BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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JOSEPH THE SEER; 
 
 -:HIS :- 
 
 PROPHETIC MISSION VINDICATED, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 9piipl of the 
 DEFENDED AND MAINTAINED; 
 
 L7,V MS OT O ? -: BEING :- 
 
 A REPLY BY ELDER WILLIAM W. BLAIR, 
 
 Of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 
 
 TO ELDER WILLIAM SHELDON 
 
 Of the Second Adventist Society. 
 
 (REVISED EDITION). 
 
 LAMONI, IOWA: . 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD OP PUBLICATION OF THE REORGANIZED CHURCH OF 
 
 JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 1889. 
 
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BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE severe trials to which the truth of God has been subjected in all the 
 r past, have always resulted well in bringing its high importance, its 
 Jr- essential impregnability, and its perpetual beauties into clearer, grander 
 y light, disclosing more plainly its deep, and broad and immovable foun- 
 - dations. They have also resulted well in revealing the dark and delusive 
 
 ways of error, ways so common to the conceited, the self-sufficient, and 
 
 the bigot who, with blind heart and clamorous tongue or pen, would 
 ^ compel all others into their mazy lines of thought and their devious and 
 
 inconsistent modes of religious, moral, social and scientific conduct. 
 
 Truth gains and error loses in every fairly conducted conflict. 
 
 Such, we trust, will be the ultimate fruits of the recent malevolent 
 
 attack of Rev. William Sheldon upon the faith and doctrines of the Lat- 
 C/i ter Day Saints to which we reply in the following pages. Truth will 
 
 prevail. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, in his arguments, draws heavily on various anti-Mor- 
 _j mon writers, from Howe to Ann Eliza. From these he takes his cue, 
 Q and frOm their productions he obtains his chief enlightenment and his 
 ^ loftiest inspirations; yet, notably, he fails to give them their proper. cred- 
 2 its. This literary piracy will be found quite in keeping with the general 
 ^ tenor of his work as we proceed. 
 
 It will also be seen that he is a prince among cavilers, and that he is 
 
 L_ 
 
 Lu as feeble in his sophisms as he is fertile in invention. He builds, with 
 <C affected seriousness, his men-of-straw ; and then, with with self-compla- 
 cency topples them over and applauds himself for decisive victories. 
 
 He attempts, with persistent zeal, to make the Book of Mormon and 
 the Inspired Translation claim for themselves what they do not claim, 
 viz., that all their historical and epistolary parts were written with un- 
 erring precision and infallible accuracy, and under the fullest and high- 
 est measure of inspiration; but in this attempt he fails miserably. 
 
 He seeks to force upon the standard writings of the church such sense 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 and meaning as are utterly foreign and contrary to them; and this he 
 does evidently with the base purpose of making them appear false and 
 contradictory. 
 
 We regret that Mr. Sheldon has quoted our works so inaccurately, and 
 that he has cited passages so incorrectly ; for it tends to perplex the reader 
 both as respects his statements, and, possibly, in respect to our answers ; 
 besides which it places him in the attitude of either a heedless or a 
 lawless controversialist. 
 
 It is quite impossible in these pages to notice more than the major 
 and more important part of the objections urged by Mr. Sheldon ; 
 and this we can not do in a manner nearly so extended as we could wish, 
 and as we know their importance demands ; but we have undertaken to 
 reply to all those of any real force or value. 
 
 If in anything in this work we have descended to too low a plane 
 in our argument, our main apology is, that we thought it best, in the 
 interest of truth, to follow our opponent wherever he went, in order to 
 turn the true light upon his dark and crooked ways and thus disclose 
 his errors. 
 
 We have frequently emphasized passages quoted, and we have done 
 so in order to call special attention to the matter under consideration; 
 but we disclaim any intention of thereby changing the sense of such 
 passages. 
 
 Submitting our work to the careful and considerate attention of the 
 reader, we ask that it be judged upon the merits of its facts, and not 
 upon the excellency of its diction or the beauty and finish of its periods. 
 
 We regret its brevity and its imperfection, especially when we consider 
 the weighty matters of which it treats. 
 
 We have written it in the interests of truth diamond truth and 
 for the promotion of the righteousness of God among men and to further 
 the cause of "full salvation." And with this consciousness we send it 
 out, humbly asking for it the best blessings of heaven, a respectful recep- 
 tion among men, and a fair hearing by all into whose hands it may come. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
JOSEPH THE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 We have recently read in the World's Crisis of Boston, for July, 
 1875, a lengthy article entitled "Mormonism Examined; or, Was 
 Joseph Smith a Divinely Inspired Prophet?" from the pen of Elder 
 William Sheldon, a minister of the Advent Church, and sometime 
 editor of the Christian Advent Times, and more recently his book 
 entitled " Mormonism Reviewed," and feeling that they should be 
 answered we now undertake this work. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon doubtless availed himself of all the arguments hith- 
 erto used by opponents of the Latter Day Work, selecting such as 
 he thought he could use with effect, and to them has added an 
 occasional one that has at least the merit of being new. His af- 
 fected fairness is painfully apparent, while his false inferences, his 
 bald misstatements, and his frequent false and garbled quotations, 
 place him in an unpleasantly low rank among controversialists. 
 This we very much regret, for from a brief acquaintance with the 
 gentleman we had expected of him better things. His course adds 
 but another to the long list of evidences stretching down through 
 the ages, that men, when they have an end in view, usually spare 
 no effort, and use without scruple any means to attain it " the 
 end [with them] justifies the means." 
 
 We are not averse to criticism, but, on the contrary, admire it 
 when it is conducted with fairness and skill; but when it degener- 
 ates into quibbling, low trickery, and contemptible pettifoggery, 
 then the less of it the better. 
 
 We have no quarrel with any for not believing as we do all 
 should believe as they think best, and we are morally bound to 
 respect them in that right for the right of private judgment, 
 and the fact of personal responsibility, are inherent in man and 
 ordained of God. What we ask, and all that we ask is, for others 
 to bear in mind that the Latter Day Saints, as well as themselves, 
 should be respected in their rights and be treated in respect to 
 their faith and works honestly, fairly and courteously. 
 
6 JOSEPH A TRUE PROPHET. 
 
 As for Mr. Sheldon, the propriety of his efforts, the strength 
 of his arguments, the piety of his motives, and the extent of his 
 success in proving that "Mormonism" is false in its foundations 
 and in its leading facts, the reader must form his own judgment 
 as we proceed. 
 
 ERRORS IN BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon postulates the following: "The claims of Mormon- 
 ism to divine origin, stand or fall with a correct answer to the 
 simple question, Was Joseph Smith a true prophet;" and he then 
 attempts to prove that there are historical errors in the Book of 
 Mormon, assuming that if there are, then Joseph Smith, who- 
 translated the book, must be a false prophet. This claim is cer- 
 tainly a novel one. 
 
 To make a translator responsible for the truth or falsity of the 
 facts he translates is probably an original idea with Mr. Sheldon, 
 and one that he feels is quite indispensable to his success. Sensi- 
 ble, fair dealing people hardly think of holding Pope responsible 
 for the truth or falsity of Homer's Illiad or Odyssey because he 
 translated them; nor would they hold the translators of the Bible 
 responsible for the character of its contents, but only for the faith- 
 fulness wilh which they performed their work of translation. 
 
 Now, the Book of Mormon in more places than one admits that 
 there may he errors and imperfections in it. It does not claim 
 absolute perfection as to its contents in all, and in every respect. 
 Its historical parts do not claim to be written by revelation, or by 
 such measure of inspiration as to exclude errors and defects in 
 language, and style; nor does it claim to be absolutely correct in 
 all its historical dates. Nephi, the very first writer in the book,, 
 is conscious that through his inherent "weakness" his record 
 might be, possibly, faulty. He says: 
 
 "If I do err, even they did err of old ; not that I would excuse myself 
 because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, accord- 
 ing to the flesh." 1 Nephi 5 : 47. (See also Mormon 4:2,7,8.) 
 
 And when the angel of the Lord testified to the "three witness- 
 es" that the Book of Mormon was true; and when these "three 
 witnesses" say they know it is true, they simply and only mean 
 that it is true in the sense, and to the extent, that the book itself 
 claims to be true they simply testify that its claims, pretensions, 
 explanations and definitions are true according to the tenor of 
 them. 
 
 That some of the sacred historians "of old" did "err" in some 
 of their writings is too well known to need any argument to prove 
 
CRUCIFIXION. 7 
 
 it, as may be seen by comparing the historical books of the Old 
 Testament. Nor is the New Testament free from this defect. In 
 Acts 1: 18, 19, we are told that Judas obtained money for betray- 
 ing Christ, with which he bought a field; but in Matthew 27: 5-7, 
 we are told that the "chief priests" with that money bought the 
 field. So of Paul, 1 Cor. 10: 8; Num. 25: 9, he claiming that there 
 'fell in one day three and twenty thousand," while the latter says 
 it was "twenty and four thousand." Here are conflicts which, with 
 others that occur, prove that the writers of the New Testament 
 history made some mistakes and did "err" in at least a few things. 
 Mr. Sheldon quotes the Book of Nephi: 
 
 "And it came to pass in the thirty-fourth year, in the first month, in the 
 fourth day of the month, . . . then behold there was darkness upon the face 
 of the land. . . . And it came to pass that it, did last for the space of three 
 days." Nephi 4 : 2. 
 
 This, he claims, was the time of Christ's crucifixion as predicted 
 by the Lamanite prophet Samuel; and that its occurring on the 
 "fourth day" of the "first month," instead of the fourteenth day of 
 the first month, Jewish time, proves the account false, the Book of 
 Mormon untrue, and Joseph Smith, its translator, a false prophet. 
 Now, if he had read and honestly considered the preceding para- 
 graph, we might have been spared the necessity of exposing what 
 savors strongly of craftiness, and even downright trickery. It 
 reads: 
 
 "It was a just man who did keep the record ; . . . and now it came to pass, 
 if there was no mistake made in the reckoning of our time." 
 
 Here is a frank admission of a possible error in the record, as to 
 time, while the writer maintains the verity of the events narrated, he 
 admits a possibility of error in respect to dates. Why did not Mr. 
 Sheldon cite this qualifying statement? Evidently because he 
 knew that his argument would thereby be stripped of its force. 
 
 The Nephi tes reckoned time under three different eras; the first 
 dating from Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem, (1 Nephi, 1:2; Jacob 
 1: 1, etc), the next dating with the beginning of the reign of the 
 Judges, (Alma 1: 1; 2: 1; also book of Nephi 1: 1), and the next 
 with the birth of Christ (Book of Nephi 1: H-8). Whether their 
 months were after the Jewish style, or not, is uncertain. Their 
 months may have begun with the going out of Lehi and his family 
 from Jerusalem. As to whether "the first month," of Nephi 4: 2, 
 was really intended for Jewish time, or for time peculiar to the 
 Nephites, it is not our province now to determine. Whatever the 
 time was, Jewish or Nephite, the writer of the book does not claim 
 
8 CHRIST'S BIRTH. 
 
 tba^it was absolutely correct. Joseph Smith translated it as. he 
 found it, and the correctness or incorrectness of those dates can? 
 not affect the truthfulness of Joseph Smith's calling. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next affirms that "the Book of Mormon locates the 
 birth of Christ too late in the world's history to harmonize with 
 the Bible because it is stated in 2 Nephi 11:4, that the Messiah 
 should come in six hundred years from the time that Lehi left 
 Jerusalem, which was in the first year of King Zedekiah's reign," 
 and he then enters into a lengthy argument to prove that the birth 
 of Christ occurred "just five hundred and fifty-three years from 
 the first of Zedekiah." But we hold that it was clearly 600 years, 
 from the first year of Zedekiah's reign to the first coming of the 
 Messiah, and will now proceed to demonstrate that fact. 
 
 As to the precise number of years between those events, chro- 
 nologists differ. All that seems necessary now is to find what was 
 intended by the statement in question; for it is a wise maxim that 
 "the thing intended, is the thing said." The text reads: 
 
 "For according to the words of the prophets, Ihe Messiah cometh in six 
 hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem." 
 
 Here is a text, similiar in structure, in which the Lord said to 
 Abraham: 
 
 "Thy set d shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve 
 them ;' and they shall afflict them four hundred years." Gen. 15 : 13. 
 
 Now, in Ex. 12: 40, it is said, "The sojourning of Israel, who 
 dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." Here is a 
 difference of fhirfy year*, when we descend to verbal niceties, 
 between the time as promised and the recorded time of history. 
 Will Mr. Sheldon impeach the Almighty, or invalidate Bible his- 
 tory because of this discrepancy! The grounds here presented are 
 much better for his doing so than are those he takes to invalidate 
 the testimony of Nephi. For in one case there is an admitted ver- 
 bal difference, (of thirty years), while in the other there is not. 
 What was evidently intended in the promise to Abraham was, that 
 about four hundred years, in round numbers, would measure 
 Israel's captivity in Egypt. So in regard to the "six hundred 
 years" predicted by Nephi; a fair interpretation would be that, 
 "in about six hundred years." 
 
 But we need not dwell upon this, for it is a well known fact that 
 there is quite a difference of opinion about the date of our Savior's 
 birth, and Mr. Sheldon's statement is only his personal opinion 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 9 
 
 about that matter. Tegg, editor of "The Chronology, or Historian's 
 Companion," makes it about 604 years from the first of Zedekiah; 
 Rollin makes it about 600; Usher, JPetavius, Jackson, Hales, and 
 Bunsen, near the same; but as we have seen, Mr. Sheldon fixes it 
 at just precisely "553," a difference of 47 years. It may be well to 
 remark that he reaches his very precise figures, by means of his 
 forced interpretation of Daniel 9: 25. Mr. Sheldon, and his fellows, 
 have devoted not a little labor to "the time question," for the last 
 55 or more years; and, if they succeed as well in the future as they 
 have in the past, they will convince others, even if they fail to con- 
 vince themselves, that they know but little in reckoning Bible 
 time. Their erroneous methods of interpretation, which have 
 involved them in many and frequent serious blunders and painful 
 mistakes, proclaim them "blind guides," especially upon questions 
 of time; for he and his people have set scores of different times for 
 the second advent, beginning with the claim of Rev. William Mil- 
 ler that the second coming of Christ would take place in the early 
 spring of 1843. "By their fruits ye shall know them." 
 
 That Mr. Sheldon has gone wide of the mark, as is usual, in 
 stating that it was but 553 years from the first of Zedekiah to the 
 birth of Jesus, we will now proceed to show, and that too, in part, 
 from this same prophecy of Daniel: 
 
 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to 
 finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconcilia- 
 tion for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up 
 the vision and "prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore 
 and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore 
 and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, 
 and three score and two weeks ; the street shall be built again, and the wall, 
 even in troublous times. And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah 
 be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come 
 shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall b > with 
 a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he 
 shall confirm the covenant with many for one week ; and in the midst of the 
 week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the over- 
 spreading of abominations lie shall make it desolate, even until the con- 
 summation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Dan. 
 "9 : 24-27. 
 
 That the days composing these several periods signify so many 
 years of common time we fully believe. Therefore we note that 
 the "seventy weeks," (or 490 years), are divided into periods of 
 ^'seven weeks," [49 years], "threescore and two weeks," [434 
 years], leaving "the week," or, "one week," [seven years], as the last 
 and concluding period of the "seventy weeks," or 490 years. Now 
 "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build 
 
10 SEVENTY WEEKS. 
 
 Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and 
 threescore and two weeks," or 483 years. This certainly does 
 not relate to the commandment of Cyrus to build the temple as Mr. 
 Sheldon claims, for that was issued, according to Rollin, (Hist. 
 Cyrus, ch. 1, art. 3, sec. 2), B. c. 536, or about from 562 to 567 
 years before "Messiah the Prince" was manifested, (which evi- 
 dently occurred at his baptism by John, see John, 1:29 to 41), and 
 with this agree the dates in the Bible, Ezra 1:1. The "command- 
 ment" predicted was. clearly that one which should effect the resto- 
 ration of Jerusalem and the Jews, and eventuate in the building 
 up of their city "the street," "and the wall" and all this "even 
 in troublous times," for such are the terms of the prophecy. 
 Twenty years after the decree of Cyrus, in the sixth year of 
 Darius, "the temple was finished and dedicated, but the walls 
 remained as the Assyrians had left them" at the close of the terri- 
 ble siege seventy years before (). Fifty-eight years after the 
 temple was dedicated, or "B. c. 457, Ezra arrived from Babylon 
 with a caravan of Priests, Levites, Nethinims, and lay people. "- 
 Ibifi This was by tin- ommantlment, of Artaxerxes [Longimanus], 
 Ezra 7: 1-28. And the effect of this "commandment" was to 
 restore Jerusalem to its former state, before the captivity, both in 
 respect to its civil government, and its religious services: 
 
 "And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set 
 magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the 
 river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know 
 them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the Taw of 
 the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto 
 death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment." 
 Ezra 7 : 25, 26. 
 
 It is true that the building of "the street," and "the wall" did 
 not take place till about thirteen years after this, in the twentieth 
 of Artaxerxes, or about B. c. 444-5, but the "commandment to 
 restore and to build Jerusalem" was nevertheless given to Ezra. 
 This work of building "the wall" was done when Nehemiah was 
 Governor of Judea, (Neherniah 2), and it was done "even in troub- 
 lous times," for 
 
 "They which builded on the wall, and they which bear burdens, with 
 those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and 
 with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his 
 sword girded by his side, and so builded." Neh. 4:17, 18. 
 
 Now, "from the commandment" of Artaxerxes to Ezra to- 
 "restore" Jerusalem to its former religious and civil estate, (which 
 
 (a) Bible Diet.. Smith. Art. Jerusalem. 
 
SEVENTY WEEKS. 11 
 
 we see went forth about B. c. 457), to the announcement of "Mes- 
 siah the Prince," (John 1:29-41) A. D. 30, would be 487 years. 
 From this take off four years because our A. D. begins, it is said, 
 four years after Christ was born, and this would leave just 483 
 years, or "seven weeks, threescore and two weeks." 
 
 That "the week" the last period "in the midst" of which "he 
 shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation [under the law] to cease" 
 measures 'the three and a half years of Christ's active ministry, the 
 terminating of the law of sacrifices by the sacrifice of himself on 
 the cross, (Heb. 10:4-13, etc.), with the three and a half years of 
 his ministers' fruitful labors in establishing the New Covenant 
 among the Jews, is very probable if not conclusive. 
 
 And further; that the "seven weeks" or 49 years refer to the 
 peculiar and eventful period immediately following the "going 
 forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," is, 
 I think, quite evident; and that the period of "threescore and two 
 weeks" or 434 years are to be added to the 49 years, making 
 483 years, thus bringing us to the times when the Messiahship of 
 Jesus was announced, I also think is beyond question; but of this 
 we may not now write at length. Enough has already been shown 
 to prove Mr. Sheldon's reckoning entirely wrong and misleading. 
 
 Rollin, whose chronological dates differ from those of Usher, 
 Hales, Haydn, and others, thinks the beginning of the "seventy 
 weeks" should date from the twentieth of Artaxerxes, instead of 
 the seventh, for the reason that at that time Nehemiah was 
 appointed governor of Judea, and specially commissioned, by 
 decree of the King, to build the walls of Jerusalem (6). If Rol- 
 lin's Chronology were correct his position would be good. He 
 locates the seventh of Artaxerxes B. c. 467, instead of B. c. 457, as 
 Usher, and others; and the twentieth of Artaxerxes B. c. 454, 
 instead of B: c. 445, as Usher and others. But we believe the 
 "seventy weeks" dates from the commandment to Ezra, as before 
 explained. 
 
 Having discovered very near, if not the exact year to date the 
 beginning of the famous "seventy weeks," we now have to look 
 after that period between either the seventh (or twentieth) of 
 Artaxerxes and the first of Zedekiah, in order to learn how long it 
 was from the latter to the birth of Christ, for that is the point 
 upon which Mr. Sheldon claims he has wrecked the authenticity of 
 the Book of Mormon and the prophetic mission of Joseph the 
 Seer. From the first of Zedekiah, (2 Chron. 36: 10), to the seventh 
 
 (6) See Hist, of the Persians and Grecians, Chap. 1, Sec. 6. 
 
12 PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH. 
 
 of Artaxerxes and the "commandment" to Ezra to "restore" 
 Jerusalem, (Ezra 7:7), is 142 years. To this add 457, and wa 
 have 599 years to A. D. 1. Or, taking Rollin's dates, we have the 
 last of Zedekiah in B. c. 589, to which the eleven years of his 
 reign should be added, and we have 600 years to A. D. 1 instead of 
 "just five hundred and fifty-three years from the first of Zedekiah 
 to Messiah" as is so boastfully but falsely claimed by Mr. Sheldon. 
 Thus by either and by both of these lines of chronology, we prove 
 that, as the Book of Mormon claims, it was 600 years from the 
 first of Zedekiah's reign to Messiah; and we therefore prove that 
 Mr. Sheldon's reckoning is wrong by 47 years; and we also find 
 that Mr. Sheldon is- caught in the snare he laid for others. 
 
 While we wish that the chronology of the past was more perfect 
 and reliable, yet imperfect as it is we can approximate the truth, 
 and that answers the practical purposes of the case. In the con- 
 fessed defective state of chronology, especially that prior to A. D. 
 30, we feel quite safe in trusting the dates of the Book of Mor- 
 mon. They may be trusted as safely at least as any. One thing 
 we have demonstrated, and that is that Mr. Sheldon has erred 
 greatly in his statements on time in his interpretation of Daniel, 
 and in his bitter and groundless charges against the authenticity 
 of the Book of Mormon and the prophetic character of Joseph the 
 Seer. In his malevolent haste he has plunged, as we have seen, 
 into an error of. forty-seven yars in reckoning time. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon also errs in his statement that "the first year of 
 Zedekiah began the 70 years' captivity," (of the Jews); for it 
 began in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim, or about B. c. 
 606 (c). 
 
 Verily, Mr. Sheldon proves himself altogether faulty in his 
 judgment as to time, and very false or blind in his statements; 
 therefore his theories and opinions and attempts at logic are 
 utterly unworthy and unreliable. 
 
 PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH. 
 
 In the next place Mr. Sheldon undertakes to show that the Book 
 of Mormon is false because of its statement that Christ should be 
 born "at Jerusalem." (Alma 5:2). Now, if he had quoted the 
 context, the reader of his article could have seen at a glance what 
 was meant by Alma. I will quote it: "And behold, he shall be 
 born of Mary, at Jerusalem, which is the lurid of our forefathers." 
 We have no apologies to offer for the grammatical construction of 
 
 (r.) Vide Jer. 25; 11-18; 2 Kings 24: 1-4; 2 Chron 36; 5-7; Rollin's Hist. Assyrians, chap. 2; 
 .and Josephus Ant. Jews, B. 10, chapters 6 and 7. 
 
'MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 13: 
 
 this passage; what we wish to know is, what it means. That it 
 refers more especially to the vicinity of, and not necessarily to the 
 very limits within the city is, I think, quite apparent. The word 
 at, is a preposition and primarily signifies nearness, presence; as, at 
 the sea; at the grave; at the river; etc., etc., which properly signifies 
 close by. Some suppose, and not without reason, that Bethlehem of 
 Judea, the birth-place of our Savior, was a suburb of Jerusalem, 
 and could, in that sense, be reckoned a part of Jerusalem. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon states that "the Bible often affirms that he was 
 born at Bethlehem." Here he makes another characteristic mis- 
 take; for, to the contrary, it often affirms that he was born in 
 Bethlehem. See Luke 2:4-11; Matt. 2:1, 5, 16. 
 
 When considering the import of the text in question, it should 
 be borne in mind that Alma was many thousand miles away from 
 the place of which he speaks, and therefore his description of it 
 relatively was eminently proper, and sufficiently plain for all but 
 those who would "make a man an offender for a word." 
 
 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says, that "the Book of Mormon clashes with the 
 Bible in its claims concerning the Melchizedek priesthood under 
 the law." 
 
 It does claim that there were many besides Melchizedek who 
 were priests of the Melchizedek order, not "under the law," though 
 some of them lived during the times of "the law." Many of these 
 lived prior to Moses, and other some on the continent of America 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon argues that Israel had no other than Aaronic 
 priests, and they only under the law. But Moses was a priest, 
 (Ps. 99: 6), and officiated as such, (Ex. 24: 4-8), before Aaron and 
 his sons were set apart to minister in the priest's office, (Ex. 
 28: 1). Now, as there are but two orders of priesthood mentioned 
 in the Bible, he must be assigned to one of those two orders. And 
 inasmuch as he held priestly authority and power over both Aaron 
 and his sons, before and after they were set apart, are we not 
 forced to conclude that he held the higher priesthood, the Mel- 
 chizedek? 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, rash as he is, will not dare say that Moses was not 
 'a'prtest; nor can he with truth say that he was an Aaronic priest. 
 To what order he would assign him it is difficult to conjecture; yet 
 J of one thing we may 'rest assured, he will not allow that he was a 
 ! MeIchizeflek priest, for that would utterly spoil his argument, for 
 he 'claims that dnly Melchi'zedek and Christ were priests of that 
 
14 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 order. If Moses belonged to neither the Melchizedek nor the 
 Aaronic orders, then he mutt have belonged to some other order. 
 Will Mr. Sheldon please arise and explain? for he will have it 
 that only Christ and Melchizedek belonged to the one order; and 
 only Aaron and his sons to the other. Nevertheless Moses was a 
 priest of God, as we have shown, and the leading type of Christ. 
 Will Mr. Sheldon say that he was a sort of provisional priest, a 
 make-shift and belonging to no order? 
 
 We believe that Moses was truly a priest, and that he was not 
 an Aaronic priest either, but that he was a Melchizedek priest, and 
 hence was a fit type of the Lord Christ. Abel was evidently a 
 priest, (Gen. 4:3-5); so also was Noah, (Gen. 8:20, 21); so Abra- 
 ham, (Gen. 22: 13); and so Jacob, (Gen. 31: 54; 46: 1); so also was 
 Job, (Job 1:5; 42:8), who, it is probable, was not a Hebrew. 
 Nor is this all, for Jethro was evidently a priest, accredited and 
 honored of God; for, 
 
 "Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; 
 .and Aaron came and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread [sacramental?] with 
 Moses' father-in-law before #orf." Ex. 18: 12. 
 
 That this eating "bread" was a religious ceremony, (like the 
 sacrament under the gospel), and not ordinary feasting, is seen in 
 the fact that it was done "before God," under the administration 
 of a "priest," and at a season when this priest offered "a burnt 
 offering and sacrifices for Uorf." 
 
 Furthermore, that Jethro was a priest accepted and ordained of 
 God is seen in the fact that Aaron, and all the elders of Israel, 
 honored his ministrations by their presence and did "eat bread" 
 with him, which they would not have done if he had not been a 
 priest of God ministering in righteousness. That he was a priest 
 of God is further evident from the fact that he 'rejoiced for all 
 the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel," (Ex. 18:9), in 
 delivering them from Egypt; and from the fact that he said, 
 "Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you out of the hand of the 
 Egyptians;" and from the still greater fact that, he gave to Moses 
 important, acceptable, and highly enlightened counsel in regard to 
 the organization and government of Israel. To Moses he said: 
 
 "Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, ami God shall be 
 with thee; . . ., So .Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and 
 did all that he said." Ex. .18: 19, 24. . . 
 
 Certainly an idolatrous priest would not have proffered counsel, 
 especially such wise counsel..' And, it i& furthermore certain that 
 Moses would not,- for one moment, have received counsel from any 
 
TITHES. 15 
 
 other than a priest of God. To say that Jethro was an idolatrous 
 priest would be to say that God taught superior wisdom to his own 
 minister, Moses, through an idolator. 
 
 Inasmuch then as Jethro was a priest of God, he too, must have 
 belonged to one of the two orders Melchizedek or Aaronic. If 
 we say that he was an Aaronic priest, we deny the Bible account; 
 but if we say that he was a Melchizedek priest, then we say that 
 which is, we think, conclusive to every intelligent, unprejudiced 
 mind. 
 
 Besides those priests already mentioned there were others, not 
 of the order of Aaron, who did minister before the Lord with 
 acceptance between Moses and Christ: Samuel, (1 Sam. 7:9); 
 David, (2 Sam, 6: 18); Elijah, (1 Kings 18:80-38). These, with 
 others, officiated as priests with favor before the Lord, for the Lord 
 answered their ministrations with blessings. And, inasmuch as all 
 these aforementioned persons, some of whom were not even of Israel, 
 did minister in the rites, ceremonies and ordinances of the priest- 
 hood, both before and after the time of Moses, either by the com- 
 mandment or with the approval of God, is it unreasonable, or con- 
 trary to the Scriptures to believe, and claim, that God did call 
 persons on this continent, in ancient times, to minister in the 
 priesthood as is taught in the Book of Mormon? But enough on 
 this topic for the present; for we shall have occasion to consider 
 the subject of the priesthood at greater length ere we conclude 
 this review. 
 
 T i T H E s . 
 
 Another huge stumbling-stone, one on which Mr. Sheldon pro- 
 poses to wreck Mormonisrn he finds in the saying of Alma, that 
 "our father Abraham paid tithes of one tenth part of all he pos- 
 sessed." Alma 10: 1. Mr. Sheldon tells us that "tithes'" 1 "means 
 a tenth." To this we reply that, tithes means tenths, or may mean 
 a tax, a revenue arising from tithings; and this latter is clearly the 
 sense in which Alma wished to be understood. The word "tithes" 
 may mean the sum total of what is gathered by tithing, as an 
 amount of revenue gathered under the order of tithing; yet Mr. 
 Sheldon says the text from Alma, "Our father, Abraham, paid 
 tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed," states, in effect, that 
 Abraham paid "a tenth of one tenth part of all he possessed, . . .. 
 which would be only a hundredth." Now we venture the asser- 
 tionothat no sensible, honest person, unless he be blinded by, pre- 
 judice, would ever put such a construction upon the passage. The 
 
16 TITHES. 
 
 manifest meaning of the passage is this: Abraham paid tithes com- 
 posed of one tenth part of all that he possessed. 
 
 Here is a text from Deut. 26: 12, which we present for the future 
 consideration and critical labor of Mr. Sheldon. Perhaps we may- 
 next hear of his undertaking to prove Moses a false prophet arid 
 the Bible a humbug, because the text is so very like the offensive 
 one from Alma: "When thou hast made an end of tithing all the 
 tithes of thine increase the third year." This was the command- 
 ment to the people of Israel, arid refers directly to the manner in 
 which they should pay their tithing as may be further seen from 
 Deut. 14: 28. Would it not be consistent now for Mr. Sheldon to 
 set himself vigorously at it to write another work, warning the 
 people against Moses and the Bible because that in the Bible Moses 
 instructs Israel in "tithing all the tithes" of their increase? 
 
 Jesus commanded tithe paying. (Matt. 23: 23). Abraham, "the 
 father of the faithful," paid tithes to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20} 
 four hundred and twenty-three years before Moses gave the law of 
 tithes to Israel. (Num, 18: 21-24.) Paul endorsed it; (Heb. 7: 8); 
 and the Lord promised great blessings to Israel if they were faith- 
 ful therein. (Mai. 3:10-12). Mr. Sheldon with his critical tact r 
 could as easily prove the Bible false and Moses an impostor! 
 
 AARONIC PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon objects that, "The Book of Mormon locates the 
 Aaronic priesthood among the descendants of Manasseh, instead 
 of Levi, in opposition to the Bible." It should be borne in mind 
 that this particular priesthood is called the Aaronic or Levitical, in 
 order to distinguish it from the higher or Melchizedek; and because 
 that, in the organized kingdom or commonwealth of Israel, it was 
 delegated to Aaron and his seed. But we are -not aware of any 
 passage in the Bible that would prevent the scattered branches 
 of Israel, or those who become "Abraham's seed and heirs 
 according to the promise," from holding and exercising the 
 same or similar priesthood authority as did Aaron and his seed, 
 with, or without the ceremonial law. The law touching the 
 Aaronic priesthood in organized Israel, in Or near Judea, does not 
 preclude the bestowment of the same or similar authority outside 
 Of and beyond there. 
 
 feut how does Mr. Sheldon know that those of Manasseh's seed 
 whom he trieritidiis were professedly priests of the Aaronic order? 
 They do'ndt claiih to be of that Order; and the Latter Day Saints 
 do ndt clairri that they Were. Mr. Sheldon 'simply assumes-as much, 
 : !ihd then undertakes v to proVe it by quoting: 
 
APPEAKINGS OF CHRIST. 17 
 
 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that 
 they should be priests." 2 Nephi 4:5. 
 
 There is here not even the slightest hint that they were Aaronic 
 priests. As we have before seen, there were many priests among 
 the people, both before and after the giving of the law, who were 
 not called Aaronic priests. Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh, 
 officiated as a priest 230 years after the setting apart of Aaron and 
 his sons (Judges 6:13-27); and Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, 
 officiated as a priest 330 years after. (Judges 13: 2-23.) Moses, a 
 priest, but not an Aaronic priest, was the chief teacher and admin- 
 istrator under the law given through and by him. 
 
 God never had a special people whom he did not bless with priest- 
 hood, its privileges and powers, whether during the times of the 
 Patriarchs, or from Moses to Christ, or under the gospel dispensa- 
 tion. And inasmuch as the Nephites were a righteous people and 
 specially favored of God, it is but reasonable to suppose that they 
 would enjoy the privileges and benefits of the priesthood. It is 
 not impossible or improbable, that the Nephites held priesthood 
 similar or identical with that of Aaron. The text is silent on this 
 point, yet Mr. Sheldon assumes that it claims Aaronic priest- 
 hood. But of this priesthood matter more hereafter. 
 
 APPEARING OF CHRIST. 
 
 The next objection urged is, that "the Book of Mormon con- 
 flicts with the Bible in locating the second coming of Christ in the 
 past," because it states that Christ appeared to the Nephites 
 "within a year after his crucifixion." Book of Nephi 5: 5. Christ 
 said, 
 
 "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [in Judea]; them alK> I 
 must bring, and they shall hear my voice," John 10 : 16. 
 
 Now, inasmuch as he was "not sent but unto the lost sheep of 
 the house of Israel," (Matt. 15:24), it must follow that these 
 "other sheep" were "of the house of Israel," and they not in Judea. 
 Christ's ministry before his crucifixion was confined to Judea; so 
 that the fulfillment of this promise must have been accomplished 
 after his crucifixion and in another locality than Judea, and to others 
 of "the lost sheep of the houste of Israel" than those dwelling in 
 Judea. The Book of Mormon, and that only, affords the true 
 meaning and explanation of Christ's words. In that we find an 
 easy and rational solution of the otherwise unanswerable questions 
 as to when, where, and how, this promise of Jesus had its fulfillment. 
 For it states (Book of Nephi 7: 2) that Jesus, after his resurrection 
 did minister in teaching a branch of the "lost sheep," the Nephites 
 2 
 
18 APPEARINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 on this continent. But this appearing of Christ to the Nephites 
 can not be made to mean his second coming. Christ certainly 
 appeared to Paul some years after he had ascended to the Father, 
 for so Paul testifies. And that was not his second coming, though 
 later than his appearance to the Nephites. 
 
 "And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." 1 
 Cor. 15 : 8. 
 
 Now it is evident that Paul saw him as truly and as literally as 
 did any of the apostles. This is the sense of his testimony. 
 Again: 
 
 "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" 1 Cor. 9 : 1. 
 
 Ananias, sent of God, said to Saul: 
 
 "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his 
 will and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth." Acts 
 22:14. 
 
 This was an open vision, as appears in the fact that the men who 
 were with Paul "saw the light." Verse 9. 
 
 These texts teach the personal appearing of Jesus to Paul after 
 his resurrection and ascension. But further : 
 
 "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, 
 Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness 
 also at Rome." Acts 23: 11. 
 
 And that Paul actually .ww the Lord Jesus on earth, personally, 
 we further learn from the direct testimony of Barnabas : 
 
 "But Barnabas took him, [Paul], and brought him to the apostles, and 
 declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had 
 spoken unto him." Acts 9 : 27. 
 
 This puts the matter beyond question, that Paul not only saw 
 the "light from heaven" and "heard n voice," but that he likewise 
 actually and literally saw the Lord Jesus, and heard "the voice of 
 hiK mouth" "in the way" going to Damascus; i. e., in the highway. 
 
 It seems from Eusebius that the early Christians believed that 
 Christ appeared to many, after his ascension. He says: 
 
 "Besides these, ['Cephus,' 'the twelve/ 'five hundred brethren at once,' 
 'James'], there still was a considerable number who were apostles in imitation 
 of the twelve, such as Paul himself was, he [Paul] adds, saying, 'afterwards 
 he appeared to all the apostles.' " Eccl. Hist. p. 42. 
 
 By this we learn that these last mentioned "apostles" were others 
 besides the first "twelve," and that Paul, and they, too, saw Christ. 
 Again, Paul says he appeared unto "the twelve;" i. e , evidently 
 after his ascension, for, after the death of Judas there was but 
 "the eleven," until after the ascension, when other apostles were 
 called, as see Eph. 4 : 8-12. And again, Paul says he appeared to 
 
CHRIST PRE-EXISTENT. 19 
 
 "above five hundred brethren at once." The facts of history favor 
 the idea that there was no assemblage after the crucifixion, of so 
 many Saints, (especially brethren), until after the ascension. Evi- 
 dence is abundant that our Savior appeared, personally, to many 
 in Judea, after his ascension. But Mr. Sheldon says this appear- 
 ance to Paul "was a vision;" by which he probably means a trance, 
 ecstacy, or spiritual view. That the word vision often signifies 
 this we know; but in Paul's case it certainly signifies something 
 different, as is apparent from the different descriptions given of it. 
 The first and most natural meaning of the word vision, is literal, 
 natural, actual siuht. In this sense it is used, no doubt, in respect 
 to Paul's seeing Christ; also in Luke 24 : 23, where it is said that 
 certain women "had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he 
 was alive." That this is the true sense may be seen by consulting 
 Luke 24: 4-10. So also of Luke 1 : 11, 22, where Zechariah saw 
 the angel Gabriel, "on the right side of the altar of incense," in "a 
 vision." Why should it be thought strange that Christ appeared 
 on earth after his ascension, and before his second coming? 
 
 PRE-EXISTEXCE OF CHRIST. 
 
 We read in the Scriptures of his appearing to some many years 
 before his first coming, such as to Nebuchadnezzar, for instance: 
 
 "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in -the midst of the lire, and they have 
 no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Dan. 3 : 25. 
 
 Again, to Abraham, Gen. 18: 13, 17, 20, 26, 30; to Jacob, Gen. 
 32 : 30, and to Moses, Ex. 3: 2, 4; Ex. 6: 3. Of these last men- 
 tioned appearances, and others, Eusebius makes these judicious 
 remarks, 
 
 ' That the divine Word, therefore, pre-existed and appeared, if not to all, 
 at least to some, has been thus briefly shown." Eccl. Hist. p. 18. 
 
 He further says, (what must be evident to every candid intelli- 
 gent mind), that, 
 
 " To suppose these divine appearances were the forms of subordinate angels 
 and servants of God, is inadmissable; since, as often as any of these [angels] 
 appeared to men, the Scriptures do not conceal the fact in the name, express- 
 ly saying that they were called not God, nor Lord, but [only] angels." Eccl. 
 Hist. p. 17. 
 
 Now, inasmuch as Christ appeared to his people before his first 
 advent, and to Paul and others in Judea, after his resurrection and 
 ascension, it is not unscriptural, nor incredible, that he, after his 
 ascension, should appear to his people on this continent as stated 
 in the Book of Mormon, especially when we consider his promise 
 that "other sheep" than those in Judea should hear his voice. Christ's 
 
20 PLAGIAEISM CHARGED. 
 
 first coming was to dwell with, and minister for his people; and his sec- 
 ond coming is for the same purpose, and to reign "King of kings 
 and Lord of lords." His appearance at divers times after his 
 ascension, including his resurrection, can no more be called his 
 second or third coming, than his various appearances before his 
 incarnation could be called his first coming. Christ did "appear" 
 to Paul, and doubtless to others, after his ascension, and he will 
 "appear" again to all his Saints, at his glorious coming and king- 
 dom to dwell with them in regal power and glory and dominion 
 forever and ever. These events will differ, not in regard to their 
 literality, or being personal, but in the surrounding circumstances, 
 and in the results. 
 
 THE SCRIPTURE WHICH SAITH. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next finds a "clash" where there is none; and in 
 this he evidently strives to excel. He says: 
 
 " In the Book of Ether, sixth chapter, purporting to have been written 
 many centuries before the first advent, and to have been translated and 
 transcribed by Moroni, we read concerning the Scripture which saith, there 
 are they who were first, who shall be last f and there are they who were last, 
 who shall be first. Mark this point, [says Mr. S.], as none of the Old Testa- 
 ment Scriptures were then written, what scriptures can here be referred to 
 but those in the New Testament, where we find similar language." 
 
 In reply we have to say, first, that the Old and New Testaments 
 do not contain all the scriptures, as Mr. Sheldon would seem to 
 claim; and in the second place, the words he quotes are the words 
 of Moroni, who lived four hundred years after Christ, and are 
 not the u-ortfs of Ethrr, as he falsely claims; and lastly they are not 
 the words of the New Testament at all. 
 
 "NO VARIABLENESS." 
 
 He next objects: 
 
 " In the fourth chapter of the Book of Mormon we read, Tor do we not 
 read that God is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and in him is no- 
 variableness, neither shadow of changing?" Yes, [says Mr. S.], we 'read' it r 
 but where? In the New Testament, which claimed to be unknown to Mor- 
 mon." 
 
 If Mr. Sheldon had been as eager to learn the genuine spirit and 
 doctrine of the Book of Mormon as he has been to conjure up 
 faults, and to manufacture errors, he would have found divers 
 places where the sentiments of the passage he quotes are written. 
 
 In Mosiah 1 : 8, is a passage having this import; and in Nephi 
 11 : 1: "I am the Lord, I change not;" and in 2 Nephi 12 : 7: "I 
 am the same yesterday, to-day and forever;" and then in Alma 5:3: 
 "Neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath 
 
PLAGIARISM CHARGED. 21 
 
 he a shadow of turning from the right to the left." Moroni pro- 
 fessed to quote only the sense of what they read, and not letter for 
 letter; and surely he had abundant grounds, as we have seen, from 
 the records of his fathers. 
 
 In the next place he objects to the following passage found in 
 Moroni 8:2: "The wnole need no physician, but they that are 
 sick;" "language borrowed, [he says], from the Savior." 
 
 Now the text, with its context, reads as follows: 
 
 "And the word of the Lord came to me [Mormon] by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost, saying, listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and 
 your God. Behold, I came into the world, not to call the righteous, but sin- 
 ners to repentance ; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; where- 
 fore little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin." 
 
 Here we see that the passage does not purport to be "borrowed" 
 from any place, but that it was a direct revelation from Christ to 
 Mormon. 
 
 If we are to condemn the Book of Mormon because sentiments 
 and phrases are found in it similar to those found in the Old and 
 New Testaments, then we may condemn the Book of Micah, be- 
 cause in its fourth chapter there is found a prophecy similar in 
 sense and letter to that found in Isaiah chapter second. We may 
 go further and condemn the Bible because in it are phrases and 
 sentiments similar to those found in the Brahmin's Veda, which 
 claims to be the oldest of books, and which was compiled as early, 
 at least, as B. C. 1200. In it is a prayer similar to that taught by 
 our Savior, and reads: "O God have mercy, give me my daily 
 bread." Rig-Veda 6 : 47. Shall we say that, because Jesus 
 taught similarly, he therefore "borrowed" from the Veda? We 
 should, if we adopted the reasoning of Mr. Sheldon. Again, (Rig- 
 Veda 9: 113, 7): "Where life is free, in the third heaven of heavens, 
 where the worlds are radiant, there make me immortal." The logic 
 of Mr. Sheldon would make David and Paul borrow some of these 
 ideas, and some of this language from the Rig-Veda! 
 
 ZEXD-AVESTA. 
 
 Again; in the Zend-Avesta there are many ideas and phrases 
 similar to what is found in both the Old and New Testaments. Of 
 this Dr. Haug remarks: 
 
 " The Zoroastrian religion exhibits a very close affinity to, or rather iden- 
 tity with, several important doctrines of the Mosaic religion and Christian- 
 ity." Chips from a German Workshop, p. 125. 
 
 There is one place in it where the Supreme Spirit proclaims him- 
 self "I am who I am;" a similar name to that of Jehovah given 
 
22 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 in Ex. 3 :14. Shall we argue from these coincidences that the 
 Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, or any part of them, 
 have heen copied "borrowed" from those ancient books? The 
 fallacious method of reasoning adopted by Mr. Sheldon would 
 force us to do so. 
 
 The Book of Mormon claims that the same God who inspired 
 the prophets and seers in Judea, inspired prophets and seers in 
 America whose writings we find in the Book of Mormon. This 
 being true, it is no wonder that we find the same general ideas and 
 the same doctrines and phrases in the Book of Mormon that we 
 find in the Bible. Of this the Lord says: 
 
 " Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. 
 And when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of the two na- 
 tions shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many, 
 that I am the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and that I speak forth my 
 words according to mine own pleasure." 2 Nephi 12: 7. 
 
 Will Mr. Sheldon have us believe that two or more revelations 
 from God to as many different persons, at as many different times, 
 touching the same things, must differ in sentiment, and in phraseol- 
 ogy! 
 
 It would seem so, for he is condemning the Book of Mormon on 
 the ground that in it are found sentiments and phrases similar to> 
 those found in the Bible. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Here comes another insurmountable stumbling block in the way 
 of Mr. Sheldon. He says: 
 
 " The Book of Mormon blunders into the claim that about one hundred 
 years before the first advent, the name 'Christian' was in common use on 
 this continent ; thus clashing with the Bible which affirms, 'the disciples 
 were first called Christians at Antioch.'" Acts 11 : 26. 
 
 That the disciples, upon the eastern continent, were "first called 
 Christians at Antioch," we do not deny; and that this was all that 
 Luke intended must be apparent to every fair-minded reader. Luke 
 did not claim to write by revelation or prophecy, nor of any other 
 of Christ's disciples than those connected with the church whose 
 origin and central seat was in Jerusalem and its vicinity; and as a 
 historian he only wrote of facts as he knew and believed them. He 
 referred only to those connected with the Church of Christ on the 
 eastern continents, and did not profess to know or write of matters 
 other than that. But the statement that people on this continent 
 were called Christians, even "one hundred years before the first Ad- 
 vent," Mr. Sheldon can not disprove. The very name, as well as 
 
THE PLATES. 23 
 
 the doctrine and mission of Christ, was known hundreds of years 
 before the first Advent. So also that other prominent New Testa- 
 ment name of our Savior, "Son of God." Dan. 3: 25; Ps. 2: 7. 
 If the leading New Testament names of our Savior were known 
 and used so long before' the first Advent, why should it be thought 
 incredible that one of the leading New Testament names of his 
 disciples should likewise be known and used equally as long before? 
 The Nephites foreknew the name, and mission, and peculiar doc- 
 trines of Christ, hundreds of years before the Advent, and they 
 lived in conformity with his gospel, and why might they not be 
 called by a name in their language that was the exact equivalent 
 of the English word "Christian;" that is, disciples of the Anointed 
 One? For my part I can see no reason against it, but, on the oth- 
 er hand, many good reasons for it. Eusebius, the first and chief of 
 ancient church historians, informs us that: 
 
 "The very name of Jesus, as also that of Christ, was honored by the pious 
 prophets of old. * * * Moses attaches the name of our Savior Jesus Christ; 
 * * * the prophets that lived subsequently to these times, also plainly an- 
 nounced Christ before by name." Eccl. Hist. pp. 21, 22. 
 
 Again he says: 
 
 " For as the name Christian is intended to indicate this very idea, that a 
 man, by the knowledge and doctrine of Christ, is distinguished by modesty 
 and justice, by patience and a virtuous fortitude, and by a profession of piety 
 towards the one and only true and supreme God ; all this was no less stu- 
 diously cultivated by them than by us." p. 26. 
 
 Moses, we are told by Paul, esteemed "the reproach of [for] 
 Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Heb. IT: 26. 
 Moses knew something of Christ and of his doctrine, as did, no 
 doubt, some of his people. That the ancients knew of Christ and 
 his work is seen in the following texts : John 8: 56; Job 19: 25; 
 1 Cor. 10: 4; 1 Pet. 1: 10-12; John 1: 24, 25, 41, 45; 4: 25; 7: 40 
 -42; Mark 12: 35; Luke 3: 15, etc., etc. 
 
 THE PLATES. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next undertakes to make a, conflict between the 
 Book of Mormon and the testimony of Joseph, in regard to the 
 disposal of the plates after Joseph translated them. The Book of 
 Mormon says concerning Joseph: 
 
 "Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded 
 thee, and obtained the witness which I have promised thee, then shalt thou 
 seal up the book again and hide it up unto me." 
 
 Now Mr. Sheldon says that it is claimed by Mr. John Taylor 
 that the plates "when he [Joseph] got through translating, they 
 were delivered again to the angel." "So [says Mr. S.], he did not 
 
24 THE WISE VIRGINS. 
 
 hide up the plates, as stated in the Book of Mormon." The Book 
 of Mormon does not state, nor even intimate, the manner in which 
 Joseph was to "hide up" the plates. There are very many ways in 
 which we may "hide up" plates, or other things, without putting 
 them into the ground as is urged by Mr. Sheldon. 
 
 To hide up anything is to conceal, secure, or screen it f rcm pub- 
 lic observation. This was certainly done when the plates were 
 put into the hands of the angel. They were then hid up unto the 
 Lord, just as the text provides. 
 
 THE THREE DISCIPLES. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon objects that Jesus is made to say to three of his 
 disciples: 
 
 " Ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I come in my glory, 
 ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, from mortality to immortal- 
 ity." Nephi 13: 3. 
 
 And that: 
 
 " In the next paragraph it is added, 'whether they were mortal or immor- 
 tal, from the day of their transfiguration I know not.' * * Nephi says he 
 did not know whether they were mortal or immortal equivalent to saying 
 that he did not know whether Christ lied or told the truth." 
 
 It is not infrequent that people, even disciples of Christ, are told 
 that which they do not fully understand when told. Jesus told his 
 disciples in Judea to go and "preach the gospel to every creature;" 
 yet it required no less than a miracle, and another command, to 
 make Peter know, fully, the nature and scope of his mission, (Acts 
 10: 19-35. Jesus foretold the facts of his own death and resurrec- 
 tion, yet his disciples did not intelligently believe him on this point 
 till after his resurrection and appearance unto them. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, who professes to be a disciple of Christ, does not 
 believe in a pre-millennial kingdom, yet Christ plainly teaches it 
 in Matthew 25 : 1; 13: 47-49 and elsewhere. The kingdom, like 
 the "church," "family," "fold," or "household" of Christ, may exist 
 on earth and in heaven at the same time. This theory is in full 
 harmony with the scriptures. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon also believes that the Adventists are the "wise vir- 
 gins" of Matthew 25: 4, and that they, since A.D. 1833, have been 
 sounding the midnight cry; whereas Christ says the midnight cry 
 oomes to [not from] the wise, as well as to the foolish virgins, and 
 that it finds them asleep or slumbering. Mr. Sheldon believes that 
 while they have been sounding their midnight cry for the past forty 
 and more years, Christ, "the bridegroom tarried;" whereas Christ 
 says that after the midnight cry is made, there is no tarrying, and that 
 
ZARAHEMLAITES. 25 
 
 so sudden would be the coming of the bridegroom that the foolish 
 virgins would not have time to get the needed oil to fill their lamps. 
 Now because Mr. Sheldon and his co-religionists believe contrary 
 to what Christ says, or because they at least fail to believe what 
 he does say, would it not be indelicate, not to say unchristian-like, 
 for us to charge that their want of intelligent belief is "equivalent 
 to saying that they did not know whether Christ lied or told the 
 truth." He and his kind have set scores of times since 1833, giving 
 the year, and sometimes the very day in which Christ would come, 
 all of which have failed, proving them "blind guides" having 
 neither knowledge nor authority to teach the second Advent. And 
 yet we will not say they "lied." 
 
 ZARAHEMLAITES. 
 
 Here another terrible fault is conjured up. He says: 
 
 " The first chapter of the Book of Omni represents Mosiah as going from 
 the land of Nephi to Zarahemla, about three hundred years after Nephi 
 reached America, 'and they discovered a people who were called the people 
 of Zarahernla. Now there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; 
 and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly because the Lord had sent the 
 people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the 
 Jews.' In the next paragrapn we are told, [says Mr. Sheldon], their lan- 
 guage had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; 
 and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of 
 Mosiah could understand them. Yet, [says Mr. Sheldon], the same para- 
 graph tells us that they came out of Jerusalem at the time Zedekiah was 
 taken to Babylon about three hundred years previously. At this time they 
 rejoiced that the Lord had sent Mosiah, and yet did not 1 elieve that there 
 was a Lord in existence. Glad of the records/yet could not understand each 
 other's language their language having been so corrupted in a little over 
 three hundred years." 
 
 A more shameful effort at garbling texts is seldom, if ever, seen 
 than this. It would put the most unblushing infidel critic to 
 shame. Amleki records the fact that Mosiah, being warned of 
 God, fled out of the land of Nephi and went to the land of Zara- 
 hemla, both he and others who accompanied him: 
 
 " And they discovered a people who were called the people of Zarahemla. 
 Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla ; and also 
 Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of 
 Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained a record of the Jews." 
 
 This "great rejoicing" took place evidently, not when the people 
 were first discovered by Mosiah and his company, but when the 
 people of Zarahemla became acquainted thoroughly with the new 
 immigrants, their doctrines and their tidings, as we shall further 
 see : 
 
 " Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zara- 
 
26 PLATES OF ETHER. 
 
 hernia came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah , 
 was carried away into Babylon. * * * And at the time that Mosiah discovered 
 them, they had become exceeding numerous. Nevertheless they had many 
 wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to 
 time, and their language had bee >me corrupted ; and they had brought no 
 records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator ; and Mosiah, 
 nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them. But it came to pass that 
 Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language." 
 
 There is nothing contradictory in this brief narrative; neither 
 anything impossible or incredible. Amleki first states the fact of 
 the discovery of Zarahemla and his people, and then states, as one 
 of the results, that there was "great rejoicing." But he does not 
 intimate that this rejoicing took place immediately upon the dis- 
 covery, but after the people of Zarahemla could understand Mosiali 
 and his people, and had been instructed by them. Furthermore, it 
 was at the. time of their discovery, and also before it, that the people 
 of Zarahemla "denied the being of their Creator;" and at that time 
 it was that "the people of Mosiah" could not understand them. 
 
 CHANGE IX LAXGUAGE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon argues that it is incredible that these two peoples,, 
 having a common origin, coming from* the same country about 
 three hundred years before, could have so corrupted their language 
 as not to understand each other. If Mr. Sheldon was informed in 
 philology, or was very observant of current facts, he would know 
 that there was nothing improbable in it, especially when we con- 
 sider that they of Zarahemla "brought no records with them." 
 Language changes, constantly among all nations, and among some 
 far more rapidly than with others; and that, too, where they have 
 an extensive literature or "records." It would be next to impos- 
 sible for the English speaking nations of to-day to understand the 
 English of but a few hundred years ago. So great have been the 
 changes of language in England, alone, that people from one Shire 
 can not well understand those of another. The languages of men,, 
 like their forms of religion, are subject to rapid and extensive 
 change. Max Muller, M. A., Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford,. 
 England, a competent authority says: 
 
 "The meaning of words changes imperceptibly and irresistibly. Even 
 where there is a literature, and a printed literature, like that of modern Eu- 
 rope, four or five centuries work such a change that few even of the most 
 learned divines in England would find it easy to read and to understand 
 accurately a theological treatise written in England four hundred years ago. 
 The same happened, and happened to a far greater extent, in ancient lan- 
 guages. Nor was the sacred character, attributed to certain writings, any 
 safeguard." Chips From a German Workshop, p 130. 
 
DEFECTS IN BIBLE. 27 
 
 These facts amount to conclusive proof in favor of what is said 
 in regard to the language of the people of Zarahemla having be- 
 come so changed and corrupted as stated by Amleki. 
 
 PLATES OF ETHER. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, in the following, undertakes to show that there are 
 very damaging contradictions in the Book of Mormon in its state- 
 ments concerning the plates written and hid up by Ether. Now it 
 should be borne in mind that one class of these statements is pro- 
 phetic, foretelling what should occur with the plates, another, 
 giving commands touching their disposal; and, lastly, the purely 
 historical account of their origin, transmission and final disposi- 
 tion. Whilst the first claims to be fully inspired, the latter makes 
 no such claim. Prophecy and history are two quite different things 
 The one claims absolute divine perfection, in its sense, its import, 
 and in all its facts; while history Bible history Scripture history 
 seldom makes such claim. Scripture history claims to be essen- 
 tially true in its statements, but it does not usually claim to have 
 been written with such full measure of the Holy Spirit as to secure 
 it against verbal errors, and even errors in some of its minor and 
 unimportant facts. 
 
 DEFECTS IN SCRIPTURE. 
 
 When we reflect one moment upon the discrepancies omissions 
 and contradictions between the Books of the Chronicles and the 
 Books of the Kivr/s, between the four several gospels, and between 
 the four gospels and the Acts; also between the Acts and the Old' 
 Testament history, we see the folly of claiming for the writers of 
 those books what they never claim for themselves; i. e., full and 
 absolute inspiration. 
 
 As to prophecy, holy men and women speak as they are "moved 
 upon by the Holy Ghost;" but history is a narration of matters as 
 the writers know them, understand them, and believe them. Hence 
 Luke, (Luke 1: 13), thought it good to write what he knew, and 
 believed, and had a "perfect understanding of," as it had been de- 
 livered to him by those who "from the beginning were eye witnesses 
 and ministers of the word." Luke did not claim to write by direct 
 revelation from God to himself, but simply what he had learned 
 from persons who were, as he believed competent witnesses. Luke 
 omits many facts found in the three other gospels, but these omis- 
 sions do not invalidate anything he may have written, and no one 
 but a quibbling critic would argue as much. The evangelists differ 
 widely in regard to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, yet 
 
28 PLATES AND INTERPRETERS. 
 
 this difference arises mainly, if not entirely, from omissions some 
 failing to write just the same things that were written by others. 
 In the Acts three different accounts are given of the conversion of 
 Saul, 9: 3-20; 22: 6-16; 26: 12-18.) In these there is considerable 
 discrepancy, and some direct contradiction in the common version. 
 This could not occur if all Scripture history was fully inspired of 
 God. Again Paul, that faithful, devoted servant of Christ, takes 
 occasion to inform us that some of his writings were not indited 
 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 7: 6, 12, 25, 40; 
 2 Cor. 8: 8; 11: 17, &c.) 
 
 Now, inasmuch as Bible historians did not always profess to 
 write under the full inspiration of God's unerring Spirit, are we 
 justified in demanding of those who wrote Scripture history on this 
 continent that their historical writings shall be so fully and per- 
 fectly inspired of God, as to be absolutely full and complete, and 
 without error in letter, or defect in matter? We think not. 
 Such a claim by those well versed in Scripture matters exhibits 
 unfairness or prejudice. But we do not admit the contradictions 
 claimed by Mr. Sheldon. We utterly deny them, except, possibly 
 in one point, and that one of no essential historic value. 
 
 He says: 
 
 1. "Moroni says the plates found by the people of Limhi were kept by 
 king Benjamin, that the world should not see them ; but the book of Mosiah 
 says that the people of Limhi did not find the plates till after king Benjamin 
 was dead. 
 
 2. "Moroni testifies that they were not to be translated till after Christ 
 was 'lifted up upon the cross;' but the book of Mosiah informs us that they 
 were translated by king Mosiah, 'and caused to be written/ even hundreds 
 of years before the crucifixion ; and yet Moroni pretends to translate them 
 again after the cross. 
 
 3. "Moroni informs us that the stone interpreters of the brother of Jared 
 were sealed up with the plates; but the book of Mosiah makes no mention 
 of finding stones with the plates, though Ammon talks to Limhi about stone 
 interpreters possessed by Mosiah off in a distant land. What became of these 
 sealed interpreters? 
 
