The city of the Mormons; or, Three days at Nauvoo, in 1842

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THE

CITY OF THE MORMONS;

THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO,

IN 1842.

BY THE REV.

HENRY CASWALL, M.A.

AUTHOR OF " AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN CHURCH,

AND PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN KEMPER COLLEGE,

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALI. MALI,
& SOLD BY W. GRAPEL, LIVERPOOL.

1842.

O merciful God,

who hast made

all men, and

hatest nothing

that thou hast

made : have

mercy upon all Jews, Turks, Infidels, and HERETICS,
and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart,
and contempt of thy word; and so fetch them home,
blessed Lord, TO THY FLOCK, that they may be

saved among

the remnant of

true Israelites,

and be made

one fold under

one Shepherd,

Jesus Christ

our Lord, who

liveth and

reigneth with

thee and the

Holy Spirit,

one God, world

without end.
AMEN.

PREFACE.

THE following narrative, the result of a few weeks'
leisure on shipboard, is presented to the Christian
public, with a deep sense, on the Author's part, of
the iniquity of an imposture, which, under the name
of religion, is spreading extensively in America and
in Great Britain. Mormonism needs but to be seen
in its true light to be hated ; and if the following
pages, consisting almost exclusively of the personal
testimony of the Author, should assist in awakening
public indignation against a cruel delusion and a
preposterous heresy, he will consider himself amply
rewarded. A History of Mormonism, from its com-

' mencement to the present time, may perhaps form
vD

the subject of a future publication.

V.

Liverpool, June 19, 1842.
-

I

THE

CITY OF THE MORMONS,

THE rise and progress of a new religion afford a
subject of the highest interest to the philosophical
observer. Under these circumstances human nature
may be seen in a novel aspect. We behold the
mind grasping at an ideal form of perfection, exulting
in the imaginary possession of revelations, and re-
joicing in its fancied intercourse with the Supreme
Being. A new religion must, of necessity, be re-
garded by Christians as a mere imposture. Painful,
however, as it is to contemplate our fellow-beings
deceiving and deceived, it is instructive, on the one
hand, to watch the demeanour of those who have
succeeded in establishing a spiritual dominion, and,
on the other hand, to notice the conduct of those
who believe themselves surrounded by the full blaze
of prophecy and miracle.

2 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

Nor is the growth of a new religion a subject
merely of philosophical curiosity. In a historical
point of view it is worthy of all the light which care-
ful investigation can bestow. The cause of truth
imperatively demands that the progress of error
should be diligently noted. How gladly should we
receive the testimony of one who had been a witness
of the early growth of the religion of Mahomet !
How highly should we esteem an authentic account
of the process by which the corrupt Christian of the
seventh century was gradually alienated from the
faith of his fathers, and induced to accept as divine
the " revelations" of the Arabian impostor !

To give such a testimony, to describe such a pro-
cess, is within the power of the traveller at the
present day. In Western America, amid countless
forms of schism, a new religion has arisen, as if in
punishment for the sins of Christendom. Like
Mahometanism, it possesses many features in common
with the religion of Christ. It professes to admit
the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, it
even acknowledges the Trinity, the Atonement and
Divinity of the Messiah. But it has cast away that
Church which Christ erected upon the foundation of
Apostles and Prophets, and has substituted a false
church in its stead. It has introduced a new book
as a depository of the revelations of God, which in
practice has almost superseded the sacred Scriptures.
It teaches men to regard a profane and ignorant
impostor as a special prophet of the Almighty, and
to consider themselves as saints while in the practice
of impiety. It robs them sometimes of their sub-
stance, and too often of their honesty ; and finally

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO.

sends them, beneath a shade of deep spiritual dark-
ness, into the presence of that God of truth whose
holy faith they have denied.

At the first preaching of Mormonism, sensible and
religious persons, both in Europe and in America,
rather ridiculed than seriously opposed it. They
imagined it to be an absurd delusion, which would
shortly overturn itself. But system and discipline,
almost equal to those of Rome, have been brought to
its aid. What was at first crude and undigested,
has been gradually reduced to shape and proportion.
At the present moment Mormonism numbers more
than a hundred thousand adherents, a large portion
of whom are natives of Christian and enlightened
England.

The immediate cause of my visit to Nauvoo was
the following. Early in April, 1842, business took
me to St. Louis, a city of thirty thousand inhabitants,
situated on the western bank of the Mississippi, from
which Kemper College is six miles distant. Curio-
sity led me to the river's side, where about forty
steam-boats were busily engaged in receiving or dis-
charging their various cargoes. The spectacle was
truly exciting. The landing-place (or levfa, as it is
denominated) was literally swarming with life. Here
a ponderous consignment of lead had arrived from
Galena, four hundred miles to the north, and the
crew were piling it upon the shore in regular and
well-constructed layers. There a quantity of ploughs,
scythes, and other agricultural implements, crowded
the decks of a steamer which had just finished a
westward voyage of fourteen hundred miles from
Pittsburg. In another place, a vessel that had de-
B 2

THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

scended the rapid current of the Missouri for many
hundred miles in an easterly direction, was landing
pork and other produce of the fertile West ; while
farther down a large steam-boat from New Orleans,
crowded with passengers from the South, having
completed her voyage of twelve hundred miles, was
blowing off the steam from her high pressure engines
with a noise like thunder.

Desiring to know something respecting the pas-
sengers in the last boat, I proceeded on board ; and
as soon as the stoppage of the steam permitted me
to be heard, I inquired of the clerk of the boat how
many persons he had brought from New Orleans.
"Plenty of live stock," was his reply, "plenty of
live stock ; we have three hundred English emigrants,
all on their way to join Joe Smith, the prophet at
Nauvoo." I walked into that portion of the vessel
appropriated to the poorer class of travellers, and
here I beheld my unfortunate countrymen crowded
together in a most comfortless manner. I addressed
myself to some of them, and found that they were
from the neighbourhood of Preston in Lancashire.
They were decent-looking people, and by no means
of the lowest class. I took the liberty of questioning
them respecting their plans, and found that they
were indeed the dupes of the missionaries of Mor-
monism. I begged them to be on their guard, and
suggested to them the importance of not committing
themselves and their property to a person who had
long been known in that country as a deceiver.
They were, however, bent upon completing the
journey which they had designed, and although they
civilly listened to my statements, they professed to

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. O

be guided in reference to the prophet by that per-
verted precept of Scripture ; " Prove all things, hold
fast that which is good."

From this moment I determined to visit the strong-
hold of the new religion, and to obtain, if possible,
an interview with the prophet himself. Accordingly,
on Friday evening, April 15th, I embarked on board
the fine steamer " Republic," bound, as her adver-
tisement assured me, "for Galena, Dubuque, and
Prairie du Chien." I had laid aside my clerical
apparel, and had assumed a dress in which there was
little probability of my being recognized as a " minis-
ter of the Gentiles." In order to test the scholar-
ship of the prophet, I had further provided myself
with an ancient Greek manuscript of the Psalter
written upon parchment, and probably about six
hundred years old. Shortly after six o'clock our
paddles were in motion, and we were stemming the
rapid current of the " Father of waters," while the
booming of our high-pressure engine re-echoed from
the buildings and the woods along the shore. The
passengers were principally emigrants from the
eastern states, on their way to the new settlements
in Iowa and Wisconsin. Those in the cabin were
so numerous, that our long supper-table was three
times replenished at our evening meal ; while a still
greater number crowded the apartments of the deck
passengers. During the night we passed the con-
fluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi, and in the
morning we were pushing our way through the com-
paratively clear waters, and along the woody banks
of the Upper Mississippi. Occasionally we passed a
small village, and two or three times during the day

6 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

we landed at some rising town ; but generally the
scene was one in which nature enjoyed undisturbed
repose. The river was high from frequent rains in
the upper country, and its surface was about one
foot lower than the top of the verdant banks. Our
cabin windows were frequently brushed by the branches
and clustering foliage of the cotton- wood trees ; the
sugar-maple, and the sycamore, were putting forth
their early leaves at a short distance in the back-
ground, and one dense mass of heavy timber covered
the picturesque bluffs to their very summit. The
day was pleasant, and I sat almost constantly upon
the highest or " hurricane" deck, enjoying a fine
prospect of the noble river and its shores. During
the following night we continued our ascending
course, and early on Sunday morning we were at the
foot of the " Des Moines Rapids," with Illinois on
the right hand, and Iowa on the left. The rapids
prevent the passage of steam-boats during the greater
part of the year, on account of the shallowness of
the water and the strength of the current. As the
river was now full, we experienced no difficulty, and
slowly made our way against a stream running per-
haps seven miles an hour. The Mississippi is here
about a mile and a half in width, and forms a beau-
tiful curve. On the western side were a number of
new houses with gardens neatly fenced, and occupied,
I was told, by Mormon emigrants who had recently
arrived. Farther onward the bluffs of Iowa rose
boldly from the water's edge, while on the Illinois or
eastern side, as the steamer gradually came round
the curve, the Mormon city opened upon my view.
At length, Nauvoo in all its " latter-day glory" lay

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. /

before me. The landing-place being difficult of ac-
cess from the rapidity of the current, the steamer
took me to Montrose immediately opposite, and
touching for a moment, while I stepped on shore, in
the next moment was again ploughing the descending
waters.

Here I was in Iowa, two hundred and thirty miles
from St. Louis, fifteen hundred miles from the mouth
of the majestic river before me, and two thousand
miles west of New York by the ordinary course of
travel. It was nine o'clock on Sunday morning;
the sun was shining brightly, as usual in this region,
and a strong breeze had raised a moderate swell on
the face of the stream. No ferryman was to be
found, and for a few minutes it was a problem how
I should cross to Nauvoo. The problem was soon
solved by the appearance of a long and narrow canoe,
hewed from the trunk of a tree, and lying close to
the bank. In this doubtful-looking craft, thirteen
Mormons on their way to the meeting in Nauvoo,
proceeded to take their seats. At my request they
accommodated me with a place, and shortly after-
wards pushed from the shore, and put their paddles
in motion. They worked their way with some diffi-
culty, until they reached two islands near the middle
of the river. Between these there was no swell, and
little wind ; but the current ran against us through
a narrow passage with the rapidity of a mill-race.
Here I thought we should be effectually baffled, and
more than once the canoe seemed to yield to the
stream. At length the stout sinews of the Mormons
prevailed, and we were again in open water. After

8 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

labouring hard for more than half an hour we safely
landed at Nauvoo.

The situation of the place is rather striking.
Above the curve of the Des Moines rapids the
Mississippi makes another curve almost semicircular
towards the east. The ground included within the
semicircle is level, and upon this site the city has
been laid out. The streets extend across the semi-
circle east and west, being limited at each extremity
by the river. These streets are intersected at right
angles by others, which, running northward to the
river, are bounded on the south by a rising ground,
on the summit of which the temple is in the course of
erection. It was to this last-mentioned spot that
with my companions I directed my steps. Having
ascended the hill, I found myself close to a large
unfinished stone building, the walls of which had ad-
vanced eight or ten feet above the ground. This was
the Temple. The view of the winding Mississippi from
this elevation was truly grand, and the whole of the
lower part of the town was distinctly seen. I was
informed by my companions that the population of
Nauvoo was about ten thousand; but subsequent
inquiry led me to place the estimate three or four
thousand lower.

The temple being unfinished, about half-past ten
o'clock a congregation of perhaps two thousand per-
sons assembled in a grove, within a short distance
of the sanctuary. Their appearance was quite re-
spectable, and fully equal to that of dissenting meet-
ings generally in the western country. Many grey-
headed old men were there, and many well-dressed

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 9

females. I perceived numerous groups of the pea-
santry of old England ; their sturdy forms, their clear
complexions, and their heavy movements, strongly
contrasting with the slight figure, the sallow visage,
and the elastic step of the American. There, too,
were the bright and innocent looks of little children,
who, born among the privileges of England's Church,
baptized with her consecrated waters, and taught to
lisp her prayers and repeat her catechism, had now
been led into this den of heresy, to listen to the
ravings of a false prophet, and to imbibe the princi-
ples of a semi-pagan delusion.

The officiating elders not having yet arrived, the
congregation listened for some time to the perform-
ances of a choir of men and women, directed by one
who appeared to be a professional singing-master.
At length two elders came forward, and ascended a
platform rudely constructed of planks and logs. One
wore a blue coat, and his companion, a stout intem-
perate-looking man, appeared in a thick jacket of
green baize. He in the blue coat gave out a hymn,
which was sung, but with little spirit, by the congre-
gation, all standing. He then made a few common-
place remarks on the nature of prayer ; after which,
leaning forward on a railing in front of the platform,
he began to pray. Having dwelt for a few minutes
on the character and perfections of the Almighty,
he proceeded in the following strain : —

" We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast in these
latter days restored the gifts of prophecy, of revela-
tion, of great signs and wonders, as in the days of
old. We thank Thee that, as thou didst formerly
raise up thy servant Joseph to deliver his brethren

10 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

in Egypt, so Thou hast now raised up another Joseph
to save his brethren from bondage to sectarian delu-
sion, and to bring them into this great and good
land, a land flowing with milk and honey, which is
the glory of all lands, and which Thou didst promise
to be an inheritance for the seed of Jacob for ever-
more. We pray for thy servant and prophet Joseph,
that Thou wouldest bless him and prosper him, that
although the archers have sorely grieved him, and
shot at him, and hated him, his bow may abide in
strength, and the arms of his hands may be made
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.
We pray also for thy holy temple, that the nations
of the earth may bring gold and incense, that the
sons of strangers may build up its walls, and fly to
it as a cloud, and as doves to their windows. We
pray Thee also to hasten the ingathering of thy peo-
ple, every man to his heritage and every man to his
land. We pray that as thou hast set up this place as
an ensign for the nations, so Thou wouldest continue
to assemble here the outcasts, and gather together the
dispersed from the four corners of the earth. May
every valley be exalted, and every mountain and hill
be made low, and the crooked places straight, and
the rough places plain, and may the glory of the
Lord be revealed and all flesh see it together ! Bring
thy sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends
of the earth, and let them bring their silver and their
gold with them."

