2. Ether ix: 14, 15, 21, 22. Ibid. x: 13. 3. Mosiah xxix: 21-23. See also remarks, chapters x, and xiii. 4. Perhaps it may be thought that an exception should be made in the matter of Lamanite kingdoms, of which I have spoken (chapter xiii) as constituting at one period of Lamanite history, a sort of confederacy of kingdoms; but this does not affect the statement of the text which is dealing with the form of government. I believe myself justified in saying that whether reference is made to the petty Lamanite kingdoms or the central kingdom to which they were tributary, the principle in government will be found the same--the king is the source of all political power, the monarchy is "simple," the kingly power absolute. 5. Doc. & Cov., Sec. ci: 76-80. 6. Letters of Joseph Smith, from Liberty Prison, under date of March 25, 1839--to the Church of the Latter-day Saints. History of the Church, Vol. III., p. 304. 7. See De Tocqueville's Constitution of the U. S., Vol. I. 8. See Chapter xiii. 9. Ante pp. 216-7. 10. See Ante Chapter xxxvii. 11. Book of Mosiah, p. 181 (current edition). 12. Book of Mormon, p 283 (current edition). CHAPTER XXXIX INTERNAL EVIDENCES--THE ORIGINALITY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AN EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF ITS CLAIMS. How far originality may be insisted upon as a necessary element in a book avowedly containing a revelation from God is an open question; just as how far originality in a prophet may be insisted upon is. In both cases, however, it cannot be doubted but that originality would be regarded as evidence of considerable weight in favor of the divinity of the message of either prophet or book. Somehow men look for originality in any thing that purports to be a revelation from God, come how it will. They look for a word "from the inner fact of things" in a revelation. A new word that shall add somewhat to the sum of known things, and spoken in a way to attract anew the attention of men. And yet it must not be forgotten that "every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven * * * bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" [1]--the old, mark you, as well as the new--and one of olden time doubted even if there really was any new thing under the sun. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, see, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us." [2]