 4. " Moroni tells us that Jared's brother's stone interpreters were sealed up 
 with the plates that Limhi's people found, for the express purpose of enabl- 
 ing the finders to translate them ; yet, according to the book of Mosiah, the 
 finders could not translate them, not finding with the plates anything but 
 swords and breast-plates ; and finally, Ammon tells king Limhi that Mosiah 
 'hath wherewith he can translate,' called interpreters ; and after a while the 
 plates are carried over to Mosiah in Zarahemla, and Mosiah translates them 
 with his own interpreters 'set in two rims of a bow.' But what became of 
 the interpreters that were sealed up with those plates found by Limhi's 
 people? 
 
 5. " Mosiah not only had interpreters before receiving the twenty-four 
 plates found by the people of Limhi, but he had previously exercised his 
 gift of interpreting languages, and his uncle before him, also, by which Am- 
 
PLATES AND INTERPRETERS. 29 
 
 mon knew that he possessed this gift ; and an instance is given of its exercise 
 in a book written by Omni, before the book of Mosiah : 'And it came to pass 
 in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him, with en- 
 gravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings, by the gift and power 
 of God.' So Mosiah did not need the interpreters of Jared's brother; but 
 still the question continues to come up, since they were sealed at God's bid- 
 ding, what became of them ? And as Moroni claims to have had them, 
 where did he get them? After Moroni represents God as saying to Jared's 
 brother, 'These two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up 
 also' that is, with the plates 'wherefore I will cause in mine own due time 
 that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall 
 write.' Moroni adds, 'After 'Christ had truly showed himself unto his peo- 
 ple, he commanded that they should be made manifest. * * * Behold I 
 have written upon those plates the very things that the brother of Jared 
 saw.' Again he adds, 'I am commanded that I should hide them up again 
 in the earth, * * * and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the 
 interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters.' Where 
 did he get them, seeing they were not found when the people of Limhi 
 found the twenty-four plates, with which they were hid? 
 
 6. "Mosiah's stone interpreters, 'set in two rims of a bow/ which he pos- 
 sessed previous to the finding of these twenty-four plates by the people of 
 Limhi, 'were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from gen- 
 eration to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages' (Mosiah, 
 12th chapter) ; while the two stones possessed by the brother of Jared were 
 given to him by the Lord after confounding the language at the tower, with- 
 out any 'rims of a bow.' But when Nephi came to America, he was very 
 careful to tell us about bringing Laban's sword, Lehi's compass, and the brass 
 plates taken from Laban, but not a word about these precious stone inter- 
 preters, which 'were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down 
 from generation to generation.' Where did Mosiah get his interpreters, 
 seeing they were not imported from Jerusalem, and seeing preceding gener- 
 ations on this continent were unknown to him till after he possessed those 
 interpreters? Here is another puzzle, or crooked story." 
 
 Precisely, Mr. Sheldon. As you have rendered it, it is a "puz- 
 zle;" and as you have perverted it, it is a "crooked story." It is a 
 fair specimen of your work. Your garbled quotations, your unfair 
 inferences and brazen misstatements, have perverted the facts and 
 quite distorted the entire account. 
 
 Allowing that, possibly, there is a mistake, (as in Matthew 27:9, 
 where "Jeremy" is given in place of Zechariah), in the person's 
 -name, who is said to have kept the plates of Ether and the inter- 
 preters, Ether 1: 11), a matter of no historical moment as affecting 
 the value of the record, (Moroni claims to be writing only a small 
 abridgment, Ether 1:1, and to write from memory, Ether 2: 1, and 
 no intimation is given that he writes in a way to preclude pos- 
 sibility of verbal errors, such as in names, etc.; besides it may 
 have been an error of the printer in setting up the text, and not at 
 first discovered, but in some later editions, such as the third Eu- 
 ropean, it reads Mosiah instead of Benjamin.) Allowing that it 
 
so im OMISSIONS, ^ 3 i;i m ^^: 
 
 should have been Mosiah instead of Benjamin, your second state- 
 ment is quite untrue, viz, that Moroni said "they [the plates] were 
 not to be translated till after Christ was 'lifted up upon the cross.' " 
 It was not the plates of Ether, as a whole, but the remarkable things 
 seen and heard by the brother of Jared when in the presence of the 
 Lord upon the mount: 
 
 "And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the 
 mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had 
 seen [in the mount] ; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of 
 men, until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross ; and for this cause 
 did King Benjamin keep them, that they should not come unto the world 
 until after Christ should shew himself unto his people." Ether 1: 11. 
 
 Your' statement that "Moroni pretends to translate them [the 
 plates] again after the cross," is wholly without foundation. The 
 account states that he abriftgerf what he found on the plates of Ether; 
 and he professed to give but a part jjily of what he there found, but 
 not the marvellous things which the brother of Jared saw when up 
 in the mount. Ether 1:11. 
 
 "I [Moroni] give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, 
 from the tower down until they [the Jaredites] were destroyed." Ether 1:1. 
 
 See also paragraph 9. 
 
 OMISSIONS. 
 
 You next state that "the Book of Mosiah makes no mention of 
 finding stones [interpreters] with the plates." Suppose it does 
 not, does that omission prove that they were not with the plates? 
 It proves nothing of the kind. Matthew omits many things con- 
 cerning Jesus which John and others mention. These omissions by 
 Matthew disprove nothing written by John and others, nor do they 
 invalidate either account. Paul, in the description of his remark- 
 able conversion, as told to King Agrippa, (Acts 26; 12-19), omits 
 some important items from the account which himself gives of it 
 at another time before the Jews (Acts 22: 6-16.) He omits to 
 tell King Agrippa the important fact that he was blinded by "the 
 glory of that light," and that he was "led by the hand of them 
 that were with" him. He omits to tell how Ananias came and in- 
 structed him, and said unto him, "Brother Saul, receive thy sight;" 
 and how Ananias commanded him saying, "Arise, and be baptized, 
 and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." All 
 these, and many more omissions are found in comparing the differ- 
 ent accounts of Paul's conversion, but these do not invalidate each 
 other, even though they are found in the same book, and written 
 by one and the same person. 
 
 The Book of Mosiah is simply silent upon the point as to whether 
 
INTERPRETERS. DIRECTORS. 3 1 
 
 "the two stones" given to Jared's brother were found by the people 
 of Limhi with the twenty-four gold plates of Ether, or not, yet it 
 is implied, from Mosiah 12: 3, that they were with the plates when 
 found. For it is said: 
 
 "And now he [Mosiah] translated them by the means of those two stones 
 which were fastened into the two rims of a bow." 
 
 This is the account that Mormon, the father of Moroni, gives. 
 He is the one who translated and greatly abridged the records 
 handed down to him; and he says: "I can not write the hundredth 
 part of the things of my people." Words of Mormon 1:2. It is 
 Mormon who says that Mosiah translated the plates found by the 
 people of Limhi, by "means of those stones which were fastened 
 into the rims of a bow." 
 
 STONE INTERPRETERS. 
 
 Your next statement that "Ammon talks to Limhi about stone 
 interpreters possessed by Mosiah off in a distant land," is entirely 
 untrue. Ammon does not mention "stone interpreters." What 
 he said to Limhi, touching the matter of translation, reads as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " Now Ammon said unto him, I can assuredly tell thee, O King, of a man 
 that can translate the records : for he has wherewith he can look, and trans- 
 late all records that are of ancient date ; and this is a gift from God." 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 Now Mosiah they?rs^, as we may call him, who was a great pro- 
 phet, and who lived some years before Mosiah the second, was pos- 
 sessed of the gift and means of interpretation. "He did interpret 
 the engravings [found upon 'a large stone'] by the gift and power 
 of God." Omni 1: 9. To interpret is to translate, to unfold, to 
 explain, to reveal, to make known what before was hidden or mys- 
 terious. That this means was handed down with the records to 
 Benjamin, and then to his son Mosiah, is highly probable, if not 
 absolutely certain ; for we read that "the sacred things," which in- 
 cluded "the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass," 
 [containing the five books of Moses, the records of the Jews down 
 to the first of Zedekiah, also the prophecies of the prophets down 
 to and including much of the prophecies of Jeremiah] (<Y.] "And 
 also the plates of Nephi, and also the sword of Laban, and the ball 
 or director, w r hich led our fathers through the wilderness, which 
 was prepared by the hand of the Lord, that they thereby might be 
 led, even according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto 
 
 (d) 1 Nephi 1: 46. 
 
32 . INTERPRETERS. 
 
 him" (e), were to be "handed down from one generation to another, 
 or from one prophet to another." ( /.) 
 
 This may serve to explain why we find Mosiah the first (</), Mo- 
 siah the second (A), and Amaleki (?'), all conversant with the fact, 
 and possessing the means of interpreting languages. For it is cer- 
 tain that the wonderful "directors" given to Lehi, and "handed 
 down from one prophet to another," was an important means of 
 revelation and divine instruction to those prophets. In describing 
 their importance and utility, also the manner in which instruction, 
 guidance and revelation were obtained by them, Nephi says: 
 
 "And there was written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be 
 read, which did give us understanding concerning the way of the Lord ; and 
 it was written and changed from time to time, according to the iaith and 
 diligence we gave unto it." 1 Nephi 5:12. 
 
 Here is a mcmm of revelation given to Lehi, and handed down 
 from one prophet to another, reaching Mosiah the second, by which 
 we see that he had a means of interpretation besides the "two 
 stones" mentioned in connection with the plates of Ether. Of the 
 character of these "directors" we further learn by Alma's instruc- 
 tion to his son Helaman: "And now, my son, these directors were 
 prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, 
 saying, I will bring forth out of darkness unto light, all their secret 
 works, and their abominations." Thus we see again that they 
 were a means of revelation, so that, as Ammon said, Mosiah had 
 "wherewith he can look, and translate all records that are of an- 
 cient date; and it is a gift of God." 
 
 But, further, it is not impossible, but highly probable, that, in 
 the providence of God, the very "two stones" given to the brother 
 of Jared came into the possession of Mosiah the first, and so passed 
 down to Mosiah the second; and that he had them prior to the time 
 of his receiving tho twenty-four plates of Ether. Coriantumr, the 
 last of the Jaredites, was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, 
 and "he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons." Omni 1: 
 10. By this we learn that some knowledge of the Jaredites was 
 had by the people of Zarahemla. We further learn that something 
 of the history of the Jaredites was obtained from "a large stone." 
 the "engravings" on which were interpreted by Mosiah the first, 
 par. 9. Here are channels through which much was learned by 
 them of Zarahemla, and finally by them of Nephi in regard to the 
 
 (e) Mosiah 1: 3. (/) 1 Nephi 5: 47. (g) Omni 1: 9. 
 (h) Mosiah 1 : 3. (t) Omni 1 : 12. 
 
PERVFftTS HISTORY. 33 
 
 Jaredites. And might it not be that "the two stones" given to 
 Jared's brother found their way through the Zarahemlaites to Mo- 
 siah the first, and so to Mosiah the second? We see nothing im- 
 probable in this; certainly nothing impossible. 
 
 "INTERPRETERS" SEALED UP. 
 
 You next state that "Moroni tells us that Jared's brother's stone 
 interpreters were sealed up with the plates that Limhi's people 
 found, for the express purpose of enabling the finders to translate 
 them." This statement is not true. The nearest to it is a saying 
 of Moroni concerning the Lord's instructing the brother of Jared 
 as follows: 
 
 "The language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will 
 cause in mine own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of 
 men, these things which ye shall write." Ether 1 : 10. 
 
 Your next statement that "the finders [meaning, probably, the 
 people of Limhi] could not translate them, not finding with the 
 plates any thing but swords and breast-plates," is wholly unwar- 
 ranted. They may have found many things which they failed to 
 mention. As we have already seen, important items may be omit- 
 ted in an account without vitiating that account. 
 
 Luke, in giving his account of the sermon on the mount, omits 
 many important items in that sermon as found in Mat- 
 thew. What folly it would be to say that Jesus really taught 
 at that time only what Luke mentions! Also, Luke omits a part of 
 the Lord's prayer. Matthew fails to mention the fact, time and 
 place of the ascension of Christ. Mark omits to mention the earth- 
 quake which occurred at the resurrection. Matthew, Luke and 
 John, omit to mention the "young man, sitting on the right side, 
 [in the sepulchre], clothed in a white garment." Mark 16: 5. 
 And all but John fail to mention the "two angels in white, sitting,, 
 the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of 
 Jesus had lain." Now these omissions are just as important and 
 just as damaging, as is that in regard to the stone interpreters. All 
 you can say in truth is that Mosiah does not mention, directly, that 
 the stone interpreters were found by the people of Limhi with the 
 twenty-four plates of Ether. To say more than this is unwarrant- 
 able and unfair. 
 
 PERVERTS HISTORY. 
 
 We pass by your fifth paragraph, as we have already answered 
 and refuted what you there say. However, the latter part of that 
 3 
 
34 INTERPRETERS. 
 
 paragraph, where you say again that the interpreters "were not 
 found when the people of Limhi found the twenty-four plates, with 
 which they were hid," is so like your former self that we will re- 
 mind you that your statement is naked, groundless assumption. 
 With characteristic effrontery, you make the text state that which 
 is not there. The text neither states nor implies, that the interpre- 
 ters were not found with the plates. 
 
 MOSIAH'S STONE INTERPRETERS. 
 
 You assume, as usual, that "Mosiah's stone interpreters," "set in 
 two rims of a bow," which you say he possessed previously to the 
 finding of these twenty-four plates by the people of Limhi, were not 
 the ones given to the brother of Jared. This we have before shown 
 is utterly groundless, as the probabilities are that they were the 
 very ones given to the brother of Jared, and were either found 
 with the plates by the people of Limhi, or came down to Mosiah, 
 the second, and his predecessors, by way of the Zarahemlaites; for 
 the Zarahemlaites knew of the history of the Jaredites through 
 Coriantumr, the last Jaredite king, as also through their writings 
 on stone, as we have already seen. 
 
 The "beginning" mentioned, is most probably the beginning of 
 the Jaredite nation. 
 
 INTERPRETERS, HOW OBTAINED. 
 
 As to your question: 
 
 " Where did Mosiah get his interpreters, seeing they were not imported 
 out of Jerusalem, and seeing that preceding generations on this continent 
 were unknown to him till after he possessed the interpreters ?" 
 
 We reply as before, first, he had two ways of obtaing the inter- 
 preters given to Jared's brother, as we have already seen; and, in 
 the next place, it is possible he used the "directors" as interpreters, 
 for we have seen that they were a prominent and efficient means of 
 divine revelation. And as to your assumption that "preceding 
 generations on this continent were unknown to him [Mosiah] till 
 after he possessed these interpreters," namely, those deposited with 
 the plates found by the people of Limhi), we reply that it is simp- 
 ly false to the record, and you ought to know it. For, as we have 
 seen before, the knowledge concerning the Jaredites came by the 
 way of Coriantumr, the last Jaredite king, who lived for a time 
 with the Zarahemlaites, who finally became identified with the Ne- 
 phites; and, likewise, by means of the history translated by Mosiah, 
 the first, from that "large stone." 
 
35 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JXSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon uses a large part of his second chapter in an en- 
 deavor to make a very marked contradiction between the Book of 
 Mormon and the Inspired Translation of the Bible, in the teachings 
 of Christ. He claims what is not true, that the Book of Mormon 
 agrees precisely with our common version of the Bible in respect to 
 the teachings of Jesus; and he then argues that if the Book of Mor- 
 mon and the Inspired Translation were both true, and divinely in- 
 spired, they would exactly agree in language and in fact. 
 
 Now it happens that in the Book of Mormon there are many 
 things taught by Christ which are not taught in the New Testa- 
 ment at all. In the next place sentiments taught by our Savior in 
 the New Testament are found in the Book of Mormon clothed in 
 quite different language. For instance: 
 
 The words in italics are not found in the New Testament of the 
 common version; but in both the Book of Mormon and the Inspired 
 Translation. Again; in the Book of Mormon it is written: 
 
 " Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also 
 written before you, that thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be 
 in danger of the judgment of God." Nephi 5 : 10. 
 
 Again: 
 
 " Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and re- 
 memberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, go thy way unto thy 
 brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with 
 full purpose of heart, and I will receive you" Ibid. 
 
 As before, the words in italics are not found in the common 
 version, nor does the text agree exactly with the Inspired Transla- 
 tion. 
 
 Now these quotations, with scores of others in which there are 
 striking verbal differences between the Book of Mormon and the 
 common version in regard to the teachings of Christ, show con- 
 clusively that Joseph Smith did not copy from the common version, 
 as Mr. Sheldon boldly and impudently asserts. He says: "The 
 fact is, when preparing the Book of Mormon our version was freely 
 
36 TRANSLATIONS COMPARED. 
 
 used, with all its defects." The reader can judge from the quota- 
 tions given how much of truth there is in his statement. 
 
 The Inspired Translation does not profess to be a translation of 
 or from the Book of Mormon, but only a translation, in part, of the 
 Bible; therefore we may not look for verbal agreement even where 
 the same principles and sentiments are taught. In many instances 
 in the Book of Mormon, texts professedly from Moses and the pro- 
 phets are found to differ verbally, and sometimes in sentiment, wide- 
 ly, from the common version. For instance: 
 
 " Hearken and hear this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of 
 Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the 
 name of the Lord, and make mention ol the God of Israel, yet they swear not 
 in truth nor in righteousness ; nevertheless they call themselves of the holy 
 city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord 
 of "Hosts: Yea, the Lord <>f Hosts is his name. Behold, I have declared the 
 former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, 
 and I shewed them. I did show them suddenly, and I did it because I knew 
 thou wert obstinate, and thy neck was an iron sinew, and thy brow brass ; 
 and I have, even from the beginning, declared to thee, before it came to pass 
 I shewed them thee ; and shewed them for fear lest thou shouldst say, mine 
 idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath com- 
 manded them. Thou hast seei and heard all this,' and will ye not declare 
 them .?" 1 Nephi 6:1; with Isa. 48 : 1-6. 
 
 Again: 
 
 "The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jeru- 
 salem : And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the 
 Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be 
 exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it, and many people 
 shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to 
 the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will 
 walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the 
 Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall re- 
 buke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and 
 their spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
 neither shall they learn war any more. house of Jacob, come ye, and let 
 us walk in the light of the Lord ; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every 
 one to his wicked ways. 
 
 'Therefore, Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, be- 
 cause they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like 
 the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. 
 Their land also is full of "silver and gold, neither is there any end of their 
 treasures their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their 
 chariots : their land is also full of idols they worship the work of their own 
 hands, that which their own fingers have made: and the mean man boweth 
 not down, and the great man humbleth not himself, therefore, forgive him 
 not. 
 
 "0 ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear 
 of the Lord, and * * * the glory of his majesty shall smite thee. And it shall 
 come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughti- 
 ness of men shall be bowed clown, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in 
 
GRAMMAR. 3Y 
 
 that day. For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations; yea, 
 upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is 
 lifted up; and he shall be brought low." 2 Nephi 8:4,5,6; with Isaiah 
 2 : 1-12. 
 
 " And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read 
 the words that shall be delivered him. Forasmuch as this people draw near unto 
 me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their 
 hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men, 
 therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people ; yea, a mar- 
 velous work, and a wonder : for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall 
 perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid. And wo unto them 
 that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord. And their works are in 
 the dark; and they say, Who seeth us; and who knoweth us? And they 
 also say, Surely, your turning of things upside down, shall be esteemed as 
 the potter's clay. But behold, I will shew unto them, said the Lord of hosts, that 
 I know all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, He made 
 me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no 
 understanding ? But behold, saith the Lord of hosts, I will shew unto the children 
 of men, that it is not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into 
 a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. And in 
 that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book ; and the eyes of the blind 
 shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness: and the meek shall increase, 
 and their joy shall be in the Lord; and the poor among men shall rejoice in 
 the Holy One of Israel. For assuredly as the Lord liveth, they shall see that the 
 terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that 
 watch for iniquity are cut off; and they that make a man an offender for a 
 word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the 
 just for a thing of nought. Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed 
 Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, 
 neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the 
 work of my hands in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and 
 sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also 
 that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured 
 shall learn doctrine." 2 Nephi 11 : 19. 
 
 This quotation is widely different in word and sentiment from 
 Isaiah 29: 13-24, and it is the height of folly to say that the com- 
 mon version was freely used with all its defects in preparing the 
 Book of Mormon. 
 
 The words in italics are wanting, or differ in connection, in the 
 common version, while the asterisks indicate that in those places 
 in the common version there is something more than in the Book 
 of Mormon. It will be seen on careful reading that the sense is 
 materially better, and clearer, in the texts from the Book of Mor- 
 mon, (j) 
 
 The extracts here given, and the texts cited, utterly disprove the 
 statement of Mr. Sheldon that the common version was freely used 
 by Joseph, with all its defects," when "preparing the Book of Mor- 
 mon." 
 
 (;') See also 2 Nephi 5: 9, with Isa. 51: 17-20, &c. 
 
38 GRAMMAR. 
 
 The thought that the illiterate young man, Joseph Smith, copied 
 from the common version, making all these important changes in 
 the texts, and changes that greatly improve the texts, is quite 
 groundless and inconsistent. He did not copy from the common 
 version. He was not qualified, naturally, for making all these im- 
 portant changes. Nor will it do to say that he copied from Mr. 
 Spaulding's manuscript; for no intelligent Presbyterian minister 
 would dare change the text of the Bible to make it read as does 
 the Book of Mormon. In its language, and in much of its subject 
 matter, it agrees with neither the common version nor the Book of 
 Mormon, in respect to the teachings of Christ. The Book of Mor- 
 mon does not claim to agree with either the Inspired Translation 
 or the common version. It claims to be a record given to another 
 people, under somewhat dissimilar circumstances, and having quite 
 different surroundings. If the Book of Mormon claimed that the 
 teachings of Jesus, as therein found, were identically the same as 
 what he gave his disciples in Judea, then we might expect the In- 
 spired Translation to agree with it, so far as facts and sentiments 
 are concerned; but not necessarily in regard to forms of language^ 
 for the language of the two peoples was manifestly different in 
 some degree. 
 
 In translating the Book of Mormon it was evidently intended to 
 transfer, so far as practicable, the forms of speech peculiar to the 
 language in which it was found; while in the Inspired Translation 
 the apparent object seems to be, (1), to restore essential parts that 
 had been taken away, especially from the gospel; and, (2), to strike 
 out what had been added by uninspired men; and, (3), to give the 
 sense, rather than the forms of speech, in those passages where the 
 meaning was ambiguous and the sense obscure. Many of the 
 forms of speech peculiar to the Israelites of eighteen hundred years 
 ago, and well adapted to their modes of thought and expression, 
 are quite unsuited to the people of the nineteenth century, so great 
 has been the change of language. And it is not at all surprising 
 that in correcting and translating the Scriptures by inspiration, the 
 sense, rather than the forms of the text should be given. 
 
 The Book of Mormon is a work quite distinct from the Inspired 
 Translation; and, while we may expect that there will be no con- 
 siderable differences between the two records, we may not expect 
 to find precisely the same sentiments, no more and no less, taught 
 in both of them; neither to find the same forms of speech even 
 when the same sentiments are taught by the same persons. The 
 same truths may be and often are taught by the same person under 
 different forms of language. Man, with prolific mind and facile 
 
GRAMMAR. 39 
 
 tongue, is not a mere machine that he should always give to the 
 same thought the same form of words, Mr. Sheldon to the contrary 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next finds fault with the grammar of Joseph's In- 
 spired Translation. 
 
 As for the matter of grammar, there is no little difference among 
 grammarians of to-day in regard to it; while there is a very strik- 
 ing difference between those of the present and those of preceding 
 times. The translators of the "common version" were very learned 
 men, and, no doubt, good grammarians for their times, but their 
 work is found very faulty when tried by our present standards. 
 We should not judge them hastily by our standards, lest coming 
 generations, measuring us by theirs, pronounce us equally faulty. 
 Grammar changes with the education and tastes of the people. But 
 Mr. Sheldon, with characteristic assurance tells us that "Inspiration 
 gives the language, as well as the thoughts." Hence he argues that 
 Joseph's defective grammar (according to his standard) is evidence 
 that he was not a prophet of God. If the logic of Mr. Sheldon 
 was valid, it would prove that the Bible, being defective in its 
 grammatical construction, was not inspired, and that its inspiration 
 would come and go according to its grammatical or ungrammatical 
 construction or translation. This is worse than nonsense. 
 
 Smith, in his Bible Dictionary, Art. New Testament, says: 
 "The Aramaic modifications of the New Testament phraseology 
 remove it from the sphere of strict grammatical analysis. * * * 
 There is found constantly in the New Testament a personality of 
 language (if the phrase may be used), which is foreign to classical 
 Greek." 
 
 Hitchcock, in his analysis of the Bible, page 1150, says the gos- 
 pel of Matthew was written in the "familiar speech of the Jews of 
 his day." And of the gospels collectively he says on page 1151,. 
 "The four evangelists * * * each portrayed the life and character 
 of Christ in the manner natural to himself" 
 
 Bishop Home, in his Introduction, vol. 1, page 515, says: 
 
 " When it is said that Scripture is divinely inspired, we are not to under- 
 stand that God suggested every word, or dictated every expression. From the 
 different styles in which the books are written, and the different manner in 
 which the same events are related and predicted by different authors, it ap- 
 pears that the sacred penmen were permitted to write as their several tempers, 
 understandings, and habits of life directed." 
 
 Of the coarse and unscholarly language of the New Testament 
 writers he says, vol. 2, page 22: 
 " Very many of the Greek words, found in the New Testament, are not 
 
40 GRAMMAR. 
 
 such as were adopted by men of education, and the higher and more po- 
 lished ranks of life, but such as were in use icith the common people. Now 
 this shows that the writers became acquainted with the language, in conse- 
 quence of an actual intercourse with those who spoke it, rather than from 
 any study of books, and that intercourse must have been very much confined 
 to the middling or even lower classes ; since the words and phrases most fre- 
 quently used by them, passed current only among the vulgar. * * * In fact, 
 the vulgarisms, foreign idioms, and other disadvantages and defects, which 
 some critics imagine that they have discovered in the Hebraic Greek of the 
 New Testament, are assigned by the inspired writers as the reasons of God's 
 preference of it, whose thoughts are not our thoughts, nor his ways our 
 ways." 
 
 Stowe, in his history of the Bible, on pages 18, 19, says: 
 
 " The Bible is not a specimen of God's skill as a writer, showing us God's 
 mode of thought, giving us God's logic, and God's rhetoric, and God's style 
 of historic narration. * * * It is always to be remembered that the writers 
 of the Bible were God's penmen, and not God's pens. It is not the words of 
 tht Bible that were inspired ; it is not the thoughts of the Bible that were in- 
 spired ; it is the men who wrote the Bible that were inspired. Inspiration 
 acts not on the man's words, not on the man's thoughts, but on the man him- 
 self; so that he, by his own spontaniety, under the impulse of the Holy 
 Ghost conceives certain thoughts and gives utterance to them in certain 
 words, both the words and thoughts receiving the peculiar impress of the 
 mind which conceived and uttered them, and being in fact just as really his 
 own, as they could have been if there had been no inspiration at all iii the 
 case." 
 
 From these quotations we gather the fact, that the inspired writ- 
 ers of the Bible wrote the subject matter given them by the Spirit 
 of God in such style and manner of language as they themselves were 
 familiar with, and that the punctuation, spelling, capitalizing, phra- 
 seology, grammatical construction, and general literary style 
 were seldom, if ever, dictated by the Holy Spirit, but were left 
 mainly to the choice of the writers. This accounts for the great 
 diversity of style and culture seen in the various Bible writers. 
 
 With the German, and other nations, it is a rule to put the 
 noun before the adjective, thus horse black; tree tall; woman 
 beautiful; but with the English speaking nations it is just the re- 
 verse black horse; tall tree; beautiful woman. That usage which 
 is a law among the one people, is a violation of law with the others. 
 If inspiration is subject to the laws of grammar, will Mr. Sheldon 
 kindly tell us which dass of laws, for they differ widely, as we see, 
 among the different nations. Are they those of ZENODOTUS of 
 Ephesus? or ARISTOPHANES of Byzantium? or are they those of 
 MURRAY and KIRKHAM? or PIXNEO and QUACKENBOSS? Pray tell 
 us, Mr. Sheldon, for it is important to find the exact and only 
 grammatical channel through which inspiration may come to us! 
 
 We apprehend that God may inspire persons to speak and write 
 
INSPIRATION DEGREES. 4 1 
 
 irrespective of men's notions as to what is or is not grammatical. 
 The chief value of any communication depends, not upon its strict- 
 ly grammatical qualities, but upon the quality and amount of in- 
 telligence it conveys. The loftiest principles, and the grandest 
 truths, are often found in broken and unpolished sentences, even 
 as the purest gold, and the most precious gems, are found with the 
 confused quartz or the shifting sands. The sense of a sentence is 
 the measure of its worth; its structure is of secondary import- 
 ance. As the style of garment is to man, so is the form of lan- 
 guage to sentiment it is its clothing. 
 
 If Mr. Sheldon still objects to the inspiration of a work on the 
 grounds of defective grammar, we propose that he enters upon a 
 criticism of the Old and New Testments, which he professes to 
 love so dearly, and to believe so firmly, and then inform us as to 
 whether they are inspired records or not. As to inspiration giving 
 "the language, ^s well as the thoughts," it is true in part, but only 
 in part. 
 
 DEGREES OF INSPIRATION. 
 
 There are different degrees of inspiration, as one may readily 
 see on reading the Scriptures, unless they are blinded by prejudice 
 or befogged by the creeds, catechisms, and commentaries of unin- 
 spired men. That degree of inspiration which gives the prophetic 
 word, and the open vision, is greater than that which inspires a 
 dream or moves to write current history. That degree that enabled 
 Jesus to know what was in man, and to work his wondrous mir- 
 acles, was far greater than that which inspired the council of "apos- 
 tles and elders at Jerusalem," (Acts 15: 29), or that which moved 
 Paul to write the seventh chapter of First Corinthians. Paul says, 
 "I think also that I have the Spirit of God." The degree of the 
 Spirit which he then possessed, if any, was so small that there was 
 no certainty that what he wrote at that time was inspired of God 
 at all. 
 
 If inspiration always "gives the language, as well as the thoughts," 
 why is there not an exact verbal agreement between the evangelists 
 when they describe the same events, or rehearse the same teachings? 
 And why is not the language of James, and John, and Jude, as 
 precise and scholarly as that of Paul and Luke? And why is there 
 as wide a difference between the style of language found in Ezekiel 
 and that of David, or Isaiah, or Solomon, as there is between the 
 terse sentences of Josephus and the polished periods of Gibbon? 
 The language of Habakkuk, and Job, and Nahum, and the Psalms 
 
42 INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 is lofty and eJegant, while that of Daniel, Hosea and Malachi, i& 
 plain, vigorous, and unpoetic in comparison. 
 Inspiration is: 
 
 "The conveying of certain extraordinary and supernatural notions or mo- 
 tions into the soul ; or it denotes any supernatural influence of God upon 
 the mind of a rational creature, whereby he is formed to any degree of intel- 
 lectual improvement." 
 
 Such are the judicious remarks of Dr. Buck, in his dictionary of 
 the Bible, and their propriety we think, may not be qustioned. 
 He further aptly says in regard to the various measures of inspira- 
 tion: 
 
 "1. An inspiration of superintendence/, in which God does so influence and 
 direct the mind of any person, as to keep him more secure from error in 
 some various and complex discourse, than he would have been merely by 
 the use of his natural faculties. 
 
 " 2. Plenary superintendent inspiration, which excludes any mixture of er- 
 ror at all from tbe performance so superintended. 
 
 " 3. Inspiration of elevation, where the faculties act in a regular, and, as it 
 seems, in a common manner, yet are raised to an extraordinary degree, so 
 that the composure shall, upon the whole, have more of the true sublime, or 
 pathetic, than natural genius could have given. 
 
 " 4. Inspiration of suggestion, where the use of the faculties is superceded, 
 and God does, as it were, speak directly to the mind, making such discover- 
 ies to it as it could not otherwise have obtained, and dictating the very 
 words in which such discoveries are to be communicated, if they are designed 
 as a message to others." 
 
 INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next undertakes to show a huge error in the promises 
 made in the Book of Covenants relative to the Inspired Translation. 
 He argues that the promise, "My Scriptures shall be given as I 
 have appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety," means that 
 all the Scripture ever inspired of God was to be given to the church 
 in the Inspired Translation. There is scarcely any occasion to 
 reply to so stupid a statement. The promise was: "My Scripture 
 shall be given as I have appointed;" and then comes the promise, 
 "And they shall be preserved in safety;" and then follows the ad- 
 vice: 
 
 " And it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning them, 
 and not teach them until ye have received them in full." D. C. 42 : 15. 
 
 That is, the Church was not to teach those Scriptures which God 
 had "appointed," ordained, or decreed, to give to the Church, until 
 they had those "appointed" Scriptures "in full." It remained for 
 the Church to wait and see what Scriptures God had "appointed" 
 
PRE-EXISTENCE. 43 
 
 unto them, in what he should give in the Inspired Translation, for 
 it was the Inspired Translation that was spoken of. 
 
 SPIRITUAL CREATION PRE-EXISTENCE. 
 
 The next point that Mr, Sheldon urges against the Inspired 
 
 Translation is, in that it says: 
 
 " For I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, 
 'before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, 
 had created all the children of men, and not yet a man to till the ground, for in 
 heaven created I them, and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in 
 the water, neither in the air ; but I, the Lord God, spake, and there went 
 up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And I, 
 the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into 
 his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul ; the first flesh 
 upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created, 
 but spiritually were they created and made, according to my word." Gen. 
 2:5-9. 
 
 Here is the full text, underlined as we find it in the article of 
 Mr. Sheldon. He then quotes Genesis 6:52: 
 
 "And he called upon our father Adam, by his own voice, saying, I am 
 God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh." 
 
 He thinks this is contradicted directly by Paul, 1 Cor. 15: 44- 
 49, where he says: 
 
 "The first man Adam, was made a living soul ; the last Adam was made a 
 quickening spirit. Howbeit that which was natural first, and not that which 
 is spiritual ; but afterwards that which is spiritual ; the first man is of the 
 earth earthy ; the second man is the Lord from heaven." 
 
 Now, when the Lord says, "I made the world, and men before 
 they were in the flesh" it is easy to see that the creation of man here 
 spoken of, is not the one alluded to by Paul, when he says, "The 
 first man is of the earth, earthy." Paul clearly refers to the crea- 
 tion of the earthly tabernacle, the fleshly body of man, while Gen. 
 2: 4, 5, 6, 9, and 6 : 52, as clearly relate to their spiritual creation. 
 Mr. Sheldon would deny that the spirits of all intelligent beings 
 are, in any sense, pre-existent. Here is the main issue between 
 him and the text quoted from Genesis. 
 
 Now the common version, with all the other versions that have 
 fallen under our notice, teaches that,, "In the day that the Lord 
 God made the earth and the heavens," he made "every plant of the 
 field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it 
 grew" Gen. 2: 4, 5. Now, inasmuch as the Lord did so much for 
 the vegetable world in its pre-existent state, is it at all surprising 
 that he created and fashioned man's spirit before it took a taber- 
 nacle ef flesh, and even before there was any kind of flesh either in. 
 the air, or in the water, or upon the earth? We think not. 
 
44 PRE-EXISTENCE. 
 
 There are a great many texts that teach the pre-existence of 
 spirits, a doctrine very fatal to the theories so foudly entertained 
 by Mr. Sheldon and his fellows. The Bible proclaims the Lord as 
 "the God of the spirits of all flesh" Num. 16 : 22; 27: 16.. And 
 Paul declares him to be "the Father of spirits." Heb. 12: 9. 
 
 Now, that the spirit of at least one man pre-existed is, we think, 
 -quite evident; and if the spirit of one pre-existed, pray why not 
 all? The law governing one case clearly governs all, for God is 
 no respecter of persons. Of "the man Christ Jesus," that his 
 spirit, as a conscious, active entity, did exist ages before he took 
 an earthly body, a fleshly tabernacle from the womb of Mary, is 
 placed beyond question by his own words, and by the words of 
 prophets and apostles. 
 
 Jesus says: 
 
 " I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I 
 leave the world, and go to the Father." John 16: 28. 
 
 Jesus commends belief in his pre-existence as an important element 
 in the \ruefairf, for he says: 
 
 " For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have 
 believed that I came out from God." Verse 27. 
 
 Again he says: 
 
 " And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory 
 which I had with thee before the world was." John 17 : 5. 
 Again: 
 
 " The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life 
 to the world." John 6: 33. 
 
 John testifies of him: 
 
 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
 Word was God. * * * All things were made by him. * * * And the Word 
 was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1: 1, 3, 14. 
 
 Paul says: 
 
 " By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, 
 visible and invisible." Col. 1 : 16. 
 
 And of his incarnation Paul says: 
 
 "When he [Christ] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering 
 thou wouldst not. but a body hast thou prepared me." Heb. 10 : 5. 
 
 The "body" of Christ was evidently "prepared" of God in the 
 womb of the virgin Mary; and into this "body" at its birth, the 
 pre-existent, intelligent spirit of Christ entered, and accomplished 
 the work assigned him of the Father for the redemption of man. 
 Now Paul draws a parallel between Christ, who came into the 
 world to save man, and man whom he came to save. He says: . 
 
PRE-EXISTENCE. 45 
 
 " Forasmuch then as the children [whom he came to save] are partakers of 
 flesh and blood, he also likewise took part of the same; that through death he 
 might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 
 3:14. 
 
 When he says that "the children are partakers of flesh and 
 blood," he says, in substance, that "the children" had an existence 
 before they partook of "flesh and blood;" especially when he says 
 "he also, likewise [in like manner] took part of the same" [flesh 
 and blood]; thus putting Christ and the children on the same 
 grounds. This places the matter beyond refutation, that the spirits 
 of all men, as well as the spirit of Christ, pre-existed. 
 
 With this idea in the mind, we can easily reconcile and under- 
 stand many passages in both Testaments, which otherwise would 
 remain profoundly mysterious. Such, for instance, as the following: 
 
 "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" 
 John 9:1. 
 
 This question pre-supposes a conscious, responsible pre-existence; 
 and Christ's disciples thought, no doubt, that the spirits of all men 
 existed in a state of intellectual consciousness and moral freedom, 
 similar to that of "the angels which kept not their first estate" 
 mentioned by Jude, (verse 6), and "the angels that sinned," men- 
 tioned by Peter, (2 Peter 2:4), and the devil, who "abode not in 
 the truth," mentioned by our Savior, (John 8 : 44.) Again: 
 
 "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if 
 thou hast understanding. * * * When the morning stars sang together, and 
 all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38 : 4. 7. 
 
 Christ was one of the morning stars, (Rev. 22: 10), and is it im- 
 probable that those who are ministers of God with him were also 
 morning stars? As for "the sons of God," Jesus was one, and 
 Adam was another. Luke 3: 38. This being the case, it is con- 
 clusive that Adam's children, too, those whom Christ came to save 
 and bless, were likewise, in their pre-existent state, "sons of God." 
 'Paul said to the Athenians, "We are also his offspring." Acts 17: 
 28. The sons of God could have "shouted for joy" at the found- 
 ing of our earth only in a pre-existent state. So much for the pre- 
 existence of the spirit of man; and yet but a small amount of the 
 available proof has been adduced. 
 
 As to the pre-existence of the spirits of all fl?*h-> one thing we 
 think is clear, and that is that the law f>f existence that appertains to- 
 one class of spirits appertains to all. There certainly is nothing in 
 the Scriptures nor in philosophy against this idea, but, on the con- 
 trary, very much to favor it. Of the condition of spirits in their 
 pre-existent state but little, comparatively, is said. However, the 
 
46 TWO CREATIONS. 
 
 doctrine of pre-existcnce is much more ancient than apostolic times, 
 and it was extensively taught in the first centuries of the Christian 
 era, as may be seen by consulting the early Christian Fathers. We 
 have seen on page nineteen, that Eusebius held to the pre-existence 
 of Christ. To this we refer the reader. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon attempts to make the Inspired Translation contra- 
 dict itself in regard to the creation, by confounding the two crea- 
 tions, spiritual and physical, in one. This is a genuine Infidel 
 trick, and Mr. Sheldon probably borrowed it from that class of 
 critics. The first chapter in the Inspired Translation embraces an 
 epitomized statement of the creation, while the chapters following 
 contain a recapitulation and more detailed account. The same 
 thing is true of the common version. Reading the account of the 
 creation with this view in the mind, as one evidently should do, 
 there is then not the least appearance of contradiction. Here is a 
 passage he uses with evident satisfaction to prove a conflict: 
 
 " And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men, and no yet a 
 man to till the ground." Gen. 2 : 9. 
 
 And he then opposes to it the following: 
 
 " Let us make man in our own image." Gen. 1 : 27. 
 
 Now Mr. Sheldon knew when he wrote the statement, that the 
 quotation from Gen. 2: 6 was qualified and explained by its con- 
 texts, so as to make it relate to the creation of spirits, or the spir- 
 itual creation, for they read: 
 
 "For I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritual- 
 ly, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. * '* And I, the 
 Lord God, had created all the children of men, and not yet [at the time 
 when he created the spirits] a man to till the ground, for in heaven created 
 I them, and there was not yet [at the time the spirits were created] flesh 
 upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air." Gen. 2: 5, 6. 
 
 Nothing can be plainer than that these texts relate to the crea- 
 tion of pre-existent spirits before there was any kind of flesh on the 
 earth. At the eighth verse of the same chapter begins the account' 
 of man's physical creation: 
 
 " And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul ; 
 the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also." 
 
 That this relates to man's physical creation is further apparent 
 from what follows in the next verse: 
 
 " Nevertheless, all things were before created, but spiritually were they 
 created and made according to my word." Verse 9. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon then charges that there is a conflict between the 
 account (in chapter 1: 22-26) of the creation of the lower orders of 
 
JOSEPH'S TWO FATHERS. 47 
 
 animal life, and the account of the creation of man which follows, 
 (in verses 27-30), and the statement in chapter 2 : 8, where 
 it says that man was the first flesh "upon the earth," as though it 
 was a question only and merely of time, whereas, it is clearly one 
 of rank, position and dignity. Man was the "first flesh upon the 
 earth," from the fact that God placed him first in rank, in dominion 
 and made him first in physical excellence, and gave him dominion 
 over all the earth, and over every living thing. Gen. 1 : 28-31. 
 
 JOSEPH'S TWO FATHERS. 
 Mr. Sheldon next avers that: 
 
 "Joseph's inspired version clashes with itself and with reason, by giving 
 two natural fathers to Joseph, the husband of Mary, * * in rendering Matt. 
 1 : 4, 'Jacob begat Joseph/ and in translating Luke 3 : 30, Joseph was from 
 the loins of Heli.' Certainly he could not have been begotten by Jacob, and 
 also come from the loins of Heli." 
 
 We think he could just as well as that Jesus could come of 
 the "loins" of David, and at the same time be begjftcn by the Holy 
 Ghost. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, when under the inspiration 
 of the Holy Spirit, declared that God had sworn unto David: 
 
 "That of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up 
 Christ to sit on his throne." Acts 2 : 30. 
 
 Now, Joseph w^as only the putative father of Jesus, and in this 
 manner did Jesus descend from the loim of David. It was a cus- 
 tom of the ancient Hebrews, (Gen. 38: 8), and a law under the 
 Mosaic polity, for a man to marry his brother's widow and raise 
 up seed unto his brother. And it was especially provided 
 
 " That the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his 
 brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel." Deut. 
 25:6. 
 
 Now Joseph, the husband of Mary, was the natural son of Jacob, 
 but, under the law we have cited, he was reckoned from "the loins" 
 of Heli; for Joseph's mother was first married to Heli, and, as he 
 died without seed, Jacob took her to wife and their first born was 
 Joseph, who by the law was reckoned as Heli's son, and as being 
 "from the loins of Heli." It will be seen on comparing Matt. 1: 
 15 with Luke 3: 23, 24, that Matthan (Matthat, Greek) was the 
 father of both Jacob and Heli, and that Heli was not the father of 
 Mary as Mr. Sheldon asserts; for the lineage is reckoned in the 
 male line and not in the female as claimed by Mr. Sheldon. Of 
 this matter Eusebius, a competent authority, says: 
 
 "Thus, then, we shall find the two [Jacob and Heli] of different families, 
 [Jacob, through Matthan, his natural father, is of the family of Solomon ; 
 while Heli, his brother, had the same mother, his father under the law being 
 
48 BAPTISM. 
 
 Matthan, while his natural father was Melchi, who was of the family of 
 Nathan], Jacob and Heli, brothers by the same mother. Of these, the one 
 Jacob, on the death of his brother, marrying his widow, became the father 
 of a third, viz., Joseph; his son both by nature and calculation. Wherefore 
 it is written, Jacob begat Joseph. But according to tJie law he was the son of 
 Heli ; for Jacob being his brother raised up seed to him. Wherefore, the 
 genealogy traced also through him, will not be rendered void." Eccl. 
 Hist. 33. 
 
 The Son of God was "made of a woman, made under the law," 
 (Gal. 4: 4); yet his genealogy, as provided for by the law, and as 
 we have seen in the history of the case, is traced in the male line, 
 through his supposed father, back through "the loins of David;" 
 so, under that same law, and according to the same custom, is Jo- 
 seph reckoned "of the loins of Heli." Mr. Sheldon has the same 
 grounds for saying that Peter's statement makes David the natural 
 progenitor of Jesus, that he has for saying that Joseph Smith's 
 translation makes Heli the natural father of Joseph. The cases 
 are parallel. Jesus was uot the natural son of David, though 
 he was reckoned, under the law governing genealogies, as proceed- 
 ing from his "loins;" and Joseph was not the natural son of Heli, 
 yet under the law he was reckoned as descending from his "loins." 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next finds fault with the Inspired Translation be- 
 cause it introduces lapthm in the days of Adam. It is not so 
 much with the fact of baptism as it is for using the term baptism, 
 which he tells us is "a Greek word with an English termination." 
 Baptism is not a Grek word. It is purely an English word, though 
 derived from the Greek, as are thousands of other English words. 
 Baptism is the name of a religious ceremony; and, so far asitsmode 
 is concerned, is performed by immersion. Immersion is not always 
 baptism; for a person may be immersed in a variety of ways, as 
 by accident, or force, without the least reference to religion. Now 
 in translating a word from the original that signified the religious 
 ceremony of baptism, why not call it baptism as Joseph Smith has 
 done? The duty of a translator is to transfer the sense and import 
 of words found in one language into words having the same sense 
 and import in another language. This Mr. Smith has done. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next says: 
 
 " If Adam's baptism, as recorded by Joseph, was a true pattern, all subse- 
 quent baptisms are faulty : 'Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught 
 away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and 
 was laid under the water, and was brought forth ou' of the water; and thus 
 he was baptized.' (Gen 6: 67.) Why, [says Mr. Sheldon] was not baptism 
 subsequently administered on the same principle, if this was really God's 
 work. 
 
BAPTISM ANCIENT. 49 
 
 Simply, we reply, because there was no occasion for it, God 
 having, after the baptism of Adam, provided suitable administra- 
 tors. Will Mr. Sheldon deny that God may, and often does, 
 accomplish the same ends in different ways? God bestowed the 
 Holy Ghost "through laying on of the apostles hands" in "the 
 city of Samaria," (Acts 8: 18), and then bestowed it upon Cornel- 
 ius and his household while they were listening to the discourse of 
 Peter, (Acts 10:44). Christ's ministry usually traveled as men 
 generally do, when they went forth to preach, yet we read of 
 an extraordinary case of journeying wherein the Lord stepped out 
 of his usual way of doing things, for 
 
 "The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no 
 more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus." 
 Acts 8 : 39, 40. 
 
 A crafty critic might claim that Philip's case was "a pattern," 
 and urge that all Christ's ministers, should be "caught away" 
 by the Spirit, as Philip was, and then be equally as reasonable as 
 Mr. Sheldon. There are ordinary methods for curing the sick, 
 for making bread, for raising fish, for making oil, for feeding the 
 hungry, and for making wine, yet this does not preclude the 
 Lord's accomplishing the same things in an extraordinary and 
 usual manner. And when the Lord, in an extraordinary way, 
 performs any work, professed Bible believers are scarcely justified 
 in assuming it as "a pattern" for all coming time. 
 
 BAPTISM, OF ANCIENT DATE. 
 
 As for baptism being a very ancient rite, there is much evidence 
 to prove it. Baptism was clearly no new thing to the Jews, for 
 when John came preaching "the baptism of repentance for the 
 remission of sins," "all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem," 
 responded to the call (Mark 1: 4, 5); which they would not have 
 done if that distinguishing ordinance had been new and strange to 
 them, either in fact, or in the mode of its administration. Again, 
 the question addressed by the Priests and Levites to John: "Why 
 baptizest thou then, if thou be riot that Christ, nor Elias, neither 
 that Prophet? (Jno. 1:25), is conclusive that they understood 
 baptism, and that the ministrations of Christ, Elias, and "that 
 Prophet," in the looked for dispensations, would be eminently 
 distinguished by that ordinance. Anciently, when a Gentile was 
 converted to the Hebrew faith, he was baptized. Baptism was 
 practiced to a great extent among the Pagan nations of the East, 
 both bfeore and since the Christian era. Whence did this ancient 
 
60 BAPTISM ANCIENT. 
 
 practice, whether among Hebrews or Pagan nations, originate? 
 Evidently from the religious ceremony of baptism given of God to 
 his people in the beginning. 
 
 James Herring, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of S. 
 N. W., under date of New York, November, 1845, wrote M. 
 M. Noah, a Jewish editor in New York, for information concern- 
 ing the oiigin of baptism among the ancient Hebrews, saying: 
 "My attention having been directed to the ancient mysteries, 
 I have become satisfied that a species of baptism was practiced 
 there before the foundation of the Hebrew Commonwealth, in 
 India, Egypt, Greece and Britain; and as those mysteries in 
 the remote antiquity of their institution, were intended to promote 
 the true worship of the Deity, and the transmission of the traditions 
 of the early ages of the human family, the ritual must have had one 
 common origin; but I was not aware [before he saw it stated 
 in Mr. Noah's paper that circumcision and baptism were inseparable 
 from the earliest periods of the Hebrew race. ED.] that baptism 
 had been incorporated into the Jewish rites." New York Trib- 
 une. 
 
 The idea of the One God; of the virgin-born Redeemer; par- 
 adise; the fall of man; the temptation through the serpent; the 
 cross and its wondrous saving power; sacrificial offerings, and the 
 atonement for sin; the incarnation of the Creator; the crucifixion; 
 the resurrection; the pre-existence and immortality of man's spirit; 
 the reign of the Holy One in peace and glory; preaching to the 
 spirits in prison; the New Jerusalem; the renewal of the earth, 
 and the final restitution, etc., etc., ideas held in part or in whole 
 by many of the ancient Pagan nations of the East, as also in part 
 by the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans are all referable to 
 the one source, viz., an early revelation given to God's people, of 
 which these ideas, corrupted though they be, are the remaining 
 traditions, brought down from Adam and the antediluvian pat- 
 riarchs to Noah; and from Noah, through his posterity, to the 
 Tower; and from the Tower, at the confounding of languages, 
 they were borne out with the various streams of emigration to 
 all the different parts of the world. 
 
 These traditions and practices bear the unmistakable impress of 
 those grand truths that distinguish original Christianity as taught 
 by the prophets and by Christ and his apostles; and which, as 
 taught in the Inspired Translation, the Book of Mormon, and the 
 Book of Doctrine and Covenants, were revealed of God to the 
 first patriarchs and prophets, from Adam to Noah, and from Noak 
 to Moses, and they sustain the claims of these books. 
 
BAPTISM MODE. 51 
 
 As the limpid and refreshing streams of the mountains, spring- 
 ing from the bosom of eternal snow go down and are defiled and 
 darkened by mingling with the turbid river of the valleys sweep- 
 ing on, and on to the great sea, so these wondrous, heaven- 
 born truths, given to man in the morn of time, and coming down 
 through the ages, have become obscured and polluted as they have 
 been mixed and mingled with the corrupting systems and creeds 
 of men, till, at length, but a dim shadow, a faint likeness of their 
 former character and excellence remains. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 BAPTISM, ITS MODE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next attacks Joseph's account of the baptism of O. 
 Cowdery and himself, after their first ordination by the angel; 
 also the statement of the angel concerning "baptism by immersion 
 for the remission of sins." 
 
 "If baptism is immersion, [says Mr. Sheldon], then this angel really talks 
 about immersion by immersion. * * * Such an angel ought to go to school 
 before discoursing on baptism." 
 
 Baptism, as a Christian rite, a religious ceremony, (and that is 
 what the angel was talking about), is more than mere immersion, 
 as we have said before. Baptism, as that term has been used in 
 the true Christian Church, is a religious ordinance, and is designed 
 both for the. remission of sins and as a means of initiation into 
 the fold and Church of Christ the family of God. To this 
 agree both the Scriptures and primitive church history. Now, it 
 was eminently proper that the angel should explain both the ol/ect 
 of baptism, and the mxle of administering the rite, especially 
 when we consider that Joseph and Oliver had been reared in 
 the midst of a people who held that baptism by sprinkling or 
 pouring was valid. The angel, like a true minister for Christ, 
 addressed himself to the manifest wants of the case, speaking 
 to the understanding of the young men, and making his instruc- 
 tion plain to their comprehension and conclusive to their 
 judgment. If his manner had been mysterious, and his instruc- 
 tions been ambiguous, then there would have been good 
 ground for questioning his mission. A true teacher, whether 
 angel or otherwise, will suit his instruction to the needs, and 
 to the understanding of those whom he addresses. 
 
52 BAPTISM REMISSION OF SINS. 
 
 BAPTISM FOR REMISSION OF SINS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next objects: 
 
 "If baptism is 'for the remission of sins/ in the Mormon sense of the state- 
 ment, instead of the Bible sense, why need Joseph have been baptized, see- 
 ing that his sins previously had been forgiven him?" 
 
 On similar grounds, Mr. Sheldon, that Cornelius and his house- 
 hold, whom "God hath cleansed," (Acts 10: 15), needed to be bap- 
 tized. Peter said: 
 
 " Forasmuch as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who be- 
 lieved on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God?" 
 Acts 11 : 17. 
 
 " Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which haye 
 received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be 
 baptized in the name of the Lord." Acts 10: 47, 48. 
 
 This case is directly in point, as showing that the Lord may for- 
 give an unbaptized person their sins, under extraordinary circum- 
 stances, and yet the person be a proper subject for future baptism. 
 Mr. Sheldon further says: 
 
 "Here was a divinely inspired man engaged in translating ancient records, 
 and still a sinner, not having been baptized for the remission of sins, which 
 implies, according to Mormon interpretation, the forgiveness of sins." 
 
 Mr. Smith, like Cornelius and his household, whose case we have 
 just cited, had been graciously "cleansed," or forgiven his sins, as 
 Joseph's record states; and for the matter of God's using him as 
 an instrument to do his work, and to promote his glory without 
 previous baptism, there is nothing either unreasonable or unscrip- 
 tural in it. Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, who was neither a 
 Christian nor friendly to the gospel, was moved of God to prophesy 
 concerning the death and mission of Christ, (Jno. 11:49-52); 
 Balaam was used of God as an instrument through whom to 
 foretell the future history of Israel, and the coming of Christ, 
 (Num. chapters 22, 23, 24); Pharaoh, (Gen. 41:1); Abimelech, 
 (Gen. 20: 3-7), Nebuchadnezzar, (Dan. 2); and others not identified 
 with God's people, were used of God in revealing his marvelous 
 purposes and doings. So also Josephus, the Jewish general and 
 historian, (Wars, B. 3, ch. 8, sec. 9). With these precedent! 
 before us, it is not at all strange to Bible believers that the Lord 
 should call and use Joseph in the divine work of either prophesy- 
 ing, baptizing, ordaining, or translating records, prior to hi 
 baptism, in laying the foundation of the latter day work. 
 
 ORDINATION OF JOSEPH AND OLIVER. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon professes to see something very unreasonable 
 
JOSEPH ORDAINS OLIVER. 53 
 
 in Joseph and Oliver, when mutually ordaining each other after 
 having been ordained by the angel. He says the angel "virtually 
 repudiates his own act of ordination by commanding them to 
 ordain each other." We are not aware of there being any Bible 
 precedent by which to prove the scripturalness of this procedure, 
 yet there is an act of our Savior in which the same principle 
 is involved: 
 
 "And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if thou 
 wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched 
 him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was 
 cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man ; but go thy way, 
 shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a 
 testimony unto them." Matt. 8: 2-4. 
 
 Jesus did not "repudiate his own act," by commanding the leper 
 to comply with the law provided for cleansing leprosy, (Lev. 13:3- 
 10); nor did the angel repudiate his own act of ordination by com- 
 manding Joseph and Oliver to comply with the law governing 
 ordinations. The command was highly proper, and in perfect 
 harmony with the teachings and doings of Christ and the apostles, 
 who always paid respect to the law and order of God. Though 
 the leper was "immediately" cleansed by Jesus, yet he was 
 commanded to "offer the gift that Moses had commanded," 
 for a testimony unto them" (meaning, evidently, the priest and the 
 people who chanced to know of his leprosy); so Joseph and 
 Oliver, though ordained by the angel, were commanded to ordain 
 each other, upon vote of the Saints, "for a testimony to 
 them," and to all interested, and in respect to the law and order of 
 God. 
 
 SONS OF LEVI. 
 
 Again Mr. Sheldon objects, that 
 
 "This same angel intimates that the sons of Levi are again to offer an of- 
 fering unto the Lord, which would be a repudiation of Christ, the great anti- 
 typical sacrifice, by again introducing the shadow." 
 
 Their making in the future an offering unto the Lord would be 
 no more a repudiation of Christ, than Christ's eating the passover, 
 in the future, in the kingdom of God, (Luke 22:16), would be 
 a repudiation of Christ himself. It is not improbable that in the 
 world to come, when Christ reigns as King of kings and Lord of 
 lords, many ceremonies will be performed, not as types pointing 
 to the future, but as memorials commemorative of the past, such as 
 the passover once was, and such as the sacrament now is. On this 
 hypothesis we can explain and reconcile the prophetic visions of 
 Ezekiel,' chapters 40 to 48; Zech. 14:16-21; Isa. 66: 21-23, etc. 
 
54 JOHN, A PRIEST. 
 
 Ceremonies may be, and sometimes are, both typical and com- 
 memorative at the same time. Such was the passover. It pointed 
 back to that terrible night in Egypt when the Lord destroyed 
 Egypt's first-born and passed over faithful Israel, and also pointed 
 forward to the Lord Jesus, "our passover" lamb. 
 
 (rod has promised by Isaiah that, in the final gathering of Israel 
 from all lands, and from the "isles of the sea," (Isa. 66: 19, 20), he 
 will "take of them for priests and Levites." He has also promised 
 that 
 
 " He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that 
 they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righ'eousiiess. Then shall the 
 offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of 
 old, and as in former years." Mai. 3 :,3, 4. 
 
 It would not be an easy task to prove that these promises were 
 conditional, or that they have been already fulfilled, yet some will 
 even undertake to do one or both. The texts, with their contexts, 
 show that they are not conditional; and further, that they remain 
 to be fulfilled in the future. 
 
 JOHN, A PRIEST. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 " There is no proof that John was ever ordained a priest. This point needs 
 proof not conjecture. If he was not an officiating priest how could he hold 
 the keys of the Aaronic priesthood?" 
 
 John was the only son of an officiating priest, (Luke 1:5), and 
 had a right to the priesthood of his father, (Lev. 7: 35, 36; Mai. 
 2: 5). Of the chief and most important duties of a priest, the 
 Lord says by Malachi, chapter 2:6, 7: 
 
 "The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his 
 lips ; he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from 
 iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek 
 the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." 
 
 John filled this description of a priest in a most eminent degree. 
 And Jesus testifies of him: 
 
 ''This is he of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy 
 face, who shall prepare thy way before thee." Matt. 11 : 10. 
 
