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.

PROPHECIES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON.

Whatever success an impostor might have in deceiving people with a fictitious book, there are some things he cannot do. Should he succeed in making the book consistent with all known truths of history, science and religion, he would find it impossible to make accurate predictions concerning the future. This power is not possessed by man, unless conferred upon him by the Lord. The Book of Mormon cannot therefore be classed among human impositions, for it contains prophecies that were not fulfilled at the time it was published, but that have since been verified.

Speaking of the coming forth in this age of the record which he compiled, the Prophet Mormon says,

"And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness."

The Book of Mormon was printed before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, so that it could not be told at that time, except by inspiration that the blood of saints in the present age should cry unto the Lord, because of the works of darkness. There was no religious persecution going on at that time; but it was not long before the blood of many of the Latter-day Saints was shed as the result of persecution.

A BIBLE! A BIBLE!

The Prophet Nephi, referring also to the period when the record should be revealed in the latter time, and when the Lord should proceed to recover His chosen people, the house of Israel, records the words of the Lord to him as follows:

"And my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are the house of Israel. And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, a Bible! a Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible."

Since the publication of the Book of Mormon the Lord's words have gone forth "unto the ends of the earth," and the Latter-day Saints who have carried His words and declared them in nearly all countries have usually been answered with these words, "A Bible! a Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." The general belief is that the Bible is the only book in existence containing the word of the Lord.

ISAIAH'S PROPHECY.

The Prophet Nephi reiterates the prediction recorded in the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, concerning the coming forth of a book, and which the Latter-day Saints maintain refers to the Book of Mormon. The prophecy is as follows:

"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. . . . . And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." (Isaiah 29: 11, 12, 13, 14, 18).

The first part of this prophecy was literally fulfilled when a man named Martin Harris, with the permission of Joseph Smith, took a copy of some of the characters from which the Book of Mormon was translated—the "words of a book"—to Professor Anthon, a learned professor of languages in New York City, and the latter made the statement, "I cannot read a sealed book." Unwittingly, he used almost the identical words of Isaiah's prediction.

"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned,"—this was fulfilled when the book was delivered to Joseph Smith, an unlearned youth. How accurately this prophecy was fulfilled is shown by the fact that the words of the book were delivered to the man that was learned, while the book itself was delivered to him that was not learned.

The portion of the prophecy which reads: "Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder," is also being fulfilled. The work done by the Lord through the instrumentality of His servant Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints, is looked upon as marvelous even by those who do not believe Joseph Smith to be a prophet, nor the Latter-day Saints to be inspired of Heaven, for this work attracts the attention of the whole world. An acquaintance with what the Lord has done and with what is now being done through their ministry is of sufficient importance to be called "a marvelous work and a wonder." The Gospel has been preached in nearly all the civilized and several of the uncivilized nations, a church has been established that attracts the attention of all the world, and its name and the prophet's name are known among every nation; a commonwealth has been built up that has won the admiration of all that are acquainted with it; people from all nations have been gathered together to form this commonwealth; and missionaries by the thousands are sent to proclaim to mankind everywhere the glad tidings of the "marvelous work."

Since the restoration of the Gospel with all its blessings in these latter days the remainder of Isaiah's words have been verified. The deaf have been healed and enabled to "hear the words of the book," and the blind have had their sight restored, and have thus been enabled to "see out of obscurity, and out of darkness."

BOOK GIVES A TEST OF ITS TRUTH.

The last chapter in the Book of Mormon contains these words:

"And when ye shall receive these things," [the records contained in the Book of Mormon] "I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with a real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."

Here is a promise that no impostor would dare to make, for he could not expect it to be fulfilled, and it would only furnish a means of detecting his deception.

The spirit in which the Book of Mormon is written is of such a nature that it impresses the reader with the honesty and earnestness of the writer. Its language is very plain, showing that the writer made no attempt at literary embellishment, but had only one object in view, which was to state the simple facts, and make the Gospel plain for the benefit of mankind. The style of the writing is peculiar to itself, and different from all other writings extant. These facts concerning the character of the book prove its authenticity.

ATTESTED BY DIRECT EVIDENCE.

