OCT 31 1968
MORMONISM IN ALL AGES :
RISE, PROGRESS, AND CAUSES
DEC 7 1917
. MORMONISM;
WITH THE
BIOGRAPHY OF ITS AUTHOR AND FOUNDER,
JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR,
BY PROFESSOR J. B. TURNER,
ILLINOIS COLLEGE, JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
AND THAT PROPHET, OR THAT DREAMER OF DREAMS, SHALL BE
PUT TO DEATH." Deut. xUl. 5.
" WHEREFORE REBUKE THEM SHARPLY." TitUS, t. 13.
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY PLATT & PETERS,
OFFICE OF AMERICAN EIBLICAL REPOSITORY AND AMERICAN ECLECTIC, BRICK
CHURCH CHAPEL, 36 PARK ROW, FRONTING THE CITY HALL.
LONDON : WILEY & PUTNAM,
35 PATERNOSTER ROW.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by
Platt & Peters,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of
New-York.
INTRODUCTION.
The Mormons boast of one hundred thousand adhe-
rents in this country, and more than ten thousand in Great
Britain, where their faith is making rapid progress. This
may be an exaggeration ; but, at all events, it is time the
absurdities of their scheme were exposed. They are, in truth,
the most dangerous and virulent enemies to our political and
religious purity, and our social and civil peace, that now exist
in the Union : not so much, however, on the ground of their
direct, as of their indirect influence. The ravages in the
front of their march are far less to be dreaded, than the moral
pestilence which follows them. The bubbles of fanaticism,
it is true, leap and sparkle around their prow, but the dull
and sullen waves of atheism roll, and spread wide, in their
wake behind. It has ever been true that they have made
one hundred infidels to every dozen converts. This fact has
not been properly heeded. There is much reason to believe
that many of their popular leaders are at heart infidels.
Those who can believe that skeptical and ambitious men, who
could not be converted to Christianity, have been really made
to believe in Joe Smith, may do so if they choose. The mul-
titudes who fall into their ranks and retire, are, in general,
reduced to absolute atheism. Some are recovered again :
many are not,but sink into still deeper and stronger delusions.
In their public addresses, nothing is more common than
to hear them defend the Book of Mormon, in promiscuous
assemblies, by attacking and ridiculing the Bible, either
directly or indirectly. Their object generally is to show that
if the Book of Mormon is ridiculous, in whole or in part, the
Bible is so too. By these and similar processes, they succeed
in affecting the minds of the thoughtless multitude with the
4 INTRODUCTION*
vague impression that the Book of Mormon is at least as truly
of divine authority as the Bible. A few receive both, as
divine ; a far greater number make up their minds to have
nothing to do with either.
Even the most pious and devout members of the professed
church of the Mormons labor hard, at all times and in all
places, to show that " if the gifts of miracle, healing, pro-
phecy, &c, are not still in the true church, the Bible must
be false.*' To the ignorant, everywhere, they make this
appear plausible. They then show that no church pretends
to these gifts except their own, while they themselves still
fail, totally, to exhibit them to the public. Yet they claim to
possess these gifts, and bring forward witnesses from among
the initiated, who testify that they have seen them exercised.
Thousands are convinced by this argument that the Bible is
false, and perhaps tens that Mormonism is true. Hence we
find the books of Smith in the houses and hands of infidels,
who will neither read nor tolerate the Bible : and no class are
so full of charity, sympathy, and compassion for the Mormons,
as avowed unbelievers in the divine authority of the Scrip-
tures, or downright Atheists. The secret is here : by tolera-
ting the dreamy visions of Joe Smith, they are enabled with
more ease to dispense with Jesus Christ and his doctrines.
Mormonism always fights with desperation; and, if it can-
not save its own life, it resolves to stab all other faiths, good
and bad. Here lies another of the secrets both of its triumphs
and its havoc. It throws multitudes into this predicament.
It urges them to feel and to say — " We must be either Mormons
or Deists." Some dread the latter; many more shrink back
from the former. It concentrates all its energies, to throw the
minds of those who will listen to its appeals, at once, and at all
hazards, into such a position. Can any'one, of common sense,
doubt the result, whether it were publicly apparent or not ?
The author of this volume has desired to meet and repulse
both of the above tendencies of the Mormon scheme. He
INTRODUCTION. 5
has aimed to place the Bible and the Book of Mormon in their
true relative positions ; and to show that the distance which
separates them is infinite ; the one proceeding from the light
of heaven, the other from the chaos and darkness of the pit.
He has no personal ill-will towards any of the Mormons.
As neighbors and fellow-citizens, he would desire, in all his
social intercourse with them, to treat them with kindness and
respect. But to treat their opinions, or their books, in a simi-
lar manner, is beyond the reach of his capacity. Nor does
he believe that the public good either requires or admits it.
" Soft answers may turn away wrath," but they cannot cure
fanatics. Tjie faith of the Mormons, and the practices by
which it has been propagated, are of a class, which, " to be
hated, needs but to be seen" in their true light. They re-
quire, therefore, to be exposed. Their Prophet complains that
others have called him an impostor and a knave. It will be
for himself and others to judge, whether this book does not
frove him such. What course he and his friends may take
in reference to it, is uncertain. They may pass it by in silent,
affected contempt. They may call it all so many " dissen-
ters' and Gentiles' lies." They may also hunt out all the
errors, misprints, and misquotations, or inaccurate references,
which doubtless will be found here, as well as in the inspired
works of Smith, and array these, as a specimen of the whole
argument, before their credulous readers. There is one
thing, however, they will not do : they will not recommend the
book as it is, to the perusal of their followers, as a means
of strengthening their faith. Yet they may even •pretend to
do this, in order to falsify our prediction. As in the game of
" outwitting the devil," which we shall have occasion to state,
a few months reflection will doubtless enable Smith's divinity
to hit upon the most prudent course, whether silence, or con-
tempt, or review.
Like all other fanaticisms, Mormonism is adapted in its
own nature to awaken either the indignation and contempt,
6 INTRODUCTION.
or the sympathy and compassion of mankind. It is not the
design of this book to excite the latter ; but rather, by in-
voking the former, to exterminate, if possible, that silly
credulity on which all similar delusions rest. The folly of
Mormonism and the Mormons, and the turpitude of their
leaders, are the principal themes of our pages. We leave
to others the appropriate task of bewailing the miseries and.
ruin of this strange and extravagant enthusiasm.
The chapter on " Fanaticisms" may seem to some useless ;
to others harsh, misanthropic, and injurious. But there are
particular reasons for presenting the subject of human cre-
dulity in its most gross and revolting aspects, aside from its
direct bearing on Mormonism. Skeptical writers often in-
sinuate, that if Christians only knew what they know of hu-
man credulity, it would destroy their belief in all forms of
faith, Christianity not excepted. There is therefore an ad-
vantage in admitting, in the outset, even more than they
claim on this point, and expressing it in terms equally severe;
not only because it is true, but also because it prepares the
way more effectually to demolish and annihilate their absurd
inferences from that truth. The facts presented, both in this
and the other chapters, are indeed far more numerous than
it would be either needful or proper to quote in a strictly phi-
losophical essay on these subjects. But if we would increase
the real power of true religion, we must first weaken popu-
lar credulity. To accomplish this we must exhibit facts.
Mere reasoning, with a bare allusion to the facts, can never
produce the desired effect in the mass of minds. Again, we
ought to take out of the hands of the skeptic the immense ad-
vantage which he gains,, in first presenting such facts, and
then wielding them as arguments against Christianity, by
pretending that Christians are either ignorant of them, or
afraid to allude to them. " We, the philosophers," say they,
" will give you facts, equally as wonderful as any pretend-
ed miracles, which the priests strive to keep you ignorant of."
INTRODUCTION. 7
The skeptic should not have this advantage. Better to give
him his rope, and then strangle him with the knots which he
ties with his own hands.
Chapter fourth presents only an outline, and by no means
a full view, of the proper evidences of Christianity. In giving
up human testimony entirely, as a proper basis of religious
faith, it may strike some minds that we must also give up
Christianity. It is hoped that this chapter will lead them to
such reflections as will show that they are mistaken — that
they have really no ground for any such fear.
The chapters on the history, books, and faith of the Mor-
mons may s*eem still more objectionable to many — on the
ground that the subjects are often treated with too much harsh-
ness and levity. The reader is requested to consider, in the
first place, that it is difficult to make that which is in its own
nature ridiculous, appear respectable, when truly presented ;
and that, it is indeed hard to reason down, by mere argument,
what has in no manner been reasoned up. To those who
can appreciate sound reason these chapters are unnecessary.
But to the multitudes who are endangered by Mormonism
mere reason can do no good. Throwing aside all other con-
siderations, the author, in these chapters, has endeavored so
to present the subject, that its inherent grossness and absurd-
ity may be felt, even by those whose reason cannot perceive
the truth. He would not simply arm them with arguments,
but with what, in many cases, is more powerful than argu-
ments — with contempt. A Mormon, it is believed, will find
it difficult either to reason with, or to proselyte any man who
has read this book, however unlearned he may be. This
opinion is based not on conjecture, but on actual experiment.
By most, probably, the seeming spirit of the book will be
deemed its greatest fault. It is hoped, however, that what
may seem useless and even offensive to some, may prove
useful to others. The subject is peculiar : the classes of
minds to be influenced are equally peculiar : and if the au-
8 INTRODUCTION.
thor has wholly missed his aim, he hopes some one more able^
and more successful, will soon supply the deficiency. There
is need of it. Yet all must be aware that to write a book
on such a subject is indeed a thankless task.
The present volume is the work of a few weeks' leisure.
Neither other duties, nor the merits of the subject, would
allow of expending either time or thought on mere style, as
such. It is not probable that any able critic will trouble
himself to read, much less to review, what is here written.
If he should, he will probably find, so far as style is con-
cerned, much to condemn, and little to approve. The ordi-
nary reader, it is hoped, will pardon the book as it is ; and,
if his taste is sometimes offended, apply himself more exclu-
sively to the thought : if that is generally understood, it is all
the author has found time to attempt, and more, probably,
than he has performed. If the book in any degree tends to
strengthen rational faith, and annihilate its antagonist credu-
lity, it will be all that can be hoped from it. Proximity to
the evil, disgust with its authors, abhorrence of their impu-
dent perfidy, their political intrigues, and pretended sanctity,
together with the constant fear of an impending civil war,
may induce those near at hand, both to think, feel, and speak
with greater severity, than others, more remote, may judge
either wise or expedient.
It is by no means intended, however, that the great body
of the Mormons are obnoxious to these charges. They are,
in general, an ignorant, simple, honest, industrious, deluded
people. But their leaders are not deluded. They know
perfectly well the full scope of their own perfidious aims ;
which, absurd as they may seem to some, are neither more
nor less than a religious monarchy in these free states, of
which they themselves are to be the centres and the demigods.
Mormonism, if suffered to spread extensively, and unite
with Atheism and Romanism, its natural allies, will soon have
power to disturb, not single states only, but the entire Union.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM.
4
Mormon Works— Smith's conversion— Vision— Obtains the plates
—Employs Harris— Mode of translation— His books— New Bi-
ble — First Mormon church — Union with Rigdon, in Ohio —
Rigdon's doctrines and spasms— His conversion and baptism
—Removal of the church to Ohio— Kirtland miracles— Reflec-
tions on the real origin of the Mormon doctrines, and the
causes of their original success . . . .13
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF MORMONISM, CONTINUED
Endowment and journey to Missouri — Multitude of elders and
proselytes — Character of proselytes— Gift of tongues— Big firm,
banks, temple, study of Hebrew, &c— Mormon pentecost—
Removal to Mt. Zion, Mo. — Mob at Jackson co. — Consequent
revelation to Smith — Army of Zion — Retreats— Disturbance in
Caldwell— Salt Sermon— The Danites— Poisoning the wells—
The Destructionists — Rigdon's famous Fourth of July oration
— The prophet's harangue at the head of his troops — Expul-
sion of the Mormons from Missouri — Tragedy at How's Mills
— Mob law — Arrival of the Mormons at Quincy — Number and
progress of the Mormons — Charters — Result of persecution —
10 CONTENTS.
Authorities, proclamations, recent revelations, and present de-
signs of Smith — New temple — Baptism for the dead — Polls —
Dangers of civil war . . . . .34
CHAPTER III.
COMPARISON OF MORMONISM WITH SIMILAR FANATICISMS.
Instinct of faith — Instinct of independence — Desire of power —
Operation of these to produce general credulity and fanaticism
— False Messiahs — Peculiar analogous fanaticisms — Serpenti-
nians — Millenarians — Circoncelleones — Stylites — Eonites — Be-
ghards — Quietists — Whippers, Dancers, Jumpers, and men of
Understanding — Anabaptists — Davidists — Illuminati — Knip-
perdolings — Madame Bourignon — Seekers — Muggletonians —
Camisards — Falling Swords — Swedenborgians — Salem witch-
craft — Glassites — Ann Lee — Jemima Wilkinson — Joanna
Southcote — Richard Brothers — French infidels — Mad, Thom,
Dilks, Davidson, Miss Campbell, Irving, Matthias, and Joe
Smith — Successive crops of fanatics, and causes — General
agreement of fanatics — The bottle conjurer — Love of exciting
marvels — Rule for fanatics . . . .65
CHAPTER IV.
GROUNDS OF THE CREDIBILITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION.
Grounds of caution — Charter of freedom — Basis of false schemes
of faith — 1. Force — 2. Sympathy — 3. Fanatical experience —
4. Human testimony — God's judgment of — Value of testimony
— Puerility of skeptics — True grounds of religious belief— Ex-
istence of the Deity — Personal experience — Inherent truth of
Christianity — Objections, interpolations, &c. — Proofs from in-
evitable inference — God's mode of furnishing the facts — Man's
mode of explaining them — Origin of the Bible — Authority of
the Bible — Laws of nature — Moral necessity of miracles —
CONTENTS. 11
Hume's sophism — Examples of facts to be explained — Con-
clusion ....... 110
CHAPTER V.
CLAIMS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON TO CREDIBILITY AND AUTHORITY.
Its claims — Character of Smith — Contrasted with Moses — The
sainted twelve of Smith— Testimony of Smith's three witness-
es — Character of Harris by Smith — by his own wife — Charac-
ter of Cowdery and Whitmer by Smith — by others — Capacity
of witnesses — Eye of faith, power of God, &c. — Disinterested-
ness of witnesses — Testimony of the eight witnesses — Smith's
mode of translation ...... 149
CHAPTER VI.
CLAIMS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON TO CREDIBILITY AND AUTHORITY,
CONTINUED.
Evidence from prophecy — Internal evidence — Jared's barges; —
One hundred and sixteen pages stolen — Patent English — Style,
authorship, and titles— Real origin of the Book of Mormon-
Origin of the stone spectacles — Smith's four years' vacation —
Testimony of John Spaulding — of Henry Lake — The Spauld-
ing Manuscript — Smith's meeting with Harris — Probable mode
of acquiring the book — Wonderful providences — War with
Missouri yet to come ..... 182
CHAPTER VII.
ORGANIZATION AND DOCTRINES OF THE MORMONS.
The two priesthoods — First presidency, &c— Powers of Smith-
Number of Dignitaries— Doctrines of faith— Trinity— Mormon
sacrifice of all things — Miracles — Gifts of healing, prophets,
&c. — Casting out devils — Hierarchy — Witness of the Spirit —
Equality with God— Pre-existence— Preaching— Creeds— Real
12 CONTENTS.
belief of Mormons — Suppressed and altered revelations — Pa-
triarchal blessings ...... 223
CHAPTER VIII.
PROGRESS OF MORMONISM — ITS CAUSES, ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS
EXAMPLES.
Morbid imagination — Morbid emotions — Popular errors as regards
human testimony — as regards influences of Holy Spirit — St.
Bernard — Land pirate-^Sympathetic convulsions — Black-death
in Germany — Terantismus in Italy — Tigretia of Abyssinia —
Tremblers of Cevennes, and Camisards — Convulsions of St
Medcord — Animal Magnetism — Convulsions at Harlsem — at
Anglesea and Unst — Kirk officer — English factory — Revivals
at Everton, Cambuslang, and Kentucky — Jerks, Barks, and Mor-
mons — Philosophy of these phenomena — Consequences of ab-
surd opinions — Internal revelations, visions, raptures, holy
comforts, &c. — Old Monks — Art of dreaming — Marvellous ex-
perience of the Mormons — Sectarianism — Mystic interpreta-
tion — Mystic and Mormon deity — Mormon facility of argument
I — War on human nature — Gifts of healing — Dr. Gerbi's bugs
— Scurvy at Pruda — Perkins' metallic tractors; — Prophet Aus-
' tin — These cures not miracles — Mormons increase through
neglect — Policy of their leaders . 249
MORMONISM IN ALL AGES.
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MORMONISM.
Mormon Works — Smith's conversion — Vision — Obtains the plates — Em,
ploys Harris — Mode of translation — His books — New Bible— First
Mormon church — Union with Rigdon, in Ohio — Rigdon's doctrines
and spasms — His conversion and baptism — Removal of the church to
Ohio — Kirtland miracles— Reflections on the real origin of the Mor-
mon doctrines, and the causes of their original success.
Though the Mormons profess that all their members
are personally inspired, and directed of the Lord in all
they do, in proportion to their individual faith, still they
have but two books which claim to be pre-eminently
Divine Revelations, viz., the Book of Mormon and the
Book of Doctrines and Covenants, both the offspring
of J. Smith.
Besides these, they have several other books of great
authority and influence in the church, as Pratt's Voice
of Warning, reserved volumes and numbers of their
past and present periodicals, from the early history of
their church to the present day — e. g., Morning and
Evening Star ; Messenger and Advocate ; Elders'
Journal, together with numerous pamphlets, published
occasionally, in defence of their church, by their leading
elders and functionaries.
14 smith's conversion.
The Book of Mormon was first published by J.
Smith, 1830, at Palmyra, N. York, and professes to be
the foundation of their whole scheme ; in short, a new
revelation from God, containing " the fulness of the
gospel of Jesus Christ," by which God shall " work a
great and marvellous work," " bringing to nought the
wisdom of the wise," " gather the children of Israel,"
and " convince Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the
Christ."*
Smith's account of the manner in which he dis-
covered the golden plates, from which he translated
the Book of Mormon, is as follows.
In the year 1 823, when our prophet was about seven-
teen years of age, his mind became, for the first time,
deeply excited on the subject of religion, by Mr. Lane,
a devoted and talented elder of the Methodist church,
under whose preaching there was " a great awakening,"
and numbers, among whom were our prophet and
several members of his family, were " professedly
added to the kingdom of the Lord." After the revival
ceased, the usual strife for proselytes between the
several sects commenced ; this resulted, so far as the
Smiths were concerned, in bringing the mother, one
sister, and two brothers into the Presbyterian church ;
but leaving Joseph, as he states, in disgust with all the
sects, and almost in despair of ever coming to the
knowledge of the truth, amid so many contradictory
and conflicting claims. He resorted to prayer for " a
full manifestation of Divine approbation," and " for the
assurance that he was accepted of him." This occurred
some time in the winter of 1823.
* Sec titlepage ; also the words of the angel to J. Smith. Messen-
ger and Advocate, Vol. I. p. 198.
the angel's appearance. 15
On the memorable evening of the 21st of September
following, after the rest of the family had retired,
while engaged in meditation, watching, and prayer to
God, suddenly his room was filled with light, " far more
pure and glorious than the light of day," and above the
brightness of the sun, when lo ! a form stood before
him, whose face was as lightning, and whose person
beamed forth still more refulgent and unutterable splen-
dor. This personage was of somewhat more than
ordinary size, his garments were pure white, and appa-
rently without seam. This angel (as he proved to be)
proceeded to inform Smith that his sins were forgiven,
and that the Lord had chosen him to bring forth and
translate the Book of Mormon, which one Moroni, the
last of the Nephites, of the seed of Israel, had abridged
from the records of his tribe, and engraved on plates
of gold, and deposited in a stone box upon the hill
Camorah, in Manchester, N. Y., about three miles
from his father's house, where said records had already
laid deposited about 1400 years.* Notwithstanding
all these marvels were twice repeated before morning,
and definite instructions given, still Smith says that the
next day he went to his "labor as usual." (?) Soon
the messenger re-appeared, and warned him to go
immediately to the spot described, in search of the plates.f
He went, and found them deposited in a box of stone,
near the surface of the earth, nicely secured both from
air and moisture, by means of a peculiar cement applied
to the joints of the box. The plates were thin leaves of
gold, six or eight inches square, and held together at
one edge by metallic rings passing through each leaf.
On removing the slight deposit of earth, and the
* See B. of M., p. 529. t See Mess, and Adv. p. 156.
16 SMITH AND THE PLATES.
stone from the top, he attempted to take possession of
the records or plates ; but he received a shock which
not only frustrated his attempt, but also deprived him
of his natural strength. This was repeated three
times, until finally he involuntarily exclaimed aloud,
"Why cannot I obtain this book?" Suddenly the
angel of the Lord appears, and informs him, that it
was because he had on his way to the hill indulged in
mercenary thoughts and desires in regard to enriching
himself and his family by the possession of the plates,
and the sale of the wonderful book he was about to
translate therefrom.
He resorted to prayer ; and again " the heavens
were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone around
him." Satan and his hosts passed before him, and the
angel proceeded to instruct him still further, declaring
that he must desire to obtain and translate the plates
solely for the glory of God, and the good of his fellow
man, without any selfish or pecuniary desires, either in
relation to himself or his family, else his gift and power
would be taken from him.
However, he was not permitted to take the plates at
this time ; but after listening to a long discourse from
the angel, he withdrew, and engaged in the service of
a man by the name of Stowell, who resided in the
town of Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. York. Stowell
employed him, as Smith says, " to dig for a cave of
silver, secreted by the Spaniards" near Harmony, Penn.,
where he first became acquainted with Miss Emma
Hale, daughter of Isaac Hale, Esq., of that place.
He spent some months, with several others, in search
of this treasure, as he states, in the employ of Stowell.*
* See Adv. Vol. I. p. 100
SMITH EMPLOYS HARRIS. 17
Four years after this memorable 22d of September,
1823, i. e. on the 22d of September, 1827, the angel
of the Lord delivered the records or plates of the Ne-
phites to Joseph Smith, and with them the mystic
" Urim and Thummim," or two stones set in a bow,
found in the same box with the plates ; by looking
through these, he was to be enabled to translate the
record from the reformed Egyptian, in which unknown
tongue they were first written, into what he calls the
English language.
As regards his history and employment during these
four years, we must look to other sources for informa-
tion, which we shall do hereafter. The reader will, in
the mean time, bear in mind this story of Smith himself.
Neither are we told who covered and secured the box
again, although we are advised that these four years
of the prophet's life did not roll away without their
appropriate marvels ; all which matters, together with
the events of the foregoing history, were related and
varied to suit the exigencies of the case, until the year
1834, when the history was first interlarded with pro-
phetic declarations of the angel, which had already
been fulfilled, the whole story new vamped, stereotyped,
and given to the world for the edification of the saints,
in the columns of the Messenger and Advocate, under
the supervision of Smith, and by the hand of Oliver
Cowdery, in substance as above narrated.
Martin Harris, the first dupe and coadjutor of
Smith, at the time of these transactions, (in the fall of
1827,) gave a very different account of the whole
matter, on the authority of Smith, to the editor of the
Episcopal Recorder, to which I shall refer the reader,
instead of repeating the story here. Of the character
. 2*
18 MODE OF TRANSLATION.
of Harris I shall speak hereafter. However, Smith
persuaded Harris to engage with him in translating and
publishing the book, which ultimately cost Harris a
farm, worth, as it is said, $10,000.
At this time, Smith himself was both poor and
unable to write for the press ; Harris therefore loaned
him his estate for expenditures, and his hand as a
scribe.
According to one account given by Mr. Harris,
Joseph suspended a thick blanket across the room, on
one side of which he sat and looked through his Urim
and Thummim, or stone spectacles, and the Lord
caused the correct translation of the mystic record to
pass before his eyes, word for word, which he (Joseph)
uttered aloud, a word at a time, while Harris sat on
the other side of the blanket, and wrote down all as
he heard it from Smith.
Of course the divine wrath was denounced against
all who should attempt to gain a view of the plates,
except Smith. This kept Martin in his place, though
not without some trouble, as sundry revelations* show
in. the Book of Covenants ; until he finally gave place
to Oliver Cowdery, as scribe, by whose aid the book
was completed and published in 1830, three years after
the pretended reception of the plates ; thus giving
from 1823, when the plates were discovered, to 1827,
when they were obtaiued, four years, for general
scheming, and three years for translation, from '27 to
'30.
Various other stories have been circulated as regards
the manner of translation ; e. g., it is said by the Mor-
mons that Smith put his stones into his hat, and placed
* See Book of Cov. §32.
BOOKS OF SMITH. 19
his face close to them, and thus saw the words through
the stones ; in reference to which only one thing is im-
portant to be noted, to wit : they all agree in making
the Lord responsible not only for the thought, but also
for the language of the book, from the necessity of the
case, for they all claim that the words passed before
Smith's eyes while looking through the pellucid stones.
The reader will please bear this in mind while read-
ing the chapter on internal evidence.
The Book of Mormon is a duodecimo volume of 588
pages, consisting of fifteen different books, purporting
to be written at different times by the authors whose
names they bear. These historical books profess to
cover a period of about 1000 years, from the time of
Zedekiah, king of Judea, to A. D. 420.
It is not my purpose to give even an outline of this
bundle of gibberish, further than to remark, that it pro-
fesses to trace the history of the aborigines of this con-
tinent, in their apostasies, pilgrimages, trials, adven-
tures, and wars, from the time of their leaving Jerusa-
lem, in the reign of Zedekiah, under one Lehi, down
to their final disaster, near the hill Camorah, N. Y.,
where Smith found his bible ; in which final contest,
according to the prophet Moroni, about 230,000 were
slain in a single battle, and he alone escaped to tell the
tale. All which we learn, through Joseph Smith, by
means of the plates and stones already mentioned.
Did not this book claim divine authority, it would
perhaps be about as harmless as the same amount of
nonsense could well be, and might be read with no
direct evil, excepting loss of time.
The Book of Covenants and Revelations, as it is
called, contains about 250 pages, 18mo.
20 BOOKS OF SMITH.
The first seventy-five pages contain a series of seven
lectures on faith, with questions and answers appended
to each, touching peculiar doctrines of the church.
Part second is mainly occupied with professed reve-
lations given at sundry times, by God, to J. Smith,
respecting the translation of the Book of Mormon, the
organization, doctrines, and government of the church ;
management of its finances, sending forth preachers,
building temples and dwellings for Smith,*' removing
to the West, founding Mt. Zion in Missouri, and
purchasing lands there, for an everlasting posses-
sion, (?) transferring town-lots, tavern-houses, joint
stock, tan-yards, chewing tobacco, doctoring cows,
feeding horses, hogs, and hens ; in short, revelations
touching all those spiritual matters, in which Joe
Smith's divinity, in this latter-day glory of the church,
appears to have felt a deep and peculiar interest. This
is truly the black book of Mormonism.
The whole design of it, from beginning to end, is, to
concentrate power and resources around Joe Smith and
his compeers, and to swindle the poor fools who believe
it divinely inspired, at once out of their money and
their wits. It has really exerted a thousand fold more
influence, on the doctrines and destinies of the Mormon
church, than all other books put together ; still it is
usually kept in the background, and the Book of Mor-
mon thrown forward, as their main authority, next after
the Bible. True, its main design is tolerably concealed,
though sufficiently apparent to any man who will
compare the several revelations with the actual con-
dition and history of the church at the time they were
given. But more of this hereafter.
* B. C. p. 189.
21 NEW BIBLE.
Parley P. Pratt's " Voice of Warning" does not pro-
fess peculiar inspiration, but is considered by the Mor-
mons as the most able exposition and defence of their
peculiar doctrines, especially those which they derive
from the prophecies and those which pertain to the
" kingdom of God," or, the organization of the church.
Smith has another work of considerable importance
and interest in manuscript, parts of which only have as
yet been given to the world. This is a new edition
of the Holy Scriptures, " Translated through the power
and gift of, God," " by Joseph Smith, jr., the Prophet
of the Jford." But how translated ? Does Smith un-
derstand either Hebrew or Greek ? Not at all : but
he can read or translate any thing, through his famous
stones, even the gibberish, which the Mormons mumble
over, when they are endowed with the marvellous
"gift of tongues," of which so much " hath been spoken."
The truth is, Smith at first knew so little of what
was in the Bible, which he professed to believe, that he
had not proceeded far, before a new translation of that
was indispensable, to save both him and his cause from
utter disgrace and ruin.
Accordingly in this new edition, whole verses and al-
most entire chapters are added to the original text as occa-
sion requires. In proof of which, compare the 34th of
Exodus and the 24th of Matthew with this new trans-
lation. But as these examples may not be accessible
to some, I will refer to those extracts quoted from the
"new translation" in the Book of Covenants, p. 13, et
seq. ; in which few verses, taken from the first chapters
of Genesis, the doctrines of the trinity, viz., Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, also of the atonement of sacrifices,
22 MORMON CHURCHES.
and their import, are fully set forth by the angel of the
Lord to Adam.
Is this from the Hebrew text, or from Smith's stone
spectacles ? Still these are far from being the worst
examples of this new translation; they are only referred
to as being most universally at hand. I fear Joseph
will have to make several translations more, before he
will succeed in making the Bible, in whole or in part,
accord either with the Mormon bible, or the Book of
Covenants, or with the Mormon hierarchy and church
government.
It is wise to keep this new translation in manuscript,
for the special use of the " saints." The profane eyes of
the Gentiles might see more in it than is written, even
though much more is written than ever was found in
the original text. People who have not faith never
exercise a sound and devout discretion in such matters.
" But the Lord knoweth them that are his." So says
Joseph Smith ; and it is kind to reserve now and then
a sweet morsel for their special benefit, especially as
he is the authorized prophet of God, " to all nations,
kindreds, people, and tongues."
The remaining periodicals and pamphlets of this sect
need no further notice here.
Immediately after the translation of the Book of
Mormon, i. e. on the 6th of April, 1830, the first Mor-
mon church was organized in Manchester, N. Y., with
only six members, viz., Joseph Smith, sen., Hyrum
Smith, Samuel Smith, the father and brothers of the
prophet, Oliver Cowdery, scribe to Smith, Joseph
Knight, and the prophet. Of these, of course, Joseph
Smith, jun., the prophet, was " called and ordained an
apostle of Jesus Christ," and first elder of the new
MORMON CHURCHES. 23
church, which afterwards assumed the title of the
" Church of Latter Day Saints." Oliver Cowdery, the
scribe, was, with like propriety, appointed second elder.*
Soon after, a branch was established at Fayette, and
the June following, another in Colesville, N. Y., not far
from Bainbridge, where Joseph was employed in 1823,
by Stowell, to dig for money as we have seen.
Twenty were added to the churches in Manchester
and Fayette in the month of April, and on the 28th of
June following, thirteen were added in Colesville.
In October, 1830, the number had increased to be-
tween seventy and eighty, when four of the elders, P.
P. Pratt, O. Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Tiba Peter-
son, started for the west, on a mission to the Indians;
and in passing, founded a branch of the church in
Kirtland, in the northeast part of Ohio. Here they
baptized 130 disciples in less than four weeks, and be-
fore the next spring, the number was increased to
about 1000.
As this passage in their history is somewhat marvel-
lous in the eyes of others, as well as in the estimation
of the Mormons themselves, who declare " that the
Holy Spirit was mightily poured out," and " that the
word of God grew and multiplied, and many priests
were obedient to the faith," I shall pause a moment to
elucidate it.
It is evident that here Mormonism first received a
decided and resistless impulse. In N. York, where
Smith was well known, it crept in the dirt, and still
does to this day ; but here it rose at once, and soared
as on the wings of the wind. What then is the cause
of this phenomenon ? Many in the east have supposed
* B. of C. p. 77, and Mess, and Adv., Vol. I,, p. 204.
24 PRATT AND RIGDON.
that the backwoodsmen of the west are of course either
infidels or natural fools, in all matters of faith, and
therefore ready to believe this or any other novel ab-
surdity. I admit that we are all, naturally, sufficiently
credulous. Nor do we claim any more than our due
share of folly in this respect. But I think a more par-
ticular and satisfactory solution of this question is at
hand.
The fact is, Mormonism, either by accident or in-
trigue, here met for the first time and concurred in a
new system of doctrines prepared to its hand, and thus
gained over to itself their original founders, P. P. Pratt
and Sidney Rigdon, and secured not only their talent
and zeal in its behalf, but also that of all, or at least, a
great part of their followers. This happy concurrence
of circumstances, united with the wily policy and stirring
eloquence of Pratt and Rigdon, stirred up a popular fa-
natical sympathy, and set the ball to rolling with resist-
less force. But to be more particular :
About the year 1827, A. Campbell, W. Scott, and
Sidney Rigdon, with some others residing in Virginia
and Ohio, came off from the Baptist church, and
established a new order under the name of Reformed
Baptists.
1 Among these reformers, Mr. Rigdon, it appears, held
to the literal interpretation of the prophecies, as the
saints now do, and taught that the long lost tribes of
Israel were soon to be restored, and that marvellous
revolutions were at hand, not only affecting the moral,
but also the political, and even the animal world.
| These doctrines he not only taught and enforced
with all that versatility and power of popular eloquence,
with which he is said to be peculiarly gifted, but he
PRATT AND RIGD0N. 25
also brought to his aid the eccentric and grotesque
workings of a nervous and enthusiastic temperament,
which at times threw him into spasms and swoonings,
similar to those nervous agitations which have so often
prevailed, not only in individual instances, but raged as
epidemics both in and out of the churches. These
nervous fits he interpreted into the agency of the
Holy Spirit, as multitudes had done before him, and
contended that the miraculous spiritual gifts of the
apostolic age were now about to be restored to the
church.
Here afre meet for the first time with the Mormon
doctrine of prophecies and miracles, in a region where
Smith and his bible were never heard of, and long be-
fore either of these doctrines had appeared, distinctly,
in any of the books, or, probably, in the thoughts of
Smith.
The credulous and simple of course believed all he
taught, especially when he confirmed his doctrine by
nervous spasms and swooning, and their attendant
rhapsodies and marvellous visions. Many hundreds
were thus deluded and gathered into a church under
his preaching, in Lake county, Ohio. Other preachers
soon united their efforts with his, among whom was the
famous Parley P. Pratt, the present mouthpiece of the
saints. After his conversion to the doctrines of Rigdon,
while on a journey, as he says, to visit his native place,
Columbia county, N. Y., in August of 1830, he fell in with
the Book of Mormon, which had then been published
about six months, and gathered about fifty disciples in
N. Y. " He was greatly prejudiced against it at first,
but after praying to God he became convinced of its
truth," as he says, " by the power of the Holy Ghost."
3
26 rigdon's conversion and baptism.
But whether he had a jerk, or a twitch, or a swoon, he
has not informed us. On his return to Ohio, he pre-
sented the book to his valiant compeer in the faith,
Sidney Rigdon. With much persuasion and argument
he was prevailed upon to read it, and after a great
struggle in his mind, he of course fully believed and
embraced it.
Probably he was convinced in like manner, by a
similar spirit and power ; for it is indeed difficult to see
how any man, especially of a nervous temperament,
could read Smith's book through without being thrown
into some sort of hysterics. The marvel is, that it
should ever have happened otherwise.
Cowdery, in the mean time, had converted about
seventeen of his society. Rigdon immediately assem-
bled his old followers ; a great congregation was
gathered, and while he harangued them for nearly two
hours, both himself and most of his congregation melted
into tears. The next morning himself and wife were
baptized, when again there was another outpouring of
hysterics and tears; and during the fall of 1830, and
the following winter and spring, many of his old disci-
ples, and some others, in all about 1000, were baptized
into the Mormon faith. In the glowing language of
Pratt, " the Holy Spirit was mightily poured out, the
word of God grew and multiplied, and many priests
were obedient to the word." In about three weeks
after he was converted, Rigdon visited Smith, in N.
York, and since that time has continued apparently at
his feet, drawing his inspiration from the fountain head.
Here he not only received a confirmation of his faith,
but also a command from the Lord,* through Smith,
* B. C. 117.
REMOVAL TO ORTO. 27
well suited both to his vanity and his aims. It is
also reported that Rigdon, after joining the church,
and spending a little time in Kirtland, was afraid he
had been deceived, and visited Smith to have his doubts
removed. He says that on arriving in N. Y., he went
first to the enemies, and then to the friends of the
church, and heard both stories, and the result was, that
he was so fully convinced of the " truth," that he after-
ward told A. Campbell, "that if Smith should be proved
a liar, or say himself that he never found the Book of
Mormon, as he reported, he should still believe, and also
believe that all who rejected it would be damned."
Such remarkable piety rendered it highly expedient
that the Lord should appoint him, forthwith, by an ex-
press revelation, the orator and oracle of the faith*
This, however, is no unusual instance of faith among
the Mormons. I have heard many of them express
the same idea. Surely such faith should work won-
ders, and who can doubt that it does ?
On the return of Rigdon in January, 1831, not only
Smith, but also the whole church, removed, by divine
commandment, from N. York to Kirtland, Ohio.f
During the fall and winter of '30 and '31, Kirtland
was continually crowded with visiters, who came from
all quarters to inquire after the " New Religion."
About this time, as we are informed by credible his-
torians and eye-witnesses, " many in the church became
very visionary and had divers operations of the Spirit."
They saw wonderful lights in the air and on the ground,
and had many miraculous visions and experiences.
Their conduct grew more and more eccentric and ab-
surd. Sometimes they imitated the grotesque antics of
* See B. C. 117, 5, 6. t B. C. 119. 7.
28 KIRTLAND MIRACLES.
the wild Indian, in knocking down, scalping, and tear-
ing out the bowels of his victim, thus anticipating the
hour of their fancied mission to those lost sons of
Jacob.
Again, they ran into the fields, mounted upon stumps,
and, while absorbed in vision, and insensible to all
around them, they plunged into the waters of baptism,
or harangued the imaginary multitudes by whom they
thought they were surrounded. Some professed to
receive letters direct from heaven, written on stones
or parchment, in characters which they alone had
power to translate, and which vanished as soon as the
work was performed. Others fell into a trance, and
continued apparently lifeless for a long time, and woke
only to relate the wonders they had seen touching the
future glory of the saints, and the destruction of the un-
believing. Sometimes their faces, bodies, and limbs
were violently distorted and convulsed, until they fell
prostrate on the ground. Indeed, it is reported by an
eye-witness, that at first the laying hands on the heads
of their converts to confer the gift of the Holy Spirit,
generally produced an instantaneous prostration of both
body and mind, often followed by a wonderful gift of
tongues, as was supposed, in Indian dialects ; which,
indeed, none could understand except by direct inspi-
ration. Some, in imitation of the prophet, received
magic stones, through which they professed to see and
describe not only the persons, but the dress and employ-
ments of persons hundreds of miles distant.
On page 182, B. C, there is an allusion to one of
these marvellous stones given to Hiram Page, and
translated by him. A new revelation respecting these
wonders, and the spirits which produced them, may be
GIFTS OF HEALING. 29
found on page 134, B. C. It seems that Smith's pater-
nal affection for the stone mania led him to treat that
with some deference while he condemned all else as
the work of the devil, though a most prolific source
not only of wonder and faith to the saints, but of con-
versions.
All these eccentricities were undoubtedly in part
hypocrisy, and in part the natural result of a contagious
sympathy, emanating from Smith and Rigdon, and dif-
fusing itself, on well-known epidemic principles, to be
noticed more fully hereafter. The more substantial
pajt of tne church, however, soon became disgusted
and appealed to Smith. After due prayer and delibe-
ration he very wisely had a new revelation, informing
them, in substance, that it was all the work of the devil,
as mentioned above. It may be well to notice that the
stone fever originated in Smith, while Rigdon seems to
have been the original proprietor of the trance-vision,
and spouting fever. After this new turn in their affairs,
Smith and Rigdon appear to have taken to themselves
the entire monopoly of wonders of all sorts, and to
have commended the saints to the more quiet and ap-
propriate duty of believing. This philosophical division
of labor has doubtless conduced much to the quiet of
general society, and the edification and docility of the
saints. In the winter of 1831, the opinion that they
should never taste death, was propagated among them,
and all diseases were to yield, not to the profane aid of
medicine, but to the faith, prayers, herbs, and poultices
of the devout.*
The prophet himself, however, in the case of his
" elect lady," had recourse to a surgeon, greatly to the
* B. C. 123, 12.
3*
30 ORIGIN OF MORMON DOCTRINES.
grief and scandal of the church. Others of less note
were piously left to die in the hands of their elders and
root doctors.
REFLECTIONS.
From the preceding narrative, which is taken from
their own published writings, so far as the leading facts
are concerned,* the following inferences are at once
apparent and inevitable.
1. Rigdon and Pratt had been busy, either by acci-
dent or intrigue, in preparing for the triumph of M(3r-
monism, in Ohio, for three years before the people in
that region ever heard of Smith or his book ; that is,
from the year 1827, the very same year in which
Smith pretends he commenced the translation of the
plates, up to the year 1830, when Rigdon and Pratt
were professedly converted.
2. Rigdon, and not Smith, was the originator of their
doctrines concerning the literal fulfilment of the pro-
phecies, the restoration of the Jews, the literal reign of
the saints in Zion, and the restoration of the miracu-
lous gifts of the apostolic age to the modern church ;
and that, too, according to their own showing.f Yet
these doctrines lie at the foundation of the Mormon
church, as all know. Take these away, and there is
nothing left in their whole system of sufficient power
to engross the intellect of an ape.
3. Before the union of these two forces'^ Mormonism
* See Parley P. Pratt's Truth Vindicated, p. 40 ; Evening and Morn-
ing Star, Vol. I., p. 167 and 90 ; Corill's History of the Latter Day
Saints, p. 16, et seq.
t See Pratt, as above, p. 40.
CAUSES OF THEIR SUCCESS. 31
had neither form nor vigor, spirit nor power : it was a
mere turbid ripple, eddying around the Smiths and
Whitmers, and their money-digging comrades, without
depth or motion, excepting in a very limited circle. It
could scarce control the faith, much less excite the
emotions of granny Smith herself. It had neither end
nor aim, neither object nor force, beyond the already
habitual and ordinary aspirations of Joseph, the money-
digger. And, indeed, he did not know what to do with
it himself, as we shall hereafter see. Before the acces-
sion of Rigdon, in 1830, not one of the peculiar and
properly fundamental doctrines of Mormonism are to
be found in the Book of Mormon ; nor were they ever
taught, so far as appears, by Smith, unless in loose
generalities, which were susceptible of interpretations
to suit circumstances.*
4. But after the conversion of Rigdon, things soon begin
to wear a different aspect. Smith's divinity, in his reve-
lations, appears more explicit, decisive, and imperative.
He drops his vague generalities, and occasionally utters
a word that is clear, definite, and to the point. He
proceeds to organize his church, and propound its
doctrines, government, and duties, as though he, at
least, had some indistinct ideas of what he meant him-
self; until finally, after much ado, and great anguish of
logomachy, he finally succeeds in making the Mormons
understand, that they are to receive at the hands of
Smith, as immediate revelations, the same doctrines
that, in substance, Rigdon had taught them, while he
was, as he admits, an outcast from God and the true
church, during the three or four preceding years, and
* See revelation on the rise of the church, Fayette, N. Y., June, 1830.
B. of C, §2. p. 77.
32 CAUSES OF THEIR SUCCESS.
that they were to organize the church with two distinct
priesthoods, the Melchisedec and the Aaronic, both em-
bracing a sufficient number of presidents, bishops,
prophets, priests, elders, &c, to make every Mormon a
man of authority, taking due care ever to keep Smith
and Rigdon on the top of the heap, " according to the
ancient gospel." Let not the profane think strange of
this ; the ways of Providence are often mysterious, and
if there is ever any thing inexplicable here, Joseph
Smith, jun. is fully empowered to receive special reve-
lations, explanatory, whenever or wherever either the
edification or the uneasiness of the saints may require
them.
5. Rigdon had been long accustomed to play upon
the religious credulity of the people, and to arouse and
concentrate the religious emotions of his fellow-men.
He could preach, exhort, philosophize, rave, read, sing,
pray, and cry whenever and wherever occasion re-
quired. And after the first "general heat," at each and all
of these at once, which occurred at the time of his con-
version, confession, and baptism, Mormonism caught,
as we have seen, not only his followers and doctrines,
but also his spirit, his eloquence, and even his faintings,
his swoonings, visions, and ecstasies, and thus became
" a thing of life," and rose at once from wallowing in
the gutter with Smith, to soar in the sky with its new
compeer. Some have thought that Rigdon was from
the first the secret originator of the whole scheme.
But of this, to say the least, there is no proof. On the
contrary, there is a strong probability that he has been
to Mormonism what Peter the Hermit was to the cru-
sades ; not the originator of the fanatical materials, but
the explosive power from which they derived all their
33
terror, their brilliancy, and their force. Still, what
precise part in the comedy of Mormonism posterity
may ultimately assign him is doubtful. Whether he is
to be considered as the speaker of the prologue, or the
hero, or the fool of the play, is yet doubtful. It is
nevertheless true, and susceptible of moral demonstra-
tion, that if Sidney Rigdon had not lived, Joe Smith
and his book must have perished in the same timely
grave ; or rather, in all probability, Joe would have
lived to bear the pall of his own book, unaided, un-
honored, and alone.
It has often been asked, whether it is credible that a
man of Rigdon's information should really believe the
Book of Mormon a divine revelation ? Those who
are credulous enough to believe him sincere may do so
if they please ; but it is credible that a man of his per-
verted and ambitious temper, after having run through
all creeds, dabbled in politics, turned skeptic, and then
again enthusiast, — it is quite credible that such a man
should be converted, with tears in his eyes, to Joe
Smith's creed, or any other, from which he could hope
to raise the wind, and stand at the helm again, for a
season. His well-known character and history render
his sudden and whining conversion to Smith neither a
mystery nor a miracle. Should Smith's divinity dare
to assign him some more humble station among " the
Latter Day Saints," probably the world would see him
converted again, either to his former skepticism or to
some newfangled fanaticism. At present, Smith has
evident need of him at Nauvoo, at least until some of
their new charters have done their best.
34 ENDOWMENT AND JOURNEY TO MISSOURI.
a
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF MORMONISM, CONTINUED.
Endowment and journey to Missouri — Multitude of elders and prose-
lytes — Character of proselytes — Gift of tongues — Big firm, banks,
temple, study of Hebrew, &c. — Mormon pentecost — Removal to Mt.
Zion, Mo. — Mob at Jackson co. — Consequent revelation to Smith —
Army of Zion — Retreats — Disturbance in Caldwell — Salt Sermon — The
Danites — Poisoning the wells — The Destructionists — Rigdon's famous
Fourth of July oration — The prophet's harangue at the head of his
troops — Expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri — Tragedy at How's
Mills — Mob law — Arrival of the Mormons at Quincy — Number and
progress of the Mormons — Charters — Result of persecution — Authori-
ties, proclamations, recent revelations, and present designs of Smith —
New temple — Baptism for the dead — Polls — Dangers of civil war.
In June, 1831, the elders of the Mormon church, now
about fifty in number, were commanded by revelation,
through Smith, to assemble at Kirtland to receive the
" endowment." The meeting was conducted by Smith.
They had assembled expecting mighty exhibitions of
something, they knew not what, and of course mighty
results followed. The spirit of fanaticism appeared
anew among the elders, in spite of counter revelations.
" It threw one from his seat upon the floor ;" it para-
lyzed another so that he could neither move nor speak.
Other marvels occurred, until by a " mighty exertion in
the name of the Lord," it was shown to be from an
evil source ; and the evil spirits were then duly ex-
orcised, and all was quiet. At last it was discovered
that the great endowment consisted simply in ordaining
a few more priests. The elders were somewhat disap-
pointed and chagrined at the result; and finding it
MULTITUDE OF ELDERS. 35
difficult to allay their excited feelings, and to dispel
their doubts, Smith, as usual, when there were indica-
tions of trouble in the camp, despatched the whole
posse, by divine command, from head-quarters to Mis-
souri, commanding them to go two and two, by differ-
ent routes, and preach as they went.
Smith, Rigdon, and six or eight others, followed them
to Jackson county, Missouri, where Smith pointed out the
spot for the temple, received divers revelations, held
conferences, &c, and then returned. They here found
that the great church, which Smith saw in vision in But-
ler county, before they started, consisted of four females.
This jaunt to Missouri seems to have removed the
elders' doubts, without abating their enthusiasm. The
church continued meantime to gather at Kirtland, and
nearly all their male converts, however ignorant or
worthless, were transformed into elders.
Their emissaries were roaming, two and two, through
all parts of the land. The number of these travelling
priests and elders at this time is not known ; but in the
"Messenger and Advocate," p. 335, the names of those
whose licenses were recorded during the preceding
quarter only, amount to 250 ; from this it may be easily
inferred that Mormonism, in its early history, was
more prolific in priests and elders than ever Egypt was
in frogs, and if they could not out- reason, any one of
them could out-talk any thing or anybody they might
chance to meet. They soon had the scriptures, or at
least so much of them as they were directed to use, at
their tongue's end, and were ever ready to deluge those
whom they met with a shower of proof texts. Of
course they gained many proselytes ; multitudes flocked
to hear them, and both the wise and the unwise were
36 CHARACTER OF PROSELYTES.
alike confounded, though for far different reasons,
Those who had been excommunicated, or censured, or
despised, or endangered, in other churches, at once saw
new light. The gospel of the Mormons appeared pe-
culiarly adapted to their necessities as sinners ; and a
tramp to Kirtland, or on a mission, relieved them, at
once, both of their sins and their infamy.
Others were appropriately convinced that the Lord
had chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the mighty, and consequently took up their line of
march for the prophet. Not a few admired the genuine
and unaffected humility of a church which was ready
to receive those as prophets and apostles who could not
even spell the name of the divine office to which they
aspired ; especially, when they contrasted it with the
arrogance and intolerance of those sects they were
about to leave, many of whom, in the pride and folly
of their hearts, would not submit to be taught things
divine by those who could not read intelligibly the
decalogue of Moses or the sermon on the mount.
These drew along in their train a motley host of all
shapes and sizes, some from one motive, and some from
another ; men gaping for marvels, and women ready
to swoon ; some praying for an apostle's martyrdom,
others for Smith's millennium ; some thinking of their
sins, and others of Ohio bank-stock and Missouri lands;
some thinking the world was soon to be overturned,
others hoping to overturn it ; but all expecting prodigies
of some sort, and to witness, if not to obtain, the gift
of tongues, of prophecy, of healing, &c. ; in short, a
multitude which everywhere abounds, who have been
kindly gifted with all sorts of sense, except common
sense, and who possess a genuine power of faith, which
APPARENT HUMILITY. 37
enables them to believe any thing whatsoever, for no
other reason, it would seem, save that it is absurd, and
who have obtained those marvellous gifts of a spirit
which infallibly teaches them all knowledge, except the
very simple and obvious fact, that they never knew any
thing ; these all were sucked, with wonderful facility,
into this new Maelstroom of faith, and drawn with
becoming velocity toward the conjuring spirits at the
centre in Kirtland, Ohio. Nor is it to be denied, that
amid this general tumult of social and fanatical im-
pulses, it sometimes happened, that men worthy of a
better fate were swept into the vortex, with their com-
rades, and whirled along, until they either became giddy
by the general confusion of objects around them, or
slackened their speed, in order to retreat and warn
their friends, or to contemplate with deliberate knavery
the probable advantages of their new position, and to
rush on again with redoubled velocity to attain the ob-
jects of their cupidity.
At first, the uncertainty of their position made even
their leaders apparently humble, and the native credu-
lity of their followers rendered them indeed sufficiently
abject. Their souls having been already crushed and
overpowered with absurdities in the outset of their ca-
reer, the insults, taunts, and sneers which are ever, too
profusely, perhaps, heaped upon those who have prosti-
tuted their humanity by sacrificing both their reason
and common sense to their faith, soon engendered a
sort of stoical apathy, and by habitual trial ripened
their natural patience into insensibility to every thing
except the absurdities of their creed. These and simi-
lar causes produced at once a servility of spirit and ve-
hemence of devotion, which not unfrequently passed
4
38 GIFT OF TONGUES.
for genuine intelligent Christian humility, meekness, and
fervor. Besides, there were, ultimately, many who
were truly pious before their conversion to the faith,
in whose souls the trials of their new and unwonted
discipline, for a time, more than counterbalanced the
pernicious influence of their new dogmas. Nor should
it be forgotten that the most flagrant fanaticisms have
usually been famed for the sanctimonious deportment
of their early adherents. These and other causes, par-
ticularly the frequent and unjust persecutions which
they have experienced, have tended to give the Mor-
mons, in many instances, a reputation for piety, which,
as a class, they by no means deserve, and thus have
contributed much to their increase. Of the wily policy
of their leaders in gaining proselytes, more will be said
in the sequel.
But, however we may philosophize upon their in-
crease or their character, one thing still remains true :
their progress has been at once rapid, ridiculous, and
deplorable. In less than three years after the accession
of Rigdon and his followers, new churches had been
built up in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, New York,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and indeed
in nearly all of the northern and middle, and some of
the southern states. Their elders, in their reports, speak
of baptizing thirty, fifty, and sometimes even one hun-
dred and thirty persons at a single station.
In the beginning of 1833, the discarded gift of
tongues again made its appearance at head-quarters.
