Written for the Cambridge Chronicle.
JOSEPH SMITH, JR.;
OR, THE CREDULITY EXHIBITED BY PEOPLE IN
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
BY T. H. SAFFORD.
The annals of the world do not present a
more marked and extraordinary case of unblushing
effrontery, of impudence and boldness,
than was exhibited by that notorious
imposter, Joseph Smith, Jr., in introducing a
new religion, where there was not the slightest
portion of extract or tincture of common
sense in either the foundation or base, for the
superstructure which he successfully raised.
The vagabond habits, low cunning and duplicity
of the man, the wickedness and absurdity
of his pretentions to sanctity, and his
claim of being the favored individual whom
the Mighty Maker of the World had selected
as an organ to make a supplementary revelation
to mankind, should have been sufficient
to convince the people who were induced to
make profession of faith and join him, that
they were becoming the dupes of an untutored
and artful rogue, and that his pretended
religion was based in hypocrisy, falsehood and
delusion, and that his schemes were visionary
and fanatical from the foundation.
But such was not the result. At the present
time the converts to his doctrines are estimated
as high as one million of people, who
are said to believe in this false faith, and give
credence to Smith's pretensions, and those of
his successor, Brigham Young. Missionary
stations and printing presses advocating Mormon
doctrines, are scattered over the world;
the Mormon Bible has been translated into a-large
number of different languages, and is
now read and believed by thousands of converts,
Smith's death did not by any means
put a stop to or diminish the delusion, but
his church was greatly augmented in numbers
after that event, and England, even enlightened
England, sends large numbers of her people
to join the Mormon ranks under the control
of its present High Priest.
A full acount of this stupendous imposture
would make a distinguished page in the annals
of the age. In 1816 the father and
mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., with a large
family of children, including the prophet, removed
from the northeasterly portion of
Royalton, Vermont, to Palmyra, New York,
but finally settled in the neighboring town of
Manchester. They were an uneducated and
thriftless family, from the lowest grade of society,
and report said that their removal
neither improved their morals nor advanced
their pecuniary interests. Joseph Smith, Jr.
was born in the town of Sharon, adjoining
the easterly portion of Royalton, and to this
last town the father and family subsequently
removed. Royalton is my native town, and
in justness to the reputation of the place, I
will say that the removal was fortunate for
Smith, as Royalton would not at that time
have been a suitable place in which to play
off the amount of minor fooleries, deception
and chicanery, which was necessary to set up
his business and gain a imputation as a fortune
teller and prophet.
At the village of Royalton there was, in
addition to fifteen district schools, a flourishing
academy, where numerous young men,
who have since become distinguished, were
fitting for college; such as Salmon P. Chase,
the poet Eastman and others. And there resided
for a long term of years, Hon. Jacob
Collamer, late Post-Master General of the
United States, with a mind as clear as the
rock water that supplies the village, and one
of the acutest logical reasoners in the United
States, and also very fond of exercising his
wit and indulging in humor. There also resided
Joseph Torrey, the eloquent divine and
learned German scholar, and in addition,
Wyman Spooner, publisher of the Vermont
Advocate, with an intellect as keen as a briar.
The celebrated Dr. Nathaniel Sprague was
also there. These men would have given
Joseph Smith, Jr., with his wonderful glass,
his Golden Bible, his Urim and Thummim, or
mammoth spectacles, no credit for pretended
revelations, but he would have been met with
a storm of ridicule, derision and merriment,
that must have discouraged him in his wicked
attempts at deception. After the Smiths
removed to New York, Joseph, Jr. became
fond of reading marvellous story books, and
took some interest in religious works, and occasionally
quoted texts of Scripture.
In 1819, while Joseph Smith, Sen. was engaged
in digging a well, he found a stone of a
peculiar shape, which was taken by his son
and put to a practical use, and by the aid of
this wonderful helper to the eye, he was enabled,
as he said, to discover lost property,
hidden treasures, etc. A number of dupes,
as fond of marvels as himself, collected around
him and engaged in digging for hidden treasure,
and Smith was enabled to say, in the
words of an old song, that
"He who doubts that Robert Kidd
Sailed up this brook with shipping;
And 'neath the soil hath money hid,
Deserves a hearty whipping."
But no money was found with the eye glass,
as the excavation meetings were generally disturbed,
when the chests that contained the
treasure moved off and were seen no more.
An angel of the Lord now appeared to Joseph,
according to his own account, and announced
to him that he was to be a prophet,
and instructed him in relation to the exact locality
of a book consisting of metalic plates,
on which were engraved characters in different
languages, and this book Smith was instructed
to translate with the help of a pair
of mammoth spectacles found with the book.
The golden book was probably an import
from Mexico, and the translation did not take
place but was a pretense. The Mormon Bible,
a large portion of it, was extracted from
a novel written by Salomon Spaulding, whose
manuscript was probably procured through
the instrumentality of Smith's colleagues,
Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, and others. Joe Smith was now pretending
to be engaged in translating the book,
and after once losing his manuscript, and
having it rejected by respectable publishers,
he found a dupe named Harris who furnished
the money, and the book, was printed, and
the Mormon Church was organized by the
appointment of Joseph Smith, Sen. as Patriarch
and President.
Sidney Rigdon was the first clergyman.
Brigham Young was converted and joined
them. For a season there were two branches
of the church. Kirtland, Ohio, was the residence
of Joseph Smith, where the saints had,
according to his direction, built him a house,
and where he had established a wild-cat bank
which soon failed, when the Smith branch
removed to Independence, Missouri, and joined
their brethren at that locality.
A quarrel arose among the leaders, the
people of Missouri became enraged, and determined
to expel the Mormons from the
State. They resisted; the militia was called
out, and Joseph and Hiram Smith were imprisoned.
The difficulty was settled by an
agreement with the leaders, who engaged to
leave the State. Nauvoo, Illinois, was the
town next chosen for settlement, and here the
Lord, according to the prophet, directed that
a temple should be built, and a house for his
servant Joseph.
The Nauvoo legion was organized, and
Smith was made mayor of the city. He subsequently
introduced spiritual wife ism and
polygamy, and by a system of tithing and
levies the artful rogue became a rich man.
But trouble again occurred. Smith resisted
the militia of the State, but made a compromise
with Governor Ford, and was finally
with his brother Hiram killed by a mob in
the jail, to which they had been sent by the
Governor to protect them from the violence
of the enraged multitude.
