Mormons. -- Br. S. A. Davis of Pittsburg, Pa. has recently visited the Mormon city, Kirtland Ohio. While there he was [kindly offered] the use of the Mormon Church, the leaders of the sect [-----] it upon themselves to give [information] that he [could] occupy it in preaching [-------s]. He [did so] -- and assures us that the "Latter Day Saints" manifested a spirit of [hospitality?] which many of their bitterest persecutors would do well to imitate. -- Star in the West.


Notes: (forthcoming)

"Northern  Times."

Here is the first No. of a new political paper, issued from the Mormon press, at their head quarters in Kirtland, Geauga County. It is an imperial sheet of respectable appearance; bearing the unexceptionable motto, "Where intelligence dwells, there is freedom."

'A political paper from the Mormon press?' Even so. 'Well, what is its character? -- Who is its author?

As to its character, let us examine. Here is an editorial address of seven brevier columns! nearly two-thirds, or more than columns of which are on one subject. And what does the reader think that subject to be? an exposition of Mormonism? or an account of the wonders of the Mormon prophet, and the persecutions of the sect in Missouri? -- Oh no! not a word on that subject. It is against the United States Bank! 'What! a page of editorial matter in the first No. against that dead lion, the United States Bank!' Even so.

'Why, the editor must be about eighteen months "behind the intelligence of the age." Who is the editor?'

"O. Cowdery, Editor." 'O. Cowdery! Cowdery! Who is O. Cowdery? the name seems familiar.' Let us look into "Mormonism Unvailed," by friend Howe, and see if we can find out who O. Cowdery is.

Here it is, on page 15:

"Oliver Cowdery comes next in the catalogue. He was also a chief scribe to the prophet, while transcribing, after Martin had lost 116 pages of the precious document, by interference of the Devil. An Angel also has shown him the plates, from which the book of Mormon proceeded, as he says. He is a blacksmith by trade, and sustained a fair reputation until his intimacy commenced with the money-diggers. He was one of the many in the world who always find time to study out ways and means to live without work. He accordingly quit the blacksmithing business, and is now the editor of a small monthly publication issued under the direction of the prophet, and principally filled with accounts of the spread of Mormonism, their persecutions, and the fabled visions and commands of Smith."

'Indeed! a paper edited by one who has seen an angel, and "hefted" the golden plates of Joe Smith's bible! Why, that must be an interesting paper. Its editor under the influence of inspiration, must be a writer of great perspicuity. Let us have a specimen.' Very well; and for the sake of brevity, we'll take the shortest paragraph in the address. Here it is:

"Other leading measures of importance have characterized the conduct of our present Administration, to which we do not deem necessary now, neither have we space to recur, but merely say, have always, and still have our warm support."

'Beautiful!'

But seriously: this paper, issued at Kirtland, where there is nothing of consequence to support a paper, and purporting to enlist warmly the support of Van Buren for the Presidency, must be a humbug; unless Van Buren, having secured the subjects of the Pope of Rome, has seen fit to extend his gracious patronage to the followers of the Mormon prophet also. Which we doubt.


Notes: (forthcoming)

A  Rare  Exhibition.

We accepted the invitation of Mr. Chandler to visit last evening his exhibition, just opened at the Cleveland House, of Four Egyptian Mummies, purporting to have been obtained from Thebes, by the celebrated traveller Lobelo. The announcement of such an exhibition is very apt to bring with it the suspicion of imposition' as much probably from its rarity in this "backwoods country," as from the state of advancement which has been attained in the arts of humbugery and deception. But we have no hestitation in saying, that a very slight examination of these relics, will convince any one that there is no deception about them, and that there are in truth before him the bones and sinews, of not the flesh and blood, of four ancient beings of his own race, whose frames have survived the decay of some two thousand years. The relic forms are those of three males and one female -- of mature age, and two of them at least, evidently far advanced in life at the period of their deaths. The first sight of them produces sensations by no means pleasant -- but those feelings soon give way to others of a different character, and the more you contemplate them the more interested you become. Curiosity immediately becomes excited; a variety of queries rapidly passes through the mind -- which are by no means solved by contemplation. What nation were they of? At what age and where did they live? What were their names? their circumstances? their occupation? Were they slain in battle -- or died they a natural death by the "visitation of God?" What was the leading trait in the character of that old man, whose arms repose in a cross over his breast? Has he not truly what phrenologists call an "intellectual head?" Imagination perhaps is better than science to solve the question. And that female too -- the mother of Agamemnon, for aught that appears -- her aged head still retains the hair that graced it in youth. -- The peculiar features that distibguish the sex in our day, are distinctly preserved in this withered form. This train of thought becomes richer as it advances; and the visiter before he is aware of it, will become absorbed in meditation and awe. There will be no mirth in that hall -- or if there is, it will be forced and unnatural. An involuntary feeling of solemnity and awe will reign in its stead. We speak from experience.

The exhibitor will relate and illustrate incidents which add much to the interest of the exhibition. There was found deposited in the arms of the old man referred to above, a book of ancient form and construction, which, to us, was by far the most interesting part of the exhibition. Its leaves were of bark, in length some 10 or 12 inches, and 3 or 4 in width. The ends are somewhat decayed, but at the centre the leaves are in a state of perfect preservation. It is the writing of no ordinary penman, probably of the old man near whose heart it was deposited at the embalming. The characters are the Egyptian hieroglyphics; but of what it discourses none can tell. That probably, like the name of the author, and of the figure before you, will never be unfolded. There is also another book, more decayed, and much less neatly written -- its character and import involved in like mystery.

There is no concealment about this exhibition: the spectator is allowed to examine as critically as he pleases; and in this respect it is much more satisfactory than any similar exhibition we ever witnessed. We are not apt to speak favorably of a thousand and one performances and exhibitions with which we are annually afflicted -- which have a tendency to excite the worst passions of youth, and lead many into habits of profligacy. But that of which we have been speaking, we consider an exception to their usual character, and tendency. Mr. Chandler will remain at the Cleveland House a few days; and visitors to his interesting exhibition are taxed the moderate fee of 25 cents.

The following lines, ascribed to the poet Campbell, though not new to all our readers, contain some fine points of poetry and sentiment, and are apposite in this connexion:

ADDRESS TO THE MUMMY.
In Belzoni's Exhibition, London.

And thou hast walked about, (how strange a story!)
  In Thebes' streets, three thousand years ago,
When the Memnonium was in all its glory,
  And time had not begun to overthrow
Those temples, palaces, and piles stupendious,
  Of which the very ruins are tremendous!

Speak! for thou long enough has acted Dummy;
  Thou hast a tongue! come, let us hear its tune;
Thou’rt standing on thy legs above ground, Mummy!
  Revisiting the glimpses of the moon,
Not like thin ghosts or disembodied creatures,
  But with thy bones and flesh, and limbs and features.

Tell us! for doubtless thou canst recollect,
  To whom should we assign the Sphinx’s fame?
Was Cheops or Cephrenes the architect
  Of either pyramid that bears his name?
Is Pompey’s pillar really a misnomer?
  Had Thebes a hundred gates, as sung by Homer?

Perhaps thou art a mason, and forbidden
  By oath to tell the secrets of thy trade:
Then say, what secret melody was hidden
  In Memnon’s statue, which at sunrise played?
Perhaps thou wert a Priest. If so my struggles
  Are vain -- for priests ne'er owned their juggles.

Perchance that very hand, now pinioned flat,
  Has hob-a-nobbed with Pharaoh, glass to glass;
Or dropped a half-penny in Homer’s hat
  Or doffed thine own to let Queen Dido pass,
Or held, by Solomon’s own invitation,
  A torch at the great Temple’s dedication.

I need not ask thee if that hand, when armed,
  Has any Roman soldier mauled and knuckled,
For thou wast dead and buried and embalmed,
  Ere Romulus and Remus had been suckled:
Antiquity appears to have begun
  Long after thy primeval race was run...

