Utah and the Mormons/Chapter 16

The Book of Mormon claims to be "the history of the inhabitants of America, who are a branch of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Joseph, of whom the Indians are still a remnant; but the principal nation of them having fallen in battle in the fourth or fifth century, one of their prophets, whose name was Moroni, saw fit to make an abridgment of their history, their prophecies, and their doctrines, which he engraved on plates, and afterward being slain, the records fell into the hands of his son Moroni, who, being hunted by his enemies, was directed to deposit them safely in the earth," &c. In other words, the Book of Mormon professes to be the Bible of this ancient people, which has been exhumed by Joseph Smith for the use of "these last days," and it is upon this foundation that the whole Mormon structure has been built.

​Upon examination, however, it will be seen that the book itself never could have sustained the superincumbent weight; it required certain adjuncts, such as the gift of prophecy, seership, miracles, tongues, and other popular marvels, to give any thing like success to the scheme.

There is probably no book in the world which contains within itself so many proofs of its real origin, and one but partially read in the history of human credulity is struck with wonder that the imposture should have fastened itself upon such numbers; and that, too, with such strength, that no incongruity, inconsistency, or absurdity which can be pointed out can make the least impression. At the very outset we are met with a most surprising fact: a portion of the Israelites are alleged to have found their way, in a marvelous manner, to the shores of America, and they and their descendants write a long book, in which there is not one word of the Hebrew tongue: it proves to be in a language so wholly lost as to require a miraculous translation, through the aid of a huge pair of spectacles. In addition to this, not a single Hebrew word or character can be found in the languages of these descendants of Israel upon the American continent. Miracles become very suspicious characters when they start into existence without necessity or apparent object.

A reader of the Book of Mormon will not be disposed to deny, very strenuously, that the authors must, at times, have possessed the gift of strange tongues. The religious portions are especially encumbered with gross grammatical errors, to say nothing of violations of good ​taste. The common version of the Bible contains some errors of this description, but this was translated by men, in an age when the accuracies of language were not as well defined as at present. But how such mistakes should happen in a translation made through an infallible "Urim and Thummim," is a mystery which none but a Mormon elder can probably either explain or understand. Phrases like the following frequently occur: "I the Lord hath not forgotten my people;" "I the Lord delighted in the chastity of women;" "For a more history part are written upon my other plates;" "These things had not ought to be;" "And the effects thereof is poison;" "I ought not to harrow in my desires the firm decree of a just God." The Book of "Doctrines and Covenants" abounds in similar phrases: "And the spirit of the body is the soul of man;" "Her who sitteth upon many waters."

The book contains evidences of its modern origin on almost every page. The mariner's compass, which was not discovered until the fourteenth century, and which made such a revolution in commercial enterprises as to form an era in the history of the world, was, it seems, miraculously made known to Lehi in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah:

"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness. And it came to pass, that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball, of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spin​dles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness." (P. 42.)

"And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball or director; or our fathers called it liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it." (P. 348.)

These ancient worthies had a wonderful prescience. of modern terms and customs, and in this respect totally outstrip the prophet of the Old Testament.

"And it came to pass, that I did arm them with bows and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people. did go forth against the Lamanites to battle."

The cimeter is a Turkish weapon, not known until after the time of Mohammed.

"And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, A Bible! a Bible! we have got a Bible, and there can not be any more Bible." (P. 123.)

"Bible" is a word which belongs to modern theology, to express, in the complex, the Old and New Testaments, and does not occur in either of those books.

So, also, we have "priestcraft," lawyers "skillful in their profession," "machinery," law "suits," "plan of redemption," "dissenters," and a multitude of other terms and phrases, which belong to the dialects and customs of the present time.

Modern sectarian theology appeared to be about as well known then as now. Among other curiosities in this department was a preacher of universal salvation, ​who held forth to the great scandal and annoyance of more rigid constructionists.

"And it came to pass, that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment—seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged-a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength; and he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the Church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people; and he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads, and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life." (P.335.)

