they sing, for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring
again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of
Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of God.
Later in Messiah's ministry, when referring again to this prophecy, he
remarked:
When they [the foregoing words of Isaiah] shall be fulfilled,
then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made
unto his people, O house of Israel. And then shall the remnants
which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be
gathered in from the east, and from the west, and from the south,
and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of
the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them. * * * And behold, this
people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the
covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New
Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this
people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you. Behold, I am he of
whom Moses spake, saying, 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 who will not hear that prophet shall be cut
off from among the people. * * * And I will remember the covenant
which I have made with my people, and I have covenanted with them
that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I
would give unto them again the land of their fathers, for their
inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised
land unto them forever, saith the Father. And it shall come to
pass that the time cometh when the fulness of my gospel shall be
preached unto them. And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
Then [referring to Isaiah] shall their watchmen lift up their
voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall
see eye to eye. [23]
And now as to the sign which he gave by which the branch of the
house of Israel in the American continents might know that this work
of restoring the house of Israel to the land of their inheritance,
together with the spiritual and intellectual awakening that should
attend upon that event--of this Jesus said:
And, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may
know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that
I shall gather in from their long dispersion my people, O house of
Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And behold,
this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for verily
I say unto you, that when these things which I declare unto you,
and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by
the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the
Father--[when these things] shall be made known unto the Gentiles,
that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of
the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be
scattered by them.--Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these
things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come
forth of the Father, from them unto you--* * when these works,
and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter, shall
come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed [through publishing
the Book of Mormon] * * * it shall be a sign unto them that they
may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto
the fulfilling of the covenant which he [God] hath made unto the
people who are of the house of Israel. * * * And then shall the
work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel
shall be preached among the remnant of this people--verily I say
unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among
all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have
been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea,
the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people *
* * to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they
may call on the Father in my name; yea, and then shall the work
commence, with the Father, among all nations, in preparing the
way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their
inheritance. [24]
That is to say, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was to be
the signal for this modern world awakening; and the "sign" of the
commencement of the work of the Lord among all nations, kindreds,
tongues, and people, to bring to pass the restoration of his people and
the accomplishment of his purposes in all the earth. The facts already
set forth establish the fulfillment of this no less venturesome--i. e.
venturesome for an imposter to make--than remarkable prophecy.
VI.
_Conditional Prophecies--The Evidence of Things Worthy of God to
Reveal_.
In closing these chapters on the prophecies of the Book of Mormon, I
direct attention to what I shall call conditional prophecies. Not for
the purpose of referring to their fulfillment, either accomplished or
prospective, as evidence of the truth of the book, but as exhibiting
the fact that the Book of Mormon has a prophetic message for the
present generation worthy of God to reveal, and one that it concerns
the Gentile races now occupying the continents of America to know.
These prophecies deal with the terms upon which the Gentile races
may maintain for themselves and perpetuate to their posterity the
inheritance they have secured in the goodly land of Joseph--the
American continents. First let it be remembered that these continents,
according to the Book of Mormon, are a promised land, especially to the
seed of Joseph, son of the Patriarch Jacob, and also to the Gentiles
whom God shall lead hither. To the leader of the Nephite colony the
Lord said:
And in as much as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper,
and shall be led to the land of promise. Yea, even a land which I
have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other
lands.
Subsequently, as is well known, the Nephite colony arrived in America,
repeatedly referred to by them and their descendants as "the land of
promise."
Before his demise the prophet Lehi, who lived to arrive with his colony
upon the promised land, made the following prophecy concerning the
occupancy of the land by his people:
Notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of
promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which
the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the
inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land
unto me, and to my children forever; and also all those who should
be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord. Wherefore,
I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which
is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they
shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. Wherefore, this land is
consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that
they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath
given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they
shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be
because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound, cursed shall
be the land for their sakes; but unto the righteous it shall be
blessed forever. And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be
kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many
nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for
an inheritance. Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that
inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of
Jerusalem shall keep his commandments they shall prosper upon the
face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations,
that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be
that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon
the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor
to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell
safely forever. But, behold, when the time cometh that they shall
dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings
from the hand of the Lord; having a knowledge of the creation of
the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of
the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them
to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the
beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodnesss into
this precious land of promise; behold, I say, if the day shall come
that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah,
their Redeemer and their God, behold the judgment of him that is
just shall rest upon them; yea, he will bring other nations unto
them, and he will give unto them [the incoming nations] power, and
he will take away from them [the remnants of the Nephites] the
lands of their possessions; and he will cause them to be scattered
and smitten. Yea, as one generation passeth to another, there shall
be bloodshed, and great visitations among them. [25]
This prophecy was fulfilled in the experiences of Lehi's descendants.
Though in the course of their history they had some long periods, and
some intermittent seasons of righteousness, they eventually, even after
the personal ministrations of the Son of God among them, departed from
righteousness, rejected Jesus Christ, and the decreed judgment fell
upon them to the uttermost. The Gentile races finally came to the land,
and took possession of it, while the descendants of the once favored
race that occupied it were dispossessed and broken, and scattered.
The promises made to the Nephites had also been given to the Jaredites
who preceded them in possession of the land. To the brother of Jared,
the leader of the Jaredite colony, the Lord said: "I will go before thee
into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth." [26]
Moroni, while abridging the records of the Jaredites, which give an
account of that people's migration to America, refers to the decrees of
God concerning the land in the following passage:
And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the
sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth
even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other
lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people; and
he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso
should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and
forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should
be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land,
that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess
it, shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness
of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath
cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity; for, behold,
this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore
he that doth possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept
off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until
the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they
are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye
may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent, and not continue
in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring
down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you, as the inhabitants
of the land hath hitherto done. Behold, this is a choice land, and
whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and
from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they
will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath
been manifested by the things which we have written.
Jesus also in the course of his ministry among the Nephites refers to
these same decrees concerning the land; or, better say, makes them,
since he is the "God of the land." His words follow:
The Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you [the
Nephites] this land, for your inheritance. And I say unto you that
if the Gentiles do not repent, after the blessing which they shall
receive after they have scattered my people, then shall ye who are
a remnant of the house of Jacob go forth among them; and ye shall
be in the midst of them, who shall be many; and ye shall be among
them, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion
among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through, both treadeth
down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thy hand shall be
lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be
cut off. And I will gather my people together, as a man gathereth
his sheaves into the floor, for I will make my people with whom the
Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will
make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people;
and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance
unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it.
And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my
justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent,
it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the
nations of the Gentiles. [27]
Then follows an explanation of how, through the seed of Abraham, all
the kindreds of the earth are blessed:
Unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me [Jesus Christ]
upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make
them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house
of Israel; and they shall be a scourge unto the people of this
land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my
gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me, I will
return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father. [28]
Speaking further of the "great and marvelous work" which the Lord
should bring forth in the last days, he again refers to the Gentiles
upon the promised land, in the following words:
Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in
my words, who am Jesus Christ, whom the Father shall cause him to
bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that
he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done
even as Moses said), they shall be cut off from among my people
who are of the covenant. And my people who are a remnant of Jacob
shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion
among the beasts of the forest, as the young lion among the flock
of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth to
pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon
their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, wo
be unto the Gentiles, except they repent, for it shall come to pass
in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out
of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, and I will
cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;
and I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand, and thou shalt
have no more soothsayers; thy graven images I will also cut off,
and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt
no more worship the works of thy hands; and I will pluck up thy
groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities. And
it shall come to pass that all lying, and deceiving, and envying,
and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.
For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day
whosoever will not repent and come unto my beloved Son, them will
I cut off from among my people. O house of Israel; and I will
execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen,
such as they have not heard. But if they [the Gentiles] will
repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I
will establish my church among them and they shall come in unto the
covenant, and be numbered among this remnant of Jacob, unto whom I
have given this land for their inheritance. And they shall assist
my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as many of the house of
Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be
called the New Jerusalem; and then shall they assist my people that
they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the
land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven
come down among them; and I also will be in the midst. [29]
Here then is the conditional prophecy that it concerns the proud
Gentile races now inhabiting the American continents to know. These
continents are a promised land; they are given primarily to the
descendants of the Patriarch Joseph as an inheritance, but the Gentile
races are also given an inheritance in them with the descendants
of Joseph. The whole land, however, is dedicated to righteousness
and liberty, and the people who possess it, whether of the house of
Israel or Gentiles, must be a righteous people, and worship the "God
of the land, who is Jesus Christ." In that event God stands pledged
to preserve the land and the people thereof from all other nations,
and to bless them with very great and peculiar blessings guaranteeing
to them freedom and peaceful possession of the land forever. If the
Gentile races shall observe these conditions they and their children
are to share in the blessings of the land in connection with the
descendants of the Patriarch Joseph. If they depart from justice,
reject righteousness and Jesus Christ, then the judgments decreed will
overtake them until they are wasted away. This is the decree of God
respecting the Western hemisphere, and is one of the important messages
that the Book of Mormon has to deliver to the present generation.
Nor is it the Book of Mormon alone that bears this message. So far as
the people of the United States are concerned, I might say, if not
one of their own prophets, at least their greatest statesman, gave
substantially the same warning to the people of that nation, and I
believe his utterances are equally applicable to the people occupying
the other parts of the American continents. Read the following
quotation from the speech delivered a few months before its author's
death, and tell me if the American statesman, Daniel Webster, did not
catch the same glow of inspiration when predicting the terms upon which
the people now occupying our country may hold their heritage, as that
which warmed the hearts of the Book of Mormon writers and speakers,
whose words are quoted in the preceding passages. Mr. Webster's speech
was delivered before the "New York Historical Society," on February
22nd--Washington's birthday--1852; as the great American died in
October following, the address was one of his last speeches.
Unborn ages and visions of glory crowd upon my soul, the
realization of all which, however, is in the hands and good
pleasure of Almighty God; but, under his divine blessing, it will
be dependent on the character and the virtues of ourselves, and of
our posterity. If classical history has been found to be, is now,
and shall continue to be, the concomitant of free institutions, and
of popular eloquence, what a field is opening to us for another
Herodotus, another Thucydides, and another Livy!
And let me say, gentlemen, that if we and our posterity shall be
true to the Christian religion--if we and they shall live always
in the fear of God, and shall respect his commandments, if we and
they shall maintain just, moral sentiments, and such conscientious
convictions of duty as shall control the heart and life--we may
have the highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country;
and if we maintain those institutions of government and that
political union, exceeding all praise as much as it exceeds all
former examples of political associations, we may be sure of one
thing--that, while our country furnishing materials for a thousand
masters of the historic art, it will afford no topic for a Gibbon.
