{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_47316/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_47316","id":"gutenberg_47316","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47316","summary":null,"tags":["Book of Mormon","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Latter Day Saints","Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844"],"text":"NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD\n\nII.\n\nTHE BOOK OF MORMON\n\n* * * *\n\nBy B. H. Roberts,\n\nAuthor of \"The Gospel,\" \"Outlines of Ecclesiastical History,\" \"Mormon\nDoctrine of Deity,\" \"Defense of the Faith and the Saints,\" \"The\nProphet-Teacher,\" etc., etc.\n\n* * * *\n\nIN THREE VOLUMES\n\nVOL. II.\n\n* * * *\n\nTHE DESERET NEWS\n\nSalt Lake City\n\n1909\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\nThe following work was begun twenty-two years ago, in England, when\nthe author was in that land on a Mission, as assistant Editor of the\n_Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star_. It was the author's design then\nto make the treatise on the Book of Mormon the first volume under\nthe general title \"New Witnesses for God\"; but after some progress\nin collecting and arranging the materials had been made, the thought\noccurred to him that the Prophet Joseph Smith in chronological order,\nif not in importance, preceded the Book of Mormon in the introduction\nof God's Witnesses in this last and great dispensation. The materials\nof this work, therefore, so far as they had been collected, were laid\naside and work was begun on the treatise of Joseph Smith as a Witness\nfor God; which, however, because of many other demands upon the\nauthor's time, was not published until 1895.\n\nMeantime work was continued from time to time upon the treatise of the\nBook of Mormon; and in 1903-4-5, the materials were used, substantially\nas in their present form, as Manuals for the Senior Classes of the\nYoung Men's Mutual Improvement Associations. The work has undergone a\nthorough revision at the hands of the author, and is now to take the\nplace in his writings designed for it so long ago.\n\nWhile the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is but an incident in\nGod's great work of the last days, and the book itself subordinate to\nsome other facts in that work, still the incident of its coming forth\nand the book are facts of such importance that the whole work of God\nmay be said, in a manner, to stand or fall with them. That is to say,\nif the origin of the Book of Mormon could be proved to be other than\nthat set forth by Joseph Smith; if the book itself could be proved to\nbe other than it claims to be, _viz_., and chiefly, an abridged history\nof the ancient inhabitants of America, a volume of scripture containing\na message from God to the people to whom it was written--\"to the\nLamanites [American Indians], who are a remnant of the house of Israel;\nand also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by\nthe spirit of prophecy and revelation\"--if, I say, the Book of Mormon\ncould be proved to be other than this, then the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints, and its message and doctrines, which, in some\nrespects, may be said to have arisen out of the Book of Mormon, must\nfall; for if that book is other than it claims to be; if its origin is\nother than that ascribed to it by Joseph Smith, then Joseph Smith says\nthat which is untrue; he is a false prophet of false prophets; and all\nhe taught, and all his claims to inspiration and divine authority, are\nnot only vain but wicked; and all that he did as a religious teacher is\nnot only useless, but mischievous beyond human comprehending.\n\nNor does this statement of the case set forth sufficiently strong the\nsituation. Those who accept the Book of Mormon for what it claims to\nbe, may not so state their case that its security chiefly rests on the\ninability of its opponents to prove a negative. The affirmative side\nof the question belongs to us who hold out the Book of Mormon to the\nworld as a revelation from God. The burden of proof rests upon us in\nevery discussion. It is not enough for us to say that if the origin of\nthe Book of Mormon is proved to be other than that set forth by Joseph\nSmith; if the book itself be proved to be other than it claims to be,\nthen the institution known as \"Mormonism\" must fall. We must do more\nthan rest our case on the inability of opponents to prove a negative.\nThe security of \"Mormonism\" rests on quite other grounds; and, from a\nforensic standpoint, upon much more precarious ground; for not only\nmust the Book of Mormon not be proved to have other origin than that\nwhich we set forth, or be other than what we say it is, _but we must\nprove its origin to be what we say it is, and the book itself to be\nwhat we proclaim it to be--a revelation from God_.\n\nFrom these remarks the reader will observe, I trust, that while I refer\nto the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as an incident, and the book\nitself as a fact subordinate to some other facts connected with the\ngreat work of God in the last days, I have by no means underrated the\nimportance of the Book of Mormon in its relation to God's work of the\nlast days as a whole. It is to meet the requirements of this situation\nthat I have been anxious to add my contribution to the gradually\naccumulating literature on this subject, both within and without the\nChurch, both upon the affirmative and the negative side of the question.\n\nMy treatise is divided into four parts:\n\nI.--The Value of the Book of Mormon as a Witness for the Authenticity\nand Integrity of the Bible; and the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.\n\nII.--The Discovery of the Book of Mormon and its Translation,\nMigrations, Lands, Intercontinental Movements, Civilizations,\nGovernments, and the Religions of its Peoples.\n\nIII.--Evidences of the Truth of the Book of Mormon.\n\nIV.--Objections to the Book of Mormon Considered.\n\nIt will be seen from the titles of these divisions that Parts I and II\nare really only preparatory in their nature. The more interesting field\nof evidence and argument is not entered until Part III is reached.\nBut Parts I and II, if not so intensely interesting as the divisions\ndevoted to argument, they are, nevertheless, every whit as important.\nIt goes without saying that the success of an argument greatly, and I\nmay say fundamentally, depends upon the clearness and completeness of\nthe statement of the matter involved; and it is frequently the case\nthat a proper setting forth of a subject makes its truth self-evident;\nand all other evidence becomes merely collateral, and all argument\nbecomes of secondary importance. Especially is this the case when\nsetting forth the Book of Mormon for the world's acceptance; in which\nmatter we have the right to expect, and the assurance in the book\nitself that we shall receive, the co-operation of divine agencies to\nconfirm to the souls of men the truth of the Nephite record; that as\nthat record was written in the first instance by divine commandment,\nby the spirit of prophecy and of revelation; and as it was preserved\nby angelic guardianship, and at last brought forth by revelation, and\ntranslated by what men regard as miraculous means, so it is provided\nin God's providences, respecting this volume of scripture, that its\ntruth shall be attested to individuals by the operations of the Holy\nSpirit upon the human mind. \"When ye shall receive these things,\"\nsays the prophet Moroni, referring to the writings of the Nephites,\n\"I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the\nname of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with\na sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will\nmanifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And\nby the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.\"\n\nThis must ever be the chief source of evidence for the truth of the\nBook of Mormon. All other evidence is secondary to this, the primary\nand infallible. No arrangement of evidence, however skilfully ordered;\nno argument, however adroitly made, can ever take its place; for this\nwitness of the Holy Spirit to the souls of men for the truth of the\nNephite volume of scripture, is God's evidence to the truth; and will\never be the chief reliance of those who accept the Book of Mormon, and\nexpect to see its acceptance extended throughout the world; for, as the\nheavens are higher than the earth, so must the testimony of God forever\nstand above and before the testimony of men, and of things.\n\nI confess that these reflections have a saddening effect upon one who\nundertakes to set forth what he must confess are but the secondary\nevidences to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and make an argument\nthat he can never regard as of primary importance in the matter of\nconvincing the world of the truth of the work in the interest of which\nhe labors. But I trust these reflections will help my readers to a\nright apprehension of the importance of Parts I and II, the importance\nof a clear and, so far as may be, a complete statement of the incidents\nconnected with the coming forth of the book, and also of its contents.\nTo be known, the truth must be stated, and the clearer and more\ncomplete the statement is, the better opportunity will the Holy Spirit\nhave for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true. While\ndesiring to make it clear that our chief reliance for evidence to\nthe truth of the Book of Mormon must ever be the witness of the Holy\nSpirit, promised by the prophet Moroni to those who will seek to know\nthe truth from that source; and desiring, also, as I think is becoming\nin man, to acknowledge the superiority of God's witness to the truth\nas compared with any evidence that man may set forth--I would not\nhave it thought that the evidence and argument presented in Parts III\nand IV are unimportant. Secondary evidences in support of truth, like\nsecondary causes in natural phenomena, may be of firstrate importance,\nand mighty factors in the achievement of God's purposes. I only desire\nby these remarks to place the matters to be considered in their right\nrelations.\n\nB. H. ROBERTS.\n\nSalt Lake City, March, 1909.\n\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\nPART I.\n\n  THE VALUE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AS A WITNESS FOR THE AUTHENTICITY AND\n  INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE, AND THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n  The Bible in the Nineteenth Century.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n  The Witness of the Western Hemisphere.\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n  The Purposes for Which the Book of Mormon was Written.\n\nPART II.\n\n  THE DISCOVERY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AND ITS TRANSLATION.--MIGRATIONS,\n  LANDS, INTERCONTINENTAL MOVEMENTS, CIVILIZATIONS, AND THE RELIGIONS OF\n  ITS PEOPLES.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n  How Joseph Smith Obtained the Book of Mormon.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n  The Translation of the Record--Martin Harris Amanuensis.\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n  Translation of the Record (Continued)--Oliver Cowdery, Amanuensis.\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n  The Manner of Translating the Book of Mormon.\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n  Publication of the Record.\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n  An Analysis of the Book of Mormon.\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n  Migrations to the Western Hemisphere and the Nations that Arose from\n  Them.\n\n  I. Jaredites--\n     Migration and Place of Landing.\n     Capital and Centers of Civilization.\n     Extent and Nature of Civilization.\n     Numbers.\n     Literature.\n     Government.\n     Religion.\n     History.\n\n  II. The Nephites.\n     Lehi's Colony.\n     Mulek's Colony.\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n  Book of Mormon Lands.\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n  Inter-Continental Movements of Book of Mormon People.\n     Nephite Movements Southward.\n     Nephite Movement Northward.\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n  Government and Religion Among the Nephites.\n     Nephite Government.\n     Religion.\n     The People of Mulek.\n     Government and Religion.\n     The Lamanites.\n     Civilization, Government, Religion.\n\nPART III.\n\n  EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n  Classification of Evidences.\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n  Direct External Evidences.\n     The Testimony of the Three Witnesses.\n     The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses.\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n  Direct External Evidences--The Three Witnesses--Subsequent\n  Life and Testimonies.\n     Oliver Cowdery.\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n  Direct External Evidences--the Testimony of the Three\n  Witnesses--Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued).\n     David Whitmer.\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n  Direct External Evidences--Testimony of the Three\n  Witnesses--Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued).\n     Martin Harris.\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n  Direct External Evidences--Reflections Upon the Testimonies\n  of the Three Witnesses.\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n  Direct External Evidences--Testimony of the Eight Witnesses.\n     Christian Whitmer.\n     Jacob Whitmer.\n     Peter Whitmer, Jr.\n     John Whitmer.\n     Hiram Page.\n     Joseph Smith, Sen.\n     Hyrum Smith.\n     Samuel Harrison Smith.\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n  Direct External Evidence--Reflections on the Testimony of the\n  Eleven Witnesses.\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n  The Testimony of Incidental Witnesses.\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n  The Probability of Joseph Smith's Story of the Origin, Translation and\n  Final Disposition of the Plates of the Book of Mormon.\n     I. The Ministration of Angels is Neither Unscriptural nor\n     Unreasonable.\n     II. To Believe in Media for Ascertaining Divine Knowledge is Neither\n     Unscriptural nor Unreasonable.\n     III. Of Returning the Plates of the Book of Mormon to Moroni.\n     IV. On the Loss of One Hundred and Sixteen Pages of Manuscript, Being\n     the Translation of the First Part of Mormon's Abridgment of the\n     Nephite Records.\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n  Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities. Preliminary\n  Considerations.\n     I. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location and Character\n     of the Jaredite Civilization.\n     II. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location, Extent and\n     Nature of the Nephite Civilization.\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n  Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities. Preliminary\n  Considerations (Continued).\n     III. Of the Probability of Intercourse Between the Eastern and\n     Western Hemispheres During Jaredite and Nephite Times.\n     IV. The Western World Since the Close of the Nephite Period--The\n     Lamanite Civilization.\n     V. Of the Writers on American Antiquities.\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\n  Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities.\n     I. The Evidence of the Existence of Ancient Civilizations in America.\n     II. Chief Centers of Ancient American Civilization.\n     Copan.\n     Palenque.\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\n  Indirect External Evidences--American Antiquities (Continued).\n     I. Antiquity of American Ruins.\n     II. Successive Civilizations.\n     III. Peruvian Antiquities.\n     IV. The Mound Builders.\n     Summary.\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n  External Evidences--American Traditions and Mythologies.\n     I. The Creation.\n     II. The Flood.\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\n  Indirect External Evidences--American Traditions and Mythologies\n  (Continued).\n     III. Tradition of the Tower of Babel.\n     IV. Migrations.\n\n\n\nPRONOUNCING VOCABULARY\n\nTo aid the reader in pronouncing accurately Book of Mormon names\nand also the difficult Spanish and Mexican proper names found in\nthe body of this work, where it treats of American antiquities, we\nappend, first, the rules of pronounciation of the Book of Mormon names\nformulated at the Book of Mormon Convention held at the Brigham Young\nUniversity, Provo, May, 1903; and, second, a list of the Spanish\nand Mexican words--chiefly proper names--and their pronounciation\nin English. For the pronunciation of the Spanish and Mexican names\nI am indebted to Professor John M. Mills of the Latter-day Saints'\nUniversity, Salt Lake City, Utah.\n\nRULES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF BOOK OF MORMON NAMES\n\n\"Words of two syllables to be accented on the first syllable.\n\n\"Words of three syllables to be accented on the second syllable with\nthese exceptions, which are to be accented on the first syllable;\nnamely: Amlici (c, soft); Amnion; Antipas; Antipus; Corihor; Cumeni;\nCurelom; Deseret; Gazelam; Helaman; Joneam; Korihor; Tubaloth.\n\n\"Words of four syllables to be accented on the third syllable with the\nfollowing exceptions, which are to be accented on the second syllable;\nnamely: Abinadi; Abinidora; Amalickiah; Aminadi; Aminadab.\n\n\"Ch is always to be pronounced as K.\n\n\"G at the beginning of a name to be always pronounced 'hard.'\n\n\"I final, always to take the long sound of the vowel.\n\nLIST OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN PROPER NAMES AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION\n\n  A\n\n  Acolhuas (ah col'wahs)\n  Acosta (ah cos'tah)\n  Acxiquat (ak he'quat)\n  Acxopil (ak ho'peel)\n  Ahahuetl (ah ha way'tl)\n  Ahpop (ah'pope)\n  Allabahamah (ah yah bah hah'mah)\n  Amautas (ah mah oo'tas)\n  Amoxoaque (ah mo wha'ky)\n  Antisuyu (an tee su'yu)\n  Atitan (ah tee tan')\n  Atonatiuh (ah to nah'tee oo)\n  Anahuac (ah nah wak')\n  Aymara (i mah'rah)\n  Aztlan (as tlan')\n\n  B\n\n  Balam Agab (bah lam'ah gab)\n  Balam Quiche (bah lam kee chay')\n  Boachia (bwa chee'ah)\n  Bochica (bo chee'kah)\n  Boturini (bo too ree'nee)\n  Brasseur de Bourbourg (brah sieur doo boor boor)\n\n  C\n\n  Caha Paluma (kah'hah pah loo'mah)\n  Cakixaha (kah kee hah'hah)\n  Calel Ahus (kah lail'ous)\n  Camalotz (kah mah lo'tz)\n  Capichoch (ka peech'och)\n  Carli (kar'lee)\n  Carreri (kah ray'ree)\n  Camanco kah pac')\n  Ce Calli (say ca'ye)\n  Cecumbalam (say cum bah'lam)\n  Chap ul tepee (cha pool'tay peck)\n  Chialman (chee ahl'man)\n  Chiapas (ehee ah'pass)\n  Chichen Itza (chi chen eat'sah)\n  Chicomoztoc (chi comb os'tok)\n  Cholula (cho lu'la)\n  Cholultecs (cho lool'tecks)\n  Chomeha (cho may'hah)\n  Cioacoatl (see wa kwa'tl\n  Clavigero (cla vee hay'ro)\n  Colhuacan (coal wab can')\n  Colla (ko'ya)\n  Cantisuyu (cone tee su'yu)\n  Cortez (car teth--Mexican cortes')\n  Coxcox (cos'cos)\n  Cozas (co sas')\n  Cukulcan (koo kool can')\n  Cundunamarco (koon doona mar'ka)\n  Cuzco (koos'co)\n  Coatzacoalcos (kwats ah kwal'cos)\n\n  D\n\n  De las Casas (day las ca'sas)\n  Dupaix (du pay')\n\n  F\n\n  Fuentes y Guzman (fwen tes e goose man')\n\n  G\n\n  Gomara (go mah'ra)\n  Gregorio Garcia (grey go'rio gar see'ah)\n  Guanacauri (gwa'na cow'ree)\n  Guarani (gwa rah'nee)\n  Guatemala (gwa teh mah'la)\n  Gucumatz (goo koo matz')\n\n  H\n\n  Herrera (a ray'rah)\n  Hogates (o gah'tes)\n  Honduras (own doo'ras)\n  Huamantaco Amauto (hwa man ta'co ama oo'ta)\n  Huaves (hwah'ves)\n  Huehue Talapalan (way way tah la pah Ian')\n  Huemac (way mack')\n  Huitzitzilin (weet seet see leen')\n  Huitziton (weet see tone')\n  Hurakan (oo rah kan)\n\n  I\n\n  Ilocab (e lo cab')\n  Iqui Balam (e kee bah'lam)\n  Istli (east'lee)\n  Ixtlilxochitle (east leel ho-che'etl)\n  Izcalli (eas ca yee)\n\n  J\n\n  Jiutemal (hugh tay mal')\n  Juitemal (whee tay mal)\n\n  K\n\n  Kabah (kah'bah)\n\n  L\n\n  Loak Ishtohooloo Aba (lo akish to hoo'loo ah'ba)\n\n  M\n\n  Mahucutah (mah hoo cooth)\n  Malinalli (mah lee naw ye)\n  Mama Oello (ma ma way'yo)\n  Manco capac (man co capac')\n  Mar Barrnejo (mar bar nay'ho)\n  Mendieta (men dee a tah\n  Michoacan (me choa can')\n  Mictlanteuctli (meek tlan tenk tli)\n  Mijes (me'hays)\n  Mitla (me'tla)\n  Mizes (me says)\n  Miztees (meas'tecks)\n  Montesinos (mon tay see'nos)\n  Munez de la Vega (moon yes'day la vay'ga)\n\n  N\n\n  Nadaillac (nah day lac')\n  Nata (nah ta)\n  Naliuatl (na watl)\n  Nahuatlacs (na wat lacs)\n  Nimaquiche (nee ma kee chay')\n\n  O\n\n  Oajaca (oali ha'ca)\n  Ozaca (o sah'ca)\n\n  P\n\n  Palenque (pah len'kay)\n  Pamutla (pah moot'la)\n  Panoaia (pa no ah'ya)\n  Pantlan (pan tlan')\n  Panuco (pa noo co)\n  Paye Tome (pah ye to'me)\n  Puhua Manco (poo wha man co)\n\n  Q\n\n  Quetzalcohua (kate sal'qua)\n  Quequetzalcohua (kay kate sal'qua tl)\n  Quetzalcohuatl (kate sal qua'tl)\n  Quilaztli (kee las'tlee)\n  Quirigua (kee ree'gua)\n  Quito (kee to)\n\n  R\n\n  Rosales (ro sah'les)\n\n  S\n\n  Sahagun (sah hah'gun)\n  Sierra de Cocotl (see a'ra day co co'tl)\n  Suchiquecal (soo chee kay'cal)\n\n  T\n\n  Tahuantin-Suya Capac (tah whan teen'-soo-ya-ca pac)\n  Talma (tal'ma)\n  Tamoauchan (ta mwa chan)\n  Tamub (tah moob')\n  Tapallan (tah pah yan)\n  Tecpatzin (teck pat seen')\n  Tehuantepec (tay wan'tay peck)\n  Temazcalli (tay mas cah'ye)\n  Teocallis (tayo cah'yees)\n  Teocysactli (tayo see sac'tlee)\n  Teotes (tayo tes)\n  Tezcatlipoca (tes cat tee po' ca)\n  Tezpa (tes'pee)\n  Titicaca (tee tee ka'ka)\n  Tlacapan (tla ca pan')\n  Tlaloc (tla lock')\n  Tlaloques (tla lo kes)\n  Tlamanalco (tla ma nal'co)\n  Tlapallan (tla pa yan')\n  Talascatec (tlas cal tes)\n  Tlatelolco (tla tay lol'co)\n  Teatl (tay otl)\n  Toltan (tol tan')\n  Tonacatecutli (to nali cah tay coo'tlee)\n  Tonacatecutle (to nah cah tay coo'tlay)\n  Topolitzin (to po lit seen')\n  Torquemada (tor kay mah'dah)\n  Tschudi (tchew dee)\n  Tuccabatches (tuc cah bah'ches)\n  Tulan-Zaiva (too lan-si va)\n  Tzontemoc (tson tay moak')\n  Tzununiha (tsoo noo ne'a)\n\n  U\n\n  Usumacinta (oo soo ma seen'ta)\n  Utatlan (oo ta tlan')\n  Uxmal (oox mal')\n\n  V\n\n  Vemac (vay mack')\n  Veytia (vay tee'a)\n  Viracocha (vee ra co cha)\n  Votan (vo tan')\n\n  W\n\n  Wixipecocha (week see pa co' cha)\n\n  X\n\n  Xecoicovach (hay coat co vach')\n  Xelhua (hay loo'ah)\n  Xibalba (he bai'bah)\n  Ximinez (he me nais')\n  Xochiquetzal (ho chee kate sal)\n\n  Y\n\n  Yaqui (ya'kee)\n  Ytztlacoliuhqui (eats tla co lee oo'kee)\n  Yucatec (yu ca tec')\n\n  Z\n\n  Zaculi (sa coo'lee)\n  Zamna (Sam'na)\n  Zocheqnetzal (so chay kate'sal)\n  Zopotec (sa'po tec)\n  Zumarra (su mar ra)\n\n\n\nFOREWORDS.\n\nI.\n\nNEW WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD ASSURED.\n\nIt is a happy omen, that, while so much of the literature of our times\nis marked by a tone of infidelity, and especially by a disparagement of\nthe evidences of the authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures,\nthere is in other quarters an increasing readiness to make the choicest\ngifts of modern science and learning tributary to the word of God.\nThe eclipse of faith is not total. And it is an additional cause for\ngratitude to the God of Providence and of Revelation, that, even at\nthis remote distance of time from the date of the Sacred Oracles, new\nevidences of their credibility and accuracy are continually coming\nto light. How much may yet remain, buried under barren mounds, or\nentombed in pyramids and catacombs, or hidden in the yet unexplored\npages of some ancient literature, it were vain to conjecture; but of\nthis we may be sure, that if any new forms of evidence should hereafter\nbe needed, to meet any new forms of unbelief, and authenticate afresh\nthe word of truth, they will be found deposited somewhere, waiting\nfor the fulness of time; and God will bring them forth in their\nseason, from the dark hieroglyphics, or the desert sands, or the dusty\nmanuscripts, to confound the adversaries of his word, and to \"magnify\nit above all his name.\"--\"Historical Evidences of the Truth of the\nScripture Records,\" by George Rawlinson, M. A. American Edition, 1885.\n\nII.\n\nTHE WORLD'S HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHRIST.\n\n\"Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches square,\ncontaining fifty words which were certainly spoken by Jesus, this\nutterance would count more than all the books which have been published\nsince the first century. If a veritable picture of the Lord could be\nunearthed from a catacomb, and the world could see with its own eyes\nwhat like he was, it would not matter that its colors were faded, and\nthat it was roughly drawn, that picture would have at once a solitary\nplace amid the treasures of art.\"--Rev. John Watson, D. D. (Ian\nMaclaren) \"Life of the Master,\" Prologue.\n\nIII.\n\nTHE BOOK OF MORMON A WITNESS FOR THE CHRIST.\n\n\"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity,\nwere delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other\nnations. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did\nprosper in the land; and I beheld a Book, and it was carried forth\namong them. And the angel said unto me, Knowest thou the meaning of\nthe Book? And I said unto him, I know not. And he said. Behold it\nproceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew; * * * * and he said unto me, The\nBook that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the\ncovenants of the Lord which he hath made with the House of Israel; and\nit also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy Prophets. * *\n* * And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my\nbrethren, and also the Book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded\nforth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles,\nunto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. And after it had come\nforth unto them, I beheld other Books, which came forth by the power\nof the Lamb, from the Gentiles, unto them, unto the convincing of\nthe Gentiles, and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also\nthe Jews, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that\nthe records of the Prophets and of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb\n[the Bible] are true. And the angel spake unto me, saying. These last\nrecords which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the\ntruth of the first, which are of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and\nshall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken\naway from them; and shall make known unto all kindreds, tongues and\npeople, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and\nthe Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they\ncannot be saved.\"--I. Nephi xiii.\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\nThe Value of the Book of Mormon as a witness for the authenticity and\nintegrity of the Bible, and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.\n\n\n\nNEW WITNESSES FOR GOD.\n\nII.\n\nTHE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE BIBLE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY\n\n\"The Bible in the Nineteenth Century\" will yet form an interesting\nsubject for a volume. The writer of it will recount the attacks\nmade upon the sacred volume by unbelievers, and the defense of it\nby faithful Christian and Jewish scholars. He will also be under\nthe necessity of writing the history of the betrayals of the Holy\nScriptures by pretended friends; and he will say such betrayals were\nmore mischievous than the attacks of avowed enemies. He will balance\nthe harm done by the attacks and the betrayals, against the good\naccomplished by the defenses, and give the net result of gain or loss.\nWhich will preponderate? The nineteenth century was prolific in both\nassaults and defenses; and much valuable material was collected from\nunexpected quarters for the defense of the Scriptures; but for all that\nit is doubtful if in what is recognized as the Christian world the\nfaith of the Christians in the Bible, as the veritable word of God, was\nas sound and absolute at the close of the nineteenth century as it was\nat the commencement of it. This is not saying that what is regarded\nas old fashioned faith in the Bible has been entirely banished, or\ntotally eclipsed. There are those, and many of them, thank God, who\nstill revere the Bible as the word of God, and therefore hold it\ntrue, and take it as a lamp to their feet, as a guide to their path.\nBut there has arisen within Christendom itself--and chiefly within\nthe nineteenth century--a class of Bible scholars who have done much\nmischief to faith in the Bible; who make it part of their boast that\nin their study of the Bible they have dropped the theological attitude\ntowards it, viz., the preconception that the Bible is the word of God,\non which conception men were wont to reason: God is a God of absolute\ntruth; the Bible is the word of God; therefore the Bible is absolutely\ntrue. This position they now abandon and take up what they are pleased\nto call the \"literary attitude or method.\" That is, they approach the\nBible without any preconception whatsoever. They take up the collection\nof books forming the Bible as they would take up any other body of\nliterature; as they would English, French, or German literature. \"This\nmethod,\" says one high in authority in the new school of critics,\n\"assumes nothing. It leaves the conclusion of the questions whether the\nBible came from God, in what sense it came from God, how far and to\nwhat extent it came from God, all to be determined by examination of\nthe book itself. This I call the literary method.\" [1] \"This method,\"\nsays another, \"leads to the investigation of the origin, authorship,\nand meaning of the several books of the Bible, and the credibility of\nthe history which it contains.\" [2] Concerning in what those of the\nLiterary school are agreed, and in what their method results, as to the\nOld Testament, I quote the following:\n\n    They are generally agreed in thinking that the book of Genesis is\n    composed of three or four or more documents woven together by some\n    ancient editor in one continuous narrative. They are generally\n    agreed in thinking that the book of the Covenant, [3] with the Ten\n    Commandments at its forefront, is the oldest book in the Bible;\n    that the history in which that book of the Covenant is embedded was\n    written long subsequent to the time of Moses. They are generally\n    agreed in thinking that the Book of Deuteronomy, embodying a later\n    prophet's conception of Mosaic principles, was not written or\n    uttered by Moses himself in its present form, but some centuries\n    after the death of Moses. They are generally agreed in thinking\n    that the book of Leviticus was written long subsequent to the time\n    of Moses, and so far from embodying the principles of the Mosaic\n    code embodies much that is in spirit adverse if not antagonistic\n    to the simple principles of Mosaism. They are generally agreed\n    in considering that we have in the books of Kings and Chronicles\n    history and belles lettres so woven together that it is not always\n    possible to tell what is to be regarded as belles lettres and what\n    is to be regarded as history. They are generally agreed in the\n    opinion that Job, while it treats of history about the days of\n    Moses, or even anterior thereto, was written later than the time\n    of Solomon; that very little of the Hebrew Psalter was composed by\n    David; that most of it was composed in the time of the exile or\n    subsequent thereto; that Solomon's song was not written by Solomon,\n    and is the drama of a pure woman's love, not a spiritual allegory;\n    that the book of Isaiah was written certainly by two authors and\n    perhaps more, the later book being written one hundred years at\n    least after the earlier and by a prophet now unknown; that the\n    book of Jonah belongs to the series of moral instruction through\n    fiction, and that the book of Daniel conveys moral instruction by\n    means of, to use Dean Farrar's phraseology, one of these \"splendid\n    specimens of the lofty moral fiction which was always common among\n    the Jews after the exile.\" [4]\n\nAnother recognized authority in the same field of learning in summing\nup the results of the so-called \"higher criticism,\" says:\n\n    It has thus far done an inestimable service in the removal of the\n    traditional theories from the sacred books, so that they may be\n    studied in their real structure and character. . . . . The higher\n    criticism shows us the process by which the sacred books were\n    produced, that the most of them were composed by unknown authors,\n    that they have passed through the hands of a considerable number\n    of unknown editors who have brought together the older material\n    without removing discrepancies, inconsistencies and errors.\n    In this process of editing, arranging, addition, subtraction,\n    reconstruction and consolidation, extending through many centuries,\n    what evidence have we that these unknown editors were kept from\n    error in all their work? [5]\n\nSuch dissecting as this can have but one general result--death of\nreverence for the Bible; death of faith in it, as the revealed word\nof God. The authenticity of the Bible by it is left doubtful; for\nwhile this method of criticism succeeds, with those who affect it, in\nproving that Moses is not the author of the five books for so many\ncenturies accredited to him, it fails to tell us who is the author\nof those books. This Higher Criticism tells us that there are two\nand perhaps more, authors of the book of Isaiah's prophecies; that\nthe last twenty-seven chapters were not written by the great Hebrew\nprophet whose name the book bears; but it fails to tell us who is the\nauthor of them. Nor can it be determined even when the unknown author\nlived. The same is true as to the other books of the Old Testament upon\nwhose authenticity this system casts its shadow. The system is wholly\ndestructive in its tendencies; it unsettles everything, it determines\nnothing, except that everything with reference to the authenticity,\ntime of composition, inspiration, and credibility of the Old Testament\nis indeterminable. \"It leaves everything hanging in the air,\" says one\nable critic of Higher Criticism. \"It begins in guesses and ends in fog.\nAt all events the result leaves us in a hopeless muddle, and, when that\nis the only thing settled, the proposed solution is self-condemned.\"\n[6] And yet the Doctor of Divinity who wrote that sentence, Rev. A. J.\nF. Behrends, when he comes in his treatise to remark upon the extent\nto which the destructive criticism obtains, has to confess that in\neight of the most famous German Universities [7] possessing theological\nfaculties, and numbering seventy-three professors in all, thirty of\nthose professors upheld and taught the destructive criticism; while\nforty-three were counted conservatives. [8]\n\nA more significant admission, as showing the rapid increase of the\nradicals, or liberals, as the upholders of the destructive criticism\nare called, will be found in the following statement concerning the\nsame theological faculties. \"The so-called liberal wing has increased\nfrom ten to thirty during the last twenty-five years; and the\nconservatives have been reduced from fifty to forty-three.\"\n\nOf the American universities where the destructive criticism obtains,\nDr. Behrends names eight; [9] and eighteen where \"conservative\ncriticism holds its ground.\" [10] It should be remembered that these\nare admissions of one upholding the conservative criticism as against\nradical criticism. The claims of the radical school for the success of\ntheir methods are much more sweeping than the admissions allow. But\ntaking the extent to which the destructive criticism obtains, even at\nthe estimate of those who are opposed to it, and who for that reason\nreduce its triumphs to a minimum, yet it must be admitted that it has\nsucceeded in making very marked progress. It permeates all Protestant\nChristian countries; and all Protestant Christian sects. It is more\nin evidence in the churches than in the schools; and tinctures all\nProtestant religious literature. There is scarcely any necessity for\nunbelievers in the Bible assailing it from without; the destruction\nof faith in it as an authentic, credible, authoritative revelation\nfrom God, whose truths when rightly understood are to be accepted and\nheld as binding upon the consciences of men, is being carried on from\nwithin the churches who profess to hold the Bible in reverence, more\neffectually than it could be by profane infidels. Doctors of Divinity\nare more rapidly undermining the faith of the masses in the Bible than\never a Voltaire, a Paine, a Bradlaugh or an Ingersoll could do; and\nthat may account for the singular circumstances of absolute silence at\npresent on the part of popular infidel writers and lecturers. [11]\n\nIt is not my purpose here to enter into a discussion of the merits or\ndemerits of Higher Criticism; to point out what is true in it, and\nwhat false. I am merely calling attention to a condition that has been\ncreated by that method of Bible treatment, viz., a condition of rapidly\nincreasing unbelief among the masses in the Bible as the undoubted\nword of God. The learned who are leaders in the new method of Bible\ncriticism, after destroying confidence in the authenticity of almost\nevery book of the Old Testament; after questioning the credibility of\nthe greater part of all those same books; after retiring some of the\nbooks from the dignified realm of reliable history to the questionable\nstation of belles-lettres; after saying, \"We are obliged to admit\nthat there are scientific errors in the Bible, errors of astronomy,\nof geology, of zoology, of botany, and anthropology;\" after saying,\n\"There are historical mistakes in the Christian scriptures, mistakes\nof chronology and geography, errors of historical events and persons,\ndiscrepancies and inconsistencies in the historians, which cannot be\nremoved by any proper method of interpretation;\" after reducing the\ninspired writers to the level of just ordinary historical, poetical,\nand fiction-writing authors, by saying that the foregoing enumerated\nerrors in the sacred books \"are just where you would expect to find\nthem in accurate, truthful writers of history in ancient times,\" and\nthat the sacred writers merely \"used with fidelity the best sources\nof information accessible to them--ancient poems, popular traditions,\nlegends and ballads, regal and family archives, codes of law and\nancient narratives,\" and \"there is no evidence that they received any\nof this history by revelation from God, there is no evidence that the\ndivine Spirit corrected their narratives either when they were being\ncomposed in their minds, or written in manuscript;\" after saying, \"we\ncannot defend the morals of the Old Testament at all points, * * *\nthe Patriarchs were not truthful, their age seems to have had little\napprehension of the principles of truth;\" after saying that \"God spake\nin much the greater part of the Old Testament through the voices and\npens of the human authors of the scriptures,\" and then ask--\"Did the\nhuman voice and pen in all the numerous writers and editors of the\nHoly Scriptures prior to the completion of the Canon always deliver\nan inerrant word?\" and, \"Even if all the writers were possessed of\nthe Holy Spirit as to be merely passive in his hands, the question\narises, can the finite voice and the finite pen deliver and express\nthe inerrant truth of God?\" After all this, then these Higher Critics\npropound the question: Can we, in the face of all the results of our\nliterary and historical [12] method of treating the scriptures, still\nmaintain the truthfulness of the Bible? And while they are speculating\nhow they can make it appear that \"the substantial truthfulness of the\nBible\" need not be inconsistent with the existence of \"circumstantial\nerrors;\" and are indulging in subtle refinements to show that \"none\nof the mistakes, discrepancies and errors which have been discovered\ndisturb the religious lessons of Biblical history\" [13]--masses who come\nto hear of these doubts cast upon what they have hitherto been taught\nto regard as the infallible oracles of God, answer off-hand:--If so\nmuch doubt exists as to the authenticity, credibility, inspiration,\nand authoritativeness of so great a part of the Bible, how are we\nto determine that the few remaining things you urge upon us are of\ndivine appointment, or reach to any higher level than human conception\nand human authority? This their question; and, ever glad to meet\nwith any excuse that will lend the lightest shadow of justification\nfor casting aside the restraints which religion imposes upon the\nindulgence of human passion, and human inclination to worldliness in\ngeneral, they rid themselves of their faith in the word of God, and\nin the religion it teaches, and walk abroad in the earth unchecked in\ntheir selfish pursuit of whatsoever may attract the fancy, please the\ntaste or gratify the passions. For whatever may be the effect of what\nis left of the Bible, on minds of peculiar structure, after Higher\nCriticism is done with it, it must be conceded that a Bible of doubtful\nauthenticity, of questionable credibility as to the greater part of it;\nwith its divine inspiration and its divine authenticity remaining open\nquestions--neither such a Bible nor any religion formulated from it in\nharmony with such conceptions, can have much influence over the masses\nof humanity.\n\nAgain I find it necessary to say that it is foreign to my purpose\nto enter into a consideration of the merits or demerits of Higher\nCriticism, or even to point out how much of that criticism merely\nattacks an apostate Christianity's misconceptions and false\ninterpretations of the Bible, and not the Bible itself. It is\nsufficient for my purpose, if I have made clear the results that must\ninevitably follow this attack upon the Scriptures under the guise of\nHigher Criticism.\n\nI must notice briefly the other side of the question; that is, give\nsome account of the materials which have been brought to light in the\nnineteenth century for the defense of the Bible; materials which tend\nto prove its authenticity, its credibility, its inspiration and its\ndivine authority. And here I am but a compiler of a very few of the\nprincipal results of researches that have been made in Egypt, in the\nvalley of the Euphrates and in Palestine. I make no pretentions to\noriginal investigations of these researches, but accept the statements\nof what I consider to be reliable authorities in relation to them.\n\nIn the year 1799 a French officer named Boussard discovered a large,\nblack basalt stone at Fort St. Julian near Rosetta, in the delta of\nthe Nile. From the circumstances of the discovery being near Rosetta\nit has always been known as the Rosetta Stone. It was inscribed in\nGreek, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a third class of writing which\nis called Demotic. The last is the common writing of the people of\nEgypt as opposed to the hieroglyphic which was written by the priests.\nThe Greek upon the stone was readily made out, and it was found to\nconsist of a decree drawn up by the priests of Memphis in honor of\nPtolemy Epiphanes, who ruled about 198 B. C. It was at once evident\nthat the Greek inscription on this stone was the translation of the\nhieroglyphics upon it, and hence afforded a key to the interpretation\nof the Egyptian hieroglyphics. By the fortunes of war the Rosetta Stone\nwas surrendered by the French to General Hutchinson and subsequently\npresented to the British Museum where it is now preserved. Accurate\ncopies of the three-fold text were made forthwith and distributed among\nthe scholars of Europe with the result that through the combined,\npatient labors of Silvestre de Sacy, Akebald the Swede, Thomas Young,\nChampollion, Lepsius in Germany, Birch in England, and others, the\nhieroglyphics were deciphered and a system of translation constructed\nwhich enabled European scholars to read many of the inscriptions upon\nthe monuments of Egypt, and bring to light much of the history of\nthat country which hitherto had been a mystery. This gave an impetus\nto research. The political representatives of the great countries of\nEurope made collections of antiquities in Egypt, and travelers spent\nmuch time and money in opening tombs and digging out ruins. The tombs\nhave given up not only their dead, but with them the books which\nthe Egyptians read, the furniture which they used in their houses,\nthe ornaments and articles of the toilet of the Egyptian lady, the\nweapons of the warrior, the tools of the handicraftsman and laborer,\nthe dice of the gambler, the toys of the children, and the portraits,\nstatutes and figures of the men and women for whom they were made.\nThe many-lined inscriptions upon the tombs give us their ideas about\nthe future world, the judgment of the dead, the paradise of the happy\nsouls, the transmigration of souls, and they enable us to place a\njuster estimate upon the statements of those Greek writers who profess\nto understand and to describe with accuracy the difficult religion\nof the educated Egyptians. And the result of all this, as affecting\nthe authenticity of the Bible? Simply this: the manners, customs,\ngovernments, arts, sciences, occupations and state of civilization of\nthe Egyptians in general, are demonstrated by these monuments to be\nsubstantially what they are described to be in the book of Genesis.\nAlso there is supposed to be the confirmation of special events in\nthe scripture narrative. Professor A. H. Sayce, for instance, has\nthe following upon the existence of such a line of kings ruling at\nJerusalem as Melchizedek is described to be in Genesis:\n\n    \"Among the cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna in Upper Egypt,\n    are letters to the Pharaoh from Ebed-tob, king of Jerusalem,\n    written a century before the time of Moses. In them he describes\n    himself as appointed to the throne, not by inheritance from his\n    father or mother (compare Heb. 7:3), but by the arm of 'the Mighty\n    King,' i. e. of the god of whose temple stood on Mount Moriah. He\n    must therefore have been a priest-king like Melchizedek. The name\n    of Jerusalem is written Ura-Salim, 'the city of the god of peace,'\n    and it was the capital of a territory which extended southward to\n    Kellah. In the inscriptions of Rameses II and Rameses III, Salem is\n    mentioned among the conquests of the Egyptian kings.\"\n\nThe same writer sees confirmation of the history of Joseph, son of\nJacob, in the following circumstance:\n\n    The \"Story of the Two Brothers,\" an Egyptian romance written for\n    the son of the Pharaoh of the oppression, contains an episode very\n    similar to the Biblical account of Joseph's treatment by Potiphar's\n    wife. Potiphar and Potipherah are the Egyptian Pa-tu-pa-Ra, \"the\n    gift of the Sun-god.\" The name given to Joseph, Zaphnath-paaneah,\n    (Gen. 41:45), is probably the Egyptian Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, \"nourisher\n    of the living one,\" i. e. of the Pharaoh. There are many instances\n    in the inscriptions of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian\n    names, and rising to the highest offices of state.\n\nThe story of the Exodus as related in the Bible is supposed to find\nconfirmation in the following:\n\n    \"The cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna, in Upper Egypt, have\n    shown that in the latter days of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty,\n    when the Pharaoh had become a convert to an Asiatic form of faith,\n    the highest offices of state were absorbed by foreigners, most of\n    whom were Canaanites. In the national reaction which followed, the\n    foreigners were expelled, exterminated, or reduced to serfdom;\n    while a new dynasty, the nineteenth, was founded by Rameses I. He,\n    therefore, must be the new king, the builder of Pa-Tum or Pithom\n    (now Tel el-Maskhuteh, near Ismailia), as has been proved by Dr.\n    Naville's researches, and consequently, as Egyptian students had\n    long maintained he must have been the Pharaoh of the oppression.\"\n\nThe occupancy of the land of Goshen by the Israelites who, it will be\nremembered, were shepherds, is supposed to receive confirmation in the\nfollowing:\n\n    Further excavations of Dr. Neville have shown that Goshen, the\n    Egyptian Goshen (now Saft el-Henneh), is the modern Wadi Tumilat,\n    between Zagazig and Ismailia. A dispatch dated in the eighth year\n    of the reign of Meneptah, the son and successor of Rameses II,\n    state that Bedouin from Edom has been allowed to pass the Khetam or\n    \"fortress\" in the district of Succoth (Thukot), in order to feed\n    themselves and their herds on the possessions of Pharaoh. Khetam\n    is the Etham of Exodus 13:20. The geography of the Exodus agrees\n    remarkably with that of the Egyptian papyri of the time of Rameses\n    II and his son. [14]\n\nThe search for evidence of the truth of the Bible has not been confined\nto Egypt. Equal interest has been awakened in those ancient empires\nthat occupied the valley of the Euphrates; in Palestine, and the\nSinaitic Peninsula. European scholars with keen interest followed the\nstudy of the cuneiform characters found on Babylonian tablets and\nmonuments. Progress made in deciphering this ancient method of writing\nled M. Botta, in 1842, to begin excavations upon the ancient site of\nNineveh, but he met with little success. Later, however,--1845--Mr.\nHenry Layard (subsequently Sir Henry Layard) undertook excavations at\nthe same place for the Trustees of the British Museum, and succeeded in\nuncovering the palaces of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Assur-banipal,\nand in bringing to light the terra cotta tablets which formed the great\nlibrary founded by these kings at Nineveh, and of which some twenty-two\nthousand are now preserved in the British Museum. An examination\nof these tablets soon showed that they consisted of historical\ninscriptions, astronomical reports and calculations, grammatical lists,\netc., and scholars began to apply Sir Henry Rawlinson's system of\ndecipherment of the Babylonian version of the Behistun inscription to\nthe texts inscribed upon these tablets. A large portion of the history\nof Babylonia and Assyria through the translation of these tablets\nis now revealed to us, and the knowledge of the language of these\ncountries has thrown much light upon the language, literature, history,\nand learning of the Jews. The excavations which have been carried on\nin Mesopotamia for the last fifty years have yielded the most valuable\nresults; and the inscribed slabs, monolithic stelae, boundary stones,\ngate-sockets, bricks, seal-cylinders and tablets, now preserved in\nthe British Museum, afford an abundant supply of material from which\nBible customs and language may be freely explained and illustrated. The\ncuneiform writing is, at least, as old as B. C. 3,800, and there is\nevidence to show that it was in use as late as B. C. 80. [15]\n\nIn 1865 the Palestine Exploration fund was opened, and excavations were\nbegun in Jerusalem, and have continued, with some interruptions, until\nnow. Since then researches have followed in the south, east and north\nof Palestine. Geological investigations have been made, natural history\ncollections have been formed, enquiries into nationalities and customs\ncarried on, towns, villages, hills, valleys, water courses, wells,\ncisterns, notable trees and other land marks have been located. In\n1868 a party of engineering experts left England to make a scientific\nsurvey of the Sinaitic Peninsula. This they effected, making plans and\nmodels, taking three thousand copies of inscriptions with collections\nof specimens bearing on the zoology, botany and geology of the country.\n[16]\n\nThe results of these explorations and discoveries, in the valley of\nthe Euphrates, in Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula, have been\neven more fruitful, in the production of materials which tend to\nconfirm the truth of the Bible narrative and general credibility, than\nthe discoveries so far made in Egypt. The confirmation of the Bible\nnarrative of ancient events is remarkable. So, too, the confirmation\nof its location of cities, mountains, rivers, plains and, indeed,\nthe whole geography of the scriptures. The confirmation given of the\nBible's incidental allusions to the manners and customs of neighboring\nand contemporary nations is no less remarkable; together with what is\nsaid of reigning kings and dynasties, and the incidental allusions\nthat the Bible makes to their invasions of each other's territories,\ntheir alliances, their victories, and their defeats. The following are\na few of the special Bible incidents which receive confirmation from\nthe results of these researches condensed from the article of Professor\nSayce:\n\n    CREATION: One of the accounts of creation in cuneiform characters\n    found on the tablets very nearly resembles the first chapter of\n    Genesis. It commences with the statement that \"in the beginning\"\n    all was a chaos of waters, called the deep (Tiamat, the Hebrew\n    tehom). Then the Upper and Lower Firmaments were created, and the\n    Gods came into existence. After that comes a long account of the\n    struggle between Bel-Merodach and the \"Dragon\" of chaos, \"Timaat,\"\n    \"the serpent of evil,\" with her allies, the forces of anarchy\n    and darkness. It ended in the victory of the god of light, who\n    thereupon created the present world by the power of his \"word.\" The\n    fifth tablet or book of the poem describes the appointment of the\n    heavenly bodies for signs and seasons, and the sixth (or perhaps\n    the seventh) the creation of animals and reptiles. The latter part\n    of the poem, in which the creation of man was doubtless described,\n    has not yet been recovered. But we learn from other texts that man\n    was regarded as having been formed out of the \"dust\" of the ground.\n\n    THE SABBATH: From the tablets it is also learned that the\n    Babylonians observed a day of rest, which is called Sabbattu and\n    described as \"a day of rest for the heart.\" On it, it was forbidden\n    to eat cooked meat, to put on fresh clothes, to offer sacrifices,\n    to ride in a chariot, etc. The Sabbattu fell on the 7th, 14th,\n    19th, 21st, and 28th days of the month.\n\n    THE GARDEN OF EDEN: The \"plain\" of Babylonia was called Edin in\n    the ancient Sumerian language of the country, and the word was\n    adopted by the Semitic Babylonians, in the form of Edinu. Eridu,\n    the early seaport of Babylonia, was the chief center of primitive\n    Babylonian religion and culture, and in its neighborhood was a\n    garden, wherein, \"in a holy place,\" according to an ancient poem,\n    was a mysterious tree whose roots were planted in the \"deep,\"\n    while its branches reached to heaven. The tree of life is often\n    represented in Assyria sculptures between two winged cherubim who\n    have sometimes the heads of eagles, sometimes of men, and sometimes\n    stand, sometimes kneel. Eri-Aku or Arioch (Gen. 14:1) calls\n    himself \"the executor of the oracle of the holy tree of Eridu.\" In\n    Sumerian, wine was called ges-din, \"the draught of life.\" A second\n    tree is mentioned in Babylonian hymns on whose heart the name of\n    the god of wisdom is said to be inscribed.\n\n    THE FLOOD: In 1872 George Smith discovered the Babylonian account\n    of the deluge, which strikingly resembles that of Genesis. It is\n    contained in a long poem which was composed in the age of Abraham,\n    but the Chaldean tradition of the deluge, of which the account\n    in the poem is but one out of many, must go back to a very much\n    earlier date. Xisuthros, the Chaldean Noah was rescued along with\n    his family, servants, and goods, on account of his righteousness.\n    The god Ea warned him in a dream of the coming flood, and ordered\n    him to build a ship, into which he should take every kind of animal\n    so that \"the seed of life\" might be preserved.\n\n    UR OF THE CHALDEES: \"Ur\" is now identified as Mugheir. This was\n    the early home of Abraham and his forefathers spoken of in Genesis\n    (12:27-32). It was situated on the west side of the Euphrates. The\n    name means \"the city\" in Babylonia. It is proven now that there was\n    such a city, and that it is identical with Mugheir, the ruins of\n    which have been thoroughly explored. It was the seat of a dynasty\n    of kings who reigned before the age of Abraham, and was famous for\n    its temple of the moon-god, whose other famous temple was at Haran\n    in Mesopotamia.\n\n    ABRAHAM: Contract-tablets show that in the age of Abraham,\n    Canaanites--or \"Amorites,\" as the Babylonians called them--were\n    settled in Babylonia, and that a district outside the walls of\n    Sippara had been assigned to them. Several of the names are\n    distinctly Hebrew, and, in a tablet dated in the reign of the\n    grandfather of Amraphel (Gen. 14:1), one of the witnesses is called\n    \"the Amorite, the son of Abi-ramu,\" or Abram.\n\n    CAMPAIGN OF CHEDORLAOMER: The records on the tablets that this\n    event (described in Genesis 14) is in accordance with the national\n    movements of that age.\n\n    SHISHAK'S INVASION OF JUDAH: On the southern wall of the temple\n    of Karnak, Shishak (Shashang in Egypt) the founder of the\n    twenty-second Egyptian dynasty, has given a list of the places he\n    captured in Palestine. Most of them were in Judea, but there are\n    few (e. g. Megiddo and Taanach) which belonged to the northern\n    kingdom.\n\n    THE MOABITE STONE: The Moabite stone was discovered by Rev.\n    F. Klein, at Dhiban in the land of Moab, on August 19, 1868.\n    It measures three feet ten inches, by two feet, by one foot\n    two inches; and is inscribed with thirty-four lines of text.\n    The language of the inscription hardly differs from Hebrew in\n    vocabulary, grammar, or expression. The stone gives the Moabite\n    account of the war of Mesha, king of Moab, about 860 B. C., against\n    Omri, Ahab, and other kings of Israel, and confirms to quite an\n    extent the history of the same war as given in II Kings, chapter 3.\n    [17]\n\nVery naturally those believers in the Bible who regard it as the\nvery word of God, those believers who regard the Bible's historical\nstatements as substantially true, allowing only for such errors as\nmay have crept in through the carelessness of copyists, or perchance\nhere and there an error through additions or omissions on the\npart of copyists or designing custodians--such believers rejoice\nat the confirmation the scriptures receive from the inscriptions\nupon monuments and tablets brought to light by the researches and\nscholarship of the nineteenth century. It is a pious sentiment, this\nrejoicing over the confirmation of the word of God; and one can only\nregret that the evidences supplied by these modern discoveries are not\nsufficiently voluminous or explicit to silence altogether the unbelief\nof modern times in the Bible. But they are not sufficient; for in spite\nof them unbelievers not only exist in Christian lands, but increase\ndaily.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. _The Bible as Literature_. A course of lectures by Dr. Lyman\nAbbot, in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, 1896-7. What is here called the\n\"Literary Method,\" is identical with what is called \"Higher Criticism;\"\nthe terms are used interchangeably. Higher Criticism may be said\nto stand in contradistinction to what is called Lower Criticism in\nthis, that it concerns itself with writings as a whole, whereas Lower\nCriticism concerns itself with the integrity or character of particular\npassages or parts; and is sometimes called \"Textual Criticism.\" \"The\nterm 'Literary' or 'Higher Criticism' designates that type of Biblical\ncriticism which proposes to investigate the separate books of the Bible\nin their internal peculiarities, and to estimate them historically.\nIt discusses the questions concerning their origin, the time and\nplace, the occasion and object of their composition, and concerning\ntheir position and value in the entire body of revelation. . . . . The\n'Higher Criticism' has been so often employed for the overthrow of\nlong-cherished beliefs that the epithet 'destructive' has frequently\nbeen applied to it; and hence it has become an offense to some orthodox\nears.\" (_The Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch_, Charles Elliott, D.\nD., pp. 12, 13.)\n\n2. _Beginning of Christianity_ (Fisher) p. 392.\n\n3. 21, 22, 23 Exodus--The Ten Commandments and amplifications.\n\n4. _The Bible as Literature_, Dr. Lyman Abbot.\n\n5. \"Truthfulness of Scripture,\" a paper submitted to The World's\nParliament of Religion by Professor Chas. A. Briggs, D. D. See _World's\nParliament of Religions_ (Barrows) vol. I, p. 563.\n\n6. Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, D. D., _Bible Criticism and its Methods_,\ncourse of lectures, 1897.\n\n7. These are the Universities of Berlin, Bonn, Breslau, Griefswald,\nHalle, Konigsberg, Leipzig and Tubingen.\n\n8. This was the condition in 1897.\n\n9. These Universities are Boston, Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Johns\nHopkins, Union, Chicago and Andover.\n\n10. Dr. Behrend's, _Bible Criticism_, Second Lecture, Feb. 28, 1897.\n\n11. This is written in 1903, and since the death of Bradlaugh in\nEngland in 1891, and the death of Ingersoll in America in 1899, there\nhave appeared no infidel lectures against the Bible of any prominence.\nThe mantle of those noted unbelievers and revilers of the Scriptures\nseems not to have fallen upon the shoulders of any of their followers.\n\n12. Historical criticism and its results were also considered in volume\nI of _New Witnesses_, see ch. I.\n\n13. The quoted passages in the foregoing are all from the paper of Dr.\nChas. A. Briggs, one of the foremost scholars among the Higher Critics,\nand was read before the World's Parliament of Religions. See Barrows'\n_History of the Parliament of Religions_, vol. I, pp. 650-661.\n\n14. Professor Sayce's article from which the foregoing quotations are\nmade, is to be found in the _Bible Treasury_, published in Nelson &\nSon's addition of the authorized version, p. 43.\n\n15. The Witness of Modern Discoveries to the Old Testament Narrative,\n_Oxford Bible Helps_.\n\n16. Ibid.\n\n17. The foregoing statements of monumental testimony to the truth of\nthe Old Testament are condensed from an article of Professor A. H.\nSayce, LL. D. The whole article--too long to be inserted here--will\nbe found in the _Nelson Illustrated Bible Treasury_, pp. 39-44. Those\ndesiring more specific knowledge of the interesting subject will find\nit in the magnificent work of Herman V. Hilprecht, _Explorations in\nBible Lands, During the 19th Century_ (1903). Mr. Hilprecht holds the\nProfessorship of the \"Clark Research Professorship of Assyriology\" in\nthe University of Pennsylvania; and in his great work of 800 pages is\nassisted by other specialists.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE WITNESS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE\n\nOne thing with reference to modern discoveries of confirmatory\nevidences of the Bible is singular. That one thing is the fact that all\nthese modern discoveries of evidences are confined to the eastern half\nof the world, to Asia and Africa. Can it be that God left no witnesses\nfor himself in the western half of the world? Did he ignore and leave\nto perish without spiritual enlightenment, or knowledge of any means\nof salvation, all those tribes of men, those nations and empires, that\ninhabited the western hemisphere through so many ages? It should be\nremembered while considering these questions that the scriptures teach\nthat\n\n    God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on\n    all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before\n    appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should\n    seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,\n    though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and\n    move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have\n    said, For we are also his offspring. [1]\n\nFrom this it appears that all races of men have a common origin.\nThey are all made \"of one blood,\" and have one common Father--God.\nYet if one judge the spirit of orthodox believers in the Bible, he\nwould conclude that this Father's anxiety had all been expended in\nthe enlightenment of those races and nations inhabiting the eastern\nhemisphere. That he had made ample provision for their instruction\nin the ways of God, and revealed to them, through his Son, the means\nof their salvation; but left the untold millions of his children in\nthe western hemisphere to perish in ignorance. No prophets instructed\nthem; no Son of God came to announce to them the means of salvation,\nor proclaim by his own resurrection the reality of the future life and\nimmortality of man. And hence no one has unearthed the half-buried\ncities, or examined the ruined temples, or the fallen palaces--the\nextent and greatness of which proclaim the grandeur of ancient\nAmerica's civilization--for confirmatory evidence of the Bible.\nThe inscriptions upon their temple walls and monuments have not\nbeen deciphered for that purpose, nor their history and traditions\ninvestigated with that end in view, except in a few instances where\nmen have been imbued with the idea that the aborigines of America\nmight be the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. These, with\na few others prompted by a desire to solve the mystery of America's\nancient civilization, have explored the ruined cities, described the\ncrumbling pyramids and temples, and remains of splendid aqueducts.\nThey have collected and detailed their mythologies, traditions, and\nhistory; some circumstances of which bear strong evidence to the\nfact that the ancient inhabitants of the western hemisphere, in some\nway, had been made acquainted with some of the chief events of Bible\nhistory, including some knowledge of the atonement and other doctrines\nof Messiah. But such evidences of these facts as have been collected\nare not received into the collection of modern evidences for the truth\nof the Bible. I do not know of a single book in which they are so\nreceived. From the profound silence enforced upon American monuments\nand inscriptions, one would be left to suppose that they are as silent\nin testimony for the revealed truth of God as the birds of the South\ncontinent, however resplendent in gaudy plumage, are silent as to song.\nIt is just here, however, where the importance of the Book of Mormon is\nbest exhibited. It is here where it can be proclaimed as the voice of\nthe western hemisphere proclaiming the sublime truth that God did not\nleave himself without witness among the races and nations of men that\ninhabited the western world. It is here that its importance is felt as\nthe voice of sleeping nations speaking as out of the dust to the whole\nworld, not only vindicating the quality of justice in God, in that\nhe did not leave the inhabitants of the western hemisphere to perish\nin ignorance of himself and the plan of life and salvation which had\nbeen ordained for the redemption of mankind; but also in that it bears\nwitness to the world that the collection of books known as the Bible is\nthe word of God, authentic, credible, and binding upon the consciences\nof men. It is a Witness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of the truth\nof the Bible, which in value far surpasses all the evidences discovered\nin Egypt, the valley of the Euphrates, the Sinaitic Peninsula, and\nthe land of Palestine throughout the nineteenth century. Let us here\nconsider it.\n\nFirst in chronological order, if not in importance, is the book of\nEther, within the Book of Mormon. This book of Ether is an abridgment\nof a very ancient American record that was engraven upon twenty-four\ngold plates, by a prophet named Ether, hence the name of the book. He\nwrote his record most likely in the early part of the sixth century B.\nC. The plates were discovered by a branch of the Nephite nation about\n120 years B. C., and were preserved by the Nephites with other sacred\nrecords, which finally were placed in the keeping of a prophet named\nMoroni, about the close of the fourth century A. D. This Moroni is\nthe one who translated the record engraven upon the plates of Ether,\nan abridgment of which he placed with the Book of Mormon. The book\nof Ether contained an account of the most ancient events from the\ncreation of Adam to the confusion of languages; but as Moroni supposed\nthe information of this part of the book of Ether would be in the\npossession of the Jews, he did not transcribe that part of it, but\nbegan his abridgment from the confounding of the languages at Babel.\nThe book of Ether speaks of one Jared and his brother, the latter a\nmost remarkable prophet, living at Babel previous to the confusion of\nlanguages, and to whom the Lord revealed his intention of confounding\nthe language of the people. At the solicitation of Jared, to whom\nhe had imparted the knowledge of the coming calamity, this prophet\nbesought the Lord that the language of Jared, himself, and their\nfamilies might not be confounded, and the Lord had respect unto his\nprayer and confounded not their language; but directed the formation\nof a colony consisting of Jared, his brother, and their families and\nfriends which the Lord led forth from Babylon and finally brought to\nthe north continent of the western hemisphere. The colony grew into a\ngreat nation, occupying at least the greater part of North America, and\nwere known to the Nephites as the people of Jared.\n\nThe book of Ether confirms the special particulars of the Bible\nconcerning there being in existence a record of the creation; the\nexistence of Adam; the erection of the tower of Babel; the confounding\nof languages; and the scattering of the people into all the lands of\nthe earth.\n\nSecond: Six hundred years before Christ, a prophet of the Lord named\nLehi, being warned of the destruction of Jerusalem, departed with his\nfamily into the wilderness, traveling southward from the Holy City\nuntil he reached the borders of the Red Sea; and while camped on its\nshores he received direction from the Lord that his sons should return\nto Jerusalem and obtain a certain record in the hands of one Laban,\ncontaining a record of the Jews and also the genealogy of Lehi's\nforefathers engraven upon plates of brass. Agreeable to the heavenly\ncommandment the sons returned, and after overcoming some difficulties\nfinally succeeded in securing the records and returning with them\nto the encampment of Lehi. Finally, when Lehi's colony embarked for\nAmerica, they brought those records with them. These records are thus\ndescribed by Nephi, son of Lehi, who engraved the description in his\nrecord, at least as early as the first quarter of the sixth century B.\nC.:\n\n    And after they [Lehi's colony] had given thanks unto the God of\n    Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon\n    the plates of brass, and he did search them from beginning. And\n    he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which\n    gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and\n    Eve, who were our first parents; and also a record of the Jews\n    from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign\n    of Zedekiah, king of Judah; and also the prophecies of the holy\n    prophets, from the beginning even down to the commencement of the\n    reign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies which have been spoken\n    by the mouth of Jeremiah. And it came to pass that my father, Lehi,\n    also found upon the plates of brass, a genealogy of his fathers;\n    wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even\n    that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and\n    who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve\n    his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with\n    famine. And they were also led out of captivity and out of the land\n    of Egypt, by that same God who had preserved them. And thus my\n    father, Lehi, did discover the genealogy of his fathers. (I Nephi\n    5:10-16.)\n\nWhat a testimony we have here for the truth of the Bible! What a number\nof its incidents are here confirmed! The Higher Criticism questions\nthe Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, but here is an entry made in\nan ancient record in America at least 575 years B. C., attributing the\nauthorship of five books to Moses, specifying that they gave an account\nof the creation of the world and also of Adam and Eve, \"who were our\nfirst parents;\" so that there can be no question as to this record\nbrought by Lehi's colony from Jerusalem to America being identical\nwith the Pentateuch of our Bible. In addition to the incident of the\ncreation, and Adam and Eve, this entry upon the Nephite records also\nconfirms the Bible narrative concerning Jacob and also of Joseph, his\nson, who was sold into captivity and taken to Egypt. Reference is made\nalso to the subsequent exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt. Mention\nalso is made of the prophets and their prophecies in this record,\nmaking special mention of the name of Jeremiah. Some of the writings\nof Jeremiah were also included in this record. The first Nephi also\nmakes special mention of Isaiah by name, and describes in what manner\nhe read from his writings upon the plates of brass, to his brethren.\n[2] And what is better yet, he quotes, in his record, many passages\nfrom the prophet Isaiah. At this point it is well to call attention to\nthe fact that the Higher Criticism holds that the book of Isaiah in\nour Old Testament is composite; that is, it claims that it is composed\nby at least two, and perhaps by seven different authors; that the\nlast twenty-seven chapters certainly were not written by Isaiah. The\nbest answer that can be made to these claims, on the part of those\ndisposed to defend the Isaiah authorship of the book of prophecies\nwhich bears that prophet's name, is to say that from two hundred years\nB. C. the authorship of the prophecies, as they now stand in the\nBible, have been attributed to Isaiah. But here is testimony, in this\nfirst book of Nephi, which shows that as early as 550 years B. C., a\ncertain collection of prophecies in a record taken from Jerusalem,\nare attributed to Isaiah; and what is best of all a transcription is\nmade from these prophecies into the Nephite record, which corresponds\nto chapters 48, 49, 50, 51 and 59, and also fragments of chapter 29;\n[3] being a very large amount of the very part of Isaiah's prophecies\nof which the authenticity is questioned. Here are at least five of\nthe twenty-seven chapters in dispute accounted for and fragments of\nanother, while of the first part of the prophecies of Isaiah there is\na transcription into the Nephite record corresponding to chapters from\ntwo to fourteen; [4] so that so far as the authenticity of the book of\nIsaiah's prophecies is concerned, and the five books of Moses, the Book\nof Mormon is the most important of all witnesses.\n\nThird: Since the Nephites, then, in this collection of brass plates,\nhad the five books of Moses and the writings of the prophets down to\nthe reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, it is to be expected that in\ntheir own record-making frequent reference would be made to the brass\nplates and their contents, and this is the case. The first Nephi speaks\nof Israel's passage of the red sea, under the leadership of Moses; and\nthe destruction of the Egyptian army. [5] Subsequently the same writer\nrefers to the captivity of the children of Israel in Egypt, and the\ngrievousness of their bondage; of their escape from their slavery;\ntheir being fed with manna in the wilderness; their being miraculously\nprovided with water from the smitten rock; the visible presence of God\nin the cloud by day and the pillar of light by night; the blind and\nrebellious spirit of the people; the judgment of God upon them in the\nfiery-flying serpents, and the healing provided for them by looking\nupon the brazen serpent erected by Moses. [6]\n\nThe prophet Lehi, near the close of his life, when blessing his\nson Joseph, refers to Joseph, the son of Jacob, of Egyptian fame,\nand speaks of a prophecy uttered by that patriarch concerning the\ndeliverance of the people under the leadership of Moses; and also of\na future seer of the same lineage as himself, (i. e. Joseph) who would\nbe mighty in bringing forth the word of God unto the remnant of Lehi's\nseed. [7] In the book of Helaman will be found further reference to\nmany of the same things. [8] Special reference is made also to the\nprophecy of Moses concerning the future coming of the Messiah, saying,\n\"A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him\nshall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it\nshall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall\nbe cut off from among the people.\" Nephi follows this passage with the\ndeclaration that this prophet of whom Moses spake is the Holy One of\nIsrael, the Messiah. [9] The ten commandments are quoted in the book\nof Mosiah, substantially as they are found in the book of Exodus. [10]\nAnd thus throughout the Nephite record frequent references are made to\nthese ancient things of the scriptures, all of which, found as they are\nin an ancient record, though revealed to the world through the prophet\nJoseph Smith in modern times, confirm the authenticity and credibility\nof the Bible.\n\nFourth: It is the Book of Mormon as a whole, however, in which its\ngreatest value as a witness for the truth of the Bible, and the truth\nof the Gospel of Jesus Christ, most appears. I mean the Book of Mormon\nconsidered apart from any reference to an abridgment of the ancient\nrecords of the Jaredites; and the transcriptions from the ancient\nHebrew scriptures carried by Lehi's colony to the western world. In the\nBook of Mormon, so considered, we have the record of the hand-dealings\nof God with the peoples that inhabited the western hemisphere. We have\nin it the record of those things which occurred in a branch of the\nhouse of Israel that God was preparing for the same great event for\nwhich he was training the house of Israel in the eastern world; _viz._,\nthe advent of the Messiah, and the acceptance of the gospel through\nwhich all mankind are to be saved. This branch of the house of Israel,\nbroken from the parent tree and planted in the western hemisphere,\nbrought with them the traditions and hopes of Israel; they brought with\nthem, as we have already seen, the Hebrew scriptures, the writings of\nMoses and of the prophets down to the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;\nbut what is more important than all this, they came to the western\nworld with the favor and blessing of Israel's God upon them, and\nIsrael's peculiar privilege of direct communication with God, through\ninspired dreams, the visitation of angels, and the voice of God. Lehi's\ncolony was led to the western world by prophets, inspired of the Lord,\ntheir journey being marked by many and peculiar manifestations of his\npresence with them. After their arrival in the western world, to them\na land of promise, the Lord from time to time raised up prophets among\nthem, who instructed them in the ways of the Lord; who reproved them\nwhen overtaken in transgression; who pronounced judgments against\nthem when persuasion was of no avail for their correction; who warned\nthem by the spirit of prophecy of approaching disasters; and who held\ncontinually before them the hope of Israel, the advent of the Messiah,\nwho, by his suffering and death on the cross, would redeem mankind.\n\nIt was much in this manner and for the same purpose that God dealt with\nhis people in the eastern world; and the fact that his course with the\npeople on the western hemisphere was substantially the same as that\nfollowed with those of the east, establishes at once his justice and\nmercy towards his children, and bears testimony to the great truths\nthat God indeed is no respecter of persons, and that in every land he\nraises up for himself witnesses of his power and goodness. [11]\n\nFifth: It is not alone as a witness for the authenticity and\ncredibility of the Bible that the Book of Mormon is valuable. Great\nas is its value in that particular, it is still more valuable as a\nwitness for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Previous to the\ncoming of Messiah to the Nephites, [12] prophets testified of his\ncoming; predicted the time thereof and the signs that would accompany\nhis advent. The signs of his birth were, first, that on the night of\nhis nativity there would be no darkness upon the lands inhabited by\nthe Nephites; that is, in the western hemisphere. \"There shall be\none day and a night and a day,\" said one of the prophets, \"as if it\nwere one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for\na sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its\nsetting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two\ndays and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it\nshall be the night before he is born.\" [13] Second: A new star was to\nrise, \"such an one as ye never have beheld,\" said the prophet to the\nNephites, \"and this also shall be a sign unto you.\" [14] Third: Many\nsigns and wonders were to be seen in heaven, but the nature of which is\nnot stated by the prophet. [15].\n\nSigns of Messiah's death were predicted. First, on the day he suffered\ndeath, the sun would be darkened and refuse to give his light, and\nalso the moon and the stars; and darkness would cover the whole face\nof the Nephite lands, from the time that he suffered death until his\nresurrection from the dead. Second, at the time of his dying there\nwould be thundering and lightnings; earthquakes would rend the rocks,\nlay mountains low, and cast up valleys into mountains; the highways\nwould be broken up, and many cities be made desolate. Third, many\ngraves would be opened and yield up their dead, and many Saints would\nbe raised from the dead and appear unto the living, who had not been\ndestroyed in these judgments. These were the signs that were to give\nevidence to the people of the western world of the birth of the\npromised Christ, and of his death, and his resurrection; all of which\nthings, in due time, came to pass, even as they had been predicted.\nBut what is better still, after the Christ's resurrection from the\ndead, and after these terrible judgments had swept over the western\nland, destroying the more wicked part of the inhabitants, Jesus himself\nappeared unto the Nephite people, and this in fulfilment of his own\ndeclaration to his disciples at Jerusalem, when he said:\n\n    Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must\n    bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,\n    and one shepherd. [16]\n\nThe Christ's appearance to the Nephites was first made to a multitude\ngathered about the temple in what was called the land Bountiful. He\ndescended out of heaven and stood in their midst, announcing himself\nto be Jesus Christ, whom the prophets had testified would come into\nthe world. \"I am the light and the life of the world,\" said he, \"and I\nhave drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and\nhave glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in\nwhich I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the\nbeginning. And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words,\nthe whole multitude fell to the earth, for they remembered that it had\nbeen prophesied among them that Christ would show himself unto them\nafter his ascension into heaven.\" At the commandment of Jesus, the\nmultitude arose and came to him, and beheld the wounds in his side and\nin his hands. When they had all gone forth and witnessed for themselves\nthat he was indeed the Christ, they cried out with one accord,\n\"Hosanna, hosanna, blessed be the name of the most high God. And they\ndid fall down at the feet of Jesus and worshiped him.\"\n\nThus Jesus continued ministering among them for some time. Just how\nlong he remained or how many times he appeared to them cannot be\ndetermined from the Book of Mormon. Neither is that a matter of any\ngreat importance, but it is important that he chose twelve disciples\nand conferred upon them divine authority to administer the ordinances\nof the gospel. He proclaimed himself to be, as will be seen from\nwhat has been said, the Son of God. He also taught that his Father,\nHimself, and the Holy Ghost constituted one God-head; that men to be\nsaved must believe in God, repent of their sins, receive baptism for\nthe remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost in order to\nestablish complete fellowship and oneness between themselves and God\nand his Christ. The twelve were authorized to call to their assistance\nsubordinate officers and organize those who accepted the gospel into\nthe holy Church of Christ. In addition to these doctrinal instructions\nJesus delivered also the highly moral and spiritual precepts of the\ngospel, delivered them, as might be expected, much in the same form as\nthey are to be found in our New Testament scriptures. What is found in\nthe Book of Mormon of his teaching so nearly conforms to the doctrines\nand moral precepts of the New Testament, that it becomes a mighty\nwitness for the substantial correctness of what is recorded in the New\nTestament, so that the Book of Mormon is a witness of the truth not\nonly of the Old Testament but very largely also of the New.\n\nAmong other things of importance which Jesus declared to the Nephites\nwas the fact that it was his intention to visit \"the lost tribes\" of\nthe house of Israel, reveal himself to them, and proclaim the same\ngospel he had delivered to the Nephites, and spoke of the time when the\ntestimonies of the Nephites and the lost tribes of the house of Israel,\nwith the testimonies of those among whom he had labored in Judea,\nshould be brought together in one.\n\nJesus also administered to the sick, the maimed and the blind among the\nNephites, and showed forth the great power of God in his ministrations,\nfalling behind in nothing, in these respects, to the miraculous powers\nthat were displayed in his ministry in Judea; but on the contrary,\nin consequence of the greater faith of the Nephite people, and their\nrighteousness, the display of almighty power went beyond the marvelous\nworks wrought in Judea; for the greater part of the wicked among the\nNephites had been destroyed by the judgments of God which preceded\nMessiah's coming, leaving only the more righteous part of the people to\nmeet with him, at this his glorious advent among them; and hence they\nwere prepared to receive greater blessings at the hands of God than\nwere the people in Judea.\n\nThe Church of Christ, thus founded by the Messiah and the twelve\ndisciples he had chosen, reaped a rich harvest in the salvation of\nsouls in the western world. For nearly two centuries the truth of God\nwas almost universally accepted. A reign of righteousness was enjoyed.\nPeace, prosperity, fraternity and happiness prevailed, and God was\nworshiped in spirit and in truth:\n\n  \"But man is frail, and can but ill sustain\n  A long immunity from grief and pain;\n  And after all the Joys which Plenty leads,\n  With tip-toe step, Vice silently succeeds.\"\n\nAnd so it was in the experience of the Nephites. Wickedness reared\nits head among them; pride, born of self-love, took possession of\nthe souls of some, and inroads were made in the unity and peace of\nthe Church. These evils continued to spread until at last the spirit\nof apostasy was rampant, in the western world, as in the eastern;\nmen departed from God and his ways until rebellion, disunion, and\nanarchy everywhere prevailed; civilization was overwhelmed; and people\ndescended to barbarism, and, at last, for the most part, to savagery.\nIn this condition they were discovered by the Europeans, near the close\nof the fifteenth century. But notwithstanding this decline from the\nreligion of Jesus Christ and a high state of civilization, what had\nbeen accomplished through the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ\nto the western world was of great importance. As already stared, the\nharvest of souls in the periods when righteousness prevailed, was very\ngreat; and the records which had been written by prophets and holy men,\nand preserved with great care by the commandment of God, were destined\nto be of immense importance in future ages. They would proclaim with\ntrumpet tongue the justice and the mercy of God; they would demonstrate\nthat the Lord has in mind the salvation of all races and nations of\nmen; they would stand forth as the most important witness for the\nauthenticity and general truth of the Jewish scriptures, both of the\nOld and the New testaments; they would be the voice of sleeping nations\ntestifying that Moses did write the Pentateuch; they would bear witness\nthat Isaiah is the author of the prophecies ascribed to him; that\nJesus is the Christ, \"the very eternal God,\" [17] that he suffered for\nthe sins of the sins of the world, therein glorifying the Father, and\naccomplishing the purposes of God with reference to the salvation of\nmen; they would bear witness that there is no name given under heaven\nwhereby men can be saved but the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of\nGod; and finally, those Nephite records, in the Book of Mormon, would\nestablish the great and supreme truths that God is a reality--that\nhe lives; that man is the child of God; that he is immortal, and\naccountable to God for his actions; that he may be saved through\nacceptance of and continued obedience to the gospel.\n\nA writer held much in esteem by the orthodox Christian world--and\ndeservedly so--in a noble work but recently issued from the press, said:\n\n    Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches\n    square, containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by\n    Jesus, this utterance would count more than all the books which\n    have been published since the first century. If a veritable picture\n    of the Lord could be unearthed from a catacomb, and the world could\n    see with its own eyes what like he was, it would not matter that\n    its colors were faded, and that it was roughly drawn, that picture\n    would have at once a solitary place amid the treasures of art. [18]\n\nIf this be true, and I think no one will question it, then how\nvaluable indeed must be this whole volume of scripture, the Book of\nMormon! Containing not fifty, but many hundred words spoken by Jesus!\nContaining also an account of the hand dealings of God with the people\ninhabiting the western hemisphere, from earliest times to the fourth\ncentury after Christ. Wherein also are found his revelations to those\npeoples; his messages by angels sent directly from his presence to\ndeclare his word to them; his instructions, admonitions, reproofs,\nand warnings to them through men inspired by his Holy Spirit; and\nlast of all, the account of Messiah's appearance and ministry among\nthe people, his very words repeated, and rightly divided for us (as\nwe shall see later), that we may the better understand what of his\nteaching is general, and what special; what universal and permanent,\nand what local and transcient. How insignificant all the discoveries in\nEgypt, in ancient Babylon, Palestine, and the Sinaitic Peninsula are\nin comparison with this New Witness of the western world? How paltry,\nvaluable though they are in themselves, seem the Rosetta stone, the\nMoabite stone, and the library of brick tablets from old Nineveh, in\ncomparison with this Nephite record--this volume of scripture! How\nfeeble the voice of the testimony of those monuments of the east to the\nauthenticity and credibility of the Bible and the truth of the gospel,\nin comparison with the testimony found in the Book of Mormon--the\nvoice of departed nations and empires of people speaking through their\nrecords for the truth of God--for the verity of the gospel of Jesus\nChrist--a voice sufficient to overwhelm unbelief and forever make sure\nthe foundations of faith! It was mainly for this purpose that the\nNephite records were written, preserved, and finally brought forth to\nthe world, as we shall see in the following chapter.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Acts 17:26-28.\n\n2. I Nephi 19:22-24.\n\n3. II Nephi, chapters 6, 7, 8. Mosiah 14. III Nephi 22.\n\n4. II Nephi, chapters 12-24 inclusive.\n\n5. I Nephi, chapter 4:2.\n\n6. I Nephi 17:23-42.\n\n7. II Nephi 3.\n\n8. Helaman 8.\n\n9. I Nephi 22:20, 21.\n\n10. Mosiah 12, 13.\n\n11. See reflections on the course of the Lord with reference to giving\nrevelations to all nations and races of men, chapter 41, this work.\n\n12. The Nephites were the followers of the first Nephi, the righteous\nson of Lehi, who led the colony from Jerusalem six hundred years B. C.;\nand the Lamanites were the followers of Laman, the oldest and wicked\nson of the same Lehi.\n\n13. Helaman, chapter 14.\n\n14. Helaman, chapter 14.\n\n15. This was Samuel, a prophet whom God raised up from among the\nLamanites. The above prophecies were uttered about five or six years B.\nC.\n\n16. John 10:16. For a somewhat extended discussion of this prophecy and\nits fulfilment see Part III this work, chapter 35.\n\n17. See preface in title page of the Book of Mormon.\n\n18. _Life of the Master_, Prologue, Rev. John Watson, (Ian Maclaren).\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE BOOK OF MORMON WAS WRITTEN.\n\nThe several purposes for which the Book of Mormon was written are to be\nlearned from the writers of the book itself, and from the revelations\nof God to Joseph Smith.\n\nFirst I introduce the statement of Moroni, into whose hands Mormon's\nabridgment of the larger records of the Nephites, called the _Book of\nMormon_, was given. On the last plate of the collection given to Moroni\nby his father, on the left hand side of the collection, the language\nof the whole book running as in the Hebrew, from right to left, Moroni\nengraved the following explanatory title to the record he sealed up,\nand therein also stated the reasons why the record was written. This\nJoseph Smith translated and made the title page of his translation of\nthe Book of Mormon:\n\n    THE BOOK OF MORMON\n\n    An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken From\n    the Plates of Nephi.\n\n    Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of\n    Nephi, and also of the Lamanites--Written to the Lamanites\n    who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and\n    Gentile--Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of\n    prophecy and of revelation--Written and sealed up, and hid up unto\n    the Lord, that they might not be destroyed--To come forth by the\n    gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof--Sealed by\n    the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due\n    time by way of Gentile--The interpretation thereof by the gift of\n    God.\n\n    An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record\n    of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord\n    confounded the language of the people, when they were building a\n    tower to get to heaven--which is to show unto the remnant of the\n    house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their\n    fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that\n    they are not cast off forever--and also to the convincing of\n    the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God,\n    manifesting, himself unto all nations--And now if there are faults\n    they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of\n    God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.\n\nIn the above, three reasons are given why the Book of Mormon was\nwritten and preserved to come forth among men in the last days:\n\nFirst, to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great\nthings the Lord has done for their fathers.\n\nSecond, to teach them the covenants of the Lord made with their\nfathers, that the remnants may know that they are not cast off forever.\n\nThird, that this record may convince both Jew and gentile that Jesus\nis the Christ, the Eternal God, and that he manifests himself to all\nnations.\n\nIn a revelation given to Joseph Smith in July, 1828, on the occasion of\nthe Urim and Thummim being restored to him after it had been taken from\nhim in consequence of allowing Martin Harris to have a portion of the\nmanuscript of the Book of Mormon, contrary to the will of God, the Lord\nsaid to him:\n\n    My work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior\n    has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even\n    so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people--and to the\n    Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites,\n    through the testimony of their fathers--And this testimony shall\n    come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and\n    Ishmaelites who dwindled in unbelief because of the iniquity of\n    their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy their brethren\n    the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their abominations.\n    And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain\n    these records--that the promise of the Lord might be fulfilled,\n    which he made to his people; and that the Lamanites might come\n    to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the\n    promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely\n    upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in\n    his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. [1]\n\nIn this passage we have substantially the same reasons given why the\nBook of Mormon was written, though not stated in the same order, but as\nfollows:\n\nFirst, that a knowledge of a Savior might come unto the remnants of the\nhouse of Israel in the western hemisphere, who are called Nephites,\nJacobites, Josephites, Lamanites, etc.\n\nSecond, that the Lamanites might come to a knowledge of their fathers.\n\nThird, that the Lamanites might know the promises of the Lord, both to\ntheir fathers and to themselves.\n\nMormon also left upon record his testimony as to why the book which\nbears his name was written, and why it would be preserved and come\nforth in the last days. In his own book, by which I mean that book in\nwhich he wrote the things which he saw in his own day, Mormon says:\n\n    Now these things are written unto the remnant of the house of\n    Jacob; * * * and behold, they shall come forth according to the\n    commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom. And\n    behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for\n    this intent shall they go--that they may be persuaded that Jesus is\n    the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring\n    about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose,\n    in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of\n    their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto\n    the fulfilling of his covenant; and also that the seed of this\n    people [2] may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth\n    unto them from the Gentiles. [3]\n\nAgain, this same writer, Mormon, addressing himself to the remnants of\nthe Lamanites to whom, in the future, his record would come, says:\n\n    \"Know ye that ye must come to a knowledge of your fathers, and\n    repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus\n    Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by\n    the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again,\n    whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in\n    him is the sting of death swallowed up. And he bringeth to pass\n    the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to\n    stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the\n    redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before\n    him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the\n    presence of God in his Kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the\n    choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy\n    Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no\n    end. Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and\n    lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you,\n    not only in this record but also in the record which shall come\n    unto the Gentiles from the Jews, [4] which record shall come from\n    the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this [5] is written for the\n    intent that ye may believe that; [6] and if ye believe that ye will\n    believe this also; and if ye believe this, ye will know concerning\n    your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by\n    the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a\n    remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the\n    people of the first covenant.\" (Mormon 7:5-10.)\n\nThis passage is important because that in addition to assigning\nsubstantially the same reasons for the writing and coming forth of the\nBook of Mormon, as those before enumerated, it brings out the fact that\nthe Book of Mormon was written also to be a witness for the Bible,\nto prove it true, for the language in the above passage makes plain\nreference to the Bible, the \"record\" which comes from the Jews to the\nGentiles, and from the Gentiles to the remnant of the Lamanites to whom\nMormon makes reference.\n\nThis is also the testimony of the first Nephi. In vision he saw the\nadvent of the Gentile races upon the western hemisphere. He saw their\nvictories over the remnant of the seed of his brethren, the Lamanites.\nHe then proceeds:\n\n    And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles,\n    and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and\n    I beheld that they were white, and exceeding fair and beautiful,\n    like unto my people before they were slain. And it came to pass\n    that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of\n    captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of\n    the Lord was with them. And I beheld that their mother Gentiles\n    were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to\n    battle against them. And I beheld that the power of God was with\n    them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were\n    gathered together against them to battle. And I, Nephi, beheld that\n    the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the\n    power of God out of the hands of all other nations. And it came to\n    pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I\n    beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them. And the angel\n    said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book? And I said unto\n    him: I know not. And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth\n    of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book\n    that thou beholdest, is a record of the Jews, which contains the\n    covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel\n    and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets;\n    and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the\n    plates of brass, [7] save there are not so many; nevertheless,\n    they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto\n    the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the\n    Gentiles.\n\n    And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the\n    book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded\n    forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the plainness of the\n    gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and\n    they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of\n    God. Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto\n    the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God. And after\n    they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from\n    the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the foundation of a great\n    and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other\n    churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the\n    Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many\n    covenants of the Lord have they taken away. And all this have they\n    done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that\n    they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children\n    of men. Wherefore, thou seest that after the book had gone forth\n    through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there\n    are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which\n    is the book of the Lamb of God. And after these plain and precious\n    things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the\n    Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the\n    Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen\n    with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou\n    seest--because of the many plain and precious things which have\n    been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding\n    of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the\n    Lamb of God--because of these things which are taken away out of\n    the gospel of the Lamb, an exceeding great many do stumble, yea,\n    insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. * * * And it came\n    to pass that the angel of the Lord spoke unto me, saying: Behold,\n    saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the\n    house of Israel--and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of\n    thy father [8]mm after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten\n    them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble\n    exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the\n    gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable\n    church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb--I will be\n    merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring\n    forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall\n    be plain and precious saith the Lamb.\n\n    For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed,\n    [9] that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto\n    them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall\n    be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy\n    brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto\n    the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.\n\n    And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my\n    rock and my salvation. * * * And it came to pass that I beheld the\n    remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb\n    of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that\n    it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of\n    my brethren. And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other\n    books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles\n    unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of\n    the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon\n    all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and\n    of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true. And the angel spake\n    unto me, saying: These last records which thou hast seen among the\n    Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of\n    the twelve apostles of Lamb, and shall make known the plain and\n    precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall\n    make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of\n    God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world;\n    and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. And\n    they must come according to the words which shall be established\n    by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made\n    known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of\n    the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be\n    established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all\n    the earth. [10]\n\nThe reference here made to \"the book of the Lamb of God, which had\nproceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew,\" is beyond all question the\nBible; while the \"other books,\" which came forth by the power of the\nLamb, from the Gentiles unto the remnant of Lehi's descendants, and\nwhich records are to establish the truth of the first records, or the\nBible, is in plain allusion to the Book of Mormon and other scriptures\nto be brought forth by the power of God in the last days.\n\nFrom all this, then, it is very evident that the purposes for which\nthe Book of Mormon were written, counting in this summary both those\nreasons already enumerated and those stated in the passages last\nquoted, are:\n\nFirst, to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great\nthings the Lord has done for their fathers.\n\nSecond, to teach them the covenants of the Lord made with their\nfathers, that the remnants may know that they are not cast off forever.\n\nThird, to convince both Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the Christ, the\nEternal God, and that he manifests himself to all nations.\n\nFourth, to bring the knowledge of a Savior to the remnants of the house\nof Israel on the western hemisphere, through the testimony of the\nNephites and Lamanites as well as through the testimony of the Jews,\nthat they might more fully believe the gospel.\n\nFifth, to bring to the Jews the testimony of the Nephites that Jesus\nis the Christ, the Son of the living God; that they might have the\ntestimony of the Nephites as well as that of their fathers that Jesus\nis their Messiah.\n\nSixth, to be a witness for the truth of the Bible, to establish its\nauthenticity, and its credibility by bringing other witnesses than\nthose of the Eastern world to testify to the same great truths that are\ncontained in the sacred pages of the Bible.\n\nSeventh, to restore to the knowledge of mankind many plain and precious\ntruths concerning the gospel which men have taken out of the Jewish\nScriptures, or obscured by their interpretations; by the absence of\nwhich passages, or misleading interpretations, many have stumbled and\nfallen into unbelief. In a word, it is the mission of the Book of\nMormon to be a witness for Jesus, the Christ; for the truth of the\ngospel as the power of God unto salvation; for that purpose it was\nwritten, preserved from destruction, and has now come forth to the\nchildren of men through the goodness and mercy and power of God.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Doc. & Cov. 3: 16-20.\n\n2. Mormon here refers to the Lamanites, that is, that the seed of the\nLamanites, the present \"Indians\" of the western hemisphere, might more\nfully believe the gospel, etc.\n\n3. Book of Mormon 5:12-15.\n\n4. The Bible.\n\n5. The Book of Mormon.\n\n6. The Bible.\n\n7. The \"record\" upon the plates of brass is the record containing\nthe Jewish Scripture which the colony of Lehi brought with them from\nJerusalem, to which reference is here made.\n\n8. The descendants of Lehi.\n\n9. The Nephites.\n\n10. I Nephi 13.\n\n\n\nPART II.\n\nThe Discovery of the Book of Mormon and its Translation. The\nMigrations, Lands, Inter-Continental Movements, Civilizations,\nGovernments, and Religions of its Peoples.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nHOW JOSEPH SMITH OBTAINED THE BOOK OF MORMON\n\nThe Book of Mormon was published in the town of Palmyra, Wayne County,\nState of New York. It issued from the press of Mr. Egbert B. Grandin;\nand was published for Joseph Smith, the Prophet. The exact date on\nwhich the book issued from the press cannot be ascertained. Most\nlikely, however, it was some time in the month of March or of April,\n1830; for in the Prophet's history we have him saying that, \"During\nthis month of April, I went on a visit to the residence of Mr. Joseph\nKnight, of Colesville, Broome county, New York.\" This Mr. Knight had\nbeen acquainted with the Smith family for some time. He had visited\nthem at their home near Manchester, New York, on several occasions; [1]\nand during the period occupied in translating the Book of Mormon, had\nrendered some material assistance to the Prophet by supplying him and\nOliver Cowdery with provisions. [2] Soon after this visit the Prophet\ninforms us that he returned to Fayette, Seneca county,--evidently in\nthe same month of April--and then adds:\n\n\"The Book of Mormon * * * had now been published for some time, and\nas the ancient prophets predicted of it, 'it was accounted a strange\nthing.'