Since first thy form was in this box extended,
  We have, above-ground, seen some strange mutations:
The Roman empire has begun and ended,
  New worlds have risen; we have lost old nations;
And countless kings have into dust been humbled,
  Whilst not a fragment of they flesh has crumbled.

Didst thou not hear the pother o’er thy head,
  When the great Persian conqueror, Cambyses,
Marched armies o’er thy tomb with thundering tread;
  O’erthrew Osiris, Osus, Apis, Isis,
And shook the Pyramids with fear and wonder,
  When the gigantic Memnon fell asunder?

If the Tomb’s secrets may not be confessed,
  The nature of thy private life unfold.
A heart has throbbed beneath that leathern breast,
  And tears adown that dusky cheek have rolled.
Have children climbed those knees, and kissed that face?
  What was thy name and station, age and race?

Statue of flesh! immortal of the dead!
  Imperishable type of evanescence!
Posthumous man, who quitt’st thy native bed,
  And standest undecayed within our presence,
Thou wilt hear nothing till the judgment morning,
  When the great trump shall thrill thee with its warning!

Why should this worthless tegument endure,
  If its undying guest be lost forever?
Oh let us keep the soul embalmed and pure
  In living virtue, that when both must sever,
Although corruption may our frame consume,
  The immortal spirit in the skies may bloom.

Note 1: Lewis L. Rice's Cleveland Whig was published as a weekly newspaper, beginning on Sept. 10, 1834. The paper carried a number of articles relating to Geauga County and the Kirtland Mormons. Rice was probably the author of the above report. See also the abstracts in the Annals of Cleveland for an overview of Whig articles.

Note 2: The above article is a contemporary a news report on the Chandler mummies and papryus scrolls, later purchased by officials of the Church of the Latter Day Saints at Kirtland. The Cleveland Whig ran a follow-up article on the mummies, on Aug. 5 1835 (some sources say July 31 1835) -- that article was reprinted in the Huron Reflector of Aug. 11th. See also the Mar. 27, 1835 issue of the Painesville Telegraph, for another contemporary report on Mr. Chandler's exhibition of the mummies in northern Ohio, prior to their purchase by the Mormons.

Note 3: For related material on these Chandler mummies and papyrus scrolls, see the following newspaper articles: New York Sun of July 28, 1840 and a reprint in the Quincy Whig of Oct. 17, 1840, Cincinnati Journal of Aug. 25, 1836, the Ohio Watchman of Sept. 24, 1836, St. Louis Weekley Reveille of Sept. 1, 1845 St. Louis Daily Missouri Democrat issues of August 14, 1856, May 13, 1857, and June 12, 1857, St. Louis Christian Advocate of Sept. 10, 1857, and the Lamoni, Iowa, Saints' Herald of Jan. 11, 1899

Note 4: Editor Rice dropped these verses from his reprint of the poem: Thou couldst develop, if that withered tongue
 Might tell us what those sightless orbs have seen,
How the world looked when it was fresh and young,
 And the great Deluge still had left it green;
Or was it then so old, that history’s pages
 Contained no record of its early ages?

Still silent, incommunicative elf!
Art sworn to secrecy? then keep thy vows,
 But prithee tell us something of thyself;
Reveal the secrets of thy prison-house;
 Since in the world of spirits thou hast slumbered,
What hast thou seen — what strange adventures numbered?

Mormonism in Massachusetts:-- Strange as it may seem, those senseless wretches, the Mormons, have numerous and organized societies in the neighborhood of Northampton, Mass.; and in South Hadley they have formed a junction with another precious denomination of fanatics who call themselves "Perfectionists," forsooth. Their religious exercises consist of exhortations, jumpings, dances, and so forth, and they have, says a Northampton paper, found a dozen proselytes among the highly intelligent citizens of old Hampshire. We beg the editor's pardon, but we fancy there must be some mistake about the "intelligence" aforesaid. -- U. S. Gaz.


Notes: (forthcoming)

MORMONISM.

THE MORMONS. -- The old federalists, now leading the Van Buren ranks in this State, have lately acquired an accession of new recruits. -- We have hitherto omitted to inform the public, that the Mormonites, giving up for a time, as it would appear, all idea of reinstating themselves in the "Promised Land," and their "Heavenly Kingdom" in Missouri, has [sic - have] set their affections on things below -- 'of earth, earthy' -- the flesh pots of Egypt; or in plain prose, on the Van Buren spoils. These 'latter day saints,' (as they call themselves,) again congregated at their old settlement at Kirtland, Geauga county, in this state, lately put on the faith of Van Buren democracy (!) and started a Newspaper to convert unbelievers, and strengthen the weak in [the] new creed.

Cowdery, a leading Scribe, Private Secretary and Amanuensis of "Joe Smith" the prophet, in committing to writing the prophet's translations from the long-buried plates of the "Golden Bible," figures as the editor of the new paper. He throws his brethren of the 'Hemisphere' into the shade in discoursing on the merits and consistency of the New York Magician. It is some weeks since the Mormon _______ (we forget its title -- "Democrat" of course) was put into our hands, but whether it be defunct, or alive and kicking, we are unable to say. -- Journal and Sentinel.


Notes: (forthcoming)

An  Angel  Caught.

The Magazine and Advocate says, that while the Mormon Prophet, Jo Smith, was in Ohio engaged in proselyting people to the faith of the "Golden Bible," he sought to give additional solemnity to the baptismal rite, by affirming that on each occasion an angel would appear on the opposide side of the stream, and there remain till the conclusion of the ceremony. The rite was administered in the evening in Grand River, near Painesville, not by the prophet in person, but by his disciples. In agreement with the prediction of the prophet, on each occasion a figure in white was seen on the opposite bank, and the faith of the faithful was thereby greatly increased. Suspicions, as to the incorporal nature of the repeated angel, at length induced a company of young men (unbelievers of course) to examine the quality of the ghost, and having secreted themselves they awaited its arrival. Their expectations were soon realized by its appearance in its customary position and rushing from their lair, they succeeded in forcing it into the stream, and although its efforts to escape were powerful, they succeded in bringing it in triumph to the opposite side of the stream, when who should this supposed inhabitant of the upper world be but the Mormon prophet.   [Winchester Republican.


Note: This Utica Evangelical Magazine and Advocate tall tale was reprinted in condensed form by the Rochester Republican on June, 15, 1835 and by the New-York Mercury on June, 25th. The fanciful tale can be well compared with the stories of Joseph Smith's "walking on the water," as told in the Apr. 19, 1834 issue of the Philadelphia Saturday Courier and Smith's trained dove mimicking the Holy Spirit, as told in the Feb. 14, 1843 issue of the Norwalk Huron Reflector.

THE  MORMONITES.

An eastern paper says:

"The Mormonites of 'Golden Bible' memory, have established a paper in Geauga county, Ohio, and came out for Van Buren, it is said"

Not only so, but these manufactures of golden bibles and public opinion are sending their papers abroad, and soliciting a re-publication of their articles. We have received the "Northern Times" of the 4th inst. with a scurrillous editorial article marked, and the modest request, "Please copy," written upon the margin. It was probably intended for some Van Buren paper, and misdirected to our office.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Reverends Thomas Campbell and Matthew Clapp will preach in the Baptist church on Sunday next, at 10 o'clock, A.M. and in the courthouse at 3 o'clock P.M.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Another Humbug. -- We are credibly informed that the Mormons have purchased of Mr. Chandler, three of the mummies, which he recently exhibited in this village; and that the prophet Joe has ascertained, by examining the papyrus through his spectacles, that they are the bodies of Joseph (the son of Abraham,) and King Abimeleck, and his daughter. With this shallow and contemptible story, Williams has commenced travelling about the country, and will no doubt gull multitudes into a belief of its truth. Surely one half of the world are fools.


