"Yes, here is also the testimony of eight additional witnesses, who declare they saw the plates."
AND ALSO THE TESTIMONY OP EIGHT WITNESSES.
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated, we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.
CHRISTIAN WHITMER, HIRAM PAGE, JACOB WHITMER, JOSEPH SMITH, SEN., PETER WHITMER, JUN., HYRUM SMITH, JOHN WHITMER, SAMUEL H. SMITH.
"There is one point," said Brown, "upon which I would like to hear further: it is the restoration, before mentioned. If these things are true, then the gospel was not upon the earth at the time of Joseph Smith's birth, and, as you will admit, the Church was organized in the days of Christ and left on the earth when He ascended on high: the question then arises, how the Gospel was it taken from the earth?"
"Let me give you another quotation from the Bible on the subject," said the Elder. "'From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence; and the violent take it by force.' (Matthew xi: 12.) By parity of reasoning where would our own government be if subjected to similar treatment? Suppose, that instead of Christ being crucified, it were the President, that the Cabinet instead of the Apostles were murdered, the Congress and not the Seventies were scattered to the four winds, and our citizens were subjected to the fate of the Saints of old in being driven beneath the earth—what would then remain of our nation? It exists now proudly and gloriously, and has existed for more than a century, but such treatment would leave it to future generations as only an incident in history that is, it came, it nourished and it passed away, just as did the true religion in the early days; and it might again, also like the true religion, be restored, even as the Roman Empire rose, fell and rose again."
"I understand."
"If you have no objections, I would like to read to you the words of a wise man on this subject, which will illustrate my meaning in a much clearer way than it is possible for me to express it myself. The quotation is not long and you will all especially my legal friend—see the force of his argument. He uses these words:
"'Now, in order to come at this subject in plainness, let us examine the constitution of earthly governments in regard to the authority and laws of adoption. We will say, for instance, the President of the United States writes a commission to A. B., duly authorizing him to act in some office in the government, and daring his administration, two gentlemen from Europe come to reside in this country, and being strangers and foreigners wishing to become citizens, they go before A. B., and he administers the oath of allegiance in due form, and certifies the same, and this constitutes them legal citizens, entitled to the privileges of those who are citizens or subjects by birth. After these things A. B. is taken away by death, and C. D., in looking over his papers happens to find the commission given to A. B., and applying it to his own use, assumes the vacant office; meantime, two foreigners arrive and apply for citizenship, and being informed by persons ignorant of the affairs of government that C. D. could administer the laws of adoption, they submit to be administered unto by C. D., without once examining his authority; C. D. certifies of their citizenship, and they suppose they have been legally adopted, the same as the others, and are entitled to the privileges of citizenship. But, by and by, their citizenship is called into question, and they produce the certificates of C. D.; the President inquires, 'Who is C. D.? I never gave him a commission to act in any office, I know him not and you are strangers and foreigners to the commonwealth, until you go before the legally appointed successor of A. B., or some other of like authority, who has a commission from the President direct in his own name.' In the meantime C. D. is taken and punished according to law, for practicing imposition, and usurping authority which was never conferred upon him. And so it is with the kingdom of God. The Lord authorized the Apostles and others, by direct revelation, and by the spirit of prophecy, to preach and baptize, and build up His church and kingdom; but after awhile they died, and a long time passed away; men reading over their commission, where it says to the eleven Apostles, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,' etc., have had the presumption to apply these sayings as their authority, and, without any other commission, have gone forth professing to preach the gospel, and baptize, and build up the church and kingdom of God; but those whom they baptize never receive the same blessings and gifts which characterized a Saint, or citizen of the kingdom, in the days of the Apostles. Why? Because they are yet foreigners and strangers, for the commission given to the Apostles never commissioned any other man to act in their stead. This was a prerogative the Lord preserved unto Himself. No man has a right to take this ministry upon himself, but he that is called by revelation, and duly qualified to act in his calling by the Holy Ghost."
"You give us abundance of authority, as well as your own testimony and evidence," said the doctor. "You have developed a wide and profound subject for our consideration, and for one I regret that we cannot at once hear you out, that is, go to the end of the subject with you, and know all that you are in possession of in regard to it. Right or wrong, one thing is plainly manifest—that you convey a philosophy each part of which is so reasonable, consistent and harmonious with every other part, and with the ground-work itself, that he who doubts must question himself as to why he doubts. And now, let me ask, will it not be practicable for you to remain another day?"
"While it would give me, personally, the greatest pleasure to do so, it must be remembered that I am not performing this work for my own individual gratification. The field is a broad one, and just think how small a portion of it I would be able to cover should I give way to my present inclinations and remain unduly long in places where everything is so pleasant as here. No, I must go, but hope to return to this region again."
"Well, of course you understand your own affairs best, but you are making such headway here that I hoped it might be desirable for you to continue to the end."