It will have no Decline and Fall. It will go on prospering and to
prosper.
But, if we and our posterity reject religious instruction and
authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the
injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political
constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden
a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in
profound obscurity. Should that catastrophe happen, let it have no
history! Let the horrible narrative never be written! Let its fate
be like that of the lost books of Livy, which no human eye shall
ever read; or the missing Pleiad, of which no man can ever know
more, than that it is lost, and lost forever!
I think my statement will be within reasonable limits when I say that
this sublime doctrine and warning of Mr. Webster's has the same source
of inspiration as the utterances of the Book of Mormon writers. I
believe that all who read and compare these passages will conclude
there is something more than mere coincidence in their agreement.
As before stated, it is not my purpose in calling attention to
these conditional prophecies to point to their fulfillment, either
accomplished or prospective, in evidence of the truth of the Book of
Mormon. Their worth as evidence to the truth of the book rests solely
upon the importance of the matter with which they deal. The demand
of the world is, and it is a reasonable one, that a book purporting
to be a revelation from God should deal with subjects that it is
important for men to know, and I regard the terms that constitute
the conditions upon which the American continents may be securely
held by the people who possess them, as a matter of the highest
importance for the people to know, and hence worthy to be found in a
book purporting to be a revelation from God. Such knowledge is no less
important than to know the source whence the continents of America are
peopled; the providences of God in dealing with them; and the fact
that the Son of God visited the western hemisphere, and taught to the
inhabitants thereof the gospel, and established here his church for the
perpetuation of the truth and for the salvation of men. All this is
revealed in the Book of Mormon, and makes up a mass of knowledge that
it concerns mankind to know, and hence is worthy of God to reveal. Had
the Book of Mormon dealt with light or trivial things--things unworthy
of God to reveal, mankind would require no further evidence that its
claims to a divine origin were baseless; and conversely: if the book
reveals a mass of knowledge--worthy of God to reveal and important for
man to know--then it is evidence of considerable weight that the book
is of God.
Footnotes
1. II. Nephi xxx: 3-11.
2. II. Nephi xxx: 12-15.
3. "Descendants of the Jews." This expression, I believe, is used in
this instance as equivalent to "Descendants of the house of Israel."
That is, the American Indians will know they are Israelites. This sense
of the phrase "the Jews" is used in other parts of the Book of Mormon:
for instance, "That the father may bring about * * * his great and
eternal purposes, in restoring the Jews, or all the House of Israel,
to the land of their inheritance." We have already pointed out in
previous foot notes that according to the Book of Mormon the American
Indians are a mixture of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah (see
pp. 95, 325-6); and therefore we think the phrase "descendants of the
Jews," does not mean to confine native American race descent to the
Jews alone, but merely to say that they are descendants of the House of
Israel, for which "Jews" here stands as equivalent.
4. See Doc. & Cov. Section xxix and Section xxxii.
5. History of the Church, Vol. I, p. 185, note. Aut. P. P. Pratt, pp.
56-61.
6. It may be suspected that Elder Pratt colored his account of this
speech to fit the prophecy of the Book of Mormon, but if that were so
some reference to its fulfillment of the prediction--"then shall they
rejoice"--would naturally be looked for; but it is a singular thing
that nowhere in the early literature of the Church is reference made to
this prophetic page. The full account of this first Indian mission will
be found in the "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 111-120, and pages
182-185.
7. "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 184-5.
8. "History of the Church," Vol. V., Chapters xxiv and xxv. The prophet
had been visiting relatives in Dixon, and while there fell into the
hands of his enemies, who sought to take him to Missouri. He escaped
them, however, by a writ of habeas corpus, on which he was tried and
acquitted at Nauvoo.
9. "Millennial Star," Vol. XXI, pp. 634-5.
10. Amos ix: 14.
11. Obadiah i: 17.
12. Deut. vii: 6.
13. Zechariah ii: 12.
14. Isaiah xiv: 1.
15. Ezekiel xxxvii: 21-27.
16. Isaiah xix: 21.
17. "In the opinion of some, it may become a training-ground for those
who are eventually to go to Zion. * * * Whatever solution the East
African scheme may find, it can be but a temporary one. The eye of the
people's soul cannot be turned from the object upon which it has rested
for centuries and centuries. * * * The soul of Israel has always felt,
and when occasion offered has always said, that such a concentration at
such a rallying-point, can be induced only in the ancient home of the
children of Israel, in Palestine."--Richard J. H. Gottheil.
18. See Doc. & Cov., Sec. 110.
19. "Biography of Lorenzo Snow," p. 496.
20. Since the foregoing was written the following press dispatch from
Jerusalem, under date of July 28th, 1906, appeared in the daily papers
of the United States: Jerusalem, July 28--The Zionist movement--the
return of the Jews to Palestine--is being carried actively on, and
during the last few months there has been a remarkable influx of
Israelites into the Holy Land.
A fertile region, east of the Jordan, toward Kerak, has been inspected
by a party of Jewish financiers, with the idea of colonizing it. * *
* * * * The intending colonists are negotiating with the government
for the purchase of land and for guarantees of protection against the
Bedouins. Five thousand Jewish emigrants from Russia and the Balkan
States recently landed at Jaffa. They will be distributed among the
various Jewish colonies, which are to be found in all the fertile
districts of Palestine. It looks as if the Chosen People are literally
coming to their own again.
21. "A mighty dawn of ideas is peculiar to our own age (nineteenth
century)."--Victor Hugo.
22. "No previous century ever saw anything approaching to the increase
in social complexity which has been wrought in America and Europe
since 1789. In science and in the industrial arts the change has been
greater than in the ten preceding centuries taken together. Contrast
the seventeen centuries which it took to remodel the astronomy of
Hipparchus with the forty years which it has taken to remodel the
chemistry of Berzelius and the biology of Cuvier. * * * How small
the difference between the clumsy wagons of the Tudor period and the
mailcoach in which our grandfathers rode, compared to the difference
between the mail-coach and the railway train! How rapid the changes
in philosophic thinking since the time of the Encyclopedistes, in
comparison with the slow though important changes which occurred
between the epoch of Aristotle and the epoch of Descartes! In morality,
both individual and national, and in general humanity of disposition
and refinement of manners, the increased rapidity of change has been no
less marked."--Cosmic Philosophy (Fiske), Vol. IV., p. 54, 55.
23. III. Nephi 20.
24. III. Nephi, chapter 21.
25. II. Nephi i: 5-12.
26. Ether i: 42.
27. III. Nephi 20: 14-20.
28. III. Nephi 20: 27, 28.
29. III. Nephi xxi: 11-25.
CHAPTER XLIII.
INTERNAL EVIDENCES.--THE SPIRIT OF THE BOOK.
"I can no more remember the books I have read than the meals I have
eaten," said Emerson, "but they have made me." In this way the American
philosopher recognizes the simple truth that the reading of books
has something to do with the making of a man--that they affect the
mind. A book has a spirit as distinctly as a painting or of a piece
of sculpture has "feeling"--of course I mean a real work of art into
which something from the soul of the artist has passed. The best
thing about a painting or piece of sculpture is said to be that which
cannot be described; so also the best part of a book is the spirit of
it, which may not always be describable. And that elusive, mysterious
quality we call its spirit may arise from something quite apart from
its rhetoric, or logic or diction. It may be even as the voice of God:
not in the strong wind, that rends the mountains and breaks in pieces
the rocks before the Lord; not in the earthquake nor in the fire; but
in the still, small voice which follows the wind and earthquake and
fire. [1] So with a book: its spirit may owe its existence to its simple
truth--to the spirit of truth in them that made it.
"Do you ever think," said a writer in one of our popular magazines--"Do
you ever think what is the effect of a book on your mind? * * * * Is
your mind purer for it, or clearer? Has it filled your mind with good
or bad images? Has it raised your standard or lowered it? * * * * *
Every book you read and understand affects you for better or worse. It
has some effect upon you, and if you are sane you are bound to find out
what that is."
In common with all books the Book of Mormon has its spirit, produces
its effects upon the minds of men; and as it claims to be a work
originally written and also translated through the inspiration of God,
and deals primarily with sacred things, it is to be expected that
the spirit of this book will have not only a good, but even a divine
influence; that it will be of a faith-promoting, doubt-dispersing,
comfort-bringing character. Its effects upon the minds of men,
therefore, may be another test of its claims to a divine origin; and to
that test I now submit it.
In his work entitled "My First Mission," the late President George
Q. Cannon makes the following statement respecting the influence
exerted over his spirit by reading the Book of Mormon under the trying
conditions in which he was placed while serving as a missionary in the
Hawaiian Islands:
Some of my readers may be placed in circumstances similar to those
which surrounded me a part of the time on the Sandwich Islands, and
it may be profitable to tell them how I kept from losing courage
and becoming home-sick. My love for home is naturally very strong.
For the first year after I left home I could scarcely think about
it without my feelings getting the better of me. But here I was
in a distant land, among a people whose language and habits were
strange to me. Their very food was foreign to me, and unlike
anything I had ever before seen or tasted. I was much of the time
separated from my companions, the Elders. Until I mastered the
language and commenced preaching and baptizing the people, I was
indeed a stranger among them.
Before I commenced holding regular meetings I had plenty of time
for meditation and to review all the events of my short life, and
to think of the beloved home from which I was so far separated. It
was then I found the value of the Book of Mormon. It was a book
which I always loved. If I felt inclined to be lonely, to be low
spirited, or home-sick, I had only to turn to its sacred pages to
receive consolation, new strength and a rich outpouring of the
Spirit. Scarcely a page that did not contain encouragement for
such as I was. The salvation of man was the great theme upon which
its writers dwelt and for this they were willing to undergo every
privation and make every sacrifice.
What were my petty difficulties compared with those afflictions
which they had to endure? If I expected to share the glory for
which they contended, I could see that I must labor in the same
Spirit. If the sons of King Mosiah could relinquish their high
estate, and go forth among the degraded Lamanites to labor as they
did, should not I labor with patience and devoted zeal for the
salvation of these poor red men, heirs of the same promise?
Let me recommend this book, therefore, to young and old, if they
need comfort and encouragement. Especially can I recommend it to
those who are away from home on missions. No man can read it,
partake of its spirit and obey its teachings, without being filled
with a deep love for the souls of men and a burning zeal to do all
in his power to save them.
