| Show I 1 coppi copyright alt secured 1 HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH MAY 1843 wednesday 24 elder addison pratt presented the tooth of a whale coral bones of an albatross wing and skin shin of a foot jaw bone of a porpoise and tooth of a south sea seal ecal as a beginning for PL a muse museum lurn in nauvoo I 1 bought eleven quarter sections of land from judge judae ft adam adams and then rode on the hill bill I 1 find in the boston bee eee of this date a letter and as it ia is so remarkable that any editor aitor will publish anything in the columns of his paper concerned concerning 6 me or the sainta saints but slander elander that I 1 take pleasure in transcribing 0 the follo following wimp sir in gone by years and long before I 1 had hadj heard of the prophet joseph smith and indeed before he had existence I 1 had formed some very curious ideas about the and ancient 1 eat e ent at prophets prophets from reading their history in the bub duble bible le I 1 supposed they must roust have been men of no ordinary proportions or if so that there was something about them thena dif dit different from other men by i which they might be distinguished at sight asa matter of course I 1 thought they must have had y arby ey hairs for kor a co covering verin to make them appear very dignified and beard as long iong as a jew for if it they shaved it would show that they viere spere were men and could I 1 have had bad the privilege of looking at one I 1 should have bave expected to have bave seen uli vii him clad in sheep goat bear or wolf skin wandering about on the mountains ins like the beasts he be tid had robbed of their garments lod iod lodin lodging in in ehe the he caves eaves and dens of the earth and subsisting suI sul sting on the fruits and nuts of the forests A being too holy too sanctified too exalted by his high calling to appear in the habitations or among the society of men meny unless he had some lim jim important octant message to communicate direct from reaven heaven hearen some revelation or commandment to promulgate to his fellows and then he would just come forth and cry out like the beasts in the wilderness with so 0 o cucil much sacred sanctity that everybody would kalow know lie he was wag a prophet 3 and if by nothing else when they saw nis bis nails like birds biddy claws and and his hairs like aag eagles gies agles feathers and his face and hands bands as filthy as a baboon for it never occurred tome that clean hands in administering terin before the lord aa as mentioned in the scripture means anything more than a good conscience ce and I 1 had never supposed but that a man could worship god just as acceptably all covered with dirt and fiath firth and slime as thou though h he had bathed in siloam every hour until I 1 heard beard the mormon prophet lecturing lec lecturing turin his people on the subject of neatness ani ana and cleanliness teaching them that all was clean in heaven and that jesus was going to make the place of his feet florians glor Flo rions ioos and if the mor mons di did d not keep their feet out of the ashes they could craid not stand with him on mount zion wion I 1 irad trad no thought L before but that dirty people could get to laven heaven as well as clean ones and that if the priests offered sacrifice with pol hands bands the fire would cleanse both the offering and the hands that offered it I 1 cannot say how much there may be in scripture to contradict my views neither can I 1 vouch for it that the churches of the tire day believe any such doctrine for I 1 never belonged to any of them but have rather been called an infidel As to that I 1 have not altered much I 1 like consistency find it where I 1 may with all these curious notions potions I 1 fell tell into the mormon settlement and saw the prophet but having never hever heard a mormon preach you yeu can imagine me not quite ready to receive all the Imes impressions incident to an interview with such auch a distinguished personage but I 1 will give five it aa as I 1 find it bit or miss the faith or feelings of any y one I 1 have lied had ad an interview since my last and found anything but the truth in the current reports the prophet joseph as he is called among his people said in a conversation with a gentleman present that he no more professed to be a prop prophet liet ilet than every man must who professes tobe toebe a preach preacher pr of righteousness or a minister of the new testament to be a minister of a man must mu st testify ft of jesus and to bestif testify of jesus a man must have the spirit of I 1 prophecy ecy for accord according ipg to john the testimony or of lesu jesu is the spirit of prophecy if a man professes to be a minister of jesus and has not the spirit of prophecy he must be a false witness for he is not in possession of that gift m which qualifies him for his office and the difference between himself and the cler ciery clergy clery y of this generation is lie claims to be in possession of that spirit of prophecy which qualifies him to testify of jesus and the gospel of sai sat salvation ii while hile hiie the clergy deny that spirit even the spirit of prophecy which alone could constitute them true witnesses or testators of the lord jesus and yet claim to be true ministers of salvation in this said he be I 1 am honest and they are dishonest and that is the difference between us were they true and honest witnesses of jesus christ they would acknowledge they have the testimony of him and that is the spirit of prophecy and every man who possesses that spirit I 1 I 1 Is s a prophet 1 I said he claim no more than what every servant of christ must possess to qualify him bin i for his office while the clergy of the loth century deny that which alone cwi CO constitute sti them what they profess to be he said he did not profess to bo be a very good food man but acknowledged himself a sinner like other men or as all alt men are arc imperfect and it is necessary for all men to grow into the stature of manhood in the gospel I 1 could not help noticing that he dressed talked and acted like other men and in in every respect the perfect counterpart of what I 1 had conjured up in my imagination 0 for a prophet the mormons cormons have not yet completed their great temple and have no commodious place p a of worship but the apostles and elders p preach bac ch in private houses on the sabbath and at other times though I 1 seldom attend these latter meetings but when the weather will admit they mee meet maet lt in the grove or on the rough dbr floor of the basement of the temple and then the prophet frequently preaches on one of these those occasions I 1 I 1 heard him preach concerning 0 the prodigal son after naming his text the prophet remarked hat that some one had asked him the meaning of the expression of jesus among tho those seborn born of woman there ikas haa not arisen a greater than john and said he had promised to answer it in public and he would do it then it could conid abt have been on account of the miracles john performed for he did no miracles but it was first because lie he was trusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the lord who was trusted with such a mission before or since no man second he was trusted and it was required at his hand to baptize the son sofi of man alan who ever did that who ever had so great a privilege or glory who ever led the son gon of god into the waters of baptism be beholding bolding the holg holy ghost descend upon him in the an sigio of a dove no man third john at that time was the only I 1 legal egal administrator holding the keys of power there i was on earth the keys the kingdom the power the glory had bad departed fro from in the jews and john the son of zachariah by the holy hilly anointing and decree of heaven held hela the keys of power at that time elder 11 fate pate writes tatt in cuba illinois the people were anxious to hear him when the rev john rigdon a preacher refused to let him preach in the chapel because elder tate tale was s nt rit by the authority of jesus christ saying that recommend will not do for tb the e world worl chas ehas has condemned it already fl but at pekin baptized six aix in twelve days and many more were favorable received a long iong letter from thomas ran ron cliff complaining 11 of william and wilson L law aw and dr fo foster ster is another example that people will dot rot obey counsel I 1 although it was PO so pointedly made known to the people on the of april last |
