Benjamin G. Ferris (1802-1891)
Utah and the Mormons
(NYC, Harper and Brothers 1854, 56)
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UTAH AND THE MORMONS, THE HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINES, CUSTOMS, AND PROSPECTS OF T H E L A T T E R - D A Y S A I N T S. FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION DURING A SIX MONTHS' RESIDENCE AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. BY BENJAMIN G. FERRIS, LATE SECRETARY OF UTAH TERRITORY. 
NEW YORK: H A R P E R & B R O T H E R S, P U B L I S H E R S, FRANKLIN SQUARE, 1856. |
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The aim has been to give a strictly impartial account of the Mormons as they have been and as they are, without abstaining, however, from a free expression viii P R E F A C E. of opinion, whenever the facts seemed to warrant a fair conclusion. To insure correctness, they have been allowed to speak for themselves whenever it has been practicable, and consistent with the brevity of the work. Aside from publications professedly Mormon, much assistance has been derived from a book entitled "The Mormons," recently published in London. The recent and excellent work of Lieutenant Gunnison, entitled "The History of the Mormons," might seem to preclude the necessity of any further publications on the same subject, and it probably would have prevented the present, had it come into my hands at an earlier period. Yet I would fain believe that a more full development of some of the most distinctive features of Mormonism than fell under his ondervation, with the rare opportunity which my position gave me for obtaining facts, will make it acceptable to the public. It may not be inappropriate in this place to say that I was received at Salt lake City and uniformly treated with friendly courtesy. It was my good fortune, while there, to be domesticated as a boarder in the family of Mrs. Farnham, who, though a Mormon, took unwearied pains to promote the comforts of her "Gentile" guests. Among those with whom I was thrown into frequent communication, I hold in particular remembrance Judge Z. Snow, Mr. H. L. Heywood, the territorial marshal, Mr. William C. Staines, the librarian, Dr. Willard Richards, the postmaster, and his assistant, Mr. Kane, Mr. A. Carrington, of the Legislative Assembly, and Mr. J. Grimshaw, who seemed to take pleasure in rendering polite and kind attentions. Ithaca, New York, April, 1854. |
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29 The Great Basin: its geographical Features and Curiosities. -- Great Salt Lake. -- Utah Lake. -- Iron and Coal. -- Agricultural Capacities and Drawbacks. -- Irrigation. -- Alkaline Salts. -- Scarcity of Timber. -- Political I mportance. -- Business. -- Mt. Livingston. -- Great Salt Lake City. -- "Ensign Peak." -- Cities. -- Health. -- Improvements.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV. x C O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER V. 81 Mormons quit Clay and remove into Caldwell County. -- Joseph's Journeys into Missouri. -- Sets up a Bank at Kirtland. -- Leaves Kirtland in the Night. -- Troubles in Missouri. -- "Danites." -- Joseph arrested, and Mormons agree to leave the State. -- Murder at Hawn's Mill. -- Mormons remove to Illinois. -- Evidence on the Trial of Joseph. -- His Imprisonment and Escape.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX. C O N T E N T S. xi
CHAPTER X. 171 Priesthoods. -- The President is Prophet and Seer: his power. -- Tithing. -- Individual cases. -- Tithing-office..
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV. x C O N T E N T S. CHAPTER XV. 246 Prevalence of Polygamy. -- Its Effects on Population. -- Arguments in its Favor. -- Its Effects on Morals. -- Frightful Licentiousness. -- Oys Influence on the first Wife. -- Divisions and Hatred in Families. CHAPTER XVI. 264 Book of Mormon. -- Proofs of its modern Origin. -- Its Style. -- Arguments in Favor of the System.CHAPTER XVII. 284 Efforts to make female Converts. -- Mode of conducting public Worship. -- Sermon by Parley P. Pratt. -- Schools. -- Deseret News. -- Doctor Richards. -- Deseret Almanac, by W. W. Phelps. -- Language used in public Discourses.CHAPTER XVIII. 303 Social Intercourse. -- Governor's Party. -- Influence of Polygamy upon Amusements. -- Style of Building. -- Amusing Scenes growing out of Polygamy. -- Superstition. -- Endowment Robes. -- Initiation Ceremonies. -- The Curse. -- The Patriarch and his Blessings. -- Gift of Tongues. -- Notions on Slavery.CHAPTER XIX. 318 Manner of making Converts. -- Doctor Cox. -- English Converts. -- Cintinual Loss of Members. -- Dissentions. -- Gladdenism. -- Apparent Decline of Mormonism. -- Decrease of Population. -- Present Character of its Missionaries. -- Conclusion.CHAPTER XX. 340 Territorial Changes. -- Young. -- Difficulty with Secretary Harris and other Officers. -- Change of Tactics. -- Colonel Steptoe. -- Efforts of Brigham to retain Office. -- Mormons excite Indian Hostilities. -- Trial and Escape of the Murders of Captain Gunnison. -- Population. -- Decline of Missionary Efforts in the United States. -- Polygamy, &c. -- What is to be Done?371 APPENDIX. |
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UTAH AND THE MORMONS.
