THE MORMONS.

ITHIN the last seven years, our Republic has been the theatre of a spectacle unparalleled in the history of the world in its general aspect and promised results. Two great migrations of people, from the bosom of our confederated States to the wilderness of the farther West, have taken place; and two distinct commonwealths, already populous and full of progressive energy, have been founded, and added to our galaxy of united republics.

The motors which impelled these migrations were antipodal in essence, yet equally puissant in their attractive forces and interior energy. These were, acquisitiveness and religious enthusiasm two powerful agents in moving the masses, and confined in their manifestations to no particular time, people, or creed. The former, addressing itself to the material nature of man-his to-day -makes him brave and enduring. With these qualities as a basis of action, a vast number of our political kindred have founded a flourishing State upon the far-off coast of the Pacific ocean, and are spreading the sails of trade upon the hosom of that hitherto almost solitary sea, bearing the key to the vast commercial treasures of the Oriental world. The latter, addressing itself to man's spiritual nature-his to-morrow-makes him still more brave and enduring, because the prize to be won lies beyond the events of Time, and is subject to no physical contingencies. Impelled by this higher motive, which has given martyrs to the fury of persecution in all ages, a large number of our political kindred, commingled with a greater host from the British Isles and the European continent, have congregated in fertile valleys among the rugged mountains of the interior of our continent, in the direct pathway from the elder States to the capital of the Pacific commonwealth. The memory of the fiery

Past, and the bright visions of the peaceful Future, inspire them with indomitable perseverance and surprising energy; and system, order, and political wisdom have there been wonderfully developed among a heterogeneous mass gathered from many nations, and out of almost every class of common society.

In the midst of the vast solitudes of the Rocky Mountain region, where, six years ago, the Utah and the grizzly bear disputed possession, a nation has been born, and a populous city, encircled by broad fields, made richer by the tiller's culture, is full of busy men, plying the implements of almost every industrial pursuit, and is continually sending forth from its swarming hive energetic workers, to found other cities and plant other gardens in Deseret-the land of the Honey Bee. Let us consider the origin and brief history of this wonderful people.

About thirty years ago, Joseph Smith, an illiterate and not over-scrupulous young man of eighteen years, residing with his parents, near Palmyra, in the interior of the State of New York, attracted the attention of his kindred and neighbors by his pretensions to the character of a favored recipient of direct revelations from the councils of the Most High. For some time his mind had been disturbed by excitements at religious meetings, when, as he asserts. while praying for light and spiritual guidance, two angels appeared to him, and announced that he was the chosen Apostle and Prophet of God, to preach the true gospel to the world in its purity and power. A few evenings afterward (September 21, 1823), he was again visited by a heavenly messenger, "whose countenance was as lightning, yet it was pleasing, innocent, and glorious." This personage announced himself as a special messenger from the Great Throne, to reveal to the chosen Apostle the hidden things of the Future, and to lead him to the derository of the written records of the lost tribes of Israel-" the progenitors of the American Indians." These records, engraved upon plates of gold, contained not only the history of the long-lost tribes, but also divine instructions pertaining to the promulgation of the true gospel, and vivid prophecies concerning the Millennial era, then about to dawn upon the world. Twice during the night the angel visited the fledgeling Seer; and the following morning, while the Chosen was at work in his father's field, the Divine Instructor came and bade him go immediately to the "hill of Cumorah,"* and unearth the golden book. The task was easy, for the storms of centuries had removed the soil, and a portion of the stone box in which the plates were secured was visible. In the bottom of the box (which was carefully made air and water tight by cement), were three short pillars, and upon these were laid the sacred oracles of God. Beneath them was a breast-plate,

*This hill is about four miles distant from Palmyra, on

the east side of the post road leading from that village to Canandaigua, and near the little town of Manchester. The alleged place of deposit of the golden plates is marked by several trees on the western slope of the hill.

When the farmer's money was exhausted, his mission was ended, and Smith procured another scribe, and money from other sources. His disciples now numbered a half dozen. The sacred translations were printed under the title of The Book of Mormon, and its divinity was attested by the six disciples. Among these were Smith's father and two brothers; of the latter Hyrum was the most intelligent, and at the time of his death held a conspicuous place in the Mormon church.

The Book of Mormon professed to contain a history of the ancient inhabitants of America, who were a branch of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Joseph; the present tribes of North American Indians being a remnant. It asserts that the principal nation of them having fallen in battle in the fourth or fifth century of the Christian era, one of their prophets, whose name was Mormon, made an abridgment of their history, prophecies, and doctrine, which he engraved on plates of gold. Being afterward slain, the record fell into the hands of his son, Moroni, who, being hunted by his enemies, was directed to deposit the record safely in the earth, with a promise from God that it should be preserved, and brought to light in the latter days by means of a Gentile nation who should possess the land. The sacred deposit was made about the year 420, on a hill then called Cumorah, where the prophet Smith found it through the ministry of angels, and translated it by inspiration Such is the belief of the followers of the prophet.

