PROPHETIC HISTORY OF THE CHURCH—THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL BY AN ANGEL.
And now as to the direct testimony for the restoration of the gospel by means of a new revelation. It is to be found in one of the revelations to St. John upon the Isle of Patmos. While there, either as an exile, or a prisoner in the mines during the persecution under the Emperor Domitian—and in either case suffering for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ—the apostle received many visions pertaining to the past, the present and the future of the Church of Christ. Especially are the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of His revelation instructive. There is a unity of design in them that cannot be mistaken. They contain a history of the church from the time it was presided over by the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, unto the time when the judgments of God fall upon Babylon to her utter destruction. Without entering into minute detail let me point this out.
In the first two verses of the twelfth chapter, under the figure of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and about her head a crown of twelve stars, and ready to be delivered of a child, John describes the church presided over by the apostles, and ready to bring forth the complete organization of the priesthood—the male child that is to rule the nations.
In the third and fourth verses, under the figure of a great red dragon, whose tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and who stood before the woman to devour her child as soon as it was born,—we have a description of Lucifer standing ready to destroy the priesthood so soon as it should be brought forth.
In verses five and six, under the figure of the woman bringing forth the male child, the child being caught up into heaven, and the flight of the woman into the wilderness, where God has a place prepared for her, where she is nourished for a thousand two hundred and three score days—we have a description of the coming forth of the priesthood as an organization, its being taken up into heaven out of reach of Lucifer, and also the flight of the church beyond his power into the wilderness, where it is nourished for a certain time.
In the verses from seven to twelve, inclusive, we have a deflection from the main line of history to explain who and what the great red dragon is. We are told of the war in heaven, where Michael and his angels fought; and the dragon and his angels fought, but prevailed not; and how at last the dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, was cast out of heaven into the earth and his angels with him. We are told of the joy there was in heaven when the accuser of the brethren was cast out; and how there had come salvation and strength and the kingdom of God and the power of his Christ. But those who thus rejoiced in heaven cry woe unto the inhabitants of the earth, because the devil had come down unto them having great wrath.
The thirteenth verse brings us back from the deflection to the line of history again; and from there to the close of the chapter under the figure of the woman flying into the wilderness, the dragon casting out of his mouth floods of water to carry her away if possible, and the return of the dragon full of wrath to make war on the seed of the woman,—"which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus"—we have repeated the story of the flight of the church from the earth, the slander of Lucifer still seeking to destroy the church, now beyond the direct influence of his power, and his return to make was upon the few saints that remained after the church as an organization had been taken from among men.
In the first and second verses of the thirteenth chapter, under the figure of a monstrous, hydra-headed beast rising out of the sea, and the dragon giving unto him his power and his seat and great authority—we have a description of the rise and nature of pagan Rome, and Lucifer giving unto it his power and inspiring it with his spirit of hatred towards the saints.
In the third and fourth verses, under the figure of one of the heads of the beast being wounded and afterwards healed, all the world wondering after the beast, the dragon who gave him his power being worshiped, and the beast being worshiped—we have the transition from the pagan to the papal power of Rome described, and the worship of Lucifer in return for giving his power to the beast.
Then follows in verses from the fifth to the tenth, inclusive, the proclamation of this devil-inspired power to blaspheme against God, against his tabernacle and the saints in heaven; "to make war upon the saints and to overcome them;" his dominion over all kindreds and tongues and nations; the prophecy that all who dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life from the foundation of the world; and also the prophecy of the captivity of this power which has led into captivity, and the killing of him by the sword who killed with the sword.
From the tenth verse to the close of the chapter we have the rise of other powers described which shall under new forms inaugurate the old worship, exercise the old tyranny, practice the old deceptions, and confirm them by the performance of miracles.
The first seven verses of the fourteenth chapter describe the blessedness of a special company of the servants of God who have been redeemed from the earth, an hundred and forty and four thousand of them, being the first fruits unto God and the Lamb, in whose mouth was found no guile, and who are without fault.
The sixth and seventh verses describe an angel flying "in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."
The eighth verse proclaims the fall of Babylon which has made all nations drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The rest of the chapter forbids the worship of the beast or his image, pronouncing the wrath of God against those who do so; and deals with the successive judgments which shall overtake the earth to cleanse it of its wickedness. Thus in prophecy was the history of the church written, its establishment; the war made upon its priesthood by Lucifer; the taking away of the priesthood and the church from within the circle of his power; Lucifer's league first with pagan and afterwards with papal Rome; the establishment of devil and man worship; the blaspheming of God, his tabernacle and the saints in heaven; the rise of other powers who under new forms establish old blasphemies and devil-worship; the restoration of the gospel in the hour of God's judgment; and the final fall of Babylon and the cleansing of the earth preparatory to the reign of peace and righteousness inaugurated by the restoration of the gospel. There it is, a mighty compendium of history written by the spirit of prophecy!
It is, however, with that part of it which relates to the restoration of the gospel that here I have most to do. This the passage: "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters."[1]
However obscure some parts of the Books of Revelation may be considered, this prophecy is perfectly clear. Looked at from any standpoint, it means simply this: In the hour of God's judgment an angel will come from heaven bringing with him the everlasting gospel, which is thence to be preached unto all nations and peoples of the earth. The fact that the gospel is to be restored in the hour of God's judgment by the ministry of an angel, and thence is to be preached to every nation and kindred and tongue and people is proof positive that every nation and kindred and tongue and people in the hour of God's judgment would be without the gospel, hence the necessity of restoring it in the manner described. For if the Lord had a church on the earth, possessing divine authority, there would be no necessity to bring in a new dispensation of the gospel as described in the prophecy under consideration.
