testimony of competent witnesses should questions of fact be
established; and our Lord in the flesh reaffirmed the ancient rule
for common observance (Matt. 18:16), and, on a particular occasion,
cited it in vindicating to the casuistical Jews His claim to Divine
authority. (John 8:17, 18). It is a vital element of jurisprudence, and
is at once reasonable and indispensable in practise.
The Book of Mormon predicts its own coming forth in latter times, and
presents the specific prophecy that the plates on which the ancient
record was engraved would be shown to three witnesses, and later to
certain others. The sacred character of the plates forbade their
display for the gratification of curiosity; and, moreover, it was the
stated purpose of the Lord that the restored Scriptures be accepted
or rejected by men according to the reader's measure of faith or lack
thereof.
Respecting the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon in the latter days,
the Lord thus spake through Nephi the prophet: "Wherefore at that day
when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken,
the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none
shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by
the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and
they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein. And
there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to
the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of
men: for the Lord God hath said, That the words of the faithful should
speak as if it were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed
to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many
witnesses as seemeth him good, will he establish his word; and wo be
unto him that rejecteth the word of God." (2 Nephi 27).
The angel, Moroni, who delivered the plates to Joseph Smith, received
them back into his keeping after the translation of the unsealed
portion had been effected. The latter-day prophet had been instructed
to guard the plates with vigilant care, and was warned against any
temptation to use the sheets of gold for personal gain. They were
preserved inviolate while in his hands; and were shown by him only
as the Lord directed. In June, 1829, three men, designated through
revelation, were chosen to view the plates, and the occasion was one of
heavenly visitation.
The Testimony of Three Witnesses
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom
this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and
our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record,
which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites,
their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the
tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been
translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared
it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And
we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the
plates; and they have been shewn unto us by the power of God, and not
of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God
came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that
we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know
that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,
that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is
marvellous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded
us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto
the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we
know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of
the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat
of Christ, and shall dwell with Him eternally in the heavens. And the
honour be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which
is one God. Amen. _Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Martin Harris_."
This solemn affirmation was never revoked nor in the least degree
modified, though all of the three were later severed from the Church
for transgression. To the time of death each maintained the truth
of his testimony, despite ridicule and divers sufferings through
persecution.
Shortly after the witnessing of the plates by the three, other eight
persons were permitted to see and handle the records, as they thus
attest:
The Testimony of Eight Witnesses
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom
this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this
work, has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which
have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said
Smith has translated, we did handle with our hands; and we also saw
the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient
work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of
soberness, that the said Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and
hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of
which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world to witness
unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing
witness of it. _Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jun.,
John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sen., Hyrum Smith, Samuel H.
Smith_."
Three of these eight died out of the Church, yet not one of the whole
number ever was known to deny his testimony. Had policy figured in
the matter, as doubtless would have been the case in the fraudulent
exploitation of a spurious book, the Church might have been expected
to tolerate misconduct on the part of members so vitally prominent in
its affairs; but the ban of excommunication fell, as justice demanded,
without respect to persons. The biography of each of the eleven
witnesses has been widely published. Their testimonies appear in every
copy of the Book of Mormon. Read and consider.
-- 37 --
VOICES OF THE DEAD
A Testimony from the Dust
ON September 22, 1827, Joseph Smith, a youthful resident of Manchester,
N. Y., took from the side of a hill in that vicinity a book made up of
thin leaves of beaten gold, held together by rings after the fashion
of our modern loose-leaf records. As described by the finder, and by
others to whom they were shown, these golden leaves or plates were
engraved with fine characters having all the appearance of ancient and
curious workmanship.
The engraved plates had been laid away with care and attention to
preservation; for, when uncovered, they were found, together with
certain other antique objects, resting in a small vault or box of
stone. "The box in which they lay," wrote Joseph Smith, "was formed by
laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box
were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the
plates and the other things with them." The top slab or lid of the box
"was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner
towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the
ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth."
