,,reminiscences    ,,of    ,,joseph1    
,,the ,,prophet1    ,,and ,,the ,,coming
 ,,forth ,,of    ,,the ,,book ,,of      
,,mormon4    ,,by ,,elder ,,edward      
,,stevenson1    ,of the ,church of      
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints4  
,,illustrated4    ,,salt ,,lake ,,city3 
,,published ,,by ,,the ,,author4        
#ahic4    ,image3 ,edward ,stevenson1   
,born ,may #ast1 #ahbj1 at ,gibraltar1  
,spain4        ,,preface4    ,in        
presenting this pamphlet of             
,reminiscences to the public1 the       
,author  desires to explain the         
circumstances that induced him to issue 
it4  ,while delivering a series of      
illustrated lectures in the various     
tabernacles and public halls throughout 
the ,territory--and which  were repeated
 on more than #bjj different            
occasions--the ,author was  earnestly   
solicited to publish the lectures1      
including engravings of  the paintings1 
in the form in which they now appear4   
,having become convinced from the great 

interest taken in the lectures1  that   
they were productive of much good1 the  
,author finally determined  to submit   
the lectures to the public4    ,the     
,author having been personally          
acquainted with the ,prophet ,joseph    
,smith1 and having been with him in many
 of his trying experiences1  desires to 
add his testimony to the truth of the   
work inaugurated by  him1 under         
instructions from the ,almighty1 and    
hopes that the incidents  herein related
 will induce many to investigate this   
great and important  work2 for he that  
judgeth without investigation is unwise4
    ,respectfully1 ,,the ,,author4      
,,reminiscences ,,of ,,joseph ,,the     
,,prophet      ,,chapter ,i4    ,the    
,mighty ,messenger of the ,latter-day   
,dispensation4--,a ,brief ,record of  a 
,life fraught with ,matchless ,heroism1 
under all manner of ,persecution1       
,trials1 ,imprisonment1 ,hardships and  
finally ,martyrdom4    ,image3 ,joseph  
,smith1 the ,prophet4    ,the picture   

herewith presented is one of the few    
produced of the  ,prophet ,joseph       
,smith4 ,it is here reproduced from one 
published in  ,harper's ,pictorial many 
years ago and now makes its appearance  
for  the second time4 ,although it is   
only a wood cut1 there are in it some   
true lines and features of the ,prophet 
when he was about the age of            
twenty-six4 ,at this early period the   
science of photography was but  in its  
infancy and pictures of prominent men   
were neither so correct  nor plentiful  
as at the present time4 ,it is1 indeed1 
very proper and  desirable to preserve  
the best pictures of those who have     
proven  themselves the benefactors of   
our country1 and more especially so of  
him who was chosen and ordained of ,god 
to give light and truth and  eternal    
blessings to mankind4    ,of the few    
likenesses of our martyred ,prophet     
placed before the public1  there has    
been one presented by his son 7,joseph  
,smith1 ,jr471 which  purports to be a  

copy or fac simile of a painting which  
was evidently  taken when he was quite  
young4 ,it is a front view and1 in some 
respects1 bears a striking resemblance  
to the one we present to our  readers1  
notwithstanding that ours is a side     
view4    ,many efforts have been made to
 obtain a good portrait1 but1 it is to  
be  regretted1 without satisfactory     
results4 ,brother ,nathan ,t4 ,porter1  
of  ,centerville1 ,davis ,county1 ,utah1
 who first saw ,joseph ,smith in        
,jackson  ,county1 ,mo41 in the year    
#ahca1 is very much pleased with this   
picture1  and so also is ,aunt ,zina ,d4
 ,h4 ,young1 who sees in it many        
striking  features of the youthful      
,prophet4    ,i first saw him in #ahcd  
at ,pontiac and the impression made upon
 my  mind by him at that time causes me 
now much pleasure in presenting the     
picture to his many friends4 ,the love  
for him1 as a true ,prophet of  ,god1   
was indelibly impressed upon my mind1   
and has always been with me  from that  

time1 although nearly sixty years have  
since passed away4    ,in that same     
year1 #ahcd1 in the midst of many large 
congregations1 the  ,prophet testified  
with great power concerning the visit of
 the ,father  and the ,son1 and the     
conversation he had with them4 ,never   
before did  ,i feel such power as was   
manifested on these occasions1 and1     
although  only a small percentage of    
those who saw and heard him accepted the
  restored ,gospel1 there was not one   
who dared to dispute it4 ,many of  our  
neighbors were heard to say3 ,well1 if  
,mormonism is true1 it will  stand2 if  
not true1 it will fall4 ,many of them   
lived to see it stand  and increase1 and
 while they themselves passed away in   
death's embrace1  the work continued to 
flourish and prosper4    ,the fact that 
so few received his testimony caused me1
 for a time1 to  greatly marvel4 ,but   
when ,i looked back to the period when  
,jesus and  ,his chosen ,twelve and     
,seventies labored1 with all their      

might1 for the  salvation of a fallen   
world1 even with all manner of signs    
following  their labors1 and saw how few
 believed in our embraced their         
testimony  in that day of mighty power1 
when even the grave was robbed of its   
victims and the dead commanded to come  
forth and live1 and that while  the dead
 lived the living were dead2 yea1 when  
,i saw and meditated  upon these things1
 ,i became somewhat reconciled1 and the 
words of  the ,lord1 through ,jeremiah1 
recurred to my mind and ,i was          
satisfied4  ,the words were these1 ,and 
,i will take you one of a city1 and two 
of  a family1 and ,i will bring you to  
,zion4 ,and ,i will give you pastors    
according to mine heart1 which shall    
feed you with knowledge and             
understanding4--,jer4 #c4 chap4 #ad1    
#ae4 ,after these lessons ,i learned    
that while the ,gospel was free to every
 one1 yet every one was not free  to    
receive the ,gospel4    ,while thus     
speaking of the ,prophet's visit to     

,pontiac1 ,oakland ,county1  ,michigan  
7then a ,territory71 ,i cannot pass by  
the predictions which he  then made and 
which were afterwards literally         
fulfilled as witnessed by  myself and   
many others4 ,joseph said1 ,if you will 
obey the ,gospel with  honest hearts1 ,i
 promise you in the name of the ,lord1  
that the gifts as  promised by our      
,saviour will follow you1 and by this   
you may prove me  to be a true servant  
of ,god4    ,i am1 with others1 a       
witness that these gifts did follow many
 in the  branch of the ,church which was
 raised up in ,pontiac4 ,among them were
  ,deacon ,bent of the ,presbyterian    
,church1 who was the first one baptized 
7and who afterwards became ,president of
 the ,high ,council in ,nauvoo74  ,his  
daughter ,mary was the first one who    
spoke in tongues in this  branch4       
,besides ,mary ,curtis1 ,joseph ,wood1  
,elijah ,fordham and others  also       
enjoyed that gift4 ,we felt that we were
 blessed above kings1  rulers and       

potentates of the earth and truly we    
were a happy branch of  the ,church of  
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints4  
,our souls were full of  joyous         
thanksgiving1 and our songs of gladness 
rejoiced the heart by  day1 dispelled   
the gloom of night and welcomed the     
coming morn4 ,those  only can realize   
our happiness and delight who sing with 
the soul and  understanding the         
beautiful song of ,zion3     ,we thank  
,thee1 ,o ,god1 for a ,prophet1 ,to     
guide us in these latter days2   ,we    
thank ,thee for sending the ,gospel ,to 
lighten our minds with its   rays4      
,the above named ,mary ,curtis1 who     
afterwards became ,sister ,reed1 will be
  remembered as the lady who spoke in   
tongues in the ,logan ,temple about     
three years ago1 on a fast day1 and who1
 on that same day1 after having         
completed her day's work in the ,temple1
 went home in the evening and  died4    
,lyman ,o4 ,littlefield1 of ,logan1 as  
well as myself and my ,sister  ,mary    

,stevenson ,clark1 of ,farmington1      
,davis ,co41 ,utah1 witnessed the       
speaking in tongues by ,mary ,curtis in 
,michigan1 sixty years ago1 and  also on
 this occasion in ,logan ,temple4       
,these1 however1 were not the only      
blessings with which we were favored  in
 the ,pontiac branch1 for we enjoyed the
 presence of the venerable and          
venerated father of the ,prophet        
7,joseph ,smith1 ,sen471 the ,patriarch 
of  the whole ,church of ,god on the    
earth4 ,the writer was one of many who1 
under his hands1 received choice and    
rare blessings1 when the power of  the  
,holy ,ghost filled the house to such an
 extent that the tears flowed  down the 
cheeks of even those who lived and died 
outside of the pale of  the ,church4    
,oliver ,cowdery1 ,david ,whitmer and   
,martin ,harris were also heard by the  
writer to testify that they1 in open    
day1 stood in the presence of  the ,god 
who ministered unto the ,prophet4 ,and  
indeed there was a power  accompanying  

these testimonies which was             
irresistible1 and which made  deep and  
lasting impressions4    ,although a mere
 humble widow's son1 ,i felt proud and  
blessed of ,god1  when he honored us by 
coming under our roof and partaking of  
our  hospitality4 ,oh6 how my heart     
swelled with delightful emotions of     
heavenly love1 as ,i selected and       
presented to him some of our choice     
apples in exchange for the golden       
nuggets of celestial truth1 which he    
bestowed upon us as he partook of the   
humble but hearty hospitality  of a     
widow's table6 ,we were proud1 indeed1  
to entertain one who had  conversed with
 the ,father and the ,son1 and been     
under the tuition of  an angel from     
,heaven1 and who1 under the immediate   
direction of the  ,almighty1 had        
organized the true church on the earth1 
after the exact  pattern of that        
organized by ,god1 through ,jesus       
,christ1 eighteen  hundred years before4
    ,in parting from under our roof the 

,prophet expressed a desire to have a   
loan of a large ,english ,book of       
,martyrs which we possessed1 promising  
to return it to us when he should meet  
us again in ,zion1 in the ,state  of    
,missouri1 which he did1 and on         
returning it he said1 ,i have1 by the   
aid of the ,urim and ,thummim1 seen     
those martyrs1 and they were honest1    
devoted followers of ,christ1 according 
to the light they possessed1 and  they  
will be saved4    ,for the benefit of   
those who have not been privileged to   
meet our  beloved martyred ,prophet1 ,i 
deem it a favor to present the picture1 
with the incidents here narrated1 for   
the pleasure and consideration of  all  
who may peruse them4    ,joseph ,smith  
was born ,december #bcrd1 #ahje1 in     
,sharon1 ,windsor ,county1  ,vermont4   
,at about the age of eight years1 he    
passed through an ordeal  which gave    
remarkable evidence of heroic fortitude 
and indomitable  power of will1 under   
intense bodily suffering4 ,after        

recovering from a  severe typhus fever1 
a fever sore affected his leg and       
threatened him  with the loss of the    
limb4 ,under these circumstances1 a     
consultation  of physicians was held1   
and after making an incision eight      
inches  in length1 and examining the    
bone1 they decided that1 if his life    
was to be saved1 amputation of the      
member was absolutely necessary4  ,this 
operation1 however1 was so strongly     
opposed by both parents and  son that   
the doctors finally concluded to remove 
the affected parts  of the bone4        
,accordingly1 they called for a strong  
cord to bind the  lad1 and were         
intending to give him a stimulant2 but  
to all this our  young hero most        
decidedly objected1 saying1 ,i will not 
touch one  particle of liquor1 neither  
will ,i be tied down2 but ,i will have  
my  father sit on the bed and hold me in
 his arms1 and then ,i will do  whatever
 is necessary to have the bone taken    
out4 ,by drilling into  the bone on each

 side of the part affected1 three pieces
 of bone  were extracted1 the removal   
being made with a pair of forceps4 ,the 
manhood and willpower of this noble     
youth of eight years1 under so  trying  
an ordeal1 foreshadowed the story of his
 life--a life fraught  with matchless   
heroism1 under all manner of            
persecution1 trials1  imprisonments1    
hardships and finally martyrdom4 ,the   
howlings of  murderous mobs1 infuriated 
by infernal legions1 the lying slanders 
of a  vile hireling priesthood1 and the 
base treachery of loathsome traitors1   
proved utterly powerless to cause him to
 swerve a single hair's  breadth from   
the cause of ,god and the interests of  
the downtrodden  and oppressed4 ,to the 
transgressor and hypocrite he was a     
fierce lion  in the way1 to injured     
innocence he was a tower of strength1   
and to  the poor and helpless he was    
ever a brother and a friend4 ,he lived a
  hero of heroes1 and a ,prophet of     
,prophets1 and to save his brethren     

from harm and bloodshed1 he dauntlessly 
went to his death1 and died  a ,martyr  
of ,martyrs4 ,the world1 in its         
wickedness and crime1 may  treat his    
memory with derision and scorn2 but when
 his defamers are  forgotten1 the great 
and mighty ,prophet of ,god who1 under  
the name of  ,joseph ,smith1 laid down  
his life for truth and his brethren1    
shall be  fondly enshrined in the heart 
of the universe and his life and actions
  approved and applauded by the loving  
lips of eternity4    ,it has been truly 
said that ,god moves in a mysterious way
 in order  to perform ,his wonders1 and 
the ,scriptures lead us to believe that 
,he  often leads us by a way that we    
know not of4 ,seldom1 or never1 were    
these expressions more fully verified   
than in the removal of the future       
,prophet's father from ,vermont and his 
settling in ,palmyra in ,new ,york      
state4 ,little did the good man dream of
 the fact1 as he wended his  way from   
his former home1 that he was being led  

by the ,lord to the  very place where   
his son's great work was to be          
accomplished4 ,yet such  was certainly  
the fact4 ,every step of his journey was
 guided by the  controlling power and   
wisdom of ,god1 and1 although he knew it
 not1 he  settled just where ,god wanted
 him and where ,he wanted his son1 who  
was  to be like ,joseph of old1 the     
saviour of his father's house4    ,when 
between the ages of fourteen and        
fifteen1 after earnestly calling  upon  
,god1 ,joseph had his first vision1 as  
set forth in another chapter4  ,when he 
was between seventeen and eighteen years
 old1 he had his second  vision1 which  
is likewise elsewhere described4 ,and   
when he was between  twenty-one and     
twenty-two1 after having been instructed
 by a heavenly  messenger for four      
years1 in the year #ahbg the golden     
records were  entrusted to the custody  
of the youthful ,prophet4 ,he had been  
married  just eight months and four days
 at this time4 ,in the year #ahbg1 by   

the  aid of the ,urim and ,thummim1 or  
interpreters1 the history of two lost   
nations was translated1 the one being   
the nation of the ,jaredites and  the   
other that of the ,nephites4 ,the       
remnants of the latter of these  nations
 of the ,nephites were the wild ,indians
 of ,america1 who were  first discovered
 by ,columbus in the year #adib4    ,on 
the sixth day of ,april1 #ahcj1 the     
,church of ,jesus ,christ of            
,latter-day ,saints was organized4 ,and 
on the twenty-seventh day of ,june1     
#ahdd1 the ,prophet sealed his testimony
 with his blood4 ,joseph ,smith  was    
murdered in ,carthage ,jail when he was 
in the prime of his life1  being only   
thirty-eight years1 six months and six  
days old4 ,it was just  fourteen years1 
two months and twenty-one days after the
 ,church was  organized4 ,strange as it 
may appear1 our ,lord and ,saviour was  
murdered  when only a few years younger 
than ,joseph1 and both were put to death
  for the same cause1 namely1 the       

establishing of the ,church of ,christ  
on  the earth1 the one in the former and
 the one in the latter days4    ,dark   
and solemn was that day when ,illinois  
shed the innocent blood of  the two     
martyrs1 ,joseph and ,hyrum ,smith4     
,they were at the time under  the       
protection of ,governor ,thomas ,ford1  
who pledged his sacred honor  for their 
safety4 ,but the pledge1 which was never
 meant to be kept1 was  most shamefully 
broken1 and these two heroic spirits    
were given up to  a professed ,christian
 mob of merciless demons1 and they were 
cruelly  murdered in cold blood4 ,these 
great and good men1 servants of the     
,most  ,high ,god1 of whom the world was
 not worthy1 were of one heart and one  
mind throughout all their life1 and in  
death they were not separated4  ,they   
fled together from the murderous mob to 
their destined home on  high4 ,there1   
while they bask in the sunshine of      
eternal peace and love1  they testify by
 their blood to the horrid cruelties    

that reign in the  heart of a wicked and
 apostate world4    ,there were but four
 years1 ten months and fourteen days    
between the  ages of these noble        
martyred brothers1 ,hyrum being the     
elder4    ,joseph1 on this occasion1    
voluntarily gave himself up to the      
strong arm  of the law1 for he had ever 
been willing to be tried by the         
tribunals  of his country4 ,at this     
time1 our beloved ,prophet was impressed
 with a  sad foreboding somewhat similar
 to that experienced in ,gethsemane by  
the ,saviour just previous to the       
crucifixion1 when he called upon the    
,father and said3 ,father1 if thou be   
willing1 remove this cup from me3       
nevertheless1 not my will1 but thine be 
done4 ,the ,prophet ,joseph said1  while
 on his way to ,carthage1 ,i am going   
like a lamb to the slaughter2  but ,i am
 calm as a summer's morning2 ,i have a  
conscience void of  offence towards ,god
 and towards all men4 ,i shall die      
innocent1 and it  shall yet be said of  

me1 'he was murdered in cold blood4'    
,elder ,bates  ,nobles1 now living1     
authorizes me to say that he heard the  
,prophet  utter those very words4 ,well1
 this prophecy of our murdered ,prophet 
has been often fulfilled in the         
testimonies of the ,saints1 both among  
themselves and before the world1 as well
 as by the utterances of the  honorable 
and upright men of all lands1 but to its
 bitter cost1 it has  not yet been said 
by our nation4 ,however1 we will watch  
and wait4 ,god  is just is all we say4  
,our ,patriarch and ,prophet1 too1 ,were
 massacred4 ,they bled1 ,to seal   their
 testimony1 ,they were numbered with the
 dead4    ,,chapter ,,ii4    ,the ,hill 
,cumorah1 where the ,plates of the ,book
 of ,mormon were ,concealed  by ,moroni 
and afterwards ,delivered by him to     
,joseph ,smith4--,some  ,valuable       
,history ,pertaining to this            
,thrice-named ,hill4    ,a beautiful    
picture of the ,hill ,cumorah is        
presented on the opposite  page4 ,the   

