Essentials in Church History: A History of the Church from the Birth of Joseph Smith to the Present Time (1922), with Introductory Chapters on the Antiquity of the Gospel and the "Falling Away" — John Shaqi
Essentials in Church History: A History of the Church from the Birth of Joseph Smith to the Present Time (1922), with Introductory Chapters on the Antiquity of the Gospel and the "Falling Away"Smith, Joseph Fielding
History
Essentials in Church History: A History of the Church from the Birth of Joseph Smith to the Present Time (1922), with Introductory Chapters on the Antiquity of the Gospel and the "Falling Away"
Smith, Joseph Fielding
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- History
Joseph soon found that the warning of the angel was all too true
concerning the powers of darkness being arrayed against him, and the
desire of evil-disposed persons to destroy him and obtain the plates.
Scarcely was the record in his possession before strenuous exertions
were made by wicked persons to get them out of his hands. Every scheme
and invention which the powers of darkness could devise, were used.
Conjurors, diviners with peepstones and other means were employed. Mobs
gathered and searched the premises of the Smith home, even breaking
into the house and ransacking it. Under pretext of law searches were
made. At times it became necessary to hide the record in strange
places. Once they were hidden in a hollow log in the woods; again,
under the hearthstone in the house, and under the floor in a nearby
shop. When the Prophet departed for Pennsylvania he hid them in a
barrel of beans, and when a search was made they were not discovered.
The Lord was with him in his labor and the powers of darkness were
overcome and of no avail.
Martin Harris
So intense and bitter became the opposition in Manchester that the
Prophet sought a place of refuge in another locality. Having received
an invitation from his wife's parents to come to their home in Harmony,
Pennsylvania, he accepted the invitation and prepared to go. Being very
poor he experienced some difficulty in procuring the necessary means to
meet his obligations and make the journey. In this hour of distress,
and in the midst of persecution, he found a friend in Martin Harris, of
Palmyra, New York. Joseph, with his wife's brother, Alva Hale, had gone
to Palmyra to transact some business, and while there he was approached
by Martin Harris, who said to him: "How do you do, Mr. Smith? Here
are fifty dollars. I give this to you to do the Lord's work with; no,
I give it to the Lord for His own work." Joseph offered to take the
money and give his note which Alva Hale also agreed to sign, but Martin
Harris refused to take the note. This money enabled the Prophet to make
the journey to Harmony where he found a haven of rest.
Removal to Pennsylvania
Shortly after this event Joseph moved to Harmony, Susquehanna County,
Pennsylvania, to the home of Isaac Hale. Later he purchased from
Mr. Hale a small farm, to which he removed. Here in comparative
peace he commenced to make a copy of the characters on the plates,
which consisted of the learning of the Jews and the language, in
hieroglyphics, of the Egyptians. He also, by Urim and Thummim, made a
translation of some of them. This was done between December, 1827, and
the February following. In the month of February, 1828, Martin Harris
came to Harmony to visit with Joseph Smith. He had been much impressed
with the Prophet's story and desired to know more concerning the work.
The Prophecy of Isaiah Fulfilled
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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