As subsequent examination proved, the graven characters constituted a
history of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Continent, of whom the
existing tribes of American Indians are the posterity. A part of the
ancient record has been translated into English and the modern version
was first published in 1830 as The Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon contains pointed and specific predictions of its
own coming forth in the latter days; and these prophecies harmonize
with the Biblical Scriptures. The ancient peoples whose voice is again
heard among the living were of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh,
and therefore of the family of Joseph, son of Jacob. With this fact
in mind, the thoughtful student finds profound significance in the
otherwise obscure words of Ezekiel (37:15-20): "The word of the Lord
came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one
stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his
companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the
stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And
join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in
thine hand."
To the puzzled questioners who would ask the meaning of all this, the
prophet was told to declare the Lord's purpose in this wise: "Thus
saith the Lord God; Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in
the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put
them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick,
and they shall be one in mine hand."
Plainly the record of Judah, which we recognize as the Holy Bible, was
to be supplemented by the record of Joseph; and the bringing forth of
the latter was to be effected by the direct exercise of Divine power,
for the Lord said "I will take the stick of Joseph"; and of the two He
averred "they shall be one in mine hand," even as the prototypes had
become one in the hand of Ezekiel.
If the testimony of scholars as to Biblical chronology be reliable,
Lehi and his colony had already crossed the great waters and become
well established in America when Ezekiel voiced this significant
prophecy concerning the "stick" or record of Joseph as being distinct
from that of Judah. The prediction has been fulfilled. The Holy Bible
and the Book of Mormon, the records of Judah and Joseph respectively,
are before the world, each attesting the authenticity of the other, and
each standing as an irrefutable testimony of the atoning life, death,
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A century and a half earlier, Isaiah had cried wo unto Ariel, the City
of David; and had made distinction between Judah who then occupied
Ariel or Jerusalem, and another people with whom comparison is made.
Note the prediction: "And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak
out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and
thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the
ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." (Isa. 29:4).
The Book of Mormon contains pointed and specific predictions of its own
coming forth in the latter days, and these prophecies harmonize with
the Biblical Scriptures. Nephi, foreseeing the eventual annihilation
of his people as the result of transgression, and having been shown in
vision the degraded future of the Lamanites, whom he designated "the
seed of my brethren," spoke of the promised restoration of the records
in this wise:
"But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning
the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the
children of men. After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have
dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles;
yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about,
and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts
against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the
dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be
written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those
who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. For those who
shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their
speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one
that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power,
that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground;
and their speech shall whisper out of the dust." (2 Nephi 26).
The nation thus "brought down" has spoken "out of the ground"; her
speech has come forth "out of the dust"; for the original of the Book
of Mormon was actually taken out of the ground, and the voice of the
sacred record is as that of one speaking from the dust of the past.
-- 38 --
A NEW WITNESS OF THE CHRIST
An Independent Scripture
THE angel Moroni, who made known to Joseph Smith the existence and
repository of the inscribed plates from which the Book of Mormon has
been translated, informed the modern prophet that the metallic pages
contained the fulness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered by the
Savior to the former inhabitants of the Western Continent. The book is
more than a series of annals and chronicles.
Invaluable as the ancient record may have proved in giving to man the
history of a once mighty but now extinct nation, in demonstrating the
origin and significance of traditions cherished by the degenerate
Indians as evidence of a more enlightened past, in explaining
ethnological data otherwise unrelated and largely inexplicable--in
these respects the Book of Mormon could have been nothing more than an
important contribution to the common fund of human knowledge, possibly
of great academic interest but certainly of small vital value.
No apology could be consistently demanded for surprise, wonder, or
even incredulity over the announcement of a messenger sent from the
presence of God to restore to the possession of mortals a mere history
of dynasties and kingdoms, of migrations and battles, of cities builded
and destroyed, and of the rise and fall of commonwealths.
The miraculous interposition of Divine power in such a matter is
without recorded precedent and apparently lacking in the essential
element of necessity.
