ORGANIZATION OF THE MORMONS, AND THEIR REMOVAL TO OHIO.
Steps leading to the Mormon emigration to the
West--Conversion of Parley P. Pratt--Mission to the
Lamanites--Sidney Rigdon--His avowed
conversion--Fanatic scenes at Kirtland--Dr. Rosa's
letter--Mr. Howe's statement--Smith's removal.
Jo Smith, who aspired to the high character of a prophet of God, was far
more successful in gathering early disciples than Mahomet. His own family,
and numerous coadjutors, being in the secret with himself, and hoping to
build up their fortunes by this scheme, became very zealous converts to the
Mormon imposture.
There was not much ground for Smith to hope to make converts in the
neighbourhood where this fabrication was got up. In addition to his own
family, Harris, Cowdery, Whitmer, and those whom they could personally
influence, a few converts were obtained in the neighbouring towns, by the
marvellous pretensions which the prophet set up. These, however, were
either mere adventurers, or the firm believers in ghosts and hobgoblins.
Soon after the Book of Mormon was issued from the press, a person by the
name of Parley P. Pratt, passed through Palmyra, and hearing of the "golden
Bible," sought an interview with the prophet, and immediately became a
convert. This individual resided in Lorrain co., Ohio, and was very
intimate with Sidney Rigdon. Rigdon was professedly a Campbellite Baptist
preacher. He resided in the county of Geauga, and but a few miles from
Kirtland, which afterwards became the head-quarters of the Mormons. About
the time that Pratt visited the prophet, and gave in his adhesion to the
Mormons, an expedition was fitted out for the Western Country, under the
command of Cowdery, to convert the Lamanites, as the western Indians were
called by them. The persons sent on this mission were Cowdery, Pratt,
Peterson, and Whitmer. Under the guidance of Pratt, they reached the
residence of Rigdon in Mentor, Ohio, the last of October, 1830.--Rigdon at
first received them apparently with suspicion, and objected to the Mormon
scheme, and the authority of the prophet, but in the course of two days,
his objections gave way, and he avowed his conversion to the Mormon faith.
He very soon started off in order to have a personal interview with the
prophet. Smith of course was prepared to receive him, and declared there
had just been made to him a revelation from the Lord in relation to this
new convert. This pretended heavenly communication uses such language as
the following--"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 shall do great things.
Behold thou wast sent forth even as John to prepare the way before me, and
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 you a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and fire of the
Holy Ghost, by laying on of hands, even as the Apostles of old."
There is great reason to believe that this meeting of Smith and Rigdon was
preconcerted--and that the pretended mission to the Indians was devised to
form a plausible pretext for Rigdon, to come out openly in favour of the
Mormons--and thus to conceal more effectually the hand which he might
previously have had in concocting this scheme of imposture.
Certain it is "their plans of deception appear to have been more fully
matured and developed after the meeting of Smith and Rigdon. The latter
being found very intimate with the Scriptures, a close reasoner, and as
fully competent to make white appear black, and black white, as any other
man; and at all times prepared to establish, to the satisfaction of great
numbers of people, the negative or affirmative, of any and every question,
_from Scripture_, he was forthwith appointed to promulgate all the
absurdities and ridiculous pretensions of Mormonism, 'and call on the Holy
Prophets to prove' all the words of Smith." A revelation was soon received,
"that Kirtland, the residence of Rigdon and his brethren, was to be the
eastern border of the 'promised land,' 'and from thence to the Pacific
Ocean.' On this land the 'New Jerusalem, the city of Refuge,' was to be
built. Upon it, all true Mormons were to assemble, to escape the
destruction of the world, which was soon to take place."
Those sent on the mission to the Lamanites having spent some time at
Kirtland, succeeded in making a number of converts. After Cowdery and his
associates, began to develope the peculiarities of their system, we are
told that scenes of the most wild, frantic and horrible fanaticism ensued.