Perhaps the greatest curiosity of the book is, that "Christ and him crucified" was preached, and "baptism" administered, and Christian churches established, long before the Christian era. Revivals, and revivalists, and protracted meetings, and anxious seats, were as well known among the Lamanites and Nephites as modern sectarians. The incongruity of the thing appears to have occurred to Joseph and Rigdon, for one of these imaginary preachers is made to say:

"And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to prepare their minds; or, rather, that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at the time ​of his coming. And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, Is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming? Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people, as well as unto their children? Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?" (P. 352.)

What was to be the fate of the precious souls to whom this ante-dated Gospel was not proclaimed, this reverend Nephite does not give us to understand except by implication.

One of these ancient revivalists had a summary knack of making converts: he promptly knocked them down by the mysterious power with which he was clothed, with as much facility as a bowler knocks down nine-pins; and not only so, but kept them in durance generally for about three days. They not only preached Christianity, but, strange to say, anti-Christ made his appearance too: "But it came to pass, in the latter end of the seventeenth year, there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he was anti-Christ, for he began to preach," &c. (P. 322.)

Occasionally the authors discourse on abstruse subjects, and, when they do, they get into too deep water. The following, on the subject of the fall of Adam, put into the mouth of the prophet Lehi, is a fair sample:

"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in ​the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state which they were after they were created, and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things. Adam fell, that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (P. 69.)

Curious enough that sin should be a condition precedent to having children! Curious, too, that a man should be under the necessity of transacting a shindy or two before he is capable of performing a good action!

There is a continual effort to imitate the style of the Scriptures which it is absolutely painful to read:

"And now I say unto you, that this is the order after which I am called: yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren; yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to ery unto them that they must repent, and be born again; yea, thus saith the Spirit, Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion." (P. 251.)

This continually-strained effort betrays itself, and produces, to say the least, some very queer descriptions. A well-sustained battle against odds is thus described: ​"But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves, and like dragons did they fight."

The following must have made a deep impression upon those to whom it was addressed:

"And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct."

These Nephite philosophers seem to have been as profound in their knowledge of mental emotions, as graphic in their descriptions of external objects, as the following plainly shows:

"Now if ye give place that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves, it must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding; yea, and it beginneth to be delicious to me."

The following contains a very ample "bill of particulars," but whether intended as a description of the "still small voice" of Scripture, it is really difficult to say:

"And it came to pass, that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice, as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a ​loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice, it did pierce them that did hear to the centre, insomuch that there were no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn."

Occasionally there is an attempt to imitate the sublime passages so frequent in the Word of the Old Testament; but it is as the sound of the squib and popgun to the roar of the thunder and the earthquake. Take the following:

"And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon to exclaim, 'The God of nature suffers!'" (P. 55.)

This is quite descriptive of a terrestrial colic, and these kings, forsooth, were not permitted to sympathize with these distressing symptoms in the stomach of mother earth until wrought upon by the Spirit.

The following perfect fusillade of sublimities is intended to be a prophetic representation of the phenomena that should take place at the Crucifixion:

"Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost, there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble, and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth; yea, both above the earth and beneath."

​In imitation of that striking passage, "They have sown the wind, and shall reap the whirlwind," we find the following:

"And again he saith, if my people shall sow filthiness, they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effects thereof is poison."

Joseph subsequently continued his penchant for sublime efforts in his revelations:

"The earth rolls upon her wings; and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night; and the stars also giveth their light as they roll upon their wings," &c. (Doctrines and Covenants, p. 102.)

Rolling upon wings is a new method of flying. The Psalmist should have written, "If I take the wings of the morning, and roll into the uttermost parts of the sea."

The following is in imitation of a passage in the Revelations: "And the powers of darkness prevail upon the carth among the children of men, in the presence of all the hosts of heaven, which causeth silence to reign, and all eternity is pained," &c. (Idem, p. 127.)

The following is the trumpet which is to be sounded for the benefit of the Saints: "The heavens shall shake, and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud," &c.

