NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD
II.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
* * * *
By B. H. Roberts,
Author of "The Gospel," "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," "Mormon
Doctrine of Deity," "Defense of the Faith and the Saints," "The
Prophet-Teacher," etc., etc.
* * * *
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. II.
* * * *
THE DESERET NEWS
Salt Lake City
1909
PREFACE.
The following work was begun twenty-two years ago, in England, when
the author was in that land on a Mission, as assistant Editor of the
_Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star_. It was the author's design then
to make the treatise on the Book of Mormon the first volume under
the general title "New Witnesses for God"; but after some progress
in collecting and arranging the materials had been made, the thought
occurred to him that the Prophet Joseph Smith in chronological order,
if not in importance, preceded the Book of Mormon in the introduction
of God's Witnesses in this last and great dispensation. The materials
of this work, therefore, so far as they had been collected, were laid
aside and work was begun on the treatise of Joseph Smith as a Witness
for God; which, however, because of many other demands upon the
author's time, was not published until 1895.
Meantime work was continued from time to time upon the treatise of the
Book of Mormon; and in 1903-4-5, the materials were used, substantially
as in their present form, as Manuals for the Senior Classes of the
Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations. The work has undergone a
thorough revision at the hands of the author, and is now to take the
place in his writings designed for it so long ago.
While the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is but an incident in
God's great work of the last days, and the book itself subordinate to
some other facts in that work, still the incident of its coming forth
and the book are facts of such importance that the whole work of God
may be said, in a manner, to stand or fall with them. That is to say,
if the origin of the Book of Mormon could be proved to be other than
that set forth by Joseph Smith; if the book itself could be proved to
be other than it claims to be, _viz_., and chiefly, an abridged history
of the ancient inhabitants of America, a volume of scripture containing
a message from God to the people to whom it was written--"to the
Lamanites [American Indians], who are a remnant of the house of Israel;
and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by
the spirit of prophecy and revelation"--if, I say, the Book of Mormon
could be proved to be other than this, then the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, and its message and doctrines, which, in some
respects, may be said to have arisen out of the Book of Mormon, must
fall; for if that book is other than it claims to be; if its origin is
other than that ascribed to it by Joseph Smith, then Joseph Smith says
that which is untrue; he is a false prophet of false prophets; and all
he taught, and all his claims to inspiration and divine authority, are
not only vain but wicked; and all that he did as a religious teacher is
not only useless, but mischievous beyond human comprehending.
Nor does this statement of the case set forth sufficiently strong the
situation. Those who accept the Book of Mormon for what it claims to
be, may not so state their case that its security chiefly rests on the
inability of its opponents to prove a negative. The affirmative side
of the question belongs to us who hold out the Book of Mormon to the
world as a revelation from God. The burden of proof rests upon us in
every discussion. It is not enough for us to say that if the origin of
the Book of Mormon is proved to be other than that set forth by Joseph
Smith; if the book itself be proved to be other than it claims to be,
then the institution known as "Mormonism" must fall. We must do more
than rest our case on the inability of opponents to prove a negative.
The security of "Mormonism" rests on quite other grounds; and, from a
forensic standpoint, upon much more precarious ground; for not only
must the Book of Mormon not be proved to have other origin than that
which we set forth, or be other than what we say it is, _but we must
prove its origin to be what we say it is, and the book itself to be
what we proclaim it to be--a revelation from God_.
From these remarks the reader will observe, I trust, that while I refer
to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as an incident, and the book
itself as a fact subordinate to some other facts connected with the
great work of God in the last days, I have by no means underrated the
importance of the Book of Mormon in its relation to God's work of the
last days as a whole. It is to meet the requirements of this situation
that I have been anxious to add my contribution to the gradually
accumulating literature on this subject, both within and without the
Church, both upon the affirmative and the negative side of the question.
My treatise is divided into four parts:
I.--The Value of the Book of Mormon as a Witness for the Authenticity
and Integrity of the Bible; and the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
II.--The Discovery of the Book of Mormon and its Translation,
Migrations, Lands, Intercontinental Movements, Civilizations,
Governments, and the Religions of its Peoples.
III.--Evidences of the Truth of the Book of Mormon.
IV.--Objections to the Book of Mormon Considered.
It will be seen from the titles of these divisions that Parts I and II
are really only preparatory in their nature. The more interesting field
of evidence and argument is not entered until Part III is reached.
But Parts I and II, if not so intensely interesting as the divisions
devoted to argument, they are, nevertheless, every whit as important.
It goes without saying that the success of an argument greatly, and I
may say fundamentally, depends upon the clearness and completeness of
the statement of the matter involved; and it is frequently the case
that a proper setting forth of a subject makes its truth self-evident;
and all other evidence becomes merely collateral, and all argument
becomes of secondary importance. Especially is this the case when
setting forth the Book of Mormon for the world's acceptance; in which
matter we have the right to expect, and the assurance in the book
itself that we shall receive, the co-operation of divine agencies to
confirm to the souls of men the truth of the Nephite record; that as
that record was written in the first instance by divine commandment,
by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation; and as it was preserved
by angelic guardianship, and at last brought forth by revelation, and
translated by what men regard as miraculous means, so it is provided
in God's providences, respecting this volume of scripture, that its
truth shall be attested to individuals by the operations of the Holy
Spirit upon the human mind. "When ye shall receive these things,"
says the prophet Moroni, referring to the writings of the Nephites,
"I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the
name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with
a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will
manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And
by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
This must ever be the chief source of evidence for the truth of the
Book of Mormon. All other evidence is secondary to this, the primary
and infallible. No arrangement of evidence, however skilfully ordered;
no argument, however adroitly made, can ever take its place; for this
witness of the Holy Spirit to the souls of men for the truth of the
Nephite volume of scripture, is God's evidence to the truth; and will
ever be the chief reliance of those who accept the Book of Mormon, and
expect to see its acceptance extended throughout the world; for, as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so must the testimony of God forever
stand above and before the testimony of men, and of things.
I confess that these reflections have a saddening effect upon one who
undertakes to set forth what he must confess are but the secondary
evidences to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and make an argument
that he can never regard as of primary importance in the matter of
convincing the world of the truth of the work in the interest of which
he labors. But I trust these reflections will help my readers to a
right apprehension of the importance of Parts I and II, the importance
of a clear and, so far as may be, a complete statement of the incidents
connected with the coming forth of the book, and also of its contents.
To be known, the truth must be stated, and the clearer and more
complete the statement is, the better opportunity will the Holy Spirit
have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true. While
desiring to make it clear that our chief reliance for evidence to
the truth of the Book of Mormon must ever be the witness of the Holy
Spirit, promised by the prophet Moroni to those who will seek to know
the truth from that source; and desiring, also, as I think is becoming
in man, to acknowledge the superiority of God's witness to the truth
as compared with any evidence that man may set forth--I would not
have it thought that the evidence and argument presented in Parts III
and IV are unimportant. Secondary evidences in support of truth, like
secondary causes in natural phenomena, may be of firstrate importance,
and mighty factors in the achievement of God's purposes. I only desire
by these remarks to place the matters to be considered in their right
relations.
B. H. ROBERTS.
Salt Lake City, March, 1909.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I.
THE VALUE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AS A WITNESS FOR THE AUTHENTICITY AND
INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE, AND THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
CHAPTER I.
The Bible in the Nineteenth Century.
CHAPTER II.
The Witness of the Western Hemisphere.
CHAPTER III.
The Purposes for Which the Book of Mormon was Written.
PART II.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AND ITS TRANSLATION.--MIGRATIONS,
LANDS, INTERCONTINENTAL MOVEMENTS, CIVILIZATIONS, AND THE RELIGIONS OF
ITS PEOPLES.
CHAPTER IV.
How Joseph Smith Obtained the Book of Mormon.
CHAPTER V.
The Translation of the Record--Martin Harris Amanuensis.
CHAPTER VI.
Translation of the Record (Continued)--Oliver Cowdery, Amanuensis.
CHAPTER VII.
The Manner of Translating the Book of Mormon.
CHAPTER VIII.
Publication of the Record.
CHAPTER IX.
An Analysis of the Book of Mormon.
CHAPTER X.
Migrations to the Western Hemisphere and the Nations that Arose from
Them.
I. Jaredites--
Migration and Place of Landing.
Capital and Centers of Civilization.
Extent and Nature of Civilization.
Numbers.
Literature.
Government.
Religion.
History.
II. The Nephites.
Lehi's Colony.
Mulek's Colony.
CHAPTER XI.
Book of Mormon Lands.
CHAPTER XII.
Inter-Continental Movements of Book of Mormon People.
Nephite Movements Southward.
Nephite Movement Northward.
CHAPTER XIII.
Government and Religion Among the Nephites.
Nephite Government.
Religion.
The People of Mulek.
Government and Religion.
The Lamanites.
Civilization, Government, Religion.
PART III.
EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.
CHAPTER XIV.
Classification of Evidences.
CHAPTER XV.
Direct External Evidences.
The Testimony of the Three Witnesses.
The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses.
CHAPTER XVI.
Direct External Evidences--The Three Witnesses--Subsequent
Life and Testimonies.
Oliver Cowdery.
CHAPTER XVII.
Direct External Evidences--the Testimony of the Three
Witnesses--Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued).
David Whitmer.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Direct External Evidences--Testimony of the Three
Witnesses--Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued).
Martin Harris.
CHAPTER XIX.
Direct External Evidences--Reflections Upon the Testimonies
of the Three Witnesses.
CHAPTER XX.
Direct External Evidences--Testimony of the Eight Witnesses.
Christian Whitmer.
Jacob Whitmer.
Peter Whitmer, Jr.
John Whitmer.
Hiram Page.
Joseph Smith, Sen.
Hyrum Smith.
Samuel Harrison Smith.
CHAPTER XXI.
Direct External Evidence--Reflections on the Testimony of the
Eleven Witnesses.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Testimony of Incidental Witnesses.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Probability of Joseph Smith's Story of the Origin, Translation and
Final Disposition of the Plates of the Book of Mormon.
I. The Ministration of Angels is Neither Unscriptural nor
Unreasonable.
II. To Believe in Media for Ascertaining Divine Knowledge is Neither
Unscriptural nor Unreasonable.
III. Of Returning the Plates of the Book of Mormon to Moroni.
IV. On the Loss of One Hundred and Sixteen Pages of Manuscript, Being
the Translation of the First Part of Mormon's Abridgment of the
Nephite Records.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities. Preliminary
Considerations.
I. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location and Character
of the Jaredite Civilization.
II. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location, Extent and
Nature of the Nephite Civilization.
CHAPTER XXV.
Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities. Preliminary
Considerations (Continued).
III. Of the Probability of Intercourse Between the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres During Jaredite and Nephite Times.
IV. The Western World Since the Close of the Nephite Period--The
Lamanite Civilization.
V. Of the Writers on American Antiquities.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities.
I. The Evidence of the Existence of Ancient Civilizations in America.
II. Chief Centers of Ancient American Civilization.
Copan.
Palenque.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities (Continued).
I. Antiquity of American Ruins.
II. Successive Civilizations.
III. Peruvian Antiquities.
IV. The Mound Builders.
Summary.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
External Evidences--American Traditions and Mythologies.
I. The Creation.
II. The Flood.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Indirect External Evidences--American Traditions and Mythologies
(Continued).
III. Tradition of the Tower of Babel.
IV. Migrations.
PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY
To aid the reader in pronouncing accurately Book of Mormon names
and also the difficult Spanish and Mexican proper names found in
the body of this work, where it treats of American antiquities, we
append, first, the rules of pronounciation of the Book of Mormon names
formulated at the Book of Mormon Convention held at the Brigham Young
University, Provo, May, 1903; and, second, a list of the Spanish
and Mexican words--chiefly proper names--and their pronounciation
in English. For the pronunciation of the Spanish and Mexican names
I am indebted to Professor John M. Mills of the Latter-day Saints'
University, Salt Lake City, Utah.
RULES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF BOOK OF MORMON NAMES
"Words of two syllables to be accented on the first syllable.
"Words of three syllables to be accented on the second syllable with
these exceptions, which are to be accented on the first syllable;
namely: Amlici (c, soft); Amnion; Antipas; Antipus; Corihor; Cumeni;
Curelom; Deseret; Gazelam; Helaman; Joneam; Korihor; Tubaloth.
"Words of four syllables to be accented on the third syllable with the
following exceptions, which are to be accented on the second syllable;
namely: Abinadi; Abinidora; Amalickiah; Aminadi; Aminadab.
"Ch is always to be pronounced as K.
"G at the beginning of a name to be always pronounced 'hard.'
"I final, always to take the long sound of the vowel.
LIST OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN PROPER NAMES AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION
A
Acolhuas (ah col'wahs)
Acosta (ah cos'tah)
Acxiquat (ak he'quat)
Acxopil (ak ho'peel)
Ahahuetl (ah ha way'tl)
Ahpop (ah'pope)
Allabahamah (ah yah bah hah'mah)
Amautas (ah mah oo'tas)
Amoxoaque (ah mo wha'ky)
Antisuyu (an tee su'yu)
Atitan (ah tee tan')
Atonatiuh (ah to nah'tee oo)
Anahuac (ah nah wak')
Aymara (i mah'rah)
Aztlan (as tlan')
B
Balam Agab (bah lam'ah gab)
Balam Quiche (bah lam kee chay')
Boachia (bwa chee'ah)
Bochica (bo chee'kah)
Boturini (bo too ree'nee)
Brasseur de Bourbourg (brah sieur doo boor boor)
C
Caha Paluma (kah'hah pah loo'mah)
Cakixaha (kah kee hah'hah)
Calel Ahus (kah lail'ous)
Camalotz (kah mah lo'tz)
Capichoch (ka peech'och)
Carli (kar'lee)
Carreri (kah ray'ree)
Camanco kah pac')
Ce Calli (say ca'ye)
Cecumbalam (say cum bah'lam)
Chap ul tepee (cha pool'tay peck)
Chialman (chee ahl'man)
Chiapas (ehee ah'pass)
Chichen Itza (chi chen eat'sah)
Chicomoztoc (chi comb os'tok)
Cholula (cho lu'la)
Cholultecs (cho lool'tecks)
Chomeha (cho may'hah)
Cioacoatl (see wa kwa'tl
Clavigero (cla vee hay'ro)
Colhuacan (coal wab can')
Colla (ko'ya)
Cantisuyu (cone tee su'yu)
Cortez (car teth--Mexican cortes')
Coxcox (cos'cos)
Cozas (co sas')
Cukulcan (koo kool can')
Cundunamarco (koon doona mar'ka)
Cuzco (koos'co)
Coatzacoalcos (kwats ah kwal'cos)
D
De las Casas (day las ca'sas)
Dupaix (du pay')
F
Fuentes y Guzman (fwen tes e goose man')
G
Gomara (go mah'ra)
Gregorio Garcia (grey go'rio gar see'ah)
Guanacauri (gwa'na cow'ree)
Guarani (gwa rah'nee)
Guatemala (gwa teh mah'la)
Gucumatz (goo koo matz')
H
Herrera (a ray'rah)
Hogates (o gah'tes)
Honduras (own doo'ras)
Huamantaco Amauto (hwa man ta'co ama oo'ta)
Huaves (hwah'ves)
Huehue Talapalan (way way tah la pah Ian')
Huemac (way mack')
Huitzitzilin (weet seet see leen')
Huitziton (weet see tone')
Hurakan (oo rah kan)
I
Ilocab (e lo cab')
Iqui Balam (e kee bah'lam)
Istli (east'lee)
Ixtlilxochitle (east leel ho-che'etl)
Izcalli (eas ca yee)
J
Jiutemal (hugh tay mal')
Juitemal (whee tay mal)
K
Kabah (kah'bah)
L
Loak Ishtohooloo Aba (lo akish to hoo'loo ah'ba)
M
Mahucutah (mah hoo cooth)
Malinalli (mah lee naw ye)
Mama Oello (ma ma way'yo)
Manco capac (man co capac')
Mar Barrnejo (mar bar nay'ho)
Mendieta (men dee a tah
Michoacan (me choa can')
Mictlanteuctli (meek tlan tenk tli)
Mijes (me'hays)
Mitla (me'tla)
Mizes (me says)
Miztees (meas'tecks)
Montesinos (mon tay see'nos)
Munez de la Vega (moon yes'day la vay'ga)
N
Nadaillac (nah day lac')
Nata (nah ta)
Naliuatl (na watl)
Nahuatlacs (na wat lacs)
Nimaquiche (nee ma kee chay')
O
Oajaca (oali ha'ca)
Ozaca (o sah'ca)
P
Palenque (pah len'kay)
Pamutla (pah moot'la)
Panoaia (pa no ah'ya)
Pantlan (pan tlan')
Panuco (pa noo co)
Paye Tome (pah ye to'me)
Puhua Manco (poo wha man co)
Q
Quetzalcohua (kate sal'qua)
Quequetzalcohua (kay kate sal'qua tl)
Quetzalcohuatl (kate sal qua'tl)
Quilaztli (kee las'tlee)
Quirigua (kee ree'gua)
Quito (kee to)
R
Rosales (ro sah'les)
S
Sahagun (sah hah'gun)
Sierra de Cocotl (see a'ra day co co'tl)
Suchiquecal (soo chee kay'cal)
T
Tahuantin-Suya Capac (tah whan teen'-soo-ya-ca pac)
Talma (tal'ma)
Tamoauchan (ta mwa chan)
Tamub (tah moob')
Tapallan (tah pah yan)
Tecpatzin (teck pat seen')
Tehuantepec (tay wan'tay peck)
Temazcalli (tay mas cah'ye)
Teocallis (tayo cah'yees)
Teocysactli (tayo see sac'tlee)
Teotes (tayo tes)
Tezcatlipoca (tes cat tee po' ca)
Tezpa (tes'pee)
Titicaca (tee tee ka'ka)
Tlacapan (tla ca pan')
Tlaloc (tla lock')
Tlaloques (tla lo kes)
Tlamanalco (tla ma nal'co)
Tlapallan (tla pa yan')
Talascatec (tlas cal tes)
Tlatelolco (tla tay lol'co)
Teatl (tay otl)
Toltan (tol tan')
Tonacatecutli (to nali cah tay coo'tlee)
Tonacatecutle (to nah cah tay coo'tlay)
Topolitzin (to po lit seen')
Torquemada (tor kay mah'dah)
Tschudi (tchew dee)
Tuccabatches (tuc cah bah'ches)
Tulan-Zaiva (too lan-si va)
Tzontemoc (tson tay moak')
Tzununiha (tsoo noo ne'a)
U
Usumacinta (oo soo ma seen'ta)
Utatlan (oo ta tlan')
Uxmal (oox mal')
V
Vemac (vay mack')
Veytia (vay tee'a)
Viracocha (vee ra co cha)
Votan (vo tan')
W
Wixipecocha (week see pa co' cha)
X
Xecoicovach (hay coat co vach')
Xelhua (hay loo'ah)
Xibalba (he bai'bah)
Ximinez (he me nais')
Xochiquetzal (ho chee kate sal)
Y
Yaqui (ya'kee)
Ytztlacoliuhqui (eats tla co lee oo'kee)
Yucatec (yu ca tec')
Z
Zaculi (sa coo'lee)
Zamna (Sam'na)
Zocheqnetzal (so chay kate'sal)
Zopotec (sa'po tec)
Zumarra (su mar ra)
FOREWORDS.
I.
NEW WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD ASSURED.
It is a happy omen, that, while so much of the literature of our times
is marked by a tone of infidelity, and especially by a disparagement of
the evidences of the authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures,
there is in other quarters an increasing readiness to make the choicest
gifts of modern science and learning tributary to the word of God.
The eclipse of faith is not total. And it is an additional cause for
gratitude to the God of Providence and of Revelation, that, even at
this remote distance of time from the date of the Sacred Oracles, new
evidences of their credibility and accuracy are continually coming
to light. How much may yet remain, buried under barren mounds, or
entombed in pyramids and catacombs, or hidden in the yet unexplored
pages of some ancient literature, it were vain to conjecture; but of
this we may be sure, that if any new forms of evidence should hereafter
be needed, to meet any new forms of unbelief, and authenticate afresh
the word of truth, they will be found deposited somewhere, waiting
for the fulness of time; and God will bring them forth in their
season, from the dark hieroglyphics, or the desert sands, or the dusty
manuscripts, to confound the adversaries of his word, and to "magnify
it above all his name."--"Historical Evidences of the Truth of the
Scripture Records," by George Rawlinson, M. A. American Edition, 1885.
II.
THE WORLD'S HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHRIST.
"Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches square,
containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by Jesus, this
utterance would count more than all the books which have been published
since the first century. If a veritable picture of the Lord could be
unearthed from a catacomb, and the world could see with its own eyes
what like he was, it would not matter that its colors were faded, and
that it was roughly drawn, that picture would have at once a solitary
place amid the treasures of art."--Rev. John Watson, D. D. (Ian
Maclaren) "Life of the Master," Prologue.
III.
THE BOOK OF MORMON A WITNESS FOR THE CHRIST.
"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity,
were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other
nations. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did
prosper in the land; and I beheld a Book, and it was carried forth
among them. And the angel said unto me, Knowest thou the meaning of
the Book? And I said unto him, I know not. And he said. Behold it
proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew; * * * * and he said unto me, The
Book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the
covenants of the Lord which he hath made with the House of Israel; and
it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy Prophets. * *
* * And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my
brethren, and also the Book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded
forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles,
unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. And after it had come
forth unto them, I beheld other Books, which came forth by the power
of the Lamb, from the Gentiles, unto them, unto the convincing of
the Gentiles, and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also
the Jews, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that
the records of the Prophets and of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb
[the Bible] are true. And the angel spake unto me, saying. These last
records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the
truth of the first, which are of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and
shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken
away from them; and shall make known unto all kindreds, tongues and
people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and
the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they
cannot be saved."--I. Nephi xiii.
PART I.
The Value of the Book of Mormon as a witness for the authenticity and
integrity of the Bible, and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD.
II.
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
CHAPTER I.
THE BIBLE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
"The Bible in the Nineteenth Century" will yet form an interesting
subject for a volume. The writer of it will recount the attacks
made upon the sacred volume by unbelievers, and the defense of it
by faithful Christian and Jewish scholars. He will also be under
the necessity of writing the history of the betrayals of the Holy
Scriptures by pretended friends; and he will say such betrayals were
more mischievous than the attacks of avowed enemies. He will balance
the harm done by the attacks and the betrayals, against the good
accomplished by the defenses, and give the net result of gain or loss.
Which will preponderate? The nineteenth century was prolific in both
assaults and defenses; and much valuable material was collected from
unexpected quarters for the defense of the Scriptures; but for all that
it is doubtful if in what is recognized as the Christian world the
faith of the Christians in the Bible, as the veritable word of God, was
as sound and absolute at the close of the nineteenth century as it was
at the commencement of it. This is not saying that what is regarded
as old fashioned faith in the Bible has been entirely banished, or
totally eclipsed. There are those, and many of them, thank God, who
still revere the Bible as the word of God, and therefore hold it
true, and take it as a lamp to their feet, as a guide to their path.
But there has arisen within Christendom itself--and chiefly within
the nineteenth century--a class of Bible scholars who have done much
mischief to faith in the Bible; who make it part of their boast that
in their study of the Bible they have dropped the theological attitude
towards it, viz., the preconception that the Bible is the word of God,
on which conception men were wont to reason: God is a God of absolute
truth; the Bible is the word of God; therefore the Bible is absolutely
true. This position they now abandon and take up what they are pleased
to call the "literary attitude or method." That is, they approach the
Bible without any preconception whatsoever. They take up the collection
of books forming the Bible as they would take up any other body of
literature; as they would English, French, or German literature. "This
method," says one high in authority in the new school of critics,
"assumes nothing. It leaves the conclusion of the questions whether the
Bible came from God, in what sense it came from God, how far and to
what extent it came from God, all to be determined by examination of
the book itself. This I call the literary method." [1] "This method,"
says another, "leads to the investigation of the origin, authorship,
and meaning of the several books of the Bible, and the credibility of
the history which it contains." [2] Concerning in what those of the
Literary school are agreed, and in what their method results, as to the
Old Testament, I quote the following:
They are generally agreed in thinking that the book of Genesis is
composed of three or four or more documents woven together by some
ancient editor in one continuous narrative. They are generally
agreed in thinking that the book of the Covenant, [3] with the Ten
Commandments at its forefront, is the oldest book in the Bible;
that the history in which that book of the Covenant is embedded was
written long subsequent to the time of Moses. They are generally
agreed in thinking that the Book of Deuteronomy, embodying a later
prophet's conception of Mosaic principles, was not written or
uttered by Moses himself in its present form, but some centuries
after the death of Moses. They are generally agreed in thinking
that the book of Leviticus was written long subsequent to the time
of Moses, and so far from embodying the principles of the Mosaic
code embodies much that is in spirit adverse if not antagonistic
to the simple principles of Mosaism. They are generally agreed
in considering that we have in the books of Kings and Chronicles
history and belles lettres so woven together that it is not always
possible to tell what is to be regarded as belles lettres and what
is to be regarded as history. They are generally agreed in the
opinion that Job, while it treats of history about the days of
Moses, or even anterior thereto, was written later than the time
of Solomon; that very little of the Hebrew Psalter was composed by
David; that most of it was composed in the time of the exile or
subsequent thereto; that Solomon's song was not written by Solomon,
and is the drama of a pure woman's love, not a spiritual allegory;
that the book of Isaiah was written certainly by two authors and
perhaps more, the later book being written one hundred years at
least after the earlier and by a prophet now unknown; that the
book of Jonah belongs to the series of moral instruction through
fiction, and that the book of Daniel conveys moral instruction by
means of, to use Dean Farrar's phraseology, one of these "splendid
specimens of the lofty moral fiction which was always common among
the Jews after the exile." [4]
Another recognized authority in the same field of learning in summing
up the results of the so-called "higher criticism," says:
It has thus far done an inestimable service in the removal of the
traditional theories from the sacred books, so that they may be
studied in their real structure and character. . . . . The higher
criticism shows us the process by which the sacred books were
produced, that the most of them were composed by unknown authors,
that they have passed through the hands of a considerable number
of unknown editors who have brought together the older material
without removing discrepancies, inconsistencies and errors.
In this process of editing, arranging, addition, subtraction,
reconstruction and consolidation, extending through many centuries,
what evidence have we that these unknown editors were kept from
error in all their work? [5]
Such dissecting as this can have but one general result--death of
reverence for the Bible; death of faith in it, as the revealed word
of God. The authenticity of the Bible by it is left doubtful; for
while this method of criticism succeeds, with those who affect it, in
proving that Moses is not the author of the five books for so many
centuries accredited to him, it fails to tell us who is the author
of those books. This Higher Criticism tells us that there are two
and perhaps more, authors of the book of Isaiah's prophecies; that
the last twenty-seven chapters were not written by the great Hebrew
prophet whose name the book bears; but it fails to tell us who is the
author of them. Nor can it be determined even when the unknown author
lived. The same is true as to the other books of the Old Testament upon
whose authenticity this system casts its shadow. The system is wholly
destructive in its tendencies; it unsettles everything, it determines
nothing, except that everything with reference to the authenticity,
time of composition, inspiration, and credibility of the Old Testament
is indeterminable. "It leaves everything hanging in the air," says one
able critic of Higher Criticism. "It begins in guesses and ends in fog.
At all events the result leaves us in a hopeless muddle, and, when that
is the only thing settled, the proposed solution is self-condemned."
[6] And yet the Doctor of Divinity who wrote that sentence, Rev. A. J.
F. Behrends, when he comes in his treatise to remark upon the extent
to which the destructive criticism obtains, has to confess that in
eight of the most famous German Universities [7] possessing theological
faculties, and numbering seventy-three professors in all, thirty of
those professors upheld and taught the destructive criticism; while
forty-three were counted conservatives. [8]
A more significant admission, as showing the rapid increase of the
radicals, or liberals, as the upholders of the destructive criticism
are called, will be found in the following statement concerning the
same theological faculties. "The so-called liberal wing has increased
from ten to thirty during the last twenty-five years; and the
conservatives have been reduced from fifty to forty-three."
Of the American universities where the destructive criticism obtains,
Dr. Behrends names eight; [9] and eighteen where "conservative
criticism holds its ground." [10] It should be remembered that these
are admissions of one upholding the conservative criticism as against
radical criticism. The claims of the radical school for the success of
their methods are much more sweeping than the admissions allow. But
taking the extent to which the destructive criticism obtains, even at
the estimate of those who are opposed to it, and who for that reason
reduce its triumphs to a minimum, yet it must be admitted that it has
succeeded in making very marked progress. It permeates all Protestant
Christian countries; and all Protestant Christian sects. It is more
in evidence in the churches than in the schools; and tinctures all
Protestant religious literature. There is scarcely any necessity for
unbelievers in the Bible assailing it from without; the destruction
of faith in it as an authentic, credible, authoritative revelation
from God, whose truths when rightly understood are to be accepted and
held as binding upon the consciences of men, is being carried on from
within the churches who profess to hold the Bible in reverence, more
effectually than it could be by profane infidels. Doctors of Divinity
are more rapidly undermining the faith of the masses in the Bible than
ever a Voltaire, a Paine, a Bradlaugh or an Ingersoll could do; and
that may account for the singular circumstances of absolute silence at
present on the part of popular infidel writers and lecturers. [11]
It is not my purpose here to enter into a discussion of the merits or
demerits of Higher Criticism; to point out what is true in it, and
what false. I am merely calling attention to a condition that has been
created by that method of Bible treatment, viz., a condition of rapidly
increasing unbelief among the masses in the Bible as the undoubted
word of God. The learned who are leaders in the new method of Bible
criticism, after destroying confidence in the authenticity of almost
every book of the Old Testament; after questioning the credibility of
the greater part of all those same books; after retiring some of the
books from the dignified realm of reliable history to the questionable
station of belles-lettres; after saying, "We are obliged to admit
that there are scientific errors in the Bible, errors of astronomy,
of geology, of zoology, of botany, and anthropology;" after saying,
"There are historical mistakes in the Christian scriptures, mistakes
of chronology and geography, errors of historical events and persons,
discrepancies and inconsistencies in the historians, which cannot be
removed by any proper method of interpretation;" after reducing the
inspired writers to the level of just ordinary historical, poetical,
and fiction-writing authors, by saying that the foregoing enumerated
errors in the sacred books "are just where you would expect to find
them in accurate, truthful writers of history in ancient times," and
that the sacred writers merely "used with fidelity the best sources
of information accessible to them--ancient poems, popular traditions,
legends and ballads, regal and family archives, codes of law and
ancient narratives," and "there is no evidence that they received any
of this history by revelation from God, there is no evidence that the
divine Spirit corrected their narratives either when they were being
composed in their minds, or written in manuscript;" after saying, "we
cannot defend the morals of the Old Testament at all points, * * *
the Patriarchs were not truthful, their age seems to have had little
apprehension of the principles of truth;" after saying that "God spake
in much the greater part of the Old Testament through the voices and
pens of the human authors of the scriptures," and then ask--"Did the
human voice and pen in all the numerous writers and editors of the
Holy Scriptures prior to the completion of the Canon always deliver
an inerrant word?" and, "Even if all the writers were possessed of
the Holy Spirit as to be merely passive in his hands, the question
arises, can the finite voice and the finite pen deliver and express
the inerrant truth of God?" After all this, then these Higher Critics
propound the question: Can we, in the face of all the results of our
literary and historical [12] method of treating the scriptures, still
maintain the truthfulness of the Bible? And while they are speculating
how they can make it appear that "the substantial truthfulness of the
Bible" need not be inconsistent with the existence of "circumstantial
errors;" and are indulging in subtle refinements to show that "none
of the mistakes, discrepancies and errors which have been discovered
disturb the religious lessons of Biblical history" [13]--masses who come
to hear of these doubts cast upon what they have hitherto been taught
to regard as the infallible oracles of God, answer off-hand:--If so
much doubt exists as to the authenticity, credibility, inspiration,
and authoritativeness of so great a part of the Bible, how are we
to determine that the few remaining things you urge upon us are of
divine appointment, or reach to any higher level than human conception
and human authority? This their question; and, ever glad to meet
with any excuse that will lend the lightest shadow of justification
for casting aside the restraints which religion imposes upon the
indulgence of human passion, and human inclination to worldliness in
general, they rid themselves of their faith in the word of God, and
in the religion it teaches, and walk abroad in the earth unchecked in
their selfish pursuit of whatsoever may attract the fancy, please the
taste or gratify the passions. For whatever may be the effect of what
is left of the Bible, on minds of peculiar structure, after Higher
Criticism is done with it, it must be conceded that a Bible of doubtful
authenticity, of questionable credibility as to the greater part of it;
with its divine inspiration and its divine authenticity remaining open
questions--neither such a Bible nor any religion formulated from it in
harmony with such conceptions, can have much influence over the masses
of humanity.
Again I find it necessary to say that it is foreign to my purpose
to enter into a consideration of the merits or demerits of Higher
Criticism, or even to point out how much of that criticism merely
attacks an apostate Christianity's misconceptions and false
interpretations of the Bible, and not the Bible itself. It is
sufficient for my purpose, if I have made clear the results that must
inevitably follow this attack upon the Scriptures under the guise of
Higher Criticism.
I must notice briefly the other side of the question; that is, give
some account of the materials which have been brought to light in the
nineteenth century for the defense of the Bible; materials which tend
to prove its authenticity, its credibility, its inspiration and its
divine authority. And here I am but a compiler of a very few of the
principal results of researches that have been made in Egypt, in the
valley of the Euphrates and in Palestine. I make no pretentions to
original investigations of these researches, but accept the statements
of what I consider to be reliable authorities in relation to them.
In the year 1799 a French officer named Boussard discovered a large,
black basalt stone at Fort St. Julian near Rosetta, in the delta of
the Nile. From the circumstances of the discovery being near Rosetta
it has always been known as the Rosetta Stone. It was inscribed in
Greek, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a third class of writing which
is called Demotic. The last is the common writing of the people of
Egypt as opposed to the hieroglyphic which was written by the priests.
The Greek upon the stone was readily made out, and it was found to
consist of a decree drawn up by the priests of Memphis in honor of
Ptolemy Epiphanes, who ruled about 198 B. C. It was at once evident
that the Greek inscription on this stone was the translation of the
hieroglyphics upon it, and hence afforded a key to the interpretation
of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. By the fortunes of war the Rosetta Stone
was surrendered by the French to General Hutchinson and subsequently
presented to the British Museum where it is now preserved. Accurate
copies of the three-fold text were made forthwith and distributed among
the scholars of Europe with the result that through the combined,
patient labors of Silvestre de Sacy, Akebald the Swede, Thomas Young,
Champollion, Lepsius in Germany, Birch in England, and others, the
hieroglyphics were deciphered and a system of translation constructed
which enabled European scholars to read many of the inscriptions upon
the monuments of Egypt, and bring to light much of the history of
that country which hitherto had been a mystery. This gave an impetus
to research. The political representatives of the great countries of
Europe made collections of antiquities in Egypt, and travelers spent
much time and money in opening tombs and digging out ruins. The tombs
have given up not only their dead, but with them the books which
the Egyptians read, the furniture which they used in their houses,
the ornaments and articles of the toilet of the Egyptian lady, the
weapons of the warrior, the tools of the handicraftsman and laborer,
the dice of the gambler, the toys of the children, and the portraits,
statutes and figures of the men and women for whom they were made.
The many-lined inscriptions upon the tombs give us their ideas about
the future world, the judgment of the dead, the paradise of the happy
souls, the transmigration of souls, and they enable us to place a
juster estimate upon the statements of those Greek writers who profess
to understand and to describe with accuracy the difficult religion
of the educated Egyptians. And the result of all this, as affecting
the authenticity of the Bible? Simply this: the manners, customs,
governments, arts, sciences, occupations and state of civilization of
the Egyptians in general, are demonstrated by these monuments to be
substantially what they are described to be in the book of Genesis.
Also there is supposed to be the confirmation of special events in
the scripture narrative. Professor A. H. Sayce, for instance, has
the following upon the existence of such a line of kings ruling at
Jerusalem as Melchizedek is described to be in Genesis:
"Among the cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna in Upper Egypt,
are letters to the Pharaoh from Ebed-tob, king of Jerusalem,
written a century before the time of Moses. In them he describes
himself as appointed to the throne, not by inheritance from his
father or mother (compare Heb. 7:3), but by the arm of 'the Mighty
King,' i. e. of the god of whose temple stood on Mount Moriah. He
must therefore have been a priest-king like Melchizedek. The name
of Jerusalem is written Ura-Salim, 'the city of the god of peace,'
and it was the capital of a territory which extended southward to
Kellah. In the inscriptions of Rameses II and Rameses III, Salem is
mentioned among the conquests of the Egyptian kings."
The same writer sees confirmation of the history of Joseph, son of
Jacob, in the following circumstance:
The "Story of the Two Brothers," an Egyptian romance written for
the son of the Pharaoh of the oppression, contains an episode very
similar to the Biblical account of Joseph's treatment by Potiphar's
wife. Potiphar and Potipherah are the Egyptian Pa-tu-pa-Ra, "the
gift of the Sun-god." The name given to Joseph, Zaphnath-paaneah,
(Gen. 41:45), is probably the Egyptian Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, "nourisher
of the living one," i. e. of the Pharaoh. There are many instances
in the inscriptions of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian
names, and rising to the highest offices of state.
The story of the Exodus as related in the Bible is supposed to find
confirmation in the following:
"The cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna, in Upper Egypt, have
shown that in the latter days of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty,
when the Pharaoh had become a convert to an Asiatic form of faith,
the highest offices of state were absorbed by foreigners, most of
whom were Canaanites. In the national reaction which followed, the
foreigners were expelled, exterminated, or reduced to serfdom;
while a new dynasty, the nineteenth, was founded by Rameses I. He,
therefore, must be the new king, the builder of Pa-Tum or Pithom
(now Tel el-Maskhuteh, near Ismailia), as has been proved by Dr.
Naville's researches, and consequently, as Egyptian students had
long maintained he must have been the Pharaoh of the oppression."
The occupancy of the land of Goshen by the Israelites who, it will be
remembered, were shepherds, is supposed to receive confirmation in the
following:
Further excavations of Dr. Neville have shown that Goshen, the
Egyptian Goshen (now Saft el-Henneh), is the modern Wadi Tumilat,
between Zagazig and Ismailia. A dispatch dated in the eighth year
of the reign of Meneptah, the son and successor of Rameses II,
state that Bedouin from Edom has been allowed to pass the Khetam or
"fortress" in the district of Succoth (Thukot), in order to feed
themselves and their herds on the possessions of Pharaoh. Khetam
is the Etham of Exodus 13:20. The geography of the Exodus agrees
remarkably with that of the Egyptian papyri of the time of Rameses
II and his son. [14]
The search for evidence of the truth of the Bible has not been confined
to Egypt. Equal interest has been awakened in those ancient empires
that occupied the valley of the Euphrates; in Palestine, and the
Sinaitic Peninsula. European scholars with keen interest followed the
study of the cuneiform characters found on Babylonian tablets and
monuments. Progress made in deciphering this ancient method of writing
led M. Botta, in 1842, to begin excavations upon the ancient site of
Nineveh, but he met with little success. Later, however,--1845--Mr.
Henry Layard (subsequently Sir Henry Layard) undertook excavations at
the same place for the Trustees of the British Museum, and succeeded in
uncovering the palaces of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Assur-banipal,
and in bringing to light the terra cotta tablets which formed the great
library founded by these kings at Nineveh, and of which some twenty-two
thousand are now preserved in the British Museum. An examination
of these tablets soon showed that they consisted of historical
inscriptions, astronomical reports and calculations, grammatical lists,
etc., and scholars began to apply Sir Henry Rawlinson's system of
decipherment of the Babylonian version of the Behistun inscription to
the texts inscribed upon these tablets. A large portion of the history
of Babylonia and Assyria through the translation of these tablets
is now revealed to us, and the knowledge of the language of these
countries has thrown much light upon the language, literature, history,
and learning of the Jews. The excavations which have been carried on
in Mesopotamia for the last fifty years have yielded the most valuable
results; and the inscribed slabs, monolithic stelae, boundary stones,
gate-sockets, bricks, seal-cylinders and tablets, now preserved in
the British Museum, afford an abundant supply of material from which
Bible customs and language may be freely explained and illustrated. The
cuneiform writing is, at least, as old as B. C. 3,800, and there is
evidence to show that it was in use as late as B. C. 80. [15]
In 1865 the Palestine Exploration fund was opened, and excavations were
begun in Jerusalem, and have continued, with some interruptions, until
now. Since then researches have followed in the south, east and north
of Palestine. Geological investigations have been made, natural history
collections have been formed, enquiries into nationalities and customs
carried on, towns, villages, hills, valleys, water courses, wells,
cisterns, notable trees and other land marks have been located. In
1868 a party of engineering experts left England to make a scientific
survey of the Sinaitic Peninsula. This they effected, making plans and
models, taking three thousand copies of inscriptions with collections
of specimens bearing on the zoology, botany and geology of the country.