49
The case is entirely different with the New World. Its history, anterior to the discovery of Columbus, is involved in a mystery more impenetrable than the past physical changes of the globe. The latter are measurably illustrated by the various formations which compose the earth's crust, and the fossil remains which are imbedded in its strata, while the former is lost in the confused, absurd, and contradictory traditions of its barbarous native population. There are the remains of ruined cities in the neighborhood of the Isthmus of Panama; but, if we are to credit the earlier discoverers of America, these cities are comparatively of modern origin. There are also hieroglyphics, glyphs, 50 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. mounds, obscure traces of fortifications, &c., all exhibiting the existence of a people but little in advance of the barbarous and semi-barbarous tribes and nations found by the original discoverers. Where these people came from -- how many states and nations had existed among them -- through what changes, revolutionary or otherwise, they had passed, are things involved in obscurity, to penetrate which the ingenuity and imagination of many persons have been exercised from the time of Columbus to the present. A favorite theory, in support of which much learning and acuteness have been manifested, has been to people the North American Continent from the wandering tribes of Israel. In or about the year 1809, a man by the name of Solomon Spaulding, a graduate of Dartmouth College, removed from Cherry Valley, in the State of New York, to New Salem (Conneaught), Ashtabula county, Ohio. At one period of his life he was a clergyman, but seems to have laid aside that profession for secular business, in which he failed, and his bankruptcy was the immediate motive of his removal to Ohio. New Salem, or Conneaught, as it is sometimes called, is rich in American antiquities -- mounds, fortifications, and sundry relics of a past race, in which Spaulding, who was a man of learning and imagination, took an unusual interest. He adopted the theory which peoples America from the Israelites, and readily conceived and carried out the idea of writing a fictitious history of this ancient race, influenced partly by his literary tastes, and partly by the hope of making money by the sale of the book. His work was styled the UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 51 "Manuscript Found," and purported to be the translation of an ancient manuscript found by him; and to make the story as consistent as possible, he endeavored to imitate the style of the Scriptures, in which he was aided by his previous biblical studies. He describes the departure of a family of Jews -- the father, Lehi, and four sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi, with their wives -- from Jerusalem into the wilderness, in the reign of Zedekiah, and, after various wanderings, their voyage to the Western Continent, under the leadership of Nephi, one of the brothers. On their journey and voyage they became distracted by dissensions, which in America resulted in their division into hostile tribes, which branched out and populated the country, built up large cities, engaged in fierce wars, and underwent various changes and revolutions. Laman appears to have been the focus of disaffection in this: imaginary family, and his descendants became a very powerful nation or tribe, under the name of Lamanites, engaging frequently in wars, and destroying the country and cities of the more peaceable Nephites. The frequency of these wars eventually broke up and destroyed the regular avocations of peace; the people became barbarized, and split up into predatory bands, plundering and murdering each other, until, in fine, they degenerated into the vagabond Indians of the American Continent. Besides the names already mentioned, the names of Mormon, Moroni, Mosiah, Helaman, and others frequently occur in the book, and represent the heroes, prophets, and great men who figured in this drama. As Spaulding progressed with his work, he was in the habit of amusing himself and sundry of 52 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. his neighbors by reading to them his manuscript, and availed himself of their observations in making emendations and additions. He labored upon it for about three years, at the end of which, in 1812, he removed to Pittsburg, Pa., where he became intimate with a printer by the name of Patterson, in whose hands he placed the manuscript, with the design of having it published, and with him it remained a number of years. Sidney Rigdon, a man of some versatility -- a kind of religious Ishmaelite -- sometimes a Campbellite preacher, and sometimes a printer, and at all times fond of technical disputations in theology -- was at this time in the employment of Patterson, and became so much interested in the "Manuscript Found," as to copy it, "as he himself has frequently stated." No satisfactory contract appears to have been made for the printing; at least, it was delayed, for some reason or other, until Spaulding found it necessary to remove from Pittsburg to Amity, in Washington county, New York, where he died in 1816. What subsequently became of the original manuscript does not very distinctly appear, owing to the death of Spaulding, and also that of Patterson in 1826. According to a statement of Mrs. Spaulding, made in 1839, it was taken from Pittsburg by her husband, and after his death remained in her hands, with other of his papers, in a trunk. She subsequently remarried, and this trunk, with the manuscript, was left in Otsego county; but on search being made, in or about the year 1839, by some persons interested in exposing the pretensions of Joseph Smith, Jr., then attracting some attention, the important document was not to be found. UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 53 In the year 1815, the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., removed with his family of boys from the county of Windsor, Vermont, to Palmyra, New York, from which he subsequently removed to Manchester, in the county of Ontario, remaining in both places about eleven years. He was a laboring man, and professed to be a farmer, but he manufactured and peddled baskets and wooden bowls, and, withal, his employments appear to have been of a miscellaneous character, not very. consistent with regular industry. The members of the family were held in light estimation by their neighbors, some of whom subsequently described them as "notorious for breach of contracts and the repudiation of their honest debts." Joseph, Jr., was ten years old when the family first settled in Palmyra, and, as represented by those hostile to his subsequent pretensions, he grew up among bad associates, totally averse to any thing in the shape of regular industry; and a ready adept in the art of "living by one's wits." His physiognomy indicated sensuality and cunning, in which latter trait his mind was unusually versatile. He affected great mystery in his movements; pretended to the gift of discovering hidden treasures, and the possession of seer-stones by