Their frequent failures in healing, discerning spirits,
casting out devils, &c, rendered some new expedient
needful, in order to sustain the already drooping spirits
of the faithful. This new gift is said to have origin-
BIG FIRM. 39
ated at this time with a fanatic by the name of GhTord,
a GifFordite from New York. Smith at first pronounced
it the work of the devil as before, but finally deemed
it expedient to adopt it ; and soon all tongues were in
motion, with all imaginable faith and zeal. The gift is
indeed extraordinary; but the rule as given by Mr.
Higbee, a Mormon elder, makes the acquisition easy in
the extreme. It consists simply of two items: 1. Eve-
ry possible articulate sound is, in fact, some language
or word, known to God, if to no one else. 2. If you
would speak in tongues, trust in God, open your mouth
and make sounds of some sort, and he will take care
that it shall be a language. The translator proceeds
in the same way ; he utters whatever comes first into
his mind, and the power of faith enables him and his
hearers to believe it a correct translation of whatever
unintelligible sounds have preceded it. Of course, they
never chance to hit upon any tongue before known or
heard of— though it is said that their sounds resemble
the monosyllabic dialects of the Indians, as might be
readily supposed.
In April, 1832, a firm was established by revelation,
consisting of the principal members of the church, os-
tensibly for its peculiar benefit.* By previous revela-
tion, all the property of the members had been claimed
to be consecrated to the Lord.f In the Book of Cov-
enants, p. 122, this revelation is, however, revised, so
as to read of thy property, instead of all thy property.
This was found expedient. The proper authorities in
this big firm, however, had the entire control of all the
consecrated property, which had been or could be
*B. ofC. p. 219, §20.
t See B. of Commandments 93, Eve. and Morn. Star, 1st ed. No. 3, vol. i.
40 TEMPLE, HEBREW, ETC.
squeezed out of the saints, according to the letter of
the divine command. They proceeded to purchase
lands, to lay off town lots, build temples, &c. until they
were finally permitted by divine revelation to borrow
money, to save themselves from bankruptcy,* which
recourse failing, their leaders resorted first to their fa-
mous mercantile, and ultimately to their banking ope-
rations. In 1833, they commenced building the " tem-
ple of the Lord" in Kirtland, which ultimately was
completed at a cost of about forty thousand dollars,
and secured by deed to the prophet and his successors.
The interior of this singular edifice was fitted up with
pulpits of different altitudes, adapted to the different
ranks of the priests, bishops, counsellors, elders, &c,
divided into departments, and prepared with curtains,
hangings, and other ornaments, suited at once to the
convenience of their peculiar worship, and the appro-
priate display of their leaders and functionaries, f
In the fall of 1835, three or four hundred of their
travelling elders gathered in Kirtland, and remained to
pursue their studies through the winter, under the
prophet and his comrades, who had secured the aid of
the celebrated Hebrew teacher, Mr. Seixas, to whom
Mr. Smith seemed inclined to look, in preference to his
stones, or the inspired tongues of the Mormons, for a
knowledge of the Hebrew. Whether the stones had
become rusty, or whether the gift of the Spirit had
withdrawn, and left them to the vulgar necessity of
grammars and lexicons, or, whether they wished an
opportunity to compare the inspired with the ordinary
mode of acquiring an unknown tongue, is not yet fully
revealed.
* B. of C. 213. t See B. of C. 213 and 233.
MORMON PENTECOST. 41
In 1836, an endowment meeting, or solemn assembly,
was held in the temple, according to a previous com-
mandment of Smith's divinity.* The elders expected
to receive a pentecostal endowment on this occasion
from the Lord, similar to that conferred of old on the
disciples at Jerusalem. The day was spent in fasting,
prayer, and other ceremonial preparations — such as
washing their bodies in pure water, perfuming them
with cologne — after which they administered the ordi-
nance of washing each other's feet, and anointing with
holy oil, ,with mutual blessings and benedictions. In
the evening they assembled for the " endowment." They
first broke their fast, by eating a little light bread and
drinking freely of pure wine, which they were assured
would not hurt them, since it had been consecrated to
the Lord. Nor did their faith stumble at this, until
they learned from experience, that though the spirit
was willing, the flesh was still weak. A marvellous
spirit of prophecy soon ensued, as might have been ex-
pected, which vented itself mainly in blessing their
friends and cursing their enemies, in which latter class,
the clergy of the day and the Missouri mob received
their full share. An eye-witness informed the author
that he never imagined that language more awful could
be used in the world of despair. Nor did the conse-
crated wine exhale all its inspiration on that memora-
ble night. For several days, and even for weeks, they
went from house to house, feasting and prophesying,
blessing and cursing, as the occasion might require, un-
til the " triumphs of faith" were fully achieved, and the
" Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon all flesh," as
* See B. of C. p. 109 ; verse 197 of revelation called Olive Leaf.
4*
42 MERCHANDISE BANKS.
they thought, though others thought it the spirit of de-
lusion, darkness, and error.*
In 1835, the leaders found themselves some fifteen or
twenty thousand dollars in debt for their temple, besides
other expenses, and concluded to raise the wind again,
by resorting to mercantile speculations. Accordingly,
they ran the society into debt some one hundred thou-
sand dollars, bought goods at the East, built steam-mills,
bought farms, erected fine houses, &c, until the day of
account drew near, when, of course, they found them-
selves bankrupt, and left their Mormon endorsers to
foot the bill. In the Elders' Journal of 1838, the
prophet complains that one single " saint," by the name
of Parish, swindled twenty-five thousand dollars out of
the bank. We do not know how true this may be, but
we would like to know what some of the rest did.
They also got up a bank, the stock of which consisted
principally in personal or individual property, valued at
enormous rates, with little or no specie. Bills were
issued with the utmost despatch, and by all possible
means, which were soon returned to their empty vaults,
much to the edification of the saints, who no doubt
would have escaped all embarrassment, had they not,
in their weakness and depravity, begun to grow tired
of the " spoiling of their goods," instead of taking it
joyfully as they should have done, according to the
pretended " gospel" they profess. As it was, however,
secessions began to multiply, and mutual recriminations
arose. They accused their leaders — the prophet, and
his brothers Smith and Rigdon — of incapacity, selfish-
ness, tyranny, and cupidity. By the leaders these ac-
cusations were retorted upon the dissenters, with
* See Corrill's Hist. p. 23.
REMOVAL TO xMOUNT ZION, MISSOURI. 43
threats, and charges of infidelity, wickedness, stealing,
lying, counterfeiting, &c, but above all, want of faith.
This mutual hostility of the " saints" and the prophet
and his comrades increased, much to the scandal of
the church and joy of the world, until, finally, Smith
and Rigdon were obliged to leave Ohio, with a sheriff
at their heels ; and soon after, with their families, they
emigrated to the Far West, in Missouri, in the winter
of 1838. Some of the elders also became tired of the
strife and left the place.
We must now leave the stake at Kirtland, Ohio —
temples, endowments, farms, merchandise, bank stock,
and all — and follow the Mormons to " Mount Zion, the
city of the living God, the joy of the whole earth, the
everlasting (?) possession of the saints," situated in the
land of Missouri, the Mormons' land of peace, blessed-
ness, and eternal felicity, " where there shall be noth-
ing to hurt or annoy, in all my holy mountain, saith the
Lord."*
The reader will see, by turning to a revelation given
to Smith, in July, 1831, appointing Independence as
the Mount Zion, the place of the gathering, and the
site of the temple of the Lord, that Smith's divinity
had not at this time formed a very intimate acquaint-
ance with Governor Boggs and his valorous compeers
in Missouri. He had been so busy in banking, trading,
farming, building temples, houses, steam-mills, &c, in
Ohio, that he had not had time to study minutely the
naked prairies of the frontier, nor the peculiar charac-
ter of Missouri backwoodsmen. However, the best
miss it sometimes ; and besides, there is no knowing
how much the commissions, and charters, and muskets,
* See Mormon books. r Book of Covenants, p. 154.
44 MOB AT JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI.
and cannon, which the pliant servants of the good peo-
ple of Illinois have conferred upon the Mormons at
Nauvoo, together with their own daily practice of mil-
itary evolutions, may tend to retrieve this fatal error.
From July, 1831, it appears that Mount Zion, Missouri,
was to be the place of general rendezvous of the saints,
forcvermore, and thither the tribes went up by divine
command. We have already seen that the prophet,
on his visit to Missouri in 1831, appointed the location
of Zion at Independence, Jackson county, Missouri,
and designated the spot, and laid the corner-stone of
the Lord's temple. Shortly after this, the church be-
gan to assemble, by revelations through Smith, in mul-
titudes : the ways were crowded, and the land flooded,
with beggars rallying round this " house of the Lord.'*
The old citizens of Jackson county became, at first, un-
easy, and some of them even offered to sell out, but the
saints were too poor to buy : the emigrants still poured
in, until the citizens became alarmed for the security of
their property and civil rights ; and finally, on the 23d
of July, 1833, they rose in their fury, demolished their
printing office, tarred and feathered their bishop, Par-
tridge, and one or two others, and, in a band of two or
three hundred citizens, compelled the Mormons to agree
to leave the county before spring. The Mormons, up
to this time, had been guilty of no legal misdemeanor,
as the resolves and printed reports of the mobocrats
plainly show. They therefore justly considered this
agreement as fraudulent and illegal, and petitioned the
governor for protection and redress. He commended
them to the civil law, to which they resorted in vain ;
for the citizens again collected by night, for pulling
down houses, whipping, &c, until finally, on the 4th of
CONSEQUENT REVELATION. 45
November, 1833, a conflict took place, in which three
or four were killed, and in the course of three or four
weeks, all the Mormons were compelled to leave Jack-
son county, and retreat to Ray county, where they
were most hospitably received by the ^habitants, who
gave them employment, paid them good wages, and
conducted toward them like gentlemen and freemen.
The number driven out of Jackson county was about
twelve hundred. In the winter of 1833-4, Governor
Dunklin endeavored to bring the citizens of Jackson
county to justice, and redress the injuries of the Mor-
mons. But after assembling the parties under the guard
of the " Blues," the attorney-general advised the Mor-
mons to abandon their suit, since justice in the case
was impossible, considering the excitement and spirit
of the people. They took his advice, and returned
with the guard.
The knowledge of this outrage soon reached the ears
of the prophet in Ohio. He saw at once the danger
and advantage of their new position. Indeed, the world
had become so incredulous already, and his followers so
divided among themselves, that some such persecution
had become almost necessary and indispensable, to
arouse the sympathy and credulity of the one, and con-
centrate and harmonize the already distracted energies
of the other. A revelation, of unusual length, clearness,
and point, was soon forthcoming from the press in Kirt-
land, which was scattered abroad in the form of a
handbill, and even sold for one dollar per copy. The
main points adverted to in this command from Smith's
divinity are as follows.*
1. The Mormons had been chastened because of
* See B. of C. 235.
46 ARMY OF ZION MARCHES.
"jarrings, contentions, envyings, strifes, lustful and
covetous desires among them," by which they had pol-
luted " their inheritances." 2. Assurances of the favor
of God, on repentance and a return to duty, and of his
vengeance on their enemies. 3. An exhortation to all
their "warriors and young men," and middle-aged men,
to assemble and march to the rescue of their brethren,
artfully concealed under the similitude of a parable of
a vineyard. 4. An explicit exhortation to the Mormons,
to seek redress from the civil authorities of the state
and of the United States. 5. A gentle reproof, for
giving up their stores, storehouses, &c. 6. An exhor-
tation to hold on to their property in Jackson county, to
the end, at all hazards, since there, and there alone, the
Lord had determined to build the temple of Zion.
This proclamation had its desired effect ; it restored
harmony, and aroused action and sympathy. The
"strength of the Lord's house" began to rally around
the prophet, from all quarters of the Union, to prepare
for the crusade to the Holy Land. Rusty swords, old
cartridge-boxes, firelocks, pistols, rifles, pitchforks and
butcher-knives, dish-cloths and sand-boxes, were all in
motion ; either groaning under the operation of needful
repairs, or belching forth their valor at harmless targets,
or flourishing in anticipated triumph around the heads
of their Mormon friends. The needles and thimbles of
women and children were alike diligent in the great
work of preparation, and even the crutches of the in-
valid were bereft of their wonted repose.
At last, on the 4th of May, 1834, voting in solemn
assembly, to be called no longer " Mormons," but the
" Church of Latter Day Saints," in order that they might
the more readily pass incog, on their way, without the
RETREAT OF THE GRAND ARMY. 47
sin of a military lie ; and, having listened to the martial
harangues of their leaders, the "grand army," or "army
of Zion," took up their line of march in different sguad-
rons for the promised land. They numbered about two
hundred and fifty. " The prophet, accoutred with the
best sword in the army, an elegant brace of pistols, a
rifle, four horses, and a stout bull-dog for his " aid," took
the command in person.
After various adventures, (detailed by an eye-witness
from the ranks,) with black-snakes, raw pork, and par-
ticularly /with Smith's " aid-de-camp," the " army of
Zion" arrived in Missouri in June, 1834. When once
across the river, and near the scene of action, the
prophet, the general of the host, deemed it expedient
to go incog., and trust the command in the hands of the
lieutenants and his valiant " aid." They were soon met
by a committee of the mobocrats of Missouri, who were
desirous of inquiring into the import of this martial
array.
This meeting of the Mormons and mobocrats, re-
minds one of that more famous meeting of Milton's
Satan and Death, at the gates of hell, except that here
neither party had courage enough to even make a show
of fight, though both, by their principles, were bound
to do so. Perhaps, however, some snaky sorcerers
began to whisper in their ears that they were both of
kindred blood, of the same loving sire. Be this as it
may, the mobocrats, partly through fear and partly to
cover the infamy of the past from their own and the
eyes of the world, offered either to sell out their own
lands in the county, or to buy those of the Mormons,
on the same terms, taking good care, however, to place
the pay-day so near that it would be impossible for the
48 DISTURBANCE IN CALDWELL COUNTY.
Mormons to raise money for the immense tracts owned
by the citizens, while, on the other hand, they could
easily pay for the comparatively few acres which the
Mormons possessed. In Clay county a council was
held, and the expedition was abandoned, and Smith re-
turned home again. Smith's divinity seemed to be more
courageous when in Ohio than when within gun-shot
of the Missourians. Besides, the cholera, spite of faith
and gifts of healing, broke out among them, and most
of the troops dispersed and returned home in a short
time.
From this time, the saints continued to gather in
peace, in Clay and the adjoining counties, hoping in some
way to get the promised land, until 1836, when the
elders returned from their winter's drilling, in Hebrew
and theology, at Kirtland, and in the course of the sum-
mer were followed by a new swarm from the parent
hive. This ingress again excited the alarm and appre-
hensions of the inhabitants of Clay county, and the
respectable citizens foreseeing the danger, immediately
stipulated with the Mormons to leave the county, on
condition of their securing to them a settlement in Cald-
well county. The people of Caldw r ell gave their con-
sent, the matter was amicably adjusted, and the church
thus withdrew voluntarily to Caldwell, where they made
unusual outlays in lands, improvements, &c, in the full
confidence that this would prove the place of their
final rest.
Friendship and mutual confidence were beginning to
be restored, until the 14th of March, 1838, when Smith
and Rigdon, having been, as we have seen, driven from
Ohio, came to the " Far West," Missouri. They soon
decided to establish new towns in several counties. One
DISTURBANCE IN CALDWELL COUNTY. 49
in Davis, they called Adammondiaman, or " Valley of
God, in which Adam blessed his children," as they in-
terpret it. Another, called De Witt, was established
in Carroll county, and around these cities they began to
rally their followers. This offended the citizens of the
old and rival towns in these counties, and things began
to wear a more threatening aspect, until some of the
citizens openly declared that " they would not submit
their counties to the rule of Joe Smith."
About this time, the Mormon leaders, beginning to
feel some confidence in their own strength, abandoned
their former principles of meekness, forbearance, and
non-resistance, and began to talk loud, and threaten all
who might oppose them.
They said "they had been harassed to death, by
dissenters, lawsuits, and mobs, for seven or eight years,
and they were determined to endure it no longer ; that
it was the will of God that the saints should fight until
death, rather than endure such things, and if they would
only have faith, God would protect them, if their ene-
mies were ever so numerous, and the time was not far
distant when ' one should chase a thousand, and two
put ten thousand to flight.' " Under this kind of preach-
ing, which was the chief topic with the elders through
the summer, the church became inspired with the belief
that God would enable them to stand against the Union,
should they come against them en masse. Many, how-
ever, became disgusted at these doctrines, and alarmed
at their probable consequences, but remonstrance against
the prophet of the Lord was of no use. Already
there were many dissenters in the church, and others
in whom the prophet could not confide ; but, as perfect
union was necessary to their success, secret meetings
5
50 SALT SERMON DANITES.
were held, and secret plans were laid, for rooting out
the dissenters from their midst. Some had one plan,
and some another, until Rigdon preached his famous
"Salt Sermon," in which he gave them to understand, that,
according to his text, the dissenters, who had lost their
savor, ought to be literally cast out and trodden under
foot by the real saints, until their bowels gushed out ;
and in further illustration of this doctrine, he remarked
that Judas did not fall without help, but that the apos-
tles threw him headlong, and trampled out his bowels
with their feet. He said also, that, in fact, Peter stabbed
Ananias and Sapphira, and the deacons carried them
out and buried them. In conclusion, he recommended
these pious examples to the imitation of his hearers, in
the case of the dissenters, the enemies of God and man.
About this time also, June, 1838, the famous Danite
society was formed. The members secretly entered
into solemn covenant before God, and bound themselves
on oath, with penalty of death, to keep the secrets of
the society, to stand by one another in trouble, to uphold
the presidency — Smith, Rigdon & Co. — and sustain it,
and each other, in all they did, " whether right or wrong."
They numbered about three hundred. They first went
by the name of the "Big- fan," then the society was called
" The Daughter of Zion," and finally, the "Danite So
ciety." They were organized into companies of fifties
and subdivisions of tens, with suitable officers, and se
cret signs, by which they might know each other, bj
day or night, in order the better to carry out their plans
Few of the church, or, indeed, of the " Danite So
ciety," understood the real design of their leaders in all
this. They were told that it was a measure of self
defence against the mob ; but this was only a smai!
DANITES POISONING WELLS DESTRUCTIONISTS. 51
part of the truth : they were, in reality, the chosen
agents for carrying the principles of the " Salt Sermon,"
and other kindred discourses against the dissenters, into
execution. Some of the dissenters knew this so well,
that they speedily withdrew themselves from the church
and the county. Among these were John Whitmer,
David Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Hiram Page, and
Oliver Cowdery, all witnesses to the book of Mormon,
and Lyman Johnson, one of the twelve apostles, and
others of less note.
In one of the Danites' secret meetings, one of their
leaders, by name Lyman Wight, informed them that,
although they had expected that God would bring his
judgments of fire and sword, famine and pestilence,
upon their enemies the Gentiles, (Missourians,) as de-
nounced in their holy books, without their aid, still the
signs of the times were fast changing, and the time was
not far distant when God would require his church to
go forth, like the Jews of old, through the state, and
slay man, woman, and child.
They also took into consideration the expediency of
predicting a great pestilence among the Gentiles, and
then poisoning the wells and springs of the Missourians,
in order to secure its accomplishment. Some persons
even went so far as to declare, " that they would kill
any individuals, in or out of the church, if the presi-
dency should say it was the will of God, for they be-
lieved it was necessary, sometimes, to do such things,
to save the church from corruption and destruction."
All this time, the press and pulpit were exhorting and
haranguing them to purify themselves from all evil — -
from all things and persons offensive to God — that is,
lo the prophet and presidency ; and so they understood
52 rigdon's oration and spirit.
it, though the reader, unapprised of the facts, would inter-
pret their pious exhortations far otherwise. The reader
will please bear this in mind, while reading pious Mormon
exhortations hereafter. About this time, also, the Mor-
mons at " Far West" organized a company, called the
"Destructionists," whose leader was called "The Destroy-
ing Angel." The duty assumed by these was, to lie in wait,
and if the citizens left their houses to advance upon them,
they were to slip in behind, and burn their dwellings in their
absence. They never, however, succeeded in their design.
On the 4th of July, 1838, Rigdon delivered a cele-
brated oration, which has been published. At the
close, after haranguing the Mormons on the sacred
principles of freedom and American citizenship, in an
eloquent and appropriate strain, he concluded as fol-
lows: — " We take God to witness, and the holy angels
to witness this day, that we warn all men, in the
name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more, for-
ever. The man, or set of men, who attempt it, do it
at the expense of their lives; and that mob that comes
on us, to disturb us, there shall be between us and them a
war of extermination, for we will follow them till the last
drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to
exterminate us : for we will carry the war to their own
houses, and their own families, and one party or the
other shall be utterly destroyed." " Remember it, all men :
no man shall be at liberty to come into our streets to
threaten us with mobs, for if he does, he shall atone for
it before he leaves the place : neither shall he be at
liberty to vilify and slander us, for suffer it we will not
in this place : neither will we indulge any man, or set
of men, in instituting vexatious lawsuits against us, to
cheat us out of our rights ; if they attempt it, wo be
53
unto them. We, this day, then, proclaim ourselves free,
with a purpose which never can be broken: no, never:
no, never : • no, never !" This oration was commended
by Smith, as may be seen by the Elders' Journal of the
saints, page 54, and was received at the time with
shoutings and hosannas by the Mormons.
About this time, according to the affidavit of W. W.
Phelps, a Mormon of great authority, and a writer of
considerable note in the earlier history of Mormonism,
given before the civil authorities of Missouri, and filed,
and forwarded and published by the senate of the
U. S., Sidney Rigdon declared before a number of
Mormons, " that if the sheriff came after them, they
would kill him, and if any opposed, they would take
off their heads." Smith followed him in this harangue,
and approved of his sentiments. At another time, a
large number of Mormons entered into solemn cove-
nant with Rigdon, in presence of the witness, (Phelps,)
" that if any Mormon should even attempt to pack his
goods, in order to move from the country, any one of
them would- kill him, and throw him aside into the
brush without saying a word, and all the burial he
should have should be in a ' turkey buzzard's guts.' "
This was carried by acclamation, with uplifted hands.
The second resolve was, " that if any stranger should
appear in town, looking around, he should be despatched
in like manner." This also was unanimously carried.
The third was, " to conceal all things." Rigdon then
remarked, " that a man yesterday slipped his breath in
this way," and "if any one lisped it he should die."
J. M. Hinkle also testifies, before the same court, and
in the same document, that he heard the prophet harangue
the Mormon troops, when, among other things he said,
5*
54 EXPULSION FROM MISSOURI.
" that the troops gathering through the county were all
a d d mob ; that he had tried to please them long
enough ; that he had tried to keep the law long enough ;
but as to keeping the law of Missouri any longer, he
did not intend to try to do so." That " the whole state
was a mob set, and if they came to fight him, he would
play hell with their apple-carts." He told the troops
" that they had fought heretofore like devils, but now
they must fight like angels ; for angels could whip
devils any time," &c. Several other Mormon wit-
nesses also testify to the same. The truth is, that the
accumulated disasters and disgrace of the prophet and
presidency in the church, and the infamous abuse both
of them and their followers by the mobs of Missouri,
had rendered the leaders desperate ; and by language
and conduct, such as we have narrated above, they
had but too successfully infused the same spirit into the
great body of their followers.
They said " they had been driven from place to
place, their property destroyed, their rights as Ameri-
can citizens trampled upon ; they could get no redress
from civil courts, to whom they had at first quietly ap-
pealed, nor from the executive, nor the state. They
had been told by these authorities that they must take
care of themselves in their hour of distress, and now
they intended to do it." " They were determined to
clear Davis county of dissenters and mobs, or spill
their blood in the street."
The mob, on the other hand, had been equally deter-
mined to expel them, even long before any well authen-
ticated outrage on the part of the Mormons had been
committed ; their fault being that they were increasing
more rapidly than was pleasant or desirable to the citi-
PERSECUTION OF MORMONS. 55
zens. These mobocrats succeeded in diffusing their
spirit into the citizens of the adjacent counties, and in-
sult succeeded upon insult, until finally the Mormons
became utterly desperate, and they, as well as the
mobocrats, exposed themselves to the just indignation
of the virtuous citizens of the state, and were finally,
after much plundering and skirmishing on both sides,
and some bloodshed, driven en masse from the state.
The number of exiles is stated at twelve thousand by
the Mormons. The disgusting details of this savage
war we will pass over in silence. It is said that the
number of Mormons killed in these several conflicts
were, in all, twenty-five or thirty, and that not less than
twelve or fifteen thousand Mormons were expelled by
the " exterminatory order" of Governor Boggs. Under
this order they were ultimately compelled to give up
their leaders to the civil authorities, to be detained in
prison for trial on various charges, to surrender their
arms, amounting to about 600 guns, besides swords
and pistols, and give up all their property to pay their
debts in Missouri, and damages in the state, and then
to leave the state forthwith.
The sufferings of this abused and deluded multitude
in traversing that wild and desolate country amid the
bleak winds and snows of November, men, women,
and children, without friends, or shelter, or food, or
even clothes, were truly heart-rending and almost in-
credible. During these trials in Missouri, women were
compelled to march barefoot, over frozen ground, until
their feet bled ; several gave birth to children in the
woods or on the prairies, without shelter, bed, or bed-
ding ; some men were caught and most cruelly beaten —
one until his bowels gushed out, and he died on the
56 TRAGEDY AT HOW's MILLS,
spot ; and all this because he returned to Jackson
county to endeavor to secure a remnant of his property.
One gang placed a Mormon prisoner in front of them,
and deliberately shot him. The same gang even dug
up the dead and vented their spleen upon them, when
they had not courage to face the living. At the
tragedy at How's Mills, October 30th, 1838, another
gang of cowardly villains, 240 in number, from Grand
River, after having lulled a few Mormons into quiet by
false professions of peace and friendship, suddenly fell
upon them at night, and drove nearly twenty into
an open blacksmith's shop, and deliberately massacred
them there by shooting through the logs ; eighteen or
nineteen fell in this wanton slaughter.
One boy, Sardius Smith, nine years old, hid under
the bellows, where he, was discovered after the general
massacre was over, by a Mr. G., who presented his
rifle near his head, and literally blowed off the upper
part of it. G., it is said, has openly boasted of this de-
testable cowardice, and still he and his comrades are
suffered to roam at large, while the Mormons, both
guilty and innocent, men, women, and children, were
driven from the state in the dead of winter, without
shelter, food, or fire.
The facts above stated are reported on the authority
of the Mormons, in a book published by John F. Green,
authorized representative of the Mormons. Such facts,
it is true, would be utterly incredible on this or almost
any testimony, were they not alleged as the acts
of mobocrats. But from such savages as advocate
mob law in a free country governed solely by law,
nothing better is to be expected ; for it is only by shoot-
ing prisoners, hacking dead men in pieces, blowing
CRIMINALITY OP THE PARTIES. 57
boys' brains out, and plundering and insulting defence-
less women and children, that they can show the true
nature of their valorous chivalry and courage. Such
outrages, doubtless, the great body of the citizens of
Missouri regarded with appropriate detestation and
horror. In this quarrel the Mormons were much in
the wrong, and their leaders, Smith and Rigdon espe-
cially, deserved a much sorer punishment at the hands
of the Missourians than they will ever get. But were
Mormon women and children in fault ? Did they de-
serve banishment or death? Were those dissenters
and others who did all they could do for the state,
worthy of death ? Who began the quarrel ? Was it
the Mormons? Is it not notorious, on the contrary,
that they were hunted, like wild beasts, from county to
county, before they made any desperate resistance?
Did they ever, as a body, refuse obedience to the laws,
when called upon to do so, until driven to desperation
by repeated threats and assaults on the part of the
mob ? Did the state ever make one decent effort to
defend them, as fellow-citizens, in their rights, or to re-
dress their wrongs ? Let the conduct of its governors,
attorneys, and the fate of their final petitions answer.
Have any who plundered and openly massacred the
Mormons ever been brought to the punishment due to
their crimes ? Let the boasting murderers of begging
and helpless infancy answer. Has the state ever re-
munerated even those known to be innocent, for the loss
of either their property or their arms ? Did either the
pulpit or the press through the state raise a note of re-
monstrance or alarm ? Let the clergymen who abet-
ted, and the editors who encouraged the mob, answer.
We know that there were many noble exceptions; but,
58 ARRIVAL AT QUINCY,
alas, that they were so few ! We hate the Mormon
imposture ; it is from beginning to end utterly detestable,
both in its principles and its effects. Mormonism is a
monstrous evil ; and the only place where it ever did
or ever could shine, this side the world of despair, is by
the side of the Missouri mob. In that position it really
shines, not inherently, but from contrast ; and it is in-
deed to be hoped that the citizens of Illinois, where the
Mormons are now located, whatever may or may not
come, will never disgrace their state, their nation, and
their age, or degrade themselves and shame their pos-
terity by resorting to mob law, either against the Mor-
mons or anybody else. We have already had enough
of that ; it is time to stop. I know it is said that mob
law is good, and even indispensable in its place. But
to make it a place where it may triumph with impunity,
the laws both of man and God must be suspended.
True, deliberate public opinion, when given in legal
forms, without passion or alarm, is the only safe foun-
tain of authority and ground of freedom. But, when
heated by present danger and excited passion, it is the
most insatiate and despicable of all tyrants.
After the Mormons were thus infamously and cruelly
driven from their lands and their homes, and robbed of
their arms, corn, cattle, horses, swine, utensils, clothes,
and indeed of all that renders life tolerable, they wan-
dered in the dead of winter through the state of Mis-
souri, toward the Mississippi. A large number arrived
opposite Quincy, during the months of February and
March, 1839, where they found the ice running so fast
that they were obliged to encamp in the open woods,
without clothes or shelter, on the opposite bank of the
river. Among this miserable and destitute multitude,
ARRIVAL AT QUINCYi 59
Were not only naked children, and famished infants,
and married women in delicate and critical circum-
stances, but also about twenty females, whom the sav-
age ferocity of mob law had deprived not only of their
living, but also of their husbands and friends, who had
either been butchered before their eyes, as narrated
above, or had sunk beneath the lingering torments of
hunger, cold, despair, and want. The citizens of Quincy,
to the honor of themselves, of civilization, and human-
ity, immediately called a public meeting, passed appro-
priate resolves, expressive of their abhorrence and de-
testation of the principles of the authors of their ca-
lamity, and entered upon a course of vigorous and sys-
tematic efforts to relieve their necessities and provide
for their future wants.
A similar course of conduct toward the refugees,
has in part wiped off the disgrace which the mobs of
Missouri had inflicted upon human nature and the
American name.
After casting about them, for a time, to retrieve their
misfortunes, the prophet and his comrades selected the
town of Commerce, on the Mississippi, in Hancock
county, Illinois, to be the future centre of their opera-
tions, under the name of the " Stake at Nauvoo," or the
beautiful city. Toward this point their forces have
been concentrating for the past two years from all parts
of the Union, from Canada, and even from Europe.
Between eight and ten thousand have already gathered
around this beautiful site — but two years since an open
but fertile desert. The reader must also know, that
their elders and preachers traverse, at this time, the
globe, as far as Syria on the east, and the Rocky Moun-
tains on the west ; and that thev have not been slow to im-
60 NUMBER AND PROGRESS OF MORMONS,
prove their persecutions in Missouri, as a prime means
of arousing sympathy and securing proselytes. They
now boast one hundred thousand converts in the United
States and Canada, besides multitudes in the old world.
This is probably an exaggeration, but their forces have
undoubtedly been increased, both from the utter negli-
gence of the wise, and the infamous persecution of
their foes. They have also many other " stakes" or
centres, in other places, the names of which are un-
known. Their leaders have again succeeded in regain-
ing the confidence of the multitude, whom they train
to speak with the same voice, and strike with the same
arm. Indeed, nothing can exceed the utter and abject
subordination of the hordes at their heels, who still im-
agine that they are governed by no law, and no rule,
save only the direct teaching of the Spirit of God in
their own souls. Nothing can offend them sooner, than
to intimate that they are governed by Joseph Smith ;
and yet his voice is to them the voice of destiny and
of God. Many, however, daily fall from the faith, es-
pecially of those who are allowed .most intimate ac-
quaintance at head-quarters. But other multitudes fill
up their ranks ; and such is the unbounded sway of
the prophet over their minds, that they will not believe
a word spoken against him or his church, either by a
dissenter or any one else. " They are all Gentile lies,"
or " dissenters' lies :" their papers tell them so, and they
believe it. Nor will the absurdities and contradictions
of their inspired works have the least weight to change
their minds, though pointed out to them by scores. " I
know, after all, that Mormonism is true," say they, " for
God has revealed it to my own conscience by his
Spirit."
CHARTERS IN ILLINOIS, 61
Their leaders are now launching out again, to pro-
cure the handling of a little more cash. Accordingly,
at the last session of the legislature of Illinois, they ob-
tained six charters : one incorporating their city with
peculiar privileges ; another incorporating a standing
army, under the name of the " Nauvoo Legion ;" an-
other incorporating a company for the building of a
temple, worth some one hundred thousand dollars ; an-
other for building a tavern-house, worth one hundred
thousand dollars more ; another for incorporating a
school ,for the prophets, under the name of the Nauvoo
University, and another for incorporating a manufac-
turing company. All these objects will of course cause
a pretty sum of money to pass through the hands of
the prophet and his friends ; and should they turn bank-
rupt, as they did in Ohio, it is not to be presumed that
these servants of the Lord would allow any of this
filthy lucre to stick to their fingers.
Such, in general, are their present condition and
prospects. Many, who were intimately acquainted
with their distracted condition at the commencement of
the mobs in Jackson county, Missouri, and even some
who belonged to the society, and were on the ground
at the time, were fully of the opinion that the errors
of their leaders previous to that crisis would have
proved irretrievable, had it not been for the opportune
and signal aid of the mob, who at once put into their
power the means of diverting the minds of their follow-
ers from the multiplied sources of doubt and despair
which were fast thickening around them, and had vir-
tually withdrawn already many from their ranks, to
concentrate their energies and animate their passions
and their hopes anew, and, by the cry of persecution
6
62 RESULTS OF THE PERSECUTION.
and martyrdom, to throw themselves upon the same
exalted station of the saints and martyrs of old, and
thus rouse the before listless attention of the unbeliev-
ing multitude, and rally both their prayers and their
sympathies to their aid.
Whether this be true or not, such results, and such
only, are always to be looked for and expected from
persecutions. And if it at last shall prove that the
Missourians threw an egg from their casket, which else
had rotted on their hands, only that it might hatch a
scorpion to nestle in the bosoms of their sons, they may
thank themselves for their pains. Neither the laws,
nor the constitution, nor their country, nor their age,
nor yet the wisest and best of the citizens of their own
state, advised them to such a course. They may smile
at such a suggestion ; but, before we close, we shall
adduce some facts to show why they have reason to
fear that they may yet be wet with their own blood,
if some remedy, more just and more potent than mob-
ocracy, be not speedily applied to the fanaticism of the
Mormons. Should the Mormons rally their forces, and
invade Missouri, as their leaders undoubtedly design,
and should the other states, as perhaps they might,
when called to the rescue, reply — that it is a job of
their own seeking, that they commenced the quarrel
without authority and without advice, and now they
may fight it out — should these things, we say, happen,
it is not difficult to foresee that a terrible retribution
would ensue ; and many of the ambiguous prophecies
of Smith would be at once interpreted and fulfilled.
But we hope for better things ; we hope that both the
ferocity of arms, and the stupidity of silent contempt,
AUTHORITIES, PROCLAMATIONS, ETC. 63
will give place to the resistless force of argument, and
the cheering and convincing light of reason and truth.
Our authorities for the brief and general statements
made above, are the documents submitted to Congress
by the Missouri legislature ; " Facts relative to the ex-
pulsion of the Mormons," by John P. Green ; "History
of the Church of Latter Day Saints," by John Corril ;
Winchester's " Biography of Dr. Hurlbert ;" " Boothe's
Letters ;" the various periodicals and publications of
the Mormons at the time of the mob, and " Mormonism
Portrayed," by William Harris.
Some of these authorities throw the whole blame of
the Missouri war upon one party, and some upon the
other : we are disposed to share it equally between
them. We deem Mormons and mobocrats about an
equal match, saving always the helpless wives and chil-
dren of both parties.
Smith's present pecuniary operations consist mainly
in purchasing land at a low price, laying out town lots,
and selling at high prices to his followers. He has made
several towns in this manner, in Illinois and Iowa.
During the past year, he has made two proclamations to
his followers, throughout the world, to come and gather
around him, and the ten thousand Mormons in England,
and the one hundred thousand on this continent, are all
in motion. Nauvoo increases by thousands annually. In
the "Times and Seasons," of June 1, 1841, a reve-
lation is given, addressed to all the kings of the earth,
and all the saints, commanding them to bring their gold
and silver, and precious stones, &c, &c, and lay them
at the feet of the prophet, for building the splendid
temple at Nauvoo. It runs on this wise : — " Awake,
O kings of the earth ; come ye, O ! come ye, with your
64 TEMPLE, BAPTISM, POLLS, CIVIL WAR, ETC.
gold and silver, to the help of my people, to the house
of the daughter of Zion !" &c. They are also informed
that all must baptize for the dead, at the temple at Nau~
voo, after it is completed. This must eventually con-
centrate all Mormons around Nauvoo. Their standing
army, chartered by the state of Illinois, is kept con-
stantly on the drill, under their general. Their books
are full of prophecies of the utter destruction of all un-
believers, and the overthrow of all governments save
their own, and still, full of the most courteous profes-
sions of subjection to the civil power. See B. C, pages
191, 95, 117; Voice of Warning, page 186, &c, where
it will be seen that unbelievers " shall be cut off," brought
"under the feet" of the Mormons, " torn in pieces," " de-
stroyed from off the face of the land," &c, &c, and
that too, as Pratt prophesies, in less than fifty years.
Their leaders understand all this ; their followers do
not. It will, probably, be first expounded in full to the
Missourians, for Smith's divinity is definitely and posi-
tively pledged to retake Zion in Jackson county, either
by stratagem or force, or the whole scheme must inevi-
tably fail, even with the Mormons. This explains the
gathering at Nauvoo, on the borders of Missouri. Our
demagogues would do well to look at these things, be-
fore they involve us in a civil war with our sister state.
Smith has also issued his mandate, enjoining all his
followers to assemble at the polls, and vote for the
democratic ticket at the next election. This also ex-
plains the silence of many presses, and the pliancy and
sycophancy of the demagogues in both political parties.
Some of them flatter and fawn around the Mormons ;
all fear them. This is truly alarming. Real estate
constantly falls in value, in their vicinity, except that
held by Mormons.
INSTINCT OF FAITH. 65
CHAPTER III.
COMPARISON OF MORMOMISM WITH SIMILAR FANATICISMS.
Instinct of faith — Instinct of independence — Desire of power — Operation
of these to produce general credulity and fanaticism — False Messiahs
— Peculiar analogous fanaticisms — Serpentinians — Millenarians — Cir-
concelleones — Stylites — Eonites — Beghards — Quietists — Whippers,
Dancers, Jumpers, and Men of Understanding — Anabaptists — Davidists
— Illuminati — Knipperdolings — Madame Bowrignon — Seekers — Mug-
gletonians* — Camisards — Falling Swords — Swedenborgians — Salem
witchcraft — Glassites — Ann Lee — Jemima Wilkinson — Joanna South-
cote — Richard Brothers — French infidels — Mad Thom, Dilks, David-
son, Miss Campbell, Irving, Mathias, and Joe Smith — Successive crops
of fanatics and causes — General agreement of fanatics — The bottle con-
juror — Love of exciting marvels — Rule for fanatics.
Having considered the rise and progress of Mormon-
ism, we pause for a moment to compare it with similar
delusions.
Much of the history of our race, in respect to reli-
gion, is the history of fanaticism. Amid so vast an
amphitheatre of religious lunatics, we shall find some
more eccentric, if not more insane, than others ; and
by casting our eyes back upon the scene, and reflecting
upon the credulity and weakness of the race, we shall
be better prepared to appreciate this new development
of human folly, and to contemplate its absurdities with-
out either amazement or alarm.
There are three fundamental principles which sway
the destinies of the human race.
1. The religious element in the nature of man, which
I shall call the instinct of faith.
2. The instinct of independence.
6*
66 INSTINCT OF FAITH*
3. The desire of power.
These instincts, propensities, or tendencies, exist in
all ; but the two former are more fully developed in
the multitude, while the more exorbitant and striking
manifestations of the latter are seen only in the few.
By the instinct of faith I do not mean any principle that
is so inherent in the nature of man, that its develop-
ment appears at the moment of his birth, and which
cannot, by any possible combination of influences, be
made to disappear. But I mean a universal propensity
to worship, and to fear some higher power than human,
which, by the necessary action of external influences
and events, is invariably developed, before the period
of maturity, in all the appropriate circumstances of
human existence. Thus the instinctive nature of man
leads him to build houses, wear clothes, and eat bread,
though he neither builds houses nor eats bread at his
birth, and though some savages, or maniacs, may be
found who live on roots in the open air. Still, such a
state is no more proved to be the nature of man than
that it is the nature of fish to live on dry land, because
a few are found flouncing in an exhausted pool.
In this sense man alone, of all other animals, is en-
dowed with a religious instinct, or an instinct of
faith. His nature impels him to be a religious being;
to worship and to fear some power higher than human.
Skeptics may rail at this ; they cannot help it. They
may call this propensity the result of reason or of su-
perstition, of chance, of education, of wisdom, or of
folly ; it is still human nature ; and it will plead with,
and warn even them, sometimes, in spite of themselves.
And whether philosophical or unphilosophical, the at-
tempt to exterminate it is as vain as to attempt to exter-
INSTINCT OF INDEPENDENCE. 67
minate human nature itself, and let man still live. Pride,
passion, and lust may either pervert or expel it, as the
love of brandy sometimes expels the desire of water.
Still God, the omnipotent and the wise, has made man
to be a true and rational worshipper of himself; and
man cannot avoid the action of this propensity without
depraving and degrading every principle of his moral
and social nature. He must be a religious being in
some way. The only question is whether truth and
reason, or folly and nonsense, shall lie at the basis of
his devotion. If he will not bow before the omnipotent
God, and yield to the clemency of heaven, he must fall
before human absurdities, and be crushed by the arro-
gance of man. Hence every departure from the true
and rational worship of God is based on credulity ; for
it necessarily implies the belief of some absurdity.
Atheism itself is not mere unbelief; it implies actual
belief in the grossest of all absurdities, not excepting
the worship of Juggernaut.
These religious elements take such a deep hold of
human nature that they necessarily move and control
all else. Hence if you move and control these, you
give direction to all the energies of his nature. Pros-
tituted to falsehood, they are ever the ready and most
efficient instruments of the tyrant and the despot.
Guided by reason and truth, they are the sole founda-
tion of personal freedom and safety, and of public order
and peace.
2. The instinct of independence, or an instinctive
aversion to all restraint whatever, come from what
source it may, is another fundamental element in hu-
man nature.
We all naturally love to think, speak, act, and feel
68 DESIRE OF INDEPENDENCE.
as we please ; to follow our momentary and transient
impulses, without hindrance or restraint, right or wrong.
To be without this aversion to restraint, this innate
love of licentious freedom, is to be more or less than
human. Call it selfishness, call it depravity, call it
what you will, it is human nature, and, so far as we can
see, it is absolutely inseparable, not only from human
nature, but from all animal existence.
Its influence throughout animal nature is as constant
and universal as the law of gravitation, and its tendency,
when unrestrained by higher instincts and principles, is
always in the same direction, downward, from the angel
toward the brute. It was made to direct and control
all animals, except where some higher power interposes;
and it was designed to guide and control man, except
where God interposes through rational appeals to the
instinct of faith: It was designed at once to ensure
the proper and rational independence and integrity of
the individual, and to rescue him from all rule and all
control, save the just and needful sway of heaven. In
the mouth of the Christian apostles, it says, " Whether
it be right to fear man more than God, judge ye ;" but,
perverted in the mouth of a Voltaire, it says, " Crush
the wretch ! ! !"
It must, however, in general own a God. But the
true God is all-seeing and omnipotent. His claims are
necessarily omnipotent. It must be religious. But the
restraints of rational worship, though both natural and
salutary, are at once onerous, constant, and ever pres-
ent. It yields to the instinct of faith because it cannot
help it. But it would fain stipulate for more freedom
than either truth or the rational worship of the true
God can give. Hence it corrupts religion, and thus
DESIRE OF POWER. 69
avoids God by stratagem, since it cannot do it by force.
It bows to falsehoods and humbugs of its own creation,
and thus, by grasping at more freedom than either God
or truth can give, it massacres all freedom and all
safety, and, in the end, by an act of suicide, it destroys
itself. It hesitates to bound upward toward heaven ;
it stumbles and falls into hell.
3. Instinctive desire of power. — But, indomitable as
is this aversion to restraint, there is one thing which
every son of Adam loves a little better than this much-
desired freedom ; and that is a little poiver. Give them
that little, and they want a little more — and a little
more — and so on, until the whole world is beneath
their feet ; and then, like Alexander of old, they sit
down and cry for a little more power. This instinctive
love of power was designed to stimulate us to the ac-
quisition of those high moral and intellectual endow-
ments, in which, above all, natural excellence and supe-
riority consists ; and to impel us to the use of these
commanding qualities for the benefit, instruction, gui-
dance, and elevation of those less highly favored than
ourselves. But it has been perverted and prostituted to
ends purely selfish. It was designed to acquire and dis-
pense truth for the good of the race. It has grasped
sophistry and lies, and wielded them, of course, only
for destruction. This perversion results from the fact
that it exists in, and works among a race, who, as we
have seen, in a matter of the highest concern, love a
lie better than the truth.
These three fundamental principles or instincts of
humanity, if allowed to act as God designed, would
constitute the true freedom and glory of our nature.
But, when perverted, they become the most efficient
70 OPERATION OF INSTINCTS.
instruments of tyranny, degradation, and shame. It
cannot be shown that moral and accountable beings
could exist without them ; nor that their perversion
and consequent evils could be prevented, except by the
protracted and terrible experience of the mischiefs that
ensue. Be this as it may, all these instincts were ori-
ginally angels of mercy. Two of them, by perversion
have become devils, and made war upon the third.
Here, then, is human nature, with one pure impulse
from heaven, struggling against two perverted im-
pulses from hell. Hitherto the base and the malign
have grappled the pure and the good by the throat,
and held it in the dust. But their grasp is hourly re-
laxing, and their ultimate defeat is both glorious and
sure.
Hitherto the love of power for selfish ends, in the
few, and the aversion to natural religious restraint, in
the many, have co-operated in prostituting the instinct
of faith, through the most absurd schemes of supersti-
tion and credulity, to the vilest ends of tyranny, licen-
tiousness, and lust.
The multitude must have some scheme of faith : they
have hated the restraints of the true one. The few
have perceived the predicament of the many, and,
sympathizing with their aversion to the gospel, they
have devised and imposed upon them schemes of false
religion better suited to their own ends, of political or
spiritual tyranny and misrule. But, when the hand of
oppression has become intolercrt>le, the multitude have
not unfrequently defied at once all faith and all con-
trol, and rushed from the absurdities of superstition and
abject submission to the still greater absurdities of
atheism and anarchy. They, however, brave the
OPERATION OP INSTINCTS. 71
roar of the cataract, only to sink in the abyss of a more
hideous and pestilential fanaticism. They should sail
upstream instead of down ; but this implies labor and
restraint, from which they shrink, because they see it.
But what lies below the rapids is unseen, until it is ex-
perienced.
The operation of these inevitable causes has, in all
ages, divided the majority of mankind into two general
classes, so far as their religious history is concerned.
A small class, who, from the desire of political or spiri-
tual powor, have aspired to teach, and a large class,
whose only business it has been to believe. " The
knaves said so, and the fools believed them." These
nine words exhibit an epitome of the religious history
of the majority of our race, atheists, deists, and all, ex-
cept the very few who have honestly yielded to the
law of nature and of God. Here is the grand arena
on which knaves have piped and fools have danced,
throughout all generations.
From among those whom we have here dignified
with the name of teachers, we do not exclude the self-
styled philosophical atheist. Nor do we include those
who teach any form of rational or true religion ; nor
yet any of those multitudinous fanatics and lunatics,
who either originate absurd notions, from insanity, or
receive them, second hand, from adroit villains, and
propagate them from sheer credulity. These either
fall in regular order among the marshalled dupes of the
craft, or form an eccentric platoon of maniacs in the
rear. In the ranks of imposture, we place only the
ambitious and selfish originators of absurd dogmas of
either superstition or skepticism. Some of these have
sought political power, like Mohammed. Others have
72 OPERATION OF INSTINCTS.
aspired to spiritual rule, like the autocrats of India and
of Rome. Others have aimed at intellectual and so-
cial elevation or literary fame, like the French atheists.
Others are looking at social elevation, through ecclesi-
astical or spiritual sway, as many among the shoals
of ambitious sectarians, reformers, and system-mongers
of modern Christendom. Now all these, of course,
profess the purest motives. We cannot believe them ;
the world has lived too long. Our charity may force
our incredulity to admit, that, in many cases, they them-
selves are not fully conscious of the strength of the self-
ish motives which urge them onward. This is the
best opinion we can form of them, till the world lives
its life over again, or we get a new revelation from
heaven.
These three causes, the necessity of faith, the aver-
sion to restraint in the many, and the love of power in
the few, have conspired to make the religious history
of the mass of mankind a history of credulity and in-
fatuation. Mormonism is not an exception to the gen-
eral rule. It is but one of the many hideous errors
imposed, by the lust of power, on the credulity of the
multitude.
In all ages of the world the majority of mankind,
both in Christian and heathen lands, have been ready to
believe any thing in religion, however absurd, provided
it was both false and absurd, and proffered eternal hap-
piness, or at least eternal exemption from merited pun-
ishment, as the reward of belief, without the pain and
trouble of a thorough moral reformation.
Melancholy and degrading as this picture is, it is the
true picture of human nature and human society. Be-
ginning from our great progenitor and descending to
GENERAL CREDULITY AND FANATICISM OF MAN. 73
our own times, throughout the long track of five thou-
sand years, in the religious history of our world, we
traverse an immense swamp of credulity and lies.
With the exception of the few spots which have been
reclaimed and fertilized by the genial influences of
Christianity, uncorrupted, we see nothing but darkness,
desolation, and death ; we hear nothing but the boast-
ings of hypocrites and the creaking of their torturing
engines of cruelty, followed by the sighs, and groans,
and mortal agonies of unnumbered millions of poor de-
luded dirpes, or of martyrs to the true faith of the
gospel.
If perchance a ray of light divine flit athwart the
scene, it is only to make us more sensible of the dark-
ness which envelops us, and to reveal, for a moment,
more clearly the horrid and detested phantoms that
hover about our path.
Through the whole line of our march, the only ver-
dant spot we meet is found " fast by the oracles of God,"
and the only solitary being in human shape, who can
for a moment challenge our faith on his own responsi-
bility, is Jesus of Nazareth ; and even his divine words
had scarce fallen from his lips, before these same de-
moniac principles were again inciting men, with more
than satanic skill, to distort, pervert, and corrupt them ;
and again the darkness and the terrors close around us.
Even while the chosen and inspired Paul lived, this
" mystery of iniquity" was already at work.
In proof of these positions, we need not stop to sur-
vey the splendid temples, the lying oracles, the besotted
priests, the sacrificial pomp, the polluted and Baccha-
nalian worship of the detestable gods of the philosophic
Greeks, or of the grave and invincible Romans, or the
4
74 GENERAL CREDULITY AND FANATICISM OP MATT.
multitudinous similar faiths, which infested the globe
before the coming of Christ.
Nor need we contemplate the hundreds of millions
of pagan lands in our own day, with their sacrificial
cars, crushing or crippling thousands as they move
along, their rivers swollen with the bodies of the dead,
or re-echoing with the groans of the dying ; age, help-
less and tottering, either left to starve in solitude, or
hurried away to the altars of their truculent gods ; in-
fants, writhing in the death-grasp of a mother's hand ;
mothers, shrinking in wild and frantic despair from the
burning funeral pile — fathers, mothers, brothers, and
sisters gathering around the direful scene, and vainly
attempting to drown the agonies of their victim with
tumultuous and triumphant shouts ! The dead and
dying forgotten or despised, the living tortured with
the consciousness of what is, and agonized with the
fear of what is to come ; crushed beneath the tyranny
of the present hour, and expecting an aggravation of
their woes in the next. Heartless, soulless, homeless,
and undone, they still cling to the creed which engen-
dered, and the faith which fosters their woes, because
ambitious knaves so teach, and they obediently and de-
voutly believe. Yet this is the boasted religion of na-
ture, and the freedom of nature, when nature is left
free and untrammelled to work its own cure.
But we pass on to the Jnstory of revealed religion.
We pause neither upon the ceaseless rebellions, revolts,
and apostacies of the Jews, nor upon that awful and
final catastrophe of their fate, when mothers sliced and
ate their young, and Titus floated their devoted walls
and temple in blood. We will not dwell upon the cru-
sades, nor upon the Mohammedan delusion, originating
GENERAL CREDULITY AND FANATICISM OF MAN. 75
in slaughter, and pregnant with lies more incredible
than ordinary powers can imagine or conceive of; nor
yet upon that hideous, that immense, that most terrific
perversion of the mild and beneficent religion of Jesus,
which under the Papacy held the human race, through
twelve long centuries of agony and despair, in the very
crucible of tyranny, and extorted from them the last
pang, the last groan, of which human nature and hu-
man endurance is capable.