Note: Some sources cites this news item as having appeared on July 31, 1835 (perhaps in an "extra"); however, no copy of the Whig for that date has been located. This item is a follow-up to the article published by the Whig on Mar. 25, 1835. See Nels B. Lundwall's "Temples of the Most High, pp. 264-67, for speculation that these mummies were those of the Pharaoh Necho, his wife, sister and daughter. The mummies referred to were the four ancient bodies exhibited by Michael H. Chandler throughout northern Ohio during the first half of 1835. They were purchased by Joseph Smith, Jr. (on or about July 3, 1835) for $2,400. For complementary articles see the LDS Messenger and Advocate of Dec. 1835. See also the Mar. 27, 1835 issue of the Painesville Telegraph, for an earlier report on Mr. Chandler's exhibition of the mummies in northern Ohio, prior to their purchase by Joseph Smith, Jr.

Note 3: From the Cleveland papers an embellishment this story was copied into Major M. M Noah's New York Evening Star, and from there into the columns of the Sept. 4, 1835 issue of the Painesville Telegraph and other newspapers across the country.

Another Humbug. -- We are credibly informed that the Mormons have purchased of Mr. Chandler three of the Mummies which he recently exhibited in this village; and that the prophet Joe has ascertained, by examining the papyrus through his spectacles, that they are the bodies of Joseph, (the son of Abraham) and King Abimelech and his daughter. With this shallow and contemptible story, Williams has commenced traveling about the country, and will no doubt gull multitudes into the belief of its truth. Surely one half of the world are fools. -- Cleveland Whig


Note 1: From the Cleveland papers an embellishment this story was copied into Major M. M Noah's New York Evening Star, and from there into the columns of the Sept. 4, 1835 issue of the Painesville Telegraph.

Note 2: The mummies referred to were the four ancient bodies exhibited by Michael H. Chandler throughout northern Ohio during the first half of 1835. They were purchased by Joseph Smith, Jr. (on or about July 3, 1835) for $2, 400. For complementary articles see the Cleveland Whig, of Mar. 25, 1835 and the LDS Messenger and Advocate of Dec. 1835. See also the Mar. 27, 1835 issue of the Painesville Telegraph, for an earlier report on Mr. Chandler's exhibition of the mummies in northern Ohio, prior to their purchase by Joseph Smith, Jr.

GEAUGA. -- Questions, in this county, have made such inroads into the old party lines, that it is as difficult to tell who are the whig candidates, as it is to divine what will be the result. The question of a removal of the county seat from Chardon to Painesville, is the absorbing subject of contention. The "removalists" have had a convention at Painesville, and nominated Samuel Butler, of Fairport, for Representative -- the remainder of the ticket, we believe, are whigs. The "anti-removalists," in convention at Chardon, have nominated Seabury Ford for Representative, and filled the ticket with whigs also. The Van Burenites, a handful as they are, have taken advantage of these divisions, and brought out their ticket, with Neri Wright as Representative, &c. It is not improbable that they may succeed, against the whig party thus divided into fragments. For Senator, from Ashtabula and Geauga, Ralph Granger is nominated by the whigs, in the columns of the Painesville Telegraph. The Van Buren convention made no nomination, looking to a district convention for the purpose; but the Morminites have "assumed the responsibility," and at their head-quarters at Kirtland, have nominated Benjamin F. Tracy of Painesville. The News Letter very pertinently endorses Mr. Tracy "a true blue democrat," a quality none of his acquaintances can deny him.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Mormons:-- A correspondent of the 'Miami of the Lake' gives a short description of the Temple of Mormon, or, as it is called, the 'Temple of the Lord,' in Kirtland, eleven miles south east of Painesville, Geauga county. It is a stone ediface, 58 feet 8 inches by 78 feet 8 inches, two full stories high, with dormer windows in the roof, which give it a singular appearance. For the size and peculiar construction of the 'Temple,' and the addition of the extra eight inches each way, the leaders of this infatuated people give no other reason, but, as they tell their following, that the Lord gave his direction. The house is rather an expensive one, the writer adds, built by the labor of the poor people, who in their delusion, follow Joe Smith and Rigdon. -- Ohio State Journal.


Note: For a similar, later article from the Perrysburg Miami of the Lake, see its reprint in the Daily National Intelligencer of July 4, 1837.

Sidney Rigdon, notorious as one of Mormon leaders, was indicted for solemnizing marriages without license, and tried at the present term of the Court of Common Pleas of this county. The performance of the marriage ceremony by Rigdon having been proven on the part of the prosecution, Rigdon produced a license of the Court, which had been granted to him several years ago as a minister of the gospel of that sect usually called Campbellites, but who call themselves disciples, to continue so long as he remained a minister in regular standing in that denomination. The prosecution then undertook to prove by parol [sic] that he had abandoned that church, and joined the Mormons, and held principles inconsistent with his former faith. It appeared that the society of disciples kept written minutes of their proceedings, and no church record of his dismissal being offered, the Court rejected the testimony, and a nolle prosequi was entered.   Chardon Spectator


Notes: (forthcoming)

MATTHIAS. -- A person corresponding in his dress, long beard, &c. with the description given of "Matthias the prophet," passed through our town on Saturday last. He is on foot, and appears to travel very leisurely through the country, having been seen in Austintown, ten or twelve miles south of this, on the Monday preceding his arrival here. He made no stop in this place, but inquired the way to Geauga county, where, perhaps, he has gone to join the "democratic" community of Mormons at Kirtland. --

Western Reserve Chronicle.                  

Notes: (forthcoming)

The notorious Matthias, the impostor who lately figured so conspicuously in the city of New York, has turned Mormon; and, as we learn from the Chardon Spectator, is now at Kirtland in that county, in high favor with the prophet Joe Smith.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Sidney Rigdon, notorious as one of Mormon leaders, was indicted for solemnizing marriages without license, and tried at the present term of the Court of Common Pleas of this county. The performance of the marriage ceremony by Rigdon having been proven on the part of the prosecution, Rigdon produced a license of the Court, which had been granted to him several years ago as a minister of the gospel of that sect commonly called Campbellites, but who call themselves Disciples, to continue so long as he remained a minister in regular standing in that denomination. The prosecution then undertook to prove by parol [sic] that he had abandoned that church, and joined the Mormons, and held principles inconsistent with his former faith. It appeared that the society of disciples kept written minutes of their proceedings, and no church record of his dismissal being offered, the Court rejected the testimony, and a nolle prosequi was entered. --  Chardon Spectator

---

MATHIAS. -- The eastern papers state this impostor has taken up his abode among the Mormons on the borders of the Lake, in this state -- and that both himself and his doctrines are received with great favor by them.


Note: Robert Matthews (1788-1841), alias Robert Matthias, (a.k.a. "Joshua the Jewish minister") was a religious fraud who went about the country claiming to be God in the body of the biblical Apostle Matthias. He traveled through Ohio during 1835, stopping at Kirtland to visit with Joseph Smith, Jr. on Nov. 9th of that year. Untrue rumors circulated in the popular press, saying that Matthias was joining the Mormon religion. The Nov. 28, 1835 issue of the New York Herald corrected this falsehood, but then mischievously added: "If they have pretty women among them no doubt he will [join]."

The Editor of the Northern Times has politely fowarded me a copy of the proceedings of our Geauga county friends, at their meeting for the appointment of delegates to the State Convention. The committee consisting of W. S. Tracy, Geo. E. White, E. Dixon, A. Rich, & W. Dickenson, appointed to report Resolutions, expressive of the sense of the meeting, among others, presented the following which was unanimously adopted. --

"Resolved, That we entertain a high opinion of the good sense, natural abilities and sound democratic principles of ELI BALDWIN, and think, that if nominated by the State Convention, and elected, he will not select his and our enemies for his patronage."

The delegation to Columbus consists of seven, instead of six as stated in the News-Letter, upon the authority of the Columbus papers, -- Simon Wright's name was omitted in our note of the proceedings. We shall expect to meet Geauga, fully manned, at Columbus.


Note: The "Editor of the Kirtland Northern Times" was Oliver H. P. Cowdery, Esq., the "Second Elder" in the Mormon Church.

                                                  Painesville, March 16, 1836.

