- 
 quently in his shop. Rigdon resided in Pittsburgh 
 about three years, and during the whole of that time, 
 as he has since frequently asserted, abandoned 
 preaching and all other employment, for the purpose 
 of studying the Bible. He left there, and came into 
 Geauga county, Ohio, about the time Lambdin died, 
 and commenced preaching some new points of doc- 
 trine, which were afterward found to be inculcated 
 in the Mormon Bible. He resided in this vicinity 
 about four years previous to the appearance of the 
 book, during which time he made several long visits 
 to Pittsburgh, and perhaps to the Susquehannah, 
 where Smith was then digging for money, or pre- 
 tending to be translating plates. It may be observed, 
 also, that about the time Rigdon left Pittsburgh, the 
 
48 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Smith family began to tell about finding a book that 
 would contain a history of the first inhabitants of 
 America, and that two years elapsed before they 
 finally got possession of it. 
 
 " We are, then, irresistibly led to this conclusion, 
 that Lambdin, after having failed in business, had 
 recourse to the old manuscripts then in his posses- 
 sion, in order to raise the wind, by a book specula- 
 tion, and placed the ' Manuscript Found,' of Spalding, 
 in the hands of Rigdon, to be embellished, altered, 
 and added to, as he might think expedient ; and three 
 years' study of the Bible we should deem little time 
 enough to garble it, as it is transferred to the Mor- 
 mon book. The former dying, left the latter the 
 sole proprietor, who was obliged to resort to his wits, 
 and in a miraculous way to bring it before the world ; 
 for in no other manner could such a book be publish- 
 ed without great sacrifice. And where could a more 
 suitable character be found than Jo Smith, whose 
 necromantic fame, and arts of deception, had already 
 extended to a considerable distance 1 That Lambdin 
 was a person every way qualified and fitted for such 
 an enterprise, we have the testimony of his partner 
 in business, and others of his acquaintance. The 
 whole mystery of this affair is solved by adding to 
 these circumstances the facts, that Rigdon had pre- 
 pared the minds, in a great measure, of nearly a hun- 
 dred of those who had attended his ministration to be 
 in readiness to embrace the first mysterious ism that 
 should be presented the appearance of Cowdery at 
 his residence as soon as the book was printed his 
 sudden conversion, after many pretensions to disbe- 
 lieve it his immediately repairing to the residence 
 of Smith, three hundred miles distant, where he was 
 forthwith appointed an elder, high-priest, and a scribe 
 to the prophet the pretended vision that his resi- 
 dence in Ohio was the ' promised land.' and the im- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 49 
 
 mediate removal of the whole Smith family thither, 
 where they were soon raised from a state of poverty 
 to comparative affluence." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Book of Mormon published Testimony of the 
 witnesses Cross examination Contents of the book. 
 
 AFTER the preceding exhibition of " means 
 and appliances to boot," it appears in no way 
 wonderful that the Mormon Bible at length 
 issued from the press. 
 
 Such, however, were the external and the 
 internal evidences of its forgery, that the spec- 
 ulation could not be ventured without solemn 
 certificates, averring it to be a REVELATION, 
 communicated by angels, through the medium 
 of certain plates having the appearance of gold. 
 The title-page was embellished with this de- 
 claration : The Book of Mormon, &c., by Jo- 
 seph Smith, Jr., AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR, 
 which was duly confirmed by a certificate of 
 copyright, under the hand and seal of R. R 
 Lansing, clerk of the northern district of New- 
 York. In flat contradiction to this claim of 
 author and proprietorship, were the following 
 testimonies at the conclusion. 
 
 " The testimony of three witnesses. Be it known 
 
 unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto 
 
 whom this work shall come, that we, through the 
 
 grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 4 
 
50 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 have seen the plates which contain this record, which 
 is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the 
 Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of 
 Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been 
 spoken ; and we also know that they have been trans- 
 lated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath 
 declared it unto us ; wherefore we know, of a surety, 
 that the work is true. And we also testify, that 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 we declare, with words 
 of soberness, 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 ; and we know that it, is by the grace of God 
 the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we be- 
 held and bear record that these things are true ; and 
 it is marvellous in our eyes ; nevertheless, the voice 
 of the Lord commanded us that we should bear re- 
 cord of it ; wherefore, to be obedient unto the com- 
 mandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. 
 And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we 
 shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be 
 found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, 
 and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. 
 And the honour be to the Father, and to the Son, and 
 to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. 
 
 " OLIVER COWDERY, 
 " DAVID WHITMER, 
 " MARTIN HARRIS." 
 
 " And also the testimony of eight witnesses. Be 
 it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peo- 
 ple, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shown 
 unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which 
 have the appearance of gold ; and as many of the 
 leaves as the said Smith has translated, we did han- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 51 
 
 die with our hands : and we also saw the engravings 
 thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient 
 work, and of curious workmanship. And this we 
 bear record with words of soberness, that the said 
 Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and 
 hefted, and know, of a surety, that the said Smith 
 has got the plates of which we have spoken. And 
 we give our names unto the world to witness unto 
 the world that which we have seen ; and we lie not, 
 God bearing witness of it. 
 
 ' CHRISTIAN WHITMER, 
 1 JACOB WHITMER, 
 ' PETER WHITMER, JR., 
 4 JOHN WHITMER, 
 HIRAM PAGE, 
 ' JOSEPH SMITH, SEN., 
 HYRUM SMITH, 
 ' SAMUEL H. SMITH." 
 
 As these certificates constitute the entire evi- 
 dence of the divine authenticity of the book in 
 question, as they have often been recited in 
 large congregations, and as they are still ap- 
 pealed to in proof of the same, they deserve a 
 patient examination. 
 
 If we could for once suppose these indi- 
 viduals to have been honest, disinterested, and 
 credible men, yet the vagueness and contradic- 
 tory nature of their statements would render 
 their testimony exceedingly suspicious. Leav- 
 ing out formal and deceptive redundancies, the 
 whole of the testimony of three witnesses is 
 reduced to these particulars: 1. We have 
 seen the plates which contain this record. 
 2. We know that they have been translated by 
 
52 MORMONISM AN^ THE MORMONS. 
 
 the power of God. 3. Also we have seen the 
 engravings which are upon the plates ; and, 
 4. They have been shewn unto us by the power 
 of God, and not of man. 5. An angel of God 
 came down from heaven and brought (what ?) 
 and laid before our eyes. 
 
 On this we remark 1 . That these men may 
 have seen plates is very possible ; but in order 
 to know that said plates contained a given re- 
 cord, they must have been able to understand 
 their contents, and have had opportunity to 
 compare them with said record. 
 
 It is not pretended, however, that they had 
 either such ability or opportunity, but the con- 
 trary : consequently they knew not whereof 
 they affirmed. 
 
 2. If they understood not the contents, how 
 could they know that there had been any trans- 
 lation at all, not to say a correct or divinely- 
 assisted one ? The reason given is, " for his 
 [God's] voice hath declared .it unto us." We 
 are not told whether to understand this literally 
 or figuratively ; whether said voice was heard 
 by them individually or collectively, sleeping 
 or waking, or how they knew it was from God ; 
 and hence every rational mind will discredit 
 the whole statement. 
 
 3. It had previously been stated that the 
 plates had been translated. What need then 
 of such special interposition to show the en- 
 gravings upon the plates, since the witnesses 
 do not assert that these were translated ? 
 
 The 4th particular is equally destitute of 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 53 
 
 certainty and plausibility. The 5th betrays a 
 most puerile and trickish attempt at deceit. 
 As to the subsequent flourish respecting the 
 truth of " these things," it is so ambiguous, that 
 no one knows whether to apply it to the par- 
 ticulars here enumerated, or to those contained 
 in the book, all of which are alike destitute of 
 foundation. 
 
 The testimony of eight witnesses is very dif- 
 ferent from the preceding. According to this, 
 all that before required " the voice of God," the 
 descent of " an angel of God from heaven," yea, 
 all that was shown to the three " by the power 
 of God, and not of man," is here exhibited to 
 eight by " Joseph Smith, Jr., translator of this 
 work." Still more, he goes further than either 
 God or the angel, and suffers the plates to be 
 handled with hands. 
 
 That Smith showed them plates, which, to 
 ignorant men had the appearance of gold, is 
 easy enough to be believed ; and if he had 
 manufactured the same, it would have been no 
 great stretch of ingenuity. But how could they 
 know that they had handled and hefted as many 
 of the leaves as said Smith translated ? Cer- 
 tainly on no other ground than his " say so," 
 which is good for nothing. 
 
 But if of a surety Jo had " got" these plates, 
 and, as he pretended, had had them two or 
 three years in a box, how could they have got 
 up to heaven, whence Cowdery and Harris 
 aver that an angel came down to bring them, 
 and lay before their eyes ? Minor discrepan- 
 
>4 MORMON ISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 cies and grammatical blunders we cannot pause 
 to notice. 
 
 Now on the supposition that this testimony (!) 
 did not fully contradict, and, beyond remedy, 
 destroy itself, it would be rendered suspicious 
 by being unaccompanied with date of either 
 time or place, and by not having been deposed 
 in legal form. Suspicion would be increased 
 by observing, that out of eleven witnesses, five 
 are Whitmers, and three are Smiths, belong- 
 ing to two families. 
 
 Finally, waiving every other consideration, 
 since these individuals have presumed to chal- 
 lenge the attention of all " nations, kindreds, 
 tongues, and people" to the wretched humbug 
 they have attempted to palm off upon the world, 
 we have thought proper to submit above, to all, 
 as far as these presents may come, a legal and 
 an incontestable impeachment of their charac- 
 ter and veracity, such as before a jury, in any 
 civilized country, would render their testimony 
 null and void, even though it were intelligible 
 and disinterested. One of these two conclu- 
 sions appears to us irresistible, either these 
 witnesses were grossly deceived by a lying 
 prophet, or else they wickedly and wilfully 
 perjured themselves, by swearing to what they 
 knew to be false. 
 
 The former, although not very creditable to 
 their good sense, is yet the more charitable 
 opinion, "and is rendered probable by the fact, 
 that hundreds have been deceived in the same 
 way. It is confirmed, moreover, by the well- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 55 
 
 known mental phenomenon, that to individuals 
 accustomed to disregard the laws of veracity, 
 truth and falsehood are alike. They can as 
 easily persuade themselves of the one as of the 
 other. This fact is as notorious respecting the 
 " yarns of the forecastle," as it is manifest in 
 the tales and witchery of the money-diggers. 
 But the awful crime of perjury has been com- 
 mitted among men. And if probable subjects 
 for its repetition could be anywhere found, 
 where should we expect to meet them sooner, 
 than among such as were about to run the fear- 
 ful hazard of the plagues denounced against 
 any man who should presume to add to the re- 
 velation of God ? 
 
 Men who could deny adultery to be a crime, 
 and who could be guilty of the blasphemy of 
 pretending to utter the voice of the Almighty, 
 upon any trivial occasion, which suited such 
 pretence to their interest, could not have had 
 the fear of God before their eyes, and must have 
 been instigated by the devil. That the tempo- 
 ral interests of these witnesses were pending, 
 and were actually advanced by this step, will 
 soon appear. 
 
 In order to give a consecutive, although a 
 very abridged account of the spread of the de- 
 lusion, we forego an examination of the pre- 
 tended Bible for the present, merely subjoining 
 an index to its contents, that we have drawn up 
 from the edition before us. 
 
 This table will serve to explain the refer- 
 ences to the book, which occur in our narra- 
 
56 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 live, and is recommended as worthy of being 
 incorporated in the next edition of that work, 
 for the convenience of its readers. 
 
 CONTENTS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 The first book of Nephi contains 7 chap's. 
 The second book of Nephi, . 15 
 The book of Jacob, the brother 
 
 of Nephi, .... 5 
 The book of Enos, ... 1 
 The book of Jarom, ... 1 
 The book of Omni, ... 1 
 The words of Mormon, . . 1 
 The book of Mosiah, . . 13 
 
 The book of Alma, ... 30 
 The book of Helamon, . . 5 
 The book of Nephi, who was the 
 
 son of Helamon, ... 14 
 The book of Nephi, who is the son 
 
 of Nephi, one of the disciples of 
 
 Jesus Christ, ... 1 
 
 Book of Mormon, ... 4 
 Book of Ether, ... 6 
 
 The book of Moroni, . .10 
 
 Note. Thus we have fifteen books, which 
 contain one hundred and fifteen chapters. Only 
 a few of either are preceded by any summary 
 of topics. Such summaries as we find will now 
 be copied verbatim. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 57 
 
 THE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI : 
 HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY. 
 
 Chapter I. An account of Lehi and his wife, Sa- 
 riah, and his four sons, being called (beginning at the 
 eldest) Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord 
 warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, 
 because he prophesieth unto the people concerning 
 their iniquity : and they seek to destroy his life. He 
 taketh three days' journey into the wilderness with 
 his family. Nephi taketh his brethren, and returns 
 to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. 
 The account of their sufferings. They take the daugh- 
 ters of Ishmael to wife. They take their families, 
 and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and 
 afflictions in the wilderness. The course of their 
 travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi's 
 brethren rebelleth against him. He confoundeth 
 them, and buildeth a ship. They call the name of 
 the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters 
 into the promised land, &c. This is according to the 
 account of Nephi; or, in other words, I, Nephi, 
 wrote this record. 
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI. 
 
 Chapter I. An account of the death of Lehi. 
 Nephi's brethren rebelleth against him. The Lord 
 warns Nephi to depart into the wilderness. His 
 journeyings in the wilderness, &c. 
 
 THE BOOK OF JACOB, THE BROTHER OF NEPHI. 
 
 Chapter I. The words of his preaching unto his 
 brethren. He confoundeth a man who seeketh to 
 overthrow the doctrine of Christ.* A few words 
 concerning the history of the people of Nephi 
 
 * At least 500 B. C. 
 
58 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 BOOK OF MOSIAH. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE RECORD OF ZENIFF. 
 
 An account of his people, from the time they left 
 the land of Zarahemla, until the time that they were 
 delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites. 
 
 THE BOOK OF ALMA, 
 THE SON OF ALMA. 
 
 Chapter I. The account of Alma, who was the 
 son of Alma the first, and chief judge over the peo- 
 ple of Nephi, and also the high priest over the church. 
 An account of the reign of the judges, and the wars 
 and contentions among the people. And also an ac- 
 count of a war between the Nephites and the Laman- 
 ites, according to the record of Alma the first, and 
 chief judge. 
 
 Chapter XII. An account of the sons of Mosiah, 
 who rejected their rights to the kingdom, for the word 
 of God, and went up to the land of Nephi, to preach 
 to the Lamanites. Their sufferings and deliverance, 
 according to the record of Alma. 
 
 Chapter XIII. An account of the preaching of 
 Aaron and Muloki, and their brethren, to the La- 
 manites. 
 
 Chapter XXI. The account of the people of 
 Nephi, and their wars and dissensions, in the days 
 of Helaman, according to the record of Helaman, 
 which he kept in his days. 
 
 THE BOOK OF HELAMAN. 
 
 Chapter I. An account of the Nephites. Their 
 wars and contentions, and their dissensions. And 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 59 
 
 also the prophecies of many holy prophets, before the 
 coming of Christ, according to the record of Hela- 
 man, who was the son of Helaman, and also accord- 
 ing to the records of his sons, even down to the coming 
 of Christ. And also many of the Lamanites are con- 
 verted. An account of their conversion. An ac- 
 count of the righteousness of the Lamanites, and the 
 wickedness and abominations of the Nephites, ac- 
 cording to the record of Helaman and his sons, even 
 down to the coming of Christ, which is called the 
 book of Helaman, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PROPHECY OF NEPHI, 
 THE SON OF HELAMAN. 
 
 God threatens the people of Nephi, that he will 
 visit them in his anger, to their utter destruction, 
 except they repent of their wickedness. God smiteth. 
 the people of Nephi with pestilence ; they repent and 
 turn unto him. Samuel, a Lamanite, prophesies unto 
 the Nephites. 
 
 THE BOOK OF NEPHI, THE SON OF NEPHI, 
 
 WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN. 
 
 Chapter I. And Helaman was the son of Hela- 
 man, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of 
 Alma, being a descendant of Nephi, who was the son 
 of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year 
 of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah. 
 
 Chapter V. Jesus Christ sheweth himself unto 
 the people of Nephi, as the multitude were gathered 
 together in the land Bountiful, and did minister unto 
 them : and on this wise did he shew himself unto 
 them. 
 
60 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Our own humble opinion is, that just as much 
 correct knowledge and real information may be 
 drawn from the above nondescript and hetero- 
 geneous medley of contents, as from a perusal 
 of the entire volume of five hundred and seventy 
 pages. But more anon. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 P. P. Pratt makes his appearance in Ontario county 
 He is forthwith converted and ordained Mission to the 
 Lamanites Smith's wife constituted amanuensis Easy 
 method of getting a revelation Lamanites found in 
 Ohio Rigdon's conversion Pratt's denial of the con- 
 trivance examined. 
 
 BEFORE this ghostly work issued from the 
 press, numbers were already on the qui vive 
 for its reception. The term Golden Bible, which 
 had been thrown out in the rumours set afloat 
 respecting it, was too well adapted, both to the 
 cupidity and the marvellousness of this money- 
 making age, not to excite great expectations on 
 the part of the ignorant and the fanatical. 
 
 Nevertheless, it does not appear that many 
 were added to the company of those primarily 
 initiated, until after the principal seat of opera- 
 tions was transferred to Ohio. It is interesting 
 to observe how miraculously this event was 
 brought about. " It came to pass," not long 
 after the publication of the Book of Mormon, 
 that a man named Pratt, an intimate acquaint- 
 ance of Sidney Rigdon, and a convert to his 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 61 
 
 doctrines, made his appearance in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Smiths. This person, in a 
 very short lime, became a disciple to Mormon- 
 ism, and a teacher of its dogmas. He was, 
 indeed, so promising a convert, as almost im- 
 mediately to deserve and receive a commission 
 to proceed westward on a pretended mission to 
 the Indians. This expedition was fitted out 
 under the nominal direction of Oliver Cowdery 
 to whom the following was furnished by Smith. 
 
 A REVELATION UNTO OLIVER, GIVEN SEPTEM- 
 BER, 1830. 
 
 " Behold, I say unto you Oliver, that it shall be 
 given thee, that thou shalt be heard by the church in 
 all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the 
 Comforter, concerning the revelations and command- 
 ments which I have given. But, verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, no one shall be appointed to receive com- 
 mandments and revelations in the church, excepting 
 my servant Joseph, for he receiveth them even as 
 Moses, and thou shalt be obedient unto the things 
 which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to de- 
 clare faithfully the commandments and revelations, 
 with power and authority unto the church. And if 
 thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or 
 teach, or at all times by the way of commandment 
 unto the church, thou mayest do it; but shall not 
 vrite by way of commandment, but by wisdom : and 
 thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and 
 at the head of the church ; for I have given him the 
 keys of the mysteries of the revelations which are 
 sealed, until I shall appoint unto him another in his 
 stead and now, behold, I say unto you, that thou 
 shalt go unto the Lamanites, and preach my gospel 
 unto them ; and thou shalt have revelations, but write 
 
62 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 them not by way of commandment. And now I say 
 unto you, that it is not revealed, and no man know- 
 eth where the city shall be built, but it shall be given 
 hereafter. Behold, I say unto you, that it shall be 
 among the Lamanites. Thou shalt not leave this 
 place until after the conference, and my servant Jo- 
 seph shall be appointed to rule the conference, by the 
 voice of it ; and what he saith unto thee, that thou shalt 
 tell. And again, thou shalt take thy brother Hyrum 
 between him and thee alone, and tell him that these 
 things which he hath written from that stone, are not 
 of me, and that Satan hath deceived him, for these 
 things have not been appointed unto him, neither 
 shall any thing be appointed to any in this church, 
 contrary to the church covenant, for all things must 
 be done in order, and by commandment, by the prayer 
 of faith, and thou shalt settle all these things before 
 thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites ; 
 and it shall be given from time to time, that thou 
 shalt go, until the time that thou shalt return, what 
 thou shalt do ; and thou must open thy mouth at ail 
 times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoic- 
 ing. Amen." 
 
 The above document is chiefly remarkable, 
 as being the first of a series of pretended reve- 
 lations. 
 
 It shows, moreover, 1. That migration west- 
 ward was already anticipated. 2. The narrow- 
 mindedness of Smith, who was growing jealous 
 of rivalry, both from Cowdery and from his 
 brother Hyrum, who found it no great task to 
 do as Joseph had done, viz., to write things 
 from " that stone," which were not of God. 
 3. Jo assumes the prerogative of revelation for 
 life, or at least ad libitum. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 63 
 
 Cowdery had been the principal amanuensis 
 hitherto, and having been a schoolmaster, it is 
 presumed that his pedigogical talents found 
 ample scope, as well in giving lessons to " the 
 author," as in transcribing the book, since 
 Smith's followers assured Mr. Howe that the 
 prophet could not write his own name at the 
 time he was " chosen of the Lord." Be that 
 as it may, after two or three years' tuition and 
 practice he deemed himself qualified to proceed, 
 without any further assistance in this depart- 
 ment than that of his own better half. His idea 
 of self-aggrandizement was now so expanded 
 as to take in his family. Witness the follow- 
 ing revelation, commanding his wife " not to 
 work, but to be supported from the church." 
 
 "A commandment to Emma, my daughter in Zion, 
 A. D., 1830. A revelation I give unto you concern- 
 ing my will. Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and 
 thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. Murmur 
 not because of the things which thou hast seen, for 
 they are withheld from thee and from the world, 
 which is wisdom in me in a time to come ; and the 
 office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my 
 servant Joseph, thy husband, in his afflictions, with 
 consoling words in the spirit of meekness ; and thou 
 shalt go with him at the time of his going, and be 
 unto him a scribe, that I may send Oliver whitherso- 
 ever I will : and thou shalt be ordained under his 
 hand to expound the Scripture, and to exhort the 
 church, according as it shall be given thee by my 
 Spirit, for he shall lay his hands upon thee, and thou 
 shalt receive the Holy Ghost ; and thy time shall be 
 given to writing and to learning much ; and thou 
 
64 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 needst not fear, for thy husband shall support thee 
 from the church, for unto them is his calling, that all 
 things might be revealed unto them, whatsoever I 
 will, according to their faith ; and verily I say unto 
 thee, that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, 
 and seek for the things of a better ; and it shall be 
 given thee also to make a selection of sacred hymns, 
 as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, 
 o be had in my church, for my soul delights in the 
 song of the heart, yea, the song of the righteous is a 
 prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a bless- 
 ing upon their heads ; wherefore lift up thy heart, and 
 rejoice, and cleave unto the covenant which thou hast 
 made continue in the spirit of meekness let thy 
 soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall 
 come upon him keep my commandments continu- 
 ally, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive ; 
 and except thou do this, where I am ye cannot come ; 
 and verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto 
 all. Amen." 
 
 It is stated, that from this time neither spec- 
 tacles nor " peep-stone" were used in order to 
 obtain a revelation, but, when one was wanted, 
 it came to the prophet, who received and uttered 
 the same with his eyes shut. A sufficient 
 amount of faith to receive every thing thus ut- 
 tered as directly and positively from God, was 
 the prime condition of discipleship. In fact, 
 the Mormons have always been taught, that to 
 question or to doubt the divine authority of these 
 communications, was to endanger their salva- 
 tion. 
 
 The mission extraordinary to the Lamanites 
 at length started, composed of Cowdery, Pratt, 
 Peterson, and Whitmer. Under the direction 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 65 
 
 of Pratt, they had no difficulty in calling on 
 Rigdon by the way. Here they made a halt, 
 and " professed to rejoice at finding a people 
 walking according to the Scriptures." 
 
 For Rigdon to have acknowledged them at 
 once, would have been to develop the plot too 
 soon. He must needs come into the light by 
 degrees, if not miraculously ; wherefore, on 
 first reading the Mormon book, like a sensible 
 man, he pronounced it " a silly fabrication." 
 
 " Near his residence, in Kirtland, there had been, 
 for some time previous, a few families belonging to 
 his congregation, who had formed themselves into a 
 common-stock society, and had become considerably 
 fanatical, and were daily looking for some wonderful 
 event to take place in the world. Their minds had 
 become fully prepared to embrace Mormonism, or 
 any other mysterious ism that should first present it- 
 self. Seventeen in number, of these persons, readily 
 believed the whole story of Cowdery, about the find- 
 ing of the golden plates and the spectacles. They 
 were all reimmersed, in one night, by Cowdery. At 
 this, Rigdon seemed much displeased, and when the 
 Mormons came, next day, to his house, he told them 
 that what they had done was entirely without prece- 
 dent or authority, from the Scriptures for they had 
 immersed those persons that they might work mira- 
 cles, as well as come under their new covenant 
 showed them that the apostles baptized for the remis- 
 sion of sins, instead of miraculous gifts. But when 
 pressed upon the point, they said it was done merely 
 at the solicitation of those persons. Rigdon called 
 upon them for proofs of the truth of their book and 
 mission : they then related the manner in which they 
 obtained faith, which was by praying for a sign, and 
 5 
 
66 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 an angel was showed unto them. Rigdon here show- 
 ed them, from Scripture, the possibility of their being 
 deceived ; i for Satan himself is transformed into an 
 angel of light.' ' But,' said Cowdery, ' do you think 
 if I should go to my heavenly Father, with all sin- 
 cerity, and pray to him, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 that he would not show me an angel ; that he would 
 suffer Satan to deceive me V Rigdon replied, ' If the 
 heavenly Father has ever promised to show you an 
 angel, to confirm any thing, he would not suffer you 
 to be deceived, for, says John, This is the confidence 
 we have with him, if we ask things according to his 
 will, he hearkens to us.' 'But,' he continued, ' if you 
 should ask the heavenly Father to show you an an- 
 gel, when he has never promised you such a thing, 
 if the devil never had an opportunity of deceiving 
 you before, you give him one now.' 
 
 " However, about two days after this, Rigdon was 
 persuaded to tempt God, by asking this sign, which 
 he knew to be contrary to his revealed will : he of 
 course received a sign, and was convinced thatMor- 
 monism was true and divine. According to his own 
 reasoning, therefore, the devil appeared to him as an 
 angel of light ; but he now imputed his former rea- 
 soning to pride, incredulity, and the influence of the 
 evil one." 
 
 Respecting the honesty of this pretended 
 conversion, the reader is now prepared to judge, 
 although additional light will be thrown upon it 
 by subsequent facts. It is not claimed that we 
 have any thing more than circumstantial evi- 
 dence to prove it to have been part of a pre- 
 concerted scheme, but it is claimed that such a 
 train of circumstances, as has been developed 
 respecting this matter, utters a testimony infi- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 67 
 
 nitely more credible than all that has been 
 affirmed by the three witnesses, and the eight. 
 Their story could easily have been fabricated. 
 Mere accident, on the other hand, could never 
 have linked together such peculiar circum- 
 stances. They are so manifest, indeed, that 
 the most studied caution seems to have been 
 in vain used to mask the duplicity of the trans- 
 action. The only attempt we have seen to 
 show this view of the affair incorrect, is from 
 the pen of P. P. Pratt himself, who certainly 
 ought to be able to show the falsehood of what 
 he calls " the Spalding lie," if a lie it be. We 
 subjoin his own words : " For the sake of the 
 honest in heart, who love the truth, I here offer 
 my testimony on this subject, as I was a per- 
 sonal actor in the scenes which brought S. Rig- 
 don into an acquaintance with the Book of Mor- 
 mon, and into connection with the church of 
 Latter-day Saints." He here proceeds to nar- 
 rate the circumstances in which he first became 
 acquainted with Rigdon, and a believer in, and 
 a teacher of, the same doctrine Campbellism. 
 " After proclaiming those principles in my 
 own neighbourhood, and the adjoining country, 
 I at length took a journey to the state of New- 
 York, partly on a visit to Columbia county, and 
 partly for the purpose of administering the 
 word. This journey was undertaken in Aug., 
 1830. I had no sooner reached Ontario county, 
 than I came in contact with the Book of Mor- 
 mon, which had then been published about six 
 months, and had gathered about fifty disciples 
 
68 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 which were all that then constituted the church 
 of Latter-day Saints. (That name was not 
 adopted till some years after.) I was greatly 
 prejudiced against the book, but remembering 
 the caution of Paul, ' Prove all things, and hold 
 fast that which is good,' I sat down to read it, 
 and after carefully comparing it with the other 
 Scriptures, and praying to God, he gave me 
 knowledge of its truth, by the power of the 
 Holy Ghost ; and what was I, that I should 
 withstand God ? I accordingly obeyed the or- 
 dinances, and was commissioned by revelation, 
 and the laying on of hands, to preach the ful- 
 ness of the gospel. Then, after finishing my 
 visit to Columbia county, I returned to the 
 brethren in Ontario county, when, for the first 
 time, I saw Mr. Joseph Smith, Jr., who had 
 just returned from Pennsylvania to his father's 
 house in Manchester. About the 15th of Oc- 
 tober, 1830, I took my journey, in company 
 with Elder O. Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, to 
 Ohio. We called on Elder S. Rigdon, and 
 then, for the first time, his eyes beheld the Book 
 of Mormon. I myself had the happiness to 
 present it to him in person (!) He was much 
 surprised, and it was with much persuasion and 
 argument that he was prevailed on to read 
 
 4. "***** 
 
 " Now I testify, that the forgers of the Spal- 
 ding lie (concerning S. Rigdon and others) are 
 of the same description as those who forged the 
 lie against the disciples of old, accusing them 
 of stealing the body of Jesus. And those who 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 69 
 
 love this lie are no better ; and except they 
 repent they will have their part with drunk- 
 ards, whoremongers, sorcerers, thieves, mur- 
 derers, &c., for being guilty of loving and 
 making a lie." ***** 
 
 In remarking upon the above exposition, for 
 it cannot be considered a refutation of the views 
 expressed concerning this transaction, one can- 
 not fail to observe the singularity of the circum- 
 stance, that a traveller, merely passing through 
 western New-York, should come in contact 
 with the then little company of Mormons, who 
 were not located upon either of the great tho- 
 roughfares of travel. His unceremonious con- 
 version, and his prompt investment with the 
 priesthood, are equally remarkable. It is not 
 necessary to doubt that Rigdon's eyes first be- 
 held the Book of Mormon when shown him by 
 Pratt. It has generally been supposed, that 
 having arranged the manuscript to his liking, 
 he transferred the task of copying and bringing 
 it through the press entirely to Smith and Cow- 
 dery. Nor is this view of the case even con- 
 tradicted, much less shown to be false, by what 
 Pratt has said. 
 
 His cruel denunciation of those who love the 
 truth so well as to give their credence to the 
 complete series of circumstantial evidence ex- 
 hibited above, rather than to the vague and un- 
 satisfactory denial of one who must either have 
 been a party to the plot, or the tool of its exe- 
 cution, could only have been called for by the 
 want of something better to say. It is, how- 
 
72 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 fanaticism. One of these aerial commissions, which 
 they all supposed was signed and sealed by Christ 
 himself, we here subjoin, verbatim. 
 
 " ' O my servant, there is a great work for you and 
 the other two of your brethren. I send a messenger 
 to tell you where to go and find a piece of parchment 
 that shall contain these words : You shall teach re- 
 pentance and remission of sins to all who shall come 
 in the sound of your voice I command you that you 
 do these things in sincerity and in truth ; and if you 
 do, you shall be blessed. The time is shortly com- 
 ing, and is not far distant, when you shall be bound 
 together for life : the names of your brethren are 
 these : Burr Riggs and Edson Fuller, and if they are 
 not faithful, I will choose another in their stead my 
 work must be done. My servants, you shall go 
 forth from place to place, and if you are true to your 
 trust, they shall hear. Remember that I am the 
 Lord your God serve me above all others, and I 
 will bless you, in the end. Amen. 
 
 " ' That that you had a messenger tell you to go and 
 get the other night, you must not show to any son of 
 Adam. Obey this, and I will stand by you in all 
 cases : my servants, obey my commandments in all 
 cases, and I will provide. 
 
 C Be ye always ready, 1 
 
 < Be ye always ready, > whenever I shall call. 
 
 f Be ye always ready, ) My seal 
 
 " ' There shall be something of greater importance 
 revealed when I shall call you to go : my servants, 
 be faithful over a few things, and I will make you a 
 ruler over many. Amen, Amen, Amen.' 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 73 
 
 " These commissions, they said, came on parch- 
 ment, and they had only time to copy them, before 
 they vanished from their sight. With such papers 
 in their pockets, they actually went through the 
 country, preaching, and made many converts. Two 
 of the three afterward obtained their reason, and left 
 the concern. All these things were afterward pro- 
 nounced by Smith to be the work of the devil, al- 
 though more than one hundred had been converted 
 to Mormonism, by merely witnessing the exhibitions. 
 They professed, at all times, their inability to work 
 miracles, but were secretly trying to perform them, 
 and frequently proclaimed their success. At a dis- 
 tance from the scene of action, many notable mira- 
 cles were circulated." 
 
 Meantime Rigdon had gone to what Mr. 
 Howe denominates the Bible quarry, in order 
 to have an interview with the prophet. A joy- 
 ful one it must have been, now that the leaven 
 began to work, and the speculation to prosper. 
 At any rate, within about a month from the time 
 Cowdery and party had appeared in Ohio, a 
 revelation came out in Manchester, coupling 
 Rigdon with Smith, as another chosen vessel. 
 Thus it appears, that a man long known as a 
 preacher of some distinction, in his order, who 
 had, moreover, spent three years in the exclu- 
 sive study of the Scriptures (?) now, in the 
 course of a few weeks, has surrendered him- 
 self up, without any pretence of sufficient rea- 
 son, to a system opposed to Christianity, and 
 entirely subversive of its principles. We ap- 
 peal to the world to decide whether this defec- 
 tion is most naturally chargeable upon the 
 
72 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 fanaticism. One of these aerial commissions, which 
 they all supposed was signed and sealed by Christ 
 himself, we here subjoin, verbatim. 
 
 " ' O my servant, there is a great work for you and 
 the other two of your brethren. I send a messenger 
 to tell you where to go and find a piece of parchment 
 that shall contain these words : You shall teach re- 
 pentance and remission of sins to all who shall come 
 in the sound of your voice I command you that you 
 do these things in sincerity and in truth ; and if you 
 do, you shall be blessed. The time is shortly com- 
 ing, and is not far distant, when you shall be bound 
 together for life : the names of your brethren are 
 these : Burr Riggs and Edson Fuller, and if they are 
 not faithful, I will choose another in their stead my 
 work must be done. My servants, you shall go 
 forth from place to place, and if you are true to your 
 trust, they shall hear. Remember that I am the 
 Lord your God serve me above all others, and I 
 will bless you, in the end. Amen. 
 
 " ' That that you had a messenger tell you to go and 
 get the other night, you must not show to any son of 
 Adam. Obey this, and I will stand by you in all 
 cases : my servants, obey my commandments in all 
 cases, and I will provide. 
 
 C Be ye always ready, } 
 < Be ye always ready, > 
 f Be ye always ready, j 
 
 whenever I shall call. 
 My seal 
 
 " l There shall be something of greater importance 
 revealed when I shall call you to go : my servants, 
 be faithful over a few things, and I will make you a 
 ruler over many. Amen, Amen, Amen.' 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 73 
 
 " These commissions, they said, came on parch- 
 ment, and they had only time to copy them, before 
 they vanished from their sight. With such papers 
 in their pockets, they actually went through the 
 country, preaching, and made many converts. Two 
 of the three afterward obtained their reason, and left 
 the concern. All these things were afterward pro- 
 nounced by Smith to be the work of the devil, al- 
 though more than one hundred had been converted 
 to Mormonism, by merely witnessing the exhibitions. 
 They professed, at all times, their inability to work 
 miracles, but were secretly trying to perform them, 
 and frequently proclaimed their success. At a dis- 
 tance from the scene of action, many notable mira- 
 cles were circulated." 
 
 Meantime Rigdon had gone to what Mr. 
 Howe denominates the Bible quarry, in order 
 to have an interview with the prophet. A joy- 
 ful one it must have been, now that the leaven 
 began to work, and the speculation to prosper. 
 At any rate, within about a month from the time 
 Cowdery and party had appeared in Ohio, a 
 revelation came out in Manchester, coupling 
 Rigdon with Smith, as another chosen vessel. 
 Thus it appears, that a man long known as a 
 preacher of some distinction, in his order, who 
 had, moreover, spent three years in the exclu- 
 sive study of the Scriptures (?) now, in the 
 course of a few weeks, has surrendered him- 
 self up, without, any pretence of sufficient rea- 
 son, to a system opposed to Christianity, and 
 entirely subversive of its principles. We ap- 
 peal to the world to decide whether this defec- 
 tion is most naturally chargeable upon the 
 
74 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 intellect, or the heart. In copying the follow- 
 ing, we have italicized a few words, the truth 
 and beauty of which will be still more apparent 
 hereafter. 
 
 " A commandment to Joseph and Sidney, Dec. 7, 
 1830 : saying, Listen to the voice of the Lord your 
 God : I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
 end, whose course is one eternal round ; the same 
 to-day as yesterday, and for ever. I am Jesus 
 Christ, was crucified for the sins of the world, even 
 as many as will believe on my name, that they may 
 become the sons of God, even on me as I am in the 
 Father, as the Father is in me, that we may become 
 one. Behold, verily, verily I say unto my servant 
 Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy works ; I 
 have heard thy prayers, and prepared thee for a 
 greater work thou art blessed, for thou shalt do 
 great things. Behold, thou wast sent forth, even as 
 John, to prepare the way before me and Elijah which 
 should come, and thou knewest it not : thou didst 
 baptize by water unto repentance, but they secured 
 not the Holy Ghost ; but now I give unto you a com- 
 mandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and give 
 the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands, even as the 
 apostles of old. And it shall come to pass, that there 
 shall be a great work in the land, even among the 
 Gentiles, for their folly and their abominations shall 
 be made manifest in the eyes of all nations ; for I am 
 God, and mine arm is not shortened : and I will shew 
 miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who be- 
 lieve on my name ; and whosoever shall ask, in my 
 name, in faith, shall cast out devils, they shall heal 
 the sick, they shall cause the blind to receive their 
 sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, 
 and the lame to walk : and the time speedily cometh 
 that great things are to come and be shown forth 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 75 
 
 unto the children of men ; but without shall nothing 
 be shown forth except desolation and destruction upon 
 Babylon, the same which hath made all nations drink 
 of the wine of their fornication, and there is none that 
 doeth good, except them that are trying to receive 
 the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth to 
 this generation. Wherefore, I have called upon the 
 weak things, that they are unlearned and despised, 
 to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit, and 
 their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield 
 and their buckler ; I will gird up their loins, and they 
 shall fight manfully for me, and their enemies shall 
 be put under their feet ; and I will let fall the sivord 
 in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation 
 will I preserve them, and the poor and the meek shall 
 have the gospel preached to them, and they shall be 
 looking forth to the time of my coming, for it is nigh 
 at hand ; and they shall learn the parable of the fig- 
 tree, for even now, already, summer is nigh at hand, 
 and I have sent forth the fulness of my gospel by the 
 hand of my servant Joseph, and in meekness have I 
 blessed him ; and I have given unto him the keys of 
 the mysteries of those things which have been seal- 
 ed, even things which have been from the founda- 
 tion of the world, and the things which shall come 
 from this time till the end of my coming, if he abide 
 in me ; and if not, another will I plant in his stead : 
 wherefore, watch over him, that his faith fail not ; as 
 it shall be given by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, 
 which knoweth all things. And a commandment I 
 give unto you, that thou shalt write for him, and the 
 Scriptures shall be given, even as they are in my 
 own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect, for 
 they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall 
 not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming, 
 for iney be prepared, even as I am prepared ; and 
 now, I say unto you, tarry with him, and he shall 
 
76 MORMON ISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 journey with thee : forsake him not, and surely these 
 things shall he fulfilled : and inasmuch as ye do not 
 write, behold, it shall be given unto him to prophesy, 
 and thou shalt preach my gospel, and call on the holy 
 prophets to prove his words as they shall be given 
 him. Keep all the commandments and covenants 
 by which ye are bound, and I will cause the heavens 
 to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble, and 
 Zion shall rejoice upon the hills, and flourish ; and 
 Israel shall be saved in mine own due time, and by 
 the keys which I have given shall be led and no 
 more be confounded. Lift up your hearts and be 
 glad, for your redemption is nigh. Fear not, little 
 flock, the kingdom is yours until I come. Behold, I 
 come quickly, even so. Amen." 
 
 It makes the heart shudder to contemplate 
 the blasphemy, and the purposed wickedness 
 of such attempts to counterfeit the voice and 
 word of God, for the low and sole purpose of 
 deceiving the ignorant. These pretended re- 
 velations, however, were only an introduction 
 to the series of incredible iniquities which, in 
 a similar category, have come down to the pre- 
 sent. What man in his senses can, for one 
 moment, entertain the comparison of Mormon- 
 ism with Christianity ? For what communion 
 hath Christ with Belial ? 
 
 " Their plans of deception appear to have been 
 more fully matured and developed after the meeting 
 of Smith and Rigdon. The latter being found very 
 intimate with the Scriptures, a close reasoner, and 
 as fully competent to make white appear black, and 
 black white, as any other man ; and at all times pre- 
 pared to establish, to the satisfaction of great num- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 77 
 
 bers of people, the negative or affirmative, of any and 
 every question, from Scripture-, he was forthwith 
 appointed to promulgate all the absurdities and ridi- 
 culous pretensions of Mormonism, ' and call on the 
 holy prophets to prove' all the words of Smith. But 
 the miraculous powers conferred upon him, we do not 
 learn have yet been put in requisition. It seems that 
 the Spirit had not, before the arrival of Rigdon, told 
 Smith any thing about the ' promised land,' or his 
 removal to Ohio. It is, therefore, very questionable 
 4 what manner of spirit' it was which dictated most 
 of the after movements of the prophet. The spirit 
 of Rigdon, it must be presumed, however, generally 
 held sway ; for a revelation was soon had, that Kirt- 
 land, the residence of Rigdon and his brethren, was 
 to be the eastern border of the * promised land,' ' and 
 from thence to the Pacific Ocean.' On this land the 
 ' New Jerusalem, the city of refuge,' was to be built. 
 Upon it all true Mormons were to assemble, to es- 
 cape the destruction of the world, which was so soon 
 to take place." 
 
 Progress was soon reported by Rigdon, in 
 the following communication addressed to his 
 brethren in Ohio, 
 
 " I send you this letter by John Whitmer. Re- 
 ceive him, for he is a brother greatly beloved, and an 
 apostle of this church. With him we send all the 
 revelations which we have received ; for the Lord 
 has declared unto us that you pray unto him that Jo- 
 seph Smith and myself go speedily unto you ; but at 
 present it is not expedient for him to send us. He 
 has required of us, therefore, to send unto you our 
 beloved brother John, and with him the revelations 
 which he has given unto us, by which you will see 
 the reason why we cannot come at this time. The 
 Lord has made known unto us some of his great things 
 
78 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 which he has laid up for them that love him, among 
 which the fact (a glory of wonders it is) that you are 
 living on the land of promise, and that there is the 
 place of gathering, and from that place to the Pacific 
 Ocean, God has declared to himself, not only in time, 
 but through eternity, and he has given it to us and 
 our children, not only while time lasts, but we shall 
 have it again in eternity, as you will see by one of 
 the commandments, received day before yesterday. 
 Therefore, be it known to you, brethren, that you are 
 dwelling on your eternal inheritance ; for which, 
 cease not to give ceaseless glory, praise, and thanks- 
 giving to the God of heaven. Yes, lift up your heads 
 with joy, for the kingdom is ours till the Saviour 
 comes, even so, Amen therefore prepare your hearts 
 to receive salvation which God has sent unto you, 
 knowing that they have come from God ; and know 
 assuredly, if you receive them, you shall receive 
 greater things, yes, things unspeakable and full of 
 glory ' such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 neither hath it entered into the heart of man to con- 
 ceive,' for our God hath in visions shown it unto me. 
 Therefore, I write with the greatest certainty of 
 these things which he hath prepared for us yes, 
 even us, for ever, who receive the revelations of the 
 last days, are the very people of whom the prophets 
 spoke, and the very saints who shall rejoice with 
 Jesus ! ! !" 
 
 " This communication caused a great rejoicing in 
 the congregation. They were then residing upon 
 their ' eternal inheritance ! ! !' Rigdon tarried with 
 Smith about two months, receiving revelations, 
 preaching in that vicinity, and proving, by the pro- 
 phets, that Mormoriism was true, as he imagined. 
 He then returned to Kirtland, Ohio, being followed, 
 in a few days after, by the prophet and his connec- 
 tions. This being the ' promised land,' in it their Ions:- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 79 
 
 cherished hopes and anticipations of * living without 
 work' were to be realized. Thus, from almost a 
 state of beggary, the family of Smiths were imme- 
 diately well furnished with the 'fat of the land' 
 by their fanatical followers, many of whom were 
 wealthy." 
 
 The fame of Rigdon's conversion now spread 
 far and wide. His friends and acquaintances 
 flocked to see and to hear the wonders from 
 his own lips. The following facts, in the lan- 
 guage of one who witnessed them, are sub- 
 joined, to show what manner of spirit he pos- 
 sessed, as well as his reasons for the new 
 faith. 
 
 " Mr. Rigdon having returned from the state of 
 New- York, two friends from Mentor going to see 
 him, required of him a reason for his present hope, 
 and for his belief in the Book of Mormon. He de- 
 clined, saying he was weary, having just come off 
 his journey, had lost much sleep, and the like. After 
 a number of words had passed, by way of solicitation 
 on one side, and refusal on the other, one of the 
 friends from Mentor said he thought there was no 
 more evidence to confirm the Book of Mormon, than 
 the Koran of Mohammed. At this Mr. R. seemed 
 very angry, rose up, and said, ' Sir, you have insult- 
 ed me in my own house I command silence if 
 people come to see us, and cannot treat us with civi- 
 lity, they may walk out of the door as soon as they 
 please.' The person then made some apology. Mr. 
 R. said he had borne every thing ; he had been in- 
 sulted and trampled upon, by old and young, and he 
 would bear it no longer. The two friends then de- 
 parted. Two days after, I accompanied several 
 friends to Mr. R.'s residence, and found him in con- 
 
80 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 versation with a Methodist elder. That being soon 
 broken off, one of my friends modestly approached 
 Mr. R., and solicited him to give some reason for his 
 present faith. Mr. R., with great show of good na- 
 ture, commenced a long detail of his researches after 
 the character of Joseph Smith, he declared that 
 even his enemies had nothing to say against his cha- 
 racter ; he had brought a transcript from the dockets 
 of two magistrates, where Smith had been tried as a 
 disturber of the peace, which testified that he was 
 honourably acquitted. But this was no evidence to 
 us that the Book of Mormon was divine. He then 
 spoke of the supernatural gifts with which he said 
 Smith was endowed ; he said he could translate the 
 Scriptures from any language in which they were now 
 extant, and could lay his finger upon every interpola- 
 tion in the sacred writings ; adding, that he had proven 
 him in all these things. But my friend, knowing 
 that Mr. Rigdon had no knowledge of any language 
 but his own vernacular tongue, asked him how he 
 knew these things, to which Mr. R. made no direct 
 reply. 
 
 " Mr. Smith arrived at Kirtland the next day, and 
 being examined concerning his supernatural gifts, by 
 a scholar, who was capable of testing his knowledge, 
 he confessed he knew nothing of any language, save 
 the king's English. 
 
 " We then asked Mr. R. what object we could 
 have, in receiving the Book of Mormon whether it 
 enjoined a single virtue that the Bible did not, or 
 whether it mentioned or prohibited a single additional 
 vice, or whether it exhibited a new attribute of De- 
 ity ] He said it did not. ' The Book of Mormon,' 
 said he, ' is to form and govern the millennial church ; 
 the old revelation was never calculated for that, nor 
 would it accomplish that object ; and without receiv- 
 ing the Book of Mormon, there is no salvation fo* 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 81 
 
 any one into whose hands it shall come.' He said 
 faith in the Book of Mormon was only to be obtained 
 by asking the Lord concerning it. To this, Scrip- 
 tural objections were made. He then said, if we have 
 not familiarity enough with our Creator to ask of him 
 a sign, we were no Christians ; and that if God would 
 not condescend to his creatures, in this way, he was 
 no letter than Juggernaut I ! /" 
 
 Mr. Howe adds, 
 
 " From this point in the history of this delusion, it 
 began to spread with considerable rapidity. Nearly 
 all of their male converts, however ignorant and 
 worthless, were forthwith transformed into * elders,' 
 and sent forth to proclaim, with all their wild enthu- 
 siasm, the wonders and mysteries of Mormonism. 
 All those having a taste for the marvellous, and de- 
 lighting in novelties, flocked to hear them. Many 
 travelled fifty and a hundred miles to the throne of 
 the prophet, in Kirtland, to hear from his own mouth 
 the certainty of his excavating a Bible and specta- 
 cles. Many, even in the New- England states, after 
 hearing the frantic story of some of these i elders,' 
 would forthwith place their all into a wagon, and 
 wend their way to the ' promised land,' in order, as 
 they supposed, to escape the judgments of heaven 
 which were soon to be poured out upon the land. 
 The state of New- York, they were privately told, 
 would most probably be sunk, unless the people there- 
 of believed in the pretensions of Smith." 
 
 The fears excited by these alarming fictions, 
 and kept alive by the " madness of the pro- 
 phets," conspired chiefly to promote the early 
 advancement of Mormonism. Thus the ety- 
 mological signification of that term was fully 
 illustrated. So far as our knowledge extends, 
 
82 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 the Greek was the only language in which the 
 word Mormon had any existence, previous to 
 the origin of the system we are discussing. 
 Whether the author of the " Manuscript Found" 
 selected the word for its intrinsic appropriate- 
 ness, or whether it was a chance hit of his 
 posthumous editors, matters not. 
 
 In Donnegan's Lexicon may be found Mop- 
 jj,(*)v, poppovoc;, with this definition, " A hideous 
 female spectre ; a phantom something used 
 to frighten children, &c." Another diction- 
 ary defines it, " Bug-bear, hobgoblin, bloody 
 bones, &c." 
 
 What more fitting term could have been 
 chosen, either for the book, or for the measures 
 by which the system was promulgated ! The 
 writer recollects, during the winter of 1832 and 
 1833, to have heard, from one of these fanatics, 
 the assertion, that within three years from that 
 time the whole of western New- York would be 
 deluged in blood. By means of this frightful 
 bug-bear, the individual in question was endea- 
 vouring to frighten his kindred into an imme- 
 diate removal to the land of promise. 
 
 That such endeavours were often successful, 
 is not to be wondered at, when we consider 
 how often reason is dethroned by terror. Indi- 
 viduals, however, who had taken one step, were 
 obliged to continue on, or become obnoxious to 
 the maledictions of their blind guides. They 
 could seldom be expected to possess sufficient 
 moral courage to endure the mortification of re- 
 treat. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 83 
 
 As further specimens of these false and fright- 
 ful, or Mormon prophesies, we subjoin two, 
 written by Harris, and preserved by a friend 
 of his. 
 
 " Within four years from September, 1832, there 
 will not be one wicked person left in the United 
 States ; that the righteous will be gathered to Zion, 
 [Missouri,] and that there will be no president over 
 these United States after that time. 
 
 " MARTIN HARRIS. 
 
 " I do hereby assert and declare, that in four years 
 from the date hereof, every sectarian and religious 
 denomination in the United States shall be broken 
 down, and every Christian shall be gathered unto the 
 Mormonites, and the rest of the human race shall 
 perish. If these things do not take place, I will 
 hereby consent to have my hand separated from my 
 body. MARTIN HARRIS." 
 
 The rumour that these saints had all things 
 " in common," appears, furthermore, to have 
 exerted a powerful influence over many. 
 Wherever such a rumour originated, Mormon- 
 ism is indebted to it for numbers of its early 
 converts. These persons, having made a long 
 pilgrimage, with a view to " bettering their con- 
 dition," found, to their sorrow, that the burden 
 of all revelations, on this subject, fell upon the 
 many, for the benefit of a few. As a sufficient 
 explanation of the common-stock principles 
 held and practised among the Mormons, we 
 insert the following official document. 
 
 " If thou lovest rne, thou shalt serve me and keep 
 my commandments ; and behold, thou shalt conse- 
 
84 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 crate all thy properties, that which thou hast, unto 
 me, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be 
 broken ; and they shall be laid before the bishop of 
 my church, and two of the elders, such as he shall 
 appoint and set apart for that purpose. And it shall 
 come to pass, that the bishop of my church, after that 
 he has received the properties of my church, that it 
 cannot be taken from the church, he shall appoint 
 every man a steward over his own property, or that 
 which he has received, inasmuch as shall be sufficient 
 for himself and family ; and the residue shall be kept 
 to administer to him who has not, that every man 
 may receive according as he stands in need ; and the 
 residue shall be kept in my store-house, to adminis- 
 ter to the poor and needy, as shall be appointed by 
 he elders of the church, and bishop, and for the pur- 
 oose of purchasing land, and the building up of the 
 New Jerusalem, which is hereafter to be revealed ; 
 that my covenant people may be gathered in one, 
 in the day that I shall come to my temple ; and this 
 T do for the salvation of my people. And it shall 
 come to pass, that he that sinneth and repenteth not, 
 shall be cast out, and shall not receive again that 
 which he has consecrated unto me : for it shall come 
 to pass, that which I spoke by the mouths of my pro- 
 phets shall be fulfilled, for I wdll consecrate the riches 
 of the Gentiles unto my people, which are of the 
 house of Israel." 
 