Thus he proceeded for perhaps half an hour, after
which he sat down, and the elder in green baize,
having thrown aside his jacket, — for the heat of the
sun was now considerable, — commenced a discourse.

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 11

He began by stating the importance of forming
correct views of the character of God. People were
generally content with certain preconceived views
on this subject derived from tradition. These views
were for the most part incorrect. The common
opinion respecting God made him an unjust God,
a partial God, a cruel God, a God worthy only of
hatred; in fact, •' the greatest devil in the universe."
Thus also people in general had been " traditioned"
to suppose that divine revelation was confined to
the old-fashioned book called the Bible, a book prin-
cipally written in Asia, by Jews, and suited to parti-
cular circumstances and particular classes. On the
other hand, they supposed that this vast continent
of America had been destitute of all revelation for
five thousand years, until Columbus discovered it,
and " the good, pious, precise Puritans brought over
with them, some two hundred years since, that pre-
cious old book called the Bible." Now God had
promised to judge all men without respect of persons.
If, therefore, the American aborigines had never
received a revelation, and were yet to be judged
together with the Jews and the Christians, God
was most horribly unjust ; and he, for his part,
would never love such a God ; he could only hate
him. He said there was a verse somewhere in the
Bible, he could not tell where, as he was " a bad
hand at quoting," but he thought it was in the Reve-
lation. " If it's not there," he said, " read the
whole book through, and you'll find it, I guess, some-
where. I hav'nt a Bible with me, I left mine at
home, as it ain't necessary." Now this verse, he
proceeded to observe, stated that Christ had redeemed

12 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS;

men by his blood out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation ; and had made them unto God
kings and priests. But in America there were the
ruins of vast cities, and wonderful edifices, which
proved that great and civilized nations had existed
on this continent. If the Bible was true, therefore,
God must have had priests and kings among those
nations, and numbers of them must have been
redeemed by the blood of Christ. Revelations
from God must consequently have been granted to
them. The Old and New Testaments were there-
fore only portions of the revelations of God, and
not a complete revelation, nor were they designed
to be so. " Am I to believe," said he, " that God
would cast me or any body else into hell, without
giving me a revelation ?" God now revealed Him-
self in America just as truly as he had ever done in
Asia. The present congregation lived in the midst
of wonders and signs equal to those mentioned in
the Bible, and they had the blessing of revelation
mainly through the medium of that chosen servant
of God, Joseph Smith. The Gentiles often came to
Nauvoo to look at the prophet Joseph — old Joe, as
they profanely termed him — and to see what he was
doing; but many who came to laugh remained to
pray, and soon the kings and nobles of the earth
would count it a privilege to come to Nauvoo and
behold the great work of the Lord in these latter
days. " The work of God is prospering," he said,
" in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales ; in
Australia, and at the Cape of Good Hope, in the
East and West Indies, in Palestine, in Africa, and
throughout America, thousands and tens of thou-

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 13

sands are getting converted by our preachers, are
baptized for the remission of sins, and are selling off
all they have that they may come to Nauvoo. The
great and glorious work has begun, and I defy all
earth and hell to stop it."

A hymn was now sung ; and afterwards a tall, thin,
New-England Yankee, with a strong nasal twang
and provincial accent, rose up, and leaning forward
on the railing, spoke for half an hour with great
volubility. He said that his office required him to
speak of business. They were all aware that God
had by special revelation appointed a committee of
four persons, and had required them to build a house
unto his name, such a one as his servant, Joseph,
should show them. That the said house should be
called the "Nauvoo House," and should be for a
house of boarding : that the kings and nobles of the
earth, and all weary travellers, might lodge therein,
while they should contemplate the word of the Lord,
and the corner-stone, which He had appointed for
Zion. That in this house the Lord had said that
there should be reserved a suite of rooms for his ser-
vant Joseph, and his seed after him from generation
to generation. And that the Lord had also com-
manded that stock should be subscribed by the saints,
and received by the committee for the purpose of
building the house. The speaker proceeded as fol-
lows : — " Now, brethren, the Lord has commanded
this work, and the work must be done. Yes ; it shall
be done — it will be done. The Gentiles, the men of
the world, tell us that such stock must pay twenty-
five per cent, per annum, and the Lord hath required
us to take stock ; surely, then, when duty and interest

THE CITY OF THE MORMONS;

go together, you will not be backward to contribute.
But only a small amount of stock has hitherto been
taken, and the committee appointed by the Lord have
had to go on borrowing, and borrowing, until they
can borrow no longer. In the mean time, the me-
chanics employed on the house want their pay, and
the committee are not able to pay them. We have
a boat ready to be towed up the river to the pine
country, to get pinewood for the edifice. We have a
crew engaged, and all ready to start ; but we cannot
send out the expedition without money. The com-
mittee have made great personal sacrifices to fulfil
the commandment of the Lord : I myself came here
with seven thousand dollars, and now I have only
two thousand, having expended five thousand upon
the work of the Lord. But we cannot go on in this
way any longer. I call on you, brethren, to obey
God's command, and take stock, even though you
may not dress so finely as you do now, or build such
fine houses. Let not the poor man say, I am too poor ;
but let the poor man contribute out of his poverty,
and the rich man out of his wealth, and God will
give you a blessing."

During this address, I noticed some of the English
emigrants whom I had seen a few days previously on
board the steam-boat at St. Louis. They were listen-
ing with fixed attention, and, doubtless, considering
how many of their hard-earned sovereigns should be
devoted to the pious work of building a fine hotel for
the prophet and his posterity. The thought arose in
my mind, that these earnest appeals for money were
designed mainly for the ears of the three hundred
green saints who had just arrived.

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 15

This address being concluded, two other elders
followed in a similar strain. They spoke with great
fluency, and appeared equally familiar with worldly
business and operations in finance, as with prophe-
cies and the book of Mormon. At length, having, as
they supposed, wrought up the zeal of the congrega-
tion to a sufficient pitch, they called on all believers
in the book of Mormon, who felt disposed to take
stock, to come forward before the congregation, and
give in their names with the amount of their sub-
scriptions. Upon this appeal, there was much whis-
pering among the audience; and I detected two
Mormons, apparently from Yorkshire, in the very act
of nodding and winking at each other. However,
none came forward ; and one of the elders coolly re-
marked,— that as they appeared not to have made up
their minds as to the amount which they would take,
he requested all who wished to become stockholders to
come to his house the next afternoon at five o'clock.

The elder who had delivered the first discourse
now rose, and said that a certain brother, whom he
named, had lost a keg of white lead. " Now," said
he, " if any of the brethren present has taken it by
mistake, thinking it was his own, he ought to restore
it ; but if any of the brethren present has stolen the
keg, much more ought he to restore it ; or else, may
be, he will get cotched1, and that, too, within the
corporation limits of the city of Nauvoo."

Another person rose and stated that he had lost a
ten-dollar bill. He had never lost any money before
in his life ; he always kept it very safely ; but now, a
ten-dollar bill had escaped from him, and if any of

16 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

the brethren had found it, or taken it, he hoped it
would be restored.

A hymn was now sung, and the service (if such it
may be called) having continued from half-past ten
o'clock till two, finally concluded. As the congrega-
tion dispersed, I walked with the Mormon who had
brought me over in his canoe, to see the temple. The
building is a hundred and twenty feet in length, by
eighty in breadth ; and is designed to be the finest
edifice west of Philadelphia. The Mormon informed
me, that in this house the Lord designed to reveal
unto his Church things which had been kept secret
from the foundation of the world ; and that He had
declared that He would here restore the fulness of the
priesthood. He showed me the great baptismal font,
which is completed, and stands at the centre of the
unfinished temple. This font is, in fact, a capacious
laver, eighteen or twenty feet square, and about four
in depth. It rests upon the backs of twelve oxen, as
large as life, and tolerably well sculptured ; but for
some reason, perhaps mystical, entirely destitute of
feet, though possessed of legs. The laver and oxen
are of wood, and painted white ; but are to be here-
after gilded, or covered with plates of gold. At this
place baptisms for the dead are to be celebrated, as
well as baptisms for the healing of diseases ; but bap-
tisms for the remission of sins are to be performed in
the Mississippi. My companion told me that he was
originally a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Canada ; but that he had obtained greater
light, and had been led to join the " latter-day saints."
While he was a methodist he felt that he was per-

2

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 17

fectly right, and could confute all other sects, except
the Roman Catholics. These had so much of the true
and ancient Church mixed up with their corruptions,
that he could not readily confute them. Many pas-
sages of the Scriptures remained at that time per-
fectly inexplicable to him, and he felt that no deno-
mination was organized exactly on the primitive plan.
But since he had been led to embrace Mormonism,
new light had opened upon his soul ; the Scriptures
had become perfectly clear, and he had discovered a
Church entirely conformable to the primitive model ;
having the same divinely appointed ministry; the
same miraculous gifts of healing, and the unknown
tongues ; the same prophetical inspiration ; the same
close intercourse with the Almighty. I observed,
that the truth of Mormonism depended on the deter-
mination of the question, whether Joseph Smith was,
in fact, a prophet of God. He replied, that the in-
spiration of Joseph could be proved more readily than
that of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. That Joseph
had received revelations ever since he was fifteen
years of age ; and that the outlines of Mormonism
were made known to him at a time when he could
not possibly have planned so vast a work, or antici-
pated its triumphant success. While conversing on
these subjects, we arrived at the " Nauvoo House,"
the hotel founded by "revelation." The walls are
advanced about as much as those of the temple, and,
when completed, will form a capacious building.
Passing the prophet Smith's house, which is one of
the best in the city, I arrived at a small, but neat,
tavern, where I called to get dinner. An old woman,
apparently the mistress of the house, was seated by
c

18 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

the fire, devoutly reading the book of Mormon, from
which she scarcely lifted her eyes as I entered. Here
I found a decent, and probably intelligent, Scotch-
man. Conversing wiih him on the subject of the ser-
vices which I had ju&t witnessed, I remarked how great-
ly deficient they appeared in dignity and spirituality j
and contrasted them with the decorous and solemn
worship of the Church of England, and of the Scot-
tish Kirk. 1 particularly referred to the keg of white
lead and the ten-dollar bill, as well as to the deroga-
tory manner in which the preacher had alluded to
" the old-fashioned book called the Bible." Although
I endeavoured to speak with mildness, the Scotchman
replied with great warmth, that the English and
Scottish Churches taught lies, and that their members
loved lies more than truth. That all their solemnity
was produced by hypocrisy and false doctrines re-
specting God. That the Mormons despised long faces,
and all religions which required people to wear a
sanctimonious and hypocritical exterior. He added,
that Mormonism was making rapid progress in Scot-
land.

From the tavern, I proceeded to the landing-place,
and engaged the ferryman to take me over to Mon-
trose, on the Iowa side of the river. I found this
person to be a Mormon ; and learned from him, that
the ferry was the property of the prophet Joseph. He
further informed me, that the number of passengers
had become so considerable, that a steam ferry-boat
had been purchased, and would soon be in operation.
I afterwards found that his opinion of the character of
his brethren, "the saints," was by no means flattering
to them. He told a person in Montrose, that it was

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 19

" no use to hoist a flag at Nauvoo as a signal to pas-
sengers, for it was sure to be stolen by the people
there ; they had so much of the devil in them."

On arriving at Montrose, I went to the house of
a gentleman to whom I had brought letters of intro-
duction from St. Louis. This gentleman, with his
lady and his brother, has resided many years at Mon-
trose ; and as he possesses the independence to resist
the encroachments of the Mormons, and the ability to
expose their designs, he has been an object of con-
stant persecution since the settlement of these people
in his vicinity. He at once desired me to make his
house my home, and offered me every assistance in
prosecuting my researches. Under his hospitable
roof I spent a pleasant evening. His family united
with me in religious services (for there is no place of
worship in the neighbourhood) ; and, after the awful
proceedings of the morning, I felt happy to be once
more among Christians.