which they could be found; traveled about the country, appearing and disappearing in a mysterious manner; possessed a plausible and wordy jargon, by which many minds are easily captivated; and, in various ways, cheated and robbed sundry simpletons, who were persuaded to credit his pretensions. Nor did he confine his attention to any single branch of the business of deception, but allowed himself to be drawn into the 54 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. vortex of a pseudo-religious revival, and became quite as wordy in the vocabulary of hypocritical cant. On the other hand, his subsequent followers allege, that, though of very humble origin, and of extremely limited education, he was of retired habits, and religiously disposed; that, as early as fifteen years of age, "he began seriously to reflect upon the necessity of being prepared for a future state of existence, spending much of his time in prayer and other acts of devotion." They do not deny that he may, in common parlance, have been a "money-digger;" but claim that, whatever had been the character of his occupations, or the method of their performance, he was afterward rendered pure by the forgiveness of his sins. Which is the true and which the false construction of the early character of this remarkable man, depends, of course, upon the evidence furnished by his subsequent career. During Smith's searching operations for the discovery of hidden treasures, it is more than probable that he exhumed one or more of those curious glyphs which now figure so largely in the list of American antiquities. These consist of metallic plates, covered with hieroglyphical characters. Professor Rafinesque, in his Asiatic Journal for 1832, describes similar plates found by him in Mexico as being "written from top to bottom, like the Chinese, or from side to side indifferently, like the Egyptian and the Demotic Libyan." A number of these remains were found in 1843, near Kinderhook, Pike county, Illinois, and described as "six plates of brass of a bell shape, each having a hole near the small end, and a ring through all, and clasped with UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 55 two clasps. The ring and clasps appeared to be iron, very much oxydated. The plates first appeared to be copper, and had the appearance of being covered with characters. A subsequent cleansing by sulphuric acid brought out the characters distinctly." It seems to be strongly confirmed that Smith discovered one of these singular specimens of American antiquity, in the fact that, soon after the alleged discovery of the golden: Bible, he sent Martin Harris to Professor Anthon with characters which, according to the professor's description, are identical with those which appear upon them. In the course of his wanderings, Smith met with, and formed the acquaintance of, Sidney Rigdon. According to that view of the case which proceeds upon the hypothesis that he was an impostor, it would not be unreasonable to believe that these two men together conceived the idea of starting a system of religious imposture upon a scale commensurate with the popular credulity. Conjointly they possessed, in mercantile phrase, the requisite capital for such an adventure. Smith had cunning, plausible volubility, seer stones, mysterious antiquities, and, withal, the prestige of success; Sidney was versed in the "lights and shadows" of religious verbiage, had some literary pretensions, was a printer, and, above all, had a copy of Spaulding's book. Which started the bright idea of the Golden Bible is not known, though in all likelihood the credit is due to Smith, as he ever after maintained the ascendancy in the new hierarchy. After the plan had assumed a definite form and shape in the minds of the originators, it was easy for Joseph, in his perambulations, to 56 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. trace out and secure the original manuscript of Spaulding, to guard the intended scheme from exposure, and the lapse of time and death of many of the parties seemed to make it safe to dispense with any alteration of names in the new Bible. To Smith was reserved the honor of making the first open demonstration, because success in deception had rendered him bold and skillful. Sidney was not to come in until some time afterward, and then ostensibly as a convert to the new religion; this would give time to see what kind of an earthquake the mixture of iron filings and sulphur was likely to produce, and his conversion would help to increase the commotion. Accordingly, we find him striking his colors to the first broadside of Parley P. Pratt, one of the earliest Mormon preachers. All things being in readiness, Smith, in due season, emerged from the chrysalis of a money-digger to the butterfly of a prophet and herald of a new dispensation. A portion of mankind have been looking for the last days for the past eighteen hundred years, and at the period in question were ready to run into Millerism or any other ism whereby their notions could be accommodated in this respect. A prophet, therefore, who could superadd to the discovery of a golden Bible a proclamation of the speedy destruction of all mundane things, a power of attorney for the restoration of an authorized priesthood and the gathering of the Saints, and make a formidable display of miraculous powers, was the most acceptable gift which could be made to popular superstition. Here, then, would seem to have been combined the elements of an imposture which has since, branched out and gathered strength, until it has UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 57 become the most noted instance in modern times of the development and growth of religious fanaticism. But those who regard the new system with more favor take a very different view of the case. In the light in which they regard it, Joseph Smith, Jr., in or about the year 1820, had a kind of preparatory vision, while he was in a retired place engaged in prayer, in which two glorious personages appeared to him, and informed him that his sins were forgiven him, and "that all the religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and consequently that none of them was acknowledged of God as his Church and kingdom" and he "received a promise that the true doctrine and the fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be revealed to him." After this he fell away somewhat, but repented, and on the 22d of September, 1823, had another vision, in which an angel appeared, and announced to him that he was to be the chosen instrument of introducing a new dispensation; that the American Indians were a remnant of the Israelites, who, after emigrating to this country, had their prophets and inspired writings; that such of these writings as had not; been destroyed were safely deposited in a certain place; that they contained revelations in regard to the last days; and that, if he remained faithful, he would be the chosen instrument to translate them. The next day "the angel again appeared, and having been informed by the previous visions of the night concerning the place where these records were deposited, he