CHAPTER LXVI.

The Last Day--Ford's Action at Nauvoo--Conspiracy Between the Guards

and Murderous Mob Militia--The Prisoners Left to their Fate--"A Poor

Wayfaring Man of Grief"--The Assault and the Murder--The End

Anecdotes and Sayings of the Prophet

Appendix

THE HOUR

The Ripened Time.

* * *

_Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation

of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every

unclean and hateful bird_.

_For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her

fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication

with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the

abundance of her delicacies_.

* * * _Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins

and that ye receive not of her plagues_.

_For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her

iniquities_.

THE PROPHECY OF JOHN THE REVELATOR.

THE APOSTASY AND THE RESTORATION.

In the reign of Tiberius of Rome, the Lord Jesus was crucified. At

the hour of the atonement, His Gospel was to the dominant earthly

power only "a deadly superstition," [1] "a strange and pestilent

superstition," [2] sought to be crushed at any cost by the ruthless

power of the pagan empire. Thus came the persecutions of the early

Christians, lasting until after Christianity, with irresistible power,

had "sprung up, even in Rome, the common reservoir for all the streams

of wickedness and infamy." [1]

In the midst of these early tribulations, the plain and simple Gospel

was becoming involved and mystified by the many opposing sects which

professed to believe in Jesus; and yet it retained so much of divinity

as enabled it to resist persecution and idolatry, and made it, in the

fourth century, the established religion of Rome.

This elevation was not achieved without some sacrifice of identity. And

in the commingling with error, truth yielded much. [3]

The Roman emperor, Constantine I., was led to show favor to the

unpopular people; but his friendliness to Christianity demanded and

received its price. He sought as much the welfare of the state as the

progress of the religion to which he had been only in part converted;

and when he exacted concessions of creed and principle, the Fathers

felt forced to comply. It was Constantine who called the first Council

of Nice. He presided over its opening session, and dictated its policy

in accordance with his own imperial ambitions. [4]

From that time on, for twelve hundred years, the Church of Rome grew in

lustful power. The first great check was when the German monk, Martin

Luther, with bared feet, fled in disappointment from the debauched

court of Pope Leo X. Luther's courage partly stripped the idol of its

awe-invoking cloak of mystery and dread threats; and never more did the

whole civilized world crouch in terror at the feet of Rome.

The freedom of thought heralded by the Reformation, at last found its

abuse in the Age of Reason and the blasphemy of the French Revolution.

At first rejecting Christianity for a dream of paganism restored, the

infidels, in turn, exchanged pagan mythology, with its gods many, for

their own new mythology, with its gods none.

This tempest of profane unbelief was too violent to be enduring. A

re-awakening to religious fervor was manifest in Christendom. Men

gladly blotted from their memories the dread of the _auto-da-fe_; the

inquisition dungeons and racks of Spain and Italy, the funeral fires

of England, the witch-hanging and Quaker-driving of the New World, and

all the atrocities sacrilegiously practiced as ceremonies of worship.

Mankind turned back by thousands to find satisfaction for their

inherent necessity--belief in a Higher Power.

But that Higher Power was itself an unfathomable mystery. God had been

misunderstood for centuries. Much of the world had known nothing of Him

--His nature or His purposes--from the death of Christ's Apostles. The

men who had known Him walked no more in the midst of mankind. Prophets

and apostles, while they lived, taught their fellow-men that he was

a distinct personality--a glorious Being in whose likeness man was

created. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was declared "to be made like

unto his brethren"--"made in the likeness of men"--and "in the likeness

of sinful flesh;" yet inspired men claimed Him as being "in the form of

God"--"the express image of His person"--"the image of the invisible

God." But, as generations and centuries passed, true knowledge

concerning the Creator faded away. A spiritual meaning concerning His

personage and attributes was given to the testimony of those who had

known Him. Modern sectarianism taught the world that God, the Father,

of whose person Jesus was the "express image," was an all-pervading God

of spirit--a Being who, without any tangible existence, is everywhere

in the material world--a Being "without body, parts or passions,"

"whose center was nowhere and whose circumference was everywhere."

Professing to have an understanding of the Deity, they differed but

little from the Pantheists, who, rejecting a personal God, made bold

avowal of an all-existing God of nature--the combined forces and laws

which are manifested in the existing universe.

Thus blinded, how could mankind offer true worship to the Lord of

heaven and earth?

The Eastern World had lost this knowledge of the Lord earlier than the

Western Hemisphere. Upon the land of North America, four hundred years

after the birth of our Savior and Master, there stood at least one

man who knew the Lord God Almighty as a distinct personality, a Being

capable of communicating Himself to man. That man was Moroni, the son

of Mormon, whose testimony abides now and must abide through all the

ages to come. [5]

It was upon this land that Jesus last appeared to His brethren who

dwelt in mortality; and it was predestined that upon this land man was

to first receive a renewal of divine revelation. After the discovery

of the hemisphere which had been so long concealed from the knowledge

of those who had dwelt upon the other parts of the earth, nearly three

centuries elapsed before a nation with a charter of liberty divinely

ordained was established. In God's providence it was necessary that

those who had been led here by His hand should receive political

emancipation to prepare the way for the restoration of the gospel in

its purity and the Church of Christ in the plenitude of its power.

Political salvation had first been declared, that men's bodies might be

free and their souls be filled with high aspirations to prepare for the

greater enfranchisement and redemption which were to appear.

The period succeeding the Revolution was filled with a veritable Babel

of religious creeds. Every obsolete tradition was revived; every

possible human fancy of doctrine was promulgated; and each found its

upholding sect. Confusion and doubt waxed fat, feeding upon human

fears. No earthly wisdom could bring peace to the sects or make harmony

among the creeds.

It became the ripe hour for the Heavens to open and with their

Celestial light show to man the way out of the abyss into which he had

fallen. It became the hour for the re-establishment of heavenly truth

--the Gospel of Christ and its direct communications between God and

humanity: a religion which should cast off alike the skepticism of

"reason" and the shackles of superstition; a religion which should be

bold in righteous faith and convincing in its revealed philosophy. By

Divine aid the way had been paved for this renewal.

For the greater part of eighteen hundred years humanity had been

perverting the Gospel of Jesus, the Anointed.

Then the Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, revealed themselves

from heaven. This glorious manifestation was followed by the angel

flying in the midst of heaven, who proclaimed that the restoration of

the Gospel had come.

Footnotes

1. Tacitus

2. Suetonius

3. Paganism, unable to oppose Christianity successfully, has done much

to corrupt it, and in numberless ways had made inroads upon its purity.

_Prof. T. M. Lindsay_, Glasgow.

4. The interest of the emperor [Constantine] was still (at the Council

of Nice) primarily political and official, rather than personal. _W.

Browning Smith_.

5. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation, behold, when

the Lord shall come; yea, even that great day when the earth shall be

rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent

heat; yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before

the Lamb of God, then will ye say there is no God?

Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God?

For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God

and also, the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will

kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the

Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless,

pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb,

at that great and last day.

And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and

say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor

prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the

interpretation of tongues.

Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things, knoweth not the

gospel of Christ.

For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever;

and in Him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

THE MAN

Joseph Smith at Nauvoo.

May 15, 1844.

_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

powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by

no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus

written: JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET. And the reply, absurd as it

doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace

to their descendants. 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 today 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 his memory with unsavory epithets. * * *

The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to

do with this man and what he has left us. * * * Burning questions they

are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country

to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith,

claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men

have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such

as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I

saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his

person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the

Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. "I am going like a

lamb to the slaughter," he is reported to have said; "but I am as calm

as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense and shall

die innocent_."

JOSIAH QUINCY'S "FIGURES OF THE PAST."

THE "CHOICE SEER."

In the day of Jesus, every act and every circumstance of His life was

ridiculed and belittled by his jealous enemies. But the record of

His career, from which the present world of Christians makes up its

judgment of Him, was not written until all insignificant or paltry

things had been forgotten; and now His character, illuminated by the

eternal sunshine of heaven, stands outlined against the blue vastness

of the past in sublime simplicity. Let us view Joseph Smith in the same

light--see him as he towered in the full radiance of his labors; see

him the reconciler of divergent sects and doctrines, the oracle of the

Almighty to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples.

Joseph Smith had been a retiring youth--the Spirit made him bold to

declare to rulers and potentates and all mankind, the Gospel again

revealed. He had been a humble farmer lad--Divine authority sat so

becomingly upon him that men looked at him with reverent awe. He had

been unlearned in the great things of art and science--he walked with

God until human knowledge was to his eye an open book, the Celestial

light beamed through his mind.

His lofty soul comprehended the grandeur of his mission upon earth; and

with divine fortitude he fulfilled the destiny which God had ordained

for him before the world was.

When he had achieved the prime of his manhood, he seemed to combine

all attractions and excellencies. His physical person was the fit

habitation of his exalted spirit. He was more than six feet in

height, with expansive chest and clean cut limbs--a staunch and

graceful figure. His head, crowned with a mass of soft, wavy hair,

was grandly poised. His face possessed a complexion of such clearness

and transparency that the soul appeared to shine through. He wore no

beard, and the full strength and beauty of his countenance impressed

all beholders at a glance. He had eyes which seemed to read the hearts

of men. His mouth was one of mingled power and sweetness. His majesty

of air was natural, not studied. Though full of personal and prophetic

dignity whenever occasion demanded, he could at other times unbend

and be as happy and unconventional as a boy. This was one of his most

striking characteristics; and it was sometimes held up to scorn by his

traducers, that the chosen "man of God" should at times mingle as a man

of earth with his earthly brethren. And yet it is a false ridicule; for

Savior and prophets must, like other men, eat, drink and wear apparel.

They have the physical necessities and the affections and enjoyments

which are common to other men. And it is this petty human fact--that a

divine apostle with an earthly body has hunger and thirst to appease,

that he cannot always be prophesying, but has hours to smile with the

gay and to weep with the saddened--which leaves him "without honor in

his own country."

But whether engaging in manly sport, during hours of relaxation, or

proclaiming words of wisdom in pulpit or grove, he was ever the leader.

His magnetism was masterful, and his heroic qualities won universal

admiration. Where he moved all classes were forced to recognize in him

the man of power. Strangers journeying to see him from a distance, knew

him the moment their eyes beheld his person. Men have crossed ocean and

continent to meet him, and have selected him instantly from among a

multitude. [1]

It was a part of Joseph Smith's great mission "to combat the errors of

ages; to meet the violence of mobs; to cope with illegal proceedings

from executive authority; to cut the Gordian knot of powers; to solve

mathematical problems of universities with truth--diamond truth." He

performed a work, "not pagan ire, nor tooth of time, nor sword, nor

fire, shall bring to naught."

The Prophet's life was exalted and unselfish. His death was a sealing

martyrdom, following after that which was completed upon Calvary for

the redemption of a world.

