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An Add re ss t o All Be liev er s in Chr ist By A W itness to the Divine Authenti city of the Boo k of Mor mo n

David Whitmer

Richmond, Missouri

1887

Part First

Chapter 1

Dear R eader:

Part fir st of this pamphlet is a brief address to those wh o have not r ead the B o o k o f Mo r m o n , and who are

not conversant with the denominations that believe in that book.

Par t second is an addr ess to a ll b eliev ers in the Boo k o f Mo rm on . Th ere are thr ee distinct denom ina tions

that believe the Book o f Mo rm on to be the W ord of God:

First: The C hurch of Christ .

Second: The R eor gan ized C hurch of Jesus C hrist o f Latter Day Sain ts.

Th ird: The C hurch of Jesus Christ of Latt er Day Saints

The la st n am ed is t he ch ur ch in Salt Lake City ; they bel ieve in the doctrine of polygamy , whi le the two

first named chur ches do not believe in that doctrine. I am an elder in “the Chur ch of Chr ist.” We beli eve

in the doctrine of Christ as it is taugh t in t he N e w T e s ta m en t and th e Book o f Mo rm on , the sam e gospel

bei ng taugh t in both these books. T he Bib le being the sacred record of the Jew s who inhab ited th e eastern

continent; the B o o k o f Mo r m o n being the sacred record of the Nephites (descendants of Joseph, the son

of Jacob), who inhabited the west ern continent, or this la nd of Amer ica. T he Indians are the remnant of

that people, w ho drifted int o unb elief and darkness about 350 y ears after Christ appeared to them and

established his church am ong them , after fin ishing h is mission at J erusalem. We beli eve in faith in Christ,repen tance an d baptism for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We believe in the laying

on of hands as it was practiced in th e days of the Ap ostles. We believe in t he resurrection of the dead and

eternal judgment. W e also believe in th e W ords of C hrist w hen he said, “Th ese signs shall follow them


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that believ e.” Ou r beli ef concern ing the order of offices in the church, etc., will be found i n Part Second

of this pam phlet . Th e Chur ch of C hrist holds to the origin al doctrine an d order that w as first established

upon t he teachings of Ch rist in the w ritten wor d, in 1829 , when th e Lord set his hand on the second time

to establish the true gospel upon th e earth and recover h is people, w hich is in fulfil lm ent of th e prophecies

in the Bib le. We denounce the doctrine of polygamy and spiritu al wifeism. It is a great evil , shocking to

the mo ral sense, and the more so b ecause practiced in the name o f Reli gion . It is of man and n ot of God,

an d is especially forbidden in the Book o f Mo rm on itself in these words, “Behold, David and Solomon tru ly

had many w ives and concub ines, w hich thing w as abom inable before m e, saith the Lord.” “For there shall

not any man a mong y ou have save it be one wife: and concubines he shall have none: For I the Lord God,

delighteth in the ch astity of w oman .” ( Boo k o f Mo rmon , page 116, chap . 2. par. 6). We do no t indorse th e

teachings of any so-called Mormons or Latter Day Saints, which are in conflict with the gospel of our

Lor d an d Saviour Jesus C hrist, as taught in t he N e w T e s tam e n t and the B o o k o f Mo r m o n . They have

departed in a great measure from the faith o f the C hurch of C hrist as it w as first estab lished , by heed ing

rev elat ions given throu gh Joseph Smith, wh o, after being called of God to translate his sacred w ord--the

Boo k o f Mo rm on --dri fted int o m any error s and gave m any revelations to introduce doctri nes, ordinan ces

and offices in the c hurch, which are i n conflict with C hrist 's teachings . They al so chan ged the name of

the church. T heir departure from the f aith is also according to proph ecy. “Now the spirit speaketh

expressly that in th e latter tim es some shall depart from the faith, giving h eed to seducing spirits and

doctrines of devils.” (1 Tim. 1 v:1). On account of God giving to Joseph Smith the gift to t ranslat e the

plates on w hic h was engraven the Ne phite scriptures, the people of the church put too m uch trust in

him--in the man--and believed his wo rds as if they were from God's own mou th. T hey have trusted in an

arm of flesh. (Jeremi ah xvii :5) “Thus saith t he Lord: C ursed be t he man that trusted in man, and maketh

flesh his arm, a nd who se heart departeth from the Lord.” They loo k ed to Joseph Smith as lawgiver; we

look to C hrist alo ne, and believe only in the rel igi on of Jesus Christ and not in the religion of any man.

The doctr ine of po ly gamy w as not in trod uced u nt il abou t four teen y ea rs af te r the chur ch w as

established; but oth er doctrines of err or w ere in trodu ced earl ier than thi s. I left th e bod y in Ju ne, 18 38 ,

being five years before polygam y w as introduced.

Joseph Smith drif ting into errors after translating t he B o o k o f Mo r m o n , i s a stumbling-block to m any ,

but only th ose of very weak fa ith woul d stumbl e on this account . Greater abomina tions are recorded of

David in th e Bible, t han is recorded today of Joseph S mith; but do y ou reject the Psalms on this account?

Do you reject the Proverbs because Solomon was a polyga mist? Stop and think, y ou wh o are hasty to

cond emn. If you desire to know w hether or not the B o o k o f M o rm o n is true, read the book and investigate

it, for C hrist has promi sed that h e who seek s in the righ t way sha ll find the tr uth of all thin gs. We are

comma nded to “Pr ove al l things; hold fast t hat w hich is good.” (1 Th es. v:21).

T he R eor gan ize d C hu rch of Je sus C hr ist o f Lat ter Da y Sain ts, be l ie ve th at Joseph Smith was a true

prophet up to his death, an d accept his revelat ions in the B o ok o f D oc t ri n e a n d C o v e n an t s . The revelationto practice polygamy is not printed in their D o ct r in e an d C o v e n an t s . Th ey do not bel ieve in the doctrine

of poly gamy.

The C hur ch of Jesus C hr i st of Latt er Day Saints (th e chur ch at Salt Lak e C ity ) be liev e tha t Joseph

Smith was a tr ue p rophet up to the tim e of his death, and accept his revelations which t hey have

published in their B o o k o f D o c t r in e an d C o v e n a n ts . In this book is the revelation on poly gamy .

It is also a stumbling-block to thos e who desire to investigate as to the t ruth of th e Boo k o f Mo rmon ,

to see the believers in th at bo ok div ided; but the divisions have been br ought about by the rev elation s of

Jo seph Smith. We , t he Church of Christ , who accept only the Bible and the Book o f Mo rm on as the rule

and guide t o our faith, agree on the do ctrin e and gospel of Chri st. The B o o k o f Mo r m o n comes forth

claiming to be the scriptures of the tribe of Joseph, written by holy men of God, w hich record has been

kept pu re. It claims that when t he Bible was writ ten by the tribe of Judah (the Jews), it was plai n to the

unde rstan ding of men; and t hat many pla in an d precious things have been take n from it b y a gr eat and


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abominable c hur ch; a nd that on thi s accoun t the Gentiles stumble over t he true doctrine of Christ. The

Boo k o f Mo rmon comes forth claiming t o make plain the doctrine of Christ as taught in th e N ew T e s ta m e n t ,

and it does mak e it so pl ain t hat a child can un derstand it. To all who are w ithout prejudice, the Bo ok o f

M o rm o n is the key to the understanding of the Bible. A s I have stated, all who tak e it and the Bible alone

as the guide to their faith, agr ee on the doctrine of Christ.

I know t hat repro ach has been br ough t upon the Book o f Mo rm on . Because som e of tho se who beli eve

it have dr ifted into w ickedness, the world ha s rejected the book and turned it aside as a thing of naugh t;

but if such persons will stop and thin k, they will see that they refuse to read this book, w hich claims to

be a message from God, simply because some ha ve tr ansgressed who believ e in th e book ! Such persons

are not very earnestly seeking for trut h. Thos e who hav e read the history of the apostolic church kno w ,

that before John wrote the Revelat ion, many o f those wh o bel ieved i n Christ went into al l manner of

w ick edn ess and her esies, pr act ici ng t ho se th in gs in th e na m e of C hri st , and t hereb y brou ght r eproa ch

upo n the nam e “Ch ristian.” Apostolic ch urch history tells us that the N icolaitanes (Rev . i i: 15), w ho

departed from the faith by follow ing N icolas, one of th e first seven deaco ns (Acts vi:5), w ere also call ed

“Christians;” also tha t m any factions w hich sprang o ut of the C hristian ch urch , also called them selves

“Christians.” The Nicolaitanes claimed th at Nicola s had re ceived a revelatio n from God t o practice the

doctrine of “free love,” wh ich is wo rse than poly gamy . (Irenaeus, Epiphanius, H ippoly tus.) Repro ach was

thu s brought upo n the nam e “Christian,” just as it h as b een b rou ght upo n the w ords of C hrist--the B o o k

o f M o r m o n . His tory tells us it was a disgrace in the eyes of the wor ld to be called a “C hristian,” even

duri ng the day s of th e apostles. In A cts xxviii :22 w e find that the tru e chur ch w as evil spok en o f. “For as

concernin g this sect, we know that eve ry whe re it is spoken against.” Paul speaks of the reproach his

disciples wil l hav e to b ear for his nam e, telling them many times that his disciples would al way s be

persecut ed. Peter pr ophesied (2 Peter i i :1 -2), th at damnable heresies would be broug ht into the church;