On the following morning (Monday, April 18th),
I took my venerable Greek manuscript of the Psalter,
and proceeded to the ferry to obtain a passage. The
boatman, being engaged to take over a family emi-
grating to Nauvoo, had provided himself with a
heavy flat-boat, which promised us a long voyage.
The family soon came on board. It consisted of a
simple-looking American, his wife, and a numerous
progeny. They had with them two oxen, two cows
and a calf, bedding, tables, chairs, and a wooden
clock. As we were about to push off, a traveller on
horseback came on board, whom I found to be one
of the numerous " Gentiles " induced by curiosity to
visit the " Zion " of the West. The father of the
c 2

20 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

family stated that he had become confounded by the
conflicting doctrines of the sects, and imagined that
in Mormonism he had finally discovered the only true
Church . Our heavy boat was rowed up about a mile
close to the Iowa shore. Having proceeded consi-
derably above Nauvoo, the ferryman and his men
began to venture out into the broad stream, in order
to cross. As I was in haste to get over, I was per-
mitted to take the small skiff alongside, and, in com-
pany with the emigrant, to pull over to Nauvoo. On
the way, I held some conversation with my compa-
nion, and found him to be thoroughly wedded to his
delusion. Arriving at the city, I passed along a
straggling street of considerable length bordering on
the strand. Perceiving a respectable-looking store
(or shop), T entered it, and began to converse with
the storekeeper. I mentioned that I had been in-
formed that Mr. Smith possessed some remarkable
Egyptian curiosities, which I wished to see. I added
that, if Mr. Smith could be induced to show me his
treasures, I would show him in return a very won-
derful book which had lately come into my posses-
sion. The storekeeper informed me that Mr. Smith
was absent, having gone to Carthage that morning ;
but that he would return about nine o'clock in the
evening. He promised to obtain for me admission
to the curiosities, and begged to be permitted to see
the wonderful book. I accordingly unfolded it from
the many wrappers in which I had enveloped it, and,
in the presence of the storekeeper and many aston-
ished spectators, whom the rumour of the arrival of
a strange book had collected, I produced to view its
covers of worm-eaten oak, its discoloured parchments,

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 21

and its mysterious characters. Surprise was depicted
on the countenances of all present, and, after a long
silence, one person wiser than his fellows, declared
that he knew it to be a revelation from the Lord, and
that probably it was one of the lost books of the
Bible providentially recovered. Looking at me with
a patronizing air, he assured me that I had brought
it to the right place to get it interpreted, for that
none on earth but the Lord's prophet could explain
it, or unfold its real antiquity and value. " Oh," I
replied, " I am going to England next week, and
doubtless I shall find some learned man in one of
the universities who can expound it." To this he
answered with a sneer, that the Lord had chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the mighty ;
that he had made foolish the wisdom of this world ;
and that I ought to thank Providence for having
brought me to Nauvoo, where the hidden things of
darkness could be revealed by divine power. All
expressed the utmost anxiety that I should remain
in the city until the prophet's return. The store-
keeper offered immediately to send an express eigh-
teen miles to Carthage, to hasten the return of
Joseph. This I declined, and told him that my stay
in Nauvoo must be very limited. They promised to
pay all my expenses, if I would remain ; and assured
me that they would ferry me over the river as often
as I desired it, free of charge ; besides furnishing me
with a carriage and horses to visit the beautiful
prairies in the vicinity. At length I yielded to their
importunities, and promised, that if they would bring
me over from Montrose on the following morning,
I would exhibit the book to the prophet. They were

22 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

very desirous that I should remain at Nauvoo during
the night ; but as I had my fears that some of the
saints might have a revelation, requiring them to
take my book while I slept, I very respectfully de-
clined their pressing invitation. They then requested
to know where I was staying in Montrose. I men-
tioned the name of my hospitable entertainer ; upon
which they used the most violent language against
him, and said that he was their bitter enemy and
persecutor, that he was as bad as the people of Mis-
souri, and that I ought not to believe a word that he
said. They again pressed me most earnestly not to
return to Montrose ; but I continued firm, and ex-
pressed my intention of hearing both sides of the
question.

The storekeeper now proceeded to redeem his pro-
mise of obtaining for me access to the curiosities. He
led me to a room behind his store, on the door of which
was an inscription to the following effect : " Office of
Joseph Smith, President of the Church of Latter Day
Saints." Having introduced me, together with se-
veral Mormons, to this sanctum sanctorum, he locked
the door behind him, and proceeded to what appeared
to be a small chest of drawers. From this he drew
forth a number of glazed slides, like picture frames,
containing sheets of papyrus, with Egyptian inscrip-
tions and hieroglyphics. These had been unrolled
from four mummies, which the prophet had purchased
at a cost of twenty-four hundred dollars. By some
inexplicable mode, as the storekeeper informed me,
Mr. Smith had discovered that these sheets contained
the writings of Abraham, written with his own hand
while in Egypt. Pointing to the figure of a man

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 2*3

lying on a table, he said, " That is the picture of
Abraham on the point of being sacrificed. That man
standing by him with a drawn knife is an idolatrous
priest of the Egyptians. Abraham prayed to God,
who immediately unloosed his bands, and delivered
him." Turning to another of the drawers, and
pointing to a hieroglyphic representation, one of the
Mormons said, " Mr. Smith informs us that this pic-
ture is an emblem of redemption. Do you see those
four little figures ? Well, those are the four quarters
of the earth. And do you see that big dog looking
at the four figures ? That is the old Devil desiring
to devour the four quarters of the earth Look at
this person keeping back the big dog. That is Jesus
Christ keeping the devil from devouring the four
quarters of the earth. Look down this way. This
figure near the side is Jacob, and those are his two
wives. Now do you see those steps ?" " What,"
I replied, " do you mean those stripes across the
dress of one of Jacob's wives ?" " Yes," he said,
" that is Jacob's ladder." " That is indeed curious,"
I remarked ; " Jacob's ladder standing on the ground,
and only reaching up to his wife's waist."

After this edifying explanation, a very respectable
looking Mormon asked me to walk over to his house.
This person was one of the committee appointed bv
" revelation" to build the " Nauvoo house." He
informed me that he had migrated from the Johns-
town District in Upper Canada. He would have re-
turned to that country before, had he not been desir-
ous of remaining to see the wonderful works of the
Lord in Nauvoo. He preferred Canada to the United
States ; and the British government was, in his opi-

24 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

nion, greatly superior to that of the Americans, which
he considered little better than an organized mob,
especially in the Western States. He regarded a
strong monarchy as essential to good government,
and believed that this opinion was generally held
among the " Saints." In the event of a war between
England and America, England might rely upon it
that the Mormons would not be her enemies. The
Indians, too, whom the Americans had persecuted
almost as badly as the Missourians had persecuted
the Mormons, were decidedly friendly to England.
He had lately been among their tribes, and had
found everywhere English muskets bearing the date
of 1839. The Indians were already making prepa-
rations for espousing the cause of England in a war
with America. He foretold that great desolation
was about to be inflicted on America by England,
with the assistance of the oppressed negroes and
Indians. The conversation was now interrupted by
the entrance of numerous Mormons, who begged to
be permitted to see and handle the wonderful book.
They all looked upon it as something supernatural,
and considered that I undervalued it greatly, by rea-
son of my ignorance of its contents. It was in vain
I assured them that a slight acquaintance with Greek
would enable any person to decipher its meaning.
They were unanimous in the opinion that none but
their prophet could explain it ; and congratulated
me on the providence which had brought me and my
wonderful book to Nauvoo. The crowd having
cleared away, my host asked me to give my opinion
of Nauvoo. I told him that it was certainly a re-
markable place, and in a beautiful situation ; but that

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 25

I considered it the offspring of a most astonishing
and unaccountable delusion. He said that he ad-
mired my candour, and was not surprised at my
unbelief, seeing that I was a stranger to the people
and to the evidences of their faith. He then pro-
ceeded to inform me respecting these evidences. He
assured me, in the first place, that America had been
mentioned by the prophet Isaiah. I begged for the
chapter and verse. He pointed to the sentence, —
" Woe to the land shadowing with wings." Now to
what land could this refer, but to North and South
America, which stretched across the world with two
great wings, like those of an eagle ? " Stop," I
said; "does not the prophet describe the situation
of the land ? Observe that he says, ' it is beyond
the rivers of Ethiopia.' " " Well," said my host,
" that may be true ; but is not America beyond
Ethiopia ?" " Have you a map ?" I said. " Yes,"
he replied, " here is my little girl's school atlas."
"Now tell me," I said, "where Isaiah wrote his
book." " In Palestine," he answered. " Very well,"
I replied ; " now tell me in what direction from Pales-
tine is Ethiopia?" " South, by the map," was the
reply. " In what direction from Palestine is Ame-
rica ?" "West," he answered. "Now do you
think that Isaiah, as a man of common sense, to say
nothing of his prophetical character, would have de-
scribed a country in the west, as lying beyond another
which is due south ?" He was silent for a moment,
and then confessed that he had never thought of
studying the Bible by the map ; " but probably this
map was wrong." I now requested him to let me
know the number of troops composing the Nauvoo

26 THE CITY OF THE MOItMOXS ;

Legion. He informed me that they consisted at
present of seventeen hundred men. He had taken
the oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria, and on this
account had not connected himself with the legion.
The discipline of this band he considered superior to
that »of the American militia generally, but inferior
to that of British troops, or even of the Canadian
militia. He believed that the Mormons held many
doctrines in common with the Irvingites and other
sects in England. He cherished the belief in a se-
parate place of departed spirits distinct from heaven
and hell, and in a future restoration of all souls to
the divine favour. He considered that when the
restitution of all things takes place, the earth will be
purified, and then transferred from its present sphere
to a brighter and more glorious system.

Having listened with due attention to the instruc-
tions of my host, I walked over to the store, where
the storekeeper expressed his readiness to show me
the mummies. Accordingly he led the way to a small
house, the residence of the prophet's mother. On
entering the dwelling, I was introduced to this emi-
nent personage as a traveller from England, desirous
of seeing the wonders of Nauvoo. She welcomed
me to the holy city, and told me that here I might
see what great things the Lord had done for his
people. " I am old," she said, " and I shall soon
stand before the judgment-seat of Christ ; but what
I say to you now, I would say on my death-bed. My
son Joseph has had revelations from God since he
was a boy, and he is indeed a true prophet of Jeho-
vah. The angel of the Lord appeared to him fifteen
years since, and shewed him the cave where the

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 27

original golden plates of the book of Mormon were
deposited. He shewed him also the Urim and
Thummim, by which he might understand the
meaning of the inscriptions on the plates, and he
shewed him the golden breastplate of the high
priesthood. My son received these precious gifts,
he interpreted the holy record, and now the believers
in that revelation are more than a hundred thousand
in number. I have myself seen and handled the
golden plates ; they are about eight inches long, and
six wide ; some of them are sealed together and are
not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They
are all connected by a ring which passes through a
hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with
letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt
also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two
large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spec-
tacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads
unknown languages, and they enable him to inter-
pret them in English. I have likewise carried in my
hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure
gold, and is made to fit the breast very exactly."

While the old woman was thus delivering herself,
I fixed my eyes steadily upon her. She faltered,
and seemed unwilling to meet my glance; but
gradually recovered her self-possession. The melan-
choly thought entered my mind, that this poor old
creature was not simply a dupe of her son's knavery ;
but that she had taken an active part in the decep-
tion. Several English and American women were
in the room, and seemed to treat her with profound
veneration.

I produced my wonderful book. The old woman

28 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

scrutinized its pages, and in an oracular manner
assured me that the Lord was now bringing to light
the hidden things of darkness according to his word ;
that my manuscript was doubtless a revelation which
had long been hidden, and which was now to be
made known to the world, by means of her son the
prophet Joseph. She then directed me up a steep
flight of stairs into a chamber, and slowly crept up
after me. She showed me a wretched cabinet, in
which were four naked mummies frightfully disfi-
gured, and in fact, most disgusting relics of morta-
lity. One she said was a king of Egypt whom she
named, two were his wives, and the remaining one
was the daughter of another king. T asked her by
what means she became acquainted with the names
and histories of these mummies. She replied, that
her son had obtained this knowledge through the
mighty power of God. She accounted for the dis-
figured condition of the mummies, by a circumstance
rather illustrative of the back-woods. Some diffi-
culty having been found in unrolling the papyrus
which enveloped them, an axe was applied, by which
the unfortunate mummies were literally chopped open.
I requested her to furnish me with a " Book of Mor-
mon." She accordingly permitted me to take one of
the first edition belonging to her daughter Lavinia,
for which I paid the young lady a dollar.

From Mr. Smith's residence I proceeded to the
Mormon printing office, where the official papers and
" revelations" of the prophet are published in a semi-
monthly magazine, denominated the " Times and
Seasons." Here I purchased this magazine com-
plete for the last year, the history of the persecution

OH, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 29

of the Mormons by the people of Missouri, and other
documents of importance. The storekeeper met me
at the printing-office, and introduced several digni-
taries of the " Latter-day Church," and many other
Mormons, to whom he begged me to exhibit my
wonderful book. While they were examining it
with great apparent interest, one of the preachers
informed me that he had spent the last year in Eng-
land, and that, with the aid of an associate, he had
baptized in that country seven thousand saints. He
had visited the British Museum, where he affirmed
that he had seen nothing so extraordinary as my
wonderful book. The Mormon authorities now for-
mally requested me to sell them the book, for which
they were willing to pay a high price. This I posi-
tively refused, and they next importuned me to lend
it to them, so that the prophet might translate it.
They promised to give bonds to a considerable amount,
that it should be forthcoming whenever I requested
it. I was still deaf to their entreaties, and having
promised to shew the book to their prophet on the
ensuing day, I left them and returned to Montrose.

On arriving at the house of Mr. K. my hospitable
entertainer, I was informed by him that the Mor-
mons on the Iowa side of the river had been busily
engaged in trying to find out who I was, and whence
I came. They had generally come to the conclusion
that I was a convert to Mormonism recently arrived
from England,

After tea Mr. K. provided me with a horse, and,
in company with him, I took a delightful ride upon
the prairie. The grass was of an emerald green, and
enamelled with the beautiful wild flowers of spring.

2

30 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

Far to the North West a line of bluffs seemed to
bound the prairie at the distance of eight or ten
miles, while in other directions it extended as far as
the eye could reach. Numerous clumps of forest
trees appeared at intervals, and herds of cattle were
reposing on the grass or feeding on the rich herbage.
The scene was one of novel and striking interest,
and I felt pained at the reflection that so fine a
region seemed destined to be given up to the fol-
lowers of a mischievous delusion. Upon an emi-
nence near Montrose, I was shewn the tomb of
Kalawequois, a beautiful Indian girl of the tribe of
Sacs and Foxes. She died recently at the early age
of eighteen, having lingered six years in a consump-
tion. She was buried on this spot by moonlight,
with all the ancient ceremonies of her nation. Ad-
joining her grave was the tomb of Skutah, a full-
blooded Indian " brave," and a distinguished warrior
of the same tribe.