 Mr. Corrill remarks on this subject : " Much 
 has been said, and great exertions have been 
 used at times, to inspire the members of the 
 church with a spirit of consecration and volun- 
 tary offering. Some have thus been led to give 
 up all, while others have been backward, which 
 has caused the leaders at times to resort to other 
 means of obtaining money to carry on their 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 85 
 
 operations. From some they would borrow, 
 promising to pay again ; others they would 
 stimulate to liberality, by promising them bless- 
 ings and prosperity, in the name of the Lord, 
 in their future business and prospects. Thus 
 many, from time to time, have lost their pro- 
 perty and become dissatisfied, until a great 
 many have lost confidence in their leaders." 
 
 We have deemed it necessary to dwell some- 
 what upon the incipient stages of this delusion, 
 in order to exhibit its original and intrinsic cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Having now arrived at a period, subsequent 
 to which its operations became more generally 
 known, our sketches will be more brief. We 
 shall, however, pause occasionally to exhibit 
 some internal evidences of the fanaticism and 
 the imposture, in the words of those who had 
 been the victims of one or both. 
 
 It appears, that by 1833, the numerous fail- 
 ures at guessing right, in the shape of prophe- 
 cies, had become so disheartening to the faithful, 
 and so disgusting to the Gentiles, as to render 
 some new device necessary. Hence the gift 
 of tongues, which, on a previous occasion, had 
 been denounced as a work of the devil, was 
 now officially resumed. Respecting the modus 
 ope^andi of this gift, we have the following par- 
 ticulars, published by a Mr. Higby, who was 
 eight months an elder of the Mormon church. 
 Soon after joining the Mormons, an elder said 
 to him, " You must go to work in the vineyard 
 ot the Lord, as a preacher of the gospel. I 
 
86 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 have viewed your heart by the spirit of dis- 
 cernment : I see what is in your heart, and 
 what the will of the Lord is concerning you." 
 
 Having been accordingly ordained, Mr. H. says, 
 " About the 10th of April following, R. Gaboon and 
 D. Patton came again to the place a meeting was 
 called, and, previous to the meeting, they said that 
 some one would speak with tongues before they left 
 the place. Accordingly, the latter set himself to work 
 at that meeting to verify his prophecy. During the 
 meeting he said, ' Father H., if you will rise in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, you can speak in tongues.' 
 He arose immediately, hesitated, and said, l My faith 
 fails me I have not faith enough.' Said Patton, 
 * You have speak in the name of Jesus Christ 
 make some sound as you list, without further thought, 
 and God will make it a language.' The old gentle- 
 man, after considerable urging, spoke, and made some 
 sounds, which were pronounced to be a correct 
 tongue. Several others spoke in a similar manner, 
 and among them was myself. I spoke as I listed, 
 not knowing what I said, yet it was declared to be a 
 tongue. The sound of the words used by some, in 
 speaking in tongues, was a medium between talking 
 and singing and all, as I am now convinced, a mere 
 gibberish, spoken at random, and without thought. 
 
 " We had another meeting shortly after, at which 
 there were present several others, besides those of 
 the church. Gaboon spoke in unknown tongues, as 
 he pretended, going on at considerable length, which 
 Patton interpreted. He then asked me to speak, 
 which I did, and he interpreted as he thought proper. 
 
 " The next time those men came among us, they 
 gave us a rule for speaking in unknown tongues, and 
 also 4or interpreting what was spoken by others. 
 This rule, they said, was perfect that as long as \ve 
 
MORMONISM AND fHE MORMONS. 87 
 
 followed it we could not err. And so I believe ; it 
 was a perfect rule to lead men astray. The rule, as 
 given by Cahoon, is this : rise upon your feet, and 
 look and lean on Christ ; speak or make some sound ; 
 continue to make sounds of some kind, and the Lord 
 will make a correct tongue or language of it. The 
 interpretation was to be given in the same way. 
 
 " Upon this Mr. H. justly remarks : ' Men of sense 
 may smile at this recital ; and those who scoff at all 
 religion, and know nothing of those feelings of the 
 human heart which the devotional man enjoys, in con- 
 verse with his Maker, will doubtless ridicule what 
 they consider the weakness of folly : but the man of 
 religious feeling will know how to pity, rather than 
 upbraid, that zeal without knowledge which leads ? 
 man to fancy that he has found the ladder of Jacob, 
 and that he sees the angel of the Lord ascending and 
 descending before his eyes : while the Christian phi- 
 losopher, who has read the history of mankind, will 
 find abundant apology for that man, who, by a con- 
 stant and over-anxious exercise of mind, is led at 
 length to fancy himself on the banks of the Ulai with 
 Daniel, or on the Isle of Patmos with St. John.' 
 
 " They would frequently sing in this gibberish, 
 forming a tune as they proceeded. The same songs, 
 they said, would be sung when the lost tribes appear- 
 ed in Zion, in Missouri. 
 
 " Another seceder from this delusion relates, that 
 he was present, on a certain occasion, in an upper 
 room in Kirtland, where were assembled from fifteen 
 to twenty elders and high priests. After sundry ex- 
 hortations by the priests, the prophet himself arose, 
 and, with much earnestness, warned his followers to 
 be zealous and faithful in their duties, saying, ' It is 
 our privilege to see God face to face yes, says he, 
 I will prophesy unto you, in the name of the Lord, 
 that the day will come when no man will be permit- 
 
88 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ted to preach, unless he has seen the Lord : people 
 will ask each teacher, ' Have you seen the face of 
 the Lord V and if he say nay, they will say, ' Away 
 with this fellow, for we will have a man to teach us 
 that has seen the face of the Lord.' After a short 
 pause, he added, ' The Lord is willing we should see 
 his glory to-day, and all that will exercise faith, shall 
 see the Lord of glory.' They then concluded to 
 spend the day in fasting and prayer. Each one kept 
 his seat, with his eyes closed, and his body inclined 
 forward. Soon after Joseph says, ' Sidney, (Rigdon,) 
 have you seen the Lord V He answered, ' I saw the 
 image of a man pass before my face, whose locks 
 were white, and whose countenance was exceedingly 
 fair, even surpassing all beauty that I ever beheld.' 
 Then Joseph replied, ' I knew you had seen a vision, 
 but would have seen more, were it not for unbelief.' 
 Sidney confessed his faith was weak that morning. 
 Hiram Smith said he had seen nearly the same as 
 Sidney, which was pronounced by Joseph to be the 
 Redeemer of the world. Upon this, R. Gaboon fell 
 upon his knees, holding his hands in an erect posi- 
 tion. In fifteen or twenty minutes he arose, and de- 
 clared he had seen the temple of Zion, filled with 
 disciples, while the top was covered with the glory 
 of the Lord, in the form of a cloud. Another one 
 then placed himself in the same position, but saw no 
 vision, his faith being weak. Joseph next arose, and 
 passed round the room, laying his hand upon each 
 one, and spoke as follows, as near as the narrator can 
 recollect : 
 
 " ' Ak man oh son oh man ah ne commene en holle 
 goste en haben en glai hosanne hosanne en holle goste 
 en esac milkea Jeremiah, ezekiel, Nephi, Lehi, St. 
 John,' &c,, &c. After administering the sacrament, 
 several of the brethren were called upon to arise and 
 speak in tongues. Several of them performed with 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 89 
 
 considerable applause. Our informant says he was 
 at length called upon to speak, or sing, ' in tongues,' 
 at his own option preferring the latter mode, he 
 sung, to the tune of Bruce's Address, a combination 
 of sounds, which astonished all present. 
 
 " This gibberish for several months was practised 
 almost daily, while they were about their common 
 avocations, as well as when they assembled for wor- 
 ship." 
 
 Nor was it in Ohio alone that such scenes 
 were enacted. The same excesses of folly 
 have exhibited themselves in almost every place 
 where Mormonism has made any advancement, 
 both in America and England. 
 
 Indeed, this species of jugglery has hardly 
 been second to any other means of securing 
 Mormon converts. Hence, perhaps, the perti- 
 nacity with which they assert, in direct oppo- 
 sition to Scripture, that tongues shall not cease. 
 
 There is no need, however, of contesting 
 this point with the Mormons, since what they 
 call tongues and prophecies may undoubtedly 
 continue, while the " heart is deceitful above 
 all things, and desperately wicked." 
 
90 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preliminary operations in Missouri Mormon El Dora- 
 do Experience of Mr. Booth Smith's position and au- 
 thority in the church Commandments Communion with 
 black spirits and white Treasures Foundation of Zion 
 The prophet nearly drowned in the " river of destruc- 
 tion" Comment on Rigdon's conversion. 
 
 THE reader will not have forgotten the mis- 
 sion sent from western New-York to " the La- 
 manites." Although it was a perfect failure in 
 every thing, besides that moral triumph, the con- 
 version of Sidney Rigdon, which many believe 
 to have been its real object, yet it was destined 
 to lead to an early transfer of the promised land. 
 
 " Cowdery and his companions, on their way, next 
 tried their skill on several tribes of natives, but made no 
 proselytes, although their deluded brethren at home 
 could daily see them, in visions, baptizing whole 
 tribes. They finally arrived at the western line of 
 the state of Missouri, late in the fall of 1830, with 
 the intention of proceeding into the Indian country, 
 but were stopped by the agents of the general govern- 
 ment, under an act of congress, to prevent the white 
 people from trading or settling among them. They 
 then took up their winter quarters in the village of 
 Independence, about twelve miles from the state line. 
 Here they obtained employment during the winter. 
 In the following spring one of them returned to Kirt- 
 land, with a flattering account of the country about 
 Independence. About the 1st of June, the prophet 
 assembled all his followers, for the purpose of a great 
 meeting, at which time it was given out that marvel- 
 lous events were to take place. Here many new 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 91 
 
 attempts were made by Smith to perform miracles, 
 and otherwise to deceive his followers. Previous to 
 this time, it should be remarked, nearly all the Mor- 
 monites had arrived from the state of New- York, 
 under a revelation, of course, to take possession of 
 the 'promised land.' There were, in all, about fifty 
 families. At the above-mentioned meeting a long 
 revelation was manufactured, commanding all the 
 leading men and elders to depart forthwith for the 
 western part of Missouri, naming each one separate- 
 ly, informing them that only two should go together, 
 and that every two should take separate roads, preach- 
 ing by the way. Only about two weeks were allowed 
 them to make preparations for the journey, and most 
 of them left what business they had to be closed by 
 others. Some left large families, with their crops 
 upon the ground, &c., &c. 
 
 " On arriving at the village of Independence, they 
 proceeded to purchase a lot of land, upon which the 
 prophet directed Rigdon and Cowdery to perform the 
 mock ceremony of laying the corner-stone of a city, 
 which he called Zion. Of the future prosperity and 
 magnificence of this city, many marvellous revela- 
 tions were had by the prophet, and many more mar- 
 vellous conjectures formed by his dupes. Among 
 others, it was said that it would, in a few years, ex- 
 ceed in splendour every thing known in ancient times. 
 Its streets were to be paved with gold : all that es- 
 caped the general destruction, which was soon to 
 take place, would there assemble with all their wealth ; 
 the ten lost tribes of Israel had been discovered in 
 their retreat, in the vicinity of the North Pole, where 
 they had for ages been secluded by immense barriers 
 of ice, and became vastly rich ; the ice, in a few 
 years, was to be melted away, when those tribes, 
 with St. John, and some of the Nephites, which the 
 Book of Mormon had immortalized, would be seen 
 
92 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 making their appearance in the new city, loaded with 
 immense quantities of gold and silver. Whether the 
 prophet, himself, ever declared that these things had 
 been revealed to him, or that he had seen them 
 through his magic stone, or silver spectacles, we will 
 not say ; but that such stories, and hundreds of others 
 equally absurd, were told by those who were in daily 
 intercourse with him, as being events which would 
 probably take place, is susceptible of proof." 
 
 Here was a scheme, less splendid indeed in 
 conception, but scarcely less successful in its 
 way than the fable of El Dorado, invented as 
 a stimulus to the reckless avarice of the Span- 
 ish adventurers, who desolated Mexico, and 
 large portions of South America, in their bloody 
 inquest for gold. Why were not the apostles 
 under the necessity of appealing to some of the 
 baser principles and passions of human nature, 
 in order to advance Christianity ! 
 
 Among existing and authentic data, respect- 
 ing both the theory and the practice of Mor- 
 monism, by no means the least valuable are a 
 series of letters, addressed to the Rev. Ira Eddy, 
 by Mr. Ezra Booth. 
 
 Mr. Booth had formerly been a local preacher 
 in the Methodist Episcopal Church ; but, in an 
 evil hour, had become a victim to the Mormon 
 imposture. Painful experience at length re- 
 vealed to him the iniquity of the scheme by 
 which he had been duped, and faithfully has he 
 exposed it. 
 
 From many other items of interest in his let- 
 ters, we extract the following : 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 93 
 
 " If God be a God of consistency and wisdom, I 
 now know Mormonism to be a delusion ; and this 
 knowledge is built upon the testimony of my senses. 
 In proclaiming it, 1 am aware I proclaim my own 
 misfortune but in so doing I remove a burden from 
 my mind, and discharge a duty as humbling to my- 
 self, as it may be profitable to others. Thanks be to 
 God! the spell is dissipated, and the ' captive exile 
 hasteneth that he may be loosed, and not die in the 
 pit.' 
 
 " When I embraced Mormonism, I conscientiously 
 believed it to be of God. The impressions of my 
 mind were deep and powerful, and my feelings were 
 excited to a degree to which I had been a stranger. 
 Like a ghost, it haunted me by night and by day, until 
 I was mysteriously hurried, as it were, by a kind of 
 necessity, into the vortex of delusion. At times I 
 was much elated ; but, generally, things in prospect 
 were the greatest stimulants to action. 
 
 " On our arrival in the western part of the state of 
 Missouri, the place of our destination, we discovered 
 that prophecy and vision had failed, or rather had 
 proved false. This fact was so notorious, and the 
 evidence so clear, that no one could mistake it so 
 much so, that Mr. Rigdon himself said, that ' Joseph's 
 vision was a bad thing.' This was glossed over, ap- 
 parently, to the satisfaction of most persons present ; 
 but not fully to my own. It excited a suspicion that 
 some things were not right, and prepared my mind 
 for the investigation of a variety of circumstances, 
 which occurred during my residence there, and, indeed, 
 to review the whole subject, from its commencement 
 to that time. My opportunities for a thorough investi- 
 gation were far greater than they could have been had 
 I remained at home : and, therefore, I do not regret 
 that I made the journey, though I sincerely regret 
 the cause of it. Since my return, I have had seve- 
 
94 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ral interviews with Messrs. Smith, Rigdon, and Cow- 
 dery, and the various shifts and turns to which they 
 resorted, in order to obviate objections and difficul- 
 ties, produced in my mind additional evidence that 
 there was nothing else than a deeply-laid plan of 
 craft and deception. 
 
 " The relation in which Smith stands to the church 
 is that of a prophet, seer, revealer, and translator ; 
 and when he speaks by the Spirit, or says he knows - 
 a thing by the communication of the Spirit, it is re- 
 ceived as coming directly from the mouth of the Lord. 
 When he says he knows a thing to be so, thus it 
 must stand without controversy. A question is agi- 
 tated between two elders of the church whether or 
 not a bucket of water will become heavier by putting 
 a living fish in it. Much is said by each of the dis- 
 putants ; when, at length, Smith decides it in the 
 negative, by saying, ' I know, by the Spirit, that it 
 will be no heavier.' Any person, who chooses, may 
 easily ascertain, by actual experiment, whether the 
 prophet was influenced, in this decision, by a true or 
 false spirit. 
 
 11 Every thing in the church is done by command- 
 ment ; and yet it is said to be done by the voice of 
 the church. For instance : Smith gets a command- 
 ment that he shall be the ' head of the church,' or that 
 he ' shall rule the conference,' or that the church 
 shall build him an elegant house, and give him one 
 thousand dollars. For this the members of the church 
 must vote, or they will be cast off for rebelling against 
 the commandments of the Lord. In addition to the 
 Book of Mormon, and the commandments, there are 
 revelations which are not written. In this depart- 
 ment, though Smith is the principal, yet there are 
 others who profess to receive revelations ; but, after 
 all, Smith is to decide whether they come from the 
 Lord or the devil. Some have been so unfortunate 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 95 
 
 as to have their revelations palmed upon the latter. 
 These revelations entirely supercede the Bible, and, 
 in fact, the Bible is declared too defective to be trust- 
 ed, in its present form ; and it is designed that it shall 
 undergo a thorough alteration, or, as they say, trans- 
 lation. This work is now in operation. The Gos- 
 pel of St. Matthew has already received the purifying- 
 touch, and is prepared for the use of the church. lit 
 was intended to have kept this work a profound se- 
 cret, and strict commandments were given for that 
 purpose ; and even the salvation of the church was 
 said to depend upon it. The secret is divulged, but 
 the penalty is not as yet inflicted. Their revela- 
 tions are said to be an addition to the Bible. But 
 instead of being an addition, they destroy its use ; for 
 every thing which need be known, whether present, 
 past, or future, they can learn from Smith, for he has 
 declared to the church, that he ' knows all things that 
 will take place from this time to the end of the world.' 
 If, then, placing the Bible under circumstances which 
 render it entirely useless, is infidelity, Mormonism is 
 infidelity. 
 
 " Smith is the only one at present, to my know- 
 ledge, who pretends to hold converse with the inha- 
 bitants of the celestial world. It seems, from his 
 statements, that he can have access to them when 
 and where he pleases. He does not pretend that he 
 sees them with his natural, but with his spiritual, 
 eyes ; and he says he can see them as well with his 
 eyes shut, as with them open. So also in translat- 
 ing. The subject stands before his eyes in print, 
 but it matters not whether his eyes are open or shut ; 
 he can see as well one way as the other. 
 
 " Smith describes an angel as having the appear- 
 ance of a tall, slim, well-built, handsome man, with 
 a bright pillar upon his head.' The devil once, he 
 says, appeared to him in the same form, excepting 
 
96 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 upon his head he had a ' black pillar,' and by this 
 mark he was able to distinguish him from the 
 former. 
 
 " It passes for a current fact in the Mormon 
 church, that there are immense treasures in the earth, 
 especially in those places in the state of New- York 
 from whence many of the Mormons emigrated last 
 spring : and when they become sufficiently purified, 
 these treasures are to be poured into the lap of their 
 church ; to use their own language, they are to be the 
 richest people in the world. These treasures were 
 discovered several years since, by means of the dark 
 glass, the same with which Smith says he translated 
 the most of the Book of Mormon. Several of those 
 persons, together with Smith, who were unsuccess- 
 fully engaged in digging and searching for these trea- 
 sures, now reside in this county, and from themselves 
 I received this information." 
 
 Having reached the Missourian El Dorado, 
 Mr. Booth witnessed several important transac- 
 tions. 
 
 " The laying of the foundation of Zion was attend- 
 ed with considerable parade, and an ostentatious dis- 
 play of talents, both by Rigdon and Cowdery. The 
 place being designated as the site where the city was 
 to commence, on the day appointed we repaired to 
 the spot, not only as spectators, but each one to act 
 the part assigned him in the great work of laying the 
 foundation of the ' glorious city of New Jerusalem.' 
 Rigdon consecrated the ground, by an address, in the 
 first place, to the God whom the Mormons profess 
 to worship ; and then making some remarks respect- 
 ing the extraordinary purpose for which we were as- 
 sembled, prepared the way for administering the oath 
 of allegiance to those who were to receive their 
 ' everlasting inheritance' in that city. He laid them 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 97 
 
 under the most solemn obligations to constantly obey 
 all the commandments of Smith. He enjoined it upon 
 them to express a great degree of gratitude for the free 
 donation, and then, as the Lord's vicegerent, he gratu- 
 itously bestowed upon them that for which they Lad 
 paid an exorbitant price in money. These prelimina- 
 ries being ended, a shrub oak, about ten inches in 
 diameter at the butt, the best that could be obtain- 
 ed near at hand, was prostrated, trimmed, and cut off 
 at a suitable length ; and twelve men, answering to 
 the twelve apostles, by means of handspikes, con- 
 veyed it to the place. Cowdery craved the privi- 
 lege of laying the corner-stone. He selected a small 
 rough stone, the best he could find, carried it in one 
 hand to the spot, removed the surface of the earth to 
 prepare a place for its reception, and then displayed 
 his oratorical power, in delivering an address, suited 
 to the important occasion. The stone being placed, 
 one end of the shrub oak stick was laid upon it ; and 
 there was laid down the first stone and stick, which 
 are to form an essential part of the splendid city of 
 Zion. 
 
 " The next day the ground for the temple was con- 
 secrated, and Smith claimed the honour of laying the 
 corner-stone himself. Should the inhabitants of In- 
 dependence feel a desire to visit this place, destined 
 at some future time to become celebrated, they will 
 have only to walk one half of a mile out of the town, 
 to a rise of ground, a short distance south of the road. 
 They will be able to ascertain the spot by the means 
 of a sapling, distinguished from the others by the bark 
 being broken off on the north and on the east side. 
 On the south side of the sapling will be found the let- 
 ter T., which stands for temple ; and on the east side 
 Zom ! for Zomas ; which Smith says is the original 
 word for Zion. Near the foot of the sapling they 
 will find a small stone covered over with bushes, 
 
98 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 which were cut for that purpose. This is the corner 
 stone for the temple. They can there have the pri 
 vilege of beholding the mighty work, accomplished 
 by about thirty men, who left their homes, travelled 
 one thousand miles, most of them on foot, and ex- 
 pended more than one thousand dollars in cash." 
 
 It appears that the eminent failure of this 
 worse than Quixotic expedition, produced so 
 great a dissatisfaction, as well nigh to have 
 broken up the whole concern. The party start- 
 ed to return. Smith, in his pertinacious deter- 
 mination to be at the head of every thing, ma- 
 naged, when proceeding down the Missouri in 
 a canoe, to run said craft " foul of a sawyer," 
 thus exposing himself and his companions to a 
 ducking. This untoward event, at the end of 
 so many disappointments, brought on a serious 
 quarrel. 
 
 " By the persuasion of Joseph, we landed before 
 sunset, to pass the night upon the bank of the river. 
 Preparations were made to spend the night as com- 
 fortably as existing circumstances would admit, and 
 then an attempt was made to effect a reconciliation 
 between the contending parties. The business of set- 
 tlement elicited much conversation, and excited consi- 
 derable feeling on both sides. Oliver's denunciation 
 was brought into view ; his conduct and equipage were 
 compared to ' a fop of a sportsman ;' he and Joseph 
 were represented as highly imperious, and quite dic- 
 tatorial ; and Joseph and Sidney were reprimanded 
 for their excessive cowardice. Joseph seemed in- 
 clined to arm himself, according to his usual custom, 
 in case of" opposition, with the judgments of God, for 
 the purpose of pouring them, like a thunder-bolt, upon 
 the rebellious elders ; but one or two retorted, ' None 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 99 
 
 of your threats ;' which completely disarmed him, and 
 he reserved his judgments for a more suitable occa- 
 sion. Finding myself but little interested in the set- 
 tlement, believing the principles of discord too deep- 
 ly rooted to be easily eradicated, I laid myself down 
 upon the ground, and sunk into the arms of sleep, but 
 was awakened at a late hour, to witness and consent 
 to a reconciliation between the parties. The next 
 morning Joseph manifested an aversion to risk his 
 person any more upon the rough and angry current 
 of the Missouri, and, in fact, upon any other river ; 
 and he again had recourse to his usual method of 
 freeing himself from the embarrassments of a former 
 commandment, by obtaining another in opposition to 
 it. A new commandment was issued, in which a 
 great curse was pronounced against the waters : na- 
 vigating them was to be attended with extreme dan- 
 ger ; and all the saints, in general, were prohibited 
 in journeying upon them, to the promised land. From 
 this circumstance, the Missouri river was named the 
 river of Destruction. It was decreed that we should 
 proceed on our journey by land, and preach by the 
 way as we passed along. Joseph, Sidney, and Oli- 
 ver were to press their way forward with all possible 
 speed, and to preach only in Cincinnati ; and there 
 they were to lift up their voices, and proclaim against 
 the whole of that wicked city. The method by which 
 Joseph and Co. designed to proceed home, it was 
 discovered, would be very expensive. ' The Lord 
 don't care how much money it takes to get us home,' 
 said Sidney. Not satisfied with the money they re- 
 ceived from the bishop, they used their best endea- 
 vours to exact money from others, who had but little, 
 compared with what they had ; telling them, in sub- 
 stance, ' You can beg your passage on foot, but as we 
 are to travel in the stage, we must have money.' 
 You will find, sir, that the expense of these three 
 
100 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 men was one hundred dollars more than three of our 
 company expended, while on our journey home ; and, 
 for the sake of truth and honesty, let these men never 
 again open their mouths, to insult the common sense 
 of mankind, by contending for equality, and the com- 
 munity of goods in society, until there is a thorough 
 alteration in their method of proceeding. It seems, 
 however, they had drained their pockets, when they 
 arrived at Cincinnati, for there they were under the 
 necessity of pawning their trunk, in order to continue 
 their journey home. Here they violated the com- 
 mandment, by not preaching ; and when an inquiry 
 was made respecting the cause of that neglect, at one 
 time they said they could get no house to preach in ; 
 at another time they stated that they could have had 
 the court-house, had they stayed a day or two longer, 
 but the Lord made it known to them that they should 
 go on ; and other similar excuses, involving like con- 
 tradictions." 
 
 Respecting Rigdon's pretended conversion to 
 Mormonisra, Mr. Booth remarks, 
 
 " Before he could fully embrace it, he must ' re- 
 ceive a testimony from God.' In order to this he 
 laboured as he w r as directed by his preceptor, almost 
 incessantly and earnestly in praying, till at length his 
 mind was wrapped up in a vision ; and, to use his 
 own language, ' to my astonishment I saw the differ- 
 ent orders of professing Christians passing before my 
 eyes, with their hearts exposed to view, and they 
 were as corrupt as corruption itself. That society 
 to which I belonged also passed before my eyes, and 
 to my astonishment it was as corrupt as the others. 
 Last of all that little man, who brought me the Book 
 of Mormon, passed before my eyes with his heart 
 open, and it was as pure as an angel ; and this was a 
 testimony from God, that the Book of Mormon was 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 101 
 
 a divine revelation.' Rigdon is one who has ascend- 
 ed to the summit of Mormonism ; and this vision 
 stands as the foundation of his knowledge. He fre- 
 quently affirms that these things are not a matter of 
 faith with him, but of absolute knowledge." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Zion established Enthusiasm of the gathering to Mis- 
 souri Origin of difficulties Mob law Mutual provoca- 
 tions Expulsion of Mormons from Jackson county 
 Revelations on the subject Army of Zion Essay at 
 miracles Exhibitions of valour End of the campaign. 
 
 DURING the visit to Missouri, which has been 
 described in the preceding chapter, Smith again 
 issued what he pretended was a revelation from 
 the Almighty. A part of this document is here 
 inserted, as an explanatory key to subsequent 
 events. 
 
 " Zion, August 3d, 1831. 
 
 " Hearken, O ye elders of my church, and give ear 
 to my word, and learn of me what I will concerning 
 you ; for verily I say unto you, blessed is he that 
 keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in 
 death ; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the re- 
 ward of the same is greater in the kingdom. Ye 
 cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present 
 time, the design of your God concerning those things 
 which shall follow after much tribulation ; for after 
 much tribulation cometh the blessing. Wherefore, 
 the day cometh that ye shall be rewarded with much 
 glory the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand ; re- 
 
102 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 member this, which I told you before, that you may 
 lay it to heart, and receive that which shall follow. 
 
 " Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause have 
 I sent you that ye might be obedient, and that your 
 hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the 
 things which are to come, and also that you might be 
 favoured of laying the foundation, and bearing record 
 of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand. 
 Behold, I the Lord hath spoken it, and that the testi- 
 mony might go forth from Zion, yea, from the mouth 
 of the city of the heritage of God ; yea, for this cause 
 I have sent you hither, and I have selected and 
 chosen my servant Edward, and appointed unto him 
 his mission in this land ; but if he repent not of his 
 sins, which is unbelief and blindness of heart, let him 
 take heed lest he fall. Behold, his mission is given 
 unto him, and it shall not be given again ; and who- 
 soever standeth in that mission is appointed to be a 
 judge in Israel, like as it was in ancient days, to di- 
 vide the lands of the heritage of God unto his chil- 
 dren, and to judge his people by the testimony of the 
 just by the assistance of his counsellors, according to 
 the laws of the kingdom, which were given by the 
 prophets of God. Let no man break the laws of the 
 land wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, 
 until he reigns, whose right it is to reign, and subdue 
 all his enemies under his feet. Behold, the laws 
 which ye have recorded from my hand are the laws 
 of the church in this light shall ye hold them forth. 
 Behold, here is wisdom ; and as I speak concerning 
 my servant Edward, this land is the land of his resi- 
 dence, and those whom he hath appointed for his 
 counsellors, and all the land of the residence of him 
 whom I have appointed to keep my store-house. 
 Wherefore, let them bring their families to this land, 
 as they shall counsel between themselves and me ; 
 for, behold, it is not meet that I should command in 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 103 
 
 all things, for he that is compelled in all things is a 
 slothful, and not a wise servant ; wherefore, he re- 
 ceiveth no reward. 
 
 " And now I give unto you further directions con- 
 cerning this land ; it is wisdom in me that my servant 
 Martin should be an example unto the church, in lay- 
 ing his money before the bishop of the church ; and 
 also, this is the law unto every man that cometh into 
 this land to receive an inheritance, and he shall do 
 with his money according as the law directs ; and it 
 is wisdom, also, that there should be lands purchased 
 in Independence for the place of the store-house, and 
 also for the house of the printing, and other directions 
 concerning my servant Martin, of the Spirit that he 
 may receive his inheritance as seemeth him good 
 and let him repent of his sins, for he seeketh praise 
 of the world. Verily I say, concerning the residue 
 of the elders of my church, the time has not yet come 
 for many years, for them to receive their inheritance 
 in this land, except they desire it through prayer only, 
 as it shall be appointed unto them ; for, behold, they 
 shall push the people together from the ends of the 
 earth ; wherefore, assemble yourselves together, and 
 he that is not appointed to stay in the land, let them 
 preach the gospel in the regions round about ; and 
 after that, let them return to their homes. Let them 
 preach by the way, and bear testimony of the truth 
 in all places, and call upon the rich, the high, and the 
 low, and the poor, to repent : and let them build up 
 churches, inasmuch as the inhabitants of the earth 
 will repent ; and let there be an agent appointed, by 
 the voice of the church. And I give unto my ser- 
 vant Sidney a commandment, that he shall write a 
 description of Zion, and a statement of the will of 
 God, as it shall be made known by the Spirit unto 
 him ; and an epistle and a subscription unto all the 
 churches, to obtain moneys to be put into the hands 
 
104 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 of the bishop, to purchase lands for an inheritance for 
 the children of God, of himself, or of the agent, as 
 seemeth him good, or as he shall direct, for behold 
 the Lord willeth that the disciples and the children 
 of men should open their hearts, even to purchase this 
 whole region of country, as soon as time will permit ; 
 behold, here is wisdom, lest they receive none inhe- 
 ritance, save by the shedding of Mood; and let the 
 work of the gathering be not by haste nor by flight, 
 but let it be done as it shall be counselled by the 
 elders of the church at the conference according to 
 the knowledge which they shall receive from time to 
 time ; and let my servant Sidney consecrate and dedi- 
 cate this land, and the spot of the temple, unto the 
 Lord ; and let a conference meeting -be called. And 
 after that, let my servant Sidney and Joseph return, 
 and also my servant Oliver with them, to accomplish 
 the residue of the work which I have appointed unto 
 them in their own land ; and the residue as shall be 
 ruled by the conference." 
 
 This communication was received with 
 childish exultation by the Mormon leaders, 
 who echoed and re-echoed the intelligence 
 that "the Lord has given us this whole 
 region of country," "this whole region of 
 country is ours." Yet the very commandment 
 informed them that they must purchase the 
 land either by money, " as soon as time would 
 permit," or by " the shedding of blood." Not- 
 withstanding the disorder and hot haste with 
 which Joseph and Sidney had returned to " their 
 own land," yet their followers generally began 
 to grow enthusiastic about locating themselves 
 on their second eternal inheritance. Mr. Cor- 
 rill says, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 105 
 
 " They bad been commanded not to go up in baste, 
 nor by flight, but to have all things prepared before 
 them. Money was to be sent up to the bishop, and 
 as fast as lands were purchased, and preparations 
 made, the bishop was to let it be known, that the 
 church might be gathered in. But this regulation 
 was not attended to, for the church got crazy to go 
 up to Zion, as it was then called. The rich were 
 afraid to send up their money to purchase lands, and 
 the poor crowded up in numbers, without having any 
 places provided, contrary to the advice of the bishop 
 and others, until the old citizens began to be highly 
 displeased. They saw their county filling up with 
 emigrants, principally poor. They disliked their re- 
 ligion, and saw also, that if let alone, they would, in 
 a short time, become a majority, and, of course, rule 
 the county. The church kept increasing, and the 
 old citizens became more and more dissatisfied, and 
 from time to time offered to sell their farms and pos- 
 sessions, but the Mormons, though desirous, were too 
 poor to purchase them. 
 
 " The feelings of the people became greatly exas- 
 perated, in consequence of the many falsehoods and 
 evil reports that were in constant circulation against 
 the church. 
 
 " Thus matters grew worse and worse, until the 
 people arose in their fury. On the 20th day of July, 
 1833, the citizens met at the court-house, in Inde- 
 pendence, and appointed a committee, who called 
 upon six or seven of the leading Mormons, and re- 
 quired them to shut up all their work-shops, their 
 store, and their printing-office, and agree to leave 
 the county. The Mormons required time to give 
 them an answer ; but they would grant only fifteen 
 minutes. The Mormons then refused to comply with 
 Iheir proposals, and the committee then returned to 
 the court-house, where the people were assembled. 
 
106 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 and related to them the answer of the Mormons. 
 They then took a vote to demolish the printing-office 
 which they did immediately, and tarred and feathered 
 the bishop and two or three others, and appointed the 
 23d to meet again and carry on the work of destruc- 
 tion. The day arrived, and the people met. several 
 hundred in number, and plainly manifested a full de- 
 termination to carry on the work of destruction : some 
 four or five of the leading Mormons offered their lives 
 if they would spare the church, but they answered 
 ' no, every man should answer for his own life, or 
 leave the county.' 
 
 " The Mormons agreed to leave, and this appeased 
 their wrath for that time. A part were to leave in 
 January, and a part in the spring. This agreement 
 having been made in duress, the Mormons considered 
 it illegal, and not binding, and supposed that the go- 
 vernor, or authorities, would protect them, if applied 
 to, and not suffer them to be driven off in that manner. 
 
 " Here let me remark, that up to this time the 
 Mormons had not so much as lifted a finger, even in 
 their own defence, so tenacious were they for the 
 precepts of the gospel, ' turn the other cheek.' 
 
 " Between two and three months passed off in 
 peace, when, toward the last of October, a petition 
 was drawn up and circulated in the church, praying 
 the governor for protection ; but he said we must ap- 
 peal to the civil law for redress. This we tried, but 
 found it of no use, for as soon as the people found out 
 that we had petitioned the governor for protection, 
 and that we were about to appeal to the law for re- 
 dress, they became very angry, and again commenced 
 hostilities. The Mormons then began to prepare for 
 self-defence, but were badly armed. The citizens 
 would collect together, and by night commit depreda- 
 tions on the Mormons, by pulling down their houses, 
 whipping the men, &c., until some time about the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 107 
 
 fourth of November, 1833, a conflict took place, in 
 which three or four persons were killed, and others 
 wounded. This took place above Blue, eight or nine 
 miles from Independence, and the news reached In- 
 dependence a little after dark ; at which time six or 
 eight of the Mormons were undergoing a sham trial, 
 under a pretence of law ; but this news produced such 
 confusion in the court-house, and the people became 
 so angry, that the court was obliged to shut up the 
 prisoners in the jail, to keep them from being mur- 
 dered. The people continued to gather from differ- 
 ent parts of the country, and such was the wrath and 
 determination manifested, that before light the next 
 morning, the Mormon leaders agreed, for themselves 
 and the church, to leave the county. Lyman Wight, 
 who lived above Blue, eight or ten miles distant, on 
 hearing that several Mormons were in jail without 
 just cause, and supposing they intended to take their 
 lives, gathered up about one hundred and fifty men, 
 partly armed, and marched to Independence ; but on 
 learning that the Mormons had agreed to leave the 
 county, they conceded to the same, and gave up their 
 arms, fifty-two guns, a pistol and a sword, which 
 Col. Pitcher and others faithfully agreed to deliver 
 up, as soon as they had left the county ; but this they 
 afterward refused to do, although required to do so, 
 by a written order from the governor, and the Mor- 
 mons have never received the guns, nor an equiva- 
 .ent for them, to this day. 
 
 " They all left Jackson county in the course of 
 three or four weeks. Some went to Van Buren 
 county ; some to the eastward ; but the major part 
 went to Clay county, where they were received in a 
 hospitable manner. They were not suffered to re- 
 turn to Jackson county, even to settle up their busi- 
 ness. 
 
 " During all these difficulties the Mormons were 
 
108 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 accused of many crimes. This, of course, was ne- 
 cessary for an excuse ; but the people of Jackson 
 well know, that up to that time, the Mormons had not 
 been guilty of crime, nor done any thing whereby 
 they could criminate them by the law : and, in my 
 opinion, the stories originated in hatred toward the 
 Mormon religion, and the fear entertained of their 
 overrunning and ruling the county. 
 
 " The people of Clay gave the Mormons employ- 
 ment, and paid them good wages ; and by their indus- 
 try they made themselves comfortable, with the 
 exception of some families that found it difficult to 
 get shelter. The number driven out was about 
 twelve hundred. 
 
 " Some time in the winter of 1833, and 1834, the 
 governor ordered the criminal acts of the people to 
 be complained of, and laid before the grand jury of 
 Jackson county. For this purpose, he ordered Cap- 
 tain Atchinson, with his company of Liberty Blues, 
 to guard the witnesses over to the trial, which he did, 
 much to the satisfaction of the witnesses. The go- 
 vernor also requested the attorney general to go and 
 assist ; but, after getting there, and seeing the situa- 
 tion of things, and the spirit of the people, he advised 
 the witnesses to go home, and not try to do any thing 
 about it, for they w 7 ould be unable to get justice. 
 They took his advice, and returned with the guard." 
 
 The events alluded to in the last paragraph 
 were of such importance as to require a little 
 more minuteness of detail. We give below a 
 few extracts of the revelation which was there- 
 upon issued, in the form of a handbill, from the 
 Mormon press at Kirtland. The first paragraph 
 intimates, that what we would fain consider as 
 an unprovoked, as well as an unpardonable per- 
 secution, was in fact a visitation suffered by 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 109 
 
 Heaven, in consequence of their transgressions. 
 Verily, this was the " unkindest cut of all," to 
 denounce the poor Mormons for the natural re- 
 sults of a delusion so industriously instilled into 
 their minds. The only shadow of an apology 
 we have been disposed to extend to those who 
 opposed them, in defiance of the laws, grows 
 out of what appears to be the natural spirit and 
 legitimate practice of Mormonism ; and, of 
 course, is chargeable upon its authors, not its 
 victims. 
 
 Trained as the Mormons had been to anath- 
 ematize all who questioned the pretensions of 
 their prophet ; and boasting, as they were wont, 
 of increasing power and anticipated dominion, 
 we cannot -easily suppose their course to have 
 been conciliating or commendable. Yet many 
 of them had the apology of knowing no better, 
 and all the example of their superiors for such 
 offensive conduct : but notwithstanding this, the 
 very instigators of their folly could point out 
 their own followers as obnoxious to divine judg- 
 ments. 
 
 REVELATION. 
 
 " Verily, I say unto you, concerning your brethren 
 who have been afflicted and persecuted and cast out 
 from the land of your inheritance, I the Lord hath 
 suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith 
 they have been afflicted in consequence of their trans- 
 gressions ; yet I will own them, and they shall be 
 mine in that day when I shall come to make up my 
 jewels. 
 
110 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 "Verily, I say unto you, notwithstanding their 
 sins, my bowels are filled with compassion toward 
 them : I will not utterly cast them off; and in the 
 day of wrath I will remember mercy. I have sworn, 
 and the decree hath gone forth by a former command- 
 ment which I have given unto you, that I would let 
 fall the sword of mine indignation in the behalf of my 
 people ; and even as I have said it shall come to pass. 
 Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without 
 measure upon all nations, and this will I do when the 
 cup of their iniquity is full. 
 
 "And behold, there is none other place appointed, 
 neither shall there be any other place appointed than 
 that which I have appointed for the work of gather- 
 ing my saints, until the day cometh when there is 
 found no more room for them ; and then I have other 
 places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall 
 be called stakes, for the curtains, or the strength of 
 Zion. 
 
 " Therefore get ye straightway unto my land ; 
 break down the walls of mine enemies ; throw down 
 their tower, and scatter their watchmen ; and inas- 
 much as they gather together against you, avenge 
 me of mine enemies, that by and by I may come with 
 the residue of my house and possess the land. 
 
 " Therefore, a commandment I give unto all the 
 churches, that they shall continue to gather together 
 unto all the places which I have appointed : neverthe- 
 less, as I have said unto you in a former command- 
 ment, let not your gathering be in haste, nor by flight 
 but let all things be prepared before you ; and in order 
 that all things be prepared before you, observe the 
 commandments which I have given concerning these 
 things, which saith, or teacheth, to purchase all the 
 lands by money, which can be purchased for money, 
 in the region round about the land which I have ap- 
 pointed to be the land of Zion, for the beginning of 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. Ill 
 
 the gathering of my saints : all the land which can 
 be purchased in Jackson county, and the counties 
 round about, and leave the residue in mine hand. 
 
 " Now, verily, I say unto you, let all the churches 
 gather together all their moneys ; let these things be 
 done in their time be not in haste ; and observe to 
 have all things prepared before you. And let honour- 
 able men be appointed, even wise men, and send them 
 to purchase these lands ; and every church in the 
 eastern countries, when they are built up, if they will 
 hearken unto this counsel, they may buy lands and 
 gather together upon them ; in this way they may 
 establish Zion." 
 
 This document produced a great sensation 
 throughout the ranks of Mormonism. The 
 priests carried copies of it to all their congre- 
 gations, some of which are said to have been 
 sold for one dollar each. It was equivalent to 
 a declaration of war, and the expedition grow- 
 ing out of it deserves distinction in history, as 
 the first Mormon crusade. We should hardly 
 think of adding the following particulars, had 
 they not been already drawn up to our hand by 
 Mr. Howe, on the authority of an eye witness, 
 one of the sharp-shooters mentioned below. 
 
 <; Old muskets, rifles, pistols, rusty swords, and 
 butcher-knives were soon put in a state of repair, and 
 scoured up. Some were borrowed, and some were 
 bought, on a credit, if possible, and others w r ere man- 
 ufactured by their own mechanics. The 1st of May 
 following being finally fixed upon, as the time of set- 
 ting out on the crusade, ' my warriors,' which were 
 scattered in most of the eastern and northern states, 
 previous to that time, began to assemble at the quar- 
 
IJ2 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ters of the prophet, in Kirtland, preparatory to march- 
 ing. Several places further west were also selected 
 for rendezvous, to those living in that direction. All 
 the faithful pressed forward ; but the services of some 
 were refused by the prophet, in consequence of their 
 not being able, from their own resources, to furnish 
 some instrument of death, and five dollars in cash. 
 
 " On the second day of their march, they arrived 
 at New Portage, about forty miles distant, where 
 about one hundred more fell into the ranks. Here 
 the whole were organized into bands of fourteen men, 
 each band having a captain, baggage wagon, tents, 
 &c. Just before leaving this place, Smith proposed 
 to his army that they should appoint a treasurer to 
 take possession of the funds of each individual, for 
 the purpose of paying it out as he should think their 
 necessities required. The measure was carried, 
 without a dissenting voice. The prophet was no- 
 minated and voted in as treasurer, no one, of 
 course, doubting his right. After pocketing the cash 
 of his dupes, the line of march was resumed, and a 
 white flag raised, bearing upon it the inscription of 
 * PEACE,' written in red. 
 
 " Somewhere on their route a large black snake 
 was discovered near the road, over five feet in length. 
 This offered a fair opportunity for some of the com- 
 pany to try their skill at miracles, and Martin Harris 
 took off his shoes and stockings, to * take up serpents,' 
 without being harmed. He presented his toes to the 
 head of the snake, which made no attempt to bite ; 
 upon which Martin proclaimed a victory over ser- 
 pents : but passing on a few rods further, another of 
 much larger dimensions was discovered, and on pre- 
 senting his bare foot to this one also, he received a 
 bite in the ankle, which drew blood. This was im 
 puted to his want of faith, and produced much merri- 
 ment to the company. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 113 
 
 " A large mound was one day discovered, upon 
 which General Smith ordered an excavation to be 
 made into it : and about one foot from the top of the 
 ground, the bones of a human skeleton were found, 
 which were carefully laid out upon a board, when 
 Smith made a speech, prophesying or declaring that 
 they were the remains of a celebrated general among 
 the Nephites, mentioning his name, and the battle in 
 which he was slain, some fifteen hundred years ago. 
 This was undoubtedly done to encourage the troops 
 to deeds of daring, when they should meet the Mis- 
 sourians in battle array. 
 
 " On arriving at Salt Creek, Illinois, they were 
 joined by Lyman Wight and Hyrum Smith, (brother 
 of the prophet,) with a reinforcement of twenty men, 
 which they had picked up on the way. Here the 
 grand army, being fully completed, encamped for the 
 space of three days. The whole number was now 
 estimated at two hundred and twenty, rank and file. 
 During their stay here, the troops were kept under a 
 constant drill of manual exercise with guns and 
 swords, and their arms put in a state of repair the 
 prophet became very expert with a sword, and felt 
 himself equal to his prototype Coriantumr. He had 
 the best sword in the army, an elegant brace of pis- 
 tols, which were purchased on a credit of six months, 
 a rifle, and four horses. Wight was appointed second 
 in command, or fighting general, who, together with 
 the prophet, had an armour bearer appointed, select- 
 ed from among the most expert tactitians, whose duty 
 it was to be in constant attendance upon their masters 
 with their arms. The generals then appointed a new 
 captain to each band, organized two companies of 
 rangers, or sharp-shooters, to act as scouts or flank- 
 ers, when they should arrive upon the field of car- 
 nage. After this they dubbed themselves the ' army 
 of ZiionJ and Hyrum Smith was chosen to carry the 
 
114 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 flag, which he kept unfurled during the remainder of 
 the march. 
 
 " The march of the grand army was then resumed 
 for two or three days, when it was agreed to spend 
 half a day in a sham fight. For this purpose four 
 divisions were formed, and took positions, and went 
 to work, agreeably to the most approved forms of 
 Bonaparte, Black Hawk, Coriantumr, or Shiz. After 
 coming to close quarters, however, all discipline was 
 lost sight of, and each one adopted a mode agreeable 
 to his taste. Some preferred the real British push 
 with the bayonet, some the old Kentucky dodging 
 from tree to tree, while others preferred the Laman- 
 ite mode of tomahawking, scalping, and ripping open 
 the bowels. The final result was, that several guns 
 and swords were broken, some of the combatants 
 wounded, and each one well pleased with his own 
 exploits. 
 
 " After crossing the Mississippi, spies on horseback 
 were kept constantly on the look out, several miles 
 in front and rear. The prophet went in disguise, 
 changing his dress frequently, riding on the different 
 baggage wagons, and, to all appearance, expecting 
 every moment to be his last. Near the close of one 
 day they approached a prairie, which was thirty 
 miles in extent, without inhabitants. Here an alter- 
 cation took place between the two generals, which 
 almost amounted to a mutiny. The prophet declared 
 it was not safe to stay there over night, as the enemy 
 would probably be upon them. General Wight to- 
 tally refused to enter the prairie, as they would not 
 be able to find water, or to build a fire to cook their 
 provisions, besides the great fatigue it would cause 
 the troops. Smith said he would show them how to 
 eat raw pork. Hyrum said he knew, by the Spirit, 
 that it was dangerous to stay there. The prophet 
 finally exclaimed, ' Thus saith the Lord God, March 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 115 
 
 on :' this settled the matter, and they all moved on 
 about fifteen miles, and thinking themselves out of 
 danger, they encamped beside a muddy pool. 
 
 " Here the controversy was again renewed be- 
 tween the two generals. Smith said ' he knew ex- 
 actly when to pray, when to sing, when to talk, and 
 when to laugh, by the Spirit of God ; that God never 
 commanded any one to pray for his enemies.' The 
 whole seemed much dissatisfied, and came nigh break- 
 ing out into open mutiny. 
 
 " The prophet had, besides his other weapons, a 
 large bull dog, which was exceedingly cross during 
 the nights, and frequently attempted to bite persons 
 stirring about. One of the captains, (a high priest,) 
 one evening, declared to the prophet that he would 
 shoot the dog, if he ever attempted to bite him. 
 Smith replied, ' that if he continued in the same spi- 
 rit, and did not repent, the dog would yet eat the flesh 
 off his bones, and he would not have the power to 
 resist.' This was the commencement of a contro- 
 versy between the prophet and his high priest which 
 was not settled till some time after their return to 
 head quarters, in Kirtland, when the. former under- 
 went a formal trial on divers serious charges, before 
 his priests, honourably acquitted, and the latter made 
 to acknowledge that he had been possessed of seve- 
 ral devils for many weeks. The dog, however, a 
 few nights after the controversy commenced, was shot 
 through the leg by a sentinel, near the prophet's tent, 
 and died instantly. 
 
 " When within twelve miles of Liberty, Clay coun- 
 ty, Mo., the ' army of Zion 1 was met by two gentle- 
 men, who had been deputed by the citizens of another 
 county, for the purpose of inquiring into the motive 
 and object of such a hostile and warlike appearance 
 upon their borders. These gentlemen openly warned 
 the military band and their prophet to desist from 
 
116 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 their intended operations, and leave the settlement of 
 their difficulties with the people of Jackson county, 
 in other hands advised them to be very careful what 
 they did and said, as the citizens of not only Jackson, 
 hut some of the adjacent counties, were very much 
 enraged and excited, and were fully determined to 
 resist the first attempt upon them by an armed force 
 from other states. A few hours after this, the pro- 
 phet brought out a revelation, for the use of his 
 troops, which said, in substance, that ' they had been 
 tried, even as Abraham was tried, and the offering 
 was accepted by the Lord ; and when Abraham re- 
 ceived his reward, they would receive theirs.' Upon 
 this the war was declared to be at an end. A call 
 for volunteers, however, was made, to take up their 
 abode in Clay county, when about one hundred and 
 fifty turned out. The next day they marched to 
 Liberty, and each man received an honourable dis- 
 charge, under the signature of General Wight. The 
 army then scattered in different directions, some 
 making their way back from whence they came, the 
 best way they could, begging their expenses from the 
 inhabitants. The prophet and his chief men, how- 
 ever, had plenty of money, and travelled as gentle- 
 men do." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Theological studies Book of Doctrines and Cove- 
 nants The name of Latter-day Saints adopted Specula- 
 tion in mummies Manuscript of Abraham Authorities 
 of the church Description of the temple Closing scenes 
 in Ohio. 
 
 WE now return to consider the progress of 
 things at Kirtland, in connection with which we 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 117 
 
 shall note several particulars respecting the 
 organization and discipline of the Mormon 
 church. 
 
 " In the fall, and early part of the winter of 1835, 
 the elders gathered in to Kirtland, to the number of 
 three or four hundred, who remained there through 
 the winter. Schools were instituted for the use of 
 the elders and others. Some studied grammar and 
 other branches : they also employed the Hebrew 
 teacher, Mr. Seixas, who gave them much insight, 
 in a short time, into that language. They had been 
 previously commanded to seek learning, and study 
 the best books, and get a knowledge of countries, 
 kingdoms, languages, &c., which inspired them with 
 an extravagant thirst after knowledge." 
 
 About this period a theological class was 
 formed, which was instructed by a series of 
 lectures. These lectures, six in number, are 
 imbodied in the Book of Doctrines and Cove- 
 nants, together with the current revelations 
 received up to that time ; and also their gene- 
 ral discipline, as compiled by a committee. 
 The former constitute their principal body of 
 divinity. Each of the six is upon the subject 
 of faith. Into faith every thing else is resolved. 
 Even the Deity is said to work only by faith ! 
 " Faith is the principle of power : it is the prin- 
 ciple by which Jehovah works, and through 
 which he exercises power over all temporal as 
 well as eternal things." 
 