hill is situated in the northwestern    
part of ,new ,york1 about  thirty miles 
south of ,rochester4 ,it is also near   
the ,new ,york ,central  ,railroad1 and 
only three and a half miles from        
,palmyra station to the  south1 and on  
the ,canandaigua turnpike4    ,this     
noted hill has been three times named   
and by three distinct and  great        
nations4 ,for particulars concerning its
 historical importance  we begin our    
study in the year #ahbc4 ,at that time  
there was found in  the side of this    
historic hill1 by an obscure boy1 a     
number of gold  plates4 ,these plates   
were very ingeniously concealed in a    
stone box  and1 bearing a record and    
being now translated1 supply us with all
 the  earlier information contained on  
them4    ,there is a vast amount of     
valuable history pertaining to this     
hill1  which is far more picturesque    
than the hills which surround it4 ,there
  is an extensive valley on the east1 as
 well as one on the west side  of the   

hill1 where the turnpike runs south1    
passing through the town  of ,manchester
 in the rear of the hill about two      
miles4 ,manchester1 as  well as the     
,hill ,cumorah1 is situated in the      
township of ,manchester4  ,the most     
prominent view of the hill is its north 
front4 ,it extends  south nearly a mile1
 where it terminates into a more level  
plateau1  which is occupied as an       
agricultural district4 ,from the highest
 point  of the hill1 which is the       
northern end1 where the writer has stood
 a  number of times1 is one of the most 
lovely sights imaginable4 ,to the  east 
is the ,new ,york ,central ,railroad1   
about four miles north is a most  lovely
 town named ,palmyra1 and two miles     
northwest is where the father  of       
,joseph ,smith located a farm when the  
latter was only twelve years  of age4   
,finally1 the whole country surrounding 
the hill from the most  elevated spot1  
as far as the natural vision can grasp1 
is indeed a most  charming scene of     

farms1 orchards1 houses1 barns and      
rolling hills1  with occasional forests1
 and in the proper season1 fields of    
golden  grain1 barns well-filled1       
orchard trees laden with apples1 peaches
  and pears1 with here and there patches
 of strawberries1 raspberries1          
blackberries1 cherries1 currants and    
garden vegetables in variety4 ,all  of  
these beautiful scenes have engraven    
upon my mind a picture which  defies the
 artist's brush to place on canvas4     
,image3 ,the ,hill ,cumorah4    ,the    
first name given to this hill 7and by a 
lost nation who left the  ,tower of     
,babel #bjjj ,b4,c47 was ,ramah1 as     
found in their history1 page  #fjf1 new 
edition4 ,this history is called the    
,book of ,mormon1 and this  portion is  
written by a historian named ,ether4    
,it was named the second time by an     
entirely different people1 and  called  
,cumorah1 as found on page #eei1 new    
edition1 of the same book1 by  the      
historian whose name was ,mormon4       

,the third name is ,bible ,hill1 or     
,mormon ,hill1 and was given in the year
  #ahbi4    ,having studied the history 
of these lost nations1 ,i felt very much
  inclined to gratify the desires       
awakened in my bosom to visit the       
place4 ,impelled by these aspiration1 ,i
 undertook the journey and soon  found  
myself at a pleasant and commodious     
hotel in ,palmyra4    ,early on a       
summer's morning in the year #ahgj1     
after a gentle shower  during the night1
 with just sufficient rainfall to lay   
the dust1 ,i  set out to walk to the    
hill4 ,never can ,i forget the lovely   
scenery of  that lonely but interesting 
walk down the most excellent            
,canandaigua  turnpike4 ,among the      
objects passed on the way was the former
 home of  ,joseph ,smith1 and the very  
old and comely schoolhouse where he     
learned  some of his early lessons4     
,arriving near the object of my         
morning's walk1 ,i set bout inquiring   
for  the ,hill ,cumorah4 ,but not one   

could ,i find in all the country round  
who  could give me the desired          
information2 until one1 and the right   
one  too1 who was made to comprehend my 
mind and wish1 said1 ,is it ,mormon     
,hill that you want1 or what is more    
familiarly known among us in this       
country as ',bible ,hill1' where old    
,joe ,smith found the ,mormon ,bible8   
,is  it this place you wish to find8    
,having answered affirmatively the      
question1 ,i was not only enabled1  by  
my friend's direction1 to learn the     
third and last name given to  this hill1
 but to find myself standing upon the   
summit of one of the  most interesting  
objects of my #ajj1jjj miles' travel4   
,it appeared more  like a dream than a  
stern reality4 ,could it be possible    
that here was  the identical spot of    
ground where stood a being who had lived
 in  the fourth century1 some fourteen  
hundred and fifty years prior to  my    
occupying this position8 ,indeed1 it was
 verily true4 ,but1 oh6 the  wonderful  

contrast between the two views1 and the 
changes of scenery  in that time6 ,now a
 beautiful landscape3 such a one as     
delights the  vision1 until the mind    
becomes swallowed up and absorbed in    
deep  reflection4 ,there are beauties of
 hills and dales1 orchards and farms1   
lawns and gardens on every side1 more   
especially to the north1 east and  west4
 ,just for a moment cast your eye on the
 engraving1 which is the  one of my     
choice1 exhibiting1 as it does1 a north 
front1 and to my mind  the most lovely  
view of all4 ,there are differing       
pictures of this hill1  some real and   
some imaginary4 ,the one presented is   
from a painting made  from a photograph 
which ,apostle ,f4 ,d4 ,richards had    
taken while on a  visit to this historic
 hill and country4    ,some cows and    
other additions have been made to the   
picture1 such as  the carriage conveying
 the visitors along the roadway by the  
fence1  to the house1 where the owner of
 the hill and surroundings lives4 ,but  

the main features of the hill are true  
representations of it1 so much  so that 
,j4 ,w4 ,fox1 ,jr41 also ,bishop ,g4 ,h4
 ,taylor1 both of whom visited  the     
place some years before1 say it is the  
best picture of it that they  have ever 
seen presented4    ,brother ,edward     
,hold1 of ,south ,jordan ,ward had a    
vision of the hill  7similar to the one 
the prophet ,joseph ,smith had71 and    
described it  very minutely before      
seeing the picture of it4 ,he said1 just
 above  where he saw a portion of the   
top of the stone box there was a tree1  
and upon this point ,i interrogated him 
closely1 stating that only two  years   
previous ,bishop ,black1 ,brother       
,andrew ,jenson and ,i had visited  the 
spot of ground1 and there was no tree   
there2 but he insisted that  there was a
 tree just above the stone box1 a clumpy
 tree1 for he saw  one there4 ,it became
 necessary for an explanation before he 
should see  the picture4    ,at the     
period of discovery of the gold plates1 

there stood upon the  side of the hill1 
about fifteen feet above where the stone
 box had so  long reposed1 a lone1      
solitary1 sugar maple tree1 and there   
continued  to grow until twenty-two     
years ago1 just as described by ,brother
 ,holt1  who was so highly favored of   
,god as to see the whole scene in a     
vision  or dream4    ,what made ,brother
 ,holt's vision all the more deeply     
interesting to me  was that in #ahga ,i 
had enjoyed the great privilege and     
pleasure of  visiting the hill in       
person1 and of seeing the very identical
 spot of  ground where ,mormon concealed
 the stone box and its precious records 
and where ,moroni1 his son1 finished the
 writing and sealed up these  records4  
,but there was no tree standing there as
 was described in the  vision1 for it   
had been cut down shortly before and was
 lying on the  ground1 not having as yet
 been removed4 ,it was a clumpy sort of 
a  tree1 about two feet in diameter4    
,for a long time it had stood there     

like a solitary sentinel guarding the   
sacred spot which contained  the book   
that was to shape the destinies of      
thousands upon thousands  of the human  
race1 and people the heavens with the   
true sons and  daughters of ,god4 ,i    
have always regretted the removal of    
that tree1  for it was a conspicuous    
mark on the northwest point of the now  
almost  treeless hill4 ,after satisfying
 ,brother ,hold as to the absence of the
  tree1 which he had seen in his vision1
 he very readily recognized the         
painting as being a correct and accurate
 representation of the deeply           
interesting ,hill ,cumorah as he had    
seen it in his vision forty years       
before4    ,brother ,holt1 with respect 
to his vision1 stated that he had       
retired  to bed1 after reading the ,book
 of ,mormon1 and that he had entertained
  some doubts regarding the vision      
,joseph ,smith had of the hill1 and of  
his finding the stone box containing the
 plates4 ,but the vision which  he had  

himself received concerning the matter  
served to remove every  shadow of a     
doubt from his mind1 for all future     
time4 ,in the last  chapter1 written by 
,moroni just before closing or sealing  
up the box1  he engraved upon the plates
 the following words3 ,and ,i seal up   
these  records1 after ,i have spoken a  
few words1 by way of exhortation1 unto  
you2 behold1 ,i would exhort you1 that  
when ye shall read these things1  if it 
be wisdom in ,god that ye should read   
them1 that ye would remember  how       
merciful the ,lord hath been unto the   
children of men1 from the  creation of  
,adam even down until the time that ye  
shall receive these  things4 ,i would   
exhort you that ye would ask ,god1 the  
eternal ,father1  in the name of        
,christ1 if these things are not true2  
and if ye shall  ask with a sincere     
heart1 with real intent1 having faith in
 ,christ1  he will manifest the truth of
 it unto you4 ,brother ,holt1 as well   
as hundreds of others1 can testify that 

these words are true and in  consonance 
with the words of ,jesus ,christ        
himself1 ,ask and it shall be  given    
unto you1 seek and ye shall find1 knock 
and it shall be opened  unto you1 and   
also in accordance with the words of    
,james1 who says1  ,if any of you lack  
wisdom1 let him ask of ,god1 that giveth
 to all men  liberally1 and upbraideth  
not1 and it shall be given him1 but let 
him  ask in faith1 nothing wavering4    
,the boy ,joseph did not ask in vain1   
neither will any other person ask  in   
vain who asks in faith for the word of  
the ,lord faileth not but  endureth     
forever4 ,my guide who accompanied me on
 my visit in #ahga1  pointed out to me  
many places of interest1 and also       
entertained me  hospitably at his table1
 where a number of harvesters had       
assembled4  ,the covered carriage       
represented in the picture is conveying 
our party  on my second visit to the    
house in which we all dined together1   
which  is situated to the left of the   

painting4 ,the dinner party to me was   
highly interesting1 and all the more so 
as we sat conversing about  the things  
of ,god right in the shadow of the ,hill
 ,cumorah4 ,all spoke  freely1 and asked
 many questions1 which ,i felt it a     
great pleasure  to answer4 ,they were   
anxious to hear something of the spread 
of the  work since the gold plates were 
discovered in that remarkable hill1  and
 ,i very gladly gratified them with a   
short account of the rise and  progress 
of this marvelous work and a wonder1    
from the day the angel  visited ,cumorah
 and gave the plates to ,joseph1 the    
boy-prophet1 down to  the present time1 
when the work has gathered into its     
cause some two  hundred and fifty       
thousand ,saints1 and founded the       
,territory of ,utah  in the west4 ,the  
conclusion come to by this party of     
harvesters was  that the subject of our 
conversation was indeed a marvellous    
work and  wonder4 ,still1 like many     
other time-servers and worldly-wise     

people1  they felt their spirits        
weakening within them1 and they         
exclaimed1 ,but  ,mormonism is so very  
unpopular6    ,yes1 ,i replied1 it has  
been so since the ,jews and ,gentiles   
murdered  the ,chief ,shepherd4    ,our 
pleasant entertainment and agreeable    
conversation here terminated1  after    
bearing my testimony to the divinity of 
the restored gospel1  and to the fact   
that more than fourteen hundred years   
ago the gold  plates1 that contained the
 same1 were sealed up and deposited in  
this  very hill1 destined to come forth 
and revolutionize the world1 in  these  
latter days4 ,cordially bidding good-day
 to my hospitable host1 ,i  proceeded on
 my way1 and found an old gentleman who 
lived west of the  hill and who was     
quite agreeable and conversational on   
the subject of  my visit to ,cumorah4   
,he was well-acquainted with some of the
 history of  the coming forth of the    
book which was to speak out of the      
ground1  although spiritually1 he did   

not seem to have greatly benefited by   
this  marvelous work and a wonder4      
,still1 from him ,i gleaned some useful 
information4 ,he pointed out the spot of
 ground where the stone box was  placed1
 near the summit1 and on the west side  
of the point of the hill4  ,he likewise 
stated that soon after the rumor so     
widely spread regarding  ,joe ,smith    
finding a gold bible1 that there was    
great excitement  throughout the whole  
country1 and that it was about this time
 the  ,rochester ,company located and   
searched for hidden treasure4           
,questioning him closely he stated that 
he had seen some good-sized flat  stones
 that had rolled down and lay near the  
bottom of the hill4 ,this  had occurred 
after the contents of the box had been  
removed and these  stones were doubtless
 the ones that formerly composed the    
box4 ,i felt a  strong desire to see    
these ancient relics and told him ,i    
would be much  pleased to have him      
inform me where they were to be found4  

,he stated  that they had long since    
been taken away4 ,he further said that  
he knew  ,joe ,smith as a money digger  
and a visionary man and ,martin ,harris 
as an honest reliable farmer4 ,joseph in
 his history says that he worked  in a  
mine for ,mr4 ,stowel1 hunting for      
hidden treasures1 at fourteen  dollars  
per month1 hence his name as a          
money-digger4 ,i then inquired  if he   
ever knew ,joseph ,smith to be convicted
 of crime4 ,he replied  that he had not 
known him as having been convicted4 ,the
 surrounding  scenery1 which embraced a 
young grove of beech1 sugar maple1      
hickory1  oak1 bass-wood1 etc41 covering
 about five acres of ground1 was very   
beautiful4 ,the grove is about #bjj     
yards southwest of where the plates     
were found4 ,there was a fine1          
well-cultivated field of grain on the   
hillside4 ,my loquacious guide showed me
 another and much deeper cavity  made on
 the east side of the hill by the       
above-named ,rochester treasure         

seekers1 a company of prospectors4 ,they
 said that science aided by  mineral    
rods did not lie and that most assuredly
 there were rich  treasures concealed in
 the hill1 and they were determined to  
have them4  ,but with all their science 
and laborious excavations they failed to
 get  a glimpse of the coveted treasures
 and returned to their homes if not     
richer1 at least it is to be hoped wiser
 men1 for the only results of  their    
efforts were the holes they left on the 
hillside4 ,notwithstanding  this1 there 
are strong and feasible reasons for     
believing that there is  abundance of   
treasure hid up in ,cumorah1 but it is  
guarded by the hand  of the ,lord and   
none shall ever possess it until made   
known in the due  time of the ,lord4    
,the great and mighty nation of the     
,jaredites1 having  departed from ,god  
and shed the blood of the prophets1     
became divided  into bloodthirsty       
factions1 who waged relentless and      
merciless wars  against each other for  

many years2 finally1 after millions were
 slain1  they arrayed themselves into   
two mighty opposing armies and mutually 
agreed to give each other four years in 
which to gather their entire  forces of 
men1 women and children around ,ramah1  
and there make one last  appalling death
 struggle for victory1 but so well were 
these colossal  armies matched in       
numbers1 valor1 fury and hatred that    
they continued  to fight day after day  
till both sides were completely         
destroyed from  the face of the land4   
,one man of all these great and mighty  
armies  alone remained alive4 ,ere they 
begin the dreadful carnage1 they made   
excavations and hid up in ,ramah their  
immense treasures4    ,the ,lord again  
peopled the land and they too became    
haughty and lifted  up in the pride of  
their hearts1 renounced ,god and slew   
his prophets1  and division1 war and    
bloodshed again filled the land with    
horror4  ,once more were immense hosts  
arrayed into two great armies1 the one  

called the ,nephites1 the other the     
,lamanites1 and strange to say they     
also marshalled their forces1 and       
undertook to make one last death        
struggle for victory or death4 ,the     
battle ceased when the ,nephites  were  
destroyed1 and again millions lay dead  
upon the fatal ground4 ,the  ,jaredites'
 ,ramah was the ,nephites' ,cumorah1 and
 their ashes commingle  and repose in   
death4 ,ere this last horrid conflict   
commenced1 they1  too1 hid their untold 
treasures in this ,h,ill ,cumorah1 and  
it was said  by ,president ,young at    
,farmington1 ,davis ,co41 ,utah1 ,june  
#ag1 #ahgg1 just  two months and twelve 
days before his death3    ,there were a 
great many treasures hid up by the      
,nephites4 99 99 99 ,i  lived right in  
the country where the plates were found 
from which  the ,book of ,mormon was    
translated1 and ,i know a great many    
things  pertaining to that country4 ,i  
believe ,i will take the liberty to tell
  you of another circumstance that will 

be as marvelous as anything can  be4    
,this is an incident in the life of     
,oliver ,cowdery1 but he did not  take  
the liberty of telling such things in   
meeting as ,i take4 ,i tell  these      
things to you1 and ,i have a motive for 
doing so4 ,i want to carry  them to the 
ears of my brethren and sisters1 and the
 children also1  that they may grow to  
an understanding of some things that    
seem to  be entirely hidden from the    
human family4 ,oliver ,cowdery went with
  the ,prophet ,joseph when he deposited
 these plates4 ,joseph did not          
translate all of the plates3 there was a
 portion of these sealed which  you can 
learn from the ,book of ,doctrine and   
,covenants4 ,when ,joseph got  the      
plates1 the angel instructed him to     
carry them back to the ,hill  ,cumorah1 
which he did4 ,oliver says that when    
,joseph and ,oliver went  there1 the    
hill opened1 and they walked into a     
cave1 in which there was  a large and   
spacious room4 99 99 99 ,they laid the  

