It is not the purpose in this brief chapter to enter into a detailed
argument on the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, but to state
sufficiently what the sacred record purports to be. The Bible records
some of the leading events in the dealings of the Almighty with His
children upon the Eastern hemisphere, prefaced by the Mosaic history
of the creation. The Book of Mormon is to the American continent what
the Bible is to the Eastern. The Bible is more especially the stick of
Judah, being written by Jewish prophets and apostles. Of the ten tribes
carried into the North countries and lost from the world, the Bible
gives no account, beyond brief statements which go to prove that they
were lost to the rest of mankind.
Of the various colonies "scattered from the tower of Babel" upon all
the face of the earth, according to Genesis, chapter xi., the Bible
offers no information. Of the branches of Joseph which ran over the
boundary walls of the other tribes of Jacob, extending to the utmost
bounds of the everlasting hills, the Jewish record is silent.
What became of them? Whither did they flee, and are they lost to God?
Are they less His offspring because they went to people other lands?
From the time the ten tribes were carried away, no communication has
been established between them and the Gentile nations, and not until
the discovery of America by Columbus was there any correspondence
between the aborigines of America and the countries of Europe and the
East. Because these were lost to Jew and Gentile, is it reasonable to
suppose they were lost also to Him who is the Father of the spirits
of all flesh, and who made of one blood all nations to dwell upon all
the face of the earth? Reason, mercy, justice and the Bible all deny
that these should not have revelations from God and write them as well
as did the Jews. Jesus Himself most emphatically declared, "There is
nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, neither hid, that shall
not be known." (Luke xii:2.) The Book of Mormon reveals the fact
that from the Tower of Babel came a colony of people to the Western
continent. They were led by a prophet to whom God spake and His words
were written. They became a mighty nation on this land, having prophets
and inspired men to lead them. Finally, like the Jews, they fell into
apostasy and through war and bloodshed became extinct as a nation. The
Book of Mormon gives a brief review of their rise, progress and fall.
It also records the fact that in the days of Jeremiah, two colonies
came from Jerusalem to America, years before Christ. It gives a history
of God's dealings with them until four hundred years after Christ,
covering a period of one thousand years.
From the Book of Mormon we also have light thrown upon sayings of the
Savior, recorded in the New Testament. He said to the Twelve, "Other
sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one
shepherd." (St. John x:16.) Who can tell us where those other sheep
were and when the Savior visited them? He said they should hear His
voice. The Book of Mormon gives the history of this visit to the
descendants of Jacob upon this land. He organized His church among
them, with apostles, prophets, etc., "one fold and one shepherd." This
occurred subsequent to His resurrection. While teaching His disciples
on this land, He told them of this statement to the Jewish apostles,
that He had other sheep to visit; and to the apostles chosen upon this
land He said, "I have other sheep which are not of this land; neither
of the land of Jerusalem; neither in any parts of that land round
about, whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are
they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time
manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the
Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice
and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and
one shepherd; Therefore I go to show myself unto them." (III. Nephi,
chapter xvi:1-3.)
These sayings of our Savior afford the only present scriptural and
reasonable interpretation of the parable in Matthew, thirteenth
chapter: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took
and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The
leaven must be a symbol of the Gospel, as its effects upon the meal
to lighten and prepare it for use are like the effects of the Gospel
of Christ upon the hearts of those who obey the same, viz., to refine
and purify that men may be prepared for the kingdom of the Father. The
three measures of meal doubtless are representative of three divisions
of the house of Israel. These were, according to the Book of Mormon,
the Jews in Palestine, the seed of Joseph on the Western hemisphere,
and the ten tribes in the North country. These all were visited by the
Savior. They heard His voice and were taught of Him "one Lord, one
faith, one baptism," that there might be "one fold and one shepherd."
The Gospel going to the Gentiles could have no part in the fulfillment
of the parable of the three measures of meal, because the Messiah never
did visit the Gentiles, and He says of the other sheep, "they shall
hear my voice." The only account of such an event given to mankind
thus far is that recorded in the Book of Mormon. If that is not the
true one, then we must look for one no less remarkable and no less in
conflict with the spiritual bigotry and ignorance of the nineteenth
century. That there should be a record kept by another branch of
Israel than the Jewish tribe, is plainly set forth by Ezekiel in his
thirty-seventh chapter, where the Lord commands the prophet to take
"one stick" and write upon it for Judah and his brethren, and another
stick and write upon it for Ephraim and his brethren, and then predicts
that they shall become one in the hand of the Lord. The Book of Mormon
claims to be the stick of Joseph, and it and the Bible have become
one in the hand of the Lord in these last days. Each corroborates the
other. They are one in doctrine, one in prophecy, one in history so far
as they treat upon the same events. Each throws light upon the other,
and yet bear the marks of having been written far apart by a different
people, of different surroundings and education.
