Scrap Book of Mormon Literature, Volume 2 (of 2). Religious Tracts (part 2 of 4)

Scrap Book of Mormon Literature, Volume 2 (of 2). Religious Tracts (part 2 of 4)

Joseph Smith, the great latter-day prophet, announced to the world fifty years ago, that the fullness of the Gentiles would come in and Israel be restored to the lands of their inheritance in the same generation existing when he made the prediction; or, that there were persons then living who would not sleep in death until all should be fulfilled in relation to the covenant made with the house of Jacob. But it is not till now, when the tree is so plainly putting forth its buds, that some of the more orthodox Bible believers among the sects are beginning to observe the portentous character of the signs of the times.

The fulfilled predictions of Joseph Smith are very numerous. But we are only enabled in the present writing, to comparatively do little more than touch upon his prophetic character. A prophet "is a person illuminated, instructed, or inspired by God to announce future events." We have, we believe, succeeded in showing that such was the calling for which Joseph was divinely selected.

Among the subjects upon which Joseph Smith was called to exercise the prophetic gift was the wars that were, in this generation, to produce upon the earth, the most terrible scenes of destruction and carnage. We here present an extract from a revelation given Dec. 25th, 1832:

"Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place.

"For behold the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call upon other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they also shall call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations.

We presume our reader is aware that the first shot of the American war of the rebellion was fired in South Carolina, {220} and that during the progress of that fratricidal and bloody conflict, the Southern Confederacy sent Messrs. Mason and Slidell to the Court of St. James, with full powers to treat with the British Government to secure the aid of the latter in accomplishing the object of the secession from the Union of States. These are matters of history. These two representatives of the Confederacy were brought into more than ordinary notoriety by the fact of their having been taken, by federal authority, from the deck of a British vessel, but subsequently liberated on demand of the government of Great Britain.

The fact that Joseph Smith prophesied the breaking out of the American war, together with some striking details connected with it, twenty-nine years before its occurrence, cannot be denied, the prediction having been published to the world almost ever since it was enunciated. This stamps him as a foreteller of future events. As the declaration is given with such exactness, it could not have been the result of mere human ingenuity or foresight. In fact, so absent was the general anticipation of such a disaster that the production was treated with ridicule, contempt and scorn, as soon as published. From whence came Joseph's gift to foresee and foretell? It must have emanated from a power and intelligence greater than that naturally possessed by man. It is evident that his mind was illuminated by the God of Heaven.

The other portion of the prediction relating to Great Britain will also be fulfilled, as well as every word that has been uttered by the gift and power of the Most High. She will yet call upon other nations. The tocsin of war will sound and armed hosts will meet in the crash of battle, for war will be poured out upon all nations. This is the great day of preparation for the controversy of the Lord of Hosts with the inhabitants of the earth. Europe is alive with armed men. She is bristling with bayonets and fearful of the approach of the inevitable conflict.

Perplexity and distress already appear. These are but the beginning of sorrows. Knowing what is coming upon the earth, a day of calamity, we call upon all men and women to receive the message of the Gospel, restored to the earth in this generation, through the instrumentality of a prophet. We call upon all to repent, be baptized by one holding authority by immersion in water for the remission of sins, and receive the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands. We testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, that this is the will of God, manifested in these days, by revelation and commandment.

Liverpool, England, April 6th, 1880.

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THE GOSPEL OPENS COMMUNICATION WITH JEHOVAH.

Paragraphs from a sermon delivered by President John Taylor, June 12, 1853.

We contemplate with joy that the heavens have been opened, that truth has been revealed; and the power of God developed; that angels have manifested themselves, that the glory of the eternal world has been made known, and that we have been made participators in that light, glory, and intelligence which God has been pleased to reveal for the blessings, salvation and exaltation of the human family in this time and throughout all eternity.

We believe that God has set His hand in these last days to accomplish His purposes, to gather His elect from the four winds, even to fulfill the words which He has spoken by all the holy prophets, to redeem the earth from the power of the curse, to save the human family from the ruins of the fall, and to place mankind in that position which God designed them to occupy before this world came into existence, or the morning stars sang together for joy.

I know, that as other men, we have our trials, afflictions, sorrows and privations; we meet with difficulties; we have to contend with the world, with the powers of darkness, with the corruptions of men, and a variety of evils; yet, at the same time through these things we have to be made perfect. It is necessary that we should have a knowledge of ourselves, of our true position and standing before God, and comprehend our strength, our weakness, our ignorance and intelligence, our wisdom and our folly, that we may know how to appreciate true principles, and comprehend, and put a proper value upon all things as they present themselves before our minds. It is necessary that we should know our own weaknesses, and the weaknesses of our fellow-men; our own strength, as well as the strength of others; and comprehend {222} our true position before God, angels and men; that we may be inclined to treat all with due respect, and not to over-value our own wisdom or strength, nor deprecate it, nor that of others, but put our trust in the living God, and follow after Him, and realize that we are His children, and that He is our Father, and that our dependence is upon Him, and that every blessing we receive flows from His beneficent hand.

It was necessary when the Savior was upon the earth, that He should be tempted in all points, like unto us, and "be touched with the feeling of our infirmities," to comprehend the weaknesses and strength, the perfections of poor fallen human nature. And having accomplished the thing He came into the world to do; having had to grapple with hypocrisy, corruption, weakness, and imbecility of man; having met with temptation and trial in all its various forms, and overcome, He has become a "faithful High Priest" to intercede for us in the everlasting Kingdom of His Father. He knows how to estimate and put a proper value upon human nature, for He having been placed in the same position as we are, knows how to bear with our weaknesses and infirmities, and can fully comprehend the depth, power, and strength of the afflictions and trials that men have to cope with in this world, and thus understanding and by experience, He can bear with them as a father and an elder brother.

Confusion, disorder, weakness, corruption, and vice of every kind are abounding, and the whole world seems to be confused and retrograding. The human family have departed from the principles which God has laid down for their guidance, direction and support; they have forsaken Him the fountain of living waters, and hewn out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Have we united with this Church because we expect to become more honorable in the eyes of the world? No. I think this work would have been the last ship we should have boarded, if that had been what we sought.

Nothing but a sterling desire to do the will of God will cause men to endure the contumely and reproach of their fellow men, and associate themselves with the people denominated Latter-day Saints or "Mormons."

If I knew no other religion than the religions that are propagated abroad, I would not be a religious man at all, but I would lay it all aside, as something beneath my notice, and worship God as the great Supreme of the Universe, according to my own judgment, independent of the opinions of man, {223} and without having any regard to the ridiculous dogmas taught in the world.

We believe that angels have appeared, that the heavens have been opened. We believe in the eternal principles, in an eternal Gospel, an eternal Priesthood, in eternal communications and associations. Everything associated with the Gospel that we believe in is eternal.

If hell is a place of misery, and heaven a place of happiness, I want to know how to escape the one, and obtain the other. If I cannot know something about these things which are to come in the eternal world, I have no religion, I would not have any, I would not give a straw for it. It would be too low and groveling a consideration for a man of intelligence, in the absence of this knowledge. If there is a God, I want a religion that supplies some means of certain tangible communication with Him. If there is a heaven, I want to know what sort of a place it is. If there are angels, I want to know their nature, and their occupation, and of what they are composed. If I am an eternal being, I want to know what I am to do when I get through with time; whether I shall plant corn and hoe it, or be engaged in some other employment. I do not want any person to tell me about a heaven that is "beyond the bounds of time and space," a place that no person can possibly know anything about, or ever reach, if they did. I do not wish any person to frighten me nearly to death, by telling me about a hell where sinners are roasted upon gridirons, and tossed up by devils upon pitchforks, and other sharp-pointed instruments. These notions are traditionary, and have come from the old mother church.

I love to view the things around me; to gaze upon the sun, moon and stars; to study the planetary system, and the world we inhabit; to behold their beauty, order, harmony, and the operations of existence around me. I can see something more than that mean jargon, those childish quibbles, this heaven beyond the bounds of time and space, where they have nothing to do but sit and sing themselves away to everlasting bliss, or go and roast on gridirons. There is nothing like that to be found in nature--everything is beautifully harmonious, and perfectly adapted to the position it occupies in the world. Whether you look at birds, beasts, or the human system, you see something exquisitely beautiful and harmonious, and worthy of the contemplation of all intelligence. What is man's wisdom in comparison to it? I could not help but believe there was a God, if there was no such thing as religion in the world.

{224} If the Kingdoms of God were governed by the same confused order of things that are characteristic of the governments of this world, we would have had planet dashing against planet in wild confusion, and millions of their inhabitants sent to desolation in a moment.

Man is an intelligent being, but how far does his intelligence fall short of that which regulates the world! He cannot even govern himself, he never was able to do it, and never will be able until he receives that wisdom and intelligence which comes from God. If every man can obtain intelligence of that kind, and from that source, which governs the world, and supplies all its wants; if he can receive it from God, as his instructor, he is then able to govern himself, possessing intelligence which he now knows nothing about; and intelligence which indeed is worthy of God and man. If I cannot have a portion of that intelligence and that wisdom, if the great Eloheim cannot impart a portion of that spirit to me, and teach me the same lessons that He understands, I want nothing to do with a system of theology at all.

I believe in every true principle that is imbibed by any person or sect, and reject the false. If there is any truth in heaven, earth, or hell, I want to embrace it, I care not what shape it comes in to me, who brings it or who believes in it, whether it is popular or unpopular. Truth, eternal truth, I wish to float in and enjoy.

If any man under the heavens can show me one principle of error that I have entertained, I will lay it aside forthwith, and be thankful for the information. On the other hand, if any man has got any principle of truth, whether moral, religious, philosophical, or of any other kind, that is calculated to benefit mankind, I will promise him I will embrace it, but I will not partake of his errors along with it.

If you have got a thing that nobody can overturn, but can be sustained everywhere; that bids defiance to the wisdom and intelligence of the world to find one fault in it, you must say it is right, until it is proven to be wrong.

If I have got principles which are out of the power of man to prove false, I consider they are right, and I stand upon them as a sure foundation.

The world is confused, it is in darkness and ignorance, and knows nothing about God, His purposes, designs, or the object of His creations. God knows how to touch my understanding, and how to touch theirs; and if they live and die without a knowledge of God, and His law, we are told that they will be judged according to the light they have, and not {225} according to that they have not. Those that have lived without law, will be judged without law.

If a man cannot stand up in the defense of truth, to the death, it is not worth having, and he is not a man who is acknowledged or considered worthy among the Saints.

Those who have received pure and heavenly principles, and lived up to them, and kept the celestial law of God, will enjoy a celestial Kingdom. Those who have not attained to this perfection but can obey a terrestrial law, will receive a terrestrial glory, and enjoy a terrestrial Kingdom, and so on. But I believe, furthermore, that there are eternal grades of progression, which will continue worlds without end, and to an infinity of enjoyment, expansion, glory, progression, and of everything calculated to ennoble and exalt mankind.

"Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world anxious to bless the whole human race."

--Joseph Smith, The Prophet.

"If we are here by chance, if we happened to slip into this world from nothing, we shall soon slip out of this world to nothing; hence nothing will remain."

--Brigham Young.

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A WORD OF ADVICE.

By Elder P. P. Pratt, in Millenial Star, 1846.

As the Elders and others in the Kingdom of God go forth in the discharge of their duties, in proclaiming the word of the Lord and in administering in the ordinances of the Kingdom of God, they will doubtless find the enemy always on the alert to ensnare them if possible and bring them and their mission into contempt. There will be found a great need for wisdom on all occasions, that the enemy may not gain the advantage over them.

In the first place we would advise the Elder, or whatever else he may be, never to lose sight of his high calling of God in Jesus Christ--never to forget the authority of that portion of the Priesthood which has been conferred upon him. We do not give this advice in order that the brother might be puffed up with the idea of the dignity of his calling, by no means; neither will the contemplation of it produce that effect, for inasmuch as we are called of God according to the order of His Kingdom, therefore, we of ourselves have not assumed the office which we hold, neither do we usurp an authority to which we have no legal claim; and since it is entirely of the Lord and not of ourselves, we shall be led to glorify Him and look for the assistance of His spirit in discharging the varied duties of the same.

But now if an officer of the Church be brought into contact with some one opposed to the work of the Lord, and he forgets his Priesthood and calling, what is the result? He is left to his own resources as an individual, which in many cases may not equal those of his adversary, and thus he may suffer an apparent defeat in the eyes of others, and the influence of the principles of truth may be lessened thereby.

In our own experience with the ministers of the day, we have found them very desirous of evading the great first principles of salvation, by calling for evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon, which were we to furnish, as might be done, both with regard to internal and external evidence, as well as the researches of travelers accumulating a mass of {227} proof as abundant as can be brought in testimony of anything, yet it would be deemed insufficient. And why? We answer, because spiritual things are spiritually discerned; and as no man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him, even so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. And inasmuch as the Book of Mormon is a divine record, so assuredly would the individual be unable to discern the same. But he might reply that he believed the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and was satisfied with the evidence adduced in their favor; yes, and so would he have believed in the Book of Mormon had it been in existence with him and he had been taught to reverence it in a manner similar to the Bible; or we would carry it farther and say, had the person's lot been cast in Turkey, he would have grown up in a full belief in the authenticity of the Koran of Mahomet. But it is not such an evidence as this that can give satisfaction to the Saint of God. Multitudes express their belief and full confidence that Jesus was the Savior of men, but it is a conviction that has been instilled into the mind in early youth, and has grown with their growth; yet still it is not an evidence that will satisfy a child of God.

We read that no man can say that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost, and on the same principle no man can speak as to the true nature of the Scriptures, Book of Mormon, or any other sacred record, but on the same principle; we might therefore reason with persons until doomsday, who are not in the covenant, and yet fail to convince them.

We see then the absurdity of being led into a snare of this kind; it is neither more nor less than this, as it were laying aside our Priesthood and the duties of it, to endeavor by our own abilities to convince a man that we hold before him the light of truth, at the same time that he has no organs of vision to discern it.

But there is a ground on which the servant of the Lord can stand securely; he can speak of the alienated condition of mankind, he can teach the great law of adoption into the Kingdom of God, and he can bear a faithful testimony of the reality of Christianity and of the signs following the believer. He may enlarge on his knowledge of the Scripture by the reception of that spirit by which alone the truth can be known, and if he be successful in securing obedience to the first principles of truth, the work will be accomplished with regard to establishing the truth of the Book of Mormon, as well as every other portion of sacred writ.

We have not made these remarks because evidence cannot {228} be adduced, but to show the irrationality of endeavoring to make a man see without eyes, or in other words, without the capability of discerning truth when placed before him.

Let, therefore, every servant of the Lord bear with him at all times a consciousness of his Priesthood and calling, and when he is so circumstanced as to find it of no avail, his labor in that quarter is finished; for if he be not successful in the discharge of his legitimate authority and duty, it will be utterly in vain to seek to effect conviction in any mind by falling back upon his own acquired resources.

If we know anything of our own assurance we would most assuredly say that the power by which success is accomplished is to be found in connection with a proclamation of the fullness of the Gospel. Christianity has been presented to mankind as a mere speculative theory, without the power of godliness accompanying it, and when on the contrary it is presented in all its glorious fullness and reality to the honest-hearted, it becomes an agency of power which will either prove effective, or it will be in vain to resort to other means.