“and many shall follow their pe rnicio us way s, by reason of whom T he Way of Truth s hall be evil spoken

of.” So ha s it been in th ese last days . On account of the heresy of polygamy and other h eresies, “the w ay

of truth” is evil spoken of; and thos e who be lieve in all the scriptu res of ou r Lord Je sus Ch rist, are called

by the world “Mormons,” and are looked upon with more or less shame by the majori ty of people; but

w e are wi ll ing to b ea r the repr o ach for H im w ho di ed fo r us, fo r w e kno w t ha t the Boo k o f Mo rm on is His

wo rd , and by H is word we ca n inh er it et er na l l if e i f wa s a re fai thf ul in kee pi ng H is com m an dm en ts . Go d' s

w isdom is not man's wisdom , and His way s are not ma n's way s . He works in a way least exp ec ted by

man. He does his work in a way that all m en may stumble and not understand, unless their whole heart

and desire is upon G od, and not upon t he things of this w orld. “Love not the w orld, n either t he things

that are in the world. If any m an love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” ( 1 Joh n ii :15 .) “Y e

cannot serve God and mamm on.” (M att . vi :24.) H e who m akes up his mind to serve Go d with an eye

single to his glory, the light that is in him w ill not be darkness to the truth as it is in Christ ; such a person

wi ll ov er co me th e stu mb li ng -b lock s. H e or da ine d tha t Ch ri st shoul d co me as a s tu mb li ng -bloc k to the Jew s, so tha t al l who d id not have an eye s ingle to h i s gl ory might st um bl e a nd no t u nder st an d. “A nd H e

(Christ) shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stum bli ng and for a rock of offense to both th e houses

of Israel, for a sin a nd for a snare to the inh abitan ts of Jerusalem . A nd m any among th em shall stum ble,

an d fall, and be brok en, and be s nared, a nd be taken.” (Isaiah viii:1 4-15.) (See also 1 Peter ii:7-8, 1 Co r. i:23,

Rom ix:32-33.) The Jew s did not expect the C hrist to com e in th e way he did, because the prophecies

about his coming w ere obscure; so they rejected him.

T he Genti l es cannot exp ect t he w ords of C hr i st --the B o o k o f Mo r m o n --to com e in the w ay it has,

because the prophe cies about it s coming forth are o bscure; so th ey ha ve rejected it; bu t the stone w hich

the builders have rejected, the same will becom e the head of the cor ner. T he B o o k o f Mo r m o n is the word

of God. The prophecies in the scri ptur es concernin g the w ay in wh ich Ch rist woul d come to the Jew s,

are obscure, but t hey are just as G od w ant ed t hem . Lik ewise are the prophecies in t he Bible concernin g

the comin g for th of the w ord of C hrist i n these last day s, whi ch is “the dispen sation of th e ful lness of


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times.” Th e prop hecies which foretell the coming for th of the Book o f Mo rm on are fully as p lain to the

Gen til es, as the prophecies were to the Jews concerning C hrist's coming. The peop le cann ot u nderstand

why th e Lo rd w ou ld br in g fort h hi s wor d fro m “a boo k (p lat es) tha t is seale d” and was bur ied in the

gro und by h is ancient prophets on this land: and w hy H e should have the w ords of th e book delivered

“to one that is learned,” tell ing him to read it, etc.; (see Isa. xx ix) but the learned and wis e men of the

wo r ld could not read i t; God ga ve to an unl earned boy, Joseph S mith, th e gift to translate it b y th e me ans

of a Stone. See the follow ing passages concernin g the “Urim an d Thu mm in, ” bei ng the same means and

one by wh ich the A ncients received the w ord of the Lord. (1 Sam. xx vii i:6, Neh. vii :65, Ezra ii :63, Nu m.

xxvii:21, Deut. xxxiii :8, E xodus xxviii :3 0, Lev. vii i :8.) But this is a great stumblin g-block to the people

now. They ca nnot u nderstand why God would work in this manner to bring forth his word; and why

he w ould choose such a m an a s Joseph Smith to tr anslate it: and they think the canon of scripture is full :

and that angels do not minister unto men in these days. But oh kind reader, if you desire to know the

tru th, be not hast y to condemn an d judge, but I pra y you to in vestig ate. The scriptures teach that God

works in a way least expect ed by men.

“Neit her are your way s my w ays, saith the Lord.” (Isa. LV:8). “How unsearchable are H is judgm ent s,

and H is way s past finding ou t.” (Rom. xi:33). Read Isa. xxix, w hole ch apter, w hich is a prop hecy

concerning the way in w hich the Book o f Mo rm on was to com e forth. “ Out of the ground;” “Out of the

dust;” From , “the words of a Book (plates) that is sealed:” The m en of the world wh o are wise and p ruden t

in the eyes of the w orld, shall be confounded; they will not under stand the Lord' s way of wo rk ing. “For

the wisdom of their w ise men shall per ish, and the u nderstan ding o f their prud ent men shall b e hid .” But

the meek and lo wly in heart wil l understand i t. “The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, a nd

the poor amon g men shall rejoice in the Holy O ne of Israel.” And those who are spiritually blind and deaf

shall “hear the w ords of th e Book,” and “see out of obscurity , and out o f darkness.” “They also that erred

in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine;” (The above

quot ations are from the 29th chapter of Isaiah.) John, in his vi sion on the Isle of Patmos, of “thin gs which

mus t be hereafter,” saw “An other angel fly i n th e mid st of heaven , having th e everlasti ng gospel to pr each

unto them that dw ell on the earth.” (Rev. xiv:6.) In Isaiah xi:11-12, it is prophesied as follows: “and it shall

com e to pass in that day (dispensation) that the L ord shall set his hand again the second t ime to recover

the remnant of his people * * * * and he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the

outc asts of Israe l, and gather t ogether the dispersed of Judah (th e Jews) from th e four corne rs of the earth .”

The c omi ng forth of the Boo k o f Mo rm on is only a preparatory w ork for the great and “marvelous work”

of God which is yet to come in gathering scattered Israel, which is spoken of so often through the

prophet s. The Book o f Mo rm on cont ains many prophecies w hich are no w and have been dur ing m y life,

under course of fulfil lment . It says th at more r ecords are yet to come forth from t he “book that is sealed,”

wh ic h bo ok is th e sa cred scriptu re s or re cord s of th e peop le w ho in h ab it ed th is land o f Am er ic a.

The ch il dren of Is rael ar e to be ga ther ed by th e r ecor d o f Judah ( the Bi b le); and the r ecor d of Jo sep h;of which record the Book of Morm on is only a part. I wil l now quote from Ezeki el xxxvii :16-21, which

is plain concerning this matter. Remem be r that in ancient tim es, writi ng was engraved upon stone and

upon met all ic plates, an d they a lso wro te upo n parchment which they rol led around a st ick. A rol l of

parchment w as called a “stick.”

“Moreov er, thou son of man, ta ke the one stick , and write upon it, For Ju dah, a nd for the childr en

of Israel his companion s: then tak e another stick, and w rite u pon it , For Joseph, the stick of

Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his comp anions: and join them one to anoth er in one stick ;

and they s hall becom e one in thine hand. And when the ch ildren of th y people shall speak unto

thee, saying, W ilt thou n ot show us what th ou meanst by these? say unto them, * * * * T hus sai th

the Lord God; Behold, I will take th e children of Israel from amo ng the he athen, whither th ey be

gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.”It is evident that th is, l ike many other prophecies, refers to the time w hen the Israel of God wil l be

gathered together in righteousness and holiness; when they shall be God' s holy people forever. It says in

this chapt er, 23d to 28th verses, th at when the y are gathered, they shall “No more defile themselves with


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their ido ls * * * * nor with any of their transgressions,” and the Lord “will cleanse them, so they shall be

my peo ple, and I will be their God.” * * * an d “they shall w alk in my judgm ent s * * * * * and (I) will set

m y sanctuary in the m idst of them forever more. * * * * And the heathen ( all who are not Israel) shall

know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”

(Co ncerning a l iteral gather ing of the H ouse of Israel, in right eou sness and holiness, see chapter 2 .) The

Gen tiles are first now , an d the Jews last: but th e Jews and all the Ho use of Israel will be first some day,

and the G entil es last. It is thro ugh the “fulln ess of the Gentiles,” that the veil of blin dness w hich is now

over Israel, shall be taken awa y. Th e cup of iniquity of the Ge ntiles is almost full ; th en God will turn to

Israel, for Israel is not cast aw ay forever. “Blindness in part is happened to I srael , unti l the fulln ess of the

Gentiles be come in. * * * There shall come out o f Sion, t he Deliver er, and shall turn away ungodliness

from Jacob.” (See Roma ns 11th chap ter).

It is recorded in t h e Ame r i c a n C y c l o p e d i a and t h e En c y c l o p e d i a Br i t a nn i c a , that I, David Whi tmer , have

denied my testimony as one of the three w itnesses to the divinity of the Book of Mormon ; and that the

other two w itnesses, Oli ver Cowd ery and Martin Harris, denied their testimony to that Boo k. I will say

once more to all m ankin d, that I have ne ver at any tim e denied that testimony or any par t th ereof. I also

test ify to the w orld, that neither Oliver Cowdery or Martin H arris ever at any time denied their

testim ony . Th ey b oth died reaffirmin g the truth of the divine authen ticity of the Book o f Mo rm on . I was

present at the death bed of Oli ver Cow dery , and h is last wo rds were, “Brot her David, be true to yo ur

test imony to th e Book o f Mo rm on . ' ' He die d here in Richmo nd, Mo. , on March 3d, 1850. Many w itnesses

y et l iv e in Richm ond, w ho w ill testify to the truth o f these facts, as well as to the good character of Oliver

Cowdery . The v ery po w ers of darknes s have combined against the Book o f Mo rm on , to prove that it is not

the word of G od, and this should go to prove to men of spiritual understan ding, that t he Boo k is true.

T o sho w the rea de r wha t I ha ve had to co nt end wi th, I give yo u bel ow a cop y of a leaf let wh ich I ha d

pri nted and distribut ed in March, 18 81.