In this passage several of the facts for which I have contended meet: First, that there has been a universal apostasy from the gospel, so complete in its departure from the doctrines and rites of the Christian religion, so universal, as to destroy the church of Christ; second, the necessity of restoring the gospel by a re-opening of the heavens; and third, the fact of the restoration of the gospel by the ministration of an angel who commits a new dispensation of it to man, to be preached throughout the world.
1. Rev. xiv: 6, 7.
Joseph Smith is the New Witness for God; a Prophet Divinely Authorized to Teach the Gospel, and Re-establish the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth.
THE NEW WITNESS INTRODUCED.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the western part of the State of New York was a new country, by which I mean—one recently settled, and comparatively a wilderness. At the close of the Revolutionary War, which secured to the former British Colonies independence, the people of the new-born nation found their country and themselves impoverished. Manufactures owing to the narrow and selfish policy of England toward her colonies (that policy had been to discourage the colonies from manufacturing, least they should compete with the manufactures of England) could scarcely be said to have an existence. Commerce, owing to the fact that the new nation had not yet established a commercial standing in the world, afforded little opportunity for American activity. Moreover, the American people themselves, of that generation, because of the conditions which had surrounded them in the New World, were neither skilled artisans capable of competing with the British workmen in manufacturing, nor had they the cunning that comes by training, which qualified them for immediate success. What they did possess was sturdy physical frames—constitutions unimpaired either by the excesses practiced among barbarians, or by the vices which abound in older civilizations. They possessed strong hands, superb courage and simple tastes, and with these they entered into that almost boundless empire of wilderness to the west of them, to make homes for themselves and their children.
Looking from the standpoint of our modern life, which knows so much of ease and comfort, the lot of these pioneers was a hard one. The soil which their rude shares upturned to the sun was indeed virgin and fertile, but before it could be cultivated it had to be cleared of its heavy growth of timber and underbrush, and with the means then employed, to clear a farm was well-nigh a life's labor. Each pioneer with the help of a few neighbors—which help he paid for by helping them in return—built his own house, his barn, his sheds, and fenced his "clearing." Each family within itself was practically self-supporting. The hum of the spinning-wheel, the rattle of the shuttle and the thumping of the loom was heard in every home, as wool and flax were converted into fabrics to clothe the family; and every pioneer cultivated such a variety of products that his farm and his labor supplied his wants and those of his household. Happily for their contentment, the conditions in which they lived rendered their wants but few.
In settling the wilderness the pioneers were not disposed to crowd each other. They settled far apart. It often happened that a man's nearest neighbor would be two or three miles away, so that the country for a long time was but sparsely settled. Towns were few and far between, and were only slowly built up. No such mushroom-growth of towns was known as that which characterized the settlement of the great prairie states in subsequent years. A few families settling on a stream furnishing water power for a grist-mill, or at some point on lake or stream frequented by the Indians for the purpose of trading their furs, formed the nucleus of these towns, and soon school-houses and churches increased their attractions.
It was a simple, honest life these pioneers led. A life full of toil; for it was a stubborn fight they had with the wilderness to subdue it. And yet their very hardships tended towards virtue. A busy life in honorable pursuits can never be a vicious one; and the constant toil of these men in wood and field so kept hands and head employed that there was left no time nor opportunity to pursue evil. Their amusements were few and simple, consisting in the main of the occasional gatherings of neighbors for social enjoyments—the love of youth and maiden seeking its legitimate expression in that companionship which alone satisfies the hunger of the heart, I doubt not, was the incentive which brought about these gatherings—at least their frequency; and the old, well pleased to see their own youth reflected in that of their sons and daughters, looked on with unconcealed delight.
Not only was this life in the wilderness favorable to morality, it contributed equally well to the cultivation of the religious sentiment in man. Man is by nature a religious animal, and where natural conditions prevail instead of artificial ones, true to his nature, man inclines toward a religious state of mind. There is something in the awful stillness of the wood that says to man—"God is in this solitude!" The murmur of the brook splashing over its pebbly bed, and the mournful sighing of the winds through the tree tops, whisper to his spirit the fundamental truth of all religion—"God lives!" The stars looking down through the trees or mirrored in stream or lake bear witness to the same great truth; while the orderly course of the seasons, bringing with such undeviating regularity seed time and harvest, the period of summer's growth and winter's rest, accompanied by the fact of the sun shining for the wicked as for the good, and the rain falling upon the just and the unjust alike, gives ample evidence of God's interest in the world he has created and of his beneficence and mercy towards all men.
When conditions were so favorable for the development of natural religion, it is not surprising that profound interest was manifested also in revealed religion. Especially when we remember that these pioneers of the wilderness were but from one to three generations removed from ancestors who had left the Old World for the express purpose of worshiping God according to their understanding of that same revealed religion. That skepticism of the eighteenth century which in some quarters had such a baneful influence upon religious belief was scarcely felt in these settlements remote from the old centers of the New World civilization. These men of the wilderness believed the Bible and looked upon it with the reverence worthy of men descended from Protestant fathers who had in their system of theology made it take the place of pope and church, and established it as their sole authority and infallible guide in the matters of faith and morals. While many of them refused to identify themselves with any of the various sects about them, or subscribe to their creeds, they were profound believers in the word of God, and often confessed this short creed which they duly impressed upon their descendants: "I believe in God, in the Bible, and in a state of future rewards and punishments."
