| Show THE HILL CUMORAH an interesting description of scenes and locations associated with the rise blae of the church HILL hn i CUMORAH ontario county new york september 1888 deseret news sitting on this thia koly holy and historical ground the scene of some of the greatest events which have ever transpired in the history ot of men upon the earth it is but bat natural that our minds I 1 should be deeply impressed and that we should give way to unusual and solemn meditation for it was here more than twenty tour four centuries ago that the descendants of jared and his ais brother fought their last exterminating int batile battle intoxicated as they were w with th blood bloodthirstiness thirstiness and hatred for they had rebelled against the lord killed his prop prophets bets and driven ether the last man of god among them into exile seeking his bis life boat a tale of woe would not the spirits of all these departed ones have to tell men in we nesa nowa nowadays were commini callona permitted would they not 6 appeal P P eal to this generation to take warning I 1 1 9 from their fate and advise them not to kill stone or abuse the servants of god now upon the earth as they did in their d day but in the alluise of god ad their spirits mast remain silent while their bodies slumber in the dust until the day ot of judgment it was also in this land that mormon in his bis old age and his bis son moroni led their armies against their brethren ethien br the Lama the last time to that dreadful massacre that forever swept a once of ef god highly favored race out of existence as a nation it was here that mormon beholding the fair daughters of his bis people arm ing themselves for the battle of extermination burst out in the anguish of his soul and fol for the last time called upon his people tore to repent ent but the spirit of god had ceased ces seTto to strive with theland the mand before the setting of the sun on that fatal day mormon and his bis ten thousand which he led in battle array lay dead on the gory field together with the many other ten thousands who w 0 fell by the hands of the Lanik moroni and a few others were aft the only ones who escaped with their lives from that ter able battle field this took place more than fourteen hundred years ago but looking over this hilly billy country to co baythe topographical or general character of at which has perhaps not changed very much since that time hinr ur imagination 1 magin a stion can easily conceive COW tow the t h e exile moroni the custodian of the records of his fathers fathers was hunted by the bloodthirsty blood thirsty Lam aultes while writing the closing paragraphs of the history and how he finally no doubt in toe the shades of night emerged from his bis hiding place and deposited the sacred treasure in this bill where it lay 1491 1407 years we pus pass over that long and dreary night and again conceive of moroni as an angelof aipel of glory still in charge of the same records instructing ting the humble farmers boband preparing his bis mind tor for a great and noble work in which tens of thousands were to rejoice yonder stands the house bouse still in which that ancient prophet of god first called upon the youth who afterwards became the translator of the book of mormon bl ormon and the next i day showed him the plates on the very spot where we now stand and fifty nine years and six 84 days ago today joseph smith received the recerd of toe Nep bites from the hands bands of moroni 0 how hovi sublime the thought what emotions fill our oar hearts when we think of it we feel that we indeed stand on holy ground and as it if by instinct we silently renew our covenants that we will be faithful and true in keeping the commandments of god as joseph was faithful and aad true to the commandments tile the angel gave him until he sealed pealed his testimony with his bis blood the very first ulan man we met me yesterday after our arrival in palmyra was mr james M ford 72 years old who said that he was born and raised in in palmyra and had gone to school with joseph smith and had bad also eaten and slept with him aim he showed us the location of the farm which once belonged to martin kartin harris about a mile northeast oP ot palmyra almyra the old farm house bouse a bk c k building is still standing d I 1 the place is now owned by a german in coming in on the new central railway we passed through one corner of the farm mr ford told us a number cumber of et interesting things in regard to the smith family but bat when he informed us that joseph at the time he lived in this neighborhood was an old bac bachelor he we began to think that the old mans memory had commenced to fail aim our next mau man was major john H gilbert the person who set the type lor for the first edition of the book of mormon in egbert Gr granding Grand andins lna printing office in palmyra 5 57 years ago we found him living in a comfortable irame house on gates street he is a remarkably well preserved man 86 fe years ars old and withal gentlemanly and intelligent he seemed to take pleasure I 1 in relating to us the particulars connected with the printing of the book of mormon of the pages of which the book con consisted Asted tie lie set in type about pages himself the work of printing the book lie he remembered distinctly was