A Pro clamat ion

“Unto all N ation s, Kindred To ngues and People, unto w hom these presents shall com e:

“It having been represen ted by one John Mu r ph y, of Po lo, Ca ld we ll Co un ty , Mo . , that I, in a

conver sation with him last summ er, denied my testimo ny as one of the thre e witnes ses to the Bo ok of

Mormon.

“To the end, the refore, that he may un derstand me now, if he did not th en; and that the w orld may

kno w th e tr uth , I wish now, stan ding as it were, in the very sunset of l ife, and in the fear of God, once

for all to make this public statement:

“Th at I have never at any time deni ed that testimony or any part thereof, whi ch has so long since been

published with that Book, as one o f the three witnesses. Those who kno w m e best, well k now that I havealways adhered to tha t test imony. And th at n o man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard

to the same, I do again affirm th e truth of all of my statements, as then m ade and published.

“'H e that hath an ear to hear, let him hear;' it w as no delusion! What w as written is w ritten, and he

that readeth let him understand.

“And that no on e may be deceived or misle d by this statement , I wish he re to state: that I do not

indorse poly gamy or spir itual wi feism. It is a great evil , shocking to the m oral sense, and th e more so ,

because practi ced in the name of religion. It is of man and not God, and is especiall y forbidden in the B o o k

o f Mo r m o n itself.

“I do n ot indorse the chang e of the n ame of the church, for as the w ife ta kes the name o f her husband

so should the C hurch of the Lam b of God, tak e the name o f its head, even C hrist him self. It is the Chur ch

of Christ .

“As to the H igh Priesthood, Jesus C hrist h imself is t he last Great High Priest , this too after th e order


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of M elchisedec, as I understan d the H oly Scriptu res.

“Finally, I do not indorse any of the teachings of the so-called Morm ons, of Latter Day Saints, w hich

are in conflict w ith the Go spel of our Lord and Savior Jesus C hris t, a s taugh t in the Bible and Boo k o f

M o rm o n ; for the same gospel is plainly taught in bot h of these books as I understand the w ord of God.

“And if any man doubt should he not carefully and hon estly read and under stand th e same, before

pre sumin g to sit in judgment and condemning the lig ht, which shineth in darkne ss, and showeth the w ay

of eternal l ife as pointed out by the unerrin g hand of God.

“In the spir it of Christ who h ath said: 'Follow thou me, for I am the life, the light and the way .' I

submit thi s stateme nt to the worl d. God in whom I t rust being my judge as to the sinceri ty of my motives

and the faith and hop e that is in m e of eternal l ife.

“My sincere desire is that the world m ay be benefited by t his plain and simple stat ement of the trut h.

“And al l the honor be to th e Father, t he Son and th e Holy Ghost, which is one God. A men. David

Wh itmer .”

“Richmond, M o., March 19, 1881.”

“We, the undersigned cit izen s of Rich mond, R ay Coun ty, Mo., w here D avid W hitm er, has resided

since the year A.D . 1838, certify t hat we have long and intimately acquainted with him a nd know him

to be a man o f the highest integrity, a nd of undoubt ed truth and v eracity.

“Given at Richm ond, Mo., this March 19, A.D. 1881.

Gen. Alexander W . Doniphan .

Hon. Geo. W. Dunn , Judge of the Fifth Ju dicial Circuit .

Tho s. D. W oo ds on, President of Ray Co. Savings Bank.

J. T. Child, editor of Conserv ator.

H . C . Garner, Cas hier of Ray C o. Savings Bank.

L . C . Cantw ell, Postmaster, Richm ond.

Geo. I. W asson , Mayor.

Ja s. A. Davis, County Col lector .

C. J. Hu ghes , Probate Judge and Presiding Justice of Ray Co unty Cou rt.

Geo. W. Tr igg , County Clerk.

W . W . Mosby , M.D.

W . A . Holman , County Treasurer.

J. S. Hughes, Banker, R ichmon d.

Jam es Hu ghes , Banker, R ichmon d.

D. P. W hit mer , Attorney -at-Law .

Ho n. Jas. W. Black , At torney -at-Law . Th os . McGinnis, ex-Sheriff Ray C ounty .

J . P. Quesenberry, Merchant.

W . R . Holman , Furniture Merchant.

Lew is Slaught er, R ecor der of Deeds.

Geo. W . Buchanan , M. D.

A. K. Reyburn .”

From the Ri chmond, (M o.) Conservator, Mar ch 24, 1881.

An Explan ati on.

“Elsewhere we pu blish a letter from David Whi tmer , an old and well-know n citi zen of Ray, as well as

an indor sem ent of his stand ing as a man, signed by a num ber of the leading citizens of this commun ity,

in reply to some unw arranted aspersions made upon him.


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“There is no doubt that Mr. Whi tmer , wh o w as one of the three witnesses of authenticity of the gold

plates, from which he asserts that Joseph Smith translated the B oo k o f Mo r m o n (a fac simile of the

characters he no w has in hi s possession with the o riginal records), is firmly convin ced of its divine origin,

and whil e he makes no effort to obtrude his views or beliefs, he simply w ants the world to k now that so

far as he is concerned there is no 'variableness or shadow of turnin g.' H aving resided here for near a half

of a century, it is wi th no little pride that he poin ts to his past record with the con sciousness that he has

don e not hin g derogatory to his character as a citizen and believer in the son of Mary , to w arrant such an

attack on him , com e from w hat sou rce it may, and now w ith the li l ies of seven ty-five wi nters crow ning

him like an au reole, and his pilgrimage o n earth wel l nigh ended, he reiterates his former statements, and wi ll le ave futur it y to so lv e the pro bl em th at he w as b ut a passing wi tnes s to i ts fu lfil lment. H is a ttac ks o n

the vilen ess th at h as spr ung up w ith the U tah C hurch, m ust have a salutary eff ect upon thos e bigamists

wh o ha ve ma de ad ul ter y th e co rne rs ton e in the ed if ice of th ei r be li ef.”

Besides other false statements that are in th e two encyclo pedias above m ention ed is the ol d story of

the Spaul ding m anuscript. Th at is, that, one Sol omon Spauld ing who died in Am ity, Penn., in 181 6 ,

had writ ten a roman ce, the scene of which was among the ancient Indians who lived in this country . That

Spaulding died before he pub lished his r omance, and that Sydney Rigdon got ho ld of the man uscript

in a pr intin g office and copied it; that subsequently the manuscr ipt was returned to Sol omon Spauld ing ;

that th irteen years after the death o f Spaulding, in 1829, Rigdon became associated with Jo seph Smi th,

who re ad th e Spau ld in g man uscr ipt fro m behind a blank et to Oliver Cowdery , his amanuensis, who

wro te it dow n. H ence th e or igi n of th e Boo k o f Mo r mo n . T his is w hat i s claimed by t he enemies of the

boo k: Satan had to concoct some plan t o account for the origin of that book . I will say that all who desire

to investigate the Spau ldin g man uscript story w ill not be obliged to go very far before th ey w ill see the

entire falsity of that claim. I test ify to th e world that I am an eye witnes s to th e translation of the gr eater

part of the Book o f Mo rm on . Part of it was tr anslated in my father's house in Fayette, Seneca County ,

N.Y. Farther on I give a description of the manner in wh ich the book was translated.

W hen the Spa uldi ng stor y w as made k nown to bel iev ers in the book, they ca l l ed for the S paul ding

manuscript , but it could not be found; but recently , than ks to the Lord, the original m anuscript h as been

found and identified. It has been placed in th e libr ary of O berlin Co llege, Oberlin, O hio , for public

inspectio n. All w ho have doubts about it being th e original Spaulding m anuscript, can satisfy themselvesby visiting Oberlin and examining the proofs. The manuscript is in the hands of those who are not

believers in th e Book o f Mo rm on . They have kindly al low ed the bel ievers in the book to publ ish a copy

of the manuscript, w ith the proofs th at it is the manu script of Solo mon Spauld ing . There is no similarity

w hatev er betw een it an d the B o o k o f Mo r m o n . Any one who investi gates this question will see that the

Spauldin g manuscript story is a fabrication co ncocted by the enemies of the Boo k o f Mo rm on , in order to

accoun t for the or igin o f that book . Neither Joseph Smit h, O liver Co wder y, Mar tin H arr is or my se lf

ever met Sydney Rigdon until after the Boo k o f Mo rmon was in print. I kno w t his of my own personal

knowledge, being with Joseph Smit h, in Seneca Co unty, N.Y., in t he w int er o f 1 830, when Sydney

Rigdo n and Edward Par tridg e came from Ki rtland, Oh io, to see Joseph S mith , and where Rig don

and P artr idge saw Joseph Smit h for the fir st t ime in their li ves.

The Sp aul ding manus cr ipt story is a m y th; ther e b eing no dire ct test im ony on record in re ga rd to

Rigdon's con nection w ith the manuscript of Sol omon Spaulding.

I have in my possession the original m anuscript o f the Boo k o f Mo rm on , in the handwriting of Oliver

Cowdery and other s, also th e ori ginal p aper containing som e of the characters transcribed from o ne of

the golden plates, w hich paper Martin H arris took to Pro fessor An th on , of New Y ork, for him to read

: “the words of a book that is sealed:” but th e learned professor, although a great l inguist cou ld not r ead

the lang uage of the Nephit es. Ther e is some evidence in t h e Ame r i c a n C y c l o p e d i a favorab le to th e Boo k o f

M o rm o n that I w ill speak of. It is as follo w s:

“Martin H arris called upon P rof. A nt ho n, o f N ew Y or k , with a transcript on pa per whi ch Smith

had given him of the characters on one of th e golden plates. 'Th is pap er, ' P rof. An th on said, in a letter

dated New Yor k, Feb. 17, 1834 , 'w as in fact a singu lar scroll . It consisted of all k inds of crook ed

cha racters, di sposed in colu mns, and had evidently been prepared by some person w ho had before him


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at the tim e a book containin g various alph abets. Greek and H ebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman

letter s, inverted or placed sideway s, were arranged and placed in perpendicular columns ,” etc. T he

“learned” could not read it, and th e book w as delivered to hi m that is not learned. I w ill qu ote tw o verses

from th e twenty -ninth chapter of Isaiah, wh ich is the pro phecy regard ing this matter .