plates on a table2 it  was a large table
 that stood in the room4 ,under this    
table there was a  pile of plates as    
much as two feet high1 and there were   
altogether in  this room more plates    
than probably many wagon loads2 they    
were piled  up in the corners and along 
the walls4 99 99 99 ,i tell you this as 
coming  not only from ,oliver ,cowdery1 
but others who were familiar with it4 99
  99 99 ,i relate this to you1 and ,i   
want you to understand it4 ,i take this 
liberty of referring to these things so 
that they will not be forgotten  and    
lost4    ,carlos ,smith was a young man 
of as much veracity as any young man  we
 had1 and he was a witness to these     
things4 ,samuel ,smith saw some  things1
 ,hyrum saw a good many things1 but     
,joseph was the leader4 ,now1  you may  
think ,i am unwise in publicly telling  
these things1 thinking  perhaps ,i      
should preserve them in my own breast2  
but such is not my  mind4 ,i would like 
the people called ,latter-day ,saints to

 understand  some little things with    
regard to the workings and dealings of  
the ,lord  with his people here upon the
 earth4--,journal of ,discourses1 ,vol4 
#ai1  p4 #cf4    ,it was likewise stated
 to me by ,david ,whitmer in the year   
#ahgg that  ,oliver ,cowdery told him   
that the ,prophet ,joseph and himself   
had seen  this room and that it was     
filled with treasure1 and on a table    
therein  were the breastplate and the   
sword of ,laban1 as well as the portion 
of  gold plates not yet translated1 and 
that these plates were bound by  three  
small gold rings1 and would also be     
translated1 as was the first  portion in
 the days of ,joseph4 ,when they are    
translated much useful  information will
 be brought to light4 ,but till that day
 arrives1 no  ,rochester adventurers    
shall ever see them or the treasures1   
although  science and mineral rods      
testify that they are there4 ,at the    
proper  time when greed1 selfishness and
 corruption shall cease to reign in the 

hearts of the people1 these vast hoards 
of hidden treasure shall be  brought    
forth to be used for the cause and      
kingdom of ,jesus ,christ4    ,changing 
the scene once more another prophet1    
whose name was  ,mormon1 stood on the   
summit of this hill4 ,at that time a    
great and  fierce battle was fought4    
,after the conclusion of the battle1    
which  occurred about #adgb years ago1  
,mormon's grief was expressed on this   
heart-rending and doleful scene as found
 on page #efj of their history  in the  
,book of ,mormon4 ,we will here again   
refer to the great battle of  the       
,lamanites and ,nephites3     ,and when 
they had gone through and hewn down all 
my people save it   were twenty and four
 of us1 7among whom was my son ,moroni7 
and we   having survived the dead of our
 people1 did behold on the morrow1 99 99
 99   from the top of the hill ,cumorah1
 the ten thousand of my people who      
were hewn down1 being led in the front  
by me4 ,and we also beheld the   ten    

thousand of my people who were led by my
 son ,moroni4 7,mormon   #f3aa-ab7      
,and other generals are named who led   
each their ten thousand until we  reach 
the enormous number of two hundred and  
thirty thousand men1 with  their wives  
and children1 who were strewn around    
this most marvelous  hill3     ,and     
their flesh1 and bones1 and blood lay   
upon the face of the earth1   99 99 99  
to moulder upon the land1 and to crumble
 and to return to their   mother earth4 
,and my soul was rent with anguish1     
because of the slain   of my people1 and
 ,i cried3 ,o ye fair ones1 how could ye
 have departed   from the ways of the   
,lord6 ,o ye fair ones1 how could ye    
have rejected   that ,jesus1 who stood  
with open arms to receive you6 ,behold1 
if   ye had not done this1 ye would not 
have fallen4 ,but behold1 ye are        
fallen1 and ,i mourn your loss4 ,o ye   
fair sons and daughters1 ye   fathers   
and mothers1 ye husbands and wives1 ye  
fair ones1 how is it   that ye could    

have fallen6 ,but behold1 ye are gone1  
and my sorrows   cannot bring your      
return4 ,and the day soon cometh that   
your mortal   must put on immortality1  
and these bodies which are now          
mouldering in   corruption must soon    
become incorruptible bodies2 and then ye
 must   stand before the judgment seat  
of ,christ1 to be judged according to   
your works2 and if it so be that ye are 
righteous1 then are ye blessed   with   
your fathers who have gone before you4  
,o that ye had repented   before this   
great destruction had come upon you4    
,but behold1 ye are   gone1 and the     
,father of heaven knoweth your state1   
and ,he doeth with   you according to   
,his justice and mercy4     ,before     
leaving the prophet ,mormon standing on 
the hill in his   lamentation1 let us   
still extend the vision over the great  
battlefield1 calling to mind that the   
#bcj1jjj men were all soldiers1   then  
were their wives1 mothers1 fathers1     
brothers and sisters1 which   we will   

multiply by five1 making #a1aej1jjj     
souls2 then extend the   vision over and
 around the enemy's camp1 and at least  
double the   number of slain1 increasing
 the sad scene to the enormous total of 
#b1cjj1jjj souls4 ,only for a moment    
imagine that we see the camp just       
before that great battle3 twenty-three  
camps each of #aj1jjj1 with a   general 
at their head1 would be required for the
 #bcj1jjj soldiers4     ,while ,i was   
standing upon this same spot of ground  
about three years   ago1 my mind        
contrasted the various changes of the   
present with the   past and ,i fancied  
that ,i could review1 as did ,mormon1   
the sad and   gloomy picture of his     
time1 #adgb years ago4     ,the fathers 
of those who fell around this historic  
hill came from   ,jerusalem #fjj years  
,b4,c4 ,they were warned of ,god to flee
 from the   land1 because of the        
terrible calamities that were about to  
befall the   inhabitants of that once   
,holy ,city1 for killing the prophets of

 ,god   and for their wickedness4       
,the decrees of ,god were fulfilled in  
the destruction of the   inhabitants of 
,jerusalem1 after they crucified the    
,saviour and his   disciples1 and became
 fully ripe in iniquity4 ,but #fjj years
 before   these disasters1 the colony1  
who were directed by revelation1 crossed
   the sea1 landing in ,south ,america1 
building up cities1 migrating           
northward1 and leaving in their tracks  
northward many cities1 temples1         
massive walls1 and fortifications1 some 
of which have been discovered   by      
,catherwood and ,stevens1 as well as by 
many other historians2 and   new        
discoveries are still being brought to  
light4 ,among the many   remarkable     
ruined aboriginal cities of the         
continent of ,america1   ,palenque is   
one of the most noted4 ,it is situated  
on the ,rio ,chacamas1   a branch of the
 great river ,usumasinta1 on the borders
 of ,yucatan4 ,it   is in latitude #ag  
degrees #cj minutes north1 longitude #ib

 degrees #be   minutes west4 ,in this   
old city of ruins is a temple--no doubt 
one of   the ,nephite temples4 ,the     
picture shows it as restored from the   
relics   that are left4 ,it is built of 
stone and is at the base #caj feet long1
   #ahj feet deep1 and #be feet high4   
,ranges of stone steps #cj feet broad   
lead up to it1 flanked with gigantic    
statues nine feet high1 carved   in     
stone4 ,there are numerous hieroglyphics
 engraven but considerably   defaced4   
,image3 ,palenque ,restored4     ,the   
,book of ,mormon speaks of many temples 
and cities which were built   by the    
people of this time1 and no doubt this  
is one of them in   ruins4 ,but who is  
there that is able to tell the story of 
those mound   builders1 excepting their 
own revealed history8     ,it must be   
remembered that this last nation1 called
 ,nephites1 became   a very numerous    
people1 and their history1 which they   
were commanded   of the ,lord to keep on
 thin plates of gold1 informs us that   

while   they lived lives of purity1     
serving ,god prayerfully1 they prospered
   exceedingly4     ,the precious metals
 abounded on this new and promised land1
 so   beautifully described by the      
ancient prophet ,moses4 ,this man of    
,god1   just before his death1 blessed  
the children of ,israel1 and of ,joseph1
   he said3     ,blessed of the ,lord be
 this land1 for the precious things of  
heaven1   for the dew1 and for the deep 
that coucheth beneath1 and for the      
precious fruits brought forth by the    
sun1 and for the precious things   put  
forth by the moon1 and for the chief    
things of the ancient   mountains1 and  
for the precious things of the lasting  
hills1 and for   the precious things of 
the earth and fulness thereof1 and for  
the good   will of him that dwelt in the
 bush let the blessing come upon the    
head   of ,joseph1 and upon the top of  
the head of him that was separated      
from his brethren4 ,his glory is like   
the firstling of his bullock1   and his 

horns are like the horns of unicorns3   
with them he shall push   the people    
together to the ends of the earth3 and  
they are the ten   thousands of         
,ephraim1 and the thousands of          
,manasseh4    ,now1 if we can           
successfully establish this continent of
 ,america as  being the land spoken of  
by ,moses--which is verily true--then we
 shall  find not only those lost nations
 but the present generation dwelling on 
this land abounding in the good things  
found even in the lasting hills1  and a 
choice land above all others4    ,as    
evidence ,i will introduce the words of 
our famed patriarch1 ,father  ,jacob3   
,joseph is a fruitful bough1 even a     
fruitful bough by a well2 whose         
branches children run over the wall the 
ocean4 ,the archers have   sorely       
grieved him1 and shot at him1 and hated 
him1 but his bow abode   in strength1   
and the arms of his hands were made     
strong by the hands   of the mighty ,god
 of ,jacob2 from thence is the          

,shepherd1 the stone of   ,israel4 ,even
 by the ,god of thy father1 who shall   
help thee2 and by   the ,almighty1 who  
shall bless thee with blessings of      
heaven above1   blessings of the deep   
that lieth under1 blessings of the      
breasts1   and of the womb3 ,the        
blessings of thy father have prevailed  
above   the blessings of my progenitors 
,abraham and ,isaac1 whose land was     
,jerusalem unto the utmost bound of the 
everlasting hills ,rocky   ,mountains2  
they shall be on the head of ,joseph1   
and on the crown of   the head of him   
that was separate from his brethren     
which was ,joseph1   sold by his        
brethren into ,egypt4    ,father ,lehi  
and his son ,nephi and others1 just     
before crossing the sea1  or wall of    
waters1 to this choice land of ,jacob1  
searched the records  which were brought
 from ,jerusalem and these are the words
 which they  found recorded3     ,and my
 father ,lehi also found upon the plates
 of brass1 a genealogy   of his fathers2

 wherefore he knew that he was a        
descendant of ,joseph1   yea1 even that 
,joseph who was the son of ,jacob1 who  
was sold into   ,egypt1 and who was     
preserved by the hand of the ,lord1 that
 he might   preserve his father1 ,jacob1
 and all his household from perishing   
with   famine4 ,and they were also led  
out of captivity and out of the land of 
,egypt1 by that same ,god who had       
preserved them4 ,and thus my ,father1   
,lehi1 did discover the genealogy of his
 fathers4    ,while ,father ,lehi and   
those who were with him encamped on the 
borders  of the ,red ,sea1 by a command 
of the ,lord the sons of ,lehi returned 
to  ,jerusalem and succeeded in bringing
 ,ishmael 7a righteous ,israelite of    
the tribe of ,ephraim7 with his five    
marriageable daughters1 to join  the    
colony4 ,they finally emigrated to      
,america1 literally fulfilling  the     
words of ,jacob with regard to ,joseph's
 promised inheritance of the  choice    
land that was to reach to the           

everlasting hills4 ,by this new         
acquisition1 the sons of ,lehi were     
provided with wives1 and that1 too1  of 
,ephraimitish blood1 making the remnants
 of their line1 who were  discovered in 
the year #adib by ,christopher          
,columbus1 of the lineage  of ,ephraim  
and ,manassah1 whose descendants are the
 ,american ,indians4  ,thus are we      
provided with a history which every one 
should read and  become acquainted with 
the origin of the natives of ,america1  
and find  an explanation of the ruins   
found in ,north1 ,south and ,central    
,america4  ,their history1 translated   
from the gold plates1 is now called the 
,book  of ,mormon4 ,this book also gives
 a brief account of a previous nation1  
which left the ,tower of ,babel #b1jjj  
years ,b4 ,c41 landing near the ,gulf   
of ,california4 ,they were #cdd days in 
crossing the ocean4 ,in process of      
time1 they emigrated northward and      
finally became a great nation and       
people4    ,here follows a few words as 

recorded in their history on page #ega1 
chapter first1 thirty-third verse3      
,jared came forth with his brother and  
their families1 with some   others and  
their families1 from the great ,tower1  
at the time the ,lord   confounded the  
language of the people and swore in his 
wrath that they   should be scattered   
upon all the face of the earth4    ,in  
addition to these words we will add the 
seventh and eighth verses of  the       
eleventh chapter of ,genesis3     ,go   
to1 let us go down1 and there confound  
their language1 that they   may not     
understand one another's speech4 ,so the
 ,lord scattered them   abroad from     
thence upon the face of all the earth4  
,i think ,america is a pretty large     
portion of the earth1 and comes in  for 
its share of people4 ,according to the  
word of the ,lord the people  were      
scattered4 ,those who wish to follow    
this colony closely can read  their     
history as found in the ,book of ,mormon
 until they had built up  cities1 etc41 

which have been and are being constantly
 discovered4 ,in  process of time they  
numbered about #ae1jjj1jjj people and   
became rich1  wicked and ripe for       
destruction4    ,at one time a fierce   
battle was fought near where ,buffalo1  
,n4 ,y41 now  stands1 wherein two       
million were lying strewn upon the      
earth1 slain in  battle and no one to   
bury them1 till the stench drove them   
southward  to the ,hill ,ramah1 which   
was called ,cumorah by the ,nephite     
race4 ,a  contract was entered into     
between ,kings ,coriantumr and ,shiz1   
giving  ,coriantumr four years to gather
 together all who were on the side of   
,coriantumr1 and all for ,king ,shiz    
were gathered together unto his camp4   
,ether has recorded in the ,book of     
,mormon that3     ,the army of          
,coriantumr did pitch their tents by the
 hill ,ramah4 ,and   it was that same   
hill where my ,father ,mormon did hide  
up the records   unto the ,lord1 which  
were sacred4 99 99 99 ,when they were   

all gathered   together1 every one to   
the army which he would1 with their     
wives and   their children1 both men1   
women and children being armed with     
weapons   of war1 having shields1 and   
breast-plates1 and head-plates1 and     
being   clothed after the manner of war1
 they did march forth one against the   
other to battle2 and they fought all    
that day1 and conquered not1 and   when 
it was night they were weary1 and       
retired to their camps2 and   after they
 had retired to their camps1 they took  
up a howling and a   lamentation for the
 loss of their people who were slain2   
their howling   and lamentation did rend
 the air exceedingly4    ,a continuation
 of this lamentable slaughter1 with     
weeping and howling1  was kept up for   
six successive days1 till only          
thirty-two of the people  of ,shiz and  
twenty-seven of ,coriantumr's were left1
 and on the seventh  day ,coriantumr    
with his twenty-seven retreated1 which  
gave the opposing  ,king ,shiz fresh    

courage4 ,he said1 ,i will slay         
,coriantumr or perish by  the sword1 and
 indeed his words were fulfilled after a
 severe battle1  in which all were      
slain1 excepting ,king ,shiz1 who had   
fallen faint and  weak1 and ,coriantumr1
 who leaned upon his sword to rest1     
after which he  smote off the head of   
,shiz and fell to the ground as if he   
was dead4  ,here the history leaves     
this1 the only survivor of those two    
mighty  armies1 around this historic    
,hill ,cumorah1 thus bringing to pass   
the  words of the prophet ,ether1 who   
prophecied to ,king ,coriantumr that    
unless he and his people should repent1 
every one of them should be  slain      
except himself and he should live to see
 a strange people possess  the land and 
be buried by them4 ,now1 in order to    
verify the prophet's  words1 ,i will    
refer you to the book of ,omni1 ,book of
 ,mormon1 which says3     ,and          
,coriantumr was discovered by the people
 of ,zarahemla2 and he   dwelt with them

 for the space of nine moons 7months74  
,coriantumr1 weak1 wounded and alone1   
had to wend his way about #c1jjj  miles 
to ,zarahemla1 where he remained until  
his death and was buried by  this       
strange people4    ,thus ended two great
 nations around this historic hill1 in  
fulfillment  of ,god's word1 as found in
 the ,book of ,mormon1 page #dgd3       
,behold1 this is a choice land1 and     
whatsoever nation shall possess it   and
 this will apply to all people in every 
age shall be free from   bondage1 and   
from captivity1 and from all other      
nations under heaven1   if they will but
 serve the ,god of the land1 who is     
,jesus ,christ4 ,i   will forgive thee  
and thy brethren of their sins1 but thou
 shalt not   sin any more1 for ye shall 
remember that my spirit shall not always
   strive with man2 wherefore if ye will
 sin until ye are fully ripe1 ye   shall
 be cut off from the presence of the    
,lord4    ,this has been fulfilled to   
the very letter with both nations4      