\" [3] In the _Evening and Morning Star_ for April, 1833,\npublished at Independence, Missouri--the first periodical published by\nthe Church--occurs the following: \"Soon after the Book of Mormon came\nforth, containing the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Church\nwas organized, on the 6th of April, 1830.\" [4] This fixes approximately\nthe date for the publication of the book. It issued from the press\neither very early in April or in the month of March, 1830; most likely\nsome time in March. The first edition was five thousand copies.\n\nNaturally enough the book was \"accounted a strange thing.\" Joseph\nSmith, for whom it was published, was an unlettered young man, who\nfrom the time he was ten years of age until the Book of Mormon was\npublished--when he was twenty-four--had lived in the vicinity of\nPalmyra and Manchester townships. His father having met with a series\nof misfortunes in business ventures and land purchases, the family was\nin straitened circumstances through all these years, and Joseph had\nbeen under the necessity of working among the farmers in and around\nManchester to aid his parents in the support of their large family.\nAbout the last thing to be expected of a young man reared under such\ncircumstances would be that he become the publisher of a book. The\nfact that he had published one was of itself sufficient cause for\nastonishment; but it was not the fact that an unlettered youth, who\nhad spent his life in toil among them, had published a book that was\nregarded as so strange a thing by the people. It was the account he\ngave of the book's origin, and the nature of the book itself that\nconstituted it such a \"marvel and a wonder.\" Joseph Smith disclaimed\nbeing its author [5] in any other sense than that he was the translator\nof it by miraculous means. The original Book of Mormon, the translation\nof which he had published, was written, or rather engraven, upon gold\nplates, according to his representations; which plates had come into\nhis possession in the following manner:\n\nEarly in the spring of 1820 Joseph Smith received a revelation from God\nin which the apostate condition of Christendom was made known to him,\ncoupled with a promise that at some future time the gospel of Jesus\nChrist would be restored to the earth; and that he, if faithful, would\nbe an instrument in the hands of God in accomplishing some of his great\npurposes in the last days. [6]\n\nAfter this first revelation, Joseph Smith was left for three years\nwithout any further direct manifestation from God. At the expiration\nof that time, however, being oppressed with a sense of loneliness and\nlonging for further communication with the heavens, and burdened with\nan anxious desire to know of his standing before the Lord, on the\nevening of the 21st of September, 1823, after having retired for the\nnight, he betook himself to prayer that he might receive once more a\nmanifestation from God. The rest of the narrative is best told in his\nown words:\n\n    While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a\n    light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the\n    room was lighter than at noon day, when immediately a personage\n    appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did\n    not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite\n    whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever\n    seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to\n    appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked\n    and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his\n    feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His neck\n    and head were also bare. I could discover that he had no other\n    clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see\n    into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his\n    whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance\n    truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so\n    very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked\n    upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me. He called me\n    by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the\n    presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had\n    a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and\n    evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should\n    be both good and evil spoken of among all people. He said there\n    was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account\n    of the former inhabitants of this continent, [7] and the source\n    from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the\n    everlasting gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior\n    to the ancient inhabitants [of America]; also that there were two\n    stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a breastplate,\n    constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim--deposited with\n    the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what\n    constituted seers in ancient or former times; and that God had\n    prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.\n\n    After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies\n    of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter\n    of Malachi, [8] and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of\n    the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it\n    reads in our Bible [the English authorized version of the Jewish\n    Scriptures]. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our\n    books he quoted it thus: \"For behold, the day cometh that shall\n    burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly\n    shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them saith the\n    Lord of hosts; that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.\"\n    And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: \"Behold, I will reveal\n    unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah, the prophet,\n    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.\" He\n    also quoted the next verse differently: \"And he shall plant in the\n    hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the\n    hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not\n    so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.\"\n\n    In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,\n    saying that it was about to be fulfilled.\n\n    He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and\n    twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament.\n    [9] He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet\n    come when \"they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from\n    among the people,\" but soon would come.\n\n    He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth\n    verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled,\n    but was soon to be. And he further stated, the fulness of the\n    Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of\n    scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned\n    here. Again, he told me, that when I got the plates of which he\n    had spoken--for the time that they should be obtained was not\n    yet fulfilled--I should not show them to any person; neither the\n    breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I\n    should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed.\n    While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was\n    opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were\n    deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place\n    again when I visited it.\n\n    After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to\n    gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking\n    to me, and it continued to do so, until the room was again left\n    dark, except just around him, when instantly I saw, as it were,\n    a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended until he\n    entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before\n    this heavenly light had made its appearance.\n\n    I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling\n    greatly at what had been told me by this extraordinary messenger;\n    when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that\n    my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as\n    it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside. He\n    commenced, and again related the very same things which he had\n    done at his first visit, without the least variation; which having\n    done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the\n    earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence;\n    and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this\n    generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he\n    had done before.\n\n    By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that\n    sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment\n    at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when\n    again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him\n    rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and\n    added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt\n    me, (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father's\n    family) to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This\n    he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in\n    getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced\n    by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I\n    could not get them. After this third visit, he again ascended into\n    heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness\n    of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after\n    the heavenly messenger had ascended from me the third time, the\n    cock crowed, and I found that day was approaching, so that our\n    interviews must have occupied the whole of that night.\n\n    I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the\n    necessary labors of the day; but in attempting to work as at other\n    times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely\n    unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered\n    something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started\n    with the intention of going to the house; but in attempting to\n    cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength\n    entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a\n    time was quite unconscious of anything. The first thing that I\n    can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name:\n    I looked up and beheld the same messenger standing over my head,\n    surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all\n    that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to\n    go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I\n    had received.\n\n    I obeyed; I returned to my father in the field, and rehearsed\n    the whole matter to him. He replied to me that it was of God, and\n    told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. [10] I left\n    the field and went to the place where the messenger had told me\n    the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the\n    vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant\n    that I arrived there. Convenient to the village of Manchester,\n    Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and\n    the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of\n    this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size\n    lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and\n    rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the\n    edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground,\n    but the edge all round was covered with earth. Having removed the\n    earth I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the\n    stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and\n    there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the\n    breastplate as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay\n    was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the\n    bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on\n    these stones lay the plates and the other things with them. I made\n    an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger,\n    and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had\n    not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time;\n    but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one\n    year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that\n    I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining\n    the plates. [11]\n\n    Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each\n    year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and\n    received instruction and intelligence from him at each of our\n    interviews, respecting what the Lord was going to do, and how and\n    in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days. *\n    * * At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim\n    and Thummim and the breast-plate. On the 22nd day of September,\n    1827, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place\n    where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered\n    them up to me with this charge; that I should be responsible for\n    them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any\n    neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all\n    my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call\n    for them, they would be protected. [12]\n\n    I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict\n    charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had\n    said that when I had done what was required at my hands, he would\n    call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than\n    the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me; every\n    stratagem that could be invented, was resorted to for that purpose.\n    The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and\n    multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if\n    possible. But by the wisdom of God they remained safe in my hands,\n    until I accomplished by them what was required at my hands; when,\n    according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, [and] I\n    delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this\n    day, being the 2nd of May, 1838. [13]\n\nSuch in Joseph Smith's account of the origin of the Book of Mormon.\nThis is the account of its origin accepted by those who believe it to\nbe a divine record, a volume of scripture, containing the word of God,\nand a history--though a brief one--of the hand-dealings of God with the\npeople of the western hemisphere. This is the account of its origin to\nbe maintained by those who speak or write in the defense of the Book of\nMormon. This the account to be maintained as true in these pages.\n\nIt will readily be observed that the history given by Joseph Smith\nconcerning his finding the Nephite record is very concise; that details\nare omitted. This is especially noticeable in regard to the efforts\nof his enemies to get the plates from him; he merely makes general\nreference to that subject; as also in the matter as to what passed\nbetween himself and the angel Moroni at the annual meetings between\n1823 and 1827. Of these visits, so interesting and instructive to\nJoseph Smith, he only says:\n\n    \"I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same\n    messenger there, and received instructions and intelligence from\n    him at each of our interviews, respecting what the Lord was going\n    to do, and how and in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted\n    in the last days.\"\n\nDoubtless, however, the instructions then received but only so casually\nmentioned by the prophet, bore fruit in the progress of the work, in\nthe things which the prophet said and did. The fact that much more\nhappened than is stated in the narrative here quoted is evident; and\nnot only is it evident from what the prophet himself says, but from\nwhat has been written by others who were associated with him in the\nwork, and who must have received their information from the Prophet\nJoseph himself. Among these is Oliver Cowdery, who was the second\nElder of the Church, and the first to give to the world any account in\ndetail of these early events connected with the coming forth of the\ngreat work of God. This he did in 1834-5, in a series of nine letters\nto the _Saints Messenger and Advocate_, published at Kirtland, Ohio,\nunder the caption, \"Early Scenes and Incidents in the Church.\" And as\nthese letters were published in the lifetime of the prophet, with his\nsanction and in a periodical published by the Church, it cannot be\ndoubted that the statements contained in them are reliable. In these\nletters Oliver Cowdery gives an account of the young Prophet's first\nvisit to Cumorah that is much more circumstantial than the description\nof that event by the Prophet, and which Oliver Cowdery could only have\nlearned from Joseph himself. It will be remembered that in the account\nalready quoted from the personal history of the Prophet Joseph that he\nsaid the angel Moroni had warned him that Satan would tempt him, on\naccount of his father's indigent circumstances, to obtain the plates\nfor the purpose of getting rich; but this he must not do, nor have\nany other object in view than that of glorifying God; and he must be\ninfluenced by no other consideration than that of building up God's\nkingdom. Otherwise, he could not get possession of the plates. And now\nCowdery's account of the young Prophet's first visit to Cumorah. After\nquoting the instructions of the angel, directing Joseph to go to the\nhill Cumorah, Cowdery says:\n\n    Accordingly he repaired to the place which had thus been described.\n    But it is necessary to give you more fully the express instructions\n    of the angel with regard to the object of this work in which our\n    brother [meaning, of course, Joseph Smith] had now engaged. He was\n    to remember that it was the work of the Lord, to fulfill certain\n    promises previously made to a branch of the house of Israel of the\n    tribe of Joseph, and when it was brought forth it must be done\n    expressly with an eye, as I have said before, single to the glory\n    of God, and the welfare and restoration of the house of Israel. You\n    will understand, then, that no motive of a pecuniary or earthly\n    nature, was to be suffered to take the lead in the heart of the man\n    thus favored. The allurements of vice, the contaminating influences\n    of wealth, without the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, must\n    have no place in his heart nor be suffered to take from it that\n    warm desire for the glory and kingdom of the Lord, or, instead of\n    obtaining, disappointment and reproof would most assuredly follow.\n    Such was the instruction and the caution. Alternately, as we would\n    naturally expect, the thought of the previous vision was ruminating\n    in his mind, with a reflection of the brightness and glory of the\n    heavenly messenger; but again a thought would start across the mind\n    on the prospects of obtaining so desirable a treasure--one in all\n    human probability sufficient to raise him above the level of the\n    common earthly fortunes of his fellow men, and relieve his family\n    from want, in which by misfortune and sickness they were placed.\n    * * * Here was a struggle indeed; for when he calmly reflected\n    upon his errand, he knew that if God did not give, he could not\n    obtain; and again, with the thought or hope of obtaining, his\n    mind would be carried back to its former reflections of poverty,\n    abuse, wealth, grandeur and ease, until before arriving at the\n    place described, this wholly occupied his desire; and when he\n    thought upon the fact of what was previously shown him, it was\n    only with an assurance that he should obtain, and accomplish his\n    desire in relieving himself and friends from want. * * * You will\n    have wondered, perhaps, that the mind of our brother should be so\n    occupied with the thoughts of the goods of this world, at the time\n    of arriving at Cumorah, on the morning of the 22nd of September,\n    1823, after having been wrapt in the visions of heaven, during the\n    night, and also seeing and hearing in open day; but the mind of man\n    is easily turned if it is not held by the power of God through the\n    prayer of faith, and you will remember that I have said that two\n    invisible powers were operating upon his mind during his walk from\n    his residence to Cumorah, and that the one urging the certainty of\n    wealth and ease in this life, had so powerfully wrought upon him\n    that the great object so carefully and impressively named by the\n    angel, had entirely gone from his recollection that only a fixed\n    determination to obtain now urged him forward. In this, which\n    occasioned a failure to obtain, at that time, the record, do not\n    understand me to attach blame to our brother; he was young, and\n    his mind easily turned from correct principles, unless he could be\n    favored with a certain round of experience. And yet, while young,\n    untraditioned and untaught in the systems of the world, he was in a\n    situation to be led into the great work of God, and be qualified to\n    perform it in due time.\n\n    After arriving at the repository, a little exertion in removing\n    the soil from the edges of the top of the box, and a light pry,\n    brought to his natural vision its contents. No sooner did he behold\n    this sacred treasure than his hopes were renewed, and he supposed\n    his success certain and, without first attempting to take it from\n    its place of long deposit, he thought, perhaps, there might be\n    something more, equally as valuable, and to take only the plates\n    might give others an opportunity of obtaining the remainder, which\n    could he secure, would still add to his store of wealth. These, in\n    short, were his reflections, without once thinking of the solemn\n    instruction of the heavenly messenger, and that all must be done\n    with an express view of glorifying God.\n\n    On attempting to take possession of the record a shock was produced\n    upon his system, by an invisible power, which deprived him, in a\n    measure, of his natural strength. He desisted, for an instant,\n    and then made another attempt, but was more sensibly shocked than\n    before. What was the occasion of this he knew not--there was the\n    pure unsullied record, as has been described--he had heard of the\n    powers of enchantment, and a thousand like stories, which held\n    the hidden treasures of the earth, and supposed that physical\n    exertion and personal strength was only necessary to enable him\n    to yet obtain the object of his wish. He therefore made the third\n    attempt with an increased exertion, when his strength failed him\n    more than at either of the former times, and without premeditating\n    he exclaimed, \"Why can I not obtain this book?\" \"Because you\n    have not kept the commandments of the Lord,\" answered a voice,\n    within a seeming short distance. He looked and to his astonishment\n    there stood the angel who had previously given him the directions\n    concerning this matter. In an instant, all the former instructions,\n    the great intelligence concerning Israel and the last days were\n    brought to his mind; he thought of the time when his heart was\n    fervently engaged in prayer to the Lord, when his spirit was\n    contrite, and when this holy messenger from the skies unfolded\n    the wonderful things connected with this record. He had come to\n    be sure, and found the word of the angel fulfilled concerning the\n    reality of the records, but he had failed to remember the great end\n    for which they had been kept, and in consequence could not have\n    power to take them into his possession and bear them away.\n\n    At that instant he looked to the Lord in prayer, and as he prayed,\n    darkness began to disperse from his mind and his soul was lit up as\n    it was the evening before, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit;\n    and again did the Lord manifest his condescension and mercy; the\n    heavens were opened and the glory of the Lord shone around about\n    and rested upon him. While thus he stood gazing and admiring, the\n    angel said, \"Look!\" and as he thus spake he beheld the prince of\n    darkness, surrounded by his innumerable train of associates. All\n    this passed before him, and the heavenly messenger said, \"All this\n    is shown, the good and the evil, the holy and impure, the glory\n    of God and the power of darkness, that you may know hereafter the\n    two powers and never be influenced or overcome by that wicked\n    one. Behold, whatever entices and leads to good and to do good,\n    is of God, and whatever does not is of that wicked one: it is he\n    that fills the hearts of men with evil, to walk in darkness and\n    blaspheme God; and you may learn from henceforth, that his ways\n    are to destruction, but the way of holiness is peace and rest. You\n    now see why you could not obtain this record; that the commandment\n    was strict, and that if ever these sacred things are obtained they\n    must be by prayer and faithfulness in obeying the Lord. They are\n    not deposited here for the sake of accumulating gain and wealth\n    for the glory of this world: they were sealed by the prayer of\n    faith, and because of the knowledge which they contain they are of\n    no worth among the children of men, only for their knowledge. On\n    them is contained the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it\n    was given to his people on this land, and when it shall be brought\n    forth by the power of God it shall be carried to the Gentiles, of\n    whom many will receive it, and after will the seed of Israel be\n    brought into the fold of their Redeemer by obeying it also. Those\n    who kept the commandments of the Lord on this land, through the\n    prayer of faith obtained the promise, that if their descendants\n    should transgress and fall away, a record should be kept and in\n    the last days come to their children. These things are sacred,\n    and must be kept so, for the promise of the Lord concerning them\n    must be fulfilled. No man can obtain them if his heart is impure,\n    because they contain that which is sacred; and besides, should they\n    be entrusted in unholy hands the knowledge could not come to the\n    world, because they cannot be interpreted by the learning of this\n    generation: consequently they would be considered of no worth,\n    only as precious metal. Therefore, remember, that they are to be\n    translated by the gift and power of God. By them will the Lord work\n    a great and a marvelous work: the wisdom of the wise shall become\n    as naught, and the understanding of the prudent shall be hid, and\n    because the power of God shall be displayed those who profess to\n    know the truth but walk in deceit, shall tremble with anger; but\n    with signs and with wonders, with gifts and with healings, with\n    the manifestations of the power of God, and with the Holy Ghost,\n    shall the hearts of the faithful be comforted. You have now beheld\n    the power of God manifested and the power of satan: you see that\n    there is nothing that is desirable in works of darkness; that they\n    cannot bring happiness: that those who are overcome therewith are\n    miserable, while on the other hand the righteous are blessed with a\n    peace in the kingdom of God where joy unspeakable surrounds them.\n    There they rest beyond the power of the enemy of truth, where no\n    evil can disturb them. The glory of God crowns them, and they\n    continually feast upon his goodness and enjoy his smiles. Behold,\n    notwithstanding you have seen this great display of power, by which\n    you may ever be able to detect the evil one, yet I give unto you\n    another sign, and when it comes to pass then know that the Lord is\n    God and that he will fulfill his purposes, and that the knowledge\n    which this record contains will go to every nation, and kindred,\n    and tongue, and people under the whole heaven. This is the sign:\n    When these things begin to be known, that is, when it is known\n    that the Lord has shown you these things, the workers of iniquity\n    will seek your overthrow; they will circulate falsehoods to\n    destroy your reputation, and also will seek to take your life; but\n    remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter continue\n    to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved to\n    bring these things forth; for in due time he will again give you a\n    commandment to come and take them. When they are interpreted the\n    Lord will give the Holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin\n    to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after they shall\n    have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands.\n    Then will persecution rage more and more; for the iniquities of\n    men shall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the rock\n    will seek to overthrow this Church; but it will increase the more\n    opposed, and spread farther and farther, increasing in knowledge\n    till the Saints shall be sanctified and receive an inheritance\n    where the glory of God shall rest upon them; and when this takes\n    place, and all things are prepared, the Ten Tribes of Israel will\n    be revealed in the north country, whither they have been for a\n    long season; and when this is fulfilled will be brought to pass\n    that saying of the prophet--\"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,\n    and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the\n    Lord.\" But, notwithstanding the workers of iniquity shall seek your\n    destruction, the arm of the Lord will be extended and you will be\n    borne off conqueror, if you keep all his commandments. Your name\n    shall be known among the nations, for the work which the Lord will\n    perform by your hands shall cause the righteous to rejoice and the\n    wicked to rage; with one it shall be had in honor, and the other\n    in reproach; yet, with these it shall be a terror because of the\n    great and marvelous work which shall follow the coming forth of\n    this fulness of the gospel. Now, go thy way, remember what the Lord\n    has done for thee, and be diligent in keeping his commandments, and\n    he will deliver thee from temptations, and all the arts and devices\n    of the wicked one. Forget not to pray, that thy mind may become\n    strong, that when he shall manifest unto thee, thou mayest have\n    power to escape the evil, and obtain these precious things. [14]\n\nSuch the events which took place on the occasion of the Prophet's\nfirst visit to Cumorah. It is unfortunate that we do not have a more\ncircumstantial account of the subsequent annual interviews from 1823\nto 1827; and likewise a more detailed account of the Prophet's early\nmovements connected with his obtaining the plates, and caring for them.\n\nThe place where the Nephite record was deposited must ever be of\ninterest to those who believe that record to be true, and therefore a\ndescription of the hill Cumorah will not be out of place in concluding\nthis chapter. Joseph Smith's brief description of it has already been\ngiven. [15]\n\nThe writer visited the hill Cumorah on the 22nd of February, 1897,\nand the same day wrote out the following description of it: The hill\nCumorah is on the road between Manchester and the town of Palmyra,\nin Wayne county, New York, about four miles directly south of the\nlatter place. Approaching it from the north, you are confronted by\nthe bold face of the hill, which rises quite abruptly from the common\nlevel of the surrounding country; and as the east and west slopes of\nthe hill, as viewed from the north, are about equal and regular, it\nlooks from a distance as if it might be a huge conical-shaped mound.\nAscending its steep north side to the summit dispels the illusion, for\none finds that he has but climbed the abrupt north end of a ridge of\nhill having its greatest extent from north to south, and which from its\nvery narrow summit broadens and slopes gently to the southward until\nit sinks to the level of the common country. The east side of the hill\nis now ploughed, but the west side is untouched by the husbandman; and\nabout two or three hundred yards from the north end there is on the\nwest side a small grove of young trees, with here and there a decaying\nstump of a large tree to bear witness that the hill was once covered\nwith a heavy growth of timber. In fact it was so covered by timber when\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith first visited the place in 1823, as indeed\nmuch of the surrounding country was at that time.\n\nUnquestionably Cumorah is the most distinct land mark in all that\nsection of country, the highest hill, and the most commanding in what\nI should describe as an extensive plain sloping northward filled with\nnumerous irregular hills, but which in the main have their greatest\nextent, like Cumorah, from north to south; and which, also like\nCumorah, are generally highest at the north end. I observed this to be\nthe case all the way from Syracuse to Palmyra. It is worthy of note,\ntoo, that the lakes of central and western New York, also have their\ngreatest extent from north to south. Indeed, for the most part, they\nare but long strips of water left in their narrow beds when the great\nbody of water, which in ages long gone by once covered this whole\nregion, receded northward and gave the same general form both to the\nlakes and to the hills on this northern slope of the water shed which\nruns from east to west through New York, north Pennsylvania, Ohio and\nIndiana; and which separates the basin of the great lakes and the\nvalley of the St. Lawrence from the valley of the Ohio and Mississippi.\n\nWest of Cumorah the country is more open than on the south or east. The\nhills common to the country are fewer and the plain more expansive.\nThough the country south and east is broken, and the numerous hills\nhigher than on the west, yet such is the commanding height of Cumorah\nthat the view is unobstructed for many miles. Northward some miles the\nhills are most thickly clustered; between them and Cumorah is located\nthe town of Palmyra, and beyond that, at the foot of the thickly\nclustered hills referred to, runs what is now called Canagrie creek,\nreally one of the tributaries of the Clyde river, into which it empties\nat no great distance.\n\nSuch is the hill \"Cumorah\" and its surroundings; the hill \"Ramah\" of\nthe Jaredites; \"Mormon Hill,\" or \"Mormon Bible Hill,\" as it is called\nby the people about Palmyra. \"On the west side of this hill, not far\nfrom the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates of the\nBook of Mormon, deposited in a stone box.\" [16]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chapters 21, 23.\n\n2. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 47.\n\n3. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 84.\n\n4. _Evening and Morning Star_ for April, 1833, p. 167.\n\n5. The fact that on the title page of the first edition, Joseph Smith\nis called the \"Author and Proprietor,\" is considered in Part IV of this\nwork.\n\n6. See _New Witnesses for God_, vol. I, chapters 10 and 11, for a full\naccount of this revelation. See also Wentworth letter, _History of the\nChurch_, vol. IV, ch. 31.\n\n7. America.\n\n8. This undoubtedly would be the first part of the third chapter of\nMalachi, as that part of the chapter has undoubtedly a direct bearing\non the coming forth of God's work in the last days. It reads as\nfollows: \"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the\nway before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his\ntemple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold,\nhe shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of\nhis coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth. For he is like a\nrefiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and he shall sit as a refiner\nand purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge\nthem as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering\nin righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be\npleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years.\"\n\n9. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your\nGod raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye\nhear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come\nto pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be\ndestroyed from among the people.--Acts 3: 22, 23.\n\n10. Relative to the circumstances of the young Prophet's vision on\nthe 22nd of September, when he was on his way from the field to his\nfather's house, before his first visit to Cumorah, his mother in her\n_History of the Prophet Joseph_ gives the following interesting details\nwhich the prophet does not record. It would seem, according to Lucy\nSmith's statement, that during the interviews with the angel Moroni the\nnight before--September 21, 1823--the young Prophet had been instructed\nto inform his father of what he had seen and heard; but this Joseph\nfailed to do. \"The next day,\" says Lucy Smith's account, \"my husband,\nAlvin, and Joseph, were reaping together in the field, and as they\nwere reaping Joseph stopped quite suddenly, and seemed to be in a deep\nstudy. Alvin [this was an elder brother--died a little more than a year\nlater], observing it, hurried him, saying, 'We must not slacken our\nhands, or we will not be able to complete our task.' Upon this Joseph\nwent to work again, and after laboring a short time, he stopped just as\nhe had done before. This being quite unusual and strange, it attracted\nthe attention of his father, upon which he discovered that Joseph was\nvery pale. My husband, supposing that he was sick, told him to go to\nthe house, and have his mother doctor him. He accordingly ceased his\nwork, and started; but on coming to a beautiful green, under an apple\ntree, he stopped and laid down, for he was so weak he could proceed no\nfurther. He was there but a short time, when the messenger whom he saw\nthe previous night, visited him again, and the first thing he said was,\n'Why did you not tell your father that which I commanded you to tell\nhim?\" Joseph replied, 'I was afraid my father would not believe me.'\nThe angel rejoined, 'He will believe every word you say to him.'\n\nJoseph then promised the angel that he would do as he had been\ncommanded. Upon this the messenger departed, and Joseph returned to the\nfield where he had left my husband and Alvin; but when he got there his\nfather had just gone to the house, as he was somewhat unwell. Joseph\nthen desired Alvin to go straightway and see his father, and inform\nhim that he had something of great importance to communicate to him,\nand that he wanted him to come out into the field where they were at\nwork. Alvin did as he was requested, and when my husband got there,\nJoseph related to him all that had passed between him and the angel the\nprevious night and that morning. Having heard this account, his father\ncharged him not to fail in attending strictly to the instructions which\nhe had received from this heavenly messenger.\" (_History of the Prophet\nJoseph_, by his mother, chap. 19.)\n\n11. Lucy Smith has a very interesting account in her _History of the\nProphet_ concerning his report of this interview at Cumorah with\nMoroni, she says:\n\n\"The ensuing evening, when the family were all together, Joseph made\nknown to them all that he had communicated to his father in the field,\nand also of his finding the record, as well as what passed between\nhim and the angel while he was at the place where the plates were\ndeposited. Sitting up late that evening in order to converse upon these\nthings, together with overexertion of mind, had much fatigued Joseph;\nand when Alvin observed it, he said, 'Now, brother, let us go to bed,\nand rise early in the morning in order to finish our day's work at an\nhour before sunset, then if mother will get our supper early, we will\nhave a fine long evening, and we will all sit down for the purpose\nof listening to you while you tell us the great things which God has\nrevealed to you.' Accordingly, by sunset the next day (Sept. 23rd), we\nwere all seated, and Joseph commenced telling us the great and glorious\nthings which God had manifested unto him; but before proceeding he\ncharged us not to mention out of the family that which he was about\nto say unto us, as the world was so wicked that when they came to a\nknowledge of these things they would try to take our lives; and that\nwhen he should obtain the plates, our names would be cast out as evil\nby all people. Hence the necessity of suppressing these things as much\nas possible, until the time should come for them to go forth to the\nworld. After giving us this charge, he proceeded to relate further\nparticulars concerning the work which he was appointed to do, and we\nreceived them joyfully, never mentioning them except among ourselves,\nagreeable to the instructions which we had received from him.\"\n(_History of the Prophet Joseph_, by his mother, chap. 19.)\n\n12. In relation to the matter of the Prophet Joseph obtaining the\nNephite record on the morning of the 22nd of September, 1827, his\nmother gives a number of interesting details in her _History of the\nProphet_. It appears that both Joseph Knight of Broome county, New\nYork, and also a Mr. Josiah Stoal were present at the Smith homestead\non the night of September the 21st, 1827. And now Lucy Smith:\n\n\"On the night of the 21st, I sat up very late as my work rather pressed\nupon my hands. I did not retire until 12 o'clock at night. About 12\no'clock, Joseph came to me, and asked me if I had a chest with a lock\nand key. I knew in an instant what he wanted it for, and not having\none, I was greatly alarmed, as I thought it might be a matter of\nconsiderable moment. But Joseph discovering my anxiety, said, 'Never\nmind, mother, I can do very well for the present without it--be\ncalm--all is right.' Shortly after this Joseph's wife passed through\nthe room with her bonnet and riding dress and in a few minutes they\nleft together taking Mr. Knight's horse and wagon. I spent the night in\nprayer and supplication to God, for the anxiety of my mind would not\npermit me to sleep. At the usual hour, I commenced preparing breakfast,\nmy heart fluttered at every footstep, as I now expected Joseph and\nEmma momentarily, and feared lest Joseph might meet with another\ndisappointment.\n\n\"When the male portion of the family were seated at breakfast table,\nMr. Smith inquired for Joseph, for he was not aware that he had left\nhome. I requested my husband not to call him, for I would like to\nhave him take breakfast with his wife that morning. 'No, no,' said my\nhusband, 'I must have Joseph eat with me.' 'Well now, Mr. Smith,' I\ncontinued, 'do let him eat with his wife this morning; he almost always\ntakes breakfast with you.' His father finally consented and ate without\nhim, and no further inquiries were made concerning his absence, but in\na few minutes Mr. Knight came in quite disturbed. 'Why, Mr. Smith,' he\nexclaimed, 'my horse is gone, and I can't find him on the premises, and\nI wish to start for home in half an hour.' 'Never mind the horse,' said\nI, 'Mr. Knight does not know all the nooks and corners in the pastures;\nI will call William, he will bring the horse immediately.'\n\n\"This satisfied him for the time being; but he soon made another\ndiscovery. His wagon also was gone. He then concluded that a rogue\nhad stolen them both. 'Mr. Knight,' said I, 'do be quiet; I would\nbe ashamed to have you go about waiting upon yourself--just go out\nand talk to Mr. Smith until William comes, and if you really must\ngo home your horse shall be brought and you shall be waited upon\nlike a gentleman.' He accordingly went out and while he was absent\nJoseph returned. I trembled so with fear, lest all might be lost in\nconsequence of some failure in keeping the commandments of God, that\nI was under the necessity of leaving the room in order to conceal my\nfeelings. Joseph saw this, and said, 'Do not be uneasy, mother, all is\nright, see here, I have got a key.' I knew not what he meant but took\nthe article of which he spoke into my hands, and examined it. He took\nit again and left me, but said nothing respecting the record. * * *\nThat of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing\nmore nor less than the Urim and Thummim.\" (_History of the Prophet\nJoseph_, by Lucy Smith, chap. 23.)\n\n13. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 11-19; also _Pearl of Great\nPrice_ (1902 edition) pp. 88-96.\n\n14. It will be observed by the reader that in the reported interview\nbetween Joseph Smith and Moroni, as given by Oliver Cowdery above,\nthere are a number of very remarkable predictions both concerning\nJoseph Smith and the work he is bringing forth, all of which are\nconsidered in vol. I of this work, chapter 20.\n\n15. P. 56.\n\n16. Joseph Smith, see _ante_.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE TRANSLATION OF THE RECORD.--MARTIN HARRIS AS AMANUENSIS.\n\nFollowing the account of how Joseph Smith obtained the Book of Mormon\nit should be known how he translated it, and what difficulties attended\nthat work. I would remind the reader, in passing, that I am to deal\nwith a remarkable narrative, one in which strange things occur, and one\nin which many who deny or doubt the power of God will be inclined to\nhave little faith. To such I would say, judge nothing hastily, dismiss\nnothing petulantly, patient investigation, and sometimes suspension of\njudgment in relation to matters difficult of belief are necessary to\nthe ascertainment of truth, and in such manner wise men, anxious to\nknow the truth, proceed.\n\nThe Prophet, in his narrative, quoted in the preceding chapter, tells\nus that he soon found out the reason why he had received such a strict\ninjunction to carefully guard the Nephite record and the Urim and\nThummim; and why it was that Moroni has said that after he (Joseph)\nhad done what was required at his hands, he (Moroni) would call for\nthem. \"For no sooner was it known,\" says Joseph, \"that I had them, [the\nNephite plates] than the most strenuous exertions were used to get\nthem from me; every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to\nfor that purpose; the persecution became more bitter and severe than\nbefore, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from\nme if possible.\" [1]\n\nRumor, with her thousand tongues, he informs us, was all the time\nemployed circulating tales about his father's family, and about\nhimself; and doubtless much of that misrepresentation which followed\nthe prophet and his father's family throughout his life had its origin\nabout this time.\n\nSo intolerable at last became the persecution about Manchester that\nJoseph decided to move with his wife to the home of her parents in\nHarmony, Susquehannah county, Pennsylvania. Susquehannah county is one\nof the northern counties of Pennsylvania, and joins Broome county, in\nthe state of New York; and Harmony is a distance of from one hundred\nto one hundred and fifty miles from Manchester, New York. The young\nProphet was in very straitened circumstances when he resolved upon\nremoving to Pennsylvania; but about that time a Mr. Martin Harris, a\nrespectable and well-to-do farmer of Palmyra, New York, called upon\nthe Smith family and gave Joseph fifty dollars to enable him to make\nthe proposed journey. A team and wagon was fitted out, and in company\nwith his wife the Prophet started for Pennsylvania. Enroute he was\ntwice stopped by officers of the law, who, under the power of a search\nwarrant, ransacked his wagon in search of the plates, but in each case\nthey were disappointed, as they did not find them, though the prophet\nhad them concealed among his effects.\n\nArriving in Pennsylvania in the month of December, the Prophet began\nan examination of the characters engraven upon the plates and copied\na considerable number of them. Some of them he translated by means of\nthe Urim and Thummim. In this desultory work he spent the time until\nthe month of February, 1828, when Martin Harris, the gentleman who had\nbefriended him on the eve of his departure from Manchester, arrived at\nhis home in Harmony. This man had become interested in the Prophet and\nhis work and believed him to be in possession of the plates.\n\nSome of the characters which Joseph had copied from the plates, Martin\nHarris determined to submit to Professor Charles Anthon, \"a gentleman\nof the highest reputation, both in America and Europe, and well known\nfor his valuable and correct edition of the classics.\" [2] For this\npurpose Harris made the journey from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to the city\nof New York. Some of the Nephite characters given into the custody\nof Mr. Harris were translated while others were not. Following is a\nfacsimile of some of the characters handed to Professor Anthon in\nfulfilment of the words of Isaiah:\n\n    \"The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that\n    is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read\n    this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and\n    the book is delivered to one that is not learned, saying, Read\n    this, I pray thee: and he saith I am not learned.\" (Isaiah 29:11,\n    12.)\n\n[Facsimile of characters shown to Prof. Anton.] [3]\n\nWhether or not these are the characters to which a translation was\nappended by the Prophet, cannot now be determined.\n\nWith the printer's copy of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, now in\nthe hands of the descendants of Joseph Smith, is also a transcript of\ncharacters consisting of seven lines, the first three of which are very\nsimilar to those copied from _The Prophet_. They were also handed, it\nis claimed, to Doctor Mitchell and Professor Anthon by Martin Harris.\nWhether this seven-line transcript was the translated or untranslated\npart of the characters handed to these learned men for their inspection\nmay not now be determined; but I present them herewith in order that as\nmany of the Nephite characters as have been transcribed from the plates\nmay be before the reader:\n\n[\"Caractors\" facsimile.]\n\nThe latter transcript is taken from a pamphlet by the late Elder Edward\nStevenson, of the First Council of Seventy, entitled _Reminiscences of\nJoseph the Prophet, and the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon_. Of\nthis transcript Elder Stevenson says:\n\n    \"I will vouch for the correctness of the characters, as I have\n    compared them with the original copy, which is still in existence,\n    intact, just as it was when Martin Harris, as a messenger, took it\n    with the translation Joseph Smith had made, to Professor Anthon\n    of New York. The copy here presented was traced from the original\n    copy, and is an exact reproduction of it.\" [4]\n\nOf both these transcripts it should be said that doubtless inaccuracies\nexist in them, for the reason that the Prophet who made the _fac\nsimile_ was unskillful in such work, but for all that the _fac simile_\nof the characters will be of interest and may be of very great\nimportance yet as evidence for the truth of the claims of the Book of\nMormon.\n\nOn the return of Martin Harris to Harmony, he made the following\nstatement to Joseph Smith as to what took place between himself and\nProfessor Anthon:\n\n    \"I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters\n    which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to\n    Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary\n    attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was\n    correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the\n    Egyptian. [5] I then showed him those which were not translated,\n    and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and\n    Arabic, and he said that they were the true characters. He gave me\n    a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were\n    true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had\n    been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put\n    it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon\n    called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there\n    were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that\n    an angel of God had revealed it unto him.\n\n    \"He then said to me, 'Let me see that certificate.' I accordingly\n    took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and\n    tore it to pieces, saying, that there was no such thing now as\n    ministering angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him,\n    he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates\n    were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I\n    cannot read a sealed book.' I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell,\n    who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the\n    characters and the translation.\" [6]\n\nSome years after this, _viz._, in 1834, Professor Anthon, in a letter\nto Mr. E. D. Howe, of Painesville, Ohio, made a statement as to what\ntook place on the occasion of Martin Harris' visit to him, and I\ngive that statement below. By way of introduction it should be said,\nhowever, that Mr. E. D. Howe at the time (1834) was connected with a\nDr. Hurlburt in the production of an anti-\"Mormon\" book, and the report\nof Harris' interview with the learned professor having become known,\nMr. Howe wrote to Professor Anthon making inquiries about it, hoping,\nperhaps, that the fact of the interview might be denied. This is the\nletter he received in reply to his inquiries:\n\n    New York, February 17, 1834.\n\n    _Dear Sir_: I received your letter of the 9th, and lose no time in\n    making a reply. The whole story about my pronouncing the Mormon\n    inscription to be reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics is perfectly\n    false. Some years ago, a plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer\n    called on me with a note from Dr. Mitchell, of our city, now dead,\n    requesting me to decipher, if possible, the paper which the farmer\n    would hand me. Upon examining the paper in question, I soon came\n    to the conclusion that it was all a trick--perhaps a hoax. When I\n    asked the person who brought it how he obtained the writing, he\n    gave me the following account: A gold book consisting of a number\n    of plates, fastened together by wires of the same material, had\n    been dug up in the northern part of the state of New York, and\n    along with it an enormous pair of spectacles. These spectacles\n    were so large that if a person attempted to look through them,\n    his two eyes would look through one glass only the spectacles in\n    question being altogether too large for the human face. \"Whoever,\"\n    he said, \"examined the plates through the glasses was enabled not\n    only to read them, but fully to understand their meaning.\" All this\n    knowledge, however, was confined to a young man, who had the trunk\n    containing the book and spectacles in his sole possession. This\n    young man was placed behind a curtain in a garret in a farmhouse,\n    and being thus concealed from view, he put on the spectacles\n    occasionally, or rather looked through one of the glasses,\n    deciphered the characters in the book, and having committed some of\n    them to paper, handed copies from behind the curtain to those who\n    stood outside. Not a word was said about their being deciphered by\n    the gift of God. Everything in this way was effected by the large\n    pair of spectacles. The farmer added that he had been requested\n    to contribute a sum of money toward the publication of the golden\n    book, the contents of which would, as he was told, produce an\n    entire change in the world, and save it from ruin. So urgent had\n    been these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm and\n    giving the amount to those who wished to publish the plates. As a\n    last precautionary step, he had resolved to come to New York, and\n    obtain the opinion of the _learned_ about the meaning of the paper\n    which he brought with him, and which had been given him as a part\n    of the contents of the book, although no translation had at that\n    time been made by the young man with spectacles. On hearing this\n    odd story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and instead of\n    viewing it any longer as a hoax, I began to regard it as part of\n    a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated my\n    suspicions to him to beware of rogues. He requested an opinion from\n    me in writing, which, of course, I declined to give, and he then\n    took his leave, taking his paper with him. This paper in question\n    was, in fact, a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of\n    singular characters disposed in columns, and had evidently been\n    prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book\n    containing various alphabets, Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and\n    flourishes; Roman letters inverted or placed sideways were arranged\n    and placed in perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude\n    delineation of a circle, divided into various compartments, arched\n    with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican\n    calendar by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray\n    the source whence it was derived. I am thus particular as to the\n    contents of the paper, inasmuch as I have frequently conversed\n    with friends on the subject since the Mormon excitement began, and\n    well remember that the paper contained anything else but Egyptian\n    hieroglyphics. Some time after, the farmer paid me a second visit.\n    He brought with him the gold book in print, and offered it to\n    me for sale. I declined purchasing. He then asked permission to\n    leave the book with me for examination. I declined receiving it,\n    although his manner was strangely urgent. I adverted once more to\n    the roguery which, in my opinion, had been practiced upon him,\n    and asked him what had become of the gold plates. He informed me\n    they were in a trunk with the spectacles. I advised him to go to a\n    magistrate and have the trunk examined. He said the curse of God\n    would come upon him if he did. On my pressing him, however, to go\n    to a magistrate, he told me he would open the trunk if I would take\n    the curse of God upon myself. I replied that I would do so with the\n    greatest willingness, and would incur every risk of that nature,\n    provided I could only extricate him from the grasp of the rogues.\n    He then left me. I have given you a full statement of all that I\n    know respecting the origin of Mormonism and must beg of you as a\n    personal favor, to publish this letter immediately, should you find\n    my name mentioned again by these wretched fanatics.\n\n    Yours respectfully,\n\n    CHAS. ANTHON.\n\nIn addition to this acknowledgement of the visit of Martin Harris to\nhim with the transcript of the Nephite characters, Professor Anthon\nsubsequently made another acknowledgement of Martin Harris' visit in\na letter written to Rev. T. W. Coit, in answer to a note of inquiry\nfrom that gentleman concerning the professor's connection with the\nBook of Mormon. The letter was published in _The Church Record_, vol.\nI, no. 22; and is frequently quoted, in parts, at least, in various\nanti--\"Mormon\" works. _The Church Record_ was published in New York, I\nthink; but not having access to that volume I am under the necessity\nof copying the parts of Anthon's second letter from anti--\"Mormon\"\nbooks. None of these anti--\"Mormon\" works publish the letter in full,\nand doubtless for the reason that in this second letter Mr. Anthon\ncontradicts several statements that he makes in his letter to E. D.\nHowe. Following is his letter to Rev. Coit:\n\n    New York, April 3, 1841.\n\n    _Rev. and Dear Sir_: I have often heard that the \"Mormons\" claimed\n    me for an auxiliary, but as no one until the present time has\n    even requested from me a statement in writing, I have not deemed\n    it worth while to say anything publicly on the subject. What I do\n    know of the sect relates to some of the early movements; and as the\n    facts may amuse you, while they will furnish a satisfactory answer\n    to the charge of my being a \"Mormon\" proselyte, I proceed to lay\n    them before you in detail.\n\n    Many years ago,--the precise date I do not now recollect,--a\n    plain-looking countryman called upon me with a letter from Dr.\n    Samuel L. Mitchell, requesting me to examine, and give my opinion\n    upon a certain paper, marked with various characters, which the\n    doctor confessed he could not decipher, and which the bearer of the\n    note was very anxious to have explained. A very brief examination\n    of the paper, convinced me that it was a mere hoax, and a very\n    clumsy one too. The characters were arranged in columns, like the\n    Chinese mode of writing, and presented the most singular medley\n    that I ever beheld. Greek, Hebrew and all sorts of letters, more\n    or less distorted, either through unskilfulness or from actual\n    design, were intermingled with sundry delineations of half\n    moons, stars, and other natural objects, and the whole ended in\n    a rude representation of the Mexican zodiac. The conclusion was\n    irresistible, that some cunning fellow had prepared the paper\n    in question for the purpose of imposing upon the countryman who\n    brought it, and I told the man so without any hesitation. He\n    then proceeded to give me the history of the whole affair, which\n    convinced me that he had fallen into the hands of some sharper,\n    while it left me in great astonishment at his simplicity. On my\n    telling the bearer of the paper that an attempt had been made to\n    impose on him and defraud him of his property, he requested me\n    to give him my opinion in writing about the paper which he had\n    shown to me. I did so without hesitation, partly for the man's\n    sake, and partly to let the individual \"behind the curtain\" see\n    that his trick was discovered. The import of what I wrote was, as\n    far as I can now recollect, simply this, that the marks in the\n    paper appeared to be merely an imitation of various alphabetical\n    characters, and had, in my opinion, no meaning at all connected\n    with them. The countryman then took his leave, with many thanks,\n    and with the express declaration that he would in no shape part\n    with his farm, or embark in the speculation of printing the golden\n    book. [7]\n\n    The matter rested here for a considerable time, until one day, when\n    I had ceased entirely to think of the countryman and his paper, he\n    paid me a second visit. He now brought with him a duodecimo volume,\n    which he said was a translation into English of the \"Golden Bible.\"\n    He also stated, that notwithstanding his original determination,\n    he had been induced evidently to sell his farm, and apply the\n    money to the publication of the book, and received the golden\n    plates as a security for payment. He begged my acceptance of the\n    volume, assuring me that it would be found extremely interesting,\n    and that it was already \"making great noise\" in the upper part of\n    the state. Suspecting now, that some serious trick was on foot,\n    and that my plain-looking visitor might be in fact a very cunning\n    fellow, I declined his present, and merely contended myself with\n    a slight examination of the volume while he stood by. The more I\n    declined receiving it, however, the more urgent the man became in\n    offering the book, until at last I told him plainly that if he left\n    the volume, as he said he intended to do, I should most assuredly\n    throw it after him as he departed. I then asked him how he could\n    be so foolish as to sell his farm and engage in this affair; and\n    requested him to tell me if the plates were really of gold. In\n    answer to this latter inquiry, he said, that he had not seen the\n    plates himself, which were carefully locked up in a trunk, but that\n    he had the trunk in his possession. I advised him by all means\n    to open the trunk and examine its contents, and if the plates\n    proved to be of gold, which I did not believe at all, to sell them\n    immediately. His reply was, that if he opened the trunk, the \"curse\n    of Heaven would descend upon him and his children. However,\" added\n    he, \"I will agree to open it, provided you take the 'curse of\n    Heaven' upon yourself, for having advised me to the step.\" I told\n    him I was perfectly willing to do so, and begged him to hasten home\n    and examine the trunk, for he would find that he had been cheated.\n    He promised to do as I recommended, and left me, taking his book\n    with him. I have never seen him since.\n\n    Such is a plain statement of all I know respecting the \"Mormons.\"\n    My impression now is, that the plain-looking countryman was none\n    other than the Prophet Smith himself, who assumed an appearance\n    of great simplicity in order to entrap me, if possible, into some\n    recommendation of his book. That the Prophet aided me, by his\n    inspiration, in interpreting the volume, is only one of the many\n    amusing falsehoods which the \"Mormonites\" utter, relative to my\n    participation in their doctrines. Of these doctrines I know nothing\n    whatever, nor have I ever heard a single discourse from any of\n    their preachers, although I have often felt a strong curiosity to\n    become an auditor, since my friends tell me that they frequently\n    name me in their sermons, and even go so far as to say that I am\n    alluded to in the prophecies of scripture!\n\n    If what I have here written shall prove of any service in opening\n    the eyes of some of their deluded followers to the real designs of\n    those who profess to be the apostles of \"Mormonism,\" it will afford\n    me satisfaction equalled, I have no doubt, only by that which\n    yourself will feel on this subject.\n\n    I remain, very respectfully and truly,\n\n    Your friend,\n\n    CHAS. ANTHON.\n\n    Rev. Dr. T. W. Coit, New Rochelle, N. Y. [8]\n\nIt will be observed that there is a discrepancy between the letter\nwritten by Professor Anthon to the Rev. Mr. Coit and the one he sent to\nE. D. Howe. In the latter he states that he refused to give his opinion\nin writing on the characters submitted to him; but in his letter to\nRev. Coit he says that he gave a written opinion to Harris without\nhesitation, and to the effect that the marks on the paper appeared to\nbe merely an imitation of various alphabetical characters that had\nno meaning at all connected with them. According to Martin Harris'\nstatement he gave him a certificate to the effect that the characters\nsubmitted were genuine, and that the translation accompanying them was\ncorrect; but upon hearing that the existence of the Nephite plates\nwas made known to Joseph Smith by a heavenly messenger, he requested\nthe return of the paper he had given Martin Harris, and he destroyed\nit, saying that the visitation of angels had ceased, etc., I shall\nleave it for the anti--\"Mormon\" friends of Mr. Anthon to reconcile the\ncontradiction that occurs in his statements, merely remarking that\nsince the doctor in one letter declares that he refused to give Martin\nHarris a written opinion on the characters; and in the other that he\ngave him a written opinion, increases very much one's faith in Martin\nHarris' statement as against that of Professor Anthon's upon this\npoint; namely, that the Professor gave Harris a written statement, but\nafterwards recalled and destroyed it. The reader should observe also\nthat in his letter to Rev. Coit, written in 1841, the Professor says\nthat no one until that time had ever requested from him a statement\nin writing on the subject of his connection with the Book of Mormon.\nYet as a matter of fact E. D. Howe had addressed him a letter on the\nsubject, asking him for a statement, in 1834, to which request the\nprofessor responded, telling substantially the same story as in this\nletter to Rev. Coit, excepting as to the written opinion furnished\nto Harris. The contradictions in Anthon's letters leave him in a\nmost unenviable situation; and doubtless accounts for anti-\"Mormons\"\npublishing extracts only from his letters.\n\nThe statements of Professor Anthon and Martin Harris are very\ncontradictory, but the sequence will show that there is much that\nsupports the statement of Martin Harris in the main as true; while\nthe anxiety of the professor to disconnect himself as far as possible\nfrom any association with \"these wretched fanatics,\" will account for\nhis version of the incident. The object of Mr. Harris in presenting\nthese transcribed characters to the learned professor was, undoubtedly,\nto learn if they were true characters, or only the idle invention of\nJoseph Smith. That the answer of Professor Anthon and Dr. Mitchell was\nin favor of their being true characters is evidenced by the fact that\nMartin Harris returned immediately to Joseph Smith, in Harmony, made\nhis report, and thence went to Palmyra, in New York, to arrange his\nbusiness affairs that he might hasten back to Pennsylvania to become\nthe amanuensis of the young Prophet in the work of translation. This\nMartin Harris would not likely have done if Professor Anthon's answer\nhad been what that gentleman represents it to have been in his letters\nto Mr. Howe and Rev. Coit; nor would Martin Harris have ventured,\nsubsequently, to have furnished the money to pay for the publication\nof the first edition of the book, had he been assured by the professor\nthat the whole thing was a \"hoax\" or a \"scheme\" to cheat him out of his\nmoney.\n\nAs stated above, Martin Harris returned to Palmyra after this interview\nwith Professor Anthon, arranged his affairs, and joined the Prophet\nin Harmony, about the 12th of April, 1828, when he commenced writing\nas Joseph translated. This work he continued until the 14th of June\nfollowing--two months, by which time they had translated enough to make\none hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript, of large sheets--usually\ncalled fool's cap paper.\n\nSoon after Mr. Harris commenced to write for the Prophet he began to\nimportune him for the privilege of showing so much of the translation\nas they had made to a number of his friends. This request the Prophet\nrefused to grant. Nothing daunted by this refusal, Harris asked the\nProphet to inquire of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim if he\nmight not have that privilege. This Joseph did, and Harris' request\nwas denied. He importuned him to ask again, with the like result, and\nyet again did he implore that the Prophet would ask the Lord for his\npermission.\n\n\"After much solicitation,\" says the Prophet, in his account of this\naffair, \"I again inquired of the Lord, and permission was granted\nhim to have the writings on certain conditions; which were, that he\nshould show them only to his brother, Preserved Harris, his own wife,\nhis father and his mother, and a Mrs. Cobb, a sister of his wife. In\naccordance with this last answer, I required of him that he should bind\nhimself in a covenant to me in the most solemn manner that he would not\ndo otherwise than had been directed. He did so. He bound himself as\nI required of him, took the writings, and went his way;\" [9] and the\nProphet took advantage of the absence of Harris, who had acted as his\nscribe, to visit his parents at Manchester.\n\nThe solemn engagement which Martin Harris made with the Prophet he\nbroke. He showed the writings to other persons than those named in his\nagreement with the Prophet, and these stole the precious manuscript\nfrom him, and he was never able to recover it. This circumstance also\nwent hard with Joseph as to his standing with the Lord. He had allowed\nhimself to be over-persuaded by the importunities of Martin Harris,\nand that after he had twice learned that it was not the will of the\nLord that Harris should have the manuscript. He learned that Harris\nhad lost the one hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript while he was\nyet in Manchester visiting with his parents; and immediately returned\nto Harmony, where he humbled himself in prayer before God that he\nmight obtain forgiveness for his error; but apparently to no immediate\npurpose, for Moroni appeared to him and demanded the plates and also\nthe Urim and Thummim. These were surrendered, with what anguish of\nsoul one may readily understand. Exactly what length of time they were\nwithheld from him cannot be determined, but evidently not long; for\nin July of the same year the angel guardian of the record, Moroni,\nappeared to him again and presented the plates and Urim and Thummim to\nhim. The Prophet, through the medium of the holy instrument, obtained\nthe following revelation which bears the date of July, 1828: [10]\n\n    \"The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be\n    frustrated, neither can they come to naught. For God doth not walk\n    in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand, nor\n    to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said,\n    therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal\n    round.\n\n    \"Remember, remember, that it is not the work of God that is\n    frustrated, but the work of men; for although a man may have many\n    revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he\n    boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God,\n    and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires,\n    he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.\n\n    \"Behold, you have been entrusted with these things, but how strict\n    were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were\n    made to you, if you did not transgress them. And behold, how oft\n    you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and\n    have gone on in the persuasions of men. For, behold, you should\n    not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the\n    counsels of God, and despise his words--yet you should have been\n    faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you\n    against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have\n    been with you in every time of trouble.\n\n    \"Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of\n    the Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou\n    wilt fall. But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that\n    which thou hast done, which is contrary to the commandment which I\n    gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the\n    work; except thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as\n    other men, and have no more gift.\n\n    \"And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight\n    and power to translate, thou deliveredst up that which was sacred\n    into the hands of a wicked man, who has set at naught the counsels\n    of God, and has broken the most sacred promises which were made\n    before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and boasted in\n    his own wisdom. And this is the reason that thou hast lost thy\n    privileges for a season--for thou hast suffered the counsel of thy\n    director to be trampled upon from the beginning. Nevertheless, my\n    work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has\n    come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even so\n    shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people--and to the\n    Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites,\n    [11] through the testimony of their fathers--and this testimony\n    shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites,\n    and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because of the\n    iniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy\n    their brethren, the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their\n    abominations. And for this very purpose are these plates preserved,\n    which contain these records--that the promises of the Lord might\n    be fulfilled, which he made to his people; and that the Lamanites\n    might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might\n    know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the\n    gospel, and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified\n    through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they\n    might be saved. Amen.\"\n\nThe Prophet informs us that after receiving this revelation, the Urim\nand Thummim and also the plates were taken from him, but in a few days\nthey were returned to him, whereupon he again inquired of the Lord and\nreceived the following very important revelation: [12]\n\n    Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those\n    writings, which you had power given unto you to translate by the\n    means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you\n    have lost them. And you also lost your gift at the same time, and\n    your mind became darkened. Nevertheless, it is now restored unto\n    you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto\n    the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you\n    have begun. Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength\n    and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent\n    unto the end. Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea,\n    that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of\n    the servants of Satan that do uphold his work. Behold, they have\n    sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted\n    has sought to destroy you. And for this cause I said that he is a\n    wicked man, for, he has sought to take away the things wherewith\n    you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your\n    gift. And because you have delivered the writings into his hands,\n    behold, wicked men have taken them from you. Therefore, you have\n    delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.\n    And, behold, Satan hath put into their hearts to alter the words\n    which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated,\n    which have gone out of your hands. And behold, I say unto you, that\n    because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that\n    which you translated and caused to be written; and, on this wise,\n    the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy\n    this work; for he hath put it into their hearts to do this, that by\n    lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have\n    pretended to translate.\n\n    Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall\n    accomplish his evil design in this thing. For behold, he has put it\n    into their hearts to get thee to tempt the Lord they God, in asking\n    to translate it over again. And then, behold, they say and think in\n    their hearts--We will see if God has given him power to translate;\n    if so, he will also give him power again; and if God giveth him\n    power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he\n    bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us,\n    and we have altered them; therefore they will not agree, and we\n    will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift,\n    and that he has no power; therefore we will destroy him, and also\n    the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the\n    end, and that we may get glory of the world.\n\n    Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon\n    their hearts, he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which\n    is good; and their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and\n    abominations; and they love darkness rather than light, because\n    their deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me. Satan\n    stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction.\n    And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work\n    of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn\n    to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment. Yea, he\n    stirreth up their hearts to anger against this work. Yea, he saith\n    unto them: Deceive, and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy;\n    behold, this is no harm; and thus he flattereth them, and telleth\n    them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie,\n    that they may destroy him. And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth\n    them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he\n    causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. And thus he\n    goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the\n    souls of men.\n\n    Verily, verily, I say unto you, woe be unto him that lieth to\n    deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for\n    such are not exempt from the justice of God.\n\n    Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith\n    unto them: He hath deceived you--and thus he flattereth them away\n    to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God.\n\n    Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those\n    words which have gone forth out of your hands; for, behold, they\n    shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those\n    words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they\n    will say that you have lied that you have pretended to translate,\n    but that you have contradicted yourself. And, behold, they will\n    publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people to\n    stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my\n    words. Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this\n    generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.\n    But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and\n    give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do,\n    show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of\n    translation.\n\n    Marvel not that I said unto you: here is wisdom, show it not unto\n    the world--for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be\n    preserved. Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the\n    righteous; but as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you\n    cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say\n    unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things\n    known unto the world concerning the matter.\n\n    And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things\n    that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is\n    engraven upon the plates of Nephi; yea, and you remember it was\n    said in those writings that a more particular account was given of\n    these things upon the plates of Nephi.\n\n    And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates\n    of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my\n    wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this\n    account therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on\n    the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of King\n    Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated,\n    which you have retained; and behold, you shall publish it as the\n    record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my\n    words. I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I\n    will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of\n    the devil.\n\n    Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account\n    of Nephi. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates\n    of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore,\n    it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of\n    the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work. And, behold,\n    all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my\n    gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired\n    in their prayers should come forth unto this people. And I said\n    unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their\n    faith in their prayers; yea, and this was their faith--that my\n    gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their\n    days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all\n    that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.\n\n    Now, this is not all--their faith in their prayers was that this\n    gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other\n    nations should possess this land; and thus they did leave a\n    blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should\n    believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life; yea,\n    that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred,\n    tongue, or people they may be.\n\n    And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I\n    bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people Behold,\n    I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to\n    build it up.\n\n    And for this cause have I said: if this generation harden not their\n    hearts, I will establish my church among them. Now I do not say\n    this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church;\n    therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such\n    shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. But it is they who do not\n    fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto\n    themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and\n    build up the kingdom of the devil--yea, verily, verily, I say unto\n    you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and\n    shake to the center.\n\n    Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto my own and\n    my own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness,\n    and the darkness comprehendeth it not. I am he who said--Other\n    sheep have I which are not of this fold, unto my disciples, and\n    many there were that understood me not.\n\n    And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that\n    they were a branch of the house of Jacob; and I will bring to light\n    their marvelous works, which they did in my name; yea, and I will\n    also bring to light my gospel which was ministered unto them, and,\n    behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they\n    shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my\n    doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me; and this I\n    do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much\n    contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to\n    contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these\n    things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not\n    understand them. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great\n    mystery; for, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her\n    chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;\n    yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life\n    freely.\n\n    Behold, this is my doctrine--whosoever repenteth and cometh unto\n    me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than\n    this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not\n    of my church.\n\n    And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my\n    church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates\n    of hell shall not prevail against them.\n\n    And now, remember the words of him who is the life and the light of\n    the world, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Amen.\" [13]\n\nEncouraged to be moderate in his exertions at translating by the\nadmonition in the foregoing revelation not to run faster, or labor more\nthan he had strength and means provided to enable him to proceed, the\nProphet did not immediately attempt to resume the work of translation,\nbut worked upon a small farm which he had purchased of his wife's\nfather.\n\nAs this episode of losing the one hundred and sixteen pages of\nmanuscript, together with the loss for a season of the gift to\ntranslate, and being required to surrender all the sacred things which\nhad been entrusted to his keeping, was unquestionably a cause of deep\nsorrow to the young Prophet, so the restoration of the plates and Urim\nand Thummim to him must have been a joy unspeakable. How Martin Harris\nfelt--what anguish of heart--what sense of chagrin, or how deeply he\nrepented his folly is not recorded; but as he was not a man of keen\nsensibilities, it may be that his sufferings were not intense. At any\nrate we next hear of him in March, 1829, and he is still clamoring for\na witness from the Lord that Joseph Smith had the plates, of which the\nProphet had testified. The Prophet inquired of the Lord and obtained\na revelation of which the following is the part that has reference to\nMartin Harris' request:\n\n    Behold, I say unto you, that as my servant Martin Harris has\n    desired a witness at my hand, that you, my servant Joseph Smith,\n    Jun., have got the plates of which you have testified and borne\n    record that you have received of me; and now, behold, this shall\n    you say unto him--he who spake unto you, said unto you: I, the\n    Lord, am God, and have given these things unto you, my servant\n    Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should stand as\n    a witness of these things; and I have caused you that you should\n    enter into a covenant with me, that you should not show them except\n    to those persons to whom I commanded you; and you have no power\n    over them except I grant it unto you. * * * Behold, verily I say\n    unto you, I have reserved those things which I have entrusted unto\n    you, my servant Joseph, for a wise purpose in me, and it shall\n    be made known unto future generations; but this generation shall\n    have my word through you; and in addition to your testimony, the\n    testimony of three of my servants, whom I shall call and ordain,\n    unto whom I will show these things, and they shall go forth with\n    my words that are given through you. Yea, they shall know of a\n    surety that these things are true, for from heaven will I declare\n    it unto them. I will give them power that they may behold and view\n    these things as they are; and to none else will I grant this power,\n    to receive this same testimony among this generation, in this the\n    beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out\n    of the wilderness. * * * And the testimony of three witnesses\n    will I send forth of my word. And behold, whosoever believeth on\n    my words, them will I visit with the manifestation of my Spirit;\n    and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the spirit. *\n    * * And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation\n    of this generation if they harden their hearts against them; for\n    a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the\n    earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if\n    they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants\n    thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness\n    of my coming. Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told\n    the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be\n    verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified. * * *\n\n    * * * And now, again I speak unto you, my servant Joseph,\n    concerning the man that desires the witness--behold, I say unto\n    him, he exalts himself, and does not humble himself sufficiently\n    before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in\n    mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will\n    I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see. And\n    then he shall say unto the people of this generation: Behold, I\n    have seen the things which the Lord has shown unto Joseph Smith,\n    Jun., and I know of a surety that they are true, for I have seen\n    them, for they have been shown unto me by the power of God and not\n    of man. And I the Lord command him, my servant Martin Harris, that\n    he shall say no more unto them concerning these things, except he\n    shall say: I have seen them, and they have been shown unto me by\n    the power of God; and these are the words which he shall say. But\n    if he deny this he will break the covenant which he has before\n    covenanted with me, and behold, he is condemned. And now, except he\n    humble himself and acknowledge unto me the things that he has done\n    which are wrong, [14] and covenant with me that he will keep my\n    commandments, and exercise faith in me, behold, I say unto him, he\n    shall have no such views, for I will grant unto him no views of the\n    things of which I have spoken. And if this be the case, I command\n    you, my servant Joseph, that you shall say unto him, that he shall\n    do no more, nor trouble me any more concerning this matter. And if\n    this be the case, behold, I say unto thee Joseph, when thou hast\n    translated a few more pages [15] thou shalt stop for a season,\n    even until I command thee again; then thou mayest translate again.\n    And except thou do this, behold, thou shalt have no more gift,\n    and I will take away the things which I have entrusted with thee.\n    And now, because I foresee the lying in wait to destroy thee,\n    yea, I foresee that if my servant Martin Harris humbleth not\n    himself and receive a witness from my hand, that he will fall into\n    transgression; and there are many that lie in wait to destroy thee\n    from off the face of the earth; and for this cause, that thy days\n    may be prolonged, I have given unto thee these commandments. Yea,\n    for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command\n    thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the\n    thing which I have commanded thee. And if thou art faithful in\n    keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day.\n    Amen. [16]\n\n    It will be observed here that the language of this revelation takes\n    on a sternness of tone and an independence in respect to Martin\n    Harris and his future connection with the work that is suitable\n    to the conduct of that vacillating man; and in effect gives him\n    sharply to understand that there must be repentance deep and\n    sincere, and humiliation before God, or he may go his way and have\n    no further lot nor part in the great work of the Lord then coming\n    forth.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 18.\n\n2. This upon the authority of Samuel M. Smucker, author of a \"History\nof the Mormons,\" p. 37.--Hurst & Co., N. Y.\n\n3. This fac simile of Nephite characters is copied from \"The Prophet\"\nof December 21, 1844 (vol. I, no. 31).\n\n4. _Stevenson's Reminiscences_, p. 33.\n\n5. The writer is of the opinion that there is in this statement too\nwide a scope given to what Professor Anthon said of the translation\nof the Egyptian-Nephite characters. Of course, in the transcripts the\nprofessor would doubtless recognize some Egyptian characters of the\nhieratic Egyptian, and in the translation would also find a right\ninterpretation of those characters, as it will be seen by his letters,\nquoted later in the body of the work. He may have acknowledged that\nthe characters submitted to him were true characters, but beyond this\nI do not think he could give confirmation as to the _correctness of\nthe translation_; for, according to the writers of the Book of Mormon,\nthey had changed somewhat the characters in both languages in which\nthey made records, both in the Egyptian, and also in the Hebrew (See\nMormon 9:32, 43); and Moroni adds: \"The Lord knoweth the things which\nwe have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language,\ntherefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof\"\n(Mormon 9:34), referring to the Urim and Thummim or \"Interpreters,\" as\nthe Nephites call that instrument. It follows from this that neither\nProfessor Anthon nor any one else could have confirmed the translation\nbeyond perhaps saying that some one or more of the Egyptian characters,\nwhich he recognized in the transcript, had been assigned their true\nsignificance.\n\n6. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 20\n\n7. To this point the Letter of Professor Anthon is copied from _Early\nDays of Mormonism_, by J. H. Kennedy, Scribners & Sons, 1888, p.\n268. The remainder of the letter is copied from Gregg's _Prophet of\nPalmyra_, pp. 60-62.\n\n8. \"Prophet of Palmyra\", (Gregg) pp. 60-62.\n\n9. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 21.\n\n10. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 21, 22; also Doc. and Cov.,\nsec. 3.\n\n11. The reader will of course understand that reference is here made to\nthe descendants of these ancient American peoples.\n\n12. The revelation, here quoted in the _History of Joseph\nSmith--Millennial Star_, vol. 14 (Supplement) p. 8; and also in some\nof the earlier editions of the Doctrine and Covenants (sec. 10), bears\nthe date of \"May, 1829.\" This date, however, must be wrong, because\ncontradictory of the language of the prophet who in speaking of this\nrevelation says that after the plates and Urim and Thummim were taken\nfrom him, after he had received the revelation dated July, 1828, (just\nquoted)--\"In a few days they were returned to me, when I inquired of\nthe Lord, and the Lord said thus to me.\" Then follows the revelation,\nthe date of which is under consideration. If the date of the revelation\ngiven July, 1828, in which the Prophet is reproved for importuning the\nLord to allow Martin Harris to have one hundred and sixteen pages of\ntranslation from the Book of Mormon, is correct--then it could scarcely\nbe said, \"in a few days\" the Urim and Thummim was returned to the\nProphet; that he inquired and then received the revelation in question\nif that revelation was received in May, 1829. That would make nine\nor ten months' time between these two revelations instead of \"a few\ndays.\" Moreover, the matter of the revelation is more in keeping with\nthe events of a few days after July, 1828, than with May, 1829. Oliver\nCowdery came to Joseph Smith on the 5th of April, 1829; and on the 7th\nbegan to assist him in the translation. This was before May, 1829,\nthe alleged date of the revelation in question, and it is scarcely\nlikely that the work of translation was resumed after the loss of the\nmanuscript by Harris, before the revelation given informing the prophet\nof the intention of those who had stolen it. My conclusion is that the\nrevelation erroneously dated May, 1829, was given \"a few days after\"\nthe one bearing date of \"July, 1828.\"\n\n13. Doc. and Cov., sec. 10.\n\n14. Doubtless an allusion to his breaking the covenant with Joseph\nrespecting the manuscript which was lost.\n\n15. Most likely Emma Smith, the Prophet's wife, wrote for him during\nthese days when he was evidently translating occasionally.\n\n16. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 28; also Doc. and Cov., sec. 5.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTRANSLATION OF THE RECORD--(CONTINUED) OLIVER COWDERY, AMANUENSIS.\n\nOn the 5th day of April, [1] as if in fulfilment of the promise made to\nJoseph Smith in the revelation concerning Martin Harris, just quoted,\nnamely, that the Lord would provide means whereby the prophet might\naccomplish the thing which the Lord had commanded him to do--Oliver\nCowdery came to the young Prophet's house, at Harmony, Pennsylvania.\nThis was the first meeting of these two men. Oliver Cowdery, a native\nof Vermont, and now twenty-four years of age, had moved into the state\nof New York about four years previous to this, and for a time had\nbeen employed as a clerk in a store. In the winter of 1828-9 he left\nthe store and taught the district school in the town of Manchester,\nwhich was only some nine miles from his father's home. At Manchester\nhe became acquainted with the Smith family, Joseph Smith, Sen.,\nbeing a patron of the school he taught. According to the American\ncustom of those days, the school teacher \"boarded round\" in turn with\nthe families of the neighborhood. This brought Oliver Cowdery into\nimmediate contact with the Smith family, and while he was boarding at\ntheir home the parents of the Prophet related to him the circumstances\nof their son obtaining the Nephite record.\n\nYoung Cowdery became intensely interested in the story related to him.\nMeantime he met David Whitmer in Palmyra, a young man about his own\nage, who lived with his father's family some twenty-five miles from\nPalmyra, near the town of Waterloo, in the township called Fayette,\nSeneca county, at the north end of Seneca Lake. In his conversation\nwith young Whitmer, Oliver told him of his acquaintance with the Smith\nfamily and expressed himself to the effect that there must be something\nin the story of finding the plates, and he announced his intention to\ninvestigate the matter. [2] Later, when Oliver started for Harmony,\nwhere the Prophet was living, he passed the Whitmer home at Fayette,\nand promised David that he would report his findings to him concerning\nJoseph having the plates.\n\nOliver became convinced that Joseph's story was true, and being\ninformed by the Prophet that it was the will of God that he should\nremain and act as his scribe in the work of translation, he did so, and\non the 7th of April, 1829, commenced to write as the prophet indited\nthe translation obtained by means of the Urim and Thummim.\n\nOliver, in a few days, became anxious to learn more largely the will\nof the Lord concerning himself and his connection with the work then\ncoming forth, and the Prophet, through the Urim and Thummim obtained a\nrevelation for him in which occur the passages:\n\n    A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the\n    children of men. Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which\n    is quick and powerful. * * * Behold, the field is white already to\n    harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his\n    sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may\n    treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of\n    God. * * * Now as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my\n    commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of\n    Zion; seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries\n    of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.\n    Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. * * * Verily, verily, I\n    say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou\n    hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired\n    thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been\n    so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this\n    time. Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did\n    enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou\n    mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;\n    yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else\n    save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.\n    I tell thee these things as a witness unto thee--that the words\n    of the work which thou hast been writing are true. Therefore be\n    diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever\n    difficult circumstances he may be for the word's sake. Admonish\n    him in his faults, and also receive admonition of him. Be patient;\n    be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity.\n    Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of\n    thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be\n    faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I\n    will encircle thee in the arms of my love.\n\n    * * * Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further\n    witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in\n    your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these\n    things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?\n    * * * And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I\n    have told you things which no man knoweth have ye not received a\n    witness? [3]\n\nThese revelations, it should be observed, contain sharp reproofs for\nthe transgressor. They do not flatter Joseph Smith any more than they\ndo Martin Harris, though Joseph is the one through whom they were\ngiven. Each is reproved and evidently without respect of person. They\nrepresent the Lord as holding out no promise either to the Prophet\nor his associates of immunity from difficulty, from trial. They are\nredolent rather of warning. The Prophet is plainly told of the many\nthat were lying in wait to destroy him. Deep humility and repentance\nis required when a wrong is committed; and if that is not forthcoming\nthen behold the self-willed, the proud, are told to go their way, and\ntrouble the Lord no further concerning their future connection with\nthis work.\n\nLook, in passing, at this revelation to Oliver Cowdery. There is\nno flattering promise of a worldly character in it. A great and a\nmarvelous work is about to come forth; thrust in your sickle and\nreap; keep my commandments, is almost sternly said; seek to bring\nforth and establish the cause of Zion; seek not for riches, but\nfor wisdom; be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph in whatsoever\ndifficult circumstances he may be for the word's sake. Then there are\nto be difficult circumstances? \"Admonish him in his faults.\" What,\nthe Prophet! Yes, the Prophet--he is not to be above admonition. What\nhumility in the Prophet is here! This smacks of the Spirit of Christ.\nReceive admonition of him. Be patient. Be sober. Be temperate. Have\npatience, faith, hope and charity. This is admirable. False prophets\nhave no such basic principles as these. They build not with such\nstones. And Oliver's reward? Not riches of this world. Not greatness\nin the eyes of men. Not the honors and applause of the world. \"If thou\nwilt do good, yea and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved\nin the kingdom of God.\" That is to be his reward. There is nothing\nworldly in all this. This spirit is worthy the great work these young\nmen are, under God, bringing forth. This is the kind of atmosphere one\nwould expect to find surrounding men engaged in such a work. But it is\ntime to return to the narrative.\n\nWhen Oliver found that the secret meditations of his heart were thus\nrevealed through Joseph Smith; when his secret prayers were revealed\nand the answer of God's Spirit to those prayers made known, he could no\nlonger doubt that his new-found friend was a prophet of God. It must\nhave been with renewed zeal that he took up again his work as a scribe.\nIt was of these days that he afterwards wrote:\n\n    These were days never to be forgotten--to sit under the sound of a\n    voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost\n    gratitude of this bosom. Day after day I continued uninterrupted to\n    write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim,\n    or, as the Nephites would have said, \"Interpreters,\" the history or\n    record called the Book of Mormon. [4]\n\nSoon after this, namely, on the 15th day of May, 1829, Oliver Cowdery\nhimself became a witness to the ministration of an angel, for it was\nupon that date that John the Baptist appeared to him and Joseph Smith\nwhile they were engaged in prayer in the woods, near Harmony. John\nordained them to the Aaronic priesthood and instructed them upon the\nsubject of baptism, a full account of which is given in _New Witnesses\nfor God_, vol. I. [5] Subsequently he, with Joseph, received another\nvisitation of angels some time in the month of June following, when\nPeter, James and John conferred upon them the Melchizedek priesthood\non the banks of the Susquehanna river, a full account of which is also\ngiven in vol. I, of _New Witnesses for God_. [6]\n\nMeantime Oliver was writing his friend, David Whitmer, his findings as\nto the truth of the Prophet Joseph having the plates. He wrote soon\nafter his arrival in Harmony that he was convinced that Joseph Smith\nhad the records. [7] Shortly after this, doubtless immediately after\nJoseph received the revelation in which the secret meditations and\nprayers of Oliver respecting the work before he saw the Prophet were\nmade known, Oliver wrote a second letter to David, in which he enclosed\na few lines of what had been translated, and assured him that he knew\nof a surety that Joseph Smith had a record of a people that inhabited\nthe American continents in the ancient times: and that the plates they\nwere translating gave a history of these people; he moreover assured\nDavid that he had \"revealed knowledge\" concerning the truth of what he\naffirmed. These letters young Whitmer showed to his parents, and to his\nbrothers and sisters.\n\nMr. Joseph Knight, Sen., of Colesville, Broome county, New York,\nseveral times brought the young men provisions--food--which enabled\nthem to continue the work of translation without interruption. But\nfor this timely assistance the work of translation must have been\nrelinquished from time to time in order to secure supplies. Mr. Knight\nknew the Smith family and had called upon them a number of times at\ntheir home in Manchester. He evidently had considerable faith in the\nclaims of Joseph concerning the Book of Mormon; for on the occasion of\nhis visit to him in May, 1829, he desired to know what his duty was\nwith reference to the work that the Lord was about to bring forth. The\nprophet inquired of the Lord and, as in the case of Oliver Cowdery,\nafter declaring that a great and marvelous work was about to come\nforth, the revelation said:\n\n    Keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the\n    cause of Zion. Behold, I speak unto you, and also to all those who\n    have desires to bring forth and establish this work; and no one\n    can assist in this work, except he shall be humble and full of\n    love, having faith, hope and charity, being temperate in all things\n    whatsoever shall be entrusted in his care. [8]\n\nFor a time the Prophet had been permitted to pursue the work of\ntranslation at Harmony without interference. But now there began to\nbe mutterings of an approaching storm of persecution. Threats were\nfrequent, and the young men were only preserved from actual violence by\nthe blessing of the Lord and the influence of Mr. Isaac Hale, father\nof the Prophet's wife; who, though he had no faith in the Prophet's\nwork, and in the past had manifested some hostility towards him, still\nbelieved in law and order; was opposed to mob violence; and was willing\nthat Joseph and his associates should be permitted to complete their\nwork without interference. [9]\n\nOn account of the manifestation of this unfriendly spirit in the\ncommunity, however, Joseph and Oliver kept secret for a time the\ncircumstance of their ordination to the priesthood and their baptism.\nThey could not, however, long continue silent on such a subject, and\nin a few days, under a sense of duty, they commenced to reason out of\nthe scriptures with their friends and acquaintances concerning the\nwork of God. But Joseph was evidently uneasy concerning their safety\nat Harmony, and under his direction Oliver wrote to David Whitmer at\nFayette, asking him to come down to Harmony and take them to the elder\nWhitmer's home, giving as a reason for their rather strange request\nthat they had received a commandment from God to that effect. [10]\nThis request found David Whitmer in the midst of his spring work. He\nhad some twenty acres of land to plow and concluded to do that and\nthen go. \"I got up one morning to go to work as usual,\" he says, \"and\non going to the field, found that between five and seven acres of my\nland had been plowed under during the night. I don't know who did it;\nbut it was done just as I would have done it myself, and the plow was\nleft standing in the furrow. This enabled me to start sooner.\" [11]\nNor was this the only assistance of like character given to him. While\nharrowing in a field of wheat before starting on his journey he found\nto his surprise that he had accomplished more in a few hours than was\nusual to do in two or three days. The day following this circumstance\nhe went out to spread plaster over a field, according to the custom of\nthe farmers in that locality, when, to his surprise, he found the work\nhad been done, and well done. David Whitmer's sister, who lived near\nthe field, told him that three strangers had appeared in the field the\nday before and spread the plaster with remarkable skill. She at the\ntime presumed that they were men whom David had hired to do the work.