Isaiah speaks of a book (see Isa. xxix.) that should come forth. 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 sayeth, I can not; for it is sealed: And the book is
delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee:
and he sayeth, I am not learned." This prophecy was verified as set out
in a previous chapter. The book itself was delivered by an angel to
the young man Joseph Smith, with the injunction that they should never
be used to get gain, but for the salvation of mankind. Joseph, feeling
his own weakness and knowing that he could not of himself translate
them, acknowledged that he was not learned. He was told that he should
translate them by the gift and power of God, which he did by the use of
the Urim and Thummim, the instrument used by seers of old. Thus were
the words of the prophet Isaiah verified.
No amount of credulity could make a reasonable mind believe that Joseph
Smith, an unlettered, unsophisticated boy of twenty-two years, could
prepare such a scheme, conniving with men of maturer years to aid him
in the fraud, that the words of an ancient prophet, spoken 2,500 years
before, should be literally fulfilled. The probability is that neither
Joseph Smith, Martin Harris nor Prof. Anthon knew anything of the words
of Isaiah relating to such a record. Prof. Anthon was not in sympathy
with Joseph Smith and became an avowed opponent of the Book of Mormon.
What he said in fulfillment of prophecy in this instance regarding the
Book of Mormon may be said of all others, for many have been verified
since it came forth--prophecies regarding it and predictions in the
book itself.
The Psalmist David said that "Truth shall spring out of the earth and
righteousness shall look down from heaven." The Book of Mormon was
written upon metallic plates, and hidden in the earth 400 years after
Christ. They literally came out of the earth, and righteousness in the
personage of a holy angel came down from heaven and placed them in the
hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Isaiah speaks of the ancient seers
being covered, and that in the latter days their speech should be "low
out of the dust." The Book of Mormon was written by seers upon the
American continent. Through martyrdom they had been covered and their
words lost to the apostate Lamanites for many generations. In the last
days, however, their words came forth. They speak "out of the dust" and
light shines upon the hidden mysteries of a whole continent, revealing
a period of ten centuries.
Among the many prophecies in the Book of Mormon verified since its
publication in 1829, is one found in II. Nephi, chapter 29, verse 3:
"And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say,
A Bible! A Bible! we have got a Bible and there cannot be any more
Bible.
"But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it
shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And
what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?
Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travels, and the
labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in
bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles? O ye Gentiles, have ye
remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have
cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them.
But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I
the Lord have not forgotten my people. Thou fool, that shall say, A
Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained
a Bible, save it were by the Jews?
"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I,
the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who
are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above,
and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children
of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur
ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that
the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that
I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same
words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall
run together, the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
And I do this that I may prove unto many, that I am the same yesterday,
today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine
own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word, ye need not
suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished;
neither shall it be, until the end of man; neither from that time
henceforth and forever.
"Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible, ye need not suppose that it
contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused
more to be written: For I command all men, both in the East and in the
West, and in the North, and in the South, and in the islands of the
sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out
of the books which shall be written, I will judge the world, every man
according to their works, according to that which is written.
"For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and
I shall also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I
shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which
I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto
all nations of the earth, and they shall write it. And it shall come
to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the
Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the
Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost
tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
And it shall come to pass that my people which are of the house of
Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and
my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will shew unto them that
fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of
Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham, that I would
remember his seed forever."
It has been decreed by the Almighty, and spoken of by Book of Mormon
prophets that slavery should not obtain and be perpetuated upon this
land: "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall
possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from
all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the
land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things
which we have written." (Ether ii:12.) This decree of the Almighty
has determined the history of this country from the beginning, so
far as internal slavery and freedom from bondage of other nations is
concerned. If the skeptic shall say that the prophecy was published
to the world long after the freedom of the American colonies and the
independence of this government were attained, we call attention to the
fact that slavery has been abolished in this land since then, and that
no nation which has made war with the United States has ever succeeded,
and never will, unless the inhabitants of this land shall become
overwhelmed in iniquity and abominations.
Another striking prediction contained in the Book of Mormon is the
following: "And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles,
and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the
Gentiles; and I will fortify this land against all other nations; and
he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God; For he that
raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of
heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever,
that hear my words." (II. Nephi x:11-14.) Gradually, yet with certain
progress, has the government of kings been abolished from the American
continent until nearly all governments in North and South America are
republics. Canada is still under the rule of Great Britain, but is
managed in such a manner that the liberties of the people are almost,
if not quite equal to those of a republican territory. Those who know
the history of the effort to make Maximilian a king in Mexico also know
how terribly the words of the Book of Mormon have been verified: "For
he that raiseth up a king unto me shall perish."