Let individuals but conceive for once the glorious reality of truth, stripped of every mixture of error, and they will turn in disgust from the mere theoretical and heartless system with which beforetime they may have been associated.

We do not think it will be out of place here to give a word of caution, though we have frequently done it before, in relation to the exercise of wisdom in all the public labors of the servants of the Lord.

Let them watch narrowly that Satan deceives them not by causing them to lose sight of the object of their mission and calling in the proclamation of salvation, and leading them to enlarge and dilate upon the erroneous systems of the day. Perhaps there is no habit in which the servant of the Lord becomes so blinded as this when he has once indulged in it.

The absurdities in connection with modern creeds and systems are so numerous that they appear apparently endless in the contemplation, and if the devil can so far deceive a person as to lead him to forget the Gospel and turn his attention to them, he will take their attention, then he will take care that he lacks not for matter on the subject. There is nothing to be accomplished by such a mode of proceeding, save to exasperate the feelings of individuals, and prevent them from receiving at our hands the word of life which we have to offer.

We make these remarks as cautionary to all, and when we call to mind, as the result of our own experience, the individuals {229} who were the most prone to indulge in such a course, we find them now ranked among the apostates from the truth; and as their spirit at that time was to destroy rather than to build up, so it is with them now, and they will seek to overthrow the Kingdom of God with as much zest as they once labored to overthrow the varied systems around them.

But it may be asked, have we not in the Christian warfare, power to pull down the strongholds of sin and Satan? Truly we have; but how is it most effectively accomplished? We answer by the establishment of the principles of truth, by exhibiting the glorious Gospel of salvation, and until the hearers themselves shall appreciate its truth and beauty and turn in disgust from the deformity of those systems with which they have been connected.

Let us draw a parallel case: We know that the Kingdom of God in these last days shall be established, that it shall be built up and never come to an end; but while conscious of this important fact, would it be our business to go to every court in Europe or the world and decant upon the evils of their various governments, and that in consequence of the false principles upon which they are based, they must come to destruction; certainly wisdom would not dictate such a course, but instead thereof, let us who have embraced truth seek to build up the Kingdom by a proclamation of those principles which shall fit men to become citizens of the same, and teaching the great principle of gathering, that they may be delivered from judgment, and in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem find salvation therefrom.

There is an honor, a dignity, and a responsibility connected with the Priesthood which we would wish should never be forgotten; it is nothing less than to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ and when successful in that embassy the reward shall be to shine as the stars in the firmament and as the sun forever and forever.

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A PROPHET OF LATTER DAYS.

BY ELDER EDWIN F. PARRY, LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

A GLORIOUS THOUGHT.

Would it not be joyful news to the seeker after truth to be assured that a prophet had been raised up in latter days? How glorious would be the thought that the Lord had again spoken from heaven! The direct word of God to man in this age ought to be sufficient to settle all disputes concerning the way of salvation.

SHOULD PROPHETS BE EXPECTED IN OUR DAY?

Is it in accordance with scripture to expect prophets to come in these latter days? Let us search the scriptures and learn what they teach.

GOD'S WORD INDICATES THAT A PROPHET SHOULD COME.

The Bible is a record of God's dealings with His prophets in past ages. It shows that He always raised up such men whenever He intended to perform any special work among mankind. One of the ancient prophets declared:

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3: 7)

The whole book of divine scripture confirms these words of Amos. Whenever it mentions an important event in the world's history it speaks of a prophet in connection with it.

PROPHETS SENT TO ANNOUNCE ALL IMPORTANT EVENTS

Before destroying the earth with a flood the Lord sent Noah to cry repentance unto the people, that they might escape destruction if they would obey him. In all following ages of which the Bible speaks to the Lord sent prophets to warn the people before He brought destruction upon them. The Savior says,

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But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24: 37).

This being true we are to expect that some prophet will be sent to warn the world of the destruction of the wicked. That the wicked will be destroyed at that time is evident. St. Paul says that when the Savior comes He will take "vengeance upon them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thessalonians 1:8).

POSITIVE PROMISE OF THE LORD TO SEND A MESSENGER.

The Prophet Malachi, speaking in the name of the Lord, says:

Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple." (Malachi 3:1).

This is another proof that a divine messenger is to be sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. That this passage does not refer to His first coming is shown by the following verse, which reads,

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap." (Malachi 3: 2).

NECESSITY OF PROPHETS AND APOSTLES IN THE CHURCH.

The words of Jesus show that inspired prophets and apostles are necessary in His Church. He commanded His disciples in these words,

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU." (Matthew 28: 19, 20).

If all things whatsoever Jesus commanded are to be taught today how can one teach them unless he be inspired of God? It needs a prophet to reveal these things anew to mankind, for the Bible does not contain ALL the teachings and doings of the Savior. St. John in speaking of the doings of Jesus, says that "even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." (John 21: 25).

CHURCH FOUNDED UPON PROPHETS AND APOSTLES.

The Apostle Paul gives us to understand that Christ's church is founded upon apostles and prophets:

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are {232} BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE." (Ephesians 2: 19, 20).

POWER GIVEN APOSTLES AND PROPHETS.

Apostles and prophets in olden times were men who received power from the Lord to act in His name.

"And when he called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." (Matthew 10: 1).

"Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18: 18).

They were also men who "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter 1: 21).

OBJECT OF INSPIRED MEN IN THE CHURCH.

St. Paul tells why apostles and prophets and other officers are in the Church.

"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: . . that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Ephesians 4: 12, 14).

HOW LONG THEY SHOULD REMAIN.

He shows plainly that these inspired officers should remain in the Church of Christ "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God." (Ephesians 4: 13). As that condition has not yet been attained, there is still need of apostles and prophets to bring mankind to the "unity of the faith." This desirable state cannot be brought about without living apostles and prophets, who are inspired of God. People are divided in their opinions about the meaning of many things written by ancient apostles and prophets, and they will not unite without receiving new revelation to enlighten them. Some may be led to think prophets are no longer needed in the Church because of the words of Paul:

"Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail. . . For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (I Corinthians 13: 8, 9, 10).

The time he speaks of, "when that which is perfect is come," has not yet arrived. When it does come prophecies may fail or be "done away;" but that time will be when "they {233} shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 31: 34; Hebrews 8: 11).

IS THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE FULL?

The following words of St. John are supposed by some to imply that no more revelation is to be given:

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. (Revelation 22: 18).

The apostle here only warns man against adding to the words of the prophecy of his book. He says nothing about the Bible as a whole; nor does he say that God will not add any more revelations to His word.

WITHOUT MODERN REVELATION BIBLE PROPHECIES CANNOT BE FULFILLED.

The Bible contains many predictions concerning marvelous events to take place in latter days, just before or at the time of the second coming of Christ.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is to be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. (Matthew 24: 14; Revelation 14: 6).

The Lord's elect is to be gathered from the uttermost parts of the earth. (Mark 13: 27; Isaiah 11: 11, 12).

The house of the Lord is to be established in the top of the mountains. (Isaiah 2: 2, 3; Micah 4: 1, 2).

The Lord is to set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor left to other people. (Daniel 2: 44).

The gifts of the gospel as enjoyed in the days of Christ's former apostles are to be restored. (Isaiah 35: 5, 6).

According to the ancient predictions, many other great things are to take place in latter days. But how can they be accomplished unless the Lord directs what is to be done by revealing "His secret unto His servants the prophets," and by sending His messenger to "prepare the way" before Him?

Sufficient proof has been given to show that apostles and prophets should be in the Church of Christ, and that we should expect prophets to be raised up by the Lord in these latter days.

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TREATMENT OF PROPHETS IN PAST AGES.

The scriptures furnish abundant evidence to prove another peculiar fact respecting the Lord's holy prophets. That is, they have always been misunderstood, reviled, persecuted and spoken evil of. Jesus says to His disciples,

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. . . . FOR SO PERSECUTED THEY THE PROPHETS WHICH WERE BEFORE YOU." (Matthew 5: 11, 12).

Our Savior Himself met with the same kind of treatment. He is spoken of as a "stumbling stone and rock of offense."

JESUS A STUMBLING STONE.

The Gospel narrative as given by the four evangelists, shows very clearly that He was indeed a stumbling stone to the Jewish nation. He did mighty miracles before their eyes. They were in possession of the prophecies concerning His coming and ministry; but He did not fulfill their preconceived and erroneous ideas of what they expected of Him, and so they refused to accept Him as their Redeemer.

MANY PROPHETS REJECTED.

The Prophet Noah was rejected by all in his day except his own family. His message, no doubt, was regarded as a very strange and extraordinary one. It was hard to accept. No such thing as a flood covering the entire earth was known up to that time, and how could they accept his warning only through simple faith?

When Moses, under the direction of the Lord, undertook to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt the people whom he was sent to deliver murmured against him, notwithstanding the Lord performed such mighty wonders in their behalf.

When Jeremiah and Ezekiel predicted the downfall of Jerusalem in their day they were not believed. The historian Josephus says that Zedekiah, the king, refused to believe the prophets because Jeremiah foretold that he, the king, should be taken captive to Babylon, while Ezekiel said he should not see Babylon. These two prophecies seemed to disagree, so Zedekiah made this apparent disagreement an excuse for not believing either of the two prophets. Yet they were both correct in their utterances. The king was taken to Babylon, but he never saw the city, for his eyes were put out before he arrived there.

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PERSECUTION TO FOLLOW ALL INSPIRED TEACHERS.

The words of Jesus to His disciples about the prophets before them being persecuted convey the idea that those who should follow would get the same reception.

"If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." (John 15: 20).

So says the Savior to His apostles; and so it was. They were persecuted and put to death. It is reasonable to believe that other prophets might be treated in a similar manner. If it is to be as in the days of Noah at the time of the coming of the Son of man, then we may expect that the great majority of mankind will reject the message of salvation proclaimed to them by the prophets which the Lord will send.

CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM SCRIPTURES QUOTED.

The scriptures pointed out in the foregoing clearly show these facts:

1. THAT PROPHETS ARE SENT BY THE LORD TO ANNOUNCE ALL IMPORTANT EVENTS CONNECTED WITH HIS PURPOSES.

2. THAT A PROPHET SHOULD BE RAISED UP IN LATTER DAYS TO PREPARE FOR CHRIST'S SECOND COMING.

3. THAT APOSTLES AND PROPHETS ARE ALWAYS NECESSARY IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

4. THAT THE TRUE CHURCH IS BUILT UPON APOSTLES AND PROPHETS.

5. THAT THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE WAS NOT COMPLETED IN FORMER DAYS.

6. THAT WITHOUT NEW REVELATION THE BIBLE PROPHECIES CANNOT BE FULFILLED

7. THAT IN ALL PAST AGES PROPHETS HAVE BEEN PERSECUTED.

WAS JOSEPH SMITH A PROPHET?

TESTIMONY OF HIS WORKS.

The passages of scripture already given prove beyond question that a prophet is to be raised up to prepare the way before the coming of the Lord. If the Bible prophecies are to be fulfilled we are certainly justified in believing that this should be the case.

So far as known only one man of the nineteenth century claimed to be the inspired messenger sent to prepare the way {236} of the Lord. His name was Joseph Smith. He was born on the 23rd day of December, 1805, in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, (U. S. A.)

JUDGING BY THE FRUITS.

Let us test the claims he made by the teachings of the scriptures, and see if they are worthy of acceptance.

"Beware of false prophets," says the Savior; then He adds, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. . . A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." (Matthew 7: 15, 16, 18).

This test which the Savior gives is a good one to be guided by.

JOSEPH SMITH'S CLAIM.

Joseph Smith claimed that when between fourteen and fifteen years of age, while praying for religious guidance, he had a vision in which he saw both God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He described them as two glorious personages in the form of man and exactly resembling each other in features. They told him that all religious denominations at that time were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His church and kingdom; and they promised that the fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known unto him.

HIS CLAIM COMPARED WITH SCRIPTURE.

There is nothing contrary to scripture in this claim. That God is a personage in form like a man harmonizes with what the Bible says:

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1: 27).

That Jesus Christ was in feature like His Father is stated by St. Paul:

"Being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." (Hebrews 1: 3).

That holy beings appear to men is also scriptural. The Savior appeared to Paul. (Acts 22: 6-11). Cornelius saw in vision an angel of God. (Acts 10: 1-6).

That the various churches of the day were believing incorrect doctrine and were not acceptable unto the Lord, is also {237} apparent when their teachings are compared with the doctrines of the Bible. [1]

PREDICTIONS THAT THE GOSPEL SHOULD BE RESTORED.

That the fullness of the Gospel should be restored to the earth in latter days is predicted in the scriptures. When Jesus was asked by His disciples what should be the sign of His second coming, and of the end of the world, He replied

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24: 14).

The Apostle John in reference to events that should take place in latter days, says:

"And 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." (Revelation 14: 6, 7).

The Prophet Daniel foretells that the kingdom of God shall be set up "in the latter days." He says,

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2: 44).

The Prophet Isaiah predicts that the Gospel blessings shall be enjoyed in the last days, when the house of Israel is to be gathered. If the miraculous blessings of the Gospel are restored then it will be evident that the fullness of the Gospel will be also be restored. Isaiah says concerning the time when "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads:"

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." (Isaiah 35: 5, 6).

Speaking of what the Lord will do when Israel is gathered in the latter days, Jeremiah records these the Lord's words:

"I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3: 15).

If pastors according to the Lord's heart are to feed the people with knowledge and understanding, they will surely reveal {238} to the people the true Gospel of Christ. That these scriptural passages have reference to the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel in latter days will be made more plainly apparent as we proceed, and show their actual fulfillment.

JOSEPH SMITH TREATED THE SAME AS ANCIENT PROPHETS.

As soon as Joseph Smith made known what he had seen in this vision, he was ridiculed, reviled and persecuted. This persecution and manifestation of hatred towards him continued throughout his life. Being only fourteen years of age when it commenced it certainly could not have been because of any wrong he had done. As with the Savior, he was hated without a cause, and in fulfillment of the words of Jesus, he was persecuted for righteousness' sake. This treatment given him is of itself an outward proof that he was an inspired man.

ACCOUNT OF SOME OF HIS WORKS.

Some years later this young man received other visions and instructions, an account of which is herewith given in his own language:

"On the evening of the 21st of September, A. D., 1823, while I was praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of scripture, on a sudden, a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance arid brightness, burst into the room: indeed the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire. The appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body. In a moment a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel in all its fullness, to be preached in power unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign.

"I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.

"I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people was made known unto me. I was also told where there were deposited some plates, on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the same night, and unfolded the same things. After having received many visits from the angels of God, unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should transpire in the {239} last days, on the morning of the 22nd of September, A. D., 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records into my hands.

"These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not quite as thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called 'Urim and Thummim,' which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.

"Through the medium of the 'Urim and Thummim' I translated the record, by the gift and power of God.

"In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the tower of Babel at the confusion of languages, to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times had been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His resurrection, that He planted the gospel here in all its fullness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists; the same order, the same Priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers and blessings as were enjoyed on the eastern continent; that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions; that the last of their prophets who existed among them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, etc., and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should come forth and be united with the Bible for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular account I would refer to the Book of Mormon.