There was no lack of zealous churchmen among the pioneers, sectaries who taught special forms of faith and contended for the necessity of particular dogmas and formulas with all that ardor and narrowness of view that usually characterizes the sectarian mind. Their contentions for the correctness of their respective creeds were not always free from bitterness but for all that the Protestant sects recognized each other as parts of a great universal church, and occasionally would so far put away the differences of creed which separated them as to unite for the purpose of holding union protracted meetings for the conversion of unbelievers.
During the continuance of these meetings the minister avoided preaching any doctrine except such as could be accepted by all the sects—evangelical doctrine. Professedly their sole effort was to lead the unconverted to believe in and accept Christ, let them join what sect they pleased. Usually matters went on very agreeably until the converts made by these united efforts began to express their preference for one or the other of the different religious sects. Then would break out those fierce sectarian struggles for advantage which have ever been so disgraceful to Protestant Christendom. The good feeling temporarily exhibited during the union meetings nearly all disappeared, and by the fact of its vanishing impressed an observer with the idea that all along it was more pretended than real. Sectarian zeal was unbounded in its efforts to secure as many of the new converts as possible to its own particular denomination. There was a cry of lo here and of lo there, not unfrequently accompanied with remarks of detraction about the opposing sects. The priests, each jealous for his own church, contended fiercely with one another, so that they who ought to have been the most exemplary in that conduct which makes for peace on earth and good will towards men, were often the most to be blamed for stirring up contention.
Such a wave of religious fervor brought about in the manner above set forth, and attended with results described, passed over the western part of the State of New York in the winter and spring of 1820. The movement at that time was of unusual interest, first on account of its extent, and second on account of the intensity of the religious excitement produced. It can well be imagined that with these two conditions existing, the bitterness among the sects taking part in the movement would be correspondingly great when it came to dividing up the spoils. By which I mean when the converts made by a unity of effort began to file off some to one sect and some to another. Such was the case. Presbyterians opposed Methodists, and Methodists Baptists; and Baptists opposed both the other sects. All was strife, contention, confusion, beneath which Christian charity and good will to man—these weightier matters of the law—were buried so far out of sight that it might be questioned if they ever existed.
Standing somewhat apart from, but watching with intense interest this religious excitement, and wondering greatly at the confusion and strife attendant upon it was a lad fourteen years old.[1] He was born of parents numbered among the pioneers of the wilderness, and up to that time had lived with them surrounded by the conditions already described in the first part of this chapter as so favorable to morality and the development of religious sentiment. By this religious agitation the mind of the lad was stirred to serious reflection accompanied with great uneasiness on account of the sectarian strife so incessant and so bitter. He saw several members of his father's family connect themselves with the Presbyterian sect, but he himself was more partial to the Methodist Church; and at times he felt some desire to be united with them. The tumult arising from the religious contention, however, was such as to bewilder him, and he felt himself incompetent to decide who was right and who was wrong. "What is to be done?" he would often ask himself. "Who of all these parties are right? Or are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it and how shall I know it?"[2]
Young as he was, his native intelligence taught him that something was radically wrong with all this contention over religion. It was clear even to his boyish mind that God could not be the author of all this confusion. God's church would not be split up into factions in this fashion; if he taught one society to worship one way, and administer one set of ordinances, he would not teach another principles diametrically opposed.[3]
Influenced by these reflections he refrained from joining any of the sects and in the meantime studied the scriptures as best he could for himself. While thus engaged he came to that passage in James which says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him." That passage was like the voice of God to his spirit. "Never," he was wont to say in later life—"never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart."[4] He reflected upon it again and again, and as he did so the impression grew stronger that the advice of the ancient apostle offered a solution to his perplexities. It never occurred to him to think that the passage meant other than it said, or to question the universal application of the advice it gives. He knew nothing of the sophistry of the schools of theology which too often made the word of God of none effect by their learned exegesis. Through the innocent eyes of a mere boy, he looked the proposition of James squarely in the front, and, thanks to the teachings of parents who revered the word of God, he believed what the man of God said, and he believed further that he expressed that which the Lord inspired him to say; so that it came to him with the full force of a revelation. Under such circumstances what was more natural than for him to reason thus: If any person needs wisdom from God, I do, for how to act I do not know, and unless I can get more wisdom than I now have, I shall never know.[5] But one conclusion could be arrived at through such a course of reflection: he must either remain in darkness and confusion or do as James directed—ask of God. And since he gives wisdom to them that lack wisdom, and will give liberally and not upbraid, he thought he might venture. And so at last he did. He selected a place in a grove near his father's house, and there one beautiful morning in the spring of 1820,[6] after looking timidly about to ascertain that he was alone, the boy knelt in his first attempt at vocal prayer, to ask God for wisdom.
No sooner had he begun calling upon the Lord than there sprang upon him a being from the unseen world, who so entirely overcame him, and bound his utterance, that he could not speak. Thick darkness gathered about him, and it seemed to the struggling boy that he was doomed to sudden destruction. He still exerted all his power to call upon the Lord to deliver him from the power of the enemy who had seized him. But still his unseen though none the less real enemy continued to prevail. Despair filled his heart. He was about to abandon himself to destruction when at the moment of his greatest alarm he saw a pillar of light exactly over his head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon him. No sooner did this light appear than he was free from the enemy which had held him bound. As the light rested upon him he saw within it two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description. They stood above him in the air, and one of them pointing to the other said: "JOSEPH, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM."
