The planters in this county were mostly wealthy, and prided themselves on being hospitable and kind to strangers, especially to ministers of the gospel. We went from house to house and preached two and three times a week. We saw that the seed had already been sown in honest hearts, and we were near to them.
Knowing the danger of being lifted up by self-approbation, I determined to be on my guard, attend to secret prayer, and to reading and keeping diaries. When at our friend Pace"s house Brother Webster and I would frequently resort to a lonely grove to attend to prayer and read to ourselves.
CHAPTER IX - MORMONISM AND ITS ORIGIN
Only a short time after the events narrated it was arranged that Parson Hall and myself should hold another discussion in the Campbellite chapel. Parson Hall did not want to meet me in discussion, but he must do so or lose his flock, as all the people had become interested in the subject of Mormonism. We met at the appointed time, and chose two umpires to act as moderators of the meeting. The subject to be discussed was:
"Are apostles, prophets, and teachers, together with the spiritual gifts spoken of and recorded by the Apostle Mark in his 16th chapter, necessary to the Church now as they were then?"
In his closing speech Parson Hall became very abusive and denounced the Mormons to the lowest regions of darkness, and called the Prophet Joseph a vile impostor. I replied to him and closed the discussion. It had been agreed that the Old and New Testaments should be the only authorities to be quoted by us. The umpires refused to decide as to which one of us had the best of the discussion. They said it rested with the people to decide for themselves. It was evident, however, that the people were with me. The princ.i.p.al topic of conversation was about this strange Mormon doctrine.
Parson Hall"s flock was by no means satisfied with his course. He said the Mormon doctrine was the strongest Bible doctrine he had ever heard of, and he feared the consequences of a further discussion. But this would not satisfy the people, who wanted to hear and learn more of it; so another discussion was agreed upon, in which Parsons Curlee and Nichols were to a.s.sist Parson Hall, and prompt him. The subject was:
"Is the Book of Mormon of Divine origin, and has it come forth in direct fulfillment of prophecy? And was Joseph Smith inspired of G.o.d?"
We selected three judges; the hall was thronged. I felt the responsibility of my situation, but I put my trust in G.o.d to give me light and utterance to the convincing of the honest and pure in heart. The discussion lasted many hours. I showed conclusively, both from the Old and New Testaments, that, in accordance with Scripture and prophecy, the ten tribes of Israel had been broken up and scattered upon the face of the earth. That sure and indisputable evidence had been found and produced by which it was certain that the North American Indians were descendants from the ten tribes of Israel. I showed this from many customs and rites prevalent among the Indians, and there could be no doubt, in any rational mind, that these tribes had sprung from the remnants of the scattered ten tribes of Israel. The prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, the traditions and history of the Indians so far as known, their solemn religious rites and observances, were conclusive evidence of this fact.
And G.o.d has repeatedly promised that, in His own good time, these tribes of Israel, this chosen people, should be again gathered together; that a new and further revelation should be given them and to the whole world, and that under this new dispensation Zion should be rebuilt, and the glory of G.o.d fill the whole earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. It should be as a sealed book unto them, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, "Read this book," and he saith, "I cannot, for it is a sealed book." It is strange that a people once so favored of G.o.d, strengthened by His arm and counseled by His prophets and inspired men, should have wandered and become lost to all sense of duty to G.o.d! But so it was, until, as the prophet says, the Book that should come unto them spoke to them out of the ground - out of the dust of the earth; as a "familiar spirit, even out of the dust of the earth."
The Book that was to contain the Divine revelation of G.o.d was to come forth, written upon plates, in a language unknown to men.
But a man unlearned, not by his own power, but by the power of G.o.d, by means of the Urim and Thummim, was to translate it into our language. And this record, in due time, came according to G.o.d"s will. It was found deposited in the side of a mountain, or hill, called c.u.morrah, written in the reformed Egyptian language, in Ontario County, in the State of New York. It was deposited in a stone box, put together with cement, air-tight. The soil about the box was worn away, until a corner of the box was visible. It was found by the Prophet Joseph, then an illiterate lad, or young man, who had been chosen of G.o.d as His instrument for making the same known to men.
The Prophet Joseph was a young man of moral character, belonging to no sect, but an earnest inquirer after truth. He was not permitted to remove the box for a period of two years after he found it. The angel of G.o.d that had the records in charge would not permit him to touch them. In attempting to do so, on one occasion, his strength was paralyzed, and the angel appeared before him and told him how that record contained the gospel of G.o.d and an historical account of the G.o.d of Joseph in this land; that through their transgressions the records were taken away from the people and hid in the earth, to come forth at the appointed time, when the Lord should set His heart, the second time, to recover the remnant of His people, scattered throughout all nations; that the remnant of His people should be united with the stick of Judah, in the hands of Ephraim, and they should become one stick in the hands of the Lord. This is the Bible, which is the stick of Judah, that contained the gospel and the records of the House of Israel, till the Messiah came. The angel further informed Joseph that when the ten tribes of Israel were scattered one branch went to the north; that prior to the birth of Jesus Christ the other branch left Jerusalem, taking the records with them, of which the Book of Mormon is a part. The branch of the ten tribes which went north doubtless have a record with them.