"As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, false reports, mis-representations and slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in every direction; the house was frequently beset by mobs and evil designing persons. Several times I was shot at, and very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the plates away from me, but the power and blessing of God attended me, and several began to believe my testimony.

"On the 6th of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, State of New York. Some few were called and ordained by the spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and, though weak, they were strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the {240} laying on of hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying on of hands."

BIBLE PROPHECIES FULFILLED.

The statements in the foregoing quotation are all in harmony with Bible prophecies.

First.--That an angel should come in latter days to restore the everlasting Gospel to the earth is foretold in the passage already quoted from the writings of St. John. (Revelation 14: 6, 7).

Second.--That a preparatory work should be done before the second coming of the Messiah is evident from the Savior's words. (Matthew 24: 14, 31).

Third.--That a chosen messenger should be sent of the Lord to prepare His way before His second coming is predicted by an ancient prophet. (Malachi 3: 1).

Fourth.--That a favored people of the Lord, aside from the Jews, dwelt upon the earth in the days of the Savior, is to be inferred from the Bible. The Savior said to His disciples:

"Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10: 16).

It is believed by some that the "other sheep" Christ mentioned were the Gentiles that accepted the Gospel through the teachings of His Apostles. This cannot be His meaning, for He had no "other sheep" among the Gentiles, for none of them, of which there is any record, believed at that time. He also said: "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15: 24). There is no account of Him going to visit the heathen, or of the latter hearing His voice.

The remarkable volume known as the Book of Mormon gives an account of the Savior's visit to the "other sheep" which He declared should hear His voice.

Fifth.--That the record of this chosen people of the western world shall be joined with that of the Jews, is alluded to by Ezekiel in the following language:

"Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel His companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? Say {241} unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. (Ezekiel 37: 16-20).

In ancient times writings were rolled upon sticks and a record received the name "stick." The Bible is a record of the Jews, or Judah and his companions, while the Book of Mormon is a record of the descendants of Joseph. Since the latter book has been brought to light the two have practically become one in the hands of the Lord. Proofs that the Book of Mormon is authentic and divine will be given in another chapter.

Sixth.--The sacred instruments called the Urim and Thummim, which Joseph Smith says he used in the translation of the ancient writings, are named in the scriptures. (Exodus 28: 30). That they were used for the purpose of getting information from a divine source is also evident from the Bible. (Numbers 27: 21; I Samuel 28: 6). The scriptures mention them as being connected with a breastplate. (Leviticus 8: 8).

CHURCH ORGANIZATION THE SAME AS FORMERLY.

Seventh.--The character of the church which the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to organize is strictly in harmony with the church of Christ of former days. It was established by revelation from God, as Jesus said He would build His church when He declared to Peter,

"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." (Matthew 16: 17, 18).

"This rock," mentioned in the above quotation refers to the principle of revelation by which Peter knew Jesus was the Son of God.

Further in harmony with the description of the church of Christ as contained in the Bible this latter-day church was "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," with Jesus Christ as the "chief corner stone," (Ephesians 2: 20): for the Lord revealed anew to Joseph Smith that there should be "first apostles, secondarily prophets," etc., as described by Paul (1 Corinthians 12: 28). Besides this, as Joseph Smith testifies, those who were called to assist him in the ministry {242} were "called and ordained by the spirit of revelation and prophecy," as men were anciently. (Acts 13: 1-3; 14: 23; Hebrews 5: 4).

SAME DOCTRINES AS IN FORMER DAYS.

Those who believed in the Gospel as taught by this latter-day prophet, were called upon to repent of their sins, then they were immersed in the water, or baptized, and "were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands." Those who complied with the requirements which Joseph Smith said were necessary in order to enter into the Church of Christ, received the Holy Ghost under his administration. This fact is indisputable evidence that he was authorized of God. It also shows that his teachings were just the same as those of the former apostles, for they taught the same order of principles of initiation into the church of Christ. (Acts 2: 38; Hebrews 6: 1, 2).

THE HOLY GHOST RECEIVED.

It may be asked, what proof can be given that those who obey the ordinances of the Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith receive the Holy Ghost. In answer it can be said that they enjoy the promised blessings or fruits of the Spirit. They receive a knowledge that the doctrine is of God, as promised by the Savior.

"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7: 16, 17).

St Paul says,

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (Galatians 5: 22, 23).

All these blessings they also partake of.

HOW TO OBTAIN PROOF.

Anyone who desires to be assured that these blessings are enjoyed as claimed can satisfy himself by obeying the same doctrines in humility, and receiving the same blessings; for as the Apostle Peter declared,

"The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2: 39).

{243}

No stronger proof of the fact can be received than that of actual experience. This evidence is within reach of all that are sincere in their inquiries and desirous of learning the truth.

OUTWARD PROOFS.

As outward proof that the Holy Ghost is received by those who obey the ordinances of the Gospel as advocated by Joseph Smith and by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they enjoy the spiritual gifts promised to the believers.

As Joseph Smith states, after the Church was organized its members "saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying on of hands." These gifts were promised by Christ as signs following the believers, (Mark 16: 17, 18); and St. Paul says they were in the church in the days of the apostles. (I Corinthians 12).

As evidence that the miraculous gifts of the Gospel are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the following testimonies given by persons who have recently witnessed or experienced the gifts are inserted. They are only a few among the many hundreds that might be offered if space would allow.

TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES.

The following letter was addressed to the editor of the Millennial Star, a Latter-day Saint magazine, published at 42 Islington, Liverpool, England:

"With pleasure I write to inform you that through the administration of Elders C. Measom and G. II. Meadows, on Sunday, March 7, 1897, and by the power of God after being confined to my bed for two years suffering greatly with pains in my head, etc., I was enabled to get up and walk into the next room, where I partook of refreshments and sat up for six hours. I have been free from pain since the pain left me, which was before their hands were removed from my head. I am fifty-one years of age, and have been brought up in the Church of England. Since the Elders named came to labor in this district, I have had frequent conversations with them, which, with the loan of books, has enabled me to have faith to believe that God would use them as His instruments for my recovery. I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but hope to be so shortly.

Yours respectfully,

"Mrs. E. Bond."

Castle Hill, Warwick, March 9, 1897.

The subjoined article is a testimony from outside the Church, impartial and unimpeachable. It appears in the Zanesville, O., Daily Signal of December 20th, 1897, under the caption "A Modern Miracle."

{244} "Mr. Matthew Gray of the seventh ward is perhaps the happiest person in Zanesville to-day; so he seemed, at least, when seen at his pleasant Abington Avenue home by a Signal representative at an early hour this morning.

"And, too, there is nothing strange or remarkable about Mr. Gray's happiness, though it was the result of one of the strangest and most remarkable faith tests ever enacted in this city; and the story of Mr. Gray's miraculous cure of a relentless affliction will be read with much interest.

"In October, three years ago, Matthew Gray was stricken with paralysis, the terrible disease affecting his entire left side. For a year to the month Mr. Gray was able to walk with the help of crutches, but during the following October, two years ago, he was the recipient of a second stroke of paralysis, and from that time until yesterday Mr. Gray had been deprived of all use of his left side, the entire left portion of his body being apparently dead, his left arm being limp and palsied at his side and his left foot and leg were in the same inanimate condition.

"Such, in brief, has been Matthew Gray's condition for more than three years, and two years of that time he has either sat helplessly in his large arm chair or has lain in bed seemingly waiting for the death angel to relieve him of his suffering.

"Last Thursday two visitors, peculiarly clad, knocked at the Gray homestead and were granted admission to the afflicted man's chamber. These visitors were two Mormon Elders who have been in Zanesville for the past few weeks, and whose mission to the Clay city has been regarded with only passing interest. . . . .

"Now for the interesting part of the story, related to a Signal reporter by Mr. Gray himself, and given as near as possible in his own words:

"'Last Friday four Mormon Elders called at my home here. They were very genteel in appearance and actions and asked me if I wouldn't like to look over some of their tracts, etc., and also asked me if I would not let them cure me by faith. I consented and they impressed upon me very strongly that I should not have faith in them but should place all my faith in God as it was through Him and not them that my cure would be accomplished. This liberal statement on their part and their own sincerity aided me materially, for I always knew that God alone could cure me, and, do you know, I have always thought that God would cure me.

"'As I said before, I consented and they set Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock for the time of holding the meeting, and additionally stated that from then, Friday morning, until after the faith meeting they would not eat anything, as a period of fasting seemed necessary.

"'Sunday afternoon, or yesterday afternoon, at 2 o'clock the four Elders came here to my home and after repeatedly instructing me to put my faith in God they knelt at my bedside in prayer, my wife being the sixth occupant of the room.

"'Following this first prayer, and while I was sitting here in my big arm chair, one of the Elders liberally anointed my head with oil--sacred oil--and after that was done they formed a circle around my chair, each one placing his right hand on my head and all placed their left hands on each other's shoulders. I had perfect faith in all that they were doing, and, while each of the four Elders earnestly {245} prayed, I, too, bent my head in reverence and appealed with all the faith at my command to God for deliverance from my affliction.

"'Finally they concluded and one of the Elders commanded me to walk. All at once I became possessed of an almost superhuman desire to get up and walk, and when I tried to, after my muscles quivered for a brief instant, I raised my left arm and then stood up. I took a step and found I could move my left leg. I took another step and walked out into the kitchen and back. After awhile I made the round trip to the kitchen again and while on the third trip, my left ankle turned slightly and I sat down.

"'While I am profusely thankful to the four Elders for the interest that they manifested in my case, I want it distinctly understood that I look to God as my deliverer and not to them.'

"When seen by the Signal representative this morning, Mr. Gray was sitting in his big arm chair with his left foot in a bucket of hot water--a household remedy for sprains. To illustrate the extent of his cure the happy gentleman shook hands with the writer, using first his right hand and next his left hand, and the latter member, which for three years had remained dead almost at his side, contained a strong and hearty grip. Many times he raised his left arm above his head and waved it to and fro to illustrate the positive use he had of the member, and while relating the above experience he gesticulated as freely with his left arm as with the right. Many times he lifted the left foot from the water without any apparent effort and accompanied the pleasant movement with a smile almost glorious in its extent and meaning.

"Matthew Gray is a well-known citizen of Zanesville. He was born and raised in Muskingham County and he and his good wife have reared a family of ten children, all but one of whom reside in the county."

Edward F. Turley, one of the Latter-day Saint Elders who administered to Mr. Gray, relates the circumstances of the remarkable healing in a letter to the Deseret News, written from Zanesville, Ohio, on December 20, 1897. His version is as follows:

"Last Thursday while out tracting I met a lady very much opposed to us. Among other things, she said: 'If you people have power to heal the sick as you claim, why don't you heal this man next door, who has been an invalid for twenty-nine months. He hasn't been on his feet for that length of time.' I said to the person that the signs followed the believers to-day as much as anciently.

"I called on this gentleman, Matthew Gray, who has been an invalid for twenty-nine months. I asked him if he had faith enough to believe that he could be healed by the power of God. 'Yes,' said he. I told him we would be there on Sunday at 2 p.m. We called according to appointment. Less than three minutes after the administration he commenced shaking. His whole frame shook. He commenced rising up in his chair. His wife then threw her arms around him and they both shouted: 'Bless the Lord. The Savior has come! I know these are the servants of the Lord.' Father, mother and a grown daughter were so overjoyed that they wept. The man walked into the kitchen three times. For twenty-nine months his entire left {246} side had been paralyzed. The three persons bore testimony that this was the first time their father had walked for twenty-nine months."

The Deseret News, a paper issued in Salt Lake City, Utah, of February 24, 1898, publishes a letter, written by a United States soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The writer's name is Arthur M. Swigart. His letter is dated February 9, 1898, and reads as follows:

"While living in Denver I had the fortune to become acquainted with some of the Saints there. After being thoroughly convinced of the authenticity of the Gospel as taught by them, I made application for baptism, but before the day appointed for this ordinance to take place I threw my left knee out of joint and fractured my knee cap. I was a soldier at the time and was taken to the government hospital, where I spent nine weeks, and was pronounced a cripple for life by Major Munn, surgeon U.S.A. On the second day of July, 1897, I was baptized by Elder H. S. Ensign, and when I came up from the water I was a sound man; and on December 16, 1897, I stood the examination at the recruiting office at Evansville, Indiana, and am again in the service of the United States.

"If you deem my testimony worthy of publication and think by it some may be led to investigate the truths of our precious Gospel, please publish it."

Below is an extract from a letter written by Henry Coulam, a Latter-day Saint missionary who was at the time of writing (December 1, 1896), in Bradford, Yorkshire, England:

"While laboring in Keighly last winter, and going with tracts from house to house, I came to a lady standing outside by the door. She asked me if I had something good. I answered, Yes, at the same time giving her a tract entitled 'The Only Way to be Saved.' I then commenced to talk to her about the Gospel, and of its restoration with its gifts and blessings. She invited me into the house, where I found her two daughters, one of whom, a young lady of about seventeen years, was lying in bed, and had been home from her work two weeks.

"The mother said to me, 'Mr., I want you to lay hands on my girl: I do not want to lose her.'

"I told her that the signs were for those who believed, and explained more fully to her the Gospel and its blessings for those who lived up to its blessings.

"She replied, 'Mr., I know you have the authority and if you will administer to my daughter, she will get better.'

"After talking further to her and seeing that she was sincere, I turned to the daughter and asked her if she had faith and wished me to administer to her.

"'Yes,' she answered.

"I went back to my lodgings, got a bottle of consecrated oil and returned to the house. The mother and I knelt down by the bed and I offered a short prayer, after which I anointed the daughter with oil, and rebuked the disease.

{247} "In four days from that time, the young lady went to her work, and has continued to do so."

Elder C. L. Galbraith, another Latter-day Saint missionary, writing from South Shields, June 3, 1897, relates a case of healing by the power of the Lord:

"Not long since I was in Sunderland attending our meetings which we hold every Sunday afternoon and evening. After the first meeting I walked to Ryhope, where I partook of a meal with a friend. On my return in company with some members of the Church we passed by an aged sister's home. After we had passed the house I said to those with me, 'I feel like I should have called in to see Sister Chalder, but we have not time.'

"We continued on some distance when I again felt impressed more strongly than before to return. I turned to the brethren who were with me and said, 'We must go back.'

"We turned and did so. On entering we found Sister Chalder lying in bed and very sick indeed; in fact those present thought her time had come, as she is far past the appointed lease of life. When she recognized us her countenance brightened and she endeavored to speak to us. Her voice was very weak, and we had to draw near to her in order to distinguish what she said.

"'I am so glad you have come!' she repeated, 'I have been praying to God that you might come, that I might be healed.'

"Those present with the old lady did not believe as we do. The gentleman, whose name was Woodruff, said, 'I do not believe in the ordinance of laying on hands for the healing of the sick.'

"I told him to remain and see whether God would not keep His promise wherein He said by the mouth of His Apostle James: 'Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.' (James 5: 14, 15).

"After the ordinance Sister Chalder raised up and said she was better.

"Mr. Woodruff said, 'This is my first time to see anything like that.'

"He was as white as a corpse. To-day he is a living testimony that she was healed. So did all present say they knew it was the power of God made manifest."