,,chapter ,,iii4    ,the ,angel that had
 been foretold would ,fly through the   
midst of  ,heaven1 having the           
everlasting ,gospel to ,preach unto them
 that ,dwell on  the ,earth appears to  
,joseph ,smith4--,the ,golden ,plates   
are ,given into  his ,charge4    ,the   
memorable twenty-second day of          
,september1 #ahbg1 was the day          
appointed by the angel ,moroni to meet  
,joseph ,smith on the ,hill ,cumorah4   
,there he was to receive the gold       
plates1 the breast-plate and the ,urim  
and ,thummim4 ,the accompanying shows   
,joseph grown to maturity1 being no     
longer a lad of tender years as when he 
received his first vision4 ,he  now     
stands in his noble1 dignified manhood1 
in the twenty-second year  of his age4  
,before being entrusted with those      
valuable plates it was  necessary that  
he should become experienced with regard
 to such sacred  matters4 ,for more than
 four years previous to this event he   
had at  intervals met the angel and been

 instructed by him4 ,this was during the
  important period between boyhood and  
manhood1 when the mind is easily        
impressed4 ,during all that time1 he had
 not been permitted to take the  plates 
away4    ,the appointed time now having 
come1 we see him receiving the treasure1
  as pictured in the engraving4 ,he is  
holding the book in his hands1  while   
the breast-plate rests on the edge of   
the stone box1 with the  sword of ,laban
 near by4 ,the angel1 holding the ,urim 
and ,thummim1 is in  the act of         
delivering it unto ,joseph1 and while   
doing so charges him as  follows3       
,now you have got the record into your  
own hands1 and you are but a   young    
man3 therefore1 you will have to be     
watchful and faithful to   your trust1  
or you will be overpowered by wicked    
men2 for they will   lay every plan and 
scheme possible to get it away from you2
 and if you   do not take heed          
continually1 they will succeed4 ,while  
it was in my   hands1 ,i could keep it  

and no man had power to take it away2   
but now ,i   give it up to you4 ,beware1
 and look well to your ways1 and you    
shall   have power to retain it1 until  
the time for it to be translated4    ,in
 #ahcd ,i first listened to this        
,prophet of ,god1 who related this      
vision he had been favored with4 ,the   
honesty and power of his  expression    
carried conviction with it4    ,i will  
now introduce a few ,bible quotations in
 order to prove that just  such an event
 as the one represented by the          
accompanying illustration  was to take  
place in the latter days4 ,zechariah in 
his #bnd chapter says3     ,and1 behold1
 the angel that talked with me went     
forth1 and another   angel went out to  
meet him4     ,and said unto him1 run1  
speak to this  young man1 saying1       
,jerusalem   shall be inhabited as towns
 without walls for the multitude of men 
and cattle therein4    ,in order to     
discover further the mind of ,god's     
inspired prophet1 we  will turn to his  

#hth chapter1 which reads as follows3   
,again the word of the ,lord of hosts   
came to me1 saying1     ,thus saith the 
,lord of hosts2 ,i was jealous for ,zion
 with great   jealousy4 99 99 99        
,thus saith the ,lord2 ,i am returned   
unto ,zion1 and will dwell in the       
midst of ,jerusalem3 and ,jerusalem     
shall be called a city of truth4        
,thus saith the ,lord of hosts1 there   
shall yet old men and old women   dwell 
in the streets of ,jerusalem1 and every 
man with his staff in his   hand for    
very age4     ,and the streets of the   
city shall be full of boys and girls    
playing   in the streets thereof4     99
 99 99 ,behold ,i will save my people   
from the east country1 and from   the   
west country2     ,and ,i will bring    
them1 and they shall dwell in the midst 
of   ,jerusalem3 and they shall be my   
people1 and ,i will be their ,god4      
,soon after the message of the angel to 
the young man ,joseph1 he1 in  obedience
 to ,god's command1 organized the       

church4 ,in due time there  were ,twelve
 ,apostles1 and he appointed two of     
those ,apostles on a  mission to        
,jerusalem4 ,upon ,mount ,olivet1 one of
 the apostles1--,orson  ,hyde1--offered 
a dedicatory prayer unto ,god1 the      
,eternal ,father4    ,in that prayer he 
supplicated ,god to remember his        
promises made to  ,father ,abraham      
concerning this dry and barren land1 and
 ,abraham's seed  which should inhabit  
this thirsty country1 and who had       
wandered as  strangers in a strange     
land4 ,the land had become barren       
because of the  sins of those who1 in   
their ignorance1 crucified ,god's ,only 
,begotten  ,son1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,he    
further pleaded3     ,and as ,jesus1 thy
 ,son1 in his sorrowful and trying      
hours1 cried1   ',lord1 forgive them1   
they know not what they do6' so do thou1
 ,o ,god1   have mercy on them and let  
the promises of the prophets come up in 
remembrance before thee4 ,be pleased1 ,o
 ,father1 to send the rains on   these  

parched lands2 and may the dews fall    
upon the hills and valleys1   that the  
land may again teem with plenty1 and    
cities be built up unto   the ,lord our 
,god4    ,this is the substance of the  
supplication of the ,apostle who        
dedicated  the land of ,palestine4      
,since then the way is being prepared   
with a  railroad from the ,mediterranean
 ,sea to ,jerusalem2 and lo6 the time   
has  come for ,god's mercy1 as foretold 
by ,isaiah1 #djth chapter3     ,comfort 
ye1 comfort ye my people1 saith your    
,god4 ,speak ye   comfortably to        
,jerusalem1 and cry unto her1 that her  
warfare is   accomplished1 that her     
iniquity is pardoned3 for she hath      
received of   the ,lord's hand double   
for all her sins4    ,joel1 another of  
,god's ancient prophets1 prophecying of 
future events1  in #bnd chapter1 says3  
,fear not1 ,o land2 be glad then1 ye    
children of ,zion1 and rejoice in   the 
,lord your ,god3 for he hath given you  
the former rain moderately1   and he    

will cause to come down for you the     
rain1 the former rain1 and   the latter 
rain in the first month4 ,and the floors
 shall be full of   wheat1 and the vats 
shall overflow with wine and oil4 99 99 
99 ,and ye   shall eat in plenty1 and be
 satisfied1 and praise the name of the  
,lord   your ,god1 that hath dealt      
wondrously with you1 and my people shall
   never be ashamed4    ,realizing that 
the words of the prophets ,isaiah and   
,joel will have a  literal fulfillment1 
we can readily conceive of the way being
 thus  prepared for the support of the  
hosts that are soon to fill the streets 
of ,jerusalem2 for without the early and
 the latter rains1 this land1  for so   
many generations barren1 could not be   
redeemed4 ,indeed1 the  words of those  
who crucified the ,savior1 or who       
consented to his death1  are brought    
forcibly to the minds of ,christians3   
,his blood be upon us and our           
children4--,matt4#bg3be    ,because of  
their wicked desires1 desolation has    

rested upon this land  which once flowed
 with milk and honey4 ,but1 thank ,god6 
a pardoning time  is being ushered in4  
,the angel spoken of by ,zechariah has  
come with the  glad tidings4    ,image3 
,the ,angel ,moroni ,delivering the     
,golden ,plates to ,joseph ,smith4      
,john1 the ,revelator1 also1 was        
permitted to behold an angel who had a  
message to deliver4 ,who can truthfully 
say the angel he saw is not the  very   
one ,zechariah said should speak to the 
young man8     ,and ,i saw another angel
 flying in the midst of heaven1 having  
the everlasting gospel the ,book of     
,mormon says it contains the            
everlasting gospel to preach unto them  
that dwell on the earth1 and   to every 
nation1 and kindred1 and tongue1 and    
people2 saying with   a loud voice1 fear
 ,god1 and give glory to him2 for the   
hour of his   judgment is come2 and     
worship ,him that made heaven1 and      
earth1 and the   sea1 and the fountains 
of waters4--,revelation1 #ad1f-g4    ,in

 ,zechariah1 #bnd chapter1 #hth verse1  
it says3     ,sing and rejoice1 ,o      
daughter of ,zion3 for lo1 ,i come1 and 
,i will   dwell in the midst of thee1   
saith the ,lord4 ,and many nations shall
 be   joined to the ,lord in that day4  
,what day8 ,the day in which the angel  
was to speak to the young 7not  old7    
man4 ,in ,zion there are now over twenty
 nationalities who are  joined to the   
,lord4    ,zechariah in the same chapter
 says3     ,and the ,lord shall inherit 
,judah his portion in the ,holy ,land   
and   shall choose ,jerusalem again4 ,be
 silent1 ,o all flesh1 before the ,lord2
   for he is raised up out of his holy  
habitation4    ,these things are soon to
 take place1 when the ,jews will be     
gathered4     ,rejoice greatly1 ,o      
daughter of ,zion3 shout1 ,o daughter of
 ,jerusalem2   behold thy king cometh   
unto thee4--,zec4 #i1 #i4    ,he will   
come this second time1 when3     ,they  
shall look upon me whom they have       
pierced4--,zec4 #ab1aj4    ,again1 this 

prophet says in chapter #ae1 #f3        
,and one shall say unto him1 ,what are  
these wounds in thine hands8   ,then he 
shall answer1 ,those with which ,i was  
wounded in the house of   my friends4   
,in that day there shall be a fountain  
opened to the house of ,david   and to  
the inhabitants of ,jerusalem4--,zec4   
#ab1 #a4    ,the same book1 #adth       
chapter1 says3     ,his feet shall stand
 in that day upon the ,mount of ,olives4
    ,it appears sufficiently plain that 
,god has set his hand again the  second 
time to gather not only the ,jews1 but  
the ,house of ,israel4    ,in ,isaiah1  
#aath chapter1 it is clearly stated that
 there is to be an  ensign to the       
people2 to it shall the gentiles seek4  
,and the next  verse says that in that  
day the ,lord will set his hand again   
the  second time to gather his people4  
,and he shall set up an ensign for the  
nations1 and shall assemble   the       
outcasts of ,israel1 and gather the     
dispersed of ,judah from the   four     

corners of the earth4--,isaiah1 #aa1ab4 
,we learn more perfectly in the tenth   
verse that the ,gentiles as well as  the
 ,jews are remembered4    ,isaiah1 #bnd 
chapter1 says3     ,and it shall come to
 pass in the last days1 that the        
mountain of the   ,lord's house shall be
 established in the top of the          
mountains4    ,following on we find that
 two places are distinctly spoken of3   
,zion1  from whence the law of ,god is  
to go forth2 and the word of the ,lord  
from ,,jerusalem4 ,and as ,jesus came to
 his own 7the ,jews7 first1 and to  the 
,gentiles last1 so now the first shall  
be last and the last shall  be first4   
,and in our day ,joseph ,smith has been 
directed by the ,lord to  gather the    
people to ,zion1 as so vividly portrayed
 by the prophet who  saw the angel who  
should run and speak to the young man4  
,having introduced these ,bible         
evidences1 we shall repeat the testimony
  of three witnesses whom ,god raised   
up1 and who1 until their death1 were    

always true and faithful to their       
testimony3     ,be it known unto all    
nations1 kindreds1 tongues1 and people1 
unto   whom this work shall come1 that  
we1 through the grace of ,god the       
,father1 and our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1  
have seen the plates which contain      
this record1 which is a record of the   
people of ,nephi1 and also of   the     
,lamanites1 their brethren1 and also of 
the people of ,jared1 who   came from   
the tower of which hath been spoken2 and
 we also know that   they have been     
translated by the gift and power of     
,god1 for his voice   hath declared it  
unto us2 wherefore we know of a surety  
that the work   is true4 ,and we also   
testify that we have seen the engravings
 which   are upon the plates2 and they  
have been shown unto us by the power of 
,god1 and not of man4 ,and we declare   
with words of solemness1 that an   angel
 of ,god came down from heaven1 and he  
brought and laid before our   eyes1 that
 we beheld and saw the plates1 and the  

engravings thereon2   and we know that  
it is by the grace of ,god the ,father1 
and our ,lord   ,jesus ,christ1 that we 
beheld and bear record that these things
 are   true3 and it is marvelous in our 
eyes2 nevertheless1 the voice of the    
,lord commanded us that we should bear  
record of it2 wherefore1 to be          
obedient unto the commandments of ,god1 
we bear testimony of these   things4    
,and we know that if we are faithful in 
,christ1 we shall rid   our garments of 
the blood of all men1 and be found      
spotless before the   judgment seat of  
,christ1 and shall dwell with him       
eternally in the   heavens4 ,and the    
honor be to the ,father1 and to the     
,son1 and to the   ,holy ,ghost1 which  
is one ,god4 ,amen4     ,,oliver        
,,cowdery1 ,,david ,,whitmer1 ,,martin  
,,harris4    ,notwithstanding every one 
of these three witnesses withdrew from  
the  ,church in #ahch1 yet they remained
 firm in their declarations to the      
truth of their testimony4 ,nine years   

afterwards ,oliver ,cowdery returned  to
 the church and was rebaptized4 ,in     
#ahga ,martin ,harris came to ,utah1    
and he also was rebaptized4 ,david      
,whitmer1 who died at ,richmond1 ,ray   
,co41 ,mo41 was the only one of the     
three who died without rebaptism4 ,he   
had resided in that place nearly fifty  
years1 and many leading citizens  of    
,richmond signed their names1 which were
 published1 testifying that  ,david     
,whitmer was an honorable citizen whose 
veracity was unquestioned4    ,i can    
testify to the truth of these           
statements1 for ,i visited him in       
#ahgj1 also in #ahgi1 and again in      
#ahhf4 ,i was acquainted with him in    
#ahcc and also in #ahch when he was     
disfellowshipped by the ,church at  ,far
 ,west1 ,mo4 ,it was no secret among    
those who knew him at his home in       
,richmond that he always stood firm to  
his testimony1 as above stated4  ,the   
other two witnesses were equally        
valiant1 both while in full  fellowship 

and after withdrawing from the ,church1 
and ,i defy the world  to impeach either
 of those three witnesses4    ,joseph   
,smith could not have accomplished the  
work entrusted to him  without the aid  
of the ,urim and ,thummim4 ,it was      
therefore provided for  him4 ,anciently 
it was used by ,god's servants--,his    
prophets1 seers and  revelators4 ,the   
language engraven upon the gold plates  
is ,reformed  ,egyptian and is spoken of
 in the ,book of ,mormon1 which says3   
,and now behold1 we have written this   
according to our knowledge   in the     
characters which are called among us the
 ,reformed ,egyptian1   being handed    
down and altered by us1 according to our
 manner of   speech4--,book of ,mormon1 
p4#egj1 ,n4 ,e4    ,and the             
thirty-fourth verse says3     ,but the  
,lord knoweth the things which we have  
written1 and that none   other people   
knoweth our language2 therefore hath he 
prepared means   for the interpretation 
thereof4    ,there is still another     

instance worth mentioning4 ,king ,limhi 
was  in possession of twenty-four gold  
plates1 and desired to have them        
translated4 ,ammon told the king3     ,i
 can assuredly tell thee1 ,o king1 of a 
man who can translate the   records2 for
 he has wherewith that he can look and  
translate all   records that are of     
ancient date2 and it is a gift from     
,god1 and the   things are called       
interpreters4--,book of ,mormon1 p4 #cj1
 ,n4 ,e4     ,and now he translated them
 by the means of those two stones which 
were fastened into the two rims of a    
bow4 ,now these things were   prepared  
from the beginning1 and were handed down
 from generation   to generation1 for   
the purpose of interpreting             
language4--,book of   ,mormon1 p4 #bbh1 
#ac-ad v4     ,and whosoever has these  
things is called ,seer1 after the manner
 of   old times4--,book of ,mormon1 p4  
#bbh1 #af v4    ,by the above we learn  
that the ,urim and ,thummim or          
interpreters was  anciently used1 and   

answered the description of those that  
,joseph is  represented as receiving4   
,the ,prophet's mother was permitted to 
see and handle them and describes  them 
thus3     ,i found that they consisted  
of two smooth1 three-cornered diamonds1 
set in glass1 and the glasses were set  
in silver bows which were   connected   
with each other in much the same way as 
old-fashioned   spectacles4    ,martin  
,harris described them just the same1   
only he said they were  larger than the 
ordinary spectacles4    ,some have      
marveled at the ,lord's choice in       
selecting one so young and  unlearned as
 ,joseph ,smith to perform so great a   
work4 ,however1 the  ,lord's ways are   
not man's ways4 ,for1     ,as the       
,heavens are higher than the earth1 so  
are the ,lord's ways   higher than man's
 ways4    ,as an instance we read how   
the ,lord sent the prophet ,samuel unto 
,jesse1  saying he had provided a king  
among his sons4 ,and how1 when ,samuel  
looked on ,eliab1 he thought surely the 

,lord's anointed was before him4  ,but  
the ,lord said unto ,samuel3     ,look  
not at his countenance1 or on the height
 of his stature2 because   ,i have      
refused him2 for the ,lord seeth not as 
man seeth2 for man   looketh on the     
outward appearance1 but the ,lord       
looketh on the heart4    ,after seven   
sons of ,jesse had been presented1      
,samuel asked1 ,are here  all thy       
children8 to which ,jesse replied1      
,there remaineth yet the  youngest and  
behold he keepeth the sheep4 ,and he it 
was whom the ,lord  had chosen should be
 anointed king4 ,samuel did the bidding 
of the ,lord1  and we learn that the    
spirit of ,god rested upon ,david1 and  
he became a  man after ,god's own heart4
    ,in this connection we will not pass
 by unnoticed ,god's mighty power in    
raising up the great prophet ,moses1 as 
a deliverer of ,his chosen people  from 
under the hand of ,pharoah1 the         
oppressor and king of ,egypt4 ,in  this 
case1 ,his power was manifested in      

overruling ,pharoah's midwives  even    
unto disobedience of their wicked king  
in preserving the male  children of the 
promised seed of ,abraham1 as found in  
the #ast chapter  of ,exodus3     ,but  
the midwives feared ,god1 and did not as
 the king of ,egypt   commanded them1   
but saved the men children alive4 ,that 
is1 the   ,hebrew children1 for they    
were the ones the king sought to        
destroy4     ,therefore1 ,god dealt well
 with the midwives2 and the people      
multiplied1 and waxed very mighty4      
,and it came to pass1 because the       
midwives feared ,god1 that he made      
them houses4     ,and ,pharaoh charged  
all his people1 saying1 every son that  
is born   ye shall cast into the river1 
and every daughter ye shall save alive4 
,where is the mother that will not join 
in saying that ,king ,pharoah was  an   
oppressor1 a tyrant and a murderer8 ,yet
 ,god's ways are so kind1 good  merciful
 and wise that we are led to praise ,his
 holy name forever4 ,god  raised up a   

,moses1 whose mother kept him hid three 
months1 after which  she put him in an  
ark of bulrushes1 while his sister acted
 as a spy and  watched over him at a    
distance4 ,king ,pharoah's daughter to  
her bath  drew near2 the babe's cries   
inclined her heart to the young ,hebrew1
  the spy was at hand1 the real mother  
was procured1 who received pay  for     
minding her own child4 ,moses finally   
became the adopted son of the  king's   
daughter1 whom she named ,moses1 because
 she drew him out of the  water1 as     
found in the #bnd chapter of ,exodus4   
,the life and history of  ,moses is well
 known to every ,bible student1 as the  
deliverer of ancient  ,israel1 and ,i   
ask1 is it more marvelous to accept a   
modern ,moses in the  person of ,joseph 
,smith1 the ,prophet whom ,god raised up
 in our day8    ,again1 if the selection
 by ,jesus of ,peter the fisherman to be
 the chief  apostle had taken place in  
our day1 it would probably have seemed  
as  surprising as the choosing of       