Footnotes

1. It was the author's privilege to thus meet the Prophet for the first

time. The occasion was the arrival of a large company of Latter-day

Saints at the upper landing at Nauvoo. The General Conference of the

Church was in session and large numbers crowded to the landing place

to welcome the emigrants. Nearly every prominent man in the community

was there. Familiar with the names of all and the persons of many of

the prominent Elders, the author sought with a boy's curiosity and

eagerness, to discover those whom he knew, and especially to get sight

of the Prophet and his brother Hyrum, neither of whom he had ever

met. When his eyes fell upon the Prophet, without a word from any

one to point him out, or any reason to separate him from others who

stood around, he knew him instantly. He would have known him among

ten thousand. There was that about him, which to the author's eyes,

distinguished him from all the men he had ever seen.

JOSEPH SMITH'S LIFE AND WORK

Joseph the Prophet.

CHAPTER I.

JOSEPH'S HUMBLE EXTRACTION--THE GODLINESS AND FAIR FAME OF HIS

ANCESTRY--A PREMONITION OF HIS WORK.

Joseph Smith was of humble birth. His parents and their progenitors

were toilers; but their characters were godly and their names unstained.

In the year 1638, Robert Smith, a sturdy yeoman of England, emigrated

to the New World, the land of promise. He settled in Essex County,

Massachusetts, and afterwards married Mary French. The numerous

descendants of these worthy people intermarried with many of the

staunchest and most industrious families of New England. Samuel, the

son of Robert and Mary, born January 26th, 1666, wedded Rebecca Curtis,

January 25th, 1707. Their son, the second Samuel, was born January

26th, 1714; he married Priscilla Gould, and was the father of Asael,

born March 7th, 1744. Asael Smith took to wife Mary Duty, and their son

Joseph was born July 12th, 1771. On the 24th of January, 1796, Joseph

married Lucy Mack, at Tunbridge, in the State of Vermont. She was born

July 8th, 1776, and was the daughter of Solomon and Lydia Mack, and was

the granddaughter of Ebenezer Mack.

The men of these two families, Smith and Mack, through several

generations had been tillers of the soil. They were devout and

generous, measurably prosperous in a worldly sense, and several of them

were brave and steadfast soldiers through the early Colonial campaigns

and the Revolutionary struggle.

After the marriage of Joseph Smith with Lucy Mack, they settled,

respected and happy, upon their own farm at Tunbridge. Here they were

successful, financially, for a few years, until the dishonesty of a

trusted friend and agent robbed them of their surplus means and left

them plunged in debt. They freely sacrificed all of money value which

they possessed, even homestead and Lucy's treasured marriage portion,

and paid every just claim which was held against them. Left thus in

absolute poverty, they sought to retrieve their loss of home; and

Tunbridge, where they were known and respected, offered for a time a

prospect of success. Soon afterwards, however, they removed to Sharon,

where Joseph rented a farm from his father-in-law. This field he

diligently tilled through the summer, and during the winter taught the

village school. Comfort was restored to them; but they were destined to

be still tried and sanctified by the tribulations of life. Honest and

industrious, pious and benevolent, yet Joseph and Lucy saw themselves

and their children pursued by poverty, illness and the cold neglect of

their fellow-mortals. They repined not at their chastenings, but they

marveled.

God was teaching the parents the great lesson of personal humility; and

they and their children were learning how fleeting is earthly wealth

and how fallible is mere human friendship. For the choice seed which is

to bring forth rich and perfect fruit, the Lord Almighty prepares the

soil of His garden.

The paternal grandfather of the Prophet was Asael Smith, a man of the

strongest religious convictions, and yet a man whose broad humanitarian

views were repugnant to many of the sectarians of the day. Upon one

occasion, before the Prophet's birth, Asael Smith had a premonition

that one of his descendants should be a great teacher and leader of

men. To quote his words, as they are remembered and recorded by one who

knew and heard him speak: "It has been borne in upon my soul that one

of my descendants will promulgate a work to revolutionize the world of

religious faith."

It is not known if the young Joseph ever learned of this prophetic

declaration, until after his own career had been made manifest. But

Asael lived to see the dawn of the fulfillment of his words. Just

before his death, the Book of Mormon, then recently printed, was

presented to him. He accepted it, and with the light of inspiration

which sometimes illumines the mind of man as the veil of eternity opens

to his gaze, Asael solemnly warned his attendants to give heed to the

Book, for it was true, and its coming forth heralded a renewal of the

Gospel light.

CHAPTER II.

BIRTH OF JOSEPH--FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES--TOIL AND POVERTY--REMOVAL TO NEW

YORK--INTENSE RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT.

The circumstances and surroundings of the elder Joseph were of the

humblest, when unto his house was born, on the 23rd of December, 1805,

Joseph, the Prophet of the Last Dispensation. The family were still

living in the little town of Sharon, in Windsor County, Vermont; and

were, at the time, greatly impoverished. Very early, therefore, was the

future Prophet compelled to learn the lessons of labor, patience and

self-denial. The father was striving, with every faculty, to repair his

shattered fortunes, that he might educate his children and provide for

their comfort and well-being; but successive disasters consumed his

little savings. After a time, he removed from Sharon, and later, in

1815, left the State of Vermont, locating at Palmyra, Ontario County,

New York: in which place and the adjoining town of Manchester, whither

the family moved four years afterward, they dwelt for several years.

Here they engaged in clearing land and farming, the boys, including

the young Joseph, giving their constant aid to the family work. With

the severest toil they could only compass a frugal mode of life. But

they wasted no time in useless repining. They were able to pay their

obligations, to maintain their honest name, to live in happiness, and

to devote some hours of each week to the rudimentary education of the

younger children.

The offspring of Joseph and Lucy Smith, with the dates and places of

their birth, are named as follow: [1]

Alvin, born February 11th, 1798, at Tunbridge, Vermont.

Hyrum, born February 9th, 1800, at Tunbridge, Vermont.

Sophronia, born May 18th, 1803, at Tunbridge, Vermont.

Joseph, born December 23rd, 1805, at Sharon, Vermont.

Samuel, born March 13th, 1808, at Tunbridge, Vermont.

Ephraim, born March 13th, 1810, at Royalton, Vermont.

William, born March 13th, 1811, at Royalton, Vermont.

Catherine, born July 8th, 1812, at Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Don Carlos, born March 25th, 1816, probably at Palmyra, New York.

Lucy, born July 18th, 1821, probably at Palmyra, New York.

The first quarter of the nineteenth century was a time of intense

religious excitement, and New York and surrounding states were the

scenes of many revivals and much strife. Not only among preachers and

exhorters was the enthusiasm manifested, but the people themselves

became much exercised over their sinful condition, and ran here and

there in a wild search for the salvation for which their souls seemed

to yearn. The movement originated with the Methodists; but it soon

spread to other sects in the neighborhood, until the whole region was

infected by it, and the greatest excitement was created, in which all

the good effects of a revival were swallowed up in bitter contests of

opinions and the strife of words between the adherents of the various

creeds.

The Smith family inclined towards the Presbyterian faith, and the

mother, two sons and a daughter united themselves with that church.

Joseph was at the time in his fifteenth year--just at an age, with his

limited experience, he might be deemed most susceptible to the example

of others. He listened and considered, yet could not profess the faith

of his family. The clergymen of other sects assailed him; but although

he became somewhat partial to the Methodist creed, their soft words and

direful threats were alike unavailing. The tempest could not reach the

depths of the boy's nature. Unknown to himself he was awaiting the hour

when the divine message should stir the waters of his soul.

Footnotes

1. See NOTE 1., APPENDIX.

CHAPTER III.

LIGHT FROM THE SCRIPTURES--THE PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER--"THIS IS MY

BELOVED SON: HEAR HIM"--PERSECUTION AND SCOFFING OF THE MULTITUDE--

JOSEPH DOUBTS HIMSELF AND SUPPLICATES FOR RENEWED HELP.

Joseph was earnest beyond his years; but he was not of a nature to

become a prey to morbid feelings. He was neither terrified by the

awful threats of the revivalists into a ready acceptance of their

dogmas, nor driven by their divisions and strife into unbelief in

revealed religion. The all-absorbing question with him was: Which

of these churches is the church of Christ? Under the influence of

his great desire to know the truth and the correct path which led to

salvation, he made a thoughtful analysis of the proffered creeds. Can

it be wondered at that he was bewildered in the labyrinth of paths,

each of which claimed to be the heavenly way? When at divers times he

thought of uniting himself with some one of the churches, his further

investigation each time revealed some false mysteries. Dissatisfied

with their claims and pretensions, and conscious of his own want of

knowledge and how easily he might err in a matter of such vital and

eternal importance, he was led to seek for guidance from a righteous

source. He had recourse to the word of God.

Searching the scriptures for comfort and light, one happy and most

fortunate moment he read these sacred words:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men

liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

Like a flash of sunlight through lowering clouds, the import of a

mighty truth burst upon Joseph's mind. He had been vainly asking help

from men who had answered him out of their own darkness. He determined

now to seek assistance from God. A modest fear might suggest: Who was

he that he should dare to approach the great Creator's throne? But

there was the plain promise. He could not doubt it, without doubting

his Maker. He felt that he lacked wisdom; and to such as he, asking of

God, there was the divine pledge to hear and give without upbraiding.

It was one morning in early springtime of the year 1820, that Joseph

felt the earnest prompting and adopted the holy resolve. He walked into

the depths of a wood, which stood near his home, and sought a little

glade. There, in trembling humility, but with a faith which thrilled

his soul--alone, unseen of man, he fell upon his knees and lifted his

voice in prayer to God. While he was calling upon the Almighty, a

subtle and malignant power seized him and stilled his utterance. Deep

darkness enveloped him; he felt that he was in the grasp of Satan,

and that the destroyer was exerting all the power of hell to drag him

to sudden destruction. In his agony he called anew upon the Lord for

deliverance; and at the moment when he seemed to be sinking under the

power of the evil one, the deep gloom was rolled away and he saw a

brilliant light. A pillar of celestial fire, far more glorious than

the brightness of the noon-day sun, appeared directly above him. The

defeated power fled with the darkness; and Joseph's spirit was free to

worship and marvel at his deliverance. Gradually the light descended

until it rested upon him; and he saw, standing above him in the air,

enveloped in the pure radiance of the fiery pillar, two personages of

incomparable beauty, alike in form and feature, and clad alike in snowy

raiment. Sublime, dazzling, they filled his soul with awe. At length,

One, calling Joseph by name, stretched His shining arm towards the

other, and said:

"THIS IS MY BELOVED SON: HEAR HIM!"

As soon as Joseph could regain possession of himself, to which he was

encouraged by the benign and comforting look of the Son, and by the

heavenly bliss which pervaded his own soul, he found words to ask,

which of all the multitude of churches upon the face of the globe had

the gospel of Christ; for up to this time it had never entered his mind

to doubt that the true church of the Lamb, pure and undefiled, had

an existence somewhere among men. But the answer came that no one of

the creeds of earth was pure, and that Joseph must unite himself with

none of them. Said the glorious Being: "THEY DRAW NEAR ME WITH THEIR

LIPS, BUT THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME; THEY TEACH FOR THE DOCTRINE

THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN, HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT THEY DENY THE

POWER THEREOF."

Even in the transport of his vision, Joseph felt amazed at the

instruction. But the Heavenly Personages continued to commune with him,

and repeated Their command that he should not ally himself with any

of the man-made sects. Then They and Their enclosing pillar of light

passed from his gaze, and he was left to look into the immensity of

space.