“And th e vision of all is becom e unto y ou as th e words of a boo k t hat is sealed, w hich men deliver to

one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is

delivered to him that is not learned, saying, R ead this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.”

(Verses 11 and 12.) No m an could read it, but God gave to an unlearne d boy the gift to translate it.

I will now give you a descript ion of the m anner in w hich the Book o f Mo rm on was translated. Jo seph

Smith wou ld p ut t he seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face

to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual l ight wo uld shine. A pi ece of something resembl ing

parch ment w ould appear, and on th at appeared the writin g. One character at a time woul d app ear, and

under it w as the interpretation in English. Brother Jo seph would read off the English to Oli ver Cowd ery ,

who w as hi s pri nc ipa l scribe, and whe n i t w as wr it ten do wn an d rep ea ted to Brother Joseph to see if it

w as cor rec t , then it would di sap pear , and anothe r cha racter w i th the i n terp reta tion would a ppear . Thus

the Book o f Mo rm on was t ranslated by the gift and power of God, and no t by a ny po wer o f man.

The c haracters I spe ak o f are t he engr avings on th e g ol de n p la te s f ro m w h ic h t he bo ok wa s t ra ns la te d.

They w ere eng rav ed t her eon by th e ha nd of a h ol y pr op het of G od w ho se nam e w as Mo rm on, w ho l i ved

upon this land four hundred years after Christ. Morm on's son, Moron i, after witnessing the destructi on

of his brethren, the N ephit es, wh o w ere a w hite r ace--the y be ing destroy ed by the L amanites

(Indians)--deposited the golden plat es in th e g roun d, accord ing to a comma nd of God. An a ngel of the

Lord directed Brother Joseph to them. T he lan guage of the N ephites is called the reformed Egy ptian

language.

I will give you the preface to the Book o f Mo rm on , written by Moroni, and translated in the same

mann er as the Book w as translated.

Pr eface.

An A cc ou nt W ri tt en By T he Ha nd O f Mo rm on U pon Pl at es Ta ken Fr om The Pl at es Of Ne ph i.

“Wherefore, it is an ab ridgm ent of th e record of t he p eop le o f Nephi, and also of th e Lam ani tes;

w ritt en to the La manites; who are a remn ant of the h ouse of Israel ; a n d a lso t o Jew and G enti l e; w ritt en

by way of commandm ent, an d also by the Spirit of prophesy and of revelation. Writte n and sealed up,

and hid up unto the Lor d, that they might n ot be destroyed ; to come forth by th e gift and power of Go d

unto t he inter pret atio n th ereof; sealed by t he hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lor d, to come forth

in due time by th e way of Gentile; the interpretation th ereof by the gift of God.

“An abr idgment taken fr om the Book of Ether: also, wh ich is a record of the people of Jared; who

wer e sc att er ed at the tim e the Lo rd confou nded th e language of th e people , w hen th ey wer e bu il d ing a

tow er to get to heaven: w hich is to show u nto the r emnant of th e house of Israel what great things the

Lord hat h done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are notcast off forever; and also t o the convincin g of the Jew an d Gentile that Jesus is the Chr ist, the Eternal

God, mani festing hi mself unto all nati ons. And no w if th ere are faults, they are th e mistakes of men;

w herefor e, c onde mn n ot the th ings of Go d, th at y e may be foun d spot less a t th e judgm ent s eat o f Chr is t. ”

“Moroni .”

Al so Th e Test im ony Of T he T hree W itnesses

“Be it known unto all na tions, ki ndreds, tongues, and people, unto wh om this wor k shall com e, that w e,

throug h the grace of God the Father and our Lor d Jesus Ch rist, have seen the plates wh ich contain this

record, which is a record of the peo ple of Nep hi, an d also of the Lamanites, their b rethren, and also of

the p eopl e of Jared, wh o came from the tow er of which hath been spoken, and w e also know that t hey

have been tran slat ed by the gift and pow er of Go d, for H is voice hath declared it un to us; wh erefore w ekno w of a suret y, t hat the wor k is t rue. And we also testify that w e have seen the engravings which ar e

upon th e plates; and they have been sh own un to u s by the power of God, and not of man. And w e declare

wi th words of soberness, that an angel o f God cam e d own from heaven, and he broug ht and la id before

our e yes, that we be held and saw th e plates, and the engravings thereon; and w e know tha t th is is by the


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grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus C hrist that w e beheld and bear record that t hese thin gs are

true; and it is mar velou s in our ey es, nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that w e should

bear record of it; w herefore, to b e obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear t estimon y of these

things. And w e know that if we are faithful in Ch risti , we shall rid our garments of the blood of all m en,

and be found spotless before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the

hea ven s. And the ho nor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the H oly Ghost, w hich is one God.

Amen.

Oliver Cow dery Davi d W hitm er Martin H arris.”

A nd A lso T esti m on y O f Eigh t W itn esses.

“Be it know n unto all nations, kindr eds, tongues, and people, unto wh om this wor k shall com e, that

Joseph Smith , J r ., the translator of this work , has shown unto us the plates of wh ich hath been spoken,

w hi ch have the ap pearan ce of gold; an d as man y of the leav es as the sa id Sm ith h ath tr anslated , we di d

handle w ith our h ands, and w e also saw the engravings ther eon, all of w hich has the appe aran ce of ancient

work , and cur ious w or k m ansh ip . A nd th is w e b ea r re cord wit h w ords of s obe rn ess, that th e said Sm ith

has show n un to us, for we have seen and hefted, and know n of a sur ety, tha t the said Smith has got t he

plates of which we have spoken. And w e give our names unto the world to w itness unto the w orld th at

wh ic h w e hav e seen; and we l ie not, God be ar in g wi tnes s of i t.

C hri stian W hitm er Jacob W hitm er Peter Whitmer, Jr . Joh n W hitm er

H iram Page Joseph Smith, Sr. H y rum Smith , and Samuel H . Smith.”

Dear Reader:-I want to ask y ou this question, if you are an unb eliever in the B o o k o f Mo r m o n , and I hope

y o u wil l study over i t prayerful ly . Th e test im ony of seven men, Matthew, Mark , Luke, John, Paul , Peter,

and Jude, comes down to us eighteen hun dred years old; you accept their testimon y as true. Today we

have the testimo ny of eleven w itnesses w ho have lived in o ur gen eratio n one of which (myself) is sti l l

l iv ing -- these eleven m en hav ing lived honor able and upr ight l ives -- but you rej ect t heir testim ony and

accep t th e test imon y of th e seven m en w ho have been dead eigh teen hundred y ears.

If you will not grant a possibil ity of the Book o f Mo rm on being true, and sit in judgment and hastily

condem n it after reading what I have written , you can surely see for your self that you r heart is full of

preju dice. Rememb er that prejudice is not of God. It is t he spirit t hat hastily condemned a nd stoned the

prophets of God in all ages past. So beware, and look well to y our own heart, that Satan does not blind

you r un derstanding to the truth. If you are open to investigation and convictio n, I pray y ou to re ad the

Book o f Mor mon wit h a praye rful heart. All persons who are spiritual, having a fair understanding of the

scriptur es, how they can read that Book and reject it, is very strange indeed. The Boo k carr ies conviction

wit h it . T he w ise men of thi s wor ld could n ever wr i te a book l ike i t . Any on e w it h ou t pr ej ud ic e, wh o is

honestly seeking for the truth, can see th e finger of God in that b ook . It makes plain the doctrines which

are so obscure in th e N ew T e s ta m en t , and over which the religious world is divided. For instance, the mode

of baptism; t he “signs” or spiritual gifts which C hrist said in plain wo rds should follow them that believe

in H i m . Al l who are no t blinde d to the un derstandin g of the N ew T e s ta m en t scriptures, w ill admit that

the spiri tual gi fts should be with the believers in C hrist today , is because they have not that s trong and

liv in g faith that th e ancient church had -- down to ab out 200 y ears after the deat h of the Apostl es: the

B o o k o f M o r m o n explains this matter in full . Likewise many other questions of vital import ance in the

doctrine of Christ, w hich the Chr istian world has been cont ending an d disputi ng about f or ages, this Book

comes forth from G od to explai n them.

A s w e know, C hr i st and t he apo st le ha ve ta ug ht tha t ma n m us t wo rs hi p Go d i n H is appo in t ed way ;

that is, that they must be ri ght as to the true points of Christ's doc trin e: But becau se a man is right on the

doctrine of Ch rist, this alone w ill not en title him to the high est glory hereafter. We are taught th at we

mus t endure faithful unto t he end, and bring forth fruit. Com ing into the fold of Christ is simply the

birth in to t he chur ch; we are then babes, and from a babe w e must grow in charity , grace, an d know ledge,

on toward the full stature of the perfect man in C hrist; and to grow, w e must walk in the Spirit, h avin g

th e fruits of the Spirit, w hich is “love, joy , peace, lon gsuffering, gen tleness, goodn ess, faith , meek ness,


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temperance.” Then we are Christ's, and “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Gal.

v:22-24). This is the s ub je ct t ha t is nearest my he ar t . The Sp ir it of Ch ri st in ma n. I co ul d w rite v olu mes

on this subject , but w hy should I, when God's Holy W ord is so ful l upon this matter . Those who cannot

unde rstan d from t he Word of God r egardin g the bo undless love and Spi rit of Chr ist, w hich Spirit m ust

be in man or he is not C hrist ' s , they could not compreh end i t from my writ in g, however eloquent I might

be. It is a gift which God alone giv es to man, w hen man com plies with certain conditions of heart as laid

down in God's Word. T he object of this pamphlet is to guide some honest hearts into th e tru e doct rine

of Christ , hoping that w hen they have found the straight and narr ow way , that they m ay continu e to

wa lk th er ei n, an d br in g fo rt h mu ch fr ui t to th e gl or y of Go d.