[16]
The results of these explorations and discoveries, in the valley of
the Euphrates, in Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula, have been
even more fruitful, in the production of materials which tend to
confirm the truth of the Bible narrative and general credibility, than
the discoveries so far made in Egypt. The confirmation of the Bible
narrative of ancient events is remarkable. So, too, the confirmation
of its location of cities, mountains, rivers, plains and, indeed,
the whole geography of the scriptures. The confirmation given of the
Bible's incidental allusions to the manners and customs of neighboring
and contemporary nations is no less remarkable; together with what is
said of reigning kings and dynasties, and the incidental allusions
that the Bible makes to their invasions of each other's territories,
their alliances, their victories, and their defeats. The following are
a few of the special Bible incidents which receive confirmation from
the results of these researches condensed from the article of Professor
Sayce:
CREATION: One of the accounts of creation in cuneiform characters
found on the tablets very nearly resembles the first chapter of
Genesis. It commences with the statement that "in the beginning"
all was a chaos of waters, called the deep (Tiamat, the Hebrew
tehom). Then the Upper and Lower Firmaments were created, and the
Gods came into existence. After that comes a long account of the
struggle between Bel-Merodach and the "Dragon" of chaos, "Timaat,"
"the serpent of evil," with her allies, the forces of anarchy
and darkness. It ended in the victory of the god of light, who
thereupon created the present world by the power of his "word." The
fifth tablet or book of the poem describes the appointment of the
heavenly bodies for signs and seasons, and the sixth (or perhaps
the seventh) the creation of animals and reptiles. The latter part
of the poem, in which the creation of man was doubtless described,
has not yet been recovered. But we learn from other texts that man
was regarded as having been formed out of the "dust" of the ground.
THE SABBATH: From the tablets it is also learned that the
Babylonians observed a day of rest, which is called Sabbattu and
described as "a day of rest for the heart." On it, it was forbidden
to eat cooked meat, to put on fresh clothes, to offer sacrifices,
to ride in a chariot, etc. The Sabbattu fell on the 7th, 14th,
19th, 21st, and 28th days of the month.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN: The "plain" of Babylonia was called Edin in
the ancient Sumerian language of the country, and the word was
adopted by the Semitic Babylonians, in the form of Edinu. Eridu,
the early seaport of Babylonia, was the chief center of primitive
Babylonian religion and culture, and in its neighborhood was a
garden, wherein, "in a holy place," according to an ancient poem,
was a mysterious tree whose roots were planted in the "deep,"
while its branches reached to heaven. The tree of life is often
represented in Assyria sculptures between two winged cherubim who
have sometimes the heads of eagles, sometimes of men, and sometimes
stand, sometimes kneel. Eri-Aku or Arioch (Gen. 14:1) calls
himself "the executor of the oracle of the holy tree of Eridu." In
Sumerian, wine was called ges-din, "the draught of life." A second
tree is mentioned in Babylonian hymns on whose heart the name of
the god of wisdom is said to be inscribed.
THE FLOOD: In 1872 George Smith discovered the Babylonian account
of the deluge, which strikingly resembles that of Genesis. It is
contained in a long poem which was composed in the age of Abraham,
but the Chaldean tradition of the deluge, of which the account
in the poem is but one out of many, must go back to a very much
earlier date. Xisuthros, the Chaldean Noah was rescued along with
his family, servants, and goods, on account of his righteousness.
The god Ea warned him in a dream of the coming flood, and ordered
him to build a ship, into which he should take every kind of animal
so that "the seed of life" might be preserved.
UR OF THE CHALDEES: "Ur" is now identified as Mugheir. This was
the early home of Abraham and his forefathers spoken of in Genesis
(12:27-32). It was situated on the west side of the Euphrates. The
name means "the city" in Babylonia. It is proven now that there was
such a city, and that it is identical with Mugheir, the ruins of
which have been thoroughly explored. It was the seat of a dynasty
of kings who reigned before the age of Abraham, and was famous for
its temple of the moon-god, whose other famous temple was at Haran
in Mesopotamia.
ABRAHAM: Contract-tablets show that in the age of Abraham,
Canaanites--or "Amorites," as the Babylonians called them--were
settled in Babylonia, and that a district outside the walls of
Sippara had been assigned to them. Several of the names are
distinctly Hebrew, and, in a tablet dated in the reign of the
grandfather of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1), one of the witnesses is called
"the Amorite, the son of Abi-ramu," or Abram.
CAMPAIGN OF CHEDORLAOMER: The records on the tablets that this
event (described in Genesis 14) is in accordance with the national
movements of that age.
SHISHAK'S INVASION OF JUDAH: On the southern wall of the temple
of Karnak, Shishak (Shashang in Egypt) the founder of the
twenty-second Egyptian dynasty, has given a list of the places he
captured in Palestine. Most of them were in Judea, but there are
few (e. g. Megiddo and Taanach) which belonged to the northern
kingdom.
THE MOABITE STONE: The Moabite stone was discovered by Rev.
F. Klein, at Dhiban in the land of Moab, on August 19, 1868.
It measures three feet ten inches, by two feet, by one foot
two inches; and is inscribed with thirty-four lines of text.
The language of the inscription hardly differs from Hebrew in
vocabulary, grammar, or expression. The stone gives the Moabite
account of the war of Mesha, king of Moab, about 860 B. C., against
Omri, Ahab, and other kings of Israel, and confirms to quite an
extent the history of the same war as given in II Kings, chapter 3.
[17]
Very naturally those believers in the Bible who regard it as the
very word of God, those believers who regard the Bible's historical
statements as substantially true, allowing only for such errors as
may have crept in through the carelessness of copyists, or perchance
here and there an error through additions or omissions on the
part of copyists or designing custodians--such believers rejoice
at the confirmation the scriptures receive from the inscriptions
upon monuments and tablets brought to light by the researches and
scholarship of the nineteenth century. It is a pious sentiment, this
rejoicing over the confirmation of the word of God; and one can only
regret that the evidences supplied by these modern discoveries are not
sufficiently voluminous or explicit to silence altogether the unbelief
of modern times in the Bible. But they are not sufficient; for in spite
of them unbelievers not only exist in Christian lands, but increase
daily.
Footnotes
1. _The Bible as Literature_. A course of lectures by Dr. Lyman
Abbot, in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, 1896-7. What is here called the
"Literary Method," is identical with what is called "Higher Criticism;"
the terms are used interchangeably. Higher Criticism may be said
to stand in contradistinction to what is called Lower Criticism in
this, that it concerns itself with writings as a whole, whereas Lower
Criticism concerns itself with the integrity or character of particular
passages or parts; and is sometimes called "Textual Criticism." "The
term 'Literary' or 'Higher Criticism' designates that type of Biblical
criticism which proposes to investigate the separate books of the Bible
in their internal peculiarities, and to estimate them historically.
It discusses the questions concerning their origin, the time and
place, the occasion and object of their composition, and concerning
their position and value in the entire body of revelation. . . . . The
'Higher Criticism' has been so often employed for the overthrow of
long-cherished beliefs that the epithet 'destructive' has frequently
been applied to it; and hence it has become an offense to some orthodox
ears." (_The Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch_, Charles Elliott, D.
D., pp. 12, 13.)
2. _Beginning of Christianity_ (Fisher) p. 392.
3. 21, 22, 23 Exodus--The Ten Commandments and amplifications.
4. _The Bible as Literature_, Dr. Lyman Abbot.
5. "Truthfulness of Scripture," a paper submitted to The World's
Parliament of Religion by Professor Chas. A. Briggs, D. D. See _World's
Parliament of Religions_ (Barrows) vol. I, p. 563.
6. Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, D. D., _Bible Criticism and its Methods_,
course of lectures, 1897.
7. These are the Universities of Berlin, Bonn, Breslau, Griefswald,
Halle, Konigsberg, Leipzig and Tubingen.
8. This was the condition in 1897.
9. These Universities are Boston, Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Johns
Hopkins, Union, Chicago and Andover.
10. Dr. Behrend's, _Bible Criticism_, Second Lecture, Feb. 28, 1897.
11. This is written in 1903, and since the death of Bradlaugh in
England in 1891, and the death of Ingersoll in America in 1899, there
have appeared no infidel lectures against the Bible of any prominence.
The mantle of those noted unbelievers and revilers of the Scriptures
seems not to have fallen upon the shoulders of any of their followers.
12. Historical criticism and its results were also considered in volume
I of _New Witnesses_, see ch. I.
13. The quoted passages in the foregoing are all from the paper of Dr.
Chas. A. Briggs, one of the foremost scholars among the Higher Critics,
and was read before the World's Parliament of Religions. See Barrows'
_History of the Parliament of Religions_, vol. I, pp. 650-661.
14. Professor Sayce's article from which the foregoing quotations are
made, is to be found in the _Bible Treasury_, published in Nelson &
Son's addition of the authorized version, p. 43.
15. The Witness of Modern Discoveries to the Old Testament Narrative,
_Oxford Bible Helps_.
16. Ibid.
17. The foregoing statements of monumental testimony to the truth of
the Old Testament are condensed from an article of Professor A. H.
Sayce, LL. D. The whole article--too long to be inserted here--will
be found in the _Nelson Illustrated Bible Treasury_, pp. 39-44. Those
desiring more specific knowledge of the interesting subject will find
it in the magnificent work of Herman V. Hilprecht, _Explorations in
Bible Lands, During the 19th Century_ (1903). Mr. Hilprecht holds the
Professorship of the "Clark Research Professorship of Assyriology" in
the University of Pennsylvania; and in his great work of 800 pages is
assisted by other specialists.
CHAPTER II.
THE WITNESS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
One thing with reference to modern discoveries of confirmatory
evidences of the Bible is singular. That one thing is the fact that all
these modern discoveries of evidences are confined to the eastern half
of the world, to Asia and Africa. Can it be that God left no witnesses
for himself in the western half of the world? Did he ignore and leave
to perish without spiritual enlightenment, or knowledge of any means
of salvation, all those tribes of men, those nations and empires, that
inhabited the western hemisphere through so many ages? It should be
remembered while considering these questions that the scriptures teach
that
God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on
all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and
move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have
said, For we are also his offspring. [1]
From this it appears that all races of men have a common origin.
They are all made "of one blood," and have one common Father--God.
Yet if one judge the spirit of orthodox believers in the Bible, he
would conclude that this Father's anxiety had all been expended in
the enlightenment of those races and nations inhabiting the eastern
hemisphere. That he had made ample provision for their instruction
in the ways of God, and revealed to them, through his Son, the means
of their salvation; but left the untold millions of his children in
the western hemisphere to perish in ignorance. No prophets instructed
them; no Son of God came to announce to them the means of salvation,
or proclaim by his own resurrection the reality of the future life and
immortality of man. And hence no one has unearthed the half-buried
cities, or examined the ruined temples, or the fallen palaces--the
extent and greatness of which proclaim the grandeur of ancient
America's civilization--for confirmatory evidence of the Bible.
The inscriptions upon their temple walls and monuments have not
been deciphered for that purpose, nor their history and traditions
investigated with that end in view, except in a few instances where
men have been imbued with the idea that the aborigines of America
might be the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. These, with
a few others prompted by a desire to solve the mystery of America's
ancient civilization, have explored the ruined cities, described the
crumbling pyramids and temples, and remains of splendid aqueducts.
They have collected and detailed their mythologies, traditions, and
history; some circumstances of which bear strong evidence to the
fact that the ancient inhabitants of the western hemisphere, in some
way, had been made acquainted with some of the chief events of Bible
history, including some knowledge of the atonement and other doctrines
of Messiah. But such evidences of these facts as have been collected
are not received into the collection of modern evidences for the truth
of the Bible. I do not know of a single book in which they are so
received. From the profound silence enforced upon American monuments
and inscriptions, one would be left to suppose that they are as silent
in testimony for the revealed truth of God as the birds of the South
continent, however resplendent in gaudy plumage, are silent as to song.
It is just here, however, where the importance of the Book of Mormon is
best exhibited. It is here where it can be proclaimed as the voice of
the western hemisphere proclaiming the sublime truth that God did not
leave himself without witness among the races and nations of men that
inhabited the western world. It is here that its importance is felt as
the voice of sleeping nations speaking as out of the dust to the whole
world, not only vindicating the quality of justice in God, in that
he did not leave the inhabitants of the western hemisphere to perish
in ignorance of himself and the plan of life and salvation which had
been ordained for the redemption of mankind; but also in that it bears
witness to the world that the collection of books known as the Bible is
the word of God, authentic, credible, and binding upon the consciences
of men. It is a Witness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the truth
of the Bible, which in value far surpasses all the evidences discovered
in Egypt, the valley of the Euphrates, the Sinaitic Peninsula, and
the land of Palestine throughout the nineteenth century. Let us here
consider it.
First in chronological order, if not in importance, is the book of
Ether, within the Book of Mormon. This book of Ether is an abridgment
of a very ancient American record that was engraven upon twenty-four
gold plates, by a prophet named Ether, hence the name of the book. He
wrote his record most likely in the early part of the sixth century B.
C. The plates were discovered by a branch of the Nephite nation about
120 years B. C., and were preserved by the Nephites with other sacred
records, which finally were placed in the keeping of a prophet named
Moroni, about the close of the fourth century A. D. This Moroni is
the one who translated the record engraven upon the plates of Ether,
an abridgment of which he placed with the Book of Mormon. The book
of Ether contained an account of the most ancient events from the
creation of Adam to the confusion of languages; but as Moroni supposed
the information of this part of the book of Ether would be in the
possession of the Jews, he did not transcribe that part of it, but
began his abridgment from the confounding of the languages at Babel.
The book of Ether speaks of one Jared and his brother, the latter a
most remarkable prophet, living at Babel previous to the confusion of
languages, and to whom the Lord revealed his intention of confounding
the language of the people. At the solicitation of Jared, to whom
he had imparted the knowledge of the coming calamity, this prophet
besought the Lord that the language of Jared, himself, and their
families might not be confounded, and the Lord had respect unto his
prayer and confounded not their language; but directed the formation
of a colony consisting of Jared, his brother, and their families and
friends which the Lord led forth from Babylon and finally brought to
the north continent of the western hemisphere. The colony grew into a
great nation, occupying at least the greater part of North America, and
were known to the Nephites as the people of Jared.
The book of Ether confirms the special particulars of the Bible
concerning there being in existence a record of the creation; the
existence of Adam; the erection of the tower of Babel; the confounding
of languages; and the scattering of the people into all the lands of
the earth.
Second: Six hundred years before Christ, a prophet of the Lord named
Lehi, being warned of the destruction of Jerusalem, departed with his
family into the wilderness, traveling southward from the Holy City
until he reached the borders of the Red Sea; and while camped on its
shores he received direction from the Lord that his sons should return
to Jerusalem and obtain a certain record in the hands of one Laban,
containing a record of the Jews and also the genealogy of Lehi's
forefathers engraven upon plates of brass. Agreeable to the heavenly
commandment the sons returned, and after overcoming some difficulties
finally succeeded in securing the records and returning with them
to the encampment of Lehi. Finally, when Lehi's colony embarked for
America, they brought those records with them. These records are thus
described by Nephi, son of Lehi, who engraved the description in his
record, at least as early as the first quarter of the sixth century B.
C.:
And after they [Lehi's colony] had given thanks unto the God of
Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon
the plates of brass, and he did search them from beginning. And
he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which
gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and
Eve, who were our first parents; and also a record of the Jews
from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign
of Zedekiah, king of Judah; and also the prophecies of the holy
prophets, from the beginning even down to the commencement of the
reign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies which have been spoken
by the mouth of Jeremiah. And it came to pass that my father, Lehi,
also found upon the plates of brass, a genealogy of his fathers;
wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even
that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and
who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve
his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with
famine. And they were also led out of captivity and out of the land
of Egypt, by that same God who had preserved them. And thus my
father, Lehi, did discover the genealogy of his fathers. (I Nephi
5:10-16.)
What a testimony we have here for the truth of the Bible! What a number
of its incidents are here confirmed! The Higher Criticism questions
the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, but here is an entry made in
an ancient record in America at least 575 years B. C., attributing the
authorship of five books to Moses, specifying that they gave an account
of the creation of the world and also of Adam and Eve, "who were our
first parents;" so that there can be no question as to this record
brought by Lehi's colony from Jerusalem to America being identical
with the Pentateuch of our Bible. In addition to the incident of the
creation, and Adam and Eve, this entry upon the Nephite records also
confirms the Bible narrative concerning Jacob and also of Joseph, his
son, who was sold into captivity and taken to Egypt. Reference is made
also to the subsequent exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt. Mention
also is made of the prophets and their prophecies in this record,
making special mention of the name of Jeremiah. Some of the writings
of Jeremiah were also included in this record. The first Nephi also
makes special mention of Isaiah by name, and describes in what manner
he read from his writings upon the plates of brass, to his brethren.
[2] And what is better yet, he quotes, in his record, many passages
from the prophet Isaiah. At this point it is well to call attention to
the fact that the Higher Criticism holds that the book of Isaiah in
our Old Testament is composite; that is, it claims that it is composed
by at least two, and perhaps by seven different authors; that the
last twenty-seven chapters certainly were not written by Isaiah. The
best answer that can be made to these claims, on the part of those
disposed to defend the Isaiah authorship of the book of prophecies
which bears that prophet's name, is to say that from two hundred years
B. C. the authorship of the prophecies, as they now stand in the
Bible, have been attributed to Isaiah. But here is testimony, in this
first book of Nephi, which shows that as early as 550 years B. C., a
certain collection of prophecies in a record taken from Jerusalem,
are attributed to Isaiah; and what is best of all a transcription is
made from these prophecies into the Nephite record, which corresponds
to chapters 48, 49, 50, 51 and 59, and also fragments of chapter 29;
[3] being a very large amount of the very part of Isaiah's prophecies
of which the authenticity is questioned. Here are at least five of
the twenty-seven chapters in dispute accounted for and fragments of
another, while of the first part of the prophecies of Isaiah there is
a transcription into the Nephite record corresponding to chapters from
two to fourteen; [4] so that so far as the authenticity of the book of
Isaiah's prophecies is concerned, and the five books of Moses, the Book
of Mormon is the most important of all witnesses.
Third: Since the Nephites, then, in this collection of brass plates,
had the five books of Moses and the writings of the prophets down to
the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, it is to be expected that in
their own record-making frequent reference would be made to the brass
plates and their contents, and this is the case. The first Nephi speaks
of Israel's passage of the red sea, under the leadership of Moses; and
the destruction of the Egyptian army. [5] Subsequently the same writer
refers to the captivity of the children of Israel in Egypt, and the
grievousness of their bondage; of their escape from their slavery;
their being fed with manna in the wilderness; their being miraculously
provided with water from the smitten rock; the visible presence of God
in the cloud by day and the pillar of light by night; the blind and
rebellious spirit of the people; the judgment of God upon them in the
fiery-flying serpents, and the healing provided for them by looking
upon the brazen serpent erected by Moses. [6]
The prophet Lehi, near the close of his life, when blessing his
son Joseph, refers to Joseph, the son of Jacob, of Egyptian fame,
and speaks of a prophecy uttered by that patriarch concerning the
deliverance of the people under the leadership of Moses; and also of
a future seer of the same lineage as himself, (i. e. Joseph) who would
be mighty in bringing forth the word of God unto the remnant of Lehi's
seed. [7] In the book of Helaman will be found further reference to
many of the same things. [8] Special reference is made also to the
prophecy of Moses concerning the future coming of the Messiah, saying,
"A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him
shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it
shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall
be cut off from among the people." Nephi follows this passage with the
declaration that this prophet of whom Moses spake is the Holy One of
Israel, the Messiah. [9] The ten commandments are quoted in the book
of Mosiah, substantially as they are found in the book of Exodus. [10]
And thus throughout the Nephite record frequent references are made to
these ancient things of the scriptures, all of which, found as they are
in an ancient record, though revealed to the world through the prophet
Joseph Smith in modern times, confirm the authenticity and credibility
of the Bible.
Fourth: It is the Book of Mormon as a whole, however, in which its
greatest value as a witness for the truth of the Bible, and the truth
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, most appears. I mean the Book of Mormon
considered apart from any reference to an abridgment of the ancient
records of the Jaredites; and the transcriptions from the ancient
Hebrew scriptures carried by Lehi's colony to the western world. In the
Book of Mormon, so considered, we have the record of the hand-dealings
of God with the peoples that inhabited the western hemisphere. We have
in it the record of those things which occurred in a branch of the
house of Israel that God was preparing for the same great event for
which he was training the house of Israel in the eastern world; _viz._,
the advent of the Messiah, and the acceptance of the gospel through
which all mankind are to be saved. This branch of the house of Israel,
broken from the parent tree and planted in the western hemisphere,
brought with them the traditions and hopes of Israel; they brought with
them, as we have already seen, the Hebrew scriptures, the writings of
Moses and of the prophets down to the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;
but what is more important than all this, they came to the western
world with the favor and blessing of Israel's God upon them, and
Israel's peculiar privilege of direct communication with God, through
inspired dreams, the visitation of angels, and the voice of God. Lehi's
colony was led to the western world by prophets, inspired of the Lord,
their journey being marked by many and peculiar manifestations of his
presence with them. After their arrival in the western world, to them
a land of promise, the Lord from time to time raised up prophets among
them, who instructed them in the ways of the Lord; who reproved them
when overtaken in transgression; who pronounced judgments against
them when persuasion was of no avail for their correction; who warned
them by the spirit of prophecy of approaching disasters; and who held
continually before them the hope of Israel, the advent of the Messiah,
who, by his suffering and death on the cross, would redeem mankind.
It was much in this manner and for the same purpose that God dealt with
his people in the eastern world; and the fact that his course with the
people on the western hemisphere was substantially the same as that
followed with those of the east, establishes at once his justice and
mercy towards his children, and bears testimony to the great truths
that God indeed is no respecter of persons, and that in every land he
raises up for himself witnesses of his power and goodness. [11]
Fifth: It is not alone as a witness for the authenticity and
credibility of the Bible that the Book of Mormon is valuable. Great
as is its value in that particular, it is still more valuable as a
witness for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Previous to the
coming of Messiah to the Nephites, [12] prophets testified of his
coming; predicted the time thereof and the signs that would accompany
his advent. The signs of his birth were, first, that on the night of
his nativity there would be no darkness upon the lands inhabited by
the Nephites; that is, in the western hemisphere. "There shall be
one day and a night and a day," said one of the prophets, "as if it
were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for
a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its
setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two
days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it
shall be the night before he is born." [13] Second: A new star was to
rise, "such an one as ye never have beheld," said the prophet to the
Nephites, "and this also shall be a sign unto you." [14] Third: Many
signs and wonders were to be seen in heaven, but the nature of which is
not stated by the prophet. [15].
Signs of Messiah's death were predicted. First, on the day he suffered
death, the sun would be darkened and refuse to give his light, and
also the moon and the stars; and darkness would cover the whole face
of the Nephite lands, from the time that he suffered death until his
resurrection from the dead. Second, at the time of his dying there
would be thundering and lightnings; earthquakes would rend the rocks,
lay mountains low, and cast up valleys into mountains; the highways
would be broken up, and many cities be made desolate. Third, many
graves would be opened and yield up their dead, and many Saints would
be raised from the dead and appear unto the living, who had not been
destroyed in these judgments. These were the signs that were to give
evidence to the people of the western world of the birth of the
promised Christ, and of his death, and his resurrection; all of which
things, in due time, came to pass, even as they had been predicted.
But what is better still, after the Christ's resurrection from the
dead, and after these terrible judgments had swept over the western
land, destroying the more wicked part of the inhabitants, Jesus himself
appeared unto the Nephite people, and this in fulfilment of his own
declaration to his disciples at Jerusalem, when he said:
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. [16]
The Christ's appearance to the Nephites was first made to a multitude
gathered about the temple in what was called the land Bountiful. He
descended out of heaven and stood in their midst, announcing himself
to be Jesus Christ, whom the prophets had testified would come into
the world. "I am the light and the life of the world," said he, "and I
have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and
have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in
which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the
beginning. And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words,
the whole multitude fell to the earth, for they remembered that it had
been prophesied among them that Christ would show himself unto them
after his ascension into heaven." At the commandment of Jesus, the
multitude arose and came to him, and beheld the wounds in his side and
in his hands. When they had all gone forth and witnessed for themselves
that he was indeed the Christ, they cried out with one accord,
"Hosanna, hosanna, blessed be the name of the most high God. And they
did fall down at the feet of Jesus and worshiped him."
Thus Jesus continued ministering among them for some time. Just how
long he remained or how many times he appeared to them cannot be
determined from the Book of Mormon. Neither is that a matter of any
great importance, but it is important that he chose twelve disciples
and conferred upon them divine authority to administer the ordinances
of the gospel. He proclaimed himself to be, as will be seen from
what has been said, the Son of God. He also taught that his Father,
Himself, and the Holy Ghost constituted one God-head; that men to be
saved must believe in God, repent of their sins, receive baptism for
the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost in order to
establish complete fellowship and oneness between themselves and God
and his Christ. The twelve were authorized to call to their assistance
subordinate officers and organize those who accepted the gospel into
the holy Church of Christ. In addition to these doctrinal instructions
Jesus delivered also the highly moral and spiritual precepts of the
gospel, delivered them, as might be expected, much in the same form as
they are to be found in our New Testament scriptures. What is found in
the Book of Mormon of his teaching so nearly conforms to the doctrines
and moral precepts of the New Testament, that it becomes a mighty
witness for the substantial correctness of what is recorded in the New
Testament, so that the Book of Mormon is a witness of the truth not
only of the Old Testament but very largely also of the New.
Among other things of importance which Jesus declared to the Nephites
was the fact that it was his intention to visit "the lost tribes" of
the house of Israel, reveal himself to them, and proclaim the same
gospel he had delivered to the Nephites, and spoke of the time when the
testimonies of the Nephites and the lost tribes of the house of Israel,
with the testimonies of those among whom he had labored in Judea,
should be brought together in one.
Jesus also administered to the sick, the maimed and the blind among the
Nephites, and showed forth the great power of God in his ministrations,
falling behind in nothing, in these respects, to the miraculous powers
that were displayed in his ministry in Judea; but on the contrary,
in consequence of the greater faith of the Nephite people, and their
righteousness, the display of almighty power went beyond the marvelous
works wrought in Judea; for the greater part of the wicked among the
Nephites had been destroyed by the judgments of God which preceded
Messiah's coming, leaving only the more righteous part of the people to
meet with him, at this his glorious advent among them; and hence they
were prepared to receive greater blessings at the hands of God than
were the people in Judea.
The Church of Christ, thus founded by the Messiah and the twelve
disciples he had chosen, reaped a rich harvest in the salvation of
souls in the western world. For nearly two centuries the truth of God
was almost universally accepted. A reign of righteousness was enjoyed.
Peace, prosperity, fraternity and happiness prevailed, and God was
worshiped in spirit and in truth:
"But man is frail, and can but ill sustain
A long immunity from grief and pain;
And after all the Joys which Plenty leads,
With tip-toe step, Vice silently succeeds."
And so it was in the experience of the Nephites. Wickedness reared
its head among them; pride, born of self-love, took possession of
the souls of some, and inroads were made in the unity and peace of
the Church. These evils continued to spread until at last the spirit
of apostasy was rampant, in the western world, as in the eastern;
men departed from God and his ways until rebellion, disunion, and
anarchy everywhere prevailed; civilization was overwhelmed; and people
descended to barbarism, and, at last, for the most part, to savagery.
In this condition they were discovered by the Europeans, near the close
of the fifteenth century. But notwithstanding this decline from the
religion of Jesus Christ and a high state of civilization, what had
been accomplished through the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ
to the western world was of great importance. As already stared, the
harvest of souls in the periods when righteousness prevailed, was very
great; and the records which had been written by prophets and holy men,
and preserved with great care by the commandment of God, were destined
to be of immense importance in future ages. They would proclaim with
trumpet tongue the justice and the mercy of God; they would demonstrate
that the Lord has in mind the salvation of all races and nations of
men; they would stand forth as the most important witness for the
authenticity and general truth of the Jewish scriptures, both of the
Old and the New testaments; they would be the voice of sleeping nations
testifying that Moses did write the Pentateuch; they would bear witness
that Isaiah is the author of the prophecies ascribed to him; that
Jesus is the Christ, "the very eternal God," [17] that he suffered for
the sins of the sins of the world, therein glorifying the Father, and
accomplishing the purposes of God with reference to the salvation of
men; they would bear witness that there is no name given under heaven
whereby men can be saved but the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God; and finally, those Nephite records, in the Book of Mormon, would
establish the great and supreme truths that God is a reality--that
he lives; that man is the child of God; that he is immortal, and
accountable to God for his actions; that he may be saved through
acceptance of and continued obedience to the gospel.
A writer held much in esteem by the orthodox Christian world--and
deservedly so--in a noble work but recently issued from the press, said:
Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches
square, containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by
Jesus, this utterance would count more than all the books which
have been published since the first century. If a veritable picture
of the Lord could be unearthed from a catacomb, and the world could
see with its own eyes what like he was, it would not matter that
its colors were faded, and that it was roughly drawn, that picture
would have at once a solitary place amid the treasures of art. [18]
If this be true, and I think no one will question it, then how
valuable indeed must be this whole volume of scripture, the Book of
Mormon! Containing not fifty, but many hundred words spoken by Jesus!
Containing also an account of the hand dealings of God with the people
inhabiting the western hemisphere, from earliest times to the fourth
century after Christ. Wherein also are found his revelations to those
peoples; his messages by angels sent directly from his presence to
declare his word to them; his instructions, admonitions, reproofs,
and warnings to them through men inspired by his Holy Spirit; and
last of all, the account of Messiah's appearance and ministry among
the people, his very words repeated, and rightly divided for us (as
we shall see later), that we may the better understand what of his
teaching is general, and what special; what universal and permanent,
and what local and transcient. How insignificant all the discoveries in
Egypt, in ancient Babylon, Palestine, and the Sinaitic Peninsula are
in comparison with this New Witness of the western world? How paltry,
valuable though they are in themselves, seem the Rosetta stone, the
Moabite stone, and the library of brick tablets from old Nineveh, in
comparison with this Nephite record--this volume of scripture! How
feeble the voice of the testimony of those monuments of the east to the
authenticity and credibility of the Bible and the truth of the gospel,
in comparison with the testimony found in the Book of Mormon--the
voice of departed nations and empires of people speaking through their
records for the truth of God--for the verity of the gospel of Jesus
Christ--a voice sufficient to overwhelm unbelief and forever make sure
the foundations of faith! It was mainly for this purpose that the
Nephite records were written, preserved, and finally brought forth to
the world, as we shall see in the following chapter.
Footnotes
1. Acts 17:26-28.
2. I Nephi 19:22-24.
3. II Nephi, chapters 6, 7, 8. Mosiah 14. III Nephi 22.
4. II Nephi, chapters 12-24 inclusive.
5. I Nephi, chapter 4:2.
6. I Nephi 17:23-42.
7. II Nephi 3.
8. Helaman 8.
9. I Nephi 22:20, 21.
10. Mosiah 12, 13.
11. See reflections on the course of the Lord with reference to giving
revelations to all nations and races of men, chapter 41, this work.
12. The Nephites were the followers of the first Nephi, the righteous
son of Lehi, who led the colony from Jerusalem six hundred years B. C.;
and the Lamanites were the followers of Laman, the oldest and wicked
son of the same Lehi.
13. Helaman, chapter 14.
14. Helaman, chapter 14.
15. This was Samuel, a prophet whom God raised up from among the
Lamanites. The above prophecies were uttered about five or six years B.
C.
16. John 10:16. For a somewhat extended discussion of this prophecy and
its fulfilment see Part III this work, chapter 35.
17. See preface in title page of the Book of Mormon.
18. _Life of the Master_, Prologue, Rev. John Watson, (Ian Maclaren).
CHAPTER III.
THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE BOOK OF MORMON WAS WRITTEN.
The several purposes for which the Book of Mormon was written are to be
learned from the writers of the book itself, and from the revelations
of God to Joseph Smith.
First I introduce the statement of Moroni, into whose hands Mormon's
abridgment of the larger records of the Nephites, called the _Book of
Mormon_, was given. On the last plate of the collection given to Moroni
by his father, on the left hand side of the collection, the language
of the whole book running as in the Hebrew, from right to left, Moroni
engraved the following explanatory title to the record he sealed up,
and therein also stated the reasons why the record was written. This
Joseph Smith translated and made the title page of his translation of
the Book of Mormon:
THE BOOK OF MORMON
An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken From
the Plates of Nephi.
Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of
Nephi, and also of the Lamanites--Written to the Lamanites
who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and
Gentile--Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of
prophecy and of revelation--Written and sealed up, and hid up unto
the Lord, that they might not be destroyed--To come forth by the
gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof--Sealed by
the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due
time by way of Gentile--The interpretation thereof by the gift of
God.
An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record
of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord
confounded the language of the people, when they were building a
tower to get to heaven--which is to show unto the remnant of the
house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their
fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that
they are not cast off forever--and also to the convincing of
the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God,
manifesting, himself unto all nations--And now if there are 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.
In the above, three reasons are given why the Book of Mormon was
written and preserved to come forth among men in the last days:
First, to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great
things the Lord has done for their fathers.
Second, to teach them the covenants of the Lord made with their
fathers, that the remnants may know that they are not cast off forever.
Third, that this record may convince both Jew and gentile that Jesus
is the Christ, the Eternal God, and that he manifests himself to all
nations.
In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in July, 1828, on the occasion of
the Urim and Thummim being restored to him after it had been taken from
him in consequence of allowing Martin Harris to have a portion of the
manuscript of the Book of Mormon, contrary to the will of God, the Lord
said to him:
My work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior
has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even
so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people--and to the
Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites,
through the testimony of their fathers--And this testimony shall
come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and
Ishmaelites who dwindled in unbelief because of the iniquity of
their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy their brethren
the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their abominations.
And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain
these records--that the promise of the Lord might be fulfilled,
which he made to his people; and that the Lamanites might come
to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the
promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely
upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in
his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. [1]
In this passage we have substantially the same reasons given why the
Book of Mormon was written, though not stated in the same order, but as
follows:
First, that a knowledge of a Savior might come unto the remnants of the
house of Israel in the western hemisphere, who are called Nephites,
Jacobites, Josephites, Lamanites, etc.
Second, that the Lamanites might come to a knowledge of their fathers.
Third, that the Lamanites might know the promises of the Lord, both to
their fathers and to themselves.
Mormon also left upon record his testimony as to why the book which
bears his name was written, and why it would be preserved and come
forth in the last days. In his own book, by which I mean that book in
which he wrote the things which he saw in his own day, Mormon says:
Now these things are written unto the remnant of the house of
Jacob; * * * and behold, they shall come forth according to the
commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom. And
behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for
this intent shall they go--that they may be persuaded that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring
about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose,
in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of
their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto
the fulfilling of his covenant; and also that the seed of this
people [2] may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth
unto them from the Gentiles. [3]
Again, this same writer, Mormon, addressing himself to the remnants of
the Lamanites to whom, in the future, his record would come, says:
"Know ye that ye must come to a knowledge of your fathers, and
repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus
Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by
the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again,
whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in
him is the sting of death swallowed up. And he bringeth to pass
the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to
stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the
redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before
him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the
presence of God in his Kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the
choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy
Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no
end. Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and
lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you,
not only in this record but also in the record which shall come
unto the Gentiles from the Jews, [4] which record shall come from
the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this [5] is written for the
intent that ye may believe that; [6] and if ye believe that ye will
believe this also; and if ye believe this, ye will know concerning
your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by
the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a
remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the
people of the first covenant." (Mormon 7:5-10.)
This passage is important because that in addition to assigning
substantially the same reasons for the writing and coming forth of the
Book of Mormon, as those before enumerated, it brings out the fact that
the Book of Mormon was written also to be a witness for the Bible,
to prove it true, for the language in the above passage makes plain
reference to the Bible, the "record" which comes from the Jews to the
Gentiles, and from the Gentiles to the remnant of the Lamanites to whom
Mormon makes reference.
This is also the testimony of the first Nephi. In vision he saw the
advent of the Gentile races upon the western hemisphere. He saw their
victories over the remnant of the seed of his brethren, the Lamanites.
He then proceeds:
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles,
and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and
I beheld that they were white, and exceeding fair and beautiful,
like unto my people before they were slain. And it came to pass
that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of
captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of
the Lord was with them. And I beheld that their mother Gentiles
were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to
battle against them. And I beheld that the power of God was with
them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were
gathered together against them to battle. And I, Nephi, beheld that
the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the
power of God out of the hands of all other nations. And it came to
pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I
beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them. And the angel
said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book? And I said unto
him: I know not. And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth
of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book
that thou beholdest, is a record of the Jews, which contains the
covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel
and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets;
and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the
plates of brass, [7] save there are not so many; nevertheless,
they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto
the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the
Gentiles.
And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the
book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded
forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the plainness of the
gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and
they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of
God. Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto
the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God. And after
they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from
the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the foundation of a great
and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other
churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the
Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many
covenants of the Lord have they taken away. And all this have they
done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that
they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children
of men. Wherefore, thou seest that after the book had gone forth
through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there
are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which
is the book of the Lamb of God. And after these plain and precious
things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the
Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the
Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen
with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou
seest--because of the many plain and precious things which have
been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding
of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the
Lamb of God--because of these things which are taken away out of
the gospel of the Lamb, an exceeding great many do stumble, yea,
insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. * * * And it came
to pass that the angel of the Lord spoke unto me, saying: Behold,
saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the
house of Israel--and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of
thy father [8]mm after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten
them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble
exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the
gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable
church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb--I will be
merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring
forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall
be plain and precious saith the Lamb.
For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed,
[9] that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto
them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall
be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy
brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto
the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.
And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my
rock and my salvation. * * * And it came to pass that I beheld the
remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb
of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that
it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of
my brethren. And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other
books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles
unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of
the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon
all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true. And the angel spake
unto me, saying: These last records which thou hast seen among the
Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of
the twelve apostles of Lamb, and shall make known the plain and
precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall
make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of
God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world;
and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. And
they must come according to the words which shall be established
by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made
known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be
established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all
the earth. [10]
The reference here made to "the book of the Lamb of God, which had
proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew," is beyond all question the
Bible; while the "other books," which came forth by the power of the
Lamb, from the Gentiles unto the remnant of Lehi's descendants, and
which records are to establish the truth of the first records, or the
Bible, is in plain allusion to the Book of Mormon and other scriptures
to be brought forth by the power of God in the last days.
From all this, then, it is very evident that the purposes for which
the Book of Mormon were written, counting in this summary both those
reasons already enumerated and those stated in the passages last
quoted, are:
First, to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great
things the Lord has done for their fathers.
Second, to teach them the covenants of the Lord made with their
fathers, that the remnants may know that they are not cast off forever.
Third, to convince both Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the Christ, the
Eternal God, and that he manifests himself to all nations.
Fourth, to bring the knowledge of a Savior to the remnants of the house
of Israel on the western hemisphere, through the testimony of the
Nephites and Lamanites as well as through the testimony of the Jews,
that they might more fully believe the gospel.
Fifth, to bring to the Jews the testimony of the Nephites that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that they might have the
testimony of the Nephites as well as that of their fathers that Jesus
is their Messiah.
Sixth, to be a witness for the truth of the Bible, to establish its
authenticity, and its credibility by bringing other witnesses than
those of the Eastern world to testify to the same great truths that are
contained in the sacred pages of the Bible.
Seventh, to restore to the knowledge of mankind many plain and precious
truths concerning the gospel which men have taken out of the Jewish
Scriptures, or obscured by their interpretations; by the absence of
which passages, or misleading interpretations, many have stumbled and
fallen into unbelief. In a word, it is the mission of the Book of
Mormon to be a witness for Jesus, the Christ; for the truth of the
gospel as the power of God unto salvation; for that purpose it was
written, preserved from destruction, and has now come forth to the
children of men through the goodness and mercy and power of God.
Footnotes
1. Doc. & Cov. 3: 16-20.
2. Mormon here refers to the Lamanites, that is, that the seed of the
Lamanites, the present "Indians" of the western hemisphere, might more
fully believe the gospel, etc.
3. Book of Mormon 5:12-15.
4. The Bible.
5. The Book of Mormon.
6. The Bible.
7. The "record" upon the plates of brass is the record containing
the Jewish Scripture which the colony of Lehi brought with them from
Jerusalem, to which reference is here made.
8. The descendants of Lehi.
9. The Nephites.
10. I Nephi 13.
PART II.
The Discovery of the Book of Mormon and its Translation. The
Migrations, Lands, Inter-Continental Movements, Civilizations,
Governments, and Religions of its Peoples.
CHAPTER IV.
HOW JOSEPH SMITH OBTAINED THE BOOK OF MORMON
The Book of Mormon was published in the town of Palmyra, Wayne County,
State of New York. It issued from the press of Mr. Egbert B. Grandin;
and was published for Joseph Smith, the Prophet. The exact date on
which the book issued from the press cannot be ascertained. Most
likely, however, it was some time in the month of March or of April,
1830; for in the Prophet's history we have him saying that, "During
this month of April, I went on a visit to the residence of Mr. Joseph
Knight, of Colesville, Broome county, New York." This Mr. Knight had
been acquainted with the Smith family for some time. He had visited
them at their home near Manchester, New York, on several occasions; [1]
and during the period occupied in translating the Book of Mormon, had
rendered some material assistance to the Prophet by supplying him and
Oliver Cowdery with provisions. [2] Soon after this visit the Prophet
informs us that he returned to Fayette, Seneca county,--evidently in
the same month of April--and then adds:
"The Book of Mormon * * * had now been published for some time, and
as the ancient prophets predicted of it, 'it was accounted a strange
thing.'" [3] In the _Evening and Morning Star_ for April, 1833,
published at Independence, Missouri--the first periodical published by
the Church--occurs the following: "Soon after the Book of Mormon came
forth, containing the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Church
was organized, on the 6th of April, 1830." [4] This fixes approximately
the date for the publication of the book. It issued from the press
either very early in April or in the month of March, 1830; most likely
some time in March. The first edition was five thousand copies.