The boy's faith in the promises of God had now deepened into knowledge.

He had been assailed by the power of evil, until it seemed he must

succumb--that the limit of human endurance was passed. And in that

instant of deepest despair, he had been suddenly transported into the

blaze of celestial light. He had seen with his own eyes the Father and

the Son, with his own ears he had heard Their eternal voice. Over this

untaught youth at least, the Heavens were no longer as brass. He had

emerged from the maze of doubt and uncertainty in which he had so long

groped, and had received positive assurances on the matter nearest his

heart from Him, whom to know was anciently declared to be life eternal.

Emboldened, satisfied, and happy beyond expression, Joseph's first

thought was of his loved ones. He must impart the glorious truth to

them. His parents and his brethren listened, and were lost in awe

at his straightforward recital. He next sought his old friends the

ministers, those who had affected such an interest in his welfare and

who would nave so willingly acted as his guides toward heaven. His

first experience with these gentlemen was somewhat discouraging. A

Methodist preacher who had formerly cultivated the utmost friendship,

and who probably had acquired considerable influence with him, was

soon informed by Joseph of the Heavenly manifestation. The pious man

treated the communication with contempt, and curtly replied that

there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days,

they having ceased with the Apostles, and that the whole thing was of

the Devil. Other ministers, and in fact the religious portion of the

entire neighborhood, as the event became more widely known, united in

the determination to overwhelm with ridicule and abuse that which they

found themselves unable to silence by argument.

Joseph had been a great favorite among his neighbors, his gentle ways

had made him beloved by all; he now was hated and reviled. He had

been especially sought after by the clergy because of his diligence,

earnestness and humility in striving to secure the grace of God; he now

was stigmatized as a dissolute dreamer, a worthless knave and an an

arrant hypocrite. A boy of fourteen is seldom the object of universal

conversation and comment in his locality; yet this youth's enemies did

not rest short of lifting him to an eminence where he could the better

be seen and scorned of all men.

His family were made to share the vindictiveness and contumely

exhibited toward him which at last reached such a pitch that an attempt

was actually made to assassinate him. The family, on hearing the report

of the gun, rushed from the house only to find the marks made by the

crouching murderer at the side of the path, and the leaden missiles

embedded a short distance from the spot.

But persecution, slander and cruel outrage were all unable to change

the steadfast testimony of Joseph. Three years passed away, during

which time he was true to his trust through toil and poverty, through

scorn and tribulation. The heavens no more opened to his view in

this trying period; but the youth, who was fast maturing--growing in

strength and understanding--was able to show the staunchness of his

nature while he waited in patience and humility for the additional

light which he had been led to expect.

Yet Joseph was human, with human loves and human wants. He sorrowed to

find himself and his kindred cast off by all their old associates, and

he at times was forced into the society of persons who made few or no

pretensions to religion.

Doubtless the avowed infidels and unbelievers, whom he thus

occasionally met, were no more lacking in genuine purity than were

the self-righteous enthusiasts who shunned him except when they

could devise some means for persecution and torture. But he had not

yet learned to justly weigh the virtues and failings of others; and

often he reproached himself with sinfulness because of his enforced

associations. His quick conscience was apt to exaggerate every youthful

foible, and he regarded many of his acts of thoughtlessness as offenses

at which the Heavens must frown.

At last he felt the imperative need of light and help from the source

whence flows all truth. He acknowledged that he had fallen into many

foolish errors and youthful weaknesses; and he prayed without ceasing

for the pardon of every wrong which he had done. He plead earnestly

that he might gain greater knowledge for his guidance, and asked for

a manifestation, from which he might know concerning his state and

standing before the Lord. Despite his own self-accusation, the answer

to his prayer proves that his probationary period had been passed

satisfactorily to the Heavens and that he was still unstained by any

dark offense.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ANGEL MORONI VISITS JOSEPH THRICE IN THE NIGHT--A RECORD TO BE

BROUGHT FORTH--VISION OF CUMORAH.

It was on the night of the 21st of September, in the year 1823, that

Joseph, having retired to his humble room, invoked an answer to his

petition unto the Lord. While lying upon his bed thus seeking with all

the power of his spirit, the usual darkness of the room began to fade

away and a spreading glory appeared, which increased until the room was

lighter than at noonday. In the midst of this light, which was most

brilliant around his person, stood a radiant being, whose countenance

was more bright than vivid lightning and was marvelously lovely. He

seemed of greater stature than an ordinary man and moved and stood

without touching the floor. He was clothed in a robe of intense and

dazzling whiteness, far exceeding anything of an earthly character; and

his hands and wrists and feet and ankles, as well as his head and neck,

were bare. The glorious personage stood at Joseph's bedside; and to the

awed youth, in a voice of tenderness and comfort, calling Joseph by

name, the angel announced himself to be a messenger from the presence

of the Almighty, and that his name was Moroni. The holy visitor then

proceeded to unfold some of the grand purposes of the Lord. He said

that through Joseph, God's power and kingdom were to be restored to

earth; that Joseph's name should go out to all nations, kindred and

tongues, to be blessed by the pure reviled by the unholy--that it

should be both good and evil spoken of among all people; that in the

fulfillment of this mission, Joseph would be led to a hill, where was

buried an ancient record engraved upon plates of gold, which record was

a history of the nations that had inhabited the American continent,

and furthermore contained the fulness of the Gospel as given during

the administration of Jesus on this land. He said that with the plates

were hidden two sacred stones, set in a bow of silver fastened to a

breastplate, and called Urim and Thummim, by the possession and use of

which, men in ancient times had become seers, and by means of which,

aided by the inspiration of Heaven, Joseph also would become a seer and

be able to read and translate the engraven record.

While the angel was thus speaking, Joseph was enabled in vision to

see clearly and distinctly the holy hill and its environs, and the

particular spot upon the hillside where the plates were held in silent

trust. Moroni resumed his teachings, saying that the hour had not yet

come for the translation of the record, but Joseph must prepare his

mind by prayer and thought for the exalted duties and blessings which

awaited him; and he most solemnly warned the youth, on penalty of sure

destruction, against showing the hidden treasures to anyone except by

commandment of God. Before taking his leave, the angelic messenger

rehearsed much of ancient prophecy relating to the restoration of

all holiness, the second coming of our Savior and His dominion upon

earth; he explained many scriptural utterances; and of the wicked and

unbelieving blasphemies, he spoke in such a sorrowful yet terrible

voice that these words seemed to still the beating of the listener's

heart:

"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!"

Among many commands and promises, Moroni gave this assurance from the

Lord to Joseph:

"BEHOLD, I WILL REVEAL UNTO YOU THE PRIESTHOOD BY THE HAND OF ELIJAH

THE PROPHET, BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE

LORD."

As the angel ceased to speak, all the light of the room gathered to his

person. Above him all earthly things seemed moved away and a shining

pillar was stretching heavenward. With a look of hope and blessing upon

the youth, Moroni ascended; and when he disappeared, darkness again

fell about the bedside.

Powerful emotions crowded upon Joseph's mind as he recalled the things

which had been revealed to him. And while he yet pondered, once more

Moroni came and stood in a blazing glory and repeated solemnly the

heavenly lessons to the listening youth, adding that great judgments

were coming upon the earth, and that grievous desolations should be

poured out during this present generation.

Again Moroni ascended as before; and yet for the third time he

returned to repeat the message of which he was the bearer. The solemn

instructions were once more given, and with them a special warning

concerning the plates of gold and the sacred stones. He told Joseph

that by reason of the poverty of himself and family, Satan would try

to tempt him to use them for the purpose of getting rich, and that if

he had any other motive than the glory of God, they would be withheld.

Many hours had passed in this communion, and when the heavenly

ambassador disappeared for the third time, Joseph heard the birds of

the air heralding the coming of the dawn.

CHAPTER V.

A MID-DAY VISITATION--JOSEPH CONFIDES IN HIS EARTHLY FATHER--CUMORAH

AND THE SACRED BOX--NEW PROBATION IS FIXED--SUCCESSIVE VISITS AND

MINISTRATIONS OF THE ANGEL--JOSEPH'S GROWTH IN GODLINESS.

At his usual hour of arising, Joseph left his bed, and according to

his custom went to labor in the field. The experiences of the night

had swept all color from his face. His mind was filled with thoughts

unutterable, and his attention was fixed beyond his earthly toil. His

father observed that the boy seemed weak, and acted strangely, and told

him to go home. Joseph started from the field towards the house, but on

his way, in attempting to cross a fence, he sank helpless to the earth.

He was recalled from a partial swoon by a voice which gently spoke his

name. He looked up and saw the same glorious messenger standing above

his head, clothed about with an effulgence which eclipsed the splendor

of the noonday sun.

Once more the angel told the truths of the night before, with their

commands and warnings, and he instructed Joseph to return to his

father, and impart to him that which he had learned of the purposes

of God. He obeyed at once, and standing there in the harvest field,

related to his father all that had passed. The inspiration of heaven

rested upon the elder Joseph as he heard the lad's words; and when the

account was finished, he said "My son, these things are of God; take

heed that you proceed in all holiness to do His will."

Having the consent and blessing of his earthly father, Joseph departed

to visit the hill. And now, within a few hours of its utterance, was

one of the angel's predictions fulfilled. During the journey of two or

three miles beyond Manchester toward the hill which had been pointed

out to him in vision, Joseph was made to feel within him the striving

of two invisible powers. On the one hand, the evil one presented

alluring prospects of worldly gain from the possession of the plates of

gold--on the other, the better influence whispered that the record was

sacred and must only be used for the glory of God and the fulfillment

of His purposes. In this frame of mind he approached the spot which

he had seen in vision. It was on the west side and near the top of a

hill which stood higher than any other in that neighborhood. [1] He

easily recognized the exact place which held the holy treasure; and

upon reaching it, he saw the rounded top of a stone peeping from the

ground, while all the edges were encased in the earth. He speedily

moved the surface soil, and with the aid of a lever raised the stone,

which proved to be the covering of a rock cavity or box. Into this box

he looked, and found that it did indeed contain the promised plates of

gold and the Urim and Thummim.

Joseph could see that the box had been fashioned by cementing stones

together to form the bottom and sides; while the rock which he had

lifted away, beveled thin at the edges but thick and rounded at the

center, had formed a close-fitting cover to the sacred receptacle.

Within and across each end of the bottom of the box lay a stone; and

upon these the plates and other treasures rested.

Carried away for a moment by admiration and his eager desire to learn

further, Joseph stretched forth his hands to remove the records, but

instantly the messenger was by his side and stayed his touch. Moroni

informed him that four years must elapse before he could be permitted

to hold and examine the contents of the box; in the meantime he must

prove faithful as he had proved in the past, and on each succeeding

anniversary of that day, during the intervening years, he must appear

at the spot to view the sacred records, renew his covenants and be

instructed from the Lord.

Many precious truths the angel now imparted to him: telling him that

he, Moroni, while yet living, had hidden up the plates in the hill,

four centuries after Christ, to await their coming forth in the

destined hour of God's mercy to man; that he, Moroni, was the son of

Mormon, a prophet of the ancient Nephites, who had once dwelt on this

land; that to the Nephites this sacred hill was known as Cumorah,

and to the Jaredites (who had still more anciently inhabited this

continent), as Ramah; and much more did he impart to Joseph concerning

the mysteries of the past, and the future purposes of Almighty God in

the redemption of fallen mankind.

