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.)
"DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN PRESTON,--It seemeth good unto us, and
also unto the Holy Ghost, to write to you a few words, which cause
pain in our hearts, and will also pain you when they are fulfilled
before you; yet you shall have joy in the end. Brother Webster will
not abide in the Spirit of the Lord, but will reject the truth, and
become the enemy of the people of God, and expose the mysteries
which have been committed to him, that a righteous judgment may be
executed upon him, unless he speedily repent. When this sorrowful
prediction shall be fulfilled, this letter shall be read to the
church, and it shall prove a solemn warning to all to beware.
"Farewell in the Lord,
"ORSON HYDE,
"H. C. KIMBALL."
In England, the preachers of Mormonism generally begin by insinuating
among the astonished natives of rural villages, or the weak and wavering
classes in larger towns, that our Bible has suffered by translation, and
that it is deficient and incomplete in many particulars. They next
declare that the Book of Mormon and the revelations bestowed on Smith
and Rigdon are additional favours from the Deity, designed to explain
the obscurities and supply the deficiencies of our Scriptures. It never
enters into the minds of their dupes to inquire as to the _credentials_
of these preachers. They are the eye-witnesses of no miracle: they see
no dead raised to life, no dumb qualified to speak, no blind enabled to
see.
One night the Mormon elder commences by observing to his congregation
that he does not know what to say, but that he will say whatever the
Lord shall put into his mouth. On another night, he gravely announces
his intention to read a portion of the old Scriptures for edification;
invariably, however, taking care not to confine himself to any
particular subject, but to have as extensive a field as possible, in
order to weave in from time to time such portions of the "Book of
Mormon" as he knows to be best adapted to effect his object. The
American edition of this book had no index to guide its readers to any
particular passage or doctrine; it was not generally circulated in
England, even among the converts; and hence very few were able to know
precisely when the preacher's words were _Mormonic_, and when they were
not. This peculiarity was remarked upon at the time, and in an English
edition, printed at Manchester, an index was inserted.
For the continuance of the fraudulent scheme, they proceed to enact a
mock ordination, choosing out of the whole body of converts certain
individuals who are deemed most trustworthy. These assume their
blasphemous calling on the pretended sanction of the Deity, immerse
converts after dark, _confirm_ the parties next day, and administer, in
the course of two or three days at the farthest, a mock sacrament, to
individuals who in the bewildered state of their minds scarcely know
their right hand from their left.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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