Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-05-11
ArTEMrr AT SENSATION.


The morning papers have specials
from Washington In reference to
preachers remarks on the Hook 81
Mormon. In lecture before the
AnthrupoloElcal society ~ that city.
They seem TO regard his sayings a. ~
special Importance judging from the
headlines announcing the event.
The substance Of IL oil Il that. 10 the
great surprise u the speaker and his
hearers. the Book ~ Mormon contains
nothing immofaii startling. IL II notG
Another discovery Is that there have
been 5000 changes IN later editions from
the original or nrst edition. These we're
announced ne mot typographical cor
rectionuT and yet the only example he
gave Of a change In the text was that
~ who for (which" over 100 times.
The conclusion h. arrived al was that.
''rhe evidence establishes beyond the
shadow N q doubt. the fact that had
apauldlnE's romance never been writ
ten. Joseph Smith Jr. would never have
found the box or plates on the Man
chester hillside"
II IL a strange thing that people who
feel any Interest In the subject of the
HOOK OF Mormon do not examine the
work themselves. instead Of de-
pending on the statements and
conclusions Of persons who have
either not read the book. or
have glanced at its pages and OBJ
taincd their notions as 20 it, purpose.
composition and authenticity from hos.
tile sources.
In the present Instance. II u easy for
one familiar with the book and with
an,i-"Mormon" literature. TO see that
the lecturer was 10 a large extent talk
Ing about something he did not under
stand. That he hunted through the
book 10 md dissertation favoring
polyRamy. and falling 60 nnd II was -
surprised. that he had To disclose his
wonderful discovery. ana then repeated
what he had read In an absurd little
criticism on the changes In different
editions. and on the popular version OF
the origin u the work.
There l. no need for ~ 10 repeat the
account u the nndlnG ~ the spnulding
manuscript. after many years ~ pull
pit Misrepresentation copied by the
press. but u IL remarkable that iectur-
eru before scientific associations should
remain IN Ignorance on the matter.
seeing that the theory " the connection
between the apauldlng romance and
tho Hook u Mormon has been thor
oughly exploded.
The much talked of RpauidlnR MAN
uscript Found" Il now In tho library
~ oberiln College. Ohio. Professor
Fairchlld'r narrative Of its acquisition
destroys every prctcxt u IT, being In
the hands Of Joseph Smith. and the
text Of the story demonstrates beyond
question. when u IL compared with the
BOOK u Mormon. that therc Ia no more
similarity between them than there IL
between the tales u Mother Goose aud
tho History Of the United States.
The society that listened TO the lee
ture would do well 10 study the histori-
cal features Of the Book Of Mormon.
After rejecting on tho discoveries ~
ruined cities and temples, since It's
publication. on the very sites described
IN the book. perhaps they viii think
the history of the pcopllnE Of ancient
America therein related. OF quite as
much moment NJ the phrnseoloEy OF
the translator or the startling changes
Of "who" 10 which aud "he" Tor
him" that have been made In later
editions. seeing that the sense and
meaning Of the record have not been
changcd In any particular.
When the Prophet Isaiah 1chap. ssl
forcsaw the coming forth Of this book
by ''uniearned" means. he declared con.
ccrninE tho generation In which the
marvellous work" should be- per-
formed ''rhe wisdom OF their wise
men shall perish, and the understand
INK of their prudent men shall bc hld.''
No prophecy has ever had q more liter.
al fulnlment than this. In the disaerta-
ton on that book religious aud -cien.
the, by profosaed wiseacrrn. In the en-
liThtcned nineteenth century.