\n[12]\n\nThis assistance, provided through some divine agency--it can be\naccounted for in no other way, enabled David Whitmer to respond\nsooner than he otherwise could have done to the call to go and bring\nthe Prophet and his associate from Harmony, where mob violence was\nimpending, to the home of his father, Peter Whitmer, where the work of\ntranslation could be finished in peace and security.\n\nWhen David Whitmer was approaching the little village of Harmony with\nhis two-horse team and wagon, he was met some distance from it by the\nProphet and Oliver. \"Oliver told me,\" says David Whitmer, in relating\nthe circumstance, \"that Joseph had informed him when I started from\nhome, where I had stopped the first night, how I read the sign at the\ntavern; where I stopped the next night, etc.; and that I would be there\nthat day before dinner, and this was why they had come out to meet me;\nall of which was exactly as Joseph had told Oliver, at which I was\ngreatly astonished.\" [13]\n\nThe day following David Whitmer's arrival at Harmony the plates were\npacked up and delivered into the care of the Angel Moroni, that they\nmight be safely conveyed to Fayette. \"When I was returning to Fayette,\"\nsays David Whitmer, \"with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the\nwagon, Oliver and I on an old fashioned, wooden spring-seat, and\nJoseph behind us, when traveling along in a clear, open place, a very\npleasant, nice looking old man suddenly appeared by the side of our\nwagon and saluted us with, 'Good morning; it is very warm;' at the\nsame time wiping his face or forehead with his hand. We returned the\nsalutation, and by a sign from Joseph, I invited him to ride if he\nwas going our way. But he said very pleasantly, 'No, I am going to\nCumorah.' This name was somewhat new to me, and I did not know what\n'Cumorah' meant. We all gazed at him and at each other, and as I looked\nround inquiringly of Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared, so that\nI did not see him again.\"\n\nReplying to the question, \"Did you notice his appearance?\" David\nWhitmer replied: \"I should think I did. He was, I should think, about\nfive feet eight or nine inches tall and heavy set, about such a man\nas James Cleve there (a gentleman present at the Whitmer, Pratt and\nSmith interview), but heavier. His face was as large; he was dressed\nin a suit of brown woolen clothes, his hair and beard were white, like\nBrother Pratt's, but his beard was not so heavy. I also remember that\nhe had on his back a sort of knapsack with something in it shaped like\na book. It was the messenger who had the plates, who had taken them\nfrom Joseph just prior to our starting from Harmony.\" [14]\n\nSoon after the arrival at the Whitmer residence, in the garden near by,\nMoroni once more delivered the sacred record to Joseph, and the work of\ntranslation was renewed with even greater vigor than at Harmony; for\nwhen Oliver would tire of writing, one of the Whitmers or Emma Smith\nwould relieve him.\n\nDavid Whitmer says that soon after the installment of Joseph, his wife,\nand Oliver Cowdery in the Whitmer household, he saw something which\nled him to believe that the plates were concealed in his father's\nbarn, and frankly asked the prophet if it were so. Joseph replied that\nit was. \"Some time after this,\" David adds, \"my mother was going to\nmilk the cows, when she was met out near the yard by the same old man\n[meaning the one who had saluted his party on the way from Harmony; at\nleast, David judged him to be the same, doubtless from his mother's\ndescription of him,] who said to her: 'You have been very faithful and\ndiligent in your labors, but you are tired because of the increase\nof your toil; it is proper, therefore, that you should receive a\nwitness, that your faith may be strengthened.' Thereupon he showed\nher the plates. My father and mother had a large family of their own,\nthe addition to it, therefore, of Joseph, his wife Emma, and Oliver,\nvery greatly increased the toil and anxiety of my mother. And although\nshe had never complained she had sometimes felt that her labor was\ntoo much, or, at least, she was perhaps beginning to feel so. This\ncircumstance, however, completely removed all such feelings, and nerved\nher up for her increased responsibilities.\" [15]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. This date in the prophet's history, published in the _Millennial\nStar_ (Supplement), vol. 14, p. 12, is set down as the 15th of April,\nand the day Oliver began writing as Joseph translated is said to be the\n17th of April. The 15th and 17th, however, are typographical errors.\nIn the original manuscript of the History of the Church, in the\nHistorian's Office, the dates are written the 5th and 7th; see also\n_Times and Seasons_, vol. I, p. 201, where Oliver Cowdery gives the\ndates 5th and 7th of April, 1829.\n\n2. Statement of David Whitmer, in _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881.\n\n3. Doc. and Cov., sec. 6. The reader may think I am quoting over\ncopiously from these revelations given while the translation of the\nBook of Mormon was in progress; and he may think that these incidents\nhave little or nothing to do with the story of the translation, and\nthe story of the translation itself but little to do with the object\nof this work. I would suggest, however, that this history of the\ntranslation is necessary to future arguments to be made when I come to\nthe considerations of the objections to the Book of Mormon, in part\nIV, where I shall examine other theories for the origin of the Book\nof Mormon. Besides, I want the reader to know the atmosphere in which\nthis work of translation was done; and for that purpose call especial\nattention to the spirit of the several revelations that have been\nquoted.\n\n4. _Times and Seasons_, vol. II, p. 201.\n\n5. Chapter 14.\n\n6. Chapter 14.\n\n7. Whitmer's statement, _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881.\n\n8. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 47.\n\n9. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 44.\n\n10. Whitmer's statement, _Kansas City Journal_, June 5, 1881. Also\nreport of visit to David Whitmer, by Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith,\n_Millennial Star_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774.\n\n11. Statement of David Whitmer, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial\nStar_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774.\n\nLet it be observed that this reported conversation was published during\nthe life time of David Whitmer. It took place on the 7th of Sept.,\n1878; and Whitmer did not die until 25th Jan., 1888.\n\n12. Cannon's _Life of Joseph Smith_, pp. 67, 68.\n\n13. Statement of David Whitmer, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial\nStar_, vol. 40, pp. 769-774. Another instance that in like manner\nillustrates the seership of the prophet Joseph is related in the church\nhistory, and which occurred while making a journey from Independence,\nMissouri, to Ohio, in company with Bishop Newel K. Whitney. Near\nNew Albany their horses took fright and while they were running at\nfull speed Bishop Whitney attempted to jump out of the conveyance,\nbut caught his foot in the wheel and had his leg and foot broken in\nseveral places. This occasioned delay of several weeks among a not very\nfriendly people; for besides their manifest coldness an attempt was\nmade to poison the Prophet. And now the Prophet's statement: \"Brother\nWhitney had not had his foot moved from the bed for nearly four weeks,\nwhen I went into his room, after a walk in the grove, and told him\nif he would agree to start for home in the morning, we would take a\nwagon to the river, about four miles, and there would be a ferry boat\nin waiting which would take us quickly across, where we would find\na hack which would take us directly to the landing, where we should\nfind a boat, in waiting, and we would be going up the river before 10\no'clock, and have a prosperous journey home. He took courage and told\nme he would go. We started next morning, and found everything as I had\ntold him, for we were passing rapidly up the river before 10 o'clock,\nand landing at Wellsville, took stage coach to Chardon, from thence in\na wagon to Kirtland, where we arrived some time in June.\" (_History of\nthe Church_, vol. I, p. 272.)\n\n14. Whitmer's statement, _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial Star_,\nvol. 40, pp. 769-774.\n\n15. _Pratt and Smith Report, Millennial Star_, vol. 40, p. 772.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE MANNER OF TRANSLATING THE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\nRelative to the manner of translating the Book of Mormon the Prophet\nhimself has said but little. \"Through the medium of the Urim and\nThummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God,\" [1] is\nthe most extended published statement made by him upon the subject.\nOf the Urim and Thummim he says: \"With the record was found a curious\ninstrument which the ancients called a Urim and Thummim, which\nconsisted of two transparent stones set in a rim of a bow fastened to a\nbreastplate.\" [2]\n\nOliver Cowdery, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon,\nand the Prophet's chief amanuensis, says of the work of translation\nin which he assisted: \"I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of\nMormon (save a few pages), as it fell from the lips of the Prophet\nJoseph Smith, as he translated by the gift and power of God, by the\nmeans of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, 'Holy\nInterpreters.\"' [3] This is all he has left on record on the manner of\ntranslating the book. [4]\n\nDavid Whitmer, another of the Three Witnesses, is more specific on this\nsubject. After describing the means the Prophet employed to exclude the\nlight from the \"Seer Stone,\" he says: \"In the darkness the spiritual\nlight would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would\nappear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph\nwould read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal\nscribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to\nsee if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character\nwith the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was\ntranslated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.\"\n[5]\n\nThere will appear between this statement of David Whitmer's and what is\nsaid both by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery a seeming contradiction.\nJoseph and Oliver both say the translation was done by means of the\nUrim and Thummim, which is described by Joseph as being two transparent\nstones \"set in a rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate;\" while David\nWhitmer says that the translation was made by means of a \"Seer Stone.\"\nThe apparent contradiction is cleared up, however, by a statement made\nby Martin Harris, another of the Three Witnesses. He said that the\nProphet possessed a \"Seer Stone,\" by which he was enabled to translate\nas well as from the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he then (i.\ne., at the time Harris was acting as his scribe) used the Seer Stone.\n* * * Martin said further that the Seer Stone differed in appearance\nentirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained with the plates,\nwhich were two clear stones set in two rims, very much resembling\nspectacles, only they were larger. [6]\n\nThe \"Seer Stone\" referred to here was a chocolate-colored, somewhat\negg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well in\ncompany with his brother Hyrum. [7] It possessed the qualities of Urim\nand Thummim, since by means of it--as described above--as well as by\nmeans of the \"Interpreters\" found with the Nephite record, Joseph was\nable to translate the characters engraven on the plates. [8]\n\nAnother account of the manner of translating the record purporting to\nhave been given by David Whitmer, and published in the _Kansas City\nJournal_ of June 5, 1881, says:\n\n    He [meaning Joseph Smith] had two small stones of a chocolate\n    color, nearly egg-shape, and perfectly smooth, but not transparent,\n    called interpreters, which were given him with the plates. He did\n    not see the plates in translation, but would hold the interpreters\n    to his eyes and cover his face with a hat, excluding all light,\n    and before his eyes would appear what seemed to be parchment on\n    which would appear the characters of the plates in a line at the\n    top, and immediately below would appear the translation in English,\n    which Smith would read to his scribe, who wrote it down exactly\n    as it fell from his lips. The scribe would then read the sentence\n    written, and if any mistakes had been made, the characters would\n    remain visible to Smith until corrected, when they would fade from\n    sight to be replaced by another line.\n\nIt is evident that there are inaccuracies in the above statement,\ndue, doubtless, to the carelessness of the reporter of the _Journal_,\nwho has confused what Mr. Whitmer said of the Seer Stone and Urim and\nThummim. If he meant to describe the Urim and Thummim or \"Interpreters\"\ngiven to Joseph Smith with the plates--as seems to be the case--then\nthe reporter is wrong in saying that they were chocolate color and not\ntransparent; for the \"Interpreters,\" given to the Prophet with the\nplates, as we have seen by his own description, were \"two transparent\nstones.\" If the reporter meant to describe the \"Seer Stone\"--which is\nnot likely--he would be right in saying it was of a chocolate color,\nand egg-shaped, but wrong in saying there were two of them.\n\nMartin Harris' description of the manner of translating while he was\nthe amanuensis of the Prophet is as follows:\n\n    By aid of the Seer Stone, sentences would appear and were read by\n    the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say\n    \"written,\" and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear\n    and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it\n    remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it\n    was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used. [9]\n\nOn one occasion Harris sought to test the genuineness of the Prophet's\nprocedure in the matter of translation, as follows:\n\n    Martin said that after continued translation they would become\n    weary and would go down to the river and exercise in throwing\n    stones out on the river, etc. While so doing on one occasion,\n    Martin found a stone very much resembling the one used for\n    translating, and on resuming their labors of translation Martin\n    put in place [of the Seer Stone] the stone that he had found. He\n    said that the Prophet remained silent unusually long and intently\n    gazing in darkness, no trace of the usual sentence appearing. Much\n    surprised Joseph exclaimed: \"Martin! what is the matter? all is as\n    dark as Egypt.\" Martin's countenance betrayed him, and the Prophet\n    asked Martin why he had done so. Martin said, to stop the mouths\n    of fools, who had told him that the Prophet had learned those\n    sentences and was merely repeating them. [10]\n\nThe sum of the whole matter, then, concerning the manner of translating\nthe sacred record of the Nephites, according to the testimony of\nthe only witnesses competent to testify in the matter is: With the\nNephite record was deposited a curious instrument, consisting of two\ntransparent stones, set in the rim of a bow, somewhat resembling\nspectacles, but larger, called by the ancient Hebrews \"Urim and\nThummim,\" but by the Nephites \"Interpreters.\" In addition to these\n\"Interpreters\" the Prophet Joseph had a \"Seer Stone,\" which to him was\na Urim and Thummim; that the Prophet sometimes used one and sometimes\nthe other of these sacred instruments in the work of translation; that\nwhether the \"Interpreters\" or the \"Seer Stone\" was used, the Nephite\ncharacters with the English interpretation appeared in the sacred\ninstrument; that the Prophet would pronounce the English translation\nto his scribe, which, when correctly written, would disappear and the\nother characters with their interpretation take their place, and so on\nuntil the work was completed.\n\nIt should not be supposed, however, that this translation, though\naccomplished by means of the \"Interpreters\" and \"Seer Stone,\" as stated\nabove, was merely a mechanical procedure; that no faith, or mental\nor spiritual effort was required on the Prophet's part; that the\ninstruments did all, while he who used them did nothing but look and\nrepeat mechanically what he saw there reflected. Much has been written\nupon this manner of translating the Nephite record, by those who have\nopposed the Book of Mormon, and chiefly in a sneering way. On the\nmanner of translation they have bottomed much, not of their argument\nbut their ridicule--against the record; and as in another part of this\nvolume I am to meet what they consider their argument, and what I know\nto be their ridicule, I consider here a few other facts connected with\nthe manner of translating the Book of Mormon, which are extremely\nimportant, as they furnish a basis upon which can be successfully\nanswered all the objections that are urged, based on the manner in\nwhich the translation was accomplished, and also as to errors in\ngrammar, the use of modern words, western New York phrases, and other\ndefects of language which it is admitted are to be found in the Book of\nMormon, especially in the first edition.\n\nI repeat, then, that the translation of the Book of Mormon by means\nof the \"Interpreters\" and \"Seer Stone,\" was not merely a mechanical\nprocess, but required the utmost concentration of mental and spiritual\nforce possessed by the Prophet, in order to exercise the gift of\ntranslation through the means of the sacred instruments provided for\nthat work. Fortunately we have the most perfect evidence of the fact,\nthough it could be inferred from the general truth that God sets no\npremium upon mental or spiritual laziness; for whatever means God may\nhave provided to assist man to arrive at the truth, he has always made\nit necessary for man to couple with those means his utmost endeavor of\nmind and heart. So much in the way of reflection; now as to the facts\nreferred to.\n\nIn his _Address to All Believers in Christ_, David Whitmer says:\n\n    At times when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate he would\n    look into the hat in which the stone was placed, he found he was\n    spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind\n    dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make\n    him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this\n    condition he would go out and pray, and when he became sufficiently\n    humble before God, he could then proceed with the translation.\n    Now we see how very strict the Lord is, and how he requires the\n    heart of man to be just right in his sight before he can receive\n    revelation from him. [11]\n\nIn a statement to Wm. H. Kelley, G. A. Blakeslee, of Gallen, Michigan,\nunder date of September 15, 1882, David Whitmer said of Joseph Smith\nand the necessity of his humility and faithfulness while translating\nthe Book of Mormon:\n\n    He was a religious and straight-forward man. He had to be; for he\n    was illiterate and he could do nothing himself. He had to trust\n    in God. He could not translate unless he was humble and possessed\n    the right feelings towards everyone. To illustrate so you can see:\n    One morning when he was getting ready to continue the translation,\n    something went wrong about the house and he was put out about it.\n    Something that Emma, his wife, had done. Oliver and I went up\n    stairs and Joseph came up soon after to continue the translation,\n    but he could not do anything. He could not translate a single\n    syllable. He went down stairs, out into the orchard, and made\n    supplication to the Lord; was gone about an hour--came back to the\n    house, and asked Emma's forgiveness and then came up stairs where\n    we were, and then the translation went on all right. He could do\n    nothing save he was humble and faithful. [12]\n\nThe manner of translation is so far described by David Whitmer and\nMartin Harris, who received their information necessarily from Joseph\nSmith, and doubtless it is substantially correct, except in so far as\ntheir statements may have created the impression that the translation\nwas a mere mechanical process; and this is certainly corrected in part\nat least by what David Whitmer has said relative to the frame of mind\nJoseph must be in before he could translate. But we have more important\nevidence to consider on this subject of translation than these\nstatements of David Whitmer. In the course of the work of translation\nOliver Cowdery desired the gift of translation to be conferred upon\nhim, and God promised to grant it to him in the following terms:\n\n    Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as\n    the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely\n    shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask\n    in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive\n    a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records, which are\n    ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has\n    been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit. Yea, behold, I\n    will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost,\n    which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.\n    Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold this is the\n    spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the\n    Red Sea on dry ground. * * * Ask that you may know the mysteries\n    of God, and that you may translate and receive knowledge from all\n    those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and\n    according to your faith shall it be done unto you. [13]\n\nIn attempting to exercise this gift of translation, however, Oliver\nCowdery failed; and in a revelation upon the subject the Lord explained\nthe cause of his failure to translate:\n\n    Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would\n    give it [_i. e._ the gift of translation] unto you, when you took\n    no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that\n    you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be\n    right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn\n    within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it\n    be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a\n    stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is\n    wrong; therefore you cannot write that which is sacred save it be\n    given you from me. [14]\n\nWhile this is not a description of the manner in which Joseph Smith\ntranslated the Book of Mormon, it is, nevertheless, the Lord's\ndescription of how another man was to exercise the gift of translation;\nand doubtless it is substantially the manner in which Joseph Smith did\nexercise it, and the manner in which he translated the Book of Mormon.\nThat is, the Prophet Joseph Smith looked into the \"Interpreters\" or\n\"Seer Stone,\" saw there by the power of God and the gift of God to him,\nthe ancient Nephite characters, and by bending every power of his mind\nto know the meaning thereof, the interpretation wrought out in his mind\nby this effort--\"by studying it out in his mind,\" to use the Lord's\nphrase--was reflected in the sacred instrument, there to remain until\ncorrectly written by the scribe.\n\nWe see something akin to this also in the manner in which the Nephites\nused Liahona, their Urim and Thummim--the instrument through means of\nwhich they were directed of the Lord upon their journey to the promised\nland of America--it worked \"according to the faith and diligence and\nheed\" they gave unto it. (I Nephi 16:28.)\n\nIn further proof that translation was not a merely mechanical process\nwith the Prophet Joseph, I call attention to the evident thought and\nstudy he later bestowed upon the work of translating the rolls of\npapyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, purchased by the Saints in\nKirtland, of Michael H. Chandler, about the 6th of July, 1835. \"Soon\nafter this,\" says the Prophet, \"with W. W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery\nas scribes, I commenced the translation of some of the characters\nor hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls\ncontained the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph\nof Egypt,\" etc. Speaking in his history of the latter part of July,\nhe says: \"The remainder of this month I was continually engaged in\ntranslating an alphabet to the Book of Abraham and arranging a grammar\nof the Egyptian language.\" In his journal entry for November 26, 1835,\nis the following: \"Spent the day in translating the Egyptian characters\nfrom the papyrus, though suffering with a severe cold.\" Under date of\nDecember 15, this: \"I exhibited and explained the Egyptian characters\nto them (Elders M'Lellin and Young), and explained many things\nconcerning the dealings of God with the ancients, and the formation of\nthe planetary system.\" Thus he continued from time to time to work upon\nthis translation, which was not published until 1842, in the _Times\nand Seasons_, beginning in number nine of volume three. It should\nbe remembered in connection with this \"preparing an alphabet\" and\n\"arranging a grammar of the Egyptian language\" that the Prophet still\nhad in his possession the \"Seer Stone\" (or at least Oliver Cowdery had\nit, for on completing the translation of the Book of Mormon the Prophet\ngave the Seer Stone into Oliver Cowdery's keeping.--David Whitmer's\n_Address to All Believers_, p. 32),--which he had used sometimes in the\ntranslation of the Book of Mormon, yet it seems from the circumstances\nnamed that he had to bend all the energies of his intellectual powers\nto obtain a translation of the Egyptian characters.\n\nThere can be no doubt, either, that the interpretation thus obtained\nwas expressed in such language as the Prophet could command, in such\nphraseology as he was master of, and common to the time and locality\nwhere he lived; modified, of course, by the application of that\nphraseology to facts and ideas new to him in many respects, and above\nthe ordinary level of the Prophet's thoughts and language, because of\nthe inspiration of God that was upon him. This view of the translation\nof the Nephite record accounts for the fact that the Book of Mormon,\nthough a translation of an ancient record, is, nevertheless, given\nin English idiom of the period and locality in which the Prophet\nlived; and in the faulty English, moreover, both as to composition,\nphraseology, and grammar, of a person of Joseph Smith's limited\neducation; and also accounts for the sameness of phraseology and\nliterary style which runs through the whole volume.\n\nNor are we without authority of high value in these views for the\nverbal style of inspired writers. In _The Annotated Bible_, published\nby the \"Religious Tract Society,\" London, 1859, the following occurs in\nrelation to the explanation of the words \"prophet\" and \"prophecy:\"\n\n    That the prophets were more than foretellers of things future is\n    apparent from their history as well as from their writings. It\n    must also be remembered that, although prophecy contains many very\n    circumstantial allusions to particular facts and individuals, yet\n    these are referred to chiefly on account of their revelation of\n    those great, general principles with which it has to do. Prophecy\n    is God's voice, speaking to us respecting that great struggle which\n    has been and is going on in this world between good and evil.\n\n    The divine communications were made to the prophets in divers\n    manners; God seems sometimes to have spoken to them in audible\n    voice; occasionally appearing in human form. At other times he\n    employed the ministry of angels, or made known his purposes\n    by dreams. But he most frequently revealed his truth to the\n    prophets by producing that supernatural state of the sentiment,\n    intellectual, and moral faculties which the scriptures call\n    \"vision.\" Hence prophetic announcements are often called \"visions,\"\n    _i. e._ things seen; and the prophets themselves are called \"seers.\"\n\n    Although the visions which the prophet beheld and the predictions\n    of the future which he announced were wholly announced by the\n    divine Spirit, yet the form of the communication, the imagery in\n    which it is clothed, the illustration by which it is cleared up and\n    impressed, the symbols employed to bring it more graphically before\n    the mind--in short, all that may be considered as its garb and\n    dress, depends upon the education, habits, association, feelings\n    and the whole mental intellectual and spiritual character of the\n    prophet. Hence the style of some is purer, more sententious, more\n    ornate, or more sublime than others.\n\nThe author of _Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy_, Frederick Denison\nMaurice, sometime Professor of Casuistry and Modern Philosophy in the\nUniversity of Cambridge, in discussing the philosophers of the last\nhalf of the seventeenth century, has an excellent passage on the views\nof Spinoza respecting the Hebrew prophets, and in what manner they and\ntheir work are to be regarded. The passage is so _apropos_ the matter\nhere discussed that I quote the essential parts of it:\n\n    \"What do the sacred books impart when they affirm the Spirit of God\n    to have been infused into the prophets--that the prophets spoke by\n    the Spirit of God?\" (Spinoza.)\n\n    The result at which our author arrives upon a long examination into\n    the different uses of the word \"Spirit\" is, that these expressions\n    respecting the infusion of the Spirit \"signify nothing more than\n    that the prophets had a singular and extraordinary virtue and\n    cultivated piety, with very great constancy of mind, and thereby\n    they had a perception of the mind or judgment of God; for we shall\n    find that the Spirit of God denotes in Hebrew as well the mind as\n    the judgment or sentence of God, and therefore that the law of God,\n    because it unfolded the mind of God, is called the mind or Spirit\n    of God; therefore the imagination of the prophets might, with equal\n    justice, be said to be the mind of God, and the prophets be said\n    to have had the mind of God, inasmuch as through their imagination\n    the decrees of God were revealed. * * * The question how the\n    prophets acquired a sense of certainty respecting their revelations\n    gives rise to a long discussion. Their imagination being the\n    main instrument of their discoveries, they cannot have the same\n    security as we have for those truths which are discovered by\n    scientific insight or \"natural light.\" \"It is,\" says Spinoza, very\n    characteristically, \"a moral, not a mathematical security. It is\n    derived (1) from the great strength of their phantasy, which brings\n    objects before them as clearly as we see them when we are awake.\n    (2) From some divine sign. (3) From their minds being disposed to\n    the right and just,\" Spinoza affirms the last to be the principal\n    secret of their certainty. * * * Nevertheless, he affirms that the\n    revelations to the prophet depended upon his temperament and upon\n    his own opinions. These he brought with him--these varied not only\n    his style of writing, but his understanding of any communication\n    that was made to him. His joy, his sorrow, all the different moods\n    of his mind and body, were continually affecting his judgments and\n    his teachings. * * * Every thoughtful reader will perceive that\n    in these statements Spinoza has an evident advantage over those\n    who treat the personal feelings, experiences, struggles of the\n    prophets, as if they were nothing--who forget that they were human\n    beings--who look upon them merely as utterers of certain divine\n    dogmas, or as foretelling certain future events. He has a right\n    to say that such persons overlook the letter of the books, while\n    they profess to honor the letter; that they change their substance,\n    while they think that they are taking them just as they are. But no\n    real devout reader of the prophets ever forgets that they are men.\n    Their human feelings, sufferings, rejoicings, are parts to him of\n    the divine revelation. The struggles of the prophet with his own\n    evil--the consciousness and confession that the vile is mixed with\n    the precious--help more than all formal teaching to show him and us\n    how the higher mind is distinct from the lower, as well as how the\n    one is related to the other. We see how the prophet arrived at a\n    certainty about the divine will and purpose through the very doubts\n    and contradictions in himself. [15]\n\nAlso the Reverend Joseph Armitage Robinson, D. D., dean of Westminster\nand chaplain of King Edward VII of England, respecting the manner in\nwhich the message of the Old Testament was received and communicated to\nman, as late as 1905, said:\n\n    The message of the Old Testament was not written by the divine\n    hand, nor dictated by an outward compulsion; it was planted in the\n    hearts of men, and made to grow in a fruitful soil. And then they\n    were required to express it _in their own language, after their\n    natural methods, and in accordance with the stage of knowledge\n    which their time had reached_. Their human faculties were purified\n    and quickened by the divine Spirit; but they spoke to their time\n    in the language of their time, they spoke a spiritual message,\n    accommodated to the experience of their age, a message of faith in\n    God, and of righteousness as demanded by a righteous God. [16]\n\nI take occasion at this point to observe that because a writer or\nspeaker claims to be under the inspiration of God it does not follow\nthat in giving expression to what the Lord puts into his heart he will\nalways do so in grammatical terms, any more than the orthography of an\ninspired writer will always be accurate. We have many illustrations\nof this fact among the inspired men that we have known in the Church\nof Jesus Christ in these last days. Those of us who have listened\nto the utterances of prophets and apostles cannot doubt of their\ninspiration, and at the same time some of those who have been most\ninspired have been inaccurate in the use of our English language.\nThe same seems true of the ancient apostles, also. The writer of the\nActs, at the conclusion of a synopsis of a discourse which he ascribes\nto Peter, says, \"Now, when they [the Jews] saw the boldness of Peter\nand John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,\nthey marvelled.\" [17] The commentators upon this passage say that the\nlistening Jews perceived that Peter and John were uninstructed in the\nlearning of the Jewish schools, and were of the common sort of men,\nuntrained in teaching. [18] And again, \"Their language and arguments\nprove that they were untaught in the Rabbinical learning of the Jewish\nschools.\" [19] But in what way could the Jews have discerned the\nignorance and absence of learning in Peter and John except through\nthe imperfections of their language? And yet those imperfections in\nlanguage may not be urged in evidence of the absence of inspiration\nin the two apostles. Surely with God it must be that the matter is of\nmore consequence than the form in which it is expressed; the thought of\nmore moment than the word; it is the Spirit that giveth life, not the\nletter. \"He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What\nis the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.\" [20]\n\nThe view of the manner of translating the Book of Mormon here set forth\nfurnishes the basis of justification for those verbal changes and\ngrammatical corrections which have been made since the first edition\nissued from the press; and would furnish justification for making many\nmore verbal and grammatical corrections in the book; for if, as here\nset forth, the meaning of the Nephite characters was given to Joseph\nSmith in such faulty English as he, an uneducated man, could command,\nwhile every detail and shade of thought should be strictly preserved,\nthere can be no reasonable ground for objection to the correction\nof mere verbal errors and grammatical construction. There can be no\nreasonable doubt that had Joseph Smith been a finished English scholar\nand the facts and ideas represented by the Nephite characters upon the\nplates had been given him by the inspiration of God through the Urim\nand Thummim, those ideas would have been expressed in correct English;\nbut as he was not a finished English scholar, he had to give expression\nto those facts and ideas in such language as he could command, and\nthat was faulty English, which the Prophet himself and those who have\nsucceeded him as custodians of the word of God have had, and now have,\na perfect right to correct. [21]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Wentworth letter, _Millennial Star_, vol. 19, p. 118.\n\n2. Wentworth letter, History of the Church, vol. IV, ch. 31.\n\n3. Book of Mosiah 8:13.\n\n4. The above statement was made by Oliver Cowdery, at a special\nconference held at Kanesville, Iowa, Oct. 21, 1848. It was first\npublished in the _Deseret News_ of April 13, 1859: Bishop Reuben\nMiller, who was present at the meeting, reported Cowdery's remarks.\n\n5. From _An Address to all Believers in Christ_, by David Whitmer, A\nWitness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, published at\nRichmond, Missouri, 1887, p. 12.\n\n6. Harris' Statement to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_, vol. 44,\np. 87.\n\n7. Cannon's _Life of Joseph Smith_, p. 56.\n\n8. Nearly all the anti-\"Mormon\" works dealing with the coming forth\nof the Book of Mormon speak of the \"Seer Stone\" and reiterate the\nfalsehood that the Prophet stole it from the children of Willard Chase,\nfor whom Joseph and Hyrum were digging a well.\n\n9. Statement of Martin Harris, to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_,\nvol. 44, pp. 86, 87.\n\n10. Harris' Statement to Edward Stevenson, _Millennial Star_, vol. 44,\npp. 78, 79; 86, 87.\n\n11. _Address to All Believers in Christ_, p. 30.\n\n12. Braden and Kelley, _Debate on Divine Origin of Book of Mormon_,\np. 186. The above debate took place in 1884, several years before the\ndeath of David Whitmer, and the statement from which the above is taken\nwas quoted in full.\n\n13. D. & C., sec. 8:1-3, 11.\n\n14. D. & C., sec. 9:7-9.\n\n15. _Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy_, vol. II, pp. 397-399.\n\n16. _St. Louis Globe-Democrat_, Sunday, March 19, 1905--The discourse\nis published at length.\n\n17. Acts 4:13.\n\n18. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, _Commentary_, Acts 4:13.\n\n19. _International Commentary of the New Testament_, Acts 4.\n\n20. Jeremiah 23:28.\n\n21. The manner of translating the Book of Mormon above set forth,\ngave rise to considerable discussion within the Church, and led to\nthe publication of a number of papers in the _Improvement Era_, a\nmonthly magazine published in Utah, in defense of the views here\nadvocated. These papers were finally collected and published in the\nauthor's _Defense of the Faith and the Saints_, vol. I, pp. 255-311,\nto which the reader is referred for a more exhaustive consideration\nof the question above discussed. Moreover, this whole question was\nsubsequently reviewed at a meeting of the First Presidency and the\nTwelve Apostles, and accepted as the most reasonable explanation that\nhad been offered on the subject of the translation of the Book of\nMormon, and its publication approved.--_Roberts_.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nPUBLICATION OF THE RECORD.\n\nThe exact time when the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed\ncannot be ascertained. According to the history of the Prophet it was\nearly in June, 1829, when David Whitmer, took Joseph and his wife and\nOliver Cowdery to his father's home near Waterloo, at the north end\nof Seneca Lake, to the neighborhood called Fayette. [1] There the\nProphet remained until the translation was completed and the copyright\nsecured. Since David Whitmer arrived at Harmony \"in the beginning of\nJune,\" to take the Prophet and his wife and Oliver Cowdery to his\nfather's home, and as Mr. John H. Gilbert (the chief compositor on the\nBook of Mormon), says in a signed statement [2] that he commenced the\nwork of setting the type for the Book of Mormon in August, 1829, the\ntranslation was completed between those dates, that is, between the\nearly part of June, 1829, and August of the same year, as the work of\ntranslation was completed before the work of printing began.\n\nThe contract for printing was made with Mr. Egbert B. Grandin, of\nPalmyra, the edition to be five thousand copies, and the price $3,000,\nMartin Harris guaranteeing the payment of that sum to the publisher.\n\nAs soon as arrangements were completed for publishing the Book of\nMormon, the Prophet Joseph started for Harmony, Pennsylvania, but\nbefore his departure he left the following directions to be followed\nrespecting the work of printing:\n\n    First, that Oliver Cowdery should transcribe the whole manuscript.\n\n    Second, that he should take but one copy at a time to the office,\n    so that if one copy should get destroyed there would still be a\n    copy remaining.\n\n    Third, that in going to and from the [printing] office, he should\n    always have a guard to attend him, for the purpose of protecting\n    the manuscript.\n\n    Fourth, that a guard should be kept constantly on the watch, both\n    night and day, about the house, to protect the manuscript from\n    malicious persons, who would infest the house for the purpose of\n    destroying the manuscript. All these things were strictly attended\n    to as the Lord commanded Joseph. [3]\n\nThese precautions, at first glance, may seem excessive, and under\nordinary circumstances would be totally unnecessary; yet the following\ncommunication to the _Signs of the Times_, by J. N. T. Tucker, who was\nemployed in the printing establishment of the _Wayne Sentinel_, in the\nestablishment at which the Book of Mormon was printed, in Palmyra,\nwill demonstrate that the precaution in this case was necessary; and\nincidentally tends to prove true the statement of the revelation in\nwhich the Prophet Joseph is warned that the 116 pages of manuscript\nstolen from Martin Harris were changed by those into whose hands\nthey had fallen, with the intention to make them conflict with the\nreproduction of them, should the Prophet again translate that part of\nthe work. With these preliminary remarks the following letter will be\nself-explanatory:\n\n    \"MORMONISM\"--SOME CURIOUS FACTS\n\n    _Messrs. Editors_:--Having noticed in a late number of the _Signs\n    of the Times_, a notice of a work, entitled, _Mormon Delusions\n    and Monstrosities_, it occurred to me that it might, perhaps, be\n    a service to the cause of truth, to state one circumstance in\n    relation to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which occurred\n    during its publication, at which time I was a practical printer and\n    engaged in the office where it was printed, and became familiar\n    with the men and their principles, through whose agency it was \"got\n    up.\"\n\n    The circumstance alluded to was as follows: We had heard much said\n    by Martin Harris, the man who paid for the printing, and the only\n    one in the concern worth any property, about the wonderful wisdom\n    of the translators of the mysterious plates, and resolved to test\n    their wisdom. Accordingly, after putting one sheet in type, we laid\n    it aside, and told Martin Harris it was lost, and there would be\n    serious defection in the book in consequence, unless another sheet\n    like the original could be produced. The announcement threw the\n    old gentleman into quite an excitement. But after a few moments'\n    reflection, he said he would try to obtain another. After two or\n    three weeks, another sheet was produced, but no more like the\n    original than any other sheet of paper would have been, written\n    over by a common schoolboy, after having read, as they did, the\n    manuscript preceding and succeeding the lost sheet.\n\n    As might be expected, the disclosure of the plan greatly annoyed\n    the authors, and caused no little merriment among those who\n    were acquainted with the circumstances. As we were none of us\n    Christians, and only labored for the \"gold that perisheth,\" we did\n    not care for the delusion, only so far as to be careful to avoid it\n    ourselves, and enjoy the hoax. Not one of the hands in the office\n    where the wonderful book was printed ever became a convert to the\n    system, although the writer of this was often assured by Martin\n    Harris, if he did not he would be destroyed in 1832.\n\n    Yours in the gospel of Christ,\n\n    J. N. TUCKER.\n\n    \"Gorton, May 23, 1842.\"\n\n    \"_Signs of the Times_, June 8, 1842.\"\n\nThe description in this letter of Martin Harris' excitement from\nthe loss of the sheet mentioned, and the claim that the reproduced\nmanuscript did not fill the blank created through their hiding that one\nsheet of type-set matter, will appear at once as a fabrication when\nit is remembered that Martin Harris must have known that the original\nmanuscript of the Book of Mormon had never left the hands of those\nhaving the work in charge, and they were by that precaution prepared\nagainst just such emergencies as this whether practiced playfully or in\ndead earnest to bring the work into disrepute. [4]\n\nThese several precautions relative to the manuscript of the Book of\nMormon stated by Lucy Smith in the work quoted, account for several\ncircumstances regarded as peculiar in connection with the publication\nof the Book of Mormon: The almost entire absence of Joseph Smith the\nprophet from the printing establishment of Mr. Grandin while the book\nwas being set up and printed; the presence of two persons always when\na portion of manuscript was carried to the printers, one of whom was\nalways Hyrum Smith; the guard constantly upon the watch at the Smith\nhomestead; and the existence of two manuscript copies of the Book\nof Mormon. Oliver Cowdery during the time that the type setting and\nprinting was going on made a copy from the original manuscript for\nthe use of the printer; carefully keeping the original (which, too,\nin the main, he had written as the prophet Joseph translated from the\nNephite plates) in his possession at the home of the Smiths, that if\nperadventure the copy sent to the printer should be destroyed or stolen\nit could be copied again from the original.\n\nIt is said by Mr. Gilbert that the manuscript as sent to him was\nneither capitalized nor punctuated, and that the capitalization and\npunctuation in the first edition was done by him. This statement,\nhowever, can only be true in part, as an examination of the printer's\nmanuscript will prove; for that manuscript is very well capitalized\nand in the main in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. Mr. Gilbert may\nhave capitalized and punctuated to some extent, but it is clear that he\ndid not do all of it, or even the main part of it. [5] The printer's\nmanuscript, after it had served its purpose, was evidently taken\npossession of by Oliver Cowdery, while the original manuscript remained\nin the possession of the Prophet Joseph.\n\nIn 1850 Oliver Cowdery, a little before his death, which occurred at\nRichmond, Ray county, Missouri, on the 3rd of March of that year--gave\ninto the possession of David Whitmer, his brother-in-law and fellow\nwitness of the truth of the Book of Mormon, his printer's manuscript\nof that book, and the descendants of David Whitmer have it in their\npossession to this day (1903); regarding it--though in that they are\nmistaken--as the original manuscript. [6] The original manuscript\nhaving been preserved by the Prophet Joseph, it was, on the 2nd of\nOctober, 1841, in the presence of a number of elders, deposited by\nhim in the northwest cornerstone of the Nauvoo House, with a number\nof coins, papers and books, in a cavity made in the corner stone for\nthat purpose. Among those who were present at the time the original\nmanuscript of the Book of Mormon was thus deposited in the corner stone\nof the Nauvoo House, was Elder Warren Foote, of Glendale, Kane county,\nUtah, who quotes from his journal as follows:\n\n    October 2, 1841. The semi-annual conference commenced today.\n    After meeting was dismissed a deposit was made in the southeast\n    corner of the Nauvoo house. A square hole had been chisseled in\n    the large corner stone like a box. An invitation was given for any\n    who wished to put in any little memento they desired to. I was\n    standing very near the corner stone, when Joseph Smith came up with\n    the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, and said he wanted to put\n    that in there, as he had had trouble enough with it. It appeared\n    to be written on fools' cap paper, and was about three inches\n    in thickness. There was also deposited a Book of Doctrine and\n    Covenants, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, fifty cents,\n    and one dollar pieces of American coin, besides other articles. A\n    close-fitting stone cover was laid in cement, and the wall built\n    over it. I was standing within three feet of the Prophet when he\n    handed in the manuscript, and saw it very plainly. He intimated in\n    his remarks, that in after generations the walls might be thrown\n    down, and these things discovered, from which the people could\n    learn the doctrines and principles and faith of the Latter-day\n    Saints. [7]\n\nIn a rather curious manner a portion of this original manuscript came\ninto the possession of Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church, and\nnephew of the Prophet Joseph. The Nauvoo House, begun in the Prophet,\nwas never completed. Mr. Lewis C. Bidamon, who married Emma Smith,\nwidow of the Prophet, came into possession of the unfinished Nauvoo\nHouse, and tore down the walls and took up the extensive foundations of\nthe house in order to sell the building stone in them. In the course of\ntearing out the foundations the southeast corner stone was taken out\nand the treasures it contained discovered and taken in charge by Mr.\nBidamon. Some years later, namely, in the Summer of 1884, Mrs. Sarah M.\nKimball visited Nauvoo, and among other landmarks went to the site of\nthe Nauvoo House, the walls and foundation of which were not yet all\ntaken away. She called upon Mr. Bidamon, then living in a temporary\nfour-roomed building erected on the southwest corner of the foundation\nlaid for the Nauvoo House. And now Mrs. Kimball's story, as related in\nher letter to Elder George Reynolds, dated 19th July, 1884:\n\n    I asked why the heavy and extensive foundations around him were\n    being torn up; he [Mr. Bidamon] replied that he had bought the\n    premises, and the rock was torn up to sell, as he was poor\n    and otherwise would not have been able to build. I said, I am\n    interested in this foundation, because I remember there were\n    treasures deposited under the chief corner stone. He said, yes,\n    I took up the stone box and sold it to Mr. -- (I do not remember\n    the name.) It had been so long exposed to the wet and weather that\n    its contents were nearly ruined, I gave the coin to Joe [Joseph]\n    [8] and told him he could have the pile of paper. He said it was\n    the manuscript of the Book of Mormon; but it was so much injured\n    that he did not care for it. While we were talking, Mr. Bidamon's\n    wife brought a large pasteboard box and placed it on my lap. It\n    contained a stack of faded and fast decaying paper, the bottom\n    layers for several inches were uniform in size, they seemed to me\n    larger than common fools' cap, the paper was coarse in texture and\n    had the appearance of having lain a long time in water, as the ink\n    seemed almost entirely soaked into the paper. When I handled it,\n    it would fall to pieces. I could only read a few words here and\n    there, just enough to learn that it was the language of the Book\n    of Mormon. Above this were some sheets of finer texture folded and\n    sewed together, this was better preserved and more easily read. I\n    held it up, and said: \"Mr. B., how much for this relic?\" He said:\n    \"Nothing from you, you are welcome to anything you like from the\n    box.\" I appreciated the kindness, took the leaves that were folded\n    and sewed together, also took two fragments of the _Times and\n    Seasons_, published by Don Carlos Smith. [9] I send with this a\n    fragment dated January, 1840, for your acceptance, containing the\n    prophetic lamentation of P. P. Pratt, while chained in prison.\n\n    Very respectfully,\n\n    (Signed) SARAH M. KIMBALL. [10]\n\nThis fragment of the manuscript, now in the possession of President\nJoseph F. Smith, is thus described by Elder George Reynolds, in his\n_History of the Book of Mormon_:\n\n    It consists of twenty-two pages of somewhat rough, unruled writing\n    paper, more resembling narrow bill-cap than any other size of\n    paper now made, being a little less than fifteen and a half inches\n    long and full six and a half inches wide. The paper is now tinged\n    brown or yellow by time and damp, and the writing in some places\n    is undecipherable. The pages are numbered 3 to 22, pages 1 and 2\n    having been lost. The manuscript commences at the second verse of\n    the second chapter of the First Book of Nephi, and continues to the\n    thirty-fifth verse of the thirteenth chapter of the same book. * *\n    * The manuscript is in two, if not three, handwritings. Pages 7 to\n    18, inclusive, appear to have been written by Oliver Cowdery. Pages\n    3 to 6 are written in what looks like a woman's hand, possibly that\n    of Emma Smith; while the handwriting on pages 19 to 22, if not the\n    same, very much resembles that of pages 3 to 6. The only division\n    made in the manuscript is into chapters; the sentences are not\n    divided by punctuation marks and are seldom commenced with capital\n    letters.\n\nIt may be thought that the care of the manuscript during the process of\nprinting was not only extraordinary but unnecessary. The experiences of\nthe prophet, however, in the matter of keeping possession of the plates\nof the Book of Mormon, and the efforts that were made to take them\nfrom him, together with the loss of the one hundred and sixteen pages\nof manuscript he had for a short time entrusted to the care of Martin\nHarris, taught him caution. It is well it did, for having failed in\ntheir efforts to wrest the plates from him, several conspiracies were\nformed by his enemies to obtain the manuscript of the book and prevent\nits publication. [11] And notwithstanding all the precautions taken\nan enemy nearly succeeded in publishing the Book of Mormon in garbled\nform before the printing of the book was completed. An ex-justice of\nthe peace by the name of Cole started to publish a weekly periodical\nwhich he called _Dogberry Paper on Winter Hill_. In his prospectus\nhe promised his subscribers to publish one form of \"Joe Smith's Gold\nBible\" each week, and thus furnish them with the principal part of the\nbook without their being obliged to purchase it from the Smiths. The\n_Dogberry Paper_ was printed at Mr. Grandin's establishment, where the\nBook of Mormon was being printed, and as the press was employed all\nthe time except at night and on Sundays, Mr. Cole printed his paper\nat those times. The arrangement also enabled him to keep what he was\ndoing from the knowledge of the Prophet and his associates; and it\nis said that several numbers of his paper containing portions from\nthe Book of Mormon which he had pilfered, were published before his\nrascality was found out. Joseph, who was at Harmony, in Pennsylvania,\nwas sent for, and on arriving at Palmyra quietly but firmly asserted\nhis copyrights which he had been careful to secure, and Mr. Cole\ngave up his attempt to publish the book or any portion of it. After\nsettling this difficulty Joseph again returned to Pennsylvania, only\nto be again summoned to Palmyra to quiet the fears of his publisher,\nMr. Grandin, who had been made fearful that the Prophet would not be\nable to meet his obligations for printing the book. The people in the\nvicinity of Palmyra had held public meetings and passed resolutions not\nto purchase the Book of Mormon, if it ever issued from the press. They\nappointed a committee to wait upon Mr. Grandin and explain to him the\nevil consequences which would result to him because of the resolutions\nthey had passed not to buy the books when published, which would render\nit impossible for \"the Smiths\" to meet their obligations to him. They\npersuaded him to stop printing, and Joseph was again sent for. On the\nProphet's arrival he called upon Mr. Grandin in company with Martin\nHarris, and together they gave the frightened publisher such assurance\nof their ability to meet their obligation to him that printing was\nresumed; [12] and finally, in the spring of 1830, the book issued from\nthe press.\n\nThus, from start to finish, difficulty and danger beset the coming\nforth of the Book of Mormon. But at last every obstacle was surmounted;\nevery difficulty overcome; every device of the enemy thwarted; every\ndanger to the record of the Nephites past. It was published--a\nfive thousand edition of it. Henceforth, thanks to \"the great art\npreservative\"--printing--it would be indestructible. To the world was\ngiven the testimony of sleeping nations that the Lord is God; that\nJesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world; that the gospel is\nthe power of God unto salvation. The fervent prayers of the prophets\nand other righteous men among the ancient inhabitants of America were\nanswered. The Gentile nations which, by the spirit of prophecy, they\nknew would at some time occupy their land, would become informed as to\nthem; of their origin; of the promises of God to the remnant of their\nseed, which the Gentiles would find upon the land. So, too, would the\nJews know of the ancient inhabitants of the land; and would know of\nthe decrees of God respecting the land and the inhabitants thereof;\nand would have the testimony of these ancient nations of Israelites in\nAmerica that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews had crucified, was indeed\nthe Messiah, the hope of Israel, and the world's Savior. But what was\nof more immediate interest to these ancient worthies of the western\nhemisphere, their descendants remaining in the land would, through\ntheir record, be brought to a knowledge of their forefathers, and of\nthe goodness and favor and severity of God towards them. They would be\nbrought to a knowledge of how their fathers had departed from the ways\nof the Lord; why the disfavor of God was upon them; and how they might\nreturn into his favor through obedience to that gospel which their\nfathers had rejected. For these several things righteous men among the\nNephites earnestly prayed; and obtained a promise from the Lord that he\nwould preserve their records and at the last bring them to the remnant\nof their seed, to the Jews and to the Gentiles that their testimonies\nto the truth of God might not be lost to the world. [13] And now the\nhopes and promises were fulfilled. Their record was published and was\ndestined to be read in all the languages spoken by the children of men,\nand stand as a Witness for God to all the world.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 48, 49.\n\n2. The Statement referred to was given to Elder Francis M. Lyman, of\nthe Council of the Twelve Apostles, who called upon Mr. Gilbert at\nPalmyra on October 23, 1897. Mr. Gilbert wrote with his own hand in\nElder Lyman's Journal, and signed the following:\n\nPalmyra, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1897.\n\nAt the request of Elder F. M. Lyman of Utah, I make the following\ncertificate: I was born in the town of Richmond, Ontario county,\nApril 13, 1802. I assisted E. B. Grandin in estimating the expense\nof printing 5,000 copies of the \"Mormon\" Bible, and the price agreed\nupon--$3,000. I was the principal compositor of said Bible, commencing\non the same in August, 1829, and finishing the same in March, 1830.\n\n(Signed) _John H. Gilbert_.\n\nI am indebted to Elder Lyman for access to his Journal for the above\nstatement.\n\n3. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by his mother, chap. 31.\n\n4. Tucker's letter is produced in Bennett's _Mormonism Exposed_,\n(1842), pages 112, 123.\n\n5. The writer saw and examined the printer's manuscript in the\npossession of David Whitmer in 1884, and speaks from personal knowledge\non this point in the text.\n\n6. It has since been deposited with the President of the Reorganized\nChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, son of the Prophet Joseph,\nby the grandson of David Whitmer, George Schwiech.\n\n7. The above excerpt from Elder Foote's Journal is published by George\nReynolds in a series of articles under the title \"History of the Book\nof Mormon,\" in the _Contributor_, for 1884.\n\n8. _i. e._ Joseph Smith, son of the Prophet.\n\n9. The Prophet's brother, and for a time editor of the _Times and\nSeasons_.\n\n10. Mrs. Kimball's letter is published by Elder Geo. Reynolds in his\narticles on the _History of the Book of Mormon, Contributor_, vol. V,\nNo. 10.\n\n11. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chaps. 32 and 33.\n\n12. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, chap. 33.\n\n13. See Book of Mormon, Book of Enos, chap. 1:12-18; Mormon 8:24-26;\nand 9:36, 37; and 5:9-24; I Nephi 13:30-42.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nAN ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\nWith reference to its construction the Book of Mormon separates into\nthree divisions:\n\n1. The small plates of Nephi, a record kept upon gold plates made by\nthe first Nephi upon which he purposed to record and have recorded\nmore especially the work of the holy ministry among the Nephites,\nthe prophecies of the coming of the Messiah in the flesh, and the\nexhortations to righteousness by the prophets who should arise among\nhis people. As compared with his plates on which he designed to have\nrecorded the secular history of his people, they were small, and\ndoubtless comparatively few in number, hence their name--\"The Smaller\nPlates of Nephi.\" The historical data contained in these small plates\nof Nephi extends over a period of about four hundred years, or from the\ndeparture of Lehi from Jerusalem to the reign of King Benjamin, the\nsecond king of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation. But chiefly these plates\nwere filled with prophecies and exhortations to righteousness, and\nmany transcriptions from the writings of Isaiah, and other prophets,\nwhile historical data--though sufficient to give a general idea of the\nmovement of Lehi's colony, and the subsequent march of events among the\npeoples that sprang from that colony--are meager.\n\nThe translation of these small plates, in current editions, occupies\nthe first one hundred and fifty-seven [1] pages of the Book of Mormon,\nfractional pages aside; and with two pages of explanatory matter by\nMormon, under the title \"Words of Mormon,\" make 133 pages of the\nbook. The books of this first division of the Book of Mormon are six\nin number, _viz_: I. Nephi, II. Nephi, Book of Jacob, Book of Enos,\nBook of Jarom, Book of Omni. Though there are but six books in this\ndivision, there are nine writers, as follows:\n\nThe first Nephi, who writes one hundred and twenty-seven and a half\npages [2] of the one hundred and fifty seven in this division.\n\nJacob, brother of Nephi, twenty-one and a half pages.\n\nZenos, son of the above Jacob, two and one-half pages.\n\nJarom, son of the above Zenos, two pages.\n\nIn the Book of Omni there are but three and one half pages, but there\nare five writers, each of whom records merely a few lines:\n\nOmni, son of the above Jarom;\n\nAmaron, son of the above Omni;\n\nChemish, brother of the above Amaron;\n\nAbinadom, son of Chemish;\n\nAmaleki, son of the above Abinadom.\n\nAmaleki writes about two pages out of the three pages and a half\ncomprising the Book of Omni, and gives the important information\nconcerning the second hegira of the righteous Nephites, their union\nwith the people of Zarahemla and the formation of the Nephite-Zarahemla\nnation.\n\nAlthough there are nine writers in this division of the Book of Mormon,\nthe writing is chiefly done by the first two, Nephi and Jacob, of which\nthe first writes 127 1/2 pages; and the second 21 1/2 pages, leaving but\neight pages to be written by the other seven writers.\n\n2. Mormon's abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi comprises the\nsecond division of the Book of Mormon. This is a condensed record made\nfrom the various books written or engraved upon the Large Plates of\nNephi, which plates, it will be remembered, were made by the first\nNephi, as well as the Smaller Plates of Nephi, that upon them might be\nrecorded the secular history of the people, their wars and contentions,\ntheir affairs of government and the migrations of their people. This\npart of the Book of Mormon--the abridgment--is the work of one man,\nMormon, from whom this whole record of the Nephites takes its name, and\nyet the abridgment of Mormon occupies but 390 1/2 out of the 632 pages;\nhis own book, bearing his own name, makes 15 1/2 pages making in all\n406 out of the 623 pages which comprise the whole book.\n\nThe style of Mormon's abridgment is very complicated. It consists\nmainly of his condensation of the various books which he found engraven\nupon the Larger Plates of Nephi--the Book of Mosiah, Book of Alma,\nHelaman, III. Nephi, IV. Nephi, etc. Because Mormon retained the names\nof these respective books in his condensation or abridgment of them,\nmany readers of the Book of Mormon have been led to suppose that there\nwas a separate writer for each book, overlooking the fact that these\nbooks, so-called, in the Book of Mormon, are but brief abridgments of\nthe original books bearing those names. Occasionally, however, Mormon\ncame upon passages in the original annals that pleased him so well that\nhe transcribed them verbatim in the record he was writing. An example\nof this is to be found beginning at page 163 (current edition), in the\nsecond line of the ninth paragraph, and ending with page 169--the words\nof King Benjamin to his people.\n\nThe modern method of writing would be, of course, to make the\nabridgment of Mormon the regular text of the book, put the verbatim\nquotations from the old Nephite books that were being abridged within\nquotation marks, and throw the occasional remarks or comments of the\nabridger into foot notes. But these devices in literary work were not\nknown, apparently, among the Nephites.\n\nAfter completing his abridgment of the books written upon the Larger\nPlates of Nephi, down to this own day, Mormon made a record of the\nthings which came under his own observation, and engraved them upon\nthe Larger Plates of Nephi, and called that the Book of Mormon; but\nupon the plates on which he had engraven his abridgment of all the\nbooks found in the Larger Plates of Nephi, and which he had made with\nhis own hands, he recorded but a brief account of the things which he\nhad witnessed among his people, and that, too, he called the Book of\nMormon. [3] it occupies fourteen and a half pages; which, with the\nother three hundred and ninety and one half pages, as above stated,\nmakes four hundred and five pages of the Book of Mormon written by the\nhand of Mormon.\n\n3. The third division of the Book of Mormon is made up of writings\nof Moroni, the son of Mormon. He finishes the record of his father,\nMormon, in which he occupies seven and a half pages. After that he\nabridges the history of the people of Jared, who were led from the\nTower of Babel to the north continent of the western hemisphere, and\nwhose record was found by a branch of the Nephite people. [4] This\nabridged history of the Jaredites occupies thirty-eight pages; and in\ncharacter of composition is much like the complex style of Mormon's\nabridgment of the Nephite records. It was modeled doubtless after that\nwork.\n\nThen follows his own book, the Book of Moroni, which occupies fifteen\nand a half pages, making in all sixty-one pages written by Moroni.\n\nThe following is a summary of the three divisions:\n\n    I. Direct translation from the Small Plates of Nephi, nine writers\n    (of whom two write 149 of the 157 pages)...157 pages\n\n    II. Mormon's abridgment of the various books written upon the Large\n    Plates of Nephi...390 1/2 pages\n\n    III. Mormon's personal account of events that occurred in this own\n    day...14 1/2 pages\n\n    IV. Moroni's writings--completion of this father's record,\n    abridgment of the Jaredite History, his own book, called the Book\n    of Moroni...61 pages\n\n    Total...623 pages\n\nThe total number of writers in the Book of Mormon is eleven, of whom\nfour do the principal part of the writing, these are the First Nephi,\nJacob, Mormon and Moroni.\n\nOf these four, Mormon does the major part. For purposes of reference I\nmake the following summary:\n\n    Mormon writes...405 pages\n\n    Moroni...61 pages\n\n    Nephi...127 1/2 pages\n\n    Jacob...21 1/2 pages\n\n    The other seven writers...8 pages\n\n    Total...623 pages\n\nSuch is the Book of Mormon as to its construction--the number of its\nwriters, and the style employed in the parts that are abridgments from\nthe larger records of the Nephites and Jaredites. All this may now\nseem unimportant to the reader, but he will find when I come to the\nargument for the truth of the Book of Mormon, and the consideration of\nthe objections urged against it, this analysis will become an important\nfactor in that work.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. One hundred and fifty-one in the first edition.\n\n2. That is of the current editions of the book. The references in the\nanalysis throughout are to current editions.\n\n3. Mormon was born about the year 311 A. D., and was killed by the\nLamanites after delivering his writings to his son Moroni, about 385 A.\nD.\n\n4. See p. 142 [Chapter X--Transcriber].\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nMIGRATIONS TO THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND THE NATIONS THAT AROSE FROM\nTHEM. [1]\n\nAccording to the Book of Mormon there have been three migrations from\nthe old world to the new. These, in their chronological order, are,\nfirst, the colony of Jared; second, the colony of Lehi; and third, the\ncolony of Mulek. It is necessary to the completeness of this work to\ngive a brief account of each of these colonies, together with their\ndevelopment into great nations in the western world, a summary of their\nhistory, and a brief description of their civilization.\n\nI. THE JAREDITES.\n\n_Migration and Place of Landing_.\n\nThe colony of Jared, according to the Book of Mormon, departed from the\nTower of Babel about the time of the confusion of languages; which, if\nthe Hebrew chronology of the Bible be accepted, was an event that took\nplace 2,247 B. C. Through a special favor to the family of Jared and\nhis brother, Moriancumr, [2] the language of these families, and that\nof a few of their friends was not confounded. Under divine direction\nthey departed from Babel northward into a valley called Nimrod, and\nthence were led by the Lord across the continent of Asia [3] eastward\nuntil they came to the shore of the great sea--Pacific Ocean--which\ndivided the lands. Here they remained four years; and then by divine\nappointment constructed eight barges in which to cross the mighty\nocean to a land of promise, to which God had covenanted to bring\nthem; to a land \"which was choice above all other lands, which the\nLord God had reserved for a righteous people.\" After a severely stormy\npassage--continuing for 344 days, the colony landed on the western\ncoast of North America, \"probably south of the Gulf of California.\" [4]\n\nSoon after their arrival the people of the colony began to scatter out\nupon the face of the land, and multiply, and till the earth; \"and they\ndid wax strong in the land.\" [5] Previous to the demise of Moriancumr\nand Jared, the people were called together and a kingly government\nfounded, Orihah, the youngest son of Jared, being anointed king.\n\n_Capital and Centres of Civilization_.\n\nThe capital of the kingdom was doubtless the city of Moron, in a\nprovince or \"land\" of the same name, the location of which is unknown\nexcept that it was near the land called by the Nephites \"Desolation.\"\n\"Now,\" says Moroni, \"the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was\nnear the land which is called 'Desolation' by the Nephites;\" [6] and\nlater he informs us that this \"land of Moron\" was the land of the\n\"first inheritance\" of the Jaredites. [7] This locates the land of\nMoron near the land called by the Nephites \"Desolation,\" and the land\nDesolation, according to the Nephite records, bordered on the north\nof the land Bountiful, at that point where it was but a day and a\nhalf's journey for a Nephite from the sea east to the sea west. [8]\nThis would bring the southern borders of the land Desolation well down\ntowards the continent of South America, perhaps to some point on that\nnarrow neck of land known to us as the Isthmus of Panama. The northern\nlimits of what the Nephites called the land Desolation may not be so\neasily ascertained. Whether it extended north and westward beyond the\npeninsula of Yucatan or ended south and east of that peninsula may not\nbe definitely determined; but from the general tenor of the references\nto it in the Book of Mormon, it was, when compared with the whole\ncountry, occupied by the Nephites, a small division of the country, a\nlocal province, and bounded on the north by what the Jaredites called\nthe land of Moron, the land of the Jaredites' first inheritance. [9]\n\nAccording to the late Elder Orson Pratt the place of the Jaredites'\n\"first inheritance,\" or landing, was \"on the western coast, and\nprobably south of the Gulf of California,\" [10] though he gives no\nreason for his statement. Elder George Reynolds, speaking of the\nland of Moron, \"where the Jaredites made their first settlement,\"\nsays: \"It was north of the land called Desolation by the Nephites,\nand consequently in some part of the region which we know as Central\nAmerica.\" [11] This conclusion, of course, is based upon the idea that\nthe land Desolation was comparatively but a small Nephite province,\nan idea that, as already remarked, is forced upon the mind from the\ngeneral tenor of the Book of Mormon references to it.\n\nThis land Desolation, so named by the Nephites because of the evidence\nof ruin and destruction that everywhere abounded in it, when first\ndiscovered by them, not because its lands were not fertile, was\nevidently a great centre of population in Jaredite times. About 123\nB. C. a company of Nephites--forty-three in number--sent out by one\nLimhi, came into the land afterwards called Desolation and described\nit as \"a land which was covered with dry bones, yea, a land which had\nbeen peopled, and which had been destroyed.\" [12] Another description\nof the land found by Limhi's expedition is that they \"discovered a\nland which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also\ncovered with the ruins of buildings of every kind; * * * a land which\nhad been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of\nIsrael.\" [13] \"And for a testimony that the things they said were true,\nthey brought from the land twenty-four plates which were filled with\nengravings, and the plates were of pure gold. And behold, also, they\nbrought breast plates, which were large, and they were of brass and of\ncopper, and perfectly sound. And again, they brought swords, the hilts\nof which had perished, and the blades were cankered with rust; but no\none in the land could interpret the language or the engravings that\nwere on the plates.\" [14]\n\nIt is evident that the land of Moron, north of Desolation, was the\nchief centre of Jaredite civilization, and the principal seat of\ngovernment from the time of their first landing in America--some\ntwenty-two centuries B. C.--to the last civil war which ended in the\ndestruction of the nation, in the sixth century B. C. The evidence of\nthe foregoing statement is seen in the fact that Moron is the land of\ntheir first inheritance; and also that nearly all their great civil\nwars throughout their national existence, down to and including the\nlast, raged in and about the land of Moron [15]--except the last\ngreat battles of the last war which were fought about the Hill Ramah,\nthe Hill Cumorah of the Nephites. This fixes the center of Jaredite\ncivilization for a period of some sixteen centuries in Central America.\nTrue, there is evidence that the Jaredites occupied at one time very\nmuch of the north continent; [16] but the land Moron, in Central\nAmerica, was the seat of government and the center of civilization of\nthe great empire. In the reign of the fourth king of the Jaredites,\nOmer, a conspiracy overthrew his authority; and would doubtless have\nended in his assassination; but, warned of God in a dream, he departed\nout of the land with his family, and \"traveled many days,\" and \"came\nover by the place where the Nephites were destroyed\"--that is, by the\nHill Cumorah, south of Lake Ontario, in the state of New York--\"and\nfrom thence eastward, and came to a place that was called Ablom, by\nthe sea shore, and there he pitched his tent.\" [17] Here he was joined\nlater by others who fled from the tyranny of those who had usurped the\nkingdom. [18] This land of \"Ablom\", the late Elder Orson Pratt suggested,\nwas \"probably on the shore of the New England states.\" [19] So far as\nknown this marks the northern limits of Jaredite occupancy of the north\ncontinent.\n\nIn the reign of the sixteenth king--in whose days \"the whole face of\nthe land northward was covered with inhabitants,\" [20] a \"great city\nwas founded at the narrow neck of land,\" that is, at some point on\nthe Isthmus of Panama. That city marked the southern limits of the\nJaredite empire. They never entered South America for the purpose of\ncolonization, but preserved it \"for a wilderness,\" in which \"to get\ngame.\" [21]\n\nThe width of the empire east and west, north of the Gulf of Mexico,\nmay not be determined. Whether it extended from ocean to ocean, or was\nconfined to the Missouri-Mississippi valleys, and thence eastward south\nof the great lakes to the Atlantic, may not be positively asserted;\nbut personally I incline to the latter opinion, notwithstanding the\nstatement of the Book of Mormon to the effect that \"the whole face\nof the land northward was covered with inhabitants.\" This I believe\nto be merely a general expression meant to convey the idea of a very\nextensive occupancy of the north continent by the Jaredites; but as it\ndoes not compel us to believe that the writer had in mind Labrador,\nthe regions of Hudson's Bay and Alaska, so I do not think it requires\nus to believe that the Jaredites occupied the Rocky mountains, and\nregions westward of them. My principal reason for thinking that the\nJaredite empire was limited northward to the great lakes, eastward from\nthe Rocky mountain slopes--northward of the Gulf of Mexico--to the\nAtlantic, and southward to the Isthmus of Panama, is because--as will\nappear later--to that territory, magnificent in its extent, are more\nstrictly confined what I regard as the evidences of Jaredite occupancy.\n\n_Extent and Nature of Civilization_.\n\nThe extent of Jaredite civilization would be coextensive with the\nterritory they occupied, the limits of which have already been\nconsidered. Of its nature one may judge somewhat when it is remembered\nthat they were colonists from the Euphrates valley, shortly after the\nflood; and very likely the nature of their buildings, especially of\ntheir public buildings, temples and other places of worship, would take\non the general features of the buildings in ancient Babel modified in\ntime, of course, by their own advancement in architecture.\n\nThat they were a prosperous and civilized race in their new home in the\nwestern hemisphere is quite clear. In the reign of the fifth monarch,\nEmer, the people had become strong and prosperous, \"insomuch that they\nbecame exceeding rich, having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of\nsilks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious\nthings; and also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep\nand of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which\nwere useful for the food of man. They also had horses, and asses, and\nthere were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful\nunto man; * * * and thus the Lord did pour out his blessings upon this\nland [North America], which was choice above all other lands.\" [22]\n\nIn the reigns of Riplakish and Morianton, their tenth and eleventh\nmonarch respectively--there were twenty-eight legitimate kings in all,\nbesides a number of usurpers who held authority for a season in the\nJaredite nation--many spacious buildings were erected and many cities\nwere built; and the people \"became exceeding rich\" under those reigns;\nwhile in the reign of the sixteenth monarch, Lib, they seemed to have\nreached a very high state of civilization, which extended over the\n\"whole face of the land northward:--\"\n\n    They were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and\n    traffic one with another, that they might get gain. And they did\n    work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and\n    iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out\n    of the earth; wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to\n    get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And\n    they did work all manner of fine work. And they did have silks, and\n    fine-twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they\n    might clothe themselves from their nakedness. And they did make\n    all manner of tools to till the earth. * * * And they did make all\n    manner of tools with which they did work their beasts. And they did\n    make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner\n    of work of exceedingly curious workmanship. And never could be a\n    people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand\n    of the Lord. [23]\n\nThis represents a people far advanced in civilization, in agriculture,\nin mining, in manufactures, and in the arts. This blessed condition was\nin fulfilment of the promise of the Lord; for when he called out of\nBabel Jared and his brother, Moriancumr, the Lord promised the latter\nthat he would lead them \"into a land which is choice above all the\nlands of the earth.\" \"And there will I bless thee and thy seed,\" said\nthe Lord, \"and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy\nbrother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there\nshall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of\nthy seed, upon all the face of the earth.\" [24]\n\nIf we take this brief glimpse of the civilization of the Jaredite\nnation quoted above, and couple it with the promise of God to\nMoriancumr, we have every reason to believe that the Jaredites became\na very great, prosperous, and powerful people. Their occupancy of the\nwestern world, however, was confined to the northern continent. Here\ntheir civilization rose, and here it fell, after enduring between\nfifteen and sixteen hundred years, if we accept the Hebrew chronology\nfor the date of the confounding of language at Babel.\n\n_Numbers_.\n\nThe number of Jaredites, of course, varied at different periods of\ntheir long national existence. In the reign of the fourth king, Omer,\na grievous civil war broke out among them which \"lasted for the space\nof many years,\" and led to \"the destruction of nearly all the people of\nthe kingdom.\" [25] From time to time they were subject to these civil\nwars which very naturally checked the increase in their population.\nStill they became very numerous, sufficiently so, as already shown,\nto occupy an immense empire of country, extending from the Isthmus of\nPanama northward, including Central America, Mexico, thence northward\nto the great lakes, and from the eastern slopes of the Rocky mountains\nto the Atlantic Ocean. In their last great civil war, after it had\nraged many years, we are informed by the sacred historian that there\nhad been slain by the sword \"two millions of mighty men, and also\ntheir wives and their children.\" [26] Upon which the late Orson Pratt\nremarks, in a foot note on the passage, that including the wives and\nchildren of the two millions of men who were slain, \"the numbers would\nprobably have been from ten to fifteen millions.\" Their numbers may\nhave been even greater than this at other periods of their history.\n\n_Literature_.\n\nThe Jaredites also had a literature. When the Nephite king Mosiah\ntranslated some of their records--the twenty-four plates of Ether,\nbrought by Limhi's expedition from the land Desolation--it is stated\nthat they gave an account not only of the people who were destroyed\n(the Jaredites) from the time they were destroyed back to the building\nof the great Tower at the time the Lord confounded the language of\nthe people and scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth, but\nthey also gave an account of events beyond that time \"even up to the\ncreation of Adam.\" It is only reasonable to conclude that the record\nengraven on gold plates by the last Jaredite historian, the prophet\nEther, was but one of many such records among the Jaredites; for since\nthey came from the Euphrates valley with a knowledge of letters, there\nis nothing in their history which would lead us to suppose they lost\nthat knowledge; but on the contrary everything to establish the fact\nthat they continued in possession thereof; for not only was Ether, the\nlast of their prophets, able to keep a record, but the last of their\nkings, Coriantumer, was able to write; for in the days of the Nephite\nking, Mosiah I, a large stone was brought to him with engravings on it\nwhich he interpreted by means of Urim and Thummim; and the record on\nthe stone gave an account of Coriantumer, written by himself, and the\nslain of his people; and it also recorded a few words concerning his\nfathers and how his first parents came out from the Tower at the time\nthe Lord confounded the language of the people. So that, from first to\nlast, the Jaredites had a literature.\n\n_Government_.\n\nBefore the demise of the two brothers, Moriancumr and Jared, who led\nthe Jaredite colony to the western hemisphere, the people were called\ntogether and a kingly government founded. Monarchial government was\nnot established without remonstrance from Moriancumr, who declared\nthat such government would lead to the destruction of liberty. [27]\nBut Jared pleaded that the people might have the kind of government\nthey desired, and proposed that they choose from among his own or his\nbrother's sons the man they would have for king. The first choice of\nthe people was Pagag, the eldest son of Moriancumr; but influenced,\ndoubtless by the desire of his father that some other form of\ngovernment should be established, Pagag declined the kingly honor. So\nalso several of the sons of Jared declined to serve in that office,\nperhaps for the same reason. Finally, however, one of the sons of\nJared, Orihah, accepted and was anointed king. The choice seems to have\nbeen a fortunate one, for it is said that Orihah walked humbly before\nthe Lord and he remembered the great things the Lord had done for his\nfathers, as also did his people; and he executed judgment upon the land\nin righteousness all his days, and his days were many. [28] Orihah\nwas succeeded by his son Kib, in whose reign the first rebellion took\nplace; for the son of Kib rebelled against him, and even imprisoned\nthe king until another son born in the old age of the captive monarch\ngathered sufficient strength to reinstate his father upon his throne.\nThis was the commencement of a long series of such rebellions in the\nJaredite dynasty.\n\nOf the nature of Jaredite government little can be learned beyond the\nfact that after the election of the first king, Orihah, the hereditary\nprinciple was recognized; and although there were frequent contestants\nfor the throne, and occasional usurpations of the kingly authority, the\nlegitimate line of hereditary monarchs seems to have been reasonably\nwell maintained. It appears not to have been part of the constitution\nof the government, however, that the rights of heredity in the royal\nhouse should descend to the eldest son. It frequently happened that the\nson born in the old age of the reigning monarch succeeded to the kingly\npower, a course which perhaps accounts for the occasional rebellions of\ntheir brothers, though the rights of the first born are never urged as\nthe cause of the quarrels.\n\nOf the subordinate officers of the kingdom nothing is said; by what\nmeans judicial powers were exercised we are not informed; what the\nnature of the military organization was, or what system of taxation was\nadopted, we do not know. On all these matters Moroni's abridgment of\nthe record of Ether is silent.\n\n_Religion_.\n\nRelative to the religion that obtained among the Jaredites, we are left\nin well-nigh as much ignorance as we are concerning the nature of the\nsubordinate feature of their government. The two brothers, Moriancumr\nand Jared, seem to have been among the righteous people of Babel; so\nmuch so in fact that Moriancumr was a very great prophet of God, and\nhad direct access to the source of revelation; for by revelation he\nlearned of God's intention to confound the language of the people, and\nthus stop the impious work in which they were engaged, when building\nthe city of Babel and its tower. It is in consequence of their high\nfavor with God that the language of these brothers and that of their\nfriends was preserved; and they with their families and friends, led\naway to \"a land which was choice above all other lands,\" where God\nfulfilled his promise to make of them a great nation. It is doubtful if\na prophet ever lived in ancient times who held more direct communion\nwith God than did this prophet Moriancumr. It will be remembered that\nhe took into the mountain sixteen transparent stones, which he had\nprepared, and asked God to make them luminous; that in the journey of\nthe colony across the great deep in the eight barges that had been\nprepared, they might not be in darkness. As the Lord stretched forth\nhis hand to touch the stones, in compliance with the prophet's request,\nthe veil was taken from the eyes of Moriancumr, and he saw the finger\nof God, and fell prostrate before him in fear. But even his fear could\nnot crush his faith. He so far prevailed with God through faith that he\nbeheld him face to face, and talked with him as a man speaks with his\nfriend. That is, he saw and talked with the pre-existent spirit of the\nLord Jesus, for the Lord said to him: \"This body which ye now behold\nis the body of my spirit, * * * and even as I appear unto thee to be\nin the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.\" A greater\nrevelation of God than this, previous to the coming of the Lord Jesus\nin the flesh, no other prophet ever received. Moreover Jesus said\nto him: \"Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon\nme flesh and blood. * * * Behold, I am he who was prepared from the\nfoundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ.\n* * * In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even\nthose who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and\nmy daughters. * * * Seest thou that ye are created after mine image?\nYea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.\"\n[29]\n\nMoriancumr was commanded not to suffer the things he had seen and heard\nto be revealed to the world until the Lord Jesus should have lived in\nthe flesh. He was commanded, however, to write what he had both seen\nand heard, and seal it up that it might be preserved to come forth\nin due time to the children of men. In addition to the revelation of\nhis own person to him, the Lord revealed to the prophet Moriancumr\n\"all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that\nwould be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends\nof the earth.\" While Moriancumr was prohibited from making known to\nhis people the great things thus revealed to him, his knowledge of\nthe things of God must have given him wonderful power and influence\nin teaching his people the righteous truths which are fundamental and\nuniversal. This confidence and strength must also have been imparted\nto others, for certain it is that the Jaredites had prophets of great\npower sent to them from time to time to teach and reprove them; and\neven some of their monarchs were shining examples of spiritual power\nand righteousness. The fifth monarch, Emer, possessed such faith that\nhe, like Moriancumr, had the blessed privilege of seeing \"the Son of\nRighteousness, and did rejoice and glory in his day.\" [30] And of\nthe whole people it is said, \"never could [there] be a people more\nblessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord.\"\n[31] All of which is good evidence that the Jaredites at this time\n(in the reign of Lib, the sixteenth monarch) were a righteous people;\nand this righteousness was doubtless brought about by the preaching\nof faith in God and his laws as only Moriancumr and other prophets\nwhom God raised up to the Jaredite nation could preach it. But it was\nwith the Jaredites as with other nations. Their righteousness was not\ncontinuous, and it is more than likely that their faith ebbed and\nflowed as the faith of all people seems to ebb and flow. There were\ntimes when the prophets of God were rejected; when their severest\nwarnings of coming calamities seemed to produce no effect. In the reign\nof Com and Shiblom, [32] the twenty-first and twenty-second monarchs\nof the Jaredites, respectively, a great calamity befell the people,\nand the prophets seized upon this circumstance to declare that even\ngreater destruction should befall them, and predicted that \"the bones\nof the Jaredites should become a heap of earth upon the face of the\nland except they should repent of their wickedness.\" This declaration,\nso far from bringing the people to repentance, filled them with rage\nagainst the prophets, and they sought to destroy them. Even the\npriesthood itself seems at times to have become corrupted; for in the\nclosing years of the monarchy, in the reign of Coriantumr, the high\npriest is charged with murdering one Gilead as the latter sat upon his\nthrone.\n\nBeyond these few facts nothing can be learned from the abridged record\nof the Jaredites concerning the religion of that people, except that\nunto some of their prophets, just previous to the destruction of both\nthe nation and the people, was revealed the fact that, unless the\nJaredites repented, the Lord God would execute judgment against them\nto their utter destruction, and that he would bring forth another\npeople to possess the land, after the manner in which he had brought\nforth their fathers from Babel. Unto Ether, the last of the Jaredite\nprophets, the son of Coriantor, the last king but one of the Jaredites,\nthe same truth was revealed. To him, also, was shown the days of\nChrist; and it was revealed to him that upon this blessed land of the\nwestern hemisphere would be built up to the remnant of the house of\nJoseph, a Holy City, to be called New Jerusalem, [33] or Zion; a city\nof refuge for the righteous in the last days. These prophecies, I am\naware, throw no light upon the nature of the Jaredite religion, but\nthey do establish the fact that God sent forth inspired men among them,\nto warn them of the calamities that were decreed against them because\nof their decline from righteousness; and that fact is an important\nreligious truth.\n\n_History_.\n\nWe have in the Book of Mormon but the merest outline of the history of\nthe Jaredites; and this outline is learned from the abridgment made\nby Moroni, of the Book of Ether. Ether was the last of the Jaredite\nprophets, and witnessed the destruction of the race. His record, the\nBook of Ether, was engraven upon twenty-four plates of gold, found\nby the Nephites in the second century B. C., and finally abridged\nby Moroni, and made a part of the Book of Mormon, which abridgment\nJoseph Smith translated into the English language. It stands to\nreason that the record of Ether, even if we had it in full, since it\nconsisted of but twenty-four plates, could be but a very incomplete\nand imperfect history of so great a people and of so long a period of\ntime--extending through sixteen centuries. Yet in the Book of Mormon\nthere is but an abridgment of Ether's record; and that abridgment so\nbrief that Moroni, in speaking of it, says that he had not written an\nhundredth part of it. [34] So it is not to be wondered at that the\ndescription of the Jaredite government and civilization is so very\nunsatisfactory. But while all this is admitted, the fact is revealed,\nin Moroni's abridgment of Ether's record, that from something like\ntwenty-two hundred years before Christ, to some six hundred years\nbefore Christ, the North continent of the western world was occupied by\na civilized race of people, and that a mighty nation dwelt upon that\nland through all these centuries; a nation at times highly favored\nof God, and this because of their righteousness; and then again\nreduced well nigh to anarchy, with their civilization bordering upon\ndissolution in consequence of great wickedness and misrule; emphasizing\nthe great truth, to which the history of all nations bears witness,\nthat \"righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any\npeople.\" And this is much, and perhaps the sum-total to be learned from\nthe history of nations.\n\nNaturally one is tempted to draw a parallel between this old American\nnation and various other nations in the old world which paralleled\nits existence. Surely it is interesting to think that while empires\nwere founding in Assyria and Egypt and Babylon; that while Greece\nwas passing through her heroic ages, in the western world also an\nenlightened race was building up a national existence and struggling\nwith those problems which through all times and among all people engage\nthe intelligent attention of mankind. Also it would be interesting to\nnote that about the time of the capture of Nineveh, which marked the\nfall of the Assyrian empire, and but a little before the destruction\nof the kingdom of Judah, here in our western world an empire which\nhad endured the storms of ages was passing away. Still the main fact\nto be kept in mind in this work is that such a nation, coeval with\nthe old empires of the eastern world, and with a civilization no less\nmagnificent, existed according to the Book of Mormon in our great\nnorthern continent, with its center of civilization in that part of\nthe continent we call Central America. Proof of the existence of such\nan empire, of such a civilization, and having such a location, will be\nstrong collateral evidence for the truth of the Book of Mormon.\n\nII. THE NEPHITES.\n\n_Lehi's Colony_.\n\nLehi was one of the many prophets at Jerusalem who predicted the\ncalamities which befell the Jewish nation on the second invasion of\nJudea by King Nebuchadnezzar, early in the sixth century B. C. [35]\nLehi incurred the wrath of that ungodly people and was warned of God\nin a vision to depart from Jerusalem with his family, and was also\npromised that inasmuch as he would keep the commandments of God he\nshould be led to a land of promise. [36] From the wilderness where\nLehi temporarily dwelt, two expeditions to the fated city were made\nby his sons: one to obtain a genealogy of his fathers, and the Jewish\nscriptures (which resulted also in adding one more to the colony in the\nperson of Zoram, a servant of Laban, a keeper of the Jewish records);\nthe second, to induce one Ishmael and his family to join Lehi's colony\nin their exodus from Jerusalem and journey to the promised land. In\nboth of these expeditions they were successful in achieving their\nobject. The colony now consisted of some eighteen adult persons and a\nnumber of children. [37]\n\nFrom the Book of Mormon and the word of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph\nSmith it is learned that Lehi's colony traversed from Jerusalem, nearly\na southeast direction, until they came to the nineteenth degree north\nlatitude; thence nearly east to the sea of Arabia. [38] Here the colony\nbuilt a ship in which to cross the great waters, which separated them\nfrom the land of promise. They sailed in a southeasterly direction, and\nlanded on the continent of South America, in about thirty degrees south\nlatitude. [39]\n\nFrom Jerusalem their journey to the promised land is supposed to\nhave occupied about twelve years. [40] On their arrival at the land\nof promise, the colony went forth upon it, and began to till the\nearth. The seeds brought from the land of Jerusalem were planted and\nthrived exceedingly well. The colony also found the land of promise\nwell furnished with beasts of every kind; with the cow, the ass, the\nhorse, the goat, and all manner of wild animals which were for the use\nof man. They also found all manner of ore, especially gold, silver,\nand copper. Here they dwelt for some time in prosperity, but scarcely\nin peace; for there were dissensions in the colony. The elder sons\nof Lehi, Laman and Lemuel, were of a jealous and skeptical turn of\nmind; and from the beginning had little faith in the visions of their\nfather, and the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.\nNephi, the younger brother, on the other hand, was a man of profound\nfaith in his father's revelations, and in the things of God, and\nsought for a personal knowledge of the things revealed. This knowledge\nhe received through the revelations of God, which, coupled with the\nnative qualities that go to the making of a leader of men, he became,\neven before the death of his father, the real head of the community.\nThis aroused the displeasure and even hatred of the elder brothers,\nwho, on various occasions sought his overthrow and even his life. This\ndivision between the sons of Lehi extended also to the community, and\nmade a division of the colony ultimately inevitable. Accordingly, after\nsome years spent upon the promised land, Nephi was warned by the Lord\nto depart from his elder brothers into the wilderness, with all those\nwhom he could persuade to go with him. Neither the distance nor the\ndirection of this first remove of the righteous part of the colony from\nthe more wicked part, can be definitely determined from the Book of\nMormon, except from the location of the people of Nephi in subsequent\ntimes; and as this location was far northward from their first place of\nlanding, it is generally supposed that this first remove was northward.\nPerhaps at the first the partisans of the elder brothers were well\ncontented to be relieved of the presence of the younger brother and his\nfollowing; but for no great length of time; for they followed in their\nwake, and before forty years had passed away (supposedly from the time\nthat Lehi's colony left Jerusalem; and if so then twenty-eight years\nfrom their landing in the western hemisphere) the two divisions of the\ncolony had wars and contentions with each other. [41]\n\nNephi, as would reasonably be expected, took with him the Jewish\nscriptures which had been brought from Jerusalem, the genealogy of his\nfathers, together with all the records kept upon the journey to the\npromised land. Nephi's policy tended to civilization; for he taught\nhis people to erect buildings, \"and to work all manner of wood and\nof iron and of copper and of brass and of steel and of gold and of\nsilver and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.\" He also\nbuilt a temple, somewhat after the pattern of the temple of Solomon,\nand ordained as priests his two younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph,\nborn to Lehi in the wilderness, after the departure of the colony from\nJerusalem.\n\nNotwithstanding the protests of Nephi against such a proceeding\nhis people insisted upon his becoming their king, an office he\ndischarged all his days purely in the interest of his people. His\npolicy inculcated industry and encouragement of arts and civilization.\nKnowing, however, the implacable hatred of his elder brothers, Nephi\ndid not fail to make preparations for vigorous defense in the event of\nwar, and accordingly manufactured both arms and armor for his people.\nIn consequence of the high esteem in which Nephi was held, the kings of\nthe Nephites thereafter took the name of Nephi, as their official or\nregal name, and were distinguished by being called II Nephi, III Nephi,\nIV Nephi, and so following.\n\nWhile the course of Nephi and his people tended to the establishment\nof civilization, the course of the elder brothers and their following\ntended to barbarism. They delighted in idleness; and as they did\nnot like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a\nreprobate mind; and a curse fell upon them, even the curse of a dark\nskin, so that they became loathsome in appearance as in habits. As the\nfollowers of Nephi took upon them the name of their leader and were\ncalled Nephites, so, in course of time, the followers of the elder\nbrothers took the name of their leader and were called Lamanites, after\nLaman, the eldest son of Lehi; hence two people from Lehi's colony,\nNephites and Lamanites. The Lamanites lived upon the fruits of the\nchase, hence were nomadic and predatory in their habits. They were full\nof envy, strife, malice; they were fierce, warlike, murderous. Between\nthese two peoples there was almost constant warfare. The Lamanites the\nmore fierce and numerous; the Nephites fewer in number, but better\narmed, and protected by armor; the former were the aggressors, the\nlatter acted on the defensive, and usually were conscious of the\nbetter cause. At times, however, the Nephites lapsed into wickedness\nand on such occasion the Lamanites truly were a scourge unto them, in\nfulfilment of God's word to that effect. [42] A particularly severe\njudgment is said to have overtaken the Nephites in the first quarter\nof the fourth century from the time Lehi left Jerusalem, in which the\nmore wicked part of the people were destroyed. [43] Some time in the\nfourth century from the time Lehi left Jerusalem occurred also a second\ngreat removal of righteous Nephites from the midst of their brethren\nand the Lamanites. The first separation in Lehi's colony, it will be\nremembered, was made under the I Nephi. The second was made under the\nprophet-king known as I Mosiah, and resulted in the Nephites finding\nthe people of Zarahemla, of which more hereafter.\n\nIt is supposed that the first remove of the Nephites from their\nbrethren covered no great distance; as only a few years passed before\nthey were in contact with one another again, at least in warfare.\nIndeed Elder George Reynolds, in his _Dictionary of the Book of\nMormon_, holds to the theory that there may have been several removals\nof the Nephites between their first separation from the Lamanites\nunder the First Nephi, and the very noted hegira under Mosiah I,\nabout the fourth century of the Nephite annals. [44] The author of\nthe _Dictionary_ urges as the reasons for his theory that it would be\ninconsistent with the story of the record (Book of Mormon), and with\ngood judgment, to believe that in their first journey the Nephites\ntraveled as far north as they were found four hundred years later,\n[45] when the very noted remove was made under Mosiah I. I believe the\nreasons of Elder Reynolds are quite sufficient for his theory. The\nmovements of the Nephites were most probably as follows: Whatever of\nconquest was made by the Lamanites upon Nephite possessions, during the\nfirst four centuries of their occupancy of the promised land, was made\nupon their southern borders. On the other hand the Nephite settlements\nwere extended on that side of their possessions least likely to be\nassailed by their enemies, where there was least danger, that is, on\nthe north. These two circumstances combined to give their colonization\nmovement a northerly direction; until about the close of the fourth\nNephite century they are supposed to have been in possession of that\npart of the continent of South America corresponding to the country\nnow called Ecuador. [46] This country that the Nephites occupied at\nthe close of the fourth century of their annals, as also that which\nthey had slowly colonized, and from time to time abandoned to their\nenemies--the whole distance from the place selected by the First Nephi\nafter separating from his brothers to the place they occupied at the\nclose of the fourth century of their annals--this whole country--the\nNephites called the Land of Nephi, or the Land of their father's first\ninheritance. [47]\n\nThe story of the second great hegira of righteous Nephites from their\nless righteous brethren is a very brief one. It was undertaken in\nresponse to a warning and commandment of God to one Mosiah, who is\ncelebrated in Nephite history as the first king of what I shall call\nthe Nephite-Zarahemla nation--Mosiah I. How great the distance covered\nin this second great hegira of the Nephites may not be definitely\ndetermined; but later a colony under conditions somewhat similar, that\nis, encumbered with women and children, flocks, herds, and quantities\nof grain, etc., covered practically the same journey in about\ntwenty-two days, in two separate stages; one of eight and the other of\nfourteen days. [48]\n\nMosiah's people, when they reached the great and beautiful valley\ndrained by what was subsequently called among the Nephites the river\nSidon, [49] found it inhabited by a numerous people, whose chief city\nwas named (at least from that time forth) Zarahemla. At this point it\nbecomes necessary to suspend the account of Mosiah's people in order to\nsay a word of the people inhabiting the valley of the Sidon, for they\nare the descendants of the third colony which, according to the Book of\nMormon, came to the land of promise.\n\n_Mulek's Colony_.\n\nAccording to the Bible narrative of King Zedekiah's reign, when\nJerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon (588 B. C.), King\nZedekiah himself well-nigh made his escape. For when the city was\nbroken up, and all the men of war fled by night, by the way of the gate\nbetween two walls, which is by the king's garden, the king went the\nway toward the plain. But his flight being betrayed by an enemy among\nhis own people, [50] the army of the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah early\nin the morning and overtook him in the plain near Jericho. The king's\narmy was scattered from him at the time he was captured; for \"those\nfriends and captains of Zedekiah who had fled out of the city with him,\nwhen they saw their enemies near them, they left him, and dispersed\nthemselves, some one way and some another, and every one resolved to\nsave himself; so the enemy took Zedekiah alive, when he was deserted by\nall but a few, with his children and his wives.\" [51] The unfortunate\nking was taken before the king of Babylon, whose headquarters were then\nat Riblah, in Syria, where \"they gave judgment upon him.\" The sons of\nZedekiah were slain in his presence; after which his eyes were put out;\nhe was bound in fetters and carried to Babylon, where subsequently\nhe died. But among the king's friends who escaped were a number who\ncarried with them one of Zedekiah's sons, named Mulek; and according to\nthe Book of Mormon, this company \"journeyed in the wilderness and were\nbrought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters,\" [52] into\nthe western hemisphere. It is learned by an incidental remark in the\nBook of Mormon that the colony of Mulek landed somewhere in the north\ncontinent of the western hemisphere; and for that reason the north\ncontinent was called Mulek, by the Nephites; and the south continent,\nLehi; and this for the reason that the Lord brought the colonies\nbearing these names to the north and south land [53] respectively. How\nmany years the colony of Mulek traveled, and in what direction, cannot\nbe learned from the Book of Mormon. But it is quite evident that they\nlanded in the north continent of the western world, most likely in the\nsouthern part of that continent, say in the region of what is known in\nmodern times as Central America. [54] Thence they drifted southward to\nthe valley of the Sidon, where they were found by the migrating hosts\nof Nephites under Mosiah.