Show UNWITTING WITNESSES it n the fol following loing is taken from the title page of the book of Mot moti q TheBo he ewh oh of in an ha count written by the hand and of mor mar mon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi wherefore it is an abridgment of the beaw of the people 1 of nephi aa apS JJ of the th aan 1 asa ital who farej f use of also gen by and spirit of on written an and sea seated up and hi hid L up unto the i lord vt that ah they might set met 1 be e do de iB ww to c gift and power orvail or od unto the interpretation ohp there pr sealed ed by the hand of A 17 agrio the lord to come forth in due due amme mme by y the way of the gentile the interpretation pre tation thereof by the gift of god d kh abridgment taken froza froia tile tild book of ether also which is a record j of the people of jred jared who were seat scattered te reu poodle ti at the time the lord aon confounded the language of the people when they wt were xe building Z a tower to get to heaven which is to show unto anto the remnant of the th e house of israel I 1 what great t things I 1 the lord hath done don for their fathers exe and that they may know the of the lord that they are not cast off forever and also to the convincing of the joew jew and gentile that jesus is the christ the eternal god manifesting himself coall to all nations and now it if there are faults they are the mistakes of mew men wherefore condemn not the things of god that Y ye e may be found spot spotless left at the th e judgment sent seat of christ translated by joseph smith jr the account given of the mantler manner in which the plates were found Is clear and straightforward joseph smith who was born in 1805 in n vermont when about fifteen years of age found his mind very seriously ani and power powerfully kully drawn towards religious concerns in the familiar lang language yep of crist hisano h 6 ean fenced to seek for salvation 11 but he was waa bewildered by the discordant jangles of the numerous contending sects and turning from these theoe he sought light and guid guidance oAce in the sacred scriptures he was encouraged by the adylee advice of st james bif if any man awk wisdom let him ask of god I 1 and did not seek the aid of some popular clergyman the exel exciting tift inspiration of the bench xa nor title the solemn ind and formal shrines of the cathedral cati edral buts but with that noble e of nature that character characterized characterised lied the prophet throughout ats whole life he retired alone irm into natures and godas god aade nd fwd temple the brient grovie grove where from a a youthful and unbiased heart he poured out dut his hie sincere and earnest supplications ions for diviner divine light and guidance he was answer answered od A I 1 by beholding a stra fige and 11 1 glorious vision in which two shining rl lorl appealed to him these personages very closely resembled each other and one pointing to the other uttered the words othoe dofice heard by john the bap tt and also by peter upon the 11 holy mount this is my be ved son hear him and the person indicated whom joseph testified was jesus christ informed latt that all a the jarring sects had parted from the pure gospel as ancle anciently taught by the savior and fite ells apostles but that teat the gospel VM w about to be restored again in its ancient purity and power and that au all its gift and should its administration that farther instruction concerning this important work should be given to Ilk hatoor hereafter and the promise was ddll to him hina that tf ff he repented of his sins and was faith faithful fur he should bs b the instrument through which the bew W dispensation should be introduced thus was the strange and adous calling and mission of joseph smith announced by the lighett ahert authority both beth upon earth and a callin calling gand and mission haae mighty sweep embraces embro ces every human being that has lived that abw 00 fives or that will live upon the aarah at any future time and in d dd d as it ja the ushering in of the pen of the lutness of times ta w comprehensive ameliorating in will affect the material faath rth itself although the discovery of the plates and the tian translation of the anat corat records was a marvelous yet this was not abw WK whole nor the most moat import put of ther great mission of jo ph the seer any more than the of the moral law from aw by moses comprised the whole tf hia bu mission the bringing forth er divine guidance gul dAnce of tho the book w mormon was the grand opening tott initial achievement of a series of strange eange at startling and sublime of lost truth science aud nd art including the opening of the e he heavens svens and the establishing 0 bound communication between powen and the habit awa of this planer the restoring also orthe the unadulterated theology theolog yf of the lic age with the divine au fy to teach and administer ite aft and ami ordinances joaeph subsequently received ala visits asom another heavenly nger who informed aimed him that aborigines of America aern of the house of ewel who ho bad diat early times enjoyed the taye adf of the bior I 1 aw the ddn kev ly and Fr Prophett ophe 1 nat ads of had been and abd ateo abo a history df mandof many of the important events connected with their government their religion wars ware ma manners laners and social life that the people turned from righteousness and degenerated into a degraded and barbarous state and finally that one of their last prophets prophete and chroniclers hid up these records in the earth and a promise of the lord was given that they should come forth in the latter days the place where the records were deposited was pointed out by the angel to joseph and he visited the spot indicated which was upon a hiu hill called Cu cumorah it is situated in ithe township of county now new york upon reaching the place joseph found part jofs a larger large stone project aug out of the ground the upper part had been rounded off on and beveled toward the edges