The truth of the Book of Mormon is attested by the strongest direct evidence that it is possible to obtain. To show this it will perhaps be as well to consider what constitutes direct evidence. Evidence is understood to be the means of proving an unknown or a disputed fact. There is what is called "circumstantial evidence" and "direct evidence." The first is that kind of testimony which deals with circumstances that are connected with the fact to be proven. As, for example, footprints in the snow, are proof to an observer of them that someone has been where the snow lies since it fell, although the observer has not seen any person there. The marks in the snow are circumstantial evidence that he is correct in his conclusion. Direct evidence is the testimony of a witness to what he has seen, felt, or known by his own senses.

It is a question of dispute whether direct or circumstantial evidence is the stronger, though the first is usually considered so. As against direct evidence it is claimed that witnesses may be mistaken, deceived or may wilfully falsify, while circumstances it is said cannot mislead.

The evidences already set forth to prove the truth of the Book of Mormon are what would be called circumstantial. The only evidence mankind have, aside from inspiration, that the Bible is true is indirect or circumstantial. What is unique about the Book of Mormon is that it is sustained by direct testimony, corroborated by circumstantial evidence which proves that the witnesses were not mistaken nor deceived, and that they did not tell falsehoods. Following the title page of the Book of Mormon is printed the testimony of three witnesses, who give their deposition in the following earnest and emphatic words:

TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.

"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.

"Oliver Cowdery,

"David Whitmer,

"Martin Harris."

No stronger testimony of the existence of a fact ever has been or can be given than this. Nothing less than a direct revelation from heaven to an individual personally can furnish him more convincing proof than is given by the testimony of these three witnesses. What greater evidence can one ask or desire than this? Here is the most solemn statement made by three men, of sound mind and strict veracity who say the voice of God declared unto them that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and that an angel from heaven showed them the plates from which the record was translated, and that they know it to be true. Such testimony would be ample to establish a claim in any court on earth.

TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES UNCHANGED.

Many years after the first publication of the Book of Mormon with the names of the three witnesses attached, a gentleman inquired of Oliver Cowdery if he believed the Book of Mormon to be true. The questioner read from the book the names of the three witnesses, and exclaimed, "Mr. Cowdery, do you believe this book?"

"No, sir," was Cowdery's reply.

"But," said the gentleman, "your name is attached to it, and you declare here that you saw an angel, and also the plates from which the book purports to be translated; and now you say you don't believe it. Which time did you tell the truth?"

Mr. Cowdery replied, "My name is attached to that book and what I there have said is true. I did see this; I know I saw it, and faith has nothing to do with it, as a perfect knowledge has swallowed up the faith which I had in the work, knowing, as I do, that it is true."

A few days previous to his death David Whitmer, another of the witnesses, called his family and a number of his friends together and delivered to them his dying testimony. To his physician he said, "Dr. Buchanan, I want you to say whether or not I am in my right mind before I give my last testimony." The doctor replied,

"Yes, you are in your right mind, for I have just had a conversation with you."

Then, addressing all who were gathered at his bedside, he said, "Now you must be faithful in Christ. I want to say to you all that the Bible and the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon,) are true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony on my deathbed. All be faithful in Christ and your reward will be according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ forever, worlds without end. Amen."

Martin Harris, the third witness, continued to testify to the truth of his statement concerning the Book of Mormon until the day of his death, which occurred July 10, 1875. The three men were regarded by their neighbors as strictly truthful and honest.

TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES.

Besides the three above named witnesses, there are eight others whose testimony concerning the Book of Mormon is given to the world. Their testimony is as follows:

"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shewn 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 shewn 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 we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.

"Christian Whitmer, Hiram Page, Jacob Whitmer, Joseph Smith, Sen., Peter Whitmer, Jr., Hyrum Smith, John Whitmer, Samuel H. Smith."

SECULAR PROOF OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

Proof that the Book of Mormon is authentic will also establish the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Herewith are presented some of the external or outside evidences of the truth of that remarkable work known as the Book of Mormon.

The principal statements contained in the Book of Mormon concerning which there is a possibility of confirmation or corroboration in the annals of modern exploration and research are these:

1. That America was once peopled by a colony who went from Asia at the time of the confusion of tongues, when the inhabitants of the earth undertook to build the Tower of Babel; and that these colonists and their descendants flourished for a period of some sixteen or seventeen centuries, being a highly civilized race, but finally became extinct.