Thousands of other miracles have been witnessed by those who have obeyed the Gospel. The blind have received their sight, the dumb have been made to speak, the deaf have had their hearing restored, and the sick have been healed of all manner of diseases. In short, all the promises made by the Savior to the believers have been realized by the Latter-day Saints as fully as they were by the former-day Saints. To these facts there are thousands of living witnesses to-day. Many of those who have witnessed these manifestations of God's goodness, and many others who have received them, {248} have had their testimonies published to the world, and there are many such testimonies on record in the printed literature of the Church.

ANCIENT PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED.

Some five months after the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation from the Lord which among other things declared:

"And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts; wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked; for the hour is nigh, and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe: and all the proud, and they that do wickedly, shall be as stubble, and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth."

THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL.

The gathering of Israel in the last days is predicted by many of the ancient prophets. Jeremiah records these words of the Lord:

"I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3: 14, 15).

"And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase." (Jeremiah 23: 3).

Other prophets make similar predictions. The Savior said to His disciples that His elect should be gathered together "from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other." St. John says:

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18: 4).

The evidence that this revelation Joseph Smith claimed to have received is genuine is in the fact that the elect are being gathered. Ever since the revelation was made known the Latter-day Saints have been gathering to a designated place.

True to the prediction of Jeremiah, those who accept the Gospel and gather to Zion are very frequently "one of a city, and two of a family." The further fulfillment of the same {249} prophecy, they are being fed "with knowledge and understanding." The Latter-day Saints are taught to understand the Gospel for themselves, so that they do not need to depend upon others, and each one is thereby fitted to teach its principles. The way is also pointed out to them whereby they can receive a knowledge from heaven of the truth of the doctrines they are taught, so that they are not deluded nor misled by the teachings of men. The pastors who feed them with this "knowledge and understanding" are according to the Lord's heart, in this much at least: they labor to save mankind through the love they have for them. They do not "teach for hire," nor "divine for money." Their services are given freely, and the Gospel is taught by them without money and without price.

The gathering of the Lord's people "one of a city, and two of a family," brings about many conditions which the Savior said would be the result of the preaching of His gospel; and in numerous cases the Latter-day Saints realize in their own experiences, the fulfillment of such words as the following spoken by the Savior:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." (Matthew 10: 34, 36).

"And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends." (Luke 21: 16).

The Latter-day Saints are not of the world in their ways. They are taught to strictly abstain from the sinful practices in the world, and are therefore looked upon as a peculiar people. As the Savior said would be the case, because they are not of the world, the world hate them, and often persecute them. They rejoice, however, in the promise of Jesus, which they find to be true:

"There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." (Mark 10: 29, 30).

GATHERING PECULIAR TO LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

It is a significant fact that there are no other people than the Latter-day Saints who make any profession that they have been commanded of the Lord to gather, nor are there any {250} others who are making any efforts with such an object in view.

There is something remarkable about this gathering. When people accept the Prophet's teachings they get the spirit of gathering, and they have to be restrained from going in too great haste. While a love for kindred and for native country is natural to the human heart, those who receive the truth of this newly revealed Gospel, become filled with the desire to leave all and gather with the Saints. This is a strong proof that the Lord is working upon the hearts of mankind to bring about the fulfillment of His words through the ancient prophets; and it proclaims the divine calling of Joseph Smith.

The Latter-day Saints also believe that the Jews will eventually be gathered to Jerusalem, as has been predicted in past ages. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught this, and took steps toward the accomplishment of that great event.

EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SAINTS.

After being driven from their homes several times, and enduring all manner of persecution for the sake of their religion, the Latter-day Saints were finally compelled to leave the confines of civilization and seek a home in the unknown wilderness of the western part of America. By divine guidance they were led to the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Without any knowledge of the country they planted themselves in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in what is now known as the State of Utah. Here in a desolate waste they determined to make their home, notwithstanding the fact that adventurers who were better acquainted with the country, declared that no civilized men could live there.

WORDS OF THE PSALMIST FULFILLED.

The journey of the Latter-day Saints to this their new home, as well as many other events of their experience, appear to be a fulfillment of ancient prophecy. The Psalmist says:

"O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." (Psalm 107).

{251} The Latter-day Saints are the only religious body that has been gathered out "from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south." As before stated they are the only people who advocate the doctrine of gathering. When driven, by persecution, from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, they were "redeemed from the hand of the enemy," they "wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way," and they "found no city to dwell in." They experienced hunger and thirst, and "their soul fainted in them." The Lord "led them forth by the right way," for they knew nothing themselves of the place to which they were being led.

Eventually they came to a place designated by the prophet of the Lord as the spot on which to build "a city of habitation." There they established themselves, and through the marvelous blessings of the Lord, the wilderness has been redeemed and the desert made to "blossom as the rose."

ISAIAH'S PREDICTION FULFILLED. Two of the ancient prophets make this prediction:

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2: 2, 3; Micah 4: 1, 2).

The state of Utah, and the surrounding country occupied by the Latter-day Saints is situated on what is called the "back bone of the American Continent," in the "tops of the mountains." In Salt Lake City, the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there stands a temple erected and dedicated to the name of the Lord. In three other cities of Utah are similar buildings, all of which are raised to the name of the Most High, by the Latter-day Saints; and by the way, they are the only temples in the world dedicated to the Lord, and in which the holy ordinances pertaining to His house are performed.

The mountain on which the temple built by the Latter-day Saints stands is established "in the top of the mountains," "exalted above the hills," and people from all nations are flowing unto it as they are being gathered out "from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." "Many people," as the prophet predicted, go and say "Come ye, and let us go {252} up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob," and they are being taught His ways, by men who understand them through the revelations received from Him: for they believe in present revelation, and enjoy that gift among the others of the true Gospel of Christ.

It may be contended that this and the other prophecies concerning the gathering of Israel refer to the gathering of the Jews to Jerusalem. It is true that there are predictions that the Jews shall be gathered to Jerusalem, but throughout the scripture prophecies there are two places of gathering mentioned--Zion and Jerusalem. Both places are mentioned in the quotation given above. The prophet also says: "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain." There are no high mountains in Jerusalem. The top of the highest mountain peak in all of Palestine is 331 feet below the valley of the Great Salt Lake, in which Salt Lake City is situated.

A PROPHECY OF MALACHI.

The following prediction is one made by an ancient prophet:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4: 5, 6).

The Prophet Joseph Smith testifies that this was fulfilled on the third day of April, 1836. At that time the body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was situated in Kirtland, Ohio, where they had erected a temple to the Lord. It was in this temple that the vision was received by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in which the Prophet Elijah appeared unto them. They describe his appearance and message as follows:

"After this vision had 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 has fully come, which was spoken of 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."

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SALVATION FOR THE DEAD.

Through the Prophet Joseph Smith was revealed the doctrine of salvation for the dead, a doctrine that had not been understood in the world for many centuries until he taught it. It is nevertheless a scriptural doctrine, and is referred to by Peter:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (I Peter 3: 18-20).

It is also referred to by Paul:

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" (I Corinthians 15: 29).

Preaching the Gospel to the dead is referred to in several places in the scriptures. (John 5: 25, 28; I Peter 4: 6).

That one person can perform a Gospel ordinance for and in behalf of another accords with the teachings of the scriptures. Christ did vicarious work for all mankind when He atoned for the sins of the world. By that atonement He brought about the resurrection from the grave, and made man's eternal salvation possible, as declared by the Apostle Paul:

"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I Corinthians 15: 22).

Also in these words:

"Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." (Hebrews 5: 9).

It is evident from the teachings of the Savior that there is a necessity for such a provision in the plan of redemption. Christ emphatically declared that a man cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without baptism. He said to Nicodemus,

"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3: 5).

In sending His disciples to teach all nations, He commanded them to baptize those who believed. Many good people have died without baptism, not having had the privilege of being baptized in this life; as they cannot themselves attend to that ordinance after death, there is a way provided for them {254} to receive admission into the kingdom of heaven. The Savior has declared, they cannot do so without baptism; therefore someone else must attend to that ordinance for them. Those who die without the privilege of receiving the Gospel will have an opportunity to hear and accept it in the spirit world, and the outward ordinances necessary to salvation can be attended to in their behalf by living persons.

Since this doctrine has been revealed, the hearts of the children have been turned to their fathers, for many thousands of those who have accepted the doctrine have manifested their solicitude for the welfare of their dead ancestors by having the necessary ordinances performed for them in the temples which the Latter-day Saints have built for that purpose.

FACTS PROVEN.

It has been shown in the foregoing--

That the Claims made by Joseph Smith are in Harmony with the Holy Scriptures.

That the Doctrines He Taught are the same as those of the Savior and His Disciples.

That a Number of Ancient Predictions have been Fulfilled Through his Ministry.

That the Lord's work begun by the Ministry of Joseph Smith is Destined to bring about the Fulfillment of all the inspired prophecies concerning the Latter Days.

That the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Possesses the same Characteristics as that of Former Days.

JOSEPH SMITH'S WORKS.

EVIDENCE OF HIS INSPIRATION.

SCRIPTURAL TESTS.

The Bible tells how true and false prophets may be known:

"The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him." (Jeremiah 28: 9).

{255} "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shall not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18: 22).

If a man prophesies and his prophecy is fulfilled, he is to be regarded as a true prophet. If he prophesies and his predictions are not fulfilled, he should be counted as a false prophet. Let us apply this scriptural test to the words of Joseph Smith.

PREDICTION OF THE ANGEL.

The prophecy which he records as having been made by the first angel who visited him: that his name should be had "for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people," is a proof of inspiration. That prediction has been fulfilled. Among all people who have heard his teachings there have been some who have accepted them and have spoken good about his name, while those who have rejected his message have invariably spoken evil of him. Not being satisfied to leave him alone, they have maliciously defamed his character and denounced him.

NONE CAN STOP GOD's WORK.

In a revelation given to the Prophet at an early day, the Lord said,

"And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. AND THEY SHALL GO FORTH AND NONE SHALL STAY THEM, for I the Lord have commanded them."

At a later date the Prophet wrote these words:

"No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecution may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly and independently till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every nation and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

In nearly every country to which they have gone, vigorous efforts have been made from time to time to stop the Latter-day Saints from preaching the Gospel, but true to the Lord's promises these attempts to hinder His work have failed in every instance, and His work still goes on.

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"A MARVELOUS WORK."

In the very first revelations given by the Lord through Joseph Smith, even before the Church was organized, it was declared that "a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men." There are hundreds of thousands of people who have associated themselves with that work who can testify that it is most marvelous in its character. Aside from these people there are many of the most intelligent men of the century who have declared in their public utterances and have placed themselves on record by their writings that there is something very wonderful about the work established through Joseph Smith.

TESTIMONY OF DISINTERESTED MEN.

Mr. Josiah Quincy, an eminent American scholar, in his interesting work entitled "Figures of the Past," gives his estimation of the great prophet in these words:

"It is by no means improbable that some future text-book, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is to-day accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High--such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. . . The most vital questions Americans are asking each other to-day have to do with this man and what he has left us. . . . Burning questions they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death."

Hon. John A. Cockerill, a United States Senator, in an article published in the Cosmopolitan, a New York magazine, says, in reference to Utah, and its people, and their leader Brigham Young:

"Thus, within the short space of half a century, a great State has sprung up in the land, as it were, before our eyes. Its fame, with that of its founder, has become world-wide. . . It is seldom given to the founder of a state that the body which he has organized {257} shall grow to such marvelous completeness and maturity within fifty years."

PROPHECY ABOUT WAR.

The following revelation was given to Joseph Smith on the 25th of December, 1832:

"'Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.

"The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place;

"For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations."

FULFILLED TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AFTERWARDS.

The great civil war between the southern and northern States of America was a literal fulfillment of the prophetic utterance, so far as it referred to the first conflict. That war began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, on the 12th day of April, 1861, over twenty-eight years after the prediction was made, and it terminated in the "death and misery of many souls," for the loss of life it caused is estimated at fully 1,000,000 men. History shows that the Southern States did call upon Great Britain and other nations for assistance, as predicted by the Prophet.

PREDICTED MEN'S LIVES WOULD BE SPARED.

In November, 1838, Joseph Smith and several of his brethren were tried by a court-martial of their enemies, and were condemned to be shot in the presence of their families and friends. To all human appearances there was no hope for them to be spared alive. They were prisoners in the hands of an infuriated mob; their death sentence had been passed, the hour of execution set, and preparations for carrying out the sentence were being made. With this terrible fate impending the Prophet told his fellow-prisoners to be of good cheer, as the Lord had made it known to him that not one of them should die. The mob disagreed among themselves as to how the execution should be proceeded with, and the falsely condemned men, after a lengthy imprisonment, regained their liberty. Thus were the Prophet's words verified.

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THE SAINTS' EXODUS FORETOLD.

On August 6, 1842, when the Latter-day Saints were situated in Illinois, their great leader wrote in reference to a previous utterance of his:

"I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains."

Every statement in the foregoing prediction was subsequently fulfilled. Mobs continued to afflict the Saints until they were forced to abandon their homes. Many apostatized, and others were put to death by their persecutors, or lost their lives in consequence of exposure. The Prophet himself, with his brother Hyrum, was martyred less than two years after the prophecy was uttered; and his own martyrdom was a fulfillment of a prophecy he made. When, to save a massacre of the Saints he delivered himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, being promised protection by the governor of the State, he said:

"I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent and it shall yet be said of me--he was murdered in cold blood."

This prediction concerning his own death is all the more remarkable from the fact that he had been arrested upon false charges many times before this. But, being entirely innocent, it was impossible to convict him of any crime. The premonition he had when he surrendered to the demands of the Governor of Illinois, when he said "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter," was the unerring inspiration of God, which had ever been his guide through life.

The country the Prophet referred to as the "Rocky Mountains" was but little known at the time he spoke of it; and the Indian traders, and "trappers" who were familiar with the country said nothing could be raised there, and it was totally unfit for the establishment of a community of people. Five years after the prophecy was made many of the Saints were settled in the Rocky Mountains, and they and their descendants are becoming a "mighty people" in the midst thereof.

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GATHERING PREDICTED.

On the 11th of September, 1831, the Lord said through Joseph Smith,

"For behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her, and she shall be an ensign unto the people, AND THERE SHALL COME UNTO HER OUT OF EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN."

In 1831, when the above words were uttered, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was composed of people who were converted in the neighborhood where the Prophet and other leading men operated--only a small portion of the United States. Since then the work has spread throughout the world, and there are now gathered with the Saints people from nearly every nation under heaven.

JOSEPH SMITH AS AN EXPOUNDER OF SCRIPTURE.

The manner in which he expounded the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and in which he harmonized passages that were apparently contradictory, and made every Bible doctrine so plain to the understanding, is strong proof that he was inspired of Heaven. No theologian of recent times has been able to do this as has been done by Joseph Smith, although many learned men have made the attempt.

CHURCH ORGANIZATION.

The wonderful church organization which was effected through him is in itself an evidence of his divine inspiration.

