Three of these eight died out of the Church, yet not one of the whole number ever was known to deny his testimony. Had policy figured in the matter, as doubtless would have been the case in the fraudulent exploitation of a spurious book, the Church might have been expected to tolerate misconduct on the part of members so vitally prominent in its affairs; but the ban of excommunication fell, as justice demanded, without respect to persons. The biography of each of the eleven witnesses has been widely published. Their testimonies appear in every copy of the Book of Mormon. Read and consider. -- 37 -- VOICES OF THE DEAD A Testimony from the Dust ON September 22, 1827, Joseph Smith, a youthful resident of Manchester, N. Y., took from the side of a hill in that vicinity a book made up of thin leaves of beaten gold, held together by rings after the fashion of our modern loose-leaf records. As described by the finder, and by others to whom they were shown, these golden leaves or plates were engraved with fine characters having all the appearance of ancient and curious workmanship. The engraved plates had been laid away with care and attention to preservation; for, when uncovered, they were found, together with certain other antique objects, resting in a small vault or box of stone. "The box in which they lay," wrote Joseph Smith, "was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them." The top slab or lid of the box "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 around was covered with earth." As subsequent examination proved, the graven characters constituted a history of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Continent, of whom the existing tribes of American Indians are the posterity. A part of the ancient record has been translated into English and the modern version was first published in 1830 as The Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon contains pointed and specific predictions of its own coming forth in the latter days; and these prophecies harmonize with the Biblical Scriptures. The ancient peoples whose voice is again heard among the living were of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and therefore of the family of Joseph, son of Jacob. With this fact in mind, the thoughtful student finds profound significance in the otherwise obscure words of Ezekiel (37:15-20): "The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."