THE CHARACTER OF THE NEW WITNESS.
It will be argued that the ancient and true prophets were _falsely_
accused, and proceeded against, not because they were law-breakers and
immoral persons, but because of the message they bore; while it is
charged that Joseph Smith was a very vile person, lawless and immoral,
and so odious at the last that the people rose _en masse_ and crushed
him! Thus has reasoned every persecutor in every age from Cain to the
last under whose hands a martyr fell. Can it in reason be expected
that human nature will fall so low that we shall find men who will
be so recklessly wicked as to avow their intention to kill men for
righteousness sake? Why even devils seek out some semblance of virtue
in which to enshroud their evil deeds. There never yet was man so vile,
if he retained his reason, but sought out some excuse to sanctify his
crime. It was not because Jesus of Nazareth was pure and upright in his
own heart; gracious in speech; dignified and gentle in action; merciful
to the wayward; considerate to the unfortunate; loving and kind to the
poor--God-like in spirit, in thought, in conduct--a reprover of the
wicked, a reformer of evil ways--it was not for these qualities that
he was hailed before the high priest, thence to the Sanhedrim, there
condemned and thence dragged to Pilate's judgment seat to have the
sentence confirmed; and thence whipped through the streets of Jerusalem
to Golgotha and there crucified! Not for his virtues was this done.
Could any one suppose that the Sanhedrim of Israel, the dignified
senate of the Jews, could condemn anyone to death for righteousness?
No, certainly not! It was because Jesus was to them a wicked imposter;
who, being in the form of man, and so far as they could discern, very
like the rest of his fellow-men--made himself a God [1]--was guilty of
blasphemy. It was written in their law that he that blasphemed should
be put to death, and all the people should say Amen. [2] Jesus was
found guilty of blasphemy by the Sanhedrim, and accordingly condemned
to death. The sentence was confirmed by the Roman judge and executed.
The procedure was strictly according to the forms of the law, and to
the Jews of that generation Jesus of Nazareth was not condemned and
executed for that he was a prophet, and the Son of God; but because he
was a pestilential fellow, a mover of sedition, a blaspheming imposter.
And so it has been in all ages of the world. All the martyrs that ever
fell were, to those who struck the blow, lawless, dangerous characters,
of whom it were a blessing to rid the world; and so it promises to be
to the last hour of recorded time.
In view of the fact that so much which is evil has been said of Joseph
Smith I think it proper here to give some account of his character. Of
necessity what is said must be brief.
It would be impossible as also unprofitable to reproduce all or any
considerable part of what has been said of him by his enemies, since
it would be only a repetition of slanders and untruths which have
spent their force and accomplished nothing. It will be sufficient
to say that on the unfriendly side it is claimed that--in the
language of one who just now is recognized as one of earth's leading
philosophers--Professor Huxley--"There is a complete consensus of
testimony that the founder of Mormonism, one Joseph Smith, was a
low-minded, ignorant scamp, and that he stole the scriptures, which he
propounded; not being clever enough to forge even such contemptible
stuff as they contain. Nevertheless, he must have been a man of some
force of character, for a considerable number of disciples soon
gathered about him." [3]
I have selected this passage from a mass of such matter at command,
first, because of the prominence of the one who utters it; second,
because in it is focused the spirit of coarseness and vulgarity
characteristic of all that has been said by those who have rejected
the claims of Joseph Smith as a witness and Prophet of God; and third,
because it may be looked upon as the "Complete consensus of the
testimony" of his enemies and presents all they have to say against
him in a single sentence, slightly modified by one other sentence,
recognizing the prophet's force of character.
I am happy also in having another utterance, representative of another
class of men who have viewed the character of the Prophet from the
standpoint of the _savant_--the dispassionate philosopher looking at
passing events without prejudice, and speculating upon what shall grow
out of them--such was Josiah Quincy, author of the book "Figures of the
Past." He visited Joseph Smith at Nauvoo a little before the tragedy at
Carthage, and after the Prophet's death wrote:
"It is by no means improbable that some future text-book, for the use
of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this:
What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most
powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by
no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus
written: _Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet._ And the reply, absurd as
it doubtless seems to most men now, may be an obvious commonplace to
their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as
startling as this. The man who establishes a religion in this age of
free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as
a direct emissary from the Most High--such a rare human being is not to
be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. * * * The
most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do
with this man and what he has left us. * * * Burning questions, they
are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country
to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith,
claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity, such as few men
have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity, such
as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I
saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his
person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the
Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. 'I am going like a
lamb to the slaughter,' he is reported to have said, 'but I am as calm
as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense and shall
die innocent.'" [4]
Of course testimony which sustains the virtue and uprightness of
Joseph Smith is abundant, but I shall content myself by a very limited
reference to it; depending not so much upon the testimony of men as
upon the work he has accomplished for the vindication of his character.
