Edward Stevenson

“ My first impression of Joseph nearly sixty years ago was that he was a true prophet, and I formed a love for him which increased with our acquaintance. I was with him in the state of Missouri during those trying scenes until his imprisonment in Liberty jail, and subsequently in Illinois, and with the bereaved family and thousands of Latter-day Saints shed a tear over his remains as he lay silently in death’s embrace. ”

“ Besides Mary Curtis, Joseph Wood, Elijah Fordham and others also enjoyed that gift. We felt that we were blessed above kings, rulers and potentates of the earth and truly we were a happy branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our souls were full of joyous thanksgiving, and our songs of gladness rejoiced the heart by day, dispelled the gloom of night and welcomed the coming morn. Those only can realize our happiness and delight who sing with the soul and understanding the beautiful song of Zion:
We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,
To guide us in these latter days ”

“ The memorable twenty-second day of September, 1827, was the day appointed by the angel Moroni to meet Joseph Smith on the Hill Cumorah. There he was to receive the gold plates, the breast-plate and the Urim and Thummim. The accompanying shows Joseph grown to maturity, being no longer a lad of tender years as when he received his first vision. He now stands in his noble, dignified manhood, in the twenty-second year of his age. Before being entrusted with those valuable plates it was necessary that he should become experienced with regard to such sacred matters. ”

“ In the midst of their cries unto the Lord, he was answered thus:
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversary and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job. * * * Wo unto all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them, saith the Lord of Hosts. A generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell. ”

“ Now a beautiful landscape: such a one as delights the vision, until the mind becomes swallowed up and absorbed in deep reflection. There are beauties of hills and dales, orchards and farms, lawns and gardens on every side, more especially to the north, east and west. Just for a [p.11] moment cast your eye on the engraving, which is the one of my choice, exhibiting, as it does, a north front, and to my mind the most lovely view of all. There are differing pictures of this hill, some real and some imaginary. ”

“ Meradis Perry, a near neighbor of ours, was one of the mob who killed Joseph Smith. He came home from Carthage sick and begged my father to kill him; ‘for,’ said he, ‘I can neither eat nor sleep. When I close my eyes I can see Joseph Smith before me; I am a miserable man.’ My father told him that he was in the hands of the Lord, and he would deal with him as seemed good onto himself; that Joseph was a true prophet sent of God, and his blood, with that of his brother, would cry from Carthage jail against his murderers as did Able’s against his slayer. ”

“ In the midst of this tumult and war of words and opinions, Joseph felt grieved and asked himself, “What is to be done? Who of all these are right? And how shall I know?”
One day Joseph read in the first chapter of James as follows:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Using Joseph’s own words, he said:
“Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. ”

“ In 1852, I lived in Wapelo, Louisa Co., Iowa G. M. Hinkle, a stranger to me, came into my drug store. He introduced himself to me, saying: ‘This is Mr. Tripp, I understand. I hear that you are going to Utah, and I would like to have a private talk with you. I am the man who betrayed Joseph Smith and others into the hands of the mob in Missouri. I am a miserable man, and scarce know what to do with myself. ”

“ Before leaving the prophet Mormon standing on the hill in his lamentation, let us still extend the vision over the great battlefield, calling to mind that the 230,000 men were all soldiers, then were their wives, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, which we will multiply by five, making 1,150,000 souls; then extend the vision over and around the enemy’s camp, and at least double the number of slain, increasing the sad scene to the enormous total of 2,300,000 souls. ”

“ As for your leaders, do not think, do not imagine for a moment, do not let it enter into your minds, that they shall be delivered and restored to you again for their fate is fixed, their die is cast. Their doom is sealed. I am sorry, very sorry, gentlemen, to see so many intelligent men found in this situation. Oh! if I could invoke the Great Spirit, the unknown God— [I suppose without body, parts or passions] —to rest upon and deliver you from that awful chain of superstition, and liberate you from those fetters of fanaticism with which you are bound, that you no longer do homage to a man! ”

“ But exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ”

“ And we declare with words of solemness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true: and it is marvelous in our eyes; nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. ”

“ At this time, our beloved Prophet was impressed with a sad foreboding somewhat similar to that [p.8] experienced in Gethsemane by the Saviour just previous to the crucifixion, when he called upon the Father and said: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” The Prophet Joseph said, while on his way to Carthage, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards all men. ”

“ Blessed of the Lord be this land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. ”