Naturally enough the book was "accounted a strange thing." Joseph
Smith, for whom it was published, was an unlettered young man, who
from the time he was ten years of age until the Book of Mormon was
published--when he was twenty-four--had lived in the vicinity of
Palmyra and Manchester townships. His father having met with a series
of misfortunes in business ventures and land purchases, the family was
in straitened circumstances through all these years, and Joseph had
been under the necessity of working among the farmers in and around
Manchester to aid his parents in the support of their large family.
About the last thing to be expected of a young man reared under such
circumstances would be that he become the publisher of a book. The
fact that he had published one was of itself sufficient cause for
astonishment; but it was not the fact that an unlettered youth, who
had spent his life in toil among them, had published a book that was
regarded as so strange a thing by the people. It was the account he
gave of the book's origin, and the nature of the book itself that
constituted it such a "marvel and a wonder." Joseph Smith disclaimed
being its author [5] in any other sense than that he was the translator
of it by miraculous means. The original Book of Mormon, the translation
of which he had published, was written, or rather engraven, upon gold
plates, according to his representations; which plates had come into
his possession in the following manner:
Early in the spring of 1820 Joseph Smith received a revelation from God
in which the apostate condition of Christendom was made known to him,
coupled with a promise that at some future time the gospel of Jesus
Christ would be restored to the earth; and that he, if faithful, would
be an instrument in the hands of God in accomplishing some of his great
purposes in the last days. [6]
After this first revelation, Joseph Smith was left for three years
without any further direct manifestation from God. At the expiration
of that time, however, being oppressed with a sense of loneliness and
longing for further communication with the heavens, and burdened with
an anxious desire to know of his standing before the Lord, on the
evening of the 21st of September, 1823, after having retired for the
night, he betook himself to prayer that he might receive once more a
manifestation from God. The rest of the narrative is best told in his
own words:
While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a
light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the
room was lighter than at noon day, when immediately a personage
appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did
not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite
whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever
seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to
appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked
and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his
feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His neck
and head were also bare. I could discover that he had no other
clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see
into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his
whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance
truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so
very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked
upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me. He called me
by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the
presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had
a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and
evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should
be both good and evil spoken of among all people. He said there
was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account
of the former inhabitants of this continent, [7] and the source
from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the
everlasting gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior
to the ancient inhabitants [of America]; also that there were two
stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a breastplate,
constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim--deposited with
the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what
constituted seers in ancient or former times; and that God had
prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.
After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies
of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter
of Malachi, [8] and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of
the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it
reads in our Bible [the English authorized version of the Jewish
Scriptures]. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our
books he quoted it thus: "For behold, the day cometh that shall
burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly
shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them saith the
Lord of hosts; that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: "Behold, I will reveal
unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah, the prophet,
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." He
also quoted the next verse differently: "And he shall plant in the
hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the
hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not
so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,
saying that it was about to be fulfilled.
He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and
twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament.
[9] He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet
come when "they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from
among the people," but soon would come.
He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth
verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled,
but was soon to be. And he further stated, the fulness of the
Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of
scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned
here. Again, he told me, that when I got the plates of which he
had spoken--for the time that they should be obtained was not
yet fulfilled--I should not show them to any person; neither the
breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I
should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed.
While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was
opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were
deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place
again when I visited it.
After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to
gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking
to me, and it continued to do so, until the room was again left
dark, except just around him, when instantly I saw, as it were,
a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended until he
entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before
this heavenly light had made its appearance.
I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling
greatly at what had been told me by this extraordinary messenger;
when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that
my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as
it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside. He
commenced, and again related the very same things which he had
done at his first visit, without the least variation; which having
done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the
earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence;
and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this
generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he
had done before.
By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that
sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment
at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when
again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him
rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and
added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt
me, (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father's
family) to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This
he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in
getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced
by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I
could not get them. After this third visit, he again ascended into
heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness
of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after
the heavenly messenger had ascended from me the third time, the
cock crowed, and I found that day was approaching, so that our
interviews must have occupied the whole of that night.
I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the
necessary labors of the day; but in attempting to work as at other
times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely
unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered
something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started
with the intention of going to the house; but in attempting to
cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength
entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a
time was quite unconscious of anything. The first thing that I
can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name:
I looked up and beheld the same messenger standing over my head,
surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all
that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to
go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I
had received.
I obeyed; I returned to my father in the field, and rehearsed
the whole matter to him. He replied to me that it was of God, and
told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. [10] I left
the field and went to the place where the messenger had told me
the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the
vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant
that I arrived there. Convenient to the village of Manchester,
Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and
the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of
this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size
lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and
rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the
edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground,
but the edge all round was covered with earth. Having removed the
earth I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the
stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and
there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the
breastplate as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay
was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the
bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on
these stones lay the plates and the other things with them. I made
an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger,
and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had
not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time;
but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one
year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that
I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining
the plates. [11]
Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each
year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and
received instruction and intelligence from him at each of our
interviews, respecting what the Lord was going to do, and how and
in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days. *
* * At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim
and Thummim and the breast-plate. On the 22nd day of September,
1827, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place
where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered
them up to me with this charge; that I should be responsible for
them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any
neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all
my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call
for them, they would be protected. [12]
I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict
charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had
said that when I had done what was required at my hands, he would
call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than
the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me; every
stratagem that could be invented, was resorted to for that purpose.
The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and
multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if
possible. But by the wisdom of God they remained safe in my hands,
until I accomplished by them what was required at my hands; when,
according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, [and] I
delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this
day, being the 2nd of May, 1838. [13]
Such in Joseph Smith's account of the origin of the Book of Mormon.
This is the account of its origin accepted by those who believe it to
be a divine record, a volume of scripture, containing the word of God,
and a history--though a brief one--of the hand-dealings of God with the
people of the western hemisphere. This is the account of its origin to
be maintained by those who speak or write in the defense of the Book of
Mormon. This the account to be maintained as true in these pages.
It will readily be observed that the history given by Joseph Smith
concerning his finding the Nephite record is very concise; that details
are omitted. This is especially noticeable in regard to the efforts
of his enemies to get the plates from him; he merely makes general
reference to that subject; as also in the matter as to what passed
between himself and the angel Moroni at the annual meetings between
1823 and 1827. Of these visits, so interesting and instructive to
Joseph Smith, he only says:
"I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same
messenger there, and received instructions and intelligence from
him at each of our interviews, respecting what the Lord was going
to do, and how and in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted
in the last days."
Doubtless, however, the instructions then received but only so casually
mentioned by the prophet, bore fruit in the progress of the work, in
the things which the prophet said and did. The fact that much more
happened than is stated in the narrative here quoted is evident; and
not only is it evident from what the prophet himself says, but from
what has been written by others who were associated with him in the
work, and who must have received their information from the Prophet
Joseph himself. Among these is Oliver Cowdery, who was the second
Elder of the Church, and the first to give to the world any account in
detail of these early events connected with the coming forth of the
great work of God. This he did in 1834-5, in a series of nine letters
to the _Saints Messenger and Advocate_, published at Kirtland, Ohio,
under the caption, "Early Scenes and Incidents in the Church." And as
these letters were published in the lifetime of the prophet, with his
sanction and in a periodical published by the Church, it cannot be
doubted that the statements contained in them are reliable. In these
letters Oliver Cowdery gives an account of the young Prophet's first
visit to Cumorah that is much more circumstantial than the description
of that event by the Prophet, and which Oliver Cowdery could only have
learned from Joseph himself. It will be remembered that in the account
already quoted from the personal history of the Prophet Joseph that he
said the angel Moroni had warned him that Satan would tempt him, on
account of his father's indigent circumstances, to obtain the plates
for the purpose of getting rich; but this he must not do, nor have
any other object in view than that of glorifying God; and he must be
influenced by no other consideration than that of building up God's
kingdom. Otherwise, he could not get possession of the plates. And now
Cowdery's account of the young Prophet's first visit to Cumorah. After
quoting the instructions of the angel, directing Joseph to go to the
hill Cumorah, Cowdery says:
Accordingly he repaired to the place which had thus been described.
But it is necessary to give you more fully the express instructions
of the angel with regard to the object of this work in which our
brother [meaning, of course, Joseph Smith] had now engaged. He was
to remember that it was the work of the Lord, to fulfill certain
promises previously made to a branch of the house of Israel of the
tribe of Joseph, and when it was brought forth it must be done
expressly with an eye, as I have said before, single to the glory
of God, and the welfare and restoration of the house of Israel. You
will understand, then, that no motive of a pecuniary or earthly
nature, was to be suffered to take the lead in the heart of the man
thus favored. The allurements of vice, the contaminating influences
of wealth, without the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, must
have no place in his heart nor be suffered to take from it that
warm desire for the glory and kingdom of the Lord, or, instead of
obtaining, disappointment and reproof would most assuredly follow.
Such was the instruction and the caution. Alternately, as we would
naturally expect, the thought of the previous vision was ruminating
in his mind, with a reflection of the brightness and glory of the
heavenly messenger; but again a thought would start across the mind
on the prospects of obtaining so desirable a treasure--one in all
human probability sufficient to raise him above the level of the
common earthly fortunes of his fellow men, and relieve his family
from want, in which by misfortune and sickness they were placed.
* * * Here was a struggle indeed; for when he calmly reflected
upon his errand, he knew that if God did not give, he could not
obtain; and again, with the thought or hope of obtaining, his
mind would be carried back to its former reflections of poverty,
abuse, wealth, grandeur and ease, until before arriving at the
place described, this wholly occupied his desire; and when he
thought upon the fact of what was previously shown him, it was
only with an assurance that he should obtain, and accomplish his
desire in relieving himself and friends from want. * * * You will
have wondered, perhaps, that the mind of our brother should be so
occupied with the thoughts of the goods of this world, at the time
of arriving at Cumorah, on the morning of the 22nd of September,
1823, after having been wrapt in the visions of heaven, during the
night, and also seeing and hearing in open day; but the mind of man
is easily turned if it is not held by the power of God through the
prayer of faith, and you will remember that I have said that two
invisible powers were operating upon his mind during his walk from
his residence to Cumorah, and that the one urging the certainty of
wealth and ease in this life, had so powerfully wrought upon him
that the great object so carefully and impressively named by the
angel, had entirely gone from his recollection that only a fixed
determination to obtain now urged him forward. In this, which
occasioned a failure to obtain, at that time, the record, do not
understand me to attach blame to our brother; he was young, and
his mind easily turned from correct principles, unless he could be
favored with a certain round of experience. And yet, while young,
untraditioned and untaught in the systems of the world, he was in a
situation to be led into the great work of God, and be qualified to
perform it in due time.
After arriving at the repository, a little exertion in removing
the soil from the edges of the top of the box, and a light pry,
brought to his natural vision its contents. No sooner did he behold
this sacred treasure than his hopes were renewed, and he supposed
his success certain and, without first attempting to take it from
its place of long deposit, he thought, perhaps, there might be
something more, equally as valuable, and to take only the plates
might give others an opportunity of obtaining the remainder, which
could he secure, would still add to his store of wealth. These, in
short, were his reflections, without once thinking of the solemn
instruction of the heavenly messenger, and that all must be done
with an express view of glorifying God.
On attempting to take possession of the record a shock was produced
upon his system, by an invisible power, which deprived him, in a
measure, of his natural strength. He desisted, for an instant,
and then made another attempt, but was more sensibly shocked than
before. What was the occasion of this he knew not--there was the
pure unsullied record, as has been described--he had heard of the
powers of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held
the hidden treasures of the earth, and supposed that physical
exertion and personal strength was only necessary to enable him
to yet obtain the object of his wish. He therefore made the third
attempt with an increased exertion, when his strength failed him
more than at either of the former times, and without premeditating
he exclaimed, "Why can I not obtain this book?" "Because you
have not kept the commandments of the Lord," answered a voice,
within a seeming short distance. He looked and to his astonishment
there stood the angel who had previously given him the directions
concerning this matter. In an instant, all the former instructions,
the great intelligence concerning Israel and the last days were
brought to his mind; he thought of the time when his heart was
fervently engaged in prayer to the Lord, when his spirit was
contrite, and when this holy messenger from the skies unfolded
the wonderful things connected with this record. He had come to
be sure, and found the word of the angel fulfilled concerning the
reality of the records, but he had failed to remember the great end
for which they had been kept, and in consequence could not have
power to take them into his possession and bear them away.
At that instant he looked to the Lord in prayer, and as he prayed,
darkness began to disperse from his mind and his soul was lit up as
it was the evening before, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit;
and again did the Lord manifest his condescension and mercy; the
heavens were opened and the glory of the Lord shone around about
and rested upon him. While thus he stood gazing and admiring, the
angel said, "Look!" and as he thus spake he beheld the prince of
darkness, surrounded by his innumerable train of associates. All
this passed before him, and the heavenly messenger said, "All this
is shown, the good and the evil, the holy and 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. Behold, whatever entices and leads to good and to do good,
is of God, and whatever does not is of that wicked one: it is he
that fills the hearts of men with evil, to walk in darkness and
blaspheme God; and you may learn from henceforth, that his ways
are to destruction, but the way of holiness is peace and rest. You
now see why you could not obtain this record; that the commandment
was strict, and that if ever these sacred things are obtained they
must be by prayer and faithfulness in obeying the Lord. They are
not deposited here for the sake of accumulating gain and wealth
for the glory of this world: they were sealed by the prayer of
faith, and because of the knowledge which they contain they are of
no worth among the children of men, only for their knowledge. On
them is contained the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it
was given to his people on this land, and when it shall be brought
forth by the power of God it shall be carried to the Gentiles, of
whom many will receive it, and after will the seed of Israel be
brought into the fold of their Redeemer by obeying it also. Those
who kept the commandments of the Lord on this land, through the
prayer of faith obtained the promise, that if their descendants
should transgress and fall away, a record should be kept and in
the last days come to their children. These things are sacred,
and must be kept so, for the promise of the Lord concerning them
must be fulfilled. No man can obtain them if his heart is impure,
because they contain that which is sacred; and besides, should they
be entrusted in unholy hands the knowledge could not come to the
world, because they cannot be interpreted by the learning of this
generation: consequently they would be considered of no worth,
only as precious metal. Therefore, remember, that they are to be
translated by the gift and power of God. By them will the Lord work
a great and a marvelous work: the wisdom of the wise shall become
as naught, and the understanding of the prudent shall be hid, and
because the power of God shall be displayed those who profess to
know the truth but walk in deceit, shall tremble with anger; but
with signs and with wonders, with gifts and with healings, with
the manifestations of the power of God, and with the Holy Ghost,
shall the hearts of the faithful be comforted. You have now beheld
the power of God manifested and the power of satan: you see that
there is nothing that is desirable in works of darkness; that they
cannot bring happiness: that those who are overcome therewith are
miserable, while on the other hand the righteous are blessed with a
peace in the kingdom of God where joy unspeakable surrounds them.
There they rest beyond the power of the enemy of truth, where no
evil can disturb them. The glory of God crowns them, and they
continually feast upon his goodness and enjoy his smiles. Behold,
notwithstanding you have seen this great display of power, by which
you may ever be able to detect the evil one, yet I give unto you
another sign, and when it comes to pass then know that the Lord is
God and that he will fulfill his purposes, and that the knowledge
which this record contains will go to every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people under the whole heaven. This is the sign:
When these things begin to be known, that is, when it is known
that the Lord has shown you these things, the workers of iniquity
will seek your overthrow; they will circulate falsehoods to
destroy your reputation, and also will seek to take your life; but
remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter continue
to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved to
bring these things forth; for in due time he will again give you a
commandment to come and take them. When they are interpreted the
Lord will give the Holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin
to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after they shall
have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands.
Then will persecution rage more and more; for the iniquities of
men shall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the rock
will seek to overthrow this Church; but it will increase the more
opposed, and spread farther and farther, increasing in knowledge
till the Saints shall be sanctified and receive an inheritance
where the glory of God shall rest upon them; and when this takes
place, and all things are prepared, the Ten Tribes of Israel will
be revealed in the north country, whither they have been for a
long season; and when this is fulfilled will be brought to pass
that saying of the prophet--"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,
and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the
Lord." But, notwithstanding the workers of iniquity shall seek your
destruction, the arm of the Lord will be extended and you will be
borne off conqueror, if you keep all his commandments. Your name
shall be known among the nations, for the work which the Lord will
perform by your hands shall cause the righteous to rejoice and the
wicked to rage; with one it shall be had in honor, and the other
in reproach; yet, with these it shall be a terror because of the
great and marvelous work which shall follow the coming forth of
this fulness of the gospel. Now, go thy way, remember what the Lord
has done for thee, and be diligent in keeping his commandments, and
he will deliver thee from temptations, and all the arts and devices
of the wicked one. Forget not to pray, that thy mind may become
strong, that when he shall manifest unto thee, thou mayest have
power to escape the evil, and obtain these precious things. [14]
Such the events which took place on the occasion of the Prophet's
first visit to Cumorah. It is unfortunate that we do not have a more
circumstantial account of the subsequent annual interviews from 1823
to 1827; and likewise a more detailed account of the Prophet's early
movements connected with his obtaining the plates, and caring for them.
The place where the Nephite record was deposited must ever be of
interest to those who believe that record to be true, and therefore a
description of the hill Cumorah will not be out of place in concluding
this chapter. Joseph Smith's brief description of it has already been
given. [15]
The writer visited the hill Cumorah on the 22nd of February, 1897,
and the same day wrote out the following description of it: The hill
Cumorah is on the road between Manchester and the town of Palmyra,
in Wayne county, New York, about four miles directly south of the
latter place. Approaching it from the north, you are confronted by
the bold face of the hill, which rises quite abruptly from the common
level of the surrounding country; and as the east and west slopes of
the hill, as viewed from the north, are about equal and regular, it
looks from a distance as if it might be a huge conical-shaped mound.
Ascending its steep north side to the summit dispels the illusion, for
one finds that he has but climbed the abrupt north end of a ridge of
hill having its greatest extent from north to south, and which from its
very narrow summit broadens and slopes gently to the southward until
it sinks to the level of the common country. The east side of the hill
is now ploughed, but the west side is untouched by the husbandman; and
about two or three hundred yards from the north end there is on the
west side a small grove of young trees, with here and there a decaying
stump of a large tree to bear witness that the hill was once covered
with a heavy growth of timber. In fact it was so covered by timber when
the Prophet Joseph Smith first visited the place in 1823, as indeed
much of the surrounding country was at that time.
Unquestionably Cumorah is the most distinct land mark in all that
section of country, the highest hill, and the most commanding in what
I should describe as an extensive plain sloping northward filled with
numerous irregular hills, but which in the main have their greatest
extent, like Cumorah, from north to south; and which, also like
Cumorah, are generally highest at the north end. I observed this to be
the case all the way from Syracuse to Palmyra. It is worthy of note,
too, that the lakes of central and western New York, also have their
greatest extent from north to south. Indeed, for the most part, they
are but long strips of water left in their narrow beds when the great
body of water, which in ages long gone by once covered this whole
region, receded northward and gave the same general form both to the
lakes and to the hills on this northern slope of the water shed which
runs from east to west through New York, north Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Indiana; and which separates the basin of the great lakes and the
valley of the St. Lawrence from the valley of the Ohio and Mississippi.
West of Cumorah the country is more open than on the south or east. The
hills common to the country are fewer and the plain more expansive.
Though the country south and east is broken, and the numerous hills
higher than on the west, yet such is the commanding height of Cumorah
that the view is unobstructed for many miles. Northward some miles the
hills are most thickly clustered; between them and Cumorah is located
the town of Palmyra, and beyond that, at the foot of the thickly
clustered hills referred to, runs what is now called Canagrie creek,
really one of the tributaries of the Clyde river, into which it empties
at no great distance.
Such is the hill "Cumorah" and its surroundings; the hill "Ramah" of
the Jaredites; "Mormon Hill," or "Mormon Bible Hill," as it is called
by the people about Palmyra. "On the west side of this hill, not far
from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates of the
Book of Mormon, deposited in a stone box." [16]
Footnotes
1. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chapters 21, 23.
2. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 47.
3. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 84.
4. _Evening and Morning Star_ for April, 1833, p. 167.
5. The fact that on the title page of the first edition, Joseph Smith
is called the "Author and Proprietor," is considered in Part IV of this
work.
6. See _New Witnesses for God_, vol. I, chapters 10 and 11, for a full
account of this revelation. See also Wentworth letter, _History of the
Church_, vol. IV, ch. 31.
7. America.
8. This undoubtedly would be the first part of the third chapter of
Malachi, as that part of the chapter has undoubtedly a direct bearing
on the coming forth of God's work in the last days. It reads as
follows: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the
way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his
temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold,
he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth. For he is like a
refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and he shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge
them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be
pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years."
9. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your
God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye
hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come
to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be
destroyed from among the people.--Acts 3: 22, 23.
10. Relative to the circumstances of the young Prophet's vision on
the 22nd of September, when he was on his way from the field to his
father's house, before his first visit to Cumorah, his mother in her
_History of the Prophet Joseph_ gives the following interesting details
which the prophet does not record. It would seem, according to Lucy
Smith's statement, that during the interviews with the angel Moroni the
night before--September 21, 1823--the young Prophet had been instructed
to inform his father of what he had seen and heard; but this Joseph
failed to do. "The next day," says Lucy Smith's account, "my husband,
Alvin, and Joseph, were reaping together in the field, and as they
were reaping Joseph stopped quite suddenly, and seemed to be in a deep
study. Alvin [this was an elder brother--died a little more than a year
later], observing it, hurried him, saying, 'We must not slacken our
hands, or we will not be able to complete our task.' Upon this Joseph
went to work again, and after laboring a short time, he stopped just as
he had done before. This being quite unusual and strange, it attracted
the attention of his father, upon which he discovered that Joseph was
very pale. My husband, supposing that he was sick, told him to go to
the house, and have his mother doctor him. He accordingly ceased his
work, and started; but on coming to a beautiful green, under an apple
tree, he stopped and laid down, for he was so weak he could proceed no
further. He was there but a short time, when the messenger whom he saw
the previous night, visited him again, and the first thing he said was,
'Why did you not tell your father that which I commanded you to tell
him?" Joseph replied, 'I was afraid my father would not believe me.'
The angel rejoined, 'He will believe every word you say to him.'
Joseph then promised the angel that he would do as he had been
commanded. Upon this the messenger departed, and Joseph returned to the
field where he had left my husband and Alvin; but when he got there his
father had just gone to the house, as he was somewhat unwell. Joseph
then desired Alvin to go straightway and see his father, and inform
him that he had something of great importance to communicate to him,
and that he wanted him to come out into the field where they were at
work. Alvin did as he was requested, and when my husband got there,
Joseph related to him all that had passed between him and the angel the
previous night and that morning. Having heard this account, his father
charged him not to fail in attending strictly to the instructions which
he had received from this heavenly messenger." (_History of the Prophet
Joseph_, by his mother, chap. 19.)
11. Lucy Smith has a very interesting account in her _History of the
Prophet_ concerning his report of this interview at Cumorah with
Moroni, she says:
"The ensuing evening, when the family were all together, Joseph made
known to them all that he had communicated to his father in the field,
and also of his finding the record, as well as what passed between
him and the angel while he was at the place where the plates were
deposited. Sitting up late that evening in order to converse upon these
things, together with overexertion of mind, had much fatigued Joseph;
and when Alvin observed it, he said, 'Now, brother, let us go to bed,
and rise early in the morning in order to finish our day's work at an
hour before sunset, then if mother will get our supper early, we will
have a fine long evening, and we will all sit down for the purpose
of listening to you while you tell us the great things which God has
revealed to you.' Accordingly, by sunset the next day (Sept. 23rd), we
were all seated, and Joseph commenced telling us the great and glorious
things which God had manifested unto him; but before proceeding he
charged us not to mention out of the family that which he was about
to say unto us, as the world was so wicked that when they came to a
knowledge of these things they would try to take our lives; and that
when he should obtain the plates, our names would be cast out as evil
by all people. Hence the necessity of suppressing these things as much
as possible, until the time should come for them to go forth to the
world. After giving us this charge, he proceeded to relate further
particulars concerning the work which he was appointed to do, and we
received them joyfully, never mentioning them except among ourselves,
agreeable to the instructions which we had received from him."
(_History of the Prophet Joseph_, by his mother, chap. 19.)
12. In relation to the matter of the Prophet Joseph obtaining the
Nephite record on the morning of the 22nd of September, 1827, his
mother gives a number of interesting details in her _History of the
Prophet_. It appears that both Joseph Knight of Broome county, New
York, and also a Mr. Josiah Stoal were present at the Smith homestead
on the night of September the 21st, 1827. And now Lucy Smith:
"On the night of the 21st, I sat up very late as my work rather pressed
upon my hands. I did not retire until 12 o'clock at night. About 12
o'clock, Joseph came to me, and asked me if I had a chest with a lock
and key. I knew in an instant what he wanted it for, and not having
one, I was greatly alarmed, as I thought it might be a matter of
considerable moment. But Joseph discovering my anxiety, said, 'Never
mind, mother, I can do very well for the present without it--be
calm--all is right.' Shortly after this Joseph's wife passed through
the room with her bonnet and riding dress and in a few minutes they
left together taking Mr. Knight's horse and wagon. I spent the night in
prayer and supplication to God, for the anxiety of my mind would not
permit me to sleep. At the usual hour, I commenced preparing breakfast,
my heart fluttered at every footstep, as I now expected Joseph and
Emma momentarily, and feared lest Joseph might meet with another
disappointment.
"When the male portion of the family were seated at breakfast table,
Mr. Smith inquired for Joseph, for he was not aware that he had left
home. I requested my husband not to call him, for I would like to
have him take breakfast with his wife that morning. 'No, no,' said my
husband, 'I must have Joseph eat with me.' 'Well now, Mr. Smith,' I
continued, 'do let him eat with his wife this morning; he almost always
takes breakfast with you.' His father finally consented and ate without
him, and no further inquiries were made concerning his absence, but in
a few minutes Mr. Knight came in quite disturbed. 'Why, Mr. Smith,' he
exclaimed, 'my horse is gone, and I can't find him on the premises, and
I wish to start for home in half an hour.' 'Never mind the horse,' said
I, 'Mr. Knight does not know all the nooks and corners in the pastures;
I will call William, he will bring the horse immediately.'
"This satisfied him for the time being; but he soon made another
discovery. His wagon also was gone. He then concluded that a rogue
had stolen them both. 'Mr. Knight,' said I, 'do be quiet; I would
be ashamed to have you go about waiting upon yourself--just go out
and talk to Mr. Smith until William comes, and if you really must
go home your horse shall be brought and you shall be waited upon
like a gentleman.' He accordingly went out and while he was absent
Joseph returned. I trembled so with fear, lest all might be lost in
consequence of some failure in keeping the commandments of God, that
I was under the necessity of leaving the room in order to conceal my
feelings. Joseph saw this, and said, 'Do not be uneasy, mother, all is
right, see here, I have got a key.' I knew not what he meant but took
the article of which he spoke into my hands, and examined it. He took
it again and left me, but said nothing respecting the record. * * *
That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing
more nor less than the Urim and Thummim." (_History of the Prophet
Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chap. 23.)
13. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 11-19; also _Pearl of Great
Price_ (1902 edition) pp. 88-96.
14. It will be observed by the reader that in the reported interview
between Joseph Smith and Moroni, as given by Oliver Cowdery above,
there are a number of very remarkable predictions both concerning
Joseph Smith and the work he is bringing forth, all of which are
considered in vol. I of this work, chapter 20.
15. P. 56.
16. Joseph Smith, see _ante_.
CHAPTER V.
THE TRANSLATION OF THE RECORD.--MARTIN HARRIS AS AMANUENSIS.
Following the account of how Joseph Smith obtained the Book of Mormon
it should be known how he translated it, and what difficulties attended
that work. I would remind the reader, in passing, that I am to deal
with a remarkable narrative, one in which strange things occur, and one
in which many who deny or doubt the power of God will be inclined to
have little faith. To such I would say, judge nothing hastily, dismiss
nothing petulantly, patient investigation, and sometimes suspension of
judgment in relation to matters difficult of belief are necessary to
the ascertainment of truth, and in such manner wise men, anxious to
know the truth, proceed.
The Prophet, in his narrative, quoted in the preceding chapter, tells
us that he soon found out the reason why he had received such a strict
injunction to carefully guard the Nephite record and the Urim and
Thummim; and why it was that Moroni has said that after he (Joseph)
had done what was required at his hands, he (Moroni) would call for
them. "For no sooner was it known," says Joseph, "that I had them, [the
Nephite plates] than the most strenuous exertions were used to get
them from me; every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to
for that purpose; the persecution became more bitter and severe than
before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from
me if possible." [1]
Rumor, with her thousand tongues, he informs us, was all the time
employed circulating tales about his father's family, and about
himself; and doubtless much of that misrepresentation which followed
the prophet and his father's family throughout his life had its origin
about this time.
So intolerable at last became the persecution about Manchester that
Joseph decided to move with his wife to the home of her parents in
Harmony, Susquehannah county, Pennsylvania. Susquehannah county is one
of the northern counties of Pennsylvania, and joins Broome county, in
the state of New York; and Harmony is a distance of from one hundred
to one hundred and fifty miles from Manchester, New York. The young
Prophet was in very straitened circumstances when he resolved upon
removing to Pennsylvania; but about that time a Mr. Martin Harris, a
respectable and well-to-do farmer of Palmyra, New York, called upon
the Smith family and gave Joseph fifty dollars to enable him to make
the proposed journey. A team and wagon was fitted out, and in company
with his wife the Prophet started for Pennsylvania. Enroute he was
twice stopped by officers of the law, who, under the power of a search
warrant, ransacked his wagon in search of the plates, but in each case
they were disappointed, as they did not find them, though the prophet
had them concealed among his effects.
Arriving in Pennsylvania in the month of December, the Prophet began
an examination of the characters engraven upon the plates and copied
a considerable number of them. Some of them he translated by means of
the Urim and Thummim. In this desultory work he spent the time until
the month of February, 1828, when Martin Harris, the gentleman who had
befriended him on the eve of his departure from Manchester, arrived at
his home in Harmony. This man had become interested in the Prophet and
his work and believed him to be in possession of the plates.
Some of the characters which Joseph had copied from the plates, Martin
Harris determined to submit to Professor Charles Anthon, "a gentleman
of the highest reputation, both in America and Europe, and well known
for his valuable and correct edition of the classics." [2] For this
purpose Harris made the journey from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to the city
of New York. Some of the Nephite characters given into the custody
of Mr. Harris were translated while others were not. Following is a
facsimile of some of the characters handed to Professor Anthon in
fulfilment of the words of Isaiah:
"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: and
the book is delivered to one that is not learned, saying, Read
this, I pray thee: and he saith I am not learned." (Isaiah 29:11,
12.)
[Facsimile of characters shown to Prof. Anton.] [3]
Whether or not these are the characters to which a translation was
appended by the Prophet, cannot now be determined.
With the printer's copy of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, now in
the hands of the descendants of Joseph Smith, is also a transcript of
characters consisting of seven lines, the first three of which are very
similar to those copied from _The Prophet_. They were also handed, it
is claimed, to Doctor Mitchell and Professor Anthon by Martin Harris.
Whether this seven-line transcript was the translated or untranslated
part of the characters handed to these learned men for their inspection
may not now be determined; but I present them herewith in order that as
many of the Nephite characters as have been transcribed from the plates
may be before the reader:
["Caractors" facsimile.]
The latter transcript is taken from a pamphlet by the late Elder Edward
Stevenson, of the First Council of Seventy, entitled _Reminiscences of
Joseph the Prophet, and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon_. Of
this transcript Elder Stevenson says:
"I will vouch for the correctness of the characters, as I have
compared them with the original copy, which is still in existence,
intact, just as it was when Martin Harris, as a messenger, took it
with the translation Joseph Smith had made, to Professor Anthon
of New York. The copy here presented was traced from the original
copy, and is an exact reproduction of it." [4]
Of both these transcripts it should be said that doubtless inaccuracies
exist in them, for the reason that the Prophet who made the _fac
simile_ was unskillful in such work, but for all that the _fac simile_
of the characters will be of interest and may be of very great
importance yet as evidence for the truth of the claims of the Book of
Mormon.
On the return of Martin Harris to Harmony, he made the following
statement to Joseph Smith as to what took place between himself and
Professor Anthon:
"I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters
which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to
Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary
attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was
correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the
Egyptian. [5] I then showed him those which were not translated,
and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and
Arabic, and he said that they were the true characters. He gave me
a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were
true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had
been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put
it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon
called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there
were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that
an angel of God had revealed it unto him.
"He then said to me, 'Let me see that certificate.' I accordingly
took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and
tore it to pieces, saying, that there was no such thing now as
ministering angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him,
he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates
were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I
cannot read a sealed book.' I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell,
who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the
characters and the translation." [6]
Some years after this, _viz._, in 1834, Professor Anthon, in a letter
to Mr. E. D. Howe, of Painesville, Ohio, made a statement as to what
took place on the occasion of Martin Harris' visit to him, and I
give that statement below. By way of introduction it should be said,
however, that Mr. E. D. Howe at the time (1834) was connected with a
Dr. Hurlburt in the production of an anti-"Mormon" book, and the report
of Harris' interview with the learned professor having become known,
Mr. Howe wrote to Professor Anthon making inquiries about it, hoping,
perhaps, that the fact of the interview might be denied. This is the
letter he received in reply to his inquiries:
New York, February 17, 1834.
_Dear Sir_: I received your letter of the 9th, and lose no time in
making a reply. The whole story about my pronouncing the Mormon
inscription to be reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics is perfectly
false. Some years ago, a plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer
called on me with a note from Dr. Mitchell, of our city, now dead,
requesting me to decipher, if possible, the paper which the farmer
would hand me. Upon examining the paper in question, I soon came
to the conclusion that it was all a trick--perhaps a hoax. When I
asked the person who brought it how he obtained the writing, he
gave me the following account: A gold book consisting of a number
of plates, fastened together by wires of the same material, had
been dug up in the northern part of the state of New York, and
along with it an enormous pair of spectacles. These spectacles
were so large that if a person attempted to look through them,
his two eyes would look through one glass only the spectacles in
question being altogether too large for the human face. "Whoever,"
he said, "examined the plates through the glasses was enabled not
only to read them, but fully to understand their meaning." All this
knowledge, however, was confined to a young man, who had the trunk
containing the book and spectacles in his sole possession. This
young man was placed behind a curtain in a garret in a farmhouse,
and being thus concealed from view, he put on the spectacles
occasionally, or rather looked through one of the glasses,
deciphered the characters in the book, and having committed some of
them to paper, handed copies from behind the curtain to those who
stood outside. Not a word was said about their being deciphered by
the gift of God. Everything in this way was effected by the large
pair of spectacles. The farmer added that he had been requested
to contribute a sum of money toward the publication of the golden
book, the contents of which would, as he was told, produce an
entire change in the world, and save it from ruin. So urgent had
been these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm and
giving the amount to those who wished to publish the plates. As a
last precautionary step, he had resolved to come to New York, and
obtain the opinion of the _learned_ about the meaning of the paper
which he brought with him, and which had been given him as a part
of the contents of the book, although no translation had at that
time been made by the young man with spectacles. On hearing this
odd story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and instead of
viewing it any longer as a hoax, I began to regard it as part of
a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated my
suspicions to him to beware of rogues. He requested an opinion from
me in writing, which, of course, I declined to give, and he then
took his leave, taking his paper with him. This paper in question
was, in fact, a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of
singular characters disposed in columns, and had evidently been
prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book
containing various alphabets, Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and
flourishes; Roman letters inverted or placed sideways were arranged
and placed in perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude
delineation of a circle, divided into various compartments, arched
with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican
calendar by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray
the source whence it was derived. I am thus particular as to the
contents of the paper, inasmuch as I have frequently conversed
with friends on the subject since the Mormon excitement began, and
well remember that the paper contained anything else but Egyptian
hieroglyphics. Some time after, the farmer paid me a second visit.
He brought with him the gold book in print, and offered it to
me for sale. I declined purchasing. He then asked permission to
leave the book with me for examination. I declined receiving it,
although his manner was strangely urgent. I adverted once more to
the roguery which, in my opinion, had been practiced upon him,
and asked him what had become of the gold plates. He informed me
they were in a trunk with the spectacles. I advised him to go to a
magistrate and have the trunk examined. He said the curse of God
would come upon him if he did. On my pressing him, however, to go
to a magistrate, he told me he would open the trunk if I would take
the curse of God upon myself. I replied that I would do so with the
greatest willingness, and would incur every risk of that nature,
provided I could only extricate him from the grasp of the rogues.
He then left me. I have given you a full statement of all that I
know respecting the origin of Mormonism and must beg of you as a
personal favor, to publish this letter immediately, should you find
my name mentioned again by these wretched fanatics.
Yours respectfully,
CHAS. ANTHON.
In addition to this acknowledgement of the visit of Martin Harris to
him with the transcript of the Nephite characters, Professor Anthon
subsequently made another acknowledgement of Martin Harris' visit in
a letter written to Rev. T. W. Coit, in answer to a note of inquiry
from that gentleman concerning the professor's connection with the
Book of Mormon. The letter was published in _The Church Record_, vol.
I, no. 22; and is frequently quoted, in parts, at least, in various
anti--"Mormon" works. _The Church Record_ was published in New York, I
think; but not having access to that volume I am under the necessity
of copying the parts of Anthon's second letter from anti--"Mormon"
books. None of these anti--"Mormon" works publish the letter in full,
and doubtless for the reason that in this second letter Mr. Anthon
contradicts several statements that he makes in his letter to E. D.
Howe. Following is his letter to Rev. Coit:
New York, April 3, 1841.
_Rev. and Dear Sir_: I have often heard that the "Mormons" claimed
me for an auxiliary, but as no one until the present time has
even requested from me a statement in writing, I have not deemed
it worth while to say anything publicly on the subject. What I do
know of the sect relates to some of the early movements; and as the
facts may amuse you, while they will furnish a satisfactory answer
to the charge of my being a "Mormon" proselyte, I proceed to lay
them before you in detail.
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 a mere hoax, and a very
clumsy one too. The characters were arranged in columns, like the
Chinese mode of writing, and presented the most singular medley
that 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. On my
telling the bearer of the paper that an attempt had been made to
impose on him and defraud him of his property, he requested me
to give him my opinion in writing about the paper which he had
shown to me. I did so without hesitation, partly for the man's
sake, and partly to let the individual "behind the curtain" see
that his trick was discovered. The import of what I wrote was, as
far as I can now recollect, simply this, that the marks in the
paper appeared to be merely an imitation of various alphabetical
characters, and had, in my opinion, no meaning at all connected
with them. The countryman then took his leave, with many thanks,
and with the express declaration that he would in no shape part
with his farm, or embark in the speculation of printing the golden
book. [7]
The matter rested here for a considerable time, until one day, when
I had ceased entirely to think of the countryman and his paper, he
paid me a second visit. He now brought with him a duodecimo volume,
which he said was a translation into English of the "Golden Bible."
He also stated, that notwithstanding his original determination,
he had been induced evidently to sell his farm, and apply the
money to the publication of the book, and received the golden
plates as a security for payment. He begged my acceptance of the
volume, assuring me that it would be found extremely interesting,
and that it was already "making great noise" in the upper part of
the state. Suspecting now, that some serious trick was on foot,
and that my plain-looking visitor might be in fact a very cunning
fellow, I declined his present, and merely contended myself with
a slight examination of the volume while he stood by. The more I
declined receiving it, however, the more urgent the man became in
offering the book, until at last I told him plainly that if he left
the volume, as he said he intended to do, I should most assuredly
throw it after him as he departed. I then asked him how he could
be so foolish as to sell his farm and engage in this affair; and
requested him to tell me if the plates were really of gold. In
answer to this latter inquiry, he said, that he had not seen the
plates himself, which were carefully locked up in a trunk, but that
he had the trunk in his possession. I advised him by all means
to open the trunk and examine its contents, and if the plates
proved to be of gold, which I did not believe at all, to sell them
immediately. His reply was, that if he opened the trunk, the "curse
of Heaven would descend upon him and his children. However," added
he, "I will agree to open it, provided you take the 'curse of
Heaven' upon yourself, for having advised me to the step." I told
him I was perfectly willing to do so, and begged him to hasten home
and examine the trunk, for he would find that he had been cheated.
He promised to do as I recommended, and left me, taking his book
with him. I have never seen him since.
Such is a plain statement of all I know respecting the "Mormons."
