USA > Illinois > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Illinois, together with an outline history of the State, and a digest of State laws > Part 22
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No one will deny that it is entirely competent for an individual to take " Manuscript Found," "The Mysteries of Udolpho," the " Last of the Mohicans." or any other book he may choose, and make it the basis of a religious creed; and from it form articles of faith on which to originate and build up a sect. Some of the sects
* Sinee writing the above we have conversed with a gentleman who knew Cowdery well in Tiffin, Ohio, since leaving the Mormons. He says Cowdery confessed to him that when he signed the " Testimony of the Three Witnesses," he " was not one of the best men in the world,"-using his own expression.
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of the day, other than the Mormon, had their origin in a no more reputable manner. And there is no law to prevent people from attaching themselves to such sects and ransacking the world for proselytes. So, had Smith and Rigdon written or stolen " Mann- script Found," and built upon it a creed, claiming no supernatural agency in the matter, and had been able to induce a sect to rally around it, no one could complain. It could only have excited rid- icule and contempt. But when they claim it as a God-given message; that Smith is God's chosen one to communicate it to the world; that the angels of heaven were its bearers to him; and that those who fail to receive it on his ipse dixit are to be eternally lost; and these eleven witnesses testify that they know these things to be true, it puts quite another aspect upon the matter.
The article of the Mormon creed which requires them all to con- gregate together in the "New Zion," and claims all who are not be- lievers as enemies-Gentiles who were ultimately to be cut off-is the rock on which they were wrecked in Ohio, in Missouri and in Illinois, and which will wreck them as long as it remains. The theory that they are the chosen people of God, who are to come in and possess the land for an inheritance, so industriously preached from the beginning, is an aggressive one. No people outside of " Zion " can be expected to relish it. It cannot fail to embroil any people with their neighbors. Though it may be put forth in a fig- urative sense (which we are compelled to say was seldom the case), the ignorant and simple followers were always prone to interpret it literally. It was that, and not persecution for opinion's sake, that worked their ruin in Northern Ohio; it was that, and not persecu- tion for opinion's sake, which drove them from Missouri; it was that, and not persecution, that caused the death of the Smiths in Carthage jail and drove the deluded followers into the wilderness. This very essence of their creed is a challenge-a continual menace everywhere. We do not say there was no wrong done against them in all these places. Far from it. There was much wrong done against them everywhere; and yet that policy of their leader which brought them all to one "Zion," was the great source of Smith's power and influence. It was meat and bread, and fine clothes, and riotous living, and honor and emolument to him, and to Rigdon and the rest of the leaders. Without it, he and they could only have been priests-and poor ones at that-or humble members of an humble sect; and that was not the purpose. With it he was an antocrat, a king; and they were his dukes and lords and nobles.
It is not at all probable that in the beginning of his career, Smith had any thought of founding a religious sect. His only aim was to see how far he could dupe a few idle and worthless associates. His success emboldened him to try still further arts, and make them inure to his own pecuniary benefit. The result, no doubt, astonished him ; and as his influence in that direction increased, his ambition became awakened, and he dimly saw the road to advancement open-
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ing before him. What would have been his course, and what he might have achieved, had not Rigdon and the " Manuscript Found " fallen in his way, it is hard to guess. But the presumption is that, had it not been for this circumstance, the world would never have heard of the Prophet Smith, or been cursed with the delusion of Mormonism.
The following narration, from the pen of Mrs. Matilda Davison, the widow of Rev. Solomon Spaulding, was published in the Bos- ton Recorder in 1839. It gives so clear an account of the origin of the book, and is told with such apparent sincerity and truthful- ness, that we are forced to accept it as true. We are well aware that the Mormons deny the story-deny that Rigdon was ever a printer in the office of Mr. Patterson at Pittsburg-and claim that it is a fabrication of their enemies. But that such a work was written by Mr. Spaulding is incontestable; that it was read fre- quently to his neighbors and friends, and left in manuscript at his death, is equally clear. The only break in the chain is that miss- ing link which places it in the hands of Rigdon and Smith.
