Nauvoo, the holy city of the Mormons, and present capital of their
empire, is situated in the north-western part of Illinois, on the east
bank of the Mississippi, in lat. 40° 35' N.; it is bounded on the north,
south, and west by the river, which there forms a large curve, and is
nearly two miles wide. Eastward of the city is a beautiful undulating
prairie; it is distant ten miles from Fort Madison, in Iowa, and more
than two hundred from St. Louis.
Before the Mormons gathered there, the place was named _Commerce_, as I
have already said, and was but a small and obscure village of some
twenty houses; so rapidly, however, have they accumulated, that there
are now, within four years of their first settlement, upwards of fifteen
thousand inhabitants in the city, and as many more in its
immediate vicinity.
The surface of the ground upon which Nauvoo is built is very uneven,
though there are no great elevations. A few feet below the soil is a
vast bed of limestone, from which excellent building material can be
quarried, to almost any extent. A number of _tumuli_, or ancient mounds,
are found within the limits of the city, proving it to have been a
place of some importance with the former inhabitants of the country.
The space comprised within the city limits is about four miles in its
extreme length, and three in its breadth; but is very irregular in its
outline, and does not cover so much ground as the above measurement
would seem to indicate.
The city is regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at right
angles, and generally of considerable length, and of convenient width.
The majority of the houses are still nothing more than log cabins, but
lately a great number of plank and brick houses have been erected. The
chief edifices of Nauvoo are the temple, and an hotel, called the Nauvoo
House, but neither of them is yet finished; the latter is of brick, upon
a stone foundation, and presents a front of one hundred and twenty feet,
by sixty feet deep, and is to be three stories high, exclusive of the
basement. Although intended chiefly for the reception and entertainment
of strangers and travellers, it contains, or rather will contain, a
splendid suite of apartments for the particular accommodation of the
prophet Joe Smith, and his heirs and descendants for ever.
The privilege of this accommodation he pretends was granted to him by
the Lord, in a special revelation, on account of his services to the
Church. It is most extraordinary that the Americans, imbued with
democratic sentiments and with such an utter aversion to hereditary
privileges of any kind, could for a moment be blinded to the selfishness
of the prophet, who thus easily provided for himself and his posterity a
palace and a maintenance.
The Mormon temple is a splendid structure of stone, quarried within the
bounds of the city; its breadth is eighty feet, and its length one
hundred and forty, independent of an outer court of thirty feet, making
the length of the whole structure one hundred and seventy feet. In the
basement of the temple is the baptismal font, constructed in imitation
of the famous brazen sea of Solomon; it is supported by twelve oxen,
well modelled and overlaid with gold. Upon the sides of the font, in
panels, are represented various scriptural subjects, well painted. The
upper story of the temple will, when finished, be used as a lodge-room
for the Order Lodge and other secret societies. In the body of the
temple, where it is intended that the congregation shall assemble, are
two sets of pulpits, one for the priesthood, and the other for the
grandees of the church.
The cost of this noble edifice had been defrayed by tithing the whole
Mormon church. Those who reside at Nauvoo and are able to labour, have
been obliged to work every tenth day in quarrying stone, or upon the
building of the temple itself. Besides the temple, there are in Nauvoo
two steam saw-mills, a steam flour-mill, a tool-factory on a large
scale, a foundry, and a company of considerable wealth, from
Staffordshire, have also established there a manufacture of
English china.
The population of the holy city itself is rather a mixed kind. The
general gathering of the saints has, of course, brought together men of
all classes and characters. The great majority of them are uneducated
and unpolished people, who are undoubtedly sincere believers in the
prophet and his doctrines. A great proportion of them consist of
converts from the English manufacturing districts, who were easily
persuaded by Smith's missionaries to exchange their wretchedness at home
for ease and plenty in the promised land. These men are devotedly
attached to the prophet's will, and obey his orders as they would those
of God himself.
These aliens can, by the law of Illinois, vote after six months'
residence in the state, and they consequently vote blindly, giving their
votes according to the will of Joe Smith. To such an extent does his
will influence them, that at the election in Nauvoo (1842) there were
but six votes against the candidates he supported. Of the Mormons, I
believe the majority to be ignorant, deluded men, really and earnestly
devoted to their new religion. But their leaders are men of intellect,
who profess Mormonism because of the wealth, titles[30], rank, and power
which it procures them.