\n\nIt was a Nephite custom to call their cities and even their villages\nafter the name of him who founded them. [55] Thus the first city\nfounded by the first Nephi, was called \"Nephi,\" or \"the City of\nNephi;\" the city founded by Melek was called \"the City of Melek;\" and\nso following. From this custom arose another, that of naming large\ndistricts of country after the chief city therein: thus the country in\nwhich the city of Nephi was located was called \"the land of Nephi;\" the\ncountry surrounding the city of Melek was called the land of Melek; see\nalso \"the land of Gideon;\" \"the land of Ammonihah,\" etc. Following this\ncustom, when the migrating Nephites under Mosiah came into the valley\nof Sidon, and found the chief man of its principal city to be named\nZarahemla, they straightway called the city \"The City of Zarahemla;\"\nand ever afterwards among them the surrounding country was called \"the\nland of Zarahemla.\"\n\nMulek's colony--the name is derived from that of the young prince it\ncarried with it, not because he was really the leader of the colony,\nbut doubtless out of a sense of loyalty and national pride on the part\nof those who would regard themselves as being entrusted by Providence\nwith the fortunes of a prince of Israel--Mulek's colony, I repeat,\nin their hurried flight from Judea brought no records with them, no\nscriptures, no genealogies. The circumstances under which they made\ntheir escape from the Babylonians considered, it is not difficult\nto understand that records, scriptures, concerned them not at all.\nFlight, escape alone occupied their thoughts. In consequence of having\nno records, no written language of any kind, their language was much\nchanged in the course of the centuries that had elapsed since their\ndeparture from Judea. So much so, in fact, that the Nephites could\nnot understand them; neither could the people of Zarahemla understand\nthe Nephites, until instructed by the latter in the Nephite tongue.\nMoreover, having been without both written scriptures and a living\npriesthood for centuries, Zarahemla's people not only no longer\nbelieved in God, but denied even the existence of a Creator. In a\nword, through ignorance and the demoralizing influence of contentions\nand internecine wars, they had deteriorated to semi-civilized and\nirreligious conditions. All this, however, in the course of time was\nchanged. The people of Zarahemla soon learned the Nephite language,\nit being a language akin, of course, to their own. They were also\ntaught in the Nephite faith; and instructed in the scriptures which\nLehi's colony had brought with them from Jerusalem, and which Mosiah\nhad brought with him in his northward journey. The happiest results\nfollowed this union of the two peoples. The people of Mosiah were so\naugmented in numbers by the addition of their new found friends that\nthey could feel secure from aggressions of the Lamanites, who, in time,\nmight follow them; and, on the other hand, to the people of Zarahemla,\nthe Nephites brought the knowledge of God; a true priesthood; the\nscriptures of their forefathers; government; civilization. These two\npeoples, really of the same race, be it remembered, readily united\nunder the Nephite form of government, a limited, and at times elective,\nmonarchy; Mosiah, the Nephite leader, notwithstanding the people of\nZarahemla were the more numerous, being chosen king.\n\nThe colony of Mulek previous to their removal southward from the\nplace of their first landing, were visited by the sole survivor of\nthe Jaredite race, Coriantumr, who resided some nine months with them\nbefore his demise.\n\nShortly after the arrival of the Nephites under Mosiah in Zarahemla, a\nlarge stone with engravings upon it was brought to the king; and Mosiah\nI, being a Seer, translated the engravings upon the stone and learned\nthat they gave an account of Coriantumr, whom Mulek's colony found; and\nof his forefathers who came from the tower of Babel, at the confusion\nof languages; and of the goodness and severity of God upon them; and\nof the destruction that befell them because of their wickedness. [56]\nAfterwards a more perfect knowledge of the Jaredites was obtained\nthrough the twenty-four plates of Ether, found by Limhi's expedition\ninto the north land (noted before); [57] and which were translated by\nKing Mosiah II, who was also a seer.\n\nThe colony of Mulek was touched by the other two peoples who had been\nbrought by the providences of God to the western hemisphere; the\nJaredite race, through its sole survivor, Coriantumr; and the Nephite\nrace, through the people of Mosiah I. It should be remarked of these\nthree peoples that they were really of a common race. The two brothers\nwho had led the colony from the Tower of Babel, Jared and Moriancumr,\nwere doubtless descendants of Shem, the son of Noah. [58] The colony of\nMulek was unquestionably made up of Jews, hence descendants of Shem;\nLehi's colony was made up of descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim, [59]\nsons of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,\nwho was a direct descendant of Shem. [60]\n\nThus eventually the races which, according to the Book of Mormon,\nhave been brought to the western hemisphere under the providences of\nGod, are traceable to one source, to one race; and may be expected to\npossess certain qualities which will be in harmony with the fact of\nracial unity.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. It is to be understood that in this chapter I deal merely with the\nmigrations spoken of in the Book of Mormon; and by no means enter upon\nconsideration of the migrations to the western hemisphere during the\nlast two thousand years.\n\n2. See sixth letter of Oliver Cowdery on \"Early Scenes and Incidents in\nthe Church,\" _Messenger and Advocate_, vol. I, p. 112, 1835, where the\nabove name is given as the name of the \"Brother of Jared.\"\n\n3. Such is the theory of the late Orson Pratt. See foot note \"h\"\nBook of Ether, chap. 2. There is nothing in the Book of Ether which\npositively determines the course of their travels, but as there is some\nreason for believing that the Jaredite colony landed on the western\nshores of North America, there seems to be some grounds for the belief\nthat they were led eastward across the continent of Asia to the shores\nof what is to us the Pacific Ocean.\n\n4. According to Orson Pratt. See foot note \"h,\" Book of Ether, chap.\n6:12. Also Book of Ether, chap. 7:6.\n\n5. Ether 6:18.\n\n6. Ether 7:6.\n\n7. Ether 7:16.\n\n8. Alma 22:32.\n\n9. Ether 7:6, 16, 17.\n\n10. Note \"h\" on Ether 6:12.\n\n11. _Dictionary of the Book of Mormon_, Art. Mormon, p. 245.\n\n12. Mosiah 21:25, 26.\n\n13. Mosiah 8:8-11, also Helaman 3:6.\n\n14. Mosiah 7:8-11. These plates were afterwards translated by the\nNephite King, Mosiah, who was a seer; that is, one who could use Urim\nand Thummim. The record which he translated gave an account of the\npeople who were destroyed, \"from the time they were destroyed back\nto the building of the great Tower, at the time the Lord confounded\nthe language of the people. * * * Yea, and even from that time until\nthe creation of Adam.\" (Mosiah 28:11, 17). Subsequently Moroni gave\nan abridged translation of the same record which he called the \"Book\nof Ether,\" Ether being the name of the prophet who wrote the book so\ntranslated.\n\n15. See the whole Book of Ether.\n\n16. Ether 10:21.\n\n17. Ether 9:1-3.\n\n18. Ether 9:9.\n\n19. See foot note to Ether 9:3.\n\n20. Ether 10:21.\n\n21. Ether 10:21.\n\n22. Ether 9:16-20.\n\n23. Ether 10:22-28.\n\n24. Ether 1:42, 43.\n\n25. Ether 9.\n\n26. Ether 15 and foot note \"b\" p. 606.\n\n27. Ether 6:23.\n\n28. Ether 6 and 7.\n\n29. Ether 3:9-16.\n\n30. Ether 9:22.\n\n31. Ibid. 10:28.\n\n32. The orthography of the word cannot be determined, it is spelled\n\"Shiblom\" in the passage above, and Shiblon in another.\n\n33. Ether 13.\n\n34. Ether 15:33.\n\n35. The story of Zedekiah's reign in Jerusalem, the conditions that\nobtained among the people, and the warnings which God sent by many\nprophets (Lehi among the rest) is thus told in II Chronicles, chapter\n36: \"Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and\nreigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in\nthe sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah\nthe prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled\nagainst king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he\nstiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord\nGod of Israel. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people,\ntransgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and\npolluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And\nthe Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up\nbetimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on\nhis dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised\nhis words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose\nagainst his people, till there was no remedy.\"\n\n36. Nephi 2:20.\n\n37. See synopsis First Book Nephi, heading chapter 1.\n\n38. Richards' and Little's _Compendium_, p. 273; I Nephi 16:13, 14, 43.\nAlso chapter 17:1.\n\n39. Richards' and Little's _Compendium_, p. 272-273. The accuracy of\nthis is questioned.\n\n40. Reynolds, _B. M. Chronology_, Richards' and Little's _Compendium_,\np. 273.\n\n41. II Nephi 5.\n\n42. II Nephi 5:22-25.\n\n43. Book of Omni 4:7.\n\n44. That is, four hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem the\nlatter event being 600 B. C.\n\n45. _Dict. of B. of M_., Art. Nephi, Land of p. 295.\n\n46. Such is the theory of Orson Pratt--see note \"g,\" Book of Omni, old\nedition Book of Mormon.\n\n47. II Nephi 5:8, Omni 1:12, 27. Mos. 7. Mos. 9:1. See collection of ref.\nunder \"b.\" II Nephi 5.\n\n48. See Mosiah 23:1-5, 19. Also Mos. 24:20, 24. Also foot note \"t\" in\nch. 24, by Orson Pratt; and _Dict. of B. of M_., pp. 198,\n199.\n\n49. It is supposed by some that this River Sidon is identical with the\nRiver Magdalena in the northern part of South America. (See _Dictionary\nof Book of Mormon_, p. 339, and Orson Pratt's note \"g,\" Alma 2:15 old\nedition.)\n\n50. Josephus, _Antiq_., bk. 10:8.\n\n51. Josephus, _Antiq_., bk. 10, ch. 8. See also II Kings, ch. 25.\n\n52. Omni 1:14-17.\n\n53. Helaman 6:10.\n\n54. This is upon the supposition that what is known among the Nephites\nespecially as the land \"Desolation,\" in contradistinction to the\nNephite land \"Bountiful,\" is identical with the region known to moderns\nas Central America; and the consideration of Alma 22:29-33. See also\n_Dict. B. of M_., p. 110.\n\n55. Alma 8:7.\n\n56. Omni 1:20-22.\n\n57. Mosiah 28:7-14 and Mosiah 28.\n\n58. Sec _Dictionary of B. of M._ (Reynolds), p. 165 _et seq_.\n\n59. Lehi is plainly declared to be of the stock of Manasseh, (Alma\n10:3); and it is supposed that Ishmael and his family, who joined Lehi\nand his family in the journey to the promised land, were of the tribe\nof Ephraim (See _Dict. Book of Mormon_, p. 155, Art. Ishmael). There\nare promises respecting Ephraim which cannot be realized except through\nthe seed of Ephraim dwelling upon the land of America. See Orson\nPratt's _Prophetic Evidences of the Book of Mormon_.\n\n60. See Gen. 11.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nBOOK OF MORMON LANDS. [1]\n\nThe location of many cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and the\ndistricts of Nephite lands that would correspond to departments and\nprovinces in the political nomenclature of modern times, may not now\nbe definitely fixed upon. This circumstance arises largely out of the\nfact that the Nephite historians have said nothing explicitly as to the\nextent of those mighty changes which were wrought in the form of Book\nof Mormon countries by the awful convulsions of nature at the time of\nMessiah's crucifixion. That the changes were considerable no one can\nquestion; for while certain allowances must always be made for language\nused in describing such events as then took place, the very definite\nstatements of the Book of Mormon with reference to these events leave\nno room for doubt as to the great transformations wrought in the\nphysical aspects of the land by those great cataclysms. Three different\nwriters make mention of the physical changes wrought at Messiah's\ncrucifixion, two prophetically, and one gives two descriptions of the\nphysical changes that took place through the convulsions of nature.\nI remark, in passing, that it must be remembered that the prophetic\ndescriptions must be accounted as real as the historical descriptions;\nfor as the prophets saw it, so indeed it came to pass. The first Nephi,\nin his description of the great catacylsms, says:\n\n    I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I\n    saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all\n    manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks,\n    that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw\n    the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many\n    cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned\n    with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of\n    the quaking thereof. [2]\n\nThe following is the prophet Samuel's description of the physical\nchanges in the western hemisphere at the crucifixion of Christ:\n\n    Behold, in that day that he shall suffer death, the sun shall be\n    darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon\n    and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this\n    land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space\n    of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.\n    Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be\n    thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the\n    earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the\n    face of this earth, which are both above the earth [surface] and\n    beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of\n    it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; yea, they shall be rent\n    in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks,\n    and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea,\n    both above the earth and beneath. And behold, there shall be great\n    tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a\n    valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys\n    which shall become mountains, whose height is great. And many\n    highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.\n    * * * And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said\n    unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the\n    space of many hours. And he said unto me that while the thunder and\n    the lightning lasted, and the tempests, that these things should\n    be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for\n    the space of three days. [3]\n\nMormon's abridged description of the great cataclysms, after they had\noccurred, taken from the book of III Nephi, is as follows:\n\n    And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first\n    month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm,\n    such an one as never had been known in all the land. And there was\n    also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder,\n    insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to\n    divide asunder. * * * And the city of Zarahemla did take fire. And\n    the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the\n    inhabitants thereof were drowned. And the earth was carried up upon\n    the city of Moronihah that in the place of the city there became a\n    great mountain. And there was a great and terrible destruction in\n    the land southward. But behold, there was a more great and terrible\n    destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of\n    the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds,\n    and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceeding great\n    quaking of the whole earth; and the highways were broken up, and\n    the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.\n    And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned,\n    and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the\n    earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were\n    left desolate. And there were some cities which remained; but the\n    damage thereof was exceeding great, and there were many in them\n    who were slain. * * * And thus the face of the whole earth became\n    deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the\n    lightnings, and the quaking of the earth. And behold, the rocks\n    were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole\n    earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in\n    seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land. [4]\n\nThe second description of these truly awful occurrences in III Nephi is\none that is attributed to the voice of God heard throughout the land by\nthe survivors of that dreadful time:\n\n    And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the\n    inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:\n    Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole\n    earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his\n    angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters\n    of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations\n    that they are fallen! Behold, that great city of Zarahemla have I\n    burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof. And behold, that\n    great city of Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the\n    sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned. And behold, that\n    great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants\n    thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from\n    before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints\n    shall not come any more unto me against them. And behold, the city\n    of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof\n    to be buried up in the depths of the earth; yea, and the city of\n    Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the\n    inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants\n    thereof, and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof,\n    to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that\n    the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more\n    unto me against them. And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the\n    city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno,\n    all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in\n    the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in\n    the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations\n    from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints\n    should not come up any more unto me against them. * * * And many\n    great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon\n    this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. [5]\n\nBut notwithstanding all that is said in these passages about the mighty\nchanges which took place in the land, nothing is set down that helps us\nto determine definitely the nature of the physical changes as affecting\nNephite lands. I believe, however, those changes were considerable;\nenough at least to render worthless, except in a very general way, the\nconjectures sometimes made respecting Nephite lands and cities.\n\nI am aware that the science of geology, while clearly granting the\ninstability of our earth's crust, quite generally insists that the\nuplifting of continents and mountain ranges from the ocean's bed, and\nthe subsidence of islands and continents into the ocean bottom is\naccomplished so slowly that long geological periods are required for\nthe changes effected; and that the periods of time are so great that\nit is useless to measure them in time of which years shall be regarded\nas units. [6] But notwithstanding the very sound reasons, in the main,\nwhich are advanced for the slowness of this work, there is evidence of\nthe fact, and also respectable authority for it, that sometimes very\ngreat changes of wide extent are made quite suddenly.\n\nSir Charles Lyell says:\n\n    While these proofs of continental elevation and subsidence, by slow\n    and insensible movements, have been recently brought to light, the\n    evidence has been daily strengthened of continued changes of level\n    effected by violent convulsions in countries where earthquakes are\n    frequent. There the rocks are rent from time to time, and heaved\n    up or thrown down several feet at once, and disturbed in such a\n    manner, that the original position of strata may, in the course of\n    centuries, be modified to any amount. [7]\n\nOur modern world is fast coming to recognize Plato's story of the\nsubsidence of the island-continent of Atlantis as something more than\na fable. The story of that so-called island which by the Egyptian\npriest who related the tradition to Solon was represented as larger\nthan \"Lybia and Asia put together,\" is told in Plato's Timaeus, [8] as\nfollows:\n\n    In those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island\n    situated in front of the straits which you call the columns of\n    Heracles; the island was larger than Lybia and Asia put together,\n    and was the way to other islands, and from the islands you might\n    pass through the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded\n    the true ocean; for this sea which is within the straits of\n    Heracles is only a harbor, having a narrow entrance, but the other\n    is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a\n    continent. [9]\n\nPlato represents that in this land there was a great and wonderful\nempire which had dominion over the whole island and its armies\nattempted to subjugate Egypt and Europe to its authority. In this\nconflict the very ancient Greeks won the applause of Europe and Egypt\nby withstanding well nigh alone the aggressions of the Atlantic empire.\nThe Greeks are represented as having defeated and triumphed over the\ninvaders, and now Plato:\n\n    But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and\n    in a single day and night of rain all your warlike men in a body\n    sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner\n    disappeared, and was sunk beneath the sea. And that is the reason\n    why the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because\n    there is such a quantity of shallow mud in the way; and this was\n    caused by the subsidence of the island. [10]\n\nOn the acceptance of Plato's story of Atlantis, both by ancient and\nmodern writers, P. De Roo, in his _History of America Before Columbus_,\nhas an interesting chapter, from which I quote the following:\n\n    Not to speak of other ancient authors to whom we shall refer in the\n    sequel, we may remark that the Jewish writer Philo (20 B. C.--54 A.\n    D.), and the Platonist Crantor, were inclined to admit the literal\n    interpretation of Plato's Atlantidic description. Tertullian\n    (second century A. D.) and Arnobius (fourth century A. D.) agreed\n    with the pagan savant Ammianus of Plato's island, Atlantis; and\n    we have noticed that Cosmas Indicopleustes believed our continent\n    [America] to be the cradle of the human race. It would not be\n    difficult to find several authors of the first Christian centuries\n    and of the middle ages who relied on Plato's narrative in their\n    prophecies of discoveries in the mysterious west, and Christopher\n    Columbus himself was undoubtedly encouraged by his belief in the\n    objective truth of Plato's _Timaeus_ and _Critias_; but after our\n    continent was again discovered at the end of the fifteenth century,\n    almost every European scientist accepted the literal interpretation\n    of the Athenian philosopher's description of countries in and\n    beyond the Atlantic Ocean. [11]\n\nThis passage is followed by a number of pages on the same subject,\nand many authorities are quoted in the margin, to which I commend the\nreader.\n\nElisee Reclus, author of _The Earth, a Descriptive History of the\nPhenomena of the Life of the Globe_, and one of the highest authorities\non physical geography, in speaking of an isthmus which once connected\n\"the few clumps of mountains which formed, as it were, the rudiments of\nour Europe,\" with the American coast, also says:\n\n    This isthmus was the Atlantis, and the traditions which Plato\n    speaks of about this vanished land were perhaps based upon\n    authentic testimony. It is possible that man may have witnessed\n    the submergence of this ancient continent, and that the Gunches\n    of the Canary Islands were the direct descendants of the earliest\n    inhabitants of this primeval land. [12]\n\nI also commend to the reader a recent volume on the subject by Ignatius\nDonnelly, published by Harpers, 1898, under the title _Atlantis_, and\nwhile I do not accept all the theories advanced by the author with\nreference to Atlantis, I recognize the fact that he has collected a\ngreat amount of evidence tending to establish the existence and the\nsubsidence of Plato's island-continent. Of course, for many ages\nPlato's story has been regarded as a fable, but, as Donnelly remarks,\n\"there is an unbelief which grows out of ignorance, as well as a\nskepticism which is born of intelligence,\" and then he adds:\n\n    For a thousand years it was believed that the legends of the buried\n    cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were myths: they were spoken of\n    as \"the fabulous cities.\" For a thousand years the educated world\n    did not credit the accounts given by Herodotus of the wonders\n    of the ancient civilizations of the Nile and the Chaldae. He\n    was called \"the father of liars.\" Even Plutarch sneered at him.\n    Now, in the language of Frederick Schlegal, \"the deeper and more\n    comprehensive the researches of the moderns have been, the more\n    their regard and esteem for Herodotus has increased.\" Buckle says,\n    \"His minute information about Egypt and Asia Minor is admitted by\n    all geographers.\" There was a time when the expedition sent out by\n    Pharaoh Necho to circumnavigate Africa was doubted, because the sun\n    was north of them; this circumstance, which then aroused suspicion,\n    now proves to us that the Egyptian navigators had really passed\n    the equator, and anticipated by 2,100 years Vasquez de Gama in his\n    discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. [13]\n\nIt is not, however, upon the probability of the elevation and\nsubsidence of this island-continent that I depend for support of my\nviews with reference to the changes being considerable that have taken\nplace in the western continents in comparatively modern times. There\nis enough evidence that is matter of record within recent years to\nestablish the possibility of such changes having taken place. Le Conte,\nin his _Compendium of Geology_, says:\n\n    But great earthquakes are oftener associated with bodily movements\n    of extensive areas of earth-crust. Thus, for example, in 1835,\n    after a severe earthquake on the western coast of South America,\n    it was found that the whole coast-line of Chili and Patagonia\n    were raised from two to ten feet above sea-level. Again, in 1822,\n    the same phenomenon was observed in the same region after a great\n    earthquake. Again, in 1819, after a severe earthquake which shook\n    the delta of the Indus, a tract of land fifty miles long and\n    sixteen miles wide was raised ten feet, and an adjacent area of\n    2,000 square miles was sunk, and became a lagoon. In commemoration\n    of the wonderful event the elevated tract was called \"Ullah Bund,\"\n    or \"mound of God.\" Again, in 1811, a severe earthquake--perhaps\n    the severest ever felt in the United States--shook the valley of\n    the Mississippi. Coincidently with the shock, large areas of the\n    river-swamp sank bodily, and have ever since been covered with\n    water. In commemoration of the event, this area is still called\n    the sunken country. In all these cases, probably, and in the last\n    two certainly, there was a great fissure of the earth-crust, and a\n    slipping of one side on the other. [14]\n\nPassing a number of descriptions of land elevations and subsidences\nwhich Sir Charles Lyell relates as occurring in Chili, in the\nnineteenth century, in order that I may give more attention to the\nlands supposed to have been occupied by the Nephites, I quote the\nfollowing statement of this eminent geologist concerning the earthquake\nat Bogota, in 1827:\n\n    On the 16th of November, 1827, the plain of Bogota, in New Granada,\n    or Colombia, was convulsed by an earthquake, and a great number of\n    towns were thrown down. Torrents of rain swelled the Magdalena,\n    sweeping along vast quantities of mud and other substances, which\n    emitted a sulphurous vapor and destroyed the fish. Popayan,\n    which is distant two hundred geographical miles south-southwest\n    of Bogota, suffered greatly. Wide crevices appeared in the road\n    of Guanacas, leaving no doubt that the whole of the cordilleras\n    sustained a powerful shock. Other fissures opened near Costa in the\n    plains of Bogota, into which the river Tunza immediately began to\n    flow. It is worthy of remark, that in all such cases the ancient\n    gravel bed of a river is deserted and a new one formed at a lower\n    level; so that a want of relation in the position of alluvial beds\n    of the existing water-courses may be no test of the high antiquity\n    of such deposits, at least in countries habitually convulsed by\n    earthquakes. Extraordinary rain accompanied the shocks before\n    mentioned; and two volcanoes are said to have been in eruption in\n    the mountain chain nearest to Bogota. [15]\n\nThe _Encyclopedia Britannica_, referring to the geographical formation\nof Colombia, also says:\n\n    The fundamental formations throughout Colombia are igneous\n    and metamorphic, the great mass of the cordilleras consisting\n    of gneiss, granite, porphyry and basalt. In many places the\n    carboniferous strata have attained considerable development, though\n    they have been thrown into strange confusion by some unknown\n    disturbance. [16]\n\nThe writer in _Chamber's Encyclopedia_, in speaking of Colombia, also\nsays:\n\n    The geology of the country is very extraordinary. \"Everywhere,\"\n    we are told, \"are found traces of stupendous cataclysms and a\n    disarrangement and intermixture of primitive and sedimentary rocks,\n    which assume to put all classification at defiance.\" [17]\n\nProfessor Winchell says:\n\n    We are in the midst of great changes, and are scarcely conscious\n    of it. We have seen worlds in flames, and have felt a comet strike\n    the earth. We have seen the whole coast of South America lifted\n    up bodily ten or fifteen feet and let down again in an hour. We\n    have seen the Andes sink 220 feet in seventy years. * * * Vast\n    transpositions have taken place in the coastline of China. The\n    ancient capital, located, in all probability, in an accessible\n    position near the centre of the empire, has now become nearly\n    surrounded by water, and its site is on the peninsula of Corea.\n    * * * There was a time when the rocky barriers of the Thracian\n    Bosphorus gave way and the Black Sea subsided. It had covered a\n    vast area in the north and east. Now this area became drained and\n    was known as the ancient Lectonia: it is now the prairie region of\n    Russia, and the granary of Europe. [18]\n\nReferring to Donnelly again:\n\n    The earthquake of 1783 in Iceland destroyed 9,000 people out of\n    a population of 50,000; twenty villages were consumed by fire or\n    inundated by water, and a mass of lava thrown out \"greater than the\n    bulk of Mont Blanc.\" [19]\n\nProfessor Lyell, referring to the great earthquake which occurred on\nthe island of Java, near the mountain of Galung Gung, on the 8th of\nOctober, 1822, says:\n\n    A loud explosion was heard, the earth shook, and immense columns of\n    hot water and boiling mud, mixed with burning brimstone, ashes, and\n    lapilli, of the size of nuts, were projected from the mountain like\n    a water-spout, with such prodigious violence that large quantities\n    fell beyond the river Tandoi, which is forty miles distant. * * *\n    The first eruption lasted nearly five hours; and on the following\n    days the rain fell in torrents, and the rivers densely charged with\n    mud, deluged the country far and wide. At the end of four days\n    (October 12), a second eruption occurred, more violent than the\n    first, in which hot water and mud were again vomited, and great\n    blocks of basalt were thrown to the distance of seven miles from\n    the volcano. There was at the same time a violent earthquake, the\n    face of the mountain was utterly changed, its summits broken down,\n    and one side, which had been covered with trees, became an enormous\n    gulf in the form of a semicircle. Over 4,000 persons were killed\n    and 114 villages destroyed. [20]\n\nThe following account of seismic disturbances is taken from Donnelley's\nwork _Atlantis_.\n\n    The Gulf of Santorin, in the Grecian Archipelago, has been for two\n    thousand years a scene of active volcanic operations. Pliny informs\n    us that in the year 186 B. C. the island of \"Old Kaimeni,\" or the\n    Sacred Isle, was lifted up from the sea; and in A. D. 19 the island\n    of \"Thia\" (the Divine) made its appearance. In A. D. 1573 another\n    island was created, called \"the small sunburnt island.\" * * * A\n    recent examination of these islands shows that the whole mass of\n    Santorin has sunk, since its projection from the sea, over 1,200\n    feet. [21]\n\n    The fort and villages of Sindree, on the eastern arm of the Indus,\n    above Luckput, was submerged in 1819 by an earthquake, together\n    with a tract of country 2,000 square miles in extent. [22]\n\n    In April, 1815, one of the most frightful eruptions recorded in\n    history occurred in the province of Tomboro, in the island of\n    Sumbawa, about two hundred miles from the eastern extremity of\n    Java. It lasted from April 5 to July of that year; but was most\n    violent on the 11th and 12th of July. The sound of the explosion\n    was heard nearly one thousand miles. Out of a population of 12,000\n    in the province of Tomboro, only twenty-six individuals escaped.\n    \"Violent whirlwinds carried up men, horses, and cattle into the\n    air, tore up the largest trees by the roots, and covered the\n    whole sea with floating timber.\" (Raffles' _History_ of Java,\n    vol. I, 38.) The ashes darkened the air; \"the floating cinders to\n    the westward of Sumatra formed, on the 12th of April, a mass two\n    feet thick and several miles in extent, through which ships with\n    difficulty forced their way.\" The darkness in daytime was more\n    profound than the blackest night. \"The town called Tomboro, on the\n    west side of Sumbawa, was overflowed by the sea, which encroached\n    upon the shore, so that the water remained permanently eighteen\n    feet deep in places where there was land before. The area covered\n    by the convulsion was 1,000 English miles in circumference. \"In the\n    island of Amboyna, in the same month and year, the ground opened,\n    threw out water, and then closed again.\" (Raffles' _History of\n    Java_, vol. I, p. 52.)\n\n    But it is at the point of the European coast nearest to the site\n    of Atlantis at Lisbon that the most tremendous earhquake of modern\n    times has occurred. On the 1st of November, 1775, a sound was\n    heard underground, and immediately afterward a violent shock threw\n    down the greater part of the city. In six minutes 60,000 persons\n    perished. A great concourse of people had collected for safety upon\n    a new quay, built entirely of marble; but suddenly it sank down\n    with all the people on it, and not one of the dead bodies ever\n    floated to the surface. * * * The water where the quay went down\n    is now 600 feet deep. The area covered by this earthquake was very\n    great. Humboldt says that a portion of the earth's surface, four\n    times as great as the size of Europe, was simultaneously shaken.\n    It extended from the Baltic to the West Indies, and from Canada\n    to Algiers. At eighty leagues from Morocco the ground opened and\n    swallowed a village of 10,000 inhabitants, and closed again over\n    them. [23]\n\nAlthough Mr. Charles Darwin, one of the most conservative of\nscientists, usually insists that the elevation and subsidence of the\nearth's crust is accomplished by slow degrees and continues through\nlong geological periods of time, yet in the report of his _Geological\nObservations_, he records some very important evidences of recent\nelevations and subsidences as having taken place quite suddenly. One\ninstance is in connection with an elevation on the Island of San\nLorenzo, off the coast of Peru near Lima, in which he reaches the\nconclusion that the beach on that island has been raised 85 feet since\nIndian men inhabited Peru. [24] He gives another instance of a recent\nelevation of land on the Island of Chiloe; [25] and still another on\nthe Island of Lemus. [26] In speaking in a general way of the elevation\non the western side of the South American continent, Mr. Darwin also\nsays:\n\n    On the shores of the Pacific, upraised shells of recent species,\n    generally, though not always, in the same proportional numbers as\n    in the adjoining sea, have actually been found over a north and\n    south space of 2,075 miles, and there is reason to believe that\n    they occur over a space of 2,480 miles. The elevation on this\n    western side of the continent has not been equable; at Valparaiso,\n    within the period during which upraised shells have remained\n    undecayed on the surface, it has been 1,300 feet, whilst at\n    Coquimbo, 200 miles northward, it has been within this same period\n    only 252 feet. At Lima, the land has been uplifted at least eighty\n    feet since Indian man inhabited that district; but the level within\n    historical times apparently has subsided. [27]\n\nComing to more recent seismic disturbances I call attention to the one\nwhich occurred in 1883, on an island in the straits of Sunda:\n\n    A great cloud was seen to rise above the island, and spreading out\n    obscured the sun, while ash fell from the air. Upon the neighboring\n    land the ground was shaken, while upon the low coasts, a great\n    water wave rushed, destroying thousands of lives. Krakatoa, which\n    had not been in eruption in this century, had again broken forth,\n    with the most terrific explosion that man had recorded. Ash rose\n    miles in the air, and spreading out, fell on the surrounding land\n    and water, and for a while it was so thick upon the surface of the\n    sea, in the Straits of Sunda, that the progress of vessels was\n    impeded. So high did it rise that the light ash, floating about by\n    the upper winds, staid suspended in the air for months, some of it\n    falling in America and Europe. A great water wave, generated by\n    the explosion, crossed the Pacific to the California coast, and\n    it was observed on the shores of Africa and Australia. When the\n    eruption had ceased it was found that Krakatoa had been split into\n    two parts, one of which had disappeared into the air, leaving ocean\n    water where there had been dry land. The part of the island that\n    remained was covered with a deep coating of ash, and not a living\n    thing was left, neither plant nor animal. [28]\n\nSpeaking of the same event W. J. McGee, vice-president of the National\nGeographical Society, and ethnologist in charge of the Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology, says:\n\n    This stupendous outburst cast up a cloud of gas and dust to a\n    height of seventeen miles or more which darkened the sun for 150\n    miles in every direction, raised a sea wave reaching 135 feet in\n    height on adjacent coasts, resounded in every direction for a\n    thousand miles, and in one direction for 2,968 miles (if not indeed\n    to the Antipodes), and sent out a series of great atmospheric waves\n    rolling in both directions three times around the globe. [29]\n\nThe authority last quoted also says that the New Madrid earthquake of\n1811-12 shook an area of a million and a quarter square miles; and that\nthe Charleston earthquake of 1886 was felt over nearly one-half million\nsquare miles of land, and far out at sea. He gives at length also a\ndescription of the recent earthquake in the island of St. Vincent,\nWest Indies, which shook all Martinique by the force of its explosion.\nThe magnetic disturbances swept in swift undulations for thousands\nof miles, passed Maryland and Kansas in a few seconds, and reached\nHonolulu a minute or two later; while the ensuing rain of rock-dust\nstretched eastward a hundred miles beyond Barbadoes, westward to\nJamaica, northward to Texas, and to the South American continent. [30]\n\nThe conclusions to be reached from the facts here presented are, first,\nthat while elevations and subsidences of the earth's crust are usually\naccomplished by slow degrees and through long periods of time, it is\nalso true that very extensive changes are effected by internal forces\nof the earth in a very short period of time; and second, that there is\nreason for the belief that the seismic disturbances described in the\nBook of Mormon as taking place at the crucifixion of Messiah, effected\nvery great changes in the physical character of the land occupied\nby the Nephites. If it should be contended that while the cases of\nearthquake disturbances cited in this chapter tell of widespread areas\nof country being suddenly and greatly effected, yet nowhere (except in\nthe case of Atlantis) do those changes approach the magnitude of the\nphysical changes called for in the views here set forth, the answer\nwould be that nowhere else in the records kept by men is there an\naccount of such terrible, such long-continued, and such widespread\ncataclysms in the earth as those described in the Book of Mormon.\nThe terrible seismic disturbances which at the time of Messiah's\ncrucifixion took place in the western hemisphere continued through\nthree hours of time (instead of a few minutes, as in the case of some\nof the most noted earthquake instances cited above); and affected the\nwestern continents from end to end, and were followed by three days\nof total darkness. [31] And as the forces then operative surpass in\ntheir magnitude and time of continuance all other known instances of\nthe kind, so too, may it be reasonably argued that the changes would\nbe correspondingly greater than those effected by similar instances of\nless magnitude and continued through briefer periods of time.\n\nIn concluding this chapter--even though I have not yet arrived at the\nargumentative stage of my treatise--I would suggest that the cases of\nseismic disturbances here cited are sufficient both in their character\nand extent to warrant belief in the possibility of the terrible\ncatacylsms described in the Book of Mormon, and that they effected\ngreat physical changes in the continents of America.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. My treatment of the subject here has simply to do with the physical\ncharacter of the great divisions of the western hemisphere in Book of\nMormon times. I make no attempt to definitely locate particular lands\nmentioned in the Book of Mormon, for the reason that the plan of my\ntreatise does not require the consideration of that subject, except\nin a very general way: and however interesting it might be to know\ndefinitely the location of particular Jaredite and Nephite lands--the\nextent of their kingdoms, empires and republics; the location of\nspecial provinces and other political districts or divisions therein,\ntogether with a knowledge of the exact location of their capitals, and\nmetropolises, I do not believe those things can be learned with any\ndegree of certainty, for reasons set forth in the text of this chapter.\n\n2. I Nephi 12:4.\n\n3. Helaman 14:20-27.\n\n4. III Nephi 8:5-18.\n\n5. III Nephi 9:1-8, 12.\n\n6. \"With regard to the ages necessary for the accomplishment of the\nimmense geological processes, the history of which is disclosed to us\nin the earth's strata, they certainly must have been of prodigious\nduration; for all the annals of humanity are but as a passing moment\ncompared with the cycles of the globe. * * * Professor Haughton, a\nmathematician, has endeavored to establish, according to the formula\nof Dulong and Petit, that the mere fall in the temperature of 25,\noccurring previously to the present epoch of our planet, would require\nabout 18 million of years. In the same way, the formation of each of\nthe strata, which constitutes the sum-total of the geological records\nof the earth's surface must have taken up a long series of centuries\nbefore which the mind recoils in perplexity. _The Earth_, Reclus, vol.\nI, p. 32.\n\n7. _Manual of Elementary Geology_, p. 46, 1852 edition.\n\n8. Reference is also made to Atlantis in his _Critias_. (Jowett's\nTrans, vol. II.)\n\n9. _Dialogues of Plato_ (Jowett's translation), vol. II, p. 520.\n\n10. Ibid., p. 521.\n\n11. _History of America before Columbus_, p. 127, (Lippincott Co.,\npubs., 1900).\n\n12. _The Earth_, vol. I, p. 36.\n\n13. _Atlantis_, Donnelly, p. 3.\n\n14. _Compend. of Geology_, Joseph Le Conte, pp. 145 and 146. See also\np. 153. The disturbance in the Mississippi valley is also mentioned by\nLyell (_Principles of Geology_, 1856 edition p. 446). He adds, that the\nground on which New Madrid stood, and the river bank for fifteen miles\nabove, sank eight feet below their former level.\n\n15. _Principles of Geology_, Lyell, p. 457, 1856 edition.\n\n16. Art. Colombia.\n\n17. _Chamber's Ency_., Art. Colombia.\n\n18. _The pre-Adamites_, p. 437.\n\n19. _Atlantis_, p. 35.\n\n20. _Principles of Geology_, p. 430.\n\n21. _Atlantis_, p. 37.\n\n22. p. 38.\n\n23. _Atlantis_, p. 40.\n\n24. _Geological Observations_, third edition, pp. 268, 269.\n\n25. _Geological Observations_, p. 233.\n\n26. Ibid., pp. 232, 233.\n\n27. Ibid., p. 599. Also _The Earth_, vol. II, pp. 646, 647.\n\n28. _First Book of Physical Geography_, R. S. Tarr, pp. 347, 348.\n\n29. _The World Today_, (Magazine), vol. II, no. 1, July, 1902.\n\n30. For full description see the magazine entitled \"The World To\nToday,\" Vol III., No, 1, July 1902.\n\n31. It should be noted that the darkness accompanied some of the\nseismic disturbances cited in the foregoing accounts of earthquakes,\nnotably in that of April, 1815, in the island of Sumbawa, see page\n211, where \"the darkness in the day time\" is described as being more\nprofound than the blackest night.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nINTER-CONTINENTAL MOVEMENTS OF BOOK OF MORMON PEOPLE.\n\nThe inter-continental movements of the Book of Mormon peoples must next\nbe considered.\n\nOf the movements of the Jaredites and the people of Mulek but little\ncan be learned. The center of Jaredite civilization and national power\nwas in that part of the north continent known to the Nephites as the\nland Desolation, a country which corresponds, as we have seen, to\nmodern Central America, [1] and of which Moron was the capital. From\nthis point the Jaredites evidently colonized in great part the north\ncontinent; for it is said in the reign of King Lib that \"the whole face\nof the land northward was covered with inhabitants.\" [2] But this is\nthe widest extent of their colonization, as they confined themselves\nto occupancy of the north continent, and nothing more than hunting\nexcursions ever carried them into the south continent.\n\nOf the movements of Mulek's colony we have nothing more definite than\nthat having landed first at some point in the south part of the north\ncontinent, they afterwards removed into the north part of the south\ncontinent--to the valley of the Sidon, and were permanently settled\nthere when they were found by the migrating Nephites under Mosiah I.\n\nAs for the movements of the Nephites we have already traced them from\nLehi's landing place to the valley of the Sidon, where they joined the\npeople of Zarahemla, the descendants of Mulek's colony, and formed the\nNephite-Zarahemla monarchy under Mosiah I.\n\nHereafter we shall find their movements tending chiefly in two\ndirections: to the southward, and into the north.\n\nNEPHITE MOVEMENTS SOUTHWARD.\n\nThe movements of the Nephites southward were prompted by two chief\nincentives: first, by a desire on the part of some restless,\nover-zealous spirits, who came with Mosiah to the valley of the\nSidon, to regain possession of the Land of Nephi--the land of their\nforefathers; a choice land in itself, and made dear to some of them,\ndoubtless, by many tender and sacred recollections; second, by a pious\ndesire on the part of zealous missionaries to convert their brethren,\nthe Lamanites, to the truth of their fathers' faith in God, and the\ntruth of their fathers' traditions concerning the future coming of the\nChrist to bring to pass the redemption of the world.\n\nThe first, and perhaps the largest of these movements, having in\ncontemplation the re-occupancy of the land of Nephi, was made under\nZeniff, a man who describes himself as \"overzealous\" to inherit the\nland of his fathers. [3] This expedition was most likely undertaken\nduring the reign of the second king of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation,\nviz., King Benjamin, who succeeded Mosiah I. In King Benjamin's reign\nthere was a serious war between the Lamanites and the newly formed\nNephite-Zarahemla nation. The Lamanites invaded the land of Zarahemla\nbent on ravaging the country, and the subjugation of the people. They\nwere repulsed and driven back to their own lands, but not without much\nbloodshed. [4] During the war, but likely after the repulse of the\nLamanites, Zeniff, with others, was sent among the Lamanites to locate\ntheir forces and ascertain their strength, that the Nephite-Zarahemla\narmy might destroy them. But Zeniff, impressed with the many virtues\nof the Lamanites, desired that they might not be destroyed, and urged\nupon the leader of the Nephite expedition to enter into a friendly\ntreaty with them. This, however, was so far from the mind of the\nNephite leader that he ordered Zeniff to be slain, doubtless upon the\ncharge of treason, or insubordination; whereupon there was a revolt in\nthe expedition. The leader himself was killed; and Zeniff was rescued\nafter much bloodshed. Fifty of the expedition--all that survived the\nunhappy conflict--returned to Zarahemla to relate the sad event that\nhad befallen them. Zeniff now gathered a company about him who were\ndesirous of repossessing the land of their forefathers, and with them\nhe departed from Zarahemla. On the journey they suffered from famine,\nwhich much reduced their numbers; but finally they reached the land of\nLehi-Nephi, and of Shilom, which was the place from which the Nephites\nunder Mosiah departed northward in their second great hegira. [5]\n\nThe Lamanites received the expedition of Zeniff with favor, entered\ninto treaty relations with them, and vacated the land of Lehi-Nephi\nand Shilom, that Zeniff and his people might possess it. It must not\nbe thought, however, that the action of the king of the Lamanites\nwas altogether disinterested; his ulterior motive was plunder of the\nNephites as soon as their well-known industry should bear fruit. He\nallowed them to take possession of the cities and lands of their\nfathers only that he might bring them into bondage, and make their\nindustry a source of revenue to himself and people.\n\nThe people of Zeniff rebuilt the walls of the ancient Nephite cities\nin the land of Nephi, as also the cities themselves, and brought the\nfruitful lands of their fathers again under cultivation; for under\nLamanite occupancy they had been neglected. The cities also had fallen\ninto decay, and the walls thereof had partly crumbled into ruins. As\nsoon, however, as Nephite industry began to redeem the waste places\nand produce prosperity in the land, the Lamanites attempted their\nsubjugation; but though they suffered some from their conflicts with\nthe Lamanites, the Nephites, so long as Zeniff lived, maintained their\nindependence. So also they did during part of the reign of their second\nking, Noah, son of Zeniff. During the reign of this second king, though\nhe himself was a dissolute, unrighteous man, he greatly beautified the\ncity of Lehi-Nephi, embellished the temple, and also built for himself\na magnificent palace. He also erected many and magnificent buildings\nin the land of Shilom. [6] To carry out these improvements King Noah\ntaxed his people to the extent of one-fifth of all their possessions,\nand of their income. He surrounded his dissolute court with a corrupt\npriesthood, and in every way demoralized his people and made his\nreign infamous. Still he successfully expelled the predatory bands of\nLamanites which invaded his territory from the south, and who had for a\ntime preyed upon his people.\n\nAbout this time God sent a prophet among King Noah's people to warn\nthem of impending calamity. Him they burned, not heeding his warning.\nBut the mission of Abinadi, for such was the prophet's name, was not\nwholly in vain, for the heart of one priest, Alma, was touched; and\nhe, repenting of his own wickedness, brought others to repentance. As\nmight be expected, this course displeased King Noah, and he sought to\ndestroy young Alma and his people. But Alma being warned of God of the\nking's intentions, fled with his people (numbering about four hundred\nand fifty souls) into the wilderness, some eight days' journey, where\nthey founded a city which they called Helam. [7] Here they dwelt in\nsecurity for a number of years. Finally, however, they were discovered\nby the Lamanites, who placed them under bondage, and appointed task\nmasters over them. From this thraldom they were finally released by the\ninterposition of the Lord, who directed Alma to take his flight in the\ndirection of Zarahemla, which is reached in twelve days from Helam,\nwhere he was most heartily received by King Mosiah II, who made him\nHigh Priest over the Church throughout Zarahemla.\n\nMeantime a large army of Lamanites invaded the land of Lehi-Nephi,\nbefore whom King Noah and his people fled; but being encumbered with\ntheir wives and children they were soon overtaken. Noah ordered an\nabandonment of the women and children; but this order part of the men\nof his army refused to obey, choosing rather to die with their wives\nand children. The remainder followed the king. When the Lamanites saw\nthe helplessness of the Nephites, and being moved with compassion by\nthe pleading of their women, they abandoned the slaughter of them,\nand permitted them to return to their cities, under covenant that\nthey would deliver up one-half of their property, and thereafter\npay annually one-half of the products of their labors. These hard\nconditions were accepted; and the people returned to their possessions;\none Limhi, son of Noah, was chosen to be their ruler--their king, if\nsuch a title, under the circumstances, be not mockery.\n\nThe Nephite men who obeyed the orders of King Noah in the matter of\nabandoning their wives and children soon repented of their cowardice,\nand resolved to return and share their fate or avenge their death; and\nwhen King Noah opposed their manly resolutions they burned him at the\nstake. On returning to Lehi-Nephi it was to find, of course, that their\npeople had gone into bondage to the Lamanites, under the circumstances\nalready detailed--a bondage these returning fugitives readily shared.\n\nHard, indeed, was the fate of the Nephites under Lamanite bondage. The\ntreaty stipulation prevented the Lamanites from making open war upon\nthem; but the one-half of the products of their labor due their masters\nunder the treaty they had formed was collected under every circumstance\nof cruelty, and the Lamanites themselves directed the labors of the\nunfortunate Nephites, placing task masters over them, who in every\nway insulted and oppressed them, even to the binding of heavy burdens\nupon their backs, and the application of the lash on the slightest\nprovocation.\n\nUnder these circumstances it can be easily understood that the Nephites\nwere restive and anxious for deliverance. Naturally their eyes and\nhearts turned to Zarahemla, where the great body of their brethren\ndwelt in security. Once King Limhi fitted out a small expedition\nof forty-three men and sent them to find Zarahemla, and bring\ndeliverance. The expedition was a failure as far as its immediate\nobject was concerned. It was lost in the wilderness, passed by the\nland of Zarahemla--evidently on the west of it, and went into the land\nnorthward, where it found the ruins of the Jaredite race--destroyed\ncities, ruined temples, fallen walls, a land covered with the bones\nof men and beasts. They also found breast-plates of brass and copper;\nswords, the hilts of which had perished; and the blades of which were\ncankered with rust. But what was of more importance they found what\nafterwards proved to be the record of Ether, consisting of twenty-four\nplates of gold, on which the last prophet of the Jaredite race had\nengraved an outline history of his people, and which subsequently King\nMosiah, by use of the Urim and Thummim, translated into the Nephite\nlanguage; so that the Nephites at Zarahemla were acquainted with the\nhistory of the people who had preceded them in the occupancy of the\nwestern hemisphere. [8]\n\nIt would naturally be expected that the people of Zarahemla would feel\nan interest in their brethren who went up to re-occupy the land of\nNephi; and when, year after year passed away and no word came of their\nfate or fortunes, there were those who petitioned the king of Zarahemla\nto send an expedition in search of them. The repeated petitions\nat last met with favorable action, and one Ammon, a descendant of\nZarahemla, with fifteen others started for the land of Nephi. After\nforty days' journey they reached Shilom, at which place King Limhi\nwas sojourning at the time of their arrival. The joy of the meeting\nwas mutual. Ammon and his associates rejoiced that their mission had\nsuch a happy termination; Limhi and his people, that they could now\nhope for deliverance from Lamanite bondage; and also they had joy in\nthe proof which Ammon brought them that the Nephites of Zarahemla were\nnot destroyed; for when Limhi's expedition returned from the land\nnorthward, where they found the ruins and bones of an extinct people,\nthey supposed they had found Zarahemla, but that the Lamanites had\ndestroyed that people.\n\nSoon after the arrival of Ammon in the land of Nephi the people of\nLimhi devised plans for their escape from their Lamanite oppressors.\nThe plans were successfully carried into effect, and Limhi and his\npeople were welcomed to Zarahemla by King Mosiah II. Thus ended the\nmost notable effort of the Nephites to repossess the land of their\nfathers' first inheritance, the land of Nephi. The occupancy of that\nland by Zeniff's people extended over a period of about eighty years.\n\nOf the missionary expeditions that ventured into the land of Nephi\nfor the conversion of the Lamanites, one of the most notable, as also\none of the most successful, was begun and carried to its successful\ntermination under the leadership of the four sons of King Mosiah II,\nnamed respectively, Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni. These young men,\nand Alma, son of the High Priest of the same name, in their youthful\ndays were unbelievers in the traditions of their fathers; and they\nsought to destroy the Church of God which the elder Alma with so\nmuch toil had established through a faithful ministry. No parental\nauthority, no persuasion of preaching, prevailed against the pride and\nskepticism of these young princes and the younger Alma. Gifted with\neloquence, politic, large-minded, generous in word and deed, gracious\nand condescending to the people, Absalomlike he was rapidly stealing\nthe hearts of the Nephites, threatening the very existence of the\nChurch of God. At this juncture, out of respect for the prayers of the\nelder Alma, God visited these young men by sending an angel to reprove\nthem, and warn them of impending calamities. The manifestation of God's\npower in this visitation was such that the young men were over-whelmed.\nTheir conviction of sin was such that they repented thoroughly; and,\nPaul-like, from being persecutors of those who served God, they became\nzealous teachers of the truth, and sought with all their power to undo\nthe wretched mischief they had done in seeking the destruction of the\nChurch. This accomplished, so far as was possible, in the land of\nZarahemla, their thoughts turned to the hosts of unbelieving Lamanites\nin the land of Nephi, more numerous than the Nephites and the people\nof Zarahemla combined. A holy desire took possession of them to preach\nsalvation through the gospel to those hosts of Lamanites. Renouncing,\ntherefore, all their claims as princes, and abdicating all rights of\nsuccession to the throne of their father, Mosiah II, these' princes\nheaded the aforesaid missionary expedition to the Lamanites. In the\nmidst of many afflictions, attended with much persecution, the sons of\nMosiah and their companions preached the gospel extensively throughout\nLamanite lands, and had a rich harvest of souls for their hire. They\nestablished a Church among the Lamanites; but such was the oppression\npracticed by the unconverted Lamanites upon those who accepted the\nteachings of the Nephites, that, under divine direction and to preserve\ntheir people from destruction, the young princes conducted an exodus of\nthe Church from the land of Nephi, then in possession of the Lamanites,\nto Zarahemla, where they were welcomed by the Nephites, especially\nby Alma the High Priest; and a land--the land of Jershon, north of\nZarahemla--was set apart for the home [9] of this body of Lamanite\nconverts.\n\nNEPHITE MOVEMENT NORTHWARD\n\nThe Nephites in the land of Zarahemla early appreciated the strategic\nimportance of holding possession of the narrow neck of land--the\nisthmus which connected the southland with the northland. They\nperceived that if hard-pressed by their Lamanite enemies, who\nout-numbered them to the extent of two for one, [10] the narrow neck\nof land afforded them a means of escape into the great land northward,\nwhile by fortifying the narrow passage their enemies, however numerous,\ncould be held in check, while they themselves would have a whole\ncontinent behind them in which to expand. The Lamanites also saw the\nstrategic importance of this isthmus, and in some of the great wars in\nthe last half of the century immediately preceding the coming of the\nMessiah, they sought to possess it, and the Nephites as strenuously\nsought to prevent them from taking possession of it. [11]\n\nThe first extensive migration of Nephites into the north continent\noccurred in the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth year of the reign of\nthe Nephite judges, a period which corresponds to fifty-five B. C. That\nyear five thousand four hundred men, together with their wives and\nchildren, left the land of Zarahemla for the northland. That same year\none Hagoth, spoken of in Nephite annals as a \"curious man,\" established\nship-building yards on the borders of the land Bountiful, on the west\nside of the isthmus connecting the two continents. Here he constructed\na number of large vessels, in which great bodies of immigrants were\ncarried northward, to found new homes. Two of Hagoth's vessels that\nstarted northward never returned, nor was anything ever afterwards\nheard of them. The Nephites believed them to have been wrecked at sea.\nIt is supposed by some that these Nephite vessels may have drifted\nwestward and that their occupants may have peopled some of the islands\nof the Pacific.\n\nAbout ten years after this first great migration northward the\nmovement of population in that direction received a fresh impetus;\nfor great numbers went from Zarahemla and extended their journey\nfarther northward than heretofore. Contentions in the land of\nZarahemla--contentions born of pride, seem to have been responsible in\nsome way for this movement. Doubtless in the old centers of Nephite\ncivilization the possession of large wealth led to class distinctions,\nand inequalities, most distasteful to a people who from the first\narrival of their fathers on the promised land had been taught to look\nupon each other as equals. Migration from the land where distinctions\nbased upon the possession of wealth, and the pride it fosters,\npresented itself perhaps as the easiest solution of the difficulty, and\nhence the impetus to the northward movement in this year 46 B. C. [12]\n\nThe Nephite historian, Mormon, in speaking of conditions that\nobtained about this time, gives one of those rare glimpses of Nephite\ncivilization that I consider of sufficient importance to quote at\nlength:\n\n    And it came to pass in the forty and sixth year, * * * there was\n    much contention and many dissensions; in the which there were an\n    exceeding great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and\n    went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land. And they\n    did travel to an exceeding great distance, insomuch that they came\n    to large bodies of water and many rivers. Yea, and even they did\n    spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had\n    not been rendered desolate, and without timber, because of the many\n    inhabitants who had before inherited the land. And now no part of\n    the land was desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the\n    greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited\n    the land it was called desolate. And there being but little timber\n    upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth,\n    became exceeding expert in the working of cement; therefore they\n    did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell. * * *\n    And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go\n    forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread\n    insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth,\n    from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea\n    east. And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in\n    tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree\n    should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up,\n    that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea,\n    their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their\n    sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings. And it came to pass\n    as timber was exceeding scarce in the land northward, they did send\n    forth much by the way of shipping. And thus they did enable the\n    people in the land northward, that they might build many cities,\n    both of wood and of cement. And it came to pass that there were\n    many of the people of Ammon who were Lamanites by birth, did also\n    go forth into this land. And now there are many records kept of\n    the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are\n    particular and very large, concerning them. But behold, a hundredth\n    part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the\n    Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and\n    dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their\n    shipping and their building of ships, and the building of temples,\n    and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness,\n    and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and\n    their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms,\n    cannot be contained in this work. [13]\n\nHere it will be proper to dispel what I regard as a misapprehension of\nthe extent of Nephite occupancy of the north continent, at this period\nof Nephite history. From the fact that in the foregoing quotation it\nis said that the Nephites removing from Zarahemla traveled \"to an\nexceeding great distance, insomuch that they came to large bodies\nof water, and many rivers,\" some have supposed that the Nephites at\nthis time extended their colonization movements as far north as the\ngreat lakes in the eastern part of North America; [14] and from the\nfact that it is also said that \"they began to cover the face of the\nwhole earth, from the sea south, to the sea north, from the sea west,\nto the sea east,\" it has been supposed that these expressions meant\nto convey the idea that the Nephites at this time had extended their\nsettlements over both continents; and that \"from the sea south to\nthe sea north\" meant from the sea at the southern extremity of South\nAmerica (south of Cape Horn), to the Arctic Ocean, north of North\nAmerica. [15] There is no evidence, however, in the Book of Mormon that\nwarrants such a conclusion as to the extent of Nephite occupancy of the\nwestern hemisphere in 46 B. C. Allowance for hyperbole must be made\nin the expression, \"They began to cover the face of the whole earth,\"\nsince the facts set forth in the whole history of the Nephites in the\nBook of Mormon are against the reasonableness of such an expression\nif taken literally. From the landing of Lehi's colony early in the\nsixth century B. C., to the date corresponding to the year 55 B. C.,\nwhen the first considerable migration into the north land took place,\nNephite occupancy of the promised land was confined to portions of the\nwest and the extreme north part of what is now the south continent of\nAmerica; and as compared with the rest of South America, as now known\nto us, the extent of country occupied was but a very small part of the\ncontinent. The migrations from Zarahemla, from the year 55 B. C., to 46\nB. C., though considerable, are not sufficient to warrant the belief\nthat the Nephites spread over and occupied the whole face of the north\ncontinent. By reference to the map the reader, if he will consider the\nparts of the country now known as the south part of Mexico and Central\nAmerica, will there find all the conditions that answer to the terms\nof the description in the passage quoted complied with as to \"the\nsea south, and the sea north; the sea east and the sea west;\" while\nthe physical character of the same land, even now, will answer the\nrequirements of the description of its being a land of \"large bodies\nof water and many rivers;\" [16] and more abundantly may have been so\nbefore the convulsions of nature which took place in Nephite lands at\nMessiah's crucifixion.\n\nI conclude, therefore, that this migration of Nephites at this time\nextended no further northward than southern parts of Mexico, say about\nthe twenty-second degree north latitude; in other words, the Nephites\nwere occupying the old seat of Jaredite empire and civilization, and\nthe land of Moron which the Nephites called \"desolate,\" not because of\nits barrenness--save for the absence of forests of timber--\"but because\nof the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before\ninhabited the land;\" that is, the Jaredites.\n\nThe next important event affecting the movement of population and the\npossession of the land north and south was a war between the Nephites\nand Lamanites, that began with the invasion of Nephite lands by the\nLamanites in 35 B. C. Owing to dissensions among the Nephites, many\nof that people had deserted to the Lamanites. It is quite possible\nthat this was owing to the resentment felt by the dissenting Nephites\nbecause of the class distinctions which arose on account of wealth\nand pride; and instead of the dissatisfied joining in the movement\nnorthward, as many did, some of them went southward, joined their\nfortunes with the barbarous Lamanites, and fomented the spirit of war\nagainst their brethren. In this war the Nephites were destined to meet\nwith a new experience. Hitherto in their wars with the Lamanites, since\nuniting with the people of Zarahemla, at least, the Nephites had been\nable to hold their lands against the Lamanite invasion; and though\nthey had lost here and there a battle, they were uniformly successful\nin their wars. In the war of 35-32 B. C., however, the Lamanites\ndrove the Nephites from all their lands in the south continent. Even\nZarahemla was taken, and the cities in the land Bountiful, extending,\nbe it remembered, northward from the land of Zarahemla to the isthmus\nconnecting the two continents. The Nephites were thrown wholly on the\ndefensive. They concentrated their forces at the narrow neck of land;\nhastily fortified it, and by that means prevented the invasion of the\nnorth continent. [17]\n\nIn the year 32-31 B. C. the fortunes of war changed somewhat, and\nthe invading hosts of Lamanites were forced out of the most northern\ncities of the Nephites in the land Bountiful and Zarahemla; but the\ncity Zarahemla, so long the capital of the Nephite-Zarahemla nation,\nremained in possession of the Lamanites; nor could the Nephites further\nprevail by force of arms than to win back and hold about one-half of\ntheir possessions in the south. At this point still another event,\nimportant in Nephite history, occurred. The Chief Judge of the land,\nwhose name was Nephi, resigned his office in order to join his younger\nbrother, Lehi, in the work of preaching the gospel. Unrighteousness\nis assigned as the cause of Nephite failure in the war of 35-32 B.\nC.; wealth, love of luxury, pride, injustice to the poor, internal\ndissensions, manifold treasons, and civil strife are enumerated as\namong Nephite sins and afflictions. If unrighteousness was the cause\nof Nephite weakness and failure--and it was--then clearly the logical\nthing to do was to bring the people to repentance, re-establish them\nin righteousness, and by these steps restore them to the favor of God.\nEvidently so reasoned these two priests and prophets of God, Nephi and\nLehi; and to the achievement of this end they bent their energies. They\nwere successful; but successful in a direction least to be expected,\nviz, successful in converting the Lamanites. Partially successful in\nconverting the Nephites, in the northern cities of the southland,\nthey went into the land of Zarahemla, still held by the Lamanites,\nand so far convinced the Lamanites of the error and wickedness of the\ntraditions of their fathers that eight thousand were baptized in the\nland of Zarahemla and the regions round about. Thence the two prophets\nwent further southward into the land of Nephi; and though they met\nwith some persecutions, such was the marvelous display of God's power\nin their deliverance, that the greater part of the Lamanites were\nconverted; and restored to the Nephites the cities and lands they had\ntaken in the recent war. Many of the Lamanites themselves engaged\nin the work of the ministry, and preached to the Nephites both in\nZarahemla and in the north continent. Nephi and Lehi also preached\nin the northland, but with no great success. Still peace prevailed;\nand for the first time since the separation of the Nephites from the\nLamanites, in the first half of the sixth century B. C., there was\nunrestricted intercourse between the two peoples:\n\n    And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the\n    Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would,\n    whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. And it came to pass\n    that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether\n    it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they\n    did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and\n    to get gain, according to their desire. And it came to pass that\n    they became exceeding rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites;\n    and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and\n    of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in\n    the land north. Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land\n    north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for\n    the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the\n    land south. And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these\n    lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there\n    were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did\n    refine it; and thus they did become rich. They did raise grain\n    in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did\n    flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the south. And they\n    did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did\n    raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings. Behold their women\n    did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined\n    linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness.\n\nThe next event which affected Nephite occupancy of the land north and\nsouth was one of their many robber wars. By the sixteenth year from the\ntime the sign [18] of the birth of Christ [19] had been given (therefore\n16 A.D.) wickedness had so far increased among the people of the western\nworld, and there had been so many dissensions from those who once had\nfavored law and order, that the robber bands which infested the country\nconsidered themselves so powerful that they called upon the Chief Judge\nof the land to abdicate government and accept the order of things that\nobtained in their societies. This demand led to a serious war between\nthe supporters of the government on the one hand, and the outlaws\non the other. The Nephite leaders gathered their people both from\nthe north and the south into the central part of their country--into\nthe land Bountiful, and the land Zarahemla; and the cities of these\nlands the Nephites and the Lamanites standing for law, order, and the\nmaintenance of government, fortified and stocked with an abundance of\nprovisions against the opening of the impending war. The war began in\nthe year 18 A. D., and lasted for more than two years. In it the robber\nbands were not only defeated, but annihilated, by being destroyed in\nbattle, executed under the provisions of the law, or by being compelled\nto enter into covenant to abandon their robberies and murders. This\nwar, in some respects the most terrible in Nephite history, was\nfollowed by an era of prosperity. In the course of a few years the\nNephites had moved back upon their lands whence they had been called by\nthe exigencies of the recent war. \"And it came to pass that there were\nmany cities built anew, and there were many old cities repaired. And\nthere were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from\ncity to city, and from land to land.\" [20]\n\nNo sooner were the terrors of war removed, however, than the people who\nhad been so marvelously delivered from their enemies lapsed again into\nunrighteousness.\n\n    For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers,\n    and many officers. And the people began to be distinguished by\n    ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning;\n    yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did\n    receive great learning because of their riches. Some were lifted\n    up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return\n    railing for railing, while others would receive railing and\n    persecution, and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and\n    revile again, but were humble and penitent before God. And thus\n    there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the\n    church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth\n    year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a\n    few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and\n    they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast,\n    and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments\n    of the Lord. Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this,\n    Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all\n    manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting\n    them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain\n    things of the world. * * * * Now they did not sin ignorantly, for\n    they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught\n    unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God. [21]\n\nThe people of the western world, in brief, had entered upon that\nfinal stage of their wickedness which was to terminate in those\nawful convulsions of nature that should make their lands desolate,\nand well-nigh destroy the inhabitants thereof. The government itself\nhad become corrupt; so, too, had the priesthood, save a few faithful\nones--men of God, who testified that the Messiah had come, and that the\ntime of his passion and resurrection approached. These were secretly\nhaled before the judges, and both priests and lawyers leagued against\nthem for their destruction. When it was feared that the Chief Judge\nwould not sign their death warrants--a thing needful under the Nephite\nlaw to make executions legal--they privily put them to death, and\nthus were guilty of judicial murders. An attempt to overthrow the\ncommonwealth, now perpetuated through more than a hundred and twenty\nyears, ended in anarchy; and thence to the establishment of a sort of\ntribal government, which maintained an uncertain peace by means of\nmutual fears rather than by any inherent strength in the system--if\nsystem, indeed, it could be called. Such were the conditions that\nobtained among the people of the western world when those mighty\ncataclysms occurred which destroyed so many Nephite cities, effaced so\nmuch of Nephite civilization, and so greatly changed in some places\nthe physical character of the continents of the western hemisphere, of\nwhich the Book of Mormon account has been already given.\n\nShortly after these great cataclysms the Savior made his appearance\namong the Nephites and established his Church, which event was followed\nby a long period of righteousness and the loss of all race and party\ndistinctions, such as \"Nephite\" and \"Lamanite,\" etc.; and the people\noccupied the lands north and south without restraint according to\ntheir good pleasure. True, in the year 350, A. D., when wickedness\nhad again made its appearance among the people, and old distinctions\nwere received, a treaty was made in which it was stipulated that those\ncalling themselves Lamanites and Gadianton robbers would possess\nthe south land. The treaty, however, was not long respected by the\nLamanities, for at the end of ten years they violated it by attempting\nto invade the north and war was renewed. Back and forth surged the\ntide of armed conflict, but raged chiefly in what was known to the\nNephites as the land of Desolation, the old seat of Jaredite empire\nand civilization. The Nephites at last having been driven from their\nsouthern strongholds in the north continent, proposed through their\nleader, Mormon, Mormon, [22] that they be permitted to gather their\npeople at Cumorah--the Ramah of the Jaredites--that they might trust\ntheir fate to the dreadful arbitrament of one great conflict. The\nrequest was granted; the hosts were gathered, the armies which fought\nunder the Nephite name were destroyed, save such as were mingled with\nthe Lamanites. Anarchy followed, and then savagery for ages claimed the\nwestern hemisphere as its own.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. See Ether 7:6 and _Dict. B. of M_., Art. Desolation.\n\n2. Ether 10:21.\n\n3. Mosiah 9:1-4.\n\n4. Omni 1:24.\n\n5. For the authority of the foregoing narrative compare Omni 1:26-30,\nMosiah 9:1-6, and \"Words of Mormon\" between the Books of Omni and\nMosiah. Also Mosiah 11:13.\n\n6. Mosiah 11.\n\n7. The city of Helam and the surrounding country which was called \"the\nland of Helam,\" was doubtless named from Helam, who was the first to\nreceive baptism at the hands of Alma. Mos. 18.\n\n8. Compare Mosiah 8, with Mosiah 21, and Mosiah 28.\n\n9. Elder Reynolds suggests that this land north of Zarahemla was set\napart to them because it would place Zarahemla between them and the\nLamanites who might attempt pursuit.--_Dict. Book of Mormon_, p. 172.\n\n10. Mosiah 25:2, 3.\n\n11. Alma 51, 52. Helaman 1.\n\n12. Forty and sixth year of the reign of the judges; corresponding to\nthe year forty-six B. C. (Reynolds' B. of M. Chronology, Richards'\n_Compendium_, p. 195.)\n\n13. Book of Helaman, 3:3-15.\n\n14. To Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario.\n\n15. See Orson Pratt's notes \"i\" and \"j\" Helaman III.\n\n16. The land visited by Limhi's expeditions in search of Zarahemla, and\nwho went to the land desolation, on their return described that as a\nland \"among many waters,\" Mosiah 8:8.\n\n17. Helaman 4.\n\n18. A Lamanite prophet five years B. C., declared that a sign of\nMessiah's birth would be given to the people of the western hemisphere,\nwhich he described as follows: \"This will I give unto you for a sign at\nthe time of his (Messiah's) coming; for behold, there shall be great\nlights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there\nshall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it\nwas day. Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as\nif it were one day and there were no night, and this shall be unto you\nfor a sign. * * And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one\nas ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you\" (of\nMessiah's birth). All of which came to pass as predicted. (See Helaman\n14:3-6; also III Nephi 1:15-21.)\n\n19. The Nephites began to reckon their time from the sign of Messiah's\nbirth in the ninth year from that event. See III Nephi 2. Compare\nverses 3-7 with verses 8-10.\n\n20. III Nephi 6.\n\n21. III Nephi 6:11-15, 18.\n\n22. Mormon was born in the north land about 311 A. D. To him was\nentrusted the Nephite records by one Ammaron; and while they were\nin his possession he made the abridgment which bears his name, \"The\nBook of Mormon.\" All the sacred Nephite records he did away except his\nabridgment of those records; and that he delivered to his son Moroni.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nGOVERNMENT AND RELIGION AMONG THE NEPHITES.\n\n_Nephite Government_.\n\nSome twelve or fifteen years after Lehi's colony arrived in the new\nworld, Nephi with that part of the colony which he could influence--the\nmore righteous part, by the way--separated from the elder sons of Lehi\nand their following, and established a separate community. Such was\nthe esteem in which Nephi was held by his following that his people\nbesought him to be their king. Nephi appears not to have favored the\nestablishment of this kind of government, but yielded to the desire\nof his people. Perhaps he had inherited the prejudices of the Hebrew\nprophets against the kingly form of government, [1] and would gladly\nhave seen his people live under an administration of government by\njudges, as in ancient Israel. This, however, is but an inference drawn\nfrom the fact of Nephi's expressed desire that his people would have no\nking.\n\nSuccession to the kingly dignity was made hereditary in Nephi's family,\n[2] and the kings on their accession to the kingly power took the title\nof Nephi I, Nephi II, Nephi III, Nephi IV, etc. [3] What the nature of\nthis kingly government was, what secondary officers existed in it, and\nwhat means were employed for the administration of its laws cannot be\nlearned from the Nephite record. For some time the community over which\nthe established government held sway was but a small one, hence the\nkingly office had no such dignity as attaches to it in more extensive\ngovernments; but was most likely akin to the petty kingdoms which\nexisted in Judea [4] at various times and with which Nephi and some\nfew of those who had accompanied him from Jerusalem were acquainted.\nThe Nephites had the scriptures containing the law of Moses, and were\ntaught to some extent in some of the customs of the Jews, but not in\nall of them. [5] And these customs, and the law of Moses administered\nwith no very great amount of machinery, I apprehend, constituted the\ncharacter of the Nephite government. Under it the Nephites lived for a\nperiod of more than four hundred and fifty years.\n\nThe transition from a kingly form of government to what may be called\na democracy was made at the death of Mosiah II, 509 years from the\ntime Lehi left Jerusalem, or 91 years B. C. The Israelitish genius\nin matters of government inclines them to the acceptance of what men\ncommonly call a theocracy, which is defined as meaning literally \"a\nstate governed in the name of God.\" The election of this form of\ngovernment by Israelities as most desirable, grows out of the fact of\nthe Mosaic legislation; for Moses received the law by which Israel\nwas governed direct from Jehovah; its regulations were carried out in\nJehovah's name, by the administration of judges, both during the life\ntime of Israel's great prophet and also after his demise. Living thus\nunder the divine law, administered in the name of Jehovah by judges\ndivinely appointed, was to be governed of God. And so completely was\nthis form of government recognized as the government of God, that to\nreject it was held to be rejecting God as the ruler of the state, as\nwitness the words of the Lord himself in the closing years of the\nprophet Samuel's life when Israel clamored for a king. The Lord said\nunto Samuel: \"Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say\nunto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me,\nthat I should not reign over them.\" [6]\n\nNo one, it appears to me, could have a clearer conception of the evils\nthat grow out of kingly government than the Nephite king, Mosiah II.\nNor a clearer conception of the strength and advantages of that form\nof government. I give a summary of his reasoning upon two sides of\nthis question: \"It is better that a man be judged of God than of man;\nfor the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of men\nare not always just.\" This is said in support of the old Israelitish\nidea of government--a theocracy: \"If it were possible that you could\nhave just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God\nand judge this people according to his commandments, * * * * then it\nwould be expedient that you always have kings to rule over you;\" but\n\"because all men are not just, it is not expedient that you should have\na king or kings to rule over you. * * * * Behold, how much iniquity\ndoth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea and what destruction!\"\nMoreover Mosiah understood the strength of those forces behind which\nan ungodly king could intrench himself. \"Behold, * * * * ye cannot\ndethrone an iniquitous king, save it be through much contention, and\nthe shedding of much blood; for behold, he has his friends in iniquity,\nand keepeth his guards about him, * * * * and he enacteth laws, and\nsendeth them forth among his people; yea, laws after the manner of his\nown wickedness; and whosoever does not obey his laws, he causeth to\nbe destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him, he will send his\narmies against them to war, and if he can, he will destroy them: and\nthus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.\"\n\"Behold, I say unto you the sins of many people have been caused by the\niniquities of their kings.\"\n\nThese were the considerations which led him to recommend the\nabandonment of kingly government and establish a reign of judges chosen\nby the voice of the people. By this arrangement Mosiah held that the\npeople would bear the responsibility of the government. \"It is not\ncommon,\" he reasons, \"that the voice of the people desireth anything\ncontrary to that which is right; but it is common for the smaller part\nof the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall\nye observe, and make it your law, to do your business by the voice\nof the people; and if the time comes that the voice of the people\ndoth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgment of God will\ncome upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great\ndestruction, even as he has hitherto visited this land.\" All of which\nis a clear setting forth of the responsibilities of self-governing\ncommunities.\n\nIt should be pointed out, however, that there were some other events\nwhich led to the consideration of the propriety of changing the form\nof the Nephite government, at this time. The sons of Mosiah, who\nwere heirs to the Nephite throne, were miraculously converted to the\ngospel, and so thoroughly imbued had they become with the importance\nof the work of the ministry of the Church that they abandoned their\nrights of succession to the kingly dignity, and departed from the land\nof Zarahemla to perform missions among the Lamanites. In consequence\nof the action of these young princes, Mosiah II was confronted with\nthe problem of succession to the Nephite throne, since those to whom\nbelonged the right refused to accept the honor. He feared that if\nanother were appointed instead of one who had constitutional claims\nto the throne, there might arise contentions over the question of\nsuccession. \"And who knoweth,\" said he, \"but what my son to whom\nthe kingdom doth belong, shall turn to be angry, and draw part of\nthis people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among\nyou, which would be the cause of shedding much blood?\" He therefore\nrecommended the election of a chief judge or president of the\ntheocratic-democracy, who would be possessed of both administrative\nand judicial powers, in the hope that such action, taken by the\npeople themselves, would obviate all difficulty or question about the\nlegitimacy of the government about to be established.\n\nIt is difficult to determine with precision the entire character of the\nconstitution of the Nephite democracy. But from what is written in the\nBook of Mormon this much may be learned: The chief judge, elected by\nthe people, was the supreme governor of the land, the chief executive.\n[7] His oath of office bound him \"to judge righteously, and to keep the\npeace and the freedom of the people, and grant unto them the sacred\nprivileges to worship the Lord their God; to support and maintain\nthe laws of God all his days, and to bring the wicked to justice,\naccording to their crimes.\" A similar oath was doubtless administered\nto the inferior judges. To a limited extent also legislative powers\nwere granted to the chief judge, but these powers appear to have been\nlimited to framing laws, which were not of force until ratified by the\nvoice of the people. No limit seems to have been set to the term of\noffice of the chief judge, but as the voice of the people placed him in\noffice, the same power could also dismiss him from it; and it may be\nthat the power of impeachment, vested in a certain number of inferior\njudges--as explained later--extended to deposing even the chief judge.\nIn any event it may be concluded that he held his position only during\ngood behavior.\n\nJust how the inferior judges were graded cannot be ascertained, but\nthat they were graded is evident, since Mosiah II, in explaining the\ncharacter of the constitution of the democracy he proposed to his\npeople, said: \"And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you\naccording to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they\nmay be judged of a higher judge. If your higher judges do not judge\nrighteous judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower\njudges should be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher\njudges, according to the voice of the people.\" [8] A salutary provision\nthis, for it made all amenable to the law, but the manner in which\nthe judges were graded is unknown, as well as what number of inferior\njudges were designated to try the superior judges.\n\nThese administrators of the law were paid for their services \"according\nto the time which they labored to judge those who were brought before\nthem to be judged, * * * a senine of gold for a day,\" or its equivalent\nin silver--a senum of silver. [9] It is, of course, impossible to\ndetermine the value of these denominations of Nephite coins, and\ntherefore impossible to determine the value of the _per diem_ of the\njudges. The nearest approach that can be made to an estimate is that a\nsenine of gold or a senum of silver was equal in value to \"a measure of\nbarley and also for a measure of any kind of grain.\" [10] This is again\nindefinite, as neither the bulk nor the weight of \"a measure of grain\"\nis known; but it does convey the idea that it was no very great amount;\nand, indeed, in all that is said upon the subject of compensation for\npublic service in the state, it is manifest that the Nephite government\nwas administered on the strictest lines of economy. [11].\n\nThe organization of the military forces among the Nephites would be a\nsubject of great interest, since, by reason of the constant aggressions\nof the Lamanites, they were often forced into war, and would be classed\nas a defensively warlike state. Of their military organization,\nhowever, but little can be definitely known. Two items, however,\nconnected with the commander-in-chief of the armies, are quite clear:\nFirst, that he was nominated for his position by the Chief Judge of\nthe land, [12] which nomination had to be ratified by the voice of the\npeople; second, that on occasions the people delegated to him absolute\npower, created him military \"dictator\" in fact. This has ever been the\nmeans by which republics have sought to remedy one of the chief defects\nof their system, viz., ineffectiveness of administration--a tardiness\nin executing the law, or meeting an emergency not technically provided\nfor in the constitution or law. In order to obviate this difficulty\ndemocracies have not infrequently adopted the plan of creating trusted\nleaders dictators; clothing them with all the authority of an absolute\nmonarch during periods of special peril to the government. Thus did\nthe Romans a number of times during the existence of their republic,\nwhen occasions arose that required prompt executive action, and by an\nauthority that would be unquestioned. And such, I believe, was the\npower conferred upon the commander-in-chief of the Nephite armies, when\noccasion arose for it.\n\nRelative to the body of the laws that obtained among the Nephites,\nwhether under the monarchy or the republic, I apprehend that it was\nmade up of the Mosaic legislation, [13] with some slight modification,\nand some especial enactments of their kings. As for instance it\nwas enacted in the law of Mosiah (most likely Mosiah II) that the\njudges should receive wages according to the time they devoted\nto their office. [14] So doubtless other special acts obtained,\nwhich, with the general laws of the Mosaic legislation formed the\nNephite jurisprudence. [15] And in the transition from the monarchy\nto the republic, Mosiah was careful to stipulate for this body of\njurisprudence: \"Let us appoint judges to judge this people according to\nour law.\" [16]--i. e., the law which had obtained under the monarchy,\nthe law of God. \"We will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge\nthis people according to the commandments of God.\" [17] So the body of\nthe law that obtained under the reign of the kings went over into the\njurisprudence of the republic.\n\nFrom the Nephite record it appears that murder was punished with\ndeath; robbery, theft, and adultery were also punished, but with what\npenalties is not stated. But the law provided that men should be\njudged--and therefore punished--according to their crimes. [18] One\nthing stood out unique in the Nephite policy: that was the recognition\nof the right of the subject to the enjoyment of religious liberty. The\nscripture--\"choose ye this day whom ye will serve\" [19]--seems to have\nimpressed the Nephites with the idea that the right of choice in the\nmatter of worship was left with the individual; and hence \"if a man\ndesired to serve God, it was his privilege;\" \"but if he did not believe\nin him [God], there was no law to punish him\" [20]--hence religious\nliberty.\n\nThe history of the Nephite republic was a stormy one, especially\nduring the first quarter century of its existence. It was assailed by\ntraitors from within, who sought to re-establish a monarchy; and by\nthe Lamanites from without, who often joined with the royalists to\noverthrow the republic. But if traitors assailed, patriots defended;\nand the republic was preserved for about one hundred and twenty\nyears, from 91 B. C. to 30 A. D. An attempt then made to displace\nthe republic by a monarchy, ended in anarchy for a time, followed by\nthe establishment of a sort of tribal government, which conditions\nprevailed at the time the land was visited with that terrible\ndestruction which took place at the crucifixion of Messiah, and well\nnigh swept out of existence the entire population.\n\nWhat form of government obtained among the people of the western\nhemisphere after the appearance of the risen Messiah among them must\nbe left largely to conjecture, since the Nephite records now in our\nhands are silent upon that subject. Neither monarchy nor republic is\nreferred to; and the most reasonable conclusion is that the people,\nafter the establishment of the Church of Christ among them, found\nits institutions and authority sufficient as well in secular as in\necclesiastical affairs; for the entire people were converted to the\ngospel, and were members of the Church. A righteous people have small\nneed of government. The necessity for government is born of men's vices\nand wickedness, that lead to the disorders of society, which government\nmust needs be called upon to regulate, and, if possible, suppress. For\ntwo centuries the people of the western world were most righteous,\nprosperous and happy. \"There were no envyings,\" says their chronicler,\n\"nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor\nany manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier\npeople among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.\"\n[21]\n\nIn consequence of these conditions nothing is said of government, and\nnothing may be learned of its nature beyond what has been suggested in\nthe foregoing. As to what was done in the matter of government when\nthis period of general righteousness drew to its close, and pride\nand wickedness hastened the disintegration of the Church; and pushed\nsociety headlong into disorders, may not be known, as our present\nNephite records on this subject are again silent. We only know that\nsecret organizations sapped the foundations of society; that security\nof person and property vanished; that anarchy and tribal relations\nusurped the place of orderly government; and that darkness spread over\nthe land and gross darkness over the minds of the people.\n\n_Religion_.\n\nReligion among the Nephites consisted in the worship of the true and\nliving God, the Jehovah of the Jews, whose revelations to the children\nof Israel through Moses and all the prophets to Jeremiah were brought\nwith them into the new world. They therefore accepted into their faith\nall the Bible truths, and in its historical parts they had before them\nthe valuable lessons which Bible history teaches. It furnished also a\nfoundation for literature among them. For not only by the Bible were\ntheir prophets instructed in the law of God, but copies of some parts\nof it were multiplied and read by the people. [22] What is more they\nwere possessed of some other books not now in our so-called canon of\nthe Old Testament, such as the books of the Prophets Zenock, Neum and\nZenos; all referred to by the first Nephi, who quotes some of their\nprophecies concerning the coming of Messiah in the flesh, and of three\ndays of darkness to be given unto some of the inhabitants of the isles\nof the sea as a sign of the Christ's death. [23] The Nephites also had\nthe writings of Ezias referred to by one of the Nephite prophets in the\nBook of Helaman. [24] Elder Orson Pratt, in a foot note on the passage,\nsuggests that Ezias \"may have been identical with Esaias, who lived\ncontemporary with Abraham.\" [25] These books contained very precious\ntruths concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah; and when\ninformation on this subject was lacking in the books which the Nephites\nbrought with them from Jerusalem, it was abundantly made up to them by\nthe things which the Lord revealed directly to their own prophets; for\nin the clearest manner possible the Lord made known to this branch of\nthe house of Israel in the western world, the future coming and mission\nof the Messiah, together with the effectiveness of the atonement which\nhe was appointed to make for mankind. While the Nephites kept the law\nof Moses previous to the advent of Messiah, as to its sacrifices and\nordinances, yet they understood that these things but shadowed forth\nthe real sacrifice to be made for them by the Savior of the world; and\nthat these ordinances in which they administered were only of virtue by\nreason of the things which were to be done by Messiah afterwards.\n\nIn order to offer sacrifices and administer in the other ordinances of\nthe law of Moses (which the Nephites were commanded to observe), [26]\nit was necessary, of course, that they have a priesthood, and this they\nhad; but not the priesthood after the order of Aaron; for that was a\npriesthood that could only properly be held by Aaron's family and the\ntribe of Levi; while Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh. [27] Lehi held\nthe priesthood, however, the higher priesthood, which was after the\norder of Melchizedek, and was a prophet and minister of righteousness.\nThis Lehi conferred upon his son Nephi; and Nephi, shortly after his\nseparation from his elder brothers on the land of promise, consecrated\nhis two younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph, to be priests and teachers\nunto his people. [28] Jacob, when explaining his calling to his\nbrethren, states that he had been called of God, \"and ordained after\nthe manner of his holy order.\" [29] What the significance of the phrase\n\"His holy order\" means, is learned very distinctly from other parts\nof the Book of Mormon. Alma, for instance, before giving up the chief\njudgeship of the land, is represented as confining himself \"wholly to\nthe priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word,\naccording to the Spirit of revelation and prophecy.\" [30] Again Alma\nexplains, \"I am called * * * according to the holy order of God, which\nis in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this\npeople.\" [31] All of which is made still clearer by what Alma says\nlater. Having given an explanation of the plan of redemption which\nwas laid for man's salvation, and which he represents as having been\nunderstood from earliest times, Alma adds: \"I would that ye should\nremember that the Lord God ordained priests after his holy order,\n_which was after the order of his Son_ [meaning Jesus Christ], to teach\nthese things unto the people. * * * This holy priesthood, being after\nthe order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world,\nor in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years,\nbeing prepared from eternity to all eternity. * * * Thus they become\nthe high priests forever after the order of the Son, the only begotten\nof the Father, who is full of grace, equity and truth.\" Alma then\nadmonishes his people to be humble, \"even as the people in the days of\nMelchisedek, who was also a high priest after the same order [of which\nhe had spoken]. * * * And he was the same Melchisedek to whom Abraham\npaid tithes.\" The Nephite priesthood, then, was not a priesthood\nafter Aaron's order, but of a higher order, even the priesthood after\nthe order of the Son of God; the same kind of priesthood held by\nMelchizedek, by Moses, by Lehi, and many other prophets in Israel.\n\nThat this higher priesthood was competent to act in administering the\nordinances under what is known as the law of Moses, is evident from the\nfact that it so administered before the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood\nproper was given; and the fact that there was given to the household of\nAaron and the tribe of Levi a special priesthood, by no means detracts\nfrom the right and power of the higher or Melchizedek priesthood to\nofficiate in the ordinances of the law of Moses; for certainly the\nhigher order of priesthood may officiate in the functions of the lower,\nwhen necessity requires it. All the sacrifices and ordinances under the\nlaw of Moses, administered by the Nephite priesthood, I say again, were\nobserved with due appreciation of the fact that they were of virtue\nonly as they shadowed forth the things to be done by Messiah when he\nshould come to earth, in the flesh, on his great mission of atonement.\nAnd in order that the reader may see how full Nephite knowledge was of\nthe Messiah and of his life on earth, through the prophecies uttered\nconcerning him--and prophecies, of course, are but history reversed--I\npresent herewith a statement of the items known to them, collected by\nthe patient labors of Elder George Reynolds, to whom I am indebted for\nthe following passage:\n\n    One of the most remarkable things connected with the history of the\n    Nephites is the great plainness and detail with which the coming of\n    the Redeemer and the events of his life in Judea were revealed to\n    their prophets, who lived before the time of his advent.\n\n    Among other things connected with his mortal existence it was\n    declared of him that:\n\n    God himself should come down from heaven among the children of men\n    and should redeem his people.\n\n    He should take upon him flesh and blood.\n\n    He should be born in the land of Jerusalem, the name given by the\n    Nephites to the land of their forefathers, whence they came.\n\n    His mother's name should be Mary.\n\n    She should be a virgin of the city of Nazareth; very fair and\n    beautiful, a precious and chosen vessel.\n\n    She should be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy\n    Ghost.\n\n    He should be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God.\n\n    At his birth a new star should appear in the heavens.\n\n    He should be baptized by John at Bethabara, beyond Jordan.\n\n    John should testify that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who\n    should take away the sins of the world.\n\n    After his baptism, the Holy Ghost should come down upon him out of\n    heaven, * * * * and abide upon him.\n\n    He should call twelve men as his special witnesses, to minister in\n    his name.\n\n    He should go forth among the people, ministering in power and great\n    glory, casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead, and\n    performing many mighty miracles.\n\n    He should take upon him the infirmities of his people.\n\n    He should suffer temptation, pain of body, hunger, thirst and\n    fatigue; blood should come from every pore of his body by reason of\n    his anguish because of the abominations of his people.\n\n    He should be cast out and rejected by the Jews; be taken and\n    scourged, and be judged of the world.\n\n    He should be lifted upon the cross and slain for the sins of the\n    world.\n\n    He should be buried in a sepulchre, where he should remain three\n    days.\n\n    After he was slain he should rise from the dead and should make\n    himself manifest by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.\n\n    He should lay down his life according to the flesh and take it up\n    again by the power of the Spirit, that he might bring to pass the\n    resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.\n\n    At his resurrection many graves should be opened and should yield\n    up their dead; and many of the saints, who had beforetime passed\n    away, should appear unto the living.\n\n    He should redeem all mankind who would believe on his name.