"They pretended that the power of miracles was about to be given to all
those who embraced the new faith, and commenced communicating the Holy
Spirit, by laying their hands upon the heads of the converts, which
operation, at first, produced an instantaneous prostration of body and
mind. Many would fall upon the floor, where they would lie for a long time,
apparently lifeless. They thus continued these enthusiastic exhibitions for
several weeks. The fits usually came on, during or after their
prayer-meetings, which were held nearly every evening. The young men and
women were more particularly subject to this delirium. They would exhibit
all the apish acts imaginable, making the most ridiculous grimaces,
creeping upon their hands and feet, rolling upon the frozen ground, go
through with all the Indian modes of warfare, such as knocking down,
scalping, &c. At other times, they would run through the fields, get upon
stumps, preach to imaginary congregations, enter the water, and perform all
the ceremony of baptizing. Many would have fits of speaking all the
different Indian dialects, which none could understand. Again, at the dead
hour of night, the young men might be seen running over the fields and
hills in pursuit, as they said, of the balls of fire, lights, &c., which
they saw moving through the atmosphere."
Three of the young converts pretended to have received commissions to
preach from the skies, after having first jumpt into the air as high as
they could. All these transactions were believed to be from _the Spirit of
God_. They very soon numbered in this region a hundred converts. To these
converts Rigdon, soon after joining Smith at Manchester, wrote a letter,
disclosing among other things that Kirtland was to be the seat of
empire--and that they were dwelling on their eternal inheritance, and that
the land of promise extended from that place to the Pacific ocean.
The facts above stated are principally taken from a volume entitled
"MORMONISM UNVEILED," sent the author by a most estimable clergyman of the
Episcopal Church, residing at Ashtabula, Ohio, with the information that
this volume is regarded by all candid and respectable people in the
neighbourhood of the Mormon settlement, as a correct and fair statement of
facts. It may tend to throw some new light upon some of the actors in this
grand drama of deception to insert a portion of the correspondence that led
the clergyman just referred to, to forward this volume to the author. The
Rev. Mr. Quinan, who now resides in Philadelphia, having formerly lived in
the neighbourhood of Kirtland, was requested by the author to open a
correspondence with some intelligent person in that neighbourhood, who
would be able to give some account of the first emigration of the Mormons
to Kirtland, and the line of operations which they had there pursued. Mr.
Quinan's letter was addressed to Dr. A. Hawley. Dr. H---- put this letter
into the hands of the clergyman above alluded to, who having obtained the
following communication from Dr. Rosa, forwarded it to the author, with a
postscript of his own appended, as will be seen in the insertion below. Dr.
Rosa's letter is dated _Painesville, Ohio, June 3d, 1841_, from which we
make the following extract.
* * * I think the history of Mormonism as published by
E. D. Howe--a copy of which can be obtained in our
place--contains all the material truths connected with
the rise and progress of that miserable deception.
There are occasionally new doctrines introduced and
incorporated with their faith, such as _being baptized
for the dead_. This is a common custom here. When a
member is satisfied that his father, mother, or
brother, or any other friend is in hell, he steps
forward and offers himself to the church in baptism for
that individual, and when properly baptised the
tormented individual will instantaneously emerge from
his misery into perfect happiness. There are many such
follies which the simple hearted are ready and willing
to believe. There is no permanent separation in the
society. There were a few seceders a few years since,
some of whom left them entirely, and became infidels,
and others held to the original purity of the doctrines
as they termed it.
As to Martin Harris--of late I have heard but little of
him. My acquaintance with him induces me to believe him
a monomaniac; he is a man of great loquacity and very
unmeaning, ready at all times to dispute the ground of
his doctrines with any one. He was one of the seceders,
and for a time threatened the Mormons with exposure, as
I have been informed; but where he is now I cannot say.
Jo Smith is regarded as an inspired man by all the
Mormons.
Sidney Rigdon is at the western settlement; he embraced
the Mormon religion in the latter part of October,
1830. See page 102 of the book as published by E. D.
Howe, above referred to.