I have been to Kirtland, and witnessed the operations of that most deluded set of visionaries that our land, or any other enlightened, has ever witnessed. You would naturally suppose that the Mormons were the most ignorant, degraded, and stupid set of beings on the earth. This is true of some of them; but there are not wanting men of sagacity and information and some men of strong powers of mind. From what I saw I should suppose that they were generally real believers in the doctrines of their Prophet. They are quite polite and affable to strangers, and ready to unfold the whole system, so far as they know it, until you press them with an argument, and then their wrath rises, or they assume an air of awful superiority, and dogmatically pronounce you blind and ignorant, and in the way to destruction; whereas, "they know the certainty of all these things [whereof] they affirm." They are now studying Hebrew with great zeal, under the instruction of Mr. Seixas. They profess to believe the common bible firmly, but they "have received additional revelations," which contain "the fulness of the Gospel." They all have revelations in proportion to their faith.

I was introduced to the Immortal Prophet, Joe Smith, and his renowned coadjutor, Sidney Rigdon, and a host of inferior satellites, and could scarcely suppress a laugh during the formality of making acquaintance and shaking hands with the exalted dignitaries, high-priests, etc., of Mormonism. I have no doubt that Joe Smith's character is an equal compound of the impostor and fanatic, and that Rigdon has but a small spice of the latter, with an extraordinary portion of the former; while the mass of the disciples are men of perverted intellect and disordered piety, with no sound principles of religion, with minds unbalanced and unfurnished, but active and devout, inclined to the mystical and dreary, and ready to believe any extraordinary announcement as a revelation from God.

None of them appeared to be within reach of argument on the subject of religion. They profess to have the gift of tongues; and one individual, after becoming very much excited in conversation, offered to give me a specimen; but I shuddered at the proposal to exhibit such blasphemy and mockery of a miraculous gift, and he desisted.

The Mormons have increased with astonishing rapidity. They say, and they are probably not far from the truth, that their numbers in the United States amount to forty-five thousand.

Their temple, at Kirtland, is a huge, mis-shapen edifice, that comes nearer to the Gothic than any other style of architecture. The pattern, like every thing else connected with Mormonism, was given by direct revelation from Heaven, and given to three individuals separately, so that there could be no doubt on the subject." They assure you, with the utmost confidence, that they shall soon be able to raise the dead, to heal the sick, the deaf, the dumb, and the blind, &c. Indeed, more than one assured me, that they had, themselves, by the laying on of their hands, restored the sick to health. The difficulty with their miracles, and the distinction between all false and true miracles, is, that the former are done in private, with few, if any witnesses, while the latter are wrought in open day, before the whole world, friends and foes. The delusion, however, is one, which, I am inclined to think, is likely to spread rapidly, for a season, especially where there is ignorance, combined with a love of the marvellous, and a mystical, distempered, and extravagant tone of piety.
                                          Yours, &c. ____ ____.


Note: The original publication of the above article has not yet been located. The text is from a reprint in the May 20, 1836 issue of the Painesville Telegraph, which says the letter was dated "March 18, 1836." J. H. Kennedy, quoting directly from the Atlas on page 135 of his Early Days of Mormonism, dates letter and issue to "March 16, 1836." Also, a correspondent of the April, 1836 issue of the LDS Messenger and Advocate confirms the March 16th date.

TO THE PUBLIC. -- As many misrepresentations have prejudiced the public against the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, they are hereby informed, that their principles are purely Scriptural. They believe in the pure doctrine, and ordinances of the Gospel, and disallow anything that has the least tendancy to injure the peace of good society; they will honor the laws and support the constitution of this government, and they claim an equal privilege with others, to promulgate their principles without interruption; and they call upon the most intelligent, to show if these things are not so; and they kindly invite all to hear, and correctly inform themselves, before they judge.

==> There will be preaching of this order at the Court House, on Sabbath the 8th inst., at 4 o'clock P.M.

Notes: (forthcoming)

MORMONISM.

The following is extracted from a letter dated Painesville, March 16, 1836, and published in the Ohio Atlas.

I have been to Kirtland and witnessed ... (view original article from Elyria paper)


Notes: (forthcoming)

The Mormons. -- A gentleman living in Loraine county, Ohio, writes that a more extraordinary sect has not sprung up since the days of Mahomet. In the town of Kirtland they have erected a stone temple at the expense of $40,000... The Mormons are very eager to acquire an education. -- Men, women and children are studying Hebrew. -- Some of the men in the middle age peruse their Hebrew till 12 o'clock at night, and attend nothing else. They pretend to have remarkable revelations, work miracles, heal the sick, &c. &c.


Notes: (forthcoming)

From the Far West.

ANOTHER  MORMON  INVASION.

Independence, Mo., May 3d, 1836.     

Mr. Editor: -- Letters from Kirtland, O., have been received here by the last mail, from persons of undoubted veracity, giving information that the Mormons in that place and its vicinity, to the number of 1,500 or 2,000, are arming and coming on to the upper Missouri. The letters state that they will not come in a body, but in small detached parties. This information is confirmed by our merchants returning, and other travellers coming from the East, who say that every boat ascending the River contains more or less of them; some 20, and one as high as 105. Those who did not show guns openly, had boxes of the size usually made to contain guns. Add to this, that those who are coming, and those who are in adjoining counties, speak uniformily of another attempt to take Zion, and no doubt can remain but that the peace of this section is again to be disturbed by a company of ragamuffins, headed by the modern Mohamet. A meeting of the people of this county has been called, to meet on Saturday next, and energetic measures will be adopted to meet the coming storm, and a respectful but earnest request for the co-operation of the upper counties. -- St. Louis Obs.


Note: The Observer dropped the last part of the article, which reads: "At the last advices from Kirtland, all the County Offices were filled with Latter day saints, and a petition had been forwarded to the Post Master General to reform the post master there and appoint in his place the notorious Oliver Cowdery, who has given his name an infamous notoriety by bearing public and unblushing testimony to the advent of an Angel. -- In the soberness and sadness of truth, where is this thing to end. Let others do as they may, the people of Jackson and their friends in the surrounding counties will be found at their post in the hour of trial; and this modern Hero of Revelation and Rags will be taught that the world is not rolling backward either in knowledge or chivalry. H. C."

SUMMARY.

The Mormons are said to be preparing for another attack on Jackson County, the scene of their former disasterous defeat. They are arming to the number of 1,500 or 2,000 men.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Another War Brewing. -- The 'Far West,' published at Independence, Missouri, says that information has been received from Kirtland, Ohio, through various channels, of another movement among the Mormons to obtain possession of the 'promised alnd,' and to establish their Zion in Jackson county, the scene of their former disasterous defeat. They are said to be arming to the number of 1500 to 2000, and to be making their way, in detached parties, to the 'debateable ground.' The 'Far West' also states that the people of Jackson and their friends in the surrounding counties are taking effective measures for resistence, and will teach Joe Smith, the modern hero of revelation and rags, that the world is not rolling backwards either in knowledge or chivalry.   Louisville Advertiser.


Notes: (forthcoming)

Another War Brewing. -- The 'Far West,' published at Independence, Missouri, says that information has been received from Kirtland, Ohio, through various channels, of another movement among the Mormons to obtain possession of the 'promised land,' and to establish their Zion in Jackson county, the scene of their former disasterous defeat. They are said to be arming to the number of 1500 to 2000, and be making their way, in detached parties, to the 'debateable ground.' The 'Far West' also states that the people of Jackson and their friends in the surrounding counties are taking effective measures for resistance, and will teach Joe Smith, the modern hero of revelation and rags, that the world is not rolling backward either in knowledge or chivalry. -- Louisville Adv.


Notes: (forthcoming)

For the Ohio Observer.

MORMONISM.

Mr. Editor.

Dear Sir: -- Having been for the last four years located in Kirtland, on the Western Reserve, I have thought proper to make some communication to the public in relation to the Mormons, a sect of Religious Fanatics, who are collected in this town. This service I have considered as due to the cause of humanity, as well as to the cause of truth and righteousness. What I have to communicate shall be said in the spirit of candor and christian charity.