Then the kingdom of Heaven, in all its majesty, and the dominion of the

Prince of darkness, in all its terror, were brought to Joseph's vision,

and Moroni said:

"ALL THIS IS SHOWN, THE GOOD AND THE EVIL, THE HOLY AND THE IMPURE, THE

GLORY OF GOD AND THE POWER OF DARKNESS, THAT YOU MAY KNOW HEREAFTER THE

TWO POWERS, AND NEVER BE INFLUENCED OR OVERCOME BY THAT WICKED ONE."

Joseph restored the cover to the box and replaced the earth; and when

the Heavenly messenger had ended the counsel and disappeared, the youth

again sought his home, marveling greatly at the goodness and infinite

power of his Creator.

Happily for the comfort of the chosen Prophet, at this hour he met

help within the family circle. He imparted to his parents and the

older children all that he had been empowered to reveal; and their

understanding and faith were quickened to the acceptance of the truth.

They learned to know of a surety that God had spoken and that Joseph

must obey.

On each recurrence of the twenty-second day of September during the

next three years, Joseph visited the hill Cumorah. Each time he opened

the box, viewed its precious contents, and then restored the hiding

place to its former appearance. Each time, the messenger visited him

on that consecrated spot; chastening him to patience, exacting anew a

covenant of self-sacrificing fidelity to the trust, and extending the

counsels and instructions pertaining to the re-establishment, at the

proper hour, of the Church of Christ upon the earth.

This continued communion wrought God's purpose with Joseph. It gave

him a comprehension of the destiny of man, both earthly and eternal;

unfolding to his view the progression of his race, from heaven

through the probation of this world and back to the judgment seat of

Omnipotence. It filled him with a burning zeal, and a higher wisdom

than that taught in the schools began to expand his intellect; he

was learning the sublime principle of just government; he was being

fitted to become the instrument to re-establish the Church which should

endure until the coming of Christ to reign therein in glory. Out of

His all-compassing power, the Lord gave to this unlearned youth, from

year to year, knowledge according to the hour of his need; and the

bestowal of this heavenly wisdom was continued to Joseph through all

the vicissitudes of the mortality which culminated in that awful day at

Carthage.

Footnotes

1. See NOTE 2., APPENDIX.

CHAPTER VI.

JOSEPH'S WILLING TOIL--FOUR YEARS OF WAITING--HE FINDS WORK IN

PENNSYLVANIA--HIS MARRIAGE WITH EMMA HALE--THE PROBATION COMPLETED.

When Joseph first stood upon the sacred hill Cumorah, he was in his

eighteenth year. The time in which the human character most strongly

assumes its shaping was to be with him the ensuing four years.

Wondrous as had been the vision of the host of Heaven and the ranks of

Lucifer; exalting as were the communications from the Lord; mighty as

was to be the mission of translation; yet Joseph had day by day the

humble labors of life to perform. Without a murmur he accepted his lot

of toil, working with his hands to aid in the family maintenance, while

his mind was busy with eternal truths. There is always a heroism in the

honest, uncomplaining home-toil of youth: a necessary heroism, indeed,

for without the early-formed habit of industry for man, the Almighty's

purposes concerning mankind would fail. And that heroism is doubly

beautiful in the life of Joseph, who knew already his destiny, divinely

ordained. Left much to itself in the selfishness of earth, a weaker or

an unsustained soul would have wasted its powers in vain dreamings or

found its destruction in pride and self-glory.

The sweat of the face, therefore, was at once a necessity and

a salutation: a requisite for the family welfare and comfort;

a protection from enervating dreams. No husbandman of all that

neighborhood was more industrious than he; and, except for the hatred

bred against him by false teachers and their followers, no one would

have had a better reputation.

As the younger sons of the family grew into vigor, the small farm and

the home duties less exacted the diligence of Joseph; and when an

opportunity came, in his twentieth year, for remunerative employment

at a distance, he willingly accepted the offer. The engagement carried

him to Susquehanna County, State of Pennsylvania, where the employer,

Josiah Stoal, though dwelling in New York State, had some property

upon which Joseph worked, while he boarded at the neighboring house of

Mr. Isaac Hale. Stoal conceived the idea that there were signs of a

silver deposit in his land, and he put his farming men to the work of

mining. It was soon evident that he had become infatuated with the hope

of achieving sudden and extraordinary wealth and was squandering his

means in a pursuit which gave no promise of an adequate return. Joseph,

who had become a favorite with Mr. Stoal because of industry and good

judgment, remonstrated with him, and finally influenced him to withdraw

from his sordid and fruitless project.

Isaac Hale had a daughter, Emma, a good girl of high mind and

devout feelings. This worthy young woman and Joseph formed a mutual

attachment, and her father was requested to give his permission to

their marriage. Mr. Hale opposed their desire for a time, as he was

prosperous while Joseph's people had lost their property; and it was

on the 18th day of January, 1827, the last year of waiting for the

plates, before Joseph and Emma could accomplish their desired union.

On that day they were married by one Squire Tarbill, at the residence

of that gentleman, in South Bainbridge, in Chenango County, New York.

Immediately after the marriage, Joseph left the employ of Mr. Stoal

and journeyed with his wife to his parental home at Manchester, where

during the succeeding summer, he worked to obtain means for his family

and his mission. The time was near at hand for the great promise to be

fulfilled and for his patience and faithfulness to be rewarded.

As the hour approached for the delivery of the ancient record into his

hands, Joseph prayed earnestly for humility and strength. He had not

failed in any of his prescribed visits to Cumorah. Even when at work in

Pennsylvania, he had obtained temporary release that he might journey

to the hill and meet his Heavenly teacher.

His wife, his parents and brethren were made participants in his hopes,

and they added their faith to his, and gave their hearty support to his

labor and preparation.

The 21st day of September, 1827, completed the fourth year since

Moroni first appeared at Joseph's bedside, and the occasion was

deemed a fitting hour for prayer and thanksgiving. In that humble

home God's chosen servant and his kindred offered their adoration

to the beneficent Father. It was also a time for the review of the

trying years since the call first came to Joseph. The family had

remained in honest lowliness, unmoved by the assaults and ridicule of

the world. Alvin, the eldest son of Joseph and Lucy, had died on the

19th of November, 1824, with a firm belief in the coming of the New

Dispensation and with words of comfort and blessing for his brother

Joseph upon his lips. The faithful Hyrum, like Joseph, was happily wed.

And the younger children were nearly all at years of understanding.

Quiet came with the darkness, and peace dwelt upon the house and by

the pillows of this devoted family. The tranquility of the night was

long remembered, for it was almost the last time they had on earth in

unfearing and undisturbed enjoyment of each other's society.

CHAPTER VII.

FINAL VISIT TO CUMORAH--DELIVERY OF THE PLATES BY THE ANGEL MORONI--

SOLEMN CAUTION TO JOSEPH--ATTACKS BY ASSASSINS AND ROBBERS--POVERTY AND

PERSECUTION--HELP FROM MARTIN HARRIS--REMOVAL TO PENNSYLVANIA.

For the fifth time Joseph stood by the place of deposit of the stone

box and its precious contents, which for fourteen centuries had

remained concealed from human vision and undisturbed by mortal hand. It

was the morning of the twenty-second day of September, in the year of

our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven. For the last time

he removed the soil and lifted the stone cover, while he prayed that he

might be as faithful to his trust as had been the inanimate hillside.

The angel of the Lord was at his side and bade him stretch forth his

hands and take from their long hiding place the Urim and Thummim and

the record.

Joseph touched them and his being was thrilled with a divine joy. He

lifted them to the surface and examined their beauty.

The Urim and Thummim was as the angel had described it--two precious

stones set in an arch of silver which was fastened to an ancient

breastplate of pure gold, curiously wrought. The breastplate was

concave on one side and convex on the other, and seemed to have been

made for a man of greater stature than is ordinary in modern days. Four

golden bands were fastened to it, for the purpose of attaching it to

the person of its wearer--two of the bands being for the shoulders, the

others for the waist or hips.

The plates, also of gold, were of uniform size; each was slightly less

in thickness than a common sheet of tin and was about eight inches in

width; and all were bound together by three rings, running through one

edge of the plates. Thus secured, they formed a book about six inches

in thickness. A part of the volume, about one-third, was sealed; the

other leaves Joseph turned with his hand. They were covered on both

sides with strange characters, small and beautifully engraved.

Moroni instructed Joseph that he must not attempt to open that part of

the book which was sealed, for the hour had not come wherein it was

destined to be made known; but in God's accepted time he would bring

that portion of the record to the knowledge of His children. Then the

angel repeated all that he had formerly said in advice and blessing.

Joseph was told that the Lord expected him to shield the record

from profane touch and sight, even with his life, until his work of

translation should be completed and the plates restored to the hands of

Moroni; that all the former guardians had relinquished their trust and

he alone would be held accountable for their safety; that efforts would

be made to rob him of the holy writings, but if he proved faithful

the Heavens would give their aid to his support and he would come off

triumphant. And he was finally and solemnly warned that if he should

betray his mission he must be cut off and destroyed.

With a crowning promise to Joseph that he should not be left to grope

in darkness, and that upon the conclusion of the labor of translation,

the angel would visit him and again receive the plates, Moroni

disappeared, and THE PROPHET OF THE LAST DISPENSATION stood alone upon

Cumorah, clasping to his bosom the priceless trust.

Joseph folded the golden record of past generations beneath his mantle

and sped homeward. The words of Moroni had been prophetic; three

different times in the brief journey to his house, the chosen minister

of salvation was assailed by unknown men--emissaries of the evil one,

who sought to strike him to the earth and rob him of his precious

charge. Once they dealt him a terrific blow with a bludgeon, but he

did not fall. He was a man of rare physical endowments, yet on this

occasion his own strength and activity, without the help of the Lord,

would not have delivered him or been sufficient to cast his assailants

one by one prone in the dust with the irresistible force which he used

against them.

With the plates unharmed, but himself bruised, and panting from the

contest, Joseph reached his home.

After this important hour the powers of darkness arrayed all their

subtle and murderous influences against him. Abominable falsehoods were

cunningly circulated against him and his father's family, the purpose

being to excite the rage of the populace against them. Constantly the

Prophet's life was beset by assassins; the sacred record was sought

by robbers. Each hour brought some new menace. Men, lurking by his

pathway, discharged deadly weapons at his person; and mobs attacked him

and invaded his home. Wherever the plates were supposed to be hidden,

there were the despoilers breaking through bolts and walls. Open force

failing, subtle stratagems were devised for the destruction of the

Prophet's life and the abstraction of the plates.

These numerous efforts all failed to accomplish the ends at which

they were aimed. But they prevented Joseph from obtaining the safe

leisure necessary for his labor of translation. Anxious to pursue his

heaven-appointed work without the interruption of these continued

attacks, he was led to the idea of removing from Manchester. Personal

fear was not an element of his nature, and no selfish motive prompted

his resolve; but in no other visible manner could his sacred

instructions be fulfilled. The home of Emma's parents in Susquehanna

County, Pennsylvania, was the place which he selected, and thither he

determined to journey.