[Footnote 30: As I have mentioned the word _titles_, I must make myself
understood. There are certain classes of individuals in the United
States who, by their own fortune, education, and social position, could
not be easily brought over to Mormonism. Joe Smith, as a founder of a
sect, has not only proved himself a great man, but that he perfectly
understands his countrymen, and, above all, their greediness for any
kind of distinction which can nominally raise them above the common
herd, for it is a fact that no people hate the word equality more than
the American. Joe Smith has instituted titles, dignities, and offices
corresponding to those of the governments in the Old World. He has not
yet dared to make himself a king, but he has created a nobility that
will support him when he thinks proper to assume the sovereign title.
Thus he has selected individuals expressly to take care of the Church;
these form the order of the Templars, with their grand masters, &c., &c.
He has organised a band of soldiers, called _Danites_, a sacred
battalion--the _celeres_ of Romulus--these are all _comites_ or counts;
their chiefs are _conductors_, or dukes. Then follow the pontiffs, the
bishops, &c., &c. This plan has proved to answer well, as it has given
to Mormonism many wealthy individuals from the Eastern States, who
accepted the titles and came over to Europe to act as emissaries from
Joe, under the magnificent titles of Great Commander, Prince of Zion,
Comte de Jerusalem, Director of the Holy College, &c., &c.] As a
military position, Nauvoo, garrisoned by twenty or thirty thousand
fanatics, well armed and well supplied with provisions, would be most
formidable. It is unapproachable upon any side but the east, and there
the nature of the ground (boggy) offers great obstacles to any besieging
operations. It is Smith's intention to congregate his followers there,
until he accumulates a force that can defy anything that can be brought
against him.
Nauvoo is a Hebrew word, and signifies a beautiful habitation for a man,
carrying with it the idea of rest. It is not, however, considered by the
Mormons as their final home, but as a resting-place; they only intend to
remain there till they have gathered a force sufficient to enable them
to conquer Independence (Missouri), which, according to them, _is one of
the most fertile, pleasant, and desirable countries on the face of the
earth, possessing a soil unsurpassed by any region_. Independence they
consider their Zion, and they there intend to rear their great temple,
the corner stone of which is already laid. There is to be the great
gathering-place for all the saints, and, in that delightful and healthy
country, they expect to find their Eden, and build their New Jerusalem.
What passed between Joe Smith and myself I feel not at liberty to
disclose; in fact, publicity would interfere with any future plans. I
will only say, that the prophet received me with the greatest
cordiality, and confirmed the offers which his agents had made to me
when I was among the Comanches. When, however, I came to the point, and
wished to ascertain whether the Mormons would act up to the promises of
their leaders, I perceived, to my great disappointment, that the "means"
at least for the present--the operative means--were not yet ready to be
put in motion. According to him, the Foxes, Osages, Winnebegoes, Sioux,
and Mennonionie Indians would act for him at a moment's notice; and, on
my visiting the Foxes to ascertain the truth of these assertions, I
discovered that they had indeed promised to do so, provided that,
previously, the Mormons should have fulfilled certain promises to them,
the performance of which I knew was not yet in the power of the Mormons.
In the meanwhile, I heard from Joe Smith himself how God had selected
him to obtain and be the keeper of the divine bible; and the reader will
form his own idea of Joe Smith by the narrative. The day appointed was
the 22nd of September, and Joe told me that on that day--
"He arose early in the morning, took a one-horse waggon of some one that
had stayed overnight at his house, and, accompanied by his wife,
repaired to the hill which contained the book. He left his wife in the
waggon by the road, and went alone to the hill, a distance of thirty or
forty rods. He then took the book out of the ground, hid it in a tree
top, and returned home. The next day he went to work for some time in
the town of Macedon, but about ten days afterwards, it having been
suggested that some one had got his book, his wife gave him notice of
it; upon which, hiring a horse, he returned home in the afternoon,
stayed just time enough to drink a cup of tea, went in search of his
book, found it safe, took off his frock, wrapt it round his treasure,
put it under his arm, and ran all the way home, a distance of about two
miles. He said he should think that, being written on plates of gold, if
weighed sixty pounds, but, at all events, was sure it was not less than
forty. On his return he was attacked by two men in the woods, knocked
them both down, made his escape, and arrived safe at home with
his burden."