The polemic reader will be somewhat curious to know what kind of arguments are relied upon to sustain the divine authenticity of such a book. It is the harsh construction of some, that it is far easier to produce conviction upon the mass of mankind in favor of a lie than of the truth, and the history of Mormonism ​furnishes notable proof in support of the proposition. According to the Talmud, the body of a Jew, though buried thousands of miles from Mount Zion, will wriggle itself through the ground until it ultimately arrives at that desirable point, and all true sons of Jacob believe in the statement. Why should not the Saints, who claim to be descended from the "tribe of Joseph," believe in marvels equally wonderful, and prove their existence by a logic which never fails to demonstrate what it undertakes?

Mormonism ignores all prevalent forms and creeds, and claims to form a complete system within itself; it has not only clothed itself in all the external paraphernalia of an independent hierarchy, but has boldly sent forth its champions to prove itself true, and its adversaries false. Its most noted and voluminous polemic author is Orson Pratt, whose speculations on the mysteries of matter and mind have already been noticed. His arguments will be mostly found in a book entitled "A Series of Pamphlets, by Orson Pratt." The first pamphlet of six pages in this collection, entitled "Divine Authority," contains a general summary of his argumentation, though many points are afterward greatly extended. A brief notice of some of the points made by him will be sufficient for the present purpose.

He commences with receiving a letter from an anonymous correspondent, who is satisfied that all prevailing creeds are false; that all preachers and teachers of the day are without authority; that "the translations of the Scriptures, being done without inspiration," are uncertain; and that, if the Saints have not "the authority to teach, interpret," &c., no one else has it; ​concluding with a desire that the Mormons may be proved to be in possession of these gifts. Mr. Pratt gravely assumes the positions of his correspondent to be true, and, from this convenient starting-point (which, under ordinary circumstances, would distance all pursuers), leisurely walks over the course.

In the first division of his subject, he comes to the conclusion that it is a "strong presumptive evidence Mr. Smith was sent of God," because other churches do not profess to have inspired apostles, prophets, &c., but the Latter-day Saints do profess to have them, with authority to administer all the ordinances; because Mr. Smith has successfully patterned after ancient forms in the paraphernalia of his Church, and because his doctrines are pure and infallible. This is a curious string of professions and assumptions, which seems to leave the reasoner exactly where he started. It may well excite a smile that a man should be considered as divinely commissioned because he has made certain professions and patterned after ancient forms, and provoke a sneer that Mr. Pratt, with one wife and a dozen concubines, should be considered as pure as the man who has not violated the laws of the land and the moral sense of Christendom in his domestic relations.

In the second place, he comes to the same conclusion because Smith declares that the angel Moroni appeared to him, and revealed the place where he had concealed the Book of Mormon: and this is claimed to be a fulfillment of the prophetic vision of John: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth," &c. But how this can be, on a literal ​construction, which is the Mormon rule, would seem to be very puzzling. The Book of Mormon should have come out of the air instead of the ground to fulfill the vision. It seems, too, the angel seen by John had the Gospel himself, and was to preach it himself, and he did proclaim it with a loud voice to all nations; whereas the imaginary angel of Smith appeared to him and his coadjutors in secret, stealthy interviews, something very like the studied concealment of a gang of thieves or counterfeiters; and these unpromising appearances are followed by translating the newly-discovered book by the popular wizardcraft of looking through peep-stones, while the plates are carefully concealed from the vulgar gaze.

The third position is, that Smith's mission was divine, because he declares "that Peter, James, and John came to him in the capacity of ministering angels, and, by the laying on of hands, ordained him an apostle, and commanded him to preach," &c.; and the reasoner is sure, very sure, that there is something transcending human thought in all this; that Mr. Smith could never have originated such an idea. It would, indeed, be wonderful, had not hundreds of the inmates of Bedlam forestalled the Mormon prophet in hatching similar absurdities.

The fourth proof is, that Smith professes to have received, "through revelation and commandment from God, a dispensation for the gathering of the Saints from all nations." Mr. Pratt undertakes to prove from Scripture that the people of God were to be brought out from the Gentiles, and gathered together in one place, and reasons that Smith, an unpracticed marks​man, never could have hit so happy an idea by a chance shot. Less clever rogues than the prophet Joseph would have stumbled upon this idea without supernatural aid. How else could he have his followers so completely under his influence, or collect his tithes, or keep them from apostacy, or so securely indulge in a community of wives, and other licentious practices? Without the gathering, the adventure would have lacked one of its most essential elements of success.