was instructed to go immediately and view them." Accordingly, the new-born prophet repaired to a hill 58 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. about four miles from Palmyra, on the west side of which he dug down and found a stone box, so firmly cemented that the moisture could not enter. In this box the records were found deposited. On being exposed to view, the angel, of course, appeared, and there was a wonderful display of celestial pyrotechnics, and the prophet was permitted to see that the devil, "surrounded by his innumerable train of associates," was also present. Strange to say, however, Joseph was not yet permitted to have the plates, and it was not until the 22d of September, 1827, and after a great deal of negotiation between him and the angel, that they were placed in his possession. The following is a description of these important documents, by Orson Pratt, one of the Mormon champions. "These records were engraved on plates which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was not far from seven by eight inches in width and length, being not quite as thick as common tin. They were filled on both sides with engravings in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, and fastened at one edge with three rings running through the whole. This volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters or letters upon the unsealed part were small and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, as well as much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found 'a curious instrument, called by the ancients the Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones, clear as crystal, set in the two rims of a bow. This was in use in ancient times by UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 59 persons called seers. It was an instrument, by the use of which they received revelation of things distant, or of things past or future.' " The incredulous reader will be very apt to perceive how completely the ideas in this description are suggested by the ancient glyphs before alluded to; he will also recognize Joseph's "seer stones" in the "Urim and Thummim" here mentioned. A comparison of dates, too, will be very natural in this connection. "The Manuscript Found" fell into the hands of Rigdon somewhere between 1812 and 1816, in which latter year Spaulding died. Between this and 1827 there was ample time, not only to trace out and gain possession of the original manuscript, but to add the religious matter found in the Book of Mormon, which, with the exception of numerous extracts from the Bible, is in substance and form entirely beneath criticism as a literary performance. Patterson died in 1826, and the new Bible could in the following year be drawn from its hiding place without risk of exposure from him. Smith boldly exhibited not only the external form of a golden Bible, which, however, no unsanctified hands were permitted to touch, but also a neatly-polished marble box, in a hole in the ground, which was either prepared by the prophet Moroni some fifteen hundred years ago, or by Joseph Smith, Jr., and one or two others, at a more modern period. It is a fact, that for about three years Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and a man by the name of M'Knight, were almost continually absent together from their homes, especially at night, and the neighbors were uncharitable enough to charge them with gambling and counterfeiting during these 60 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. stealthy interviews, until the Book of Mormon was discovered, and then these people accused them of being engaged in polishing and preparing the stone box, and manufacturing all that was ever seen of the golden Bible. According to Smith, however, he was, during this period, engaged in lonely vigils and prayerful communion with heaven, in preparation for the holy office to which he was about to be summoned. This wonderful discovery soon raised a popular commotion -- but let Orson Pratt describe for himself: "Soon the news of his discoveries spread abroad throughout all those parts. False reports, misrepresentations, and base slanders, flew as if upon the wings of the wind in every direction. The house was frequently beset by mobs and evil designing persons. Several times he was shot at and very narrowly escaped. Every device was used to get the plates away from him. And being continually in danger of his life from a gang of abandoned wretches, he at length concluded to leave the place and go to Pennsylvania; and, accordingly, packed up his goods, putting the plates into a barrel of beans, and proceeded upon his journey. He had not gone far before he was overtaken by an officer with a search-warrant, who flattered himself with the idea that he should surely obtain the plates; after searching very diligently, he was sadly disappointed at not finding them. Mr. Smith then drove on, but before he got to his journey's end he was again overtaken by an officer on the same business, and after ransacking the wagon very carefully, he went his way as much chagrined as the first at not being able to discover the object of his research. Without any further UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 61 molestation, he pursued his journey until he came into the northern part of Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River, in which part his father-in-law resided." Sidney Rigdon, it will also be recollected, resided in the State of Pennsylvania. Joseph being thus quietly housed, and, thanks to the beans, the plates safe in his hands, he proceeded to the work of translation; but, being a poor penman, he soon provided himself with a scribe in the person of Oliver Cowdry, who subsequently became one of the witnesses to the verity of the book. He stationed himself behind a screen, with the "Urim and Thummim" in his hat, and read off sentence after sentence, which Cowdry wrote down as an amanuensis. This process occupied a number of years. During the work of translation, and on the 15th of May, 1829, John the Baptist appeared and laid hands on Smith and Cowdry, ordaining them into the Aaronic priesthood, and commanded them to baptize each other, which they accordingly did; at the same time, he informed them that he was sent by Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Melchisedek priesthood, which was to be conferred in due time; Smith to be first, and Cowdry second elder. The thing began now to assume more form and shape. The family of the prophet's father were speedily converted; and, out of this family circle, a man of some property, by the name of Martin Harris, who had been a Quaker, Methodist, Baptist, and finally Presbyterian, was so much captivated with the scheme, that he advanced some money to aid in the publication of the book. Harris had a strong desire to see the wonderful plates. The prophet, however, put him off, on 62 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. the ground that he was not holy enough, but gave him the transcript of some of the characters on a piece of paper, which this admiring disciple submitted, to the inspection of