The object of the lad in going to that place to engage in secret prayer was to learn of God which of all the sects was right, that he might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did he recover his self-possession than he asked the personage to whom he was thus introduced, which of all the sects was right—which he should join. He was answered that he must join none of them; for they were all wrong Their creeds were an abomination in God's sight; the professors of them were all corrupt—"They draw near me with their lips," said the personage, talking to him, "but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrine the commandments of men; having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof." Again he was told that he must join none of them.
Many other things were said to him on that occasion which the Prophet has not recorded, except to say that he was promised that the fullness of the gospel would at some future time be made known to him.[7]
With this the vision closed, and the boy on coming to himself was lying upon his back looking up into heaven. He arose to his feet and looked upon the place of his fierce struggle with his unseen though powerful enemy—the place also of his splendid vision!
What a change had come to the lad in one brief hour! He was no longer struggling with doubts or troubled with perplexities as to which of the sects was right. He had gone to that place of prayer plagued with uncertainty, now no one among the children of men so well assured as he of the course to pursue. He had proved the correctness of James' doctrine—men may ask God for wisdom, receive liberally and not be upbraided. He knew that the religious creeds of the world were untrue; that they taught for doctrine the commandments of men; that religionists observed a form of godliness, but in their hearts denied the power of God; that they drew near to the Lord with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. He knew that God, the Father, lived, for he had both seen him and heard his voice; he knew that Jesus lived and was the Son of God, for he had been introduced to him by the Father, conversed with him in heavenly vision and had received instruction and a promise that the fullness of the gospel should yet be made known to him. Up to that time his life had been uneventful, and of a character to make him of no particular consequence in the world; now he stood as God's WITNESS among the children of men. Henceforth he must bear witness to the great truths he had learned. His testimony will arouse the wrath of men, and with unrelenting fury they will pursue him. Slander, outright falsehood and misrepresentation will play havoc with his reputation. Everywhere his name will be held up as evil. Derision will laugh at his testimony, Ridicule mock it. On every hand he will be met with the cry of "False prophet! false prophet!" Chains and the dungeon's gloom await him; mobs with murderous hate will assail him again and again; and at the last, while under the protection of the law, and the honor of a great commonwealth pledged for his safety, he will be murdered in cold blood for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus!
How little that fair-haired boy, standing there in the unpruned forest, with the sunlight stealing through the trees about him, realized the burden placed upon his shoulders that morning by reason of the visitation he received in answer to his prayer!
Here is not the place for argument, that is to come later; but let us consider the wide-sweeping effect of this boy's vision upon the accepted theology of Christendom.
First, it was a flat contradiction to the assumption that revelation had ceased, that God had no further communication to make to man.
Second, it reveals the errors into which men had fallen concerning the personages of the Godhead. It makes it manifest that God is not an incorporeal being without body, or parts; on the contrary he appeared to the Prophet in the form of a man, as he did to the ancient prophets. Thus after centuries of controversy the simple truth of the scriptures which teach that man was created in the likeness of God—hence God must be the same in form as man—was re-affirmed.
Third, it corrected the error of the theologians respecting the oneness of the persons of the Father and the Son. Instead of being one in person as the theologians taught, they are distinct in their persons, as much so as any father and son on earth; and the oneness of the Godhead referred to in the scriptures, must have reference to unity of purpose and of will; the mind of the one being the mind of the other, and so as to the will and other attributes.
The announcement of these truths, coupled with that other truth proclaimed by the Son of God, viz.: that none of the sects and churches of Christendom were acknowledged as the church or kingdom of God, furnish the elements for a religious revolution that will affect the very foundations of modern Christian theology. In a moment all the rubbish concerning religion which had accumulated through all the centuries since the gospel and authority to administer its ordinances had been taken from the earth, was grandly swept aside—the living rocks of truth were made bare upon which the Church of Christ was to be founded—a New Dispensation of the gospel was about to be committed to the earth—God had raised up a witness for himself among the children of men.
1. Joseph Smith the prophet was born in Sharon, Windsor County, state of Vermont, 23rd of December, 1805.
2. Pearl of Great Price, p. 86. (1888 edition always quoted).
3. See Joseph's reasoning upon this subject, published in his account of the rise of the church, written for Mr. John Wentworth, proprietor of the Chicago Democrat (1842), This article is also found in a pamphlet published by Geo A. Smith, entitled Answers to Questions, p. 37.
4. Hist. of Joseph Smith, Supplement to Millennial Star, Vol xiv.
5. His reasoning set down here is paraphrased from his own account of what he thought. See Hist. of Joseph Smith, Millennial Star, Vol. xiv.
6. The exact date of this occurrence is not known.
7. Answers to Questions, p. 37.
A NEW DISPENSATION OF THE GOSPEL.