If a builder should succeed in erecting one of the most magnificent structures the world has ever seen, without any previous training and without any plans to guide him, he would be looked upon as the most remarkable genius that ever was known. The church organization instituted by Joseph Smith is like a complete structure, perfect in every detail, and yet built up piece by piece without any preconceived plan being drawn up or experiment being made, so far as the Prophet was concerned. The only idea he had of the grand system he was putting in order was revealed to him at various times as occasion required. But when the whole order of church government was revealed it was discovered to be perfect, and though the Church has now existed for sixty-eight years there has never arisen any occasion for changing the order laid down in the beginning. Its workings have been harmonious in every detail; and should the Church increase {260} in numbers indefinitely there would be no occasion for making any change in the system revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

ALL HIS WORKS PROCLAIM HIM A PROPHET.

A thorough acquaintance with the works of Joseph Smith must convince the student of them that he was truly a Prophet of God. If it be denied that he was such, how shall the superior wisdom that prompted his words and actions be accounted for? His ideas of theology, of philosophy, of statesmanship, and even astronomy and other branches of learning, were far in advance of what was known to the world in his day; and since then many of his doctrines have been accepted by the learned, and advocated as new discoveries. The most reasonable way of accounting for the wonderful works of Joseph Smith is to acknowledge that he was a Prophet of God, sent as a divine messenger to open up the dispensation of the fullness of times, and to prepare for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose glorious reign is near at hand.

THE BOOK OF MORMON.

AN EVIDENCE OF THE INSPIRATION OF JOSEPH SMITH.

ITS PURPORT.

Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, the Prophet Joseph Smith brought forth a book--the most remarkable work of the age. It purports to give an account of the ancient people of the American continent and the dealings of the Lord with them. The Prophet claimed that it was translated by the power of the Lord from writings engraved upon plates that had the appearance of gold. The plates were found buried on the side of a hill in New York state, and their whereabouts was revealed to the Prophet by an angel.

This explanation of the origin of the book, called the Book of Mormon, was most incredible to many of those who heard it, for angels had long since ceased to visit mankind; and they had been taught that the age of prophets and revelation was past. But the fact that the book was in existence could not be denied, for it was printed and published to the {261} world. To charge Joseph Smith or any other man or set of men with having written it for the purpose of deception would be equal to attributing to man super-human wisdom, and ability that is possessed only by heavenly beings. It would be giving him much less credit for supernatural ability to accept his own claim that he was merely inspired of the Lord to bring the book forth; for all the learned men in the world could not by their own wisdom produce such a work as the Book of Mormon. As evidence of this assertion, it is only necessary to become acquainted with the contents of the book. If a person will take the pains to read it he will find it refers in the course of the narrative it contains, to many facts of history, and numerous geographical and geological statements. Besides, it teaches religious doctrines, and records a great many prophecies.

IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE WITHOUT DIVINE AID.

Now just consider what an impossible task it would be for any man, without divine aid, to write an historical narrative of this character. It is filled with hundreds of statements concerning history, geography, geology, and religion, and yet does not contain one assertion regarding any of these subjects that does not agree in perfect harmony with what is known respecting them. It might be claimed that with a great amount of research it would be possible for a writer to do this; its statements agree also with every fact respecting the topics it mentions, that has become known during the many years of research since the Book was published, and that, too, in this age of critical investigation.

Again, the book contains as much reading matter as does the Old Testament. It is a continuous, unbroken history of a people for a thousand years, written originally by a succession of historians. Facts mentioned by one writer are referred to quite frequently by another, so that it would be no easy matter for a most careful writer with all the ingenuity that man is capable of exercising to originate a work of such character and magnitude without it making contradictions of itself.

PROPHECIES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON.

Whatever success an impostor might have in deceiving people with a fictitious book, there are some things he cannot do. Should he succeed in making the book consistent with all known truths of history, science and religion, he would find it impossible to make accurate predictions concerning {263} the future. This power is not possessed by man, unless conferred upon him by the Lord. The Book of Mormon cannot therefore be classed among human impositions, for it contains prophecies that were not fulfilled at the time it was published, but that have since been verified.

Speaking of the coming forth in this age of the record which he compiled, the Prophet Mormon says,

"And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness."

The Book of Mormon was printed before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, so that it could not be told at that time, except by inspiration that the blood of saints in the present age should cry unto the Lord, because of the works of darkness. There was no religious persecution going on at that time; but it was not long before the blood of many of the Latter-day Saints was shed as the result of persecution.

A BIBLE! A BIBLE!

The Prophet Nephi, referring also to the period when the record should be revealed in the latter time, and when the Lord should proceed to recover His chosen people, the house of Israel, records the words of the Lord to him as follows:

"And my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are the house of Israel. And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, a Bible! a Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible."

Since the publication of the Book of Mormon the Lord's words have gone forth "unto the ends of the earth," and the Latter-day Saints who have carried His words and declared them in nearly all countries have usually been answered with these words, "A Bible! a Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." The general belief is that the Bible is the only book in existence containing the word of the Lord.

ISAIAH'S PROPHECY.

The Prophet Nephi reiterates the prediction recorded in the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, concerning the coming forth of a book, and which the Latter-day Saints maintain refers to the Book of Mormon. The prophecy is as follows:

"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the {263} book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. . . . . And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." (Isaiah 29: 11, 12, 13, 14, 18).

The first part of this prophecy was literally fulfilled when a man named Martin Harris, with the permission of Joseph Smith, took a copy of some of the characters from which the Book of Mormon was translated--the "words of a book"--to Professor Anthon, a learned professor of languages in New York City, and the latter made the statement, "I cannot read a sealed book." Unwittingly, he used almost the identical words of Isaiah's prediction.

"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned,"--this was fulfilled when the book was delivered to Joseph Smith, an unlearned youth. How accurately this prophecy was fulfilled is shown by the fact that the words of the book were delivered to the man that was learned, while the book itself was delivered to him that was not learned.

The portion of the prophecy which reads: "Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder," is also being fulfilled. The work done by the Lord through the instrumentality of His servant Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints, is looked upon as marvelous even by those who do not believe Joseph Smith to be a prophet, nor the Latter-day Saints to be inspired of Heaven, for this work attracts the attention of the whole world. An acquaintance with what the Lord has done and with what is now being done through their ministry is of sufficient importance to be called "a marvelous work and a wonder." The Gospel has been preached in nearly all the civilized and several of the uncivilized nations, a church has been established that attracts the attention of all the world, and its name and the prophet's name are known among every nation; a commonwealth has been built up that has won the admiration of all that are acquainted with it; people from all nations have been gathered together to form this commonwealth; and missionaries by the thousands are sent to proclaim to mankind everywhere the glad tidings of the "marvelous work."

{264} Since the restoration of the Gospel with all its blessings in these latter days the remainder of Isaiah's words have been verified. The deaf have been healed and enabled to "hear the words of the book," and the blind have had their sight restored, and have thus been enabled to "see out of obscurity, and out of darkness."

BOOK GIVES A TEST OF ITS TRUTH.

The last chapter in the Book of Mormon contains these words:

"And when ye shall receive these things," [the records contained in the Book of Mormon] "I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with a real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."

Here is a promise that no impostor would dare to make, for he could not expect it to be fulfilled, and it would only furnish a means of detecting his deception.

The spirit in which the Book of Mormon is written is of such a nature that it impresses the reader with the honesty and earnestness of the writer. Its language is very plain, showing that the writer made no attempt at literary embellishment, but had only one object in view, which was to state the simple facts, and make the Gospel plain for the benefit of mankind. The style of the writing is peculiar to itself, and different from all other writings extant. These facts concerning the character of the book prove its authenticity.

ATTESTED BY DIRECT EVIDENCE.

The truth of the Book of Mormon is attested by the strongest direct evidence that it is possible to obtain. To show this it will perhaps be as well to consider what constitutes direct evidence. Evidence is understood to be the means of proving an unknown or a disputed fact. There is what is called "circumstantial evidence" and "direct evidence." The first is that kind of testimony which deals with circumstances that are connected with the fact to be proven. As, for example, footprints in the snow, are proof to an observer of them that someone has been where the snow lies since it fell, although the observer has not seen any person there. The marks in the snow are circumstantial evidence that he is correct in his conclusion. Direct evidence is the testimony of a witness to what he has seen, felt, or known by his own senses.

{265} It is a question of dispute whether direct or circumstantial evidence is the stronger, though the first is usually considered so. As against direct evidence it is claimed that witnesses may be mistaken, deceived or may wilfully falsify, while circumstances it is said cannot mislead.

The evidences already set forth to prove the truth of the Book of Mormon are what would be called circumstantial. The only evidence mankind have, aside from inspiration, that the Bible is true is indirect or circumstantial. What is unique about the Book of Mormon is that it is sustained by direct testimony, corroborated by circumstantial evidence which proves that the witnesses were not mistaken nor deceived, and that they did not tell falsehoods. Following the title page of the Book of Mormon is printed the testimony of three witnesses, who give their deposition in the following earnest and emphatic words:

TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.

"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been 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 down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.

"Oliver Cowdery,

"David Whitmer,

"Martin Harris."

No stronger testimony of the existence of a fact ever has been or can be given than this. Nothing less than a direct revelation from heaven to an individual personally can furnish him more convincing proof than is given by the testimony of {266} these three witnesses. What greater evidence can one ask or desire than this? Here is the most solemn statement made by three men, of sound mind and strict veracity who say the voice of God declared unto them that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and that an angel from heaven showed them the plates from which the record was translated, and that they know it to be true. Such testimony would be ample to establish a claim in any court on earth.

TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES UNCHANGED.

Many years after the first publication of the Book of Mormon with the names of the three witnesses attached, a gentleman inquired of Oliver Cowdery if he believed the Book of Mormon to be true. The questioner read from the book the names of the three witnesses, and exclaimed, "Mr. Cowdery, do you believe this book?"

"No, sir," was Cowdery's reply.

"But," said the gentleman, "your name is attached to it, and you declare here that you saw an angel, and also the plates from which the book purports to be translated; and now you say you don't believe it. Which time did you tell the truth?"

Mr. Cowdery replied, "My name is attached to that book and what I there have said is true. I did see this; I know I saw it, and faith has nothing to do with it, as a perfect knowledge has swallowed up the faith which I had in the work, knowing, as I do, that it is true."

A few days previous to his death David Whitmer, another of the witnesses, called his family and a number of his friends together and delivered to them his dying testimony. To his physician he said, "Dr. Buchanan, I want you to say whether or not I am in my right mind before I give my last testimony." The doctor replied,

"Yes, you are in your right mind, for I have just had a conversation with you."

Then, addressing all who were gathered at his bedside, he said, "Now you must be faithful in Christ. I want to say to you all that the Bible and the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon,) are true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony on my deathbed. All be faithful in Christ and your reward will be according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ forever, worlds without end. Amen."

Martin Harris, the third witness, continued to testify to {267} the truth of his statement concerning the Book of Mormon until the day of his death, which occurred July 10, 1875. The three men were regarded by their neighbors as strictly truthful and honest.

TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES.

Besides the three above named witnesses, there are eight others whose testimony concerning the Book of Mormon is given to the world. Their testimony is as follows:

"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shewn unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated, we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.

"Christian Whitmer, Hiram Page, Jacob Whitmer, Joseph Smith, Sen., Peter Whitmer, Jr., Hyrum Smith, John Whitmer, Samuel H. Smith."

SECULAR PROOF OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

Proof that the Book of Mormon is authentic will also establish the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Herewith are presented some of the external or outside evidences of the truth of that remarkable work known as the Book of Mormon.

The principal statements contained in the Book of Mormon concerning which there is a possibility of confirmation or corroboration in the annals of modern exploration and research are these:

1. That America was once peopled by a colony who went from Asia at the time of the confusion of tongues, when the inhabitants of the earth undertook to build the Tower of Babel; and that these colonists and their descendants flourished for a period of some sixteen or seventeen centuries, being a highly civilized race, but finally became extinct.

2. That America was again peopled, this time by a colony of the Hebrew race which came from Jerusalem 600 years B. C. That they observed the laws of Moses, had a record of the creation, the flood, etc.

{268} 3. That they, too, developed into a great and highly civilized commonwealth.

4. That they had a knowledge of the coming of the Christ, and that He appeared unto them and taught them the Gospel.

5. That terrible convulsions and destruction of life and property took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion.

COLONISTS FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL.

The Book of Mormon states that a man named Jared, and his brother, and their families, with some other men and their families, being led by the Lord, went from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and crossed over to America in barges. There they multiplied and became a great nation, spreading over the land northward, or North America. Finally, about 600 years before Christ the nation became extinct through internal warfare. (See Book of Ether).

Josephus, the Jewish historian, speaking of the events at the time of the dispersion from the Tower of Babel says

"After this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies everywhere; and each colony took possession of that land which they light upon, and unto which God led them; so that the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and maritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands." --Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 5.

This account of course does not state specifically that any colony went to America, but it says that colonies went EVERYWHERE, and that some of the people went in ships to distant lands, and to places where God led them.

That two distinct races of civilized beings inhabited ancient America is testified to by a number of archaeologists and explorers. A correspondent to the St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat writing from Tombstone, Arizona, in 1895, says:

"The remarkable picture rocks and boulders, with strange symbols upon them, left by the pre-historic races of Arizona, have been the cause of much discussion among those who have seen them as to who these ancient hieroglyphic-makers were. These rock records may be divided into three different kinds, which, it is thought, were made by two different races. The first, or very ancient race, left records on rocks, in some instances of symbols only, and in other instances of pictures and symbols combined. The later race, which came after the first race had vanished, made only crude representations of animals, birds or reptiles, not using symbols or combinations of lines."

{269} Chamber's Encyclopaedia, under the subject heading "Nicaragua" contains this statement:

"Nicaragua, like the states north of it, was a center of Aztec civilization; but the Aztecs were preceded by another race likewise civilized, who have left stone sculptures and monumental remains."

That the origin of the extinct race which formerly inhabited North America is believed by students of American antiquity to date back to the time of the building of the Tower of Babel the following gives evidence:

"One of the arts known to the builders of Babel was that of brickmaking. This art was also known to the people who built the works in the West. The knowledge of copper was known to the people of the plains of Shinar; for Noah must have communicated it, as he lived a hundred and fifty years among them after the flood. Also copper was known to the antediluvians. Copper was also known to the authors of the western monuments. Iron was known to the antediluvians. It was also known to the ancients of the West. However, it is evident that very little iron was among them, as very few instances of its discovery in their works have occurred; and for this very reason, we draw a conclusion that they came to this country very soon after the dispersion.--(Priest's American Antiquities, 1833).

The following is from Rev. D. Lowry's Reply to Official Inquiries respecting the Aborigines of America, written in 1848, and given in Schoolcraft's "Ethnological Researches," &c., vol. iii., published in 1853.

"In view of the best light and information which I have been able to collect on the subject, my opinion is that the earliest inhabitants of America were the descendants of Ham, the youngest son of Noah; and that THE FIRST SETTLEMENT WAS MADE SHORTLY AFTER THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES AT THE BUILDING OF THE TOWER OF BABEL. Moses tells us that about that period 'the Lord scattered the people abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' (Gen. 2: 8, 9). America, then, according to this portion of sacred history, was at that time re-occupied by man; for the writer could not have meant by 'all the earth' only about one-half of it."