Professor Anthon, of New York. The professor's letter to a Mr. Howe, who subsequently wrote him on the subject, contains so life-like a description of the modus operandi of the new prophet, that it is here given entire. "New York, February 17th, 1834. "DEAR SIR, -- I received your letter of the 9th, and lose no time in making a reply. The whole story about my pronouncing the Mormon inscription to be 'reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics' is perfectly false. Some years ago, a plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer called on me with a note from Dr. Mitchill, of our city, now dead, requesting me to decipher, if possible, the paper which the farmer would hand me. Upon examining the paper in question, I soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick -- perhaps a hoax. When I asked the person who brought it how he obtained the writing, he gave me the following account: A 'gold book,' consisting of a number of plates fastened together by wires of the same material, had been dug up in the northern part of the State of New York, and along with it an enormous pair of 'spectacles!' These spectacles were so large, that, if any person attempted to look through them, his two eyes would look through one glass only, the spectacles in question being altogether too large for the human face. 'Whoever,' he said, 'examined the plates through the glasses, was enabled not only to read them, but fully to understandUTAH AND THE MORMONS. 63 their meaning.' All this knowledge, however, was confined to a young man, who had the trunk containing the book and spectacles in his sole possession. This young man was placed behind a curtain, in a garret in a farm-house, and being thus concealed from view, he put on the spectacles occasionally, or, rather, looked through one of the glasses, deciphered the character in the book, and having committed some of them to paper, handed copies from behind the curtain to those who stood outside. Not a word was said about their being deciphered by the 'gift of God.' Every thing in this way was effected by the large pair of spectacles. The farmer added, that he had been requested to contribute a sum of money toward the publication of the 'Golden Book,' the contents of which would, as he was told, produce an entire change in the world, and save it from ruin. So urgent had been these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm, and giving the amount to those who wished to publish the plates. As a last precautionary step, he had resolved to some to New York, and obtain the opinion of the learned about the meaning of the paper which be had brought with him, and which had been given him as part of the contents of the book, although no translation had at that time been made by the young man with the spectacles. On hearing this odd story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and instead of viewing it any longer as a hoax, I began to regard it as part of a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated my suspicions to him, warning him to beware of rogues. He requested an opinion from me in writing, which, of course, I declined to 64 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. give, and he then took his leave, taking his paper with him. "This paper in question was, in fact, a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of singular characters, disposed in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book containing various alphabets, Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses, and flourishes; Roman letters inverted, or placed sideways, were arranged and placed in perpendicular columns; and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle, divided into various compartments, arched with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican calendar, given by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source whence it was derived. I am thus particular as to the contents of the paper, inasmuch as I have frequently conversed with my friends on the subject since the Mormon excitement began, and well remember that the paper contained any thing else but 'Egyptian hieroglyphics.' "Some time after, the farmer paid me a second visit. He brought with him the 'gold book' in print, and offered it to me for sale. I declined purchasing. He then asked permission to leave the book with me for examination. I declined receiving it, although his manner was strangely urgent. I adverted once more to the roguery which, in my opinion, had been practiced upon him, and asked him what had become of the gold plates. He informed me that they were in a trunk with the spectacles. I advised him to go to a magistrate, and have the trunk examined. He said 'the curse of God' would come upon him if he did. UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 65 On my pressing him, however, to go to a magistrate, he told me he would open the trunk if I would take 'the curse of God' upon myself. I replied I would do so with the greatest willingness, and would incur every risk of that nature, provided I could only extricate him from the grasp of the rogues. He then left me. I have given you a full statement of all that I know respecting the origin of Mormonism, and must beg you, as a personal favor, to publish this letter immediately, should you find my name mentioned again by these wretched fanatics. Yours respectfully, "CHARLES ANTHON." Much of the marvel attached to the idea that an illiterate young man could fluently dictate in connected series a voluminous work, is of course removed when we regard him as reading from Spaulding's manuscript, but to those not in the secret it was sufficiently miraculous, and made a deep impression. This seeming prodigy has been used as one of the strongest proofs of the divinity of his mission. In the usual sense of the term, Smith was an uneducated man. His book knowledge was very limited. He often said, in substance, "How could I, as an illiterate impostor, hope to impose upon the intelligence of the nineteenth century?" and all persons of learning and refinement, who live in an upper world of their own, and in ignorance of the under-currents of ignorance and superstition coursing beneath them, were astonished at the prodigy. But in this he exhibited his almost intuitive knowledge of the weak traits of humanity, in which, in fact, he had more available learning than all the 66 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. closet men put together. His own autobiography shows him well studied at an early period in the nice shades and differences of modern sectarian creeds, and subsequent developments proved him well read in the history of Mohammed and other religious impostors. He would undoubtedly have excelled in such other pursuits as were suited to his disposition and tastes. As a gambler, he would have exhibited unrivaled dexterity; as a trader, he would have been a skillful sharper; as a military man, a master of strategy; as a politician, an adroit whipper-in; and as a policeman (without a single lesson from "Old Hays"), a first-rate nabber of thieves and discoverer of stolen goods.
CHAPTER IV.
