History of the Prophet Joseph, by His MotherSmith, Lucy
History
History of the Prophet Joseph, by His Mother
Smith, Lucy
Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
The next day, my husband, Alvin, and Joseph, were reaping together in
the field, and as they were reaping, Joseph stopped quite suddenly,
and seemed to be in a very deep study. Alvin, observing it, hurried
him, saying, "We must not slacken our hands or we will not be able to
complete our task." Upon this Joseph went to work again, and after
laboring a short time, he stopped just as he had done before. This
being quite unusual and strange, it attracted the attention of his
father, upon which he discovered that Joseph was very pale. My husband,
supposing that he was sick, told him to go to the house, and have his
mother doctor him. He accordingly ceased his work, and started, but on
coming to a beautiful green, under an apple tree, he stopped and lay
down, for he was so weak he could proceed no further. He was here but a
short time, when the messenger whom he saw the previous night, visited
him again, and the first thing he said was, "Why did you not tell your
father that which I commanded you to tell him?" Joseph replied, "I was
afraid my father would not believe me." The angel rejoined, "He will
believe every word you say to him."
Joseph then promised the angel that he would do as he had been
commanded. Upon this, the messenger departed, and Joseph returned
to the field, where he had left my husband and Alvin; but when he
got there, his father had just gone to the house, as he was somewhat
unwell. Joseph then desired Alvin to go straightway and see his father,
and inform him that he had something of great importance to communicate
to him, and that he wanted him to come out into the field where they
were at work. Alvin did as he was requested, and when my husband got
there, Joseph related to him all that had passed between him and the
angel the previous night and that morning. Having heard this account,
his father charged him not to fail in attending strictly to the
instruction which he had received from this heavenly messenger.
Soon after Joseph had this conversation with his father, he repaired to
the place where the plates were deposited, which place he describes as
follows:--
"Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario Co., New York,
stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in
the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the
top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited
in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle, on
the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle
part of it was visible above the ground; but the edge all round was
covered with earth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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