The above were the exact words of Smith, to which he adds, somewhere in
his translation of the book, that had it not been for the supernatural
virtues of the stone he carried with him, virtues which endowed him with
divine strength and courage, he would never have been able to undergo
the fatigues and conquer the obstacles he encountered during that
frightful night.
Thus Smith gets possession of his precious manuscript. But, alas! 'tis
written in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Joe calls to his assistance the
wonderful stone, "the gift of God," and peeping hastily through it, he
sees an angel pointing somewhere towards _a miraculous pair of
spectacles!!!_ Yes, two polished pieces of crystal were the humble means
by which the golden plates were to be rendered comprehensible. By the
bye, the said spectacles are a heavy, ugly piece of workmanship of the
last century; they are silver-mounted, and bear the maker's name,
plainly engraved, "Schneider, Zurich."
The Book of Mormon was published in the year 1830, Since that period its
believers and advocates have propagated its doctrines and absurdities
with a zeal worthy of a better cause. Through every State of the Union,
and in Canada, the apostles of this wild delusion have disseminated its
principles and duped thousands to believe it true. They have crossed the
ocean, and in England have made many converts: recently some of their
missionaries have been sent to Palestine. Such strenuous exertions
having been, and still being made, to propagate the doctrines of this
book, and such fruits having already appeared from the labours of its
friends, it becomes a matter of some interest to investigate the history
of this strange delusion, and, although it does not deserve it, treat
the subject seriously.
The Book of Mormon purports to be the record or history of a certain
people who inhabited America previous to its discovery by Columbus.
According to the book, this people were the descendants of one Lehi, who
crossed the ocean from the eastern continent to that of America. Their
history and records, containing prophecies and revelations, were
engraven, by the command of God, on small plates, and deposited in the
hill Comora, which appears to be situated in Western New York. Thus was
preserved an account of this race (together with their religious creed)
up to the period when the descendants of Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, who
were the three eldest sons of Lehi, arose and destroyed the descendants
of Nephi, who was the youngest son. From this period the descendants of
the eldest sons "dwindled in unbelief," and "became a dark, loathsome,
and filthy people." These last-mentioned are the present
American Indians.
The plates above-mentioned remained in their depository until 1827, when
they were found by Joseph Smith, jun., who was directed in the discovery
by the angel of the Lord. On these plates were certain hieroglyphics,
said to be of the Egyptian character, which Smith, by the direction of
God, being instructed by Inspiration as to their meaning, proceeded to
translate.
It will be here proper to remark, that a narrative so extraordinary as
that contained in the Book of Mormon, translated from hieroglyphics, of
which even the most learned have but a limited knowledge, and that too,
by an ignorant man, who pretended to no other knowledge of the
characters than what he derived from inspiration, requires more than
ordinary evidence to substantiate it. It will, therefore, be our purpose
to inquire into the nature and degree of testimony which has been given
to the world to substantiate the claims of this extraordinary book.
In the first place, the existence of the plates themselves has ever
since their alleged discovery been in dispute. On this point it would be
extremely easy to give some proofs, by making an exhibition of them to
the world. If they are so ancient as they are claimed to be, and
designed for the purpose of transmitting the history of a people, and if
they have lain for ages deposited In the earth, their appearance would
certainly indicate the fact. What evidence, then, have we of the
_existence_ of these plates? Why, none other than the mere _dictum_ of
Smith himself and the certificates of eleven other individuals, who say
that they have seen them; and upon this testimony we are required to
believe this most extraordinary narrative.
Now, even admitting, for the sake of argument, that these witnesses are
all honest and credible men, yet what would be easier than for Smith to
deceive them? Could he not easily procure plates and inscribe thereon a
set of characters, no matter what, and exhibit them to the intended
witnesses as genuine? What would be easier than thus to impose on their
credulity and weakness? And if it were necessary to give them the
appearances of antiquity, a chemical process could effect the matter.
