Ezra Booth

“ This system, to some, carries the face of plausibility, and appears under an imposing form. It claims the Bible for its patron, and proffers the restoration of the apostolic church, with all the gifts and graces with which the primitive saints were endowed. It is called the fulness of the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile; and is the test by which every man's faith is to be tried. ”

“ Their revelations are said to be an addition to the Bible. But instead of being an addition, they destroy its use; for every thing which need to be known, whether present, past or future, they can learn from Smith, for he has declared to the church, that he "knows all things that will take place from this time unto the end of the world." If then, placing the Bible under circumstances which render it entirely useless, is infidelity, Mormonism is infidelity. ”

“ There probably never was a plan better suited to lead the sinner and the conscientious, when in an unguarded hour they listen to its fatal insinuations. The plan is so ingeniously contrived, having for its aim one principal point, viz.: the establishment of a society in Missouri, over which the contrivers of this delusive system, are to possess the most unlimited and despotic sway. To accomplish this, the Elders of the Church, by commandment given in Missouri, and of which I was both an eye and an ear witness, are to go forth to preach Mormonism to every creature ”

“ In this letter the mission to the Indians will be brought into view, and with it, are connected circumstances and facts, sufficient, one would suppose, to convince every honest and unprejudiced Mormonite, of the fallacy and deception of Mormonism. But a Mormonite of the highest grade, is invulnerable by facts the most notorious, and evidence as glaring as the noon-day sun; for they affirm, they know by the spirit that Mormonism is what it pretends to be; and should Smith acknowledge it to be a fabrication, they would not believe him. ”

“ The Bishop is, in reality, the Vice-gerent of Smith, and those in collusion with him; and holds his office during their will and pleasure. I think him to be an honest man as yet, but there is a point beyond which he cannot go, unless he prostrates his honor as in the dust, and prostitutes his conscience to the vilest of purposes. He has frequently staggered and been ready to fall. The Conference last year gave him a tremendous shock, from which, with difficulty, he recovered. The law of the Church enjoins, that no debts with the world shall be contracted. ”

“ And if thou art led at any time by the comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the Church, thou may'st do it; but shalt not write by the way of commandment, but by wisdom: and thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the Church; for I have given him the keys of the mysteries of the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto him another in his stead. -- And now behold I say unto you, that thou shalt go unto the Lamanites, and preach my Gospel unto them, and cause my Church to be established among them ”

“ Judgments are denounced against the sinners of this generation; or in other words, all who reject the book of Mormon, are threatened with eternal damnation. Great promises are made to such as embrace it; signs and wonders are to attend them, such as healing the sick, the blind made to see, the lame to walk, &c.; and they are to receive an everlasting inheritance in "the land of Missouri," where the Savior will make his second appearance -- at which place the foundation of the Temple of God, and the City of Zion, have recently been laid, and are soon to be built. ”

“ The business of settlement commenced, which elicited much conversation, and excited considerable feeling on both sides. Oliver's denunciation was brought into view; his conduct and equipage, were compared to "a fop of a sportsman;" he and Joseph were represented, as highly imperious and quite dictatorial; and Joseph and Sidney, were reprimanded for their excessive cowardice. Joseph seemed inclined to arm himself according to his usual custom, in case of opposition, with the judgments of God, for the purpose of pouring them, like a thunder bolt upon the rebellious Elders ”

“ It passes for a current fact in the Mormonite church, that there are immense treasures in the earth, especially in those places in the State of N. Y. from whence many of the Mormonites emigrated last spring: and when they become sufficiently purified, these treasures are to be poured into the lap of their church; and then, to use their own language, they are to be the richest people in the world. These treasures were discovered several years since, by means of the dark glass, the same with which Smith says he translated most of the Book of Mormon. ”

“ But as this is a subject better calculated to gratify the speculative inquirer, than to purify the heart, by rectifying wrong principles in the mind, or to increase that kind of knowledge intimately connected with, and essential to practical improvements, either in civil or religious society, we may reasonably doubt, whether the Great Jehovah will soon, if ever, condescend to clear away the darkness, by giving a revelation, merely to gratify the desires of persons, who delight to wander in the region of conjecture and speculation. ”

“ The authority of a commandment, will easily untie the purse-strings, of those whose consciences are under their control; and they find it much easier, and better suited to their dispositions, to write commandments, than to gain a livelihood by the sweat of their brow; and indeed, Smith has commanded himself not to labor, and by his mandate, has enjoined it upon the Church to support him. The Bishop, when we were in Missouri, intimated, that he and others were too much inclined to indolence. ”

“ It is true, that some of the Indians appear to listen with a degree of attention, while the Mormonite teacher pretends to disclose to them the secrets of their origin, the history of their ancestors, and that the Great Spirit designs, in this generation, to restore them to the possession of their lands, now occupied by the whites; and the Indians shall go forth among the white people, "as a lion among the beasts of the forests, and as a young lion, among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through, both treadeth down and teareth to pieces, and no man can deliver. ”

“ They can at any time obtain a commandment suited to their desires, and as their desires fluctuate and become reversed, they get a new one to supersede the other, and hence the contradictions which abound in this species of revelation. The next day after we were cast upon the shore, and had commenced our journey by land, myself and three others went on board of a canoe, and re-commenced our voyage down the river. From this time a constant gale of prosperity wafted us forward, and not an event transpired, but what tended to our advance, until we arrived at our much-desired homes. ”