My impression now is, that the plain-looking countryman was none
other than the Prophet Smith himself, who assumed an appearance
of great simplicity in order to entrap me, if possible, into some
recommendation of his book. That the Prophet aided me, by his
inspiration, in interpreting the volume, is only one of the many
amusing falsehoods which the "Mormonites" utter, relative to my
participation in their doctrines. Of these doctrines I know nothing
whatever, nor have I ever heard a single discourse from any of
their preachers, although I have often felt a strong curiosity to
become an auditor, since my friends tell me that they frequently
name me in their sermons, and even go so far as to say that I am
alluded to in the prophecies of scripture!
If what I have here written shall prove of any service in opening
the eyes of some of their deluded followers to the real designs of
those who profess to be the apostles of "Mormonism," it will afford
me satisfaction equalled, I have no doubt, only by that which
yourself will feel on this subject.
I remain, very respectfully and truly,
Your friend,
CHAS. ANTHON.
Rev. Dr. T. W. Coit, New Rochelle, N. Y. [8]
It will be observed that there is a discrepancy between the letter
written by Professor Anthon to the Rev. Mr. Coit and the one he sent to
E. D. Howe. In the latter he states that he refused to give his opinion
in writing on the characters submitted to him; but in his letter to
Rev. Coit he says that he gave a written opinion to Harris without
hesitation, and to the effect that the marks on the paper appeared to
be merely an imitation of various alphabetical characters that had
no meaning at all connected with them. According to Martin Harris'
statement he gave him a certificate to the effect that the characters
submitted were genuine, and that the translation accompanying them was
correct; but upon hearing that the existence of the Nephite plates
was made known to Joseph Smith by a heavenly messenger, he requested
the return of the paper he had given Martin Harris, and he destroyed
it, saying that the visitation of angels had ceased, etc., I shall
leave it for the anti--"Mormon" friends of Mr. Anthon to reconcile the
contradiction that occurs in his statements, merely remarking that
since the doctor in one letter declares that he refused to give Martin
Harris a written opinion on the characters; and in the other that he
gave him a written opinion, increases very much one's faith in Martin
Harris' statement as against that of Professor Anthon's upon this
point; namely, that the Professor gave Harris a written statement, but
afterwards recalled and destroyed it. The reader should observe also
that in his letter to Rev. Coit, written in 1841, the Professor says
that no one until that time had ever requested from him a statement
in writing on the subject of his connection with the Book of Mormon.
Yet as a matter of fact E. D. Howe had addressed him a letter on the
subject, asking him for a statement, in 1834, to which request the
professor responded, telling substantially the same story as in this
letter to Rev. Coit, excepting as to the written opinion furnished
to Harris. The contradictions in Anthon's letters leave him in a
most unenviable situation; and doubtless accounts for anti-"Mormons"
publishing extracts only from his letters.
The statements of Professor Anthon and Martin Harris are very
contradictory, but the sequence will show that there is much that
supports the statement of Martin Harris in the main as true; while
the anxiety of the professor to disconnect himself as far as possible
from any association with "these wretched fanatics," will account for
his version of the incident. The object of Mr. Harris in presenting
these transcribed characters to the learned professor was, undoubtedly,
to learn if they were true characters, or only the idle invention of
Joseph Smith. That the answer of Professor Anthon and Dr. Mitchell was
in favor of their being true characters is evidenced by the fact that
Martin Harris returned immediately to Joseph Smith, in Harmony, made
his report, and thence went to Palmyra, in New York, to arrange his
business affairs that he might hasten back to Pennsylvania to become
the amanuensis of the young Prophet in the work of translation. This
Martin Harris would not likely have done if Professor Anthon's answer
had been what that gentleman represents it to have been in his letters
to Mr. Howe and Rev. Coit; nor would Martin Harris have ventured,
subsequently, to have furnished the money to pay for the publication
of the first edition of the book, had he been assured by the professor
that the whole thing was a "hoax" or a "scheme" to cheat him out of his
money.
As stated above, Martin Harris returned to Palmyra after this interview
with Professor Anthon, arranged his affairs, and joined the Prophet
in Harmony, about the 12th of April, 1828, when he commenced writing
as Joseph translated. This work he continued until the 14th of June
following--two months, by which time they had translated enough to make
one hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript, of large sheets--usually
called fool's cap paper.
Soon after Mr. Harris commenced to write for the Prophet he began to
importune him for the privilege of showing so much of the translation
as they had made to a number of his friends. This request the Prophet
refused to grant. Nothing daunted by this refusal, Harris asked the
Prophet to inquire of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim if he
might not have that privilege. This Joseph did, and Harris' request
was denied. He importuned him to ask again, with the like result, and
yet again did he implore that the Prophet would ask the Lord for his
permission.
"After much solicitation," says the Prophet, in his account of this
affair, "I again inquired of the Lord, and permission was granted
him to have the writings on certain conditions; which were, that he
should show them only to his brother, Preserved Harris, his own wife,
his father and his mother, and a Mrs. Cobb, a sister of his wife. In
accordance with this last answer, I required of him that he should bind
himself in a covenant to me in the most solemn manner that he would not
do otherwise than had been directed. He did so. He bound himself as
I required of him, took the writings, and went his way;" [9] and the
Prophet took advantage of the absence of Harris, who had acted as his
scribe, to visit his parents at Manchester.
The solemn engagement which Martin Harris made with the Prophet he
broke. He showed the writings to other persons than those named in his
agreement with the Prophet, and these stole the precious manuscript
from him, and he was never able to recover it. This circumstance also
went hard with Joseph as to his standing with the Lord. He had allowed
himself to be over-persuaded by the importunities of Martin Harris,
and that after he had twice learned that it was not the will of the
Lord that Harris should have the manuscript. He learned that Harris
had lost the one hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript while he was
yet in Manchester visiting with his parents; and immediately returned
to Harmony, where he humbled himself in prayer before God that he
might obtain forgiveness for his error; but apparently to no immediate
purpose, for Moroni appeared to him and demanded the plates and also
the Urim and Thummim. These were surrendered, with what anguish of
soul one may readily understand. Exactly what length of time they were
withheld from him cannot be determined, but evidently not long; for
in July of the same year the angel guardian of the record, Moroni,
appeared to him again and presented the plates and Urim and Thummim to
him. The Prophet, through the medium of the holy instrument, obtained
the following revelation which bears the date of July, 1828: [10]
"The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be
frustrated, neither can they come to naught. For God doth not walk
in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand, nor
to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said,
therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal
round.
"Remember, remember, that it is not the work of God that is
frustrated, but the work of men; for 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.
"Behold, you have been entrusted with these things, but how strict
were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were
made to you, if you did not transgress them. And behold, how oft
you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and
have gone on in the persuasions of men. For, behold, you should
not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the
counsels of God, and despise his words--yet you should have been
faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you
against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have
been with you in every time of trouble.
"Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of
the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou
wilt fall. But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that
which thou hast done, which is contrary to the commandment which I
gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the
work; except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as
other men, and have no more gift.
"And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight
and power to translate, thou deliveredst up that which was sacred
into the hands of a wicked man, who has set at naught the counsels
of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made
before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and boasted in
his own wisdom. And this is the reason that thou hast lost thy
privileges for a season--for thou hast suffered the counsel of thy
director to be trampled upon from the beginning. Nevertheless, my
work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has
come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even so
shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people--and to the
Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites,
[11] through the testimony of their fathers--and this testimony
shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites,
and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because of the
iniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy
their brethren, the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their
abominations. And for this very purpose are these plates preserved,
which contain these records--that the promises of the Lord might
be fulfilled, which he made to his people; and that the Lamanites
might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might
know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the
gospel, and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified
through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they
might be saved. Amen."
The Prophet informs us that after receiving this revelation, the Urim
and Thummim and also the plates were taken from him, but in a few days
they were returned to him, whereupon he again inquired of the Lord and
received the following very important revelation: [12]
Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those
writings, which you had power given unto you to translate by the
means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you
have lost them. And you also lost your gift at the same time, and
your mind became darkened. Nevertheless, it is now restored unto
you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto
the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you
have begun. Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength
and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent
unto the end. Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea,
that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of
the servants of Satan that do uphold his work. Behold, they have
sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted
has sought to destroy you. And for this cause I said that he is a
wicked man, for, he has sought to take away the things wherewith
you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your
gift. And because you have delivered the writings into his hands,
behold, wicked men have taken them from you. Therefore, you have
delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.
And, behold, Satan hath put into their hearts to alter the words
which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated,
which have gone out of your hands. And behold, I say unto you, that
because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that
which you translated and caused to be written; and, on this wise,
the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy
this work; for he hath put it into their hearts to do this, that by
lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have
pretended to translate.
Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall
accomplish his evil design in this thing. For behold, he has put it
into their hearts to get thee to tempt the Lord they God, in asking
to translate it over again. And then, behold, they say and think in
their hearts--We will see if God has given him power to translate;
if so, he will also give him power again; and if God giveth him
power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he
bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us,
and we have altered them; therefore they will not agree, and we
will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift,
and that he has no power; therefore we will destroy him, and also
the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the
end, and that we may get glory of the world.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon
their hearts, he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which
is good; and their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and
abominations; and they love darkness rather than light, because
their deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me. Satan
stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction.
And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work
of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn
to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment. Yea, he
stirreth up their hearts to anger against this work. Yea, he saith
unto them: Deceive, and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy;
behold, this is no harm; and thus he flattereth them, and telleth
them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie,
that they may destroy him. And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth
them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he
causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. And thus he
goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the
souls of men.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, woe be unto him that lieth to
deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for
such are not exempt from the justice of God.
Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith
unto them: He hath deceived you--and thus he flattereth them away
to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God.
Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those
words which have gone forth out of your hands; for, behold, they
shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those
words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they
will say that you have lied that you have pretended to translate,
but that you have contradicted yourself. And, behold, they will
publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people to
stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my
words. Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this
generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.
But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and
give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do,
show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of
translation.
Marvel not that I said unto you: here is wisdom, show it not unto
the world--for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be
preserved. Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the
righteous; but as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you
cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say
unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things
known unto the world concerning the matter.
And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things
that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is
engraven upon the plates of Nephi; yea, and you remember it was
said in those writings that a more particular account was given of
these things upon the plates of Nephi.
And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates
of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my
wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this
account therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on
the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of King
Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated,
which you have retained; and behold, you shall publish it as the
record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my
words. I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I
will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of
the devil.
Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account
of Nephi. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates
of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore,
it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of
the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work. And, behold,
all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my
gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired
in their prayers should come forth unto this people. And I said
unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their
faith in their prayers; yea, and this was their faith--that my
gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their
days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all
that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.
Now, this is not all--their faith in their prayers was that this
gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other
nations should possess this land; and thus they did leave a
blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should
believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life; yea,
that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred,
tongue, or people they may be.
And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I
bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people Behold,
I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to
build it up.
And for this cause have I said: if this generation harden not their
hearts, I will establish my church among them. Now I do not say
this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church;
therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such
shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. But it is they who do not
fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto
themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and
build up the kingdom of the devil--yea, verily, verily, I say unto
you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and
shake to the center.
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto my own and
my own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness,
and the darkness comprehendeth it not. I am he who said--Other
sheep have I which are not of this fold, unto my disciples, and
many there were that understood me not.
And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that
they were a branch of the house of Jacob; and I will bring to light
their marvelous works, which they did in my name; yea, and I will
also bring to light my gospel which was ministered unto them, and,
behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they
shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my
doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me; and this I
do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much
contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to
contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these
things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not
understand them. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great
mystery; for, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;
yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life
freely.
Behold, this is my doctrine--whosoever repenteth and cometh unto
me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than
this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not
of my church.
And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my
church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against them.
And now, remember the words of him who is the life and the light of
the world, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Amen." [13]
Encouraged to be moderate in his exertions at translating by the
admonition in the foregoing revelation not to run faster, or labor more
than he had strength and means provided to enable him to proceed, the
Prophet did not immediately attempt to resume the work of translation,
but worked upon a small farm which he had purchased of his wife's
father.
As this episode of losing the one hundred and sixteen pages of
manuscript, together with the loss for a season of the gift to
translate, and being required to surrender all the sacred things which
had been entrusted to his keeping, was unquestionably a cause of deep
sorrow to the young Prophet, so the restoration of the plates and Urim
and Thummim to him must have been a joy unspeakable. How Martin Harris
felt--what anguish of heart--what sense of chagrin, or how deeply he
repented his folly is not recorded; but as he was not a man of keen
sensibilities, it may be that his sufferings were not intense. At any
rate we next hear of him in March, 1829, and he is still clamoring for
a witness from the Lord that Joseph Smith had the plates, of which the
Prophet had testified. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and obtained
a revelation of which the following is the part that has reference to
Martin Harris' request:
Behold, I say unto you, that as my servant Martin Harris has
desired a witness at my hand, that you, my servant Joseph Smith,
Jun., have got the plates of which you have testified and borne
record that you have received of me; and now, behold, this shall
you say unto him--he who spake unto you, said unto you: I, the
Lord, am God, and have given these things unto you, my servant
Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should stand as
a witness of these things; and I have caused you that you should
enter into a covenant with me, that you should not show them except
to those persons to whom I commanded you; and you have no power
over them except I grant it unto you. * * * Behold, verily I say
unto you, I have reserved those things which I have entrusted unto
you, my servant Joseph, for a wise purpose in me, and it shall
be made known unto future generations; but this generation shall
have my word through you; and in addition to your testimony, the
testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain,
unto whom I will show these things, and they shall go forth with
my words that are given through you. Yea, they shall know of a
surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare
it unto them. I will give them power that they may behold and view
these things as they are; and to none else will I grant this power,
to receive this same testimony among this generation, in this the
beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out
of the wilderness. * * * And the testimony of three witnesses
will I send forth of my word. And behold, whosoever believeth on
my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit;
and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the spirit. *
* * And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation
of this generation if they harden their hearts against them; for
a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the
earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if
they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants
thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness
of my coming. Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told
the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be
verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified. * * *
* * * And now, again I speak unto you, my servant Joseph,
concerning the man that desires the witness--behold, I say unto
him, he exalts himself, and does not humble himself sufficiently
before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in
mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will
I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see. And
then he shall say unto the people of this generation: Behold, I
have seen the things which the Lord has shown unto Joseph Smith,
Jun., and I know of a surety that they are true, for I have seen
them, for they have been shown unto me by the power of God and not
of man. And I the Lord command him, my servant Martin Harris, that
he shall say no more unto them concerning these things, except he
shall say: I have seen them, and they have been shown unto me by
the power of God; and these are the words which he shall say. But
if he deny this he will break the covenant which he has before
covenanted with me, and behold, he is condemned. And now, except he
humble himself and acknowledge unto me the things that he has done
which are wrong, [14] and covenant with me that he will keep my
commandments, and exercise faith in me, behold, I say unto him, he
shall have no such views, for I will grant unto him no views of the
things of which I have spoken. And if this be the case, I command
you, my servant Joseph, that you shall say unto him, that he shall
do no more, nor trouble me any more concerning this matter. And if
this be the case, behold, I say unto thee Joseph, when thou hast
translated a few more pages [15] thou shalt stop for a season,
even until I command thee again; then thou mayest translate again.
And except thou do this, behold, thou shalt have no more gift,
and I will take away the things which I have entrusted with thee.
And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy thee,
yea, I foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not
himself and receive a witness from my hand, that he will fall into
transgression; and there are many that lie in wait to destroy thee
from off the face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days
may be prolonged, I have given unto thee these commandments. Yea,
for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command
thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the
thing which I have commanded thee. And if thou art faithful in
keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day.
Amen. [16]
It will be observed here that the language of this revelation takes
on a sternness of tone and an independence in respect to Martin
Harris and his future connection with the work that is suitable
to the conduct of that vacillating man; and in effect gives him
sharply to understand that there must be repentance deep and
sincere, and humiliation before God, or he may go his way and have
no further lot nor part in the great work of the Lord then coming
forth.
Footnotes
1. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 18.
2. This upon the authority of Samuel M. Smucker, author of a "History
of the Mormons," p. 37.--Hurst & Co., N. Y.
3. This fac simile of Nephite characters is copied from "The Prophet"
of December 21, 1844 (vol. I, no. 31).
4. _Stevenson's Reminiscences_, p. 33.
5. The writer is of the opinion that there is in this statement too
wide a scope given to what Professor Anthon said of the translation
of the Egyptian-Nephite characters. Of course, in the transcripts the
professor would doubtless recognize some Egyptian characters of the
hieratic Egyptian, and in the translation would also find a right
interpretation of those characters, as it will be seen by his letters,
quoted later in the body of the work. He may have acknowledged that
the characters submitted to him were true characters, but beyond this
I do not think he could give confirmation as to the _correctness of
the translation_; for, according to the writers of the Book of Mormon,
they had changed somewhat the characters in both languages in which
they made records, both in the Egyptian, and also in the Hebrew (See
Mormon 9:32, 43); and Moroni adds: "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 9:34), referring to the Urim and Thummim or "Interpreters," as
the Nephites call that instrument. It follows from this that neither
Professor Anthon nor any one else could have confirmed the translation
beyond perhaps saying that some one or more of the Egyptian characters,
which he recognized in the transcript, had been assigned their true
significance.
6. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 20
7. To this point the Letter of Professor Anthon is copied from _Early
Days of Mormonism_, by J. H. Kennedy, Scribners & Sons, 1888, p.
268. The remainder of the letter is copied from Gregg's _Prophet of
Palmyra_, pp. 60-62.
8. "Prophet of Palmyra", (Gregg) pp. 60-62.
9. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 21.
10. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 21, 22; also Doc. and Cov.,
sec. 3.
11. The reader will of course understand that reference is here made to
the descendants of these ancient American peoples.
12. The revelation, here quoted in the _History of Joseph
Smith--Millennial Star_, vol. 14 (Supplement) p. 8; and also in some
of the earlier editions of the Doctrine and Covenants (sec. 10), bears
the date of "May, 1829." This date, however, must be wrong, because
contradictory of the language of the prophet who in speaking of this
revelation says that after the plates and Urim and Thummim were taken
from him, after he had received the revelation dated July, 1828, (just
quoted)--"In a few days they were returned to me, when I inquired of
the Lord, and the Lord said thus to me." Then follows the revelation,
the date of which is under consideration. If the date of the revelation
given July, 1828, in which the Prophet is reproved for importuning the
Lord to allow Martin Harris to have one hundred and sixteen pages of
translation from the Book of Mormon, is correct--then it could scarcely
be said, "in a few days" the Urim and Thummim was returned to the
Prophet; that he inquired and then received the revelation in question
if that revelation was received in May, 1829. That would make nine
or ten months' time between these two revelations instead of "a few
days." Moreover, the matter of the revelation is more in keeping with
the events of a few days after July, 1828, than with May, 1829. Oliver
Cowdery came to Joseph Smith on the 5th of April, 1829; and on the 7th
began to assist him in the translation. This was before May, 1829,
the alleged date of the revelation in question, and it is scarcely
likely that the work of translation was resumed after the loss of the
manuscript by Harris, before the revelation given informing the prophet
of the intention of those who had stolen it. My conclusion is that the
revelation erroneously dated May, 1829, was given "a few days after"
the one bearing date of "July, 1828."
13. Doc. and Cov., sec. 10.
14. Doubtless an allusion to his breaking the covenant with Joseph
respecting the manuscript which was lost.
15. Most likely Emma Smith, the Prophet's wife, wrote for him during
these days when he was evidently translating occasionally.
16. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 28; also Doc. and Cov., sec. 5.
CHAPTER VI.
TRANSLATION OF THE RECORD--(CONTINUED) OLIVER COWDERY, AMANUENSIS.
On the 5th day of April, [1] as if in fulfilment of the promise made to
Joseph Smith in the revelation concerning Martin Harris, just quoted,
namely, that the Lord would provide means whereby the prophet might
accomplish the thing which the Lord had commanded him to do--Oliver
Cowdery came to the young Prophet's house, at Harmony, Pennsylvania.
This was the first meeting of these two men. Oliver Cowdery, a native
of Vermont, and now twenty-four years of age, had moved into the state
of New York about four years previous to this, and for a time had
been employed as a clerk in a store. In the winter of 1828-9 he left
the store and taught the district school in the town of Manchester,
which was only some nine miles from his father's home. At Manchester
he became acquainted with the Smith family, Joseph Smith, Sen.,
being a patron of the school he taught. According to the American
custom of those days, the school teacher "boarded round" in turn with
the families of the neighborhood. This brought Oliver Cowdery into
immediate contact with the Smith family, and while he was boarding at
their home the parents of the Prophet related to him the circumstances
of their son obtaining the Nephite record.
Young Cowdery became intensely interested in the story related to him.
Meantime he met David Whitmer in Palmyra, a young man about his own
age, who lived with his father's family some twenty-five miles from
Palmyra, near the town of Waterloo, in the township called Fayette,
Seneca county, at the north end of Seneca Lake. In his conversation
with young Whitmer, Oliver told him of his acquaintance with the Smith
family and expressed himself to the effect that there must be something
in the story of finding the plates, and he announced his intention to
investigate the matter. [2] Later, when Oliver started for Harmony,
where the Prophet was living, he passed the Whitmer home at Fayette,
and promised David that he would report his findings to him concerning
Joseph having the plates.
Oliver became convinced that Joseph's story was true, and being
informed by the Prophet that it was the will of God that he should
remain and act as his scribe in the work of translation, he did so, and
on the 7th of April, 1829, commenced to write as the prophet indited
the translation obtained by means of the Urim and Thummim.
Oliver, in a few days, became anxious to learn more largely the will
of the Lord concerning himself and his connection with the work then
coming forth, and the Prophet, through the Urim and Thummim obtained a
revelation for him in which occur the passages:
A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the
children of men. Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which
is quick and powerful. * * * Behold, the field is white already to
harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his
sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may
treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of
God. * * * Now as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my
commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of
Zion; seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries
of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.
Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. * * * Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou
hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired
thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been
so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this
time. Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did
enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou
mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;
yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else
save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.
I tell thee these things as a witness unto thee--that the words
of the work which thou hast been writing are true. Therefore be
diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever
difficult circumstances he may be for the word's sake. Admonish
him in his faults, and also receive admonition of him. Be patient;
be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity.
Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of
thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be
faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I
will encircle thee in the arms of my love.
* * * Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further
witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in
your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these
things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?
* * * And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I
have told you things which no man knoweth have ye not received a
witness? [3]
These revelations, it should be observed, contain sharp reproofs for
the transgressor. They do not flatter Joseph Smith any more than they
do Martin Harris, though Joseph is the one through whom they were
given. Each is reproved and evidently without respect of person. They
represent the Lord as holding out no promise either to the Prophet
or his associates of immunity from difficulty, from trial. They are
redolent rather of warning. The Prophet is plainly told of the many
that were lying in wait to destroy him. Deep humility and repentance
is required when a wrong is committed; and if that is not forthcoming
then behold the self-willed, the proud, are told to go their way, and
trouble the Lord no further concerning their future connection with
this work.
Look, in passing, at this revelation to Oliver Cowdery. There is
no flattering promise of a worldly character in it. A great and a
marvelous work is about to come forth; thrust in your sickle and
reap; keep my commandments, is almost sternly said; seek to bring
forth and establish the cause of Zion; seek not for riches, but
for wisdom; be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph in whatsoever
difficult circumstances he may be for the word's sake. Then there are
to be difficult circumstances? "Admonish him in his faults." What,
the Prophet! Yes, the Prophet--he is not to be above admonition. What
humility in the Prophet is here! This smacks of the Spirit of Christ.
Receive admonition of him. Be patient. Be sober. Be temperate. Have
patience, faith, hope and charity. This is admirable. False prophets
have no such basic principles as these. They build not with such
stones. And Oliver's reward? Not riches of this world. Not greatness
in the eyes of men. Not the honors and applause of the world. "If thou
wilt do good, yea and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved
in the kingdom of God." That is to be his reward. There is nothing
worldly in all this. This spirit is worthy the great work these young
men are, under God, bringing forth. This is the kind of atmosphere one
would expect to find surrounding men engaged in such a work. But it is
time to return to the narrative.
When Oliver found that the secret meditations of his heart were thus
revealed through Joseph Smith; when his secret prayers were revealed
and the answer of God's Spirit to those prayers made known, he could no
longer doubt that his new-found friend was a prophet of God. It must
have been with renewed zeal that he took up again his work as a scribe.
It was of these days that he afterwards wrote:
These were days never to be forgotten--to sit under the sound of a
voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost
gratitude of this bosom. Day after day I continued uninterrupted to
write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim,
or, as the Nephites would have said, "Interpreters," the history or
record called the Book of Mormon. [4]
Soon after this, namely, on the 15th day of May, 1829, Oliver Cowdery
himself became a witness to the ministration of an angel, for it was
upon that date that John the Baptist appeared to him and Joseph Smith
while they were engaged in prayer in the woods, near Harmony. John
ordained them to the Aaronic priesthood and instructed them upon the
subject of baptism, a full account of which is given in _New Witnesses
for God_, vol. I. [5] Subsequently he, with Joseph, received another
visitation of angels some time in the month of June following, when
Peter, James and John conferred upon them the Melchizedek priesthood
on the banks of the Susquehanna river, a full account of which is also
given in vol. I, of _New Witnesses for God_. [6]
Meantime Oliver was writing his friend, David Whitmer, his findings as
to the truth of the Prophet Joseph having the plates. He wrote soon
after his arrival in Harmony that he was convinced that Joseph Smith
had the records. [7] Shortly after this, doubtless immediately after
Joseph received the revelation in which the secret meditations and
prayers of Oliver respecting the work before he saw the Prophet were
made known, Oliver wrote a second letter to David, in which he enclosed
a few lines of what had been translated, and assured him that he knew
of a surety that Joseph Smith had a record of a people that inhabited
the American continents in the ancient times: and that the plates they
were translating gave a history of these people; he moreover assured
David that he had "revealed knowledge" concerning the truth of what he
affirmed. These letters young Whitmer showed to his parents, and to his
brothers and sisters.
Mr. Joseph Knight, Sen., of Colesville, Broome county, New York,
several times brought the young men provisions--food--which enabled
them to continue the work of translation without interruption. But
for this timely assistance the work of translation must have been
relinquished from time to time in order to secure supplies. Mr. Knight
knew the Smith family and had called upon them a number of times at
their home in Manchester. He evidently had considerable faith in the
claims of Joseph concerning the Book of Mormon; for on the occasion of
his visit to him in May, 1829, he desired to know what his duty was
with reference to the work that the Lord was about to bring forth. The
prophet inquired of the Lord and, as in the case of Oliver Cowdery,
after declaring that a great and marvelous work was about to come
forth, the revelation said:
Keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the
cause of Zion. Behold, I speak unto you, and also to all those who
have desires to bring forth and establish this work; and no one
can assist in this work, except he shall be humble and full of
love, having faith, hope and charity, being temperate in all things
whatsoever shall be entrusted in his care. [8]
For a time the Prophet had been permitted to pursue the work of
translation at Harmony without interference. But now there began to
be mutterings of an approaching storm of persecution. Threats were
frequent, and the young men were only preserved from actual violence by
the blessing of the Lord and the influence of Mr. Isaac Hale, father
of the Prophet's wife; who, though he had no faith in the Prophet's
work, and in the past had manifested some hostility towards him, still
believed in law and order; was opposed to mob violence; and was willing
that Joseph and his associates should be permitted to complete their
work without interference. [9]
On account of the manifestation of this unfriendly spirit in the
community, however, Joseph and Oliver kept secret for a time the
circumstance of their ordination to the priesthood and their baptism.
They could not, however, long continue silent on such a subject, and
in a few days, under a sense of duty, they commenced to reason out of
the scriptures with their friends and acquaintances concerning the
work of God. But Joseph was evidently uneasy concerning their safety
at Harmony, and under his direction Oliver wrote to David Whitmer at
Fayette, asking him to come down to Harmony and take them to the elder
Whitmer's home, giving as a reason for their rather strange request
that they had received a commandment from God to that effect. [10]
This request found David Whitmer in the midst of his spring work. He
had some twenty acres of land to plow and concluded to do that and
then go. "I got up one morning to go to work as usual," he says, "and
on going to the field, found that between five and seven acres of my
land had been plowed under during the night. I don't know who did it;
but it was done just as I would have done it myself, and the plow was
left standing in the furrow. This enabled me to start sooner." [11]
Nor was this the only assistance of like character given to him. While
harrowing in a field of wheat before starting on his journey he found
to his surprise that he had accomplished more in a few hours than was
usual to do in two or three days. The day following this circumstance
he went out to spread plaster over a field, according to the custom of
the farmers in that locality, when, to his surprise, he found the work
had been done, and well done. David Whitmer's sister, who lived near
the field, told him that three strangers had appeared in the field the
day before and spread the plaster with remarkable skill. She at the
time presumed that they were men whom David had hired to do the work.
[12]
This assistance, provided through some divine agency--it can be
accounted for in no other way, enabled David Whitmer to respond
sooner than he otherwise could have done to the call to go and bring
the Prophet and his associate from Harmony, where mob violence was
impending, to the home of his father, Peter Whitmer, where the work of
translation could be finished in peace and security.
When David Whitmer was approaching the little village of Harmony with
his two-horse team and wagon, he was met some distance from it by the
Prophet and Oliver. "Oliver told me," says David Whitmer, in relating
the circumstance, "that Joseph had informed him when I started from
home, where I had stopped the first night, how I read the sign at the
tavern; where I stopped the next night, etc.; and that I would be there
that day before dinner, and this was why they had come out to meet me;
all of which was exactly as Joseph had told Oliver, at which I was
greatly astonished." [13]
The day following David Whitmer's arrival at Harmony the plates were
packed up and delivered into the care of the Angel Moroni, that they
might be safely conveyed to Fayette. "When I was returning to Fayette,"
says David Whitmer, "with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the
wagon, Oliver and I on an old fashioned, wooden spring-seat, and
Joseph behind us, when traveling along in a clear, open place, a very
pleasant, nice looking old man suddenly appeared by the side of our
wagon and saluted us with, 'Good morning; it is very warm;' at the
same time wiping his face or forehead with his hand. We returned the
salutation, and by a sign from Joseph, I invited him to ride if he
was going our way. But he said very pleasantly, 'No, I am going to
Cumorah.' This name was somewhat new to me, and I did not know what
'Cumorah' meant. We all gazed at him and at each other, and as I looked
round inquiringly of Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared, so that
I did not see him again."
Replying to the question, "Did you notice his appearance?" David
Whitmer replied: "I should think I did. He was, I should think, about
five feet eight or nine inches tall and heavy set, about such a man
as James Cleve there (a gentleman present at the Whitmer, Pratt and
Smith interview), but heavier. His face was as large; he was dressed
in a suit of brown woolen clothes, his hair and beard were white, like
Brother Pratt's, but his beard was not so heavy. I also remember that
he had on his back a sort of knapsack with something in it shaped like
a book. It was the messenger who had the plates, who had taken them
from Joseph just prior to our starting from Harmony." [14]
Soon after the arrival at the Whitmer residence, in the garden near by,
Moroni once more delivered the sacred record to Joseph, and the work of
translation was renewed with even greater vigor than at Harmony; for
when Oliver would tire of writing, one of the Whitmers or Emma Smith
would relieve him.
David Whitmer says that soon after the installment of Joseph, his wife,
and Oliver Cowdery in the Whitmer household, he saw something which
led him to believe that the plates were concealed in his father's
barn, and frankly asked the prophet if it were so. Joseph replied that
it was. "Some time after this," David adds, "my mother was going to
milk the cows, when she was met out near the yard by the same old man
[meaning the one who had saluted his party on the way from Harmony; at
least, David judged him to be the same, doubtless from his mother's
description of him,] who said to her: 'You have been very faithful and
diligent in your labors, but you are tired because of the increase
of your toil; it is proper, therefore, that you should receive a
witness, that your faith may be strengthened.' Thereupon he showed
her the plates. My father and mother had a large family of their own,
the addition to it, therefore, of Joseph, his wife Emma, and Oliver,
very greatly increased the toil and anxiety of my mother. And although
she had never complained she had sometimes felt that her labor was
too much, or, at least, she was perhaps beginning to feel so. This
circumstance, however, completely removed all such feelings, and nerved
her up for her increased responsibilities." [15]
Footnotes
1. This date in the prophet's history, published in the _Millennial
Star_ (Supplement), vol. 14, p. 12, is set down as the 15th of April,
and the day Oliver began writing as Joseph translated is said to be the
17th of April. The 15th and 17th, however, are typographical errors.
In the original manuscript of the History of the Church, in the
Historian's Office, the dates are written the 5th and 7th; see also
_Times and Seasons_, vol. I, p. 201, where Oliver Cowdery gives the
dates 5th and 7th of April, 1829.
2. Statement of David Whitmer, in _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881.
3. Doc. and Cov., sec. 6. The reader may think I am quoting over
copiously from these revelations given while the translation of the
Book of Mormon was in progress; and he may think that these incidents
have little or nothing to do with the story of the translation, and
the story of the translation itself but little to do with the object
of this work. I would suggest, however, that this history of the
translation is necessary to future arguments to be made when I come to
the considerations of the objections to the Book of Mormon, in part
IV, where I shall examine other theories for the origin of the Book
of Mormon. Besides, I want the reader to know the atmosphere in which
this work of translation was done; and for that purpose call especial
attention to the spirit of the several revelations that have been
quoted.
4. _Times and Seasons_, vol. II, p. 201.
5. Chapter 14.
6. Chapter 14.
7. Whitmer's statement, _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881.
8. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 47.
9. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 44.
10. Whitmer's statement, _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881. Also
report of visit to David Whitmer, by Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith,
_Millennial Star_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774.
11. Statement of David Whitmer, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial
Star_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774.
Let it be observed that this reported conversation was published during
the life time of David Whitmer. It took place on the 7th of Sept.,
1878; and Whitmer did not die until 25th Jan., 1888.
12. Cannon's _Life of Joseph Smith_, pp. 67, 68.
13. Statement of David Whitmer, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial
Star_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774. Another instance that in like manner
illustrates the seership of the prophet Joseph is related in the church
history, and which occurred while making a journey from Independence,
Missouri, to Ohio, in company with Bishop Newel K. Whitney. Near
New Albany their horses took fright and while they were running at
full speed Bishop Whitney attempted to jump out of the conveyance,
but caught his foot in the wheel and had his leg and foot broken in
several places. This occasioned delay of several weeks among a not very
friendly people; for besides their manifest coldness an attempt was
made to poison the Prophet. And now the Prophet's statement: "Brother
Whitney had not had his foot moved from the bed for nearly four weeks,
when I went into his room, after a walk in the grove, and told him
if he would agree to start for home in the morning, we would take a
wagon to the river, about four miles, and there would be a ferry boat
in waiting which would take us quickly across, where we would find
a hack which would take us directly to the landing, where we should
find a boat, in waiting, and we would be going up the river before 10
o'clock, and have a prosperous journey home. He took courage and told
me he would go. We started next morning, and found everything as I had
told him, for we were passing rapidly up the river before 10 o'clock,
and landing at Wellsville, took stage coach to Chardon, from thence in
a wagon to Kirtland, where we arrived some time in June." (_History of
the Church_, vol. I, p. 272.)
14. Whitmer's statement, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial Star_,
vol. 40, pp. 769-774.
15. _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial Star_, vol. 40, p. 772.
CHAPTER VII.
THE MANNER OF TRANSLATING THE BOOK OF MORMON.
Relative to the manner of translating the Book of Mormon the Prophet
himself has said but little. "Through the medium of the Urim and
Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God," [1] is
the most extended published statement made by him upon the subject.
Of the Urim and Thummim he says: "With the record was found a curious
instrument which the ancients called a Urim and Thummim, which
consisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a
breastplate." [2]
Oliver Cowdery, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon,
and the Prophet's chief amanuensis, says of the work of translation
in which he assisted: "I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of
Mormon (save a few pages), as it fell from the lips of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, as he translated by the gift and power of God, by the
means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, 'Holy
Interpreters."' [3] This is all he has left on record on the manner of
translating the book. [4]
David Whitmer, another of the Three Witnesses, is more specific on this
subject. After describing the means the Prophet employed to exclude the
light from the "Seer Stone," he says: "In the darkness the spiritual
light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would
appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph
would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal
scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to
see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character
with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was
translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man."
[5]
There will appear between this statement of David Whitmer's and what is
said both by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery a seeming contradiction.
Joseph and Oliver both say the translation was done by means of the
Urim and Thummim, which is described by Joseph as being two transparent
stones "set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate;" while David
Whitmer says that the translation was made by means of a "Seer Stone."
The apparent contradiction is cleared up, however, by a statement made
by Martin Harris, another of the Three Witnesses. He said that the
Prophet possessed a "Seer Stone," by which he was enabled to translate
as well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then (i.
e., at the time Harris was acting as his scribe) used the Seer Stone.
* * * Martin said further that the Seer Stone differed in appearance
entirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained with the plates,
which were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembling
spectacles, only they were larger. [6]
The "Seer Stone" referred to here was a chocolate-colored, somewhat
egg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well in
company with his brother Hyrum. [7] It possessed the qualities of Urim
and Thummim, since by means of it--as described above--as well as by
means of the "Interpreters" found with the Nephite record, Joseph was
able to translate the characters engraven on the plates. [8]
Another account of the manner of translating the record purporting to
have been given by David Whitmer, and published in the _Kansas City
Journal_ of June 5, 1881, says:
He [meaning Joseph Smith] had two small stones of a chocolate
color, nearly egg-shape, and perfectly smooth, but not transparent,
called interpreters, which were given him with the plates. He did
not see the plates in translation, but would hold the interpreters
to his eyes and cover his face with a hat, excluding all light,
and before his eyes would appear what seemed to be parchment on
which would appear the characters of the plates in a line at the
top, and immediately below would appear the translation in English,
which Smith would read to his scribe, who wrote it down exactly
as it fell from his lips. The scribe would then read the sentence
written, and if any mistakes had been made, the characters would
remain visible to Smith until corrected, when they would fade from
sight to be replaced by another line.
It is evident that there are inaccuracies in the above statement,
due, doubtless, to the carelessness of the reporter of the _Journal_,
who has confused what Mr. Whitmer said of the Seer Stone and Urim and
Thummim. If he meant to describe the Urim and Thummim or "Interpreters"
given to Joseph Smith with the plates--as seems to be the case--then
the reporter is wrong in saying that they were chocolate color and not
transparent; for the "Interpreters," given to the Prophet with the
plates, as we have seen by his own description, were "two transparent
stones." If the reporter meant to describe the "Seer Stone"--which is
not likely--he would be right in saying it was of a chocolate color,
and egg-shaped, but wrong in saying there were two of them.
Martin Harris' description of the manner of translating while he was
the amanuensis of the Prophet is as follows:
By aid of the Seer Stone, sentences would appear and were read by
the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say
"written," and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear
and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it
remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it
was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used. [9]
On one occasion Harris sought to test the genuineness of the Prophet's
procedure in the matter of translation, as follows:
Martin said that after continued translation they would become
weary and would go down to the river and exercise in throwing
stones out on the river, etc. While so doing on one occasion,
Martin found a stone very much resembling the one used for
translating, and on resuming their labors of translation Martin
put in place [of the Seer Stone] the stone that he had found. He
said that the Prophet remained silent unusually long and intently
gazing in darkness, no trace of the usual sentence appearing. Much
surprised Joseph exclaimed: "Martin! what is the matter? all is as
dark as Egypt." Martin's countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet
asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths
of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those
sentences and was merely repeating them. [10]
The sum of the whole matter, then, concerning the manner of translating
the sacred record of the Nephites, according to the testimony of
the only witnesses competent to testify in the matter is: With the
Nephite record was deposited a curious instrument, consisting of two
transparent stones, set in the rim of a bow, somewhat resembling
spectacles, but larger, called by the ancient Hebrews "Urim and
Thummim," but by the Nephites "Interpreters." In addition to these
"Interpreters" the Prophet Joseph had a "Seer Stone," which to him was
a Urim and Thummim; that the Prophet sometimes used one and sometimes
the other of these sacred instruments in the work of translation; that
whether the "Interpreters" or the "Seer Stone" was used, the Nephite
characters with the English interpretation appeared in the sacred
instrument; that the Prophet would pronounce the English translation
to his scribe, which, when correctly written, would disappear and the
other characters with their interpretation take their place, and so on
until the work was completed.
It should not be supposed, however, that this translation, though
accomplished by means of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," as stated
above, was merely a mechanical procedure; that no faith, or mental
or spiritual effort was required on the Prophet's part; that the
instruments did all, while he who used them did nothing but look and
repeat mechanically what he saw there reflected. Much has been written
upon this manner of translating the Nephite record, by those who have
opposed the Book of Mormon, and chiefly in a sneering way. On the
manner of translation they have bottomed much, not of their argument
but their ridicule--against the record; and as in another part of this
volume I am to meet what they consider their argument, and what I know
to be their ridicule, I consider here a few other facts connected with
the manner of translating the Book of Mormon, which are extremely
important, as they furnish a basis upon which can be successfully
answered all the objections that are urged, based on the manner in
which the translation was accomplished, and also as to errors in
grammar, the use of modern words, western New York phrases, and other
defects of language which it is admitted are to be found in the Book of
Mormon, especially in the first edition.