When these plates containing the Book of Mormon and G.o.d"s will, as therein revealed, were removed from Ontario County, New York, they were taken to Professor Anthon, of New York City, for translation. He replied that he could not translate them, that they were written in "a sealed language, unknown to the present age." This was just as the Prophet Isaiah said it should be.
Do any of the present denominations counsel with the Lord? No, they deny Revelation, and seek to hide their ways from Him. Upon all such He p.r.o.nounces woe. I do not wish to be considered as casting aspersions on any other sect. It is not my purpose to do so. The love that I have for truth and the salvation of the human family may cause me to offend, but if I do so it is because of my exceeding zeal to do good. Remember that the reproof of a friend is better than the smite of an enemy. Jesus said, "Woe unto you that are angry and offended because of the truth."
It is not policy on your part to be offended on account of the truth. If your systems will not stand the scrutiny of men, how can they stand the test of the great Judge of both the living and the dead? I place a greater value upon the salvation of my soul than I do upon all earthly considerations.
After my second discussion I began to baptize some of the leading members of the Campbellite Church. Among the first to be baptized were John Thompson and wife. Brother Thompson was sheriff of Rutherford County, and an influential man. Among others who were baptized were Wm. Pace and wife. Mrs. Pace was a sister of Parson Nichols, who a.s.sisted Parson Hall in his last discussion with me.
Major D. M. Jarratt and wife, Mrs. Caroline Ghiliam, Major Miles Anderson, and others were also baptized and received into the Church.
My friend Webster, after being with me about a month, returned to visit and strengthen the branches of the Church established in Smith, Jackson, and Overton counties. I continued my labors on Stone River and Creple Creek about six months. During the most of this time I availed myself of the opportunity of studying grammar and other English branches. During my stay I lectured three times a week, Wednesdays, Sat.u.r.days, and Sunday afternoons.
Sabbath forenoon I attended the meetings of other denominations.
During this time I held four public discussions in addition to those I had with Parson Hall. I held two discussions with the Rev. James Trott, who for fifteen years had been a missionary to the Cherokee Nation. I held a closing debate in that settlement with the Rev. Mr. Cantrall, of the Campbellite faith. He came from a distance, at the request of friends, to endeavor to save the flock.
After consultation with Parson Hall and other members of the flock they refused to submit to moderators or judges; neither were they willing to be confined to the Old and New Testaments for authority to disprove the doctrine that I defended. Their proposition was that Mr. Cantrall should speak first, bringing out any argument he chose; when he finished I was to conclude the debate, and the people were to judge for themselves who had the best of the argument.
My friends would not consent to this arrangement, but I told the opposition they might have it their own way. If the Rev. Cantrall wished to condescend to the platform of a blackguard, in a case of necessity I would meet him there, though I preferred honorable debate to slander and ridicule. This statement I made to the a.s.sembly prior to the gentleman"s mounting the stand, with Parsons Hill, Crulee, Trott, and Nichols as prompters.
They had provided themselves with a roll of pamphlets and newspapers, containing many of the low, cunning, lying stories about the Prophet Joseph walking on the water, being a money digger, an impostor, and a thousand such tales. Mr. Cantrall read and emphasized each story, as his prompters handed them to him.
He occupied two hours and a half in this manner, and about half an hour in trying to point out discrepancies in the Book of Mormon.
He spoke of the absurdities of the boat that the Nephites built in which to cross the ocean, from Asia to America, and said that it was built tight, excepting a little hole on top for air, and that it would shoot through the water like a fish, and ridiculed such an absurdity. He defied me to point to any such inconsistencies in the Holy Bible. He said the Bible was a book of common sense, written by men inspired of G.o.d. It was full of good works and pure characters, nothing like the impostor Joseph. He challenged me again to point to a single instance in the Bible which would compare with the stories in the Book of Mormon. The idea of apostles and prophets and supernatural gifts in the Church, as in the days of Christ, was absurd. He said the History of Nephi was absurd and a burlesque upon common sense; that he hoped none of the people would be led away by such nonsense and folly. I sat facing him during all his long harangue of abuse and ridicule.
When it was my turn to speak I asked the reverend gentleman to occupy my seat. I did not want more than thirty minutes to reply.