,joseph ,smith for his work4 ,the fellow
  apostles of ,peter were all unlearned1
 except ,paul4    ,it is just as easy   
for our ,lord to accomplish ,his        
purposes now through  the agency of     
unlearned men as it was anciently4 ,god 
has established  a ,church through the  
agency of this young man1 which has     
caused the  wisdom of the wise to       
perish4    ,the story of ,joseph        
,smith's first vision is a very simple  
and beautiful  one4 ,it will be         
remembered he was but a boy fourteen    
years of age when  this event occurred4 
,he had been1 previously1 in a disturbed
 state of  mind concerning religion4 ,in
 the neighborhood where he dwelt there  
had been great excitement1 on account of
 a religious revival4 ,at the  meetings 
he attended he learned that the various 
sects were very much  opposed to each   
other4 ,in the midst of this tumult and 
war of words and  opinions1 ,joseph felt
 grieved and asked himself1 ,what is to 
be done8  ,who of all these are right8  

,and how shall ,i know8    ,one day     
,joseph read in the first chapter of    
,james as follows3     ,if any of you   
lack wisdom1 let him ask of ,god1 that  
giveth to all men   liberally1 and      
upbraideth not2 and it shall be given   
him4    ,using ,joseph's own words1 he  
said3     ,never did any passage of     
scripture come with more power to the   
heart   of man than this did at this    
time to mine4 ,it seemed to enter with  
great force into every feeling of my    
heart4 ,i reflected on it again   and   
again1 knowing that if any person needed
 wisdom from ,god1 ,i did4   99 99 99   
,unless ,i could get more wisdom than ,i
 then had1 ,i would never   know2 for   
the teachers of religion of the         
different sects understood   the same   
passages of scripture so differently as 
to destroy all   confidence in settling 
the question by an appeal to the ,bible4
 ,at   length ,i came to the conclusion 
that ,i must either remain in darkness  
and confusion1 or else ,i must do as    

,james directs1 that is1 ask of   ,god4 
99 99 99 ,so1 in accordance with this1  
my determination to ask of   ,god1 ,i   
retired to the woods to make the        
attempt4 ,it was on the morning   of a  
beautiful1 clear day1 early in the      
spring of eighteen hundred   and twenty4
 ,it was the first time in my life that 
,i had made such   an attempt1 for      
amidst all my anxieties ,i had never as 
yet made the   attempt to pray vocally4 
,after ,i had retired to the place where
 ,i had   previously designed to go1    
having looked around me1 and finding    
myself   alone1 ,i kneeled down and     
began to offer up the desires of my     
heart   to ,god4 ,i had scarcely done   
so1 when immediately ,i was seized upon 
by   some power which entirely overcame 
me1 and had such an astonishing         
influence over me as to bind my tongue  
so that ,i could not speak4   ,thick    
darkness gathered around me1 and it     
seemed to me for a time as   if ,i were 
doomed to sudden destruction4 ,but      

exerting all my powers to   call upon   
,god to deliver me out of the power of  
this enemy which had   seized upon me1  
and at the very moment when ,i was ready
 to sink into   despair and abandon     
myself to destruction--not to an        
imaginary ruin1   but to the power of   
some actual being from the unseen world1
 who had   such marvelous power as ,i   
had never before felt in any being--just
 at   this moment of great alarm1 ,i saw
 a pillar of light exactly over my      
head1 above the brightness of the sun1  
which descended gradually until   it    
fell upon me4 ,it no sooner appeared    
than ,i found myself delivered   from   
the enemy which held me bound4 ,when the
 light rested upon me ,i   saw two      
,personages1 whose brightness and glory 
defy all description1   standing above  
me in the air4 ,one of them spoke unto  
me1 calling me by   name and said1      
pointing to the other1 ',this is my     
beloved ,son1 hear   him6'     ,my      
object in going to inquire of the ,lord 

was to know which of all   the sects was
 right1 that ,i might know which to     
join4 ,no sooner1   therefore1 did ,i   
get possession of myself1 so as to be   
able to speak1   than ,i asked the      
,personages who stood above me in the   
light1 which   of all the sects was     
right--for at this time it had never    
entered   into my heart that all were   
wrong--and which ,i should join4 ,i was 
answered that ,i must join none of them1
 for they were all wrong2   and the     
,personage who addressed me said that   
all their creeds were   an abomination  
in his sight4 99 99 ',they teach for    
doctrine the   commandments of men1     
having a form of godliness1 but they    
deny the   power thereof4' ,he again    
forbade me to join any of them2 and many
   other things did he say unto me1     
which ,i cannot write at this time4     
,some time afterwards the vision was    
made known to a ,methodist   preacher1  
who treated it with contempt1 saying it 
was all from the   devil2 that there was

 no such thing as visions or revelations
 in these   days2 that all such things  
had ceased with the ,apostles1 and that 
there never would be any more of them4  
,the ministers and others persecuted    
him1 which caused him deep sorrow1      
although an obscure boy1 and under the  
necessity of obtaining a scanty         
maintenance by his daily labor4 ,but1   
strange to say1 he became very          
prominent and conspicuous1 and evil was 
spoken of him continually4              
,nevertheless1 he had seen a vision1    
and1 like ,paul before ,king ,agrippa1  
related the account of the vision he    
had1 when he saw a light and  heard a   
voice4 ,still1 there were a few who     
believed him4 ,some said  he was        
dishonest2 others said he was mad2 and  
he 7like ,joseph7 was  ridiculed and    
reviled2 but all this did not destroy   
the reality of his  vision4 ,he had seen
 a vision--he knew he had--and all the  
persecution  under heaven could not make
 it otherwise4 ,joseph ,smith said3     

,i have actually seen a vision2 and who 
am ,i that ,i can withstand ,god8   or  
why does the world think to make me deny
 what ,i have actually seen8   for ,i   
had seen a vision4 ,i knew it4 ,i knew  
that ,god knew it2 and ,i   could not   
deny it1 neither dared ,i do it2 at     
least ,i knew that by so   doing ,i     
would offend ,god1 and come under       
condemnation4    ,for over three years  
,joseph continued his labors daily until
 the #bast  of ,september1 #ahbc4 ,after
 retiring to his bed in quite a serious 
mood1  he shortly betook himself to     
prayer and supplication to ,almighty    
,god  for a manifestation of his        
standing before ,him4 ,while thus       
engaged he  received the following      
vision1 using his own words3     ,while 
,i was thus in the act of calling upon  
,god1 ,i discovered a light   appearing 
in my room1 which continued to increase 
until the room was   lighter than at    
noonday1 when a personage appeared at my
 bed-side2   he had on a loose robe of  

most exquisite whiteness1 99 99 99 his  
hands   were naked1 and his arms also a 
little above the wrist1 99 99 99 his    
head   and neck were also bare4 99 99 99
 his whole person was glorious beyond   
description1 and his countenance truly  
like lightning4 ,the room was           
exceedingly light1 but no so very bright
 as immediately around his   person4    
,when ,i first looked upon him ,i was   
afraid1 but the fear soon   left me4    
,he called me by name1 and said unto me 
that he was a messenger sent   from the 
presence of ,god to me1 and that his    
name was ,moroni2 that   ,god had a work
 for me to do2 and that my name should  
be had for good   and evil among all    
nations1 kindreds1 and tongues2 or that 
it should   be both good and evil spoken
 of among all people4 99 99 99 ,while he
   was conversing with me about the     
plates1 the vision was opened to   my   
mind that ,i could see the place where  
the plates were deposited1   and that so
 clearly and distinctly1 that ,i knew   

the place again when   ,i visited it4   
,after this communication1 ,i saw the   
light in the room   begin to gather     
immediately around the person of him who
 had been   speaking to me1 and it      
continued to do so until the room was   
again   left dark1 except just around   
him1 when instantly ,i saw1 as it were1 
a   conduit open right up into heaven1  
and he ascended up till he entirely     
disappeared1 and the room was left as it
 had been before this heavenly   light  
had made its appearance4    ,this vision
 was repeated three times during the    
night1 and the  angel each time         
instructed him of great events1 such as 
famine1  war1 pestilence and grievous   
judgments1 which were to come in this   
generation4 ,he also reminded him that  
his name should be known for good  and  
evil1 and that wicked men would seek to 
destroy him1 which was  literally       
fulfilled4    ,in #aeag1 ,mexico1 then  
unknown to the world1 though teeming    
with its  millions of ,lamanites1 was   

discovered by ,cortez2 and the gold     
plates  that ,joseph ,smith received    
contain their history1 which ,i advise  
all  men to read4    ,furthermore1 the  
angel said that the fulness of the      
everlasting  gospel was contained in the
 record that was about to be delivered  
to  him1 which was the same as that     
taught by the ,savior to the ancient    
inhabitants of ,jerusalem4    ,thus     
comes unto us knowledge unveiling the   
mystery surrounding the  ,american      
,indians which has puzzled the most     
profound historians of our  age to      
explain4 ,for all this useful knowledge 
we are indebted to ,god1  the giver of  
all good4    ,although the ,prophet was 
manifestly unlearned at this time1 as   
evinced  by the spelling written by him 
over the seven lines of characters1     
shown in another place in this pamphlet1
 he afterwards became  proficient as a  
scholar1 and studied the classic        
languages at the  ,school of the        
,prophets in ,kirtland1 ,ohio4 ,this    

school was established1  by command of  
the ,lord1 for the purpose of educating 
the ,elders and  others in the history  
of nations1 countries and people2 thus  
laying up  treasures of knowledge and   
useful information4    ,the ,prophet1   
however1 was not dependent upon         
scholastic learning1 for  ,god revealed 
to him line upon line1 here a little and
 there a little1  enabling him to become
 efficient in organizing the ,church in 
its  perfect order2 so much so1 that the
 learned theologians and others of  the 
present day are adopting many of the    
doctrines revealed to him4    ,the      
description of the breast-pate1 as given
 by the mother of ,joseph1  is very     
interesting4 ,she was favored with      
handling it1 but it was  covered with a 
thin muslin cloth1 through which she    
could see the  glittering gold4 ,it was 
concave on one side and convex on the   
other4  ,it would extend from the neck  
downwards as far as the center of the   
stomach of a man of extraordinary size4 

,attached to it were four straps  of the
 same material1 for the purpose of      
fastening it to the breast2  two of     
these ran back so as to fasten over the 
shoulders1 and the other  two were      
designed to fasten to the waist4 ,mother
 ,smith said the straps  were the width 
of her two fingers1 for she measured    
them4 ,they had  holes in the ends for  
convenience in fastening4 ,although the 
,urim and  ,thummim and breast-plate go 
together1 it was not necessary for them 
always to remain attached to each other4
 ,mother ,lucy ,smith also saw and      
handled the interpreters1 and described 
them as two diamonds set in  silver     
bows1 much like old-fashioned           
spectacles1 only much larger4 ,she  also
 said that the breast plate was worth   
more than #ejj4    ,soon after ,joseph  
received the plates and other articles1 
the angel  left him to manage the work  
entrusted to him1 which responsibility  
he felt very seriously4 ,he first       
concealed the secret treasure in a      

secluded place1 excepting the ,urim and 
,thummim1 which he kept with  him4 ,soon
 after ,joseph arrived at home he       
explained to his parents the  necessity 
of keeping the sacred relics under lock 
and key1 and until  such time as proper 
precaution was taken1 he had hidden them
 away  securely4 ,then said the mother3 
,order a chest at once4    ,but we have 
not a dollar in the house to pay for it1
 said ,joseph4    ,god will provide1 my 
son1 said the confidential mother4 ,go1 
promise  part cash and part trade1 which
 was done1 and the same day ,mrs4       
,wells1  of ,macedon1 gave ,joseph work 
at digging a well1 promising cash for   
the  work4 ,the mother reminded the son 
of the ,lord's providence1 so soon      
fulfilled4    ,while ,joseph was working
 for ,mrs4 ,wells1 to supply their daily
 wants  and to pay for the chest in     
which the plates were to be secured1 a  
mob  of twelve men1 headed by ,mr4      
,willard ,chase1 a ,methodist class     
leader1  and a certain conjurer whose   

special business was to divine the      
hiding  place of the gold plates1 were  
heard to say3    ,we will have that gold
 ,bible in spite of all the devils in   
hell4    ,father ,smith1 knowing that   
the plates were secreted away from home1
  felt deep anxiety concerning their    
safety1 and he induced ,emma1 the       
,prophet's wife1 who was living with the
 family1 to go on horseback to  give    
warning to ,joseph of the intentions of 
the mob4 ,from an impression  ,joseph   
had1 he looked with the ,urim and       
,thummim1 which he had with  him1 after 
which1 meeting his wife with a smile1 he
 informed her that  the plans of the mob
 would prove futile2 that the plates    
were safe4  ,however1 he returned home  
with his wife1 and in the evening1 after
  procuring the chest1 ,joseph started  
for the plates1 but as he was  returning
 home with them1 he was waylaid and     
attacked three times1 but  he finally   
escaped1 although bruised and weary1    
bringing the plates  home in safety4    

,this was one of his first lessons and a
 fulfillment of the angel's  words to   
him4    ,not long after this first      
experience1 the ,prophet was warned of a
  second attempt to rob him of the      
treasure4    ,on this occasion he       
remembered the angel's charge in regard 
to using  every precaution1 and the     
promise that if he was prayerful and    
careful  he should not lose them4 ,a    
stone of the old-fashioned hearth was   
removed and the plates and the          
breast-plate were concealed in a cavity 
under the hearth4 ,the stone had just   
been replaced1 when a large armed  mob  
came rushing uproariously around the    
house4 ,the door was thrown  open and   
were in the house1 ,joseph at their     
head1 rushed out1 when the  mob fled    
without their booty4 ,a third attempt to
 obtain the plates was  also            
unsuccessfully made4 ,this time the     
treasures were hid in some flax  in the 
loft of a cooper shop1 and an empty box 
was hidden under the  floor4 ,it was    

said that a young woman1 aided by a     
peepstone1 pointed  out the cooper shop 
as the repository of the ,gold ,bible4  
,during the  night the place was        
rummaged1 the floor torn up and the box 
broken  to pieces4 ,this was another    
experience1 but the treasures were still
  safely preserved4 ,it was manifested  
to the ,prophet that a facsimile  of    
characters must be copied and sent to   
the most learned professors  of the     
country1 and that ,martin ,harris should
 be the bearer of them4  ,before the    
,prophet could accomplish this desired  
object1 however1 he  was compelled to   
seek peace in ,pennsylvania1 for the    
whole country  around seemed determined 
to give ,joseph no peace whatever4      
,while the  servant of ,god was on his  
way from his father's house1 to seek a  
peaceful retreat1 he was stopped on the 
highway twice by a mob of fifty  men1   
but as the necessary precaution had been
 observed by hiding the  plates in a    
barrel of beans1 again they were        

preserved4    ,the trying scenes which  
this young man had to pass through1     
having been  compelled to leave his home
 and country by reason of the           
persecutions  heaped upon him in his    
young married life1 were of a           
heart-rending  character1 besides the   
labor of translating the ,book of       
,mormon1 and  organizing the ,church1   
which he was instructed to do4 ,it      
became all the  more difficult to       
perform this great work because new     
revelation came  so much in contact with
 the traditions of the different        
religious sects  of the day1 each one   
differing from the other1 yet each one  
claiming  to be the right ,church4 ,just
 imagine this unlearned youth1          
possessing  no funds only as he earned  
them by his daily labor1 under these    
circumstances1 with increasing          
responsibilities of family1 and home4   
,without ,god's aid it would border on  
insanity to entertain a faint  hope of  
success in so stupendous an undertaking4

 ,had it not been that  the ,lord had   
promised to help him1 his heart would   
have failed him by  the way4 ,but there 
was encouragement found in the words of 
the prophet  ,isaiah1 #bith chapter1    
where the prophet1 speaking of the very 
time and  condition surrounding the     
youth1 used these words3    ,therefore1 
behold1 ,i will proceed to do a         
marvelous work among this  people1 even 
a marvelous work and a wonder2 for the  
wisdom of their  wise men shall perish  
444 ,they also that erred in spirit     
shall come to  understanding1 and they  
that murmured shall learn doctrine4     
7,isaiah  #bi3ad1 #bd7    ,tens of      
thousands have proven those words to be 
true4 ,i was personally  favored with   
many conversations with the three       
witnesses whom ,god  raised up1 one of  
whom was ,martin ,harris1 a near        
neighbor of ,joseph  ,smith4 ,in #ahga1 
while ,i was emigrating ,martin ,harris 
from ,kirkland1  ,ohio1 during our      
journey of over #b1jjj miles1 he related

 many little  incidents which occurred  
in those early times4    ,one of the    
incidents that interested me most was   
when1 on a certain  occasion1 ,martin's 
neighbors prevailed upon him to drink   
some wine with  them with the evident   
intention of getting him to deny his    
testimony  to the ,book of ,mormon4     
,martin drank but little1 while his     
neighbors  partook more freely4 ,when   
they were in high glee they asked him if
 he  really believed that he saw the    
angel of which he had testified4    ,no1
 said ,martin1 ,i do not believe it4    
,now1 said they1 we know you are an     
honest man4    ,stop a moment1 said     
,martin1 and properly understand me4 ,my
 reason  for not believing it is that   
knowledge surpasses belief4 ,gentlemen1 
it  was in open day when ,i saw the     
angel and ,i testify to you that ,i know
  my testimony is true4 ,i do not       
believe it is true2 ,i know it is4      
,the reader can imagine the chagrin that
 his neighbors felt at this  unexpected 

outcome of their efforts to entrap him4 
,martin told me that1 knowing the       
indigent circumstances of the ,prophet1 
he felt it was his duty to aid in the   
great work by giving ,joseph fifty      
dollars to help advance the ,lord's     
work4 ,this occurred just prior to      
,joseph's leaving ,manchester for       
,harmony1 ,penn4 ,the ,lord raised tip a
  friend in time of need4 ,the ,lord    
remembered ,martin for the timely aid1  
although it was many days afterwards4   
,martin also stated that he had  hired  
,joseph to work for him on his farm many
 times and paid him fifty  cents per    
day1 which was the usual price paid for 
hired help at that  time4 ,he also said 
that he had hoed corn with ,joseph      
often1 and that  the latter was a good  
hand to work4    ,the ,prophet found a  
short season of rest with his           
father-in-law at  ,harmony1 ,penn41     
where he succeeded in copying the seven 
lines of  characters1 which1 by a       
previous arrangement1 were taken to     