commenced in august 1829 19 and finished in march 1830 oliver cowdery and hyrum smith were the two who ge generally brally brought copy to the prin printing gitig office and oliver cowdery and mr grandin read the proofs together by copy mr gilbert had bad to his best beat re recollection gol lection only ionly seen joseph smith on the one occasion he came to the printing office and staid about twenty minutes arr arranging angUin something in regard to the work mr r gilbert said that the late david whitmer had made several mistakes in his bis pamphlet where he alludes alluded to the printing of the tae book of mormon martia harris he said had bad given security tor for the full amount agreed upon for printing before the work was commenced and there was no dejay deday because of financial embarrassment embarrass embarrassment menk at AL the time of printing mr gilbert gilben kept a private copy of the book of mormon for his own use which he sold in an unbound condition a few years ears ago to P T sexton a rich ach banker ker of palmyra tor for the sum of WO besides this he has at different times secured a number of bound copies for several parties at the rate of 15 per copy we made particular inquiry in regard to the manuscript or copy from froin which he set act the book of mormon his answers went to prove that it was the copy now is ia p possession 3 of the Whit mers in ric richmond ahmo hmo ad mo at times when jae he was hurried to get a form ready tor for the press other compositors would be sent to help him and on such occasions he be would frequently cut the pages in the manner we saw them cut in richmond mr gilbert has not followed the trade of a printer tor for the last six dixeen een years but whenever his bis birthday comes around he be makes it a regular practice and has done tor for several years to go to the several printing offices in par palmyra and set up a stick or two ot of type ile he Is called the vet veteran erniA printer of wayne county and he thinks he be to is about abe oldest living printer in the united states has a wife 78 years old living also five children six children are dead we next visited the house bouse which was once egbert Gr Grandl andins ns old print ing office mr grandin has been dead many years out his bis house honse a substantial three story brick building alding is still standing on the north side me of main street palmyra about halt way between market and william streets et the lower story is now pied as a news depot and n tore store J H johnson proprietor the h second story which egbert gra grandin used as a bookbindery is now divided up into dwelling apartments and the third story where the book of mormon was set in type is used as a storeroom for sewing machines and organs or gans it may be interesting to some to know that mat the celebrated Celebrate ct mr linger inger the leading imam maa of the singer sewing who was a native of this part of the country helped to erect the building we had bad comfortable quarters at the powers house last night the proprietor etor mr W A powers is a relative of 0 W powers late associate ustice justice of utah Fa palmyra lmyra is ii a fine little town on the new york central and west shore railways 23 miles east ot of Roche rochester and has about 2500 inhabitants among other handsome buildings we noticed five church edifices owned res respectively actively by the ba baptists episco rallans pa lians presbyterians rians methodists methodists and catholics the foux four protestant churches are located on the same street and on four opposite corners and their four steeples rising from the same lame place is the first thing that attracts the attention of approaching strangers the catholics have to content themselves with a position in the rear in point of church build in ings a they are generally in front but in palmyra palmyra they are ace few in numbers and the their ir modest little brick church stand in ing back from the others affords affords only a little cross in lieu of a steeple this morning we engaged mr T G Qu alfer a livery stable owner to take us a few miles on our journey he had previously been engaged by others of our brethren from utah who have visited here one mile and a half due south of main street palmyra taking the road locally known as stafford we came to the old smith rest real aenice situated in the extreme north west corner comer of manchester township ontario county new york where the youthful prophet lived with tits parents at the time he had bad his bis first vision and was first visited by bv the angel moroni the farm la Is noir now owned I 1 py y SV A chapman son of the late 8 T chapman who bought it of aMr a mr absolom weeks 28 years ago but bat previous ioas to that time and after it was occupied by the smiths it had bad changed hands several times and has also been considerably enlarged the frame 0 the building originally erected by the elder joseph smith and aad his sons is still standing but the interior of the houte hofe a story and a half building has not been materially changed but new additions have been made to it the old old lady mother of the present owner and her amicable daug daughter took eon considerable sid erable pains in showing us the room where joseph is supposed to have kept the plates after receiving them