I desire to say a few wor ds concerning the Holy Ghost, which is the Spi rit of C hrist -- the greatest gi ft

of God to man. Many people claim to have th is gift. I am not judging any one, but I will tel l you how we

can tell when we have the Spirit of Ch rist; and when w e have not this feeling and spirit, we have not H is

Spirit. When w e have the Spirit of Christ, our heart s are fil led with the lo ve of God that reaches out and

takes in all m en, even our ene mies. We th en hav e every parti cle of preju dice, m alice, envy and hatred cast

out of our he art ; w e then have no hatred whatever toward an y person, even an enemy. Rem ember the

wo rd s o f Chr is t : “ Fo r if ye love t hem which love you, what rewa rd have ye ? Do not even the Pub l ican s

the same? But I say unto y ou, Love you r enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate

you. * * * Th at y e may be th e chi ldren of your Father which is in heaven.” Nothing short of this is the

Spir i t of Chr ist . By this y ou can know whether y ou have the Holy Ghost or not. This is the test .

The rel ig ion of J esus C h ri st is embodi ed in on e w or d, an d th at w or d is Love ; it is the fi rs t and grea t

commandm ent, for on it hangs the law and the prophets. Ch arity is the great lack of religious professor s.

A s we lo ve an d jud ge othe rs, so we wil l be ju dg ed at the la st da y. The pri nc ip al id ea in rel ig io n is t he

fatherhood of God, and brotherhood of man. C hrist taught us to pray, O ur Father who ar t in heaven.

Our mo tiv e in serving God must be love and not fear. Those who have never had the gift of the Holy

Ghost, cannot understand how a person could actually love and do good to any enemy; but those who

have this gift ca n un derstand some things of the Spi rit of God , because they are spiritu ally discern ed. (1

Cor. i i :14.) He who cannot forgive an enemy and actually love him and do good to him , has not y et been

born again, and has not the Sp irit of Christ.

“Now if any m an have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Rom. vii i :9.) W hen a man has this

spirit -- which i s the Hol y Gh ost -- he l oves all men so much t hat his greatest desire in this world is to do

the greatest amount of good to h is fellowman that is possible. What is th e greatest good I can do to my

fellowmen ? It is to turn t heir footsteps heavenw ard; to preach the gospel and the lov e of Chri st to them.

The spi ri t o f C hr ist is u nse lfi sh. It wi ll ac t in al l m en to day as it did in Pa ul . H e sa id : “Not seek ing mine

own profit , but the profi t of many, that they may be saved.” (1 Cor. x :33.) M y soul enlarges when I

contemplate this subject. My heart goes out in fervent zeal a nd love for the children of m en, in m y great

desires for t heir salv atio n; but God is just, and in His wi sdom w e are here in this world to suffer trials fora season, which w ill wor k out for us a far mo re exceeding and eter nal w eight o f glory , if w e are faithful

wh il e here in thi s w orl d. Go d h as placed ma n o n t he e ar th to be a free a gen t u nt o h im self , and h e receives

good or evil , truth or error , just according to the way his heart is inclined.

In chapter i i , I giv e a few quotations from the B o o k o f M or m o n . I would especi ally call the rea der' s

attenti on to chapter iv, in Part Second of this pam phlet, in w hich I explain how the church drifted in

errors by givi ng hee d to rev elatio ns that w ere given by Josep h Smith after he h ad tran slated the Bo ok o f

Mo r m o n .

I have briefly noticed som e of the evidences of that Book , hoping th at this pamphlet ma y fa ll into th e

hands of some honest hearts who love the Lord in deed and in truth; who are will ing to take upon

themselves repro ach for the name of Christ, and that by reading this work they m ay be led to investigate

the evidence of th e tru th of th at Bo ok -- wh ich ar e m an y -- and become convi nced that it is the Word of

God. Part Second of t his pam phlet is an address to the Latter Day Sai nts to po int out the errors they are


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in. By rea ding the address to them y ou can un derstand th e posit ion of th e Church o f Christ , and how t he

Latter Day S aints have in g reat measure departed from t he f aith o f the church as it was first established.

I will close this chapter by some q uotations from the B o o k o f Mo r m o n , an d a few rem ark s.

“And wh en y e sh all r eceive these th ings (the Boo k o f Mo rm on ), I wo ul d ex ho rt y ou th at y e as k Go d,

the eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are n ot true; and if ye shall ask w ith a sincere

heart , with real intent, having fai th in C hrist, he wi l l man ifest the truth of i t unto y ou, by the pow er of

the Holy Gho st; and by the pow er of the H oly Gho st, y e may know the truth of al l things.” (Moron i

x:1.)

“For it (the B o o k o f Mo r m o n ) sha l l be brou ght out of d arkness un to li ght , acc ordin g to the Word of

God; y ea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth ou t of darkness, and come unto the

kno wledge of the people: and it shall be done by the pow er of God. * * * * It shall come in a day w hen

the pow er of God shall be denied (2 Tim. ii i :5), and churches become defiled, and shall be lifted up in the

pride of thei r hearts; yea, even in a day wh en leaders of chur ches, and teachers, in the pride of th eir hea rts,

even to the en vy ing o f them wh o belong to their churches; yea, it shall come in a day wh en there shall

be hea rd of fires, an d tem pests, an d va pors of smo ke in foreign lan ds; an d there shall also be heard of war s

and rum ors of w ars, an d eart hquak es in div ers p laces.” ( Book o f Mo rm on , chap. iv, par. 2,3.)

Dear reader, can you not discern the signs of th e tim es? God is b eginnin g to wa rn the inhabitants of

the earth, and these signs shall increase. The fullness of the iniquity of the Gentiles is nigh at hand -- in

the Lord's m ann er o f speak ing. C hrist says in the Boo k o f Mo rm on , that destructions will come upon this

nation if they do not repent. I cry unto y ou w ith al l my soul , repent! repent! and seek unto God that you

ma y know the tru th of these things, whethe r that bo ok is from God or n ot. It is truly t he stra ight and

narrow w ay. Str aight m ean s close, narrow , and difficult to find. C hrist said, “Straight is the gate, and

narrow is the way , wh ich leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” If the truth as i t is in C hrist is

hid away dow n in the depths of th e so-called Mor mon Prob lem, it i s tru ly th e stra ight and difficult way

to find. A nd I wil l say to a ll who desire t o have part in th e first resurrection, having the w hole truth as

it is in Christ, t hat in the depth of these seeming mysteries and stumblingblocks, there y ou w ill find t h e

P e a r l o f G r e at P r i c e . May God help y ou dear reader, to break t he bands of Satan -- give up t his vain wor ld

-- and fulfil l the mission for which the God of heaven created you into the w orld.

Chapter 2

In this chapter I giv e y ou a few quot atio ns from the Book o f Mo rm on .

(In 2 Tim. ii i :1-5, Paul prophesied t hat in the last day s, men shall have a form of godlin ess, but deny

the pow er t her eof. The pow er i s the H oly Ghost, an d it s mani festations. Paul say in 1 Cor. xii :7, that “the

manife station of the Spirit is given to every m an,” that is, every m an wh o has the Holy Spirit. To one if

given the one gift and to one another gift.)

*** “Woe unt o all w ho trem ble, and are ang ry because of the truth of God. For behold, he that is built

upon the ro ck, receiveth it with gl adness: and h e that is built upo n a sandy foundation , trembleth lest he

fall . But behold, there shall be many at that day, w hen I shall proceed to do a 'ma rvelous wor k' am ong

them, t hat I may rem ember my co venan ts which I have made unto the childr en of men , that I may 'set

my han d again t he second time to recover my people,' (Isa. xi:11) w hich are of the house of Israel ; and also

that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that

I would rem ember y our seed; *** many of the Gentiles shall say , A Bible! A Bible!, w e have got a Bibl e,

and the re cannot b e any mo re Bibl e. But t hus said t he Lo rd God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it

shall proceed for th from the Jews, min e ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews fo r the

Bible which they receive from them ? Yea, what d o the Genti les mean? Do the y remember t he tra vels, and

th e labors, and the pains of the Jews, an d their dil igence unto me, in bringin g forth salvation un to the


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Gen til es? O y e Gentiles, have y e rem embered the Jews, mine anci ent coven ant peopl e? Nay; but y e have

cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all

these things upo n y our ow n h eads; for I, the Lord, h ath not f orgotten my people . Thou fool, that shall

say, we hav e got a Bib le, and we n eed no mor e Bibl e. hav e ye obtained a Bible, sav e it w ere by the Jew s?

Know y e not that there are more nations than one? Know y e not that I, the Lo rd y our God, have created

all men, and tha t I remember those who are u pon the is les of the sea (Acts xvii :26) , an d tha t I rul e in the

heavens above and in the earth ben eath; and I bring forth m y wo rd unto the children of men, y ea, even

upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murm ur y e, because that y e shall receive mor e of my wo rd?