Mormonism, it is well known, originated with Joseph Smith * in the town of Manchester, adjoining Palmyra, in the state of New York. Smith had previously been noted among his acquaintances as a kind of Juggler, and had been employed in digging after money. He was believed by the ignorant to possess the power of second sight, by looking through a certain stone in his possession. He relates that when he was 17 years of age, while seeking after the Lord he had a nocturnal vision, and a wonderful display of celestial glory. An angel descended and warned him that God was about to make an astonishing revelation to the world, and then directed him to go to such a place, and after prying up a stone he should find a number of plates of the color of gold inscribed with hieroglyphics, and under them a breastplate, and under that a transparent stone or stones which was the Urim and Thummim mentioned by Moses. The vision and the command were repeated four times that night and once on the following day. He went as directed by the angel, and pried up the stone under which he discovered the plates shining like gold, and when he saw them his cupidity was excited, and he hoped to make himself rich by the discovery, although thus highly favored by the Lord. But for his sordid and unworthy motive, when he attempted to seize hold of the plates,they eluded his grasp and vanished, and he was obliged to go home without them. It was not till four years had elapsed, till he had humbled himself and prayed and cast away his selfishness that he obtained a new revelation and went and obtained the plates.

The manner of translation was as wonderful as the discovery. By putting his finger on one of the characters and imploring divine aid, then looking through the Urim and Thummim he would see the import written in plain English on a screen placed before him. After delivering this to his amanuensis he would again proceed in the same manner and obtain the meaning of the next character, and so on till he came to a part of the plates which were sealed up, and there was commanded to desist: and he says he has a promise from God that in due time he will enable him to translate the remainder. This is the relation as given by Smith. A man by the name of Harris, of a visionary turn of mind, assisted in the translation, and afterwards Oliver Cowdery. By the aid of Harris's property, the book was printed, and it is affirmed by the people of that neighborhood that at first his motives were entirely mercenary, -- a mere money speculation. The book thus produced is called by them The Book of Mormon; and is pretended to be of the same Divine Inspiration and authority as the Bible. The Mormons came in Kirtland about six years ago; being taught by their leaders that this was one of the stakes of Zion, -- the eastern border of the promised land. -- Not long after their arrival in Kirtland, a revelation was obtained that the seat and centre of Zion was in Jackson county, in the western part of Missouri; and thither a multitude of them repaired, with Smith at their head. Soon after they were routed and expelled from the county by the infidels, and many of them returned to Kirtland. There they have been gathering their converts from various parts of the United States, until their present number probably amounts to upwards of one thousand: besides the transient companies of pilgrims who come here from the East to inquire the way to Zion, and then pass on to Missouri.

They have built a huge stone temple in this town, 50 feet high, and 60 by 80 on the ground, at an expense of $40,000. On the front is this inscription, "The House of the Lord, built by the Latter-day-Saints." The lower story is the place of worship, the middle for the school of the prophets, and the upper for an academical school; a distinguished professor of Hebrew is their teacher. He is now giving his second course, with about one hundred in each class.

While I am exposing these palpable impositions of the apostles of Mormonism, candor obliges me to say that many of the common people are industrious, good neighbors, very sincerely deceived, and possibly very sincere Christians. They seem to delight in the duty of prayer, and the services of devotion, and their zeal goes far beyond any thing seen among sober Christians. Some are enterprising and intelligent, conversant with the Bible, and fond of reading: and here, I apprehend, many who have heard of them only by common report are mistaken; supposing them all to be ignorant and degraded and beneath the notice of all respectable people. The prevalence of religious delusion is not to be attributed so much to mere ignorance, as to the structure and prejudices and pernicious habits of the mind, -- a predisposition to be captivated with any thing that is new or wonderful. It is furthermore proper to notice that this religious sect have been slandered, and belied, and persecuted beyond measure. We entirely disapprove of those violent measures which have been taken with them in Missouri and some other places; 1st. because it is an outrage upon inalienable rights, -- all men justly claiming to be protected in the enjoyment of life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and 2d. because it is unwise; persecution being the most effectual way to build up fanatics in error and delusion. But since there is a certain class in every community who are predisposed to embrace any wild delusion which chances to meet them, and since many such have already been deceived and lured away to Kirtland and to Zion, and have been disappointed and distressed, and reduced to poverty and want, and, moreover, since there are now many converts abroad who are looking to this place with longing eyes, as to a land flowing with milk and honey, and expecting, when they find the means of getting here, to bid farewell to all earthly sorrow, we think the world have a right to know the state of things among them. Many of them live in extreme indigence. They suffer accumulated evils by crowding a multitude of poor people together, when, by a wider distribution, they might have better means of supplying their wants. Some of them are wealthy, and they have purchased 3 or 4000 acres of land in different parts of this town. A grotesque assemblage of hovels and shanties and small houses have been thrown up wherever they could find a footing, but very few of all these cabins would be accounted fit for human habitations.

About the first of May, 1834, a company of armed men from this place, about 100 in number, by command of Joseph, commenced a crusade to Missouri, to expel the infidels of Zion, and to reinstate their brethren into their possessions; at the same time he assured them by a revelation from heaven, that the expedition would succeed and the object be attained. When these gallant knights-errand arrived in Missouri, they were met by some of the constituted authorities and warned to desist; and Joseph very prudently had a revelation that the war was at an end. After spending the hottest part of the season on this long tedious pilgrimage of 2000 miles, having suffered great hardships, and numbers having been swept off by the cholera, they returned in straggling companies to Kirtland. Those of them who remained here during the campaign, were required to work one day in each week on the temple; and the poor females were instructed to part with even the necessaries of life in aid of the same object. They looked forward to the completion of the Temple as a Grand Era, when Christ would descend and dwell among them, and commence his reign on earth. These burdens are severely felt by the poor people among them, and can only be sustained by the unconquerable strength of their faith. Last summer a man came to Kirtland and brought among the Mormons four Egyptian mummies. The exhibition exactly struck their fancy. All the Mormons flocked to see the wonderful sight; and Joseph deciphered some of the hieroglyphics, and made known in writing the name and character and antiquity of some of the mummies; -- this was an additional proof of his divine inspiration. The man continued with them a week; and then a command was given them to purchase the whole, which they did for $2400. The mummies were soon sent out for exhibition by one of their apostles, but being unsuccessful, he brought them back to Kirtland, and threw them aside. There is reason to believe, that many who come here with high expectations, have met with sore disappointment. They expected to find everything in Apostolic order; but instead of this, they have found a Whiskey selling tavern, a pugnacious Prophet, and an inhospitable people. Some poor, families, after long journeys to see this Promised Land, have met with a cold repulse; have been compelled to sleep out of doors, and to remain in a community the most unfavorable to get a livelihood, and under a spiritual hierarchy, who bind heavy burdens grievous to be borne, but will not touch them with one of their fingers.

The Mormons to a man all abhor priests, and priestcraft, and societies, and the whole system of religious institutions among established churches; and yet they themselves are the most obsequious and abject slaves to the spiritual rule of their leaders. All their affairs, small and great, are directed by special revelation. By a miserable attempt to ape the language and style of scripture, they clothe their commands with the authority of heaven; and the people have nothing to do but to hear and obey. If the Prophet demands their money for the Lord's treasury, he can have it by uttering a Thus saith the Lord. By these sacrifices, they give what among selfish men would be called a pretty good proof of sincerity at least. Thus it happens, that those who complain loudest of priestcraft, are the most woefully priest-ridden of all men.

In regard to their religious sentiments, the fundamental principle of Mormonism is, that God continues to hold intercourse with the saints on earth by visions and revelations, as freely and familiarly as he has done in any age of the world. That the true church have the same power to cast out devils, to speak with new tongues, to take up serpents, to drink poison unhurt, and to recover the sick by laying on of hands. They make great use of the declaration of our Saviour in Mark xvi. 17, 18, and strenuously contend that the promise applies to all that believe in every age.