I repeat, then, that the translation of the Book of Mormon by means
of the "Interpreters" and "Seer Stone," was not merely a mechanical
process, but required the utmost concentration of mental and spiritual
force possessed by the Prophet, in order to exercise the gift of
translation through the means of the sacred instruments provided for
that work. Fortunately we have the most perfect evidence of the fact,
though it could be inferred from the general truth that God sets no
premium upon mental or spiritual laziness; for whatever means God may
have provided to assist man to arrive at the truth, he has always made
it necessary for man to couple with those means his utmost endeavor of
mind and heart. So much in the way of reflection; now as to the facts
referred to.
In his _Address to All Believers in Christ_, David Whitmer says:
At times when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate he would
look into the hat in which the stone was placed, he found he was
spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind
dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make
him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this
condition he would go out and pray, and when he became sufficiently
humble before God, he could then proceed with the translation.
Now we see how very strict the Lord is, and how he requires the
heart of man to be just right in his sight before he can receive
revelation from him. [11]
In a statement to Wm. H. Kelley, G. A. Blakeslee, of Gallen, Michigan,
under date of September 15, 1882, David Whitmer said of Joseph Smith
and the necessity of his humility and faithfulness while translating
the Book of Mormon:
He was a religious and straight-forward man. He had to be; for he
was illiterate and he could do nothing himself. He had to trust
in God. He could not translate unless he was humble and possessed
the right feelings towards everyone. To illustrate so you can see:
One morning when he was getting ready to continue the translation,
something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it.
Something that Emma, his wife, had done. Oliver and I went up
stairs and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation,
but he could not do anything. He could not translate a single
syllable. He went down stairs, out into the orchard, and made
supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour--came back to the
house, and asked Emma's forgiveness and then came up stairs where
we were, and then the translation went on all right. He could do
nothing save he was humble and faithful. [12]
The manner of translation is so far described by David Whitmer and
Martin Harris, who received their information necessarily from Joseph
Smith, and doubtless it is substantially correct, except in so far as
their statements may have created the impression that the translation
was a mere mechanical process; and this is certainly corrected in part
at least by what David Whitmer has said relative to the frame of mind
Joseph must be in before he could translate. But we have more important
evidence to consider on this subject of translation than these
statements of David Whitmer. In the course of the work of translation
Oliver Cowdery desired the gift of translation to be conferred upon
him, and God promised to grant it to him in the following terms:
Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as
the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely
shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask
in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive
a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records, which are
ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has
been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit. Yea, behold, I
will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost,
which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold this is the
spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the
Red Sea on dry ground. * * * Ask that you may know the mysteries
of God, and that you may translate and receive knowledge from all
those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and
according to your faith shall it be done unto you. [13]
In attempting to exercise this gift of translation, however, Oliver
Cowdery failed; and in a revelation upon the subject the Lord explained
the cause of his failure to translate:
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would
give it [_i. e._ the gift of translation] unto you, when you took
no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that
you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be
right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn
within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it
be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a
stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is
wrong; therefore you cannot write that which is sacred save it be
given you from me. [14]
While this is not a description of the manner in which Joseph Smith
translated the Book of Mormon, it is, nevertheless, the Lord's
description of how another man was to exercise the gift of translation;
and doubtless it is substantially the manner in which Joseph Smith did
exercise it, and the manner in which he translated the Book of Mormon.
That is, the Prophet Joseph Smith looked into the "Interpreters" or
"Seer Stone," saw there by the power of God and the gift of God to him,
the ancient Nephite characters, and by bending every power of his mind
to know the meaning thereof, the interpretation wrought out in his mind
by this effort--"by studying it out in his mind," to use the Lord's
phrase--was reflected in the sacred instrument, there to remain until
correctly written by the scribe.
We see something akin to this also in the manner in which the Nephites
used Liahona, their Urim and Thummim--the instrument through means of
which they were directed of the Lord upon their journey to the promised
land of America--it worked "according to the faith and diligence and
heed" they gave unto it. (I Nephi 16:28.)
In further proof that translation was not a merely mechanical process
with the Prophet Joseph, I call attention to the evident thought and
study he later bestowed upon the work of translating the rolls of
papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, purchased by the Saints in
Kirtland, of Michael H. Chandler, about the 6th of July, 1835. "Soon
after this," says the Prophet, "with W. W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery
as scribes, I commenced the translation of some of the characters
or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls
contained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph
of Egypt," etc. Speaking in his history of the latter part of July,
he says: "The remainder of this month I was continually engaged in
translating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham and arranging a grammar
of the Egyptian language." In his journal entry for November 26, 1835,
is the following: "Spent the day in translating the Egyptian characters
from the papyrus, though suffering with a severe cold." Under date of
December 15, this: "I exhibited and explained the Egyptian characters
to them (Elders M'Lellin and Young), and explained many things
concerning the dealings of God with the ancients, and the formation of
the planetary system." Thus he continued from time to time to work upon
this translation, which was not published until 1842, in the _Times
and Seasons_, beginning in number nine of volume three. It should
be remembered in connection with this "preparing an alphabet" and
"arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language" that the Prophet still
had in his possession the "Seer Stone" (or at least Oliver Cowdery had
it, for on completing the translation of the Book of Mormon the Prophet
gave the Seer Stone into Oliver Cowdery's keeping.--David Whitmer's
_Address to All Believers_, p. 32),--which he had used sometimes in the
translation of the Book of Mormon, yet it seems from the circumstances
named that he had to bend all the energies of his intellectual powers
to obtain a translation of the Egyptian characters.
There can be no doubt, either, that the interpretation thus obtained
was expressed in such language as the Prophet could command, in such
phraseology as he was master of, and common to the time and locality
where he lived; modified, of course, by the application of that
phraseology to facts and ideas new to him in many respects, and above
the ordinary level of the Prophet's thoughts and language, because of
the inspiration of God that was upon him. This view of the translation
of the Nephite record accounts for the fact that the Book of Mormon,
though a translation of an ancient record, is, nevertheless, given
in English idiom of the period and locality in which the Prophet
lived; and in the faulty English, moreover, both as to composition,
phraseology, and grammar, of a person of Joseph Smith's limited
education; and also accounts for the sameness of phraseology and
literary style which runs through the whole volume.
Nor are we without authority of high value in these views for the
verbal style of inspired writers. In _The Annotated Bible_, published
by the "Religious Tract Society," London, 1859, the following occurs in
relation to the explanation of the words "prophet" and "prophecy:"
That the prophets were more than foretellers of things future is
apparent from their history as well as from their writings. It
must also be remembered that, although prophecy contains many very
circumstantial allusions to particular facts and individuals, yet
these are referred to chiefly on account of their revelation of
those great, general principles with which it has to do. Prophecy
is God's voice, speaking to us respecting that great struggle which
has been and is going on in this world between good and evil.
The divine communications were made to the prophets in divers
manners; God seems sometimes to have spoken to them in audible
voice; occasionally appearing in human form. At other times he
employed the ministry of angels, or made known his purposes
by dreams. But he most frequently revealed his truth to the
prophets by producing that supernatural state of the sentiment,
intellectual, and moral faculties which the scriptures call
"vision." Hence prophetic announcements are often called "visions,"
_i. e._ things seen; and the prophets themselves are called "seers."
Although the visions which the prophet beheld and the predictions
of the future which he announced were wholly announced by the
divine Spirit, yet the form of the communication, the imagery in
which it is clothed, the illustration by which it is cleared up and
impressed, the symbols employed to bring it more graphically before
the mind--in short, all that may be considered as its garb and
dress, depends upon the education, habits, association, feelings
and the whole mental intellectual and spiritual character of the
prophet. Hence the style of some is purer, more sententious, more
ornate, or more sublime than others.
The author of _Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy_, Frederick Denison
Maurice, sometime Professor of Casuistry and Modern Philosophy in the
University of Cambridge, in discussing the philosophers of the last
half of the seventeenth century, has an excellent passage on the views
of Spinoza respecting the Hebrew prophets, and in what manner they and
their work are to be regarded. The passage is so _apropos_ the matter
here discussed that I quote the essential parts of it:
"What do the sacred books impart when they affirm the Spirit of God
to have been infused into the prophets--that the prophets spoke by
the Spirit of God?" (Spinoza.)
The result at which our author arrives upon a long examination into
the different uses of the word "Spirit" is, that these expressions
respecting the infusion of the Spirit "signify nothing more than
that the prophets had a singular and extraordinary virtue and
cultivated piety, with very great constancy of mind, and thereby
they had a perception of the mind or judgment of God; for we shall
find that the Spirit of God denotes in Hebrew as well the mind as
the judgment or sentence of God, and therefore that the law of God,
because it unfolded the mind of God, is called the mind or Spirit
of God; therefore the imagination of the prophets might, with equal
justice, be said to be the mind of God, and the prophets be said
to have had the mind of God, inasmuch as through their imagination
the decrees of God were revealed. * * * The question how the
prophets acquired a sense of certainty respecting their revelations
gives rise to a long discussion. Their imagination being the
main instrument of their discoveries, they cannot have the same
security as we have for those truths which are discovered by
scientific insight or "natural light." "It is," says Spinoza, very
characteristically, "a moral, not a mathematical security. It is
derived (1) from the great strength of their phantasy, which brings
objects before them as clearly as we see them when we are awake.
(2) From some divine sign. (3) From their minds being disposed to
the right and just," Spinoza affirms the last to be the principal
secret of their certainty. * * * Nevertheless, he affirms that the
revelations to the prophet depended upon his temperament and upon
his own opinions. These he brought with him--these varied not only
his style of writing, but his understanding of any communication
that was made to him. His joy, his sorrow, all the different moods
of his mind and body, were continually affecting his judgments and
his teachings. * * * Every thoughtful reader will perceive that
in these statements Spinoza has an evident advantage over those
who treat the personal feelings, experiences, struggles of the
prophets, as if they were nothing--who forget that they were human
beings--who look upon them merely as utterers of certain divine
dogmas, or as foretelling certain future events. He has a right
to say that such persons overlook the letter of the books, while
they profess to honor the letter; that they change their substance,
while they think that they are taking them just as they are. But no
real devout reader of the prophets ever forgets that they are men.
Their human feelings, sufferings, rejoicings, are parts to him of
the divine revelation. The struggles of the prophet with his own
evil--the consciousness and confession that the vile is mixed with
the precious--help more than all formal teaching to show him and us
how the higher mind is distinct from the lower, as well as how the
one is related to the other. We see how the prophet arrived at a
certainty about the divine will and purpose through the very doubts
and contradictions in himself. [15]
Also the Reverend Joseph Armitage Robinson, D. D., dean of Westminster
and chaplain of King Edward VII of England, respecting the manner in
which the message of the Old Testament was received and communicated to
man, as late as 1905, said:
The message of the Old Testament was not written by the divine
hand, nor dictated by an outward compulsion; it was planted in the
hearts of men, and made to grow in a fruitful soil. And then they
were required to express it _in their own language, after their
natural methods, and in accordance with the stage of knowledge
which their time had reached_. Their human faculties were purified
and quickened by the divine Spirit; but they spoke to their time
in the language of their time, they spoke a spiritual message,
accommodated to the experience of their age, a message of faith in
God, and of righteousness as demanded by a righteous God. [16]
I take occasion at this point to observe that because a writer or
speaker claims to be under the inspiration of God it does not follow
that in giving expression to what the Lord puts into his heart he will
always do so in grammatical terms, any more than the orthography of an
inspired writer will always be accurate. We have many illustrations
of this fact among the inspired men that we have known in the Church
of Jesus Christ in these last days. Those of us who have listened
to the utterances of prophets and apostles cannot doubt of their
inspiration, and at the same time some of those who have been most
inspired have been inaccurate in the use of our English language.
The same seems true of the ancient apostles, also. The writer of the
Acts, at the conclusion of a synopsis of a discourse which he ascribes
to Peter, says, "Now, when they [the Jews] saw the boldness of Peter
and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,
they marvelled." [17] The commentators upon this passage say that the
listening Jews perceived that Peter and John were uninstructed in the
learning of the Jewish schools, and were of the common sort of men,
untrained in teaching. [18] And again, "Their language and arguments
prove that they were untaught in the Rabbinical learning of the Jewish
schools." [19] But in what way could the Jews have discerned the
ignorance and absence of learning in Peter and John except through
the imperfections of their language? And yet those imperfections in
language may not be urged in evidence of the absence of inspiration
in the two apostles. Surely with God it must be that the matter is of
more consequence than the form in which it is expressed; the thought of
more moment than the word; it is the Spirit that giveth life, not the
letter. "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What
is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord." [20]
The view of the manner of translating the Book of Mormon here set forth
furnishes the basis of justification for those verbal changes and
grammatical corrections which have been made since the first edition
issued from the press; and would furnish justification for making many
more verbal and grammatical corrections in the book; for if, as here
set forth, the meaning of the Nephite characters was given to Joseph
Smith in such faulty English as he, an uneducated man, could command,
while every detail and shade of thought should be strictly preserved,
there can be no reasonable ground for objection to the correction
of mere verbal errors and grammatical construction. There can be no
reasonable doubt that had Joseph Smith been a finished English scholar
and the facts and ideas represented by the Nephite characters upon the
plates had been given him by the inspiration of God through the Urim
and Thummim, those ideas would have been expressed in correct English;
but as he was not a finished English scholar, he had to give expression
to those facts and ideas in such language as he could command, and
that was faulty English, which the Prophet himself and those who have
succeeded him as custodians of the word of God have had, and now have,
a perfect right to correct. [21]
Footnotes
1. Wentworth letter, _Millennial Star_, vol. 19, p. 118.
2. Wentworth letter, History of the Church, vol. IV, ch. 31.
3. Book of Mosiah 8:13.
4. The above statement was made by Oliver Cowdery, at a special
conference held at Kanesville, Iowa, Oct. 21, 1848. It was first
published in the _Deseret News_ of April 13, 1859: Bishop Reuben
Miller, who was present at the meeting, reported Cowdery's remarks.
5. From _An Address to all Believers in Christ_, by David Whitmer, A
Witness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, published at
Richmond, Missouri, 1887, p. 12.
6. Harris' Statement to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_, vol. 44,
p. 87.
7. Cannon's _Life of Joseph Smith_, p. 56.
8. Nearly all the anti-"Mormon" works dealing with the coming forth
of the Book of Mormon speak of the "Seer Stone" and reiterate the
falsehood that the Prophet stole it from the children of Willard Chase,
for whom Joseph and Hyrum were digging a well.
9. Statement of Martin Harris, to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_,
vol. 44, pp. 86, 87.
10. Harris' Statement to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_, vol. 44,
pp. 78, 79; 86, 87.
11. _Address to All Believers in Christ_, p. 30.
12. Braden and Kelley, _Debate on Divine Origin of Book of Mormon_,
p. 186. The above debate took place in 1884, several years before the
death of David Whitmer, and the statement from which the above is taken
was quoted in full.
13. D. & C., sec. 8:1-3, 11.
14. D. & C., sec. 9:7-9.
15. _Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy_, vol. II, pp. 397-399.
16. _St. Louis Globe-Democrat_, Sunday, March 19, 1905--The discourse
is published at length.
17. Acts 4:13.
18. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, _Commentary_, Acts 4:13.
19. _International Commentary of the New Testament_, Acts 4.
20. Jeremiah 23:28.
21. The manner of translating the Book of Mormon above set forth,
gave rise to considerable discussion within the Church, and led to
the publication of a number of papers in the _Improvement Era_, a
monthly magazine published in Utah, in defense of the views here
advocated. These papers were finally collected and published in the
author's _Defense of the Faith and the Saints_, vol. I, pp. 255-311,
to which the reader is referred for a more exhaustive consideration
of the question above discussed. Moreover, this whole question was
subsequently reviewed at a meeting of the First Presidency and the
Twelve Apostles, and accepted as the most reasonable explanation that
had been offered on the subject of the translation of the Book of
Mormon, and its publication approved.--_Roberts_.
CHAPTER VIII.
PUBLICATION OF THE RECORD.
The exact time when the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed
cannot be ascertained. According to the history of the Prophet it was
early in June, 1829, when David Whitmer, took Joseph and his wife and
Oliver Cowdery to his father's home near Waterloo, at the north end
of Seneca Lake, to the neighborhood called Fayette. [1] There the
Prophet remained until the translation was completed and the copyright
secured. Since David Whitmer arrived at Harmony "in the beginning of
June," to take the Prophet and his wife and Oliver Cowdery to his
father's home, and as Mr. John H. Gilbert (the chief compositor on the
Book of Mormon), says in a signed statement [2] that he commenced the
work of setting the type for the Book of Mormon in August, 1829, the
translation was completed between those dates, that is, between the
early part of June, 1829, and August of the same year, as the work of
translation was completed before the work of printing began.
The contract for printing was made with Mr. Egbert B. Grandin, of
Palmyra, the edition to be five thousand copies, and the price $3,000,
Martin Harris guaranteeing the payment of that sum to the publisher.
As soon as arrangements were completed for publishing the Book of
Mormon, the Prophet Joseph started for Harmony, Pennsylvania, but
before his departure he left the following directions to be followed
respecting the work of printing:
First, that Oliver Cowdery should transcribe the whole manuscript.
Second, that he should take but one copy at a time to the office,
so that if one copy should get destroyed there would still be a
copy remaining.
Third, that in going to and from the [printing] office, he should
always have a guard to attend him, for the purpose of protecting
the manuscript.
Fourth, that a guard should be kept constantly on the watch, both
night and day, about the house, to protect the manuscript from
malicious persons, who would infest the house for the purpose of
destroying the manuscript. All these things were strictly attended
to as the Lord commanded Joseph. [3]
These precautions, at first glance, may seem excessive, and under
ordinary circumstances would be totally unnecessary; yet the following
communication to the _Signs of the Times_, by J. N. T. Tucker, who was
employed in the printing establishment of the _Wayne Sentinel_, in the
establishment at which the Book of Mormon was printed, in Palmyra,
will demonstrate that the precaution in this case was necessary; and
incidentally tends to prove true the statement of the revelation in
which the Prophet Joseph is warned that the 116 pages of manuscript
stolen from Martin Harris were changed by those into whose hands
they had fallen, with the intention to make them conflict with the
reproduction of them, should the Prophet again translate that part of
the work. With these preliminary remarks the following letter will be
self-explanatory:
"MORMONISM"--SOME CURIOUS FACTS
_Messrs. Editors_:--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
a service to the cause of truth, to state one circumstance in
relation to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which occurred
during its publication, at which time I was a practical printer and
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 resolved to test
their wisdom. Accordingly, after putting one sheet in type, we laid
it aside, and told Martin Harris it was lost, and there would be
serious defection in the book in consequence, unless another sheet
like the original could be produced. The announcement threw the
old gentleman into quite an 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 did, the
manuscript preceding and succeeding the lost sheet.
As might be expected, the disclosure of the plan greatly annoyed
the authors, and caused no little merriment among those who
were acquainted with the circumstances. As we were none of us
Christians, and only labored 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 Martin
Harris, if he did not he would be destroyed in 1832.
Yours in the gospel of Christ,
J. N. TUCKER.
"Gorton, May 23, 1842."
"_Signs of the Times_, June 8, 1842."
The description in this letter of Martin Harris' excitement from
the loss of the sheet mentioned, and the claim that the reproduced
manuscript did not fill the blank created through their hiding that one
sheet of type-set matter, will appear at once as a fabrication when
it is remembered that Martin Harris must have known that the original
manuscript of the Book of Mormon had never left the hands of those
having the work in charge, and they were by that precaution prepared
against just such emergencies as this whether practiced playfully or in
dead earnest to bring the work into disrepute. [4]
These several precautions relative to the manuscript of the Book of
Mormon stated by Lucy Smith in the work quoted, account for several
circumstances regarded as peculiar in connection with the publication
of the Book of Mormon: The almost entire absence of Joseph Smith the
prophet from the printing establishment of Mr. Grandin while the book
was being set up and printed; the presence of two persons always when
a portion of manuscript was carried to the printers, one of whom was
always Hyrum Smith; the guard constantly upon the watch at the Smith
homestead; and the existence of two manuscript copies of the Book
of Mormon. Oliver Cowdery during the time that the type setting and
printing was going on made a copy from the original manuscript for
the use of the printer; carefully keeping the original (which, too,
in the main, he had written as the prophet Joseph translated from the
Nephite plates) in his possession at the home of the Smiths, that if
peradventure the copy sent to the printer should be destroyed or stolen
it could be copied again from the original.
It is said by Mr. Gilbert that the manuscript as sent to him was
neither capitalized nor punctuated, and that the capitalization and
punctuation in the first edition was done by him. This statement,
however, can only be true in part, as an examination of the printer's
manuscript will prove; for that manuscript is very well capitalized
and in the main in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. Mr. Gilbert may
have capitalized and punctuated to some extent, but it is clear that he
did not do all of it, or even the main part of it. [5] The printer's
manuscript, after it had served its purpose, was evidently taken
possession of by Oliver Cowdery, while the original manuscript remained
in the possession of the Prophet Joseph.
In 1850 Oliver Cowdery, a little before his death, which occurred at
Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, on the 3rd of March of that year--gave
into the possession of David Whitmer, his brother-in-law and fellow
witness of the truth of the Book of Mormon, his printer's manuscript
of that book, and the descendants of David Whitmer have it in their
possession to this day (1903); regarding it--though in that they are
mistaken--as the original manuscript. [6] The original manuscript
having been preserved by the Prophet Joseph, it was, on the 2nd of
October, 1841, in the presence of a number of elders, deposited by
him in the northwest cornerstone of the Nauvoo House, with a number
of coins, papers and books, in a cavity made in the corner stone for
that purpose. Among those who were present at the time the original
manuscript of the Book of Mormon was thus deposited in the corner stone
of the Nauvoo House, was Elder Warren Foote, of Glendale, Kane county,
Utah, who quotes from his journal as follows:
October 2, 1841. The semi-annual conference commenced today.
After meeting was dismissed a deposit was made in the southeast
corner of the Nauvoo house. A square hole had been chisseled in
the large corner stone like a box. An invitation was given for any
who wished to put in any little memento they desired to. I was
standing very near the corner stone, when Joseph Smith came up with
the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, and said he wanted to put
that in there, as he had had trouble enough with it. It appeared
to be written on fools' cap paper, and was about three inches
in thickness. There was also deposited a Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, fifty cents,
and one dollar pieces of American coin, besides other articles. A
close-fitting stone cover was laid in cement, and the wall built
over it. I was standing within three feet of the Prophet when he
handed in the manuscript, and saw it very plainly. He intimated in
his remarks, that in after generations the walls might be thrown
down, and these things discovered, from which the people could
learn the doctrines and principles and faith of the Latter-day
Saints. [7]
In a rather curious manner a portion of this original manuscript came
into the possession of Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church, and
nephew of the Prophet Joseph. The Nauvoo House, begun in the Prophet,
was never completed. Mr. Lewis C. Bidamon, who married Emma Smith,
widow of the Prophet, came into possession of the unfinished Nauvoo
House, and tore down the walls and took up the extensive foundations of
the house in order to sell the building stone in them. In the course of
tearing out the foundations the southeast corner stone was taken out
and the treasures it contained discovered and taken in charge by Mr.
Bidamon. Some years later, namely, in the Summer of 1884, Mrs. Sarah M.
Kimball visited Nauvoo, and among other landmarks went to the site of
the Nauvoo House, the walls and foundation of which were not yet all
taken away. She called upon Mr. Bidamon, then living in a temporary
four-roomed building erected on the southwest corner of the foundation
laid for the Nauvoo House. And now Mrs. Kimball's story, as related in
her letter to Elder George Reynolds, dated 19th July, 1884:
I asked why the heavy and extensive foundations around him were
being torn up; he [Mr. Bidamon] replied that he had bought the
premises, and the rock was torn up to sell, as he was poor
and otherwise would not have been able to build. I said, I am
interested in this foundation, because I remember there were
treasures deposited under the chief corner stone. He said, yes,
I took up the stone box and sold it to Mr. -- (I do not remember
the name.) It had been so long exposed to the wet and weather that
its contents were nearly ruined, I gave the coin to Joe [Joseph]
[8] and told him he could have the pile of paper. He said it was
the manuscript of the Book of Mormon; but it was so much injured
that he did not care for it. While we were talking, Mr. Bidamon's
wife brought a large pasteboard box and placed it on my lap. It
contained a stack of faded and fast decaying paper, the bottom
layers for several inches were uniform in size, they seemed to me
larger than common fools' cap, the paper was coarse in texture and
had the appearance of having lain a long time in water, as the ink
seemed almost entirely soaked into the paper. When I handled it,
it would fall to pieces. I could only read a few words here and
there, just enough to learn that it was the language of the Book
of Mormon. Above this were some sheets of finer texture folded and
sewed together, this was better preserved and more easily read. I
held it up, and said: "Mr. B., how much for this relic?" He said:
"Nothing from you, you are welcome to anything you like from the
box." I appreciated the kindness, took the leaves that were folded
and sewed together, also took two fragments of the _Times and
Seasons_, published by Don Carlos Smith. [9] I send with this a
fragment dated January, 1840, for your acceptance, containing the
prophetic lamentation of P. P. Pratt, while chained in prison.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) SARAH M. KIMBALL. [10]
This fragment of the manuscript, now in the possession of President
Joseph F. Smith, is thus described by Elder George Reynolds, in his
_History of the Book of Mormon_:
It consists of twenty-two pages of somewhat rough, unruled writing
paper, more resembling narrow bill-cap than any other size of
paper now made, being a little less than fifteen and a half inches
long and full six and a half inches wide. The paper is now tinged
brown or yellow by time and damp, and the writing in some places
is undecipherable. The pages are numbered 3 to 22, pages 1 and 2
having been lost. The manuscript commences at the second verse of
the second chapter of the First Book of Nephi, and continues to the
thirty-fifth verse of the thirteenth chapter of the same book. * *
* The manuscript is in two, if not three, handwritings. Pages 7 to
18, inclusive, appear to have been written by Oliver Cowdery. Pages
3 to 6 are written in what looks like a woman's hand, possibly that
of Emma Smith; while the handwriting on pages 19 to 22, if not the
same, very much resembles that of pages 3 to 6. The only division
made in the manuscript is into chapters; the sentences are not
divided by punctuation marks and are seldom commenced with capital
letters.
It may be thought that the care of the manuscript during the process of
printing was not only extraordinary but unnecessary. The experiences of
the prophet, however, in the matter of keeping possession of the plates
of the Book of Mormon, and the efforts that were made to take them
from him, together with the loss of the one hundred and sixteen pages
of manuscript he had for a short time entrusted to the care of Martin
Harris, taught him caution. It is well it did, for having failed in
their efforts to wrest the plates from him, several conspiracies were
formed by his enemies to obtain the manuscript of the book and prevent
its publication. [11] And notwithstanding all the precautions taken
an enemy nearly succeeded in publishing the Book of Mormon in garbled
form before the printing of the book was completed. An ex-justice of
the peace by the name of Cole started to publish a weekly periodical
which he called _Dogberry Paper on Winter Hill_. In his prospectus
he promised his subscribers to publish one form of "Joe Smith's Gold
Bible" each week, and thus furnish them with the principal part of the
book without their being obliged to purchase it from the Smiths. The
_Dogberry Paper_ was printed at Mr. Grandin's establishment, where the
Book of Mormon was being printed, and as the press was employed all
the time except at night and on Sundays, Mr. Cole printed his paper
at those times. The arrangement also enabled him to keep what he was
doing from the knowledge of the Prophet and his associates; and it
is said that several numbers of his paper containing portions from
the Book of Mormon which he had pilfered, were published before his
rascality was found out. Joseph, who was at Harmony, in Pennsylvania,
was sent for, and on arriving at Palmyra quietly but firmly asserted
his copyrights which he had been careful to secure, and Mr. Cole
gave up his attempt to publish the book or any portion of it. After
settling this difficulty Joseph again returned to Pennsylvania, only
to be again summoned to Palmyra to quiet the fears of his publisher,
Mr. Grandin, who had been made fearful that the Prophet would not be
able to meet his obligations for printing the book. The people in the
vicinity of Palmyra had held public meetings and passed resolutions not
to purchase the Book of Mormon, if it ever issued from the press. They
appointed a committee to wait upon Mr. Grandin and explain to him the
evil consequences which would result to him because of the resolutions
they had passed not to buy the books when published, which would render
it impossible for "the Smiths" to meet their obligations to him. They
persuaded him to stop printing, and Joseph was again sent for. On the
Prophet's arrival he called upon Mr. Grandin in company with Martin
Harris, and together they gave the frightened publisher such assurance
of their ability to meet their obligation to him that printing was
resumed; [12] and finally, in the spring of 1830, the book issued from
the press.
Thus, from start to finish, difficulty and danger beset the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon. But at last every obstacle was surmounted;
every difficulty overcome; every device of the enemy thwarted; every
danger to the record of the Nephites past. It was published--a
five thousand edition of it. Henceforth, thanks to "the great art
preservative"--printing--it would be indestructible. To the world was
given the testimony of sleeping nations that the Lord is God; that
Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world; that the gospel is
the power of God unto salvation. The fervent prayers of the prophets
and other righteous men among the ancient inhabitants of America were
answered. The Gentile nations which, by the spirit of prophecy, they
knew would at some time occupy their land, would become informed as to
them; of their origin; of the promises of God to the remnant of their
seed, which the Gentiles would find upon the land. So, too, would the
Jews know of the ancient inhabitants of the land; and would know of
the decrees of God respecting the land and the inhabitants thereof;
and would have the testimony of these ancient nations of Israelites in
America that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews had crucified, was indeed
the Messiah, the hope of Israel, and the world's Savior. But what was
of more immediate interest to these ancient worthies of the western
hemisphere, their descendants remaining in the land would, through
their record, be brought to a knowledge of their forefathers, and of
the goodness and favor and severity of God towards them. They would be
brought to a knowledge of how their fathers had departed from the ways
of the Lord; why the disfavor of God was upon them; and how they might
return into his favor through obedience to that gospel which their
fathers had rejected. For these several things righteous men among the
Nephites earnestly prayed; and obtained a promise from the Lord that he
would preserve their records and at the last bring them to the remnant
of their seed, to the Jews and to the Gentiles that their testimonies
to the truth of God might not be lost to the world. [13] And now the
hopes and promises were fulfilled. Their record was published and was
destined to be read in all the languages spoken by the children of men,
and stand as a Witness for God to all the world.
Footnotes
1. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 48, 49.
2. The Statement referred to was given to Elder Francis M. Lyman, of
the Council of the Twelve Apostles, who called upon Mr. Gilbert at
Palmyra on October 23, 1897. Mr. Gilbert wrote with his own hand in
Elder Lyman's Journal, and signed the following:
Palmyra, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1897.
At the request of Elder F. M. Lyman of Utah, I make the following
certificate: I was born in the town of Richmond, Ontario county,
April 13, 1802. I assisted E. B. Grandin in estimating the expense
of printing 5,000 copies of the "Mormon" Bible, and the price agreed
upon--$3,000. I was the principal compositor of said Bible, commencing
on the same in August, 1829, and finishing the same in March, 1830.
(Signed) _John H. Gilbert_.
I am indebted to Elder Lyman for access to his Journal for the above
statement.
3. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by his mother, chap. 31.
4. Tucker's letter is produced in Bennett's _Mormonism Exposed_,
(1842), pages 112, 123.
5. The writer saw and examined the printer's manuscript in the
possession of David Whitmer in 1884, and speaks from personal knowledge
on this point in the text.
6. It has since been deposited with the President of the Reorganized
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, son of the Prophet Joseph,
by the grandson of David Whitmer, George Schwiech.
7. The above excerpt from Elder Foote's Journal is published by George
Reynolds in a series of articles under the title "History of the Book
of Mormon," in the _Contributor_, for 1884.
8. _i. e._ Joseph Smith, son of the Prophet.
9. The Prophet's brother, and for a time editor of the _Times and
Seasons_.
10. Mrs. Kimball's letter is published by Elder Geo. Reynolds in his
articles on the _History of the Book of Mormon, Contributor_, vol. V,
No. 10.
11. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chaps. 32 and 33.
12. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chap. 33.
13. See Book of Mormon, Book of Enos, chap. 1:12-18; Mormon 8:24-26;
and 9:36, 37; and 5:9-24; I Nephi 13:30-42.
CHAPTER IX.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.
With reference to its construction the Book of Mormon separates into
three divisions:
1. The small plates of Nephi, a record kept upon gold plates made by
the first Nephi upon which he purposed to record and have recorded
more especially the work of the holy ministry among the Nephites,
the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah in the flesh, and the
exhortations to righteousness by the prophets who should arise among
his people. As compared with his plates on which he designed to have
recorded the secular history of his people, they were small, and
doubtless comparatively few in number, hence their name--"The Smaller
Plates of Nephi." The historical data contained in these small plates
of Nephi extends over a period of about four hundred years, or from the
departure of Lehi from Jerusalem to the reign of King Benjamin, the
second king of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation. But chiefly these plates
were filled with prophecies and exhortations to righteousness, and
many transcriptions from the writings of Isaiah, and other prophets,
while historical data--though sufficient to give a general idea of the
movement of Lehi's colony, and the subsequent march of events among the
peoples that sprang from that colony--are meager.
The translation of these small plates, in current editions, occupies
the first one hundred and fifty-seven [1] pages of the Book of Mormon,
fractional pages aside; and with two pages of explanatory matter by
Mormon, under the title "Words of Mormon," make 133 pages of the
book. The books of this first division of the Book of Mormon are six
in number, _viz_: I. Nephi, II. Nephi, Book of Jacob, Book of Enos,
Book of Jarom, Book of Omni. Though there are but six books in this
division, there are nine writers, as follows:
The first Nephi, who writes one hundred and twenty-seven and a half
pages [2] of the one hundred and fifty seven in this division.
Jacob, brother of Nephi, twenty-one and a half pages.
Zenos, son of the above Jacob, two and one-half pages.
Jarom, son of the above Zenos, two pages.
In the Book of Omni there are but three and one half pages, but there
are five writers, each of whom records merely a few lines:
Omni, son of the above Jarom;
Amaron, son of the above Omni;
Chemish, brother of the above Amaron;
Abinadom, son of Chemish;
Amaleki, son of the above Abinadom.
Amaleki writes about two pages out of the three pages and a half
comprising the Book of Omni, and gives the important information
concerning the second hegira of the righteous Nephites, their union
with the people of Zarahemla and the formation of the Nephite-Zarahemla
nation.
Although there are nine writers in this division of the Book of Mormon,
the writing is chiefly done by the first two, Nephi and Jacob, of which
the first writes 127 1/2 pages; and the second 21 1/2 pages, leaving but
eight pages to be written by the other seven writers.
2. Mormon's abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi comprises the
second division of the Book of Mormon. This is a condensed record made
from the various books written or engraved upon the Large Plates of
Nephi, which plates, it will be remembered, were made by the first
Nephi, as well as the Smaller Plates of Nephi, that upon them might be
recorded the secular history of the people, their wars and contentions,
their affairs of government and the migrations of their people. This
part of the Book of Mormon--the abridgment--is the work of one man,
Mormon, from whom this whole record of the Nephites takes its name, and
yet the abridgment of Mormon occupies but 390 1/2 out of the 632 pages;
his own book, bearing his own name, makes 15 1/2 pages making in all
406 out of the 623 pages which comprise the whole book.
The style of Mormon's abridgment is very complicated. It consists
mainly of his condensation of the various books which he found engraven
upon the Larger Plates of Nephi--the Book of Mosiah, Book of Alma,
Helaman, III. Nephi, IV. Nephi, etc. Because Mormon retained the names
of these respective books in his condensation or abridgment of them,
many readers of the Book of Mormon have been led to suppose that there
was a separate writer for each book, overlooking the fact that these
books, so-called, in the Book of Mormon, are but brief abridgments of
the original books bearing those names. Occasionally, however, Mormon
came upon passages in the original annals that pleased him so well that
he transcribed them verbatim in the record he was writing. An example
of this is to be found beginning at page 163 (current edition), in the
second line of the ninth paragraph, and ending with page 169--the words
of King Benjamin to his people.
The modern method of writing would be, of course, to make the
abridgment of Mormon the regular text of the book, put the verbatim
quotations from the old Nephite books that were being abridged within
quotation marks, and throw the occasional remarks or comments of the
abridger into foot notes. But these devices in literary work were not
known, apparently, among the Nephites.
After completing his abridgment of the books written upon the Larger
Plates of Nephi, down to this own day, Mormon made a record of the
things which came under his own observation, and engraved them upon
the Larger Plates of Nephi, and called that the Book of Mormon; but
upon the plates on which he had engraven his abridgment of all the
books found in the Larger Plates of Nephi, and which he had made with
his own hands, he recorded but a brief account of the things which he
had witnessed among his people, and that, too, he called the Book of
Mormon. [3] it occupies fourteen and a half pages; which, with the
other three hundred and ninety and one half pages, as above stated,
makes four hundred and five pages of the Book of Mormon written by the
hand of Mormon.
3. The third division of the Book of Mormon is made up of writings
of Moroni, the son of Mormon. He finishes the record of his father,
Mormon, in which he occupies seven and a half pages. After that he
abridges the history of the people of Jared, who were led from the
Tower of Babel to the north continent of the western hemisphere, and
whose record was found by a branch of the Nephite people. [4] This
abridged history of the Jaredites occupies thirty-eight pages; and in
character of composition is much like the complex style of Mormon's
abridgment of the Nephite records. It was modeled doubtless after that
work.
Then follows his own book, the Book of Moroni, which occupies fifteen
and a half pages, making in all sixty-one pages written by Moroni.
The following is a summary of the three divisions:
I. Direct translation from the Small Plates of Nephi, nine writers
(of whom two write 149 of the 157 pages)...157 pages
II. Mormon's abridgment of the various books written upon the Large
Plates of Nephi...390 1/2 pages
III. Mormon's personal account of events that occurred in this own
day...14 1/2 pages
IV. Moroni's writings--completion of this father's record,
abridgment of the Jaredite History, his own book, called the Book
of Moroni...61 pages
Total...623 pages
The total number of writers in the Book of Mormon is eleven, of whom
four do the principal part of the writing, these are the First Nephi,
Jacob, Mormon and Moroni.
Of these four, Mormon does the major part. For purposes of reference I
make the following summary:
Mormon writes...405 pages
Moroni...61 pages
Nephi...127 1/2 pages
Jacob...21 1/2 pages
The other seven writers...8 pages
Total...623 pages
Such is the Book of Mormon as to its construction--the number of its
writers, and the style employed in the parts that are abridgments from
the larger records of the Nephites and Jaredites. All this may now
seem unimportant to the reader, but he will find when I come to the
argument for the truth of the Book of Mormon, and the consideration of
the objections urged against it, this analysis will become an important
factor in that work.
Footnotes
1. One hundred and fifty-one in the first edition.
2. That is of the current editions of the book. The references in the
analysis throughout are to current editions.
3. Mormon was born about the year 311 A. D., and was killed by the
Lamanites after delivering his writings to his son Moroni, about 385 A.
D.
4. See p. 142 [Chapter X--Transcriber].
CHAPTER X.
MIGRATIONS TO THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND THE NATIONS THAT AROSE FROM
THEM. [1]
According to the Book of Mormon there have been three migrations from
the old world to the new. These, in their chronological order, are,
first, the colony of Jared; second, the colony of Lehi; and third, the
colony of Mulek. It is necessary to the completeness of this work to
give a brief account of each of these colonies, together with their
development into great nations in the western world, a summary of their
history, and a brief description of their civilization.
I. THE JAREDITES.
_Migration and Place of Landing_.
The colony of Jared, according to the Book of Mormon, departed from the
Tower of Babel about the time of the confusion of languages; which, if
the Hebrew chronology of the Bible be accepted, was an event that took
place 2,247 B. C. Through a special favor to the family of Jared and
his brother, Moriancumr, [2] the language of these families, and that
of a few of their friends was not confounded. Under divine direction
they departed from Babel northward into a valley called Nimrod, and
thence were led by the Lord across the continent of Asia [3] eastward
until they came to the shore of the great sea--Pacific Ocean--which
divided the lands. Here they remained four years; and then by divine
appointment constructed eight barges in which to cross the mighty
ocean to a land of promise, to which God had covenanted to bring
them; to a land "which was choice above all other lands, which the
Lord God had reserved for a righteous people." After a severely stormy
passage--continuing for 344 days, the colony landed on the western
coast of North America, "probably south of the Gulf of California." [4]
Soon after their arrival the people of the colony began to scatter out
upon the face of the land, and multiply, and till the earth; "and they
did wax strong in the land." [5] Previous to the demise of Moriancumr
and Jared, the people were called together and a kingly government
founded, Orihah, the youngest son of Jared, being anointed king.
_Capital and Centres of Civilization_.
The capital of the kingdom was doubtless the city of Moron, in a
province or "land" of the same name, the location of which is unknown
except that it was near the land called by the Nephites "Desolation."