In the early part of the year--either in May or June--I
was in company with Sidney Rigdon, and rode with him on
horseback a few miles. Our conversation was principally
upon the subject of religion, as he was at that time a
very popular preacher of the denomination calling
themselves '_disciples_' or Campbellites. He remarked
to me, that it was time for a new religion to spring
up; that mankind were all rife and ready for it. I
thought he alluded to the Campbellite doctrine--he said
it would not be long before something would make its
appearance--he also said that he thought of leaving for
Pennsylvania, and should be absent for some months. I
asked him how long--he said it would depend upon
circumstances. I began to think a little strange of his
remarks, as he was a minister of the Gospel.
I left Ohio that fall, and went to the state of New
York, to visit my friends, who lived in Waterloo--not
far from the mine of golden Bibles. In November I was
informed that my old neighbour, E. Partridge, and the
Rev. Sidney Rigdon were in Waterloo, and that they both
had become the dupes of Jo Smith's necromancies: it
then occurred to me that Rigdon's new religion had made
its appearance, and when I became informed of the
Spalding manuscript I was confirmed in the opinion that
Rigdon was at least accessary if not the principal in
getting up this farce. Any information that I can give
shall be done cheerfully.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
S. ROSA..
REV. MR. HALL.
_June 5th, 1841._
REV. JOHN A. CLARK, D. D.
DEAR SIR:
The above letter I have obtained in answer to several
questions respecting Mormons and Mormonism, transmitted
by the Rev. Mr. Quinan to Dr. A. Hawley, of _this
county_, from you. This letter of Dr. Rosa's, together
with the book, "Mormonism Unveiled" which accompanies
it, I send as the best answers to your questions, and
the best expositions of Mormonism which can be
obtained. It is believed by candid and respectable
people in the vicinity of the Mormon Temple, that Mr.
Howe's book--"Mormonism Unveiled"--is very correct. As
to the deponents in reference to Spalding manuscript,
at New Salem (now Conneaut), I have been acquainted
with them for thirty years (excepting Miller), and
believe them to be credible and respectable persons.
It is indeed astonishing that so low an imposture
should ever have been countenanced at all; much more so
that hundreds of English converts should recently have
come over to it, and that four hundred more should now
be daily expected to take shipping at Buffalo, in order
to pass up our Lakes to join the Western Mormons!
JOHN HALL,
_Rector of St. Peter's, Ashtabula, Ohio_.
In the conclusion of Mr. Howe's book--referred to in the preceding
letter--we were particularly struck with the following statement, which
seems to account perfectly for Rigdon's easy faith, and to identify him
with this scheme of imposture from its very origin. The reader will
recollect that Mrs. Davison states that the manuscript was lent to Mr.
Patterson, the publisher of a newspaper in Pittsburg, with whose office
Rigdon was connected. The author of the volume above referred to,
says:--"It was inferred at once that some light might be shed upon this
subject, and the mystery revealed, by applying to Patterson & Lambdin, in
Pittsburg. But here again death had interposed a barrier. That
establishment was dissolved and broken up many years since, and Lambdin
died about eight years ago. Mr. Patterson says he has no recollection of
any such manuscript being brought there for publication, neither would he
have been likely to have seen it, as the business of printing was conducted
wholly by Lambdin at that time. He says, however, that many manuscript
books and pamphlets were brought to the office about that time, which
remained upon their shelves for years, without being printed or even
examined. Now, there is the strongest presumption that Spalding's
manuscript, (or a copy of it) remained there in seclusion, till about the
year 1823 or '24, at which time _Sidney Rigdon_ located himself in that
city. We have been credibly informed that he was on terms of intimacy with
Lambdin, being seen frequently in his shop. Rigdon resided in Pittsburg
about three years, and during the whole of that time, as he has since
frequently asserted, abandoned preaching and all other employment, for the
purpose of _studying the Bible_. He left there, and came into the county
where he now resides, about the time Lambdin died, and commenced preaching
some new points of doctrine, which were afterwards found to be inculcated
in the Mormon Bible. He resided in this vicinity about four years previous
to the appearance of the book, during which time he made several long
visits to Pittsburg, and perhaps to the Susquehanna, where Smith was then
digging for money, or pretending to be translating plates. It may be
observed also, that about the time Rigdon left Pittsburg, the Smith family
began to tell about finding a book that would contain a history of the
first inhabitants of America, and that two years had elapsed before they
finally got possession of it.
