A thorough acquaintance with the works of Joseph Smith must convince the student of them that he was truly a Prophet of God. If it be denied that he was such, how shall the superior wisdom that prompted his words and actions be accounted for? His ideas of theology, of philosophy, of statesmanship, and even astronomy and other branches of learning, were far in advance of what was known to the world in his day; and since then many of his doctrines have been accepted by the learned, and advocated as new discoveries. The most reasonable way of accounting for the wonderful works of Joseph Smith is to acknowledge that he was a Prophet of God, sent as a divine messenger to open up the dispensation of the fullness of times, and to prepare for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose glorious reign is near at hand.
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
AN EVIDENCE OF THE INSPIRATION OF JOSEPH SMITH.
ITS PURPORT.
Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, the Prophet Joseph Smith brought forth a book—the most remarkable work of the age. It purports to give an account of the ancient people of the American continent and the dealings of the Lord with them. The Prophet claimed that it was translated by the power of the Lord from writings engraved upon plates that had the appearance of gold. The plates were found buried on the side of a hill in New York state, and their whereabouts was revealed to the Prophet by an angel.
This explanation of the origin of the book, called the Book of Mormon, was most incredible to many of those who heard it, for angels had long since ceased to visit mankind; and they had been taught that the age of prophets and revelation was past. But the fact that the book was in existence could not be denied, for it was printed and published to the world. To charge Joseph Smith or any other man or set of men with having written it for the purpose of deception would be equal to attributing to man super-human wisdom, and ability that is possessed only by heavenly beings. It would be giving him much less credit for supernatural ability to accept his own claim that he was merely inspired of the Lord to bring the book forth; for all the learned men in the world could not by their own wisdom produce such a work as the Book of Mormon. As evidence of this assertion, it is only necessary to become acquainted with the contents of the book. If a person will take the pains to read it he will find it refers in the course of the narrative it contains, to many facts of history, and numerous geographical and geological statements. Besides, it teaches religious doctrines, and records a great many prophecies.
IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE WITHOUT DIVINE AID.
Now just consider what an impossible task it would be for any man, without divine aid, to write an historical narrative of this character. It is filled with hundreds of statements concerning history, geography, geology, and religion, and yet does not contain one assertion regarding any of these subjects that does not agree in perfect harmony with what is known respecting them. It might be claimed that with a great amount of research it would be possible for a writer to do this; its statements agree also with every fact respecting the topics it mentions, that has become known during the many years of research since the Book was published, and that, too, in this age of critical investigation.
Again, the book contains as much reading matter as does the Old Testament. It is a continuous, unbroken history of a people for a thousand years, written originally by a succession of historians. Facts mentioned by one writer are referred to quite frequently by another, so that it would be no easy matter for a most careful writer with all the ingenuity that man is capable of exercising to originate a work of such character and magnitude without it making contradictions of itself.