We will pass by all these cases, though in themselves
they comprise the history of the vast majority of the
human race throughout the world. Still, it may be
said, that all these monstrous absurdities sprung up
amid surrounding darkness, and held their despotic
sway from the peculiarity of the ages in which they
originated ; that they engrossed to themselves the pub-
lic sentiment of large portions of the globe, instead of
hanging, as Mormonism does, as a mere local and loath-
some excrescence on the surface of a more healthful
and vigorous body politic. And although this does not
relieve the matter, still we will pass on to look only at
those temporary and local impostures, which have
sprung up in eras and under circumstances in which
such infatuations might have been deemed entirely im-
practicable.
And first, the world has witnessed, since the coming
of Christ, more than twenty false Messiahs or pretended
Christs, who have obtained sufficient notoriety to live
on the pages of history, besides shoals of similar pre-
tenders, whose memory has rotted with their bones.
We will briefly note, as specimens, a few of those whose
memory still survives.
The first one of much note was one Caziba, who
76 FALSE MESSIAHS.
lived in the second century. The Jews acknowledge
that they lost between five and six hundred thousand
souls, in fighting against the Romans in defence of this
pretender. Here is human credulity. When the true
Messiah came, and fulfilled all their own sacred proph-
ecies before their own eyes, and wrought wonders and
gave signs from heaven above and earth beneath, they
crucified him. Why ? Because they hated the restraints
of true religion. Again, when a few years after an
impostor arises, without a solitary proof of either au-
thority or virtue, they rally around him, and pour out
their blood like water in his defence. Why ? They
loved to indulge in the false hopes of a false and pre-
posterous faith. This is human nature in all ages and
climes.
In 434, another pretender arose, called Moses, who
persuaded the Jews in the island of Crete to abandon
their houses and lands, and to assemble on a given day
on a rock overhanging the sea, from which they were
to cast themselves into the deep, that he might conduct
them in safety (Joe Smith like) to their promised land,
the Mount Zion of old. Multitudes came, and men,
women, and children, without the least hesitation, threw
themselves headlong into the sea, until at last so great
a number were drowned as to open the eyes of the rest.
In 529, another by the name of Julian appeared,
who, after an immense slaughter of his followers, was
taken and put to death by the Emperor Justinian.
In 11 57, another arose in Spain, under whose guidance
almost all the Jews in that kingdom surrendered them-
selves to utter extermination.
In 11G7, another arose in Arabia, who pretended that
if he should be beheaded, he should come to life again.
FALSE MESSIAHS. 77
The Arabian king took him at his word, and ended the
delusion by taking off his head.
In 1199, another arose in Persia, called David El
David. Vast numbers of the Jews were butchered for
following this impostor. The twelfth century, alone,
produced no less than ten of these false Christs, who
brought prodigious calamities upon the Jews, in various
parts of the world ; and though their names may be
forgotten, their deeds of infamy will still live.
In 1666, immediately after the dreadful massacre of
the Jews in Persia, Sabbatai Levi appeared in Smyrna,
a man of learning, and an impostor of surpassing skill
among the Jews. They flocked around him in multi-
tudes, and styled him " Tlie King, our King and Lord,
the man elevated to the height of all sublimity, the Mes-
sias of the God of Jacob, the true Messiah, the celestial
Zion, Sabbatai Levi" He promised them deliverance
from captivity, and, to hasten and ensure the day, they
gave themselves up to all kinds of religious austerities
and enthusiasms. Some starved themselves by fasting,
others buried themselves in the earth, until their limbs
grew stiff and useless ; some dropped melted wax upon
their flesh ; some rolled naked in the snow, until frozen ;
others immersed themselves in cold water, in winter ;
and others, still, burned themselves alive. Many of his
followers fell into strange ecstacies, and fits of prophe-
sying. Four hundred men and women predicted his
growing kingdom, and even infants, before they could
talk, pronounced him the " Messiah, the Son of God."
The people heard voices from their bowels, fell into
trances, foamed at the mouth, and predicted the coming
triumphs of their Messiah. When brought before the
Cadi, or justice of the peace, they saw a pillar of fire
78 PECULIAR FANATICISMS.
between him and that functionary. The grand seignior
finally ordered him before him. The Jews believed that
the messengers and janisaries, sent to^ escort him, all
fell dead, and were restored at the word of his mouth,
Though barred, bolted, and chained in prison, they fan-
cied that they saw him daily walking the streets, with
chains of gold about his limbs. Finally, the grand
seignior gave him his choice, either to stand as a target
for his archers, or to turn Mohammedan ; he wisely
chose the latter. But still, the Jews insisted that it was
not their Messiah, but only his shadow or spirit, which
they saw walking the streets, in the garb, and with the
beard of a Mussulman, and that God had taken his body
to heaven, and would again return him in his own due
time.
These few will serve as specimens of the whole. It
is worthy of remark, that all these, and scores of others,
pretended, as Smith and Co. now do, that they were
raised up of God to fulfil the ancient prophecies, and
restore the Jews to their promised land. Like Smith
and Co., they based their claims on a literal interpreta-
tion of prophecy, found manifold texts as explicit as the
Mormon wall, the stick of Ephraim, the flying angel,
&c, &c, are now in favor of the Mormons. They
added miracles and prodigies, wherever they were
wanted, and found dupes enough to believe and run
after them, and sacrifice all earthly good to their pre-
posterous claims, as the Mormons now do to the claims
of Smith.
The Serpentinians, or Ophites, arose in the second
century. They were so called because they believed
that the serpent, spoken of in Genesis, who taught man-
kind " good and evil," was Jesus Christ. Hence they
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 79
worshipped the live serpent, which they kept in a kind
of cage. Before their sacrament, they opened the cage
door, and made^ the serpent crawl out, mount upon a
table, and twine himself about the loaves of bread,
which they used for the sacrament.
The Millenarians arose under one Carpocrates, sixty
years after Christ. They increased rapidly after the
council of Nice, in the year 340, and their doctrines
have been caught up, and reiterated by almost every
fanatical sect which has appeared since. They be-
lieved that Christ would literally reign on earth a thou-
sand years. Hence their name. All who have part in
the first resurrection, were to reign with him ; Jerusa-
lem" was to be gloriously rebuilt ; the saints were to see
Christ descend from heaven to the new Jerusalem, to
reign with patriarchs, prophets, and saints, in perfect bliss,
for a thousand years. Then they were to ascend with
Christ to heaven, to enjoy forever the second resurrection.
At the first resurrection, there was to be a great destruc-
tion among all nations ; at the second, the wicked and
the saints were to pass into their final state of retribu-
tion. Others since have modified these doctrines some-
what, to suit the prejudices of their age, but all proceed
alike, upon what they call a literal interpretation of the
twentieth chapter of Revelations, and similar passages.
The Circoncelliones arose in the beginning of the
fourth century, among the Donatists in Africa. They
renounced labor, professed continence, and wandered
in hordes, with loose women, about the country, as the
professed "vindicators of justice, and protectors of the
oppressed:' They at first went armed with clubs, which
they called " Clubs of Israel," and which they handled
with such cruel skill as to break the bones of their
80 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
victims without killing them, and then left them to die a
languishing and protracted death. They took life at
once, only as a favor. They sometimes filled the eyes
of the wretches whom they had crushed with blows,
with lime and vinegar, and thus left them to their
torments. The dissolute women, who accompanied
them in their brutal debaucheries, they called the
" Sacred Virgins," and their chief was named " Chief
of the Saints." In their onset upon their defenceless
victims, they shouted " Praise be to God !" a signal of
slaughter more terrible than the roaring of the lion.
After having glutted themselves with blood, they turned
their rage upon themselves, and sought the death of
martyrs with the same fury with which they dispensed
the death of heresy to others. They raged only against
those whom they deemed heretics. These deluded
people only " contended earnestly for the faith once de-
livered to the saints," as they maintained ! ! They con-
tinued their ravages in Africa through half a century, and
were finally crushed only by the civil power of Rome.
The fanatical sect called the Stylites, or Pillar
Saints, originated with Peter the Stylite, in the fifth
century. In order to be nearer heaven, this fanatic
spent a great part of his life on the tops of different
pillars, the last of which was forty cubits, or about sixty
feet, in height, and but three feet in diameter at the top,
with a slight balustrade around the edge. Here he
remained, day and night, in all weathers, for thirty-seven
years, devoting himself to prayers, fastings, prostrations,
and haranguing and healing the multitude who thronged
around him.
He finally died in prayer on the top of his pillar, in
the sixty-ninth year of his age.' So precious an exam-
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 81
pie human vanity, fanaticism, and folly, could not, of
course, fail to improve. Multitudes inherited his faith,
and from imitating his example, so far as they were
able, they have been called Stylites or Pillar Saints.
In the year one thousand, a man named Leutard, in
the village of Voitres, in the diocese of Chalons, pre-
tended to be a prophet, and deceived many. He af-
firmed that one day, while lying down in the field, a
great swarm of bees entered the lower part of his
body, passed with a great buzzing out at his mouth,
and after stinging him severely, communicated to him
some supernatural instruction for the edification of the
church. The silly multitude, as usual, ran after him
until his hypocrisy was detected by the bishop, and
then the maniac prophet drowned himself in a well.
In 1148, another lunatic appeared in Brittagne, by
the name of Eon, who believed that he was the judge
of the quick and the dead. He was at last thrown by
the Catholic church into prison, where he died. But
his followers, not convinced even by his death, still
persisted in their delusion, and numbers died at the
stake, in attestation of the sincerity of their faith. The
Mormons, we are told, as well as many others, have
laid down their lives in the same way.
In the thirteenth century the Beghards, or Brethren
and Sisters of the Free Spirit, arose and spread over
Italy, France, and Germany. They were also called
Turlupins.
They held, as some affirm, that, by protracted, un-
natural effort at religious contemplation, men could di-
vest themselves of the instincts of nature; a favorite dog-
ma among enthusiasts of all ages, in some form or other.
They professed to live without anv other rule than
82 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS,
simply to follow the leadings of the Spirit. And since
the excitement of any libidinous desire, or any sense of
modesty or shame indicated that they were still very
far from God, in order to accustom themselves to habits
of indifference and self-denial, they not only lodged
promiscuously, but held their principal religious meet-
ings in a state of perfect nudity, male and female.
And yet so great was the strength of their religious
hallucination, that they are said for many years to have
been chaste and devout.
Neither popes, nor cardinals, nor anathemas, nor
bulls, nor fagots, could arrest the rapid spread of this
fanatical sect. In attestation of the sincerity of their
faith, multitudes of these, too, surrendered all earthly
hope, and expired cheerfully, and calmly, amid the
flames or upon the rack. Some think their follies are
exaggerated, as perhaps they are ; and if they stood
alone it would be rational, as well as charitable, to ad-
mit it.*
In the year 1281, Wilhemina, a delirious Bohemian
woman, died at Milan. She first seems to have per-
suaded herself, and then others, that the Holy Spirit
had assumed human nature in her person, in order,
through her, to save the Jews, Saracens, and false
Christians ; and she imagined that she was destined to
suffer on the cross for them, as Christ had done for real
Christians. After her death and burial, her numerous
followers still believed, and not a few of these also
perished in the flames, in attestation of their sin-
cerity.f
In the fourteenth century, the Quietists, or Navel
* Mosheim, Vol. II., pages 409, 480, 540. t Ibid., p. 412.
Particular fanaticisms. 83
Souls, appeared in the South, first at Mount Athos, in
Greece.
They seated themselves daily in some retired cor-
ner and fixed their eyes steadfastly upon their navels,
until a wonderful divine illumination beamed forth upon
them, and diffused through their souls peculiar delight.
By this process they imagined that they acquired pe-
culiar insight into the spiritual world, saw God himself
with their bodily eyes, and other things equally strange
and unutterable.
In the seventeenth century, Molinos, a Spanish
priest, and Madame Guyon, in France, revived many
of their notions, and spread them over Italy, Spain,
France, and the Netherlands.* Emperors, popes,
monks, and cardinals discussed the merits of this
mighty wonder in successive solemn councils. They
finally concluded that such a divine -illumination was
in accordance with the Scriptures and the dogmas of
the church. The poor monks being thus allowed to
look at their navels, without roasting for it, they soon
became tired of it, and concluded that they could see
as well by looking some other way.
About the year 1260, a sect called the Flagellants
arose in Italy, under one Rainer, a hermit, and was prop-
agated throughout almost all Europe. A great number
of persons, of all ages and sexes, walked two and two
in solemn procession, whipping their bare shoulders
until the blood ran down to their heels, in order to ob-
tain mercy from God by mortifying the flesh.
They substituted these cruel lacerations for all other
religious duties and privileges,. not excepting even bap-
tism and the Lord's Supper. This displeased the Pa-
* Mosheim, Vol. II., page 476.
84 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
pists, who tried in vain to- suppress their spread by
substituting burning for scourging. They continued to
spread for two hundred years.
The Merry Dancers appeared in the Belgic provin-
ces, and spread, alongside of these Whippers, in the
year 1373. Instead of scourging their backs, or look-
ing at their navels in quiet seclusion, they ran from
house to house and danced with all their might, until
they fell exhausted, and thus saw wonderful sights and
visions.*
In 1760, a kindred sect of Jumpers arose in Wales,
who substituted jumping for dancing, with shouts of
glory, amen, &c. These several receipts of the Qui-
etists, Flagellants Dancers, Jumpers, &c., for obtain-
ing the influences of the Spirit, all succeeded equally
well, so long as faith was ardent and persecution se-
vere.
In 1411, another sect arose, called Men of Under-
standing, headed by an ignorant fellow by the name
of Cautor. They denied that any one could understand
the Scriptures without peculiar divine illumination, as
many of the Mormons now do. They pretended to
have divine visions, and promised a better and more
perfect revelation of the will of God than the Scrip-
tures ; which we doubtless realize in the Book of Mor-
mon.
In 1G91, Rosamond Juliana, a noble lady of Asse-
burgh, was favored with divine visions, saw and con-
versed with God himself, and reported commands from
him. She also proclaimed the Mormon doctrine of
Christ's literal reign, for 1000 years, on earth, and the
final restoration of all things, on the direct authority of
> .Uoshehn, Vol. II.. page 481.
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 85
God. Many received and-' promulgated her opinions,
but nevertheless their expected Millenium did not
come, as predicted.*
In 1525, a sect called the Anabaptists arose in Ger-
many, amid the turmoil of Luther's reformation. They
were headed for a time by one Thomas Munster, the
Joe Smith of the clan, himself at once their prophet
and general. They pretended to be the peculiar favor-
ites of heaven, the chosen instruments of God to effect
the millenium reign of Christ on earth. They believed
that they had familiar personal intercourse with God,
that they were on an equal footing with the prophets
and apostles of old, and were armed against all oppo-
sition by the power of working miracles. Their pre-
tended visions, miracles, and prophecies soon kindled
the flame of fanaticism in the minds of the peasants,
and excited great commotion and consternation through-
out Europe. Their prophet finally appealed to the
sword, under the absurd pretence that Christ was about
to assert his millenium reign on earth, by force of arms.
About five thousand of them were slain in battle, the
rest routed, and their leader put to death.
In 1532, John Matthias assumed the command of these
fanatics, and ordered them to assemble at the town of
Munster, which was declared to be the " Mount Zion
of God" by express revelation, where the saints were
to assemble and reign, in Mormon glory, over the kings
of the earth forever. They were finally besieged by
the civil authorities, and after a terrible havoc, in which
the saints lost over one hundred thousand lives, "Mount
Zion" was taken, and the Joe Smith of the day put to
death.
* IVIosheim, Vol. III., page 441.
86 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS*
In the same year, 1525, David George, a native of
Delft, proclaimed himself the true Messiah, and de-
clared that he was sent by God to the earth again, to
fill heaven with people, which he said was quite
empty, for want of people to deserve it. He declared
the doctrines of scripture insufficient, without his addi-
tions. At his death he promised his disciples that he
would rise again at the end of three years. This pre-
diction proved true ; for, at the appointed time, the ma-
gistrates ordered him dug up and burnt by the common
hangman. This unexpected mode of resurrection some-
what puzzled his disciples, who took the name of Da-
vidists from their leader. He died in 1556.
About the year 1540, Ignatius Loyola, the founder
of the Jesuits, pretended to peculiar favor and intima-
cy with heaven. During this same period also, the Ef-
f routes made their appearance, a fanatical sect, who
scraped their foreheads with a knife until they bled,
and then poured oil into the wound, instead of baptism.
In 1575, immediately after the dreadful massacre of
St. Bartholomew, a new sect of mystics appeared in
Spain, and spread over France, under one Anthony
Buckuet. They called themselves Illuminati, and
held in substance to the doctrines of the ancient Quiet-
ists. They taught that none of the doctors of the
church knew any thing about religion ; that Paul and
Peter were well-meaning men, but knew nothing of
devotion ; that the whole church lay in darkness and
unbelief, and that in ten years their creed would be re-
ceived all over the world.
In the year 1616, Antoinette Bourignon was born
in Lisle, in France, and proclaimed her doctrines as
the climax of illuminism. At her birth, she was so de-
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 87
formed that it was debated whether it was not proper
to stifle her as a monster. Nevertheless, in after life
she travelled through* France, England, Scotland, and
Holland ; and by pretending to divine inspiration, she
found plenty of admirers, and founded a sect which
bore her name.
Cotemporaneous with Madam Bourignon, Bertrand
Knipperdoling founded the sect of Knipperdolings.
He taught, as Smith now does, that the saints who fol-
lowed him were to have a monarchy on earth ; that
the wicked would be destroyed ; that infants ought not
to be baptized ; that immersion was the only mode of
baptism, &c, &c.
In 1641, the Irish rebellion broke out: the massacre
of the Protestants, and civil war in England, completed
the consternation of the people, and shot up a new
crop of fanatics in that realm.
In 1645, the Seekers arose. They taught, like the
Mormons, that the Scriptures were mutilated and de-
fective ; that the true church, its ministry, and ordi-
nances, were lost ; that the present ministry was with-
out authority, and that miracles are in all ages indis-
pensable to faith. They were subject to prophetic im-
pulses, and ran through towns and villages, declaiming
and prophesying against ordinary modes of worship.
Females performed a distinguished part in these ex-
cesses. One of them went into Whitehall Chapel in
time of service, and in presence of Cromwell, in a state
of nudity, having been moved by the Spirit, as she said,
to appear as a sign unto the people.
Soon after, in 1653, the Muggletonians appeared,
headed by one Muggleton, a journeyman tailor, and an
ignorant man by the name of Reeves. They gave out
88 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
that they were the two last witnesses spoken of in Rev-
elations. They denounced the " ministry of the churches
as a lie and an abomination unto the Lord," declared
that they were great prophets, had power to work mir-
acles, absolve sins, &c, &c.
The terrible persecutions which attended the revo-
cation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, were accompa-
nied with another shoal of fanaticisms on the continent
of Europe.
Three years after, in 1688, the Camisards, or French
prophets, appeared. In Dauphiny and Vivarais, in
France, five or six hundred of both sexes gave out that
they were prophets, inspired of the Holy Ghost. Their
number soon increased to thousands, and though of all
ages and sexes, they were mostly boys and girls from
fifteen to twenty-five years of age. They had strange
fits of trembling, fainting, and swooning. They fell
on their backs, shut their eyes, saw heaven opened,
the angels, paradise, and hell. They dropped down
thus, not only in popular assemblies among thousands,
but also in the fields alone they fell, and made the hills
resound again with their cries for mercy, imprecations
on the prevailing sects, and predictions of the near ap-
proach of the day of millenium glory. Then, New Je-
rusalem, the marriage of the Lamb, the reign of the
Messiah, and acceptable year of the Lord, was of
course to be ushered in by a deluge of judgments : —
sword, fire, famines, earthquakes, plagues, and wars,
were all piously reserved for the benefit of their ene-
mies ; while the one faith, one baptism, one Lord, and
one eternal reign of Mormon glory, was to be their own
peculiar inheritance. They pretended not only to the
gift of prophecy, but also to the gift of tongues, of mir-
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 89
acles, and of healing, of discerning spirits and the se-
crets of the heart, and to the Mormon power of con-
ferring all these by the laying on of hands. They were
brought to the fullest conviction of the reality and truth
of all their pretensions, by the internal voice of the
Spirit of God, communicating delight and holy joy to
the soul, and pouring forth upon them a wonderful fer-
vor of assurance and spirit of prayer. All they said
was heard with the utmost reverence and awe. They
spread like wildfire, not only on the continent of Eu-
rope,, but in England. They there gave out that one
of their teachers, who had died, would come to life
again : fortunately he did not appear, though the mul-
titude kept on believing.
In 1685, the Tremblers of Cevennes appeared, and were
soon followed by the Convulsionaries of St. Menard,
both of which sects will be noticed in another place,
for a different purpose from the one now on hand.
In 1686, Sir Walter Scott informs us that the good
people of Lanark, in Scotland, saw showers of spiritual
swords, guns, hats, bonnets, caps, &c, fall for days in
succession.
About this same period, also, Sabbatai Levi appeared
in the east, and the Quietists in France and Spain, al-
ready alluded to. Valentine Greatrakes, who appeared
in Ireland, and Emanuel Swedenborg, of Sweden, were
also among the progeny of this wonderful period of
combined persecution, credulity, and delusion.
Swedenborg, a son of the bishop of Gothnia, was
born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1688. He was a man
of genius, enthusiasm, and extensive learning, and ulti-
mately founded the New Jerusalem Church, which bears
his name. His hcgira occurred in 1743. At that
90 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
time, also, the Lord manifested himself to him, as he
imagined, by personal appearance, and opened his spir-
itual eyes, as he had done the eyes of thousands, both
before and since. He, however, was peculiarly favored,
for he was enabled to see and converse with spirits,
uninterruptedly, for more than twenty-seven years.
Thousands, in all parts of Christendom, have believed
in the revelations which he published. He maintained
that all others might enjoy this same gift of second
sight, if they would live in accordance with what he
called the laws of their spiritual nature, as doubtless
many of them might, and indeed all who could first get
a spiritual nature, like his own. Multitudes of day
dreamers, in as many various churches, might attest the
truth of this. Unlike most other enthusiasts, however,
he was probably sincere in his delusion ; and, whatever
may be said of the whimsical absurdity of his conceits,
his writings, doctrines, and life, were neither vulgar nor
immoral, as is the case with most other marvel-dealers.
He was probably a learned, pious, devout monomaniac;
a little more eccentric, though scarcely more absurd, or
insane, than thousands of others whom the world call
wise and devout.
The famous witchcraft phrensy, which exploded in
Salem, New England, in 1692, belongs to this same
period. Previous to this time, all classes believed in
witchcraft, both in this country and in Europe. It was
deemed the highest impiety to doubt it, and supposed
witches were treated as capital offenders throughout
Christendom. Divines, statesmen, jurists, physicians,
philosophers, and scholars, were all alike swept into this
vortex of fanatical delusion, the combined offspring of
that infernal spiritual despotism and contemptible ere-
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 91
dulity, which had for ages crushed and enfeebled the
human race. So direful was this mania, that when the
British parliament repealed the laws for the execution
of witches, in 1735, Scotchmen, of the kirk, confessed
and deplored that act of benevolence and humanity as
among the annual category of their national sins. In
New England, the learned and pious Cotton Mather,
by a mistaken zeal, harangued and inflamed the already
exorbitant credulity of his hearers. He taught them
that they were, one and all, attended by an escort of
devils, at home or abroad, awake or asleep, from whose
malignant power they could not escape ; and, to cap the
climax of absurdity, he declared that the detestable pro-
ceedings of the court at Salem, he thought, had shed
marvellous light upon the Word of God ! ! Of course,
these devils soon furnished the people with business.
Not only decrepid old men, and helpless women and
children, but even dogs were solemnly adjudged and
executed, for the imaginary crime of witchcraft. This
example is not quoted as an instance of religious fanati-
cism, properly speaking, but rather to show that there
is no end to human credulity, when guided by a popular
and fanatical corps of spiritual instructors. Some have
imagined that, the devil was indeed let loose, in a pe-
culiar manner, at this period. No doubt he was ; but
it was to befool fanatics and courts, not to bewitch dogs.
Doubtless, also, the impending horror of Indian wars,
and the general consternation of the times, both aided
the credulity of the age and prospered the devil in his
work.*
In 1728, soon after the rebellion in Scotland, John
Glass arose in that country, founded the sect of Glassites,
* See Upham's Witchcraft, pages 256. 268.
92 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
and taught, among other dogmas, the Mormon doctrines
of weekly administration of the Lord's supper, washing
each other's feet, literal interpretation of the Scriptures,
and community of goods, so far as needed for the poor
and the service of the church.
Another general crop of fanatical sects sprung up,
ih Great Britain and America, after the great revivals
of Whitfield, Wesley, Edwards, and others, and which
seem, in some measure, to have clustered around the
American and French revolutions. In this class come
the Jumpers of Wales, already mentioned, and Jemima
Wilkinson, Ann Lee, Mrs. Buchan, of Scotland, and
Joanna Southcote, of England.
In 1776, Ann Lee, daughter of a blacksmith in Man-
chester, England, commenced her operations near Al-
bany, New York. She was subject to peculiar spasms
and convulsions, as many other impostors have been.
In these fits, she would clench her hands until the blood
oozed through the pores of her skin. She sometimes
continued in them until her flesh and strength all wasted
away, and she was fed and nursed like an infant. She
had supernatural visions and revelations. Like the wife
of Smith, she pretended that she was the elect lady,
and also that she was the woman spoken of in Revela-
tions ; that she and Christ were the two first pillars of
the church, and that no blessing could descend to any
person but through her. She declared that she was the
mother of all the elect, and travailed in childbirth for
the whole world ; that she could converse with the
dead, and speak seventy-two different languages ; that
she should never die* but ascend to heaven in the twink-
ling of an eye. She did die, however ; but her death
was so far from opening the eyes of her dupes, that it
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 93
•
rather confirmed them in the faith, and she still num-
bers about five thousand followers in the United States.
Like the Mormons, they believe that they are the only
true church on earth, that they shall reign with Christ
a thousand years, that they have all the apostolic gifts,
and like them, they prove all their doctrines from
prophecy, as well as by signs and wonders.
In the same year, 1776, Jemima Wilkinson, the daugh-
ter of a Quaker, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, gave
out that she had been taken sick, and had actually died,
and tjiat her soul went to heaven, and continued there.
She heard the inquiry in heaven : " Who will go and
preach to a dying world V She answered, " Here am
I, send me." Her body was then re-animated by the
spirit of Christ, upon which she set up as a public teacher,
to give the last call of mercy to the human race. She
declared that she had arrived to a state of perfection,
and knew all things by immediate revelation ; that she
could foretell future events, heal all diseases, and discern
the secrets of the heart. And, if any person was not
healed by her, she attributed it, as the Mormons do, to
the want of faith. She assumed the title of universal
friend ; declared that she had left the realms of glory
for the good of mankind, and that all who would not
believe in her should be damned. Her first visions oc-
curred during her pretended illness and death, when
twenty-four years of age, in 1775. After this, she
enjoyed them at her leisure. She pretended that she
should live a thousand years,' and then be translated,
without death. She preached in ^defence of a commu-
nity of goods, and took, herself, whatever " the Lord
had need of." Multitudes of the poor, and many of the
rich, believed on her in New England, and made large
94 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
contributions to her. Some gave hundreds, and one
even a thousand dollars for her use. Several wealthy
families were ruined by her. Neither theft, nor at-
tempted murder, nor the hypocrisy of failing to walk
on water, and of attempting to raise a living man to
life, placed in a coffin for that purpose, in all which
she was fully detected, could undeceive her followers.
In spite of her pretended immortality, she died in 1819.
Her followers would not believe in her death, even
when they saw her corpse. They refused to bury her
body, but, at last, were compelled to dispose of it, in
some way, in secret. Those most interested in the
game, by the double magic of either loss or gain, pre-
tended that she had only left them for a time, to return
again, and that her spirit would still be the guardian
angel of all her followers, who of course kept on be-
lieving.*
In 1783, a Mrs. Buchan, in Glasgow, pretended that
she also was the woman spoken of in Revelations; that
the end of the world was near, and that all who be-
lieved on her should be taken up to heaven without
tasting death. Her own death, however, in this case
did somewhat stagger the faith of her followers.
In 1792, Joanna Southcote, a servant maid of Exe-
ter, England, assumed the character of a prophetess,
and pretended that she was the woman of the wilder-
ness, and could give the seal of eternal life to her fol-
lowers. Like Smith & Co., she uttered dreadful pro-
phetic denunciations upon her opposers and the unbe-
lieving nations, and predicted the speedy approach of
her millenium. Of course her thousands of followers
found all her predictions fulfilled. In the last year of
* Millenial Harbinger, vol. II., page 278.
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 95
her life she secluded herself from the world, and espe-
cially from the society of the other sex, and gave out
that she was with child of the Holy Ghost, and that
she should give birth to the Shiloh promised to Jacob
before the end of the harvest, which would be the
second coming of Christ. Harvest, however, came
and went, but no Shiloh appeared. She died on the
27th of the following December. Her disciples refused
to bury her. They waited four days for her resurrec-
tion and the birth of the Shiloh, until she began to rot.
They *hen consented, with much reluctance, to a post-
mortem examination, which fully refuted their belief.
Her disciples then, with still greater reluctance, buried
her body, but not their faith either in her or the prom-
ised Shiloh. On the contrary, they continue to flatter
themselves that she will yet, in some way, reappear,
and that with her will come their long expected Shiloh,
and their Mormon gathering and millenium of Mor-
mon glory.
In this same year, 1792, Richard Brothers published
a book of prophecies and visions, and an account of his
daily intercourse with God, in London. Among his
followers was a member of the British parliament, a
profound scholar, and one of the most learned men of his
time. He made a speech in the house of commons de-
claring his full belief in one of the greatest absurdities
ever presented to the British populace.
In the crop of religious fanatics we must also men-
tion the Illuminati, or French atheists, whose particular
fanaticism, owing to the peculiarity of the age and
country in which they lived, took tne form of extreme
and puerile credulity in unbelief. That is, they refused
to admit and believe the religion of truth and reason
96 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
which God has given to the world, and set themselves
to work, as all other fanatics have done, to make a bet-
ter one for themselves and their race. Other fanatics
have disbelieved and denounced what they called the
absurdities of a particular faith, and advanced and pre-
tended to believe still greater absurdities of their own.
The infidel fanatics of France, on the contrary, de-
nounced the absurdity, or what they deemed such, of
all faith, and advanced an absurdity of their own which
implies and demands a greater stretch of human cre-
dulity than the combined sense and nonsense of all other
creeds. Men may prattle about unbelief, but, after all,
they believe something, and that something which infi-
dels and skeptics do actually believe, be it more or less,
will be found, on examination, to be more absurd than
the combined dogmas of all other fanatics. Atheism
is necessarily the greatest of all credulity. It is the
same perversion of a man's religious nature which con-
stitutes the basis of all other fanaticisms. Disbelief of
what is rational, is real or pretended belief in what is
absurd. The greatest fanaticism of any age is the fa-
naticism of the atheist. Probably most of the impos-
tors of other names have themselves been at heart
atheists, or at least skeptics.
Other fanaticisms are more or less selfish and malig-
nant. The fanaticism of atheism is, inherently, all
selfishness and all malice. Other fanatics attempt to
relieve a portion of mankind of their instinctive fear of
a final retribution, by inculcating the belief of some par-
ticular absurdity. ^The fanatical atheist attempts to re-
lieve at once th^Brhole human race from the same
salutary fear by inculcating belief in dogmas which
render the globe a riddle, and man the greatest of all
PARTICULAR FANATICISMS. 97
absurdities in and of himself. To relieve their follow-
ers from fear, other fanatics sometimes reason absurdly;
but the atheist does the business at once by making all
reason, and the universe itself, a riddle and an absurdity.
In France, however, they compromised the matter
somewhat, at last, and after proclaiming that there was
no God, no virtue, no crime, no heaven, and no hell,
they established the worship of the goddess of reason,
to satisfy the unquenchable instincts of the human soul,
instead of the worship of Joanna Southcote, or Jemima
Wilkinson, or Joe Smith, as other fanatics have done.
The result of this experiment, and the number of their
dupes in this country and Europe, are too well known
to need further comment here.
These are all the religious fanaticisms of note which
clustered around the political revolutions of the last part
of the past century, unless we include the fanaticism of
what is called the Kentucky revival, in the year 1800,
which will be adverted to in another place.
After these tumults had subsided, the world again had
some rest, until about the year 1830, when another
crop of fanaticisms seems, from some cause, to have
been produced, particularly in the United States.
In this shoal we find Miss Campbell, of Scotland,
Irving and Mad Thorn, of England, Dilks, of Ohio, Da-
vidson and Mrs. Thompson, of Vermont, Matthias and
Joe Smith, of New- York.
Miss Campbell appeared, in good old Scotland, about
the year 1828. She pretended that she had come
back from the dead, and had th^gift of tongues.
Several ministers of the church of Scotland are said
to have believed on her, as well as some distinguished
members of the bar. The mad rhapsodies of Irving
98 PARTICULAR FANATICISMS.
are too well known to need further notice. The par*
ticular history of Mad Thorn is not at hand ; that of
Matthias has recently appeared in most of the journals
of the day. Like him, Dilks, the impostor of Ohio,
pretended to be Almighty God himself. Davidson, his
disciple, appeared in the vicinity of Bakersfield, in
Vermont, in 1829. He pretended that Jesus Christ
was a woman, and inferior to Dilks, who was God
himself. A female, by the name of Thompson, ac-
cordingly appeared as Jesus Christ, the son of Dilks.
The millenium was to take place in 1832. Dilks and
his followers were to assemble at Philadelphia, as their
Mount Zion, where they were to reign forever, while
the rest of mankind were to be swept from the earth.
They made preparations, as Jemima Wilkinson had
done before them, to raise the dead ; but the woman
selected for the purpose got tired of lying in the coffin,
and came forth of her own accord, before they were
ready to pray her into life. They got about thirty dis-
ciples in the vicinity of Bakersfield, where they assem-
bled on the Sabbath, and rolled naked on the floor,
men and women together, as part of their worship, and
committed other sins too revolting to mention. Still
they found plenty of followers.*
Another fanatic appeared in Connecticut, about the
year 1833, who pretended that he was Jesus Christ,
and, in a public meeting in , professed to show
the prints of the nails of his crucifixion in his hands.
The people, finding that he was working upon the cre-
dulity of the sim^e, wrongfully imprinted more need-
ful and obvious nWrks upon his back, and he suddenly
* See Burlington Sentinel, June, 1831, and Millenial Harbinger,
Vol. II., page 357.
GENERAL IGNORANCE OF FACTS. 99
disappeared, as Davidson and his followers did on the
application of the tar and feathers in Vermont. We
must protest, however, against these things, even in the
most extreme cases. Instruct the people, and not abuse
fanatics. That is the only way to kill fanaticism and
rid the world of impostors*
The history of Smith, who marches triumphantly in
front of this last escort of fanatics, has been already
given.
I have been thus tedious and particular in giving a
brief ♦summary of all the recorded fanaticisms of these
later times, because a simple statement of facts will
tend to wither up that lamentable credulity of the hu-
man mind, which lies at once at the foundation both of
all fanaticism and all infidelity, more effectually than
all the logic and argument in the universe,
" Let but the people know these things," and they
would act with more enchanting power upon their
minds than the will of Caesar could upon the Romans.
The people generally have homilies, doctrines, and
dogmas enough ever at hand ; but they are starved for
want of facts. The well-informed, because they them-
selves know all these and similar facts, are too apt to
take it for granted that everybody else knows them
too ; and that some bare allusion to them will awaken
the same ideas in other minds which it does in their own.
This is a great mistake, and one which we have en-
deavored to remedy, not for the benefit of those who
have been tolerably instructed in matters of faith, but
for the good of the ignorant and uninformed. Others
may pass this tedious and disgusting detail, or read and
pardon it, as they choose.
In view of these facts, however, some few remarks
100 REFLECTIONS ON FANATICISMS,
will perhaps be useful to all: at least, they will conduce
more directly to the specific end in view.
1. During the dark ages, amid the total dereliction
of all reason in matters of faith, and the consequent
persecutions, massacres, famines, and plagues that at
once ravaged and terrified the globe, the prime causes
of the most eccentric human credulity and fanaticisms?
ignorance and terror, were ever present and ever ac-
tive.
By examining the dates, it will be perceived that the
most hideous fanaticisms, since that period, have all ei-
ther clustered about similar epochs of general terror, or
have followed, as a sort of after-clap, some more dig-
nified, if not more rational, outbreak of religious enthu-
siasm.
1. The first was the German crop, of about the year
1530, which attended the agitation and turmoil of the
Reformation. It embraces the various adherents of the
Anabaptists and the followers of David George.
2. Next came the English crop of Quakers, Seekers,
Muggletonians, &c, about 1650, in the days of the Eng-
lish Revolution.
3. Then came the great French crop, during the
terrible persecutions that attended the revocation of the
edict of Nantes, and the horrid hangings, starvings,
smokings, drownings, and roastings of that infernal era,
including the French Prophets, the Quietists, and Trem-
blers of Cevennes, followed by the Convulsionaries of
St. Menard.
4. The English-American crop, escorted by the
French infidels, appeared at the close of the last cen-
tury, during the French and American revolutions,
and immediately after the great revivals in this coun-
CROPS OF FANATICS. 101
try and in England. It embraces the Jumpers, in
Wales, the Buchanites of Scotland, and the followers
of Ann Lee, Jemima Wilkinson, and Joanna Southcote,
and, if you please, the Kentucky Revivalists.
The crop on hand, viz., Miss Campbell, Mr. Irving,
Mad Thorn, Mrs. Thompson, Dilks, Matthias, Joe
Smith, Abner Kneeland, Fanny Wright, &c, were
produced neither by famine, war, nor terror, but by
folly. It would seem, in this case, as if all antecedent
causes were reversed, and that now, in an age of pro-
found, peace and universal ease and plenty, men turned
maniacs, and ran after fools from sheer ennui, because
they had nothing else to do.
The Illuminati of France and Spain, and Antoinette
Bourignon, appeared immediately after the Massacre of
St. Bartholomews, in 1572.
Sabbatai Levi appeared in 1666, immediately after
the terrible massacre of the Jews in Persia.
The Glassites, in Scotland, arose soon after the
Scotch rebellion in 1715. The Salem witchcraft fol-
lowed the terrors of a dreadful Indian war and other
calamities.
These are the most noted instances of human credu-
lity, in respect to religion, since the revival of letters,
except Emanuel Swedenborg, and a few similar cases,
which stand either sacred or sui generis. I have
merely located these events ; others may philosophize
upon them as they choose. So will I. It is sufficient
for my present purpose to remark, what must be appa-
rent to all, that both persecution and terror, of all sorts,
tend to increase the general credulity and fanaticism
of mankind. Where these are wanting, an enthusias-
102 GENERAL AGREEMENT OF FANATICS.
tic, semi-rational, and sectarian Christianity will answer
a good purpose.
If such facts do not demonstrate that mankind will
believe any thing in religion, however absurd and pre-
posterous, provided it be absurd, and at the same time
promise salvation as the reward of faith, it is difficult
to say what would prove it. The truth is, Mormonism
is no anomaly in our world ; it only conforms to the
general rule. We ought not to think it strange that
thousands are ready to lay down their lives in defence
of its absurdities. It would be more strange if an equal
number should be found equally ready to profess and
adhere to the simple, uncorrupted, unostentatious, ra-
tional, and tranquillizing doctrines of Christ and his
apostles. Amid the utter discord of these professedly
inspired opinions, it is interesting to notice that there
are certain points of resemblance in which they gene-
rally agree.
1. They are all perfectly sure that their dogmas, and
those of their own teachers, are true, for they have the
witness of the Spirit to their truth in their own souls.
And the more ridiculous and profligate their schemes
of faith or practice, the brighter and clearer the inter-
nal gleamings of this mystic evidence become.
2. They all, however debauched, pretend to great
sanctity, declaim against the degeneracy of the times,
and pretend to be commissioned of God for the reforma-
tion of the church and the world.
3. They of course proclaim that the day of millen-
nial glory is near at hand, and already commenced in
their own clan ; and most of them have talked of
reigning on earth, with Christ, a thousand years.
4. They profess a literal interpretation of so much
GENERAL RELIGIOUS LUNACY. 103
scripture as is needful to their several schemes ; but
whether the rest is interpreted at all, or annihilated,
they seem not to care.
5. They claim the gifts of tongues, of prophecy, heal-
ing, miracles, &c.
6. They all profess peculiar intimacy of intercourse
and communion with God. Most of their leaders have
been content to be regarded only as the virtual vice-
gerents of God on earth : others, with equal success
and credit, have affected to be Gods themselves.
Now whether we call any or all of these impostors,
knaves, or simple madmen, it matters little, so far as
our present object is concerned, which is to exhibit and
demonstrate human credulity. One fact still remains ;
they, as well as Joe Smith, all obtained followers, even
the lowest and the meanest of them. We might sup-
pose that their followers also were lunatics, unlike the
rest of their kind ; but a single glance at the history
of the Pagan, Mohammedan, Catholic, and Protestant
world, where things equally absurd, if not equally ec-
centric, meet us on all hands, must convince us that if
these are maniacs, it is only because they belong to a
race of religious madmen who have more industriously
and systematically prosecuted the regular trade in cre-
dulity and delusion, while these have only wrought by
fitful experiments in the hours of pastime. Their mad-
ness only appears singular and eccentric when com-
pared with the more prevailing, settled, and popular
phrensy of their fellows.
We except neither pretended philosophers, nor atheists,
nor skeptics from this general rule of religious lunacy,
but only those, whoever they are, and in whatever sect,
who have sincerely and honestly applied their minds and
104 HUMAN CREDULITY,
submitted their hearts to a simple, practical, common
sense interpretation of the word of God — the only cure
of religious insanity the world has ever seen.
We have accounted for the credulity and insanity of
all others by attributing it primarily to the perverse
action of the desire of power in the few, and aversion to
restraint in the many, upon the constitutionally religious
nature of man, or upon the " instinct of faith."
Some choose to designate this same tendency to per-
verse belief by the general name of human depravity.
Others stoutly deny that human nature is depraved as
regards religion ; very philosophically, no doubt, as all
the above facts show. However, they, as well as
other philosophical maniacs, can find fools enough to
believe them ; each of whom is " wiser than ten men
who can render a reason," at least in his own eyes.
There is, however, another subprdinate principle of
great power which is made to play into the hands of
these more active agents in the great game of credulity
and delusion. It is an innate love of excitement of
any kind, but especially of that excitement which is
produced, in the minds of individuals and communities,
by whatever is new, strange, mysterious, or marvellous.
Personal agitation will do ; but popular uproar is far
better. A marvellous and mystical church dogma,
with its attendant ranting eulogies, is tolerable ; but a
stump speech, a good tragedy, a horse-race, or a mob,
is first rate.
A single fact will illustrate the action of this principle.
In the year 1749, the facetious Duke of Montague,
speaking of this innate love of exciting marvels, offered
a wager that a large audience could be assembled at
the new theatre in London, to see a man jump into a
THE BOTTLE CONJURER. 105
quart bottle. His proffer was accepted ; he accord-
ingly advertised " that on the following Monday, a gen-
tleman would appear in the theatre, in the Hay Market,
who would perform the most surprising feats. First,
he would take a common walking-stick from any of the
spectators, and thereon play the music of any instru-
ment now in use ; then he would take a common wine-
bottle, place it on the table, leap in at the cork-hole, and
there sing and play as before, while any gentlemen
might handle the bottle at his leisure to ascertain that
he wa$ actually in it." Other wonders were added, as
for example, " the conjurer would bring to life and pre-
sent any deceased friend upon the stage, whom any
gentleman or lady might wish to see or hear from,"
&c. &c.
On the other hand, the opponent of the duke, in or-
der to defeat the hoax, put up a supplement to the ad-
vertisement, in which it was stated that another gentle-
man, " no taller than a tobacco pipe, would, on the
same evening, among other wonders, transform his
body into ten thousand different shapes, and finally
open his mouth and jump down his own throat."
It was all in vain ; human credulity prevailed, and
the duke got his wager. A prodigious throng assem-
bled. The house was crowded with dukes, duchesses,
lords and ladies, of all degrees and ranks ; they waited
for the performance until they grew impatient ; an up-
roar ensued — some shouting, some beating with their
canes, others hurling the candles about the house, until
finally the greater part made off as well as they could,
losing hats, wigs, cloaks, and swords as they went ;
while others staid to demolish the theatre within ; carry-
ing all the furniture out into the street, they made a
5*
106 LOVE OF EXCITING MARVELS.
bonfire of it, and only ceased from their work of de-
struction on the arrival of the superior force of the city
guards.*
Here is a principle at work which has ruled the
multitude in all ages to an incredible extent. Men will
believe any thing or do any thing, which promises them
excitement, if not deterred by fear.
In the country, a discourse, based on simple reason
and truth, from the wisest and best man in the nation,
on the most important of all concerns, would not draw
out a dozen of these marvel-hunting lovers of excite-
ment. But a horse-race, or a bear-dance, or a stump
speech from any hypocritical demagogue in the land,
would bring out thousands of them. Reason with
them in church on the duty and necessity of their for-
saking their sins, and honestly attempting to live in ac-
cordance with the laws of their nature and their God, as
the only possible condition of safety, either here or here-
after, and how they yawn ! Tell them that they can
be saved by falling into some wonderful and inexplica-
ble ecstacy, or by believing some mystic absurdity, or
by submitting to some externa] ceremony, or perform-
ing some senseless mummery, and they are all awake.
The first doctrine is obvious and onerous ; the others
are marvellous and transient ; and you have only to
blow away at it hard, and keep it well shrouded in mys-
tery, and well inflated with passion, and there will be
an old shouting of "glory" and " amen for ever !! !"
Proclaim in the city a public thanksgiving to Almighty
Cod, and you will not gather a basket- full of this fash-
ionable rabble of ingrates. But proclaim that a new
ape or an old debauchee, will play King Lear, or Jack
* See Sketches of Odd Characters, page 124.
RULE FOR FANATICS. 107
FalstafF, or that a new prostitute will sing, or dance, or
climb a rope, and all the peculiarly rational and re-
spectable part of the community will be there — unless
they chance to hear that a man is going to jump into a
quart bottle somewhere else — and then of course they
will be there.
Such being the order of things, it is no wonder that
enthusiasts, fanatics, and impostors, find both hearers
and believers, provided they can muster absurdities
enough to draw them together, accompanied with a
good, supply of promises to save them, and threats to
damn them if they wont believe. The only thing need-
ful in order to make proselytes to any monstrous ab-
surdity, which proffers salvation without the pain and
trouble of a thorough moral reformation, is to tell your
lie, and stick to it, at all hazards, through thick and thin.
It matters not if it contradicts not one, but all the five
human senses. Proclaim that the sun shines at mid-
night, and the stars at noonday, and maintain that all
will be saved, or at least annihilated, if they will believe,
and stick to it, and they will believe — you will find fol-
lowers. As soon as you get enough together to work
on popular sympathy, get up before them, and if you
are not prepared to go the whole length in fanaticism,
and proclaim Deism or Atheism at once, take the Bible
along with you : the devil is compelled to work chiefly
by the aid of the Bible in these days ; its truths are so
obviously obligatory, that he must quote scripture, ex-
cept among the very lowest grade of religious maniacs.
Never fear then, the more the Bible contradicts you,
the more readily you will be believed. Only take care
not to quote too much in the same connection ; but
snatch a text here, another there, now from Ezekiel,
108 GROUND OF HOPE.
now from the Evangelists, now from the Apostles, now
from the Apocalypse ; jumble them all up together, and
though every text you quote is directly against you,
still bellow away, and assert the contrary — tell them
they will be damned if they dont believe you, and stick
to it, and you will find enough to believe. Oh ! — they
will say — see how he quotes scripture ! The Bible is
all at his tongue's end ! ! His argument is all scripture ! !
Strange this wicked and perverse generation will not
believe ! !
This simple rule would be of incalculable benefit to
the ambitious reformer, or the pliant catspaw of any
petty sect ; and the more absurd their dogmas the bet-
ter. Jesus Christ could scarce find a dozen followers
in our world, and even these at last forsook him and
fled. Joe Smith could find a hundred thousand to " fight
to the death" for him, in any province in Christendom.
If it is asked — What then is our reliance for the final
dominion of truth over error? we answer, because
error is strong only in tumult, truth only in repose.
The one mounts like a rocket, only to fall like a stick :
the other rises slowly and imperceptibly indeed in the
world, but steadily and surely, as the ascent of the sun.
The few, with the one, are and must be, in the long-run,
stronger than the many with the other. And when
Christianity can once be rendered rational, as it really
is, without being made soulless, its hold and its sway,
over minds of all orders and tendencies, will be at once
strengthened and confirmed. But ere that day arrives,
it seems destined, by the perverse ingenuity of man, to
pass through all imaginable corruptions, and contend
against all possible sophisms. This last great battle of
eternity cannot, in the nature of things, be fought by a
GROUND OF HOPE. 109
single arm or a single age. It is pleasant to reflect
that even the absurdities of Mormonism are in many
ways, though unwittingly, hastening on this great day
of the final triumph of truth. Even here, it may be
noticed with gratitude, that the Lord is bringing good
out of evil.
110 GROUNDS OF THE CREDIBILITY, ETC.
CHAPTER IV.
GROUNDS OF THE CREDIBILITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION.
Grounds of caution — Charter of freedom — Basis of false schemes of
faith — 1. Force — 2. Sympathy — 3. Fanatical experience — 4. Human
testimony — God's judgment of— Value of testimony — Puerility of skep-
tics — True grounds of religious belief— Existence of the Deity — Per-
sonal experience — Inherent truth of Christianity — Objections, interpo-
lations, &c. — Proofs from inevitable inference — God's mode of furnish-
ing the facts — Man's mode of explaining them — Origin of the Bible —
Authority of the Bible — Laws of nature — Moral necessity of miracles
— Hume's sophism — Examples of facts to be explained — Conclusion.
It was our object, in the last chapter, to exhibit the
fact, and some of the principal causes of the extreme
credulity of mankind in matters of faith. We will now
endeavor to derive some further practical inferences
from these phenomena, which will lead us to consider
the grounds on which a professed revelation from heaven
can be made rationally credible to mankind.
I. And, first, I remark that the facts adduced in the
last chapter warn us to scrutinize all such professed
revelations with extreme distrust, caution, and care. We
cannot believe, if we would, one in a million of those
who have had the impudence to challenge the faith of
our race. This fact, by itself, shows, if we were to
reason only from the general nature and tendency of
the human mind to believe in such j^evelations, that some
such revelation of the will of God is at once probable,
necessary, and natural, in a moral sense, because the
race have been so constituted by their Maker, as uni-
versally to expect it. By analogy, this appetency, as
GROUNDS OF EXTREME CAUTION. Ill
well as all others, would necessarily demand its appro-
priate object, somewhere, in some age or country. The
basis of this universal credulity is the peculiar nature
which God has given man for wise and holy ends. That
nature leads him to expect a genuine revelation from
his Maker, through his fellow-man, in some way. But,
perverted, it leads him to believe in the counterfeits in-
stead of the true ; which counterfeits, in and of them-
selves, imply a true, genuine original, somewhere, as
necessarily as counterfeit coins imply the previous ex-
istence of their genuine originals.
Reasoning, however, from the actual experience of
mankind, as regards the claims of any particular new
revelations, professing to come from God, they are, in
any age or country, in the highest degree improbable
and absurd. If their claims were true, they would be
a sort of miracles, which no other being but Almighty
God could render, in the least degree, credible. The
chain of evidence, on which alone we are authorized
to suspend our faith, in any professed revelation, must
be seen to hang from the eternal throne, and each suc-
cessive link, as it drops through coming ages, must be
attached, secured, and held only by the same omnipo-
tent hand. The polluting touch of either men or angels,
at once dissevers the dishonored link, in what part of
the chain soever it is placed, and from that point the
chain falls. We know that God is not wont to converse
with mortals as a man converses with his fellow-man ;
and among the millions who have pretended to such
converse, from motives of pride, ambition, or power, or
impelled by insanity, we have found them uniformly
liars. Men speak the truth generally, in other matters,
and can be believed, but in religion experience has
112 CHARTER OF OUR FREEDOM.
proved the whole race, as such, a race of liars.
They can neither be believed in part, nor in whole, on
the ground of their own veracity. The greatest mira-
cle, apparent in the New Testament, consists in the fact
that God has enabled us to demonstrate, independently of
all direct human testimony, that the evangelists and
apostles, and authors of the Scriptures, spoke the
truth, while the rest of their race, in similar circum-
stances, have uniformly lied. New versions of an old
and accredited scheme of faith would fall under the
same rule. Whether a man comes forward, therefore,
with either a new scheme of faith, or a new version of
an old scheme, the rational presumption is that he is either
a lunatic or an impostor. He must demonstrate that he
is not, before we can believe him, however plausible
his scheme. To hold him rigorously and unsparingly
to this, is a duty we owe at once to ourselves, and to
the human race.
As human beings, we have each and all an inalienable
and inborn right to do, to say, or to think whatever we
please, unless good and unanswerable reasons can be
shown, in particular instances, why we should refrain.
Our powers of action, bodily and mental, are, in and
of themselves, the great charter of our entire freedom,
signed, sealed, and delivered to each one of us, by the
omnipotent God himself, in that hour when he formed
our bodies, and breathed into us our eternal souls. And
no being in heaven, earth, or hell, has any right to ab-
stract the smallest item from this innate freedom, but
God himself — God, speaking to us, in some way, through
that reason and conscience which he has implanted
within us. God, who alone gave, alone may take away.