In the experience and sentiments expressed in the foregoing passage,
Elder Cannon but voices the experience and sentiments of very many
Latter-day Saints, including thousands of missionaries who have felt
all that he has described with reference to the effects of the Book of
Mormon upon his spirit. The experiences of this host of believers may
be properly appealed to as evidence for the effect of the book upon
their minds; and I cannot believe but that it is also an evidence of
its truth. Men have gone to the Book of Mormon in despondency, and
have come away cheered; they have gone to it in sorrow, and have come
away comforted; they have gone to it at times when overwhelmed for the
moment by the mists which the speculations of men sometimes throw over
truth, and have come away from it enlightened--with faith and hope
and charity renewed. It created for them a firmer faith in God. In
the presence of its spirit doubt took wings. Its moral and spiritual
standards they find to be the highest and noblest. Indeed so perfect is
its morality that no one has yet been able to bring a complaint against
it on the ground of moral defect; and it was doubtless a consciousness
of its moral excellence that led the Prophet Joseph Smith himself to
declare on one occasion, when in council with the Twelve Apostles,
that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and
that a man could get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by
following any other book whatsoever. [2] If in its historical parts
believers find it dealing with events that exhibit selfishness, unholy
ambitions, and all the follies and crimes common to all times and all
nations and races of men, they never find its treatment of such things
of the kind that blazons evil deeds, or consecrates crime, much less
of the kind that cannonizes the vicious. In its pages they see things
in their true light. There is no shuffling, but evil deeds receive
their proper condemnation in the simple, straightforward language of
its inspired men. For believers the Book of Mormon differs from the
books of men, as the works of nature differ from the works of men. And
with what relief men of deep spiritual natures turn from the works of
men to the works of nature! From artistic parks, to nature's jumbled
wilderness; from well kept gardens, to even desert plains or wild
valleys; from grass-lined, men-made lakelets to some huge waterbody,
mountain rimmed, of unknown depths and wonderous coloring; from crowded
cities with their din and strife to mountain tops, or lonely ocean's
shore, where the freed soul in solitude can hold communion with his
God--where deep may call to deep, and inspiration gather for life's
battles!
All this and more believers find in the pages of the Book of Mormon,
and the book that breathes such a spirit must surely have somewhat of
divinity in it; and the existence of the divine spirit in the book must
be somewhat of evidence that its claims are honest, and its contents
true. This, or else we must believe that men gather grapes of thorns,
and figs of thistles; that impure fountains send forth pure streams!
I shall be told, however, that the class of witnesses here appealed
to, viz., those believers in the Book of Mormon who receive from its
pages this spiritual comfort, are for the most part simple folk, who
bring little or nothing in the way of scholarship to the examination
of the book; and few of them ever stop to consider it in a thoroughly
analytical manner at all. I shall not deny the charge, in truth,
I rather rejoice in the fact; and I think I am justified in such
rejoicing since I must needs think it takes on some of the coloring of
that joy which Jesus expressed when he said, on the occasion of some
of his simple minded disciples exulting in the possession of certain
spiritual graces--"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in
thy sight." [3] The fact that this spiritual grace and comfort from the
volume of American scripture is enjoyed chiefly by people of humble
spirit, is an evidence to me that a certain truth expressed by ancient
apostles is universal in its nature--good in all ages and among all
people, viz. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble." [4]
When men speak of pride, their hearers have in mind, chiefly, the
"purse-proud"--the pride of the rich made haughty by the power which
wealth gives; or else they think of "birth-pride"--the distinction that
comes from the accident of birth; or of "political-pride," that comes
from civic position; or perhaps the "pride of the brave and strong,"
gratified by recognition in high martial stations. But there is another
pride more offensive to God perhaps, than pride in any one of the
forms mentioned. I mean "intellectual pride," the pride of knowledge,
of opinion, the pride which so often attends upon the worldly learned
man who has not as yet progressed so far in learning as to bring to
the mind that humility of spirit which rightly belongs to, and will
at last be found with, profound learning. For my own part I can think
of nothing that could be a greater offense against the majesty of God
than for a man with his limited intellectual power presuming to pass
judgment upon and reject the things of God, because, forsooth, these
things do not conform to his opinion of what the things of God should
be like; or because the way in which they are revealed does not conform
to the manner in which he thinks God should impart his truths. Such
pride always has and always will separate men from receiving knowledge
by divine communication. While the meek and humble of spirit, borne
down with the sense of their own limitations, find grace and spiritual
enlightenment and comfort in the things which God reveals; and often
arrive at hidden treasures of knowledge, and even of wisdom, unknown to
the intellectually proud whom God resisteth.
In this connection, too, it should be remembered the class of people
for whom the Book of Mormon was especially prepared. While a revelation
to all the world, and containing profound truths the depths of which
man by human wisdom has not yet sounded, it is primarily designed
for the benighted, native American races, fallen from the high
station their forefathers once held in God's favor; and its simple
plainness and faith-promoting power will yet constitute it a mighty
instrumentality in bringing those races to a knowledge of God, and a
true understanding of their relationship to him. Hence I say, it is
pre-eminently fitting that this book should be of such character as to
appeal to the understanding of the simple, and those who are willing
and happy to be taught of God. And then, in any event, religion is
and ought to be a simple business, since among even highly civilized
nations there are many unlearned people who can understand only that
which is simple, and religion concerns alike the ignorant and the
learned, the poor and the rich. But plain to the point of being simple
as the Book of Mormon is, when men are made aware of its power to
rest the mind, to cheer the heart, to uplift the soul, they go to its
pages for help as the lame and blind and sick were wont to go to old
Bethsaida's pool, to whose waters an angel's touch had imparted healing
virtues.
The spirit of the Book of Mormon, then, its beneficent influence upon
men's minds, are among the strongest evidences of its truth. This will
appear all the more if the reader will call to mind the fact that this
influence does not arise from the cleverness of its construction; for
its structure, as men view books, is complex, confusing and clumsy. Its
spirit and influence do not arise from its strictly logical treatment
of historical events, much less from its philosophical treatment of
them; compared in these particulars with the works of Hume, Macaulay,
Gibbon, Hallan or George Bancroft, it could be esteemed contemptible.
Nor do the beneficent effects of the book upon the minds of men arise
from its rhetoric, its beauty of diction, or the pleasing correctness
of its language; in all these particulars it is admitted to be faulty;
it has few or none of these merely human excellencies for which it may
be desired. Whatever power it possesses to cheer, comfort and encourage
men; whatever power to build up hope, create faith or promote charity,
exists not by virtue of its human excellencies, but in spite of their
absence; therefore such influence for good as it possesses must be
attributed to the Spirit of God in which it was written, and by which
it is permeated; and by reason of the presence of that spirit in it,
the book itself must be accorded a divine origin.
_The Poetry the Book of Mormon has Inspired_.
As might be expected, the Book of Mormon has inspired considerable
poetry among those who have accepted it as a revelation from God; and
as some idea of its influence upon minds of poetic temperament may be
revealed by these effusions, I present some of them.
I first quote Parley P. Pratt, one of the earliest poets of the New
Dispensation, and one of its most zealous Apostles. In his Key to
Theology, one of the most luminous works yet published by the Church,
when treating of the "Rise, Progress and Decline of the Science of
Theology in the Western Hemisphere"--he opens that chapter with the
following:
The spirit world is moved, the silence broken,
The ancient Seers from out the ground have spoken.
The appointed years on time's fleet wings have fled,
And voices whisper from the ancient dead.
Volumes of truth the sacred archives yield,
The past, the glorious future, stand revealed.
It was the revelation of the Book of Mormon and the historical truths
which it reveals respecting the blessings of the Lord upon Israel that
inspired the following hymn:
The morning breaks, the shadows flee;
Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled!
The dawning of a brighter day
Majestic rises on the world.
The clouds of error disappear
Before the rays of truth divine;
The glory, bursting from afar,
Wide o'er the nations soon will shine.
The Gentile fulness now comes in,
And Israel's blessings are at hand;
Lo! Judah's remnant, cleansed from sin,
Shall in their promised Canaan stand.
Jehovah speaks! let earth give ear,
And Gentile nations turn and live;
His mighty arm is making bare,
His cov'nant people to receive.
Angels from heaven and truth from earth
Have met, and both have record borne;
Thus Zion's light is bursting forth,
To cheer her children's glad return.
The following hymn was also inspired by the Book of Mormon:
An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke,
Descending from the sky,
These gracious words he spoke:
Lo! in Cumorah's lonely hill,
A sacred record lies concealed.
Sealed by Moroni's hand,
It has for ages lain,
To wait the Lord's command,
From dust to speak again.
It shall again to light come forth,
To usher in Christ's reign on earth.
It speaks of Joseph's seed,
And makes the remnant known
Of nations long since dead,
Who once had dwelt alone.
The fulness of the gospel, too,
Its pages will reveal to view.
The time is now fulfilled,
The long expected day;
Let earth obedient yield.
And darkness flee away;
Open the seals, be wide unfurled
Its light and glory to the world.
Lo, Israel filled with joy,
Shall now be gathered home,
Their wealth and means employ
To build Jerusalem;
While Zion shall arise and shine,
And fill the earth with truth divine.
Also the following on the destruction of the Nephites and the glory
that is yet to come to their posterity.
O, who that has seen o'er the wide spreading plain,
And read o'er the last scenes of woe?
Four-and-twenty with Mormon were left to behold
Their nation lie mould'ring below.
The Nephites destroyed, the Lamanites dwelt
For ages in sorrow unknown,
Generations have passed till the Gentiles at last,
Have divided their lands as their own.
O, who that has seen o'er the wide spreading plain,
The Lamanites wander forlorn,
While the Gentiles in pride and oppression divide
The land they could once call their own;
And who that believes does not long for the hour
When sin and oppression shall cease,
And truth, like the rainbow, display through the shower,
That bright written promise of peace?
O, thou sore afflicted and sorrowful race,
The days of thy sorrow shall end!
The Lord has pronounced you a remnant of His,
Descended from Abra'm His friend.
Thy stones with fair colors most glorious shall stand.
And sapphires all shining around,
Thy windows of agates, in this glorious land,
And thy gates with carbuncles abound.
With songs of rejoicing to Zion return,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee,
The powers of heaven among you come down,
And Christ in the centre will be.
And then all the watchmen shall see eye to eye,
When the Lord shall bring Zion again,
The wolf and the kid down together shall lie,
And the lion shall dwell with the lamb.
The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God,
And nothing shall hurt nor destroy,
And these are the tidings we have to proclaim,
Glad tidings abounding with joy.
After Elder Pratt the most prolific of the early poets in the Church,
and one who perhaps caught most truly the genius of the work and
reduced it to poetic expression, was W. W. Phelps. He contributes the
following inspired by the Book of Mormon.
O, stop and tell me, Red Man,
Who are you, why you roam,
And how you get your living;
Have you no God, no home?
With stature straight and portly,
And decked in native pride,
With feathers, paints and brooches,
He willingly replied:
"I once was pleasant Ephraim,
When Jacob for me prayed,
But O, how blessings vanish,
When man from God has strayed!