 Very few references are made in them to the 
 Book of Mormon ; and save some peculiar ex- 
 pressions, which are often repeated, such as, 
 " Whose course is one eternal round," the reader 
 
118 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 would scarcely know that these lectures had 
 any thing to do with Mormonism. 
 
 Whenever any quotation from Scripture is 
 introduced, these words are added, (new trans- 
 lation.) Said new translation, or, as it has been 
 fitly denominated, alteration of the Bible, was 
 made by Smith and Rigdon a long time since, 
 but has not yet been published entire. From 
 the specimens before us, it would appear that 
 they did not take the trouble to transcribe tVe 
 whole text, and examine every word critically, 
 like other translators, of which, by the way, 
 neither of them is capable ; but they have only 
 meddled with such passages as relate, in some 
 way, to their peculiar views. These they have, 
 with a ruthless hand, paraphrased, substituted, 
 or interpolated, as suited them best. The pub- 
 lication of this new translation (!) is still deem- 
 ed an object of importance with the Mormons. 
 The plain word of truth gives no countenance 
 to their vagaries ; and hence, doubtless, when 
 they get sufficient funds to publish the work, we 
 shall, in addition to the Mormon Bible, have the 
 HOLY BIBLE MORMONIZED ! Query. What cor- 
 rections will be made in those numerous pas- 
 sages which the writer of the Book of Mormon 
 has plagiarised from the common version of 
 the Scriptures ? 
 
 If it were our desire to exhibit the ridiculous, 
 it would only be necessary to copy some of the 
 pretended revelations recorded in the Book of 
 Doctrines and Covenants. But we forbear ; 
 observing, that this book appears to have never 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 119 
 
 been designed for any but the initiated ; and, 
 recently, strenuous efforts have been made to 
 suppress it entirely. The next edition will 
 probably be revised and modified to suit the 
 times. Many peculiarities of the system have, 
 from the first, been guarded as mysteries ; and 
 yet when the prophet or his head men converse 
 with " outside barbarians," the latter are sadly 
 belaboured for their ignorance of Mormon tech- 
 nicalities. 
 
 For several years no other name was used 
 to designate this sect, than that which they na- 
 turally derived from their new Bible. It was 
 not until about the time the " army of Zion" set 
 out for Missouri, that this redoubtable church 
 deemed it necessary, at once, to christen and 
 to canonize themselves. In accomplishing this, 
 they departed from their usual order. 
 
 Express revelations had hitherto been re- 
 ceived, forbidding them to chew tobacco to 
 feed corn to their horses and directing expli- 
 citly in other insignificant matters : but now 
 that a cognomen is to be selected for this pecu- 
 liar people, they are left entirely to human 
 counsel. 
 
 Mr. Howe says, 
 
 " On the morning of their departure, a meeting was 
 assembled, and proceeded to business, after the man- 
 ner of the world, by appointing the prophet chairman, 
 and Cowdery secretary. Whereupon Rigdon moved 
 that they hereafter assume the title and name of the 
 ' Church of the Latter-day Saints,' discarding the 
 name of Mormonite, which thev began to consider 
 
120 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 rather a reproach. This was carried unanimously, 
 of course. What their particular object was in the 
 movement, at that crisis, we have not been able to 
 understand, unless it was for the purpose of denying, 
 in the most positive terms, as they passed through 
 the country, that they were Mormonites, thereby de- 
 ceiving the people as to their true character, objects, 
 and intentions." 
 
 On a certain occasion they purchased, for 
 what especial object we are not certified, four 
 Egyptian mummies. One of these Smith is 
 said to have ascertained to be Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter ! Accompanying these " subjects" was a 
 specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics, on a roll 
 of papyrus. This " writing" the prophet roundly 
 asserts to be " a manuscript of old Abraham ;" 
 and by means of it he professes to interpret 
 Scripture, particularly the writings of Moses, 
 as though Abraham had lived at a proper period 
 for preparing a gloss on the Pentateuch ! 
 
 It may seem incredible to many that such 
 palpable absurdities should be gravely asserted 
 by any human being. The writer is prepared, 
 in this instance, to add his personal testimony, 
 having heard this assertion from the lips of the 
 prophet. On presuming to ask what evidence 
 there was that the record in question was made 
 by Abraham, said prophet seemed moved with 
 anger. One of his obsequious followers, know- 
 ing the infirmities of his ghostly guide, replied 
 for him : " Evidence enough, sir : why, if you 
 could only see it you would not doubt : there 
 is old Abraham himself all pictured out !" Pre- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 121 
 
 sident Joseph soon deigned to add, " Besides, 
 papyrus has never been manufactured since 
 Abraham's day !" 
 
 Now, when such contradictory falsehoods 
 can be unblushingly put forth, and implicitly 
 believed as truth, we ask, what outrage may 
 not be perpetrated upon the human understand- 
 ing? 
 
 The discipline and ecclesiastical polity of 
 the Mormon church are thus summed up by 
 Mr. Corrill. 
 
 " There are in the church two priesthoods. First, 
 the Melchisedec, or high priesthood, also called the 
 greater priesthood ; second, the Aaronic, or lesser 
 priesthood. In the first, or Melchisedec priesthood, 
 were ordained high priests and elders ; in the second 
 were ordained priests, teachers, and deacons. Each 
 different grade chose one of its number to preside 
 over the rest, who was called president, and whose 
 duty it was to call together those over whom he pre- 
 sided, at stated times, to edify one another, and re- 
 ceive instruction from him. The first, or high priest- 
 hood, was to stand at the head of, and regulate the 
 spiritual concerns, of the church ; the second, or les- 
 ser priesthood, was to administer in the ordinances, 
 and attend to the temporal concerns of the church. 
 Three of the high priests were chose and set apart 
 by the church to preside over all the churches, of that 
 order, in all the world, and were called presidents, 
 and constituted what is called the first presidency. 
 Joseph Smith, Jr., Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum 
 Smith, are the persons at present. The church that 
 was to be established in Jackson county was called 
 Zion, the centre of gathering, and those established 
 by revelation, in other places, were called stakes of 
 
122 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Zion, or stakes ; hence the stake at Kirtland, the 
 stake at Far West, the stake at Adamondiamon, &c. 
 Each stake was to have a presidency, consisting of 
 three high priests, chosen and set apart for that pur- 
 pose, whose jurisdiction was confined to the limits of 
 the stake over which they took the watch care. 
 There was also to be a high council, consisting of 
 twelve high priests, established at each stake, also a 
 bishop, who stood at the head of the lesser priest- 
 hood, and administered in temporal things ; he had 
 two counsellors who, with himself, formed a court to 
 try transgressors. If two members had a difficulty, 
 they were to settle it between themselves, or by the 
 assistance of another, according to the Scriptures : 
 but if they could not do this, then it went before the 
 bishop's court for trial ; but if either party was dis- 
 satisfied with the bishop's decision, he could appeal 
 it to the high council. There was also a travelling 
 high council, consisting of twelve high priests, called 
 the twelve apostles, or THE TWELVE, whose duty it 
 was to travel and preach the gospel to all the world. 
 They were also to regulate the church in all places 
 where it was not properly organized. One of their 
 number presided over the rest in their councils. 
 There were other bodies formed, called the seven- 
 ties, consisting of seventy elders each, (not high 
 priests,) seven of whom presided over the rest in 
 their councils. These seventies were to travel and 
 preach in all the world, under the direction of the 
 twelve, who were to open or lead the way, and then 
 call upon the seventies for assistance. There were 
 three of these bodies formed, called the first, second, 
 and third seventies. The first presidency, the high 
 council, the twelve, and each of the seventies, were 
 equal in power, that is to say, each had a right to dis- 
 cipline their own members, and transact other busi- 
 ness of the church within their calling, and a domion 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 123 
 
 of either one of these bodies, when in regular session, 
 could not be appealed from to any other, for one had 
 no right or power to reverse or overthrow the judg- 
 ment or decision of the other, but they could all be 
 called together and form a conference, consisting of 
 all the authorities, to which an appeal could be taken 
 from either one, and the decision reversed. These 
 were the regular constituted authorities of the church ; 
 but, besides this, Smith and Rigdon taught the church 
 that these authorities, in ruling or watching over the 
 church, were nothing more than servants to the 
 church, and that the church, as a body, had the power 
 in themselves to do any thing that either or all of 
 these authorities could do ; and that if either or all of 
 these constituted authorities became deranged or 
 broken down, or did not perform their duty to the 
 satisfaction of the church, the church had a right to 
 rise up in a body and put them out of office, make 
 another selection, and reorganize them, and thus keep 
 in order, for the power was in the people, and not in 
 the servants. The high priests, elders, and priests, 
 were to travel and preach, but the teachers and dea- 
 cons were to be standing ministers to the church. 
 Hence, in the last organizing of the church, each 
 branch of the church chose a teacher to preside over 
 them, whose duty it was to take particular charge of 
 that branch, and report from time to time to the ge- 
 neral conference of elders, which was to be held 
 quarterly. For some time after the commencement 
 of the church an elder might ordain an elder, priest, 
 teacher, or deacon, when and where he thought pro- 
 per ; but, after stakes were planted, and the church 
 became organized, they established a rule that none 
 should be ordained without consent of the church or 
 branch that he belonged to ; neither should any man 
 be placed over a branch or take charge of it, without 
 consent of the same." 
 
.124 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 The office, of bishop is more fully described 
 by Mr. Booth. 
 
 " His business is to superintend the SECULAR con- 
 cerns of the church. He holds a deed of the lands, 
 and the members receive a writing from him, signi- 
 fying that they are to possess the land as their own, 
 so long as they are obedient to Smith's command- 
 ments. The bishop is, in reality, the vicegerent of 
 Smith, and those in coalition with him ; and holds his 
 office during their will and pleasure." 
 
 The reader may be anxious to know what 
 kind of sacrifices were offered at Kirtland, to 
 render so many PRIESTS necessary ; but we are 
 uninformed. The same crude fancy that in the 
 above regulations has jumbled up the priest- 
 hoods of Melchisedec and Aaron, apostles, 
 high priests, and elders together, also designed 
 the first Mormon temple, which was built in 
 Kirtland, at an expense of forty thousand dol- 
 lars. As the corner-stone of a similar edifice 
 has been recently laid at Nauvoo, their present 
 gathering-place, it may not be uninteresting to 
 put on record here the glory of the former house. 
 It has been thus described : 
 
 " This house was eighty feet by sixty ; and fifty- 
 seven feet high to the top of the wall. It was di- 
 vided into two stories, each twenty-two feet high, and 
 arched over head. Ten feet were cut off from the 
 front end by a partition, and used as an entrance ; 
 also containing the stairs. This left the main room 
 fifty-five by sixty-five in the clear, both below and 
 above. In each of these rooms were built two pul- 
 pits, one in each end. Each pulpit consisted of four 
 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 125 
 
 different apartments ; the fourth standing on a plat 
 form raised a suitable height above the floor ; the 
 third stood directly behind, and elevated a little above 
 the fourth ; the second in rear of and elevated above 
 the third ; and so was the first above the second. 
 Each of these apartments was just large enough, and 
 lightly calculated to receive three persons ; and the 
 breast-work in front of each of these three last men- 
 tioned was constituted of three semi-circles, joining 
 each other, and finished in good style. The fourth, 
 or lower one, was straight in front, and had a table- 
 leaf attached to it, that could be raised at pleasure, 
 for the convenience of administering the sacrament, 
 &c. These pulpits were alike in each end of the 
 house, and one was for the use of the Melchisedec, 
 or high priesthood, and the other for the Aaronic, or 
 lesser priesthood. The first, or higher apartment, 
 was occupied by the first presidency over all the 
 church ; the second apartment, by the president of the 
 high priests and his two counsellors ; the third, by 
 three of the high priests ; and the fourth, by the pre- 
 sident of the elders and his two counsellors. The 
 highest apartment of the other pulpit was occupied 
 by the bishop of the church and his two counsellors ; 
 the next by the president of the priests and his two 
 counsellors ; the third by the president of the teach- 
 ers and his two counsellors ; and the fourth by the 
 president of the deacons and his two counsellors. 
 Each of these apartments had curtains hanging from 
 the ceiling, over head, down to the top of the pulpit, 
 which could be rolled up or dropped down at plea- 
 sure ; and, when dropped down, would completely 
 exclude those within the apartment from the sight of 
 all others. The room itself was finished with slips 
 and seats, so calculated that, by slipping the seats a 
 little, the congregation could change their faces to- 
 ward either pulpit they chose, for in some cases the 
 
126 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 high priesthood would administer, and in other cases 
 the lesser would. The room was also divided into 
 four apartments, hy means of curtains hanging from 
 the ceiling, over head, down to the floor, which could 
 be rolled up at pleasure, so that the room could be 
 used all in one, or divided into four rooms, and used 
 for different purposes. Thus the house was con- 
 structed to suit and accommodate the different orders 
 of priesthood and worship peculiar to the church." 
 
 When this edifice was sufficiently completed, 
 a solemn assembly was convoked. 
 
 When the temple was so far finished as to 
 be ready for the "solemn assembly," in which 
 they were to purify their bodies with water, 
 wash each other's feet, and anoint each other 
 with oil, pronouncing mutual blessings on each 
 other during the performance, there was found 
 to have accumulated against it a debt of fifteen 
 or twenty thousand dollars. 
 
 " As the house had been built by faith, as they 
 termed it, they must now continue their faith, and 
 contrive some means to pay the debt. Notwithstand- 
 ing they were deeply in debt, they had so managed 
 as to keep up their credit, so they concluded to try 
 mercantile business. Accordingly, they ran in debt 
 in New- York, and elsewhere, some thirty thousand 
 dollars for goods, and, shortly after, some fifty or six- 
 ty thousand more, as I was informed : but they did 
 not fully understand the mercantile business, and, 
 withal, they suffered pride to arise in their hearts, 
 and became desirous of fine houses, and fine clothes, 
 and indulged too much in these things, supposing, foi 
 a few months, that they were very rich. They also 
 spent some thousands of dollars in building a stearn 
 mill, which never profited them any thing. They 
 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 127 
 
 also bought many farms at extravagant prices, and 
 made part payments, which they afterward lost, by 
 not being able to meet the remaining payments. 
 They also got up a bank, for which they could get 
 no charter, so they issued their paper without a char- 
 ter, and, of course, they could not collect their pay 
 on notes received for loans, and, after struggling with 
 it awhile, they broke down. 
 
 " During their mercantile and banking operations, 
 they not only indulged in pride, but also suffered 
 jealousies to arise among them, and several persons 
 dissented from the church, and accused the leaders 
 of the church with bad management, selfishness, 
 seeking for riches, honour, and dominion ; tyrannizing 
 )ver the people, and striving constantly after power 
 ind property. On the other hand, the leaders of the 
 church accused the dissenters with dishonesty, want 
 )f faith, and righteousness ; being wicked in their 
 - ntentions, guilty of crimes, such as stealing, lying, 
 encouraging the making of counterfeit money, &c. ; 
 and this strife or opposition arose to a great height, 
 so that, instead of pulling together as brethren, they 
 tried every way in their power, seemingly, to destroy 
 each other ; their enemies from without rejoiced at 
 this, and assisted the dissenters what they could, un- 
 til Smith and Rigdon finally were obliged to leave 
 Kirtland, and, with their families, they carne to Far 
 West, in March or April, 1838." 
 
 By comparingthe above statements of Mr. Cor- 
 rill with those of a gentleman residing near the 
 spot, we shall be able to understand the circum- 
 stances under which the Mormons abandoned 
 their first " eternal inheritance. " " The closing 
 scenes of Mormonism here were truly revolt- 
 ing arid extraordinary, exhibiting as much black- 
 hearted villany as was ever concocted and acted 
 
128 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 out by any set of men under any circumstances, 
 while for every new scheme of knavery, they 
 had a ' Thus saith the Lord,' in the shape of 
 a revelation from Smith. I will only glance a.\ 
 a few particulars. 
 
 " In 1836 they formed among themselves seve- 
 ral large mercantile firms, the prophet, of course, 
 being a partner in each ; and contrived, by means 
 of falsehood and deception, to procure goods in 
 Buffalo and New- York, to the amount of more 
 than thirty thousand dollars. With these the pro- 
 phet and his priests rigged themselves out in the 
 most costly apparel, at the top of the fashions. 
 
 " Subsequently they had a revelation com- 
 manding them to establish a ' bank, which 
 should swallow up all other banks.' This was 
 soon got into operation on a pretended capital of 
 four millions of dollars, made up of real estate 
 round about the temple. By means of great acti- 
 vity, and an actual capital of about five thousand, 
 they succeeded in setting afloat from fifty to one 
 hundred thousand dollars. This concern was 
 closed up, after flourishing three or four weeks. 
 During this period, the land speculation had 
 been fully entered into by the gang. They 
 contracted for nearly all the land within a mile 
 and a half of the temple, laid it out into city 
 lots, and proceeded with the operation of buy- 
 ing and selling lots to one another at the most 
 extravagant prices. 
 
 " But their career was soon brought to a close. 
 Suits were instituted against them under the 
 Jaws against private banking, and Smith and 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 129 
 
 Rigdon were fined one thousand dollars each. 
 Their printing establishment, with a large quan- 
 tity of books and paper, was taken and sold to 
 pay the judgment. On the same night the whole 
 was consumed with fire, set by the Mormons. 
 This was followed by the flight of the prophet 
 and his head men for Missouri, and a general 
 breaking up of the establishment in this quarter. 
 Not being willing to leave their temple in the 
 hands of the ' infidels,' they made several at- 
 tempts to fire it, and actually burnt down a small 
 Methodist chapel standing but a few rods dis- 
 tant, expecting it would communicate to the 
 temple. After leaving, the prophet sent a mes- 
 sage to his followers, making known to them 
 that it was the Lord's will that they should im- 
 mediately depart for the west, to escape the 
 plagues with which the place was to be visited." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Progress of events in Missouri Inflammatory preach- 
 ing Secret society Hostilities War of extermination 
 Cruelties inseparable from such an order Trial of the 
 leaders Testimony before the court of inquiry Charged 
 as ex parte. 
 
 THE history of the Mormon difficulties and 
 persecutions in Missouri has already been 
 spread before the community in various forms. 
 It will therefore only be expected of us to give 
 a brief summary of the events which took place, 
 in order to preserve their connection, and to 
 9 
 
130 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 show their bearing. After all that we have 
 read on this subject, we prefer the authority of 
 Mr. Corrill, and shall, to some extent, make use 
 of his words. 
 
 That gentleman was personally involved in 
 most of the scenes described, and therefore 
 must have known what actually took place. 
 Writing, as he did, at once for his Mormon 
 friends, and for the people of Missouri, he may 
 be supposed to have stated the facts correctly, 
 and free from the bias which has been given to 
 some of the accounts on either side. 
 
 For several years the Mormons had been 
 rapidly settling in Clay county, where they had 
 been received on their expulsion from Jackson. 
 A portion of the people there also began to grow 
 uneasy lest they should be overrun with the new 
 sect. Without any sufficient provocation, these 
 persons continued to stir up excitement, and the 
 Mormons began to prepare for self-defence. At 
 length the more rational part of the citizens saw 
 that bloodshed would follow, unless something 
 was done. They accordingly appointed a com- 
 mittee, who called upon the Mormons to meet 
 them in conference. This was done, and the 
 latter agreed to leave the county, the committee 
 assisting them to procure a new place of resi- 
 dence. A place was found in the territory of 
 Ray county, since organized into that of C aid- 
 well ; the people of the vicinity consenting to 
 the arrangement. 
 
 " The Mormons purchased great quantities of land 
 in Caldwell county, made improvements, and their 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 131 
 
 works plainly show that they were industrious, though 
 they laboured under many disadvantages, on account 
 of their poverty and former difficulties. Many of 
 them were obliged to seek labour in the neighbour- 
 ing counties for their bread. The people gave them 
 employment, and many of them also borrowed mo- 
 ney, to purchase lands with. Friendship began to 
 be restored between them and their neighbours, the 
 old prejudices were fast dying away, and they were 
 doing well, until the summer of 1838. 
 
 " Many of the church had settled in Davies coun- 
 ty, and, to all appearance, lived as peaceably with 
 their neighbours as people generally do ; but not long 
 after Smith and Rigdon arrived in Far West, they 
 went to Davies county and pitched upon a place to 
 build a town. L. Wight was already on the ground 
 with his family. They laid out a town, and began to 
 settle it pretty rapidly ; Smith gave it the name of 
 Adamondiamon, which he said was formerly given 
 to a certain valley, where Adam, previous to his 
 death, called his children together and blessed them. 
 The interpretation in English is, ' The valley of God, 
 in which Adam blessed his children.' Many of the 
 church became elated with the idea of settling in and 
 round about the new town, especially those who had 
 come from Kirtland, as it was designed more parti- 
 cularly for them. This stirred up the people of Da- 
 vies in some degree ; they saw that if this town w r as 
 built up rapidly, it would injure Gallatin, their county 
 seat, and also that the Mormons would soon overrun 
 Davies, and rule the county, and they did not like to 
 live under the laws and administration of ' Jo Smith.' 
 Lyman Wight also would frequently boast in his dis- 
 courses of what they would do if the mob did not let 
 them alone, they would fight, and they would die 
 upon the ground, and they would not give up their 
 rights, &c., when, as yet, there was no mob. But 
 
132 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 this preaching inspired the Mormons with a fighting 
 spirit, and some of the other citizens began to be 
 stirred up to anger." 
 
 Great difficulties had previously arisen among 
 themselves, growing out of the various specula- 
 tions into which the church had plunged ; pro- 
 ducing dissension, distrust, and recrimination. 
 In order to pay the debts in New-York and 
 elsewhere, many of the church in Kirtland 
 turned out their farms, and stripped themselves 
 of property, taking orders on the bishop in Far 
 West, and in their poverty following Smith and 
 Rigdon as soon as they could. 
 
 Various attempts had been made to reconcile 
 the mutual grievances and animosities, but with- 
 out entire satisfaction. The dissenting and 
 accused party at length withdrew. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the dissenters had left the 
 church, yet the old strife kept up, and Smith and 
 Rigdon, with others, complained much of the ill 
 treatment they had received from the dissenters and 
 others ; they said they had been persecuted from 
 time to time with vexatious lawsuits ; that mobs had 
 arisen up against them, time after time ; that they 
 had been harassed to death, as it were, for seven or 
 eight years, and they were determined to bear it no 
 longer, for they had rather die than suffer such things ; 
 and it was the will of God that the saints should 
 fight their death rather than suffer such things ; 
 that if the church would be united, and exercise faith 
 in God, he would protect them, though their enemies 
 were ever so numerous. But in order to get protec- 
 tion and favour from God, they must become one, and 
 be perfectly united in all things ; cleanse themselves 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 133 
 
 from every kind of pollution, and keep the whole law of 
 God ; and, if they would do this, God would strength- 
 en them against their enemies, his arm should be their 
 arm, and the time was not far distant when, if they 
 purified themselves properly, one should be able to 
 chase his thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. 
 
 " This kind of preaching was the chief topic of 
 conversation all that summer, until many of the 
 church became inspired with the belief that God 
 would enable them to stand against any thing, even 
 the state of Missouri, or the United States, if they 
 should come in a mob. 
 
 " Some time in June, 1838, a few individuals be- 
 gan to form a society that should he agreed in all 
 things. In order to this, they bound themselves un- 
 der very close restrictions. As this society began to 
 increase, they secretly entered into solemn covenants 
 before God, and bound themselves under oath to keep 
 the secrets of the society, and covenanted to stand by 
 one another in difficulty, whether right or wrong, but 
 said they would correct each other's wrongs among 
 themselves. As the presidency stood next to God, 
 or between God and the -church, and was the oracle 
 through which the word and will of God were com- 
 municated to the church, they esteemed it very es- 
 sential to have their word, or the word of God through 
 them, strictly adhered to. They therefore entered 
 into a covenant, that the word of the presidency 
 should be obeyed, arid none should be suffered to 
 raise his hand or voice against it ; for, as they stood 
 at the head of the church, it was considered no more 
 than reasonable that they knew more of the will of 
 God than any others did ; consequently, all things 
 must be in submission to them, and, moreover, all 
 tattling, lying, and backbiting must be put down, and 
 he that would not submit willingly, should be forced 
 to it, or leave the county. 
 
] 34 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " Who first started this society I know not, but 
 Doctor Samson Arvard was the most prominent 
 leader and instructer, and was assisted by others. 
 The first presidency did not seem to have much to 
 do with it at first : they would, however, go into their 
 meetings occasionally, and sanction their doings. 
 Arvard was very forward and indefatigable in ac- 
 complishing their purposes, for he devoted his whole 
 talents to it, and spared no pains ; and, I thought, 
 was as grand a villain as his wit and ability \vould 
 admit of. 
 
 " How much he was assisted by the presidency I 
 know not, but I thought that they stood as wire- 
 workers behind the curtain. Be this as it may, they 
 ran into awful extremes, for it seemed that they felt 
 justified, and thought it was the will of God, to use 
 any measures whatever, whether lawful or unlawful, 
 to accomplish their purpose, and put down those that 
 opposed them. In this they perverted the former 
 belief and notions of the church ; for the church al- 
 ways believed that judgments, pestilence, disease, 
 famine, great troubles and vexations, were sooner or 
 later to be poured out up*n all the wicked, and cut 
 them off in the course of time, and this, they sup- 
 posed, would be done by God himself, and the object 
 of gathering together was, that they might purify 
 themselves, and stand in holy places appointed of God 
 for that purpose, and thus escape these judgments. 
 But now it began to be taught that the church, in- 
 stead of God, or, rather, the church in the hands of 
 God, was to bring about these things ; and I was told, 
 but I cannot vouch for the truth of it, that some of 
 them went so far as to contrive plans how they might 
 scatter poison, pestilence, and disease among the in- 
 habitants, and make them think it was judgments sent 
 from God. But here let me remark, that this was 
 known only to some half dozen or so of the leaders, 
 

 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 135 
 
 and not to the church, nor even the great majority of 
 this secret society. 
 
 " The church celebrated the fourth of July, by 
 raising a liberty pole, on which they hoisted the Ame- 
 rican flag. They also formed a civil and military 
 procession, and President Rigdon delivered an ora- 
 tion, containing the following and similar sentences : 
 4 We take God to witness, and the holy angels to 
 witness this day, that we warn all men, in the name 
 of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more for ever. 
 The man or the set of men who attempt it, do it at 
 the expense of their lives ; and that mob that comes 
 on us to disturb us, there shall be between us and 
 them a war of extermination, for we will follow them 
 till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they 
 will have to exterminate us ; for we will carry the 
 war to their own houses, and their own families, and 
 one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed.'" 
 
 Not long after this, an affray occurred at an 
 election which fanned the flame of discord on 
 both sides. Thus mutual provocation and injury 
 progressed, until open hostilities ensued. The 
 excitement growing worse and worse, two or 
 three hundred men assembled in Davies county, 
 and appointed Doctor Austin, of Carroll, as their 
 leader. The Mormons also collected at Ada- 
 mondiamon, under L. Wight, ready for defence. 
 Sentinels were kept out by both parties, who 
 reconnoitered the country as they thought pro- 
 per. A party of Austin's men fired on two Mor- 
 mons, one of whom escaped, the other was 
 taken prisoner. 
 
 The former sent to Richmond to procure 
 sixty or eighty stands of arms. The wagon 
 
136 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 conveying them broke down. The Mormons, 
 getting news of this, sent ten men, who got 
 possession of the arms, and made three prison- 
 ers. Five hundred militia were at length called 
 out, and both these parties dispersed. 
 
 A little previous to this, the citizens of Car- 
 roll had held meetings, and resolved to drive the 
 Mormons from that county. About three hun- 
 dred persons collected for this purpose in De- 
 witt, and also appointed Doctor Austin for their 
 commander. 
 
 The Mormons, though weak in that place, 
 prepared for defence, under command of Col. 
 Hinkle. About a hundred, including Smith and 
 Rigdon, went from Far West to their assistance. 
 This outbreak was at length quelled also by the 
 militia. Both parties were now so deeply irri- 
 tated, that the various rumours set afloat re- 
 specting one another's designs and movements, 
 soon provoked exasperation. In cases like this, 
 the greater amount of injury is almost invariably 
 chargeable on the stronger party, although the 
 weaker may not be guiltless. This we pre- 
 sume to have been true in the present instance 
 Nevertheless, there was a period in which the 
 Mormons appear to have been the chief aggres- 
 sors. They certainly took measures calculated 
 greatly to lessen the sympathy naturally felt in 
 their lot, as well as to aggravate the difficulties 
 in which they were involved. There may have 
 been palliating circumstances, but justice can- 
 not fail to attribute this conduct, generally, to 
 the extreme infatuation to which their minds 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 137 
 
 had been wrought, up by the preaching and ex- 
 ample of their leaders. 
 
 Returning from Carroll county in a state of 
 highly excited feeling, Smith preached on Sun- 
 day, and requested a meeting of all the male 
 members the next day. 
 
 " They accordingly met, and passed resolutions to 
 the following effect : All the members of the church 
 should take hold and help ; those who had been back- 
 ward in carrying on the warfare should now come 
 forward, and their property should be consecrated, so 
 far as might be necessary, for the use of the army. 
 If any man undertook to leave the place, and go to 
 the enemy, he should be stopped and brought back, 
 or lose his life. As soon as this meeting was over, 
 they collected upon the public square, and called for 
 volunteers. About two hundred w r ere raised to go to 
 Davies county. Others were raised to guard Far 
 West. A company, called the Fur Company, was 
 raised, for the purpose of procuring provisions, for 
 pressing teams, and even men, sometimes, into the 
 army in Caldwell. I now saw plainly that they had 
 become desperate, and their career would soon end ; 
 for I knew that their doings would soon bring the 
 people on them, and I dreaded the consequences. I 
 would have been glad to have left the county with 
 my family, but I could not get away ; the decree was 
 passed, and there was no other chance for me and the 
 other dissenters but to pretend to take hold with the 
 rest. I now understood that they meant to fall upon 
 and scatter the mob wherever they could find them 
 collected. 
 
 " I heard nothing from the leaders ; but in the camp 
 it was said that they meant not only to scatter the 
 mob, but also to destroy those places that harboured 
 them ; that Gallatin and Millport were of that num.- 
 
138 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ber ; that the time had arrived for the riches of the 
 Gentiles to be consecrated to the house of Israel, but 
 they meant to confine themselves to the mob charac- 
 ters in their plunderings. They conjectured that 
 mob after mob, as they termed it, would arise against 
 them, which they would have to subdue, one after 
 another, even till they should reach St. Louis, where 
 Wight said he meant to winter. Many had the 
 weakness to believe that God would enable them 
 to do it. 
 
 " When they found no citizens gathered together 
 against them, they ought to have been peaceable, and 
 merely stood on the defensive ; but they had become 
 too desperate in feeling for that, and resolved to clear 
 Davies county from every thing in the shape of what 
 they called mobs, which they did effectually in the 
 course of that and the next week. It appeared to 
 me also that the love of pillage grew upon them very 
 fast, for they plundered every kind of property they 
 could get hold of, and burnt many cabins in Davies, 
 some say eighty, and some say one hundred and fifty. 
 They also went with a company to Livingston, and 
 took a piece of ordnance, which had been brought 
 there by the company that came from Carroll county. 
 
 " Far West, meanwhile, was well guarded, for they 
 heard they were to be attacked by Captain Gilliam, 
 with a company from the Platte. But he did not at- 
 tempt it. They also heard that a company was com- 
 ing from Buncum, and they organized a company of 
 ten men, that were called the Destructionists, whose 
 commander was called the Destroying Angel. Their 
 business was to watch the movements of the citizens, 
 and if they gathered in Buncum, and left the place 
 for Far West, these Destructionists were to slip in 
 behind them, and burn the place. So they were to 
 do, it was said, by Richmond, or any other place tha'~ 
 should turn out men to injure them. I believe the^ 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 139 
 
 never attempted to burn either place, though it was 
 reported in Richmond that the time was set for them 
 to burn that place, and many left it for a short time ; 
 but this, I think, was incorrect. 
 
 " Shortly after the Mormon troops came from Da- 
 vies, they received news that a company was gather- 
 ed on Crooked river, and that some of them had been 
 to some houses on Log creek, in Caldwell, and or- 
 dered off the families, with severe threats if they 
 were not gone by sunrise the next morning. They 
 took away their arms, and, it was said, also burnt a 
 wagon and a house, and took three men prisoners. 
 On receiving this news, a company was fitted out to 
 disperse them. Captain Fear-not (David W. Pat- 
 ten) commanded them. They went in the night to 
 the house of Fields, on Crooked river, but not finding 
 the company there, they proceeded to another place, 
 and had not proceeded far till they met with a centi- 
 nel, who hailed them, and, after a word or two, shot 
 one of them down, and then ran to his company ; but 
 they followed him up in a hurry, and, after a fire or 
 two, charged on the company, and soon dispersed 
 them, and supposed they had killed several. They 
 then gathered up a part of the plunder, and about 
 thirty horses, and returned, leaving one of their men 
 dead on the ground, though they did not miss him till 
 they had got home. Three or four others were badly 
 wounded, and Patten and one other died soon. One 
 of the opposite party was killed, and others wounded. 
 
 " This battle produced great excitement among the 
 people, and the Mormons found, in a day or two, that 
 it was militia instead of a mob that they had assailed. 
 Captain Bogart had collected a company, and got 
 permission to guard Buncum, and was there encamp- 
 ed for that purpose when they fell on him. The ex- 
 citement increased rapidly, and in a day or two the 
 whole country, seemingly, was in arms." 
 
140 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Shortly after this a bloody scene ensued at 
 a place called Hawn's Mill, in which two or 
 three companies of militia are represented to 
 have attacked, without provocation, a house in 
 which a number of Mormons, men, women, and 
 children, were assembled for shelter, of whom 
 twenty or thirty were killed. On the 27th of 
 October, 1838, while this state of things was 
 pending, the governor of Missouri, L. W. Boggs, 
 received information which induced him to issue 
 to Gen. Clark orders, of which the following 
 sentences are a part : " The Mormons must 
 be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated, 
 or driven from the state, if necessary, for the 
 public peace. If you can increase your forces, 
 you are authorized to do so to any extent you 
 may consider necessary." An army of several 
 thousand men was soon under way to execute 
 these orders. But happily, before any general 
 attack occurred, proposals of peace were made 
 by the officers in command, and accepted by 
 the Mormons. Their fighting men, to the num- 
 ber of about five hundred, were to surrender 
 themselves as prisoners. They were also re- 
 quired to sign a deed of trust, conveying all 
 their property to five commissioners, who were 
 to hold it in trust for the use of the creditors of 
 the church, and to pay the damages and ex- 
 penses of the war. The overplus, in case any 
 thing remained, was to be refunded. 
 
 The prisoners were soon discharged, with 
 the exception of fifty-three, who were detained 
 for examination, before a criminal court of in- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 141 
 
 quiiy, at Richmond. Seven of these, the prin- 
 cipal leaders, were put in irons. The result 
 of this examination was, that thirty-six indi- 
 viduals were retained for trial, on the charges 
 preferred. Those accused of treason and mur- 
 der were confined in jail ; the rest were ad- 
 mitted to bail. The accusation for murder was 
 based on what was termed, Bogart's battle. 
 We would willingly dismiss here this painful 
 subject, with the remarks we have to make 
 upon it : but inasmuch as the testimony record- 
 ed, at the above-mentioned criminal court of 
 inquiry, having been submitted to the senate of 
 the United States, has been published in a con- 
 gressional document, we must, in justice to the 
 reader, give an abstract of the same, together 
 with an authorized (Mormon) account of the 
 manner in which the court was conducted. 
 The publication alluded to is entitled, " A doc- 
 ument, showing the testimony given before the 
 judge of the fifth judicial circuit of the state of 
 Missouri, on the trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and 
 others, for high treason, and other crimes, against 
 that state." It gives the names of fifty-three 
 individuals, charged with the crimes of high 
 treason against the state murder, burglary, 
 arson, robbery, and larceny. Among these 
 names are those of Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum 
 Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Parley P. Pratt. 
 
 The first witness, introduced in this pamphlet, 
 is Dr. Sampson Arvard, who had been a special 
 teacher among the Mormons. He testifies, that 
 a band was formed, among that people, denorni- 
 
142 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 nated, at first, the Daughters of Zion ; but, after 
 that, the Danite band ; the original object of 
 which was to expel, from Caldwell county, the 
 dissenters from the Mormon church. Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., blessed the band, and prophesied 
 over them, declaring that they should be the 
 means, in the hands of God, of bringing forth 
 the millennial kingdom. Smith said it was ne- 
 cessary that this band should be bound together 
 by a covenant, that those who revealed the se- 
 crets of the society should be put to death. The 
 covenant was as follows, (holding up the right 
 hand :) " In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son 
 of God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to 
 conceal, and never to reveal, the secret purposes 
 of this society, called the Daughters of Zion. 
 Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as 
 the forfeiture." 
 
 Prophet Smith and his two counsellors (Hy- 
 rum Smith and Sidney Rigdon) were consider- 
 ed as the supreme head of the church ; and the 
 Danite band felt themselves as much bound to 
 obey them, as to obey the supreme God. Smith 
 taught them that they should stand by each 
 other, right or wrong. He declared, publicly, 
 that all who did not take up arms in defence of 
 the Mormons, should be considered as tories, 
 and should take their exit from the country. In 
 addressing the Mormon forces on the subject 
 of taking property that did not belong to them, 
 he said the children of God did not go to war 
 at their own expense. He said it was high 
 time that they should be up. as saints of the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 143 
 
 most high God, and protect themselves, and 
 take the kingdom. On some occasions, he said 
 that one should chase a thousand, and two put 
 ten thousand to flight that he considered the 
 United States rotten that the Mormon church 
 was the little stone spoken of hy the prophet 
 Daniel and that the dissenters first, and the 
 state next, were part of the image that should 
 be destroyed by that stone. About the time 
 that the militia, under Gen. Lucas, came out to 
 Far West, Smith assembled the Mormon troops, 
 and said, that for every one they lacked in num- 
 ber of those who came out among them, the 
 Lord would send angels, who would fight for 
 them, and they should be victorious. 
 
 Dr. Avard received orders from Smith, Rig- 
 don, and Co., to destroy the paper containing 
 the constitution of the Danite society, as, if it 
 should be discovered, it would be considered 
 treasonable. He did not, however, obey the 
 orders, but, after he was made prisoner, he 
 handed it to Gen. Clark. The Mormon preach- 
 ers and apostles were directed to instruct their 
 followers to come up to the state, called Far 
 West, and to possess the kingdom ; and that the 
 Lord would give them power to possess it. 
 
 A paper was drafted by Sidney Rigdon, and 
 signed by eighty-four Mormons, the object of 
 which was, to drive away the dissenters. It 
 was addressed to Oliver Cowdery, David Whit- 
 mer, John Whitmer, William W. Phelps, and 
 Lyman E. Johnson. Of these, Oliver Cowdery 
 and David Whitmer were two of the three wit 
 
144 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 nesses that testified to the truth of the Book of 
 Mormon. This paper charges these dissenters, 
 viz., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, &c., with 
 monstrous vices and crimes. It states that Cow- 
 deiy was arrested for stealing, and the stolen 
 property was found in the house of William W. 
 Phelps, Cowdery having stolen and conveyed 
 it ; that they had endeavoured to destroy the 
 character of Smith and Rigdon, by every arti- 
 fice that they could invent, not even excepting 
 the basest lying ; that they had disturbed the 
 Mormon meetings of worship by a mob of black- 
 legs ; that Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer 
 united with a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, 
 liars, and blacklegs of the deepest die, to de- 
 ceive, cheat, and defraud the Mormons out of 
 their property, by every art and stratagem which 
 wickedness could invent ; using the influence 
 of the vilest persecutions to bring vexations and 
 law-suits, villanous prosecutions, and even steal- 
 ing riot excepted ; that Cowdery attempted to 
 sell notes on which he had received pay ; that 
 he and David Whitmer swore falsely, stole, 
 cheated, lied, sold bogus money, (base coin,) 
 and also stones and sand for bogus ; that letters 
 in the post-office had been opened, read, and 
 destroyed ; and that those same men were con- 
 cerned with a gang of counterfeiters, coiners, 
 and blacklegs. 
 
 Nehemiah Odell, sen., was in the battle be- 
 tween Captain Bogart's company and the Mor- 
 mons, Oct. 25th, 1838. He testifies, that the 
 Mormon commander, on that occasion, ex- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 145 
 
 pressed himself about to this amount : " In 
 the name of Lazarus, God, and the Lamb, fire, 
 Danites !" Somewhat farcical, as well as tra 
 gical. 
 
 According to the testimony of Capt. Bogart, 
 the Mormons attacked him, and were therefore 
 the assailants. 
 
 Wyatt Cravens, one of Capt. Bogart's men, 
 who was made prisoner by the Mormons, testi- 
 fies, that after they pretended to set him at 
 liberty, he was waylaid on his return home- 
 ward by a Mormon, shot at, and wounded, but 
 finally succeeded in making his escape. 
 
 James C. Owens testifies, that Smith said he 
 cared nothing about the Missouri troops, nor 
 
 the laws ; that they were a d d set, and God 
 
 should d n them, so help him Jesus Christ ; 
 
 that he meant to go on as he had begun, and 
 take his own course, and kill and destroy ; and 
 he told the men to fight like angels ; that here- 
 tofore he had told them to fight like devils, but 
 now he told them to fight like angels that ari- 
 gels could whip devils ; that God would send 
 two angels where they lacked one man. He 
 said they might think he was swearing ; but 
 that God Almighty would not take notice of him 
 
 in cursing such a d d set as those were. 
 
 He said they pretended to come out as militia, 
 but that they were all a d -d set of mobs. 
 He stated, at one time, that as they had com- 
 menced consecrating in Davies county, he 
 intended to have the surrounding counties con- 
 secrated to him ; that the time had come when 
 10 
 
146 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 the riches of the Gentiles should be conse- 
 crated to the saints. 
 
 John Cleminson, clerk of the Caldwell cir- 
 cuit court, testifies, that the Danites were taught 
 to support the presidency in all their designs, 
 right or wrong, and to obey them in all things ; 
 and whoever opposed them in what they said 
 or desired to have performed, should be expell- 
 ed from the county, or put to death. They 
 were further taught, that if any one betrayed 
 the secret designs of the Danite society, he 
 should be killed and laid aside, and nothing- 
 should be said about it. When process was 
 filed against Smith and others, in witness's of- 
 fice, for trespass, Smith told him not to issue a 
 writ ; that he did not intend to submit to it ; 
 that he would not suffer it to be issued, &c. ; 
 insomuch that witness, knowing the regulation 
 of the Danite band, felt himself intimidated and 
 in danger, in case he should issue it. The 
 object of the Mormon expedition to Davies was 
 to drive out all the citizens of the county, and 
 get possession of their property. It was fre- 
 quently observed, among the Mormon troops, 
 that the time had come when the riches of the 
 Gentiles should be consecrated to the saints. 
 It was a generally prevailing understanding 
 among them, " that they would oppose either 
 militia or mob, should they come out against 
 them ; for they considered them all mob at 
 heart." 
 
 Reed Peck testifies, that the Danites were 
 taught to do whatever the presidency required 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 147 
 
 of them ; that they were not to judge for them- 
 selves whether it was right or wrong ; that God 
 had raised up a prophet who would judge for 
 them ; that it was proper they should stand by 
 one another in all cases for example, if they 
 found one of the Danites in difficulty, they 
 should rescue him, if they had to do with his 
 adversary as Moses did with the Egyptian, 
 namely, to put him in the sand ; that it made 
 no difference whether the Danite was to blame 
 or not ; they would pack to Far West, and there 
 be taken care of. Avard, their teacher, told 
 them they were to consecrate their surplus pro- 
 perty ; and, if they lied about it, Peter, he said, 
 killed Ananias, and that would be an example 
 for them. Smith said he did not approve of 
 stealing in a general way ; but that our Saviour 
 and his disciples stole corn in passing through 
 the cornfields, because they could not obtain 
 any thing to eat in any other way ; and that 
 the Mormon forces had had to go out to Davies 
 so often, that the people there ought to bear the 
 expense. Those who had scruples on the point, 
 Smith and Rigdon called " O don't men." 
 Those who were unwilling to join in their ma- 
 rauding expeditions, they denounced as traitors ; 
 and the proposition was unanimously adopted, 
 that such should be pitched upon their horses, 
 and be made to go, and be placed in front of 
 the army. Small companies were sent out on 
 various plundering expeditions. Witness saw 
 one of those companies on its return. It was 
 called a fur company. Some had one thing, 
 
148 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 some another ; one had a feather bed ; another 
 some spun yarn, and so on. This fur they 
 were to take to the bishop's store, where it was 
 to be deposited, and if they failed to do this, it 
 would be considered stealing. As the militia 
 under Gen. Doniphan approached Far West, 
 Smith was apprized of their number by witness. 
 They amounted to about thirteen hundred men. 
 Smith, to prevent panic among the Mormons, 
 said there were about two hundred and fifty. 
 Sometime previous to the difficulties in Davies, 
 Smith said, publicly, that he did not intend to 
 regard the laws of Missouri, nor care any thing 
 about them, as they were made by lawyers and 
 blacklegs. In reference to the Mormon dis- 
 senters, Dr. Avard, the Danite teacher, said : 
 " I will tell you how I will do them ; when I 
 meet one damning the presidency, I can damn 
 them as well as he ; and if he wants to drink, 
 I can get a bowl of brandy, and get him half 
 drunk ; and, taking him by the arm, lead him 
 to the woods or brush, and be into his guts in a 
 minute, and put him under the sod." Rigdon, 
 in a sermon, said he would assist in erecting a 
 gallows on the square, and hang all the dis- 
 senters. Smith was present, and followed 
 Rigdon. He spoke of the fate of Judas, and 
 said that Peter had hung him ; and that he him- 
 self approved of Mr. Rigdon's sermon, and con- 
 sidered it a good one. 
 
 George M. Hinkle, one of the commanders 
 of the Mormon forces, testifies, that there was 
 much mysterious conversation in camp, about 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 149 
 
 plundering and house-burning ; insomuch that 
 he spoke to Smith upon the subject, and told him 
 that this course of plundering and house-burn- 
 ing by the Mormon troops would ruin the Mor- 
 mons. Smith roughly told him to keep still, 
 and that this was the only way to gain their 
 liberty and their point. Witness saw a great 
 deal of plunder brought into the camp. Smith 
 said he should fight militia or mob, if they came 
 against him ; and that if they pushed him too 
 tight, he would march through Jefferson city, 
 (the capital of the state.) Witness heard Smith 
 say that he believed Mohammed was a good 
 man ; that the Koran was not a true thing, but 
 that the world belied Mohammed, as they had 
 belied him ; and that Mohammed was a true 
 prophet. The teachings of the church were, 
 that the time had come when the Mormon king- 
 dom was to be set up by force, if necessary ; 
 and likewise, when the riches of the Gentiles 
 were to be consecrated to the true Israel ; and 
 this plundering of property by the Mormons was 
 a fulfilment of that prophecy. Smith, in a 
 speech to the Mormon troops, said, that the 
 forces which were gathering through the coun- 
 try were a d d mob ; and as to keeping the 
 
 laws of Missouri any longer, he did not intend 
 to try to do so ; that the whole state was a mob 
 set ; that if they came to fight him, he would 
 play h 1 with their apple carts ; and so on. 
 Witness mentioned the great difficulties that 
 the course they were pursuing would be likely 
 to get them into ; to which some of them re- 
 
150 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 plied, that, as the citizens had all fled, there 
 would be none to prove it but themselves, and 
 they could swear as they pleased in the matter 
 could swear one another clear, should it be 
 necessary. At the time Smith and witness 
 were under guard at Far West, Smith, under- 
 standing that witness would turn state's evi- 
 dence, tried to induce him to desist, and not 
 give his testimony. 
 
 Thomas M. Odle testifies, that he heard some 
 Mormon troops say that they intended to make 
 it a war of extermination. 
 
 Burr Riggs testifies, that Smith said, on se- 
 veral occasions, that the sword was now un- 
 sheathed, and it should not be again sheathed, 
 until he could go through the United States, and 
 live peaceably in any county he pleased. Rig- 
 don said, that the last man had run away from 
 Far West that was going to ; that the next man 
 who started should be pursued, and brought 
 back, dead or alive ; that one man had slipped 
 his wind yesterday, and had been thrown aside 
 into the brush for the buzzards to pick, and the 
 first man who lisped it should die. 
 
 Jesse Kelly testifies, that Alexander M'Kay, 
 the captain of a Mormon company, stated that 
 they intended, after they got possession of Da- 
 vies, to take Livingston, and after that to keep 
 on till they took possession of the whole state. 
 Addison Price testifies to the same effect. 
 
 John Whitmar testifies, that Smith said, that 
 if an officer attempted to serve a process on 
 him he should die ; that any person who spoke 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 151 
 
 or acted against the presidency, or the church, 
 should leave the country or die. Rigdon ex- 
 pressed himself to the same effect. 
 
 William W. Phelps, one of the principal men 
 among the Mormons, testifies, that Rigdon, in 
 a public meeting, said, that they meant to resist 
 the law, and if a sheriff came after them with 
 writs, they would kill him ; and if any body op- 
 posed them, they would take off their heads. 
 Smith approved of these remarks. On another 
 occasion Rigdon administered several covenants 
 to forty or fifty Mormons, the covenanters tak- 
 ing their obligations with uplifted hands. The 
 first was, that if any man attempted to move out 
 of the county, or pack his things for that pur- 
 pose, any one of the covenanters seeing it should 
 kill him, and haul him aside into the brush ; 
 and all the burial he should have, should be in 
 a turkey-buzzard's guts, so that nothing should 
 be left of him but his bones. The next cove- 
 nant Avas, that if any person from the surround- 
 ing country came into their town, walking about 
 no odds who he might be any one of those 
 covenanters should kill him, and throw him 
 aside into the brush. The third covenant was, 
 
 4 Conceal all these things." 
 The court gave the defendants an opportuni- 
 
 y to be examined without oath, which they de- 
 clined. Several witnesses were then produced 
 by the defendants. Three of these witnesses 
 were inmates of Lyman Wight's house, (one 
 of the defendants.) Another was Nancy Rig- 
 don, daughter of Sidney Rigdon, (another of 
 
152 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 the defendants.) Another was a servant in the 
 family of Smith himself ; and there were but 
 two other witnesses, making seven in all, on 
 the part of the defendants. But their testimony 
 amounted to nothing toward refuting the proof 
 against them, as it did not touch the main 
 charges and points at all. 
 
 In respect to the testimony above condensed, 
 and the tribunal before which it was given in, 
 we find the following statements in a pamphlet 
 entitled, " An Appeal to the American People, 
 published by authority of the Church of Latter- 
 day Saints." It was written by Mr. Rigdon. 
 
 " General Clark spent several days in search- 
 ing the statutes of Missouri, to find some au- 
 thority to hold a court-martial. But finding 
 none, he informed us that he would turn us 
 over to the civil authorities for trial. Accord- 
 ingly the trial commenced / Austin A. King on 
 the bench, and Thomas C. Burch r attorney 
 This was surely a new kind of court it wa? 
 not an inquisition, nor yet a criminal court, but 
 a compound between both. A looker on would 
 be convinced that both the judge and attorney 
 were not satisfied that some or all of the prison 
 ers had been guilty of criminal acts, but, on the 
 contrary, that their object was to try, by all 
 means in their power, to get some person to 
 swear some criminal thing against us, though 
 they knew we were innocent. 
 
 " The first act of the court was, to send out 
 a body of armed men to obtain witnesses, with- 
 out any civil process whatever ; and after wit- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 153 
 
 nesses were brought before the court, they were 
 sworn at bayonet point. Dr. Sampson Avard 
 was the first brought before the court. He had 
 previously told Mr. Oliver Olney that if he 
 (Olney) wished to save himself, he must swear 
 hard against the heads of the church, as they 
 were the ones the court wanted to criminate ; 
 and if he could swear hard against them, they 
 would (that is, neither court nor mob) not dis- 
 turb him. I intend to do it, said he, in order 
 to escape, for if I do not, they will take my 
 life. To aid him in this work, there was stand- 
 ing a body of armed men ; a part of this armed 
 body stood in the presence of the court to see 
 that the witnesses swore right, and another part 
 was scouring the country to drive out of it 
 every witness that they could hear of whose 
 testimony would be favourable to the defend- 
 ants. This course was kept up during the 
 whole time of the court. If a witness did not 
 swear to please the court, he or she would be 
 threatened to be cast into prison. They never 
 pleased the court when their testimony was 
 favourable to the defendants. One instance is 
 all the proof that need be adduced on this head. 
 A man by the name of Allen was called on ; 
 he began to tell the story about Bogart's burn- 
 ing houses in the south part of Caldwell ; he 
 was kicked out of the house, and three men 
 took after him with loaded guns, and he hardly 
 escaped with his life. Every witness that the 
 defendants had (that these creatures knew of, 
 and they made diligent search to find all they 
 
354 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 could) was either arrested under pretence of 
 some charge, or else driven off. When wit- 
 nesses did not swear to please the attorney, 
 (Burch,) he would order them to be taken into 
 custody, arid they were immediately cast into 
 prison, and the next morning they would be 
 brought forward and tried again. Such was 
 the course the court and their armed body pur- 
 sued during their sittings till they got through ; 
 by such means they got men to swear for them, 
 and to swear to most unhallowed falsehoods. 
 It was indeed suborning witnesses to swear to 
 promise a man's life if he would swear, and 
 death or imprisonment if he did not swear, and 
 not only to swear, but swear to please them. 
 