I said to the a.s.sembly that a sense of duty to the truth, and the cause I had espoused, alone prompted me to make any reply to the long tirade of abuse and sarcasm they had been listening to. The gentleman and his prompters had gathered quite an angry-looking cloud of pamphlets and newspaper slang and abuse, without quoting a single pa.s.sage of Scripture to disprove my position, or in support of their own. But on the contrary, he had become an accuser of the brethren, speaking evil of things he knew not. The spirit of persecution, hatred, and malice is not the spirit of the meek and lowly Saviour. The gentleman tells you that the day of perfection has arrived, that Satan is bound in the gospel chain, that we have no need of spiritual manifestations, that this is the reign of Christ. Now, I will say that if this is the millennial reign of Christ, and the devil is bound in the gospel chain, I pity the inhabitants of the earth when he gets loose again. After reading the description of the millennial reign, as it shall be, as described by the Prophet Isaiah, can anyone be so stupid as to believe that we are now living in that holy day?
Shame on him who would deceive and tamper with the souls of men!
The gentleman who told you this, doesn"t believe it.
The gentleman has challenged me to produce anything from the Bible equaling in strangeness the building of a boat like a fish, in which the Nephites crossed the ocean from Asia to America. I call his attention to the first chapter of the Book of Jonah.
Here a very strange craft was used for three days and nights, in which to send a missionary to Nineveh. This craft was constructed after the manner of the boat spoken of in the Book of Mormon. If the prophet was correct in the description of his craft, he too scooted through the water in the same way that the Nephites did in their boat. The Book of Mormon is nothing more or less than a book containing the history of a portion of the House of Israel, who left Jerusalem about the time of the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah, and crossed the ocean to America; containing also the gospel which was preached to them on this continent, which is the same gospel as that preached by" Christ and His Apostles at Jerusalem. The Bible and the Book of Mormon both contain a history of the different branches of the House of Israel, and each contains the gospel of Christ as it was preached unto them, the different branches of the house of Israel, and to all nations. Both testify of each other, and point with exactness to the dispensation of the fullness of time. The Book of Mormon does not contain a new gospel; it is the same gospel as that preached by Christ. It is a mysterious book, just what the prophet said it should be, "a marvelous work, a wonder." But my friend says that it is too mysterious, too wonderful, for human credence, and challenges me to point out anything told in the Bible that seems inconsistent with reason or experience. Now, which is the more reasonable, that Nephi built a boat after the pattern mentioned in the Mormon Bible, being directed by G.o.d how to build it, and then crossed the ocean to this continent, or that Jonah was in the whale"s belly for three days and three nights, and then made a safe landing? Or would it sound any better if Nephi had said that when he and his company came to the great waters, the Lord had prepared whales, two or more, to receive them and their outfit, and set them over on this side?
Nothing is impossible with G.o.d. If He saw fit to send Jonah on his mission in a whale"s belly, I have no fault to find with Him for so doing. He has the right to do His own will and pleasure; and if He instructed Nephi how to fashion his boat, or Noah to build an ark against the deluge, or caused Balaam"s a.s.s to speak and rebuke the madness of his master, or Moses to lead the children of Israel through the Red Sea, without any boat at all, or the walls of Jericho to fall to the ground, and the people to become paralyzed through the tooting of rams" horns, or empowered Joshua to command the sun to stand still while he slaughtered his enemies, is any of these things more wonderful than the other?
Now one of these instances that I have selected from the Bible, if found in the Book of Mormon, would be sufficient to stamp it with absurdity and everlasting contempt, according to the gentlemen who oppose me; but when found in the Bible the story a.s.sumes another phase entirely. It is as the Saviour said of the Pharisees, "Ye strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." My opponent strains at a gnat, when found in the Book of Mormon, but if camels are discovered in the Bible he swallows them by the herd.
I cannot see why a big story, told in the Bible, should be believed any more readily than one found in the Book of Mormon.
It is not my purpose to find discrepancies in the characters of the ancient prophets or inspired writers, but my opponent has challenged me to produce from the Bible a character of such disrepute as that of Joseph, the Mormon Prophet. Now I will say that of the characters I shall mention we have only their own history or account of what they did. Their enemies and contemporaries have long since pa.s.sed away. But if their enemies could speak worse of them than they have of themselves, decency would blush to read their story. I will refer to only a few instances.
Moses, the meek, as he is called, murdered an Egyptian that strove with an Israelite, and had to run away from his country for the offense. He was afterwards sent by G.o.d to bring the Israelites out of bondage. Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
He built the ark, and was saved through the deluge. His name has been handed down from posterity to posterity, in honorable remembrance, as one who feared G.o.d and worked righteousness. But we find him soon after the Flood getting drunk, exposing his nakedness, and cursing a portion of his own posterity. Lot, whose family was the only G.o.d-fearing family in Sodom and Gomorrah, rescued by the angel of G.o.d from the judgments that overwhelmed those cities, when only a short distance from Sodom became drunk and debauched his daughters. Think of the conduct of David with Uriah"s wife - and David was, we are told, a man after G.o.d"s own heart. Also Judah, Judge in Israel. Peter cursed and swore and denied his Master. The enemies of Christ said He was a gluttonous man and a wine bibber, a friend of the publicans and sinners; that after the people at the marriage feast were well drunken, He turned water into wine that they might have more to drink; that in the cornfield He plucked the cars of corn and ate them; that He saw an a.s.s. .h.i.tched, and without leave took it and rode into Jerusalem; that He went into the Temple and overset the tables of the money changers and took cords and whaled them out, telling them they had made His Father"s house a den of thieves. I am aware that all Christians justify the acts of Christ, because He was the Son of G.o.d. But the people at that time did not believe Him to be the Son of G.o.d, any more than the gentleman believes that Joseph is the prophet of G.o.d. I have alluded to these instances merely in answer to the challenge imposed upon me by my opponent.
Few seem to comprehend that man, in and of himself, is frail, weak, needy, and dependent, although the Creator placed within his reach, as a free agent, good and evil, and instilled in the heart of every rational being a degree of light that makes us sensitive to, and teaches us right from, wrong. As the Saviour says:
"There is a light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
My argument as I relate it here has been abbreviated very much, lest I tire my readers. I had scarcely closed speaking before my reverend opponents were making for the door. They would have nothing more to do with the Mormons. Some were honest enough, however, to acknowledge that Mormonism had stood the test; that it could not be disproved from the Bible, and sooner or later all other creeds would have to give way to it, or deny the Bible, for the more it was investigated the more popular it would become, as it would expose the many weak points and inconsistencies of the different denominations. Others denounced it as an imposition, and warned their adherents to have nothing to do with it. This kind of talk from the pulpit served to give Mormonism a new impetus. I soon baptized many converts, and organized branches in that and adjoining counties of over one hundred members.
CHAPTER X - LEE CASTS OUT DEVILS
After holding the discussion mentioned, Brother Young, of Jackson County, Tennessee, wished me to go with him and join in a discussion with a couple of Campbellite preachers. At first I declined, as the distance was nearly one hundred miles, and my labors in the ministry where I was were pressing. I had more calls to preach than I could fill. However, I finally consented to go and attend the discussion. On our arrival at the place agreed upon I learned that all necessary arrangements had been made. The subject was:
"Is the Book of Mormon of Divine authenticity, and has it come forth in direct fulfillment of prophecy found in the Old and New Testaments; and is Joseph Smith Divinely inspired and called of G.o.d?"
There was a large concourse of people a.s.sembled. The discussion lasted two days. At the close of the debate the judge decided that the Mormons brought forth the strongest reasonings and Scriptural arguments, and that the other side had the best of the Mormons in sarcasm and abuse.
When I was about to leave, Brother Young exchanged horses with me, he keeping my pony, and giving me a fine blooded black mare.
I was then built up, so far as a good outfit for traveling was concerned. Brother Young traveled with me as far as Indian Creek, Putnam County, twenty-five miles southeast, as report said that a couple of Mormons had been there. We concluded to visit the place and learn the facts.
This was about the 1st of March. It was Sat.u.r.day when we arrived there. We rode at once to the Methodist chapel. Here we found several hundred people a.s.sembled - the most distressed and horrified worshipers my eyes had ever beheld. Their countenances and actions evinced an inward torture of agony. Some of them were lying in a swoon, apparently lifeless; others were barking like dogs; still singing, praying, and speaking in tongues - their eyes red and distorted with excitement.
The chapel was situated in a yard surrounded with trees. I was so overcome with amazement and surprise that I forgot I was on horseback. The first I remember was that a man had led my horse inside the gate and was pulling me off, saying:
"Come, get down, you are a Mormon preacher; we are having fine times."
Presently a chair was set for me by some rational person, and I leaned my head upon my hands and commenced praying. I was a stranger, both to the people and to their religious exercises. I was puzzled, not knowing what to do.
There was a young woman, about eighteen years of age, of handsome form and features, in her stocking feet, her beautiful black hair hanging down over her shoulders in a confused ma.s.s. She was preaching what she called Mormonism, and warning the mult.i.tude to repent and be baptized, and escape the wrath of G.o.d. In front of her stood a young Methodist minister, to whom she directed her remarks.
He smiled at her.
Of a sudden she changed her tack, and belted him right and left for making light of what she said.