,professor  ,anthon1 of ,new ,york1 as  
explained in the next chapter4    ,soon 
after ,martin ,harris returned from ,new
 ,york1 he commenced to write  for the  
,prophet while he translated from the   
gold plates4 ,martin often  related to  
the writer the mode of translation4 ,he 
said that the ,prophet  possessed a seer
 stone as well as the ,urim and         
,thummim1 by means of  which he could   
translate the characters4 ,on one       
occasion ,martin placed  in a hat a     
stone very much like the ,prophet's seer
 stone1 and after  the ,prophet had     
looked an unusual length of time1 he    
raised his head1  saying1 ,martin1 what 
in the world is the matter8 all is dark 
as  ,egypt4 ,martin smiled1 and         
confessed4 ,joseph said1 ,martin1 why   
did you  do this8 ,martin answered3 ,to 
stop the mouths of fools1 who tell me   
you know all this by heart1 and are     
deceiving me4    ,father ,sanford       
,porter1 while living in ,jackson       
,county1 ,mo41 in #ahcb1  ,was desirous 

to know how the ,prophet translated the 
characters which  were engraven on the  
gold plates1 and made it a matter of    
prayer4 ,while  the ,prophet was        
receiving a revelation in ,jackson      
,county1 ,missouri1  ,father ,porter was
 present in the room and while observing
 that the  ,prophet would speak a       
sentence to be written by a scribe      
engaged for  that purpose1 the scribe   
would say1 ,it is written1 and if       
written  correctly the sentence before  
the ,prophet would disappear and another
  sentence would appear likewise1 but if
 not written correctly by the  scribe   
the sentence would remain1 and after the
 necessary correction  had been made1   
the sentence would disappear4    ,many  
years ago ,father ,porter related to me 
that it was shown unto  him1 that by the
 aid of the ,urim and ,thummim the      
,prophet could see a  sentence as if in 
gold letters1 which he would read1 and  
when it was  written another sentence   
would appear4 ,martin ,harris stated to 

me  as above that when he had written   
the sentence that was presented1  if    
written correctly it would disappear and
 another sentence would  appear1 and so 
continue4 ,at the conclusion of the     
revelation ,joseph was  receiving1      
,father ,porter said that the ,prophet  
remarked that he had  never found such  
great faith as was manifested in that   
house on that  occasion4    ,the writer 
is satisfied that there never was a     
greater prophet1 seer  and revelator on 
this earth than ,joseph ,smith1 the     
,prophet of ,god4    ,,chapter #d       
,the ,seven ,lines of ,characters that  
were translated by ,joseph ,smith are   
taken by ,martin ,harris to ,prof4      
,anthon1 fulfilling the words of the    
,prophet ,isaiah1 #bith chapter3 ,read  
this1 ,i pray thee1 but he says1 ,i     
cannot1 for it is sealed4    ,the seven 
lines of characters presented in the    
accompanying engraving  were copied by  
the hand of ,joseph ,smith in ,harmony1 
,pennsylvania1 in  the year #ahbg1 he   

then being in the twenty-second year of 
his age4 ,they  were copied from a book 
of gold plates which he found hidden in 
a stone  box1 the box being nicely      
jointed together and set in cement4 ,the
 six  slabs of stone forming the box    
were so dressed that they were smooth   
and square on the inside1 but rough on  
the outside4 ,indeed1 they were  so     
rough that the capstone1 which was      
crowning1 looked something like  a      
cobblestone1 for at the time of being   
found a small portion was laid  bare and
 protruded from the hill side4 ,no one1 
unless in possession  of the knowledge  
of what was therein contained1 would    
have paid any  attention to the stone in
 passing4    ,most certainly1 it was    
very ingeniously constructed and hidden 
in a  very choice spot of ground4 ,it   
was first found in the spring of #ahbc1 
and the young man who found it was only 
in the seventeenth year of  his age4 ,he
 was too young and inexperienced at that
 time to receive  so valuable a         

treasure1 for it must be in weight about
 forty pounds  or more of pure gold1 and
 in sheets that were very thin like unto
  thin sheets of tin plate2 and they    
were covered with engravings of  a very 
curious workmanship1 showing great skill
 by those who were  the engravers4      
,there were several different persons   
who did the  work of engraving4 ,the    
plates contained a history which reached
 out  over a period of a thousand years1
 beginning #fjj ,b4 ,c41 and continuing 
until #dbj ,,ad4 ,the history had       
necessarily to be very brief1 and when  
translated was called the ,book of      
,mormon--that is1 the portion which  was
 translated1 for there is a portion yet 
held in reserve1 which was  sealed with 
three extra rings1 and which will yet1  
in the due time of  the ,lord1 be       
revealed and translated4    ,all these  
plates were fastened together with three
 great rings1 so  that each plate could 
be turned over in the same manner as if 
hinged  together4 ,so we are led to see 

that these people were very skilled1    
and were also careful in preserving     
their history4 ,that history brings  to 
light who the people were that left so  
many ruined cities1 towers1  temples and
 other relics1 many of which are found  
with hieroglyphics of  a similar        
character to the seven lines presented4 
,the ,book of ,mormon1  translated from 
those plates1 makes a book of #fbc      
pages1 and is at  the present time      
printed in about fifteen different      
languages4 ,in the  box with the gold   
plates was a breast-plate made of gold  
and valued  at about five hundred       
dollars4 ,attached to this breast-plate 
was a  ,urim and ,thummim or            
interpreters4 ,the latter was in form   
like unto  an old-fashioned pair of     
spectacles1 two clear stones set in rims
 of  silver4 ,i have conversed with     
,martin ,harris1 who handled them1 and  
he  said he had placed them as he would 
a pair of spectacles1 but they were  too
 large for him1 as if they had been made

 for a larger race of people  than the  
present generation4    ,this ,urim and  
,thummim was similar to what we read of 
in the ,bible of  olden times and which 
only belonged to seers1 revelators and  
prophets4  ,these were hidden with the  
book1 to help the one to whom they      
should be  entrusted to translate them  
correctly4    ,the hill from whence     
those plates were taken is fully        
described in  another chapter4    ,i    
will vouch for the correctness of the   
characters1 as ,i have compared  them   
with the original copy1 which is still  
in existence1 intact1  just as it was   
when ,martin ,harris1 as a messenger1   
took it with the  translation ,joseph   
,smith had made1 to ,professor ,anthon  
of ,new ,york4  ,the copy here presented
 was traced from the original copy1 and 
this  engraving1 made by ,mr4 ,john     
,held1 of ,salt ,lake ,city1 is an exact
  reproduction of it4    ,in the year   
#ahga ,i was favored with the privilege 
of bringing ,martin  ,harris from       

,kirtland1 ,ohio1 to ,utah4 ,while on   
our journey1 ,i had many  opportunities 
of conversing with him upon this        
subject1 as well as  upon many other    
incidents which occurred at the early   
period of the  translation4 ,soon after 
presenting the seven lines of characters
 to  ,professor ,anthon1 be 7,martin    
,harris7 aided the young ,prophet by    
acting  as scribe during a portion of   
the translation4 ,the learned ,professor
  ,anthon1 after having the lines of    
characters presented to him1 examined   
them carefully1 and gave a certificate  
stating that they were ,egyptian        
characters and had been correctly       
translated4 ,mr4 ,harris1 with the      
certificate1 started to leave1 but when 
he had advanced as far as the  door1 the
 ,professor called to him1 asking where 
he obtained those  plates4 ,harris      
replied3    ,in a hill near ,palmyra1   
,new ,york4    ,then bring the book to  
me and ,i will translate the plates for 
you4    ,i can not do so1 said ,martin1 

for a part of them is sealed4    ,then1 
replied ,mr4 ,anthon1 ,i cannot read a  
sealed book1 upon which  he recalled the
 certificate and tore it up4    ,martin 
,harris said to me1 ,at that time ,i was
 not aware that the  ,prophet ,isaiah1  
in the twenty-ninth chapter of his      
writings1 had  predicted that those     
exact words would be uttered and the    
prophecy thus  fulfilled by ,prof4      
,anthon4 ,for the better information of 
the reader  we will refer to the book of
 ,isaiah1 beginning at the #aath and    
#abth  verses1 which reads as follows3  
,and the vision of all is become unto   
you as the words of a book that   is    
sealed1 which men deliver to one that is
 learned1 saying1 ,read this1   ,i pray 
thee3 and he said1 ,i cannot1 for it is 
sealed4 ,and the book not   the words or
 seven lines of characters is delivered 
to him that is not   learned1 saying1   
,read this1 ,i pray thee3 and he saith1 
,i am not learned4    ,it is well known 
that ,joseph ,smith was not learned1 and

 claimed to  be only a farmer's boy     
without the opportunities for a         
scholastic  education2 for he had1 as   
,peter the fisherman1 to work for his   
living4    ,permit me to offer some     
striking evidence to show that the      
,prophet was  not learned1 by the word  
directly over the lines of characters4  
,how  natural it would be for a boy     
unlearned to leave out the silent h and 
further to substitute the o for the e1  
as it is written by his own  hand1      
thus--,caractors4 ,this ,i offer as     
evidence of the fulfillment of          
,isaiah's words1 #bith chapter and #abth
 verse1 ,i am not learned4    ,well1    
indeed1 may the prophet say in the same 
chapter3    ,cry ye out1 and cry2 they  
are drunken1 but not with wine2 they    
stagger1 but not with strong drink4     
,i ask what kind of drunkenness can this
 mean1 unless as really inferred  by    
,isaiah's own words3 ,for the ,lord hath
 poured out upon you the  spirit of deep
 sleep1 and hath closed your eyes3 the  

prophets and your  rulers1 the seers    
hath he covered4    ,at the time the    
book came forth there were upon the     
earth no prophets  or seers to guide the
 people4 ,there had been prophets from  
the time of  ,adam to ,moses and from   
,moses to ,jesus ,christ1 ,john the     
,revelator being  the last prophet of   
that time1 #if ,,ad4    ,and the ,book  
came forth and a new prophet arose after
 that long period1  and at a time when  
people were drunken with confusion      
regarding the  true religious light1 for
 there were about six hundred different 
religious sects staggering against each 
other1 each one claiming to be  the true
 church that ,christ established1 with  
one lord1 one faith1 one  baptism1 and  
one ,god and ,father of all4    ,every  
,bible student should know that ,jesus  
placed in his church3 first1  twelve    
apostles1 then seventies1 elders1       
pastors1 teachers1 gifts and  blessings 
for the perfecting of the saints4 ,after
 the apostasy from  the ,church of      

,christ1 the mother of harlots made all 
nations drunken  with the wine of her   
fornication1 divided up into fragments1 
without  prophets1 seers or revelators4 
,it was in this condition1 as the       
prophets have foretold1 when the boy    
,prophet began so marvelous a work1  and
 which cost him his life to establish4  
,,chapter #e    ,the ,prophet ,joseph   
and others ,sentenced to be ,shot on the
 ,public ,square  at ,far ,west1 in the 
,presence of their ,friends4--,the      
,execution ,deferred1  and the          
,prisoners afterwards sent to ,liberty  
,jail4    ,the ,liberty ,jail1 which is 
fast going into ruins1 is situated in   
the  city of ,liberty1 ,clay ,county1   
,missouri4 ,it is inland three miles    
from  the ,missouri ,river and about ten
 miles from ,independence in ,jackson   
,county1 and ,independence is eleven    
miles from ,kansas ,city of the same    
state4    ,there are many reasons why   
this jail should become conspicuous and 
be preserved in history1 but the        

principal one is that there ,joseph     
,smith1 the ,prophet1 in the fall of    
#ahch and spring of #ahci1 at the  time 
of ,governor ,l4 ,w4 ,boggs'            
exterminating war against the ,mormons1 
was most unjustly and wickedly          
imprisoned4 ,in #ahch1 the ,prophet and 
others were betrayed into the hands of  
the ,missouri mob by ,colonel  ,george  
,m4 ,hinkle1 the mob being headed by    
,general ,samuel ,d4 ,lucas4 ,the       
prisoners were tried under martial law  
and sentenced to be shot on  the        
following day on the public square in   
,far ,west1 in the presence  of a       
multitude of the followers of ,joe      
,smith1 as they chose to call  him4     
,this was intended1 no doubt1 as a      
sample of ,missouri charity1  sympathy  
and humanity1 and as a lesson for       
,mormons for daring to  believe as      
conscience dictated1 and for exercising 
as ,american freemen  the privileges    
guaranteed by a ,constitution believed  
to be inspired4  ,the writer speaks for 

himself1 as one for whom he had deep    
sentiments  of regard1 as a true        
,prophet1 who was sent of ,god to       
re-establish the  fullness of the       
everlasting gospel4    ,but ,god        
overruled the horrible edict that the   
,prophet and his  companions should be  
shot on the public square on the        
following day at  #h o'clock a4m4 ,this 
was on the #cast of ,october1 #ahch4    
,general ,doniphan  denounced the       
proposed act as cold-blooded murder1    
threatening to  withdraw his brigade    
from the scene of the intended massacre4
    ,this turned the tide of events and 
,lucas and his murderous colleagues     
began to hesitate and finally to        
reconsider their action4 ,that ,general 
,lucas was acting under ,governor       
,lilburn ,w4 ,boggs' orders is evident  
by  the utterances made unto us who were
 compelled to assemble together  on the 
public square at ,far ,west1 where we   
were harangued by ,general  ,clark at   
considerable length4 ,the speech was    

very abusive1 as can be  learned by     
reading it farther on in this pamphlet4 
,before introducing  the speech we will 
state a number of interesting facts     
which occurred  about that time4 ,there 
was in existence the ,fifty-third       
,regiment of  ,missouri ,militia1 under 
the command of ,col4 ,george ,m4        
,hinkle1 who held  a commission signed  
by the ,governor of the state4    ,there
 was times of trouble when it became    
necessary for ,colonel ,hinkle  to call 
out the militia1 consequently our       
movements were in accordance  with the  
laws of ,missouri4 ,on the #cjth of     
,october1 #ahch1 ,neil ,gillam  was at  
the head of a mob who were disguised as 
wild ,indians4 ,they were  painted1 and 
,gillam himself was arrayed as an       
,indian chief4 ,the mob  had been       
burning houses and driving the ,mormons'
 stock away from their  owners1 taking  
prisoners1 etc4 ,colonel ,hinkle ordered
 out a company  of militia1 about #aej  
in number1 to endeavor to learn the     

intentions  of ,gillam and others1 who  
were camping on ,log ,creek1 near ,far  
,west4 ,i  was one of those under ,col4 
,hinkle1 and we all were on horseback4  
,we  soon learned that their intentions 
were hostile4 ,a flag of truce in the   
hands of ,charles ,c4 ,rich was shot at 
during the day1 and our company  was cut
 off from ,far ,west by a line of battle
 being formed between us  and our homes4
 ,colonel ,hinkle returned from the     
front of our line with  his military    
coat off1 saying that there were hardly 
enough of us to  allow a mouthful apiece
 for the numerous hosts before us4 ,he  
seemed  excited and fearfully           
frightened1 and for this and other      
reasons ,i have  always believed this   
accounted for his conduct on that       
occasion4 ,we  retreated fifteen miles  
7instead of five miles1 from where we   
were71  to ,far ,west1 arriving about   
the time the troops were nearing the    
city4  ,they were marching with red     
flags1 which were interspersed and mixed

  up with ,gillam's command of painted  
faces4 ,our company coming into ,far    
,west on the gallop1 created quite a    
sensation1 as we were mistaken  for the 
enemy coming in from two different      
points4 ,we1 however1 soon  proved      
ourselves to be friends1 and were just  
in time to extend the  line already     
formed in defense of the city4 ,our     
adversaries were in  the ratio of about 
ten to one of us1 which looked rather   
serious for a  little handful of members
 of the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of    
,latter-day  ,saints4    ,the ,prophet  
came along after our arrival and said3  
,fear them not2 ,god is for us1 and     
there are more for us than there  are   
against us meaning the hosts of heaven  
were on our side4 ,god  and liberty is  
the watchword1 said ,joseph4 ,fear them 
not1 for their  hearts are cold as      
cucumbers4    ,night was fast           
approaching1 and flags of truce were    
passing between  the two lines1 by which
 we learned that this formidable army   

was sent  out by ,governor ,boggs with  
orders to exterminate us4 ,it was       
finally  concluded not to murder us that
 night1 so the army withdrew until the  
next morning1 when they intended to make
 a final end of ,mormonism4  ,they      
camped for the night on ,goose ,creek1  
one mile away from the city4  ,thus     
ended one of the most eventful days of  
our lives4 ,it fell to my  lot to stand 
guard that night1 and the worst         
confusion and disorder  ever witnessed  
by human beings existed in the enemy's  
camp4 ,this1 with  unearthly yelling and
 howling1 produced a real pandemonium   
very much  resembling my idea of hell4  
,a sort of breast-work was constructed  
during the night1 made principally of   
wagons1 house logs1 etc4 ,a dark  and   
dreary night was that4 ,on the following
 day1 ,october #cast1 we  were preparing
 to meet death1 if necessary1 rather    
than surrender our  religion to a mob4  
,we trusted in the ,lord1 however1 and a
 better way  was prepared4 ,colonel     