"The Book of Mormon contains the history of the ancient inhabitants of America, who were a branch of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Joseph, of whom the Indians are still a remnant; but the principal nation of them having fallen in battle in the fourth or fifth UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 67 century, one of their prophets, whose name was Mormon, saw fit to make an abridgment of their history, their prophecies, and their doctrines, which he engraved on plates, and afterward being slain, the records fell into the hands of his son Moroni, who, being hunted by his enemies, was directed to deposit the records safely in the earth, with a promise from God that it should be preserved, and should be brought to light in the latter days by means of a Gentile nation who should possess the land. The deposit was made about the year 420, on a hill then called Cumora, now in Ontario county, where it was preserved in safety until it was brought to light by no less than the ministry of angels, and translated by inspiration; and the Great Jehovah bore record of the same to chosen witnesses, who declare it to the world." The occurrence of the same leading events and names in the "Manuscript Found" and the Book of Mormon, which fact is proved by a perfect cloud of witnesses living in and about New Salem, Ohio, establishes to the satisfaction of the anti-Mormon the identity of the two works beyond all possible question, whatever of confusion or contradiction there may be in regard to the ultimate destination of Spaulding's book. In the death of the principal personages, it is easy to confuse dates and circumstances; but such a series of coincidences could not by possibility have happened by chance, and seems to demonstrate either that Spaulding took a peep into the stone box at Cumora, or that Joseph got possession of his manuscript. The prophet was a bold innovator. In defiance of the maxim that truth is open and aboveboard, and 68 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. that roguery requires mystery, and concealment, he strenuously guarded the sacred plates from the gaze of profane curiosity. It was accordingly revealed to him that they were not to be exhibited to any, except the witnesses chosen by the Lord for that purpose; and it seems that after the translation and witnessing, the angel who had negiotiated the whole business on the part of the supernatural powers took them in charge. In the first place, three witnesses were oftained -- Oliver Cowdry, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, who certify to having seen the plates, and to their having been "translated by the gift and power of God" -- and they declare, "with words of siberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon." Afterward eight more witnesses were procured, who signed a short certificate in terms more general than the first -- John Whitmer, Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Senr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith. Who were these witnesses upon whose testimony depends the authenticity of a new Bible, and the verity of a new religious dispensation? Three of them are the father and two brothers of the prophet, and five are made up of a family of Whitmers; and Hiram Page was a brother-on-law of the Whitmers. If we are to credit the affidavits made by sundry of the neighbors, their characters are all very much below par, according to the Gentile standard. But it will perhaps be more satisfactory to adduce Mormon testimony on the subject. UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 69 Harris, who, it will be recollected, exhibited a specimen of the mysterious characters to Professor Anthon, subsequently lost the bulk of his property in the Mormon adventure, and fell into utter disgrace with his prophet himself, who spoke of him in the following disparaging terms in the "Elder's Journal:" "There are negroes who wear white skins as well as those who wear black ones. Granes [sic] Parrish had a few others, who acted as lackies, such as Martin Harris, &c. but they are so far beneath contempt that a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make." From a statement of Sidney Rigdon, while the Saints were at Independence in 1838, it appears that Oliver Cowdry and David Whitmer were connected with a gang of "counterfeiters, thieves, liars, and blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat, and defraud the Saints." But this is not all; Hyrum Smith, in 1839, wrote an account of his sufferings while in confinement in Missouri, in which he speaks in the following terms of Oliver Cowdry: "Those with whom I had been acquainted from my youth, and who had ever pretended the greatest friendship towards me, came to my house while I was in prison, and ransacked and carried off many of my valuables, this they did under the cloak of friendship. Amongst those who treated me thus I cannot help making particular mention of Lyman Cowdry, who, in connexion with his brother Oliver Cowdry, took from me a great many things; and to cap the climax of his iniquity, compelled my aged father, by threatning to bring a mob upon him, to deed over to him, or his brother Oliver, about one hundred and sixty acres of land to pay a note which I had 70 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. given to Oliver for one hundred and sixty-five dollars.” This note he pronounced a forgery. Oliver Cowdry was afterward arraigned before the Church, and found guilty of sundry charges, among which were, 2d. “For seeking to destroy the character of Joseph Smith, Jr., by falsely insinuating that he was guilty of adultery,” &c. 8th. “For disgracing the Church by being connected in the bogus business, as common report says.” Oliver and Martin were expelled or seceded, but afterward received again into the bosom of the Church, possessing too many of the qualifications of good membership to be long absent from the Latter-day sanctuary. The true believers greatly wondered that the Mormon divinity should have made such a mistake in the character of his chosen witnesses, but were sufficiently reassured when instructed that it was a trial of their faith. On the 1st of June, 1830, the prophet organized his Church at Fayette, in the county of Ontario, consisting of thirty members. But this was found to be an unfavorable locality: these embryo saints were held in light repute in that region; and, in the course of the same year, Joseph removed to, and established his headquarters at Kirtland, Ohio; not exactly as the future capital of his new religious empire, but as one of the stakes of Zion yet to be located. Here the furnace of this new fanaticism got into full and powerful blast. Superadded to the power of translating the Book of Mormon in particular, and all mysterious hieroglyphics in general, through a mammoth pair of spectacles, Joseph received the gift of prophecy and revelation: UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 71 he became not only the translator of these ancient records, but the prophet, seer, and revelator of the current era. These extraordinary gifts he exercised without stint or measure. The fount of revelation poured forth through this chosen aqueduct a seemingly unceasing and never-ending flood: the shrines of ancient heathendom were altogether cast into the shade by this modem oracle, which obediently responded at all times and on all occasions, to meet the exigencies and gratify the desires of Joseph and his coadjutors. All the movements of the Church and its members, whether of a secular or religious character, were regulated by these celestial responses. Any one curious in the lights, shadows, branchings, and ramifications of pseudo-religious commotions, can be gratified by reading the book of “Doctrines and Covenants,” where the most important