They contend that the God worshipped by the Presbyterians and all other sectarians is no better than a wooden god. They believe that the true God is a material being, composed of body and parts; and that when the Creator formed Adam in his own image, he made him about the size and shape of God himself. They believe in the final restoration of all men except apostate Mormons. They blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, and can never have forgiveness, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Their avowed object is to restore hristianity to its primeval purity. In the true style of fanaticism they regard themselves as the exclusive favorites of heaven; and the whole religious world as natural brute beasts that know nothing. After the example of our Saviour they have recently ordained and commissioned twelve apostles and seventy elders, to go throughout this heathen country and to give a final call to repent and be baptized and believe in Mormonism before the wicked are cut off. The people of this region are viewed by them as standing in the place of Chorasm and Bethsaida, and Capernaum, unwilling to believe in spite of all the mighty works they have tried to perform. They are habitually pretending to speak in tongues, and to the working of miracles, but nobody can have any evidence of these wonders but those who have Mormon eyes and Mormon ears. When they first came to Kirtland, Mr. Rigdon joined them, and a few families followed in his train; but otherwise of the former inhabitants, scarce a single conversion has happened since. The fact is that the people are well assured that all their pretentions to miraculous gifts of every kind are a sheer imposition. But whenever any miracle fails they have a convenient salve at hand to account for the failure; that is the want of faith; a most impudent and officious intruder, always ready at hand to nullify all their pious efforts, and to render them weak and feeble as other men. Instances frequently occur which may serve as examples of their power of healing. A young man lying on a bed of sickness sent after Smith and his Elders to come and heal him. After praying over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, he commanded the disease to depart; pronounced him healed, and ordered him to rise and walk. Stimulated by the circumstances and by high expectation, the youth rose up and attempted to walk; but presently becoming faint, by the help of bystanders he betook himself to the bed again, and grew worse. They of course imputed his sudden relapse to the failure of his faith. He then sent for the regular physician, and by faithful means he recovered. Another late instance was a young woman lying at the point of death with the measles. The Elders were called to lay hands on her in like manner; and very soon afterwards she was a corpse. The prophet has undergone repeated trials before the church, and has made frequent confessions; and among the faithful, this is accounted as additional proof of his humility and divine inspiration. They only class his failings with those recorded of the ancient prophets. But the faith of many among them has failed, and they have had honesty enough to confess it. They have opened their eyes -- the delusion has vanished, and they have been astonished at their besotted infatuation. -- Frequent depredations have happened among them, and it has sometimes required the art and assiduity of all their prophets and priests and elders to keep the whole babel from tumbling down together.

It is difficult to foretell how long it will take this gust of Fanaticism to spend itself, and die away, and sink to the oblivion of the 100 others which have gone before it. Situated as we are, we have need of patience; and we often realize the truth of Solomon, that "Though you should bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his folly depart from him."

On the whole, the vice of Mormonism must be accounted one of the most palpable and wide-spreading delusions which this country has ever seen; and nothing can equal the zeal of their leaders in its propagation. The completion of the Temple, according to the pattern shown to Joseph in vision, is a monument of unconquerable zeal. The imposing splendor of the pulpits, the orders of the Melchisedec and the Aaronic priesthoods, and the vails which are let down or drawn by machinery, dividing the place of worship into several apartments, presents before us a strange compound of Jewish antiquity and Roman Catholic mummery. The reproof which the prophet addresses to ancient Israel that they dwelt in ceiled houses while the Temple of God was laid waste, can never be applied to these Mormons. -- Stimulated by strong faith and zeal, you will see them muster all their forces for miles around to hear the brethren speak in tongues, and proclaim the wonderful works of God. In this view they give to those who call themselves sober Christians a most severe rebuke. If they had half the zeal of these misguided Mormons, the world would tremble, and the millennial day would speedily be ushered in. Yours, in the bonds of the Gospel.   TRUMAN COE.
_______
* We understand that this same Joseph Smith is now held in bail to appear before next court for public assault of a respectable citizen in Kirtland. -- Ed. Ob.


Notes: (forthcoming)

THE  MORMONS.

As considerable curiosity is manifested, by people in different places, respecting this new, and singular sect, we have concluded to devote a small part of our paper to that subject, giving our own observations.

This sect arose about six years ago, in the state of New York. Joseph Smith, Jr. then quite a young man, had a real or imaginary vision, informing him of the place where some golden plates were buried, which contained a revelation from Heaven, written by Mormon, and which had been concealed ever since the defeat of his tribe some years (we believe) after the destruction of Jerusalem and dispersion of the Jews. -- These plates he obtained, and translated by a miraculous power given him of God -- the character being the old Egyptian.

From this Revelation, as well as immediate and direct communications to Smith, and others, their faith is drawn and confirmed by the oaths of Smith and others who saw the plates, and have had visions affirming the truth of the Revelation. They believe in prophecy -- miracles -- and revelations at the present day, and show, as evidence of it, the revelations sworn to by several of their members -- and as evidence of their power to work miracles they offer a man by the name of Huntington, who was a lunatic for twelve years, confined by fetters, and whom they restored to his reason, by prayer, at their holy assembly in April last. This part of their faith is based on the passage of scripture, "these signs shall follow them that believe -- in my name shall they cast out Devils, &c."

Although they have existed as a sect but six years, they now number several thousands, scattered through every state in the union, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Their principal settlements are in Jackson County, Missouri, which they believe the center of the promised land, and at Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio. At this latter place, the Prophet Smith, with most of their principal men reside. They have erected here a large stone church, or "House of the Lord" as they call it, three stories high, in its architecture partly Gothic, though not entirely so, but a composite of several orders. -- The plan, even to the minutiae, they say was revealed, by God, to the Prophet Smith, and Elders Rigdon, and Cowdery. Their hierarchy consists of two orders of Priesthood; that of Aaron, and that of Melchesidec, and each of these orders is subdivided into four orders. High Priests, Priests, Deacons, and Teachers, the High Priests possessing the power of prophesy. -- In the construction of their place of worship these orders are observed. The order of Aaron occupy the east end of the house, and the order of Melchesidec the west, and each subordinate order descends in the height of his seat as he descends in rank. Thus the High Priest has a splendid seat next [to] the wall, a little lower down, immediately in front, the Priest, then the Deacon, then the Teacher, who is raised but little above the level of the audience. These seats for the Priesthood are splendidly furnished with carpets, and carvings, and give the whole the appearance of a grand amphitheater. The house is also divided into four parts by curtains, which can be raised or lowered at will, like the curtain of a stage. -- During a public worship all are raised and the audience one; but [by the purpose] of prayer meetings these subdivisions are made.

The second story is finished similar to the first, for a college, and [the third floor is sectioned off] into school rooms.

The [whole is ----- ------ and worthy] of a visit to Kirtland, let one's faith be what it may. The Mormons are hospitable, [intelligent], and [---- --- ---- -- ], and appear pleased to have people [--- --- ---- -- ------- -------] Though differing from them in [religious tenet?] we believe them honest, candid, and sincere in their faith, and we are sorry that persecution [ --- ---- -- sects ----- ------] disturb the quiet of their "happy valley."


Note: This generally favorable report (possibly written by a Mormon or by an LDS sympathizer) was continued in the Watchman of Sept. 24th.

THE  MORMONS.

(view original article of Aug. 11th)

Notes: (forthcoming)

HISTORY   OF  MORMONISM.

By a Correspondent of the
N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.

It appears that Mormonism owes its origin to an individual named Solomon Spalding, who wrote the historical part of the Book of Mormon, or, as it is sometimes called, the Mormon Bible. But it was done more than twenty years ago, and without the least intention, on the part of the author, of framing a system of delusion for his fellow men. This Solomon Spalding was a native of Ashford, Connecticut, where he was distinguished at an early age, for his devotion to study, and for the superiority of his success over that of his schoolmates. At a proper age, he received an academic education at Plainfield, and afterward commenced the study of law at Windham. But his mind becoming inclined to religious subjects, he abandoned the study of law, and went to Dartmouth College for the purpose of preparing himself for the ministry. After receiving the degree of A. M., he was regularly ordained, and continued in the ministry for about three years; but for some reason not known, he abandoned that profession and established himself as a merchant at Cherry [Valley], in the State of New York. Failing in trade, he removed to Conneaut, in the State of Ohio, where he built a forge; but again failed, and was reduced to great poverty. While in this condition he endeavored to turn his education to account by writing a book, the sale of which he hoped would enable him to pay his debts and support his family.