 " This matter of driving away witnesses, or 
 casting them into prison, or chasing them out 
 of the county, was carried to such a length that 
 our lawyers, Gen. Doniphan and Amos Rees, 
 told us not to bring our witnesses there at all, 
 for if we did, there would not be one of them 
 left for the final trial, for no sooner would Bo- 
 gart and his men know who they were, than 
 they would put them out of the county. As to 
 make any impression on King, if a cohort of 
 angels were to come down and declare we were 
 clear, Doniphan said it would all be the same, 
 for he (King) had determined, from the begin- 
 ning, to cast us into prison : we never got the 
 privilege of introducing our witnesses at all ; 
 if we had, we could have disproved all they 
 swore." 
 
 If the reader is unable to determine, satisfac- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 155 
 
 torily, what position the truth holds between the 
 extremes of the conflicting accounts above given, 
 he will probably come to the conclusion that 
 there was much of wrong on both sides. 
 
 Never before was our country witness to such 
 scenes ; may she never behold their repetition. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Escape to Illinois Sufferings Persecution defeats 
 itself Injustice Sympathies of the community Isaac 
 Galland Magnificent enterprise Place of gathering 
 Missions to England J. C. Bennett Revenge New 
 revelation, corresponding to Galland's advice Charters 
 for a city University and legion. 
 
 AFTER the occurrences related in the fore- 
 going chapter, the Mormon people, numbering 
 several thousand, made their way, as speedily 
 as possible, out of a state in which they were 
 convinced they could no longer enjoy the pri- 
 vileges of citizens. They had to pass through 
 a community excited, and highly exasperated 
 against them. They had been stripped of 
 their property, and deprived of most of the 
 conveniences of travelling. The season was 
 the most inclement of the year. All these cir- 
 cumstances, and many others, combined to 
 render the sufferings attending their removal 
 intense in the extreme. Several women and 
 children perished in their dreary flight, too 
 feeble to sustain such cruel exposure. 
 
156 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 To enter into a minute detail of the events 
 connected with the Mormon difficulties in Mis- 
 souri, and their final expulsion from that state, 
 would transcend our present limits. Our task 
 will be accomplished when we shall have faith- 
 fully exposed the artifices made use of in these 
 modern attempts to found a false religion. But 
 we cannot excuse ourselves from rebuking, with 
 equal fidelity, an infatuation less pitiable than 
 Mormonism, which led its opponents to light up 
 the fires of persecution, and to offer sacrifices 
 in the temple of discord. 
 
 We have no respect whatever for the pre- 
 tended fears of the Missourians, lest the Mor- 
 mons " should rise up and destroy them." Even 
 though the latter had wished and intended to 
 obtain what they were taught to believe was 
 their " eternal inheritance," by the shedding of 
 blood, yet the idea that they could accomplish 
 such a design was preposterous, and deserved 
 no place in the mind of a sober man. This 
 pretended alarm, however, was a capital pre- 
 text for the many who wished to turn the tables 
 upon the poor Mormons, and to get to them- 
 selves, by dint of club law, or of mob law, the 
 possession of lands paid for and cultivated by 
 others. Most successfully was it thus used ; 
 and just so far as Missouri has refused to in- 
 demnify such robberies, and to punish their 
 authors, she has favoured injustice, and legal- 
 ized oppression. Suppose treason and murder 
 could have been proved against a score of indi- 
 viduals, that was no reason why a community 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 157 
 
 should be injured, or why the innocent should 
 be punished with the guilty. If violence be 
 suffered to usurp the place of law in any coun- 
 try, with what propriety can that be called the 
 asylum of either civil or religious liberty ? 
 
 Moreover, illegal opposition, in the nature of 
 things, tends to promote the very interest against 
 which it is directed. Before the Missouri war, 
 the adherents of Smith were wasting their ener- 
 gies in internal contention, which resulting, as it 
 did, in multiplying dissenters, would soon have 
 destroyed the sect. Mr. Corrill remarks : " My 
 opinion is, that if the Mormons had been let 
 alone by the citizens, they would have divided 
 and sub-divided, so as to have completely de- 
 stroyed themselves and their power, as a peo- 
 ple, in a short time." Composed, as their 
 community was, of the heterogeneous materials 
 drawn together, on the one hand, by views of 
 interest, and on the other by fanaticism per- 
 sonified, their greatest desideratum was some 
 rallying point around which all could gather, 
 some excitement so great as to merge their dis- 
 appointments, their returning sobriety, and their 
 past mistakes, in a common oblivion ; and, at 
 the same time, furnish them a new bond of 
 union in which all could be true yoke- fellows. 
 Unhappily for them, and for mankind, this was 
 furnished in their expulsion from Missouri. 
 
 To the credit of the state and its citizens, 
 the Mormons were kindly received in Illinois. 
 Public meetings were held on their arrival at 
 Quincy, to express sympathy for their suffer- 
 
158 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ings and to provide means for alleviating their 
 distress. 
 
 Public attention was now called to them as 
 an injured people, and from this period dates 
 the era of their greatest prosperity. The recital 
 of their persecutions was found to excite sym- 
 pathy from every quarter, and zealously was it 
 employed as a means of securing influence and 
 respect. A correspondence was kept up with 
 Smith and the other head men who were re- 
 tained in jail, until in the course of a few 
 months they were able personally to co-operate 
 with their followers. The following account 
 of their treatment while thus retained, and the 
 manner of their escape, is in the language of 
 Mr. Rigdon : 
 
 "After we were cast into prison we heard no- 
 thing but threatenings, that if any judge or jury, 
 or court of any kind, should clear any of us, 
 that we should never get out of the state alive. 
 This soon determined our course, and that was 
 to escape out of their hands as soon as we 
 could, and by any means we could. After we 
 had been some length of time in prison, we de- 
 manded a habeas corpus of Judge Turnham, one 
 of the county judges, which, with some consi- 
 derable reluctance, was granted. Great threat- 
 enings were made at this time by the mob, that 
 if any of us were liberated we should never get 
 out of the county alive. After the investigation, 
 one of our number was released from prison by 
 the decision of the judge ; the remainder were 
 committed to jail. He also returned with them 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 159 
 
 until a favourable opportunity offered, which, 
 through the friendship of the sheriff, Mr. Sa- 
 muel Hadley, and the jailer, Mr. Samuel Til- 
 lery, he was let out of the jail secretly in the 
 night ; and being solemnly warned by them to 
 be out of the state with as little delay as possi- 
 ble, he made his escape. Being pursued by 
 a body of armed men, it was through the direc- 
 tion of a kind Providence that he escaped out 
 of their hands and safely arrived in Quincy, 
 Illinois. This was in February, A. D. 1839. 
 
 " In the May following, the remainder that 
 were in the Liberty jail were taken to Davies 
 county to be tried by a grand jury of the prin- 
 cipal mobbers, in order to see if a bill of indict- 
 ment could be found as could be expected from 
 the characters of the jury. Bills were found, 
 and they obtained a change of venue to Boon 
 county ; accordingly, the sheriff of Davies 
 county, with guards, started to take them from 
 Davies to Boon county. On their way, after 
 journeying a day or two, one evening the guard 
 got drunk, they left them, and also made their 
 escape to Quincy, Illinois." 
 
 At the time of their greatest extremity the 
 Mormons found a friend in Isaac Galland, a 
 gentleman holding extensive landed interests 
 in Illinois, and also a disputed title to an im- 
 mense tract in Iowa, called the half-breed 
 lands. To him the acquisition of one or two 
 thousand industrious settlers upon his lands 
 must at any time have been no small object. 
 It was especially so in view of the complicated 
 
L60 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 litigation in which the half-breed tract was in- 
 volved ; that being likely to terminate in favour 
 of the actual possessor. 
 
 Some have supposed these facts sufficient to 
 account for his course, without crediting so 
 much to his magnanimity as others have done. 
 At any rate, his proposals for disposing of the 
 half-breed lands to the Mormons were accepted 
 by and with the advice of Joseph Smith, before 
 the latter escaped from confinement. Subse- 
 quently, Galland sold to the Mormons the site 
 of the present town of Nauvoo, where he re- 
 sided, together with large portions of adjoining 
 territory. He granted them a long credit, and 
 afterward accepted in payment their titles tc 
 land in Missouri. These arrangements were 
 no doubt highly advantageous to both parties. 
 It becomes interesting, however, to observe the 
 objects and the spirit with which they were 
 entered into by Dr. Galland. 
 
 He had previously been noted as any thing 
 rather than a religious man. Whether this new 
 enterprise presented to him more attractions as 
 a pecuniary speculation, a means of acquiring 
 political influence, or as a grand infidel agency 
 for the purpose of " revolutionizing the dogmas 
 of powerful religious denominations," we will 
 not attempt to decide. That each of these 
 considerations had weight with him appears 
 from the following letter, published in the 
 Times and Seasons, by the person to whom it 
 was addressed. J. Galland is indicated to be 
 its author, not only by the number of stars 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 161 
 
 which represent his usual signature ; but also 
 by expressions in it which no one else could 
 have used. The reader is requested to observe 
 carefully the suggestions contained therein, so 
 that he may apprehend the true origin of some 
 of Smith's subsequent revelations. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, It was my intention to have 
 addressed you before this, but a multiplicity of 
 engagements have hitherto prevented, and I am 
 only enabled now to spare a few moments for 
 that purpose. 
 
 " You are of course aware that an attempt 
 to promulgate new doctrinal tenets in religion, 
 is an enterprise of momentous magnitude, and 
 it is an undertaking, which, in order to succeed, 
 will require great reflection, a perfect know- 
 ledge of the human character, and determined 
 perseverance. Tact, energy, and talents, are 
 indispensable, and will accomplish much ; yet 
 they alone cannot prevail, without encouraging 
 virtue, and discountenancing vice ; general 
 industry and moral conduct must exist in every 
 community, or that community will totter and 
 be dispersed. A systematic arrangement is 
 also necessary in forming a plan for a new co- 
 lony taste in laying out the streets and 
 squares, and skill in the architecture of the 
 buildings are important. 
 
 " Now, as regards your tenets, so far as I 
 have had an opportunity of examining them, 
 there appears nothing objectionable, but much 
 to approve ; at any rate, some explanations 
 made by you when I had the pleasure of seeing 
 11 
 
162 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 you, aroused my faculties to an extent not often 
 experienced by me, and I am constrained to 
 say, that your views appeared novel, very 
 curious, and extremely plausible : I am not 
 able to discover, why they are not based upon 
 a foundation of truth : and if it be truth itself, 
 what a tremendous moral power can be exerted 
 by the denomination of Latter-day Saints, par- 
 ticularly, if a large number possessing fine ta- 
 lents of good cultivation co-operate with each 
 other, all acting in unison, applying and con- 
 centrating religion, intellect, and science, to the 
 attainment of one grand object should this take 
 place, as I think it assuredly will, how noble 
 will be the results what an increase of num- 
 bers what an accession of political influence 
 what accumulations of wealth ; and above all, 
 what a broad and glorious foundation will be 
 laid for building the triumphant church of the 
 Latter-day Saints. There is no estimating the 
 deep, spreading, immense power, of such an 
 engine as religion : it goes on rising, enlarging, 
 and subduing, conquering and to conquer. 
 Ambition itself can hardly grasp in imagination 
 the almost omnipotent force of such an agent as 
 religion. The PROJECT of establishing a new 
 religion, or rather extraordinary religious doc- 
 trines, being magnificent in its character, will 
 of course require means adapted to the end, and 
 preparations commensurate with the splendour 
 of the plan. In the first place, you want a suit- 
 able rallying ground; perhaps Nauvoo is as 
 good as any, it being a capital steam-boat 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 163 
 
 landing, it is in that respect preferable to any 
 that I know. You then want a TEMPLE that for 
 size, proportions, and style, shall attract, sur- 
 prise, and dazzle all beholders it should be 
 entirely unique, externally ; and in the interior, 
 peculiar, imposing, and grand. Then you want 
 clergymen of the highest mental superiority 
 men of education men of profound research, 
 subtle, ready logical reasoners, with easy man- 
 ners, and powerful voices then you should 
 have such a choir of singers as was never be- 
 fore organized. Thus arranged, you would see 
 immediately, nearly every person, within a cir- 
 cle of fifty miles, attending your church, and 
 doubtless many of them become converts. 
 School-houses should be built directly, and 
 school the children young, for ' as the twig is 
 bent the tree's inclined.' Other sects are ac- 
 quiring great strength by acting upon the young, 
 through the medium of Sunday schools, and 
 other juvenile institutions. Your missionary 
 arrangements are good, and should be pushed 
 vigorously. Let those of intelligence, prudence, 
 and pure piety, be employed in this service. 
 If funds for a COLLEGE could be collected, no- 
 thing could be more valuable to you, as through 
 it you would soon have, and send forth to the 
 world, clergymen skilled in science, and cal- 
 culated to strike conviction into the high and 
 wealthy classes of society. 
 
 " You will say that I have been sketching 
 schemes for mere worldly advantage, without 
 contemplating the much more sublime specta- 
 
164 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 cle, of a multitude of redeemed souls, prepared 
 through your doctrines for an entrance into 
 paradise. I have already said, that as yet no 
 sufficient time has presented itself, for me to 
 analyze very fully your tenets, but this I can 
 say in great sincerity, that should these doc- 
 trines promote the happiness of mankind here, 
 and secure their salvation hereafter, no person 
 could feel the enjoyment more intensely ; and 
 I probably feel some degree of pride and vanity, 
 as I shall claim to have selected the spot where 
 a concentration of moral power will exist, which 
 shall revolutionize the dogmas of very powerful 
 religious denominations, and teach them to 
 know, that many discoveries are yet to be made 
 in theological science. Your obedient servant, 
 
 With such brilliant conceptions of worldly 
 advancement before his mind, it is not wonder- 
 ful that this individual was disposed to second 
 the " magnificent project of founding a new 
 religion." Nor is it more wonderful that in a 
 short time he should become so much inter- 
 ested in Mormonism as to profess conversion 
 to its dogmas, and to take upon himself the 
 office of an elder in the church of Latter-day 
 Saints. A circular of the first presidency says 
 respecting him, " Being a man of extensive 
 information, great talents, and high literary 
 fame, he devoted all his powers and influence 
 to give us a character." It was certainly then 
 no more than reasonable that due respect should 
 be shown to his advice. By his means a new 
 
MCRMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 165 
 
 " promised land" was provided for those who 
 having been successively dispossessed of two 
 " eternal inheritances" might well have despair- 
 ed of finding a third. Respecting the eligi- 
 bility of the new place of gathering no doubt 
 can be entertained. It is at the head of the 
 Des Moines or Lower Rapids of the Missis- 
 sippi, extending on both sides of that great 
 river, and embracing large portions of Hancock 
 county, Illinois, and of Lee county, Iowa. The 
 region possesses vast agricultural resources and 
 commercial advantages of equal importance. 
 The existing number of Mormons was quite in- 
 sufficient to fully occupy such extensive openings, 
 Their missionary enterprises were resumed with 
 a zeal unknown before. A delegation had been 
 to England as early as 1 837. Their success hav- 
 ing been such as to encourage further attempts, 
 the twelve being duly commissioned, proceeded by 
 different routes, preaching on their way till they 
 arrived at New-York, and thence sailed for Li- 
 verpool. 
 
 About this time Mormonism received another 
 important accession in the person of John C. 
 Bennett, M. D., a man who either through po- 
 litical management or political influence held 
 the office of quarter-master-general to the state 
 of Illinois, under Governor Carlin. 
 
 Becoming an elder among the Latter-day 
 Saints, he devoted all his energies to the pro- 
 motion of their cause. He toiled faithfully in 
 the field, which is above represented as almost 
 too boundless for even ambition herself, and 
 
166 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 already he has been rewarded with triple 
 honours. This man's valour and spirit may be 
 appreciated by reading the following extracts 
 of correspondence, evidently from his pen ; 
 
 " The grievances of this people must be re- 
 dressed, and my hands shall help to do it 
 should they have to reach to the highest courts 
 of heaven, dig^to the lowest bowels of hell, or 
 encompass the broad expanse of the universe 
 of God, to consummate so desirable a result. 
 J O A B, General in Israel." 
 
 " Missouri has been to the saints like the bo- 
 han upas to the weary pilgrim, and though my 
 hands be bound, rny feet fettered, and my 
 tongue palsied, yet will I defend this people by 
 the power of the great God, until they shall shine 
 in righteousness among the nations of the earth 
 like a glittering gem sparkling on a maiden's 
 brow, and be envied only for their good works. 
 
 " I speak advisedly, I speak KNOWINGLY, I 
 speak by AUTHORITY when I say that JOSEPH 
 SMITH and the heads of the church, and the 
 church bodily, entertain the most kind and 
 friendly feelings toward Gov. Carlin and the 
 state government," &e. 
 
 " JOAB, General in Israel." 
 
 Many of the above expressions indicate of 
 whom he had learned to be meek and lowly, 
 especially in comparison with the following 
 fragment of a letter from the pen of Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., written to the church of Latter- 
 day Saints, from Liberty jail, Mo. : 
 
MORMONISM A.ND THE MORMONS. 167 
 
 " This poor man, (W. W. Phelps,) who pro- 
 fesses to be much of a prophet, has no other 
 dumb ass to ride but David Whitmer or to for- 
 bid his madness when he goes up to curse Is- 
 rael ; but this not being of the same kind of 
 Balaam's therefore notwithstanding the angel 
 appeared unto him yet he could not sufficiently 
 penetrate his understanding but that he brays 
 out cursings instead of blessings. Poor ass, 
 whoever lives will see him and his rider perish 
 like those who perished in the gainsaying of 
 Core, or after the same condemnation unless 
 they repent." Such are the terms in which a 
 man, himself complaining of persecution, could 
 find it in his heart to denounce two of his early 
 friends. Phelps had for years been one of his 
 most devoted followers. David Whitmer was 
 one of the three witnesses to the coming forth 
 of the Book of Mormon, and his name is still 
 used to give credit to that villanous imposture. 
 
 The especial attention of the reader is invited 
 to the language and instructions contained in 
 the following document, which may be consi- 
 dered the Magna Charta of Mormonism, as now 
 existing at Nauvoo. 
 
 Extracts from a Revelation given to Joseph 
 
 Smith, Jr., Jan. 19th, 1841. 
 '* Verily thus saith the Lord, unto you my 
 servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with 
 your offerings and acknowledgments which 
 you have made ; for unto this end have I raised 
 vou up, that I might show forth my wisdom 
 
168 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 through the weak things of the earth. Your 
 prayers are acceptable before me, and in an- 
 swer to them, I say unto you, that you are now 
 called, immediately to make a solemn procla- 
 mation of my gospel, and of this stake which 
 I have planted to be a corner-stone of Zion, 
 which shall be polished with that refinement 
 which is after the similitude of a palace. This 
 proclamation shall be made to all the kings of 
 the world, to the four corners thereof to the 
 honourable president elect, and the high-minded 
 governors of the nation in which you live, and 
 to all the nations of the earth scattered abroad. 
 Let it be written in the spirit of meekness, and 
 by the power of the Holy Ghost which shall 
 be in you at the time of the writing of the same ; 
 for it shall be given you by the Holy Ghost to 
 know my will concerning those kings and au- 
 thorities, even what shall befall them in a time 
 to come. For, behold ! I am about to call on 
 them to give heed to the light and glory of 
 Zion, for the set time has come to favour her. 
 
 " Call ye, therefore, upon them with loud 
 proclamation and with your testimony, fearing 
 them not, for they are as grass, and all their 
 glory as the flower thereof, which soon falleth, 
 that they may be left also without excuse, and 
 that I may visit them in the day of visitation, 
 when I shall unveil the face of my covering, to 
 appoint the portion of the oppressor among 
 hypocrites, where there is gnashing of teeth, if 
 they reject my servants and my testimony which 
 I have revealed unto them And again, I will 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 169 
 
 visit and soften their hearts, many of them, for 
 your good, that ye may find grace in their eyes, 
 that they may come to the light of truth, and 
 the Gentiles to the exaltation or lifting up of 
 Zion. For the day of my visitation cometh 
 speedily, and in an hour when ye think not of, 
 and where shall be the safety of my people ? 
 and refuge for those who shall be left of them ? 
 Awake! O kings of the earth! Come ye, O! come 
 ye with your gold and your silver, to the help of 
 my people to the house of the daughter of Zion. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, let my 
 servant Robert B. Thompson help you to write 
 this proclamation, for I am well pleased with 
 him, and that he should be with you ; let him, 
 therefore, hearken to your counsel, and I will 
 bless him with a multiplicity of blessings ; let 
 him be faithful and true in all things from hence- 
 forth, and he shall be great in mine eyes ; but 
 let him remember that his stewardship will I 
 require at his hands. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is 
 my servant Hyrum Smith, for I the Lord loveth 
 him, because of the integrity of his heart, and 
 because he loveth that which is right before me 
 saith the Lord. 
 
 "Again, let my servant John C. Bennett help 
 you in your labour, in sending my word to the 
 kings and people of the earth, and stand by you, 
 even you my servant Joseph Smith, in the hour 
 of affliction, and his reward shall not fail if he 
 receive counsel ; and for his love, he shall be 
 <rreat ; for he shall be mine if he does this, saith 
 
170 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 the Lord. I have seen the work he hath done, 
 which I accept, if he continue ; and will crown 
 him with blessings and great glory. 
 
 " And again, I say unto you, that it is my will 
 that my servant Lyman Wight should continue 
 in preaching for Zion, in the spirit of meekness, 
 confessing me before the world, and I will bear 
 him up as on eagle's wings, and he shall beget 
 glory and honour to himself, and to my name, 
 that when he shall finish his work, I may re- 
 ceive him unto myself, even as I did my ser- 
 vant David Patten, who is with me at this time, 
 and also my servant Edward Partridge, and also 
 my aged servant Joseph Smith, Sen., who sitteth 
 with Abraham, at his right hand, and blessed and 
 holy is he, for he is mine. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, my ser- 
 vant George Miller is without guile, he may be 
 trusted because of the integrity of his heart ; 
 and for the love which he has to my testimony ; 
 I the Lord loveth him. I therefore say unto 
 you, I seal upon his head the office of a bishop- 
 ric, like unto my servant Edward Partridge, 
 that he may receive the consecrations of mine 
 house, that he may administer blessings upon 
 the heads of the poor of my people, saith the 
 Lord. Let no man despise my servant George, 
 for he shall honour me. Let my servant George, 
 and my servant Lyman, and my servant John 
 Snider, and others, build a house unto my name, 
 such a one as my servant Joseph shall show 
 unto them, upon the place which he shall show 
 unto them also. And it shall be for a house of 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 171 
 
 boarding, a house that strangers may come from 
 afar to lodge therein therefore let it be a good 
 house, worthy of all acceptation, that the weary 
 traveller may find health and safety, while he 
 shall contemplate the word of the Lord, and the 
 corner-stone I have appointed for Zion. This 
 house shall be a healthy habitation, if it be built 
 unto my name, and if the governor which shall 
 be appointed unto it, shall not suffer any pollu- 
 tion to come upon it. It shall be holy, or the 
 Lord your God will not dwell therein. 
 
 " And again, verily, verily I say unto yon, let 
 all my saints from afar ; and send ye swift mes- 
 sengers, yea chosen messengers, and say unto 
 them, Come ye with all your gold, and your 
 silver, and your precious stones, and with all 
 your antiquities ; and with all who have know- 
 ledge of antiquities, that will come may come, 
 and bring the box tree and the fir tree, and the 
 pine tree, together with all the precious trees 
 of the earth, and with iron, and with copper, and 
 with brass, arid with zink, and with all your 
 precious things of the earth, and build a house 
 to my name, for the Most High to dwell there- 
 in ; for there is not place found on earth, that 
 he may come and restore again that which was 
 lost unto you, or, which he hath taken away, 
 even the fulness of the priesthood ; for a bap- 
 tismal font there is not upon the earth; that 
 they, my saints, may be baptized for those who 
 are dead ; for this ordinance belongeth to my 
 house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in 
 the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not 
 
\.TZ MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 able to build a house unto me. But I command 
 you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me, 
 and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a 
 house unto me ; and during this time your bap- 
 tisms shall be acceptable unto me. But, behold, 
 at the end of this appointment, your baptisms 
 for your dead shall not be acceptable unto me ; 
 and if you do not these things, at the end of the 
 appointment, ye shall be rejected as a church with 
 your dead, saith the Lord your God, For, verily, 
 I say unto you, that after you have had suffi- 
 cient time to build a house unto me, wherein 
 the ordinance of baptism for the dead belong- 
 eth, and for which the same was instituted from 
 before the foundation of the world, your bap- 
 tisms for your dead cannot be acceptable unto 
 me, for therein are the keys of the holy priest- 
 hood ordained, that you may receive honour and 
 glory. And after this time, your baptisms for 
 the dead, by those who are scattered abroad, 
 are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord; for 
 it is ordained that in Zion and in her stakes, 
 and in Jerusalem, those places which I have 
 appointed for refuge, shall be the places for the 
 baptisms for your dead. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, how shall 
 your washings be acceptable unto me, except 
 ye perform them in a house which you have 
 built to my name ? For, for this cause I com- 
 manded Moses, that he should build a taberna- 
 cle, that they should bear it with them in the 
 wilderness, and to build a house in the land of 
 promise, that those ordinances might be reveal 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 173 
 
 ed, which had been hid from before the world 
 was ; therefore verily I say unto you, that your 
 anointings, and your washings, and your bap- 
 tisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, 
 and your memorials for your sacrifices, by the 
 sons of Levi, and your oracles in your most 
 holy places, wherein you receive conversations, 
 and your statutes, and judgments, for the begin- 
 ning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, 
 and for the glory, honour, and adornment of all 
 her municiples, are ordained by the ordinance 
 of my holy house, which my people are always 
 commanded to build unto my holy name. 
 
 " And verily I say unto you, let this house be 
 built unto my name, that I may reveal mine or- 
 dinances therein unto my people ; for / design 
 to reveal unto my church, things which have 
 been kept hid from the foundation of the world 
 things that pertain to the dispensation of the 
 fulness of times ; and I will show unto my ser- 
 vant Joseph, all things pertaining to this house, 
 and the priesthood thereof, and the place 
 whereon it shall be built ; and ye shall build 
 it on the place where you have contemplated 
 building it, for that is the spot which I have 
 chosen for you to build it. If ye labour with 
 all your mights, I will consecrate that spot, that 
 it shall be made holy ; and if my people will 
 hearken to my voice, and unto the voice of my 
 servants whom I have appointed, to lead my 
 people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall 
 not be moved out of their place. But if they 
 will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice 
 
174 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 of those men whom I have appointed, they 
 shall not be blest, because they pollute my 
 holy grounds, and my holy ordinances, and 
 charters, and my holy words, which I give unto 
 them. 
 
 " And it shall come to pass, that if you build 
 a house unto my name, and do not do the things 
 that I say, I will not perform the oath which I 
 make unto you, neither fulfil the promises 
 which ye expect at my hands, saith the Lord : 
 for, instead of blessings, ye, by your own 
 works, bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and 
 judgment upon your own heads by your follies, 
 and by all your abominations, which you prac- 
 tise before me, saith the Lord. 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I 
 give a commandment to any of the sons of men, 
 to do a work unto my name, and those sons of 
 men go with all their mights, and with all they 
 have, to perform that work, and cease not their 
 diligence, and their enemies come upon them, 
 and hinder them from performing that work, 
 behold, it behooveth me to require that work 
 no more at the hands of those sons of men, but 
 to accept of their offerings ; and the iniquity 
 and transgression of my holy laws and com- 
 mandments, I will visit upon the heads of those 
 who hindered my work, unto the third and 
 fourth generation, so long as they repent not, 
 and hate me, saith the Lord God. Therefore, 
 for this cause have I accepted the offerings of 
 those men whom I commanded to build up a 
 city and a house unto my name in Jackson 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 175 
 
 county, Missouri, and were hindered by their 
 enemies, saith the Lord your God : and I will 
 answer judgment, wrath, indignation, wailing, 
 anguish and gnashing of teeth, upon their heads, 
 unto the third and fourth generation, so long as 
 they repent not, and hate me, saith the Lord 
 your God. And this I make an ensample unto 
 you, for your consolation, concerning all those 
 who have been commanded to do a work, and 
 have been hindered by the hands of their ene- 
 mies, and by oppression, saith the Lord your 
 God ; for I am the Lord your God, and will 
 save all those of your brethren who have been 
 pure in heart, and have been slain in the land 
 of Missouri, saith the Lord. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, I com- 
 mand you again to build a house to my name, 
 even in this place, that ye may prove yourselves 
 unto me, that ye are faithful in all things what- 
 soever I command you, that I may bless you, 
 and crown you with honour, immortality, and 
 eternal life. 
 
 " And now, I say unto you, as pertaining to 
 my boarding-house, which I have commanded 
 you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it 
 be built unto my name, and let my name be 
 named upon it, and let my servant Joseph and 
 HIS HOUSE have place therein from generation 
 to generation. For this anointing have I put 
 upon his head, that his blessing shall also be put 
 upon the heads of his posterity after him, and as 
 I said unto Abraham, concerning the kindreds 
 of the earth, even so, I say unto my servant 
 
176 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Joseph, in thee, and in thy seed, shall the kin- 
 dreds of the earth be blessed. 
 
 " Therefore, let my servant Joseph, and his 
 seed after him, have place in that house from 
 generation to generation for ever and ever, saith 
 the Lord, and let the name of that house be 
 called the Nauvoo House, and let it be a de- 
 lightful habitation for man, and a resting place 
 for the weary traveller, that he may contem- 
 plate the glory of Zion, and the glory of this the 
 corner-stone thereof ; that he may receive, also, 
 the counsel from those whom I have sent to be 
 as plants of renown, and as watchmen upon her 
 walls. 
 
 " Behold! verily I say unto you, let my ser- 
 vant George Miller, and my servant Lyman 
 Wight, and my servant John Snider, and my 
 servant Peter Hawes, organize themselves, and 
 appoint one of them to be a president over their 
 quorum for the purpose of building that house. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, if my 
 servant George Miller, and my servant Lyman 
 Wight, and my servant John Snider, and my ser- 
 vant Peter Hawes, receive any stock into their 
 hands, in moneys, or in properties wherein they 
 receive the real value of moneys, they shall not 
 appropriate any portion of that stock to any other 
 purpose, only in that house ; and if they do ap- 
 propriate any portion of that stock anywhere 
 else, only in that house, without the consent of 
 the stockholders, and do not repay four-fold, they 
 shall be accursed, and shall be removed out of 
 their place saith the Lord God, for I the Lord 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 177 
 
 am God, and cannot be mocked in any of these 
 things. 
 
 " Let my servant Vinson Knight lift up his 
 voice long and loud in the midst of the people, 
 to plead the cause of the poor and needy, and 
 let him not fail, neither let his heart faint, and 
 I will accept of his offerings, for they shall not 
 be unto me as the offerings of Cain, for he shall 
 be mine, saith the Lord. Let his family rejoice 
 and turn away their hearts from affliction, for I 
 have chosen and anointed him, and he shall be 
 honoured in the midst of his house, for I will 
 forgive all his sins, saith the Lord. Amen. 
 
 "Let my servant Isaac Galland put STOCK in 
 that house, for I the Lord loveth him for the 
 work he hath done, and will forgive all his sins, 
 therefore let him be remembered for an interest 
 in that house from generation to generation. 
 Let my servant Isaac Galland be appointed 
 among you, and be ordained by my servant 
 William Marks, and be blessed of him, to go 
 with my servant Hyrum to accomplish the work 
 that my servant Joseph shall point out to them, 
 and they shall be greatly blessed.* 
 
 "Let my servant William Law pay stock in 
 that house for himself and his seed after him, 
 from generation to generation. If he will do 
 my will let him not take his family unto the 
 eastern lands, even unto Kirtland ; nevertheless 
 I the Lord will build up Kirtland, but I the 
 
 * This work was to visit Washington among the crowd 
 of office and favour-seekers who thronged that capitol OP 
 the accession of General Harrison to the presidency. 
 12 
 
178 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Lord have a scourge prepared for the inhabit- 
 ants thereof. Let no man go from this place 
 who has come here assaying to keep my com- 
 mandments. If they live here, let them live 
 unto me, and if they die, let them die unto me ; 
 for they shall rest from all their labours here, 
 and shall continue their works. Therefore, let 
 my servant William put his trust in me, and 
 cease to fear concerning his family, because 
 of the sickness of the land. If ye love me keep 
 my commandments, and the sickness of the 
 land shall redound to your glory. 
 
 " Let my servant William go and proclaim 
 mine everlasting gospel, with a loud voice, and 
 with great joy, as he shall be moved upon by 
 my spirit, unto the inhabitants of Warsaw, and 
 also unto the inhabitants of Carthage, and also 
 unto the inhabitants of Burlington, and also 
 unto the inhabitants of Madison, and then await 
 patiently and diligently for further instructions 
 at MY general conference, saith the Lord. If 
 he will do my will let him, from henceforth, 
 hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph, 
 and with his interest support the cause of the 
 poor, and publish the new translation of my holy 
 word unto the inhabitants of the earth ; and if 
 he will do this, I will bless him with a multi- 
 plicity of blessings, that he shall not be for- 
 saken. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, let my 
 servant William be appointed, ordained, and 
 anointed as a counsellor unto my servant Jo- 
 seph, in the room of my servant Hyrum ; that 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 179 
 
 my servant Hyrum may take the office of priest- 
 hood and patriarch, which was appointed unto 
 him by his father, by blessing and also by right, 
 that from henceforth he shall hold the keys of 
 the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all 
 my people, that whoever HE blesses shall be 
 blessed, and whoever he curseth shall be cursed 
 that whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall 
 be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he shall 
 loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven ; and 
 from this time forth, I appoint unto him, that he 
 may be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator 
 unto my church, as well as my servant Joseph, 
 that he may act in concert also with my servant 
 Joseph, and that he shall receive counsel from 
 my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him 
 the keys, whereby he may ask and receive, 
 and be crowned with the same blessings. I 
 crown upon his head the bishopric, and bless- 
 ing, and glory, and honour, and priesthood, and 
 gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon 
 him, that was rny servant Oliver Cowdery ; that 
 my servant Hyrum may bear record of the 
 things which I shall show unto him, that his 
 name may be had in honourable remembrance 
 from generation to generation for ever and ever. 
 Let my servant William Law also receive the 
 keys, by which he may ask and receive bless- 
 ings ; let him be humble before me, and be 
 without guile, and he shall receive my spirit, 
 even the comforter, which shall manifest unto 
 him the truth of all things, and shall give him 
 in the very hour what he shall say, and these 
 
180 MORMONISM AJXD THE MORMONS. 
 
 signs shall follow him : he shall heal the sick, 
 he shall cast out devils, and shall be delivered 
 from those who would administer unto him 
 deadly poison, and shall be led in paths where 
 the poisonous serpent cannot lay hold upon his 
 heel ; and he shall mount up as upon eagle's 
 wings ; and, what if I will that he should raise 
 the dead, let him not withhold his voice. There- 
 fore, let my servant William cry aloud and spare 
 not, with joy and rejoicing, and with hosannas 
 to him that sitteth upon the throne for ever and 
 ever, saith the Lord your God. 
 
 " Behold ! I say unto you, I have a mission 
 in store for my servant William, and my servant 
 Hyrum, and for them alone, and let my servant 
 Joseph tarry at home, for he is needed ; the re- 
 mainder I will show unto you hereafter, even 
 so. Amen. 
 
 " And again, verily I say unto you, if my 
 servant Sidney will serve me, and be a coun- 
 sellor unto my servant Joseph, let him arise, 
 and come up and stand in the office of his call- 
 ing, and humble himself before me ; and if he 
 will offer unto me an acceptable offering and 
 acknowledgments, and remain with my people ; 
 behold I the Lord your God will heal him that 
 he shall be healed, and he shall lift up his voice 
 again on the mountains, and be a spokesman 
 before my face. Let him come and locate his 
 family in the neighbourhood in which my servant 
 Joseph resides, and in all his journeyings let him 
 lift up his voice as with the sound of a trump, and 
 warn the inhabitants of the earth to flee the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 181 
 
 wrath to come : let him assist my servant Joseph, 
 and also, let my servant William Law assist my 
 servant Joseph in making a proclamation unto 
 the kings of the earth, even as I have before 
 said unto you. If my servant Sidney will do 
 my will, let him not move his family unto the 
 eastern lands, but let him change their habita- 
 tion even as I have said. Behold it is not my 
 will that he shall seek to find safety and refuge 
 out of the city which I have appointed unto you, 
 even the city of Nauvoo. Verily I say unto 
 you, even now, if he will hearken to my voice 
 it shall be well with him." 
 
 Should any individual be still in doubt re- 
 specting the true character of Mormonism, a 
 perusal of the above document ought to satisfy 
 him. The italicising is our own, done with a 
 view to saving ourselves the labour of comment, 
 in pointing out its beauties of style and senti- 
 ment. Let the reader reflect. The above lan- 
 guage purports to have been uttered by the 
 Almighty Ruler of the universe. Profanity, 
 where is thy blush ! A proclamation is to be 
 made to the kings of the world, the president 
 elect and the governors of the nation : " O come 
 ye with your GOLD and SILVER to the help of 
 my people, [the Mormons,] to the house of the 
 daughter of Zion." 
 
 In order to understand the propriety of the 
 scheme requiring a boarding-house to be erected 
 for the Lord, the reader perhaps needs to be 
 informed that, according to Mormonism, God is 
 a material being ! On this subject more anon 
 
182 MORMONISM ANE THE MORMONS. 
 
 As to Joseph Smith requiring a portion of said 
 house (to cost $100,000) to be settled on him 
 and his heirs in due form of law, there is no 
 mystery at all. The veriest simpleton can 
 comprehend that. The Mormon religion had 
 its origin in one of his plans "to get rid of 
 work," and it may with all propriety be per- 
 fected by a scheme for enriching his heirs. 
 
 It appears from the above revelation that a 
 falling out had occurred between the prophet 
 and Rigdon, for which the latter had to do pen- 
 ance by moving nearer to his master Joseph, 
 instead of being at liberty to retire from a 
 locality that had nearly cost him his life through 
 severe sickness. This affair appears to have 
 been settled soon after by a conciliatory mea- 
 sure, according to which Rigdon was "ordained 
 a prophet, seer, and revelator." 
 
 Not long subsequent to the issue of the edict 
 copied above, Bennett was appointed a delegate 
 to Springfield, where he obtained from the 
 legislature of Illinois, then in session, very 
 ample and favourable charters for the city of 
 Nauvoo, a literary institution to be denominated 
 the Nauvoo University, and a military body to 
 be called the Nauvoo Legion. What should 
 the Rev. J. C. Bennett, M. D., immediately be- 
 come but mayor of the city, major-general of the 
 legion, and chancellor of the university ? He 
 has since been appointed master in chancery ! ! 
 What a weight of blooming honours ! ! ! 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 183 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Military organization General orders Astonishing 
 parade Smith outdoes Matthias Progress of the sect in 
 England Letter to the queen Literary eminence 
 Moving orders Dissatisfaction among the emigrants 
 Latest instructions Advantages of the Mormon policy. 
 
 AN extensive military organization, although 
 not expressly mentioned in Galland's letter, 
 corresponds to his general policy, and has been 
 vigorously taken in hand by the valorous Gen. 
 . Bennett. It was manifestly designed to an- 
 swer several important objects. 
 
 1. To serve as a check to the quarrelsome 
 propensities of some of their neighbours. 2. To 
 put themselves in a condition to resist, and re- 
 venge any future attack. 3. To make use of 
 the pomp and circumstance of military parade, 
 as a means of astonishing the natives, and of 
 drawing in a class of adherents that could be 
 secured in no other way. 
 
 Nevertheless, the majority of the Mormons 
 were peaceable people, and great efforts had 
 to be put forth in order to secure their enlist- 
 ment, especially when they were required in 
 their poverty to provide an expensive uniform. 
 Yet poor as they were, following the example 
 of their elders and the summons of their pro- 
 phet, most of them have now become soldiers. 
 The martial style in which they display them- 
 selves from time to time has already been cele- 
 brated in the most extravagant strains of both 
 prose and verse. 
 
184 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 We subjoin a few extracts from the general 
 orders of this redoubtable legion : 
 
 " NATJVOO LEGION. 
 " HEAD-QUARTERS, NAUVOO LEGION, ) 
 City of Nauvoo, HI., May 4, A. D. 1841. $ 
 "GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 " Pursuant to an act of the court-martial, the 
 troops attached or belonging to the legion will 
 parade at the place of general rendezvous, in 
 the city of Nauvoo, for drill, review, and in- 
 spection, on Saturday, the 3d day of July prox- 
 imo, at half-past 9 o'clock, A. M., armed and 
 equipped according to law. 
 
 "At 10 o'clock the line will be formed, and 
 the general officers conducted to their posts, 
 under a fire of artillery. 
 
 " The lieutenant general desires that all his 
 FRIENDS should attach themselves to some compa- 
 ny, either in the 1st or 2d cohort. This will en- 
 able them to receive correct military instruc- 
 tion under the teachings of experienced officers, 
 according to the drill and discipline of the 
 United States army and qualify them for effi- 
 cient service in the cause of their beloved coun- 
 try, and state, in the hour of peril. 
 
 " The eleven companies of minute men will 
 at all times hold themselves in readiness to ex- 
 ecute the laws, as originally instructed by the 
 general officers." 
 
 " HEAD-QUARTERS, NAUVOO LEGION, ) 
 City of Nauvoo, Illinois, May 25th, A. D. 1841. J 
 
 " GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 "The 1st company, (riflemen,) 1st battalion, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS 185 
 
 2d regiment, 2d cohort, will be attached to the 
 escort contemplated in the general orders of 
 the 4th inst., for the 3d of July next. 
 
 " In forming the legion the adjutant will ob- 
 serve the rank of companies as follows, to wit : 
 
 " 1st cohort the flying artillery first, the 
 lancers next, and the riflemen next : visiting 
 companies of dragoons next the lancers, arid 
 cavalry next the dragoons. 
 
 " 2d cohort the artillery first, the lancers 
 next, the riflemen next, the light infantry next, 
 and the infantry next: visiting companies in 
 their appropriate places on the right of the 
 troops of their own grade : the ranking company 
 of the 1st cohort will be formed on the right of 
 said cohort, and the ranking company of the 
 2d cohort will be formed on the left of said co- 
 hort ; the next on the left of the right; the next 
 on the right of the left ; and so on to the cen- 
 tre. The escort will be formed on the right of 
 the forces. 
 
 "JOSEPH SMITH, Lieutenant General. 
 
 "JoHN C. BENNETT, Major General." 
 
 On the occasion provided for by the above 
 orders, the Times and Seasons remarks, " The 
 N. Legion appeared in its glory, and presented 
 a beautiful appearance. It will soon compare 
 with the best military organization in the 
 Union." 
 
 A still greater performance was had on the 
 occasion of laying the corner-stones of the new 
 temple. One of the gentlemen appointed to 
 
186 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 assist in drawing up the proclamation to " the 
 kings of the world and the president elect," 
 thus commences his description of the parade 
 
 " that I could paint the scenes, 
 
 Which on my heart are sketched." 
 
 After some preliminary flourishes, he pro- 
 ceeds 
 
 " At eight o'clock, A. M., Major General 
 Bennett left his quarters to organize and pre- 
 pare the legion for the duties of the day, which 
 consisted of about fourteen companies, several 
 in uniform, besides several companies from 
 Iowa, and other parts of the country, which 
 joined them on the occasion. 
 
 "At half-past nine Lieut. General Smith was 
 informed that the legion was organized and 
 ready for review, and immediately, accompa- 
 nied by his staff, consisting of four aids-de- 
 camp, and twelve guards, nearly all in splendid 
 uniforms, took his march to the parade ground. 
 On their approach they were met by the band, 
 beautifully equipped, who received them with 
 a flourish of trumpets and a regular salute, and 
 then struck up a lively air, marching in front to 
 the stand of the lieut. general. On his approach 
 to the parade ground the artillery was again 
 fired, and the legion gave an appropriate salute 
 while passing. This was indeed a glorious 
 sight, such as we never saw, nor did we ever 
 expect to see such a one in the west. The 
 several companies presented a beautiful and in- 
 teresting spectacle, several of them being uni- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 187 
 
 formed and equipped, while the RICH and 
 COSTLY DRESSES of the officers would have be- 
 come a Bonaparte or a Washington. 
 
 " After the arrival of Lieut. General Smith, 
 the ladies, who had made a beautiful silk flag, 
 drove up in a carriage, to present it to the le- 
 gion. Maj. General Bennett very politely at- 
 tended on them, and conducted them in front 
 of Lieut. General Smith, who immediately 
 alighted from his charger, and walked up to the 
 ladies, who presented the flag, making an ap- 
 propriate address. Lieut. General Smith ac- 
 knowledged the honour conferred upon the le- 
 gion, and stated that as long as he had the 
 command, it should never be disgraced ; and 
 then politely bowing to the ladies, gave it into 
 the hands of Maj. General Bennett, who placed 
 it in possession of Cornet Robinson, and it was 
 soon seen gracefully waving in front of the 
 legion. During the time of presentation the 
 band struck up a lively air, and another salute 
 was fired from the artillery. 
 
 "After the presentation of the flag, Lieut. Ge- 
 neral Smith, accompanied by his suite, reviewed 
 the legion, which presented a very imposing 
 appearance, the different officers saluting as he 
 passed. Lieut. General Smith then took his 
 former stand, and the whole legion, by compa- 
 nies, passed before him in review 
 
 " THE PROCESSION. 
 
 " Immediately after the review, Gen. Bennett 
 organized the procession, to march to the founda 
 
188 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 tion of the temple, in the following order, to 
 wit : 
 
 " Lieut. Gen. Smith, 
 
 Brig. Generals Law and Smith, 
 
 Aids-de-camp, and conspicuous strangers, 
 
 General staff, 
 
 Band, 
 2nd cohort, (foot troops,) 
 
 Ladies, eight abreast, 
 Gentlemen, eight abreast, 
 1st cohort, (horse troops.) 
 k ' Owing to the vast numbers who joined in 
 the procession, it was a considerable length of 
 time before the whole could be organized. 
 
 " The procession then began to move forward 
 in order, and on their arrival at the Temple block, 
 the generals, with their staffs and the distinguish- 
 ed strangers present, took their position inside 
 the foundation, the ladies formed on the outside 
 immediately next the walls, the gentlemen and 
 infantry behind, and the cavalry in the rear. 
 
 " The assembly being stationed, the choris- 
 ters, under the superintendence of B. S. Wilber, 
 sung an appropriate hymn. 
 
 " Prest. Rigdon then ascended the platform, 
 which had been prepared for the purpose, and 
 delivered a suitable ORATION, which was lis- 
 tened to with the most profound attention by 
 the assembly." 
 
 This verily beats Matthias. That prophet, 
 with all the splendour of his long beard, his 
 green frock coat, and his red sash, would not 
 bear comparison with Lieutenant General Jo- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 189 
 
 seph Smith in regimentals. The former claimed 
 to be the Almighty himself ; but the latter is 
 content with making people believe him to be 
 God's chief revelator. The former, though the 
 older man, was childish enough to be 
 
 " Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw," 
 Smith " struts a soldier," uniformed and equip- 
 ped in a dress so rich and costly that it would 
 have become a Bonaparte or a Washington ! 
 
 We here take occasion to remark, that the 
 mayor of Nauvoo deserves praise for the stand 
 he has taken in favour of temperance. The 
 retailing of ardent spirits is not permitted within 
 the bounds of the corporation, and to the credit 
 of the Nauvoo House no intoxicating drinks are 
 to be used or vended in that edifice. 
 
 As some of our readers may design visiting 
 Nauvoo, we have no doubt they would be in- 
 terested in learning what preparations are al- 
 ready in progress for their reception. We 
 therefore give a part of the 
 
 " CHARTER FOR THE NAUVOO HOUSE. 
 
 11 An act to incorporate the Nauvoo House Association. 
 " Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the people of the 
 state of Illinois, represented in the General 
 Assembly, that George Miller, Lyman Wight, 
 John Snider, and Peter Hawes, and their asso- 
 ciates, are hereby declared a body corporate, 
 under the name and style of the Nauvoo House 
 Association, and they are hereby authorized to 
 erect and furnish a public house of entertain- 
 ment, to be called the ' Nauvoo House.' 
 
190 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " Sec. 3. The said trustees are further author- 
 ized and empowered to obtain by stock sub- 
 scription, by themselves or their duly authorized 
 agents, the sum of one hundred arid fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, which shall be divided into shares 
 of fifty dollars each. 
 
 " Sec. 7. They shall also take the general 
 care and supervision in procuring materials for 
 said house, and constructing and erecting the 
 same, and further to superintend its general 
 management, and to do and perform all mat- 
 ters and things which may be necessary to be 
 done in order to secure the interests and pro 
 mote the objects of this association. 
 
 " Sec. 8. This association shall continue 
 twenty years from the passage of this act, and 
 the house herein provided for shall be kept for 
 the accommodation of strangers, travellers, and 
 all other persons who may resort thereto, for 
 rest and refreshment. 
 
 " Sec. 9. It is moreover established as a per- 
 petual rule of said house, to be observed by all 
 persons who may keep or occupy the same, that 
 spirituous liquors of every description are pro- 
 hibited, and that such liquors shall never be 
 vended as a beverage, or introduced into com- 
 mon use, in said house. 
 
 "Sec. 10. And whereas Joseph Smith has 
 furnished the said association with the ground 
 whereon to erect said house, it is further de- 
 clared, that the said Smith, and his heirs, shall 
 hold by perpetual succession a suite of rooms in 
 the said house, to be set apart and conveyed in 
 
MORMONJSM AND THE MORMONS. 191 
 
 due form of law to him and his heirs by said 
 trustees as soon as the same are completed" 
 
 It is to be hoped that the prophet's rooms 
 will not occupy the whole house. 
 
 We have already mentioned that the twelve 
 were despatched soon after the Missouri per- 
 secution on a special mission to England. 
 The following extracts from their official cor- 
 respondence will show the success they met. 
 with : 
 
 G. A. Smith writes from Staffordshire, June 
 6th, 1840, " The principles of the church of the 
 Latter-day Saints are gaining rapidly in differ- 
 ent parts of the kingdom. Some fifty or sixty 
 preachers, of different denominations, have been 
 baptized since we landed in England, and thou- 
 sands and thousands of people have believed 
 our testimony; although" we have met with 
 some opposition, it has always turned in our 
 favour, and many are constantly believing." 
 
 W. Woodruff says, in a letter dated Man- 
 chester, 8th July, 1840, "We have held two 
 conferences of late in the south of England, 
 where I have been labouring. The first was 
 held at the Gadfield Elm-chapel, Worcestershire, 
 June 14th. We had an interesting time. We 
 organized twelve churches, and transacted much 
 business. The other was held on the 21st of 
 June, at Stanlx Hill, Herefordshire. Elder 
 Richards and myself conducted the meeting, 
 with the help of God ; and I never saw more 
 business executed in one day than on this oc- 
 casion. We organized twenty churches, ordain- 
 
192 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ed four elders, seven priests, and four teachers ; 
 baptized ten, confirmed twenty, arid blessed 
 twenty children ; besides a multitude of other 
 business, and broke bread to several hundred 
 saints, &c. * * * * The work had been 
 so rapid, it was impossible to ascertain the ex- 
 act number belonging to each branch, but the 
 whole number is thirty-three churches, five 
 hundred and thirty-four members, seventy-five 
 officers, viz., ten elders, fifty-two priests, and 
 thirteen teachers, all of which had embraced 
 the work in less than four months. * * * * 
 
 " We have set all the churches in that re- 
 gion in order, with officers to preside over them ; 
 and they are now baptizing daily. * * * * 
 
 " The foundation is now laid in such a man- 
 ner in this country, and new doors opening in 
 England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, so that 
 we have every reason to expect a greater in- 
 crease for three months to come than has been 
 in the three that are past." 
 
 A joint letter from Elders Kimball, Wood- 
 ruff, and Smith, London, Aug. 20, 1840, states, 
 " We held a camp-meeting at the Leigh, Glou- 
 cestershire, on the 16th. We had a good time 
 with the saints ; baptized fifteen, and ordained 
 one elder and two priests." 
 