of these Sibylline leaves are collated for the edification and guidance of the Latter-day Saints. Missionaries were sent forth by revelation, and entered upon their work with zeal, performing miracles, speaking with unknown tongues, healing the sick, &c. The thing was new, mysterious, and marvelous; its pretensions were great; its advocates bold and plausible; where there was so much smoke, it was readily believed there must be some fire; the last days were believed to be at hand, and multitudes rushed into the new Zion. Such an aggregation of combustible materials produced a corresponding conflagration, and all accounts agree that the wildest vagaries of modern revivalism were manifested to such a degree, that Joseph was compelled to attach a safety-valve to the boiler, lest 72 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. the concern should explode. He moderated the zeal of the over-zealous, rebuked the too lofty pretensions of some who were disposed to “see visions and dream dreams” on their own hook, and established the very important principle that he alone was the only reliable medium of revelation. Like a prudent general, too, he made seasonable provision for his own safety. As early as July, 1830, a revelation on this point ran in the following strain: “Magnify thine office; and after thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them, go speedily unto the Church which is in Colesville, Fayetteville, and Manchester, and they shall support thee.” In February, 1831, the oracle was still more explicit: “And again, it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., should have a house built, in which to live and translate.” “If ye desire the mysteries of my kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth.” Kirtland was never intended to be the metropolis of Mormonism; it was selected as a temporary abiding-place, to make money in reference to a removal further west. Oliver Cowdry was sent forward as a missionary to the Lamanites, and to explore a place for the future Zion. On his return, he gave so flattering an account of the western borders of Missouri, that Joseph resolved to go himself. Accordingly, he and Sidney Rigdon, in obedience to a revelation (June, 1831), repaired to Jackson county, Missouri, and fixed on the spot where Independence now stands as the site of the great Mormon temple, and the gathering-place of the Latter-day Saints. UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 73 Everything appeared so sunny in this delightful region, on the borders of civilized and savage life, where the Lamanites and the Gentiles could be within convenient range of the Mormon batteries, that Joseph was tempted to obtain a revelation, in which matters were more clearly defined than is usual in prophetic annunciations. The following is the heavenly response on this occasion (July, 1831): 74 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. “Hearken, O ye elders of my Church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints. Wherefore this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the centre place, and the spot for the Temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the Court-house: wherefore it is wisdom that the land should be purchased by the Saints; and also my tract lying westward, even unto the line running between Jew and Gentile; and also my tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my disciples arc enabled to buy lands. Behold, this is wisdom, that they may obtain it for an everlasting inheritance.” By the Jew is here understood the Lamanite or Indian. The site of Zion having been thus duly fixed, the enginery of revelation was also put in motion to raise the means. From a number we select the following: “He that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion shall receive an inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow him; and also reward in the world to come.” “Let all the moneys that can be spared, it mattereth not whether it be little or much, be sent up unto the land of Zion, unto them whom I have appointed to receive.” (August, 1831.) The following looks very much like “letters-of-marque” against the Gentiles: “Behold, it is said in my laws, or forbidden, to get in debt to thine enemies; but behold, it is not said at UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 75 any time that the Lord should not take, when he please, and pay as seemeth to him good; wherefore, as ye are agents, and are on the Lord’s errand; and whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business, and he has sent you to provide for his Saints in these last days, that they may obtain an inheritance in the land of Zion.” There is no disputing a logical sequence upon the premises here assumed. If the Saints were really upon the Lord’s business, and that business really required a foray upon the flocks and herds of the Gentiles, it would seem to be a fair conclusion that the Lord should settle the bills when he pleased. In obedience to these celestial mandates, the means were obtained, and a large tract of land purchased in Jackson county, Missouri. Arrangements were speedily made for the establishment of a store, a printing-press, and the usual mechanical operations necessary for the convenience of a town. William W. Phelps, a broken-down political hack in the State of New York, was placed at the head of the paper. The Saints flocked in, and a town sprang up as by magic. Joseph returned to Kirtland, where he proposed to remain five years, to make money for ulterior purposes. During this period of separation the elements of discord began to appear. Rigdon was a discontented spirit. He knew that he had furnished an equal share of the capital in starting the adventure, and became exceedingly restive in being compelled, by the superior tactics of his co-partner, to occupy a subordinate position. Phelps, too, was an uneasy genius, and, like the frog in the fable, was determined to swell himself into 76 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. importance. He had a ready skill in the dialect of lampoons and half-way libels common to a class of editors at that period; knew something of the weak points of human nature, and could tease it as effectually as the horse is tormented by a hungry swarm of flies. These and other kindred spirits began to question the legitimacy of the powers assumed by the prophet over the Church, and accused him, “in rather an indirect way, of seeking after monarchical power and authority.” They began in whispers and covert insinuations, but finally broke out into open accusations, and boldly opened a correspondence with him on the subject. The prophet could not have been more annoyed had a chestnut burr been securely fastened to a sensitive part of his body. He would willingly have put down this rebellion by hurling the thunderbolts of revelation at the heads of the audacious traitors; but he was absent from the seat of discontent, and did not know how extensive or deeply rooted it might be. His position was exceedingly embarrassing, and he manifested a curious mixture of grief and indignation. In answer to one of Phelps’s letters, he writes (January 11th, 1833), “Our hearts are greatly grieved at the spirit which is breathed both in your letter and that of Brother G******s -- the very spirit which is wasting Zion like a pestilence; and if it is not detected and driven from you, it will ripen Zion for the threatened judgments of God.” “Let me say to you, seek to purify yourselves, and also all the inhabitants of Zion, lest the Lord’s anger be kindled to fierceness.” In addition to these threats of divine vengeance, he caused a conference of high-priests to-be held, and a UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 77 general epistle to be written, rebuking the rebellious spirit of