The subject selected for this purpose was one well suited to his religious education. The work was to be a historical novel, containing a history of the Aborigines of America, who, according to the notion of those who refer all questions of history, science, and morals to the scriptures, were supposed to be descended from the Jews.

The title adopted was 'The Manuscript Found,' and the history commenced with one Lehi, who lived in the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judea, six hundred years before the Christian era. Lehi being warned by God of the dreadful calamities that were impending over Jerusalem, abandoned his possessions, and fled with his family to the wilderness. After wandering about the desert for a considerable time, they arrived upon the border of the Red Sea, and embarked on board a vessel. In this they floated about a long time on the ocean, but at last reached America, and landed upon the shores of Darien. From the different branches of this family were made to spring the various aboriginal nations of this continent. From time to time they rose to high degrees of civilization; but desolating wars arose in turn, by which nations were overthrown, and reduced again to barbarism. In this the condition of the Indians, at the time of Columbus's discovery, was accounted for; and the ancient mounds, fortifications, temples, and other vestiges of former civilization, found in North and South America, were explained. The governments of these nations were represented as theocratic, like that of the Jews, from whom they descended, and their national transactions were consequently regulated by their prophets & priests who received their commands directly from the Deity. In order, therefore, that the style of the romance might be suited to the subject, and to the popular notions of the people, the author of The Manuscript Found adopted that of the Bible -- the old English style of James the First.

When the work was ready for the press, Spalding endeavored to get the pecuniary assistance necessary for its publication, but his affairs were in so low a condition that he could not succeed. -- He then removed to Pittsburgh, and afterward to Amity, Pennsylvania, where he died. -- The widow of Spalding, states, that while at Pittsburg, she believes the manuscript was carried to the printing house of Patterson and Lambdin; but how it afterwards fell into the hands of Joseph Smith, junior, by whom the Golden Bible was published, cannot be positively proved. Circumstances, however, have been traced, sufficiently strong to convince any one, that this occurred through the agency of one Sidney Rigdon, who was one of the first preachers of Mormon faith. The manner, however, in which this occurred is of little importance. It has been positively proved, since the Mormon Bible began to attract attention, that the historical part, which is the frame work of the whole scheme, is the same as that contained in The Manuscript Found of Solomon Spalding. Among the many respectable witnesses who have certified to this fact, are a brother, and also a sister-in-law of the author.

The next principal character in the humbug of Mormonism, is Joseph Smith, junior, the great High Priest, Prophet and Founder of the religion. -- Joseph Smith, the Father of the prophet, emigrated from Royalton in Vermont, with his family, about the year 1820, and settled in Manchester, in the State of New York. Young Joseph was at this time sixteen years of age. The family appears to be very little respected by its neighbors, and remarkable for being lazy, ignorant & superstitious. They believe firmly in the appearance of ghosts, the power of witches, and telling of fortunes, and from time to time they were engaged, in conformity with dreams and other signs and wonders, in digging in solitary places for treasures, supposed to have been hidden by Kidd or the Spaniards. Young Joseph became by degrees very much skilled in the arts of necromancy and Juggling. He had the power of using the diving rod, and of discovering wonders in a peep stone; and having had the address to collect about him a gang of idle and credulous young men, he employed them in digging for hidden treasures. It was afterwards pretended that in one of the excavations thus made, the mysterious plates, from which the Golden Bible was copied, were found. About the year 1825, it was said by the family that Joseph began to have communication with angles and spirits, by which he learned many things that were hidden to the senses and understandings of ordinary men. Among other things he was informed by an angel of certain plates of unspeakable value, and of the manner in which they might be obtained. But as is usual in such cases, he was [thwarted and] opposed for a long time by an evil spirit, and it was not until 1827 that they were finally obtained. The discovery was then noised about the neighborhood by the family, who said that the plates contained a history of the aborigines of this country, written in "reformed Egyptian characters," which could not be read by any one of the present day except by the powers of God. Many proselytes were made among the credulous; but none of them were permitted at that time, to see the plates, for it was said by the prophet that no one could look upon them and live. The translation was commenced by the prophet himself, who was enabled to read the "reformed Egyptian" by the aid of the "peep-stone." This was done by putting the stone in a hat or box, and then by applying his face, the prophet was enabled to read one word at a time, which he pronounced aloud to an amanuensis. After continuing in this manner for some time, he was commanded by God to remove into Pennsylvania, for the purpose of escaping from certain evil minded men, who were instigated by the devil to destroy him. There the translation was completed, and the plates were buried again in the earth, by the command of the Lord, in some place unknown to all.

In 1829, the Golden Bible, containing about six hundred pages, appeared in print, having appended to it the testimony of eleven witnesses, to prove its divine origin. The three most important of these witnesses are Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitman; [sic] the first two of whom acted as amanuenses of Smith. These men declare upon oath, that the golden plates from which the Mormon Bible has been translated, were shown to them by an angel, and that they know the translation to have been made by the power of God, because it was so declared to them by the Deity himself. Of the eight remaining witnesses, four were brothers of Whitman and three of the family of Smith.

The Mormon Bible, as has been already stated, professes to furnish a history of part of the Jewish nation. It is pretended that Lehi, who escaped from Jerusalem 600 years before the Christian era, took with him the plates which contained an engraved record of his tribe; and that these plates being transmitted from father to son, the records of the people were continued, until the fifth century, when the tribe being nearly exterminated, the plates were sealed up and hidden in the earth, where they were afterward found by Joseph the prophet.

    According to these records, prophets & generals arose from time to time of great renown among the people, and the various events which commonly took place in the progress of nations occurred in their regular order. By the prophets the most prominent coming events were foretold, especially the coming and crucifixion of Christ, the early condition of the Christian church, the reformation, and the coming of the prophet Joseph in later times. A great many miracles were wrought, of course, to prove the divine authority of the prophecies. The generals had occupation enough in the various wars which arose among the nations descended from the family of Lehi. In one of their military expeditions an army was led into a distant country, which they found entirely desolated by the ravages of war, and filled with the bones of men and beasts. Here, among the ruins, they found some golden plates, containing a record of the people of Jared, who had escaped the confusion at Babel, and had been conducted by the Lord through Asia to the sea, and finally to America. These people having been entirely exterminated in wars, their records were preserved and sealed up with the records of Lehi.

Before the publication of the Mormon Bible, many ignorant and credulous persons had been prepared to receive it by the wonderful stories related by Smith. It was accordingly received as soon as it issued from the press, by a sufficient number to form the nucleus of a new community of devotees. The arguments principally relied upon at first to increase the number of proselytes, were the internal evidence of the book itself, and the striking exhibitions of the will and power of God through Joseph Smith. In addition to the extraordinary condescension of the Deity, in sending angels and spirits to hold communication with him, it seemed marvelous in the eyes of the people, that a man who could neither read nor write, and who was consequently unacquainted with the science and literature of the world, should be able to produce such a work -- a work wonderful in itself, and still more so from having been translated from a language no longer understood by the world, and found engraved on plates which had been buried for centuries in the earth. Smith is represented as a man exceedingly well fitted for the task he had to perform. For although ignorant, he possessed strong natural powers of mind, an inventive genius, easy address, fascinating manners, a mild and sober exterior, and was withal an excellent judge of human feelings and passions. -- Soon after the Mormon Bible was published, a member of the congregation of fanatics in Ohio, called Campbellites, happened to be travelling in the State of New York, where he heard of the golden plates. -- Urged by curiosity, he called upon Smith to make inquires, and was converted to the new faith. On his return he was accompanied by missionaries, who had been commissioned by Smith to convert the Indians. And on arriving in Ohio, the new religion, its missionaries, and its wonders, were presented to the Campbellites. These people having been for a long time under the dominion of enthusiasm, and [hoping] that the millennium or some other grand event was about to happen, were, in the right condition to receive the new revelation. A great many of them were converted, and with them, Sidney Rigdon, their preacher -- a man of powerful eloquence and of great popularity among them.