 An editorial in connection with the above, 
 says, " The prospect is brightening in Manches- 
 ter and the region around. More than twenty 
 were confirmed at the Carpenter's Hall last 
 sabbath, and ten the sabbath previous. The 
 assembly is enlarging daily." 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 193 
 
 " From many other places we have no par- 
 ticular and direct information, but so far as we 
 have, the work is prospering more and more, 
 and the spirit of inquiry is continually gaining 
 ground among the people." 
 
 W. Woodruff, in a letter from Manchester, 
 dated Oct. 8, 1840, gives the following particu- 
 lars : " On Saturday, the 7th, (of some previous 
 month,) I spent the day in preparing a pool for 
 baptizing, for I saw there was much to be done. 
 On Sunday, the 8th, I preached at brother Ben- 
 bow's before a large congregation, and baptized 
 seven ; four were preachers. I confirmed thir- 
 teen, and broke bread unto them. * 
 On the 9th I preached at Stanley Hill, and 
 baptized seven; two were preachers. On the 
 10th I preached again at brother Benbow's, 
 and baptized twelve ; three were preachers. * * 
 The report of these things flew through all 
 parts of the country like electricity, and the 
 whole country was stirred up to inquire into 
 these matters. 
 
 " The Church minister of Froom's Hill, or 
 Bishop Froom, called upon the constable of 
 that parish to take me up ; but he called upon 
 the wrong man, for as soon as he saw me he 
 received my testimony, and I baptized him. 
 Next, one of the Church clerks attended one of 
 my meetings, to see what I was doing, and 
 likewise he received my testimony, and when 
 meeting was closed said he would soon be bap- 
 tized. * * * On Sunday, the 29th, I preached 
 three times at Froom's Hill, baptized thirteen, 
 13 
 
194 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 confirmed thirty-five, and broke bread unto 
 eighty saints. * * * I arose next morning, 
 and baptized five preachers and four members. 
 I then immediately walked to the town of Sed- 
 bury, distant six miles. I had not been in town 
 an hour before many flocked around me, to see 
 me, and give me the hand of fellowship, though 
 strangers unto me. The Baptist minister opened 
 his chapel for me to preach in, and went into 
 the pulpit with me, and opened the meeting by 
 reading the 35th chapter of Isaiah, and praying 
 mightily for me. I then rose and preached to 
 a large and attentive audience, and when I 
 closed thirteen offered themselves for baptism, 
 notwithstanding it was the first meeting we had 
 held in the town. * * * * The preachers 
 of whom I speak were mostly United Brethren, 
 a people who had formerly belonged to the Pri- 
 mitive Methodist body, but had separated them- 
 selves from that body, and chosen the former 
 name. ***** 
 
 "By this time doors were open on every 
 hand, many more than I could possibly fill, and 
 I was frequently called upon to go to pools 
 three or four times in a day, to baptize those 
 who received my testimony and believed the 
 gospel." 
 
 G. A. Smith writes again from Burslem, 
 29th March, 1841, "The work is prospering in 
 this country steadily, and with majesty and 
 power truly worthy the cause of truth.(!) Hun- 
 dreds are embracing the gospel, and thousands 
 are rejoicing in the truth." 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 195 
 
 L. Snow writes from London, April 14th, 
 1841, "Throughout all England, in almost 
 every town and city of any considerable im- 
 portance, we have chapels or public halls in 
 which we meet for public worship. All over 
 this vast kingdom the laws of Zion are rolling 
 onward with the most astonishing rapidity. 
 Though we expect tremendous persecutions, 
 yet we are confident they will not for a mo- 
 ment stay the onward progress and the roll- 
 ing forth of Zion's glorious kingdom (Mormon- 
 ism !) throughout, not only the British empire, 
 but the universal world." 
 
 Every one knows that rumour increases as 
 it flies. Hence, it is not wonderful that the 
 strange tales by which Mormonism was set 
 afloat in this country should become sufficiently 
 expanded in crossing the Atlantic to make a 
 greater impression in England upon the proper 
 subjects, than it ever effected here. Moreover, 
 its apostles, having the advantage of their pre- 
 vious experience, set themselves to work in 
 systematic efforts to accomplish as much as 
 possible in a short time. Addressing them- 
 selves to the ignorant and the impoverished, 
 with predictions of impending calamities, and 
 with extravagant accounts of their promised 
 land, they were enabled to secure followers in 
 great numbers, while among the fanatical and 
 disaffected members and ex-members of various 
 religious bodies they doubtless found enough 
 anxious to wear the high-sounding titles they 
 conferred with so little ceremony, and to wield 
 
196 
 
 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 the influence of elders, high priests, and patri- 
 archs. Availing themselves of the agency of 
 the press, they published a fine edition of the 
 Book of Mormon, a hymn-book, and various 
 pamphlets, besides a periodical, established at 
 Manchester, called the Millennial Star. That 
 paper of April, 1841, gives the following as an 
 official report of the number of Mormons in 
 Great Britain. The officers enumerated are 
 elders, priests, teachers, and deacons. 
 
 Memb. 
 
 Offic. Memb. 
 
 Offic. 
 
 Manchester, 
 
 443 
 
 30 
 
 Carlisle, 
 
 43 
 
 1 
 
 Clitheroe Conference, 
 
 318 
 
 34 
 
 Bolton, 
 
 189 
 
 21 
 
 Preston, 
 
 675 
 
 42 
 
 Dunkinfield, 
 
 120 
 
 11 
 
 Liverpool, 
 
 190 
 
 24 
 
 Stockport, 
 
 161 
 
 10 
 
 Isle of Man, 
 
 90 
 
 8 
 
 Norwich, 
 
 112 
 
 20 
 
 London, 
 
 137 
 
 17 
 
 Oldham, 
 
 86 
 
 8 
 
 Birmingham, 
 
 110 
 
 22 
 
 Eccles, 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 Staffordshire, 
 
 574 
 
 112 
 
 Pendlebury, 
 
 62 
 
 4 
 
 Garway, 
 
 134 
 
 16 
 
 Whitefield, 
 
 41 
 
 6 
 
 Gadfield, 
 
 408 
 
 53 
 
 Radcliffe Bridge 
 
 , 18 
 
 4 
 
 Froom's Hill, 1 
 
 ,008 
 
 129 
 
 Wales, 
 
 170 
 
 13 
 
 Newcastle-upon- 
 
 
 
 Ireland, 
 
 35 
 
 3 
 
 Tyne, 
 
 23 
 
 5 
 
 Glasgow, Pais- 
 
 
 
 Alston, 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 ley, &c. 
 
 368 
 
 51 
 
 Brampton, 
 
 46 
 
 1 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 
 203 
 
 33 
 
 Total, 5,814 members, 675 officers. In all 
 making 6,489. 
 
 Those who had previously emigrated to Ame- 
 rica are said not to have been included in this 
 representation. 
 
 Lest any should fall into the mistake of sup- 
 posing the Mormon mission to England to have 
 been purely of a religious character, we here 
 quote some instructions from a letter of Joseph 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 197 
 
 Smith, addressed " to the travelling high coun- 
 cil and elders of the church of Jesus Christ, of 
 Latter-day Saints in Great Britain." 
 
 " Being requested to give my advice respect- 
 ing the propriety of your returning in the spring, 
 I will do so willingly. I have reflected upon 
 the subject some time, and am of the opinion 
 that it would be wisdom in you to make prepa- 
 rations to leave the scene of your labours in 
 the spring. Having carried the testimony to 
 that land, and numbers having received it, con- 
 sequently the leaven can now spread without 
 your being obliged to stay ; another thing, there 
 has been some whisperings of the spirit that 
 there will be some agitations, some excitements 
 and some trouble in the land in which you are 
 now labouring. I would therefore say in the mean 
 time, Be diligent, organize .the churches, and 
 let every one stand in his proper place, so that 
 those who cannot come with you in the spring, 
 may not be left as sheep without a shepherd. 
 
 " I would likewise observe, that inasmuch as 
 this place has been appointed for the gathering 
 of the saints, it is necessary that it should be 
 attended to in the order that the Lord intends 
 it should : to this end I would say, that as there 
 are great numbers of the saints in England who 
 are extremely poor, and not accustomed to the 
 farming business, who must have certain pre- 
 parations made for them before they can sup- 
 port themselves in this country, therefore, to 
 prevent confusion and disappointment when 
 they arrive here, let those men who are accus- 
 
198 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 tomed to making machinery, and those who 
 can command a capital, though it be small, 
 come here as soon as convenient, and put up 
 machinery and make such other preparations 
 as may be necessary, so that when the poor 
 come on they may have employment to corne 
 to. This place has advantages for manufac- 
 turing and commercial purposes, which but 
 very few can boast of; and by establishing cot- 
 ton factories, founderies, potteries, &c., &c., 
 would be the means of bringing in wealth arid 
 raising it to a very important elevation." 
 
 In compliance with the above directions, the 
 twelve have now returned to Nauvoo to assist 
 in building up Zion, with the exception of O. 
 Hyde, the missionary to Palestine, and P. P. 
 Pratt, who remains to edit the Millennial Star, 
 and to superintend the general interests of 
 Mormonism in England. This Mr. Pratt, who 
 has distinguished himself as the greatest author 
 among the Mormons, appears to have gotten 
 the start of Smith in his attentions to royalty, 
 having already addressed a letter " to her 
 Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, Sovereign 
 of Britain ; touching the signs of the times, and 
 the political destiny of the world." 
 
 From that document we learn that copies of 
 the Book of Mormon have been presented to 
 her majesty, and to his royal highness Prince 
 Albert. Can the English any longer presume 
 to reproach America as having given to the 
 world no remarkable literary productions ? 
 Should they persist in such unkindness here- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 199 
 
 after, the truth will be evident that they them- 
 selves are deficient, either in the taste or the 
 acumen necessary to appreciate the superior 
 excellence of the Book of Mormon, and of Mr. 
 Pratt's poetry. An approved specimen of the 
 latter we copy from the Latter-day Saints' 
 hymns, as compiled and arranged by Emma 
 Smith. Hymn number 236 was written as 
 Mr. Pratt's Farewell to the City of New-York, 
 in 1838. 
 
 " Adieu to the city, where long I have wandered, 
 
 To tell them [whom 7 ?] of judgments, and warn them 
 
 to flee ; 
 
 How often in sorrow their woes I have pondered, 
 Perhaps in affliction they'll think upon me. 
 
 With a tear of compassion, in silence retiring, 
 The last ray of hope for your safety expiring ; 
 
 A feeling of pity this bosom inspiring 
 Sing this lamentation and think upon me. 
 
 When the Union is severed, and liberty's blessings 
 Withheld from the sons of Columbia once free ; 
 
 When bloodshed and war, and famine distress them, 
 Remember the warning and think upon me. 
 
 When this mighty city shall crumble to ruin, 
 And sink as a millstone, the merchants undoing, 
 
 The ransomed the highway of Zion pursuing, 
 Sing this lamentation, and think upon me." 
 
 As the nature of our undertaking does not 
 permit us to inquire extensively into the litera- 
 ture of Mormonism, we proceed to exhibit the 
 
200 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 instructions under which the English saints 
 act in the enterprise of emigration. 
 
 The following paragraphs are taken from 
 " An Epistle of the Twelve to the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England, 
 Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the Isle of Man, 
 greeting : 
 
 "It will be necessary in the first place for 
 men of capital to go on first and make large 
 purchases of land, and erect mills, machinery, 
 manufactories, &c., so that the poor who go from 
 this country may find employment. Therefore 
 it is not wisdom for the poor to flock to that 
 place extensively, until the necessary prepara- 
 tions are made. Neither is it wisdom for those 
 who feel a spirit of benevolence to expend all 
 their means in helping others to emigrate, arid 
 thus arrive in a new country empty handed. 
 In all settlements there must be capital and 
 labour united in order to flourish. The brethren 
 will recollect that they are not going to enter 
 upon cities already built up, but are going to 
 4 build cities and inhabit them.' Building cities 
 cannot be done without means and labour. 
 
 ***** " Sovereigns are more profitable 
 than silver, or any other money, in emigrating 
 to America ; and the brethren are also cautioned 
 against the American money when they arrive 
 in that country. Let them not venture to take 
 paper money of that country until they become 
 well informed in regard to the different banks. 
 
 44 It is much cheaper going by New-Orleans 
 than by New-York. But it will never do for 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 201 
 
 emigrants to go by New-Orleans in the summer, 
 on account of the heat and sickness of the 
 climate. It is therefore advisable for the saints 
 to emigrate in autumn, winter, or spring." 
 
 What kind of motives have operated in pro- 
 ducing the present rush of Latter-day Saints 
 from England, as well as their original espousal 
 of the cause, may be inferred from an appeal 
 on the subject lately put forth at Nauvoo. 
 
 " The happiness and enjoyments of the saints 
 greatly depend upon the motives which predo- 
 minate in their minds when they remove here. 
 We have seen so many, who have been disap- 
 pointed, and discouraged when they have visited 
 this place, that we would have imagined they 
 had never been instructed in the things per- 
 taining to the kingdom of God, and thought, 
 that instead of coming into a society of men 
 and women, subject to all the frailties of mor- 
 tality, they were about to enjoy the society of 
 the spirits of just men made perfect, the holy 
 angels, and that this place should be as pure as 
 the third heavens. Here, they expected no 
 jarring string, but uninterrupted harmony; no 
 discord and confusion, but all order and beauty; 
 no sickness or death, but eternal youth beam- 
 ing on every countenance. But when they 
 found that this people were but flesh and blood, 
 subject to like passions with themselves, many 
 in poverty and distress, then their hearts have 
 sunk within them, their confidence has depart- 
 ed, their courage has forsook them, their reli- 
 gion followed in the train, and they have re- 
 
202 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 fleeted on themselves for ever taking the first 
 step toward the place; and, like the children 
 of Israel, at the time when the ten spies re- 
 turned from the land of Canaan, they have been 
 desirous to choose them a captain to lead them 
 back. We cannot imagine how such wonder- 
 ful ideas ever should take possession, or be en- 
 tertained by any one conversant with the Bible. 
 
 " In conclusion, we would press upon our 
 friends, who may feel disappointed in not find- 
 ing the saints angels, to first cast the beam out 
 of their own eye, and then they will see clearly 
 to pluck the mote out of their brother's eye." 
 
 Notwithstanding the difficulties that must 
 sooner or later grow out of the state of feeling 
 indicated by the above language, yet as a result 
 of the late general conference held at Nauvoo, 
 more strenuous efforts than ever are now being 
 made " to push the saints together" from far 
 and near. The twelve are made to act as a 
 general agency for the gathering, and they ad- 
 dress the Mormons " scattered abroad on the 
 continent of America," as follows : 
 
 " BELOVED BRETHREN, It seemeth good to 
 us to write unto you at this time concerning the 
 great things of the kingdom of our God, and 
 more especially as we have been called upon 
 by the late general conference so to do ; that 
 the work may not be hindered, but that all may 
 understand their privilege and duty in this day 
 of glorious events, so that by exercising them- 
 selves therein, they may attain unto those bless- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 203 
 
 ings which God has in store for his people in 
 the last days, 
 
 " We have abundant occasion, and we rejoice 
 exceedingly at the privilege we have had of be- 
 holding so many thousands of our brethren and 
 sisters as were assembled at the late conference, 
 and for the most perfect harmony and good feel- 
 ing which prevailed throughout all their delibe- 
 rations ; for the great amount of valuable in- 
 structions by President Joseph Smith and others; 
 and for the disposition which we have seen 
 manifested by all who were present, to carry 
 into effect all those noble plans and principles 
 which were derived from heaven, and have 
 been handed down to earth, to carry forward 
 the great and glorious work which is already 
 commenced, and which must be consummated 
 to secure the salvation of Israel. 
 
 " In this city the church has succeeded in secu- 
 ring several extensive plats of land, which have 
 been laid out in city lots; a part of which have 
 been sold, a part has been distributed to the wi- 
 dow and the orphan, and apart remains for sale. 
 These lots are for the inheritance of the saints, 
 a resting place for the church, a habitation for 
 the God of Jacob ; for here he has commanded 
 a house to be built unto his name, where he 
 may manifest himself unto his people as in 
 former times, when he caused the ark, the ta- 
 bernacle, and the temple to be reared, and the 
 cloud and the fire to rest down thereon ; and 
 not that the temple be built only, but that it be 
 completed quickly, and that no more general 
 
204 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 conference be held till it shall be held therein ; 
 and that the Nauvoo House be finished for the 
 accommodation of the brethren from afar, and 
 the stranger who shall come up hither to in- 
 quire after the work of the Lord and worship in 
 his temple. 
 
 "Scores of brethren in this city have offered 
 to board one and two labourers each till the 
 temple is completed; many have volunteered 
 to labour continually, and the brethren generally 
 are giving one-tenth part of their time, or one- 
 tenth part of their income, according to circum- 
 stances ; while those sisters, who can do no- 
 thing more, are knitting socks and mittens, and 
 preparing garments for the labourers, so that 
 they may be made as comfortable as possible 
 during the coming winter. In view of these 
 things, we would invite our brethren for many 
 miles distant around us, to send in their teams 
 for drawing stone, lumber, and materials for the 
 buildings ; and at the same time load their wa- 
 gons with all kinds of grain and meat, provi- 
 sions and clothing, and hay and provender in 
 abundance, that the labourer faint not, and the 
 teams be made strong; also that journeymen 
 stone cutters, &c., come, bringing their tools 
 with them, and enlist in the glorious enter- 
 prise. 
 
 " Brethren, the blessings of the kingdom are 
 for you, for the body of Christ, for all the mem- 
 bers, and God will help those who will help 
 themselves, and bless those who will bless each 
 other, and do as they would be done unto. The 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 205 
 
 gold and the silver is the Lord's ; all the trea- 
 sures of the earth, the flocks and the herds of 
 the fields, and the cattle of the thousand hills, 
 are his ; if he were hungry, would he crave thy 
 food ? or thirsty, would he ask thy drink ? Nay, 
 he would only ask that which was his own, he 
 would feast on his own flocks, and quench his 
 thirst at his own springs. This God is the God 
 of the saints ; he is your God, and he has made 
 you stewards of all that has been committed to 
 you, and will require his own with usury ; and 
 will you not be faithful in a little, that you may 
 be made rulers over many cities ? Yes, you 
 will, we know you will. 
 
 " Is it possible that we labour in vain, and 
 toil for naught, and that we shall be disappoint- 
 ed at the last ? No, we know assuredly that 
 the set time to favour Zion has come, and her 
 sons and daughters shall rejoice in her glory. 
 The time has come when the great Jehovah 
 would have a resting place on earth, a habita- 
 tion for his chosen, where his law shall be re- 
 vealed, and his servants be endued from on high, 
 to bring together the honest in heart from the 
 four winds ; where the saints may enter the 
 baptismal font for their dead relations, so that 
 they may be judged according to men in the 
 flesh, and live according to God in the spirit, 
 and come forth in the celestial kingdom a 
 place over which the heavenly messengers may 
 watch and trouble the waters as in days of old, 
 so that when the sick are put therein, they shall 
 be made whole a place where all the ordi- 
 
206 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 nances shall be made manifest, and the saints 
 shall unite in the songs of Zion, even praise, 
 thanksgiving, and hallelujahs to God and the 
 Lamb, that he has wrought out their deliver- 
 ance, and bound Satan fast in chains. 
 
 " What then shall we do ? Let us all arise, 
 and with one united and mighty exertion, by 
 the strength of Israel's God, oppose the powers 
 of darkness, and every being and principle that 
 may rise up against us, and complete the work 
 already commenced. Let us not, for a moment, 
 lend an ear to evil and designing men who 
 would subvert the truth, and blacken the cha- 
 racter of the servant of the most high God, by 
 publishing abroad that the prophet is enriching 
 himself on the spoils of the brethren. 
 
 " Brethren, in view of all these things, let 
 us be up and doing. Let those in the eastern 
 states use all diligence in communicating to us 
 their ability to assist in the Hotchkiss payment, 
 being assured that no exertion they can make 
 will equal what has already been made for 
 them, and the church generally ; and let all the 
 saints come up to the places of gathering, and 
 with their mites and their abundance, as God 
 has given them in trust, help to build up the old 
 waste places, which have been thrown down 
 for many generations, knowing, that when they 
 are completed, they will belong unto the people 
 of the most high God, even the meek, the hon- 
 est in heart ; he shall possess all things in the 
 due time of the Lord. Be not covetous, but 
 deal in righteousness, for what the saints shall 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 207 
 
 not possess by purchase and in righteousness 
 they shall not possess ; for no unrighteous thing 
 can enter into the kingdom : therefore, beloved 
 brethren, deal justly, love mercy, walk humbly 
 before God, and whatever your hands find to 
 do, do it with your might, keeping all the com- 
 mandments ; and then, whether in life or in 
 death, all things will be yours, whether they be 
 temples or lands, houses or vineyards, baptisms 
 or enduements, revelations or healings, all things 
 will be yours, for you will be Christ's, and Christ 
 is God's. 
 
 BRIGHAM YOUNG, JOHN TAYLOR, 
 
 HEBER C. KIMBALL, WILFORD WOODRUFF, 
 
 ORSON PRATT, GEO. A0SMITH, 
 
 LYMAN WIGHT, WILLARD RICHARDS. 
 
 Nauvoo, Oct. 12, 1841." 
 
 A similar, and perhaps still more interesting 
 document has been in like manner addressed to 
 the Mormons beyond seas. We copy the more 
 important parts. 
 
 " An Epistle of the Twelve, to the Saints scattered 
 abroad in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, 
 the Isle of Man, and the Eastern Continent, 
 greeting : 
 
 " Beloved Brethren, We rejoice and thank 
 our heavenly Father daily in your behalf, that 
 we hear of your faithfulness and diligence in 
 the great work unto which you have been call- 
 ed by the Holy Spirit, through the voice of the 
 servants of the Most High, who have been and 
 are now among you, for the purpose of instruct- 
 
208 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ing you in those principles which are calcu- 
 lated to prepare the children of men for the 
 renovation of the earth, and the restitution of 
 all things spoken by the prophets. 
 
 " In our travels in this land we have disco- 
 vered a growing interest among the people 
 generally, in the great work of the Lord. Pre- 
 judice is giving place to intelligence ; darkness 
 to light ; and multitudes are making the import- 
 ant discovery that error is abroad in the earth, 
 and that the signs of the times proclaim some 
 mighty revolution among the nations. The cry 
 is from all quarters, Send us elders to instruct 
 us in the principles of your religion, that we 
 may know wily it is that you are had in deri- 
 sion by the multitude, more than other profes- 
 sors are. Teach us of your principles and 
 your doctrines, and if we find them true we will 
 embrace them. 
 
 " The saints are growing in faith, and the 
 intelligence of heaven is flowing into their un- 
 derstanding, for the Spirit of the Lord is with 
 them, and the Holy Ghost is instructing them 
 in things to come. The spirit of union is in- 
 creasing, and they are exerting themselves to 
 come up to the gathering of the faithful, to 
 build up the waste places, and establish the 
 stakes of Zion. 
 
 " Since our arrival in this place there has 
 been one special and one general conference of 
 the church, and the twelve have been called to 
 tarry at home for a season, and stand in their 
 lot, next to the first presidency, and assist in 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 209 
 
 counselling the brethren, and in the settling of 
 , emigrants, &c. ; and the first great, object before 
 us, and the saints generally, is to help forward 
 the completion of the temple, and the Nauvoo 
 house ; buildings which are now in progress, 
 according to the revelations, and which must 
 be completed to secure the salvation of the 
 church in the last days, for God requires of his 
 saints to build him a house, wherein his ser- 
 vants maybe instructed, and endued with power 
 from on high, to prepare them to go forth among 
 the nations, and proclaim the fulness of the 
 gospel for the last time, and bind up the law, 
 and seal up the testimony, leaving this genera- 
 tion without excuse, and the earth prepared for 
 the judgments which will follow. In this house 
 all the ordinances will be made manifest, and 
 many things will be shown forth, which have 
 been hid from generation to generation. 
 
 " The set time to favour the stakes of Zion 
 is at hand, and soon the kings and the queens, 
 the princes and the nobles, the rich and the 
 honourable of the earth, will come up hither to 
 visit the temple of our God, and to inquire con- 
 cerning his strange work ; and as kings are to 
 become nursing fathers, and queens nursing 
 mothers in the habitations of the righteous, it is 
 right to render honour to whom honour is due ; 
 and therefore expedient that such, as well as 
 the saints, should have a comfortable house for 
 boarding and lodging when they come hither, 
 and it is according to the revelations that such 
 a house should be built. 
 14 
 
210 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " The foundation of this house, and also of 
 the temple, are laid, and the walls of the base- 
 ment stories of each nearly completed ; and the 
 finishing of the whole is depending on the ex- 
 ertions of the saints. Every saint on earth is 
 equally interested in these things, and all are 
 under equal obligations to do all in their power 
 to complete the buildings by their faith and by 
 their prayers ; with their thousands and their 
 mites, their gold and their silver, their copper 
 and their zinc, their goods and their labours, 
 until the top-stone is laid with shoutings, and 
 the place is prepared to be rilled with the glory 
 of the Highest : and if there are those among 
 you who have more than they need for the ga- 
 thering, and for assisting the destitute, who 
 desire to gather with them, they cannot make a 
 more acceptable offering unto the Lord, than by 
 appropriating toward the building of his temple. 
 
 " He that believeth shall not make haste, but 
 let all the saints who desire to keep the com- 
 mandments of heaven, and work righteousness, 
 come to the place of gathering as soon as cir- 
 cumstances will permit. It is by united efforts 
 that great things are accomplished ; and while 
 the saints are scattered to the four winds, they 
 cannot be united in action, if they are in spirit ; 
 they cannot all build at one city, or lift at one 
 stone of the great temple, though their hearts 
 may all desire the same thing. We would not 
 press the subject of the gathering upon you, for 
 we know your hearts and your means ;'and so 
 far as means fail, let patience have its perfect 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 211 
 
 work in your souls, for in due time you shall 
 be delivered if you faint not, 
 
 " When you arrive on our shores, and while 
 sailing up our rivers, you need not be surprised 
 if your ears are saluted by the false and filthy 
 language of wicked and designing men, who 
 are ever ready to speak evil of the things they 
 understand not, and who would gladly blast the 
 character of the prophet of the most high God, 
 and all connected with him, with their foul 
 anathemas, beyond any thing which you have 
 ever thought of. We would not dishearten you, 
 neither would we have you ignorant of the 
 worst that awaits the righteous. 
 
 " If the saints are not prepared to rejoice and 
 be glad, when they hear the name of the pro- 
 phet, and their own name cast out as evil, as 
 gluttonous, wine-bibber, friend of publicans and 
 sinners, Beelzebub, thief, robber, and murderer, 
 they are not prepared for the gathering. The 
 wheat and tares must grow together till the har- 
 vest ; at the harvest the wheat is gathered toge- 
 ther into the threshing-floor ; so with the saints. 
 The stakes are the threshing-floor. Here they 
 will be threshed with all sorts of difficulties, 
 trials, afflictions, and every thing to mar their 
 peace which they can imagine, and thousands 
 which they cannot imagine ; but he that endures 
 threshing till all the chafT, superstition, folly, 
 and unbelief is pounded out of him, and does 
 not suffer himself to be blown away as chaff by 
 the foul tongue of slander, but endures faithful 
 to the end, shall be saved. 
 
212 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " If you are prepared for all these things ; if 
 you choose rather to suffer afflictions with the 
 people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin 
 for a little moment, come up hither ; come direct 
 to New-Orleans, and up the Mississippi river, 
 for the expense is so much less, and the con- 
 venience of water navigation is so much greater 
 than it is by Montreal, New-York, or Philadel- 
 phia, that it is wisdom for the saints to make 
 New-Orleans their general established port, and 
 be sure to start at such times that they may ar- 
 rive here during the cold months, for the change 
 from the cold climate of England to this place, 
 in the hot season, is too great for the health of 
 emigrants, till there is more faith in the church. 
 
 " So far as the brethren have the means, they 
 will do well to come prepared with a variety 
 of mechanic tools, according to their profes- 
 sions ; such as carpenters, joiners, cabinet- 
 makers, hatters, coopers, masons, printers, 
 binders, tanners, curriers, &c., and all sorts of 
 manufactory and foundery implements, [conve- 
 nient for transportation^] so that when they ar- 
 rive, they may be prepared to establish them- 
 selves in business, and give employment to 
 spinners, weavers, moulders, smelters, and 
 journeymen of every description ; for all sorts 
 of woollens, cottons, hardware, &c., will find a 
 ready market in new countries ; and a great 
 field is now open to the capitalists in this vici- 
 nity, even though the capital be small, and we 
 would urge the importance of the immediate 
 establishment of all kinds of manufactories 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 213 
 
 among us, as well for the best interests of the 
 individuals concerned, as for the church gene- 
 rally. 
 
 " Cities cannot be built without houses, 
 houses cannot be built without materials, or 
 occupied without inhabitants ; the inhabitants 
 cannot exist without food and clothing ; food 
 and clothing cannot be had without planting, 
 sewing, and manufacturing, so that Zion and 
 her stores cannot be built without means, with- 
 out industry, without manufacturing establish- 
 ments, unless the windows of heaven were 
 opened, and cities and their appendages were 
 rained down among us. But this we do not 
 expect till the New-Jerusalem descends, and 
 that will be some time hence ; therefore it is 
 necessary, and according to godliness and the 
 plan of salvation in these last days, that the 
 brethren should see to all these things, and 
 clothe and adorn themselves with the labour of 
 their own hands, build houses and inhabit them, 
 plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. 
 
 " Brethren, pray for us, and the first presi- 
 dency, the LEADER of the people, [a new title,] 
 even JOSEPH, that his life and health may be 
 precious in the sight of heaven, till he has fin- 
 ished the work which he has commenced ; and 
 for all the elders of Israel, that every man may 
 be faithful in his calling, the whole household 
 of faith, and all subjects of prayer. 
 
 " Brethren, farewell. May the blessings of 
 heaven and earth be multiplied unto you, in 
 spirit and in body, in basket and in store, in the 
 
214 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 field and in the shop, on the land and on the 
 sea, in the house and by the way, and in all 
 situations and circumstances, until you shall 
 stand on Mount Zion, and enter the celestial city, 
 [Nauvoo,] in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 "Nov. 15, 1841." 
 
 The above extracts will enable any reflect- 
 ing mind to comprehend the present movements 
 and policy of the Mormons. Every exertion is 
 being made to concentrate their entire influence 
 at Nauvoo. They appear to make the Jewish 
 economy their model in several particulars. 
 Thus they have their promised land, their 
 priests, and their temple. The latter, it is said, 
 will be in imitation of the temple of Solomon. 
 Such a policy has, unquestionably, peculiar ad- 
 vantages for them. 
 
 1. It enables them to make a greater impres- 
 sion in a given region, than the same number 
 of persons could effect when scattered abroad. 
 
 2. It qualifies the travelling quorum to make 
 out a stronger case about the gathering, and the 
 fulness of the times, when they go abroad to 
 rally recruits. 
 
 3. The probability that their converts will 
 again go back to their proper reason is less, 
 when they become surrounded by the strength 
 of their community, and where Mormonism, of 
 course, is popular. 
 
 4. When once the saints get under way for 
 Nauvoo, they are fairly committed. A retreat 
 is no easy matter. Yet some have hastened 
 back to England while their money lasted. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 215 
 
 5. When settled on the promised land, they 
 are then fairly under the command of Lieute- 
 nant General Joseph Smith, and can be made 
 to build a temple to his honour, or a palace for 
 his comfort, far easier than if they were scat- 
 tered abroad. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Theology of Mormonism Derivation Affinity to 
 Campbellism Improvements upon the old system Mi- 
 racles Tongues Conflicting medley of doctrines Du- 
 plicity of the advocates of Mormonism Honesty of many 
 of its followers Real and distinguishing tenets Eternity 
 of matter Materiality of God Baptism for the dead 
 Interdiction of the same Desecrations of the sabbath. 
 
 IN order to understand the theological cha- 
 racter of Mormonism, the reader needs to recol- 
 lect that Rigdorr, and several of his associates, 
 had been followers of Alexander Campbell. 
 They had been thoroughly drilled as coadjutors 
 to that self-styled reformer. Immersion for 
 the remission of sins had been their favourite 
 theme, nor did it cease to be so when they em- 
 braced the cause of Mormonism. The Camp- 
 bellite preachers had been famous for their rant 
 and declamation against all creeds and sects. 
 Yet they were going about to establish a new 
 sect, while, to vindicate THEIR CREED, they 
 published a new translation of the New Testa- 
 ment. From the success, and the temporary 
 popularity of Campbellism, the Mormons man- 
 
216 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ifestly took their cue ; but they have distanced 
 their forerunners. Not stopping with new 
 translations, they published to the world new 
 revelations. As though the inconsistency of 
 establishing a new sect was not sufficient, they 
 attempted to " found a new religion," still keep- 
 ing up the clamour about the sectarianism of 
 all but themselves. 
 
 Various passages in the Book of Mormon 
 show the writer to have been a Campbellite in 
 his views. E. g., p. 451, " Eight thousand of 
 the Lamanites were baptized unto repentance." 
 Page 514, " Behold, ye shall go down and 
 stand in the water, and in my name shall ye 
 baptize them." " And then ye shall immerse 
 them in the water, and come forth again out of 
 the water." Page 627, " I know that it is so- 
 lemn mockery before God that ye should bap- 
 tize little children." " Behold, baptism is unto 
 repentance, to the fulfilling the commandment, 
 unto the remission of sins." Other passages 
 of the same purport might be introduced, but 
 we proceed to show the affinity between Camp- 
 bellism and Mormonism, by the following ex- 
 tracts, which are designed to exhibit the triumphs 
 of the latter system. 
 
 " We learn, verbally, from Elder John E. 
 Page, that within a few weeks past he has 
 baptized nine in the lower part of this county, 
 about eight miles south-west from Carthage, 
 and twenty from this place. Among those who 
 embraced the gospel in that place, is Mr. Sid- 
 ney Knowlton and family, who have, for seve- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 217 
 
 ral years, been zealous members of the Camp- 
 bellite society, and are personally acquainted 
 with the leaders of that sect, consequently have 
 become perfectly acquainted with all the prin- 
 ciples of that doctrine : they are of the opinion 
 that if Messrs. Campbell, Scott, and others, had 
 been attentive hearers to the lectures which had 
 been delivered in their place, they would have 
 become Mormons also." 
 
 P. P. Pratt, writing to S. Rigdon, from Man- 
 chester, England, Jan. 8th, 1841, says, 
 
 " I must now inform you of the fact, that we 
 have reaped the first fruits of Campbellism in 
 England. A few societies have been formed 
 in England upon that principle for some years, 
 but have made but little progress. One society 
 of one hundred members exists about seventy 
 miles from Manchester, at a place called Not- 
 tingham. They discovered, about two years 
 ago, that they had been baptized for the remis- 
 sion of sins without authority, and that they had 
 not obtained remission, nor the gifts of the Spi- 
 rit. From that time till now many of them have 
 been seeking and praying for the Lord to send 
 officers, and raise up his own church. At 
 length some of our writings fell into some of 
 their hands, which soon brought two of their 
 number to Manchester to inquire. They at- 
 tended our meeting in the hall of Manchester, 
 were well pleased, and called at our office next 
 morning. After spending the day in inquiring, 
 etc., one of them purchased three Voices of 
 Warning, and returned home ; the other, (a 
 
218 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 intelligent gentleman,) stayed two or three days 
 inquired diligently, and at length was baptized 
 and confirmed, and went home to tell the glad 
 tidings ; this was a week or two ago. We ex- 
 pect to hear from them soon, and go out and 
 baptize and organize the church there. Tell 
 friend Campbell to go ahead and prepare the 
 way the saints will follow him up and gather 
 the fruits." 
 
 Thus it appears that Campbellism has proved 
 the harbinger to Mormonism both in America 
 and in England. 
 
 The two systems seem still to be identical in 
 denying the necessity of spiritual regeneration, 
 although the latter claims extraordinary spirit- 
 ual gifts through baptism and the laying on of 
 hands. The Mormons claiming to be much 
 greater reformers than the Campbellites, by no 
 means felt themselves bound to walk in the old 
 paths ; on the contrary, they took the liberty to 
 abandon such parts of the other system as did 
 not correspond with their new designs, and to 
 run into every additional extravagance that pro- 
 mised to increase their numbers. Thus mira- 
 cles and tongues were successively in vogue, 
 so long as any thing was to be gained by them. 
 In addition to the light already thrown upon 
 these subjects, we subjoin the following state- 
 ments of Mr. Bacheler, who, during the progress 
 of a discussion upon the subject of Mormonism, 
 investigated three cases of pretended miracles, 
 in company with his opponent, a Mr. Adams. 
 
 " The first was the case of an infant child. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 219 
 
 which was said to have been rescued from the 
 jaws of death by prayer and the imposition of 
 hands, by a Mormon elder. We found that the 
 child had, indeed, been very sick ; that a Mor- 
 mon elder had prayed for it, and laid his hands 
 upon it ; that the child gradually recovered ; 
 and that the father of the child, who had pre- 
 viously been an infidel, had now renounced in- 
 fidelity, under the belief that the child had been 
 miraculously healed. But, on further inquiry, 
 we ascertained that a physician had also been 
 attending the child ; that, in the height of its 
 disease, he administered a powerful dose of 
 medicine, which gave it a check ; that the child 
 was actually convalescent when the Mormon 
 elder was sent for ; and the physician positively 
 declared that it was his medicine that preserved 
 its life, and restored it to health. So much 
 for the Mormon miracle. 
 
 " The second was the case of a woman who 
 was said to have been miraculously healed of 
 the palsy. We found that she had left town. 
 But we saw another woman who had resided 
 in the same house with her. This latter woman 
 informed us that the other one had really had 
 the palsy ; that she permitted the Mormons to 
 pray with her, and lay their hands upon her ; 
 that she recovered, in some measure, though 
 not entirely ; that a physician had likewise at- 
 tended her ; and that the woman herself did 
 not believe her partial recovery was attributable 
 to miracle, but to medical treatment. 
 
 " The third case was that of a woman, who, 
 
220 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 it was stated, could not read a single letter be- 
 fore joining the Mormons ; but that, on becom- 
 ing a member of their church, she could all at 
 once read like an orator in the Bible, though 
 not in any other book. Well, we called on this 
 woman. I selected a place in the Bible for her 
 to read. Some words she called right, and 
 some wrong ; some she read without spelling, 
 and some she had to spell. Strange inspira- 
 tion, thought I. After proving her sufficiently 
 in this way, I turned to the latter part of the 
 Bible, where was a description of Palestine, 
 and which therefore was no part of the Bible, 
 any more than if it had been printed in a 
 book by itself. Here she commenced reading 
 in the same manner as she had read in the 
 Bible. 
 
 " ' So, then,' said I, ' it seems you can read 
 other reading besides the Bible.' I then asked 
 her if she could read any before she joined the 
 Mormons. She replied, that she could read 
 her letters, and some small words. This was 
 enough on that point ; for she could do very lit- 
 tle more at the time I heard her. And this was 
 the miraculous Mormon reader the woman 
 who knew not a letter before joining the Mor- 
 mons ; but who, by inspiration, could afterward 
 read the Bible like an orator, but none at all in 
 any other book ! This, however, was not all. 
 This remarkable woman claimed to be a sub- 
 ject of miraculous, power in another respect. 
 She said, that before she joined the Mormons, 
 she was exceedingly lame ; but that, after join- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 221 
 
 ing them, she was instantaneously healed. On 
 further inquiry, however, it appeared, by a state- 
 ment of a sister of hers, that she had gradually 
 recovered from her lameness, and that she was 
 not entirely free from it even at the very time 
 of our inquiry. 
 
 " The result of this investigation I stated to 
 the audience, in the presence of Mr. Adams, at 
 our next meeting for discussion ; and he him- 
 self admitted my statements to be true, as I can 
 prove, by a cloud of witnesses, should it become 
 necessary. And, moreover, the same cases can 
 now be investigated by any who will take the 
 pains to do it." 
 
 Of late even pretended cases of miracles have 
 become comparatively rare among the Mor- 
 mons, probably owing to the increased facilities 
 for their detection and exposure. 
 
 In regard to tongues, the same gentleman ob- 
 serves, 
 
 " Some fourteen or fifteen months ago, I was 
 present at a Mormon meeting in Brooklyn, 
 New- York. During the course of. the exer- 
 cises, a young woman rose, and commenced an 
 exhortation. She had every appearance of sin- 
 cerity, and became exceedingly animated. At 
 length she began to utter certain sounds alto- 
 gether unintelligible to the audience ; after 
 which she interpreted what she had thus uttered. 
 The interpretation contained a prediction, that 
 within one year from that time there would be 
 five hundred believers (Mormons) in Brooklyn. 
 This was received by the Mormon church there 
 
222 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 assembled as inspiration a new tongue a di- 
 vine prediction there being no dissent or dis- 
 approval signified on the part of any Mormon 
 present. Yet the year has passed away ; there 
 are not five hundred Mormons in Brooklyn, or 
 any thing like it ; the prediction has proved 
 false ; and the Mormon church, it seems, knew 
 not the difference between gibberish and an 
 inspired tongue. Here, then, is a sample of 
 their speaking with new tongues, and of their 
 spiritual discernment." 
 
 Such proceedings as the above, and others 
 previously detailed, have been a standing theme 
 of boast among the Mormons, as though they 
 proved the restoration of the apostolic gift of 
 tongues to the Mormon church. 
 
 But it is not known that the least benefit has 
 ever resulted to any who have spoken, or to any 
 who have heard said tongues. Certain it is, 
 that the interpretations given to such uncouth 
 sounds have been less characterized by common 
 sense than the ordinary parlance of the inter- 
 preters. Lately, however, there has occurred 
 an opportunity in which the gift, if actually pos- 
 sessed, might have been used to great advan- 
 tage. Mr. O. Hyde, one of the Mormon twelve, 
 according to an official account, was specially 
 called of God, in a dream, to visit London, Am- 
 sterdam, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, for the 
 accomplishment of certain great ends connected 
 with the Latter-day Saints' enterprise. This 
 man is said to be now on his way to Palestine, 
 and his correspondence is thought, by the pub- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 223 
 
 lishers of the Times and Seasons, to be of tran- 
 scendent interest. His last letter describes 
 himself as calling in Rotterdam to propose some 
 important questions to a Jewish rabbi. He, 
 however, represents the interview to have been 
 almost a failure, because the rabbi did not un- 
 derstand English. 
 
 The true difficulty was, that the Mormon 
 could not speak Dutch, French, German, Latin, 
 or some other language, which the rabbi did 
 understand. 
 
 Marvellous as the gibberish seems to unskill- 
 ed ears, it answers no manner of purpose when 
 an intelligible tongue is wanting. Of this the 
 missionary to Palestine became practically con- 
 vinced before getting half way across the con- 
 tinent ; hence, we find him pausing in his pre- 
 dicted career, and setting down at Ratisbon to 
 learn the German language scientifically. 
 
 " It was my intention to have gone directly 
 down the Danube, but being detained, I con- 
 ceived the idea of sitting down and learning the 
 German language scientifically. I became ac- 
 quainted with a lady here who speaks French 
 and German to admiration, and she was very 
 anxious to speak the English she proposed 
 giving me instruction in the German if I would 
 instruct her in English. I accepted her propo- 
 sal. I have been engaged eight days in this task. 
 I have read one book through, and part of an- 
 other, and translated and written considerable. 
 I can speak and write the German considerable 
 already, and the lady tells me that I make as- 
 
224 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 tonishing progress. From past experience, I 
 know that the keen edge of any work, trans- 
 lated by a stranger in whose heart the spirit of 
 the matter does not dwell, is lost the life and 
 animation thereof die away into a cold monotony, 
 and it becomes almost entirely another thing. 
 This step is according to the best light I can 
 get, and hope and trust that it is according to 
 the mind of the Lord. The people will hardly 
 believe but that I have spoken German before ; 
 but I tell them nicht, not. The German is spo- 
 ken in Prussia, Bavaria, and in all the states of 
 Germany, Austria, the south of Russia, and, in 
 fine, more or less all over Europe. It appears 
 to me, therefore, that some person of some 
 little experience ought to know this language, so 
 as to translate himself, without being depend- 
 ant on strangers. If I am wrong in my move- 
 ment, pray that the Spirit of the Lord may 
 direct me aright. If I am right, pray that Hea- 
 ven may speedily give me this language." 
 
 Before Mr. Hyde fully masters the German, 
 he will probably learn what it now seerns very 
 necessary for him to understand, viz., to make 
 some allowances for flattery, when foreigners 
 tell him about his astonishing progress in their 
 language, and when they hesitate to credit his 
 assertion of never having spoken it before. 
 
 But so elated was he with the comprehen- 
 sion of a few words, that he could not close his 
 letter without boasting that he could have writ 
 ten most of it in German, yet he kindly fore 
 bore, lest it should not be understood at Nauvoo 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 225 
 
 So much for his confidence in the interpreters 
 of tongues at home ! 
 
 " The curious instrument, consisting of two 
 transparent stones, clear as crystal, set in the two 
 rims of a bow" (perhaps it was a quizzing-glass,) 
 could enable the prophet to translate the plates ; 
 but alas for Mormonism, it is of no purpose when 
 applied to any visible or living language. 
 
 A few additional particulars, respecting Mor- 
 mon belief and practice, we submit in the lan- 
 guage of Mr. Corrill, who, as an apologist for 
 their views and conduct, must be supposed to 
 have at least stated them fairly. 
 
 " The Mormons believe in, and constantly 
 practise the laying on of hands, and praying for 
 the healing of the sick ; sometimes they have 
 been healed, sometimes partly healed, and some- 
 times not benefited at all. If they are healed, 
 they say it was because of their faith, as the 
 Saviour promised, * According to thy faith be 
 it unto thee ; thy faith hath made thee whole,' 
 &c., Matt, viii, 13, and ix, 22. If partly heal- 
 ed, it is still according to their faith, as it was 
 said of some in old times, ' And they began to 
 amend from that very hour ;' but if they are not 
 healed, or benefited at all, then it is for the 
 want of faith, as when the lunatic was brought 
 to the disciples, and they could not heal him, 
 because of their unbelief, Matt, xvii, 20, and 
 xiii, 58. But they think in this, as in many 
 other cases, practice makes perfect, and it is 
 necessary to an increase in faith, confidence, 
 and the power of God. 
 15 
 
226 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " The members of the church are required 
 to bring their children, under eight years old, 
 into meeting, and have the elders lay hands on 
 and bless them in the name of the Lord. This 
 they say was according to the custom of the 
 ancients, also of the Saviour, who commanded 
 little children to be brought to him for that pur- 
 pose. They also believe that a child begins to 
 be accountable at eight years old, and not sooner ; 
 and it is the duty of the parents to teach and 
 instruct them up to that age, and then have them 
 baptized into the church. 
 
 " It was also a rule in the church to have one 
 in each stake (most generally the oldest, if suit- 
 able) appointed and ordained a patriarch, whose 
 duty it was to be a sort of father to the church, 
 and bless such children as had no natural father 
 to bless them. 
 
 " For a general rule, they excluded the use 
 of ardent spirits, tobacco, tea, and coffee, in 
 accordance with a revelation, called the words 
 of wisdom, in which the abstinence from these 
 things were recommended, but not commanded. 
 Also, wasting of flesh, or taking of life of ani- 
 mals unnecessarily, or for sport, was forbidden. 
 
 " The sacrament was administered on every 
 first day, (sabbath,) by a high priest, or an elder. 
 Bread and wine are used as emblems ; but for 
 wine they prefer the pure juice of the grape, 
 when they can get it, and they administer in 
 remembrance of the body and blood of the Sa- 
 viour, as the Scripture commands. 
 
 u They believe that matter is eternal ', and that 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 227 
 
 nothing of all God's works will ever be destroy- 
 ed or lost ; but in the end all things will be 
 restored to their proper place, and the sons of 
 perdition alone will endure the lowest hell, or 
 lake of fire and brimstone. 
 
 " In matters of war, they hold it a duty to 
 strive for peace, arid not resent an injury, but 
 bear patiently the first, second, and third time ; 
 but they are not bound to receive or bear the 
 fourth, but may resist to the uttermost, in their 
 own defence, and in putting down their ene- 
 mies. 
 
 " They esteem the law of God, as given 
 through their prophet, to be vastly superior to 
 any other law ; and if they could have the pri- 
 vilege, they would prefer to be governed by 
 that alone ; and this, I believe, is the grand 
 cause of jealousy and difficulty between them 
 and their neighbours, who prefer to be govern- 
 ed by other laws." 
 
 It should be added, that they consider the 
 different Christian denominations of the present 
 day as offspring of the great whore of Baby- 
 lon, and believe that none can be saved who 
 do not receive the Book of Mormon as divine. 
 " Those who receive it in faith, and work right- 
 eousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life ; 
 but those who harden their hearts in unbelief, 
 and reject it, it shall turn to their own condem- 
 nation."* 
 
 Surely this latter sentiment is a close imita- 
 tion of Romish exclusiveness, while the govern- 
 * Vide book of Doctrines and Covenants, p. 78. 
 
228 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ing power of the prophet, on a pigmy scale we 
 allow, appears to be nearly as correct a sem- 
 blance of the authority of his holiness, the 
 pope. 
 
 Thus we find Mormonism to have gathered 
 together, in a shapeless mass, the disjointed 
 fragments of atheism, Judaism, and Papacy. 
 Out of such materials it professes to erect the 
 very perfection of the spiritual edifice of Chris- 
 tianity. It claims to usher in " the fulness of 
 the gospel." It is to restore the apostolic 
 church, and its followers are to be endowed 
 with the gifts and graces of the primitive 
 saints ! All this is based upon detected fraud, 
 and sustained by reiterated falsehoods ! The 
 bare statement of such self-repellant inconsist- 
 encies beggars the very idea of comment. 
 
 We are far from believing that the great mass 
 of those who have received this system are dis- 
 honest men ; nor do we imitate the exclusive- 
 ness of said system, by asserting that no Mor- 
 mon can be saved. We however do maintain, 
 on the ground of what has been clearly shown, 
 that Mormonism is adapted to bring together 
 the very extremes of religious fanaticism, and 
 of reckless villany. This single fact accounts 
 for its temporary success, and again repels the 
 idea of any comparison between it and Christi- 
 anity, other than that of contrast. Respecting 
 the means of its propagation, it ought to be 
 known that deceit is systematically practised 
 Mormon preachers designedly keep out of view 
 the distinguishing peculiarities of their system, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 229 
 
 till they have secured their converts on other 
 and different grounds from those by which the 
 truth or falsity of their system must be deter- 
 mined. It is then often too late for such per- 
 sons to draw back: they must go on to know 
 the uttermost. Not so the apostles of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. They honestly preached "the 
 cross," although " a stumbling block to the Jews, 
 and foolishness to the Greeks." " Jesus of 
 Nazareth," and him crucified, was the burden 
 of their message, and their only message, 
 wherever they went. 
 
 Mormon teachers, however, aim to fall in 
 with the current of popular opinion as much as 
 they can. Thus they have a fair side to show 
 to nearly every sect and class in the commu- 
 nity ad captandum. Without attempting to enu- 
 merate all, the following examples will illustrate 
 the fact. They can preach immersion to Bap- 
 tists ; confirmation to Protestant Episcopalians ; 
 the second coming of Christ specially near at 
 hand toMillerites,^ id omne genus; slang against 
 religion, under the name of sectarianism, to a 
 numerous but nameless class ; baptism for the 
 dead to either Universalists or Catholics, and 
 materialism to infidels. In making a general 
 harangue, or in addressing a promiscuous au- 
 dience, they keep the Book of Mormon out of 
 view as much as possible, and proceeding to 
 argue their case entirely from the common 
 translation of the Scriptures, endeavour to esta- 
 blish themselves in a parallel with respectable 
 Christian denominations. Such a course, to 
 
230 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 say thtf least, is chargeable with guilty equivo- 
 cation : but hence the remark made by some 
 who have heard them, " We do not see much 
 difference between them and others." If there 
 be not much difference between them and pre- 
 valent Christian denominations, then there is 
 not much occasion for their preaching, and none 
 for their institutions. If there be a difference, 
 as honest men they are bound to explain and 
 show cause for it. This should be their lead- 
 ing object, instead of concealment and evasion. 
 We avow, distinctly, that we do not, at present, 
 discuss those points of doctrine which the Mor- 
 mons claim to hold in common with any deno- 
 mination of Christians. Such doctrines existed, 
 and all the arguments in favour of them, before 
 Mormonism was ever thought of. Our inqui- 
 ries are after Mormonism per se. We have 
 shown its origin : we now proceed to develop 
 its peculiar tenets. In the first place we copy 
 a definition given by one of its high priests. 
 " Mormonism is to believe that Christ is the 
 Son of God ; also a firm belief in the Scrip- 
 tures ; then faith, repentance, and baptism, for 
 the remission of sins ; the laying on of hands 
 for the reception of the Holy Ghost ; having a 
 church organized according to the New-Testa- 
 ment pattern, and to live by every word that 
 proceeds from the mouth of God : [through Jo- 
 seph Smith !] all who reject this will be damned, 
 if the Scriptures are true." 
 