MRS. (SPAULDING) DAVISON'S STORY.
Mrs. Davison's story is as follows: "Learning recently that Mormonism has found its way into a Church in Massachusetts, and has impregnated some of its members with its gross delusions, so that excommunication has become necessary, I am determined to delay no longer doing what I can to strip the mask from this mon- ster of sin, and to lay open this pit of abominations. Rev. Solo- mon Spaulding, to whom I was united in marriage in early life, was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and was distinguished for a lively imagination and great fondness for history. At the time of our marriage he resided in Cherry Valley, N. Y. From this place we removed to New Salem, Ashtabula county, O., sometimes called Conneaut, as it is situated upon Conneaut creek. Shortly after our removal to this place, his health sunk, and he was laid aside from active labors. In the town of New Salem there are numerous mounds and forts, supposed by many to be the dilapi- dated dwellings and fortifications of a race now extinct. These ancient relics arrest the attention of the new settlers, and become objects of research for the curious. Numerous implements were found, and other articles, evincing great skill in the arts. Mr. Spaulding being an educated man, passionately fond of history, took a lively interest in these developments of antiquity; and in order to beguile the hours of retirement, and furnish employment for his lively imagination, he conceived the idea of giving an his- torical sketch of this long lost race. Their extreme antiquity, of course, would lead him to write in the most ancient style, and as the Old Testament is the most ancient book in the world, he imi- tated its style as nearly as possible.
" His sole object in writing this historical romance was to amuse himself and neighbors. This was about the year 1812. Hull's
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surrender at Detroit occurred near the same time, and I recollect the date well from that circumstance. As he progressed in his narrative, the neighbors would come in from time to time to hear portions read, and a great interest in the work was excited among them. It claimed to have been written by one of the lost nation, and to have been recovered from the earth, and assumed the title of ' Manuscript Found.' The neighbors would often inquire how Mr. S. progressed in deciphering . the manuscript,' and when he had a sufficient portion prepared he would inform them, and they would assemble to hear it read. He was enabled, from his acquaint- ance with the classics and ancient history, to introduce many sin- gular names, which were particularly noticed by the people and could be easily recognized by them. Mr. Solomon Spaulding had a brother, Mr. John Spaulding, residing in the place at the time, who was perfectly familiar with this work, and repeatedly heard the whole of it read. From New Salem he removed to Pittsburg, Pa. Here Mr. S. found an acquaintance and friend in the person of Mr. Patterson, an editor of a newspaper. He exhibited his man- uscript to Mr. P., who was very much pleased with, and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it a long time, and informed Mr. S. that if he would make out a title-page and preface he would pub- lish it, and it might be a source of profit. This Mr. S. refused to do, for reasons I cannot now state.
" Sidney Rigdon, who has figured so largely in the history of the Mormons, was at this time connected with the printing-office of Mr. Patterson, as is well known in that region, and as Rigdon him- self has frequently stated. Here he had ample opportunity to be- come acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript, and to copy it if he chose. It was a matter of notoriety and interest to all who were connected with the printing establishment. At length the manuscript was returned to its anthor, and soon after we removed to Amity, Washington county, Pa., where Mr. Spalding deceased in 1816. The manuscript then fell into my hands and was care- fully preserved. It has frequently been examined by my daughter, Mrs. McKenstry, of Monson, Mass., with whom I now reside, and by other friends. After the 'Book of Mormon' came out, a copy of it was taken to New Salem, the place of Mr. Spaulding's former res- idence, and the very place where the 'Manuscript Found' was written.
" A woman preacher appointed a meeting there (New Salem), and in the meeting read and repeated copious extracts from the ' Book of Mormon." The historical part was immediately recognized by all the older inhabitants as the identical work of Mr. Spaulding, in which they had been so deeply interested years before. Mr. John Spaulding was present, who is an eminently pious man, and recognized perfectly the work of his brother. He was amazed and afflicted, that it should have been perverted to so wieked a purpose. His grief found vent in a flood of tears, and he arose on the spot and expressed in the meeting his deep sorrow and regret that the
OF LATEP DAY SAINTS
THE NAUVOO, TEMPLE.