If man becomes the agent, he must demonstrate his au-
FORCE, AS A GROUND OF FAITH. 113
thority from God ; otherwise, it is our duty to resist it even
unto death. But to seize hold of the religious elements
of man's nature, and wield them for the ends of pride
and power, is the surest of all ways to trample millions
in the dust, and reach all earthly emoluments at a single
grasp. The man who holds the religious confidence of
any community, holds them all : and we need not trace,
to the world of despair, the terrible consequences of the
hypocrisy and perfidy of false guides in faith, whether
professed enthusiasts or atheists, in order to startle our
confidence, check our credulity, and throw us back
upon our reason and our rights. There is enough in
both the past and present history of the world to do it,
and do it effectively, if we have any claim to either
reason or common sense. The man who allows him-
self either to believe or to disbelieve, in matters of such
vast concern to all, without the most demonstrable
proofs, is at once a traitor to himself, to his race, and to
his God, and deserves the contempt and execration of
mankind.
II. Let us then, notice some of the grounds upon
which false schemes of faith have been received and
passed from man to man.
They are, in general, four: — 1. Force, or military
power ; 2. Sympathy ; 3. Fanatical experience ; 4.
Human testimony.
1. The first ground of faith, we notice, is force, or
civil, or military authority.
The world has seen many great logicians, but, after
all, there is nothing that will reason like a w T ell-
disciplined army. Men are wont to listen to truth when
it comes from the cannon's mouth. The sword carves
out a path of argumentation for itself, and the halter
114 SYMPATHY, AS A GROUND OF FAITH.
silences all objections. In this way, Mohammed, the
Popes, and many others, have convinced half the hu-
man race.
2. The next false ground of belief is sympathy, or a
tendency to believe, because others do, without know-
ing why or wherefore. I mention this, not as peculiar
to false faiths, but as a false ground of belief common
to all faiths alike.
It is self-evident that nothing can be more childish,
and more truly contemptible, than either to believe or
disbelieve any religious system, merely because our as-
sociates, or those around us do. Still, it is probable that
Christianity itself is frequently received, at least nomi-
nally, and almost uniformly rejected, on this ground, and
on this ground alone. It is the mere force of moral
sympathy which gives such ridiculous power to the so-
cial authority, or mere "dictum" of congenial tempers,
whether writers or speakers, either for or against the
truths of Christianity. The stripling wight and the
hoary debauchee, read a few passages from Paine, or
Voltaire, or Gibbon, or Hume, or Fanny Wright, and
they swallow down all they read, because these skep-
tics say so, and because it chimes in with their own
moral sympathies. The valorous sticklers for ortho-
doxy, among twenty belligerent sects, each read the
" dictums" of their favorite Joe Smiths, and believe
them for precisely the same reason. They chime in
with the ruling spirit of their day-dreams of sectarian
supremacy.
If we cannot receive and interpret the Scriptures on
better grounds than these, we had better pack off to
Nauvoo. We belong there, at any rate, whether pro-
fessed believers or skeptics. Let all those, of what-
FANATICAL EXPERIENCE. 115
ever name, who, from the mere impulse of social sym-
pathy — the "esprit du corps" — put their own little clan
above the human race, and the several generals of their
host above even Jesus Christ himself, look well to the
Mormons. There are striking resemblances between
this sect and their own ; and between their own lead-
ers and the general at Nauvoo. Man-worship is not
confined to the Mormons.
3. The next ground of belief we noticed is fanatical
experience, or immediate personal revelation of the
truth frpm God himself. God speaks to the soul of the
devotee, and openly declares, or obscurely intimates, or
at least obviously confirms, the truth of his opinions.
Now, whatever God says, must of course be true ;
and the only thing is, to be sure that it is the God of
truth who speaks, and not our own vain, conceited im-
aginations ; or our vagrant, wild, and frantic impulses.
There are several things to be observed here.
1. The first is, that all good thoughts, and all good
things, come, either directly or indirectly, from God,
the author of all good.
2. All truth, and especially all religious truth, tends
undoubtedly, when known and received, to render the
mind calm, tranquil, peaceful, and happy, and to har-
monize the action of all its powers. Truth was made
for the mind, and the mind for truth. Pure religious
truth, indeed, gives, from its own nature, a peace which
the world of error knows not of.
3. Those persons who talk most of these fanatical
assurances and rhapsodies of faith, are in tempera-
ment, and generally in temper, directly the reverse of
all this. Enthusiastic in their habits, impetuous in their
temper, vehement in their desires, and impatient of ne-
116 FANATICAL EXPERIENCE.
cessary ignorance, they at once affect all knowledge,
and imagine for themselves all truth. This is, in reali-
ty, arrogance. But by making God, directly, their
teacher, they contrive to call it humility.
Such a man may be, indeed, conscious of his thoughts
and impressions, but he cannot be conscious of their
origin. Whether they proceed from God, man, or the
devil, mere consciousness cannot inform him. If he
knows beforehand that his thoughts are true and good,
he knows they are from the Fountain of all Good, ei-
ther directly or indirectly, and should be thankful for
them. Otherwise he has no ground for such belief, no
more than the sot has proof that the reveries of his de-
lirium are from the direct inspiration of God. .
If his opinions and thoughts merely serve to awaken
grateful and turbulent, or what he calls sweet and holy
emotions in his soul, any opinion firmly believed to be
true and acceptable to God would do the same, how-
ever false and absurd it might be. Probably no one
will ever surpass Simeon the Stylite of old, or hundreds
of Mormons in these days, in what they call the holy
comforts of these devout raptures. But is there no
way by which God assures us of the truth ? Yes ;
when we search for it in accordance with his will, and
the laws of our own minds. God made man to find
the truth, as he does his natural food, by searching for
it abroad, and not by feeling after it in his own stom-
ach. And if he sets himself to seek for it in this way,
he will soon, like the dyspeptic, learn to imagine that a
thousand things suit his nature, which God made only
for pigs and reptiles. God has taught us his truth by his
works, his providence, and his word ; and if human ar-
rogance cannot be satisfied with this, it had better re-
HUMAN TESTIMONY. 11?
main unsatisfied. At least it is probable that it will, at
any rate. And yet all fanatics and all enthusiasts, of
all ages, make common cause here. However diverse
in all else, as we have seen, here they agree. They all
know that their own, or the absurd schemes of their
leaders, are true, either because God has personally re-
vealed it to them, by some mystic voice, or by kindling
up some holy rapture or ferment in their souls. In this
common den of inspiration, we find monsters of all
shapes and sizes, from Simeon the Stylite to Mad
Thorn. ,
In these rhapsodies of faith, or rather of folly, every
silly figment of a diseased imagination is deemed either
a voice or an impulse from God ; and the more absurd
the better, provided it chance- to chime harmoniously
with the ruling impulses or prevailing delirium of the
hour. It is impossible to reason against this folly, for
it defies all reason in the outset. The overweaning
self-conceit, and the total paralysis of all the powers of
reason, which such a morbid state of mind both engen-
ders and implies, render all hopeless and all useless,
while the spell is on, save handcuffs and the madhouse.
4. The fourth false ground of religious belief is mere
human testimony, or the naked " dictum" of some one
or more of our fellow-men.
This subject merits a careful consideration. We
have already proved, by reasoning from past experi-
ence, that, however worthy of belief the human race
may be in all else, in matters of faith they have, as a
race, proved themselves liars, and utterly unworthy of
all credit.
We shall see, now, that the exceptions only serve to
confirm the rule, God himself being witness.
118 god's judgment of human testimony.
The facts are as follows. Jesus Christ, the Son of
God and Saviour of men, came on earth and fulfilled
all the leading prophecies of the Jews, before their own
eyes. They and the world had long and anxiously
awaited his appearance. They were eye-witnesses to
the immaculate purity of his life. They listened to all
the " gracious words that came out of his mouth."
He lived, spake, and acted as never did man before.
If now, in any case, it could be reasonable to require
men to believe^on the mere testimony of any thing in
human form, was it not reasonable to demand that they
should take Christ at his word ?
Would not even the Deist admit, that his testimony,
in such a case, and under such circumstances, was far
more credible than the combined testimony of the whole
human race together ? And yet, what does he say ?
John, x. 37 : " If I do not the works of my Father,
(referring to his miracles,) believe me not." " If I tes-
tify of myself, my testimony is not true," (that is, not
credible.) Again, John, xv. 24 : " If I had not done
among them the works which none other man did, they
had not had sin," (that is, they would have been under
no obligation to believe.) Acts, ii. 22 : " Jesus, ap-
proved [accredited] of God by miracles, and wonders,
and signs, which God did by him."
If, then, the eternal God of all reason and truth deem-
ed it necessary to accredit even his own Son, the fore-
told and long-expected Messiah, by miracles and won-
ders, and signs from heaven above and earth beneath,
before requiring even the Jews to believe on him ; and
if Jesus himself commanded them not take his word —
not to believe on him — without these vouchers of his
veracity, what a comment is this on the utter in-
BELIEVING IN AND ON ACCOUNT OF TESTIMONY. 119
credibility of the human race in matters of faith, God
and Christ themselves being judges ? And have they
suffered this momentous revelation of divine truth, after
all this agony of effort to plant its credibility on higher
ground, to fall back on mere depraved human testimo-
ny ? If so, it is again on the level with all other books.
We cannot receive it, as from God, on that ground
alone. And has this same God, who deemed it unrea-
sonable to ask men to take his Son at his word, merely
because found in human form, really commanded them
to believe the bare dictum of Joe Smith, on pain of
eternal damnation ! ! !
At all events, God, who knew beforehand the history
of man, has, in these and in numerous other passages
of scripture, practically estimated human testimony in
religion, and human opinion, at precisely what they are
worth. He has dealt with men as a race of liars, un-
worthy of the smallest credit in faith, merely because
they are so.
But though God has in fact thus decided that mere
human testimony is no proof of the divine origin of
any scheme of faith, he has not decided that human
testimony is of no use in transmitting a genuine scheme
of faith. Neither shall we; and here we will make
some distinctions indicative of that utility.
1. We should distinguish carefully between believ-
ing in human testimony and believing on account of
human testimony. We believe in the testimony of one
or more of any number of notorious liars when we are
compelled, from knowledge derived from other sources,
to admit that that testimony is true, and that one out of
a multitude of knaves has thus unexpectedly been
proved a man of truth. But we do not believe on ac-
120 INTERESTED AND DISINTERESTED TESTIMONY.
count of such testimony. Just so we believe in the
testimony of the evangelists ; but we do not believe
their statements on account of their testimony, or any
other human testimony whatever. It is indeed true,
that many sensible and eloquent men have maintained
that our belief in Christianity is based on the testimony
of the evangelists and others, and have proceeded to
argue its truth professedly on that ground alone. They
set themselves, however, at once to showing from
facts, that the testimony of these witnesses is and must
be true, thus evincing that they themselves do not be-
lieve on account of their mere testimony, but only that
they believe in their testimony, when they find that Al-
mighty God, by his providence and his prophecies, has
placed their testimony beyond the possibility of reason-
able doubt. This is indeed believing in, but not on
account of human testimony.
2. We should distinguish between the testimony of
interested and disinterested witnesses.
It is a maxim both of common law and of common
sense, that the testimony of all interested witnesses
should be rejected in evidence, whatever their previous
character for veracity. Jesus Christ, as we have seen,
did not exempt himself from the rule. Nor will he ex-
empt any of his followers, or attempt to transmit a
revelation on such grounds as to require their exemp-
tion, either in whole or in part. On this ground the
testimony of the avowed enemies or the indifferent
spectators of any new scheme of faith may be taken
for what it is worth, more or less, but the mere uncorrob-
orated testimony of any one or all of its partisans and
friends, touching any fundamental point of its credibility,
we set down for nothing. It is good for nothing.
DIRECT AND INCIDENTAL TESTIMONY. 121
Aside from the general corruption and incredibility of
the race, in which we must presume that they partici-
pate, until the contrary is shown, they are interested
witnesses, not to the amount of a few dollars only, but
to the amount of all they have on earth and in heaven,
if they are sincere. If there were no other proofs of
Christ's mission and miracles than the bare narrations
of his followers, nobody but a lunatic could believe one
word of it.
We should distinguish between direct and incidental
testimony, both in friends and foes.
When there is an evident design either to confirm or
to overthrow a new faith, by the testimony given, that
fact in itself diminishes its credibility, even when the
witness is in other respects unexceptionable. Inciden-
tal testimony which springs up spontaneously, and evi-
dently without any such design, is of far more value.
In any matter of miracle or faith the direct testimony
of friends to its credibility is of no avail whatever, un-
less corroborated and sustained by other known and ad-
mitted facts. The incidental testimony of friends is
less exceptionable, while the incidental testimony of
enemies, of credible capacity, is of more value still.
But no array of such mere testimony could render any
revelation or miracle credible, from age to age, without
the constant and efficient interposition of the sus-
taining and corroborating evidence of Divine Provi-
dence. Hence the burden of proof must rest, from age
to age, on God, as well as begin with him. This proof
Christianity alone is enabled to exhibit.
With these distinctions in view, then, we do not deny
that the direct, positive testimony of friends may be of
great use in a new and credible scheme of faith ; but
6
122 DIRECT AND INCIDENTAL TESTIMONY*
we do deny that such testimony, however much or
little, can ever make any professedly new revelation
from God in the least degree credible. And the more
desperate the attempt to multiply converts and wit-
nesses on such ground, the more utterly incredible it
becomes ; for it only more clearly betrays the artifice
and uneasiness of its detestable and hypocritical au-
thors and founders. There is not a competent court
in Christendom that would consent to arbitrate five dol-
lars on any such ground. For, aside from the fact that
the temptations are so great, that men in all ages and
climes have been wont to lie about new revelations,
there is no subject on which the majority of men are
so easily duped as on this same all-important and
awfully solemn subject of religion. And when a man's
love of the marvellous is once thoroughly excited,
the religious elements of his nature utterly crazed
and distracted by new hopes, new alarms, new prodi-
gies, and new phantasms, it is impossible to say what
he may not see, and hear, and feel, and bear witness to.
The honest, or at least the undesigning aberrations of
the human mind in such circumstances, surpass all cre-
dulity and defy all philosophy ; and it is absolutely
certain that the all-wise and omnipotent God never
could have resorted to the contemptible expedient of
suspending the eternal salvation of a depraved race on
the bare testimony of their confederates in guilt. Nor
would he attempt to prop up the rotten credibility of
one selfish and depraved human being by the naked
testimony of others notoriously just as depraved. If
Christianity be indeed a revelation from the true God
of the universe, such a miserable expedient on the very
face of it would destroy its credibility. And if Chris-
PUERILITY OF SKEPTICS. 123
tianity is not credible, surely there is not, and cannot
be, any other revelation which is ; for its credibility was
never staked for a single moment on mere human tes-
timony, but it has been sustained from age to age,
throughout the entire history of the world, by the di-
rect, obvious, and signal interposition of God at every
step ; and if these signs all fail, no other conceivable, if
any possible, signs can avail. At any rate the world
must be in its dotage indeed, before it can accept any
lower proof; and it ought to be consigned to a mad-
house if it demands higher.
But how shall a man render his professed revelations
credible? He cannot do it. It is impossible. He
must, if honest, throw that responsibility back upon
God, who alone can sustain it. And if a pretended
prophet evinces any reluctance to do this, and attempts
to prop himself upon mere human testimony, it is de-
monstrable proof that he is a knave ; for if the whole
human race should combine, to a man, aided by all bad
angels, they could not render a professed revelation
from God in the least degree credible. God the om-
nipotent, the all-wise, and all-controlling, alone can do
that work.
How ineffably silly, then, to compare that revelation
which God has made with any other which ever was
or ever can be made ! Deists often speak of distrust-
ing human testimony, as a ground of religious belief.
They are right. It is a thousand-fold more unworthy
of confidence than even they have ever claimed it to
be ; and if they would be as careful in distrusting the
vile originators of their fanatical doubts, as they are of
distrusting St. Paul, or John, there would be both sense
and consistency in their pretensions. As it is, they are
124 PUERILITY OF SKEPTICS.
usually the greatest of all dupes. The great names
found in their ranks no more shelter them from this
charge, than they do other fanatics, who can plead the
same exemption on the same ground. Coincident insan-
ity in faith and skill in science are common in all fac-
tions, all parties, all sects, and all ages. The insanity
of the skeptic is none the more rational, because more
common : his dupes are none the less dupes, because
they are the dupes of an unbeliever, so called.
Notwithstanding these very obvious considerations,
all forms, both of false religion and of professed irreli-
gion, have in reality rested their claims to credibility
on this rotten foundation of human testimony, or au-
thority. Christianity is the only exception the world
has ever seen ; and much that is called Christian is as
rank fanaticism, as are paganism, Mohammedanism, or
infidelity.
It will be observed, that the question before us is not
what use children, or idiots, or ignorant persons, or
others necessitated to submit to authority, are to make
of human testimony ; but what use a man of mature
years, who pretends to be governed by his reason,
ought to make of it. If others may be compelled to
lean on him, surely he ought not to lean on a cobweb
or a rush. The strong must rest on reason and legiti-
mate evidence, before even the weak can repose with
safety on authority. The firm and unyielding bones
and sinews of the father can alone bear and sustain the
relaxed weakness of the infant. So God ordains —
blessed be his name ! The palsied dotage of human
credulity is unfit for even the nursery of faith. How un-
equal then to its battles, sieges, vicissitudes, and wars !
III. Having thus briefly noticed some of the false
TRUE GROUND OF BELIEF. 125
grounds of faith, we will now consider the only true
ground on which a professed revelation from God can
be rendered worthy of the least credit.
But before advancing to this topic, it is needful first
to advert to the proofs of the existence of a Supreme
Being ; and to show that this does not rest, either in
whole or in part, on mere human testimony, as many
fanatical sects pretend.
The main proof of the existence of the Supreme
Being is three-fold.
1. The universal and instinctive conceptions and ten-
dencies of the human race, in all ages. No rational
account can be given of the instinct of faith, of which
we have spoken, without admitting the being of its
prime object, God. Man is so made, that in all the ap-
propriate circumstances of his being he feels that there
is a God, and cannot help it, without perverting and de-
grading his nature.
2. Inference from known facts. We know that the
universe around us exists. We know also, equally
well, that either it has in some past time sprung forth
from nothing, or else it has existed from all eternity in
a successive series of events, such as we now behold,
or, that some supreme intelligent being created it.
The first supposition is on the face of it absurd ; the
second is contrary to all known facts — to the known
history and progress of human beings, and human lan-
guage, and to all known astronomical and geological
facts. Every mountain and every clod demonstrates
its falsehood ; for eternity would have reduced all to
the same dead and muddy level. The last supposition
is therefore the only possible one : viz, the universe be-
gan, and God began it.
126 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
3. All things, within and around us, are governed by
laws, which imply a lawgiver ! They are also full of de-
sign, which necessarily implies a designer.
Infidels wrangle against these proofs ; they talk large :
let them talk. Fanatics also frequently reject it. They
want to stake our belief in the being of a God solely
on testimony, or direct revelation, because if their fol-
lowers can be made to believe without a reason here,
they will be better prepared to swallow down their
dogmas on other points of pretended revelation, or in-
terpretation of admitted revelations, on the ground of
the mere dictum of their leaders. Moreover, by making
every thing in religion depend both for its proof and
importance on positive instruction, mummeries and cer-
emonies can more easily be placed on the same level
with moral duties. This generally suits the design of
those learned or artful knaves, who teach only that
fools may believe.
The true grounds of the credibility of a revelation
from God are in general two-fold.
1. Personal experience, or individual certainty of
its truth, derived from consciousness, observation, and
experience.
2. Necessary and inevitable logical inference
from facts which we know and admit ; that such a
revelation must have come from God as its author, be-
cause all other suppositions involve in themselves an
absurdity, or a train of absurdities.
The personal experience to which I refer is not based,
either in whole or in part, on any supernatural or fa-
natical light, or impulse, or any mystical or mysterious
commotion or excitement of soul whatever ; but on a
calm, deliberate, and rigidly philosophical knowledge
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 127
of the fact, that such a professed revelation agrees with,
and is adapted to, all the known laws and necessities
of both matter and mind : in short, to all the laws and
exigencies of our being, and that it is therefore calcu-
lated to promote in the highest degree, not only our
own individual well-being, but all the great social, civil,
and religious interests of the human race ; insomuch
that none can attain either the highest excellence, or the
greatest happiness of which human nature is capable,
without a proper practical regard to its doctrines and
laws.
This experience shows that such a revelation must
have come, either directly or indirectly, from God, the
author of all beneficence and truth.
Now the sole grand end of Christianity, from first to
last, is to induce all men to strive to become, in moral
temper and character, like its great archetype and
founder, Jesus Christ. All else are merely the neces-
sary means to that sole grand end.
But every man, of even tolerable common sense,
who will throw aside his passions and prejudices, and
subject himself solely to his reason, will immediately
discover from his own personal observation and expe-
rience the following things.
1. Neither individuals nor communities can ever at-
tain the highest excellence, or the greatest happiness,
of which their nature and condition are capable, with-
out an honest and thorough attempt to become such, in
their moral character and feelings, as Jesus Christ was ;
and the nearer they approximate to this standard of
moral purity, the greater will be their share of both
social safety and personal bliss, and the further they
depart from it, the greater the ruin that ensues, both to
them and their fellows.
128 INHERENT TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY.
2. He will discover from his own personal experi-
ence that this moral purity and elevation of character
cannot be obtained, even in any degree, without ad-
mitting all the fundamental doctrines, submitting him-
self to all the influences, and diligently employing all
the means commended to his notice in the gospel. The
more closely he follows and believes the truths therein
contained, the greater his success in attaining this moral
purity and its attendant blessings ; while the more he
disregards these truths, the more signal will be his fail-
ure, and the more corrupt and miserable his career.
In order to come to this conclusion, he needs to do
but three things.
1. Consider what Christianity, even with all its cor-
ruptions and abominable perversions, has effected, and
is at this moment effecting, for Christendom, as com-
pared with the rest of the world.
2. Consider what sort of a community that would
be, in which all its members were in moral temper and
character just like Jesus Christ.
3. Consider what changes must be made in himself,
before he can become such ; what means are requisite,
and what the amount of obligation resting upon him,
as well as on all others.
We hope it will be understood here that we are re-
ferring the inquirer to no sect, no creed, and no expo-
sition of Christianity, either ancient or modern, but to
the New Testament itself, as it is ; and should he hon-
estly attempt to live in obedience to pure reason, and
in strict accordance with the laws of that moral nature
which God has given him, he will find, from individual
experience, two things more :
1. He will be compelled to make honest and unre-
INHERENT TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY. 129
mitting efforts to become, in moral temper and charac-
ter, like Jesus Christ, the only perfect model of humanity.
2. He will find himself under an equal necessity to
take the New Testament for his guide.
Such facts prove that Christianity is true, whether
prom God or not ; and secondly, reason alone teaches
that such important truth must have come, either directly
or indirectly, from God ; and also, that any scheme of
religion which cannot endure these tests is false, and
cannot be from God.
The first grand question, as regards the New Testa-
ment, is not a question respecting either its origin or
authorship ; but it is a question which pertains, funda-
mentally, to that and all other books, viz — Is it true ?
Are its fundamental doctrines and precepts true doc-
trines and useful precepts ? Does the book contain and
develop the great fundamental laws and principles of
the moral and social well-being of the human race, or
does it not ? If so, whatever of truth it does contain
is binding on the conscience of the human race, come
from what source or through what hands it may, be-
cause IT IS TRUTH.
Now we might safely permit the sectarian, the dog-
matist, and the deist, each and all, to take their shears,
and cut from the Bible every text which has been either
doubted, or disputed, or slandered, or ridiculed; and
when they had, one and all, cut away until they were
satisfied, we might take the remaining texts, more or
less, together with such others as the simple light of
reason, in this age of the world, would compel them to
restore and admit as true ; and if we should throw them
at random, thus mutilated and tattered, without order
or arrangement, among any barbarous race on earth,
6*
130 OBJECTIONS, INTERPOLATIONS, ETC
they would, if read, believed, and obeyed, exert a more
energetic reforming influence upon their character and
destiny, than all the other books the world has ever
seen, which have neither drank nor stolen from this same
fountain : for they would still contain more important
moral truth, adapted to the nature and necessities of
man, than all other books, not emanating from the same
original source. But how is it with the Koran, the
Book of Mormon, and the moral speculations of deists
and skeptics ? Only take away what their authors have
manifestly stolen from the Bible, and there is nothing
of moral truth remaining ; their moral power is anni-
hilated, and they become vain speculations or baseless
fancies.
This single broad view of the subject renders the
difference between the Bible and all pretended reve-
lations sufficiently apparent, and the ordinary ob-
jections, sophisms, and cavils of skeptics, sufficiently
frivolous and contemptible ? Suppose that it could be
demonstrated that half of the Bible was really made
up of human interpolations, errors, contradictions, and
absurdities, what then? Would that alter the truth of
the other half ? No : for it might still be shown, that,
in that other half, there was more renovating, soul-
r'c forming, moral truth, demonstrable to reason, and in-
dispensable to man, than in all the other books in the
world which have neither stolen nor borrowed from
its light. If we sincerely want the religion of nature
then, we must, after all, take it from the Bible, whatever
may have been its origin, because there, and there
alone, is found the religion of nature — a religion adapted
to human nature as it actually is. Can any other book,
either moral or religious, plead the same prerogative,
PROOFS FROM INEVITABLE INFERENCE. 131
on the same ground ? If so, where is it ? Show it to
us, and we will at once believe it to be from God.
These and similar considerations, derived from our
own individual consciousness, observation, and expe-
rience, assure us that the Bible is substantially true, and,
like all other truth, from God, whether directly or not.
We find its truths adapted to the laws and necessities
of our own moral nature, and to the highest well-being
of human nature as such.
In the books of impostors we find no such thing, ex-
cept in the fragments or scattered thoughts evidently
derived from the Bible.
2. We will now briefly advert to a very few of the
sources from which a professed revelation from God
may derive demonstrable proofs of its authority, by
necessary and by inevitable logical inference from known
and admitted facts.
By such inference, we intend no mere conjecture, no
tame probabilities, but an absolute necessity, imposed
upon us by the God of nature and of mind, himself, of
inferring and believing one thing from seeing or ad-
mitting another, or else of giving up our claim to be
considered rational beings. As, for example, when we
see a smoke, we inevitably, if not insane, infer a fire ;
and when we see a temple or a ship, we infer the
existence of architects, worship, water, winds, &c,
because we know that one of these things could not
exist without the others, as certainly as we know the
existence of the things we behold.
This chain of logical inference, of course, embraces
all those considerations which are usually treated of
under the separate heads w of miracle, prophecy, and
providence. But, as it is not our present design to write
132 MODE OF FURNISHING FACTS TO MEN.
a treatise on the evidences of revelation, we shall only
indicate the general principles upon which this great
law of inference proceeds, in determining the divine
authority of a genuine revelation, and summarily illus-
trate it by citing a few from the multitude of examples
which God has furnished to every age.
It is obvious that there are here two things to be con-
sidered. First — In what manner the Deity must pro-
ceed, in order to furnish the human race with facts from
which they will be compelled to make the necessary
inference. Second — In what manner man is to proceed,
in making those inferences, in each successive age ; and
it will be found that man must begin where God ends.
He must take nothing for granted which -is not self-
evident, and believe nothing until compelled to believe
by the most rigorous principles of logic.
1. First, then, God must begin to furnish facts, as
proof by miracle, or other supernatural means, as soon
as, or rather before, belief is required ; and these facts
must, in the outset, be exhibited to all who are required
to believe, whether friends or foes, just as the Egyptian
miracles, in fact, were exhibited under Moses. It must
not be done in secret, nor in a party, but with a " high
hand and an outstretched arm," so that all may know,
at once, that it is God, and not man.
2. Such a commencement renders all subsequent
revelations and divine interpositions, obviously forming
a part of the same grand scheme, credible on a far less
amount of proof than would be required to authenti-
cate them, if they stood disconnected, either really or
apparently, from any such scheme. The natural and
inevitable inference of the human mind, that God will
MODE OF EXPLAINING FACTS. 133
complete what he has begun, in itself furnishes a part
of the necessary proof in all subsequent cases.
3. But these original events, themselves, would be-
come utterly incredible, if left to stand on mere human
testimony, however much or little. On the contrary,
miracles, in the limited sense of that term, if continued
from age to age, in all lands, would lose their power of
impression, and thus annihilate their own force, aside
from abstracting seriously and irreparably from the
harmony of providence and well-being of man. They
are a sort of moral volcanoes, which, if diffused too
widely, must consume and annihilate our reason, in-
stead of enlightening it. Hence, to relieve both of these
difficulties, after a revelation has once been rendered
credible and complete, by such signal interpositions of
direct omnipotence, its credibility must be sustained,
from age to age, by subsequent miracles, or by the ex-
hibition of peculiar institutions, monuments, memorials,
prophecies, and providences, which none but God could
originate and control ; and it must never be left to rest,
for a single moment, on the mere uncorroborated testi-
mony of man.
It is not needful to contend that this is the only way
God could render a revelation credible to man, but only
that this is one way, at once natural and rational, and
that any mode whatever, less efficient, would be in-
credible ; while it is believed that any other mode what-
ever will be found, in a moral sense, either unnatural
or totally irrational ; but these evidences, Christianity,
and Christianity alone, is enabled to exhibit.
God commenced the great enterprise under Moses
in Egypt in accordance with the first condition, and
has prosecuted it down to our own age, by the con-
134 ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE.
tinued exhibition of institutions, monuments, prophecies,
and providences, obvious, impressive, multiform, and
inexplicable on any other ground, except on the ground
that the God of nature and providence is also the God
of the Bible. This, then, is the mode which God has
taken to furnish us with facts from which to make our
inferences.
2. Our next inquiry is : In what manner are we to
proceed in making rational inferences from these facts?
Our answer is, we are to begin from facts which we
know and admit, and proceed, as in all other cases,
from the known to the unknown. Throwing all direct
human testimony entirely out of the question, as being
in and of itself no rational ground of belief, either in
miracles or revelations, we should take facts- before
our own eyes, and attempt rationally to account for
them ; and we shall find that Almighty God has bound
the most trivial events of our own age and our own
firesides to the original displays of his miraculous
power on the banks of the Nile, and in the land of Ju-
dea, by a chain of evidence which no human power can
break, and no human sophistry dissolve.
To trace all the links and branches of this mysterious
chain is the work of ages and volumes ; we can only
give one or two examples. In giving these examples
we shall make but two points of inquiry.
1. In what ages of the world did the several books
of the Bible originate ?
2. Is God responsible for their truth ?
Now I hope it will be granted that every man of
common sense knows that there is such a part of the
world as Christendom, in which he lives and acts, and
that this said Christendom has peculiar institutions, cus-
ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 135
toms, laws, and manners which control his own destiny
and the most ordinary occurrences of his life. But all
these imply the previous existence and belief of the
Bible. The Bible is the parent, and Christendom is the
offspring ; and if the Bible were annihilated, he would
be compelled either to make or imagine another, before
he could explain the peculiar institutions and manners
of his own country, or even the most common events
of his life. The date of a deed, an almanac, a copper,
or a letter, is a miracle, if Christ did not live eighteen
hundred years ago ; and all Christendom is a miracle,
if he 4id not, at some time, live and teach as the Bible
says he did. So in any previous age, since the coming
of Christ, the facts of the Bible have been admitted, its
doctrines believed, its rites and ceremonies practised,
its monuments reared, and its influences felt and exhib-
ited in action by all Christendom ; and not to know this
with absolute certainty by direct and necessary infer-
ence from facts before our own eyes, is either not to
reason at all, or to reason like a maniac.
Again ; every man of common intelligence knows
that there is now scattered abroad over the face of the
earth, a distinct and peculiar people called the Jews ;
having, in like manner, institutions, laws, and manners
peculiar to themselves, and making both their past his-
tory and present condition, in and of themselves, moral
miracles in every age of the world. Of all this the
Old Testament is the parent, and Judaism, in all ages,
is but the offspring. And to attempt to reason upon
the actual condition of Jews and Christians, in any age
of the world, and deny the substantial historical truths
of the Bible, is as absurd as it would be to attempt to
reason upon the present condition of Europe without
136 ORIGIN OP THE BIBLE.
admitting the substantial truth of feudal history, or on
the present condition of the United States without ad-
mitting the history of the revolution, or the validity of
the documents of the continental congress. The pre-
vious existence and belief of the Bible, substantially as
we now have it, is as indispensable to the existence of
Jews and Christians in the world as the Koran is to
Mohammedans, or the Book of Mormon to the followers
of Smith. To admit the existence of Jews and Chris-
tians, and deny that Moses and Christ lived and taught,
as they have reported, is the same sort of absurdity,
both in kind and degree, as to admit the existence of
Mohammedans and Mormons, and still deny that Mo-
hammed and Smith have lived and taught, as repre-
sented by them. Considering the peculiar age in which
Christ lived, the extreme singularity of his character,
and the overwhelming influence that character has in
fact exerted on the destinies of the globe, as we now
see it with our own eyes, if the world is not in posses-
sion of the substantial truth of both his character and
doctrine, (setting aside all that is miraculous,) just as
they are in possession of the substantial history and
doctrines of Confucius, Socrates, Seneca, Bacon, Wash-
ington, and others, that fact in itself is a moral miracle,
more incredible than all the natural miracles of the
Bible, and all the legends of monks and of Mormons.
But if his character and doctrines are thus known to
the world, they are substantially in the New Testament,
and nowhere else.
True, a character may be imagined. But a purely
imaginary character could no more rule the globe than
it could create one. It would be more rational to sup-
pose that an imaginary phantom created the universe,
IS GOD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BIBLE? 137
than to suppose that the present condition of the hu-
man race resulted from any other influence than from
that of such a character and being as Jesus Christ is
represented to be in the New Testament, both living
and teaching at the time and in the manner he is rep-
resented to have lived and taught. This point, it will
be noticed, does not touch the truth of his doctrines,
but only the great fact, that they were promulgated
and believed at the time, and substantially in the man-
ner reported. We are brought then inevitably to this
point — Can we rationally account for the appearance
of Smith, of Mohammed, and other impostors, and the
success of their doctrines, without admitting the super-
natural interposition of God ? Doubtless we can, and
therefore ought to do so. But can we rationally ac-
count for the appearance of Jesus Christ without such
admission ? We shall see. This will bring us upon
the second point, viz :
2. Has God made himself responsible for the substan-
tial truth of Christianity, as we now have it in the
Bible ?
We will content ourselves with the lowest possible
view of the character of Christ, viz, the deist's own fa-
vorite notion, that he was a mere man, of matchless
moral wisdom, benevolence, and purity. We will as-
sume that there is a benevolent God in heaven who
cares for the general well-being of man on earth. We
will admit, if you please, that he neither foresaw, nor
designed, nor planned for the appearance of Christ on
earth ; that the event took him by entire surprise, but
still that he has sufficient capacity to estimate, with at
least tolerable correctness, the true value of any given
character to the world when it appears. The simple
138 IS GOD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BIBLE?
question, then, is this: Did even such a meager Divinity
as we have described, permit such a character of
matchless purity, wisdom, and benevolence to appear,
and live, and die on earth, beneath the continual frowns
of his providence, without any attestation of his divine
complacence in his immaculate life and doctrines, and
thus suffer him to sink among the general herd of our
guilty race, and all the peculiar moral advantages of
that character to be lost to mankind for ever ? Or did
he leave man to supply by fraud what he had omitted
to grant from negligence ? There can be but one
more monstrous supposition, which is, that the God of
heaven actually foresaw, and designed, and planned the
appearance of Christ, who was himself peculiarly near
and dear to him on the ground of his moral excellence,
if on no other, and left him then to such a silent and
ignominious life and death. Analogous cases cannot be
found, for another similar character never appeared.
And, considering the good which even a corrupted
Christianity has wrought for man, and what we now
know that a pure Christianity is adapted from its own
nature to effect for human weal, such a supposition is
in and of itself more absurd and incredible than that all
the dead should have leaped from their graves, the
stars from their thrones, and the ocean from its bed, in
attestation of the divine complacency in such a charac-
ter and doctrine ; if there be indeed in heaven a God
who cares for the well-being of man on earth.
But once admit that Christ was his Son, sent on pur-
pose to instruct and reform the world, and the only
possible supposition by which we could get rid of mir-
cles, even if none were on record, would be too child-
ish and contemptible even to reason against. To be-
LAWS OF NATURE. 139
lieve that God made Joe Smith's barges with a hole in
the bottom, is in that case infinitely more rational than
to believe that such a being as Jesus Christ appeared
in such a world as ours, without supernatural eviden-
ces of the divine favor.
It is true, the laws of nature are usually held steady
and uniform in their operation by the all- wise Creator.
But for what end? For whose benefit has God decreed
that these laws of nature shall be held thus uniform ?
Is it merely that he may sit and gaze in eternal wonder
upon tfye ceaseless whirl of this vast machinery, as the
child does upon his top ? Or is it for the benefit of
clods, and stones, and pigs ? or for the good of moral
beings like ourselves ?
Precisely the same reason, then, which induces the
Divine Being to hold the laws of nature steady and uni-
form, in all other cases, should impel him to interrupt
them, whenever that same good of moral beings re-
quires it ; and to fail to do it would be to act not like a
Deity, but like a dunce. And if such a crisis did not
occur, on the appearance of Christ in our world, one
can never occur, nor even be imagined.
The ordinary laws of the moral universe as much
require the laws of physical nature to be interrupted at
such a crisis, as they do that they should be held steady
at all other times. At that crisis, therefore, there must
have been either miracles in the natural world, or a
still greater miracle in the moral world ; that is, the
natural and indispensable laws of the moral world must
have been at once interrupted and outraged by the
Creator himself, so far as we can see, or the natural
laws of the physical world must have yielded to the
necessity of the occasion. Possibly such an infamous
140 MORAL NECESSITY OF MIRACLES.
negligence of the good of mankind, had it occurred,
might have been concealed from our view ; but it
would have been none the less infamous and unworthy
of the Deity. And even if the innate benevolent na-
ture of that blessed Being who rules over all, could be
imagined to allow him to sit in silent and listless negli-
gence, in such a momentous era as that of the birth of
Christ, a prudent regard to his honor among intelligent
beings must have impelled him to action ; and to act
too just as the Scriptures assert that he did act. We
need not talk here of the subsequent perversions of
Christianity, which only make its deep and unutterable
utility and necessity the more apparent. Nor is it of
any use for the objector to tell us that the councils and
conduct of the Creator are above the scrutiny of hu-
man reason ; for, if so, he may work miracles as well
as omit them, even when we can see no good reason
for it.
But again, all the miracles of the Bible were ex-
pressly designed to concentrate around the person,
character, and doctrines of Jesus Christ. They all
point, like so many finger-boards, either backward or
forward, to him, who alone is " the way, and the truth,
and the life ;" they were all designed either to prepare
mankind for his appearance, or to complete and con-
summate his mission. The precise thing, therefore,
which renders the miracles of the Scriptures credible,
is the appearance and character of Jesus Christ. With
him they are both natural and necessary, without any
human testimony. Without him, or some similar char-
acter, they would have been incredible, on any amount
of mere human testimony whatever. We believe, there-
fore, neither the doctrines nor the miracles of the Scrip-
hume's sophism, 141
tures on account of human testimony, though we believe
in human testimony, when we have first rescued that tes-
timony from the disregard which it merits, on the ground
of its being human testimony to matters of faith. What-
ever human testimony God has not enabled, and in rea-
son compelled us, thus to rescue from the general rule
of infamy, deserves only our utter disregard, be it much
or little.
Hume's puerile sophism on miracles, amended so as
to accord with reason and common sense, would stand
thus : " All experience shows that God, for the good
of man, holds the laws of physical nature steady and
uniform, except when the same good of man and the
higher laws of moral nature requires that they should
be interrupted ; and then he uniformly interrupts
them." The appearance of Christ produced one such
moral crisis in our world, and the appearance of any
other similar being would undoubtedly, by the same
uniform moral law, produce another similar exhibition.
In all other connections, and in all other cases, miracles
are utterly incredible on any amount of human testi-
mony whatever. True, the Mormons and other fanat-
ics hang around the Bible, just as vermin suck their
vigor from the most noble forms ; but that does not
make them an organic part of such bodies. A profound
philosopher should be able to distinguish between them.
This is, however, what most skeptics profess themselves
unable to achieve. We would gladly put them in pos-
session of the means of this necessary discrimination.
Thus far, our cause stands precisely thus. Reason-
ing from known and admitted facts — facts with which
God has purposely filled the world— we must imagine
millions of moral miracles and absurdities, in order to
142 SUMMARY OF PROOF HUMAN HOSTILITY.
get rid of admitting that Christ appeared, lived, and
taught, in substance as recorded in the New Testament.
But if we admit the appearance of such a character,
and such doctrines of morality in connection with such
a life and death, we should be compelled to imagine
supernatural interpositions of the Divine Being in their
favor, even if we found none on record, or else to deny
that there was a God in heaven who cared for the well-
being of man ; or we must admit that he lacked the
power thus to interpose, for the proof of his veracity
to the minds of men. Deists and skeptics may take
their choice ; or they may confound all creeds together,
paganism, Mormonism, and all, and then prate about
one religion's being just as good and just as susceptible
of proof as another : that will not make it so. Yet
these are only some of the considerations which show
that deism implies, in itself, the most absurd and child-
ish credulity.
Again : human nature is so averse to the principles
and restraints of the gospel, that it is only with the ut-
most difficulty that only a few individuals, compara-
tively, are found, who can be persuaded honestly to
adopt and practise its doctrines, even after convinced
of their general truth ; and that, too, in an age when
there is nothing to forbid, but much to impel to such a
course. After centuries of effort, it has been found im-
practicable to force the doctrines of Christ upon any
except the most enlightened and benevolent nations and
individuals. (I am here speaking of the real doctrines
of Christ, not of the dogmas of bigots and fanatics.)
How did it happen, then, that such doctrines should
have actually acquired the control of the intellect and
destinies of the globe, amid a race naturally so averse
CONTRAST BETWEEN SMITH AND CHRIST. 143
to its restraints, if God has not interposed continually
in its favor ? If that interposition should now cease,
all Christendom would become infidels in less than a
century. How, then, could belief of such obnoxious
doctrines have originated, and advanced, as it has,
without such interposition, when the power of the globe
was against them ?
If such interpositions as are reported did not occur,
why did not the stubborn Jews, or the warlike Ro-
mans, or the philosophic Greeks contradict the report,
especially when they saw that it not only implicated
their own characters, but endangered their religion and
their state ?
Joe Smith arises and claims miraculous power, and
though he exhibits nothing, makes war upon none, and
endangers none directly, still he cannot live five years
without setting all pens and all tongues in motion to
expose and contradict the lie. Affidavits and books
are accumulated by scores every year. Jesus Christ
arises, declares direct and determined war upon all the
institutions of the globe, civil, political, and religious,
works miracles, is apprehended and put to death, by
the most gigantic military despotism the world has ever
seen. A few fishermen record his doctrines and mira-
cles, give them to the world as true, and thus not only
consign his persecutors to infamy, but openly charge
them with his deliberate murder ! Not a pen moves !
Not a tongue speaks ! All is silent ! They are pricked
to the heart ! multitudes believe ; and these uncontra-
dicted tales now rule the world. Surely there was a
different species of human beings on the globe then
from what there is in these days.
Let us account for facts. That is all we have to do.
144 EFFORTS OF THE GREAT AND WISE CONTRASTED.
Again : the whole world of talent and genius have
agonized, through ages of toil, to devise a system of
morals and religion adapted to the nature of man, and
consistent with all other known truth. The Egyptian
labored ; the Greek labored ; the Roman labored ; Soc-
rates, the " wisest and best of men," Plato, the univer-
sal genius, Aristotle, the wonder of the world, Cicero,
the prince of scholars and orators — all labored and
toiled, and toiled again, and all failed. Their systems
and their works are with' them in the dust. Jesus
Christ, an obscure, unlettered, and despised Galilean,
touched the subject, and threw around it the light of
eternal day, charming, by the unearthly music of his
divine wisdom and virtue, the most distant and enlight-
ened ages and nations. Was this of God, or of man ?
We must account for facts.
Again : all these, and multitudes of others, have
toiled to gain an eternal sway over human opinion and
action, in enlightened nations. For this end, they have
ransacked the world of fiction and of fact, written vol-
umes upon volumes, and all who have relied upon mere
moral means have utterly failed. But this same despi-
sed outcast of Nazareth, without study, without educa-
tion, and seemingly without design — without even wri-
ting a single scroll himself, has acquired, and still re-
tains, an uncontrolled and undiminished sway over the
faith, laws, manners, and customs of the only civilized
nations on the globe. Here is a fact. God calls on us
to account for it, as rational beings.
Again: the light of modern science has over-
thrown, and, if known, would inevitably sweep away
all forms of false religion, as well as all perversions of
Christianity, from off the face of the globe, and leave
INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 145
man, with all the instinctive longings of his religious
nature, unsatisfied forever. On the contrary, in spite
of the assaults of skeptics, each new science tends only
to confirm and strengthen the truths of Christianity, in-
somuch that the great masters in every science, the
Bacons, and Newtons, and Lockes, and Cuviers, of
every age, have been almost without exception Chris-
tians of firm, if not of a devout faith. While the wisest
and best of mankind, our Washingtons, and Hancocks,
and Hales, and even our invincible Bonapartes, and our
skeptical Franklins, declare that Christianity is still,
even in this remote age, indispensable to the civil and
social well-being of mankind. How, then, alone, of all
other mere men, did Jesus Christ, or the twelve fisher-
men of Galilee, foresee the teachings of science, and
anticipate the political and social necessities of remote
ages and unborn nations two thousand years after his
death ?
Again : all who have made an honest, experimental
application and trial of the moral truths of Christianity,
aver that they find them in all respects to accord with
the most secret consciousness of their souls, and adapt-
ed to all the laws and exigencies of their being. But
how did Jesus Christ alone, of all others, know the
hearts and moral necessities of men in remote and un-
born ages ?
Again : whenever or wherever, in all countries, and
in all ages, the Bible has been opened, read, understood,
believed, and practised, even in a tolerable degree, in
any given community, there peace, order, tranquillity,
plenty, and freedom have abounded ; law and right
rule ; science shines ; intelligence sparkles ; hope
brightens, and joy abounds. But wherever the Bible
7
146 CORRUPTIONS OF FAITHS PROPHECIES, ETC,
has been closed, or cast out, or corrupted, or despised,
there ambition, intrigue, rancor, treason, anarchy, and
war have stalked abroad ; tyranny has there revelled,
liberty departed, science faltered, industry slackened,
plenty vanished ; passion, lust, and crime have become
rampant ; hope has sickened, and joy fled forever. Let
any village in Christendom try the former experiment,
and they will become a happy and prosperous village
in six months from the hour they commence. Let
them try the other, and sots and knaves will soon
abound, but honest men will starve or fly.
Is the God of providence, then, the God of the Bi-
ble ? and does he care for it, or does he not ? He has
given us some few facts to look at as well as " testi-
monies."
Again : how happens it that men have been able to
add to, or take from, the pretended truths of other re-
ligions without individual or public harm, while every
corruption of Christianity has uniformly resulted in
the most terrific evils to the human race ? The Greeks
and Romans voted in gods and voted out gods, and all
was just as well as before ; while a few seemingly
slight corruptions of Christianity filled all Europe with
blood and terror, through mourning ages of darkness
and dismay. Does the God of providence care for
Christianity, or does he not care* for it ?
These are but a few of the manifold facts, which
God has thrown across our track, in every age of the
world, and by which he compels us to admit, that the
God of nature and providence is also the God of the
Bible, or else give up our claim to be deemed rational
beings.
There are also the standing and peculiar monuments
CONCLUSION. 147
of the Jews and Christians, Circumcision, the Passover,
Baptism, and the Lord's Supper ; all running up, inevi-
tably, to the same original idea, and more than all these,
lucid and miraculous predictions of prophecy. Here
our simple duty is to compare the present and past his-
tory of the globe with its prophetic history, given two
thousand years ago, and make the necessary and inevi-
table inference from such a comparison.
Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, Judea, Egypt,
Edom, Tyre, Amnion, Moab, Philistia, Nineveh, Baby-
lon, &p., are all at this moment so many monuments,
reared by Omnipotence, in face of the globe, in every
age, to compel them to infer that the Bible is not of
man, but of God. In short, God has in no age failed
to keep the world, in all parts of it, filled with facts
open to the eyes of all, which are utterly inexplica-
ble on any other ground except on the obvious and
simple position that the Bible is the word of God. Ad-
mit that, and all is plain. Deny that, and all is riddle,
mystery, and miracle, from the stamping of a copper to
the desolation of empires.
A full survey of all the absurdities which must ensue
from denying that the Bible is the word of God, while
attempting to account for facts before our own eyes,
and in the world at large, would be necessary, in order
to a full exhibition of the evidence of the divine au-
thority of the Scriptures, from necessary and inevitable
logical inference from known facts. This our design
will not permit. Can any other book advance such
claims ? Yet so it is : when men undertake to make a
new revelation, they construct about us a perfect hedge
of riddles, from which we may indeed not easily make
our escape. But when God undertakes it, he enstamps
148 CONCLUSION.
the proofs of its authority on all without and within us;
so that without it, all else is but a riddle, a perfect maze
of utterly inexplicable riddles. The same all-skilful
hand that weaves the web of Providence and of Des-
tiny, so interlocks the golden lines of his revealed will,
that no mortal hand can sever the two without the si-
multaneous destruction of both.
Here we find evidence that is worth something ; this
looks indeed like Divinity. We want no human testi-
monies, and human probabilities, and human authorities,
and human impulses, and human phantasms here. We
have the great seal of high Heaven, enstamped, not
merely on the record of the original facts, but on all
we see, and hear, and know, and feel, in all ages of the
world, and through every hour of our lives, from the
cradle to the grave. The bank notes of heaven are
not so easily counterfeited, after all, as many seem to
imagine. It requires something more than somebody's
mere " say so" to make them current. They must be
traced with a pen which none but Omnipotence can
wield : its eternal lines must run through all ages and
encircle all the generations of men so plainly, that all may
see for themselves, and that even he that runneth may
read. How far forth Joseph Smith's pretended reve-
lations can endure the scrutiny of these tests, we shall
see in the subsequent chapters.
CLAIMS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 149
CHAPTER V.
CLAIMS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON TO CREDIBILITY AND
AUTHORITY.
Its claims — Character of Smith — Contrasted with Moses — The sainted
twelve of Smith — Testimony of Smith's three witnesses — Character
of Harris by Smith — by his own wife — Character of Cowdery and
Whitmer by Smith — by others — Capacity of witnesses — Eye of faith,
power* of God, &c. — Disinterestedness of witnesses — Testimony of
the eight witnesses — Smith's mode of translation.
Having briefly considered the general grounds on
which a revelation professing to come from God can
be rendered credible, we are now prepared to examine
the pretensions of Smith. The Book of Mormon claims
to be the foundation of the whole scheme ; and though
this claim is unfounded, as we have shown, still we will
first consider its credibility and authority.
By referring to the general account already given
of the origin and history of this book, the reader will
at once see that it does not even pretend to base its
claims on either of the two grounds, on which a reve-
lation can be rendered credible, viz, on the personal ex-
perience and observation of the individuals whom it ad-
dresses ; nor, secondly, on the ground of inevitable infer-
ence from known and admitted facts.
So far as argument is concerned, we might here con-
sign both the book and its author, without further re-
marks, to the infamy which, in common with all simi-
lar impostures, they really deserve.
But, since Smith's pretensions, not only to the char-
150 CHARACTER OF SMITH.
acter of a prophet, but also to that of an honest man,
rest primarily on this book, we will, for the common
benefit of the credulous and tke curious, proceed to ex-
amine the only remaining claims which it ever has, or
ever can set up. These are four :
1. Claims on the ground of the known character of
its author, Joseph Smith.
2. Claims on the ground of the credibility of the wit-
nesses who have endorsed it.
3. Claims on the ground of the Scripture prophe-
cies.
4. Claims 'on the ground of its own internal excel-
lence.
1. Our first point respects the character and credi-
bility of Joseph Smith, jun., who announces himself, on
the title-page of the first edition of the Book of Mor-
mon, as " the author and proprietor" of that work.
Our first remark is, that we cheerfully admit this
claim.
We cannot conceive how any man of common sense
could ever have imagined that God, or any other being,
except Joe Smith, was either the author or proprietor
of such a book. The only difficulty is, to see how Cod
can be responsible for a work of which Joseph Smith
is "Author and Proprietor ;" and one ground on which
such a claim must be sustained, is the admitted excel-
lence and trustworthiness of Joseph Smith's moral char-
acter.
We admit that a man may have great faults, and still
be not only worthy af credit, but an accredited and ap-
propriate agent of the Most High.
All the ancient worthies, who spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost, were frail and sinful men,
CHARACTER OF SMITH. 151
like ourselves; still they became the approved and ac-
credited messengers of God.
We admit, also, that God often chooses " the weak
things of the world to confound the wise ;" and that
want of mere worldly talent, acquirement, or genius, is
therefore no insuperable objection to the credibility of
a prophet of the Lord.
Still, we contend that God never has, and never will,
choose a character notoriously weak, silly, profane, and
rotten in all its parts, to deliver a new dispensation of
his will to man.
What, then, was the notorious character of Joseph
Smith before, and at the time, of the writing of the
Book of Mormon ?
After the union of Smith and Rigdon, as before re-
lated, it became apparent that Smith was about to gain
credence and make mischief in communities where he
was not known. The citizens of Palmyra and Man-
chester, where the Smiths formerly resided, then, for
the first time, felt it to be their duty to make some ef-
fort to expose his real character, that the world might
see it as it is.
A large number of the most respectable citizens, who
had known Smith from a boy, appeared before the
proper tribunals, and gave testimony, upon solemn oath,
before God, of what they themselves personally knew
of Smith and his family, touching their previous char-
acter and conduct.