Professor T. H. Lewis, an archaeologist of St. Paul, Minnesota, (U. S. A.), who a few years since, made some explorations among the mounds and earthworks of North Dakota, is of the opinion that there were two separate races in Ancient America. He derived this opinion from examining mounds and their contents, which are found in that locality and in many other parts of North America. (Correspondent to Denver News, 1890.)

Professor F. W. Putnam, in an article in the Century Magazine for March, 1890, on "Prehistoric Remains in the Ohio Valley," advocates his belief, based upon discoveries and {270} observations in ancient burying grounds, that two races have inhabited America in olden times, and that one originated from the north and the other from the south.

The Book of Mormon makes it clear that the Jaredites occupied that part of the country known as North America, (See Book of Omni, 1: 23), while the race that succeeded them originated in South America, but spread towards the north. (See Book of Alma, 22: 30-34).

A correspondent writing to the New York Herald from San Diego, California, under date of December 10, 1849, says:

"Unlike anything heretofore discovered on this continent, or indeed in the whole world, we here have presented to our views, as we now firmly believe, the unbroken history of a people that existed not only for a great length of time since the building of the Egyptian pyramids, but contemporary with them, and, what is more wonderful still, far back and yet still farther into the mazes of antiquity."

In Harper's Weekly for October, 1879, (published in New York), is an article by Henry C. Walsh, entitled "Copan: a City of the Dead." In it he says:

"During the progress of the excavations made by the last Peabody expedition Mr. Gordon discovered a stone pavement at the southern end of the great plaza. By digging downwards he came to the walls and chambers of a building more ancient than and of a different character from those now above the surface. Here were found tablets inscribed with characters varying materially from those on the known monuments. In the adjoining structures above ground were found blocks of stone, used in the construction, which had evidently been cut from older sculptures. All this points to successive periods of occupation, of which there are other evidences."

ORIGIN BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

The Book of Mormon states that about 600 years before the birth of Christ a small colony of the Hebrew race left Jerusalem and was led by the Lord to the shores of America. This colony was composed, on the commencement of its journey, of two heads of families, Lehi and Ishmael, their wives and children, and a man named Zoram. They observed the law of Moses, and took with them a record of their forefathers, containing the five books of Moses, giving an account of the creation of the world, of Adam and Eve, and also of the Jews from the beginning down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This record was engraved on plates of brass. The youngest of the four sons of Lehi, Nephi by name, was the leading spirit in the company. He also commenced a record of their doing, which he engraved {271} upon plates of metal in the language of the Egyptians, and in what their descendants called reformed Egyptian characters. (See I Nephi, also Mosiah 1: 4, and Mormon 9: 32-33).

That the origin of the American Indians dates back to some period before the Christian era is testified to by a number of archaeologists. Professor Waterman, of Boston, Massachusetts, in a lecture delivered in the Fine Arts Academy, Bristol, in 1849, speaking of the time the forefathers of the Indians went to America, says:

"When and whence, then, did they come? Albert Galatin, one of the profoundest philologists of the age, concluded that, so far as language afforded any clue, the time of their arrival could not have been long after the dispersion of the human family. Dr. Morton, after a series of investigations of many of the human crania found in the sepulchral mounds concluded that they must have dated back at least 2000 or 3000 years. It would not seem that all the family to which they belonged came with them, as they were but representatives of a people still in existence in the Old World, or who had become extinct since they emigrated. This people could not have been created in Africa, for its inhabitants were widely dissimilar to those of America; nor in Europe, which was without a native people agreeing at all with American races: then to Asia alone could they look for the origin of the American."

Not only does the above quotation express the opinion of scholars that the race referred to originated before the Christian era, but that it originated in Asia, which agrees with the statements in the Book of Mormon.

The following is taken from the Abbé Don Lorenzo Hervas' Letter to the Abbé Clavigero upon the Mexican Calendar, translated by Cullen and published in England in 1787:

"This Calendar has not been the discovery of the Mexicans, but a communication from some more enlightened people; and as the last are not to be found in America, we must seek for them elsewhere, in Asia or in Egypt. This supposition is confirmed by your affirmation, that the Mexicans had their Calendar from the Toltecas (originating from Asia), whose year, according to Boturini, was exactly adjusted by the course of the sun, more than a hundred years before the Christian era."

Dr. Wendell Mees, of Ithaca, New York, in an article published in a Scandinavian paper, Verdens Gang, sets forth his views in regard to the origin of the Aztecs, or ancient inhabitants of Mexico. He is of the belief that they went over to America "as early as the fourth century before Christ."

OF HEBREW ORIGIN.

The evidences that the American Indians are of Hebrew origin are quite numerous and most conclusive.

{272}

The following is from Adair's "History of the American Indians," published in London, in 1775:

"All the various nations of Indians seem to be of one descent. They call a buffalo, in their various dialects, by one and the same name, 'Yanasa.' And there is a strong similarity of religious rites and of civil and martial customs among all the various American nations of Indians we have any knowledge of on the extensive continent, as will soon be shown. Their language is copious and very expressive, for their narrow orbit of ideas, and full of rhetorical tropes and figures, like the orientalists. . . . From the most exact observations I could make in the long time I traded among the Indian Americans, I was forced to believe them lineally descended from the Israelites, either while they were a maritime power or soon after the general captivity: the latter, however, is the most probable. ... As the Israelites were divided into tribes, and had chiefs over them, so the Indians divide themselves. Each tribe forms a little community within the nation; and as the nation hath its particular symbol, so hath each tribe the badge from which it is denominated. The sachem of each tribe is a necessary party in conveyances and treaties, to which he affixes the mark of his tribe, as a corporation with us doth their public seal. If we go from nation to nation among them, we shall not find one who doth not lineally distinguish himself by his respective family. . . . Every town has a state-house, or synedrion, as the Jewish sanhedrim, where, almost every night, the head men convene about public business. . . . These Indian Americans pay their religious devoir to Loak Ishtohoollo-Aba, 'the great, beneficent, supreme, holy spirit of fire,' who resides (as they think) above the clouds, and on earth also with unpolluted people. He is with them the sole author of warmth, light, and of all animal and vegetable life. They do not pay the least perceivable adoration to any images, or to dead persons, neither to the celestial luminaries, nor evil spirits, nor any created being whatsoever. . . . They flatter themselves with the name hottuh oretoopah, 'the beloved people,' because their supposed ancestors, as they affirm, were under the immediate government of the Deity, who was present with them in a very particular manner, and directed them by prophets, while the rest of the world were aliens and outlaws to the covenant. . . . The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, emphatical, sonorous, and bold, and often, both in letters and signification, synonymous with the Hebrew language. . . They use many plain religious emblems of the Divine names, Yohewah, Yah, and Ale; and these are the roots of a prodigious number of words through their various dialects. . . In conformity to, or after the manner of the Jews, the Indian Americans have their prophets, high priests, and others of a religious order. As the Jews had a sanctum sanctorum, or most holy place, so have all the Indian nations. . . . . The Indian tradition says that their forefathers were possessed of an extraordinary divine spirit, by which they foretold things future, and controlled the common course of nature; and this they transmitted to their offspring, provided they obeyed the sacred laws annexed to it. . . . As the prophets of the Hebrews had oracular {273} answers, so the Indian magi (who are to invoke Yo He Wah and mediate with the supreme holy fire, that he may give seasonable rains), have a transparent stone of supposed great power in assisting to bring down the rain. . . . The Hebrews offered daily sacrifice. . . . The Indians have a similar religious service. . . . The Indians have among them the resemblance of the Jewish sin offering and trespass-offering. . . . The Indians observe another religious custom of the Hebrews in making a peace-offering. . . . They always celebrate the annual expiation of sins in their religious temples. The red Hebrews imagine their temples to have such a typical holiness, more than any other place, that if they offered up the Annual Sacrifice elsewhere, it would not atone for the people. . . . The Hebrews had various ablutions and anointings, according to the Mosaic ritual, and all the Indian nations constantly observe similar customs from religious motives. . . . In the coldest weather, and when the ground is covered with snow, against their bodily ease and pleasure, men and children turn out of their warm houses or stoves, reeking with sweat, singing their usual sacred notes, Yo, Yo, &c., at the dawn of day, adoring Yo He Wah, at the gladsome sight of the morn; and thus they skip along, echoing praises, till they get to the river, when they instantaneously plunge into it. . . . This law of purity (bathing in water) was essential to the Jews, and the Indians to this day would exclude the men from religious communion who neglected to observe it. . . . 'Tis well known that oil was applied by the Jews to the most sacred as well as common uses: their kings, prophets, and priests, at their inauguration and consecration, were anointed with oil. . . . Like the Jews, the greatest part of the Southern Indians abstain from the most things that are in themselves, or in general apprehension of mankind, loathsome, or unclean. . . . They reckon all birds of prey and birds of night to be unclean and unlawful to be eaten. . . None of them will eat of any animal whatsoever, if they either know or suspect that it died of itself. . . . They reckon all those animals to be unclean that are either carnivorous or live on nasty food, as hogs, wolves, panthers, foxes, cats, mice, rats. . . . The Indians, through a strong principle of religion, abstain in the strictest manner from eating the blood of any animal. . . . The Indian marriages, divorces, and punishments of adultery still retain a strong likeness to the Jewish laws and customs in these points. . . . . Many other of the Indian punishments resemble those of the Jews. . . The Indians strictly adhere more than the rest of mankind to that positive, unrepealed law of Moses, 'He who sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' . . . There never was any set of people who pursued the Mosaic law of retaliation with such a fixed eagerness as these Americans. . . They forgive all crimes at the Annual Atonement of sins, except murder, which is always punished with death. . . . The Israelites had cities of refuge, or places of safety, for those who killed a person unawares and without design. . . . According to the same particular divine law of mercy, each of these Indian nations have either a house or town of refuge, which is a sure asylum to protect a manslayer, or the unfortunate captive, if they can once enter into it Before the Indians go to war, they have many preparatory ceremonies of purification and fasting, like what is recorded of the Israelites. . . . The Indian ark is deemed so sacred and dangerous to be touched, either by their own sanctified warriors or the spoiling enemy, that they durst not {274} touch it upon any account. . . . The warriors consider themselves as devoted to God, apart from the rest of the people, while they are at war accompanying the sacred ark with the supposed holy things it contains. . . . When they return home victorious over the enemy, they sing the triumphal song to Yo He Wah, ascribing the victory to him, according to a religious custom of the Israelites, who were commanded always to attribute their success in war to Jehovah, and not to their swords and arrows.

"The Indian manner of curing their sick is very similar to that of the Jews. They always invoke Yo He Wah a considerable space of time before they apply any medicines, let the case require ever so speedy an application. The more desperately ill their patients are, the more earnestly they invoke the Deity on the sad occasion. . . . The Indians deem the curing their sick or wounded a very religious duty, and it is chiefly performed by their supposed prophets and magi, because they believe they are inspired with a great portion of divine fire. . . . The surviving brother, by Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a deceased brother who left a widow childless, to perpetuate his name and family, and inherit his goods and estate, or be degraded. The Indian custom looks the very same way; yet it is in this as in their law of blood--the eldest brother can redeem. . . Emanuel de Moraes and Acosta affirm that the Brazilians marry in their own family or tribe. And Jo. de Laet says they call their uncles and aunts 'fathers and mothers,' which is a custom of the Hebrews and of all our North American Indians; and he assures us they mourn very much for their dead, and that their clothes are like those of the early Jews. . . Acosta writes that the clothes of the South American Indians are shaped like those of the ancient Jews. . . Laet, (in his description of America), and Escarbotus assure us they often heard the South American Indians to repeat the sacred word Halliluiah, which made them admire how they first attained it. And Malvenda says that the natives of St. Michael had tombstones, which the Spaniards digged up, with several ancient Hebrew characters upon them. Peter Martyr writes that the Indian widow married the brother of her deceased husband, according to the Mosaic law. . . . Robert Williams, the first Englishman in New England, who is said to have learned the Indian language, in order to convert the natives, believed them to be Jews."

Squier's "Antiquities of the State of New York," published in Buffalo, in 1851, confirms a number of the statements made by Adair, which are reproduced in the above extracts from his "History of the American Indians." Squier's work also mentions other similarities that exist between the customs of the Israelites and the Indians.

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

Schoolcraft's "Ethnological Researches," Vol. I (published in 1851) says respecting some of the Indians' customs:

"In regard to the manners, customs, habits, &c, of the wild tribes of the Western territory, a true and more correct type than any I have ever seen may be found in the ancient history of the Jews or {275} Israelites after their liberation from Egyptian bondage. The 'Medicine Lodge' of the Indian may be compared to the place of worship or tabernacle of the Jews; and the sacrifices, offerings, purifications, ablutions, and anointings may be all found amongst and practiced by those people. The manner of mourning for a deceased relative is very similar to that of the Israelites. . . . There could be very numerous and similar analogies made between the manners and customs of those people and those of the Jews."

The following is taken from Civero and Von Tscudi's "Peruvian Antiquities," translated from the original Spanish by Dr. Hawks, and published in New York in 1854.

"Like the Jews, the Indians offer their first fruits; they keep their new moons, and the feast of expiations at the end of September, or in the beginning of October; they divide the year into four seasons, corresponding with the Jewish festivals. According to Charlevoix and Long, the brother of a deceased husband receives his widow into his house as a guest, and after a suitable time considers her as a legitimate consort. In some parts of North America circumcision is practiced, and of this Acosta and Lopez de Gomara make mention. But that which most tends to fortify the opinion as to the Hebrew origin of the American tribes, is a species of ark, seemingly like that of the Old Testament; this the Indians take with them to war: it is never permitted to touch the ground, but rests upon stones or pieces of wood, it being deemed sacrilegious and unlawful to open it or look into it. The American priests scrupulously guard their sanctuary, and the high priest carries on his breast a white shell adorned with precious stones, which recalls the Urim of the Jewish high priest; of whom we are also reminded by a band of white plumes on his forehead."

INDIAN PRACTICE RESEMBLING THE PASSOVER.

"It is not generally known that there is a marvelous coincidence between the traditional stories of the North American Indians and the Bible story of the Israelites in Egypt. For instance, in the spring of each year, about the time of the Jewish Passover, a white dog--the animal must be without spot and blemish--is sacrificed by the Blood Indians of North-West Canada. The coincidence would be greater if a sheep were used; but there are no sheep in the territory, and hence a white dog is used. The blood of the animal is then sprinkled on the entrances to the Indian tepees or wigwams. The flesh, of the animal is afterwards roasted at midnight, and the whole camp partake of it, with loins girt, and in full marching order, just as the Israelites did in the time of Pharaoh. When the food has been eaten, the entire camp silently march into the woods, a distance of several miles. There the medicine-men go apart, and privately plant some tobacco-seed, the fruit of which, when ripe, is used for the same ceremony the following year. This is a marvelous coincidence, and the missionaries to that region say the custom has been handed down from times immemorial. This curious tradition is now published for the first time."--Sunday Companion, November 28, 1896.

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TRADITION OF A SACRED BOOK. A work on the origin of the American Indians, by C. Colton, (London, 1833), says respecting their traditional belief:

"They assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors, and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future events; that He controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominions; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe, by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which has been so long lost."

This tradition is a remarkable corroboration of the record contained in the Book of Mormon.