"Now," says Moroni, "the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was
near the land which is called 'Desolation' by the Nephites;" [6] and
later he informs us that this "land of Moron" was the land of the
"first inheritance" of the Jaredites. [7] This locates the land of
Moron near the land called by the Nephites "Desolation," and the land
Desolation, according to the Nephite records, bordered on the north
of the land Bountiful, at that point where it was but a day and a
half's journey for a Nephite from the sea east to the sea west. [8]
This would bring the southern borders of the land Desolation well down
towards the continent of South America, perhaps to some point on that
narrow neck of land known to us as the Isthmus of Panama. The northern
limits of what the Nephites called the land Desolation may not be so
easily ascertained. Whether it extended north and westward beyond the
peninsula of Yucatan or ended south and east of that peninsula may not
be definitely determined; but from the general tenor of the references
to it in the Book of Mormon, it was, when compared with the whole
country, occupied by the Nephites, a small division of the country, a
local province, and bounded on the north by what the Jaredites called
the land of Moron, the land of the Jaredites' first inheritance. [9]
According to the late Elder Orson Pratt the place of the Jaredites'
"first inheritance," or landing, was "on the western coast, and
probably south of the Gulf of California," [10] though he gives no
reason for his statement. Elder George Reynolds, speaking of the
land of Moron, "where the Jaredites made their first settlement,"
says: "It was north of the land called Desolation by the Nephites,
and consequently in some part of the region which we know as Central
America." [11] This conclusion, of course, is based upon the idea that
the land Desolation was comparatively but a small Nephite province,
an idea that, as already remarked, is forced upon the mind from the
general tenor of the Book of Mormon references to it.
This land Desolation, so named by the Nephites because of the evidence
of ruin and destruction that everywhere abounded in it, when first
discovered by them, not because its lands were not fertile, was
evidently a great centre of population in Jaredite times. About 123
B. C. a company of Nephites--forty-three in number--sent out by one
Limhi, came into the land afterwards called Desolation and described
it as "a land which was covered with dry bones, yea, a land which had
been peopled, and which had been destroyed." [12] Another description
of the land found by Limhi's expedition is that they "discovered a
land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also
covered with the ruins of buildings of every kind; * * * a land which
had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of
Israel." [13] "And for a testimony that the things they said were true,
they brought from the land twenty-four plates which were filled with
engravings, and the plates were of pure gold. And behold, also, they
brought breast plates, which were large, and they were of brass and of
copper, and perfectly sound. And again, they brought swords, the hilts
of which had perished, and the blades were cankered with rust; but no
one in the land could interpret the language or the engravings that
were on the plates." [14]
It is evident that the land of Moron, north of Desolation, was the
chief centre of Jaredite civilization, and the principal seat of
government from the time of their first landing in America--some
twenty-two centuries B. C.--to the last civil war which ended in the
destruction of the nation, in the sixth century B. C. The evidence of
the foregoing statement is seen in the fact that Moron is the land of
their first inheritance; and also that nearly all their great civil
wars throughout their national existence, down to and including the
last, raged in and about the land of Moron [15]--except the last
great battles of the last war which were fought about the Hill Ramah,
the Hill Cumorah of the Nephites. This fixes the center of Jaredite
civilization for a period of some sixteen centuries in Central America.
True, there is evidence that the Jaredites occupied at one time very
much of the north continent; [16] but the land Moron, in Central
America, was the seat of government and the center of civilization of
the great empire. In the reign of the fourth king of the Jaredites,
Omer, a conspiracy overthrew his authority; and would doubtless have
ended in his assassination; but, warned of God in a dream, he departed
out of the land with his family, and "traveled many days," and "came
over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed"--that is, by the
Hill Cumorah, south of Lake Ontario, in the state of New York--"and
from thence eastward, and came to a place that was called Ablom, by
the sea shore, and there he pitched his tent." [17] Here he was joined
later by others who fled from the tyranny of those who had usurped the
kingdom. [18] This land of "Ablom", the late Elder Orson Pratt suggested,
was "probably on the shore of the New England states." [19] So far as
known this marks the northern limits of Jaredite occupancy of the north
continent.
In the reign of the sixteenth king--in whose days "the whole face of
the land northward was covered with inhabitants," [20] a "great city
was founded at the narrow neck of land," that is, at some point on
the Isthmus of Panama. That city marked the southern limits of the
Jaredite empire. They never entered South America for the purpose of
colonization, but preserved it "for a wilderness," in which "to get
game." [21]
The width of the empire east and west, north of the Gulf of Mexico,
may not be determined. Whether it extended from ocean to ocean, or was
confined to the Missouri-Mississippi valleys, and thence eastward south
of the great lakes to the Atlantic, may not be positively asserted;
but personally I incline to the latter opinion, notwithstanding the
statement of the Book of Mormon to the effect that "the whole face
of the land northward was covered with inhabitants." This I believe
to be merely a general expression meant to convey the idea of a very
extensive occupancy of the north continent by the Jaredites; but as it
does not compel us to believe that the writer had in mind Labrador,
the regions of Hudson's Bay and Alaska, so I do not think it requires
us to believe that the Jaredites occupied the Rocky mountains, and
regions westward of them. My principal reason for thinking that the
Jaredite empire was limited northward to the great lakes, eastward from
the Rocky mountain slopes--northward of the Gulf of Mexico--to the
Atlantic, and southward to the Isthmus of Panama, is because--as will
appear later--to that territory, magnificent in its extent, are more
strictly confined what I regard as the evidences of Jaredite occupancy.
_Extent and Nature of Civilization_.
The extent of Jaredite civilization would be coextensive with the
territory they occupied, the limits of which have already been
considered. Of its nature one may judge somewhat when it is remembered
that they were colonists from the Euphrates valley, shortly after the
flood; and very likely the nature of their buildings, especially of
their public buildings, temples and other places of worship, would take
on the general features of the buildings in ancient Babel modified in
time, of course, by their own advancement in architecture.
That they were a prosperous and civilized race in their new home in the
western hemisphere is quite clear. In the reign of the fifth monarch,
Emer, the people had become strong and prosperous, "insomuch that they
became exceeding rich, having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of
silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious
things; and also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep
and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which
were useful for the food of man. They also had horses, and asses, and
there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful
unto man; * * * and thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this
land [North America], which was choice above all other lands." [22]
In the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, their tenth and eleventh
monarch respectively--there were twenty-eight legitimate kings in all,
besides a number of usurpers who held authority for a season in the
Jaredite nation--many spacious buildings were erected and many cities
were built; and the people "became exceeding rich" under those reigns;
while in the reign of the sixteenth monarch, Lib, they seemed to have
reached a very high state of civilization, which extended over the
"whole face of the land northward:--"
They were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and
traffic one with another, that they might get gain. And they did
work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and
iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out
of the earth; wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to
get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And
they did work all manner of fine work. And they did have silks, and
fine-twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they
might clothe themselves from their nakedness. And they did make
all manner of tools to till the earth. * * * And they did make all
manner of tools with which they did work their beasts. And they did
make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner
of work of exceedingly curious workmanship. And never could be a
people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand
of the Lord. [23]
This represents a people far advanced in civilization, in agriculture,
in mining, in manufactures, and in the arts. This blessed condition was
in fulfilment of the promise of the Lord; for when he called out of
Babel Jared and his brother, Moriancumr, the Lord promised the latter
that he would lead them "into a land which is choice above all the
lands of the earth." "And there will I bless thee and thy seed," said
the Lord, "and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy
brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there
shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of
thy seed, upon all the face of the earth." [24]
If we take this brief glimpse of the civilization of the Jaredite
nation quoted above, and couple it with the promise of God to
Moriancumr, we have every reason to believe that the Jaredites became
a very great, prosperous, and powerful people. Their occupancy of the
western world, however, was confined to the northern continent. Here
their civilization rose, and here it fell, after enduring between
fifteen and sixteen hundred years, if we accept the Hebrew chronology
for the date of the confounding of language at Babel.
_Numbers_.
The number of Jaredites, of course, varied at different periods of
their long national existence. In the reign of the fourth king, Omer,
a grievous civil war broke out among them which "lasted for the space
of many years," and led to "the destruction of nearly all the people of
the kingdom." [25] From time to time they were subject to these civil
wars which very naturally checked the increase in their population.
Still they became very numerous, sufficiently so, as already shown,
to occupy an immense empire of country, extending from the Isthmus of
Panama northward, including Central America, Mexico, thence northward
to the great lakes, and from the eastern slopes of the Rocky mountains
to the Atlantic Ocean. In their last great civil war, after it had
raged many years, we are informed by the sacred historian that there
had been slain by the sword "two millions of mighty men, and also
their wives and their children." [26] Upon which the late Orson Pratt
remarks, in a foot note on the passage, that including the wives and
children of the two millions of men who were slain, "the numbers would
probably have been from ten to fifteen millions." Their numbers may
have been even greater than this at other periods of their history.
_Literature_.
The Jaredites also had a literature. When the Nephite king Mosiah
translated some of their records--the twenty-four plates of Ether,
brought by Limhi's expedition from the land Desolation--it is stated
that they gave an account not only of the people who were destroyed
(the Jaredites) from the time they were destroyed back to the building
of the great Tower at the time the Lord confounded the language of
the people and scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth, but
they also gave an account of events beyond that time "even up to the
creation of Adam." It is only reasonable to conclude that the record
engraven on gold plates by the last Jaredite historian, the prophet
Ether, was but one of many such records among the Jaredites; for since
they came from the Euphrates valley with a knowledge of letters, there
is nothing in their history which would lead us to suppose they lost
that knowledge; but on the contrary everything to establish the fact
that they continued in possession thereof; for not only was Ether, the
last of their prophets, able to keep a record, but the last of their
kings, Coriantumer, was able to write; for in the days of the Nephite
king, Mosiah I, a large stone was brought to him with engravings on it
which he interpreted by means of Urim and Thummim; and the record on
the stone gave an account of Coriantumer, written by himself, and the
slain of his people; and it also recorded a few words concerning his
fathers and how his first parents came out from the Tower at the time
the Lord confounded the language of the people. So that, from first to
last, the Jaredites had a literature.
_Government_.
Before the demise of the two brothers, Moriancumr and Jared, who led
the Jaredite colony to the western hemisphere, the people were called
together and a kingly government founded. Monarchial government was
not established without remonstrance from Moriancumr, who declared
that such government would lead to the destruction of liberty. [27]
But Jared pleaded that the people might have the kind of government
they desired, and proposed that they choose from among his own or his
brother's sons the man they would have for king. The first choice of
the people was Pagag, the eldest son of Moriancumr; but influenced,
doubtless by the desire of his father that some other form of
government should be established, Pagag declined the kingly honor. So
also several of the sons of Jared declined to serve in that office,
perhaps for the same reason. Finally, however, one of the sons of
Jared, Orihah, accepted and was anointed king. The choice seems to have
been a fortunate one, for it is said that Orihah walked humbly before
the Lord and he remembered the great things the Lord had done for his
fathers, as also did his people; and he executed judgment upon the land
in righteousness all his days, and his days were many. [28] Orihah
was succeeded by his son Kib, in whose reign the first rebellion took
place; for the son of Kib rebelled against him, and even imprisoned
the king until another son born in the old age of the captive monarch
gathered sufficient strength to reinstate his father upon his throne.
This was the commencement of a long series of such rebellions in the
Jaredite dynasty.
Of the nature of Jaredite government little can be learned beyond the
fact that after the election of the first king, Orihah, the hereditary
principle was recognized; and although there were frequent contestants
for the throne, and occasional usurpations of the kingly authority, the
legitimate line of hereditary monarchs seems to have been reasonably
well maintained. It appears not to have been part of the constitution
of the government, however, that the rights of heredity in the royal
house should descend to the eldest son. It frequently happened that the
son born in the old age of the reigning monarch succeeded to the kingly
power, a course which perhaps accounts for the occasional rebellions of
their brothers, though the rights of the first born are never urged as
the cause of the quarrels.
Of the subordinate officers of the kingdom nothing is said; by what
means judicial powers were exercised we are not informed; what the
nature of the military organization was, or what system of taxation was
adopted, we do not know. On all these matters Moroni's abridgment of
the record of Ether is silent.
_Religion_.
Relative to the religion that obtained among the Jaredites, we are left
in well-nigh as much ignorance as we are concerning the nature of the
subordinate feature of their government. The two brothers, Moriancumr
and Jared, seem to have been among the righteous people of Babel; so
much so in fact that Moriancumr was a very great prophet of God, and
had direct access to the source of revelation; for by revelation he
learned of God's intention to confound the language of the people, and
thus stop the impious work in which they were engaged, when building
the city of Babel and its tower. It is in consequence of their high
favor with God that the language of these brothers and that of their
friends was preserved; and they with their families and friends, led
away to "a land which was choice above all other lands," where God
fulfilled his promise to make of them a great nation. It is doubtful if
a prophet ever lived in ancient times who held more direct communion
with God than did this prophet Moriancumr. It will be remembered that
he took into the mountain sixteen transparent stones, which he had
prepared, and asked God to make them luminous; that in the journey of
the colony across the great deep in the eight barges that had been
prepared, they might not be in darkness. As the Lord stretched forth
his hand to touch the stones, in compliance with the prophet's request,
the veil was taken from the eyes of Moriancumr, and he saw the finger
of God, and fell prostrate before him in fear. But even his fear could
not crush his faith. He so far prevailed with God through faith that he
beheld him face to face, and talked with him as a man speaks with his
friend. That is, he saw and talked with the pre-existent spirit of the
Lord Jesus, for the Lord said to him: "This body which ye now behold
is the body of my spirit, * * * and even as I appear unto thee to be
in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh." A greater
revelation of God than this, previous to the coming of the Lord Jesus
in the flesh, no other prophet ever received. Moreover Jesus said
to him: "Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon
me flesh and blood. * * * Behold, I am he who was prepared from the
foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ.
* * * In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even
those who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and
my daughters. * * * Seest thou that ye are created after mine image?
Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image."
[29]
Moriancumr was commanded not to suffer the things he had seen and heard
to be revealed to the world until the Lord Jesus should have lived in
the flesh. He was commanded, however, to write what he had both seen
and heard, and seal it up that it might be preserved to come forth
in due time to the children of men. In addition to the revelation of
his own person to him, the Lord revealed to the prophet Moriancumr
"all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that
would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends
of the earth." While Moriancumr was prohibited from making known to
his people the great things thus revealed to him, his knowledge of
the things of God must have given him wonderful power and influence
in teaching his people the righteous truths which are fundamental and
universal. This confidence and strength must also have been imparted
to others, for certain it is that the Jaredites had prophets of great
power sent to them from time to time to teach and reprove them; and
even some of their monarchs were shining examples of spiritual power
and righteousness. The fifth monarch, Emer, possessed such faith that
he, like Moriancumr, had the blessed privilege of seeing "the Son of
Righteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day." [30] And of
the whole people it is said, "never could [there] be a people more
blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord."
[31] All of which is good evidence that the Jaredites at this time
(in the reign of Lib, the sixteenth monarch) were a righteous people;
and this righteousness was doubtless brought about by the preaching
of faith in God and his laws as only Moriancumr and other prophets
whom God raised up to the Jaredite nation could preach it. But it was
with the Jaredites as with other nations. Their righteousness was not
continuous, and it is more than likely that their faith ebbed and
flowed as the faith of all people seems to ebb and flow. There were
times when the prophets of God were rejected; when their severest
warnings of coming calamities seemed to produce no effect. In the reign
of Com and Shiblom, [32] the twenty-first and twenty-second monarchs
of the Jaredites, respectively, a great calamity befell the people,
and the prophets seized upon this circumstance to declare that even
greater destruction should befall them, and predicted that "the bones
of the Jaredites should become a heap of earth upon the face of the
land except they should repent of their wickedness." This declaration,
so far from bringing the people to repentance, filled them with rage
against the prophets, and they sought to destroy them. Even the
priesthood itself seems at times to have become corrupted; for in the
closing years of the monarchy, in the reign of Coriantumr, the high
priest is charged with murdering one Gilead as the latter sat upon his
throne.
Beyond these few facts nothing can be learned from the abridged record
of the Jaredites concerning the religion of that people, except that
unto some of their prophets, just previous to the destruction of both
the nation and the people, was revealed the fact that, unless the
Jaredites repented, the Lord God would execute judgment against them
to their utter destruction, and that he would bring forth another
people to possess the land, after the manner in which he had brought
forth their fathers from Babel. Unto Ether, the last of the Jaredite
prophets, the son of Coriantor, the last king but one of the Jaredites,
the same truth was revealed. To him, also, was shown the days of
Christ; and it was revealed to him that upon this blessed land of the
western hemisphere would be built up to the remnant of the house of
Joseph, a Holy City, to be called New Jerusalem, [33] or Zion; a city
of refuge for the righteous in the last days. These prophecies, I am
aware, throw no light upon the nature of the Jaredite religion, but
they do establish the fact that God sent forth inspired men among them,
to warn them of the calamities that were decreed against them because
of their decline from righteousness; and that fact is an important
religious truth.
_History_.
We have in the Book of Mormon but the merest outline of the history of
the Jaredites; and this outline is learned from the abridgment made
by Moroni, of the Book of Ether. Ether was the last of the Jaredite
prophets, and witnessed the destruction of the race. His record, the
Book of Ether, was engraven upon twenty-four plates of gold, found
by the Nephites in the second century B. C., and finally abridged
by Moroni, and made a part of the Book of Mormon, which abridgment
Joseph Smith translated into the English language. It stands to
reason that the record of Ether, even if we had it in full, since it
consisted of but twenty-four plates, could be but a very incomplete
and imperfect history of so great a people and of so long a period of
time--extending through sixteen centuries. Yet in the Book of Mormon
there is but an abridgment of Ether's record; and that abridgment so
brief that Moroni, in speaking of it, says that he had not written an
hundredth part of it. [34] So it is not to be wondered at that the
description of the Jaredite government and civilization is so very
unsatisfactory. But while all this is admitted, the fact is revealed,
in Moroni's abridgment of Ether's record, that from something like
twenty-two hundred years before Christ, to some six hundred years
before Christ, the North continent of the western world was occupied by
a civilized race of people, and that a mighty nation dwelt upon that
land through all these centuries; a nation at times highly favored
of God, and this because of their righteousness; and then again
reduced well nigh to anarchy, with their civilization bordering upon
dissolution in consequence of great wickedness and misrule; emphasizing
the great truth, to which the history of all nations bears witness,
that "righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any
people." And this is much, and perhaps the sum-total to be learned from
the history of nations.
Naturally one is tempted to draw a parallel between this old American
nation and various other nations in the old world which paralleled
its existence. Surely it is interesting to think that while empires
were founding in Assyria and Egypt and Babylon; that while Greece
was passing through her heroic ages, in the western world also an
enlightened race was building up a national existence and struggling
with those problems which through all times and among all people engage
the intelligent attention of mankind. Also it would be interesting to
note that about the time of the capture of Nineveh, which marked the
fall of the Assyrian empire, and but a little before the destruction
of the kingdom of Judah, here in our western world an empire which
had endured the storms of ages was passing away. Still the main fact
to be kept in mind in this work is that such a nation, coeval with
the old empires of the eastern world, and with a civilization no less
magnificent, existed according to the Book of Mormon in our great
northern continent, with its center of civilization in that part of
the continent we call Central America. Proof of the existence of such
an empire, of such a civilization, and having such a location, will be
strong collateral evidence for the truth of the Book of Mormon.
II. THE NEPHITES.
_Lehi's Colony_.
Lehi was one of the many prophets at Jerusalem who predicted the
calamities which befell the Jewish nation on the second invasion of
Judea by King Nebuchadnezzar, early in the sixth century B. C. [35]
Lehi incurred the wrath of that ungodly people and was warned of God
in a vision to depart from Jerusalem with his family, and was also
promised that inasmuch as he would keep the commandments of God he
should be led to a land of promise. [36] From the wilderness where
Lehi temporarily dwelt, two expeditions to the fated city were made
by his sons: one to obtain a genealogy of his fathers, and the Jewish
scriptures (which resulted also in adding one more to the colony in the
person of Zoram, a servant of Laban, a keeper of the Jewish records);
the second, to induce one Ishmael and his family to join Lehi's colony
in their exodus from Jerusalem and journey to the promised land. In
both of these expeditions they were successful in achieving their
object. The colony now consisted of some eighteen adult persons and a
number of children. [37]
From the Book of Mormon and the word of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph
Smith it is learned that Lehi's colony traversed from Jerusalem, nearly
a southeast direction, until they came to the nineteenth degree north
latitude; thence nearly east to the sea of Arabia. [38] Here the colony
built a ship in which to cross the great waters, which separated them
from the land of promise. They sailed in a southeasterly direction, and
landed on the continent of South America, in about thirty degrees south
latitude. [39]
From Jerusalem their journey to the promised land is supposed to
have occupied about twelve years. [40] On their arrival at the land
of promise, the colony went forth upon it, and began to till the
earth. The seeds brought from the land of Jerusalem were planted and
thrived exceedingly well. The colony also found the land of promise
well furnished with beasts of every kind; with the cow, the ass, the
horse, the goat, and all manner of wild animals which were for the use
of man. They also found all manner of ore, especially gold, silver,
and copper. Here they dwelt for some time in prosperity, but scarcely
in peace; for there were dissensions in the colony. The elder sons
of Lehi, Laman and Lemuel, were of a jealous and skeptical turn of
mind; and from the beginning had little faith in the visions of their
father, and the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.
Nephi, the younger brother, on the other hand, was a man of profound
faith in his father's revelations, and in the things of God, and
sought for a personal knowledge of the things revealed. This knowledge
he received through the revelations of God, which, coupled with the
native qualities that go to the making of a leader of men, he became,
even before the death of his father, the real head of the community.
This aroused the displeasure and even hatred of the elder brothers,
who, on various occasions sought his overthrow and even his life. This
division between the sons of Lehi extended also to the community, and
made a division of the colony ultimately inevitable. Accordingly, after
some years spent upon the promised land, Nephi was warned by the Lord
to depart from his elder brothers into the wilderness, with all those
whom he could persuade to go with him. Neither the distance nor the
direction of this first remove of the righteous part of the colony from
the more wicked part, can be definitely determined from the Book of
Mormon, except from the location of the people of Nephi in subsequent
times; and as this location was far northward from their first place of
landing, it is generally supposed that this first remove was northward.
Perhaps at the first the partisans of the elder brothers were well
contented to be relieved of the presence of the younger brother and his
following; but for no great length of time; for they followed in their
wake, and before forty years had passed away (supposedly from the time
that Lehi's colony left Jerusalem; and if so then twenty-eight years
from their landing in the western hemisphere) the two divisions of the
colony had wars and contentions with each other. [41]
Nephi, as would reasonably be expected, took with him the Jewish
scriptures which had been brought from Jerusalem, the genealogy of his
fathers, together with all the records kept upon the journey to the
promised land. Nephi's policy tended to civilization; for he taught
his people to erect buildings, "and to work all manner of wood and
of iron and of copper and of brass and of steel and of gold and of
silver and of precious ores, which were in great abundance." He also
built a temple, somewhat after the pattern of the temple of Solomon,
and ordained as priests his two younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph,
born to Lehi in the wilderness, after the departure of the colony from
Jerusalem.
Notwithstanding the protests of Nephi against such a proceeding
his people insisted upon his becoming their king, an office he
discharged all his days purely in the interest of his people. His
policy inculcated industry and encouragement of arts and civilization.
Knowing, however, the implacable hatred of his elder brothers, Nephi
did not fail to make preparations for vigorous defense in the event of
war, and accordingly manufactured both arms and armor for his people.
In consequence of the high esteem in which Nephi was held, the kings of
the Nephites thereafter took the name of Nephi, as their official or
regal name, and were distinguished by being called II Nephi, III Nephi,
IV Nephi, and so following.
While the course of Nephi and his people tended to the establishment
of civilization, the course of the elder brothers and their following
tended to barbarism. They delighted in idleness; and as they did
not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a
reprobate mind; and a curse fell upon them, even the curse of a dark
skin, so that they became loathsome in appearance as in habits. As the
followers of Nephi took upon them the name of their leader and were
called Nephites, so, in course of time, the followers of the elder
brothers took the name of their leader and were called Lamanites, after
Laman, the eldest son of Lehi; hence two people from Lehi's colony,
Nephites and Lamanites. The Lamanites lived upon the fruits of the
chase, hence were nomadic and predatory in their habits. They were full
of envy, strife, malice; they were fierce, warlike, murderous. Between
these two peoples there was almost constant warfare. The Lamanites the
more fierce and numerous; the Nephites fewer in number, but better
armed, and protected by armor; the former were the aggressors, the
latter acted on the defensive, and usually were conscious of the
better cause. At times, however, the Nephites lapsed into wickedness
and on such occasion the Lamanites truly were a scourge unto them, in
fulfilment of God's word to that effect. [42] A particularly severe
judgment is said to have overtaken the Nephites in the first quarter
of the fourth century from the time Lehi left Jerusalem, in which the
more wicked part of the people were destroyed. [43] Some time in the
fourth century from the time Lehi left Jerusalem occurred also a second
great removal of righteous Nephites from the midst of their brethren
and the Lamanites. The first separation in Lehi's colony, it will be
remembered, was made under the I Nephi. The second was made under the
prophet-king known as I Mosiah, and resulted in the Nephites finding
the people of Zarahemla, of which more hereafter.
It is supposed that the first remove of the Nephites from their
brethren covered no great distance; as only a few years passed before
they were in contact with one another again, at least in warfare.
Indeed Elder George Reynolds, in his _Dictionary of the Book of
Mormon_, holds to the theory that there may have been several removals
of the Nephites between their first separation from the Lamanites
under the First Nephi, and the very noted hegira under Mosiah I,
about the fourth century of the Nephite annals. [44] The author of
the _Dictionary_ urges as the reasons for his theory that it would be
inconsistent with the story of the record (Book of Mormon), and with
good judgment, to believe that in their first journey the Nephites
traveled as far north as they were found four hundred years later,
[45] when the very noted remove was made under Mosiah I. I believe the
reasons of Elder Reynolds are quite sufficient for his theory. The
movements of the Nephites were most probably as follows: Whatever of
conquest was made by the Lamanites upon Nephite possessions, during the
first four centuries of their occupancy of the promised land, was made
upon their southern borders. On the other hand the Nephite settlements
were extended on that side of their possessions least likely to be
assailed by their enemies, where there was least danger, that is, on
the north. These two circumstances combined to give their colonization
movement a northerly direction; until about the close of the fourth
Nephite century they are supposed to have been in possession of that
part of the continent of South America corresponding to the country
now called Ecuador. [46] This country that the Nephites occupied at
the close of the fourth century of their annals, as also that which
they had slowly colonized, and from time to time abandoned to their
enemies--the whole distance from the place selected by the First Nephi
after separating from his brothers to the place they occupied at the
close of the fourth century of their annals--this whole country--the
Nephites called the Land of Nephi, or the Land of their father's first
inheritance. [47]
The story of the second great hegira of righteous Nephites from their
less righteous brethren is a very brief one. It was undertaken in
response to a warning and commandment of God to one Mosiah, who is
celebrated in Nephite history as the first king of what I shall call
the Nephite-Zarahemla nation--Mosiah I. How great the distance covered
in this second great hegira of the Nephites may not be definitely
determined; but later a colony under conditions somewhat similar, that
is, encumbered with women and children, flocks, herds, and quantities
of grain, etc., covered practically the same journey in about
twenty-two days, in two separate stages; one of eight and the other of
fourteen days. [48]
Mosiah's people, when they reached the great and beautiful valley
drained by what was subsequently called among the Nephites the river
Sidon, [49] found it inhabited by a numerous people, whose chief city
was named (at least from that time forth) Zarahemla. At this point it
becomes necessary to suspend the account of Mosiah's people in order to
say a word of the people inhabiting the valley of the Sidon, for they
are the descendants of the third colony which, according to the Book of
Mormon, came to the land of promise.
_Mulek's Colony_.
According to the Bible narrative of King Zedekiah's reign, when
Jerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon (588 B. C.), King
Zedekiah himself well-nigh made his escape. For when the city was
broken up, and all the men of war fled by night, by the way of the gate
between two walls, which is by the king's garden, the king went the
way toward the plain. But his flight being betrayed by an enemy among
his own people, [50] the army of the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah early
in the morning and overtook him in the plain near Jericho. The king's
army was scattered from him at the time he was captured; for "those
friends and captains of Zedekiah who had fled out of the city with him,
when they saw their enemies near them, they left him, and dispersed
themselves, some one way and some another, and every one resolved to
save himself; so the enemy took Zedekiah alive, when he was deserted by
all but a few, with his children and his wives." [51] The unfortunate
king was taken before the king of Babylon, whose headquarters were then
at Riblah, in Syria, where "they gave judgment upon him." The sons of
Zedekiah were slain in his presence; after which his eyes were put out;
he was bound in fetters and carried to Babylon, where subsequently
he died. But among the king's friends who escaped were a number who
carried with them one of Zedekiah's sons, named Mulek; and according to
the Book of Mormon, this company "journeyed in the wilderness and were
brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters," [52] into
the western hemisphere. It is learned by an incidental remark in the
Book of Mormon that the colony of Mulek landed somewhere in the north
continent of the western hemisphere; and for that reason the north
continent was called Mulek, by the Nephites; and the south continent,
Lehi; and this for the reason that the Lord brought the colonies
bearing these names to the north and south land [53] respectively. How
many years the colony of Mulek traveled, and in what direction, cannot
be learned from the Book of Mormon. But it is quite evident that they
landed in the north continent of the western world, most likely in the
southern part of that continent, say in the region of what is known in
modern times as Central America. [54] Thence they drifted southward to
the valley of the Sidon, where they were found by the migrating hosts
of Nephites under Mosiah.
It was a Nephite custom to call their cities and even their villages
after the name of him who founded them. [55] Thus the first city
founded by the first Nephi, was called "Nephi," or "the City of
Nephi;" the city founded by Melek was called "the City of Melek;" and
so following. From this custom arose another, that of naming large
districts of country after the chief city therein: thus the country in
which the city of Nephi was located was called "the land of Nephi;" the
country surrounding the city of Melek was called the land of Melek; see
also "the land of Gideon;" "the land of Ammonihah," etc. Following this
custom, when the migrating Nephites under Mosiah came into the valley
of Sidon, and found the chief man of its principal city to be named
Zarahemla, they straightway called the city "The City of Zarahemla;"
and ever afterwards among them the surrounding country was called "the
land of Zarahemla."
Mulek's colony--the name is derived from that of the young prince it
carried with it, not because he was really the leader of the colony,
but doubtless out of a sense of loyalty and national pride on the part
of those who would regard themselves as being entrusted by Providence
with the fortunes of a prince of Israel--Mulek's colony, I repeat,
in their hurried flight from Judea brought no records with them, no
scriptures, no genealogies. The circumstances under which they made
their escape from the Babylonians considered, it is not difficult
to understand that records, scriptures, concerned them not at all.
Flight, escape alone occupied their thoughts. In consequence of having
no records, no written language of any kind, their language was much
changed in the course of the centuries that had elapsed since their
departure from Judea. So much so, in fact, that the Nephites could
not understand them; neither could the people of Zarahemla understand
the Nephites, until instructed by the latter in the Nephite tongue.
Moreover, having been without both written scriptures and a living
priesthood for centuries, Zarahemla's people not only no longer
believed in God, but denied even the existence of a Creator. In a
word, through ignorance and the demoralizing influence of contentions
and internecine wars, they had deteriorated to semi-civilized and
irreligious conditions. All this, however, in the course of time was
changed. The people of Zarahemla soon learned the Nephite language,
it being a language akin, of course, to their own. They were also
taught in the Nephite faith; and instructed in the scriptures which
Lehi's colony had brought with them from Jerusalem, and which Mosiah
had brought with him in his northward journey. The happiest results
followed this union of the two peoples. The people of Mosiah were so
augmented in numbers by the addition of their new found friends that
they could feel secure from aggressions of the Lamanites, who, in time,
might follow them; and, on the other hand, to the people of Zarahemla,
the Nephites brought the knowledge of God; a true priesthood; the
scriptures of their forefathers; government; civilization. These two
peoples, really of the same race, be it remembered, readily united
under the Nephite form of government, a limited, and at times elective,
monarchy; Mosiah, the Nephite leader, notwithstanding the people of
Zarahemla were the more numerous, being chosen king.
The colony of Mulek previous to their removal southward from the
place of their first landing, were visited by the sole survivor of
the Jaredite race, Coriantumr, who resided some nine months with them
before his demise.
Shortly after the arrival of the Nephites under Mosiah in Zarahemla, a
large stone with engravings upon it was brought to the king; and Mosiah
I, being a Seer, translated the engravings upon the stone and learned
that they gave an account of Coriantumr, whom Mulek's colony found; and
of his forefathers who came from the tower of Babel, at the confusion
of languages; and of the goodness and severity of God upon them; and
of the destruction that befell them because of their wickedness. [56]
Afterwards a more perfect knowledge of the Jaredites was obtained
through the twenty-four plates of Ether, found by Limhi's expedition
into the north land (noted before); [57] and which were translated by
King Mosiah II, who was also a seer.
The colony of Mulek was touched by the other two peoples who had been
brought by the providences of God to the western hemisphere; the
Jaredite race, through its sole survivor, Coriantumr; and the Nephite
race, through the people of Mosiah I. It should be remarked of these
three peoples that they were really of a common race. The two brothers
who had led the colony from the Tower of Babel, Jared and Moriancumr,
were doubtless descendants of Shem, the son of Noah. [58] The colony of
Mulek was unquestionably made up of Jews, hence descendants of Shem;
Lehi's colony was made up of descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim, [59]
sons of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
who was a direct descendant of Shem. [60]
Thus eventually the races which, according to the Book of Mormon,
have been brought to the western hemisphere under the providences of
God, are traceable to one source, to one race; and may be expected to
possess certain qualities which will be in harmony with the fact of
racial unity.
Footnotes
1. It is to be understood that in this chapter I deal merely with the
migrations spoken of in the Book of Mormon; and by no means enter upon
consideration of the migrations to the western hemisphere during the
last two thousand years.
2. See sixth letter of Oliver Cowdery on "Early Scenes and Incidents in
the Church," _Messenger and Advocate_, vol. I, p. 112, 1835, where the
above name is given as the name of the "Brother of Jared."
3. Such is the theory of the late Orson Pratt. See foot note "h"
Book of Ether, chap. 2. There is nothing in the Book of Ether which
positively determines the course of their travels, but as there is some
reason for believing that the Jaredite colony landed on the western
shores of North America, there seems to be some grounds for the belief
that they were led eastward across the continent of Asia to the shores
of what is to us the Pacific Ocean.
4. According to Orson Pratt. See foot note "h," Book of Ether, chap.
6:12. Also Book of Ether, chap. 7:6.
5. Ether 6:18.
6. Ether 7:6.
7. Ether 7:16.
8. Alma 22:32.
9. Ether 7:6, 16, 17.
10. Note "h" on Ether 6:12.
11. _Dictionary of the Book of Mormon_, Art. Mormon, p. 245.
12. Mosiah 21:25, 26.
13. Mosiah 8:8-11, also Helaman 3:6.
14. Mosiah 7:8-11. These plates were afterwards translated by the
Nephite King, Mosiah, who was a seer; that is, one who could use Urim
and Thummim. The record which he translated gave an account of the
people who were destroyed, "from the time they were destroyed back
to the building of the great Tower, at the time the Lord confounded
the language of the people. * * * Yea, and even from that time until
the creation of Adam." (Mosiah 28:11, 17). Subsequently Moroni gave
an abridged translation of the same record which he called the "Book
of Ether," Ether being the name of the prophet who wrote the book so
translated.
15. See the whole Book of Ether.
16. Ether 10:21.
17. Ether 9:1-3.
18. Ether 9:9.
19. See foot note to Ether 9:3.
20. Ether 10:21.
21. Ether 10:21.
22. Ether 9:16-20.
23. Ether 10:22-28.
24. Ether 1:42, 43.
25. Ether 9.
26. Ether 15 and foot note "b" p. 606.
27. Ether 6:23.
28. Ether 6 and 7.
29. Ether 3:9-16.
30. Ether 9:22.
31. Ibid. 10:28.
32. The orthography of the word cannot be determined, it is spelled
"Shiblom" in the passage above, and Shiblon in another.
33. Ether 13.
34. Ether 15:33.
35. The story of Zedekiah's reign in Jerusalem, the conditions that
obtained among the people, and the warnings which God sent by many
prophets (Lehi among the rest) is thus told in II Chronicles, chapter
36: "Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah
the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled
against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he
stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord
God of Israel. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people,
transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and
polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And
the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up
betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on
his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised
his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against his people, till there was no remedy."
36. Nephi 2:20.
37. See synopsis First Book Nephi, heading chapter 1.
38. Richards' and Little's _Compendium_, p. 273; I Nephi 16:13, 14, 43.
Also chapter 17:1.
39. Richards' and Little's _Compendium_, p. 272-273. The accuracy of
this is questioned.
40. Reynolds, _B. M. Chronology_, Richards' and Little's _Compendium_,
p. 273.
41. II Nephi 5.
42. II Nephi 5:22-25.
43. Book of Omni 4:7.
44. That is, four hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem the
latter event being 600 B. C.
45. _Dict. of B. of M_., Art. Nephi, Land of p. 295.
46. Such is the theory of Orson Pratt--see note "g," Book of Omni, old
edition Book of Mormon.
47. II Nephi 5:8, Omni 1:12, 27. Mos. 7. Mos. 9:1. See collection of ref.
under "b." II Nephi 5.
48. See Mosiah 23:1-5, 19. Also Mos. 24:20, 24. Also foot note "t" in
ch. 24, by Orson Pratt; and _Dict. of B. of M_., pp. 198,
199.
49. It is supposed by some that this River Sidon is identical with the
River Magdalena in the northern part of South America. (See _Dictionary
of Book of Mormon_, p. 339, and Orson Pratt's note "g," Alma 2:15 old
edition.)
50. Josephus, _Antiq_., bk. 10:8.
51. Josephus, _Antiq_., bk. 10, ch. 8. See also II Kings, ch. 25.
52. Omni 1:14-17.
53. Helaman 6:10.
54. This is upon the supposition that what is known among the Nephites
especially as the land "Desolation," in contradistinction to the
Nephite land "Bountiful," is identical with the region known to moderns
as Central America; and the consideration of Alma 22:29-33. See also
_Dict. B. of M_., p. 110.
55. Alma 8:7.
56. Omni 1:20-22.
57. Mosiah 28:7-14 and Mosiah 28.
58. Sec _Dictionary of B. of M._ (Reynolds), p. 165 _et seq_.
59. Lehi is plainly declared to be of the stock of Manasseh, (Alma
10:3); and it is supposed that Ishmael and his family, who joined Lehi
and his family in the journey to the promised land, were of the tribe
of Ephraim (See _Dict. Book of Mormon_, p. 155, Art. Ishmael). There
are promises respecting Ephraim which cannot be realized except through
the seed of Ephraim dwelling upon the land of America. See Orson
Pratt's _Prophetic Evidences of the Book of Mormon_.
60. See Gen. 11.
CHAPTER XI.
BOOK OF MORMON LANDS. [1]
The location of many cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and the
districts of Nephite lands that would correspond to departments and
provinces in the political nomenclature of modern times, may not now
be definitely fixed upon. This circumstance arises largely out of the
fact that the Nephite historians have said nothing explicitly as to the
extent of those mighty changes which were wrought in the form of Book
of Mormon countries by the awful convulsions of nature at the time of
Messiah's crucifixion. That the changes were considerable no one can
question; for while certain allowances must always be made for language
used in describing such events as then took place, the very definite
statements of the Book of Mormon with reference to these events leave
no room for doubt as to the great transformations wrought in the
physical aspects of the land by those great cataclysms. Three different
writers make mention of the physical changes wrought at Messiah's
crucifixion, two prophetically, and one gives two descriptions of the
physical changes that took place through the convulsions of nature.
I remark, in passing, that it must be remembered that the prophetic
descriptions must be accounted as real as the historical descriptions;
for as the prophets saw it, so indeed it came to pass. The first Nephi,
in his description of the great catacylsms, says:
I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I
saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all
manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks,
that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw
the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many
cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned
with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of
the quaking thereof. [2]
The following is the prophet Samuel's description of the physical
changes in the western hemisphere at the crucifixion of Christ:
Behold, in that day that he shall suffer death, the sun shall be
darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon
and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this
land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space
of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.
Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be
thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the
earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the
face of this earth, which are both above the earth [surface] and
beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of
it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; yea, they shall be rent
in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks,
and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea,
both above the earth and beneath. And behold, there shall be great
tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a
valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys
which shall become mountains, whose height is great. And many
highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.
* * * And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said
unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the
space of many hours. And he said unto me that while the thunder and
the lightning lasted, and the tempests, that these things should
be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for
the space of three days. [3]
Mormon's abridged description of the great cataclysms, after they had
occurred, taken from the book of III Nephi, is as follows:
And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first
month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm,
such an one as never had been known in all the land. And there was
also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder,
insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to
divide asunder. * * * And the city of Zarahemla did take fire. And
the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the
inhabitants thereof were drowned. And the earth was carried up upon
the city of Moronihah that in the place of the city there became a
great mountain. And there was a great and terrible destruction in
the land southward. But behold, there was a more great and terrible
destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of
the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds,
and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceeding great
quaking of the whole earth; and the highways were broken up, and
the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.