2. That America was again peopled, this time by a colony of the Hebrew race which came from Jerusalem 600 years B. C. That they observed the laws of Moses, had a record of the creation, the flood, etc.

3. That they, too, developed into a great and highly civilized commonwealth.

4. That they had a knowledge of the coming of the Christ, and that He appeared unto them and taught them the Gospel.

5. That terrible convulsions and destruction of life and property took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion.

COLONISTS FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL.

The Book of Mormon states that a man named Jared, and his brother, and their families, with some other men and their families, being led by the Lord, went from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and crossed over to America in barges. There they multiplied and became a great nation, spreading over the land northward, or North America. Finally, about 600 years before Christ the nation became extinct through internal warfare. (See Book of Ether).

Josephus, the Jewish historian, speaking of the events at the time of the dispersion from the Tower of Babel says

"After this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies everywhere; and each colony took possession of that land which they light upon, and unto which God led them; so that the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and maritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands." —Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 5.

This account of course does not state specifically that any colony went to America, but it says that colonies went EVERYWHERE, and that some of the people went in ships to distant lands, and to places where God led them.

That two distinct races of civilized beings inhabited ancient America is testified to by a number of archaeologists and explorers. A correspondent to the St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat writing from Tombstone, Arizona, in 1895, says:

"The remarkable picture rocks and boulders, with strange symbols upon them, left by the pre-historic races of Arizona, have been the cause of much discussion among those who have seen them as to who these ancient hieroglyphic-makers were. These rock records may be divided into three different kinds, which, it is thought, were made by two different races. The first, or very ancient race, left records on rocks, in some instances of symbols only, and in other instances of pictures and symbols combined. The later race, which came after the first race had vanished, made only crude representations of animals, birds or reptiles, not using symbols or combinations of lines."

Chamber's Encyclopaedia, under the subject heading "Nicaragua" contains this statement:

"Nicaragua, like the states north of it, was a center of Aztec civilization; but the Aztecs were preceded by another race likewise civilized, who have left stone sculptures and monumental remains."

That the origin of the extinct race which formerly inhabited North America is believed by students of American antiquity to date back to the time of the building of the Tower of Babel the following gives evidence:

"One of the arts known to the builders of Babel was that of brickmaking. This art was also known to the people who built the works in the West. The knowledge of copper was known to the people of the plains of Shinar; for Noah must have communicated it, as he lived a hundred and fifty years among them after the flood. Also copper was known to the antediluvians. Copper was also known to the authors of the western monuments. Iron was known to the antediluvians. It was also known to the ancients of the West. However, it is evident that very little iron was among them, as very few instances of its discovery in their works have occurred; and for this very reason, we draw a conclusion that they came to this country very soon after the dispersion.—(Priest's American Antiquities, 1833).

The following is from Rev. D. Lowry's Reply to Official Inquiries respecting the Aborigines of America, written in 1848, and given in Schoolcraft's "Ethnological Researches," &c., vol. iii., published in 1853.

"In view of the best light and information which I have been able to collect on the subject, my opinion is that the earliest inhabitants of America were the descendants of Ham, the youngest son of Noah; and that THE FIRST SETTLEMENT WAS MADE SHORTLY AFTER THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES AT THE BUILDING OF THE TOWER OF BABEL. Moses tells us that about that period 'the Lord scattered the people abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' (Gen. 2: 8, 9). America, then, according to this portion of sacred history, was at that time re-occupied by man; for the writer could not have meant by 'all the earth' only about one-half of it."

Professor T. H. Lewis, an archaeologist of St. Paul, Minnesota, (U. S. A.), who a few years since, made some explorations among the mounds and earthworks of North Dakota, is of the opinion that there were two separate races in Ancient America. He derived this opinion from examining mounds and their contents, which are found in that locality and in many other parts of North America. (Correspondent to Denver News, 1890.)

Professor F. W. Putnam, in an article in the Century Magazine for March, 1890, on "Prehistoric Remains in the Ohio Valley," advocates his belief, based upon discoveries and observations in ancient burying grounds, that two races have inhabited America in olden times, and that one originated from the north and the other from the south.