Mr. K. stated, that previously to the arrival of
the Mormons, his only neighbours were the Indians,
with whom he lived on the most friendly terms.
Nothing could exceed their honesty and good faith
in all their intercouse with him : and although
heathens, Mr. K. considered them superior in mora-
lity and common sense to the "latter-day saints."
Keokuk is the present chief of the Sacs and Foxes,
having succeeded to the jurisdiction on the demise of
the venerable Black Hawk, who died of grief at the
age of eighty, in consequence of the treatment ex-
perienced by his nation at the hands of the United
States. The residence of Keokuk and the chief
village of his tribe, are situated near the Des Moines

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 31

river, arid about a day's journey westward of Mon-
trose. The tribe consisted, before the war, of about
nine thousand persons, who are now reduced to three
thousand. The two sons of Black Hawk still sur-
vive, and are noble and princely both in person and
in character. The Indians have the greatest possible
contempt for Joseph Smith, and denominate him a
Tshe-wal-lis-ke, which signifies a rascal. Nor have
other false prophets risen more highly in their esti-
mation. A few years since, that notorious deceiver
Matthias made his appearance one evening at the
door of Keokuk's " waikeop,;> or cabin. He wore
a long beard, which was parted on each side of his
chin ; a long gun was on his shoulder, and a red
sash around his waist. Keokuk demanded who he
was, to which question Matthias replied, that he was
Jesus Christ the only true God, and that he was
come to gather the Indians, who were of the seed
of Israel. " Well," said Keokuk, who is a very
dignified man, " perhaps you are Jesus Christ, aud
perhaps you are not. If you are Jesus Christ you
cannot be killed. If you are not Jesus Christ, you
are a rascal and deserve to be shot. Look at these
two fine rifle pistols ; they were made in New York ;
they never miss their aim. Now see me sound
them with the ram-rod. They have a tremendously
heavy charge. Now I point them at you. Now I
am going to fire." At this Matthias suddenly
bolted, being unwilling that his claims should be
tested by so novel and so striking a mode of theo-
logical argument. He afterwards obtained admis-
sion, at Keokuk's request, to the waikeop of an old
Indian man and woman who lived alone. They gave

32 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

him supper, and when he had fallen asleep they
made a fire, and watched him all night, believing
him to be the devil, whom they had heard described
by the Roman Catholic missionaries.

These Indians have many remarkable customs.
Before undertaking a war, their warriors fast forty
days in a solitary cabin constructed of bark. During
this period, they eat barely sufficient to keep them-
selves alive. They also sacrifice dogs ; and having
tied the dead bodies to trees about six feet above the
ground, they proceed to paint the noses and stomachs
of the victims with a deep red colour. They consult
prophets, who are provided with sacred utensils, de-
nominated medicine bags ; and which contain the
skins of " skunks," with other precious articles.
When the warriors return from their fast, the people
make a great feast on dogs which have been fattened
for the occasion. None but men are allowed to attend.
At the appointed hour, the warriors may be seen tra-
velling to the rendezvous ; each carrying, with great
solemnity, his wooden bowl and wooden spoon. At
the house appointed for the feast, the dead dogs are
in readiness, together with a profusion of boiled In-
dian corn and beans. Mr. K. was present on one of
these occasions, and took particular notice of the cere-
monies. Some of the warriors began by cutting the
dogs into equal portions, which they placed in a large
iron kettle over a fire, and boiled for about half an
hour. The remainder of the guests reclined upon
mats on both sides of the house, while the fire burned
briskly at the centre, the smoke escaping through an
opening in the roof. The corn and beans were placed
all round the room in wooden dishes upon the ground.

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 38

The dog meat being sufficiently boiled, the pieces were
taken out, and every person present received his
share. A distinguished " brave " now arose, and
made a speech ; after which, a second stood up and
repeated the monosyllable, " ugh." At this signal,
all began to eat ; holding the pieces of dog in their
hands without knives or forks, and devouring with
all their might. This feast on dogs is considered a
sort of penance. Whoever swallows the whole of his
portion is called a big brave ; while those who are
made sick by it, are denominated squaws. The men
of this tribe enjoy themselves exceedingly at their
villages during the winter, visiting one another with
great sociability. All the hard work devolves upon
the women, who cut down trees for firewood, make
the fires, and minister like slaves to the comfort and
luxury of their lords. These Indians, notwithstand-
ing their neglect of the squaws, have many courteous
and gentlemanly habits. They have no profane word
in their vocabulary, and the most abusive words em-
ployed by them are liar, rascal, hog, and squaw. They,
however, catch with facility the profane expressions
of the whites, which they use with great readiness,
and without understanding their signification. Thus,
they will often employ an oath as a friendly saluta-
tion ; and while kindly shaking hands with a friend,
will curse him in cheerful and pleasant tones of voice.
The following morning (Tuesday, April 19th), a
Mormon arrived with his boat and ferried me over to
Nauvoo. A Mormon doctor accompanied me. He
had obtained, I was told, a regular diploma from a
medical school as a physician'; but since the Mormons
generally prefer miraculous aid to medicine, it is pro-

D

34 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

bable that his practice is somewhat limited. He ar-
gued with me as we were on the passage, and evinced
a tolerable share of intelligence and acuteness. The
success of Mormonism in England was a subject of
great rejoicing to him. I observed, that I had rea-
son to believe that the conquests of Mormonism in
Britain had been principally among the illiterate and
uneducated. This, he partially admitted; but he
maintained that God had always chosen the poor, for
they were rich in faith. I replied, that the class of
persons to whom he referred, abounded in wrong
faith no less than in right faith ; and that among the
lower class of persons in England, the wildest delu-
sions, of the most contradictory character, had, from
time to time, been readily propagated. I further re-
marked, that the same class of people who believed
in Joanna Southcote, might easily be persuaded to
credit the divine mission of Joseph Smith. I begged
him to inform me whether the Mormons believed in
the Trinity. "Yes," he replied; "we believe that
the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy
Ghost is God; that makes three at least who are
God, and no doubt there are a great many more."
He went on to state, that the Mormons believe that
departed saints become a portion of the Deity, and
may be properly denominated " Gods."

On landing at Nauvoo, I proceeded with the Doc-
tor along the street which I mentioned before as
bordering on the strand. As I advanced with my
book in my hand, numerous Mormons came forth
from their dwellings, begging to be allowed to see its
mysterious pages; and by the time I reached the
prophet's house, they amounted to a perfect crowd.

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 35

I met Joseph Smith at a short distance from his dwel-
ling, and was regularly introduced to him. I had
the honour of an interview with him who is a prophet,
a seer, a merchant, a " revelator," a president, an
elder, an editor, and the general of the " Nauvoo
legion." He is a coarse, plebeian person in aspect,
and his countenance exhibits a curious mixture of the
knave and the clown. His hands are large and fat,
and on one of his fingers he wears a massive gold
ring, upon which I saw an inscription. His dress
was of coarse country manufacture, and his white hat
was enveloped by a piece of black crape as a sign of
mourning for his deceased brother, Don Carlos Smith,
the late editor of the "Times and Seasons." His age
is about thirty- five. I had not an opportunity of
observing his eyes, as he appears deficient in that
open, straightforward look which characterizes an
honest man. He led the way to his house, accom-
panied by a host of elders, bishops, preachers, and
common Mormons. On entering the house, chairs
were provided for the prophet and myself, while the
curious and gaping crowd remained standing. I
handed the book to the prophet, and begged him to
explain its contents. He asked me if I had any idea of
its meaning. I replied, that I believed it to be a Greek
Psalter ; but that I should like to hear his opinion.
" No," he said; " it ain't Greek at all; except, per-
haps, a few words. What ain't Greek, is Egyptian ;
and what ain't Egyptian, is Greek. This book is very-
valuable . It is a dictionary of Egyptian Hierogly-
phics." Pointing to the capital letters at the com-
mencement of each verse, he said : " Them figures is
Egyptian hieroglyphics ; and them which follows, is
D 2

36 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

the interpretation of the hieroglyphics, written in the
reformed Egyptian. Them characters is like the let-
ters that was engraved on the golden plates." Upon
this, the Mormons around began to congratulate me
on the information I was receiving. " There," they
said ; "we told you so — we told you that our pro-
phet would give you satisfaction. None but our pro-
phet can explain these mysteries." The prophet now
turned to me, and said, " this book ain't of no use
to you, you don't understand it." " Oh yes," I re-
plied ; " it is of some use ; for if I were in want of
money, I could sell it, and obtain, perhaps, enough to
live on for a whole year." " But what will you take
for it ?" said the prophet and his elders. " My price,"
I replied, " is higher than you would be willing to
give." " What price is that ?" they eagerly de-
manded. I replied, " I will not tell you what price
I would take ; but if you were to offer me this mo-
ment nine hundred dollars in gold for it, you should
not have it." They then repeated their request that
I should lend it to them«until the prophet should have
time to translate it, and promised me the most ample
security ; but I declined all their proposals. I placed
the book in several envelopes, and as I deliberately
tied knot after knot, the countenances of many among
them gradually sunk into an expression of great de-
spondency. Having exhibited the book to the pro-
phet, I requested him in return to shew me his papy-
rus ; and to give me his own explanation, which I
had hitherto received only at second hand. He pro-
ceeded with me to his office, accompanied by the
multitude. He produced the glass frames which I
had seen on the previous day ; but he did not appear

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 37

very forward to explain the figures. I pointed to a
particular hieroglyphic, and requested him to expound
its meaning. No answer being returned, I looked
up, and behold ! the prophet had disappeared. The
Mormons told me that he had just stepped out, and
would probably soon return. I waited some time,
but in vain : and at length descended to the street in
front of the store. Here I heard the noise of wheels,
and presently I saw the prophet in his waggon,
flourishing his whip and driving away as fast as two
fine horses could draw him. As he disappeared from
view, enveloped in a cloud of dust, I felt that I had
turned over another page in the great book of human
nature.

The Mormons now surrounded me, and requested
to know whether T had received satisfaction from
the prophet's explanation. I replied that the pro-
phet had given me no satisfaction, and that he had
committed himself most effectually. They wished to
know my own religious opinions. I informed them
that I had been educated in the Church of England,
to which I was conscientiously attached. One of
the Mormons said that the Church of England had
a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof,
and that it was the duty of all men to turn away from
her. I asked him what he understood by the power
of godliness. He replied, " the power of working
miracles arid of speaking in unknown tongues." He
maintained that the Church of England denied that
the gifts of the Holy Ghost are communicated at
the present day to the people of God. I told him
that he was mistaken, and referred him to the pas-
sages in the " Service for the Ordering of Priests,"

38 THE CITY OF THE MORMOKS ;

" Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of
a Priest in the Church of God." And again,

" Thou the Anointing Spirit art,
Who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart."

And again,

" Thou in thy gifts art manifold,
By them Christ's Church doth stand."

Another said that the ministers of the Church of
England were dumb dogs, that its bishops were re-
gardless of the advancement of the gospel, that their
belly was their God, and that money was their idol.
I inquired whether he was particularly well acquainted
with the English bishops and clergy. He replied,
that he had never been out of America ; but that he
had received these accounts from travellers. I told
him that I had been personally acquainted with many
of the bishops and clergy of the English Church,
and that his assertion was not agreeable to the truth.
A renegade now came forward, who stated himself
to have been a member of the Established Church of
Ireland. He said that the Thirty-nine Articles were
a bundle of inconsistencies from beginning to end.
I begged him to specify some of the inconsistencies.
He said that the first Article asserts that God is
without body, parts, or passions ; that the second
Article teaches that Christ is God ; and that the
fourth Article states that Christ ascended into heaven
with his body, flesh, and bones. Thus, he main-
tained, the fourth Article was inconsistent with the
first. I replied, that the same charge of inconsis-
tency might be applied to the Scriptures with equal

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 39

fairness, and quoted the texts by which the doctrines
of the first, second, and fourth Articles are distinctly
proved. He flew off at once to another subject, and
maintained that baptism in the Church of England
is not valid, inasmuch as it is not administered by
persons having authority. I asked him what con-
stituted a sufficient authority. He replied, " a com-
mission from Christ, proved by the possession of
miraculous gifts." I said that the English clergy
possessed a commission from Christ, which could be
proved most conclusively, even in the absence of
miraculous gifts at the present time. He wished to
know how their commission could be proved without
miracles. I told him that the bishops of the English
Church, by whom the inferior clergy are ordained,
are apostles just as truly as St. Barnabas and St.
Timothy were. This statement took him altogether
by surprise; he looked at me incredulously, and wished
for proof. I presented him with a brief outline of
the clear and simple argument for the Apostolic Suc-
cession, and showed him historically that bishops
have been always consecrated by bishops from the
age of inspiration to the present time; that the
commission of our Saviour to the eleven, extending
as it did through all time and^all the world, implied
an apostolical succession till the day of judgment ;
that Scripture testifies to a succession of Apostles as
long as Scripture can testify to it ; and that after-
wards the continuance of the succession is proved by
a vast number of Christian writers down to the pre-
sent time. He considered for a moment, and then
said, that such a succession must have come through
Rome ; that Rome was the mother of harlots, and

40 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

that the Church of England was the eldest of her
numerous family of daughters. " The Church of
England," said he, "reminds me of a story I heard
about an old cow — " As he was becoming abusive I
thought it best to check him, and seriously requested
him to inform me whether it was an English cow or
an Irish bull of which he was speaking. At this
the younger Mormons began to laugh, and Paddy
seemed rather disconcerted and was silent.