Poverty seemed, however, to present an insurmountable barrier; but it

was suddenly removed. Martin Harris, a prosperous and respected farmer

of Wayne County, New York, and who was destined in the providence of

God to afterwards fill an important part in connection with the divine

record, was inspired to come to Joseph with a free offer of help. By

the aid thus extended, the Prophet was able to take his departure to

Manchester, carrying with him his wife and the sacred plates. As Joseph

and Mary were warned to flee with the infant Jesus into Egypt to escape

the destruction which Herod had planned, so the Prophet was led to seek

another place of residence for the performance of his labor.

But Satan was not idle. Twice while on the journey was the servant

of God stopped by officers, who, under a pretended warrant of law,

searched his wagon for the plates. But the angel of the Lord blinded

the eyes of the wicked and they found not what they sought.

It was in the month of December, 1827, when Joseph reached the house

of Isaac Hale in Pennsylvania; and without delay he began his inspired

work of translation by the aid of the seer stones.

It may seem strange and unaccountable that such extraordinary efforts

should be made to destroy this young man and to get possession of the

plates with which he had been entrusted. But his whole life from this

time forward until he sealed his testimony with his blood was filled

with incidents of the most remarkable character. The words of the angel

were that God had a work for Joseph to do, and that his 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; and

they were fulfilled to the letter. No man of this generation was so

passionately loved; no man was so cruelly hated. Satan knew that if

the work of which God had chosen him to be the founder on the earth

should prevail, his power and dominion should be overthrown. Against

this Prophet, therefore, the profoundest depths of hell were stirred

up. While he lived he was the target at which the most deadly shafts of

Satan were directed. For the succeeding sixteen or seventeen years from

the time of which we write his steps were beset by peril. Violence and

murder lurked in his pathway. He was never free from menace. Through

his life he enjoyed peace, but it was the peace that came from above

and not that which arises from auspicious surroundings and undisturbed

quiet. He was a happy man; but his happiness was never due to worldly

favor or popularity. God had endowed him with a buoyancy of spirit

and a strength of faith that the most deadly opposition and the most

threatening difficulties could not repress; with a courage which, in

the midst of brutal mobs howling for his blood, never faltered or was

quenched. His was a stormy career; but he was amply qualified for it.

As he himself said on one occasion:

And as for perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but

a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my

common lot all the days of my life, and for what cause it seems

mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of

the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it.

Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things whether it be

good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim

in. It has all become a second nature to me, and I feel like Paul,

to glory in tribulation, for to this day has the God of my fathers

delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth;

for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the

Lord God hath spoken it.

CHAPTER VII.

JOSEPH COPIES AND TRANSLATES FROM THE PLATES--MARTIN HARRIS AGAIN COMES

OPPORTUNELY--PROFESSOR ANTHON AND THE CHARACTERS--MARTIN'S LABOR AS A

SCRIBE--HIS BROKEN TRUST--THE TRANSLATION LOST TO JOSEPH--THE PROPHET

PUNISHED FOR WILFULNESS.

Joseph's first labor with the plates was in obedience to the general

command given to him through Moroni. The particular means by which the

translation was to be effected and given to the world had not been made

known; and this young, untaught, impoverished man was at that hour

unable, within his own resources of education and purse, to arrange

for the consummation of the work. He devoted every available moment,

however, to his sacred task, constantly praying to the Almighty for

aid; and yet the progress was slow.

In every step which Joseph took as the chosen messenger of God, human

struggle and sacrifice, to overcome perplexing difficulties and delays,

seemed necessary. In this way more than any other was he taught a

patient trust, and was sanctified for the exalted destiny which awaited

him. Though he had been instructed by Moroni that Jehovah designed

the record to be translated for the edification and blessing of the

race, he did not experience the direct interposition of God in the

accomplishment of the work--except only as the power of the Heavens

was manifested through the Urim and Thummim. And much he marveled

that the Lord should permit His holy purposes to depend upon weak and

slow-moving man. But the Prophet lived to learn and to demonstrate

that God commits His decrees to His earthly children for fulfilment;

and though he may often work miracles in their behalf, yet are they

required to give their best endeavor--even though weak and human--to

the appointed deed; and out of their trials, their stumblings, their

failures and their ultimate successes, will he bring the triumph of

their devotion and His word.

Joseph had leisure and safety, after establishing himself at the house

of Isaac Hale, in Harmony, Susquehanna County, State of Pennsylvania,

in the month of December, 1827, to examine the sacred history and

treasure which had been committed to his ward. And he very soon began

a somewhat desultory labor of copying the different styles of strange

characters found upon the plates and translating some of them by the

aid of the Urim and Thummim. He thus prepared a considerable number of

characters on sheets; some of them being accompanied by translations

and others being alone. It does not appear that he had any more

definite object in this superficial work than to seek, half-blindly, to

fulfill the command delivered by the lips of Moroni, the angel of the

record. But the purpose, wisely ordained, was latter apparent.

Joseph continued his efforts until some time in the month of February,

1828. Then the man, Martin Harris, who had once before befriended him,

appeared at the Hale homestead.

Martin Harris had been deeply affected by his former intercourse with

Joseph; and he had come in the depth of winter from his home near

Lake Ontario, to seek out the young Prophet and to learn more of his

wondrous mission. Harris tarried a brief time with Joseph at the house

of Isaac Hale; and then in this same month of February, 1828, with the

Prophet's permission, he carried away some of the various copies and

translations which Joseph, laboriously and patiently, had made. It was

the purpose of Martin Harris to submit the characters to scientists

and linguists; and possibly by their verdict to decide to establish or

withdraw his half-yielded faith. In pursuance of this plan, he went

to New York City, and there visited Charles Anthon, a professor of

languages at Columbia College.

Anthon examined first a sheet of characters accompanied by Joseph's

translation; and declared that the characters were Ancient Egyptian

and that the interpretation was correct--more complete and perfect

than any other translation of that language which he had ever seen. He

then looked at the other sheets, not accompanied by translations, and

pronounced the characters to be genuine specimens of various ancient

written languages. He wrote a certificate which embodied the foregoing

assertions and presented it to Martin Harris.

Afterward, Anthon made inquiry of Martin regarding the origin of

the characters; and then for the first time the learned professor

discovered what endorsement he had bestowed upon an unlearned youth who

had received from the hands of an angel a golden record filled with

these ancient writings. Anthon hastily demanded the certificate which

he had given to Harris; implying in his request that he wished to give

the paper a final examination or to add something to it. And as soon

as the professor received it again into his hands, he destroyed it,

saying: "There is no such thing in these days as ministering of angels."

He asked that "the book which the young man had dug up" might be

brought to him; and stated that out of his worldly learning he would

translate the whole work. Harris replied that a considerable portion

of the record was sealed and might not be opened to human gaze. Then

Anthon contemptuously responded.

"_I cannot read a sealed book_!"

And thus was fulfilled the word of Isaiah who wrote twenty-six

centuries ago:

"AND THE VISION OF ALL IS BECOME UNTO YOU AS THE WORDS OF A BOOK THAT

IS SEALED, WHICH MEN DELIVER TO ONE THAT IS LEARNED, SAYING, READ THIS,

I PRAY THEE: AND HE SAITH, I CANNOT; FOR IT IS SEALED."

When the conference with Professor Anthon was ended, Martin Harris

carried his manuscripts to one Doctor Mitchell, who claimed a knowledge

of some of the characters; and learning what Anthon had said concerning

their genuineness, the learned doctor endorsed the statements of the

other scholar.

Harris returned to the Prophet's home, fully convinced. This

man--generous, skeptical naturally, but honest--was seized upon by

the spirit of the work. When he met Joseph he related the convincing

occurrences of his visits to the learned men, and he proffered his

services as a writer for the Prophet, in the great work of translation.

The proposal was gladly accepted; and Martin proceeded to Palmyra to

arrange for a long absence from home. It was the 12th day of April,

1828, when he returned to Harmony, prepared to serve as a scribe.

From this time forward until the 14th day of June, 1828, Joseph

dictated to Martin Harris from the plates of gold; as the characters

thereon assumed through the Urim and Thummim the forms of equivalent

modern words which were familiar to the understanding of the youthful

Seer.

Martin Harris was a critical man without superstition. Listening to the

words dictated day by day, and becoming familiar with Joseph, he sought

to make another test.

One of Joseph's aids in searching out the truths of the record was a

peculiar pebble or rock, which he called also a seer stone, and which

was sometimes used by him in lieu of the Urim and Thummim. This stone

had been discovered to himself and his brother Hyrum at the bottom of

a well; and under divine guidance they had brought it forth for use

in the work of translation. Martin determined to deprive the Prophet

of this stone. He obtained a rock resembling a seer-stone in shape

and color, and slily substituted it for the Prophet's real medium of

translation. When next they were to begin their labor, Joseph was at

first silent; and then he exclaimed: "Martin, what is the matter? All

is dark."

Harris with shame confessed what he had attempted. And when the Prophet

demanded a reason for such conduct, Martin replied: "I did it to either

prove the utterance or stop the mouths of fools who have said to me

that you had learned these sentences which you dictate and that you

were merely repeating them from memory."

The work progressed through the two months from April until June;

not steadily, for Martin was much called away. But at the expiration

of that time, on the 14th day of June, 1828, Martin had written one

hundred and sixteen pages foolscap of the translation.

And at this hour came a test, bitter in its experiences and

consequences to the Prophet of God.

A woman wrought a betrayal of the confidence reposed in Martin Harris

and a temporary destruction of Joseph's power.

The wife of the scribe was desirous to see the writings dictated to

her husband by Joseph: she importuned Martin until he, too, became

anxious to have in his own possession the manuscript. Long before the

14th day of June, he began to solicit from the Prophet the privilege of

taking the papers away that he might show them to curious and skeptical

friends; and thereby be able to give convincing to doubting persons, of

Joseph's divine mission.

A simple denial was not sufficient, and he insisted that Jehovah should

be asked to thus favor him. Once, twice, in answer to his demands,

the Prophet inquired; and each time the reply was that Martin Harris

ought not to be entrusted with the sacred manuscript. Even a third time

Martin required that Joseph should solicit permission in his behalf;

and on this occasion, which was near the 14th day of June, 1828, the

word of the Lord came that Joseph, at his own peril, might allow Harris

to take possession of the manuscript and exhibit it to a few other

persons who were designated by the Prophet in his supplication. But

because of Joseph's wearying applications to God, the Urim and Thummim

and seer-stone were taken from him. Accordingly the precious manuscript

was entrusted to the keeping of Martin Harris; and he bound himself

by a solemn oath to show it only to his wife, his brother Preserved

Harris, his father and mother, and Mrs. Cobb, his wife's sister.

After entering into this sacred covenant, Martin Harris departed from

Harmony, carrying with him the inspired writings.

Then came about the punishment of Martin for his importunacy and

of Joseph for his blindness. Wicked people, through the vanity and

treachery of Martin's wife and his own weakness, gained sight of the

precious manuscript and they contrived to steal it away from Harris, so

that his eyes and the eyes of the Prophet never again beheld it.