Know ye not that the test imony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one

nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And

when the two nations sha l l run togeth er, t he testi mony of the two nations s hall run together also. And

I do this that I may prove unto m any , that I am th e same yesterday , today, and forever; and that I speak

forth my words ac cording t o mine ow n pleasure. And b ecause that I have spoken one word, y e need not

sup pose that I cannot speak a nother ; for m y w ork is not y et finished; ne ither shall it be, until th e end of

man ; neither from that time hencefor th and forever. W herefore, because th at y e have a Bible, ye need n ot

sup pose that it cont ain s all m y w ords; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be wri tten:

* * * For beh old, I speak unto th e Jews, and t hey shall wr ite it; and I shall also speak unto t he N eph ites,

and they shall w rite it ; and I shall also speak unto th e other tribes of the ho use of Israel, w hich I have led

away (the ten lost tribes, supp osed to be bey ond the North Sea -- from the Book of Esdra s), and th ey shall

wr ite it ; and I shal l a lso speak un to al l nat ion s of the e arth , and they sh all wr it e it . An d it sha l l come to

pass that t he Jews shall hav e the words of the Nephites, and the Nephi tes shall have the wor ds of the Jew s:

and the N ephites and the Jew s shall have th e wor ds of t he l ost tribes of Israel: and the lost trib es of Israel

shall have the words of the Nep hites and the Jews. And it s hall come to pass that m y peopl e, who are of

the hous e of Israel, shall be gathered home unt o th e lan ds of t heir po ssessions; and my w ord shall also be

gathered in on e. And I will show u nto the m that fi ght against my w ord and against my p eople, who are

of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted w ith A braham , that I would remem ber his

seed forever. * * * For behold, except ye shall k eep the com mandm ent s of God y e shall all l ikew ise perish.

* * * As many of the Gentiles as will r epent, a re the covenant people of the L ord; and as man y of the Jew s

as will not repent, shall be cast off. * * * W oe un to them that turn aside the just for a t hing o f noug ht, and

revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no w orth (the Book of Mor mon); for the day shall

come that the Lord God w ill speedily visit th e inha bitants of the eart h; and in that day that th ey are fully

ripe in in iquity , they shall perish. B ut behold, if the in habita nts of the earth shall repent of their

wi ck ed nes s and ab om in at io ns the y sh al l no t be de stro y ed , sai th the Lo rd of ho st s.”

From th e twelfth chapter of 2 Nephi:

But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him w ill I visit with the manifestations of m y

spirit, and he shall know and bear record.” (Ether i :12.)“If any man w ill do his w ill , he shall know of the doctrine, w hether it b e of God, or w hether I speak

of my self.” (John vii :17.)

I will say a wo rd here in regard to a passage in Rev. xx ii :18:

“For I testify u nto every man th at heareth th e words of the prophecy of this book (t he Revelation of

Joh n), i f any ma n s ha ll ad d un to th es e th in gs , Go d shall ad d u nt o hi m t h e pl ag ue s that are wr it te n i n th is

book.”

Th is mean s that n o m an shal l add un to th e prop hecy o f Jo hn ' s Reve la ti o n. It can b e p la in ly se en th at

it does not r efer to t he Bible, because the books w hich co mpose our Bi ble were not compil ed when the

Revelat ion w as wr itten. A l l the other book s which com pose the Bible w ere afterward adde d to John' s

Revelation.

Our Bible compr ises only th e book s which the canons decided to co mpile. T here are man y inspir ed

boo ks that hav e never come down to us. There are over fifteen book s spoken o f in th e Bible that are not


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in the Bible. In the fol low ing passages are some of the book s spoken of that are no t in the Bible. 2Ch ron .

ix :29. 1Ch ron. xxix :29. N um. xxi:14. 1Kin gs xi :41. 2Chron. x i i i:22. 2Chron . x i i :15. 2C hron. xx:34.

2Chron. xxvi:22. Gen. v:1. Ex. xxiv:7. 1Sam. x:25. 1Kings iv:32. 2Chron. xii :15. In 1Cor. v:9, a third

epistle to the Cor inthians is m ent ioned ; we have only tw o. In C ol. iv :16, th e epistle from Laodicea. In

Jud e ii i, a secon d ep is tl e of Jude i s spoken of; we have bu t one. I have a copy of th e boo k of Jas he r; It is

spoken of in 2 Sam. I:18 and Joshu a x:13.

I will gi ve a few qu ota tion s from the Book o f Mo rm on in regard to some p oints of doctrine over w hich

the religious world is divided:

“Wh erefore, I would exhort y ou, th at deny not th e pow er of God; for he w ork eth by pow er,

according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorro w, and forever. And again I

exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many ; and they come from the

same God. An d there are different w ays that these gifts are adminstered; but it is the same God w ho

wo rk et h a l l in al l ; a nd th ey a re given b y t he m anifesta t ion of the S pir it o f Go d un to men , to p rofi t t hem .

For behold, to one is given by the Spir it of God, that h e may teach th e word of wi sdom; and t o anoth er,

that he may teach the w ord of kn owledge b y the same Spiri t; and to another, exceeding great fait h; and

to another, t he gifts of healing by the sam e Spirit. * * * (and so on, the different gi fts whi ch are

enumer ated by Pa ul in 1Cor. xii .) * * * * and all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are s piritual,

never will be done away, even so long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the

child ren of m en. Wh erefore, there must be fai th; and if there m ust be faith , there m ust be also be hope;

an d if there must be h ope, ther e must also be charity ; an d ex cept y e have ch ari ty , ye can in no w ise be

saved in the kingdom of God.” Moroni x :1.

“And he (Christ) said unto them, On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations

amo ng you. V erily I say unto y ou, that w hoso repenteth of his sins through you r words, and desireth to

be baptized in my n ame, on t his wise shall ye baptiz e them: Be hold, ye shall go dow n and stand in the

water, a nd in my nam e sha l l ye bapt ize th em. And now beh old, the se ar e the wo rd s w hic h y ou sha ll sa y,

call ing them by n ame, sayin g: Ha vin g autho rity giv en me of Jesus Chris t, I baptiz e you in the n ame of

the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shal l ye imm erse them in the water,

and come forth again ou t of the water.” (Nephi v:8.)

“Th e manner whi ch the disciples, who w ere called the elders of the church, ordained priests and

teachers. After t hey ha d pray ed unt o the Fath er in the nam e of C hrist, they laid th eir hands upon t hem,

and said, In the name of Jesus Chr ist I ordain y ou to be a priest; (or if he be a teacher), I ordain yo u to be

a teacher, to preach repentance and remission o f sins through Je sus Chr ist, by the endurance of faith on

his name to the end. Am en. And after this manner did they or dain priests and teachers, accordi ng to t he

gifts and cal l ings of God unt o men ; and they or dained them by the pow er of the Holy Ghost w hich w as

in them. – (Chapter 3, Book of Moroni.)

“Th e manner of th eir elders and priests administering the flesh and blo od of Chr ist un to t he chur ch. And th ey adm ini st ere d i t ac co rdi ng t o the com man dmen ts of C hr i st ; w herefor e w e kn ow the m anner to

be true; and the elder or pr iest did m inister it. A nd th ey did kn eel down wit h th e churc h, and pray to the

Father in the name of Christ, saying, O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy So n Jesus

Chr ist, to bless and sanctify th is bread to the so uls of all those wh o partake of it, that they m ay eat in

rememb rance of t he body of t hy Son, an d witnes s unto th ee, O God, the Et ernal Fat her, tha t they are

wi ll ing to t ake u pon t hem the na me of th y So n, a nd al wa ys rem em be r h im, an d k eep his c omm an dm ent s

w hich he hat h giv en th em , th at th ey m ay alwa y s have hi s Sp ir it to be w ith them . Am en . -- (Ch ap te r 4,

Book of Moroni .)

“Th e mann er o f adm inisteri ng t he w ine. Behold, they took the cup, and said, O God, th e Eternal

Father , we ask thee, in the n ame of thy Son Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to th e souls of all

those who drink of i t , that they may do i t in remembrance of the blood of thy Son w hich was shed for

them , that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do alway s remember him,


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that they m ay have his Spirit to be with th em. A men. -- (Chapter 5, Book of Moroni.)

“And no w I speak concernin g bapti sm. Beh old, el ders, priests and teach ers were baptized; an d they

were not b aptized, sa ve t hey brough t f orth f rui t m eet that t hey w er e worthy o f i t ; n eith er did they re cei ve

any unt o baptism, save th ey cam e fort h wit h a brok en heart and a contr ite spirit , and wi tne ssed unt o the

church th at th ey trul y repented of all t heir sins: And none wer e received un to baptism, save they took

upon them the nam e of C hrist, havi ng a deter mination to serve him to the end. A nd after they had been

received unto baptism, a nd wer e wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they w ere

num bered among t he people of the Church of Ch rist, an d their names wer e taken, t hat they might be

rememb ered and nourished by the good wo rd o f God, to k eep them in th e right w ay, to k eep them

continual ly watchful unto prayer, re ly ing alone upon the merits of Christ , who w as the author and the

finisher of their faith. And the church did meet together oft, to fast and pray, and to speak one with

another concer ning the w elfare of th eir souls: and they did m eet together oft to partake o f bread and w ine,

in remembran ce of the Lord Jesus; and they w ere strict to observe that there should be no i niquity a mon g

them; and whos o was found to commit in iquit y , and three w itnesses of the ch urch did condem n them

before the elders; and i f they r epente d not, a nd confessed not, their names we re blotted out, and the y were

not nu mbered among the people of Christ; b ut as oft as they repented, and sought forgiveness, with real

intent, they w ere forgiv en. And t heir meetings wer e cond ucted by the chu rch, after the ma nner of the

w ork ings of th e Sp ir i t, a nd by the po w er of the H oly Gho st ; fo r as the p ow er o f th e H oly Gho st l ed them

whether to preach o r exhort, or to pray, or to sup plic ate, or to sing , ev en so it w as done . -- (Ch apte r 6,

Book of Mo roni .)