An old American in a blue home- spun suit, and
with a disagreeable expression in his face, now en-
tered the lists against me. He told me that I was
in great darkness and unbelief, and that I ought to
repent, obey the gospel, and be baptized. I replied,
that as for repentance, I repented every day ; as for
obedience, without boasting, I might claim to be
equal to the " Latter-day Saints ; " and as for bap-
tism, I had been lawfully baptized by one having
authority. He said that Church of England baptism
possessed only the authority derived from Acts of
Parliament, and that the English Church was merely
a Parliament Church. I replied, that the English
Church had a double sanction : first, that of Christ —
who founded the Catholic Church, of which the
English Church is a portion ; and secondly, that of
Parliament, by which, long after its foundation, it
was acknowledged as the National Religion. " As
for you Mormons," I said, " it is now my turn to
say something about your religion, since you have
spoken freely of mine. It is easy for you to argue
as you do about the descent of the Indians from
Israel, the probability of the restoration of miraculous
powers to the Church, and the errors and inconsis-

OK, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 41

tencies of existing sects ; but in regard to the real
question at issue, on which your religion depends,
namely, the inspiration of your prophet, you have
given me no satisfaction whatever." They requested
me to state what evidence I should consider satisfac-
tory. I replied, " When the Jewish dispensation
was to be introduced, God enabled Moses to work
great wonders with his rod. God smote a mighty
nation with miraculous plagues. He divided the
Red Sea and the River Jordan. He came down on
Mount Sinai amid clouds and lightnings and the ter-
rific sound of the trumpet of heaven. He caused
Moses to strike the rock and the waters gushed forth.
He rained down manna for the space of forty years
in the wilderness. Again, when the Christian dis-
pensation was to be established, Christ walked upon
the waters ; He controlled the winds and the waves ;
He fed assembled thousands with a few loaves and
fishes ; He healed the sick : He opened the eyes of
the blind ; He brought the dead to life ; and finally,
He raised Himself from the grave.

" You maintain that your prophet is sent to estab-
lish a third dispensation. I demand, therefore, what
signs are given to prove his commission ?"

The old man replied, that the healing of the sick,
the casting out of devils, and the speaking of un-
known tongues, were very frequent in the " Latter-
day Church." I said that signs of that kind were
of a very doubtful description, since the imagination
possessed great power over the nervous system. I
inquired whether Smith had ever walked across the
Mississippi, or brought a dead man to life. He
replied in the negative ; but said, that among them

42 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

the blind received their sight, and the ears of the
deaf were opened. I then observed, " You perceive
that I am rather deaf, and you say that I have no
faith. Now can you open my ears so that I may
hear your arguments more distinctly ? " Imme-
diately the old man stepped forward, and before I
was aware of his object, thrust his fore-fingers into
my ears, and lifting up his eyes, uttered for about a
minute in a loud voice some unintelligible gibberish.
" There," he said finally, " the Holy Ghost prompted
me to do that, and now you have heard the unknown
tongue." " But my hearing is not improved," I
said. " That," he replied, " is because you have no
faith. If ever you believe the Book of Mormon, you
will immediately recover perfect hearing, through the
gift of the Holy Ghost." I looked at him somewhat
severely and said, " Take care, old man, what you
say. When you employ the names of Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, you should speak with awe and
reverence ; but you and other Mormons here, as far
as I have observed, employ the most sacred terms
with the most disgusting levity. How miserable,
how barren were your services on last Sunday ; how
cold your worship, how utterly unedifying and far-
cical your preaching. The Holy Ghost was mani-
festly absent from your assembly, which resembled a
Jewish Synagogue more than a Christian congrega-
tion. There was no Bible, there was no Lord's
Prayer, there were no motives presented to humilia-
tion, self-examination, or any branch of devotion ;
nothing but senseless speculations on the character
of God, idle assertions of special revelations and
miraculous gifts, and disgraceful advertisements of

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 43

stolen goods." Here they interrupted me and said,
that their preachers did not need the Bible, being
inspired by the Holy Ghost. " No," I said, " it is
not inspiration, it is a Satanic delusion. Your pro-
phet has committed himself to-day, and I will make
the fact known to the world. Would you believe a
man calling himself a prophet, who should say that
black is white ? " " No," they replied. " Would you
believe him if he should say that English is French ?"
" Certainly not." " But you heard your prophet de-
clare, that this book of mine is a Dictionary of Egyptian
hieroglyphics, written in characters like those of the
original Book of Mormon. I know it most positively
to be the Psalms of David, written in ancient Greek.
Now what shall I think of your prophet ?" They ap-
peared confounded for a while ; but at length the
Mormon doctor said, "Sometimes Mr. Smith speaks
as a prophet, and sometimes as a mere man. If he
gave a wrong opinion respecting the book, he spoke
as a mere man." I said, " Whether he spoke as a
prophet or as a mere man, he has committed himself,
for he has said what is not true. If he spoke as a
prophet, therefore, he is a false prophet. If he spoke
as a mere man, he cannot be trusted, for he spoke
positively and like an oracle respecting that of which
he knew nothing. You have talked to me very
freely respecting the Church to which I belong ; but
I hardly like to tell you what I think respecting your
religion, lest I should hurt your feelings." "Speak
out," said some. " Go on," said others. ." If Smith
be not a true prophet," I said, " you must admit
that he is a gross impostor." " We must," they

44 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

replied. " Then I will freely tell you my opinion,
so that you may not think that I intend to say
at a distance what I would not say in Nauvoo itself.
I think it likely that most of you are credulous and
ignorant, but well-meaning persons, and that the
time at least has been when you desired to do the
will of God. A knot of designing persons, of whom
Smith is the centre, have imposed upon your cre-
dulity and ignorance, and you have been most
thoroughly hoaxed by. their artful devices. Mahomet
himself was a gentleman, a Christian, and a scholar,
when compared with your prophet. And oh ! how
mournful to look round, as I can at present, and to
reflect, how many have been drawn away from their
homes, dragged across earth and sea, and brought
to this unwholesome spot, where, with the loss of
substance and of health, they are too often left to
perish in wretched poverty and bitter disappoint-
ment." One of the Mormons who had listened
attentively to what I said, now remarked with some
solemnity of manner, " If we are deceived, then are
we of all men the most miserable." " Indeed I
believe you are most miserable," I replied, " and I
pity you from the very bottom of my heart. And oh !
how gladly would I see you delivered from this awful
delusion, and returning to the bosom of that holy
Catholic Church, from which many of you have
apostatized. There you may find plain and honest
teaching, without these lying signs and wonders.
There you may find holy and solemn services fitted
for the edification of the people of God. There you
may find a true baptism, a true communion, true

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 45

gifts of the Holy Ghost, and true ministers who
descend in one unbroken line from the Apostles sent
forth by Christ Himself." Several of them now
said that faith is the gift of God, that God had
promised to give wisdom to those who should ask
it ; that they had prayed to God to guide them into
all truth, and that He had led them to believe in the
book of Mormon. I replied that God had appointed
certain means of ascertaining the truth, and that if
we neglect those means it will be vain to pray to
Him for guidance. Thus He had declared his Church
to be the pillar and ground of truth. But it was
evident that they had not built upon the true ground,
for they had attached themselves not to the apostolic
Church, but a sect barely fifteen years old." The old
man in blue now told me that they pitied me as much
as I pitied them. " Come, my friend," he said to
me, " let you and I go down to the Mississippi, only
let me put you under the water and baptize you, and
when you come up again, you will see all mysteries
clearly, and will believe in our great signs and
wonders." I told him in reply, that to submit to
such a baptism would be almost the greatest sacri-
lege which a Christian could commit. " I must
now leave you," I proceeded, " I have been among
you three days ; I have expressed my sentiments
freely respecting your religion and your prophet, and
I heartily thank you that you have listened to me
with attention, and that although you have had me
altogether in your power, you have not put me
under the Mississippi and kept me there."

I walked to the ferry with the Mormon who had
brought me over in the morning, the Mormon doc-

46 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

tor, and one or two others. When we arrived at
the boat we found it safe, as it had been carefully
padlocked in the morning. The oars, however, were
missing, a circumstance which caused great vexation
to the owner. He exclaimed " My oars are gone ;
somebody has hooked my oars." " Who has taken
your oars ?" I asked. " Some of the boys, I guess,"
he replied. " What ! some of the young Latter-day
Saints ?" I said. " I guess it was," he answered. " But
do not the young saints learn the ten commandments,"
I demanded, " and especially the eighth, 'Thou shalt
not steal ?' " "I guess they know them all," the poor
man answered, " but any how they don't practise
them." Accordingly he took a piece of board in his
hands, and having given another piece to one of his
companions, he proceeded rather awkwardly to paddle
across the wide and rapid stream. A third piece of
board was given to the doctor, who sat with me in
the stern, to be used as a rudder. For some time
we advanced tolerably well ; but before long the
doctor began to argue with me vehemently. He
said that no man could obtain salvation, who devoted
so little attention to the truth of God as I had done ;
and that instead of spending only three days, I ought
to have remained at least three weeks at Nauvoo.
I told him that I had seen quite enough to convince
any person of ordinary understanding, that Smith
was an impostor. He replied that Smith might be
as bad as he was reported to be, but that his prophe-
cies would not thereby be proved false. He might
be a swindler, a liar, a drunkard, a swearer, and still
be a true prophet. David was a murderer and an
adulterer, and yet was a true prophet. St. Peter

OR, THREE DAYS AT NACVOO. 47

said that even in his time " David had not yet ascended
into heaven." David was in hell, for no murderer
had eternal life abiding in him. So Smith might be
as infamous as David was, and even deny his own
revelations, and turn away from his religion, and
go to hell ; but this would not affect the revelations
which God had given by him. It was in vain that I
attempted to correct the doctor's false positions ; the
stream of his eloquence had begun to flow, and,
finally, I suffered it to flow unchecked. He said that
the truth of Mormonism did not depend on the cha-
racter of Smith or of any other man. That our Lord
had told the Jews that there were other sheep, not
of that fold, whom He intended to bring, and that
in accordance with this declaration, after his ascen-
sion into heaven, He descended again .in America
and preached the Gospel to the Indians, as the
veracious history of the book of Mormon assured us.
That for his own part, his faith had been produced
solely by the power of God, and that if he was
deceived, God Almighty had deceived him, and no
other. " I was once an honest Atheist," he proceeded,
" I felt that Christianity could not be true, since
Christians have not yet decided among themselves
what Christianity is. I was induced by curiosity
to listen to the preaching of a Mormon elder. My
attention was strongly arrested ; I began to believe
in God, and for many weeks and months was earnest
in my prayers to Him for a knowledge of the truth.
After the space of six months, I was one night lying
awake in my bed meditating, when suddenly a con-
viction of the reality of the Christian religion flashed
upon my mind like lightning. I saw the truth of

48 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

the Scriptures and of the book of Mormon. I felt
powerfully convinced that the prophecies of Joseph
Smith were from God. At the same time I was
filled with a supernatural extasy which resembled
heaven itself. I could not restrain my feelings, but
cried out, O my God, if it be thus to be baptized
with the Holy Ghost, what must it be to be baptized
with fire ! From that time I have been a member
of the ' Latter-day Church,' and, believe me, I would
rather be an honest Atheist again, than embrace the
doctrines of any of the sects. If the religion which
I profess be false, there is no true religion upon
earth."

The doctor's zeal had so completely carried him
away, that he quite forgot his duty as helmsman.
The boat was now about the middle of the Missis-
sippi, and after sundry tortuous windings, seemed
about to return to Nauvoo. The poor fellows who
were paddling with the boards complaining of the
doctor's steering, I volunteered to take the helm, and
the medical gentleman forthwith resigned his piece
of board into my hands. The skiff now proceeded
with a straight course, and we shortly landed in
Iowa. The doctor, on parting from me, compli-
mented me somewhat equivocally on my seamanship,
by observing, that if I knew the way of salvation as
well as I knew how to steer, I might have a good
chance of getting to heaven.

During the remainder of the day, I employed
myself in obtaining testimony from persons residing
in Iowa in reference to the conduct and character
of their Mormon neighbours. I have every reason
to believe that this testimony is correct, partly be-

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 49

cause it agrees with what I myself saw and heard
in Nauvoo, and partly on account of the character
and respectability of the witnesses.

The reader must have already inferred from my
description, that the false prophet himself is a coarse
and gross personage, by no means punctilious in
regard to truth. The following facts related by
actual witnesses will not therefore appear incredible.

Before the Mormons settled in the vicinity, no shop
for the sale of spirituous liquors had been established
in Montrose. After their arrival two of their preach-
ers commenced a grog-shop in that place, which was
principally supported by the " Latter-day Saints."
In September 1841, the prophet being in Montrose,
became intoxicated at this shop. While in this
condition he told the by-standers " that he could
drink them all drunk," and requested the shop-
keeper to treat all his friends at his expense.

On another occasion, having been discharged from
arrest, through informality in the writ requiring his
apprehension for high treason against the State of
Missouri, Smith gave a party at Monmouth, and,
after a regular frolic with his lawyers and friends,
became thoroughly intoxicated. On being asked
how it was that he, a prophet of the Lord, could
get drunk, he replied, that it was necessary that he
should do so, in order to prevent his followers from
worshipping him as a God.

While intoxicated at Montrose, at another time,
he was heard by several persons saying to himself,
"lamaP.R.O.F.I.T. lamaP .R . O . F . I .T"
— spelling (or rather mis-spelling) the word delibe-

50 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

rately, and repeating the letters in solemn succes-
sion.