Before your nation knew us,
Some thousand moons ago,
Our fathers fell in darkness,
And wandered to and fro.
And long they've lived by hunting
Instead of work and arts,
And so our race has dwindled
To idle Indian hearts.
Yet hope within us lingers,
As if the Spirit spoke,
He'll come for your redemption,
And break your Gentile yoke,
And all your captive brothers,
From every clime shall come,
And quit their savage customs,
To live with God at home.
Then joy will fill our bosoms,
And blessings crown our days,
To live in pure religion,
And sing our Maker's praise."
Of our later poets Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the
Twelve, has most celebrated the Nephite volume of scripture in his
great poem "Elias." One canto (VI) is wholly devoted to the Book of
Mormon under the caption "From Out the Dust." In this Canto Elder
Whitney treats the whole theme of America as a land of promise--
The Old World, not the New,--this soil misnamed;
Cradle of man and grave of nations vast,
Whose glory, wealth, and wisdom had outfamed
The mightiest of known empires, present, past;
The land where Adam dwelt, where Eden cast
Forth from her flaming gate the fateful pair
Who fell that man might be; a fall still chaste,
Albeit they sinned, descending death's dread stair
To fling life's ladder down, Love's work and way prepare.
Of the decrees of God respecting the land, he writes.
The God of freedom, God of justice, swore
No tyrant should this chosen land defile;
And nations here, that for a season bore
The palm of power, must righteous be the while,
Or ruin's avalanche ruin on ruin pile.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Race upon race has perished in its pride,
And nations lustrous as the lights of heaven
Have sinned and sunk, in reckless suicide,
Upon this soil, since that dread word was given.
Realms battle-rent and regions tempest-riven;
The wrath-swept land for ages desolate;
A wretched remnant blasted, crust, and driven
Forth by the furies of revengeful fate;
Till wonder asks in vain, What of their former state?
Wouldst know the cause, the upas-tree that bore
The blight of desolation? 'Tis a theme
To melt Earth's heart, and move all Heaven to pour
With sorrow's heaving flood, as when supreme
O'er fallen Lucifer, the generous stream
Of grief half quenched the joy of victory.
Mark how the annals of the ages teem
With repetition? Time, eternity,
The same have taught; but, few, alas! the moral see.
There is a sin called self, which binds the world
In fetters fell, than all save truth more strong;
A sin most serpentine, round all men curled,
And in its fatal fold earth writhes full long;
Crime's great first cause, the primal root of wrong,
Parent of pride and tree of tyranny.
To lay the axe doth unto thee belong.
Strike, that the world may know of liberty,
And Zion's land indeed a land of Zion be!
The poet treats successively the Jaredite and Nephite occupancy of
the western world in the same noble strain of poetry. He closes the
Jaredite period with these verses, celebrating the last acts of the two
survivors of the Jaredite nation, Ether the Prophet, and Coriantumr the
last of the Jaredite kings.
Usurping treason seized the civic helm,
Wrong trampled right, and justice, judgment, fled.
Then strife, division, hosts to battle led;
The prophets, mocked, lift warning voice in vain;
A blood-soaked continent, a sea, of dead,
And of that mighty nation, fallen, self-slain.
A prophet and a king, a solitary twain.
That prophet saw the coming of the Lord
Unto the Old, the New, Jerusalem;
Saw Israel returning at His word
From wheresoever His will had scattered them;
The realm's wide ruin saw, and strove to stem.
That king, sole scion of a slaughtered race,
Casting his blood-stained sword and diadem,
Lived but to see another nation place
Firm foot upon the soil, then vanished from its face.
The advent of the Nephite colony is told in the following manner.
Again athwart the wilderness of waves,
Surging old East and older West between,
Where the lone sea the flowery Southland laves,
And crowns o'er many climes the Chilean queen,
Braving the swell, a storm-tossed bark is seen.
From doomed Jerusalem, to Jacob dear,
Albeit a leper, groping, blind, unclean,
Goes forth Manasseh's prophet pioneer,
Predestined to unveil the hidden hemisphere.
His lot to reap and plant on this far shore
The promise of his fathers. Joseph's bough,
From Jacob's well, the billowy wall runs o'er.
Abides in strength the archer-stricken bow,
Unto the utmost bound prevailing now,
Of Hesper's heaven-inviting hills. Bend sheaves
Of Israel, as branches bend with snow,
Unto his sheaf as mightiest; and as leaves
For multitude, the son the great sire's glory weaves.
The cataclysms which took place in this western world during the
crucifixion and entombment of Messiah and His subsequent advent in the
western world, His teaching the gospel here, and the establishment of
His Church is told by our poet in the following strains.
All this and more the prescient monarch saw;
Messiah's self, Jehovah, Him beheld;
The Lamb of God, in whom was found no flaw,
Though Hate's black billows round Him surged and
swelled;
Life's deathless tree--deathless, though demon-felled;
The crash resounding to this far-off shore,
Whose winnowed remnant welcomed Him revealed
In risen glory, when had ceased the roar
And raging of the tempest heralds sent before.
At whose rebuke the haughty mountains bowed,
Shorn by the whirlwind, sunk, or swept away,
No more their frown the lowly valleys cowed,
Rising like billows 'mid the wrathful fray,
And dashing 'gainst the skies their dusty spray.
Rocks, boulders, hills, no Titan strength could lift,
Hurtle as pebbles in the storm-fiend's play.
Earth opes her jaws, and through the yawning rift,
Cities, peoples, vanish, of hope, of life, bereft.
Three hours of tempest and three days of night;
Thick darkness, thunder-burst, and lightning flash;
Millions engulfed, millions in prostrate plight,
Grovelling as slaves that feel or fear the lash,
Mingling their groans and cries with grind and crash
Of crags the cyclone's catapult impels,
Whose shrieking flails the fields and forests thrash.
Wild o'er the land roused Ocean's anger swells;
Fierce Flame's prophetic tongue the final doom foretells.
Three hours of stormful strife;--then all is still.
Save for a Voice that universe might hear,
Proclaiming what hath happed as Heaven's high will,
Dispensing pardon and dispelling fear,
Drawing the righteous nearer and more near.
Anon He lifts the curtain of the sky!
The midday sun no more their minister;
Greater hath arisen; and glories multiply
As angels in their gaze earthward and heavenward fly.
He greets them as a shepherd greets his flock;
Shows them His wounded side, His hands, His feet;
Then builds His Church upon the stricken Rock,
Where flow life's healing waters, limpid, sweet,
As infant innocence, that joys to meet
Its great Original. With holy hand
He ministers, bids death and hell retreat,
And singles twelve from out the sainted band
To sow with gospel light the furrowed, tear-worn land.
Then follows the story of the Nephite golden age, and this by a period
of apostasy from God and the final overthrow of the people, concluding
with the coming of the Gentile races to the promised land and the
advent of the Seer, Joseph Smith, who shall make known through the Book
of Mormon the otherwise unknown history of the western world.
The Gentile comes, as destiny decrees,
To Joseph's land of wonders held in store.
Freedom his watchword, sons of Freedom these,
Like to the favored bands that long before
A refuge found upon this sheltering shore.
But champions of right oft wrong the right;
Oppressed become oppressors in an hour;
And now, as day that pushes back the night,
The strong the weak assail, enslave, and put to flight.
Nor yet can fate forsake them. Japheth's hand
'Gainst Jacob's wrath-doomed remnant still prevails.
Tyrants oppress him from the motherland;
The Lord of hosts a champion arms and mails,
To match whose might no human power avails;
Nor grander cause or chieftain e'er came forth.
Him as its sire a new-born nation hails,
And fain would crown him, spite his will, his birth,
Did Heaven vouchsafe such king to shame most kings
of earth--
Real though oft recreant sons of Deity,
Builders, o'erthrowers, of imperial thrones,
In wrongful act of rightful agency
Drenching with blood, paving with human bones
The path to power, gruesome with tears and groans.
Their lives a failure? God a failure? Nay;
What'er betide, the soul that sins atones;
And He who casts the parts all mortals play,
Succeeds He ever, His the night, and His the day.
Thine antecedents, thy forerunners, these,
Prophet of Ephraim, Joseph's namesake seer!
More than those ancient bridgers of the seas,
Unveiler of the long-hid hemisphere,
Whose secret 'tis lies booked and buried here.
Bring forth that word of Joseph, now to join
With Judah's word, Messiah's throne to rear;
That high may rise and holily may shine
God's house, the pure-in-heart, kingdom of King divine.
The whole Canto, and indeed the whole poem, should be read in order to
get the full beauty and power of the poet's theme, in which the Book of
Mormon is so large a factor of inspiration.
_Summary of Internal Evidences_.
This is all I intend to say directly on the subject of the Internal
Evidences of the truth of the Book of Mormon; what else remains that
could properly fall under this division of the subject will be said in
connection with the answers to objections to the claims of the book.
Before leaving the subject, however, I ask the reader to recall in one
view the various internal evidences considered up to this time, that it
may be remembered how numerous they are, and how strong and conclusive
they are when massed.
The Internal Evidences of the Book of Mormon consist in the following
facts:
The book in style and language is consistent with the theory of its
construction;
It responds to the demands both of unity and diversity in its style,
under the theory of its structure;
It has all the characteristics of an abridgment;
It meets all the requirements of the circumstances in the matter of
names, originality in names, differences between Jaredite and Nephite
names, and the custom of Hebrew peoples with reference to names;
Its governments are in harmony with the political principles of the age
in which those governments are said to have existed;
The events to which importance is given are such as would be expected
from the character of its writers;
The complexity of its structure is in harmony with the theory of its
origin;
It meets the requirements in originality of structure, manner of
coming forth, theory of peopling America, the nativity of its peoples,
accounting for Christian truths in America, and in its doctrines;
Its prophecies, so many and important, so far as the wheels of time
have brought them due, are fulfilled, and others are in course of
fulfillment;
It deals with subjects worthy of God to reveal, and important for man
to know;
It has an atmosphere about it, a spirit, that bears witness of its
truth.
Footnotes
1. See I. Kings xix.
2. The Prophet's Journal, November 28, 1841.
3. Luke x: 21.
4. James iv: 6. Peter v: 5.
PART IV.
Objections to the Book of Mormon
CHAPTER XLIV.
COUNTER THEORIES OF ORIGIN.