The true test of moral courage is to stand alone against the world and maintain what one believes or knows to be the truth. It is easy enough to join in the chorus that cries "Amen" to orthodox doctrines, or even to lead in advocating opinions that the multitude by very force of tradition accept with applause. Even unpopular opinions are maintained and that stoutly by men whose moral courage falls very far short of the sublime, if only they are supported by a following. Just as men of indifferent physical courage will sometimes show a spirit of desperate daring, and rush into the jaws of death, borne up against the danger by the sheer consciousness of moving upon it with a large number of their fellows. Examples are furnished by armies in battle. Not a few of those who charge the enemy with apparent reckless bravery are borne along by the strength which comes from the support of numbers. The charge upon the enemy, therefore, even in the face of a galling fire, is not the truest test of the courage of the soldier. A better evidence of courage is given by the solitary sentinel upon his beat; when alone under the quiet stars he walks the path of danger, uncertain where it may be lurking or from what quarter it may come; when the shouts of his comrades are hushed in slumber; when the soul-stirring drum and ear-piercing fife are silent; when the excitement which comes from action, and the tumult of glorious battle no longer sustains him—then if his spirit fails him not, and he calmly and alone faces the danger and does his duty, he gives his commander a better evidence of his courage than he will ever give in the mad recklessness of the charge.
As dogs best hunt in packs, so men best fight in armies; and so, too, do men best stand by their convictions when strengthened by that moral support which comes from the approval of their fellows. But, as I remarked, the truest test of moral courage is to stand alone and maintain what one either knows or believes to be the truth against the sneers and ridicule of the world.
When the one who stands alone against millions is young, and the influences brought to bear against him are the most powerful that can be employed; if he break not down, but steadily holds to the assertion or principle which gives offense, his courage and integrity must stand as presumptive evidence that he either has the truth or what he believes to be the truth, for out and out falsehood has no such heroes. The truth alone, or what is honestly taken for it, can support men in such an issue as this. And more especially is this the case if the one undergoing the trial, in addition to tender years, is also unschooled in the vices of the world, is of quick sympathies and easily persuaded.
Such was Joseph Smith when he received that vision of the Father and the Son described in a preceding chapter. He had but just completed his fourteenth year. The conditions amid which he spent his childhood—not yet ended—were such as to keep him innocent; and his deep filial love and strong affection for brothers and sisters gave evidence of the existence in him of those quick sympathies which in later life developed into that deep universal love for his fellow-men so characteristic of him; while the disposition to yield to the persuasion of his friends was so prominent in him as well nigh to amount to weakness.[1] Thus in him were all those qualities of character, and about him were all those conditions, which make his stand for the truth of his story of such great force as presumptive evidence of its correctness; for notwithstanding his youth, his inclination to yield to the persuasions of friends, his deep sympathetic soul, which was pained at the abuse heaped upon his parents as well as upon himself for asserting that he had seen a vision—notwithstanding all this, he never could be induced either by persuasion, by threats, by scoffs, by scorn or ridicule, or religious influence, or abuse heaped upon himself and family, to retract his declaration that he had seen a heavenly vision in which he beheld both God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
He made no secret of the vision. Only a few days after receiving it, being in company with a prominent Methodist minister, he gave him an account of the revelation which he had received from God, when to the boy's astonishment the minister railed most viciously against it. "He treated my communication not only lightly," says the Prophet, writing of those early experiences later in life, "but with contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there was no such thing as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there never would be any more of them. I soon found, however, that by telling the story I had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase, and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a hot persecution, and this was common among all the sects, all united to persecute me.
"It has often caused me serious reflection, both then and since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, a little over fourteen year of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, so as to create in them a spirit of the hottest persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and was often a cause of great sorrow to myself. However, it was, nevertheless, a fact that I had had a vision. I have thought since that I felt much like Paul when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light and heard a voice, but still there were but a few who believed him; and some said he was dishonest; others said he was mad, and he was ridiculed and reviled; but all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew and would know to his latest breath that he had both seen a light, and heard a voice speaking to him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
"So it was with me; I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak unto me, or one of them did; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely, for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute for telling the truth? I had actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God? Or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision. I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dare I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation."[2]
This statement the boy maintained alone (save such support as came from the belief of his own family, none of the immediate members of which, so far as I have learned, ever doubting his story), against the world for three years; without even the encouragement of a further spiritual manifestation. It would be improper, as I believe, to say that God did this to prove him. The Almighty, who is also All Knowing, knew before the test was made that he would endure it. God knew his spirit and its nobility and strength as he knew Messiah's or Abraham's; He knew it as he knew the spirit of Jeremiah and ordained him, too, to be a prophet to the nations before he was born.[3] But if God needed no new evidence of the strength of character possessed by his New Witness; if he needed no proof of his integrity, his devotion to the truth—the world did; and during that period of three years of sore trial, when alone he maintained the truth against scoffing priests, the gibes of his companions, and the sneers, ridicule and unbelief of the world, he gave to the generation in which he lived and to all generations succeeding, such evidence of his integrity to the truth, or what at least he believed to be true, as ought and will secure the respectful attention of sincere men to the testimony he bears for God.
The constancy of the lad, under all the circumstances, laid deep the foundation for faith in the man, and in the work which, under God, he founded. There were so many interests—the peace of himself and family; his own and his family's good name and standing in society; the applause of religionists who would have hailed with delight his renunciation of the vision as a delusion of the devil—all these things cried out, "Renounce it!" But the fact that to all such demands the lad shouted back, "'Tis God's truth, I saw the vision!"—will go far towards making men believe that he did; for had he been base enough to invent such a story, when he found that it made against his interest and brought nothing but reproaches, without doubt, he would have denied it; for men seldom persist in conscious falsehood which works only to their disadvantage. And in this instance the renunciation would have been so easy by calling it a delusion wrought by the adversary of men's souls, by which he had been deceived. But neither ease of denial nor the seeming advantages to accrue from it moved him; against it all he was supported by the consciousness of having told the truth. Unless indeed we can believe him so insane as to have been a candidate for disgrace and ambitious of the contempt of his fellows.