About two years since, at a political convention
held in Nauvoo, the prophet became intoxicated, and
was led home by his brother Hyrum. On the fol-
lowing Sunday, he acknowledged the fact in public.
He said that he had been tempted, and had drunk
too much ; but that he had yielded to the tempta-
tion for the following reason : — Several of the elders
had got drunk, and had never made confession ; but
he was desirous of getting drunk and confessing it,
in order to set the elders a good example.

The language of the prophet is gross in the ex-
treme. A Mormon, for example, having made some
remarks derogatory to " the elect lady," Mrs. Smith,
the prophet was dreadfully exasperated. He endea-
voured to find out the name of the offender ; but,
being unable to do so, he alluded to the subject in a
sermon, preached in the open air, at Montrose, on
the 9th of May, 1841. He said, " I hope I may
never find out that person ; for if I do, my appetite
shall never be satisfied till I have his blood ; and if
he ever crosses my threshold I will send him to
hell."

I have already stated some circumstances which
may appear to reflect on the common honesty of some
of the Mormons. Mr. K. mentioned that he had
lived five years among heathen Indians, and had
never been robbed by them of the most trifling arti-
cle. During the three years which have elapsed
since the settlement of the Mormons at Montrose
and Nauvoo, fourteen robberies, to the amount of two

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 51

thousand dollars, have been committed upon his pro-
perty. 1st, His store was robbed of goods worth
five hundred dollars ; 2nd, his warehouse was plun-
dered of one barrel of pork, two barrels of sugar, and
five kegs of lard ; 3rd, his smoke-house was despoiled
of thirty-three hams and eleven shoulders ; the 4th
robbery deprived him of a barrel and a half of salt ;
the 5th, of another barrel of salt ; the 6th, of a sad-
dle, bridle, and martingale, which were taken from
his stable ; 7thly, four wheels were taken from his
waggon ; Sthly, three saddles and bridles and a mar-
tingale from his stable ; 9thly, sixty bushels of wheat
from his granary ; lOthly, six boxes of glass, a hun-
dred and fifty pounds of bacon, and two boxes of
axes, from his warehouse ; llth, six more barrels of
salt; 12th, between three and four hundred bushels
of Indian corn ; 13th, one wheel was stolen from his
chariot within an enclosure ; and, 14th, his store was
robbed of forty-two pieces of dark prints, five or six
pieces of satinette, and other articles, worth about
four hundred dollars.

Joseph Smith, alluding to these robberies in a
sermon, said that he " did not care how much was
taken from Mr. K. and his brother." He cited the
example of Christ and his apostles, who, he said,
when hungry, scrupled not to steal corn while walk-
ing in the fields. He added the following words, —
" The world owes me a good living ; if I cannot get
it otherwise, I will steal it, and catch me at it if
you can."

He has, however, thought fit to disavow these
principles. In the " Times and Seasons" of Dec. 1,
1841, we have the following official document :

E 2 UBRAR1 —

52 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

" State of Illinois, •> ~o
Hancock County. J k

" Before me, John C. Bennett, Mayor of the
City of Nauvoo, personally came Joseph Smith, Pre-
sident of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (commonly called Mormons), who, being duly
sworn according to law, deposeth and saith, that he
has never, directly or indirectly, encouraged the pur-
loining of property, or taught the doctrine of steal-
ing, or any other evil practice ; and that all such
vile and unlawful acts will ever receive his unquali-
fied and unreserved disapproval, and the most vigor-
ous opposition of the Church over which he presides ;
and further this deponent saith not.

"JOSEPH SMITH,

" President of the Church of Latter-
day Saints."

After this follows an account of two unlucky Mor-
mons, who seem to be selected as scape-goats. Being
officers of the Nauvoo legion, they are tried by court
martial, found guilty of theft, and sentenced to be
cashiered. Joseph Smith solemnly approves of this
sentence, and the proceedings are published in the
" Times and Seasons." About the same time, five
Mormons are gazetted as being expelled from the
church for larceny.

The following circumstance was mentioned as a
specimen of the manner in which these singular
heretics endeavour to rid themselves of the imputa-
tion of thievishness universally cast upon them. In
the winter of 1841, a Mormon was committed to the

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 53

penitentiary on a charge of horse-stealing. Upon
this, the " Saints " denied that he was a Mormon.
Two Mormon preachers, however, offered themselves
as bail for the prisoner, and having effected his libe-
ration, speedily decamped. When the spring session
of the court of Lee County for 1842 had arrived, it
appeared that the accused had followed their exam-
ple, for neither he nor his securities were to be
found.

The sufferings experienced by many of the English
emigrants at Nauvoo were described as truly appal-
ling. Nauvoo is one of the most unhealthy spots on
the Mississippi, between New Orleans and the Falls
of St. Anthony. This insalubrity is produced by the
low islands adjoining the city, which are frequently
overflowed. Sufficient evidence of the unhealthiness
of the place is furnished in the following extract
from a " revelation given to Joseph Smith, January
19th, 1841," and published in the "Times and Sea-
sons" for June 1st, 1841 :

" Verily thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant,
Joseph Smith, — I am well pleased with your offer-
ings and acknowledgements which you have made ;
for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might
show forth my wisdom through the weak things of
the earth. ***** Le^ no man gO from
this place who has come here assaying to keep my
commandments. If they live here, let them live unto
me, and if they die, let them die unto me ; for they
shall rest>from all their labour here, and shall con-
tinue their, works. Therefore, let my servant Wil-
liam put his trust in me, and cease to fear concerning
his family, because of the sickness of the land. If

54 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS;

ye love me, keep my commandments, and the sick-
ness of the land shall redound to your glory."

I was informed again arid again in Montrose, that
nearly half of the English who emigrated to Nauvoo
in 1841 died soon after their arrival. Far from the
graves of their fathers, remote from the ministers of
the true faith, they ended their days in want and
wretchedness, and were buried without that respect-
ful solemnity which in England is not denied even
to the pauper from the workhouse.

In his sermon of the 9th of May, 1841, the fol-
lowing words of most Christian consolation were
delivered by the prophet to the poor deluded Eng-
lish.

" Many of the English who have lately come here
have expressed great disappointment on their arrival.
Such persons have every reason to be satisfied in this
beautiful and fertile country. If they choose to com-
plain, they may; but I don't want to be troubled
with their complaints. If they are not satisfied here,
I have only to say this to them, — Don't stay whining
about me, but go back to England and be d — d."

One of Joseph's missionaries, having returned from
a mission to England, preached a sermon at Nauvoo
on Sunday, July 4th, 1840. Having given an ac-
count of his proceedings during his absence, and
alluded to the converts whom he had persuaded to
settle near Nauvoo, he proceeded to speak as follows:
— " T have not had an opportunity to visit these
English brethren since my return. I cannot spend
my time in visiting them. If they are as much dis-
satisfied as they are said to be, I have only this to
say to them, — You had better go back to England ;

OR, THREE DAYS AT NATTVOO. 55

but if you go, go like men and be d — d, and don't
whine about it."

The Secretary for the territory of Iowa was pre-
sent on this occasion, and remarked to my informant,
that he was astonished at hearing these expressions
from the very man who had brought these poor peo-
ple a distance of six thousand miles.

The method in which the Mormons baptize is a
perfect burlesque on the holy initiatory sacrament of
the gospel. On one occasion, a hundred and sixty-
five persons were baptized by immersion at Nauvoo,
some for the remission of sins, and some for their
deceased friends, which is their baptism for the dead.
This business was done by seven elders, who enjoyed
it as a capital frolic. One of these elders baptized a
woman six times during the same day. Not satis-
fied with this, she presented herself a seventh time,
when the elder jocosely remarked, " What ! haven't
you got wet enough already ?" A very tall man
offering himself, the elder, who is very stout, laughed
aloud, and said, " I am the only one big enough to
put tall chaps like you under water."

The Christian reader will feel that he has now had
enough of these awful profanations ; and I assure
him that nothing but a sense of the duty of exposing
imposture could have induced me to commit them to
paper. A mere selection from the sayings, writings,
and doings of the leading Mormons, equal to the
preceding in horrid wickedness, would fill volumes.
Enough has been said, however, to prove that Mor-
monism is associated in the minds of its most zealous
advocates with dispositions and actions the very re-

56 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

verse of those which are inculcated by the Gospel,
and exhibited in the example of Jesus Christ.

In the evening subsequent to my last visit to Nau-
voo, I walked by the western banks of the noble Mis-
sissippi. Beside me flowed its smooth waters, undis-
turbed by the slightest ripple. On the eastern bank
the rays of the setting sun were reflected from the
windows of Nauvoo, and his parting beams illumi-
nated the white dwellings of the prophet and his fol-
lowers. It was a time adapted to serious reflection. I
felt convinced, that palpable as are the absurdities of
Mormonism, it is a system which possesses many ele-
ments of strength, and of extension. When the pre-
sent generation of deceivers and of dupes shall have
gone to their graves, a new class of Mormons may
have arisen, educated in the principles of the sect,
and taught by experience to disavow some features in
their religion which are at present its shame and its
disgrace. They may consign Joseph Smith to perdi-
tion, together with the sweet Psalmist of Israel;
while his doctrines, somewhat refined, may be a rule
of faith and action to admiring millions. It remains
(under God) for Christians of the present day to de-
termine whether Mormonism shall sink to the level of
those fanatical sects which, like new stars, have blazed
for a little while, and then sunk into obscurity ; or
whether, like a second Mahometanism, it shall extend
itself sword in hand, until, throughout western Ame-
rica, Christianity shall be levelled with the dust.

And how shall Christians effectually avert the cala-
mity ? I reply, by encouraging the feeble and infant
Christian institutions already existing in that won-

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 57

derful land which Mormonism, even now, claims as
its own. As a Churchman, I feel almost ashamed
for my Church, when I reflect upon the heavy dis-
couragements which are suffered to afflict the amiable
and patient missionary bishop of Missouri, Iowa, and
Wisconsin. Where are the zealous missionaries who
should be flocking to his assistance ? Where are the
means which should be provided for the support of a
learned clergy in the rising cities of the west ? Why
is Kemper College, the first and only institution of
the Church beyond the Mississippi, permitted to lan-
guish, while the Mormon temple, and the Mormon
university, offer their delusive attractions to the rising
generation ? Why is the venerable bishop of Illinois
permitted to labour almost alone, while the mission-
aries of Joseph Smith, with a zeal worthy of the true
Church, perambulate his diocese and plant their
standard in every village ?

If the Churches of England and America possessed
the activity of the Mormons, questions like the above
would soon be needless. Churchmen would contri-
bute from their poverty as well as from their riches ;
churches would be erected, missionaries maintained,
and colleges in which a learned clergy could be edu-
cated, would be liberally endowed. Fanaticism, no
longer rampant, would hide itself in the darkest re-
cesses of the forest ; while pure and genuine religion
would be the comfort of the weary emigrant, and the
faithful guide of the fifty millions who, doubtless,
before another century, will occupy the valley of the
Mississippi.

How present exigencies shall be met, is a question
worthy of the careful consideration of all, both in

58 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS ;

England and America, who are solicitous for the
advancement of truth and piety. The appointment
of a self-denying missionary to reside in the imme-
diate vicinity of Nauvoo, might in some degree check
the rising heresy. Such a missionary should be
thoroughly acquainted with the Mormon controversy ;
patient, willing to endure contradiction and persecu-
tion, and able to accommodate himself readily to all
circumstances, and to all classes of people. Those
who become disgusted with Mormonism might thus
be saved from embracing Atheism ; the poor disap-
pointed English might be relieved, encouraged, and
restored to the Church of their fathers ; the progress
of the delusion might be closely watched, and the
artifices of its leaders duly exposed.

It is also worthy of remark, that the success of
Joseph Smith appears to warrant a system of emigra-
tion and settlement conducted on religious principles.
The notorious Owen, as is well known, attempted the
establishment of an Infidel community at New Har-
mony, in Indiana, and totally failed. Joseph Smith
has availed himself of the religious principle natural
to man, and has triumphantly succeeded. If a false
faith has thus prevailed, true religion might accom-
plish wonders. Whatever may be said, and much
may be said with truth, respecting the superior claims
of the British colonies, it is certain that a vast pro-
portion of those who emigrate from Great Britain and
Ireland, proceed to the United States. Numbers of
these have been educated in the principles of the
Established Church ; and yet, from various causes,
few of them comparatively attach themselves to the
Church in America. Many connect themselves with

OR, THREE DAYS AT NAUVOO. 5y

various dissenting denominations ; while still more,
it is to be feared, sink into heartless apathy and irre-
ligion. But we will suppose that a large body of
members of the Church determine upon emigrating,
on a system which shall secure mutual co-operation
and religious fellowship. Before leaving home, the
outlines of their plan are fixed : they are accompanied
by a sufficient number of well-educated pastors and
teachers : they purchase a district of four or five
thousand acres in a healthy portion of Iowa, for ex-
ample : they obtain from the legislature charters for
a city, a college, and a church, respectively : they
erect their own dwellings upon a handsome and taste-
ful design : they elect a mayor and a corporation for
their rising city. A substantial Church is built, which
may afterwards form one wing of a noble Gothic
Cathedral. Schools and teachers are provided for the
children, professors are appointed for the college,
libraries are commenced, and halls are erected. Allot-
ments of land are set aside for the perpetual main-
tenance of religion and Christian education. The
clergy, if sufficiently numerous, elect, with the appro-
bation of the laity, some learned and active man as
their bishop, who is afterwards duly consecrated by
the authorities of the American Church. The Church
now appears in its fulness and dignity ; and mission-
aries go forth from the city, in sincerity and truth, to
traverse the land and to convert its inhabitants.