Concern ing a l iteral gathering of the Israel of G od upon t he eart h in r igh teo usn ess and h oliness, see

the passages of scriptu re w hich are given below.

The Boo k o f Mo rmon con tains prop hesies concern ing the gatheri ng of Israel, which are much m ore full

and explan atory . I will no t go into deta il on the teach ings in the Book o f Mo rm on in regard to this matter,

trusting that a ll w ho have become i nterested in that Book will re ad it. Jer. xxxi: 8-14. Israel shall be

gathered, “and they shal l no t sorrow any m ore a t all .” Jer. xxxii :37-41. Israel shall be gathered, “and I will

give them one heart, an d one w ay, that they may fear me forever.” Isa, l iv:7, whole chapter, Isa. xi:11-16,

Ezek. xx xvii:15-28, Ezek. xx xiv:13-31.

Regar din g th e tw o foregoing passages, rem ember that thi s prop hesy was given about 400 y ears after

Kin g David w as dead. Ezek. xi:17 -21. Rev. v :9-10. “And they sang a new song, saying, T hou art wor th y,

etc., * * * * “and hast made us unt o ou r God king s and priests; an d w e shall reign on the ear th.” At t he

end of the mille ni al r eign on thi s earth, th en com es the end of t he w orld and the second and last

resurrectio n. All o f the dead shall th en rise. Onl y the righteous shal l rise at t he first resurre ctio n. (Rev.

xx:4-8, and whole cha pter.) At the end of the world is the final judgem ent, after w hich there shall be a new

earth and a new heaven . Then a great voice o ut of heaven cried “Beho ld, the tab ern acle of God is wi th

men, an d he will dwe ll with t hem, an d they shall be his people, and God himself shall be wit h the m, andbe their God.” (Rev. xxi:1-7.)

In regard to the gathering of a part of the house of Israel upon this land of Amer ica, w hic h is the land

God ga ve to the seed of Joseph ( son of J acob ); and the gather ing of a par t of th e house of Isr ael u pon the

lan d of Palestine, w hich is the lan d God gave to the Jew s, I give y ou som e of the w ords of Jesus C hrist

him self, which he s pake to th e peopl e whil e he was upon this land, after finishing his m ission at Jerusalem .

( Book o f Mo rm on , Nephi ix:9-12 and x:1.)

“And it shall come to pass that I will establish my p eople, O house of Israel. And behold, th is people

wi ll I esta bl is h in thi s lan d, u nt o the ful f ill ing of the cov enant which I ma de wi th your fat her Jacob ; and

it shall be a new Jerusalem. An d the p ow ers of heaven shall be i n the mi dst of this people; y ea, even I will

be in the midst of you . Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying, A pro phet shall the Lord your G od

rai se up unto y ou of you r brethren, l ike unto me, him shall y e hear in all things whatsoever he shall say

unto yo u. A nd it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear th at prophet, shall be cut off from


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amon g the people. Verily , I say unto y ou, y ea; and all the prophets from Sam uel , an d those that follow

after, as man y as have spoken, have testified of me. And behold, y e are t he children of the prop hets; and

y e are of the house of Israel; and ye ar e of the covenant which the Fa ther made wit h your fathers, sayin g

unto Ab raham, An d in thy seed, shall all the kind reds of the earth be blessed; the Father having raised me

up unto you first, and sent me to bless you , in turning aw ay every one of you from his iniquities; and this

because ye are the children of the covenant. And after th at y e were blessed then fulf il leth th e Father t he

cov enan t which he made with A braham, sayin g, in thy seed shall all the kindr eds of the earth be blessed,

unto th e pouring ou tof the H oly Ghost, th rough m e up on the Gentiles, w hich b lessing upo n the G ent iles,

shall makethem mighty above all , unto the scattering o f my people, O house o f Israel: and they s hall be

a scourge u nto the people of this land. N everth eless, when they shall have receiv ed the fulln ess of m y

gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me, I will return their iniquities upon their own

heads, saith the Father . And I will rem ember the c ovenant whi ch I hav e made with my people, and I have

coven anted w ith t hem, that I would gat her th em together in m ine ow n due tim e; that I would give unto

them a gain the land of t heir fathers, for their inheritan ce, which is the land o f Jerusalem, wh ich is the

promis ed land unt o them f orever, saith the Father.

And it sh al l c om e to p as s t ha t t he ti me co me th , whe n th e ful ln ess of my gop el sha ll be pr eache d u nto

them, a nd they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Chris t, the son of God, and shall pray unto th e Father

in my n ame . Th en shal l the ir wa tchmen l ift up their voice; and wit h the voice together shall they sing;

for they shall see eye to eye. Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them

Jeru sa lem for the land o f their i nher itance. Th en sh all they br ea k for th in to jo y -- s ing togethe r ye wa st e

places of Jerusalem: * * * * * * A nd then shall be brought to pass that which is written, A wak e, awak e

again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for

henceforth t here shall no more come in to thee the unc ircumcised and the u nclean. Shake thyself from the

dust; arise, sit do w n, O Jeru salem; loose thy self from t he ban ds of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion .

For thu s saith the Lord, Y e have sold y ourselves for nou ght; an d ye shall be redeemed w ithout m oney .

Ve ri ly , v eri ly , I say u nto you, t hat m y peo ple sh all k now my name: yea , in that day they shal l k now th at

I am he that doth speak.

And then sha l l they say, H ow b ea ut iful up on the mountains are the fee t of hi m that bringeth goo d

tidings unt o them, that p ublisheth peace: th at bri ngeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth

salvation; that saith un to Zio n, th y God r eigneth! A nd th en shall a cry go forth, Depart y e, depart y e, go

y e out from thence, touch not that w hich is unclean; go ye out of the m idst of her; be y e clean, that bear

the vessels of the Lor d. For ye shall no t go out with h aste, nor go by f light: for the Lord will go before

you ; and the God of Israel shall be your rear ward. Beh old, my se rvant shall deal prudently, he shall be

exhalted an d extolled, and b e very high. A s man w ere astonished at thee; (his visage was so marred more

than any m an, and h is form mor e than the sons of men), so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall

shu t their mouth s at him, for that w hich had been told them shall they see; and that which the y had notheard shall they consider. Veril y , verily , I say unto yo u, all th ese things shall surel y come, even as the

Father hath comman ded m e. Th en shall this covenant w hich the Father hath covenanted w ith h is people,

be fulfil led; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with m y people, and it shall be the land of their

inh eri tan ce. And veri ly , I say un to yo u, I give unto y ou a sign, that y e may know the tim e when these

things shall be about to take place, that I shall g athe r in from the ir long dispersion , my peo ple, O house

of Israel, and shall establish again among them m y Zion . And b eho ld, th is is the th ing which I will gi ve

unto yo u for a sign, for verily I say unt o y ou, that w hen t hese things wh ich I declar e unt o y ou, and w hich

I shall declare unto y ou hereafter of my self, and by the po w er of the H oly Ghost, w hich shall be given

unto y ou of the Father, shal l be made know n unto th e Genti les, that they may know concerning this

peopl e who ar e a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my p eople who shall be scatter ed

by them (the Indians); * * * w hen t hese things come t o pass, tha t thy seed shall begin to know these

things, i t shal l be a sign u nto them , that they may know th at the work of the Father hath already


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com menced u nto the fu lfil l ing of the cov ena nt w hich he hath m ade unt o the peop le w ho are the house

of Israel. And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that k ings shall shut their mouths; for that

w hich ha d n ot be en to ld them shal l th ey see; a nd that wh ich they had not hea rd shal l they consid er. Fo r

in that day , for m y sake shal l the Father work a work, which shal l be a great and marvelous work among

them; and there shall be amon g th em those wh o w ill not believe it, althoug h a man shall declare it into

them. But behold, th e life of my servant shall be in m y hand; therefore th ey shall not hur t him , altho ugh

he shall be marred because of them. Y et I will heal him, for I will shew unto th em that my wisdom is

greater than the cunning of t he devil . Therefor e it shall come to pass, that w hosoever will no t believe in

my wo rds, wh o am Jesus C hrist, w hom the Father shall cau se him to bring forth unto the Genti les, and

shall give unto him po wer that he shall b rin g them forth unto th e Gent iles, (it shall be don e even as Moses

said,) they shall be cu t off from among m y peopl e who are of the covena nt; an d my people w ho ar e a

remn ant of Jacob, shall b e amo ng t he Gentil es, yea, in th e midst of them, as a l ion among the beasts of

the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth down and

teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their

enem ies shall be cut off. Yea, wo be unt o the G entiles, except they repent, for it shall come to p ass in that

day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy ho rses out of t he midst o f thee, and I w ill destroy thy cha riots,

and I will cut off the citi es of thy l and, and th row d own all thy s trong holds; and I will cut of f witchcra fts

out of thy lan d, and thou shalt have no more sooth-sayers: thy graven images I will also cu t off, an d thy

standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shall no more w orship the wor ks of thy ha nds; and I

wi ll pl uc k up th y gr ov es ou t of the mi ds t of the e; so w il l I destr oy th y cit ies. A nd it sh all com e to pass

that all ly ings, and deceiv ings, and en vy ings, and strifes, and pri estcrafts and whore doms, shall be done

away . For it shall come to pass, saith the Fa ther, that at that day, w hosoever will not repent and come

unto m y beloved So n, them w ill I cut off from amon g my people, O house of Israel; and I will exe cute

ve ng ea nc e an d fu ry u po n th em , even as up on th e he at he n, su ch as th ey h av e no t he ar d.