The sixth subdivision of the argument exhibits more than any other the pains which have been taken to bring the discovery of the Mormon Bible within the letter of ancient prophecy. As a train of argument, it will be found to hold together with the tenacity usually ascribed to a rope of sand. It will be recollected that the Saints are strict literalists, and claim that certain prophecies were literally fulfilled in the discovery of this book. A brief examination will show that these prophetic declarations must be stretched, like pieces of India-rubber, to an extraordinary degree of tenuity, in order to cover the requisite surface. In Isaiah xxix. occurs the following passage:

"And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground; and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust."

Mr. Pratt reasons that the Book of Mormon is referred to in this declaration, because it was taken out of the ground. The tribe of Joseph, he says, "have been brought down like all the rest of Israel; but the words of their ancient prophets 'speak out of the ground' and ​'whisper out of the dust' to the ears of the present generation, revealing, in a very 'familiar' manner, the history of ancient America." Now, on reading the context, it will be found that all this is spoken of the city of Jerusalem, besieged and brought into a state of abasement by an army, and, literally understood, has as little to do with a book as with moonshine.

Again, it is said in the same chapter of Isaiah: "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he says, I can not, for it is sealed; and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned."

To bring his scheme within this prophecy, Smith or Rigdon inserted in the Book of Mormon the following:

"But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book, Take these words which are not sealed, and deliver them to another, that he may show them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and the learned shall say, Bring hither the book, and I will read them; and now, because of the glory of the world, and to get gain, will they say this, and not for the glory of God; and the man shall say, I can not bring the book, for it is sealed; then shall the learned say, I can not read it."

After Smith discovered the glyph which has already been spoken of, he transcribed some of the characters, and sent them to Professor Anthon by Martin Harris. Neither Anthon nor other mortal, learned or unlearned, of course, could read them; and this is claimed as a ​fulfillment of prophecy. It may be a quasi fulfillment of Smith's own prophecy in the Book of Mormon, but it requires a vast deal of pulling and stretching to bring it within that of Isaiah. In the latter, the book itself was delivered to the man of learning, which is evident from his answer, "it is sealed," referring to the book, and not to any portion of the words; and not only so, but this book was not delivered to the unlearned man until afterward, who, in fact, never read it at all; and it was only the blind and deaf that finally penetrated the mystery. It may be asked why Smith did not more nearly conform the Book of Mormon in this respect to the prophecy; but he could not, because, to have delivered Spaulding's "Manuscript Found" or the glyph to Anthon, would have broken the egg before the cockatrice was fairly hatched, and ended the imposture at once.

But the most extraordinary argument ever brought forth in support of any thing divine or human is, that the Book of Mormon predicts that it should be shown. to three witnesses, and that the prophet actually found the requisite number; and Mr. Pratt, in great apparent simplicity, says, "Now an impostor might indeed predict the raising of three witnesses, but he could not call down an angel from heaven, in the presence of these witnesses, to fulfill his predictions." True enough; but what was to prevent the impostor from procuring three or more lying witnesses, ready to swear that black was white, for the purpose of sharing in the proceeds of the imposture?

The eleventh proof of divine authority is the power to perform miracles claimed by the prophet and his ​followers. Decidedly the most bold feature of Mormonism, and one which shows how strongly the originators must have relied upon popular credulity, is the pretense of possessing the miraculous signs following truc discipleship, as described in the following passage from Mark:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

The claims in favor of the marvelous skill possessed by the celebrated Doctor Caustic, of whom it was said,

do not exceed those of the Latter-day Saints in miraculous gifts.