,hinkle had been communicating with the 
enemy  during the day1 and in the       
afternoon ,joseph ,smith and others     
passed  over the breast-works near where
 ,i and others were on duty4 ,colonel   
,hinkle lead the party to meet the      
enemy1 where he betrayed them into      
their hands4 ,this treachery on his part
 turned out for the best1 for  ,god     
suffers offences to come1 as in the case
 of ,judas1 but woe to him  by whom they
 come4    ,on the following day1        
,november #ast1 #ahch1 we were marched  
into a hollow  square just outside of   
the city1 where we delivered up about   
#fcj guns1  grounded our arms1 and      
advanced to the center of the square1   
where the  small arms and swords were   
left in a pile4 ,the late ,bishop       
,mc,rae gave  six cuts with his sword   
and a pointer in the ground and left his
 sword  sticking there4 ,we were left   
without the means of self-defense and at
  the mercy of a conscienceless set of  
ignorant1 prejudiced people1 many  of   

whom1 like ,st4 ,paul before his        
conversion1 acted as if they were  doing
 ,god's service in destroying property  
and abusing the ,mormons4 ,my  widowed  
mother's house was plundered and my     
sister1 now living here in  ,utah1 had  
her clothes taken from her in open day1 
leaving her destitute  of her necessary 
apparel4    ,general ,wilson1 who was   
one of the mobbers in ,jackson ,county1 
was in  company with ,joseph ,smith soon
 after he was condemned to be shot4     
,joseph asked ,general ,wilson what he  
had done that he should be treated  with
 such indignity1 stating that he had    
always been a supporter of the          
,constitution and of good government4   
,wilson's reply was3    ,i know it1 and 
that is the reason ,i want to kill you1 
or have you  killed4    ,subsequently   
this same ,wilson said to ,p4 ,p4 ,pratt
 and others3    ,we ,jackson ,county    
boys know how it is1 and therefore have 
not the  extreme hatred and prejudice   
which characterizes the rest of the     

troops4 ,we know perfectly well from the
 beginning that the ,mormons  have not  
been the aggressors at all4 ,as it began
 in #ahcc in ,jackson  ,county1 ,mo41 so
 it has been ever since4444 ,we mob you 
without law2  the authorities refuse to 
protect you according to law1 you then  
are  compelled to protect yourselves1   
and we act upon the prejudices of  the  
public1 who join our forces and the     
whole is legalized for your  destruction
 and our gain 444 ,when we drove you    
from ,jackson ,county  we burned #bjc of
 your houses1 plundered your goods1     
destroyed your  press1 type and paper1  
books1 office and all--tarred and       
feathered old  ,bishop ,partridge--as   
exemplary an old man as you can find    
anywhere4 ,we  shot down some of your   
men1 and if any of you returned the     
fire1 we  imprisoned you and had you on 
trial for murder4 ,d--d shrewdly done1  
gentlemen2 and ,i came d--d near kicking
 the bucket myself2 for on  one occasion
 while we were tearing down houses1     

driving families and  destroying and    
plundering goods1 some of you good folks
 put a ball  through my son's body1 and 
another through the arm of my clerk1 and
 a  third pierced my shirt collar and   
marked my neck4 ,no blame1 gentlemen2   
we deserved it1 and let a set of men    
serve me as your community have  been   
served1 and ,i'll be d--d if ,i would   
not fight till ,i died4    ,most        
certainly this was an honest confession1
 and ,i can certify to  nearly all of   
his acknowledgments1 for ,i have been   
driven from my home  and robbed of my   
hard-earned property more than once4    
,there are many  others besides ,general
 ,wilson who have acknowledged to the   
same things1  for ,i have personally    
heard them4    ,when the brethren were  
being hurried away1 as prisoners1 from  
their  homes1 ,p4 ,p4 ,pratt says3    ,i
 went to ,general ,moses ,wilson in     
tears1 and stated the circumstances  of 
my sick1 heart-broken1 destitute family1
 in terms which would have  moved any   

heart that had a latent spark of        
humanity yet remaining1 but  ,i was only
 answered with an exultant laugh and a  
taunt of reproach by  this hardened     
murderer4 ,halting at the door of ,hyrum
 ,smith1 ,i heard  the sobs and groans  
of his wife at ,hyrum's parting4 ,she   
was then near  confinement and needed   
more than ever the comfort and          
consolation of a  husband's presence4   
,as we returned to the wagon we         
witnessed the sad1  parting of ,sidney  
,rigdon and his family1 and in the same 
wagon was  ,joseph ,smith1 while his    
aged father and mother came up          
overwhelmed with  tears1 and took each  
of the prisoners by the hand with a     
silence of  grief too great for         
utterance4    ,little encouragement was 
left to those grief-stricken parents1   
for they  knew so well that they were in
 the hands of a mob who had snatched and
  dragged them away as if they were     
murderers4 ,fresh to their minds was    
recalled a scene that took place in     

earlier days1 when1 close to their  own 
thresholds1 a demon in human form1 in   
the dark hour of the night1  had fired  
at their son1 just barely missing him4  
,there were fifty-six  citizens thus    
dragged away from their homes1 without  
any earthly hope  of deliverance1 only  
as in ,god they put their trust4 ,judge 
,king said to  ,h4 ,c4 ,kimball3    ,joe
 ,smith is not fit to live4    ,for     
further light concerning the good or    
evil wishes of this great mob  of       
,missourians1 we will now return to the 
public square to hear the  abusive words
 of ,general ,clark4 ,addressing the    
,mormons he said3    ,it now devolves   
upon you to fulfill a treaty that you   
have entered  into4    #ast4--,your     
leading men be given up to be tried     
according to the law4  ,this you have   
already complied with4    #bnd4--,that  
you deliver up your arms4 ,this has been
 attended to which  we did1 surrounded  
by the mob1 some of whom ,i heard say1  
',now we have  got their arms1 it is as 

good as death to them4'    #crd4--,that 
you sign over your properties to defray 
the expenses of the  war4 ,this you have
 also done4    #dth4--,that you leave   
the state forthwith4 ,and whatever may  
be your  feelings concerning this1 or   
whatever your innocence1 it is nothing  
to  me4 ,general ,lucas 7whose military 
rank is equal to mine7 has made this    
treaty with you1 and ,i approve of it4  
,i should have done the same4 ,i am     
determined to see it executed4 ,the     
character of this state has suffered    
almost beyond redemption4 ,and we deem  
it as an act of justice to  restore her 
character to its former standing among  
the states by every  proper means4 ,the 
orders of the ,governor to me were1 that
 you should  be exterminated1 and not   
allowed to remain in the state4 ,and had
 not  your leaders been given up1 and   
the terms of the treaty complied with1  
before this time you and your families  
would have been destroyed and  your     
houses in ashes4    ,there is a         

discretionary power vested in my hands1 
which1 considering  your circumstances1 
,i shall exercise for a season4 ,you are
 indebted to  me for this clemency4 ,i  
do not say you shall go now1 but you    
must not  think if staying here another 
season or of putting in crops2 for1 if  
you do1 the citizens will be upon you4  
,if ,i am called here again in  case of 
non-compliance of a treaty made1 do not 
think that ,i shall do  as ,i have done 
now4 ,you need not expect any mercy1 but
 extermination4  ,for ,i am determined  
the ,governor's orders shall be         
executed4    ,as for your leaders1 do   
not think1 do not imagine for a moment1 
do not  let it enter into your minds1   
that they shall be delivered and        
restored  to you again for their fate is
 fixed1 their die is cast4 ,their doom  
is  sealed4 ,i am sorry1 very sorry1    
gentlemen1 to see so many intelligent   
men found in this situation4 ,oh6 if ,i 
could invoke the ,great ,spirit1  the   
unknown ,god--,i suppose without body1  

parts or passions--to  rest upon and    
deliver you from that awful chain of    
superstition1 and  liberate you from    
those fetters of fanaticism with which  
you are bound1  that you no longer do   
homage to a man6 ,my advice is that you 
become  as other citizens1 let by a     
recurrence of these events you bring    
upon  yourselves irretrievable ruin4    
,it vividly recurs to my mind that at   
the closing of ,general ,clark's  hard  
talk1 ,g4 ,m4 ,hinkle also spoke to the 
large body of ,saints1 saying3    ,i    
would advise you all to do as ,i have   
done1 for ,i have got my hand  out of   
the lion's mouth1 and ,i intend to keep 
it out hereafter4    ,it may not be out 
of place to relate a statement made to  
me by ,e4 ,b4  ,tripp1 who authorizes me
 to use his name1 regarding ,george ,m4 
,hinkle1  whose hand he said was out of 
the lion's mouth 7taking his own word   
for  it47 ,elder4 ,e4 ,b4 ,tripp says3  
,in #aheb1 ,i lived in ,wapelo1 ,louisa 
,co41 ,iowa ,g4 ,m4 ,hinkle1 a stranger 

to me1 came into my drug store4 ,he     
introduced himself to me1 saying3       
',this is ,mr4 ,tripp1 ,i understand4 ,i
 hear that you are going to ,utah1  and 
,i would like to have a private talk    
with you4 ,i am the man who  betrayed   
,joseph ,smith and others into the hands
 of the mob in ,missouri4  ,i am a      
miserable man1 and scarce know what to  
do with myself4 ,i would  be willing to 
lay down my life if this would atone for
 the sin ,i  committed4 ,what can ,i do1
 ,mr4 ,tripp1 for ,i know ,mormonism is 
true8    ,this is the substance of the  
conversation as reported by ,brother    
,tripp1  who save him some good advice  
before he parted with him4 ,thomas ,b4  
,marsh1 one of the ,twelve ,apostles1   
apostatized during this dark hour  of   
,missouri persecution4 ,i saw him and   
heard him speak then1 and also  when he 
came to ,utah and was rebaptized4 ,i    
heard him confess with deep  regret1    
saying3    ,look at my trembling limbs  
and see the fate of an apostate1 for ,i 

am  a wreck1 but ,mormonism is true1 and
 ,i advise you not to do as ,i have     
done1 in my apostasy4    ,gen4 ,john ,c4
 ,bennett1 who once flourished in       
,nauvoo1 apostatized  because of his    
iniquities4 ,he died in ,polk ,city1    
,iowa1 a miserable  wreck1 debased and  
degraded4 ,when ,i was in ,iowa on a    
mission ,i learned  of a party who once 
had a rope around his neck and over a   
limb4 ,at that  time he barely escaped  
being hung up like a dog4    ,prior to  
,joseph and ,hyrum ,smith1 and others1  
being marched to ,liberty  jail1        
,general ,lucas allowed the prisoners to
 see for a few moments1 in  the presence
 of their guards1 their weeping wives   
and children4 ,most of  them were not   
permitted to speak1 being merely allowed
 to look at them  before being hurried  
away4    ,mary ,fielding ,smith1 wife of
 ,hyrum ,smith1 a few days after his    
painful  parting from her husband1      
became a mother4 ,the favored child thus
 born  amidst those warlike scenes is   

today known as ,joseph ,fielding ,smith1
  ,counselor to the ,first ,presidency4 
,the brethren were taken to             
,independence1 ,jackson ,county1        
,missouri1  to be murdered by those who 
only a few years before drove the       
,saints  from the country1 murdering    
some1 tarring and feathering others1 and
  expelling the remainder without color 
of law4 ,notwithstanding this1 on       
,sunday1 ,november #dth1 #ahch1 the     
,prophet preached to many who gathered  
around them4 ,the officers1 finding that
 the people's feelings were  softened   
into tears of sympathy1 had them removed
 to ,richmond1 where  they were chained 
down as felons and then removed to      
,liberty jail4    ,in ,september1 #ahhh1
 in company with ,elder ,andrew ,jenson 
and  ,bishop ,black1 of ,deseret1 ,i    
visited this place1 also ,far ,west and 
,adam-,ondi-,ahman4 ,this trip brought  
vividly before me many sayings of  the  
,prophet1 more particularly of his      
speaking of the ,garden of ,eden1  which

 he said was situated at ,independence1 
which is only about ten  miles to the   
northwest of ,liberty jai4 ,the ,prophet
 said it had been  manifested unto him  
that here was where our ,father ,adam   
was placed1  and where his home was     
until his fall1 when he was driven out  
into the  dreary world1 and from thence 
he took his departure northeast about   
seventy miles1 to where a stake of ,zion
 was located1 and it was named          
,adam-,ondi-,ahman by revelation4 ,this 
knowledge makes this land1 which is     
good and greatly blessed1 all the more  
attractive to the ,saints1 and  creates 
a desire to cherish not only the memory 
of the land1 but this  loathsome jail as
 well1 which is now going to ruins4     
,the ,bible tells us about the ,garden  
of ,eden1 and why not locate it  here in
 this goodly land as well as any other  
part of the earth8 ,many  changes have  
taken place since ,adam's time1 as1 for 
instance1 the great  deluge and the     
division of the earth in the days of    

,peleg4 ,again1 at  the crucifixion1    
when the solid rocks were rent1         
mountains cast up1  and great           
convulsions took place on the face of   
the whole earth4 ,all  of these events  
would naturally tend to make it         
difficult to locate  the ,garden without
 revelation1 and this is how ,i became  
informed on  this subject4 ,i was with  
the ,prophet ,joseph ,smith sixty miles 
northeast  of ,liberty jail in #ahch1   
less than one year before he was        
imprisoned  there4 ,we were standing    
with others on the hill                 
,adam-,ondi-,ahman4 ,the  ,prophet said1
 pointing to a mound of stones3         
,there is where ,father ,adam built an  
altar when he was driven from the       
,garden of ,eden and offered up         
sacrifice unto the ,lord4    ,he further
 said that the ,garden of ,eden was in  
or near ,independence1  the center stake
 of ,zion4 ,i thought it a great        
privilege to be at that  time with the  
,prophet1 and to hear his words         

regarding the mound and  pile of rocks  
laid up at so early a period of the     
world's history4    ,three years ago ,i 
visited the same altar with deep        
interest1 and also  the spot of ground  
where the ,prophet received the         
revelation1 wherein  ,adam-,ondi-,ahman 
is named as the place where ,adam shall 
come to visit  his people1 or the       
,ancient of ,days shall sit1 as spoken  
of by ,daniel  the ,prophet4 ,doc4 and  
,cov41 ,sec4 #aae1 page #dae4 ,the      
,prophet said that  this ,michael is    
,adam4    ,i quote the following from   
the revelation3    ,is there not room   
enough upon the mountains of            
,adam-,ondi-,ahman 444 the  land where  
,adam dwelt8 444 ,therefore come up     
hither to the land of my  people1 even  
,zion4--,doc4 and ,cov41 sec4 #aag1 v4  
#h    ,having lived and worked at the   
tin business in sight of this dungeon   
where the ,prophet was so unjustly      
imprisoned and suffered so much1 this   
knowledge of the country was welcome    

news to me4 ,on one occasion1 as  ,i was
 informed by the late ,bishop ,alexander
 ,mc,rae1 who was imprisoned  in this   
same jail1 and as he substantially      
related to me1 five of the  prisoners1  
viz3 ,joseph ,smith1 ,hyrum1 his        
brother1 ,caleb ,baldwin1 ,lyman        
,wight1 ,sidney ,rigdon and ,bishop     
,mc,rae were taking supper together4    
,all  but ,brother ,mc,rae partook of   
tea1 as they were glad to get anything  
to  sustain life4 ,soon afterwards five 
of the inmates were taken sick and  some
 of them were blind for three days1     
after which they were afflicted  with   
sore eyes for a long time4 ,bishop      
,mc,rae escaped this affliction  as he  
did not partake of the tea4 ,all of the 
six prisoners agreed that  poison had   
been put in the tea1 but how and by whom
 was unknown to them4    ,while the     
prisoners were confined in this jail1   
young ,joseph ,smith and  ,emma1 his    
mother1 visited their husband and       
father4 ,it was at this time  that      