At the end of three years' silence, viz., on the 21st of September, 1823, he was blessed with another vision. During the three years he was left to stand alone he lays no claim to perfect sanctity, but freely confesses to have fallen frequently into "foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the corruption of human nature." In consequence of these things he often felt condemned; and on the above mentioned 21st of September, he betook himself to prayer to Almighy God, sought a remission of his sins, and asked for a manifestation of his standing before the Lord.
While thus calling upon God in prayer, the room in which he knelt was filled with light, and an angel stood in his presence, who announced himself a messenger sent from God to inform him that the Lord had a work for him to do; and that his name should be had for good and evil among all nations; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.[4]
Moroni, for such was the angel's name, was one of the ancient prophets who had lived in America; he was now raised from the dead,[5] and had come to make known the existence of the record of the ancient inhabitants of the western hemisphere. Besides giving an account of the ancient peoples who inhabited America and the source from whence they sprang, this record also contained the fullness of the gospel as delivered by the Savior to them. Hidden with the record were two stones in silver bows, and the bows fastened to a breast-plate, constituting the Urim and Thummim. The ability to use the Urim and Thummim was what constituted seers in ancient times, and they had been deposited with this record for the purpose of translating it.
After these explanations, Moroni began quoting and explaining a number of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Following are the passages in the order in which he quoted them: Part of the 3rd chapter of Malachi, 4th chapter of Malachi; 11th chapter of Isaiah—saying it was about to be fulfilled; 3rd chapter of Acts, 22nd and 23rd verses, saying that the prophet therein named was Jesus Christ, but the time when those who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people had not yet come, but would soon come; 2nd chapter of Joel, from 28th verse to the last: this was not fulfilled, but soon would be.
Some of the passages he quoted differently from the way they read in our English version. Malachi 3rd chapter, 1st verse, for example, he quoted as follows: "For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
The 5th and 6th verses he quoted thus: "Behold I will reveal unto you the priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."
This heavenly messenger appeared to him three times during that night and each time related the same things to him, the interviews occupying nearly the whole night.
The next day while working beside his father in a field Joseph was taken ill. His father observing it advised him to go to the house. This the boy started to do, but in climbing over the fence, which separated the field from the house, his strength utterly failed him, and he sank to the ground unconscious. He was aroused by some one calling his name, and when he regained consciousness the messenger of the night before stood near him. Again the things of the night before were repeated; and he received a commandment to go and tell his father the vision. This he did and his father encouraged him to do as he had been commanded. He accordingly went as directed in his vision to the place where the record of the ancient Americans was concealed—to a hill called by them Cumorah.
Removing the grass and soil which was about the edges of the stone box that contained the ancient record, with a lever he raised the lid and there saw the gold plates and the Urim and Thummim. He was about to take them from the box, when the angel Moroni again stood before him, and forbade his taking them out, as the time for them to be given to him for translation had not yet come, nor would it come until four years from that date. He was commanded to come at the end of each year to that place, and the angel would meet him to give the necessary instruction.
This Joseph did for four successive years, and each time met the same heavenly messenger and received instruction. On the occasion of the fourth meeting, viz., on the 22nd of September, 1827, the record was given into his hands to translate. This work of translation, through the grace of God, he accomplished, and in 1830 the Book of Mormon was published to the world.
Before it was published, the plates of gold on which it had been engraven by the ancient inhabitants of the land, were shown by the angel Moroni to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris, together with the Urim and Thummim through which the translation was effected; and their testimony to this fact was printed over their signatures on the fly-leaf of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith himself exhibited the plates to eight other persons, viz: Christian, Jacob, Peter and John Whitmer; Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sen., Hyrum Smith and Samuel H. Smith. The testimony of these eight witnesses to the effect that they had seen, and handled the plates from which the Book of Mormon had been translated, and examined the characters engraven thereon, was also printed in the first and all subsequent authorized editions of the book.[6]
It must be understood that during the progress of the young Prophet's work, persecution was continuous; and slander with her thousand tongues was inventing falsehood to destroy the work of God. But while opposition was strong, the Lord from time to time raised up friends to assist him in his labors and share his responsibilities. Among such persons was one Oliver Cowdery, a young school teacher, who while following his profession in the town of Manchester, was boarding in the family of Joseph Smith's parents, from whom he learned of the revelations of God to Joseph, and of his having the record of the ancient inhabitants of America.
The youthful Prophet at this time was living at Harmony, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He had married a Miss Emma Hale and settled there on a piece of land purchased of his father-in-law. Oliver Cowdery went to Harmony to investigate the claims of Joseph Smith, both in respect to his receiving revelations from God and having the Book of Mormon. He became satisfied upon both points and remained with him to act as his scribe in the work of translation.
In May, 1829, the work of translation drawing near to completion, they came upon a passage in the Book of Mormon respecting baptism, upon which they held different views. They retired to the woods on the 15th of May to present the matter before the Lord for further light, and while engaged in calling upon God in prayer, a personage appeared to them surrounded by a glorious light, who, as he laid his hands upon their heads, said: "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."
The Messenger who thus conferred the Aaronic priesthood upon them was named John, the same that is called the Baptist in the New Testament. He had been raised from the dead, and was now sent as a messenger from God to confer the keys of the Aaronic priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He told them that he acted under the direction of the apostles Peter, James and John, and that some time in the near future the Melchisedek or higher priesthood would be conferred upon them. He then commanded them to each baptize the other, Joseph to first baptize Oliver, and then Oliver to baptize Joseph. Thus the work of baptizing men for the remission of sins began in the new dispensation.