These affidavits were at the time published in most
of the leading journals of the day-
The number of persons, whose several testimonies
have fallen into the hands of the author, is above nine-
ty ; mostly men of known character and respectability
152 CHARACTER OF SMITH.
where they reside. Their affidavits and testimonies,
if given at length, would occupy at least fifty pages of
the present volume. To republish the whole would be
useless. We shall therefore select a few, from among
the most concise and explicit.
The first is signed by about fifty gentlemen in Pal-
myra, of the highest respectability, of almost all pro-
fessions in life, and equally diverse in their religious
sentiments. Lawyers, physicians, clergymen, civil
magistrates, farmers, mechanics, Episcopalians, Qua-
kers, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, elders, dea-
cons, &c, &c, all are represented upon the list of
names. Here, surely, is no confederacy of interest.
Their testimony is as follows.
Palmyra, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1833.
" We, the undersigned, having been acquainted with
the Smith family for a number of years, while they re-
sided near this place, have no hesitation in saying, that
we consider them destitute of that moral character
which ought to entitle them to the confidence of any
community. They were particularly famous for vis-
ionary projects, spent much of their time in digging
for money, which they pretended was hid in the earth;
and to this day large excavations may be seen in the
earth, not far from their residence, where they used to
spend their time in digging for hidden treasures. Jo-
seph Smith, senior, and his son Joseph, were in particu-
lar considered entirely destitute of moral character, and
addicted to vicious habits. Martin Harris had acquired
a considerable property, and, in matters of business,
his word was considered good. But on moral and re-
CHARACTER OF SMITH.
153
ligious subjects he was perfectly visionary; sometimes
advocating one sentiment, sometimes another.
" In reference to all with whom we are acquainted,
that have embraced Mormonism from this neighbor-
hood, we are compelled to say that they were visiona-
ry; and most of them destitute of moral character, and
without influence in the community. This is the rea-
son why they were permitted to go on with their im-
position undisturbed. It was not supposed that any of
them were possessed of sufficient character or influ-
ence to make any one believe their book, or their sen-
timents ; and we know not a single individual in this vi-
cinity who puts the least confidence in their pretended
revelations."
Geo. N. Williams,
Clark Robinson,
Lemuel Durfee,
E. S. Townsend,
Henry P. Alger,
C. E. Thayer,
L. Williams,
Geo. W. Crosby,
Levi Thayer,
N. S. Williams,
Henry Jess up,
Joel Thayer,
Israel F. Chilson,
H. Linnell,
Jas. Jenner,
Josiah Rice,
S. Ackley,
Jesse Townsend,
Richard D. Clark,
Th. P. Baldwin,
John Sothington,
7*
Signed,
Thomas Rogers, 2d.,
Wm, Parke,
Josiah Francis,
Amos Holister,
G. A. Hathaway,
David G. Ely,
H. K. Gerome,
G. Beckwith,
Lewis Foster,
Hyram Payne,
P. Grandin,
Asahel Millard,
H. P. Thayer,
P. Sexton,
M. Butterfield,
S. P. Seymour,
D, S. Jackways,
John Hurlbut,
N. H. Beckwith,
Philo Durfee,
Giles S. Ely,
154 CHARACTER OF SMITH,
Durfey Chase, R. W. Smith,
Wells Anderson, Pelatiah West,
Linus North, L. Hurd,
E. D. Robinson, A. Ensworth.
G. W. Anderson,
A similar testimony was also given by the citizens
of Manchester, N. Y., in the borders of which town,
near Palmyra, the Smith family resided at the time of
finding the " golden bible." It is as follows :
Manchester, Nov. 3d, 1833,
" We, the undersigned, being personally acquainted
with the family of Joseph Smith, jun., with whom the
celebrated ' gold bible' so called, originated, state i
That they were not only a lazy, indolent set of men,
but also intemperate, and their word was not to be de-
pended upon, and we are truly glad to dispense with
their society."
Signed,
Pardon Butts, A. H. Wentworth.
Warden A. Reed, Moses C. Smith,
Hiram Smith, Joseph Fish,
Alfred Stafford, Horace N, Barnes,
James Gee, Sylvester Worden.
Abel Chase,
Parley Chase, of Manchester, also testifies that the
Smiths were " lazy, intemperate, worthless men, very
much addicted to lying, in which they frequently
boasted their skill ; and that Joseph, the prophet, bore
the reputation of a liar, as all his former neighbors
would testify."
David Stafford testifies on oath, before Frederick
Smith, justice of the peace of Wayne county, N. Y.,
CHARACTER OF SMITH. 155
given at Manchester, Dec. 12th, 1833, to substantially
the same facts, and adds that the whole family were
not only liars, indolent, and intemperate, but that they
were also suspected of gaining their livelihood in part
by theft.
In the affidavit of Henry Harris, given before Jona*
than Lapham, justice of the peace of Cuyahoga county,
Ohio, among other things, he states that he was once
on a jury before which the prophet, Smith, appeared
as a witness, and that the jury could not, and did not,
receive his testimony as true. Witness also deposes
that, from long acquaintance with Smith, he could not
himself believe him under oath.
Roswell Nichols also testifies among other things,
that " for breach of contracts, for non-payment of
debts and borrowed money, and for duplicity with their
neighbors, the family were notorious."
Joseph Capron testifies that the whole family of
Smiths were notorious for indolence, foolery, and false-
hood. Their whole object appeared to be to live with-
out work. While they were digging for money they
were daily harassed by the demands of creditors which
they were never able to pay."
Barton Stafford, on oath before Tho. P. Baldwin,
judge of Wayne county court, testifies " that Joseph
Smith, sen., was a noted drunkard, and that most of the
family followed his example, especially the prophet,
Joseph, jun., who was much addicted to intemperance.
Even after he pretended to be inspired of the Lord to
translate the Book of Mormon, he one day got quite
drunk while at work in my fathers field. Finding his
legs refuse to do their office, he leaned upon the fence
for some time. At length, recovering again, he fell to
156 CHARACTER OF SMITH.
scuffling with one of the workmen, who tore his shirt
nearly off from him. His wife (whom he had recently
married, and who was at our house on a visit) appeared
very much grieved at his conduct, and, to protect his
back from the sun and conceal his 'nakedness, threw
her shawl over his shoulders, and in that plight escorted
the prophet home. When intoxicated he frequently
made his religion the topic of conversation."
Willard Chase testifies, before Frederick Smith, jus-
tice of the peace of Wayne county, N. Y., that in
1828, when Smith wanted to go to Pennsylvania to see
his intended wife, being destitute of means, he set his
wits to work to raise the money, -and get a recom-
mendation to the fair one of his choice. He went to a
man by the name of Lawrence, as Lawrence told wit-
ness himself, and pretended that he had discovered in
Pennsylvania a very rich mine of silver, which could
be readily loaded into boats, and taken to Philadelphia,
down the river, to market.
By Smith's promising to go himself, and show him
the spot, Lawrence was induced to believe and accom-
pany him. He soon found that he had to advance all
the money to foot the bills by the way. When they
arrived at Mr. Hales', Smith got Lawrence to recom-
mend him to Mr. Hales' daughter, Emma, whom he af-
terwards married, without her father's consent. They
then went to hunt for the mine, but found nothing, and
Lawrence was left to return and pay his own expenses
back, as best he could. After securing a clandestine
marriage with his wife, Smith desired to return to N.
York, and take her and her effects with him. He ac-
cordingly went to an old Dutchmanby the nameofStow-
cl. with whom he had formerly dug for money, and told
CHARACTER OF SMITH* 157
him that he had discovered on the bank of Black River,
N. Y., a cave, in which he had found a bar of gold as
big as his leg, and about three or four feet long ; that
he could not get it out alone, on account of its being
fast at one end. But if he (Stowel) would go and
move him up to Manchester, they would go with a
chisel and mallet, and get it, and share the prize be-
tween them. Stowel went ; and shortly after their
arrival at Manchester he reminded the prophet of his
promise ; but he calmly replied that he would not go
in search of the cave, for his wife was now among
strangers, and would be very lonesome if he should go
away. Like Lawrence, Stowel returned without see-
ing any gold, except what he paid out of his own
pockets, to defray the expenses of himself and his val-
iant comrade.
These facts are quoted merely to show how Smith
has acquired such skill at deception, as he obviously
possesses among the ignorant. He has got it by prac-
tice. It has been his sole business from a child, as
multitudes of facts show. In short, it was also the
business of his father and of the whole family.
The testimony of Mr. Isaac Hale, of Harmony,
Penn., the much abused and aggrieved father-in-law of
Smith, whose daughter Emma he enticed from home
and married, without her father's consent, has been re-
cently before the public. It was given before Charles
Dimmon, justice of the peace. William Thompson and
David Dimock, associate judges of the court of com-
mon pleas in Susquehanna county, Penn., attest that
Mr. Hale is a man of excellent moral character, and of
undoubted veracity.
Mr. Hale, after stating a variety of facts as regards
158 CHARACTER OF SMITH*
the appearance and translation of the Book of Mormon,
his first acquaintance with Smith, his subsequent elope-
ment with his daughter, and having from a sense of
duty described the character of Smith to be much the
same as that given him by all the other witnesses, thus
concludes :
" Joseph Smith, Jr., resided near me, for some time
after his marriage, and I had a good opportunity of
becoming acquainted with him, and somewhat acquainted
with his associates ; and I conscientiously believe, from
the facts I have detailed, and from many other circum-
stances which I do not deem it necessary to relate, that
the whole Book of Mormon, so called, is a silly fabri-
cation of falsehood and wickedness, got up for specula*
tion, and with a design to dupe the credulous and un-
wary, and in order that its fabricators may live upon
the spoils of those who swallow the deception."
The facts alluded to relate to the appearance, con-
duct, and conversation of Smith, Harris, and Cowdery,
during the time they were engaged in pretending to
translate the golden plates ; which work, it appears,
was commenced in Mr. Hale's house, and continued
until he ordered the pretended plates out of doors, and
then the work was prosecuted in that vicinity until it
was finished.
We have given only brief extracts from the affidavits
of a small part of the original witnesses. To swell
our volume with a full rehearsal of all the tedious and
disgusting detail of facts, which they adduce to prove
and illustrate the consummate knavery of the prophet,
and his family, would be indeed a thankless task.
The above will answer as specimens of the deposi-
tions of some hundred respectable witnesses, both as
CHARACTER OF SMITH. 159
regards their opinion of the character of Smith, and the
facts on which that opinion is founded. No attempt has
ever been made by the Mormons to impeach the credi*
bility of any of these witnesses, nor could such an at-
tempt be made with success. They can declaim long
and loud, and call all this persecution, and impiously
compare it to the persecutions of Christ, whose moral
excellence even deists have been compelled to admire ;
but they can bring no opposing facts from any source
whatever. They can assert that Smith's character
was goqd, but they cannot find a man to admit it, who
knew him, except those leagued with him in his detest*
able scheme of fraud.
So far, then, as the bare testimony of Smith is con*
cerned, the case stands thus — We may either believe in
the testimony of some ninety or a hundred individuals,
of unimpeachable veracity, given under solemn oath,
and all corroborating one another, or we may believe
the absurd and contradictory statements of one inter*
ested and notorious liar, respecting a matter before un-
heard of, and utterly incredible on any amount what*
ever of mere human testimony.
But, if the evidence of these witnesses is to be taken,
either in whole or in part, what becomes of Smith and
his pretended revelation ?
Here is the singular phenomenon of a new revelation,
claiming credence, fundamentally, on the ground of
mere human testimony ; but the moment we admit the
credibility of human testimony, even on the ordinary
rules of a civil court, both the book and its author are
prostrated at once, and their character and credibility
destroyed forever.
In one dispensation of faith, God chose Moses, a man
160 SMITH CONTRASTED WITH MOSES, PAUL, ETC.
skilled in all the wisdom of Egypt, not faultless, indeed,
but at least respectable, even in the judgment of his
enemies. In the second dispensation, he chose his own
Son, in whom even the heathen Pilate could find no
fault. Now, in a third dispensation, if Mormonism
were of God, " the crowning glory" of the whole, as
we are impudently told, would he have chosen Joe
Smith, the money-digger ? If so, he would not only
have chosen a weak instrument, but the choice itself
would have been preposterous, had he expected any
man of common sense to believe on him. True, Moses,
David, the prophets, and apostles, were all faulty, all
weak and imperfect beings, like other men ; but the
character of Joe Smith is not merely faulty, it is utterly
void and rotten ; and so entirely unworthy, as to make
it more credible that the whole human race should lie
than that the all-wise and benevolent God should chal-
lenge the faith, and stake the eternal well-being of his
dependent creatures on the labors of one so heartless
and utterly unworthy of credit as Joe Smith is proved
to have been from his youth up. Yet this " crowning
dispensation of the fulness of the gospel" is impudently
promulgated on the bare dictum of Joe Smith ! It is
compared to that gospel w r hich came " with signs and
wonders on earth beneath, and in heaven above," through
him " who spake as never man spake" ! But it is in-
credible that he, in whom Pilate could find no fault — he
who once miraculously appropriated to his use the virtue,
energy, courage, wisdom, and skill of a Paul to con-
summate his designs — it is incredible that he, in these
last days, has made choice of an instrument so vile
and disreputable. To suppose it possible would be to
degrade the character of God, and bring reproach upon
THE SAINTED TWELVE. 161
his cause. But it is not so. It awakens in our minds feel-
ings of painful incongruity to admit such an absurdity,
though it be only for the sake of argument.
Even Smith himself is conscious that he is worthy
of no credit, as his conduct plainly shows. He well
knew, from the beginning of his present movements,
that nobody either would or could believe a word he
should say. Hence he resorted to the despicable sub-
terfuge of getting others equally infamous to testify and
endorse his absurd pretensions.
According to Smith's account of this pretended reve-
lation, God first sets one Mormon* to hide away the
records of an extinct people, in the earth, lest he should
forget their history, and he keeps them buried for four-
teen hundred years. Then he commissions an angel to
disclose the mighty treasure to a money-digger, and or-
ders him to translate the record, as the words are re-
vealed to him through two pellucid stones. In the
midst of the process, the devil steals a part of the
translation of this precious and indispensable history,
preserved through centuries with so much care, and the
Almighty, it would seem, could neither recall the events,
nor again translate the plates, nor force the devil to
give up the first, the stolen translation !f Finally, how-
ever, with much ado, after three years' toil to induce
the Lord to instruct Joe Smith how to read in the stones,
and in preparing Harris and Cowdery to write, the
wonderful history comes forth to the world — all except
that part which the devil stole — and Joe Smith, Jr., is
of course ready to swear to its divine authority. But
will the world believe him ? Doubtful. God, therefore,
* See B. M. p. 529. 1 See B. C. p. 168. 156 ; and B. M. pref. to
the first edition.
162 VALUE OF THE TESTIMONY OF THE WITNESSES.
next commands him to get Martin Harris, his scribe, a
fit tool for such an enterprise, to come forward and
" bear witness" Then comes Oliver Cowdery, the other
scribe, and he testifies. Then the whole family of
Smiths, the old man and all, come on to the stand, and
they testify ; and, finally, the family of Whitmers, "fit
body to fit head" bring up the rear to this valiant squad-
ron of martyrs. And now, wonderful to tell ! " Infan-
dum O Regina" ! here are the sainted twelve ! count-
ing the bellwether of this hopeful flock, (the present
general at Nauvoo,) they amount to the precise number
of the ancient apostles ! Nothing more is wanted but
to promulgate the lie and stick to it. They have done
so, and found followers.
But when or where did God ever before resort to the
miserable expedient of attempting to prove the testi-
mony of one depraved being by that of another just as
depraved ? What should we have thought of Paul, if
he had got Peter, and John, and James, and others to
endorse his epistles for him, certifying that they were
true ? Why that single fact would have been sufficient
to have overthrown the entire credibility of the whole
of them. We might still have said that the sentiments
in them are true and good, but we never could have
believed that a man, conscious of a commission from
the Most High, could have resorted to such a contemp-
tible expedient. Much less can we believe that
God himself would authorize and countenance such a
measure, as Smith pretends he did in this case.*
What ! God, the omnipotent and the wise, with such
a black and dismal scroll, as this world's religious history
presents, distinctly before his view — God, who did not
* See B. C. page 171.
VALUE OF THE TESTIMONY OF THE WITNESSES. 163
require us to take even his beloved Son at his word —
woukl he challenge the confidence and faith of his
creatures, in the concerns of the immortal soul, on the
mere ground of the testimony of twelve depraved hu-
man beings ? Satan himself would blush to do it, were
it not that he is the father of lies, and the father of all
such pretended revelations.
Again : it would be more rational to believe that the
whole human race had perjured themselves, instead of
a dozen indolent sots, than to believe such an absurdity
as this is", on the very face of it, even admitting the
witnesses to be the purest men on earth.
But we are willing, in this case, to waive all consid-
erations of this sort, and admit that the story is not, on
the face of it, absurd, and that a revelation could be
made credible in this way, provided the witnesses were
trustworthy. On this ground alone, then, let us exam-
ine the testimony of the endorsers of the Mormon
prophet.
To render their testimony more imposing, these
twelve witnesses are marshalled before us in squad-
rons. First comes the name of the valorous General,
on the title-page, as " author and proprietor" of the
marvel. Then, at a proper distance in the rear, quite
on the last leaf, comes the platoon of three : Oliver
Cowdery, as sergeant, leads the way ; David Whitmer
follows ; and Martin Harris, as corporal, brings up the
rear ; all of whom have since abandoned the society !
So it would seem that Smith's divinity was almost as
unlucky in choosing his select platoon of witnesses, as
he was in choosing his translator ; or, rather, his " au-
thor and proprietor." Next comes the formidable bat-
talion of eight, " who have seen, and hefted, and know
164 NUMBER AND ORDER OF WITNESSES.
of a surety." Of these, three, viz, Christian and Peter
Whitmer, and Joseph Smith, sen., have since died-, and
all the rest, except the two Smiths, brothers of the
prophet, have apostatized — at least, they have aban-
doned Joe Smith — viz, Jacob Whitmer, John Whit-
mer, and their brother-in-law, Hiram Page. This looks
rather squally ; but, however, there is nothing like faith ;
let us go on. And first, let us hear the apostate three,
of the first squadron.*
THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.
" Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and
peoples, unto whom this work shall come, that we,
through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord
Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this
record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and
also of the Lamanites, his brethren, and also of the
people of Jared, which came from the tower of which
hath been spoken ; and we also know that they have
been translated by the gift and power of God, for his
voice hath declared it unto us. Wherefore we know
of a surety that the work is true.
" And we also testify that we have seen the en-
gravings, which are upon the plates, and they have
been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of
man. And we declare, with words of soberness, that
an angel of God came from heaven, and he brought
and laid before our eyes that we beheld and saw the
plates and the engravings thereon. And we know that
it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Je-
sus Christ, that we beheld, and bear record that these
things are true: and it is marvellous in our eyes. Nev-
* See B. M., p. 588.
TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES. 165
ertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we
should bear record of it. Wherefore, to be obedient
unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony to
these things ; and we know that if we are faithful in
Christ we shall rid our garments of the blood of all
men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of
Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heav-
ens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen."
Signed,
4 Oliver Cowdery.
David Whitmer.
Martin Harris.
The reader is requested to notice particularly the
words in Italics. One would indeed think, that if hon-
est men had heard and seen such marvels, they ought,
at least, themselves to have believed it through life, and
lived accordingly, as the apostles did. But we will ex-
amine their credibility on other grounds than the fact
of their apostacy.
The credibility of a witness depends on four things
mainly : 1. His character. 2. His capacity. 3. His
disinterestedness. 4. His explicitness. We will ex-
amine these several witnesses on these several points,
in order.
1. And first, as regards the character of Martin Har-
ris, we have the inspired testimony of Joseph Smith, the
prophet.
In the Elders' Journal, published at " Far West/
Mo., August, 1838, and edited by the prophet himself,
on the fifty-ninth page, the reader will find the follow-
166 smith's testimony of Harris.
ing explicit and elegant testimony of the prophet to the
character of Harris :
" Granny Parish had a few others who acted as
lacqueys, such as Martin Harris, &c. but they
are so far beneath contempt, that a notice of them
would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make.
While they were held under the restraints of the
(Mormon) church, they had to behave with some degree
of propriety. But no sooner were they excluded from
the fellowship of the church, than they gave loose to all
kind of abominations, swearing, lying, cheating, swind-
ling, with every species of debauchery."
So says the prophet himself; and in two respects
this extract differs widely from his other inspired pro-
ductions. It is both more explicit and more credible.
on the face of it. The prophet seems here to be ani-
mated with something like a consciousness that he is,
for once, telling the truth. We will not insult our
readers, however, so much as to allow him to testify
even against himself, without corroborating proof. The
saints, doubtless, will believe him ; but nobody else
can, even when he speaks the truth.
We refer the reader, therefore, to the testimony of
the citizens of Palmyra, given on page 152, who were
well acquainted with all these eleven witnesses, as well
as the three before us.
G. W. Stodard and Richard Ford also testify to the
same facts with the other citizens, and add, that " Har-
ris was quarrelsome, not only in the neighborhood, but
in his family. He was known frequently to abuse his
wife by whipping her, kicking her out of bed, and turn-
ing her out of doors, &c. He was first a Quaker, then
a Universalist, then a Restorationer, then a Baptist, then
CHARACTER OP HARRIS BY HIS WIFE. 167
a Presbyterian, and then a Mormon ; but never com-
manded the respect of his neighbors."
His abused wife has also given her testimony. We
will hear it at length.
Palmyra, Nov. 29, 1833.
" Being called upon to give a statement to the world
of what I know concerning the Gold Bible speculation,
and also of the conduct of Martin Harris, my husband,
who is a leading character among the Mormons, I do
it free from prejudice, realizing that I must give an ac-
count at the bar of God for what I say.
" Martin Harris was once industrious, attentive to
his domestic concerns, and thought to be worth about
ten thousand dollars. He is naturally quick in his tem-
per, and, in his mad fits, frequently abuses all who may
oppose him in his wishes. However strange it may
seem, I have been a great sufferer by his unreasonable
conduct. At different times, while I lived with him, he
has whipped, kicked, and turned me out of the house.
About a year previous to the report that Smith had
found gold plates, he became very intimate in the Smith
family, and said he believed Joseph could see in his
stone any thing he wished. After this, he apparently
became very sanguine in his belief, and frequently said
he would have no one in his house that did not believe
in Mormonism ; and because I would not give credit
to the report about the golden plates, he became more
austere toward me. In one of his fits of rage, he struck
me with the butt end of a whip, about the size of my
thumb, and three or four feet long. He beat me on
the head four or five times, and the next day turned me
out of doors twice, and beat me in a shameful manner.
168 CHARACTER OF HARRIS BY HIS WIFE.
The next day I went to the town of Marion, and while
there my flesh was black and blue in many places. His
complaint against me was, that I was trying to hinder
him from making money — that is, by the Mormon spec-
ulation. — When he found that I was going to Mr. Put-
nan's, in Marion, he said he was going too ; that they
had sent for him to pay them a visit. On my arrival
at Mr. Putnan's, I asked if they had sent for Mr. Har-
ris. They replied that they knew nothing about it.
He, however, came in the evening. Mrs. Putnan told
him never to strike or abuse me any more ! He then
denied ever striking me. She was, however, convinced
that he lied, as the marks of his beating me wer.e plain
to be seen, for more than two weeks. Whether the
Mormon religion be true or false, I leave the world to
judge ; for its effects on Mr. Harris have been to make
him more cross, turbulent, and abusive to me. His
whole object was to make money by it. I will give one
proof of this. One day, at Peter Harris' house, I told him
he had better leave the company of the Smiths, as their
religion was false. To which he replied, i If you would
let me alone, I could make money by it. 1 It is in vain
for the Mormons to deny these facts, for they are all
well known to most of his former neighbors. The man
has now become rather an object of pity. He has
spent most of his property, and lost the confidence of
his former friends. If he had labored as hard on his
farm as he has to make Mormons, he might now be
one of the wealthiest farmers in the country. He now
spends his time travelling through the country, spread-
ing the Mormon delusion, and has no regard whatever
to his family.
"With regard to Mr. Harris being intimate with
CHARACTER OF HARRIS, 169
Mrs. Haggard, as has been reported, it is but justice
to myself to state such facts as have come under my
own observation, to show whether I had any grounds
of jealousy or not. He was very intimate with this
family for some time previous to their going to Ohio.
" They lived, for a while, in a house which he had
built for their accommodation ; and here he spent most
of his leisure hours, and made her presents from the
store and house. He carried these presents in a pri-
vate manner; and frequently, when he went there, he
would pretend to be going to some of the neighbors on
an errand, or into the field. After getting out of sight
of the house, he would steer straight for Haggard's
house, especially if Mr. Haggard was from home. At
times he would go when Haggard was from home, and
would stay until twelve or one o'clock, and sometimes
until daylight. If his intentions were evil, the Lord
will judge him accordingly ; but if good, he did not
mean to let his left hand know what his right hand
did.
" The above statement of facts I affirm to be true."
Signed,
Lucy Harris.
In addition to the above, it may be stated, that Har-
ris visited this same forsaken and broken-hearted wife
during her last illness ; and when near her end, as he
was sitting and carelessly writing by her side, she anx-
iously asked him what he was writing? Reader, can
you imagine the prompt reply ? He said, " I am wri-
ting a letter to the girl I intend to marry after you are
dead !" And he actually married in about two weeks ! !
This is Mormonism ! and here is the scribe and chief
8
170 CHARACTER OF COWDERY AND WHITHER,
witness ! We can now believe the prophet, when he
accuses Harris, his compeer, of all sorts of debauch-
eries.
As regards the character of the two remaining wit-
nesses, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, we would
also refer to an inspired article, published in the " Times
and Seasons," at Nauvoo, Illinois, (VoL L, pages 81,
83, and 84,) over the name of the prophet himself.
The prophet there informs us, that certain persons,
among whom are the names of Cowdery and Whitmer ?
" were busy in stirring up strife and turmoil among the
brethren" in Mo., in 1838, and "that they were studi-
ously engaged in circulating false and slanderous re-
ports against the saints." On page 83, speaking of
Whitmer, this inspired " Prophet of the Lord" himself
exclaims, "Poor ass ! whoever lives, will see him and
his rider (W. W. Phelps, another Mormon leader)
perish like those who perished in the gainsaying of
Core, unless they repent." On page 84, speaking of
the same witnesses, the prophet again exclaims, " Are
they not murderers at heart ? Are not their conscien-
ces seared with a hot iron ?"
Query. Was this the first time these saints were en-
gaged in circulating falsehood ? Was this their first
folly ? No. The world saw both their knavery and
their "long ears" long before the inspired prophet re-
vealed them. But, whether they are really " asses"
and "murderers," as the prophet pretends, or not, there
can be no doubt that " their consciences long ago were
seared as with a hot iron."
The prophet and his friends improve every year in
the quality of their revelations to the world; they
are becoming hourly more explicit and rational. If
CHARACTER OF COWDERY AND WHITMER. 171
the ungodly " gentiles" will only let them alone, they
will not only tell the truth, by and by, but the whole
TRUTH.
But Smith has not yet acquired sufficient credit to be
believed, even when he testifies against himself and his
cause. If he should affirm that he himself is a knave,
that declaration alone would create the only rational
doubt we can entertain that he is one. We cannot be-
lieve that his witnesses are as bad as he represents them
to be, merely because he affirms it ; although, before
he affipmed it, there could be no doubt of it. We
quote him, therefore, only for the edification of the
" saints," and endeavor to remove the doubts which
his testimony ought to create in other minds by proof
from other sources.
David Stafford, of Manchester, N. Y., closes his tes-
timony before Judge Smith in the following words :
" I can also state that Oliver Cowdery proved him-
self to be a worthless fellow, and not to be trusted or
believed when he taught school in this neighborhood.
After going into the ministry, while officiating in per-
forming the ordinance of baptism in a brool^ William,
brother of the prophet, seeing a young man writing
down what was said on a piece of board, was quite of-
fended, and attempted to take it from him, kicked at
him, and clinched for a scuffle. Such was the conduct
of these pretended disciples of the Lord."
As regards Whifmer, we leave him to his subsequent
apostacy and the tender mercies of his prophet.
In respect to these three witnesses, then, the only
difficulty seems to be this : We cannot clearly see how
" profane swearers, cheats, liars, swindlers, slanderers,
murderers, debauchees, and asses," by inspired' testi-
172 CAPACITY OF WITNESSES.
mony in 1838, should have been "men of most unim-
peachable veracity, as the Mormons tell us they were,
when they endorsed Smith's revelations in 1830.
We need the stone spectacles here. True, Judas
fell from among the disciples, but we apprehend that,
if the credibility of the Gospel rested either solely or
mainly on the testimony of Judas, few, except the Mor-
mons and others gifted with extraordinary powers of
faith, could believe it. We believe Christ and his apos-
tles partly on the ground of their intrinsic moral excel-
lence, admitted even by their enemies. We reject Joe
Smith and his comrades on the ground of their inherent
infamy, admitted both by themselves and their dearest
friends. This is the precise analogy between Mormon-
ism and the Gospel of which the saints talk so much.
So much for the character of the three witnesses,
taking the testimony of the prophet and that of the
abused and broken-hearted wife of the infamous Harris
to corroborate him.
2. As regards the capacity of the witnesses, the
reader is referred to a revelation given, June, 1829,
through Joseph Smith, to these three identical wit-
nesses the year before they appended their names to
the Book of Mormon, which we will transcribe.
" Revelation to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and
Martin Harris, given through Joseph Smith, June,
1829, previous to their viewing the plates containing
the Book of Mormon."
1. " Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon
my word ; which if you do with full purpose of heart,
you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the
breast-plate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thum-
mim, which were given to the brother of Jared, upon
CAPACITY OF WITNESSES. 173
the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face,
and the miraculous directors, which were given to Lehi
in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea ; and
it is by your faith you shall obtain a view of them, even
by that faith which was had by the prophets of old."
2. " And after you have obtained faith, and have seen
them with your eyes, you shall testify of them by the
power of God ; and this you shall do, that my servant
Joseph Smith, jun., may not be destroyed, that I may
bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of
men in this work. And ye shall testify that you have
seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith, jun., has
seen them ; for it is by my power he hath seen them, and
it is because he had faith. And he has translated
the book, even that part which I have commanded
him, and as your Lord and your God liveth, it is
true."
3. " Wherefore you have received the same power,
and the same faith, and the same gift, like unto him.
And if you do these last commandments of mine, which
I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail
against you ; for my grace is sufficient for you ; and
you shall be lifted up m the last day. And I, Jesus
Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it unto
you, that I might bring about my righteous purposes
unto the children of men. Amen."
A revelation given to Martin Harris, by Smith,*
March, 1829, also contains the identical words paraded
forth to the world in the testimony of the three wit-
nesses.
Verse 5. " And then shall he (Harris) say unto the
people of this generation : Behold, I have seen the
* Page 160, B. C.
174 EYE OF FAITH.
things which the Lord hath shown to Joseph Smith,
jun., and I know of a surety that they are true, for they
have been shown unto me by the power of God, and not of
man, and these are the words he shall say," &c.
The voice of the Lord then, it seems, which informed
the witnesses that Smith had translated the plates, and
caused them to know of a surety that they are true,
and commanded them to bear record of it, in 1830, in
the Book of Mormon — this same voice came to them
through the mouth of the Lord's prophet, Smith, in
March and June preceding, that is, in 1829.
They are told in this revelation that they should ob-
tain a view of the plates, or see them, not with their
natural eyes, but with those spiritual eyes of faith with
which the Mormons see so many marvels, viz, by the
* eye of faith, even by that faith which was had by the
prophets of old." This accords with the admissions of
Martin Harris, who expressly stated that he did not see
the plates with his natural eyes, but with " the eye of
faith."
Here, then, is the " mighty power of God, the angel,
and voice of the Lord," which revealed such marvels
in 1830, all concentrated in^the person, and pouring
from the mouth of the Lord's prophet in 1829.
Was there ever impudence and stupidity like this ?
Why did the dunce publish that revelation to the
world, especially since he has retained in his own
hands, to this day, hundreds of others equally inspired?
Was it for the express purpose of disclosing his own
impudence and knavery ? Or was it (as he himself
once remarked to Peter Ingersoll) to see what the
" d d fools would believe."*
* See affidavit of Ingersoll before Judge Baldwin, of Wayne co., N. Y.
DISINTERESTEDNESS OF WITNESSES. 175
But after all, these witnesses of inspiration did not
testify to one half that Smith's divinity commanded
them to declare. They were so absorbed in their
visions and golden dreams about the plates, that they
forgot to testify, as commanded, of the " breast-plate,"
the " sword of Laban," the "Urim and Thummim," the
miraculous " directors," &c. &c. Perhaps this negli-
gence was the reason that the said divinity gave them
all over to subsequent unbelief and hardness of heart,
to work all kind of abominations, and be "guilty of all
manner of debaucheries," as the prophet assures us is
the faci
Their capacity as witnesses, then, to say nothing of
their honesty, amounts simply to this — Joe Smith puts
the words of the Lord into their mouths, in 1829, and
they repeat a part of the same to the world in 1830.
Surely, if the prophet, in his pious rebuke of his wit-
nesses, had only thought to have referred to this trans-
action, he might not only have called them " knaves and
asses," but proved them such. Doubtless he thought the
world would take his inspired testimony to the fact,
without logical proof; we only supply the proof, without
questioning the fact.
3. The disinterestedness of these witnesses is ap-
parent from the fact that Harris expended the fortune
which he had before possessed in transcribing and pub-
lishing the book,* in hope of U greater fortune, as his
wife testified afterward. But, as the prophet did not
see fit to redeem his pledge in this respect, Harris left
the church in disgust and despair ; that is, so far forth
as such a creature could be either disgusted or despond-
ent We do not intend by this to deny that the usual
* See B. C. 176.
176 EXPLICITNESS OF TESTIMONY.
anathemas against dissenters followed him, so as to make
his apostacy seem to the world a matter of discipline.
Cowdery was also Smith's scribe, after the devil stole
a part of the transcript, through the negligence of
Martin ; and inspired with the same hopes, he ran the
same rig, and came to the same end, with Harris.
As to Whitmer, we commend him again to the tender
mercy of his prophet and friends at Nauvoo. Their
inspired testimony proves much more in regard to each
of these witnesses than our cause demands ; the surplus
we leave for the edification of the saints.
The explicitness of their testimony is equally apparent.
They give neither dates, place, time, nor circumstances
of any kind whatever. Whether the angel appeared
to them by night or by day, while asleep or awake, in
this century or the last ; (for all Mormons claim to have
existed from eternity ;) whether in the fields or in a
temple, in a pig-sty or a brothel, does not appear; though
from Harris's known character, we might presume the
latter. At all events, it was where Joe Smith was in
1829, when he received the revelations given above.
By looking at the pretended revelations, given while the
work was preparing for the press, it will amuse the
reader to notice by what artifices Smith's divinity
courted up his witnesses, from time to time, to induce
them to hold on and complete the work. Probably the
next time he attempts to select aids and witnesses he
will endeavor to make a better choice.
True, if Peter, Paul, and John, had all apostatized, it
would not necessarily have ruined, though it might have
seriously impaired the credibility of the New Testa-
ment ; for it does not rest, either in whole or in part, on
their naked testimony. Smith's book, on the contrary,
TESTIMONY OF THE EIGHT WITNESSES. 177
is avowedly based on this rotten foundation, and neces-
sarily falls with it ; or rather, it fell in the very act of
attempting to rear and plant it on such a foundation.
The sublime testimony of the second phalanx of eight
witnesses is as follows :
" Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and
people, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph
Smith, Jr., author and proprietor (! !) of this work, has
shown unto us the plates, of which hath been spoken,
which have the appearance of gold; and as many leaves
as the said Smith has translated, we did handle with
our hands, and we saw the engravings thereon, all of
which has the appearance of ancient work and of nu-
rious workmanship. And this we bear record, with
words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto
us, for we have seen, and hefted, and know of a surety,
that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have
spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to
witness unto the world that which we have seen, and
we lie not, God bearing witness of it."
Signed,
Christian Whitmer,
Jacob Whitmer,
Peter Whitmer, Jr.,
John Whitmer,
Hiram Page, brother-in-
law of the Whitmers,
Joseph Smith, Sen.,
Hyrum Smith,
Samuel H. Smith.
By turning to the same revelation, quoted above, the
reader will again see how this second platoon of wit-
8*
178 SUBSTANCE OF TESTIMONY OF THE WITNESSES.
nesses " liefted" and " knew of a surety" that the said
Smith had the plates " of which hath been spoken." It
is Joe Smith, thought, style, and all, from a to izzard,
And what does it all prove ? First, that Joe Smith is
author and proprietor of the Book of Mormon, as all
the world knows. Second, that they saw and "hefted"
some plates shown them by Smith. What if they did?
How did they know what or how many plates Smith
had translated, when by their own confession, they could
not read a word on any of them ? Joe Smith told
them so. And this is all their testimony amounts to,
on the face of it, by their own showing. We are not
only willing, but anxious to admit that Smith did show
some plates, of some sort ; and that they actually tes-
tify to the truth, so far as they were capable of know-
ing it, we are not only willing, but anxious to admit, in
order to keep up a just and charitable equilibrium be-
tween the knaves and fools, in Mormonism and the
world at large. Three to eight is at once a happy and
reasonable proportion. We will not disturb it. It is
gratifying to human philanthropy to be able to account
for all the facts in the case by this charitable solution.
Three oi these witnesses, we are boastingly told, died
in the faith ; and we should naturally have expected
that any man who could have been induced to set his
name to such a silly paper as that is, would have died
in almost any faith. The only thing that looks strange
about it is, that all the rest, except the brothers of the
prophet, have had sense enough to apostatize and leave
the church, (with proper discipline, of course.) Per-
haps it is well for the world, and well for these three,
that they did not live to go the same way with all the
rest, and fall with Harris into " all manner of abomina-
tions."
The whole, then, of this mighty array of bombast,
nonsense, and blasphemy, resolves itself into this :
Joe Smith is not only author and proprietor of the
Book of Mormon, as both he and his witnesses declare,
but he is also " power of God," " angel," " voice," "faith,"
** eyes," ears and hands for the witnesses themselves ;
that is, all the evidence the world has for the Book of
Mormon, after all this bluster, is " Joe Smith's say so"
He says that God instructs him, he instructs the wit-
nesses, and the witnesses instruct the world. Quod
erat demonstrandum,. David Whitmer reported that
the angel, which appeared unto him, " was like a man
in gray clothes, having his throat cut." This was prob-
ably a prophetic vision, indicating the true desert of the
real author.*
Since, then, we are obliged, after all, to take Joe's
word, simply, for his new bible, it may be interesting
to the world to know how he was enabled to translate
it, out of the Reformed Egyptian, into "patent Eng-
lish." He has told us that he looked into his stone
spectacles, and saw the words pass before his mind.
But he informs us more explicitly still, in the famous
book of Revelations and Covenants, in which, after all,
it must be candidly admitted, that the Lord has clearly
revealed some things — -at least one, and that is the kna-
very of Joe Smith.
If the reader will turn to the revelation given by
Smith to O. Cowdery, in Harmony, Penn., April, 1829,
* In further elucidation of what Mormons mean by the " power of
God," the reader is referred to B. M. 420, 421 ; B. C. 102, v. 12—173.
v. 5. It will there be seen that this voice and power of God is a small
affair, which every enthusiast can have, and see at any time he pleases,
especially if Smith is at hand.
i80 MODE OF TRANSLATION*
while translating the Gold Bible, (see B. C, 110,) he
will perceive that Oliver's faith had begun to fail. He
had got tired of writing the gibberish of Smith, and
needed a word of exhortation and encouragement.
Smith's divinity gives him both, of course, and also, to
pacify him, grants him the gift to translate, " even as
my servant Joseph," (ver. 11.) At this, it appears that
Oliver took courage, put on the spectacles, planted
himself, in due order, before the mystic plates, and look-
ed with all his might, but saw nothing. Oliver, of
course, becomes more uneasy and intractable than ever.
He complains more than before, and with more reason,
too. And now, for a new revelation, of the same date,
pat upon the other, which contained the grant of the
gift to Oliver to translate.*
We will quote a verse or two of this revelation from
Smith's " unchanging Deity."f Verse 2, page 162 :
" Be patient, my son Oliver, for it is wisdom in me, and
it is not expedient that you should translate at this pres-
ent time. Behold, the work you are called to do is to
write for my servant Joseph. And behold, it is because
you did not continue, as you commenced, when you
began to translate, that I have taken away this privi-
lege from you. Do not murmur, my son, for it is wis-
dom in me that I have dealt with you after this man-
ner." (Undoubtedly ! !)
Verse 3 : " Behold, you have not understood. You
have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you
took no thought, save it was to ask me. But behold, I
say unto you, You must study it out in your own
mind. ( ! ) Then you must ask me if it be right ; and
* B. C, 162. t See also B. C. f 150.
MODE OP TRANSLATION. 181
if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn
within you. THEREFORE ( ! ! ) you shall feel that
it is right. But if it is not right, you shall have no
such feelings ; but you shall have a stupor of thought,
that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.
THEREFORE ( ! ! ) you cannot write that which is
sacred, save it be given you from me." 2d ed.
Here, in the first place, we see that Smith's divinity
found it expedient " to deviate a little," and retract the
divinity-given gift conferred the same day.
In the second, we have his patent divine prescription
for writing things sacred, in detail ; and, of course, the
method which Smith has followed in translating his bi-
ble, and giving his other revelations to the world. He
"studied it out in his own mind," and when he got
it right, " his bosom burned" of course. With this pat-
ent recipe before him, we see not why any man might
not translate, or give revelations, as well as Smith, un-
less he was afflicted with that unaccountable stupor of
thought, which seems to unfit all other Mormons for the
work, except Smith. Perhaps, if brother Cowdery
should try his hand at it now, since he has had wit
enough to leave the Mormons, he would succeed in
raising the needful heat better than before.
Those in other churches, who are in the habit of
practising upon the same principle, would do well to
commit Smith's rule to memory, since it accurately de-
scribes the process of securing miraculous confirmations
of any known or imagined truth.
16
182 EVIDENCE PROM PROPHECY.
CHAPTER VI.
CLAIMS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON TO CREDIBILITY AND
AUTHORITY CONTINUED.
Evidence from prophecy — Internal evidence— Jared's barges — One hun-
dred and sixteen pages stolen — Patent English — Style, authorship, and
titles — Real origin of the Book of Mormon — Origin of the stone spec
tacles — Smith's four years' vacation— Testimony of John Spaulding—
of Henry Lake — -The Spaulding Manuscript — Smith's meeting with
Harris — Probable mode of acquiring the book — Wonderful providen-
ces — War with Missouri yet to come.
The next claim which the Mormons set up is, that
they can prove the truth of their book from the pro-
phecies of the sacred Scriptures.
We confess we enter with reluctance upon a field
which has, in all ages, been the favorite resort of enthu-
siasts and dreamers ; the prolific fountain from which
fanaticisms of all shapes have leaped forth, like John's
frogs, out of the mouth of the dragon, to swell and
prance for a time, and then retire, and leave the world
to gaze at other wonders, equally sublime, equally de-
monstrable, and equally absurd.
These self-complacent conjurers can all handle the
mystic symbols of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and St. John, with
the same ease and grace that a well-bred lady does
her teapot ; and each can divine the coming destiny of
the world, from the resplendent bubbles in his own cho-
sen urn of prophecy, with the same facility and cer-
tainty as an old woman can predict the next visiter,
from the grounds in her cup.
PROOF PROM PROPHECY. 188
Alternate famines, plagues, wars, and milleniums
start up on all sides ; the world comes quite up to the
day of final retribution, misses it, and starts off again,
in quest of new waters of life, and visions of glory, in
the mirage ahead. But visions, dates, wonders, and
expositors, all retreat as it advances, to make room for
a new corps of conjurers.
Doubtless we are now on the eve of great events.
All say so, even the inspired General at Nauvoo ; and
many things, indeed, seem like it. But be this as it
may, we are surely under the eaves, and amid the con-
tinual droppings of new schemes of theological non-
sense. Our credulity is drenched through and through,
and what little common sense there ever was in any
of us has become so plastic and pliant, that it fits all
surfaces equally well. We doubt not that the prophe-
cies of the Holy Scriptures will all be both fulfilled and
understood, in their own due time.
But, with the immortal Newton, we also believe that
God, in giving them, did not design to make men
prophets. On this point we differ from Joe Smith and
all his coadjutors, however pious or impious, learned or
unlearned. But as the General has taken his stand, not
only among the humble interpreters of prophecies al-
ready fulfilled, but also in the ranks of those who look
deep and far ahead in things divine, we must hear him.
The fundamental propositions upon which we are to
proceed, as the " saints" assure us, are these.
1. All prophecies which have been heretofore fulfil-
led have been literally fulfilled ; therefore,
2. All which are to come must be literally fulfilled
also. #
* See Pratt's Voice of Warning, p. 18.
184 PROOF FROM PROPHECY.
We will not contest this ground. We will admit, if
the Mormons choose, the literal return of the Jews, the
literal rebuilding of their temple and city, and the literal
reign of the Messiah. But, after all, we fear there may-
be some difficulty in deciding what is, and what is not,
the literal interpretation of prophecy. Since, for ex-
ample, according to the "saints'" own showing, trees,
and golden heads, iron legs, lions, bears, and brutes
with iron teeth, in the prophetic visions which are ex-
plained, mean kingdoms and nations, according to the
interpretation both of Daniel and the "saints," we
would ask how, in the name of common sense, it hap-
pens that the same or similar things may not mean the
same or similar things in those prophetic visions which
are unexplained. Or are we literally, hereafter, to hear
trumpets blowing, see angels flying, vials pouring,
dragons crawling, horses prancing, devils fighting,
scorpions stinging, pits smoking, frogs leaping, and har-
lots riding? Are these things to constitute the millen-
ium glory of the "Church of Latter Day Saints?"
We confess they look somewhat like it. Or have these
things been already literally fulfilled ? We know of
but one event, in the past history of the world, which
much resembles it, and that was in the conflict between
Joe Smith and Gov. Boggs, of Missouri. But perhaps
these, and similar wonderful literal displays of prophecy,
are reserved for Mount Zion, in Jackson county, Mo.
If so, we pardon the announcement, and dismiss our
fears for the present.
In this business of interpreting prophecy, the author
confesses that he is by no means an equal and suitable
champion for his Mormon friends. He will not there-
fore enter profoundly into the subject, lest he should be
PROOF FROM PROPHECY. 185
worsted in a good cause. The spiritual Goliath, which
the sublime sanctity of their faith calls for, should be
able to throw himself boldly, and at once, upon the
teachings of the Spirit, without at all relying even upon
the capacity to read intelligibly the English text, and
trust to the Mormon deity, or at least to Joe, and Sid-
ney, and Parley Pratt, to help him out. I confess I
have not faith. On their own principles they ought
not, therefore, to expect much from me ; and the pub-
lic surely will not want much.
The first point to be made out by the Mormons from
Scripture is, that the North American Indians are the
descendants of Joseph, as the Book of Mormon asserts.
To this end, they refer to Jacob's blessing on the
seed of Joseph, Genesis xlix. ver. 22—26. In order
to interpret and apply this passage literally, they make
Joseph's bough, " running over the wall," (verse 22) to
mean the progenitors of the American Indians crossing
the Atlantic ocean to this country. The Atlantic
ocean is therefore the literal wall. Whether it is a
plastered wall, or a brick wall, or a stone wall, we are
not informed ; at all events it is a literal wall. We
would respectfully suggest to these interpreters whether
it would not do to consider it a mud wall ; for the
prophet Shakspeare speaks of the " slimy deep ;" and
when we interpret literally, we must compare all pro-
phets, of the Mormon school, together, and proceed ac-
cording to the analogy of the faith. This is clear
enough then.*
Verse 23. "The archers have sorely grieved him, shot
at him, and hated him." This, they say, was fulfilled
when our forefathers fought with the Indians ; — with
* See Joshua, xvii. 14, 15.
186 PROOF FROM PROPHECY.
bows and arrows of course, for we must take it literally,
and all know that the people of the United States usually
light with bows and arrows. Besides, it is in the past
tense ; of course our forefathers had already fought the
Indians before Jacob pronounced the blessing upon
their progenitor, Joseph.*
Verse 24. " But his bow abode in strength, and his hands
were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob," &c.
This verse has been literally fulfilling upon the Indians
ever since the discovery of the continent, as their im-
mense increase and prosperity shows. Ask Cotton
Mather and the U. S. congress whether it is not so.
In the literal interpretation of the 25th verse, the pro-
phet and the Book of Mormon are to come in and play
a conspicuous part in the restoration and blessing of the
Indians. But, not having the stone spectacles at hand,
we are unable to give the exact literal interpretation.
We have heard the Mormons do it to admiration ; but
it requires a man under the immediate guidance of the
spirit, that is, the spirit of Smith ; but here again our
faith fails us. We can assure our readers, however,
that the verse is regarded as having undoubtedly a
special reference to Joe Smith and the Book of Mor-
mon. We have heard the most gifted Mormon inter-
preters so expound it.
Verse 26. " The blessing of thy fathers hath prevailed
to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills." "Now,
reader," says Parley Pratt, " stand in Egypt where Ja-
cob stood, and measure to the utmost bounds of the
everlasting hills, and you will land somewhere in the
central part of America." Bravo ! Precisely so. The
exact spot, however, in order to be particularly literal,
* Compare Genesis, chap. 37, for hatred of his brethren.
PROOF FROM PROPHECY. 187
would, no doubt, be found to be Mt. Zion, Jackson
county, Mo. But we would respectfully advise the
reader, as he brings the sweep of his spiritual compass
round near Missouri, to keep a good look out for Gov.
Boggs, lest he should jog the moving foot a little, and
cause an error in the data. With this precaution the
measure will be found accurate.
This inspired exposition also throws light upon seve-
ral other and kindred passages of Scripture which have
perplexed commentators not a little, as Matt. xii. 42,
where it is said, the queen of Sheba came from the ut-
termost parts of the earth ; and, Acts i. 8, where the
apostles are commanded to be witnesses to the utter-
most parts of the earth. For, by parallel reasoning,
the said queen came from the central parts of America,
and the apostles were to preach there too. This too
accounts for the fact, that the North American Indians
knew so much about the gospel, before Christ was
born, as the book of Smith shows that they did.
Again, Gen. xlviii. 16, " Let the sons of Joseph grow
into a multitude in the midst of the earth," and
" Ephraim's seed shall become a multitude of nations."
Again, says Pratt, " One of the prophets says, in speak-
ing of Ephraim, ' when the Lord shall roar, the chil-
dren of Ephraim shall tremble from the west/ " And
this prophecy, like all others, is to be fulfilled literally.
When it is, what a trembling there must be in Missouri,
and in all the west ! " Now," says Pratt, " put these three
things together; first, ' Ephraim shall grow into a multi-
tude of nations in the midst of the earth ;' second, Joseph
was to be greatly blessed in a large inheritance as far
off as America ; third, this was to be west from Egypt,
or Jerusalem. Therefore, these scriptures must apply to
188 PROOF FROM PROPHECY.
America, because they can apply nowhere else." This in-
spired logic reminds one of the boy who said that oranges
grew on pine trees ; for, if not, where did they grow ?
Having thus got the seed of Joseph safely over the
"wall," we are next referred to the 37th chapter, 16th
verse, of Ezekiel, where we are told that the stick of
Ephraim, or Joseph, means the Book of Mormon,* and
the stick of Judah the Bible. Joe Smith is of course
the literal Ezekiel, in whose hands they are to be joined.
I suppose the Book of Mormon is here literally called
a stick, because it is the instrument with which Joe
Smith belabors the backs of his dupes. But why the
Bible should be literally called a stick, or why Joe
Smith should be the literal Ezekiel, it is not so easy to
divine. Moreover, this said stick of Joseph, the Book
of Mormon, was to be found in the hands of Ephraim,
that is, in the hands of the North American Indians,
from whom Smith professed to have inherited it. But
by comparing the first part of chapter 7, of the Book
of Alma,f with the title-page, the first page, and the
testimony of the witnesses, on the last page of the Book
of Mormon, the reader will see that, according to the
Book of Mormon itself, there never was a literal de-
scendant of Ephraim on this continent, but that the
several tribes were all from Manasseh. Still, we must
take it literally. Where, then, are the Ephraimites, or
the ten tribes, who are to hold this stick ? The Book
of Mormon says not a word about the tribe of Ephraim,
or any of the ten tribes except that of Manasseh. This
was a sad mistake in the prophet : probably the type
* B. C, 180. 2. t B. M., 248 of first and 264 of the second
edition.
PROOF FROM PROPHECY. 189
will need correcting, as regards this genealogy of the
Indians, in the next inspired edition of Smith's book.
Again, this union of sticks, whether we interpret liter-
ally, or metaphysically, or grandiloquently, or spiritu-
ally, must still refer to a union, not of two sticks, but
of two people, viz — the ten tribes, or children of Israel,
and the children of Judah, as the 21st and 22d verses
plainly show. Where are these ten lost tribes? Does
the Book of Mormon tell ? Can Smith tell ? Pratt, on
this point, exultingly exclaims — Can anyone tell whether
the Indians of America are of Israel, unless the Lord
should reveal it?* Answer — No. Therefore Joe Smith
cannot tell, any more than Cock Robin can. But as we
are informed, on the same page, that "our very existence
depends on an immediate understanding of the impor-
tant prophecies of the Book of Mormon," we would
beg to have some of these difficulties solved.