For his disobedient pertinacity in voicing to the Lord the request

of Martin Harris, Joseph had been deprived of the Urim and Thummim

and seer-stone; but this was not his only punishment. The pages of

manuscript which contained the translation he had been inspired to

make, and which thereby became the words of God, had been loaned to

Martin Harris and been stolen; and now the plates themselves were taken

from him by the angel of the record.

The sorrow and humiliation which Joseph felt were beyond description.

The Lord's rebukes for his conduct pierced him to the centre. He

humbled himself in prayer and repentance; and so true was his humility

that the Lord accepted it as expiation and the treasures were restored

to his keeping.

Martin Harris was also shamed and grieved; and he repented in anguish

the violation of his trust. But, though a measure of confidence was

restored to him, he was never again permitted to act as a scribe for

the Prophet in the work of translation.

While Joseph was mourning the loss of the manuscript, the Lord revealed

to him many truths regarding the situation to which he had brought

himself, and also warned him of the designs of wicked men who plotted

to overthrow him and to put the name of God and His newly revealed

record to shame in the land.

A rebuke was given at this time in words which Joseph always remembered:

Although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many

mighty works; yet, if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at

naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his

own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance

of a just God upon him.

While these momentous events were in progress, Joseph and his wife were

called to mourn. In July, 1828, a son was born to their house, but

the babe died after a brief time, leaving its mother at the door of

dissolution. The needs of the little household now required that the

Prophet should give a time to toil; and he went forth to labor humbly

and uncomplainingly.

While he was thus engaged, in the month of February, 1829, he received

a comforting revelation from the Almighty:

Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the

children of men: * * * * *

For behold the field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that

thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store

that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.

Joseph's desire to atone for his loss of the first manuscript impelled

him to constant exertion. After his manual toil was ended each day, he

contritely devoted his hours to the work of translation; and his young

wife aided him by writing at his dictation. In this way some progress

was made. But Emma was bowed with bodily suffering and with sorrow for

her babe; and often the holy task languished, causing Joseph to pray

earnestly to God for a writer who could give his whole time to the work.

CHAPTER IX.

OLIVER COWDERY IS SENT OF HEAVEN TO AID THE PROPHET--THE AARONIC

PRIESTHOOD IS BROUGHT TO EARTH BY CHRIST'S FORERUNNER--FIRST BAPTISMS

OF THIS DISPENSATION.

Almost a year had passed from the day upon which Martin Harris began

his service as a scribe for Joseph, when once more an earthly messenger

of help appeared to the Prophet.

It was at the hour of sunset on the Sabbath day, April 5th, 1829, when

Oliver Cowdery came to the Prophet's door--in Harmony, Susquehanna

County, state of Pennsylvania. This young man, Oliver Cowdery, a

school teacher, had been carried in the autumn of the year 1828, in

fulfillment of an engagement, to the town of Manchester, New York.

Hearing there of the angelic visitations to the unlearned farm-lad,

Joseph Smith, he was led to a deep and prayerful investigation of the

subject. A powerful conviction that Joseph had been ministered to by

heavenly beings, as he had testified, was wrought upon Oliver's mind,

and he asked the Lord for direct guidance. His prayer was answered, and

the Lord made plain to him that his would be the privilege and the duty

to aid the young Prophet as a scribe or secretary. Situated as Oliver

Cowdery was, he needed inspiration from the Almighty to enable him

to decide to accept such a mission; for around and within the little

village of Manchester at that dark hour surged the spirits of hatred,

cruelty, falsehood and even murder, and no man from any selfish wish,

would have cared to ally himself in acts or sympathetic words with

the cause and the man condemned by all the power of the pulpit. As

soon as he could gain honorable release from his school duties, Oliver

journeyed to Pennsylvania and presented himself to Joseph as one who

had a wish to serve God and aid His chosen servant.

This was the first conversion by the testimony of the Spirit of one who

had not seen the Prophet. The Church speaks for itself of the hundreds

of thousands of honest souls who have had the testimony of the Holy

Ghost since that hour.

Joseph accepted Oliver as the embodied answer to his prayer for help;

and on Tuesday, the 7th day of April, 1829--two days after they had

first beheld each other in the flesh--the Prophet began dictating to

Oliver in continuance of the work of translation. While they labored

the revelations of God came to them in guidance of their daily work, in

support of their hopes and in the enlargement of their understandings

concerning the principles of salvation.

As they progressed, they encountered a passage of the revealed record

which spoke of baptism for the remission of sins. Deeply imbued with

the sense of their great responsibility, Joseph and Oliver felt as

if a personal message had come to them, requiring their compliance

with some sacred observance. They talked together long and earnestly

upon the subject; and one day in the month of May, 1829, they went

into the woods together and knelt before the Lord. They asked Him for

light concerning the matter of baptism for the remission of sins.

While kneeling with uncovered heads and lifting up their voices in

supplication, a messenger of Heaven, clothed in dazzling glory,

descended before their eyes. As in the other visitations which had come

to the Prophet alone, this personage was also surrounded by a supernal

light. He stated to them that he was John, known as John the Baptist

at the time of Christ; and that he had come to minister to them, being

under the direction of Peter, James and John, the apostles who still

held the keys of the priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. He laid

his hands upon their heads and said:

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the

priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of

angels and of the gospel of 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.

Then this heavenly personage, concerning whom the Savior Himself had

said: "Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater

prophet than John the Baptist," and whose unique and glorious privilege

it had been while in mortality to administer the ordinance of baptism

to the Son of God, instructed them in the duties of the Aaronic

priesthood to which they had just been ordained. He said to Joseph and

Oliver that the Aaronic priesthood did not possess the authority to

bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, but that

such power belonged to the priesthood of Melchisedec, which in due time

would be conferred upon them. John then commanded them that they should

go forth unto the water: and by the authority which he had transmitted

to them they should each baptize the other--Joseph to immerse Oliver

first, and then Oliver to perform the same office for Joseph; and that

each should, following baptism, re-ordain the other to the priesthood

after the order of Aaron. Later, they would receive the Melchisedec

priesthood and be ordained as elders; Joseph to be first and Oliver

second.

When John left them and ascended in his encircling pillar of light,

they went straightway to perform the command which they had received.

Joseph led Oliver down into the water, and, by authority which he had

received, the Prophet immersed his companion for the remission of sin.

As soon as this was done, Oliver immersed Joseph in the same manner

and by the same authority. They came up together out of the water; and

ordained each other to the Aaronic priesthood.

No sooner had they fulfilled the requirements left with them by John

than they felt the power of holiness resting upon them. Each one of

them had instantly the gift of mighty prophecy. Joseph saw and foretold

the establishment of a Church founded upon the rock of righteousness;

having the everlasting Gospel; proclaiming the truth to all the nations

of the earth; fulfilling the destiny designed by God in the redemption

of humanity from darkness and misery. Oliver, too, prophesied of many

glorious things, both for his own comfort and that of Joseph.

Thus filled with sublime delight, entertaining more hope and courage

than ever before, they returned to their labor of translation. If

anything had been wanting to banish every worldly thought from their

minds and to fill them with a zealous desire to hasten the work, the

promise of John supplied that requirement. Having so far been permitted

to partake of the blessings and ordinances enjoyed by the chosen

servants of Christ in another age; and having a promise that through

faithfulness they should enjoy other gifts of this holy nature, nothing

could restrain their ardor.

The bitter experience which Joseph had endured, through communicating

so freely the glorious manifestations which he had received, taught him

caution. When he received his first communications from heaven, he had

supposed that he could relate what had occurred and the tidings would

be gladly received; but he soon learned, as so many of those who have

since espoused the truth have also learned, that the words of caution

given by the Lord Jesus to His disciples, concerning giving that which

is holy unto the dogs and casting their pearls before swine, were as

applicable to these times as they were when He gave them. There was a

class of persons who would trample such precious things under their

feet and would turn again and rend those who presented the truth to

them. Except, therefore, in things of this sacred character which he

was commanded of the Lord to make known, he kept them to himself. So

he and Oliver hid within their breasts the fact of John's visitation

and their baptism, and the joy arising therefrom. Yet, notwithstanding

their caution, every step taken by the Prophet in fulfillment of God's

purposes in this dispensation, however quietly he had acted, had been

followed quickly by a new outburst of persecution. The dawn of a new

era was visible, and the evil one must exert every power he possessed

to becloud the minds of men. The hatred of the people dwelling in the

vicinity of Harmony was kindled, unaccountably even to themselves,

against the two young men. A mob spirit reigned in the neighborhood;

and a murderous attack upon Joseph and Oliver was only prevented by the

influence of Isaac Hale and his family, who gave sympathy and help at

this hour to the Prophet.

Joseph and Oliver, in the midst of their labors, did not fail to pray

for that help and guidance which they needed. From the record itself

they gathered a large store of religious truths; and their minds being

opened to comprehend the principles of salvation, they also searched

the other scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, with great profit

to themselves. As a result, much blessing came to them through their

devotion and industry. Joseph's concentration upon the work entrusted

to him had such effect upon members of the Hale family, that they

united in giving to him the assurance that he should be protected from

the mob; and that he should be saved from all unlawful persecution, so

far as their influence and strength could avail to defend him. The also

extended to Oliver a promise to similarly protect him so long as he

remained to assist Joseph.

After a little time, the spirit led the Prophet to impart to his

friends and acquaintances some of the information which he had gained.

Though at this time he was far from possessing the comprehension of

the truth which he afterwards had, he was still rich in knowledge and

blessings, compared with the people who surrounded him, and who were

enthralled by the ignorance and intolerance which had been growing

through all the ages since the ruin of the early church.

CHAPTER X.

THE PROPHET'S BROTHER SAMUEL BAPTIZED BY OLIVER--RENEWED DANGER TO

THE WORK--HELP FROM FAYETTE--MIRACULOUS INTERPOSITION TO AID DAVID

WHITMER--HYRUM SMITH AND OTHERS BELIEVE AND ARE BAPTIZED.

While thus busily engaged, Samuel H. Smith, a brother of Joseph, came

down from Manchester to Harmony. Joseph proclaimed to him the truth,

so far as it had been revealed; presented to his view the translation

of the Book of Mormon, so far as it had been completed; and then

besought him to gain by prayer to Almighty God, a knowledge for himself

concerning the divine origin of that which he had heard and seen.

Samuel, a man of integrity and singleness and fixity of purpose, was

not easily convinced. Finally, however, he consented to ask for light

from Heaven. For this purpose he retired to the woods and humbled

himself in supplication before the Lord. A convincing answer came to

his prayer, and he hastened to Joseph with his tidings of joy. At the

request of the Prophet, Oliver Cowdery administered to Samuel in the

ordinance of baptism for the remission of his sins, and later he was

confirmed. The same signs followed in this case; and Samuel was filled

with the spirit of prophecy and praise. He uttered many sublime truths

of which his mind up to that moment had never conceived. Desiring that

his kindred might be made partakers of his joy, he journeyed quickly

back to Manchester to give to the family the news of Joseph's extended

calling. Hyrum Smith came to Harmony immediately afterward to inquire

of Joseph concerning these wondrous things. The young Prophet declared

to his elder brother that an angel from Heaven had restored to earth

the power to baptize for the remission of human sin; and that himself

and Oliver had been made the recipients of this authority.