Some time in the following month, June, 1829, the promise made by John to Joseph and Oliver that the Melchisedek Priesthood would be conferred upon them was fulfilled. In the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna County, Penn., and Colesville, Broom County, New York, on the banks of the Susquehanna River, Peter, James and John conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the apostleship, the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood, which gave them the right to build up the church of Christ in all the world, and organize it in all its departments.
It is proper here to say a few words upon the subject of priesthood. Priesthood is power which God confers upon man, by which he becomes an agent for God, authorized to act in his name. It may be to warn a city or nation of approaching calamity because of corruption; it may be to teach faith in God, or cry repentance to the wicked; it may be to baptize in water for the remission of sins, or lay on hands, as the ancient apostles did, for the baptism of the Holy Ghost; or it may be to lay on hands for the healing of the sick, or all these things combined. Men who hold the priesthood possess divine authority thus to act for God; and by possessing part of God's power they are in reality part of God, that is, in the sense of being part of the great governing power that extends throughout the universe. This is the authority of men that hold the priesthood, and when those who possess it walk in obedience to the commandments of God, men who honor the priesthood in them, honor God; and those who reject it reject God, even the power of God.
It was doubtless these considerations which led Jesus to say, when sending out his apostles to preach the gospel: "He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. * * * And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city."[7]
Considered in the light of these sayings of Jesus, the priesthood is a solemn thing. To hold power delegated to one by Almighty God—to have authority to speak and act in his name, and have it of the same binding force as if the Deity himself spoke or acted, is both an honor and a responsibility which few men comprehend. It is an awe-inspiring thing. Yet such authority God does confer upon men. It was bestowed upon the Patriarchs before the flood, upon Melchisedek, Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. It was given to the apostles through Jesus; he said to Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[8] These mighty keys of authority were conferred, as related in the foregoing, upon Joseph Smith, and by that authority he organized the Church and regulated its affairs up to the time of his death.
The Church of Jesus Christ, in the new dispensation under the direction of revelation from God, was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830. That organization was very simple; it was effected with six members. Joseph Smith was acknowledged as the first Elder of the Church, and Oliver Cowdery as the second Elder; but before the meeting which organized the Church adjourned, the Church was commanded to keep a record in which the Prophet Joseph was to be called "a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, an Elder of the church."[9] The more complete organization of the church with Apostles, Seventies, High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons was a later development, and will receive attention in a subsequent chapter.
In the month of February, 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon[10] were wrapt in vision, in which they beheld the Son of God and conversed with him—let them bear their own testimony: "We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the spirit on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the spirit, our eyes were opened, and our understandings were enlightened so as to see and understand the things of God—even those things which were from the beginning, before the world was, which were ordained of the Father through his Only Begotten Son who was in the bosom of the Father even from the beginning. Of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision; for while we were doing the work of translation which the Lord had appointed to us, we came to the tenth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was given to us as follows—speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth: 'They who have done good in the resurrection of the just and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust.'[11] Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—that by him and through him and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."[12]
Four years after the vision of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, viz., April 6th, 1836, other visions of Jesus Christ and several mighty angels were given to the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery. The visions occurred during the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. The first was of Jesus Christ, who declared his acceptance of the temple. The angels came to deliver certain keys of authority to Joseph Smith. Following is the Prophet's account of the several manifestations:
"The vail was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying 'I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice. Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice who have, with their might, built this house to my name; for behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. Yea, I will appear unto my servants and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house, yea, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house; and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people, even so, Amen.
"After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
"After this Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed.
"After this vision closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah, the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: 'Behold the time is fully come, which was spoken by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."[13]
There were numerous other revelations given to Joseph Smith and to others through him; for he was God's mouthpiece to men in this new dispensation, both before and after the church was organized. Some of these revelations were received through the Urim and Thummim which the angel Moroni gave into his possession in connection with the gold plates of the Book of Mormon.[14] Other revelations were received through inspiration from God acting directly upon the Prophet. Of the manner in which these last named revelations were received, a prominent writer and officer in the church who was present on several such occasions, says. "Each sentence was uttered slowly and very distinctly, and with a pause between each sufficiently long for it to be recorded by an ordinary writer in long hand. This was the manner in which all his written revelations were dictated and written. There was never any hesitation, reviewing or reading back to keep the thread of the subject; neither did any of these communications undergo revisions, interlinings, or corrections. As he dictated them, so they stood, so far as I have witnessed; and I was present to witness the dictation of several communications of several pages."[15]
With the revelations thus received, as well as those received through the Urim and Thummim, we shall have more or less to do in this work; but the visions and ministrations of angels related in this and the preceding chapter constitute the basis upon which the work of God in this new dispensation is founded. From the information and authority received through them comes the organization of the Church of Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel in all the world.
The manifestations are of a character which preclude all possibility of the parties who received them being mistaken. If the great work of God in these last days, were founded alone upon the internal inspiration or illumination of the Prophet Joseph, the probability of his belonging to that very large number of well-meaning but mistaken men who have thought themselves inspired of God would be very much increased; for nothing is more common perhaps than self-deception in such matters. "Mormonism," however, came into existence not alone from internal inspiration, or divine inward illumination of Joseph Smith; but from what we may term external revelations as well; revelations which appeal to the senses of the mind as well as to the inner consciousness. Review them I pray you:
God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ are beheld in the full light of day—nay, in an effulgence of light, brighter than the sunlight at noon-day. And a direct conversation is held with them upon a matter-of-fact subject for some length of time.