Note 1: This article first appeared in a late July 1836 issue of the New York Commercial Advertiser. In the extant files of the Canton Repository it is preserved as an addition to the issue of Aug. 4, 1836 -- its actual appearance in that paper must have been on Sept. 1. Although the name of Solomon Spalding had previously been connected with the origin of the Book of Mormon in various short news reports (in the Painesville Telegraph and in the Chardon Spectator) the 1836 article was the first report in which Ohio newspaper readers were able to peruse a detailed "history of Mormonism," in which the Spalding authorship claims were clearly spelled out. The Commercial Advertiser article was also reprinted in the Lisbon, Ohio Aurora on Sept. 24, 1836 and probably in a few other Ohio papers as well.

Note 2: This 1836 article is chronologically situated about mid-way between the appearance of Eber D. Howe's Mormonism Unvailed, published in Ohio at the end of 1834 and LeRoy Sunderland's series of articles on Mormonism printed in the Zion's Watchman newspaper in New York City in 1838. From 1838-39 forward lengthy newspaper articles (along with tracts and pamphlets) on Mormon origins become increasingly common. In mid-1836 such reporting was still relatively rare. It may well have been this particular newspaper article which preserved the Spalding authorship claims from an early oblivion. The writer of the original article obviously made use of Howe's book, but he avoided elucidating the more scandalous accusations regarding the conduct of the Mormon Smith family at Palmyra. And, while he substantially paraphrased Howe concerning the Spalding authorship claims for the Book of Mormon, the writer's reporting on the matter is relatively restrained in this section also. He sticks to the main points of Howe's book's scenario without engaging in personal speculation or elaboration. The entire article is generally straight forward, economical in its verbiage, and disinterested in its overall style and manner of presenting information and allegations.

Editorial Correspondence.
                                    Painesville, August 27th 1836.

MORMONISM.

The numerous sects into which the professedly religious community is divided, may be said to be the consequence of of the liberty which prevails in our country. But liberty does nothing of itself. It only allows the free operations of those causes which intolerance restrains. What then are the causes which give rise to so many sects? Why is it that men differ so much? Wgy is it that any half deluded, half hypocritical, religious Zealot can obtain followers, and found a new denomination?

A full answer to these questions would require a column to be written. But we will try to sketch the outlines of an answer.

First, then, there is no end to knowledge. It is infinite like Him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. None but the Infinite can comprehend it. Is it singular that, of the infinite stores of knowledge, one mind should a little of this, and another of that, and that, consequently, there should be difference and disagreement even among honest men?

In the second place, it is not wonderful that those who agree should unite, and exclude from their communion those who differ from them. They do not see the same truth, or the same [phasis] of truth, which others see, and they are apt to imagine that none is seen by others, and that every difference of opinion is to be ascribed to mere perversences. Self-love also makes a man solicitous for the safety of his opinions and warm in their defence...

The Mormons have embodied in their creed some of the fundamental articles of Christianity. They believe in a Tri-unity in the Godhead, in the depravity of man and his absolute need for regeneration, in an atonement, and in the influence of the Holy Spirit. But they also velieve that men at the present time may expect miraculous revelations from God, and that no proesthood can be consecrated to their work but by express revelation. They say that salvation is partly a legal matter, that no one can be saved who does not come under the ordinances of a regularly constituted church, i. e. a church constituted by the miraculous interposition of God. They do not know that some persons may not be called of God, as Cornelius was. But it was necessary in this case to send for Peter, and receive the ordinances of the gospel from him. In like manner all who become true Christians at the present day, must be inducted into the Church by some person constituted a priest by miracle. Their own denomination, so far as they know, is the only true church as thus described, and salvation out of the true church is impossible. They believe that their priesthood are continually receiving new revelations, and that the sect are learning something new from God every day. They believe that their priests can perform miracles, and fortell future events, and that "this miraculous power will ever continue with true believers." Such is the assertion of "O. Hyde, preacher of the gospel" in a printed sheet, which we found at Kirtland, entitled, "A prophetic warning to all churches, of every sect and denomination, and to every individual into whose hand it may fall!" This individual has uttered a prophecy in this "warning," on the fulfillment of which he stakes his reputation as a true prophet. He foretells that bloody war will soon arise in this land from an unexpected quarter, that "a sort of flies shall go forth among the people, and bite them and cause worms to come in their flesh, and their flesh shall fall from their bines; and their eyes shall fall out of their sockets; and they shall desire to die, and their desire shall not be granted," &c.

The Mormons number from fifteen hundred to two thousand persons in their Society. They admit the need of education, even for their inspired preachers of the gospel. Several plain rooms in the upper story of their "Temple" are used for school rooms. They are now studying Hebrew under the instruction of Mr. Seixas, and intend to speak it.

Their book of Mormon they believe to have been a revelation to the people who once inhabited this continent, of equal authority with the Bible. The sacred antiquities which they suppose, or pretend that they possess have led them to set a high value upon every thing that illustrates them. They have purchased two Egyptian mummies, which we saw, and several fragments of the papyrus inscribed with hieroglyphics. The individual who showed us the "Temple," and from whom we learned most of the foregoing particulars, was very earnest, and apparently very sincere in his belief.


Notes: (forthcoming)

THE  MORMONS.

[entire first column of clipping photocopy is unreadable]... in the base of the [Cepalo], is a small room, fixed up for some Mummies, which the Mormons purchased some two or three years ago. These consist of two females and one male. The male and one of the females, are old -- the other female is young -- has no hair -- and although she has been dead, probably three thousand years, she retains [a few] of her features, so that a [spectator?] can form a tolerable idea of her former looks.

But the principal [value] in the estimation of the Mormons, attached to [the mummies] is the papyrus, or an ancient Egyptian paper, found in the Catacoms with these mummies, on which is a splendid specimen of Egyptian Hieroglyphics, said to be the same as the characters on the golden plates, from which Smith translated the Book of Mormon. These Hieroglyphics [Mr.] Smith is now translating, and has proceeded so far as to [ascertain] (they say) that a part of them were written by Abraham, and a part by Joseph!

Whatever the world may think of the Mormon faith, they must allow them the credit of being at least an enquiring people, who are determined to investigate for themselves.


Note: This generally favorable report on the Mormons and their Temple at Kirtland is a continuation of the Ohio Watchman's article of Aug. 20th.

HISTORY  OF  MORMONISM.

(view original article from NYC paper)

Notes: (forthcoming)

From the New York Evening Star.
COCHRAN'S  MANY  CHAMBERED  NON-RECOILING  RIFLE. 

This extraordinary invention of a young American, native of New Hampshire... deserves more than passing notice...

Mr. Cochran's father was a lawyer and afterwards a merchant of eminence in Enfield, New Hampshire, and the son, John Webster Cochran, who was born there, and has invented the species of fire arms in question was brought up in no particular business... [lengthy article on John Webster Cochran and his inventions follows]


Note: The Maine Biddeford Daily Journal of Jan. 31, 1896 provides the following information on the son of the cult leader, Jacob Cochran: "The son, John Webster Cochrane, was born in Enfield, N. H., May 6, 1814, and lived with his father at Saco, and is still remembered as a bright boy, who used to beg a ride of the teamsters on the road, and they tell that he used to say to them, 'I know you will give me a ride, because I am Jake Cochrane's boy.' At the age of eighteen, in 1832, with a cash capital of one dollar and twenty-five cents, or seven and sixpence, he walked to Boston on the old stage road, a distance of one hundred and ten miles, and the next year he succeeded in securing a patent steam-heating apparatus, and in 1834 he invented a revolving breech-loading cannon, -- the original principle of which was said to have been invented by his father while in the State's prison at Charlestown. This was that cartridge-holding-cylinder, automatically rotated by the cocking of the hammer, the same principle that afterwards secured the success of the revolving pistol..."