And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned,
and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the
earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were
left desolate. And there were some cities which remained; but the
damage thereof was exceeding great, and there were many in them
who were slain. * * * And thus the face of the whole earth became
deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the
lightnings, and the quaking of the earth. And behold, the rocks
were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole
earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in
seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land. [4]
The second description of these truly awful occurrences in III Nephi is
one that is attributed to the voice of God heard throughout the land by
the survivors of that dreadful time:
And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the
inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:
Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole
earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his
angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters
of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations
that they are fallen! Behold, that great city of Zarahemla have I
burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof. And behold, that
great city of Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the
sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned. And behold, that
great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants
thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from
before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints
shall not come any more unto me against them. And behold, the city
of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof
to be buried up in the depths of the earth; yea, and the city of
Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the
inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants
thereof, and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof,
to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that
the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more
unto me against them. And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the
city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno,
all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in
the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in
the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations
from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints
should not come up any more unto me against them. * * * And many
great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon
this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. [5]
But notwithstanding all that is said in these passages about the mighty
changes which took place in the land, nothing is set down that helps us
to determine definitely the nature of the physical changes as affecting
Nephite lands. I believe, however, those changes were considerable;
enough at least to render worthless, except in a very general way, the
conjectures sometimes made respecting Nephite lands and cities.
I am aware that the science of geology, while clearly granting the
instability of our earth's crust, quite generally insists that the
uplifting of continents and mountain ranges from the ocean's bed, and
the subsidence of islands and continents into the ocean bottom is
accomplished so slowly that long geological periods are required for
the changes effected; and that the periods of time are so great that
it is useless to measure them in time of which years shall be regarded
as units. [6] But notwithstanding the very sound reasons, in the main,
which are advanced for the slowness of this work, there is evidence of
the fact, and also respectable authority for it, that sometimes very
great changes of wide extent are made quite suddenly.
Sir Charles Lyell says:
While these proofs of continental elevation and subsidence, by slow
and insensible movements, have been recently brought to light, the
evidence has been daily strengthened of continued changes of level
effected by violent convulsions in countries where earthquakes are
frequent. There the rocks are rent from time to time, and heaved
up or thrown down several feet at once, and disturbed in such a
manner, that the original position of strata may, in the course of
centuries, be modified to any amount. [7]
Our modern world is fast coming to recognize Plato's story of the
subsidence of the island-continent of Atlantis as something more than
a fable. The story of that so-called island which by the Egyptian
priest who related the tradition to Solon was represented as larger
than "Lybia and Asia put together," is told in Plato's Timaeus, [8] as
follows:
In those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island
situated in front of the straits which you call the columns of
Heracles; the island was larger than Lybia and Asia put together,
and was the way to other islands, and from the islands you might
pass through the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded
the true ocean; for this sea which is within the straits of
Heracles is only a harbor, having a narrow entrance, but the other
is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a
continent. [9]
Plato represents that in this land there was a great and wonderful
empire which had dominion over the whole island and its armies
attempted to subjugate Egypt and Europe to its authority. In this
conflict the very ancient Greeks won the applause of Europe and Egypt
by withstanding well nigh alone the aggressions of the Atlantic empire.
The Greeks are represented as having defeated and triumphed over the
invaders, and now Plato:
But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and
in a single day and night of rain all your warlike men in a body
sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner
disappeared, and was sunk beneath the sea. And that is the reason
why the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because
there is such a quantity of shallow mud in the way; and this was
caused by the subsidence of the island. [10]
On the acceptance of Plato's story of Atlantis, both by ancient and
modern writers, P. De Roo, in his _History of America Before Columbus_,
has an interesting chapter, from which I quote the following:
Not to speak of other ancient authors to whom we shall refer in the
sequel, we may remark that the Jewish writer Philo (20 B. C.--54 A.
D.), and the Platonist Crantor, were inclined to admit the literal
interpretation of Plato's Atlantidic description. Tertullian
(second century A. D.) and Arnobius (fourth century A. D.) agreed
with the pagan savant Ammianus of Plato's island, Atlantis; and
we have noticed that Cosmas Indicopleustes believed our continent
[America] to be the cradle of the human race. It would not be
difficult to find several authors of the first Christian centuries
and of the middle ages who relied on Plato's narrative in their
prophecies of discoveries in the mysterious west, and Christopher
Columbus himself was undoubtedly encouraged by his belief in the
objective truth of Plato's _Timaeus_ and _Critias_; but after our
continent was again discovered at the end of the fifteenth century,
almost every European scientist accepted the literal interpretation
of the Athenian philosopher's description of countries in and
beyond the Atlantic Ocean. [11]
This passage is followed by a number of pages on the same subject,
and many authorities are quoted in the margin, to which I commend the
reader.
Elisee Reclus, author of _The Earth, a Descriptive History of the
Phenomena of the Life of the Globe_, and one of the highest authorities
on physical geography, in speaking of an isthmus which once connected
"the few clumps of mountains which formed, as it were, the rudiments of
our Europe," with the American coast, also says:
This isthmus was the Atlantis, and the traditions which Plato
speaks of about this vanished land were perhaps based upon
authentic testimony. It is possible that man may have witnessed
the submergence of this ancient continent, and that the Gunches
of the Canary Islands were the direct descendants of the earliest
inhabitants of this primeval land. [12]
I also commend to the reader a recent volume on the subject by Ignatius
Donnelly, published by Harpers, 1898, under the title _Atlantis_, and
while I do not accept all the theories advanced by the author with
reference to Atlantis, I recognize the fact that he has collected a
great amount of evidence tending to establish the existence and the
subsidence of Plato's island-continent. Of course, for many ages
Plato's story has been regarded as a fable, but, as Donnelly remarks,
"there is an unbelief which grows out of ignorance, as well as a
skepticism which is born of intelligence," and then he adds:
For a thousand years it was believed that the legends of the buried
cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were myths: they were spoken of
as "the fabulous cities." For a thousand years the educated world
did not credit the accounts given by Herodotus of the wonders
of the ancient civilizations of the Nile and the Chaldae. He
was called "the father of liars." Even Plutarch sneered at him.
Now, in the language of Frederick Schlegal, "the deeper and more
comprehensive the researches of the moderns have been, the more
their regard and esteem for Herodotus has increased." Buckle says,
"His minute information about Egypt and Asia Minor is admitted by
all geographers." There was a time when the expedition sent out by
Pharaoh Necho to circumnavigate Africa was doubted, because the sun
was north of them; this circumstance, which then aroused suspicion,
now proves to us that the Egyptian navigators had really passed
the equator, and anticipated by 2,100 years Vasquez de Gama in his
discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. [13]
It is not, however, upon the probability of the elevation and
subsidence of this island-continent that I depend for support of my
views with reference to the changes being considerable that have taken
place in the western continents in comparatively modern times. There
is enough evidence that is matter of record within recent years to
establish the possibility of such changes having taken place. Le Conte,
in his _Compendium of Geology_, says:
But great earthquakes are oftener associated with bodily movements
of extensive areas of earth-crust. Thus, for example, in 1835,
after a severe earthquake on the western coast of South America,
it was found that the whole coast-line of Chili and Patagonia
were raised from two to ten feet above sea-level. Again, in 1822,
the same phenomenon was observed in the same region after a great
earthquake. Again, in 1819, after a severe earthquake which shook
the delta of the Indus, a tract of land fifty miles long and
sixteen miles wide was raised ten feet, and an adjacent area of
2,000 square miles was sunk, and became a lagoon. In commemoration
of the wonderful event the elevated tract was called "Ullah Bund,"
or "mound of God." Again, in 1811, a severe earthquake--perhaps
the severest ever felt in the United States--shook the valley of
the Mississippi. Coincidently with the shock, large areas of the
river-swamp sank bodily, and have ever since been covered with
water. In commemoration of the event, this area is still called
the sunken country. In all these cases, probably, and in the last
two certainly, there was a great fissure of the earth-crust, and a
slipping of one side on the other. [14]
Passing a number of descriptions of land elevations and subsidences
which Sir Charles Lyell relates as occurring in Chili, in the
nineteenth century, in order that I may give more attention to the
lands supposed to have been occupied by the Nephites, I quote the
following statement of this eminent geologist concerning the earthquake
at Bogota, in 1827:
On the 16th of November, 1827, the plain of Bogota, in New Granada,
or Colombia, was convulsed by an earthquake, and a great number of
towns were thrown down. Torrents of rain swelled the Magdalena,
sweeping along vast quantities of mud and other substances, which
emitted a sulphurous vapor and destroyed the fish. Popayan,
which is distant two hundred geographical miles south-southwest
of Bogota, suffered greatly. Wide crevices appeared in the road
of Guanacas, leaving no doubt that the whole of the cordilleras
sustained a powerful shock. Other fissures opened near Costa in the
plains of Bogota, into which the river Tunza immediately began to
flow. It is worthy of remark, that in all such cases the ancient
gravel bed of a river is deserted and a new one formed at a lower
level; so that a want of relation in the position of alluvial beds
of the existing water-courses may be no test of the high antiquity
of such deposits, at least in countries habitually convulsed by
earthquakes. Extraordinary rain accompanied the shocks before
mentioned; and two volcanoes are said to have been in eruption in
the mountain chain nearest to Bogota. [15]
The _Encyclopedia Britannica_, referring to the geographical formation
of Colombia, also says:
The fundamental formations throughout Colombia are igneous
and metamorphic, the great mass of the cordilleras consisting
of gneiss, granite, porphyry and basalt. In many places the
carboniferous strata have attained considerable development, though
they have been thrown into strange confusion by some unknown
disturbance. [16]
The writer in _Chamber's Encyclopedia_, in speaking of Colombia, also
says:
The geology of the country is very extraordinary. "Everywhere,"
we are told, "are found traces of stupendous cataclysms and a
disarrangement and intermixture of primitive and sedimentary rocks,
which assume to put all classification at defiance." [17]
Professor Winchell says:
We are in the midst of great changes, and are scarcely conscious
of it. We have seen worlds in flames, and have felt a comet strike
the earth. We have seen the whole coast of South America lifted
up bodily ten or fifteen feet and let down again in an hour. We
have seen the Andes sink 220 feet in seventy years. * * * Vast
transpositions have taken place in the coastline of China. The
ancient capital, located, in all probability, in an accessible
position near the centre of the empire, has now become nearly
surrounded by water, and its site is on the peninsula of Corea.
* * * There was a time when the rocky barriers of the Thracian
Bosphorus gave way and the Black Sea subsided. It had covered a
vast area in the north and east. Now this area became drained and
was known as the ancient Lectonia: it is now the prairie region of
Russia, and the granary of Europe. [18]
Referring to Donnelly again:
The earthquake of 1783 in Iceland destroyed 9,000 people out of
a population of 50,000; twenty villages were consumed by fire or
inundated by water, and a mass of lava thrown out "greater than the
bulk of Mont Blanc." [19]
Professor Lyell, referring to the great earthquake which occurred on
the island of Java, near the mountain of Galung Gung, on the 8th of
October, 1822, says:
A loud explosion was heard, the earth shook, and immense columns of
hot water and boiling mud, mixed with burning brimstone, ashes, and
lapilli, of the size of nuts, were projected from the mountain like
a water-spout, with such prodigious violence that large quantities
fell beyond the river Tandoi, which is forty miles distant. * * *
The first eruption lasted nearly five hours; and on the following
days the rain fell in torrents, and the rivers densely charged with
mud, deluged the country far and wide. At the end of four days
(October 12), a second eruption occurred, more violent than the
first, in which hot water and mud were again vomited, and great
blocks of basalt were thrown to the distance of seven miles from
the volcano. There was at the same time a violent earthquake, the
face of the mountain was utterly changed, its summits broken down,
and one side, which had been covered with trees, became an enormous
gulf in the form of a semicircle. Over 4,000 persons were killed
and 114 villages destroyed. [20]
The following account of seismic disturbances is taken from Donnelley's
work _Atlantis_.
The Gulf of Santorin, in the Grecian Archipelago, has been for two
thousand years a scene of active volcanic operations. Pliny informs
us that in the year 186 B. C. the island of "Old Kaimeni," or the
Sacred Isle, was lifted up from the sea; and in A. D. 19 the island
of "Thia" (the Divine) made its appearance. In A. D. 1573 another
island was created, called "the small sunburnt island." * * * A
recent examination of these islands shows that the whole mass of
Santorin has sunk, since its projection from the sea, over 1,200
feet. [21]
The fort and villages of Sindree, on the eastern arm of the Indus,
above Luckput, was submerged in 1819 by an earthquake, together
with a tract of country 2,000 square miles in extent. [22]
In April, 1815, one of the most frightful eruptions recorded in
history occurred in the province of Tomboro, in the island of
Sumbawa, about two hundred miles from the eastern extremity of
Java. It lasted from April 5 to July of that year; but was most
violent on the 11th and 12th of July. The sound of the explosion
was heard nearly one thousand miles. Out of a population of 12,000
in the province of Tomboro, only twenty-six individuals escaped.
"Violent whirlwinds carried up men, horses, and cattle into the
air, tore up the largest trees by the roots, and covered the
whole sea with floating timber." (Raffles' _History_ of Java,
vol. I, 38.) The ashes darkened the air; "the floating cinders to
the westward of Sumatra formed, on the 12th of April, a mass two
feet thick and several miles in extent, through which ships with
difficulty forced their way." The darkness in daytime was more
profound than the blackest night. "The town called Tomboro, on the
west side of Sumbawa, was overflowed by the sea, which encroached
upon the shore, so that the water remained permanently eighteen
feet deep in places where there was land before. The area covered
by the convulsion was 1,000 English miles in circumference. "In the
island of Amboyna, in the same month and year, the ground opened,
threw out water, and then closed again." (Raffles' _History of
Java_, vol. I, p. 52.)
But it is at the point of the European coast nearest to the site
of Atlantis at Lisbon that the most tremendous earhquake of modern
times has occurred. On the 1st of November, 1775, a sound was
heard underground, and immediately afterward a violent shock threw
down the greater part of the city. In six minutes 60,000 persons
perished. A great concourse of people had collected for safety upon
a new quay, built entirely of marble; but suddenly it sank down
with all the people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever
floated to the surface. * * * The water where the quay went down
is now 600 feet deep. The area covered by this earthquake was very
great. Humboldt says that a portion of the earth's surface, four
times as great as the size of Europe, was simultaneously shaken.
It extended from the Baltic to the West Indies, and from Canada
to Algiers. At eighty leagues from Morocco the ground opened and
swallowed a village of 10,000 inhabitants, and closed again over
them. [23]
Although Mr. Charles Darwin, one of the most conservative of
scientists, usually insists that the elevation and subsidence of the
earth's crust is accomplished by slow degrees and continues through
long geological periods of time, yet in the report of his _Geological
Observations_, he records some very important evidences of recent
elevations and subsidences as having taken place quite suddenly. One
instance is in connection with an elevation on the Island of San
Lorenzo, off the coast of Peru near Lima, in which he reaches the
conclusion that the beach on that island has been raised 85 feet since
Indian men inhabited Peru. [24] He gives another instance of a recent
elevation of land on the Island of Chiloe; [25] and still another on
the Island of Lemus. [26] In speaking in a general way of the elevation
on the western side of the South American continent, Mr. Darwin also
says:
On the shores of the Pacific, upraised shells of recent species,
generally, though not always, in the same proportional numbers as
in the adjoining sea, have actually been found over a north and
south space of 2,075 miles, and there is reason to believe that
they occur over a space of 2,480 miles. The elevation on this
western side of the continent has not been equable; at Valparaiso,
within the period during which upraised shells have remained
undecayed on the surface, it has been 1,300 feet, whilst at
Coquimbo, 200 miles northward, it has been within this same period
only 252 feet. At Lima, the land has been uplifted at least eighty
feet since Indian man inhabited that district; but the level within
historical times apparently has subsided. [27]
Coming to more recent seismic disturbances I call attention to the one
which occurred in 1883, on an island in the straits of Sunda:
A great cloud was seen to rise above the island, and spreading out
obscured the sun, while ash fell from the air. Upon the neighboring
land the ground was shaken, while upon the low coasts, a great
water wave rushed, destroying thousands of lives. Krakatoa, which
had not been in eruption in this century, had again broken forth,
with the most terrific explosion that man had recorded. Ash rose
miles in the air, and spreading out, fell on the surrounding land
and water, and for a while it was so thick upon the surface of the
sea, in the Straits of Sunda, that the progress of vessels was
impeded. So high did it rise that the light ash, floating about by
the upper winds, staid suspended in the air for months, some of it
falling in America and Europe. A great water wave, generated by
the explosion, crossed the Pacific to the California coast, and
it was observed on the shores of Africa and Australia. When the
eruption had ceased it was found that Krakatoa had been split into
two parts, one of which had disappeared into the air, leaving ocean
water where there had been dry land. The part of the island that
remained was covered with a deep coating of ash, and not a living
thing was left, neither plant nor animal. [28]
Speaking of the same event W. J. McGee, vice-president of the National
Geographical Society, and ethnologist in charge of the Bureau of
American Ethnology, says:
This stupendous outburst cast up a cloud of gas and dust to a
height of seventeen miles or more which darkened the sun for 150
miles in every direction, raised a sea wave reaching 135 feet in
height on adjacent coasts, resounded in every direction for a
thousand miles, and in one direction for 2,968 miles (if not indeed
to the Antipodes), and sent out a series of great atmospheric waves
rolling in both directions three times around the globe. [29]
The authority last quoted also says that the New Madrid earthquake of
1811-12 shook an area of a million and a quarter square miles; and that
the Charleston earthquake of 1886 was felt over nearly one-half million
square miles of land, and far out at sea. He gives at length also a
description of the recent earthquake in the island of St. Vincent,
West Indies, which shook all Martinique by the force of its explosion.
The magnetic disturbances swept in swift undulations for thousands
of miles, passed Maryland and Kansas in a few seconds, and reached
Honolulu a minute or two later; while the ensuing rain of rock-dust
stretched eastward a hundred miles beyond Barbadoes, westward to
Jamaica, northward to Texas, and to the South American continent. [30]
The conclusions to be reached from the facts here presented are, first,
that while elevations and subsidences of the earth's crust are usually
accomplished by slow degrees and through long periods of time, it is
also true that very extensive changes are effected by internal forces
of the earth in a very short period of time; and second, that there is
reason for the belief that the seismic disturbances described in the
Book of Mormon as taking place at the crucifixion of Messiah, effected
very great changes in the physical character of the land occupied
by the Nephites. If it should be contended that while the cases of
earthquake disturbances cited in this chapter tell of widespread areas
of country being suddenly and greatly effected, yet nowhere (except in
the case of Atlantis) do those changes approach the magnitude of the
physical changes called for in the views here set forth, the answer
would be that nowhere else in the records kept by men is there an
account of such terrible, such long-continued, and such widespread
cataclysms in the earth as those described in the Book of Mormon.
The terrible seismic disturbances which at the time of Messiah's
crucifixion took place in the western hemisphere continued through
three hours of time (instead of a few minutes, as in the case of some
of the most noted earthquake instances cited above); and affected the
western continents from end to end, and were followed by three days
of total darkness. [31] And as the forces then operative surpass in
their magnitude and time of continuance all other known instances of
the kind, so too, may it be reasonably argued that the changes would
be correspondingly greater than those effected by similar instances of
less magnitude and continued through briefer periods of time.
In concluding this chapter--even though I have not yet arrived at the
argumentative stage of my treatise--I would suggest that the cases of
seismic disturbances here cited are sufficient both in their character
and extent to warrant belief in the possibility of the terrible
catacylsms described in the Book of Mormon, and that they effected
great physical changes in the continents of America.
Footnotes
1. My treatment of the subject here has simply to do with the physical
character of the great divisions of the western hemisphere in Book of
Mormon times. I make no attempt to definitely locate particular lands
mentioned in the Book of Mormon, for the reason that the plan of my
treatise does not require the consideration of that subject, except
in a very general way: and however interesting it might be to know
definitely the location of particular Jaredite and Nephite lands--the
extent of their kingdoms, empires and republics; the location of
special provinces and other political districts or divisions therein,
together with a knowledge of the exact location of their capitals, and
metropolises, I do not believe those things can be learned with any
degree of certainty, for reasons set forth in the text of this chapter.
2. I Nephi 12:4.
3. Helaman 14:20-27.
4. III Nephi 8:5-18.
5. III Nephi 9:1-8, 12.
6. "With regard to the ages necessary for the accomplishment of the
immense geological processes, the history of which is disclosed to us
in the earth's strata, they certainly must have been of prodigious
duration; for all the annals of humanity are but as a passing moment
compared with the cycles of the globe. * * * Professor Haughton, a
mathematician, has endeavored to establish, according to the formula
of Dulong and Petit, that the mere fall in the temperature of 25,
occurring previously to the present epoch of our planet, would require
about 18 million of years. In the same way, the formation of each of
the strata, which constitutes the sum-total of the geological records
of the earth's surface must have taken up a long series of centuries
before which the mind recoils in perplexity. _The Earth_, Reclus, vol.
I, p. 32.
7. _Manual of Elementary Geology_, p. 46, 1852 edition.
8. Reference is also made to Atlantis in his _Critias_. (Jowett's
Trans, vol. II.)
9. _Dialogues of Plato_ (Jowett's translation), vol. II, p. 520.
10. Ibid., p. 521.
11. _History of America before Columbus_, p. 127, (Lippincott Co.,
pubs., 1900).
12. _The Earth_, vol. I, p. 36.
13. _Atlantis_, Donnelly, p. 3.
14. _Compend. of Geology_, Joseph Le Conte, pp. 145 and 146. See also
p. 153. The disturbance in the Mississippi valley is also mentioned by
Lyell (_Principles of Geology_, 1856 edition p. 446). He adds, that the
ground on which New Madrid stood, and the river bank for fifteen miles
above, sank eight feet below their former level.
15. _Principles of Geology_, Lyell, p. 457, 1856 edition.
16. Art. Colombia.
17. _Chamber's Ency_., Art. Colombia.
18. _The pre-Adamites_, p. 437.
19. _Atlantis_, p. 35.
20. _Principles of Geology_, p. 430.
21. _Atlantis_, p. 37.
22. p. 38.
23. _Atlantis_, p. 40.
24. _Geological Observations_, third edition, pp. 268, 269.
25. _Geological Observations_, p. 233.
26. Ibid., pp. 232, 233.
27. Ibid., p. 599. Also _The Earth_, vol. II, pp. 646, 647.
28. _First Book of Physical Geography_, R. S. Tarr, pp. 347, 348.
29. _The World Today_, (Magazine), vol. II, no. 1, July, 1902.
30. For full description see the magazine entitled "The World To
Today," Vol III., No, 1, July 1902.
31. It should be noted that the darkness accompanied some of the
seismic disturbances cited in the foregoing accounts of earthquakes,
notably in that of April, 1815, in the island of Sumbawa, see page
211, where "the darkness in the day time" is described as being more
profound than the blackest night.
CHAPTER XII.
INTER-CONTINENTAL MOVEMENTS OF BOOK OF MORMON PEOPLE.
The inter-continental movements of the Book of Mormon peoples must next
be considered.
Of the movements of the Jaredites and the people of Mulek but little
can be learned. The center of Jaredite civilization and national power
was in that part of the north continent known to the Nephites as the
land Desolation, a country which corresponds, as we have seen, to
modern Central America, [1] and of which Moron was the capital. From
this point the Jaredites evidently colonized in great part the north
continent; for it is said in the reign of King Lib that "the whole face
of the land northward was covered with inhabitants." [2] But this is
the widest extent of their colonization, as they confined themselves
to occupancy of the north continent, and nothing more than hunting
excursions ever carried them into the south continent.
Of the movements of Mulek's colony we have nothing more definite than
that having landed first at some point in the south part of the north
continent, they afterwards removed into the north part of the south
continent--to the valley of the Sidon, and were permanently settled
there when they were found by the migrating Nephites under Mosiah I.
As for the movements of the Nephites we have already traced them from
Lehi's landing place to the valley of the Sidon, where they joined the
people of Zarahemla, the descendants of Mulek's colony, and formed the
Nephite-Zarahemla monarchy under Mosiah I.
Hereafter we shall find their movements tending chiefly in two
directions: to the southward, and into the north.
NEPHITE MOVEMENTS SOUTHWARD.
The movements of the Nephites southward were prompted by two chief
incentives: first, by a desire on the part of some restless,
over-zealous spirits, who came with Mosiah to the valley of the
Sidon, to regain possession of the Land of Nephi--the land of their
forefathers; a choice land in itself, and made dear to some of them,
doubtless, by many tender and sacred recollections; second, by a pious
desire on the part of zealous missionaries to convert their brethren,
the Lamanites, to the truth of their fathers' faith in God, and the
truth of their fathers' traditions concerning the future coming of the
Christ to bring to pass the redemption of the world.
The first, and perhaps the largest of these movements, having in
contemplation the re-occupancy of the land of Nephi, was made under
Zeniff, a man who describes himself as "overzealous" to inherit the
land of his fathers. [3] This expedition was most likely undertaken
during the reign of the second king of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation,
viz., King Benjamin, who succeeded Mosiah I. In King Benjamin's reign
there was a serious war between the Lamanites and the newly formed
Nephite-Zarahemla nation. The Lamanites invaded the land of Zarahemla
bent on ravaging the country, and the subjugation of the people. They
were repulsed and driven back to their own lands, but not without much
bloodshed. [4] During the war, but likely after the repulse of the
Lamanites, Zeniff, with others, was sent among the Lamanites to locate
their forces and ascertain their strength, that the Nephite-Zarahemla
army might destroy them. But Zeniff, impressed with the many virtues
of the Lamanites, desired that they might not be destroyed, and urged
upon the leader of the Nephite expedition to enter into a friendly
treaty with them. This, however, was so far from the mind of the
Nephite leader that he ordered Zeniff to be slain, doubtless upon the
charge of treason, or insubordination; whereupon there was a revolt in
the expedition. The leader himself was killed; and Zeniff was rescued
after much bloodshed. Fifty of the expedition--all that survived the
unhappy conflict--returned to Zarahemla to relate the sad event that
had befallen them. Zeniff now gathered a company about him who were
desirous of repossessing the land of their forefathers, and with them
he departed from Zarahemla. On the journey they suffered from famine,
which much reduced their numbers; but finally they reached the land of
Lehi-Nephi, and of Shilom, which was the place from which the Nephites
under Mosiah departed northward in their second great hegira. [5]
The Lamanites received the expedition of Zeniff with favor, entered
into treaty relations with them, and vacated the land of Lehi-Nephi
and Shilom, that Zeniff and his people might possess it. It must not
be thought, however, that the action of the king of the Lamanites
was altogether disinterested; his ulterior motive was plunder of the
Nephites as soon as their well-known industry should bear fruit. He
allowed them to take possession of the cities and lands of their
fathers only that he might bring them into bondage, and make their
industry a source of revenue to himself and people.
The people of Zeniff rebuilt the walls of the ancient Nephite cities
in the land of Nephi, as also the cities themselves, and brought the
fruitful lands of their fathers again under cultivation; for under
Lamanite occupancy they had been neglected. The cities also had fallen
into decay, and the walls thereof had partly crumbled into ruins. As
soon, however, as Nephite industry began to redeem the waste places
and produce prosperity in the land, the Lamanites attempted their
subjugation; but though they suffered some from their conflicts with
the Lamanites, the Nephites, so long as Zeniff lived, maintained their
independence. So also they did during part of the reign of their second
king, Noah, son of Zeniff. During the reign of this second king, though
he himself was a dissolute, unrighteous man, he greatly beautified the
city of Lehi-Nephi, embellished the temple, and also built for himself
a magnificent palace. He also erected many and magnificent buildings
in the land of Shilom. [6] To carry out these improvements King Noah
taxed his people to the extent of one-fifth of all their possessions,
and of their income. He surrounded his dissolute court with a corrupt
priesthood, and in every way demoralized his people and made his
reign infamous. Still he successfully expelled the predatory bands of
Lamanites which invaded his territory from the south, and who had for a
time preyed upon his people.
About this time God sent a prophet among King Noah's people to warn
them of impending calamity. Him they burned, not heeding his warning.
But the mission of Abinadi, for such was the prophet's name, was not
wholly in vain, for the heart of one priest, Alma, was touched; and
he, repenting of his own wickedness, brought others to repentance. As
might be expected, this course displeased King Noah, and he sought to
destroy young Alma and his people. But Alma being warned of God of the
king's intentions, fled with his people (numbering about four hundred
and fifty souls) into the wilderness, some eight days' journey, where
they founded a city which they called Helam. [7] Here they dwelt in
security for a number of years. Finally, however, they were discovered
by the Lamanites, who placed them under bondage, and appointed task
masters over them. From this thraldom they were finally released by the
interposition of the Lord, who directed Alma to take his flight in the
direction of Zarahemla, which is reached in twelve days from Helam,
where he was most heartily received by King Mosiah II, who made him
High Priest over the Church throughout Zarahemla.
Meantime a large army of Lamanites invaded the land of Lehi-Nephi,
before whom King Noah and his people fled; but being encumbered with
their wives and children they were soon overtaken. Noah ordered an
abandonment of the women and children; but this order part of the men
of his army refused to obey, choosing rather to die with their wives
and children. The remainder followed the king. When the Lamanites saw
the helplessness of the Nephites, and being moved with compassion by
the pleading of their women, they abandoned the slaughter of them,
and permitted them to return to their cities, under covenant that
they would deliver up one-half of their property, and thereafter
pay annually one-half of the products of their labors. These hard
conditions were accepted; and the people returned to their possessions;
one Limhi, son of Noah, was chosen to be their ruler--their king, if
such a title, under the circumstances, be not mockery.
The Nephite men who obeyed the orders of King Noah in the matter of
abandoning their wives and children soon repented of their cowardice,
and resolved to return and share their fate or avenge their death; and
when King Noah opposed their manly resolutions they burned him at the
stake. On returning to Lehi-Nephi it was to find, of course, that their
people had gone into bondage to the Lamanites, under the circumstances
already detailed--a bondage these returning fugitives readily shared.
Hard, indeed, was the fate of the Nephites under Lamanite bondage. The
treaty stipulation prevented the Lamanites from making open war upon
them; but the one-half of the products of their labor due their masters
under the treaty they had formed was collected under every circumstance
of cruelty, and the Lamanites themselves directed the labors of the
unfortunate Nephites, placing task masters over them, who in every
way insulted and oppressed them, even to the binding of heavy burdens
upon their backs, and the application of the lash on the slightest
provocation.
Under these circumstances it can be easily understood that the Nephites
were restive and anxious for deliverance. Naturally their eyes and
hearts turned to Zarahemla, where the great body of their brethren
dwelt in security. Once King Limhi fitted out a small expedition
of forty-three men and sent them to find Zarahemla, and bring
deliverance. The expedition was a failure as far as its immediate
object was concerned. It was lost in the wilderness, passed by the
land of Zarahemla--evidently on the west of it, and went into the land
northward, where it found the ruins of the Jaredite race--destroyed
cities, ruined temples, fallen walls, a land covered with the bones
of men and beasts. They also found breast-plates of brass and copper;
swords, the hilts of which had perished; and the blades of which were
cankered with rust. But what was of more importance they found what
afterwards proved to be the record of Ether, consisting of twenty-four
plates of gold, on which the last prophet of the Jaredite race had
engraved an outline history of his people, and which subsequently King
Mosiah, by use of the Urim and Thummim, translated into the Nephite
language; so that the Nephites at Zarahemla were acquainted with the
history of the people who had preceded them in the occupancy of the
western hemisphere. [8]
It would naturally be expected that the people of Zarahemla would feel
an interest in their brethren who went up to re-occupy the land of
Nephi; and when, year after year passed away and no word came of their
fate or fortunes, there were those who petitioned the king of Zarahemla
to send an expedition in search of them. The repeated petitions
at last met with favorable action, and one Ammon, a descendant of
Zarahemla, with fifteen others started for the land of Nephi. After
forty days' journey they reached Shilom, at which place King Limhi
was sojourning at the time of their arrival. The joy of the meeting
was mutual. Ammon and his associates rejoiced that their mission had
such a happy termination; Limhi and his people, that they could now
hope for deliverance from Lamanite bondage; and also they had joy in
the proof which Ammon brought them that the Nephites of Zarahemla were
not destroyed; for when Limhi's expedition returned from the land
northward, where they found the ruins and bones of an extinct people,
they supposed they had found Zarahemla, but that the Lamanites had
destroyed that people.
Soon after the arrival of Ammon in the land of Nephi the people of
Limhi devised plans for their escape from their Lamanite oppressors.
The plans were successfully carried into effect, and Limhi and his
people were welcomed to Zarahemla by King Mosiah II. Thus ended the
most notable effort of the Nephites to repossess the land of their
fathers' first inheritance, the land of Nephi. The occupancy of that
land by Zeniff's people extended over a period of about eighty years.
Of the missionary expeditions that ventured into the land of Nephi
for the conversion of the Lamanites, one of the most notable, as also
one of the most successful, was begun and carried to its successful
termination under the leadership of the four sons of King Mosiah II,
named respectively, Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni. These young men,
and Alma, son of the High Priest of the same name, in their youthful
days were unbelievers in the traditions of their fathers; and they
sought to destroy the Church of God which the elder Alma with so
much toil had established through a faithful ministry. No parental
authority, no persuasion of preaching, prevailed against the pride and
skepticism of these young princes and the younger Alma. Gifted with
eloquence, politic, large-minded, generous in word and deed, gracious
and condescending to the people, Absalomlike he was rapidly stealing
the hearts of the Nephites, threatening the very existence of the
Church of God. At this juncture, out of respect for the prayers of the
elder Alma, God visited these young men by sending an angel to reprove
them, and warn them of impending calamities. The manifestation of God's
power in this visitation was such that the young men were over-whelmed.
Their conviction of sin was such that they repented thoroughly; and,
Paul-like, from being persecutors of those who served God, they became
zealous teachers of the truth, and sought with all their power to undo
the wretched mischief they had done in seeking the destruction of the
Church. This accomplished, so far as was possible, in the land of
Zarahemla, their thoughts turned to the hosts of unbelieving Lamanites
in the land of Nephi, more numerous than the Nephites and the people
of Zarahemla combined. A holy desire took possession of them to preach
salvation through the gospel to those hosts of Lamanites. Renouncing,
therefore, all their claims as princes, and abdicating all rights of
succession to the throne of their father, Mosiah II, these' princes
headed the aforesaid missionary expedition to the Lamanites. In the
midst of many afflictions, attended with much persecution, the sons of
Mosiah and their companions preached the gospel extensively throughout
Lamanite lands, and had a rich harvest of souls for their hire. They
established a Church among the Lamanites; but such was the oppression
practiced by the unconverted Lamanites upon those who accepted the
teachings of the Nephites, that, under divine direction and to preserve
their people from destruction, the young princes conducted an exodus of
the Church from the land of Nephi, then in possession of the Lamanites,
to Zarahemla, where they were welcomed by the Nephites, especially
by Alma the High Priest; and a land--the land of Jershon, north of
Zarahemla--was set apart for the home [9] of this body of Lamanite
converts.
NEPHITE MOVEMENT NORTHWARD
The Nephites in the land of Zarahemla early appreciated the strategic
importance of holding possession of the narrow neck of land--the
isthmus which connected the southland with the northland. They
perceived that if hard-pressed by their Lamanite enemies, who
out-numbered them to the extent of two for one, [10] the narrow neck
of land afforded them a means of escape into the great land northward,
while by fortifying the narrow passage their enemies, however numerous,
could be held in check, while they themselves would have a whole
continent behind them in which to expand. The Lamanites also saw the
strategic importance of this isthmus, and in some of the great wars in
the last half of the century immediately preceding the coming of the
Messiah, they sought to possess it, and the Nephites as strenuously
sought to prevent them from taking possession of it. [11]
The first extensive migration of Nephites into the north continent
occurred in the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth year of the reign of
the Nephite judges, a period which corresponds to fifty-five B. C. That
year five thousand four hundred men, together with their wives and
children, left the land of Zarahemla for the northland. That same year
one Hagoth, spoken of in Nephite annals as a "curious man," established
ship-building yards on the borders of the land Bountiful, on the west
side of the isthmus connecting the two continents. Here he constructed
a number of large vessels, in which great bodies of immigrants were
carried northward, to found new homes. Two of Hagoth's vessels that
started northward never returned, nor was anything ever afterwards
heard of them. The Nephites believed them to have been wrecked at sea.
It is supposed by some that these Nephite vessels may have drifted
westward and that their occupants may have peopled some of the islands
of the Pacific.
About ten years after this first great migration northward the
movement of population in that direction received a fresh impetus;
for great numbers went from Zarahemla and extended their journey
farther northward than heretofore. Contentions in the land of
Zarahemla--contentions born of pride, seem to have been responsible in
some way for this movement. Doubtless in the old centers of Nephite
civilization the possession of large wealth led to class distinctions,
and inequalities, most distasteful to a people who from the first
arrival of their fathers on the promised land had been taught to look
upon each other as equals. Migration from the land where distinctions
based upon the possession of wealth, and the pride it fosters,
presented itself perhaps as the easiest solution of the difficulty, and
hence the impetus to the northward movement in this year 46 B. C. [12]
The Nephite historian, Mormon, in speaking of conditions that
obtained about this time, gives one of those rare glimpses of Nephite
civilization that I consider of sufficient importance to quote at
length:
And it came to pass in the forty and sixth year, * * * there was
much contention and many dissensions; in the which there were an
exceeding great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and
went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land. And they
did travel to an exceeding great distance, insomuch that they came
to large bodies of water and many rivers. Yea, and even they did
spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had
not been rendered desolate, and without timber, because of the many
inhabitants who had before inherited the land. And now no part of
the land was desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the
greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited
the land it was called desolate. And there being but little timber
upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth,
became exceeding expert in the working of cement; therefore they
did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell. * * *
And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go
forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread
insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth,
from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea
east. And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in
tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree
should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up,
that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea,
their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their
sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings. And it came to pass
as timber was exceeding scarce in the land northward, they did send
forth much by the way of shipping. And thus they did enable the
people in the land northward, that they might build many cities,
both of wood and of cement. And it came to pass that there were
many of the people of Ammon who were Lamanites by birth, did also
go forth into this land. And now there are many records kept of
the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are
particular and very large, concerning them. But behold, a hundredth
part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the
Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and
dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their
shipping and their building of ships, and the building of temples,
and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness,
and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and
their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms,
cannot be contained in this work. [13]
Here it will be proper to dispel what I regard as a misapprehension of
the extent of Nephite occupancy of the north continent, at this period
of Nephite history. From the fact that in the foregoing quotation it
is said that the Nephites removing from Zarahemla traveled "to an
exceeding great distance, insomuch that they came to large bodies
of water, and many rivers," some have supposed that the Nephites at
this time extended their colonization movements as far north as the
great lakes in the eastern part of North America; [14] and from the
fact that it is also said that "they began to cover the face of the
whole earth, from the sea south, to the sea north, from the sea west,
to the sea east," it has been supposed that these expressions meant
to convey the idea that the Nephites at this time had extended their
settlements over both continents; and that "from the sea south to
the sea north" meant from the sea at the southern extremity of South
America (south of Cape Horn), to the Arctic Ocean, north of North
America. [15] There is no evidence, however, in the Book of Mormon that
warrants such a conclusion as to the extent of Nephite occupancy of the
western hemisphere in 46 B. C. Allowance for hyperbole must be made
in the expression, "They began to cover the face of the whole earth,"
since the facts set forth in the whole history of the Nephites in the
Book of Mormon are against the reasonableness of such an expression
if taken literally. From the landing of Lehi's colony early in the
sixth century B. C., to the date corresponding to the year 55 B. C.,
when the first considerable migration into the north land took place,
Nephite occupancy of the promised land was confined to portions of the
west and the extreme north part of what is now the south continent of
America; and as compared with the rest of South America, as now known
to us, the extent of country occupied was but a very small part of the
continent. The migrations from Zarahemla, from the year 55 B. C., to 46
B. C., though considerable, are not sufficient to warrant the belief
that the Nephites spread over and occupied the whole face of the north
continent. By reference to the map the reader, if he will consider the
parts of the country now known as the south part of Mexico and Central
America, will there find all the conditions that answer to the terms
of the description in the passage quoted complied with as to "the
sea south, and the sea north; the sea east and the sea west;" while
the physical character of the same land, even now, will answer the
requirements of the description of its being a land of "large bodies
of water and many rivers;" [16] and more abundantly may have been so
before the convulsions of nature which took place in Nephite lands at
Messiah's crucifixion.
I conclude, therefore, that this migration of Nephites at this time
extended no further northward than southern parts of Mexico, say about
the twenty-second degree north latitude; in other words, the Nephites
were occupying the old seat of Jaredite empire and civilization, and
the land of Moron which the Nephites called "desolate," not because of
its barrenness--save for the absence of forests of timber--"but because
of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before
inhabited the land;" that is, the Jaredites.