"We are, then, irresistibly led to this conclusion;--that Lambdin, after
having failed in business, had recourse to the old manuscripts then in his
possession, in order to _raise the wind_, by a book speculation, and
placed the "Manuscript Found," of Spalding, in the hands of Rigdon, to be
embellished, altered, and added to, as he might think expedient; and three
years' study of the Bible we should deem little time enough to garble it,
as it is transferred to the Mormon book. The former dying, left the latter
the sole proprietor, who was obliged to resort to his wits, and in a
miraculous way to bring it before the world; for in no other manner could
such a book be published without great sacrifice. And where could a more
suitable character be found than Jo Smith, whose necromantic fame and arts
of deception, had already extended to a considerable distance? That Lambdin
was a person every way qualified and fitted for such an enterprise, we have
the testimony of his partner in business, and others of his acquaintance.
Add to all these circumstances, the facts, that Rigdon had prepared the
minds in a great measure, of nearly a hundred of those who attended his
ministration, to be in readiness to embrace the first mysterious _ism_ that
should be presented--the appearance of Cowdery at his residence as soon as
the Book was printed--his sudden conversion, after many pretensions to
disbelieve it--his immediately repairing to the residence of Smith, three
hundred miles distant, where he was forthwith appointed an elder,
high-priest, and a scribe to the prophet--the pretended vision that his
residence in Ohio was the "promised land,"--the immediate removal of the
whole Smith family thither, where they were soon raised from a state of
poverty to comparative affluence. We, therefore, must hold out Sidney
Rigdon to the world as being the original 'author and proprietor' of the
whole Mormon conspiracy, until further light is elicited upon the lost
writings of Solomon Spalding."
We proceed, however, with our narrative. Rigdon tarried with Smith in
Manchester about two months, receiving revelations, preaching in that
vicinity, and trying to establish the truth of Mormonism. But meeting with
little success, he returned to Kirtland, being followed in a few days by
the prophet and his connections. This happened early in 1831. "From this
point in the history of this delusion, it began to spread with considerable
rapidity. Nearly all of their male converts, however ignorant and
worthless, were forthwith transformed into 'Elders,' and sent forth to
proclaim, with all their wild enthusiasm, the wonders and mysteries of
Mormonism. All those having a taste for the marvellous, and delighting in
novelties, flocked to hear them. Many travelled fifty and an hundred miles
to the throne of the prophet, in Kirtland, to hear from his own mouth the
certainty of his excavating a bible and spectacles. Many, even in the New
England States, after hearing the frantic story of some of these 'elders,'
would forthwith place their _all_ into a wagon, and wend their way to the
'promised land,' in order, as they supposed, to escape the judgments of
Heaven, which were soon to be poured out upon the land. The State of New
York, they were _privately_ told, would most _probably_ be sunk, unless the
people thereof believed in the pretensions of Smith.
"On the arrival of Smith in Kirtland, he appeared astonished at the wild
enthusiasm and scalping performances, of his proselytes there, as
heretofore related. He told them that he had enquired of the Lord
concerning the matter, and had been informed that it was all the work of
the Devil. The disturbances, therefore, ceased. Thus we see that the
Devil, for the time being, held full sway in making converts to
Mormonism."[5]
We have already stated that Sidney Rigdon, previous to his conversion to
the Mormons, was a preacher among the Campbellite Baptists, and enjoyed
considerable popularity. After his return to Kirtland, with his new
companions and new faith, Elder Campbell, the founder of the sect to which
he had previously belonged, sent him a challenge for a public debate, in
which he would undertake to show the foolish absurdities, shameless
pretensions, and manifest imposture of the whole Mormon scheme. This
challenge, however, Rigdon very prudently declined accepting.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] Mormonism Unveiled.