 Besides this, while the Jews questioned the authority of Jesus, 
 they never questioned the priesthood authority of John, which they 
 evidently would have done if they had known that he did not 
 hold the priesthood. The masses recognized his priestly author- 
 ity^to teach and reprove them, as may be seen in the fact that "all 
 Judea and Jerusalem" answered to his call, and were baptized of 
 him in the river Jordan. (Mark 1:1-8). The mere fact of 
 the onUnation of Zecharias, or Caiaphas, or Annas, as well as John 
 
TRUTHS, NOT IN BIBLE. 55 
 
 ifl not mentioned in Scripture, but it would be folly to deny their 
 ordination simply because the Scriptures are silent upon that point. 
 Such reasoning, which is quite common to Mr. Sheldon, would 
 deny that the apostles of Christ were baptized, simply because no 
 mention is made, in direct terms, of that fact. The Jews, as well 
 as all the Israel* of God, well knew that no person could minister 
 in matters of religion without proper priesthood authority. They, 
 as well as Pagan worshipers, had too much sound, practical sense 
 to accept the religious ministrations of any person unless they 
 believed that they held proper, lawful authority. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: "Death ends the priesthood of each priest;" 
 and he quotes Hebrews 7: 22 to prove it. Paul evidently had ref- 
 erence to this life only. For God declares that there will be 
 priests in the world to come; "And hast made us unto our God 
 kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth," (Rev. 5: 10), 
 "But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 
 reign with him a thousand years." Rev. 20: 6. See also Isa. 61: 
 6; 66:21, etc., etc. 
 
 And Paul says of Christ: "Thou art a priest forever." Heb. 5: 
 6. And why shall not his ministers be also! 
 
 MORE TRUTH THAX IN THE BIELE. 
 
 The reader will have noticed ere this, that Mr. Sheldon argues 
 upon the assumption that all questions relative to matters of relig- 
 ion must be settled by direct proofs from the Bible. Direct 
 evidence from that source is very excellent, but there are 
 many superior proofs that can only be inferred; and there are 
 thousands of valid proofs in matters of religion outside of the 
 Bible. To claim that all the facts and proofs peculiar to the 
 Christian religion are embraced within the Old and New Tes- 
 taments is preposterous. If we had all the teachings of Jesus, and 
 all the teachings of his apostles, and all the writings of the proph- 
 ets, yet that, great as it would be, would not compass fill that 
 relates to matters of religion in Christ Jesus. The apostles had 
 the "law and the prophets." And, without doubt, they had many 
 more sacred writings than what we now have in the Old Testament, 
 for both the Savior and the apostles quote scriptures not found in 
 the common version; and besides this, many quotations are made 
 by Josephus, professedly from the old prophets, which are not now 
 found in the Old Testament, as may be seen by consulting Whis- 
 toris Josephus, pp. 38, 66, 67, 126, 277, etc., etc. They had also the 
 teachings of Jesus, the thousandth part of which we probably have 
 BOt (Jno. 21:25); and then they had the constant revelations of 
 
56 PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 the Comforter (Jno. 14: 26; 16: 13, 14, 15). Now, if we had all 
 this, still we would not be justified in claiming that we had 
 all the truths of God. 
 
 If we had the books of all the ancient prophets and seers men- 
 tioned in the Bible, some twenty or more in number; also all the 
 writings of the early Christian Church for the first three centuries 
 especially the first epistle which Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 
 (1 Cor. 5:9); likewise "the epistle from Laodicea" (Col. 4:16); 
 the epistle of Jude on the common salvation (Jude 4); and 
 the "many" gospels mentioned by Luke, (Luke 1: 1), we, no doubt, 
 would be furnished with evidences on doctrines and history which 
 would be of use in solving questions of importance in respect to the 
 Christian religion. The idea that nothing relative to doctrine, 
 ceremony, or practice, in church affairs can be true except there can 
 be found for it in the Bible a direct verbal proof, or an unquestion- 
 able precedent, is highly absurd. If the early Christians had been 
 subjected to such a limited, prohibitory rule, the gospel would 
 have been fettered, and the church manacled. All the truths 
 of Christ's religion are harmonious. There must be no conflict, 
 no contradiction, no confusion; and there v's none in the revelations 
 of the past or the present, and surely there will be none in 
 the future. 
 
 PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 In respect to the subject of the priesthood, Mr. Sheldon seeme 
 painfully sensitive. It seems that he can not say enough against 
 the idea that there is an authorized priesthood in the Church 
 of Christ. He attacks it again and again, conscious that if 
 that idea proves true, his labors in the ministry, and that of many 
 others, would be found of no authority in Christ, and of no gospel 
 power or value. God is Judge of all, and we will have no contro- 
 versy as to whether Mr. Sheldon holds authority from Christ 
 or not, for he in effect denies it; but we shall attempt to prove that 
 there is always in the Church of Christ an authorized, ordained 
 priesthood, whatever may be the conclusions of Mr. Sheldon and 
 his fellows. 
 
 NECESSITY FOR PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 That any religious system* could exist without an authorized 
 priesthood to teach its doctrines, administer its rites, govern 
 its membership, and have the lawful and special watchcare of 
 all its interests, is an idea quite foreign to all ancient forms, 
 whether Christian, Jewish, or Pagan. The ancient Jewish religion, 
 authorized of God, was of far less importance and value than the 
 
WHAT IS PRIESTHOOD? 57 
 
 religion of Christ, and yet it was of so much importance in 
 the sight of God that none were permitted to minister the 
 laws and ceremonies appertaining to it but those who were legally 
 and properly called to its sacred offices. Authoritative power was 
 given to those ministers, and the power and grace of God attended 
 their faithful ministrations. There was also a specific order pro- 
 vided by which ministerial authority was both delegated and 
 transmitted, so that there need be no mistake in regard to where 
 priesthood authority could be found, and with whom. This was 
 eminently wise and just, as order and good government are indis- 
 pensibly essential. Inasmuch, then, as the religion of Christ, and 
 the Church of Christ, are of far greater importance, for time and 
 eternity, than that of the Jews under Moses' law, why is it not at 
 least equally, nay, more important to have an authorized priest- 
 hood, and well defined rules in regard to delegating and transmit- 
 ting authority in the Church of Christ? 
 
 But some will say, "Where are those rules? We do not discov- 
 er them in the New Testament." Very true, we do not discover 
 them there in their completeness, and there is good reason for it. 
 The New Testament contains but a portion of the writings given 
 to the primitive church. When we consider how the early Chris- 
 tians were persecuted and driven from place to place by Jew and 
 Gentile, we may wonder only that so much has been preserved to 
 us as we find in the Bible. Bingham, in his Antiquities of the Chris- 
 tian Church, when speaking of the writings of the primitive church, 
 says: 
 
 "An exact and authentic catalogue of these first foundations, would be a 
 very useful and entertaining thing; but at this distance of time, it is impossible 
 to gratify the world with any such curiosity, whatever pains should be taken 
 about it. Yet there are some scattered remains and fragments to be collected 
 out of the ancient writers." P. 57. 
 
 In view of the foregoing facts, we may not look to find in the 
 writings of the primitive church anything beyond fragmentary 
 evidences in regard to the subject of priesthood, and to those we 
 appeal. 
 
 WHAT IS PRIESTHOOD? 
 
 Webster gives a fair definition when he says it is "The order of 
 men set apart for sacred offices; the order composed of priests." 
 Buck informs us that a priest is "a person set apart for the 
 performance of sacrifice, and other offices and ceremonies of religion." 
 Both Buck and Webster tell ud that "the word priest is a contra- 
 diction" of the word presbyter, and "of the same import with Elder." 
 Smith, in his Dictionary of the Bible, says, "Its root-meaning,. 
 
58 ORIGIN OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 uncertain as far as Hebrew itself is concerned, is referred by 
 Gesenius to the idea of prophecy." He further says that Saalschutz 
 considers the primary meaning of the word as equivalent to "min- 
 ister." 
 
 ORIGIN OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Of the orign of priesthood Dr. William Smith remarks: 
 
 "The idea of a priesthood connects itself, in all its forms, pure or corrupted, 
 with the consciousness, more or less distinct, of sin. Men feel that they have 
 broken a law. The power above them is holier than they are, and they dare 
 not approach it. They crave for the intervention of some one of whom they 
 can think as likely to be more acceptable than themselves. He must offer 
 up their prayers, thanksgivings, sacrifices. He becomes their representative 
 'in things pertaing to God/ He may become also (though this does not al- 
 ways follow) the representative of God to man. The functions of priest and 
 prophet may exist in the same man." Diet. Bible, 768. 
 
 The foregoing may serve to place the subject properly in 
 the mind of the reader, and dispel any prejudice he may have 
 against the idea of a real, genuine priesthood in Christ's Church, 
 and to forever explode the doctrine held by some that a priest 
 must necessarily offer bloody sacrifices. 
 
 ALL CHRISTIANS NOT PRIESTS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon claims that there was no priesthood in the prim- 
 itive church, but that the entire body of Christians, old and young, 
 male and female, ministers arid members, constituted the priest- 
 hood. To prove this, he quotes 1 Peter 2:9; Revelations 1: 6, etc. 
 Peter says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." 
 
 Now this is clearly to be understood in a qualified and restricted 
 sense, evidently meaning that the church as "a chosen generation," 
 and, as the people of God, possessed within their midst this "royal 
 priesthood." 
 
 A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS. 
 
 A passage precisely the paralell of that in Peter is found 
 in Exodus 19:6, and its interpretation is furnished in the sub- 
 sequent facts of Jewish history, so that there can be no cavil as to 
 what was intended in the promise there made. It reads, "And ye 
 [Israel] shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." 
 Now this certainly did not mean that each individual Israelite, 
 male and female, old and young, should be a priest; if it did, then 
 the promise failed. But it is clear that no such thing was intend- 
 ed, and only that as a nation and people they should possess the 
 distinguished privilege of having among them heavenly appointed 
 priests, a priesthood appointed of God. Israel was "a kingdom of 
 priests," yet the priestly office was restricted and confined to prob- 
 
PRIESTS IN THE CHURCH. 59 
 
 ably less than one in thirty of their number. The primitive 
 church was "a royal priesthood," yet the priestly office was exercised 
 by the few, and not by all. 
 The learned Bingham says: 
 
 "But when his [God's] ministers are to be distinguished from the rest of 
 his people in the church, then the name clenci, or clergy, was their appropri- 
 ate title, and the name of the other, laymen. And this observation will help 
 to set another sort of persons right, who confound not only the names, but 
 the offices of laity and clergy together; and plead that originally there was 
 no distinction between them. The name of priesthood, indeed, is sometimes 
 given in common to the whole body of Christian people; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 
 1:6; but so it was to the Jewish people, Ex. 19: 6: 'Ye shall be unto me a 
 kingdom of priests, and an holy nation ; yet every one knows, that the offices 
 of priests and Levites among the Jews, were very distinct from those of the 
 common people, not by usurpation, but by God's appointment. And so it 
 was among the Christians, from the foundation of the church." Ant. Chris. 
 Church, p. 40. 
 
 Bingham further remarks: 
 
 " Tertullian says it w r as customary among heretics to confound the offices of 
 the clergy and laity together." 
 
 The reader will make special note of this. Again: 
 
 " St. Jerome observes, They [the early Christians] reckoned that to be no 
 church, which had no priests" 
 
 Again Bingham says: 
 
 'St. Jerome, who will be allowed to speak the sense of the ancients * * * 
 says that both in the Old and New Testament the high priests are an order, 
 the priests another, and the Levites another." P. 50. 
 
 " Tertullian, in his book De Baptismo, says, The right of baptizing belongs 
 to the chief priests." 
 
 Says Bingham: 
 
 " These allegations, are sufficient evidences, as to matter of fact, and the 
 practice of the church in the first three ages, that there was then an order of 
 chief priests, or bishops, superior to the presbyters, [elders], settled and al- 
 lowed in the Christian Church." 
 
 Of the "chief priests" he further says: 
 
 "It was no human invention, but an original settlement of the apostles 
 themselves, which they made by divine appointment." P. 54. 
 
 Again Bingham: 
 
 "Now this is most expressly said by Theodoret, that he [Ignatius] received 
 the gift of the high priesthood from the hand of the great Peter." P. 60. 
 
 Again: 
 
 "If it be enquired, as it is very natural to ask the question, why Optatus 
 gives all three orders of Bishops, Presbyters [Elders] and Deacons, the title of 
 priesthood, answer is plain and obvious ; because according to him every order 
 had its share though in different degrees, in the Christian priesthood. Whihc 
 
CO PRIESTS IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 is not, as some imagine, a power to offer Christ's body and blood really upon 
 the altar, as a propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead, (which is such a 
 notion of the Christian priesthood, as no ancient author or ritual ever men- 
 tions) ; but it consists in a power and authority to minister publicly according 
 to God's appointment in holy things, or things pertaining to God. 
 And there are several parts to this power according to the different 
 participation of which, in the opinion of Optatus, Bishops, Presbyters, 
 and Deacons had each their respective share in the priesthood. Thus 
 it was one act of the priest's office to offer up the sacrifice of the people's 
 prayers, praises, and thanksgiving to God, as their mouth and ora- 
 tor, and to make intercession to God for them. Another part of the office 
 was in God's name to bless the people, particularly by admitting them to 
 the benefit and privilege of remission of sins by spiritual regeneration or bap- 
 tism. And thus far Deacons were anciently allowed to minister in holy 
 things, as mediators between God and the people. Upon which account a 
 late learned writer joins entirely with Optatus, in declaring Deacons to be 
 sharers in this lowest degree of the Christian priesthood. Above this was the 
 power of offering up to God the people's sacrifices at the altar; that is, as Mr. 
 Mede and others explain them, first the eucharistical oblations of bread and 
 wine, to agnize or acknowledge God to be the Lord of the creatures; then x 
 the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving in commemoration of Christ's bloody" 
 sacrifice upon the cross, mystically represented in the creatures of bread and 
 wine; which whole sacred action was commonly called the Christians' 
 reasonable, unbloody sacrifice, or the sacrifice of the altar. Now the Deacons 
 (as we shall see in another chapter) were never allowed to offer these obla- 
 tions at the altar, but it wns always a peculiar act of the Presbyter's [Elder's] 
 office, which was therefore reckoned a superior degree of the priesthood. 
 Another act of the priestly office was to interpret the mind and will of God 
 to the people; as also to bless them solemnly in his name." pps. 246, 247, 
 248. 
 
 JOHX, THE APOSTLE, A PRIEST. 
 
 We now turn to Eusebius, from whose writings we obtain 
 further evidence that there was priesthood in the Primitive Chris- 
 tian Church. First, "Polycrates, who was Bishop of the Church 
 
 of Ephesus," says: 
 
 "John, that rested on the bosom of our Lord, who was a priest that bore 
 the sacerdotal [priestly] plate." 
 
 This plate was thought by some to be similar to, if not identical 
 with the ephod of the high priest. 
 
 ORIGEX, A PRIEST. 
 
 Eusebius says of Origen, "He had not yet obtained the priesthood 
 by the laying on of hands." p. 240. Again: 
 
 "At this time Origen, being compelled by some necessary affairs of the 
 church, went to Greece by way of Palestine, where he received the ordina- 
 tion to the priesthood, at Cesarea, from the bishops of that country." p. 243. 
 
 Much more evidence might be given from this source, but this 
 may suffice, as we establish the fact by Eusebius and the otherg 
 
PRIESTHOOD TRANSMITTED. 01 
 
 that there was priesthood in the primitive church, and that it could 
 be obtained only by legal ordination, and not by virtue of being 
 merely a member, as Mr. Sheldon claims. We further note that 
 the Apostle John "was a priest that bore the sacerdotal plate"- 
 the insignia of the high priest. From Bingham we learn, by 
 abundant proofs, not only that there was in the primitive church 
 an ordained priesthood, but one of degrees, and that it was 
 "no invention" of man, but ordained of God, and that none 
 but'"heretics opposed" the idea. We also learn that there were 
 "chief priests," "high priests," "priests," and "Levites." We also 
 learn from him of the distinction of their respective offices, and of 
 their degrees of authority and spiritual power. We also learn 
 how the early Christians interpreted 1 Peter 2:5 and Revelations 
 1: 6, that they interpreted them as meaning the same as the prom- 
 ise in Exodus 19:6, viz., that there was in the church "a royal 
 priesthood," and not that every member was an officiating priest, 
 as Mr. Sheldon and his kind would hold. Such a claim as his is 
 the height of absurdity, and savors much of "Mystery Babylon." 
 
 TRANSMISSION OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Not only was there priesthood in the primitive church, but there 
 were strict rules in regard to its transmission. For as it was 
 important under the law that "no man taketh this honor unto him- 
 self, but he that is called of God as was Aaron," so under the gos- 
 pel it was, and is now essential that no man takes the ministry or 
 priesthood upon himself, except he be called of God and ordained 
 according to the divine rule. Persons taking part in the ministry 
 must be ordained by those having authority, otherwise their minis- 
 trations are valueless. To act "in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," is to act by their authority. 
 This authority no one can get from the Bible, but only by being 
 divinely called and set apart to minister in that name. I would be 
 far more safe and proper for persons to read the statutes of our 
 land, and then, without being duly called to and legally qualified in 
 an office undertake to officiate therein, than to read the Bible and 
 then, without divine calling and consecration, undertake to officiate 
 in the things of God. Are the things of God less important than 
 those of human governments? And should they not be more care- 
 fully guarded? Should the offices in Christ's Church be less 
 protected from encroachment, from lawlessness, abuse and confu- 
 sion, than the offices in human governments? To state these 
 questions is to answer them, with any thoughtful, unprejudiced 
 mind. 
 
62 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon claims that the Aaronic priesthood was not in the 
 primitive church. He says, "It never had a place there." Possi- 
 bly it did not so far as name is concerned, and yet be in it in fact, 
 so far as authority is concerned. See Ephesians 4:11, 12, etc. 
 This authority, or priesthood, was not denominated Aaronic or 
 Levitical, until in Israel it was given to Aaron and the family 
 of Levi, yet the same priesthood in kind existed before." Ex. 28: 
 1-3, 41; Num. 3: 10-12, and 18: 1-7. 
 
 MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon also tells us that the Melchizedek priesthood was 
 not in the church; and further, that Christ was not a priest till he 
 reached heaven! If no one can hold the Melchisedek priesthood 
 on earth, how did it happen that Melchisedek was so favored as 
 to hold and exercise it in the time of Abraham? If Christ did not 
 hold priesthood on earth, by what authority did he baptize, ordain 
 others, preach the gospel, and administer the sacrament of bread 
 and wine? He was very particular to comply with the law of bap- 
 tism, and is it presumable that he would be less particular in 
 respect to priestly authority and prerogatives? He verily per- 
 formed the functions of a priest in teaching and ministering and 
 even in the offering of a bloody sacrifice upon the cross; and shall 
 we say that he did all this without holding priesthood authority? 
 Nay, verily. The idea is as false as it is derogatory to the char- 
 acter of our great High Priest. He was a priest when he offered 
 himself upon Calvary for a ruined race; and he was a priest 
 before that, he was manifestly one from the very beginning of 
 his ministry. 
 
 "But," says Mr. Sheldon, "Paul says, 'If he were on earth 
 he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer 
 gifts according to the law.' " Precisely; he would not be that kind 
 of a priest of which Paul is speaking an Aaronic priest, but this 
 does not say he he would not be a Melchizedek priest. 
 
 CHRIST A MELCHIZEDEK PRIEST. 
 
 Christ was a priest while on earth, for it was here that he began 
 the work of sacrifice and offering. None could administer in that 
 respect unless he was a priest. The sacrifices and offerings of 
 Christ and his ministry differ in kind from those of the Aaronic 
 priests under the law, yet both orders of priests ministered 
 before the Lord. And that Christ was a Melchizedek "priest" 
 while on earth is seen in the fact that "the high priest entereth into 
 the holy place;" so that Christ must have been a high priest before 
 
MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD. 65 
 
 he could enter into the antitypical "holy place," even heaven. 
 (Heb. 9: 23-25). 
 
 OTHER MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTS. 
 
 We have shown, on pages 13 and 14, that Moses held higher 
 priesthood than Aaron; and that Jethro was a priest of God, 
 though not of the order of Aaron; also that many of the pat- 
 riarchs, including Melchizedek and others, were priests; and we 
 have also shown the probabilities of some of them having been of 
 the higher order with Melchizedek. And we are not alone in con- 
 cluding that they were Melchizedek priests. Smith, in his Dictionary 
 of the Bible, says that the New Testament writers "recognize in 
 Christ, the First-born, the King, the Anointed, the Representative 
 of the true primeval priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, from 
 which that of Aaron, however necessary for the time, is now seen 
 to have been a deflection." Art. Priest. This is the very sensible 
 result of his profound researches upon this subject; and it is har- 
 mony with the statements made by Joseph Smith, the young 
 prophet and seer, in Doctrine and Covenants 104: 3: 
 
 "There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely: the Melchizedek and 
 the Aaronic, including the Levitical priesthood. Why the first is called the 
 Melchilzedek priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest : 
 before his day it was called the holy priesthood, after the order of the Son of 
 God; but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to 
 avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient 
 days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek priest- 
 hood. All other authorities, or offices in the church are appendages to this 
 priesthood; but there are two divisions, or grand heads one is the Melchi- 
 zedek priesthood, and the other is the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood. * 
 The second priesthood is called the priesthood of Aaron, because it was con- 
 ferred upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations. Why it 
 is called the lesser priesthood is, because it is an appendage to the greater, or 
 the Melchizedek priesthood." 
 
 Here is furnished a reasonable solution of what would otherwise 
 be a very complicated and troublesome question. That there were 
 various priestly offices and officers before the law, under the law, 
 and under the" gospel, is manifest from the Scriptures and from 
 church history; but their respective degrees of authority, their 
 duties, rights, and privileges, as also the manner in which they 
 were conferred and transmitted, are matters not so clearly and 
 definitely stated in former day Scriptures as could be desired. If 
 we had all the sacred writings given before the law, under the law, 
 and under the gospel, with the full history of the church for the 
 first three centuries, then, no doubt, much if not all of the difficulty 
 
64 TWO PRIESTHOODS. 
 
 that now surrounds this subject would be removed from those who 
 rely alone on Bible evidences, excluding all else. 
 
 BOTH PRIESTHOODS BUT ONE. 
 
 It would seem that before the law, all the priestly offices were 
 held as belonging to one priesthood; and also that under the 
 gospel they were so held, though the same priestly authority that 
 was conferred upon Aaron and his seed existed before the times of 
 the law, and was likewise in the church after the law, as a code, was 
 abrogated. Both priesthoods are but one priesthood, and are two 
 only in the sense of there being two divisions. 
 
 " All other authorities, or offices in the church [including the Aaaronic 
 priesthood] are appendages [something added] to this [Melchizedek] 
 priesthood." D. & C. 104: a. 
 
 This may account for there being more offices in the early 
 Christian Church than there appears to have been among God's 
 people in the times of the patriarchs, though both peoples held to 
 the same priesthood. And it may also explain any real or seeming 
 difference in the arrangement of the priesthood in the church now, 
 from what there was in any former time. The church grows, 
 develops and takes on advanced conditions, but all in harmony 
 with fundamental and preceding conditions. 
 
 OFFICES OF PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 " When he [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and 
 gave gifts unto men. . . . And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; 
 and some, evangelists ; and some pastors and teachers." Eph. 4 : 8-11. 
 
 There were different officers, yet all and each possessed author- 
 ity in the priesthood of the Christian Church. And it is a fact to 
 be borne in mind, that all these were not called and ordained 
 at once, but only as the Master saw that there was need for them; 
 and this principle applies with equal propriety in these latter 
 times. Apostles continued to be given of Christ after his ascen- 
 sion, as also prophets and various other officers for "helps" 
 and "governments. (1 Cor. 12: 28, and Eph. 4:8-11). 
 
 That the priesthood, in its various offices, will be found, by the 
 will of God, in the midst of, and possessed by his people in the 
 latter days, as also the millennium, and throughout eternity, is just 
 as true as holy writ; for the Lord says of his restored people, 
 "But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord: men shall call you 
 the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, 
 and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves." This is confirmed 
 by the following: "And I will also take of them for priesti 
 and for Levites, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:21. See also Ezek. 
 
JOSEPH AND OLIVER PEIESTS. 65 
 
 40: 45; 42: 13; 44: 30; 45: 4; 48: 10, 11; also Joel 2: 17, with 
 Jer. 31:14. That the early Christian Church possessed the priest- 
 hood of God in great or entire fulness, may be seen from the testi- 
 mony of Peter: 
 
 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood" I Peter 2 : 9. 
 
 John, the revelator, about A. D. 96, testifies of Christ to the 
 seven churches of Asia and says: 
 
 " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 
 and hath made us kings and priests unto God his Father." Rev. 1 : 5, 6. 
 
 And in chapter 5, verses 8 to 10, the "saints" testify of "the 
 Lamb," saying: 
 
 " Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by the blood out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our 
 God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." 
 
 And that the priesthood of God is continuous and eternal, is 
 clearly set forth in these texts: 
 
 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such 
 the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of 
 Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Chapter 20 : 6. 
 
 These texts cover the entire ground and show that God's people 
 always possesses genuine, authoritative priesthood, both in this 
 world and forever. 
 
 Is there any thing incredible in the idea that John was one of 
 that number? We think not. It is probable that all the bodies 
 of the Saints who were found worthy came forth at that time; and 
 none, we trust, will question the worthiness of John. 
 
 JOSEPH AND OLIVER ORDAINED BY JOHN BAPTIST. 
 
 " How [says Mr. Sheldon] did Joseph know that it was John that ordained 
 him?" 
 
 Probably in a similar manner as Daniel knew that it was "the 
 man Gabriel" whom he had seen in a vision, (Dan. 9: 21); or that 
 Mary knew that it was "the angel Gabriel" that ministered to her, 
 (Luke 1: 26); or that Paul knew that it was Jesus that appeared 
 unto him in the way to Damascus. These parties were fully satis- 
 fied that the ministrations in their cases were genuine and really 
 divine. All the surrounding conditions were such as to forbid im- 
 posture. So in regard to the ordination of Joseph and Oliver by 
 the angel John the Baptist. We herewith subjoin portions of their 
 account of that very remarkable event. Joseph says: 
 
 " We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month, 
 (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of 
 the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, as weYound mention- 
 
66 OLIVEE'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 ed in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying 
 and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of 
 light and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying unto us, 
 'Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the priest- 
 hood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the 
 gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; 
 and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do 
 offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.' "Times and Seasons, 
 vol. 8, p. 726. 
 
 Oliver's testimony is as follows: 
 
 " After writing the account given of the Savior's ministry to the remnant, 
 of the ^eed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easily to be seen, as the pro- 
 phet said would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the 
 minds of the people. On reflecting further, it was easily to be seen, that 
 amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from 
 God to administer the ordinances of the gospel. For, the question might be 
 asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ who deny 
 revelation? when his testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy? 
 (Rev. 19: 10], and his religion based, built and sustained by immediate 
 revelation in all ages of the world when he has had a people on earth? If 
 these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would 
 have been in danger, if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they 
 were no longer to us ; and we only waited for the commandment to be given, 
 'Arise and be baptized.' 
 
 " This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich 
 in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, 
 after we had called upon him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of 
 men, condescended to manifest to us his will. On a sudden, as from the 
 midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the 
 vail was parted, and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and 
 delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the gospel of re- 
 pentance! What joyf What wonder! What amazement! While the 
 world was racked and distracted while the millions were groping as the 
 blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a 
 general mass, our eyes beheld our ears heard. As in the 'blaze of day;' 
 yes, more above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its bril- 
 liancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the 
 center, and his words, 'I am thy fellow servant,' dispelled every fear. We 
 listened we gazed we admired ! 'Twas the voice of the angel from glory 
 'twas a message from the Most High ! and as we heard we rejoiced, while 
 his love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapt in the vision of the 
 Almighty! Where was room for doubt? No where: uncertainty had fled, 
 doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled for- 
 ever ! 
 
 " But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our 
 hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, 'for who would not 
 have bowed the knee for such a blessing? when we received under his hand 
 the holy priesthood, as he said, 'Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name 
 of Messiah, I confer this priesthood,, and this authority, which shall remain 
 upon earth, that the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in 
 righteousness. 
 
 " I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the ma- 
 
OLIVER'S TESTIMONY. 67 
 
 jestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will 
 believe me when I say that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, can 
 not begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this 
 holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow 
 the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence 
 as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit ! Man may deceive 
 his fellow man ; deception may follow deception, and the children of the 
 wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught 
 but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current 
 the giddy to the grave ; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one 
 ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, 
 from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it for- 
 ever from the mind ! The assurance that we were in the presence of an 
 angel ; the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsul- 
 lied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me 
 past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior's 
 goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry, and 
 in those mansions where perfection dwells, and sin never comes, I hope to 
 adore in that DAY which shall never cease." Messenger and Advocate, Octo- 
 ber, 1834. 
 
 Where was there a chance for these men to be deceived? Their 
 hearts were set to do the will of God; and at the time of the vision 
 they had gone "aside from the abodes of men," and called upon 
 the Lord in a fervent manner, or, as Joseph puts it, "We, on a cer- 
 tain day, went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord;" 
 and here, under these circumstances, they heard "the voice of the 
 Lord," and "the vail was parted and the angel of the Lord came 
 down clothed with glory; * * * then his voice, though mild, 
 pierced to the center, and his words, 'I am thy fellow servant' dis- 
 pelled every fear." Surely, we may say with Oliver, "Where was 
 room for doubt?" It is preposterous to claim that they were de- 
 ceived. The whole of the surrouddings of the case, as they give 
 it, utterly forbid such an idea. They saw the vision, and received 
 the ordination, as they claim, under the hands of the angel, or else 
 they were the vilest impostors known to history. They could not 
 have been deceived in the matter. These men lived and died bear- 
 ing this testimony, Joseph Smith at Carthage jail, Illinois, June 
 27th, 1844, and Oliver Cowdery at Richmond, Ray county, Mis- 
 souri, March 3d, 1850. 
 
 We have occupied more space in considering this question of the 
 priesthood, and its restoration in the latter days, than we had in- 
 tended. The only apology we offer is, that the subject seems to 
 demand it. 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEHI'S PLATES OF BRASS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon thinks he has discovered another error in the pro- 
 phecy of Lehi respecting the brass plates, where he says that, 
 
 'These plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindred, tongues, 
 and people, who were of his seed." 1 Nephi 1 : 48- 
 
 And he further says: 
 
 "Whether this language be applied to the material of the brass plates, or 
 to the record contained upon them, the statement has proven untrue. These 
 plates of brass are represented as having been carefully preserved by the 
 Nephites, and to have been handed down by them till the days of Mormon,, 
 being carefully kept from the Lamanites, who were of Lehi's seed." 
 
 This is a technical quibble at most, and Mr. Sheldon might with 
 equal propriety question the prophecy of Jesus, in Luke 21: 24 in 
 regard to Jerusalem and the Jews. But how does he know that 
 the Lamanites were reckoned as the "seed" mentioned in Lehi's 
 prophecy? The prophecy implies that the plates themselves would 
 go only to the righteous; and subsequent history shows that they 
 did go only to them, while the contents of the plates went to many 
 of Lehi's posterity who were not righteous; and they are yet to go 
 to the Lamanites in due time. The plates and other sacred things, 
 were to be handed down "from one prophet to another," (1 Nephi 
 5: 47), and so they were, until they reached Mormon, who hid them 
 up unto the Lord, and wrote as follows: 
 
 "Having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer that the 
 records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to 
 fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy 
 them), therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in 
 the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the 
 hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son 
 Moroni." Mormon 3: 2. 
 
 This confirms the supposition that the plates of brass were de- 
 signed to go to none others than the righteous of Lehi's posterity. 
 And the recorded facts of history in the book of Mormon show its 
 accomplishment. In 1 Nephi 1 : 23, 35, 46, 47, we first learn of 
 the plates of brass, and something of their contents, and in para- 
 graphs 25, 49, we learn the purpose for which they were taken 
 from Laban, and in chapter 6:1, we find them in the hands of the 
 prophet Nephi, as the teacher of his people; and in chapter 5: 47> 
 we further learned that the Lord purposed that these records, with 
 
LEHI'S PLATES. 69 
 
 "other sacred things," should "be kept for the knowledge" of Ne- 
 phi's people. 
 
 From Nephi they passed on down among the righteous, accord- 
 ing to "lineage" chiefly, "from one prophet to another," going first 
 to Jacob (k) ; Jacob to Enos (I) ; Enos to Jarom (m) ; Jarom to 
 Omni (n); Omni to Amaron (o); Amaron to Chemish (JP); Chem- 
 ish to Abinadom (q); Abinadom to Amleki (>); Amaleki to Ben- 
 jamin (s); Benjamin to Mosiah (t); Mosiah 2nd to Alma (u) ; Alma 
 to Helaman (y); Helaman to Shiblon (?); Shiblon to Helaman 
 2nd (33); Helaman to Nephi (y)\ Nephi to Nephi 2nd (2); Nephi to 
 Amos (); Amos to Amos 2nd (&); Amos 2nd to Amaron (c); 
 Amoron to Mormon (c/); Mormon hides them up in Cumorah, ex- 
 cept those given to Moroni (e}\ and Moroni hides up the bal- 
 ance (/.) 
 
 In this long line of transmission we see that the sacred things, 
 including the brass plates, were kept among the righteous of Lehi's 
 posterity, thus establishing the idea that only the righteous of 
 Lehi's posterity were the promised "seed." Nor is this method of 
 interpretation peculiar: 
 
 " They which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." Gal. 3 : 9. 
 
 " And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to 
 the promise." Verse 29. 
 
 "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of 
 God ; but the children of promise are counted for the seed." Eom. 9 : 8. 
 
 The principle applying in the case of Abraham, applies equally 
 well in the case of Lehi. The Lord said that it was not meet for 
 him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; 
 Ibut that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might 
 "raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise." Those who 
 by righteousness proved themselves to be the Lord's "seed," were 
 the seed of righteous Lehi, and the ones to whom the promise was 
 made. But granting that the "seed" mentioned embraces both the 
 righteous and the wicked of Lehi's posterity, then there is yet 
 time for the fulfillment of the promise. 
 
 WHO SHOULD SEE PLATES OF MORMON. 
 
 And now comes one of the characteristics perversions of Mr. 
 Sheldon. He says: 
 
 " The plates of the Book of Mormon were to be seen by three witnesses, 
 and 'none else ;' yet they were shown to eight others." 
 
 (fc) Jacob 1 : 1. (I) Jacob 5: 9. (m) Jarom 1: 1. (n) Jarom 1:0. (o) Omni 1: 2. (p) Omni 
 7; 3. (3) Omni 1: 5. (r) Omni 1 : 6. (s) Omni 1: 12. (t) Mosiah 1: 3. () Mosiah 13: 1. (v) Al- 
 ma 17: 5. (w) Alma 30: L (3--) Alma 30: 5. (y) Helaman 2; 6. (2) Nephi 1:1. (a) Nephi 1:6. 
 {&) Nephi 1:7. (c) Nephi 1: 11. (d) Mormon 1: 1; 2: 3. (e) Mormon 3: 2. (/) Moroni 10: 1. 
 
70 PLATES OF MORMON. 
 
 And to prove his assertion he quotes D. C. 4 : 3, which reads: 
 
 "This generation shall have my word through you; and in addition to 
 your testimony, the testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and 
 ordain, unto whom I [will] show these things, and they shall go forth with 
 my words that are given through you; yea, they shall know of a surety that 
 these things are true ; for from heaven will I declare it unto them ; I will 
 give them power that they may behold and view these things as they are; 
 and to none else will I grant this power to receive this [same] testimony, 
 among this generation." 
 
 In the first place Mr. Sheldon has not quoted correctly, and in 
 the next place he has utterly perverted the sense and intention of 
 the text. The word "will" enclosed in brackets, he has quoted 
 shall' the word "same," enclosed in brackets he has left entirely 
 out. In this we see recklessness and unreliability, whether for 
 want of honest purpose or through lack of mental calibre, we shall 
 not undertake to decide. The word "same" is very essential to 
 the passage, as it points to the identity and quality of the testimony 
 spoken of. No one but the three, in connection with Joseph, should 
 have "this same testimony" relative to the plates; which testimony 
 was, (1) the hearing the voice of God out of heaven concerning 
 the plates, and their translation by Joseph; and (-2) that the Lord, 
 (not man), would show the plates unto them: 
 
 'They shall know of a surety that these things are true, for from heaven 
 will I [God] declare it unto them ; I [God] will give them power that they 
 may behold and view these things as they are; and to none else will I grant 
 this power to receive this same testimony, among this generation." D, & C. 
 4: 3. 
 
 Nothing is here said or intimated that no others were to see the 
 plates, but only that no others were to .see, and hear, and k)ww, of 
 them iti the *<urie manner. The testimony of the Book of Mormon 
 relative to this is as follows: 
 
 "And behold, ye [Joseph] may be privileged that ye may show the plates 
 unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work : and unto three shall 
 they be shown by the power of God: wherefore they shall know of a surety that 
 these things are true." Ether 2:1. 
 
 By this we learn that Joseph was privileged to show the plates 
 unto those who should assist to bring forth the Book of Mormon; 
 (and he showed them unto at least eight witnesses mentioned in the 
 fly-leaf to the Book of Mormon); and then that "unto three shall 
 they be shown by the power of God" Again: 
 
 "Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man 
 of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, 
 that the eyes of none shall behold it, save it be that three witnesses shall behold 
 it by the power of God, besides him to whom the Book shall be delivered, and 
 they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein. And 
 
PLATES, BREAST-PLATE. 71 
 
 there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few, according to the will 
 of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men." 2 Nephi 
 11 : 17. 
 
 PLATES, BREAST-PLATE, ETC. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon further says: 
 
 "These three witnesses were not only to see the plates, but also other 
 things mentioned in a revelation to Joseph for the three. 'Behold, I say 
 unto you, that ye must rely upon my word, which if you do, with full pur- 
 pose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breast-plate, 
 the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which was given to the brother 
 of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the 
 miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on 
 the borders of the Red Sea ; and it is by your faith that you shall obtain a 
 view of them, even by that faith which was had by the prophets of old. 
 And after that you have obtained faith, and have seen them with your eyes, 
 you shall testify of them.' But they never testified of them; hence the 
 revelation is unreliable." 
 
 How does he know that they never testified to seeing them?. 
 Hundreds of people are now living who will bear witness that they 
 did testify that they saw them. And besides, if they had never 
 seen them, it would not prove that "the revelation is unreliable," 
 unless it could be shown that they, on their part, complied with 
 the conditions of the promise. Mr. Sheldon says impliedly, that 
 they were to testify to seeing them by a written statement. This 
 he is not warranted in doing. It is neither expressed nor implied, 
 that they were to give a written statement of seeing the breast-plate, 
 Urim and Thummim, etc. 
 
 o. COWDERY'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 As to seeing the "Urim and Thummim," O. Cowdery, in a letter 
 to W. W. Phelps, September 7th, 1834, writes: 
 
 "Near the time of the setting of the sun, Sabbath evening, April 5th, 1829, 
 my natural eyes, for the first time beheld this brother, [Joseph Smith]. He 
 then resided in Harmony, Susquehannah county, Pennsylvania. On Mon- 
 day, the 6th, I assisted him in arranging some business of a temporal nature, 
 and on Tuesday, the 7th, commenced to write the Book of Mormon. 
 
 "These were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice 
 dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this 
 bosom ! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, 
 as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would 
 have said, 'Interpreters,' the history or record, called 'the Bo >k of Mormon.'" 
 Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 1, No. 1 ; also Latter Day Saints' Herald, Vol. 
 2, No. 3. 
 
 David Whitmer, who lived at Richmond, Missouri, one of "the 
 three witnesses," in 1875, said to a reporter of the Chicago Times, 
 that he had free access to the room where the translation was going 
 
72 URIM AND THUMMIM. 
 
 on, at the time Joseph and Oliver were at his father's house, (for 
 they went there from Harmony), 
 
 " And [I] was an eye-witness to the method of procedure. The plates 
 were not before Joseph while he translated. * * * The method pursued was 
 common-place, but nevertheless effective. Having placed the Urini and 
 Thummim in his hat, Joseph placed the hat over his face, and with prophetic 
 eyes read the invisible symbols, syllable by syllable and word by word, 
 while Cowdery or Harris acted as recorders. * * * So illiterate was Joseph 
 at that time, that he didn't even know that Jerusalem was a walled city, and 
 he was utterly unable to pronounce many of the names which the magic 
 power of the Urim and Thummim revealed, and therefore spelled them out 
 in syllables, and the more erudite scribe put them together. The stone was 
 the same used by the Jaredites at [from ?] Babel. I have frequently placed 
 it to my eyes, but could see nothing through it. I have seen Joseph, how- 
 ever, place it to his eyes and instantly read signs one hundred and sixty 
 miles distant, and tell exactly what was transpiring there. When I went to 
 Harmony after him, he told me the name of every hotel at which I had 
 stopped on the road, read the signs, and described various scenes without 
 having ever received any information from me." 
 
 Of "the stone," or "interpreters," Mr. Whitmer is represented as 
 saying: 
 
 " But a stone had been found with the plates, shaped like a pair of ordinary 
 spectacles, though much larger, and at least half an inch in thickness, and 
 perfectly opaque, save to the prophetic vision of Joseph Smith. On the 
 tablets or plates were engraven the records of the tribe of Nephites, and 
 the stone was the Urim and Thummim, by which the seers of old had de- 
 ciphered the mysteries of the universe." Chicago Times, Aug. 7, 1875. 
 
 Here are definite testimonies, by O. Cowdery and D. Whitmer, 
 that they not only saw the plates, but also the Urim and Thummim. 
 If they and Martin Harris omitted mentioning in writing that they 
 saw the breast-plate, sword of Laban and directors, that would be 
 no evidence at all that they had not seen them. They frequently 
 testified, orally, to the fact that they saw also the breast-plate, 
 sword of Laban, and the directors, and O. Cowdery and D. Whit- 
 mer have testified freely and pointedly, in writing, as we see, that 
 they saw the Urim and Thummim or "stone interpreters." 
 
 MAY HAVE BEEN COLORED TIN! 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 " Perhaps they saw some plates which might have been tin, colored in some 
 dye that would give them a golden complexion, to those not familiar with 
 that metal ; they might have heard a ventriloquist affirm they were trans- 
 lated by divine power, or they might merely have heard the voice of God 
 through Joseph; they testify that an angel came down from heaven and 
 brought the plates, perhaps on the strength of Joseph's statement, for they do 
 not affirm that they saw the angel; but whether they saw the plates thus pre- 
 pared or some other kind, they failed to see the rest of the furniture promised." 
 
THE THREE WITNESSES. 73 
 
 This is a queer, false and feeble way of dodging the force of 
 conclusive testimony. 
 
 The latter clause is a groundless assumption, for by what we 
 have already seen we know it is false; and by the testimony of many 
 witnesses now living we know Mr. Sheldon's conjectures also to 
 be wholly false, for the witnesses testified of seeing "the furniture 
 promised," as Mr. Sheldon is pleased to call them. As for their 
 seeing "plates which might have been tin, colored in some dye that 
 would give them a golden complexion;" and that "they might have 
 heard a ventriloquist affirm they were translated by divine power;" 
 and that "they might merely have heard the voice of God through 
 Joseph;" and, further, the probability that "they testify on the 
 strength of Joseph's statement that an angel came down from 
 heaven and brought the plates;" and, lastly, that "they do not 
 affirm that they saw the angel" is so weak, so preposterous and 
 puerile, and so false to the written record, that we should not con- 
 sider a reply called for did not the article in which it appears fill 
 a large space in the leading organ of the society of which Mr. 
 Sheldon is a prominent minister and champion. 
 
 COWDERY, WHITMER AND HARRIS CAPABLE WITNESSES. 
 
 Mr. Martin Harris was aged near forty-five years at the time of 
 the translation, was a well-to-do farmer, a sensible, intelligent man 
 and an honored member of society. Oliver Cowdery was a school 
 teacher before he began to write the translation of the plates, and 
 was a highly intellectual man, a good citizen, and possessed a fair 
 education. After breaking off his active connection with the 
 Church he practiced law at Elkhorn, Wisconsin, after which he 
 went to Missouri, where he died, in Richmond, March 3d, 1850. 
 We have been informed by credible witnesses then present, that in 
 1846, or 1847, he attended a conference at Carterville, a hamlet, 
 near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and was there re-baptized and re-ordained 
 to the office of an elder, and that then and there, from the public 
 stand, he bore testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon and 
 the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith. After this he returned to 
 Missouri where he died, bearing his former testimony on his death- 
 Ibed and in his last moments. He recognized the fact, seemingly, 
 of the priesthood being, in part, with that people who were follow- 
 ing under the leadership of Brigham and a portion of the Twelve, 
 though he did not endorse, but rejected that leadership; and he 
 also felt the necessity of doing his "first works" over again before 
 passing into the presence of that God whose voice he had 
 heard, whose angels he had seen and heard, whose Spirit 
 
74 D. WHITMER'S TESTIMONY. 
 
 he had enjoyed, and in whose work he had been for many 
 years actively and prominently engaged. While in the practice 
 of law at Elkhorn many of the Saints questioned him in regard 
 to his former testimonies in respect to the Book of Mormon, Jo- 
 seph the seer, and the Church, and he constantly affirmed those 
 testimonies to be true. Of this we have been told by Brn. Wm. 
 Aldrich, John C. Gaylord, James M. Adams and others. As for 
 David Whitmer, his reputation for intelligence and probity, as a 
 man among men, was most excellent. Of him the reporter of the 
 Chicago Times for August 7th, 1875, who interviewed him, says: 
 
 "He is now seventy years of age, but as hale and hearty as most men of 
 fifty. In person he is above the medium hight, stoutly built though not 
 corpulent, his shoulders inclining to stoop as if irom so long supporting his 
 massive head rather than from the weight of years; his frank, manly, and 
 benevolent face closely shaven, and his whole exterior betokening him to be 
 one of nature's gentlemen. The rudiments of education he learned in school, 
 and a life-time of thought and research have served to expand and store his 
 mind with a vast fund of information. The Tim** reporter found him at his 
 pleasant, two-story, white frame residence, near the center of the town of 
 Richmond, Missouri, and in company with Hon. J. T. Child, editor of the 
 Conservator, was admitted, introduced and received a cordial greeting. When 
 the object of the call was nuidc; known, Mr. Whitmer smilingly and medita- 
 tively remarked that it wa- t rue he had in his possession the original records, 
 [manuscripts?], and was conversant with the history of the Church of Christ 
 from the beginning, but was under sacred obligations to hold both history 
 and records sacred until such time as the interests of truth and true religion 
 might demand their aid to combat error. Presently he became quite ani- 
 mated, arose to his feet and with great earnestness and good nature spoke 
 for half an hour on the harmony between the Bible and the original Book of 
 Mormon, showing: how tho finding of the plates had been predicted, referring 
 to the innumerable evidences in the shape of ruins of great cities existing on 
 this continent, of its former occupation by a highly civilized race, reverently 
 declaring his solemn conviction of the authenticity of the records in his pos- 
 session, and closed by denouncing. the Latter Day Saints of Utah as an 
 abomination in the sight of the Lord. * * * When the question of polygamy 
 was broached, and it was asked if the original Book of Mormon justified the 
 practice, Mr. Whitmer most emphatically replied, No! it is even much more 
 antagonistic to both polygamy and concubinage than is the Bible. Joseph 
 Smith never to my knowledge advocated it, though I have lieard that he vir- 
 tually sanctioned it at Nauvoo. However, as I cut loose from him in 1837, 1 
 can't speak intelligently of what transpired thereafter.' David Whitmer be- 
 lieves in the Bible as implicitly as anv devotee alive ; and he believes in the 
 Book of Mormon as much as tie does in the Bible. The one is but a supple- 
 ment to the other, according to his idea, and neither would be complete were 
 the other lacking. And no man can look at David Whitmer's face for a half 
 hour, while he charily and modestly speaks of what he has seen, and then 
 boldly and earnestly confesses the faith that is in him, and say that he is a 
 bigot or an enthusiast. While he shrinks from unnecessary public promul- 
 gation of creed, and feels that the Brighamites and Danites and numerous 
 other 'ites' have disgraced it, yet he would not hesitate, in emergency to 
 
NEW JERUSALEM. 75 
 
 stake his honor and even his life upon its reliability. * * * Neither does he 
 believe that the Book of Mormon, is the only record of the lost tribes hid- 
 den in the earth, but, on the contrary, that the caves hold other records that 
 will not come forth till all is peace, and the lion shall eat straw with the 
 lamb. Three times has he been at the hill Cumorah and seen the casket that 
 contained the tablets and the seer-stone." 
 
 The foregoing description given of Mr. Whitmer is probably 
 correct, as also the statement of his testimony, in the main, as to 
 what he knew touching the Book of Mormon. 
 
 Now we ask, Is it at all probable, nay is it possible, for these 
 three intelligent men to have been deceived in regard to the quality 
 of the plates, or the fact of seeing the angel come "down from 
 heaven" bringing the plates and laying them before their eyes, so 
 that they "saw the plates and the engravings thereon;" and the 
 further fact that they were shown unto them "by the power of 
 God and not of man;" also that "the voice of the Lord commanded" 
 them that they should bear record of it, and, finally, that "the 
 voice of the Lord" declared to them that the plates had "been 
 translated by the gift and power of God," all of which is set forth 
 so plainly in their joint testimony in the prefatory pages of the 
 Book of Mormon? Is it possible, we again inquire, for these men 
 to have been deceived in all or any of these things? We think all 
 right-minded people will say, No; they saw and heard what they 
 testify of, or they were vile deceivers. The dye-colored-tin-plate- 
 ventriloquist-second-hand-testimony-"through-Joseph-Smith" theo- 
 ry is as foolish as it is false, and is useful only as showing to what 
 absurd extremes some tricky men will go in order to shield them- 
 selves and their theories from the force of true, direct, and unim- 
 peachable testimony. These men saw and heard, and knew, when 
 in the full vigor of life, when free from excitement, and when all 
 the conditions forbade deception, and they in cool and sober mo- 
 ments testify, and testify the same things all their lives, and dying 
 go down to their graves with their woids of testimony on their 
 lips, boldly, yet meekly and joyfully affirming the truth of their 
 former testimony! They were not deceived! 
 
 THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 Passing over one or two unimportant points and the trifling, 
 quibbling remarks of Mr. Sheldon concerning them, we next notice 
 his effort to prove Joseph Smitrl a false prophet because the New 
 Jerusalem has not yet been built. Lie says: 
 
 "Over forty-two years ago Joseph Smith prophesied that the New Jerusa- 
 lem should be built in Western Missouri, and that the temple should be 
 reared in this generation : 'Verily, this is the word of the Lord, that the city 
 
76 GATHERING. 
 
 New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the Saints, beginning at 
 this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this 
 generation ; for verily this generation shall not all pass away, until an house 
 shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall 
 be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.' D. C. 83 : 2. This 
 revelation was given in September, 1832, over forty-two years ago, and yet 
 there is no sign of a temple in Western Missouri ; and not a trace can be 
 found of the New Jerusalem there; so the prophecy limiting the building of 
 the temple to 'this generation' is a failure." 
 
 Not exactly, Mr. Sheldon. The conclusion to which you jump 
 with such eagerness is not a sensible one, but does great injustice 
 to the text. The text says "this generation shall not all pass away, 
 until an house shall be built," etc. This implies that the most or 
 greater part of it would pass away; i. e., that the house would not 
 be built until the closing times of this generation. The word "gen- 
 eration," as here used, plainly signifies the life or age of man, and 
 not the average age of man, as is urged by Mr. Sheldon. The Lord 
 said to Abraham concerning the deliverance of his posterity from 
 Egypt: "In the fourth generation they shall come hither again."- 
 Gen. 15: 16. If Mr. Sheldon had lived in the times of Ab- 
 raham and reasoned as he now does, he doubtless would have said 
 that the above revelation to Abraham was false because Israel did 
 not "come hither again" in just four of his generations of thirty 
 years each or one hundred and twenty years. The "fourth gen- 
 eration" from the time of the promise measured, as we see, four 
 generations of almost one hundred and eight years each'. 
 
 "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 
 four hundred and thirty years." Ex. 12: 40. 
 
 That the gathering of the Saints to the center stake, (Independ- 
 ence, Missouri), and the building of the temple, was to take place 
 after many years from the giving of the revelation in question, is 
 apparent from another revelation, one given thirteen months before 
 the former one, for it reads: 
 
 "Ye can not behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the de- 
 sign of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and 
 the glory which shall follow, after much tribulation. For after much tribula- 
 tion cometh the blessing. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be 
 crowned with much glory." D. C. 58 : 2. , ^ 
 
 The Church has been passing through "much tribulation" ever 
 since the times in which the foregoing was given, but especially 
 since November, 1833, when most violent persecutions began to 
 come upon it. Men were whipped, tarred and feathered, im- 
 prisoned, brutally beaten, and many were killed at different peri- 
 ods from 1833 to 1846, whilst women and children suffered for 
 
A GENERATION. 77 
 
 food and shelter and from all manner of indignities and even death 
 and worse than death. Then there came the great latter-day "de- 
 parting from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doc- 
 trines of devils, teaching lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience 
 seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry," [according to the 
 laws and rules provided in the Nauvoo edition of the Doctrine and 
 Covenants and the laws of the land, but commanding instead to 
 'seal' under the polygamic order], and "commanding to abstain from 
 meats," (which was fulfilled by the apostasy under C. B. Thomp- 
 son and the Bannemyites, Ed) ; and this has caused untold and im- 
 measurable "tribulation" and the end is not yet. It was not until 
 after this that the Saints were to be "crowned with much glory," a 
 condition of things that can be fully realized only in the final res- 
 toration and gathering of the Saints, and the building up of Zion 
 and the temple of the Lord. From all this we learn that the speedy 
 building up of "the center stake" and "the temple" was not con- 
 templated in the revelations of Joseph; and yet "this generation 
 shall not all pass away until a house shall be built unto the Lord." 
 
 A MATHEMATICIAN. 
 
 We can not close on this point until we give the reader a speci- 
 men both of the profound skill of Mr. Sheldon as an arithmeti- 
 cian (?) and of his remarkable zeal in pointing out the errors (?) 
 of his fellow men. In his anxiety to make out his case he under- 
 takes, in a very elaborate manner, to enlighten us with respect to 
 "the length of a generation in Mormon literature," and he says "it 
 is easily learned." His first term in the proposition is: 
 
 "His [Moroni's] word shall hiss forth from generation to generation." 
 That is, after the Book of Mormon came forth. His next is: 
 
 " Joseph, my son, if thou livest till them art eighty-five years old, thovt- 
 shalt see the face of the Son of Man." 
 
 And now comes his statement: 
 
 " As Joseph was born in 1805, his eighty-fifth year would be in 1890, when> 
 Christ's coming is due according to this revelation." 
 
 But Joseph does not here say nor intimate that this related to 
 Christ's public and glorious advent. 
 Mr. Sheldon then argues thus: 
 
 "So if the generations, during which the words of God written by Moroni 
 were to 'hiss forth/ began with the publication of the Book of Mormon in 
 1830, and end at the coming of the Son of Man in 1890, there are only sixty 
 years given for two generations, and only thirty years for one generation ;. 
 
78 BOOK OF LEHI. 
 
 and taking this measurement for a generation, that temple should have been 
 built over twelve years ago." 
 
 And then he says: 
 
 " The truth is, the prophecy is a failure." 
 
 There are too many ifs in this proposition to make it even in- 
 teresting, to say nothing about its inaccuracies. Archimedes said 
 if he possessed the needed fulcrum, he could raise the earth. In 
 the first place, it is not strictly authentic with the Reorganized 
 Church that Joseph had a revelation locating the time of the com- 
 ing of the Son of Man. We do not admit the one quoted in evi- 
 dence, as it came from the Brighamite publications. It may or 
 may not be genuine. And if true, it does not necessarily relate to 
 the second and glorious advent, but to Joseph's seeing the Son of 
 Man personally in vision, as did Paul and Stephen, or in death as 
 did they and others. 
 
 In the next place, the Book of Mormon may "hiss forth" to many 
 generations after Christ conies, and no doubt will; so we are not 
 necessarily compelled to locate the "two generations" claimed by 
 Mr. Sheldon on this side of his coming. And, finally, Mr. Sheldon 
 errs eggregiously in interpreting the promise, "His words shall 
 hiss forth from generation to generation." If his words "hiss 
 forth" to parents, and then to their children, it fulfills the promise, 
 for they constitute two generations. And if it goes to parents, 
 children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, then they "hiss 
 forth from generation to generation" on a more extended scale. 
 
 "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
 upon the children unto tlie third and fourth generation of them that hate me." 
 Ex. 20 : 5. 
 
 In this passage the word generation is used to convey the same 
 idea, or meaning, as that from Moroni. It relates to successive 
 generations of posterity, and has no direct reference to mere periods 
 of time. Mr. Sheldon and his fellows seem very partial to all ques- 
 tion of time and mathematical calculation; but their past history 
 admonishes us that they are not always, if ever accurate, and there- 
 fore need close watching. There are too many ifs and huts in 
 their methods for profit, they having been deceived, and deceiving 
 others, with regard to their repeated set times for the second ad- 
 vent of Christ. 
 
 BOOK OF LEHI. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next finds fault because the book of Lehi was not 
 published. He quotes: 
 " The Lord God hath said, that the words of the faithful should speak as 
 
BOOK OF LEHI. 79 
 
 it were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth 
 the words of the book ; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth 
 him good, will he establish his word." 2 Nephi 11 : 17. 
 
 "But a part of the words, (118 pages), called the book of Lehi," [says Mr. 
 Sheldon], "were never published, the manuscript having been stolen, as we 
 learn from the ninth section of the Book of Covenants." 
 
 Yes, they were stolen; we learn this from the section cited and 
 also from the lips of the late Martin Harris, Sen. He told the 
 writer, in 1860, all about the leading circumstances connected with 
 the theft. Mr. Harris, by much persuasion, obtained them from 
 Joseph in order to read them to his wife and to some very pious(?) 
 friends who were at the time visiting at his house, whom he hoped 
 to benefit by showing them the manuscript. Before retiring for 
 the night he took the manuscript and put it in a bureau drawer 
 and locked the drawer; he then locked the parlor in which 
 the bureau was, putting both keys in his pocket. This was the 
 last he ever saw of the manuscript. But this did not prevent "the 
 words of the faithful" Lehi from going forth in the Book of Mor- 
 mon. Let us see: 
 
 "And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you 
 have written, which have gone out of your hands, are engraven upon "the 
 plates of Nephi. Yea, and you remember, it was said in those writings, that 
 a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Ne- 
 phi." D. C. 9 : 8. 
 
 From "the plates of Nephi" then, we get not only what was in 
 the book of Lehi, but "a more particular account." Nephi's plates 
 contained in part, "an abridgement of the record" of his father, 
 Lehi. 1 Nephi 1: 7. Messrs. Cowdery, Harris, D. Whitmer, and 
 probably others, were most likely knowing to the fact, from obser- 
 vation, that the writings from "the plates of Nephi" contained "a 
 more particular account" of those matters found in the book of 
 Lehi; so there was no possible room for deception on that 
 score. Mr. Sheldon inquires, "Is it not strange that inspiration 
 could not have foreseen all this?" (that is the theft of the manu- 
 script.) And we may with equal propriety inquire, Was it not 
 strange that inspiration could not have foreseen "the loss of the 
 book entitled the Common Salvation?" (Jude 3); and of the many 
 gospels? (Luke 1: 1); and of the prophecy of Enoch? (Jude 14); 
 "the book of Nathan the prophet?" and "the book of Gad the 
 Seer?" (1 Chron. 29:29); with twenty-five or more books, either 
 cited or quoted in the Bible, but now lost? And "is it not strange 
 that inspiration could not have foreseen" that King Jehoiakim 
 would burn the prophetic roll of Jeremiah? (Jer. 36:23); or that 
 
80 THE INSPIKED TRANSLATION. 
 
 the Philistines would capture "the ark of the covenant of God?" 
 1 Samuel 4: 4, 11. 
 