One of the resurrected prophets of ancient America appears three times in one night, and twice the following day; he conversed upon a variety of subjects, but the main purpose of his visitation was to reveal the existence of the record of an ancient people. At the end of each year, for four successive years, this same heavenly messenger repeats his visits, and at the last gives into the possession of Joseph Smith a volume of gold plates, the engravings on which the Prophet translated into the English language.
An angel exhibits these same plates to other men, and permits them to examine the engravings thereon.
Eight other men see and handle the plates and examine the characters engraven on them.
Another angel, also a resurrected prophet, appears in broad day light and lays his hands upon the heads of two men, viz: Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordains them to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Three of the ancient apostles appear and ordain the same men to the Melchisedek or higher Priesthood.
Jesus is seen by two men, viz., Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, at the right hand of God the Father, and a protracted conversation ensues.
Jesus is again seen in the Temple at Kirtland, by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and again his voice is heard.
On the same occasion Moses, Elias, and Elijah, the prophet, appeared and conferred certain keys of authority upon two men—Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
Now all this appeals to the outward senses. It is matter of fact. It is tangible. It all occurred and is a solemn verity, or it is all wicked fabrication. A fabrication it is possible for it to be, but it can never be resolved into a mere mistake—a self-deception. The men who affirm all of it to have taken place may have been villains, bent on deluding mankind; for wicked men still lie in wait to deceive; but they can never be classed as well-meaning but mistaken men. Either what Joseph Smith and his associates affirm is true, or they are base and conscious imposters. The manifestations of which they proclaim themselves witnesses are so palpable to the senses—to sight, and touch and hearing; they occur at such times and places, and under such circumstances, and are so frequently repeated, that there can be no possibility of mistake. In the consideration of their testimony, therefore, there is no middle ground between the extremes of absolute truthfulness or absolute falsehood, and I ask the readers of this book to take up the investigation upon which we are about to enter in this spirit.
1. After the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated were delivered to the prophet Joseph, the Lord had occasion to reprove him several times for his disposition to yield to the persuasion of men. When he received the record of the Nephites the Lord put him under a covenant to show them to no one except to those to whom the Lord should command him to show them (Doc. & Cov., Sec. v. 3). When he had translated enough to make 116 pages of old foolscap manuscript, Martin Harris continually importuned him to be allowed to show that much of the work to his friends. This the Lord forbid, but Harris continuing his importunings, and Joseph in turn petitioning the Lord at Harris' request, permission was at last granted, and the MS. was stolen. Joseph, for thus yielding to the persuasion of Martin Harris after the word of the Lord was known, lost for a season his gift to translate, and the plates were taken from him. When they were returned, and permission given to continue the work of translation, the Lord thus reproved him for his disposition to yield to persuasion: "Behold, you have been intrusted with these things, but how strict were your commandments; and remember, also, the promises which were made to you, if you did not transgress them; and behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men!" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. iii). And again the Lord said to him: "And now, I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and yield to the persuasions of men no more; and that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you, and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain." (Doc. & Cov., Sec. v). But this characteristic was only manifested early in his career. Or if it appeared later in life, it was only in relation to things indifferent—that is, in things that did not involve a sacrifice of principle.
2. Extracts from the History of Joseph Smith, "Pearl of Great Price," (1888 edition), pp. 89, 90, 91.
3. "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations"—The Lord to Jeremiah, Jeremiah ch. i:5.
4. Pearl of Great Price, p. 94 (ed. of 1888).
5. It certainly ought not to be difficult for Christians to believe in the existence of resurrected men; for in Matthew's Gospel we read: "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his (Christ's) resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many" (Matt. xxvii: 52, 53). If the ancient saints on the eastern hemisphere who were worthy arose from the dead after the resurrection of Jesus, it is not improbable, but rather reasonable, that the worthy saints who had lived upon the western hemisphere also should be raised from the dead.
6. This is a very brief and imperfect account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. A fuller account will be given in a volume which will treat upon the Book of Mormon as a 'Witness for God, now in course of preparation by the author, and I shall then write in greater detail of its coming forth. I could not do so in this volume on account of the space it would require, and besides, such an account more properly belongs to the part of my work that will treat exclusively of that book.
7. Matt. x.
8. Matt. xvi.
9. Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxi.
10. Sidney Rigdon, born in Pennsylvania, 19th of February, 1793, had been prominently connected with what is known as the "Campbellite" or Reformed Baptist movement in the United States; but was converted to a belief in the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, by Elder Parley P. Pratt, who first presented him with the Book of Mormon. At the time indicated in the text he was a prominent Elder in the Church and closely associated with Joseph Smith.
11. In the English version of the New Testament the passage reads: "And shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation." St. John v: 29.
12. Doc. and Cov. Sec. lxxvi.
13. Doc. and Cov., Sec. cx.
14. The revelations known to have been received through the Urim and Thummim are the following: Doc. and Cov. Sec. iii, Ibid, Sec. vi, Sec. vii, Sec. xi, Sec, xiv, Sec. xv, Sec. xvi, Sec. xviii. There were doubtless others received through that sacred instrument, but these are specially mentioned as being so received.
15. Autb. of Parley P. Pratt, p. 65, 66.