\n\n    In the above we have not mentioned the sayings of Isaiah and other\n    Jewish prophets, which are inserted in the Book of Mormon, but\n    which also appear in the Bible. [32]\n\nAfter the resurrection, in fulfilment of many predictions of Nephite\nprophets that he would appear among the people of the western world,\n[33] Jesus Christ made his advent among the Nephites. The great event\noccurred some time after those awful cataclysms, which so changed the\nface of the western world, had ceased. It appears that a number of\nNephites had gathered together near a temple in the land Bountiful, and\nwere contemplating the changes that had been wrought in the land by the\naforesaid cataclysms, and conversing about the Messiah, the signs of\nwhose death had been so marvelously given--I quote the account of the\nappearing of Jesus unto this multitude, as it is found in the Nephite\nrecord:\n\n    And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with\n    another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they\n    cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice\n    which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a\n    loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small\n    voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch\n    that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to\n    quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause\n    their hearts to burn. And it came to pass that again they heard the\n    voice, and they understood it not. And again the third time they\n    did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their\n    eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly\n    towards heaven, from whence the sound came. And behold, the third\n    time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said\n    unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in\n    whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him. And it came to pass, as\n    they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and\n    behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed\n    in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them;\n    and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they\n    durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not\n    what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared\n    unto them. And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand\n    and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom\n    the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am\n    the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that\n    bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the\n    Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have\n    suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.\n    And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, the\n    whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had\n    been prophesied among them that Christ should shew himself unto\n    them after his ascension into heaven. [34]\n\nAfter thus manifesting himself to the Nephites in this most palpable\nmanner, Messiah continued his ministry by teaching them the gospel,\nand instituting baptism for the remission of sins, and the sacrament\nof the Lord's Supper, as symbolizing the sacrifice and atonement\nhe had made. He also authorized the organization of a Church among\nthem--himself conferring divine authority to do all these things upon\ntwelve disciples, who held power similar to that of the twelve whom\nhe had chosen at Jerusalem. He also taught them the moral law of the\ngospel; informed them of his work among their brethren, the Jews;\ndeclared to them also his intention of visiting and ministering to\nthose who are called the \"Lost Tribes of Israel,\" declaring that in\nthis personal appearing to them (the Nephites), and to the Lost Tribes\nof the house of Israel, he was but fulfilling his own words to the\ntwelve at Jerusalem as found in the testimony of John, wherein he said:\n\"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: [35] them also I\nmust bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold\nand one shepherd.\" [36]\n\nThus the gospel was proclaimed among the Nephites, by Jesus Christ, in\nperson, and by divinely inspired men, directly called and appointed\nby Jesus to the holy office of the ministry. The Church of Christ was\nestablished among the Nephites, to teach the truth, and perfect the\nlives of those who accepted it--for such is the mission of the Church\nof Christ in all ages of the world. How successful it was through the\nfirst two Christian centuries, and how, after the expiration of that\ntime, the Nephite race began to decline in righteousness, deny the\nfaith once delivered to them, until they lost favor with God and were\nleft to degenerate into anarchy and barbarism, has already been stated.\n\nTHE PEOPLE OF MULEK.\n\n_Government and Religion_.\n\nOf the government and religion of the people of Mulek in the western\nhemisphere we know even less than of the Jaredites or the Nephites.\nMulek himself was of royal lineage, being the son of King Zedekiah of\nJerusalem; but whether the prerogatives of prince and king were enjoyed\nand exercised by him in the new world we cannot learn, nor is there any\nglimpse afforded us in the Nephite records of the nature of government\namong their people. Still, government of some sort must have subsisted\namong them, for when found by the Nephites in the valley of the Sidon\nthey lived in association--chiefly in the great city of Zarahemla--a\nthing inconceivable apart from government of some sort. The gregarious\ninstincts of man impel him to live in society, but the experience\nof the race is warrant for the truth of the fact that government is\nnecessary to the perpetuity of that society. Hence when society of\nany permanent character is found, there, it may be taken for granted,\ngovernment of some sort also exists. Hence the people of Mulek, since\nit is evident that they lived in a permanent society, had a government,\nbut the nature of it is unknown.\n\nThe people of Mulek came from the old world without scriptures or\nrecords of any kind. That is no matter of surprise, however, since\nthey were fugitives escaping from the wrath of the king of Babylon.\nTheir anxiety looked not to the future, but to the present. To them was\ncommitted the protection of one of the princes of Judah. To reach a\nplace of safety for him would be their one, absorbing thought. But the\nexperience of this colony illustrates the value of the written word of\nGod. By reason of having no records or books, and no opportunity, or\ninclination, perhaps, to teach letters, the language they spoke--the\nlanguage prevalent in Judea in the sixth century B. C.--in course\nof time very much deteriorated. [37] But that was not the worst\nconsequence of their being without the written word. By the time the\ndescendants of Mulek's colony were discovered by the migrating hosts\nof Nephites under Mosiah I--four hundred years from the time they left\nJudea--they were so far sunk in unbelief as to deny \"the being of their\nCreator.\" Their condition of unbelief sustains the views on the value\nof the written word expressed by King Benjamin--son of Mosiah I--when\nteaching his people the importance of the records brought by Lehi's\ncolony from Jerusalem. He held that had it not been for these sacred\nwritings, the Nephites themselves would have been in ignorance of the\nmysteries of God; that it would have been impossible for Lehi to have\ntaught all the things of God, but for the help he received from the\nwritten word; that but for this, their fathers would have dwindled in\nunbelief. [38] It may be taken for granted also that with a people\nwho had no religion--who \"denied the being of their Creator\"--their\nmorality was of a very low order; for it is a truth, attested over and\nover again in the history of nations, that national morality cannot\nprevail in exclusion of religion, which teaches the recognition of\nmoral duties as commandments of God. But these observations are based\nupon the universal experience of man, rather than upon anything in the\nNephite record; for that is silent upon the matters of government,\nreligion, and morality of the people of Mulek, except in so far as\nstated in the foregoing.\n\nTHE LAMANITES.\n\n_Civilization, Government, Religion_.\n\nCivilization, government and religion among the Lamanites should not\nbe overlooked. It is true that they were idle; that they loved the\nwilderness and, for the most part, dwelt in tents; that they depended\nupon the fruits of the chase and such products of the earth as the\nrich lands they occupied produced without the labor of man, as the\nprincipal means of their sustenance; still they came in contact now\nand then with Nephite civilization, which must have modified somewhat\ntheir inclination to utter barbarism. It must be remembered that\nthe Lamanites frequently invaded Nephite lands and prospered by the\nfruits of war. Moreover, as the Nephites repeatedly removed from their\npossession to escape Lamanite aggression, the latter took possession of\ntheir deserted cities and country, and dwelt in their habitations. When\nthe righteous Nephites under Mosiah I departed northward from the \"Land\nof Nephi,\" in which land was located the great cities of Lehi-Nephi,\nShilom, and doubtless many other cities of less importance, these fell\ninto the hands of the Lamanites. When a colony from Zarahemla returned\nunder Zeniff to re-occupy these lands of their fathers, they were\ntricked into bondage to the Lamanites, who laid heavy tribute upon\ntheir labor, and flourished for a period of well nigh eighty years upon\nthe industry of the practically enslaved Nephites. This occasional\ncontact with Nephite civilization must have had a modifying effect upon\nLamanite life and Lamanite character.\n\nThat there was some system and regularity in Lamanite government must\nbe apparent from the degree of efficiency with which that people\nconducted the protracted wars with the Nephites. The largeness of their\narmies, the length of the wars, and the extensive scale on which they\nwere projected and prosecuted, would indicate the existence of some\nstrong, central government capable of making its authority respected.\nThat such a government existed among the Lamanites is disclosed through\nthe facts that are brought to light by the mission of the young Nephite\nprinces, the sons of Mosiah II, in the century preceding the birth\nof Messiah. It appears that at that time what I shall venture to\ncall the Lamanite empire was divided into a number of petty kingdoms\nwhose kings, as is always the case among semi-civilized peoples, were\npossessed of great and arbitrary power; but these in turn seem to have\nbeen subject to a central ruler whose dominion extended over all, and\nwhose power in his large sphere was as absolute as that of the petty\nkings in the smaller states.\n\nThe religion of the Lamanites is more difficult to determine than their\ngovernment. It is chiefly the absence of religion and of its influence\nthat must be spoken of. Taught to believe that the traditions of their\nfathers respecting God, the promised Messiah, and the belief in a\nfuture life were untrue; persuaded to believe that their fathers had\nbeen induced to leave fatherland, and their rich possessions therein\nbecause of the dreams of the visionary Lehi; firm in their conviction\nthat the elder sons of Lehi had been defrauded of their right to govern\nthe colony by the younger son, Nephi; and that through the force of\nthe religious influence he learned to wield by following the spiritual\nexample (to them, perhaps, the trickery) of his father--it was in the\nspirit of hatred of religion that the Lamanites waged war upon the\nNephites, to subvert religion and free men from its restraints. But the\nLamanites were true to human instincts. [39] They freed themselves, as\nthey supposed, from one superstition, only to plunge into others that\nwere really contemptible--the superstition of idolatry; for they were\nan idolatrous people. [40] This remark, however, must be understood in\na general sense, and as applying to the Lamanites proper, previous to\nthe coming of Messiah--of the followers, and the descendants of the\nfollowers, of the elder brothers of the first Nephi, Laman and Lemuel.\nAfter the coming of Messiah, when in the third century A. D., the old\ndistinctions of Nephite and Lamanite were revived, after the long\nperiod of peace and righteousness following the advent of Christ, said\ndistinctions could have no reference to race or family, as they had\nwhen first employed; but were strictly party distinctions; used, when\nadopted again in the period named, to indicate the Church or religious\nparty, and the anti-religious party, respectively. But even this\nsignificance passed away in time, in the latter phase of the history\nof the people of the western hemisphere; for the Nephites went into\ntransgression as well as the Lamanite party, and no longer stood as the\nchampions of religion and the Church: and hence the names then stood\nfor the respective parties, strangely bent on each other's destruction.\nIt must also be understood that the term \"idolatrous people\" does not\napply to all the Lamanites previous to the coming of Messiah, through\nthe whole period of their history; for at times there were very\nwidespread conversions among them to faith in the true God, as at the\ntime of the mission of King Mosiah's sons among them, three-quarters of\na century B. C.; and again as the result of the labors of Nephi, the\nson of Helaman, and his brother Lehi (31 B. C. to 2 B. C.). In this\nlast named successful ministry, the Lamanites reversed for a time the\nhistoric relations of the two parties, the Lamanites more universally\naccepting the faith taught by the prophets of God than the Nephites,\nexceeding them in righteousness of life and in zeal as champions of\nthe cause of God and truth. But, speaking broadly, after noting the\nforegoing limitations and exceptions, from the first separation of\nthe Nephites from the Lamanites, down to the coming of Messiah, the\nLamanites were an idolatrous people. And again from the time of the\ndestruction of the Nephite party, about 400 A. D., to the coming of the\nEuropeans, near the close of the fifteenth century, superstition and\nthe darkness of idolatry (enlightened here and there, perhaps, with a\nfragment of truth cherished in the traditions of the people) held the\ninhabitants of the western world under its dominion.\n\nBy way of recapitulation, allow me here to say, in closing this\nsecond division of my treatise, that I have now considered the value\nof the Book of Mormon as a witness for God; the purposes for which\nit was written; the manner of its coming forth through the agency of\nJoseph Smith; the manner of its translation, and the account of its\npublication; the migrations of its people to the western world; the\nlands they occupied; the intercontinental movements of its peoples;\ntheir government, literature and religion. All this, it is hoped,\nsets forth what the Book of Mormon is, and its value as a volume of\nhistory and scripture; and naturally leads up to the great questions\nto be considered in this treatise, viz.: Is the Book of Mormon what\nit purports to be? Is it an abridged history of the ancient people\nwho inhabited the western hemisphere? Does it really give an account\nof God's hand-dealing with them? Is it the voice of sleeping nations\ntestifying to the truth of God's existence, to the verity of Messiah's\nmission, to the power of salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is it\nverily a volume of scripture? Is it true?\n\nThese are the solemn questions to be considered in the next division;\nand it is believed by the writer that in the presentation of the\nevidence then to be considered, and the argument there to be made, that\nthe importance of this merely preliminary part of the work will become\nmore apparent.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. I Samuel 8:1-9 and 19-22; II Nephi 5:17, 18.\n\n2. Mosiah 25:13.\n\n3. Book of Jacob 1:9-11.\n\n4. Gen. 14. In many cases these Judean \"kings\" ruled but a single city.\n\n5. II Nephi 25:2.\n\n6. I Samuel 8:7.\n\n7. Mosiah 29. Alma 4:16. Alma 30:29.\n\n8. Mosiah 29:28, 29\n\n9. Alma 11:1-4.\n\n10. Ibid. 11:7.\n\n11. This is true not only with reference to the republic, but also with\nreference to the monarchy. Mosiah 29:40. Mosiah 2:12-14. Compare Alma\n30:32, 33.\n\n12. Alma 46:34, 35. Also Alma 51:15-21.\n\n13. Alma 30:3.\n\n14. Ibid. 11:1.\n\n15. Ibid. 30:3; II Nephi 5:10; II Nephi 25:4, 25; Jacob 4:4, 5; Jarom\n1:5; Mos. 2:3; Mos. 13:27, 35; 16:14, 15; Alma 25:14, 16_et seq_.\n\n16. Mos. 29:11.\n\n17. Mos. 29:11.\n\n18. Alma 30:10, 11.\n\n19. Joshua 24:15.\n\n20. Alma 30:7-9.\n\n21. IV Nephi 1:16.\n\n22. Alma 13:12. Helaman 3:13-15. Commenting on this passage Elder Orson\nPratt says: \"These numerous copies of the sacred books were undoubtedly\ntranscribed directly from, or compared with, the records on the\noriginal metallic plates.\"\n\n23. I Nephi 9:10-17. Reference is made to these same prophets in Alma\n33:15, Alma 34:7, Helaman 8:20, III Nephi 10:16.\n\n24. Helaman 8:20.\n\n25. Elder Pratt quotes Doc. and Cov., 84:11-13 in evidence.\n\n26. Alma 30:3.\n\n27. Ibid. 10:3.\n\n28. II Nephi 5:26.\n\n29. II Nephi 6:2.\n\n30. Alma 4:20.\n\n31. Ibid. 5:44.\n\n32. _Dict. B. of M_., Reynolds, Art. Jesus Christ, pp. 168-169.\n\n33. I Nephi 12:6; II Nephi 26:1, 9; Alma 16:20.\n\n34. III Nephi 11:3-12.\n\n35. That is, not of this fold in Palestine.\n\n36. John 10:16.\n\n37. Omni 1:17.\n\n38. Mosiah 1.\n\n39. \"We know, and it is our pride to know, that man by his constitution\nis a religious animal; that atheism is against not only our reason,\nbut our instincts; and that it cannot prevail long. But if, in the\nmoment of riot, and in a drunken delirium from the hot spirit drawn\nout of the alemic of hell, * * * * we should uncover our nakedness by\nthrowing off that Christian religion which has hitherto been our boast\nand comfort, and one great source of civilization amongst us, and among\nmany other nations, we are apprehensive (being well aware that the mind\nwill not endure a void) that some uncouth, pernicious, and degrading\nsuperstition might take the place of it.\" (Edmund Burke, _Works_, vol.\nIII, p. 351.)\n\n40. Enos 1:20.\n\n\n\nPART III.\n\nThe Evidences of the Truth of the Book of Mormon.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nCLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCES.\n\nThe evidences to be presented for the truth of the Book of Mormon\nnaturally separate into two great divisions, each of which will admit\nof a number of subdivisions. The two great divisions of the evidence\nare:\n\n1. External Evidences.\n\n2. Internal Evidences.\n\nOf course, by evidences in general I mean those facts or things which\neither directly or indirectly, considered separately or collectively,\nconstitute proof of the truth to be contended for in these pages--the\ntruth of the Book of Mormon.\n\nBy external evidences I mean those facts outside the book itself, which\ntend to establish its truth; such as the testimony of the Special\nWitnesses whom God raised up and qualified by direct revelation to\ntestify of the truth of the book. Also the testimony of those who by\nreason of seeing and handling the Nephite plates, were made competent\nto testify of their existence and appearance. This evidence will\ninclude the agreement between the Book of Mormon location of ancient\nAmerican centers of civilization and the existence of the ruins of\ntemples, pyramids, mounds, works of old fortifications, roadways and\ncities--in a word, the evidence of American archaeology. The evidences\nof the traditions and customs of the inhabitants of America found in\npossession of the land at the advent of the Europeans, and who are in\nlarge part the descendants of the enlightened people of whom the Book\nof Mormon is an abridged history. The evidences to be found in the\nrevelations, prophecies, and promises of the Hebrew scriptures--the\nevidence of the Bible, in other words, to the truth of the book. The\ninstitutions to which the book may be said to have given birth--the\ntestimony which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bears\nto its truth.\n\nBy Internal Evidence I mean those facts which may be gathered from the\nbook itself, from its structure, and its consistency with the theory\nof its construction; from its doctrines and their agreement with the\nrevelations of God in the Jewish scriptures; from its moral tone and\nspiritual influence; from the manner in which it interlocks with the\nhistory of the past, and is entwined with the future purposes of God as\nmade known in the revelations of God to man; from the fulfilment of its\nprophecies and promises; from the general character of its contents,\nthe truths it emphasizes, and the importance of its message to mankind.\n\nI shall have occasion to speak of direct and indirect evidences; of\npositive and presumptive evidences; but all this will be developed as\nthe statement of the evidences and the argument proceed. I would say,\nhowever, before closing these preliminary remarks, that it is not my\nintention to rely upon any one branch of the evidence to establish the\ntruth of the Book of Mormon; it is intended that the evidence shall be\ncumulative; and I certainly hope, by a careful consideration of all\nthe evidence, external and internal, direct and indirect, under each\ndivision, to so establish the truth of the Book of Mormon that all\nfair-minded people will see reasonable grounds for faith in it as an\nadditional volume of Holy Scripture, another Witness for the Truth as\nit is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES.\n\nTHE TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES.\n\n_In the mouth of two or three Witnesses shall every word be\nestablished.--Paul_.\n\nOf the external evidences to the truth of the Book of Mormon, the\ntestimony of the Three Witnesses is of first importance. Speaking in\nthe way of prophecy the first Nephi says:\n\n    At that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom\n    I have spoken, [1] the book shall be hid from the eyes of the\n    world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that Three\n    Witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom\n    the book shall be delivered; [2] and they shall testify to the\n    truth of the book and the things therein. And there is none other\n    which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God,\n    to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the\n    Lord God hath said, that the words of the faithful should speak\n    as if it were from the dead. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed\n    to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many\n    witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be\n    unto him that rejecteth the word of God! [3]\n\nMoroni, who had in his care the Book of Mormon, who was God's messenger\nto Joseph Smith, and gave into his possession the gold plates from\nwhich the book was translated, says, in his abridgment of the book of\nEther, addressing the one who should be commissioned to translate the\nNephite Record:\n\n    And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto\n    those who shall assist to bring forth this work; and unto three\n    shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know\n    of a surety that these things are true. And in the mouth of three\n    witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of\n    three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power\n    of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the\n    Holy Ghost bear record--and all this shall stand as a testimony\n    against the world at the last day. [4]\n\nFrom these passages in the Book of Mormon itself, it appears that there\nare to be two classes of special Witnesses to its truth, besides the\none who shall bring forth the book:\n\nI. Three Witnesses who shall behold the plates of the record \"by the\npower of God.\"\n\nII. A \"Few\" others, according to the will of God, shall behold them,\nthat they may bear testimony to the word of God unto the children of\nmen.\n\nThere seems to be indicated this distinction between the first and\nsecond class of these Witnesses--between the \"Three\" and the other\n\"Few:\" the first are to see the plates under some circumstance attended\nby a demonstration of the power of God; while no promise of such a\ndemonstration is given to the second class.\n\nAs these special Witnesses, according to the prophecy, were to be\nchosen from among those who would assist in bringing forth the work,\nmeaning the Book of Mormon, it is not surprising that Oliver Cowdery,\nDavid Whitmer and Martin Harris desired to be the Three Special\nWitnesses, as they were most prominent in assisting to bring forth the\nwork. They besought the Prophet Joseph Smith, therefore, to inquire of\nthe Lord if they might attain unto this honor, and for an answer the\nfollowing revelation was received for them:\n\n    Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which\n    if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of\n    the plates, and also of the breast plate, the sword of Laban, the\n    Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared [5]\n    upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the\n    miraculous directors [6] which were given to Lehi while in the\n    wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea. And it is by your faith\n    that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which was\n    had by the prophets of old.\n\n    And after that you have obtained faith, and have seen them with\n    your eyes, you shall testify of them, by the power of God; and\n    this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., may not be\n    destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the\n    children of men in this work. And ye shall testify that you have\n    seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., has seen them; for\n    it is by my power that he has seen them, and it is because he had\n    faith. And he has translated the book, even that part which I have\n    commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true.\n\n    Wherefore, you have received the same power, and the same faith,\n    and the same gift like unto him; and if you do these last\n    commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell\n    shall not prevail against you; for my grace is sufficient for you,\n    and you shall be lifted up at the last day. And I, Jesus Christ,\n    your Lord and your God, have spoken it unto you, that I might bring\n    about my righteous purposes unto the children of men. [7]\n\nAs soon as the translation of the book was completed the Prophet Joseph\ndispatched a messenger from the home of the Whitmers, at Fayette,\nnear Waterloo, in Seneca country, to his parents, still living at\nManchester, with the pleasing intelligence that the work of translation\nwas completed, and asked them to come to him. This information they\nconveyed to Martin Harris, who determined to accompany the Prophet's\nparents to the home of the Whitmers. Accordingly the little party\nstarted the next morning, and before sunset met with the Prophet and\nOliver at the residence of Peter Whitmer, the father of David. [8]\nAccording to the statement of Lucy Smith, mother of the Prophet, it was\nthe day following the arrival of the above party from Manchester that\nthe Three Witnesses obtained their view of the plates, but neither in\nher work nor in any of our annals is the date of the occurrence given.\n[9] Lucy Smith, however, relates the following circumstance connected\nwith Martin Harris becoming one of the Three Witnesses:\n\n    The next morning (i. e. following the arrival of the party from\n    Manchester township), after attending to the usual services,\n    namely, reading, singing, and praying, Joseph arose from his knees,\n    and approaching Martin Harris with a solemnity that thrills through\n    my veins to this day, when it occurs to my recollection, said:\n    \"Martin Harris, you have got to humble yourself before your God\n    this day, that you may obtain a forgiveness of your sins. If you\n    do, it is the will of God that you should look upon the plates, in\n    company with Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer.\" [10]\n\nWhen the pride, egotism, and stubbornness of Martin Harris is taken\ninto account, this preliminary admonition of the Prophet to him\nis eminently fitting and necessary and in harmony with all the\ncircumstances of Martin's character and the subsequent facts to be\nrelated.\n\nLucy Smith, continuing her narrative, says:\n\n    In a few minutes after this, Joseph, Martin, Oliver, and David,\n    repaired to a grove, a short distance from the house, where\n    they commenced calling upon the Lord, and continued in earnest\n    supplication, until he permitted an angel to come down from his\n    presence, and declare to them, that all which Joseph had testified\n    of concerning the plates was true. When they returned to the house,\n    it was between three and four o'clock p. m. Mrs. Whitmer, Mr.\n    Smith and myself, were sitting in a bedroom at the time. On coming\n    in Joseph threw himself down beside me, and exclaimed: \"Father,\n    mother, you do not know how happy I am; the Lord has now caused\n    the plates to be shown to three more besides myself. They have\n    seen an angel, who has testified to them, and they will have to\n    bear witness to the truth of what I have said, for now they know\n    for themselves that I do not go about to deceive the people, and I\n    feel as if I was relieved of a burden which was almost too heavy\n    for me to bear, and it rejoices my soul, that I am no longer to be\n    entirely alone in the work. Upon this, Martin Harris came in: he\n    seemed almost overcome with joy, and testified boldly to what he\n    had both seen and heard. And so did David and Oliver, adding, that\n    no tongue could express the joy of their hearts, and the greatness\n    of the things which they had both seen and heard. [11]\n\nFrom this statement it will be seen that the Prophet and the Three\nWitnesses were from some time in the morning until three or four\no'clock in the afternoon in obtaining the testimonies.\n\nThe Prophet's own account of the circumstances attendant upon the\nrevelation to the Three Witnesses, is both interesting and important.\nAfter making reference to the revelation already quoted, which promised\nthe three men named, Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris, that they should view\nthe plates of the Book of Mormon, and the other sacred things named the\nProphet in his history says:\n\n    Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four,\n    viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself,\n    agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain by fervent\n    and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in the\n    revelation--that they should have a view of the plates. We\n    accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr.\n    Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down we\n    began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a\n    realization of these promises. According to previous arrangements,\n    I commenced by vocal prayer to our heavenly Father, and was\n    followed by each of the others in succession. We did not, at the\n    first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine\n    favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer,\n    each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with\n    the same result as before. Upon this our second failure, Martin\n    Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing,\n    as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our\n    not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us,\n    and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in\n    prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of\n    exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us. In his\n    hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to\n    have a view of, he turned over the leaves one by one, so that we\n    could see them, and discover the engravings thereon distinctly. He\n    then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, \"David, blessed\n    is the Lord, and he that keeps his commandments.\" When, immediately\n    afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above\n    us, saying: \"These plates have been revealed by the power of God,\n    and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation\n    of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear\n    record of what you now see and hear.\"\n\n    I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris,\n    whom I found at a considerable distance fervently engaged in\n    prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed\n    with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer,\n    that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just\n    received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained\n    our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was\n    opened to our view, at least it was again opened to me, and I once\n    more beheld and heard the same things, whilst at the same moment\n    Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy, \"'Tis\n    enough; 'tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;\n    and jumping up, he shouted, Hosannah, blessing God and otherwise\n    rejoiced exceedingly. [12]\n\nConcerning the manner in which the plates and other sacred things were\nshown to him, beyond what is stated in the testimony of the Three\nWitnesses published in the first and every subsequent edition of the\nBook of Mormon, Oliver Cowdery, so far as I know, has left nothing on\nrecord further than to say:\n\n    I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates\n    from which it (the Book of Mormon) was transcribed. I also saw with\n    my eyes and handled with my hands the holy interpreters (the Urim\n    and Thummim). [13]\n\nMartin Harris, so far as any direct personal statement is concerned,\nis silent as to the manner in which the plates were shown to him; but\nElder Edward Stevenson, of the First Council of the Seventy of the\nChurch, who was much interested in Mr. Harris during the closing years\nof that gentleman's life, states that at a gathering of friends at his\n(Stevenson's) house, in Salt Lake City, Harris was asked to explain the\nmanner in which the plates containing the characters of the Book of\nMormon were exhibited. The response he made is thus described:\n\n    Brother Harris, said that the angel stood on the opposite side of\n    the table on which were the plates, the interpreters, etc., and\n    took the plates in his hand and turned them over. To more fully\n    illustrate this to them, Brother Martin took up a book and turned\n    the leaves over one by one. The angel declared that the Book of\n    Mormon, was correctly translated by the power of God, and not of\n    man, and that it contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus\n    Christ to the Nephites, who were a branch of the House of Israel\n    and had come from the land of Jerusalem to America. The Witnesses\n    were required to bear their testimony of these things, and of this\n    open vision, to all people, and he [Harris] testified not only to\n    those present, but to all the world, that these things were true,\n    and before God, whom he expected to meet in the day of judgment, he\n    lied not. [14]\n\nDavid Whitmer made a statement to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F.\nSmith in the course of an interview at Richmond, Missouri, on the 7th\nof September, 1878, in which he gives quite a minute description of\nthe manner in which the plates and the other sacred things were shown\nto himself and Oliver Cowdery in the presence of Joseph Smith. Mr.\nWhitmer's account of the event as related by Elders Pratt and Smith is\nas follows:\n\n    Elder Orson Pratt: Do you remember what time you saw the plates?\n\n    David Whitmer: It was in June, 1829--the latter part of the month,\n    and the Eight Witnesses saw them, I think, the next day or the day\n    after (i. e. one or two days after). Joseph showed them the plates\n    himself, but the angel showed us (the Three Witnesses) the plates,\n    as I suppose to fulfill the words of the book itself. Martin Harris\n    was not with us at this time; he obtained a view of them afterwards\n    (the same day). Joseph, Oliver and myself were together when I\n    saw them. We not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon, but\n    also the brass plates, the plates of the Book of Ether, the plates\n    containing the records of the wickedness and secret combinations of\n    the people of the world down to the time of their being engraved,\n    and many other plates. The fact is, it was just as though Joseph,\n    Oliver and I were sitting just here on a log, when we were\n    overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun nor\n    like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended\n    away round us, I cannot tell how far, but in the midst of this\n    light about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer,\n    sitting a few feet from him), there appeared, as it were, a table\n    with many records or plates upon it, besides the plates of the Book\n    of Mormon, also the sword of Laban, the directors--i. e., the ball\n    which Lehi had, and the interpreters. I saw them just as plain as\n    I see this bed (striking the bed beside him with his hand), and I\n    heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything\n    in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of\n    Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God.\n\n    Elder Orson Pratt: Did you see the angel at this time?\n\n    David Whitmer: Yes, he stood before us. Our testimony as recorded\n    in the Book of Mormon is strictly and absolutely true just as it is\n    there written. [15]\n\nAs a result of this revelation, given under such remarkable\ncircumstances and demonstrations of the power of God, the Three\nWitnesses who had viewed the plates and the engravings thereon,\nand who had heard the voice of God from the midst of the glorious\nlight surrounding them at the time, declare that the plates had been\ntranslated by the gift and power of God--published the following\nstatement to the world:\n\n    THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES\n\n    BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto\n    whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the\n    Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which\n    contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and\n    also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of\n    Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we\n    also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of\n    God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a\n    surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen\n    the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown\n    unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with\n    words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and\n    he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the\n    plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the\n    grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld\n    and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in\n    our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that\n    we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the\n    commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know\n    that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the\n    blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat\n    of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And\n    the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,\n    which is one God. Amen.\n\n    OLIVER COWDERY,\n\n    DAVID WHITMER,\n\n    MARTIN HARRIS.\n\nThis testimony was published in the first and in every subsequent\nedition of the Book of Mormon. It has never been refuted; and, of\ncourse, from the very nature of the testimony it cannot be refuted.\nNo one can rise up and say these men did not receive this revelation;\nthat they did not see an angel from heaven; that he did not show to\nthem the plates; that they did not see the glorious light in which\nthe angel stood; that they did not hear the voice of God saying that\nthe translation of the record was true, and was accomplished through\nthe gift and power of God. No one can say any one of these things.\nAn argument may be formulated against the probability of such an\noccurrence. It may be alleged that they were ignorant, uncritical,\nincompetent and therefore unworthy of belief. All this may be done,\nnay, it has been done; but no one can stand up and say that he knows\nwhat they say is not true, that what they say they saw, they did not\nsee.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Having reference to the man who should bring forth the Nephite\nRecord to the world, that is, to Joseph Smith.\n\n2. That is to Joseph Smith.\n\n3. II Nephi 27:12-14.\n\n4. Ether 5:2-4.\n\n5. The great prophet who led a colony from the Tower of Babel to the\nwestern hemisphere.\n\n6. This was a curious instrument called by the Nephites _Liahona_. It\nwas found by the prophet Lehi at the door of his tent one morning,\nin the wilderness, not long after the departure of his colony from\nJerusalem. It was a round ball of fine brass with two spindles in it,\none of which indicated the course to be traveled by the colony. But the\ninstrument worked according to the faith and diligence with which the\ncolony gave heed to it. From time to time also there appeared upon it\nwritten instructions or reproofs according as the colony required the\none or the other.\n\n7. _History of the Church,_ vol. I, p. 53, and also Doc. and Cov. Sec.\n17.\n\n8. _Joseph Smith the Prophet_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 31.\n\n9. Ibid.\n\n10. _Joseph Smith the Prophet_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 31.\n\n11. _Joseph Smith the Prophet_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 31.\n\n12. _History of the Church,_ vol. I, pp. 54, 55.\n\n13. Statement by Oliver Cowdery, _Deseret News_ of 13th April, 1859.\n\n14. Letters of Edward Stevenson to _Millennial Star_, vol. 48, pp.\n367-389.\n\n15. _Millennial Star_, vol. 40, nos. 49, 50, report of Pratt and Smith,\nis signed by them and bears date of Sept. 17, 1878.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--THE THREE WITNESSES--SUBSEQUENT LIFE AND\nTESTIMONIES.\n\nOLIVER COWDERY.\n\nThe Witnesses themselves always adhered to the truth of their\ntestimony. They never denied what they in their now celebrated\ntestimony so solemnly affirmed. It was reported at different times\nduring their life time that they had denied their testimony, and\nsuch statements are to be found in the earlier editions of such\nstandard works as the _American Encyclopedia_ and in the _Encyclopedia\nBritannica_. It is evident that the reports about Oliver Cowdery\ndenying his testimony obtained some credence even among the Saints at\nNauvoo; for in the _Times and Seasons_, published by the Church at\nNauvoo, one J. H. Johnson, in some verses written by him maintaining\nthe fact that the truth stands fast though men may be untrue to it,\nsays:\n\n  --Or prove that Christ was not the Lord\n  Because that Peter cursed and swore,\n  Or Book of Mormon not his word,\n  Because denied by Oliver. [1]\n\nBut notwithstanding all this, the fact remains that Oliver Cowdery\nnever denied his testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon. Whatever\nhis delinquencies in other respects; whatever his grievances, real or\nimagined; in the Church, and even while out of it, he was true, to his\nhonor be it said, to his testimony to the Book of Mormon. Living he\naffirmed it, and when dying he renewed the affirmation. It must be said\nof him that notwithstanding the high favors which God granted him--the\nfavor of being one of these Three Special Witnesses, blessed to see the\nNephite plates and the sacred things connected with them under such a\nremarkable display of God's presence and power; favored to receive with\nthe Prophet the ministration of angels who ordained them both to the\nAaronic and to the Melchizedek priesthood; [2] and favored afterwards\nto behold in open vision in the Kirtland Temple the Savior himself,\nand a number of angels who came on that occasion to restore to earth\nthrough these men the keys of authority and power which they held; [3]\nfavored to be the Second Elder of the Church of Christ, and the first\nto make public proclamation of the restored gospel--notwithstanding\nall this, I repeat, it must be said of him that he possessed defects\nof character [4] which enabled the adversary of men's souls to so far\nprevail against him that he transgressed some of the laws of God and\nlost his high station. He was excommunicated from the Church for his\nsins, [5] and for a time stood as a stranger to the Saints, an outcast\nfrom Israel; but in those dark days he still remained true to his\ntestimony.\n\nIn October, 1848, after an absence of about eleven years, Oliver\nCowdery returned to the Church. At that time the movement of the Church\nto the Rocky Mountains was under way. A large number of the Saints\nwere temporarily located at Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Iowa, and\non the 21st of October of the year above given, a special conference\nwas called, presided over by Elder Orson Hyde, of the Council of the\nApostles, in which the case of Oliver Cowdery was considered. Before\nthat conference, at which some two thousand Saints were present, [6]\nOliver Cowdery said:\n\n    Friends and Brethren--My name is Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery. In the\n    early history of this Church I stood identified with her, and one\n    in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God\n    are without repentance; not because I was better than the rest of\n    mankind was I called; but, to fulfil the purposes of God, he called\n    me to a high and holy calling.\n\n    I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a\n    few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph, as\n    he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of\n    the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, \"Holy\n    Interpreters.\" I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands,\n    the gold plates from which it was transcribed. I also saw with\n    my eyes and handled with my hands the \"holy interpreters.\" That\n    book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it. Mr. Spaulding did\n    not write it. I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the\n    Prophet. It contains the everlasting gospel, and came forth to the\n    children of men in fulfilment of the revelations of John, where he\n    says he saw an angel come with the everlasting gospel to preach to\n    every nation, kindred, tongue and people. It contains principles of\n    salvation; and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey\n    its precepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in\n    the kingdom of God on high. Brother Hyde has just said that it is\n    very important that we keep and walk in the true channel, in order\n    to avoid the sand-bars. This is true. The channel is here. The holy\n    priesthood is here.\n\n    I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down\n    from heaven and conferred on us, or restored the Lesser or Aaronic\n    priesthood, and said to us, at the same time, that it should remain\n    upon the earth while the earth stands.\n\n    I was also present with Joseph when the higher or Melchizedek\n    priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high. This\n    priesthood we conferred on each other, by the will and commandment\n    of God. This priesthood, as was then declared, is also to\n    remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy\n    priesthood, or authority, we then conferred upon many, and is just\n    as good and valid as though God had done it in person.\n\n    I laid my hands upon that man--yes, I laid my right hand upon his\n    head (pointing to Brother Hyde), and I conferred upon him the\n    priesthood, and he holds that priesthood now. He was also called\n    through me, by the prayer of faith, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus\n    Christ.\n\nThis speech was reported by Bishop Reuben Miller, who was present at\nthe meeting where Cowdery spoke, and noted down in his journal at the\ntime what was said, though his notes, it must be remarked, were not\npublished until several years later. [7] The circumstance of Cowdery's\nreturn and the spirit of his speech is also supported by other\ntestimony. In a letter dated at Cambridge Port, U. S. A., December 26,\n1848, Wilford Woodruff--at the time one of the Twelve Apostles, and\nsubsequently President of the Church--writing to Orson Pratt, then\npresident of the British Mission, said:\n\n    Dear Brother Pratt--I received a letter from Elder Hyde saying that\n    Oliver Cowdery had come to the Bluffs with his family; and made\n    satisfaction to the Church who had voted to receive him into the\n    Church by baptism; and Elder Hyde expected to baptize him the next\n    day. He was assisting Elder Hyde to put the press in operation for\n    printing, expected to send forth the \"Frontier Guardian\" soon. I\n    was truly glad to hear this, as Oliver Cowdery was the first person\n    baptized into this Church under the hands of Joseph, and is capable\n    of doing good in the kingdom of God; I was truly glad to hear he\n    had returned to the fold. [8]\n\nThe Star which published this letter was issued February 1, 1849.\n\nGeorge A. Smith, writing from Council Bluffs, under date of October\n31st, 1848, ten days after Cowdery's speech before the conference,\nwrites to Orson Pratt of this meeting:\n\n    Oliver Cowdery, who had just arrived from Wisconsin with his\n    family, on being invited, addressed the meeting. He bore testimony\n    in the most positive terms of the truth of the Book of Mormon--the\n    restoration of the priesthood to the earth, and the mission\n    of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the last days; and told the\n    people if they wanted to follow the right path, to keep the main\n    channel of the stream--where the body of the Church goes, there\n    is the authority; and all these lo here's and lo there's have no\n    authority; but this people have the true and holy priesthood; \"for\n    the angel said unto Joseph Smith, Jr., in my hearing, that this\n    priesthood shall remain on the earth unto the end.\" His testimony\n    produced quite a sensation among the gentlemen present, who did\n    not belong to the Church, and it was gratefully received, by all\n    the Saints. Last evening (Oct. 30th), President Hyde and myself\n    spent the evening with Brother Cowdery. He had been cut off from\n    the Church by a council; had withdrawn himself from it; stayed away\n    eleven years; and now came back, not expecting to be a leader, but\n    wished to be a member and have part among us. He considered that he\n    ought to be baptized; and did not expect to return without it. He\n    said that Joseph Smith had fulfilled his mission faithfully before\n    God until death; he was determined to rise with the Church, and if\n    it went down he was willing to go down with it. I saw him today,\n    told him I was going to write to you. He sends his respects to you;\n    he says, \"tell Brother Orson I am advised by the brethren to remain\n    here this winter, and assist Brother Hyde in the printing office,\n    and as soon as I get settled I will write him a letter.\" I remain,\n    as ever, your brother in the kingdom of patience.\n\n    (Signed) GEORGE A. SMITH. [9]\n\nThe \"Star\" in which this letter was published was issued January 1st,\n1849, a little more than two months after Cowdery's speech already\nquoted.\n\nOliver Cowdery had been excommunicated by the action of a High Council\nof the Church some ten years before, and it was held by some that he\ncould only be restored by the action of a High Council. [10]\n\nSuch a council was therefore called. In the course of its proceedings\nOliver said:\n\n    Brethren, for a number of years I have been separated from you. I\n    now desire to come back. I wish to come humbly and to be one in\n    your midst. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with\n    you. I am out of the Church. I am not a member of the Church, but\n    I wish to become a member of it. I wish to come in at the door.\n    I know the door. I have not come here to seek precedence, I come\n    humbly, and throw myself upon the decisions of this body, knowing,\n    as I do, that its decisions are right, and should be obeyed. [11]\n\nOn motion of Elder Orson Hyde, Oliver Cowdery was received into the\nChurch by baptism. It was the intention of this Witness of the Book of\nMormon to go with the body of the Church to the Salt Lake Valley, but\nwhile visiting with his fellow witness, David Whitmer, at Richmond,\nMissouri, he was taken ill and died, March 3, 1850. Previous to going\nto Richmond, for the purpose of meeting David Whitmer, his wife's\nbrother, Oliver was detained by snow storms some two weeks at the\ntemporary home of Samuel W. Richards--just then returned from his first\nmission to the British Isles.\n\nOf his interesting association with Oliver, during this time, Elder\nRichards says:\n\n    To hear him describe in his pleasant but earnest manner the\n    personality of those heavenly messengers, with whom he and the\n    Prophet had so freely had converse, was enchanting to my soul.\n    Their heavenly appearance, clothed in robes of purity, the\n    influence of their presence so lovely and serene; their eyes that\n    seemed to penetrate to the very depths of the soul, together with\n    the color of the eyes that gazed upon them, were all so beautifully\n    related as to almost make one feel that they were then present: and\n    as I placed my hands upon his head where these angels had placed\n    theirs, a divine influence filled the soul to that degree that\n    one could truly feel to be in the presence of something that was\n    more than earthly; and from that day to this--almost fifty years\n    ago--the interest of those glorious truths upon the mind has never\n    been lost, but as a beacon light ever guiding to the home of their\n    glory for a like inheritance.\n\n    But before taking his departure he wrote and left with the\n    writer of this the following statement, which we believe to be\n    his last living testimony, though oft repeated, of the wonderful\n    manifestations which brought the authority of God to men on earth:\n\n    TESTIMONY\n\n    While darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people;\n    long after the authority to administer in holy things had been\n    taken away, the Lord opened the heavens and sent forth his word for\n    the salvation of Israel. In fulfilment of the sacred scriptures,\n    the everlasting gospel was proclaimed by the mighty angel (Moroni)\n    who, clothed with the authority of his mission, gave glory to God\n    in the highest. This gospel is the \"stone taken from the mountain\n    without hands.\" John the Baptist, holding the keys of the Aaronic\n    priesthood; Peter, James, and John, holding the keys of the\n    Melchizedek priesthood, have also ministered for those who shall be\n    heirs of salvation, and with these administrations ordained men to\n    the same priesthood. These priesthoods, with their authority, are\n    now, and must continue to be, in the body of the Church of Jesus\n    Christ of Latter-day Saints. Blessed is the elder who has received\n    the same, and thrice blessed and holy is he who shall endure to the\n    end.\n\n    Accept assurances, dear brother, of the unfeigned prayer of him\n    who, in connection with Joseph the Seer, was blessed with the above\n    ministration and who earnestly and devoutly hopes to meet you in\n    the celestial glory.\n\n    (Signed) OLIVER COWDERY.\n\n    To Elder Samuel W. Richards, January 13th, 1849.\n\nPhineas H. Young, a brother of President Brigham Young, was present at\nOliver's death, at Richmond, Missouri, and of that event said:\n\n    His last moments were spent in bearing testimony of the truth of\n    the gospel revealed through Joseph Smith, and the power of the holy\n    priesthood which he had received through his administrations.\n\nDavid Whitmer, speaking to Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, of Oliver\nCowdery's death, said:\n\n    Oliver Cowdery died the happiest man I ever saw. After shaking\n    hands with the family and kissing his wife and daughter, he said,\n    \"Now I lay me down for the last time; I am going to my Savior;\" and\n    he died immediately, with a smile on his face. [12]\n\nThis statement also agrees with the one David Whitmer published in his\n\"Address to all Believers in Christ:\"\n\n    Neither Oliver Cowdery nor Martin Harris ever at any time denied\n    his testimony. They both died reaffirming the truth of the divine\n    authenticity of the Book of Mormon. I was present at the death bed\n    of Oliver Cowdery, and his last words were, \"Brother David, be true\n    to your testimony to the Book of Mormon.\" He died here in Richmond,\n    Missouri, on the 3rd of March, 1850. Many witnesses yet live [13]\n    in Richmond, who will testify to the truth of these facts, as well\n    as to the good character of Oliver Cowdery. [14]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. _Times and Seasons_, vol. II, p. 482.\n\n2. See _New Witnesses for God_, vol. I, ch. 11.\n\n3. See _New Witnesses for God_, vol. I, ch. 11; also Doc. and Cov.,\nsec. 110.\n\n4. That the Prophet Joseph understood the defects in the character of\nOliver Cowdery is evident from some remarks he records in his journal\nconcerning him, under date of December 18, 1833. They are as follows:\n\"Blessed of the Lord is brother Oliver, nevertheless there are two\nevils in him that he must needs forsake or he cannot altogether escape\nthe buffetings of the adversary. If he forsake these evils he shall\nbe forgiven, and shall be made like unto the bow which the Lord hath\nset in the heavens; he shall be a sign and an ensign unto the nations.\nBehold he is blessed of the Lord for his constancy and steadfastness in\nthe work of the Lord; wherefore, he shall be blessed in his generation,\nand they shall never be cut off, and he shall be helped out of many\ntroubles; and if he keep the commandments, and hearken unto the counsel\nof the Lord, his rest shall be glorious.\" (History of the Church,\nvol. I, p. 465). It will be observed that the promises herein made to\nOliver Cowdery are based upon the conditions specified in the above\npassage. That the conditions were not at least altogether complied with\nis well known, and is further witnessed by the fact that Oliver did not\nescape the buffetings to which the Prophet alludes. Still from out of\nthis mist of human frailty, stands clear and strong the virtue which\nconstituted him so dauntless a witness for the truth of God. \"Behold he\nis blessed of the Lord for his constancy and steadfastness in the work\nof the Lord.\" Still he lost his station in the Church, and that which\nhad been conferred upon him was finally given to Hyrum Smith, brother\nof the Prophet. See Doc. and Cov. 124:95.\n\n5. _Millennial Star_, vol. 16, p. 133.\n\n6. _Millennial Star_, vol. 11, p. 14.\n\n7. Namely, 13th of April, 1859. See _Deseret News_ of that date.\n\n8. _Millennial Star_, vol. 11, p. 43.\n\n9. _Millennial Star_, vol. 11, p. 14.\n\n10. Fearing that silence as to the specific offenses of Oliver Cowdery\nmight leave the reader to fancy that his wrong doing was more serious\nthan it really was, I here state the charges against him sustained\nbefore the High Council at Far West, in 1838: 1st. \"Persecuting the\nbrethren by urging on vexatious law suits against them, and thus\ndistressing the innocent. 2nd. Seeking to destroy the character of\nJoseph Smith, Jr., by falsely insinuating that he was guilty of\nadultery. 3rd. Treating the Church with contempt by not attending\nmeetings. 4th. Leaving his calling, to which God had appointed him by\nrevelation, for the sake of filthy lucre, and turning to the practice\nof law. 5th. Disgracing the Church by being connected in the 'bogus'\nbusiness, as common report says.\" (See _Millennial Star_, vol. 16, p.\n133; also _Missouri Persecutions_, p. 179.) It should be observed that\nupper Missouri in 1838 was infested with a gang of sharpers engaged\nin counterfeiting the United States currency, and rumor, for a time,\nconnected Oliver Cowdery with them: but whether he was, or was not,\nguilty of such connection was not proven before the council, it was\nmerely proven that \"rumors\" connected him with those criminals. It\nshould also be said that Oliver Cowdery was not present at the council\nwhich acted on his case; though of course an opportunity was given him\nto be present. How many of the charges brought against him would have\nfailed had he been there to oppose them, one may not conjecture. It\nwas a general time of turbulence in the affairs of the Church. A wave\nof wild land speculation swept through the country, and the Saints and\nsome leading elders became entangled in it. Charges and counter charges\nwere made; brethren misunderstood one another and became estranged in\ntheir feelings, and pride and bitterness prevented reconciliations. It\nwas under such circumstances that Oliver Cowdery for a time was lost in\nthe mists.\n\n11. _Deseret News_ of April 13, 1859.\n\n12. _Millennial Star_, vol. 40, p. 774, Pratt and Smith statement.\n\n13. This was said in 1887.\n\n14. Address _To All Believers in Christ_, p. 8.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--THE TESTIMONY OF THE THREE\nWITNESSES--SUBSEQUENT LIFE AND TESTIMONIES. Continued.\n\nDAVID WHITMER.\n\nDavid Whitmer continued to repeat his testimony to the truth of the\nBook of Mormon up to and including the very day of his death. Living\nfor many years at Richmond, Missouri--from 1838 to 1888, half a\ncentury--he was frequently visited by all sorts of people, and in the\nlatter years of his life by newspaper representatives especially, who\ncame to inquire concerning the testimony he had given to the world\nto the truth of the Book of Mormon. For all these parties he had but\none answer: \"My testimony written in the Book of Mormon is true.\"\nIt was sometimes elaborated by the addition of a description of the\ncircumstances under which the great revelation was given, but there\nwas never any deviation from the main facts published in his testimony\nwhich accompanies the Book of Mormon. He was not always fairly treated\nby those whose questions he answered; his statements were sometimes\nmisrepresented, much to his annoyance; and having been taught the\nnecessity for it by sad experience, in the later years of his life, he\nalways took the precaution to have one or more of his personal friends\npresent at interviews he granted to strangers.\n\nReferring to these acts of misrepresentation concerning his testimony,\nin his pamphlet, \"Address to all Believers in Christ\", he makes the\nfollowing refutation of the charges of denial:\n\n    It is recorded in the American Cyclopaedia and the Encyclopaedia\n    Britannica, that I, David Whitmer, have denied my testimony as one\n    of the Three Witnesses to the divinity of the Book of Mormon; and\n    that the other two Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris,\n    denied their testimony to that book. I will say once more to all\n    mankind, that I have never at any time denied that testimony or\n    any part thereof. I also testify to the world, that neither Oliver\n    Cowdery nor Martin Harris ever at any time denied their testimony.\n    They both died reaffirming the truth of the divine authenticity\n    of the Book of Mormon. I was present at the death bed of Oliver\n    Cowdery, and his last words were, \"Brother David, be true to\n    your testimony to the Book of Mormon.\" He died here in Richmond,\n    Missouri, on March 3, 1850. Many witnesses yet live in Richmond,\n    who will testify to the truth of these facts, as well as to the\n    good character of Oliver Cowdery. The very powers of darkness\n    have combined against the Book of Mormon, to prove that it is not\n    the word of God, and this should go to prove to men of spiritual\n    understanding, that the Book is true. To show the reader what I\n    have had to contend with, I give you below a copy of a leaflet\n    which I had printed and distributed in March, 1881:\n\n    A PROCLAMATION\n\n    Unto all nations, kindred, tongues, and people, unto whom these\n    presents shall come:\n\n    It having been represented by one John Murphy, of Polo, Caldwell\n    county, Missouri, that I, in a conversation with him last Summer,\n    denied my testimony as one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of\n    Mormon.\n\n    To the end, therefore, that he may understand me now, if he did not\n    then; and that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing\n    as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God,\n    once for all to make this public statement:\n\n    That I never have at any time denied that testimony or any part\n    thereof which has so long since been published with that book, as\n    one of the Three Witnesses. Those who know me best well know that\n    I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be\n    misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do again\n    affirm the truth of all my statements, as then made and published.\n\n    \"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear;\" it was no delusion.\n    What is written is written, and he that readeth let him understand.\n    * * * I do not indorse any of the teachings of the so-called\n    \"Mormons,\" or Latter-day Saints, which are in conflict with the\n    gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as taught in the Bible\n    and Book of Mormon; for the same gospel is plainly taught in both\n    these books as I understand the word of God.\n\n    And if any man doubt, should he not carefully and honestly read\n    and understand the same, before presuming to sit in judgment and\n    condemn the light, which shineth in darkness, and showeth the way\n    of eternal life as pointed out by the unerring hand of God?\n\n    In the Spirit of Christ who hath said: \"Follow thou me, for I am\n    the life, the light and the way,\" I submit this statement to the\n    world. God in whom I trust, being my judge as to the sincerity of\n    my motives and the faith and hope that is in me of eternal life.\n\n    My sincere desire is that the world may be benefited by this plain\n    and simple statement of the truth.\n\n    And all the honor be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,\n    which is one God. Amen.\n\n    (Signed) DAVID WHITMER.\n\n    Richmond, Missouri, March 19, 1881.\n\n    We the undersigned citizens of Richmond, Ray county, Missouri,\n    where David Whitmer has resided since the year A. D. 1838, certify\n    that we have been long and intimately acquainted with him and know\n    him to be a man of the highest integrity, and of undoubted truth\n    and veracity.\n\n    Given at Richmond, Missouri, this March 19, A. D. 1881:\n\n    Gen. Alexander W. Doniphan.\n\n    Hon. George W. Dunn, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.\n\n    Thomas D. Woodson, President of Ray Co. Savings Bank.\n\n    J. T. Child, editor of \"Conservator\".\n\n    H. C. Garner, Cashier of Ray Co. Savings Bank.\n\n    W. A. Holman, County Treasurer.\n\n    J. S. Hughes, Banker, Richmond.\n\n    James Hughes, Banker, Richmond.\n\n    D. P. Whitmer, Attorney-at-Law.\n\n    Hon. Jas. W. Black, Attorney-at-Law.\n\n    L. C. Cantwell, Postmaster, Richmond.\n\n    George I. Wasson, Mayor.\n\n    Jas. A. Davis, County Collector.\n\n    C. J. Hughes, Probate Judge and Presiding Justice of Ray County\n    Court.\n\n    Geo. W. Trigg, County Clerk.\n\n    W. W. Mosby, M. D.\n\n    Thos. McGinnis, ex-Sheriff Ray County.\n\n    J. P. Quesenberry, Merchant.\n\n    W. R. Holman, Furniture Merchant.\n\n    Lewis Slaughter, Recorder of Deeds.\n\n    Geo. W. Buchanan, M. D.\n\n    A. K. Reyburn.\n\nAt the same time the \"Richmond Conservator\" of March 24, 1881, said,\neditorially:\n\n    AN EXPLANATION\n\n    Elsewhere we publish a letter from David Whitmer, an old and well\n    known citizen of Ray, [county] as well as an indorsement of his\n    standing as a man, signed by a number of the leading citizens of\n    this community, in reply to some unwarranted aspersions made upon\n    him. There is no doubt that Mr. Whitmer, who was one of the Three\n    Witnesses of the authenticity of the gold plates, from which he\n    asserts that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon (a fac\n    simile of the characters he now has in his possession with the\n    original records), is firmly convinced of its divine origin, and\n    while he makes no effort to obtrude his views or beliefs, he simply\n    wants the world to know that so far as he is concerned there is\n    no \"variableness or shadow of turning.\" Having resided here for\n    near a half a century, it is with no little pride that he points\n    to his past record with the consciousness that he has done nothing\n    derogatory to his character as a citizen and a believer in the Son\n    of Mary, to warrant such an attack on him, come from what source it\n    may, and now with the lillies of seventy-five winters crowning him\n    like an aureole, and his pilgrimage on earth well nigh ended, he\n    reiterates his former statements, and will leave futurity to solve\n    the problem that he was but a passing witness to its fulfilment.\n\nDavid Whitmer died at his home in Richmond, on the 25th of January,\n1888, in the eighty-fourth year of his life. His final testimony was\ngiven under the following circumstances:\n\n    On the evening of Sunday, January 22, at half past five o'clock,\n    Mr. Whitmer called his family and a number of his friends to his\n    bedside, and to them delivered his dying testimony. Addressing\n    his attendant physician he said: \"Dr. Buchanan, I want you to\n    say whether or not I am in my right mind before I give my last\n    testimony.\" The doctor answered: \"Yes, you are in your right mind,\n    for I have just had a conversation with you.\" He then directed his\n    words to all who surrounded him, saying:\n\n    Now, you must all be faithful in Christ. I want to say to you all\n    that the Bible and the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon),\n    are true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony\n    on my death bed. All be faithful in Christ and your reward will be\n    according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ\n    for ever, worlds without end. Amen.\n\n    * * * *\n\n    On Monday last (Jan. 23rd), at 10 o'clock a. m., after awaking from\n    a short slumber he said he had seen beyond the veil and had seen\n    Christ on the other side. His friends who were constantly at his\n    bedside claim that he had many manifestations of the truths of the\n    great beyond, which confirmed their faith beyond all shadow of\n    doubt. He bore his long illness with great patience and fortitude,\n    his faith, never for a moment wavering, and when the summons came,\n    he sank peacefully to rest with a smile on his countenance, just as\n    if he was being lulled to sleep by secret music. Just before his\n    breath left his body, he opened his eyes, which glistened with the\n    brightness of early manhood. He then turned them toward heaven, and\n    a wonderful light came over his countenance, which remained several\n    moments, when the eyes gradually closed and David Whitmer had gone\n    to his rest. [1]\n\nIn the same issue of the paper from which this account of his death is\ntaken, occurs the following description of Whitmer's connection with\nthe coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and his being a Witness of its\ntruth. Some inaccuracies as to details must be allowed for here, such\nas the omission of Martin Harris' name as one of the Three Witnesses,\nand the time of day that Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith called upon\nhim in the field to go with them to become a witness to the Book of\nMormon. Other accounts state that they came to him in the morning\ninstead of the afternoon. [2] And it should be remembered that what\nfollows is not given in the language of David Whitmer:\n\n    When he was twenty-four years of age and worked on his father's\n    farm near Palmyra, New York, all that section of the country was\n    more or less excited over the reported discovery by Joseph Smith\n    of the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated.\n    Oliver Cowdery, the village school teacher, mentioned the matter to\n    him and announced his determination to visit Smith and investigate\n    the matter for himself, promising Mr. Whitmer, at the latter's\n    request, to advise him of the result. A few days later he [Whitmer]\n    received a letter from Cowdery, urging him to join him, which\n    he did, being received by the \"Prophet\" with open arms. After\n    remaining long enough to satisfy himself of the divine inspiration\n    of Smith, the three returned to Whitmer's home, where it was agreed\n    that the work of translation should be prosecuted.\n\n    Shortly after his return, and while he was plowing in the field\n    one afternoon, he was visited by Smith and Cowdery, who requested\n    that he should accompany them into the woods on the hill across\n    the road for the purpose of witnessing a manifestation that should\n    qualify him and Cowdery to bear witness to the divine authenticity\n    of the Book of Mormon. Smith explaining that such procedure was in\n    accordance with explicit instructions he had received from an angel\n    of the Lord.\n\n    Repairing to the woods they engaged in prayer for a short time,\n    when suddenly a great light shone around about them, far brighter\n    and more dazzling than the brilliancy of the noon day sun,\n    seemingly enveloping the wood for a considerable distance. A spirit\n    of elevation seized him as of joy indescribable and a strange\n    influence stole over him, which so entranced him that he felt that\n    he was chained to the spot. A moment later and a divine personage,\n    clothed in white raiment, appeared unto them, and immediately in\n    front of the personage stood a table on which lay a number of gold\n    plates, some brass plates, the \"Urim and Thummim\" and the \"sword of\n    Laban.\" All of these they were directed to examine carefully, and\n    after their examination they were told that the Lord would demand\n    that they bear witness thereof to all the world. * * * * * * * *\n\n    While describing this vision to us, all traces of a severe cold\n    from which he was suffering disappeared for the time being, his\n    form straightened, his countenance assumed almost a beautiful\n    expression, and his tones became strangely eloquent. Although\n    evidently no studied effort, the description was a magnificent\n    piece of word painting, and he carried his hearers with him to that\n    lonely hill by the old farm, and they stood there with him awed in\n    the divine presence. Skeptics may laugh and scoff if they will, but\n    no man could listen to Mr. Whitmer as he talks of his interview\n    with the angel of the Lord, without being most forcibly convinced\n    that he has heard an honest man tell what he honestly believes to\n    be true. [3].\n\nDavid Whitmer, like Oliver Cowdery, was excommunicated from the Church,\nand at about the same time. [4] But unlike Oliver Cowdery, he never\nreturned, but remained estranged from the Church to the last day of\nhis life. Still he always manifested a friendly disposition towards\nall believers in the Book of Mormon, however mistaken he may have\nconsidered them to be in the matter of Church affiliation. But while\nout of the Church as when in it, and certainly having no worldly\npurpose to serve by continuing in such a course, he steadfastly, as we\nhave seen, adhered to his testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. This account of David Whitmer's death is from the _Richmond\nDemocrat_, of the 26th of January, 1888, a paper published in the town\nwhere his death occurred. It is copied into the _Deseret News_ of the\n8th of February, 1888; and in the _Millennial Star_, vol. 50, p. 139.\n\n2. See statement of David Whitmer to William H. Kelley, G. A.\nBlakeslee, Sept. 15, 1882. _Braden and Kelley Debate,_ p. 187.\n\n3. _Richmond Democrat_, issue of Jan. 26, 1888.\n\n4. For the same reasons that were given in the foot note explaining the\ncase of Oliver Cowdery, I here give the charges brought against David\nWhitmer and sustained before the High Council: 1st. Not observing the\nWord of Wisdom, (See Doc. and Cov., sec. 89). 2nd. Unchristianlike\nconduct in neglecting to attend meetings, and uniting with and\npossessing the same spirit as the dissenters. 3rd. Writing letters to\nthe dissenters in Kirtland, unfavorable to the cause and character\nof Joseph Smith, Jr. 4th. Neglecting the duties of his calling, and\nseparating himself from the Church. 5th. Signing himself president of\nthe Church of Christ in an insulting letter to the High Council, after\nhe had been cut off from the presidency. The presidency of the Church\nalluded to was a local presidency over the Church in Missouri, in which\nposition the Saints, some time before his arraignment before the High\nCouncil, refused to sustain him. (See Mill. Star, vol. 16, pp. 133,\n134, also Missouri Persecutions, pp. 180-1.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nEXTERNAL, EVIDENCES--TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES--SUBSEQUENT LIFE\nAND TESTIMONIES.\n\nMARTIN HARRIS.\n\nThe experience of Martin Harris, with reference to his relations\nwith the Church was somewhat different from that of Oliver Cowdery\nand David Whitmer. He was never excommunicated from the Church as\nthey were, but when there was a general movement of the Church from\nKirtland to Missouri, early in the summer of 1838--at which time the\nSaints may be said to have abandoned Kirtland--Martin Harris remained\nbehind to live in Ohio, separated from the Church. It is evident, too,\nthat his mind became somewhat darkened; for after the martyrdom of\nthe Prophet Joseph, in 1844, when various persons arose claiming the\nright of leadership in the Church, Martin Harris for a time supported\nthe claims of James J. Strang, and under the auspices of the latter's\npseudo-church organization, went to England on a mission, in 1846;\nbut he did not become very active in his missionary efforts, and soon\nreturned to Kirtland, where he resided for many years, up to 1870, in\nfact. During all these years that he was separated from the Church,\nyears of much spiritual darkness for him respecting many things\npertaining to the great work of God, he nevertheless steadfastly\nheld to the truth of his testimony to the Book of Mormon. However\nvascillating in other matters, in this he was firm and immovable. He\ndid see the angel; he did see the plates, and the attendant sacred\nthings; he was overshadowed by a glorious light, from the midst of\nwhich he heard the voice of God saying that the record had been\ntranslated by the gift and power of God. This testimony he never\ndenied, but reaffirmed it over and over again. Finally, like Oliver\nCowdery, he joined the Church and died in the faith. The circumstances\nsurrounding this last event of his life, briefly told, are as follows:\nElder Edward Stevenson, for many years a prominent traveling Elder of\nthe Church, and who a few years before his death was made a member\nof the First Council of the Seventy--the third general quorum of the\nChurch--became especially interested in Martin Harris. Elder Stevenson,\nwhen a boy in Michigan, in 1833, heard Martin Harris, who was on a\nmission at that time, testify to the appearance of the angel and\nhis having seen the plates of the Book of Mormon. The testimony had\ngreat effect on young Stevenson's mind; and when, in 1869--thirty-six\nyears later--he found Martin Harris living at Kirtland, naturally\nhis interest in the Witness revived. After Elder Stevenson returned\nto Utah, from his eastern mission, he kept up a correspondence with\nMartin Harris, and the latter finally expressed a wish to visit Utah\nand rejoin his former associates. Elder Stevenson raised the means by\nsubscription, went east and brought back with him Mr. Harris, arriving\nin Salt Lake on the 30th of August, 1870. [1] Mr. Harris addressed a\nlarge gathering of Saints in Salt Lake City on the Sunday following,\nSeptember the 4th, reaffirming his testimony to the truth of the Book\nof Mormon, a thing he did repeatedly, both before public assemblies and\nin private conversation. He was received into the Church on renewing\nhis covenants in baptism and reconfirmation. After spending some time\nin Salt Lake City, Mr. Harris moved to Smithfield, in Cache county,\nUtah; and subsequently he moved to Clarkston, where he continued to\nlive at the home of his son, Martin Harris, Jr., until his death,\nwhich occurred on the 10th of July, 1875. In these later years of his\nlife he continued to reaffirm his testimony to the truth of the Book\nof Mormon. It was the one theme above all others which occupied his\nmind and of which he loved to speak. A few hours before his death the\nbishop of Clarkston, Simon Smith, called upon him, and as the bishop\ndrew near his bed the now aged Witness (he was in his ninety-third\nyear), stretched out his hand with the remark: \"Bishop, I am going.\"\nThe Bishop, in answer, said he had something of importance to tell\nhim about the Book of Mormon, viz., that at the request of Indians in\nCentral America the Book of Mormon was about to be published in the\nSpanish language. \"Upon hearing this,\" says his son, Martin Harris,\nJr., in his letter describing the incident to George A. Smith, the\nChurch historian--\"Upon hearing this, father brightened up, his\npulsation improved, and, although very weak, he began to talk as he\nformerly had done previous to his sickness. He conversed for about two\nhours, and it seemed that the mere mention of the Book of Mormon put\nnew life into him.\"\n\nSpeaking of his condition a little later--the day before his death, in\nfact--his son says:\n\n    He has continued to talk about and testify to the truth of the Book\n    of Mormon, and was in his happiest mood when he could get somebody\n    to listen to his testimony; if he felt dull and weary at times,\n    and some one would come in and open up a conversation and give him\n    an opportunity of talking, he would immediately revive and feel\n    like a young man, for a little while. We begin to think he has\n    borne his last testimony. The last audible words he has spoken were\n    something about the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, but we could\n    not understand what it was. [2]\n\nThe next day, July 10th, 1875, he died.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. See Stevenson's account of Harris' return to the Church, _Millennial\nStar_, vol. 44, pp. 78, 86, 87.\n\n2. _Deseret News_ (weekly) for July 28, 1875.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--REFLECTIONS UPON THE TESTIMONIES OF THE\nTHREE WITNESSES.\n\nThe direct evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon found in the\ntestimony of the Three Witnesses is now before the reader. The trying\ncircumstances under which the Witnesses persisted in maintaining the\ntruth of that testimony is also known. Neither separation from Joseph\nSmith as a companion and associate, nor excommunication from the body\nreligious, brought into existence as a sequence, one may say, of the\ncoming forth of the Nephite Record, affected them as Witnesses. In\nthe Church and while out of it they steadfastly maintained what they\nfirst published to the world respecting the Book of Mormon. The plates\nexisted, they saw them, and the engravings upon them. An angel of God\nappeared before them, and laid the records before their eyes. The\nrecord was translated by the gift and power of God; for his voice had\ndeclared it unto them, hence they knew it. No evidence exists that\nthey ever denied that testimony. They never attempted to resolve the\nappearance of the angel, the exhibition of the plates, or hearing the\nvoice of God into hallucination of the mind; nor did they ever attempt\nto refer this really great event to some jugglery on the part of Joseph\nSmith. They never allowed even the possibility of their being mistaken\nin the matter. They saw; they heard; the splendor of God shone about\nthem; they felt his presence. Joseph Smith could never have produced\nsuch a scene as that which they beheld. They were not deluded. The\nseveral incidents making up this great revelation were too palpable\nto the strongest senses of the mind to admit of any doubt as to their\nreality. The great revelation was not given in a dream or vision of the\nnight. There was no mysticism about it. Nothing unseemly or occult.\nIt was a simple, straightforward fact that had taken place before\ntheir eyes. The visitation of the angel was in the broad light of day.\nMoreover it occurred after such religious exercises as were worthy to\nattend upon such an event, viz.: after morning devotional exercises\ncommon to all really Christian families of that period--the reading\nof a scripture lesson, singing a hymn, and prayer; and after arriving\nat the scene of the revelation, devout prayer again by the Prophet\nand each of the then-to-be Witnesses. The revelation then followed\nunder the circumstances already detailed, which circumstances were of\nsuch a nature that the Witnesses could not be mistaken. There exists\nno possibility of resolving their testimony into delusion or mistake.\nEither they spoke the truth in their published Testimony to the world,\nor they were wilful, conscious liars, bent upon a wicked scheme of\ndeception relative to a subject--religion--which, as it is the most\nsacred, so should it also be the furthest removed from the practice of\ndeceptions.\n\nSince, then, the possibility of mistake or delusion, is eliminated from\nthe revelation to the Three Witnesses, let us consider the likelihood\nof conscious, intentional fraud; a deliberately planned deception,\nthrough the collusion of Joseph Smith and the Three Witnesses, by which\nthe Book of Mormon was to be palmed off upon mankind as a volume of\nancient scripture, and a new Church organization brought into existence.\n\n_First_. It must occur to every unbiased reflector upon the subject\nthat every circumstance is against the likelihood of collusion. The\nvery youthfulness of the men, the Prophet and the Three Witnesses, is\nagainst such a hypothesis. Joseph Smith, at the time of the publication\nof the Book of Mormon, was about twenty-five years old; Oliver Cowdery\nand David Whitmer were also of that age, all having been born in\nthe year 1805-6. Martin Harris was older, it is true, having been\nborn in the year 1783; but he, as an exception to the youthfulness\nof the group, will not affect the argument based on this score of\nyouthfulness, as his influence with the rest held no proportion to\nthe difference of age between himself with the other members of the\ngroup. Indeed, though the oldest, he was the least influential of the\nnumber; and withal so simple-minded in his honesty, that the world,\nif it knew him, would acquit him of guile, and regard him as a wholly\nimpossible factor in practicing such a monumental delusion upon mankind\nas foisting the Book of Mormon upon the world as a revelation from God\nwould have been had not the book been true.\n\nI would not argue that young men are incapable of practicing deception,\nor formulating delusions. My argument is, merely, that they are less\nlikely to be guilty of it than older men. Youth is essentially the\nperiod of honesty in men's lives. Youth is not hardened in sin; is\nnot so capable of the grosser wickedness, especially such wickedness\nas would be involved in the deliberate deception of their fellows.\nNeither has unholy ambitions fired the soul in youth. The hopes, the\naspirations, the ambitions of youth are generally pure and noble.\nUnholy ambitions as a rule come later. The practice of religious\ndeception is one of the grossest forms of wickedness, and requires\nthe deepest depravity of the human heart to make one capable of it:\nand since youth is the period of men's lives in which they are least\ndesperately wicked, it follows that the very youthfulness of this\ngroup of men we are considering stands against the likelihood of their\ncombining to deceive mankind in this matter of the revelations of God\nto them about the Book of Mormon.\n\n_Second_. The persistence of these Witnesses in adhering to their\ntestimony after their connection with Joseph Smith and the Church\nwas severed is strong evidence against the presumption of collusion\namong these young men to deceive the world. Suppose, for a moment,\nhowever, that such a collusion did exist. In that event, if the Three\nWitnesses fell into transgression--as they evidently did--and violated\nChurch discipline ever so flagrantly, would Joseph Smith dare to break\nfriendship with them by excommunicating them? Would he not, on the\ncontrary, say in his heart: It matters not what these men may do, I\ndare not raise my hand against them; for if I do they will divulge our\nsecret compact, and I shall be execrated as a vile imposter by the\nwhole world, I shall be repudiated by my own people, and driven out\nfrom all society a vagabond. At whatever cost I must cover up their\niniquity, lest I myself by them be exposed to shame. Such, doubtless,\nwould have been his course of reasoning; and had he with them conspired\nto deceive mankind, such, doubtless, is what would have taken place;\nfor I maintain that men who would be base enough to concoct such a\ndeception would also be base enough to expose it and become traitors\nwhen they became disaffected towards each other. But nothing of the\nkind took place. When these men violated the law of God and would not\nrepent and forsake the evil they did, neither Joseph Smith nor the\nChurch would any longer fellowship them, but boldly excommunicated them.\n\nBy the act of excommunication, Joseph Smith virtually said to the Three\nWitnesses: Gentlemen, God has made you witnesses for himself in this\nage of spiritual darkness and unbelief, but you refuse to keep his\nlaws, therefore we must withdraw the hand of fellowship from you. This\nmay fill you with anger and malice; you may raise your hand against\nme and the work of God to destroy it; Satan may put it into your\nhearts to deny the testimony you have borne; but I know you received\nthat witness from God, I was with you when you received it, I saw the\nglorious messenger from heaven show you the plates; I, myself heard\nthe voice of God bear record to you that the translation was correct\nand the work true--now deny that testimony if you dare--this work is\nof God, and he can sustain it even if you should turn against it;\ntherefore we will not fellowship you in your wickedness--you are cut\noff from our association--do your worst! That is what, in effect, that\naction said; but though Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer became the\npronounced enemies of Joseph Smith, and sought his overthrow, yet they\nnever denied the testimony they bore to the truthfulness of the Book of\nMormon. Through all the vicissitudes of life they remained true to that\ntrust committed to them of God. In my opinion they dared not deny that\nwhich God had revealed; it drew with it consequences too weighty for\nthem to meet.\n\nNor should it be matter for wonderment that the Three Witnesses, after\nreceiving such a marvelous revelation from God, and beholding the\ndemonstration of such almighty power, turned away from the Church,\nand lost their places. Their case does not stand alone. They are\nnot the first servants and witnesses for God that wandered from the\npath direct, and fell into error and perhaps sin. Seeing a heavenly\nmessenger or hearing the voice of God, by no means places men beyond\nthe power to do evil, nor does it give them immunity from the\ntemptations of the adversary. Noah received revelations from God, and\nyet after being preserved from the flood, and enjoying other special\nfavors, he so far forgot himself as to get drunk. David, a man after\nGod's own heart, after enjoying sweet communion with God, and receiving\nmany revelations from him, was at last guilty of the heinous sin of\ndefiling another man's wife, and deliberately planning the injured\nman's murder! Peter, after going into the mountain and witnessing the\nglorious ministrations of Moses and Elias to the Messiah, and hearing\nthe voice of God declare that Jesus was his beloved Son, was so weak,\nunder the influence of fear, that he denied having any knowledge of\nhim, and emphasized his denial by cursing and swearing. I do not refer\nto these incidents in the lives of these characters to weaken the\nesteem any one may have for them, but to show that neither a revelation\nfrom God nor the visitation of angels takes from man the power of\ndoing wrong. It was so in the case of Oliver Cowdery, and his fellow\nwitnesses. They transgressed the laws of God, and the Church was in\nduty bound to withdraw fellowship from them, and did so, confident\nthat God was able to preserve his work though these men should turn\ntraitors, and deny the truth. I repeat that this circumstance--the\nfact that the Three Witnesses persisted in their testimony, though\nexcommunicated from the Church, and their relations with Joseph Smith\ndisrupted, is strong presumptive evidence that there was no collusion\namong these men to deceive the world by their solemn testimony to the\nBook of Mormon.\n\n_Third_. The fact that two of the Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery and Martin\nHarris, returned to the Church after long years of separation from\nit--the former eleven, the latter thirty-three years--is another\nevidence against the theory of collusion among the witnesses. Surely\nhad they been parties to a wicked scheme of deception in their\nyouth, after separating themselves from it for years, they would not\nreturn to it in old age. This suggestion is strengthened when it is\nremembered that the religious organization which may be said to have\ncome into existence as a consequence of the coming forth of the Book\nof Mormon--the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--neither\ndid nor could hold out to them any worldly advantage as a reward for\ntheir returning to the body religious. When Oliver Cowdery returned\nto the Church, in 1848, the great body of the Latter-day Saints were\nenroute for the west. They were a people scattered and peeled. They\nwere but recently expatriated from their country. They were exiled\nfor conscience sake from a country that boasts of its guarantees of\nreligious freedom. They were wandering in the wilderness, in a solitary\nway--hungry and thirsty, their souls fainting in them, and they had as\nyet no certain abiding place. Surely a people thus situated was not a\npeople to come to for worldly advantage. Yet such was the condition of\nthe Church when Oliver Cowdery once more cast his fortune with theirs,\nhumbly confessing all his errors that he might have fellowship with\nthem.\n\nWhen Martin Harris returned to the Church in 1870, the condition of the\nSaints had improved somewhat when compared with what the conditions\nwere when Oliver Cowdery returned, but even then the Saints were\nunder the ban of the world's displeasure; as of old, they were the\npeople everywhere spoken against; while throughout the United States,\nof which the lands the Saints had redeemed from desert wastes was\nnow an integral part, there was arising that storm of vexation which\nsubsequently crystalized into congressional enactments which not only\nmenaced but disturbed the peace of the Saints. To become once more\nconnected with such a people surely promised no worldly advantage; and\nbesides, when Martin Harris returned to the Church the sands of his\nlife had so well nigh run their course--he was then eighty-seven years\nof age--that worldly considerations could have but little or no effect\nupon his actions. Thus the return of these men to the Church, the\ncircumstances considered under which they returned, is certainly strong\nevidence against the theory of collusion or deception among these\nWitnesses.\n\n_Fourth_. There is a harmony in things bad as well as in things that\nare good. As men do not work righteousness that evil may come; so they\ndo not plan evil that good may come. Now, these young men who bear\nwitness to the truth of the Book of Mormon spent the greater part of\ntheir lives--especially when actively promulgating the Book of Mormon\nand the principles it teaches--in bringing to pass righteousness.\nThey were exhorting men to keep the commandments of God; to cease\ndoing evil and to learn to do well. It is admitted on all sides of the\ncontroversy that the Book of Mormon is not a bad book in the sense that\nit approves evil deeds, canonizes the vicious, lauds immorality, or in\nany way gives countenance or sanction to sin. No; its bitterest enemies\nare forced to admit that it stands for righteousness absolutely,\nthat everywhere, and in all men it condemns sin. What motive, then,\nprompted these Witnesses to enter into a wicked collusion to deceive\nmankind in a matter so grave? Did they become villains that they might\npreach righteousness? Did they wickedly conspire to deceive mankind in\norder that they might spend their lives in toil, and suffering; and\ninvite the opposition of the world as expressed in ridicule, scorn,\nvituperation, to say nothing of actual violence through malicious\nprosecutions before courts, illegal imprisonment, repeated acts of mob\nviolence, ending in house-burning, in drivings, in cruel whippings,\nin other brutal assaults, and often in outright murder--if not of the\nWitnesses themselves, then of their dearest friends and neighbors;\nand, of course, with reference to the Prophet Joseph and his brother\nHyrum (who must have been necessarily members of the conspiracy, if one\nexisted), their persecutions ended in their martyrdom. [1] I refer to\nthe well-known history of these men and to the history of the Church\nof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for proof that the results just\nenumerated followed the testimony of the Three Witnesses; that they\nendured all these things in consequence of their testimony. I refer to\nthe whole body of doctrine held by the Church, brought into existence,\nunder God, by Joseph Smith and these Witnesses; to the Book of Mormon\nin particular; to the periodicals published by the Church, and to\nthe letters and other writings of these men, in proof of the facts\nthat their motives were pure, their purposes honest, their efforts\npraiseworthy, and having for their sole object the attainment of\nrighteousness by themselves and by their fellowmen. Why, I ask again,\nshould they become rogues and villains only to pursue a course that\nmakes for righteousness, for a more exalted morality, for a higher\nspiritual life than at the time was known among men? It is incumbent\nupon those who insist that there was a collusion among these Witnesses\nto deceive mankind, to prove that the subsequent career of these men\nwas in harmony with that theory; for men do not become rogues that they\nmay establish virtue; nor do wicked men become candidates for martyrdom\nthat righteousness might be established: the harmony existing in things\nevil, as in things good, forbids us believing such a theory. [2]\n\nIt will be no valid answer to this contention to say that if the Three\nWitnesses cannot be proven to be conscious frauds and deceivers they\nmay yet be relegated to that very large class known as the mistaken. We\nhave already seen that such was the nature of the revelation vouchsafed\nto these Witnesses in attestation of the truth of the Book of Mormon\nthat it cannot possibly be resolved into delusion or mistake, and it\nis not necessary to further discuss that proposition here. There is no\nmiddle ground on which one may place these Witnesses; inexcusable liars\nor true witnesses they must be; they never can be classed among the\nmistaken.\n\nThe possibility of their being mistaken set aside, every circumstance\nconnected with their relationship to the Book of Mormon favors the\ntheory of their being true witnesses, their testimony standing not\nonly unimpeached but unimpeachable; it must follow that they are God's\nsolemn Witnesses of a great truth--the verity of the Book of Mormon.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. The argument in this paragraph is suggested by a similar one in\n_Paley's Evidences for Christianity_; and indeed it may be said to be\nfor the most part, a paraphrase of it.\n\n2. For a fuller treatise of the ideas and the force of the argument\nhere presented the reader is referred to vol. I of _New Witnesses_, ch.\n17.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--TESTIMONY OF THE EIGHT WITNESSES.\n\nThe exact time when the Eight Witnesses obtained their view of the\nNephite plates is not known, but it was evidently a few days after the\nThree Witnesses received their testimony. All the Prophet has seen\nproper to say upon the subject in his own history is--alluding to the\ntestimony that had been received by the Three Witnesses--\"soon after\nthese things had transpired, the following additional testimony was\nobtained.\" [1] Then follows the testimony of the Eight Witnesses.\n\nAccording to the _History of the Prophet Joseph_ by Lucy Smith, [2]\nthe event happened a few days after the Three Witnesses obtained their\ntestimony. The latter, be it remembered, received their view of the\nplates near the Whitmer residence, in Fayette township, New York; while\nthe Eight Witnesses obtained their view of the plates near the Smith\nresidence in Manchester. On the completion of the translation of the\nBook of Mormon, Joseph sent word to his parents of the joyful event,\nas we have already seen, and they, in company with Martin Harris,\nimmediately set out for Fayette, and during their brief stay at the\nplace the vision of the Three Witnesses was given. The day following\nFather and Mother Smith returned to Manchester, and now the latter's\nstatement:\n\n    In a few days we were followed by Joseph, Oliver and the Whitmers,\n    who came to make us a visit, and make some arrangements about\n    getting the book printed. Soon after they came, all the male part\n    of the company, with my husband, Samuel and Hyrum, retired to a\n    place where the family were in the habit of offering up their\n    secret devotions to God. They went to this place because it had\n    been revealed to Joseph that the plates would be carried thither\n    by one of the ancient Nephites. [3] Here it was that those Eight\n    Witnesses, whose names are recorded in the Book of Mormon, looked\n    upon them and handled them. * * * After these Witnesses returned to\n    the house, the angel again made his appearance to Joseph; at which\n    time Joseph delivered up the plates into the angel's hands. [4]\n\nThis narrative is confirmed by the statement of Joseph himself with\nrespect to delivering up the record to the angel. At the time the\nplates were first given into the Prophet's keeping he was informed\nthat the heavenly messenger would call for them. He then recounts the\nefforts made to wrest the plates from him by his enemies, and adds:\n\n    But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until\n    I had accomplished by them what was required at my hands. When,\n    according to arrangements, the messenger (the angel Moroni) called\n    for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge\n    until this day, being the 2nd day of May, 1838. [5]\n\nIn the evening of the day that the Eight Witnesses saw and examined the\nNephite plates, according to Lucy Smith, the Witnesses held meeting\nat the Smith residence, \"in which all the Witnesses bore testimony to\nthe facts as stated above;\" [6] that is, to the facts stated in their\ntestimony as here given and which appeared in the first and in all\nsubsequent editions of the Book of Mormon:\n\n    THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES\n\n    BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto\n    whom this work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator\n    of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been\n    spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the\n    leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our\n    hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the\n    appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we\n    bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown\n    unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the\n    said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give\n    our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we\n    have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it.\n\n    CHRISTIAN WHITMER,\n\n    JACOB WHITMER,\n\n    PETER WHITMER, JR.,\n\n    JOHN WHITMER,\n\n    HIRAM PAGE,\n\n    JOSEPH SMITH, SR.\n\n    HYRUM SMITH,\n\n    SAMUEL H. SMITH.\n\nThe testimony of the Eight Witnesses differs from that of the Three\nWitnesses in that the view of the plates by the latter was attended by\na remarkable display of the glory and power of God and the ministration\nof an angel. The glory of God shone about them; the angel turned the\ngold leaves of the ancient record; he spoke to them, or at least to\nDavid Whitmer, saying: \"David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps\nhis commandments;\" and the very voice of God was heard out of the\nbright light shining about them, saying:\n\n    These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have\n    been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which\n    you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what\n    you now see and hear. [7]\n\nNo such remarkable display of God's splendor and power was attendant\nupon the exhibition of the plates to the Eight Witnesses. On the\ncontrary it was just a plain, matter-of-fact exhibition of the plates\nby the Prophet himself to his friends. They saw the plates; they\nhandled them; they turned the leaves of the old Nephite record, and saw\nand marveled at its curious workmanship. No brilliant light illuminated\nthe forest or dazzled their vision; no angel was there to awe them by\nthe splendor of his presence; no piercing voice of God from a glory to\nmake them tremble by its power. All these supernatural circumstances\npresent at the view of the plates by the Three Witnesses were absent\nat the time when the Eight Witnesses saw them. Here all was natural,\nmatter-of-fact, plain. Nothing to inspire awe, or fear, or dread;\nnothing uncanny or overwhelming, but just a plain, straightforward\nproceeding that leaves men in possession of all their faculties, and\nself-consciousness; all of which renders such a thing as deception, or\nimposition entirely out of the question. They could pass the plates\nfrom hand to hand, guess at their weight--doubtless considerable, that\nidea being conveyed, \"we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety,\nthat the said Smith has got the plates.\" They could look upon the\nengravings, and observe calmly how different they were from everything\nmodern in the way of record-making known to them, and hence the\nconclusion that the workmanship was not only curious but ancient.\n\nI now proceed to consider the course pursued by these Eight Witnesses\nwith reference to their testimony. I shall take them in the order they\nseemed to have signed the testimony. [8]\n\nCHRISTIAN WHITMER.\n\nThis Witness was thirty-one years old when he beheld the plates, having\nbeen born on the 18th of January, 1798. The young man was among the\nfirst to embrace the gospel, being baptized on the 11th of April, 1830.\nHe removed with the Church from New York to Ohio in 1831, thence to\nJackson county, Missouri. He witnessed the storms of persecution rise\nagainst the Saints in the land of Zion; and shared the hardship and\ndespoliation of the Saints incident to their expulsion from Jackson\ncounty. He died while in exile for conscience sake, in Clay county,\nMissouri, on the 27th of November, 1835. He held first the office of\nTeacher in the Church; and then successively rose to the office of\nElder, High Priest, and member of the High Council of the Church in\nMissouri.\n\nFew and troubled were the years of Christian Whitmer's life after he\nbecame a Witness for the existence of the plates from which the Book\nof Mormon was translated; but few and troubled as the years were,\nthey were glorious for the steadfastness of Christian's faith. He had\nseen his crops wasted by the wanton destructiveness of a mob, while\nhe himself was seized and threatened with instant death if he did not\nmake known the hiding place of brethren who were escaping from the mob.\nChristian Whitmer, however, did not betray his friends, notwithstanding\nthe guns of the mob were leveled at him when their threats were made.\n\nHe remained true to his testimony and died a consistent member of the\nChurch of Christ.\n\nJACOB WHITMER.\n\nJacob Whitmer was thirty years of age when he saw the plates, having\nbeen born on the 27th of January, 1800. He, too, passed through the\ntrying scenes incident to the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints\nfrom Jackson county. But after enduring well for a season he left\nthe Church, in 1838, making his home near Richmond, in Ray county,\nMissouri. Here he lived a quiet, retired life, and reared his family\nin respectability; his eldest son, David P. Whitmer, rising to some\nlocal prominence as a lawyer, and serving one or two terms as mayor of\nRichmond. To the day of his death--which occurred April 21, 1856--Jacob\nWhitmer was true to his testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon.\nThough he severed his relations with the Church, because he did not\nagree with the policy of the leading elders, he continued true to the\nspecial trust God had committed to him--an actual knowledge of the\nexistence of the Nephite record--as long as he lived.\n\nPETER WHITMER, JR.\n\nThis Witness for the existence of the Nephite Record was in his\ntwentieth year at the time he examined the plates and held them in\nhis hands. On meeting with the Prophet Joseph, on the occasion of the\nlatter coming to reside at the home of his father, Peter Whitmer,\nSen., in Fayette township, 1829, a firm friendship immediately sprang\nup between them. Peter Whitmer, Jr., seems to have been one of those\ngentle, loving natures that finds its greatest enjoyment and usefulness\nin giving its allegiance to some more rugged character on whose\nstrength it can lean, in whose courage it can find strength. He entered\nwith enthusiasm into the work of God coming forth under the inspired\nwords and movements of his friend Joseph, the Prophet. He was among the\nfirst to join the Church, and when, in September, 1830, a mission was\nappointed to the Lamanites (American Indians), under the leadership of\nOliver Cowdery, young Whitmer was especially appointed to accompany\nhim, and commanded to be afflicted in all his (Oliver's) afflictions,\n\"ever lifting up your heart unto me in prayer, and faith for his and\nyour deliverance.\" [9] The missionaries to the Lamanites traveled\non foot from central New York to the western borders of Missouri, a\ndistance of more than one thousand miles, and that chiefly in winter\ntime, when storms and mud and cold had to be encountered. Peter\nWhitmer, Jr., remained in western Missouri, and assisted the Saints\nin settling Jackson county (1831-1833), where, in common with the\nSaints who gathered from the east, he saw the rise of that persecution\nwhich culminated in the expulsion of the Saints from that country.\nWith many of his exiled co-religionists he found a temporary home near\nLiberty, Clay county, Missouri, where he died on the 22nd of September,\n1836; and was buried by the side of his brother Christian, who had\ndied in the same neighborhood less than a year before. Consumption\nwas the immediate cause of his death, which was doubtless hastened by\nexposure, in the course of his missionary labors and the hardships he\nwas forced to endure by reason of his expulsion from Jackson county.\nThis young man--he was but twenty-seven when he died--remained true to\nhis testimony through the seven years of toil and suffering that he\nlived after God called him to be a Witness for the truth of the Book\nof Mormon; and his fidelity to his trust under all circumstances, adds\nweight to the solemn words of testimony to which he signed his name in\nJune, 1829.\n\nJOHN WHITMER.