Again, we are told that the verse in the 85th Psalm —
" Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness
shall look down from heaven" — refers to Smith's digging
the Book of Mormon out of the hill Camorah ! On that
memorable night, say the " saints," truth sprung out of
the earth. We are disposed to admit, that, on that
woful night, so far as Smith and his followers are con-
cerned, truth, and common sense too, sprung away from
the earth, and righteousness has looked down, every-
where, and with good reason too. We would gladly
encourage her to look up again.
We have now not only got Israel over the " wall,"
but also beyond the utmost bounds of the everlasting
hills ; and we are content to leave them there, books,
sticks, and all, without tracing further either the literal
* Voice of Warning, p. 135.
190 PROOF FROM PROPHECY.
Mormon interpretation of the 29th of Isaiah, or of the
other prophecies of the Old Testament.
We will, however, stop one moment to look at the
angel spoken of in vi. 7, of Revelation, as flying in
the midst of heaven, &c. And who, gentle reader, do
you think this angel is, according to the " saints"?
Why, we are told that it is the angel who delivered the
plates to Joe Smith, on the hill Camorah, New York ! #
We must remember to take it literally. Smith pretends
that the gospel, which the angel had when John saw
him, was the Book of Mormon. When Smith saw this an-
gel, he says, he was standing on the hill Camorah. and the
book, or gospel, was lying in a stone box, where it had
been lying for fourteen hundred years. John, of course,
therefore, saw him in his vision, after Smith saw him
personally, and after he had got the book, and was fly-
ing away with it ; and neither John nor Smith pretends
that he ever brought it back again. The angel, it seems,
flew away with the book, and left Smith to patch up
his lying marvels, as best he could, out of whatever old
manuscripts he might chance to find, whether Spauld-
ing's or those of others. Probably he made the best of
his way towards the ten lost tribes, near Symmes' Hole,
where Smith at first told his dupes these tribes had been
for centuries, hedged in by mountains of ice, which the
fervor of his inspiration was soon to melt, and let them
flow down, on rivers of gold, to Mount Zion, in Jackson
county, Mo.
In one respect, however, it must be confessed that
this divine prophecy applies literally to Smith. The
angel said that the hour of God's judgment had come,
as, indeed, it has, upon all the dupes of Joe Smith.
* See B. C, 248.
INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 191
If these specimens of inspired literal interpretation
of prophecy do not satisfy both the " saints" and the
reader, we will give more when we write again on this
subject.
4. We will next consider, in brief, the claims of the
Book of Mormon on the ground of its own internal ex-
cellence.
The " saints" contend that there has been no true
church on earth, before their own, for several hundred
years. In this we think they are too fast ; for we read
in the Book of Mormon, page 192, that one Alma went
into the fountain of Mormon and baptized both himself
and his companions.
Now the " saints" do not positively know, that, in
the general darkness of the church, some other pious
individual may not have been taught of the Mormon
Spirit to do the same thing, and thus to institute a pure
church even amidst heathenish darkness. Who bap-
tized Joe Smith before he baptized the rest, in Fayette,
N. Y. ? Did he also first baptize himself? or did a
good or a bad angel do it for him ? For, according to
his own showing, there was no man on earth fit to
do it.
We read in II. Kings, xvii. 20, " That the Lord re-
jected all the seed of Israel, (the ten tribes,) and deliv-
ered them into the hands of the spoiler, until he had
cast them out of his sight." Verse 18 : " There was
none left, but the house of Judah only" I. Kings, xii.
20 : " There was none that followed the house of Da-
vid, but the tribe of Judah only."
How, then, came Joe Smith to find out that one of
the families of Manasseh were not only spared, but
192 INTERNAL EVIDENCE.
followed, with the peculiar and miraculous care of God,
for hundreds of years after ?
In Numbers, iii. 10, Deut., xxi. 5, Num., xvi. 19, and
chap, xviii., it will be seen that the Lord irrevocably
conferred the priesthood on the house of Aaron, slew
250 officiates and above 14,000 of the people, as a me-
morial that no other tribe should intermiddle therewith.
Paul also informs us, Heb., vii. 13, that even Christ
could not be a Jewish priest, because he was not of the
house of Aaron.
Yet Smith finds the North American Indians, who
were, by his own showing, every soul of them of the
tribe of Manasseh, not only building temples 5000 miles
from Jerusalem, where alone the Jews were to wor-
ship, but offering sacrifice, and performing all the func-
tions of the priesthood, acceptably to the Lord, and still
exhorting each other to keep the law of Moses.*
Moreover, even God himself is represented as inspiring
this Manassite, whom the Bible informs us he had
cursed " out of his sight," guiding him across unknown
wastes and trackless floods, and finally miraculously
establishing and ratifying his sacrilegious worship in
these western wilds. Here they baptize, found
churches, and discuss and decide all the petty theo-
logical controversies, which have happened to rage, in
the state of New- York, since Joe Smith was born.
For obvious reasons, these inspired visions seem to
have concentrated solely upon a single age and a sin-
gle state. They make, also, some very judicious sug-
gestions as regards republican freedom, freemasonry,
navigation, shipbuilding, mariners' compasses, manu-
* B. M., 146, 208-9.
INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 193
facturing glass, &c, &c, and all this, in part before
the birth of Christ, and in wholes tjefore the close of the
fifth century ; while still they did not know either
where Christ was born, # or that the Jews were not
Christians before his birth.
The prophet may either class the above among the
internal evidences of his book, or set them down as
proofs of its inspiration, derived from the Scriptures, as
he chooses ; and when he has satisfactorily settled their
location, it will be easy to furnish him with many more
proofs o£ the same kind.
That there is not much important truth in Smith's
book, no one will affirm. The Bible, and the abundant
quotations from it, garbled and perverted though they
are, have shed a moral light upon its pages, which not
even the stupidity, the vulgarity, and sacrilegious profa-
nation of Smith could wholly extinguish.
This often deceives the stupid, the credulous, and the
unwary. They pronounce it a very good book, and
so, indeed, it would be, so far as its moral teaching is
concerned, did it only profess to be what it really is,
" a vulgar romance of the lowest order." But, in that
case, it would soon rot on the shelves of the antiquary.
Many, on reading it now, say, " It is not so bad as we
thought it was ;" " it reads much like the Bible !"
" How people have misrepresented it !" They do not
consider that there is not a single idea in it, excepting
such as have been stolen from the Scriptures, which is
not either useless, or ridiculous, or absurd.
We will give but one specimen of its originality, and
that is the description of Jared's barges, in the book of
Ether, page 542 of the first edition. It must be re-
* B. M., 240.
9
194 JARED^S BARGES,
membered, that our prophet had been raised in the in-
terior of New-York,, and probably never saw even a
correct picture of a ship in his life. When he entered
upon the task of describing one, therefore, the attempt
was more hazardous than either repeating the substance
of Spaulding's old manuscript, or stealing extracts from
the Bible. The reader will judge of his success.
"And it came to pass, that the brother of Jared built
barges according to the instructions of the Lord. And
they were small, and they were light upon the water,
even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water ;
and they were built after a manner that they were ex-
ceeding tight, even that they would hold water like
unto a dish. And the bottom thereof was tight, like
unto a dish, and the sides thereof was tight, like unto
a dish : and the ends thereof were peaked, and the
top thereof was tight, like unto a dish ; and the length
thereof was the length of a tree ; and the door there-
of was tight, like unto a dish.
" And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried
unto the Lord, saying : Oh Lord, I have made the
barges according as thou hast directed me. And be-
hold, O Lord, there is no light in them, whither we
shall steer. And also we shall perish ; for in them we
cannot breathe save the air which is in then) : there-
fore we shall perish. And the Lord said unto Jared,
Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top thereof, and
also in the bottom thereof; and when thou shalt suffer
for air, thou shalt unstop the hole thereof and receive
air. And if it be that the water come in upon thee,
behold, ye shall stop the hole thereof, that ye may not
perish in the flood. And it came to pass that the
brother of Jared did so, as the Lord had commanded.
jared's barges, 195
And he cried again unto the Lord, saying : Lord, I
have done as thou hast commanded, I have prepared
the vessels for my people, and behold, there is no light
in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we
should cross this great water in darkness ? And the
Lord said unto the brother of Jared, What will ye that
I should do, that ye may have light in your vessels ?
for behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be
dashed in pieces. Neither shall ye take fire with you,
for ye shall not go by the light of fire ; for behold, ye
shall be, as a whale in the midst of the sea, for the
mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless,
I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea ;
for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and
also the rains and the floods have I sent forth. And
behold, I prepare you (?) against these things : for
howbeit ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare
you against the waves of the sea, and the winds that
have gone forth, and the floods that shall come. There-
fore what will ye that I should prepare for you, that
ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the
depths of the sea?"
" And it came to pass that the brethren of Jared
went forth unto a mountain, and did moulten out of a
rock sixteen small stones, and they were white and
clear, even as transparent as glass. And he did carry
them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried
again unto the Lord, saying — * Oh Lord, touch these
stones with thy finger, and prepare them that they may
shine forth in darkness, that we may have light when
we shall cross the sea.' And it came to pass that the
Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones,
one by one, with his finger, and the brethren of Jared
196 HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN PAGES.
saw the finger of the Lord, and it was the finger of a
man, like unto flesh and blood" !
It will be observed that these barges or boats were
built " according to the instructions of the Lord ;" that
they were made tight as a dish, bottom, sides, top, door,
and all ; though it is as difficult to say how tight the
top of a dish is, as it is to say, definitely, how long a
tree is, or how peaked the ends were, or what sort of
fowl is intended. But, as they were built from definite
instructions, we may presume that they were as tight as
a teapot, about as long as a " piece of chalk," as light
as a turkey-buzzard, and as peaked as a hay-stack, or
thereabouts. This is as near as we can approximate
to the exact idea, without the inflatus of direct Mormon
inspiration.
It will be seen at once, tbat in barges intended to
traverse the Atlantic ocean, a hole in the bottom would
be indispensable, in order to furnish the crew with sea-
water to drink ; and a hole in the top would be equally
necessary for fresh air, especially when these sea-fowl
barges should choose to dive, and sail under water for
a while. Hence, the plugs for the holes would be
equally necessary after they had " squenched" their
thirst, as the prophet would say.
The only wonder is, that the Mormon deity did not
think of these things, and of the ten stones " moulten"
out of a rock, before Jared's brother suggested them ;
but, in building so many great barges, how could he
think of every thing ? Perhaps, too, the devil had just
been plaguing him about the hundred a sixteen pages.
And here we will give the story of these pages at
length, as one of the internal evidences of the divine
authority of the book.
HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN PAGES. 197
•
In the summer of 1828, while Harris was writing
Smith's translation for him, he took one hundred and
sixteen pages, which he had finished, put them in a
drawer, and locked it, but forgot to lock the drawer
above. Mrs. Harris, his wife, taking advantage of
the oversight, slipped out the top drawer, and took
away the manuscript. Harris demanded it. She re-
fused to give it up. He beat her, as we have seen in
her affidavit, but she still persisted. She properly told
him that, if God had translated it once, he could do it
again ; and her friends encouraged her to keep the first
copy to compare with the second. Here was a dilemma.
Seemingly, either to write or not to write again, was
ruin, for they had already announced that they had
written the history of the origin of the Nephites, or
American aborigines. The guiding divinity of Smith,
whom he calls the Lord, wanted, it seems, some time to
think of it. Accordingly, in July, 1828, he gives Smith
a revelation,* in which, after rebuking him for his neg-
ligence, and intimating that his work was ended for the
present, he kindly informs him that after due repent-
ance he shall be called again to the work. From
July, 1828, to May, 1S29, it seems that this Lord had
sufficient time to consider, and Smith to repent, and,
accordingly, at that time Smith had another revelation,^
in which his divinity attempted to conceal, as well as he
could, the awkwardness of Smith's position ; and after
uttering now a word of consolation, now a threat, and
now a bluster, he at last, with much swaggering, comes
to the point, grapples in with Satan, and explicitly
charges him with stealing the hundred and sixteen
* B. C. 156. t B. C. 163.
198 FRONTISPIECE.
•
pages. But, as Satan was not there to deny it, nor Mrs.
Harris to own it, he most manfully addresses himself at
once to the task of outwitting the devil ; since, after
ten months' trial, he could neither flatter nor force him
to give up the record which he had preserved, with such
miraculous care, through fourteen hundred years, and
on which, we are assured, the salvation of the world
depended. But these ten months' reflection not only
prepared him for the valorous enterprise before him,
but most fortunately, in the mean time, he discovered
that he had also another set of plates, called plates of
Nephi, which, though different, were just as good, and
even better than the plates of Lehi. " Now," says he,
" the devil has got a part of the record from the plates
of Lehi, and we can't get it again ; but we will outwit
him, Jose, for I have got some more just as good, and
better too."
I have heard many Mormons say that there were
wonderful things in the Book of Mormon. I agree
with them. I think this the most wonderful instance of a
deity's outwitting the devil anywhere on record. The
Mormons surely ought to return their sincere thanks to
his satanic majesty, for, by Smith's own showing, they
have got a much better revelation, one which " throws
much greater views upon the gospel,"'* than they would
have had if he had not kindly, though mischievously,
interposed ; for Smith's divinity himself acknowledges,
in the last revelation, after taking ten months to reflect
upon it, that it is indeed wisdom to translate the other
plates. I wonder if the devil borrowed the Lord's
barges to carry off the record with ? It seems both
* B. C. 165.
PATENT ENGLISH. 199
rational and probable, for, in that case, their wonderful
power of diving would render the recovery of the re-
cord quite impossible. And yet, (if the reader will be-
lieve it,) Smith not only had the impudence to publish
these revelations at length to the world in the Book of
Covenants, but he also attached an abstract of them, as
a preface, to the first edition of the Book of Mormon !
He threw out this absurd nonsense on the very first
page of his book ! Surely he must have desired, as he
is once reported to have said, " to see what the d d
fools would believe."
This, nowever, was a little too much even for Mor-
mons ; and, in the second inspired edition of the Book
of Mormon, Smith's divinity deemed it prudent to reckon
this whole preface among the " typographical errors of
the first edition," and accordingly threw it out alto-
gether. But it is retained, with some few modifications,
in the second edition of the Book of Commandments,
for the edification of the " saints." With this plain,
matter-of-fact exposition, I should hope, were not hope
in such a case utterly in vain, that they too may be illu-
minated by its truth.
After all, Smith, according to his own showing, dis-
obeyed the express command of God, and gave his
whole history to the world from the plates of Nephi,
instead of only that part which had been stolen, as the
Lord commanded him. This may be seen by com-
paring the preface of the first edition, or B. C. 163, with
the testimony of the eight and title-page of the Book
of Mormon.*
In a revelation, given March, 1829,f Smith is com-
* See also B. M. 464, 532, 151, &c. t B. C. 159 : also B. M. 548,
200 PATENT ENGLISH,
manded to bring forth his book, under the testimony of
three witnesses, and no more.
But when these three chosen witnesses had become
so notoriously infamous, that it was rendered expedient
to seek for eight more, it seems that the passages on
pages 86, 110, &c, in the Book of Mormon, were in-
terpolated to make room for the valorous eight, while
the above passages were overlooked. It will, however,
probably ail come right in future corrections of " the
errors of the press."
We must remember that, according to Smith's story,
the Lord is responsible not only for the thought, but
also for the language, of this new translation. The
words of the translation were read off through the
stone spectacles.
On page 548, B. M., it is pronounced " a work in
the which shall be shown forth the power of God."
We will give a few specimens of this patent English,
showing forth the linguistic power of Smith's divinity.
" Plates of which hath been spoken" (see testimony,
preface, pages 335, '6, &c.) When the "law had
ought to be done away" (p. 106) ; "knowledge of they
which are at Jerusalem ;" " concerning they which shall
be scattered" (56) ; " unto they which are of the house
of Israel" (57); "unto all they that believe" (107);
" unto all they that are filled with the Spirit ;" "for be-
cause they yieldeth unto the devil" (107) ; "I had spake
many things unto them ;" " for a more history part are
written upon mine other plates" (69) ; " I who ye call
your king ;" " they saith unto the king" (182).
But it is in vain ; these things are found on every
page of the first edition. No accurate idea can be
given of this patent inspired English without reprint-
PHILOSOPHY OP THE STYLE. 201
ing the whole book. On page 533, we are told that
u if there be faults, they be the faults of man :" this we
never doubted. But, since we are informed that this
translation was made through certain stone spectacles,
which the Lord has kept from the beginning, for the
special purpose of translating and revealing words to
mortal eyes,* the profane may wonder at the awkward
result. -i
Not so the devout " saint" of the Mormon school.
He knows how the devil pestered and perplexed Smith's
divinity, through the whole process of translation ; and
it is reasonable to suppose, that due watchfulness over
this mischievous imp had confined this said divinity for
several years exclusively to the vicinity of Western
New-York. The philosophic mind will readily see that
such confinement would necessarily tend to fasten upon
his style all the peculiar vulgarisms of Western New-
York, to the exclusion of all others.
We are more inclined to this view of the case, be-
cause we notice, that after he got the matter finally ar-
ranged with the devil, the language, in the second in-
spired edition, is much improved. After this remarka-
ble divinity had availed himself of some rest, and much
leisure to travel with Smith, we not only find the gen-
eral style of his subsequent revelations much improved,
but even New-York vulgarisms give place to those of
a more Western origin.
Some have attributed these gradual improvements,
in more recent editions and revelations, to extensive
practice on the part of Smith, and the correcting hand
of Rigdon.
We discard the profane suggestion. Others com-
* B. M., 216.
9*
202 AUTHORSHIP AND TITLES.
plain that the entire style of some twenty different wri-
ters, of as many different ages, is one and the same thing
from beginning to end — testimony of the witnesses,
preface, title-page, and all — while the styles of no other
two writers on earth, sacred or profane, are alike, but
exhibit totally different characteristics.
This, however, is readily accounted for upon the
doctrine of the three unities, as every scholar knows.
We are told that this is a " perfect gospel," and we
know that every perfect composition should possess
perfect unity of thought and style. The prophet's book
adds but one excellence more, and that is a perfect va-
cuity of both.
Here, then, are the three unities — unity of thought,
unity of style, and unity of vacuums. Uniformity of
style is indeed an excellence, which it possesses in the
highest degree. It is all Joe Smith, from preface to
finis, testimonies and all. Joe Smith is sole author and
proprietor, as he himself claimed on the title-page of
the first edition ; and why he should have abandoned
that claim, and called himself a mere translator, in the
second edition, we cannot divine. Perhaps he had that
revelation in mind, which commanded him " to aspire
to no other gift, save to translate ;" but from which re-
striction he has been released by the interpolated clauses
of the second inspired edition.
From this brief view of the internal evidence of the
Book of Mormon, we are happy to inform the public
that, in one point at least, we fully agree with the
prophet — viz, that Joseph Smith, jr., " President, seer,
translator, prophet, apostle, and elder of the church of
Latter Day Saints throughout the earth ;" " Dealer in
town lots, temples, merchandise, bank stock, and prairie
REAL ORIGIN OP THE B. M. 203
lands, retailer of books, stationery, cap, letter, fool, and
wrapping paper, and General of Nauvoo Militia,"
is the real, sole author and proprietor of the Book of
Mormon, in its present form, as he himself claims, in
spite of the injunction to aspire to no other gift, save to
translate. Quod erat demonstrandum.
The reader will find that all these titles are really-
claimed by the prophet, by consulting the " Book of
Covenants," and the " Times and Seasons."
But although we admit that Smith is the author and
proprietor of the Book of Mormon as it now is, still
we feel 'bound to advert to the original sources of the
ideas which are found in that book. And in the first
place, in utter mockery and defiance of all chronology,
all history, sacred or profane, all order of time, place,
or style, and of all common sense too, this book is be-
spangled from beginning to end not only with thoughts
of sacred writers, but with copious verbal extracts from
King James' translation, as well as with an appropriate
adjudication of all the New York controversies of the
day. The controversies of Europe, and of different
portions of the Union, apart from the state of New
York, Smith's guardian genius seems, in a great mea-
sure, to have overlooked, either as unworthy of notice,
or because his attention for the time was confined to the
golden plates, of " which hath been spoken."
It is also observable that Smith's inspiring spirit uses
very decent language when he confines himself strictly
to King James' translation. In this lies the crowning
excellency of the book. In spite of their monstrous
perversions, these extracts from sacred writ shine like
jewels in a dunghill. Isaiah, the prophets, and apostles,
and Joe Smith, side by side, are like a team of alternate
204 smith's stone spectacles.
lions and polecats. Still this is not a full account of the
matter. Although any blunderhead, with the Bible at
his side, might have written the book, and the greater
the blunderhead the better, still there are some reasons
to believe that Smith is not the original author even of
the gibberish that constitutes the plot of the comedy.
A word therefore upon this point will not be amiss.
And first, as regards the origin of the stone spectacles
which Smith tells us the Lord keeps for translating rev-
elations, and which he lent to Smith for that purpose,
Smith has told us part of the truth ; we will tell the
whole of it.
In the affidavits already referred to, as given before
Frederick King, justice of the peace, Wayne county,
N. Y., the following facts are developed :
William Chase swears that in 1822, while Joe Smith
and his brother were aiding him in digging a well, he
found a curious stone, about twenty feet from the sur-
face, and brought it to the top of the well. "Joseph
put it into his hat, alleging that by putting his face to
the top of it, he could see in it."
The next day he came and desired to obtain the
stone. Chase, with some reluctance, consented to lend
it to him. But after Smith began to publish what won-
ders he could see in it, Chase ordered it returned.
In 1825, as near as witness can recollect, Smith's
brother came and desired to borrow the stone again,
alleging that they wanted to accomplish some business
of importance which could not be done without it,
pledging also his word and honor, that he would return
it. Chase again consented to let him have it. In the
fall of 1826, a friend called upon Chase and desired to
see the stone, and, on his going to Smith's for it, Smith
smith's four years' vacation. 205
told him he could not have it. Chase insisted that it
was his property. Smith replied, " I do not care who
in the devil it belongs to ; you shall not have it ;" and
Chase could never again obtain it.
In 1830, Chase again asked Hiram Smith for his
stone. He told him "he should not have it, for Joseph
made use of it in translating his bible." Chase claimed
it on the ground of his own right, and of Smith's pro-
mise. Smith gave him the lie. Harris, who was
present, " flew in a rage, and took Chase by the collar,"
and Hiram Smith joined in the scuffle, " shaking his fists,"
and " abusing the witness in a most scandalous manner."
Such, then, was the origin of these stones, and of
Smith's wonderful gift of clairvoyance, translating, and
foreseeing the future, &c. &c.
In September, 1823, Smith says the angel first ap-
peared to him, and soon after he went to work for a
man by the name of Stowell, in Chenango county,
N. Y., who employed him to dig for money near Har-
mony, Penn. In November, 1825, Mr. Hale, his father-
in-law, states that he first appeared at his house.
Of course he had already been in and about that region
two years, or thereabouts. In the fall of 1826, we find
him again at home, without funds, and devising stories
about silver mines in order to get a passage to Har-
mony ; he succeeds, arrives, and marries, as we have
seen, and then persuades his old employer, Stowell, to
take a tramp to N. York, and carry Smith and his new
bride in quest of bars of gold, where they safely arrive,
and leave the old Dutchman to return and hunt his
gold at his leisure; and, finally, in the fall of 1827, he
goes again to Harmony ; Harris makes his appearance
there, and the work of translating the new bible goes
206 TESTIMONY OP JOHN SPAULDING.
on. This is the first time his father-in-law ever heard
of the golden plates ; and it seems to be Smith's first
effort at translating them.
The point to be noticed here is, that, from 1823 to
1827. the precise four years in which Smith and his
friends, in all the Mormon journals, either by accident
or design, omit all accounts of him, he is passing to
and fro from his native place to Chenango county,
N. Y., and then to Harmony, Penn., which is near by;
he is seemingly out of employ, and resources, and
friends ; and, by his own confession, employed a part
of his time in digging for a cave of silver, by Stowell.
He was, therefore, in the society of men not only ready
to believe, but on the look-out for wonders and sudden
speculations.
Why have neither Smith nor his friends given any
history of these four years, between the two miraculous
visits of the angel, viz, from Sept. 22, 1823, to Sept.
22, 1827, when he first obtained the plates? Why
does Smith pass over this most interesting portion of
his life in silence, or speak of it only in vague general-
ities ? The only possible answer is, he dares not give
a minute and detailed history of that period, giving
places and dates; for if he should, he fears it would lead
to his detection. No other reason can be given, though
he may patch up something after these suggestions.
We will now advert to the history of the famous
Spaulding manuscript, of which so much has been said,
and which many suppose forms the plot of this con-
temptible religious comedy, expanded, revised, and mu-
tilated no doubt as the genius of Smith directed.
Mr. John Spaulding, brother of Solomon, of Craw-
ford county, Penn., testifies as follows :
TESTIMONY OP JOHN SPAULDING. 207
" Solomon Spaulding was born in Ashford, Conn., in
1761. He graduated at Dartmouth College, and was
afterwards regularly ordained as a minister. After
preaching three or four years he gave it up, and com-
menced mercantile business with his brother Josiah, in
Cherry Valley, N. Y., where he failed in business, and,
in 1809, removed to Conneaut, Ohio. I made him a
visit about four years after, and found him involved in
debt. He then told me he had been writing a book
which he intended to have printed, the avails of which
he thought would enable him to pay all his debts.
The book was entitled the 'Manuscript Found,' of
which he read to me many passages. It was an his-
torical romance of the first settlers of America, en-
deavoring to show that the American Indians are the
descendants of the Jews, or the lost tribes. It gave a
detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by
land and sea, till they arrived in America, under the
command of Nephi and Lehi. They afterwards had
quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct
nations, one of which he denominated Nephites, and the
other Lamanites. Cruel and bloody wars ensued, in which
great multitudes were slain. They buried their dead in
large heaps, which caused the mounds so common in
this country. Their arts, sciences, and civilization
were brought into view, in order to account for all the
curious antiquities found in various parts of North and
South America. I have recently read the Book of
Mormon, and to my great surprise I find nearly the
same historical m"atter, names, &c, as they were in
my brother's writing. I well remember that he wrote
in the old style, and commenced about every sentence
with, « And it came to pass,' or, 'Now it came to pass,'
208 TESTIMONY OF MARTHA SPAULDING.
the same as in the Book of Mormon ; and, according to
the best of my recollection and belief, it is the same as
my brother Solomon wrote, with the exception of the
religious matter. By what means it has fallen into the
hands of Joseph Smith, jun., I am unable to determine.
Signed, John Spaulding."
Martha Spaulding, the wife of John Spaulding, also
testifies as follows:
"I was personally acquainted with Solomon Spauld-
ing about twenty years ago. I was at his house a
short time before he left Conneaut. He was then
writing an historical novel, founded on the first settlers
of America. He represented them as an enlightened
and warlike people. He had for many years contended
that the aborigines of America were the descendants
of some of the lost tribes of Israel; and this idea he
carried out in the book in question. The names of
Nephi and Lehi are yet fresh in my memory, as being
the principal heroes of his tale .... I have read the
Book of Mormon, which has brought fresh to my recol-
lection the writings of Solomon Spaulding ; and I have
no manner Of doubt that the historical part of it is the
same that I read, and heard read, more than twenty
years ago. The old obsolete style and phrases, * And
it came to pass,' are the same.
Signed, Martha Spaulding."
Mr. Henry Lake, former partner of Solomon Spauld-
ing, testifies as follows :
Conneaut, Ashtabula co., Ohio, Sept. 1833.
"I left the state of N. York late in the year 1810,
and arrived in this place about the first of January fol-
TESTIMONY OF HENRY LAKE. 209
lowing. Soon after my arrival, I formed a copartner-
ship with Solomon Spaulding, for the purpose of re-
building a forge which he had commenced a year
or two before. He frequently read to me from a
manuscript which he was writing, and which he enti-
tled the ' Manuscript Found,' which he represented as
being found in this town. I spent many hours in hear-
ing him read said writings, and became well acquainted
with its contents. He wished me to assist him in get-
ting it printed, alleging that a book of that kind would
meet with a rapid sale. This book represented the
American Indians as the lost tribes, gave an account
of their leaving Jerusalem, their contentions and wars,
which were many and great. 'One time when he was
reading to me the tragic account of Laban, I pointed
out to him what I considered an inconsistency, which
he promised to correct ; but, by referring to the book
of Mormon, I find, to my surprise, that it stands there,
just as he read it to me then. Some months ago I bor-
rowed a golden bible, put it into my pocket, carried it
home, and thought no more of it. About a week after,
my wife found the book in my coat pocket, as it hung
up, and commenced reading it aloud as I lay on the
bed. She had not read twenty minutes before I was
astonished to find the same passages in it that Spauld-
ing had read to me more than twenty years before,
from his ' Manuscript Found.'
" Since that, I have more fully examined the said
golden bible, and have no hesitation in saying that the
historical part of it is principally, if not wholly, taken
from the ' Manuscript Found.' I well recollect telling
Mr. Spaulding that the so frequent use of the ^words,
* And it came to pass,' ' Now it came to pass,' rendered
210 spaulding's manuscript.
it ridiculous. Spaulding left here in 1812, and I fur-
nished him with the means to carry him to Pittsburg,
where he said he would get the book printed, and pay
me. But I never heard any more from him or his wri-
tings till I saw them in the Book of Mormon.
Signed, Henry Lake.''
These testimonies are confirmed by Messrs. Aaron
Wright, Oliver Smith, Nahum Howard, of Ohio, Arte-
mas Cunningham, of Geauga county, John N. Millar,
of Pennsylvania, former acquaintance of Mr. Spauld-
ing ; and by other gentlemen, whose testimony it is not
important to quote at length, as well as by the widow
and daughter of Mr. Spaulding. The widow is now.
quite aged, and her daughter was but a mere child
during her father's life, which has tended to render their
testimony somewhat indefinite, and the Mormons say,
discordant, as perhaps it is natural that it should be, in
some of the details, considering the extreme age of the
one and youth of the other. This the Mormons have
not failed to trumpet abroad, while they have never
made a single successful effort to refute the testimony
of the witnesses here adduced, and numerous others of
equal credibility ; indeed they seem reluctant to notice
them at all. But from these sources, the following
facts can be fully substantiated, viz :
Mr. Spaulding wrote a manuscript, while living in
Ohio, in the years 1810, '11, and '12, which he called
the " Manuscript Found." It was an historical ro-
mance of the first settlers of America, endeavoring to
show that the American Indians are the lost tribes, the
descendants of the Jews, giving an account of their
journey from Jerusalem, by land and by sea, until they
211
arrived in America, under the command of Nephi and
Lehi ; in short, the leading features of the work were
so similar to the historical parts of Smith's book, that
numbers recognised it, as soon as they heard it, as be-
ing the same story.
In 1812, Spaulding left Ohio and went to Pittsburg,
where he resided about two years; during which time
it has been supposed that he left his manuscript at the
printing office of Patterson & Lambdier, and that Sid-
ney Rigdon found it there when he went to Pittsburg
to live, in 1822. Of this, however, there is no proof;
and I c*annot imagine that a man of Rigdon's talent,
power of language, and knowledge of the Bible, ever
could have jumbled together such a bundle of absurdi-
ties as the Book of Mormon is. No. Whoever got
the Spaulding manuscript, Joe Smith, and Joe alone, is
sole " author and proprietor" of its offspring, the Book
of Mormon. There is not, probably, another man on
the globe that could write such a book, except Joe
Smith ; and he would not have done it, had not some
materials been furnished to his hand to suggest the out-
line of his story.
Whether Rigdon helped him to the manuscript, or
aided him in the work, we cannot tell. It is certain
that, from 1822, he was out of business, and professed
to be in Pittsburg studying the Scriptures for three
years, while Smith was away from home, no one knows
precisely where, except that a part of the time he was
in Harmony, East Pennsylvania.
During the three years in which Smith was transla-
ting his bible, it is also certain that Rigdon was as ac-
tively engaged as he could be in building up a church
212 mrs. spaulding's removals.
for him in Ohio ; whether by intrigue or accident, we
will not pretend to say.
But, to resume our narrative of facts: Mr. Spaulding
left Pittsburg in 1814, and removed to Amity, Wash-
ington co., Penn., where he lived two years, and died
in 1816. Whether Mr. Spaulding took his manuscript
with him, or whether he left it behind at Lambdier's
office, in Pittsburg, his widow, now Mrs. Davidson, of
Monson, Mass., is not positively certain ; and the Mor-
mons have asserted that she has told different stories
about the matter, which, considering her age and in-
firmity of memory, is not improbable. After the death
of Mr. Spaulding, she, however, removed to Onondaga
co., N. Y., in 1817 or '18, where she resided about one
year. This place is in the vicinity of the Smiths.
At this time she had in her possession a small trunk,
containing the writings of her deceased husband, Rev.
Mr. Spaulding ; but of the number and character of
these writings she cannot positively affirm. From this
place she went to Hartwick, Otsego co., and other pla-
ces in that vicinity, on a visiting tour. She married
again in Hartwick, in 1820, where she resided until
1832. She then again removed to Massachusetts. Du-
ring a part of the time, from 1817 to 1820, she left the
said trunk at her brother's house, Mr. Harvy Sabine, at
Onondaga Hollow, not very far from the Smiths, as
may be seen on the map. After her marriage, in 1820,
the trunk was taken to Hartwick, where she left it, in
1832, with Mr. Jerome Clark.
Hartwick is not far from the residence of the famous
Stowell, in whose employ Smith dug for money, as he
says, in 1823. To this place also he was passing and
repassing, for four years afterwards, as we have seen,
ROMAN MANUSCRIPT. 213
without ostensible object or business, except, as appears
from the testimony of the people of Bainbridge, he was
once or twice arrested as a common vagabond, and
finally ran away, to escape the sentence of the law.
The trunk and manuscripts were, then, in this vicinity
from 1820 to 1832, and of course during the four years
of Smith's life, on which he is so silent, as it regards
himself. He was, in reality, loitering about these re-
gions, as we learn from other sources.
Mrs. Davidson is not certain that the " Manuscript
Found" was in said trunk ; nevertheless, it was thought
best to 'examine it ; and when examined, instead of a
variety of manuscripts, but one single one was found,
which purported to be a short unfinished Romance, de-
riving the origin of the Indians from Rome, by a ship
driven to the American coast, while on a voyage to
Britain, before the Christian era.
This manuscript was taken and shown to several of
the above-named witnesses, who say that Mr. Spauld-
ing, at first, began his romance in this way, and wrote,
as it seems, a quire or so of paper to that effect ; but
finally concluded to give up that plan, go further back,
and derive their origin from the Jews, as in the Book
of Mormon. The failure of finding this latter manu-
script, I think, has been misinterpreted by both the
friends and enemies of Smith.
If Mrs. Davidson had a trunk full of manuscripts in
Otsego county, who took them all away but one ? Why
was Smith prowling about there for four years ? Du-
ring that time, both he and his family were telling
strange stories about a book, or manuscript, that was
to be found, as we shall see in the sequel. Why did he
go to Harmony, Penn., to translate his book ? If he
214 LOST MANUSCRIPT.
really succeeded in getting the manuscript from Mrs.
Spaulding's trunk, or if some one did it for him, this
accounts for its disappearance, and for all other known
facts in the case. That all the writings are missing,
and cannot be found, with the exception of this one
small romance of the later origin, is a known fact.
That Mr. Spaulding wrote another and larger edition
of the work, similar in all its leading features to the
" more history parts" of the inspired translation of the
Book of Mormon, is also certain. That it might have
been taken from Pittsburg is possible ; but that it was
taken from the trunk in Otsego county, and finally fell
into the hands of Smith, while in connection with
Stowell, is far more probable. That it is gone, and
that Smith had both seen and read it before his pro-
phetic mission, is as certain as it is that the Book of
Mormon exists.
If we do not admit this, we must believe that all
these witnesses to its contents testify falsely, without
any possible motive for so doing, while they corrobo-
rate and sustain each other in their evidence, without
any possibility of collusion, and explain all known facts,
even before the facts to be explained had been made
public. However, be that as it may, Smith is undoubt-
edly the " author and proprietor" of the book, as it
now stands. There are also facts to show that at first
he had no idea of what would come out of the thing,
and was, for a long time, beating round the bush, and
trying to raise the wind in some way, he knew not
precisely how. It will be recollected, that the story
given at the outset of this work is the stereotyped edi-
tion, which Smith himself gave, after the appearance
of the book.
SMITH'S INDECISION TRIAL WITH HIS FATHER. 215
Our space forbids us to quote from the affidavits of the
witnesses the numberless and contradictory stories he
told about the book, previous to that time. When he
first heard of, or saw, this manuscript, is uncertain. His
plans, however, assumed something of a definite shape
in 1827.
Peter Ingersol testifies that old Smith told him, some
time before this, that a book had been found in a hollow
tree, in Canada, giving an account of the first settle-
ment of this country, before it was discovered by Co-
lumbus. Joe had probably made some trial of his fa-
ther's credulity previous to this time. In January, 1827,
the old man told Willard Chase a somewhat improved
book-story, the substance of which was, that a spirit
had appeared to his son Joseph, informing him of a re-
cord on golden plates, which he could obtain by repair-
ing to a given place, dressed in black, and riding on a
black horse with a switch tail. They fitted him out as
directed. He proceeded to the place ; found the box
containing the plates ; saw, upon opening it, the book,
and attempted to get it, but was hindered. A toad, in
the box, assumes the form of a man, and hits Smith a
lick on the head, which knocks him three or four rods,
and, finally, he was told by the spirit who wrote the
book to come again, one year from that time, with his
oldest brother, and he should receive the plates. Be-
fore the time arrived, however, the oldest brother died,
which the old man said was an " accidental provi-
dence."
These and similar stories were evidently thrown out
as bait, to try the credulity of Smith's father and his
money-digging comrades. Joe had probably either got
his book, or become sure that he could obtain it, and
216 EXPERIMENT WITH THE SAND.
was only casting about to see what use he could make
of it, or whether he could raise the wind in this way.
One or two slight circumstances seem to have decided
him upon the course which he ultimately pursued. But
we will let him tell his own story, as he himself related
it to Mr. Peter Ingersol.*
Early in the fall of this same year, 1 827, say s Smith, "as
I was passing across some woods, I found, in a hollow,
some beautiful white sand, that had been washed up by
the water. I took off my frock, tied up several quarts
of it, and then went home. On entering the house, I
found the family at dinner, and they were all anxious
to know the contents of my frock. At that moment I
happened to think of what I had heard of the ' golden
bible :' so I very gravely told them it was the golden
bible ; and, to my surprise, they were credulous enough
to believe it." He added that no man could see it, with
the naked eye, and live ; still, he offered to take it out
and show it to them ; but they refused to see it, and left the
room, it seems, in some fright. " Now," says Joe, " I have
got the d d fools fixed, and I will carry out the fun."
Here he first formed the idea that a golden bible
would take well, and he accordingly fixed his plan.
After this, in order to keep up the humbug, he ap-
plied to Willard Chase to make a box for his bible.
But, as Chase would not do it, he made a box of clap-
boards himself, put the sand into a pillow-case, and then
into the box, which he permitted all to see and handle,
but not to examine. Shortly after this, it seems, he de-
termined to go to Pennsylvania again. As he himself
told Ingersol, he went to Palmyra, and being in want
* See oath of P. Ingersol.
SMITH FIXES HIS PLAN. 21*7
of money for the journey, says he, " I there met that
d d fool, Martin Harris, and told him that I had a
command from God to ask fifty dollars in money of the
first man I met in the street, to assist in the work of the
Lord, in translating the golden bible." " I saw," said
he, " that the thing took his notion, for he promptly
gave me the money."
However, Harris's statement of this same transac-
tion shows that he did not get the money without hav-
ing recourse to the basest intrigue and duplicity. But
he got it, as all admit.
He talked to Harris about the golden plates of im-
mense value, and of the immense wealth that would
accrue from the publication of such a new and won-
derful work, and finally offered him a share in this sud-
den influx of wealth, if he would advance a few dollars,
in order to bring forth the work. At length, by skil-
fully working at once upon the credulity, superstition,
and avarice of Harris, he got him fairly enlisted. These
two incidents seem to have decided the mind of the
prophet. The story of the sand enabled him to guage
the credulity of his father's family, and the others who
constituted the first church of six, while the grant of the
fifty dollars was a sure pledge at once of the credulity
and fanaticism of Harris. He saw that, by giving the
matter a religious turn, he could probably keep the
Smiths and Whitmers under his thumb, pick Harris's
pocket of his ten thousand dollars, more or less, and
perhaps even turn it to account after that, by the sale
of books, or otherwise. At this time it was solely and
avowedly a money-making matter, with all who were
engaged in it, save the dupes in the play, and even some
of them entertained hopes of pecuniary gain, as all the
10
218 GOES TO PENNSYLVANIA*
affidavits show. With these prospects ahead, Smith
starts off to Pennsylvania again, although it was but a
few months since he moved his family from that state,
and Harris soon followed, Whether Smith went down
there to get the manuscript, or only to translate it more
at his leisure, or both of these, it is not certain ; but
he goes and translates, or pretends to translate, and Har-
ris writes for a time, until the devil begins to bother
them, and then Cowdery appears on the stage, and acts
as scribe. His first pretended verbal revelation, that
has been made public, was given in Harmony, July,
1828,* after Martin had lost the manuscript of one hun-
dred and sixteen pages. From that time on, revela-
tions seem to have beenYrequently necessary, both to
keep up the courage of the scribes, Harris and Cowdery y
and also to prepare the minds of the dupes who were
to constitute the first Mormon church in New York,
In these revelations, Smith committed himself upon
many points, which he has been obliged to alter in the
subsequent editions, showing clearly that he had no
idea whereunto the thing would grow. But after his
fortunate union with Rigdon, as has been related, his
scheme at once expanded, and assumed a form and
reach which rendered it indespensable to alter, muti-
late, and add to, the first revelations frequently, as oc-
casion required.
It is evident that, as early as 1822, Smith began to
dabble with his stone spectacles. Some time previous
to June, 1827, he had probably got some idea of the
Spaulding manuscript, and was practising his wits upon
the old man and others, to see what he could do with
* See Book of Cov., 156.
219
it. In August, Smith and his wife went to Pennsylva-
nia r with Peter Ingersol, to bring their goods up to
Manchester, to which place they soon returned. Soon
after his arrival there, he found the curious sand, suc-
ceeded in duping his father's family, (who, with one
Joseph Knight, constituted his future church,) got his
fifty dollars (which fixed him in his plan of calling it
the " Golden Bible,") from Harris, applied for his box,
and finally made a rough one himself, returned to Penn-
sylvania to secure the manuscript, and addressed him-
self to the task of translating it.
He might have had the manuscript before, however,
though he told several persons that he had none, and
was only hoaxing the " d — d fools ;" still, he told as
many more that he had got it ; and if he had not, we
may reasonably conclude he knew where he could get
it, on his return to Pennsylvania,
I will here adopt the Mormon mode of arguing on
the prophecies, and inquire, If this is not a true account
of the whole matter, what is ? Let Smith or his
friends give us the full and accurate history of his life,
during these four years, with names of places, persons,
and dates, where, with whom, and in what manner
Smith was employed during that whole period, and
then, if the public are not satisfied, it will at least re-
move the suspicion which must necessarily attach to
such obvious and ominous silence. Let him show that
the story which he now tells was not one made up,
piecemeal, after the publication of the book, and that,
too, in utter contrariety to scores of stories before told
by Smith himself. It might not be amiss, also, for
Rigdon to give a more accurate account of his where-
abouts, from 1823 to 1830, that the public might the
220 WONDERFUL PROVIDENCES.
better understand the philosophy of his new theology
in Ohio, while Smith was receiving new revelations- in
New- York. It is certainly curious, that after a three
years' tug in Ohio, at reformation in the church, Pratt
stumbles at once upon Smith's book in New- York. The
" four elders" sent on a mission to the Indians stumble,
in like manner, upon Rigdon in Ohio, and there they
all stumble together upon a whole society — some 1000
persons — all prepared for the new gospel ; and so the
whole posse, Rigdon and all, at once set to crying, and
snivelling, and baptizing into this new, and wonderful,
and unheard-of faith of Joe Smith !
These things look curious, certainly ; and if they
were merely a series of accidents, as perhaps they may
have been, surely they were a succession of " accidental
providences," almost as singular as the untimely death
of the oldest brother of Joe, whom the Lord first ap-
pointed to aid Joe in the procuring the plates, but whom
he took, by accident, as the old man said, before the
time arrived. Perhaps, however, the devil stole him,
as he did the 116 pages of manuscript. And it may
be that all these particular providences, which resulted
in the union of Rigdon and Pratt, and the consequent
elevation of Joe, with his faith and book, from merited
contempt, were, in fact, the devil's providences ; for
since, according to Smith's own showing, he was the
means of securing to the Mormons a better revelation
than they otherwise would have had, he may have had
a hand in fostering the infant church which was its off-
spring.
The world would like to understand all this a little
better than either Rigdon or Pratt have enabled them,
as yet, to comprehend it. It may be hard to impeach
SMITH THE REAL AUTHOR OF BOOK OF MORMON. 221
men's motives, but it is still harder for any man to be-
lieve that men, who can write and speak with as much
readiness as Rigdon and Pratt, ever did, or ever could,
honestly believe one word of Smith's stories, or of the
budget of lying, nonsensical gibberish, which he has
the impudence to call a revelation from God.
The origin of the book is, however, after all, a mat-
ter of mere curiosity, of little practical moment. We
have the book. It speaks for itself; and whether it
was concocted in a sunbeam, or in the mud, it is nei-
ther worthy of man nor Deity. It is worthy of only
Joe Smith ; and if he originated the whole of it, without
any foreign aid, we could only say, " Like parent, like
child," and let it go at that.
If he is the author and proprietor, as he says he is,
be it so ; no one objects ; and were it not for proof
positive, as it regards its similarity to the Spaulding
manuscript, there would be not the least possible neces-
sity of looking beyond the cranium of Joe Smith for
the nest in which it was brooded, hatched, and fledged.
A greater genius could not have written it as it now
is — a lesser one could not have written it worse. Some
have intimated that Smith was aided by the devil ; but
surely not in the composition of the work. We must
excuse his Satanic Majesty from all hand in it, save a
commendable effort, by stealing away the 116 pages of
manuscript, to save his minions from probable disgrace,
and his cause on earth from utter contempt and ruin.
I doubt not the devil stole it simply from a sense of
propriety ; but after he was so triumphantly outwitted
by Smith's guardian genius, he took a sudden tack, as
he is wont to do, and tried to see how many folks he
could make believe it. He has, by the aid of Rigdon
222 DISSENTERS PREDICT WAR WITH MISSOURI,
and Pratt, succeeded in this to admiration ; though he
seems to have become somewhat ashamed of this last
move, and took again a counter track in 1838, in Mis-
souri. What his next evolution may be, none but the
prophet Smith can tell. Even the Mormons, however,
have sense enough to see that Smith must, by some
means, regain his Mount Zion in Missouri, or that he
will prove himself an impostor even to them. Dissent-
ers affirm that this is now the great enterprise before
the secret councils of Smith.
THE TWO PRIESTHOODS. 223
CHAPTER VII.
ORGANIZATION AND DOCTRINES OF THE MORMONS.
The two priesthoods — First presidency, &c. — Powers of Smith — Num.
ber of Dignitaries— Doctrines of faith— Trinity— Mormon sacrifice of
all things — Miracles — Gifts of healing, prophets, &c. — Casting out
devils— Hierarchy — Witness of the Spirit— Equality with God — Pre-
existenee— Preaching— Creeds— Real belief of Mormons— Suppressed
and altered revelations — Patriarchal blessings.
The " Latter Day Saints" have two distinct classes
of arguments, which they advance in their own behalf:
One class is to prove the divine authority of Smith's
book, the other to show the necessity and superiority
of the peculiar organization, doctrines, and discipline
of their church.
The apostolic and democratic simplicity of their
church government will first claim our attention.
They have two distinct orders of church dignitaries :
1. The Melchizedec, or High Priesthood, consisting of
high-priests and elders: 2. The Aaronic, or Lesser
Priesthood, consisting of bishops, priests, teachers, and
deacons. The former preside over the spiritual inter-
ests of the church. The latter administer its ordinan-
ces, and manage its temporal concerns.
Three of the Melchizedec or High Priests are ap-
pointed presidents, to preside over all the churches in
all the world. They are called the First Presi-
dency,
The church in Jackson county, Mo., is called "Zion,"
224 ORGANIZATION",
and is still to become the great centre, both of gathering
and of ruling ; at least so says Smith's divinity. Gov.
Boggs seems to be of a different opinion. Which knows
best, it is hard to say.
Other churches, established by revelations given to
Smith, are called "Stakes of Zion," or simply "stakes."
Hence the stakes at Kirtland, Nauvoo, &c.
Each of these stakes, also, is ruled by a subordinate
presidency, of three high-priests, whose jurisdiction is
confined to the limits of the stake.
The divine appointment of these stakes, in new re-
gions, gives a fine opportunity of speculating in town
lots.
They have also a High Council, consisting of twelve
high-priests, and constituting the court of ultimate ap-
peal, at each stake. The bishop and his two counsel-
lors, from the lesser priesthood, constitute the court of
immediate jurisdiction, for the first trial of transgress-
ors, and for administering things temporal at each
stake.
A travelling high council, consisting also of twelve
high priests, and called the " Twelve Apostles," are
sent forth with power to preach the gospel to all
the world, and to discipline and govern all unorganized
churches. One of these is called " President of the
Twelve."
The first, second, and third " Seventies," consisted of
seventy elders each, whose duty it was to preach the
Mormon gospel abroad, under the direction of the
twelve apostles.
In addition to these dignitaries, there is an innu-
merable host of bishops, elders, priests, deacons, &c,
employed by the church, either to edify the "saints" at
ORGANIZATION. 225
home, or to gain proselytes abroad. Each of these
furnishes himself with the Book of Covenants and
Pratt's Voice of Warning, from which they are soon
able to acquire at once their proof-texts, their logic, and
their faith.
The first presidency, the high council, and each of
the seventies, have the right to discipline their own
members, within their respective limits, and a decision
of either body is final, and reversible only at the general
council of all the bodies conjointly.
The high priests, elders, and priests, travel and
preach*; but teachers and deacons are the stationary
officers of the church.
All these functionaries are created, and, according to
the doctrine and teaching of Smith, can be removed at
any time by the voice of their constituents, the people.
All this is so purely and beautifully democratic, that
the saints seem to forget that their democratic monarch,
Smith, has reserved exclusively to himself the sole right
of receiving and promulgating revelations from the
Lord, touching even the most minute of all the interests
of the church, to which, of course, they are ever to
yield the most implicit obedience, on penalty of eternal
damnation. Hence — though, as Smith tells them, all
these functionaries are merely their servants — Joe Smith
himself is virtually the God both of them and their ser-
vants, for his voice is the voice of God, in all things,
great and small, whenever he chooses to call it so; and
that, too, in spite of the command of God, given March,
1829, and found in the Book of Covenants, 158. By
turning to that same revelation, as it stands on the
tenth page of the first edition of the Book of Com-
mandments, published in 1833, before the prophet saw
10*
226 POWERS OF SMITH.
fully what powers it would be convenient for him to
assume in the church, the reader will see that, at the
end of the second verse, God commands Smith to pre-
tend to "no other gift" except to translate, and expressly
declares that he will "grant him no other gift." Doubt-
less the prophet thought this sufficient at the time. But,
in publishing the second edition, two years after, it was
ibund expedient to add a saving clause or two, so as effec-
tually to annihilate at once the command and the prom-
ise, and leave Smith still free to usurp whatever power
he pleased. The second edition is made to read thus :
"I have commanded that you should pretend to no
other gift" (save to translate) "until my purpose is ful-
filled in this" " for I will grant you no other gift until
it is finished." The words in italics are interpolated in
the second edition, but not found in the first. Doubt-
less this was a mere correction of the type, like the
taking away of a whole page of the preface from the
second edition of the Book of Mormon. Smith did not
see the necessity of correcting the type in '33, but in
'35 it became apparent. The power of a simple trans-
lator was too narrow for the exigency of the times. It
would have been well for the world if Smith's divinity,
instead of giving him a pair of stone spectacles, had
given him a divine printer, and a divine press, and such
types that he might have been enabled to fix the mean-
ing of his inspired revelations, so that it would be pos-
sible to let them stand, at least two years, without ab-
stracting, interpolating, altering, or garbling, to suit the
times. But the ways of Smith's providence are indeed
mysterious. We will not pretend to judge. The
prophet needed other gifts, and he took them ; not by
POWERS OF SMITH. 227
piecemeal, but by wholesale; or rather, he had already-
taken them before.
In a revelation given to Smith, April 6, 1830, the
very day the first Mormon church of six was organized
at Fayette, New York,* Smith is appointed " Seer,
Translator, Prophet, Apostle of Jesus Christ, and Elder
of the church, through the will of God, the Father, and
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" He is also de-
clared to be " inspired of the Holy Ghost, to lay the
foundation of the church, and build it up in the most
holy faith ;" and the church is commanded to keep a
perpetual record of these titles.
" Wherefore, the church shall give heed to all his
words and commandments, which he shall give unto you:
for his word shall ye receive, as if from mine own mouth,
in all patience and faith." Again, on page 88, the first
president is to preside over the whole church, and be
like unto Moses, to be a seer, revelator, translator,
prophet, having all the gifts which God bestows upon
the head of the church.
These are the moderate qualifications, indispensable,
in order to be even a candidate for the office of first
president of the Mormon church. But, in a revela-
tion given February, 1831, page 126, Smith's divinity
confers on him not only the exclusive right to receive
and give forth commandments from the Lord, but also
power to appoint his successor ; and the church are
commanded to " uphold him, to appoint him, to provide
him food and raiment, and whatsoever things he needeth
to accomplish his work," with threats for disobedience
as usual. Hence, none but Smith, or his appointed suc-
* B. C, 177.