The Book of Mormon makes it clear that the Jaredites occupied that part of the country known as North America, (See Book of Omni, 1: 23), while the race that succeeded them originated in South America, but spread towards the north. (See Book of Alma, 22: 30-34).

A correspondent writing to the New York Herald from San Diego, California, under date of December 10, 1849, says:

"Unlike anything heretofore discovered on this continent, or indeed in the whole world, we here have presented to our views, as we now firmly believe, the unbroken history of a people that existed not only for a great length of time since the building of the Egyptian pyramids, but contemporary with them, and, what is more wonderful still, far back and yet still farther into the mazes of antiquity."

In Harper's Weekly for October, 1879, (published in New York), is an article by Henry C. Walsh, entitled "Copan: a City of the Dead." In it he says:

"During the progress of the excavations made by the last Peabody expedition Mr. Gordon discovered a stone pavement at the southern end of the great plaza. By digging downwards he came to the walls and chambers of a building more ancient than and of a different character from those now above the surface. Here were found tablets inscribed with characters varying materially from those on the known monuments. In the adjoining structures above ground were found blocks of stone, used in the construction, which had evidently been cut from older sculptures. All this points to successive periods of occupation, of which there are other evidences."

ORIGIN BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA.

The Book of Mormon states that about 600 years before the birth of Christ a small colony of the Hebrew race left Jerusalem and was led by the Lord to the shores of America. This colony was composed, on the commencement of its journey, of two heads of families, Lehi and Ishmael, their wives and children, and a man named Zoram. They observed the law of Moses, and took with them a record of their forefathers, containing the five books of Moses, giving an account of the creation of the world, of Adam and Eve, and also of the Jews from the beginning down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This record was engraved on plates of brass. The youngest of the four sons of Lehi, Nephi by name, was the leading spirit in the company. He also commenced a record of their doing, which he engraved upon plates of metal in the language of the Egyptians, and in what their descendants called reformed Egyptian characters. (See I Nephi, also Mosiah 1: 4, and Mormon 9: 32-33).

That the origin of the American Indians dates back to some period before the Christian era is testified to by a number of archaeologists. Professor Waterman, of Boston, Massachusetts, in a lecture delivered in the Fine Arts Academy, Bristol, in 1849, speaking of the time the forefathers of the Indians went to America, says:

"When and whence, then, did they come? Albert Galatin, one of the profoundest philologists of the age, concluded that, so far as language afforded any clue, the time of their arrival could not have been long after the dispersion of the human family. Dr. Morton, after a series of investigations of many of the human crania found in the sepulchral mounds concluded that they must have dated back at least 2000 or 3000 years. It would not seem that all the family to which they belonged came with them, as they were but representatives of a people still in existence in the Old World, or who had become extinct since they emigrated. This people could not have been created in Africa, for its inhabitants were widely dissimilar to those of America; nor in Europe, which was without a native people agreeing at all with American races: then to Asia alone could they look for the origin of the American."

Not only does the above quotation express the opinion of scholars that the race referred to originated before the Christian era, but that it originated in Asia, which agrees with the statements in the Book of Mormon.

The following is taken from the Abbé Don Lorenzo Hervas' Letter to the Abbé Clavigero upon the Mexican Calendar, translated by Cullen and published in England in 1787:

"This Calendar has not been the discovery of the Mexicans, but a communication from some more enlightened people; and as the last are not to be found in America, we must seek for them elsewhere, in Asia or in Egypt. This supposition is confirmed by your affirmation, that the Mexicans had their Calendar from the Toltecas (originating from Asia), whose year, according to Boturini, was exactly adjusted by the course of the sun, more than a hundred years before the Christian era."

Dr. Wendell Mees, of Ithaca, New York, in an article published in a Scandinavian paper, Verdens Gang, sets forth his views in regard to the origin of the Aztecs, or ancient inhabitants of Mexico. He is of the belief that they went over to America "as early as the fourth century before Christ."

OF HEBREW ORIGIN.

The evidences that the American Indians are of Hebrew origin are quite numerous and most conclusive.