"_No sane man dreams of maintaining that a religion is true because of
the difficulties which it involves; the utmost that can reasonably be
maintained is that it may be true in spite of them_." [1]
The necessity for a counter theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon
was early recognized. Sectarian Christendom felt that Joseph Smith's
story of the book's origin must be overthrown, else what would come
of this new revelation, this new dispensation of God's word? Joseph
Smith's account of the origin of the book was a direct challenge to
the teachings of modern Christendom that revelation had ceased; that
the awful voice of prophecy would no more be heard; that the volume of
scripture was completed and forever closed; and that the Bible was the
only volume of scripture. Hence Christendom must find some other origin
for this book than that given by Joseph Smith. The first objection then
to be considered is the objection to the book's origin by examining the
counter theories.
I.
_Alexander Campbell's Theory_:
Alexander Campbell, founder of the sect of the "Disciples," or
"Campbellites," as they are more commonly called, was the first who in
any formal, public manner assailed the Book of Mormon, and proposed a
counter theory of its origin than that given by Joseph Smith.
Alexander Campbell was born in Ireland, 1788, but educated at Glasgow
University, Scotland, where he graduated with the title of Doctor of
Divinity. He came to the United States in 1809, settling in Bethany,
Virginia, and for some time filled the position of pastor of the
Presbyterian church at that place. He soon parted from this communion,
however, and began religious work on independent lines; and organized
a society whose doctrine was that the Bible should be the sole creed
of the church. This led to the establishment of a "Reformed Baptist
Church," which finally took the name of "Disciples" or "Christians."
Mr. Campbell has generally been accounted--and indeed was--one of the
most learned divines of the country and century in which he lived. He
founded a college at Bethany, Virginia; and was also the founder of the
"Christian Baptist," which finally merged (1830) into the "Millennial
Harbinger," both as their titles indicate being religious periodicals.
He was the author of a number of works on religious subjects, but is
generally remembered through his public debates with Robert Owen, the
celebrated English Deist and social reformer; Archbishop Purcell, of
the Roman Catholic Church, whose diocese was Cincinnati and vicinity;
Rev. N. L. Rice, of the Presbyterian Church; and the Rev. William
McCalla.
It will be seen from the foregoing sketch of this celebrated man, that
so far as scholarship and trained ability in religious controversy is
concerned, he was competent to analyze and make a severe criticism of
the Book of Mormon. Before going into that, however, I think there
is one other fact bearing on his career that should be noted. It
will perhaps be remembered that Walter Scott and Sidney Rigdon were
associated with Mr. Campbell in his reform operations in the state
of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Up to 1830, the last named gentleman was
as energetic in the interests of the "Disciples" as Mr. Scott or Mr.
Campbell.
Cardinal points in the reformation proposed by these gentlemen were,
first: the recognition of the Bible as the only creed of the church;
and after that faith in God and Christ, and the Holy Spirit; repentance
of sin, and baptism in water by immersion for the remission of sins.
It will be seen at once that in these doctrines the reformers were
really preaching a number of the first principles and ordinances of
the gospel; and when Sidney Rigdon became interested in Mormonism and
visited the Prophet Joseph in New York, December, 1830, a revelation
was given through the Prophet to Sidney Rigdon, in which the Lord
claimed this reform work, in a way, as his:
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have looked
upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers and prepared
thee for a greater work. Thou art blessed, for thou shalt do great
things. Behold, thou wast sent forth, even as John, to prepare
the way before me, and before Elijah which should come, and thou
knewest it not. Thou didst baptize by water unto repentance,
but they received not the Holy Ghost. But now I give unto thee
a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and they shall
receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, even as the
apostles of old. [2]
From this it appears that Sidney Rigdon was unconsciously inspired of
God in teaching faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of
sins. In evidence that the work of these reformers was a preparatory
work to the coming forth of the fullness of the gospel, I may say that
perhaps more people joined the Church in an early day from this sect of
"Disciples" than from any other denomination whatsoever. But if Sidney
Rigdon was inspired of God in this work, and was sent forth even as
John the Baptist to prepare the way for the incoming of a still greater
work, may it not also be true that Alexander Campbell was inspired of
God, and in like manner sent forth to prepare the way for the coming
forth of the greater work? Undoubtedly; for if Sidney Rigdon could be
thus sent forth, one could easily believe that Alexander Campbell,
with his larger knowledge and greater capacity, would more likely be
sent forth on such a mission. When, however, the new dispensation of
the gospel was brought to his attention, and he came in contact with
the Book of Mormon, instead of accepting it, as Sidney Rigdon did, he
rejected it; pride of opinion, pride of intellectual attainments, pride
as a leader of men, and the founder of a sect are doubtless the causes
which induced the spiritual darkness that prevented him from seeing the
truth; or, if he saw it, prevented him from accepting it; and hence he
chose to reject it, and assail it, and for a number of years was its
most pronounced antagonist.
I have already remarked upon the educational and intellectual abilities
of Mr. Campbell as fitting him for the work of thorough analysis and
criticism of the Book of Mormon; but when one compares his criticism
of the book with his debate with Robert Owen, in which he makes a most
masterful defense of historic Christianity; or with his debate with
Archbishop Purcell which, at the time it took place, was called "The
Battle of the Giants"--one can but feel that his performance with
reference to the Book of Mormon was wholly unworthy of him. Unworthy
both of his great intellect and high character. In his assault upon
that book there is a bitterness, and even a vulgarity, entirely
absent from his other works, and utterly unaccountable for, unless
one can think that in the background of his consciousness there was a
realization that the work he assailed was true, and hence his assault
is tinged with a bitterness likely to result from such a circumstance.
I shall have occasion to refer to several, in fact to all of Mr.
Campbell's objections, in the course of this division of my treatise,
but at present I shall confine myself to his theory of the Book of
Mormon's origin.
His theory respecting the origin of the book was that Joseph Smith was
its author. This he repeats at various places in his criticism.
"Smith," he says, "its real author, as ignorant and as impudent a knave
as ever wrote a book, betrays the cloven foot in basing his whole book
upon a false fact, or a pretended fact, which makes God a lair," etc.
Again:
The book proposes to be written at intervals and by different
persons during the long period of 1020 years, and yet for
uniformity of style, there never was a book more evidently written
by one set of fingers, nor more certainly conceived in one cranium
since the first book appeared in human language, than this same
book. If I could swear to any man's voice, face, or person,
assuming different names, I could swear that this book was written
by one man. And as Joseph Smith is a very ignorant man, and is
called the "author" on the title page, I cannot doubt for a single
moment but that he is sole author and proprietor of it. [3]
From this it appears that the reasons which induced Alexander Campbell
to conclude that Joseph Smith was the "sole author and proprietor" of
the Book of Mormon, are,
First: that he is called the Author and Proprietor of it on the title
page, [4] and
Second: that there is a uniformity of style throughout the book.
The reason for Joseph Smith calling himself "Author and Proprietor"
of the Book of Mormon is easily accounted for. The copyright law of
the United States, in force at the time of the publication of the
Book of Mormon, secured the rights to copies of maps, charts, and
books, "to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the
times therein mentioned," but the law said nothing respecting the
rights of translators of books, hence Joseph Smith adopted the legal
phraseology of the law, and secured the copyright to the Book of Mormon
as "author and proprietor," since he could not obtain the copyright as
"translator." [5]
That Joseph Smith from the first claimed only to be the translator of
the Book of Mormon is evident from the preface to the first edition,
where he says:
"I would inform you that I '_translated_' by the gift and power of God,
and caused to be written 116 pages [of manuscript] which I took from
the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi
by the hand of Mormon," etc.
Throughout the preface he speaks of his work as a "translation." So
that it cannot be said that Joseph Smith claimed at any time to be
other than a translator of the work, hence any argument based upon
Joseph Smith announcing himself as "author and proprietor" of the Book
of Mormon merely to comply with the phraseology of the copyright law,
is technical and without force. [6]
As to the argument based upon the uniformity of literary style
throughout the book, I have already called attention to the
requirements both of unity and diversity of style, resulting in the
conclusion that the construction of the book does not require a wide
diversity of literary style, because of the fact that it is composed
chiefly of four writers, two living in the sixth century B. C., and the
other two living 400 A. D. [7]
Moreover, it is conceded in these pages that the translation by Joseph
Smith was made in such language and literary style as he was competent
to execute, and hence uniformity in literary style is to be looked for
in the translation since the English is his. [8]
Campbell's theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon, nothwithstanding
his learning and acknowledged literary ability, failed to be
convincing; the evidence of the fact is seen in this that his theory
was soon abandoned for another, hence it can be concluded that it was
entirely unsatisfactory--that is, failed. Indeed Mr. Campbell himself,
as soon as the "Spaulding Theory" of the book's origin was launched,
abandoned his own and gave to that his support. [9]
II.
_The Spaulding Theory of the Origin of the Book of Mormon._
Taking its source in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and flowing generally
in a north-westerly course into Ohio, thence northward through
Ashtabula county, Ohio, until it empties into Lake Erie, is Conneaut
Creek. It meanders through a country somewhat rich in mounds and other
evidences of the existence of civilized races that anciently inhabited
America. Very naturally the people inhabiting that section of the
country were interested in these subjects. Here resided in the early
years of the nineteenth century one Solomon Spaulding, a graduate,
it is said, of Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. According
to those who have recorded his history, he was born in Ashford,
Connecticut, 1761, and graduated at Dartmouth in 1785 with the degree
of A. B. He subsequently studied theology, and began preaching in 1800,
but on account of failing health he went into the merchandise business
at Cherry Valley, New York. He failed in merchandising, and moved to
New Salem, Ashtabula county, Ohio, 1807 or 1808.
New Salem is on the banks of the Conneaut Creek, and sometimes is
called "Conneaut." Here Spaulding went into the iron foundry business,
but failed in that also. In 1809 he began writing a religious romance,
incited to the undertaking by reason of the numerous evidences of the
civilized races by which he was surrounded at Conneaut. This work,
from the concensus of the recollections of those who claimed to have
heard portions of it read, he called the "Manuscript Found," from the
circumstance of his romance being based upon the pretended finding of
the manuscript of it in a cave in the vicinity of New Salem. It feigned
also to give an account of the migration of a colony to America in
ancient times.
Mr. Spaulding continued to live in New Salem until 1812, when he
removed from that place to Pittsburg, Penn., where it is supposed that
he resided some two years. It is claimed that while living here Mr.
Spaulding placed his manuscript story in the hands of a Mr. Patterson,
a printer and publisher of Pittsburg, who retained it for some time;
read it and urged Mr. Spaulding to write a title page and preface for
it, saying that he would publish it, and that it might be "a source of
profit." This, for some unaccountable reason, Mr. Spaulding refused
to do. At length the manuscript was returned to its author, "and soon
after," said Mrs. Spaulding in a narrative attributed to her, "we moved
to Amity, Washington county, Penn., where Mr. Spaulding in 1816 died."