\n\nThe fourth of the Eight Witnesses, John Whitmer, was twenty-seven\nyears of age when he beheld the plates of the Nephite record. He was\na young man of considerable promise, and upon the coming of Joseph\nSmith to his father's house, became not only his enthusiastic friend,\nbut rendered him considerable assistance in writing as the Prophet\ndictated the translation of the Book of Mormon. John Whitmer was Church\nHistorian for a number of years; for a time editor of the _Messenger\nand Advocate_, the second periodical published by the Church (Kirtland,\nOhio, 1834-1837). He was also prominent in the affairs of the Church\nin Missouri, being one of the assistant presidents of the Church, his\nbrother David and William W. Phelps being the president and other\nassistant respectively. He endured the hardships incident to the\npersecutions of the Saints in that land. When settlements were being\nformed in the new county of Caldwell, John Whitmer was prominently\nconnected with the land purchases made. Indeed it was largely\nowing to some irregularities connected with the business, and some\nmisunderstanding with the Prophet and other leading brethren in the\nChurch, that finally resulted in his excommunication, in March, 1838.\n\nAfter the expulsion of the Church from Missouri, in the winter of\n1838-9, John Whitmer purchased the greater part of the townsite of\nFar West, which soon reverted to farming lands; and here John Whitmer\ncontinued to live, making farming his principal occupation, until his\ndeath in July, 1878. Though his relations with the Church were severed\nJohn Whitmer, up to the very close of his life, continued to bear\nwitness that his testimony published in connection with the Book of\nMormon was true. From it he never deviated. It was his testimony when\nliving; it remains his testimony now that he is dead, unimpaired in its\nforce by any word of his, though he was much offended at the Prophet\nJoseph, and for forty years had no standing in the Church. One can but\nregret the events which resulted in his severance from the Church, but\none is compelled to admire his fidelity to the trust imposed in him by\nthe Prophet when he made him a Witness for the existence of the Nephite\nrecord, in the presence of temptation to take a different course in the\nhour of his great darkness.\n\nHIRAM PAGE.\n\nThis is the only Witness of the Eight not either a Whitmer or a Smith.\nHe was a son-in-law, however, to Peter Whitmer, Sen., having married\nCatherine Whitmer, in 1825. He was but a young man when he became a\nWitness to the existence of the Nephite plates, having been born in\nthe year 1800, in the state of Vermont. He was living at Fayette, with\nthe Whitmers when the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery arrived there in the\nspring of 1829. He entered into the work with enthusiasm, and for some\nyears was a faithful member of the Church. He followed the westward\nmovement of the Saints from New York to Ohio and thence to Missouri. He\nshared in the persecutions of the Church in Jackson county; in common\nwith his co-religionists he fled to Clay county; and subsequently\nsettled in Caldwell county. When the trouble arose in the Church at Far\nWest, in 1838, Hiram Page followed the fortune of the Whitmers, severed\nhis relations with the Church and finally made his home near Excelsior\nSprings, some fourteen miles north and a little west of Richmond,\nMissouri, where he died in August, 1852. Like his fellow Witnesses he\nremained true to his testimony. His oldest son, Philander Page, in\n1888, said to Elder Andrew Jenson:\n\n    \"I knew my father to be true and faithful to his testimony of the\n    divinity of the Book of Mormon until the very last. Whenever he\n    had an opportunity to bear his testimony to this effect, he would\n    always do so, and seemed to rejoice exceedingly in having been\n    privileged to see the plates and thus become one of the Eight\n    Witnesses. I can also testify that Jacob, John and David Whitmer\n    and Oliver Cowdery died in full faith in the divinity of the Book\n    of Mormon. I was with all these Witnesses on their death-beds and\n    heard each of them bear his testimony.\" John C. Whitmer, a nephew\n    of Hiram Page by marriage, also testified in the presence of Elder\n    Jenson: \"I was closely connected with Hiram Page in business\n    transactions and other matters, he being married to my aunt. I knew\n    him at all times and under all circumstances to be true to his\n    testimony concerning the divinity of the Book of Mormon.\" [10]\n\nJOSEPH SMITH, SEN.\n\nThe sixth of the Eight Witnesses is Joseph Smith, Sen., the Prophet's\nfather. He was the first to whom the Prophet confided the fact of\nMoroni's visit, and the existence of the Nephite record; and this by\ndirect commandment of the angel Moroni himself. The Prophet hesitated\nto make known the vision he had received and the existence of the\nrecord, even to his father; but doubtless the integrity of the heart of\nJoseph Smith, Sen., was known in the heavens, and the Prophet was taken\nsharply to task for hesitating to trust him with the knowledge that\nGod had imparted through Moroni. When asked why he had not confided\nthe knowledge of his vision to his father, the Prophet expressed a\nfear that he would not be believed, whereupon Moroni said: \"He will\nbelieve every word you say to him.\" [11] Upon this the Prophet went to\nhis father, who was working in a field near their home, and related\nthe whole revelation to him. The father assured his son that the great\nrevelation was of God, and told him to go \"and do as commanded by\nthe messenger.\" [12] From that time on the youthful Prophet of the\nDispensation of the Fulness of Times had no truer, or more constant or\nfaithful friend than his father.\n\nJoseph Smith, Sen., was 59 years of age when he handled and examined\nthe Nephite plates, and gave his testimony of their existence to the\nworld. He became thoroughly identified with the work which the Lord\nbrought forth through his gifted son. He was ordained a Priest of\nthe Most High God, and became the first Presiding Patriarch in the\nChurch, traveling in that capacity among the branches of the Church,\nespecially in the Eastern States, administering comfort to the widow\nand fatherless, bestowing benedictions wherever he went.\n\nIn 1838, under the pressure of that severe persecution which arose\nagainst adherents of the Prophet in Ohio, the Patriarch moved to\nCaldwell county, Missouri, where he saw his sons Joseph and Hyrum taken\nby ruthless hands, dragged from their families and cast into prison\nfor the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, while he himself, with\nthe remainder of the faithful Saints, was banished from the state of\nMissouri under the exterminating order of Governor Boggs. In midwinter\nof 1838-9, \"Father Smith,\" as the Saints loved to call him, arrived\nin Quincy, Illinois, and thence removed to Nauvoo and assisted in\nfounding that city. The toils and exposure of his life (he had been a\npioneer all his days), and the hardships attendant upon his flight from\nMissouri proved too much even for his sturdy frame, and on the 14th\nof September, 1840, Joseph Smith, Sen., in the seventieth year of his\nlife, died at Nauvoo.\n\nHis was one of those simple, guileless natures who know naught\nbut truth and honor and fidelity. Amidst all circumstances of\ndiscouragement and trials he kept the faith, never wavering one moment\nin his adherence to the truth which God had made known to him. Having\nseen and handled and examined the plates from which the Book of Mormon\nwas written, he remained true and steadfast to that testimony, and if\nan unbelieving generation shall undertake to condemn the testimony of\nsome of these Witnesses because they turned from the Church, they must\nnot forget that they will have to meet the force of this righteous\nman's testimony, and as in prayer so in testimony, the words of a\nrighteous man availeth much.\n\nHYRUM SMITH.\n\nThe seventh of the Eight Witnesses was Hyrum Smith, an elder brother to\nthe Prophet Joseph, born February 9, 1800, and hence was thirty years\nof age at the time the plates were shown to him. From the beginning of\nthe great work of the last days he was a consistent believer in it, and\nassisted his brother in the preservation of the plates from the hands\nof those who sought to wrest them from him. He early sought to know the\nwill of the Lord concerning his relations to the great work then coming\nforth, and was given to understand (May, 1829) that he was to have\npart and lot in it; and that he was called of God to be a preacher of\nrighteousness to this generation. [13] From that time forth he labored\ncontinuously and faithfully by the side of his prophet-brother in the\nwork of God. In 1837 he was made a counselor in the First Presidency of\nthe Church, then assembling in Caldwell county, Missouri, a position he\nheld until January, 1841, when he was called by revelation to take the\noffice of Presiding Patriarch in the Church, an office left vacant by\nthe death of his father, Joseph Smith, Sen.; and which office he held\nat the time he met a martyr's fate.\n\nHyrum Smith was a brother in very deed to the Prophet; for he shared\nin all the trials throughout the latter's troubled career; and indeed\nthroughout his life he was never separated from Joseph longer than six\nmonths at a time. The Prophet held him in most tender regard. Speaking\nof him in his journal (December, 1835), he said:\n\n    I could pray in my heart that all men were like my brother Hyrum,\n    who possesses the mildness of a lamb, and the integrity of a Job;\n    and, in short, the meekness and humility of Christ; and I love\n    him with that love that is stronger than death, for I never had\n    occasion to rebuke him, nor he me. [14]\n\nOf Hyrum Smith the late President John Taylor also said, speaking of\nhim as he saw him stretched a martyr upon the floor of Carthage prison:\n\n    There he lay as I had left him. He had not moved a limb; he lay\n    placid and calm, a monument of greatness even in death; but his\n    noble spirit had left his tenement and had gone to dwell in regions\n    more congenial to its exalted nature. Poor Hyrum! He was a great\n    and good man, and my soul was cemented to his. If ever there was an\n    exemplary, honest and virtuous man, an embodiment of all that is\n    noble in the human form, Hyrum Smith was its representative.\n\nSuch was the character of this witness to the existence of the Nephite\nrecord. He not only never denied the testimony that he received\nthrough seeing and handling the plates of the Nephite record, but he\nconsecrated his life to the great work of God which in a way may be\nsaid to have had its origin in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon;\nand finally sealed his testimony with his blood, and it is in force\nupon all succeeding generations of men. He loved the Book of Mormon,\nand from it more frequently than others took the texts which formed\nthe central thought of the discourses he delivered to the Saints. In\nit also he doubtless saw foreshadowed, near the close of his career,\nhis own impending martyrdom, and the justification also of his life. On\nthe morning of his departure from Nauvoo to Carthage, where he met his\nmartyrdom, he read the following passage in the presence of his family,\nand turned down the leaf upon it:\n\n    And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give\n    unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it\n    came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity\n    it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore,\n    thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy\n    weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in\n    the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.\n\n    And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also\n    unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the\n    judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments\n    are not spotted with your blood. [15]\n\nSAMUEL HARRISON SMITH.\n\nThe last of the Eight Witnesses was a younger brother of the Prophet's.\nHe was born in the year 1808, hence was twenty-two years of age when he\nbeheld and handled the Nephite plates. He was of a serious, religious\nnature, even in his youth; and with three others of his father's family\njoined the Presbyterian church. While Joseph the Prophet was engaged\nwith Oliver Cowdery in translating the Nephite record, in Harmony,\nPennsylvania, Samuel paid him a visit in the month of May, 1829, about\nthe time that the Aaronic Priesthood was conferred upon the Prophet\nand Oliver by the ministration of John the Baptist. Samuel had come\nto inquire about the work and Joseph bore testimony of its truth and\nshowed him some of the translation of the Book of Mormon. Samuel seems\nnot to have been easily converted, but after much inquiry he retired\nto the woods and sought, by secret and fervent prayer, for wisdom to\nenable him to judge for himself concerning the things of which his\nbrother had testified. The result was that he obtained a revelation\nfor himself sufficient to convince him of the truth, and on the 25th\nday of May, 1829, he was baptized by Oliver Cowdery and returned to\nhis father's house, in Manchester, New York, greatly glorifying and\npraising God. He was the third person baptized by divine authority in\nthe new dispensation, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery being the first\ntwo. He was also one of the six members by whom the organization of the\nChurch was effected on the 6th day of April, 1830.\n\nAs soon as the Book of Mormon was published Samuel was among the most\nzealous of the brethren in proclaiming it to the world, and seeking\nto dispose of it for the enlightenment of mankind. He shared in all\nthe fortunes of the Church from the commencement of its existence to\nthe time of his death, which occurred on the 30th of July, 1844, when\nhe was but thirty-six years of age. He endured many hardships for the\ngospel's sake, in his extensive travels, meeting with insult and harsh\ntreatment at the hands of scoffers and unbelievers. He witnessed also\nmany demonstrations of the power of God and judgments which befell\nthose who rejected his testimony.\n\nSamuel passed through many trying ordeals of persecution. In the\nexpulsion of the Saints from Missouri, in 1838-9, a special effort was\nmade to capture him and some others for participating in what is known\nas \"Crooked River Battle,\" for particulars of which see the Church\nHistory. He was ordained a High Priest in the Church, made a member\nof the High Council in Kirtland, Ohio, and was noted for the mingled\nqualities of justice and mercy he exercised in his office. He was among\nthe founders of Nauvoo, and though rising to no great prominence, was\nknown for his steadfastness in adhering to the truth. At the time of\nthe martyrdom of his brothers, Joseph and Hyrum, he was living at\nPlymouth, in the eastern part of Hancock county, but frequently visited\nNauvoo. Hearing of the arrest of his brothers and their imprisonment\nat Carthage, he immediately went to the latter place, but only to find\nthat the martyr's fate had already overtaken them, and in sadness he\naccompanied their bodies to Nauvoo. He survived them but a few weeks,\nhis death being produced by a severe billious fever, doubtless brought\non by physical and mental strain produced by the sudden death of his\nbrothers.\n\nSamuel Smith, like his father, Joseph Smith, Sen., and his brother\nHyrum, not only remained true to the testimony to which he subscribed\nin the first edition of the Book of Mormon, but consecrated his life to\nthe work which its coming forth may be said to have commenced; and like\nthem he lived and died a martyr to that holy cause; and his testimony,\nas theirs, is in force in all the world.\n\nIt will be observed from the foregoing account of the lives of the\nEight Witnesses, with reference to their testimony to the existence of\nthe Nephite plates, that five of them, viz.: Christian Whitmer, Peter\nWhitmer, Jun., Joseph Smith, Sen., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith,\nall remained true throughout their lives, not only to their testimony,\nbut faithful to the Church also, and were honorable, righteous men.\nWhile the three of the Eight Witnesses who left the Church, or were\nexcommunicated from it, not one of them ever denied the truth of his\ntestimony: a circumstance of some weight in helping one to determine\nthe value of the testimony to which, with those who remained faithful\nto the Church, they subscribed their names when the Book of Mormon was\nfirst given to the world.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 57.\n\n2. Chapter 31.\n\n3. This was doubtless Moroni, as he was the custodian of the plates.\n\n4. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 31.\n\n5. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 18, 19.\n\n6. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 31.\n\n7. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 54, 55.\n\n8. In the first edition of the Book of Mormon where the Testimony\nappears at the close of the volume instead of at the beginning of the\nwork, as in the current editions, the names stand thus; (second edition\nthe same):--\n\n  Christian Whitmer,\n  Jacob Whitmer,\n  Peter Whitmer, Jr.,\n  John Whitmer,\n  Hiram Page,\n  Joseph Smith, Sr.,\n  Hyrum Smith,\n  Samuel H. Smith;\n\ninstead of in a double column as in our current editions. By the\nway, in passing, it may not be amiss to state that some importance\nis attached to the arrangement of the names in our current edition,\nfor the reason that if read across the page instead of down the\ncolumns, then Page and the members of the Smith family alternate with\nthe Witnesses, supposedly to divert attention from the fact that the\nwitnesses, excepting Hiram Page, were of but two families! Such is the\nconclusion at least of one profound (!) critic of the Book of Mormon.\n\n9. Doc. and Cov., sec. 30.\n\n10. _Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopaedia_, p. 278.\n\n11. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 19.\n\n12. History of the Church, vol. I, p. 15.\n\n13. See Doc. and Cov., sec. 11.\n\n14. _Rise and Fall of Nauvoo_, p. 146; also History of the Church,\nvol. II, p. 338.\n\n15. Book of Mormon, Ether 12:36-38. Also Doc. and Cov. 135:5.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCE--REFLECTIONS ON THE TESTIMONY OF THE ELEVEN\nWITNESSES.\n\nDoubtless the Lord had his own purpose to subserve in giving different\nkinds of testimony--divine and human--to the same truth. The testimony\nof the Three Witnesses, attended as it was by such remarkable\ndisplays of supernatural power, he knew would be opposed from the\nvery circumstance of its being supernatural. It cannot be but that\nGod fore-knew of the rise of that so-called \"Rational Criticism\" of\ndivine things which would resolve inspired dreams, visions, revelations\nand the administration of angels into hallucinations, brought\nabout first by an inclination to believe in the miraculous, (and\n\"ordinarily,\" argue the \"Rational Critics,\" \"expectation is the father\nof its object.\") [1] supplemented by the theory of self-deception,\nself-hypnosis or hypnotic influence of others. This particular school\nof philosophers took its rise in the last century, and in the twentieth\nis much in vogue.\n\nIt will be remembered that the starting point with \"Rational Criticism\"\n(and in that term is included the so-called \"Higher Criticism\")\nis unbelief in what is commonly called the miraculous, and if the\nfollowers of that school do not deny the possibility of the miraculous,\nthey at least say that it has never been proven; and further, they\nhold that \"a supernatural relation\"--such as the testimony of the\nThree Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, for instance--\"cannot be\naccepted as such, that it always implies credulity or imposture.\" [2]\nWhat chance, then, would the testimony of the Three Witnesses have\nwith those who regard it as \"an absolute rule of criticism to deny a\nplace in history to narratives of miraculous circumstances?\" This,\nthey hold, \"is simply the dictation of observation. Such facts have\nnever been really proved. All the pretended miracles near enough to be\nexamined are referable to illusion or imposture!\" [3] Nor is this the\nclimax of their absurdity, but they hold that the very \"honesty and\nsincerity\" of those who testify to the miraculous make them all the\nmore untrustworthy as witnesses! I know this seems incredible; but what\nwill be thought when I set down my authority for the statement, and it\nis learned that I quote no mere blatant declaimer against religion, nor\nany one of the many careless, or ill-informed writers of the so-called\n\"Rational School of Critics,\" but the sober-minded, and earnest man of\nscience, the late Professor Huxley? The statement quoted is from his\npaper on \"The Value of Witnesses to the Miraculous.\" [4] In the course\nof treating upon some statements made by one Eginhard (eighth century\nA.D.), concerning miraculous events connected with SS. Marcellinus and\nPetrus, the professor takes occasion to bear testimony to the high\ncharacter, acute intelligence, large instruction and sincerity of\nEginhard; then speaking of him as a witness to the miraculous, makes\nthis astonishing statement:\n\n    It is hard upon Eginhard to say, but it is exactly the honesty\n    and sincerity of the man which are his undoing as a witness to\n    the miraculous. He himself makes it quite obvious that when his\n    profound piety comes on the stage, his goodness and even his\n    perception of right and wrong make their exit.\n\nIn another paper to the same magazine, three months later, the\nprofessor, writing practically on the same subject, says:\n\n    Where the miraculous is concerned, neither undoubted honesty,\n    nor knowledge of the world, nor proved faithfulness as civil\n    historians, nor profound piety, on the part of eye witnesses and\n    contemporaries affords any guarantee of the objective truth of\n    their statements, when we know that a firm belief in the miraculous\n    was ingrained in their minds, and was the presupposition of their\n    observations and reasonings. [5]\n\nThis school of critics--and its following is much larger than is\ngenerally admitted--in this arbitrary way gets rid of the miracles\nof both the Old and the New Testament. The resurrection of Jesus, to\nthem, is but a figment of the over-wrought minds of his disciples; and\nhas no better foundation than the dreams and light visions of women,\nforemost among whom is Mary of Magdala, [6] the once possessed. The\nglorious departure of Jesus from the midst of his disciples, on Mount\nOlivet--after the resurrection--is merely a collective hallucination,\nan illusion--\"the air on these mountain tops is full of strange\nmirages!\" [7] The display of God's power on the day of Pentecost as\nrevealed in the Acts of the Apostles, is a thunderstorm. [8] The\nspeaking in tongues by the apostles on the same occasion and thereafter\nin the Church, is but the ecstatic utterance of incoherent sounds\nmistaken for a foreign language; while prophecy is but the fruit of\nmental excitement, a sort of ecstatic frenzy. [9]\n\nWith views such as these quite prevalent in Christendom, relative to\nmiraculous events, it is but to be expected that the testimony of the\nThree Witnesses would be accounted for on some similar hypothesis. The\nearly anti-Mormon writers generally assumed a conspiracy between Joseph\nSmith and the Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and hence accorded no\nimportance [10] to the testimony of either group--the Three or the\nEight. Later, however, the force of the testimony of the Witnesses\npersisting, and pressing for an explanation which the theory of\nconspiracy and collusion did not satisfy, there began to be advanced\nthe theory that probably Joseph Smith had in some way deceived the\nWitnesses and thus brought them to give their testimony to the world.\n\"Either these Witnesses were grossly deceived by a lying prophet,\"\nsays Daniel P. Kidder, who wrote an unfriendly book against the Church\nin 1843, \"or else they wickedly and wilfully perjured themselves,\nby swearing to what they knew to be false.\" \"The former,\" he adds,\n\"although not very creditable to their good sense, is yet the more\ncharitable opinion, and is rendered probable by the fact, that hundreds\nhave been deceived in the same way. It is confirmed, moreover, by\nthe well-known mental phenomenon, that to individuals accustomed to\ndisregard the laws of veracity, truth and falsehood are alike. They can\nas easily persuade themselves of the one as of the other.\" [11]\n\nAlso the Rev. Henry Caswell, professor of divinity in Kemper College,\nMissouri, writing in 1843, said:\n\n    He [Joseph Smith] then persuaded [Martin] Harris to believe, that\n    in some sense he actually beheld the wonderful plates. There\n    was a worthless fellow named Oliver Cowdery, residing in the\n    neighborhood, a school teacher by profession, and also a Baptist\n    preacher, who, together with one David Whitmer, was similarly\n    persuaded by our ingenious Prophet. [12]\n\nProfessor J. B. Turner, of Illinois College, Jacksonville, Illinois,\nin his \"Mormonism in All Ages\" (1842), takes practically the same\nposition, but goes a step further and undertakes to explain how the\nProphet \"deceived\" the Witnesses, or how he \"persuaded\" them to\nbelieve, \"in some sense,\" that they had actually beheld \"the wonderful\nplates.\" In doing this the professor quotes the revelation given\nthrough the Prophet, in June, 1829, to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer,\nand Martin Harris, previous to their viewing the Nephite plates. [13]\nAlso the revelation to Martin Harris in which he is promised that he\nshall be a witness to the truth of the Book of Mormon. [14] In the\nrevelations cited the Lord promises these men that they shall view the\nNephite record; and directs what they shall say after they have seen\nand heard the things promised. Because some of the phraseology of these\nrevelations is found also in the testimony of the Three Witnesses, the\nprofessor rushes to the conclusion that the Witnesses never really saw\nthe vision, nor heard the voice of God as promised, but were persuaded\nto accept these revelations through Joseph Smith as their witness to\nthe truth of the Book of Mormon. In other words Professor Turner's\ntheory is that the Witnesses had no other evidence than the word of\nJoseph Smith for the existence of the plates and other sacred things\nconnected with them! And he triumphantly exclaims:\n\n    Here, then, is the mighty power of God, the angel, and voice of the\n    Lord, which revealed such marvels in 1830, all concentrated in the\n    person, and pouring from the mouth of the Lord's Prophet in 1829. *\n    * * * The whole, then, of this mighty array of bombast, nonsense,\n    and blasphemy, resolves itself into this: \"Joe Smith is not only\n    'author and proprietor' of the Book of Mormon, as both he and his\n    Witnesses declare, but he is also 'power of god,' 'angel,' 'voice,'\n    'faith,' 'eyes,' 'ears,' and 'hands' for the Witnesses themselves;\n    that is, all the evidence the world has for the Book of Mormon,\n    after all this bluster, is 'Joe Smith's say so.' He says that\n    God instructs him, he instructs the Witnesses and the Witnesses\n    instruct the world. _Quod erat demonstradum_!\" (p. 179.)\n\nUndoubtedly the \"Illinois College\" of the great State of Illinois was\nto be congratulated upon having as its chief professor, in 1842, a man\nof such acuteness of intelligence and profoundness of wisdom! Nor was\nGovernor Thomas Ford, when, some years later, he wrote the history of\nIllinois, to be out-done by a mere professor of \"Illinois College;\" and\ntherefore advanced what he had heard concerning the manner in which\nthe testimony of the Witnesses was obtained. The Governor's peculiar\nrelation to \"Mormonism,\" no less than his exalted political station in\nIllinois, as also the fact that he is one of the principal historians\nof that very great state of the American Union, justifies me in setting\ndown what he has said upon the subject in hand:\n\n    It is related that the Prophet's early followers were anxious to\n    see the plates; the Prophet had always given out that they could\n    not be seen by the carnal eye, but must be spiritually discerned;\n    that the power to see them depended upon faith, and was the gift\n    of God to be obtained by fasting, prayer, mortification of the\n    flesh, and exercise of the spirit; that so soon as he could see\n    the evidence of a strong and lively faith in any of his followers,\n    they should be gratified in their holy curiosity. He set them to\n    continual prayer, and other spiritual exercises, to acquire this\n    lively faith by means of which the hidden things of God could be\n    spiritually discerned; and at last, when he could delay them no\n    longer, he assembled them in a room, and produced a box, which\n    he said contained the precious treasure. The lid was opened; the\n    Witnesses peeped into it, but making no discovery, for the box was\n    empty, they said, \"Brother Joseph, we do not see the plates.\" The\n    Prophet answered them, \"O ye of little faith! How long will God\n    bear with this wicked and perverse generation? Down on your knees,\n    brethren, every one of you, and pray God for the forgiveness of\n    your sins; and for a holy and living faith which cometh down from\n    heaven.\" The disciples dropped to their knees, and began to pray\n    in the fervency of their spirit, supplicating God for more than\n    two hours with fanatical earnestness; at the end of which time,\n    looking again into the box, they were now persuaded that they saw\n    the plates.\n\nThe governor then very sagely remarks, with a modesty so worthy to keep\ncompany with the exalted intelligence that could stoop to detail such\nmere drivel as above:\n\n    I leave it to philosophers to determine whether the fumes of an\n    enthusiastic and fanatical imagination are thus capable of binding\n    the mind and deceiving the senses by so absurd a delusion. [15]\n\nInadequate as these theories are to account for the testimony of the\nThree Witnesses, and contemptible as they are for their childishness,\nthey do not fail of more modern advocates. In 1899 a work published by\nthe Appletons, which, while it was a work of fiction, was nevertheless\nan earnest effort to account for Joseph Smith on some other basis\nthan that of his being a conscious fraud, wickedly bent on deceiving\nmankind, adopted the theory that \"Smith was genuinely deluded by the\nautomatic freaks of a vigorous but undisciplined brain, and that\nyielding to these he became confirmed in the hysterical temperament,\nwhich always adds to delusion, self-deception, and to self-deception\nhalf-conscious fraud. In his day it was necessary to reject a marvel or\nadmit its spiritual significance; granting an honest delusion as to his\nvisions and his book, his only choice lay between counting himself the\nsport of devils or the agent of heaven; an optimistic temperament cast\nthe die.\" [16]\n\nIt remained, however, for the year of grace 1902 to witness the setting\nforth of these theories under the learned formulas of a scientific\ntreatise, in which the testimony of the Witnesses received special\nconsideration. Mr. I. Woodbridge Riley, the author of the work referred\nto, after quoting the account of the exhibition of the plates by the\nangel to the Three Witnesses, as related in the History of Joseph\nSmith, [17] regards the duty before him to be to find to what degree\nthe manifestations are explicable on the grounds \"of subjective\nhallucination, induced by hypnotic suggestion.\" [18]\n\nMr. Riley proceeds to show that the Prophet possessed \"magnetic power,\"\nand that the Witnesses were \"sensitive subjects,\" and then says:\n\n    Given, then, such an influence, and sensitive subjects, and mental\n    suggestion could produce anything in the way of illusion. Thus the\n    explanation is subjective, not objective; it was captivation but\n    not fascination; there was leader and led, and the former succeeded\n    in inducing in the latter all the phantasmagoria of religious\n    ardor. * * * * Again, the vision of the plates may be related in\n    a larger way with what has gone before. Of the three classes of\n    hallucinations, two have already been explicated. Joseph's father\n    had the ordinary hallucination of dream; his grandfather that which\n    persists into the waking state. The vision of the Three Witnesses\n    is that form of hallucination which may occur either in the normal\n    state, or be induced in the state of light hypnosis. The former is\n    exemplified in day dreams; it is largely self-induced and implies\n    some capacity or visualizing. The latter may also occur with the\n    eyes open, but it is induced by the positive suggestion of another.\n    * * * * * As the hypnotized soldier will hear the voice of his old\n    commander, or the devout French peasant see his patron Saint, so\n    was it in these manifestations. The ideas and interest which were\n    uppermost in the mind were projected outwards. Harris had received\n    the first \"transcription of the gold plates;\" Whitmer had been\n    saturated with notions of ancient engravings; Cowdery, for weeks at\n    a time, had listened to the sound of a voice translating the record\n    of the Nephites. When the voice was again heard in the grove, when\n    the four sought \"by fervent and humble prayer to have a view of the\n    plates,\" there is little wonder that there arose a psychic mirage,\n    complete in every detail. Furthermore, the rotation in prayer,\n    the failure of the first two attempts, the repeated workings of\n    the Prophet over the doubting Harris, but served to bring out the\n    additional incentives to the hypnotic hallucination. [19]\n\nThus \"Rational Criticism\" would explain away the testimony given by\nthe Three Witnesses. The vision of the plates, of the angel, the glory\nof God that shone about the Witnesses, the voice of God from the midst\nof the glory--all was illusion, hallucination produced by mental\nsuggestion, on the part of the Prophet. All was chimerical, a mental\nmirage!\n\nBut what of the testimony of the Eight Witnesses--all so plain,\nmatter-of-fact, straight-forward and real? How shall that be accounted\nfor? Here all the miraculous is absent. It is a man to man transaction.\nNeither superstition, nor expectation of the supernatural can play any\npart in working up an illusion or mental mirage respecting what the\nEight Witnesses saw and handled. Their testimony must be accounted for\non some other hypothesis than that of hallucination. And indeed it\nis. Some regard it as a mere fabrication of interested parties to the\ngeneral scheme of deception. This, however, is an arbitrary proceeding,\nnot warranted by a just treatment of the facts involved. Others,\nimpressed with the evident honesty of the Witnesses, or not being able\nto account for the matter in any other way, admit that Joseph Smith\nmust have had plates which he exhibited to the Eight Witnesses, but\ndeceived them as to the manner in which he came in possession of them.\nOf the latter class is Pomeroy Tucker, whose home during the coming\nforth of the Book of Mormon was at Palmyra, where the book was printed,\nand who claims a personal acquaintance with the Prophet and all his\nassociates in the work at Palmyra. He refers to the fact of metallic\nplates covered with hieroglyphics having been discovered in various\nparts of the country, making special mention of some found in Mexico by\nProfessor Rafinesque, and mentioned by the Professor in his _Asiatic\nJournal_ for 1832; and some others found in Pike County, Illinois,\na cleansing of which by sulphuric acid brought out the characters\nengraven upon them very distinctly. Mr. Tucker then says:\n\n    Smith may have obtained through Rigdon (the literary genius\n    behind the screen) one of these glyphs, which resemble so nearly\n    his description of the book he pretended to find on Mormon Hill\n    [Cumorah]. For the credit of human character, it is better at any\n    rate to presume this, and that the eleven ignorant Witnesses were\n    deceived, by appearances, than to conclude that they wilfully\n    committed such gross moral perjury before high heaven as their\n    solemn averments imply. [20]\n\nRev. William Harris, writing in 1841, while not admitting the honesty\nof the Witnesses himself, suggests, nevertheless, the possibility of\nJoseph Smith deceiving the Eight Witnesses by presenting to them plates\nof his own manufacture:\n\n    Now, even admitting, for the sake of argument, that these Witnesses\n    are all honest and credible men, yet what would be easier than for\n    Smith to deceive them? Could he not easily procure plates to be\n    made, and inscribe thereon a set of characters, no matter what, and\n    then exhibit them to his intended Witnesses as genuine? What would\n    be easier than thus to impose on their credulity and weakness? And\n    if it were necessary to give them the appearance of antiquity, a\n    chemical process could easily effect the matter. [21]\n\nSo Daniel P. Kidder, writing in 1842, says, in commenting on the\ntestimony of the Witnesses:\n\n    That these men may have seen plates is very possible. * * * *\n    * That Smith showed them plates, which to ignorant men had the\n    appearance of gold, is easy enough to be believed; and if he had\n    manufactured the same, it would have been no great stretch of\n    ingenuity. [22]\n\nProfessor J.B. Turner, writing in 1842, adopts the same theory with\nreference to the testimony of the Eight Witnesses:\n\n    We are not only willing, but anxious to admit that Smith did show\n    some plates of some sort; and that they [the Eight Witnesses]\n    actually testify to the truth, so far as they are capable of\n    knowing it. [23]\n\nSo John Hyde, [24] 1857:\n\n    Every careful reader must be compelled to admit that Smith did have\n    some plates of some kind. Smith's antecedents and subsequents,\n    show that he did not have genius sufficient to originate the whole\n    conception, without some palpable suggestion. The having chanced to\n    have found some plates in a mound, as Wiley found his, or as Chase\n    discovered Smith's \"Peepstone,\" would be just such an event as\n    would suggest every peculiar statement Smith made about his plates,\n    at the same time account for what is known; and, therefore, it is\n    more than reasonable to conclude that Smith found his plates while\n    digging gold. This entirely destroys all the shadow of argument\n    so laboriously compiled by the \"Mormon\" apologists, which, even\n    without this, although their strongest argument, only proves that\n    he had some plates, but at the same time has no force of proof as\n    to Smith's obtaining them from an angel. [25]\n\nProfessor Riley, with some other anti-\"Mormon\" writers, suggests the\npossibility of collective hypnotization in the case of the Eight as\nwell as in that of the Three Witnesses: and hypnotization produced\nboth visual and sense illusion; but it is only a suggestion. While\nmaintaining, with the utmost confidence the mental mirage theory,\ninduced by hypnotic suggestion, as an adequate accounting for the\ntestimony of the Three Witnesses, he can only suggest it as a possible\nsolution of the testimony of the Eight Witnesses, and inclines rather\nto the theory of \"pure fabrication.\" \"It is a document,\" he remarks,\n\"due to the affidavit habit.\" [26]\n\nAs for the rest of the anti-\"Mormon\" critics on this point, they adopt\nthe pure fabrication theory, or admit that the Prophet Joseph had in\nhis possession some kind of plates which he either manufactured or\naccidentally discovered in his alleged searching after hidden treasures\nfor some of his employers, and which he really exhibited to the Eight\nWitnesses. But why have the \"pure fabrication\" theory to account for\nthe testimony of the Eight Witnesses, and the \"mental hallucination\"\ntheory to account for the testimony of the Three? If the testimony of\nthe Eight is pure fabrication is not the testimony of the Three pure\nfabrication also? Or, at least, is it not most likely to be so? For if\nconscious fraud, and pure fabrication lurks anywhere in Joseph Smith's\nand the Eleven Witnesses' account of the coming forth of the Book of\nMormon, would it not exist throughout the whole proceeding? Professor\nTurner, already twice quoted, in admitting that the Prophet had in his\npossession some sort of plates, which he showed the Eight Witnesses,\nsays that he is anxious to make the admission \"in order to keep up\nthe just and charitable equilibrium between the knaves and fools in\n'Mormonism' and the world at large. Three to Eight is at once a happy\nand reasonable proportion. We will not disturb it. It is gratifying\nto human philanthropy to be able to account for all the facts in the\ncase by this charitable solution.\" This sarcasm, however, is not a\n\"solution;\" nor is it refutation of the testimony of the Witnesses;\nnor is it argument; nor anything but the fuming of a small mind; yet\nit is the only \"reason\" I have ever heard advanced for adopting the\nhallucination theory in the case of the Three Witnesses, and either the\npure fabrication or deception theory in the case of the Eight Witnesses.\n\nThe testimony of the Three and the Eight Witnesses, respectively,\nstands or falls together. If the pure fabrication theory is adopted\nto explain away the testimony of the Eight Witnesses, there is no\nreason why it should not be adopted to explain away the testimony of\nthe Three. But every circumstance connected with the testimony of all\nthese Witnesses, as we have seen, cries out against the theory of\n\"pure fabrication.\" It is in recognition of the evident honesty of the\nThree Witnesses that the theory of mental hallucination is invented\nto account for their testimony; as it is also the evident honesty of\nthe Eight Witnesses that leads to the admission by many anti-\"Mormon\"\nwriters that Joseph Smith must have had some kind of plates which he\nexhibited to the Eight Witnesses, though he may not have obtained them\nthrough supernatural means.\n\nThe theory of pure fabrication of the testimony of the Witnesses is\nabsolutely overwhelmed by the evidence of their honesty.\n\nThe hallucination theory breaks down under the force of the\nmatter-of-fact testimony of the Eight Witnesses, from which all\npossible elements of hallucination are absent.\n\nThe manifestation of the divine power, through which the Three\nWitnesses received their testimony, destroys the theory of deception\nalleged to have been practiced by the Prophet on the credulity of the\nEight Witnesses by exhibiting plates either manufactured by himself or\naccidentally discovered.\n\nSuch, then, is the force of this direct testimony of the Eleven\nWitnesses to the truth of the Book of Mormon--the testimony of the\nThree and the Eight when considered together. It is so palpably true\nthat it cannot be resolved into illusion or mistake. It is so evidently\nhonest that it cannot be resolved into pure fabrication. It is of such\na nature that it could not possibly have been the result of deception\nwrought by the cunning of Joseph Smith. There remains after these but\none other theory: \"The Witnesses were honest.\" They saw and heard and\nhandled what they say they saw, and heard, and handled. Their testimony\nstands not only unimpeached, but unimpeachable.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Renan, _The Apostles_, p. 67 and note 46.\n\n2. Renan, _Life of Jesus_, introduction, p. 14; also New Witnesses,\nvol. I, chapter 1.\n\n3. Renan, _The Apostles_, p. 37.\n\n4. _The Nineteenth Century_, March, 1889.\n\n5. _The Nineteenth Century_, June, 1889. Professor Huxley's papers\nquoted here will also be found in _Agnosticism and Christianity_, pp.\n84, _et seq._ and 96 _et seq._\n\n6. Renan closes his treatise upon this subject as follows: \"The glory\nof the resurrection, then, belongs to Mary of Magdala. After Jesus it\nis Mary who had done most of the foundation of Christianity. The shadow\ncreated by the delicate sensibility of Magdalene wanders still on the\nearth. Queen and patroness of idealists, Magdalene knew better than any\none how to assert her dream, and impose on every one the vision of her\npassionate soul. Her great womanly vision: 'He has risen,' has been the\nbasis of the faith of humanity. Away, impotent reason! Apply no cold\nanalysis to this _chef d'oeuvre_ of idealism and of love. If wisdom\nrefuses to console this poor human race, betrayed by fate, let folly\nattempt the enterprise. Where is the sage who has given to the world as\nmuch joy as the possessed Mary of Magdala?\"--_The Apostles_, p. 61.\n\n7. Renan. He thus tells the story of the appearing of Jesus to the five\nhundred brethren at once: \"More than five hundred persons were already\ndevoted to the memory of Jesus. In the absence of the lost Master, they\nobeyed the chief of the disciples, and above all, Peter. One day when\nfollowing their spiritual chiefs, the Galileans had climbed one of the\nmountains to which Jesus had often led them, they fancied they saw\nhim again. The air on these mountain tops is full of strange mirages.\nThe same illusion which had previously taken place in behalf of the\nmore intimate of the apostles [he refers to the transfiguration, Matt.\n17] was produced again. The whole assembly imagined that they saw the\ndivine spectre displayed in the clouds; they fell upon their faces and\nworshiped.\" _The Apostles_, p. 76.\n\n8. Renan. This is his \"rational\" (!) conception of the event: \"One day\nwhen they were assembled together a thunder storm arose. A violent wind\nburst the windows open--the sky seemed on fire. Thunder storms in those\ncountries are accompanied by wonderful illuminations; the atmosphere is\nfurrowed, as it were, on every side with garbs of flame. Whether the\nelectric fluid had penetrated into the very chamber itself or whether a\ndazzling flash of lightning had suddenly illuminated all their faces,\nthey were convinced that the spirit had entered, and that he was poured\nout upon the head of each one of them under the form of tongues of\nfire.\" _The Apostles_, p. 95.\n\n9. Renan, _The Apostles_, p. 98 _et seq._\n\n10. Thus Alexander Campbell in _Millennial Harbinger_, vol. II, (1831)\npp. 86-96. Also _Howe's Mormonism_ (1834). He thinks the Witnesses\nincompetent, \"Nor will any one disagree with us, when we shall have\nproven that the Book of Mormon was a joint speculation between\nthe 'Author and Proprietor.' [Joseph Smith is alluded to] and the\nWitnesses,\" ch. 7.\n\n11. _Mormonism and the Mormons_, by Daniel P. Kidder, pp. 54, 55.\n\n12. _Prophet of the Nineteenth Century_, p. 46.\n\n13. Doc. and Cov. sec. 17.\n\n14. Doc. and Cov. 5:24-26.\n\n15. _Hist. Illinois_, (Ford) pp. 257-8.\n\n16. _The Mormon Prophet_, by Lily Dougall, preface, p. 7.\n\n17. History of the Church, vol. I, pp. 54, 55.\n\n18. \"_The Founder of Mormonism_. A Psychological Study of Joseph\nSmith, Jr., by I. Woodbridge Riley, one time instructor in English,\nNew York University,\" (Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1902). It\ncannot be denied that Mr. Riley's book is an ingenious work, and\nbears evidence of wide erudition, and an intimate knowledge of the\nsubject. Mr. Riley's treatise, a book of 426 pages, was offered to the\nPhilosophical Faculty of Yale University as a thesis for the degree\nof Doctor of Philosophy. His materials were also used in 1898 for a\n\"Master of Art\" thesis on the \"Metaphysics of Mormonism.\" The book has\nan introductory, preface, by Professor George Trumbull Ladd, of Yale\nUniversity, commending the work by laudatory praise of it. The author\nhimself explains that his aim is \"to examine Joseph Smith's character\nand achievements from the standpoint of recent psychology.\" He makes a\ncareful pathological study of the ancestors of the Prophet, and reaches\nthe conclusion that Joseph Smith's \"abnormal experiences\" (meaning\nhis visions, revelations and visitations of angels) are the result\nof epilepsy. This is his working hypothesis in accounting for Joseph\nSmith, supplemented by what he considers is the Prophet's unconscious\nliability to self-hypnosis, and his hypnotic power over others\nsufficient to make them partakers in his own vivid hallucinations. The\nhypothesis is an adroitly conceived one, and worked out on lines of\nsophistry that by many will be mistaken for sound reasoning. The whole\ntheory is overthrown, however, by the work the Prophet achieved, the\ninstitution he founded, the Church, the religion he established, the\nphilosophy he planted; all of which to madness would be impossible;\nbesides, as remarked by M. Renan, \"Hitherto it has never been given to\naberration of mind to produce a serious effect upon the progress of\nhumanity.\" _Life of Jesus_, p. 105.\n\nAn extended review of Mr. Riley's book will be found in the author's\nwork, _Defense of the Faith and the Saints_, pp. 39-61.\n\n19. _The Founder of Mormonism_, by I. Woodbridge Riley, pp. 226, 227,\n228.\n\n20. _Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism_, by Pomeroy Tucker, p. 75.\n\n21. _Mormonism Portrayed_, by Rev. William Harris, pp. 410.\n\n22. _Mormonism_, Kidder, pp. 52, 53.\n\n23. _Mormonism in all Ages_, Turner, p. 178.\n\n24. _Mormonism, Its Leaders and Designs_, by John Hyde, Jr., pp. 269,\n270.\n\n25. _Mormonism, Its Leaders and Designs_, by John Hyde, Jr., pp. 269,\n270.\n\n26. _The Founder of Mormonism_, pp. 228-231.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nTHE TESTIMONY OF INCIDENTAL WITNESSES.\n\nIn addition to the testimony of the Three Witnesses and the testimony\nof the Eight Witnesses to the fact that Joseph Smith was in possession\nof the Nephite plates, the Urim and Thummim and the breast plate, I\npresent also the testimony of persons who may be said to have become\nacquainted with these facts in an incidental way.\n\nWhen the strong sympathy and mutual confidence subsisting between the\nProphet and his mother, Lucy Smith, is taken into account, it would\nbe more than passing strange if she did not in some substantial way\nhave personal knowledge of her son being in possession of the Nephite\nplates, and the things found with them. That she had this knowledge\nappears in the sequel. In 1845, while residing at Nauvoo \"Mother\nSmith,\" as she was affectionately called by the Saints, dictated her\nmemoirs to Mrs. Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, which are now published\nunder the title _History of the Prophet Joseph, by his Mother, Lucy\nSmith_. [1] In her account of her son's movements on the night of the\n21st, and the morning of the 22nd of September, 1827--the day Joseph\nSmith obtained possession of the Nephite record--Lucy Smith states that\nin consequence of having visitors at their home--these visitors were\nMr. Joseph Knight and Mr. Josiah Stoal--she was detained until past\nmidnight of the 21st, in her domestic duties; that while so engaged\nJoseph came to her and asked if she had a chest with a lock and key.\nShe surmised instantly for what use he wanted it, for evidently the\nfamily knew the appointed time had come to secure the plates. A few\nminutes after this Emma Smith, the Prophet's wife, passed through\nthe room, dressed for riding, and a few minutes later she and Joseph\ndeparted with the horse and wagon of one of their guests, Mr. Joseph\nKnight. The family was astir early in the morning and Mr. Knight was\nsomewhat exercised on finding his horse gone, and Mother Smith did\nnot feel at liberty to say who had taken him. Meantime the Prophet\nJoseph returned with the horse and wagon. And now the statement of the\nProphet's mother:\n\n    I trembled so with fear, lest all might be lost in consequence of\n    some failure in keeping the commandments of God, that I was under\n    the necessity of leaving the room in order to conceal my feelings.\n    Joseph saw this, and said, \"Do not be uneasy, mother, all is\n    right--see here I have got a key.\" I knew not what he meant, but\n    took the article of which he spoke into my hands, and examined\n    it. He took it again and left me, but said nothing respecting the\n    record. * * * * That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key,\n    was indeed, nothing more nor less than the Urim and Thummim, and it\n    was by this that the angel showed him many things which he saw in\n    vision; by which also he could ascertain, at any time, the approach\n    of danger, either to himself or the record, and on account of which\n    he always kept the Urim and Thummim about his person. [2]\n\nAfter relating the particulars about the Prophet bringing home the\nplates and securing them, she makes the following statement:\n\n    Soon after this, he came in from work, one afternoon, and after\n    remaining a short time, he put on his great coat, and left the\n    house. I was engaged at the time, in an upper room, in preparing\n    some oilcloths for painting. [3] When he returned, he requested\n    me to come down stairs. I told him that I could not leave my work\n    just then; yet, upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go\n    down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breast\n    plate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin\n    handkerchief, so thin that I could feel its proportions without any\n    difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other,\n    and extended from the neck downwards, so far as the center of the\n    stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the\n    same material, for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two\n    of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were\n    designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of\n    my fingers, (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end\n    of them, to be convenient in fastening. After I had examined it,\n    Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim. [4]\n\nI next call attention to a statement made by Parley P. Pratt concerning\nan item of experience when performing a brief mission among some\nbranches of the Church in western New York, in company with the Prophet\nJoseph. He says:\n\n    Arriving in Geneseo, we met with the other elders who had started\n    from Kirtland on the same mission, and with others who were local,\n    and held a general conference. Among those whose hospitality we\n    shared in that vicinity (Geneseo) was old Father Beaman and his\n    amiable, interesting family. He was a good singer, and so were\n    his three daughters; we were much edified and comforted in their\n    society, and were deeply interested in hearing the old gentleman\n    and Brother Joseph converse on their early acquaintance and\n    history. He [Beaman] had been intimate with Joseph before the first\n    organization of the Church; and assisted him in preserving the\n    plates of the Book of Mormon from the enemy, and had at one time\n    had them concealed under his own hearth. [5]\n\nIn consequence of the worldly circumstances of his father, the Prophet\nwas under the necessity, at times, of finding employment away from\nhome. In the month of October, 1825, he hired with an old gentleman by\nthe name of Josiah Stoal, who lived in Chenango county, in the state of\nNew York, and was put to work, with other hands, by the old gentleman,\nto search for a silver mine which the traditions of the neighborhood\nsaid had been opened by the Spaniards near Harmony, Susquehanna\ncounty, state of Pennsylvania. It was here that the Prophet made the\nacquaintance of the Knights, who were well-to-do-farmers and millers\nin that neighborhood. It appears from all the circumstances that the\nProphet took Josiah Stoal and Joseph Knight into his confidence, [6] as\nto the time when he was to receive the plates of the Book of Mormon,\nand hence their presence at the Smith residence on the morning of the\n22nd of September, 1827. Messrs. Knight and Stoal had business at\nRochester, New York, and in leaving their home in Chenango county, so\ntimed their journey that they arrived at the Smith residence on the\n20th of September and remained there for a number of days; [7] and\nwere not only present when Joseph Smith obtained the records, but were\nthere when he brought them to the house a day or two later. And now the\ntestimony of Mr. Stoal. Under date of December 19, 1843, a Mrs. Martha\nL. Campbell, writing to the Prophet Joseph Smith, at the request of Mr.\nStoal, and for him, says:\n\n    Brother Smith:--\n\n    By request of Brother Stoal I now sit down to write you. He is\n    quite unwell, and is sometimes fearful that he cannot stand it\n    through the winter, and wishes me to say to you that he wants your\n    prayers and the prayers of all the Saints for the recovery of his\n    health to enable him to gather among the Saints; and he also wishes\n    to know if you could receive him as a brother. He says he shall\n    come out [to Nauvoo] next spring if he lives and has health to\n    endure the journey. He says if he remains as well as [at] present\n    he shall venture to start. He says he has never staggered at the\n    foundation of the work, for he knew too much concerning it. If I\n    understood him right he was the first person that took the plates\n    out of your hands the morning you brought them in, and he observed,\n    Blessed is he that sees and believeth, and more blessed is he that\n    believeth without seeing, and he says he has seen and believeth. He\n    seems anxious to get there [to Nauvoo] to renew his covenants with\n    the Lord. [8]\n\nThe whole letter is of interest, but this is the only part bearing upon\nthe Book of Mormon, and is referred to as testimony for this reason: It\nis a wholly undesigned incident in connection with the coming forth of\nthe work, and is one which occurs under circumstances that render it\nof first rate importance as testimony. It is a fact directly stated in\nthe history of Mother Lucy Smith that Josiah Stoal and Joseph Knight\nwere guests at the homestead of the Smiths from the 20th to the 24th,\nor 25th of September, 1827; and now a letter written on December 19,\n1843, sixteen years later, without any design whatever of corroborating\nthe fact of Lucy Smith's statement, also says that Josiah Stoal was at\nthe Smith residence, and that he received the plates from the hands of\nthe Prophet, on the occasion of his bringing them home, remarking at\nthe time, \"Blessed is he that seeth and believeth, and more blessed is\nhe that believeth without seeing.\" So there can be no question but what\nJosiah Stoal had the most palpable evidence that Joseph Smith had the\nNephite record; and sixteen years afterwards, though he had neglected\nhis privileges as a member of the Church, and had not followed her\nfortunes, yet he reaffirms his faith in the work which the Book of\nMormon may be said to have inaugurated, and declares that he has\n\"never staggered at the foundation of the work, for he knew too much\nconcerning it.\" That is, he had too strong evidence of the reality of\nthose facts in which the work had its origin to doubt their truth.\n\nI have laid much stress, but not without good reason, upon the direct\ntestimony of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses to the truth\nof the Book of Mormon; and, of course, their testimony must forever\nstand as of first importance in the direct external evidences of\nthe book, but I confess also that this incidental testimony appeals\nstrongly to me, and when I think how in harmony it all is with the\ncircumstances surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, to\nmy mind it wonderfully strengthens the direct statements of the other\nWitnesses.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. See _Improvement Era_, vol. V. Mother Smith's Memoirs were first\npublished by Orson Pratt in Liverpool, England, in 1853, under the\ntitle _Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His\nProgenitors for Many Generations_. As \"Mother Smith\" dictated chiefly\nfrom memory, there were some inaccuracies in her work, as first\npublished by Elder Orson Pratt. Afterwards the work was corrected by\na committee of which the late George A. Smith, Church Historian, was\nchairman. It is this revised copy from which the _Era_ edition was\npublished in 1902, and which is cited in these notes.\n\n2. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 23.\n\n3. Lucy Smith followed the business of hand painting oilcloth covers\nfor tables, stands, etc., see her _History of the Prophet Joseph_, ch.\n17.\n\n4. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 24.\n\n5. _Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt_, p. 117.\n\n6. The fact that the Prophet took these two men into his confidence\nis supported by the testimony of Mr. John Reid, Esq., in a speech\nbefore the state convention held in Nauvoo, at which Joseph Smith was\nnominated to be president of the United States. Mr. Reid had known the\nProphet in an early day when he was working for Mr. Stoal in Chenango\ncounty, and thus speaks of him: \"After living in that neighborhood\nabout three years, enjoying the good feelings of his acquaintances,\nas a worthy youth, he told his particular friends that he had had\na revelation from God to go to the west about eighty miles, to his\nfather's, in which neighborhood he would find hid in the earth an old\nhistory written on golden plates, which would give great light and\nknowledge concerning the destiny of all nations, kindreds, and tongues;\nhe said that he distinctly heard the voice of him that spoke. Joseph\nKnight, one of the fathers of your church, a worthy man and my intimate\nfriend, went with him. * * * In a few days his friends returned with\nthe glad news that Joseph had found the plates and had gone down to his\nfather-in-law's for the purpose of translating them.\" _History of the\nChurch_, vol. I, p. 94.\n\n7. _History of the Prophet Joseph_, by Lucy Smith, ch. 23.\n\n8. The original of Mrs. Campbell's letter is on file at the Church\nHistorian's Office, package 4.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nTHE PROBABILITY OF JOSEPH SMITH'S STORY OF THE ORIGIN, TRANSLATION AND\nFINAL DISPOSITION OF THE PLATES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.\n\nI.\n\n_The Ministration of Angels is Neither Unscriptural nor\nUnreasonable._\n\nBy the probability of Joseph Smith's story, I mean, of course, the\nprobability of Moroni revealing the existence of the Book of Mormon to\nhim; of Moroni's delivering to him the plates and the Urim and Thummim;\nof the Prophet's translating the record by the gift and power of God,\nby means of the Urim and Thummim; of his returning the plates to\nMoroni, who to this day, doubtless, has them under his guardianship.\n\nI am aware of the fact that the miraculous is usually regarded with\nsuspicion; that such a thing as the ministration of angels in what\nare called these \"hard and scientific times\" is generally scouted by\nmost of those who make any pretensions to science; that a school of\nwriters has arisen whose main slogan in the search of truth is that the\nmiraculous is the impossible, and that all narratives which include\nthe miraculous are to be rigidly rejected, as implying credulity or\nimposture; [1] that even professed believers in the Bible, who accept\nas historically true the Bible account of the ministration of angels,\ninsists that the age in which such things occurred has long since\npassed away, and that such ministrations are not to be expected now.\nBut on this subject the word of God stands sure. According to that\nword there have been ministrations of angels in times past; and there\nwill be such ministrations to the last day of recorded time. As to the\nministration of angels in the past, according to holy scripture, the\nreader will remember the circumstance of angels, together with the\nLord, visiting Abraham at his tent-home in the plains of Mamre, and\npartaking of his hospitality; of the appearance of angels to direct\nthe flight of Lot from one of the doomed cities of the plain; of\nJacob's physical contact with the angel with whom he wrestled until the\nbreaking of the day; of the angel who went before the camp of Israel in\ntheir march from bondage; and scores of other instances recorded in the\nOld Testament where heavenly personages co-operated with men on earth\nto bring to pass the holy purposes of God.\n\nOf instances in the New Testament, the reader will recall the\nministration of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, announcing the future\nbirth of John the Baptist; of the angel who appeared to Mary to make\nknown the high honor bestowed upon her in becoming the mother of our\nLord Jesus; of the appearance of Moses and Elias to the Savior and\nthree of his disciples, to whom they ministered; of the angel who\nrolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, and announced\nthe resurrection of the Savior; of the men in white (angels), who were\npresent at the ascension of Jesus from the midst of his disciples, and\nannounced the fact that the time would come when that same Jesus should\ncome again to the earth in like manner as they had seen him go into\nheaven; of the angel who delivered Peter from prison, and a dozen other\ninstances where angels co-operated with men in bringing to pass the\npurposes of God in the dispensation of the meridian of time.\n\nWith reference to the angels who in ages future from that in which\nthe apostles lived ministering to men and co-operating to bring to\npass future purposes of God, the reader will recall the saying of the\nSavior concerning the gathering together of the elect in the hour of\nGod's judgment: \"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a\ntrumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,\nfrom one end of heaven to the other.\" [2] He will recall, also, the\npromise in Malachi concerning the same times: \"Behold, I will send you\nElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of\nthe Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,\nand the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite\nthe earth with a curse.\" [3] He will recollect the promised coming\nof the angel to restore the gospel in the hour of God's judgment,\nconcerning whom John says: \"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of\nheaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on\nthe earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,\nsaying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him: for the hour\nof his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth,\nand the sea, and the fountains of water.\" [4] Also the angel who will\ndeclare the fall of Babylon: \"And there followed another angel, saying,\nBabylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all\nnations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the\nthird angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship\nthe beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in\nhis hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.\" [5]\n\"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,\nhaving great power; and the earth was lighted with his glory. And\nhe cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is\nfallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold\nof every foul spirit.\" [6] The reader of the scriptures, I say, will\nreadily recall all these ministrations of angels, future from the time\nin which the sacred writer recorded them, as also the promise of the\nministration of many other angels, in bringing to pass the great things\nof God in the last days, even to the gathering together in one all\nthings in Christ. [7]\n\nIt cannot be held to be unscriptural, then, when Joseph Smith claimed\nthat by the ministration of angels he received a revelation from God--a\ndispensation of the gospel.\n\nBut what shall we say to that very large number of people who do not\nbelieve the Bible? How shall we so appeal to them as to secure their\nattention in these matters? Addressing himself to those who questioned\nat least the likelihood of the resurrection, Paul asked: \"Why should\nit be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the\ndead?\" So say I respecting those who do not believe in the Bible,\nbut pride themselves on accepting and believing all those things\nestablished by the researches of men--by science.--Why should it be\nthought a thing incredible by them that angels should visit our earth\nin order to communicate knowledge not otherwise, perhaps, obtainable?\nOur scientists live in the midst of ascertained facts respecting the\nuniverse, so that interplanetary communication ought to be looked upon\nas a thing so rational that to doubt its probability would be esteemed\nas folly?\n\nA word as to this proposition: Of the change of view respecting our\nown earth and its relations in the universe, I have already spoken [8]\nin some detail. I have considered the transition from the conception\nof the earth as the center of the universe, with the sun, the moon\nand all the stars brought into existence for its convenience, or\nbeauty, or glory, to the conception of the earth as one of the smaller\nplanets of a group moving regularly about the sun as their center,\nand the probability of each fixed star being the center of such a\ngroup of planets. The ascertained existence of millions of other suns\nthan ours, evidently the centers of planetary systems, being granted,\nthe view that these planets are the habitation of sentient beings\nseems a concomitant fact so probable that one is astonished, if not\na little provoked, at that conservatism which hesitates to accept\na hypothesis so reasonable in itself, and so well sustained by the\nanalogy of the existence of sentient beings on our own planet. The\nastronomers tell us some of these fixed stars--these suns that are\nprobably the centers of planetary systems--have existed for hundreds\nof thousands of years, for so distant are they from us in space that\nit would require that period of time for their light to reach our\nearth, hence they must have existed all that time. It is evident, then,\nthat some of them may be many times older than our sun; so, too, are\nthe planets that encircle them. From this conclusion to the one that\nthe sentient beings that doubtless dwell upon these planets are far\nin advance of the inhabitants of our earth, intellectually, morally,\nspiritually and in everything that makes for higher development, and\nmore perfect civilization, is but a little step, and rests on strong\nprobability. From these conclusions, again, to the conceived likelihood\nof the presiding Intelligences on some of these worlds to which our\nearth may sustain peculiar relations of order or affinity--having\nboth the power and the inclination to communicate from time to time\nby personal messengers, or other means, to chosen men of our own\nrace--is another step, not so large as the others, by which we have\nbeen led to this point, and one that rests also upon a basis of strong\nprobability. And this is the phenomena of the visitation of angels\nand revelation testified of in the scriptures. Such phenomena are\nmistakenly considered supernatural. They are not so really. They are\nvery matter of fact realities; perfectly natural, and in harmony with\nthe intellectual order or economy of a universe where intelligence and\ngoodness govern, and love unites the brotherhood of the universe in\nbonds of sympathetic interest and kinship.\n\nIn view of these reflections, why, I ask, should it be thought a thing\nincredible with scientific men that there should be such phenomena\nas the visitation of angels, or other means of interplanetary\ncommunication among the many planets and planetary systems which make\nup the universe? Surely it will not be argued that it is impossible for\nsentient beings to pass from world to world, because man in his present\nstate is bound to earth by the force of gravitation, and that the same\nforce would doubtless operate upon the inhabitants of other worlds, and\nbind them to their local habitation as we are bound to ours. The beings\nwhom we call angels, though of the same race and nature with ourselves,\nmay have passed through such physical changes as to render them quite\nindependent of the clogging force called gravitation. We may not,\ntherefore, place the same limitations upon their powers in this kind as\nupon man's in his present physical state.\n\nAs for other means of communication from intelligences of other worlds\nto our own, they will not be regarded as impossible in the presence of\nthe achievements of men in such matters. By means of magnetic telegraph\nsystems, man has established instant communication with all parts of\nthe world. Not the highest mountain ranges, not deserts, not even\nocean's wide expanse, have been sufficient to bar his way. He has made\nthe earth a net-work of his cables and telegraph lines, until nearly\nevery part of the earth is within the radius of instant communication.\nIn 1896, the National Electric Light association celebrated the\ntriumphs of electricity by holding a national electrical exposition in\nNew York City. The occasion was the completion of the electric works\nat Niagara Falls. For ages, that great cataract had thundered out the\nevidence of its mighty power to heedless savages and frontiersmen;\nbut modern man looked upon it, and by the expenditure of five million\ndollars, harnessed it, applied its forces to his contrivances, made\nit generate electric force which lights the cities, drives the street\ncars, and turns the wheels of industry for many miles around; and even\ntransmitted its force to New York City, four hundred and sixty miles\ndistant! It was on that occasion that Governor Levi P. Morton, upon\nthe declaration being made that the exposition was open, turned a\ngolden key by which four cannons were instantaneously fired in the four\nquarters of the republic, one in Augusta, Maine, one in San Francisco,\none in front of the public building at St. Paul, another in the public\nPark in New Orleans. This discharge of cannon was accomplished by a\ncurrent of electricity generated at Niagara, and transmitted over the\nlines of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company. Later, in the course of\nthe exposition, a message was sent all over the world, and returned to\nNew York within fifty minutes. The message read:\n\n    God created nature's treasuries; science utilizes electric power\n    for the grandeur of the nations and peace of the world.\n\nThe reply, also sent over the world, was:\n\n    Mighty Niagara, nature's wonder, serving men through the world's\n    electric circuit, proclaims to all people science triumphant and\n    the beneficent Creator.\n\nThe distance traversed by each of these messages was about twenty-seven\nthousand five hundred miles, touching nearly all the great centers of\npopulation in the world, and that within the almost incredible time of\nfifty minutes!\n\nAgain, in 1898, on the occasion of California's Golden Jubilee, that\nis, her semi-centennial celebration of the discovery of gold in the\nstate, William McKinley, then president of the United States, seated\nin his office at the White House, in Washington, D. C., pressed an\nelectric button which rang a bell in the Mechanic's Pavilion in San\nFrancisco, and formally opened the mining exposition, though the\npresident was distant about three thousand miles! The press dispatches,\nat the time of the advent, gave the following graphic description of\nthe event just related:\n\n    By an electric sensation, as indescribable as the thrill of the\n    discoverer's cry of \"gold,\" the president of the nation sent from\n    Washington the signal which announced the opening of the fair.\n    As the bell clanged its clear note, and the Great West was for\n    an instant connected with the distant East, a hush fell on the\n    gathered thousands; then, moved by a common impulse, the vast\n    throng burst into cheers. Close following on the touch which\n    sounded the sweet-toned bell came the greeting of President\n    McKinley, announcing \"the marking of a mighty epoch in the history\n    of California.\" About him, over three thousand miles away, stood\n    the representatives of the state in Congress, their thoughts flying\n    quicker even than telegraphic message to the people gathered in the\n    great pavilion. And so, united by the material ties of the electric\n    wire, and the subtle powers of thought, the East and the West were\n    held for a few brief moments by a community of good wishes.\n\nWonderful as all this is, it is now eclipsed by wireless\ntelegraphy--now passed beyond its experimental stages, and rapidly\ncoming into the practical commerce of the nations. Man is no\nlonger dependent upon a network of wires and cables for means of\ncommunication. The atmosphere enveloping the world affords sufficient\nmeans for conducting vibrations made intelligible by the instrument\nof man's invention; and today, even across the surface of the broad\nAtlantic, messages are transmitted by this means as easily as by\nmeans of the cable lines. So delicate and perfect are the receiving\ninstruments, that from the roar of our great cities' traffic, the\nmessage is picked out of the confusion and faithfully registered.\n\nThe argument based on all these facts, is this: If man with his limited\nintelligence, and his limited experience, has contrived means by which\nhe stands in instant communication with all parts of the world, why\nshould it be thought a thing incredible that God, from the midst of\nhis glory, from the heart of the universe, is within instant means\nof communication, with all parts of his creations? Especially since\nit is quite generally conceded, by scientists, that all the fixed\nstars and all the planetary systems encircling them, float in and\nare connected by the ether, a substance more subtle and sensitive to\nvibrations than the atmosphere which surrounds our planet, and suggests\nthe media of communication. To all this, however, I fancy that I hear\nthe reply of the men of science: \"We do not deny the possibility or\neven the probability of communication from superior Intelligences of\nother planets, we simply say that up to the present time there is no\nconvincing testimony that such communications have been received.\"\nThis, however, is a miserable begging of the whole question; and an\nunwarranted repudiation of the testimony of those who have borne\nwitness to the verity of such communications. The testimony of Moses\nand the prophets, of Jesus and the apostles, of Joseph Smith and his\nassociates, may not thus be put out of the reckoning. The character\nof these witnesses, their service to mankind, what they suffered and\nsacrificed for their testimonies, make them worthy of belief; and,\nsince in the nature of things there is nothing which makes their\ntestimony improbable, but, on the contrary, much that makes it very\nprobable, is it not beneath the dignity of scientists to refuse to\naccord to their statements a patient investigation and belief?\n\nII.\n\n_To Believe in Media for Ascertaining Divine Knowledge is Neither\nUnscriptural nor Unreasonable._\n\nWhatever the position of unbelievers in the Bible may be with reference\nto Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon by means of Urim and\nThummim, or \"Interpreters,\" as they were called by the Nephites,\nsurely believers in the Bible cannot regard such a claim as impossible\nor improbable, since it is matter of common knowledge that the High\nPriest in ancient Israel possessed Urim and Thummim, and by means of\nthem received divine communications. I am not unmindful of the fact\nthat a diversity of opinion obtains respecting Urim and Thummim of the\nscriptures, of what they consisted, and the exact use of them, but this\nI think may be set down as ascertained fact; they were precious and\ndoubtless transparent stones placed in the breast plate of the High\nPriest, and were a means through which God communicated to him divine\nknowledge--the divine will. [9]\n\nJosephus' description of Urim and Thummim is as follows:\n\n    I will now treat of what I before omitted, the garment of the\n    high priest: for he [Moses] left no room for the evil practices\n    of [false] prophets; but if some of that sort should attempt to\n    abuse the divine authority, he left it to God to be present at his\n    sacrifices when he pleased, and when he pleased to be absent. And\n    he was willing this should be known, not to the Hebrews only, but\n    to those foreigners also who were there. For as to these stones,\n    which we told you before, the high priest bore on his shoulders,\n    which were sardonyxes, (and I think it needless to describe their\n    nature, they being known to everybody) the one of them shined out\n    when God was present at their sacrifices; I mean that which was in\n    the nature of a button on his right shoulder, bright rays darting\n    out thence, and being seen even by those that were most remote;\n    which splendor yet was not before natural to the stone. This has\n    appeared a wonderful thing to such as have not so far indulged\n    themselves in philosophy, as to despise divine revelation. Yet will\n    I mention what is still more wonderful than this: for God declared\n    beforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bore on\n    his breast, and which were inserted into his breastplate, when they\n    should be victorious in battle; for so great a splendor shone forth\n    from them before the army began to march, that all the people were\n    sensible of God's being present for their assistance. Whence it\n    came to pass that those Greeks who had a veneration for our laws,\n    because they could not possibly contradict this, called that breast\n    plate the Oracle. Now this breast plate, and this sardonyx, left\n    off shining two hundred years before I composed this book, God\n    having been displeased at the transgressions of his laws. [10]\n\nSince this kind of _media_, then, was used by prophets in ancient\nIsrael, through which to obtain divine knowledge, it should not\nbe matter of astonishment, much less of ridicule, or regarded as\nimprobable that when a colony of Israelites were led away from the\nmain body of the people, a similar _media_ for obtaining the will of\nthe Lord, and for translating records not otherwise translatable,\nshould be found with them. So also respecting Joseph Smith's claim to\nhaving found what he called a \"Seer Stone,\" by means of which he could\ntranslate. That cannot be regarded as an impossibility or even an\nimprobability by those who believe the Bible; for, in addition to the\nHebrew literature giving an account of Urim and Thummim in the breast\nplate of the high priest, it is well known that other means were used\nby inspired men of Israel for obtaining the word of the Lord. That\nmost excellent of Bible characters, Joseph, the son of Jacob, blessed\nin his boyhood with prophetic dreams, and possessed of the divine gift\nof interpreting dreams, the savior of Israel in a time of famine,\nand a wise ruler for a time of Egypt's destinies, used such _media_.\nWhen Joseph's cup was found in the mouth of Benjamin's sack, Joseph's\nsteward said to him: \"Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and\nwhereby, indeed, he divineth?\" Joseph himself said, when his perplexed\nbrethren stood before him, \"What deed is this that ye have done? Wot\nye not that such a man as I can certainly divine.\" [11] The fact of\nascertaining the word of the Lord by means of this \"divining cup\"\ncannot be explained away by suggesting that Joseph merely referred to\nan Egyptian custom of divining; or that the steward repeated the words\nwhich Joseph had spoken to him merely in jest. [12] As remarked by a\nlearned writer on this subject: \"We need not think of Joseph, the pure,\nthe heaven-taught, the blameless one, as adopting, still less as basely\npretending to adopt, the dark arts of a system of imposture.\" [13] I\nagree with the view. It is a reality sustained by Bible authority that\nthere exists _media_ through which divine revelation may be obtained,\nand hence to the Bible believers the claim of Joseph Smith concerning\n\"Urim and Thummim,\" and the \"Seer Stone,\" by means of which, through\nthe inspiration of God, he translated the record of the Nephites, is\nnot impossible nor even improbable.\n\nAs in the matter of the visitation of angels, so also in relation to\nUrim and Thummim and also the Seer Stone, I may say that our scientific\nskeptics in such things live in the midst of such achievements of man's\ningenuity, and in the daily use of such marvelous instruments invented\nby men for the ascertainment of truth, that men of science ought not\nto stumble at accepting, at least as possible, and even as probable,\nthe existence of such _media_. Take for instance the telescope. For\nages, men believed that the whole of the universe consisted of sun,\nmoon, earth, and the few fixed stars within the radius of man's unaided\nvision. Finally, however, a genius converted a handful of sand into\na lens, adjusted it in a tube, and turned it to the heavens when,\nlo! the frontiers of the universe were pushed back to an infinite\ndistance, and millions of suns heretofore never seen by human eyes were\nbrought within the range of man's vision and consciousness. This first\ntelescope has been improved upon from time to time, until now we have\ninstruments of that kind so large and so perfect that our own planets\nare brought comparatively near for our inspection, while the number\nof fixed stars now within the range of our vision, by means of these\ninstruments, is quite generally conceded to be from forty to fifty\nmillions.\n\nWhile viewing the starry heavens by the aid of the telescope, in search\nof new facts, astronomers beheld at enormous distances from us hazy\npatches of light, concerning the nature of which they could form no\ndefinite idea. An improved telescope, however, at last resolved some\nof these mists into groups of separate stars; then it was supposed\nthat all such mists were star groups, and that it only required\nstronger telescopes to demonstrate the truth of that theory. Meantime,\nhowever, another wonderful instrument was invented, the spectroscope,\nan instrument which forms and analyzes the spectra of the rays emitted\nby bodies or substances. Meantime Fraunhofer made the discovery\nthat the spectrum of an ignited gaseous body is non-continuous,\nand has interrupting lines. Later, Professor John William Draper\ndiscovered that the spectrum of an ignited solid is continuous with no\ninterrupting lines. With these facts established, the spectroscope was\nturned upon the distant patches of nebulae and it was discovered that\nsome of them were positively of a gaseous nature and not congeries of\nstars. Thus was another great truth concerning the universe discovered\nby means of an instrument invented by man.\n\nNor is the end yet. The eye of man, perhaps, is the most wonderful\norgan known; wonderful in its powers when unaided by instruments of\nman's invention, but rendered infinitely more powerful and wonderful\nwhen aided by telescope and microscope. Indeed, by these instruments\nnew and unthought of worlds are brought to the consciousness of man,\nand his knowledge infinitely extended. Yet wonderful as is this organ\nof man, and great as are its achievements when aided by the instruments\nof man's invention, man's ingenuity has produced a more powerful eye\nthan man's! One that can look longer and see farther than the human\neye, even when aided by the most powerful telescope; and registers\nupon its retina truths otherwise unattainable by man. This instrument\nCamille Flammarion, the French astronomer and writer, calls \"The\nWonderful New Eye of Science.\" It is merely a lens connected with a\nphotographic apparatus, and of it the writer just named says:\n\n    This giant eye is endowed with four considerable advantages over\n    ours; it sees more quickly, farther, longer; and, wonderful\n    faculty, it receives and retains the impress of what it sees.\n    It sees more quickly: in the half-thousandth of a second, it\n    photographs the sun, its spots, its vortexes, its fires, its\n    flaming mountains, and on an imperishable document. It sees\n    farther: Directed towards any point of the heavens on the darkest\n    night, it discerns stars in the depths of infinite space--worlds,\n    universes, creations, that our eye could never see by the aid of\n    any telescope. It sees longer: That which we cannot succeed in\n    seeing in a few seconds of observation we shall never see. The\n    photographic eyes has but to look long enough in order to see; at\n    the end of half an hour it distinguishes what was before invisible\n    to it; at the end of an hour it will see better still, and the\n    longer it remains directed towards the unknown object, the better\n    and more distinctly it will see it--and this without fatigue. And\n    it retains on the retinal plate all that it has seen. [14]\n\nThis photographic eye, used in what is called the kinetograph,\nphotographs the spokes of the sulky driven at full speed--which cannot\nbe discerned at all by the human eye--as if standing still. The bullet\ndischarged from the most powerful gun of modern invention, which\nthe human eye cannot follow in its flight, this instrument seems to\narrest in mid-air. The ripple waves on the surface of mercury, which\nno human eye has ever seen--even when assisted by the most powerful\nmicroscopes--it faithfully registers, and by its testimony alone we\nknow of the existence of mercury waves. This instrument registers on\nsensitized tin foil, birds in their flight, express trains at full\nspeed, moving throngs on crowded streets, athletes at their sports,\nthe restless waves of ocean, the tempest's progress, the lightning's\nflash--all of which, by means of another instrument called the\nkinetoscope are reproduced to the life, though the actors in the\nscenes represented may be dead, and rotting in their graves. As these\nnamed instruments photograph and reproduce actions, so the phonograph\nregisters the intonations, inflections, and all the peculiarities of\nvoice entrusted to it, and as faithfully reproduces them, once, twice,\nor a thousand times, so that friends may recognize the intonations\nand all the peculiarities of inflection and voice, though he who thus\nspeaks has long since been dead or removed to other lands. What more\nshall I say? Is not enough here presented concerning the instruments of\nman's invention to justify a reasonable belief in the probability of\nthe existence of _media_ that can accomplish all that is ascribed to\nUrim and Thummim and Seer Stone by Joseph Smith; especially when it is\nremembered how far the knowledge, skill and wisdom of God surpass the\nskill and ingenuity of man?\n\nIII.\n\n_Of Returning the Plates of the Book of Mormon to Moroni_\n\nThe question is often asked--and it bears upon the probability of\nJoseph Smith's statements respecting the Book of Mormon, because\nthe answer that has to be made gives rise to doubts, and sometimes\nto sneers on the part of those receiving it--the question is often\nasked, I repeat, \"What became of the gold plates from which Joseph\nSmith claims to have translated the Book of Mormon--can they be seen\nnow? Is the Church in possession of them?\" The answer is, \"No; the\nProphet returned them to the angel Moroni, and he, doubtless, now\nhas possession of them, and is their guardian.\" [15] This answer is\ndeclared to be unsatisfactory, and often ridiculed; for worldly wisdom\nfancies that the Prophet had a most direct means of establishing the\ntruth as to the existence and character of the plates, if only he had\nretained them in his possession, or deposited them in some state or\nnational institution of learning or archaeology. Joseph Smith acted\nunder the direction of Moroni in the matter of the plates of the Book\nof Mormon; why he was not permitted to keep the book of plates is\nnot, perhaps, positively known. Part of the record was sealed, as the\nProphet himself informs us; [16] and as the time had not come for that\npart of it to be translated, it may be that that was one reason why it\nshould be still kept in the custody of the angel. Moreover, in this\nlife we are required by divine wisdom to walk by faith, not by sight.\nIt is part of our education that we learn to act with reference to\nsacred things on probabilities. A veil of oblivion is stretched over\nour past spirit-existence. The future is hidden largely from our view,\nand we are required to perform this life's journey from the cradle to\nthe grave in the midst of uncertainties, except as we increase our\nfaith and establish assurance by the development of spiritual strength\nfrom within. Why this should be so may not always seem clear to us;\nbut of the fact of it there can be no doubt. Nor can there be any\ndoubt as to the wisdom of it, and the benefit of it to mankind, since\nour Father-God has so ordered it. Nor is it in \"Mormonism\" alone that\ncertain direct material evidences are denied to men concerning divine\nthings. Infidels refer to the opportunities which they think the\nimpudent challenges of the persecutors of the Son of God afforded him\nto demonstrate his divine power, and prove the truth of his mission,\nwhen they said, \"If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.\"\n* * ** \"If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the\ncross, and we will believe him.\" [17] What an opportunity was afforded\nhim here to respond to their challenges and cover them with confusion\nand fear! But the Son of God heeded them not, and infidels everywhere\nentertain the opinion that he here missed the opportunity of his career\nif, indeed, he was the Son of God--the Lord of Life--the Master of\nDeath.\n\nMoses gave out the statement that the Law of Israel, the Ten\nCommandments, were written by the finger of God on tables of stone.\n[18] These, in his anger, Moses broke to pieces in their presence, when\nhe found that during his brief absence in the Mount, obtaining the law,\nIsrael had turned to the folly of idolatry. But a second set of tables\nwas prepared, and again on these God carved with his own hands the Ten\nCommandments. Moses placed them in the ark of shittim wood, which, by\ndivine appointment, he provided, and this constituted the \"Ark of the\nCovenant.\" [19]\n\nAgain, when the children of Israel were disposed to rebel against the\npriesthood of God's appointing, under divine direction, Moses called\nupon each of the twelve princes of the house of Israel to present\nbefore the Lord a rod with the name of his tribe upon it. Among these\nwas Aaron's rod, representing the tribe of Levi. All were placed in the\n\"Tabernacle of Witness\" before the Lord. On the morrow, when Moses went\ninto the \"Tabernacle of Witness\" behold the rod of Aaron, of the house\nof Levi, had brought forth buds, and yielded almonds, all in a single\nnight! Thus the Lord gave a palpable evidence to Israel of his choosing\nthe house of Aaron and the tribe of Levi to stand before him in the\npriest's office; and the Lord said unto Moses, \"Bring Aaron's rod again\nbefore the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels.\" [20]\n\nThe unbelieving world to whom Israel's message was afterwards sent,\nmight demand that the tables of stone and Aaron's rod that budded and\nbore fruit should be displayed for their inspection, that faith might\ntake hold of the unbelieving; but there is no record that these sacred\nthings were ever exhibited for such a purpose. [21]\n\nThe infidels of our own day frequently remark that the prayer of Dives\nto Abraham ought to have been graciously granted, and Lazarus sent to\nbear witness to the relatives of the tortured nobleman that they might\nescape his sad fate; but Abraham's answer was, \"They have Moses and\nthe prophets; let them hear them!\" \"Nay, Father Abraham,\" answered\nDives, \"but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.\" But\nAbraham said: \"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will\nthey be persuaded though one rose from the dead.\" [22]\n\nReferring again to the Savior: unbelievers marvel that Jesus confined\nhis visitations after his resurrection to a few of his faithful\nfollowers only--to those who already believed on him. Why did he not\nappear in all the majesty of his immortal life, after his resurrection,\nbefore the high priests and the Sanhedrim of the Jews? Before the\ncourt of Pilate? Before the rabble who had impiously clamored in the\nstreets for his blood to be upon them and upon their children--Why?\nThe only answer to this question exists in the fact apparent from the\nwhole course of God's dealings with the world in relation to sacred\nthings: viz., God has chosen certain witnesses for himself in relation\nto sacred matters, and demands that his children shall walk by faith on\nthe words which his chosen servants declare unto them. Thus Peter, on\nthe matter of Christ showing himself to the world, says:\n\n    Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly; not to all\n    the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us\n    who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he\n    commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is\n    he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. [23]\n\nJudas (one of the twelve, not Iscariot, but the brother of James) on\none occasion asked the same question that infidels have been asking\nfor many generations, \"How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto\nus, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a\nman love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and\nwe will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me\nnot keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine,\nbut the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you,\nbeing yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,\nwhom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. *\n* * * When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the\nFather, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he\nshall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness because ye have\nbeen with me from the beginning.\" [24] Such the statement of Peter;\nsuch the doctrine of Jesus; and when coupled together one sees that\nin addition to the special witnesses, the prophets, God has ordained\nthat the Holy Spirit shall be his universal witness for things divine.\nGod, in his wisdom, and for the accomplishment of his own wise purposes\nwith reference to us, has ordained that his children in this world's\nprobation shall walk by faith, not by sight. To produce the faith, he\nsends forth special chosen servants, prophets, apostles, his own Son,\nand through them announces the divine will. Then when drawn to God by\nfaith, when love-inspired towards God, the Lord gives the witness of\nthe Holy Spirit, by and through which man may know the truth, for he\nbecomes possessed by the very Spirit of divine intelligence and of\ntruth, by which power he is made to know the truth.\n\nThese principles obtain in this last dispensation of the gospel.\nJoseph Smith comes as did Noah, Enoch, Moses, the Prophets, Christ\nand the Apostles--he comes with a message from God--with a new volume\nof scripture, whose express purpose is to enlarge the foundations of\nfaith. He and his associates bear witness of its truth, and those who\nwill give heed to that testimony, and will seek to God for further\nknowledge, are expressly promised in the Book of Mormon itself, that\nthey shall receive a manifestation of its truth by the power of the\nHoly Ghost; \"And by the power of the Holy Ghost,\" says this Nephite\nrecord, \"ye may know the truth of all things.\" [25] Throughout, it will\nbe seen that in this matter of the Book of Mormon, the divine power is\nacting in harmony with those great principles which have been operating\nin the spiritual economy of this world from the beginning; which fact,\nin reality, is at least an incidental testimony of the truth of the\nwork.\n\nIn the light of all these reflections, then, together with the fact\nthat part of the Book of Mormon was sealed, the time not then having\narrived for its translation, there is nothing remarkable in the\ncircumstance of the Nephite plates being returned to the care of the\nangel-guardian of them. Certainly there is nothing unreasonable in\nsuch a procedure, and surely nothing in the circumstance that warrants\nthe ridicule with which that statement has sometimes been received.\nMoreover, human guardianship of such things is by no means as secure as\nsome may conceive it to be. Take, for example, the fate which befell\nthe Egyptian papyrus from which the Prophet translated the Book of\nAbraham. It is an item of Church history that in 1835 the Saints in\nKirtland purchased, of one Michael H. Chandler, some Egyptian mummies;\nin the sarcophagus they occupied certain rolls of papyrus were found,\nbeautifully engraved with Egyptian characters. Upon examination, Joseph\nSmith found the papyrus to be the writings of Abraham and of Joseph,\nthe son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt. Portions of these records\nthe Prophet translated into the English language, and the translation\nwas published in the _Times and Seasons_, vol. III, and subsequently\nmade part of the _Pearl of Great Price_. After the death of the Prophet\nthe mummies, together with the records on papyrus, were left in charge\nof his mother, Lucy Smith. She afterwards parted with them, under what\ncircumstances is not positively known. Finally, the records and mummies\nfound their way into Wood's Museum, in Chicago, where, according to\nthe statement of the editors of the Plano edition of _Biographical\nSketches of Joseph Smith and his Progenitors_, by Lucy Smith, they\nwere destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871. [26] Thus the writings\nof Abraham, after being preserved for many generations in the linen\nwrappings of Egyptian mummies, were consumed by fire in a modern city,\na circumstance which illustrates the uncertainty of human means to\npreserve important documents, and justifies the angel-guardianship of\na record as sacred as are the plates from which the Book of Mormon was\ntranslated.\n\nIV.\n\n_On the Loss of one Hundred and Sixteen Pages of Manuscript, Being\nthe Translation of the First Part of Mormon's Abridgment of the Nephite\nRecords._\n\nAnother incident connected with the probability of Joseph Smith's story\nconcerning the Book of Mormon, and which, like the circumstance of the\nProphet's returning the plates to the angel, meets with ridicule--is\nthe loss of the 116 pages of manuscript, through the unfaithfulness of\nMartin Harris, a subject detailed at length in chapter v.\n\nThis incident lost to Joseph Smith, for a time, the gift of\ntranslation, and also possession of the plates and Urim and Thummim;\nbut through sincere repentance, he was received again into the favor of\nthe Lord, and resumed his work.\n\nOn being permitted to resume the translation, however, the Prophet was\ninformed through divine communication that those who had stolen the\nmanuscript from Harris designed to hold it until he should translate\nagain that part which had fallen into their hands. If the Prophet's\nsecond translation should be like the first, then it was the intention\nof the conspirators to change the manuscript in their possession,\nand claim that the translation was not obtained by divine aid, else\nthe second would be like the first; but since it would by this trick\nbe proved to be different, the claim of divine inspiration in the\ntranslation of the book must fall to the ground, and Joseph Smith's\npretension to being a Seer and Prophet of God would fall with it;\nand thus the work God designed to accomplish through him would be\ndestroyed. The Lord revealed this plot to Joseph Smith, and warned him\nnot to translate again Moroni's abridgment of the Book of Lehi--which\ncomprised so much of the manuscript as had been entrusted to Harris.\n[27] On the contrary, he was commanded to translate what are called in\nthe Book of Mormon the \"Smaller Plates of Nephi,\" and let that stand in\nthe place of the translation of the Book of Lehi which Harris had lost.\n\nA word of explanation here: Two sets of plates were kept for a time\nby the first Nephi and his successors. One set might be called the\nsecular, the other the sacred record of the Nephite people. They,\nhowever, called them the \"Smaller\" and \"Larger\" Plates of Nephi. On\nthe former was recorded the ministry of the prophets, the word of the\nLord to them, and much of their teaching and preaching; on the latter,\nthe reigns of the kings, their wars and contentions, and the secular\naffairs of the people generally. Still, even on the \"Smaller Plates\nof Nephi\" there was a reasonably succinct account of the principal\nevents of Nephite history, from the time Lehi left Jerusalem until four\nhundred years had passed away.\n\nWhen Mormon found among the records delivered into his keeping the\n\"Smaller Plates of Nephi,\" he was so well pleased with their contents\nthat he placed the whole of them with the abridgment he had made from\nthe larger Nephite records. \"And I do this,\" he informs us, \"for a wise\npurpose; for thus it whispereth me according to the workings of the\nSpirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things;\nbut the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he\nworketh in me to do according to his will.\" [28] By the addition of the\nSmaller Plates of Nephi to Mormon's abridgment of the Larger Plates, it\nwill be observed that there was a double line of history for a period\nof about 400 years. Therefore, when, through carelessness and breaking\nhis agreement with the Prophet, Martin Harris lost the translation of\nthe first part of Mormon's abridgment, and those into whose hands the\nmanuscript had fallen designed to change it and destroy the claims of\nthe Prophet to inspiration in translating it--under divine direction\nhe translated the Smaller Plates of Nephi, and let that translation\ntake the place of the one which had been stolen, and thus the plan of\nthe conspirators against the work was thwarted. This statement of the\nProphet, however, comes in for its share of ridicule, and is generally\nspoken of as a very clever escape for the Prophet out of what is called\na rather perplexing dilemma. The Prophet's statement of the incident\nwas published at the time the first edition of the Book of Mormon\nissued from the press, and, in fact, stands as the preface to the book,\nwhich I reproduce here:\n\n    PREFACE.\n\n    To the Reader--\n\n    As many false reports have been circulated respecting the following\n    work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil designing\n    persons to destroy me, and also the work, I would inform you that I\n    translated, by gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one\n    hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi,\n    which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand\n    of Mormon; which said account, some person or persons have stolen\n    and kept from me, notwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it\n    again--and being commanded of the Lord that I should not translate\n    the same over again, for Satan had put it into their hearts to\n    tempt the Lord their God, by altering the words, that they did read\n    contrary from that which I translated and caused to be written;\n    and if I should bring forth the same words again, or, in other\n    words, if I should translate the same over again, they would\n    publish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up the\n    hearts of this generation, that they might not receive this work;\n    but behold, the Lord saith unto me, I will not suffer that Satan\n    shall accomplish his evil design in this thing: therefore thou\n    shalt translate from the plates of Nephi, until ye come to that\n    which ye have translated, which ye have retained; and behold ye\n    shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound\n    those who have altered my words. I will not suffer that they shall\n    destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is\n    greater than the cunning of the Devil. Wherefore, to be obedient\n    unto the commandments of God, I have, through his grace and mercy,\n    accomplished that which he hath commanded me respecting this thing.\n    I would also inform you that the plates of which hath been spoken,\n    were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario country, New York.\n\n    THE AUTHOR.\n\nThus from the beginning the Prophet boldly declared that which the\nLord had revealed to him concerning this effort on the part of the\nconspirators to destroy the work; and there was not one who rose to\ncontradict his statement, at the time, although some anti-\"Mormon\"\nwriters of later years assert--but without any warrant of proof--that,\nenraged at the part her husband was taking in bringing forth the Book\nof Mormon, Mrs. Martin Harris burned the manuscript. This, however,\nshe always denied. The first publication referring to this subject,\naside from what the Prophet published in the above preface, is Howe's\n_History of Mormonism_, published at Painsville, Ohio, 1834. This is an\nanti-\"Mormon\" book, and of the manuscript incident it says: \"The facts\nrespecting the lost manuscripts we have not been able to ascertain.\nThey sometimes charged the wife of Harris with having burnt it, but\nthis is denied by her.\" [29]\n\nMeantime, attention is called to the fact that there is nothing\nimprobable in the statement of Joseph Smith; but on the contrary all\nthe conditions obtaining in the neighborhood where he resided while\nbringing forth the work favor the probability of such a conspiracy as\nhe charges: the unwarranted but repeated efforts made by his enemies\nto wrest the plates from his possession; the home of his parents\nrepeatedly beset by mobs; the issue of warrants by justices of the\npeace for searching his wagon for the plates; and subsequently the\nactions of Mr. Grandin, his printer, who, after entering into contract\nto print the book was certainly in honor bound to render him all the\nassistance in his power in getting out the work in the best order\npossible, and protecting him in his copyrights--the actions, I say, of\nMr. Grandin, in permitting Squire Cole [30] the use of his press on\nnights and Sundays in order to secretly publish his _Dogberry Papers_,\nin which was to appear a garbled edition of the Book of Mormon in\nweekly installments; the mass meetings held in Palmyra and vicinity\nin which resolutions were passed not to purchase the book should it\never issue from the press (which action caused Mr. Grandin to suspend\nthe work of printing until the Prophet could be brought from Harmony,\nin Pennsylvania, to give renewed assurance of his ability to meet the\nprice of printing); the confession of J. N. Tucker, one of the employees\nof Grandin's printing establishment, that after setting up a sheet in\ntype, it was secreted and the story given out that it was lost, and\nthat manuscript for another sheet would have to be produced, which when\ndone is alleged to have been unlike the first [31]--these well-attested\ncircumstances establish the fact of a wide-spread and bitter opposition\nto the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; and, failing in that, then\na determination to prevent its acceptance as revelation from God. All\nthese things make it very easy to believe that such a conspiracy as the\nProphet describes existed against the work.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. See _Life of Jesus_, Renan. (E.T.) Introduction; also _New\nWitnesses_, vol. I, ch. 1.\n\n2. Matt. 24:31.\n\n3. Malachi 4:5, 6.\n\n4. Revelation 14:6, 7.\n\n5. Rev. 14:8, 9, 10.\n\n6. Rev. 18:1-3.\n\n7. Ephesians 1:9, 10.\n\n8. New Witnesses, Vol. I., chs. xxviii, xxix, xxx.\n\n9. The reader will find the data for the foregoing view concerning Urim\nand Thummim in the following passages: Exodus 28: 29, 30; Leviticus\n8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; I Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63;\nNehemiah 7:65. He will also find an excellent article on the subject\nin Smith's _Dictionary of the Bible_, (Hackett edition), vol. IV, pp.\n3,356-3,363; also in Kitto's _Encyclopaedia of Biblical Literature_,\nvol. II, pp. 900-903.\n\n10. _Antiquities of the Jews_, bk. III, ch. 8.\n\n11. Genesis 44:5-15.\n\n12. Such is the Roman Catholic explanation of the matter; see note on\npassage, Gen. 44:5-15 in Douay Bible.\n\n13. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Urim and Thummim.\n\n14. The Cosmopolitan Magazine for September, 1896.