The leaders have literally performed some of these prodigies, to the entire conviction of all true Saints. As may be readily supposed, the mass of Mormon miracles consist in healing diseases; and, in proof of theso notable performances, they have a string of certificates as long as the tail of a kite—almost as long, indeed, as the vender of a quack medicine appends to his universal panacea. Every one is familiar with the powerful agency of the imagination in the curing or amelioration of disease, and hence it is less difficult to impose upon the credulity of the multitude by extraordinary ​cures than almost any other form of legerdemain. I never heard, however, of any of these miracle-mongers who were willing to handle living rattlesnakes, or swallow doses of arsenic or strychnine to test their boasted powers. Indeed, so little confidence have they in the miraculous texture of their stomachs, that, in their penal statutes of 1852, they impose a heavy fine on the druggist who shall "sell and deliver any arsenic, corrosive sublimate, prussic acid," &c., without the word poison written on it; nay, more, they have manifested an uncommon degree of apprehension on the subject by imposing, in section 107 of the same act, a severe punishment upon the physician who shall administer poison as a medicine without fully explaining the nature and effect to the patient, and obtaining his free consent if over age, or of his parent or guardian if a minor.

The fact that the amount of mortality in Utah has been next to that of Louisiana; that their cemetery is filled with graves, from the infant of a span long to the maturity of manhood; that all kinds of medical practice are in vogue among them, from Thomsonianism up, or down, through all the pathies, forms a standing contradiction to all their pretenses in this respect. Yet they are never in want of an argument sufficiently ingenious to impose upon those whose business it is to have faith. If the man dies, why then his time had come, and it was of no use to pour on the consecrated oil, or lay on the hands. So the world goes. Quackery is the most powerful lever yet, either in medicine or theology.

That they should have had great success in gaining ​credit for these marvelous gifts can not appear strange to one who is aware of the great popular delusions prevalent in community. Who has not listened to stories of haunted dwellings—of mysterious sights seen, and voices heard? Who has not heard of the juggling impositions of fortune-tellers, of witches and wizards, who, by means of cards, peep-stones, or something else, make thousands believe in their ability to unravel present perplexities and read future events—to discover secreted goods, and prognosticate happy matches and embryo fortunes? All these things, and more like them, are known to exist, and to command extensive belief; but no one can be fully sensible of the power and extent of this human element until he sees the subjects of them gathered together, and concentrated, as it were, in a burning focus by the aid of religious sanction in the Valley of Salt Lake.

The only other "sign" which they pretend to patronize to any considerable extent is the gift of tongues, and in this they exhibit all the adroitness which practice can give. Many readers will not fail to recollect the gibberish termed "hog-Latin," so common as an amusement with boys at school, some of whom are very expert in this exercise, and will roll off the unmeaning dialect with great case and fluency. This juvenile sport has been carefully revised and greatly enlarged by the proselyting members of the Mormon community. No part of their jugglery is more transparent than this, and yet, strange to say, it has been one of their most efficient instruments of success. Hundreds will now gravely date their conversion from the period when they first heard the exercise of this marvel.

​A very cursory examination of the pamphlets we have been considering will be found amply sufficient to satisfy any one of their scope and character. A train of reasoning similar to that which has been adopted—which is made up of inferences from mere assumptions, with ad captandum applications of Scripture—would sustain any other system just as well as the one in the support of which Mr. Pratt has so severely taxed his powers. In this style of reasoning, the author has proved himself a perfect knight-errant in polemic warfare, cutting to the right and left with reckless desperation. A bull in a china-shop could not produce a more terrible smash, or effect more inextricable confusion. In Tract No. 3, for instance, he has bastardized all Christendom for the last seventeen hundred years, by satisfactorily proving that, since the first century after Christ, there has been no one authorized to perform the marriage ceremony, or administer any of the ordinances of the Church. Curious enough that such a sentence should be pronounced by the jaded voluptuary who sports a harem by divine command!

The whole argument is addressed to the weakest points of the human mind—it is all outside. There is not the slightest attempt at internal evidence. There is no pretense of the development of a single new spiritual truth, or of any advance in the natural or metaphysical sciences—not even the display of a beautiful or sublime idea. The whole cui bono, or utility of such a scheme, is left untouched, and the world is called upon to embrace Mormonism because Smith pretends to have taken the Book of Mormon from the ​ground; because he has found three witnesses; because Mr. Anthon could not translate the strange characters submitted to his inspection; because Smith has copied after ancient forms in his machinery of apostles, elders, &c.; because he and they pretend to the gift of prophecy; and because they also pretend to the performance of miracles, and have annexed the usual certificates!