It is claimed, by the advocates of this Spaulding theory of the origin
of the Book of Mormon, that Sidney Rigdon, through a Mr. Lambdin, an
employe of Patterson's publishing establishment, became acquainted
with this manuscript story; "borrowed" it and copied it, as some say;
"stole" it according to the theory of others. Afterwards by some
means unexplained, and as I think unexplainable, Sidney Rigdon, it
is claimed, became associated with Joseph Smith living in Manchester
Township, New York, or in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania--from 250
to 300 miles distant from any point where Sidney Rigdon resided during
those years when the Book of Mormon was coming forth,--collaborated
with him, and published Spaulding's romance, with religious doctrinal
matter added by Rigdon, as the Book of Mormon. This is the theory
most generally accepted by those who recognize the importance of
overthrowing the account of the book's origin given by Joseph Smith.
I wish now to call attention to the circumstance under which this
theory came to be substituted for the much more tenable, though
inadequate one, advanced some years earlier by Alexander Campbell.
This settlement on Conneaut Creek, called New Salem, was on the route
usually traveled by the Saints and Elders in their journey from New
York to Kirtland, Ohio, and from Kirtland, Ohio, to the branches of the
Church, established in Canada, New York, and Pennsylvania, hence the
people of that neighborhood were frequently brought in contact with
Mormonism, and the story of its origin was often before them.
In the fall of 1833, a number of affidavits were taken from the
former neighbors and friends of Solomon Spaulding, and one was given
by his brother, John Spaulding, and one by the latter's wife, Martha
Spaulding. They at the time were residing at Crawford, Pennsylvania,
and both testified they had "recently read the Book of Mormon," and
recognized in it the general outlines of Solomon Spaulding's story,
claiming especially to remember the names "Nephi and Lehi;" the words
"Nephites and Lamanites;" and also the ancient scriptural style and the
frequent use of the phrase "and it came to pass;" and that the American
Indians are descendants of the Jews, or "lost tribes of Israel."
Mr. Henry Lake, an associate in business with Mr. Spaulding, living
at Conneaut in the fall of 1833, in connection with others that will
be named, living in the same neighborhood, testified that Solomon
Spaulding read to him the "Manuscript Found;" that it represented the
American Indians as the descendants of the "lost tribes" of Israel, and
that he suggested to Mr. Spaulding that the frequent use of the phrase
"and it came to pass" rendered the book ridiculous.
John N. Miller testified substantially to the same things saying in
addition that Spaulding's story landed his colony near the "Straits of
Darien," which he was confident he called "Zarahemla."
Aaron Wright testified to substantially the same things as the
foregoing. That the American Indians, according to Spaulding's story,
were descendants of the "lost tribes" of Israel, and claims especially
that the historical part of the Book of Mormon is substantially what he
heard read from the "Manuscript Found," though he excepts out of the
work, as not being Spaulding's, the religious matter.
Oliver Smith testified substantially to the same things, saying in
effect that on reading the Book of Mormon he at once recognized it as
the writings of Solomon Spaulding.
Nahum Howard, testified that he had recently read the Book of Mormon,
and believed that all but the religious part of it was the same as that
written by Spaulding.
Artemas Cunningham, living in Perry, Geauga county, Ohio, testified
that in 1811 he waited upon Solomon Spaulding at his home in New Salem,
to collect debts, and that the latter read to him on that occasion some
parts of his manuscript story, partially examining the Book of Mormon
he became convinced that Spaulding had written its outlines before he
left Conneaut. [10]
It is upon the testimony of these parties that the Spaulding theory
rests. Subsequently many others claimed to have information upon the
subject, and gave statements to newspapers almost _ad infinitum_,
constantly varying the claims and adding items that so burdened the
theory with inconsistencies and contradictions that it breaks down, as
we shall see, under the accumulation. But now as to the manner in which
this theory came to be exploited.
As in former dispensations of the gospel, so in this last dispensation,
the gospel net gathers of all kinds. Some are fit for the Master's
use, and some fit only to be cast back into the world, as worthless
fish are cast back into the sea. Of such was one "Doctor" Philastus
Hurlburt. He made his first appearance in Kirtland in the early
spring of 1833, where, after investigating Mormonism, he accepted
it, and on the 18th of March of that year was ordained an Elder.
Soon afterwards he went on a brief mission to the east, where he was
guilty of unchristianlike conduct in his deportment with women. On
his return to Kirtland he was confronted with this charge, and at a
conference of High Priests was deprived of his license as an Elder,
and excommunicated from the Church. From this decision he appealed to
the Council of the First Presidency, and because of his confession and
apparent repentance he was restored. Shortly afterwards, however, he
boasted of having deceived both the Prophet and the council, and he was
again excommunicated from the Church, after which he avowed himself the
enemy of the Prophet Joseph and of Mormonism, and sought by all means
within his power to destroy both. His threats against the Prophet's
life became so violent that he was arraigned before the court in
Chardon, the county seat of Geauga county, and bound over in the sum of
two hundred dollar bonds, to keep the peace, and to pay the cost of the
proceedings. [11]
The title of "Doctor" given to this man, and which when rightfully held
gives evidence of respectability as well as of professional standing,
did not grow out of the fact that he was a physician, nor was it a
little of honor at all with him, but was given to him because he was
the "seventh son" in his family, who, according to the old folklore,
should be made a physician, hence he was called "Doc" or "Doctor."
According to the statement of Joseph E. Johnson, who was acquainted
with him at Kirtland, Hurlburt was a man of fine physique, very good
looking but pompous and ambitious, which lead him to seek position in
the Church and solicit marriage with the "first families;" but his evil
character thwarted all such efforts.
It is this man who is chiefly responsible for the Spaulding theory
of the origin of the Book of Mormon. Having heard of Spaulding's
"Manuscript Found" on Conneaut Creek, he immediately entered into
negotiations with the Prophet's enemies in and about Kirtland, and by
them was employed to gather up the statements to which reference has
been made, as also, if possible, to secure the Spaulding manuscript for
the purpose of comparing it with the Book of Mormon. He also went to
the former home of the Prophet, for the purpose of collecting all the
scandal and rumors that could be gathered up or manufactured against
the Smith family; as also all the stories and neighborhood gossip which
became current about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Meantime,
however, the true character of Hurlburt became so generally known
and was so unsavory, that those who had employed him to gather this
material for the contemplated anti-Mormon book found it necessary to
drop Hurlburt, and leave the publication in the hands of others.
Among those who had interested themselves in these plans for the
destruction of the Book of Mormon and the Church, was E. D. Howe, of
Painsville, Ohio. Painsville is but a few miles distant northwest of
Kirtland. One of Mr. Howe's reasons for anger against the Church was
the fact that both his wife and sister had become converts to the new
faith. He purchased the materials that had been gathered for Hurlburt's
Anti-Mormon book, and published them under the title of "Mormonism
Unveiled," (1834). It is the first Anti-Mormon book of any pretentions,
and has been the chief source of "information" for all the Anti-Mormon
publications which have followed it, that pretend to relate at all the
early events connected with the coming forth of the great latter-day
work. It took some six years to dispose of the first edition, as the
second edition was not issued until 1840. So little influence, however,
did "Mormonism Unveiled" have that many people in the very region of
its origin continued to accept the Book of Mormon, and became members
of the Church of the Latter-day Saints.
After the publication of Howe's book in 1834, there were no further
developments in the Spaulding Theory until May, 1839, when attention
was again called to it through the publication of what purported to be
either an affidavit or signed statement [12] by Mrs. Matilda Davison.
This lady was formerly Solomon Spaulding's wife, and lived with him
until his death in 1816. Four years later she married Mr. Davison,
and at the time of the publication of the signed statement here
referred to, was living with her daughter, Mrs. M'Kenstry, at Monson,
Massachusetts. Her statement follows:
ALLEGED STATEMENT OF MRS. DAVISON, FORMERLY THE WIFE OF SOLOMON
SPAULDING.
As the Book of Mormon, or Golden Bible (as it was originally
called) has excited much attention, and is deemed by a certain new
sect of equal authority with the Sacred Scriptures, I think it a
duty which I owe to the public to state what I know touching its
origin.
That its claims to a divine origin are wholly unfounded needs no
proof to a mind unperverted by the grossest illusions. That any
sane person should rank it higher than any other merely human
composition is a matter of the greatest astonishment; yet it is
received as divine by some who dwell in enlightened New England,
and even by those who have sustained the character of devoted
Christians. Learning recently that Mormonism had found its way
into a church in Massachusetts, and has impregnated some with its
gross delusions, so that excommunication has been necessary, I am
determined to delay no longer in doing what I can to strip the mask
from this mother of sin, and to lay open this pit of abominations.
Solomon Spaulding, to whom I was united in marriage in early life,
was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and was distinguished for a
lively imagination, and a great fondness for history. At the time
of our marriage he resided in Cherry Valley, New York. From this
place we removed to New Salem, Ashtabula county, Ohio, sometimes
called Conneaut, as it is situated on Conneaut Creek. Shortly after
our removal to this place, his health sunk, and he was laid aside
from active labors. In the town of New Salem there are numerous
mounds and forts supposed by many to be the dilapidated dwellings
and fortifications of a race now extinct. These ancient relics
arrest the attention of the new settlers, and become objects of
research for the curious. Numerous implements were found, and
other articles evincing great skill in the arts. Mr. Spaulding
being an educated man, and passionately fond of history, took a
lively interest in these developments of antiquity; and in order
to beguile the hours of retirement and furnish employment for his
lively imagination, he conceived the idea of giving an historical
sketch of this long lost race. Their extreme antiquity led him to
write in the most ancient style, and as the Old Testament is the
most ancient book in the world, he imitated its style as nearly as
possible. His sole object in writing this imaginary history was
to amuse himself and his neighbors. This was about the year 1812.
Hull's surrender at Detroit occurred near the same time, and I
recollect the date well from that circumstance. As he progressed
in his narrative the neighbors would come in from time to time to
hear portions read, and a great interest in the work was excited
among them. It claimed to have been written by one of the lost
nation, and to have been recovered from the earth, and assumed the
title of "Manuscript Found." The neighbors would often inquire
how Mr. Spaulding progressed in deciphering the manuscript; and
when he had sufficient portion prepared, he would inform them,
and they would assemble to hear it read. He was enabled, from his
acquaintance with the classics and ancient history, to introduce
many singular names, which were particularly noticed by the people,
and could be easily recognized by them. Mr. Solomon Spaulding had
a brother, Mr. John Spaulding, residing in the place at the time,
who was perfectly familiar with the work, and repeatedly heard
the whole of it read. From New Salem we removed to Pittsburg, in
Pennsylvania. Here Mr. Spaulding found a friend and acquaintance, in
the person of Mr. Patterson, an editor of a newspaper. He exhibited
his manuscript to Mr. Patterson, who was very much pleased with it,
and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it for a long time, and
informed Mr. Spaulding that if he would make out a title page and
preface, he would publish it, and it might be a source of profit.
