Show VIEWS OF A I 1 joseph symes SMS ot of the liberator on the tha bock of oIE kormon oraon tte the best beat authenticated 0 all hilj or bibles Bib lets clipped from the millennial millann Mil lenn I 1 star by request of many readers Ee aders the following appeared in a recent issue of the alie liberator a journal published in melbourne australia joseph Joeph Symes S ames the editor is a skeptic in religious matters the book of ill mormon oiron is u the best attested cfall of all holy bookson bible 1 I roay may go further and say that it is i the only biblo bible that is attested att sled sted a at t all except perhaps the koran I 1 must explain joseph smith the founder of the church of latter day dav saints wa born in 1805 and murdered by his christian contemporaries in 18 1814 14 his history is as full of interest as that tha of any religious leader ever known and the success s of his movement is ia one of nf the most re war kable facts in the worlds III history i joseph was born in shoron windsor county vermont U S december 1805 ilia his father fathe was a farmer and joseph was reared to tire the same occupation when about fourteen the boy reflected upon apon the importance if preparation for a future life I 1 ing my s so much disagreement amongst religious feels as to the tha plan of he be reflected tir L could not no be ba right that god could not be the auth author or of confusion and so resolved to investigate tap matter he relied upon tile the cacase pa case in lames james if any man lack wisdom iet ic thi him ask of god who give li ii to au all men liberally and upbraid eth not here is the first result of his resolve as penned by himself 1 I i tired to a secret place in a grove rove ind and began to call upon the lord while ler fervently vently engaged in supplication mv my mind w was a taken aw away ay from the objects with which I 1 was surrounded arid and I 1 was in heavenly vision and saw two glorious ious personages who exactly resembled ein bled cacti each other in feature and likeness surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon lay they told me that all the religious r sects were belaev inc ing in incorrect doctrines mid that one none n of them was acknowledged of god as his church and kingdom and I 1 was ex expressly presEly commanded to go not after them at the same hame time receiving a promise that the falness of the gospel should at some ome future time be ba made known io me the falness ful ness of the aspel ospel os pel vans to joseph joeeph smith some gome years later in the shape of the book of mormon and here follows long excerpts from the book such is mr joeph smith s own account tc count of the sources from which he derived the book of mormon lud ind the means by which lie he render ed d it into english it is not my purpose now to deal with tile the contents of that curious book or bible but to note nolo the external evidence in its favor 1 the story told above is ahm consistent with nith itself and in perfect keeping with tile the leading doctrines of the bible no christian can consistently relue to credit it 2 it is quite bite as likely that god should reveal himself on plates of bretal as on tablets of stone to joseph smith as to moses in america as in western A asia aia ia liere here the plates are described the stones moses closes received are nowhere described HereS dates are given in the bille bible important and necessary dates are never given 3 As no one hit hil the urina and was i i 0 ore 01 e can I 1 rove that joseph inith d anti and U e or it ill it cm or r to his po isike detailed statement sta lemeni what cin car the christian oppose 4 it must ba admitted that tle ho world required a divine revelation in smiths day quite as much as it ever did and therefore a compas innate ioia te god was wap as likely to reveal himself to th mr smith as to mr moses mr isaiah etc in the next pae e let u twe see what others belate as to mr smith hook the cook of mormon was fa published in 1820 here it loll 1011 ws vs the testimony of three bitnes re es prefixed to the ills book ot mote mon and another signed by eight witnesses I 1 ask what would the jew or the hr Chri christian tian not give to have his bible attested in the above mini man tier of course the ii impartial partial jeptie attaches no importance Nhi lever to religious te stimmy or to testimony or to theos 0 ophic testimony we e know tile the val value lie of such huch e too vell ell to bt impo aed upon hy by it rut put r ut what can fians say pay his bible hs bits no attestation whatsoever and ftp parts parta will not bear honest i ves vesti ti gation or such buch investigation I 1 wie to them a I 1 te M ne i li 1 t t thai fiat lie knew thu book at and anahit hiar testimony th thadeu to 11 hi true this thib watne wil auw he rea ir airik d to the latter da day v u still dl pert isted tu to th aliu last the III i in his hid te tho I 1 be etther eight witnesses remained to t tl last fi and unfaltering in thrill 0 tin joria belil syr benia of J wort 1 I 2nd and ed london swa si nd sor nen 1892 I 1 need not proton prolong re narka I 1 am no friend to M O exempt in so far ts as it i les is Is ind industry and progress t I 1 th nt therk ilir of mormon iz the hert best attested atte Bled bible JT 1 1 11 ad that the jewirl I 1 chi jr ble has no evidence at all combar baon with it jos A MODERN 1 I n I 1 ia 1 J yaw I 1 za 9 T W huma hanna dihe discovers overs the freo free silver footprint in tho sand rand and is if surprised at its size t louis post as the chri tian brings brines 0 to bear upon the dook book of mormon but here we find a number of men as aa illiterate as jesus and ili his disciples disciple who produce and publish a wonderful book the publication of which is followed by cruel persecution se against smith and ills his friends ri enda and the most astounding social and commercial development of our century v this is not a tale of past ages the records of which have gone through many vicissitudes arid and were written we know not when where or by whom but I 1 a contemporary development men I 1 ire arc yet living who boiu boin before joseph smith scores possibly still live attlio lie lem embar him llis his u work ork and that of his foll followers von ers remain in full life and vigor in utah and tile the mormon missionaries are in many lauds lands in ill a lecture by elder janics IT II anderson we are informed that tile lie first three witnesses quoted above afterwards left the Latt erday saints but not liing could induce them to change chance t their heir statement it was true and they knew it david whitmer died at richmond missouri MisE Ouri january when on ills his deathbed death bed he called his family ard and friends around him and |