The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-04-01

, In the Sumner Avenue Presbyterian
church last Sunday, Rev. l.. Il. Foster
delivered the following intensely inter-
esting sermon on "Mormonism from an
Historical Point of View
have read the eighth verse of the
twenty-first chapter of Revelations and
the twenty-fourth verse of the nine
teenth chapter of Job because the Nor
mons make much of these passages. 1t
would. be well for us to find out II we
can first who the originator of this
new doctrine was. From the peculiar
names gives to 1t and its different
branches, you would naturally think
that Christ was the principal object OF
worship and was the Saviour there as
he is in the Evangelical church, where
he is acknowledged as the Saviour OF
Man.. These are queer sounding names
for a church whose chief corner stone
is an immoral man to have Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"
This they prefer to go by rather than
the plain old Mormon name. as every
body knows who a Mormon is. The
ReorganiZed Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Sandstone branch of
them prefer this name because the
widow of Joseph Smith did not want
the ban of society placed upon her
children. She, therefore, with her
sons and their little band. go under
this name.
They reject polygamy. Enough for
this at present. Who was Joseph
Smith (or my servant Joseph, as he
calls himselD? He was born in the
town of Sharon, Windsor county, Ver-
mont, Dec %. A. ID. 1905. Ten years
later his parents moved to Palmyra,
NJ Y, in the vicinity Of which he re-
sided for about eleven years. His IA
ther was a farmer and his son Joseph
followed the occupation of his father
after him.
EDUCATION LIMITED.
Joseph Smiths education was very
limited; he was neither able to read
well or write respectable hand. He
did not even have a common school
education, as he himself acknowledges
by saying that he being not much of
scholar, must employ a secretary to
write his translationS for him. Then
his work Is a blunder from beginning
to end. In the whole first book of
Mormon, which is supposed to have in
1t something like as much as our Old
Testament, you can scarcely find a
page on which you will not see a gram
matical blunder or disconnected sem
tence. Some time during his eleven
years residence in the vicinity of Pal
myra, as he himself says he became
Ve"y much concerned about his souls
welfare. He desired to know the
truth. but did not dare go to any of
the churches, because each of them
would say that it's way was the only
way. SO he read the Bible and prayed
to God that he would show him the
right way. For (James,i, 81 God had
said: IF any man lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, who upbraideth not,
but giveth to all men literally" One
day as he prayed a bright light ap-
nparpl in the heavens ohpNa him N
angel spoke to him and told him that
God would reveal to him what he
wanted to know.
This angel went away. but came
again and again until at last he was
directed to so 10 a certain high hill
on the main road between Palmyra
and Canandaigua, n. Y, and there, on
arriving, found box made of stone.
This he thinks might have been there
for years before but the ground had
worn from about it until it was now
visible. The angel here reappears and
forbids him to take the plates, but after
words, allows him to get them. Allow
me to say here that Smiths preten-
tions became so great 50 evident that
he was, as he himself states through
his secretary, compelled to leave it,
He came to Northern Pennsylvania,
near the Susquehanna river where
the home of his fathcr-in-law was,
anu tnere competed mis- translation,
The writing on the plates is said to
have been a mix of many ancient ton
CUES of the nature of Syrian or Egyp-
tian, Greek and Hebrew. Smith is
said to have used as his guide the
''Urim Thermian," which were two
transparent stones, clear as crystal
and set in bow.
SMITHS STORY.
These were used by seers of old. and
knowing this is beyond doubt why
Smith started this story of the Trim
and Thermian." OF what does this
book of Mormon treat? In this Smith
treats of the ancient inhabitants of
America. The former inhabitants be-
Ing called Joridites and originating at
the confusion of tongues at the Tower
of Babel. This race was the American
Indian. They became civilized and
built many cities. but eventually for