The testimony on record to prove that the Ancient Indians are of Israelitish origin is too voluminous to reproduce here. The above is sufficient and conclusive. Lord Kingsborough's great work on the "Antiquities of Mexico," published in 1830-37, was written especially to prove that the Indians were Israelites.

ACQUAINTED WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT RECORD.

That the ancient inhabitants of America were acquainted with the record of many events recorded in the Old Testament is amply shown by their traditions, their paintings, books and inscriptions.

Lord Kingsborough says concerning the Mexican Indians:

"I cannot fail to remark that one of the arguments which persuades me to believe that this nation descends from the Hebrews is to see the knowledge they have of the book of Genesis. . . . .

"It is impossible on reading what Mexican Mythology records of the war in heaven, and the fall of Zontemoque and other rebellious spirits; of the creation of light by the word of Toncatlecuti, and of the division of the waters; of the sin of Yzclacolinhqui, and his blindness and his nakedness; and of the temptation of Suchequecal and her disobedience in gathering roses from a tree, and the consequent misery and disgrace of herself and all her posterity, not to recognize scriptural analogies. But the Mexican tradition of the deluge is that which bears the most unequivocal marks of having been derived from a Hebrew source. This tradition records that a few persons escaped in the Ahuchueti, or ark of fir, when the earth was swallowed up by the deluge, the chief of whom was named Palecath of Cipaquetona: and he invented the art of making wine; that Xelua, one of his descendants, or at least one of those who escaped in the ark, was present at the building of a high tower, which the succeeding generation constructed with a view of escaping from the deluge, should it {277} again occur: the Toncatlecutli, incensed at their presumption, destroyed the tower by lightning, confounded their language and dispersed them; and that Xelua led a colony to the new World."--Mexican Antiquities, Vol. VI, p. 401.

TRADITION OF MOSES.

The same writer also makes the following statement respecting the ancient Americans' knowledge of the story of Moses:

"A very remarkable representation of the ten plagues which God sent on Egypt, occurs in the eleventh and twelfth pages of the Borgian Ms. Moses is there painted, holding up in his left hand his rod, which became a serpent; and, with a furious gesture, calling down the plagues upon the Egyptians. These plagues were frogs, locusts, lice, flies, etc., all of which are represented in the pages referred to; but the last and most dreadful were the thick darkness which overspread Egypt for three days, and the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians.

"The curious symbol of one serpent swallowing up others, likewise occurs in the nineteenth page of the same Ms. It is not extraordinary that the Mexicans, who were acquainted with one portion of the exodus--that relating to the children of Israel journeying from Egypt--should also not have been ignorant of another."

TRADITION OF EVE.

Bernardino de Sahagun, a Franciscan missionary and historian of the sixteenth century, author of "Historia Universal de Nueva Españia," says concerning the Aztec tradition of Eve:

"This woman was the first who existed in the world, and the mother of the whole human race; who was tempted by the serpent who appeared to her in the terrestrial paradise, and discoursed with her, to persuade her to transgress the command of God, and that is likewise true, that after having committed sin, etc., she bore a son and a daughter at the same birth, and that the son was named Cain and the daughter Calmana; and that afterwards she brought forth a second birth, Abel, and his sister Delborah, so that she bore them by twin birth."

Prof. Short, in his "North Americans of Antiquity," page 238, quotes from the native writer, Intellxochitl, as follows:

TRADITION OF THE FLOOD.

"It is found in the histories of the Toltecs, that this age and first world, as they call it, lasted seventeen hundred and sixteen years; then men were destroyed by tremendous rains and lightnings from the sky, and even all the land, without exception of anything, and the highest mountains were covered up and submerged in water 'caxolmoletli' or fifteen cubits, and here they add other fables of how men came to multiply from the few who escaped from this destruction in a toptlipetlacali, this word signifies a close chest."

{278} "No tradition has been more widely spread among nations than that of a Deluge. . . . It was the received notion under some form or other, of the most civilized people in the Old World, and of the barbarians of the New. The Aztecs combined with this some particular circumstances of a more arbitrary character, resembling the accounts of the east. They believed that two persons survived the Deluge, a man named Coxcox and his wife. Their heads are represented in ancient painting, together with a boat floating on the waters at the foot of a mountain. A dove is also depicted, with a hieroglyphical emblem of language in his mouth, which he is distributing to the children of Coxcox, who were born dumb. The neighboring people of Michoacan, inhabiting the same high plains of the Andes, had a still further tradition, that the boat in which Tegpi, their Noah, escaped, was filled with various kinds of animals and birds. After some time, a vulture was sent out from it, but remained feeding on the dead bodies of the giants which had been left on the earth, as the waters subsided. The little humming bird, huitzitzilin, was then set forth, and returned with a twig in his mouth. The coincidence of both these accounts with the Hebrew and Chaldean narratives is obvious."--"Conquest of Mexico," by W. H. Prescott, (pages 463-4).

LED BY YOUNGEST BROTHER.

Fernando Montesinos, the Spanish historian of Peru says of the Peruvians:

"That nation was originated by a people led by four brothers, the youngest of these brothers assumed supreme authority, and became the first of a long line of sovereigns." (See Book of Mormon, Book of Jacob, 1: 9-11).

ENGRAVED ON PLATES OF METAL.

A writer by the name of C. W. Wandell says:

"There can be no well-founded objection to the Nephite record, from the material on which it is engraved; for the gold plate worn on Aaron's head, on which was written 'Holiness to the Lord,' proves that the idea was known to them. Bishop Watson says: 'The Hebrews went so far as to write their sacred books in gold, as we may learn from Josephus compared with Pliny.' (Watson's Bib. and Theo. Dic. Art. Writings).

"Nor is the modern, book-like form of the volume any argument against its antiquity; for Bishop Watson in the same place says: 'Those books which were inscribed on tablets of wood, lead, brass or ivory were connected together by rings at the back, through which a rod was passed to carry them.'"

EGYPTIAN WRITINGS.

A writer in the Foreign Quarterly Review for October, 1836, says:

"Lastly, the eye of the antiquarian cannot fail to be both attracted and fixed by evidences of the existence of two great branches of the {279} hieroglyphical language--both having striking affinities with the Egyptian, and yet distinguished from it by characteristics perfectly American. One is the picture-writing peculiar to the Mexicans, and which displays several striking traits of assimilation to the anaglyphs, and the historical tablets of the Egyptian temples. The second is a pure hieroglyphical language, to which little attention has hitherto been called, which appears to have been peculiar to the Tultecan or some still more ancient nation that preceded the Mexicans; which was as complete as the Egyptian in its double constituency of a symbolic and a phonetic alphabet, and which, as far as we can judge, appears to have rivalled the Egyptian in its completeness, while in some respects it excelled it in its regularity and beauty."

Dr. August Le Plongeon, the eminent archaeologist of New York, in the Review of Reviews for July, 1895, announces the discovery of the sacred alphabet of the Mayas (the Indian tribe of Central America) is practically identical with that of the Egyptians, and that the grammatical structure of the two tongues is strikingly similar, many words and characters having the same meaning in both. His conclusion is that both these people acquired the art of writing from a common source.

This is in strict harmony with the statements made in the Book of Mormon. Nephi states in the first chapter of his book (Book or Mormon, page 1) that he made his record, which was sacred, in "the language of the Egyptians." Mosiah confirms this statement (Mosiah 1: 4); and Mormon says that it was written in characters which his people called "reformed Egyptian," (Mormon 9: 32).

The Book of Mormon states that the descendants of the colonists from the Tower of Babel and of those from Jerusalem attained to a high degree of civilization, were acquainted with many arts; and also that they became very wicked, and destroyed each other in fiercely-fought battles. (See Mormon, chapter 6; also Ether, 15: 2). The record gives the information that the first nation cultivated all kinds of fruit and grain; that they manufactured silk and fine linen, and possessed gold, silver and other precious things; that they had domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, elephants and others. (See Book of Ether, 9: 17, 18, 19). The second nation found these same animals in the country (see I Nephi 18: 25). It is also recorded that the latter people built cities (Alma 21: 2) and temples (II Nephi 5: 16); that they had coins of gold and silver (Alma 9: 4-19), and used these and other metals in the arts, (Jarom 1: 8); and that many records were kept by the people, (Helaman 3: 13).

The evidences that the ancient peoples of America were {280} highly civilized are numerous and undisputable. Only a very few of the many descriptions of ancient ruins discovered in various parts of America are given in the following extracts:

EVIDENCES OF ADVANCED CIVILIZATION--RUINS DISCOVERED.

"Much has been done in recent years to throw light upon the history of the ancient races of the east, but comparatively little interest has been taken, even by American archaeologists and scientists, in the ancient and marvelous civilization whose traces are to be found scattered over our continent, particularly in Central America and Mexico. That a civilization once flourished in these regions, much higher than any of the Spanish conquerors found upon their arrival, there can be no doubt. By far the most important work that has been done among the remains of the old Maya civilization has been carried on by the Peabody Museum of Harvard College, through a series of expeditions it has sent to the buried city now called Copan, in Spanish Honduras. In a beautiful valley near the borderland of Guatemala, surrounded by steep mountains and watered by a winding river, the hoary city lies wrapped in the sleep of ages. The ruins at Copan, although in a more advanced state of destruction than those of the Maya cities of Yucatan, have a general similarity to the latter in the design of the buildings and in the sculptures, while the characters in the inscriptions are essentially the same. It would seem, therefore, that Copan was a city of the Mayas; but if so it must have been one of their most ancient settlements, fallen into decay long before the cities in Yucatan reached their prime. The Maya civilization was totally distinct from the Aztec or Mexican; it was an older and also a much higher civilization.

"So far the Peabody expeditions have confined their attention to the temples and palaces, and though for several seasons quite a little army of natives has been engaged in excavating, yet the work that has been accomplished amounts to little in comparison with that which remains to be done. To clear the main structure alone will be the work of years. Could the vast structures be restored, our greatest buildings would seem as pygmies in comparison; and certainly no city of the modern world could boast such a profuseness and richness of carved and sculptured ornamentations." --Henry C. Walsh, in Harper's Weekly, October, 1897.

INDIANS ALL OF ONE ORIGIN.

Mr. Bradford in his researches into the origin of the red race, adopts the following conclusions in regard to the ancient occupants of North America:

"That they were all of the same origin, branches of the same race and possessed of similar customs and institutions.

"That they were populous and occupied a great extent of territory.

"That they had arrived at a considerable degree of civilization, were associated in large communities and lived in extensive cities.

"That they possessed the use of many of the metals, such as lead, copper, gold, and silver, and probably the art of working in them.

"That they sculptured in stone and sometimes used that material in the construction of their edifices.

{281} "That they had the knowledge of the arch of receding steps; of the art of pottery, producing urns and utensils formed with taste and constructed upon the principles of chemical composition; and the art of brick-making.

"That they worked the salt springs, and manufactured salt.

"That they were an agricultural people, living under the influence and protection of regular forms of governments.

"That they possessed a decided system of religion, and a mythology connected with astronomy, which, with its sister science, geometry, was in the hands of the priesthood.

"That they were skilled in the art of fortification.

"That the epoch of their original settlement in the United States is of great antiquity; and

"That the only indications of their origin to be gathered from the locality of their ruined monuments, point toward Mexico." --Baldwin's Ancient America.

RUINS IN YUCATAN.

"Yucatan is the grave of a great nation that has mysteriously passed away and left behind no history. Every forest embosoms the majestic remains of vast temples, sculptured over with symbols of a lost creed, and noble cities, whose stately palaces and causeways attest in their mournful abandonment the colossal grandeur of their builder. They are the gigantic tombs of an illustrious race, but they bear neither name nor epitaph. The conscience-stricken awe with which the Indian avoids them as he relates a confused tradition of a whole people extinguished in blood and fire by his forefathers--a ferocious and cannibal race delighting in human sacrifices--are all that even conjecture can say of the manner in which the ancient occupants of Yucatan were blotted, en masse, from the page of existence. The barbarous exterminators remained the masters of the country, and built them rude huts under the shadow of those immense edifices which are still the marvel and the mystery of Yucatan. On many of these singular edifices is stamped the blood-red impress of a human hand--a fit symbol of the rule of blood to which it has so constantly been the victim. This 'bloody hand' was imprinted with evident purpose on the still yielding stucco of the new-built walls, and presents every line and curve in life-like distinctness; but the explanation of the symbol is unknown."--New York Sun, June 8, 1848.

ANCIENT GLASS JAR.

"In the shaft of J. L. Duncan and Co., on the ridge between the Middle and South Yubas, in this county, at the distance of 176 feet below the surface of the ground, was found, on the 26th December, a curiously-fashioned glass bottle or jar, which was dug up in hard cement. After removing the reddish coating, an eight of an inch thick, which attached to the outside, and thoroughly washing it, it was found to be of a light color and perfectly transparent. It somewhat resembled a small-sized pickle-jar, but has a longer neck and a flat bottom. It must have been lying in the silent spot where it was found for many hundred years."--Nevada Journal.

A RUINED CITY.

"I must not, however, forget to mention that there has lately been discovered, in the province of Vera Paz, 150 miles north-east {282} of Guatemala, buried in a dense forest, and far from any settlements, a ruined city, surpassing Copan or Palenque in extent and magnificence, and displaying a degree of art to which none of the structures of Yucatan can lay claim."--From a letter by Mr. E. G. Squier, read before the American Ethnological Society, October 17, 1849.

ANCIENT COINS AND IMPLEMENTS.

"While some hands were digging out a cellar in Botetourt County, Va., they came upon a quantity of coin, consisting of some eight pieces, in an iron box about 14 inches square. The coin was larger than a dollar, and the inscription in a language wholly unknown to any person in the vicinity. Upon digging down some 16 inches lower, they came to a quantity of iron implements of singular and heretofore unseen shape. Several scientific gentlemen have examined into the matter, and have come to the conclusion that the coins, together with the other curiosities, must have been placed there at an extremely early date, and before the settlement of the country." --New York Despatch.

The Book of Mormon states that at the time of the Savior's crucifixion a great and terrible destruction took place upon the continent of America. It also contains a record of the Savior's appearance and ministry on that continent after His resurrection. (See III Nephi).

DESTRUCTION AT THE TIME OF THE CRUCIFIXION.

Concerning the destruction that occurred at the time of the crucifixion, the record says:

"And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, in the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land;

"And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch, that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder;

"And there were exceeding sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

"And the city of Zarahemla did take fire;

"And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned;

"And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city thereof, there became a great mountain;

"And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.

"But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest, and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the exceeding great quaking of the whole earth;

"And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough,

"And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were {283} burned, and many were shook till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate;

"And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceeding great, and there were many in them who were slain." (Ill Nephi 8: 5-15).