The priceless character of the Book of Mormon lies in its sacredness
as a compilation of Holy Scripture, telling primarily of the dealings
of God with the ancient peoples of the West, of the Divine purpose
in their isolation on a previously unknown continent, the teaching
and practise of the Gospel with all its essential laws and ordinances
enjoined through revelation entirely apart from the Biblical
Scriptures, and particularly of the solemn testimony of a great nation
relating to the atoning death and literal resurrection of Jesus Christ,
the Redeemer and Savior of the race.
The avowed purpose of Jehovah, in leading Lehi and his colony from
Jerusalem and conducting them across the great waters to the American
shores, was to separate unto Himself a body of Israelites who would
be cleansed from false tradition and the defiling precepts of men
respecting the appointed mission of Christ in the flesh. As Moses was
led into the desert and later into the mountain top, as Elijah was
impelled to seek the cavern's solitude, that each might the better
hear the Divine voice--so a nation was sequestered in the New World
that they might learn the word of revealed truth in its simplicity and
plainness.
In the mind of God it had been decreed that the life, death, and
resurrection of His Only Begotten Son be attested by other witnesses
than Galilee, Samaria and Judea. While Lehi and his people were
journeying through the deserts of Arabia, the Lord revealed by vision
and the visitation of angels unto the prophet and again unto Nephi
that, six hundred years later, the Son of the Eternal Father would be
born of the Virgin of Nazareth, that He was to be the Redeemer of the
world, that a prophet would go before Him crying repentance unto the
people and baptizing them in Jordan, and that twelve Apostles would
attend the Savior and continue to teach and administer after the Lord's
death and resurrection.
The doctrine of the coming Christ and the necessity of repentance and
baptism had been preached by prophets throughout the six centuries
of preparation. At the time of our Lord's birth at Bethlehem, the
predicted signs of the glad event were witnessed in America, and
prominent among these was the absence of darkness between two days.
The tragedy on Calvary was signalized in the West, as the prophets had
foretold, by great disturbances of the earth, and by the continuation
of darkness between two nights.
The more righteous part of the people had been preserved from
destruction; and to a multitude of these, assembled about the
Temple, the crucified and resurrected Lord appeared, with the solemn
accompaniment of the Father's proclamation from the heavens: "Behold
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my
name: hear ye Him." (3 Nephi, chap. 11).
The people looked upward, "And behold they saw a Man descending out of
heaven; and He was clothed in a white robe, and He came down and stood
in the midst of them, and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned
upon Him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another,
and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had
appeared unto them. And it came to pass that He stretched forth His
hand and spake unto the people, saying, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom
the prophets testified shall come into the world; And behold, I am the
light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter
cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in
taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the
will of the Father in all things from the beginning."
He permitted them to see and feel the wounds of the cross in His hands,
feet, and side; and they worshiped Him.
The Book of Mormon is a new and independent witness of the divinity of
Jesus Christ and His Gospel, by which all mankind may be saved through
obedience, and without which no man can have place in the Kingdom of
God.
-- 39 --
WHEN CHRIST STOOD ON AMERICAN SOIL
His Church Established Among the Ancient Americans
DURING His brief period of mortal ministry our Lord the Christ
established His Church, with Apostles empowered and directed to
administer the ordinances essential to membership and to build up the
institution. This was done in Palestine; and from that land the message
of salvation was carried into every country known to the inhabitants of
the Eastern Continent. In the period immediately following the Lord's
departure, the Apostles prosecuted the work of the ministry with such
zeal and effectiveness that we read of them: "And they went forth, and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the
word with signs following." (Mark 16:20).
We are expressly informed of the rapid growth of the Church in
apostolic times. Paul, writing approximately thirty years after
the Ascension, declared that the Gospel had been made known to
every nation--"preached to every creature under heaven," by which
comprehensive statement the Apostle doubtless meant that the Gospel had
been so generally proclaimed in known lands that all who would might
have learned of it.