But I think it proper that the world should know in what esteem he was
held by his friends and followers.
First, I introduce the description and estimation of the character of
the Prophet by Parley P. Pratt, who was intimately associated with
him, who shared his toils, labors, persecutions and imprisonment; and
who spent his life in preaching the gospel taught him by the youthful
Prophet. Elder Pratt says: "President Joseph Smith was in person tall
and well built, strong and active; of a light complexion, light hair,
blue eyes, very little beard, and of an expression peculiar to himself,
on which the eye naturally rested with interest, and was never weary
of beholding. His countenance was ever mild, affable, beaming with
intelligence and benevolence, mingled with a look of interest and an
unconscious smile or cheerfulness, and entirely free from all restraint
or affectation of gravity; and there was something connected with the
serene and penetrating glance of his eye, as if he could penetrate the
deepest abyss of the human heart, gaze into eternity, penetrate the
heavens and comprehend all worlds.
"He possessed a noble boldness and independence of character; his
manner was easy and familiar; his rebuke terrible as the lion; his
benevolence unbounded as the ocean; his intelligence universal, and
his language abounding in original eloquence peculiar to himself--not
polished--not studied--not smoothed and softened by education and
refined by art, but flowing forth in its own native simplicity, and
profusely abounding in variety of subject and manner. He interested
and edified, while, at the same time, he amused and entertained his
audience; and none listened to him that were ever weary with his
discourse. I have even known him to retain a congregation of willing
and anxious listeners for many hours together, in the midst of cold
or sunshine, rain or wind, while they were laughing at one moment and
weeping the next. Even his most bitter enemies were generally overcome,
if he could once get their ears. I have known him when chained and
surrounded with armed murderers and assassins who were heaping upon him
every possible insult and abuse, rise up in the majesty of a son of God
and rebuke them, in the name of Jesus Christ, till they quailed before
him, dropped their weapons, and, on their knees, begged his pardon and
ceased their abuse.
"In short, in him the characters of a Daniel and a Cyrus were
wonderfully blended. The gifts, wisdom and devotion of a Daniel were
united with the boldness, courage, temperance, perseverance and
generosity of a Cyrus. And had he been spared a martyr's fate till
mature manhood and age, he was certainly endowed with powers and
abilities to have revolutionized the world in many respects, and to
have transmitted to posterity a name associated with more brilliant and
glorious acts than has yet fallen to the lot of mortal. As it is his
works will live to endless ages, and unnumbered millions yet unborn
will mention his name with honor, as a noble instrument in the hands of
God, who, during his short and youthful career, laid the foundation of
that kingdom spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, which should break in
pieces all other kingdoms and stand forever." [5]
Brigham Young, the successor of Joseph Smith in the Presidency of the
Church, said of him:
"From the first day I knew Brother Joseph to the time of his death, a
better man never lived upon the face of the earth. * * * Joseph Smith
was not killed because he was deserving of it, nor because he was a
wicked man; but because he was a virtuous man. I know that to be so, as
well as I know that the sun now shines. * * * I know for myself that
Joseph Smith was the subject of forty-eight lawsuits, and the most of
them I witnessed with my own eyes. But not one action could ever be
made to bear against him. No law or constitutional right did he ever
violate. He was innocent and virtuous; he kept the laws of his country
and lived above them; out of forty-eight lawsuits, not one charge could
be substantiated against him. He was pure, just and holy as to the
keeping of the law." [6]
John Taylor, who succeeded Brigham Young as President of the Church,
and who in Carthage jail may be said to have shared the martyrdom with
the Prophet Joseph--for he was savagely wounded when the Prophet was
slain--says of him: "I was acquainted with Joseph Smith for years.