This is not a chimerical idea, it is a sketch of what
might be realized with little difficulty. Discourage-
ments would occasionally arise ; but ultimately, with
proper management, such a plan would undoubtedly

60 THE CITY OF THE MORMONS.

succeed. A new point of attraction would thus be
presented to European and American emigrants, and
the power of the false prophet would be shaken to its
foundation.

APPENDIX.

PAGE 2. "Amid countless forms of schism."
Bishop Kemper gives the following information on

this subject, in a recent appeal to the European

Churches.

" Under a canon of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, passed in the year 1835, I was consecrated
a missionary Bishop for Indiana and Missouri, to
which were afterwards added Wisconsin, Iowa, and
the country beyond the Mississippi, extending south-
ward to latitude 36° 30', northward to the British
possessions, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. This
region contains a million of square miles, a million
and a quarter of white and negro inhabitants, and
numerous Indian tribes amounting in population to
not less than three hundred thousand souls. I pro-
ceeded forthwith to my field of labour, and found
many members of our Catholic and Apostolic Church
straying from her fold through the want of pastors.
Romanism, heresy, schism, infidelity, paganism, and
a new religion — known as Mormonism, extensively
pervading the land ; and not more than six or seven
clergymen of our church scattered at wide intervals
over this prodigious surface. I also found that about

62 APPENDIX.

thirty thousand emigrants from Europe annually set-
tled within my jurisdiction, a large proportion of
whom were members of the Reformed Churches of
Great Britain, Germany, Prussia, Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark, in addition to a vast influx of settlers
from the eastern parts of the United States, and
British America."

Speaking of the Roman Catholics, the Bishop says,

" Within the bounds of my mission, where I have
(1841) but twenty- three fellow-labourers, they have
three bishops, and one hundred and six priests.
They annually receive large funds from Vienna,
Lyons, &c., by which they are enabled to erect
splendid cathedrals, extensive colleges, large con-
vents, and substantial stone churches. In St. Louis
alone they have a large cathedral, which cost, it is
said, eighty thousand dollars, to which, beside the
bishop, there are attached four clergymen, who preach
and catechise every Sunday in English, French, and
German. They have also four chapels, and a splen-
did church, as yet unfinished, one hundred and twenty
feet in length, and eighty in width. The present
position of their diocese of St. Louis is as follows : —
fifty-six churches, nine churches building, sixty other
stations, seventy-three clergymen, two ecclesiastical
seminaries, two colleges for young men, one academy
for boys, ten female convents, ten academies for
young ladies, four schools, and eight charitable
institutions."

PAGE 3. "A New Book."

The Book of Mormon contains five hundred and

APPENDIX. 63

eighty-eight duodecimo pages, consisting of fifteen
different books, purporting to he written at different
times, and by different authors, whose names they
respectively bear. The period of time covered by
these spurious records is about a thousand years,
commencing with the time of Zedekiah, and termi-
nating with the year of our Lord 420. It professes
to trace the history of the American aborigines, from
the time of their leaving Jerusalem in the reign of
Zedekiah, under one Lehi, down to their final disas-
ter near the hill Camorah, in the state of New York,
in which contest, according to " the prophet Moroni,"
about 230,000 were slain in a single battle, and he
alone escaped to tell the tale. These records, with
which various prophecies and sermons are intermin-
gled, are declared by Smith to have been written on
golden plates, in " the reformed Egyptian character,"
and discovered to him by an angel in the year 1823.
An English edition of the Book of Mormon, revised
and corrected, has been published at Manchester, for
the benefit of British " Saints."

PAGE 4. "a large portion of whom are natives of
Christian and enlightened England."

I am permitted by a clergyman of the diocese of
Chester to give the following extracts from a letter,
addressed by him to me, February 4th, 1842.

" For your very kind and satisfactory information
as to that arch-impostor, Joe Smith, I most cordially
thank you. Mormonism is a heresy of a very dan-
gerous and disgraceful tendency ; and I am sorry to
add, it has produced effects already in some parishes

64 APPENDIX.

in England which, in this enlightened age, one could
scarcely imagine possible. They first of all laid their
blasphemous scheme at Preston, in Lancashire, after
taking out a licence at the quarter sessions. This
occurred about the year 1836 or 37; and they soon
numbered in that locality nearly 500 converts. In
1838, they extended their iniquitous operations to
various villages on each side of the Kibble. At Rib-
chester, the famous Roman station of Ribcunium,
they seduced many ; and the same results followed
in other places nearer Clitheroe. Since that time,
itinerant preachers among the Methodists and Cal-
vinists have joined the unholy compact; and even
farmers, labourers, mechanics, and others, — in short,
whoever among them could supply the needful, — have
been persuaded to sell their property, and emigrate
to Nauvoo. In 1838, every Mormon in one village,
and in other villages probably the same, received a
certificate, or passport, of which the following is a
copy:

" We do hereby certify that A. B., the bearer of
this, is a regular member, and in good standing and
fellowship, in the Church of the Latter-day Saints in
Waddington, and is a worthy member of the same ;
and as a token also of our love and good will, we
give unto him this letter of commendation to the
esteem and fellowship of the Saints, in any land or
country to which he may be pleased to remove.

"AfarcA*29, " H. C. KIMBALL,

1838. "ORSON HYDE,

" Presiding Elders of said Church.

" This will be called for."
2

APPENDIX. 65

Three hundred of these certificates were printed
at Clitheroe, by which speculation about £15 were
realized.

The way in which a Mormon prophecy is given to
produce effect on the converts, is artfully designing.
A young man, for instance, is immersed. After his
immersion, the elders write a letter, unknown to the
proselyte himself. As long as he remains faithful,
all is right ; the letter remains carefully sealed, and
is kept by third parties. If he leaves them, a meet-
ing of all the Mormons in the neighbourhood takes
place, the letter is brought out with solemn pomp,
the seal is broken, and the contents are read pub-
licly. The following will serve for an example of
these prophetic letters :

" Liverpool, April 13, 1838.

" DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN PRESTON, — It
seemeth good unto us, and also unto the Holy Ghost,
to write to you a few words, which cause pain in our
hearts, and will also pain you when they are fulfilled
before you ; yet you shall have joy in the end. Bro-
ther Webster will not abide in the Spirit of the Lord,
but will reject the truth, and become the enemy of
the people of God, and expose the mysteries which
have been committed to him, that a righteous judg-
ment may be executed upon him, unless he speedily
repent. When this sorrowful prediction shall be
fulfilled, this letter shall be read to the chwrch, and
it shall prove a solemn warning to all to beware.
" Farewell in the Lord,

" ORSON HYDE,
" H. C. KIMBALL."

66 APPENDIX.

In England, the preachers of Mormonism gene-
rally begin by insinuating among the astonished na-
tives of rural villages, or the weak and wavering
classes in larger towns, that our Bible has suffered
by translation, and that it is deficient and incomplete
in many particulars. They next declare that the
Book of Mormon and the revelations bestowed on
Smith and Rigdon are additional favours from the
Deity, designed to explain the obscurities and supply
the deficiencies of our Scriptures. It never enters
into the minds of their dupes to inquire as to the
credentials of these preachers. They are the eye-wit-
nesses of no miracle : they see no dead raised to life,
no dumb qualified to speak, no blind enabled to see.

One night the Mormon elder commences by ob-
serving to his congregation that he does not know
what to say, but that he will say whatever the Lord
shall put into his mouth. On another night, he
gravely announces his intention to read a portion of
the old Scriptures for edification ; invariably, how-
ever, taking care not to confine himself to any parti-
cular subject, but to have as extensive a field as pos-
sible, in order to weave in from time to time such
portions of the " Book of Mormon" as he knows to
be best adapted to effect his object. The American
edition of this book had no index to guide its readers
to any particular passage or doctrine; it was not
generally circulated in England, even among the
converts-; and hence very few were able to know
precisely when the preacher's words were Mormonic,
and when they were not. This peculiarity was re-
marked upon at the time, and in an English edition,
printed at Manchester, an index was inserted.

APPENDIX. 67

For the continuance of the fraudulent scheme, they
proceed to enact a mock ordination, choosing out of
the whole body of converts certain individuals who
are deemed most trustworthy. These assume their
blasphemous calling on the pretended sanction of the
Deity, immerse converts after dark, confirm the par-
ties next day, and administer, in the course of two or
three days at the farthest, a mock sacrament, to in-
dividuals who in the bewildered state of their minds
scarcely know their right hand from their left.

It is under the very convenient cloak of night,
however, that Mormonism in England performs most
of its operations. It is then in the zenith of its
glory, converting ignorance into the tool of delusion,
chaining it fast by iniquitous discipline, order, and
system, and trying with all its energy to make the
worse appear the better cause. In such beguiling
hours, the secret " Church Meeting " is held, to the
exclusion of every individual except the initiated.
High and mighty is the business transacted on such
occasions. It consists of exhortations to stand firm,
instructions given, explanations offered, visions and
revelations stated, gifts received for the " Bishop of
Zion," confessions made, threatenings held out, con-
verts reprimanded, apostates excommunicated, the
successes of Mormonism described, and suggestions
offered for removing the difficulties in its way.
Enquiries are made in reference to other particulars :
for example, — " What kind of people reside in this
neighbourhood ? What places of worship do they
frequent ? What opinions have you formed as to
the natural bent of their respective dispositions ?
Will they be disposed to join us, or will they exercise
P 2

68 APPENDIX.

an influence against us ? Are they principally in the
humble walks of life, or are they of some knowledge
and understanding? If the answer to these and
other questions be apparently favourable, the neces-
sary advice is given to the first converts how they
may prevail upon more. Suggestions are thrown
out how to persuade ; and the next step is to urge
in every possible way the grievous sin of baptizing
infants, and the absolute necessity of dipping, as the
very sine qud non, the only effectual path to everlast-
ing salvation.

It was the opinion of many of our clerical brethren
in England, at first, that the evil would upset itself.
But system, order, and discipline are powerful ingre-
dients, even in a bad cause. Smith writes to Eng-
land as follows : — " The Nauvoo Legion embraces all
our military power." " The University of Nauvoo
will enable us to teach our children arts, sciences,
and learned professions. The regents of the uni-
versity will supervise all matters of education, from
common schools up to the highest branches."

PAGE. 3. "St. Louis, a city of thirty thousand
inhabitants."

St. Louis was founded in 1764, under the auspices
of the French government, by M. Laclede, who
named it in honour of the reigning monarch, Louis
XV. In 1770, it passed into the possession of
Spain, and as the seat of government for Upper
Louisiana was occupied by a Spanish governor. In
1800, Louisiana was retroceded to France, from
which government it was purchased by the United
States during the presidency of Mr. Jefferson. St.

APPENDIX. 69

Louis increased slowly until the introduction of steam
navigation on the western rivers ; but during the last
seven years its population has increased from 8000
to 30,000. It contains fifteen places of worship,
viz., two Episcopalian churches, two Roman Catho-
lic, two Methodist meeting-houses, two Presbyterian,
one Associate Reformed Presbyterian, one German
Lutheran, one Baptist, one Unitarian, an African
Methodist, and an African Baptist meeting-house,
besides a Jewish synagogue. A third Roman Catho-
lic church is in progress, and the number of Roman
Catholics in the city is not less than 14,000. The
buildings are of brick or stone, and generally present
a handsome appearance.

PAGE 5. " Father of waters," &c.

When the Mississippi is at its lowest stage, the
depth of water at St. Louis is four feet ; when full,
the depth is twenty-nine feet. The width of the
river is three-quarters of a mile ; the average velocity
four miles an hour ; the average descent of the stream
six inches in every mile.

PAGE 8. " This was the Temple."

The following are some of Joseph Smith's " Reve-
lations" on the subject of the temple, extracted from
the "Times and Seasons" for June I, 1841.

" Verily, verily, I say unto you, let all my saints
come from afar, and send ye swift messengers, yea,
chosen messengers, and say unto them, Come ye
with all your gold, and your silver, and your precious
stones, and with all your antiquities ; and all who

70 APPENDIX.

have knowledge of antiquities that will come, may
come ; and bring the box-tree, and the fir-tree, and
the pine-tree, together with all the precious trees of
the earth ; and with iron, and with copper, and with
brass, and with zinc, and with all your precious
things of the earth ; and build a house to my name,
for the Most High to dwell therein : for there is not
a place found upon earth, that he may come and
restore again that which was lost unto you, or which
he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priest-
hood.

t< * * * And again, verily, I say unto you,
how shall your washings be acceptable unto me,
except ye perform them in a house which you have
built to my name ? For for this cause, I com-
manded Moses that he should build a tabernacle,
that they should bear it in the wilderness, and to
build a house in the land of promise, that those ordi-
nances might be revealed which had been hid from
before the world was. * * * *

" And verily I say unto you, let this house be
built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordi-
nances therein unto my people ; for I design to reveal
unto my church things which have been kept hid from
the foundation of the world ; things that pertain to
the dispensation of the fulness of times. And I will
show unto my servant Joseph, all things pertaining
to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the
place whereon it shall be built. * * * * And it
shall come to pass, that if you build a house unto my
name, and do not the things that I say, I will not
perform the oath which I make unto you ; neither
fulfil the promises which ye expect a,t my hands, saith

APPENDIX. 71

the Lord : for instead of blessings, ye by your own
works, bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and judg-
ment upon your own heads by your follies, and by all
your abominations which you practise before me,
saith the Lord."

PAGE 1 2. " In Palestine, &c."
The following is from the ' Times and Seasons' for
April 1st, 1842.