 THE INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon affirms: 
 
 "The inspired version betrays itself in first rejecting certain names given 
 in our version, as being incorrect, and subsequently adopting the same names 
 as being correct. We present a few samples. Our version of Matt. 24: 37, 
 reads, 'But as the day^ of Noe were,' etc.; but Joseph's inspired version re- 
 pudiates 'Noe,' and substitutes 'Noah.' " 
 
 We have before said that much of the "Inspired Translation" 
 was simply a revision and correction of the most essential parts of 
 the text, and not a complete translation of the entire Bible. This 
 may account, in a measure, for many seeming irregularities in both 
 the letter, and historical statements, of the Inspired Translation. 
 We remark again, that the evident object in giving what is called 
 the Inspired Translation, was to relieve the Scriptures of gross and 
 harmful errors, whether of doctrine, morals, history, etc., and to 
 restore valuable portions that had been taken away. Now, as for 
 the difference in spelling a name, "Noe," or "Noah;" "Sion," or 
 "Zion," "Jeremy," or "Jeremiah," there is no evidence but that 
 "inspiration" may use both forms, as they both signify precisely 
 the same thing. The spirit and substance of a matter is of chief 
 importance. And this may be clearly seen in the quotation of 
 Jesus and the apostles from the various prophets. They seldom 
 quote letter for letter, but mainly the substance; from which we 
 may learn that "inspiration" is concerned almost entirely, if not 
 quite, about the sense and meaning, and application of things, leav- 
 ing the selection of words, spelling, etc., to the choice of the writers. 
 Again Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "The Inspired Translation is made to address Joseph thousands of years 
 before he was born, in the following two verses: 'These are the words which 
 I spake unto my servant Moses. And they are true even as I will. And I 
 have spoken them unto you. See thou show them unto no man, until I 
 command you, except they that believe.' "Gen. 3 : 32, 33. 
 
 This statement is utterly untrue. All of the words quoted from 
 "these" to "believe" are in parenthesis, at the close of a chapter, and 
 were given to Joseph to explain the origin of the preceding reve- 
 lation, and are words of instruction to Joseph, and are no more a 
 part of the text of the Inspired Translation than is the publisher's 
 imprint on the first leaf. If Mr. Sheldon had put them in paren- 
 thesis, as he found them, he would only have done his bounden 
 duty. To leave out the parenthesis in his quotation, is just as vi- 
 cious as to have mutilated the text by leaving out or adding words. 
 
AUTHOR OF GENESIS. 81 
 
 It is a gross perversion, dishonest and utterly beneath a fair-dealing 
 controversialist. Mr. Sheldon says: "This putting two verses into 
 the book of Genesis addressed to Joseph was certainly a wonderful 
 blunder on his part." But they were not intended as a part, neither 
 are they a part of the narrative of the Book of Genesis. We find 
 in John 7: 39, and Acts 22: 2, that John and Luke introduce, in 
 parenthesis, explanations touching the teachings of the Jews; and 
 Paul, (Romans 5: 13, 17), in a similar manner as Joseph in 
 the verses in question, introduces an explanation respecting the 
 revelation to Moses. The cases are exactly parallel. And, by the 
 way, those two verses are of great value, as settling the authorship 
 of Genesis, and the perplexing question as to how Moses, if he 
 wrote the book, (which some question), obtained the information 
 contained therein, especially that which relates to the creation, the 
 fall of man, and other kindred matters. Some think that as "Mo- 
 ses was learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians," and probably 
 had access to the ancient documents in the archives of the priest- 
 hood, he, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, was enabled to collate im- 
 portant facts, and make such extracts as were essential, and that he 
 embodied them in what is now the Book of Genesis. This is 
 probably true in part. 
 
 "Ewald, the keenest of critics, and the most learned of skeptics, concern- 
 ing the authorship of the Pentateuch as a whole, does not hesitate to ascribe 
 to Moses the tables of the law, and the substantial groundwork of the system 
 that bears his name." Genesis and Geology, by Prof. Thompson, D. D., LL. D. 
 
 Yet Professor Thompson thinks that Genesis was made up, 
 largely, of oral traditions and written documents, and further says: 
 
 "The composer of Genesis, as we possess it, may have worked up materi- 
 als already extant in the form either of oral traditions or of written docu- 
 ments before him." 
 
 Yet he believes that those portions relating to the creation were 
 in a direct manner displayed by God to man. He says: 
 
 " A probable conjecture is, that what here is given in narrative passed be- 
 fore the mind of the original narrator in a series of retrospective visions ; 
 that it was a panoramic optical presentation, as, in a prophetic vision, future 
 events are made to pass before the mind in a scenic form." 
 
 But he does not claim that Moses had this vision. Smith, in his 
 Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Pentateuch, says: 
 
 " We can hardly escape the conviction that it [Genesis] partakes of the 
 nature of a compilation. It has indeed a unity of plan, a coherence of parts, 
 a shapeliness and an order, which satisfy us that as it stands it is the crea- 
 tion of a single mind. But it bears also manifest traces of having been based 
 upon an earlier work ; and that earlier work itself seems to have been im- 
 6 
 
82 BAPTISM UNDER THE LAW. 
 
 bedded in it fragments of still more ancient documents. * * * The history- 
 contained in Genesis could not have been narrated by Moses from personal 
 knowledge ; but whether he was taught it by immediate divine suggestion, 
 or was directed by the Holy Spirit to the use of earlier documents, is imma- 
 terial in reference to the inspiration of the work." 
 
 These quotations may serve to illustrate the mystery and uncer- 
 tainty among learned men, as to who wrote the book of Genesis; 
 and as to whether, if Moses wrote it at all, he wrote the whole or 
 any part of it by revelation direct from God. Now, the verses in 
 question decide this important matter, when it is said by the Lord, 
 "These are the words which I spake unto my servant Moses." 
 
 BAPTISM UXDER THE LAW. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon continues: 
 
 " In the Book of Mormon, baptism is enjoined in connection with the law 
 of Moses, and numerous instances are recorded where it is said to have been 
 administered. 
 
 He points to this as proof that Joseph Smith was not inspired of 
 God, and that the Book of Mormon is not a divine record. This 
 mode of reasoning would condemn the four gospels, for each of 
 them informs us of the administration of baptism by John the 
 Baptist, and by Christ and his disciples, for some years before the 
 abrogation of "the law." Such logic would impeach the divine 
 mission of Jesus and John the Baptist. If baptism could be ad- 
 ministered in Judea for many years in connection with the law,, 
 and by those who were so very exact in keeping the law as was 
 John and Jesus and the Jewish disciples, then it might be admin- 
 istered by a branch of Israel in America, under similar circum- 
 stances. It was not "a reqirement under the law," as Mr. Sheldon 
 claims that the Book of Mormon teaches, but it was a requirement 
 superior to the l<iw, as is taught in the Book of Mormon, and as is 
 seen in the case of Jesus, John, and their disciples. That baptism 
 was an ancient rite among many different nations is now generally 
 conceded, and as we have seen on pages 48, 49, 50, of this work. 
 Smith, in his Diet. Bible, Art. Baptism, says: 
 
 " It is well known that ablution, or bathing, was common in ancient 
 countries as a 5 reparation for prayers and sacrifices, or as expiatory of sin. 
 * * * There is an universal agreement among later Jewish writers that all the 
 Israelites were brought into covenant with God by circumcision, baptism, 
 and sacrifice, and that the same ceremonies were necessary in admitting 
 proselytes. These usages of the Jews will account for the readiness with 
 which all men flocked to the baptism of John the Baptist." 
 
 By this we learn, what we have hitherto remarked on pages 48, 
 50, that baptism was not new and peculiar to the times of John, 
 
BAPTISM CHILDREN. 83 
 
 Jesus and the primitive Christians, but was an ordinance dating 
 back to a very early antiquity. 
 
 BAPTISM OF CHILDREN. 
 
 And now comes an effort of Mr. Sheldon which exhibits most 
 clearly intentional perversity. We regret it deeply, as it is a most 
 unpleasant thing, to think that any person would purposely misre- 
 present the views and statements of others. He says: 
 
 " The Book of Mormon clashes with Joseph's revelation concerning the 
 baptism of children. In the eighth chapter of Moroni we find the following 
 remarks : "For I have learned the truth, that there have been disputations 
 among you concerning the baptism of your little children. And now, my son, 
 I desire that you should labor diligently, that this gross error should be re- 
 moved from among you.' Again : 'I know that it is solemn mockery before 
 God that ye should baptize little children.' And again : 'He that saith little 
 children need baptism, denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught 
 the atonement.' Yet on page 225 of the Book of Covenants, Joseph thus 
 speaks of John the Baptist: 'For he was baptized while he was yet in his 
 childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eiirht 
 days old.'" 
 
 Mr- Sheldon knows that "childhood" has its different stasis, and 
 reaches up as high as twelve or fifteen years. He furthermore 
 knows that the interdictory texts from Moroni relate to "little chil- 
 dren," and not to children of advanced age, for the text so reads. 
 And he also knows that the text, "For he was baptized while he 
 was yet in his childhood," implies that he was in the advanced 
 stages of his childhood, bordering on that period denominated 
 youth. His quotation from "Apostle Pratt," that "baptism always 
 precedes ordination," is not legitimate in his effort to make the 
 Book of Mormon and the revelations of Joseph "clash." That 
 quotation has nothing to do with the texts which he falsely claims 
 are contradictory, and he is aware of it. We don't accept Mr. 
 Pratt's views. 
 
 Ishmael was a "child" when he was fourteen years old, Gen. 21: 
 14; Samuel was a "child" when he was old enough to minister 
 before the Lord, 1 Sam. 2: 18; Jesus was a little child, or "young 
 child," at his birth, Matt. 2: 11, 18; and he was still a "child" 
 when twelve years old, Luke 2: 40, 42. It was "little children," 
 those who were not capable of believing intelligently on Christ, 
 and of repenting of actual sins, that Mormon was writing about to 
 Moroni, and Mr. Sheldon knew that. As for the early ordination 
 of John the Baptist, that of Jeremiah was at a still younger age: 
 
 "Before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I or- 
 dained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jer. 1 : 5. 
 
84 WORD "MORMON." 
 
 David, and Samuel, and others were solemnly set apart as the 
 servants of God when very young. 
 
 PRINTING HOUSE. 
 
 He next denounces the revelations of Joseph as spurious, because 
 a commandment to build a printing house at Kirtland, Ohio, for the 
 printing of the Scriptures, was not accomplished; and because the 
 Inspired Translation was "published at Piano, Illinois," instead of 
 at Kirtland, in the house spoken of. If a failure on the part of 
 men to keep a commandment was proof that the command was not 
 of God, then farewell to the Bible both Old and New Testaments 
 farewell to the inspiration of Jesus, and Moses and all the proph- 
 ets and apostles; for, from Adam and Eve in Eden, to John upon 
 Patmos, commandments have been received from God and not kept; 
 and the fact is so patent to all Bible readers that quotations, or 
 even citations, in proof, are not needed. The history of the race is 
 the history of man's disobedience to the commands of God. If it 
 was not manifest that our critic is crafty, we might think him 
 (Crazy. 
 
 AVORD "MORMON." 
 
 He next complains that Joseph did not "study and learn, and be- 
 come acquainted with all good book, and with languages, tongues, 
 and people," as he was commanded to do, D. C. 87: 5. And he 
 does not approve of Joseph's analysis of the word Mormon, and of 
 his statement that in its root-meaning it signifies more "good." 
 Well, for the manner in which Mr. Sheldon handles the English, 
 his mother-tongue, it would hardly be safe to accept him as a com- 
 petent critic, nor his opinions as proper criterions. Mr. Smith 
 studied the English branches, especially grammar, under Dr. 
 McLellin, after the date of this revelation, March 1833, with re- 
 markable success, as the writer had it from Mr. McLellin, in 1873. 
 He afterwards studied Hebrew, making wonderful proficiency un- 
 der Messrs. Peixotto and Noah. He likewise studied other lan- 
 guages with some success. He also studied history, etc., etc. But 
 suppose he studied none of the above, that would not prove false 
 the revelation commanding him to study, as any one of common 
 sense may see. As to whether Mr. Smith's explanation of the word 
 Mormon is good or not, the matter lies so far above the reach of 
 Mr. Sheldon that we may not trouble ourselves in regard to his 
 opinion about it for at least one millennium. 
 
 APOCRYPHA. 
 Again says Mr. Sheldon: 
 
INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 85 
 
 " In March, 1833, a revelation was given to Joseph, assigning reasons why 
 he need not translate the Apocrypha, which reasons render his translation 
 of the Bible equally needless. 'Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, con- 
 cerning the Apocrypha, there are many things contained therein that are 
 true, and it is mostly translated correctly ; there are many things contained 
 therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men. 
 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be 
 translated. Therefore, whoso readeth it let him understand, for the Spirit 
 manifesteth truth, and whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain bene- 
 fit therefrom ; and whoso receiveth not the Spirit can not be benefitted ; 
 therefore it is not needful that it should be translated.' D. C. 88: 1. If the 
 possession of the Spirit will lead to a discrimination between truth and error 
 in the Apocrypha, so that a translation is needless, the same would be true 
 with the Bible, and consequently render Joseph's work in translating it 
 needless." 
 
 That the Spirit of God will enable its possessor to judge between 
 good and evil, truth and error, is just as true as are the words of 
 Jesus and the Apostles. Heb. 10: 15; John 14: 26; 16: 13; and 
 1 Cor. 2: 25: "He that is spiritual judgeth all things;" also 14: 29. 
 But there is this notable difference between the Apocrypha and the 
 Bible: the latter is "Holy Scriptures," while the former is not; and 
 not being so, although it contained many truths which might be 
 gleaned from among its errors by the spiritually minded, there was 
 no need of its translation. The revelation under consideration 
 does not even intimate that the Apocrypha was in any sense Holy 
 Scriptures, but only that it contained many truths and many errors, 
 and was of no vital importance beyond what may be found in Jo- 
 sephus, Philo, or similar works. 
 
 JOSEPH VS. HIS TRANSLATION (? ). 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "Joseph had no faith in his own translation, unless he was a dishonest 
 man, for our version of Heb. 11 : 40, which reads, 'That they without us 
 should not be made perfect,' is rendered by Joseph's version thus : 'Without 
 suffering they should not be made perfect.' Yet nine years after finishing 
 this translation, Joseph falls back on to the common version to prove bap- 
 tism for the dead in these words: 'For their salvation is necessary and essen- 
 tial to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers,' 'that they without 
 us can not be made perfect ; neither can we without our dead be made per- 
 fec.' D. C. 110: 15. If Joseph was an honest man, he never would have 
 quoted spurious scripture to prove any doctrine." 
 
 To this we reply, (1) that the Inspired Translation was not yet 
 published, and was not in common use; hence the propriety of not 
 quoting it in discussing, popularly, any doctrine. And, (2) Joseph 
 quotes the passage, (Heb. 11: 40), not because baptism for the 
 dead was in fulfillment of it, but because the idea or principle em- 
 
86 INTERPRETERS. 
 
 braced in those words fitly applied in illustrating his argument. 
 Paul, when at Athens (Acts 17: 28) quoted the Greek poet Aratus, 
 not because the quotation was genuine Holy Scripture, but because 
 the ideas embraced in it were true, as Paul used it, and suitable to 
 the occasion; so with Joseph, and neither were dishonest. And, 
 lastly, the passage, though improperly translated, was not spurious. 
 Coin issued at the United States Mint, though it contain more al- 
 loy than is legal, yet it is not spurious. A legal document, whether 
 deed, bond, mortgage, bill of sale, license, power of attorney or 
 whatever it may be, if it be improperly worded, yet it is not, there- 
 fore, spurious. That which is spurious is counterfeit, illegitimate, 
 not of genuine origin, intentionally false or corrupt. 
 
 INTERPRETERS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, for the want of a better subject, takes another bout 
 at the "interpreters." He would like to make the Book of Mormon 
 cross itself in its history of their origin or transmission. But this 
 he can riot do. He says: 
 
 " Joseph tells us that the stone-interpreters, which lie claims to have found, 
 'were given to the brother of Jared ;' (D. C. 15: 1) ; and Moroni, who claims 
 to have found the same interpreters, says in the first chapter of Ether, 'I 
 have sealed up the interpreters,' that is with the plates. So far they agree ; 
 but upon examining the Book of Mormon we find that Mosiah's stone- 
 interpreters are the ones handed down with the records, and not those given 
 to Jared's brother." 
 
 We have shown, hitherto, that all the probabilities favor the 
 idea that the interpreters with which Mosiah translated the "twenty- 
 four plates found by the people of Limhi," were found with the 
 plates; for, though the record is simply silent, directly, as to 
 finding the interpreters with the plates, yet the stone interpreters 
 are first mentioned <iftvr fi)Klin</ the plates, and in immediate con- 
 nection with the translation "by means of those two stones which 
 were fastened into the two rims of a bow." Mosiah 12: 3. The 
 silence of the records as to finding the interpreters with the plates 
 directly, is no evidence at all against their having been found with 
 them. The silence of Matthew, Luke, and John as to Jesus saying, 
 "these signs shall follow them that believe," is no evidence that he 
 did not say so; and the silence of Matthew, Mark and John is no 
 proof that Jesus did not say to the penitent thief, "To-day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise." So the silence of Mosiah as to 
 finding the "interpreters" with the plates, is no evidence that they 
 they were not found with them. Joseph testifies that the angel 
 
PLATES OF BRASS. 87 
 
 told him that with the plates "there were two stones in silver 
 bows." (g) 
 
 David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mor- 
 mon, lately living at Richmond, Missouri, described the "interpret- 
 ers" to a Chicago Times reporter, in August 1875, as follows: 
 
 " But a stone had been found with the plates shaped like a pair of ordinary 
 spectacles, though much larger, and at least half an inch in thickness, and 
 perfectly opaque save to the prophetic vision of Joseph Smith." 
 
 O. Cowdery testifies that Joseph translated the plates by means 
 of "the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, 
 'interpreters.'" (A). Now all these testimonies are substantially 
 
 the same, and fix the identity of the "interpreters," or "two stones 
 which were fastened into the two rims of a bow," (Mosiah 12: 3), 
 as being the same as the two stones (Ether 1: 10, 11) given to the 
 brother of Jared. We have before shown the possibility of Mo- 
 siah's having obtained the stone intepreters by way of Coriantumr, 
 the last Jaredite king, or in connection with other important dis- 
 coveries (among them Jaredite engravings), made by the people of 
 Zarahemla (Omni 1: 10), many years befoie the times of Mosiah 
 2d. Here are two valid solutions of the question as to how Mosiah 
 became possessed of the "two stones" "interpreters" given to 
 the brother of Jared, for he may have obtained them in either of 
 these ways. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, by a technical criticism, strives to make the Book 
 of Mormon say that the "interpreters" of Mosiah were handed 
 down from Jerusalem. He says, "Mosiah conferred his interpret- 
 ers upon Alma, together with the plates:" 
 
 " Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records * * * he took 
 the plates of brass, and all the things he had kept, and conferred them upon 
 Alma, who was the son of Alma ; yea, all the records, and also the interpret- 
 ers, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should 
 keep and preserve them, and also a record of the people, handing them 
 down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down 
 from the time Lehi left Jerusalem" Mosiah 13 : 1. 
 
 Now, the chief subject in this passage is that of "the records;" 
 and it is of these, and not necessarily of the interpreters, that Mo- 
 siah speaks when he says, "as tliey had been handed down from 
 the time Lehi left Jerusalem:" 
 
 " And these records [thus handed down] did contain the five books of 
 Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam, 
 and Eve, who were our first parents; and also a record of the Jews from the 
 
 (g) Times and Seasons; Millennial Star; also Pearl of Great Price, 41. 
 (ft) Times and Seasons, page 201. 
 
88 FEET WASHING. 
 
 beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king 
 of Judah; and also the prophecies of the holy prophets from the beginning, 
 even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah ; and also many 
 prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah." 1 Ne- 
 phi 1 : 46. 
 
 To these were added the records of succeeding Nephite prophets, 
 and, finally, in the times of Mosiah 2d, the "twenty-four plates" 
 found by the people of king Limhi. It is manifestly the records 
 that Mosiah alludes to as having "been handed down from the time 
 that Lehi left Jerusalem" This is evidently the sense and intention 
 of the passage. Our common version says: 
 
 "Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 
 unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, * * * to be taxed with 
 Mary his wife, being great with child." Luke 2 : 4, 5. 
 
 Yet none would question but what it was intended to say that it 
 was Mary, and NOT Joseph who was "great with child." It also 
 says: 
 
 "But as they [the disciples] sailed, he [Christ] fell asleep; and there came 
 down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water" 
 Luke 8: 23. 
 
 Though there are verbal defects in these passages, the meaning 
 of them is quite apparent; and yet they afford ample grounds for 
 a crafty critic to build up a flimsy argument upon. But no such 
 defects are found in Mosiah in regard to the interpreters or rec- 
 ords. 
 
 FEET WASHING. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "Feet washing is pronounced an ordinance, and restricted to the priest- 
 hood, (D. C. 85: 45, 46). We will not argue the question as to whether feet 
 washing was ever an ordinance in the church, or not ; but it certainly was 
 not restricted to the ministry in its administration, if Paul's testimony has 
 any weight: 'If she has washed the Saints' feet.'" 
 
 Oh, no! feet washing "was not restricted to the ministry in its 
 administration," not by any means; and it is well that it was not. 
 Persons should wash their own feet; and both men and women 
 could "wash the saints' feet." But feet washing as an "ordinance" 
 that of which the Doctrine and Covenants speaks, is a very differ- 
 ent thing. Partaking of bread and wine, anointing with oil, and 
 being immersed, are "not restricted to the ministry" in their ad- 
 ministration, except when used as ordinances of the Church, and 
 then, like feet washing, tltey are. Feet washing was appointed to 
 bis ministry by the Savior (John 13: 4-15.) 
 
 PRIESTHOOD COVENANT. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
JOHN, TARRY. 89 
 
 " The breaking of the priesthood covenant is pronounced an unpardonable 
 sin : 'But whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it, and alto- 
 gether turneth therefrom shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world, nor 
 in the world to come.' (D. C. 83 : 6.) Covenant-breaking is poor business, if 
 the covenant is a good one ; but Christ restricts the unpardonable sin to one 
 thing blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. After Peter had lied, and cursed, 
 and swore, and had thus broken his ministerial covenant, he found pardon, 
 and subsequently spent long years in the ministry." 
 
 That Peter sinned, and sinned grievously, none can deny; but to 
 say that he utterly broke his priesthood covenant, is to say what is 
 evidently not true. If he had broken that covenant and "altogeth- 
 er" turned "therefrom," his case would have been vastly different. 
 That would have involved his knowingly, willingly, and wilfully 
 turning away from God; which would have embraced, substantial- 
 ly, his sinning against the Holy Ghost. It is he who not only 
 breaks "this covenant after he hath received it," but also "alto- 
 gether turneth therefrom," "that shall not have forgiveness of sins 
 in this world nor in the world to come." Mr. Sheldon has a pecu- 
 liar faculty of cutting a sentence in two, as above, and then argu- 
 ing against a detached and incomplete part. 
 
 ST. JOHN TO TARRY. 
 
 He next finds fault with the revelations of Joseph, because one 
 claims that Christ said unto John: "Thou shalt tarry until I come 
 in my glory, and shall prophesy before many nations, kindreds, 
 tongues, and people-" D. & C. 6: 1. Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "History affirms that John died at Ephesus. But if history is false, as 
 John never disguised himself when alive, why does he not come out like a 
 man and show himself, and settle some of these theological disputes in the 
 land, and also let us know whether he helped ordain Joseph? Why sneak 
 around in this way ?" 
 
 If Mr. Sheldon had lived in the days of the first Christian disciples 
 he probably would have reasoned in a similar strain concerning 
 Jesus. The Pharisees of those times said, "Master we would see a 
 sign from thee" (Matt. 12 : 38); and some said, "If he be the king 
 of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will be- 
 lieve him" (Matt. 27 : 42). And no doubt many said, If Jesus is 
 actually risen from, the dead, why does he not come out like a man 
 and show himself, and settle some of these theological disputes in 
 the land, and also let us know whether he had raised up many of 
 the bodies of the Saints, why skulk around in this way? But the 
 heavens were not bound to gratify the morbid curiosity of the 
 sign-seeker in those days, nor are they now. Jesus was not shown 
 openly to the world after his resurrection, "but unto witnesses 
 
90 ADAM MICHAEL. 
 
 chosen before of God" (Acts 10: 41). God's wisdom anciently 
 and modernly, is very different from that of man. 
 
 As to John's death, history is conflicting and unsatisfactory. 
 Smith, in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: 
 
 " The very time of his death lies within the region of conjecture rather 
 than of history, and the dates that have been assigned for it range from A.D. 
 89 to A.D. 120. 
 
 That the early Christians, with John, understood that he was not 
 to die, but remain till the second coming of Christ, is apparent 
 from John 21: 29, 23: 
 
 "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to 
 thce? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, 
 that that disciple should not die ; yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not 
 die; but, if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee?" 
 
 And, when on Patmos, about A.D. 96, the Lord said to him, 
 "Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and 
 tongues, and kings." Rev. 10: 11. 
 
 ADAM MICHAEL AN ANGEL. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon objects further to the revelations of Joseph, because 
 one in D. C. 104: 28, calls Adam "Michael, the Prince, the Arch- 
 angel." He says: 
 
 "The Bible never represents saints as turning into angels at any past or 
 
 future time." 
 
 / 
 
 Well, the Bible does not contain all the truths there are, either 
 in heaven, or on earth; and yet the Bible does teach that men be- 
 come angels. In the Hebrew, in Isaiah 42: 19; Hag. 1: 13; Mai. 
 3: 1, what in the common English version is "messenger," is there 
 "angel." In Revelations 1: 20; 2: 1, 8, 12, etc., the elders in 
 charge of the seven churches of Asia, are called by the Holy Spirit, 
 angels. And in Revelations 19: 10, the angel who ministers to 
 John says: 
 
 " I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of 
 Jesus." 
 
 " Of" here signifies clearly, from among. He was, therefore, 
 "from among" those, John's "brethren, that have the testimony of 
 Jesus; * * fr for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." 
 And the English "Authorized Version," printed in 1610, reads 
 thus: "I am thy fellow servant, and one of thy brethren." And 
 this is the sense and intention of all the principal versions. Again: 
 "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he 
 shined forth from Paran, and he came with ten thousand of saints; 
 from his right hand went forth a fiery law," (Dent. 33: 2). Now 
 
ADAM MICHAEL. 91 
 
 David called these "saints," "angels," "The chariots of God are 
 twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among 
 them as in Sinai in the holy place," (Ps. 68: 17). This identifies 
 these "saints," as being the "angels" of God. These may have 
 been of that company of Saints composed of Enoch and others, 
 who were translated. 
 
 Bingham, in his Antiquities of the Christian Churchy. 7 5, states 
 that the Bishops were called the "angels of the churches; a name 
 which some authors supposed to be used by St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 
 11: 10." 
 
 Now, inasmuch as the ministers of God, under the Old Testa- 
 ment and the New Testament, were called angels, why may not 
 Adam be also called an angel? And inasmuch as the personage 
 who ministered to John, and who was "of" John's brethren, was 
 called an angel, and was an angel, why may not others of John's 
 faithful brethren, (and Adam pre-eminent among them), become 
 "angels?" Jesus says: 
 
 " They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the re- 
 surrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither 
 can thev die any more ; for thev are equal unto the angels." Luke 20: 35, 36. 
 
 "But are as the angels of God in heaven." Matt. 22: 30. 
 
 Being then "as the angels of God in heaven," and "equal unto 
 the angels," will Mr. Sheldon tell us wherein they differ from them? 
 And inasmuch as they are changed into the condition, and nature, 
 of "the angels of God in heaven," are they not, substantially, 
 angels? It is true that man was made "a little lower than the 
 angels," (of heaven), being made liable to death, possessing less 
 power, and having a more limited sphere than they, but that is not 
 to say that men may not become angels, in a limited sense, while 
 in this life, and "as the angels of God in heaven" in a world to 
 come, Christ, before his incarnation, ministered as the "angel of 
 the Lord," Gen. '22: 15; Ex. 3: 2, 6, 14; Acts 7: 30-35; Gen. 
 48: 15, 16, with Heb. 1: 2, 3, 8, 10; 1 Cor. 15: 47. And he is 
 now "a quickening Spirit." 1 Cor. 15: 45. 
 
 Inasmuch as resurrected holy men are made "equal unto the 
 angels" and "as the angels of God in heaven," why not those who 
 are translated Enoch, Elijah and probably others why not they 
 be "equal unto," and "as the angels of God in heaven?" This view 
 is further seen in the fact that the Lord promised to send "Elijah 
 the prophet" (Mai. 4: 5, 6) "to minister to them who shall be heirs 
 of salvation." Heb. 1: 14. In Luke 9: 30, 31, Moses and Elias 
 (Elijah) appeared in the capacity of angels, though not in the name 
 of angels. 
 
92 THKEE GLORIES. 
 
 "There talked with him [Christ] two men, which were Moses and Ettas; 
 who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which he should accomp- 
 lish at Jerusalem." 
 
 Angels were frequently called men (Gen. 18: 2; Josh. 5: 13, 15; 
 Luke 24: 4; Acts 1: 10; Heb. 13: 2, etc., etc). Now, all these 
 proofs place the matter beyond question: (1) that men in this life 
 are sometimes called angels; (2) that translated persons, and resur- 
 rected persons, become "equal unto," and "as the angels of God 
 in heaven;" and (3), that some of them have ministered in that 
 capacity. 
 
 THREE FUTURE WORLDS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next opposes the idea that there are "three future- 
 worlds celestial, terrestial, and telestial" He says: 
 
 "Celestial means heavenly; terrestial means earthly; but what does teles- 
 tial mean?" 
 
 Why, Mr. Sheldon, it means "the glory of the stars" (1 Cor. 15: 
 21), the last and least "order" of glory in the resurrection (1 Cor. 
 15 : 21, 23, 24), and is to be possessed by those worthy of it when 
 the Lord judges all men "according to their works" (Rev. 20: 13; 
 Rom. 2: 6; Matt. 10: 27; Rom. 14: 11, 12). It means "distant," 
 "final," "far off," "end," "finish," and is a derivation of the Greek 
 word "tele." It is not "the Restorationist's hell," as you flippant- 
 ly assert; but it is that condition of future being and glory into 
 which "they who are thrust down to hell * * who are not redeemed 
 from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ 
 the Lamb shall have finished his work," (D. C. 76: 7), when such 
 shall finally, in the end, be brought. "The wicked shall be turned 
 into hell, and all the nations that for (jet God" (Ps. 9: 17); yet 
 "death and heir shall deliver up the dead which are in them, and 
 they shall be "judged every man according to his works," (Rev. 
 20 : 13). Jonah says: "Out of the belly of hell [a place of God's 
 punishment] cried I, and thou heardest my voice" (Jonah 2: 2). 
 So from these, and many other bible testimonies, we learn that, al- 
 though the wicked may, and do, go down to hell, it is for their 
 punishment and reformation, and that it is not the purpose of God 
 that they should eternally remain there; nor is it his purpose that 
 they should become unconscious at death and remain so till they 
 are resurrected and judged, and then be annihilated; for that would 
 defeat justice and pervert equity, and render forever impossible 
 the just judgment of God, "who without respect to persons judgeth 
 according to every man's work" (I Pet. 1: 17). 
 
 That all the race (with one class as an exception they who sin 
 
THREE GLORIES. 93 
 
 .against the Holy Ghost), will be subdued unto God, and will finally 
 know and confess Christ, is evident from the Scriptures. Paul 
 
 says: 
 
 " That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, 
 and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue 
 should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." 
 Phil. 2:10, 11. 
 
 John says: 
 
 "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the 
 earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
 Blessing and honor, and glory and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5: 13. 
 
 This they can not do unless they first learn of him and know of 
 him, either in this life or hereafter. 
 
 There is a wide difference in men's works, and consequently 
 there will be a wide difference in the degrees of their condemna- 
 tion and rewards, and in their future conditions. 
 
 They of the telestial glory dwell outside the city New Jerusalem, 
 and where God and Christ are they can not come: 
 
 " For without [the city] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and 
 murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Rev. 
 22: 15. 
 
 " And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, 
 for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differ one from an- 
 other in glory in the telestial world ; for these are they who are of Paul and 
 of Apollos, and of Cephas ; these are they who say they are some of one and 
 some of another, some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and 
 some of Elias; and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch, 
 but received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets; 
 neither the everlasting covenant: last of all, these all are they who will not be 
 gathered with the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the first born, 
 and received into the cloud ; these are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and 
 adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie; these 
 are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire; these are they who are 
 cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God until the fulness of 
 times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall 
 have perfected his work, when he shall deliver up the kingdom and present 
 it unto the Father spotless saying: I have overcome and have trodden the 
 wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God : then shall he be 
 crowned with the crown of his glory to sit on the throne of his power to 
 reign for ever and ever. But, behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the in- 
 habitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars 
 in the firmament, or as the sand upon the sea shore, and heard the voice of 
 the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall con- 
 fess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever; for they shall be 
 judged according to their works; and every man shall receive according to 
 his own works, and his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared, 
 
94 SOUL OF MAN. 
 
 and they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ 
 dwell they can not come, worlds without end." D. C. 76 : 7. 
 
 The foregoing is a brief explanation of what the telestial glory 
 is, or means. In it we see the benevolent provisions of an All- 
 wise God for the future conditions of erring man according to his 
 works. 
 
 The terrestial glory is greatly in advance of that of the telestial 
 world, while the celestial is vastly superior to the terrestial, it being 
 the glory of the Father and the Son, where they who enjoy it are 
 made possessors of all things those things that "eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man," except 
 as revealed unto some by the Spirit of God. And "the second 
 death" and eternal perdition is for those only who become like the 
 devil and his angels. 
 
 The teachings of the Scriptures and the verdict of all right-minded 
 people is, that all mankind, without respect of persons, should be 
 judged ficcordiny to their works; and this provisien of the three 
 glories, or "three future worlds," as Mr. Sheldon is pleased to call 
 them, meets all the demands of the case, manifesting alike the 
 justice, the equity, and the unfailing love of God. 
 
 However popular it may be, that doctrine is neither sensible nor 
 Scriptural that reckons all sinners alike in the sight of God that 
 ranks the midnight assassin, the red-handed murderer, and others 
 of the viler sort, with the Sabbath-breaker, the common liar, or the 
 petty thief, in the same class, making them all alike criminal and 
 equally condemnable! All are transgressors, but not to the same 
 degree; and therefore justice, equity, and mercy demand that there 
 should be a difference in their judgment or condemnation. Jesus 
 teaches in plain terms that "it shall be more tolerable" for one 
 class of sinners in the day of judgment than for others, Matt 11: 
 22, 24; 10: 15; 12: 41, 42). But this could not be true if all kinds 
 and classes of sinners went down to hell at death and remained 
 there worlds without end, as some teach; or if the wicked were 
 unconscious after death till their resurrection, and were then simp- 
 ly judged and annihilated, as others teach. God is just, and his 
 tender mercies are over all his works, to deal justly, equitably and 
 right by them. 
 
 THE SOUL OF MAN. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next enters into a profitless quibble in regard to 
 what is said in the revelations about the soul of man, where it is 
 said: "And the spirit and the body is the soul of man. And the 
 
DIVINE KECORDS. 95 
 
 resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul," (D. C. 
 85: 4). 
 
 "O God, receive my soul" (Mosiah 9:5). Mr. Sheldon inquires: 
 
 "Did he mean receive my spirit and body?" 
 
 To this we reply, that the meaning of a word is to be deter- 
 mined by the office it performs in a sentence. This is an essential 
 law of language. Consequently when I speak of a door, I may 
 speak of an aperture or passage-way into a room or building, or of 
 that which fills the aperture and shuts up the passage. When we 
 speak of a gate, we mean the opening, the entrance, or we may 
 mean that which closes up the nntrance. When we use the word 
 cleave, it may signify adhere, unite; or it may mean, to part, sep- 
 arate, divide. The meaning of these words and thousands of oth- 
 ers, soid included, has various meanings, which can be determined 
 only by the office they perform in their connection with other 
 words: , 
 
 The soid, in Gen. 2: 7 "man became a living soul," relates to 
 man as a living being composed of body and spirit, as also Eccl. 
 12: 7; James 2: 26; Lev. 23: 30; Acts 27: 37; 1 Pet. 3: 20, etc. 
 But in Gen. 35: 18, "as her soul was in departing" and 1 Kings 
 17: 21, "let this child's soul come into him again;" and Prov. 
 16: 24, "Pleasant words are sweet to the soul;" and Matt. 10: 
 28, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill 
 the soul;" and Acts 14: 22, "confirming the souls of the dis- 
 ciple;" and Rev. 6: 9, "I saw under the altar the souls of them 
 that were slain for the word of God, aud for the testimony which 
 they held," with scores of other passages which might be quoted, 
 the word soid clearly relates, not to the body, but to the spirit of 
 man, the conscious, intelligent part of man. So then, the spirit of 
 man is the soul as taught in Mosiah, and the spirit and body is also 
 the soul, as taught in D. C. 65: 4; and there is no contradiction, 
 though Mr. Sheldon would love to make it appear so. 
 
 AUTHORITY OF DIVIXE RECORDS. 
 
 Joseph Smith held that the principle of authority involved in 
 Matt. 18: 18, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound 
 in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed 
 in heaven," applies also to keeping divine records as in respect to 
 baptism for the dead; but Mr. Sheldon claims that in so doing "he 
 repudiates his own translation," (which reads as above quoted), 
 because he says in D. C. p. 324, "Or, in other words, taking a dif- 
 ferent view of the translation," that is, as to its application, but 
 
96 UKIM AND THUMMIM. 
 
 not as intimating that the said translation was wrong, for he ac- 
 cepted it. 
 
 NON-ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon complains that: 
 
 " In translating the Book of Mormon, words are often used not contained 
 in the English language. The following is a sample : 'a fifth part of their 
 ziff.' Mosiah7:l." 
 
 These words were transferred, probably because there were no 
 English equivalents for them. If "ziff" was some kind of metal, 
 as is rather likely, it is not at all strange that there was not, at the 
 time of the translation, an English equivalent for it. A number 
 of new metals have been discovered since then, and there may yet 
 be many more discovered, and possibly the very kind in question. 
 
 GIFT TO TRANSLATE. 1 ] 
 
 Mr. Sheldon wishes to know: 
 
 "(1) Was the gift [to translate] in the stone-interpreters, or in Joseph? (2) 
 If Joseph himself had the gift, what need of the stones? (3) If the gift was 
 in the stones, how could Joseph lose it, without losing the stones?" 
 
 To the first question we reply: the gift was in both, in the 
 stones as a means, and in Joseph as an agent to use the means. To 
 the second we reply: Though Joseph was the agent to translate, 
 yet the stones were necessary as a means by which to work. In 
 reply to the third we have to say, that Joseph might have lost his 
 power as a seer, and in this sense lost his gift to translate; or he 
 might have lost the "interpreters," which was a means in translat- 
 ing. An astronomer may lose the telescope by which he traces 
 the pathway of the stars, or he may lose his natural sight the 
 power to use that wonderful instrument. 
 
 URIM AND THUMMIM. G 
 
 Mr. Sheldon now seeks to enlighten us in regard to the Urim and 
 Thummim. He says: 
 
 "The Jewish High Priest never read languages by this means, but wore 
 them upon his breast-plate, they were not used to read through, but were 
 outward emblems of divine illumination upon the heart of the wearer." 
 
 But Smith, in his Diet. .Bible, says: 
 
 "In what way the Urim and Thummim were consulted is quite uncertain. 
 Joseph us and the rabbins supposed that the stones gave out the oracular an- 
 swer by preternatural illumination. But it seems to be far simplest, and 
 most in agreement with the different accounts of inquiries made by Urim and 
 Thummim, (1 Sam. 3: 18, 19; 23: 3, 12; 28: 6; Judg. 20: 28; 2 Sam 5: 23, 
 &c.), to suppose that the answer was given simply by the word of the Lord to 
 the high priest (compare John 11 : 51), when he had inquired of the Lord, 
 clothed with the Ephod and breast-plate." 
 
URIM AND THUMMIM. 97 
 
 Who should better understand than "Josephus and the rabbins?" 
 None, we think, but those who are favored with a divine revelation 
 on the point, or with experimental knowledge, as Joseph and the 
 first elders and members of the church. The opinions of "Josepkus 
 and tke rabbins" are in essential accord with the statements of 
 Joseph, O. Cowdery, M. Harris, D. Whitmer, and others, and quite 
 adverse to the opinion volunteered by Mr. Sheldon. The Septua- 
 gint Bible renders the signification of Urim and Thummim as 
 "revelation and truth" Wkiston, in a note, on p. 94, Josephus, 
 says that the "shining stones" were used in revealing tke will of 
 God, after & perfect and true manner to his people Israel. Of these 
 stones Josephus, Ant. Jews, B. 3, ch. 9, par. 9, says, "Now this 
 breast-plate, and sardonyx left off shining two hundred years be- 
 fore I composed this book." With the information w r e now have 
 before us, one thing is certain, and that is that the Urim and Thum- 
 mim, as Joseph claims, was a divine means of revelation from God, 
 "after a perfect and true manner;" and that it was through the 
 "preternatural illumination" of the stories. That it was a means 
 of obtaining revelation and instruction directly from God is seen 
 in the fact that Joshua "shall stand before Eleazer the priest, who 
 shall ask counsel for him after the judgment [decision, revelation] 
 of Urim before the Lord" (Num. 27: 21); and that, "When Saul 
 inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by 
 dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. 28: 6). In all 
 these evidences we see that it was a means of revelation from God, 
 enabling those gifted with the power to use it to read and learn in 
 regard to hidden matters, and know what was otherwise secret and 
 unrevealed. 
 
 FIRST GIFT. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon thinks he has found "a direct collision" in the fact 
 of Joseph's having the gift of prophecy, in connection with O. 
 Cowdery, May, 1829, when they baptized each other, whereas a 
 commandment was given in March, 1829, two months before, say- 
 ing to Joseph: 
 
 " And you have a gift to translate the plates, and this is the first gift that I 
 bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you pretend to no other 
 gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this, for I will grant unto you no other 
 gift until it is finished." D. C. 4 : 1. 
 
 That this could have no direct reference to spiritual gifts, such 
 
 as discerning of spirits, visions, angelic ministrations, revelations, 
 
 etc., etc,, is evident from the fact that Joseph possessed all these 
 
 for months, and years, prior to this revelation. He, in the com- 
 
 7 
 
98 IMITATING BIBLE. 
 
 mandment then given him, enjoyed the gift of revelation. It re- 
 ferred, no doubt, to matters of translation, the chief topic of the 
 clause quoted, and to showing the plates to others. Joseph had 
 "the gift" to translate only the unsealed part of the plates, and he 
 was not privileged, or given the right, to show the plates to any 
 until the translation was completed; for Joseph says: 
 
 " The same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge : 
 that I should be responsible for them : and that if I should let them go care- 
 lessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I 
 would use my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger should 
 call for them, they should be protected." Times and Seasons, vol. 3, p. 722;. 
 Millennial Star, vol. 14, Supplement, page 6. 
 
 And it w r as further said to Joseph: 
 
 ' I have caused you that you should enter into a covenant with me, that 
 you should not show them [the plates] except to those persons whom I com- 
 manded you, and you have no power over them except I grant it unto vou." 
 D. C. 4 : 1. 
 
 Now this was said to Joseph because Martin Harris "desired a 
 witness [at the hand of the Lord] that you, my servant Joseph 
 Smith, Jr., have got the plates of which you have testified and 
 borne record that you have received of me" (D. C. 4: 1). In June 
 of 1829, Martin Harris obtained from the Lord the desired "wit- 
 ness," in connection with D. Whitmer and O. Cowdery. Joseph 
 had the gift to translate the plates, but not to show them until the 
 translation was finished. This is the easy and natural solution of 
 what Mr. Sheldon has labored hard to make "a puzzle" and a con- 
 tradiction. 
 
 IMITATING THE BIBLE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 " The Book of Mormon betrays its weakness in imitating the style of Bible 
 phraseology a style in common use at the time our Bible was first trans- 
 lated into the English language, but which has long since ceased to be used, 
 except as it is retained in our version of the Bible." 
 
 All critics do not agree with him on this point. Some hold that 
 the dissimilarity in the style of the two books, in respect to their 
 phraseology, is evidence that the Book of Mormon is spurious. 
 That the style of speech in the Book of Mormon is somewhat like 
 that of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is true; but that it 
 is strikingly so, is not true, as any one who carefully reads the tw r o 
 books can see. That the diction, or manner of expression, peculiar to 
 both the Bible and the Book of Mormon is largely and mainly due 
 to the style of the originals is, we think, a well attested fact. But 
 of the Bible Mr. Sheldon asserts to the contrary, holding that its 
 style of phraseology is due to that which was common to its trans- 
 
LANGUAGE CHANGES. 99 
 
 lators. Max Muller, one of England's most eminent scholars, in 
 one of his Essays on the Science of Religion, holds the very oppo- 
 site of Mr. Sheldon, for in his admirable and successful effort to 
 prove that the Hebrew original of the word created "bara" (Gen. 
 1: l,etc.), signifies "to create out of pre-existing matter," says: 
 
 " In the minds of those whom Moses addressed, and whose language he 
 spoke, it [the phrase, or form of expression, by which he speaks of God's cre- 
 ating heaven and earth] could only have called forth the simple conception 
 of fashioning or arranging. * * * To find out how the words of the Old Tes- 
 tament were understood by those to whom they were originally addressed 
 is a task attempted by a very few interpreters of the Bible. The great ma- 
 jority of readers transfer without hesitation the ideas which they connect 
 with words as used in the nineteenth century to the mind of Moses or his 
 cotemporaries, forgetting altogether the distance which divides their language 
 and their thoughts from the thoughts and language of the wandering tribes 
 of Israel." 
 
 Again: 
 
 " It is well known that we have in the language of the New Testament the 
 clear vestiges of Greek and Roman influences, and if we knew nothing of the 
 historical intercourse between those two nations and the writers of the New 
 Testament, the very expressions [phraseology] used by them, not only their 
 language, but their thoughts, their allusions, illustrations and similes, would 
 enable us to say that s me historical contact had taken place between the 
 philosophers of Greece, the lawgivers of Rome, and the people of Judea. * * 
 Why should there be any hesitation in pointing out in the Old Testament 
 anEgyptain custom, or a Greek word, or a Persian conception 1 } If Moses was 
 learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, nothing surely would stamp hi& 
 writings as more truly historical 'than traces of Egyptian influences that 
 might be discovered in his laws:" 
 
 Now all this teaches that the style of expression the phraseology 
 as well as the ideas, of God's ancient people are sought to be 
 preserved in the common version of the Bible. And it is not at 
 all strange that there should be some similarity between the writ- 
 ings of the ancient Nephites in America and the ancient Israelites 
 in Judea; for both sprang from the same nation, having the same 
 language in the main, and the same scriptures up to the time of 
 Jeremiah, and were taught by the same Spirit from one and the 
 same God and the same Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 ELIAS GABRIEL. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon objects to the revelations of Joseph because that, 
 in D. C. 26: 2, it is said: "Which Zechariah he [Elias] visited, and 
 gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be 
 John," whereas in Luke 1: 19, the angel's name is said to be "Ga- 
 briel." 
 
 Angels, as well as others may have different names- Peter was 
 
100 ELI AS, WITNESSES. 
 
 sometimes called Cephas and sometimes Simon. Jesus had many 
 titles Christ, the Lord, the Holy One, Messiah, Immanuel, etc., 
 etc. But Mr. Sheldon says "it is a trick of rogues" to change ones 
 name. Was it a "trick of rogues" for Peter, and Jasus, and Jacob, 
 and Abraham, and Saul of Tarsus, and hosts of other Bible wor- 
 thies to change their names? Are you not rather sweeping in your 
 denunciations, Mr. Sheldon? In your effort to thus strike down 
 "Mormonism," are you not fighting against the facts of the Bible? 
 Men of God, also Christ, have various names which are alike hon- 
 ored of God by their being used by the Spirit of God. Why then 
 should it be thought unreasonable that angels should have different 
 names, and that the angel Avho announced to Zechariah the birth of 
 John should be called both Elias and Gabriel? Presumptive evi- 
 dence that the angel "Gabriel" was none other than "Elias" lies 
 in the peculiarity of the promise: "And he [John] shall go before 
 him in the spirit and paw of Elias," (Luke 1: 17), from which it 
 may be easily inferred that "Elias" (Elijah, Heb.) would be "his 
 angel," to watch over, direct, and aid him, in his life and ministry. 
 Further evidence lies in the promise made through Malachi 4: 5, 
 "Behold, I will send you Elijah [Elias, Gr.], the prophet before 
 the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," which 
 Jesus applied to John the Baptist. (Matt. 11: 14; 17: 12); and 
 yet which John denies, (John 1: 21), when he said he was not the 
 Elias. John was the Elias to that generation, inasmuch as he act- 
 ed under the ministration of Elias (Elijah, Heb.), his angel; yet 
 personnlhj he was not the Elias, but only John the Baptist. In 
 this we have a rational solution of a seeming contradiction between 
 the testimony of John and Christ. And if Elias and Gabriel were 
 two personages, it is not impossible that both of them made the 
 announcement to Zechariah. 
 
 THE PLATES, AND THE WITNESSES. 
 
 We now come to another link in the lengthy chain of objections 
 urged by Mr. Sheldon, and to the weakest and most unreasonable so 
 far. It is in regard to the testimony of the "three" and the "eight" 
 witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Mr. Sheldon admits what no 
 reasonable and well informed person can deny, that "Joseph might 
 have had plates of some kind, either found or prepared to imitate 
 gold," yet he claims that the witnesses, all of them, the three and 
 the eight, were mistaken that is, deceived that their testimony 
 is contradictory, and that many of its essential parts are based on 
 second-hand testimony "on the strength of Joseph's word;" 
 and in his method of argument he reaches the very climax of ab- 
 
FAITH, WITNESSES. 101 
 
 surdity, exposing himself on every hand to contempt for his wit, 
 and to painful distrust of the piety of his intentions, he says: 
 
 " How did the three witnessee see the plates? In a revelation made to 
 them 'previous to their viewing the plates' it was said to them : 'It is by 
 your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which 
 was had by the prophets of old.' D. C. 15 : 1. How much faith would it re- 
 quire to see a piece of gold where it really existed ? Not much ; but where 
 it did not exist, it might need considerable faith to view it. Doubtless this 
 might have been so with these sacred plates ; they believed that what they 
 saw w r as gold, that an angel brought them ; and that the voice of God en- 
 dorsed the translatien, being told all this by Joseph." 
 
 The eight witnesses (not the three), claim that the plates "have 
 the appearance of gold;" and they claim also to have handled them 
 with their hands, and to have hefted them likewise. Mr. Sheldon 
 questions the propriety of their faith having anything to do with 
 their seeing the plates, and argues substantially, that they only 
 imagined that they saw them. But it is not at all strange that most 
 implicit faith (not imaginings) should be required of the three 
 witnesses, who saw the plates in the hands of the angel of God in 
 an open vision. 
 
 The Scriptures say: 
 
 "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Heb. 11 : 6. 
 
 "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And 
 his servant was healed from that hour." Matt. 8 : 13. 
 
 "But the word preached did not profit them [Israel], not being mixed 
 with faith in them that heard it." Heb. 4: 2. 
 
 "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Rom. 14: 23. 
 
 "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, 
 whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. "- 
 Rom. 12 : 6. 
 
 "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast 
 him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief." Matt. 
 17 : 20. 
 
 "And he did not many mighty works there [in his own country] because 
 of their unbelief." Matt. 13 : 58. 
 
 " Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him 
 that believeth." Mark 9 : 23. 
 
 "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.." Isa. 7: 9. 
 
 Time would fail us to cite the innumerable evidences that God 
 works among his people according to their faith. Why should a 
 professor of the religion of the Bible scoif at the idea that these 
 three witnesses must have faith in God in order to be worthy and 
 qualified to behold the wonderful vision, by the power of God, of 
 these sacred plates? Has he forgotten the scriptures? Or is he 
 so unfair, so partisan, as to allow that faith was essential in the 
 service of God in ancient times, but not necessary now! 
 
 As to his insinuation that the witnesses merely imagined that 
 
102 EIGHT WITNESSES. 
 
 what they saw was gold, its folly is so self-evident that a reply is 
 scarcely needed. The eleven witnesses, O. Cowdery, M. Harris, 
 D. Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, sen., Jacob Whitmer, 
 Christian Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, jun., John Whitmer, 
 Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith, were men of at least ordi- 
 nary natural abilities, while many of them had a fair English edu- 
 cation, and a moderate acquaintance with the common affairs of 
 business. Now, it is highly improbable, if not quite impossible, 
 for an illiterate young man of from twenty-three to twenty-five 
 years of age, as was Joseph Smith, with whom they were most in- 
 timately acquainted, and with whom they were frequently asso- 
 ciated, to have deceived these eleven witnesses in the manner 
 claimed by Mr. Sheldon. The idea is absolutely preposterous and 
 reflects but little credit upon the sagacity of the one who originated 
 it. Gold, as a medium of exchange, was then in common use, so 
 that persons doing any business at all would have some actual 
 knowledge as to what was gold, and what was not. To think that 
 Joseph Smith could have prepared a large book of plates "having 
 the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship, 
 which have the appearance of .gold," and could have imposed them 
 upon eleven sensible, intelligent men, some of whom were skilled 
 in all the common affairs of life, may do for idiots, but not for men 
 who have an ordinary measure of common sense. 
 
 Says Mr. Sheldon, "They believed what they saw was gold;" and 
 he says he thinks "tin plates, dipped in a dye that would have given 
 them a golden color to superficial observers, would suffice in the 
 hands of Joseph to get such a certificate" as is given by the eight 
 witnesses. If they could be so easily duped in respect to color, how 
 then in respect to the great number of the plates, and how in re- 
 spect to their being "of ancient work, and of curious workmanship?" 
 If there had been but one plate, and that without engravings, it 
 would have been next to impossible for the young and inexper- 
 ienced Joseph to have deceived the eleven witnesses, or even the 
 eight, in respect to its material and general character. But for 
 him to prepare a large book of plates, and those plates elaborately 
 engraved with characters that had "the appearance of ancient 
 work, and of curious workmanship" a work requiring great labor 
 and most consummate skill and then palm them upon eleven 
 rational men as genuine records records of very remote ages, and 
 sacred at that is quite past belief. The facts are, their testimony 
 is true, and valid for the purposes for which it was given, or else 
 these witnesses are deceivers of the basest class. The eight wit- 
 nesses say: 
 
THE WITNESSES. 103 
 
 "We did handle with our hands * * * as many of the leaves as the said 
 Smith has translated ; * * * we have seen and hefted [*'. e. lifted, for the 
 purpose of judging of their weight], and know of a surety that the said Smith 
 has got the plates of which we have spoken." 
 
 Mr. Sheldon affirms that 
 
 " The testimony of the eight witnesses disagrees with the three. They do 
 not claim that an angel brought the plates from heaven for them to view, 
 and they deny that they were in the possession of the angel." 
 
 It is true that " They the eight witnesses do not claim that an 
 angel brought the plates from heaven for them to view;" but it is not 
 true that "they deny that they were in the possession of the angel." 
 The eight witnesses simply testify that when they saw them, 
 handled them, and hefted them, that then Joseph Smith did have . 
 the plates. As to the fact of the angel's having them both before 
 and after that time, they do not pretend to testify, and this was 
 very proper. In regard to the testimony of the three witnesses, in 
 particular, Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 " They believed that what they saw was gold ; ihat an angel brought them ; 
 .and that the voice of God endorsed the translation, being told all this by 
 Joseph." 
 
 In the first place, as before seen, the three do not testify as to the 
 plates being gold, or as to their believing they were gold. His are 
 not very judicious comments upon the intelligence and shrewdness 
 of the three witnesses. Mr. Sheldon knows nothing of them per- 
 sonally, and but little of their history. And to our mind, his view 
 of the case is very damaging to his judgment. When Mr. Sheldon 
 assumes that three such experienced and intelligent men as were O. 
 Cowdery, D. Whitmer, and M. Harris would give to the world a 
 certificate so definite in its details, and so highly important and 
 conseqential in its claims, and all based on the say-so of Joseph 
 Smith, he exhibits a sorry want of sense or fairness. And for them 
 to testify, "we also know that they [the plates] have been trans- 
 lated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it 
 unto us;" and also testify, "we have seen the engravings which are 
 upon the plates, and they have been shown unto us by the power of 
 God and not of man;" and further, "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 still further, "the voice of the 
 Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it;" and for 
 them to do all this upon Ihe mere word or representation of Joseph 
 to them "being told all this by Joseph," as Mr. Sheldon puts it- 
 is for them to do a most improbable and very foolish thing. 
 
104 WITNESSES THREE. 
 
 They testify that "the voice of the Lord" commanded them to 
 bear record of the witness that God gave them concerning the 
 Book of Mormon. They testify that "an angel of God came down 
 from heaven, and HE brought and laid before our eyes, that we 
 beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon." They tes- 
 tify that the plates "have been translated by the gift and power of 
 God, for his voice hath declared it unto us." And yet Mr. Sheldon 
 has the hardihood to state that, 
 
 "These witnesses do not say that they saw the angel come down ; they 
 were doubtless told so by Joseph. Nor do they affirm that they heard the 
 voice of God ; it doubtless came through Joseph's revelation, commanding 
 them to testify. Thus they saio no angel, and heard no voice ; they simply 
 affirmed on the strength of Joseph's word. If they really had seen an ang- 
 el, they would have said so. If they had heard a voice from heaven, they 
 would have said so. Nor is it sure that they saw the plates, except by faith, 
 through Joseph " 
 
 In this Mr. Sheldon mistates and flatly contradicts the record we 
 have herein presented, also that same record as found in the testi- 
 mony of the three witnesses on a fly leaf in the Book of Mormon, 
 from which we quote. His blindness, or malice, is very great and 
 very condemnable. His statements are basely false, and he ought 
 to know it. 
 
 If they, personally ^ saw not the plates, and the engravings there- 
 on; and if they saw not "an angel of God" come down from 
 heaven; and if the angel of God did not bring the plates and lay 
 them before their eyes; and if they did not hear the voice of God 
 to themselves; and if the plates were not shown to them "by the 
 power of God and not of man," then they were vile and wilfull im- 
 postors, for they unequivocally affirm as much. The disgraceful 
 prevarications imputed to them by Mr. Sheldon have not the slight- 
 est foundation in fact, and they would have been heartily spurned 
 by those men of God and hurled back with scorn upon those who 
 might have suggested them. 
 
 O. Cowdery, who became an attorney of pronounced ability, 
 always bore an undeviating testimony to the Book of Mormon till 
 the cold waves of death swept him from the shores of time. And 
 he, after years of reflection and profound thought upon the matter, 
 never marred his testimony by such quibbles as are presented in 
 the criticisms of Mr. Sheldon. 
 
 Martin Harris, now passed within the vail, whose years reached 
 more than four score and ten, reaffirmed his testimony, time after 
 time since 1829, and would have scorned the thought of having it 
 explained after the manner of Mr. Sheldon. 
 
 David Whitmer, dying aged over eighty years, a man who com- 
 
WITNESSES THREE. 105 
 
 manded the respect and esteem of those who knew him, a man of 
 high intellectual attainments, as noticed in the former part of our 
 article, he, too, always unflinchingly and unqualifiedly maintained 
 his testimony concerning the Book of Mormon. He would have 
 despised the thought of his testimony being based upon such 
 grounds as are assumed by Mr. Sheldon. 
 