The next important event affecting the movement of population and the
possession of the land north and south was a war between the Nephites
and Lamanites, that began with the invasion of Nephite lands by the
Lamanites in 35 B. C. Owing to dissensions among the Nephites, many
of that people had deserted to the Lamanites. It is quite possible
that this was owing to the resentment felt by the dissenting Nephites
because of the class distinctions which arose on account of wealth
and pride; and instead of the dissatisfied joining in the movement
northward, as many did, some of them went southward, joined their
fortunes with the barbarous Lamanites, and fomented the spirit of war
against their brethren. In this war the Nephites were destined to meet
with a new experience. Hitherto in their wars with the Lamanites, since
uniting with the people of Zarahemla, at least, the Nephites had been
able to hold their lands against the Lamanite invasion; and though
they had lost here and there a battle, they were uniformly successful
in their wars. In the war of 35-32 B. C., however, the Lamanites
drove the Nephites from all their lands in the south continent. Even
Zarahemla was taken, and the cities in the land Bountiful, extending,
be it remembered, northward from the land of Zarahemla to the isthmus
connecting the two continents. The Nephites were thrown wholly on the
defensive. They concentrated their forces at the narrow neck of land;
hastily fortified it, and by that means prevented the invasion of the
north continent. [17]
In the year 32-31 B. C. the fortunes of war changed somewhat, and
the invading hosts of Lamanites were forced out of the most northern
cities of the Nephites in the land Bountiful and Zarahemla; but the
city Zarahemla, so long the capital of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation,
remained in possession of the Lamanites; nor could the Nephites further
prevail by force of arms than to win back and hold about one-half of
their possessions in the south. At this point still another event,
important in Nephite history, occurred. The Chief Judge of the land,
whose name was Nephi, resigned his office in order to join his younger
brother, Lehi, in the work of preaching the gospel. Unrighteousness
is assigned as the cause of Nephite failure in the war of 35-32 B.
C.; wealth, love of luxury, pride, injustice to the poor, internal
dissensions, manifold treasons, and civil strife are enumerated as
among Nephite sins and afflictions. If unrighteousness was the cause
of Nephite weakness and failure--and it was--then clearly the logical
thing to do was to bring the people to repentance, re-establish them
in righteousness, and by these steps restore them to the favor of God.
Evidently so reasoned these two priests and prophets of God, Nephi and
Lehi; and to the achievement of this end they bent their energies. They
were successful; but successful in a direction least to be expected,
viz, successful in converting the Lamanites. Partially successful in
converting the Nephites, in the northern cities of the southland,
they went into the land of Zarahemla, still held by the Lamanites,
and so far convinced the Lamanites of the error and wickedness of the
traditions of their fathers that eight thousand were baptized in the
land of Zarahemla and the regions round about. Thence the two prophets
went further southward into the land of Nephi; and though they met
with some persecutions, such was the marvelous display of God's power
in their deliverance, that the greater part of the Lamanites were
converted; and restored to the Nephites the cities and lands they had
taken in the recent war. Many of the Lamanites themselves engaged
in the work of the ministry, and preached to the Nephites both in
Zarahemla and in the north continent. Nephi and Lehi also preached
in the northland, but with no great success. Still peace prevailed;
and for the first time since the separation of the Nephites from the
Lamanites, in the first half of the sixth century B. C., there was
unrestricted intercourse between the two peoples:
And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the
Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would,
whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. And it came to pass
that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether
it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they
did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and
to get gain, according to their desire. And it came to pass that
they became exceeding rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites;
and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and
of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in
the land north. Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land
north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for
the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the
land south. And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these
lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there
were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did
refine it; and thus they did become rich. They did raise grain
in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did
flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the south. And they
did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did
raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings. Behold their women
did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined
linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness.
The next event which affected Nephite occupancy of the land north and
south was one of their many robber wars. By the sixteenth year from the
time the sign [18] of the birth of Christ [19] had been given (therefore
16 A.D.) wickedness had so far increased among the people of the western
world, and there had been so many dissensions from those who once had
favored law and order, that the robber bands which infested the country
considered themselves so powerful that they called upon the Chief Judge
of the land to abdicate government and accept the order of things that
obtained in their societies. This demand led to a serious war between
the supporters of the government on the one hand, and the outlaws
on the other. The Nephite leaders gathered their people both from
the north and the south into the central part of their country--into
the land Bountiful, and the land Zarahemla; and the cities of these
lands the Nephites and the Lamanites standing for law, order, and the
maintenance of government, fortified and stocked with an abundance of
provisions against the opening of the impending war. The war began in
the year 18 A. D., and lasted for more than two years. In it the robber
bands were not only defeated, but annihilated, by being destroyed in
battle, executed under the provisions of the law, or by being compelled
to enter into covenant to abandon their robberies and murders. This
war, in some respects the most terrible in Nephite history, was
followed by an era of prosperity. In the course of a few years the
Nephites had moved back upon their lands whence they had been called by
the exigencies of the recent war. "And it came to pass that there were
many cities built anew, and there were many old cities repaired. And
there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from
city to city, and from land to land." [20]
No sooner were the terrors of war removed, however, than the people who
had been so marvelously delivered from their enemies lapsed again into
unrighteousness.
For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers,
and many officers. And the people began to be distinguished by
ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning;
yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did
receive great learning because of their riches. Some were lifted
up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return
railing for railing, while others would receive railing and
persecution, and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and
revile again, but were humble and penitent before God. And thus
there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the
church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth
year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a
few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and
they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast,
and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments
of the Lord. Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this,
Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all
manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting
them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain
things of the world. * * * * Now they did not sin ignorantly, for
they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught
unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God. [21]
The people of the western world, in brief, had entered upon that
final stage of their wickedness which was to terminate in those
awful convulsions of nature that should make their lands desolate,
and well-nigh destroy the inhabitants thereof. The government itself
had become corrupt; so, too, had the priesthood, save a few faithful
ones--men of God, who testified that the Messiah had come, and that the
time of his passion and resurrection approached. These were secretly
haled before the judges, and both priests and lawyers leagued against
them for their destruction. When it was feared that the Chief Judge
would not sign their death warrants--a thing needful under the Nephite
law to make executions legal--they privily put them to death, and
thus were guilty of judicial murders. An attempt to overthrow the
commonwealth, now perpetuated through more than a hundred and twenty
years, ended in anarchy; and thence to the establishment of a sort of
tribal government, which maintained an uncertain peace by means of
mutual fears rather than by any inherent strength in the system--if
system, indeed, it could be called. Such were the conditions that
obtained among the people of the western world when those mighty
cataclysms occurred which destroyed so many Nephite cities, effaced so
much of Nephite civilization, and so greatly changed in some places
the physical character of the continents of the western hemisphere, of
which the Book of Mormon account has been already given.
Shortly after these great cataclysms the Savior made his appearance
among the Nephites and established his Church, which event was followed
by a long period of righteousness and the loss of all race and party
distinctions, such as "Nephite" and "Lamanite," etc.; and the people
occupied the lands north and south without restraint according to
their good pleasure. True, in the year 350, A. D., when wickedness
had again made its appearance among the people, and old distinctions
were received, a treaty was made in which it was stipulated that those
calling themselves Lamanites and Gadianton robbers would possess
the south land. The treaty, however, was not long respected by the
Lamanities, for at the end of ten years they violated it by attempting
to invade the north and war was renewed. Back and forth surged the
tide of armed conflict, but raged chiefly in what was known to the
Nephites as the land of Desolation, the old seat of Jaredite empire
and civilization. The Nephites at last having been driven from their
southern strongholds in the north continent, proposed through their
leader, Mormon, Mormon, [22] that they be permitted to gather their
people at Cumorah--the Ramah of the Jaredites--that they might trust
their fate to the dreadful arbitrament of one great conflict. The
request was granted; the hosts were gathered, the armies which fought
under the Nephite name were destroyed, save such as were mingled with
the Lamanites. Anarchy followed, and then savagery for ages claimed the
western hemisphere as its own.
Footnotes
1. See Ether 7:6 and _Dict. B. of M_., Art. Desolation.
2. Ether 10:21.
3. Mosiah 9:1-4.
4. Omni 1:24.
5. For the authority of the foregoing narrative compare Omni 1:26-30,
Mosiah 9:1-6, and "Words of Mormon" between the Books of Omni and
Mosiah. Also Mosiah 11:13.
6. Mosiah 11.
7. The city of Helam and the surrounding country which was called "the
land of Helam," was doubtless named from Helam, who was the first to
receive baptism at the hands of Alma. Mos. 18.
8. Compare Mosiah 8, with Mosiah 21, and Mosiah 28.
9. Elder Reynolds suggests that this land north of Zarahemla was set
apart to them because it would place Zarahemla between them and the
Lamanites who might attempt pursuit.--_Dict. Book of Mormon_, p. 172.
10. Mosiah 25:2, 3.
11. Alma 51, 52. Helaman 1.
12. Forty and sixth year of the reign of the judges; corresponding to
the year forty-six B. C. (Reynolds' B. of M. Chronology, Richards'
_Compendium_, p. 195.)
13. Book of Helaman, 3:3-15.
14. To Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario.
15. See Orson Pratt's notes "i" and "j" Helaman III.
16. The land visited by Limhi's expeditions in search of Zarahemla, and
who went to the land desolation, on their return described that as a
land "among many waters," Mosiah 8:8.
17. Helaman 4.
18. A Lamanite prophet five years B. C., declared that a sign of
Messiah's birth would be given to the people of the western hemisphere,
which he described as follows: "This will I give unto you for a sign at
the time of his (Messiah's) coming; for behold, there shall be great
lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there
shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it
was day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as
if it were one day and there were no night, and this shall be unto you
for a sign. * * And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one
as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you" (of
Messiah's birth). All of which came to pass as predicted. (See Helaman
14:3-6; also III Nephi 1:15-21.)
19. The Nephites began to reckon their time from the sign of Messiah's
birth in the ninth year from that event. See III Nephi 2. Compare
verses 3-7 with verses 8-10.
20. III Nephi 6.
21. III Nephi 6:11-15, 18.
22. Mormon was born in the north land about 311 A. D. To him was
entrusted the Nephite records by one Ammaron; and while they were
in his possession he made the abridgment which bears his name, "The
Book of Mormon." All the sacred Nephite records he did away except his
abridgment of those records; and that he delivered to his son Moroni.
CHAPTER XIII.
GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION AMONG THE NEPHITES.
_Nephite Government_.
Some twelve or fifteen years after Lehi's colony arrived in the new
world, Nephi with that part of the colony which he could influence--the
more righteous part, by the way--separated from the elder sons of Lehi
and their following, and established a separate community. Such was
the esteem in which Nephi was held by his following that his people
besought him to be their king. Nephi appears not to have favored the
establishment of this kind of government, but yielded to the desire
of his people. Perhaps he had inherited the prejudices of the Hebrew
prophets against the kingly form of government, [1] and would gladly
have seen his people live under an administration of government by
judges, as in ancient Israel. This, however, is but an inference drawn
from the fact of Nephi's expressed desire that his people would have no
king.
Succession to the kingly dignity was made hereditary in Nephi's family,
[2] and the kings on their accession to the kingly power took the title
of Nephi I, Nephi II, Nephi III, Nephi IV, etc. [3] What the nature of
this kingly government was, what secondary officers existed in it, and
what means were employed for the administration of its laws cannot be
learned from the Nephite record. For some time the community over which
the established government held sway was but a small one, hence the
kingly office had no such dignity as attaches to it in more extensive
governments; but was most likely akin to the petty kingdoms which
existed in Judea [4] at various times and with which Nephi and some
few of those who had accompanied him from Jerusalem were acquainted.
The Nephites had the scriptures containing the law of Moses, and were
taught to some extent in some of the customs of the Jews, but not in
all of them. [5] And these customs, and the law of Moses administered
with no very great amount of machinery, I apprehend, constituted the
character of the Nephite government. Under it the Nephites lived for a
period of more than four hundred and fifty years.
The transition from a kingly form of government to what may be called
a democracy was made at the death of Mosiah II, 509 years from the
time Lehi left Jerusalem, or 91 years B. C. The Israelitish genius
in matters of government inclines them to the acceptance of what men
commonly call a theocracy, which is defined as meaning literally "a
state governed in the name of God." The election of this form of
government by Israelities as most desirable, grows out of the fact of
the Mosaic legislation; for Moses received the law by which Israel
was governed direct from Jehovah; its regulations were carried out in
Jehovah's name, by the administration of judges, both during the life
time of Israel's great prophet and also after his demise. Living thus
under the divine law, administered in the name of Jehovah by judges
divinely appointed, was to be governed of God. And so completely was
this form of government recognized as the government of God, that to
reject it was held to be rejecting God as the ruler of the state, as
witness the words of the Lord himself in the closing years of the
prophet Samuel's life when Israel clamored for a king. The Lord said
unto Samuel: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say
unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me,
that I should not reign over them." [6]
No one, it appears to me, could have a clearer conception of the evils
that grow out of kingly government than the Nephite king, Mosiah II.
Nor a clearer conception of the strength and advantages of that form
of government. I give a summary of his reasoning upon two sides of
this question: "It is better that a man be judged of God than of man;
for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of men
are not always just." This is said in support of the old Israelitish
idea of government--a theocracy: "If it were possible that you could
have just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God
and judge this people according to his commandments, * * * * then it
would be expedient that you always have kings to rule over you;" but
"because all men are not just, it is not expedient that you should have
a king or kings to rule over you. * * * * Behold, how much iniquity
doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea and what destruction!"
Moreover Mosiah understood the strength of those forces behind which
an ungodly king could intrench himself. "Behold, * * * * ye cannot
dethrone an iniquitous king, save it be through much contention, and
the shedding of much blood; for behold, he has his friends in iniquity,
and keepeth his guards about him, * * * * and he enacteth laws, and
sendeth them forth among his people; yea, laws after the manner of his
own wickedness; and whosoever does not obey his laws, he causeth to
be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him, he will send his
armies against them to war, and if he can, he will destroy them: and
thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness."
"Behold, I say unto you the sins of many people have been caused by the
iniquities of their kings."
These were the considerations which led him to recommend the
abandonment of kingly government and establish a reign of judges chosen
by the voice of the people. By this arrangement Mosiah held that the
people would bear the responsibility of the government. "It is not
common," he reasons, "that the voice of the people desireth anything
contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the smaller part
of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall
ye observe, and make it your law, to do your business by the voice
of the people; and if the time comes that the voice of the people
doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgment of God will
come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great
destruction, even as he has hitherto visited this land." All of which
is a clear setting forth of the responsibilities of self-governing
communities.
It should be pointed out, however, that there were some other events
which led to the consideration of the propriety of changing the form
of the Nephite government, at this time. The sons of Mosiah, who
were heirs to the Nephite throne, were miraculously converted to the
gospel, and so thoroughly imbued had they become with the importance
of the work of the ministry of the Church that they abandoned their
rights of succession to the kingly dignity, and departed from the land
of Zarahemla to perform missions among the Lamanites. In consequence
of the action of these young princes, Mosiah II was confronted with
the problem of succession to the Nephite throne, since those to whom
belonged the right refused to accept the honor. He feared that if
another were appointed instead of one who had constitutional claims
to the throne, there might arise contentions over the question of
succession. "And who knoweth," said he, "but what my son to whom
the kingdom doth belong, shall turn to be angry, and draw part of
this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among
you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood?" He therefore
recommended the election of a chief judge or president of the
theocratic-democracy, who would be possessed of both administrative
and judicial powers, in the hope that such action, taken by the
people themselves, would obviate all difficulty or question about the
legitimacy of the government about to be established.
It is difficult to determine with precision the entire character of the
constitution of the Nephite democracy. But from what is written in the
Book of Mormon this much may be learned: The chief judge, elected by
the people, was the supreme governor of the land, the chief executive.
[7] His oath of office bound him "to judge righteously, and to keep the
peace and the freedom of the people, and grant unto them the sacred
privileges to worship the Lord their God; to support and maintain
the laws of God all his days, and to bring the wicked to justice,
according to their crimes." A similar oath was doubtless administered
to the inferior judges. To a limited extent also legislative powers
were granted to the chief judge, but these powers appear to have been
limited to framing laws, which were not of force until ratified by the
voice of the people. No limit seems to have been set to the term of
office of the chief judge, but as the voice of the people placed him in
office, the same power could also dismiss him from it; and it may be
that the power of impeachment, vested in a certain number of inferior
judges--as explained later--extended to deposing even the chief judge.
In any event it may be concluded that he held his position only during
good behavior.
Just how the inferior judges were graded cannot be ascertained, but
that they were graded is evident, since Mosiah II, in explaining the
character of the constitution of the democracy he proposed to his
people, said: "And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you
according to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they
may be judged of a higher judge. If your higher judges do not judge
righteous judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower
judges should be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher
judges, according to the voice of the people." [8] A salutary provision
this, for it made all amenable to the law, but the manner in which
the judges were graded is unknown, as well as what number of inferior
judges were designated to try the superior judges.
These administrators of the law were paid for their services "according
to the time which they labored to judge those who were brought before
them to be judged, * * * a senine of gold for a day," or its equivalent
in silver--a senum of silver. [9] It is, of course, impossible to
determine the value of these denominations of Nephite coins, and
therefore impossible to determine the value of the _per diem_ of the
judges. The nearest approach that can be made to an estimate is that a
senine of gold or a senum of silver was equal in value to "a measure of
barley and also for a measure of any kind of grain." [10] This is again
indefinite, as neither the bulk nor the weight of "a measure of grain"
is known; but it does convey the idea that it was no very great amount;
and, indeed, in all that is said upon the subject of compensation for
public service in the state, it is manifest that the Nephite government
was administered on the strictest lines of economy. [11].
The organization of the military forces among the Nephites would be a
subject of great interest, since, by reason of the constant aggressions
of the Lamanites, they were often forced into war, and would be classed
as a defensively warlike state. Of their military organization,
however, but little can be definitely known. Two items, however,
connected with the commander-in-chief of the armies, are quite clear:
First, that he was nominated for his position by the Chief Judge of
the land, [12] which nomination had to be ratified by the voice of the
people; second, that on occasions the people delegated to him absolute
power, created him military "dictator" in fact. This has ever been the
means by which republics have sought to remedy one of the chief defects
of their system, viz., ineffectiveness of administration--a tardiness
in executing the law, or meeting an emergency not technically provided
for in the constitution or law. In order to obviate this difficulty
democracies have not infrequently adopted the plan of creating trusted
leaders dictators; clothing them with all the authority of an absolute
monarch during periods of special peril to the government. Thus did
the Romans a number of times during the existence of their republic,
when occasions arose that required prompt executive action, and by an
authority that would be unquestioned. And such, I believe, was the
power conferred upon the commander-in-chief of the Nephite armies, when
occasion arose for it.
Relative to the body of the laws that obtained among the Nephites,
whether under the monarchy or the republic, I apprehend that it was
made up of the Mosaic legislation, [13] with some slight modification,
and some especial enactments of their kings. As for instance it
was enacted in the law of Mosiah (most likely Mosiah II) that the
judges should receive wages according to the time they devoted
to their office. [14] So doubtless other special acts obtained,
which, with the general laws of the Mosaic legislation formed the
Nephite jurisprudence. [15] And in the transition from the monarchy
to the republic, Mosiah was careful to stipulate for this body of
jurisprudence: "Let us appoint judges to judge this people according to
our law." [16]--i. e., the law which had obtained under the monarchy,
the law of God. "We will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge
this people according to the commandments of God." [17] So the body of
the law that obtained under the reign of the kings went over into the
jurisprudence of the republic.
From the Nephite record it appears that murder was punished with
death; robbery, theft, and adultery were also punished, but with what
penalties is not stated. But the law provided that men should be
judged--and therefore punished--according to their crimes. [18] One
thing stood out unique in the Nephite policy: that was the recognition
of the right of the subject to the enjoyment of religious liberty. The
scripture--"choose ye this day whom ye will serve" [19]--seems to have
impressed the Nephites with the idea that the right of choice in the
matter of worship was left with the individual; and hence "if a man
desired to serve God, it was his privilege;" "but if he did not believe
in him [God], there was no law to punish him" [20]--hence religious
liberty.
The history of the Nephite republic was a stormy one, especially
during the first quarter century of its existence. It was assailed by
traitors from within, who sought to re-establish a monarchy; and by
the Lamanites from without, who often joined with the royalists to
overthrow the republic. But if traitors assailed, patriots defended;
and the republic was preserved for about one hundred and twenty
years, from 91 B. C. to 30 A. D. An attempt then made to displace
the republic by a monarchy, ended in anarchy for a time, followed by
the establishment of a sort of tribal government, which conditions
prevailed at the time the land was visited with that terrible
destruction which took place at the crucifixion of Messiah, and well
nigh swept out of existence the entire population.
What form of government obtained among the people of the western
hemisphere after the appearance of the risen Messiah among them must
be left largely to conjecture, since the Nephite records now in our
hands are silent upon that subject. Neither monarchy nor republic is
referred to; and the most reasonable conclusion is that the people,
after the establishment of the Church of Christ among them, found
its institutions and authority sufficient as well in secular as in
ecclesiastical affairs; for the entire people were converted to the
gospel, and were members of the Church. A righteous people have small
need of government. The necessity for government is born of men's vices
and wickedness, that lead to the disorders of society, which government
must needs be called upon to regulate, and, if possible, suppress. For
two centuries the people of the western world were most righteous,
prosperous and happy. "There were no envyings," says their chronicler,
"nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor
any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier
people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God."
[21]
In consequence of these conditions nothing is said of government, and
nothing may be learned of its nature beyond what has been suggested in
the foregoing. As to what was done in the matter of government when
this period of general righteousness drew to its close, and pride
and wickedness hastened the disintegration of the Church; and pushed
society headlong into disorders, may not be known, as our present
Nephite records on this subject are again silent. We only know that
secret organizations sapped the foundations of society; that security
of person and property vanished; that anarchy and tribal relations
usurped the place of orderly government; and that darkness spread over
the land and gross darkness over the minds of the people.
_Religion_.
Religion among the Nephites consisted in the worship of the true and
living God, the Jehovah of the Jews, whose revelations to the children
of Israel through Moses and all the prophets to Jeremiah were brought
with them into the new world. They therefore accepted into their faith
all the Bible truths, and in its historical parts they had before them
the valuable lessons which Bible history teaches. It furnished also a
foundation for literature among them. For not only by the Bible were
their prophets instructed in the law of God, but copies of some parts
of it were multiplied and read by the people. [22] What is more they
were possessed of some other books not now in our so-called canon of
the Old Testament, such as the books of the Prophets Zenock, Neum and
Zenos; all referred to by the first Nephi, who quotes some of their
prophecies concerning the coming of Messiah in the flesh, and of three
days of darkness to be given unto some of the inhabitants of the isles
of the sea as a sign of the Christ's death. [23] The Nephites also had
the writings of Ezias referred to by one of the Nephite prophets in the
Book of Helaman. [24] Elder Orson Pratt, in a foot note on the passage,
suggests that Ezias "may have been identical with Esaias, who lived
contemporary with Abraham." [25] These books contained very precious
truths concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah; and when
information on this subject was lacking in the books which the Nephites
brought with them from Jerusalem, it was abundantly made up to them by
the things which the Lord revealed directly to their own prophets; for
in the clearest manner possible the Lord made known to this branch of
the house of Israel in the western world, the future coming and mission
of the Messiah, together with the effectiveness of the atonement which
he was appointed to make for mankind. While the Nephites kept the law
of Moses previous to the advent of Messiah, as to its sacrifices and
ordinances, yet they understood that these things but shadowed forth
the real sacrifice to be made for them by the Savior of the world; and
that these ordinances in which they administered were only of virtue by
reason of the things which were to be done by Messiah afterwards.
In order to offer sacrifices and administer in the other ordinances of
the law of Moses (which the Nephites were commanded to observe), [26]
it was necessary, of course, that they have a priesthood, and this they
had; but not the priesthood after the order of Aaron; for that was a
priesthood that could only properly be held by Aaron's family and the
tribe of Levi; while Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh. [27] Lehi held
the priesthood, however, the higher priesthood, which was after the
order of Melchizedek, and was a prophet and minister of righteousness.
This Lehi conferred upon his son Nephi; and Nephi, shortly after his
separation from his elder brothers on the land of promise, consecrated
his two younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph, to be priests and teachers
unto his people. [28] Jacob, when explaining his calling to his
brethren, states that he had been called of God, "and ordained after
the manner of his holy order." [29] What the significance of the phrase
"His holy order" means, is learned very distinctly from other parts
of the Book of Mormon. Alma, for instance, before giving up the chief
judgeship of the land, is represented as confining himself "wholly to
the priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word,
according to the Spirit of revelation and prophecy." [30] Again Alma
explains, "I am called * * * according to the holy order of God, which
is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this
people." [31] All of which is made still clearer by what Alma says
later. Having given an explanation of the plan of redemption which
was laid for man's salvation, and which he represents as having been
understood from earliest times, Alma adds: "I would that ye should
remember that the Lord God ordained priests after his holy order,
_which was after the order of his Son_ [meaning Jesus Christ], to teach
these things unto the people. * * * This holy priesthood, being after
the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world,
or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years,
being prepared from eternity to all eternity. * * * Thus they become
the high priests forever after the order of the Son, the only begotten
of the Father, who is full of grace, equity and truth." Alma then
admonishes his people to be humble, "even as the people in the days of
Melchisedek, who was also a high priest after the same order [of which
he had spoken]. * * * And he was the same Melchisedek to whom Abraham
paid tithes." The Nephite priesthood, then, was not a priesthood
after Aaron's order, but of a higher order, even the priesthood after
the order of the Son of God; the same kind of priesthood held by
Melchizedek, by Moses, by Lehi, and many other prophets in Israel.
That this higher priesthood was competent to act in administering the
ordinances under what is known as the law of Moses, is evident from the
fact that it so administered before the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood
proper was given; and the fact that there was given to the household of
Aaron and the tribe of Levi a special priesthood, by no means detracts
from the right and power of the higher or Melchizedek priesthood to
officiate in the ordinances of the law of Moses; for certainly the
higher order of priesthood may officiate in the functions of the lower,
when necessity requires it. All the sacrifices and ordinances under the
law of Moses, administered by the Nephite priesthood, I say again, were
observed with due appreciation of the fact that they were of virtue
only as they shadowed forth the things to be done by Messiah when he
should come to earth, in the flesh, on his great mission of atonement.
And in order that the reader may see how full Nephite knowledge was of
the Messiah and of his life on earth, through the prophecies uttered
concerning him--and prophecies, of course, are but history reversed--I
present herewith a statement of the items known to them, collected by
the patient labors of Elder George Reynolds, to whom I am indebted for
the following passage:
One of the most remarkable things connected with the history of the
Nephites is the great plainness and detail with which the coming of
the Redeemer and the events of his life in Judea were revealed to
their prophets, who lived before the time of his advent.
Among other things connected with his mortal existence it was
declared of him that:
God himself should come down from heaven among the children of men
and should redeem his people.
He should take upon him flesh and blood.
He should be born in the land of Jerusalem, the name given by the
Nephites to the land of their forefathers, whence they came.
His mother's name should be Mary.
She should be a virgin of the city of Nazareth; very fair and
beautiful, a precious and chosen vessel.
She should be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy
Ghost.
He should be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
At his birth a new star should appear in the heavens.
He should be baptized by John at Bethabara, beyond Jordan.
John should testify that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who
should take away the sins of the world.
After his baptism, the Holy Ghost should come down upon him out of
heaven, * * * * and abide upon him.
He should call twelve men as his special witnesses, to minister in
his name.
He should go forth among the people, ministering in power and great
glory, casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead, and
performing many mighty miracles.
He should take upon him the infirmities of his people.
He should suffer temptation, pain of body, hunger, thirst and
fatigue; blood should come from every pore of his body by reason of
his anguish because of the abominations of his people.
He should be cast out and rejected by the Jews; be taken and
scourged, and be judged of the world.
He should be lifted upon the cross and slain for the sins of the
world.
He should be buried in a sepulchre, where he should remain three
days.
After he was slain he should rise from the dead and should make
himself manifest by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.
He should lay down his life according to the flesh and take it up
again by the power of the Spirit, that he might bring to pass the
resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
At his resurrection many graves should be opened and should yield
up their dead; and many of the saints, who had beforetime passed
away, should appear unto the living.
He should redeem all mankind who would believe on his name.
In the above we have not mentioned the sayings of Isaiah and other
Jewish prophets, which are inserted in the Book of Mormon, but
which also appear in the Bible. [32]
After the resurrection, in fulfilment of many predictions of Nephite
prophets that he would appear among the people of the western world,
[33] Jesus Christ made his advent among the Nephites. The great event
occurred some time after those awful cataclysms, which so changed the
face of the western world, had ceased. It appears that a number of
Nephites had gathered together near a temple in the land Bountiful, and
were contemplating the changes that had been wrought in the land by the
aforesaid cataclysms, and conversing about the Messiah, the signs of
whose death had been so marvelously given--I quote the account of the
appearing of Jesus unto this multitude, as it is found in the Nephite
record:
And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with
another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they
cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice
which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a
loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small
voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch
that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to
quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause
their hearts to burn. And it came to pass that again they heard the
voice, and they understood it not. And again the third time they
did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their
eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly
towards heaven, from whence the sound came. And behold, the third
time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said
unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in
whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him. And it came to pass, as
they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and
behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed
in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them;
and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they
durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not
what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared
unto them. And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand
and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom
the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am
the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that
bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the
Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have
suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, the
whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had
been prophesied among them that Christ should shew himself unto
them after his ascension into heaven. [34]
After thus manifesting himself to the Nephites in this most palpable
manner, Messiah continued his ministry by teaching them the gospel,
and instituting baptism for the remission of sins, and the sacrament
of the Lord's Supper, as symbolizing the sacrifice and atonement
he had made. He also authorized the organization of a Church among
them--himself conferring divine authority to do all these things upon
twelve disciples, who held power similar to that of the twelve whom
he had chosen at Jerusalem. He also taught them the moral law of the
gospel; informed them of his work among their brethren, the Jews;
declared to them also his intention of visiting and ministering to
those who are called the "Lost Tribes of Israel," declaring that in
this personal appearing to them (the Nephites), and to the Lost Tribes
of the house of Israel, he was but fulfilling his own words to the
twelve at Jerusalem as found in the testimony of John, wherein he said:
"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: [35] them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold
and one shepherd." [36]
Thus the gospel was proclaimed among the Nephites, by Jesus Christ, in
person, and by divinely inspired men, directly called and appointed
by Jesus to the holy office of the ministry. The Church of Christ was
established among the Nephites, to teach the truth, and perfect the
lives of those who accepted it--for such is the mission of the Church
of Christ in all ages of the world. How successful it was through the
first two Christian centuries, and how, after the expiration of that
time, the Nephite race began to decline in righteousness, deny the
faith once delivered to them, until they lost favor with God and were
left to degenerate into anarchy and barbarism, has already been stated.
THE PEOPLE OF MULEK.
_Government and Religion_.
Of the government and religion of the people of Mulek in the western
hemisphere we know even less than of the Jaredites or the Nephites.
Mulek himself was of royal lineage, being the son of King Zedekiah of
Jerusalem; but whether the prerogatives of prince and king were enjoyed
and exercised by him in the new world we cannot learn, nor is there any
glimpse afforded us in the Nephite records of the nature of government
among their people. Still, government of some sort must have subsisted
among them, for when found by the Nephites in the valley of the Sidon
they lived in association--chiefly in the great city of Zarahemla--a
thing inconceivable apart from government of some sort. The gregarious
instincts of man impel him to live in society, but the experience
of the race is warrant for the truth of the fact that government is
necessary to the perpetuity of that society. Hence when society of
any permanent character is found, there, it may be taken for granted,
government of some sort also exists. Hence the people of Mulek, since
it is evident that they lived in a permanent society, had a government,
but the nature of it is unknown.
The people of Mulek came from the old world without scriptures or
records of any kind. That is no matter of surprise, however, since
they were fugitives escaping from the wrath of the king of Babylon.
Their anxiety looked not to the future, but to the present. To them was
committed the protection of one of the princes of Judah. To reach a
place of safety for him would be their one, absorbing thought. But the
experience of this colony illustrates the value of the written word of
God. By reason of having no records or books, and no opportunity, or
inclination, perhaps, to teach letters, the language they spoke--the
language prevalent in Judea in the sixth century B. C.--in course
of time very much deteriorated. [37] But that was not the worst
consequence of their being without the written word. By the time the
descendants of Mulek's colony were discovered by the migrating hosts
of Nephites under Mosiah I--four hundred years from the time they left
Judea--they were so far sunk in unbelief as to deny "the being of their
Creator." Their condition of unbelief sustains the views on the value
of the written word expressed by King Benjamin--son of Mosiah I--when
teaching his people the importance of the records brought by Lehi's
colony from Jerusalem. He held that had it not been for these sacred
writings, the Nephites themselves would have been in ignorance of the
mysteries of God; that it would have been impossible for Lehi to have
taught all the things of God, but for the help he received from the
written word; that but for this, their fathers would have dwindled in
unbelief. [38] It may be taken for granted also that with a people
who had no religion--who "denied the being of their Creator"--their
morality was of a very low order; for it is a truth, attested over and
over again in the history of nations, that national morality cannot
prevail in exclusion of religion, which teaches the recognition of
moral duties as commandments of God. But these observations are based
upon the universal experience of man, rather than upon anything in the
Nephite record; for that is silent upon the matters of government,
religion, and morality of the people of Mulek, except in so far as
stated in the foregoing.
THE LAMANITES.
_Civilization, Government, Religion_.
Civilization, government and religion among the Lamanites should not
be overlooked. It is true that they were idle; that they loved the
wilderness and, for the most part, dwelt in tents; that they depended
upon the fruits of the chase and such products of the earth as the
rich lands they occupied produced without the labor of man, as the
principal means of their sustenance; still they came in contact now
and then with Nephite civilization, which must have modified somewhat
their inclination to utter barbarism. It must be remembered that
the Lamanites frequently invaded Nephite lands and prospered by the
fruits of war. Moreover, as the Nephites repeatedly removed from their
possession to escape Lamanite aggression, the latter took possession of
their deserted cities and country, and dwelt in their habitations. When
the righteous Nephites under Mosiah I departed northward from the "Land
of Nephi," in which land was located the great cities of Lehi-Nephi,
Shilom, and doubtless many other cities of less importance, these fell
into the hands of the Lamanites. When a colony from Zarahemla returned
under Zeniff to re-occupy these lands of their fathers, they were
tricked into bondage to the Lamanites, who laid heavy tribute upon
their labor, and flourished for a period of well nigh eighty years upon
the industry of the practically enslaved Nephites. This occasional
contact with Nephite civilization must have had a modifying effect upon
Lamanite life and Lamanite character.
That there was some system and regularity in Lamanite government must
be apparent from the degree of efficiency with which that people
conducted the protracted wars with the Nephites. The largeness of their
armies, the length of the wars, and the extensive scale on which they
were projected and prosecuted, would indicate the existence of some
strong, central government capable of making its authority respected.
That such a government existed among the Lamanites is disclosed through
the facts that are brought to light by the mission of the young Nephite
princes, the sons of Mosiah II, in the century preceding the birth
of Messiah. It appears that at that time what I shall venture to
call the Lamanite empire was divided into a number of petty kingdoms
whose kings, as is always the case among semi-civilized peoples, were
possessed of great and arbitrary power; but these in turn seem to have
been subject to a central ruler whose dominion extended over all, and
whose power in his large sphere was as absolute as that of the petty
kings in the smaller states.
The religion of the Lamanites is more difficult to determine than their
government. It is chiefly the absence of religion and of its influence
that must be spoken of. Taught to believe that the traditions of their
fathers respecting God, the promised Messiah, and the belief in a
future life were untrue; persuaded to believe that their fathers had
been induced to leave fatherland, and their rich possessions therein
because of the dreams of the visionary Lehi; firm in their conviction
that the elder sons of Lehi had been defrauded of their right to govern
the colony by the younger son, Nephi; and that through the force of
the religious influence he learned to wield by following the spiritual
example (to them, perhaps, the trickery) of his father--it was in the
spirit of hatred of religion that the Lamanites waged war upon the
Nephites, to subvert religion and free men from its restraints. But the
Lamanites were true to human instincts. [39] They freed themselves, as
they supposed, from one superstition, only to plunge into others that
were really contemptible--the superstition of idolatry; for they were
an idolatrous people. [40] This remark, however, must be understood in
a general sense, and as applying to the Lamanites proper, previous to
the coming of Messiah--of the followers, and the descendants of the
followers, of the elder brothers of the first Nephi, Laman and Lemuel.
After the coming of Messiah, when in the third century A. D., the old
distinctions of Nephite and Lamanite were revived, after the long
period of peace and righteousness following the advent of Christ, said
distinctions could have no reference to race or family, as they had
when first employed; but were strictly party distinctions; used, when
adopted again in the period named, to indicate the Church or religious
party, and the anti-religious party, respectively. But even this
significance passed away in time, in the latter phase of the history
of the people of the western hemisphere; for the Nephites went into
transgression as well as the Lamanite party, and no longer stood as the
champions of religion and the Church: and hence the names then stood
for the respective parties, strangely bent on each other's destruction.
It must also be understood that the term "idolatrous people" does not
apply to all the Lamanites previous to the coming of Messiah, through
the whole period of their history; for at times there were very
widespread conversions among them to faith in the true God, as at the
time of the mission of King Mosiah's sons among them, three-quarters of
a century B. C.; and again as the result of the labors of Nephi, the
son of Helaman, and his brother Lehi (31 B. C. to 2 B. C.). In this
last named successful ministry, the Lamanites reversed for a time the
historic relations of the two parties, the Lamanites more universally
accepting the faith taught by the prophets of God than the Nephites,
exceeding them in righteousness of life and in zeal as champions of
the cause of God and truth. But, speaking broadly, after noting the
foregoing limitations and exceptions, from the first separation of
the Nephites from the Lamanites, down to the coming of Messiah, the
Lamanites were an idolatrous people. And again from the time of the
destruction of the Nephite party, about 400 A. D., to the coming of the
Europeans, near the close of the fifteenth century, superstition and
the darkness of idolatry (enlightened here and there, perhaps, with a
fragment of truth cherished in the traditions of the people) held the
inhabitants of the western world under its dominion.
By way of recapitulation, allow me here to say, in closing this
second division of my treatise, that I have now considered the value
of the Book of Mormon as a witness for God; the purposes for which
it was written; the manner of its coming forth through the agency of
Joseph Smith; the manner of its translation, and the account of its
publication; the migrations of its people to the western world; the
lands they occupied; the intercontinental movements of its peoples;
their government, literature and religion. All this, it is hoped,
sets forth what the Book of Mormon is, and its value as a volume of
history and scripture; and naturally leads up to the great questions
to be considered in this treatise, viz.: Is the Book of Mormon what
it purports to be? Is it an abridged history of the ancient people
who inhabited the western hemisphere? Does it really give an account
of God's hand-dealing with them? Is it the voice of sleeping nations
testifying to the truth of God's existence, to the verity of Messiah's
mission, to the power of salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it
verily a volume of scripture? Is it true?
These are the solemn questions to be considered in the next division;
and it is believed by the writer that in the presentation of the
evidence then to be considered, and the argument there to be made, that
the importance of this merely preliminary part of the work will become
more apparent.
Footnotes
1. I Samuel 8:1-9 and 19-22; II Nephi 5:17, 18.
2. Mosiah 25:13.
3. Book of Jacob 1:9-11.
4. Gen. 14. In many cases these Judean "kings" ruled but a single city.
5. II Nephi 25:2.
6. I Samuel 8:7.
7. Mosiah 29. Alma 4:16. Alma 30:29.
8. Mosiah 29:28, 29
9. Alma 11:1-4.
10. Ibid. 11:7.
11. This is true not only with reference to the republic, but also with
reference to the monarchy. Mosiah 29:40. Mosiah 2:12-14. Compare Alma
30:32, 33.
12. Alma 46:34, 35. Also Alma 51:15-21.
13. Alma 30:3.
14. Ibid. 11:1.
15. Ibid. 30:3; II Nephi 5:10; II Nephi 25:4, 25; Jacob 4:4, 5; Jarom
1:5; Mos. 2:3; Mos. 13:27, 35; 16:14, 15; Alma 25:14, 16_et seq_.
16. Mos. 29:11.
17. Mos. 29:11.
18. Alma 30:10, 11.
19. Joshua 24:15.
20. Alma 30:7-9.
21. IV Nephi 1:16.
22. Alma 13:12. Helaman 3:13-15. Commenting on this passage Elder Orson
Pratt says: "These numerous copies of the sacred books were undoubtedly
transcribed directly from, or compared with, the records on the
original metallic plates."
23. I Nephi 9:10-17. Reference is made to these same prophets in Alma
33:15, Alma 34:7, Helaman 8:20, III Nephi 10:16.
24. Helaman 8:20.
25. Elder Pratt quotes Doc. and Cov., 84:11-13 in evidence.
26. Alma 30:3.
27. Ibid. 10:3.
28. II Nephi 5:26.
29. II Nephi 6:2.
30. Alma 4:20.
31. Ibid. 5:44.
32. _Dict. B. of M_., Reynolds, Art. Jesus Christ, pp. 168-169.
33. I Nephi 12:6; II Nephi 26:1, 9; Alma 16:20.
34. III Nephi 11:3-12.
35. That is, not of this fold in Palestine.
36. John 10:16.
37. Omni 1:17.
38. Mosiah 1.
39. "We know, and it is our pride to know, that man by his constitution
is a religious animal; that atheism is against not only our reason,
but our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long. But if, in the
moment of riot, and in a drunken delirium from the hot spirit drawn
out of the alemic of hell, * * * * we should uncover our nakedness by
throwing off that Christian religion which has hitherto been our boast
and comfort, and one great source of civilization amongst us, and among
many other nations, we are apprehensive (being well aware that the mind
will not endure a void) that some uncouth, pernicious, and degrading
superstition might take the place of it." (Edmund Burke, _Works_, vol.
III, p. 351.)
40. Enos 1:20.
PART III.
The Evidences of the Truth of the Book of Mormon.