Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-22

lin informing him that these plates were
revelation from God that he was to |
publish to the world His statements
treated much excitement, and when the
people demanded to see the golden plate
after the book of Mormon made its ap,
pearance. he coolly informed them that
IN angel came and took the plates up to
heaven. The book of Mormon was
written by Solomon Spaulding,
4 school teacher in Ohio, under the title
of Manuscript Found, a novel by which
be proposed to account for the Aborigines
of America He took the manuscript to
Pittsburgh and tried to publish it, but died
leaving ii III the printing office and Sid
ney Rigdon, preacher in Ohio, went to
that office and worked three years. Mrs.
Spaulding says Rigdon called on her
asking for this manuscript.
In what way Rigdon succeeded in get
ting the book of Mormon into Joe |
Smiths hands is not known, but as gold |
finder and necromancer he was q good |
subject for Region to use in having this |
book come very mysterIously before the |
peopl4. Strange to say, when Smith and
his colony moved from New York to
Kirkland. Ohio, they found this
same Sidney Rigdon preaching, warning
the people of strsnge things that would
suddenly reveal themselves. himself be-
coming the first convert in Ohio to the
Mormon faith. Many persons who had
read the Manuscript Found recognized
it ut once in the book of Mormon as
solomon Spaulding's novel.
When this sect first appeared some
laughed and Knocked, but intelligent peo-
pie scorned to notice it, trusting that it
would soon disappear. But like BAN
QuO's ghost ''it would not down" Like
EHjsh's cloud, at first no larger than a
mans hand, it has become u threatening
storm. Behold how great i matter q
little fire kindleth"
For many years this nation has been
| looking for the death of Mormonism and
| all the while its kingdom has been
| spreading. 1t was thought that the army
sent against them in 1877 would brighten
them into decency, but that campaign
/ cost our nation $l4 coo. 900 snd ended in
| q ridiculous farce. Ii was said the
scream OF the locomotive would sound
! The doom of Mormonism, but the shrewd
! mormons made large fortunes by taking
| contracts to build the railway and when
/ finished used it in bringing converts to
! Utah Others hoped That the death of
Brigham ] rng would he the death of
the deiuson. but Young sleeps between
two enormous blocks of granite riveted
together with rods of steel lest
some profane Gentle should resur
rect him before the tine. Still Mormon
ism is unburied.
Today there are 1901 600 of them in
America, and by immigration thev are in
creasiog rapidly. They control Utah five
to one and hold the balance of power in
Idaho, and Arizona, while in Montana
and Nevada they are almost masters.
They have 400 missionaries in foreign
lands making converts and securing their
immigration to their great colonial head
quarters in America, by which act they
mean 10 strengthen their hierarchy her
until with their institution of polygarny
they sre recognized bv the United States
There is little branch of Mormonisu
called the Latter Day Saints" From
encouragement or disgust they did no
follow the main body from Nauvoo tt
the west, but scattered mostly through
Illinois and Iowa.
After number Of years they succeed
ed in forming union under JOSEPH
Smith, Jr., the son of the old prophe
Joseph, the originator of the sect AM
high priest in duping the people with tn
book Of Mormon. They hold to the doc
trine Of the inspiration of the book o
Mormon, miraculous gifts and water re
generation The elements of strengt
are with the main body at Salt Lake
The time is not far distant when the teri
Mormon" will be synonymous with pc
lygamy and the church in Utah. Sa
Lake city is the Mormon metropolis
their Jerusalem. When first built it VIZ
a thousand miles away from civilization
requiring months of tedious travel ov,
desert wastes and dresry barren moul
tains, among wild beasts and wilder me
to reach it.
The building of this city was a relil
? ious move "a religion that could N,
flourish in civilized land. If the thougI
of colonization had not entered the min
of the originators of the move, today
would be classed among the things of Il
past.
In 1881, Just after they formed the
organization, they colonized at Klrtlan
Ohio. Not succeeding there they NOV
their colony to Independence, Mo. Fa
ing there. they again moved, and Il
time to Florence, or Nsuvoo, as 1t W
afterwards called. After making exte
VI, sve improvements here, trouble bro
" out and mob violence drove them frC
Illinois. Then the main body took
their line of march for Utah vale
Among the ignorant of which the gre,
- er part of Mormonism is composed, I
notion of colonization is most fascin,
ing, especially when connected with
liglous move.
When we consider the class from viii
a majority of Mormon converts con
n the most ignorant of England, Wal
] Denmark and Norway, am not ST
prised that they succeed in convert
them with colonization notions Go II
the tabernacle at Salt Lake and look
great mass of people there In the f,
and you will be reminded of what y
see at Castle Garden, n. 7. Go to
end of New York city and look at
emIgrants in that great building and '
will be reminded of what you see in
ID Mormon tabernacle at Salt Lake Igr
u rance is the secret of Mormon r
- not ignorant rulers. by any mea
Their four hundred missionaries abrC
capture their converts by deception. TT
tell of the spiritual power in the chu
in America-the power of working mi
cles. They offer homestead to ev
man who will Join their church and M
= to their headquarters in the Rocky mo
IL tains, thus taking advantage of
United States homestead act to m
converts to their religion. The p
dupes may live in that territory tive
years and not know that every man tw
ty-one years of age who becomes q C
zen is entitled to tract of land whet
be joins church or not. One of
strongest supports of Mormonism is
hierarchical organization of the eccles
teal power, One in five of the Norm
, ia a church officer The hiohast of7o.