This continent is the land of Zion, "and he that fighteth against
Zion shall perish, saith God." Before the late Spanish-American war,
George Q. Cannon read these predictions from the Book of Mormon before
a congregation in the Tabernacle, and with a knowledge that these
prophecies were given of the Lord foretold the result of the war and
the certain banishment of Spanish kingly power from the American isles.
Other prophecies of the sacred volume have been verified since its
publication to the world. Those verified should establish faith in
reasonable minds that the unfulfilled parts will surely come to pass.
The external evidences afforded by archaeologists to the divine
authenticity of the Book of Mormon are very numerous; they may be
ascertained by a careful study of the sacred volume and a comparison
with the discoveries of later times, in the ruins of ancient cities,
towns, temples, roadways, etc., which have been brought to light and
are treated upon in the writings of Stevens and Catherwood, Dr. Le
Plongeon, and many other eminent antiquarians. While the Book of Mormon
without investigation is discarded, its opponent is led to prove its
divinity by his researches into archaeology. In connection with the
coming forth of this word Isaiah said, "The wisdom of their wise men
shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
All the old subterfuges published against the book have been exploded
long since, and yet people are still repeating them. It was stated that
Joseph Smith's ingenuity and Sidney Rigdon's learning devised the Book
of Mormon from the Solomon Spaulding romance. The Book of Mormon was
published to the world before Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon ever saw
each other. Prof. Fairchild of the Oberlin College in Ohio, examined
the Spaulding manuscript and compared it with the Book of Mormon; he
then testified over his signature that there was no similarity between
them.
Some people have ridiculed the record because in point of literary
merit it did not equal the Jewish record, the Holy Bible. If this were
any just cause of rejection, why not discard several books in the Bible
because their literature does not equal in merit the writings of the
patriarch Job? But laying this aside, the Book of Mormon offers its
own explanation of literary defect. "Condemn me not because of mine
imperfection; neither my father, because of his imperfections; neither
them who have written before him, but rather give thanks unto God that
He hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn
to be more wise than we have been. And now behold, we have written
this record according to our knowledge in the characters, which are
called among us the Reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered
by us, according to our manner of speech. And if our plates had been
sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew
hath been altered by us also: and if we could have written in Hebrew,
behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record. But the Lord
knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other
people knoweth our language, therefore He hath prepared means for the
interpretation thereof." (Mormon ix:31-34.) In the preface of the
record is written: "And now if there be faults, they are the mistakes
of men, wherefore condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found
spotless at the judgment seat of Christ." "But he that believeth these
things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations
of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my
Spirit, he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men
to do good." (Ether iv:11.) Again, "And whoso receiveth this record,
and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it,
the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni;
and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you." (Mormon
viii:12.) Those persons who would esteem literary imperfections an
evidence against the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon must
belong to one of two classes--they are either not honest at heart and
are seeking opportunity to evade the responsibility of knowing the
truth, or they are shallow-minded, and to the world of sound reason,
good judgment, and practical ability prefer the shadow compared with
the substance. He "that will do the will of the Father shall know
of the doctrine," is the promise of our Savior; and the promises in
the Book of Mormon that those who will not condemn the things of God
because of human imperfections, but shall receive greater knowledge,
are plain enough to condemn the world if they reject them, as much as
the teachings of the Jewish record shall condemn mankind if they will
not hearken.
The truth of the Book of Mormon is affirmed by the direct testimony of
four witnesses-Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin
Harris, who saw the angel Moroni, and the ancient plates from which
the sacred volume was translated. None of them ever wavered from that
testimony. They maintained it under great trials and persecutions to
the end, and Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his life, a martyr
to the truth. Eight other men, whose names are recorded in the fore
part of the book, saw and handled the plates. Many thousands of people
from various lands and climes have read the book with prayerful hearts,
have received the ordinances of the Gospel and by the power of the Holy
Ghost solemnly testify that the Book of Mormon is a divine record.
Added to this I testify, as an humble disciple of the Lord, in the name
of Jesus Christ who is our Redeemer, that Joseph Smith was a prophet
of the living God and the Book of Mormon is a divine record, revealed
by the God of heaven and translated by the gift and power of God as a
witness unto this and all future generations that Jesus is the Christ,
that the Bible is true, that there is but one plan of salvation, and
that Jesus taught the same plan to the Jews, to the seed of Joseph and
to the lost tribes by his own personal ministrations. He also sent the
Gospel to the Gentiles by the hands of His apostles, and thereby shows
to all men in every land and in all ages that God changes not, and is
the same today, yesterday and forever.