I have traveled with him; I have been with him in private and in
public; I have associated with him in councils of all kinds; I have
listened hundreds of times to his public teachings, and his advice
to his friends and associates of a more private nature. I have been
at his house and seen his deportment in his family. I have seen him
arraigned before the courts of his country, and seen him honorably
acquitted, and delivered from the pernicious breath of slander, and
the machinations and falsehoods of wicked and corrupt men. I was
with him living, and with him when he died; when he was murdered
in Carthage jail by a ruthless mob with their faces painted, and
headed by a Methodist minister named Williams--I was there, and was
myself wounded in my body. I have seen him under all these various
circumstances, and I testify before God, angels and men that he was a
good, honorable, virtuous man--that his doctrines were good, scriptural
and wholesome--that his precepts were such as became a man of God--that
his private and public character was unimpeachable--and that he lived
and died as a man of God." [7]
If of these testimonies it shall be said they are borne by men who
were Joseph Smith's friends and followers--interested parties, bent
on perpetuating the frauds he inaugurated, I would reply by asking:
Whose testimony do Christians accept as representing the true character
of Jesus Christ? Certainly _not_ the testimony of the Sadducees
and Pharisees; but the testimony of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke and
John--"his friends and followers," the infidel exclaims--"_interested
parties,_ bent on perpetuating the frauds he inaugurated!" Will the
Christian world because of that preposterous claim that Christ's
friends and followers are not proper witnesses of his life and
character, give up the evidence supplied in the testimonies of his
friends to the uprightness and purity of his life, and the divinity
of himself and his mission? Ah, no! They will ask rather, "Who so
competent to bear testimony of his life and the divinity of his
character as those who intimately knew him, who lived with him, who
shared his joys and his sorrows; who were in sympathy with his life's
mission and could enter into its spirit?" I only ask that the same
reasoning be applied to the testimony given by the friends of Joseph
Smith.
One thing connected with the character of Joseph Smith, and one
that distinguishes him from false prophets and mere enthusiasts is
the unaffectedness of his conduct. It was the prevailing idea of
his day and even now that the calling of a prophet is inseparably
connected with a life of austerity--with inordinate fastings and
midnight prayers; with the vows of monastic life, with gloom and
self-mortifications; with hair shirts, long robes, and sandals; with
long hair, beard unkempt and bodies filthy--as if prophets had no time
to keep clean--with solemn, awful brows and measured tread--lives
wherein there is nothing natural--no sunshine, nor smiles nor
rose-lipped laughter--as if communing with God was such awful business
that it chills the heart and drives all happiness out of the life of
man! Joseph Smith was nothing of all this. There was no affectation
about him. He complied with the customs of his time and nation in
respect to his apparel--scrupulously neat and clean therein; face
smooth shaven, and hair cut according to the prevailing fashion. While
temperate in his habits and content with the humble fare which adverse
circumstances during the most of his life forced upon him, he was not
averse to good food and pleasant surroundings--he was not the prophet
of sackcloth and ashes. While dignified in deportment and having a due
comprehension of the magnitude of his calling and the work committed to
his hands, there was nothing strained or unnatural in his demeanor--no
striving after effect; and often he unbent, played ball, wrestled, or
romped with children--with whom he was a general favorite--with all
the joyousness and freedom of a boy. And what may be regarded as one
of the true tests of his greatness is, that while here and there his
happiness and freedom shocked some over-pious persons who looked on
from without, and expected austerity and gloom in one claiming to be a
prophet, he never lost caste with his friends for his unconventional
conduct. He was the Prophet of a joyous countenance; of unconventional
but upright deportment; the apostle of cleanliness and becoming
apparel. He believed that serving God should make men happier and that
the good things of the earth were made for the comfort and to increase
the happiness of the righteous.
To take such a stand as this in the face of the traditional ideal of
a prophet, stamps him as an original character, and separates him by
long distances from the mere enthusiasts and the false prophets whose
extreme pretensions to sanctity, whose studied gloom, whose affectation
of impassioned devotion and assumption of the garb and supposed severe
demeanor of ancient prophets--all too plainly proclaim their hypocrisy
and declare them players of parts they have assigned themselves.
Footnotes
1. John x: 22-37, also ch. v: 17, 18.
2. Levit. xxiv: 15, 16.
3. Agnosticism and Christianity (Humbolt Library ed.) p. 28.
4. _Figures of the Past,_ pp. 376, 377, 378.
5. Autobiography of P. P. Pratt, pp. 47, 48.
6. Journal of Discourses.
7. Life of John Taylor, pp. 213, 214.