 Joseph, in his History of the Church, gives an account of the 
 manner in which the three witnesses obtained the evidences upon 
 which their special testimony is based. He says: 
 
 " Not many days after the above commandment [D. C. sec. 15] was given, 
 we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and myself, 
 agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble 
 prayer, the fulfillment of the promise given in the revelation that they 
 should have a view of the plates, &c. We accordingly made choice of a 
 piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and 
 having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to be- 
 stow upon us a realization of these promises. According to previous arrange- 
 ments I commenced by vocal prayer to our heavenly Father, and was fol- 
 lowed by each of the rest in succession. We did not, however, obtain any 
 answer or manifestation of the divine favor in our behalf. We again ob- 
 served the same order of prayer, each calling on and praying fervently to 
 God in rotation, but with the same result as before. Upon this, our second 
 failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, 
 believing, as he expres ed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not 
 obtaining what we wished for; he accordingly withdrew from us, and we 
 knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when 
 presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness : 
 and behold, an angel stood before us ; in his hands he held the plates which 
 we had been praying for these to have a view of; he turned over the leaves 
 one by one, so th'at we could see them, and discover the engravings thereon 
 distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, 'David, 
 blessed is the Lord and he that keeps his commandments.' When, imme- 
 diately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, 
 saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they 
 have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which 
 you have seen is correct and I command you to bear record of what you now 
 see and hear.' I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin 
 Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in 
 prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the 
 Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might 
 realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly 
 joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for, before we had yet 
 finished, the same vision was o'pen to our view, at least it was again to me, 
 and I once more beheld and heard the same things, whilst at the same mo- 
 ment Martin Harris cried out, apparently in ecstacy of joy, "Tis enough; 
 mine eyes have beheld,' and jumping up, he shouted 'Hosannah,' blessing 
 God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly. 
 
 " Having thus, through the mercy of God, obtained these manifestations, 
 it now remained for these three individuals to fulfill the commandment 
 which they had received, viz, to bear record of these things; in order to ac- 
 
106 WITNESSES THREE. 
 
 complish which they drew up and described [subscribed] the following 
 document." 
 
 Here follows the testimony of the three witnesses as found on 
 the first leaves of the Book of Mormon. It will be observed that 
 "they" (the "three witnesses") "drew up and described [subscribed] 
 the following document," (their testimony). 
 
 MARTIN HARRIS. 
 
 To the question, "Did you, Martin Harris, go to England to 
 lecture against Mormonism?" a question propounded by Sr. H. 
 B. Emerson, of New Richmond, Ohio, in 1870, Martin Harris re- 
 plied: 
 
 " I answer emphatically, No, I did not; no man ever heard me in any way 
 deny the Book of Mormon, the administration of the angel that showed me 
 the plates ; nor the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 
 Saints under the ministration of Joseph Smith, Jr., the prophet, whom the 
 Lord raised up for that purpose in these latter days, that he might show 
 forth his power and glory. The Lord has shown me these things by his 
 Spirit, by the administration of holy angels, and confirmed the same with 
 signs following, step by step, as the work has progressed, for the space of 
 fifty-three years." True Latter Day Saints Herald, Oct. 15, 1875. . 
 
 He further said: 
 
 " I do say that the angel did show to me the plates containing the Book of 
 Mormon. Further, the iranslation that I carried to Prof. Anthon was copied 
 from those plates. * * * I do firmly believe, and do know that Joseph 
 Smith was a prophet of God." Herald, vol. 22, p. 630. 
 
 Before us is a letter just received, written by Elder Charles 
 Deny, who for many years was an active minister in the Church in 
 England and this letter contains important information as to the 
 attitude of Martin Harris toward the Book of Mormon when he 
 ~was lecturing in England against the evils of Brighamism. It 
 reads: 
 
 " In the Herald of October 15, 1875, I find a communication from Martin 
 Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, in which he de- 
 clares that he did not go to England to lecture against Mormonism. That 
 declaration is true ; but it may be interesting to know what he went there for. 
 Not having a Millennial 8ti.tr by me of that date, I can not tell exactly the 
 time, but think it was in 1846. My first wife, (then Anna Stokes), told me 
 that she saw him in Birmingham, in the Saints' meeting-house. He had 
 gone there from this land to oppose the pretensions of Brigham Young and 
 the Twelve, who were then laying the foundations for polygamy and Brig- 
 hamite rule. A young man of her acquaintance, in the presence of the as- 
 sembly, presented to him his testimony with his name in connection with 
 the other two witnesses names, and asked him if that was his name, and 
 Martin replied, 'It is.' 'Did you put your name to that testimony?' Martin 
 
 . -answered, 'I did ; and that Book of Mormon is the Book of God. I know 
 
 .more about that book than any man living.' " 
 
WITNESSES THREE. 107 
 
 It should be borne in mind that these three witnesses withdrew 
 from active fellowship in the Church as early as 1838, but not for 
 want of faith in the Book of Mormon or in the prophetic mission 
 of Joseph. Some, if not all of them, thought the church was 
 swerving from the right, and was tending to apostasy. And it is 
 probable that personal grievances and personal interests had much 
 to do with them in shaping their course toward the Church. But 
 amid all their trials and afflictions, and though separated from the 
 Church in their associations, and having many strong inducements 
 to abandon their faith in the Book of Mormon, they nevertheless 
 ever and to the last steadfastly maintained, with cheerful and earn- 
 est zeal, and with a loving hope in God, their marvelous and highly 
 important testimony. If they had remained in full and active fel- 
 lowship with the Church and in the ministry, it might have been 
 argued by opposers that all their interests and surrounding influ- 
 ences were of such a character as to forbid their turning from, or 
 retracting their testimony. But these reasons can not now be as- 
 signed for their steadfastness. There were many causes to prompt 
 them to deny the work, and many surroundings well calculated to 
 draw them away from the faith; but their love of God and his 
 truth, their sincerity of heart, their honesty of purpose, and their 
 exceeding great knowledge by the ministry of angels, by the gifts 
 of the Holy Spirit, by the voice of the Lord, and by the many 
 wonderful dealings of God within their observation and experience, 
 all united to render it morally impossible for them to recant and 
 turn away from their testimony. 
 
 Joseph, Oliver, Martin and David their united testimony lives 
 to-day, though they have passed away to that God who gave them 
 being. They were competent and credible witnesses; and their 
 joint testimony is now in force. Men of intelligence, men of in- 
 tegrity, fearless and unflinching men, their testimony and their 
 memory will live and be honored, when their defamers and tra- 
 ducers will have gone down into oblivion, or are remembered only 
 with pity and with shame. 
 
108 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SOUL OF MAN. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next claims that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, 
 and the Book of Mormon untrue, because they teach that the 
 spirit or soul of man is 'a conscious being, a living, active entity, 
 and remains such after the death of man, (see also p. 95). He says: 
 
 "While the Bible represents death as reducing man to a state of uncon- 
 sciousness till the resurrection, the Book of Mormon affirms 'that there is a 
 space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul 
 in happiness or in misery." Alma, ch. 18." 
 
 Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon do teach that the soul of 
 man survives the death of man, and that it exists in the intermedi- 
 ate state as an intelligent, active agent., possessing all the facul- 
 ties and powers peculiar to the intellectual, spiritual part of man 
 in this life. It is an exalted and cheering doctrine; one in har- 
 mony with the wisdom and love of God, while its opposite, the 
 soul-sleeping doctrine, is cheerless, degrading, repulsive, and utter- 
 ly dishonoring toward God and man. 
 
 The unconscious sloop, or mortality of the soul or spirit, is ut- 
 terly repugnant to the natural sense, the common sentiment, and 
 the universal and God-given instincts of the race. For proof of 
 this we consult the history, poetry, painting and sculpture of all 
 nations and ages, and they all teach us that man, everywhere, dur- 
 ing all past time believed the soul was a real, substantive being, and 
 was possessed of intense consciousness and activity when no longer 
 "in the flesh." The ruins of ancient Babylon and Nineveh and 
 Thebes and Memphis with their pyramids, temples, tombs, and 
 monuments open their stony lips and proclaim to us in their 
 glyphs and sculpturings, how prominent was this sentiment in 
 those times so near the tower of Babel and the flood. And when 
 we examine the antiquities of America, the same kind of evidence 
 meets us. 
 
 Dr. Clinton Locke says: 
 
 "Personal immortality is one of those ideas which are natural to the mind 
 of man, be he savage or be he sage." 
 
 All minds, from the gifted and cultured Plato to the rude savage 
 of the forest, have been thoroughly possessed with this elevating 
 and ennobling thought, a thought so important and effectual in re- 
 straining evil and inciting to that which is good an incalculable 
 power in lifting up the race into better conditions of life and being. 
 We trace this spontaneous sentiment in man as readily as we can 
 
SOUL OF MAN. 109 
 
 trace in the lower orders of creation the unreasoning, natural im- 
 pulses peculiar to them. The works of the honey bee, the spider, 
 the ant, the beaver, the swallow, and a thousand others of the lower 
 orders, teach us that the Creator has for wise and benevolent pur- 
 poses, endowed these creatures with instinctive knowledge, wisdom 
 and skill suited to their various wants and conditions. This instinct 
 is in some sense prophetic revealing to the inner consciousness 
 facts and conditions not known by actual experience. Man and 
 the lower orders are to a degree alike in this respect. 
 
 A wise and loving God would never have implanted in man the 
 belief instinctively of a conscious existence after death unless 
 such a belief were proper, and unless such a state of existence were 
 real. He does not endow the lower orders of creation with in- 
 stincts, and then fail to provide them with those objects circum- 
 stances and conditions to which those instincts invariably point or 
 lead. And inasmuch as the race is universally possessed with this 
 sentiment, (except in cases of extreme barbarism, moral degradation, 
 perverted education), it is conclusive that the sentiment is a true 
 one, and that it is wisely ordained of God. 
 
 Our experiences in life are such as to prove that the soul or spirit 
 of man is a living entity, a being distinct from the physical body, 
 superior to the body, and not solely dependent upon it for its ex- 
 istence. The soul retains its p'erfect identity, activity, and its 
 force and capacity, though the body be wasted with disease, or de- 
 prived of many of its members. 
 
 Dr. Paine says that, 
 
 "The emaciated, consumptive patient, with only snatches of sleep, toils at 
 his intellectual labors, even after reduced to a slender diet of bread and 
 water, and with a vigor of Mind unsurpassed in days of health and refresh- 
 ing enjoyments," and that "the whole history of the malignant epidemic 
 cholera presents the mind as sparkling as ever in the midst of the ruins of 
 organic life, in which are included the drain as well as the almst pulseless 
 heart, and the expiring functions of every other organ, closely representing 
 the disembodied soul." The Soul and Instinct, p. 115. 
 
 A late speaker of the House of Representatives, Michael Kerr, 
 retained great strength of intellect and force of spirit until the im- 
 mediate hours of death, though he had wasted, slowly away in his 
 physical being to a mere skeleton. Of the late Hon. Wm. G. 
 Brownlow, of Tennessee, it is said, "Latterly he was decrepit to 
 the verge of utter helplessness, but his mind and temper remained 
 unweakened." And the Hon. A. H. Stephens, who was dying for 
 twenty years, who became as thin as a ghost, and, physically, as 
 helpless as a child, when wheeled into the United States Court 
 Room in his invalid chair, in which he sat, electrified and aston- 
 
110 SOUL OF MAN. 
 
 ished his hearers with a lengthy, "clear, strong and eloquent argu- 
 ment, without the aid of manuscript or brief, following all the in- 
 tricate windings of a "case with a hawk-like alertness that showed 
 his intense intellectual activity." All this and much more that 
 might be presented, shows both the superiority of the soul above 
 the body, and the fact of the soul being a separate entity and inde- 
 pendent of the body in its faculties and powers, as also does this 
 text: 
 
 "Thou our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by 
 day." 2 Cor. 4: 16. 
 
 "For when the body oft expiring lies, 
 Its limbs quite senseless, and half closed its eyes, 
 The mind new force and eloquence acquires, 
 And with prophetic voice the dying lips inspires." 
 
 Man is, in some sense, an animal machine. The soul is that 
 which thinks, perceives, reasons, imagines, wills, hates, loves, re- 
 joices and sorrows, hopes and worships and all this while resid- 
 ing within, and having intelligent control of the body. The soul 
 sustains a similar relation to the body that the intelligent engineer 
 does to his engine. As the engineer, to control his engine, must 
 be in contact with it, so the soul, to control the body, must dwell 
 within it. As the engine represents the body, so the steam repre- 
 sents the blood, and the intelligent engineer the soul. As the en- 
 gineer may live and have active being after his engine is wrecked 
 and destroyed, so the soul of man may live when free from the 
 body when "dust returns to dust as it was before, and the spirit 
 returns to God who gave it." 
 
 Intelligence and volition are not the inherent properties of inert 
 matter; but they are of the soul, and this demonstrates that the 
 soul is above and superior to matter. Mind controls matter, and 
 is capable of self-action and self-determination. The brain is the 
 seat of the mind, but it is not the mind itself as some would claim. 
 It is simply the organ of the mind, the instrument through which 
 the mind operates and manifests itself. The brain, in its mental 
 operations, acts only as it is acted upon by the intelligent souL 
 The brain is the soul's chief instrument, the body with all its 
 parts rendering subordinate service. 
 
 " In his lecture on 'Does Death End All ?' in Boston, recently, Joseph 
 Cook used this illustration of the immortality of the soul: 'As, therefore, 
 from the structure of the eye we may infer the existence of a wholly exter- 
 nal agent, light; or from that of the ear, the existence of a wholly external 
 agent, sound ; so from the absolute inertness of the cerebral structure in itself, 
 we must attribute its activities to an agent as external to it as sound is to the 
 ear or light to the eye. That agent is "invisible to the external vision, and 
 
SOUL GOD. Ill 
 
 intangible to the external touch. It is positively known to consciousness, 
 or the internal vision and touch. That agent is the soul. As the dissolution 
 of the eye does not destroy the light, the external agent which acts upon it, 
 and as the dissolution of the ear does not destroy the pulsation of the air r 
 the external agent which acts upon it, so the dissolution of the brain does 
 not destroy the soul, the external agent which sets it in motion.' " 
 
 We prove the existence of the soul by the ideas it originates, 
 and the work it performs. We see its work in language, inven- 
 tion, mechanic arts, music, poetry, painting, and in many other 
 ways. While the body attains perfection in about from twenty to 
 twenty-five years, or earlier, the intelligent soul continues to im- 
 prove, and enlarge its capabilities and powers, till seventy, eighty, 
 or more years pass away, and this, too, while the body is wasting, 
 and failing in its natual powers. 
 
 The human mind, or soul, is evidently constituted after the pat- 
 tern of the Divine mind, or soul. The Infinite Mind, which de- 
 signed, originated, and constructed the universe in all its parts, has 
 its counterpart (in its constitution, though not in greatness and 
 excellence) in the mind of man which designs, originates and achieves 
 the wonderful works of art seen in the world's history. Inasmuch 
 as the works of God proclaim His personal being as a spirit, so the 
 works of man prove that the spirit or soul of man is a personal 
 being. And if the works of God prove the immortality of the 
 mind of God, why shall not the intellectual works of man prove 
 the immortality of the mind of man? Does not the spirit, the in- 
 tellectual part of man, exist on the same plan with that of the 
 "Father of spirits?" Who dare say it does not? That the spirit 
 or soul of man is a real being, a separate entity, a self-acting agent 
 when in the body of flesh or out of it is, we think, just as reason- 
 able, and demonstrable, as that the "Father of spirits" is a separ- 
 ate entity, a self-acting Being. 
 
 Lest some should think us irreverent in comparing the soul of 
 man with the Divine Soul, we will give them our scriptural 
 grounds for doing so: 
 
 " Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth." Isa. 1 : 14 
 "Behold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." Isa. 42: 1. 
 "Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee." 
 Jer. 6 : 8. 
 
 Thus far of God. Of man God says: 
 " Love the Lord your God with all your soul." Deut. 11 : 13. 
 " Come unto me, and hear, and your soul shall live." Isa. 55 : 3. 
 
 As relates to both God and man, the term refers, we see to the- 
 intelligent, conscious nature. 
 
112 SPIRIT OF MAN. 
 
 The immortality of the soul may be clearly inferred in its desires 
 for immortality; its hopes of immortality; its instinctive convic- 
 tions of immortality; its adaptability for immortality, and, finally, 
 in its essential likeness to God. 
 
 Paul teaches that God is "the Father of spirits" our spirits, 
 (Heb. 12:9), and that "we are the offspring of God." Acts 17: 29. 
 
 Who has traced the development of the intelligent soul from the 
 cradle to the grave, that has seen it battle with the ills and the ob- 
 stacles of life until it has won triumphant victories throughout the 
 realms of mind and matter, in every department of life, and, finally, 
 in its explorations, planted its conquering standards upon the starry 
 plains of infinitude who that has seen this can believe in the 
 mortality of the soul, or that it sleeps in unconsciousness when man 
 dies! Such a belief degrades man, and dishonors God his Maker. 
 
 As such doctrine is irrational, and unphilosophical, so it is un- 
 scriptural and utterly contrary to the belief of the chosen people of 
 God first the Jews and after them the early Christians. In the 
 Old Testament, the spirit or soul of man is spoken of, and usually 
 treated as something distinct and separate from the body of man. 
 A few instances shall suffice: 
 
 "And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died), that she 
 called his name Ben-oni." Gen. 35: 18. 
 
 Dr. Clark renders the Hebrew text thus: "In the going away of 
 her soul." In either case the soul did not die, or sleep, nor cease to 
 exist with the body. The conscious activity of the soul is here 
 plainly taught, in its "departing" "going away." 
 
 Elijah prayed: 
 
 "O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 
 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah ; and the soul of the child came into 
 Mm again, and he revived." 1 Kings 17 : 21, 22. 
 
 In this case, the child's soul "departed" away, and at the prayer 
 of the man of God it returned and "came into him." The soul is 
 here spoken of as existing for a time, at least, out of the body; and 
 then, the same soul returning "into him." Now, if the soul could 
 exist outside of the body from the time of the child's death till 
 it was restored, why not exist for a longer time? Aye, forever? 
 Again: 
 
 "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of 
 the son is mine ; the soul that sinneth it shall die." Ezek. 18 : 4. 
 
 Here we see the father and the son living men are each pos- 
 sessed of a soul, and that soul an intelligent, responsible agent 
 capable of sinning, and of becoming dead in sin "in trespasses 
 and sins." 
 
SPIRITS. 113 
 
 The inherent nature of a spirit is life, activity, intelligence. The 
 word spirit is often used to signify the same as soul. This should 
 be noticed briefly: 
 
 " And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the 
 spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation." Num. 27: 15, 16. 
 
 Here the dual, or compound nature of man flesh and spirit is 
 clearly seen. The term spirit, or its equivalent, in ancient times 
 signified primarily, and generally, a real substance, though highly 
 refined or sublimated, and not merely disposition, energy, breath, 
 or ardor. Locke, the author of a treatise On the Human Under- 
 standing, explains it thus: 
 
 " Spirit is a substance in which thinking, knowing, doubting and a power 
 of moving, do subsist." 
 
 And it is clearly of individual, substantive spirits, that Moses 
 speaks in the foregoing text. And the same may be said of the 
 following: 
 
 "But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth 
 them understanding." Job 32 : 8. 
 
 So of this: 
 
 " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children 
 of God." Rom. 8: 16. 
 
 While the first "Spirit" is undoubtedly the Holy Ghost, the sec- 
 ond "our spirit" is as evidently the intelligent part of man 
 the soul. Again: 
 
 " For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which 
 is in him?" I Cor. 2: 11. 
 
 Here "the spirit of man," is his intelligent part. And what is 
 true of these texts is true of hundreds more. We have now learned 
 from the Scriptures what part of man is conscious and therefore 
 responsible. And we shall pursue our further investigation from 
 this standpoint. 
 
 We are now prepared to understand the inspired writer when he 
 describes the death of man: 
 
 " Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall re- 
 turn unto God who gave it." Eccl. 12 : 7. 
 
 So also of the following texts: 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground 
 and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." 
 John 12: 24. 
 
 As in the death of the seed the living, active part is separated 
 
 8 
 
114 INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 
 
 from the mere body that contained it, and then passes with special 
 activity into other living intermediate conditions before reaching 
 the same kind of a body that it leaves; so also it is with the con- 
 scious, spiritual part of man. Death is the separating of the vital, 
 active part from the inert. In this view of the matter the words 
 of the proto-martyr Stephen are full of solemn, cheering signifi- 
 cance, and are easily understood. 
 
 " And they stoned Stephen, [he] calling upon God, an d saying, Lord Jesus, 
 receive my spirit." Acts 7 : 59. 
 
 Now Stephen knew where Jesus was that he was at the right 
 hand of God in heaven arid he evidently knew his spirit would 
 survive his death, be separated from his body, and that by 
 God's grace it would go into the presence of Jesus. Hence he 
 prayed in the manner quoted. 
 
 While Jesus told the wicked Jews, "Ye shall die in your sins; 
 whither I go, ye can not come" (John 8: 21); yet he said to his 
 disciples, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be," (John 12: 
 26.) And to Peter: 
 
 "Whither I go thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me 
 afterward." John 13: 36. 
 
 And for all his disciples he prayed: 
 
 " Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me 
 where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me." 
 John 17: 24. 
 
 This hope of being with Jesus, in the presence of God, at death, 
 is sublime, and very, very comforting. Such it was to Paul the 
 Apostle; and such it was to all the intelligent early Christians. 
 A few passages in Paul's writings may suffice for the present: 
 
 " For me to live is [to serve] Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in 
 the flesh this [service of Christ] is the fruit of my labor; yet what I shall 
 choose I wot [know] not. For I am in a straight betwixt two, [desires], 
 having a desire to depart [from the flesh], and to be with Christ; which is 
 far better. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you," Phil. 
 
 The sense of this passage is so manifest that no lengthy expla- 
 nation is needed. The question with Paul was, as to whether it 
 were better, all things considered, for him to "abide in the flesh" 
 for the good of the church, or to die, depart from the flesh, and be 
 with Christ, which, for him, personally, would be "gain" and y 
 "far better." This sense of the text harmonizes beautifully with 
 what he afterwards, on the eve of his martyrdom, wrote to Timo- 
 thy: 
 
SPIRITS IN PRISON. 115 
 
 " For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
 hand." 2 Tim. 4: 6. 
 
 So also it does with 2 Cor. 5: 6, 8. 
 
 "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home 
 in the body, we are absent from the Lord. * * * We are confident, I say, and 
 willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 
 
 No amount of skilfull perversion can make these texts sustain 
 the mortality or sleep of the soul at death, when that term is ap- 
 plied to the spirit or sentient part of man. A living man is often 
 called a soul, but a dead man never. Hence the term always re- 
 lates to a living being . 
 
 Peter, too, taught the entity, and consciousness of man's spirit 
 after death. He says: 
 
 "Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, [fleshly body], to 
 stir you up by putting you in remembrance ; knowing that shortly I must 
 put 'off this my tabernacle, [body], even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath 
 shewed me." 2 Pet. 1 : 13, 14. 
 
 The evident sense of this is, that Peter, in his intellectual, spritual 
 nature the soul lived in his fleshly body as in a "tabernacle" or 
 house; and that his intelligent soul would "put off" the fleshly "ta- 
 bernacle" in death, as Jesus had shewed him, (John 21 : 18, 19). To 
 say that he would put it "off" from his breath, or from his natural 
 life the blood is absurd; and to say that his soul or spirit would 
 remain in him asleep, at death, is to flatly contradict the text. 
 When persons put "off" their clothing, they are the same persons 
 they were when they had their clothing on. So with Peter, his 
 "tabernacle" was his mortal clothing; this he could "put off" from 
 his soul, and did put off at his death. 
 
 SPIRITS IN PRISON. 
 
 In another place Peter teaches the entity of the spirits of the 
 dead, and their consciousness, when he says: 
 
 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he 
 might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, [his flesh], but quick- 
 ened [resurrected] by the spirit, [Holy Spirit] : by which [Spirit], also he 
 went and preached unto the spirits in prison: which [spirits] sometime 
 were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of 
 Noah, while the ark was a preparing." 1 Pet. 3 : 18, 20. 
 
 That these were the spirits of the dead, and that Christ preached 
 to them in their disembodied state, is made clear from what 
 follows: 
 
 " Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick [living] 
 and dead. For, for this cause [the coming judgment] was the gospel preach- 
 ed also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to [the 
 
116 HADES. 
 
 same as] men in the flesh, but live according to God [according to God's laws] 
 in the spir^' I Pet. 4: 5, 6. 
 
 Prof. Taylor Lewis says of this: 
 
 " We are taught that there was a work of Christ in Hades. He descended 
 into Hades; he makes proclamation 'ekeruxen' in Hades to those who are 
 there 'in ward.' " tlailey, Discrepancies of the Bible, p. 192. 
 
 And Alford says: 
 
 " I understand these words to say that our Lord, in his disembodied state, 
 did go to the place of detention of departed spirits, and did there announce 
 his work of redemption, preach salvation in fact to the disembodied spirits 
 of those who refused to obey the voice of God when the judgment of the 
 flood was hanging over them." Ibid. 
 
 Prof. Hindekoper says that: 
 
 " In the second and third centures, every branch and division of the Christian 
 Church, KO far as their records enable us to judge, believed that Christ 
 preached to the departed." Ibid. 
 
 For further information in respect to the spirits of the wicked 
 dead being "in prison," we refer the reader to Isaiah 24: 21-23; 
 Zech. 9: 11; Ezek. 32: 18, 21, 23, 27, 31, 32. In harmony with 
 these texts is the saying of the Psalmist, "The wicked shall be 
 turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." 9: 17. It 
 will not do to say that hell is simply the grave, as some do; for 
 that would rob the passage of its significance, Being "turned into 
 hell," is threatened as a terrible punishment; but decent burial in 
 the grave is, by the righteous, esteemed a blessing. That the souls 
 of the wicked, at death, go to "hell" or the "prison," is clearly 
 taught by the Savior: 
 
 "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he 
 hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him." 
 Luke 12 : 5. 
 
 Again: 
 
 " And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels 
 into Abraham's bosom [presence, society] : the rich man also died, and was 
 buried ; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abra- 
 ham, afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" Luke 16 : 22, 23. 
 
 In this the entity of the spirit, and its active, and intense con- 
 sciousness after its separation from the body, is made as plain as 
 language can make it, 
 
 To illustrate and further confirm the grounds we have taken, we 
 appeal to history. Josephus relates of Moses, that in his last ad- 
 dress to his people he said: 
 
 " When souls are about to leave the body, they speak with the sincerest free- 
 dom." Ant. B. 4, ch. 8. 
 
 It may be well to here remark that Josephus often quotes, from 
 
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM. 1 1 7 
 
 Moses and the prophets, such passages as we have not in the Bible. 
 In his discourse concerning Hades the state of the dead he says 
 that the souls of the just dwell in a peaceful, delightful region, 
 where "the countenance of the fathers, and of the just, which they 
 see, always smiles upon them, while they wait for that rest and 
 eternal new life in heaven which is to succeed this region. This 
 place we call The Bosom of Abraham." This makes it plain that 
 the Jews believed in the conscious condition of the spirit after 
 death; and it enables us to see why Jesus used the term "Abraham's 
 bosom." The people to whom he was speaking were familiar with 
 that term, they knew its meaning, hence it was suitable in describ- 
 ing the condition of righteous Lazarus and the righteous dead. 
 
 The Christians of the first three centuries believed the doctrine 
 we advocate. St. Clement, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, 
 says : 
 
 "Peter, by unjust envy, underwent, not one or two, but many sufferings; 
 till at last, being martyred, he went to the place of glory that was 'due to him. 
 For the s ime cause did Paul in like manner receive the reward of his pa- 
 tience. Seven times he was in bonds; he was whipped, was stoned; he 
 preached both in the east and in the west, leaving behind him the glorious 
 report of his faith; and so having taught the whole world righteousness, 
 and for that end traveled even to the utmost bounds of the west, he at last 
 suffered martyrdom, by the command of the governors, and departed out of 
 the world, and went unto his holy place" Apostolic Fathers, Wake's Trans p. 60. 
 
 Comment here is needless. 
 
 Of the martyrdom of St. Ignatius, who, it is claimed, succeeded 
 the Apostle Peter at Antioch, it is said in an epistle from the 
 Church at Smyrna, where he suffered: 
 
 " Wherefore, with much readiness and joy, he left Antioch and came to> 
 Selucia ; from thence he was to sail. And after a great deal of toil, being 
 come to Smyrna, he left the ship with great gladness and hastened to see 
 the holy Polycarp, his fellow scholar, who was bishop there ; for they had 
 both of them been formerly the disciples of St. John. Being brought to 
 him, and communicating to him some spiritual gifts, and glorying in his- 
 bonds, he entreated, first of all, the whole Church, (for the churches and 
 cities of Asia attended this holy man by their bishops, and priests, and 
 deacons, all hastening to him, if by any means they might receive some part 
 of his spiritual gift), but more particularly Polycarp, to contend with God in 
 his behalf, that being suddenly taken by the beasts from the world, he might 
 appear before the face of Christ." Apostolic Fathers, p. 179. 
 
 And now in regard to the martyrdom of Polycarp (the one allud- 
 ed to, historians assert, in Rev. 2: 10), and others with him: 
 
 " Wherefore being supported by the grace of Christ, they despised all the 
 torments of the world ; by the suffering of an hour redeeming themselves 
 from everlasting punishment. For this cause, even the fire of their cruel and 
 barbarous executioners seemed cold to them, whilst they hopod thereby to 
 escape that fire which is eternal, and shall never be extinguished, and 'be- 
 
118 SOUL-SLEEPERS. 
 
 held, with the eyes of faith, those good things which are reserved for them 
 that endure to the end, 'which neither ear has heard, nor eye seen, nor have 
 they entered into the heart of man.' But to them they were now revealed 
 by the Lord ; as being no longer men, but already become angels." p. 193. 
 
 Eusebius, in giving an account of the martyrdom of Lucius, re- 
 presents him as saying to his judge: 
 
 " I thank thee, for now I am liberated from wicked masters, and am going 
 to the good Father and King, even God." Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History^ 
 ch. 17. 
 
 Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, in the third century, says of 
 the Christian martyrs: 
 
 " But these same martyrs, who are now sitting with Christ, and are the 
 sharers in his kingdom," etc., etc. Vide ch. 42. 
 
 Space would fail to give all the testimonies of the early fath- 
 ers which sustain the Bible doctrine of the conscious condition of 
 the spirits of the dead. But we must not dismiss Eusebius until 
 we present his testimony concerning the "soul-sleeping" heretics of 
 those early days. He says, ch. 37. 
 
 " But about this time [A.D. 244], also, other men sprung up in Arabia as 
 the propagators of false opinions. They asserted that the human soul, as long 
 as the present state of the world existed, perished at death and died with the 
 body, but that it would be raised again with the body at the time of the re- 
 surrection." 
 
 This is, identically, the theory of Mr. Sheldon and his fellows. 
 Through the means of a large council, headed by Origen, these 
 heretics were prevailed upon to abandon their "false opinions." 
 
 We must not omit to quote the testimony of another one from 
 among the "cloud of witnesses" furnished us by the primitive 
 Christians. Tertullian, that learned advocate and unflinching de- 
 fender of the faith of the early Christians, in his book, De Anima^ 
 says: 
 
 " We had a right, after what was said by St. John, to expect prophesyings ; 
 and we not only acknowledge these spiritual gifts, but we are permitted to 
 enjoy the gifts of a prophetess. There is a sister amongst us who possesses 
 the faculty of revelation. jShe commonly, during our religious services on 
 the Sabbath, falls into a crisis or trance. She has then intercourse with the 
 angels, sees sometimes the Lord himself; sees and hears divine mysteries, 
 and discovers the hearts of some persons ; and administers medicine to such 
 as desire it; and when the Scriptures are read, or psalms are being sung, or 
 prayers are being offered up, subjects from thence are ministered to 
 her vision. We were speaking of the soul once when our sister w r as in the 
 spirit I do not recollect exactly what. After the service she allowed the 
 rest of the people to go away, as she always did on such occasions, and then 
 communicated to us what she had seen in her ecstacy, which was then more 
 closely inquired into and tested. She informed us that she had seen a soul 
 in a bodily shape; that it appeared to be a spirit ; but not empty and form- 
 
SPIRIT ENTITY. 119 
 
 less and wanting a living constitution ; but that its form appeared so sub- 
 stantial that you might touch or hold it. It was tender, [delicate], shining, 
 of the color of the air, but in everything resembling the human form" Hist. 
 Supernatural, vol 1, p. 443. 
 
 Tertullian, and also Ireneus, flourished in the second century; 
 the latter being "a disciple of Polycarp." Their testimony is con- 
 clusive that the early Christians believed that man's spirit was 
 actively conscious after death; also that the spirit had real sub- 
 stance, and was in the general form of the body of man. When 
 we consider that air, light, electricity, magnetism, etc., are real 
 substances, and yet some of them impalpable, and others imper- 
 ceptible to the natural sight, we may not doubt that spirits have 
 substantial existence though they be not apparent always to our 
 natural vision. 
 
 Doubtless all the enlightened primitive Christians believed as 
 did Tertullian, Ireneus, Polycarp, Lucius, St. Ignatius, and other 
 faithful ones of their times, that the soul of man possessed con- 
 sciousness after departing from the body, and that it was in the 
 form of the human body; for we find that the disciples mistook 
 Jesus in the obscurity of night for a spirit: 
 
 " And about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking 
 upon the sea, and would have passed them. But when they saw him walk- 
 in upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, [spectre] and cried out." 
 Mark 6: 48, 49. 
 
 Again, when Jesus was resurrected from the dead he appeared, 
 unannounced, to his disciples who were assembled in an upper 
 room that was evidently but very dimly lighted, and 
 
 "They were terrified and affrighted, antl supposed that they had seen a 
 spirit, [spectre]." Luke 24: 37. 
 
 This took place after they had been under the teaching of Jesus 
 for at least three years and a half; and it can not be claimed that 
 the disciples were ignorant and superstitious in respect to the ex- 
 istence and form of spirits, for those were topics about which the 
 Pharisees and Sadducees were at direct issue, and were likely often 
 discussed, and about which the disciples could but feel deep inter- 
 est as they were so intimately related to their mission preaching 
 the gospel of salvation to all men. They believed in the fact of 
 spirits, and that they existed in the form of man, otherwise they 
 would not have taken the living Jesus to be a spirit. Jesus then 
 instructed them somewhat in regard to spirits when he said: 
 
 " A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." .v 39. 
 The fact of spirits existing, and in the human form, is here ad- 
 
120 SPIRIT, CONSCIOUS. 
 
 mitted by Jesus; but they did not possess, he said, a body, or 
 "tabernacle," of flesh and bones. 
 
 We can not better close this part of our subject than by con- 
 sidering a portion of the revelation of St. John. When on the Isle 
 of Patmos, he was shown a series of remarkable events touching 
 the interests of the church, and among them the overthrow of 
 "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of 
 the Earth." Prior to her complete destruction, and before the re- 
 surrection of the righteous dead, the following occurs: 
 
 "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets: for 
 God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a 
 great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall 
 that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." 
 Rev. 18 : 21, 22. 
 
 Here we see that "heaven," and "holy apostles and prophets'* 
 were called upon to "rejoice over her;" and in the opening verses 
 of the next chapter we get their response: 
 
 "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, say- 
 ing, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord 
 our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the 
 great whore, which did corrupt the earth witn her fornication, and hath 
 avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." 19: 1, 2. 
 
 To this may be added Rev. 5: 6-10 and 7: 9, 10. But the follow- 
 ing is conclusive: 
 
 " And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls 
 of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
 they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, Lord, holy 
 and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 
 the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them: and it 
 was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their 
 fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, 
 should be fulfilled." Rev. 6: 9-11. 
 
 Now, from what we have seen in the instinctive sentiment of the 
 race, in the experiences of life, in the teachings of philosophy, in 
 the revelations of the Old Testament and the New, as also in the 
 testimonies of the Jewish historian and the early Christians and 
 martyrs, we are by these evidences, great in amount and unim- 
 peachable in character, fully warranted in concluding that the soul 
 of man, after it leaves the body, is intensely and actively conscious 
 and capable; and that the doctrine of the death of the soul with 
 the body, or the sleep of the soul with the body at death, is a hurt- 
 ful and contemptible heresy. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, to establish his soul-sleeping theory, distorts and 
 perverts the Scriptures in a manner that clearly evinces the badness 
 of his case. We will give a few instances: 
 
SPIRIT CONDITIONS. 121 
 
 "The living know that they must die ; but the dead know not anything." 
 
 This, clearly, has no reference to the spirit, or the soul of man, 
 but to the man, composed of body and soul. The man proper be- 
 ing dead his body gone to the grave, and his spirit to God being 
 disorganized, could not know anything. We might as well expect 
 life and activity in a grain of wheat that has fallen in the ground 
 and died. The life that was once in such a grain is now separated 
 from it, and passed into other conditions; therefore that particular 
 grain is dead, and lifeless, but the life that was once in it is still in 
 existence and active. 
 
 "David," says Mr. Sheldon, "affirms of the dying man: 'In that 
 very day his thoughts perish.' " 
 
 Very good; a man's thoughts may perish in many ways, and yet 
 he retain his power to think. But this quotation should be under- 
 stood as relating to a living man who dies that man as a com- 
 pound being, body and spirit, no longer thinks, or acts, and for the 
 best of reasons, because death has separated his spirit from his 
 body. But the text does not intimate but that the soul of that 
 man may think and act. Again he quotes: 
 
 " The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." 
 Ps. 115: 17. 
 
 This clearly relates to the dead body, that which goes down to 
 the dust, and not to "the spirit of man that goeth upward." Eccl. 
 3: 21. Again: 
 
 "In death there is no remembrance of thee." Ps. 6: 5. 
 
 If Mr. Sheldon had given the context it would have explained 
 at once the meaning of what he did quote. I will give it: "In 
 the grave who shall give thee thanks." This completes the verse, 
 and the sentence, and enables us to better understand the text. 
 This text relates to the body, and not to the soul, evidently. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next quotes the words of Job 14: 21. 
 
 "His [the dead man's] sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and 
 they are brought low< and he perceiveth it not of them." 
 
 This, like the first texts considered, can not be made to relate to 
 the spirit of man which goes to God at death, but it was doubtless 
 intended to apply to that part of man which goes to the grave. 
 And as for Job, his teachings between the beginning of his afflic- 
 tions and their close, as also those of the "three miserable com- 
 forters" whose words are so often quoted by Mr. Sheldon and his 
 co-religionists, we do not accept them in the discussion of doctrine. 
 Those teachings may contain some truths, but as a whole they are 
 not authoritative. Elihu, who was sent of God to Job, says of 
 
122 SPIRIT SHEOL. 
 
 him, (34: 35), "Job hath spoken without knowledge and his words 
 ^re without wisdom," and "he [Job] multiplieth words without 
 knowledge," (35: 16). And the Lord says of Job, "Who is this 
 that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge." (38: 2). 
 Mr. Sheldon next quotes: 
 
 " And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and hell [hades the 
 state of the dead] delivered up the dead which were in them ; and they were 
 judged every man according to their works." Rev. 20: 13. 
 
 But where is "death," Mr. Sheldon! You have left that out. 
 We do not say you did it intentionally; yet the passage as you quote 
 it is much better suited to your theory and looks suspicious. John 
 says, "death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them" 
 Here is a delivery of the dead from two places. Plato, the learned 
 Greek, tells us that hell hades is "the world of spirits," (Plato, 
 by Pond, p. 125). As Hades is a Greek word, the profound Plato 
 has no doubt given us its true signification. 
 
 William Smith in his Diet. Bible, says: 
 
 "The word sheol [Hebrew] is never used of the grave proper, or place of 
 burial of the body. It is always the abode of spirits, LIKE THE GREEK HADES." 
 Note on Hell. 
 
 This being true, when "hell delivers up the dead which were in" 
 it, it delivers up its "spirits." And this makes it conclusive that 
 "death" here means the grave or other repositories of the bodies 
 of the dead. This renders the text plain to the comprehension. 
 
 This second (and last resurrection) is clearly that of "the unjust;" 
 for this is after the "thousand years," (vs. 3, 5, 7), while that of the 
 righteous takes place at the beginning of "the thousand years." 
 (vs. 4, 5). So that the spirits, that hell then delivers up, are the 
 spirits of the wicked dead, "and they were judged every man ac- 
 cording to their works" It is noteworthy that this judgment does 
 not take place till after "the thousand years were finished," (verse 
 5), and until after Satan, "loosed out of his prison," (verse 7), 
 '"shall go out to deceive the nations," and shall have "compassed 
 the camp of the Saints about, and the beloved city," (verses 8, 9), 
 and until he and his are destroyed. verse 10. It is after these 
 events that "death and hell" deliver up their dead and they are 
 judged. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon asserts that 
 
 "Peter, an eye witness of the scene, [Matt. 17: 1-13], did not think that 
 Moses spirit was there, [on the mount with Christ], but Moses himself, else 
 he would not have proposed to build a tabernacle for Moses, for he was not 
 foolish enough to talk of building a tabernacle for a spectre." 
 
 The disciples, we have before seen, thought the resurrected Jesus 
 
ELI AS. 123 
 
 was "a spirit," and it was possible for Peter to have mistaken the 
 spirit of Moses, for Moses in the flesh. Yet we do not believe he 
 was deceived at all, but knew that the spirit of Moses was present. 
 Peter had more experience in spiritual things than Mr. Sheldon, 
 and held entirely different views in respect to the existence, form, 
 power, and ministrations of spirits. The dead body of Lazarus 
 was called Lazarus, and such usage was and is common; and why 
 not the spirit of Moses be recognized as Moses and called Moses? 
 Surely, the intellectual man is more worthy to retain the name than 
 the dead body; yet either may do so. 
 
 Now Moses' spirit did, evidently, appear with Elias' (or John 
 the Baptist's) spirit, on the mount, and minister to Jesus. That 
 this "Elias" was John the Baptist is seen by reading the tenth to 
 the thirteenth verses, inclusive, of Matthew seventeenth chapter. 
 After they had seen the vision, 
 
 " His disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias 
 must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall 
 first come and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come al- 
 ready, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed, 
 [had beheaded him]. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. 
 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. 
 
 This forever settles the matter, that the Elias who appeared with 
 Moses on the mount to Christ and his three disciples, was none 
 other than John the Baptist, who had been beheaded but a few 
 months before. It was fitting, upon this august occasion, that the 
 two priesthoods, Melchizedek and Aaronic, should be represented 
 by Moses and John the Baptist. Moses had been dead for near 
 1500 years, and John the Baptist for but a few months; the resur- 
 rection had not yet occurred, therefore it was the spirits of these 
 servants of God who now appear in light and glory and minister. 
 Here were "spirits of just men made perfect," of whom Paul speaks, 
 Heb. 12: 23. 
 
 But Mr. Sheldon says this was "a vision." If he intends by this 
 to say that it was not real, but merely a trance, then he clearly 
 perverts the sense of the text. Peter declares of this occurrence: 
 
 "We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known 
 Tin to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye- 
 witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and 
 glory ; when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This 
 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came 
 from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." 2 Pet. 
 1:16-18. 
 
 It was a vision, it is true; and the first and most obvious mean- 
 
124 JOHN BAPTIST. 
 
 ing of that word is actual, literal sight. In this vision the disciples 
 saw three persons : 
 
 "And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias 
 [John the Baptist] ; who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which 
 he should accomplish at Jerusalem." Luke 9: 30, 31. 
 
 They saw Jesus literally, for Jesus was there personally > but not 
 more so, evidently, than was Moses and Elias. Now, if John the 
 Baptist and Moses, in their spirit state, could minister on the mount 
 eighteen hundred years ago, why not other servants of God, in 
 their spirit state, minister to and for Joseph and Oliver in this 
 age? Clearly they could; but like Moses and Elias they could 
 only appear "in glory," which they did do. It is not at all strange 
 that the spirits of the just should, on very extraordinary occasions,, 
 appear "in glory" and minister to men in the flesh, especially 
 when we remember that they are members of "the family" of God 
 "in heaven and earth," (Eph. 3: 15). Paul teaches that the saints,, 
 by virtue of being children of God, (of "the family in heaven and 
 earth"), are brought into fellowship with all that pertains to that 
 "family." For he says: 
 
 " Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
 heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable company of angels, to the 
 general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, 
 and to God the judge of all, and to the SPIRITS of just men made perfect." 
 Heb. 12 : 22, 23. 
 
 John Baptist "was &just man and a holy" (Mark 6: 20). Jesus 
 commanded his saints to \>& perfect , (Matt. 5: 48); and the means 
 for making ju*t men perfect is made clear in 2 Tim. 3:17, Eph. 4: 
 13, Matt. 19: 21, Col. 1: 27, 28, etc., etc. Just men are made per- 
 fect by gospel means. 
 
 The physical body is the mortal part of man; the spirit soul 
 is the intellectual life, the active "inner man." The latter never 
 dies in the sense of ceasing to exist, but the body does. Salvation 
 through Christ, by the resurrection, secures immortality to the 
 body; hence Paul says: 
 
 "This corruptible [body] mustputonincorruption, and this mortal [body} 
 must put on immortality." 1 Cor. 15: 53. 
 
 Thus making man, the compound being as a whole immortal. 
 The natural man and the physical body, is in a mortal and corrupt- 
 ible condition; but in the resurrection, the body, the man as a 
 whole, will put on the eternal condition, becoming immortal and 
 incorruptible. 
 
 Our soul-sleeping opponents often quote 1 Tim. 6: 15, 16, to 
 
WHO ONLY HATH IMMORTALITY. 125 
 
 prove that the spirit of man is not immortal before or after the 
 physical death dissolution of man. It reads: 
 
 "Which in his times he [Christ Jesus] shall shew, who is the blessed and 
 only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immor- 
 tality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no 
 man hath seen nor can see." 
 
 If this translation were correct, which it evidently is not, it 
 ivould simply prove that Christ, "only," had immortality to bestow 
 upon others that he "only," as the resurrected Christ, could give 
 immortality to others. For, to say that He "only" possessed im- 
 mortality, would be to deny the same to his Father, the angels, the 
 seraphim, the cherubim, and those saints resurrected with Christ, 
 mentioned in Matthew 27: 52, 53. This construction, (forced by 
 the soul-sleeper), does violence to the plain teachings of the Scrip- 
 tures by making Christ, "only," the possessor of immortality, both 
 in spirit and in body. It is not a fact of Scripture, properly in- 
 terpreted, that the Lord Jesus "only hath immortality" in the 
 sense claimed by the soul-sleepers; and it is not scripturally true 
 that "no man can approach unto" "the light" in which Christ 
 dwells, in the sense which soul-sleepers teach; neither is it true 
 that "no man hath seen nor can see" Christ Jesus, all of which 
 the text teaches as interpreted and applied by soul-sleepers. The 
 text in its corrected form, found in the Inspired Translation, reads: 
 
 " Which in his times he [Christ] shall show, who is the blessed and only 
 Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, to whom be honor and 
 power everlasting; whom no man hath seen, nor can see, unto whom no 
 man can approach, only he who hath the light and the hope of immortality 
 dwelling in him." 
 
 This translation harmonizes the text with the other Scriptures 
 on the points involved, and is in perfect keeping with the general 
 tenor of the Bible throughout. 
 
 "PLAINER TRANSLATION." 
 
 Mr. Sheldon contemns the claim of Joseph where he says (D.C. 
 110: 18) that he could give "a plainer translation" of Mai. 4: 5, 6, 
 than that found in the common version (and Inspired Translation). 
 He says Joseph in this repudiates his own translation. We have 
 to remind Mr. Sheldon again, that Joseph did not profess to trans- 
 late, revise, or correct every part of the Bible; and this is one 
 among many passages that he did not translate. Might not a 
 translator give "a plainer translation" of a passage giving it in 
 simpler terms, terms easier of comprehension for inexperienced and 
 uncultured minds and yet give an equally true translation? We 
 think so; and we think this was substantially what Joseph meant. 
 
126 TEMPLE LIKE SOLOMON'S. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon quarrels with Joseph and the Book of Mormon, be- 
 cause the latter says that the Nephites, within thirty years after 
 they left Jerusalem, appointed Nephi their king, and also built "a 
 temple like unto Solomon's;" and this, too, when Laman and some 
 others were separated from them. Among the first needs of so- 
 ciety is that of government ruling authority and what is more 
 natural than that these Israelites, few in number though they 
 were, should seek to establish the form of government peculiar to 
 their nation, and the then existing nations of earth? Nothing 
 could be more reasonable. The fewness of their numbers argues 
 nothing. Many governments, ancient and modern, have been 
 founded with but a few persons. Rome, that great nation which 
 conquered the whole known world, was founded by Romulus, B.C. 
 753, and the few who were with him in his "small castle on the 
 summit of Mount Palatine." 
 
 In respect to the "temple," nothing could be more natural and 
 likely, than for these zealous religionists to desire, and to build at 
 the earliest practicable moment possible, a suitable house for pub- 
 lic worship. And nothing could be more likely than for them to 
 build such a house "after the manner of the temple of Solomon." 
 They knew of the temple of Solomon its grand historic associa- 
 tions they remembered it with reverent pride as the place where 
 they had worshiped the God of their fathers, and what is more 
 natural and likely, than for them to build their first house of wor- 
 ship, though it might be very small, and very rude in comparison, 
 after the form, pattern, or "manner" of the venerated temple of 
 Solomon? Onias, and the captive Jews in Egypt, "built [in the 
 city of Heliopolis] a temple and an altar to God, like indeed to that 
 in Jerusalem, but smaller and poorer. * * * Onias found other 
 Jews like to himself, together with priests and Levites, that there 
 performed divine service." Josephus, Antiquities, B. 13, ch. 3. 
 And they claimed to do this in fulfillment of a prophecy of 
 Isaiah: 
 
 " In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land 
 of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for 
 a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt." Isa. 
 19 : 19, 20. 
 
 These captive Jews, and the Nephites, were doubtless actuated 
 by similar impulses and prompted by similar motives. But Mr. 
 
TEMPLE BUILDEES. 
 
 Sheldon says it was an "enormous temple," a "mighty temple," a, 
 temple of "huge dimensions," and his statements here are jnst as 
 false as we have found them in scores of other places. Nothing is 
 said, or intimated as to the size of the temple, but only as to "the 
 manner," fashion, or model of its construction. "The manner of 
 the construction" of it "was like unto the temple of Solomon; and 
 the workmanship thereof was exceeding fine." 2 Nephi 4: 3. 
 Again : 
 
 " And I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon, save 
 it were not built of so many precious things ; for they were not to be found 
 upon the land." Idem. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon avers that there could have been "a working force 
 of only eighteen men and boys to build that mighty temple." Let 
 us see. There were four families that went out in the exodus of 
 Lehi, viz: 
 
 Lehi, wife and four sons total 6 
 
 Ishmael, wife and five daughters total 7 
 
 Ishmael's two sons "and their families" probable total. 12 
 Zoram, Laban's servant 1 
 
 Making in all 26 
 
 Zoram, and the four sons of Lehi marry the five daughters of 
 Ishmael, giving us nine families in all, seven of whom are young 
 families. Lehi, soon after leaving Jerusalem, has two sons born to 
 him (1 Nephi 5: 36), and after this some daughters (2 Nephi 4: 2). 
 It is not improbable that Ishmael had children born to him after 
 leaving Jerusalem, but of this we shall not conjecture. 
 
 The increase of this company would naturally be very rapid; (1) 
 because seven of the families were young, five of them very young; 
 
 (2) because their plain, rural living, would conduce to fecundity; 
 
 (3) because the people of those eastern countries and warm climates, 
 married young and reproduced abundantly; and, (4) because the 
 Israelites took pride, and religious care in being fruitful in family 
 increase. Marriage in those warm climates took place at as early 
 even as ten years with females, and fourteen with males, a fair 
 average would likely be sixteen with females, and twenty with 
 males. It would probably be less, especially with this company of 
 Israelites, as all their surrounding conditions would invite early 
 marriages. Malthus claims that one hundred per cent, is the na- 
 tural average increase of the race, (except in times of war, famine, 
 or pestilence) for every twenty-five years, But that is where com- 
 munities are made up of all ages from the infant to the aged. The 
 increase of these Nephites should not be judged by such a stand- 
 
128 TEMPLE BUILDERS. 
 
 ard, for their situation in respect to age, and manner of life, favor- 
 ed their rapid and large increase. 
 
 The four sons of Lehi would easily number, themselves and their 
 children, in thirty years, exclusive of deaths, 48 persons; the two 
 sons of Ishmael, themselves included, 24 persons; Zoram and fam- 
 ily, 12 persons; Lehi's two sons, Joseph and Jacob, and wives, 
 (marrying at eighteen years of age), for twelve and ten years, 15; 
 total 99. The seventy children of the first sons of Lehi, Ish- 
 mael's sons, and Zoram, would give us in eighteen years after the 
 exodus seven new families; in 20 years, 3; in 22, 4; in 24, 3; in 
 26, 4; in 28, 3; in 30, 4; or 28 families in all in that time; and the 
 children of these families for the first 7, 35; the 3, 12; the 4, 12; 
 the 3, 9; the 4, 8; the 3, 6. Total, 82. To this add like increase 
 for the probable families of the "sisters" of Nephi, and we have at 
 least twenty more, making the total 102. And to this add the 
 number not counted of the children and heads of the first two, and 
 the first seven families 103, and we have a total of 205 persons in 
 30 years from Lehi's exodus, less Lehi and Ishmael, who died, 
 leaving 203. Now if one-fourth of this number were separated 
 from Nephi and his company it would still leave 150. And if one- 
 third of them were children under ten years of age it would leave 
 us 100 persons, or more, ten years of age and upwards. The rate 
 and extent of increase was doubtless much greater than this. Now 
 for a body of people like this to organize a government, in a simple 
 way, isolated as they were, is perfectly reasonable. And for them, 
 being Israelites, to call their ruler a king, would be perfectly natu- 
 ral. And for them to build a house of worship after "the manner" 
 of Solomon's temple, is just what we might expect of them. And 
 as to their wars and contentions with the Lamanites, history here 
 repeats itself for perhaps the thousandth time. And that this 
 company practiced many of the trades of civilization, their tastes 
 and early experiences would lead and their necessities compel them 
 to do so. There is nothing more natural and reasonable than all 
 these things, except to the ignorant or wilfully perverse. 
 
 In controverting his next subject, that of the reign of the Jared- 
 ite kings (Ether 1: 1), Mr. Sheldon makes no less than four false 
 assertions. He states (1) that there were but "twenty-five success- 
 ive kings," yet the record shows there were twenty-nine; the first 
 king of the twenty-nine, Orihah, beginning his reign after the long 
 and eventful rule of the brother of Jared. This last with the 
 "twenty-nine," makes the number thirty; though the brother of 
 Jared was not called a king. See Ether 1; 1; 4: 12 and 5:1. He 
 
REIGN OF KINGS. 129 
 
 states (2), that "this last king [Coriantumr] was still alive under 
 the reign of Mosiah the first, about 400 years after Lehi left Jeru- 
 salem the first Mosiah, who was visited by Coriantumr, about B. 
 <D. 200." Nothing is said in the Book of Mormon, or intimated 
 even that Coriantumr visited Mosiah, or that Mosiah saw him. 
 What information Mosiah obtained in respect to Coriantumr he 
 interpreted from "a large stone" tablet, containing hieroglyphics. 
 Omni 1: 9, 10. He states (3) that there was "a space of 2,000 
 years occupied by the reign of twenty-six [Jaredite] kings;" yet 
 the record claims it was a space dating from some time after the 
 confusion of languages, to about the time the Nephites and Zara- 
 hemlaites came from Palestine to America B. C. 600 a period of 
 probably not more than 1600 years, making an average of 53^ years 
 for each of the thirty who bore rule. A slight error, Mr. Sheldon, 
 of 400 years! But that is nothing for a man with such an un- 
 bounded stomach for crooked things. And this average, fifty- 
 three years, was not very long, considering the great age to which 
 people lived between the times of the flood and the time of Christ. 
 The longevity of this people is constantly affirmed in the Book of 
 Ether, as also the protracted reign of many of their kings. 
 
 It is affirmed on good authority (Dr. Mussey, in "Health, Its 
 Friends and Its Foes") that the Arabians of these modern times 
 even, by virtue of their abstemious habits, and simple vegetable 
 diet, live to a great age even to that of two hundred years, in 
 some instances. Goodrich, in his " Universal Traveller" informs 
 us that the Peruvians of the present age are very long lived at- 
 taining, in many instances, one hundred years and more, and that 
 they retain their teeth, their good sight, and very seldom turn 
 grey. The longevity of the Jaredites, a people living under the 
 most favorable circumstances, could not have been other than very 
 great. 
 
 The Book of Mormon claims that those who should occupy the 
 land after the Jaredites, would not do so till after the Jaredites were 
 destroyed (Ether 4: 12); and that only their last king should live 
 to see the people who should succeed them (Ether 6: 2), and this 
 was fulfilled w^hen the first Zarahemlaites, as they were called, 
 first came, from Palestine to America (Omni 1: 7, 9, 10) about B. 
 C. 590 to 600. Mr. Sheldon asserts, in effect, (4) that Ether, the 
 last Jaredite prophet, wrote his "record" of the reign of the kings 
 on the same plates used by the brother of Jared; and to clinch his 
 statement quotes: "He [Ether] made the remainder of his record." 
 Now "this record" was simply the "record" of Ether "the book 
 9 
 
130 PLAGIAEISM CHARGED. 
 
 of Ether" (Ether 1:1). And "the remainder of this record" was 
 simply the remainder of "the book of Ether" which followed from 
 chapter 6, par. 2. 
 
 Because Ether, the last Jaredite prophet, possessed the "record" 
 and "interpreters" of "the brother of Jared," which record con- 
 tained the marvelous things shown to the brother of Jared in the 
 mount, which were forbidden to come unto the children of men 
 until after he [Christ] was lifted up upon the cross (Ether 1: 11) 
 because of this Mr. Sheldon pretends that the Book of Mormon is 
 false! He says, "How came Ether by the records several hundred 
 years before the cross?" For the very good reason that he was 
 the last of the Jaredite prophets a prophet of God and because 
 he was not "the children of men." The term "children of men" 
 means the world those who are not "the children of God." A 
 very wide distinction, though our hypercritic seems to not see it. 
 
 We shall, from this on, pass without notice some of the lesser 
 and more contemptible objections and quibbles of Mr. Sheldon,, 
 lest we weary the reader by introducing them. 
 
 PLAGIARISM (?) 
 
 He finds fault because the book of Malachi, as found both in the 
 common version and in the Inspired Translation agree, while the 
 words of Malachi, as delivered by Jesus to the Nephites, are some- 
 what different. Joseph did not pretend to either translate or cor- 
 rect the book of Malachi, except, possibly in a few words. The 
 words of Malachi, as found in the Book of Mormon (book of 
 Nephi, ch. 11), do differ from the common version, and this fact 
 proves a former assertion of Mr. Sheldon false, where he says, 
 "The fact is, when preparing the Book of Mormon, our version 
 was freely used, with all its defects." 
 
 These differing texts are prima facie evidence that Joseph did 
 not copy from the common version; and they furnish a strong ar- 
 gument in favor of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. The su- 
 perior sense of these differing texts is always found in the Book of 
 Mormon. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next complains that Moroni saw the "three Neph- 
 ites," whereas "Mormon [his father] testified that they were taken 
 away out of the land when he was fifteen years old." "How," 
 says he "could Moroni have seen them if they were not in the 
 land?" To this acute, and profound question we reply; (1) Moroni 
 could scarcely see them unless they were in the land; and (2) Mo- 
 roni likely saw them when they came back into the land; for, in 
 going away, we have no reason to suppose that they were prohibit- 
 
RAPID GATHERING. 131 
 
 ed from returning. We hope this matter will no longer perplex 
 our burdened critic's soul. 
 
 GATHERING. 
 
 Another difficulty in the way of Mr. Sheldon is the gathering up 
 of the Nephites prior to their national destruction. He says they 
 "were gathered from remote regions in the short space of four 
 years, * * * men, women and children, without the aid of rail- 
 roads, from Minnesota, Maine, California, Florida, and every other 
 locality, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to the land of Cumorah, 
 in New York, all this, too, within four years" Wonderful, if 
 true! But the record informs us that this Nephite-Lamanite war 
 began in about A. D. 320, (book of Nephi 1: 11, with book of 
 Mormon 1: 1, 2), and continued until after A. D. 384, (book of 
 Mormon 3: 1, 2); a period of sixty-four years. Mormon says: 
 
 ' And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, 
 we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land Cumorah." 
 -3:1. 
 