RUINS ON THE RIDGE OF A MOUNTAIN,

Mr. William Niven, a well-known American mineralogist of New York gives the following account of discoveries he made in the mountains of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. His exploring trip was taken in the year 1894:

"About noon we camped at a spring in a deep canyon. The guide promised to show us the first sign of ruins at a place called Yerba Buena. We soon saw the first evidences of pre-historic structures, which, however, were little more than foundations. But the surprise at the top of the hill removed all doubts of the Indian's veracity, for there before us was what was once evidently a great temple, occupying a space of 200x300 feet. Climbing to the top of one tower I found it covered with charcoal dust to the depth of eighteen inches. Then we mounted our horses and traveled till dusk, nearly ten miles, among the ruins of what was at one time a great city. The houses, substantially built of stone and lime, had been from fifty to eighty feet square. The ruins were found only on the ridges of the mountains, while on the sides near the summit were visible many foundations. After descending from the summit 400 or 500 feet there were no signs of ruins of any description. . . . The ruins which I was fortunate enough to discover in Guerrero are very extensive--much more so than I at first supposed. At a rather rough estimate I should say that territory of over 900 square miles was literally covered, foot by foot, with sections of ruins. Every ridge and hilltop bore the remains of ancient temples, some of them mammoth in proportions. . . . The ruins have the appearance of belonging to one vast city, and subsequent investigations bore out my first impressions on the matter. During the time I was occupied in excavating I visited the ruins of twenty-two temples, with altars in the centre of all of them from five to twenty feet high and from ten to fifteen feet square."

Mr. Niven, in giving his opinion about the destruction of the great city says:

"Who were these people and how came they to disappear I cannot answer. My impression is that once upon a time the country was one vast plain. It was probably submerged by a titanic convulsion of nature, and with it disappeared its people and their primitive civilization. Later the land was thrust up again, as we see it now, a barren, desolate waste. As the nearest water supply is several miles distant, and that only a small spring, it is evident that some great transformation in nature has taken place since the land was populated."

How the ruined city visited by Mr. Niven came to be located upon mountain ridges can be understood from what is {284} recorded in the Book of Mormon. The city of Moronihah is mentioned as one which was destroyed by being covered with earth and a mountain being raised in place of it. It is quite probable that this pre-historic city situated in the interior of Mexico met a similar fate to that of Moronihah, and was thrown up into its present position by some mighty upheaval of the earth's crust, for it is not at all likely that the city was originally built upon a mountain. Mr. Niven's impression that the country was once a vast plain is consistent with what may be inferred from the account given in the Book of Mormon; and his belief that the remarkable transformation of the country was caused by some great convulsion of nature is also in harmony with the statements made in the sacred book, and goes to confirm the truth of it.

DESTROYED BY THE ACTION OF HEAT.

Another testimony to the destruction that took place, evidences of which still remain, is given in the following extract from the San Francisco Herald:

"Captain Walker assures us that the country from the Colorado to the Rio Grande, between the Gila and San Juan, is full of ruined habitations and cities, most of which are on the table-land. . . . On that occasion he had penetrated about midway from the Colorado into the wilderness, and had encamped near the Little Red River, with the Sierra Blanca looming up to the south, when he noticed at a little distance, an object that induced him to examine further. As he approached, he found it to be a kind of citadel, around which lay the ruins of a city more than a mile in length. It was located on a gentle declivity that sloped towards Red River, and the lines of the streets could be distinctly traced, running regularly at right angles with each other. The houses had all been built of stone, but all had been reduced to ruins by the action of some great heat, which had evidently passed over the whole country. It was not an ordinary conflagration, but must have been some fierce, furnace-like blast of fire, similar to that issuing from a volcano, as the stones were all burnt--some of them almost cindered, others glazed as if melted. This appearance was visible in every ruin he met with. A storm of fire seemed to have swept over the whole face of the country, and the inhabitants must have fallen before it. In the centre of this city we refer to rose abruptly a rock of 20 or 30 feet high, upon the top of which stood a portion of the walls of what had once been an immense building. The outline of the building was still distinct. . . . All the south end of the building seemed to have been burnt to cinders and to have sunk to a mere pile of rubbish. Even the rock on which it was built appeared to have been partially fused by the heat."

REMAINS FOUND UNDER LAVA BEDS.

In an article which appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin several years ago, Dr. D. L. Yates, says:

{285} "It was said that California possesses some of the oldest known relics on the continent. The first authenticated record of the original occupants was found on the Table Mountain region in Tuolumne County, and is of an age prior to the great volcanic outburst. Fossil remains of the rhinoceros and an extinct horse are found under the lava layers forming the Table Mountains, which are 1,400 feet thick, 1,700 feet wide and many hundreds of feet high, where the river beds have been washed out and have been covered again to the depth of from three thousand to four thousand feet more since the flow of the lava. This lava rests on a bed of detritus, which is often entered by running tunnels. The human relics and stone implements found in these formations give evidence of human habitants differing from any known since. There have been found spear heads, a pipe of polished stone, two scoops of steleitic rock (resembling the grocer's scoop), an implement of aragonite, resembling an unbent bow, but the use of which is unknown and cannot be conjectured, a stone needle, with notches at the larger end, and the finest charmstones that have ever been found.

"There have been brought to light the fossils of nine mastodons, twenty elephants, various pachyderms in the Table Mountains, numerous evidences of animal life in the calcareous formations in the Texas flats, obsidian spear heads, fossils of the elephant, horse and camel about Hornites, bones and evidences of pre-historic human industry in Tulare, and in Trinity and Siskiyou many proofs of the contemporaneous existence of man and extinct mammals."

DISCOVERY OF A HIDDEN CITY.

The Philadelphia Record, z, few years ago published the following despatch from Fort Davis, Texas:

"A strange discovery has been lately made by a surveying party of the Kansas City, El Paso and Mexico Railroad, at a point in Southern Mexico, not very far from Las Cruces. Here, amid a tremendous lava flow, a veritable sea of obsidian or black glass, a hidden city has been discovered. . . .

"The obsidian, molten or black glass at the moment of cooling evidently became agitated, for it now lies in ragged waves and billows of fantastic shape, some of the ridges from twelve to fourteen feet high and capped like the sea waves with a combing crest of greenish white. The action of the winds and elements have literally burned some parts of this region into powdered dust.

"At the northern extremity, where the unknown city lies partly uncovered, the ruins of gigantic stone buildings peer forth into the light of day. Some of these buildings are simply tremendous. . . .

"The whirlwind and sand augers have scooped out the dust, and thus exposed the city. No legend or story exists to show how or when it was founded, or whether it was abandoned or destroyed. The latter seems most likely, and probably, too by an earthquake, at some remote period which threw the lava and fire up. No volcano is known to exist in the neighborhood."

EVIDENCES OF GREAT ERUPTIONS.

Many discoveries have been made that give evidence of great eruptions in America. The San Francisco Herald stated {286} some years ago that Mr. Butterfield, in running a tunnel in Table Mountain, near Sonora, California, found a trunk of a large pine tree, one hundred and ten feet from the surface of the ground.

Morse's Universal Geography states that in Cincinnati the stump of a tree was found ninety-nine feet below the surface of the ground, and another stump containing marks of an axe and iron rust was found ninety-four feet deep in the earth. Ancient implements have been found at various depths in the earth, and in widely separated parts of the country, which all go to confirm the account given in the Book of Mormon concerning what happened upon the American continent at the time of the crucifixion.

THE MESSIAH KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF AMERICA.

James Wells, D.D., in the Sunday Magazine, says:

"A Savior, at once human and divine, has a supreme place in the creed of the Red-man. The thoughtful Indians also felt the pressure of the solemn facts and needs of life. They groped in the darkness, and stretched forth hands of entreaty to God. In their deep need, they yearned for a teacher and helper; and somehow or other, they believed that he had come, or would yet come to them. They had dim, confused suggestions and cravings that could find their realization only in Christ. Their traditions are rich in myths and legends which cluster round Hiawatha, the messenger and representative of God. They regard Hiawatha as the relative of the Great Spirit and they call him 'uncle,' that is, kinsman. Schoolcraft has collected the Hiawatha legend in a very interesting book.

"Hiawatha was a sort of Red Indian Messias. Though a heavenly being he was born a child on earth, and his birth was wondrous. He came into the world long ago and instituted 'the Grand Medicine.' He had super-human powers, and used them all to bless men. In sending him, the Creator smiled upon His helpless children. All the evil spirits strove against him, but he conquered them and gained strength from the struggle. He used to spend days in fasting and prayer, and he went about continually doing good. He prophesied that, after he had left them, they would take to quarreling and fighting, and that they would be driven from their hunting-grounds far westward. He told them of the isles of the blest and the land of the hereafter. They also believe that he conducts souls to the other world; and they expect him to come again to the earth."

THE CROSS AS AN EMBLEM.

Prescott, in his "Conquest of Mexico," page 465, speaks of the astonishment of the Catholic priests, who accompanied the expedition of Cortez, and found Christian rites practiced by Indians. He says:

{287} "They could not suppress their wonder, as they beheld the cross, the sacred emblem of their own faith, raised as an object of worship in the temples of Anahuac. They met with it in various places; and an image of a cross may be seen at this day, sculptured in bas-relief on the walls of one of the buildings of Palenque, while a figure bearing some resemblance to that of a child is held up to it, as if in adoration. Their surprise was heightened, when they witnessed a religious rite which reminded them of the Christian communion. On these occasions, an image of the tutelary deity of the Aztecs was made of flour of maize mixed with blood, and, after consecration by the priests, was distributed among the people, who, as they ate it, 'showed signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh of the Deity.' How could the Roman Catholic fail to recognize the awful ceremony of the eucharist? . . . . . With the same feeling they witnessed another ceremony, that of the Aztec baptism. . . . The Jewish and Christian schemes were strangely mingled together, and the brains of the good fathers were still further bewildered by the mixture of heathenish abominations, which were so closely intertwined with the most orthodox observances. In their perplexity they looked on the whole as the delusion of the devil, who counterfeited the rites of Christianity and the traditions of the chosen people, that he might allure his wretched victims for their own destruction."

KNOWLEDGE OF THE GODHEAD.

"Las Casas, bishop of Chiapa, relates in his apology, which is in Ms., in the convent of St. Dominic, that when he passed through the kingdom of Yucatan, he found there a respectable ecclesiastic, of mature age; he charged him to proceed into the interior of their country, giving him a certain plan of instruction, in order to preach to them: at the end of a year, thus he wrote to the bishop--he had met with a principal lord, who informed him that they believed in God, who resided in heaven, even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father was named Yeona, the Son Bahab, who was born of a virgin, named Chibirias, and that of the Holy Spirit was called Euach. Bahab, the Son, they said, was put to death by Euporo, who scourged Him, and put on His head a crown of thorns, and placed Him with His arms stretched upon a beam of wood, and that on the third day He came to life, and ascended into heaven, where He is with the Father; that immediately after the Euach came in His place as a merchant, bringing precious merchandise, filling those who would with gifts and graces, abundant and divine."--Antiquities of Mexico.

"The virgin is represented by the Indian paintings, of whom the great Prophet should be born, and that His own people would reject and meditate evil against Him, and would put Him to death; accordingly He is represented in the paintings with His hands and feet tied to the tree."--Monarquia Indiana.

TRADITION OF CHRIST.

Rosales in the "History of Chili," says,

"The inhabitants of this extreme southern portion of America, situated at the distance of so many thousand miles from New Spain, and who did not employ paintings to record events, accounted for their knowledge of some doctrines of Christianity by saying, that in {288} former times they had heard their fathers say, a wonderful man had come to that country, wearing a long beard, with shoes and a mantle such as the Mexicans carry on their shoulders, who performed many miracles, cured the sick with water, caused it to rain that their crops of grain might grow, kindled fire at a breath, healing the sick, and giving sight to the blind, and that he spoke with as much propriety and elegance in the language of their country, as if he had always resided in it, addressing them in words very sweet and new to them, telling them that the Creator of the universe resided in the highest place of heaven, and that many men and women resplendent as the sun dwelt with Him."

BAPTISM KNOWN.

Herrera, a Spanish historian of the sixteenth century, in his history of America, volume 4, page 172, says, "Baptism was known in Yucatan; the name they gave it signified to be born again."

#STRONG PROOFS OF THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. # The foregoing testimony taken from the works of secular writers confirms in a remarkable manner the historical part of the Book of Mormon, and is a strong proof that that record is authentic. Much more evidence of a similar character is to be had, but space will not admit of it here. The proof adduced in support of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon by the discoveries and observations of modern explorers is made the more forcible by the fact that they who have furnished it were not believers in the divinity of the book. Many, if not all of them, published to the world the results of their researches, and their conclusions respecting them, without knowing anything about the contents of the book, and therefore they had no predilection for it. It might be truthfully added that among all the discoveries made that furnish any information respecting the ancient Americans nothing has been found to conflict with or disprove any assertion contained in that most remarkable volume, the Book of Mormon.

CONCLUSION.

No attempt has been made herein to present an exhaustive treatise on Joseph Smith's divine mission. The evidences of his inspiration have been referred to very briefly; and hundreds of other proofs equally strong, and which are well known, have not even been mentioned.

The Latter-day Saints do not, however, depend upon outward evidences for their knowledge that Joseph Smith was a {289} prophet. They have placed their trust in the promise of the Savior, as recorded by John:

"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

They have also accepted the admonition of the Apostle James:

"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."

They have sought to do the will of the Lord, and have prayed to Him for wisdom and their prayers have been answered. They have received a testimony from above that the Gospel as revealed anew through the Prophet Joseph Smith is true. This same source of divine information is open to every one who will humble himself, and will obey the Gospel, with an honest desire to serve the Lord.

INDEX OF CHAPTER CONTENTS ON THIS TRACT.

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Chapter I

A Glorious Thought--Should Prophets be Expected in our day?--God's Word Indicates that a Prophet should Come--Prophets sent to Announce all Important Events--Positive Promise of the Lord to send a Messenger--Necessity of Prophets and Apostles in the Church--Church Founded upon Prophets and Apostles--Power given Apostles and Prophets--Object of Inspired Men in the Church-How long they should Remain--Is the Canon of Scripture Full?--Without Modern Revelation Bible Prophecies Cannot be Fulfilled--Treatment of Prophets in Past Ages--Jesus a Stumbling Stone--Many Prophets Rejected--Persecution to Follow all Inspired Teachers--Conclusions Drawn from Scriptures Quoted.

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Chapter II

Was Joseph Smith a Prophet?--Testimony of His Works--Judging by the Fruits--Joseph Smith's Claim--His Claim Compared with Scripture--Predictions that the Gospel should be Restored--Joseph Smith Treated the same as Ancient Prophets--Account of Some of his Works--Bible Prophecies Fulfilled--Church Organization the Same as Formerly--Same Doctrines as in Former Days--The Holy Ghost Received--How to Obtain Proof--Outward Proofs--Testimony of Witnesses--Ancient Prophecies Being Fulfilled--The Gathering of Israel--Gathering Peculiar to Latter-day Saints--Events in the History of the Saints--Words of the Psalmist Fulfilled--Isaiah's Prediction Fulfilled--A Prophecy of Malachi--Salvation for the Dead--Facts Proven.

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Chapter III

Joseph Smith's Works--Evidence of his Inspiration--Scriptural Tests--Prediction of the Angel--None can Stop God's Work--"A Marvelous Work"--Testimony of Disinterested Men--Prophecy about War--Fulfilled 28 years Afterwards--Predicted Men's Lives Would be Spared--The Saints' Exodus Foretold--Gathering Predicted--Joseph Smith as an Expounder of Scripture--Church Organization--All his Works Proclaim him a Prophet.

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