 This extract corroborates what we have said 
 above. The definition purports to have been 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 231 
 
 given in a public discussion ; and a more dis- 
 honest specimen of evasion could scarcely have 
 been contrived. One clause of it, nevertheless, 
 may be easily tested, " having a church or- 
 ganized according to the New-Testament pat- 
 tern." The same writer observes in another 
 place : " It is folly to say that any sect worship 
 God according to the true pattern, when their 
 organization does not resemble the plan laid down 
 in the sacred volume." Hence it will appear 
 folly to say that Mormons worship God aright, 
 since their organization is as far from even re- 
 sembling the New-Testament pattern, as it is 
 from any likeness to the constitution of the pri- 
 mitive church. It will avail nothing to urge 
 that they nominally have among them bishops, 
 elders, deacons, and teachers, since, saying 
 nothing of an entire want of likeness between 
 Mormon bishops, (mere fiscal agents,) elders, 
 <fec., and those of the apostolic church, all 
 these are subordinate to the following head 
 officers and bodies corporate of the Mormon 
 church, viz., seers, revelators, translators, presi- 
 dents, first presidency and high council of Nauvoo, 
 quorum of the travelling high council, patriarchs, 
 high priests, and quorum of the seventy. 
 
 Perhaps we shall get more light from the 
 following paragraph, in which the prophet states 
 to Mr. Galland the first and fundamental prin- 
 ciple of Mormonism. 
 
 " Now, sir, you may think that it is a broad 
 assertion that Mormonism is truth ; but, sir, the 
 first and fundamental principle of our holy reli- 
 
232 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 gion is, that we believe that we have a right to 
 embrace all, and every item of truth, without 
 limitation, or without being circumscribed or 
 prohibited by the creeds or superstitious notions 
 of men, or by the dominations of one another, 
 when that truth is clearly demonstrated to our 
 minds, and we have the highest degree of evi- 
 dence of the same : we feel ourselves bound by 
 the laws of God to observe and do strictly, with 
 all our hearts, all things whatsoever is manifest 
 unto us by the highest degree of testimony that 
 God has committed to us, as written in the Old 
 and New Testament, or anywhere else, by any 
 manifestation, whereof we know that it has 
 come from God ; and has application to us, 
 being adapted to our situation and circum- 
 stances, age and generation of life ; and that 
 we have a perfect and indefeasible right to em- 
 brace all such commandments, and do them, 
 knowing that God will not command any thing 
 but what is peculiarly adapted, in itself, to ame- 
 liorate the condition of every man under what- 
 ever circumstances it may find him, it matters 
 not what kingdom or country he may be in. 
 And again, we believe that it is our. privilege 
 to reject all things, whatsoever is clearly mani- 
 fested to us that they do not have a bearing 
 upon us." 
 
 This precious morceau, if it mean any thing 
 at all, doubtless means to say, " the first and 
 fundamental principle ofMormonism" is to believe 
 implicitly all the pretended revelations of Joseph 
 Smith, as much as though they were written in the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 233 
 
 Bible. We admit that this was rather an awk- 
 ward thing to express, and hence we are dis- 
 posed to overlook the unparelleled verbosity of 
 the sentence. But, after all, it aims at the 
 point around which the whole system revolves. 
 Against those who have been excommunicated 
 from the sect, and denounced with its vengeful 
 anathemas, the leading accusation has generally 
 been a renunciation of allegiance to the pro- 
 phet. Witness the minutes of a conference 
 chronicled on page 338 of the Times and Sea- 
 sons. " The conference gave Elder Stephen 
 Kittle's case a fair investigation, and found him 
 not worthy a standing in the church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints." The charges 
 were the following: Asserting, 1. THAT JO- 
 SEPH SMITH is NOT A PROPHET OF THE LORD. 
 2. That self-defence is not righteous. 3. That 
 the Book of Mormon is not true. 4. That Zion 
 is not on this land. 5. Striving to persuade 
 men to embrace error," i. e., we suppose, striv- 
 ing to maintain the above positions. Now if 
 this was " the head and front" of Stephen Kit- 
 tie's offending, he could not have been a very 
 bad man. The very assertion of such senti- 
 ments as are alleged against him, prove him, 
 so far at least, to have become rational and 
 sober minded, and hence, forsooth, he was pro- 
 nounced unworthy a standing among the Mor- 
 mons. 
 
 No person can fail to see that Mormonism 
 makes use of Christianity merely as a cloak to 
 hide its own imperfections. This is no new 
 
234 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 thing under the snn. Certain species of avo\\ 
 ed infidels claim as fundamental to their system 
 principles for which they are wholly indebted 
 to Christianity. 
 
 The Saviour warns us, Matt, xxiv, 24, that 
 " there shall arise false Christs and false pro- 
 phets, and shall show great signs and wonders ; 
 insomuch that if it were possible they shall de- 
 ceive the very elect." And no marvel ; " for 
 Satan himself is transformed into an angel of 
 light. Therefore it is no great thing if his 
 ministers also be transformed as the ministers 
 of righteousness, whose end shall be according 
 to their works." 2 Cor. xi, 14, 15. So Mor- 
 monism, in order to make progress in a Chris- 
 tian community, puts on the garb of righteous- 
 ness, and many are really made to believe it 
 the fulness of the gospel. How can the truths 
 of Christianity be thus used to build up the de- 
 vil's kingdom ? 
 
 Stripping off its mantle of hypocrisy, Mor- 
 monism stands forth in the following cardinal 
 positions a meagre and ghastly skeleton. 
 
 1. Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Lord, 
 and a priest after the order of Melchisedek. 
 
 2. The Book of Mormon is true, i. e., in- 
 spired. 
 
 3. Zion is on this land, (Nauvoo, Illinois.) 
 
 4. Matter is eternal. 
 
 5. God is a material being. 
 
 6. The saints are to be baptized for their dead 
 relations, on peril of their own salvation. 
 
 The burden of proof to all these position? 
 
MORMONTSM AND THE MORMONS. 235 
 
 falls, of course, upon their advocates. It has 
 never been sustained, although Scripture is 
 said to be quoted fluently in support of each. 
 
 In regard to the first, its very mention, after 
 what has been shown in these pages, must be 
 considered as bordering on blasphemy. Yet 
 among the Latter-day Saints' hymns is the fol- 
 lowing, which they no doubt use in their wor- 
 ship. 
 
 HYMN 265. P. M. 
 
 1 Now we'll sing with one accord, 
 For a prophet of the Lord, 
 Bringing forth his precious word, 
 
 Cheers the saints as anciently. 
 
 2 When the world in darkness lay, 
 Lo, he sought the better way, 
 And he heard the Saviour say, 
 
 " Go and prune my vineyard, son '" 
 
 3 And an angel surely, then, 
 For a blessing unto men, 
 Brought the priesthood back again, 
 
 In its ancient purity. 
 
 4 Even Joseph he inspires, 
 Yea, his heart he truly fires, 
 With the light that he desires, 
 
 For the work of righteousness. 
 
 5 And the Book of Mormon, true, 
 With its covenants ever new, 
 For the Gentile and the Jew, 
 
 He translated sacredly. 
 
 6 The commandments to the church, 
 Which the saints will always search, 
 (Where the joys of heaven perch,) 
 
 Came through him from Jesus Christ. 
 
236 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 7 Precious are his years to come, 
 When the righteous gather home, 
 For the great millennium, 
 
 Where he'll rest in blessedness. 
 
 8 Prudent in this world of woes, 
 He will TRIUMPH O'ER HIS FOES, 
 While the realm of Zion grows, 
 
 Purer for eternity. 
 
 The second position, namely, that the Book 
 of Mormon is true, will be tested in the suc- 
 ceeding chapters. Respecting the third, that 
 Zion is on this land, there is no need of con- 
 troversy. Kirtland, Far West, and Nauvoo, 
 have each, in turn, been THE place. The two 
 former are now abandoned. The various pre- 
 dictions respecting them prove their authors to 
 have been false prophets, and why should they 
 be credited again ? 
 
 In the assertion that " matter is eternal," and 
 that God is a material being, we have infidelity 
 unmasked the doctrines of devils without a 
 blush. 
 
 The reader, accustomed to put confidence in 
 the high religious pretensions of Mormonism, 
 may startle when such doctrines are charged 
 upon it : we therefore quote the .language of 
 one of its leading advocates. P. P. Pratt, in a 
 " Treatise upon the Regeneration and the Eter- 
 nal Duration of Matter," maintains the following 
 as his leading proposition : " Matter and spirit 
 are of equal duration ; BOTH ARE SELF-EXIST- 
 ENT they never began to exist, and they never 
 can be annihilated." In attempting to prove 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 237 
 
 this he says, " It is impossible for a mechanic 
 to make any thing whatever without materials : 
 so it is EQUALLY IMPOSSIBLE for GOD to bring 
 forth matter from nonentity, or to originate ele- 
 ments from nothing ; because this would con- 
 tradict the law of truth, and destroy himself. 
 We might as well say that God can add two 
 and three together, and the product will be 
 twelve ; or that we can subtract five from ten 
 and leave eight, as to say that he can originate 
 matter from nonentity.* * * * * 
 
 " Here, then, is mathematical demonstration 
 that it is not in the power of ANY BEING to ori- 
 ginate matter. Hence we conclude that mat- 
 ter as well as spirit is eternal, uncreated, self- 
 existing." 
 
 In advocating the kindred sentiment, that 
 God is a material being, the Mormons resort 
 to those figurative expressions of Scripture by 
 which the ways of God are revealed to finite 
 comprehension. By supposing these to be 
 literal descriptions of the body arid parts of Je- 
 hovah, they consider their case established. 
 
 In their conversations and harangues on this 
 subject, they manifest a peculiar animosity to 
 the doctrines imbodied in the Ritual of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. They seem 
 ignorant that the articles which they most se- 
 verely assail, free from the controversies that 
 have prevailed on minor points, have been ac- 
 knowledged from the earliest ages to express 
 the standard faith of the Christian church. 
 Thus, in their eager opposition to Methodism, 
 
238 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 they stab at the very vitals of Christianity itself 
 The most vulgar atheist would scarcely be 
 guilty of a more profane attack upon the car- 
 dinal principles of all true religion, than is 
 contained in the following fragment from the 
 pen of Pratt, which has been more than once 
 published by the Mormons : 
 
 " Here, then, is the Methodist God without 
 either eyes, ears, or mouth ! ! ! and yet man 
 was created after the image of God ; but this 
 could not apply to the Methodists' God, for he 
 has no image or likeness ! The Methodist God 
 can neither be Jehovah nor Jesus Christ ; for 
 Jehovah showed his face to Moses and to the 
 seventy elders of Israel, and his feet too ; he 
 also wrote with his own finger on the tablets of 
 stone. Isaiah informs us, that his arm is not 
 shortened ; that his ear is not dull of hearing, 
 &c., and that he will proceed to make bare his 
 arm in the eyes of all the nations ; and Eze- 
 kiel says, ' His fury shall come up in his face ;' 
 and Zech. xiv, says, ' His feet shall stand in that 
 day upon the Mount of Olives,' and they which 
 behold shall say, ' What are these wounds in 
 thy hands and in thy/ee,' &c. Consequently, 
 Methodism is a system of idolatry." 
 
 The same writer says, " We worship a 
 God who has both body and parts, who has 
 eyes, mouth, and ears, and who speaks when he 
 pleases, and to whom he pleases." " Our God 
 is just as good at mechanical inventions, archi- 
 tecture, tailoring, smithing, stone-cutting, &c., 
 &c., &c., as at any other business." 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 239 
 
 What an illustration of the apostle's words, 
 Rom. i, 22, 23, " Professing themselves to be 
 wise, they became fools, and changed the glory 
 of the incorruptible God into an image made 
 like to corruptible man !" 
 
 Like the ancient anthropomorphites, they 
 draw their principal argument on this subject 
 from Gen. i, 27, " So God created man in his 
 own image, in the image of God created he 
 him, male and female created he them." Sup- 
 posing this to refer to the bodily form, rather 
 than to the moral likeness in which man was 
 created, they unhesitatingly infer that in their 
 own persons they have a copy of the body and 
 parts of the Deity ! Other arguments in sup- 
 port of this heresy are drawn from those pas- 
 sages of the Scripture which represent God as 
 having manifested himself to his creatures in 
 human form. Thus when Jacob wrestled with 
 the angel, and was overwhelmed with the mani- 
 festation of divine power he witnessed, he ex- 
 claimed in one of the boldest metaphors of the 
 Hebrew tongue, " I have seen God face to face." 
 
 Again, Exod. xxxiii, 11, it is said, "The 
 Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man 
 speaketh unto his friend," i. e., familiarly. 
 Such expressions are clearly explained by a 
 reference to Numbers xiv, 14, " For they have 
 heard that thou, Lord, art among this people ; 
 that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that 
 thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou 
 goest before them by day time in a pillar of 
 cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night." 
 
240 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Here we find the phrase " seeing God face 
 to face" limited in its application to those 
 manifestations of the Deity which he conde- 
 scended to make of himself through the pillai 
 of cloud and of fire, at the tabernacle and by 
 the presence of his Spirit. 
 
 From first to last, Moses appears to have had 
 no idea that God was confined to shape or 
 form, hence it will be observed in the passage 
 so often quoted by the Mormons to sustain their 
 views, Exod. xxxiii, 17-23, that Moses only 
 asks, " I beseech thee, show me THY GLORY." 
 God answers that even this, in its fulness, could 
 not be seen by mortals. Nevertheless, he would 
 cause his goodness to pass before his servant, 
 who, placed in a cleft of the rock and covered 
 with the divine hand, might behold some faint 
 and sufferable manifestation of the glory that 
 passed by. Some commentators have suppos- 
 ed, that in this scene a vision of the person of 
 Christ was discovered to Moses, as an assur- 
 ance of God's design to save his people from 
 their sins. 
 
 This subject is illustrated by various pas- 
 sages in the New Testament. John i, 18, " No 
 man hath seen God at any time." 1 Cor. vi, 
 16, "Dwelling in the light which no man can 
 approach unto : whom no man hath seen, nor 
 can see." John vi, 46, " Not that any man 
 hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, 
 [Christ,] he hath seen the Father." 1 Tim. iii, 
 16, " God was manifest in the flesh, justified in 
 the Spirit, SEEN of angels, preached unto the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 241 
 
 Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up 
 into glory." In the last-quoted passages we 
 learn that while in the person of Christ God 
 was clearly manifest to mortals, yet he was 
 properly seen only of angels, while even angels 
 may never have beheld the full glories of the 
 invisible, but only Christ. 
 
 From such soul-inspiring views of Deity 
 what a descent even to contemplate the Mor- 
 mon doctrine ! " We worship a God who hath 
 both body and parts, who has eyes, mouth, 
 and ears." Revolting as is the bare contem- 
 plation of such language and sentiments, we 
 must go further, and point out a few legitimate 
 consequences of the doctrine. 
 
 1. It contradicts the Bible, which says, " God 
 is a spirit. A spirit hath not flesh and bones." 
 
 2. Materiality destroys the omnipresence of 
 any being ; for according to the laws of nature, 
 no two bodies can occupy the same space at 
 the same time, nor can one and the same body 
 be in different places at the same moment. 
 Hence when the God of the Mormons is at 
 Nauvoo he is absent from all the world besides. 
 Thus those of them who have not gone up 
 thither in the gathering, must pray to a God 
 " afar off." Opposed to all such degrading 
 views of himself, the Christian's God exclaims, 
 " Do not I fill heaven and earth ?" The Psalm- 
 ist, deeply impressed with a sense of God's 
 ubiquity, asks, " Whither shall I go from thy 
 Spirit ? Or whither shall I flee from thy pre- 
 sence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 
 
 16 
 
242 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 there. If I take the wings of the morning and 
 dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even 
 there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right 
 hand shall hold me." 
 
 3. The omnipresence of God being disprov- 
 ed ; no one can substantiate either his omnis- 
 cience or his omnipotence: for how can his eyes 
 behold what he is not present to see or his hands 
 perform the wonders of heaven while his pre- 
 sence is on earth ? 
 
 4. Combining the Mormon doctrines of the 
 materiality of God and the " regeneration of 
 matter," what have we but the necessity of the 
 Almighty being born again in order to enter his 
 own kingdom! If it be said that this being, 
 never having sinned, requires no new birth, we 
 reply that the earth never sinned, and yet Mor- 
 mons and some others suppose it to need re- 
 generation in consequence of Adam's fall. 
 
 5. What can Mormonism justly claim but to 
 be considered as a system of the grossest idolay 
 try ? Even the heathen claim to worship invisi- 
 ble spirits through their images, but the Mor- 
 mons believe that God himself is an image of 
 which corruptible man is a likeness. 
 
 No doubt the great mass of the common peo- 
 ple would be astonished at this view of the 
 consequences of the theory taught them. They 
 have from childhood been trained up in the ge- 
 neral ideas of a Christian community respect- 
 ing the King eternal, immortal, and invisible. 
 Of these they cannot rid themselves at once, 
 even though they imbibe principles directly 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMSNS. 243 
 
 subversive of them. But let them or any 
 thinking person decide if the above conse- 
 quences and others equally fatal to truth, do 
 not legitimately follow the Mormon doctrine 
 respecting God. 
 
 Baptism for the dead. This is something of 
 recent origin among the Mormons. It may be 
 defined as a vicarious immersion or " baptism 
 by proxy," administered to living persons in 
 behalf of their relations who have died unre- 
 generate or unbaptized. 
 
 It claims for its foundation the expression of 
 St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv, 30, " Else what shall they 
 do which are baptized for the dead ?" The 
 reader needs not to be told that no other pas- 
 sage in the Bible gives even an apparent coun- 
 tenance to such a practice. This passage, 
 moreover, is relieved from most of its difficulties, 
 and certainly from such a perversion, by the in- 
 terpretation of Chrysostom, who as early as the 
 fourth century had to contend with a similar 
 heresy, then advocated by the Marcionites. 
 That venerable father interprets the passage 
 by supplying an ellipsis very obvious from the 
 tenor of the context. The apostle was dis- 
 coursing upon the resurrection of the dead 
 that distinguishing doctrine of Christianity. 
 The hope of a part in the first resurrection 
 was the powerful inducement by which men 
 were urged to become Christians ; entering the 
 church through the initiatory rite of baptism. 
 Paul, urging this, and at the same time contend- 
 ing against the infidel objections that " Christ 
 
244 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 rose not, neither will the dead arise," exclaims, 
 appealing to the power of the Almighty, as the 
 assurance of his hope, " Else what shall they 
 do, which are baptized for [the resurrection of] 
 the dead, if the dead rise not at all ? Why are 
 they then baptized for [or in hope of the resur- 
 rection of] the dead ? And why stand we in 
 jeopardy every hour ?" 
 
 The necessity of thus supplying this ellipsis 
 is still more obvious from the Greek, in which, 
 by the addition of a single word, the sense is 
 made to harmonize with the scope of the whole 
 chapter. 
 
 'ETret, ri TToiTjaovmv bi fiaim^opevoi vrrep 
 [rrjg dvaardaeG)g~\ r&v VSKQ&V; el ' 6h(*)g veKpoi 
 OVK ky&iyovTai, ri nal ftanri^ovrat, vrrep 
 
 Leaving this interpretation to stand upon its 
 proper merits, we proceed to notice the contri- 
 vance and developments of the Mormon doc- 
 trine. 
 
 The first notice of this subject, as introduced 
 at Nauvoo, is found in the minutes of a confer- 
 ence held Oct. 3, 1840, in which it is stated, 
 " President Joseph Smith, Jr., then arose and 
 delivered a discourse on the subject of baptism 
 for the dead, which was listened to with con- 
 siderable interest by the vast multitude assem- 
 bled." At another conference held April, 
 1841, " President Rigdon delivered a discourse 
 on the subject of baptism for the dead, which 
 was set forth in a manner new and interesting, 
 and with an eloquence peculiar to the speaker 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 245 
 
 which was listened to with intense interest by 
 the assembly." 
 
 " Gen. Bennett made some very appropriate 
 observations in continuation of the subject. 
 
 " President Smith likewise followed on the 
 same subject, and threw considerable light on 
 the doctrine which had been investigated." 
 
 Soon after this a correspondent of the Times 
 and Seasons, in elucidating the doctrine, says, 
 " The gospel has been, and we infer, is still, 
 preached to the dead ; that is, to disembodied 
 spirits." " The departed spirit is in a proba- 
 tionary state, capable of being affected by the 
 proclamation of the gospel." Christ " offers 
 pardon, peace, holiness, and eternal life to the 
 quick and the dead : the living, on condition of 
 faith and baptism for remission of sins ; the 
 departed, on the same condition of faith in per- 
 son and baptism by a living kinsman in his be- 
 half. It may be asked, Will this baptism by 
 proxy necessarily save the dead ? We answer, 
 No : neither will the same necessarily save the 
 living. But this, with the other requisites, will 
 save both the living and the dead, and God will 
 raise them up to glorify him together." 
 
 Queries. 1. How can the departed believe 
 in person, when their bodies lie mouldering 
 back to dust? 
 
 2. How can the living kinsman know, whe- 
 ther the departed spirit believes the gospel or 
 rejects it ? 
 
 3. What degree of relationship is necessary 
 to make the proxy valid ? 
 
246 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 4. Suppose the survivor hopes that the wick- 
 ed spirit has believed the gospel, and is bap- 
 tized in its behalf; when, in fact, the unjust is 
 unjust still : of what advantage is the rite to 
 either party ? If none, who can estimate the 
 wickedness of thus mocking God and reli- 
 gion? 
 
 In May, 1841, according to the minutes of a 
 conference held at Kirtland, after considerable 
 preaching, "about twenty-five baptisms took 
 place, most of which were for the dead." Other 
 instances of this practice might be cited, but 
 how extensively it prevails, we are not inform- 
 ed. It has evidently become a subject of no 
 little agitation among the saints, since at every 
 successive conference, new light is demanded 
 from the revelators to clear up the dark points 
 of this newly invented heresy. Thus at the 
 general conference held at Nauvoo, in October 
 last, 
 
 " President Joseph Smith, by request of some 
 of the twelve, gave instructions on the doctrine. 
 
 " The speaker presented ' baptism for the 
 dead,' as the only way that men can appear as 
 saviours on Mount Zion. 
 
 " There is a way to release the spirit of the 
 dead ; that is, by the power and authority of the 
 priesthood by binding and loosing on earth. 
 
 " This doctrine appears glorious, inasmuch 
 as it exhibits the greatness of divine compas- 
 sion and benevolence in the extent of the plan 
 of human salvation. This glorious truth is well 
 calculated to enlarge the understanding, and to 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 247 
 
 sustain the soul under troubles, difficulties, and 
 distresses. 
 
 " For illustration the speaker presented, by 
 supposition, the case of two men, brothers, 
 equally intelligent, learned, virtuous, and lovely, 
 walking in uprightness and all good conscience, 
 so far as they had been able to discern duty 
 from the muddy stream of tradition, or from 
 the blotted page of the book of nature. One 
 dies, and is buried, having never heard the gos- 
 pel of reconciliation : to the other the message 
 of salvation is sent, he hears and embraces it, 
 and is made the heir of eternal life. Shall 
 the one become a partaker of glory, and the 
 other be consigned to hopeless perdition ? Is 
 there no chance for his escape ? Sectarianism 
 answers, ' None ! none ! none !' Such an idea 
 is worse than atheism. The truth shall break 
 down and dash in pieces all such bigoted Pha- 
 risaism ; the sects shall be sifted, the honest in 
 heart brought out, and their priests left in the 
 midst of their corruption. The speaker then 
 answered the objections urged against the Lat- 
 ter-day Saints, for not admitting the validity of 
 sectarian baptism, and for withholding fellow- 
 ship from sectarian churches. It was like put- 
 ting new wine into old bottles, and putting old 
 wine into new bottles. What ! new revelations 
 in the old churches! New revelations knock 
 out the bottom of their bottomless pit. New 
 wine into old bottles ! the bottles burst and the 
 wine runs out. What ! Sadducees in the new 
 church ! Old wine in new leathern bottles will 
 
248 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 leak through the pores and escape ; so the Sad- 
 ducee saints mock at authority, kick out of the 
 traces, and run to the mountains of perdition, 
 leaving the long echo of their braying behind 
 them. 
 
 " This doctrine, he said, presented in a clear 
 light the wisdom and mercy of God, in pre- 
 paring an ordinance for the salvation of the 
 dead, being baptized by proxy, their names re- 
 corded in heaven, and they judged according 
 to the deeds done in the body. This doctrine 
 was the burden of the Scriptures. Those saints 
 who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased rela- 
 tives, do it at the PERIL OF THEIR OWN SALVA- 
 TION ! 
 
 " The speaker then announced, ' There shall 
 be no more baptisms for the dead, until the or- 
 dinance can be attended to in the font of the 
 Lord's house ; and the church shall not hold 
 another general conference until they can meet 
 in said house. For thus saith the Lord /" 
 
 This doctrine is summed up in the following 
 poetry, which will probably be entitled to a 
 place in the next edition of the " Latter-day 
 Saints' Hymns :" 
 
 BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 By J. H. Johnson. 
 
 " Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead 
 if the dead rise not at all 1 Why then are they baptized 
 for the dead?' 
 
 The glorious gospel light has shone 
 
 In this the latter day, 
 With such intelligence that none 
 From truth need turn away. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 249 
 
 For 'mong things which have been sealed, 
 
 And from the world kept hid ; 
 The Lord has to his saints revealed, 
 
 As anciently he did. 
 
 And through the priesthood now restored, 
 
 Has e'en prepared the way, 
 Through which the dead may hear his word, 
 
 And all its truths obey. 
 
 As Christ to spirits went to preach, 
 
 Who were in prison laid ; 
 So many saints have gone to teach 
 
 The gospel to the dead. 
 
 And we for them can be baptized ; 
 
 Yes, for our friends most dear ! 
 That they can with the just be raised, 
 
 When Gabriel's trump they hear. 
 
 That they may come with Christ again, 
 
 When he to earth descends ; 
 A thousand years with him to reign, 
 
 And with their earthly friends. 
 
 Now, O ! ye saints, rejoice to-day, 
 
 That you can saviours be, 
 For all your dead who will obey 
 
 The gospel and be free. 
 
 Then let us rise without restraint, 
 
 And act for those we love ; 
 For they are giving their consent, 
 
 And wait for us to move. 
 
 Now if the reader will refer back to the re- 
 velation copied on pages 167-181, he will see 
 that the great argument made use of in urging 
 forward the construction of the temple, was 
 that there may be prepared a baptismal font, 
 which the saints may enter in behalf of their 
 dead relations. It is then threatened, that im- 
 
250 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 less the Mormons build such a house in the 
 course of a sufficient time, they shall be rejected 
 as a church, with their dead : yet it expressly 
 says, " during this time your baptisms shall be 
 acceptable." 
 
 It would appear that the work of building did 
 not go on fast enough to suit Smith, notwith- 
 standing he had declared to his elders, that 
 " labour on the temple would be as acceptable 
 to the Lord as preaching the gospel." 
 
 So in the October conference, having de- 
 claimed at length upon baptism for the dead, 
 and instructed the saints not to neglect it, on 
 peril of their own salvation, " the speaker an- 
 nounced, ' There shall be no more baptisms for 
 the dead, until the ordinance can be attended 
 to in the font of the Lord's house ; and the 
 church shall not hold another general confer- 
 ence until they can meet in said house. For 
 thus saith the Lord /' " 
 
 No person would be so inconsistent as to 
 suppose that such a wondrous edifice as a Mor- 
 mon temple could be built in less time than 
 several years ; especially considering the cir- 
 cumstances of the builders. But notwithstand- 
 ing " sufficient time" had been promised, and 
 that in print ; yet in his eagerness to push on 
 the work, this soi disant revelator barely suffers 
 nine months to elapse from the date of the pre- 
 vious revelation, before he brings out another 
 positively contradicting it. Verily that man's 
 conscience must be " seared with a hot iron" 
 who can thus presume " to make God a liar." 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 251 
 
 All this merchandise of souls is for the sake 
 of money, to build a monument to Mormon am- 
 bition ! 
 
 Here apparently is an attempted parallel to the 
 course of Pope Leo X., who for the sake of mo- 
 ney to finish the church of St. Peter, at Rome, 
 promoted to an unusual extent the sale of in- 
 dulgences, by which the souls of dead relations 
 might be delivered from purgatory. The per- 
 fidious avarice of Tetzel, the commissioner of 
 these indulgences in Germany, aroused the 
 energies of Luther, and hastened the Reforma- 
 tion. May the course pursued by the would-be 
 pope of Nauvoo be productive of an equally hap- 
 py effect among the Mormons ! 
 
 We will close this exposition of the religious 
 (irreligious) peculiarities of Mormonism, by 
 showing that a public violation of the sabbath 
 is countenanced among them. 
 
 Extract of " Minutes of the General Confer- 
 ence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
 day Saints, held in Nauvoo, Oct. 3d, 1840 : 
 
 "Sunday morning. Conference met pursuant 
 to adjournment, and was opened by prayer by 
 Elder Babbit. 
 
 " The clerk was then called upon to read the 
 report of the presidency, in relation to the city 
 plot ; after which the president made some ob- 
 servations on the situation of the debts on the 
 city plot, and advised that a committee be ap- 
 pointed to raise funds to liquidate the same. 
 
 " On motion, resolved, that William Marks 
 and Hyrum Smith compose said committee. 
 
252 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 " On motion, resolved, that a committee be 
 appointed to draft a bill for the incorporating of 
 the town of Nauvoo, and other purposes. 
 
 " Resolved, that Joseph Smith, Jr., Dr. J. C. 
 Bennett, and R. B. Thompson, compose said 
 committee. 
 
 " Resolved, that Dr. J. C. Bennett be ap- 
 pointed delegate to Springfield, to urge the pas- 
 sage of the said bill through the legislature." 
 
 " City of Nauvoo, May 6, 1841. 
 " To the Editors of the Times and Seasons. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN, I wish, through the medium 
 of your paper, to make known, that on Sunday 
 last I had the honour of receiving a visit from 
 the Hon. Stephen A. Douglass, justice of the 
 supreme court, and judge of the fifth judi- 
 cial circuit of the state of Illinois, and Cyrus 
 Walker, Esq., of Macomb, who expressed great 
 pleasure in visiting our city, and were aston- 
 ished at the ^improvements which were made. 
 They were officially introduced to the congre- 
 gation who had assembled on the meeting 
 ground, by the mayor ; and they severally ad- 
 dressed the assembly. 
 
 " I am, very respectfully, yours, &c., 
 
 " JOSEPH SMITH." 
 
 It is no new thing to have evidence, that 
 many political men in our country will not 
 hesitate to profane the Lord's day, when they 
 imagine that either their interests or their plea- 
 sures may be promoted by its profanation. But 
 that any body of professedly religious people 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 253 
 
 would countenance such proceedings, must 
 cause astonishment to any, not aware that there 
 is in existence a body of professedly religious 
 teachers, who in a conference capacity do not 
 scruple to transact secular business on the sab- 
 bath ! That the Mormons were thus called out 
 to listen to the harangues of political dema- 
 gogues on the sabbath day, their prophet pub- 
 licly boasts, glorying in the common shame ! 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Relation of Mormonism to Christianity Glance at the 
 Book of Mormon New and improved edition Author 
 and proprietor becomes translator Chronology A brass 
 ball Miraculous navigation Narrative Antecedent voy- 
 age Bloody wars Antiquities of Central America in 
 proof of Mormonism Colour of the Indians accounted 
 for. 
 
 THE whole system of Mormonism owes its 
 origin, and the church of Latter-day Saints its 
 existence, to the Book of Mormon and the fable 
 of a Golden Bible. Why do the Mormons be- 
 come ashamed of this ? Why desire to con- 
 struct their system upon any other than its pro- 
 per foundation ? This very circumstance is 
 suspicious, betraying as it does a consciousness 
 that truth is lacking for its support. 
 
 We are now prepared to ask men or angels, 
 to show a baser perversion of Scripture, or of 
 Christian principles, than that by which they 
 
254 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 are brought, to the aid of Mormonism a sys- 
 tem of infidelity a scheme of deception. 
 
 But we are told that the Book of Mormon 
 proves the truth of the Bible. That we deny. 
 No such proof is wanting. The truth of the 
 Bible has been irrefragibly demonstrated for 
 centuries. Yet we allow that additional evi- 
 dences of the divine inspiration of that book are 
 continually accumulating. Nor is it the least, 
 though it be the last instance of this kind which 
 has occurred in connection with Mormonism, 
 and is found in the terms in which the charac- 
 ter of false prophets was delineated, Jeremiah 
 xxiii, 22 ; and also in the portraiture of those 
 who in the latter times should depart from the 
 faith, giving heed to seducing spirits. Vid. 1 Tim. 
 iv, 1; 1 John ii, 18. 
 
 There is nothing in the origin of the Book 
 of Mormon, or in the agency by which it was 
 brought to light, calculated to excite high ex- 
 pectation on the part of the intelligent reader. 
 Nevertheless, we will now inquire into its in- 
 trinsic merits. Surely this is no ordinary task : 
 the examination of a book, purporting not only 
 to have been inspired, but also "hid up" in a mi- 
 raculous manner, and at length revealed by the 
 power of God. 
 
 We open the volume, we glance the eye over 
 its pages, and what do we find ? The plain 
 and convincing narrative of the sacred histori- 
 ans ? The sublime and soul-inspiring diction 
 of the Psalmist and the prophets ? The profound 
 doctrines and moving appeals of the apostles ? 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 255 
 
 Passages we indeed find that are worthy of an 
 inspired pen. But they have been introduced 
 by the hand of the miserable plagiarist, who 
 not only had the audacity to plunder them from 
 the sacred and living oracles for his own vile 
 purposes, but also the unaccountable stupidity 
 to place them without acknowledgment in con- 
 nection, and therefore in contrast, with the piti- 
 ful productions of his own pen. All save these 
 sacrilegious plagiarisms bears the indelible 
 stamp of puerility, as well as of an unculti- 
 vated taste and a wicked heart. Not even the 
 most wretched novel of modern times betrays 
 so perfect a destitution of inventive power in its 
 writer ; so complete an inability to perceive, 
 and to conceal, its own inconsistencies. In- 
 deed, if we can attribute any prevailing ob- 
 ject to the writer of the Book of Mormon, it 
 must have been that of heaping together such 
 a chaos of disconnected absurdities as would 
 defy analysis and refutation. But even in 
 this he has made a failure, as will presently 
 appear. 
 
 It is matter of gratification that we have be- 
 fore us a " carefully revised edition" of this 
 work, one which bears evidence of considera- 
 ble improvement upon the first. Although we 
 are still shocked with outrages upon grammar, 
 and barbarisms in style, that glare forth on al- 
 most every page, yet we congratulate ourselves 
 that we are delivered from reviewing a less per- 
 fect copy. To show that this is not exaggera 
 tion, we will merely hint at the improvements 
 
256 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 manifest in the title-page. Whereas the first 
 and second editions gave the preface to the 
 book jumbled up between its title and the name 
 of its publishers, the third arranges the preface 
 on a separate page secundem artem. Whereas 
 before the preface said, " And now if there be 
 fault, it be the mistake of men ;" it now reads as 
 amended, " if there are faults, they are the mis- 
 takes of men." Another striking alteration has 
 been made on the title-page, which we should 
 not hesitate to pronounce an improvement, did 
 we not prefer to witness an abandonment of 
 good taste rather than a violation of truth. The 
 alteration is this ; instead of " Joseph Smith, Jr., 
 author and proprietor," as in the first edition, 
 we now have, "translated by Joseph Smith, Jr." 
 The following is the authorized and current 
 eulogium, which the Mormons use respecting 
 this book : 
 
 " It opens the events of ancient America. It 
 pours a flood of light upon the world on sub- 
 jects before concealed upon the history of a 
 nation whose remnants have long since dwind- 
 led into insignificance in midnight darkness, 
 and whose former greatness was lost in obli- 
 vion, or only known by the remains of cities, 
 palaces, temples, aqueducts, monuments, tow- 
 ers, fortifications, unintelligible inscriptions, 
 sepulchres, and bones. The slumber of ages 
 has now been broken. The dark curtain of the 
 past has been rolled up. The veil of obscurity 
 has been removed, as regards the world called 
 new. The ancient events of America now 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 257 
 
 stand revealed in the broad light of history, as 
 far back, at least, as the first peopling of the 
 continent after the flood. This discovery will 
 yet be hailed among all nations as among the 
 most glorious events of the latter times, and as 
 one of the principal means of overwhelming the 
 earth with knowledge." 
 
 P.P. Pratt says, on the issue of the English 
 edition of the Book of Mormon, it " is in re- 
 ality of more value to them [the public] than all 
 the gold and silver of England." " I repeat the 
 declaration, strange as it may seem, that a 
 knowledge of things contained in this record is 
 of more value to every one than the gold and 
 silver of Europe." 
 
 Perhaps a reperusal of the summary of con- 
 tents, which we gave on a preceding page, will 
 be of service to the reader, before proceeding 
 with us to inquire WHAT LIGHT is thrown by 
 this work upon the first settlement of the west- 
 ern world, or its early inhabitants. 
 
 It will be remembered that the " Manuscript 
 Found" was expressly designed to account for 
 certain unexplained facts connected with this 
 subject. We could haye hoped that a person 
 making this his especial theme would arrive 
 at some results beyond the common vague no- 
 tions that generally prevail respecting it. 
 
 The first book of Nephi gives us the only 
 positive date of time and place contained in the 
 whole work. Fortunately the place is not an 
 obscure one, and the time is so well defined in 
 various kinds of history, that no one can lack 
 17 
 
258 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 data for either verifying or disproving the entire 
 narrative of the Book of Mormon. 
 Let us hear the author : 
 
 " I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, 
 therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning 
 of my father ; and having seen many afflictions in 
 the course of my days nevertheless having been 
 highly favoured of the Lord in all my days ; yea, 
 having had a great knowledge of the goodness and 
 the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of 
 my proceedings in my days ; yea, I make a record 
 in the language of my father, which consists of the 
 learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyp- 
 tians. And I know that the record which I make is 
 true ; and I make it with mine own hand ; and I 
 make it according to my knowledge. 
 
 " For it came to pass, in the commencement of 
 the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, 
 (my father Lehi having dw r elt at Jerusalem in all his 
 days ;) and in that same year there came many pro- 
 phets, prophesying unto the people, that they must re- 
 pent, or the great city, Jerusalem, must be destroyed. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the Lord commanded 
 my father, even in a dream, that he should take his 
 family and depart into the wilderness. And it came 
 to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the 
 Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. 
 
 " And it came to pass that he departed into the 
 wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of 
 his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his 
 precious things, and took nothing with him save it 
 were his family, and provisions, and tents, and de- 
 parted into the wilderness ; and he came down by 
 the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he 
 travelled in the wilderness in the borders which are 
 nearer the Red Sea. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 259 
 
 "And it came to pass that when he had travelled three 
 days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley 
 by the side of a river of water. And it came to pass 
 that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering 
 unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord oar 
 God. And it came to pass that he called the name 
 of the river Laman, and it emptied into the Red Sea ; 
 and the valley was in the border near the mouth 
 thereof. 
 
 "And when my father saw that the waters of the 
 river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he 
 spake unto Laman, saying, O that thou mightest be 
 like unto this river, continually running into the foun- 
 tain of all righteousness. Now this he spake be- 
 cause of the stiff-neckedness of Laman and Lemuel, 
 for behold they did murmur in many things against 
 their father, because he was a visionary man, and 
 had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave 
 the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their 
 silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wil- 
 derness." 
 
 After about thirty pages occupied in detailing 
 the speeches and dreams of this visionary man, 
 Lehi, and his equally visionary son Nephi ; we 
 are made acquainted with the discovery of a 
 miraculous something, generally supposed to 
 have been a compass. " And it came to pass 
 that as my father arose in the morning, and went 
 forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment, 
 he beheld on the ground a round ball, of curious 
 workmanship, and it was of fine brass. And 
 within the ball were two spindles : and the one 
 pointed the way whither we should go into the 
 wilderness." 
 
 The expressiveness of the above description 
 
260 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 has brought to our mind a passage in the travels 
 of Captain Lemuel Gulliver, who, having been 
 so unfortunate as to lose his HAT when cast 
 upon the shores of Lilliput, while yet detained 
 as a prisoner by the emperor of that country, 
 was made glad at heart by the following intel- 
 ligence : 
 
 " There arrived an express to inform his ma- 
 jesty, that some of his subjects riding near the 
 place where I was first taken up, had seen a 
 great black substance lying on the ground, very 
 oddly shaped, extending its edges round as 
 wide as his majesty's bed chamber, and rising 
 up in the middle as high as a man ; that it was 
 no living creature as they at first apprehended, 
 for it lay on the grass without motion ; and 
 some of them had w-alked round it several 
 times ; that by mounting upon each other's 
 shoulders, they had got to the top, which was 
 flat and even, and stamping upon it they found 
 that it was hollow within." 
 
 The discovery of his hat was not a matter of 
 greater moment to Captain Gulliver, than was 
 the possession of the ball and the spindles to 
 our adventurers in the following journeys and 
 voyages. 
 
 " And it came to pass that we did take our tents, 
 and depart in the wilderness, across the river Laman. 
 And it came to pass that we travelled for the space 
 of four days, nearly a south southeast direction, and 
 we did pitch our tents again ; and we did call the 
 name of the place Shazer. 
 
 " And we did go forth again, in the wilderness 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 261 
 
 following the same direction, keeping in the most fer- 
 tile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders 
 near the Red Sea. And it came to pass that we did 
 travel for the space of many days, slaying food by 
 the way, with our bows and our arrows, and our stones 
 and our slings ; and we did follow the directions of 
 the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the 
 wilderness. And after we had travelled for the space 
 of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of 
 a time, that we might again rest ourselves, and obtain 
 food for our families. 
 
 " And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the 
 pointers which were in the ball, that they did work 
 according to the faith, and diligence, and heed, which 
 we did give unto them. And there was also written 
 upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, 
 which did give us understanding concerning the ways 
 of the Lord : and it was written and changed from 
 time to time, according to the. faith and diligence 
 which we gave unto it. And thus we see, that by 
 small means, the Lord can bring about great things. 
 
 " And it came to pass that we did again take our 
 journey in the wilderness ; and we did travel nearly 
 eastward, from that time forth. 
 
 " And we did sojourn for the space of many years, 
 yea, even eight years in the wilderness. And we 
 did come to the land which we called Bountiful, be- 
 cause of its much fruit, and also wild honey ; and all 
 these things were prepared of the Lord, that we 
 might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we 
 called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many 
 waters. 
 
 " And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents 
 by the sea shore ; and notwithstanding we had suf- 
 fered many afflictions, and much difficulty, yea, even 
 so much that we cannot write them all, we were ex- 
 ceedingly rejoiced when we came to the sea shore ; 
 
262 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much 
 fruit. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, 
 saying, Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner 
 which I shall shew thee, that I may carry thy people 
 across these waters. And I said, Lord, whither 
 shall I go, that I may find ore to molten, that I may 
 make tools to construct the ship, after the manner 
 which thou hast shewn unto me 1 And it came to 
 pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to 
 find ore, that I might make tools. 
 
 " And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a 
 bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of 
 beasts : and after I had made a bellows, that I might 
 have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two 
 stones together, that I might make fire ; for the Lord 
 had not hitherto suffered that we should make much 
 fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness. 
 
 " And it came to .pass that I did make tools of the 
 ore which I did molten out of the rock. And when 
 my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, 
 they began to murmur against me, saying, Our bro- 
 ther is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship : 
 yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these 
 great waters. And thus my brethren did complain 
 against me, and were desirous that they might not 
 labour, for they did not believe that I could build a 
 ship : neither would they believe that I was instruct- 
 ed of the Lord. 
 
 " Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the 
 manner which was learned by men, neither did I 
 build the ship after the manner of men ; but I did 
 build it after the manner which the Lord had shewn 
 unto me ; wherefore, it was not after the manner of 
 men. 
 
 " And it came to pass that after I had finished the 
 ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 263 
 
 beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship 
 thereof was exceeding fine ; wherefore, they did 
 humble themselves again before the Lord. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord 
 came unto my father, that we should arise and go 
 down into the ship. And it came to pass that on the 
 morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits 
 and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abun- 
 dance, and provisions, according to that which the 
 Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the 
 ship with all our loading and our seeds, and whatso- 
 , ever thing we had brought with us, every one accord- 
 ing to his age ; wherefore, we did go down into the 
 ship, with our wives and our children. 
 
 " And it came to pass after we had all gone down 
 into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions 
 and things which had been commanded us, we did 
 put forth into the sea, and were driven forth before 
 the wind, toward the promised land ; and after we 
 had been driven forth before the wind, for the space 
 of many days, behold my brethren, and the sons of 
 Ishmael, and also their wives, began to make them- 
 selves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and 
 to sing, and to speak with much rudeness ; yea, even 
 that they did forget by what power they had been 
 brought thither ; yea, they were lifted up unto ex- 
 ceeding rudeness. 
 
 " And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did 
 take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat 
 me with much harshness. 
 
 " And it came to pass that after they had bound 
 me, insomuch that I could not move, the compass, 
 which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to 
 work ; wherefore, they knew not whither they should 
 steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great 
 storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest; and we 
 were driven back upon the waters for the space of 
 
264 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 three days ; and they began to be frightened exceed- 
 ingly, lest they should be drowned in the sea : never- 
 theless, they did not loose me. And on the fourth 
 day which we had been driven back, the tempest be- 
 gan to be exceeding sore. 
 
 " And it came to pass that we were about to be 
 swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after 
 we had been driven back upon the waters for the 
 space of four days, my brethren began to see that the 
 judgments of God were upon them, and that they 
 must perish, save that they should repent of their in- 
 iquities ; wherefore, they came unto me and loosed 
 the bands which were upon my wrists, and behold, 
 they had swollen exceedingly ; and also mine ankles 
 were much swollen, and great was the soreness 
 thereof. 
 
 " Now, my father Lehi had said many things unto 
 them, and also unto the sons of Ishmael ; but, behold, 
 they did breathe out much threatenings against any 
 one that should speak for me ; and my parents being 
 stricken in years, and having suffered much grief be- 
 cause of their children, they were brought down, yea, 
 even upon their sick beds. Because of their grief, 
 and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, 
 they were brought near even to be carried out of this 
 time, to meet their God ; yea, their grey hairs were 
 about to be brought down to lie low in the dust ; yea, 
 even they were near to be cast, with sorrow, into a 
 watery grave. 
 
 " And it came to pass after they had loosed me, 
 behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither 
 I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto 
 the Lord ; and after I had prayed, the winds did cease, 
 and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. 
 
 " And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the 
 ship, that we sailed again toward the promised land. 
 And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 265 
 
 space of many days, we did arrive to the promised 
 land ; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch 
 our tents ; and we did call it the promised land. 
 
 " And it came to pass that we did find upon the 
 land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, 
 that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, 
 both the cow and the ox, and the ass, and the horse, 
 and the goat, and the wild goat, and all manner of 
 wild animals, which were for the use of men. And 
 we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of sil- 
 ver, and of copper." 
 
 Verily here is multum in parvo ! What a 
 model for future travellers ! Captain Gulliver 
 can no longer be considered as the standard of 
 excellence in this species of writing. In order 
 fully to appreciate the beauties, as well as the 
 consistency, of this narrative, let us turn to an 
 approved map of Palestine, and the adjoining 
 countries. 
 
 On the supposition that the Lord was actu- 
 ally about to people the western continent by 
 means of this family, the first query that arises 
 is, why were they not directed to the Mediterra- 
 nean Sea, which was so near Jerusalem, instead 
 of being made to perform the long and perilous 
 journey to the borders of the Red Sea ? more 
 especially since the voyage through the former 
 would have been shorter by six or seven thou- 
 sand miles, (no trifling distance,) than the one 
 performed according to the data given. An 
 easterly course from the borders of the Red Sea 
 would have taken them across the Desert of 
 Arabia to the Persian Gulf. 
 
 Without discussing the practicability of these 
 
266 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 persons securing, by means of the bow and 
 arrow, in such a region, not only their daily 
 food, but also the stores necessary for a long 
 voyage at sea, we will suppose them all duly 
 embarked on board the ship, miraculously con- 
 structed by one man, while his brothers were 
 wasting their time in idleness. 
 
 We now feel some curiosity to know whether 
 the vessel was navigated by sails, by steam, or 
 by magnetic power. In the absence of all posi- 
 tive information, we observe that, different from 
 most vessels at sea, she was driven before the 
 wind on her direct course, until, through the 
 exceeding wickedness of the brethren of Nephi, 
 " the compass did cease to work, wherefore, they 
 knew not whither they should steer the ship, 
 insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a 
 great and a terrible tempest." What a pity our 
 author had not employed himself in noting his 
 courses and distances, instead of describing the 
 swellings of his wrists and ankles, and " the 
 great soreness thereof!" The world would have 
 placed more value upon the simple log-book of 
 such a voyage, than it ever will upon the Book 
 of Mormon as we have it. After all, it appears 
 that the compass was of no value, for " it did 
 work whither I [Nephi] desired it." Hence he 
 might have steered the ship whither he desired, 
 just as well without the compass. What a fund 
 of knowledge this individual possessed ! He 
 must either have known how to sail directly 
 over such continents and islands as lay between 
 him and his destination, or have been so ac- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 267 
 
 quainted with their latitude and longitude, as to 
 know how to avoid them. In either case, he 
 was quite in advance of his times ! The same 
 explicitness of detail, which characterizes the 
 journal of the voyage, prevails in the descrip- 
 tion of the country upon which he landed. 
 " And it came to pass after we had sailed for 
 the space of many days, we did arrive to the 
 promised land ; and we went forth upon the 
 land, and did pitch our tents, and we did call 
 it the promised land." 
 
 About five hundred pages of this precious 
 record are now devoted to the history of this 
 people, called a remnant of Joseph. Through- 
 out the whole there prevails a perspicuity of 
 style fully in keeping with the above examples, 
 although some of the details are less credible. 
 
 We submit a condensed view of the whole, 
 in the language of O. Pratt, professor of mathe- 
 matics and English literature in the Nauvoo 
 University, who, by some means, has discover- 
 ed that the voyage above alluded to was made 
 across the Pacific Ocean, terminating on the 
 western coast of South America. 
 
 Taking all manner of liberties with the text, 
 this gentleman has done the very best toward 
 making out an intelligible narrative from the 
 Book of Mormon. The reader will therefore 
 please respect the following extract as the con- 
 centration of " a flood of light." 
 
 " Soon after they landed, they separated 
 themselves into two distinct nations. This di- 
 vision was caused by a certain portion of them 
 
268 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 being greatly persecuted, because of their right- 
 eousness, by the remainder. The persecuted 
 nation emigrated toward the northern parts of 
 South America, leaving the wicked nation in 
 possession of the middle and southern parts of 
 the same. The former were called Nephites, 
 being led by a prophet who was called Nephi. 
 The latter were called Lamanites, being led by 
 a very wicked man, whose name was Laman. 
 The Nephites had in their possession a copy 
 of the Holy Scriptures, viz., the five books of 
 Moses, and the prophecies of the holy prophets, 
 down to Jeremiah, in whose days they left Je- 
 rusalem. These Scriptures were engraved on 
 plates of brass, in the Egyptian language. 
 They themselves also made plates, soon after 
 their landing, on which they began to engrave 
 their own history, prophecies, visions, and re- 
 velations. All these sacred records were kept 
 by holy and righteous men, who were inspired 
 by the Holy Ghost ; and were carefully pre- 
 served and handed down from generation to 
 generation. 
 
 " And the Lord gave unto them the whole 
 continent for a land of promise ; and promised 
 that they, and their children after them, should 
 inherit it, on condition of their obedience to his 
 commandments ; but if they were disobedient, 
 thoy should be cut off from his presence. And 
 the Nephites began to prosper in the land, ac- 
 cording to their righteousness, and multiplied 
 and spread forth to the east, west, and north ; 
 building large villages, cities, synagogues, and 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 269 
 
 temples, together with forts, towers, and fortifi- 
 cations, to defend themselves against their ene- 
 mies. And they cultivated the earth, and raised 
 various kinds of grain in abundance. They also 
 raised numerous flocks of domestic animals, and 
 became a very wealthy people, having in abund- 
 ance gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, &c. Arts 
 and sciences flourished to a great extent. Va- 
 rious kinds of machinery were in use. Cloths 
 of various kinds were manufactured. Swords, 
 cimeters, axes, and various implements of war 
 were made, together with head-shields, arm- 
 shields, and breast-plates, to defend themselves 
 in battle with their enemies. And in the days 
 of their righteousness, they were a civilized, 
 enlightened, and happy people. 
 