 But for sixty-four years the wars had been in progress, the Ne- 
 phites fleeing many times before the Lamanites, generally if not 
 always toward the north and east, till they finally reached Cumorah. 
 
 Similar objections are raised by him in regard to the Jaredite 
 wars. He intimates that they were of but four years' 1 duration, 
 whereas, they continued through a long series of years, as any one 
 may learn by reading Ether chapters 5, 6, and the latter part of 
 chapter 4. 
 
 He also asserts that the Jaredites and Zarahemlaites lived near 
 each other "about 400 years; and once the Jaredite flocks made a 
 stampede into the land of Zarahemla." Yes, Mr. Sheldon, into the 
 land that was afterwards "called by the Nephites, Zarahemla" 
 Ether 4 : 4) just as you have called their lands Minnesota^ Califor- 
 nia, &c., <fec. This account is in Moroni's abridged record of the 
 book of Ether. Ether 1: 1; 4: 1; 6: 1, etc. Hence it is Moroni 
 and not Ether, as you insinuate, who says the land afterwards 
 after the times of the Jaredites "was called by the Nephites, Za- 
 arhemla." 
 
 We have shown on p. 32, that the Jaredites, with the exception 
 of their last king, were destroyed before the Zarahemlaites came 
 to America. 
 
 ANOTHER PEOPLE. 
 
 Another difficulty is sought to be conjured up as follows: 
 
 " And in the days of Coriantor there came many prophets, and prophesied 
 
132 HE THAT KILLS. 
 
 of great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the people, and 
 except they should repent, the Lord God would execute judgment against 
 them to their|utter destruction : and that the Lord God would send forth anoth- 
 er people to possess this land, by his power, after the manner which he brought 
 their fathers." Ether 4 : 9 
 
 Of this prophecy Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 " Here Joseph makes a serious blunder, for the Nephites had been brought 
 over the water about 350 years previously." 
 
 This is not true. We have already proven on pages 34 and 127 
 that the Zarahemlaites (and the Nephites came about the time 
 they did) did not come to America till after the destruction of all 
 the Jaredites except their last king. 
 
 LANGUAGES CONFOUNDED. 
 
 He claims that the Book of Mormon conflicts with the Bible 
 when it says, "He did not confound the language of Jared," (Ether 
 1: 1), while the Bible states, "The Lord did there confound the lan- 
 guages of all the earth." It is said in the Bible, too, "All countries 
 came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn," (Gen. 41: 57); "And there 
 went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, 
 and were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their 
 sins" (Mark 1:5). No sensible person by these latter texts under- 
 stand that "all," as used in them, means exactly, and absolutely, 
 the whole, and every one, but, rather, the larger part; or, a large 
 part. The (one) language of all the earth was confused, but that 
 is not to say but that certain favored persons might have retained 
 their original language. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon continues: 
 
 "Joseph says, 'He that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world nor 
 in the world to come.' Doc. & Cov., p. 142. Yet we are told that Nephi, 
 the hero of the Book of Mormon, 'took Laban by the hair of the head and 
 smote off his head with his own sword.' 1 Nephi 1 : 35." 
 
 Yes, Mr. Sheldon, that is all true; and to be consistent you should 
 have quoted Moses, who said, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20: 13), 
 and then told us about Samuel, the great prophet, who "hewed 
 Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal" (1 Sam. 15: 33). Laban 
 
ZION NOT MOVED. 133 
 
 had records that possibly might have belonged in part, or in whole, 
 to the house of Lehi, (at least they were essential for them to have 
 in future time) and which they were authorized of God to obtain, 
 (ch. 1: 20, 28, 25). The killing of the prisoner Agag, was im- 
 measurably more condemnable than the killing of Laban. Laban 
 had robbed Nephi and his brethren, and also sought to kill him 
 (1 Nephi 1: 28). There were no such justifying causes recorded 
 in the case of Samuel, for the record shows that Nephi slew Laban 
 by direct commandment of God. And in respect to the quotation 
 from Joseph, "thou shalt not kill," etc., it is a part of a series of 
 commandments given to the church in these latter days. 
 
 What might have been justifiable in Nephi's time, and in the 
 times of Samuel, may now be very condemnable. Men were justi- 
 fied under Moses' Law in putting away their wives for trivial 
 causes; but under the gospel they are not. The character of an 
 act is, of right, determined by the condition and surroundings of 
 the one who performs it. 
 
 A QUIBBLE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon avers that a revelation given by Joseph is false, be- 
 cause it says: 
 
 "So shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people, and to the 
 Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites through 
 the testimony of their fathers." D. C. 2 : 6. 
 
 He says "there are no Nephites now in existence, according to 
 the Book of Mormon." They lost their national existence, it is 
 true; but a remnant of them were to be preserved forever, (1 Nephi 
 4: 2; 7: 1, 2; 2 Nephi 2: 1, 3, 4; 7: 1, 2; 11: 6; 12: 9, 12). There 
 were large bodies of the Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, and 
 Zoramites all called Nephites who dissented from the Nephite 
 people, and united with the Lamanites (Alma 21: 29; 22: 3). And 
 this continued from time to time till the nation of the Nephites 
 was blotted out in their last battle (book of Mormon 3: 3). Large 
 bodies and small ones went off by themselves, both by land and 
 sea (Alma 30: 3, 4, 5; book of Mormon 3: 3, etc., etc.). In these 
 various ways the seed of the Nephites, Jacobites, <fec., were to be, 
 and were preserved; and all this "according to the Book of Mor- 
 mon." 
 
 ZION NOT MOVED. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says the Zion mentioned in a revelation through 
 Joseph in March, 1833, D. C. 87: 8, has been "moved out of her 
 place;" and that therefore the revelation is false; for it states that 
 "she shall not be." To this we answer, that the thing intended was, 
 
134 ZION NOT MOVED. 
 
 evidently, the locality, site, or place for the building up the city 
 of Ziori. The same thing is said in another revelation, D. C. 
 98: 4: 
 
 " Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children 
 are scattered, they that remain and are pure in heart shall return and come 
 to their inheritances; they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy ; 
 to build up the waste places of Zion." 
 
 The meaning in both revelations is obvious, the site or place 
 for building up the city, Zion, should not be changed. Mr. Sheld- 
 on quotes: 
 
 " And behold there is none other place appointed than that which I have 
 appointed, neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which 
 I have appointed for the work of the gathering of my saints, until the day 
 cometh when there shall be found no more room for them; and then I have oth- 
 er places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes." 
 Ibid. 
 
 He avers this is false, because other places for gathering were 
 subsequently appointed. Other places were appointed, it is true, 
 but not until it was found that there was "no more room" for the 
 saints in or about Zion, or in Jackson county, or, finally, in the 
 state of Missouri; for the saints were driven by force, and great 
 violence, first from Independence, the place for "the center stake" 
 of Zion, and then from Jackson county, and then, in December, 
 1838, from the State of Missouri. This was not done by "lewd 
 fellows of the baser sort" alone; but by lawyers, doctors, judges, 
 editors, county officials, the clergy (to their eternal shame), and 
 finally, by the state authorities, sanctioned by state law! 
 
 Bigotry, pro-slavery and political ambition, love of plunder, fear 
 of the abolition sentiments of the Saints, stimulated and urged on 
 by falsehood through the pulpit and the press these things, with 
 the faithless, unchristian conduct and the heretical and foolish 
 teachings or a few saints were the causes in bringing about the 
 condition provided for, viz, "when there is found no more room 
 
 Sin Zion] for them [saints], * * * then I have other places which 
 will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes." The 
 saints were commanded to not resist evil; and to "be subject to the 
 powers that be," and to "let no man bivak the laws of the land, 
 for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws 
 of the land." D. C. 53: 5. Therefore, when driven by mobs, 
 some of whom were organized and officered by men holding civil 
 authority and by ministers of religion, and finally, when driven by 
 the sanction and order of state authority, certainly there was "no 
 more room" in Zion for the Saints. The evils of Brighamism and 
 other isms that have sprung'off in the apostasy from the original 
 
COMMAND EEVOKED. 135 
 
 faith and doctrine of the Church, are but the legitimate fruit of 
 the desperation to which many were forced in the numerous perse- 
 cutions and drivings of the saints either sanctioned or winked at 
 by the civil authorities town, county, state and national in Mis- 
 souri, and in Illinois. These authorities, when they in any manner 
 encouraged these persecutions, and when they did not faithfully 
 seek to prevent such things and to punish, adequately, those con- 
 nected with them, "they sowed the wind!" and they may blame 
 themselves when they "reap the whirlwind!!" Their treatment of 
 the saints drove thousands of the honest, confiding ones, into the 
 blinding, bitter bondage of priestcraft, and thrust them under the 
 influence, and into the very jaws of "devouring wolves," so that 
 but "few" of that old stock will stand, or remain to receive an in- 
 heritance in the original Zion. 
 
 COMMAND REVOKED. 
 
 In order to make the revelations quoted conflict with the revela- 
 tion of 1841, in respect to building up Zion in Missouri, Mr. Shel- 
 don quotes but part of a clause of the latter revelation, thereby 
 perverting its sense. The entire clause reads: 
 
 "It behooveth me to require that work [of building the city and temple 
 in Zion, Missouri], no more at the hands of those sons of men" D. C. 107 : 15. 
 
 But this garbler quotes it "will require that work no more;" 
 leaving out, we see, the concluding and qualifying part of the 
 clause. Such is the pious (?) method of this man who boastfully 
 promises to dig Mormonism up by the roots! 
 
 FORMULA OF BAPTISM. 
 
 He finds fault because the formula of words used in baptism, as 
 found in the Doctrine and Covenants, "Having been commissioned 
 of Jesus Christ, I baptize you," &c., is different, in letter, from that 
 found in the Book of Mormon, book of Nephi 5: 8, "Having 
 authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you," &c. The sense 
 of the two passages is identical. The latter form was given 
 eighteen hundred years ago to the Nephites, while the other is 
 given in this century to the church of the Saints. What a prodi- 
 gious effort to prove that Joseph is a false prophet! 
 
 BIRTH OF CHRIST. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says "it is a well authenticated fact that Christ was 
 born several years before the vulgar Christian era began." And 
 he argues therefrom that the commandment is false which says: 
 
 " The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand 
 
136 BIRTH OF CHRIST. 
 
 eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior 
 Jesus Christ in the flesh." D. C. 17 : 1. 
 
 If his reckoning should by any means prove true, still the reve- 
 lation would not be false, for it would be 1830 years and more, but 
 1830 years at any rate. It is not a well authenticated chronologi- 
 cal fact that Christ was born four years before A.D. 1. The time 
 time of his birth is still a disputed point. Scaliger says, "to de- 
 termine the day of Christ's birth belonged to God alone, not man." 
 (Types of Mankind, p. 666). Says Dr. Mosheim: 
 
 "The year in which it happened has not hitherto been ascertained, not- 
 withstanding the deep and laborious researches of the learned. There is 
 nothing surprising in this, when we consider that the first Christians labor- 
 ed und erthe same difficulties, and were divided in their opinions concerning 
 the time of Christ's birth." Church Hist., part 1, ch. 3, 1. 
 
 MATTHEW, CHAP. 24. 
 
 In D. C. 45: 3-10 is a revelation as to what Jesus said to nis 
 disciples on the Mount of Olives in respect to the calamities com- 
 ing upon the Jews, the second coming of Christ, the end of the 
 world, etc.; and in the llth paragraph it is said to Joseph and 
 others, "behold I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to 
 know any further concerning this chapter, (Matt. 24), until the New 
 Testament be translated." Mr. Sheldon thinks this promise has 
 failed. Let any one read the Inspired Translation, and they will 
 find a vast amount of added information concerning the subject 
 matter of that chapter, especially in Luke 17th and 21st chapters; 
 also in Mark 13th and Matthew 24th chapters. 
 
 HIRAM PAGE. 
 
 Of the revelations given by Hiram Page concerning the order of 
 the Church, the building up of Zion and other matters, Mr. Shel- 
 don inquires: 
 
 " Why had not Hiram just as good a right to write from a stone as Joseph 
 had? And if Satan could deceive Hiram through a stone, why could he not 
 deceive Joseph in the same way?" 
 
 We reply (1), that it was utterly contrary to the established or- 
 der of the Church for any but those whe were called of God to 
 that special work, to receive revelations and commandments touch- 
 ing the law and general order of the Church. This may be seen 
 by consulting D. C. sec 19, a revelation given to the Church at the 
 very time the Church was organized. Joseph, alone, was called to 
 that work. The case of Aaron and Miriam, when they usurped 
 the prerogatives of Moses, is right in point. See Num. 12: 1-8. 
 They erred greatly in seeking to get into Moses' place. Hananiah 
 
ONE HEAD. 13T 
 
 usurped the special calling of Jeremiah. Jer. 1: 5-10. with ch 28. 
 Satan deceived Hananiah, moving him to supplant Jeremiah. 
 There is specific order in the government of God's church, as is 
 seen in the cases cited, and as may be further seen* by consulting 
 Gal. 2: 12, with Acts 15: 19, 28, etc., etc. Hiram Page violated 
 the provided order for and of the church; and, seeking the office of 
 another, he was in a condition to be deceived by Satan. When 
 persons attempt to officiate in the things of God when not proper- 
 ly called and set apart to that work, they are serving the wicked 
 one and are in a condition to be easily deceived. We reply (2), 
 that Satan could not deceive Joseph in the same way he did Hiram; 
 first, because Joseph had great experience in the spiritual things of 
 God and had witnessed much of the cunning wiles of Satan during 
 the seven or eight preceding years; and, in the next place, the 
 Lord will not call a person to the specific work of receiving revela- 
 tions and commandments for his church and then permit him, if 
 he is faithful, to be deceived by Satan so as to receive and give to 
 the church false revelations. Indeed, it is most questtonable as to 
 whether God would suffer hig chosen and appointed prophet to re- 
 ceive a false revelation and give it to His church. But it is pos- 
 sible that the prophet might receive a false revelation and give it 
 to wicked persons seeking for forbidden things. Ezek. 14: 1-11. 
 God has promised to be with, and protect, and preserve his minis- 
 try, on the grounds, of course, of their faithfulness in their own 
 calling and office. A counterfeiter can not impose his spurious 
 notes on the skilfull, experienced and faithful cashier on whose 
 bank the notes are drawn, but he may upon the inexperienced, the 
 unwary, the officious and conceited. 
 
 ANGEL ORDINATION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says, "Joseph and Oliver differ in their testimony 
 concerning the statement of the angel at their ordination." That 
 is true; but it consists in omissions. Joseph omits in his state- 
 ments some things mentioned by Oliver, and Oliver omits some 
 things mentioned by Joseph, yet their testimonies are essentially 
 the same. They can not be charged with collusion. Furthermore, 
 they do not differ near so widely as do the evangelists in respect 
 to the teachings of Jesus, or as does Paul in respect to his own con- 
 version. Acts 22: 6-16; 26: 13-18. 
 
 PRIESTHOOD RESTORED. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says, "And if the priesthood had been lost so long,, 
 why was it not restored before?" For the very good reason (1), 
 
138 PRIESTHOOD RESTORED. 
 
 that the world was not prepared for it before. The religious in- 
 tolerance, and the priestly despotism that, by the sanction and aid 
 of civil rulers had so long held the world under their blinding and 
 tyrannical sway, had to be subdued in part, or be removed, ere such 
 a work could be accomplished. Civil and religious liberty must 
 be firmly established before it was practicable, if indeed possible. 
 The Reformers did good work in preparing the way, but it re- 
 mained for "Free America" a Nation pledged to protect and de- 
 fend the religionist of every creed and belief to be raised up to 
 an honored and commanding position among the nations, before 
 "the dispensation of the fulness of times" could be successfully 
 ushered in. It required peculiar conditions in national and reli- 
 gious matters under which to begin the sojourn in Egypt, the exo- 
 dus of Israel, the return from the "seventy years' captivity," and 
 especially the order of the "new covenant," under Jesus and his 
 apostles. And in the latter days proper conditions must be had 
 in civil and religious affairs ere the priesthood could be restored 
 and God's "marvelous work and a wonder" be begun. We reply 
 (2) that it was not restored before, because it was not so appointed 
 of God. 
 
 IF JOSEPH FAILED. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon next inquires: "Would the world have gone to ruin 
 if Joseph had died in his infancy?" And to this we reply, "Would 
 the world have gone to ruin if John the Baptist had died in his 
 infancy?" God will judge all men according to their light and 
 their works. The Lord, whilst he is "no respecter of persons," 
 does respect the works of men, "to give unto every man according 
 to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings," (Jer. 17: 10), 
 whether he has heard the gospel or not. The almsdeeds, the just- 
 ness, the piety and godly reverence of Cornelius, the heathen man, 
 pleased the Lord, and called forth the angel from the heavens in 
 order that this man and his house might be brought nigh to God 
 and made partakers of gospel salvation in its fulness and perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 The Lord will finally judge all men, and "give every man ac- 
 cording as hia works shall be," (Rev. 22: 12), whether John the 
 Baptist, Joseph Smith, or even Mr. Sheldon had died in their in- 
 fancy. 
 
 O. COWDEBY TRANSLATE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon seeks to make capital out of a revelation to O. Cow- 
 dery in April, 1829, relative to his translating. The Lord had said 
 to him in the preceding revelation that if he sincerely desired it, 
 
PLATES NOT PUBLIC. 139 
 
 and was very faithful, he should "receive a knowledge concerning 
 the engravings of the old records * * * by the manifestation of 
 my [God's] Spirit; yea, behold I will tell you in your mind and in 
 your heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you, and 
 which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold this is the Spirit 
 of revelation." D. C. 7: 1, 2. 
 
 The promise to him was, not that he should have the Urim and 
 Thummim, but that he should, if he complied with the specified 
 conditions, receive knowledge "of the old records" by "the Spirit 
 of revelation" in his "mind" and in his "heart," like the prophet 
 of old. 
 
 "His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones." Jer. 
 20:9. 
 
 And like the apostles when instructed by the risen Savior, 
 "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the 
 way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24: 32. 
 
 The next revelation informs us that Oliver failed to comply 
 with the said conditions, and therefore failed to translate. Peter 
 failed in his faith, and therefore sank. (Matt. 14: 30, 31). 
 
 PLATES NOT ON EXHIBITION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon thinks that if Joseph did not have the plates imme- 
 diately before him when he was translating them, (as stated by D. 
 Whitmer to a Chicago Times reporter, in August, 1875), he had 
 no need to have dug them up. We do not question but what God 
 might have revealed the contents of the plates, through his Spirit, 
 as easily as to reveal any other secret thing; but this was not done. 
 Uundoubtedly God, in his wise providence considered it far better 
 that the plates should be obtained, and kept at hand, and seen and 
 handled by many chosen and reliable witnesses, and then exhibited 
 the same plates by the angel of God to David Whitmer, Oliver 
 Cowdery, Martin Harris, with Joseph, while the voice of the Lord 
 out of heaven testified to the fact and truthfulness of their trans- 
 lation by Joseph. This course multiplies and strengthens the 
 evidences relating to the truly wonderful matter. Christ, after his 
 resurrection, appeared only to chosen witnesses, and not to 
 the world. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF JOSEPH REPUDIATED. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon tells us that "there are a few Mormons who repud- 
 iated the revelations of Joseph, and yet cling to the Book of 
 Mormon, thinking that Joseph was all right when he translated, 
 and apostatized before giving the conflicting revelations." We 
 
140 SMALLNESS OF PLATES. 
 
 are not aware of any Saints who profess to repudiate all Joseph's 
 revelations. There are a very few who repudiate his revelations 
 after about 1833-4, when they claim he fell and lost his gift. 
 And there are a great many who in practice repudiate his revela- 
 tions to the church, the most prominent and numerous of whom 
 are the Utah Mormons. 
 
 We do not believe, with Mr. Sheldon and a few others, that "he 
 was used alternately by the Lord and by the Devil by the Lord 
 to translate, and at the same time by the Devil to give rev- 
 elations." 
 
 . SMALLNESS OF THE PLATES. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon avers that, "The story of engraving such a large 
 book as the Book of Mormon on such a small number of plates as 
 Joseph pretended to find, is preposterous." He says that the 
 language in which the plates were written is "claimed to be a little 
 less than the Hebrew," "the elaborate Hebrew." These statements 
 are not true. What the Book of Mormon states is this: 
 
 "If our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in 
 Hebrew." Mormon 4:8. 
 
 The plates were written in characters called among the Nephites 
 "the reformed Egyptian." Ibid. The Egyptian, proper, com- 
 bines in style the ideographic and the phonetic, and is very 
 comprehensive. Mr. Sheldon thinks that one page of their 
 language could not make more than three pages of English. He 
 thinks this a very great difference in the language, and seeks to 
 invalidate Mr. Smith's prophetic mission and the Book of Mormon 
 on this hypothesis. Now, if he proposes to prove Joseph a false 
 prophet because so large an amount of information is contained in 
 so small a space as would be afforded by the plates, why not be 
 consistent and convict another translator on similar grounds? 
 "Mene, Mene, Peres" three small words were translated by 
 the prophet Daniel (5: 26-28) to read: "God hath numbered thy 
 kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances, and 
 art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the 
 Medes and Persians." The three words have thirteen letters, and 
 the translation one hundred and thirty-one. Here is more than 
 ten fold difference! There may have been even a wider difference 
 than this between the "reformed Egyptian" and the English. 
 
 MULEK SON OF ZEDEKIAH. 
 
 In the book of Omni 1: 7, it is said: 
 
 " The people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Ze- 
 dekiah, King of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon." 
 
ZEDEKIAH'S SONS. 141 
 
 They are mentioned also in Mosiah 11:8, Helaman 2: 27, and 
 3: 6. In the two last cited places we are informed that with this 
 people came "Mulek," a son of King Zedekiah, not "a leader" of 
 the colony, as Mr. Sheldon asserts, but simply a member of 
 that colony. Nephi, reasoning with the people said, 
 
 " Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were 
 Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, 
 and they were driven out of Jerusalem?" 
 
 Mr. Sheldon tells us this account can not be true, for the reason, 
 he claims, that all the sons of Zedekiah were killed by the King 
 of Babylon. It is true that it is stated, 2 Kings 25: 7, and Jer. 
 39: 6, that "they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes," yet 
 this does not render it impossible for one, or even more of his sons 
 to have been spared. Josephus informs us that he had many 
 wives. He likely had many sons. Pharaoh commanded the 
 Hebrew midwives to slay all the sons born to the Israelites, yet in 
 the providence of God Moses was secretly saved. An Egyptian 
 historian, recording that slaughter, and not knowing of the escape 
 of Moses, would, unquestionably, have stated that all the doomed 
 innocents were slain. Jewish historians are distinguished for 
 their florid, poetic, and exaggerative style a style lacking the 
 nice precision, and fulness of detail, that distinguishes the histo- 
 rian of Greece, and Rome, and the enlightened nations of these 
 later centuries. For instance, Josephus tells us that "when Cesti- 
 us had marched from Antipatris to Lydda, he found the city empty 
 of its men, for the whole multitude were gone up to Jerusalem to 
 keep the feast of tabernacles; yet did he destroy fifty of those that 
 showed themselves, and burnt the city."-- Wars, B. 2:19. "The 
 whole multitude were gone" "yet did he destroy fifty of those that 
 showed themselves" Paul, in Colossians 1:23, says the gospel 
 "was preached to every creature which is under heaven" Yet this 
 could have been strictly true of only a part. Daniel prophesies 
 that the third kingdom in the succession from Babylon (the Mace- 
 donian), "shall bear rule over all the earth" (Dan. 2: 39), yet there 
 were large portions of Europe, Asia., and Africa, to say nothing of 
 America, over which the Macedonian kingdom did not bear rule. 
 Mr. Newton, in his works, p. 192, makes these judicious remarks, 
 which we submit for the information of Mr. Sheldon and his 
 admirers: 
 
 " General prophecies, like general rules, are not to be understood so strictly 
 and absolutely, as if they could not possibly admit of any kind of limitation 
 or exception whatever. * * * The prophets exhibit a general view of 
 things, without entering into the particular exceptions. It was predicted 
 
142 ZEDEKIAH'S SONS. 
 
 that 'Canaan should be a servant of servants unto his brethren/ and gener- 
 ally his posterity were subjected to the descendants of his brethren; but yet 
 they were not always so ; upon some occasions they were superior." 
 
 And this rule applies with greater force to history, as our quota- 
 tions prove. These thoughts are presented, and these quotations 
 made, that we may be guarded against putting too great exact- 
 itude and precision upon passages where the writer thereof did 
 not intend it. That the King of Babylon killed the sons of Zede- 
 kiah before his eyes, we do not doubt; yet to believe the Bible we 
 must believe that at least one (Mulek) was saved from that fate. 
 To give Bible proof of this, we turn to the "more sure word 
 of prophecy," and by that we learn that the Lord, very shortly 
 before Zedekiah and his family were taken captive, made this 
 promise through his prophet Ezekiel in respect to the seed of Ze- 
 dekiah: 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the 
 high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a 
 tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent: In the 
 mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it." Ezek. 17 :22, 23. 
 
 "The highest branch of the high cedar" clearly relates to the 
 then reigning King of Judah, which was Zedekiah (as the highest 
 branch of the cedar," of verse 3, related to King Jehoiachin). 
 And "his young twigs" clearly relates to the king's seed. And, 
 "a tender one" "from the top of his young twigs," can only mean 
 the most eminent one of his seed. And when the Lord says, "I 
 will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set 
 it; I -trill crop off from the top of its young twigs a tender one, and 
 will plant it, etc., etc., it can only mean that the Lord, in some 
 special and extraordinary way, will take "a tender one" of King 
 Zedekiah's seed, and will establish it, and nurture it, in a superior 
 place "a high mountain and eminent" in some land that belongs 
 to Israel (but not to Judah). This prophecy must have its fulfill- 
 ment; but it could not if the claim of Mr. Sheldon that all ZedQ- 
 kiah's sons were slain was true. The Book of Mormon affords to 
 this prophecy an easy and rational solution; otherwise it would be 
 an insuperable difficulty. It must be fulfilled in a manner like 
 that claimed by the Book of Mormon; and America being the land 
 of Israel, as claimed by the Book of Mormon, and as is shown by 
 prophetic blessings (Gen. 49: 22-26; 48: 15-21; Deut. 33: 13-17), 
 it was fitting to describe this choice land as being "a high mountain 
 and eminent * * * the mountain of the height of 'Israel." Mr. 
 Sheldon says that Joseph got himself "in a trap," when stating 
 that one of Zedekiah's sons came to America, but we think 
 
COMPASS DIRECTOBS. 143, 
 
 Joseph's statement proves that he was inspired of God to reveal 
 secret things. If Joseph had "copied from the common version, 
 with all its defects," as averred so often by Mr. Sheldon, he 
 certainly would not have said that one of Zedekiah's sons came to 
 America. Neither would Mr. Spaulding have said so had he 
 written the book. The book Joseph claimed to translate, (Book of 
 Mormon), does not make such claim, and Ezekiel's prophecy sus- 
 tains it; thus confirming the truth of the book, the divinity of 
 Joseph's mission, and catching Mr. Sheldon in the trap he laid for 
 others. 
 
 "COMPASS: 
 
 Mr. Sheldon is horrified at the idea that God should prepare a 
 "compass," or "directors," to guide Lelii and his family on their 
 wonderful journey, yet he professes to believe that God provided 
 a beautiful star to guide the wise men to him that was "born King 
 of the Jews" (Matt. 2: 1, 2, 9, 10). He says "the story about the 
 interpreters, or stone spectacles, is too marvelous for credence;" 
 yet he can easily believe that Joseph had a silver cup through 
 which he obtained revelations (Gen. 44:5) and that the Urim was 
 a means of revelation also (Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 28:2). He 
 says "the story of Ether's stone candles overtaxes marvelousness;" 
 yet he readily believes that the "pillar of cloud by day, and 
 the pillar of fire by night" attended Israel in their exodus; and 
 that "cloven tongues like that of fire" sat upon the disciples (Acts 
 2: 3) and that unconverted Saul "saw in the way a light from heav- 
 en, above the brightness of the sun," shining about himself and 
 those that journeyed with him (Acts 26: 13). He shudders at the 
 thought that Nephi and Lehi, missionaries whose lives were 
 endangered by enemies, "were encircled about with a pillar of fire" 
 (Helaman 2:18); yet he can take in the story of the three Hebrew 
 children and the fiery furnace (Dan. 3: 19-27); and with credulous 
 soul can see Elijah go up into heaven "by a whirlwind," attended 
 by "a chariot of fire, and horses of fire." (2 Kings 2: 11). 
 
 MODERN MIRACLES. 
 
 Bible miracles he rather likes, but those from any other direc- 
 tion he can not and will not believe because they are not fashion- 
 able, probably; and because they have not the sanction of his 
 modern creed of unbelief in the word of God. Such clear sighted 
 people as our critic can see that miracles are easy to be believed if 
 they are only the ones done two thousand years ago and ten 
 thousand miles away, if related in their Bible; but with him, any- 
 
144 WEIGHT OF PLATES. 
 
 thing outside of that should be belittled, belied, and branded 
 as an imposture. We are forcibly reminded of the ancient 
 Pagans; they could easily believe all the miracles imputed to their 
 deities, but the miracles of the early Christians were spurious! 
 The Jews could believe in the miracles wrought among their fore- 
 fathers, but the miracles of Jesus and his disciples were either 
 impositions or were done by Beelzebub. Mr. Sheldon would 
 not for the world question but what Elisha made the axe head to 
 swim (2 Kings 6:6); and that Jesus wrought a miracle in order to 
 pay poll-tax for himself and Peter; but no miracles must be 
 wrought in bringing out to America a righteous colony, nor in 
 sustaining them when here! The sun standing still at the behest 
 of Joshua is all right with Mr. Sheldon, but Israelites on this con- 
 tinent must make no claim to miracles._ 
 
 "Hush, hush, my son," said a pious old lady to her idolized sail- 
 or-boy, as he related to her that, among other wonders, there were 
 flying fish in the sea, "don't impose on your old mother and try to 
 fool her with any of your big sailor yarns." But when he told 
 her, in solemn tones, that their vessel's anchor dragged up one of 
 the veritable chariot wheels of old Pharaoh, lost in the Red Sea, 
 exclaimed with reverential awe, "La's a me! and did you bring it 
 home!" Some people will spurn any truth if it conflicts with 
 their creeds and traditions. 
 
 Orson Pratt describes the body of the plates from which the 
 Book of Mormon was translated as being about eight inches long, 
 seven inches wide, and six inches thick; which would contain 336 
 cubic inches. Mr. Sheldon thinks gold plates to this amount would 
 weigh "near 200 pounds." Here as usual he goes wide of the 
 truth. A body of solid gold of such dimensions and of such qual- 
 ity as needed would not weigh near so much; and a body of finely 
 and elaborately engraved plates of such dimensions would weigh 
 far less; probably much less than 100 pounds. William B. Smith 
 says he saw them weighed at 60 pounds. 
 
 JAREDITES EXTERMINATED. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon thinks the story of the utter extermination of the 
 Jaredite nation on this continent is too marvelous for credence; 
 and so of the Nephites. He admits that an intelligent class 
 of people dwelt on this continent at one time, but falsely and fool- 
 ishly claims that it was "prior to the great deluge!" and says 
 further: "The many traces of an early settlement date back to that 
 dispensation!" Humboldt, Josiah Priest, Stephens, Baldwin, 
 Delafield, and many others who have studied the antiquities 
 
ANCIENT AMERICANS. 145 
 
 of America never dreamed of this sweeping method of this genius 
 from Broadhead! What a pity they had not met and consulted 
 this prodigy of invention! and that, too, before they had spent so 
 much time and money in elaborating their theories. The idea that 
 Mr. Sheldon, who never saw any of these antiquities, and whose 
 ignorance on these matters he now so plainly exhibits the idea 
 that he should oppose his opinions to those of the most renowned 
 antiquarians and scientists of the age, makes him slightly ridic- 
 ulous. Mr. Delafield has furnished the world with an Aztec Map 
 which outlines the route of those who came and settled in Mexico 
 and Central America, and this puts the settling of America this 
 side the Deluge. The Mexicans, and Peruvians, with many of the 
 Indian tribes, and many of the islanders of the Pacific, have a 
 well defined tradition of the Flood, but these all locate the flood 
 before the building up of those great cities and roadways that so 
 abound in America. Mr. Delafield assures us that the style of 
 architecture seen in these ancient ruins is clearly Egyptian. He 
 also assures us that there are striking analogies between the 
 ancient languages of America, and those of Asia the Egyptian 
 and Hindoo, especially. And further, that there are strong analo- 
 gies in the religious notions of the ancient Americans and the 
 Asiatics, as seen in their traditions, their sculpturing, their relig- 
 ious symbols, etc. He likewise tells us that their style of hiero- 
 glyphics bears a striking resemblance to the Egyptian. How ex- 
 actly this accords with the claims of the Book of Mormon, where 
 it says, in no less than three different places, that the Nephites 
 wrote in Egyptian "the reformed Egyptian." 1 Nephi 1:1; Mosi- 
 ah 1:1; book of Mormon 4: 8. Delafield further remarks that 
 Mexican astronomy, with its divisions of time based thereon, are, 
 in many leading respects identical with that of Egypt. At this 
 Latter Day Saints are not surprised, for they know by the Book of 
 Mormon that two colonies of intelligent Israelites, who could not 
 be otherwise than well acquainted with the then prevailing system 
 of astronomy of Egypt, came to this land 600 years B. c. and grew 
 into mighty nations. Mr. Delafield claims that in all the analo- 
 gies discovered, as also in tradition, that they have "positive evi- 
 dence of an early identity between the aboriginal race of America 
 and the southern Asiatic and Egyptian family." Antiquities of 
 America, p. 51. 
 
 TWO DISTINCT PEOPLES. 
 
 The Book of Mormon asserts that America was settled by two 
 10 
 
146 MEN OF GREAT AGE. 
 
 distinct peoples, at two very remote periods of time; The Jaredites 
 commencing their settlement some 2150 or 2200 years before 
 Christ, and continuing over a period of from 1500 or 1600 years 
 to the exodus of Lehi, and Mulek and his company, B. c. 600, when 
 the Nephites and Zarahemlaites suceeded them and continued 
 for 1000 years, and were themselves succeeded by the Lamanite 
 nation. It represents the Jaredites, and the Nephites, as being 
 highly skilled in the arts and sciences of civilized life. And Bald- 
 win, in his "Ancient America", pp. 155, 156, 264, 271, etc., con- 
 firms this view. He says, "these old constructions [ruins]' belong 
 to different periods in the past, and present somewhat different 
 phases of civilization." So say Bancroft, Short, and other 
 authors. 
 
 This theory of Mr. Sheldon's, like many other of his positions, 
 lacks the essential elements of truth and common sense; and when 
 these flimsy bubbles are pricked they collapse and leave a blot on 
 the reputation of him that created them. 
 
 LONG-LIVED PEOPLE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon thinks that Amos, the son of Amos, could not have 
 kept the records for so long a time as is claimed; neither Amma- 
 ron his brother. Holy men of old lived to great ages. Abraham 
 begat a son when he was one hundred years old. Moses, when he 
 died, aged one hundred and twenty years, was in the full vigor of 
 life. Ezra, and Daniel, and many others of God's worthies lived 
 to be very old, and their habits of business followed them to their 
 latest years. Mr. Sheldon labors hard to make the record say that 
 Amos and Ammaron were aged respectively 150 and 160 years. 
 This method of perversion is a favorite trick with him. Amos 2d 
 might have been less than 130 years old at his death, and Amma- 
 ron no older, as will appear on examining the record. 
 
 Golour M'Crain, of the Isle of Jura, who died in the reign of 
 Charles I., of England, was over 180 years old. Thomas Parr 
 died in A. D. 1635, aged 153 years; and James Bowles of Killing- 
 worth, in 1656, aged 152 years; and Lady Ecclestone, Ireland, in 
 1691, aged 143 years. In A. D. 1588, Jane Britten died in Somer- 
 set, England, aged 200 years; and J. Forathe, Glamorganshire, A. 
 D. 1621, aged 180 years. Joseph Crele, of Caledonia, Wisconsin, 
 died in 1866, aged 140 years. Haydn, Diet. Dates. These are a 
 few from the very many cases of longevity since the times of 
 Christ: So the great ages of Amos and Ammaron are not highly 
 improbable. 
 
BAPTISM. 14 T 
 
 THE BRASS PLATES. 
 
 Of the brass plates brought out from Jerusalem, (1 Nephi 1: 46, 
 47, 48; Alma 17: 5), Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "If these unfound brass plates are yet to be seen by all nations," etc. 
 
 There is no promise that they were to be "seen" by all nations; 
 but only that their contents, in part, or in whole, were to go to all 
 nations. And that is being fulfilled, in part, by the circulation of 
 the Book of Mormon; for it is made up, in a measure, of facts 
 contained on those plates. 
 
 BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 He thinks it contrary to the belief and teachings of the saints 
 that Alma, (Mosiah 11: 22) should be born of the Spirit (or have 
 his sins pardoned, as he puts it) before baptism by water. But in 
 this is nothing more strange than the case of Cornelius, treated on 
 p. 52. God may pardon person's sins before baptism, and give 
 them the Spirit in great power also; yet it is out of the ordinary 
 course. The Lord increased the widow's oil and meal (1 Kings 
 17: 14), but that is not the common way for him to supply the 
 wants of the needy. 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 He also cavils about the commandment concerning candidates 
 for baptism where it says: 
 
 "All those who humble themselves before God and desire to be baptized 
 and truly manifest by their works that they have received [of] the Spirit of 
 Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into 
 his Church." D. C. 17 : 7. 
 
 He leaves out the word of, inclosed in brackets, when quoting, 
 and then says: 
 
 "Here the reception of the Spirit and remission of sins is made a prereq- 
 uisite to baptism." 
 
 Not quite so fast, Mr. Sheldon; a man may receive of a, cup of 
 wine, and still not receive the cup. Receiving "of the Spirit of 
 Christ unto the remission of sins," means, simply, receiving that 
 which leads, or moves towards that condition. The words to and 
 unto are synonymous. A man may start to New York, and yet 
 never get there. 
 
 BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "The Mormon doctrine of baptism by proxy baptizing the living for the 
 dead establishes the doctrine of salvation without repentance on the part of 
 the sinner." 
 
148 ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. 
 
 This is not true, and he knows it is not the doctrine of the 
 Saints. The doctrine and belief of many of the Saints is that, as 
 the spirit of man, after death, is active and capable; and that, as 
 the judgment of the wicked dead does not take place till after 
 their resurrection (Rev. 20: 5, 12, 13), there is in that fact strong 
 presumptive evidence in favor of the idea that the spirits of the 
 wicked dead are, in the intermediate state, placed under reforma- 
 tory influences as contemplated in John 11: 25; 1 Peter 4: 6, etc., 
 etc. The statement in Isaiah 24: 21, 22, that the "prisoners" shall 
 "be visited" "after many days;" and the statements in 1 Peter 3: 
 18-20; 4: 5, 6, that disobedient "spirits" shall be preached to in 
 "the prison," treated of on p. 115, with other texts, (among them 
 Jonah 2 : 1-4) give ample ground for believing that sinners, except 
 those of the very vilest degree, may hear the gospel in the world 
 of spirits and repent. And it is for this repentant class that bap- 
 tism is to be administered by proxy, for the reason set forth in the 
 following: "As for thee [Christ] also, by the blood of thy covenant 
 I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water" 
 Zech. 9:11. And as for baptism for the dead, why did Paul 
 speak of it as though practiced in the church, if it was not so 
 practiced? 
 
 "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise 
 not at all." 1 Cor. 15:29. 
 
 Now it will not do to say that "the dead" here spoken of is the 
 dead Christ, as some do; for here "the dead" is from the Greek, 
 nekron and is a plural noun. Besides, it is historically true that 
 such a practice was had in the days of the first Christians. And 
 yet this is not now a fundamental doctrine a formally authorized 
 doctrine of the Reorganized Church of the Saints. 
 
 ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon strives to make a conflict in the teachings of our 
 standard works in respect to endless punishment. He argues that 
 when a person suffers "endless pnnishment," "eternal punish- 
 ment," "everlasting punishment," "eternal torment," etc., he nec- 
 essarily suffers that punishment torment eternally, in the most 
 absolute and extended sense of that term. Now the Book of Mor- 
 mon, like the Bible, uses the words eternal, forever, everlasting, 
 endless, etc., to signify lengthy periods, but not always absolute 
 and unending duration. And this is especially true when describ- 
 ing punishment. See 2 Nephi 1:4; Mosiah 11: 22; Alma 17: 2; 
 book of Mormon 4: 6, etc. .Exodus 12: 14, 17, 24; Lev. 25: 46; 
 Num. 18: 8; 1 Sam. 3: 13; Isa. 34: 10; Amos 1: 11; Jonah 2: 6; 
 
THREE HEAVENS. 149 
 
 Gen. 17: 8; 48: 4; 49: 26; Lev. 16: 34; Hab. 3: 6; 1 Tim. 1: 14. 
 The "everlasting punishment" mentioned in Matt. 25: 46, it is 
 held by the most eminent scholars of the primitive church, and 
 also of the present times, to mean punishment during a certain 
 period the age to which it relates. They inform us that olam, 
 Hebrew, is the same in sense and meaning as aionias, Greek, and 
 that both ordinarily signify age or life, and sometimes an indefi- 
 nite period. Now, the sentiments advocated in D. C. 18: 1, 2, 
 about which Mr. Sheldon makes such an ado, are similar to those 
 just noticed. "Endless punishment" is treated of in the revela- 
 tion cited as a condition in which persons may be placed, and 
 from which they may be delivered on their repentance and recon- 
 ciliation to the law and order of God. This is the sum of the 
 matter. The meaning of a word, and the signification of a sen- 
 tence, can only be determined by what is directly connected with 
 it. Of this fact Mr. Sheldon seems quite oblivious. 
 
 THREE HEAVENS. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says Mahomet had seven heavens while Joseph 
 teaches three kingdoms in the future world. Well, Paul (2 Cor. 
 12: 2) tells of "the third heaven;" and inasmuch as there is "the 
 third heaven," there must be the first and the second. Paul also 
 tells us, in describing the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15: 41, 
 42), that 
 
 "There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another 
 glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also 
 is the resurrection of the dead." 
 
 Joseph and Paul agree, only Joseph calls those conditions king- 
 doms, while Paul calls them (/lories. The departments, or condi- 
 tions, are the same, yet described under different forms of speech. 
 God has promised to judge all according to their works (Rev. 22:12: 
 Rom.2:6; 14:12; Rev. 20:12,13; Matt. 16:27; Jer. 17:10; 32:19; Job 
 34: 11; Ps. 62: 12; Ezek. 33: 20), a principle co-eternal with God; 
 (Heb. 1: 9, with Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4; John 8: 44, with Luke 10, 
 18), and has promised that the faithful Saints shall be with Christ 
 (John 17: 24; 14: 3; 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17), and that they shall be like 
 Christ (1 John 3: 3; 1 Cor. 15: 49; Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:4; Rom. 
 8: 16, 17). These, then, possessing the same glory or heavenly 
 condition with Christ, who will occupy the two lesser glories? 
 Evidently those whose "works," under the equitable and gracious 
 judgment of God, render them meet for them. 
 
 Joseph the seer teaches that men's rewards or future condition, 
 will vary as their "desires" (Alma 15:11; 19:8) and their "works" 
 
150 BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 shall vary; and that, too, even among sinners. John teaches (Rev. 
 22: 14, 15) that while "they that do his [Christ's] commandments" 
 "have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
 into the city," yet "without [that is, on the outside of the 
 city] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, 
 and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." All ought 
 to be glad that, after suitable, though terrible punishment, there is 
 something better than hopeless, unending torment, eternal sleep, 
 or annihilation, for even them who love and make lies! In these 
 teachings Joseph and the Bible are identical. Jesus says: 
 
 "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men [on their 
 repentance, evidently] ; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not 
 be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of 
 Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy 
 Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world 
 to come." Matt. 12 : 31, 32. 
 
 The plain inference from this passage is, that "in the world to 
 come" all sins except the one may be forgiven. Here, then, are 
 three testimonies agreeing essentially in the same idea. But the doc- 
 trine held by Mr. Sheldon and others, that all who do not profess 
 Christian faith in the present life are doomed to an absolutely end- 
 less sleep, or endless torture, is as horrid and hateful as it is irra- 
 tional and unscriptural. Those who can see nothing better should 
 not boast of their wisdom or their love. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon quarrels with the idea that Psalm 85: 11, is applied 
 in proof of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He says 
 "the Book of Mormon did not 'spring' out of the earth, but was 
 simply dug out." How profound! Webster says spring means "to 
 proceed," "to issue," "to issue into sight or notice." And this is 
 precisely true of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He 
 also quarrels with the application made of Isaiah 29th chapter in 
 proof of the Book of Mormon. He says the passage: "And the 
 vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is 
 sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read 
 
SEALED BOOK. 151 
 
 this, I pray thee," was not fulfilled in connection with the Book of 
 Mormon, because only Martin Harris delivered them to the learned 
 man. But Mr. Sheldon should bear in mind that Joseph was a 
 party to this delivering "the words of a book that is sealed" to Mr. 
 Anthon, just as much as Solomon was a leading party in building 
 the temple, though doing none of the mechanical work. It is a 
 principle in law and good common sense, that "whatever a man 
 does by his agent he does by himself." "Men" did deliver "the 
 words of a book that is sealed" to the "learned;" for Joseph sent 
 Martin for this very purpose. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says Jesus applied verse thirteen "to the Jews in 
 his day." Yes, but he did not claim it had its final fulfillment 
 there and then. The thirteenth verse fitted their case and condi- 
 tion, but only in part. Peter accommodated Joel 2: 28-32, to the 
 day of Pentecost, yet it was not finally fulfilled on that occasion. 
 This practice was frequent with the apostles. "Out of Egypt 
 have I called my son" (Matt. 2: 15), was applied to the bringing 
 of Christ out of Egypt; but primarily it related to the calling of 
 Israel out of Egypt (Hosea 11: 1). This is one specimen out of 
 many that might be cited. Newton remarks, in his work on the 
 fulfillment of prophecy, that "many prophecies of Scripture have a 
 double meaning, literal and mystical, respect two events, and have a 
 two-fold completion" p. 71. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says "the 'vision of all,' verse eleven, had then (in 
 the days of Christ) become to the Jews like a sealed book that 
 could not be read by the learned, or by the unlearned instead of 
 one that could be read by the unlearned Joseph." But he should 
 remember (what is fatal to his logic) that "the words of the book" 
 would be read; for in verse eighteen it is said: 
 
 "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of 
 the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." 
 
 So we see "the words of a book that is sealed" would be uttered 
 and heard hence "read." And when Isaiah predicts that the 
 "learned" could not read "the words" of the book that was sealed, 
 it was equivalent to predicting that its language was such as the 
 then learned could not read. For it was not "the book," that he 
 was requested to read, but "the words of" the sealed book. Isaiah 
 predicts that "the words" of the sealed book should be delivered 
 by "men" to the "learned" and this was done by Joseph and Mar- 
 tin to Mr. Charles Anthon, Professor of languages in Columbia Col- 
 lege, New York. So precise is the prophecy, and so exact its ful- 
 fillment. 
 
152 LAND OF JUDEA. 
 
 That Isaiah 29th chapter, 4th to 24th verses, did not have their 
 fulfillment in the days of Christ, nor near to that time, but that 
 they were to be fulfilled in these latter days, is made conclusive 
 from the following facts: 
 
 Firstly: In the days of Christ there was no "book," neither "the 
 words of a book that is sealed," that was given to the "learned" or 
 the "not learned." The Jewish people had possessed "Moses and 
 the prophets" many centuries before the coming of Christ ; but the 
 New Testament was not compiled and pronounced canonical till 
 the third Council of Carthage, A. D. 397. And besides that, the 
 first book of the New Testament, (Matthew) was not written till 
 between A. D. 50 and A. D. 60. These books, then, or any part of 
 them, can not be "the book" or "the words of a book that is 
 sealed;" therefore this prophecy did not have its fulfillment in the 
 times of Christ, and, consequently, the immediate contexts could 
 not have been fulfilled then. 
 
 Secondly: It is said in the 17th verse: 
 
 "Is it not yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruit- 
 ful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest ?" 
 
 Here a highly important truth is declared in an interrogatory 
 form, "Is it not yet a little while?" meaning simply, that it would 
 be but a little while after the events mentioned in the preceding 
 verses had transpired, until "Lebanon shall be turned into a fruit- 
 ful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest." This 
 passage as found in the Book of Mormon is in the form of a direct 
 prophecy and reads: "But, behold, saith the Lord of Hosts, I will 
 shew unto the children of men [the world] that it is not yet a 
 very little while [after the coming forth of the Book of Mormon] 
 and Lebanon [Judea] shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the 
 fruitful field shall be esteemed as aforest." 2 Nephi 11: 18. That 
 this term, Lebanon, means the same as in Jer. 22: 23; Ezek. 17: 3; 
 2 Chron. 25: 18; Zech. 10: 10, etc., viz., the land of Judea, is, we 
 think, quite plain. It certainly relates to a land that, prior to the 
 change promised, had been barren and desolate. For it is to be 
 "turned into a fruitful field;" and yet it shall, after this change^ 
 for a time at least, be "esteemed as a forest" an uncultivated and 
 unimproved tract of land. Now the land of Judea, soon. after the 
 time of Christ, became desolate and barren as predicted by the ser- 
 vants of God (Lev. 26: 33-43; Deut. 28: 24; 29: 22, 23; Ezek. 36: 
 3-6, 33, 34; Dan 9: 27, etc.), but soon after the coming forth of 
 the "book that is sealed," it was to be restored from its barren and 
 unfruitful condition, a change, the very opposite of that which took 
 
JACOB BLESSED. 15$ 
 
 place soon after the time of Christ, which facts show that these were 
 the events predicted in Isaiah 29: 9-24. It it a fact, of which all 
 may inform themselves, that in this nineteenth century, and since A. 
 D. 1827 the time the Book of Mormon was revealed the land of 
 Judea Lebanon has been turned into a state of great fertility 
 and fruitfulness. Its "former and latter rain" have been restored, 
 the latter, for the first time with regularity for many centuries, in 
 the fall of 1852. (See Mitt. Star, vol. 15: 788). As a result, this 
 land so long barren and desolate is now bringing forth in its an- 
 cient fertility wherever the hand of enterprise and tilth is applied. 
 Here, then, are incontestible proofs that the prophecy indicated 
 did not have its fulfillment in the time of Christ, but that in these 
 days it is having a most wonderful, literal and glorious accom- 
 plishment. 
 
 Thirdly: In the twenty-second verse is this prediction: 
 
 ''Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the 
 house of Jacob : Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now 
 wax pale." 
 
 From this we learn, that at the time Lebanon is turned into a 
 fruitful field after the coming forth of the "book that is sealed" 
 the "house of Jacob," including the Jews, of course, would be 
 found in a highly favored condition "Jacob shall not now be 
 ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale." For seventeen 
 centuries and more, shame and fear have been the portion of the 
 Jews in their captivity and tribulations amid the nations, and this,, 
 too, in fulfillment of prophecy Lev. 26: 36-38; Deut. 28: 65-67; 
 Zeph. 3; 19, etc., etc. and now, within the last one hundred years> 
 and more particularly since 1827, the Jewish race have become emi- 
 nent in the nations where they dwell, are highly favored, and are 
 made partakers of honor and fame in well nigh every department 
 of civilized life. Immediately after the time of Christ the oppo- 
 site of this was true, for they were brought to shame, and their 
 faces "waxed pale" through fear, famine, and despair. But now 
 their shame and fear are removed, and their faces no longer "wax 
 pale;" therefore these are the days for the accomplishment of the 
 prophecy under consideration, and these are the times for the 
 coming forth of the "book that is sealed." The Almighty has fixed 
 these periods, and marked them in such a manner that the sophis- 
 try of "blind guides," nor the "cunning craftiness" of the worldly 
 wise and prudent can disguise their exact location in the world's 
 history, their importance and signification. The nineteenth cen- 
 tury being thus definitely marked of God, in prophecy and history,, 
 
154 HEBREWS IN AMERICA. 
 
 as the time, and the only time, in which Isaiah 29: 4-24 finds its 
 fulfillment, we enquire for the "book that is sealed," and for "the 
 words" of that book, and can find nothing that fulfills the prophetic 
 description but the Book of Mormon. It comes forth in the exact 
 time required; it comes forth "out of the ground," as required; its 
 "speech" whispers out of the dust, as required; it is the "speech," 
 and "vision," of that people who went out from Jerusalem before 
 its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (intimated in the first four 
 verses), as required by the prophecy. Its language, in the origi- 
 nal, was "sealed" so that the learned could not read it, as required 
 by the prophecy; its words were delivered by "men" (Joseph and 
 Martin) to the "learned," just as required. Though the learned 
 could not read "the words" when first delivered, yet after being 
 given to the unlearned they are read, just as required by the 
 prophecy. It comes forth a little while before Lebanon Judea 
 is "turned into a fruitful field," as the prophecy requires; and in, 
 and after, the time of its coming forth, the Jews, for a wonder, are 
 found in a highly favored and prosperous condition, as required 
 by the prophecy. (See Saints' Herald for 1888, page 281). The 
 Book of Mormon "the words of the book" that was "sealed" 
 comes richly laden with instruction in spiritual things, and thor- 
 ougly freighted with the essential doctrines of the Savior, the 
 Lord Christ, as it intimated in the prophecy; for "they also that 
 erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that mur- 
 mured shall learn doctrine" (vs. 24). Now, in all these particu- 
 lars, as well as in others, the Book of Mormon corresponds to, and 
 agrees with the prophecy under consideration, and no other book 
 or work under heaven does, or can, for it is now too late for the 
 coming forth of any other book to fulfill that wonderful prophecy. 
 3?or these reasons it is conclusive that the book is of divine origin. 
 The Book of Mormon having been written by Hebrews who 
 came out from Jesusalem B. c. 600, we might reasonably expect 
 them to be acquainted with and skilled in the Hebrew language, 
 especially as they carried with them valuable records of their 
 nation; and the book claims that they were. Nephi, in first book 
 of Nephi 1:1, says: 
 
 "I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learn- 
 ing of the Jews, and the language of the Egyptians." 
 
 And Moroni says: 
 
 'And if our plates had been sufficiently large we would 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." Book of Mormon 4 : 8. 
 
HEBREW KELICS. 155 
 
 Now this remarkable and important claim, that one portion of 
 the ancient inhabitants of America were skilled in writing a modi- 
 fied form of the Hebrew language, is fully sustained by discoveries 
 of such writing, made by scientists and antiquarians long since the 
 coming forth of the Book of Mormon, these discoveries being in 
 nowise connected with the people who believe in the divine authen- 
 ticity of that book. We first present an article from The Israelite 
 Indeed, a paper edited by the late G. R. Lederer, a converted Jew. 
 Of course we do not endorse the groundless and absurd conclusions 
 of the writer as to how the writer, or writers, of the described relic 
 came to America, It will be seen that Mr. Lederer perceives that 
 the Hebrew in which this relic is written is "changed" from the 
 ancient form somewhat, and yet it is not in "the modern Hebrew," 
 which would most likely be the case if a forgery were possible. 
 It will be further seen that Mr. Lederer thinks the writer of the 
 relic could not have been a Jew, because the Ten Commandments 
 are there rendered differently than in the Bible. The Hebrews of 
 the Book of Mormon having slightly "changed" the language, 
 which a superstitious Jew would not dare to have done, it is not 
 at all strange that they should modify the form and letter of the 
 commandments, though careful to retain their essential import 
 and meaning. Here is the article referred to: 
 
 "HEBREW RELICS. 
 
 [These two inscribed stones were sent to New York by their discoverer and proprietor, 
 Mr. David Wyrick. of Newark, Ohio, to Mr. Dwight, to be submitted by him to the examina- 
 tion of the learned, accompanied with full accounts of the discovery, and maps and drawing 8 
 illustrating the place and circumstances]. 
 
 "We suppose that many, if not most of our readers have seen, in religious 
 as well as secular papers, the accounts of some relics which were found a 
 few months ago in a mound near Newark, Ohio. These relics consist of 
 stones, in strange shapes bearing Hebrew inscriptions, which makes the case 
 particularly interesting to me, as a Hebrew. I have read, therefore, with 
 great interest, all that has been published concerning them, and studied the 
 -opinions of different men of science and learning, who have expressed them 
 in public ; but I desired to see the objects themselves, to put my finger on 
 these relics, which bear inscriptions of the holy language which once was 
 written with the finger of God upon tables of stone ; a language spoken and 
 written by the prophets of Israel, who predicted the main features, not only 
 of the history of Israel but also of the world at large. It is one of the pecu- 
 liar and national characteristics of the Jews, to feel a sacred awe for that lan- 
 guage, and even for "the square characters" in which it is written, so that 
 every written or printed Hebrew page is called "Shemos," by which the peo- 
 ple mean to say, a paper on which holy names are printed or written. A 
 pious Jew would never use any Hebrew book or paper for any secular pur- 
 
 Eose whatever, and carefully picks up every bit and burns it, Being now, 
 y the grace of God, an "Israelite Indeed," believing in Him concerning 
 
156 HEBREW RELICS. 
 
 whom Moses and the prophets did write, that sacred language has increased 
 in its charming influence, upon my mind ; this may explain my anxiety to 
 see those relics with the Hebrew inscriptions, without, however, entertain- 
 ing the least hope of ever having that wish realized. This time, however, 
 I was gladly disappointed; for, in calling a few days ago on my friend, Mr, 
 Theodore Dwight (the Recording Secretary of the 'American Ethnological 
 Society,' and my associate in the editorship of this Magazine), my eyes met 
 with the very objects of my desire. That I examined these antiquities care- 
 fully, none of our readers will, I think, entertain any doubt. I recognized 
 all the letters except one, (the ayin), though the forms of many of them are 
 different from those now in use. This, however, is not the case with the stone 
 found first, (viz., in July 1860), which has the form of an ancient jar, bear- 
 ing Hebrew inscriptions on its four sides, which are in perfectly such char- 
 acters as those generally in use now. I can not form any opinion concern- 
 ing the use or meaning of this, which was found first, as the inscriptions do 
 not lead to any suggestions whatever. They are as follows : 1. "Debar Jeho- 
 vah," (meaning the Word of Jehovah). 2. "Kodesh Kodeshim" (The Holy 
 of Holies). 3. "Thorath Jehovali," (The Law of Jehovah), and 4. "Melek Aretz," 
 (King of the Earth). 
 
 "What was it intended for? Is it as some suppose, a relic of ancient Free- 
 masonry ? We can not concur with that idea, because the first question 
 which would suggest itself to our mind is : How did this relic get into a 
 mound of the ancient Indians, and this, too, at such a considerable depth, 
 and altogether singular? We must leave the solution of this problem to 
 after-days, when men of industry and love for antiquities shall perhaps suc- 
 ceed in discovering more relics, by which the present ones may find an ex- 
 planation. 
 
 "This, however, is not the case with that before mentioned, which was 
 found on the first of November, last [18(50], It is evident at least to my 
 mind that the writer, or carver, intended to perpetuate the essence of the 
 divine law, which could not have been done in a better way than by engrav- 
 ing it on a stone, of such a nature as should l.-e able to resist all influences 
 of the destroying tooth of time. It is also evident to my mind, that the 
 writer was not a Jew or an Israelite, as some suppose, but a proselyte, one 
 who had been taught by a Hebrew, and perhaps converted to abandon his 
 idols, to believe in one living and invisible God, and to keep his command- 
 ments. My reasons for believing the writer not to have been a Jew, are 
 briefly these: 1. The veneration which the Hebrews of all classes pay to 
 the Holy Scriptures, and particularly to the five books of Moses, is so great 
 that the slightest alteration, even of a point, is considered sinful ; and the roll 
 from which they read in the synagogue, in which is found any alteration, 
 transposition of letter, or incorrectness as, for instance, a cheth Instead of a 
 hay, must be immediately laid by, and not allowed to be used, until cor- 
 rected. A Hebrew, therefore, who knew how to write the Ten Command- 
 ment, would have either written them perfectly, or not at all ; and as there 
 are many mistakes in that engraving, some letters entirely wanting, some 
 transposed, and some superfluous, I conclude the writer was not a;Hebrew. 2. 
 The order, or rather disorder, in which the Ten Commandments are engraved 
 of which we have nothing of a similar kind elsewhere proves that the 
 author was not a Hebrew. 3. The presence of a human figure, however, is 
 the strongest objection against the suppositon that the writer was a Hebrew. 
 Though, in more recent times, after the invention of printing, the Jews be- 
 gan to imitate the Gentiles, in having the figures of Moses, Aaron, David, 
 
HEBREW RELICS. 157 
 
 and Solomon on the title-pages of their printed Bibles and prayer-books ; 
 yet, in ancient days the age when this stone must have been prepared 
 no Hebrew would'have dared to carve any human figure, even that of Moses, 
 in connection with the Ten Commandments, That this figure led to a fatal 
 mistake, is evident from the fact, that the Reverend and learned John W. 
 McCarty, of Newark, Ohio, who first deciphered and read the inscription, 
 read the word Moshe Moses over the head of the figure, in connection 
 with the next line of the bas-relief, commencing : 'Who brought thee out of 
 the land of Egypt ;' thus making Moses instead of Jehovah, the real deliv- 
 of Israel. 
 