leaving the topmost part bare while the edges were under the ground probably stAy when placed there it was completely buried some depth below the surface buethe but the action of the elements had worn away the soil an and i left a por mon of the stone exposed on rals raising the atone one it proved to be the cover of a chest of the sarae same material which wins made impervious to air and moisture by a itar kind of cement around the edges upon removing the cover there was revealed to the astonishment of the youthful beholder a number of gold plates not quite as thick as cor common ninon tin these plates were laid together like the leaves of a book and fastened together at the back by rings running through the whole thus binding them together in a volume and allowing the leaves to be turned this book was about seven by eight in chos in width and length and nearly six inches in thickness fisch each plate was filled on both sides by small but beautifully lUlly engraved egyptian characters while the young man was gazing upon the unique treasure his divine mentor appeared at his side and said you cannot at this time receive this record these plates were not deposited here for the sake of accumulating gain and wealth for the glory of this world they are of no worth among the children of men only for the knowledge which they cont contain aln 11 1 1 it was lour four years yearn before the record was per hermitte mitte I 1 to be removed during which time joseph received ived much farther instruction Instruct km nd admonition to prepare his mind min tor the great and responsible work about to be entrusted to him on the of september 1827 the records were placed in his hands with the plates he also igo received au arr instruments instrument used by prophets and seers in all ages called the arim and Thum mim tei which was also in the he box by the use of this instrument the chosen medium of divine operation tile the prophet joseph translated the engravings upon the plates whether the arim and used by joseph was similar to that possessed by the high priest rheet among the jews dom does not appear but it is described as consisting of two transparent stones set in the rime of a bow using chis curious hastry anent as spectacles the translator gazed upon each naoh character in succession and first the letters and won the equivalent word in english appeared and as he spelled and pronounced each word to the scribe the translated matter faded away and the import of the next character appeared and was read off on the matter thus translated co constitutes the book of mormon and is about as aa much in english as the old testament the first edition liria edby by the translator at Pah nyra NY ayin in 1830 the genuine character acter of the fore going recital rests not upon the divna of joseph smith the testa mony of eleven others is printed with the book the last one of whom has bag but recently passed away they were frequently interviewed and severely interrogated by evers ra but each one of them ithem to his latest breath adhered to his solemn avowal of having seen and handled the sacred records it is principally the religious ardor associated with the book of mormon which repels the selent and curiously enough christian pro fese ors the superhuman super human agency connected with its ita discovery and translation and the claim to divine authority which accompanies its ite introduction tro to the world is insulting to the wisdom and dignity of the tee former and a scathing rebuke re bukea a scourge of excruciating humiliation to the latter divested of these offensive habile cabill ments mente the marvelous and conclusive evidence of the truth of this record in relation to the aboriginal rams races of this continent would have been hailed with a startling nourish of welcoming admiration and ats fortunate projector would have been loaded ath with a prof profusion tion of wealth and popularity but the subsequent history of the sacred registers verinel ver ined the announcement of the celestial messenger when he entrusted them to the guardianship of the youthful prophet they were not to bring gain and wealth and the glory of this world and they never have bave doneit the name of this heavenly messenger was moroni he was the last writer and custodian of ta the compiled treasury of the inspired truths and historic gems by him they were sealed up and deposited in the earth in whose faithful bosom they reposed unmolested for fourteen centuries they were inhumed at a time of cruel and heartrending heart rending distress and amid scenes of frightful bloodshed and woeful misery the whole country around was scoured and ravaged by hordes of men abandoned to ferocious madness who sought each others ruin with more savage rage than the wild and hungry beasts of the forest dis played moroni harassed and hunted for his life ficq fled with his treasure from covert to covert hiding biding in eaves and dens with whose brute occupants he was in less leis peril than with those of his own flesh and blood it was amid such surroundings that the faithful prophet crept cautiously from the tumultuous scene and effected the safe sepulchre of his precious charge with this thrilling and tragic panorama pawing passing vividly before him joined with the deep and solemn significance of the matter then present between him and the man whom god had chosen to receive the sacred oracles cracks from his hands what could be more consistent what more like an angels sentiments senti than moroni morones Is serious admonition neither the golden plates nor their translated version has haft brought wealth or worldly fame to anyone but multitudes have suffered persecution and contumely from having the book and believing its ro records cords the prophet never sought to obtain money or renown from the possession of the original or from the book of mormon he got fame indeed but it was of that character which brought ceaseless anxiety and persecution and finally cost coat him his life J H KELSON to be continued |