Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-05-02
: aosaes CeaxcaDxslk
Their Rsbse's WsssseA Prlster Dylsg
while They CelebRaae.

Their Bsbse's WSesgea PrlsteP Dying
while They Celebrate.
While elaborate dedicatsons for
The great Mormon temple were in
progress 1t Salt Lake city, Utah, the
man who gave to Mormonism its reli-
gious guide book, lay i'll almost unto
death At PsImyra, N. Y, and wholly
un,ewarded by the church for which
he once stsked and lost his Ill. Ma
jos J. a Gilbert, when Joseph Smith
6rst claimed to be prophet, lived in
the same town with him-Pslmyra.
Smith was the never-do-well of the
village. He was completely litter
ate, being unable either to read or
write, and his family, whose home
was little better than hat, bore =
reputation none too good. Bot
wtile Joseph was idling until his
| aversion to work became one Of the
hamlet's petty scandals, he was also
thinking. The fruit of bis thought
came when he announced TO incredu-
ious townspeopls that he had oug oot
of . neighborng nil . set of goid
plates bearing strange signs. Divine
inspiration, he said, had guided him
to the spot and it was to divine in
spiration, also, that be afteward At
tributed his translation of the hero
plyphics on the tablets. So far a. is
known no one ever saw these plates
and there could be found 10 Palmyrs
then only three people who believed
that they existed. To-day not one
person in the village has faith in the
existence OF the plates, the honesty
of Smith or the Mormon doctrine
Smiths home gave no converts to the
faith which he originated. His trans.
lation of the plates was accomplished
in curious way. Going to the foo'
of the hill in which he claimed te
have discovered them, he dug cave
into Its side, perhaps eighteen feet il
length and eight feet square. The
locality was then wild woodland, bu
the timber has since been cleared
away and the wooden uprights sup
porting the entrance to the cave arr
still visible. Across the center O
this cave Smith hung heavy curtain
Behind this curtain he sat with hi.
plates, while in front was stationed ,
man of some education who had ono,
!. been a schooImaster, but who hae
lost friends and position through
) drink. To this ex-schoolmaster
Smith dictated the precepts which h.
J claimed that God told him were writ
ten or the golden plates. The school
master worked by the light of small
lantern, and once or twice It wa
necessary to barricade the entranc,
to the cave to keep out angry villa
gers who were scandalized by wha
they considered Smiths sacrilegiou
! proceedings. The resul, of the school
, masters labors was a closely writtel
manuscript of about 10000 words
t which after careful revision becam
the book of Mormon. The mex
thing to be done was to find a pub
/. Usher for this Mormon bible. For
j long time Smiths efforts in this di
rection were unsuccessful. FINAL
3 he succeeded IN interesting Majo
Gilbert, the towns only printer, i
the venture, although he could nc
e convert him to the new faith. T
S print SO large a volume require
o greater capital than Gilbert had 4
S his disposal, and he was forced {
s mortgage his home, his furniture, an
n in fact everything he had, in order t
h get sufficient funds. Finally the ed
8 ton was struck off. Smith obtaine
e possession of it (some say by stealth
e and Major Gilbert was never paid fl
O his work. The loss almost RUNE
: him. He Is now an old man, havin
A passed his eighty-seventh birthda
g but he still remembers with great bi
Y ,erness his youthful experience Wit
is the originator of Mormonism.