 " But on the other hand, the Lamanites, be- 
 cause of the hardness of their hearts, brought 
 down many judgments upon their own heads ; 
 nevertheless, they were not destroyed as a na- 
 tion ; but the Lord God sent forth a curse upon 
 them, and they became a dark, loathsome, and 
 filthy people. Before their rebellion they were 
 white and exceedingly fair, like the Nephites ; 
 but the Lord God cursed them in their complex- 
 ions, and they were changed to a dark colour, 
 and they became a wild, savage, and ferocious 
 people, being great enemies to the Nephites, 
 whom they sought by every means to destroy, 
 and many times came against them, with their 
 numerous hosts, to battle, but were repulsed, 
 and driven back to their own possession ; not, 
 however, generally speaking, without great loss 
 
270 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 on both sides ; for tens of thousands were very 
 frequently slain, after which they were piled 
 together in great heaps upon the face of the 
 ground, and covered with a shallow covering 
 of earth, which will satisfactorily account for 
 those ancient mounds filled with human bones, 
 so numerous at the present day, both in North 
 and South America." 
 
 Unfortunately for Professor Pratt's literary 
 reputation, such mounds are not met with in 
 South America. 
 
 According to him also, " In the eleventh year 
 of the reign of Zedekiah, at the time the Jews 
 were carried away captive into Babylon, an- 
 other remnant were brought out of Jerusalem, 
 some of whom were descendants of Judah. 
 They landed in North America, soon after 
 which they emigrated into the northern parts 
 of South America, at which place they were 
 discovered by the remnant of Joseph, something 
 like four hundred years after. 
 
 " They were called the people of Zarahem- 
 la. They had been perplexed with many wars 
 among themselves ; and having brought no re- 
 cords with them, their language had become 
 corrupted, and they denied the being of God ; 
 and at the time they were discovered by the 
 Nephites, they were very numerous, and only 
 in a partial state of civilization ; but the Ne- 
 phites united with them, and taught them the 
 Holy Scriptures, and they were restored to ci- 
 vilization, and became one nation with them. 
 And in process of time the Nephites began to 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 271 
 
 build ships near the Isthmus of Darien, and 
 launch them forth into the western ocean, in 
 which great numbers sailed a great distance to 
 the northward, and began to colonize North 
 America. Other colonies emigrated by land, 
 and in a few centuries the whole continent be- 
 came peopled. North America, at that time, 
 was almost entirely destitute of timber, it hav- 
 ing been cut off by the more ancient race, who 
 came from the great tower, at the confusion of 
 languages ; but the Nephites became very skil- 
 ful in building houses of cement ; also much 
 timber was carried by the way of shipping from 
 South to North America. They also planted 
 groves, and began to raise timber, that in time 
 their wants might be supplied. Large cities 
 were built in various parts of the continent, 
 both among the Lamanites and Nephites. The 
 law of Moses was observed by the latter. Nu- 
 merous prophets were raised up, from time to 
 time, throughout their generations. Many re- 
 cords, both historical and prophetical, which 
 were of great size, were kept among them ; 
 some on plates of gold and other metals, and 
 some on other materials. The sacred records, 
 also of the more ancient race who had been 
 destroyed, were found by them. These were 
 engraved on plates of gold. They translated 
 them into their own language, by the gift and 
 power of God, through the means of the Urim 
 and Thummim. They contained an historical 
 account from the creation down to the tower of 
 Babel, and from that time down until they were 
 
272 MORMONISM AND TH-E MORMONS. 
 
 destroyed, comprising a period of about thirty- 
 four hundred, or thirty-five hundred years. 
 They also contained many prophecies, great 
 and marvellous, reaching forward to the final 
 end arid consummation of all things, and the 
 creation of the new heaven and new earth. 
 
 " The prophets also among the Nephites 
 prophesied of great things. They opened the 
 secrets of futurity saw the coming of the Mes- 
 siah in the flesh prophesied of the blessings 
 to come upon their descendants in the latter 
 times made known the history of unborn gene- 
 rations unfolded the great events of ages to 
 come viewed the power, glory, and majesty 
 of Messiah's second advent beheld the esta- 
 blishment of the kingdom of peace gazed upon 
 the glories of the day of righteousness saw 
 creation redeemed from the curse, and all the 
 righteous filled with songs of everlasting joy. 
 
 " The Nephites knew of the birth and cruci- 
 fixion of Christ, by certain celestial and terres- 
 trial phenomena, which, at those times, were 
 shown forth in fulfilment of the predictions of 
 many of their prophets. Notwithstanding the 
 many blessings with which they had been 
 blessed, they had fallen into great wickedness, 
 and had cast out the saints and the prophets, 
 and stoned and killed them. Therefore, at the 
 time of the crucifixion of Christ, they were 
 visited in great judgment. Thick darkness 
 covered the whole continent. The earth was 
 terribly convulsed. The rocks were rent into 
 broken fragments, and afterward found in seams 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 273 
 
 and cracks upon all the face of the land. Mount- 
 ains were sunk into valleys, and valleys raised 
 into mountains. The highways and level roads 
 were broken up arid spoiled. Many cities were 
 laid in ruins. Others were buried up in the 
 depths of the earth, and mountains occupied 
 their place. While others were sunk, and wa- 
 ters came up in their stead, and others still were 
 burned by fire from heaven. 
 
 " Thus the predictions of their prophets were 
 fulfilled upon their heads. Thus the more 
 wicked part, both of the Nephites and Laman- 
 ites, were destroyed. Thus the Almighty ex- 
 ecuted vengeance and fury upon them, that the 
 blood of the saints and prophets might no longer 
 cry from the ground against them. 
 
 " Those who survived these terrible judg- 
 ments were favoured with the personal minis- 
 try of Christ : for after he arose from the dead, 
 finished his ministry at Jerusalem, and ascend- 
 ed to heaven, he descended in the presence of 
 the Nephites, who were assembled round about 
 their temples in the northern parts of South 
 America. He exhibited to them his wounded 
 hands, side, and feet commanded the law of 
 Moses to be abolished introduced and esta- 
 blished the gospel in its stead chose twelve 
 disciples from among them to administer the 
 same instituted the sacrament prayed for 
 and blessed their little children healed their 
 sick, blind, lame, deaf, and those who were af- 
 flicted in any way raised a man from the dead 
 showed forth his power in their midst ex 
 18 
 
274 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 pounded the Scriptures which had been given 
 from the beginning down to that time, and made 
 known unto them all things which should take 
 place down until he should come in his glory, 
 and from that time down to the end, when all 
 people, nations, and languages, shall stand be- 
 fore God to be judged, and the heaven and the 
 earth should pass away, and there should be a 
 new heaven and new earth. These teachings 
 of Jesus were engraved upon plates, some of 
 which are contained in the Book of Mormon ; 
 but the greater part are not revealed in that 
 book, but are HEREAFTER to be made manifest to 
 the saints. 
 
 " After Jesus had finished ministering unto 
 them, he ascended into heaven ; and the twelve 
 disciples, whom he had chosen, went forth upon 
 all the face of the land, preaching the gospel, 
 baptizing those who repented, for the remission 
 of sins, after which they laid their hands upon 
 them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 
 Mighty miracles were wrought by them, and 
 also by many of the church. The Nephites 
 and Lamanites were all converted unto the 
 Lord, both in South and North America ; and 
 they dwelt in righteousness above three hun- 
 dred years : but toward the close of the fourth 
 century of the Christian era, they had so far 
 apostatized from God, that he suffered great 
 judgments to fall upon them. The Lamanites, 
 at that time, dwelt in South America, and the 
 Nephites in North America. 
 
 " A great arid terrible war commenced be- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 275 
 
 tween them, which lasted for many years, and 
 resulted in the complete overthrow and destruc- 
 tion of the Nephites. This war commenced at 
 he Isthmus of Darien, and was very destruct- 
 ve to both nations for many years. At length 
 the Nephites were driven before their enemies, 
 a great distance to the north, and north-east ; 
 and having gathered their whole nation toge- 
 ther, both men, women, and children, they en- 
 camped on and round about the hill Cumorah, 
 where the records were found, which is in the 
 state of New- York, about two hundred miles 
 west of the city of Albany. Here they were 
 met by the numerous hosts of the Lamanites, 
 and were slain, and hewn down, and slaugh- 
 tered, both male and female the aged, middle- 
 aged, and children. Hundreds of thousands 
 were slain on both sides ; and the nation of the 
 Nephites were destroyed, excepting a few who 
 had deserted over to the Lamanites, and a few 
 who escaped into the south country, and a few 
 who fell wounded, and were left by the Laman- 
 ites on the field of battle for dead, among whom 
 were Mormon and his son Moroni, who were 
 righteous men." 
 
 Listen now to the lamentations of Moroni ! 
 
 " Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my 
 father Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to 
 write, which things I have been commanded of my 
 father. And now it came to pass that after the great 
 and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Ne- 
 phites, who had escaped into the country southward, 
 were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all 
 
276 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 destroyed ; and my father also was killed by them ; 
 and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the 
 destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, 
 and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And 
 whether they will slay me, I know not ; therefore I 
 will write and hide up the records in the earth, and 
 whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father 
 hath made this record, and he hath written the intent 
 thereof. And behold, I would write it also, if I had 
 room upon the plates ; but I have not ; and ore I have 
 none, for I am alone : my father hath been slain in 
 battle, and all my kinsfolks, and I have not friends 
 nor whither to go ; and how long the Lord will suf- 
 fer that I may live, I know not. Behold, four hun- 
 dred years have passed away since the coming of our 
 Lord and Saviour. And behold, the Lamanites have 
 hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to 
 city, and from place to place, even until they are no 
 more, and great has been their fall ; yea, great and 
 marvellous is the destruction of my people, the Ne- 
 phites. And behold, also, the Lamanites are at war 
 one with another ; and the whole face of this land is 
 one continual round of murder and bloodshed ; and no 
 one knoweth the end of the war." 
 
 Who would suppose that after having wit- 
 nessed such 
 
 " Strange accidents of flood and field ;" 
 
 after having survived his entire nation, this 
 man would now concern himself about literary 
 fame! Yet he is represented as proceeding to 
 
 say, 
 
 " Whoso receiveth this record, and shall not con- 
 demn it because of the imperfections which are in it, 
 [a strong appeal this to critics !] the same shall know 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 277 
 
 of greater things than these. Behold, I am Mo- 
 roni ; and were it possible, I would make all things 
 known unto you. [A most benevolent design.] Be- 
 hold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the 
 dead ; for I know that ye [who ]] shall hear my 
 words. 
 
 " And now behold, we have written this record ac- 
 cording to our knowledge, in the characters which 
 are called, among us, the reformed Egyptian, being 
 handed down and altered by us, according to our 
 manner of speech. And if our plates had been suffi- 
 ciently large, we should have written in Hebrew ; 
 but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also ; and if 
 we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would 
 have had no imperfection in our record. But the 
 Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and 
 also that none other people knoweth our language, 
 therefore he hath prepared means for the interpreta- 
 tion thereof." 
 
 Moroni goes still further, and turning his at- 
 tention to the study of antiquities, produces the 
 book of Ether, containing, decidedly, the most 
 remarkable narrative found in the Book of Mor- 
 mon. 
 
 Were Dean Swift alive, he would, perhaps, 
 in comparison with this writer, find himself 
 much in the condition of his own Gulliver, 
 when expecting to be swallowed or crushed to 
 death by the Manriikins ! 
 
 The plain English of the circumstance is 
 this. The author, having nearly completed his 
 book, becomes so conscious of the absurdity of 
 attempting to people the whole western conti- 
 nent by means of a single family from Jerusa- 
 
278 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 lem, so late as 600 B. C., hastens back to the 
 confusion of tongues, at the tower of Babel, and 
 imports several families, called the people of 
 Jared. Of these he makes a " very numerous 
 and powerful people," but is cruel enough to 
 destroy them all long before the Nephites ar- 
 rived, so that nothing but their bones could be 
 found, and the plates containing their history. 
 Witness the whole process, abridged in his 
 own words. 
 
 " And it came to pass that Jared, and his brother, 
 and their families, and also the friends of Jared and 
 his brother, and their families, went down into the 
 valley which was northward, with their flocks which 
 they had gathered together, male and female, of every 
 kind. And they did also lay snares and catch fowls 
 of the air ; and they did also prepare a vessel, in 
 which they did carry with them the fish of the wa- 
 ters : and they did also carry with them deseret, 
 which, by interpretation, is a honey-bee ; and thus 
 they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all 
 manner of that which was upon the face of the land, 
 seeds of every kind. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the Lord commanded 
 them that they should go forth into the wilderness, 
 yea, into that quarter where there never had man 
 been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go be- 
 fore them, and did talk with them as he stood in a 
 cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel. 
 And it came to pass that they did travel in the wil- 
 derness, and did build barges, in which they did cross 
 many waters, being directed continually by the hand 
 of the Lord. And the Lord would not suffer that 
 they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but 
 he would that they should come forth even unto the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 279 
 
 land of promise, which was choice above all other 
 ands which the Lord God had preserved for a right- 
 eous people. 
 
 " And the Lord said, Go to work and build, after 
 the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. 
 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go 
 to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after 
 the manner which they had built, according to the 
 instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and 
 they were light upon the water, even like unto the 
 lightness of a fowl upon the water ; and they were 
 built after a manner that they were exceeding tight, 
 even that they would hold water like unto a dish ; 
 and the bottom thereof 'was tight like unto a dish ; 
 and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish ; and 
 the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof 
 was tight like unto a dish ; and the length thereof 
 was the length of a tree ; and the door thereof, when 
 it was shut, was tight like unto a dish. And it came 
 to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, 
 saying, Lord, I have performed the work which 
 thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges 
 according as thou hast directed me. And behold, O 
 Lord, in them there is no light, whither shall we 
 steer. And also we shall perish, for in them we can- 
 not breathe, save it is the air which is in them ; there- 
 fore we shall perish. And the Lord said un.to the 
 brother of Jared, Behold, thou shalt make a hole in 
 the top thereof, and also in the bottom thereof; and 
 when thou shalt suffer for air, thou shalt unstop the 
 hole thereof, and receive air. And if it so be that the 
 water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the 
 hole thereof, that ye may not perish in the flood. 
 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, 
 according as the Lord had commanded. And he 
 cried again unto the Lord, saying, O Lord, behold I 
 have done even as thou hast commanded me ; and I 
 
280 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold, 
 there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou 
 suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness ? 
 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared, What 
 will ye that I should do that ye may have light in 
 your vessels "? For behold, ye cannot have windows, 
 for they will be dashed in pieces ; neither shall ye 
 take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of 
 fire ; for behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst 
 of the sea ; for the mountain waves shall dash upon 
 you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of 
 the depths of the sea : for the winds have gone forth 
 out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods 
 have I sent forth. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the brother of Jared 
 (now the number of the vessels which had been pre- 
 pared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which 
 they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceed- 
 ing height, and did moulten out of a rock sixteen 
 small stones ; and they were white and clear, even 
 as transparent glass, and he did carry them in his 
 hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto 
 the Lord, saying, O Lord, thou hast said that we must 
 be encompassed about by the floods. O Lord, look 
 upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this 
 thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth 
 acros this raging deep in darkness, but behold these 
 things which I have moulten out of the rock. And 
 I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do 
 whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man ; there- 
 fore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and 
 prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness ; 
 and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels 
 which we have prepared, that we may have light 
 while we shall cross the sea. And it came to pass 
 that when the brother of Jared had said these words, 
 behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched 
 
3IORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 281 
 
 the stones, one by one, with his finger ; and the veil 
 was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Tared, 
 and he saw the finger of the Lord ; and it was as the 
 finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood ; and the 
 brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was 
 struck with fear. 
 
 " It came to pass after the Lord had prepared the 
 stones which the brother of Jared had carried up into 
 the mount, the brother of Jared came down out of the 
 mount, and he did put forth the stones into the ves- 
 sels which were prepared, one in each end thereof; 
 and behold, they did give light unto the vessels 
 thereof. And thus the Lord caused stones to shine 
 in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and chil- 
 dren, that they might not cross the great waters in 
 darkness. 
 
 " And it came to pass that when they had prepared 
 all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist 
 upon the water, and also food for their flocks and 
 herds, and whatsoever beast, or animal, or fowl that 
 they should carry with them. And it came to pass 
 that when they had done all these things, they got 
 aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into 
 the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their 
 God. And it came to pass that the Lord God caused 
 that there should a furious wind blow upon the face 
 of the waters, toward the promised land : and thus 
 they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before 
 the wind. And it came to pass that they were many 
 times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the 
 mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the 
 great and terrible tempests which were caused by the 
 fierceness of the wind. 
 
 " And it came to pass that when they were buried 
 in the deep, there was no water that could hurt them, 
 their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also 
 they were tight like unto the ark of Noah ; therefore 
 
282 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 when they were encompassed about by many waters, 
 they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them 
 forth again upon the top of the waters. And it came 
 to pass that the wind did never cease to blow toward 
 the promised land, while they were upon the waters : 
 and thus they were driven forth before the wind ; and 
 they did sing praises unto the Lord ; yea, the brother 
 of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did 
 thank and praise the Lord all the day long ; and when 
 the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. 
 And thus they were driven forth ; and no monster of 
 the sea could break them, neither whale that could 
 mar them ; and they did have light continually, whe- 
 ther it was above the water or under the water. 
 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and 
 forty and four days upon the water ; and they did land 
 upon the shore of the promised land. And when they 
 had set their feet upon the shores of the promised 
 land, they bowed themselves down upon the face of 
 the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, 
 and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of 
 the multitude of his tender mercies over them. 
 
 " And it came to pass that they went forth upon the 
 face of the land, and began to till the earth. And it 
 came to pass that they began to spread upon the face 
 of the land, and multiply and to till the earth ; and 
 they did wax strong in the land. 
 
 " And they built a great city by the narrow neck 
 of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. 
 And they did preserve the land southward for a wil- 
 derness, to get game. And the whole face of the 
 land northward was covered with inhabitants ; and 
 they were exceeding industrious, and they did buy 
 and sell, and traffic one with another, that they might 
 get gain. And they did work in all manner of ore, 
 and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and 
 brass, and all manner of metals ; and they did dig it 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 283 
 
 out of the earth ; wherefore they did cast up mighty 
 heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and 
 of iron, and of copper. And they did work all man- 
 ner of fine work. And they did have silks, and fine- 
 twined linen ; and they did work all manner of cloth, 
 that they might clothe themselves from their naked- 
 ness. And they did make all manner of tools to till 
 the earth, both to plough and to sow, to reap and to 
 hoe, and also to thrash. And they did make all man- 
 ner of tools with which they did work their beasts. 
 And they did make all manner of weapons of war. 
 And they did work all manner of work of exceeding 
 curious workmanship. And never could be a people 
 more blessed than were they, and more prospered by 
 the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land 
 that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had 
 spoken it." 
 
 How long this happy state of things continued 
 we are not informed. The narrative breaks it 
 off very suddenly by a description of bloody 
 wars, in the mere skirmishes of which two 
 millions of men were slain on one side, yea, 
 " of mighty men, and also their wives and their 
 children." 
 
 The parties in this civil strife having now 
 become fairly enraged, proceeded to end their 
 difficulties by a final contest, which resulted 
 very much like the famous battle between the 
 cats of Kilkenny. 
 
 " They were for the space of four years gathering 
 together the people, that they might get all who were 
 upon the face of the land, and that they might receive 
 all the strength which it was possible that they could 
 receive. And it came to pass that when they were 
 all gathered together, every one to the army which 
 
284 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 he would, with their wives, and their children ; both 
 men, women and children being armed with weapons 
 of war, having shields, and breast-plates, and head- 
 plates, and being clothed after the manner of war, 
 they did march forth one against another, to battle ; 
 and they fought all that day, and conquered not. And 
 it came to pass that when it was night they were 
 weary, and retired to their camps ; and after they had 
 retired to their camps, they took up a howling and a 
 lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people ; 
 and so great were their cries, their bowlings, and 
 lamentations, that it did rend the air exceedingly. 
 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go 
 again to battle, and great and terrible was that day ; 
 nevertheless they conquered not, and when the night 
 came again, they did rend the air with their cries, 
 and their bowlings, and their mournings, for the loss 
 of the slain of their people. 
 
 " They went again to battle. And it came to pass 
 that they fought all that day, and when the night 
 came they slept upon their swords ; and on the mor- 
 row they fought even until the night came ; and when 
 the night came they were drunken with anger, even 
 as a man who is drunken with wine ; and they slept 
 again upon their swords ; and on the morrow they 
 fought again ; and when the night came they had all 
 fallen by the sword, save it were fifty and two of the 
 people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the peo- 
 ple of Shiz. And it came to pass that they slept 
 upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they 
 fought again, and they contended in their mights with 
 their swords, and with their shields, all that day; and 
 when the night came there were thirty and two of 
 the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the peo- 
 ple of Coriantumr. And it came to pass that they 
 ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. 
 And they were large and mighty men, as to the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 285 
 
 strength of men. And it came to pass that they 
 fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted 
 with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that 
 when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient 
 strength that they could walk, they were about to 
 flee for their lives, but behold, Shiz arose, and also 
 his men, and he sware in his wrath that he would 
 slay Coriantumr, or he would perish by the sword : 
 wherefore he did pursue them, and on the morrow 
 he did overtake them ; and they fought again with 
 the sword. And it came to pass that when they had 
 all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and 
 Shiz, behold, Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. 
 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned 
 upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off 
 the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he 
 had smote off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon 
 his hands and fell ; and after that he had struggled 
 for breath, he died. And it came to pass that Corian- 
 tumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life." 
 
 Perhaps the reader has anticipated from 
 some of the expressions above quoted, that the 
 recent discovery of ruined cities in Central 
 America would be appealed to in corroboration 
 of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 Such is the fact. A report of one of Mr. 
 Catherwood's lectures on American antiquities 
 is published in the Times and Seasons, under 
 the taking caption, MORE PROOFS OF THE BOOK 
 OF MORMON. 
 
 The uncertainty acknowledged to exist with 
 respect to this whole subject, renders it a suit- 
 able topic for such appeals as the Mormons 
 usually make in order to darken counsel with 
 words. But we will riot enter into controversy 
 
286 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 here, since we should be sorry to rob Messrs. 
 Stephens and Catherwood of any honours which 
 might accrue to them, from having substantiated 
 the truth of the Book of Mormon. We will 
 only express a hope that ". Joseph the seer," in 
 return for the self-denying labours of those 
 gentlemen, will at least do them the kindness 
 to interpret the hieroglyphics with which they 
 were so sadly puzzled. He ought to be very 
 familiar with them, since, according to the latest 
 version of the story, he translated his book not 
 from the Egyptian, the reformed Egyptian, or 
 the Egyptian and Hebrew, as he has before 
 said at different times ; but from " HIEROGLY- 
 PHICS PECULIAR to the people whose history it 
 gives." 
 
 Being furnished moreover with an accurate 
 copy of those hieroglyphics now before the 
 public, what excuse can he have for hesitating 
 to brush up his " big specs," " anciently called 
 interpreters," and deluge the waiting world with 
 a new "FLOOD OF LIGHT!" 
 
 The only point of interest which remains to 
 be noticed in this connection, is the Mormon 
 method of accounting for the colour of the abo- 
 riginal Americans, generally denominated red 
 men. We will not dispute about the terms used 
 in the extracts, since a " skin of blackness" re- 
 sembles copper colour about as much as the lan- 
 guage of our author generally approximates to 
 the truth. 
 
 " And he had caused the cursing to come upon 
 them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their in- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 28? 
 
 iquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts 
 against him, that they had become like unto a flint ; 
 wherefore, as they were white, and exceeding fair 
 and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto 
 my people, the Lord God did cause a skin of black- 
 ness to come upon them. And thus saith the Lord 
 God, I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto 
 thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities. 
 And because of their cursing which was upon them, 
 they did become an idle people, full of mischief and 
 subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of 
 prey. And the Lord God said unto me, [Nephi,] They 
 shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in 
 remembrance of me ; and they shall scourge them 
 even unto destruction." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Prophecies Plagiarisms Caricature of Scripture 
 Plates Contrivance to forestall objections Harris's visit 
 to Dr. Anthon Dr. Anthon's letter Immersion insti- 
 tuted Wickedness of infant baptism Duplicity of Mor- 
 mon teachers exhibited Their system carried out Fool 
 ish vagaries Rival revelator in New- York Phelps' hu- 
 miliation Cowdery's present position Reprobation of 
 Kirtland Patriarch's office Blessing meetings Sum- 
 mary and conclusion. 
 
 HAVING now given all the important geogra- 
 phical and historical information we have been 
 able to find in the Book of Mormon, including 
 several notable miracles, we pass to observe 
 that it contains numerous prophecies. Some 
 of these are such as any writer of a romance 
 might safely make and verify in the course of 
 his story. 
 
288 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 The following is designed to apply to Joseph 
 Smith and Sidney Rigdon, the Moses and Aaron 
 of Mormonism : 
 
 " For Joseph truly testified, saying, A seer shall 
 the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice 
 seer unto the fruit of ray loins. Yea, Joseph truly 
 said, thus saith the Lord unto me : A choice seer 
 will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins ; and he 
 shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. 
 And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall 
 do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, 
 which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the 
 bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants 
 which I have made with thy fathers. And I will give 
 unto him a commandment, that he shall do none other 
 work, save the work which I shall command him. 
 And I will make him great in mine eyes : for he 
 shall do my work. And he shall be great like unto 
 Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you, 
 to deliver my people, O house of Israel. And Moses 
 will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land 
 of Egypt. But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit 
 of thy loins ; and unto him will I give power to bring 
 forth my word unto the seed of thy loins ; and not to 
 the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but 
 to the convincing them of my word, which shall have 
 already gone forth among them. Wherefore, the 
 fruit of thy loins shall write ; and the fruit of the 
 loins of Judah shall write ; and that which shall be 
 written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which 
 shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, 
 shall grow together, unto the confounding of false 
 doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and esta- 
 blishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bring- 
 ing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the lat- 
 ter days ; and also to the knowledge of my cove- 
 nant saith the Lord. And out of weakness he shall 
 
MORMON ISM AND THE MORMONS. 289 
 
 be made strong, in that day when my work shall com- 
 mence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, 
 O house of Israel, saith the Lord. And thus prophe- 
 sied Joseph, saying, Behold that seer will the Lord 
 bless ; and they that seek to destroy him, shall be 
 confounded : for this promise, of which I have ob- 
 tained of the Lord, of the fruit of thy loins, shall be 
 fulfilled. Behold I am sure of the fulfilling of this 
 promise. And his name shall be called after me ; 
 and it shall be after the name of his father, [J. Smith.] 
 And he shall be like unto me ; for the thing which 
 the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power 
 of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation ; 
 yea, thus prophesied Joseph, I arn sure of this thing, 
 even as I am sure of the promise of Moses : for the 
 Lord hath said unto me, I will preserve thy seed for 
 ever. And the Lord hath said, I will raise up a Mo- 
 ses ; and I will give power unto him in a rod ; and I 
 will give judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will 
 not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much : for I 
 will not make him mighty in speaking. But I will 
 write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own 
 hand ; and I will make a spokesman for him, [Rig- 
 don.] And the Lord said unto me also, I will raise 
 up unto the fruit of thy loins ; and I will make 
 for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give 
 unto him, that he shall write the writing of the 
 fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins ; and the 
 spokesman of thy loins shall declare it. And the 
 words which he shall write, shall be the words which 
 are expedient in my wisdom, should go forth unto 
 the fruit of thy loins. And it shall be as if the fruit 
 of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust ; for I 
 know their faith. And they shall cry from the dust ; 
 yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even after 
 many generations have gone by them. And it shall 
 come to pass that their cry shall go, even according 
 to the simpleness of their words." 
 19 
 
290 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Another class is made up of passages from 
 Scripture, wickedly garbled and interpolated. 
 The prophecies of Nephi claim to have been 
 delivered about five hundred and fifty years be- 
 fore Christ. From them we extract the fol- 
 lowing example : 
 
 " Wherefore, I would that ye should remember 
 that I have spoken unto you, concerning that prophet 
 which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize 
 the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins 
 of the world. And now, if the Lamb of God, he be- 
 ing holy, should have need to be baptized with water, 
 *o fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more 
 need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even 
 by water. And now, I would ask of you, my be- 
 loved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil 
 all righteousness in being baptized by water 1 Know 
 ye not that he was holy ? But notwithstanding he 
 being holy, he showeth unto the children of men, 
 that according to the flesh, he humbleth himself be- 
 fore the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that 
 he would be obedient unto him in keeping his com- 
 mandments ; wherefore, after he was baptized with 
 water, the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the 
 form of a dove. 
 
 " And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is 
 the way ; and there is none other way nor name 
 given under heaven* whereby man can be saved in the 
 kingdom of God. And now, behold this is the doc- 
 trine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which 
 is one God, without end. Amen." 
 
 What a striking coincidence between the 
 translation of certain uncouth hieroglyphics, en- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 291 
 
 graven on metal plates some centuries ago, and 
 the language of King James' Bible ! 
 
 Such coincidence subserves no imaginable 
 end, other than to fix the brand of plagiarism 
 upon this stupid attempt to counterfeit the word 
 of God. 
 
 To any one who may have occasion to ex- 
 amine the Book of Mormon, we give the fol- 
 lowing references under this head : 
 
 Parts of Book of Mormon. Where found. 
 
 Pages 53-56, Isaiah Ch. xlviii, xlix ; 
 
 75-77, 1, li ; 
 
 85-101, ii, xiv; 
 
 466-477, Matthew v, vi, vii ; 
 
 484, 485, Isaiah lii ; 
 
 487, 488, liv ; 
 
 489-491, Malachi iii ; 
 
 563, 564, 1 Cor. xiii. 
 
 Thus by a very hasty examination any one 
 may see that thirty-one pages out of five hun- 
 dred and seventy, or one-eighteenth part of the 
 whole volume, is stolen property. It has been 
 plundered from the living oracles of God, and 
 wrought in by piece-meal to give countenance 
 to a silly fabrication. 
 
 Let any one peruse the chaste, and, in seve- 
 ral instances, sublime language of the scriptures 
 above referred to, and then say if we have used 
 terms too disrespectful of the Mormon context. 
 Here follows an example of the latter : 
 
 " And now there cannot be written in this book, 
 even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did 
 
292 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 truly teach unto the people ; but behold the plates of 
 Nephi do contain the m.ore part of the things which 
 he taught the people ; and these things have I writ- 
 ten, which are a lesser part of the things which he 
 taught the people ; and I have written them to the 
 intent that they may be brought again unto this peo- 
 ple, from the Gentiles, according to the words which 
 Jesus hath spoken. And when they shall have re- 
 ceived this, which is expedient that they should have 
 first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they 
 shall believe these things, then shall the greater 
 things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be 
 that they will not believe these things, then shall the 
 greater things be withheld from them, unto their con- 
 demnation. Behold I were about to write them all 
 which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but 
 the Lord forbid it, saying, I will try the faith of my 
 people ; therefore I, Mormon, do write the things 
 which have been commanded me of the Lord." 
 
 Perhaps it will be said, that inasmuch as 
 some of the prophecies quoted were written 
 before the Nephites left Jerusalem, and as their 
 authors are acknowledged, it is reasonable to 
 suppose that they were copied on the success- 
 ive sets of plates ; an abridged edition of which 
 was obtained by " the author and proprietor" of 
 the Book of Mormon. 
 
 We answer that the charge of plagiarism is 
 founded, 1st. Upon the language used, the Eng- 
 lish not having been in existence until subse- 
 quently to the last date in the Book of Mormon. 
 2d. Upon the translation, which was first pub- 
 lished in 1610, more than a thousand years 
 after the death of Moroni, the finisher of the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 293 
 
 book, if it be genuine. This translation is fol- 
 lowed not only in words, but also in the use of 
 pauses and parentheses! E.g. Isa. Hi, 14. The 
 possibility of such an extensive and literal co- 
 incidence honestly occurring in a translation 
 from an unknown tongue, is an idea too absurd 
 to mention. 
 
 After the above examples of whole chapters 
 taken from the common version of the Bible, it 
 cannot be necessary to collate the numerous 
 Scripture phrases which are made use of, with- 
 out the shadow of acknowledgment, in every 
 part of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 The following are a few : 
 
 " By faith in the Son of God." " He is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." " How 
 beautiful upon the mountains !" " To be car- 
 nally minded is death." " Wars and rumours 
 of wars." " Must be born again." "Gall of bit- 
 terness and bonds of iniquity." " Hewn down 
 and cast into the fire." " Whosoever will come, 
 may come, and partake of the waters of life 
 freely." " A flaming sword, which turned every 
 way, to keep the tree of life." " O wretched 
 man that I am !" 
 
 In this connection we subjoin a brief exam- 
 ple of the method in which another considera- 
 ble portion of this work has been gotten up. It 
 is neither more nor less than a vile caricature 
 of Scripture. 
 
 " And it came to pass that when Jesus had made 
 an end of praying unto the Father, he arose ; but so 
 great was the joy of the multitude, that they were 
 
294 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 overcome. And it came to pass that Jesus spake 
 unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose 
 from the earth, and he said unto them, Blessed are 
 ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy 
 is full. And when he had said these words, he wept, 
 and the multitude bear record of it, and he took their 
 little children, one by one, and blessed them, and 
 prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had 
 done this he wept again, and he spake unto the mul- 
 titude, and saith unto them, Behold your little ones. 
 And as they looked to behold, they cast their eyes 
 toward heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and 
 they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were, 
 in the midst of fire ; and they came down and encir- 
 cled those little ones about, and they were encircled 
 about with fire : and the angels did minister unto 
 them, and the multitude did see, and hear, and bear 
 record ; and they know that their record is true, for 
 they all of them did see and hear, every man for him- 
 self; and they were in number about two thousand 
 and five hundred souls ; and they did consist of men, 
 women, and children. 
 
 " And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his 
 disciples that they should bring forth some bread and 
 wine unto him. And while they were gone for bread 
 and wine, he commanded the multitude that they 
 should sit themselves down upon the earth. And 
 when the disciples had come with bread and wine, 
 he took of the bread, and brake and blessed it ; and 
 he gave unto the disciples, and commanded that they 
 should eat. And when they had eat, and were filled, 
 he commanded that they should give unto the multi- 
 tude. And when the multitude had eaten and were 
 filled, he said unto the disciples, Behold, there shall 
 one be ordained among you, and to him will I give 
 power that he shall break bread, and bless it, and 
 give it unto the people of my church, unto all those 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 295 
 
 who shall believe and be baptized in my name. And 
 this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have 
 done, even as I have broken bread, and blessed it, 
 and gave it unto you. And this shall ye do in re- 
 membrance of my body, which I have shown unto 
 you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father, 
 that ye do always remember me. And if ye do 
 always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be 
 with you." 
 
 It is particularly remarkable that the inspired 
 writers of the Bible never anticipated objec- 
 tions that would be brought against their record. 
 They uniformly proceeded in an open and un- 
 deviating course, never attempting to save ap- 
 pearances, or describing their message as re- 
 ceived in any strange or incredible name. Not 
 so the writer of the Book of Mormon. He was 
 so intent upon maintaining the unnatural idea, 
 that his book was made up from certain ancient 
 records, that he keeps the plates jingling in our 
 ears from one end of the volume to the other. 
 Sometimes they are "brass," sometimes " gold," 
 " pure gold," or " like unto gold." At one time 
 they are " sealed up," and " hid up ;" at another 
 " dug up," translated, and abridged. The tales 
 respecting them are ridiculous and self-contra- 
 dictory. The following extracts will serve as 
 a specimen : 
 
 " And now when my father saw all these things, 
 [the plates brought from Jerusalem,] he was filled 
 with the spirit, and began to prophesy concerning his 
 seed : that these plates of brass should go forth unto 
 all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people who were 
 
296 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS 
 
 of his seed. Wherefore, he said that these plates of 
 brass should never perish ; neither should they be 
 dimmed any more by time. 
 
 " And it came to pass that the Lord commanded 
 me, wherefore I did make plates of ore, that I might 
 engraven upon them the record of my people. And 
 upon the plates which I made, I did engraven the re- 
 cord of my father, and also our journeyings in the 
 wilderness, and the prophecies of my father ; and 
 also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven 
 upon them. And I knew not at the time when I 
 made them, that I should be commanded of the Lord 
 to make these plates ; wherefore, the record of my 
 father, and the genealogy of his forefathers, and the 
 more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness, 
 are engraven upon those plates of which I have 
 spoken ; wherefore, the things which transpired be- 
 fore I made these plates, are, of a truth, more parti- 
 cularly made mention upon the first plates. 
 
 "And an account of my making these plates shall 
 be given hereafter ; and then, behold, I proceed ac- 
 cording to that which I have spoken, and this I do, 
 that the more sacred things may be kept for the 
 knowledge of my people. Nevertheless, I do not 
 write any thing upon plates, save it be that / think 
 it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they 
 err of old. 
 
 " Now King Mosiah had no one to confer the 
 kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who 
 would accept of the kingdom ; therefore he took the 
 records which were engraven on the plates of brass, 
 and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which 
 he had kept and preserved, according to the com- 
 mandments of God, after having translated and 
 caused to be written the records which were on the 
 plates of gold, which had been found by the people 
 of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 297 
 
 of Limhi ; and this he did, because of the great anx- 
 iety of his people, for they were desirous beyond 
 measure, to know concerning those people who had 
 been destroyed. And now he translated them by the 
 means of those two stones which were fastened into 
 the two rims of a bow. Now these things were pre- 
 pared from the beginning, and were handed down 
 generation to generation, for the purpose of interpret- 
 ing languages ; and they have been kept and pre- 
 served by the hand of the Lord, that he should dis- 
 cover to every creature who should possess the land, 
 the iniquities and abominations of his people ; and 
 whosoever has these things is called seer, after the 
 manner of old times. 
 
 " Behold there are records which do contain all 
 the proceedings of this people ; and a more short 
 but a true account, was given by Nephi : therefore 
 I have made my record of these things according to 
 the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the 
 plates which were called the plates of Nephi. And 
 behold I do make the record on plates which I have 
 made with mine own hand. And behold, I am called 
 Mormon. 
 
 " And now I, Moroni, have written the words 
 which were Commanded me, according to my memo- 
 ry ; and I have told you the things which I have 
 sealed up ; therefore touch them not, in order that 
 ye may translate ; for that thing is forbidden you, 
 except by and by it shall be wisdom in God. And 
 behold, ye may be privileged that ye may shew 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." 
 
 The following is the authorized account of 
 
298 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 their situation, and condition, at the time of 
 discovery : 
 
 " As you go on the mail-road from Palmyra, 
 Wayne county, to Canandaigua, Ontario county, 
 New-York, before arriving at the little village 
 of Manchester, say from three to four, or about 
 four miles from Palmyra, you pass a large hill 
 on the east side of the road. Why I say large, 
 is because it is as large, perhaps, as any in that 
 country. 
 
 " The north end rises quite suddenly, until 
 it assumes a level with the more southerly ex- 
 tremity ; and I think I may say, an elevation 
 higher than at the south, a short distance, say 
 half or three-fourths of a mile. As you pass 
 toward Canandaigua, it lessens gradually, until 
 the surface assumes its common level, or is 
 broken by other smaller hills or ridges, water- 
 courses, and ravines. I think I am justified in 
 saying, that this is the highest hill for some 
 distance round, and I am certain that its ap- 
 pearance, as it rises so suddenly from a plain 
 on the north, must attract the notice of the tra- 
 veller as he passes by. 
 
 " ' The north end,' which has been described 
 as rising suddenly from the plain, forms * a pro- 
 montory without timber, but covered with grass.' 
 As you pass to the south, you soon come to 
 scattering timber, the surface having been clear- 
 ed by art or wind, and a short distance further 
 left, you are surrounded by the common forest 
 of the country. It is necessary to observe, that 
 even the part cleared, was only occupied for 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 299 
 
 pasturage ; its steep ascent, and narrow sum- 
 mit, not admitting the plough of the husband- 
 man, with any degree of ease or profit. It was 
 at the second mentioned place, where the re- 
 cord was found to be deposited, on the west 
 side of the hill, not far from the top, down its 
 side ; and when myself visited the place in the 
 year 1830, there were several trees standing 
 enough to cause a shade in summer, but not so 
 much as to prevent the surface being covered 
 with grass which was also the case when the 
 record was first found. 
 
 " How far below the surface these records 
 were (anciently) placed, I am unable to say : 
 but from the fact that they have been some 
 fourteen hundred years buried, and that, too, on 
 the side of a hill so steep, one is ready to con- 
 clude, that they were some feet below, as the 
 earth would naturally wear, more or less, in that 
 length of time. But they, being placed toward 
 the top of the hill, the ground would not remove 
 as much as at two-thirds, perhaps. Another 
 circumstance would prevent a wearing of the 
 earth ; in all probability, as soon as timber had 
 time to grow, the hill was covered, and the 
 roots of the same would hold the surface. How- 
 ever, on this point, I shall leave every man to 
 draw his own conclusion, and form his own 
 speculation. But suffice to say, a hole of suffi- 
 cient depth was dug. At the bottom of this was 
 laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface 
 being smooth. At each edge was placed a large 
 quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the 
 
300 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 four edges of the stone, were placed erect four 
 others ; their bottom edges resting in the ce- 
 ment, at the outer edges of the first stone. The 
 four last named, when placed erect, formed a 
 box ; the corners, or where the edges of the 
 four came in contact, were also cemented so 
 firmly that the moisture from without was pre- 
 vented from entering. It is to be observed, also, 
 that the inner surface of the four erect or side 
 stones were smooth. This box was sufficiently 
 large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used 
 by the ancients, to defend the chest, &c., from 
 the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From 
 the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, 
 arose three small pillars, composed of the same 
 description of cement used on the edges ; and 
 ' upon these three pillars were placed the re- 
 cords.' 
 
 " * This box, containing the records, was 
 covered with another stone, the bottom surface 
 being flat, and the tipper crowning.' When it 
 was first visited by Mr. Smith, on the morning 
 of the 22d of September, 1823, * a part of the 
 crowning stone was visible above the surface, 
 while the edges were concealed by the soil arid 
 grass,' from which circumstance it maybe seen, 
 'that however deep this box might have been 
 placed at first, the time had been sufficient to 
 wear the earth, so that it was easily discovered, 
 when once directed, and yet, not enough to 
 make a perceivable difference to the passer-by.'* 
 
 * How does this correspond with the repeated assertion, 
 that they were " dug up from the bowels of the earth ?" 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 301 
 
 " After arriving at the repository, a little ex- 
 ertion in removing the soil from the edges of 
 the top of the box, and a light pry, brought to 
 his vision its contents. 
 
 " These records were engraved on plates, 
 which had the appearance of gold. Each plate 
 was not far from seven by eight inches in width 
 and length, being not quite as thick as common 
 tin. They were filled on both sides with en- 
 gravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound 
 together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, 
 and fastened at one edge with three rings run- 
 ning through the whole. This volume was 
 something near six inches in thickness, a part 
 of which was sealed. The characters or let- 
 ters upon the unsealed part were small and 
 beautifully engraved. The whole book exhi- 
 bited many marks of antiquity in its construc- 
 tion, as well as much skill in the art of engrav- 
 ing. With the records was found ' a curious 
 instrument, called by the ancients the Urim and 
 Thummim, which consisted of two transparent 
 stones, clear as crystal, set in the two rims of 
 a bow. This was in use, in ancient times, by 
 persons called seers. It was an instrument, by 
 the use of which they received revelations of 
 things distant, or of things past or future.' " 
 
 There is no other particular in which the 
 writer of the Book of Mormon actually mani- 
 fests so much of the spirit of prophecy, as re- 
 specting the objections his production would 
 have to encounter. His contrivance to fore- 
 stall said objections is detected in the bias- 
 
302 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 phemous imputation of the following, and much 
 more similar language, to the Deity. 
 
 " Wo be unto him that shall say, We have re- 
 ceived the word of God, and we need no more of the 
 word of God, for we have enough. 
 
 " 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, O 
 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 1 Yea, what do the Gentiles 
 mean ? 
 
 " But behold, I will return all these things upon 
 your own heads : for I the Lord hath not forgotten 
 rny 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 1 
 
 " 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 for ever. 
 
 " 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 in the south, and in 
 the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words 
 which I speak unto them." 
 
 In view of the above extracts, the reader can 
 determine how much either of honesty or of 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 303 
 
 consistency there is in the Mormons now say- 
 ing that they are misrepresented and persecuted 
 when their book is called the Mormon Bible. 
 That it was written and published as such, its 
 own text proves ; and to deny this, as is now 
 generally done, is a departure from truth. 
 
 It is generally known that the story respect- 
 ing the origin of this book was contrived with 
 reference to the expressions of Isaiah xxix, 11, 
 respecting the vision which had become as the 
 words of a book. Thus its " coming forth" is 
 urged to be a fulfilment of Scripture prophecy. 
 The Mormon caricature of that prophecy is 
 found in the second book of Nephi, and reads 
 as follows : 
 
 " And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall 
 bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they 
 shall be the words of them which have slumbered. 
 And behold, the book shall be sealed ; and in the book 
 shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of 
 the world, to the ending thereof. Wherefore, because 
 of the things which are sealed up, the things which 
 are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the 
 wickedness and abominations of the people. Where- 
 fore the book shall be kept from them. But the book 
 shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver the 
 words of the book, which are the words of those who 
 have slumbered in the dust ; and he shall deliver 
 these words unto another ; but the words which are 
 sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver 
 the book. 
 
 " 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 wit- 
 
304 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 nesses 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. 
 
 " But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord 
 God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the 
 book, Take these words which are not sealed, and 
 deliver them to another, that he may shew them unto 
 the learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee. And the 
 learned shall say, Bring hither the book, and I will 
 read them : and now, because of the glory of the 
 world, and to get gain, will they say this, and not for 
 the glory of God. And the man shall say, I cannot 
 bring the book, for it is sealed. Then shall the learn- 
 ed say, I cannot read it. Wherefore, it shall come 
 to pass that the Lord God will deliver again the book, 
 and the words thereof, to him that is not learned ; 
 and the man that is not learned shall say, I am not 
 learned. Then shall the Lord God say unto him, 
 The learned shall not read them, for they have re- 
 jected them, and I am able to do mine own work ; 
 wherefore, thou shalt read the words which I shall 
 give unto thee." 
 
 We have hitherto omitted to mention, that 
 while the Golden Bible was in process of fabri- 
 cation, Martin Harris was sent to New-York 
 to present a scrawl of singular marks to certain 
 learned gentlemen of that city. As these marks 
 meant nothing, of course they could not be read ; 
 so they were carried back to the man that was 
 not learned. 
 
 Out of this circumstance a story was framed. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 305 
 
 very plausible to those ignorant of its falsity, 
 and which has been diligently used, up to this 
 day, in making proselytes to Mormonism. What 
 can be clearer proof of a disposition to deceive, 
 at the expense of every semblance of truth, 
 than to persist in asserting, as the Mormon 
 teachers do, that the prophecy of Isaiah was 
 literally fulfilled in the origin of the book be- 
 fore us ? 
 
 The following letter of Dr. Anthon explains 
 itself, and the points under consideration. 
 
 "New-York, Feb. 17, 1834. 
 
 u The whole story about my having pronounced 
 the Mormonite inscription to be l reformed Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics' is perfectly false. Some years ago, 
 a plain, and, apparently, simple-hearted farmer, call- 
 ed upon me, with a note from Dr. Mitchell, of our 
 city, now deceased, requesting me to decipher, if 
 possible, a paper which the farmer would hand me, 
 and which Dr. M. confessed he had been unable to 
 understand. Upon examining the paper in question, 
 I soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick, 
 perhaps a hoax. When I asked the person, who 
 brought it, how he obtained the writing, he gave me, 
 as far as I can now recollect, the following account : 
 A ' gold book,' consisting of a number of plates of 
 gold, fastened together in the shape of a book by 
 wires of the same metal, had been dug up in the 
 northern part of the state of New- York, and, along 
 with the book, an enormous pair of ' gold specta- 
 cles /' These spectacles were so large, that if a per- 
 son attempted to look through them, his two eyes would 
 have to be turned toward one of the glasses merely, 
 the spectacles in question%eing altogether too large 
 for the breadth of the human face. Whoever ex- 
 20 
 
306 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 amined the plates through the spectacles was enabled 
 not only to read them, but fully to understand their 
 meaning. All this knowledge, however, was con- 
 fined at that time to a young man who had the trunk, 
 containing the book and spectacles, in his sole pos- 
 session. This young man was placed behind a cur- 
 tain, in the garret of a farm-house, and, being thus 
 concealed from view, put on the spectacles occasion- 
 ally, or rather looked through one of the glasses, 
 deciphered the characters in the book, and, having 
 committed some of them to paper, handed copies from 
 behind the curtain to those who stood on the outside. 
 Not a word, however, was said about the plates hav- 
 ing been deciphered ' by the gift of God.' Every 
 thing, in this way, was effected by the large pair of 
 spectacles. The farmer added, that he had been re- 
 quested to contribute a sum of money toward the pub- 
 lication of the ' golden book,' the contents of which 
 would, as he had been assured, produce an entire 
 change in the world, and save it from ruin. So 
 urgent had been these solicitations, that he intended 
 selling his farm, and handing over the amount re- 
 ceived to those who wished to publish the plates. 
 As a last precautionary step, however, he had re- 
 solved to come to New-Yorli, and obtain the opinion 
 of the learned about the meaning of the paper which 
 he brought with him, and which had been given him 
 as a part of the contents of the book, although no 
 translation had been furnished at the time by the 
 young man with the spectacles. On hearing this odd 
 story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and, 
 instead of viewing it any longer as a hoax upon the 
 learned, I began to regard it as part of a scheme to 
 cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated 
 my suspicions to him, warning him to beware of 
 rogues. He requested aji opinion from me in writ- 
 ing, which of course I declined giving, and he then 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 307 
 
 took his leave, carrying the paper with him. This 
 paper was, in fact, a singular scrawl. It consisted 
 of all kinds of crooked characters, disposed in co- 
 lumns, and had evidently been prepared by some 
 person who had before him, at the time, a book con- 
 taining various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew let- 
 ters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters inverted 
 or placed sideways, were arranged in perpendicular 
 columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation 
 of a circle divided into various compartments, decked 
 with various strange marks, and evidently copied 
 after the Mexican calendar, given by Humboldt, but 
 copied in such a way as not to betray the source 
 whence it was derived. I am thus particular, as to 
 the contents of the paper, inasmuch as I have fre- 
 quently conversed with my friends on the subject, 
 since the Mormonite excitement began, and well re- 
 member that the paper contained any thing else but 
 ' Egyptian hieroglyphics? Some time after, the 
 farmer paid me a second visit. He brought with 
 him the golden book in print, and offered it to me for 
 sale. I declined purchasing. He then asked per- 
 mission to leave the book with me for examination. 
 I declined receiving it, although his manner was 
 strangely urgent. I adverted once more to the 
 roguery which had been, in my opinion, practised 
 upon him, and asked him what had become of the 
 gold plates. He informed me that they were in a 
 trunk with the large pair of spectacles. I advised 
 him to go to a magistrate, and have the trunk exa- 
 mined. He said the ' curse of God' would come 
 upon him should he do this. On my pressing him, 
 however, to pursue the course which I had recom- 
 mended, he told me that he would open the trunk, if 
 I would take the * curse of God' upon myself. I 
 replied that I would do so with the greatest willing- 
 ness, and would incur every risk of that nature, pro- 
 
308 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 vided I could only extricate him from the grasp of 
 rogues. He then left me. 
 
 " I have thus given you a full statement of all that 
 I know respecting the origin of Mormonism, and 
 must beg you, as a personal favour, to publish this 
 letter immediately, should you find my name men- 
 tioned again by these wretched fanatics. Yours re- 
 spectfully, CHARLES ANTHON." 
 
 We had designed to notice various other 
 topics, involving inconsistencies equal to those 
 we have already pointed out, and possibly still 
 more palpable. We must now, however, close 
 this review with two extracts, showing that the 
 Book of Mormon bears the broad impress of 
 Campbellism, which is not yet quite fourteen 
 hundred years old ! 
 
 In it immersion for the remission of sins is 
 represented as having been practised long pre- 
 vious to the Christian era. 
 
 It gives, moreover, the following account of 
 the institution of the RITE OF IMMERSION at the 
 epoch of Christ's personal appearance to the 
 Nephites. 
 
 " And he said unto them, On this wise shall ye 
 baptize ; and there shall be no disputations among 
 you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth 
 of his sins through your words, and desireth to be 
 baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize 
 them : behold, ye shall go down and stand in the 
 water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And 
 now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, 
 calling them by name, saying, Having authority 
 given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 309 
 
 Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the 
 water, and come forth again out of the water." 
 
 It again treats expressly upon the wicked- 
 ness of infant baptism. 
 