This Mr. Spaulding refused to do. Sidney Rigdon, who has figured so
largely in the history of the Mormons, was at that time connected
with the printing office of Mr. Patterson, as is well known in
that region, and as Rigdon himself has frequently stated, became
acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript, and copied it. It was a
matter of notoriety and interest to all connected with the printing
establishment. At length the manuscript was returned to its author,
and soon after we removed to Amity, Washington county, etc., where
Mr. Spaulding deceased in 1816. The manuscript then fell into my
hands, and was carefully preserved. It has frequently been examined
by my daughter, Mrs. M'Kenstry, of Monson, Mass., with whom I now
reside, and by other friends.
After the Book of Mormon came out, a copy of it was taken to New
Salem, the place of Mr. Spaulding's former residence, and the very
place where the "Manuscript Found" was written. A woman preacher
appointed a meeting there; and in the meeting read and repeated
copious extracts from the Book of Mormon. The historical part
was immediately recognized by all the older inhabitants, as the
identical work of Mr. Spaulding, in which they had all been so
deeply interested years before. Mr. John Spaulding was present
and recognized perfectly the work of his brother. He was amazed
and afflicted that it should have been perverted to so wicked a
purpose. His grief found vent in a flood of tears, and he arose
on the spot, and expressed to the meeting his sorrow and regret
that the writings of his deceased brother should be used for a
purpose so vile and shocking. The excitement in New Salem became so
great that the inhabitants had a meeting and deputed Dr. Philastus
Hurlburt, one of their number, to repair to this place and to
obtain from me the original manuscript of Mr. Spaulding, for the
purpose of comparing it with the Mormon Bible, to satisfy their
own minds, and to prevent their friends from embracing an error so
delusive. This was in the year 1834. Dr. Hurlburt brought with him
an introduction and request for the manuscript, which was signed
by Messrs. Henry Lake, Aaron Wright, and others, with all of whom
I was acquainted, as they were my neighbors when I resided at
New Salem. I am sure that nothing would grieve my husband more,
were he living, than the use which has been made of his work.
The air of antiquity which was thrown about the composition,
doubtless suggested the idea of converting it to the purposes of
delusion. Thus an historical romance, with the addition of a few
pious expressions, and extracts from the sacred Scriptures, has
been construed into a new Bible, and palmed off upon a company of
poor deluded fanatics as divine. I have given the previous brief
narration that this work of deep deception and wickedness may be
searched to the foundation and the authors exposed to the contempt
and execration they so justly deserve.
(Signed) MATILDA DAVISON.
This statement was published at the instance of Dr. John Storrs, a
Congregational minister of Holliston, Massachusetts. The incentive for
his action was the fact that a number of his congregation had become
converts to the Mormon faith and he was angry. [13] Mrs. Davison,
however, denied ever having given such a signed statement, as appears
from the following communication published in the "Quincy Whig," at
Quincy, Illinois. It was published in the Illinois paper shortly after
the "Davison Statement" appeared in the "Boston Recorder," under the
following title:
A CUNNING DEVICE DETECTED.
It will be recollected that a few months since an article appeared
in several of the papers, purporting to give an account of the
origin of the Book of Mormon. How far the writer of that piece has
effected his purposes, or what his purposes were in pursuing the
course he has, I shall not attempt to say at this time, but shall
call upon every candid man to judge in this matter for himself, and
shall content myself by presenting before the public the other side
of the question in the form of a letter, as follows:
Copy of a letter written by Mr. John Haven, of Holliston, Middlesex
Co., Massachusetts, to his daughter, Elizabeth Haven, of Quincy,
Adams Co., Illinois.
Your brother Jesse passed through Monson where he saw Mrs. Davison
and her daughter Mrs. McKenstry and also Dr. Ely and spent several
hours with them, during which time he asked them the following
questions, viz.:
"Question.--Did you, Mrs. Davison, write a letter to John Storrs,
giving an account of the origin of the Book of Mormon?
Answer.--I did not.
Q.--Did you sign your name to it?
A.--I did not, neither did I ever see the letter until I saw it in
the "Boston Recorder," the letter was never brought to me to sign.
Q.--What agency had you in having this letter sent to Mr. Storrs?
A.--D. R. Austin came to my house and asked me some questions, took
some minutes on paper, and from these minutes wrote that letter.
Q.--Is what is written in the letter true?
A.--In the main it is.
Q. Have you read the Book of Mormon?
A.--I have read some in it.
Q.--Does Mr. Spaulding's manuscript and the Book of Mormon agree?
A.--I think some few of the names are alike.
Q.--Does the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a religious
people?
A.--An idolatrous people?
Q.--Where is the manuscript?
A.--D. P. Hurlburt came here and took it, said he would get it
printed and let me have one-half the profits.
Q.--Has D. P. Hurlburt got the manuscript printed?
A.--I received a letter stating that it did not read as he
expected, and he should not print it.
Q.--How large is Mr. Spaulding's manuscript?
A.--About one-third as large as the Book of Mormon.
Q.--To Mrs. McKinstry: How old were you when your father wrote the
manuscript?
A.--About five years of age.
Q.--Did you ever read the manuscript?
A.--When I was about twelve years old I used to read it for
diversion.
Q.--Did the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a religious people?
A.--An idolatrous people.
Q.--Does the manuscript and the Book of Mormon agree?
A.--I think some of the names agree.
Q.--Are you certain that some of the names agree?
A.--I am not.
Q.--Have you read any in the Book of Mormon?
A.--I have not.
Q.--Was your name attached to that letter, which was sent to Mr.
John Storrs, by your order?
A.--No, I never meant that my name should be there.
You see by the above questions and answers, that Mr. Austin, in his
great zeal to destroy the Latter-day Saints, has asked Mrs. Davison
a few questions, then wrote a letter to Mr. Storrs, in his own
language. I do not say that the above questions and answers were
given in the form that I have written them, but these questions
were asked, and these answers given. Mrs. Davison is about seventy
years of age, and somewhat broke."
This may certify that I am personally acquainted with Mr. Haven,
his son and daughter, and am satisfied they are persons of truth.
I have also read Mr. Haven's letter to his daughter, which has
induced me to copy it for publication, and I further say, the above
is a correct copy of Mr. Haven's letter.
(Signed) A. BADLAM. [14]
The foregoing statement from the "Quincy Whig" is considerably
strengthened by a work published by "Funk & Wagnalls" (1885), by Mrs.
Ellen E. Dickinson, a grand daughter of Willian H. Sabine, a brother
of Mrs. (Spaulding) Davison. Mrs. Dickenson, whose work is called
"New Light on Mormonism," devotes a number of her chapters to the
elaboration of the Spaulding theory, and in an appendix publishes
twenty-seven documents bearing upon the subject of the Spaulding
manuscript; but nowhere, either in the body of her work or in this
appendix, publishes the alleged statement of Mrs. Davison, which is
pretty clear evidence that the statement was never given by Mrs.
Davison nor authorized by her. Mrs. Dickinson from the amount of
research she devoted to the subject could not have been ignorant of
its existence, and more especially as she was a relative of Mrs.
Davison--grand-niece--and wrote her book as the representative of the
Spaulding relatives to set forth the Spaulding theory in its proper
light. [15] Of course had Mrs. Davison done her full duty in the
premises as an author, she would have made reference to this forged
statement credited to her grand-aunt and repudiated it in her name;
but this she failed to do. However, her silence with reference to this
statement and her failure to place it in her collection of documents on
the subject, amounts to the same thing--a repudiation of it.
But even if Mrs. Davison's repudiation of the article, to which her
name was attached by others, did not exist, and if the repudiation of
it by her grand-niece by refusing it admission into her collection of
documents on the Spaulding theory did not exist, there is enough in the
statement itself to establish its utter unreliability. These are:
First: The description of the manner in which John Spaulding, brother
of Solomon Spaulding, learned of the identity between the Book of
Mormon and his brother's "Manuscript Found." According to the "Davison
statement," he was at New Salem when a public speaker read excerpts
from the Book of Mormon, and immediately recognized the work of his
brother. Whereupon, his amazement and grief found vent in "a flood
of tears," and he rose "on the spot" and expressed his sorrow and
regrets that his brother's writings should be used for a purpose so
"vile and shocking." In the statement of John Spaulding, published in
Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," there is nothing of all this dramatic
circumstance. In that statement [16] there is no agony of grief; no
flood of tears; no denunciation on the spot; no reference to a purpose
"vile and shocking;" just a plain statement that he had "recently
read the Book of Mormon;" and the claim that he found nearly the same
historical matter in it as in his brother's writings; some names that
were alike, and that the "Manuscript Found" held to the theory that the
American Indians were descendants of the "lost tribes;" and evidently
supposes that the Book of Mormon held the same theory. Had any such
circumstance as described in the "Davison Statement" occurred, it would
undoubtedly have appeared in John Spaulding's statement published by
Howe five years before this second version was put forth. Had such
incidents really taken place, they would have been too rich in dramatic
incident to have escaped the publishers of "Mormonism Unveiled."
Second: The "Davison Statement" represents that it was through a "woman
preacher" that the Book of Mormon was represented at the public meeting
at New Salem, where John Spaulding denounced it on the spot. It is well
known that the Church of the Latter-day Saints at that time had no
"woman preacher," hence no such circumstance could have occurred. [17]
Third: The "Davison Statement" represents Sidney Rigdon as being
connected with the printing office of Mr. Patterson, of Pittsburg, but
strangest of all it represents that gentleman as having frequently
admitted that connection, whereas, as we shall see later, Sidney Rigdon
every where and at all times expressly denied any such connection.
These inconsistencies of the "Davison Statement" with the well known
facts in the case reveal its utterly fraudulent character; and here
we may pause just long enough to remark the desperate straits the
opponents of the Book of Mormon were driven to in those days, when they
must needs resort to such methods of opposition as are apparent in this
bogus statement. Does it not cast suspicion upon the whole Spaulding
theory? A suspicion which not all the supposed respectability that goes
with titles of "Doctor of Divinity," "Reverend," "Ministers of the
Gospel," etc., can remove?
After this attempt to galvanize into life the Spaulding theory by the
Reverend John Storrs,--by methods, as we have seen, that were infamous!--it
slumbered until the year 1880, when Mrs. Ellen E. Dickinson, the
grand-niece of Mrs. Davison, again revived it by the publication of an
article in "_Scribner's Magazine_" for August of that year. The chief
item of interest in Mrs. Dickenson's publication was an affidavit by
Mrs. M. S. McKenstry, the daughter of Solomon Spaulding, who claimed to
have some childhood recollections of her father's manuscript story. Her
affidavit follows:
MRS. MATILDA (SPAULDING) M'KENSTRY'S STATEMENT REGARDING "THE
MANUSCRIPT FOUND."