" Another letter has just come to hand from Elder
Hyde, dated Jaffa, Oct. He was then on his way
to Jerusalem, the date being much earlier than the
one inserted in another page. We have only room
for the following extract, which we publish as
among the most extraordinary signs of the times.
' On my passage from Beyroot to this place (Jaffa)
the night before last, at one o'clock, as I was medi-
tating on the deck of the vessel as she was beating
down against a sultry wind, a very bright glittering
sword appeared in the heavens, with a beautiful hilt,
as plain and complete as any cut you ever saw. And
what is still more remarkable, an arm with a perfect
hand, stretched itself out and took hold of the hilt
of the sword. The appearance really made my hair
rise, and my flesh, as it were, crawl on my bones.
The Arabs made a wonderful outcry at the sight.
Oh, Allah ! Allah ! was their exclamation all over
the vessel. I mention this, because you know there
is a commandment of God for me, which says, ' Unto
you it shall be given to know the signs of the times,
and the sign of the coming of the Son of man.'
Yours, in Christ,

ORSON HYDE."

72 APPENDIX.

PAGE 13. " Nauvoo House."
The following is a further extract from the " Reve-
lation" of January 19, 1841, quoted above.

" Verily, I say unto you, let ray servant George,
and my servant Lyman, and my servant John Snider,
and others, build a house unto my name, such an one
as my servant Joseph shall show unto them, upon
the place which he shall show unto them also. And
it shall be for a house of boarding, a house that
strangers may come from afar to lodge therein. * *
* * Let it be built unto my name, and let my name
be named upon it ; and let my servant Joseph and
his house have place therein, from generation to
generation. For this anointing have I put upon his
head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the
heads of his posterity after him ; and as I said unto
Abraham, even so I say unto my servant Joseph, in
thee and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the
earth be blessed. Therefore, let my servant Joseph
and his seed after him have place in that house from
generation to generation, for ever and ever, saith the
Lord ; and let the name of that house be called the
Nauvoo House, and let it be a delightful habitation
for man, and a resting-place for the weary traveller,
that he may contemplate the glory of Zion, and the
glory of this corner-stone thereof."

PAGE 22. " The writings of Abraham."
Smith's pretended version of these documents may
be found in the "Times and Seasons" for March 1,
and March 15, 1842, with the following heading :

" A Translation of some ancient Records that have

APPENDIX. 73

fallen into our hands from the Catacombs of Egypt,
purporting to be the writings of Abraham while he
was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written
by his own hand upon papyrus."

PAGE 25. " The Nauvoo Legion."

The subjoined will serve as a specimen of " General
Orders," issued by Joseph Smith, in his military ca-
pacity :

" Head Quarters. Nauvoo Legion, City of Nauvoo.
"May 25, A. D. 1841.

"The 1st Company (riflemen), 1st Battalion, 2nd
Regiment, 2nd Cohort, will be attached to the escort
contemplated in the general order of the 4th instant,
for the 3rd of July next. In forming the Legion,
the Adjutant will observe the rank of companies as
follows, to wit :

" 1st Cohort. — The flying artillery first, the lancers
next, and the riflemen next, visiting companies of
dragoons next the lancers, and cavalry next the
dragoons.

" 2nd Cohort. — the artillery first, the lancers next,
the riflemen next, the light-infantry next, visiting com-
panies in their appropriate places, on the right of the
troops of their own grade : the ranking company of
the 1st Cohort will be formed on the right of the said
Cohort, and the ranking company of the 2nd Cohort
will be formed on the left of the said Cohort, the
next on the right of the left ; and so on to the centre.
The escort will be formed on the right of the forces.
" JOHN C. BENNETT, " JOSEPH SMITH."
" Major-General, " Lieutenant- General."

74- APPENDIX.

PAGE 33. " The Mormons prefer miraculous aid
to medicine."

The following is abridged from a London paper :
— " On Wednesday an investigation was gone into
before Mr. Baker the coroner, at the Royal Oak,
Galway Street, St. Luke's, on the body of Eliza-
beth Morgan, aged fifty-five years, whose death was
alleged to have been caused through improper treat-
ment by unqualified persons. Maria Watkins said
she had known deceased about twelve months, and
on Tuesday week witness was sent for to attend
her. Witness found her very ill; but no medical
gentleman was called in, it being against the religi-
ous tenets of the sect to which the deceased belonged
to do so. The sect to which she belonged styled
themselves ' The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints,' their place of meeting being in Castle
street, Cow-cross. They treated their sick accord-
ing to a text taken from the last chapter of the Epistle
of St. James. Witness had known of healing under
such circumstances, but the deceased sank and died
on Saturday last. No surgeon was sent for. The
coroner said he hardly knew how to deal with the
case, as he had his doubts whether it was not one
of manslaughter. The jury, after some deliberation,
returned a verdict of ' Natural death/ with a hope
that the present inquiry would act as a caution for
the future."

PAGE 41. "The healing of the sick, the casting
out of devils," &c.

In the " Times and Seasons," vol. iii. p. 709. may
be found Joseph Smith's creed, in which are con-
tained the following articles : —

APPENDIX. 75

" We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy,
revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues,
&c." " We believe all that God has revealed, all
that He does now reveal, and we believe that He
will yet reveal many great and important things
pertaining to the kingdom of God."

PAGE 44. " A knot of designing persons."
Professor Turner of Illinois College, thus addresses
Joseph Smith.

" I have charitably sought to find some ground
for believing that you and your comrades were only
a new species of religious maniacs. I have sought
in vain. A man, however kindly disposed to think
well of you, after a thorough examination of your
career, might as well attempt to believe your reli-
gion, as to regard you in any other light than that
of a deliberate, cold-blooded, persevering deceiver.
I do not pretend that in the outset you even antici-
pated the final result. On the contrary, there is
abundant evidence that at first your aims rose no
higher than those of ordinary vagrants and jugglers.
You have not even the poor merit of either talent
or originality. Your highest aim has ever been to
crawl among the droves of reptile impostors who
have preceded you, and though your ignorance and
utter incapacity have not suffered you to turn aside
from their loathsome track, your fortunate union
with others of greater ability, who have entered into
your secrets, and the lamentable credulity of the
times, have enabled you to attain a more signal and
desolating success than most of your predeces-
sors,"

76 APPENDIX.

PAGE 44. " Mahomet" &c.

In the course of the trial of Joseph Smith and
others, for high treason against the state of Missouri,
George M. Hinkle testified as follows :

" I have heard Joseph Smith say, that he believed
Mahomet was a good man ; that the Koran was not
a true thing, but that the world belied Mahomet as
they belied him, and that Mahomet was a true pro-
phet."

John Corrill also testified that he had heard
Joseph Smith say publicly, " that if people molested
him he would establish his religion by the sword ;
and that he would become to this generation a second
Mahomet."

PAGE 47. " David was in hell."

In a report of Smith's sermon of May 16th, 1841,
in the "Times and Seasons" of June 1st, 1841, we
find the annexed passage : —

" Even David must wait for the times of refresh-
ing before he can come forth and his sins be blotted
out ; for Peter speaking of him says, ' David hath
not ascended into heaven, for his sepulchre is
with us to this day : ' his remains were then in the
tomb. Now we read that many bodies of the Saints
arose at Christ's resurrection, probably all the Saints,
but it seems that David did not. Why ? because he
had been a murderer."

PAGE 47. " He descended in America and preached
the Gospel to the Indians."

See Book of Mormon, 5th chapter of Nephi. " And
now it came to pass that there were a great multi-
tude gathered together of the people of Nephi ; . * *

APPENDIX. 77

* * and they cast their eyes up towards heaven, and
behold they saw a man descending out of heaven ;
he was clothed in a white robe, and he came down
and stood in the midst of them, and the eyes of
the whole multitude was turned upon him, * * * and
it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and
spake unto the people saying : ' Behold I am Jesus
Christ of which the prophets testified that should come
into the world, and behold I am the light and life of
the world, and I have drank out of that bitter cup
which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the
Father, in taking upon me the sins of the world.' "

PAGE 55. " Baptism for the dead."
Joseph Smith says in an article on this subject in
the "Times and Seasons," for April 15th, 1842.

" What has become of our fathers ? will they be
damned for not obeying the Gospel, when they never
heard it ? Certainly not. But they will possess the
same privilege that we here enjoy through the medium
of the everlasting priesthood, which not only adminis-
ters in earth, but in heaven, * * * they will come out
of their prison upon the same principle as those
who were disobedient in the days of Noah were
visited by our Saviour, * * * and in order that they
might fulfil all the requisitions of God, their living
friends were baptized for their dead friends, and thus
fulfilled the requirements of God : ' Except a man
be born again of water, and of the Spirit, he can in
no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven ;' they
were baptized of course, not for themselves, but for
their dead. Crysostum says, that the Marchionites *

* This is the prophet's own orthography.

78 APPENDIX.

practised baptism for the dead, ' after a catechumen
was dead, they hid a living man under the bed of
the deceased; then coming to the dead man, they
asked him whether he would receive baptism ; and
he making no answer, the other answered for him,
and said that he would be baptized in his stead, — and
so they baptized the living for the dead."

It appears by the above extract, that the prophet
is beginning (in his own way) to quote the fathers.

PAGE 57. " The amiable and patient missionary
bishop of Missouri," &c.

It is pleasing to turn from Joseph Smith, to the
contemplation of the truly estimable person in
question. Bishop Kemper is of German descent ;
his immediate ancestors having emigrated from
Manheim on the Rhine. For many years he was
assistant minister to the late bishop White, in the
parochial charge of Christ- Church, Philadelphia.
He was subsequently elected and consecrated by the
House of Bishops, as the first missionary bishop.
The expenses of his mission are borne by the com-
mittee for domestic missions in the United States.
He is absolutely without a home, being almost per-
petually engaged in visiting various portions of the
enormous region committed to his ecclesiastical
superintendence. A more difficult field of mission-
ary duty can scarcely be imagined.

PAGE 57. " Keraper College."

This institution is the most western Protestant
Episcopal college in the world, being nearly half-way
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The main

APPENDIX. 79

building was completed externally during the year
1841, Bishop Kemper having solicited and obtained
funds for the purpose, to the amount of twenty-five
thousand dollars, from zealous Christians in New
York and Philadelphia. In the same year a consi-
derable amount of valuable books was presented to
the college by pious individuals in England, as well
as by several of the great Societies. The object of
the college, is the preparation of young men for the
ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and,
under the enlightened and active presidency of the
Rev. E. C. Hutchinson, it bids fair ultimately to realize
the sanguine expectations of the Church.

PAGE 57. "The Mormon University."
Under an act of the Illinois legislature, incorporat-
ing the city of Nauvoo, the following provisions are
found : —

" Sec. 24. The city council may establish and
organize an institution of learning within the limits
of the city, for the teaching of the arts, sciences, and
learned professions, to be called the ' University of
the city of Nauvoo/ which institution shall be under
the control and management of a board of trustees,
consisting of a chancellor, registrar, and twenty-three
regents, which board shall thereafter be a body
corporate and politic, with perpetual succession, by
the name of the chancellor and regents of the uni-
versity of the city of Nauvoo, * * * provided that the
trustees shall at all times be appointed by the city
council, and shall have all the powers and privileges
for the advancement of the cause of education, which

80 APPENDIX.

appertain to the trustees of any other college or
university of this state."

PAGE 58. " Few attach themselves to the Church
in America."

The indifference of the poorer class of English
emigrants to the Church of their fathers is truly
lamentable. The Roman Catholic emigrant, however
poor or friendless, retains his attachment to his faith.
The German Lutheran is firm in his allegiance to the
principles which he held in the land of his nativity.
The same may be said of the Scottish Presbyterian,
and of the Irish and Scottish Episcopalian. But the
English labourer, mechanic, or small farmer, on his
arrival in the United States, too often forgets his
churchmanship, and, through ignorance or careless-
ness, readily connects himself with any schismatic
conventicle which may be at hand.

THE MORMON CREED.

THE Mormon Creed, as published by Joseph
Smith himself, is given below. (See " Times and
Seasons," vol. iii. p. 709.)

" We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in
his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

" We believe that men will be punished for their
own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

" We believe that through the atonement of Christ
all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws
and ordinances of the gospel.

APPENDIX. 81

" We believe that these ordinances are, 1st, Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ ; 2nd, Repentance : 3rd,
Baptism by immersion, for the remission of sins ;
4th, Laying on of hands, for the gift of the Holy
Ghost.

" We believe that a man must be called of God
by prophecy, and by laying on of hands by those
who are in authority, to preach the Gospel, and ad-
minister in the ordinances thereof.

" We believe in the same organization that existed
in the primitive church, viz, Apostles, Prophets, Pas-
tors, Teachers, Evangelists, &c.

" We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy,
revelation, visions, healing, interpreting of tongues,
&c.

" We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, as
far as it is translated correctly ; we also believe the
Book of Mormon to be the Word of God.

" We believe all that God has revealed, all that
he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet
reveal many great and important things pertaining
to the kingdom of God.

" We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and
in the restoration of the Ten Tribes ; that Zion will
be built upon this continent ; that Christ will reign
personally upon the earth ; and that the earth will
be renewed, and receive its paradisaic glory.

" We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty
God according to the dictates of our conscience, and
allow all men the same privilege, let them worship
how, where, or what they may.

" We believe in being subject to kings, presidents,

82 AI'PKNDTX.

rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honouring, and
sustaining the law.

" We believe in being honest, true, chaste, bene-
volent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men ; in-
deed we may say that we follow the admonition of
Paul, ' we believe all things, we hope all things ;' we
have endured many things, and hope to be able to
endure all things. If there is anything virtuous,
lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek
after these things."

Joseph Smith, by his own account, was born in
the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont
(U. S.), on the 23rd of December, 1805.

THE END.

GIMJEUI & RIVINCJTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London.

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