“But if they w ill repent, and heark en u nto m y w ords, and har den not their hearts, I w ill estab lish m y

chur ch among them, and they shall com e in unto the covenant, and be num bere d amon g this the remnant

of Jacob, unto whom I have given thi s land for their in heritance, and they shall assist my people, the

remn ant of Jacob; and also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they m ay bu ild a city , which

shall be call ed the New Je rus alem; and th en sh all t hey as sist my peo ple that t hey m ay be gathe red in, who

are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jeru salem . And then shal l the power of

heaven come down among them ; and I also will be in the m idst, and then shall the w ork of the Father

commen ce, at that day even w hen this Go spel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily,

I say un to y ou, at that day shall the w ork of the Father co mm ence among all the dispersed of my peopl e;

y ea, even th e tribes wh ich h ave been lost, w hich the Fa ther hath l ed away out of Jeru salem. Ye a, the work

shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, w ith t he Father, to prepare the way w hereb y they

ma y come unto m e, that they may call on the Fat her in my name; yea, and then shal l the work commence, with the Father, among al l the nations, in preparing the way w hereby his people may be

gathered hom e to the land of their inher itance. And they sha ll go out from all nation s; and th ey shall n ot

go out in h aste, nor go by flight; for I w ill go before them, s aith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

And in the mout h of t he three wi tnesses shall t hese things be establ ished; and th e test imo ny of thr ee,

and this work, in the w hich shal l be shown forth the power of God, and also His word, of which the

Father , and the Son, and the Ho ly G hos t bearet h record; and all this shall stand as a testimony against the

wo r ld at t he l ast da y. A nd i f i t so be t hat th ey repent a nd come unt o th e Fath er in t he nam e of Jesus , they

shall be received into the kingdom of God. And n ow, if I h ave no auth ority f or these things, judge ye, for

y e shall k now tha t I hav e auth ority w hen y e shall see me, and we sh all stand before God at th e last day.

A men .” (Et her ii ).

H earken, O y e Gentiles, and h ear t he words, of Jesus Chr ist, t he Son of the living God, which he hath

comman ded me th at I sho uld speak conc ernin g you , for be hold, he com man deth me that I sho uld w rite,


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saying: T urn, a ll y e Genti les, from you r w ick ed w ays, and repent of yo ur evi l doings, of your l y ings and

deceivings, and of your w horedo ms, and of your secret abomina tions , and your idolat ries, and of your

mur der s, and of your pri estcr afts, and you r en vyi ngs, a nd your strifes, and from all your w ickedness and

abo min ati ons, and come unto me, and be baptized in my n ame, that y e may receiv e a remission of you r

sins, and be fi l led with the Holy Ghost, that y e may be n umbered w ith my people, w ho are of the house

of Israel.” (Nephi chap. xiv.)

Part Second

Chapter 3

To Bel iev er s In Th e Book Of M or mo n.

Dear Brethren:

The s pi r it of Go d mov es up on me to sen d for th th is epistl e unt o you . I t i s wisdo m in Go d th at t hese facts

w hich I gi ve y o u ha ve not bee n ma de ge ne ra ll y known long ago. But now the Sp ir it of Go d has ma de it

manifest to me to make them know n. The t im e is at hand to prepare for the day wh en the gospel w i l l go

to the ho use of Israel! It has been ma de know n t o me that whe n the gosple will go to t he remnan t of Jacob

(th e Lamanites), it must go to them as Christ h as given it to us, the fullness of w hich is in the Boo k o f

M o rm o n and th e New T e st a m en t . I know that th e Latter Day Saints are teaching some errors in doctrine,

and I hop e to con vince the honest in h eart among th em of this fact. The comm ands of God are strict, and

his wor d is y ea, y ea, and nay , nay . It is a seri ous thing for man to add doctrines to the doct rine w hich

Christ has taught in his word. Christ has taught that it is necessary to be abiding in his doctrine, and

w hosoev er teac hes m or e or less th an the do ct ri ne w hi ch he has ta ug ht in hi s w or d, is no t i n H im. H e has

tau ght but one doctrine. I do not mean to ju dge or condemn th e Latter Da y Sa ints. God is th e jud ge. But

I will speak the truth as the Spirit of God moves upon m e to speak it, and I hope and pray that many will

heed the tru th -- that they w ill la y asi de all error, and come in upon th e doctrine of Christ, as it is taught

in the wr itten word. I believe th at the L atter Day Saints wh o are oppo sed to poly gamy have done a great

work an d gr ea t go od . I be li eve t hey have don e a great w ork in carr y ing for th th e Book o f Mo rm on . We

canno t alway s understand God's ways of dealing wi th his people. God suffers men to be led into error

because of their blin dness of heart. H e work s with m en only according to their faith and obedi ence; but

now the Spir it of God is moving upon the Elders of the Church of Ch rist to go forth unt o all the believers

in the Boo k o f Mo rmon , and u nto all other people, cry ing r epent ance, and call in g on t hem t o heed to th e

teachings of Christ . I do not mean to persecute Joseph his son, and b elieve him to be a good man. Joseph ,

l ike many of those of old wh om G od had chosen, fe ll into error; and why should we want to fol low any

man into error ? Should we put ou r trust in an arm of flesh? Nay , verily!

There nev er l iv ed but one pe rf ect ma n, and that was Ch ris t ; a nd h e is our only law giver. Ther efore

we sh ou ld take great heed and com pare wi th the “wr i t ten word” al l doc trines, and l aws and revel ati ons

coming throu gh any man, for any man can fal l into error and lead every on e into error who t rusts in m an.

God chooses the w eak things of this w orld, so th at m an sh ould not pu t th eir trust in m an a nd mak e flesh

their arm, but put their trust in God only . It is just, in G od's w isdom, t hat every on e who i s not l iving

sufficiently s piritual to discern between t ruth a nd error, shou ld be led into error. God called Saul a nd


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man y others of old who afterward fell into error and lost the Spirit, knowi ng that th ey w ould fall , so as

to let every one be led into error by them w ho had such little faith in God as to make a man t heir God,

and trust in “an arm of flesh,” instead of putting their wh ole faith and trust in God only, and heeding H im

only . God suffered them to be led into error because of their tra ngressions and lack of fai th in H im. C hrist

has spoken, an d the voice of God has declared from the heavens: “Hear y e him !” His teachin gs in the B o o k

o f Mo r m o n and th e N ew T e s ta m e n t are the same.

But the Latter Da y Saints have anothe r book of doctrine -- the “Do c t r i n e a n d C o v e n a n t s” -- in w hich

are the doctrines that Christ never taught to the “twelv e” at Jerusalem, nor to the “twelve” upon this

conti nent. Th e Latter Day Saint s believe these new doc trines, which do n ot agree with th e teachings of

Chr ist. Why do t hey bel iev e them ? Beca use they a re putt ing too m uch t rust in a man! T his has been the

mi stake of God' s people in all ages past. Read the scri ptur es and o bserve how very soon the great majority

of God's people alway s fell into error by t rusting in man. Men w ho w ere hu mble w hen G od chose them ,

but af terward f ell int o erro r. If men do n ot l ive near enough to God to discern error w hen it comes -- and

it m ay ap pear as an angel of l ight -- (for i nstance, po ly gamy ) -- God suffers th em to be led into e rror

because of their tr angressions. See how m any of the prophets whom God call ed afterward fell int o erro r.

Saul, David, Solomon, and m any p rophets in Israel.

Now , I do not judge, nor say whe ther Saul , D avid, Solomon, or Joseph will be saved or l ost. T hese

are all in t he hands of a just God. Perhaps the errors of David w ere more grievous that th ose of Joseph .

N o w I hope you un derstand me. I am not persecutin g Brother Joseph , and never did persecute him.

Because he erred is no rea son w hy I should not love h im. God called him to tr anslate his sacred wo rd by

the pow er an d gift of God; but he was not c alled to set u p and estab lish t he church any m ore than any

of us Elders were. T his will I prove conclusively later on, fr om evidence which y ou are bound to accept.

The “Ch oi ce See r, ” sp oke n of i n the Book o f Mo rm on is not Brother Joseph . I will giv e you h ere a brief

out line concerning t his “Choice Seer” who is ye t to come forth. Th e man w ho is n ot lear ned (in 2Nephi

xi; 18), refers to Br other Joseph , but the “Choice Seer” (in 2Nephi i i) is anoth er man. H e is to come fro m

the Lam anit es. He is to come from the fru it of the loins of Jo seph (of Egypt), t hat seed being th e “branch

w hich w as to be b r ok en off” a t Je rusa lem , to w hom this lan d w as consecrated for thei r inh er itan ce forever

-- being Leh i and his seed; Lehi's seed being little Joseph, w ho r eceived the blessing from h is fathe r Lehi,

that his seed should not be ut terly destroy ed; for out of his seed which should n ot all be destro y ed (the

Indians) should come to t his “Choic e Seer.” This is the interpretation of th is chapter. This “Choice Seer”

wi ll be of tha t seed. H is nam e w il l be J oseph, a nd hi s fa ther ' s nam e Joseph. H e is to tra ns late sealed

records yet to come forth, (spoken o f in 2N eph i xi:18). “And n ot to the bringing forth my wor d only ,

sai th the Lord, but to the convincin g them of my w ord.” “How many Indians did Brother Joseph

convince? He neve r preached a sermon to th em in h is l ife to my know ledge. May God help y ou brethren

to understand this chapter, for it can only be understood by t he enlightening power of the Holy Ghost.

It is very p lain to me. I speak in f ull on t his

address_to_all_believers.pdf

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