Hyrum Smith was a noble man, filled with earnest desire for truth and

holiness. He asked Joseph to obtain further light, and at his request

the Prophet solicited a direct revelation from the Lord, on Hyrum's

behalf. The desire was answered in a revelation given to Hyrum, through

the Prophet. In that revelation, these words occur:

Hyrum, my son, seek the Kingdom of God, and all things shall be

added according to that which is just. Build upon my rock, which

is my Gospel. Deny not the Spirit of Revelation nor the Spirit of

Prophecy; for woe unto him that denieth these things.

Hyrum believed and awaited the proper hour for baptism.

While the light of truth was thus breaking upon the world, all the

powers of hell allied themselves against it, with the determination

that it should be extinguished. Mobs increased in strength and hatred.

Added to this constant menace, Joseph once more found himself almost

destitute of means. He would soon have been compelled to relinquish the

glorious work of translation to engage again in manual toil for the

sustenance of his family and to provide maintenance for himself and

Oliver, had not Providence again raised up a friend to come to his aid.

In this eventful month of May, 1829, a man named Joseph Knight appeared

at Harmony and sought out the Prophet. Mr. Knight had heard of Joseph's

work and desired to contribute out of his means to the progress of the

cause. He brought food and such other comforts as would enable the

Prophet to continue his work of translation without being interrupted.

Not only upon this occasion, but more than once subsequently, Joseph

Knight journeyed from his home in Broome County, New York, a distance

of thirty miles, to bring supplies to the Prophet's house.

Also in this month of May, Joseph received a revelation from God

instructing him that the manuscript lost by Martin Harris had fallen

into the hands of wicked men, who had made alterations with intent to

bring shame and confusion upon Joseph, and distrust upon the word of

the Lord; that the portion which was thus lost and changed was only a

translation of an abridgment of certain records; and that, instead of

translating once more this part of the work, Joseph should translate

the record of the original plates from which the abridgment had been

made--thus giving a more complete presentation of that portion of

the history and thus preventing the wicked from bringing forth their

forgery and casting discredit upon the Prophet by its means.

But the persecution did not cease, and the mobs seemed to be gathering

their forces with some definite determination. At the opening of the

month of June, 1829, immediate danger threatened the Prophet and his

charge. But at this time a young man, calling himself David Whitmer,

presented himself at the residence of Joseph and announced that he

came with a message from his father, Peter Whitmer, of Fayette, Seneca

County, New York. The message was an invitation from the elder Whitmer

to Joseph, requesting him to remove with his work and his assistant

to Fayette and there enjoy the hospitality of the Whitmers and the

protection which they would be able to afford him, until his labor

could be completed.

The young man David also related to Joseph a marvelous interposition

which had enabled him to deliver his message so early. When David

first felt an impression that he ought to journey to Harmony in search

of Joseph, he questioned the wisdom of such a course; because his

farm-work was in such a condition that much loss must ensue, he feared,

if he departed at a time apparently so inopportune. He was pondering

his doubts upon the subject, when he was instructed by the whispering

of the Spirit that his duty required him to go down to Harmony as soon

as his field labor should reach a certain state. He toiled during the

ensuing day to harrow in the wheat of a large field; and at night

he found that he had done more in a few hours than he could usually

accomplish in two or three days. The next morning he went out to spread

plaster, according to the custom of that region, upon another field.

When he reached the spot where he had formerly deposited large heaps

of the plaster, he found that it had been carried upon the field and

spread just as he would have laid it by his own hand. He marveled much.

His sister dwelt near the place and he asked her who had done the work.

She answered him that three strangers had appeared at the field the day

previous and had scattered the plaster with wonderful skill and speed.

She and her children had viewed with amazement the progress made by the

men; but she had said nothing to them as they were strangers, and she

presumed that David had employed them to help him through his rush of

work.

Both Peter Whitmer and his son regarded these events as miraculous

interpositions to aid David to hasten down into Pennsylvania. The young

man therefore departed with his horses and wagon the next morning and

journeyed to Harmony, a distance, as traveled, of one hundred and fifty

miles, in two days.

This aid came providentially; and Joseph, after receiving instruction

in answer to prayer, accepted the invitation. When the Prophet was

prepared to depart from Harmony, he asked the Lord to direct the

manner in which the plates should be carried to Fayette. He was told

in response that the angel would receive the treasures; and after the

arrival of Joseph at the home of Peter Whitmer in Fayette, would again

deliver them into his hands. Thus relieved, Joseph went serenely forth;

and in a few days he was safe in Fayette. In the garden adjoining the

Whitmer residence, the Prophet was visited by the angel and once more

was placed in possession of the record.

The family of Peter Whitmer, and some other persons in the

neighborhood, were very earnest inquirers after truth. The supernatural

instruction and aid which David had received to go down into

Pennsylvania and offer his father's house as a refuge to Joseph, amazed

all who heard of the occurrence. Therefore Joseph found many people

at Fayette anxious to receive him. Peter Whitmer and all the members

of his household accorded to Joseph and also to Oliver every help and

comfort within their bestowal; and thus, without further anxiety as to

their maintenance or safety, they were enabled to progress with the

translation of the sacred history.

While they were not laboring upon this work, they were praying and

teaching among the people. Thus the Prophet and his assistant Oliver

wrought much good. Several honest, God-fearing souls became convinced

that Joseph Smith was entrusted with a divine mission. And in this

month of June, 1829, three persons were baptized in Seneca Lake, after

the pattern and under the authority received from John, the forerunner

of our Savior. Hyrum Smith and David Whitmer received this ordinance

under the hand of the Prophet himself, and John Whitmer, a brother of

David, was baptized by Oliver Cowdery.

The work of translation went on rapidly. When Oliver's hand would grow

weary after some hours of writing, either John or David Whitmer would

take his place and continue at the Prophet's dictation.

CHAPTER XI.

ELEVEN CHOSEN WITNESSES VIEW THE PLATES--THEIR UNIMPEACHABLE

TESTIMONY--RESTORATION OF THE MELCHISEDEC PRIESTHOOD BY DISCIPLES OF

OUR LORD--THE APOSTLESHIP CONFERRED--OTHER BAPTISMS--THE TRANSLATION

COMPLETED.

After establishing himself at the house of David Whitmer, and early in

the month of June while engaged in translating, Joseph was instructed

that three special witnesses should be blessed of God with a revelation

of the truth of the Book and should be permitted to examine the

plates. This was, also, in fulfillment of predictions published in

the Book of Mormon. When this promise became known to Oliver Cowdery

and David Whitmer, they begged that they might be numbered among the

three witnesses. While they were still making their petitions for

this favor, Martin Harris came to Fayette. Impelled by repentance and

a desire to gain forgiveness, he had followed Joseph. Martin humbled

himself in prayer to God and solicited the entreaties of Joseph in

his behalf. Joseph joined with Martin in praying to Heaven that his

humility and contrition might be accepted and that he might be received

again into favor. The Lord answered Joseph that if Martin continued

faithful and humble, and refused to be led away again by evil counsels

or the vanity of the world, his sins would be forgiven. Then Martin,

learning that witnesses were to be chosen to behold the plates of gold,

bearing the engraved record, and to give testimony to all the world

concerning this work of God, most penitently and anxiously solicited

that he might be one of the witnesses with Oliver Cowdery and David

Whitmer. Much supplication was offered by these three men; and Joseph

prayed to the Lord on their behalf. Soon the Prophet received a reply

that through prayer and humility, Oliver and David and Martin should

witness this manifestation of the power of God; that they should view

the plates of gold upon which were written the sacred records; that

they should see the Urim and Thummim--the breast-plate of gold, and

also the seer-stones which were given to the brother of Jared upon

the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face; and that they

should be permitted to behold the sword of Laban, which Nephi carried

away from Jerusalem. After this promise was given in a revelation

through the Prophet, he and his three fellow-servants, Oliver Cowdery,

David Whitmer and Martin Harris, withdrew into a retired spot in the

woods, and there bowed themselves in humble prayer. Joseph first

offered a supplication to the Lord and he was followed by the others

in succession; all asking that the witnesses might be purified and

forgiven before Heaven and be permitted to view the plates and the

other treasures. At first they received no manifestation of Divine

favor; and they contritely and fervently repeated their solicitations.

Still there came no answer. Martin Harris then arose and confessed

that his presence was the cause of their failure. He said that he

realized, through the whispering of the Spirit, that his presence

was objectionable because of the sins he had formerly committed, and

that the Lord designed this as a rebuke to him and an admonition that

he must continue to humble himself before Heaven. He proposed that

he should withdraw to a little distance, beyond the sight of his

companions, and engage in silent prayer; while they should continue

their joint supplications for the favor of God.

After Martin was gone, the others knelt down again and engaged once

more in prayer. While they were beseeching the Heavens, a light of

exceeding brightness changed the shadowed air above their heads into

wondrous brilliancy, and soon descended around about them. Within a

pillar of radiance stood the angel holding the treasures in his hands.

He turned over the leaves of the unsealed portion of the record one by

one, and displayed to the gaze of Oliver and David the golden plates.

So bright was the light that they could plainly discern the engraved

characters. The angel also showed to them the other promised treasures.

While the light was still about them, the voice of Heaven declared to

them the divinity of the work of which they were the witnesses. And

after they had been admonished to be forever faithful to the testimony

bestowed upon them, the vision withdrew.

Joseph left Oliver and David engaged in thanksgiving to God for His

infinite mercy, while he hastened away to find Martin Harris. At a

little distance, still within the wood, Joseph discovered Martin

praying hopelessly. He had not been able to obtain an answer to his

supplication, and he earnestly entreated Joseph to join with him in

his appeal to the Lord. Meekly they prayed to God; and at length came

an answer in the renewal of the vision. Once more the holy personage

descended in dazzling brightness and exhibited to Martin the plates and

the other treasures as they had been shown to Oliver and David. And

again the voice of Heaven gave testimony and admonition. So great was

the glory of the vision that Martin Harris had not strength to long

sustain his ecstasy; and he fell upon his face, crying,

"It is enough! Mine eyes have beheld of the glories of God!"

All the witnesses then returned with the Prophet to the house of

Peter Whitmer. Later they gave to the world the testimony which has

since gone forth with the Book of Mormon: declaring to all nations,

kindreds, tongues and people that through the grace of God the Eternal

Father and His Son Jesus Christ, they had seen the plates containing

the holy record; that an angel of God came down from Heaven and laid

before their eyes the plates; that they beheld the engraving thereon;

and that the voice of God had declared unto them for a surety that the

holy record was true and had been faithfully translated; and to this

testimony they added the solemn words:

"We know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our

garments of the blood of all men and be found spotless before the

Judgment Seat of Christ, and shall dwell eternally with Him in the

Heavens."

The great happiness which the three witnesses experienced in thus

being permitted to view the sacred treasure, and the great desire they

evinced from this hour to aid the work of the Lord, made Joseph anxious

that others who were worthy might, in part at least, participate in

that blessing. He therefore obtained permission from the Lord, to show

the plates of gold to eight other faithful persons: Christian Whitmer,

Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph

Smith, Sen., Hyrum Smith and Samuel H. Smith. And these men also gave

to the world a testimony which has linked their names forever with the

Book of Mormon and the cause of Christ. They saw, and testified to

seeing, the plates of gold and the engravings of curious workmanship

upon them. And they closed their simple declaration with these words:

"And we give our names unto the world to witness unto the world

that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it."