the Mormon camp. In this epistle, signed by Orson Hyde and Hyrum Smith, “Brother Phelps’ letter” is spoken of as betraying “a lightness of spirit that ill becomes a man placed in the important and responsible station that he is placed in.” He is significantly reminded, “If you have fat beef and potatoes, eat them in singleness of heart, and not boast yourselves in these things;” and the malcontents are warned that “Brother Joseph will not settle in Zion until she repent and purify herself, and abide by the new covenant, and remember the commandments that have been given her, to do them as well as to say them.” The prophet, however, soon found that the rebellion was too serious to be put down by these “paper pellets of the brain,” and he was eventually compelled, in compromise of the difficulty, to associate two others with him in the presidency of the Church. The oracle in this emergency runs in this wise: “And again, verily, I say unto you, thy brethren, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, their sins are forgiven them also, and they are accounted as equal with thee in holding the keys of this last kingdom” (March, 1833). Here we have the quorum of three, which has now become the most important department in the government of the Church. In the mean time, the Saints went on gathering at Independence until they numbered about twelve hundred. “The Evening and Morning Star,” under the management of Phelps, was established in 1832, and opened its batteries upon the Gentile world. Every thing seemed to go on swimmingly. The Saints, 78 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. encouraged by increasing numbers and the indications of prosperity, became arrogant and overbearing, and talked of ultimately possessing the whole land. They soon, too, acquired a doubtful reputation for licentiousness, stealing, and fraudulent practices under various forms. To cap the climax, the “Star” published some incendiary articles in regard to the colored population, which aroused the jealousy of the slaveholders for the safety of the peculiar institution. The people became uncontrollably excited, and held a meeting at Independence, July 20, 1833, in which they resolved on the expulsion of the Mormons. They required that the office of the Star should be closed, and that the Saints should pledge themselves to remove; in which case they were to be “allowed to remain a reasonable time, to sell their property and close their business without any material sacrifice.” The Saints wished for time to consult with their brethren in Ohio, but this being regarded by the angry multitude as an evasion, they again assembled, after a few hours’ delay, leveled the printing-office to the ground, and tarred and feathered two of the principal Saints. On the 23d of July, three days after, the mob again assembled, well armed, and the Mormons, becoming alarmed for their safety, agreed to remove from the county in a reasonable time. An agreement to this effect was drawn up and signed, by which one half were to remove by the first of January, and the rest by the first of April following, in consideration of which the people agreed that no further violence should be offered. Had these terms been complied with, probably no further violence would have occurred in UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 79 80 UTAH AND THE MORMONS. every prospect of a civil war, when the main body of the Mormons, hastily and in much confusion, abandoned their homes, and fled into Clay county, on the other side of the Missouri. This took place in November, 1833: women and children were exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and there was much suffering and some loss of property. They were, however, received with great kindness by the people of Clay county, and the prophet managed to take off the rough edge of these reverses by a revelation that they were in consequence of the "contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires" among the Saints, whereby they had "polluted their inheritances;" and they are comforted with the assurance that "Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered; they that remain and are pure in heart shall return and come to their inheritances, they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy, to build up the waste places of Zion. And, behold, there is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed for the work of the gathering of my Saints, until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them, and then I have other places; which I will appoint unto them; and they shall be called stakes for the curtains, or the strength of Zion" (August, 1833). He also reveals to them that they were to appeal to the judiciary, and, if that was in vain, then to the Governor, and, if that was unsuccessful, then to the President of the United States, and if the appeal was still unheeded, "then the Lord God him self would arise, and come forth out of his UTAH AND THE MORMONS. 81 These appeals were all subsequently made without success; but, unfortunately for the prediction, the Lord does not seem to come forth from his "hiding-place;" and, although Missouri was to be overflowing with Saints before the "stakes for the curtains" were appointed, yet they have been compelled to appoint these "stakes" without returning to Independence at all. The truth is, these revelations in regard to the seat of Zion were a little too definite. The prophet, in due time, discovered that he led the Mormon deity into a mistake, and did all he could to explain the failure. It was difficult, however, in the face of such predictions, to change the venue, and the notion is therefore still prevalent among a portion of the Saints that they are to return in triumph to Missouri and drive out the Gentiles.
CHAPTER V.
(continued on part 2) |
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Transcriber's Comments Benjamin Ferris was called to the governorship of Utah Territory in 1852 by President Millard Fillmore. Prior to his being given this responsibility, Ferris had been a lawyer and local notable in Ithaca, New York. It was there that he married Cornelia Woodcock on May 26 1830. Cornelia accompanied her husband to Utah and later wrote her own book recounting her experiences in the west. For more on Ferris see John H. Selkreg's 1894 Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York, expecially the section: "The Town of Ithaca." Ferris first published his account of travels and experiences in the west in 1854. Two years later he revised and expanded this text of Utah and the Mormons. The 1856 edition was the last one published of his book and Ferris soon after slipped into obscurity. He is last mentioned as having been in the Ithaca area in 1855. Perhaps he died soon after that. Ferris' account of early Mormonism is a pedestrian presentation typical of the times. Despite his having lived among the Mormons in Utah for several months, he was unable to solicit from them much in the way of original and unique historical material on the rise and progress of the sect. He adopts the Spalding-Rigdon explanation for the origin of the Book of Mormon, adding little to the "Spalding theory," except for his labeling Rigdon a "religious Ishmaelite" -- a term other writers picked up and applied as well descriptive of Rigdon's pre-Mormon years. The following is a brief notice of the first edition of the book, as published in the "Critical Notices" section of The Southern Quarterly Review for Oct 1854: Utah and the Mormons. By Benjamin G. Ferris. A similar review appeared in the pages of the New Haven New Englander in Nov. 1854. The North American Review of July 1856 gave some column space to noticing both the books of Mr. Ferris and Mrs. Ferris: UTAH AND THE MORMONS. |
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