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writings of his sainted brother should be used for a purpose so vile and shocking. The excitement in New Salem became so great that the inhabitants had a meeting, and deputed Dr. Philastus Hurl- but, one of their number, to repair to this place, and to obtain from me the original manuscript of Mr. S. for the purpose of com- paring it with the Mormon Bible, to satisfy their own minds, and to prevent their friends and others from embracing an error so delusive. This was in the year 1834. Dr. Hurlbut brought with him an introduction and request for the manuscript, signed by Messrs. Henry Lake, Aaron Wright, and others, with all whom I was acquainted, as they were my neighbors when I resided in New Salem. I am sure that nothing could have given my husband more pain, were he living, than the use which has been made of his work.
"The air of antiquity which was thrown about the composition, doubtless suggested the idea of converting it to purposes of delu- sion. Thus an historical romance, with the addition of a few pious expressions, and extracts from the sacred scriptures, has been con- strued into a New Bible, and palmed off upon a company of poor deluded fanatics, as divine. I have given the previous brief nar- ration, that this work of deception and wickedness may be searched to the foundation, and its author exposed to the contempt and exe- cration he so justly deserves.
MATILDA DAVISON."
A. Ely, D. D., Pastor Congregational Church, and D. R. Austin, Principal of Monson Academy, Mass., certify to the good character of Mrs. (Spaulding) Davison, under date of April 1, 1839. The " Book of Mormon" was printed at Palmyra in the summer of 1830 -Martin Harris mortgaging his farm for the payment. This act, with others in regard to the matter, caused such " unpleasantness " between him and his better half, as to lead to final separation. Mr. Harris afterwards married the widow of the celebrated Morgan, of Anti-Masonic fame, and resided with her at Nauvoo.
The book was printed at the office of the Wayne Sentinel, at Palmyra, of which Mr. Tucker was editor, the type-setting being done by Mr. John H. Gilbert, now a worthy citizen of that place. A great error, we think, was committed by the printers in this matter. In submitting the manuscript, Smith and his helpers insisted that no alteration from copy in any manner was to be made; but the printer having charge of the job found the manu- seript to be in such an imperfect condition, that he objected to the arrangement, and was allowed to correct its " many errors of syn- tax, orthography, punctuation, capitalizing, paragraphing, etc." This was wrong; it should have been printed verbatim. A work " from heaven" should not have been changed in any particular.
A Church organization was also attempted the same year. The most conspicuous names among these earliest members were Cowdery and Harris, the Whitmers and Smiths. We find also
17
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that of Orrin Rockwell, the parent, we believe, of the celebrated "(). P." of Danite Band memory. Previous to this Rigdon was not known among them, though it is believed he had been an occasional visitor at Smith's for a year. He now appeared as the first Mormon preacher. His first sermon was preached at Palmyra, but it was so coolly received that no public attempt at proselytism was ever again made at that place.
Kirtland, Ohio, was soon,chosen by " revelation" as the place for building up the new Zion, and hither all the "Saints" were required to congregate. Active work was commenced ; Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt and others were sent out to preach, and many were converted, who made their way to Kirtland; and in a short time over one hundred had joined them. Here Smith had divers revelations, of which the following may be regarded as chief, as laying the founda- tion of his temporal power. It was a bold stroke, but it was meekly accepted by his followers:
In answer to the question, O Lord, show unto thy servants how much thou requirest of the properties for a tithing. Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, for the building of mine house, and for the laying of the foundations of Zion, and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the presidency of my Church ; and this shall be the beginning of the yearly tithing of my people; and after that, those who have been thus tithed shall pay one-tenth of their interest annually, and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord. Verily, I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you.
How much of one's property was to be called "surplus property" the Lord did not inform them; so it was left for Smith to decide. This was to begin with, and one-tenth annually was to follow. Among the rest, it was to be devoted to "paying the debts of the presidency of the Church." With the funds thus abundantly pro- vided by revelation, milling and merchandising were entered into, and after a time the "Kirtland Safety Society Bank" was estab- lished, on the " wild-cat" plan, and for a period everything went on swimmingly.