 ''The discovery of that very remarkable antiquity confirmed me in my 
 opinion, not that the aborigines of America are of Hebrew descent, but 
 that, at some remote age and in some now unknown way, one or more pious 
 and distinguished Hebrews came over to this continent, became the teachers of 
 some of the wild tribes of America, and thus introduced not only the know- 
 ledge of the true and living Jehovah, but to some extent Jewish, or rather 
 Mosaic rites and ceremonies also. This, I think, is the real reason why, after 
 the invasion of this continent by the priest-ridden and fanatic Spaniards and 
 Portuguese, so many things resembling Judaism, and the belief in one who came 
 to enlighten them, departed and promised to come again, was found among 
 the southern tribes of Indians, and all pictures, engravings and signs of it 
 were destroyed by superstitious priests and monks. 
 
 "One, or a number of those believing Indians, seeing that in the absence 
 of their teachers, the people were falling gradually back into their old Pagan 
 habits, became alarmed, and fearing that, in a short time, all would be for- 
 gotten and lost, concluded to preserve the essence of faith at least, by engraving 
 it on a table of stone. They did it with the best of their knowledge of the 
 Hebrew writing, as well as of the construction of the passage. 
 
 that the writer or writers had already forgotten much. Of one thing, howev- 
 er, I am morally convinced : that this stone is a genuine relic of antiquity, as 
 it would be a greater difficulty to believe in the invention of such a strange 
 mixture of characters, disorder of combination, and innocent blunders, than 
 to believe it the handiwork of a generation long since passed away." G. R. 
 Lederer, in "Israelite Indeed" May, 1861. 
 
 We next present our readers with an article on the same general 
 subject from The Prophetic Watchman: 
 
 "CURIOUS RELICS ANCIENT ISRAELITES IN AMERICA. 
 
 "We are all more or less acquainted with the so-called 'Indian Mounds.' 
 found in various parts of our country. There are hundreds of them in Ohio 
 alone several near Newark, Licking Co. Pipes, copper beads strung upon 
 a vegetable fibre, human skeletons, skulls, bones of animals and birds, some 
 charred by fire, as if they had been sacrificed upon a burning pile, have 
 been obtained from them. For centuries it has been a most interesting sub- 
 ject of inquiry as to who built these mounds, and whence came their build- 
 ers. Within the past few years some relics have been discovered, which 
 are thought to throw light on the subject: 
 
 "The first is a little coarse sandstone, not quite an inch and a half high by 
 about two inches long. It was found in the 'Wilson Mound,' and bears the 
 
158 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 face of a human being. On the forehead are five distinct Hebrew characters, 
 which are interpreted to mean : 'May the Lord have mercy on him (or me) 
 an untimely birth,' evidently an expression of humiliation. 
 
 "The second relic from the same mound is stone closely resembling lime- 
 stone. It is rather triangular than square in its form, and yet it differs 
 widely from both. It represents an animal, and contains four human faces 
 and three inscriptions in flebrew, signifying devotion, reverence and natural 
 depravity. 
 
 "The third stone was found in 1860, about three miles from Newark. It 
 has a shape like a wedge, and is about six inches long, tapering at the end. 
 On one end is a handle, and at the top are four Hebrew inscriptions. 
 
 "The last relic is an object of much interest. It was found in 1860, and 
 has engraved upon it a figure of Moses, and the Ten Commandments. One 
 side is depressed, and the reverse protrudes. Over the figure is a Hebrew 
 word signifying 'Moses." The other inscriptions are almost literally the 
 the words found in some parts of the Bible, and the Ten Commandments 
 are given in part and entirely the longest being abbreviated. The alphabet 
 used, it is thought, is the original Hebrew one, as there are letters known in 
 the Hebrew alphabet [not] now in use, but bearing a resemblance to them. 
 All tilings on this stone point to the time before Ezra* to the lost tribes of 
 Israel, and the theory is, that some one of these tribes found their way into 
 this continent, and settled where the state of Ohio now exists." From the 
 Prophetic Watchman, Sep. 14, 1866. 
 
 Our next is the sura of a lecture delivered in Allegheny City, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1866: 
 
 "AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 "A short time since a notice was published in the city papers that there 
 would be an exhibition and a lecture delivered by the Rev. R. M. Miller, in 
 the First Presbyterian Church, Allegheny, upon some Indian relics lately 
 discovered in some mounds near Newark. Ohio, containing Hebrew inscrip- 
 tions, and as a matter of course I attended the lecture, as all Latter Day 
 Saints 'eel considerable interest in all the testimony pertaining to the an- 
 cient inhabitants of this land, not because they are any way in the dark 
 upon the history of the past in relation to them, but because additional tes- 
 timony strengthens the evidence in regard to the divine authenticity of the 
 Book of Mormon, in which they have perfect assurance as being a sacred 
 record, containing the covenant for the gathering of Israel, in conformity 
 with the testimony of the prophets. 
 
 "The reverend gentleman commenced his lecture by giving a general de- 
 scription of the mounds and ancient fortifications in Ohio and the western 
 country. He said that it was estimated there were in the state of Ohio, 
 
 *It appears that "the alphabet used, it is thought, is the original Hebrew," and why do the 
 Hebrew scholars who have examined the inscriptions only think so, and why are they not cer- 
 tain about it? Evidently because there is only in part a resemblance between the letters in 
 these inscriptions, and the most ancient Hebrew alphabet of which Hebrew scholars have a 
 perfect knowledge. The facts developed by these discoveries, coincide perfectly with a state- 
 ment of Mormon in Book of Mormon chap. 4, par. 3, who says: "If our plates had been suffi- 
 ciently large we should have written in Hebrew, but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also." 
 Again, the Nephites and Zarahemlaites came out from Jerusalem just before the time of Ezra* 
 therefore the coincidence is but reasonable. 
 
HEBREW RELICS. 159 
 
 alone, ten thousand of them. He gave a very clear and distinct description 
 of the situation and construction of several of them in the neighborhood of 
 Newark, Ohio, from whence the relics he exhibited were obtained. I be- 
 lieve the mounds were from ten to twelve miles apart, where they were 
 found. 
 
 "The first piece he exhibited was a stone head, (or rather a photograph of 
 it), which was cut oif of the neck, close to the ears. On the forehead was 
 written in Hebrew, 'May the Lord have mercy upon an untimely birth/ 
 He gave it as his opinion that the person who had it deposited with his re- 
 mains, had been executed, perhaps decapitated. There was charcoal and 
 burnt bones of animals and men in the debris. The original is in the pos- 
 session of Mr. Tennant, of Newark, Ohio. It was found in a mound three 
 miles from Newark. In the same mound was found a three cornered piece, 
 upon which was carved two human faces and an animal. On the forehead 
 of one of the figures of a human face was a phylacter, in the form of a skull, 
 upon which was carved the letter used to denote the name of the Almighty. 
 On the forehead of the other carved human figure was written in Hebrew, 
 'It is good to love the aged.' On the side of the animal was written in 
 Hebrew something denoting natural depravity. The reverend gentleman 
 said it was the sam* as found in Jeremiah: 'the heart is deceitful,' etc., [Jere- 
 miah 17 : 9.] Mr. Strock, of Newark, owns this. 
 
 "The third piece was in the shape of a wedge. On one side was written 
 in Hebrew : 
 
 "First side. 'The Lord is king of oil the earth.' 
 "Second side. "The sword of the Lord is the law.' 
 "Third side. 'The Holy of Holies: 
 "Fourth side. 'The Jew of life is the Lord awaking souls ' 
 
 "The fourth piece was what he called a Teraphim, a household god, and 
 quoted Judges 17 to prove it. 
 
 "This a stone about eight inches long, three wide, and two thick. There 
 is a depression on one side of about half an inch deep, and in the depression 
 there is cut the figure of a man dressed in priestly robes, and over his head, 
 in the depression, is written the word ''Moses," and in lines on the back and 
 edges is written in Hebrew the ten commandments to Israel written upon the 
 tables oi stone by the finger of the Lord, and given to Moses upon the 
 mount. There is some little difference between it and the version we have of 
 it in the Bible. It is a little more brief. For instance, it says, "Who brought 
 theefrom the land of bondage," and, "vx days shalt thou labor." In our version 
 we have this addition: "and do all thy woik" These are all I can now re- 
 rnember,-but I thought the brevity made them more perfect. 
 
 "This Teraphim was found about two and a half miles from Newark, near 
 the base of a very large mound. This mound is composed of stones, and it 
 is thought that 20,000 wagon loads have been carried away, to build the 
 canal some years since. It was 400 feet at the base and 50 feet high. Near 
 its base a small mound was noticed, which was composed entirely of fire- 
 clay, and some of the men at work in that neighborhood, thought for curi- 
 osity they would dig into it, and see if anything particular was in it. The 
 person dug until he came to a piece of wood, upon which he found some 
 copper beads. He took them away and of course exhibited them. This 
 aroused the curiosity of another party, and some two or three persons went 
 and made further search into the fire-clay, and upon lifting up the wood, it 
 proved to be the lid of a box, lined inside with some kind of coarse cloth, 
 but so entirely rotten that it crumbled at the touch. The box contained a 
 
160 HEBREW EELICS. 
 
 skeleton and what had been a necklace of copper beads, but the string was 
 also rotten. The party removed the wooden box, and began to dig some 
 deeper. They soon struck a stone box of an oblong shape, cemented together 
 in the middle. They shook and found it contained something, as it made a 
 rattle when shaken. They forced it open, and found its contents to be the 
 Teraphim, or image, having these Hebrew inscriptions upon it. If I remem- 
 ber correctly, this was found in the year 1865, the others some year or two 
 before. This Teraphirn is now the property of Mr. David Johnson, of 
 Coshocton, Ohio. The Rev. Miller seems to be a good Hebrew scholar, as 
 he read and criticised the language in the presence of several of the theo- 
 logical professors of the Presbyterian College, Allegheny City. He stated 
 that he had taken them to Cincinnati, and shown them to several learned 
 Rabbis, and they were agreed that the Hebrew characters were of a date be- 
 yond the time of 'Ezra. He described, on a board, the difference of the for- 
 mation of the letters before and and after that period. 
 
 "I will not repeat their theories and conjectures respecting the wanderings 
 -of the Israelites to reach this land, but this he said was his conclusion: 
 
 "First, That some of the tribes or parts of tribes of Israel had once inhabit- 
 ed this land. 
 
 "Second. That they were the mound builders ; but whether the modern 
 Indians are their descendants, or whether they had destroyed the Israelites, 
 he could not say ; but if the Indians are not the descendants of the mound 
 builders, but had extirpated them, then the question remains, where did 
 these Indians come from? Who are they ? 
 
 "My own conclusion respecting these things is that of every Latter Day 
 Saint. The relics were hid up, in the providence of God, as collateral testi- 
 mony of the latter day work, and especially of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 JOSIAH ELLS." 
 
 PITTSBUKG, Pa., August 12, i860. 
 
 Now, from these relics we learn just what was claimed by the 
 Book of Mormon over thirty years before their discovery, (1) that 
 the ancient inhabitants of America possessed a knowledge of, and 
 wrote upon enduring substances, a modified form of the Hebrew 
 language; (2) that they possessed the writings of Moses and the 
 prophets up to the times of Jeremiah, including the first part of 
 his writings to chap. 17, verse 9, "The heart is deceitful," etc. 
 For of these records it is said by Nephi: 
 
 "My father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates 
 of brass, and he did search them from the beginning. And he beheld that 
 they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the cre- 
 ation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents ; 
 and also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the com- 
 mencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; and also the prophe- 
 cies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commence- 
 ment of the reign of Zedekiah ; and also many prophecies which have been 
 spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah" 1 Nephi 1 :46. 
 
 We find (3) that these sacred writings were hidden up in "a 
 stone box," as were the plates of the Book of Mormon. Here, 
 then, is a chain of evidence in support of the claims of the Book 
 
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 161 
 
 of Mormon that is as strong as it is strange, and one that can not 
 fail to fasten conviction upon the mind of the unprejudiced en- 
 quirer, while it joyfully confirms the faith of the believer. But 
 we have not done with this language question. In our quotation 
 from 1 Nephi, 1:1, we see that the ancient Hebrews on this con- 
 tinent were not only skilled in writing Hebrew, but also in "the 
 language of the Egyptians." It is stated in Mosiah 1:1, that Le- 
 hi had been "taught in the language of the Egyptians," and that 
 he taught the same to his children; and in Book of Mormon 4: 8, 
 Moroni informs us that he wrote the entire record from which the 
 Book of Mormon was translated, "in the characters which are 
 called among us the reformed Egyptian." Now when we find by 
 testimony outside of the Book of Mormon, that the ancient in- 
 habitants of America possessed a knowledge of Egyptian hiero- 
 glyphics, and sculpturing, and architecture, we have another strong 
 evidence of the divinity of that book. This evidence we have 
 presented, in part, on pages 153 to 158, and we now give more. 
 Mr. Delafield says, in his Antiquities of America, page 41: 
 
 "Still further and more important evidence, however, renders the point 
 conclusive that southern Asia was the birth-place of this [Ancient American] 
 people, as we detect among them actual traditions of the flood, the building 
 of Babel, and the death of Abel." 
 
 Again: 
 
 "One of the most interesting sources of comparison between Mexico, Peru, 
 and Egypt, is to be found in an investigation of their hieroglyphic system. Each 
 of these countries had a peculiar method of recording events by means of 
 hieroglyphic signs, sculpturing them on monuments and buildings, and por- 
 traying them on papyrus and maguey." p. 42. 
 
 Further: 
 
 "Baron Humboldt considers the Mexican paintings as rather correspond- 
 ing with the hieratic than the hieroglyphic writings of the Egyptians, as 
 found on the rolls of papyrus in the swathings of the mummies, and which 
 may be considered paintings of a mixed kind, because they unite symboli- 
 cal and isolated characters with the representation of an action. It is the 
 opinion of the author that further investigations and discoveries in deciper- 
 ing Mexican hieroglyphic paintings will exhibit a close analogy to the 
 Egyptian in the use of two scriptural systems ; the one for monumental 
 inscription, the other for the ordinary purposes of record and transmission 
 of information. We find the three species of hieroglyphics common to Mexico 
 and Egypt." p. 46. 
 
 On page 65, Mr. Delafield reviews: 
 
 'The analogical evidence of an identity of the family of Mexico and Peru 
 with that of Hindostan or Egypt, to simplify which we name the several 
 coincidences, which have been specified in their proper order : 
 11 
 
162 HIEROGLYPHIC WEITING. 
 
 "I. PHILOLOGICAL. The various analogies in language. 
 
 "II. ANATOMICAL. The peculiar craniological formation common to those 
 countries, as asserted by Dr. Warren. 
 
 "III. MYTHOLOGICAL. The existence of two peculiar modes of worship, 
 [that of Nephites and Lamanites ?] addressed to two deities ; one sanguinary, 
 the other peaceful. * * 
 
 "IV. HIEROGLYPHIC. The use of three peculiar systems of hieroglyphic 
 writing of the Egyptians. 
 
 "V. ASTRONOMICAL. 1. Identity in the division of the year, month, and 
 week ; and the calculations thereof. 2. Identity in the use of intercalary days. 
 3. Identity in zodiacal signs. 
 
 "VI. ARCHITECTURAL. 1. Identity in sepulchral tumuli [mounds for bur- 
 ial]. 2. Identity in pyramidal temples. 3. In the uses of these temples. 4. 
 In the mechanical power which enabled them to move masses that no other 
 races have ever accomplished. 5. Their use of hieroglyphic sculpture on all 
 their sacred buildings. 6. Similarity in zodiacal and planispheric carvings. 
 7. Identity in sepulchral ornaments. 
 
 "VII. Identity in practice of embalming and preservation of the royal 
 corpses." 
 
 The Ancient Nephites and Zaraheralaites were, no doubt, not only 
 acquainted with the language, but also with much about the habits, 
 customs, arts, and sciences peculiar to Egypt; for the Israelites, in all 
 their history from Abraham to King Zedekiah, and afterwards, had 
 direct and intimate intercourse with the Egyptians. Therefore it is 
 not strange that we find in Mexico and Peru, as stated by Mr. 
 Delafield, these evidences of Egyptian art and manners, especially 
 that of hieroglyphic writing. In conclusion upon this point we 
 have only to say that the claim of the Book of Mormon that the 
 ancient inhabitants of America were skilled in Egyptian language, 
 is now fully vindicated. And here we have another unanswerable 
 proof of the truth of that book. 
 
 Further proof of the Book of Mormon is seen in its statements 
 that highly civilized and cultivated peoples lived anciently in the 
 northern part of South America, Central America, and in the south- 
 ern part of North America, where they builded very large and 
 splendid cities, especially in Central America, and near "the nar- 
 row neck of land" (Isthmus of Panama), making these statements 
 when little or nothing was known to the generality of mankind in 
 respect to the last named region. Since the coming forth of the 
 book, the discoveries of Stephens and Catherwood, and others, 
 have disclosed the fact that in the very regions where the Book of 
 Mormon locates them, there were many magnificient cities built up 
 by the ancients. Up to the time of the discoveries by Stephens 
 and Catherwood, in 1839-1843, that region known as Central 
 America was not supposed to contain any interesting antiquites, 
 though something had been learned in regard to the antiquities of 
 
THE CROSS. 163 
 
 Peru, and of Mexico. It remained for these gentlemen to bring 
 to light rich treasures of information in respect to the ancient civi- 
 lizations of that region, and to disclose to the world the fact that 
 there had been the theatre of the grandest industries, and the site 
 of some of the most cultivated, opulent, and enlightened nations of 
 all antiquity. For ten or twelve years the Book of Mormon had 
 been quietly proclaiming these facts when its statements were fully 
 confirmed by these timely discoveries. 
 
 Who is there so blind as not to see the overruling hand of God 
 in these things! Such coincidences are not the result of chance. 
 They exhibit too clearly the work of an All-wise Mind, to be so 
 considered. Mr. Stephens, in his " Central America, Chiapas, and 
 Yucatan" vol. 1, p. 98, says: 
 
 "Of the great cities beyond the vale of Mexico, buried in forests, rained, 
 desolate, and without a name, Humboldt never heard, or, at least, he never 
 visited them. It is but lately [Mr. Stephens writes in 1841] that accounts of 
 their existence reached Europe and our own country. These accounts, how- 
 ever vague and unsatisfactory, had roused our cunsoity ; though I ought 
 perhaps to say that both Mr. C. and I were somewhat skeptical, and when 
 we arrived at" Copan, it was with the hope, rather than the expectation, of 
 finding wonders." 
 
 But it was not long before their labors were rewarded in dis- 
 covering the ruins of many ancient cities, which have been visited 
 since by many other antiquarians. 
 
 THE CROSS. 
 
 Another evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon is seen in the 
 fact that it teaches, in Alma 16: 26, and in Ether 1:11, and else- 
 where, that the ancient inhabitants of America knew concerning 
 the crucifixion of Christ, both by revelation and by history, and 
 were therefore acquainted with the cross as a religious symbol ; 
 and in the further fact that the antiquities of America disclose 
 that the cross was so used by the ancients. Baldwin, in "Ancient 
 America" mentions this fact on pages 109, 110, and 293. Stephens 
 does also, in his "Central America" vol. 2, p. 347, and elsewhere. 
 The testimony of the Book of Mormon, and of the antiquities of 
 America, are one upon this point ; the latter and the latest con- 
 firming the former. 
 
 IPOLATORS. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that many of the ancient inhabitants 
 of America became idolators (book of Mormon 2:3), and the dis- 
 coveries of American antiquarians fully confirm this. 
 
164 CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 GOLD, SILVER, &C. 
 
 It also states that America abounds with gold, silver, and many 
 other precious metals; and discoveries since 1849 give special con- 
 firmation to this claim. And here we may remark that America, the 
 Book of Mormon claims, is the special heritage of Joseph and his 
 posterity, as provided for in the prophetic blessing of Jacob (Gen. 
 49: 22-26, with Gen. 48: 16-19), and the prophet blessing of Moses 
 also (Deut, 33: 13-17). Moses says of Joseph; 
 
 "Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven [the 
 revealed will of God], and for the dew [its universal distribution], and for 
 the deep that coucheth beneath [springs, rivers, lakes, seas, and their pro- 
 ducts], and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun [by the action of 
 its light in the vegetable kingdom], and for the precious things put forth by 
 the moon [in the action of its light upon the vegetable kingdom and in re- 
 spect to the tides], and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and 
 for the precious things of the lasting hills [their various metals, minerals, 
 etc.], and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof [embrac- 
 ing the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms of the earth, in their 'ful- 
 ness'], and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush [the Lord 
 .see Acts 7:30-34]." 
 
 Joseph's portion in Palestine could never fill this description, 
 but the land of America, and that alone, does. The "precious 
 things of the ancient mountains" used in building and beautifying 
 the temple of Solomon did not come from Joseph's portion in 
 Judea, yet they undoubtedly would had they been there. 
 Joseph's portion in Palestine was not the "land" alluded to for an- 
 other reason, it did not lie in the right place ; for Jacob said it 
 should be "unto the utmost [the outermost, the farthest, the ex- 
 treme] bound of the everlasting hills" (Gen. 49: 26). To go from 
 Goshen, in Egypt, where Jacob was when utttering this prophecy, 
 to "the utmost bound of the everlasting hills," would bring us to 
 the mountain ranges of America, to the land claimed for Joseph by 
 the book of Mormon. And that America is the special portion of 
 Joseph may be gathered from the prophetic blessing put by Jacob 
 upon the seed of Joseph, as follows: 
 
 "And, he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers, Abra- 
 ham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this 
 day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let my 
 name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; 
 and let them [Ephraim and Manasseh] grow into a multitude in the midst 
 of the earth." 
 
 "The midst of the earth" geographically considered, measuring 
 from where Jacob pronounced this blessing, would be the land of 
 America, precisely. Nor is this all; Jacob predicts in verse 19, 
 
CRUCIFIXION. 165 
 
 that Ephraim's "seed shall become a multitude of nations." In 
 America we find "a multitude of nations"* of one common stock, 
 whose traditions, religious rites and customs, language and lan- 
 guage relics, clearly demonstrate their Israelitish origin; and we 
 find them in the very place marked in prophecy as the land of Jo- 
 seph and his seed. Here is another strong proof of the truth of 
 the Book of Mormon. Its claims in this respect are well sustained 
 by the facts of both prophecy and history. 
 
 CRUCIFIXION CITIES SUNK. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that at the crucifixion of Christ the 
 face of the land in Central America, and around it, was broken up 
 by earthquakes, and that many cities were sunk. Book of Nephi 
 4: 2-6. Evidences of such a catastrophe have been of late discov- 
 ered. Baldwin, in "Ancient America" pages 274 and 275, says 
 that James S. Wilson, Esq., in 1860, "discovered on the coast of 
 Ecuador, ancient or fossil pottery vessels, images, and other man- 
 ufactured articles, all finely wrought. Some of these articles were 
 made of gold. The most remarkable fact connected with them is 
 that they were taken from 'a stratum of ancient surface-earth, 
 which was covered with a marine deposit six feet thick. 
 The ancient surface-earth or vegetable mould, with its pottery, 
 gold-work, and other relics of civilized human life, was, therefore, 
 below the sea when that marine deposit was spread over it. This 
 land, after being occupied by men, had subsided and settled below 
 the ocean, remained there long enough to accumulate the marine 
 deposit, and again be elevated to its former position above the lev- 
 el of the sea." Of these discoveries, Sir Roderick Murchison, at a 
 meeting of the Royal Geological Society, in 1862, says: 
 
 "The discoveries which Mr. Wilson has made of the existence of the 
 works of man in a stratum of mould beneath the sea level, and covered by 
 several feet of clay, the phenomenon being persistent for sixty miles, are of 
 the highest interest to physical geographers and geologists. The facts seem 
 to demons' rate that, within the human period, the lands of the west coast of 
 Equatorial America were depressed and submerged, and that, after the accu- 
 
 * The Book of Mormon states that Lehi was of Manasseh, and some argue thence that "the 
 multitude of nations" found in America can not be in any sense of Ephraim. We would re- 
 mind such reasoners that the seed of Ishmael and his sons, and of Zorarn, who accompanied 
 Lehi, and the seed of those who accompanied Mulek, who finally became blended with the Ne- 
 phites and Lamanites, may all have been of the lineage of Ephraim. This is neither impossi- 
 ble nor improbable. This, if true, would give large preponderance to Ephraim. Besides this 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, together, were sometimes called Ephraim. Hosea 5: 3, 13; 6: 4, 10; 
 Isaiah 7: 8, etc., etc. And this is not strange when we remember that Jacob "set Ephraim be- 
 fore Manasseh." Gen. 48: 20. 
 
166 HORSE, ELEPHANT. 
 
 mulation of marine clays above the terrestrial relics, the whole coast was 
 elevated to its present position." 
 
 Now we submit, that, when these lands were "depressed and 
 submerged" it was done, not gradually, but suddenly, as the pres- 
 ence of these valuable relics attests. Had they been depressed 
 gradually, through a lapse of years, or months, or even weeks, 
 these valuables would have been removed to places of safety. 
 But the presence, under this marine deposit, of "fossil pottery, ves- 
 sels, images," "all finely wrought" and "some of the articles made 
 of gold," demonstrates that the catastrophe by which they were 
 sunken and overwhelmed, was as sudden as that which buried 
 Herculaneum and Pompeii. 
 
 The Book of Mormon, we see, tells us of the sudden depression 
 and submergence of lands, towns, and cities, in these very regions, 
 and now travelers and antiquarians, after the coming forth of that 
 book, and near 2000 years after the marvellous event occurred, 
 find abundant evidence to confirm the statement. Hence, in this, 
 we find another remarkable proof of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 HORSE, CAMEL, ELEPHANT, ETC. 
 
 The Book of Mormon states that there were horses on this con- 
 tinent more than 3,800 years ago. Ether 4: 3. Now it was com- 
 monly thought at the time when the Book of Mormon was first 
 given to the world, that there were no horses in America till they 
 were brought by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. But re- 
 cent discoveries of the fossil remains of the horse, in many places 
 in America, go to confirm the statements of the Book of Mormon. 
 Prof. Winchell, in his "Sketches of Creation" page 210, says: 
 
 "It is a curious fact that so many generi, now extinct from the Continent, 
 but living in other quarters of the globe, were once abundant on the plains 
 of North America. Various species of the horse have dwelt here for ages, 
 and the question reasonably arises whether the wild horses of the Pampas 
 may not have been indigenous. Here, too, the camel found a suitable 
 home." 
 
 Recently discoveries have been made of the fossil remains of 
 the horse and some of the other animals mentioned in the Book of 
 Mormon. A correspondent of the Eugene City (Oregon) Guard 
 gives the following occount of a visit made June, 1877, by him- 
 self and another person to the so-called fossil beds of Lake county, 
 that State: 
 
 * * * "We found fossil bones of the elephant, camel, horse, and elk, or 
 reindeer, the horse being much more abundant than either of the others, 
 but all being so clearly marked as to leave no doubt of their identity. 
 There were other bones, apparently of large animals, but your correspond- 
 
BABYLON DIVISION. 167 
 
 ent was unable to name the animal they once belonged to. Among the fos- 
 sils found, the smaller quadrupeds had a representation ; bones answering 
 to the fox and wolf were found ; also others answering to the sheep or goat 
 in size and appearance." 
 
 This affords'good proof, from the fact that the book stated what 
 was contrary to the then common belief, and subsequent discov- 
 eries confirm that apparently false statement. 
 
 DOWNFALL OF BABYLON. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts the rapid downfall of "the great 
 and abominable church" after the coming forth of that book: 
 
 "And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out 
 upon the great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and 
 rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth, and as 
 there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which be- 
 longed to the mother oi abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying, Be- 
 hold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thouseest 
 all these things; and when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured 
 out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church 
 of all the earth, whose foundation is the devil, then, at that day, the work 
 of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his 
 covenants, which he hath made to his people, who are of the house of Isra- 
 el." 1 Nephi 3:51. 
 
 "And after our seed is scattered, the Lord God will proceed to do a mar- 
 velous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our 
 seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles, 
 and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders. And it shall also 
 be of worth unto the Gentiles : and not only unto the Gentiles, but unto 
 all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Fath- 
 er of heaven unto Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of 
 the earth be blessed. And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that 
 all the kindreds of the earth can not be blessed, unless he shall make bare 
 his arm in the eyes of the nations. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed 
 to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his 
 covenants and his gospel, unto those who are of the house of Israel. 
 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be 
 gathered together to the lands of their inheritance : and they shall be 
 brought out of obscurity, and out of darkness: and they shall know that the 
 Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the mighty one of Israel. And 
 the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all 
 the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among them- 
 selves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, 
 and they shall be drunken with their own blood. And every nation which 
 shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against 
 another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the 
 people of the Lord." 1 Nephi 7:2. 
 
 That this is particularly true of the Papacy, one chief division 
 of the great and abominable church, all may know who seek to 
 inform themselves. The shock it received by the "Young Italy" 
 
168 LATTER DAY INIQUITY. 
 
 party under Mazzini and others in 1831, and afterward; the damag- 
 ing blows it sustained in 1848-9, at the hands of the Provisional 
 Government and the Roman National Assembly; the wounds it 
 received in 1864 by means of the Pope's Encyclial letter; and the 
 rapid decline of that form of religion in all its former strong-holds 
 (except the United States, where its extreme and rigorous doc- 
 trines and administrations are found greatly modified) since the 
 king of Italy, in August, 1870, wrenched from the hand of the 
 Pope the sceptre of civil power, has left that church broken, 
 divided, and tottering to its final fall. And there is not, prob- 
 ably, one Catholic nation that has not been engaged in war since 
 1830. In these things the predictions of the book prove true. 
 
 GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts, 1 Nephi 7:2; 2 Nephi 5:5; 11: 
 3; 12: 13; Nephi 2: 12; 10: 1; Mormon 1: 9; 2: 6, etc., etc., that 
 soon after the coming forth of that book the Lord will begin to 
 prepare the way for the speedy restoration and gathering of Israel 
 including the Jews. The interest taken by England, France, 
 and America in the civilization and enlightenment, of the aborig- 
 ines of America and of the adjacent islands, the restored state of 
 the land of Judea, and the highly improved and favored condition 
 of the Jews, go very far to confirm the truth of these remarkable 
 predictions. 
 
 DIVISION LOOSENING BANDS. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts that soon after its coming forth 
 "the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people; and 
 the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even 
 if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire." 2 Nephi 12: 
 14. And now we see division everywhere, in all departments of 
 society, especially in matters of religion, politics and civil govern- 
 ment, and between labor and capital. 
 
 PREDICTIONS. 
 
 The Book of Mormon predicts with clearness the corrupt state 
 of the world as it is to-day, and the means by which it is caused: 
 
 "And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief, 
 shall be smitten by the hand <-f the Gentiles. And the Gentiles are lifted 
 up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness 
 of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; neverthe- 
 less they put down the power and the miracles of God, and preach up unto 
 themselves their own wisdom, and their own learning, that they may get 
 gain, and grind upon the face of the poor; and there are many churches built 
 up which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice; and there are also secret 
 
LATTER DAY INIQUITY. 169 
 
 combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the 
 devil, for he is the foundation of all these things; yea, the foundation of 
 murder and works of darkness, yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with 
 a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever. For be- 
 hold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Lord God worketh not 
 in darkness. He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; 
 for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may 
 draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall 
 not partake of his salvation. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying, Depart 
 from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay ; but hesaith, Come unto me all ye 
 ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. 
 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the syna- 
 gogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. 
 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? 
 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he 
 hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repent- 
 ance. Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake 
 of his goodness? Behold, I say unto you, Nay ; but all men are privileged 
 the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden. He commandeth that 
 there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are men that preach 
 and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain, 
 and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion. Behold, 
 the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a 
 commandment, that all men should have charity, which charity is love. 
 And except they should have charity, they were nothing: wherefore, if 
 they should have charity, they would 'not suffer the laborer in Zion to per- 
 ish. But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion ; for if they labor for 
 money, they shall perish. And, again, the Lori God hath commanded that 
 men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not 
 steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain ; 
 that they should not envy ; that they should not have malice; that they 
 should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whore- 
 doms ; and that they should do none of these things ; for whoso doeth them 
 shall perish ; for none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth 
 that which is good among the children of men ; and he doeth nothing save 
 it be plain unto the children of men ; and he inviteth them all to come 
 unto him, and partake of his goodness; and hedenieth none that come unto 
 him, black and white, bond and free, male and female ; and he remember- 
 eth the heathen, and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. But 
 behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles; yea, behold all the 
 nations of the Gentiles, and also the Jews, both those who shall come upon 
 this land, and those who shall be upon other lands ; yea, even upon all the 
 lands of the earth ; behold they will be drunken with iniquity and all man- 
 ner of abominations : and when that day shall come, they shall he visited 
 of the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great 
 noise, and with storm and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring 
 fire; and all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall 
 be as a dream of a night vision ; yea, it shall be unto them even as unto a 
 hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth, but he awaketh and 
 his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold 
 he drinketh, but he awaketh, and behold he is faint, and his soul hath 
 appetite : yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight 
 against mount Zion: for behold, all ye that do iniquity, stay yourselves and 
 
1 70 SIGNS INIQUITIES. 
 
 wonder; for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken, but not 
 with wine; ye shall stagger, but not not with strong drink; for behold, the 
 Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye 
 have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets, and your rulers, 
 and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity." 2 Nephi 11:14, 
 15, 16. 
 
 "And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you according as the 
 Spirit hath constrained me ; wherefore I know that they must surely come 
 to pass. And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of 
 great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which 
 is a remnant of the house of Israel. For it shall come to pass in that day, 
 that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one 
 shall say unto the other, Behold, I, I am the Lord's; and the other shall 
 say, I, I am the Lord's. And thus shall every one say, that hath built up 
 churches, and not unto the Lord ; and they shall contend one with another ; 
 and their priests shall contend one with another; and they shall teach with 
 their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. And 
 they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the 
 people, Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold, there is no 
 God to-day, for the Lord and Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath 
 given his power unto men. Behold, hearken ye unto my precept: if they 
 shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; 
 for this day he is not a God of miracles ; he hath done his work. Yea, and 
 there shall be many which shall say, Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-mor- 
 row we die, and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many 
 which shall say, Eat, drink and be merry; nevertheless, fear God, he will 
 justify in committing a little sin: yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one 
 because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor ; there is no harm in this. 
 And do all these things, for to-morrow we die; and if it so be that- we are 
 guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in 
 the kingdom of God. Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after 
 this manner, false, and vain, and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up 
 in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord ; 
 and their works shall be in the dark ; and the blood of the saints shall cry 
 from the ground against them. Yea, they have all gone out of the way ; 
 they have become corrupted. Because of pride, and because of false teach- 
 ers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted ; and their 
 churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up. They rob the 
 poor because of their fine sanctuaries ; they rob the poor because of 
 their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek, and the poor in 
 heart, because in their pride they are puffed up. They wear stiff necks 
 and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abom- 
 inations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray, save it be a few, 
 who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in 
 many instances they do err, because they are taught by the precepts of 
 men. 
 
 "O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride 
 of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrine, and all those who 
 commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord; wo, wo, wo, be 
 unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to 
 hell. 
 
 "Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of nought, and revile 
 against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth : for the day shall 
 
BOOK OF MORMON PROEPHCIES. l7l 
 
 come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth ; 
 and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish. But 
 behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and 
 abominations, they shall not be destoyed, saith the Lord of hosts. But be- 
 hold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must 
 tumble to the earth ; and great must be the fall thereof; for the kingdom of 
 the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up 
 unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, 
 and they be stirred up to anger and perish ; for behold, at that day shall he 
 rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against 
 that which is good; and others will he pacify, and lull them away into car- 
 nal security, that they will say, All is well in Zion ; yea, Zion prospereth, 
 all is well; and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away 
 carefully down to hell. And behold, others he flattereth awav, and telleth 
 them there is no hell; and he saith unto them, I am no devil, for there is 
 none : and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his 
 awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. Yea, they are grasped 
 with death and hell ; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have 
 been seized therewith, must stand before the throne of God and be judged 
 according to their works, from whence they must go into a place prepared 
 for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. 
 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion. Wo be unto him that 
 crieth, All is well; yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts 
 of men, and denieth the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 Yea, wo be unto him that saith, We have received, and we need no more. 
 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the 
 truth of God. For behold, he that is built up *n the rock, receiveth it with 
 gladness: and he that is built upon a sandy foundation, trembleth, lest he 
 shall fall. 
 
 "Wo be unto him that shall say, We have received the word of God, and 
 we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough. For behold, 
 thus saith the Lord God : I will give unto the children of men line upon 
 line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little: and blessed are 
 those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for 
 they shall learn wisdom ; for unto him that receiveth, I will give more : and 
 from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away 
 even that which they have. Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or 
 maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their 
 precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 "Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God" of hosts ; for notwithstand- 
 ing I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will de- 
 ny me ; nevertheless I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if 
 they will repent and come unto me ; for mine arm is lengthened out all the 
 day long, saith the Lord God of hosts. 
 
 "But behold, there shall be many at that day, when I shall proceed to do 
 a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which 
 I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the 
 second time to recover my people, which are of the'house of Israel ; and also, 
 that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, 
 and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed ; and that the 
 words of your seed should proceed out of my mouth unto your seed. And 
 my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my 
 people which are of the house of Israel. And because mv words shall hiss 
 
172 SECRET COMBINATIONS. 
 
 forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, A bible, a bible, we have got a bible, 
 and there can not be any more bible. But thus saith the Lord God : fools, 
 they shall have a bible ; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine an- 
 cient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the bible which 
 they receive from them ? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean ? Do they re- 
 member the travels, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their dili- 
 gence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles? 
 
 "O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant peo- 
 ple? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not 
 sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon 
 your own heads ; for I, the Lord, hath not forgotten my people. Thou fool, 
 that shall say, A bible, we have got a bible, and we need no more bible. 
 Have ye obtained a bible save it were by the Jews? Know ye not that 
 there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, 
 have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of 
 the sea ; and that I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath ; and 
 I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the na- 
 tions of the earth ? Wherefore mu nr;r ye because that ye receive more of 
 my word ? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness un- 
 to you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Where- 
 fore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And 
 when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of the two nations 
 shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many that I 
 am the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and that I speak forth my 
 words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one 
 word, ye need not suppose that I can not speak another; for my work is not 
 yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man ; neither from that 
 time henceforth and forever. 
 
 "Wherefore, because that ye have a bible, ye need not suppose that it con- 
 tains 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 ; for out of the books which 
 shall be written, I will judge the world, every man according to their works, 
 according to that which is written. For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, 
 and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they 
 shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house 
 of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it ; and I shall 
 also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it." 2 Nephi 
 12:1-8. 
 
 " Hearken, O, ye Gentiles, and hear the word? of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concern- 
 ing you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying, Turn, all 
 ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways, and repent of your evil doings, of your 
 lyings and deceivi'ngs, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abomina- 
 tions, and your idolatries, and'of your murders, and of yonr priestcrafts, and 
 your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abomina- 
 tions, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive 
 a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be 
 numbered with" my people, who are of the house of "Israel." Nephi 14 :"l. 
 
 " And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should 
 suffer to bring these things forth. And no one need say that they shall not 
 come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it ; for out of the earth 
 
LATTER DAY APOSTACY. It 3 
 
 shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it ; and it shall 
 come in a day when it shall he said that miracles are done away ; and it 
 shall come even as if one should speak from the dead. 
 
 " And it shall come in a day when the blood of the Saints shall cry unto the 
 Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness ; yea, it shall 
 come in a day when the power of God shall be denied and churches become 
 defiled, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts ; yea, even in a 
 day when leaders of churches, and teachers, in the pride of their hearts, 
 even to the envying of them who belong to their churches ; yea, it shall come 
 in a day when 'there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of 
 smoke in foreign lands ; and there shall also be heard of wars and rumors of 
 wars, and earthquakes in divers places ; yea it shall come in a day when there 
 shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth ; there shall be murders 
 and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of 
 abominations, when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, 
 and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo 
 unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity. 
 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall 
 say, Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins. 
 
 ye wicked, and perverse, and stiff-necked people, why have you built up 
 churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy 
 word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, 
 look ye unto the revelations of God. For behold, the time cometh at that 
 day when all these things inust be fulfilled. 
 
 " Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things con- 
 cerning that which must shortly come at that day when these thing shall 
 come forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if you were present, 
 and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and 
 
 1 know your doing ; and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts ; 
 and there are none, save a few only, who do not lift themselves up in the 
 pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, 
 and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities ; and 
 your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the 
 the pride of your hearts. For I ehold, ye do love money, and your sub- 
 stances, and your fine apparel, and the adoVning of your churches, more than 
 ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. ye pollutions, 
 ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, 
 why have ye polluted the holy church of God ? Why are ye ashamed to 
 to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do you not think that greater 
 is the value of an endless happiness, than that misery which never dies, be- 
 cause of the praise of the world. Why do ye adorn yourselves with that 
 which hath no life, and yet sulier the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, 
 and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not? Yea, 
 why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that 
 widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before 
 the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto 
 the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads? Behold, the 
 sword of vengeance hangeth over you ; and the time soon cometh that he 
 avengeth the blood of the Saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries 
 any longer." Mormon 4 : 2-&. 
 
 These predictions clearly portray (1) the condition of the world 
 for the past fifty years, and (2) point clearly to the terrible apos- 
 
174 SOLOMON SPAULDING. 
 
 tasy in the church of the Saints, and (3) to the important fact that 
 said apostasy would be caused by the ministry, of whom it says, 
 "O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves 
 for that which will canker, why have you polluted the holy church 
 of God." "Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to 
 to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, 
 and also orphans to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of 
 their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the 
 ground for vengeance upon your heads. Behold, the sword of 
 vengeance hangeth over you," etc. These prophecies are plain, 
 and full; and they are having most precise and literal fulfillment. 
 Surely, these prophecies were inspired of God, for no man, learned 
 or unlearned, could have conjectured so many strange and unlikely 
 events events so contrary to what was fondly expected in the 
 times at anH before the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The 
 moral doctrines of the book are fully equal to any ever given to 
 man. No purer system can be produced. It embraces all the 
 moral excellencies of the New Testament, and is quite free from 
 teachings of such questionable morality as are found in 1 Cor. 7th 
 chapter; Rom. 7: 17, 25; 3: 7; 1 Cor. 6: 12, etc., etc., found in the 
 common version. 
 
 Its theology is strictly Biblical, and Christian; its religious 
 rites and ceremonies are identical with those of the New Testa- 
 ment, as also its church polity and organization, though they are 
 more clearly defined, and promulgated, and enjoined with greater 
 emphasis. 
 
 Its style is plain, and ancient; its language is simple, compre- 
 hensive, and utterly free from cultured finish, scholarly taste, or 
 learned structure and order. 
 
 SOLOMON SPAULDING. 
 
 That any one of judgment, on reading the book, could for one 
 moment think that Rev. Mr. Spaulding, commonly reputed to be a 
 man of poetic nature, romantic tastes, and high scholastic attain- 
 ments, ever wrote the book, or even one page of it, is more than 
 we can believe. Had he, or any man of finished education written 
 the book, their scholarly attainments would have been manifest in 
 the style, language, and arrangement of the book. 
 
 Further ; if Mr. Spaulding, a Congregational (or Presbyterian) 
 minister wrote the book, he would have filled it with his doctrine 
 instead of advocating in it such doctrines as are found in the book, 
 many of which are in no sense Congregational, but rather un-Con- 
 gregational. Every chapter, and every paragraph in the book, 
 
JOSEPH A GENTILE. 175 
 
 utterly refutes the idea that a cultivated minister, Protestant or 
 Catholic, ever wrote a page of it. Such an idea is too palpably 
 false to need a lengthy refutation. And as for the inexperienced 
 and uneducated youth, Joseph Smith's writing, or dictating it, as 
 is rather claimed by Mr. Sheldon, none but those possessed of pre- 
 judice and a partisan spirit, or those wanting fair common sense, 
 could endorse such an idea. That Joseph Smith, without the in- 
 spiration of God, could write that book, abounding as it does in the 
 most accurate items of history, declaring improbable historical 
 facts, facts which have since been fully attested by the antiquarian 
 and the geologist; disseminating a system of morals and religion 
 that challenges the criticism, and that is worthy of the admiration 
 of the race and publishing a series of prophecies the most impor- 
 tant and startling, many of which are being fulfilled under our 
 own observation that he could do such a work, under such con- 
 ditions, it would be far more difficult to believe, than to believe 
 what he claims, viz., the guidance and inspiration of God. 
 
 Whoever will read the "Manuscript Story" written by Rev. 
 Spaulding, will perceive that he had neither the religion, the 
 morals, the information, nor the intellectual ability, to write the 
 Book of Mormon, nor anything to compare with it. It may be 
 obtained at the Herald Office, Lamoni, Iowa, for fifteen cents. 
 
 JOSEPH A GENTILE. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon avers that "the Book of Mormon makes the finder 
 and translator of that book a Gentile." This is another of that 
 large class of false assumptions we have had to deal with all the 
 way through this work. That "the finder and translator" of the 
 Book of Mormon and the founder and organizer of this latter 
 day dispensation was a citizen of a Gentile nation, and in that 
 sense was a Gentile, we freely admit; but that he was of Gentile 
 lineage, the thing claimed by Mr. Sheldon, we deny. Paul was a 
 Roman citizen (Acts 22: 27), and yet a Jew by lineage, (v. 3). The 
 "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites," of Acts 2: 9, were by line- 
 age Jews, no doubt, and only citizens of those nations, (v. 5). So 
 Joseph Smith was a Gentile in his citizenship, though an Israelite 
 by lineage, as is claimed by the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:2, 3 r 
 and provided for in Rom. 11: 23-27; Jer. 16: 16-19; 31: 7, 8, 
 9, 10; Ps. 80: 1, 2; Deut. 33: 17, with Rom. 3: 1, 2; and 9: 4, etc. 
 
 MIRACLE-WORKING CHURCH. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon says: 
 
 "It is insisted that the true church is a miracle-working church and that 
 
176 CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 
 
 such are the people called Mormons. Both the Josephites and the Brigham- 
 ites use this argument to outsiders . " 
 
 Whilst it is insisted by the "Josephites" that the Church of 
 Christ should enjoy miraculous powers and blessings, it is also 
 true that the Utah Mormons, in Utah are not only barren of these 
 divine favors, but that some there in Utah have taught that they 
 are no longer needed, they having "the living oracles" to edify 
 and perfect them. It is unquestionably true that ministers be- 
 belonging to the Utah organization, who received their priesthood 
 in a regular line from Joseph and Oliver, did, so long as they faith- 
 fully preached the gospel and ministered in righteousness, possess 
 and enjoy the Spirit of God, and at times in great power, and 
 very notably before the doctrines of polygamy, Adam-God, 
 corrupt tithing, etc., etc., were thrust upon and forced into the 
 church. 
 
 PATTERN OF ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, in order to throw discredit upon the claim of the 
 Saints that the same kind of church organization is needed now 
 in the perfect Church of Christ as was had in the times of the 
 
 Apostles, says: 
 
 "In the true church order, God has set apostles, it is true, but simply as 
 material for the foundation, and not as rafters to the building." 
 
 Very well; but is it not essential that the church should always 
 have the same kind of a foundation? And when one part of the 
 foundation of the church is removed by death or apostasy, is it 
 not essential that the want created by such removal should be sup- 
 plied? If not, why was Matthias, the thirteenth apostle in num- 
 ber, chosen to fill the place of Judas? and why were the "apostles, 
 Barnabas and Paul," (Acts 14: 14), chosen of the Holy Ghost, and 
 ordained by the ministry? (Acts 13: 1-4), and why did the church 
 at Ephesus, ninety-six years after Christ, willingly consent to try 
 them who said they were apostles? (Rev. 2:2). Paul, in speaking 
 of the church, says Christ "gave some, apostles; and some, proph- 
 ets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers," (Eph. 
 4: 11), and many of these, and other officers, he gave to the 
 church after he ascended up on high, to fully organize his church 
 for its gospel work. Now there is just as much authority for dis- 
 carding the evangelists, and pastors and teachers, as for discarding 
 the others. Paul says the officers, all of them, were given for the 
 "perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the ed- 
 ifying [building up] of the body of Christ." Eph. 4: 12. And 
 
BODY OF CHRIST. 177 
 
 lie tells us how long the Lord intended them to continue in his 
 church: 
 
 "Till we all come in [into] the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
 of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of 
 the fulness of Christ." Eph. 4 : 13. 
 
 And he tells us why these officers were given : 
 
 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried 
 about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti- 
 ness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Eph. 4: 14. 
 
 No one questions but that evangelists, pastors, and teachers, 
 should now be in the church, yet there is more reason for setting 
 them aside as unnecessary, than for setting aside apostles and 
 prophets, for the latter are the most important. 
 
 Again, Paul, after describing the gifts and administrations of 
 "the one Spirit," proceeds to say to the Church: 
 
 "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God 
 hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly 
 teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diver- 
 sities of tongues."! Cor. 12 : 27, 28. 
 
 Here the Church of Christ is compared to the body of man, 
 united, compacted, and vitally connected together in all its parts. 
 Of this another wisely remarks: 
 
 "If his illustrations be worthy anything, then the church which has not 
 for its members persons possessed of all these varied gifts, is no more a [per- 
 fect] Church of Christ than a body is a human body without its members. 
 A Christian, living church must have members qualified and endowed from 
 the Spirit, with all these gifts, or it is destitute of its members They are 
 no more living, real members than a wooden leg, or an artificial hand, or a 
 glass eye is a member of the human body. A church must have its spiritual 
 members, living and complete, or it is no body of Christ." 
 
 12 
 
1Y8 JOSEPH SMITH, A PROPHET. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH, A PROPHET. 
 
 We now propose to consider the direct question, Was Joseph 
 Smith a prophet of God? 
 
 Judging from a Biblical standpoint, it is not at all strange that 
 God will have prophets, and other inspired men and women, in 
 these last days. The Bible everywhere shows that the Lord's peo- 
 ple in all past ages, when faithful, enjoyed the blessings of inspira- 
 tion, and that his work with them, among them, and for them, was 
 based upon and builded by miracle, prophecy, revelation, and other 
 spiritual blessings. These divine manifestations have always been 
 the heritage of those who served the Lord according to His will,, 
 and the Scriptures teach that they always will be found with His 
 faithful children. These Scriptures teach also that God will have 
 a people on the earth in these last days, and that among them will 
 be found those gifted with prophecy, revelation, vision, spiritual 
 dreams, etc., etc. See Joel 2: 28; Zechariah 2:4; Malachi 4: 5, 6;. 
 Rev. 16: 6; 18: 4, 20, with chapter 14: 6, 7, etc., etc. 
 
 Inasmuch, therefore, as God will have inspired men through 
 whom He will manifest Himself by prophecy, revelation, vision,, 
 dream, and angelic administration in these last days, (See Rev. 14: 
 6, 8, 9, 15, 19; 18: 1; Matt. 13: 41,49; Mark 13: 27, etc.), is it impos- 
 sible, or even improbable that he called and chose Joseph Smith as 
 one of the chief or first and very greatest among them? It 
 matters not that Joseph had and has much evil spoken and written 
 of him. Similar treatment has always been given God's promi- 
 nent ministers, including the loving Savior and his faithful apostles. 
 Indeed, if Joseph Smith had not been opposed, railed upon, ma- 
 ligned and sorely persecuted, he would lack the notable badge 
 which has always marked the chief servants of God. Joseph 
 Smith claimed to be sent of God and inspired by Him to translate 
 the Book of Mormon, organize His church and re-affirm and restore 
 its primitive doctrines, principles, ordinances and blessings. Is 
 this claim supported by reliable facts? We think it is, and will 
 now present some of the proofs. 
 
 And before we proceed with the main lines of our argument, and 
 the chief evidences in proof, we pause to briefly notice what Mr. 
 Sheldon urges as a clear proof that, if Joseph was a prophet at all, 
 then he was a false prophet. He says: 
 
FLOATING UP STREAM. 179 
 
 "If Joseph really introduced polygamy, it is another proof to Josephites 
 that he is a false prophet." 
 
 Mr. Sheldon should not stop here, but slash away at the prophe- 
 tic and apostolic claims of others on similar grounds. He should 
 tell us that, if Noah got intoxicated on wine, then he was a false 
 prophet; and that if Abraham and Jacob practiced polygamy, then 
 they were false prophets; and that if Moses killed an Egyptian 
 and hid him in the sand, and if Aaron turned away to idolatry 
 while Moses was in the mount, then they were false prophets; and 
 if Samuel hewed Agag the prisoner to pieces; and if David mur- 
 dered Uriah and committed adultery with Bathsheba; and if Gide- 
 on went into polygamy and idolatry then they were false prophets; 
 and, finally, that if Peter cursed and swore and denied Christ, and 
 dissembled, then he was a false apostle, and was never an apostle 
 of Christ, 
 
 In the first place, we know not personally whether Joseph the 
 Seer did or did not practice and teach polygamy. One thing is 
 clear, all his public teachings as we find them in all the public 
 records up to 1844, are squarely against anything of the kind. It 
 is also clear that he left no posterity except by his one wife 
 Emma. If he taught or practiced polygamy, it was done very 
 secretly, and it was done against the law and order of the church, 
 and against the teachings arid protests of himself and Hyruni up to 
 as late as the pring of 1844. Many good men of times gone by 
 have gone into polygamy and kindred evils, and yet it did not 
 prove that they were never the servants of God. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon tells us that "Mrs. Young, No 19, mentions a plural 
 marriage performed by Joseph himself." Mrs. Young is not a com- 
 petent witness in this case, as she was not born until near the time 
 of Joseph's death. All that she could know of the case would be 
 simply by rumor. And when one so incompetent makes charges 
 of such a grave character their evidence should be treated as of no 
 great or certain value. Besides this, "Mrs. Young, No. 19," has 
 shown herself an utterly unsafe witness. She publishes that Joseph 
 claimed to be a new Messiah! and that Joseph counselled a man 
 at Nauvoo to go down the river to a Gentile saw mill and steal a 
 lot of black walnut lumber for coffins! also that the man went 
 and did as counselled, and rafted the lumber up the river to the 
 city of the Saints! 
 
 Mr. Sheldon, can't you see how easy this thing was done? can't 
 you see that man stealing that lumber, and making that raft, and 
 floating it up over the rapids, against a current running from four 
 to eight miles per hour, and no one to see or hear this lumber thief 
 
180 PROOF OF PROPHECY. 
 
 till he safely lands his booty in the city? Of course you can see 
 it, for "No. 19" is just your kind of a witness; her testimony is off 
 the same piece with that you are using to prove Joseph a false 
 prophet and the Book of Mormon untrue; and of course you 
 can see the "eternal fitness" of her testimony and accept it for dia- 
 mond truth! 
 
 Joseph Smith; was he a prophet of God? Popular opinion an- 
 swers no. And if we were to judge of the divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 or any of the ancient prophets, by the same rule, it would give us 
 the same result; for not one-fifth of the human family now even 
 profess to believe Christianity. 
 
 Popular opinion is not the rule of evidence by which to deter- 
 mine the truth or falsity of any fact or principle. The rankest 
 errors in religion, in philosophy, and in science, have been highly 
 popular in their time. Known truth is the touch-stone by which to 
 try everything claiming to be true or divine. 
 
 All true principles harmonize. The truths of philosophy, of the 
 sciences, of history, and of divine religion and revelation, do not, 
 and can not conflict. They will ever, when rightly understood, be 
 found to perfectly agree. 
 
 We test the divinity of the mission of Moses and the prophets 
 by comparing their teachings with known truths. The grandest 
 principles connected with geology, astronomy, chemistry, and phy- 
 siology, are outlined in their teachings. The facts of written his- 
 tory, of universal tradition, and of history lately discovered chisel- 
 led on the stony walls of ancient Egyptian and Assyrian cities and 
 upon their crumbling tombs and monuments are also found in 
 their writings. All these are witnesses for Moses and the prophets. 
 But the strongest external evidence that can be had, evidence 
 that should fully satisfy every one, is the exact agreement be- 
 tween the predictions of these men and the facts of subsequent 
 history. They predict, with a "Thus saith the Lord," that certain 
 events will transpire events which human sagacity could not fore- 
 see and history, the faithful chronicler of events as they occur, 
 testifies that the events predicted did transpire. 
 
 True prophecy was always regarded by God's people as one of 
 the crowning evidences of divinity, and it was so taught by Jesus 
 and the prophets, as may be seen by Isaiah 41: 21-23; Ezek. 33: 
 33; John 13: 19, etc. 
 
 The early Christions vanquished their opponents successfully 
 by showing the fulfillment of the predictions of Moses and the 
 prophets, and especially of Jesus and the apostles. 
 
TRUE PROPHECY. 181 
 
 We propose to discuss the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith 
 in the light of historical facts mainly, if not entirely, as compared 
 with his prophecies. 
 
 Joseph, when a boy aged seventeen years, began to know his 
 marvelous and wonderful mission. This was as early as 1823. At 
 that time, and from that time on, the chief part of Christendom 
 was solacing itself with the thought that the world was rapidly 
 improving in morals and religion. Many thought that the millen- 
 nium would would soon be ushered in through the joint efforts of 
 the pulpit, the press, and missionary labors. And it was under 
 the inspiration of this idea, no doubt, that the "World's Peace 
 Congresses" were projected. In the midst of these things, 
 and in opposition to these sentiments, Joseph pronounced 
 the "Thus saith the Lord," and predicted the rise and rapid 
 spread of social, political and spiritual corruption. He declared 
 that iniquity would increase and abound, and that judgments 
 would rapidly multiply among the wicked; that there would be 
 great "divisions" among the people; that there would be great 
 contentions, strifes and wars; that there would be unusual tem- 
 pests, earthquakes, plagues, pestilences and famines; that there 
 would be terribly destructive fires; that the sea would be greatly 
 troubled, and that these things would continue to occur till the 
 glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus, which, he said, was near at 
 hand. 
 
 In short, he predicted the very opposite of what was taught by 
 the world-wise and prudent, the opposite of what was fondly be- 
 lieved by the masses. In May, 1829, he predicted that the church 
 he was about to found and organize would become "a great and 
 marvelous work among the children of men." D. & C., 11: 1. 
 
 Such is its history already, though it has but fairly begun its 
 work, In March of the same year he predicted the coming of the 
 cholera "scourge," and that it would continue its ravages among 
 the nations, from time to time, till the earth became "empty." 
 (D. & C. 4: 3). The first case of cholera in Western Europe oc- 
 curred in 1831, in Great Britain in 1832, and in North America in 
 the summer of the same year, though it had existed in Asia for 
 many years before that. The most eminent physicians pronounce 
 it a "dreadful scourge," and state that its "essential character and 
 true origin are yet entirely unknown." 
 
 He predicted that "the weak and simple" would proclaim the 
 fulness of the gospel "unto the ends of the world and before kings 
 
182 SATANIC POWER. 
 
 and rulers," (D. & C. 1:4), and an unlettered and inexperienced 
 ministry has been fulfilling this since 1830. 
 