“ This appeared to me, to be a shift, better suited to an impostor, than a true Prophet of the Lord. And from that time I resolved, to weigh well every circumstance; and I can assure you, that no one that has any bearing on the subject, escaped my notice. But the spirit considered your insolence to Joseph, too intolerable, [to] be passed over unnoticed. Hence the commandment: "if he repent not of his sins, which is unbelief and blindness of heart, let him take heed lest he fall. Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall not be given again." ”

“ It is also to be a city of Refuge, and a safe asylum when the storms of vengeance shall pour upon the earth, and those who reject the book of Mormon, shall be swept off as with the besom of destruction. ”

“ Several of the Elders said that they "felt the spirit to preach" to the congregation: and Rigdon felt the spirit to send the people home: such was the unity, which then prevailed among them.
You will doubtless say, can it be possible that the minds of men, and men who possess the appearance of honesty, can be so strangely infatuated, as still to adhere to a system, after it had occasioned so much agitation, and so much disappointment. One reason which can be assigned for this, is, the adherents are generally inclined to consider the system so perfect, as to admit of no suspicion ”

“ They were careful to make suitable provision for themselves, both in money and other articles, that while on their journey, they might carry the appearance of gentlemen filling some important stations in life: while many, who were destined to travel on foot with packs upon their backs, were so fired with the ardor of enthusiasm, that they supposed they could travel to Missouri, with but little or no money. ”

“ But as the practice of a man will ever stand as a general criterion by which the principles of the heart are to be tested, we say, that the heart of such a man is the reverse of purity.
From Kirtland, Cowdery & Co. were directed by the spirit to Sandusky, where they contemplated opening their mission, and proselyting the Indians residing at that place. But neither Cowdery, nor the spirit which directed him, was able to open the way to, or make any impressions upon their minds. ”

“ The commandment makes provision for this. His guilt will become manifest by his inability to utter any more revelations, and should he presume "to get another man's wife," and commit adultery; and "by the shedding of blood, seek to kill her husband," if he retains the use of his tongue, so as to be able to utter his jargon, he can continue as long as he pleases in the bed of adultery, and wrap himself with garments stained with blood, shed by his own hands, and still retain the spotless innocence of the holiest among mortals ”

“ It bore striking marks of a Mormonite revelation, and was received as an authentic document by most of the Mormonites, till Smith, by his superior sagacity, discovered it to be a Satanic fraud.
A female, professing to be a prophetess, made her appearance in Kirtland, and so ingratiated herself into the esteem and favor of some of the Elders, that they received her, as a person commissioned to act a conspicuous part in Mormonizing the world. Rigdon, and some others, gave her the right hand of fellowship, and literally saluted her with what they called the kiss of charity. ”

“ The first thing that materially affected my mind, so as to weaken my confidence, was the falsehood of Joseph's vision. You know perfectly well, that Joseph had, or said he had, a vision, or revelation, in which it was made known to him by the spirit, that Oliver had raised up a great church in Missouri. This was so confidently believed, previous to our leaving Ohio, that while calculating the number in the Church, several hundred were added, supposed to be in Missouri. The great Church was found to consist of three or four females. ”

“ Smith, Rigdon and Cowdery, and the various shifts and turns, to which they resorted, in order to obviate objections and difficulties, produced in my mind additional evidence, that their's is nothing else than a deeply laid plan of craft and deception.
The relation in which Smith stands to the church, is that of a Prophet, Seer, Revealer and Translator; and when he speaks by the Spirit, or says he knows a thing by the communication of the Spirit, it is received as coming directly from the mouth of the Lord. -- When he says he knows a thing to be so, thus it must stand without controversy. ”

“ The Book of Mormon which I hold in my hands, is a Divine Revelation, and the very thing we need, to burst the cloud and remove the darkness, which has long surrounded the mysterious and degraded aborigines. We now know that the Natives who inhabit the forests of America, are a "branch of the House of Israel;" ”

“ They can there have the privilege of beholding the mighty work, accomplished by about thirty men, who left their homes, traveled 1000 miles, most of them on foot, and expended more than one thousand dollars in cash.
Having completed the work, or rather, finding but little or no business for us to accomplish in Missouri, most of us became anxious to return home. And none appeared to be more so than Smith and Rigdon, whose plans for future subsistence were considerably frustrated. They expected to find a country abounding with the necessaries and comforts of life. ”

“ Place yourself from under the influence of the men who have deceived you; burst the bands of delusion; and fly for your life, fly from the habitations haunted by impostors; and having done this, you most surely will be glad and rejoice, and prove to your own satisfaction, as I have done, the falsity of Joseph's prophetic declaration, "if you turn against us you will enjoy no more satisfaction in the world." E. B.
Some things are intimated in the foregoing letter, which more properly belongs to Cowdery's mission to the Indians ”

“ To give, if possible, additional energy to expectation, Smith, the day previous to the conference, professing to be filled with the spirit of Prophecy, declared, that "not three days should pass away, before some should see their Savior, face to face." ”

“ It was conjectured by the inhabitants of Jackson County, that the Mormonites, as a body are wealthy, and many of them entertain fears, that next December, when the list of the land is exposed for sale, they will out-bid others, and establish themselves as the most powerful body in the County. But they may dismiss their fears in this respect; for the Mormonites as a body, are comparatively poor, and destined so to remain, until they pursue a different course as it relates to economy and industry, from what they have hitherto pursued. ”

“ A dead body, which had been retained above ground two or three days, under the expectation that the dead would be raised, was insensible to the voice of those who commanded it to wake into life, and is destined to sleep in the grave, till the last trump shall sound, and the power of God easily accomplish the work, which frustrated the attempts, and bid defiance to the puny efforts of the Mormonites. ”