But we do not admit that these witnesses were honest; for six of them,
after having made the attestation to the world that they had seen the
plates, left the Church, thus contradicting that to which they had
certified. And one of these witnesses, Martin Harris, who is frequently
mentioned In the Book of Covenants--who was a high-priest of the
Church--who was one of the most infatuated of Smith's followers--who
even gave his property in order to procure the publication of the Book
of Mormon, afterwards seceded from the Church. Smith, in speaking of him
in connection with others, said that they were so far beneath contempt,
that a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman
to make.
Some of the Mormons have said that a copy of the plates was presented to
Professor Anthon, a gentleman standing in the first rank as a classical
scholar, and that he attested to the faithfulness of the translation of
the Book of Mormon. Now, let us read what the professor himself has to
say on this matter. In a letter recently published he expresses
himself thus:--
"Many years ago, the precise date I do not now recollect, a
plain-looking countryman called upon me, with a letter from Dr. Samuel
L. Mitchell, requesting me to examine and give my opinion upon a certain
paper, marked with various characters, which the doctor confessed he
could not decipher, and which the bearer of the note was very anxious to
have explained. A very brief examination of the paper convinced me that
it was not only a mere hoax, but a very clumsy one. The characters were
arranged in columns, like the Chinese mode of writing, and presented the
most singular medley I ever beheld. Greek, Hebrew, and all sorts of
letters, more or less distorted, either through unskilfulness or from
actual design, were intermingled with sundry delineations of half-moons,
stars, and other natural objects, and the whole ended in a rude
representation of the Mexican zodiac. The conclusion was irresistible,
that some cunning fellow had prepared the paper in question, for the
purpose of imposing upon the countryman who brought it, and I told the
man so, without any hesitation. He then proceeded to give me the history
of the whole affair, which convinced me that he had fallen into the
hands of some sharper, while it left me in great astonishment at his
simplicity."
The professor also states that he gave his opinion in writing to the
man, that "the marks on the paper appeared to be merely an imitation of
various alphabetic characters, and had no meaning at all connected
with them."
The following letter, which I received, relative to the occupation of
Joe Smith, as a treasure-finder, will probably remind the reader of the
character of Dousterswivel, in Walter Scott's tale of the Antiquary. One
could almost imagine that either Walter Scott had borrowed from Joe, or
that Joe had borrowed from the great novelist.
"I first became acquainted with Joseph Smith, senior, and his family, in
1820. They lived at that time in Palmyra, about one mile and a half from
my residence. A great part of their time was devoted to digging for
money; especially in the night-time, when, they said, the money could be
most easily obtained. I have heard them tell marvellous tales respecting
the discoveries they have made in their peculiar occupation of
money-digging. They would say, for instance, that in such and such a
place, in such a hill, or a certain man's farm, there were deposited
kegs, barrels, and hogsheads of coined silver and gold, bars of gold,
golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver, gold
candlesticks, swords, &c., &c. They would also say, that nearly all the
hills in this part of New York were thrown by human hands, and in them
were large caves, which Joseph, jun., could see, by placing a stone of
singular appearance in his hat, in such a manner as to exclude all
light; at which time they pretended he could see all things within and
under the earth; that he could spy within the above-mentioned caves
large gold bars and silver plates; that he could also discover the
spirits in whose charge these treasures were, clothed in ancient
dresses. At certain times, these treasures could be obtained very
easily; at others, the obtaining of them was difficult. The facility of
approaching them depended in a great measure on the state of the moon.
New moon and Good Friday, I believe, were regarded as the most
favourable times for obtaining these treasures. These tales, of course,
I regarded as visionary. However, being prompted by curiosity, I at
length accepted their invitation to join them in their nocturnal
excursions. I will now relate a few incidents attending these nocturnal
excursions.