At length the translation was completed, and Joseph and his friends

arranged to have the book printed. A contract was made with Egbert B.

Grandin, of Palmyra, Wayne County, New York. And soon this sublime

work, which details the history of the peoples who anciently inhabited

the continents of North and South America; which describes the dealings

of God with the nations of the past upon these lands; and which

recounts the ministrations of Christ in this part of His vineyard after

His crucifixion at Jerusalem, was opened to the gaze of the world. It

is a marvelous book and a wonder. Its pages portray the history of

powerful nations which flourished for hundreds and even thousands of

years; and yet, despite the brevity of the work, this history is more

complete and graphic than any that was ever penned by the unaided hand

of man. The book also contains a record of a sublime system of religion

and religious government, as perfect as any enjoyed by man upon this

earth.

After the work of translation was ended, Joseph recommitted his charge

to the care of the Angel of the record; and Moroni received it back

into his keeping, to bring forth the yet unsealed portions of it only

when God shall so decree.

Joseph, and Oliver under the Prophet's direction, labored assiduously

to spread the truth among the people. And, though the powers of evil

were often manifested against them, they still were blessed with

much success. They had not waited for the completion of the work of

translation in order to engage in preaching. They felt that the command

was already definite, and that the need of the world was urgent. As

they became more acquainted with the glorious truths which had been

opened to their minds through the bestowal of the Aaronic Priesthood

upon them, they became eager to obtain a better understanding of the

work of God and to enjoy further blessings and gifts in accordance with

the promise made to them.

Some time in the month of June, 1829, Peter, James and John, the

ancient disciples of our Lord and Savior, and who, under Him, held the

keys of that dispensation, appeared in glory to Joseph and conferred

upon him the apostleship to which they themselves had been ordained

by the Lord Jesus while in mortality. Then these holy personages

ordained Oliver to the same Priesthood. After they had departed,

Joseph re-ordained Oliver, and also accepted a re-ordination himself

at Oliver's hands. Thus was the Melchisedek Priesthood in purity and

power again received on earth. The gift of the Holy Ghost was sealed

upon the heads of the Prophet and his fellow-servant, and they enjoyed

its fullness of blessing. A momentous revelation soon followed from

the Lord; directed not only to Joseph, but to Oliver Cowdery and

David Whitmer, making known the calling of the apostles of the last

dispensation and bestowing instructions concerning the building up of

the Church of Christ, according to the fullness of the gospel.

So passed some months of blessing and industry. Truth was constantly

developed by study and reflection upon God's goodness and the mysteries

of His kingdom through the aid of revelation from Him. Much time was

also given to inquiring acquaintances and strangers who came to seek

for light. Whenever any person, being convinced of the truth of the

mission to which Joseph Smith had been called, solicited baptism at the

hands of the apostles, if Joseph became convinced of the sincerity and

worthiness of the applicant, the ordinance was administered in faith

and power. It never failed to produce its promised result.

Emma, the wife of the Prophet, had remained in Pennsylvania. After the

manuscript translation had been placed in the printer's hands, Joseph

found time to visit his wife. As fast as the truth was made known to

him through revelation, he communicated it unto her; he desired that

she might partake with him of the gifts which Heaven was bestowing. He

paid two or three visits to Harmony during the autumn of 1829, and the

succeeding winter; while Oliver, under Joseph's direction, gave close

attention to the printing and publishing of the Book of Mormon. Early

in the spring of 1830, the work was completed and the first edition of

the book was given to the world.

And at this time the hour was come for the establishment, after the

order revealed by God, of the Church of Christ once more upon the earth.

CHAPTER XII.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH AT FAYETTE--REVIEW OF THE PROPHET'S LABORS--

HIS UNPRETENTIOUS CHARACTER--THE COURAGE WHICH ANIMATED HIM WAS SHARED

BY HIS ASSOCIATES--THE WITNESSES AND EARLY MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on the

6th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred

and thirty, in Fayette, Seneca County, in the state of New York. Six

persons were the original members: Joseph Smith the Prophet, Oliver

Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Peter Whitmer, Jun., Samuel H. Smith, and David

Whitmer. Each of the men had already been baptized by direct authority

from Heaven. The organization was made on the day and after the pattern

dictated by God in a revelation given to Joseph Smith. The Church was

called after the name of Jesus Christ; because He so ordered. Jesus

accepted the Church, declared it to be His own, and empowered it to

minister on earth in His name.

The sacrament, under inspiration from Jesus Christ, was administered to

all who had thus taken upon them His name.

This was a day of great joy to Joseph--a joy which was shared by those

who became thus united with him in a holy work. It is also a day now

reverenced by hundreds of thousands of the human family; a day to be

held in sacred veneration throughout all the time to elapse until the

Messiah Himself shall come in glory to accept the Kingdom from the

hands of His authorized servants, and to give reward for all the woes

and the persecutions which men have heaped upon His chosen ones.

Joseph was at this time twenty-four years of age. A period of ten

years had passed since the hour in which the Father and Son had first

appeared in answer to his prayer. During the most of this time he had

been in close communication with the Heavens, and the organization of

the Church was but the accomplishment of a definite purpose of the

Almighty. Joseph had been led along, himself not knowing in complete

fullness to what great result his life and labors were tending. He

had only known to do the will of Heaven as expressed to him, and to

patiently await the future. Doubtless at this hour of the organization

he looked back with thanks and marvel at all which God had given for

the benefit of His children. From out of the false religions of the

earth the Lord had lifted this His servant, and had trained him from

boyhood in the way most pleasing to Him.

In the very manner of the restoration of the gospel, Joseph learned

that God requires even His elect to defer to the order and authority

instituted by Christ. The power by which Joseph Smith was baptized was

the same power by which every man must be baptized who has a membership

in the Church of Christ. That power had been taken from the earth,

leaving the human family without the authority to administer the

ordinances of the gospel during many centuries. No earthly being could

restore it, and none could use it until John the Baptist conferred

it in its fullness upon Joseph and also upon his fellow servant,

Oliver. There is something significant in the fact that the authority

to baptize was bestowed upon Joseph and Oliver by the same personage

who had stood in the waters of the Jordan about 1800 years before, to

immerse in that stream the earthly tabernacle of God's Only Begotten.

As Joseph had not been permitted to officiate in baptism, or to confer

the Aaronic Priesthood, until John had visited him and transmitted

that authority from Heaven, so after even this blessing had become his

own, he was unable to seal the gift of the Holy Ghost, or to ordain

an Elder, until after Peter, James and John had endowed him with the

Priesthood after the holy order of Melchisedek. And even after both

these holy orders of Priesthood were given to him, and he had ordained

Oliver unto them; even after he had beheld in vision the establishment

of the work of righteousness, he knew not how nor when the organization

of the Church should be accomplished. It was necessary that God should

define the mode and the principle of organization and should direct

each step to be taken in this establishment of His kingdom; and it was

not until He did this that Joseph knew in what manner to obtain the

restoration of the power which belongs to the body of the Saints in

Christ.

Joseph proceeded carefully, and exactly according to the instruction of

the Almighty, and he laid the foundation of a work which will endure as

long as earth shall last.

The people who thus became associated with Joseph were generally his

seniors, but there was no hesitation on their part in yielding him the

respect due to the representative of Christ on earth, and they united

in giving him a devotion which supported and blessed him from hour to

hour. Joseph was no longer an uncouth village lad, for the exalted

course of his life during the years in which he had walked under God's

guidance had elevated him intellectually until he was already the peer

of any man. No doubt at this hour he was lacking, as he had been in his

earlier youth, in the technical teachings of the schools; but he had a

deeper knowledge and a finer judgment than any possessed by the most

favored of all the students of the colleges. As a boy he may have been

no more potent in swaying the feelings and judgment of those with whom

he came in contact than were his fellow youths; but as a man of God,

clothed upon with the Priesthood, filled with zeal, noble in carriage,

majestic in deportment, no person could view him without bestowing

veneration. Such is the testimony of all who knew him at this time. It

is true that he had not yet received that broad culture, he had not

penetrated to the depths of theology, astronomy, and all the higher

sciences which govern the kingdom of Christ, and unto which the Spirit

of God eventually led him; but from his almost transparent face there

shone a light of such beauty and power, and from his lips there came

such words of divine promise to mankind, that his associates accorded

to him a greater respect than could have been elicited by the most

learned minister of earthly churches, or the most powerful ruler of

earthly kingdoms.

The men who were thus associated with him, and who thus freely tendered

him, as the vicegerent of God on earth, the highest devotion of their

souls, were not naturally enthusiasts in the matter of religion; nor

were they men who could be deceived. They were of Puritan ancestry and

demanded the conviction of their reason before yielding their faith.

That reason once convinced, they were men of such exalted courage that

they dared the ridicule of the pulpit and the anger of mobs, to voice

their convictions and to yield their adherence to the gospel. The

witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and the men who supported Joseph in

his fulfillment of the divine command to organize the Church of Christ

in these last days, have left no room for a doubt of their sincerity.

Conservative in character, thrifty in habits, they were not of a class

who would venture from any slight motive to excite the hatred of a

world which they knew would deem itself outraged by their avowal. Each

one of them knew enough of the early experiences of Joseph to feel

certain that he, too, would become the object of clerical ridicule and

the vindictive persecution of the masses, incited by jealous religious

leaders. At every step since Joseph's encounter with the intolerant

spirit of the community in which he lived, he had been obliged to

call upon the Lord to aid him with more than mortal courage, to meet

and withstand the cruel assaults of his enemies. In thus joining him,

the witnesses and early members of the Church provoked the hostility

already raging against him, and they were obliged to seek the same

source for the same reinforcement of their natural strength, moral and

physical.

In this inception of the work its character was defined to a marvelous

degree. Joseph himself, and much less his companions, may not have

fully understood the divine simplicity and sublime comprehensiveness

of the organization of the Church of the Lamb of God which he was

commanded to effect upon that memorable day; but their minds were

enlightened by the Spirit of God, and by the gift of prophecy they

were inspired to foretell the grandeur of the results that would be

accomplished through this organization. Standing at this distance

of time from that day, the observer can clearly see how beautifully

adapted it is for the purposes for which it is designed. Suitable in

the beginning for the government of a Church of six members, and for

branches of the Church composed of any number of members, experience

has demonstrated that it is capable of furnishing heavenly government

for the entire race of man. Coming from Deity, it possesses divine

perfection and admits of magnificent and infinite expansion. No

officers necessary for the correct government of the Church and for

the growth and full development of its members were omitted, and

their spheres of operation and labor were so well defined that, while

they retain the Spirit of the Lord, there can be no conflict or even

friction between them. Fully recognizing the free agency of man, the

Lord designed that the officers should derive their power to control,

and the system its wonderful elasticity and strength, from the

cheerfully-yielded obedience of its members. In this way the requisite

authority to govern, the power to enforce and maintain order, and

complete personal freedom are harmoniously blended in the organization

of the Church as revealed to the Prophet Joseph.