Washington, D. C., April 3, 1880.
So much has been published that is erroneous concerning "The
Manuscript Found," written by my father, the Rev. Solomon
Spaulding, and its supposed connection with the book called the
Mormon Bible, I have willingly consented to make the following
statement regarding it, repeating all that I remember personally
of this manuscript, and all that is of importance which my mother
related to me in connection with it, at the same time affirming
that I am in tolerable health and vigor, and that my memory, in
common with elderly people, is clearer in regard to the events of
my earlier years rather than those of my maturer life.
During the war of 1812 I was residing with my parents in a little
town in Ohio called Conneaut. I was then in my sixth year. My
father was in business there, and I remember his iron foundry and
the men he had at work, but that he remained at home most of the
time, and was reading and writing a great deal. He frequently
wrote little stories, which he read to me. There were some round
mounds of earth near our house which greatly interested him, and
he said a tree on the top of one of them was a thousand years old.
He set some of his men to work digging into one of these mounds,
and I vividly remember how excited he became when he heard that
they had exhumed some human bones, portions of gigantic skeletons,
and various relics. He talked with my mother of these discoveries
in the mound, and was writing every day as the work progressed.
Afterwards he read the manuscript which I had seen him writing,
to the neighbors, and to the clergyman, a friend of his who came
to see him. Some of the names that he mentioned while reading to
these people I have never forgotten. They are as fresh to me today
as though I heard them yesterday. They were "Mormon," "Maroni,"
"Lamenite," [18] "Nephi."
We removed from Conneaut to Pittsburg while I was still very young,
but every circumstance of this removal is distinct in my memory. In
that city my father had an intimate friend named Patterson, and I
frequently visited Mr. Patterson's library with him, and heard my
father talk about books with him. In 1816 my father died at Amity,
Penn., and directly after his death my mother and myself went to
visit at the residence of my mother's brother, William H. Sabine,
at Onondaga Valley, Onondaga Co., N. Y. Mr. Sabine was a lawyer of
distinction and wealth, and greatly respected. We carried all our
personal effects with us, and one of these was an old trunk, in
which my mother had placed all my father's writings which had been
preserved. I perfectly remember the appearance of this trunk, and
of looking at its contents. There were sermons and other papers,
and I saw a manuscript about an inch thick, closely written, tied
with some of the stories my father had written for me, one of which
he called "The Frogs of Wyndham." On the outside of this manuscript
were written the words, "Manuscript Found." I did not read it,
but looked through it, and had it in my hands many times, and saw
the names I had heard at Conneaut, when my father read it to his
friends. I was about eleven years of age at this time.
After we had been at my uncle's for some time my mother left me
there and went to her father's house at Pomfret, Conn., but did
not take her furniture nor the old trunk of manuscripts with
her. In 1820 she married Mr. Davison, of Hartwicks, a village
near Cooperstown, N. Y., and sent for the things she had left
at Onondaga Valley, and I remember that the old trunk with its
contents, reached her in safety. In 1828 I was married to Dr. A.
McKinstry, of Monson, Hampden Co., Mass., and went there to reside.
Very soon after my mother joined me there, and was with me most of
the time until her death, in 1844. We heard, not long after she
came to live with me--I do not remember just how long--something of
Mormonism, and the report that it had been taken from my father's
"Manuscript Found;" and then came to us direct an account of the
Mormon meeting at Conneaut, Ohio, and that, on one occasion, when
the Mormon Bible was read there in public, my father's brother,
John Spaulding, Mr. Lake and many other persons who were present,
at once recognized its similarity to "The Manuscript Found," which
they had heard read years before by my father in the same town.
There was a great deal of talk and a great deal published at this
time about Mormonism all over the country. I believe it was in 1834
that a man named Hurlburt came to my house at Monson to see my
mother, who told us that he had been sent by a committee to procure
"The Manuscript Found," written by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, so
as to compare it with the Mormon Bible. He presented a letter to
my mother from my uncle, William H. Sabine, of Onondaga Valley,
in which he requested her to loan this manuscript to Hurlburt, as
he (my uncle) was desirous "to uproot" (as he expressed it) "this
Mormon fraud." Hurlburt represented that he had been a convert
to Mormonism, but had given it up, and through "The Manuscript
Found" wished to expose its wickedness. My mother was careful to
have me with her in all the conversations she had with Hurlburt,
who spent a day at my house. She did not like his appearance, and
mistrusted his motives; but having great respect for her brother's
wishes and opinions, she reluctantly consented to his request.
The old trunk, containing the desired "Manuscript Found," she had
placed in the care of Mr. Jerome Clark, of Hartwicks, when she came
to Monson, intending to send for it. On the repeated promise of
Hurlburt to return the manuscript to us, she gave him a letter to
Mr. Clark to open the trunk and deliver it to him. We afterwards
heard that he did receive it from Mr. Clark at Hartwicks, but from
that time we have never had it in our possession, and I have no
present knowledge of its existence, Hurlburt never returning it or
answering letters requesting him to do so. Two years ago I heard
he was still living in Ohio, and with my consent he was asked for
"The Manuscript Found." He made no response, although we have
evidence that he received the letter containing the request. So far
I have stated facts within my own knowledge. My mother mentioned
many other circumstances to me in connection with this subject
which are interesting, of my father's literary tastes, his fine
education, and peculiar temperament. She stated to me that she had
heard the manuscript alluded to read by my father, was familiar
with its contents, and she deeply regretted that her husband, as
she believed, had innocently been the means of furnishing matter
for a religious delusion. She said that my father loaned this
"Manuscript Found" to Mr. Patterson, of Pittsburg, and that, when
he returned it to my father, he said: "Polish it up, finish it, and
you will make money out of it." My mother confirmed my remembrances
of my father's fondness for history, and told me of his frequent
conversations regarding a theory which he had of a prehistoric
race which had inhabited this continent, etc., all showing that
his mind dwelt on this subject. "The Manuscript Found," she said,
was a romance written in Biblical style, and that while she heard
it read she had no especial admiration for it more than for other
romances he wrote and read to her. We never, either of us, ever
saw, or in any way communicated with the Mormons, save Hurlburt, as
above described; and while we had no personal knowledge that the
Mormon Bible was taken from "The Manuscript Found," there were many
evidences to us that it was, and that Hurlburt and others at the
time thought so. A convincing proof to us of this belief was that
my uncle, William H. Sabine, had undoubtedly read the manuscript
which was in his house, and his faith that its production would
show to the world that the Mormon Bible had been taken from it, or
was the same with slight alterations. I have frequently answered
questions which have been asked me by different persons regarding
"The Manuscript Found," but until now have never made a statement
at length for publication.
(Signed) M. S. McKENSTRY.
Sworn and subscribed to before me this 3rd day of April, A. D.
1880, at the city of Washington, D. C. CHARLES WALTER, Notary
Public.
The items to be noted in this affidavit are: First: That Mrs. McKenstry
was in her sixth year (i. e., five years old) in 1812, the year that
the Spaulding family left Conneaut, Ohio, for Pennsylvania. Four years
later, in 1816, her father died, so that she was in her tenth year
when that event took place, hence all her recollections concerning the
matter were those of a child between the ages of five and nine years.
When it is remembered how the half recollections of childhood blend
in with, and are modified by--or half made up--of things that one
hears about such days, no very great importance can be attached to the
statements she makes from personal knowledge of what "Manuscript Found"
contained.
Second: When about eleven years of age, when living at her uncle's in
Onondaga Valley, New York, (to which place she had removed with her
mother) she finds in an old trunk the writings of her father, and among
them a manucript about an inch thick, closely written, and entitled
"Manuscript Found." She did not read it, but had it in her hands many
times, and saw the names she claims to have heard at Conneaut.
Third: The visit of Hurlburt many years later, 1834, to herself and
mother then residing at Monson, Massachusetts, who presented a letter
from her uncle, W. H. Sabine, in which he requested Mrs. Davison
(formerly wife of Spaulding, it will be remembered) to loan the
manuscript of Spaulding's to Hurlburt for the purpose of "uprooting
Mormonism."
Fourth: That Mrs. Davison gave an order to Hurlburt on Mr. Jerome Clark
of Hartwicks, New York, with whom she had left the trunk containing the
manuscript.
Fifth: That Hurlburt obtained "Manuscript Found" upon this order, and
that Mrs. Davison could never afterwards obtain any information from
him concerning it.
The interest created by Mrs. Dickenson's article in Scribner's, lead to
her making a more ambitious effort, and in 1885 she published a book
of some 275 pages under the title, "New Light on Mormonism," (which by
the way, is a sad misnomer, since it is but a rehash of all the stale,
Anti-Mormon stories in existence) which failed of making any great stir
in the world, just as all Anti-Mormon books up to date, by the way,
have failed.
The last phase in the development of the Spaulding theory is a
denouement; namely, the discovery and publication of Spaulding's
"Manucript Found," which determines forever the fact that it was not
the source whence the Book of Mormon was derived.
In 1839 or 1840, a Mr. L. L. Rice purchased the "Painesville
Telegraph," a newspaper, of Mr. E. D. Howe, the publisher of "Mormonism
Unveiled." The transfer of the printing department, types, press, etc.,
was accompanied with a large collection of books and manuscripts, and
undoubtedly the Spaulding manuscript, which Hurlburt had delivered to
Howe, was with the rest. Some years afterwards, Mr. Rice closed up his
business affairs in Painesville and finally made his home in Honolulu,
Sandwich Islands, taking with him his books, papers, etc. In 1884 Mr.
James H. Fairchild, President of Oberlin College, Ohio, visited Mr.
Rice, and suggested that the latter look through his numerous papers
for the purpose of finding among them anti-slavery documents (slavery
being a subject in which Mr. Rice had been much interested when living
in Ohio) that might be of value. Mr. Rice accepted the suggestions and,
in his search discovered a package marked in pencil on the outside
"Manuscript Story, Conneaut Creek;" and on the last page of the
manuscript the following inscription:
The Writings of Solomon Spaulding Proved by Aaron Wright, Oliver
Smith, John Miller and Others, the Testimonies of the Above
Gentlemen are Now in My Possession.
D. P. HURLBURT.
This document proved to be the long lost romance of Solomon Spaulding.
President Fairchild gave the following account of the document and its
discovery in the January number, 1885, of the "Bibliotheca Sacra,"
published at Oberlin, Ohio: