[ 5 ]
M O
R M O N I S M.
In the town of Manchester, near the village of Palmyra; might still be
seen an excavation in the side of a hill, from whence, according to the
assertion of the Mormon prophet, the metallic plates, sometimes called THE
GOLDEN
BIBLE,
were disinterred A writer in the NEW
YORK
EVENING
EXPRESS,
who has been recently travelling in the West, remarks that "the Mormons
have assumed a moral and political importance which is but very
imperfectly understood." He then proceeds to add in relation to them, that
"associated on the religious principle, under a prophet and leader, whose
mysterious and awful claims to divine inspiration make his voice to
believers like the voice of God; trained to sacrifice their individuality;
to utter one cry, to think and act in crowds; with minds that seems to
have been struck from the sphere of reason on one subject; and left to
wander like lost stars, amid the dark mazes and winding ways of religious
error; these remarkable sectaries must necessarily hold in their hands a
fearful balance of political power. In the midst of contending parties, a
single hand might turn their influence with tremendous effect, to
which-ever side presented the most potent attraction, and should they ever
become disposed to exert their influence for evil, which may Heaven
prevent, they would surround our institutions with an element of danger
more to be dreaded than an armed and hundred-eyed police." It is not
however, in reference to their political, but to their religious
influence, that we entertain a degree of apprehension. This sect has been
organized only about ten years, and yet they profess to number, in their
society, one hundred thousand souls. This undoubtedly is an exaggeration,
but it has been stated from a source upon which reliance can be placed,
that there are probably not less than sixty thousand persons now
professing the Mormon faith. It is said also that they are putting forth
the most indefatigable efforts by itinerant missionaries, both in this
country and in Europe, to make proselytes to their creed. These facts show
the importance of spreading upon the columns of our religious journals
from time to time statements that tend to unveil the trickery and artifice
by which this system of imposture was got up and continues to be
perpetuated.
There are two or three reasons why the Mormon delusion has spread so
rapidly, and which will probably continue to give it more or less
currency.
One cause is, that it fully and cordially admits the truth of the sacred
Scriptures. Did it discard all previous revelation, -- pour contempt upon
the Saviour of the world, and set up an independent claim for a revelation
wholly new, it would have gained comparatively few adherents. But
recognizing the truth and credibility of the sacred Scriptures, and
retaining as it does, many doctrines which are held in common by different
denominations of Christians,
6
M O R M O N I S M.
and covering its own absurdities with imposing forms and lofty
pretensions, it opens a winning asylum for all the disaffected and
dissatisfied of other persuasions, and contains much that is congenial to
almost every shade of radicalism, or erratic religious character.
Another cause which has contributed to the rapid spread of this imposture,
is that it appeals strongly to the love of the marvellous, -- to that
thirst and anxiety, so rife with a certain class of mind, to know more
than God would have us know, -- to find some discovery that will carry us
farther than revelation, -- to get some one to come back from the grave,
and tell us what is in eternity, -- to see with our own eyes a miracle,
and obtain some new glimpse of the invisible world. There is certainly
existing in a certain order of men, in every part of the world, and in
every period of time, a strong propensity of this sort. What but this
propensity would have given such potent and almost irresistible influence
to Joan d' Arc, who, from an ostler maid in an obscure country inn
in France, by claiming heavenly inspirations, and pretending to see
visions, and to hear divine voices calling her to re-establish the throne
of France, and to expel the foreign invaders, rose to such surprising
eminence and power, as to be the very pivot upon which the destinies of
the whole nation turned! -- as to be invested with the military conduct of
the French army, -- directing and raising sieges, -- inspiring the troops
with invincible courage, and spreading disaster and defeat through all the
ranks of the British army, so that the Duke of Bedford, after all the
previous success and triumph of the English arms at Verneuil and Orleans,
and with all his tact and ability, could scarcely keep any footing in
France? What but this deep-rooted propensity could have prepared men to
have received the dreams, and reveries, and pretended revelation of * * *
* * * * , or of Anne Lee; or to have yielded up their reason to a belief
in the clairvoyance of animal magnetism? And not to multiply instances
abroad, what but such a propensity as the one to which we have now
referred, attracted the * * * * * * * around Jemima Wilkinson, and
gave her so much power over a large community of men and women? What but
this, opened the way for the monstrous claims set up by the execrable
Mathias, who drew after him, as by the power of enchantment, and
subjected to his dictum, whole families, -- persons of education and
refinement, and among the number, several men of intelligence,
respectability and fortune? It is to this same principle, this anxious
desire to look deeper into the hidden mysteries of the invisible world,
than any mortal has hitherto been privileged to do, that the originators
of this "cunningly devised fable" of Mormonism have appealed. While they
admit to the truth and credibility of the sacred Scriptures, they profess
to have obtained an additional revelation, by which new illumination is
shed over every page of the sacred word, -- all controversies settled, and
the obscurity that hitherto hung over many religious subjects dispelled.
They profess to bring to light a historical and religious record, written
in ancient times, by a branch of the house of Israel that peopled America,
from whom the Indians are descended. This
M O R M O
N I S M.
7
record, which engraven upon metallic plates, lay deposited in the earth
for many centuries, not only corroborates and confirms the truth of holy
writ, but also opens the events of ancient America, as far back at least
as the flood. They pretend that this record "pours the light of noon-day
upon the history of a nation whose mounds and cities, and fortifications,
still repose in grand but melancholy ruins, upon the bosom of the western
prairies." The Mormons not only claim this new revelation, but profess to
have still among them the gift of prophecy and miracles. They contend that
miracles and revelations from heaven, are as necessary now, and as
important to the salvation of the present generation, as they were in any
former period, and that they alone possess this privilege of immediate and
constant intercourse with heaven.
But that which has given vastly the greatest strength to Mormonism is the
violent persecution which its disciples have suffered in the West, and
especially in Missouri. Nothing can be more impolitic, or unjust, or
farther removed from the spirit of the gospel, than to oppress and
persecute any set of men on account of their religious tenets; and
certainly nothing can give them more strength or rapid growth than such a
procedure.
The Mormons first located themselves, as a body, in Kirtland, Geauga Co.,
Ohio. Some difference arose among their leaders on account of certain
banking operations which they attempted, and they separated, and a portion
of them went to Independence, Jackson Co., Mo. The people in the
neighborhood of that location became unfriendly to them, and drove them
away by force, subjecting them to great sufferings and loss of property.
They were at last entirely and forcibly expelled from the state of
Missouri. They afterward purchased the town of Commerce, said to be a
situation of surpassing beauty, at the head of the lower rapids on the
Illinois shore of the Mississippi river. The writer to whom I have already
referred, and who has revisited these western Mormons this present summer,
remarks: -- "The name of the place where they now reside, they have
recently changed to Nauvoo, the Hebrew term for fair or beautiful. Around
this place, as their centre, they are daily gathering from almost every
quarter: and several hundred new houses, created within the last few
months, attest to the passing traveller the energy, industry, and
self-denial with which the community is imbued. They have also obtained
possession of extensive lands on the opposite side of the river, in that
charming portion of Iowa Territory, known as the 'Half Breed Reservation;'
and there upon the rolling and fertile prairies they are rapidly selecting
their homes and opening their farms. As the traveller now passes through
those natural parks and fields of flowers, which the hand of the Creator
seems to have originally planted there for the inspection of his own eye,
he beholds their cabins dotted down in the most enchanting perspective,
either on the borders of the timbers, or beside the springs and streams of
living water, which are interspersed on every hand."
The other portion that remain in Ohio, have erected a stone temple in
Kirtland, of splendid appearance and singular construction.
8
M O R M O N I S M.
The first floor is a place of worship, with four pulpits at each end; each
pulpit calculated to hold three persons. These pulpits rise behind and
above one another, and are designed for different grades of ministers
according to their rank in office. These are the two principal settlements
of these people, although there are small societies of them found in
almost every part of the United States. In some instances not only members
but ministers of orthodox churches have been led to leave their own
churches, and identify themselves with the Mormons.
It is time that I should acquaint you with some facts that came to my
personal knowledge full thirteen years ago, connected with the rise of
this imposture.
It was early in the autumn of 1827 that Martin Harris called at my house
in Palmyra, one morning about sun-rise. His whole appearance indicted more
than usual excitement, and he had scarcely passed the threshold of my
dwelling, before he inquired whether he could see me alone, remarking that
he had a matter to communicate that he wished to be strictly confidential.
Previous to this, I had but very slight acquaintance with Mr. Harris. He
had occasionally attended divine service in our church. I had heard him
spoken of as a farmer in comfortable circumstances, residing in the
country a short distance from the village, and distinguished by certain
peculiarities of character. He had been, if I mistake not, at one period,
a member of the Methodist Church, and subsequently had identified himself
with the Universalists. At this time, however, in his religious views he
seemed to be floating upon the sea of uncertainty. He had evidently quite
an extensive knowledge of the Scriptures, and possessed a manifest
disputatious turn of mind. Mr. Harris had always been a firm believer in
dreams, and visions, and supernatural appearances, such as apparitions and
ghosts, and therefore was a fit subject for such men as Smith and his
colleagues to operate upon. On the occasion just referred to, I invited
him to accompany me to my study, where, after having closed the door, he
began to draw a package out of his pocket with great and manifest caution.
Suddenly, however, he stopped, and wished to know if there was any
possibility of our being interrupted or overheard? When answered in the
negative, he proceeded to remark, that he reposed great confidence in me
as a minister of Jesus Christ, and that what he had now to communicate he
wished me to regard as strictly confidential. He said he verily believed
that an important epoch had arrived -- that a great flood of light was
about to burst upon the world, and that the scene of divine manifestation
was to be immediately around us. In explanation of what he meant, he then
proceeded to remark that a GOLDEN
BIBLE
had recently been dug from the earth, where it had been deposited for
thousands of years, and that this would be found to contain such
disclosures as would settle all religious controversies and speedily bring
on the glorious millennium. That this mysterious book, which no human eye
of the present generation has yet seen, was in the possession of Joseph
Smith, Jr., ordinarily known in the neighborhood under
M O R M O
N I S M.
9
the more familiar designation of Jo Smith; that there had been a
revelation made to him by which he had discovered this sacred deposit, and
two transparent stones, through which, as a sort of spectacles, he could
read the Bible, although the box or ark that contained it, had not yet
been opened; and that by looking through those mysterious stones he had
transcribed from one of the leaves of this book, the characters which
Harris had so carefully wrapped in the package which he was drawing from
his pocket. The whole thing appeared to me so ludicrous and puerile, that
I could not refrain from telling Mr. Harris, that I believed it a mere
hoax got up to practice upon his credulity, or an artifice to extort from
him money; for I had already, in the course of the conversation, learned
that he had advanced some twenty-five dollars to Jo Smith as a sort of
premium for sharing with him in the glories and profits of this new
revelation. For at this time, his mind seemed to be quite as intent upon
the pecuniary advantage that would arise from the possession of the plates
of solid gold of which this book was composed, as upon the spiritual light
it would diffuse over the world. My intimations to him, in reference to
the possible imposition that was being practiced upon him, however, were
indignantly repelled. He then went on to relate the particulars in regard
to the discovery and possession of this marvellous book. As far as I can
now recollect, the following was an outline of the narrative which he then
communicated to me, and subsequently to scores of people in the village,
from some of whom in my late visit to Palmyra, I have been able to recall
several particulars that had quite glided from my memory.
Before I proceed to Martin's narrative, however, I would remark in
passing, that Jo Smith, who has since been the chief prophet of the
Mormons, and was one of the most prominent ostensible actors in the first
scenes of this drama, belonged to a very shiftless family near Palmyra.
They lived a sort of vagrant life, and were principally known as
money-diggers. Jo from a boy appeared dull and utterly destitute of
genius; but his father claimed for him a sort of second sight, a power to
look into the depths of the earth, and discover where its precious
treasures were hid. Consequently long before the idea of a GOLDEN
BIBLE
entered their minds, in their excursions for money-digging, which I
believe usually occurred in the night, that they might conceal from others
the knowledge of the place where they struck upon treasures, Jo used to be
usually their guide, putting into a hat a peculiar stone he had through
which he looked to decide where they should begin to dig.
According to Martin Harris, it was after one of these night excursions,
that Jo, while he lay upon his bed, had a remarkable dream. An angel of
God seemed to approach him, clad in celestial splendor. This divine
messenger assured him that he, Joseph Smith, was chosen of the Lord to be
a prophet of the Most High God, and to bring to light hidden things, that
would prove of unspeakable benefit to the world. He then disclosed to him
the existence of this Golden Bible, and the place where it was deposited
-- but at the same time told him that he must follow implicitly the
10
M O R M O N I S M.
divine direction, or he would draw down upon him the wrath of heaven. This
book, which was contained in a chest, or ark, and which consisted of
metallic plates covered with characters embossed in gold, he must not
presume to look into, under three years. He must first go on a journey
into Pennsylvania -- and there among the mountains, he would meet with a
very lovely woman, belonging to a highly respectable and pious family,
whom he was to take for his wife. As proof that he was sent on this
mission by Jehovah, as soon as he saw thos designated person, he would be
smitten with her beauty, and though he was a stranger to her, and she was
far above him in the walks of life. she would at once be willing to marry
him and go with him to the ends of the earth. After their marriage he was
to return to his former home, and remain quietly there until the birth of
his first child. When this child had completed his second year, he might
then proceed to the hill beneath which the mysterious chest was deposited,
and draw it thence, and publish the truths it contained to the world.
Smith awoke from his dream, and according to Harris, started off towards
Pennsylvania, not knowing to what point he should go. But the Lord
directed him, and gained him favour in the eyes of just such a person as
was described to him. He was married and had returned. His first child had
been born and was now about six months old. But Jo had not been altogether
obedient to the heavenly vision. After his marriage and return from
Pennsylvania, he became so awfully impressed with the high destiny that
awaited him, that he communicated the secret to his father and family. The
money-digging propensity of the old man operated so powerfully, that he
insisted upon it that they should go and see if the chest was there -- not
with any view to remove it till the appointed time, but merely to satisfy
themselves. Accordingly they went forth in the stillness of night with
their spades and mattocks to the spot where slumbered this sacred deposit.
They had proceeded but a little while in the work of excavation, before
the ysterious chest appeared; but lo! ubstantly it moved and glided along
out of their sight. Directed, however, by the clairvoyance of Jo, they
again pemetrated to the spot where it stood and succeeded un gaining a
partial view of its dimensions. But while they were pressing forward to
gaze at it, the thunders of the Almighty shook the spot and made the earth
to tremble -- a sheet of vivid lightning swept along over the side of the
hill, and burnt terribly around the spot where the excavation was going
on, and again with a rumbling noise the chest moved off out of their
sight. They were all terrified, and fled towards their home. Jo took his
course silently along by himself. On his way homeward, being alone, in the
woods, the angel of the Lord met him clad in terror and wrath. He spoke in
a voice of thunder, and forked lightning shot through the trees and ran
along the ground. The terror of the divine messenger's appearance,
instantly struck Smith to the earth, and he felt his whole frame convulsed
with agony, as though he [was] stamped upon by the iron hoofs of death
himself. In language most terrific did the angel upbraid him for his
disobedience, and then disappeared. Smith went home trembling and full of
terror. Soon, however, his mind became more composed. Another divine
communication was made to him, authorizing him to go along by himself and
bring the chest and deposit it secretly under the hearth of his dwelling,
but by no means to attempt to look into it. The reason assigned by the
angel for this removal, was that some report in relation to the place
where this sacred book was deposited had gone forth, and there was danger
of its being disturbed. According to Harris, Smith now scrupulously
followed the divine directions. He was already in possession of the two
transparent stones laid up with the GOLDEN BIBLE, by looking through which
he was enabled to read the golden letters on the plates in the box. How he
obtained these spectacles without opening the chest, Harris could not
tell. But still he had them; and by means of them he could read all the
book contained. The book itself was not to be disclosed until Smith's
child had reached a certain age. Then it might be published
M O R M O
N I S M.
11
to the world. In the interim, Smith was to prepare the way for the
conversion of the world to a new system of faith, by transcribing the
characters from the plates and giving translations of the same. This was
the substance of Martin Harris' communication to me upon our first
interview. He then carefully unfolded a slip of paper, which contained
three or four lines of characters, as unlike letters or hieroglyphics of
any sort, as well could be produced were one to shut up his eyes and play
off the most antic movements with his pen upon paper. The only thing that
bore the slightest resemblance to the letter of any language that I had
ever seen, was two uprights marked joined by a horizontal line, that might
have been taken for the Hebrew character |^|. My ignorance of the
characters in which the pretended ancient record was written, was to
Martin Harris new proof that Smith's whole account of the divine
revelation made to him was entirely to be relied on.
One thing is here to be noticed, that the statements of the originators of
this imposture varied, and were modified from time to time according as
their plans became more matured. At first it was a gold Bible -- then
golden plates engraved -- then metallic plates stereotyped or embossed
with golden letters. At one time Harris was to be enriched by the solid
gold of these plates, at another they were to be religiously kept to
convince the world of the truth of the revelation -- and, then these
plates could not be seen by any but three witnesses whom the Lord should
choose. How easy it would be, were there any such plates in existence, to
produce them, and to show that Mormonism is not a "cunningly devised
fable." How far Harris was duped by this imposture, or how far he entered
into it as a matter of speculation, I am unable to say. Several gentlemen
in Palmyra, who saw and conversed with him frequently, think he was
labouring under a sort of monomania, and that he thoroughly believed all
that Jo Smith chose to tell him on this subject. He was so much in earnest
on the subject, that he immediately started off with some of the
manuscripts that Smith furnished him on a journey to New York and
Washington to consult some learned men to ascertain the nature of the
language in which this record was engraven. Martin had now become a
perfect believer. He said he had no more doubt of Smith's divine
commission, than of the divine commission of the apostles. The very fact
that Smith was an obscure and illiterate man, showed that he must be
acting under divine impulses. That he was willing to "take of the
spoiling of his goods" to sustain Smith in carrying on this work of the
Lord; and that he was determined that the book should be published, though
it consumed all his worldly substance. It was in vain I endeavoured to
expostulate. I was an unbeliever, and could not see afar off. As for him
he must follow the light which the Lord had given him. Whether at this
time Smith had those colleagues that certainly afterwards moved unseen the
wheels of this machinery, I am unable to say. Even after Cowdery and
Rigdon were bending the whole force of their minds to the carrying out of
this imposture, Jo Smith continued to be the ostensible prominent actor in
the drama. The way that Smith made his
12
M O R M O N I S M.
transcripts and transcriptions for Harris was the following: Although in
the same room, a thick curtain or blanket was suspended between them, and
Smith concealed behind the blanket, pretended to look through his
spectacles, or transparent stones, and would then write down or repeat
what he saw, which, when repeated aloud, was written down by Harris, who
sat on the other side of the suspended blanket. Harris was told that it
would arouse the most terrible divine displeasure, if he should attempt to
draw near the sacred chest, or look at Smith while engaged in the work of
decyphering the mysterious characters. This was Harris' own account of the
matter to me. What other measures they afterwards took to transcribe or
translate from these metallic plates, I cannot say, as I very soon after
this removed to another field of labour where I heard no more of this
matter till I learned the BOOK
OF
MORMON
was about being published. It was not till after the discovery of the
manuscript of Spaulding that the actors in this imposture thought of
calling the pretended revelation the BOOK
OF
MORMON.
This book, which professed to be a translation of the golden Bible brought
to light by Joseph Smith was published in 1830 -- to accomplish which
Martin Harris actually mortgaged his farm.
In addition to the facts with which I myself was conversant in 1827 and
1828, connected with the rise of Mormonism, I have been able to lay hold
of one or two valuable documents, and obtain several items of
intelligence, by which I shall be enabled to continue this sketch of the
rise and ongin of this singular imposture. To my mind there never was a
grosser piece of deception undertaken to be practiced than this.
The
preceding account was written by the Rev. John A. Clark, now of this
city, a gentleman of unquestionable veracity, in whose statements every
confidence may justly be placed. It bears on its face the evidence of
sincerity and truth. From it the reader will learn all that is essential
to know of the origin of the singular imposture by which Smith and his
Mormon aiders and abettors have succeeded in making so many weak and
miserable dupes.
The statement which follows, traces their career up from the period at
which the preceding narrative leaves them. It is written by Mr. Cyrus
Smalling, a citizen of Kirtland, Ohio the place where Smith and his
followers made an attempt to establish themselves, but from whence their
dishonest swindling, and disgraceful conduct has driven them. It furnishes
a plain detail of transactions that makes us grieve over the weakness and
depravity of human nature.
KIRTLAND,
Ohio, March 10th, A. D., 1841.
Dear Sir -- By request, and the duty I owe to my fellow-man, I
consent to answer your letter, and your request as to Joseph Smith, Jr.,
and the Safety Society Bank of the Latter Day Saints, as they call
themselves at the present, or Mormons. As to the character of Joseph
Smith, Jr., I do not feel disposed to attack, and therefore, shall only
state facts as they are, and leave the people to judge of character. In
his youth, he and the whole family were money-
M O R M O
N I S M.
13
diggers, and
the first knowledge I have of him, is a Harmony, Susquehannah county, Pa.
where he was translating the Book of Mormon. Soon after he was taken up
and tried as an impostor; but was cleared on account of the testimony that
was given of the chests of money moving so that they could not get them. I
then lived in that county, they soon begun to build up the Church of
Christ, as they called it, and they said by a revelation from the God of
heaven; and many in that region joined themselves to them, and also in the
western part of New York, especially at Palmyra and Fayette. The followers
of Smith believe him to be a prophet, and he had a revelation that the
church must move to the Ohio, which they did, selling their possessions
and helping each other as a band of brothers, and they settled in this
place. The Smith family were then all poor and the most of the church. I
visited them in 1833, they were then building a temple to the Most High
God, who, Smith said, would appear and make his will known to his
servants, and endow them with power in their last days that they might go
and preach his gospel to all nations, kindred tongues, and people, and for
this purpose they wrought almost night and day, and scoured the branches
in the east for money to enable them to build, and the people consecrated
freely, as they supposed for that purpose, for they supposed they were to
be one in the church of Christ, for so Smith had told them by his
revelations, and that they must consecrate all for the poor in Zion, and
thus many did until they finished the temple, and in the meantime the
building committee built each of them a house, Sidney Rigdon and Joseph
Smith, Jr. By this time the leaders of the church, Smith, Rigdon, Carter
and Cahoon, &c. I may say all the heads of the church, got lifted up in
pride, and they imagined that God was about to make them rich, and that
they were to suck the milk of the Gentiles, as they call those that do not
belong to the church, or do not go hand in hand with them, and then they
would make the whole church rich; this pattern you will see in the book of
Covenants, page 240, a revelation given to Enoch, concerning the order of
the church for the benefit of the poor. Gazelom is the fictitious name of
Joseph Smith, Jr. and the lot which was dedicated to him is about 160
acres in the village of Kirtland. Pilagoram is the name used for Sidney
Rigdon; the Tahamus is a tannery that was revolated to him, the land in
the whole revelation was bought with money consecrated for the poor in
Zion, as revolated for the brethren, as I suppose you can have access to
the book, and this little sheet will be to small to ever begin to tell the
whole story that I should like to tell, if I was there with you, then it
could not be told in one day, but from this you can see they have a great
desire for riches, and to obtain them without earning them; and about this
time they said that God had told them, Sidney and Joseph, that they had
suffered enough and that they should be rich; and they informed me, that
God told them to buy goods and so they did, to some thirty thousand
dollars, on a credit of six months, at Cleveland and Buffalo. In the
spring of 1836 this firm was, I believe, Smith, Rigdon & Co., (it included
14
M O R M O N I S M.
the heads of
the church). In the fall, they formed other companies of their brethren,
and sent to New York as agents for them, Hiram Smith and O. Cowdery, and
they purchased some sixty or seventy thousand dollars worth, all for the
church, and the most of them not worth a penny, and no financiers. At this
time the first debt became due and not any thing to pay it with, for they
had sold to their poor brethren, who were strutting about the streets in
the finest broadcloth, and imagining themselves rich, but could pay
nothing: and poverty is the mother of invention. They then fixed upon a
plan to pay the debt. It was, to have a bank of their own, as none of the
then existing banks would loan to them what they wanted and the most
refused them entirely. They sent to Philadelphia and got the plates made
for their Safety Society Bank, and got a large quantity of bills ready for
filling and signing; and in the meantime, Smith and others, collected what
specie they could, which amounted to some six thousand dollars. The paper
came about the first of January, 1837, and they immediately began to issue
their paper and to no small amount: but their creditors refused to take
it, -- then Smith invented another plan, that was to exchange their notes
for other notes that would pay their debts, and for that purpose he sent
the Elders out with it to exchange, and not only the elders, but gave
large quantities of it to others, giving them one half to exchange it, as
I am informed by those that peddled for him, -- and thus Smith was
instrumental in sending the worthless stuff abroad, and it soon came in
again. There was nothing to redeem it with, as Smith had used the greater
part of their precious metals, and the inhabitants holding their bills
came to inquire into the Safety Society precious metals, and the way that
Smith contrived to deceive them was this: he had some one or two hundred
boxes made, and gathered all the lead and shot that the village had or
that part of it that he controlled, and filled the boxes with lead, shot,
&c.; and marked them, one thousand dollars each -- then, when they went to
examine the vault, he had one box on a table partly filled for them to
see, and when they proceeded to the vault, Smith told them that the church
had two hundred thousand dollars in specie, and he opened one box and they
saw that it was silver, and they [hefted] a number and Smith told them
that they contained specie, and they were seemingly satisfied and went
away for a few days, until the elders were sent off in every direction to
pass their paper off: among the elders were Brigham Young, that went last,
with forty thousand dollars; John F. Boynton, with some twenty thousand
dollars; Luke Johnson, south and east, with an unknown quantity. I suppose
if the money you have was taken of those, it was Smith's and their profit;
and thus they continued to pass and sell the worthless stuff until they
sold it at twelve and a half cents on the dollar, and so eager to put it
off at that, that they could not attend meeting on the Sabbath, -- but
they signed enough at that price to buy one section of land in the
Illinois. There was some signed with S. Rigdon, cashier, and J. Smith, Jr.
president, for the purpose, as it was then said, that if they should be
called upon when they could not well redeem, that they would call them
counterfeit,
M O R M O
N I S M.
15
but they had no
occasion to call any counterfeit, for they never redeemed but a very few
thousand dollars, and there must be now a great many thousands of their
bills out. There was some which others signed pro. tem. that were
genuine too, the name of F. G. Williams, N. K. Whitney, and one Kingsburg,
all those are genuine.
The church have not now nor never had any common stock, * all that has
been consecrated, Smith and the heads of the church have got, and what
they get now they keep, for to show this I send you a revelation which is
as follows: -- Revelation given July 9th, 1837, in far west, Caldwell
county, Missouri, -- O Lord, show unto us, thy servants, how much thou
requirest of the properties of thy people for a tything? Answer: Verily,
thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus properties to be put into
the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, for the building of mine
house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the priesthood,
and for the debts of the presidency of my church, and this shall be the
beginning of the tything of my people, and after that, those who have been
tythed, shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually, and this shall
be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood saith the
Lord: Verily, I say unto you, it shall come to pass, that all those who
gather unto the land of Zion, shall be tythed of their surplus properties,
and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide
among you; and behold, I say unto you, if my people observe not this law
to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me that my
statutes and my jugments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy;
behold: Verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you,
and this shall be one example unto all the [states] of Zion, even so.
Amen." They left here in a great hurry, as there was many debts against
them, for the principal part that Smith had was borrowed, as also the
heads of the church in general, and they had to keep the poor brethren
lugging their boxes of silks and fine clothes from place to place, so that
they should not be taken to pay their just debts, and mostly borrowed
money, until they succeeded in getting them off in the night. They were
pursued, but to no effect, they had a train too numerous, so the people
could not get their pay, and thus they have brought destruction and misery
on a great many respectable families, that are reduced to distress, while
they live in splendor and all kinds of extravagance. Thus I send you a
few, and this is, in comparison, as one drop of water would be in
comparison of the Skuylkill, or in other words to Lake Erie. Those
statements are well known here, and I presume will not be contradicted
there, unless by some fanatic that has no knowledge of things as they do
exist, or those deeply interested in the frauds of the saints themselves.
I am yours, &c.
CYRUS SMALLING, of Kirtland,
Ohio.
__________
* Instead of the stock being common, it appears the intention of
the ringleaders is to monopolize it, and leave their poor dupes at last to
shift for themselves.
16
M O R M O N I S M.
REMARKS
Of Mr. Lee,
before the Mormon meeting at Frankford, Pa. after the close
of a lecture on Mormonism.
Permission having been given for any to address the audience, who may see
proper to do so at the close of the lecture, I take the liberty of making
a few remarks. In doing so, I intend to be very brief and very plain.
I have charges to bring against the promulgators of the doctrines we have
been listening to this evening, which I trust will go far toward opening
the eyes of every individual, and cause them to turn with disgust from
those lying prophets whom I here plainly and unhesitatingly brand, not
only as religious impostors, but as swindlers.
In doing this I shall not attempt to expose the Mormon imposture or to
combat the creed by which they are striving to delude and deceive the weak
minded and ignorant. It is not my intention to hold up, to scorn the
miserable trick of the golden plates found in a potato, or some other
field in the State of New York, from which it is pretended their new
religion has been derived. I shall have nothing to do with their
blasphemous stories and their forged miracles, or with those who are weak
enough to be gulled by them, but I wish to ask the attention of this
audience, to the worldly, business matters which can be understood by
every man, and upon the strength of which I here venture the bold and
deliberate charge of swindling.
Joseph Smith, jun. and Mr. Rigdon are the two acknowledged heads,
plotters, contrivers, and in short the fathers of this "latter day,"
Mormon humbug. They are the arch impostors -- the wicked authors of this
wicked scheme which the speaker to-night has been laboring to palm off
upon this audience. I wish it to be distinctly borne in mind that these
two men, Smith and Rigdon, are the avowed and acknowledged fabricators of
the scheme of Mormonism. The Speaker to-night, one of the tools, the
pliant cat's paw, by which they are attempting to operate upon the
community.
I hold in my hand a bank note -- a ten dollar bank note, which as I wish
to ask the particular attention of the audience to I will read. (Mr. Lee
here read the note, an exact copy of which will be found on the second
page.)
It reads fairly -- promises largely -- and bears the veritable signatures
of the arch impostors themselves, J. Smith, jr. and S. Rigdon.
Now this $10 Mormon note is one of the grossest pieces of fraud in a mere
pecuniary point of view -- religion out of the question -- that has ever
been perpetrated in this swindling age, a downright, villainous piece of
swindling.
In the first place the plate itself from which the worthless trash was
printed, has never to this day been paid for -- the engraver, printer,
paper maker, and all having been regularly cheated out of their hard
earnings by this set of swindling hypocrites.
In the second place, thousands and thousands of the spurious trash was
passed off for goods of all kinds, with no other earthly design or
intention than that of swindling.
In the West in like manner thousands upon thousands of the
M O R M O
N I S M.
17
trash has been passed off upon the honest farmer and the hard working
mechanic.
But a few months ago both these speculating gamblers, these Mormon, latter
day saints, who like their tool this evening, busy themselves in running
down the religion of others, and slandering better men than they ever can
hope to be, were in Philadelphia.
The owner of this note, a gentleman who is now in this room, called upon
them -- but they would not be seen. He saw one of their elders who
declared that Rigdon had been sick for six weeks in the city, but declared
he did not know where he was -- no, he did not know the house or the
number, or even the street or part of the city in which his own,
suffering, sick brother resided. This monstrous inhumanity on one side or
deliberate lying on the other, with the prevarication and falsehood in
relation to Smith also, convinced the holder of the note that he could
obtain no satisfaction from those, whom if possessed of a particle of
honesty would not have been ashamed to show their faces.
That they are swindlers in the rankest sense of the term is evident from
the foregoing facts, as well as from the fact that their gambling bank was
put into operation in direct, open violation of the laws of Ohio, in which
state their swindling shop was located -- that this $10 note is not worth
and will not bring two cents, and in short, that for the same or a similar
offense the gray-haired and comparatively innocent Dr. Dyott is this very
night incarcerated within the walls of the Eastern penitentiary.
Now without any reference to the truth or falsehood of their new religion
or the golden plates which they had better convert into coin to pay off
their notes -- without regard to this latter day Mormonism, which is as
much beneath the dignity of argument as they themselves are beneath
contempt. I would ask one question.
I would ask this audience gravely to consider the question, whether any
set of men combining together to swindle and defraud the community are to
be believed in any scheme of religion, however plausible which they may
attempt to get up?
Is it at all likely men of such characters would be selected to promulgate
divine truths? are such men entitled to your confidence? are they the kind
of men who are even fit to hold the strings of the purse into which they
are persuading their poor dupes to pour in their money -- their little
all? :
Confidence? Rather should they not be scouted from the society through
which they are prowling like wolves in sheep's clothing "seeking whom they
may devour," scouted from the community which they disgrace. Or rather
should not the strong arm of the law be made to punish those hypocritical
impostors, whose sole practice, object, and business it is to deceive the
weak minded, to cheat the credulous, to rob the unsuspecting, and defraud
the public? They should be narrowly watched wherever they go; for men of
such characters would no more hesitate to pick your pocket or seize any
opportunity of robbing you, than they would to engage in this impious
mockery of religion, this gross and wicked imposture.
18
M O R M O N I S M.
The following account of the Mormon meeting in Frankfort, at which the
preceding remarks were produced by Mr. Lee, appeared in the
Daily Chronicle, a penny paper of Philadelphia, a day or two after the
occurrence:
A MORMON
DISTURBANCE.
-- The Mormons, or as they prefer calling themselves, the "Latter Day
Saints," have for a few weeks past disturbed the quiet of the peace-loving
borough of Frankfort, with their attempts to make converts. Several we
understand, have been already so far imposed upon by their representations
as to sell out and put their funds into the common stock. On Wednesday
evening last, their third lecture was delivered to a very crowded house.
After the delivery of which, it was distinctly announced by the Mormons
themselves, of whom there were several present, that any person disposed
to make any remarks, was at liberty to do so.
Availing himself of this permission, or rather invitation, Mr. E. G. Lee,
a gentleman of Frankfort, and who is attached to no religious sect or
denomination, addressed the audience. He stated that it was not his
intention to enter into a discussion of the merits of the system they were
endeavoring to impose on the community, but simply to call attention of
the audience to the character of the men themselves, and to prove, as he
conclusively should, that whatever merits their system might possess, that
they are not the men to promulgate. Mr. Lee then produced a ten dollar
note, purporting to be issued by the Kirtland Safety Society Bank. Ohio,
which note was signed by Joseph Smith, Jr. the author and head of the
system of Mormonism; and by S. Rigdon, his associate, and likewise one of
the chiefs.
Mr. L. was prepared to show the swindling character of this transaction,
transcending in atrocity the offence for which Dr. Dyott is now suffering
the penalty of the law, because the Mormon notes had no basis whatever,
and never were worth a farthing. While the gentleman was thus engaged in
detailing the character of their leader, he was interrupted by the Mormon
preacher, who insisted that he should not proceed, and declared that his
whole statement was a falsehood. He went on to assert his knowledge of the
transaction -- that he was himself at Kirtland at the time -- that the
notes were issued by Smith, because he was in debt, and that they were
regularly redeemed until the counterfeits came in so freely that they were
obliged to suspend. He farther declared, the note produced and exhibited
to the meeting, was a counterfeit, and this, too, before he had been
within ten feet of it. The audience were desirous of hearing the speaker
out, but the Mormon insisted with great vehemence and anger that he should
not go on, thus furnishing the clearest evidence of the guilt which was
charged upon them. For he was solicited to allow Mr. Lee to get through
with his statement, and then he could reply, and have every opportunity of
showing the falsehood of the charges alleged against them. This course did
not suit them, and by their violence and clamor the meeting was broken up
in disorder.
The gentlemen who has furnished us with the foregoing particulars,
M O R M O
N I S M.
19
assures us that
he has submitted the note to Messrs. Underwood, Bald and Spencer, the
respectable firm by whom the plate was engraved, who unhesitatingly
pronounced it genuine, thus proving the falsehood of the vender of
Mormonism in this particular. We are farther assured that even the plate
itself never has been paid for -- that as to redeeming the notes, a few
were paid at the banking establishment in Ohio, in the outset, merely
sufficient to establish some sort of character for them at home, and until
their agents could reach the Eastern States, where they were immediately
put into circulation. Upwards of two hundred thousand dollars of this
worthless trash has been passed off upon the community, and by the same
men who are now engaged in passing off their religious imposture, which
has for its great object the same result. viz: to fleece the miserable
dupes who may be induced to convert their property into cash to be placed
in a common fund, under the control of such characters as we have
exhibited above.
TESTIMONY OF A MORMON
ELDER AND PREACHER.
The
following letter was directed to the Daily Chronicle in reply to the
foregoing account of the Frankford exposure. It is signed by B. Winchester
himself, the chief Elder, preacher and expounder of the Mormon imposture
in Philadelphia. The Daily Chronicle refusing to publish, what they had
reason to believe was a tissue of falsehood, it was taken to the Public
Ledger and printed in that paper on the
23d February, 1841, as an advertisement. Read it carefully, as it
furnishes in itself conclusive evidence of the truth of the charges made
against these imposters, who, not satisfied with counterfeiting religion,
add the double infamy and guilt of counterfeiting the currency.
(Written for the Daily
Chronicle.)
==> MESSERS.
EDITORS.
-- I have
just had the perusal of a piece in your paper of this morning, headed
"Mormon Disturbance," which took place at Frankford, and justice to an
injured, quiet, and inoffensive community demands an immediate answer to
the same. * * * * * The subject that audience was addressed with, was the
second coming of Christ, and the establishment of his kingdom on earth.
The invitation that was given, was not to invite any person to make
remarks about Bank notes or shinplasters; but to any that should have any
remarks to make upon the subject already presented. (1.) Mr. Lee arose,
and commenced belching forth his foul insinuations, (2.) and invective
applications, and ranked us with the very dregs of vulgarity. He then read
his ten dollar note. As the object of the meeting was not to discuss
matters of the kind, (3.) I invited him to desist, that the meeting might
be dismissed in peace (4.)
As for the bank note, I will here take the liberty to state that in 1837,
at the time of the suspension, our people were engaged building a meeting
house, and in order to forward the work of building they issued a quantity
of shinplasters, handsomely engraved by Messrs. Underwood, Bald & Spencer
(5.) Part of them were signed by Messrs. Rigdon and Smith, who were
engaged in the
20
M O R M O N I S M.
above work. The
genuine had the word Anti prefixed to Banking Company) not engraved
on the plate, but inserted (in the office) before signed and put in
circulation. (6.) One Mr. W. Parish who was employed as clerk at the time,
assisted by a Mr. Boyd, availed themselves of an opportunity, and stole
several thousand of the real plate, and forged the named of Messrs. Rigdon
and Smith, and issued them without prefixing the word Anti Some was
put into the hands of men who went West, and purchased droves of horses.
Others came East, and purchased goods. At length it came pouring in upon
the firm like a flood, but on examination of their books, they found that
they had redeemed all the genuine. Of course they suspended. These are
facts that can be well authenticated if necessary.
Admitting, for the sake of argument, that Messrs. Smith and Rigdon were
not able to pay their debts, does it necessarily follow that they are the
most dejected and dishonest of all men. (8). Moses slew the Egyptian, and
hid him in the sand, and fled from Egypt to escape the penalty of the law,
David feigned himself crazy by letting the spittle run down his beard; but
this does not prove that they were false prophets, or that God did not
approbate them on any occasion. (9.) Indeed every virtue and moral of our
society is narrowed down to almost nothing, but on the other hand every
thing is magnified to an astonishing rate. The columns of newspapers have
been open and free to any thing that would excite prejudice against us,
but closed to any thing on the part of the defensive. B. WINCHESTER.
Friday, February 19.
COMMENTS.
1.
Nothing was said as to what remarks should be allowed. At the close of his
lecture Winchester stated that any one disposed to make any remarks was
invited to do so. This general invitation was at once accepted.
2. The mildness and meekness of a Christian teacher is here exemplified
with a vengeance. Other portions of this Mormon Saint's letter in the
Ledger, is omitted, as entirely too vulgar, coarse, and indecent, to
reprint. As to any foul insinuations, this pious Saint is mistaken, there
were no insinuations at all, but a plain, downright charge of imposition
and swindling. Honest men would not call this insinuating.
3. The Mormons did not want to "discuss matters of this kind." Of course
not. The very last thing in the world that a rogue would think of
discussing would be his own conduct and character. But, whatever might
have been the object of the meeting, its very first object should have
been to show that its leaders were deserving of the confidence they asked
for. Truth, honesty, and fair dealing, always court investigation.
4. The whole audience will bear testimony to the fact that instead of
"inviting" Mr. Lee to desist, this Mormon hypocrite, undertook to
brow-beat him into silence, and like a guilty criminal drove to smother
down the freedom of speech. He had no desire
M O R M O
N I S M.
21
or intention of "dismissing the meeting," as he now pretends, because a
further attempt was to have been made to make converts to the faith. The
only thing like a disturbance of the peace arose from the impudent manner
in which Mr. Lee's exposition was interrupted. The audience had listened
patiently and quietly to the Mormon's denunciation of all professions but
his own; had indulged him in the fullest liberty of speech; and, however
unjust, impious or abusive might have been the preacher, the audience
would have sat him out nor thought of any attempt to interrupt his gross
mockery. Not an individual manifested towards them the slightest
disposition to check the fullest liberty or freedom of speech.
Now had this spirit been reciprocated, there would have been not the
slightest interruption to the quiet sad good order which had existed. No
matter how wrong, how false, or how slanderous may have been Mr. Lee's
allegations, the Mormon could have answered his accuser face to face, and
let the audience judge between them. Mr. Lee's remarks would have occupied
but a few minutes -- he simply wanted to bring the charges plainly before
them -- openly and above board -- that if false, the Mormons might
contradict them, or if true, as he verily believed, that then the audience
might be put upon their guard. It certainly was proper that the charges
should be brought forward, in order that the accused might have an
opportunity of refuting them, since they were of so serious a nature. If
innocent, the Mormon would, no doubt, have set and quietly smiled at the
impotent slander, would have heard his accuser patiently through, and then
arose and set the matter in its true light. But no! conscious guilt got
the better of his judgment of his true policy, and, although the audience
expressed a wish to hear Mr. Lee out, the Mormon was determined he should
not go on. In this attempt to smother down the freedom of speech,
originated a scene of confusion and disorder. It was the fear and
confusion of shame, of detected guilt and exposed imposition.
Now for the Mormon Saint's own confirmation of the swindling and
fraudulent character of the banking transactions.
5. The old adage, that liars should have good memories, is exemplified
here. He says, "In 1837, at the time of the suspension," they issued their
shinplasters; his object being to convey the impression, that the trash
was issued in consequence of the suspension. Now the fact is, that the
bank was got up, and the arrangements made before the suspension was
thought of. In proof of which, the suspension took place 11th May, 1837,
and the note, it I will be seen, is dated March 9, 1837, and of course
must have been decided in Ohio some months previous, in order to allow
time for the expensive engraving to be finished in Philadelphia and
returned to Ohio. This is an evident, premeditated falsehood, the more
wilful, because this Mormon asserted at Frankford, that he was himself at
Kirtland where the bank was, and knew all about it.
6. Again, he says, "Anti" was prefixed to "Banking Company." Now, by
examining the copy of the note it will be seen that "Banking Company" is
not on the note at all. There is no space for the word "ANTI" on the
plate, and what is more, if
22
M O R M O N I S M.
there, it could have no other meaning or design than that of deception.
This is obvious to the plainest understanding. If the word "Anti" was not
on the note, then is Winchester convicted of falsehood by his own
testimony. On the other hand, if the word "Anti" was actually on the note,
as he asserts it was, it must of course have been done for the purpose of
deception and fraud to enable the Mormons to cheat with the greater
impunity. Either way Saint Winchester furnishes evidence that these Mormon
shinplasters were issued for the express purpose of swindling the
community.
Once more, let us examine this conclusive proof of Mormon villainy --
shown to be so by Winchester himself, and that too without a particle of
the evidence contained in the startling letter from Kirtland, p. 14. This
Mormon aider and abettor, of one of the most infamous pieces of fraud that
has ever disgraced this or any other country, gives himself, the strongest
evidence of its criminal character.
7. He names Mormon Parish and Mormon Boyd as stealers and counterfeiters
of this Mormon trash. He says that they stole the plate. The best proof
that they were not stolen is, that they were never advertised -- the
public was never put on their guard -- no caution was ever issued -- thus
showing the whole thing to be a Mormon trick. But how did they get the
plate printed? The plate could have been of no use unless bills were
printed from it. Jo Smith let them use his Mormon copperplate press,
perhaps, and allowed them to forge his name. This would go to confirm that
part of Mr. Smalling's letter from Kirtland, which says some trick of this
kind was resorted to, so that when brought in to be redeemed they could be
called counterfeit, and so refused. A precious piece of villainy truly.
This is obviously the case, because it will be observed that Winchester
actually admits that these Mormon thieves were sent out with their Mormon
counterfeits to buy droves of horses and purchase goods, some of the very
extra superfine broadcloth, no doubt, in which the beggarly, swindling
Saints strutted about the streets of Kirtland. And, wretches of this
stamp, prowling through the country to preach piety, daring to pollute the
moral atmosphere with the stench of Mormonism.
8. "Admitting they couldn't pay their debts" indeed. Why that is not the
charge at all, Master Winchester. Many an honest man is in that same
predicament and still maintains his integrity. Couldn't pay their debts,
eh? Why, where is their six thousand dollars in gold and silver? Where is
the two hundred thousand dollars worth of houses, lands, goods, &c. out of
which the public have been swindled? Where are the thousands out of which
the prophet has fleeced the Mormon flock? Where are the other thousands
got by "scouring the branches," as they term it, of the Mormons through
the states, or filched from the poor, miserable dupes who have put their
little all at the mercy of such ravenous creatures. But all this is
nothing, the merest trifle, in comparison with what follows.
9. Such unheard of audacity, such cool, brazen-faced impudence
M O R M O
N I S M.
23
as is this allusion to Moses and David is, we must confess, unparalleled
in the annals of depravity. What! attempting to compare offences committed
in the heat of passion, and regretted and atoned for -- compare such
offences with the cool, calculating villainy, of a gang of freebooters,
who deliberately set themselves down to plot crimes of the blackest dye?
impious and wicked wretches, who for long years lay their deep schemes,
under the garb of piety, to deceive, to lie, to mislead, and plunder the
community? That an excuse so paltry, should even be thought of, indicates
a degree of depravity rarely witnessed, but that the shameless avowal
should be published to the world in an outrage on public decency, more
monstrous than could be looked for even from Mormonism itself, steeped in
iniquity and fraud as it has been from its birth. Even supposing Moses and
David to be ten times worse than this Mormon would have them appear, what
have their sins to do with Jo Smith and his gang of marauders? how can the
sins of others justify or even palliate the blasphemy, counterfeiting, and
crimes of swindling Mormonism? No two wrongs can make one right. The
principle which these impostors would establish, may serve to cloak their
own guilty doings a little longer, may give them a further chance to cheat
the credulous, to rob the poor, to put off a little further the just and
fearful retribution that must sooner or later overtake them; but the very
atrocity of such sentiments must eventually startle even their poor dupes
from their stupid dreams, and open their eyes to the true character of
this strange delusion, this wicked and horrible imposture.
From the Philadelphia
Reporter and Counterfeit Detector of April 1, 1840 -- page 10.
We have been shown a
ten dollar note of the Kirtland Safety Society, signed by J. Smith, Jr.
cashier, and S. Rigdon, president, believed to have been passed in this
city, among others, by the veritable Joe Smith himself, of Mormon
notoriety, about two years since. Of course it is valueless, and if he did
but know how many hard names he received from the person on whom the
deception was practiced, he certainly would repent of his evil deeds.
From the Baptist
Advocate.
MORMONISM.
Mr. Editor, -- A rare
public document of a most interesting character has lately fallen into my
hands.
The Mormons have been generally regarded as a harmless sect of deluded
fanatics, unworthy of any particular notice; and the common impression
seems to be, that they have been wronged and persecuted by the state of
Missouri. For my own part, having had occasion to become better acquainted
with their principles and history than many others, I have for a long time
been endeavouring, as opportunity offered, to open the eyes of the
community to their character, and to show that mischief lurks beneath this
cover of apparent
24
M O R M O N I S M.
insignificance,
and that there are two sides to the story of the Mormon war in Missouri.
Near the close of the recent session of Congress,
a pamphlet was printed by order of the United States' Senate, for the
use of the members of Congress, entitled a "Document showing the testimony
given before the judge of the fifth judicial circuit of the state of
Missouri, at the court-house in Richmond, in a criminal court of inquiry,
begun November 12th, 1838." A list of fifty-three individuals is given, as
being charged with the crimes of high treason against the state, murder,
burglary, arson, robbery and larceny. Among the number are Joseph Smith,
jr. Hiram Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt * * *
A paper was draughted by Sidney Rigdon against the dissenters from
Mormonism and signed by eighty-four Mormons It was addressed to Oliver
Cowdrey, David Whitmer, William W. Phelps and Lyman E. Johnson. Of these,
Oliver Cowdrey and David Whitmer were two of the three witnesses that
testified to the truth of the Book of Mormon. This will therefore serve to
show how much credit is to be attached to their testimony. These
eighty-four Mormons, in the letter, say to the dissenters, (Cowdrey,
Whitmer, &c.) that they had violated their promise, and disregarded their
covenant; that Oliver Cowdrey had been taken by a state warrant for
stealing, and the stolen property was found in the house of William W.
Phelps, Oliver Cowdrey having stolen and conveyed it; that these
dissenters had endeavoured to destroy the characters of Smith and Rigdon
by every artifice they could invent, not even excepting the basest lying;
that they had disturbed the Mormon meetings of worship; that Cowdrey and
Whitmer had united with a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars and
blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat and defraud the Mormons
out of their properly, by every art and stratagem which wickedness could
invent, stealing not excepted; that they had attempted to raise mobs
against the Mormons; that Cowdrey attempted to pass notes on which he had
received pay; that Cowdrey, Whitmer and others, were guilty of perjury,
cheating, selling bogus money, (base coin,) and even stones and sand for
bogus! that they had opened, read and destroyed letters in the
post-office; and that they were engaged with a gang of counterfeiters,
coiners, and blacklegs.
There, Mr. Editor, is the character of two of the three witnesses who
testified that they had seen the plates of the book of Mormon; that God's
voice declared to them that they had been translated by his gift and
power, that an angel of God laid the plates and engravings before their
eyes; and that the voice of the Lord commanded them that they should bear
record of it. This is the character of two of the three witnesses,
according to the testimony of eighty-four Mormons and not
opposers of Mormonism. To how much credit these two witnesses are
entitled, you can judge for yourself
Such then is this SACRILEGIOUS
IMPOSTURE,
such the
INIQUITY
and infamy of MORMONISM.
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