,joseph's son1 now the leader of the    
,reorganized church1 claims  to have    
received a blessing under the hands of  
his father4 ,joseph ,f4  ,smith1 with   
his mother1 visited his father in this  
same jail1 and  although but an infant1 
received a blessing under his hands4    
,owing to  the delicate state of her    
health1 ,joseph ,f4's mother had to be  
taken  on a bed in a carriage1 to see1  
perhaps for the last time1 her husband  
as a prisoner for the gospel's sake4    
,the meeting and parting on that        
occasion must have been heartrending    
under the circumstances4 ,very few  can 
now realize such days as those of the   
imprisonment at ,liberty jail4    ,from 
the day that ,joseph ,smith received the
 plates at the hands of  ,moroni1 the   
angel1 until his incarceration in       
,liberty jail1 his life  was one of     
persecution1 trial and imprisonment1 so 
much so that on one  occasion ,joseph   
was led to pray3    ,o ,god6 where art  
thou8 ,and where is the pavilion that   

covereth thy  hiding place8 ,how long   
shall thy hand be stayed1 and thine     
eye--yea1  thy pure eye--behold from the
 eternal heavens the wrongs of thy      
people1  and of thy servants1 and thine 
ear be penetrated with their cries8     
,yea ,o ,lord1 how long shall they      
suffer these wrongs and unlawful        
oppressions1 before thine heart shall be
 softened towards them1 and  they bowels
 be moved with compassion towards them8 
,o ,lord ,god ,almighty1  maker of the  
heaven and earth1 and seas1 and all     
things that in them  are1 and who       
controlleth and subjecteth the devil and
 the dark and  benighted dominion of    
,sheol6 ,stretched forth thy hand2 let  
think eye  pierce2 let thy pavilion be  
taken up2 let thy hiding place no longer
 be  covered2 let thine ear be inclined2
 let thine heart be softened1 and  thy  
bowels moved with compassion towards us4
 99 99 99 ,remember thy suffering       
,saints1 ,o our ,god4    ,the ,prophet  
loved the ,saints1 and he knew of their 

extreme suffering1  and their moving    
through mud and rain1 in poverty1       
leaving their homes  and all behind     
them1 while he1 with his brethren1 was  
in a dungeon  liable to be poisoned at  
any time4 ,they knew their lives were   
not safe  in such a mobocratic state as 
was ,missouri then4 ,however1 ,joseph   
had  consolation1 dark as it appeared1  
for he promised his brethren that not   
one of their lives should be lost4 ,in  
the midst of their cries unto the       
,lord1 he was answered thus3    ,my son1
 peace be unto thy soul2 thine adversary
 and thine afflictions  shall be but a  
small moment2 and then1 if thou endure  
it well1 ,god  shall exalt thee on high2
 thou shalt triumph over all thy foes4  
,thou  art not yet as ,job2 thy friends 
do not contend against thee1 neither    
charge thee with transgression1 as they 
did ,job4 99 99 99 ,wo unto all those   
that discomfort my people1 and drive1   
and murder1 and testify against  them1  
saith the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,a generation

 of vipers shall not escape  the        
damnation of hell4 99 99 99 ,let thy    
bowels also be full of charity  towards 
all men and to the household of faith1  
and let virtue garnish  thy thoughts    
unceasingly4 ,then shall thy confidence 
wax strong in the  presence of ,god1 and
 the doctrine of the ,priesthood shall  
distill upon  thy soul as the dews from 
heaven4 ,the ,holy ,ghost shall be thy  
constant  companion1 and thy scepter an 
unchanging scepter of righteousness and 
truth1 and they dominion shall be an    
everlasting dominion1 and without       
compulsory means it shall flow unto thee
 for ever and ever4    ,when ,i looked  
upon the ,liberty jail in #ahcd1 again  
in #ahch-ci1 and  for the last time in  
#ahhh1 in the last stages of decay 7it  
being #ed  years from the time ,i first 
saw it71 my soul was moved upon with    
deep  emotion1 for thoughts of the past 
crowded upon my mind4 ,indeed1 ,i felt  
almost bewildered1 and as if in a dream4
 ,it was only four years and  nine      

months after the ,prophet left this     
dungeon that he was murdered1  dying as 
a martyr in ,carthage jail1 ,hancock    
,county1 ,illinois1 on the  memorable   
#bgth of ,june1 #ahdd4    ,elder        
,jenson1 ,bishop ,black and myself      
obtained a photograph of the jail  as a 
relic1 from which the engraving         
illustrating this article has been      
taken4 ,the jail was built about #ahcj1 
of hewn oak logs1 and was only #ad  by  
#ad-a_/b feet in the clear4 ,soon after 
a stone wall two feet thick was  added1 
leaving a space of twelve inches between
 the logs and the stone  wall1 which was
 filled in with loose stones1 thus      
making a wall four  feet thick4    ,in  
order to show how particular the        
,prophet was regarding revelations      
which he received from the ,lord1 ,i    
will relate an incident which  occurred 
in ,liberty jail4 ,while the ,prophet   
was receiving a revelation1  the late   
,bishop ,alexander ,mc,rae was writing  
as ,joseph received it4 ,upon  this     

occasion ,brother ,mc,rae suggested a   
slight change in the wording of  the    
revelation1 when ,joseph sternly asked3 
,do you know who you are writing for8   
,brother ,mc,rae1 who at once discovered
 his mistake1 begged the ,prophet's     
pardon for undertaking to correct the   
word of the ,lord4    ,in ,march1 #ahci1
 and less than one month before leaving 
the jail1 ,joseph  received the word of 
the ,lord1 as follows3    ,the ends of  
the earth shall inquire after thy name1 
and fools shall  have thee in derision1 
and hell shall rage against thee1 while 
the pure  in heart1 and the wise1 and   
the noble1 and the virtuous1 shall seek 
council1 and authority1 and blessings   
constantly from under thy hand4  ,and   
thy people shall never be turned against
 thee by the testimony of  traitors4    
,and although their influence shall cast
 thee into trouble1  into bars and      
walls1 thou shalt be had in honor1 and  
but for a small  moment and thy voice   
shall be more terrible in the midst of  

thy enemies  than the fierce lion1      
because of thy righteousness2 and thy   
,god shall  stand by thee forever and   
ever4 ,if thou art called to pass       
through  tribulation2 if thou art in    
perils among robbers2 if thou art in    
perils by land or by sea2 if thou are   
accused of all manner of false          
accusations2 if thy enemies fall upon   
thee2 if they tear thee from the        
society of thy father and mother1 and   
brethren and sisters2 and if1  with a   
drawn sword1 thine enemies tear thee    
from the bosom of thy wife  and of thine
 offspring1 and thine elder son         
7,joseph71 although but #f  years of    
age1 444 and thou be dragged to prison1 
and thine enemies  prowl around thee    
like wolves for the blood of the lamb2  
and if thou  should be cast into the    
pit1 or into the hands of murderers1 and
 the  sentence of death passed upon     
thee2 if thou be cast into the deep2 if 
the billowing surge conspire against    
thee2 if fierce winds become thine      

enemy2 if the heavens gather blackness1 
and all the elements combine to  hedge  
up the way2 and above all1 if the very  
jaws of hell gape open the  mouth wide  
after thee1 know thou1 my son1 that all 
these things shall  give thee           
experience1 and shall be for thy good4  
,the ,son of ,man hath  descended below 
them all2 art thou greater than he8     
,therefore hold on  thy way1 and the    
,priesthood shall remain with thee1 for 
their bounds  are set and they cannot   
pass4 ,thy days are known1 and thy years
 shall  not be numbered less2 therefore1
 fear not what man can do1 for ,god     
shall be with you for ever and every4   
,,chapter #f    ,the ,assassination of  
,generals ,joseph and ,hyrum ,smith in  
,carthage1  ,hancock ,co41 ,ill41 ,june 
#bg1 #ahdd1 while under the pledged     
protection of  the ,governor of the     
,state4    ,the engraving presented on  
another page is a true representation of
  the jail at ,carthage1 ,illinois1     
wherein ,joseph ,smith1 revered by  the 

,mormon people as a prophet of ,god1 and
 his brother ,hyrum were  foully        
murdered in #ahdd4 ,a sketch of the     
building was made by the late  ,robert  
,campbell soon after the massacre1 from 
which the illustration  accompanying    
this sketch was made4    ,the mob of    
eighty men1 whose faces were painted    
black1 were under the  direction of the 
notorious ,captain ,williams1 who is    
represented in the  picture as standing 
just back of the four men who are       
shooting the  ,prophet as he is lying   
partially stunned against the well curb4
 ,the  ,captain is directing the murder1
 as is to be seen in the engraving4     
,farther to the right is ,captain       
,smith1 with his company of ,carthage   
,greys1 who were entrusted with the care
 and custody of the prisoners  under the
 pledge of the ,governor of the state   
for their safety4    ,in the afternoon  
of the day of the murder1 the mob were  
concealed  in the woods about           
three-quarters of a mile northwest of   

the jail1  where they had previously    
marched4 ,the front of the jail is to   
the  south4 ,communication for some time
 was kept up between the mob and  the   
,carthage ,greys by couriers1 until a   
perfect understanding was  effected     
between the two mobs1 for by this mutual
 understanding the  ,state troops had   
become identified with the murder4 ,the 
diabolical plot  was so arranged that   
the troops had their guns loaded only   
with blank  cartridges4 ,from the       
situation of affairs1 the disbanding of 
the troops  at ,carthage 7except those  
treacherous ,greys71 and the ,governor  
being  at the same time in ,nauvoo      
disarming the ,nauvoo ,legion1 looks    
like a  very deep plot for the murder of
 those two innocent prisoners4 ,what    
makes it still more apparent that the   
,state was guilty of this foul  deed1 is
 the fact that not one of those who were
 immediately connected  with the murder 
were ever convicted1 while many of them 
roamed at  large1 although well known to

 the community as having taken part in  
the  murder1 some even boasting of      
having participated in the vile act4    
,one  man in particular1 who lived in   
what was known as ,morley's settlement1 
near ,carthage1 openly claimed to have  
helped in the massacre4    ,while ,i was
 in ,st4 ,george about two years ago ,i 
read from a record book  the following3 
,mr4 ,meradis ,perry1 a near neighbor of
 ours1 was one of the mob who  killed   
,joseph ,smith4 ,he came home from      
,carthage sick and begged my  father to 
kill him2 'for1' said he1 ',i can       
neither eat nor sleep4 ,when  ,i close  
my eyes ,i can see ,joseph ,smith before
 me2 ,i am a miserable  man4' ,my father
 told him that he was in the hands of   
the ,lord1 and he  would deal with him  
as seemed good onto himself2 that       
,joseph was a true  prophet sent of     
,god1 and his blood1 with that of his   
brother1 would  cry from ,carthage jail 
against his murderers as did ,able's    
against his  slayer4 ,my father1 ,james 

,bellows1 lived near ,morley's          
settlement4    ,the daughter of ,jas4   
,bellows1 who has the record named1     
vouches for the  above1 having seen the 
mobber4 ,she says he was a miserable    
human being4    ,the mob came from the  
woods1 entered the stairway door1       
crowded  upstairs1 and commenced        
pressing in the door where the prisoners
 were  confined4 ,they were unable to   
open the door for a while1 when shots   
were fired through the door4 ,all was   
commotion and confusion4 ,a ball        
passing through the door pierced ,hyrum 
,smith on the side of his nose  just    
below the eye1 when he fell prostrate on
 the floor1 exclaiming3 ,i  am a dead   
man4    ,the ,prophet thought that by   
leaping from the window of the upper    
story  would attract the attention of   
the rabble and thus save the lives of   
his friends4 ,willard ,richards is to be
 seen looking from the window of  the   
prison upon the heart-rending scene     
without being able to render  the       

,prophet of ,god any assistance in his  
dying moments4    ,it is possible that  
while the martyr was holding on to the  
window sill  he received some of his    
wounds1 before falling to the ground4   
,as he  reached the ground he cried out3
 ,o ,lord1 my ,god6    ,each received   
four balls4 ,john ,taylor and ,willard  
,richards1 two of the  ,twelve          
,apostles1 were the only ones in the    
room at the time besides  the two       
martyrs4 ,john ,taylor was wounded      
severely with four balls1 but  after    
much suffering he recovered1 and lived a
 life of usefulness1 and  finally       
presided over the ,church1 until his    
death4 ,willard ,richards  escaped      
without a hole in his robe1 and died in 
peace in his ,utah home  many years     
after4    ,thus two of the most noble   
sons of ,god have sealed their testimony
 with  their blood1 and henceforth are  
numbered with those whom ,john saw under
  the altar1--the souls of them that    
were slain for the word of ,god1 and    

for the testimony which they held4 ,and 
they cried with a loud voice1  saying3  
,how long1 ,o ,lord1 holy and true1 dost
 thou not judge and avenge  our blood on
 them that live on the earth8 ,and white
 robes were given  every one of them3   
and it was said unto them1 that they    
should rest for  a little season1 until 
their fellow servants and their         
brethren1 that  should be killed as they
 were1 should be fulfilled4    ,as      
,jesus our ,saviour was crucified and   
his disciples martyred1 and not  one of 
their murderers ever brought to justice 
7only as ,god punished  them71 so has it
 been in this enlightened age of the    
world with  assassins who have been     
equally guilty4    ,the picture1        
although a sad one1 is a true           
representation of the  tragedy1 and will
 never be forgotten by those who once   
behold it4 ,hyrum  ,smith was #dd years 
old in ,february1 #ahdd1 and ,joseph    
,smith was ,only #ch  in ,december1     
#ahdc4 ,they were martyred on the #bgth 

of ,june1 #ahdd4 ,the  late ,president  
,john ,taylor's watch was struck with a 
bullet while in  his pocket1 and stopped
 between #d and #e o'clock4    ,i first 
saw ,joseph ,smith in #ahdd at my       
mother's house4 ,it was late  in the    
spring season4 ,i also heard him bear   
his testimony many times  with a power  
that was not gainsaid by those who heard
 him testify with  regard to the visions
 which he had been favored with4 ,some  
of his  hearers said3    ,well1 if it is
 true it will stand4    ,when ,i heard  
the three witnesses testify to the      
coming forth of the  ,book of ,mormon1  
and that they had in open daylight both 
seen and  heard the voice of the angel1 
,i knew their testimony was true4 ,my   
first impression of ,joseph nearly sixty
 years ago was that he was a  true      
prophet1 and ,i formed a love for him   
which increased with our  acquaintance4 
,i was with him in the state of         
,missouri during those  trying scenes   
until his imprisonment in ,liberty jail1

 and subsequently  in ,illinois1 and    
with the bereaved family and thousands  
of ,latter-day  ,saints shed a tear over
 his remains as he lay silently in      
death's  embrace4 ,i took a last look at
 him in the ,nauvoo ,mansion in ,june1  
#ahdd4    ,joseph ,bates ,nobles stated 
to me that he was with the ,prophet when
 he  was going voluntarily to give      
himself up to the pretended requirements
  of the law1 on which occasion he said3
    ,i am going like a lamb to the      
slaughter1 but ,i am calm as a summer's 
morning2 ,i have a conscience void of   
offence towards ,god and towards  all   
men4 ,i shall die innocent1 and it shall
 yet be said of me--',he was  murdered  
in cold blood4'    ,hyrum also knew of  
their doom1 for on the morning just     
before leaving  for the murderous prison
 he turned down the leaf of the fifth   
chapter  of the ,book of ,ether1 which  
reads as follows3    ,and it came to    
pass that ,i prayed unto the ,lord that 
he would give  unto the gentiles grace1 

that they might have charity4 ,and it   
came to  pass that the ,lord said unto  
me1 if they have not charity1 it        
mattereth  not unto you1 thou hast been 
faithful2 wherefore1 thy garments are   
clean4 ,and because thou hast seen thy  
weakness1 thou shalt be made  strong1   
even to the sitting down in the place   
which ,i have prepared  in the mansions 
of my father4 ,and now ,i----bid        
farewell unto the  gentiles2 yea1 and   
also until my brethren whom1 ,i love1   
and all who  knew him well knew of his  
mercy and benevolence1 until we shall   
meet  before the judgment seat of       
,christ1 where all men shall know that  
my  garments are not spotted with your  
blood4    ,they were innocent of crime1 
as had been proven many1 many times4    
,it was a conspiracy of traitors and    
wicked men1 and their blood1  as ,i saw 
it on the floor of ,carthage jail in    
#ahdd1 soon after their  martyrdom1 and 
again in #ahhh1 is still there as a     
witness against the  murderers4    ,the 

jail is now transformed into a          
comfortable private residence1 and  is  
occupied by ,mrs4 ,elizabeth ,mathews   
,browning1 her husband having  deeded it
 to her4 ,many years ago the county sold
 the premises to ,mr4  ,b4 ,f4          
,patterson1 subsequently he sold it to  
,mr4 ,jas4 ,m4 ,browning1 who  in turn  
deeded it to his wife4 ,while being     
shown around the premises1  in its      
varied parts1 by ,mrs4 ,browning1 we    
came to where the well  curb once stood1
 which is now substituted by a bed of   
lilies of the  valley1 being assured    
that the spot will ever be held in      
remembrance4  ,the house has an addition
 of an east wing1 and the rude fence has
 been  remodeled into a nice picket     
fence4 ,just prior to leaving ,carthage1
 the  kind lady of the house took us up 
stairs1 where the mob entered4 ,we  saw 
the bullet hole through the door4       
,although repaired somewhat1 we  saw    
where the bullet went that killed       
,hyrum4 ,other bullet marks were  also  

visible4 ,although the floor was        
carpeted1 we were assured by ,mrs4      
,browning that the blood stain still    
remains1 and cannot be washed away4     
,at the time of the ,prophet's          
martyrdom1 many marveled why ,joseph was
  taken away from the ,church2 but since
 that time we have learned that  it must
 needs be that offenses come1 but woe to
 them by whom they  come4 ,god suffered 
his ,son ,jesus to be crucified4 ,it was
 necessary  to accomplish certain ends4 
,many have marveled because of his      
death1  but it was needful that he      
should seal his testimony with his      
blood1  that he might be honored and the
 wicked be condemned4 ,when ,mr4 ,o4    
,h4 ,browning1 pleading for the         
,prophet1 gave a recitation of what he  
himself had seen at ,quincy1 ,illinois1 
on the banks of the ,mississippi  ,river
 7when the ,saints were expelled from   
,missouri71 so sad were the  scenes     
depicted that the spectators were moved 
into tears4 ,judge  ,douglass himself   

and most of the officers wept4 ,in      
conclusion1 ,mr4  ,browning said3       
,great ,god6 have ,i not seen it8 ,yes1 
my eyes have beheld the  blood-stained  
traces of innocent women and children in
 the drear  winter1 who have traveled   
hundreds of miles barefoot1 through     
frost  and snow1 to seek refuge from    
their savage pursuers4 ',twas a scene   
of horror sufficient to elicit sympathy 
from an adamantine heart4  ,and shall   
this unfortunate man1 whom their fury   
has seen proper to  select for          
sacrifice1 be driven into such a savage 
land and none dare  to enlist in the    
cause of justice8 ,if there was no other
 voice under  heaven ever to be heard in
 this cause1 gladly would ,i stand alone
  and proudly spend my last breath in   
defense of an oppressed ,american       
citizen4    ,judge ,douglass dismissed  
,joseph on the #ajth of ,june1 #ahda4   
,again in  ,may1 #ahdc1 he was kidnapped
 in ,dixon1 ,ill41 but before his       
enemies  succeeded in dragging him over 

the line into ,missouri1 he obtained the
  aid of three lawyers1 who finally     
secured his release on habeas corpus4   
,while in custody1 ,mr4 ,reynolds of    
,missouri several times cocked his      
pistol on ,joseph1 threatening to shoot4
 ,the latter bared his breast1  saying3 
,shoot away6 ,i have endured so much ,i 
am weary of life2 kill me1 if you       
please4    ,after repeated failures to  
have him executed in a legal way1 his   
enemies said3    ,if we cannot reach him
 by law1 powder and ball shall1 which   
was at  last fulfilled at the well-curb 
at ,carthage jail4    ,our ,patriarch   
and ,prophet1 too1 ,were massacred2 they
 bled ,to seal  their testimony1--,they 
were numbered with the dead1 ,ah1 tell  
me1 are  they sleeping8 ,me thinks ,i   
hear them say1 ',death's icy chains are 
bursting1 ',tis the ,resurrection day6' 
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99    ,oh1   
wretched murd'rers1 fierce for human    
blood6  ,you've slain the ,prophets of  
the living ,god1  ,who've borne         

oppression from their early youth1  ,to 
plant on earth the principles of truth4