The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842Caswall, Henry
History
The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842
Caswall, Henry
Latter Day Saints -- Illinois; Nauvoo (Ill.)
brave_; while those who are made sick by it, are denominated _squaws_.
The men of this tribe enjoy themselves exceedingly at their villages
during the winter, visiting one another with great sociability. All the
hard work devolves upon the women, who cut down trees for firewood, make
the fires, and minister like slaves to the comfort and luxury of their
lords. These Indians, notwithstanding their neglect of the squaws, have
many courteous and gentlemanly habits. They have no profane word in
their vocabulary, and the most abusive words employed by them are
_liar_, _rascal_, _hog_, and _squaw_. They, however, catch with facility
the profane expressions of the whites, which they use with great
readiness, and without understanding their signification. Thus, they
will often employ an oath as a friendly salutation; and while kindly
shaking hands with a friend, will curse him in cheerful and pleasant
tones of voice.
The following morning (Tuesday, April 19th), a Mormon arrived with his
boat and ferried me over to Nauvoo. A Mormon doctor accompanied me. He
had obtained, I was told, a regular diploma from a medical school as a
physician; but since the Mormons generally prefer miraculous aid to
medicine, it is probable that his practice is somewhat limited. He
argued with me as we were on the passage, and evinced a tolerable share
of intelligence and acuteness. The success of Mormonism in England was a
subject of great rejoicing to him. I observed, that I had reason to
believe that the conquests of Mormonism in Britain had been principally
among the illiterate and uneducated. This, he partially admitted; but he
maintained that God had always chosen the poor, for they were rich in
faith. I replied, that the class of persons to whom he referred,
abounded in wrong faith no less than in right faith; and that among the
lower class of persons in England, the wildest delusions, of the most
contradictory character, had, from time to time, been readily
propagated. I further remarked, that the same class of people who
believed in Joanna Southcote, might easily be persuaded to credit the
divine mission of Joseph Smith. I begged him to inform me whether the
Mormons believed in the Trinity. "Yes," he replied; "we believe that the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; that makes
three at least who are God, and no doubt there are a great many more."
He went on to state, that the Mormons believe that departed saints
become a portion of the Deity, and may be properly denominated "Gods."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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