"Joseph Smith, sen., came to me one night, and told me that Joseph,
jun., had been looking in his stone, and had seen, not many rods from
his house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under the
surface of the earth, and that none others but the elder Joseph and
myself could get them. I accordingly consented to go, and early in the
evening repaired to the place of deposit. Joseph, sen., first made a
circle, twelve or fourteen feet in diameter: 'This circle,' said he,
'contains the treasure.' He then stuck in the ground a row of
witch-hazel sticks around the said circle, for the purpose of keeping
off the evil spirits. Within this circle he made another, of about eight
or ten feet in diameter. He walked around three times on the periphery
of this last circle, muttering to himself something I could not
understand. He next stuck a steel rod in the centre of the circles, and
then enjoined profound silence, lest we should arouse the evil spirit
who had the charge of these treasures. After we had dug a trench of
about five feet in depth around the rod, the old man, by signs and
motions, asked leave of absence, and went to the house to inquire of the
son the cause of our disappointment. He soon returned, and said, that
Joe had remained all the time in the house, looking in his stone and
watching the motions of the evil spirit; that he saw the spirit come up
to the ring, and as soon as it beheld the cone which we had formed
around the rod, it caused the money to sink. We then went into the
house, and the old man observed that we had made a mistake in the
commencement of the operation; 'If it had not been for that,' said he,
'we should have got the money.'
"At another time, they devised a scheme by which they might satiate
their hunger with the flesh of one of my sheep. They had seen in my
flock of sheep a large, fat, black wether. Old Joseph and one of the
boys came to me one day, and said, that Joseph, jun., had discovered
some very remarkable and valuable treasures, which could be procured
only in one way. That way was as follows:--that a black sheep should be
taken on the ground where the treasures were concealed; that, after
cutting its throat, it should be led around a circle while bleeding;
this being done, the wrath of the evil spirit would be appeased, the
treasures could then be obtained, and my share of them would be
four-fold. To gratify my curiosity, I let them have the sheep. They
afterwards informed me that the sheep was killed pursuant to
commandment; but, as there was some mistake in the process, it did not
have the desired effect. This, I believe, is the only time they ever
made money-digging a profitable business. They, however, had constantly
around them a worthless gang, whose employment it was to dig for money
at night, and who, during day, had more to do with mutton than money.
"When they found that the better classes of people of this vicinity
would no longer put any faith in their schemes for digging money, they
then pretended to find a gold bible, of which they said the Book of
Mormon was only an introduction. This latter book was at length fitted
for the press. No means were taken by any individual to suppress its
publication; no one apprehended danger from a book originating with
individuals who had neither influence, honesty, nor honour. The two
Josephs and Hiram promised to show me the plates after the Book of
Mormon was translated; but afterwards, they pretended to have received
an express commandment, forbidding them to show the plates. Respecting
the manner of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon, their
statements were always discordant. The elder Joseph would say, that he
had seen the plates, and that he knew them to be gold; at other times he
would say, they looked like gold; and at other times he asserted he had
not seen the plates at all.
"I have thus briefly stated a few of the facts, in relation to the
conduct and character of this family of Smiths; probably sufficient has
been stated without my going into detail.
"WILLIAM STAFFORD."
The following is a curious document from one of the very individuals who
printed the Mormon Bible:--
"Having noticed in a late number of the _Signs of the Times_ a notice of
a work entitled 'Mormon Delusions and Monstrosities,' it occurred to me
that it might, perhaps, be of service to the cause of truth to state one
circumstance, relative to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which
occurred during its publication, at which time I was engaged in the
office where it was printed, and became familiar with the men and their
principles, through whose agency it was 'got up.'
"The circumstance alluded to was as follows!--We had heard much said by
Martin Harris, the man who paid for the printing, and the only one in
the concern worth any property, about the wonderful wisdom of the
translators of the mysterious plates, and we resolved to test their
wisdom. Accordingly, after putting one sheet in type? we laid it aside,
and told Harris it was lost, and there would be a serious defection in
the book in consequence, unless another sheet, like the original, could
be produced. The announcement threw the old gentleman into great
excitement; but, after a few moments reflection, he said he would try
to obtain another. After two or three weeks, another sheet was produced,
but no more like the original than any other sheet of paper would have
been, written over by a common schoolboy, after having read, as they
had, the manuscript preceding and succeeding the lost sheet. As might be
expected, the disclosure of this trick greatly annoyed the authors, and
caused no little merriment among those who were acquainted with the
circumstance. As we were none of us _Christians_, and only laboured for
the 'gold that perisheth,' we did not care for the delusion, only so far
as to be careful to avoid it ourselves and enjoy the hoax. _Not one_ of
the hands in the office where the wonderful book was printed ever became
a convert to the system, although the writer of this was often assured
by Harris, that if he did not, he would be destroyed in 1832.
"T.N.S. TUCKER."
GROTON, MAY 23, 1842.