228 NUMBER OF DIGNITARIES.
cessor, can ever be elected to stand at the head of the
church, without direct disobedience and rebellion against
the Mormon god, that is, Joe Smith.
In a revelation of September, 1831, page 145, all
Smith's dignities and titles are conferred on him for
life. True, he may be removed for misconduct ; but
who is to judge ? The Lord, surely ; but by whose
mouth ? By the mouth of his servant, Joseph Smith !
This is first-rate democracy, to say nothing of apostolic
humility and simplicity.
In a revelation, page 11 1, the world is informed of what
they very w T ell knew before, that Joe Smith " had no
strength to work" though he is one of the best wrestlers
in the county. Therefore, the churches are commanded
to support him, with the usual benedictions and cursings.
See also Book of Commandments, 181, where the church
are commanded to obey him, even as Aaron. By com-
paring also the revelation on page 214 with the "Times
and Seasons," vol. ii., No. 7, pages 305 and 307, the
reader will see that Smith has the power of holding the
keys of the kingdom of God forever, and that this is'
only the modest power of eternal salvation or damna-
tion over the flock, the same as is arrogated by the spirit-
ual descendant of St. Peter at Rome, and is to be per-
petuated to the spiritual descendants of brother Jose,
the democratic general at Nauvoo.
So much for the beautiful symmetry, simplicity, and
freedom of Mormon democracy, and the admirable
consistency, humility, patience and self-denial of their
servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith, jr., General of Nau-
voo militia, and head of the church throughout the earth.
According to reports from England, it appears that
they there have about one church dignitary, of some
NATURE OF FAITH. 229
sort, to every ten private members. In the early his-
tory of the church in this country, the proportion was
much greater. Here lies the secret of their success ;
every thing in the shape of a man, that can walk and
carry his catechisms, is forthwith dubbed high priest,
elder, or apostle, (or something large.) and sent forth
to trudge and beg, with a single comrade, in quest of
adventure and proselytes. This arrangement operates
at once as a motive and a means of conquest. Every
ejected or discontented dunce, in other denominations,
feels sure that, if he joins the Mormons, he shall be
dubbed « knight of the altar, and may in turn trudge
forth in quest of new apostles, until perchance he tires
in his new labors, or fails of his full share of blushing
honors, doffs the badges of the apostle for the sackcloth
of the apostate, and yields up his faith in Joe Smith for
faith in nothing save his own folly and delusion.
We will next consider some of the fundamental doc-
trines of the church.
1. The nature of faith. Their doctrines, on this fun-
damental item of all religion, may be seen at large in
the first part of the Book of Covenants. There can
be no doubt that faith, or rational belief, in things
not seen, is the foundation of all power, all energy, all
efficiency, and all good, temporal and eternal, so far as
man is concerned. But when we are referred to Heb.
xi. 3, to prove that faith enabled God to create the
world, it shocks all reason, and all common sense.
The apostle tells us that we understand it through faith,
not that God created the world through faith.
Most will admit also, that it is probable that the first
idea of a Supreme Being has travelled down from
Adam, to whom it was given by direct revelation.
230 EVIDENCE OP DIVINE EXISTENCE.
But does it follow from this, that our belief in a Su-
preme Being rests, either in whole or in part, on mere
human testimony? Doubtless our parents first sug-
gested to our minds the idea of a supreme Divinity.
But with the heavens over our heads, and the earth
under our feet, all declaring and demonstrating his be-
ing, and glory, and power, do we still believe it on the
bare ground of human testimony ? If so, we must be
dolts indeed. This is as though one should maintain
that his belief in the existence of the sun rested on
human testimony, because, forsooth, his father happen-
ed first to point it out to him.
The writer next proceeds to show, that we also come
to the knowledge of the moral attributes of God by
revelations made to men, which we receive on the
mere ground of human testimony. This is like believ-
ing that the sun is warm, because our grandfathers sat
under his beams and have told us so. Suppose that
we found, from our own actual individual experience,
that God was, in all possible ways, constantly endeav-
oring to deceive and torment us, instead of endeavor-
ing to do us good, hour by hour, and day by day,
should we, forsooth, in that case, believe that he was
wise, and good, and holy, because he had condescended
to tell our grandfathers so? No; — we believe that
God is good, not on human testimony, nor yet on his
own testimony, for we must first know that he is good,
before we can rationally believe a word he says. But
we believe that he is good, because we observe and
experience the results of his goodness in our own per-
sons every hour of our lives.
We have been more explicit in our remarks on the
first four lectures on faith, because we perceive here a
231 PINAL CAUSE OP SUCH PAITH.
sort of entering wedge to the whole system of Mor-
monism. The absurd and contemptible sophisms, in
these four chapters on faith, are intended to lie as an
immoveable foundation to the whole system. Hence,
by a sort of logical agony, the profound effort was
made, by beginning away back at the creation, with
the fundamental idea of a first cause, and gradually and
carefully creeping along up, with their new doctrine
of faith, through all the divine attributes, to the sublime
conclusion, that all religious faith does and must, from
the very nature of things, rest on the contemptible
foundation of mere human testimony. But the final
end, the inevitable conclusion, from all this Jesuitical
sophistry, is cautiously and prudently suppressed, until
a more suitable opportunity for its development. We
think it a good time now to drag this detestable infer-
ence forth from its hiding place, and to present the
whole syllogism in broad daylight, where all men may
at once both see and detest, not only the sophism, but
the meanness of its authors. It is this. All faith, even
in a Supreme Being, rests of necessity on mere human
testimony for its foundation. Ergo, (now comes the
real inference meanly suppressed,) therefore you must
believe in Joe Smith, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery,
and David Whitmer, or whatever other " knaves,
dupes or debauchees" choose to draw on a long face
and come to you in the name of the Lord.
This is the sublime logic of the first four chapters
on faith ! ! And the knavery and hypocrisy of omitting
the necessary, inevitable, and intended inference from
the whole, are surely not the least detestable parts of
the effort.
We believe neither in God, nor in his attributes, nor
232 MORMON VIEWS OF THE TRINITY.
in any part or portion of divine revelation, on the
ground of mere human testimony, and we never shall
so long as we retain our common sense ; but we be-
lieve in all these on much higher ground than the mere
conjoint testimony of even the whole human race, as
has been shown.
Much less shall we believe in the testimony of those
whom this professed prophet of the Lord himself has
pronounced "liars, debauchees, and asses." Nor shall
we believe in the lying, money-digging, drunken de-
ceiver, who duped them to give their testimony to such
contemptible gibberish as the Book of Mormon.
The reader will pardon our extended notice of this
puerile doctrine of faith. It is not worth discussing, I
am well aware, but I had the edification of the saints
in view. Besides it is fundamental in Mormonism, as
well as in some other fanaticisms.
The fourth lecture on faith treats of the Trinity, or
rather of the duality, as they explain it. We commend
it to the careful perusal of those who think they can
understand and explain the precise mode in which the
Supreme Intelligence of the universe exists, as readily
as they can the properties of an ellipse or a triangle,
and who are enabled to expound and adjust all the
powers and relations of the Trinity, with the same
facility that they can the various compartments of an
hour-glass.
We presume a criticism on this paragraph of Mor-
mon faith, from such exalted geniuses, who, by the
mystic aid of "substances" and "essences," are enabled
to solve what angels cannot comprehend, would be
amusing, if not important to the public. We leave it
to them.
MORMON SACRIFICE OF ALL THINGS. 233
In the sixth lecture on faith, the proposition is an-
nounced and maintained, that men know their accept-
ance with God " only through the medium of the sac-
rifice of all earthly things." Verse 7.
In the first place, we would inquire, What is meant
by " the sacrifice of all earthly things," if our eternal
reward is to consist in similar things — eternal cities,
eternal gold, and eternal farms, instead of temporal
cities, gold, and farms ? Again : Are these sacrifices
of all worldly things to be made at the bidding of Joe
Smith and his counsellors ? Are we to yield them up
to God through their hands, or are we not ?
The language of these exhortations would be well
enough, were they not in known connection with the
ends and aims of Smith and his comrades. But as it
is, the plain meaning is this : You must give up all
worldly things to God, as an indispensable condition of
salvation. Very well — agreed. But who is to inform
us of what things God has need ? Why, the Lord's
prophet at Nauvoo, to be sure. And to whom are we
to pay it over ? To the Lord's servants at Nauvoo.
All our wealth, according to the first edition of the
Book of Covenants, and part of it only, according to
the second edition. Very well. All this is nice. We
think we will take our chance of salvation on some
other ground.
This lecture on the sacrifice of all things, we
are informed, is so plain, that the customary cate-
chism upon it at the end is deemed unnecessary. We
have supplied one, with appropriate answers, which we
would respectfully commend to the " saints," to be ap-
pended to the next edition of this plausible lecture. It
would constitute a better typographical correction than
234 AERIAL FAITH AND MORMON MIRACLES.
the prophet is wont to make in his revelations, even
where he adds whole pages to the original text. The
student is also advised, by the Mormons, to commit the
whole lecture to memory; it is so important. We ad-
vise him to do the same, and to take our catechism with
it, since the prophet has supplied none. The conclu-
ding, seventh lecture on faith, we would also commend
to theological mystics and system-mongers of all creeds.
Faith here is made to mount up into regions where they
delight to soar. We fear we should fall from the gid-
dy height. We choose, then, to stand on terra firm'a,
and stretch up our necks, to see how other geese rise
and fly through these aerial heights.
We have already noticed the fundamental dogma
and final exhortation of Mor monism, and of all other
spurious creeds, viz — You must believe on mere human
testimony, and then give all you have to God's appoint-
ed witnesses of the faith; we have dragged them forth
from their lurking-places by the incipient catechism on
faith, and that is all we can do at present.
The next move of the Mormons, after having thus
got a firm foothold upon the credulity of their follow-
ers, is to remove one insuperable objection to their
scheme — viz, utter want of all accredited or rational
evidence that it is from God. This they do, by deny-
ing that the miracles of the Bible were wrought of old
by God, in attestation of the veracity of his servants,
before the world ; but they affirm, that they were
wrought simply for the benefit of those who believe, or
the saints.
To prove this, instead of taking the Bible literally,
where Moses is said to have wrought signs to show
that he was commissioned of God, and also in John, x.
MORMON MIRACLES.
37, xv. 24, Acts, ii. 3, and numberless other passages,
on almost every page of the Bible, where even Christ
himself is represented as commanding the Jews not to
take him at his word, but to look at his works, or mira-
cles, because " he that beareth witness of himself is not
true ;" all these they virtually deny, or contradict,
and then tell us that they take them literally. Still,
they contend that there can be no true church on earth,
without prophets, apostles, power of miracles, gifts of
tongues, of healing, etc., etc., and that their church
alone possesses these.
These extravagant dogmas and absurd claims, com-
mon to all impostors, in all ages, they base on the fol-
lowing passages of Scripture. It is said in Mark, xvi.
17, "These signs shall follow them that believe," (enu-
merating the signs.) They fall into a mistake here,
which is common to them and all other fanatics, viz,
that of understanding all that was said by Christ and
his apostles to their hearers, as of course said to them.
Hence they infer, that these signs were to follow, not
only those who believed on the twelve apostles, as the
text literally asserts, and as was the case at the day of
Pentecost, and on various other occasions, but, forsooth,
they maintain that these signs were to follow all those
who should afterwards believe the gospel, in all ages
of the world, which the text does not assert. This they
call a literal interpretation. But when we grant them
this position, and say, Very well, bravo ! now show us
the signs, and we will believe ; their ready reply is,
"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh for a
sign, and verily there shall no sign be given them ;"
and here they stop, forgetting to refer us to any past
or future sign, as the Saviour referred those whom he
236 GIFTS OF HEALING AGUE, PROPHETS, ETC.
rebuked in this passage, because they had before refu-
sed to look at the multitude of signs he had already
given them.
And now, for a long time, the teeth of the Mormons
have been chattering with the ague, induced by the tri-
als of poverty and want, which have been brought upon
them by their frequent removals from place to place,
and the stone temple, bank stock, mercantile, prairie
land, and tavern-house speculations of the Lord's prophet
and his compeers ; and their teeth still chatter, and their
bones still burn and ache, though they alone, of all oth-
ers, possess the miraculous gifts of healing, given, as we
are assured, for the express purpose of comforting the
saints on earth, and for no other purpose.
But all this, we are told, is because, forsooth, after ten
years' trial, they cannot bring their faith up to the stick-
ing-point necessary to cure this ague. And yet we are
told, that sometimes they achieve wonders with the
hysterics and the " blues," which we believe are the
only kind of devils they have ever succeeded in cast-
ing out.
We are assured, also, that there can be no church,
without prophets and apostles. We ask them to proph-
esy ; and the prophet, in 1831, points us to the destruc-
tion which awaits the Mormons, in the Eastern coun-
try, and withdraws them from impending ruin to Mount
Zion, Jackson county, Missouri, the everlasting posses-
sion of the saints, the fairie land of Mormon faith, Mor-
mon peace, and Mormon bliss.*
We ask them, Whom did the apostles apooint as
* See B. C, p. 151, 12; p. 190, 2; p. 192, 1 ; p. 194, 9 ; p. 139,
11,12, 13; p. 154, 1,2.
COMMISSION TO PREACH AND WORK MIRACLES. 237
their successors in their apostleship, and whether it was
not their fault that the office ended with them ? The
Mormons make no reply.
Again, we ask, Who is empowered to revive the
long-lost succession ? All caps are thrown up, and all
voices at once shout, " Joe Smith ! Joe Smith ! ! He
is the Prophet of the Lord !" He holds both the keys
and the cash of the church, though, as we have seen,
he once, in time of danger, committed the sword to his
favorite mastiff.
To cap the climax of these absurdities, Parley Pratt
contends, {hat the general commission referred to in
Mark, to preach the gospel, was limited to those who
heard it, while the many signs that were to follow are
granted to all coming generations ! ! So that, while
we must all wait for a new revelation to preach, we
all have liberty to cast out devils as soon as we be-
lieve ! ! # I hope he will not complain that I have
omitted the former, and am trying my hand at the
latter.
They next refer to I. Cor., xii., which they expound
with marvellous ability.
From the rear of this invaluable breastwork of logic,
Parley opens an inspired cannonade of commingled
metaphysics, eloquence, and pathos, and concludes with
the prayer, " that the vision should be shut up ;" in
which prayer all men of common sense, I presume, will
heartily unite. So here we drop it.
I would just suggest, that he and all other Mormons
have forgotten to read and interpret, literally, the apos-
tle's argument through, to the end of the 13th chapter
* See Voice of Warning, p. 112.
238 THE MORMON HIERARCHY.
of I. Corinthians. They are particularly silent upon that
verse in which the apostle says, literally, that prophe-
cies shall fail, and tongues shall cease, and all else but
faith, (not Mormon faith, we presume,) hope, and char-
ity.
The outlines of their despotic hierarchy have al-
ready been presented. The names indeed of their sev-
eral orders and offices are found in the Scriptures. But
that the name is nothing, and the powers of an office
every thing, some other apostolic sects would do well
to learn, as well as the Mormons. We look in vain
for the origin of the definite powers of such hierarchies,
baptized with scripture names, except in the crania of
their respective godfathers. In this case, Joseph Smith,
jun., General of Nauvoo Militia, happens to be the
man.
The system also establishes a somewhat more perfect
despotism than has been reached by any other hier-
archy. It concentrates all power in the person of the
valorous translator. This is the principal difference
between the Joe Smith of Illinois, and other Joe
Smiths who have trodden the path of hierarchal fame
before him. They one and all, from Pope Linus down-
ward, demonstrate the divine origin of their religious
oligarchies from Scripture, because, forsooth, the names
with which they have chosen to christen their several
functionaries are found in that sacred volume. The
progress which Joseph has made in the Divine favor,
since the typographical correction of that unlucky rev-
elation, " Thou shalt aspire to no other gift, save to
translate," may be seen from an enumeration of his ac-
cumulating titles in the Book of Covenants, 177 and 88,
also at the close of the former.
WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 239
The next chapter on the fundamental doctrines of
Mormonism, which we shall notice, is " the witness of
the Spirit," as they term it. This is always the last re-
sort. After running the whole round of argument,
discussing the merits of Joseph's bough, and its literal
leap across the wall of the Atlantic ocean ; glancing at
the upspringing truth and downlooking righteousness
of David; brandishing, with triumphant flourishes, the
two sticks of Ezekiel ; gazing at the angel flying away
with the Book of Mormon ; and having appealed to
Mark's limited charter for preaching the gospel, and
general permission to cast out devils, there is a solemn
pause. You ask for a sign ; but verily no sign shall be
given you. You demand proof; the ready reply is — ■
" I know that Mormonism is true, for God has revealed
it to me, in my soul." Very good ; but how shall I
know it ? " Ask in faith, as I have done, and it shall be
given you." That is, first believe it, then ask, and then
you shall know it is true. To require this process is
much the same as to require one to eat his dinner raw,
and to cook it afterwards.
By this patent mode of procedure, both Pratt and
Rigdon assure us that they discovered ultimately that
what they had at first pronounced a base fabrication,
was indeed a new and wonderful revelation from God.
It should be noticed here, that asking in faith, accord-
ing to the Book of Covenants, is actual believing, for
" where doubt and uncertainty is," say they, " there
faith is not, nor can be."* Doubtless any one might
discover the truth of any thing in the same way.
The fanatical doctrine of the spirit is more fully dis-
* B. C. 62. 12.
240 EdUALlTY WITH GOD.
cussed upon another page.* We only repeat here, that
the man who neglects the employment of the written word,
natural reason, and conscience, which God has given him
for his guidance, and yields himself up to his own in-
ternal impulses and phantasies, from that moment throws
himself out from under the guidance of God, and yields
himself up to the guidance of darkness and delusion.
And the spirit of darkness will not be slow to in-
struct and guide him in whatever way he sees fit. He
will soon know with dogmatical assurance every thing
in the universe, save one, viz, that he himself has be-
come a religious lunatic, bereft of all common sense.
I have reserved one choice specimen of " Mormon
logic and literal interpretation of the Scriptures," with
which to grace the climax of this Mormon Babel. I
have done this, partly because it holds and deserves the
highest place in the system, and partly because I wish so
to hold it up, that all men may look at this hideous and
blasphemous abortion of all scripture, all reason, all de-
cency, and all sense.
Christ prayed, say they, that all the saints might be
one with him and the Father. He has declared also
that they are joint heirs with him, and shall sit down with
him on his throne, as he has overcome and sat down
with the Father on his throne ; that to those that believe,
all things are possible, &c. Now what logical, literal,
and inspired inference, are we to make from this?
Why, truly, nothing else than that the saints are all to
become equal with God himself ! ! In knowledge, and
power, and glory, equal to the Father ! ! But this is
not all ; Christ assured his disciples, that they should do
* See p. 115-116.
EQUALITY WITH GOD, 241
even greater things than these. Therefore, say they,
we shall create, uphold, redeem, save, and reign for
ever, over still greater worlds than this which Christ
governs ! !*
This is almost as literal as the bough and the wall,
the two sticks, and the flying angel. What part the
"liars, knaves, swindlers, debauchees, and asses" (who
bore witness to, and constitute the foundation of the
Book of Mormon, and on whose shoulders the whole
superstructure rests,) are to have in these displays of
Mormon glory, we are not definitely told. But since,
according to Mormon doctrine, they have been the
principal means of turning many to righteousness,
doubtless they will shine as stars somewhere in this
new firmament of gods, higher than the Highest.
Surely, when this notable day shall come, all things
will be created new, with a vengeance ! ! We see here
what it is that inspires the ardor and inflates the
zeal of the idiot multitude of that professed church.
They are to possess the fulness and wealth of the earth
here, and reign with Christ in Mount Zion, Missouri, a
thousand years, and hereafter they are to become, not
demigods, but literal deities, one and all of them.
Why then talk about sacrifices ? They can afford to
empty their pockets into the coffers of Smith and Com-
pany, and to traverse the world, barefoot, in quest of
new Zions and new proselytes, with such a splendid
reversion in prospect.
But every Mormon is not only to be a god hereafter;
he has, in his own belief, been a demigod from all eter-
nity, or at least an angel heretofore.
* See Pratt's Truth Vindicated, p. 27.
11
242 PRE-EXISTENCE — -MODE OF PREACHING,
Their sublime faith teaches them that their action
and destiny here are the result, and can be explained
only upon the admission, of their existence and action
before they inhabited their present bodies. This notion,
however, does not distinctly appear in their published
revelations. It was at one time promulgated, but from
its unpopularity, their leaders suppressed the full devel-
opement of their peculiar scheme of pre-existence until
faith on the earth should increase.*
These general theories of humanity enable them, as
they think, to give a full and literal interpretation to the
language of Scripture, which, without these enlarged
views, as they call them, of the origin and destiny of
man, are utterly inexplicable. Reader, remember that
when you meet a full-blooded Mormon, you meet an
angel that was, a Mormon that is, and a God that is to
be. As in the case of the man who fell down stairs,
and ran up again, you will find the lowest point in the
climax in the middle of his career.
Probably, however, not one Mormon in fifty knows
what is really taught in their own sacred books. In
preaching and writing creeds in new places they do
not generally even allude to the peculiarities of Mor-
monism as such. They take their texts, and preach a
somewhat peculiar form of Christianity, which, in truth,
is as much like the Mormonism at Nauvoo, as it is like
paganism, and no more so. This, at first, they call
Mormonism. But the doctrines of their sacred books
and teachers are quite another thing. Every believer,
either in Smith or the Book of Mormon, must believe
that that book and the Book of Covenants, or revela-
* B.C., 211, 115.
REAL BELIEF OF MORMONS. 243
tions to Smith, are on a level with the Bible, and that
all who thus receive them will be saved, and that all
others will be damned.*
2. They believe the Bible only as Smith interprets and
explains, or new translates and supplies the lost parts.f
3. They believe in four different future states : the
celestial, telestial, terrestrial, and the lake of fire. J
If the reader has doubts on any of these points, he is
requested to compare the pages and passages cited in
proof with care.
4. Their literal interpretation of Scripture not only
involves giving to the Deity a human form, and imple-
ments of human enterprise, but also the literal future
levelling of mountains, annihilating seas, and bringing
the whole earth into one vast plain, without weeds,
thorns, briers, or any useless or hurtful thing — all as
neat and as smooth as the head of a pair of brass and-
irons ; and it is to be smelted and polished into shape
much in the same way.
5. The Book of Covenants and Revelations, as it is
called, which is the real basis of the practical faith of
the Mormons, contains only a small part of the revela-
tions that have actually been given to Smith, as he pre-
tends. There is still a large folio of unpublished rev-
elations of many hundreds, which it would be indiscreet
to expose to the rude gaze of unbelievers, but which
a Mormon is really bound to believe and obey wherever
he meets them, or else believe that Smith, to whom
* In proof of this, see B. C, pages 77, 74, 180, 159, 78, 75, 93, 95,
104, 113, 23, 250, 174, 175, 176, 189, in order,
t B. C. 7, 16, 111 ; B. M. 30, 31, first edition ; B. C. 76, 117, 166.
t B. C. 225.
244 SUPPRESSED AND ALTERED REVELATIONS.
they are given, is an impostor : for he has declared
them all to be from God, and printed only so many of
them as he deemed prudent. Some of those not pub-
lished occasionally meet us, through either the indis-
cretion of the brethren or the kindness of seceders.
The revelations in the Book of Covenants cannot be
understood without carefully comparing them with the
history and position of the Mormon church at the time
they were given. The transfers of town-lots, tan-yards,
&c. &c, to Smith and Company, by express revelation,
are also artfully concealed by the use of antiquated,
fictitious names, both for the persons and the property.
It should also be remembered that revelations, said to
be given to others, are always given through Smith,
who is sole translator, and who, according to one reve-
lation, aspires to no other gift,* but, according to
another, claims all gifts and all authority.
In 1833, an edition of these revelations was published,
in the order of their dates, and called the " Book of
Commandments," with explanatory captions at the head
of each revelation. That edition has been wisely sup-
pressed. It was quite too luminous for Mormonism. In
1835, the present book came forth, with the type, &c,
corrected. The captions are left out, and the revela-
tions are scattered here and there, without any order
of time or date. It now takes a Mormon to hunt them
out, and compare them with facts in their history. Nor
is this all ; whole clauses, sections, and, in some cases,
almost entire pages are either added or suppressed, as
new exigencies required, in these said divine revela-
tions. Let not the pious " saint" complain of this. It
* B. C. 126.
PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS. 245
is the duty of his prophet to see that the revelations
are corrected, from time to time. The disciple has
nothing to do but to believe.
When old Mr. Smith, the father of Joe, was alive,
he, among the rest, needed something to do. He was
consequently dubbed patriarch, and it was his duty to
pronounce a patriarchal blessing, in the name of Jesus
Christ, on the head of all the fatherless children in the
Mormon church. He had a wonderful gift of prophecy,
which, like a cider-barrel tapped at both ends, spun out
both towards the past and the future. He predicted to
these sons of the church both their pedigree and their
destiny; told them what particular tribe of Israel they
were from, and what their future career would be, in
this world and the next.
Several of these patriarchal blessings have fallen
into our hands. They are all much the same thing.
He usually first gave them their pedigree, then stimu-
lated their vanity, poulticed their hopes, and blistered
their fears, according to the best of his ability. We
will give one as a specimen, which was given to Mr.
Harris, whom Smith first plundered of his property,
and whose character he has since attempted to destroy.
He was, for one time, through seven years, a preacher
of Mormonism, but, in common with many others, his
eyes were at last opened, and he is now one of their
most laborious and successful opponents. And it may
be remarked, that now the blessings promised to his
obedience really begin to flow in upon him. He seemed
really to be laboring under a curse from heaven until
he began publicly to lecture against Mormonism and
the Mormons.
246 PATRIARCHAL BLESSING.
A PATRIARCHAL BLESSING,
By Joseph Smith, senior, Kirtland, Ohio, May 2, 1836,
for William Harris, who was born in Fredericktown,
N. B., January 19, 1823.
Brother Harris — In the name of Jesus, I lay my
hands upon thy head, according to the authority of the
priesthood, and the holy anointing, and the calling of
God, and pronounce a patriarchal blessing upon thee.
Thou hast been willing to leave thy native land for
the cause of God. Thou hast suffered much, and for
thy pains shall be rewarded ten-fold. The riches of
the earth shall flow unto thee in time, and thou shalt
receive the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and they shall reach thy posterity also ; and thy fa-
ther's house shall follow on, and be gathered with
thee unto the mountain of Israel. Thou art of the
seed of Israel, and the Lord hath watched over
thee. Thou shalt preach in thy native land, far in
the cold North ; thou shalt also preach in the South,
and in the East and West, and the Lord shall be
with thee wherever thou shalt go ; and thou shalt
win many souls. Angels shall be thy guard upon thy
right hand and thy left ; even the twelve legions
shall watch over thee : thou mayest see them, if thou
wilt believe ; and if any arm is raised against thee, it
shall fall, and all weapons wielded to thy hurt shall per-
ish. If any dig pits for thee, they shall fall therein : if
they seek to confound thee with subtle questions, they
shall be confounded ; for the Lord will keep his own
anointed, and fill them with knowledge. Thou shalt
see within the veil, and know that thy Redeemer
PATRIARCHAL BLESSING. 247
lives, like Paul, and testify, like unto thy brethren, that
thou hast seen angels, and heard the voice of God.
Thou must keep the word of wisdom, and observe
all the commandments, and thou shalt have all the
blessings thou canst ask for, for thyself and thy pos-
terity ; and they shall rise up and call thee blessed, for
thou shalt bless thy children, and thy blessing shall re-
main : thou shalt be blessed in thy outgoings and in thy
incomings, and thy arm shall prevail, like unto the Al-
mighty's ; for his own power shall be round about thee,
and thou shalt have all power, even to translate thy-
self, and change into a shadow ; so that if any shall
smite at thee, they shall only hit thy shadow, and thou
shalt be in another place ; and the eyes of thy enemies
shall be blinded, so that they cannot see thee, and thou
shalt escape their power. This is thy blessing ; and I
cannot tell thee all, but the Lord shall add unto it a
hundred-fold.
I seal thee up unto eternal life, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Signed,
Joseph Smith, Senior.
These blessings were pronounced by Smith, in the
usual form, and written down and recorded on the
records of the church, by a scribe ; and a copy was
given to the person on whom they were pronounced.
If such mummeries can be daily enacted in the world,
without resulting either in utter lunacy or atheism, it is
difficult to see what could produce these results.
Whether any successor is appointed to mumble, with
his eyes shut, over the heads of the orphan children of
the church, since the death of old Smith, is unknown.
248 PATRIARCHAL BLESSING.
If so, it is to be hoped that he will come nearer the
truth than Smith did, both in his future and retrospec-
tive prophecies : for it so happened, that the above was
as untrue in the past, as it was in the then future, his-
tory of Mr. Harris.
This outline is perhaps sufficient to give a general
idea of the organization of the " Church of Latter Day
Saints." At present, things go on smoothly. Smith
has little to do but to appoint new stakes, buy and sell
town-lots, obtain charters, build temples, and gather the
" saints," and their cash, from the four quarters of the
globe, upon his consecrated stakes.
REASON SILENCED. 249
CHAPTER VIII.
PROGRESS OF MORMONISM. ITS CAUSES, ILLUSTRATED BY
NUMEROUS EXAMPLES.
Morbid imagination — Morbid emotions — Popular errors as regards hu-
man testimony — as regards influences of Holy Spirit — St. Bernard,
-Land pirate— Sympathetic convulsions — Black-death in Germany —
Terantismus in Italy — Tigretia of Abyssinia — Tremblers of Cevennes,
and Camisards — Convulsions of St. Medcord — Animal Magnetism —
Convulsions at Haerlem — at Anglesea and Unst — Kirk officer — English
factory — Revivals at Everton, Cambuslang — Kentucky — Jerks, Barks,
and Mormons — Philosophy of these phenomena — Consequences of
absurd opinions — Internal revelations, visions, raptures, holy com.
forts, &c. — Old Monks — Art of dreaming — Marvellous experience of
the Mormons — Sectarianism — Mystic interpretation — Mystic and
Mormon deity — Mormon facility of argument — War on human na-
ture — Gifts of healing — Dr. Gerbi's bugs — Scurvy at Pruda — Perkins'
metallic tractors — Prophet Austin — These cures not miracles — Mor-
mons increase through neglect — Policy of their leaders.
The same general causes which have produced sim-
ilar fanaticisms in all ages, have undoubtedly operated
in the production and rapid progress of the Mormon
delusion. The combined action of the love of power
in the few, and the love of licentious freedom in the
many, upon the instinct of faith, has been exhibited, in
brief, both in their philosophy and their results, in the
chapter on Fanaticisms.
The immediate processes by which the instinct of
faith is corrupted and perverted in the human soul, are
various. The most common method, in all ages and
climes, has been to debase and silence reason, by the
11*
250 MORBID IMAGINATION.
combined force of dogmatism, imagination, and pas-
sion.
The God of nature designed instruction of all sorts,
human and divine, only to enlighten and reinstate the
lost dominion of right reason, and render her the guide
of conscience and the guardian of the soul. But reli-
ligion, in all pagan, and in many Christian lands, has
but too often been made to confound and annihilate
reason, under the pretext of reinstating a higher prin-
ciple, falsely called faith.
All that is needful, in order to commence this pro-
cess in the mind, is only to teach men that they are to
receive and believe propositions and dogmas, at which
natural and wholesome reason revolts, on the mere
ground of human authority.
In short, exalt dogmas and depress reason, deify the
one and crush the other, but in a single instance, and
the work is done ; you have your fanatic, and you may
now control him as you can. The soul, instead of
being enlightened, as God designed, has, in fact, been
enslaved.
Reason, reduced to idiocy, and left to stagger in de-
spair, yields herself up to the guidance of imaginary
phantoms ; conscience, frantic and frightened at the
wreck, screams where she should be silent, and only
whispers where she should speak in tones of thun-
der.
There can be no doubt that true religion was intend-
ed, not only to appeal to and excite all the various
faculties of the human soul, but also to direct and con-
trol their action. It claims rightful authority over our
entire moral, intellectual, and animal nature. But, in
order to achieve this, it does, and must necessarily ad-
MORBID EMOTIONS. 251
dress itself mainly, not to the imagination or the
emotions, but to the powers of reason and con-
science.
Hence its natural excitements are constant, and
comparatively tranquil, and but ill-adapted to satisfy
the eager and clamorous desires of those in whom the
precocious and exorbitant development of the powers
of imagination and emotion have almost annihilated
even the existence of reason and conscience.
This unfortunate multitude, by no means small even
in a Christian land, seem fated to seek nothing, and be
satisfied with nothing, either in religion or any thing
else, that does not keep their imaginations ever upon
the stretch, and their emotions ever heaving and toss-
ing, under the most tumultuous excitements. They
have lived among air-castles and day-dreams so long,
that no real and existing good can either satiate their
desires, or subdue the morbid restlessness of their
souls. Reason, to them, is monotony ; quiet is death.
They must have a faith full of mysteries and marvels,
at once enveloped in the clouds, and irradiated with
rainbows. A faith that makes its simple and quiet ap-
peal to reason and conscience, that sits by their fire-
sides and gives the law to their daily life, is to them
worse than no faith at all. They want religious ex-
citement, and they will have it. They will have what
they call the comforts of religion, whether they dis-
charge any of its duties or not.
They can imagine any thing they please, and believe
all they can imagine. They deem themselves perfect,
oftentimes, just in proportion as they become insane.
Some of them are famous exhorters in church, and as
famous for scolding at home. Others have but recently
252 RESULTING CREDULITY.
surrendered the voluptuousness of sense, for the volup-
tuousness of faith. But they all must be fanatics, or
at least enthusiasts, or they can be nothing. They
must either live amid storms, or stagnate ; and the
more extraordinary and absurd the tenets of their faith
the better, because the more marvellous and exciting.
Mormonism has charms for all such, if not because it
is more gorgeous and imposing, yet at least because it
is more novel and sensual, than most other faiths.
It is not the proper place to inquire, here, how far
the novel-reading spirit of the age has tended to pro-
duce such characters ; nor yet how far the pulpit and
the press have been perverted to humor and foster
them. That they exist, and that they are all on their
way to Nauvoo, is certain, wherever or in whatever
relations they may now be found.
In whatever peculiar way the instinct of faith, in
the human soul, is misdirected or perverted, a broad
foundation is laid for the most unbounded credulity: ei-
ther for that of the fanatic, or the still greater credu-
lity of the skeptic.
When the mind has been once enslaved, and com-
pelled to plod on its weary and inconstant way, be-
neath the burden of one absurdity, it is from that
hour ready to take up another, and another, till it final-
ly sinks beneath the incumbent weight, to prattle, in
premature dotage, of passing wonders and coming glo-
ries ; or, in the desperation of returning energy, it
throws off, at once, its burden, its conscience, and its
cares, and flies for refuge to the haunts of practical
atheism and sin. Those religious teachers, therefore,
who are in the habit of making enormous draughts
upon the credulity of their hearers, may well pause
POPULAR ERRORS- 253
and reflect, before they proceed further. Men would
rarely believe too little, if they were not first called
upon to believe too much. God has not left any of the
essential truths of religion to be either imagined or ra-
tionally disputed. He has placed them all in a position
to be demonstrated. The fundamental truths of Chris-
tianity are no more probable truths than those of as-
tronomy. They are demonstrable ; and no man should
call on his fellows to embrace by faith a single item of
religious doctrine, as such, until he can first furnish the
full demonstration, the proof of its truth, either from
nature or the word of God, or from both. Between
our belief and our conjectures, in religion as elsewhere,
there should be, indeed, an adamantine wall.
Another cause of the rapid spread of Mormonism is
the prevalence of many popular errors, engendered
partly by tradition, partly through the scattered anti-
quated books and relics of devout men, and sometimes,
it must be admitted, through the pulpit and press of
our own times.
1. The popular impression, as regards the true value
of human opinion and human testimony, in matters of
faith, is erroneous and absurd to an almost incredible
extent. The Mormon syllogism grows directly out of
it. " If we have received one revelation through the
testimony of twelve men, of a remote age," say they,
" why not receive another on the testimony of a like
number of our own age V This we have sufficiently
noticed in a previous chapter.
2. False impressions respecting the nature and de-
sign of the influences of the Holy Spirit, constitute
another fertile source of mischief and fanaticism.
254 POPULAR ERRORS.
Their influence has been exerted in all ages of the
world to an amazing extent.
I wish to present these errors, somewhat at length,
in three several points of view. I am aware that the
intelligent reader may be inclined, at first, to suppose
that I am remonstrating against errors which do not
and cannot exist in a land of light and bibles. But a
knowledge of the daily arrivals at Nauvoo, from all
quarters of the union, and an acquaintance with their
past character and history, would convince any one
that there is need of remonstrance, and of caution too,
on this point.
Sound philosophy, no less than divine revelation,
teaches us, that whatever of moral good there ever was,
or ever will be, in our world, is either the direct or in-
direct result of the teachings of the Spirit of all grace
and truth, the great "Father of lights, from whom
cometh down every good and perfect gift." It might
naturally be expected, therefore, that this great truth
should be caricatured, abused, and scandalized, more
than almost any other, not only by its enemies, but by
its professed friends. And indeed such solemn and
momentous sanctity invests the original truth itself,
from its own nature, that men are wont to approach
even those abuses and absurdities, w T hich have grown
out of it, with a sort of squeamish reluctance and hor-
ror, as if when they were attacking these caricatures,
they were fearful of sacrilegiously assaulting things
divine. But whatever may be the experience of others,
I must confess I feel no more veneration for the devil's
religious enterprises, when prosecuted through great
truths and good men, than when he employs only false-
hood and atheism. The truth is, however, that no im-
ST. BERNARD. 255
pulse of popular sympathy, no transports of eloquence,
no ecstacies, no dreams of delirium, no convulsions,
no agitations, no paralysis from mere exhaustion — in
short, no form of madness, hysterics, or folly, has been
either too absurd, or too contemptible, to be set down
as the present and undoubted effect of the influences
of the Holy Spirit of truth on the mind of man. We
will consider these doctrines and their phenomena in
three points of view.
1. The ordinary effects of popular eloquence and
sympathy, as ascribed to the influence of the Holy
Spirit. ,
2. Bodily agitations or sympathetic convulsions, as
proceeding from the same source.
3. Internal revelations, raptures, visions, fyc.
The effects of the preaching of St. Bernard, whose
wild and passionate eloquence drove the millions of
Europe to the field of slaughter, exclaiming as they
went, "It is the voice of God," may be set down among
thousands of similar cases, as an example under the
first head. Indeed the crusaders seem generally to
have been made to believe, that the Spirit of God was
the moving power which urged them on, instead of the
prostituted eloquence of their misguided or artful lead-
ers. Nothing is more common in the history of the
world, than to find men setting themselves deliberately
at work to produce a given state of excitement in the
minds of their auditors, on the ordinary principles of
sympathy and eloquence. And there are not a few
who, when they have succeeded in producing the de-
sired effect, ascribe the results of their labors to the
direct influences of the Spirit of God. Now all this
256 LAND PIRATE.
may be honest error, or simple truth, or deliberate
villany.
Morel], the noted land-pirate of the south and west,
was in the habit of calling the people together and
working upon their sympathies, and concentrating their
attention in this way, at professedly religious meetings,
while his comrades in guilt were employed in stealing
their best horses.
But suppose, as is generally at least the fact, that
the intention is good ; suppose that no vain love of ex-
citement, or gain, or popularity, or vanity, turns the
mind from a state of candor and truth ; suppose our
teaching in all respects pure as the word of God itself,
can we ever know that the excitement and interest
produced in the minds of our hearers, is the result of
the immediate and direct influences of the Spirit of
God ? Are we authorized positively to assert, that it
is not the natural result of God's own pure and most
holy truth, thus devoutly and appropriately applied,
and that this is not the sole cause of the phenomena ?
Must we, in every case, resort to a system of double
causes ? Is the truth of God when thus proclaimed
mere sound, which effects nothing and can effect nothing
in and of itself? Are we authorized to make such
positive and exclusive declarations? More than all,
are we authorized to make them when the tide of popu-
lar sympathy runs high and strong, for the express and
only purpose of making it run higher and stronger ?
Again ; suppose that the excitement which we may
have succeeded in producing, is not altogether health-
ful ; suppose we have commingled error with truth,
and stirred up strange fires instead of the flame of love ;
suppose that the excitement is on the whole quite ad-
SKEPTICISM AND CREDULITY THE RESULT. 257
verse to the cause of Christ and of truth, but still God
has so overruled it as to convert some souls, and so as
to bring some good, more or less, out of the general
evil ; is God therefore directly responsible for the whole
excitement, and are we authorized to announce that he
is ? Is it safe to make the Holy Spirit of God respon-
sible directly for all the excitements of passion, sympa-
thy, eloquence, or ignorance which men raise, or can
raise, by preaching from texts out of the Bible ? The
freedom with which events of this sort (which may be
the result of either eloquence, or passion, or sympathy,
or vanity, or rivalry, or weakness, or ignorance) are
ascribed to the Spirit of God, tends fearfully to two
specific results.
First : It makes utter infidels of multitudes ; they
know that the same effects, in a court and in a church,
are produced, or at least may be produced by the same
causes ; and they look at assertions of the contrary as
so many pious frauds.
Second: It increases the credulity of other multitudes,
and makes them the ready dupes of every impostor or
fanatic who may choose to play upon their sympathies
in the church, and claim the awful sanctions of the
Spirit of God. " You are excited," says the impostor;
"the Holy Spirit is now moving upon your hearts."
They believe it, and follow him. They feel that it is
so ; that is to say, they feel something, and observe
something operating upon others, and they trust im-
plicitly to their religious guides to tell them what it is,
and how produced.
When the emissaries of Joe Smith or any other-
fanatic or impostor comes along with things still more
new and strange, they feel that .something again, per-
258 SYMPATHETIC CONVULSIONS.
haps in a still higher degree ! They have been taught
to believe that it is the direct influence of the Spirit of
God on their hearts. They are now told the same
story. They believe it, and are gathered with their
own at Nauvoo.
Now who is most at fault, their first teacher or their
last ? If we would stop the streams, must we not
purify or destroy the fountain of error ?
2. Bodily agitations, or sympathetic convulsions, have
been, and are now, to an immense extent, regarded as
the most undoubted signs of the presence and power of
the Holy Spirit. Whether this error is imbibed from
tradition, or antiquated books, or from the pulpit, or the
press, it is not material to inquire. The extent to
which it actually exists, and the power it actually ex-
erts, may be learned both from the present and past
history of the Mormons.
As we have seen, it was one of the most important
elements of their power in the outset, and though sub-
sequent disorders and fear of rivalry compelled them
to rebuke it at head-quarters, it is still one of the most
energetic forces in recruiting their ranks. It is one of
the sectarian chills which precedes and induces the
Mormon fever. Multitudes are now in the chill ; other
multitudes still are strongly predisposed to it. " What !"
say they, " if you attribute the ordinary excitements
of popular sympathy to purely natural causes, you
surely will allow that trances, convulsions, &c, demon-
strate the presence of the power of God."
I know of no other way of annihilating this fond
confidence, than by exhibiting the facts and phenomena
in question, as they have actually occurred in the
world, and leaving them to explain themselves. For,
SYMPATHETIC CONVULSIONS. 259
in this case at least, nothing but ignorance is the mother
of devotion ; and when the ignorance is removed, the
credulity and the devotion, if it may be called so, will
both die a natural death.
It is well known that any strong and violent passion,
as anger, fear, hope, joy, &c, however excited, will
produce not only convulsions, trances, &c, but even
sudden death. Occurrences of the latter kind are not
unfrequent. But the history of the world is full of in-
stances in which convulsive diseases, excited by terror,
fear, sympathy, enthusiasm, or exhaustion, have spread
by a soiH of contagion, through whole communities.
This disease has sometimes been called " chorea sancti
vite," and also more appropriately "sympathetic" or
"epidemic convulsions."
In A. D. 1021, we find the first authentic notice of
these convulsions. They appeared at the monastery
at Kobbeg, in Germany. Eighteen countrymen ap-
peared in the churchyard on Christmas eve, and by
boisterous and improper conduct, disturbed the divine
service then in progress. The priest, offended at their
rudeness, uttered his fearful imprecations and anathe-
mas against them, which at once threw these supersti-
tious and benighted wretches into the most direful con-
vulsions and spasms. They were for some time unable
to eat, drink, or sleep, until the intercession of the
bishop dispelled their fears and again restored quiet to
their minds and bodies. They then all slept soundly
for three days. Four of them died of the disease, and
the others were affected with nervous tremblings for
life.
In A. D. 1237, another case is recorded, in which one
hundred children in Erfurt, Germany, were suddenly
260 SYMPATHETIC CONVULSIONS.
seized with a similar convulsive disease, and many of
them died.
In A. D. 1278, in Utrecht, Germany, about two hun-
dred persons, being seized with this disease, sallied out,
leaping and dancing, and collected upon a neighboring
bridge, which ultimately broke down under the pressure
of their weight, and all were drowned. The people
and priests supposed that they were possessed of the
devil, and presented them with the holy sacrament, for
the purpose of exorcism, just before the bridge fell.
One of them treated this effort for their rescue from the
devil with contempt, and the priest accordingly attrib-
uted the fall of the bridge to the Divine vengeance.
At an early age, at least before the fourth century,
the Roman church had introduced some of the pagan
and bacchanalian revels of the Greeks into their wonted
celebration of the day of St. John the Baptist.
In Germany, on the evening of that day, they were,
in later times, in the habit of building a bonfire, around
which the devotees danced and leaped, in full belief
that through the prayers of the patron saint, all diseases
for the coming year would be averted by that antic
solemnity. On the first of July, 1374, these exhausted
devotees were seized, in great numbers, by these gro-
tesque and frightful convulsions, which from that cir-
cumstance have been called St. John's dance. A sim-
ilar event is also said to have happened at the celebra-
tion of St. Vitus. It is from this occurrence, that the
same disease has been called St. Vitus' dance.
In 1347, nearly one fourth of all Europe died of the
black-death, a most hideous and direful plague, and ere
they had recovered from these unwonted terrors, these
horrid convulsions appeared and prevailed, to the aston-
CONVULSIONS IN GERMANY. 261
ishment of the age, for more than two hundred years.
The disease spread over all Germany, and the neigh-
boring provinces on the north.
It first commenced in the town of Aachen. Some
few were taken with strong convulsions in their limbs,
impelling them to dance and leap, screaming and foam-
ing in wild whirls, for hours together ; until exhausted
by all imaginable sorts of grimaces and contortions,
they fell foaming and shrieking in great agony upon the
ground. Then they saw apparitions, visions, sights,
and wonders ; ghosts floating on streams of blood,
heaven opened, the Saviour enthroned " by the mother
of God," and other things accordant with the supersti-
tions of the age. The people ran in crowds to behold
the hideous spectacle, and from beholding to catch and
exhibit the disease in their turn. The multitude of the
possessed, as they were called, daily increased, until it
spread throughout all the provinces. In some single
villages from five hundred to one thousand persons
were possessed of the devil, as was supposed. They
thronged around the churches. The priests resorted
to exorcism in vain. Religious processions were ap-
pointed ; the Scriptures read ; masses said, and songs
sung to exorcise these supposed demoniacs, but all in
vain. It was subsequently discovered that nothing
could relieve them but to gird them round the waist, or
beat them with incredible violence on the stomach after
they fell. This, by removing their flatulence and ri-
gidity, gave many relief.
About forty-four years after this, in 1418, the disease
appeared again in Strasburg, and spread in the same
way. Swarms of dancers paraded the streets, followed
by another curious multitude, soon to shudder, leap, and
262 CONVULSIONS IN ITALY.
dance in their turn. The civil authorities in this case
interposed to arrest the sympathy and contagion of the
disease by secluding from public view all those affected
by it. Their success was gratifying, though not in all
cases complete. In the sixteenth century, the famous
Paracelsus took the disease out of the hands of the
priest, and committed it to the hands of the quack.
He ordered his patients to make an image of themselves
of wax, to sit down and look at it, with the utmost in-
tensity, and will all their sins and curses into it, and
then burn both together in the fire. This proved effec-
tual only where the disease depended solely on the
power of the imagination over the body ; in other
cases other remedies were prescribed.
In 1430, a similar dancing mania prevailed in Italy,
called at the time terantismus, from the popular impres-
sion that it came from the bite of an insect or spider of
similar name, Tarantula. The people in this case
seemed to fall, all at once, into a state of insensibility, and,
finally, many of them died. Nothing could arouse them
but the sound of musical instruments.
The imaginary terror spread from village to village,
and every bite or scratch, from whatever cause, was
attributed to the terrible, mysterious, and unknown in-
sect. Their fears overpowered them, and they fell,
either to rise no more or to wake by the potent charms
of music. All Italy resounded with the dinging of
drums, and the screeching of fifes and flutes. The terror-
stricken sufferers leaped upon their feet at the sound,
and threw off their disease and their fears in violent
and convulsive dances.
This panic of the poison-spider is said to have spread
into distant Asia. During the prevalence of these
TIGRETIA OF ABYSSINIA. 263
alarming nervous epidemics, amid the general gloom of
superstition which overhung the minds of all, many
frightful plagues had scourged all Europe, and espe-
cially Italy, in rapid succession. The black-death, as
we have seen, swept its millions from Germany just
before the nervous epidemic in that country, and from
1119 to 1340, the people had felt the ravages of the
stone plague no less than sixteen times. Their bodies
had become exhausted, and their minds enfeebled, by
the universal superstition and terror which everywhere
hung around them. An epidemic, called the Tigretia,
similar to that in Italy, prevailed in Abyssinia, as re-
lated by Nathaniel Pierce, in 1810. The patient was
first seized with a fever, and succeeding stupor, which
often continued for months, and wasted them to mere
skeletons.
The most certain remedy here was the martial music
of drums and fifes, at the sound of which the skeleton
patient would arouse, then sit up, then stand, and finally,
as the music grew more and more brisk, leap and dance
on the floor for hours together. If the music ceased
before they were fully restored to their natural activity,
they relapsed into stupor again. This sometimes re-
quired days, and often even then failed, and the patient
died. They were, however, sometimes cured by the
reading of a portion of St. John's gospel over them.*'
After the repeal of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, the
protestants in the south of France were subjected to
the most violent persecutions. Their children were torn
from them, the men sent to the galleys, women impris-
oned, and priests hanged. Exhausted with irritation,
* See Hecker's Epidemics of the Middle Ages
264 TREMBLERS OP CEVENNES, AND CAMISARDS.
persecution, and terror, many of them were seized with
tremblings and convulsions, while they preached and
prophesied the triumphs of their holy cause. Multi-
tudes came to see and hear, who soon, in turn, like the
German dancers, were seen to tremble, preach, and
prophesy. In their secret meetings, surrounded on all
hands by the terrors of persecution, and the still more
dreadful terrors of credulity and imagination, some
one would be seized with the holy spirit, as they called
it, fall convulsing, and, after trembling for a while,
would rise and prophesy. Then another would be
taken, and another, and sometimes two or three would
be found preaching at the same time. Children, of not
more than three or four years of age, were thus seized ;
and even idiots, when thus inspired, seemed gifted with
unwonted ability. The tremblers were heard with pro-
found attention by the multitude, who believed them
inspired of the Holy Spirit.
It is needless to say that their prophecies failed, and
the peculiarities of their sect have all ceased, as we
hope, forever.
The Camisards, or French prophets, of Viverais, al-
ready mentioned, arose about this time, and from similar
causes of fear and hope.
The convulsions of St.Medarwere results of a strange
and fanatical epidemic, which occurred around the tomb
of the Abbe de Paris, in the monastery of St. Medaro, near
Paris, about the year 1727, and continued for ten or
twelve years. This fanatic was revered for his piety
and powers of healing, in his life ; and during the trials
and persecutions which befell the appellant Jansenists
heretics, after his death, numbers resorted to his tomb
for devotion and health. Some were of course miracu-
CONVULSIONS OF ST. MENARD. 265
lously healed ; the fame of the miracle was noised
abroad, greater multitudes thronged around. Some
women believed that God had now appeared in behalf
of their righteous cause, against their cruel persecutors,
and so fell into convulsions.
The contagion spread, and cures and convulsions
abounded. All Paris flowed towards the favored
church, to hear, see, be convulsed, and cured, at one
and the same time. Handful s of sacred earth were
gathered, and sent to bear commingled health and con-
vulsions to patients abroad, and thus the disease spread
far and* wide. As many as eight hundred convulsion-
aries were sometimes seized at once. They attributed
their affection and cure to the spirit and power of their
guardian angel. Even their skeptical persecutors could
neither account for nor deny the reality of the spasms
and cures. The edict and guard of the king finally
closed the access to the tomb, but still this epidemic of
commingled fear, hope, and credulity, did not cease
from among the French entirely, until the revolution of
1790, though its virulence was somewhat abated in a
few years. When this disease was at its height, many
of the convulsionaries, amid cries, shouts, and howl-
ings, fell down writhing in the greatest agony. Their
dreadful pangs could be relieved only by immense pres-
sure, or incredible blows on the stomach. To this end,
they were laid on a plank, and another plank was placed
upon them, and their friends mounted the plank, and
pressed it down with their weight. It is said that they
have been known to support twenty men, without pain
or injury, before their spasms would relax. At other
times, the stoutest men were selected to beat them upon
the pit of the stomach, with severe blows from heavy
12
266 ANIMAL MAGNETISM.
stones, mauls, &c. ; the sufferers crying to them to strike
harder, when it seemed as though their whole bodies
would be crushed and annihilated by the terrible strokes.