\n\n15. I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges\nto keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when\nI had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no\nsooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions\nwere used to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented\nwas resorted to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter\nand severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to\nget them from me if possible. But by the wisdom of God they remained\nsafe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required\nat my hand. When, according to arrangements, the messenger called for\nthem, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until\nthis day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and\nthirty-eight. (Church History, vol. I, pp. 18, 19.)\n\n16. These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of\ngold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not\nquite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in\nEgyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of\na book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was\nsomething near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The\ncharacters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved.\nThe whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction,\nand much skill in the art of engraving. Wentworth Letter, History of\nthe Church, vol. IV, p. 537.\n\n17. Matt. 27:40, 42.\n\n18. Deut. 9:8-11.\n\n19. Deut. 10:1-5.\n\n20. Numbers 17.\n\n21. The late Robert G. Ingersoll, for instance, asks where now the\nsword is with which the angel guarded \"the tree of life\" in Paradise;\nand then sarcastically answers his own question as follows: \"Some angel\nhas it in heaven!\" Works, vol. 5, 372.\n\n22. Luke 16:13, 31.\n\n23. Acts 10:40-42.\n\n24. John 15:26, 27.\n\n25. Behold I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if\nit be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember\nhow merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the\ncreation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these\nthings, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these\nthings, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal Father,\nin the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall\nask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he\nwill manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.\nAnd by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.\n(Moroni 10:3-5.)\n\n26. See Plano edition of the above named work, 1880, note on page 91.\n\n27. See preface to first edition of the Book of Mormon.\n\n28. Words of Mormon, p. 158.\n\n29. I quote from the first (1834) edition of Howe's work, page 22.\n\n30. See pp. 77, 78 of part I, Y. M. M. I. A. Manual for 1903-4. It\nis unthinkable that this effort to publish a garbled edition of the\nBook of Mormon was unknown to Grandin and those employed in his\nestablishment.\n\n31. See chapter VIII, where this incident is treated and the fact\npointed out that the Prophet's precautions had protected the work from\nthe effects of such tricks as this described by Tucker.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nINDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. PRELIMINARY\nCONSIDERATIONS.\n\nIn dealing with the indirect external evidences to the truth of the\nBook of Mormon supplied by American antiquities, embracing in that term\narchaeology, mythology, traditions, ethnology, languages, etc., it\nshould be observed that the Book of Mormon is not a specific work upon\nany of these subjects. Nor is it a work on physical geography; nor even\na history, in the modern sense of that term. Furthermore, while the\npurpose of the book is mainly religious, it is not a formal treatise\neven upon religion. But while the Book of Mormon has limitations in\nall the directions noted, it is a fact that American antiquities,\nmythologies, traditions, etc., may be of great importance in sustaining\nits truth. I therefore begin the consideration of this branch of\nevidence by inquiring what conditions respecting the location and\nnature of American monuments of civilization the Book of Mormon demands.\n\nI.\n\n_What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location and Character\nof the Jaredite Civilization._\n\nIt has been shown in a preceding chapter [1] that the first people who\ninhabited North America after the flood were a colony that came from\nthe Euphrates Valley, about the time of the confusion of languages at\nBabel, under the leadership of a prophet of the name of Moriancumr,\nand his brother Jared; that this colony made their first settlement\nsomewhere in the region of country known in modern times as Central\nAmerica; that they called their first city Moron, which from the time\nof its establishment, with brief, intermittent periods, remained the\nseat of government and the chief center of the civilization of the\ngreat Jaredite nation, up to the time of the latter's destruction, in\nthe early part of the sixth century B. C.--a period of sixteen hundred\nyears.\n\nFrom the City of Moron the Jaredites extended their colonization\nschemes southward along the isthmus to South America, and northward to\nthe great lakes. Their greatest activities, however, and the centers\nof their civilization were in Central America; and it is there we must\nlook for the most extensive and enduring monuments of civilization\nin the western world; and expect the monuments to have some of the\ncharacteristics of the monuments of the ancient civilization of the\nEuphrates Valley. [2]\n\nII.\n\n_What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location, Extent and\nNature of the Nephite Civilization._\n\nIn considering this subject I shall take no account of the colony\nof Mulek beyond noting the fact that previous to the union of their\ndescendants, with the Nephites under Mosiah I, about two hundred years\nB. C., they did not affect to any considerable extent the civilization\nof the country, and hence I shall consider them under the same head as\nthe Nephites.\n\nConcerning the Nephites and their civilization, the Book of Mormon\nrequires the proof that a colony of Israelites left Jerusalem about six\nhundred years B. C., carrying with them the Hebrew Scriptures; that\nthey made a voyage from thence to the west coast of America; that there\nwere four brothers in the colony, among whom there was a contention\nabout leadership; that the younger brother had the greater weight of\ninfluence with the colony, and became practically its leader; that\nthey were directed in their journey by miraculous means--an instrument\nconsisting of a ball of brass with spindles in it which indicated\nthe direction of their travels, receiving upon its burnished surface\nfrom time to time instructions for their guidance--called by them\nLiahona; that because of jealousies among the four brothers the colony\nwas divided, [3] the younger brother leading away northward the more\nrighteous part of the colony from which separation arose two people,\none civilized, the other, in comparison with the first, barbarous; that\nthe civilized people, those following the younger brother, removed\ngradually northward because of the repeated depredations of their\nrelentless enemies, the Lamanites; that during the period of some four\nhundred years they removed from the place of their first landing to a\nregion of country northward; that in this land about two hundred B. C.\nthe more righteous part of the people again separated from the rest\nand made their way still further northward to the great valley of what\nthey called the Sidon river, and there united with the descendants of\nMulek's colony and formed the Nephite-Zarahemla nation, but they were\ncalled Nephites; that this people extended their cities and provinces\nthroughout the northern part of the north continent, colonizing even a\nportion of the narrow neck of land connecting the two continents; that\nthey were in frequent conflict, and waged great wars with the barbarous\npeople who still pressed upon them from the south; that in the year 55\nB. C. they began migrating northward from Central America; that ship\nbuilding was inaugurated by one Hagoth on the west side of Central\nAmerica; that the people moved northward in great numbers by means of\nthese vessels as well as by land; that two of these vessels going far\nnorthward, drifted out into the great ocean and were lost--at least\nto the Nephites; that there were frequent wars between the civilized\npeople and the barbarians; that the birth of Messiah was evidenced\nby the appearance of a new star in the heavens, and by a night which\ncontinued brilliant as day from the setting of the sun to the rising\nthereof; that at the crucifixion of Messiah, during the three hours\nthat he hung upon the cross at Jerusalem, the western world was visited\nby an unparalleled series of cataclysms which convulsed the whole land,\ndestroying many cities, some being buried by mountains that were thrown\nup by convulsions of the earth, and others being sunk in the depths of\nthe sea; that these dreadful convulsions of the earth were followed\nby three days of total darkness; that some time after these awful\ncataclysms the risen Messiah appeared in person to a multitude in the\nregion of country in South America east and south of the Isthmus of\nPanama and including part of that Isthmus, [4] that he proclaimed his\nrelationship to God, held himself forth as the Son of God, taught the\ndoctrine of the Atonement, instituted the Christian sacraments of baptism\nand the Lord's supper, chose twelve disciples and authorized the\norganization of a church to teach the doctrine of Christ and perfect, by\nits watchful care, those who accepted it; that this introduction of the\ngospel of Christ was followed by a period of universal peace and\nprosperity--a veritable golden age--through nearly three centuries;\nthat after this the people declined in moral and spiritual excellence\nuntil they were in complete apostasy; that a series of civil wars and\nthe rise of robber bands undermined government, and that about the\nclose of the fourth century, A. D., the government was destroyed, the\npeople divided into small bands or tribes and anarchy prevailed.\n\nOnly two other remarks are necessary to complete the consideration of\nwhat the Book of Mormon Nephite period requires of American antiquities\nin order to derive from them evidence in support of its truth. The\nfirst of these is the fact that Nephite occupancy of the western world\nis confined for the most part, at least, to the north continent; that\nwhile it is true that their settlements in the north became somewhat\nextensive, the progress of them was checked by frequent wars between\nNephites and Lamanites, and also by the depredations of robber bands\nwhich infested the land up to the time of the crucifixion of Messiah;\nthat at the crucifixion of Messiah occurred these tremendous cataclysms\nwhich convulsed the whole land resulted in the destruction of so many\nof the people that during this period of some eighty-eight years--from\n55 B. C. to 33 A. D.--the period of time the Nephites spread out over\nthe north continent, previous to the advent of Messiah, they could not\nhave erected many monuments of civilization that would survive the\nravages of ages. After the destruction which swept over both western\ncontinents during the crucifixion of Messiah, the people were so\nreduced in numbers that it would be some time before they could begin\nto occupy the land to any great extent, still, during the more than\ntwo hundred years of righteousness and peace which followed Messiah's\nadvent among them, the Nephites doubtless became very numerous and the\narts of peace would very greatly develop. At the close of this period,\nhowever, civil wars again checked their progress, and they entered upon\nthat period of rapid decline in all that makes for the stability of\ngovernment and permanency of civilization, until at the close of the\nfourth century A. D., anarchy prevailed only to be followed by Lamanite\nbarbarism, which exerted its every effort to destroy government,\noverthrow civilization, and destroy every monument and vestige of that\nreligion against which chiefly the Lamanites had waged war. [5]\n\nIn the second remark referred to a moment since, I would call attention\nto the fact that there exists evidence which leads one to believe\nthat the Nephites constructed their buildings of perishable material;\nchiefly, I think, of wood, a circumstance which will go far towards\naccounting for the fact that there is but little evidence of the\nexistence of a great civilized nation possessing temples, synagogues,\npalaces, etc., in the northern part of North America. The Nephite\ncivilization rose to its highest development previous to the coming\nof the Messiah in the south part of the north continent. The reasons\nfor this conclusion are to be found in several passages of the Book\nof Mormon, where the specific statement is made that the people were\ntaught to work in all manner of wood, iron, copper, etc.; but no\nmention is made of their being skilled in the working of stone. For\nexample, the first Nephi says: \"And I did teach my people to build\nbuildings; and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of\ncopper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of\nprecious ores, which were in great abundance.\" [6] Again, in the book\nof Jarom, it is written: \"And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread\nupon the face of the land, and became exceeding rich in gold, and in\nsilver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in\nbuildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and\nsteel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and\nweapons of war.\" [7] After migrations into the north continent began,\none of the things which seemed to be a cause of regret on the part of\nthe Nephites was the lack of timber in that land. Referring to this,\nMormon, in his abridgment of Helaman's reference to it, says: \"And now\nno part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber. * * * And\nthere being but little timber upon the face of the land [northward],\nnevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in\nthe working of cement; therefore they _did build houses of cement in\nthe which they did dwell_;\" but this period brings them into the south\npart of the north continent. \"And the people who were in the land\nnorthward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did\nsuffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that\nit should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their\nhouses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and\ntheir sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings. And it came to\npass as timber was exceeding scare in the land northward, they did send\nforth much by the way of shipping; and thus they did enable the people\nin the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood\nand of cement.\" [8] These statements, I believe, justify the conclusion\nthat the Nephites, in the main, used timber--perishable material--for\nbuilding purposes, and hence the monuments of their civilization so\nfar as architectural remains are concerned in the most northern parts\noccupied by them have very largely perished, as well in the north as in\nthe south, except perhaps to the extent that they may have rebuilt and\nreoccupied some of the old Jaredite cities in the north continent.\n\nAn Israelitish origin, then, is what is required for the second race\ninhabiting America; a landing in South America; a gradual movement\nnorthward until they took possession of the north as well as the south\ncontinent; their civilization of a lighter order so far as expressed\nin solidity of buildings or the number of cities, and spread over a\nmore extensive area than that of the Jaredites; an intermixture of\nthe monuments of the one, with the ruins of the other; knowledge of\nthe Mosaic institutions and history of the ancient world, through the\nHebrew scriptures; special signs at Messiah's birth, and appalling\ncataclysms throughout the land at his crucifixion; the appearing of\nMessiah to them and the establishment of a Christian church; the\noverthrow of the Nephite government and civilization about the opening\nof the fifth century A. D. These are the main facts for which we seek\nproofs in American antiquities, so far as the Nephite period of the\nBook of Mormon is concerned.\n\nOf course it may be possible that in the present state of knowledge\nof American antiquities evidences for all these facts may not now be\nobtainable; but if evidences tending to prove them can be pointed out\nat all, it will be so much in favor of the Book of Mormon. Meantime the\nreader should be cautioned not to expect too much from the character\nof the evidence now to be considered, nor should he be discouraged if\nin quantity and clearness it falls below his expectations. It must be\nremembered that examination of our American antiquities, especially\nin Central America, has not yet been made as thoroughly as it will\nbe; there are many buried cities and other monuments yet to be heard\nfrom, [9] as also, a better understanding of those monuments of ancient\nAmerican civilization already brought to light. Moreover, it should be\nremembered that for many ages the Bible stood practically without the\nadvantages of monumental testimony in its support. Not until modern\ntimes have learned men penetrated the eastern countries to return\nladened with exact knowledge of monumental testimony to the truth of\nthe Bible. Not until the discovery and translation of the Rosetta\nStone, early in the last century, was an impetus given to explorations\nin Egypt, the Sinaitic Peninsula, Palestine and the Euphrates\nvalley--Bible lands--resulting in that collection of collateral\nevidence for the truth of the Bible noted in a former chapter. One\nshould not be impatient, then, if the Book of Mormon has to wait some\ntime yet for the development of that fulness of monumental testimony\nto its truth which I am sure lies hidden in the, as yet, imperfectly\nknown, and still less perfectly understood, antiquities of the western\nhemisphere.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. See chapter X.\n\n2. See chapter X.\n\n3. II Nephi 5:1-13.\n\n4. The Nephite land of Bountiful.\n\n5. Mormon 8:1-10.\n\n6. II Nephi 5:15.\n\n7. Jarom 1:8.\n\n8. Helaman 3:6-11.\n\n9. On this point Mr. Baldwin says: \"To understand the situation of most\nof the old ruins in Central America, one must know something of the\nwild condition of the country. Mr. Squier says: 'By far the greater\nproportion of the country is in its primeval state, and covered with\ndense, tangled, and almost impenetrable tropical forests, rendering\nfruitless all attempts at systematic investigation. There are vast\ntracts untrodden by human feet, or traversed only by Indians who have a\nsuperstitious reverence for the moss-covered, and crumbling monuments\nhidden in the depths of the wilderness. * * * For these and other\nreasons, it will be long before the treasures of the past, in Central\nAmerica, can become fully known.' A great forest of this character\ncovers the southern half of Yucatan, and extends far into Guatemala,\nwhich is half covered by it. It extends also into Chiapa and Tabasco,\nand reaches into Honduras. The ruins known as Copan and Palenque are in\nthis forest, not far from its southern edge. Its vast depths have never\nbeen much explored. There are ruins in it which none but wandering\nnatives have ever seen, and some, perhaps, which no human foot has\napproached for ages. It is believed that ruins exist in nearly every\npart of this vast wilderness.\" _Ancient America_, pp. 94, 95.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nINDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. PRELIMINARY\nCONSIDERATIONS.--Continued.\n\nIII.\n\n_Of the Probability of Intercourse Between the Eastern and Western\nHemispheres During Jaredite and Nephite Times._\n\nAnother remark should be made in these preliminary observations,\nviz.: It cannot possibly be in conflict with the Book of Mormon to\nconcede that the northeastern coast of America may have been visited\nby Norsemen in the tenth century; or that Celtic adventurers came to\nAmerica even at an earlier date, but subsequent to the close of the\nNephite period. It might even be possible that migrations came by way\nof the Pacific Islands to the western shores of America. I think it\nindisputable that there have been migrations from northeastern Asia\ninto the extreme north parts of North America, by way of Behring\nstraits, where the continents of Asia and North America are separated\nby a distance of but thirty-six miles of ocean. The reasons for this\nbelief are first, a positive identity of race between the Esquimaux\nof North America and the Esquimaux of northern Asia; and, second, a\nvery clear distinction of race between the Esquimaux and the American\nIndians of all other parts of North America. [1]\n\nNone of these migrations are impossible or even improbable, though\nit must be stated in passing that the proofs for at least some of\nthem rest on no historical evidence. Whether the theory that in\nancient times the Phoenicians and their colonists, the Carthagenians,\nhad intercourse with the shores of America is true or not I cannot\ndetermine. The historical evidence is insufficient to justify a\npositive opinion; neither does my treatise on the subject in hand\nrequire an extended consideration of this question. It will be enough\nto say that if there were such intercourse, both Nephite and Jaredite\nrecords in the Book of Mormon are silent with reference to it. Yet it\nmust be conceded that the records now in hand, especially that of the\nJaredites, are but very limited histories of these people. All we can\nsay is that no mention of such intercourse is made in these records,\nand yet it is possible that Phoenician vessels might have visited some\nparts of the extended coasts of the western world, and such events\nreceive no mention in the Jaredite or Nephite records known to us. [2]\n\nEqually unnecessary is it for me to inquire whether or not the ancient\ninhabitants of America \"discovered Europe,\" as some contend they did.\n[3] It is not impossible that between the close of the Nephite period\nand the discovery of the western world by Columbus, American craft made\ntheir way to European shores. And even should further investigation\nprove that in Nephite or even in Jaredite times such voyages were\nmade, it would not affect the Book of Mormon and the inquiry we are\nmaking concerning it. As stated in respect of Phoenicians and other\npeople making their way to America's extended coasts, so it may be\nsaid, with reference to this other theory that Americans \"discovered\nEurope,\" no mention is made of such an event in the Book of Mormon.\nBut it should be remembered that for the history of the Jaredites\nwe have but Moroni's abridgment of Ether's twenty-four plates. Had\nwe Ether's history of the Jaredites in full, it could be but a very\nlimited history of so great a people, and for so long a period--sixteen\ncenturies--barely an outline, and wholly inadequate to give one any\nclear conception of their national greatness, the extent of their\nmigrations, or the grandeur of their civilization. And yet, even of\nthis brief history we have but an abridgment, of which Moroni informs\nus he has not written a \"hundredth part.\" [4] Hence our very limited\nknowledge of the Jaredites and their movements. While our knowledge of\nthe Nephites is more extensive than our knowledge of the Jaredites,\nwe have to confess its narrow limits also. The Book of Mormon is, in\nthe main, but an abridgment of the larger Nephite records; and at the\npoint where Nephite civilization reached its fullest development,\nMormon informs us that \"a hundredth part of the proceedings of this\npeople, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and\ntheir wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and\ntheir prophecies, and their shipping, and their building of ships, and\ntheir building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and\ntheir righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their\nrobbings, and their plunderings, and all manner of abominations and\nwhoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.\" [5] I repeat, then, even\nin Jaredite and Nephite times voyages could have been made from America\nto the shores of Europe, and yet no mention of it be made in Nephite\nand Jaredite records now known.\n\nI know of but one utterance in the Book of Mormon that would in any\nrespect be against the probability of intercourse between the old world\nand the new, in Nephite times; and that is found in the following\npassage:\n\n    And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from\n    the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would\n    overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.\n    Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those\n    whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall\n    keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this\n    land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may\n    possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall\n    keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this\n    land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the\n    land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. [6]\n\nThis was uttered in the first half of the sixth century B. C. It will\nbe observed, however, that the covenant with Lehi was based upon the\ncondition that those whom the Lord led to the land of America must\nkeep his commandments; a condition which was complied with only in\npart, even during Nephite supremacy; and at the last it was wholly\nviolated on the part of both Nephites and Lamanites, and therefore may\nbe eliminated as a substantial objection to the idea of intercourse\nbetween the old and the new world even during Nephite times. Still,\nin a general way, this land was preserved unto the descendants of\nLehi until the coming of the Spaniards in the fifteenth and sixteenth\ncenturies.\n\nIV.\n\n_The Western World Since the Close of the Nephite Period--The\nLamanite Civilization._\n\nOther considerations that may affect the evidences of American\nantiquities to the Book of Mormon arise out of the conditions which\nhave obtained in the western world since the close of the Nephite\nperiod. What I have called the Nephite period closes with the\ncommencement of the fifth century A. D., and as it was towards the\nclose of the fifteenth century before America was discovered by the\nSpaniards and made known to Europeans, there is a thousand years\nduring which time many things may have happened to affect conditions\nin America by the time it was discovered by Columbus; and which, at\nthe time of that discovery, and now, influence, not to say confuse,\nour knowledge of American antiquities, by indiscriminately mingling\nthe modern with the ancient, confounding local movements with more\nancient and general migrations, and mixing merely tribal events with\nthe national affairs of more ancient times, until things are rendered\nin some respects well nigh unintelligible.\n\nWhen the Nephites were overthrown in those last great battles about\nCumorah, it appears that the victorious Lamanites were possessed\nwith the most frenzied determination to destroy the last vestige of\ncivilization, government, and religion; but when they had destroyed\ntheir enemies, the Nephites, they continued the fighting among\nthemselves, until the whole face of the land was one continual scene of\nintestine wars. [7] How long such conditions continued no one knows,\nsince the Book of Mormon closes with its sad story of the overthrow of\nthe Nephites, and there is nothing beyond this point--the early part\nof the fifth century A. D.--by which we can be guided. It is probable,\nhowever, that even anarchy at last spent its force; something like\ntribal relations may have been brought into existence to take the place\nof the more elaborate and complex forms of government which had been\noverthrown, and from these may have arisen confederacies of tribes as\ninterest or fortune, good or ill, may have dictated, until at last\nsomething like semi-civilization begun to arise out of the chaos which\nfollowed the destruction of the Nephites.\n\nThe maddened Lamanites might succeed in destroying every vestige of\ngovernment, religion and that order of society which had prevailed in\nformer times, but the memory of those things, and the advantages of\nthem, could not be obliterated; and the memory of them would be an\nincentive to strong minds to re-establish a settled order of things.\n\nIt should be remembered in this connection--as lending probability to\nwhat is said here--that when the ancient distinctions of Nephite and\nLamanite were revived in 231 A. D. they no longer stood the former\nfor the descendants of Nephi and his following and the latter for the\ndescendants of Laman and his following, as in earlier times; nor did\nthe former name now stand for a civilized people, and the latter for\na barbarous one, as they had done in some parts of former ages. In\ncivilization the two parties stood equal, and remained so through the\none hundred and seventy troubled years which followed. For more than\ntwo centuries following the appearance of the Messiah in the western\nworld, there had been but one people on the land, and these followers\nof the Messiah--Christians. This was the American golden age--the\nage of peace, of prosperity, of expansion, until the lands, both in\nthe north and in the south were inhabited by a numerous and happy\npeople. Then came pride which follows wealth; and corruption which\nfollows ease. Sects arose within the church, schism followed schism.\nThen the wicked, schismatical sects persecuted the true followers of\nChrist. The old distinctions of Lamanite and Nephite were revived; and\nunder these names an internecine war was begun. The true followers of\nChrist, who had taken the name of Nephites, unhappily fell away from\nrighteousness--were no longer Christians, in fact, but fought on under\nthe name the Christians had assumed until the series of wars between\nthe two parties ended in anarchy. This much to remind the reader that\nthere was no distinction in the matter of civilization during this\nperiod between Lamanites and Nephites. After the fall of the Nephite\nparty--more proper than to say Nephite people--followed the Lamanite\nwars and anarchy; from which, however, I have ventured the conjecture\nthat there was a revolt, and an effort made to return to settled orders\nof government, and to some sort of civilization.\n\nThe last battles of the great and long continued war which ended in the\ndestruction of the Nephite party, took place south of the great lake\nregion, about Cumorah; and to this part of the land had been drawn if\nnot the bulk, then certainly a very large proportion of the inhabitants\nof the land. [8] These moved southward in time, tribe pressing upon\ntribe, as ocean wave presses on ocean wave towards the shore; and\ndoubtless this movement of population southward after the disaster\nat Cumorah, accounts for those universal traditions found among the\nnatives of Mexico and Central America of successive migrations from the\nnorth of powerful tribes or races who so much affected the political\nhistory of those countries. [9] As these tribes from the north reached\nthe old centers of population and civilization they revived settled\norders of government, fastened themselves upon the weaker inhabitants\nas their rulers, compelled industry among the lower orders, gave\nencouragement to the arts that ministered to their ease and vanity,\nencouraged learning at least among the sacerdotal orders, and received\nthe credit of founding a new order of civilization, when in reality\nit was but a partial reviving of a former civilization, upon which\nthey fastened the dark and loathsome Lamanite superstitiuous idolatry,\nwith its horrors of human sacrifice and cannibalism. I believe these\nconjectures to be warranted by the fact that in several parts of the\nAmerican continents, viz.: in Mexico, Central America, and Peru, a\ncivilization of no mean degree of advancement was found to exist at\nthe time of the arrival of the Spaniards; and, indeed, there are not\nwanting authorities who assert that the civilization found in America\nby the Spaniards, both in Mexico and Peru, was equal to their own. Such\nis the assertion of Dr. John W. Draper who says, in speaking of the\ncrimes of Spain:\n\n    From Mexico and Peru a civilization that might have instructed\n    Europe was crushed out. * * * * It has been her [Spain's] evil\n    destiny to ruin two civilizations, Oriental and Occidental. * * *\n    In America she destroyed races more civilized than herself. [10]\n\nNadaillac remarks:\n\n    To sum up, every thing goes to prove that the ancient races of\n    Central America possessed an advanced culture, exact ideas on\n    certain arts and sciences, and remarkable technical knowledge.\n    As pointed out in 1869, by Morgan, in the North American Review,\n    the Spanish succeeded in destroying in a few years a civilization\n    undoubtedly superior in many respects to that which they endeavored\n    to substitute for it. [11]\n\nPrescott places scarcely less value upon it. He says:\n\n    Enough has been said, however, to show that the Aztec and Tezcucan\n    races were advanced in civilization very far beyond the wandering\n    tribes of North America. The degree of civilization which they\n    reached, as inferred by their political institutions, may be\n    considered, perhaps, not much short of that enjoyed by our Saxon\n    ancestors, under Alfred [849-901 A. D.]. In respect to the nature\n    of it, they may be better compared with the Egyptians; and the\n    examination of their social relations and culture may suggest still\n    stronger points of resemblance to that ancient people. [12]\n\nH. H. Bancroft says:\n\n    This, however, I may safely claim; if the preceding pages inform us\n    aright, then were the Nahuas, the Mayas, and the subordinate and\n    lesser civilization surrounding these, but little lower than the\n    contemporaneous civilization of Europe and Asia, and not nearly so\n    low as we have hitherto been led to suppose. [13]\n\nJohn D. Baldwin, writing in 1871, says:\n\n    We are told repeatedly that the Spaniards employed \"Mexican\n    masons\" and found them \"very expert\" in the arts of building and\n    plastering. There is no good reason to doubt that the civilized\n    condition of the country when the Spaniards found it was superior\n    to what it has been at any time since the conquest. [14]\n\nTezcuco and Mexico are both known to be comparatively modern cities,\nMexico itself being founded no earlier than 1325 A. D., and Prescott,\nin speaking of an era of prosperity which followed the triple alliance\nof the states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan says:\n\n    The Aztec capital, [Mexico] gave evidence of public prosperity. Its\n    frail tenements were supplanted by solid structures of stone and\n    lime. * * * * The dimensions of which, covering the same ground,\n    were much larger than those of the modern capital of Mexico. [15]\n\nHis description of the valley of Mexico, and its cities, fields and\norchards, when first beheld by the invading Spaniards under Cortez, is\nas follows:\n\n    Stretching far away at their feet, were seen noble forests of\n    oak, sycamore, and cedar, and beyond, yellow fields of maize and\n    the towering maguey, intermingled with orchards and blooming\n    gardens; for flowers, in such demand for their religious festivals,\n    were even more abundant in this populous valley than in other\n    parts of Anahuac. In the center of the great basin were beheld\n    the lakes, occupying then a much larger portion of its surface\n    than at present; their borders thickly studded with towns and\n    hamlets, and, in the midst--like some Indian empress with her\n    coronal of pearls--the fair City of Mexico, with her white towers\n    and pyramidal temples, reposing, as it were, on the bosom of\n    the waters--the far-famed \"Venice of the Aztecs.\" High over all\n    rose the royal hill of Chapoltepec, the residence of the Mexican\n    monarchs, crowned with the same grove of gigantic cypresses,\n    which at this day fling their broad shadows over the land. In the\n    distance beyond the blue waters of the lake, and nearly screened by\n    intervening foliage, was seen a shining speck, the rival capital of\n    Tezcuco, and, still further on, the dark belt of porphyry, girdling\n    the valley around, like a rich setting which nature had devised for\n    the fairest of her jewels. [16]\n\nFrom the statements of Bernal Diaz we are also justified in believing\nthat a somewhat similar state of civilization obtained in Yucatan and\nother parts of Central America. While the well-known works of Squier,\n[17] Baldwin, Rivero and Tschudi, [18] and the very excellent and\npopular volumes of Prescott on Peru, justify us in the belief that\nwhile differing somewhat in its character, the civilization of Peru was\nequal and even superior in some respects--to that of Mexico at the time\nof the conquest; and the empire of the Incas was even more extensive\nthan that of the Montezumas.\n\nThe civilization in America upon the advent of the Spaniards--since\nthere is no substantial historical evidence of foreign migrations\nin which it could have had its origin--must have arisen, as already\nsuggested, from among the Lamanites after the fall of the Nephites at\nCumorah--it was Lamanite civilization. I would not have the reader form\ntoo exalted an opinion of that civilization, however. It found its\nchief expression, where it attained its highest development, in the\nexistence of numerous cities, palaces, and temples; in the existence\nof regular pursuits of industry, of agriculture, and manufactures;\nin a settled order of society, a regular order of government, and a\nfixed establishment of religion. So far as these conditions make for\ncivilization, Mexico, some parts of Central America, and Peru, can\nbe said to be civilized. But after this is said it must be claimed\nthat much was lacking in the conditions existing in those parts of\nAmerica in order to make them conform to the generally accepted idea\nof civilization. The governments were cruel despotisms; the industrial\nsystem reduced the masses to conditions scarcely removed from abject\nslavery; the religion of Mexico and Central America, at least, was\nthe darkest, the most sanguinary, and repulsive described in the\nannals of human history; while the revolting practice of refined\ncannibalism was more widespread and horrible than among any other\npeople whatsoever. These and many other considerations, too numerous to\nmention in detail, must forbid our entertaining exalted notions of this\nLamanite civilization. We shall see as we proceed with the unfoldment\nof our evidences, that these horrible conditions were but the natural\noutgrowth of Lamanite tendencies through all the course of their\nhistory.\n\nV.\n\n_Of the Writers on American Antiquities._\n\nStill another remark is necessary in these preliminary observations.\nThe authorities upon which we have to depend for our knowledge of\nAmerican antiquities are widely conflicting. There is not one that may\nbe followed unreservedly, and it is impossible to say with any degree\nof exactness what is even the concensus of opinion of authorities upon\nvery many subjects, so widely divergent and conflicting are their\nviews. This conflict of opinion extends to such important subjects as\nthe following: Who were the first inhabitants of America? Were they\nindigenous races, or is their presence in America due to migration?\nIf due to migration, from what lands did they come? Was there one or\nseveral migrations? What was the course of their migration? Are they of\none or a number of distinct races? Are the monuments of civilization\nfound in America ancient or comparatively modern? Do they represent the\ncivilization of vanished races, or are they the work of the not very\nremote ancestors of the Indians? Is the civilization represented by\nthese monuments really of a very high order, or was it but a step or\ntwo removed from savagery? In support of any one of these conflicting\nopinions about America's ancient inhabitants and their civilization\none need not be at a loss to find respectable authorities. One may\nsupport with honored names in this field of research the Lost Tribes of\nIsrael theory of the origin of the American Indians; the Malay theory\nof origin; the Phoenician theory; the Egyptian, the Atlantic, and a\nnumber of other minor theories. [19] One can array a formidable list\nof authors in favor of the indigenous theory of origin for ancient\nAmerican civilization; and perhaps a still longer and equally learned\nlist of authorities in favor of an exotic origin. All of which makes\nit evident that writers upon the subject are to be weighed as well as\ncounted; and also warns us that in the presence of such a diversity of\nopinions many things pertaining to American antiquities must remain\nopen questions. It must be remembered that as yet, so far as man's\nresearches are concerned, but little is really known about ancient\nAmerica. \"That,\" as a Frenchman remarks, \"has yet to be discovered.\"\nTrue, many of her ancient monuments have been located, but they seem\nto tell a different story to each explorer who looks upon them.\nThere are not wanting stone tablets of hieroglyphics, and ancient\ndocuments written on skins and paper; [20] but up to the present time\nthey are sealed books even to the learned. Meantime no Rosetta Stone\nis discovered [21] to furnish the key to their decipherment, and no\nlearned American Champollion as yet [22] comes forward to reveal their\nmystery.\n\nIn considering authorities upon American antiquities, one thing should\nbe especially observed: one should be upon his guard against the\ncredulity and bias of the early writers; and equally upon his guard\nagainst the skepticism and bias of the more modern ones. The former,\nliving in an age of superstition and credulity, and having special\ninterests to serve, would have us believe too much; the latter, living\nin an age super-critical and doubting, would have us believe too\nlittle. There is no doubt but what the Spanish writers connected with\nthe conquest of America colored their narratives to give importance\nin the eyes of their countrymen in Europe to the events with which\nthey were associated; and they likely exaggerated whatever had such\na tendency. Hence greater empires, more formidable armies, and more\nimposing civilizations than really existed in America at the time of\nthe conquest, were described. So with the missionaries who accompanied\nthe first European expeditions and those who immediately followed them.\nThey sometimes very likely saw analogies between the Christian faith\nand some of the traditions and superstitions of the natives where none\nexisted. So closely did some of the native traditions and ceremonies\nresemble Catholic Christian dogma and rites that the over-zealous\npriests came to the conclusion that the \"devil\" had in America\ncounterfeited some parts of the Christian religion and intermixed it\nwith the native paganism, the better to encompass the damnation of the\nnatives and hinder the progress of the Christian religion. This led\nto the destruction of many Aztec manuscripts which were regarded by\nsome of the priests as works on magic, and in other ways were supposed\nto uphold the idolatry of the natives. This idea strongly impressed\nthe first archbishop of Mexico, Don Juan de Zumarraga, [23] who from\na number of cities caused large quantities of the native manuscripts\nto be collected and destroyed. The collection from Tezcuco was\nespecially large, since--as Prescott describes it--Tezcuco was \"the\ngreat depository of the national archives.\" The archbishop caused these\ncollected manuscripts \"to be piled up in a 'mountainlike heap,'--as it\nis called by the Spanish writers themselves--in the market place at\nTlateloco and reduced them all to ashes. * * * The unlettered soldiery\nwere not slow in imitating the example of their prelate. Every chart\nand volume which fell into their hands was wantonly destroyed: so that\nwhen the scholars of a later and more enlightened age anxiously sought\nto recover some of these memorials of civilization, nearly all had\nperished, and the few surviving were jealously hidden by the natives.\"\n[24] And thus was destroyed materials which might have gone far towards\nsolving the mystery that enshrouds the people and civilization of\nancient America.\n\nThese native records were more numerous than they are generally\nthought to be. Baldwin, in speaking of the people of Central America\nand Mexico, says: \"The ruins show that they had the art of writing,\nand that at the south this art was more developed, more like a\nphonetic system of writing, than we find in use among the Aztecs.\nThe inscriptions of Palenque, and the characters used in some of the\nmanuscript books that have been preserved, are not the same as the\nMexican picture writing. It is known that books of manuscript writings\nwere abundant among them in the ages previous to the Aztec period. * *\n* Las Casas wrote on this point as follows: 'It should be known that\nin all the commonwealths of these countries, in the kingdoms of New\nSpain and elsewhere, among other professions duly filled by suitable\npersons, was that of chronicler and historian. These chroniclers had\nknowledge of the origin of the kingdoms, and of whatever relates to\nreligion and the gods, as well as to the founders of towns and cities.\nThey recorded the history of kings, and of the modes of their election\nand succession; of their labors, actions, wars, and memorable deeds,\ngood and bad; of the virtuous men or heroes of former days, their\ngreat deeds, the wars they had waged, and how they had distinguished\nthemselves; who had been the earliest settlers, what had been their\nancient customs, their triumphs and defeats. They knew, in fact\nwhatever pertained to history, and were able to give an account of all\npast events. * * * Our priests have seen those books, and I myself have\nseen them likewise, though many were burned at the instigation of the\nmonks, who were afraid they might impede the work of conversion.' Books\nsuch as those here described by Las Casas must have contained important\nhistorical information. The older books, belonging to the ages of Copan\nand Palenque, went to decay doubtless long previous to his time, in the\nwars and revolutions of the Toltec period, or by the wear of time. The\nlater books, not otherwise lost, were destroyed by Aztec and Spanish\nvandalism.\" [25]\n\nRespecting native writers following the conquest, they were men who\nacquired the Spanish language and wrote on the history of their people\neither in Spanish, or, if in their own language they employed the\nSpanish alphabet--of them it is said, and one may readily admit the\nreasonableness of the statement--\"most of them were thoroughly imbued\nwith the spirit of their converters, and their writings as a class are\nsubject to the same criticism.\" [26]\n\nNaturally these native writers would emphasize that which would\nglorify their own country and exalt the character of its civilization;\nbelonging to a conquered race--the soreness of the conflict past--they\nwould be but too prone to please, in order to stand in favor with,\ntheir conquerors; while their religious zeal would prompt them to find\nas many analogies as possible between their old faith and the one to\nwhich they were converted. All of which would tend to exaggeration\nin the same general direction as that followed by the early Spanish\nwriters. But because of these tendencies to exaggeration it does not\nfollow that all the works of early Spanish or native writers on America\nare to be described as of no value or even as of little value.\n\nAs justly remarked by H. H. Bancroft, \"Do we reject all the events of\nGreek and Roman history, because the historians believed that the sun\nrevolved about the earth, and attributed the ordinary phenomena of\nnature to the actions of the imaginary gods? * * * And finally, can\nwe reject the statements of able and conscientious men--many of whom\ndevoted their lives to the study of aboriginal character and history,\nfrom an honest desire to do the natives good--because they deem\nthemselves bound by their priestly vows and the fear of the inquisition\nto draw scriptural conclusions from each native tradition? The same\nremarks apply to the writings of converted and educated natives,\ninfluenced, to a great degree, by their teachers; more prone, perhaps,\nto exaggeration through national pride, but at the same time better\nacquainted with the native hieroglyphics. To pronounce all these works\ndeliberately executed forgeries, as a few modern writers have done,\nis too absurd to require refutation.\" [27] And to this I would add a\nprotest against that spirit of skepticism which in these same modern\nwriters, when they do not pronounce the works referred to by Bancroft\nas forgeries, insist upon so far discrediting them by their sophistries\nof criticism that they might as well pronounce them outright forgeries.\nUndoubtedly the trend of modern writers is in support of the theory\nboth of an indigenous people and civilization for America, and the\nlatter of no very high order. In support of this theory they do not\nhesitate to discredit most of the native traditions recorded by the\nearlier writers, which tell of migrations of their ancestors from\ndistant countries; of golden ages of prosperity and peace, and of an\nancient, splendid civilization. It is difficult to determine always\nwhich is most to be discounted, the writers through whom the traditions\nof the glorious past are transmitted to us, or those who would\ndismantle that part of its glory and present us with an ancient America\nundeveloped beyond the point of middle savagery. Perhaps in this, as\nin so many other things where man's prejudices are involved, the truth\nwill be found at about an equal distance between the two extremes; and\neven under this adjustment of the conflicting claims of authorities, I\nam sure we shall find much that will in an incidental way support the\nclaims of the Book of Mormon.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Vivier de Saint Martin, in the new _Dictionary of Universal\nGeography_, article \"American Ethnology,\" states that the tribes all\nalong the Arctic Ocean known as the Esquimaux are a race absolutely\ndistinct from all other American natives, (De Roo, _History of America\nBefore Columbus_, vol. I, pp. 305, 309.)\n\n2. All these theories are considered at length in H. H. Bancrofts'\n_Native Races_, vol. V, ch. 1, and also in the _History of America\nBefore Columbus_, by P. De Roo, vol. I, chs. 6 and 8.\n\n3. The question is considered at length by De Roo in his _History of\nAmerica Before Columbus_, vol. I, ch. 7, in support of which theory he\nquotes many authorities.\n\n4. Ether 15:33.\n\n5. Helaman 3:14.\n\n6. II Nephi 1:8-9.\n\n7. See Mormon. ch. 8: 1-11.\n\n8. See Mormon 6.\n\n9. Very naturally there is much confusion on the subject of migratory\nmovements among the ancient native inhabitants of America, and this\nowing to the confounding of migrations from the old world with later\nintercontinental movements. Also there is a great division of opinion\namong authorities upon the subject, some alleging, for instance,\nthat the tribes who established the civilization, found in Mexico by\nthe Spaniards, came from the north--some from the northeast, others\nfrom the northwest while others insist that the movement was from\nCentral America northward. The controversy waged on this subject is\ntoo extensive to be introduced into this note or even into this work.\nBut I may here say that the disagreement among so many writers worthy\nof our respect grows out of the fact that there were movements both\nnorth and south which leads to their confusion. We know from the Book\nof Mormon that the general migratory movement of the Nephites at\nan early date--55 B. C.--was from the south northward; while during\nthe period of peace which followed Messiah's advent, there was\nunrestricted movements of population north and south. Then came the\nperiod of gathering in the north, south of the great lakes, ending in\nthe disaster about Cumorah; then the movement of the people from the\nnorth southward to the old centers of population, and the reviving of\npartially civilized conditions. One class of writers seized upon the\nfragmentary tradition concerning this northward movement for their\nconclusions, while another class seizes upon the tradition of the\nsouthward movement for their authority, and hence the conflict. Of the\ntraditions of the northern origin of the Aztecs, Prescott remarks:\n\"Traditions of the western, or northwestern, origin were found among\nthe more barbarous tribes, and by the Mexicans were preserved both\norally and in their hieroglyphical maps, where the different stages\nof their migrations are carefully noted. But who, at this day, shall\nread them? They are admitted to agree, however, in representing the\npopulous north as the prolific hive of the American races. In this\nquarter were placed their Aztlan, and their Huehuetapallan, the bright\nabode of their ancestors, whose warlike exploits rivalled those which\nthe Teutonic nations have recorded of Odin and the mythic heroes of\nScandanavia. From this quarter the Toltecs, the Chichemecs, and the\nkindred races of the Nahuatlacs, came successively up the great plateau\nof the Andes, spreading over its hills and valleys, down to the Gulf\nof Mexico.\" (_Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II, pp. 397, 398, Burt & Co.,\nN. Y.) Also Nadaillac speaking of the invaders of the valley of Mexico\nsays: \"All these men, whether Toltecs, Chichimecs, or Aztecs, believed\nthat their people came from the north, and migrated southward, seeking\nmore fertile lands, more genial climates, or perhaps driven before a\nmore warlike race; one wave of emigration succeeding another. We must,\naccording to this tradition, seek in more northern regions the cradle\nof the Nahuatl race.\" (_Pre-Historic America_, p. 13.) Baldwin, quoting\nBrasseus de Bourbourg and Sahagun allows a northeast migration for the\nToltecs (_Ancient America_, pp. 200, 202), but insists that the Aztecs\nwho succeeded these races in the occupation of the valley of Mexico\ncame from the south (pp. 217, 218). This view of the southern origin\nfor the Aztecs is also maintained at some length and by an extensive\ncitation of authorities by Bancroft. (_Native Races_, vol. V, ch. 3.)\n\n10. _Intellectual Development of Europe_, vol. II. pp. 166-167.\n\n11. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 386.\n\n12. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. I, pp. 57, 58.\n\n13. _Native Races_, vol. II, pp. 804, 805.\n\n14. _Ancient America_, (Baldwin) p. 215.\n\n15. _Conquest of Mexico_, (Prescott) vol. I, p. 39.\n\n16. _Conquest of Mexico_, (Prescott) vol. I, p. 354.\n\n17. Peru, _Incidents of Travel and Exploration of the Land of the\nIncas_, E. George Squier, M. A. F. S. A.\n\n18. _Peruvian Antiquities_, by Rivero and Tschudi; the former director\nof the National Museum at Lima, the latter a doctor of philosophy and\nmedicine.\n\n19. \"Under the broad range allowed by a descent from the sons of\nNoah,\" says Mr. John L. Stephens, to whom we are indebted for most\nexcellent works on American antiquities, \"the Jews, the Canaanites, the\nPhoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Scythians in ancient\ntimes; the Chinese, the Swedes, the Norwegians, the Welsh, and the\nSpaniards in modern times, have had ascribed to them the honor of\npeopling America.\" _Central America_, vol. I, pp. 96, 97.\n\n20. There are eight or ten such collections. Their contents for the\nmost part, are published in Lord Kingsborough's monumental work. A list\nof them and a description will also be found in Bancroft's _Native\nRaces_, vol. II, ch. 17.\n\n21. See chapter 1, p. 33.\n\n22. It was the French linguist and archaeologist, Jean Francois\nChampollion, who discovered from the Rosetta Stone the key to the\nEgyptian hieroglyphics.\n\n23. Born 1486, died 1549.\n\n24. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. I, pp. 89, 90.\n\n25. _Ancient America_, pp. 187, 188, J. D. Baldwin.\n\n26. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. V, p. 147.\n\n27. _Native Races_, vol. V, pp. 145, 146. The whole chapter from which\nthe above passage is quoted deals with the subject of the early writers\non ancient America, and could with profit be considered by the reader.\nW. H. Prescott also has a very choice set of notes on the subject of\nthe same class of writers in his first book on the conquest of Mexico,\nespecially those notes following each chapter on some special authority\non whom he mainly relies for the statements in his text.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nINDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES--Continued.\n\nThe Book of Mormon, as already stated, requires the evidence of the\nexistence of a very ancient civilization in the north continent of\nAmerica, with its central and most enduring monuments in our Central\nAmerican states. Also the evidences of a later civilization somewhat\noverlaying and intermixed with the former; the monuments of these\ntwo civilizations, however, may be somewhat confused by the rise of\nanother, though inferior civilization, during the thousand years\nimmediately preceding the advent of the Spaniards in America, which had\nbegun to raise itself out of that chaos of confusion into which things\nwere thrown by the destruction of the Nephites and their government.\nUnder these circumstances it may be extremely difficult to separate\nthese antiquities and assign each group to its proper division. But\nthis much we feel confident can be done; evidence can be adduced that\nsuch ancient civilizations did exist; that the monuments of one has\noverlaid and intermixed with the others; that the central location of\nthe first was in our Central States of America, and so far as such\nevidence is adduced, to that extent the claims of the Book of Mormon\nwill be sustained. In the presentation of such evidence I can only\ntake the humble part of compiler of it from the writings of others,\nsince I lay no claim to original investigation of the matter; and even\nin the work of presenting the utterances of conceded authorities upon\nthe subject, one stands momentarily confused, not because of the lack\nof matter to present to the reader, but in the matter of selecting\nfrom the great mass those passages suitable for our limited space,\nand which shall be most direct and convincing. With so much by way of\nintroduction, then, I present first of all:--\n\nI.\n\n_The Evidence of the Existence of Ancient Civilizations in America._\n\n    Considering the vast extent of these remains, [i. e. of ancient\n    cities, pyramids and temples] spreading over more than half the\n    continent, and that in Mexico, and South America, after the lapse\n    of an unknown series of ages, they still retain much of ancient\n    grandeur which \"Time's effacing fingers\" have failed to obliterate.\n    It is certainly no wild flight of the imagination to conjecture\n    that in ancient times, even coeval with the spread of science in\n    the east, empires may have flourished here that would vie in power\n    and extent with the Babylonian, the Median, or the Persian; and\n    cities that might have rivaled Nineveh, and Tyre, and Sidon; for\n    of these empires and these cities, the plains of Asia now exhibit\n    fewer, and even less imposing relics, than are found of the former\n    inhabitants of this country. [1]\n\n    We venture to say that the aboriginal inhabitants of our hemisphere\n    have not till this day received their meed for ancient bravery,\n    nautical skill, and wonderful attainments in geography and in every\n    branch of material advancement and of civilization generally.\n    Ancient prehistoric America was, indeed, a civilized world. * * * *\n    * Proceeding from north to south, we find from distance to distance\n    unmistakable traces of mighty, skilful, and learned nations that\n    had either wholly disappeared from the face of the earth, or\n    had become degenerated and degraded to such an extent as to be\n    irrecognizable at the time of not only the Spanish, but even of the\n    Northman [tenth century] discoveries. * * * * * The Mayas [Central\n    America] were intellectual giants, indeed. The ruins of their vast\n    public works, of their costly edifices, of their sculptures and\n    paintings, and of their finely carved symbolic writings attest the\n    height of a civilization of which we might well be proud today.\n    And yet all these evidences of a glorious past lay buried for long\n    centuries before Columbus' discovery in the virgin forests of\n    Yucatan. Palenque, Uxmal, Copan, and several other ruined cities\n    of Central America are as grand and beautiful monuments on the\n    cemeteries of the New World as are Troy, Babylon, and Thebes on\n    those of the Old; and their antiquity does not seem to be less\n    venerable. They certainly pertain to America's remotest period.\n    They were ruins more than they are now, in the sixteenth century;\n    the native of the neighboring region knew nothing of their origin,\n    and no notice whatever of the existence of such cities appears in\n    the annals of the surrounding civilized nations during the eight\n    or nine centuries preceding the Spanish conquest. Bancroft is even\n    of the opinion that the Maya grandeur was already at its height\n    several centuries before Christ. [2]\n\nAfter speaking of various evidences of civilization in America,\nNadaillac remarks:\n\n    But we need not give any further account of these great\n    discoveries. We must return to the companions of Cortez to tell\n    of the new wonders which awaited them. Even in the most remote\n    districts in the primeval forests covering Chiapas, Guatemala,\n    Honduras, and Yucatan, where, through the dense undergrowth a\n    passage had often to be forced, axe in hand, statues, columns,\n    hieroglyphics, unoccupied villages, abandoned palaces, and stately\n    ruins, rose on every side, mute witnesses of past ages and of\n    vanished races. Everywhere the conquerors were met by tokens, not\n    only of a civilization even more ancient and probably more advanced\n    than that of the races they subjugated, but also of struggles and\n    wars, those scourges of humanity in every race and every clime. [3]\n\nContinuing further on in his admirable work, the same writer says:\n\n    Undoubtedly America bears witness to a venerable past; and without\n    admitting the claims of some recent authors who are of opinion\n    that when Europe was inhabited by wandering savages, whose only\n    weapons were roughly hewn of stone, America was already peopled\n    by men who built cities, raised monuments, and had attained to a\n    high degree of culture, we must admit that their civilization and\n    social organization can only have become what it was by degrees.\n    * * * To erect the monuments of Mexico and Peru, the yet more\n    ancient ones of Central America--the singular resemblance of\n    which, in some particulars, to the temples and palaces of Egypt,\n    strike the archaeologist--must have required skilled labor, a\n    numerous population, and an established priesthood, such as could\n    have developed only during the lapse of centuries. * * * To sum\n    up: multitudes of races and nations have arisen upon the American\n    continent and have disappeared, leaving no trace, but ruins,\n    mounds, a few wrought stones, or fragments of pottery. [4]\n\n    In the New World, mysterious mounds and gigantic earth-works arrest\n    our attention. Here we find deserted mines, and there we can trace\n    the sites of ancient camps and fortifications. The Indians of the\n    prairies seem to be intruders on a fairer civilization. We find\n    here evidences of a teeming population. In the presence of their\n    imposing ruins, we can not think that nomadic savages built them.\n    They give evidences rather of a people having fixed habitations,\n    and seem to imply the possession of a higher civilization than that\n    of the Indians. These questions demand solution; but how shall\n    we solve the problem? Save here and there a deserted camp, or a\n    burial mound, containing perhaps articles of use or adornment,\n    all traces have vanished. Their earth-works and mounds are being\n    rapidly leveled by the plow of modern times, and the scholar of\n    the future can only learn from books of their mysterious builders.\n    In Mexico, and further south, we find the ruins of great cities.\n    To the student of antiquity, these far surpass in interest the\n    ruined cities of the Nile or Euphrates valley. Babylon of old, with\n    its walls, towers, and pleasure resorts, was indeed wonderful.\n    In our own land cities, if not as ancient, yet fallen in more\n    picturesque ruin, reward the labors of the explorer. Uxmal, Copan,\n    and Palenque, invite our attention. Here are hieroglyphics in\n    abundance, but no Rosetta Stone supplies the key by whose aid a\n    Champollion can unravel the mystery. [5]\n\n    Closely enveloped in the dense forests of Chiapas, Guatemala,\n    Yucatan, and Honduras, the ruins of several ancient cities have\n    been discovered, which are far superior in extent and magnificence\n    to any seen in Aztec territory. * * * Most of these cities were\n    abandoned and more or less unknown at the time of the conquest.\n    They bear hieroglyphic inscriptions apparently identical in\n    character; in other respects they resemble each other more than\n    they resemble the Aztec ruins--or even other and apparently later\n    works in Guatemala, and Honduras. All these remains bear evident\n    marks of great antiquity. Their existence and similarity, the\n    occupation of the whole country at some remote period by nations\n    far advanced in civilization, and closely allied in manners and\n    customs, if not in blood and language. Furthermore, the traditions\n    of several of the most advanced nations point to a widespread\n    civilization introduced among a numerous and powerful people\n    by Votan and Zamna, who, or their successors, built the cities\n    referred to, and founded great allied empires in Chiapas, Yucatan,\n    and Guatemala; and moreover, the tradition is confirmed by the\n    universality of one family of languages or dialects spoken among\n    the civilized nations, and among their descendants to this day. [6]\n\n    That the population of Central America (and in this term I include\n    Mexico) was at one time very dense, and had attained to a high\n    degree of civilization, higher even than that of Europe in the time\n    of Columbus, there can be no question; and it is also probable, as\n    I have shown, that they originally belonged to the white race. [7]\n\n    Finally, from all we can gather from this momentous subject, we are\n    compelled from the overwhelming amount of evidence to admit that\n    mighty nations, with almost unbounded empire, with various degrees\n    of improvement, have occupied the continent, and that, as in the\n    old world, empire has succeed empire, rising one out of the other,\n    from the jarring interests of the unwieldly and the ferocious\n    mass--so also in this. [8]\n\nThe foregoing is perhaps sufficient for the purpose of establishing\nthe mere fact of the existence of extensive and highly developed\ncivilization in America, especially as many of the quotations on some\nof the other divisions of the subject will also bear upon this point. I\nnow take up the matter of the chief centers of those old civilizations.\n\nII.\n\n_Chief Centers of Ancient American Civilization._\n\nThe following is from Baldwin's \"Ancient America\":\n\n    It has been said, not without reason, that the civilization found\n    in Mexico by Spanish conquerors consisted, to a large extent, of\n    \"fragments from the wreck that befell the American civilization of\n    antiquity.\" To find the chief seats and most abundant remains of\n    the most remarkable civilization of this old American race, we must\n    go still farther south into Central America and some of the more\n    southern states of Mexico. Here ruins of many ancient cities have\n    been discovered, cities which must have been deserted and left to\n    decay in ages previous to the beginning of the Aztec supremacy.\n    Most of these ruins were found buried in dense forests, where, at\n    the time of the Spanish conquest, they had been long hidden from\n    observation. [9]\n\nMarcus Wilson, in speaking of the central location of the ancient\nAmerican civilization and its probable \"radiating points,\" says:\n\n    It is believed that the western shores of this continent, and\n    perhaps both Mexico and Peru--equally distant from the equator,\n    and in regions the most favorable for the increase and the support\n    of human life, were the radiating points of early American\n    civilization; from which, as from the hearts of empire, pulsation\n    after pulsation sent forth their streams of life throughout the\n    whole continent. But the spread of civilization appears to have\n    been restricted, as we might reasonably expect to find it, to those\n    portions of the continent where the rewards of agriculture would\n    support a numerous population. Hence, following the course of the\n    civilization, by the remains it has left us, we find it limited\n    by the barren regions of upper Mexico, and the snows of Canada on\n    the north, and the frosts of Patagonia on the south; and while in\n    Mexico and Peru are found its grandest and most numerous monuments,\n    on the outskirts they dwindle away in numbers and in importance.\n    [10]\n\n    In the Central American region of the western continent are found\n    ruins of what are pronounced by all scholars to be the highest\n    civilization, and the most ancient in time, of any in the New\n    World. There it arose, flourished, and tottered to its fall.\n    Its Glory had departed, its cities were a desolation, before\n    the coming of the Spaniards. * * * * * The most important ruins\n    are in the modern states of Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapas, and\n    especially Yucatan, the northern portion of this peninsula being\n    literally studded with them. The river Usumacinta, and its numerous\n    tributaries flowing in a northern direction through Chiapas, is\n    regarded as the original home of the civilization whose ruins\n    we are now to describe. From whence the tribes came that first\n    settled in this valley is as yet an unsettled point. We notice\n    that we have here another instance of the influence that fertile\n    river valleys exert upon tribes settling therein. The stories told\n    us of the civilization that flourished in primitive times in the\n    valley of the Euphrates and the Nile are not more wonderful--the\n    ruins perhaps not more impressive--than are the traditions still\n    extant, or the material remains fallen in picturesque ruins, of\n    the civilization that once on a time held sway in the Usumacinta\n    valley. [11]\n\n    Wherever there was a center of civilization, that is, wherever\n    the surroundings favored the development of culture, tribes of\n    different stocks enjoyed it to nearly an equal degree, as in\n    central Mexico and Peru. By them it was distributed, and thus\n    shaded off in all directions. [12]\n\nA brief description of some of these ruins of Central America cannot\nfail at this point to be both instructive and interesting. I begin\nwith the description of Copan which, by mutual consent of authorities,\nwe may regard as one of the most famous, as also the most ancient, of\nAmerican ruins. [13]\n\nCOPAN.\n\nThe ruins are situated in the west part of the modern state of\nHonduras, on the left bank of the Copan river, which empties into the\nMontague. The name Copan is applied to the ruins because of their\nvicinity to an adjoining hamlet of that name, so that Copan is not to\nbe regarded as the true name of the ancient city. And now I quote the\ndescription from the works of John L. Stephens to whom the world is\nchiefly indebted for its knowledge of Central American ruins. I omit,\nhowever, the references to plans and engravings which occur in his\nexcellent work:\n\n    The extent along the river, as ascertained by monuments still\n    found, is more than two miles. There is one monument on the\n    opposite side of the river, at the distance of a mile, on the top\n    of a mountain two thousand feet high. Whether the city ever crossed\n    the river, and extended to that monument, it is impossible to say.\n    I believe not. At the rear is an unexplored forest, in which there\n    may be ruins. There are no remains of palaces or private buildings,\n    and the principal part is that which stands on the bank of the\n    river, and may, perhaps, with propriety be called the Temple.\n\n    The temple is an oblong enclosure. The front or river wall extends\n    on a right line north and south six hundred and twenty-four feet,\n    and it is from sixty to ninety feet in height. It is made of cut\n    stones, from three to six feet in length, and a foot and a half in\n    breadth. In many places the stones have been thrown down by bushes\n    growing out of the crevices, and in one place there is a small\n    opening, from which the ruins are sometimes called by the Indians,\n    Las Ventanas, or the windows. The other three sides consist of\n    ranges of steps and pyramidal structures, rising from thirty to\n    one hundred and forty feet in height on the slope. The whole line\n    survey is two thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet, which,\n    though gigantic and extraordinary for a ruined structure of the\n    aborigines, that the reader's imagination may not mislead him, I\n    consider it necessary to say, is not so large as the base of the\n    great pyramid of Ghizeh. * *\n\n    Near the southwest corner of the river wall and the south wall is\n    a recess, which was probably once occupied by a colossal monument\n    fronting the water, no part of which is now visible; probably it\n    has fallen and been broken, and the fragments have been buried\n    or washed away by the floods in the rainy season. Beyond are the\n    ruins of two small pyramidal structures, to the largest of which\n    is attached a wall running along the west bank of the river; this\n    appears to have been one of the principal walls of the city; and\n    between the two pyramids there seems to have been a gateway or\n    principal entrance from the water.\n\n    The south wall runs at right angles to the river, beginning with a\n    range of steps about thirty feet high, and each step about eighteen\n    inches square. At the southeast corner is a massive pyramidal\n    structure one hundred and twenty feet high on the slope. On the\n    right are other remains of terraces and pyramidal buildings; and\n    here also was probably a gateway, by a passage about twenty feet\n    wide, into a quadrangular area two hundred and fifty feet square,\n    two sides of which are massive pyramids one hundred and twenty feet\n    high on the slope.\n\n    At the foot of these structures, and in different parts of the\n    quadrangular area, are numerous remains of sculpture. At one point\n    is a colossal monument richly sculptured, fallen, and ruined.\n    Behind it fragments of sculpture, thrown from their place by trees,\n    are strewn and lying loose on the side of the pyramid, from the\n    base to the top; and among them our attention was forcibly arrested\n    by rows of death's heads of gigantic proportions, still standing in\n    their places about half way up the side of the pyramid; the effect\n    was extraordinary.\n\nHere follows the description of the gigantic stone monuments or carved\nimages which were doubtless the idols of the ancient inhabitants of\nCopan. Resuming his general description, Mr. Stephens says:\n\n    The whole quadrangle is overgrown with trees, and interspersed with\n    fragments of fine sculpture; particularly on the east side, and\n    at the northwest corner is a narrow passage, which was probably\n    a third gateway. On the right is a confused range of terraces\n    running off into the forest, ornamented with death's heads, some\n    of which are still in position, and others lying about as they\n    have fallen or been thrown down. Turning northward, the range on\n    the left hand continues a high, massive pyramidal structure, with\n    trees growing out of it to the very top. At a short distance is a\n    detached pyramid, tolerably perfect, about fifty feet square and\n    thirty feet high. The range continues for a distance of about four\n    hundred feet, decreasing somewhat in height, and along this there\n    are but few remains of sculpture. The range of structures turn at\n    right angles to the left, and runs to the river, joining the other\n    extremity of the wall, at which we began our survey. The bank was\n    elevated about thirty feet above the river, and had been protected\n    by a wall of stone, most of which had fallen down.\n\n    The plan was complicated, and the whole ground, being overgrown\n    with trees, difficult to make out. There was no entire pyramid,\n    but at most, two or three pyramidal sides, and these joined on the\n    terraces or other structures of the same kind. Beyond the wall or\n    enclosure were walls, terraces, and pyramidal elevations running\n    off into the forest, which sometimes confused us. Probably the\n    whole was not erected at the same time, but additions were made and\n    statues erected by different kings, or, perhaps in commemoration of\n    important events in the history of the city. Along the whole line\n    were ranges of steps with pyramidal elevations, probably crowned on\n    the top with buildings or altars now ruined. All these steps of the\n    pyramidal sides were painted and the reader may imagine the effect\n    when the whole country was clear of forest and priest and people\n    were ascending from the outside to the terraces, and thence to the\n    holy places within to pay their adoration in the temple.\n\nThen follows a description of pyramids and stone monuments and altars,\ntogether with stone tablets of hieroglyphics which, without the\naccompanying engravings of Mr. Stephens' work, would be unintelligible.\nMr. Stephens visited the stone quarries which supplied the material for\nthis magnificent city, ruins of whose public buildings doubtless alone\nremain, and if these extensive ruins but mark the site and grandeur of\nthe public buildings, as is most probable, then how extensive indeed\nmust have been the old city whose ruins we call Copan! While at the\nquarry, some two miles distant from the ruins, Mr. Stephens indulged in\nthe following reflections:\n\n    The range lies about two miles north from the river, and runs east\n    and west. At the foot of it we crossed a wild stream. The side\n    of the mountain was overgrown with bushes and trees. The top was\n    bare, and commanded a magnificent view of a dense forest broken\n    only by the winding of the Copan river, and the clearings for the\n    haciendas of Don Gregorio and Don Miguel. [14] The city was buried\n    in forest and entirely hidden from sight. Imagination peopled the\n    quarry with workmen, and laid bare the city to their view. Here, as\n    the sculptor worked, he turned to the theatre of his glory, as the\n    Greek did to the Acropolis of Athens, and dreamed of immortal fame.\n    Little did he imagine that the time would come when his works would\n    perish, his race be extinct, his city a desolation and abode for\n    reptiles, for strangers to gaze at and wonder by what race it had\n    once been inhabited.\n\nRelative to the antiquity and probable cause of the desertion of Copan,\nMr. Stephens writes:\n\n    In regard to the age of the desolate city I will not at present\n    offer any conjecture. Some idea might perhaps be formed from\n    the accumulations of earth, and the gigantic trees growing on\n    the top of the ruined structures, but it would be uncertain and\n    unsatisfactory. Nor shall I at this moment offer any conjecture in\n    regard to the people who built it, or to the time when or the means\n    by which it was depopulated, and became a desolation and ruin;\n    whether it fell by the sword, or famine, or pestilence. The trees\n    which shroud it may have sprung from the blood of its slaughtered\n    inhabitants; they may have perished howling with hunger; or\n    pestilence, like the cholera, may have piled its streets with dead,\n    and driven forever the feeble remnants from their homes; of which\n    dire calamities to other cities we have authentic accounts, in eras\n    both prior and subsequent to the discovery of the country by the\n    Spaniards. One thing I believe, that its history is graven on its\n    monuments. No Champollion has yet brought to them the energies of\n    his inquiring mind. Who shall read them?\n\n  \"'Chaos of ruins! who shall trace the void,\n  O'er the dim fragments cast a lunar light,\n  And say 'here was or is,' where all is doubly night?'\" [15]\n\nPALENQUE\n\nI next call attention to the ruins of Palenque, situated about two\nhundred and sixty miles northwest from Copan in the modern state of\nChiapas in the valley of the Usumacinta river. Our space will not admit\nof the elaborate and detailed description given of this ancient city\nby the writers who have visited it, and whose descriptions are usually\nattended with references to numerous cuts of pyramids, temples, ruined\nwalls, statuary, tablets, etc. I have therefore decided to abridge the\ndescription of this city and its chief monuments from the admirable\nwork of Nadaillac:\n\n    The monuments of Palenque are justly reckoned amongst the most\n    remarkable in Chiapas. [16] The town stands in the region watered\n    by the Usumacinta, where settled the first immigrants of whom it\n    has been possible to distinguish traces. The position of Palenque,\n    at the foot of the first buttresses of the mountain chain, on the\n    banks of the little river Otolum, one of the tributaries of the\n    Tulija, was admirably chosen. The streets extended for a length of\n    from six to eight leagues, (from eighteen to twenty-four miles)\n    irregularly following the course of the streams which descend from\n    the mountains and furnish the inhabitants with an abundant supply\n    of water necessary to them. At the present day the ruins rise in\n    solitude, which adds to the effect produced by them. They were\n    long altogether unknown; Cortez, in one of his expeditions, passed\n    within a few miles of Palenque without suspecting its existence;\n    and it was not till 1746, that chance led to its discovery by a\n    cure of the neighborhood. * * * * * *\n\n    Among the best preserved ruins may be mentioned the palace, the\n    temple of the three tablets, the temple of the bas-reliefs, the\n    temple of the cross, and the temple of the sun. We keep the names\n    given by various explorers in the absence of better ones. There are\n    others, but of less importance. Dupaix speaks of eleven buildings\n    still standing, and a few years before A. Del Rio mentioned twenty;\n    Waldeck says eighteen, and Maler, who visited the ruins of Palenque\n    in 1877, fixes the number of the temples or palaces at twelve.\n    These contradictions are more apparent than real, and are explained\n    by the different impressions of each traveler, and the divisions he\n    thought it necessary to adopt.\n\n    The palace, the most important building of Palenque, rests on a\n    truncated pyramid about forty feet high, the base of which measures\n    from three hundred and ten feet by two hundred and sixty. The\n    inside of this pyramid is of earth; the external faces are covered\n    with large slabs; steps lead up to the principal building, which\n    forms a quadrilateral of two hundred and twenty-eight feet by one\n    hundred and eighty; the walls, which are two or three feet thick,\n    are of rubble, crowned by a frieze framed between two double\n    cornices. Inside as well as outside they are covered with a very\n    fine and durable stucco, painted red or blue, black or white. The\n    principal front faces the east; it includes fourteen entrances\n    about nine feet wide, separated by pilasters ornamented with\n    figures. These figures measure more than six feet high, and are\n    full of movement; while above the head of each are hieroglyphics\n    inlaid in the stucco. * * * * * *\n\n    The inside of the palace corresponds with the magnificence of\n    the outside; there are galleries forming a peristyle all around\n    the court; and the rooms are decorated with granite bas-reliefs,\n    grotesque figures, some thirteen feet high. * * * * The expression\n    of the figures speaks well for the skill of the artist; but the\n    execution is weak, suggesting an art in decadence rather than\n    the ruggedness of one in its infancy. These rooms were united\n    by corridors. * * * The architects of Palenque were ignorant of\n    the arch, and their vaults were formed of oversailing courses,\n    one above the other, as in the cyclopean monuments of Greece and\n    Italy. The building is finished off with a tower of three stories,\n    measuring thirty feet square at the base. Here, too, we find\n    symbolical decorations, which are very rich and in a very good\n    state of preservation.\n\nOur author, after excusing himself from mentioning many of the\nmonuments of Palenque, for want of space, says:\n\n    We must, however, mention one of them, situated on the other bank\n    of the Otolum, and known under the name of the Temple of the\n    Cross. It rises from a truncated pyramid and forms a quadrilateral\n    with three openings in each face, separated by massive pilasters,\n    some ornamented with hieroglyphics and some ornamented with human\n    figures. The frieze is also covered with human figures, and amongst\n    those still visible Stephens mentions a head and two torsos, which,\n    in their perfection of form, recall Greek art. The openings, all at\n    right angles, lead into an inside gallery communicating with three\n    little rooms. The central one of these rooms contains an altar,\n    which fairly represents an open chest, ornamented with a little\n    frieze with a margin. From the two upper extremities of this frieze\n    springs two wings, recalling the mode of ornamentation so often\n    employed in the pediments of Egyptian monuments.\n\n    Above the altar was originally placed the tablet of the cross,\n    which was afterward torn from its position by the hand of a\n    fanatic, who chose to see in it the sacred sign of the Christian\n    faith, miraculously preserved by the ancient inhabitants of the\n    palace. The tablet was taken down and then abandoned, we know not\n    why, in the midst of the forest covering part of the ruins. Here\n    it was that the Americans discovered part of it, took possession\n    of it, and carried it to Washington, where it forms part of the\n    collection of the National Museum. The center represents a cross,\n    resting upon a hideous figure, and surmounted by a grotesque\n    bird. On the right, a figure on foot is offering presents; on the\n    left, another figure, in a stiff attitude seems to be praying\n    to the divinity. The costume of these two persons is unlike any\n    that is now in use; and above their heads we can make out several\n    hieroglyphical characters. A slab on the right is also covered with\n    them. In the present state of knowledge it is impossible to make\n    out whether these inscriptions are prayers to the gods, the history\n    of the country or that of the temple, the name or the dedication of\n    the founders.\n\n    At the end of the sanctuary recently discovered near Palenque by\n    Maler, are three slabs of sculptured stone in low relief. On the\n    right and left are hieroglyphics; in the center a cross, surmounted\n    by a head of strange appearance, wearing around the neck a collar\n    with a medallion; above this head is a bird, and on either side are\n    figures exactly like those of the temple of the cross. Evidently\n    this was a hieratic type, from which the artist was not allowed to\n    depart. * * *\n\n    We cannot leave the ruins of Palenque without mentioning a\n    statue, remarkable for more than one reason. The calm and smiling\n    expression of the face resembles that of some of the Egyptian\n    statues; the head-dress is a little like that of the Assyrians;\n    there is a necklace around the neck; the figure presses upon its\n    bosom an instrument and rests its left hand upon an ornament, the\n    meaning of both of which it is difficult to imagine. The plinth\n    of the statue has a cartouch with a hieroglyphical inscription,\n    probably giving the name of the god or hero to whom it was\n    dedicated. There is a very distinct resemblance in some of these\n    hieroglyphics to those of Egypt. [17]\n\nIn concluding an extended description of the ruins of Palenque,\nBancroft says:\n\n    I close my account of Maya antiquities with the following brief\n    quotations respecting Palenque, and the degree of art exhibited\n    in her ruined monuments: \"These sculptured figures are not\n    caricatures, but display an ability on the part of the artists to\n    represent the human form in every posture, and with anatomical\n    fidelity. Nor are the people in human life here delineated. The\n    figures are royal or priestly; some are engaged in offering up\n    sacrifices, or are in an attitude of devotion; many hold a sceptre,\n    or token baton of authority, their apparel is gorgeous; their\n    head-dresses are elaborately arrayed, and decorated with long\n    feathers.\" [18] \"Many of the reliefs exhibit the finest and most\n    beautiful outlines, and the neatest combinations which remind one\n    of the best Indian works of art.\" \"The ruins of Palenque have been\n    perhaps overrated; these remains are fine, doubtless, in their\n    antique rudeness; they breathe out in the midst of their solitude\n    a certain imposing grandeur; but it must be affirmed, without\n    disputing their architectural importance, that they do not justify\n    in their details the enthusiasm of archaeologists. The lines which\n    make up the ornamentation are faulty in rectitude; the designs in\n    symmetry; the sculpture in finish; I except, however, the symbolic\n    tablets, the sculpture of which seemed to me very correct.\" \"I\n    admire the bas-reliefs of Palenque on the facades of her old\n    palaces; they interest me, move me, and fill my imagination;\n    but let them be taken to the Louvre, and I see nothing but rude\n    sketches which leave me cold and indifferent.\" \"The most remarkable\n    remains of an advanced ancient civilization hitherto discovered\n    on our continent.\" \"Their general characteristics are simplicity,\n    gravity, and solidity.\" [19] \"While superior in the execution of\n    the details, the Palenque artist was far inferior to the Egyptian\n    in the number and variety of the objects displayed by him.\" [20]\n\nMr. John L. Stephens, whose comments upon the cities he visited in\nCentral America, are always interesting, remarks of the ruins of\nPalenque:\n\n    What we had before our eyes was grand, curious, and remarkable\n    enough. Here were the remains of a cultivated, polished, and\n    peculiar people, who had passed through all the stages incident\n    to the rise and fall of nations; reached their golden age, and\n    perished, entirely unknown. The links which connected them with\n    the human family were severed and lost, and these were the only\n    memorials of their footsteps upon earth. We lived in the ruined\n    palaces of their kings; we went up to their desolate temples and\n    fallen altars; and wherever we moved we saw the evidences of their\n    taste, their skill in arts, their wealth and power. In the midst\n    of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away\n    the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its\n    terraces and pyramids, its sculptured, and painted ornaments,\n    grand, lofty, and imposing, and overlooking an immense inhabited\n    plain; we called back into life the strange people who gazed at\n    us in sadness from the walls; pictured them, in fanciful costumes\n    and adorned with plumes of feathers, ascending the terraces of the\n    palace and the steps leading to the temples; and often we imagined\n    a scene of unique and gorgeous beauty and magnificence, realizing\n    the creations of Oriental poets, the very spot which fancy would\n    have selected for the \"Happy Valley\" of Rasselas. In the romance\n    of the world's history nothing ever impressed me more forcibly\n    than the spectacle of this once great and lovely city, overturned,\n    desolate, and lost; discovered by accident, overgrown with trees\n    for miles around, and without even a name to distinguish it. Apart\n    from everything else, it was a mourning witness to the world's\n    mutations:--\n\n    * * * * * *\n\n    \"'Nations melt\n    From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt\n    The sunshine for a while, and downward go.'\" [21]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. _History of United States_, Marcus Wilson, Book I, _American\nAntiquities_, p. 94.\n\n2. _History of America Before Columbus_, P. De Roo, vol I, pp. 173,\n176, 177, 178.\n\n3. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 10, 11.\n\n4. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 13, 14\n\n5. _The Pre-Historic World_, or _Vanished Races_, E. A. Allen,\nintroduction, pp. 23, 24.\n\n6. _Native Races_, vol. II, pp. 116, 117, Bancroft.\n\n7. _Atlantis_, (Donnely) p. 349.\n\n8. _American Antiquities_, Priest, p. 186.\n\n9. _Ancient America_, (Baldwin) pp. 92, 93.\n\n10. History of the United States, Book I, _American Antiquities_, pp.\n93, 94.\n\n11. _The Pre-Historic World, or Vanished Races_, by E. A. Allen\n(1885), pp. 564, 566. I quote this passage upon the location, extent\nand grandeur of the ancient ruins of Central America with the greater\npleasure because Mr. Allen is one of the authors who, as far as\npossible, discount the extent, greatness and very remote antiquity of\nthe civilization represented by American ruins; though for all this his\nwork is one of the most conscientious and valuable upon the subject.\n\n12. _The American Races_, Daniel G. Brinton, p. 44.\n\n13. Bancroft, _Native Races_, p. 81, also pp. 82, 104.\n\n14. Modern plantations near the ruins.\n\n15. _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,\nStephens (1841), vol. I, ch. 7. Those who would become further\nacquainted with the ruins of Copan will find elaborate descriptions\nin Bancroft's _Native Races_, vol. IV, ch. 3. His foot notes citing\nvarious authorities on the subject are especially valuable.\n\n16. And for matter of that in Central America.\n\n17. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, ch. 7.\n\n18. Foster's _Pre-Historic Races_, pp. 338, 339. Klemm,\n_Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. 5, pp. 161-3.\n\n19. Morelet, _Voyage_, tom. 1, pp. 273, 274. Mayer's _Mex. Aztec_,\netc., vol. II, p. 172; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ_. tom. 1,\np. 85.\n\n20. _Native Races_, vol. IV, pp. 364, 365, and notes.\n\n21. _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,\nJohn L. Stephens, vol. II, pp. 356, 357.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nINDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. Continued.\n\nI.\n\n_Antiquity of American Ruins_\n\nWe have now before us a subject on which the authorities on American\nAntiquities are most divided, and I shall not attempt in this writing\nto reconcile them or dispute the position of either class; but after\na few quotations from these authorities shall leave the question of\nthe antiquity of American ruins found in Central America and elsewhere\nas I find it, an open question. \"There is nothing in the buildings\nto indicate the date of their erection--that they were or were not\nstanding at the commencement of the Christian era,\" says H. H.\nBancroft, in speaking of the cities and other monuments of Yucatan--and\nit is a remark which could with equal propriety be made of nearly all\nthe ruined cities of America. \"We may see now, abandoned and uncared\nfor,\" he continues, \"they may have resisted the ravages of the elements\nfor three or four centuries. How many centuries they may have stood\nguarded and kept in repair by the builders and their descendants, we\ncan only conjecture.\" [1] Later, in the same work, our author discusses\nthe question of the age of Palenque and other ruins in the following\nmanner:\n\n    I confess my inability to judge from the degree of art displayed\n    respectively in the peninsular ruins and those of Palenque, which\n    are the older; I will go further, and while in a confessional mood,\n    confess to a shade of skepticism the ability of other writers to\n    form a well-founded judgment in the matter. Authors are, however,\n    unanimous in the opinion that Palenque was founded before any of\n    the cities of Yucatan, an opinion which is supported to a certain\n    extent by traditional history, which represents Votan's empire in\n    Chiapas and Tabasco as preceding chronologically the allied Maya\n    empire in the peninsula. If the Yucatan cities flourished, as I\n    have conjectured, between the third and tenth centuries, Palenque\n    may be conjecturally referred to a period between the first and\n    eighth centuries. I regard the theory that Palenque was built\n    by the Toltecs after their expulsion from Anahuac in the tenth\n    century as wholly without foundation; and I believe that it would\n    be equally impossible to prove or disprove that the palace was\n    standing at the birth of Christ. [2]\n\nFollowing this passage, Mr. Bancroft gives a valuable collection\nof opinions in his notes where he represents M. Violett-le-Duc as\nexpressing the belief that Palenque was built probably some centuries\nbefore Christ by a people in which \"yellow blood predominated,\nalthough with some Aryan intermixture; but that the Yucatan cities\nowe their foundation to the same people at a later epoch and under a\nmuch stronger influence of the white races.\" Dupaix he represents as\nbelieving that the buildings were reared by a flatheaded race that has\nbecome extinct, and who, after writing his narrative, made up his mind\nthat Palenque was antediluvian or at least that a floor had covered\nit. Lenoir he represents as saying that, according to all voyagers and\nstudents, the ruins of Palenque are not less than three thousand years\nold; while Catlin, a French writer, in a French periodical for March,\n1867, he represents as asserting that the ruined cities of Palenque\nand Uxmal have within themselves the evidence that the ocean has been\ntheir bed for thousands of years, but the material is soft limestone\nand presents no water lines. Foster, the author of _Pre-Historic\nRaces_ (pp. 398-9), is represented as regarding the ruins of Palenque\nas the work of an extinct race, and then he proceeds with a number of\ncitations for a more modern origin. The valuable notes will be found in\nBancroft's _Native Races_, vol. IV, pp. 262-3.\n\nPrescott, in his treatise on the origin of Mexican civilization, offers\nthe following reflections on the antiquity of American ruins:\n\n    It is impossible to contemplate these mysterious monuments of\n    a lost civilization, without a strong feeling of curiosity as\n    to who were their architects, and what is their probable age.\n    The data on which to rest our conjectures of their age, are not\n    very substantial; although some find in them a warrant for an\n    antiquity of thousands of years, coeval with the architecture of\n    Egypt and Hindostan. But the interpretation of hieroglyphics, and\n    the apparent duration of trees, are vague and unsatisfactory.\n    And how far can we derive an argument from the discoloration and\n    dilapidated condition of the ruins, when we find so many structures\n    of the Middle Ages dark and mouldering with decay, while the\n    marbles of the Acropolis, and the gray stone of Paestum, still\n    shine in their primitive splendor? There are, however, undoubted\n    proofs of considerable age to be found there. Trees have shot up\n    in the midst of the buildings, which measure, it is said, more\n    than nine feet in diameter. A still more striking face is the\n    accumulation of vegetable mould in one of the courts, to the\n    depth of nine feet above the pavement. This in our latitude would\n    be decisive of a very great antiquity. But, in the rich soil of\n    Yucatan, and under the ardent sun of the tropics, vegetation bursts\n    forth with irrepressible exuberence, and generations of plants\n    succeed each other without intermission, leaving an accumulation\n    of deposits, that would have perished under the northern winter.\n    Another evidence of their age is afforded by the circumstance,\n    that, in one of the courts of Uxmal, the granite pavement, on\n    which the figures of tortoises were raised in relief, is worn\n    nearly smooth by the feet of the crowds who have passed over it; a\n    curious fact, suggesting inferences both in regard to the age and\n    population of the place. Lastly, we have authority for carrying\n    back the date of many of these ruins to a certain period, since\n    they were found in a deserted, and probably dilapidated state by\n    the first Spaniards who entered the country. Their notices, indeed,\n    are brief and casual, for the old conquerors had little respect for\n    works of art; and it is fortunate for these structures, that they\n    had ceased to be the living temples of the gods, since no merit of\n    architecture, probably, would have availed to save them from the\n    general doom of the monuments of Mexico. [3]\n\nIt is proper, to say, however, that Mr. Prescott declares that some\nof the remarks in the above paragraph would have been omitted had he\nenjoyed the benefit of Mr. Stephens' researches when it was originally\nwritten. Mr. Stephens, it should be remembered, is among those who\ngrant no great antiquity to the ruins. On this subject, however, I find\nthe fairest treatment in the profound reflections of Mr. Baldwin:\n\n    The Mexican and Central American ruins make it certain that in\n    ancient times an important civilization existed in that part of the\n    continent, which must have begun at a remote period in the past. If\n    they have any significance, this must be accepted as an ascertained\n    fact. A large portion of them had been forgotten in the forests,\n    or became mythical and mysterious, long before the arrival of the\n    Spaniards.\n\n    In 1520, three hundred and fifty years ago, the forest which so\n    largely covers Yucatan, Guatemala, and Chiapa was growing as it\n    grows now. * * * * How many additional centuries it had existed no\n    one can tell. If its age could be told, it would still be necessary\n    to consider that the ruins hidden in it are much older than the\n    forest, and that the period of civilization they represent closed\n    long before it was established.\n\n    In the ages previous to the beginning of this immense forest, the\n    region it covers was the seat of civilization which grew up to a\n    high degree of development, flourished a long time, and finally\n    declined, until its cities were deserted, and its cultivated fields\n    left to the wild influences of nature, it may be safely assumed\n    that both the forest-covered ruins and the forest itself are far\n    older than the Aztec period; but who can tell how much older?\n    Copan, first discovered and described three hundred years ago,\n    was then as strange to the natives dwelling near it as the old\n    Chaldean ruins are to the Arabs who wander over the wasted plains\n    of Lower Mesopotamia. Native tradition had forgotten its history\n    and become silent in regard to it. How long had ruined Copan been\n    in this condition? No one can tell. Manifestly it was forgotten,\n    left buried in the forest without recollection of its history,\n    long before Montezuma's people, the Aztecs, rose to power; and it\n    is easily understood that this old city had an important history\n    previous to that unknown time in the past when war, revolution or\n    some other agency of destruction, put an end to its career and left\n    it to become what it is now.\n\n    Moreover, these old ruins, in all cases, show us only the cities\n    last occupied in the period to which they belong. Doubtless others\n    still older preceded them; and, besides, it can be seen that\n    some of the ruined cities which can now be traced were several\n    times renewed by reconstructions. We must consider, also, that\n    building magnificent cities is not the first work of an original\n    civilization. The development was necessarily gradual. Its first\n    period was more or less rude. The art of building and ornamenting\n    such edifices arose slowly. Many ages must have been required\n    to develop such admirable skill in masonry and ornamentation.\n    Therefore the period between the beginning of this mysterious\n    development of civilized life and the first builders who used\n    cut stone laid in mortar and cement, and covered their work with\n    beautifully sculptured ornaments and inscriptions, must have been\n    very long.\n\n    We have no measure of the time, no clew to the old dates, nothing\n    whatever, beyond such considerations as I have stated, to warrant\n    even a vague hypothesis. It can be seen clearly that the beginning\n    of this old civilization was much older than the earliest great\n    cities, and, also, that these were much more ancient than the\n    time when any of the later built or reconstructed cities whose\n    relics still exist, were left to decay. If we suppose Palenque to\n    have been deserted some six hundred years previous to the Spanish\n    conquest, this date will carry us back only to the last days of its\n    history as an inhabited city. Beyond it, in the distant past, is a\n    vast period in which the civilization represented by Palenque was\n    developed, made capable of building such cities, and then carried\n    on through the many ages during which cities became numerous,\n    flourished, grew old, and gave place to others, until the long\n    history of Palenque itself began. * * * * * * * *\n\n    No well considered theory of these ruins can avoid the conclusion\n    that most of them are very ancient, and that, to find the origin of\n    the civilization they represent, we must go far back into the \"deep\n    of antiquity.\" * * * *\n\n    Nevertheless, some of them must be very old. The forest established\n    since the ruin began, the entire disappearance of every thing\n    more perishable than stone, the utter oblivion which veiled their\n    history in the time of Montezuma, and probably long previous to his\n    time, all these facts bear witness to their great antiquity. In\n    many of them, as at Quirigua and Kabah, the stone structures have\n    become masses of debris; and even at Copan, Palenque, and Mitla,\n    only a few of them are sufficiently well preserved to show us what\n    they were in the great days of their history. Meanwhile, keep in\n    mind that the ruined cities did not begin their present condition\n    until the civilization that created them had declined; and, also,\n    that if we could determine exactly the date when they were deserted\n    and left to decay, we should only reach that point in the past\n    where their history as inhabited cities was brought to a close.\n\n    Take Copan, for instance. This city may have become a ruin during\n    the time of the Toltecs, which began long before the Christian\n    era and ended some five or six centuries probably before the\n    country was invaded by Cortez. It was built before their time, for\n    the style of writing, and many features of the architecture and\n    ornamentation, show the workmanship of their predecessors, judging\n    by the historical intimation found in the old books and traditions.\n    We may suppose it to have been an old city at the time of the\n    Toltec invasion, although not one of the first cities built by that\n    more ancient and more cultivated people by whom this old American\n    civilization was originated. [4]\n\nFrom the foregoing it will be apparent how unsatisfactory are the\nconclusions respecting the age of America's ruined cities and monuments\nof antiquity; and since, as Mr. H. H. Bancroft remarks, there is\nnothing in the ruins themselves by which their age may be determined,\nit is clear that all the authorities are merely dealing in conjecture\nconcerning them. The value of that conjecture will, of course, depend\nupon the general breadth of knowledge and judgment of the individual\nexpressing it. This much may be safely claimed, so far as the Book\nof Mormon is concerned, in the question: there is nothing as to the\nage of American ruins that contradicts its statements, nor can I\nconceive of the rising of any circumstance in connection with the age\nof American ruined cities that would conflict with its claims. If it\nshould turn out eventually that all the monuments of American ruins\nare of comparatively modern origin, that is, suppose they have arisen\nwithin that thousand years preceding the advent of the Spaniards, who\ncame early in the sixteenth century, it could then be claimed that\nthey were the monuments of Lamanite civilization merely; and that the\nmonuments of the Jaredite and Nephite civilization had passed away, or\nthat the monuments of Lamanite civilization were built in the midst\nof the monuments of the earlier civilizations, and so intermingled\nas to confuse everything and render classification impossible. If\ninvestigation, however, should finally establish the fact that the\nruined cities of America are the monuments of very ancient and\nperhaps of successive civilizations, it would tend in a positive way\nto establish the truth of the Book of Mormon more clearly, and I now\nproceed to the consideration of that branch of the subject.\n\nII.\n\n_Successive Civilizations._\n\n    Scattered over the southern plateaus are heaps of architectural\n    remains and monumental piles. Furthermore, native traditions,\n    both orally transmitted and hieroglyphically recorded by means of\n    legible picture-writings, afford us a tolerably clear view of the\n    civilized nations during a period of several centuries preceding\n    the Spanish conquest, together with passing glances, through\n    momentary clearings in mythologic clouds, at historical epochs much\n    more remote. Here we have as aids to this analysis--aids almost\n    wholly wanting among the so-called savage tribes--antiquities,\n    traditions, history, carrying the student far back into the\n    mysterious New World past; and hence it is that from its\n    simultaneous revelation and eclipse, American civilization would\n    otherwise offer a more limited field for investigation than\n    American savagism, yet by the introduction of this new element the\n    field is widely extended.\n\n    Nor have we even yet reached the limits of our resources for the\n    investigation of this New World civilization. In these relics of\n    architecture and literature, of mythology and tradition, there are\n    clear indications of an older and higher type of culture than that\n    brought immediately to the knowledge of the invaders; of a type\n    that had temporarily deteriorated, perhaps through the influence of\n    long-continued and bloody conflicts, civil and foreign, by which\n    the more warlike rather than the more highly cultured nations\n    had been brought into prominence and power. But this anterior\n    and superior civilization, resting largely as it does on vague\n    tradition, and preserved to our knowledge in general allusions\n    rather than in detail, may, like the native condition since the\n    conquest, be utilized to the best advantage here as illustrative of\n    the later and better-known, if somewhat inferior civilization of\n    the sixteenth century, described by the conqueror, the missionary,\n    and the Spanish historian. [5]\n\nIn addition to the \"passing glances\" through \"momentary clearings\" in\nthe mythological clouds \"at historical epochs much more remote\" than\nthose \"several centuries preceding the Spanish conquest,\" there is also\nthe evidence afforded by the different ages in which the cities of\nAmerica now in ruins were built; the difference being so marked in some\ninstances as to suggest not only different ages for their construction,\nbut their construction by different races. \"That a long time must have\npassed between the erection of Copan and Utatlan, [6] the civilization\nof the builders meantime undergoing great modification, involving\nprobably the introduction of new elements from foreign sources, is a\ntheory supported by a careful study of the two classes of ruins. [7]\n* * * Then we have the strong differences noticeable between Uxmal\n[8] and Palenque, which lead us to conclude that these cities must\nhave been built either at widely different epochs, or by branches of\nthe Maya race which have long been separated; or by branches, which,\nunder the influence of foreign tribes, lived under greatly modified\ninstitutions.