 In 1831 he predicted that the time was near "when peace shall 
 be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own 
 dominion; and also the Lord shall have power over his Saints, and 
 shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment on 
 Idumea, or the world." D. &. C. 1: 6. 
 
 In this is predicted the marked development of Satanic influence 
 and working, its prevalence and power in contradistinction to the 
 power of God. The world has witnessed the fulfillment of this 
 prediction in a most wonderful degree since 1848 as the reader 
 must be aware, at least so far as relates to the doings of those 
 "spirit manifestations," so utterly opposed to Bible Christianity. 
 
 In March, 1831, he prophecied that soon there would 
 
 "Be heard of wars and rumors wars, and the whole earth shall be in com- 
 motion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ de- 
 layeth his coming until the end of the earth. Arid the love of men shall 
 wax cold, and iniquity shall abound ; ... and there shall be earthquakes, 
 also, in divers places, and many desolations ; yet men will harden their 
 hearts against me, [Christ], and they will take up the sword one against an- 
 other, and they will kill one another. . . . And it shall come to pass 
 that he that feareth me [Christ], shall be looking forth for the great day of 
 the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man ; and 
 they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens 
 above, and in the earth beneath ; and they shall behold blood, and fire, and 
 vapors of smoke ; and before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall 
 be darkened and the moon be turned into blood, and stars shall fall from 
 heaven ; and the remnant [Jews] shall be gathered unto this place [Jerusa- 
 lem], and then they shall look for me, and behold I will come; and they 
 shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory, 
 with all the holy angels, and he that watches not for me shall be cut off." 
 D. & C. 45 : 4, 6.* 
 
 Many of the items in the foregoing prophecies have been ful- 
 filled, or are in process of fulfillment, while some remain to be ful- 
 filled at no distant day. In December, 1832, he prophesied to the 
 elders as follows: 
 
 "And after your testimony, cometh wrath and indignation upon the peo- 
 ple ; for after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that 
 shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the 
 ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the voice of thun- 
 derings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the 
 voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all 
 things shall be in commotion ; and surely men's hearts shall fail them ; for 
 fear shall come upon all people." D. & C. 85 : 25. 
 
 Since 1860 "earthquakes" have been more frequent, wide-spread, 
 and terrible; "thunderings" more common and frightful; "light- 
 
WAVES OF THE SEA. 183 
 
 nings" more fearful, terrific, and disastrous; and "tempests," tor- 
 nadoes, cyclones and whirlwinds, have been more prevalent and 
 destructive than ever known before in the the same length of time. 
 These are facts beyond successful question. 
 
 In October, 1864, in India, the waves of the sea were driven by 
 a cyclone inland, and many thousands of lives and many millions 
 of property were destroyed. In October 31st, 1876, in the same 
 region, a cyclone drove the waters of the sea over some of the most 
 populous districts, destroying 215,000 human lives with an immense 
 amount of property. In 1867, at the Island of St. Thomas, the 
 waves rose sixty or seventy feet higher than common, and "heaved 
 themselves beyond their bounds," carrying upon their crests a 
 United States war steamer, and leaving it high and dry on land. 
 In 1868, at the Sandwich Islands, the waves rose fifty to sixty feet 
 higher than was their wont and "heaved themselves beyond their 
 bounds," washing away a number of the little coast towns, destroy- 
 ing life and property. In August of the same year occurred "the 
 great tidal wave" which beat along the Pacific coast from the bay 
 of San Francisco on the north, to near Cape Horn on the south. 
 At the bay of Valparaiso, and other contiguous sea ports, the waves 
 rose fifty to seventy feet higher than usual, tearing the shipping 
 loose from its anchorage in many places and bearing the largest 
 vessels in upon the dry land, destroying a great many lives and 
 millions of dollars worth of property, and up to the present time 
 tidal waves, with the sea heaving its waters beyond their bounds are 
 frequent and appalling. 
 
 By what means could Joseph predict these numerous and remark- 
 able events so clearly? Only by the Spirit that foresees and fore- 
 knows the Spirit of the living God! 
 
 In the same prophecy he also tells us that "all things shall be in 
 commotion." How true we find this to-day! Every department 
 of society, political, social, commercial, scientific and religious, is 
 greatly agitated is in great commotion. This is true of America, 
 of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, of every place. The humblest 
 peasant, and the mightiest prince; the Pope with his triple crown, 
 and the cloistered monk; high church-men and low church-men; 
 Pagan, Parsee, Christian, Jew, all partake of this portentous 
 spirit of restlessness this ceaseless commotion. And the elements, 
 too, are unusually agitated in all parts of the earth; and it is no 
 wonder that "men's hearts fail them," and that "fear" has come, 
 and is coming "upon all people." 
 
 On the 25th of December, 1832, Joseph Smith received a reve- 
 
184 GREAT WARS. 
 
 lation foreshowing the desolating wars and fearful judgments of 
 the latter days. In this revelation is foretold the war of the late 
 rebellion through which our nation passed from 1860 to 1866, 
 which resulted in the death of over 600,000 persons, and in crip- 
 pling and disabling by disease over 400,000 more. The revelation 
 was first printed at Liverpool, in England, in 1851, in a pamphlet 
 entitled "The Pearl of Great Price," though many of the Saints 
 had known of it from 1832. Thousands of copies of this work 
 are still in existence, in the hands of the Saints and others. It 
 was published in many languages, and in various other works, at 
 different times before the rebellion took place, and among them 
 the True Latter J)ay Saints'* Herald, The Seer and The Compen- 
 dium. It was also published in Beadle's work against the Mormons, 
 issued in 1870. It reads as folllows: 
 
 "Verily thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to 
 pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually 
 terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that 
 war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place; for behold 
 the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the 
 Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, 
 as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend 
 themselves against other nations: and thus shall war be poured out upon 
 all nations. And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up 
 against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war. And 
 it shall come to pass also, that the remnants who are left of the land shall 
 marshal themselves, and shall become exceeding angry, and shall vex the 
 Gentiles with a sore vexation ; and thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, 
 the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and 
 earthquakes, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightnings 
 also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath and indig- 
 nation and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption de- 
 creed hath made a full end of all nations, that the cry of the Saints, and the 
 blood of the Saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Saba- 
 oth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies. Wherefore, stand ye 
 in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come: for be- 
 hold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen." 
 
 This is one of the most remarkable prophecies of this or any 
 other age. It is lengthy, definite, precise, full of eminent points 
 without "ifs," or "buts," and was the very opposite of the popular 
 ideas of the times in which it was given and in which it was first 
 published. 
 
 Some claim that it has been gotten up since the rebellion to suit 
 the events transpiring during that time. They see that it contains a 
 true and definite summary of the history made during that period, 
 yet they dislike to believe that Joseph Smith uttered the prophecy. 
 Such persons usually laud and glorify the prophets of the long- 
 
THE REBELLION. 185 
 
 ago, but they will neither hear, investigate the claims of, nor re- 
 spect modern prophets. They are of that class who revere the 
 seers of the misty past who lived, and taught, and suffered two 
 thousand or five thousand years before them, but God, they con- 
 clude, will hold no direct communication with man in this age of 
 the world, and a claim that he may, and does, they hold should be 
 scoffed at as an imposture. 
 
 There is an abundance of documentary evidence of the genuine- 
 ness of the revelation, showing that it was in existence in print 
 as early as 1851, nine years' before the rebellion. Mr. Beadle 
 in his work against the Mormons states that he copied it out of 
 The /Seer, a work published by O. Pratt, in Washington, D. C., in 
 1853, seven years before the rebellion. And Mr. John Hyde who 
 wrote a work against the Mormons entitled "Mormonism," which 
 was issued by Fetridge & Co., of New York City, in 1857, cites 
 this same revelation on page 174, and he did it in order to prove 
 that Joseph was a false prophet. He verily thought within him- 
 self, no doubt, that such a series of events as Joseph Smith had pre- 
 dicted could never occur, and he probably felt fully justified in 
 denouncing the prophecy as false. Nor was he alone in the 
 thought that such things could never occur. It was the universal 
 sentiment with all people, except well-informed Datter Day Saints. 
 They knew of the prophecy and confidently looked for its fulfill- 
 ment. 
 
 Such an event as the rebellion of the Southern States was im- 
 probable highly improbable at that time, as were many, if 
 not all the other events predicted in the prophecy. The prophecy 
 states, what was very improbable, that "the Southern states shall 
 be divided against the Northern States." And yet every South- 
 ern State was arrayed against the Northern States in the rebellion. 
 The prophecy said the war would begin at the rebellion of South 
 Carolina. South Carolina began the rebellion, December 20th, 
 1860; and on the 12th of the following April war actually began 
 by the Confederacy, her troops firing upon and capturing Fort 
 Sumpter. 
 
 The Southern States did "call on other nations," upon Great 
 Britain and France, and this, too, in order to "defend themselves 
 [diplomatically] against other nations;" for, by this time, they 
 had assumed the defensive, as the revelation teaches they finally 
 would do. They sought to be recognized by the nations as bellig- 
 erents, and thus secure themselves against the influence and co- 
 operation of other nations in favor of the Northern States, and 
 
186 THE KEBELLION. 
 
 further, to obtain material aid in order to defend themselves 
 against the invading armies of the Northern States. 
 
 "And thus war shall be poured out upon all nations." That is, 
 beginning with our national rebellion, war would go forth and 
 finally occur among all nations. It is a prominent fact, that, since 
 the beginning of the rebellion, war has been unusually prevalent, 
 widespread, and sanguinary. 
 
 Taking advantage of our national troubles, Louis Napoleon, 
 Emperor of France, and Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, 
 sought by a bloody war to establish an empire in Mexico and to 
 place Maximillian upon its throne, but they failed in the attempt. 
 
 South America, Central America, France, Italy, Austria, Den- 
 mark, Spain, Cuba, Holland, Russia, Germany, Greece, Turkey, 
 Egypt, Algeria, China, Japan, Corea, with many districts in Asia 
 and Africa, have been visited with the war-fiend since the rebell- 
 ion of South Carolina, in 1860. 
 
 In these wars millions of lives have been lost and oceans of 
 treasure expended; but the end is not yet. The spirit of war 
 seems rife in every land and among all nations. Russia, the 
 "Gog" of Ezekiel 38th chapter, is restive and aggressive, ready to 
 enter upon a war likely to embroil all Europe and Asia and 
 northern Africa, and one that will materially change the bounda- 
 ries of the nations, and go far to prepare the way for the restora- 
 tion of Israel and Judah. 
 
 The war equipments of the nations, by land and sea, are far 
 more extensive and highly perfected, than ever before known. 
 For instance, the forces of Austria amount at present to near 
 856,980 men. Russia has augmented her armies to near 1,519,810 
 men. The aggregate military strength*of Italy is near 605,200. 
 The German empire can summon to the field 1,261,160 men. The 
 French army is about 977,660 strong. The land-forces alone of 
 Great Britain number over 478,820 men, besides which her navy 
 is the largest in the world. The Swedish army numbers about 
 274,510. The number of soldiers now at the disposal of all the 
 European governments amount to between 6,000,000 and 7,000,- 
 000, an increase of over one-third in number since 1859. And 
 still they are arming. The trust of nations to-day is mainly in 
 their strength, their wealth, their wisdom, and their military prow- 
 ess, rather than in truth and righteousness. 
 
 "After many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, 
 who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war." Not less than 
 200,000 of the blacks were enrolled in the armies of- the North; 
 
INDIAN WARS. 187 
 
 and they were, as the prophecy indicates, "marshaled and disci- 
 plined" by white officers; and their arms were directed against 
 their former masters. These facts are so patent that comment is 
 not needed. 
 
 And "the remnants who are left of the land, [the Indians], will 
 marshal themselves, and shall become exceeding angry, and shall 
 vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation." This is precisely what 
 has been done. The Indians did "marshal themselves" against 
 the whites as early as in August 1862, and they have been waging 
 war against them from time to time until the present. The mas- 
 sacre in Minnesota, which took place August, 1862, was a terribly 
 cruel and heart-rending affair. Two thousand persons were bar- 
 barously slaughtered in a few hours. Nameless outrages were 
 perpetrated; and the losses sustained, pecuniarily, by the govern- 
 ment and by individuals, amounted to over $25,000,000. A writer 
 has graphically said: 
 
 "From the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on the rock-bound coast of New 
 England, in the winter of 1620, until their descendants had passed the cen- 
 ter of the continent, and reached the lovely plains of Minnesota, no exhi- 
 bition of Indian character had so afflicted and appalled the soul of humanity, 
 as the fearful and deliberate massacre perpetrated by them in August, 1862. 
 . . The blow fell like a storm of thunderbolts from the clear, bright 
 heavens. The storm of fierce, savage murder, in its most horrid and fright- 
 ful forms, rolled on. Day passed and night came, until the sad catalogue 
 reached the fearful number of two thousand human victims, from the gray- 
 haired sire to the helpless infant of a day, who lay mangled and dead on 
 the ensanguined field. ... In two days the whole work of murder was 
 done, with here and there exceptional cases in different settlements. And, 
 during these two days, a population of thirty thousand, scattered over some 
 eight counties, on the western borders of the State, on foot, on horseback, 
 with teams of oxen and horses, under the momentum of the panic thus cre- 
 ated, were rushing wildly and frantically over the prairies to places of safe- 
 ty." Indian Massacres. 
 
 The Indians "marshaled themselves" as foreshown in the proph- 
 ecy, no whites having a hand in that matter. The bad treatment 
 which they had received from the whites the Indian agents and 
 traders in particular had much to do in causing these outrages, 
 it made them "exceeding angry," yet, as said before, the 
 whites had nothing to do in marshaling them, or directing them 
 in their sanguinary work. 
 
 These Indian wars are costly as well as cruel; and hence, in 
 more ways than one, are they "a sore vexation" to our tax-bur- 
 dened nation. It has been reported that for every Indian captured 
 and killed during some of the Indian wars since 1862, it has cost 
 the whites the lives of nine white men, and $5,000,000 in money. 
 
188 FAMINE PLAGUE. 
 
 This may be a slight exaggeration, yet it -is probably not far from 
 the truth. The enormous expense, with the loss of human life, 
 and the various perplexities connected with these wars, and the 
 whole Indian question, are sources of "sore vexation" to the 
 whites, and from which there are no prospects of speedy and per- 
 manent relief. 
 
 As for the terrors of "famine and plague" predicted, they have 
 been so widespread and destructive since 1860 that the bare men- 
 tion of them ought to satisfy the reader of the truthfulness of this 
 item of prophecy. In India alone there have been numerous fam- 
 ines with terrible loss of life since 1860, prominent among them 
 that which occurred in 1866, in which thousands perished of starv- 
 ation weekly. The official reports showed that there were mil- 
 lions of deaths in all. 
 
 In 1867 and 1868 there was a great lack of food supplies in the 
 Southern States; and in England and France hundreds of thous- 
 ands were in a state of semi-starvation. Germany and Eastern 
 Prussia were in a similar condition, while in Russia both pesti- 
 lence and famine raged terribly. In Finland, in Algiers, in Tunis, 
 and in other localities in Europe and Asia, it was no better. 
 "Fully 100,000 Arabs have fallen victims within the last six 
 months," wrote the Archbishop of Algiers. Persia has been 
 nearly annihilated by famine and pestilence. Of the year 1871, 
 the Chicago Tribune, November 15th, 1871, says: 
 
 "War, famine, pestilence, fire, wind and water, and ice, have been let 
 loose and have done their worst, and with such appalling results, and with 
 such remarkable phen =mena accompanying them, that it is not to be won- 
 dered at men have sometimes thought that the end of the world had come." 
 
 Want of space forbids our itemizing at any length in regard to 
 the calamities predicted; suffice it 'to say, that in nearly all parts 
 of the world "famine and plague have sorely afflicted the sons of 
 men, and sent many millions to an untimely grave." 
 
 The latter part of the prophecy states that the "chastening hand 
 of an Almighty God," through the judgments mentioned in the 
 prophecy, will be upon the nations until God "hath made a full 
 end of all nations, that the cry oftJie Saints, and the BLOOD of the 
 Saints, shall cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Saba- 
 oth to be avenged of their enemies." "The cry of the Saints," 
 and the "blood of the Saints" here mentioned, pointed to their 
 persecutions, barbarously cruel, fiendish and bloody, as they 
 proved to be. The first violent persecution of the body of the 
 Saints began at Independence, Missouri, July 20th, 1833. An 
 armed mob was organized under the leadership of George Simp- 
 
PERSECUTIONS. 189 
 
 son, and was either countenanced or abetted by many ministers of 
 religion and government officials. 
 
 The printing press of the church was principally destroyed, in- 
 cluding book-work, furniture, apparatus, and type, also the print- 
 ing office, with the dwelling house of the editor. The Evening 
 and Morning Star, and the Upper Missouri Advertizer, the one a 
 monthly and the other a weekly paper, were forcibly stopped, and 
 their further publication forbidden. 
 
 A number were whipped, tarred and feathered, among them 
 Edward Partridge, also Charles Allen late of Council Bluffs. 
 Some received a pelting with rocks and a beating with guns and 
 sticks. Ten houses were partly demolished, and standing grain in 
 some places destroyed; but, worst of all, a Bro. Barber was 
 killed, and some others seriously wounded. 
 
 The grounds upon which this persecution began were, to use 
 the language of those connected with it, as seen in the published 
 proceedings, printed in The Western Monitor, August 2d, 1833, for 
 the mobbers "to rid themselves of the sect of fanatics, called Mor- 
 mons;" "this singular sect of pretended Christians;" "they now 
 number twelve hundred souls in this [Jackson] county." "Ele- 
 vated, as they mostly are, but little above the condition of our 
 blacks, either in regard to property or education, they have be- 
 come a subject of much anxiety on that part, serious and well 
 grounded complaints having been already made of their corrupt- 
 ing influence on our slaves." "We are daily told, and not by the 
 ignorant alone, but by all classes of them, that we (the Gentiles) 
 of this county, are to be cut off, and our lands appropriated by 
 them for inheritances. Whether this is to be accomplished by 
 the hand of the destroying angel, the judgments of God, or the 
 arm of power, they are not fully agreed among themselves." 
 "They openly blaspheme the Most High God, and cast. contempt 
 on his holy religion, by pretending to receive revelations direct 
 from heaven; by pretending to speak unknown tongues by direct 
 inspiration; and by divers pretences derogatory to God and re- 
 ligion, and to the utter subversion of human reason." "What 
 would be the fate of our lives and property in the hands of jurors 
 and witnesses, who do not blush to declare, and would not upon 
 any occasion hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles, 
 and have been the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures, 
 and have conversed with God and his angels, and possess and ex- 
 ercise the gifts of divination, and of unknown tongues, and fired 
 with the prospect of obtaining inheritances without money and 
 
190 EXTERMINATION. 
 
 without price may be better imagined than described." "One of 
 the means resorted to by them in order to drive us to emigrate, is 
 an indirect invitation to the free brethren of color in Illinois, to 
 come up like the rest, to the land of Zion. True, they said this 
 was not intended to invite, but to prevent their emigration; but 
 this weak attempt to quiet our apprehension, is but a poor compli- 
 ment to our understandings." 
 
 Here, dear reader, are the main charges upon which over twelve 
 hundred souls, free-state and anti-slavery Christian people, were 
 with violence sorely persecuted and driven out of Jackson county,. 
 Missouri, the persecutors themselves being the witnesses! 
 
 From July 20th, when the violent persecutions began, till No- 
 vember of the same year, the Saints had but little rest from their 
 enemies, though they sought patiently for that protection which 
 was assured by the laws of Missouri, and of our nation, but they 
 sought in vain. 
 
 While the Saints were fleeing from their merciless persecutors 
 into Clay and adjoining counties, the Lord displayed his glory in 
 the heavens to the comfort and delight of his smitten and afflict- 
 ed people. The heavens on the night of the 12th of November 
 were made grandly beautiful by the "falling stars," a sign to the 
 Saints that the coming of Christ is near: 
 
 "In Zion, [Missouri] all heaven seemed enwrapped in splendid fireworks, 
 as if every star in the broad expanse had been suddenly hurled from its 
 course, and sent lawless through the wilds of ether. . . . Beautiful and 
 terrific as was the scenery, which might be compared to the falling figs, or 
 fruit, when the tree is shaken by a mighty wind, yet it will not fully com- 
 pare w r ith the time when' the sun shall become black like sackcloth of hair, 
 the moon like blood, and the stars fall to the earth." Joseph Smith. 
 
 Most of those driven from Jackson county went to Clay county, 
 where they were received with some degree of kindness. The 
 Saints continued to gather into Missouri, chiefly into Clay, Ray r 
 Daviess, and Caldwell counties, until 1837, when persecution again 
 stretched forth her merciless and bloody hand against them, and 
 they were mobbed, robbed, and finally, in the late fall of 1838, were 
 driven out of the state into Illinois under the exterminating order 
 of Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs. The church in Missouri numbered at 
 this time 12,000 or more. In this persecution well nigh every 
 barbarity was practiced that brutal lust or fiendish cruelty could 
 suggest; property was stolen and burned; persons beaten and 
 maimed; others wounded nigh unto death, and many killed. An 
 infirm old revolutionary soldier, when pleading for mercy, and 
 telling of his services as a soldier in procuring our dearly-bought 
 
PERSECUTION. 191 
 
 liberties^ was hacked to death with a corn cutter. A little inno- 
 cent lad, who, when hunted like a beast, had taken refuge in a 
 blacksmith shop at Haun's Mills, was shot to death through the 
 head in cold blood; women were ravished, and an amount of ex- 
 posure and suffering forced upon many that resulted in death, or 
 in permanently impairing their health and usefulness. 
 
 Surely "the cry of the Saints, and of the blood of the Saints" 
 did now, from seven months to five years after the prophecy was 
 uttered, ascend up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF PROF. TURNER. 
 
 Professor Turner, sometime of Illinois College, an open and bitter 
 opponent of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, in writing of 
 the conduct of Missouri towards the Mormons, says: 
 
 "Who began the quarrel? Was it the Mormons? Is it not notorious, on 
 the contrary, that they were hunted like wild beasts, from county to county,, 
 before they made any desperate resistance? Did they ever, as a body, re- 
 fuse obedience to the" laws, when called upon to do so, until driven to des- 
 peration by repeated threats and assaults from the mob? Did the State ever 
 make one decent effort to defend them as fellow citizens in their rights, or 
 to redress their wrongs? Let the conduct of its governors, attorneys, and 
 the fate of their final petitions answer. Have any who plundered and 
 openly massacred the Mormons ever been brought to the punishment due 
 to their crimes ? Let the boasting murderers of begging and helpless infan- 
 cy answer. Has the State ever remunerated, even those known to be inno- 
 cent, for the loss of either their property or their arms? Did either the 
 pulpit or the press throughout the State raise a note of remonstrance or 
 alarm? Let the clergymen who abetted, and the editors who encouraged 
 the mob answer." 
 
 Thus speaks one of our bitterest, yet comparatively honorable 
 opponents. 
 
 Nor did persecution stop even here. Its fires were again kindled 
 in Illinois, in Hancock county and vicinity in 1843 to 1846, result- 
 ing in terrible suffering and great loss of life. 
 
 DESOLATION; WEEPING. 
 
 The persecutions of 1838, in Missouri, were clearly set forth in 
 a prophecy given through Joseph Smith, at Jirtland, Ohio, July 
 23d, 1837, one year and more before the persecution occurred. 
 See Doctrine and Covenants 105: 9. It reads: 
 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross 
 darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before 
 my face. Behold, vengeance conieth speedily upon the inhabitants of the 
 earth a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of 
 mourning, of lamentation and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the 
 face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house [the church] shall 
 it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord." 
 
192 HUMAN PREDICTIONS. 
 
 The "wrath," the "burning," the "desolation," the "weeping," 
 the "mourning," and the "lamentation" here predicted, which are 
 to go forth among all nations, did come upon the church suddenly, 
 "as a whirlwind," with all its fearful and terrible destructiveness. 
 No one, unless inspired of God, could have foretold, with such pre- 
 cision and clearness, the bitter persecutions suifered by the Saints 
 in Missouri. 
 
 The persecutions and scattering of the Saints from Nauvoo, were 
 foretold by Joseph. His death, likewise, he himself foretold. On 
 parting with his wife, at Nauvoo, when he went to Carthage jail 
 under promise of protection from Governor Thomas Ford, he told 
 her he would never see his family again that his work was done 
 that he was going to rest that the church would be broken up 
 and scattered, and instructed her to remain with the family at 
 Nauvoo, or take them to Kirtland, Ohio. More than once, just 
 prior to his death, he predicted that if Brigham Young should get 
 the lead of the church he would lead it to hell. Scores of the old- 
 time Saints testify to this. 
 
 It would be the height of folly to say that these prophecies of 
 Joseph, so numerous, so definite, and so unlikely to be fulfilled, 
 were mere conjectures or guesses, like many made by human wis- 
 dom alone. That military genius, Napoleon, tried his skill in mak- 
 ing predictions. He said, "In fifty years all Europe will be either 
 Oossack or Republican." More than the "fifty years" have passed 
 away, and the prediction is found false. 
 
 Vettius Vallens, a wise man of Rome and a pagan oracle, pre- 
 dicted that 'If it be true as historians say, that Romulus saw twelve 
 vultures at the founding of Rome, that signifies that it should exist 
 for twelve centuries." But Rome, under its eight different forms 
 of government, existed for more than twenty-six centuries. 
 
 The fate of human predictions, however wise their authors, is 
 failure. 
 
 JOSEPH SLAIN. 
 
 Joseph was assassinated in Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois, 
 June 27th, 1844, at the age of thirty-eight years and six months, 
 after a most eventful life, seventeen years of which were marked 
 with great activities, great perplexities and numerous persecutions. 
 Those who knew him best loved him most. He was misunderstood 
 and misapprehended by the masses; blindly opposed by the pulpit 
 and the press in many instances; maligned and slandered by his 
 enemies; and his sentiment perverted, misconstrued and misstated 
 by those who should have been his truest friends. 
 
SPIRITUALISM. 193 
 
 His work was great in the foundations which he laid, rather 
 than in the immediate results which he wrought out. The great 
 truths of God, and the exalted principles of life and salvation given 
 to the race through him, will live and be earnestly cherished by the 
 faithful and true, when the hoary errors and the gilded and flimsy 
 theories of uninspired men will be remembered only with sorrow, 
 and mentioned only with pity an contempt. 
 
 Joseph uttered many predictions concerning the spiritual mani- 
 festations with which the world is now being deluged and deceived. 
 In May, 1831, while he was young in years, and limited in worldly 
 wisdom, the Lord said through him to the elders of the church: 
 
 "Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false 
 spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world : and also 
 Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you." D. & C. 
 sec. 50, par. 1. 
 
 In June, 1831, the following was revealed to the Elders through 
 him: 
 
 "And again I will give you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be de- 
 ceived ; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the 
 nations; wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is ac- 
 cepted of me if he obey mine ordinances. He that speaketh whose spirit is 
 contrite, whose language is meek, and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey 
 mine ordinances. And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be 
 made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise, and wisdom, according 
 to [i. e., in harmony with] the revelations and truths I have given you. 
 And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even accord- 
 ing to this pattern, is not of me ; wherefore by this pattern ye shall know 
 the spirits in all cases under the whole heavens. And the days have come, 
 according to men's faith it shall be done unto them." Doc. & Cov. 52:4, 5. 
 
 MAN OF SIN. 
 
 A short time before this revelation was given a number of per- 
 sons in the church at Kirtland had been deceived and strangely 
 handled by false spirits. Some were so far possessed by them as 
 to lose all control of either mind or body. The physical manifes- 
 tations were startling and peculiar, while those of a mental or 
 spiritual character were such as to bewilder and mislead the un- 
 wary and unskillful. Joseph and Hyrum readily detected the 
 arch enemy and proclaimed against him. Of this Joseph wrote in 
 his Church History: 
 
 "The 6th of June, [1831] the Elders from the various parts of the country 
 
 where they were laboring came in, and the Conference, before appointed, 
 
 convened in Kirtland, and the Lord displayed his power in a manner that 
 
 could not be mistaken. The man of sin was revealed, and the authority of 
 
 13 
 
194 TRY THE SPIRITS. 
 
 the Melchisedec priesthood was manifested, and conferred for the first time 
 upon several of the Elders. It was clearly evident that the Lord gave us 
 power in proportion to the work to be done, and strength according to the 
 race set before us, and grace and help as our needs required." Times and 
 Seasons, vol. 5, page 416. 
 
 These newly appointed High Priests were now honored, ap- 
 proved and sustained of God in this perilous hour when Satan 
 with his cunning and might sought to deceive the Saints, over- 
 power the ministry of Christ, and overthrow the Church of God. 
 
 The origin, character, operations, and final state of these spirits, 
 had been revealed to Joseph before this. In September, 1830, the 
 Lord said of them: 
 
 "Behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, 
 Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts 
 of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency ; and they were 
 thrust down, and thus became the devil and his angels ; and behold, there 
 is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell; and it 
 must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they 
 could not be agents unto themselves, for if they never should have bitter, 
 they could not know the sweet." D. & C. 28:10. 
 
 Of spirit manifestations Joseph wrote in A. D. 1839: 
 
 "We are to try the spirits and prove them, for it is often the case that men 
 make a mistake in regard to these things. God has so ordained that when he 
 has commuicated, no vision is to be taken but what you see by the seeing 
 of the eye, or what you hear by the hearing of the ear. When you see a 
 vision, pray for the interpretation ; if you get not this, shut it up; there 
 must be certainty in this matter. An open vision will manifest that which 
 is more important. Lying spirits are going forth in the earth. There will 
 be great manifestations of spirits, both false and true. Being born again, 
 comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances. An angel of God never has 
 wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit ; that he offered them 
 his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to 
 the plan of God ; a spirit can not come but in glory ; [as Moses and Elias 
 Matt. 17 : 3-13. Ed] ; an angel has flesh and bones ; we see not their glory. 
 The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it ; if it be of 
 the devil he will flee from you ; if of God, he will manifest himself, or make 
 it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask him ; he will know all about 
 it ; if he comes to a little child he will adapt himself to the language and ca- 
 pacity of a little child. Every spirit, or vision, or singing, is not of God. 
 The devil is an orator; he is powerful; he took our Savior on to a pinnacle 
 of the temple and kept him in the wilderness for forty days. The gift of 
 discerning of spirits will be given to the Presiding Elder. Pray for him 
 that he may have this gift. Speak not in the gift of tongues without under- 
 standing it,' or without interpretation. The devil can speak in tongues; the 
 adversary will come with his work; he can tempt' all classes; can speak 
 in English or Dutch. Let no one speak in tongues unless he interpret, ex- 
 cept by the consent of the one who is placed to preside; then he may dis- 
 cern or interpret, or another may." Mill. Star. 17 :312. 
 
JOSEPH'S SEED. 195 
 
 By the foregoing we see that Joseph was thoroughly informed 
 in regard to spirit manifestations; and that he foreknew, clearly, 
 the going forth of lying spirits in the earth, and that there would 
 "be great manifestations of spirits, both false and true." 
 
 He also, by the Book of Mormon and direct revelation, pro- 
 claimed that soon after that book came forth the Lord would 
 speedily prepare the way among the nations for the restoration of 
 Israel and Judah to their lands, and that the land of Palestine 
 would soon become "a fruitful field," all of which is being ful- 
 filled. 
 
 JOSEPH'S SEED. 
 
 Joseph predicted that his "seed," his "posterity," would be 
 called to fill his office and "plead the cause of injured innocence."- 
 D. C. 84:3; 107: 18; Times and Seasons vol .5:395 "While water 
 runs and grass grows; while virtue is lovely and vice hateful; and 
 while a stone points out a sacred spot where a fragment of Amer- 
 ican liberty once was; I or my posterity will plead the cause of in- 
 jured innocence until Missouri makes atonement for all her sins 
 or sinks disgraced," etc. 
 
 FREE THE SLAVES. 
 
 He advised in 1844, that the slave States "abolish slavery by 
 1850," and "pray Congress to pay every man a reasonable price 
 for his slaves." He further said, "Break off the shackles from the 
 poor black men, and hire them to labor like other human beings; 
 for "an hour of virtuous liberty on earth is worth a whole eternity 
 of bondage.' " Times and Seasons 5: 532. 
 
 The late venerable Josiah Quincy, a graduate in 1821 of Har- 
 vard College, who, in company with Hon. Charles Francis Adams 
 and Dr. Goforth, visited and interviewed Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, 
 in May 1844, forty -three days before the murder of the latter in 
 Carthage jail, Illinois, has this to say on pages 397-8-9 of his 
 book, "Figures of the Past," .as to the farseeing, Christian wisdom, 
 and the strikingly humane sentiments of Joseph Smith on the 
 slavery question: 
 
 "We then went on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse and in- 
 iquity of slavery, though he opposed the methods of the Abolitionists. His 
 plan was for the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the public 
 lands. 'Congress/ he said, 'should be compelled to take this course, by pe- 
 titions from all parts of the country ; but the petitioners must disclaim all 
 alliance with those who would disturb the rights of property recognized by 
 the Constitution and foment insurrection.' It may be worth while to re- 
 mark that Smith's plan was publicly advocated, eleven years later, by one 
 who has mixed so much practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. 
 
196 FREE THE SLAVES. 
 
 In 1855, when men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question 
 of slavery, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met in ac- 
 cordance 'with the interest of the South and with the settled conscience of 
 the North. It is not really a great task, a great fight for this country to ac- 
 complish, to buy that property of the planter, as the British nation bought 
 the West Indian slaves.' He further says that the 'United States will be 
 brought to give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this.' 
 We, who can look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which 
 put an end to slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty would 
 have been worthy a Christian statesman. But if the retired scholar was in 
 advance of his time when he advocated this disposition of the public prop- 
 erty in 1855, what shall I say of the political and religious leader [Joseph 
 Smith] who had committed himself, in print, as well as in conversation, to 
 the same course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred 
 by such a proposition when war-clouds were discernible in the sky, was it 
 not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked tran- 
 quil and beneficent ? 
 
 "General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his views upon politics. 
 He denounced the Missouri Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for 
 the benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay's bid for the presidency. Dr. 
 Goforth might have spared himself the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to elec- 
 tioneer for a duellist who would fire at John Randolph but was not brave 
 enough to protect the Saints in their rights as American citizens. Clay had 
 told his people to go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government of their 
 own. Oh yes, the Saints might go into the wilderness and obtain justice of 
 the Indians, which imbecile, time-serving politicians would not give them 
 in the land of freedom and equality. The prophet then talked of the details 
 of government. He thought that the number of members admitted to the 
 Lower House of the National Legislature should be reduced. A crowd only 
 darkened counsel and impeded business. A member to every half million 
 of population would be ample. The powers of the President should be in- 
 creased. He should have authority to put down rebellion in a state without 
 waiting for the request of any governor ; for it might happen that the gov- 
 ernor himself would be the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark 
 how later events showed the executive weakness that Smith pointed out, a weak- 
 ness which cost thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure; but 
 the man mingled Utopian fallacies with his shrewd suggestions. He talked 
 as from a strong mind utterly unenlightened by the teachings of history." 
 Figures of the Past, pp. 397, 398, 399. 
 
 In view of these strong, just and lofty sentiments, it is not sur- 
 prising that Mr. Quincy should say: 
 
 "It is by no means improbable that some future text-book, for the use of 
 generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What 
 historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most power- 
 ful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means 
 impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written : Jo- 
 seph Smith the Mormon Prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems 
 to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descend- 
 ants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. 
 The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and 
 is to-day accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the 
 Most High, such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting 
 
CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 197 
 
 his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, impostor, charlatan, he may 
 have been ; but these hard names furnish no solution to the problem he 
 presents us. . . . The most vital questions Americans are asking each 
 other to-day have to do with this man and what he has left us." Pages 
 376-7. 
 
 The divine wisdom in this advice of Joseph is better seen when 
 we -state that the slavery question began to be bitterly agitated in 
 1846-7 and that in 1848 the Calhoun dogma of "the constitutional 
 right of each slaveholder to remove with his slaves into any Fed- 
 eral territory, and hold them in defiance of Congress or any local 
 authority," was hotly urged by the pro-slavery party, causing in- 
 tense excitement and bitterness throughout the nation between the 
 pro-slavery and anti-slavery elements; and further, that in 1850, 
 the fatal year indicated by Joseph, prior to which wise measures 
 would avert national calamity over that question, the Hon. Henry 
 Clay introduced in Congress his last famed "Compromise" in the 
 interest of Slavery, and that thereafter the antagonisms aroused 
 on that subject rendered reconciliation and equitable adjustment 
 impossible and that the terrible war of the rebellion was the 
 final arbiter! Joseph evidently foresaw by divine inspiration that 
 the only time for its peaceful adjustment was "by the year 1850," 
 and not later. 
 
 NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 He, in 1844, foresaw the need, and advised the establishment of 
 National Banks, and said: "For the accomodation of the people 
 in every state and territory, let Congress show their wisdom by 
 granting a National Bank, with branches in each state and terri- 
 tory. . . . And the bills shall be par throughout the nation. 
 . The country will [then] be full of money and confidence." 
 Ibid. 
 
 Our nation was forced to come to this at last but Joseph had 
 this wisdom many years in advance of the wise men of the nation, 
 as he did upon many other questions, which we lack time and space 
 to treat of in these pages. 
 
 Nothing short of the Spirit of God, by revelation and prophecy, 
 could impart such facts and information, and so plainly make 
 known the future. 
 
 CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Having examined a few of the many fulfilled prophecies of 
 Joseph Smith, we will add as further evidence of his prophetic 
 character, that he organized the Church of Christ after the apos- 
 tolic pattern given in 1 Cor. 12: 28; Eph. 4: 11; and restored the 
 
198 JOSEPH PROPECIED. 
 
 primitive doctrines and ordinances as taught and practiced by the 
 first Christian ministry, in all their divine power and simplicity, 
 (Heb. 6: 1-3; Acts 2: 38; 8: 18; 9: 12; 19: 6; 13: 3; 1 Tim. 4: 14; 
 Jno. 13: 4, 5; 1 Cor. 11: 23-31; James 5: 14, 15; Mark 10: 13-16). 
 He also revived and renewed the same general promises (John 7:16, 
 17; Mark 16: 15-18; Acts 2: 38, 39; John 14: 26; 15: 26; 16: 7, 
 13; 1 Cor. 12; 1 John 2: 27; 3: 24; Luke 20: 35, 36; John 5: 28, 
 29; 1 Cor. 15:22,23,41-44; Phil. 3:20,21; John 17:20-24; 
 Rev. 20: 4, 5, 6, 12, 13; 2 Peter 3: 13, 14; Matt 5: 5; Rev. 5: 10). 
 This he claimed to do in fulfillment of Rev. 14: 6, 7; Mai. 4: 5, 6; 
 Isaiah 11: 11, 12; 18: 3; Luke 14: 16-24; Matt. 20: 6. 
 
 BOOK OF MORMON BROUGHT FORTH. 
 
 He brought forth by inspiration of God the record of Joseph in 
 fulfillment of Ezekiel 37: 16-19, the "sealed book" of Isaiah 29: 
 11, 12, 18, the "truth" of God, hidden in the earth, predicted by 
 David, Psalms 85: 11, and the "law" to Ephraim, Hos. 8: 12, as is 
 demonstrated in the former pages of this work. 
 
 His was the usual fate of God's prophets hated, persecuted, 
 and destroyed by his enemies (Matt. 23: 34; Acts 7: 52); yet ten- 
 derly and passionately beloved by all those who knew him and be- 
 lieved him to be a servant of God. When the murky clouds of 
 prejudice, and the blinding mists of falsehood and superstition 
 shall have passed away, the character and work of Joseph Smith 
 will appear in honor, and millions will revere him as a martyr! 
 
 PRIMITIVE GOSPEL. 
 
 In summing up we find that in his religious efforts he did not 
 introduce "another gospel," nor "preach another Christ;" but he 
 simply preached "him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets 
 did write, Jesus of Nazareth;" and, under God, he restored the 
 very gospel taught by the Saints of the first century after Christ, 
 in fulfillment of Rev. 14: 6, 7. He organized the church after the 
 primitive pattern, and set in order the ordinances, rites, and cere- 
 monies, as they were in the apostolic age. He proclaimed the 
 same gifts of the Holy Ghost as were promised by Joel 2; 28, 29; 
 by the Lord Jesus, Mark 16: 17, 18; John 14: 26; 15:26; 16:7-11; 
 by Peter, Acts 2: 38, 39, and Paul, 1 Cor. 12: 1-31; 14: 1-40, etc. 
 
 JOSEPH PROPHESIED. 
 
 He prophesied of men within and without the church; of events 
 that pertained to the church in blessing and in cursing; of events 
 to transpire in our own nation and in the nations of the earth of 
 
INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 199 
 
 wars, famines, pestilences, plagues, earthquakes, destructions and 
 desolations; of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond 
 their bounds; of the rapid increase of pride, of spiritual iniquity, 
 and of all kinds of crime and wrong doing. He prophesied of 
 "great changes in the times and the seasons;" and of the great incom- 
 ing of satanic power, and the rapid spread and general prevalence 
 of demon-spirit power among the nations. He prophesied of the 
 "temptations and great tribulation" and apostasy of the Twelve; 
 and of Brigham Young, that "if he got the lead of the church he 
 would lead it to hell." He prophesied of the rebellion of the 
 Southern States; of their calling on other nations for aid in de- 
 fense; of the slaves being "marshaled and disciplined for war;" 
 and of the Indians becoming exceedingly angry, of their marshal- 
 ing themselves and vexing the Gentiles with a sore vexation; also 
 of the war terminating "in the death and misery of many souls." 
 He also prophesied of his own death, of the manner of it, and 
 about the time it would occur. 
 
 [_ TRANSLATOR. 
 
 He translated between September 22d, 1827, and July, 1829, a 
 period of nearly two years, the Book of Mormon, which abounds 
 in historical statements relative to the two great and enlightened 
 peoples which once possessed North, and South and Central 
 America, which also speaks of their civilization and industries, 
 and of the locality of the great centers of their skilled and culti- 
 vated populations; and these things, highly improbable when the 
 young seer gave the Book of Mormon to the world, are being con- 
 firmed by scientific travelers, explorers, and antiquarians. 
 
 This same book abounds with prophecies touching Jew and Gen- 
 tile, churches and nations, priests and people; of Roman Catholic, 
 Protestant, and Latter Day Saints of their corruptions, their evils, 
 and their fate. It speaks of the rapid and favorable changes that 
 would take place in the physical condition of the land of Judea 
 soon after the coming forth of the Book of Mormon that the land 
 which was given by the oath of God to Abraham and to his seed 
 forever, should be turned into "a fruitful field." It speaks of the 
 rapid downfall of "the mother of harlots" soon after the coming 
 forth of "the book," an event which has been transpiring since 
 1848, and in a striking manner since August 18th, 1870 when the 
 Pope lost all temporal rule and power. It speaks also of the work 
 of the Lord beginning at that time (1830) for the restoration of 
 the literal seed of Israel to their own lands of promise, and of the 
 favor and honor which the seed of Israel would receive at the 
 
200 THE YOUNG PROPHET. 
 
 hands of the Gentiles. It speaks of the fact that the ancient civi- 
 lizations of America were built up by two separate and distinct 
 peoples, one suceeding the other in dominion -a matter largely 
 agitated by antiquarians and travelers of late, and now generally 
 admitted nations differing widely in their language and their 
 architecture. It tells of the marvelous wealth of the land in gold 
 and silver and all manner of mineral products, a matter of which 
 little comparatively was known till long since the coming forth of 
 the book. Its moral teachings and influence are unsurpassed in 
 purity, while its doctrines, plainly expressed, and embraced in 
 simple forms of speech, are the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 INSPIRED TRANSLATION. 
 
 Besides translating the Book of Mormon, Mr. Smith revised, 
 corrected and translated the Old and New Testaments or portions 
 of them restoring much that had been lost from the text, and 
 removing from the text many things of a hurtful tendency which 
 had been added by uninspired men. In this translation, in the first 
 eleven chapters, is furnished the easy answer to the question now 
 agitating the enlightened world, as to why, among all the leadin 
 ancient nations, among them the Mexicans and Peruvians, an 
 many of the Pagan nations of to-day, we find nearly all the leading 
 religious ideas of the Old and New Testaments, though in a 
 mutilated and corrupted form. It informs us that the creation, the 
 fall of man, the scheme of redemption in all its details, the punish- 
 ment of the wicked, the rewards of the righteous and the glory of 
 the redeemed, were all revealed and taught to man from Adam 
 down to Noah, and from Noah to his posterity, thus reaching 
 down to the tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. We 
 can readily see, on reflection, how natural, how easy and certain 
 it was that these wonderful and important ideas should flow out 
 with all the streams of emigration from the Tower to all parts of 
 the world, and be perpetuated under variously corrupted forms as 
 they have existed in the past, and as they exist to-day. And with 
 this view of the matter as furnished us by the Inspired Translation 
 (as also by the Book of Mormon and the revelations of Joseph), 
 we can see why it is that Jesus Christ our Lord was, and is, and is 
 to be, "the Desire of all nations" (Hag. 2:7). Every movement 
 of the wheels of time every important change among the nations 
 or among religionists, every discovery in the heavens above or in 
 the earth beneath, every hidden thing uncovered and every secret 
 thing revealed, the revelations and miracle-wonders of "the 
 spirits of devils," the revelations and testimony of God's Spirit to 
 
JOSEPH'S HISTORY. 201 
 
 man all bear witness, directly or remotely, to the important and 
 cheering fact that God has spoken from the heavens in these latter 
 days, and caused his "truth to spring out of the earth;" and that 
 he called and inspired the youth, Joseph Smith (who was assassi- 
 nated when thirty-eight years old), as His prophet, seer, revelator, 
 and translator, whom he honored in the founding and building up 
 of His church and kingdom, preparatory to the glorious appearing 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the ushering in of the age of millen- 
 nial glory. And to these facts tens of thousands of honest, rejoic- 
 ing hearts can bear truthful testimony. Joseph Smith was a pro- 
 phet of God, and every effort to disprove that fact only makes it 
 the more apparent. 
 
 JOSEPH'S HISTORY. 
 
 As a fitting conclusion, we now give a brief extract from the 
 History of Joseph Smith to show his parentage; also when, where, 
 and how he learned of his call to the work of God: 
 
 "I was born in the year of our Lord 1805, on the 23d of December, in the 
 town of Sharon, Windsor county, state of Vermont. My father, Joseph 
 Smith, senior, left the state of Vermont, and moved to Palmyra, Ontario 
 (now Wayne) county, in the state of New York, when I was in my tenth 
 year. In about four years after my father's arrival at Palmyra, he moved 
 with his family into Manchester, in the same county of Ontario. His family 
 consisted of eleven souls, namely, my father, Joseph Smith, my mother, Lucy- 
 Smith, (whose name previous to her marriage was Mack, daughter of Solo- 
 mon Mack), my brothers, Alvin, (who is now dead), Hyrum, myself, Sam- 
 uel Harrison, William, Don Carlos, and my sisters Sophronia, Catherine and 
 Lucy. 
 
 "Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was, 
 in the place where we lived," an unusual excitement on the subject of reli- 
 gion. ... I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family 
 was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that 
 church, namely, my mother, Lucy; my brothers Hyrum, Samuel Harrison, 
 and my sister, Sophronia. 
 
 "During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious 
 reflection and great uneasiness ; but, though my feelings were deep and often 
 pungent, still I kept myself aloof from all those parties ; though I attended 
 their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. 
 
 "While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the con- 
 tests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of 
 James, first chapter, and fifth verse, which reads, 'If any of you lack wis- 
 dom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth 
 not; and it shall be given him.' Never did any passage of Scripture come 
 with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It 
 seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected 
 on it again and again, knowing that if an/person needed wisdom from God, 
 I did ; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom 
 than I then had, would never know ; for the teachers of religion of the dif- 
 ferent sects understood the same passage so differently as to destroy all con- 
 
202 JOSEPH'S HISTORY. 
 
 fidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At length I came 
 to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or 
 else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at last came to the de- 
 termination to "ask of God," concluding that if He gave wisdom to them 
 that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might ven- 
 ture. So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired 
 to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful 
 clear day, early in the spring of 1820. It was the first time in my life that 
 I had made such an attempt to pray vocally. 
 
 "After I had retired into the place where I had previously designed to go, 
 .having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and be- 
 gan to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcly done so, when 
 immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me 
 und had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I 
 could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me 
 for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But exerting all my 
 powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which 
 .had seized upon me, and at the moment when I was ready to sink into des- 
 pair and abandon myself to destruction ; not to an imaginary ruin, but to 
 the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such a 
 marvellous power as I had never before felt in any being just at this mo- 
 ment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the 
 brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It 
 no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which 
 lield me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, 
 whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in .the 
 air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to 
 the other 'This is my beloved son, hear him.' 
 
 "My object in going to inquire of the Lord, was to know which of all the 
 sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore did 
 I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the per- 
 sonages who stood above me in the light which of all the sects was right 
 for at this time it had never entered my heart that all v/ere wrong and 
 which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for 
 they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all 
 their creeds were an abomination in his sight ; that those professors were all 
 corrupt ; 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from 
 me; they teach for doctrine, the commandments of men ; having a form of 
 godliness, but they deny the power thereof.' He again forbade me to join 
 with any of them ; and many other things did he say unto me, which I can 
 not write at this time. 
 
 "When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking 
 up into heaven. ... It caused me serious reflection then, and often has 
 since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen 
 years of age, "and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtain- 
 ing a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character 
 of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most 
 popular sects of the day, so as to create in them a spirit of the hottest per- 
 secution and reviling. But, strange or not, so it was, and was often cause of 
 great sorrow to myself. However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had had 
 a vision. I have thought since that I felt much like Paul, when he made 
 Iris defense before king Agrippa and related the account of the vision he 
 liad when he 'saw a light, and heard a voice ;' but still there were but few 
 
JOSEPH'S HISTORY. 203 
 
 who believecj him ; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad ; 
 and he was ridiculed and reviled ; but all this did not destroy the reality of 
 his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution 
 under heaven could not make it otherwise ; and though they should perse- 
 cute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know unto his latest breath, 
 that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking to him, and all the 
 world could not make him believe otherwise. So it was with me, I had ac- 
 tually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and 
 they did in reality speak unto me, or one of them did ; and though I was 
 hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true. . 
 . . I continued to pursue my common avocations in life until the 21st of 
 September, 1823, all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all 
 classes of men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to affirm 
 that I had seen a vision. 
 
 "During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the 
 vision, and the year 1823, having been forbidden to join any of the reli- 
 gious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by 
 those who ought to have been my friends, and to have treated me kindly, 
 and if they supposed me to be deluded, to have endeavored in a proper and 
 affectionate manner to have reclaimed me I was left to all kinds of temp- 
 tations ; and mingliug with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many 
 foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the corruption of 
 human nature ; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, to 
 the gratification of many appetites offensive in the sight of God. In con- 
 sequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and im- 
 perfections ; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned 21st of Septem- 
 ber, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer 
 and supplication to Almighty God, for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, 
 and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and stand- 
 ing before Him ; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, 
 as I had previously had one. 
 
 "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light ap- 
 pearing in the room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter 
 than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside 
 .standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose 
 robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything 
 earthly I had ever seen ; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be 
 made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant ; his hands were naked 
 and his arms also a little above the wrists ; so, also, were his feet naked, as 
 were his legs a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. 
 I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was 
 open so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly 
 white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his coun- 
 tenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so 
 very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked 
 upon him I was afraid ; but the fear soon left me. He called me by name, 
 and said unto m<- that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to 
 me, and that his name was Moroni ; that God had a work for me to do ; and 
 that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds 
 and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all 
 people. He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giv- 
 ing an account of the former inhabitants of this continent and the source 
 from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting 
 
204 JOSEPH'S HISTORY. 
 
 ^ 
 
 gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabit- 
 ants ; also, that there were two stones in silver bows and these stones, 
 fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the urim and thummim 
 deposited with the plates ; and the possession and use of these stones were 
 what constituted seers in ancient or former times ; and that God had pre- 
 pared them for the purpose of translating the book. 
 
 "After telling me these things he commenced quoting the prophecies of 
 the old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and 
 he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with 
 a little variation from the way it reads in our Bible. Instead of quoting the 
 first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus : 'For behold, the day 
 cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do 
 wickedly shall burn- as stubble ; for they that come shall burn them, saith the 
 Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch/ And again, 
 he quoted the fifth verse thus : 'Behold, I will reveal unto you the priest- 
 hood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and 
 dreadful day of the Lord ' He also quoted the next verse differently: 'And 
 he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, 
 and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, 
 the whole earth would be utterly wasted at its coming.' In addition to 
 these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to 
 be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and 
 twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said 
 that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when 'they 
 who would not hear his voice, should be cut off from among the people,' but 
 soon would come. 
 
 "He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse 
 to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. 
 And he further stated the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He 
 quoted many other passages of Scripture, and offered many other explana- 
 tions which can not be mentioned here. Again, he told me that when I got 
 those plates of which he had spoken for the time that they should be ob- 
 tained was not then fulfilled I should not show them to any person ; 
 neither the breastplate with the urim and thummim ; only to" those to 
 whom I should be commanded to show them ; if I did I should be destroyed. 
 While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened 
 to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and 
 that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.'' 
 
205 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Adam Michael, an Angel 90 
 
 American Antiquities 145, 153, 158 
 
 Apocyrpha 84 
 
 Apostasy of Latter Day Saints 171, 173 
 
 Authority 95 
 
 Baptism 48, 50, 51, 82, 83, 135, 147 
 
 " Children 83 
 
 " For the Dead 147 
 
 " Object of 52, 81 
 
 " Of Ancient Date 49, 82 
 
 " Mode of 51,135 
 
 Bible and Book of Mormon Compared 36, 128 
 
 Bible Defects in History 7, 27, 33, 86, 135 
 
 " Imitation 98 
 
 " Miracles vs. Those Now 141 
 
 " More Truth Than it Alone 55 
 
 Book of Lehi 78 
 
 Book of Mormon Brought Forth 198 
 
 Book of Mormon, Coming forth of 150 
 
 " ' u Historical Errors Possible 6 
 
 " " Morals and Theology 171 
 
 ' " Not Found by a Gentile 173 
 
 " Prophecies of 167,174 
 
 Christ's Appearing Before His Birth and After His Resurrection 17-20 
 
 " Birth, Place of , 12 
 
 " Time of 8, 135 
 
 " Crucifixion, Time of 7, 165 
 
 " Genealogy 46 
 
 " Second Coming 17 
 
 Christian Doctrine Among the Heathen 49 
 
 " Name of 22 
 
 Christians Not All Priests 58 
 
 Chronology 9 
 
 Church Organization 173, 191, 197, 198 
 
 Cities Sunk at Time of Crucifixion . . . 163 
 
206 INDEX. 
 
 Compass 145 
 
 Confusion of Languages 130 
 
 Consciousness After Death 106 
 
 Covenant Breaking 87 
 
 Cross 163 
 
 Criticism on Mormonism Invited : 5 
 
 Defects Scripture 27 
 
 Destruction of Jaredites and Lamanites 129, 142 
 
 Directors 31, 143 
 
 Doctrine of Christ 191 
 
 Egyptian Art in Peru and Mexico 159 
 
 " Reformed 138 
 
 Elias Gabriel 99, 123 
 
 Endless Punishment 148 
 
 Errors in Book of Mormon History Possible 6 
 
 " in Bible 7, 27, 33, 86, 135 
 
 Fathers two 47 
 
 Feet Washing 88 
 
 Finder of Book of Mormon Not a Gentile 173 
 
 Fossil Remains 164 
 
 Free the Slaves 195-197 
 
 Gathering 131, 168 
 
 Generation, What Constitutes -. . . 7 Y 
 
 Genesis Who Wrote 81 
 
 Gift first 97 
 
 Grammar, Joseph's 37, 40 
 
 Hell 115, 122 
 
 Horse 166 
 
 Inspiration, Degrees of 41 
 
 Inspired Translation 35, 42, 80, 128. 134, 200, 201 
 
 Interpreters 28, 31, 32, 34, 86, 94, 141, 142 
 
 Jaredites, Destruction of 129, 144 
 
 " Longevity of 127 
 
 Jaredite Kings 128 
 
 John the Baptist Resurrected 63 
 
 " a Priest 54 
 
 " Apostle, Priest 60 
 
 John the Evangelist to Tarry 89- 
 
 Joseph's Land 162 
 
 Joseph and Oliver's Ordination 52, 65- 
 
 Joseph as a Translator and Prophet 6, 94, 125 
 
 Joseph's Ministry and Writings 191, 195> 
 
 Joseph Prophesied 198, 199- 
 
INDEX. 207 
 
 Joseph's Prophecies Fulfilled: 181 
 
 " " Brighamite Apostasy 192 
 
 " " Famines 182,185 
 
 " " His Own Death 192 
 
 " " Persecution of Saints 188, 191 
 
 " u Pestilences and Scourges 177,178- 
 
 11 " " Slaves Marshaled for War 183 
 
 " " " Spiritualism 189-191 
 
 " u Wars, Foreign 182,184 
 
 " " " Indian 184 
 
 " " " War of Rebellion 184 
 
 ." " " Waves of the Sea 182" 
 
 Joseph's Seed 195 
 
 Laban Killed 133 
 
 Lamanites, Destruction of 129, 142- 
 
 Land of Joseph 162 
 
 Language Change 26, 132, 161 
 
 Longevity, Jaredite 127 
 
 Nephite 144 
 
 Man of Sin 193 
 
 Miracles 143, 175 
 
 More Truth 55 
 
 "Mormon," Word 84 
 
 Mulek, Son of Zedekiah 140 
 
 National Bank 197 
 
 Nephi, a King 124 
 
 " Builds a Temple 1 24 
 
 Nephites, Destruction of 129, 142 
 
 u Longevity 144 
 
 " Numbers of 125, 126 
 
 " Perpetuated 132 
 
 New Jerusalem 75 
 
 No Variableness 20 
 
 Oliver, to Translate 138 
 
 Omissions 30 
 
 Ordinations, Joseph and Oliver 52, 64, 137' 
 
 Organization of the Church 176, 191 
 
 Page, Hiram 136 
 
 Papacy, Fall of, Foretold 165 
 
 People of Zarahemla 24 
 
 " Two *45 
 
 Plagiarism, Charge of, Refuted 20, 81, 96, 130 
 
 Plates of Book of Mormon 23, 27, 28, 68, 71, 100, 139, 147, 152: 
 
208 INDEX. 
 
 Polygamy Not Joseph's Doctrine 115 
 
 Pre-existence 19, 43 
 
 Priesthood, Aaronic 16, S3, 56, 59, 63 
 
 " Melchisedek 13, 55, 59, 62, 137 
 
 Primitive Gospel 198 
 
 Printing House 84 
 
 Prophecies of Book of Mormon 165, 168 
 
 of Joseph 118, 193 
 
 Eeign, Long 129 
 
 "Relics 11 155, 166 
 
 Eeformed Egyptian 138 
 
 Second Coming of Christ , 11 
 
 "Seventy Weeks" of Daniel 9 
 
 Sheol 122 
 
 Sons of Levi 53 
 
 Soul of Man 41, 94, 108 
 
 Spaulding 174 
 
 Spiritual Creation 43 
 
 Gifts 192 
 
 Spirits 113-125 
 
 Stone, Hiram Page 135 
 
 Temple 126 
 
 Testimony of Cowdery, "Whitmer and Harris 71, 99, 135, 137 
 
 Three and Eight Witnesses 99 
 
 Three Glories 92, 149 
 
 " Nephites 24 
 
 Tithes 15 
 
 Translator 199, 200 
 
 " Joseph as a 6, 85, 96 
 
 " Responsible Only for the Faithfulness of His Work 6 
 
 Truth, All, Harmonious 176 
 
 Try the Spirits 194 
 
 Urim and Thummim 3], 95 
 
 Witnesses, Three and Eight 100 
 
 Zarahemlaites . v 25 
 
 Zend Avesta 21 
 
 Zion Not Removed.. ..133