It was evident to the Gentiles that the Book of Mormon was the production of a mind far superior in spirituality and cultivation to those of Smith and his confreres, but was disfigured by ignorant men in endeavoring to adapt it to the purposes of the pretended revelation. For some time its origin was a puzzle to unbelievers, but at length "its sin found it out." The well attested fact was revealed that almost twenty years before, a highly educated clergyman of Cherry Valley, New York, married, and, with his wife, settled at New Salem, Ohio. His health there declined, and he was obliged to cease preaching. At that time the literati were engaged in the discussion of the theory that the North American Indians are descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel. In the vicinity of New Salem were mounds erected by the ancient inhabitants of the continent These had excited

sort of religious novel, having that theory for its basis. He devoted the leisure of three years to the preparation of his work, which he entitled The Manuscript Found. It was written in the quaint style of the Scriptures, to give it the antique character claimed for it. In it Mormon and Moroni figured conspicuously. It was claimed to have been translated from a record made by one of the lost nation, and to have been recovered from the earth, where it was hidden by Moroni, the son of Mormon. In this manuscript, completed about the year 1813, was given most of the pretended history found in the Book of Mormon. The writer read many chapters to his wife and neighbors, and thus he beguiled the tedious hours of ill-health in the production of a work purely imaginative.

The appearance of the Book of Mormon awakened the memory of those who had heard chapters of The Manuscript Found read by the author. Among those was his wife, then a widow, and her testimony went forth to refute the imposture. It is clear and explicit; is corroborated by others, and is believed by all except the dupes of the prophet. The undoubted possession of this manuscript by Smith and his co-workers is as clearly proven as the strongest circumstantial evidence can establish a fact. The interpolations by hands guided by ignorant minds are every where visible in the Book of Mormon, and that "Bible of the Latter Days," upon which the faith of almost two hundred thousand souls is at this day grounded, is unquestionably the joint production of a pious heart and highly imagınative mind, innocent of all wrong, and of scheming men who became possessed of the fiction long after the pure spirit of its author had gone to its rest in

"The bosom of his Father and his God."

With great boldness and indomitable perseverance, Smith pressed forward in his scheme for establishing a new church upon the earth, with himself its founder and head. Promises of spiritual and temporal benefit were commingled in his doctrines, revealed from time to time, and his preaching soon began to show fruit. Men of character and cultivation became his disciples. On the 6th of April, 1830, they were organized' at Manchester, Ontario County, New York,-under the title of " Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," and in June following their first conference was held, when Smith found himself at the head of a visible church of about thirty people This was the grain of mustard seed now become a large and flourishing shrub.

Persecution began with the first organization of the Mormon church. A dam cast across a stream of water by Smith, for baptismal purposes, was destroyed by some of the people in the vicinity, and the prophet was boldly charged with robbery, swindling, and lying, and was menaced

with personal injury. With the cunning of a shrewd tactician, Smith meekly acknowledged his past sins, plead his repentance, and called God to witness his present purity of life. This. disarmed violence, if not opposition. Yet the future appeared lowering, and from that time the eyes of the "Saints" were turned toward the more generous soil of the West. Oliver Cowdrey, a schoolmaster, and Sidney Rigdon, and Parly B. Pratt, ready writers and fluent speakers, who had been preaching heterodoxy in Pennsylvania and Ohio, had embraced the Mormon faith, and soon arrangements were made to plant the church on the borders of the Western wilderness. In January, 1831, a revelation was made, commanding the Saints to emigrate to Kirtland, Ohio, where Pratt and Rigdon had already gathered over a thousand converts to receive them. Great rejoicings were had on the arrival of the prophet, and the meetings of the Saints exhibited some of the wildest phases of fanaticism. Intelligence of the new wonder spread abroad, and, from all the lake country, a hundred miles distant, people flocked to see and hear the novelty. The infection spread, and many of the illiterate backwoodsmen illustrated the line,

"Those who came to scoff, remained to pray." A new revelation was given. A command went forth to plant the new Jerusalem, where Christ was to reign with his saints, a temporal King, deeper in the wilderness. Cowdrey explored the forests and prairies beyond the Mis

sissippi, and made reports of the beauty and fertility of the country, as glowing as those of the Hebrew spies from among the grape-vines of Eschol. Smith and a few friends started for the land of promise. Leaving St. Louis, they penetrated the wilderness on foot to Independence, in Jackson county, Missouri, three hundred miles distant. They were charmed with the climate and the scene, and near Independence Smith chose the spot for building Zion. It was designated by a special revelation, and he immediately set about the great work. He preached fervidly to crowds of Indians, squatters, and negroes, some of whom became converts. He laid out the area for the great temple and dedicated the spot to the Lord. He established a bishop there, and after a sojourn of three weeks departed for Kirtland, accompanied by ten Elders of the church.

Kirtland was made a "Stake" or support of Zion, and it was resolved to remain there five years, until the temple in the wilderness should be built. A bank was established, with Smith for president, and Rigdon, cashier. The chief men were also partners in a mill and store, and soon the whole of the Prophet's family were raised from poverty to affluence. Joseph continued to preach in various parts of the country, proselyting and procuring money from his dupes for the ostensible purpose of building the Temple and the City of Zion. The preaching and the practice of the Saints did not always agree and