Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1893-04-21
THEIR BIBLES WRONGED
PRINTER DYING.

progress at Salt Lake City, Gtah,
the man who gave to Mormohism
its religious guide book, lies i'll al
most unto death ut Palmyra, n. Y,
and wholly urrewardsd by the
church for which he oHos staked
and lost his all.
Major John H. Gilbert, when
Joseph Smith frat claimed to be
prophet, lived in the same tswn
with him Palmyra. Smith was
the neer- do well of ths village.
Hs was completely illitprsts, being
unable either to read or write, and
his family, whose hor,e was little
better than hut, bors q reputation
none too good. But while Joseph
was idling until his aversion to
work secame Que OF the hamlst's
pct scandals, he WAS slso thinking.
The fruit of his thought came when
he announced to insredulous
townspeopls that hs had out of a
neig ighboring hill a set of gold plates
bearing strange signs. Divine Ia
spiration, be said, had guided bin
to the spot and it was to divine in-
spiration, also, that he afterward
attributed bis translation of the
AleroglypAias on .hs tablets. 50
far as is known no one ever saw
these plates and thsrs seuld be
found in Palmya then only thrse
people who believed that thry ex-
listed. To-day not one person in
the villags has faith in the exist
ence of the plates, the honesty OF
Smith or the Mormon dostrine.
Smiths hsms gave no convsrts to
the faith which he originated.
His TRANSLATION of the plates was
accomplished Ia curious way.
Gong to the foot of ths hill in
which Ne claimed to have discover
ed tLem, he dug a cave into it's sids
perhaps Is feet in length and 8
feet square. The locslity WAS then
wild woodland, but the timber has
since been cleared away and the
wooden uprights supporting tho sn-
trance to the cave are still visible.
Across the santrs sf this cave
Smith hung heavy curtain. Be-
hind this curtain he sat With his
plates, while in trent was station
Cd a man of lsoms education who
had oaca been a echoelmaster, bat
who had lost friends and position
through drink. To this sx-sehool-
master Smith dictated the precspts
which he claimed that God told
him were written on the galdsn
plates. The school m sstsr worked
by the light of a small lantern, and
once or twice it was necessary to,
barrlcsds the entrance tn the esvs
to keep out angry villagers who
were scandalizsd by what thsy
considered Smiths sacrIlsgous pro-
ceedlngs. The result of the school
masters labors was sloss y wrltten
manuscript OF about 10000 words
which after careful revision became
the Book of Mormon.
| The part to be done was to find
10 publisher for this Mormon Bible.
For Q long tins Smiths efforts in
this direction wore unsuccessful.
Finally Ihe sucessdsd is interesting
Major Gilbert, the towns only
/ printer, in the venture, although
he oosld not convert hin to she
new faith, To print SO large vol
um. required greater capital shsn
Gilbert had st his disposal, and he
was forced to mortgage his homa,
| furniture, aHd in fact everything
h- had, in order to get sufficient
funds. Finally the sditlos WAS
struck eff. Smith obtained posses
sion Of it (sonss say by stealth },
and Major Gilbert wss never paid
for bis work. The loas almost
ruined him. He 10 now an old
man, having passed bis 87th birth
day, but be still remsmbsrs with
great bitterness his youthful
vxperisscs with the originator sf
Mormonism.
The adventures Of Smith after he