, 1879-02-15
4 ssO0k Of Mormon.


The Book ot Mormon, or Mormon Bible.
which Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormon
ism, claimed to have received direct from
the angel of the Lord, waS as he sad. record
written upon gold plates nearly eight inches
long by seven wide. a little thinner than or
dinary tn. and bound together by three
rings running through the whole. As this
record was engraved IN language known as
the Reformed Egyptian, 1t was tIanslatable
10 the illiterate Joseph, and 50 two transpar-
ent stones. anciently called the Crm and
Thurium, set IN silver bows after the man
ner Of spec.acles, we're handed down at the
same time. These made the golden plates
iatslhHble, and sitting behind 4 blanket
hung across his room to keep the sacred
records from proiane eyes, Joseph Smith read
off the - Book OF Mormon. or Golden Bible,
while q discipline, Oliver Cowdery, wrote 1t
down II was printed in 1880, III volume
Of several hundred pages, and the signatures
of Cowdery and two Others appended as
testimony of Its genuiuenoS,, Later, Smith
and the three witnesses quarrelled the latter
renounced Mormonism and avowed the falSi-
ty OF their testimony. Another intimate Of
Smiths testified that the Mormon founder
had acknowledged to hIr ,-S,as tic records
and books were all hoaN. The Smiths
We're known among their neighoors III Pal
myra and WaSne counties, y. \, where
Joseph grew t. manhood. rs persons who
avoided honest pursuit and engaged chiefly
IN digging hidden treasures, stealing sheep
and robbIn. their neighborS hen -roosts, and
were accounted false, immoral fraudulent
characters, of which Joseph Is said "a be the
worst. Nevertheless, Mo-monism grew,
and fOuriShed, though il was proven that the
real author Of the Mormon book was Solo.
mon Spaldins, a quonlam preacher and
erratIc literary genius who lived IN COnneaut,
Ohio, In lo09, and wrote a romantic account
Of the peopling of America, tracing the
American Indians to the lost tribes Of Israel
He entitled his work, Manuscript Found,
and further Increased ITS interest by iiIctl-
tIous account Of Its discovery III a cave IN
Ohio. He placed the manuscript III print
ing office AZ Pittsburs, with which Sidney
Rgion al accomphce Of Smiths. was con,
nectel. HisIon copied IL, oitel mentioning
the TACT himself: and when the Book of
Mormon made its appearance, comparison
Of the two revealed their almost exact like
hess, with the exception of the pious express
sion added to the latter The Mormon
Bible traces the origin of the American lndi.
al to Lehi, jew, who lived in Jerusalem
about GOO B. C. In obedience TO divine H.
struction he found in America a New Jeru-
salem, and diving soon after his arrival, the
dissensions among his sons resulted IN the
supremacy Of the younger, Nephi, and the
othe-s for their Righteousness were con-
demned to have dark skins and land become
an lie people, full of mischief and subtlety.
seeking IN the wilderness for beasts OF prey"
Nephi became .hc father of race of primi-
tive kings, wlo Kept their records upon gol-
den plates; an ,.u;,lly one of their descend
ants, Mormon by name, gave his name TO the
religion which for joseph Smitileit ms sheep
stealing and .rcasurc-dissing to preach to
the world