The following is from Adair's "History of the American Indians," published in London, in 1775:

"All the various nations of Indians seem to be of one descent. They call a buffalo, in their various dialects, by one and the same name, 'Yanasa.' And there is a strong similarity of religious rites and of civil and martial customs among all the various American nations of Indians we have any knowledge of on the extensive continent, as will soon be shown. Their language is copious and very expressive, for their narrow orbit of ideas, and full of rhetorical tropes and figures, like the orientalists. . . . From the most exact observations I could make in the long time I traded among the Indian Americans, I was forced to believe them lineally descended from the Israelites, either while they were a maritime power or soon after the general captivity: the latter, however, is the most probable. ... As the Israelites were divided into tribes, and had chiefs over them, so the Indians divide themselves. Each tribe forms a little community within the nation; and as the nation hath its particular symbol, so hath each tribe the badge from which it is denominated. The sachem of each tribe is a necessary party in conveyances and treaties, to which he affixes the mark of his tribe, as a corporation with us doth their public seal. If we go from nation to nation among them, we shall not find one who doth not lineally distinguish himself by his respective family. . . . Every town has a state-house, or synedrion, as the Jewish sanhedrim, where, almost every night, the head men convene about public business. . . . These Indian Americans pay their religious devoir to Loak Ishtohoollo-Aba, 'the great, beneficent, supreme, holy spirit of fire,' who resides (as they think) above the clouds, and on earth also with unpolluted people. He is with them the sole author of warmth, light, and of all animal and vegetable life. They do not pay the least perceivable adoration to any images, or to dead persons, neither to the celestial luminaries, nor evil spirits, nor any created being whatsoever. . . . They flatter themselves with the name hottuh oretoopah, 'the beloved people,' because their supposed ancestors, as they affirm, were under the immediate government of the Deity, who was present with them in a very particular manner, and directed them by prophets, while the rest of the world were aliens and outlaws to the covenant. . . . The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, emphatical, sonorous, and bold, and often, both in letters and signification, synonymous with the Hebrew language. . . They use many plain religious emblems of the Divine names, Yohewah, Yah, and Ale; and these are the roots of a prodigious number of words through their various dialects. . . In conformity to, or after the manner of the Jews, the Indian Americans have their prophets, high priests, and others of a religious order. As the Jews had a sanctum sanctorum, or most holy place, so have all the Indian nations. . . . . The Indian tradition says that their forefathers were possessed of an extraordinary divine spirit, by which they foretold things future, and controlled the common course of nature; and this they transmitted to their offspring, provided they obeyed the sacred laws annexed to it. . . . As the prophets of the Hebrews had oracular answers, so the Indian magi (who are to invoke Yo He Wah and mediate with the supreme holy fire, that he may give seasonable rains), have a transparent stone of supposed great power in assisting to bring down the rain. . . . The Hebrews offered daily sacrifice. . . . The Indians have a similar religious service. . . . The Indians have among them the resemblance of the Jewish sin offering and trespass-offering. . . . The Indians observe another religious custom of the Hebrews in making a peace-offering. . . . They always celebrate the annual expiation of sins in their religious temples. The red Hebrews imagine their temples to have such a typical holiness, more than any other place, that if they offered up the Annual Sacrifice elsewhere, it would not atone for the people. . . . The Hebrews had various ablutions and anointings, according to the Mosaic ritual, and all the Indian nations constantly observe similar customs from religious motives. . . . In the coldest weather, and when the ground is covered with snow, against their bodily ease and pleasure, men and children turn out of their warm houses or stoves, reeking with sweat, singing their usual sacred notes, Yo, Yo, &c., at the dawn of day, adoring Yo He Wah, at the gladsome sight of the morn; and thus they skip along, echoing praises, till they get to the river, when they instantaneously plunge into it. . . . This law of purity (bathing in water) was essential to the Jews, and the Indians to this day would exclude the men from religious communion who neglected to observe it. . . . 'Tis well known that oil was applied by the Jews to the most sacred as well as common uses: their kings, prophets, and priests, at their inauguration and consecration, were anointed with oil. . . . Like the Jews, the greatest part of the Southern Indians abstain from the most things that are in themselves, or in general apprehension of mankind, loathsome, or unclean. . . . They reckon all birds of prey and birds of night to be unclean and unlawful to be eaten. . . None of them will eat of any animal whatsoever, if they either know or suspect that it died of itself. . . . They reckon all those animals to be unclean that are either carnivorous or live on nasty food, as hogs, wolves, panthers, foxes, cats, mice, rats. . . . The Indians, through a strong principle of religion, abstain in the strictest manner from eating the blood of any animal. . . . The Indian marriages, divorces, and punishments of adultery still retain a strong likeness to the Jewish laws and customs in these points. . . . . Many other of the Indian punishments resemble those of the Jews. . . The Indians strictly adhere more than the rest of mankind to that positive, unrepealed law of Moses, 'He who sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' . . . There never was any set of people who pursued the Mosaic law of retaliation with such a fixed eagerness as these Americans. . . They forgive all crimes at the Annual Atonement of sins, except murder, which is always punished with death. . . . The Israelites had cities of refuge, or places of safety, for those who killed a person unawares and without design. . . . According to the same particular divine law of mercy, each of these Indian nations have either a house or town of refuge, which is a sure asylum to protect a manslayer, or the unfortunate captive, if they can once enter into it Before the Indians go to war, they have many preparatory ceremonies of purification and fasting, like what is recorded of the Israelites. . . . The Indian ark is deemed so sacred and dangerous to be touched, either by their own sanctified warriors or the spoiling enemy, that they durst not touch it upon any account. . . . The warriors consider themselves as devoted to God, apart from the rest of the people, while they are at war accompanying the sacred ark with the supposed holy things it contains. . . . When they return home victorious over the enemy, they sing the triumphal song to Yo He Wah, ascribing the victory to him, according to a religious custom of the Israelites, who were commanded always to attribute their success in war to Jehovah, and not to their swords and arrows.