But the "We-are-the-Elect" style of preaching and practice, was distasteful to the unbelievers around Kirtland, and difficulties arose. So a new commandment was requisite, and one was forth- coming, that Independence, Missouri, was to be the place for the city of Zion. An embassy was sent, a spot for the temple indi- cated, and numbers flocked to the new " stake," though Smith and a portion remained behind. A temple had already been begun at Kirtland, to cost fifty thousand dollars. But matters at that place grew worse and worse; the mill and the store ceased operations; and the " safety " bank bills, having been freely circu- lated, became depreciated and came flowing in for redemption. To stop this tide, Smith resorted to this stratagem. We copy from the " Latter- Day Saint's Messenger and Advocate," at Kirtland, for August, 1837:
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Caution .- To the brethren and friends of the Church of Latter-Day Saints: I am disposed to say a word relative to the bills of the Kirtland Safety Society Bank. I hereby warn them to beware of speculators, renegades, and gamblers, who are duping the unsuspecting and unwary by palming upon them those bills, which are of no worth here. I discountenance and disapprove of all such practices. I know them to be detrimental to the best interests of society, as well as to the principles of religion. JOSEPH SMITH, Jr.
Cool, for a president of a bank!
Kirtland was now declared to be only a branch of Zion, the main body being at Independence. Here much the same policy was pursued, bringing disaster. The same thing occurred at two or three other points in that State afterward-each time planting a new Zion, and beginning the erection of a temple; till finally, in the fall and winter of 1838, they were expelled from the State.
EXTRACTS AND OPINIONS.
Among the numerous books on Mormonism, perhaps the most curious one is, "The Rocky Mountain Saints: a History of the Mormons," -- by T. B. H. Stenhouse, and issued by the Appletons in 1873. Its author claims to have been for twenty-five years a Mormon Elder and Missionary, and editor of the Salt Lake Daily Telegraph. He was an Englishman, and, from the encomiums passed upon Orson Pratt, we take it he was connected by that gen- tleman during his successful missionary efforts in England. His work contains some of the most terrible accusations and statements against the Salt Lake Mormon leaders; and yet, strange to say, he professes to believe that they are honest and good men !! Of course, it would not do to acknowledge that he had been for 25 years intimately associated with rogues and villains. How he manages to reconcile his opinions with his statements, will be seen in some of the extracts which we quote. Though not among them till after the death of the prophet, he had made himself familiar with his history and has much to say regarding him. He says:
The Mormon organization is thorough and complete. It permeates every position and condition of life, aud controls and governs everything from the cradle to the grave. [p. 6.
Again :
Summed up, Mormonism demands perfect submission-total dethronement of individuality-blind obedience. There is no middle path. [p. 11.
Of the Spaulding story, he writes:
Those who accept such statements as the true solution of this book (the " Book of Mormon ") must necessarily conclude that Joseph" Smith was a deliberate *
falsifier and impostor. There is no avoiding this. * * The most incisive writer on this subject-John Hyde, formerly an Elder in the church- unhesitatingly announces this as his own conclusion. ITis "Analysis of the Book of Mormon and its Internal Evidences," is a masterly work to which no Mormon Elder has ever attempted a reply. [p. 545.
But while the author frankly admits the unanswerable and powerful arguments of Mr. Hyde, he dissents from his conclusions-that Joseph Smith was a willful impostor. [p. 546.
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That is, Hyde makes "unanswerable " arguments, to which Stenhouse dissents!
And here is another:
To the author's mind, Joseph is still defensible against the charge of willful imposture. It does not seem possible that he could have borne up through his whole life of persecution, and have lived and died maintaining the truth of his story, if the book had been a fraud.
Let us look a little into the force of this argument: Joseph Smith died at about the age of forty years-only fourteen years after the promulgation of the " Book of Mormon;" certainly less than twenty years after he could have had any thought of such an imposture. Not a very long period for a man to run a career of infamy. The criminal records of the world abound with cases where grey-haired old men have carried forward their schemes of imposture and other villainies, including rapine and murder, and never relented. John Hyde had been in a position to know, and likely did know, of the truth whereof he wrote.
