The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-02-01

"
flight. Senator Bruce is Of the
color designated lin the South as
''sad1lo colorcd," and is Il two huns
drcd and fifty podnAor:
TlIEBooK 4EMoHMoM.
a Wonderful Hoax fnd How it origi-
natPd.
"'rhc Book of NJ tormon," or Nor
mon Bible, which 4osoph Smith, the
founder Of MormoAism, claimed to
have received direct from an angel
of the Lord, was, rs he said, a
record written upcn gold plates
eight inches long u seven wide, q
little thinner than Ordinary tin, and
bound together by tnrco rings
running through tha awholo. As this
record WAS engraved in IL language
known as the refor,a acd Egyptian, it
WAS not translated tb tho illitcrato
Joseph, and SO t&o transparent
stones, apciently called tho Urim
and Thurium, set il silver bows
after the mannor of spectaclos, were
handed down at tic same time.
These made tho goldSn plates in
telligiblo, and sitting behind q
blanket hung across his room to
keep the sacred records from pro-
fame eyes. Joseph Smith real off
tho Book of Mormon" or Golden
Bible, while disciple, Oliver
Cowt(cry, wrote it down. It was
printed in 1880, in a volume Of
several hundred pages, and the
signature Of Cowdery and two
others appended as testimony Of it's
genuineness. Later, Smith aad the
three Witnesses quarreled; tho
latter renounccd Mormonism and
avowed the falsity OF their testi-
mony. Another intimate Of Smiths
testified that the Mormon founder
had acknowledged to him that the
records and books were all a hoax.
The Smithrs- We're Known among
their neighbors iii Palmyra and
Wayne counties, N. Y, where
Joseph grew to manhood, as per
sons who avoided honest pursuits,
and engaged chiefly iii digging
hidden treasures, stealing sheep
and robbing their neighbors' hen
roosts, and accounted false, immor-
al and fraudulent characters, Of
which Joseph was said to be tho
worst. Nevertheless, Mormonism
grew and hourishcd, though it was
proven that tho real author Of tho
Mormon book was Solomon Spald-.
ing, quondam preacher and erratic
literary genius who lived in
Conncant, o., in 1909, and wrote q
romantic account Of the pcopling Of
America, tracing the American
Indians to the lost tribes Of Israel.
He entitled his work "Aanuscript
Found" and further increased it's
interest by IL fictitious account of
lis discovery in a cave in Ohio. He
placed the manuscript in printing
Office at Pittsburg with which
Sidney Rigdon, an accomplico of
Smiths, was connected. Rigdon
copied it, often mentioning the fact
himself; and when the Book Of
Mormon" made its appearance, u
comparison of tho two revealed
their almost exact likeness, with the
exception of tho pious expressions
added to the latter. Tho Mormon
Biblo traces tho origin of tho
American Indian to Lohi, q Jew,
who lived in Jerusnlem 600 3. G..
In obedience to divine instruction,
he found in America a new Jerusa-
lem, and, dying soon after his
arrival, the dissonsions among his
sons resulted in the supremacy of
tho younger, Nephi, and the others,
for their Righteousness, wore con-
demod to havo dark skins, and "be-
como an idlo people, full of mischief
and subtlety, seeking in tho wilder-
ness for beasts of prey" Nophi
became the father Of raco of
primitive kings, who kept their
records upon golden plates, and
finally one Of their descendants,
Mormon by namo, gave his namo to
the religion which Joseph Smith
left his sheep~stealing and treasure
digging to preach to the world.
It used to be tho patchwork quilt,
but now it is feather cloak. This