 " And after this manner did the Holy Ghost mani- 
 fest the word of God unto me ; wherefore, my be- 
 loved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before 
 God, that ye should baptize little children. Behold, 
 I say unto you, that this thing shall ye teach, repent- 
 ance and baptism unto those who are accountable 
 and capable of committing sin ; yea, teach parents 
 that they must repent and be baptized, and humble 
 themselves as their little children, and they shall all 
 be saved with their little children : and their little 
 children need no repentance, neither baptism. Be- 
 hold, baptism is unto repentance, to the fulfilling the 
 commandments, unto the remission of sins. But 
 little children are alive in Christ, even from the 
 foundation of the world ; if not so, God is a partial 
 God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to 
 persons ; for how many little children have died 
 without baptism. Wherefore, if little children could 
 not be saved without baptism, these must have gone 
 to an endless hell. Behold, I say unto you, that he 
 that supposeth that little children need baptism, is in 
 the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity ; 
 for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity ; where- 
 fore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he 
 must go down to hell. For awful is the wickedness 
 to suppose that God saveth one child because of bap- 
 tism, and the other must perish because he hath no 
 baptism. Wo be unto him that shall pervert the 
 ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall 
 perish, except they repent. Behold, I speak with 
 boldness, having authority from God ; and I fear not 
 what man can do, for perfect love casteth out all 
 
310 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 fear ; and I am filled with charity, which is ever- 
 lasting love ; wherefore, all children are alike unto 
 me ; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect 
 love ; and they are all alike, and partakers of salva- 
 tion. For I know that God is not a partial God, 
 neither a changeable being ; but he is unchangeable 
 from all eternity to all eternity. Little children 
 cannot repent ; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to 
 deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they 
 are all alive in him because of his mercy. And he 
 that saith that little children need baptism, denieth 
 the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atone- 
 ment of him, and the power of his redemption. Wo 
 unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and 
 an endless torment. I speak it boldly God hath 
 commanded me." 
 
 We presume no intelligent advocate for im- 
 mersion, or respectable opponent to infant bap- 
 tism, will be in the least grateful for the authority 
 thus furnished in favour of his sentiments. 
 
 We now take leave of the Book of Mormon. 
 If any one desires to learn more of its absurdi- 
 ties than we have exposed, we refer him to the 
 book itself, where he cannot fail to be satisfied. 
 It does not contain a single statement which 
 can be verified by Mr. Leslie's celebrated rules 
 for determining matters of fact. On the con- 
 trary, its whole narrative is an outrage on com- 
 mon sense, interwoven with tasteless but sanc- 
 timonious declamation, ad captandum vulgus. 
 Nevertheless, it is probably the most successful 
 attempt ever made to counterfeit a divine reve- 
 lation. As such, it affords a lesson even to the 
 infidel. From it he may learn the impossi- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 311 
 
 bility of imposing deception, upon its own 
 grounds, on any considerable portion of man- 
 kind. We have exposed many of the tricks, 
 and alluded to the general system of duplicity 
 by which Mormonism has thus far been propa- 
 gated. 
 
 Probably in the whole history of the delusion 
 there never has occurred a single instance of a 
 frank development of their peculiar tenets be- 
 fore an uninitiated audience. The elders are 
 expressly instructed not to declare any thing 
 more than the first principles to those who are 
 unbelievers, " leaving the further mysteries of 
 the kingdom" until afterward. 
 
 It is not an uncommon thing to see handbills 
 posted up in our streets, setting forth various 
 items about the fulness of the gospel, and pro- 
 mising to gratify the curiosity generally felt to 
 know what the Latter-day Saints do believe. 
 When they can thus collect an assembly, the 
 first endeavour of the Mormons is to establish 
 themselves on a parallel with Christians, as 
 believers in the Bible, and its cardinal doctrines. 
 They are then ready to flourish upon any topic 
 which may be most popular, at the same time 
 hinting that great mysteries are to be revealed 
 further on. 
 
 That the reader may be thoroughly furnished 
 with this scheme of duplicity, we give below 
 their publicly professed creed, in comparison 
 with other doctrines and precepts maintained 
 with equal strenuousness by them, but generally 
 held in reserve for a " convenient season." 
 
312 
 
 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Their own authorized publications constitute 
 our authority in both cases, with the exception 
 of a few extracts from Mr. Corrill : 
 
 SHOW OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 1. "The 'Latter-day 
 Saints' believe in the true 
 and living God, and in Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, who 
 was crucified according to 
 the Scriptures, and who rose 
 from the dead the third day, 
 and is now seated at the 
 right hand of God as a me- 
 diator." 
 
 2. "We also believe in 
 the Holy Scriptures of the 
 prophets and apostles, as 
 being profitable for doctrine, 
 reproof, correction, and in- 
 struction in righteousness, 
 &c. ; and that all mysticism 
 or private interpretation of 
 them ought to be done away. 
 The Scriptures should be 
 taught, understood, and 
 practised in their most plain, 
 simple, easy, and literal 
 sense, according to the com- 
 mon laws and usage of the 
 language in which they 
 stand ; according to the le- 
 gitimate meaning of words 
 and sentences, precisely the 
 same as if found in any other 
 book." 
 
 3. "We hold it as the 
 duty of all men to believe 
 the gospel, to repent of their 
 sins, and to be immersed in 
 
 MORMONISM PROPER. 
 
 1. " We worship a God 
 who has both body and 
 parts." "Matter is eternal, 
 uncreated, and self-exist- 
 ing." " It is impossible for 
 God to originate matter from 
 nonentity;" that is, to cre- 
 ate a world. 
 
 2. " We testify our faith 
 in immediate revelation from 
 God, and the administration 
 of angels." These immedi- 
 ate revelations come through 
 Joseph Smith. " They es- 
 teem the law of God, as 
 given through their prophet, 
 
 VASTLY SUPERIOR TO ANY 
 OTHER LAW." 
 
 3. "If this building [the 
 Nauvoo temple] is not com- 
 pleted SPEEDILY, we shall 
 be rejected as a church, with 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 313 
 
 water in the name of Jesus 
 Christ FOR REMISSION OF 
 SINS. And we hold, that all 
 who do this in a proper man- 
 ner, and under proper autho- 
 rity are legally entitled to 
 the remission of sins, and 
 to the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
 according to the Scriptures." 
 4. " Infant baptism is of 
 no use." "It is solemn 
 mockery before God." 
 "Awful wickedness." Book 
 of Mormon. 
 
 5. " The ' Latter-day 
 Saints,' after immersion, lay 
 on hands in the name of Je- 
 sus Christ for the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost, according to 
 the ancient pattern. They 
 are then considered saints, 
 or members of the church 
 of Christ, in full fellowship 
 
 and communion." "We 
 
 believe that the church of 
 Christ should be organized 
 according to the New Tes- 
 tament pattern." 
 
 6. " As to the signs of 
 the times, we believe that 
 the gathering of Israel, and 
 the second advent of Messi- 
 
 our dead, for the Lord our 
 God hath spoken it." "In- 
 dividuals come under the 
 same condemnation." Ep. 
 of the Twelve, 
 
 4. " The members of the 
 church are required to bring 
 their children under eight 
 years old into meeting, and 
 have the elders lay hands 
 on and bless them." When 
 the children are eight years 
 old, it is the duty of parents 
 to have them baptized into 
 the church. 
 
 5. " We wish it to be un- 
 derstood distinctly, that the 
 organization of this church 
 came by express command- 
 ment and revelation from 
 the Almighty." In the fol- 
 lowing order, viz. : The 
 Melchizedek priesthood, in- 
 cluding the first presidency 
 and high council of Zion. 
 2. The Aaronic priesthood, 
 in which are embraced the 
 travelling high council, the 
 quorum of the seventy eld- 
 ers, &c., &c. Book of 
 Mormon and Book of Doc- 
 trines and Covenants. 
 
 6. " Lieutenant General 
 Joseph Smith desires ALL 
 HIS FRIENDS to attach them- 
 selves to some company, 
 
314 
 
 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 ah, with all the great events 
 connected therewith, are 
 near at hand. That it is 
 time for the saints to GA- 
 THER together, and prepare 
 for the same." 
 
 7. " We have implicit 
 confidence in the ' Book of 
 Mormon,' not, however, as 
 a new Bible to exclude the 
 old, as some have falsely 
 represented. We consider 
 the ' Book of Mormon' as a 
 historical and religious re- 
 cord, written in ancient 
 times by a branch of the 
 house of Israel, who peopled 
 America, and from whom 
 the Indians are descended. 
 The ' Book of Mormon' cor- 
 roborates and confirms the 
 truth of the Scriptures, by 
 showing that the same prin- 
 ciples were revealed and 
 enjoyed in a country and 
 among a people far remote 
 from the scenes where the 
 Jewish Bible was written." 
 
 either in the first or second 
 
 COHORT Of the NAUVOO LE- 
 GION. This will enable them 
 to receive CORRECT MILI- 
 TARY INSTRUCTION." 
 
 7. " Behold they [the pro- 
 phecies of the Book of Mor- 
 mon] shall proceed forth 
 out of the mouth of the 
 everlasting God ; and his 
 word shall hiss forth from 
 generation to generation. 
 And God shall show unto 
 you that what I have written 
 is true." Moroni. 
 
 " O fools ! they shall have 
 a Bible ; and it shall proceed 
 forth from the Jews, mine 
 ancient covenant people." 
 Nephi. 
 
 " Those that harden their 
 hearts in unbelief, and reject 
 it, it shall turn to their own 
 condemnation." Doct. and 
 Covenants. 
 
 It appears from the Mormon newspaper, that 
 some of the elders from time to time have been 
 disposed to carry out to their proper results the 
 theological principles they had imbibed. Un- 
 happily, a veto was placed upon their investi- 
 gations, lest the whole fabric of deception should 
 be overthrown. Witness the following charge 
 of the twelve to the elders at large : 
 
 " We have heard of some foolish vagaries, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 315 
 
 and wild speculations, originating only in a 
 disordered imagination, which are set forth 
 by some, telling what occupation they had 
 before they came into this world, and what 
 they would be employed with after they leave 
 this state of existence ; those, and other 
 vain imaginations, we would warn the elders 
 against, because if they listen to such things, 
 they will fall into the snare of the devil, and 
 when the trying time comes, they will be over- 
 thrown." 
 
 The prophet has on several occasions been 
 obliged to use all his tact and talent, in order 
 to put down rivalry. Nor is it wonderful that 
 so great a man should have imitators, and that 
 his success in getting up revelations should 
 inspire his followers with a desire to walk in 
 his footsteps. Had Smith been present at the 
 conference, the minutes of which are subjoined, 
 the accused might with great propriety have 
 addressed to him the words of the pirate to 
 Alexander the Great : " Sir, there is no differ- 
 ence between us, but in the name and the means 
 of doing mischief." 
 
 " At a conference meeting of the branch of 
 the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 
 in the city of New-York, held at the house of 
 Elder G. J. Adams, agreeably to previous ap- 
 pointment, on the evening of Dec. 4th, 1840; 
 Elder Orson Hyde was unanimously chosen 
 chairman of the meeting, and Elder L. R. Fos- 
 ter, clerk. 
 
 " The meeting was opened by singing, ' Guide 
 
316 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 us, O thou great Jehovah,' &c., and by the pre- 
 sident addressing the throne of grace. 
 
 " The president then read from Rev. ii, 12, 
 and onward. After a few preliminary remarks, 
 the president proceeded to give his reasons for 
 believing that the spirit which had been mani- 
 fested among us, since the coming of Elder Sid- 
 ney Roberts, was not from the Lord. 
 
 " The items objected to are, having a reve- 
 lation that a certain brother must give him a 
 suit of clothes, and a gold watch, the best that 
 could be had ; also, saluting the sisters with 
 what he calls a holy kiss, taking them on his 
 lap, and putting his arms around them, &c. 
 
 " The accused, Sidney Roberts, answered 
 for himself; he spoke at some length, and at- 
 tempted to justify himself concerning these 
 things. After remarks by several brethren, the 
 president proposed that if he would confess his 
 transgressions, he might retain his membership, 
 but that his license must be demanded. He 
 arose and stated, that he knew the revelations 
 which he had spoken, were from God, and that 
 he had no confession to make ; whereupon, the 
 conference cut him off from the church, and 
 demanded his license, which he refused to 
 give up." 
 
 There is scarcely any feature of Mormonism 
 more heart-sickening than the tyranny which 
 it succeeds in maintaining over all who become 
 its victims. So long as the saints are obedient 
 to the mandates of the prophet and his cabinet, 
 all goes on well. A departure from such course, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 317 
 
 by presuming to think or to act for themselves, 
 brings down upon them maledictions which 
 they seem to dread worse than the very curses 
 of Heaven. What degradation could be more 
 abject than that of W. W. Phelps, as repre- 
 sented in the following extracts. He had been 
 for years one of the most active and efficient 
 promoters of Mormonism,but having, as it would 
 appear, come back for a season to be influenced 
 cither by reason or by conscience, he had ab- 
 jured the system. If this was not the head and 
 front of his offending, certainly no more is spe- 
 cified below : 
 
 " Dayton, Ohio, June 29, 1840. 
 " BROTHER JOSEPH, T am alive, and with 
 the help of God, I mean to live still. I am as 
 a prodigal son, though I never doubt or disbe- 
 lieve the fulness of the gospel : I have been 
 greatly abased and humbled : and I blessed the 
 God of Israel, when I lately read your prophetic 
 blessing on my head, as follows: 'The Lord 
 will chasten him, because he taketh honour to 
 himself, and when his soul is greatly humbled, 
 he will forsake the evil, then shall the light of 
 the Lord break upon him, as at noon-day, and 
 in him shall be no darkness,' &c. I have seen 
 the folly of my way, and I tremble at the gulf 
 I have passed : so it is, and why I know not. 
 I prayed, and God answered, but what could I 
 do? Says I, I will repent and live, and ask 
 my old brethren to forgive me, and though they 
 chasten one to death, yet / will die with them, 
 for their God is my God. The least place with 
 
318 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 them is enough for me ; yea, it is larger and 
 better than all Babylon. 
 
 " I know my situation, you know it, and God 
 knows it, and I want to be saved, if my friends 
 will help rne. Like the captain that was cast 
 away on a desert island, when he got off he 
 went to sea again, and made his fortune the 
 next time. So let my lot be. I have done 
 wrong, and I am sorry. The beam is in my 
 own eye. I have not walked with my friends 
 according to my holy anointing. I ask forgive- 
 ness in the name of Jesus Christ of all the saints, 
 for I will do right, God helping me. I want 
 your fellowship : if you cannot grant that, grant 
 me your peace and friendship, for we are bre- 
 thren, and our communion used to be sweet. 
 And whenever the Lord brings us together 
 again, / will make all the satisfaction on every 
 point that saints or God can require. Amen. 
 "W. W. PHELPS. 
 
 " To presidents Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, 
 Sidney Rigdon, &c." 
 
 "DEAR BRETHREN, Brother Phelps requests 
 us to write a few lines in his letter, and we 
 cheerfully embrace the opportunity. Brother 
 Phelps says he wants to live, and we want he 
 should live : but we do not feel ourselves au- 
 thorized to act upon his case, but have recom- 
 mended him to you ; but he says that his poverty 
 will not allow him to visit you in person at this 
 time, and we think he tells the truth. We there- 
 fore advised him to write, which he has done. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 319 
 
 He tells us, verbally, that he is willing to make 
 any sacrifice to procure your fellowship, LIFE not 
 excepted ; yet reposing that confidence in your 
 magnanimity, that you will take no advantage 
 of his open and frank confession. If he can 
 obtain your fellowship, he wants to come to 
 Commerce as soon as he can. But if he can- 
 not be received into the fellowship of the church, 
 he must do the best he can in banishment and 
 exile. 
 
 " Brethren, with you are the keys of the king- 
 dom: to you is power given to ' exert your cle- 
 mency, or display your vengeance.' By the 
 former you will save a soul from death, and hide 
 a multitude of sins : by the latter you will for 
 ever discourage a returning prodigal, cause sor- 
 row without benefit, pain without pleasure, end- 
 ing in wretchedness and despair. 
 
 " But former experience teaches that you are 
 workmen in the art of saving men : therefore, 
 with the greatest confidence, do we recommend 
 to your clemency and favourable consideration 
 the author and subject of this communication. 
 
 " In the bonds of the covenant. 
 
 "O. HYDE, 
 " J. E. PAGE." 
 
 If any additional proof were needed to show 
 that Mormonism is a sheer delusion, it would 
 be amply furnished in the experience of the 
 many who have renounced it as such, including 
 a majority of the original witnesses to the Book 
 of Mormon, notwithstanding all the obstacles 
 
320 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 thrown in their way. Without alluding to 
 others, it may be mentioned that Oliver Cowde- 
 ry, the confidential scribe of Smith while get- 
 ting up the Book of Mormon, one of the three 
 witnesses, the first convert and the first apostle 
 of Mormonism, has long since withdrawn him- 
 self from the whole concern. Thereby he has 
 given to the world a virtual acknowledgment 
 that, he had been made the tool of designing 
 and wicked men. 
 
 If this circumstance had been his misfortune 
 merely, and not his fault, he would probably 
 have taken his leave of the prophet on the issue 
 of the following REVELATION, given April, 1829, 
 to Oliver Cowdery : " Behold you have not 
 understood ; you have supposed that I must 
 give it [the translation of the golden plates] 
 unto you, when you take no thought, save it 
 were to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, 
 that you must study it out in your mind ; that 
 you must ask me if it be right ; and if it is right, 
 I will cause your bosom shall burn within you ; 
 then you shall feel that it is right. But if it be 
 not right, you shall not have such feelings ; but 
 then shall have a stupor of thought, that shall 
 cause you to forget those things which are 
 wrong." Doct. and Cov., sec. 35. 
 
 He, however, went on for a series of years, 
 like the ship of Nephi, driven before the wind 
 toward the promised land. But never arriving 
 to the promised land, he at length abandoned 
 his course in despair or disgust. Yet the poor 
 Mormons refuse to be instructed by his exam- 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 321 
 
 pie, and to shake off their fetters. Listen to one 
 of their poets. 
 
 Amazed with wonder ! I look round, 
 
 To see most people of our day 
 Reject the glorious gospel sound, 
 
 Because the simple turn away : 
 But does it prove there is no time, 
 
 Because some watches will not gol 
 
 Or prove that Christ was not the Lord, 
 Because that Peter cursed and swore, 
 
 Or Book of Mormon not his word, 
 Because DENIED by OLIVER 1 
 
 Or prove that Joseph Smith is false, 
 Because apostates say 'tis so 1 
 
 O no ! the wise will surely say, 
 
 No proof unto the man that's wise ; 
 
 Then O ! dig deep ye wise to-day ; 
 And soon the truth will be your prize. 
 
 Not like the fool who chanced to see 
 The SAINT forsake his heavenly course, 
 
 And turn to sin and vanity, 
 
 Then cries, " Your scheme is all a farce." 
 
 Wonder if they would believe Joseph Smith 
 himself if he should at length tell them, as he 
 did Mr. Ingersoll in the outset, that it was all 
 " to see what the d d fools would believe ?" 
 
 P. P. Pratt remarks in his last letter, that the 
 saints would rather be slaves in America than 
 starve in England : hence " go they will, and 
 go they must, or perish." This is truly a 
 lamentable alternative. But in it we see no 
 21 
 
322 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 reason why freeborn Americans should be will- 
 ingly enslaved. Yet that many are so, in the 
 worst sense, is evident from the following ex- 
 tracts of an Epistle of the Twelve to the Saints 
 of the Last Days : 
 
 " The children of Israel were commanded to 
 build a house in the land of promise ; and so 
 are the saints of the last days, as you will see 
 in the revelation given to JOSEPH [SMITH] 
 the SEER, Jan. 19th, 1841, wherein those or- 
 dinances may be revealed which have been hid 
 for ages, even their anointings, and washings, 
 and baptisms for the dead ; wherein they may 
 meet in solemn assemblies for their memorials, 
 sacrifices, and oracles, in their most holy places ; 
 and wherein they may receive conversations, 
 and statutes, and judgments, for the beginning 
 of the revelations and foundations of Zion, and 
 the glory, and honour, and adornment of all her 
 municiples, through the medium which God hath 
 ordained. 
 
 " In the same revelation the command is to 
 ' all the saints from afar? as well as those al- 
 ready gathered to this place, to arise with one 
 consent and build the temple ; to prepare a 
 place where the Most High may manifest him- 
 self to his people. No one is excepted who hath 
 aught in his possession, for what have ye that ye 
 have not received 1 and I will require mine own 
 with usury, saith the Lord ; so that those who 
 live thousands of miles from this place, come 
 under the same law, and are entitled to the same 
 blessings and privileges as those who have al~ 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 323 
 
 ready gathered. But some may say, How can 
 this be, I am not there, therefore I cannot meet 
 in the temple cannot be baptized in the font? 
 The command of heaven is to you, to all, gather : 
 and when you arrive here, if it is found that 
 you have previously sent up of your gold, or 
 your silver, or your substance, the tithings and 
 consecrations which are required of you for this 
 building, you will find your names, tithings, and 
 consecrations written in the book of the law of 
 the Lord, to be kept in the temple, as a witness 
 in your favour, showing that you are a propri- 
 etor in that building, and are entitled to your 
 share of the privileges thereunto belonging. 
 
 " One of tbose privileges, which is particu- 
 larly attracting the notice of the saints at the 
 present moment, is baptism for the dead, &c., 
 in the font, which is so far completed as to be 
 dedicated, and several have already attended 
 to this ordinance, by which the sick have been 
 made whole, and the prisoner set free ; but 
 while we have been called to administer this 
 ordinance, we have been led to inquire into the 
 propriety of baptizing those who have not been 
 obedient, and assisted to build the place for 
 baptism, and it seems to us unreasonable to ex- 
 pect that the great Jehovah will approbate such 
 an administration ; for if the church must be 
 brought under condemnation, and rejected with 
 her dead, if she fail to build the house, and its 
 appurtenances, why should not individuals of 
 the church, who thus neglect, come under the 
 same condemnation ? And if they are to be re- 
 
324 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 jected, they may as well be rejected without 
 baptism as with, for their baptism can be of no 
 avail before God, and the time to baptize them 
 may be appropriated to building the walls of 
 the house, and this is according to the under- 
 standing which we have received from him who 
 is our spokesman. 
 
 " Large stores of provisions will be required 
 to complete the work, and now is the time for 
 securing it, while meat is plenty, and can be 
 had for one half the value that it can at other 
 seasons of the year, and the weather is cool and 
 suitable for packing. Let the brethren, for two 
 hundred miles around, drive their fat cattle and 
 hogs to this place, where they may be preserved, 
 and there will be a supply till another favoura- 
 ble season rolls round, or till the end of the 
 labour. Now is the time to secure food. Now 
 is the time that the trustee is ready to receive 
 your droves. Not the maimed, the lean, the 
 halt, and the blind, and such that you cannot 
 use ; it is for the Lord, arid he wants no such 
 offering : but if you want his blessing, give him 
 the best ; give him as good as he has given 
 you. Beds and bedding, socks, mittens, shoes, 
 clothing of every description, and store-goods 
 are needed for the comfort of the labourers this 
 winter; journeymen stonecutters, quarrymen, 
 teams and teamsters for drawing stone, and all 
 kinds of provision, for men and beast, are need- 
 ed in abundance. 
 
 " All money and other property, designed for 
 tithings arid consecrations to the building of tlu 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 325 
 
 temple, must hereafter be presented to the trus- 
 tee in trust, President JOSEPH SMITH, and 
 entered at the recorder's office, in the book be- 
 fore referred to. 
 
 " The elders, everywhere, will instruct the 
 brethren, both in public and in private, in the 
 principles and doctrines set forth in this epis- 
 tle, so that every individual of the church may 
 have a perfect understanding of his duty and 
 privilege. 
 
 " Nauvoo, Illinois, Dec. 13th, 1841." 
 
 If many of these saints and brethren do not 
 ultimately get their eyes opened, it will be be- 
 cause trickery cannot be sufficiently palpable, 
 or inconsistency gross enough to reveal to them 
 the true character of their spiritual guides. 
 Look, for example, at the following proceed- 
 ings with reference to Kirtland. 
 
 " Minutes of the general conference of the 
 church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 
 held in Nauvoo, Hancock county, Illinois, Oct. 
 3d, 1840. 
 
 " The president then rose, and stated that it 
 was necessary that something should be done 
 with regard to Kirtland, so that it might be built 
 up ; and gave it as his opinion that the brethren 
 from the east might gather there, and also that 
 it was necessary that some one should be ap- 
 pointed from this conference to preside over 
 that stake. 
 
 "On motion, resolved, that Elder A. Babbitt 
 be appointed to preside over the church in Kirt- 
 land, and that he choose his own counsellors." 
 
326 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS, 
 
 Mr. Babbitt, it appears, went forward in dis- 
 charge of the duties assigned him like a tho- 
 rough-going man, and reported progress in the 
 minutes of a conference held at Kirtland, Octo- 
 ber, 1842. 
 
 These minutes exhibit as much of devotion 
 to the cause, and of enlightened measures for 
 its promotion, as any that can be found on re- 
 cord in the Times and Seasons. Among the 
 resolutions passed in said conference were 
 those to the following effect : 
 
 1. To be more careful in the selection of 
 competent elders to preach the gospel in cities 
 and towns of notoriety. 
 
 2. To establish a Mormon press at Kirtland, 
 and to publish a periodical. 
 
 3. To aid the poor, and to purchase a horse 
 and wagon for the use of the bishop in gather- 
 ing for and distributing to them ; also assigning 
 to him some assistance in the work. 
 
 Yet all these proceedings are reprobated 
 without mercy in the following courteous pro- 
 clamation. 
 
 " All the saints that dwell in that land are 
 commanded to come away, for this is, * Thus 
 saith the Lord ;' therefore pay out no moneys 
 nor properties for houses, nor lands, in that 
 country, for if you do you will lose them ; for 
 the time shall come that you shall not possess 
 them in peace, but shall be scourged with a sore 
 scourge ; yet your children may possess them, 
 but not until many years shall pass away ; and 
 as to the organization of that branch of the 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 327 
 
 church, it is not according to the Spirit and 
 will of God ; and as to the designs of the lead- 
 ing members of that branch relative to the print- 
 ing press, and the ordaining of elders, and 
 sending out elders to beg for the poor, are not 
 according to the will of God ; and in these 
 things they shall not prosper, for they have 
 neglected the house of the Lord, the baptismal 
 font, in this place, wherein their dead may be 
 redeemed, and the key of knowledge, that un- 
 folds the dispensation of the fulness of times, 
 may be turned, and the mysteries of God be 
 unfolded, upon which their salvation, and the 
 salvation of the world, and the redemption of 
 their dead depends, for thus saith the Lord, 
 * There shall not be a general assembly for a 
 general conference assembled together until the 
 house of the Lord shall be finished, and the 
 baptismal font, and, if we are not diligent, the 
 church shall be rejected, and their dead also, 
 saith the Lord' therefore any proceedings other- 
 wise than to put forth their hands with their 
 might to do this work, is not according to the 
 will of God, and shall not prosper ; therefore 
 tarry not in any place whatever, but come forth 
 unto this place from all the world, until it is 
 filled up, and polished, and sanctified according 
 to my word, saith the Lord ; come ye forth from 
 the ends of the earth, that I may hide you from 
 mine indignation that shall scourge the wicked, 
 and then I will send forth and build up Kirtland, 
 and it shall be polished and refined, according 
 to my word ; therefore your doings, and your 
 
328 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 organizations, and designs in printing, or any 
 of your councils, are not of me, saith the Lord, 
 even so, Amen. 
 
 " HYRUM SMITH, patriarch 
 
 for the whole church" 
 
 Respecting the general prerogatives of the 
 " patriarch of the whole church," some intelli- 
 gence is given in the following official announce- 
 ment. 
 
 " The brethren are hereby notified, that our 
 well-beloved brother, Hyrum Smith, patriarch 
 of the church, has erected a comfortable office, 
 opposite his dwelling house, where himself, 
 together with his scribe and recorder, (James 
 Sloan,) will attend regularly every Monday, 
 Wednesday, and Friday, during the entire day, 
 or upon any other day, if urgent circumstances 
 require it, to perform the duties of his high and 
 holy calling. 
 
 "A copy of the blessings can be received 
 immediately after being pronounced, so that the 
 brethren who live at a distance can have it to 
 take with them." 
 
 Similar proceedings are had on the other side 
 of the Atlantic, as stated by J. Blakeslee, one 
 of the elders. 
 
 " I attended several blessing meetings while 
 I was in Liverpool, in company with Elders 
 Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Willard 
 Richards, and others, which was a great satis- 
 faction to me. Those meetings were attended 
 as follows : A feast was prepared at a private 
 house, and several brethren invited to attend, 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 329 
 
 and after refreshment the meeting was opened 
 by singing and prayer ; then the patriarch 
 (Elder Peter Mellen) laid his hands on the head 
 of a brother or sister, as the case might be, and 
 pronounced a sentence at a time, and his scribe 
 (Elder Whitehead) wrote the same. All things 
 were conducted with decorum, while the Spirit 
 of the Lord came down upon us in mighty 
 power." 
 
 The history of Mormonism forms a melan- 
 choly comment upon the weakness and folly 
 of man man so easily led astray so perverse- 
 ly deluded. 
 
 In conclusion, one word more to our coun- 
 trymen who may meet with the subjects or 
 propagators of this delusion. 
 
 What mistake could be greater than that of 
 supposing physical force in any degree neces- 
 sary to oppose its spread. 
 
 The force of reason, of demonstration, and, 
 if need be, of affectionate entreaty, should in- 
 deed be used. If, then, our last appeal should 
 be unavailing, the force of experience will 
 doubtless, in the course of time, restore all in- 
 nocent subjects of this wretched fanaticism to 
 their right mind. The following facts deserve 
 to be understood by all. 
 
 1. The Mormon Bible originated with men 
 destitute of a good moral character. 
 
 2. The primary design of its publication was 
 pecuniary profit. 
 
 3. Said Mormon Bible bears prima facie evi- 
 dence of imposture. 
 
330 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 4. It basely perverts the language and doc- 
 trine of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 5. It blasphemously imputes to God language 
 inconsistent with his character and holiness. 
 
 6. Excepting perverted plagiarisms from the 
 Scriptures of truth, that book is nothing but a 
 medley of incoherent absurdities. 
 
 7. The system of MORMONISM has arisen en- 
 tirely from the BOOK OF MORMON, and the con- 
 trivance of its " authors and proprietors." 
 
 8. That system has been and still is propa- 
 gated by means of deception. 
 
 9. Mormonism, at the same time it pretends 
 to be " the fulness of the gospel," is intrinsi- 
 cally infidel, and opposed to Christianity. It 
 can never be reconciled with the principles of 
 a pure religion. 
 
 10. Its legitimate effects are to degrade and 
 heathenize society. 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 331 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Containing addenda to the foregoing narrative, 
 collected from the Times and Seasons, from Jan- 
 uary to June, 1842, and other authentic sources. 
 
 A new and revised edition of the Book of Doctrines 
 and Covenants was being stereotyped on the first of 
 January, to be ready for printing in the spring. 
 
 A book entitled, Evidences in Proof of the Book 
 of Mormon, by Charles Thompson, has been publish- 
 ed in Batavia, N. Y., containing 256 pages, 32mo. 
 
 Pratt's Yoice of Warning has been republished in 
 England. 
 
 Joseph Smith, Lieut. General of the Nauvoo 
 legion, issued a circular to his friends in Illinois, 
 telling them whom to vote for in the approaching 
 gubernatorial election. * 
 
 The minutes of the city council of Nauvoo re- 
 present the mayor of that city to have introduced 
 to his aldermen and councillors, in a highly eulo- 
 gistic address, the New- York Herald, and its editor ; 
 whereupon said council, in its corporate capacity, 
 solemnly resolved that the high-minded and honour- 
 able editor of said Herald was deserving the lasting 
 gratitude of the Mormon community for services 
 rendered their cause. They also resolved to recom- 
 mend that paper to the patronage of their citizens. 
 
332 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 The Nauvoo legion, by its last annual returns, 
 numbered fourteen hundred and ninety " all pretty 
 well-disciplined troops. " 
 
 The NAUVOO HOUSE. The work on this stately 
 edifice was suspended during the winter, and its 
 building committee and agents sent abroad to make 
 further negotiations in stock, &c. 
 
 On the 18th of January, 1842, Joseph Smith, pre- 
 sident and sole trustee in trust for the church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, makes known to 
 all men, under his hand and seal, that whereas, in 
 Feb., 1841, said Smith did constitute and appoint Dr. 
 Isaac Galland his attorney, to transact certain busi- 
 ness for the church, and for himself individually, he 
 now revokes, countermands, annuls, and makes void 
 all the power and authority given or intended to be 
 given to said Isaac Galland ! 
 
 What can be the matter ? Is Elder Galland usurp- 
 ing too much authority to suit Smith, or is he back- 
 ing out from the magnificent enterprise of revolution- 
 izing the religious world ^ a scheme too boundless 
 for ambition itself! 
 
 The character of Mormon- inspiration may be seen 
 in the following VISION OF JOAB, GENERAL IN ISRAEL. 
 
 " I stood in Mount Zion, by the TEMPLE of the 
 great King, and looked down through the vista of 
 time, and saw people like great waters, for they were 
 many, gathered from all nations under the whole 
 heavens : and I saw mighty chieftains upon noble 
 steeds, and armies of chariots and horsemen, and 
 strong COHORTS of footmen, great and terrible, with 
 spears and banners, and the implements of war, 
 forming to the sound of the clarion. And a great 
 shout was heard in the camp of the saints, and a 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 333 
 
 voice, like the sound of a mighty trumpet, saying, 
 Go and possess your inheritance, and avenge the 
 wrongs of your progenitors; and the battle was set 
 in array, and the armies of the saints moved forward, 
 attended by thunder and hail, and fire and storm, 
 conquering and to conquer. And the armies of the 
 aliens trembled at the voice, like Belshazzar at the 
 handwriting on the wall ; and the hearts of their 
 great warriors and valiant men fainted within them, 
 and they fled like grasshoppers, and were consumed 
 like stubble before the devouring flame. The plains 
 were bleached with the bones of the slain, and the 
 rivers flowed with blood. The fierce anger of the 
 Lord returned not until he had done, nor until he had 
 performed the intents of his heart. All were con- 
 quered, and the land possessed. Time passed on, 
 and I saw ' their swords beat into plough-shares, and 
 their spears into pruning-hooks,' and the goodly land 
 yielding a rich increase ; and the luxuries of the 
 earth, and the choice fruits of the field, were in great 
 profusion scattered upon the plains of Eden. And 
 I saw flocks and herds, large and numerous, feeding 
 upon the luxuriant, waving fields ; and the saints 
 praising God in his sanctuary, and in the firmament 
 of his power, for his mighty acts, and his excellent 
 greatness, with the sound of the trumpet, psaltery, 
 and harp, with the timbrel and dance, with stringed 
 instruments and organs, and upon the loud and high- 
 sounding cymbals, making melody in their hearts, 
 and singing loud hosannas to God and to the Lamb, 
 And I heard a great shout in the camp of Israel, 
 ringing through their mighty hosts, 'Holy, holy, 
 holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is 
 to come;' and the saints of light were clad in rich 
 attire, decked with jewels and costly pearls, dia- 
 monds, and the gold of Ophir. Universal peace, 
 plenteous munificence, and unalloyed happiness pre- 
 
 BANCROFT 
 
334 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 vailed with every soul of man : all were habited in 
 rich white robes, and glittering crowns, and gave to 
 God the glory. And a loud voice proclaimed, This 
 is the reward of those who have kept the faith, and 
 endured sound doctrine, and the teachings of my 
 prophets, contrary to the traditions of men." 
 
 P. P. Pratt proposes to send one thousand dollars 
 from England toward erecting the temple. He says 
 the " everlasting inheritance" of the saints is called, 
 by Mormons in England, the LAND OF JOSEPH. 
 
 J. Blakeslee writes from Utica, New- York, 10th 
 of January, that Mormonism is succeeding to aston- 
 ishment in that region, and that he cannot fill one 
 tenth of the numerous and pressing calls on him for 
 preaching. 
 
 The editorship of the Times and Seasons was, on 
 the 15th of Feb., transferred to Gen. Smith, the pro- 
 phet, who promises to make that journal very inte- 
 resting, by means of the revelations he is receiving 
 from the Most High. As though this device was 
 not smart enough to keep his twopenny sheet going, 
 he has since commenced publishing his autobiogra- 
 phy. It is, however, nothing but the old story about 
 the plates and the angel, with a few emendations to 
 save appearances. 
 
 That our readers may see what materials are used 
 in making and confirming Mormons, we copy from 
 Smith's paper of March 1st a cut, entitled, "A fac- 
 simile from the book of Abraham, No. 1." Any per- 
 son who will take the trouble to consult the paper, 
 will perceive that the explanation given by the editor 
 is arbitrary and absurd in the extreme. He yhoulJ 
 have called it 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 335 
 ILLUSTRATION OF MORMONISM, No. 1. 
 
 Fig. 1, which he calls " Abraham fastened upon 
 an altar," may be considered to represent either rea- 
 son or true religion, which lies prostrate and bound, 
 about to be stabbed to the vitals by No. 2, the black 
 and ugly genius of Mormonism, who stands brandish- 
 ing his murderous knife in fiendish triumph. No. 3, 
 which Smith has blasphemously denominated the 
 angel of the Lord, is nothing more nor less than the 
 raven of despair, croaking over the doleful scene. 
 The images and reptiles occupying the foreground 
 are fit emblems of the idolatry to which Mormonism 
 consigns its victims, and of the loathsome character 
 of this moral pest, 
 
336 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 About the 1st of April John Snider was sent as a 
 special messenger to the saints in England, bearing 
 revelations designed to hasten* their gathering at 
 Nauvoo. 
 
 In a long essay upon " Try the Spirits," General 
 Smith endeavours to " drag into day-light, and de- 
 velop the hidden mysteries of the FALSE spirits that 
 are so FREQUENTLY made manifest among the Latter- 
 day Saints." He says, " No man can do this with- 
 out the priesthood, and having a knowledge of the 
 laws by which spirits are governed." He, however, 
 being " a discerner of spirits," doubtless speaks 
 " knowingly and by authority," when he says none 
 of those spirits should be countenanced save his own. 
 One rule by which he distinguishes a good angel 
 from a bad one, is " by the colour of his hair." It 
 should not be sandy. 
 
 A weekly paper, called The Wasp, has been com- 
 menced at Nauvoo, edited by William Smith, and 
 devoted to the interests of Mormonism. 
 
 The work on the temple was progressing on the 
 2d of May with such rapidity as to give hope that 
 the edifice may be enclosed by the fall of 1842. 
 
 Professor Turner, of Illinois College, has just pub- 
 lished a work entitled, Mormonism in all Ages ; or 
 the Rise, Progress, and Causes of Mormonism, with 
 the Biography of its Author and Founder, Joseph 
 Smith, Jr. 
 
 On glancing at the title of this book we were in- 
 clined to suppose that the prophet would feel him- 
 self highly complimented at being installed at once 
 as the AUTHOR and FOUNDER of a system existing in 
 all ages. A perusal of the volume, however, has 
 convinced us that, on the whole, Smith will not feel 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 337 
 
 very grateful for the compliments it contains, how- 
 ever much his followers and the public may. 
 
 The appearance of such a work gives evidence that 
 the religious community is at length awaking to 
 the necessity of exposing and combating the tre- 
 mendous infidel agency which is at work under the 
 cover of Mormonism, and threatening to unsettle the 
 grounds of all rational belief, as well as to plunge 
 one of the fairest portions of our country into the 
 vortex of an atheistical anarchy. It appears to us 
 that Professor T. has involved himself in a species 
 of self-contradiction, by maintaining that Joe Smith 
 is the real and sole author of the Book of Mormon, 
 while, at the same time, he proves the identity of 
 that book with the Spalding manuscript, and sup- 
 poses Joe to have possessed himself of the latter 
 while in the employment of Mr. Stowell, in Che- 
 nango county, New- York. The question at issue 
 here is one of comparative unimportance. 
 
 We are, however, far from assenting to the posi- 
 tion that unity, either of style or sentiment, prevails 
 throughout the Mormon Bible. Those who had seen 
 Spalding's MANUSCRIPT say that the religious parts 
 of the Book of Mormon have been added. Now, 
 these parts bear a distinctive character, (that of 
 Campbellism,) which Smith was utterly unqualified 
 to give them until after his connection with Rigdon. 
 This shows that there were at least three parties to 
 the real authorship ; and we think it would be sheer 
 injustice not to put Oliver Cowdery, the schoolmas- 
 ter, upon as good (literary) footing as his more am- 
 bitious pupil, Joseph Smith, Jr. 
 
 Although we regard Professor T.'s philosophy of 
 fanaticism as a little fanciful, and think that a few 
 exceptions should be taken to his view of human 
 testimony, yet we hail his work as one of deep inte- 
 rest, and of an eminently practical bearing. 
 22 
 
338 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 Gov. Boggs, of Missouri, was assassinated in his 
 own house at Independence, on the 7th of May. Ru- 
 mour was immediately set afloat that some adherent 
 of Mormonism had performed the deed as an act of 
 revenge. We are inclined to believe this a false 
 accusation, which the murderer either invented, or 
 supposed would naturally arise, to screen himself 
 from detection and punishment. 
 
 Late accounts from England represent Mormon 
 principles to be rapidly spreading there, in the face 
 of all opposition. 
 
 Two ship loads of emigrants have recently arrived 
 at Nauvoo, and another is expected soon. 
 
 A Mormon by the name of Nickerson is said to be 
 creating considerable excitement in Boston and its 
 vicinity. 
 
 Smith's " fac-similes from the book of Abraham" 
 have been copied in one or two eastern prints, at 
 which circumstance the prophetic editor seems high- 
 ly elated, not perceiving that both his pictures and 
 himself are the butt of ridicule. He seems to court 
 notoriety at any expense. 
 
 Benjamin Winchester, Mormon elder at Philadel- 
 phia, has been silenced from preaching, until he 
 makes satisfaction for not obeying the first presi- 
 dency at Nauvoo. 
 
 As a closing comment on speculative Mormonism, 
 we subjoin the following statement, on the authority 
 of the newspapers. 
 
 ' Joe Smith, the Mormon prophet, has applied for 
 the benefit of the BANKRUPT act. His debts, he 
 states, are one hundred thousand dollars. Sidney 
 Rigdon and Hy rum Smith, the other Mormon lead- 
 ers, have also petitioned." 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 339 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Prevalence of imposture Religion its favourite dis- 
 guise Character of Mormonism Causes of its spread 
 Extent of the delusion It furnishes capital for infidelity - 
 Design of this work Wickedness and folly of persecu- 
 tion The true remedy Notice of Howe's History 
 CorrilPs Golden Bible Topics of inquiry Page 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Character of inspired men Vicious habits of the Smiths 
 Cupidity of Harris A chance lie Contradictions in 
 maintaining it A speculation contrived Money-digging 
 on the Susquehannah A runaway match Shocking des- 
 titution of moral principle 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sidney Rigdon Solomon Spalding The '* Manuscript 
 Found" proved to be identical with the Mormon Bible 
 Spalding's widow Rigdon's retirement at Pittsburgh 
 His subsequent course in Ohio 36 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Book of Mormon published Testimony of the 
 witnesses Cross examination Probable motives of these 
 men Contents of the book . 49 
 
340 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 P. P. Pratt makes his appearance in Ontario county 
 He is forthwith converted and ordained Mission to the 
 Lamanites Smith's wife constituted amanuensis Easy 
 method of getting a revelation Lamanites found in 
 Ohio Rigdon's conversion Pratt's denial of the con- 
 trivance examined Page 60 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Early developments in Ohio Rigdon visits Smith 
 Becomes prime coadjutor Revelation Kirtland becomes 
 the land of promise Spirit of the new religion Proper 
 signification and character of Mormonism Bugbear sto- 
 ries Financial policy The gift of tongues 70 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preliminary operations in Missouri Mormon El Dora- 
 do Experience of Mr. Booth Smith's position and au- 
 thority in the church Commandments Communion with 
 black spirits and white Treasures Foundation of Zion 
 The prophet nearly drowned in the " river of destruc- 
 tion" Comment on Rigdon's conversion 90 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Zion established Enthusiasm of the gathering to Mis- 
 souri Origin of difficulties Mob law Mutual provoca- 
 tions Expulsion of Mormons from Jackson county 
 Revelations on the subject Army of Zion Essay at 
 miracles Exhibitions of valour End of the cam- 
 paign 101 
 
MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 341 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Theological studies Book of Doctrines and Cove- 
 nants The name of Latter-day Saints adopted Specula- 
 tion in mummies Manuscript of Abraham Authorities 
 of the church Description of the temple Closing scenes 
 in Ohio Page 1 16 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Progress of events in Missouri Inflammatory preach- 
 ing Secret society Hostilities War of extermination 
 Cruelties inseparable from such an order Trial of the 
 leaders Testimony before the court of inquiry Charged 
 as ex parte 129 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Escape to Illinois Sufferings Persecution defeats 
 itself Injustice Sympathies of the community Isaac 
 Galland Magnificent enterprise Place of gathering 
 Missions to England J. C. Bennett Revenge New 
 revelation, corresponding to Galland's advice Charters 
 for a city University and legion 155 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Military organization General orders Astonishing 
 parade Smith outdoes Matthias Progress of the sect in 
 England Letter to the queen Literary eminence 
 Moving orders Dissatisfaction among the emigrants 
 Latest instructions Advantages of the Mormon po- 
 licy 183 
 
342 MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Theology of Mormonism Derivation Affinity to 
 Campbellism Improvements upon the old system Mi- 
 racles Tongues Conflicting medley of doctrines Du- 
 plicity of the advocates of Mormonism Honesty of many 
 of its followers Real and distinguishing tenets Eternity 
 of matter Materiality of God Baptism for the dead 
 Interdiction of the same Desecrations of the sabbath 
 
 Page 215 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Relation of Mormonism to Christianity Glance at the 
 Book of Mormon New and improved edition Author 
 and proprietor becomes translator Chronology A brass 
 ball Miraculous navigation Narrative Antecedent voy- 
 age Bloody wars Antiquities of Central America in 
 proof of Mormonism Colour of the Indians accounted 
 for.. . 253 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Prophecies Plagiarisms Caricature of Scripture 
 Plates Contrivance to forestall objections Harris's visit 
 to Dr. Anthon Dr. Anthon's letter Immersion insti- 
 tuted Wickedness of infant baptism Duplicity of Mor- 
 mon teachers exhibited Their system carried out Fool- 
 ish vagaries Rival revelator in New- York Phelps' hu- 
 miliation Cowdery's present position Reprobation of 
 Kirtland Patriarch's office Blessing meetings Sum- 
 mary and conclusion 287 
 
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 Clarke's Sacred Literature. 
 
 A Concise View of the Succession of Sacred Literature, 
 in a Chronological Arrangement of Authors and their 
 Works, from the Invention of Alphabetical Characters 
 to A. D. 395. By ADAM CLARKE, LL. D. 
 
 12mo., pp. 420. Muslin or sheep $0 70 
 
 The work commences with the giving of the law on Mount 
 Sinai. It contains the date and argument of every book of 
 Scripture, and of all the writings of the Jews and Christian 
 Fathers that are extant, down to the year 395 ; and in some 
 instances the analysis of the different works is copious and 
 extensive. 
 
 This work contains much important information relative to 
 Biblical and ecclesiastical literature. T.HARTWELLlIoRNE. 
 
 We know not in what manner we could render a more valu- 
 able service to the student who is directing his attention to 
 this branch of knowledge, than to recommend him to avail 
 himself of the guidance which the interesting work before 
 us supplies. Eclectic Review. 
 
 An undertaking which none but a master-spirit would pre- 
 sume to touch, and one which none but the hand of a mas- 
 ter could ever satisfactorily execute. Imperial Magazine. 
 
 Coke, (Dr. Thomas) Life of. 
 
 The Life of Thomas Coke, L.L. D. : including in detail 
 his various Travels and extraordinary Missionary Ex- 
 ertions in England, Ireland, America, and the West In- 
 dies ; with an Account of his Death, while on a Mission- 
 ary Voyage to the East Indies, &c. By SAMUEL DREW. 
 With a Portrait. 
 
 ISmo., pp. 381. Muslin or sheep $0 60 
 
 Under the direction of Mr. Wesley, he took the superintend- 
 ence of the foreign work ; and for many years was such an 
 example of Missionary zeal and enterprise as the Christian 
 Church has rarely seen. His sermons in connexion with 
 the Methodist Missions were marked by an energy, disin- 
 terestedness, and perseverance which can never be forgot- 
 ten ; and in importance and success they are second only 
 to those of the venerated man whom he owned as his father 
 in the Lord. Rev. THOMAS JACKSON. 
 
 N. B. The Life of Mrs. Coke is in the Sunday-School Cata- 
 logue, price 20 cents. 
 
WORKS PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 200 Mulberry-street, New-York. 
 
 Wesley, (Charles^ Life of. 
 
 Life of Charles Wesley ; comprising a Eeview of his Poe- 
 try, Sketches of the Rise and Progress of Methodism, 
 with Notices of Contemporary Events and Characters. 
 By Rev. THOMAS JACKSON. With a Portrait. 
 
 8vo., pp. 800. Plain sheep $1 75 
 
 Plain calf 225 
 
 Calf gilt 2 50 
 
 Calf extra 3 00 
 
 The name of Charles Wesley will ever be in honourable re- 
 membrance as the coadjutor of his brother in that exten- 
 sive revival of true religion which distinguished the last 
 century, and as the author of the greater portion of those 
 incomparable hymns, the use of which has, for nearly one 
 hundred years, formed so prominent a part of the devotions 
 of "the people called Methodists." Although more than 
 fifty years have -passed away since he rested from his la- 
 bours, there has been no separate memoir of his life until 
 the appearance of the present volume, which is, in many 
 respects, one of the most interesting and important works 
 on religious biography that has issued from the press for 
 many years. It is chiefly prepared from the journals and 
 private papers of Mr. Wesley, which were kept in his family 
 till the death of his daughter in 1828, when they became 
 the property of the Wesleyan Conference. No Methodist 
 preacher should be without it. 
 
 M'Owan on the Sabbath. 
 
 Practical Considerations on the Christian Sabbath. By 
 Rev. PETER M'OwAN. Treating on the Design and 
 Moral Obligation of the Sabbath ; its change from the 
 Seventh to the First Day of the Week ; and the Spirit 
 and Manner in which it ought to be Sanctified. 
 
 18mo., pp, 200. Muslin $0 30 
 
 The desecration of the holy day is so common, that no effort 
 should be spared to bring about a better state of things. 
 This Manual is recommended as a timely and thorough ex- 
 position of the subject. It treats of the original and gene- 
 ral design of the Sabbath; moral obligation of the day ; its 
 change from the seventh to the first day of the week, and 
 the spirit and manner in which it ought to be sanctified. 
 
 Hfc 
 
WORKS PUBLISHED BY CAELTON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 200 Mulberry-street, New-York. 
 
 Clarke, (Dr. Adam,) Life of. 
 
 An Account of the Religious and Literary Life of Adam 
 Clarke, LL. D., F. A. S., c., &c. Edited by Rev. J. B. 
 CLARKE, M. A. 
 
 12ino,, 3 vols, in one, pp. 820. Sheep SI 00 
 
 This work is justly considered one of the most interesting 
 biographies ever published. His varied and extensive learn- 
 ing necessarily associated hirn with some of the first men 
 of the age. 
 
 There is one great lesson to be learned from the history ol 
 this extraordinary man. It is the incalculable advantages 
 of industry and perseverance. Every young person, and 
 every minister especially, should place before him the ex- 
 ample of Dr. Clarke and take encouragement. T. JACKSON. 
 
 Dr. Clarke was especially revered in the Methodist connexion 
 for his piety, zeal, apostolical simplicity, and ministerial use- 
 fulness The whole Christian Church bore willing testimo- 
 ny to his sanctified learning. For nearly half a century did 
 he continue to perform the most important labours as the 
 servant of God and of mankind, in various departments of 
 the Church, with great integrity, and with an industry which 
 perhaps has never been surpassed. We very cordially re- 
 commend this "Life" to the attention of our readers. It 
 is full of interesting information. Wesley an Magazine. 
 
 Wesley's Letters. 
 
 Select Letters, chiefly on Personal Religion. By Rev. 
 JOHN WESLEY. With a Sketch of his Character, by 
 Rev. SAMUEL BRADBURN. 
 
 12mo., pp. 240, Muslin or sheep SO 50 
 
 Mr. Wesley's Letters were written not to circulate idle gos- 
 sip, or to nourish a sickly sentimentality, but to urge for- 
 ward his correspondents in the divine life, that they might 
 attain all the mind there was in Christ, and make their call- 
 ing and election sure. They present an agreeable variety 
 of subjects; and it is hoped they will prove acceptable to 
 a numerous class of readers to whom the entire works of 
 the venerable writer are inaccessible. To the use of the 
 closet, and of private reading, it is presumed, they are es- 
 pecially adapted. The " Sketch of Mr. Wesley's Charac 
 ter," by which the letters are introduced, contains several 
 interesting notices concerning the founder of Methodism 
 wnich are not generally known. 
 
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