The Apostles had been instructed to go into all the world and to preach
the Gospel to every creature, with the assurance that such as accepted
their message and were baptized as the Lord had commanded would be
saved, while such as rejected the Gospel would be damned.
So far as we know, during the apostolic epoch and for more than a
millennium thereafter, the existence of a Western Continent was
known to no one in the East. Nevertheless, at that very time and for
centuries before, America was inhabited by powerful nations, who
exhibited the entire range of attainment from savagery to refinement
and culture, and all the gradations from deviltry to godliness.
It was obviously impossible for the Galilean Apostles, by any but
miraculous and supernatural aid, to carry the Gospel to the western
world, and we find scriptural warrant for the assertion that they did
not so.
Nevertheless, the Church of Jesus Christ was established upon the
American continent, and that through the personal ministry of the Risen
Lord, soon after His ascension from Mount Olivet. The Book of Mormon
contains a circumstantial account of this marvelous theophany.
Jesus Christ visited the aboriginal peoples of the Western Continent.
His identity affirmed by the voice of the Eternal Father and by His own
solemn testimony, the Resurrected Christ, still bearing the wounds of
the cross in hands and feet and side, declared that the old order under
the Mosaic Law was fulfilled and abrogated in Him; and straightway He
proceeded to organize His Church under the new or Gospel dispensation.
He chose twelve men, whom He ordained to be special witnesses of
Himself and the Church; and to them He gave authority to administer
the ordinances essential to salvation, as He had done on the other
hemisphere.
Baptism had been practised among the Nephites prior to this visitation,
and disputation had arisen as to the mode and purpose of the ordinance.
The Savior cautioned the Nephite Twelve and the people generally
against schism and contention. To the ordained disciples He said:
"On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations
among you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins
through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this
wise shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the
water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are
the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having
authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye
immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. . . .
And there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto
been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the
points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been. For verily, verily
I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but
is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up
the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. . . . And
this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given
unto me. . . . And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same
shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
(Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11).
Then by specific commission He empowered the Twelve Disciples to
administer the higher baptism of the Spirit, or the bestowal of the
Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The sacrament of bread and wine was instituted by the Lord for the
further blessing of those who, after due confession of faith and
repentance, had been baptized in His name. As to partaking of the
broken and consecrated bread He gave special commandment: "And this
shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shewn unto you. And
it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember me.
And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with
you."
In connection with the administration of the sacramental wine He said:
"Ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you,
that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And
if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."
(18:7-11).
We read further: "And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were
called the Church of Christ." (26:21).
Thus was the Church of Jesus Christ organized among the ancient
Americans. For nearly two centuries it flourished with such fruitage of
blessing as had never before been known. Then the weeds of dissension
attained so rank a growth as to well-nigh smother the tree of the
Lord's own planting. Man-made churches sprang up, and persecution, foul
sister to intolerance, became rampant.
About four hundred years after the visitation of Christ, the Church in
America ceased to exist, for an overwhelming tide of apostasy had swept
the New as well as the Old World, and by Divine allowance the Nephite
nation fell a prey to its hereditary foes.
-- 40 --
EAST AND WEST IN ONE ACCLAIM
That Jesus is the Christ
TWO national histories, separate and distinct, written on opposite
hemispheres, unite in circumstantial testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ
as the World's Redeemer; and these are embodied in independent volumes
of Scripture--The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon.
The evidence of witnesses, whether individuals, coteries or nations,
refutes itself if it fail in consistency, mutual support, and agreement
in all substantials. The most critical examination of these two
compilations of Scripture as to this vital feature is invited.
Among the outstanding facts of profoundest import recorded in the Bible
concerning Jesus Christ and His mission are these:
1. His preexistence and antemortal Godship.
2. His foreordination as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind.
3. Predictions of His embodiment in the flesh, as the Son of the
Eternal Father and of mortal woman.
4. The fulfilment of these predictions in His birth as Mary's Child.