from the angel anel in this however they may be mistaken but it is no doubt the room in ia which joseph on the ahe night between the and of september 1823 conversed with moroni la in leaving the old smith residence we turned east to the Cananda gua road when we about V 2 miles south ot of palmyra Palt ayrL passed the armington school house in which joseph and several ot of his brothers and sisters are said to nave attended school one and a half mile further or a little over four miles due south of palmyra on the east side ol of the CanandA gus road stands C cumorah a the highest hill in the neighborhood it rises abruptly from the more leyel level country north of it to the height of about feet climbing it from the north end the highest point on which stands the stump of a large tree Is soon reached south of this the hill bill gradually recedes un antu W it is lost in the level about one mile octant there is a number of otter other nitra in this part of the country and they all extend north and south like so mady summits or ridges A number of them are several miles long but bat only a 9 few hundred yards across from east to west toe the idill cumorah is no exception from this rule besides the north end its east ern and bew wew slopes are quite ite steep ep and the top f ests of a narrow ridge somewhat rocky botn both sides of the north end of the hill have been plowed by the present owner clear to the top and aad only a very few trees have been suffered to remain of the dense forest that no doubt covered the hill at the time joseph received the plates about yards south from the north end on the west side however is i a beautiful beech grove containing ta we should judge about six acres ol 01 of laud most of the trees are small but stand very close together into the shade of this little grove we retired in solemn prayer and rejoiced exceeding in belog being permitted to oe be here FAYETTE seneca county new york oct 2 we left the hill cumorah about 11 today two miles south we passed through the village of manchester and traveling one mile further we arrived at shortsville Shorts ville a small town on the N Y C ff R ry from here we went by rail to waterloo a flourishing ae C t of inhabitants F situated 1 abed on both sides aides of the seneca river about half way between the north end of seneca and cayuga lakes after making some inquiries as tp to directions locality etc we started southwest in search of the old whitmer residence in which the church was first organized having walked about ten miles we came to the house of an aged gentleman by the name ofphy marshall who hi had L d attended meetings in Whit meis house bouse when a boy and had bad heard joseph and a number of other early elders of the church preach guided by his directions we had no BO further difficulty in iii finding find lne the exact spot we were aiming for and abbata we arrived at the farm once owned by peter whitmer sen and naw the property of jesse snook a prominent business man of waterloo who rents it to chester cheater reed the present occupant church the lie old house in which the church was organized sad and in which a number of bf the first general conferences of the church were held and joseph received a number of import ant a one and aalf a half story house it was torn down many deoro ago but the site on which it stood is s well known and out to us no the old fa family well ell is still there also several of the logs loge which once constituted a part art of the building lay along the fence half mf dec decayed y the site I 1 of f the old whitmer rest residence I 1 is about four miles south of waterloo and about 40 rods west of the road leading from that place to west fayette on the geniva geneva and ithaca railway in fayette fayette township seneca county new york ork state it is about a quarter of a mile north northwest west of a small cluster of houses bouses about six sit in number locally known as jollytown Jolly town named after a family by that name which is mentioned in the early history of the church the village dor formerly merly called fayette about four miles east of west fayette Faye tle is now generally known as Beary town we examined the ground very closely and thought of the past ast speaking of the present wished ishee that certain things might transpire in the future prepared resolutions made the necessary entries in our note books and returned to waterloo Wa where we are now walting waiting for the train to take us back to rochester we have heard a great many things about the extraordinary qualities of the smith family but bat nothing that beats the following related mated to us this morning by a citizen citi zeri of palmyra when oseph joseph smith says bays our informant was digging diggin for the golden bible bean short or of provisions and in order to obtain some matton from freoa a somewhat simpleminded simple kniple minded neighbor joseph prevailed on nim him to furnish a fat sheep toe the best beat he be had to be ofle offer redas edeas a sacrifice to god the farmer who at first appeared unwilling at last cousen consented ted and consequently the sheep was brought into a shed back of the smith family residence by the way the identical hill was pointed out to us bat while the prophet was going through a lengthy ceremony preparatory to |
