Owyhee tidal wave. [volume] (Silver City, Owyhee County, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1869-1870, 1869-09-16
Letter from Joe.
San FRANCISCO, Sep. Is, 1869
THE BOOK OF MORMON

Is the dullest thing ever conceived
on earth Tor in heaven if you WILL
There isn't money enough to hire
me to read it connectedly, and no
man living or dead ever did or could
make bit of sense of it. It's the
merest bosh ever written or printed,
and the Mormons know it as well as
anybody. couldn't learn that any
use was ever made of it except as
to occupy space on table or in
library-as the old and new Tesla
ments do in most Gentle households.
If there is anything original about
the Book of Mormon, it is of the
Mark Twain style-excessive stupid
ity. That is the way of Marks hui
mort may be the point to the
Book of Mormon. Everybody has
heard of Joe Miller's joke-book /; l
beg leave to insist that Joe Smiths
joke-book is the Book of Mormon.
As a joke, it may be a success; as
anything else, it is nuisance. Said
to have been transcribed from two
dozen plates of brass to have pub
lished it, | should think would have
required more brass than that.
There are many passages in this
book which are almost literally cop
led from the Bible, yet they are rem
dered absurd by the association.
The Mormons use the common Bible,
and like every other creed, Inter
pref it to suit themselves. By read
ing and hquiring, | tried my best to
get some sort of an idea Of what the
Mormon creed consists of in the alb
stract, but the attempt was barren
of results | don't know as much
about it as a Chinaman. Perhaps
not as much. | remember that an
enthusiastic old believer in Mormon
prophecy told me that the chapter
in Revelations regarding the six
hundred and three score beasts
meant the number of religious de-
nominations that were to precede the
coming OF the Mormon church, &c.
As | never counted it up, am not
prepared to refute him but if he
insists on designating these creeds
and churches as SO many beasts. |
will classify the Mormon institution
with that species of animal frequent
" alluded to by Rabelais-' the
| two-backed beast, 'or." two-bellied, J"
as you like. Radicals called the
church of Rome, in the days OF its
excessive RIGHTEOUSNESS, the 1.-TWO
backed beast" which the monks. in
their "indulgenees," could feed on
to their hearts content. think the
idea of Mormondom is made amply
plain to the dullest mind. In the
same connection, | may say that as
nearly as | could come at Brigham S
notion of revelation is, that there
are innumerable souls or spirits beg
| ging about for entrance into this life
through the fleshy avenues and tenn
pies made and provided here to re-
ceiye them and it is fulfilling the
Divine calling here below to the
greatest extent by preparing as many
temples for that purpose as possible.
There is no joking in this-it is I'M
doubleday the cornerstone of the
Latter-Day Church. The proposed
Temple at Salt Lake is to be in re-
ality but typical of the human tenn
pie being erected in the modern
Zion. | heard Brigham preach on
two set occasions, and either time
he alluded to a remark made by
Beecher to the effect that the great
est misfortune that could happen TO
man was to be born. Brigham, on
the contrary, said it was the greatest