\" [9]\n\nSpeaking of the ruins at Quiche, Mr. Stephens says:\n\n    The point to which we directed our attention was to discover some\n    resemblance to the ruins of Copan and Quirigua; but we did not\n    find statues, or carved figures, or hieroglyphics, nor could we\n    learn that any had ever been found there. If there had been such\n    evidences we should have considered these ruins the works of the\n    same race of people, but in the absence of such evidences we\n    believed that Copan and Quirigua were cities of another race and of\n    a much older date. [10]\n\nOn this point of distinct eras in American civilization, Baldwin says:\n\n    It is a point of no little interest that these old constructions\n    belong to different periods in the past, and represent somewhat\n    different phases of civilization. Uxmal, which is supposed to have\n    been partly inhabited when the Spaniards arrived in the country,\n    is plainly much more modern than Copan or Palenque. This is easily\n    traced in the ruins. Its edifices were finished in a different\n    style, and show fewer inscriptions. Round pillars, somewhat in the\n    Doric style, are found at Uxmal, but none like the square, richly\n    carved pillars, bearing inscriptions, discovered in some of the\n    other ruins. Copan and Palenque, and even Kabah, in Yucatan, may\n    have been very old cities, if not already old ruins, when Uxmal\n    was built. Accepting the reports of explorers as correct, there\n    is evidence in the ruins that Quirigua is older than Copan, and\n    that Copan is older than Palenque. The old monuments in Yucatan\n    represent several distinct epochs in the ancient history of that\n    peninsula. Some of them are kindred to those hidden in the great\n    forest, and reminded us more of Palenque than of Uxmal. Among those\n    described, the most modern, or most of these, are in Yucatan; they\n    belong to the time when the kingdom of the Mayas flourished. Many\n    of the others belong to ages previous to the rise of this kingdom;\n    and in ages still earlier, ages older than the great forest, there\n    were other cities, doubtless, whose remains have perished utterly,\n    or were long ago removed from us in the later constructions.\n\n    The evidence of repeated reconstructions in some of the cities\n    before they were deserted has been pointed out by explorers. I\n    have quoted what Charnay says of it in his description of Mitla.\n    At Palenque, as at Mitla, the oldest work is the most artistic and\n    admirable. Over this feature of the monuments, and the manifest\n    signs of their difference in age, the attention of investigators\n    lingered in speculation. They find in them a significance which is\n    stated as follows by Brasseur de Bourbourg: \"Among the edifices\n    forgotten by time in the forests of Mexico and Central America, we\n    find architectural characteristics so different from each other,\n    that it is impossible to attribute them all to the same people as\n    to believe they were all built at the same epoch.\" In his view,\n    \"the substruction at Mayapan, some of those at Tulha, and a great\n    part of those at Palenque, are among the older remains. These are\n    not the oldest cities whose remains are still visible, but they may\n    have been built, in part, upon the foundation of cities much more\n    ancient. No well considered theory of these ruins can avoid the\n    conclusion that most of them are very ancient, and that, to find\n    the origin of the civilization they represent, we must go far back\n    into the 'deeps of antiquity.'\" [11]\n\nFurther on, in speaking of the Aztecs and their civilization, Mr.\nBaldwin says:\n\n    They were less advanced in many things than their predecessors.\n    Their skill in architecture and architectural ornamentation did not\n    enable them to build such cities as Mitla and Palenque, and their\n    \"picture writing\" was a much ruder form of the graphic art than\n    the phonetic system of the Mayas and Quiches. It does not appear\n    that they ever went so far in literary improvements as to adopt\n    this simpler and more complete system for any purpose whatever. If\n    the country had never, in the previous ages, felt the influence\n    of a higher culture than that of the Aztecs, it would not have\n    now, and never could have had, ruined cities like Mitla, Copan and\n    Palenque. Not only was the system of writing shown by the countless\n    inscriptions quite beyond the attainments of Aztec art, but also\n    the abundant sculptures and the whole system of decoration found in\n    the old ruins. [12]\n\n\"Two distinct classes of ruins appear to have been observed in Central\nAmerica,\" says Nadaillac. [13] And then later, \"All the Central\nAmerican tribes do not seem to have lived in an equally degraded\ncondition before the period of the Mayas. Ruins of considerable extent\nare met with in Guatemala. These consist of undressed stones similar\nto those used in the cyclopean buildings of Greece and Syria; but no\ntradition refers to their origin. They are, however, attributed with\nsome reason to a race driven back by conquest, and superior in culture\nto the people overcome by the Maya invasion of Central America.\" [14]\n\nNor is it alone in the differences that exist between some of these\nancient ruins, proclaiming for them at least erection in different\nages, and perhaps by different races, that the idea of successive\ncivilizations in Ancient America is established. In the matter of\nlanguage no less than in ruins is this fact proclaimed. \"Traces are\nalso supposed to have been met with of a more ancient language than the\nMaya, Nahuac or their derivatives,\" remarks Nadaillac, in a footnote\nto page 264 of his _Pre-Historic America_, and cites Humboldt's _Views\nof the Cordilleras_ in support of his statement. This, however, is a\nsubject which is too extensive to be considered here.\n\nClosely connected with the subject of successive civilizations is\nalso that of ancient migrations, but that is a matter I shall treat\nin another chapter, and more especially for another reason than\nmaintaining successive civilizations, as I esteem what is here set down\nas sufficient proof for the existence of successive civilizations in\nancient America.\n\nIII.\n\n_Peruvian Antiquities._\n\nIt will be observed that thus far, in dealing with American\nantiquities, I have said nothing concerning Peru and the monuments of\nits civilization. Still, as Book of Mormon peoples inhabited South\nAmerica as well as North America, some attention should be paid to the\nmonuments of Peruvian civilization. For the general description of\nSouth American antiquities I find what Professor Baldwin says to be\nmost acceptable:\n\n    The ruins of Ancient Peru are found chiefly on the elevated\n    tablelands of the Andes, between Quito and Lake Titicaca; but\n    they can be traced five hundred miles farther south, to Chili,\n    and throughout the region connecting these high plateaus with the\n    Pacific coast. The great district to which they belong extends\n    north and south about two thousand miles. When the marauding\n    Spaniards arrived in the country, this whole region was the\n    seat of a populous and prosperous empire, complete in its civil\n    organization, supported by an efficient system of industry, and\n    presenting a very notable development of some of the more important\n    arts of civilized life. These ruins differ from those in Mexico\n    and Central America. No inscriptions are found in Peru; there\n    is no longer a \"marvelous abundance of decorations;\" nothing is\n    seen like the monoliths of Copan, or the bas-reliefs of Palenque.\n    The method of building is different; the Peruvian ruins show us\n    remains of cities, temples, palaces, other edifices of various\n    kinds, fortresses, aqueducts (one of them four hundred and fifty\n    miles long), great roads (extending through the whole length of\n    the empire), and terraces on the sides of mountains. For all these\n    constructions the builders used cut stone laid in mortar or cement,\n    and their work was done admirably, but it is everywhere seen that\n    the masonry, although sometimes ornamented, was generally plain in\n    style and always massive. The antiquities in this region have not\n    been as much explored and described as those north of the isthmus,\n    but their general character is known, and particular descriptions\n    of some of them have been published. [15]\n\nThe chief thing to be noted with reference to South American monuments\nof ancient civilization is the fact that, if the theory of the\nfirst landing of the Nephite colony from Jerusalem was in South\nAmerica, and within modern Chili--then they are located along the\nline of supposed Nephite movement from thirty degrees south latitude\nnorthward along the western plateau of South America, though it must\nbe confessed that during their movements northward the Nephites were\nnot sufficiently numerous nor did they stay sufficiently long in the\nsouthern part of the region now covered with ancient ruins to erect\nsuch permanent monuments of civilization as are now to be found there\nin ruins. In their alleged occupancy of the northern section of the\nregion it is different. There, in the land of Nephi and the land of\nAnti-Lehi-Nephi--supposed to embrace say the northern part of Peru and\nEcuador,--we have reason to believe they stayed a sufficient length of\ntime and were also sufficiently numerous to leave enduring monuments of\ntheir sojourn in that country. For the existence of the more southern\nmonuments we must suppose one of two things, or perhaps both of them\nunited, viz.:\n\nFirst: Lamanites who remained in the far south paid more attention\nto civilized pursuits than has usually been accredited to them, and\nthe remarks of the Book of Mormon concerning the Lamanites being an\nidle people, living upon the fruits of the chase, and their marauding\nexcursions into Nephite lands are to be more especially applied to\nthose Lamanites more immediately in contact with the Nephites, while\nfurther southward they were pursuing the arts of peace. Or, second:\nthat after the fall of the Nephites at Cumorah there were strong\ncolonies of Lamanites that pushed their way through Central America\ndown into Peru, subdued the inhabitants who had remained there and\nestablished themselves as the ruling class, constituting, in fact, the\ninvasion of the Incas, under whom arose the monuments of civilization\nfound in the land by the Spaniards when they invaded it. The difference\nbetween the monuments found in Peru and those found in Mexico and\nCentral America arises, in my judgment, from the fact that there was\nnot present in South America the monuments of the great Jaredite\ncivilization to crop up through and become intermingled with the\nNephite and Lamanite monuments of civilization.\n\nThe whole subject of Book of Mormon peoples being the authors of very\nancient Peruvian civilization is full of difficulty.\n\nIV.\n\n_The Mound Builders._\n\nAs I have noted South American antiquities, so also I think it\nnecessary to note the more northern antiquities of North America--the\nworks of the Mound Builders of the valleys of the Mississippi and its\ntributaries. It is matter of common knowledge that throughout the\nregion of country just named there exists in great number artificial\nhillocks of earth, \"nearly always constructed,\" says Nadaillac, \"with\na good deal of precision.\" \"They are of various forms, round, oval,\nsquare, very rarely polygonal or triangular. Their height varies from\na few inches to more than ninety feet, and their diameter varies\nfrom three to about a thousand feet.\" [16] Evidently the mounds\nwere erected for a variety of purposes, and the author last quoted,\nfollowing Mr. Squier [17] and Mr. Short, [18] makes the following\nclassification: 1, defensive works; 2, sacred enclosures; 3, temples;\n4, altar mounds; 5, sepulchral mounds, and 6, mounds representing\nanimals. Short (_North Americans_, p. 81) gives slightly different\nclassifications, as follows: I., Enclosures: for defense; for religious\npurposes; miscellaneous. II., Mounds of sacrifice: for temple sites; of\nsepulchre; of observation.\" [19]\n\nOn the subject of the mounds being erected for purposes of\nfortification, Nadaillac says:\n\n    The whole of the space separating the Alleghanies from the Rocky\n    Mountains affords a succession of entrenched camps, fortifications\n    generally made of earth. There were used ramparts, stockade, and\n    trenches near many eminences, and nearly every junction of two\n    large rivers. These works bear witness to the intelligence of the\n    race, which has so long been looked upon as completely barbarous\n    and wild, and an actual system of defences in connection with each\n    other can in some cases be made out with observatories on adjacent\n    heights, and concentric ridges of earth for the protection of\n    the entrances. War was evidently an important subject of thought\n    with the Mound Builders. All the defensive remains occur in the\n    neighborhood of water courses, and the best proof of the skill\n    shown in the choice of sites is shown by the number of flourishing\n    cities, such as Cincinnati, St. Louis, Newark, Portsmouth,\n    Frankfort, New Madrid, and many others, which have risen in the\n    same situations in modern times. [20]\n\nConcerning the matter of the Mound Builders in general we are again\nin the presence of a subject concerning which there is very great\ndiversity of opinions on the part of authorities. Learned opinion is\ndivided as to whether the mounds represent an indigenous or exotic\ncivilization; whether they were built by the ancestors of the near or\nremote Indian tribes of North America, or by a race now extinct, or\nby some mysterious process or other, \"vanished.\" Also they differ as\nto the antiquity of the mounds, some ascribing to them quite a recent\norigin, and others ascribing to them an antiquity of thousands of\nyears. It must be obvious that I cannot enter into a consideration of\nall these questions, and hence content myself with a few quotations\nfrom those whose information and judgment I most esteem. [21]\n\nUpon the subject of Mound Builders, as upon so many subjects in\nAmerican antiquities, I find what Mr. Baldwin has said--except wherein\nhis remarks are against migrations from other continents for very\nancient American peoples--most acceptable: [22]\n\n    That appears to me the most reasonable suggestion which assumes\n    that the Mound Builders came originally from Mexico and Central\n    America. It explains many facts connected with their remains. In\n    the Great Valley their most populous settlements were at the south.\n    Coming from Mexico and Central America, they would begin their\n    settlements on the gulf coast, and afterwards advance gradually up\n    the river to the Ohio valley. It seems evident that they came by\n    this route; and their remains show that their only connection with\n    the coast was at the south. Their settlements did not reach the\n    coast at any other point.\n\n    Their constructions were similar in design and arrangement to\n    those found in Mexico and Central America. Like the Mexicans and\n    Central Americans, they had many of the smaller structures known as\n    teocallis, and also large, high mounds, with level summits, reached\n    by great flights of steps. Pyramidal platforms or foundations for\n    important edifices appear in both regions, and are very much alike.\n    In Central America important edifices were built of hewn stone, and\n    can still be examined in their ruins. The Mound Builders, like some\n    of the ancient people of Mexico and Yucatan, used wood, sun-dried\n    brick, or some other material that could not resist decay. There\n    is evidence that they used timber for building purposes. In one of\n    the mounds opened in the Ohio valley two chambers were found with\n    remains of the timber of which the walls were made, and with arched\n    ceilings precisely like those in Central America, even to the\n    overlapping stones. Chambers have been found in some of the Central\n    American and Mexican mounds, but there hewn stones were used for\n    the walls. In both regions the elevated and terraced foundations\n    remain, and can be compared. I have already called attention to the\n    close resemblance between them, but the fact is so important in any\n    endeavor to explain the Mound Builders that I must bring it to view\n    here.\n\n    Consider, then, that elevated and terraced foundations for\n    important buildings are peculiar to the ancient Mexicans and\n    Central Americans; that this method of construction, which, with\n    them, was the rule, is found nowhere else, save that terraced\n    elevations, carefully constructed, and precisely like theirs in\n    form and appearance, occupy a chief place among the remaining\n    works of the Mound Builders. The use made of these foundations at\n    Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen-Itza, shows the purpose for which they\n    were constructed in the Mississippi valley. The resemblance is not\n    due to chance. The explanation appears to me very manifest. This\n    method of construction was brought to the Mississippi valley from\n    Mexico and Central America, the ancient inhabitants of that region\n    and the Mound Builders being the same people in race, and also in\n    civilization, when it was brought here.\n\n    A very large proportion of the old structures in Ohio and farther\n    south called \"mounds,\" namely, those which are low in proportion to\n    their horizontal extent, are terraced foundations for buildings,\n    and if they were situated in Yucatan, Guatemala, and Mexico, they\n    would never be mistaken for anything else. The high mounds also\n    in the two regions are remarkably alike. In both cases they are\n    pyramidal in shape, and have level summits of considerable extent,\n    which were reached by means of stairways on the outside. The great\n    mound at Chichen-Itza is 75 feet high, and has on its summit a\n    ruined stone edifice; that at Uxmal is 60 feet high, and has a\n    similar ruin on its summit; that at Mayapan is 60 feet high; the\n    edifice placed on its summit has disappeared. The great mound at\n    Miamisburg, Ohio, is 68 feet high; and that at Grave Creek, West\n    Virginia, is 75 feet high. Both had level summits, and stairways\n    on the outside, but no trace of any structure remains on them. All\n    these mounds were constructed for religious uses, and they are, in\n    their way, as much alike as any five Gothic churches.\n\n    Could these works of the Mound Builders be restored to the\n    condition in which they were when the country was filled with their\n    busy communities, we should doubtless see great edifices, similar\n    in style to those in Yucatan, standing on the upper terraces of\n    all the low and extended \"mounds,\" and smaller structures on the\n    high mounds, such as those above named. There would seem to be an\n    extension of ancient Mexico and Central America through Texas into\n    the Mississippi and Ohio valleys; and so, if there were no massive\n    stone work in the old ruins of those countries, it might seem that\n    the Mound Builders' works were anciently extended into them by way\n    of Texas.\n\n    The fact that the settlements and works of the Mound Builders\n    extended through Texas and across the Rio Grande indicates very\n    plainly their connection with the people of Mexico, and goes far to\n    explain their origin. We have other evidence of intercourse between\n    the two peoples; for the obsidian dug from the mounds, and perhaps\n    the porphyry also, can be explained only by supposing commercial\n    relations between them.\n\n    We can not suppose the Mound Builders to have come from any other\n    part of North America, for nowhere else north of the Isthmus was\n    there any other people capable of producing such works as they\n    left in the places where they dwelt. Beyond the relics of the\n    Mound Builders, no traces of the former existence of such a people\n    have been discovered in any part of North America save Mexico, and\n    Central America, and districts immediately connected with them.\n    At the same time it is not unreasonable to suppose the civilized\n    people of these regions extended their settlements through Texas,\n    and also migrated across the gulf into the Mississippi valley. In\n    fact, the connection of settlements by way of Texas appears to have\n    been unbroken from Ohio to Mexico.\n\n    This colonizing extension of the old Mexican race must have taken\n    place at a remote period in the past; for what has been said of the\n    antiquity of the Mound Builders shows that a very long period, far\n    more than two thousand years, it may be, must have elapsed since\n    they left the valley of the Ohio. Perhaps they found the country\n    mostly unoccupied, and saw there but little of any other people\n    until an eruption of warlike barbarians came upon them from the\n    northwest. * * * * * *\n\n    The supposition that the Toltecs and the Mound Builders were the\n    same people seems to me not improbable. The reasons for it will be\n    stated when we come to a discussion of the antiquities, books, and\n    traditions of Central America. I will only say here that, according\n    to dates given in the Central American books, the Toltecs came\n    from \"Huehue-Tlapalan,\" a distant country in the northeast, long\n    previous to the Christian era. They played a great part and had a\n    long career in Mexico previous to the rise of their successors in\n    power, the Aztecs, who were overthrown by the Spaniards. [23]\n\nBancroft, in a general way, coincides with the views of Mr. Baldwin.\nDiscussing several theories respecting the Mound Builders, he speaks\nof this as \"the most reasonable [hypothesis], and best supported\nby monumental and traditional evidence. The temple-mounds strongly\nresemble, in their principal features, the southern pyramids; at least\nthey imply a likeness of religious ideas in the builders. The use of\nobsidian implements shows a connection, either through origin, war,\nor commerce, with the Mexican nations, or at least with nations who\ncame in contact with the Nahuas. There are, moreover, several Nahua\ntraditions respecting the arrival on their coasts from the northeast,\nof civilized strangers.\" [24] He further says: \"I am inclined to\nbelieve that the most plausible conjecture respecting the origin of\nthe Mound Builders is that which makes them a colony of the ancient\nMayas who settled in the north during the continuance of the great\nMaya empire of Xibalba, in Central America, several centuries before\nChrist.\" [25]\n\nIt will be observed that these views harmonize almost to completeness\nwith the requirements of the Book of Mormon for such evidences. Whether\nthe Jaredites built some of these mounds or not does not so much\nmatter, though I am inclined to think they did. If some of the earlier\nmonuments of Central America, such as Copan, Quirigua and Palenque,\nrepresent Jaredite ruins, as I am inclined to believe, then it is most\nlikely that the truncated mounds in the north--which so much resemble\nthe stone-faced pyramids of the south--were also built by them.\nUndoubtedly, during the two centuries following the advent of Messiah\nthe Nephites also extended their occupancy of the continent into the\nvalleys of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and then during the\nnext two hundred years of troubled warfare, erected the numerous\nfortifications throughout that land which now are so distinctly\nrecognized and spoken of by the authorities which I have here quoted.\nIn any event it is to be seen that the Book of Mormon requires that\nthe civilization of the Mississippi valley should find its origin in\nCentral America, and the fact that such distinguished authorities\nrecognize Central America as its source, is a strong presumptive\nevidence for the truth of the Book of Mormon.\n\n_Summary._\n\nI have now presented to the reader all the matter on that part of\nAmerican antiquities pertaining to the extent and location of the\nruined cities and other monuments of ancient American civilization that\nmy space will allow, and I only pause before closing this chapter to\nsummarize the ground covered. Beyond question we have established the\nfollowing facts:\n\n(1) There existed in ancient times civilized races in both of the\nAmerican continents.\n\n(2) The monuments of these civilizations are located chiefly through\nCentral America, and in the Mississippi valley--lands occupied by the\nJaredites and Nephites respectively; that is to say, the monuments of\nthese ancient civilizations are found where the Book of Mormon requires\nthem to be located.\n\n(3) Successive civilizations have existed in America in ancient times;\nand the older civilization was the most advanced.\n\n(4) The chief center of this ancient American civilization, and its\noldest and most enduring monuments are in Central America, where\nthe Book of Mormon locates its oldest race of people, and where\ncivilization longest prevailed and built its most enduring monuments;\nand is the center from which civilization, beyond question, extended\ninto the north continent.\n\nIn making these claims I am not unmindful of the fact that there are\nauthorities who hold somewhat different views from those whose works I\nhave so extensively quoted; but I do not believe that the conclusions\nhere summarized can be disturbed either by facts or theories of those\nother authorities. And however divergent the views of authorities may\nbe, this much can be absolutely claimed, that there is nothing in their\nworks which, on the matters so far considered, directly conflicts with\nthe claims of the Book of Mormon; while so much as is here stated is\ncertainly very strong evidence in its favor.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Bancroft, _Native Races_, vol. IV, p. 285.\n\n2. _Native Races_, vol. IV, pp. 361-2.\n\n3. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II, pp. 405, 406.\n\n4. _Ancient America_, J. D. Baldwin, ch. 6.\n\n5. _Native Races_, vol. II, pp. 83, 84.\n\n6. One of the old American cities located in Central Guatemala.\n\n7. _Native Races_, vol. IV, p. 128.\n\n8. One of the old cities of northern Yucatan.\n\n9. _Native Races_, vol. IV, p. 361.\n\n10. _Central America_, vol. II, p. 186.\n\n11. _Ancient America_, pp. 155, 156.\n\n12. _Ancient America_, p. 221.\n\n13. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 156.\n\n14. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 165.\n\n15. _Ancient America_, pp. 222, 223.\n\n16. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 81.\n\n17. _Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley_.\n\n18. _Footprints of Vanished Races_.\n\n19. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 87, 88.\n\n20. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 88.\n\n21. Those desiring to enter upon a further inquiry of this subject will\nfind it somewhat elaborately treated in Allen's _Pre-Historic World or\nVanished Races_, chapter 10; also Nadaillac's _Pre-Historic America_,\nchapter 3; _History of America Before Columbus_, P. De Roo, chapter\n3; and in _Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley_, by E. George\nSquier.\n\n22. Throughout this writing I have often felt the need of some sort\nof compendious work to guide me in my researches, and in all the\ncollection of my works upon the subject I have found Mr. Baldwin's\n_Ancient America_ the most useful; and should the readers of these\nchapters desire a special work upon the subject of American antiquities\nI do not think they could find a single book on the subject which would\nbe more satisfactory than the little work (293 pages) here referred to;\nand since I have quoted so extensively from it, I cite the following\nto show in what esteem Mr. Baldwin is held by one who is the author of\nthe most elaborate work on the subject of American antiquities: \"Mr.\nBaldwin's most excellent little book on _Ancient America_ is the only\ncomprehensive work treating of this subject now before the public. As a\npopular treatise, compressing within a small duodecimo volume the whole\nsubject of archaeology, including, besides material relics, tradition,\nand speculation concerning origin and history as well, this book cannot\nbe too highly praised.\" Bancroft's _Native Races_, vol. IV, 2.\n\n23. _Ancient America_, pp. 20-24. Rev. J. G. Fish speaking of some of\nthese North American mounds declares that \"the summit level of some\nof them contains more than twelve acres. At their base they appear\nlike walls stretching up to heaven and it requires but a stretch of\nthe imagination to fancy them mouldering bastions and ramparts of some\nancient fortress.\" _Bible in the Balance_, p. 237.\n\n24. _Native Races_, vol. IV, pp. 788, 789.\n\n25. _Native Races_, vol. V, p. 539.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nEXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN TRADITIONS AND MYTHOLOGIES.\n\nTurning from that branch of American antiquities which deals with the\nextent and location of ruined cities and monuments of the ancient\nAmerican civilizations to the consideration of American traditions\nconcerning the origin, migrations, cosmogony, and the religion of\nthe people of the western world, we by no means leave behind us the\ndifficulty of divided authorities, and varying opinions. One could not\nhope, even in an extended work on the subject, to bring order out of\nthe chaos which obtains concerning American traditions and mythologies;\ntherefore, I need say nothing of the futility of attempting it in the\nfew brief chapters which I have resolved to devote to these traditions.\nBut this much must be evident respecting the relationship of the Book\nof Mormon to American traditions and mythologies, viz., that several\nepoch-making incidents in the Book of Mormon must have made such\nindelible impressions upon the mind of the ancient peoples of America\nthat they would be perpetuated in various forms in their traditions.\nSuch incidents, for example, as the Jaredite and Nephite migrations\nfrom the old world to the western hemisphere; and since the former\ncolony came directly from the Tower of Babel, it is to be expected\nthat they would bring with them a knowledge of the creation, the fall\nof man, the flood, the escape of Noah and his family by means of the\nark, and the building of the Tower of Babel. Lehi's colony came from\nJerusalem, bringing with them the Jewish scriptures, which speak so\nclearly of the creation, the flood, the escape of Noah, the building\nof Babel and the confusion of tongues, hence it would be expected\nthat they, too, would have a knowledge of these chief events in the\nhistory of man down to this last named event, and a knowledge also\nof the chief events in the history of Israel down to the time of the\ndeparture of Lehi's colony from Jerusalem--six hundred years B. C.\nIt is but a reasonable expectation, I say, that these things would\nbe perpetuated in American traditions and mythologies. Are traces of\nthem to be found there? So also as to the signs given on the American\ncontinent of Messiah's birth; and certainly as to the signs of his\ncrucifixion, witnessed by the terrible cataclysms which continued in\nthe western hemisphere during three hours, followed by three days of\nawful darkness. Also some trace in their traditions would be found of\nMessiah's personal advent on the American continent to the survivors\nof those events. So, too, would the recollection of the golden age\nof peace and plenty which followed Messiah's advent, and the promise\nof Messiah's return at some future time--some memory of all this\nwould most likely be perpetuated in native traditions. And while\nboth traditions and mythologies may be regarded as troubled pools\nwhich, like mirrors shattered into a thousand fragments, distort into\nfantastic shapes the objects on their banks, still there is a basis of\ntruth in them; and American traditions and mythologies may yield up\nsomething of value in the way of evidence to the truth of the Book of\nMormon. Surely we would be greatly disappointed if this turned out not\nto be the case, for the historical incidents referred to in the Book\nof Mormon are so impressive that they would be found to live in the\ntraditions of the people, whatever became of their written records. As\nremarked by H. H. Bancroft:\n\n    Every trace of the circumstances that give rise to a tradition is\n    soon lost, although the tradition itself in curiously modified\n    forms is long preserved. Natural convulsions, like floods and\n    earthquakes, famines, wars, tribal migrations, naturally leave an\n    impression on the savage mind which is not easily effaced, but\n    the fable in which the record is embodied may have assumed a form\n    so changed and childish that we pass over it today as having no\n    historical value, seeking information only in an apparently more\n    consistent tale, which may have originated at a recent date from\n    some very trivial circumstances. * * * * * But the traditions of\n    savages, valueless by themselves for a time more remote than one\n    or two generations, begin to assume importance when the events\n    narrated have been otherwise ascertained by the records of some\n    contemporary nation, throwing indirectly much light on history\n    which they were powerless to reveal. [1]\n\nAccepting as reasonable these reflections, I wish to add that having in\npart the written records of the people among whom the events happened\nof which the traditions treat, we are in possession of that which makes\nthese traditions assume the importance to which our author alludes. And\nwhile the record referred to--the Book of Mormon--gives the necessary\nimportance to the traditions, the traditions bear testimony to the\ntruth of the record at many points.\n\nIt should be remembered, however, that such were the conditions\nexisting among the Lamanites after their triumph at Cumorah, that\neverything is confused and distorted into most fantastic shapes and\nrelations by the idle speculations and vain imaginings of half,\nand sometimes wholly, barbarous minds, often bent on concealing or\nsupplanting the truth by their fabulous inventions.\n\nThe limits of this work will not permit anything like an extended\ninvestigation of the field proposed. I shall merely take up the most\nimportant facts and historical events of the Book of Mormon, and seek\nconfirmation of them in American traditions and myths.\n\nI.\n\n_The Creation._\n\nI begin with the creation; and select upon that subject a passage from\nthe book of the Quiches [2] of Guatemala called _Popol Vuh_, which, I\nbelieve, exhibits the fact that the ancient Americans held in their\ntraditions conceptions of creation found in the Jewish scriptures.\nA word upon the Popol Vuh will be necessary. This is one of the\nmost important of the native American books translated into modern\nlanguages. It was found by Dr. Scherzer, in 1854, among the manuscripts\nof Francisco Ximenez, \"a Dominican father of great repute for his\nlearning and his love of truth,\" who, while fulfilling the duties\nof his office of curate, in a small Indian town in the highlands of\nGuatemala, translated this native book into the Spanish language. It\nwas written by one or more Quiches in the Quiche language, but in Roman\nletters, some time after the Spaniards had occupied Gautemala. The\nmeaning of _Popol Vuh_ is \"National Book,\" or \"Book of the People,\" but\nthe real original \"National Book\" had been lost, and this was written\nto replace it. The title of the book, however, is that given to it by\nthe Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, who translated it into French; and by\nXimenez, who translated it into Spanish. This name, Max Muller says,\n\"is not claimed for it by its author. He [the native author] says that\nthe wrote when the _Popol Vuh_ [that is, the real original National\nBook of the Quiches, and which this book in question was written to\nreplace] was no longer to be seen. Now, _Popol Vuh_ means the Book of\nthe People, and referred to the traditional literature in which all\nthat was known about the early history of the nation, their religion\nand ceremonies, was handed down from age to age.\" [3] Nadaillac,\nhowever, says that _Popol Vuh_ may be translated \"Collection of\nLeaves.\" [4] In the conclusion of a long note on the subject Bancroft\nsays, \"We seem justified, then, in taking this document for what\nXimenez and its own evidence declare it to be, viz., a reproduction of\nan older work or body of Quiche traditional history, written because\nthe older work had been lost and was likely to be forgotten; and\nwritten by a Quiche not long after the Spanish conquest.\" [5]\n\nAs the passage I quote is from Bancroft's abridgment of the _Popol\nVuh_, I give also his brief explanation of the book:\n\n    Of all American peoples the Quiches, of Guatemala, have left us\n    the richest mythological legacy. Their description of the creation\n    as given in the _Popol Vuh_, which may be called the national\n    book of the Quiches, is in its rude, strange eloquence and poetic\n    originality, one of the rarest relics of aboriginal thought.\n    Although obliged in reproducing it to condense somewhat, I have\n    endeavored to give not only the substance, but also, as far as\n    possible, the peculiar style and phraseology of the original. It is\n    with this primeval picture, whose simple, silent sublimity is that\n    of the inscrutable past, that we begin: [6]\n\nAnd now the passage on the creation:\n\n    And the heaven was formed, and all the signs thereof set in their\n    angle and alignment, and its boundaries fixed toward the four\n    winds by the Creator and Former, and Mother and Father of life\n    and existence--he by whom all move and breathe, the Father and\n    Cherisher of the peace of nations and of the civilization of his\n    people--he whose wisdom has projected the excellence of all that is\n    on the earth, or in the lakes, or in the sea.\n\n    Behold the first word and the first discourse. There was as yet\n    no man, nor any animal, nor bird, nor fish, nor crawfish, nor any\n    pit, nor ravine, nor green herb, nor any tree; nothing was but the\n    firmament. The face of the earth had not yet appeared, only the\n    peaceful sea and all the space of heaven. There was nothing yet\n    joined together, nothing that clung to anything else; nothing that\n    balanced itself, that made the least rustling, that made a sound\n    in the heaven. There was nothing that stood up; nothing but the\n    quiet water, but the sea, calm and alone in its boundaries; nothing\n    existed; nothing but immobility and silence, in the darkness, in\n    the night.\n\n    Alone also the Creator, the Former, the Dominator, the Feathered\n    Serpent, those that engender, those that give being, they are upon\n    the water, like growing light. They are enveloped in green and\n    blue; and therefore their name is Gucumatz. Lo, now how the heavens\n    exist, how exists also the Heart of Heaven; such is the name of\n    God; it is thus that he is called. And they speak; they consulted\n    together and meditated; they mingled their words and their opinion.\n    And the creation was verily after this wise: Earth, they said,\n    and on the instant it was formed; like a cloud or a fog was its\n    beginning. Then the mountains rose over the water like great\n    lobsters; in an instant the mountains and the plains were visible,\n    and the cypress and the pine appeared. Then was the Gucumatz filled\n    with joy, crying out: Blessed be thy coming, O Heart of Heaven,\n    Hurakan, Thunderbolt. Our work and our labor has accomplished its\n    end.\n\n    The earth and its vegetation having thus appeared, it was peopled\n    with the various forms of animal life. And the Makers said to the\n    animals: Speak now our name, honor us, as your mother and father;\n    invoke Hurakan, the Lightning-flash, the Thunderbolt, that strikes,\n    the Heart of Heaven, the Heart of the Earth, the Creator and\n    Former, him who begets, and him who gives being, speak, call on us,\n    salute us! So was it said to the animals. But the animals could\n    not answer; they could not speak at all after the manner of men;\n    they could only cluck, and croak, each murmuring after his kind in\n    a different manner. This displeased the Creators, and they said to\n    the animals: Inasmuch as ye can not praise us, neither call upon\n    our names, your flesh shall be humiliated; it shall be broken with\n    teeth; ye shall be killed and eaten.\n\n    Again the gods took counsel together; they determined to make man.\n    So they made a man of clay; and when they had made him, they saw\n    that it was not good. He was without cohesion, without consistence,\n    motionless, strengthless, inept, watery, he could not move his\n    head, his face looked but one way; his sight was restricted, he\n    could not look behind him; he had been endowed with language, but\n    he had no intelligence, so he was consumed in the water.\n\n    Again is there counsel in heaven: Let us make an intelligent being\n    who shall adore and invoke us. It was decided that a man should be\n    made of wood and a woman of a kind of pith. They were made; but\n    the result was in no wise satisfactory. They moved about perfectly\n    well, it is true; they increased and multiplied; they peopled\n    the world with sons and daughters, little wooden mannikins like\n    themselves; but still the heart and the intelligence were wanting;\n    they held no memory of their Maker and Former; they led a useless\n    existence, they lived as the beasts lived; they forgot the Heart of\n    Heaven. They were but an essay, an attempt at men; they had neither\n    blood, nor substance, nor moisture, nor fat; their cheeks were\n    shrivelled, their feet and hands dried up; their flesh languished.\n\n    Then was the Heart of Heaven wroth; and he sent ruin and\n    destruction upon those ingrates; he rained upon them night and day\n    from heaven with a thick resin; and the earth was darkened. And the\n    men went mad with terror; they tried to mount upon the roofs and\n    the houses fell; they tried to climb the trees and the trees shook\n    them far from their branches; they tried to hide in the caves and\n    the dens of the earth, but these closed their holes against them.\n    The bird Xecotcovach came to tear out their eyes; and the Camalotz\n    cut off their head; and the Cotzbalam devoured their flesh; and the\n    Tecumbalam broke and bruised their bones to powder. Thus were they\n    all devoted to chastisement and destruction, save only a few who\n    were preserved as memorials of the wooden men that had been; and\n    these now exist in the woods as little apes.\n\n    Once more are the gods in council; in the darkness, in the night\n    of a desolate universe do they commune together, of what shall we\n    make man? And the Creator and Former made four perfect men; and\n    wholly of yellow and white maize was their flesh composed. These\n    were the names of the four men that were made: the name of the\n    first was Balam-Quitz; of the second, Balam-Agab; of the third,\n    Muhucutah; and the fourth, Iqi-Balam. They had neither father\n    nor mother, neither were they made by the ordinary agents in the\n    work of creation; but their coming into existence was a miracle\n    extraordinary wrought by the special intervention of him who is\n    preeminently the Creator. Verily, at last, were there found men\n    worthy of their origin and their destiny; verily, at last, did the\n    gods look on beings who could see with their eyes, and handle with\n    their hands, and understand with their hearts. Grand of countenance\n    and broad of limb the four sires of our race stood up under the\n    white rays of the morning star. Sole light as yet of the primeval\n    world--stood up and looked. Their great clear eyes swept rapidly\n    over all; they saw the woods and the rocks, the lakes and the sea,\n    the mountains and the valleys, and the heavens that were above all;\n    and they comprehended all and admired exceeding. Then they returned\n    thanks to those who had made the world and all that therein was: We\n    offer up our thanks, twice--yea verily, thrice! We have received\n    life; we speak, we walk, we taste; we hear and understand; we\n    know, both that which is near and that which is far off; we see\n    all things, great and small, in all the heaven and earth. Thanks,\n    then, Maker and Former, Father and Mother of our life! we have been\n    created; we are.\n\n    But the gods were not wholly pleased with this thing; Heaven they\n    thought had overshot its mark; these men were too perfect; knew,\n    understood, and saw too much. Therefore there was council again in\n    heaven: What shall we do with man now? It is not good, this that\n    we see; these are as gods; they would make themselves equal with\n    us; lo, they know all things, great and small. Let us now contract\n    their sight, so that they may see only a little of the surface of\n    the earth and be content. Thereupon the Heart of Heaven breathed a\n    cloud over the pupil of the eyes of men, and a veil came over it as\n    when one breathes on the face of a mirror, thus was the globe of\n    the eye darkened; neither was that which was far off clear to it\n    any more, but only that which was near.\n\n    Then the four men slept, and there was council in heaven: and four\n    women were made, to Balam-Quitze was allotted Caha-Paluma to wife;\n    to Balam-Agab, Chomiha; to Muhucutah, Tzununiha; and to Iqi-Balam,\n    Cakixaha. Now the women were exceedingly fair to look upon; and\n    when the men awoke, their hearts were glad because of the women.\n\nNotwithstanding some incongruities in the foregoing passage a\ncomparison of it with the account of creation in Genesis will not\nfail to convince the thoughtful reader that the Quiche story of the\ncreation, and that of Genesis doubtless had the same origin, and\nafter reading it again and again, as suggested by Max Muller, one\nmust come to the conclusion that \"some salient features standing out\nmore distinctly, make us feel that there was a ground work of noble\nconceptions which has been covered and distorted by an aftergrowth of\nfantastic nonsense.\" [7] Indeed, so \"startling,\" as Muller further\nremarks, are some of the coincidences between the Old Testament and\nthe Quiche manuscripts that it has been suspected by some authors\n[8] that the Quiche writers followed rather the Spanish, Christian\nteachings than the Quiche tradition in that part of their work; \"yet\neven if a Christian influence has to be admitted,\" remarks our author,\n\"much remains in these American traditions which is so different from\nanything else in the national literature of other countries that we\nmay safely treat it as the genuine growth of the intellectual soil\nof America.\" [9] In the light which the Book of Mormon throws upon\nthe subject, however, we are not under the necessity of admitting\nthe \"Christian influence\" referred to by Muller; that is, that the\nnatives arrived at the Biblical knowledge of the creation facts after\nthe advent of the Christians among them, since the Jaredites brought\nwith them a knowledge of creation as held by antediluvians, and the\nNephites brought with them a knowledge of that same account of creation\nas crystallized in the writings of Moses, which undoubtedly became\npermanently fixed both in the written records and traditions of the\nnative inhabitants of America; and which are reflected in this old\nQuiche book, _Popol Vuh_.\n\nThere is a quotation from another authority that I wish to add to the\nstatement of Professor Max Muller in the foregoing, relative to the\ncreation ideas of the Quiches, being a \"groundwork of noble conceptions\nwhich has been covered and distorted by an aftergrowth of fantastic\nnonsense.\" That additional authority--though the remark I quote has\nreference to another people, the Aztecs, is in the same line of thought\nas that which Professor Muller suggests, but applied to the whole\nreligion of the natives--is from Prescott:\n\n    In contemplating the religious system of the Aztecs, one is\n    struck with its apparent incongruity, as if some portion of it\n    had emanated from a comparatively refined people, open to gentle\n    influences, while the rest breathes a spirit of unmitigated\n    ferocity. It naturally suggests the idea of two distinct sources,\n    and authorities the belief that the Aztecs had inherited from their\n    predecessors a milder faith, on which was afterwards engrafted\n    their own mythology. The latter soon became dominant, and gave\n    its dark coloring to the creeds of the conquered nations--which\n    the Mexicans, like the ancient Romans, seem willingly to have\n    incorporated into their own, until the same funereal superstitions\n    settled over the farthest borders of Anahuac. [10]\n\nIf the noted German and American authors respectively had been writing\nwith full knowledge of what the Book of Mormon reveals on this subject,\nthey could not more exactly have stated the case than they have here\ndone, though enlightened only by the facts they discovered in the\nreligion of the natives; for surely the Book of Mormon gives us the\ninformation that both the Jaredite and the Nephite people had knowledge\nof the true God, and the latter, especially, a full knowledge of the\nmild and gentle religion taught by Jesus Christ; which religion,\nhowever, was subverted in the western world, and overlaid by the\nrevolting superstition and horribly ferocious idolatry, attended by\nhuman sacrifice and cannibalism of the Lamanites or Aztecs.\n\n    Another point of the coincidence [between native American\n    traditions and the Bible] is found in the goddess Cioacoatl, \"our\n    lady and mother;\" \"the first goddess who brought forth;\" \"who\n    bequeathed the suffering of childbirth to women, as the tribute of\n    death;\" \"by whom sin came into the world.\" Such was the remarkable\n    language applied by the Aztecs to this venerated deity. She was\n    usually represented with a serpent near her; and her name signified\n    the \"serpent-woman.\" In all this we see much to remind us of the\n    mother of the human family, the Eve of the Hebrew and Syrian\n    nations. [11]\n\nOn this passage Prescott also has the following note:\n\n    Torquemada, not content with the honest record of his predecessor,\n    whose manuscripts lay before him, tells us, that the Mexican Eve\n    had two sons, Cain and Abel. [12] The ancient interpreters of the\n    Vatican and Tellerian Codices add the further tradition, of her\n    bringing sin and sorrow into the world by plucking the forbidden\n    rose; (_Antiquities of Mexico_, vol. VI, explan. of Plate. 7,\n    20); and Veytia remembers to have seen a Toltec or Aztec map,\n    representing a garden with a single tree in it, round which was\n    coiled the serpent with a human face! (_Hist. Antiq_., lib. 1, ch.\n    1). [13]\n\n\"After this,\" continues Prescott, sarcastically, \"we may be prepared\nfor Lord Kingsborough's deliberate confession that the Aztecs had\na clear knowledge of the Old Testament and most probably of the\nNew, though somewhat corrupted by time and hieroglyphics!\" I see no\noccasion for the sarcasm on the part of the admirable author of the\n_Conquest of Mexico_, since he himself furnishes much of the material\nthat would warrant a conclusion similar to that of Kingsborough.\n[14] Kingsborough's conclusion comes in his note two, [15] in which\nhe deals with \"American traditions which appear to be derived from a\nHebrew source;\" and as the passage referred to by Prescott is of great\nvalue as material in proof not only of his lordship's position that\nthe ancient Americans were acquainted with portions, at least, of the\nOld Testament, but also sustains the truth of the Book of Mormon at a\nnumber of points--which will be noted later--I give it _in extenso_:\n\n    It is unnecessary to attempt in this place to trace out any further\n    scriptural analogies in the traditions and mythology of the New\n    World, since the coincidences which have been already mentioned are\n    sufficiently strong to warrant the conclusion that the Indians,\n    at a period long antecedent to the arrival of the Spaniards in\n    America, were acquainted with a portion at least of the Old\n    Testament, although time, superstition, and above all, such an\n    imperfect mode of transmitting to posterity the memory of the past\n    events as that of painting, had greatly corrupted their ancient\n    traditions. We shall close these observations with the following\n    curious extract from Torquemada, from which it might appear that\n    even the New Testament had been known to the Indians: \"Another\n    ecclesiastic, named Brother Diege de Mercado, a grave father, who\n    has been definer of this province of the Holy Gospel, and one of\n    the most exemplary men and greatest doers of penance of his time,\n    relates, and authenticates this relation with his signature, that\n    some years ago conversing with an aged Indian of the Otomies, above\n    seventy years old, respecting matters concerning our faith, the\n    Indian told him that they in ancient times had been in possession\n    of a book which was handed down successively from father to son, in\n    the person of the eldest, who was dedicated to the safe custody of\n    it and to instruct others in its doctrines. These doctrines were\n    written in two columns, and between column and column Christ was\n    painted crucified, with a countenance as of anger. They accordingly\n    said that God was offended; and out of reverence did not turn over\n    the leaves with their hands, but with a small bar which they had\n    made for that purpose, which they kept along with the book. On\n    this ecclesiastic's questioning the Indian as to the contents of\n    that book and its doctrines, he was unable to give him further\n    information, but simply replied that if the book had not been lost,\n    he would have seen that the doctrine which he taught and preached\n    to them, and those which the book contained, were the same; that\n    the book had rotted in the earth, where the persons who kept it had\n    buried it on the arrival of the Spaniards. He likewise informed\n    him that they knew the world had been destroyed by the deluge, and\n    that only seven persons had escaped in the ark, and that all the\n    rest had perished, together with the animals and birds, excepting\n    those which had been saved therein. They were also acquainted with\n    the embassy of the angel of Our Lady, under a figure, relating\n    that something very white, like the feather of a bird, fell from\n    heaven, and that a virgin stooped down and took it up and put it\n    in her bosom and became pregnant; but what she brought forth they\n    could not tell. What they said of the deluge, is attested likewise\n    in Guatemala by the Indians named Achies, who assert that they\n    possessed paintings recording the event, with other matters of\n    antiquity, all of which the Brothers, [Spanish Catholic priests]\n    with the spirit and zeal with which they were animated for the\n    destruction of idolatry, took from them and burnt, holding them to\n    be suspicious. [16]\n\nII.\n\n_The Flood._\n\nI next call attention to the native American traditions concerning\nthe flood, consulting those passages, however, let me say, which most\nnearly resemble the account of our Hebrew scriptures; and without\npretending to enter into an exhaustive consideration of native flood\nmyths. My purpose is accomplished in this, as in the matter of the\ntraditions concerning the creation, if I produce those proofs which,\nin my judgment, establish the fact that the native Americans have been\nmade acquainted with the facts of the creation and the flood, found\nin our Jewish scriptures; and I am not at all concerned here with the\nvariations that native traditions have given to the main truths.\n\nThe following is from Prescott:\n\n    No tradition has been more widely spread among nations than that\n    of a Deluge. Independently of tradition, indeed, it would seem to\n    be naturally suggested by the interior structure of the earth,\n    and by the elevated places on which marine substances are found\n    to be deposited. It was the received notion under some form or\n    other, of the most civilized people in the Old World, and of\n    the barbarians of the new. The Aztecs combine with this some\n    particular circumstances of a more arbitrary character, resembling\n    the accounts of the east. They believed that two persons survived\n    the deluge, a man, named Coxcox and his wife. Their heads are\n    represented in ancient paintings, together with a boat floating on\n    the waters, at the foot of a mountain. A dove is also depicted,\n    with the hieroglyphical emblem of languages in his mouth, which he\n    is distributing to the children of Coxcox, who were born dumb. The\n    neighboring people of Michuacan, inhabiting the same high plains\n    of the Andes, had a still further tradition, that the boat, in\n    which Tezpi, their Noah, escaped, was filled with various kinds of\n    animals and birds. After some time, a vulture was sent out from\n    it, but remained feeding on the dead bodies of the giants, which\n    had been left on the earth, as the waters subsided. The little\n    humming-bird, huititzilin, was then sent forth, and returned with a\n    twig in its mouth. The coincidence of both these accounts with the\n    Hebrew and Chaldean narratives is obvious. [17]\n\nThis is from Bancroft:\n\n    In Nicaragua, a country where the principal language was a Mexican\n    dialect, it was believed that ages ago the world was destroyed by\n    a flood in which the most part of mankind perished. Afterward the\n    teotes, or gods, restocked the earth as at the beginning. [18]\n\n    Connected with the great flood of water, there is a Mexican\n    tradition presenting some analogies to the story of Noah and his\n    ark. In most of the painted manuscripts supposed to relate to this\n    event, a kind of boat is represented floating over the waste of\n    water and containing a man and a woman. Even the Tlascaltecs, and\n    Zapotecs, the Miztecs, and the people of Michoacan are said to have\n    had such pictures. The man is variously called Coxcox, Teocipactli,\n    Tezpi, and Nata; the woman Xochiquetzal and Nena. The following has\n    been usually accepted as the ordinary Mexican version of this myth:\n    In Atonatiuh, the Age of water, a great flood covered all the face\n    of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were turned into fishes.\n    Only one man and one woman escaped, saving themselves in the hollow\n    trunk of an ahahuete or bald cypress; the name of the man being\n    Coxcox, and that of his wife Zochiquetzal. On the waters abating a\n    little they grounded their ark on the Peak of Colhuacan, the Ararat\n    of Mexico. Here they increased and multiplied, and children began\n    to gather about them, children who were all born dumb. And a dove\n    came and gave them tongues, innumerable languages. Only fifteen of\n    the descendants of Coxcox, who afterward became heads of families,\n    spake the same language or could at all understand each other;\n    and from these fifteen are descended the Toltecs, the Aztecs, and\n    the Acolhuas. * * * * * * In Michoacan a tradition was preserved,\n    following which the name of the Mexican Noah was Tezpi. With\n    better fortune than that ascribed to Coxcox, he was able to save,\n    in a spacious vessel, not only himself and his wife, but also his\n    children, several animals, and a quantity of grain for the common\n    use. When the waters began to subside, he sent out a vulture that\n    it might go to and fro on the earth and bring him word again when\n    dry land began to appear. But the vulture fed upon the carcasses\n    that were strewn in every part, and never returned. Then Tezpi sent\n    out other birds, and among these was a humming-bird. And when the\n    sun began to cover the earth with a new verdure, the humming-bird\n    returned to its old refuge bearing green leaves. And Tezpi saw that\n    his vessel was aground near the mountain of Colhuacan and he landed\n    there. [19]\n\n    The Peruvians had several flood-myths. One of them relates that the\n    whole face of the earth was changed by a great deluge, attended by\n    an extraordinary eclipse of the sun which lasted five days. All\n    living things were destroyed except one man, a shepherd, with his\n    family and flocks. * * * * According to another Peruvian legend,\n    two brothers escaped from a great deluge which overwhelmed the\n    world in much the same manner, by ascending a mountain which\n    floated upon the flood. When the waters had retired, they found\n    themselves alone in the world; and having consumed all their\n    provisions, they went down into the valleys to seek for more food.\n    [20]\n\nThe following is from Lord Kingsborough's works:\n\n    The Peruvians were acquainted with the deluge, and believed\n    that the rainbow was the sign that the earth would not again be\n    destroyed by water. This is plain from the speech which Mango\n    Capac, the reported founder of the Peruvian empire, addressed to\n    his companions on beholding the rainbow rising from a hill; which\n    is thus recorded by Balboa in the ninth chapter of the third\n    part of his _Miscellanea Antarctica_: \"They traveled on until a\n    mountain, at present named Guanacauri, presented itself to their\n    view, when, on a certain morning, they beheld the rainbow rising\n    above the mountain, with one extremity resting upon it, when Mango\n    Capac exclaimed to his companions, This is a propitious sign that\n    the world will not be again destroyed by water; follow me, let\n    us climb to the summit of this mountain, that we may thence have\n    a view of the place which is destined for our future habitation.\n    Having cast lots and performed various superstitious ceremonies,\n    after this manner, they directed their course towards the mountain.\n    It is scarcely necessary to observe, that to draw omens or to\n    determine chances by throwing lots, was an ancient Hebrew custom,\n    resorted to on the most solemn, as well as the most trivial\n    occasions. Proof having been afforded in the passage quoted from\n    the history of Balboa, that the Peruvians were acquainted with the\n    history of the rainbow, as given in the ninth chapter of Genesis,\n    it may be interesting to add, that according to the account of\n    an anonymous writer, they believed that the rainbow was not only\n    a passive sign that the earth would not be destroyed by a second\n    deluge, but an active instrument to prevent the recurrence of\n    such a catastrophe: the latter curious notion proceeded upon the\n    assumption that as the water of the sea (which, like the Jews, they\n    believe to encircle the whole earth) would have a tendency to rise\n    after excessive falls of rain, so the pressure of the extremities\n    of the rainbow upon its surface would prevent its exceeding its\n    proper level. [21]\n\nNadaillac calls attention to the fact of a general belief in a deluge\nor a flood among the American races and comments upon the fact that we\nare dependent upon writers for our account of the traditions who are\nnot always free from mental bias and who have derived their information\nfrom individuals who had been subjected to missionary teachings and who\nwere more or less familiar with what he calls the myths and legends\nof the Christians. \"Notwithstanding these disadvantages,\" he remarks,\nhowever, \"it will be seen that a general belief, for instance, of a\ndeluge or flood is widely spread among American races, and can hardly\nbe attributed to Christian teachings.\" [22]\n\nOne might continue quoting passages of the foregoing character\nindefinitely, but I consider what has been set down on these matters\nsufficient. [23]\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. The reader will find preceding the table of contents in this volume\na pronunciation of the principal Spanish and Mexican proper names found\nin this work.\n\n2. _Chips from a German Workshop_, vol. I, p. 325.\n\n3. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 144, note.\n\n4. _Native Races_, vol. III, pp. 42, 43.\n\n5. _Native Races_, vol. III, pp. 42, 43. [24]\n\n6. _Chips from a German Workshop_, vol. I, pp. 328-9.\n\n7. Nadaillac _Pre-Historic America_, p. 144, note. This writer says of\nthe book in question. \"It contains several details strangely resembling\nthose of Genesis, and some have seen in them an adaptation by a pious\nfraud of Indian mythology to the dogmas of Christianity.\"\n\n8. _Chips from a German Workshop_, p. 128.\n\n9. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. I, Prescott, p. 62.\n\n10. _Conquest of Mexico_, Prescott, vol. II, p. 387.\n\n11. _Morarch Ind_., lib. 6, chap. 31.\n\n12. Prescott, _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II, pp. 387, 388, note.\n\n13. See Appendix no. 1, vol. II, of Prescott's _Conquest of Mexico_.\n\n14. Vol. VI, Kingsborough's _Antiquities of Mexico_, pp. 401-409.\n\n15. _Antiquities of Mexico_, Kingsborough, vol. XI, p. 409.\n\n16. _Conquest of Mexico_, Prescott, vol. II, appendix pp. 385, 386.\n\n17. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. III, p. 75.\n\n18. _Native Races_, vol. III, pp. 65-67.\n\n19. _Native Races_, vol. V, pp. 14, 16.\n\n20. Kingsborough's _Mexican Antiquities_, vol. VIII, p. 25, note.\n\n21. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 525.\n\n22. Whoever desires to pursue the subject further may do so by\nconsulting Bancroft's _Native Races_, vol. V, chapter one, and vol.\nIII, chapter two; as also the works of Prescott, the monumental volumes\nof Kingsborough, (the latter can be accessible to but few, however),\nand chapter 5 of Ignatius Donnelley's _Atlantis_. Also _Pre-Historic\nAmerica_ (Nadaillac), chapter 10, and _The History of America Before\nColumbus_, (De Roo) vol. I, chapter sixteen.\n\n23. _Native Races_, vol. V, pp. 137, 138.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\nINDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN TRADITIONS. Continued.\n\nAlways closely allied with the native American traditions of a deluge\nare those which bear close analogy to the Bible account of the\nexistence of giants in the earth, [1] of the Tower of Babel, [2] the\nconfusion of languages, [3] the dispersion of mankind throughout the\nearth, [4] including migrations to this western hemisphere. The first\nfour items above enumerated will be recognized as Bible events; while\nthe last will be remembered as a very important Book of Mormon event\nfulfilled in the migration of the Jaredite colony from the Tower of\nBabel to the western hemisphere. [5] But as the Nephite migration, as\nalso that of Mulek's colony, is committed to the traditions of the\nnative Americans, one must not be surprised if these several migrations\nare sometimes confounded, resulting in confusion that is quite\nperplexing.\n\nIII.\n\n_Tradition of the Tower of Babel_\n\n    On the way between Vera Cruz and the capital not far from the\n    modern city of Puebla, stands the venerable relic, with which the\n    reader has become familiar in the course of this narrative--called\n    the temple of Cholulua. It is, as he will remember, a pyramidal\n    mound, built, or rather cased, with unburnt brick, rising to\n    the height of nearly one hundred and eighty feet. The popular\n    tradition of the natives is that it was erected by a family of\n    giants, who had escaped the great inundation, and designed to raise\n    the building to the clouds; but the gods, offended with their\n    presumption, sent fires from heaven on the pyramid, and compelled\n    them to abandon the attempt. The partial coincidence of this legend\n    with the Hebrew account of the Tower of Babel, received also by\n    other nations of the east, cannot be denied. [6]\n\nPrescott also has a footnote on this passage, from which I make the\nfollowing quotation:\n\n    A tradition, very similar to the Hebrew one, existed among the\n    Chaldeans and the Hindoos. (_Asiatic Researches_, vol. III, mem.\n    16.) The natives of Chiapa, also, according to the bishop Nuez\n    de la Vega, had a story, cited as genuine by Humboldt (_Vues des\n    Cordilleres_, p. 148), which not only agrees with the scripture\n    account of the manner in which Babel was built, but with that of\n    the subsequent dispersion, and the confusion of tongues. [7]\n\n    Ixtlilxochitl the Christian descendant of the ancient rulers of\n    Anahuac, relates that after the dispersion of the human race which\n    succeeded the attempt at building the Tower of Babel (which he had\n    learned from his Catholic instructors) [8] seven Toltecs reached\n    America and became the parents of a numerous race. The Quiches\n    speak of white men who came from the land of the sun. The people of\n    Yucatan believe that their ancestors had come from the east, across\n    a great body of water that God had dried up to let them pass over.\n    [9]\n\n    The Mexicans round Cholula had a special legend, connecting the\n    escape of a remnant from the great deluge with the often mentioned\n    story of the origin of the people of Anahuac from Chicomoztoc, or\n    the Seven Caves. At the time of the cataclysm, [i. e. the flood]\n    the country, according to Pedro de los Rios, was inhabited by\n    giants. Some of these perished utterly; others were changed into\n    fishes; while seven brothers of them found safety by closing\n    themselves into certain caves in a mountain called Tlaloc. When\n    the waters were assuaged, one of the giants, Xelhua, surnamed\n    the architect, went to Cholula and began to build an artificial\n    mountain, as a monument and a memorial of the Tlaloc that had\n    sheltered him and his when the angry waters swept through all the\n    land. The bricks were made in Tlamanalco, at the foot of the Sierra\n    de Cocotl, and passed to Chulua from hand to hand along a file of\n    men--whence these came is not said--stretching between the two\n    places. Then were the jealousy and the anger of the gods aroused,\n    as the huge pyramid arose slowly up, threatening to reach the\n    clouds and the great heaven itself; and the gods launched their\n    fire upon the builders and slew many, so that the work was stopped.\n    But the half-finished structure, afterwards dedicated by the\n    Cholultecs to Quetzalcoatl, still remains to show how well Xelhua,\n    the giant, deserved his surname of the Architect. [10]\n\n\"The Tower of Babel is,\" indeed, clearly remembered by several\naboriginal nations of our continent,\" says P. DeRoo, \"especially of\nCentral America,\" and then he adds:\n\n    Ixtlilxochitl relates the tradition of the Toltecs, according\n    to which the few men who escaped the deluge, after multiplying\n    again, built a \"zacuali\" or tower of great height, in which to\n    take refuge when the world should be destroyed a second time.\n    After this their tongues became confused and, not understanding\n    one another any longer, they went to different parts of the world.\n    The Toltecs, seven in number, and their wives, who understood\n    one another's speech, after crossing great lands and seas and\n    undergoing many hardships, finally arrived in America, which they\n    found to be a good land and fit for habitation. When Coxcox and\n    his wife Xochiquetzal had landed on the peak of Calhuacan they\n    increased and multiplied, and children began to gather about them;\n    but these were all born dumb. A dove came, however, and gave them\n    tongues, innumerable languages. On an ancient hieroglyphical map,\n    first published by Carreri, who was vindicated from suspicion as\n    to his integrity by Boturini, Clavigero, and von Humboldt, there\n    is also depicted a dove with the hieroglyphic emblem of languages,\n    which it is distributing to the children of Coxcox. Only fifteen\n    of the descendants of Coxcox could not all understand one another,\n    and these were the ancestors of the Nahua nations. Thus runs the\n    Mexican tradition, which the learned Von Humboldt further relates\n    when he says, \"Wodan, one of the fifteen ancestors of the American\n    nations, was a grandson of the venerable old man, who with his\n    family escaped the fury of the flood, and was one of those who,\n    according to the Chiapan legend, had helped in building the\n    monument that was to reach heaven but remained unfinished through\n    the anger of the gods. After each family had received a different\n    language, Teotl ordered Wodan to go and settle Anahuac\" [11]--(the\n    Mexican table land).\n\n    The Cholulan tradition, as told by Duran, differs somewhat from\n    the foregoing version. \"I inquired,\" he says, \"about the ancient\n    Mexican legends, from a native of Cholula who was a hundred years\n    old, and well versed in the antiquities of his tribe. 'Take pen and\n    paper,' he answered me, 'because you could not remember all that\n    I am to tell you: At first, there was nothing but a dark world,\n    without any creature in it; but as soon as light was made with the\n    sun rising in the east, gigantic men with ugly features made their\n    appearance and took possession of this earth. Desirous of knowing\n    the rising and the setting of the sun, they divided themselves into\n    two groups, those of one group traveling east on their search, and\n    the others west, until the ocean prevented them from going any\n    further. They returned, therefore, and, unable to get at the sun by\n    his rising or sinking, whilst, however, they were enamoured with\n    his light and beauty, they decided to build a tower tall enough to\n    reach him in his course. They set out gathering materials, found\n    clay and a very sticky bitumen, and they hurried on to erect the\n    tower, and raised it so high that, they say, it seemed to attain to\n    the sky. And the Lord above, annoyed at their work, spoke to the\n    inhabitants of heaven: 'You have noticed how those of the world\n    have built a high and superb tower to climb up higher, after the\n    beauty and light of the sun; come and let us confound them, for it\n    is not right that those of the world living in the flesh, should\n    mix up with us.' The inhabitants of heaven sallied forth at once,\n    like thunderbolts, by the four corners of the earth and demolished\n    the monument. Terrified and trembling, the giants fled in every\n    direction.'\" [12]\n\nPassages of like description to these might be multiplied, but the\nforegoing are sufficient for our purpose here. [13]\n\nI have already called attention to the fact that authorities upon the\nsubject of traditions and legends of the new world are as much divided\nand as irreconcilable as they are upon the origin and antiquity of\nAmerican ruins. A number of writers, especially those of recent date,\nseek to discount the value of the analogy which is plainly evident\nbetween these native American accounts of the creation, the flood,\nthe building of the Tower of Babel, the confusion of tongues, the\ndispersion of mankind, and the Bible accounts of the same events; but\nI fail to find any reason advanced sufficiently strong to discredit\nthe obvious analogy, and the significance there is in such analogy,\nviz., that the native Americans in ancient times were acquainted with\nthe Bible facts concerning these several things. Those who accept the\nBook of Mormon know by what means and how the ancient Americans became\nacquainted with these scriptural truths. Those writers who seek to\ndiscredit the native traditions resort in the main to the theory that\nthese so-called creation, flood, and tower legends have not escaped\nthe \"renovating touch of the Spanish priests and chroniclers, who,\nthroughout their writings, seem to think it their bounden duty to make\nthe ideas of the history of the new world correspond to those of the\nold;\" [14] while others see in them an adaptation by pious fraud of\nIndian mythologies to Bible statements. [15] Such Nadaillac represents\nthe theories of some other writers to be; but he himself, in speaking\nof a number of traditions which resemble Bible historical incidents,\ndisclaims the necessity of accrediting them to Christian origin:\n\n    A general belief * * * * in a deluge or flood is widely spread\n    among the American races, and can hardly be attributed to Christian\n    teachings. * * * * * * It is probable that all these traditions\n    have some foundations in truth. * * * * No dissemination of merely\n    Christian ideas since the conquest is sufficient to account for\n    these myths. [16]\n\nWith the Book of Mormon in hand, however, one does not need to\naccept these strained explanations nor this wholesale repudiation\nof the writings of respectable authorities on the validity of these\nlegends among native Americans, derived--not as some would have us\nbelieve, from picture-paintings of the natives alone, but from these,\nsupplemented by the oral traditions of the natives. The source of\ntraditions here referred to is made clear by the Book of Mormon.\n\nIV.\n\n_Migrations._\n\nAs already stated, some confusion exists in native American traditions\nrelative to migrations. This doubtless arises from the fact that the\nnative traditions confound the three great migrations of which the Book\nof Mormon speaks, viz., the Jaredite, Nephite and Mulek migrations, and\nalso the subsequent intercontinental movements among both Nephites and\nLamanites, especially those following the disaster at Cumorah, with the\ngeneral migrations from the old world. This confusion in the native\ntraditions results in dividing the writers on American antiquities,\nboth in respect of the number of migrations and the direction whence\nthey came, as also the time of them. It should be stated that there\nare some respectable authorities who doubt ancient migrations at all,\nholding the native population of America, and also its civilization, to\nbe indigenous.\n\nMigration passages already quoted in connection with the Tower of\nBabel matter, are as follows: \"The Toltecs reached America [from the\nTower] and became the founders of a numerous race.\" \"The Quiches speak\nof white men who came from the land of the sun. The people of Yucatan\nbelieve that their ancestors had come from the east across a great body\nof water that God had dried up to let them pass over.\" [17] Here it\nwill be observed that with these traditions of the migration from the\neast has been coupled the Bible story of the Israelites crossing the\nRed Sea, through which God opened a way to let them pass. [18]\n\nIt is also to be observed that in some instances the American\ntraditions fix the building of the notable tower to escape floods in\nthe western world. [19] Not a surprising variation when one considers\nhow oral tradition, unchecked by written annals, distorts facts. From\nanother passage already given, [20] after referring to the facts of\nthe confusion of languages, it is stated that the people went to\ndifferent parts of the world; then, \"the Toltecs, seven in number,\nand their wives, who understood one another's speech, after crossing\ngreat lands and seas and undergoing great hardships, finally arrived\nin America, which they found to be good land and fit for habitation. *\n* * Only fifteen of the descendants of Coxcox could at all understand\none another, and these were the ancestors of the Nahuac nations.\"\n[21] In this last quotation one perceives very clearly in outline the\nstory of the Jaredite migration as follows: First, the number of the\ncolony is small. The Book of Ether represents that the Jaredite colony\ncrossed the great waters between their native land and America in eight\nbarges; [22] and they were small. [23] The two principal families of\nthis colony, that of Moriancumr and Jared, some time after reaching\nAmerica, are set down as follows: The former had of sons and daughters\ntwenty-two; while the number of sons and daughters of the latter were\ntwelve, he having four sons. Some of these sons and daughters may,\nof course, have been born en route to, and after the arrival in,\nAmerica--that, at least, is a very great probability--and hence the\noriginal colony would be cut down by as many as were so born. [24] The\nnumber of \"friends\" of Jared and his brother who accompanied them from\nBabel to America are set down at \"about twenty and two souls, and they\nalso begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land.\n[25] This may mean that the twenty-two friends were all adults, while\nthe number of children is not given; or it may mean that they numbered\ntwenty-two including children. In any event the Jaredite colony was not\nlarge, and it is quite possible that the families were not more than\nseven in number as held in the native tradition before us.\n\nSecond, the American traditions represent that the colony which\ncame from the tower and peopled America all understood each other's\nlanguage, and the number of them was fifteen; which, if this number\nrepresents the adult members of the colony, we have again about the\nseven families indicated in the foregoing passage; and it will be\nremembered that when the Lord made known to the prophet Moriancumr that\nhe was about to confound the languages of the people, his brother Jared\nsuggested to him that he ask the Lord not to confound their language;\n\"and it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord,\nand the Lord had compassion upon Jared, therefore he did not confound\nthe language of Jared.\" [26] A second appeal was made in behalf of\ntheir friends (who we have already learned numbered twenty-two) that\ntheir language might not be confounded; \"and the Lord had compassion\nupon their friends, and upon their families also, that they were not\nconfounded.\" [27]\n\nThird, this colony, of the American traditions, crossed great lands and\nseas and underwent many hardships before finally arriving in America.\nNow Ether's account of the Jaredite journey: \"And it came to pass that\nthey did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they\ndid cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the\nLord. And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the\nsea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even\nunto the land of promise\"--America. [28] Arriving on the shores of the\ngreat ocean which separated them from the land of their destination\nthey received a commandment to build barges for crossing this ocean.\n\"And it came to pass that when they had done all these things they\ngot aboard of their vessels or barges and set forth into the sea,\ncommending themselves unto the Lord their God. And it came to pass\nthat the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon\nthe face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were\ntossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.\" [29] This journey\ncontinued three hundred and forty-four days upon the water. This surely\nwas \"crossing great lands and seas and undergoing many hardships.\"\n\nFourth, the American tradition says that the Toltec colony finally\narrived in America, which they found to be a good land, \"and fit for\nhabitation.\" Concerning the land to which the Jaredite colony came\nEther says that it is \"a land of promise, which is choice above all\nother lands which the Lord had preserved for a righteous people.\" [30]\nIn other words, to use the language of the native American tradition,\nit was \"a land fit for habitation.\"\n\nOther passages on the fact of ancient migrations to America follow;\nbut I caution the reader again concerning the confusion existing in\nthe traditions on this subject, which arises, as I believe, from the\ntraditions mingling indiscriminately together the three migrations of\nthe Book of Mormon, and later movements of native tribes since the\noverthrow of the Nephites at Cumorah.\n\n    One fact appears probable, and that is that there was a tendency\n    of population extending over a long period from the north toward\n    the south, one driving another before it as one wave of the sea\n    follows that in advance of it. We cannot do better than compare\n    these successive invasions, with those of the barbarous races that\n    quarreled over the parts of the dismembered Roman empire, or with\n    that of the Aryans, who from the farther end of Asia fell in hordes\n    first upon India and Persia and then upon the different countries\n    of Europe, giving to the vanquished as the price of their defeat a\n    culture undoubtedly superior to that they had formerly possessed.\n    [31]\n\n    That successive waves of migration occurred there is no reason to\n    doubt, and that these successive bodies of immigrants differed to\n    some extent in culture and in race is highly probable. [32] * *\n    * The ancient American races preserved the tradition of distinct\n    migrations, in their hieroglyphics and pictographs. [33]\n\n    That America was peopled from Asia, the cradle of the human race,\n    can no longer be doubted, but how and when they came is a problem\n    that cannot be solved. [34]\n\nThe testimony \"of migration to the western coast of America from the\neastern coast of Asia,\" Rivero and Tschudi hold to be strong and\nconclusive; and further \"that it explains many facts in America, which\nlong perplexed our archaeologists;\" but \"it by no means aids us in\ndetermining the origin of our earliest population.\" [35] On the same\nsubject Gallatin remarks:\n\n    After making every proper allowance, I can see no possible reason\n    that should have prevented those who, after the dispersion of\n    mankind, moved towards the east and northeast from having reached\n    the extremities of Asia and passed over to America within five\n    hundred years after the flood. However small may have been the\n    number of those first emigrants, an equal number of years would\n    have been more than sufficient to occupy in their own way every\n    part of America. [36]\n\nBancroft, quoting the substance of a passage from Sahagun, whom he\npronounces one of the best of authorities, says:\n\n    Countless years ago the first settlers arrived in New Spain. Coming\n    in ships by sea, they approached a northern port and because\n    they disembarked there it was called Panutla, or Panoaia, \"place\n    where they arrived who came by sea,\" now corruptly called Pantlan\n    (Panuco); and from this port they began to follow the coast,\n    beholding the snowy Sierras and the volcanoes, until they reached\n    the province of Guatemala; being guided by a priest carrying their\n    god, with whom he continually took counsel respecting what they\n    ought to do. They came to settle in Tamoanchan [37] where they\n    remained a long time, and never ceased to have their wise men, or\n    prophets, called amoxoaque, which means \"men learned in the ancient\n    paintings,\" [books], who, although they came at the same time, did\n    not remain with the rest in Tamoanchan; since leaving them there,\n    they re-embarked and carried away with them all the paintings\n    [books] which they had brought relating to religious rites and\n    mechanical arts. [38]\n\nSpeaking of the traditions of the migration of the Nahuatl nations\nBancroft says:\n\n    In its ancient center--not in Anahuac, whether it was in the north\n    or south--the primitive Nahua power was overthrown, or from that\n    center it was transferred to be re-established by exiled princes\n    and their descendants on the Mexican plateaux. This transfer,\n    whose nature we may vaguely comprehend, but of whose details we\n    know nothing, is the event or series of events referred to by\n    various migration-traditions. The recollections of these events\n    assumed different forms in the traditions of different tribes until\n    each nation claimed, or were deemed by the Spaniards to claim, a\n    distinct migration from its former home. [39]\n\n    After the creation of the first men Balam-Quitze, Balam-Agab,\n    Machucutah and Iqui-Balam, wives were given to them, and these were\n    the parents of the Quiche nation. * * * * All seem to have spoken\n    one language and to have lived in great peace, black men and white\n    men together. Here they awaited the rising of the sun and prayed\n    to the Heart of Heaven. The tribes were already very numerous\n    including that of the Yaqui (Nahuas). At the advice of Balam-Quitze\n    and his companions they departed in search of gods to worship, and\n    came to Tulan-Zuiva and seven caves where gods were given. * * * *\n    * * Tohil was also the god of Tamub and Ilocab and the three tribes\n    or families kept together, for their god was the same. Here arrived\n    all the tribes; * * * * * and here their language was confounded.\n    They could no longer understand each other and they separated,\n    going to the east, and many coming hither (to Guatemala). They\n    dressed in skins and were poor, but they were wonderful men, and\n    when they reached Tulan-Zuiva long had been their journey, as the\n    ancient histories tell us. [40]\n\nBancroft condenses the foregoing from _Popol Vuh_, of which work I\nhave already given a description, [41] and in it may be observed the\nessential facts of the Jaredite migrations to the new world. That is,\nsome time after the creation men are represented as living together and\nspeaking one language. Later comes the confusion of tongues. Certain\nfamilies adhere together because they speak the same language. There is\na general dispersion and after a very long journey one of the groups\nreaches Gautemala; i. e., Central America.\n\nConcluding the primitive period of Gautemala history, Bancroft quotes\na striking passage from the Spanish writer Juarros; who, he says,\nfollows the manuscript writings of Fuentes y Guzman, founded, as is\nclaimed, on native documents, \"but full of inconsistencies,\" he adds,\n\"and doubtless also of errors.\" There is, it is true, some confusion\nin the story told in this quotation; yet, making allowance for the\nimperfections of oral traditions, and confusion likely to occur in\nthem, one may see in it something akin to the Nephite migration\nrecounted in the Book of Mormon. And now the story:\n\n    The Toltecs referred to were of the house of Israel, and the great\n    prophet Moses freed them from the captivity in which they were held\n    by Pharaoh; but, having passed the Red Sea, they gave themselves\n    up to idolatry, and persisting in it notwithstanding the warnings\n    of Moses, either to escape the chidings of his law-giver, or for\n    fear of punishment, they left him and their kindred and crossed\n    the sea to a place called the Seven Caves on the shores of the Mar\n    Bermejo (Gulf of California) now a part of the Mexican kingdom,\n    where they founded the celebrated city of Tula. The first chief\n    who ruled and conducted this great band from one continent to the\n    other, was Tamub, ancestor of the royal families of Tula and of\n    Quiche, and first king of the Toltecs. The second was Capichoch;\n    the third Calel Ahus; the fourth Ahpop; the fifth Nimaquiche, who,\n    being the best beloved and most distinguished of all, at the order\n    of his oracle, led those people away from Tulan, where they had\n    greatly increased in numbers, guided them from the Mexican kingdom\n    to this of Guatemala. In this migration they spent many years,\n    suffered unspeakable hardships, and journeyed in their wanderings\n    for many leagues over an immense tract of country, until, beholding\n    a lake (that of Atitan), they determined to fix their habitation\n    at a certain place not far from the lake, which they named Quiche,\n    in memory of the king Nimaquiche (or, the \"great\" Quiche), who had\n    died during their long wanderings. There came with Nimaquiche three\n    of his brothers, and by an agreement between the four they divided\n    the region. [42]\n\nIn some respects--in the matter of the seven caves and the name of the\nleader of the colony, Tamub--the story touches the tradition which\ndoubtless refers to the advent of the Jaredites; and also, perhaps,\nsome of the later migrations of native tribes in Central America. But\none has, in the foregoing tradition, the Hebrew origin of the colony\nplainly declared; their departure from their kindred and the journey\nacross the sea; their leader becomes the first king, as did Nephi;\n[43] he founds a royal line--becomes, in fact, the ancestor of the\nroyal families of Tula and Quiche, as Nephi founded the royal line\namong his people; [44] the fifth king, greatly beloved, instructed\nby his oracle--God--led part of the people away from an old place of\nsettlement, where they had greatly increased, and led them to another\nland. Both character and achievement corresponds admirably with the\nfirst Mosiah of the Book of Mormon, and his leading the more righteous\npart of the Nephites from the land of Lehi-Nephi to Zarahemla; [45] and\nthere is also the Nephite custom of naming lands after distinguished\nleaders who first settled them; [46] while one may see in the fact that\nwith Nimaquiche there came three brothers in his migration, a close\nresemblance to the fact of three brothers being associated with Nephi\nin the Nephite colony led from Jerusalem. [47]\n\nLet it be remembered also that this is a tradition concerning the\n\"Nahuatl\" tribes. Is this very name \"Nahuatl\" but a variation of the\nHebrew root whence the word Nephi is derived, as undoubtedly the\nfollowing words are: Nepheg, [48] Nephish, [49] Nephishesim, [50]\nNephusim, [51] Naphtali; [52] and Nephtoah? [53]\n\nThis Nahuatl tradition very much resembles one among the Peruvians\nconcerning their migration to Peru; but which still more closely\nresembles some of the facts of the Nephite migration, except as to\nthe matter of the time of it, which is placed at five hundred years\nafter the deluge. The tradition is thus related by Rivero and Tschudi,\nfollowing Montesinos:\n\n    Peru, says Montesinos, was populated five hundred years after the\n    deluge. Its first inhabitants flowed in abundantly towards the\n    valley of Cuzco, conducted by four brothers. * * * The eldest of\n    the brothers mounted to the summit of a ridge, and threw with\n    his sling a stone to each of the four quarters of the world,\n    thus taking possession of the soil for himself and his family.\n    He afterward gave a name to each one of the quarters which he\n    reached with his sling, calling that beyond the south, Colla;\n    beyond the north, Tahua; beyond the east, Antisuyu; beyond the\n    west, Contisuyu, and for that reason the Indians called their kings\n    Tahuantin-Suyu-Capac, i. e., lords of the four quarters of the\n    globe. The younger of the brothers, who, according to tradition,\n    was at the same time the most skilful and hardy, wishing to enjoy\n    alone the plenitude of power, rid himself of two of his brothers,\n    by enclosing one of them in a cave, and throwing the other into a\n    deep hole and thus caused the third to fly to a distant province.\n    The fratricide consoled his sisters, and told them that they must\n    consider him as the only child, or son of the sun, and obey him as\n    such. He commanded his kinsmen to level the ground and make houses\n    of stone; such was the origin of the city of Cuzco. * * * For sixty\n    years did this first king govern (whom Indian tradition also called\n    Puhua-Manco), leaving the throne to his eldest son. [54]\n\nHere we have undoubted reference to historical events, but the\ntradition in which they are held has assumed a form somewhat childish.\nThat, however, does not prevent one from seeing in the tradition\nsome of the main facts of the Nephite migration. The migration is\nconducted by four brothers, as was the Nephite migration--for Lehi, the\npatriarchal head of the Nephite colony, seems to have influenced the\nmigration after its departure into the wilderness of Arabia but very\nlittle; the eldest of the brothers seeks for the leadership on arrival\nin the new world, by asserting his dominion over the four quarters of\nthe land, in which one may see reflected the claims which the unworthy\nLaman, the eldest of the four Nephite brothers, made to leadership over\nthe Nephite colony. In the younger brother of the Peruvian tradition\nbeing the more worthy of leadership, and finally attaining it, one may\nsee the Book of Mormon historical fact of the youngest of the four\nsons of Lehi, taking his leadership of the colony, though arriving\nat undisputed leadership of his people not by the means described in\nthe Peruvian tradition, but by the blessing and favor of God, and by\nseparating from his brothers and their following, and removing his\npeople a long distance from the place of the first landing of the\ncolony in America.\n\nIn that part of the tradition where the youngest brother is represented\nas commanding his kinsmen \"to level the ground and make houses\nof stone,\" we have the evidence that he taught them the arts of\ncivilization; a circumstance which corroborates the Book of Mormon fact\nthat the first Nephi did the same thing. It is thus recorded by him:\n\n    And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all\n    manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of\n    steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were\n    in great abundance. * * * * And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did\n    cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.\n    [55]\n\nThis youngest brother of the tradition--after reigning sixty years,\n(the first Nephi's reign was also long, but the exact number of years\nmay not be ascertained, [56]) bequeathed his throne to his eldest\nson; so also did Nephi. At least that he did so is a most reasonable\nconclusion from the Book of Mormon data. In his old age, seeing death\napproaching, Nephi \"anointed a man to be a king * * * over his people,\naccording to the reign of kings.\" [57] Being anxious to revere the name\nof this first ruler, the people provided that those who came to the\nthrone should be called First Nephi, Second Nephi, Third Nephi, [58]\netc. Of course this does not prove that Nephi chose his eldest son to\nsucceed him; but a later writer than Jacob, speaking of the Nephite\nkingdom, makes the statement that \"the kingdom had been conferred upon\nnone but those who were descendants of Nephi.\" [59] Hence it must have\nbeen that the man whom Nephi anointed king when his own career was\nclosing, was his own son, and most likely his eldest son.\n\nThus every item of the native Peruvian tradition under consideration,\nis met by the facts of the Book of Mormon; and the tradition gives\nstrong presumptive evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon\nstatement, and hence also to the book itself.\n\nNadaillac has a passage which wonderfully confirms the possibility of\nthe Nephites being able to make the journey from the coast of Arabia to\nSouth America. After discussing the probability of migrations from Asia\nvia Behring Strait, he says:\n\n    On the other hand, a knowledge of navigation no better than that\n    possessed at present by the lowest people of Melanesia would have\n    enabled a migration on the line of the thirtieth parallel, south,\n    to reach the coast of South America, and, in time, to give it a\n    considerable population. A different distribution of land and\n    water from that at present existing, is a possible factor in the\n    problem, but of which it is too early in ocean exploration to avail\n    ourselves. Squier, Gibbs, and numerous other American ethnologists\n    believed in a migration from the west to South America. [60]\n\nAn item of interest connected with the Nephite migration, and one very\nlikely to fasten itself in the traditions of the natives, would be\nthe Nephite \"Director\" or \"Liahona\" as the Nephites called it. This\n\"Director\" was found by Lehi, early in the Nephite migrations, at his\ntent door, and is described as \"a round ball of curious workmanship;\nand it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and\nthe one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness. * * *\nAnd we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more\nfertile parts of the wilderness.\" [61] Later, when the prophet Alma\nrefers to it, after informing his son Helaman that it was called, by\ntheir fathers, \"Liahona,\" he adds:\n\n    And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course\n    which they should travel in the wilderness. And it did work for\n    them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith\n    to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point\n    the way they should go, behold, it was done. [62]\n\nIn the traditional account of how the first Inca and his sister-wife\nwere directed to Peru, one may see the distorted account of this Book\nof Mormon fact. The tradition is thus related by Prescott:\n\n    The celestial pair, brother and sister, husband and wife, advanced\n    along the high plains in the neighborhood of Lake Titicaca to about\n    the sixteenth degree south. They bore with them a golden wedge,\n    and were directed to take up their residence on the spot where the\n    sacred emblem should without effort sink into the ground. They\n    proceeded accordingly but a short distance, as far as the valley\n    of Cuzco, the spot indicated by the performance of the miracle,\n    since there the wedge speedily sank into the earth and disappeared\n    forever. Here the children of the Sun established their residence,\n    and soon entered upon their beneficent mission among the rude\n    inhabitants of the country; Manco Capac teaching the men the arts\n    of agriculture, and Mama Oello initiating her own sex in the\n    mysteries of weaving and spinning.\" [63]\n\nSquiers relates the tradition substantially in the same manner, except\nthat in place of a \"golden wedge,\" he represents the celestial pair as\nbeing divinely guided by \"a golden rod,\" which sinks into the earth on\nreaching the divinely appointed place of their destination. [64]\n\nThe student of the Book of Mormon will at once recognize how well the\nNephite and Lamanite religious wars, at some periods of their history,\nare described in the following passage:\n\n    There appear to have been very hotly contested religious disputes;\n    constant wars broke out between the sectarians following the god\n    Votan and those who worshiped Quetzalcohuatl, and the vanquished on\n    either side perished under horrible tortures, or were compelled to\n    fly their country [65]\n\nMuch confusion exists among authorities concerning the Toltecs. Because\nof their clear knowledge of the creation, flood, tower of Babel,\nconfusion of languages and dispersion of mankind, [66] they are thought\nto have commenced their wanderings at the dispersion of mankind from\nBabel. But if a people had in their possession a version of the Hebrew\nscriptures, as the Nephites had, for instance, it is not difficult\nto understand how these Bible facts could be incorporated in their\ntraditions, without insisting that they were immediately connected with\nthose very ancient Bible events. In whatever way the controversies\nabout the Toltecs may terminate, the following description of them\ncould well stand for a description of the Nephites, barring the items\nof cruelty, revengefulness, and sanguinary nature of their religion,\nand their ignorance of iron. [67]\n\n    In spite of wars and discord the time of the Toltec domination is\n    enshrined in the memory of the Nahuas as their golden age. The\n    Toltecs, they tell us, were tall, well proportioned, with clear,\n    yellow complexions; their eyes were black, their teeth very white;\n    their hair was black and glossy; their lips were thick; their\n    noses were aquiline, and their foreheads were receding. Their\n    beards, were thin, and they had very little hair on their bodies;\n    the expression of their mouths was sweet, but that of the upper\n    part of their faces severe. They were brave, but cruel, eager for\n    revenge, and the religious rites practiced by them were sanguinary.\n    Intelligent and ready to learn, they were the first to make roads\n    and aqueducts; they knew how to utilize certain metals; they\n    could spin, weave and dye cloth, cut precious stones, build solid\n    houses of stone cemented with lime mortar, found regular towns;\n    and, lastly, build mounds which may justly be compared with those\n    of the Mississippi valley. To them popular gratitude attributes\n    the invention of medicine, and the vapor bath (temazcalli).\n    Certain plants to which curative properties were attributed were\n    the remedies mostly used. [68] In the towns we are told, were\n    hospitals where the poor were received and cared for gratuitously.\n    Our information respecting the commerce of the Toltecs is very\n    vague. We know, however, that it was important. At certain periods\n    of the year regular fairs were held at Toltan and Cholula; the\n    products of the regions washed by both oceans were seen side by\n    side with numerous objects made by the Toltecs themselves. These\n    objects were of great variety, for though iron was unknown to them,\n    the Toltecs worked in gold, silver, copper, tin and lead. Their\n    jewelry is celebrated, and the few valuable ornaments which escaped\n    the rapacity of the Conquistadores are still justly admired.\n    The Toltecs cut down trees with copper hatchets, and sculptured\n    bas-reliefs and hieroglyphics with stone implements. For this\n    purpose flint, porphyry, basalt, and above all obsidian, the istlie\n    of the Mexicans, were used. Emeralds, turquoises, amethysts, of\n    which large deposits were found in various places, were sought\n    after for making jewelry for both men and women. At Cholula a\n    famous kind of pottery was made, including vases and the utensils\n    in daily use, censers, and idols for the temples of the gods and\n    common ornaments for the people. [69]\n\nLet this description be compared with that which Helaman [70] gives of\nthe Nephites in the sixty-fourth year of the Nephite republic--a date\ncorresponding with the year 27 B. C.--and it will be seen that either\none might stand for the other.\n\nThese traditions concerning the Toltecs, reflecting as they do the\nstate of their civilization, which so nearly resembles that of the\nNephites in so many particulars; as also all the traditions and\nmythologies dealt with in this and the preceding chapter respecting\nthe creation, the flood, the great tower, the confusion of language,\nthe dispersion of the people, the migrations to a new home, the strife\nfor power among the leaders of these colonies--usually brothers, and\nmost strikingly \"four brothers,\" as also the status and nature of their\ncivilization--all these things constitute strong testimony to the truth\nof the Book of Mormon.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Gen. 6:4.\n\n2. Gen. 11.\n\n3. Gen. 11:9.\n\n4. Gen. 11:8.\n\n5. See Book of Ether, chs. 1, 2, 3, 4.\n\n6. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II, pp. 386, 387, Prescott.\n\n7. _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II, p. 187, note, Prescott.\n\n8. The suggestion of Nadaillac in this clause in parenthesis to the\neffect that this tradition of the Tower of Babel had its origin in\nthe Christian teachings imparted to Ixtlilxochitl, will receive\nconsideration at the conclusion of this series of quotations on the\nsubject of the Tower of Babel, etc.\n\n9. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 526.\n\n10. _Native Races_, vol. III, pp. 67, 68. For this statement Bancroft\nin a foot note quotes the following authorities: _Boturini, Idea de una\nHist_., pp. 113, 114; id., _Catalogo_, pp. 39, 40; _Clavigero, Storia\nAnt. del Messico_, tom. 1, pp. 129, 130, tom. 2, p. 16; _Spiegazione\ndelle Tavole del Codice Mexicano_ (V\u0102\u00a0cano) tav. 7, in Kingsborough's\n_Mex. Ant_., vol. V, pp. 164, 165; Gemelli Carreri, in _Churchill's\nCol. Voy_., vol. IV, p. 481; Humboldt, _Vues des Cordilleres_, tom.\n1, pp. 114, 115, tom. 2, pp. 175-8; Tylor's _Anahuac_, pp. 276, 277;\nGondra, in Prescott, _Conquesta de Mexico_, tom. 3, pp. 1-10. The\nremainder of Bancroft's note following this citation of authorities,\nwherein he seeks to discredit the force of these native traditions\nconcerning the Tower, the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of\nmankind, as in the case of Nadaillac's effort of a similar character,\nremarked in a previous note, will receive consideration at the close of\nthis series of quotations concerning the Tower, etc., p. 273.\n\n11. _America Before Columbus_, P. De Roo, vol. I, pp. 415, 416.\n\n12. _America Before Columbus_, P. De Roo, vol. I, pp. 417, 418.\n\n13. Should any one desire to make a larger collection I refer him to\nthe authorities already referred to in a previous note on a passage\nfrom Bancroft; as also Nadaillac's _Pre-Historic America_, ch. 10; P.\nDe Roo, _America Before Columbus_, vol. I, chapters sixteen to twenty\ninclusive; and Rivero & Tschudi's _Peruvian Antiquities_, chapter VII.\n\n14. _Native Races_, vol. V, p. 12.\n\n15. _Pre-Historic America_, p. 530. For the objections of the agnostic\nBancroft see _Native Races_, vol. III, 68, 69, note; and for the\nobjections urged by Prescott see _Conquest of Mexico_, vol. II,\nappendix, p. 387.\n\n16. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 525, 531.\n\n17. Ante., p. 436.\n\n18. Exodus, 14.\n\n19. Ante., pp. 435, 436.\n\n20. Ante., p. 436.\n\n21. Ante., p. 436. Ibid.\n\n22. Ether 3:1.\n\n23. Ether 2:16.\n\n24. Ether 6:20.\n\n25. Ether 6:16.\n\n26. Ether 1:35.\n\n27. Ether 1:37.\n\n28. Ether 6:4, 5.\n\n29. Ether 6:4, 5.\n\n30. Ether 2:6, 7.\n\n31. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 261.\n\n32. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 523.\n\n33. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 272.\n\n34. Dupaix, quoted by Bancroft, _Native Races_, vol. V, p. 31.\n\n35. _Peruvian Antiquities_, Tschudi, p. 24.\n\n36. _American Ethnology and Sociology_, vol. I, p. 179.\n\n37. This place, according to Sahagun, is the first home of the Nahua\nnation. It is definitely located, says Bancroft, (_Native Races_, vol.\nV, p. 191) down the coast from Panuco, in the province of Guatemala.\n\n38. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. V, p. 189.\n\n39. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. V, p. 220.\n\n40. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. V, pp. 546, 547.\n\n41. Ante., p. 463, _et seq_.\n\n42. _Native Races_, Bancroft, vol. V, pp. 564, 566. Stephens also\nrelates this tradition at length, see _Central America_, vol. II, pp.\n172, 173.\n\n43. II Nephi 5: 18.\n\n44. Jacob 1:11; Mosiah 25:13.\n\n45. Omni 1:1-23.\n\n46. Alma 8:7.\n\n47. I Nephi 2:5.\n\n48. Exod. 6:21.\n\n49. I Chronicles 5:19.\n\n50. Nehemiah 7:52, see also margin.\n\n51. Ezra 2:50.\n\n52. Gen. 30:8.\n\n53. Joshua 15:9.\n\n54. _Peruvian Antiquities_, Tschudi, pp. 52, 53. See also Baldwin,\n_Ancient America_, p. 264.\n\n55. II Nephi 5:15, 17.\n\n56. Jacob 1:11.\n\n57. Jacob 1:9.\n\n58. Jacob 1:11.\n\n59. Mosiah 25:13.\n\n60. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 523.\n\n61. I Nephi 16:10, 16.\n\n62. Alma 37:39, 40.\n\n63. _Conquest of Peru_, vol. I, p. 31.\n\n64. Peru, _Travel and Exploration in the Lands of the Incas_, pp. 301,\n331.\n\n65. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, p. 174.\n\n66. See their associations with the events as given by Ixtlilxochitl,\nquoted by Bancroft, _Native Races_, vol. V, pp. 19, 21, and 208-218.\n\n67. Concerning which more later.\n\n68. See Book of Alma 46:40.\n\n69. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, pp. 275, 277.\n\n70. See Helaman 6:7-13, see also p. 124.\n\nEND OF VOLUME II.","title":"New Witnesses for God (Volume 2 of 3)","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":152135}