To insist that there were deliberate imposture and deliberate falsehood at the origin of Mormonism, is to challenge the veracity and honesty of the hundreds and thousands of persons who accept the faith and who testify that they know of its truth .- [p. 552.
Not so; it is only to " challenge the veracity and honesty " of Smith and his eleven witnesses, with a few others, who have been in a position to know whether the claim was true or false. And is it not more reasonable and rational to believe a dozen or score of men to be blasphemers and liars, than to believe that the Almighty would resort to such ridiculous and silly means to reveal great truths to men-truths on which their soul's salvation depends ?
That Joseph Smith was, in these experiences (clairvoyance) one of the most remarkable men that ever lived, those outside of Mormonism altogether, who knew him intimately, testify .-- [p. 551.
No people who knew him intimately ever testified to any such thing. Besides, this is an after apology. While he was living and in the height of his glory and fame, no one ever thought of claim- ing any unusual mental quality for him-clairvoyant or otherwise.
The charges made against him (the prophet Smith) of being an "indolent, worthless young vagabond," are in all probability somewhat exaggerated, for it is hardly possible that the vast energy and benevolence of his after-life could have developed from any such roots .- [p. 14.
Stenhouse, p. 520, quotes approvingly from a correspondent, in which the writer says:
Joseph Smith was no more and no less than a " spirit medinm,"-more im- pressional than clairvoyant or clairaudient. Being the first of the age operated upon by spiritual power, he was very crude in his conceptions, both of the char- acter and modus operandi of spiritual communications, and gave them all the weight of divine revelations, while they were really no more than the opinions of the spirits of men who had once lived on the earth.
Is not this the veriest bosh in the world ? The opinions of departed spirits would not likely cause him to believe that he had found golden plates, worth $15,000 in the market, when he had
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not; that he was daily translating then, and submitting his trans- lations to his friends, when he was doing no such thing ;- and these departed spirits would hardly make the eleven witnesses believe they were handling and "hefting " these valuable golden plates, when there were no such plates to heft and handle. No; the whole story of the origin of Mormonism is either true or false; and how much more reasonable to account for it on that theory, than to ran- sack the unseen and the unknown world for a theory to make its founder an honest but deluded man. Delusion there certainly was, and still is; but it is the delusion of the followers and believers of the blasphemous story. No theory of delusion can apply to his case and the cases of his co-workers. Our author has cited cases of delusion in the world's history, in proof; but where there has been one case of delusion approaching this in character, there have been a thousand of brilliant and successful rascality, many of them transcending this in enormity.
And so, of Brigham Young, one author says, page 460:
That Brigham Young is by his natural instincts, a bad man, or that his Apostles or his Bishops are men of blood, is not true. Here and there among them a mali- cious man is met with, but apart from religion, the ruling men in Utah would be considered good citizens in any community.
Let the scenes of the Mountain Meadow massacre, the dastardly killing of the Parrishes at Springville, and the heart-rending assas- sination of the seceding prophet, Morris and his followers, answer this statement. True, it has not been shown that Brigham actually gave the orders for the commission of these demoniacal crimes, so strongly depicted by Stenhouse himself; yet that he was an acces- sory before and after the fact, is as clear as sunlight. The whole life of Brigham Young in Utah has been a standing attestation that he could have looked with complacency on and seen their little Jor- dan running with blood, if that blood was from the veins of Gentile unbelievers; or he could find some sanction for its shedding in one of Smith's or his own pretended revelations, or for the successful up-building of the priesthood. "Apart from religion," these "Apostles and Bishops " would be good citizens in any community! What is "religion?" " Apart from a system which requires a blind, unquestioning obedience to a priesthood, and an entire and absolute abnegation of conscience and of self, and surrounded and restrained by the conservative influences of society and law, they might have been passive and peaceful, but not "good " citizens. To place one's self of his own free will and choice, in a position to do evil, is an essential ingredient of a bad citizen.
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