When the blows became sufficiently severe to relax
the spasms, they became relieved from their sufferings.
These accounts seem incredible, and would be so, in
fact, were they not attested by most unexceptionable
witnesses, and did they not fall in with a constantly oc-
curring series of well-known phenomena of a similar
kind. However, the disease was unquestionable, what-
ever we may say of the cure.
Immediately after the convulsioners of St. Medaro,
followed the discovery of the wonderful powers of ani-
mal magnetism, by M. Mesmer, of Paris.
With this he supposed that he could cure all diseases,
discover and remove their latent causes, &c. He sup-
posed that his magnetism was some subtle fluid, uni-
versally diffused, which affected the mind and body
somewhat like electricity. The ceremony of magne-
tizing was performed in a large room full of spectators.
A throng of subjects was gathered round a mystic
tub, called the banquet. They were connected together
by a cord passing from subject to subject, and by a
peculiar union of hands, or thumbs, while the operator
transmitted the unknown influence from the banquet,
by swinging his enchanted rods of iron about their
heads and faces, with peculiar and majestic solemnity.
The ravishing and changing airs of the pianoforte,
placed in the background, contributed to the desired
result. Amid this paraphernalia of credulity and
quackery, the patients stood in silence for one or two
hours. Some experienced no effect ; others were taken
ANIMAL MAGNETISM. 267
at length with coughing and spitting, others with slight
pains, and heats, and copious perspirations.
Others still fell into what was called the crisis, and
were agitated and tortured with the most violent con-
vulsions. In some instances, these convulsions con-
tinued for two "or three hours, accompanied with hide-
ous contortions of the limbs and body, spasms of the
throat, ejection of blood and phlegm, wandering and
rolling of the eyes, alternate laughing, weeping, shriek-
ing, &c. They finally fell into a state of partial or
entire insensibility, apparently unconscious of all else,
save the change of the musical sounds and the potent
voice or sign of the magnetizer, whose wink or look
alone seemed sufficient to rouse them from their stupor.
These facts were all witnessed and attested by four
gentlemen, of the greatest celebrity in science, appoint-
ed for this purpose by the French king, in 1784; and
a report of the committee was also made out, which
still can be resorted to as authority on this subject.
One member of this committee was the distinguished
Dr. Franklin, the then American minister at Paris.
The committee first remarked, that many ivomen were
affected, and but few men ; also that when one was
affected, others soon followed.
They resolved, therefore, first to subject themselves
to the operator in person, which they did through three
successive days, for two hours and a half, without any
effect.
They next proposed to experiment upon those of
feeble health, away from the excitement of the public
crowd. Of fourteen subjects, only three, and those
from the lower classes, experienced any decided effects.
At length a servant woman was magnetized, and ap-
268 POORIIOUSE IN HARLEM.
peared so peculiarly sensitive to the influence, that she
could trace the movement of M. Jumelin's fingers by
the heat which followed in certain parts of her body.
If he pointed at certain parts, she soon swooned. They
then bandaged her eyes, and made her believe she was
magnetized when she was not, and the same results
followed. Again M. Jumelin magnetized her without
her seeing him, and no effects were produced. Others
again were blinded and treated in a similar manner,
and when they believed they were magnetized they felt
the effects whether they were or not ; and, vice versa,
when they believed that they were not magnetized they
felt no effects, even though the operator, during the
whole time, was exerting his utmost power. These
experiments convinced all Europe, for the time, that
these convulsions arose solely from the combined pow-
er of belief and imagination, and the spell of Mesmer
was broken.
Many instances of the infectious nature of convulsive
diseases, or rather their propagation by sympathetic
imitation, and of the surprising effect of imaginary
remedies in removing them, as well as of imaginary
causes in producing them, have been recorded by the
most eminent philosophers, divines, and physicians.
The learned Boerhaave, who died in Holland in the
year 1737, was previously called to administer to a
series of convulsions, propagated from one to another
by sight, in the poorhouse at Harlsem.
A young girl, under impressions of great terror, was
first seized with convulsive paroxysms. Her friends,
in attempting to restrain her, were soon seized in like
manner, and thus one after another fell under its influ-
ence simply from seeing the paroxysms of their young
CONVULSIONS OP ANGLESEA AND UNST. 269
friends, until almost all the boys and girls were terribly-
afflicted by regularly returning paroxysms of this dis-
ease. No sooner was one of the number seized with
the paroxysms, than all the others in sight followed on
in like manner. The skill of the attending physicians
was entirely baffled. They sent for Boerhaave. He
perceived that the origin and propagation of the dis-
ease depended on the imagination and sympathetic imi-
tation. He therefore addressed himself to the mind,
for a remedy.
He filled the various apartments with furnaces, con-
taining burning coal, and red-hot irons curiously bent
and wrought. He then, with due gravity and solem-
nity, announced to the assembled children that all medi-
cine must be laid entirely aside, since the only remedy
he knew of was to seize the first one afflicted with a
paroxysm, and burn his arm with a red-hot iron to the
bone.
Terrified at the thought of this dreadful remedy,
their fears of convulsions gave place to a more saluta-
ry fear of the irons, and thus by diverting their minds
and reanimating their fortitude to resistance, as they
felt the spasms approaching, the convulsions were cured
and the disease disappeared.
In 1796, Dr. Heygarth mentions another case of
convulsions propagated by the influence of terror and
sympathy, from one female tenant on the island of An-
glesea to twenty-three others, all between the ages of
10 *<td 25 years, and all females, except one boy of
seventeen.
In 1774, the Rev. Wm. Archibald describes another
case of convulsions, prevailing through a number of
years, propagated in the same way, in his parish in
270
Unst, one of the Shetland Isles. One female was at
first taken at home. After a time she happened to fall
into a paroxysm in church, and then, by the combined
influence of fear and sympathy, the disease soon spread,
to the great alarm of spectators and friends.
In another parish of Delting, numbers were seized,
especially when the church was crowded, or any un-
usual excitement prevailed. Fifty or sixty were some-
times carried out of the house at one single communion
season, when they struggled and raved with all their
strength. They were first seized with a degree of
faintness — then followed wild and frantic cries and
shrieks, at the sound of which all who were subject to
this disorder fell into similar paroxysms.
In these northern isles, divine service was sometimes
wholly interrupted by these convulsions, notwithstand-
ing no one ever supposed them in any way connected
with religion, and the clergy used all possible precau-
tions to prevent their occurrence, instead of exciting
and encouraging them by tumultuous and fanatical
harangues.
One woman in Northaven was effectually cured of
her convulsions by the kirk officer, who caught her up
while in one of her spasms, and threw her into a neigh-
boring pool. She never had another. Others feared
the same treatment, and like the children at Harlsem,
repressed their agitations by aid of the more powerful
apprehension of the pool.
These cases are similar to that of a man in Clfelms-
ford, Massachusetts, who had a child affected with con-
vulsive chorea. The remaining five children began to
imitate their playmate in sport, and thus caught the
disease themselves. At length the afflicted father
MEETING AT EVERTON. 271
brought in a block and axe, and solemnly threatened
to take off the head of the first one who should be con-
vulsed, except the one who was first taken. This, like
the hot irons, or the kirk officer's pool, broke the spell,
and the five children were cured.
In the Gentleman's Magazine of 1787, it is reported
that in an English factory, containing about three hun-
dred hands, a girl mischievously introduced a mouse
into the bosom of another, who fell into convulsions
which lasted for about twenty-four hours, without ces-
sation. * On the following day, others were seized, and
on the fourth day their number amounted to twenty-
four, and probably the disease would have gone
through the establishment, had it not fortunately been
arrested by means of electricity.*
We are told that at a religious meeting held at Ever-
ton, in 1759, there were " faintings," " crying out" with
the greatest violence for hours, " weeping aloud," "vio-
lent contortionswof the body," "loud breathing, like that
of people half strangled and gasping for life," "cries, like
those of one dying in bitter anguish," " dropping, with
violence inconceivable, which shook the house," "stamp-
ing with the feet, as if trying to burst the floor through,"
"lying on the floor, as if dead, for hours," " falling back-
wards and forwards, wringing hands, and roaring like
bulls," with faces sometimes red as scarlet, and at
others almost black. The violent struggles broke the
benches and pews in the church, while some unaffected
in the house, before they reached home dropped down
in the road, as if dead. It is remarked " that few old
people experienced any thing of this work of God," and
* Upham's Ment. Philos., vol. II. 388.
272 KENTUCKY REVIVAL.
scarcely any rich people. They either showed an en-
tire contempt of, or an enmity to it.
In 1742, at Cambuslang, Scotland, after preaching
for most of the year on regeneration, the minister, Rev.
Mr. McCulloch, increased the frequency of his labors,
during the winter and spring, and finally ended them
in a series of daily meetings in the open air, during the
month of August, when upwards of thirty thousand
persons assembled, and listened to from four to fifteen
sermons per diem, for several days, from Whitfield and
several other eminent clergyman.
At these meetings similar scenes occurred, and were
attributed by many to the direct agency of the Holy
Spirit. There were many conversions ; but before ten
years had elapsed, the devoted Mr. McCulloch had
painful cause to bewail, in a letter to a friend, the many
backslidings that had occurred.
Dr. Edwards, in this country, gave the influence of
his great name to sanction and sustain, the popular im-
pression, that such agitations are the immediate effects
of the Spirit of God on the mind.
In the year 1800, the great revival in Kentucky, as
it is called, commenced. The people were accustomed
to assemble, sometimes to the number of ten or twelve
thousand, and they often continued together, in devo-
tional exercises, for several days and nights. Here the
people were sometimes seized with general tremor, the
pulse grew weaker, their breathing difficult, and, at
long intervals, their hands and feet became cold, and
finally they fell, and both pulse and breath, and all
symptoms of life forsook them for nearly an hour, dur-
ing which time they suffered no pain, and were perfectly
KENTUCKY REVIVAL. 273
conscious of their condition, and knew what was pass-
ing around them.
At one time, during service, several shrieks were ut-
tered, and people fell in all directions. Not less than
one thousand fell at one meeting. Their outward ex-
pressions of devotion consisted in alternate singing,
crying, laughing, shouting, and every variety of vio-
lent motion, of which the muscular system is capable.
These violent motions they soon became unable to re-
sist. They were violently thrown upon the ground by
the convulsions, where their " motions resembled those
of a fish upon land." This disease lasted through sev-
eral years, in some cases, and propagated itself by
sympathetic imitation, from one to another, with
astonishing rapidity, in crowds, and often in small as-
semblies. Their convulsions were ultimately distin-
guished by the several names of " the rolling exercise,"
" the jerks," and " the barks."
The rolling exercise, consisted in doubling the head
and feet together, and rolling over and over like a
trundling hoop or wheel, or in stretching themselves
horizontally and rolling swiftly over and over, like a
dog, sopping through mud and mire as they went.
The jerks, consisted in violent twitches and contor-
tions of the body in all its parts, as if goaded on all
sides by a red-hot iron. Sometimes the head would
♦fly round half way, and back and forth, until not a fea-
ture could be recognised, and the hair of the females
would snap like a horsewhip; and some were ultimately
obliged to shave their heads. When attacked by the
jerks, they sometimes ran and leaped about, bolting like
frogs, and exhibiting all manner of grotesque and hid-
eous contortions and twitches of the face and limbs.
12*
274 MORMON CONVULSIONS.
The barks, consisted in getting down on all*fours,
growling, snapping the teeth, and barking like dogs.
Sometimes they squatted upon their hams, like a dog,
and looked up at the face of the minister, and continued
demurely and quietly barking at him while he preached
to them. These last were peculiarly gifted in prophe-
cies, trances, dreams, visions, rhapsodies, sights of spir-
its, of angels, of heaven, the holy city, angelic hosts, &c.
It was remarked that these affections would seize
upon both sexes and all constitutions alike ; but it most
readily attacked the young enthusiasts upon the subject
of religion. It rarely seized upon those of the most
consistent and exemplary piety, but upon almost all luke-
warm and lazy professors. The wicked also feared it,
and were subject to it. Those, especially, who came
to persecute, or to mock, w T ould even curse, and swear,
and damn the exercises, while jerking. But naturalists,
who desired to get the disease for the sake of philoso-
phizing upon it, were never convulsed.
An account of a similar wonderful phenomenon
among the Mormons, at Kirtland, Ohio, has already
been given in the chapter on the history of Mormonism,
which the reader is requested to refer to, that he may
give the Mormons their due share of glory in these
wonderful manifestations of Divine favor. *
These are among the most important authenticated
facts pertaining to the history of these sympathetic^
convulsions, and their attendant trances and visions.
"We perceive that the same nervous phenomena are
attributed, at one time in Germany, to the devil; in
France, to the sainted spirit of Deacon Paris, and then
* See Chap. I. page 28.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE PHENOMENA. 275
again to Animal Magnetism; in Italy, to a spider; in
England, to a mouse; and at Everton, Cambuslang,
Tennessee, and Kirtland, Ohio, to the Holy Spirit. It
would seem that some of these opinions must be wrong.
We are inclined to think that the wonderful spasms,
visions, trances, &c, experienced by Sidney Rigdon
and Company, in Ohio, are no more proof of the divine
authority of their doctrine, or their leader, than are the
same phenomena, in Germany, of the divinity of the
devil ; in Italy, that of a spider ; and in England, that
of a n>ouse.
It is plain that these phenomena have occurred more
frequently where numbers became excited and alarm-
ed, without any connection with the subject of religion,
than they have in such connection. The truth is, these
diseases are no more referable to any peculiar super-
natural agency, than is the fever, or the smallpox, or the
toothache. They are liable to occur and be propaga-
ted, by sympathy, from one to another, amid all as-
sembled, terrified, or exhausted throngs, especially if
they can be made to believe in any way whatever, by
mystic wands, or spiders, or tractors, or mice, that they
are surrounded by mysterious and potent influences of
unknown and dreadful power.
Any purely imaginary cause may both produce and
remove them, by exciting terror to produce, and again
allaying it to remove them. The question now before
us is not, whether the influences of the Holy Spirit
may not, as well as other things or influences, in pecu-
liar states of the body, operate as an exciting cause, in
the production of such results ; but whether we are ei-
ther authorized to teach or believe that this is the fact
in any case.
276 ABSURD CONCLUSIONS.
Have we the least reason to suppose, that divine in-
fluences, in any case, produce, or even tend to produce,
any such results? And yet good men have so be-
lieved and so taught ; and our country is full of the re-
sults of their teaching in many places, and especially
at Nauvoo.
Had Dr. Edwards, whose praise for piety is justly
in all the churches, lived to see the final development
of these opinions in Tennessee and Kirtland, he surely
would have revised his belief, or else he must have ad-
mitted that the Spirit is poured out in profusion on
backsliders, profane swearers, blasphemers, and im-
postors, while it is utterly withheld, at least in that
form, from all the most devout Christians and inquiring
naturalists.
President Baxter, in his letter to Dr. Alexander, avows
his conviction that the convulsions in Tennessee were
the result of the Spirit, because they operated as the
Saviour promised the Spirit should operate — viz, they
" convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of a judgment
to come." He seems to have forgotten that the Sa-
viour did not promise that the Spirit should set the
world to twitching, jerking, and barking.
Again: we are told, that we must expect that the
operations of the Spirit will change from age to age.
True, this may be so ; but the vain imagination, cre-
dulity, and dogmas of men, change, from age to age,
much more than the Spirit of God does.
Such scenes, in modern times, are also often com-
pared to the events of the day of Pentecost, of old.
Probably the operations of the Spirit were as intense
then, as they have ever been since, at any time, or in
any age.
ABSURD CONCLUSIONS. 277
And what do we learn from that memorable scene ?
We do indeed read that the Spirit was then poured out
in power ; that the disciples spake with tongues, and
were greatly amazed at what happened. But of the
precise number that were affected with shouting, bel-
lowing, trembling, twitching, jerking, barking, hyster-
ics, catalepsy, and nightmare, we are not definitely in-
formed. Perhaps Smith's new translation might throw
some light on this point. We may as well lay the
opinions of men, both good and bad, on the shelf, until
that n^w light, from the Mormon divinity, shall be
given us.
If a few misguided, though devout men, gather
crowds of thousands together in the open air, or in
some close room, and keep them there, day and night,
preaching, singing, and shouting, until their nervous
energy becomes quite exhausted, and they set to jerk-
ing, twitching, barking, and finally fall down in fits of
hysterics or catalepsy ; and if, forsooth, the Holy Spirit
overrules this preposterous, but well-meant excitement,
and even converts and saves many amid such a bed-
lam of lunatics, shall we, therefore, make the Spirit
of God responsible for the whole excitement, catter-
waul, nightmare, and all, and call upon the world to
believe us ? No. God is not the author of confusion,
but of order ; not of evil, but of good ; and such claims,
amid the light of the present day, are an insult to God,
and an outrage upon the common sense of mankind.
It is Mormonism, in all ages and all churches — Mor-
monism, whether found at Northampton, at Cambus-
lang, in Kentucky, or at Nauvoo. It is everywhere
the same thing, inside and out ; and it is ridiculous, or
something worse, to decry it in one place, wink at it
278 CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH OPINIONS.
in another, and practise it in a third. Smith and Com-
pany are in the habit of working up their hearers, by
one stratagem and another, to the most intense excite-
ment, and then of informing them that the Spirit is
poured out upon them.
Let those who choose, go and do likewise ; but let
them not complain of Mormons for doing the same
thing. And if, by these and similar over-draughts
upon the credulity of their hearers, they finally suc-
ceed in breaking down all their powers of rational in-
ference, and thus prepare them for the missions and
pilgrimages of the prophet, let them not complain of
Joe Smith. He only perfidiously perfects what they
have so devoutly begun. He only gathers the fruits
of a harvest from seed sown by themselves, and fos-
tered and ripened by their care.
All loose and floating opinions of this sort may, and
often do. tend to increase popular excitement, for a
time, in a given limited neighborhood. This is often
the sole design of such teaching. But they tend, in the
long-run, definitely and specifically to three given re-
sults : — 1. To make one class utter skeptics and athe-
ists. 2. To make another large class doubt whether,
in truth, God does exert any moral influence upon the
world, except through ordinary well-known means.
3. T-hey prepare still greater multitudes to believe that
all their emotions and feelings, however mischievous
and absurd, come directly from God ; and they stand
ready to follow the man who can most excite them
with new and strange things, whoever he may be, as
being pre-eminently the man of God. Joe Smith and
Company happen to be the favorite enchanters now, as
CONSEaUENCES OF INTERNAL REVELATIONS. 279
Matthias, Jemima Wilkinson, and Ann Lee were some
years ago, soon after the great revivals in New-Eng-
land. Others, however, divide the spoil with him.
If such facts and events are ascribed directly, or in
popular belief, to God, the public mind cannot and will
not hold fast to the great truth, that all our hope is in
God, and God alone, and that we are, each and all,
utterly dependent on him for every good thought,
word, and deed, as well as for eternal salvation ; and
that we are, at the same time, so dependent as not
to imply any thing contrary either to the soundest
reason or the highest moral freedom. If their cre-
dulity is tasked, either in this, or any other way,
contrary to reason and scripture, we shall soon find
them in two great classes, one class of skeptics, another
of fanatics, ready for any leader or any adventurer
whatever. As a caution to the former, I will only add
that, in this same way, revivals of pure religion have
often been brought into contempt in their minds, and in
the minds of their comrades. Doubtless, if they dis-
criminated more, and doubted less, they would show
more intellect, and secure to themselves more good ;
but they will not do it. The mass of mankind will
either take or reject things, under the same name, by
the gross, and we must expect it. Hence, all should
take care what they label with sacred names. Truth
is like an apothecary's drugs ; if the labels are wrong,
it is worse than nothing. The chance of a wrong dose
secures the rejection of a right and needful one. If
ever there was a class, or a race of men on earth, who
ought neither to assert nor believe any thing in religion,
until it is absolutely demonstrated, however unimportant,
280 HOLY COMFORTS, AND CONFIRMATIONS*
the religious teachers of the United States are that
class.
3. But internal revelations, visions, raptures, and ec-
stacies, of all sorts, are also ascribed to the direct influ-
ences of the Holy Spirit. This, again, is not simply like
Mormonism ; it is, in itself, one of the main pillars of
Mormonism. Doubtless the devout Christian enjoys a
peace and comfort of mind, in all the duties of his life,
which the world knows not of; but does this justify us in
referring all our transient states of internal commotion
to the direct agency of the Spirit of God ? Have we
not an animal as well as a spiritual and immortal na-
ture ? and is the latter without change, except by mira-
cle ? Multitudes measure the daily influences of the
Spirit of God upon their minds, not by the degree of
fidelity with which they are enabled to discharge all
their duties to God and man, but by the amount of plea-
surable or happy feelings which they are enabled, by
one process and another, to excite in themselves. A
brisk northwester brings down upon them copious effu-
sions of what they call the influences of the Spirit,
while an envious east wind, or a drizzling southern
blast, blows it all away again. To-day they are in
ecstacies ; to-morrow, in despair. Graham-bread brings
the one ; plum-pudding, the other. They attribute all,
however, to the presence or absence of the Spirit of
comfort.
But this phase of error is of small moment, compara-
tively, for there are comparatively few among spiritual
pleasure-seekers, sufficiently fidgety to fall under the
full influence of these ups and downs.
A far more mischievous error, is this: multitudes get
the impression, in some way, that they are the children
DIRECT TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRIT OLD MONKS. 281
of God, as perhaps they are. They are taught to pray
to God to guide their minds into the knowledge of the
truth, and to believe, in full confidence, that he is willing
and ready to do it. Now this is precisely right. It is
what every rational human being should do and believe.
But instead of expecting that God will so lead them,
by tranquillizing their passions, and thus enabling them
to use the full and unembarrassed force of the powers
he has given them, on the duties of life, they expect
some wonderful internal sign, or impulse, or emotion,
which shall at once either relieve or confirm the tedious
processes of thought, and indicate to them the path of
duty and faith, not only by the convictions of reason
and conscience, but also by the impulses of passion, or, as
they fancy, "the direct intimations of the Deity. Instead
of endeavoring to tranquillize their emotions, therefore,
by prayer, they at once set themselves to working their
minds up to as high a pitch of excitement as possible ;
and that side of any question around which their feel-
ings kindle, and glow, and burn most readily and most
furiously, is of course the side of truth, approved by
the Spirit, and blessed and sanctioned by an unction
from on high.
Now, the Mormon prophet says that the Lord told
him how to go through this whole process to perfec-
tion while translating the gold bible. " First, study it
out in your own mind, and then pray, and, if it is right,
your bosom shall burn within you." The rule is short
and comprehensive; thousands are now practising upon
it at Nauvoo, and other thousands who are in a fair
way to be there soon.
The old monks had special rules for exciting these
enrapturing visions and ecstacies of faith, which many
282 ART OF DREAMING.
moderns fall into by accident. Indeed, this is the case
with most of those who seek for pleasure to themselves,
or happy feelings, as they call them, in religion, instead
of duty to God and their fellows.
The substance of all their various rules was first by
prayers, watchings, fastings, penances, and devout con-
templations, to increase the nervous irritability of the
system, and render the imagination as vigorous and
brisk as possible, and the corrective power of reason
and the senses as weak and languid as possible. To
this end, some fixed their eyes, as long and intently as
possible, on a crucifix, others on the heavens, others on
their noses, and still others on their navels. They were
thus soon enabled to pass whole hours in ecstatic rap-
tures, and visions unutterable. The Spanish St. The-
resia, through extreme emaciation, produced by these
means, was enabled to live amid visions and glories for
more than twenty years.
A certain poet, by the name of Guatry, tells us that
he resorted to the same method, of fasting and watch-
ing, in order to excite and arouse his visions of poetic
inspiration. Other poets have often tried similar means
of giving their imagination the ascendancy over their
reason, if, indeed, they had any reason. This is only
the sublime art of dreaming while one is awake. Som-
nambulism, or sleep-walking, is, on the other hand, the
more rational art of being awake while one dreams ;
and those who endeavor to excite in themselves, by
prayer or otherwise, internal communications and reve-
lations of the Spirit, by giving their emotions and imagi-
nation the ascendancy over the powers of reason, are
in a fair way to dream all the time, both sleeping and
waking. It seems almost fated, that men of such habits
mormons' marvellous experience. 283
of devotion should become Mormons, in whatever
church they are. They have never sought much else
in religion but to get periodical happy feelings. Their
old sources of excitement lose their power, and some
new fanaticism is indispensable to furnish fuel for the
flame. Every Mormon knows that Smith's book is
true, because he sought in agonizing prayer, and God,
by his Spirit, revealed it to him. He means, by agoni-
zing prayer, simply heaving up his diaphragm, holding
his breath, and praying as though the Deity was deaf;
and the <unction of the Spirit, as he thinks, comes down
just in proportion to the intensity with which his dia-
phragm heaves up. Perhaps some may think that
many things here ascribed to either the processes or
the perversions of nature, are the genuine results of the
Spirit of truth. If so, then the Mormons have got the
truth, more pure and unadulterated than any other class
of religionists, and we ought to be marching towards
Nauvoo at once.
At Kirtland, they had their trances, visions, and con-
vulsions by wholesale. Direct revelations from the
Spirit are hourly occurrences. The Spirit is mightily
poured out upon their popular meetings. It fills the
minds of the saints with raptures and ecstatic joy.
Their leaders know that all these things are the direct
influences of the Spirit. The pious Mormon, who has
been proselyted from some of the other churches, now
enjoys in his new abode far greater light, more thrill-
ing, and rapturous, and ecstatic impulses and emotions
than ever he did before ; and, above all, he has found
out that Smith's book, the 116 pages, Jared's barges,
and all, are of divine origin and authority ; for the
Spirit, sought in agonizing prayer, has expressly re-
284 SECTARIANISM.
vealed it unto him ; and he knows in his soul that it is
so. Let others, who know things in their souls before
they know them in their heads, take warning ; and let
all take warning, who trust to any thing in prayer but
simple sincerity ; or to any thing in belief but pure
reason ; or any thing in duty but simple natural con-
science, well enlightened by God's most holy truth. If
the Spirit of God, in mercy, condescends to guide our
wayward minds, he will guide them through these
healthful and natural channels, and no other.
By thus speaking of reason, I do not exclude faith ;
for faith is cordial belief on rational evidence, and be-
lief in any thing whatever, on any other ground, is not
faith, but folly, or madness, or presumption ; and those
who teach men to believe on any other ground, teach
Mormonism, and not Christianity.
One primary cause of the spread of the former may
be said, in general, to arise from the extreme frequency
with which men are called upon to believe in matters
of faith, without having the grounds of rational belief
placed distinctly and clearly before them. Doubtless
this is an error inevitable, to some extent, with us all,
from both limitation of mind and the uncertainties of
language. But, if religious belief could be chained
rigorously to reason, fanaticism, and infidelity too,
would soon be consigned to the moles and the bats.
The influence of modern sectarian animosities, jeal-
ousies, and rivalries, upon both the origin and progress
of Mormonism, is sufficiently apparent. Smith himself
attributes his own hegira to the influence of sectarian
divisions on his mind.
Whether this is a simple truth, or a mere after-
thought, a correction of the press, for specific ends.
SECTARIANISM. 285
we cannot determine. Sectarian divisions have, how-
ever, contributed immensely to the growth of the
Mormons in two distinct ways.
1. They lead vast multitudes to suppose, that the
great substance of Christianity lies in those outward
forms and metaphysical distinctions, about which the
sects are most inclined to wrangle.
2. The disputes which have thus arisen, have too often
confounded the natural powers of man's moral reason
and discrimination, by investing them on all sides with
a dense fog of commingled truths and sophisms, amid
which there is neither darkness nor light. In this way,
they excite, in the minds of many, an eager and inordi-
nate desire that light from some source, either natural
or supernatural, should dispel the darkness, and reduce
to quiet and order the chaos that reigns both within and
without.
If men are once made to feel that their eternal sal-
vation, either in part or in whole, is suspended on a
metaphysical cobweb, they will never rest easy until
they think they see clearly what that cobweb hangs on.
If Joe Smith can tell them, on divine authority, they
will believe him, because they prefer belief to doubt.
Men can endure to submit to the necessary conditions
of human ignorance, and live in doubt, as regards all
they deem unessential. But the moment these unes-
sential become magnified into great fundamental
truths, by the declamatory warfare of sects, doubt is
more intolerable than absurdity.
Again : the Mormons have not failed to take all pos-
sible advantage of this condition of things, by engen-
dering distrust in all other sects, and holding up their
own, as the only refuge to which men may at once flee,
286 MYSTIC INTERPRETATION.
for the inspired solution of all their doubts, and in the
sanctuary of which they may cherish, to the full, that
hope of universal union and concord, so instinctively
dear to the human soul.
The prevalent mystical interpretation of the Scrip-
tures has operated in the same direction. Men of
plain common sense can be held to a mystical inter-
pretation of any writing, in their vernacular tongue,
only by the force of external constraint. There are
two general modes of interpreting written language.
One is to let it speak to plain common sense for itself.
The other is to pinch it by the nose, with our expound-
ing forceps, until it squeals, and then interpret the squeal.
The Mormons loudly profess to adhere only to the for-
mer, but, like some others who handle the word of God
deceitfully, they in reality practise both modes, as occa-
sion requires. Their pretensions, however, to the for-
mer mode give them great power over the ignorant ;
and especially where a mystical or restricted interpre-
tation of scripture has prevailed, they can produce a
strong reaction in their own favor.
For example : by admitting the plain language of
scripture, as regards the emotions of the Deity, the
Mormons have gained a great advantage over many
of their opponents. The Scriptures speak most expli-
citly and unequivocally of the joy, grief, wrath, &c,
of the Deity. Still, many have assumed that this could
not, in truth, be so ; and in explaining these passages,
they have, in fact, flatly contradicted them, and cover-
ed their temerity with a tissue of sophistry, more or
less plausible and impervious. God thus becomes, in
their hands, a great abstraction, a sort of intellectual
iceberg, hanging over the universe with impending
FACILITY OF ARGUMENT AND DEFENCE. 287
weight, frigidity, and terror, without pleasure, without
pain, without feeling or emotion, in short, without any
thing that anybody would think of loving, much less
of worshipping.
To plain common sense people, the Mormon divini-
ty, with hands, feet, and every other bodily organ,
seems, as in fact it is, at once more rational and scrip-
tural than such a monstrous abstraction, hung up, mid
air, between atheism and pantheism.
The Mormons do not fail to avail themselves of this
absurdity, wherever they can. They dethrone this
abstraction, and set up an ape, plagued by the devil,
and equalled (or, as it would seem, is about to be) by
themselves.
In discussion, also, they have an immense advantage,
arising from the fact that they come to the contest unen-
cumbered, either by any well-known creeds or modes of
interpretation. Their antagonist, like Bunyan's pilgrim
at the gateway, always brings along a backload of opin-
ions and formulas, which he bears and defends, in honor
of his sect ; and it often causes him more trouble to de-
fend the language of his creed, than it does to maintain
the truth of his opinions. The points of attack, on the
one side, are always obvious, if not vulnerable ; those
on the other are vague and uncertain ; and if not ea-
sily defended, are at least easily abandoned. A Mor-
mon, in debate with a sectarian, is like the Irishman's
flea : he can feel his bite, but when he puts his finger
where he is, he is not there. It seems, sometimes, as
though the devil gave cunning to those to whom the
Lord had denied talent. They are at least vexatious
and troublesome opponents. The buzz of a moscheto
288 GIFTS OF HEALING AGUE, PROPHETS, ETC.
is often more annoying than the tramp of an ele-
phant.
Indeed, nothing could be better adapted to delude
the weak and credulous than their modes of interpre-
tation and debate. They affect to be perfect masters
of the most incomprehensible parts of the divine word.
Where knowledge is perplexed, and genius falters, they
at once soar aloft. No mysteries, nor contradictions,
nor absurdities afford any obstacle to their ascent.
Their dexterity increases, and their vanity rises, with
the pile of nonsense which they accumulate. A part
of their hearers are of course convinced, the rest are
sure to be confounded ; not as they imagine, however,
with argument, but with sound.
This facility of apparent argument and exposition
suits and attracts a great variety of characters. The
annoyed, the rejected, and the outcasts from other
churches, at once see new light and conceive new
hopes. The ambitious and the vain admire the ease
with which they can turn from the guidance of the
wheelbarrow to the government of the church. The
gross see charms in a. sensual paradise, which they can
see in no other.
The religious dreamer may here dream at his leisure,
and fasten all his conceptions to objects of sense, which
renders them at once more vigorous and stable.
All are convinced that they are born to be great ;
and Mormonism with its missions, orders, and function-
aries, prophets, priests, apostles, &c, alone opens the
door of destiny to their hopes. Other unaspiring mul-
titudes have been trained to receive mere human opin-
ions in faith, from their infancy. The dogmas of their
sect constitute the whole object of their faith. They
ALLUREMENTS WAR ON HUMAN NATURE. 289
never have dared to question their truth. It is easy
for these to transfer their allegiance from one Joe
Smith to another. All that is needed is to stimulate their
courage by the united force of novelty, sympathy, and
numbers.
Other multitudes still have but one article in their
creed, and that is a firm belief in the latest absurdity.
That absurdity at the present moment happens to be
Mormonism.
It sometimes happens that in warring upon the vices
of mankind, men unconsciously attempt to annihilate
their humanity, in place of reforming it. They see
the mass of men living as if earth was their home, and the
body their all. They rush to the opposite extreme, and
strive to become ethereal, while still embodied in flesh.
This they do by attempting to live as though they were
already out of the body, and away from the "ills which
flesh is heir to." They would fain live out of the
world, instead of above it. They forget, that while
we should not be devils we cannot be angels ; that it
is our business to reform, and not to affect to annihilate
our humanity. Encompassed still by earthly care, en-
feebled by vice, and perplexed with doubts, we ought
to expect only what God demands, and demand only
what he is ready to give. But such warfare upon hu-
man nature itself cannot fail to throw the community
into two opposite classes, a large band* of practical
atheists, a small one of hypochrondiacal enthusiasts,
ready for a new faith as soon as their old one has fail-
ed to work their fancied transmutation from an animal
to a spiritual existence. Many of these try first to be
all religion ; next they try all sorts of religion ; and
finally no religion at all.
13
290 GIFTS OF HEALING.
We may cherish either indignation, or pity, or con-
tempt, for all these frailties of our common humanity,
as we please. But we cannot remove them. We may
lament or despise the ruin which grows out of them,
but we cannot hinder it. By substituting reason and
faith for credulity and belief without reason, we may
arrest at once the fatal career of the skeptic and the
fanatic, and give to the world a specific for half its
crimes, and a solace for all its woes. This is our great
work.
Reader, have you proved all things from God's most
holy truth, and do you hold fast only what is good ?
The pretensions which the Mormons make to the
gifts of healing, remain to be noticed as one of the
sources of popular credulity. As this is a standing
source of delusion, and as events probably do actually
occur among them, which, from ignorance of well-
known facts, puzzle many honest minds, we will, as
heretofore, first resort to the remedy of facts.
Plutarch relates that Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, cured
affections of the spleen by pressing the side of the pa-
tient with his right foot. The emperor Hadrian is said
to have restored a blind man to sight, in Pannonia.
The emperor Vespasian also, as Tacitus relates, re-
stored one man who was diseased in his eyes, and an-
other who was lame in his hand, in Alexandria.*
Edward Third, as well as other princes of royal
blood, cured many scrofulous tumors by the healing
power of the king's touch, called from this popular
superstition, " the king's evil," to this day. He had
♦Tacitus, B. 4, p. 81.
•VALENTINE GREATRAKES. 29l
also a mystic ring, with which he cured epilepsy in
the same way.
Charles Second alone touched 92,000 persons, in
twenty-four years, for the king's evil. The princes of
Austria were accustomed to cure the same disease by
giving a glass of wine to the patient with their own
hand.
Doctor Raniere Gerbi, professor of mathematics in
Pisa, Italy, in the year 1797, published his celebrated
remedy for the toothache. A dozen bugs, of a peculiar
species* were to be taken successively and squeezed
between the thumb and finger, until their moisture had
evaporated ; the fingers of the operator thus becoming
impregnated with the healing virtue, would cure the
toothache for a year after, whenever applied to the
face of the patient. This remedy soon became so
famous that the healing bugs began to grow scarce.
But after proper inquiry and experiment, it was found
that similar bugs, of a different species, would do just
as well ; and soon after, it was found that no bug at
all was just as good, provided the patient imagined that
the fingers were duly impregnated. Here of course
the spell soon broke, and, as in the case of Perkins*
metallic tractors, the remedy lost its power, and Doctor
Gerbi his fame.*
In France, the hand of glory, or the hand of a man
who had been hung, taken off and dried, effected mar-
vellous cures.
In 1662, Valentine Greatrakes, the pious son of an
Irish gentlemen, got the impression, that he was com-
manded of God to touch for the king's evil. He com-
*Dic. des Sciences Medicales, vol. 29 — An. Magnetism.
292 iCURVY AT BREDA.
menced and practised with wonderful success for three :
years. At this time the ague prevailed, as an epidemic.
He tried his power upon this also with equal success.
At length the simple touch of his hand was found to
cure, not only scrofula and ague, but epilepsy, paralysis,
&c. Multitudes, not only from Ireland but from Eng-
land, thronged around him, affected with all sorts of
diseases ; and so great was his fame, that he devoted
whole days, for twelve hours per day, in laying hands
on the sick. His glove was found to be equally as
efficient as his hand, and even the sight of him some-
times produced wonderful effects. But though many
were cured, still more were not cured.
About the same time, Francis Bagnone, an Italian
friar, was famous for the same gift of healing. Multi-
tudes followed him wherever he went, and even the
Prince of Parma, who had labored under a febrile
disease for six months, was cured by his voice alone.
Great numbers, however, who applied, were not bene-
fited. One Marcus Avianus, of Denmark, and a farmer
of Devonshire, England, the ninth son of a ninth son,
are both said to have had this wondrous power of
healing.
During the siege of Breda, in 1625, the soldiers were
terribly afflicted with the scurvy. When the Prince
of Orange learned that such were the ravages of the
disease that the city was about to be delivered up, he
sent three small vials of medicine for the relief of the
whole army, assuring them " that the remedy was infal-
lible, that it was of immense cost, and of still greater
efficacy." And, although the whole three vials were
not a dose for as many men, it was publicly given out
with great solemnity that three or four drops were
293
sufficient to impart healing virtue to a gallon of liquor.
Nauseous roots, camphor, wormwood, &c, were secret-
ly infused, which should give the liquor the necessary
pungent flavor; and when their vials were exhausted,
the nauseous decoction was still just as good and effi-
cacious. The soldiers were taken by stratagem; every
dose made them better, their limbs grew more and more
limber, their hopes revived, their activity increased,
they were restored, and their city saved.*'
In the year 1798, an American, by the name of Per-
kins, obtained royal letters patent, in England, for the
discovery of his famous metallic tractors, as he called
them, or two small bits of metal, brought to a point,
which he moved about over the diseased parts of the
human body, gently touching the surface ; and thus, by
withdrawing the galvanic or electric fluid, (as he termed
it,) he was enabled to cure the most inveterate chronic
and other diseases.
This imposition prevailed in this country and Europe.
Thousands and tens of thousands certified to the bene-
ficial results of the tractors, and in less than six years,
Mr. Perkins left England with ten thousand pounds
sterling, as the avails of his practice upon popular cre-
dulity.
This silent and spiritual remedy seemed particularly
acceptable to the Quakers. They founded a " Perkin-
ian" institution for the cure of the poor, without the
trouble and bustle of a medicinal hospital, and the use-
less aid of scientific doctors. They published a pam-
phlet disclosing the surprising success of their quiet and
Quaker-like remedy.
* See Rees' Encyclopedia, vol. 19 — Imitation.
294 PERKINS AUSTIN.
•
It was, however, soon discovered by Drs. Heygarth
and Falconer, of England, that wooden tractors, painted
in imitation of the metallic, would do just as well, and
finally, that none at all were better than either, provided
the patient could be made to believe that he was under
their influence. Thus the bubble burst, and in less than
a dozen years the wonderful tractors were wholly for-
gotten, though beyond doubt they cured multitudes of
their diseases, through mere force of the imagination,
so long as they believed in them.
In the year 1808, a Mr. Austin, in the town of Col-
chester, Vermont, gave out that he was gifted with the
art of healing, and that whoever would describe to
him, by word of mouth, or by letter, the symptoms of
his malady, should receive " a healing word" if indeed
his disease were curable. His obscure retreat was
soon thronged by invalids from all sections of the coun-
try. Ballston and Saratoga seemed, for the time, for-
gotten. Barrooms and postoffices were deluged with
floods of letters to the " prophet at Colchester." Mail
carriers groaned under burdens of the kind of diseases
described. Hawkers and vagrants traversed the coun-
try to procure and carry letters of symptoms to the
prophet, for only fifty cents a letter. The deaf soon
heard, the blind saw, dropsies and consumptions stood
aghast, and multitudes were found to amend at the pre-
cise time their letters were supposed to have reached
the prophet. Such fame was however too glorious for
long continuance. Like that of the metallic tractors, it
soon began to decline and leave the prophet to his lei-
sure, and the diseases of his patients to their usual quiet
and fatality.*
* Powers' Influence of Imagination, p. 28.
CAUSE OF THESE PHENOMENA. 295
Now here are instances of healing powers being pos-
sessed by individuals, to a far greater extent than the
most credulous of the Mormons ever claimed for them-
selves or their leaders, and still in most cases there is
no pretension to Divine aid ; and where or whenever
there is any such pretension, it is false and sacrilegious.
Abating as much as we please from these reports, on
the ground of credulity, there were still, in many cases,
surprising cures wrought. The effects of magic, in-
cantation, amulets, holy relics, &c. of ancient times, of
many patent nostrums of more recent date, are all to
be referred to the same causes. They have doubtless,
one and all, in their day, wrought wonderful cures on
all those diseases which could be cured by the combined
effect of credulity and imagination ; exciting and work-
ing, through the mind, upon the body. Indeed there
are probably some diseases which may thus be cured
by the intervention of the mind, which could not be
cured in any other way.
Undoubtedly all the cures above mentioned, and
thousands of others, said to have been wrought by sim-
ilar means, in the dark ages, are either the hyperbolical
exaggerations of interested deceivers and dupes, or
else real cures were wrought by the effect of the ima-
gination alone, by well-known influences and laws.
In the case of all diseases which can be removed
thus through the influence of the imagination, but one
single thing is requisite in the remedy applied, and that
is, that it should inspire the patient with full confidence
in its virtues and success. The patient must believe
in its efficacy. This point being gained, Perkins' me-
tallic pegs, Dr. Heygarth's wooden ones, King Pyrrhus'
foot, or Prince Edward's hand, Greatrakes' glove, the
296 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CURES AND MIRACLES.
Prophet Austin's word, the Prince of Orange's slops,
Deacon Paris' spirit, or a dead saint's toe nail, Doctor
Gerbis' bugs, and Joe Smith's holy oil, are all equally
good. One will cure just as well as the other. The
Mormon doctrine of faith is here therefore rightly insisted
upon with great earnestness, viz : " First believe, and
then you shall have the evidence."
The difference between all these and the miracles of
our Saviour lies mainly in four points.
1. They all proceed from known, though to some
extent inexplicable, causes and principles.
2. They were all merely tentative ; that is, out of
multitudes of cases, comparatively few cases succeeded,
and in no instance was the success universal, as in the
case of our Saviour.
3. The cures, in most cases, were either gradual, or
else the diseases cured depended immediately upon the
excitement of the nervous system, through the imagi-
nation, for their cure.
4. We have shown, in chapter third, that the credi-
bility of the miracles of the New Testament depended,
not solely upon testimony, nor upon the bare fact that
wonderful events actually occurred, but upon the fact
that those events are connected with a most exalted
character, and with an entire series of moral, providen-
tial, and prophetic events, running through the entire
history of the world, and presenting phenomena to
every age, absolutely inexplicable without admitting the
intervention of miraculous power. Indeed, nothing
could be more silly than to compare these, or other
strange events, with the miracles of our Saviour and
his apostles.
There is nothing about them that has even the appear-
NEGLIGENCE AND CONTEMPT. 297
ance of a well-authenticated miracle, and still they sur-
pass, not only all that the Mormons have claimed for
their apostolic faith, holy oil, and holy hands, but all
they have ever imagined.
No Christian man will deny that prayer is needful
for the sick. On the contrary, no human aid whatever
can restore them without the divine blessing. But
neither Smith's prayer, nor that of his followers, can
be of any use, so long as they sacrilegiously pretend to
the miraculous gifts of the Saviour and apostles of old.
Yet tfyese vile pretensions have been one cause of
the spread of Mormonism, which, all will see, could
not have occurred had the credulity of the people been
removed by a proper knowledge of facts. A few facts
are sufficient to annihilate at once the wonder and the
faith of such pretensions.
Another cause of the success of the Mormons is, that
their system has been deemed too contemptible to de-
serve even a serious notice, much less a labored refu-
tation. This would indeed be so, were it not for the
fact that nothing is too absurd to be believed by multi-
tudes. Most religious men have acted upon the prin-
ciple that, to notice them, would only increase their
notoriety and success. So far as direct public discus-
sion with the Mormons is concerned, this is probably
true ; but can nothing be done to save the ignorant
from their delusions ? We have already neglected
them too long. Like noxious weeds, when once rooted,
if they do not live, their seed will ; and our negligence
has probably furnished us with a permanent and trou-
blesome element in the republic for years to come.
The cunning policy of the Mormon leaders has also
contributed greatly to their success. About one in ten
13*
298 POLICY OF THEIR LEADERS.
have been commissioned as apostles, teachers, elders,
&c. They usually select, for their missions abroad,
their most devout men, who have recently been prose-
lyted from other churches, and who know, in reality,
as much about Mormonism as they do about the doc-
trines of Confucius, and no more. These are kept on
the tramp, in quest of game. They preach the doc-
trines they held in other churches, slightly modified by
some of their new notions about literal interpretation,
prophecy, &c, and call it Mormonism. Two objects
are thus accomplished at once. These most devotedly
pious men are sent forth to operate on the religious sym-
pathies of those churches which they have left, and
from whom they in reality, as yet, still differ but little.
Again, they are kept out of sight of head-quarters,
where they would be in imminent danger of learning
too much of Mormonism, and consequently of aposta-
tizing from the faith, as multitudes have done, after a
seven years' tramp at preaching, so soon as they had
time to take breath, under the wing of the prophet, and
find out what Mormonism really is, as held by Smith,
and taught and practised at Nauvoo.
Their absurd persecutions, in Missouri, have also
tended, beyond measure, to give them credit and sym-
pathy throughout the world. It seems, indeed, like the
devil's own plan, not to destroy them, but to save them
from a ruin and contempt which otherwise seemed in-
evitable. It is hoped that others will take lessons from
this advantage, and give it to them no more. Justice
and expediency both demand a more Christian, a wiser
course.
The advantages which the Mormons have derived
from the existence and use of sectarian creeds and for-
POLICY OF THEIR LEADERS. 299
mulas, have already been adverted to. Indeed, many
think that, as Mohammedanism was the scourge of God
wielded against ancient Popery, so Mormonism has
been permitted to arise in modern times, to scourge
belligerent sects, and pour contempt upon modern as
well as ancient dogmatism. But time alone can develop
those councils of the eternal Mind, which human sa-
gacity cannot comprehend, much less predict.
There is, however, one consolation that arises from
the contemplation of the errors and absurdities of all
ages and all climes. In the great process of raising
humanity from earth to heaven, each new experiment
at falsehood leaves one less to be tried ; and, since hu-
man nature seems obstinately bent upon learning evil
only from actual experience, it is grateful to know that
the fire which scorches one generation serves to illu-
mine the next
How many, or what cycles of folly are still to be
run, before mankind will be content, in the simplicity
of faith and the perfection of reason, to take the divine
sermon on the .mount as containing the fundamental
truths of all faith, the great constitution of Chris-
tianity, and sole chart of human salvation, as the Sa-
viour of the world himself solemnly declared it to be,
is known only to him who in mercy unfolded this divine
chart to human view, and whose province alone it is
to bring "good out of evil, light out of darkness, and
order out of confusion."
Let all our hearts ascend in fervent prayer to him,
that credulity and trust in man may cease, and that
true faith in him alone may increase, until the promised
hour of peace and rest to wearied, phrensied man
shall come.
300 A WORD TO JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR.
A WORD
TO
JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR,
AT NAUVOO, ILLINOIS. i
Sir,—
It is my right, it is the right of every American cit-
izen, of every Christian, of every honest man, to ar-
raign and resent the perfidy of your career. Others
have chosen to indicate their contempt both of your
character and conduct, by silent neglect. I have pre-
ferred to address you personally ; not with the desire
of inflating your vanity, nor in expectation of con-
tributing to your reform. The former is needless ;
the latter, I fear, hopeless. No, sir ; were none but
yourself concerned, you might well be left to putrefy,
amid the moral pestilence which you have produced.
But the misguided dupes of the conjoint machinations
of yourself and your comrades, in mercy, demand the
pity of mankind. I submit to the ungrateful task of
addressing you, only in hope that thus I may the bet-
ter convey some benefit to then).
I have charitably and industriously sought from your
writings, and your history, to find some rational
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
A WORD TO JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR. 301
of you, after a thorough examination of your career,
might as well attempt to believe your religion as to
regard you in any other light than that of a deliberate,
coldblooded, persevering deceiver. I do not pretend
that, in the outset, you even anticipated the final result.
On the contrary, there is abundant evidence that, at
first, your aims rose no higher than those of ordinary va-
grants 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 impos-
tors who have preceded you ; and, though your igno-
rance and your 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 predecessors.
You complain that others have called you an impos-
tor and a knave. By reading the preceding pages, you
will perceive that your recorded history proves you
such. You complain, also, of the severity of those
whom you have never injured. You mistake. There
is not a man on the globe whom you have not injured.
Others may have either injured or insulted individuals
or nations, but you have at once outraged and disgra-
ced human nature itself. Your creed informs us, that
there are those for whom we should not even pray.
Are you not, yourself, one of that wretched number ?
You charge your early associates and witnesses to your
book with the most abominable crimes, murder not ex-
cepted. Who led them to the commission of those
crimes ? Who was their first instigator ? Who first
corrupted and deceived them, with pretended revela-
302 A WORD TO JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR.
tions from God ? If others doubt, you cannot. Oth-
ers have been guilty of theft, robbery, arson, murder,
&c. We are able to convict and condemn them. Your
turpitude differs from theirs, in the fact, that shielding
yourself behind the pretended favor of the Deity, you
are enabled, as all impostors before you have been,
with singular safety and facility, to commit all crimes
by a single act.
If you are, or ever have been, persecuted for your
opinions, as you absurdly complain, so are they. If
you have a right to rob by imposture unmolested,
they have a right to do the same by force. If it is
persecution to arraign them, it is persecution to do the
same to you.
It is not your peculiar opinions, as you well know,
but your impious pretensions, which honest and Chris-
tian men reject, with loathing and abhorrence. On
the contrary, many doubt whether you really have any
religious opinions at all. They doubt whether you
even believe in the existence of a Supreme Being.
You and your associates are fond of smooth talk, and
of what you call, and what, in fact, in other cases,
would be kind and gentlemanly discussion. Such kind
of language, experience proves, can neither benefit you
nor your followers. It only inflates your vanity, and
encourages you in your career of infamy. You can
have no such language from me. You need the lan-
guage of justice, of rebuke, and not of compassion ;
and even those who pity you most, and would labor
most for your reform, should at present hold, toward
you no other language than that which adequately
presents both your turpitude and your crimes, if, in-
deed, language is adequate to the task.
A WORD TO JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR. 308
But many of your followers are a pious, honest, in-
dustrious, and well-meaning, though awfully deluded
people. It is for them I feel compassion. To treat
you with even ordinary respect, is to treat them with
the most wanton and unfeeling cruelty. They have,
with a noble and generous enthusiasm, worthy, indeed,
of a better cause, sacrificed, or rather prostituted, their
all to you. Abandoning home, faith, country, and
friends, they have encountered hardship, famine, pesti-
lence, and death. Their blood has flowed like water ;
their wives and children have been abused, beaten,
massacred, exiled, frozen, and starved, by lawless men,
on your account.
You told them it was the cause of God. You knew
it was not. While you and your comrades are still
fattening in indolence, on the spoils of these outrages,
and adding still to their number, do you dare to claim
from me, or any other man who knows the facts, the
honeyed words of Christian love, or the polished speech
of even ordinary civility and kindness ? You will not
have it. " Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo-
crites !" I doubt not would be the language of the di-
vine and compassionate Saviour of men himself, were
he upon earth to address you in your present condition
and character.
Think of your hypocrisy, your turpitude, and, if
possible, repent and turn from the ruin within and
around you. Your followers, many of them, may be
deceived. They doubtless are. You are not. You
know better. If, then, you care not for your own salva-
tion, care, at least, for the good of those thousands who
have so generously, and still so stupidly, perilled their
all for vou. Could it be believed that vou are still
304 A WORD TO JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR.
within the reach of heaven's grace, good men might
be invited to pray for that grace on your behalf. That
it may at least reach, and illuminate, and save your de-
luded followers, is doubtless the sincere prayer of every
Christian heart, awake to the ruin which you have ac-
complished upon them.
To such a desire you may attribute this letter, and
the pages which precede it. That it may, with the
blessing of God, reclaim some from their adherence to
Mormonism, and prevent others from rushing into its
senseless and debasing absurdities, is the earnest prayer
of the Author.
THE END.
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