“ Every Bible student should know that Jesus placed in his church: first, twelve apostles, then seventies, elders, pastors, teachers, gifts and blessings for the perfecting of the saints. After the apostasy from the Church of Christ, the mother of harlots made all nations drunken with the wine of her fornication, divided up into fragments, without prophets, seers or revelators. It was in this condition, as the prophets have foretold, when the boy Prophet began so marvelous a work, and which cost him his life to establish. ”

“ The Book of Mormon speaks of many temples and cities which were built by the people of this time, and no doubt this is one of them in ruins. But who is there that is able to tell the story of those mound builders, excepting their own revealed history?
It must be remembered that this last nation, called Nephites, became a very numerous people, and their history, which they were commanded of the Lord to keep on thin plates of gold, informs us that while they lived lives of purity, serving God prayerfully, they prospered exceedingly. ”

“ Moses finally became the adopted son of the king’s daughter, whom she named Moses, because she drew him out of the water, as found in the 2nd chapter of Exodus. The life and history of Moses is well known to every Bible student, as the deliverer of ancient Israel, and I ask, is it more marvelous to accept a modern Moses in the person of Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom God raised up in our day? ”

“ Thus ended two great nations around this historic hill, in fulfillment of God’s word, as found in the Book of Mormon, page 474:
“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it [and this will apply to all people in every age] shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. ”

“ In that same year, 1834, in the midst of many large congregations, the Prophet testified with great power concerning the visit of the Father and the Son, and the conversation he had with them. Never before did I feel such power as was manifested on these occasions, and, although only a small percentage of those who saw and heard him accepted the restored Gospel, there was not one who dared to dispute it. Many of our neighbors were heard to say: “Well, if Mormonism is true, it will stand; if not true, it will fall.” ”

“ The mob came from the woods, entered the stairway door, crowded upstairs, and commenced pressing in the door where the prisoners were confined. They were unable to open the door for a while, when shots were fired through the door. All was commotion and confusion. A ball passing through the door pierced Hyrum Smith on the side of his nose just below the eye, when he fell prostrate on the floor, exclaiming: “I am a dead man.”
The Prophet thought that by leaping from the window of the upper story would attract the attention of the rabble and thus save the lives of his friends. ”

“ His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh. ”

“ Martin Harris said to me, “At that time I was not aware that the Prophet Isaiah, in the twenty-ninth chapter of his writings, had predicted that those exact words would be uttered and the prophecy thus fulfilled by Prof. Anthon. For the better information of the reader we will refer to the book of Isaiah, beginning at the 11th and 12th verses, which reads as follows:
“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he said, I cannot, for it is sealed. ”

“ My reason for not believing it is that knowledge surpasses belief. Gentlemen, it was in open day when I saw the angel and I testify to you that I know my testimony is true. I do not believe it is true; I know it is.”
The reader can imagine the chagrin that his neighbors felt at this [p.30] unexpected outcome of their efforts to entrap him.
Martin told me that, knowing the indigent circumstances of the Prophet, he felt it was his duty to aid in the great work by giving Joseph fifty dollars to help advance the Lord’s work. ”

“ Finally, the whole country surrounding the hill from the most elevated spot, as far as the natural vision can grasp, is indeed a most charming scene of farms, orchards, houses, barns and rolling hills, with occasional forests, and in the proper season, fields of golden grain, barns well-filled, orchard trees laden with apples, peaches and pears, with here and there patches of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, currants and garden vegetables in variety. ”

“ I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins, but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my spirit shall not always strive with man; wherefore if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe, ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.”
This has been fulfilled to the very letter with both nations.
Chapter III. The Angel that had been foretold would “Fly through the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to Preach unto them that Dwell on the Earth” appears to Joseph Smith.—The Golden Plates are Given into his Charge. ”

“ Soon after Martin Harris returned from New York, he commenced to write for the Prophet while he translated from the gold plates. Martin often related to the writer the mode of translation. He said that the Prophet possessed a seer stone as well as the Urim and Thummim, by means of which he could translate the characters. On one occasion Martin placed in a hat a stone very much like the Prophet’s seer stone, and after the Prophet had looked an unusual length of time, he raised his head, saying, “Martin, what in the world is the matter? all is dark as Egypt.” ”

“ Without God’s aid it would border on insanity to entertain a faint hope of success in so stupendous an undertaking. Had it not been that the Lord had promised to help him, his heart would have failed him by the way. But there was encouragement found in the words of the prophet Isaiah, 29th chapter, where the prophet, speaking of the very time and condition surrounding the youth, used these words:
“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish ... ”