"The Indian manner of curing their sick is very similar to that of the Jews. They always invoke Yo He Wah a considerable space of time before they apply any medicines, let the case require ever so speedy an application. The more desperately ill their patients are, the more earnestly they invoke the Deity on the sad occasion. . . . The Indians deem the curing their sick or wounded a very religious duty, and it is chiefly performed by their supposed prophets and magi, because they believe they are inspired with a great portion of divine fire. . . . The surviving brother, by Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a deceased brother who left a widow childless, to perpetuate his name and family, and inherit his goods and estate, or be degraded. The Indian custom looks the very same way; yet it is in this as in their law of blood—the eldest brother can redeem. . . Emanuel de Moraes and Acosta affirm that the Brazilians marry in their own family or tribe. And Jo. de Laet says they call their uncles and aunts 'fathers and mothers,' which is a custom of the Hebrews and of all our North American Indians; and he assures us they mourn very much for their dead, and that their clothes are like those of the early Jews. . . Acosta writes that the clothes of the South American Indians are shaped like those of the ancient Jews. . . Laet, (in his description of America), and Escarbotus assure us they often heard the South American Indians to repeat the sacred word Halliluiah, which made them admire how they first attained it. And Malvenda says that the natives of St. Michael had tombstones, which the Spaniards digged up, with several ancient Hebrew characters upon them. Peter Martyr writes that the Indian widow married the brother of her deceased husband, according to the Mosaic law. . . . Robert Williams, the first Englishman in New England, who is said to have learned the Indian language, in order to convert the natives, believed them to be Jews."

Squier's "Antiquities of the State of New York," published in Buffalo, in 1851, confirms a number of the statements made by Adair, which are reproduced in the above extracts from his "History of the American Indians." Squier's work also mentions other similarities that exist between the customs of the Israelites and the Indians.

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

Schoolcraft's "Ethnological Researches," Vol. I (published in 1851) says respecting some of the Indians' customs:

"In regard to the manners, customs, habits, &c, of the wild tribes of the Western territory, a true and more correct type than any I have ever seen may be found in the ancient history of the Jews or Israelites after their liberation from Egyptian bondage. The 'Medicine Lodge' of the Indian may be compared to the place of worship or tabernacle of the Jews; and the sacrifices, offerings, purifications, ablutions, and anointings may be all found amongst and practiced by those people. The manner of mourning for a deceased relative is very similar to that of the Israelites. . . . There could be very numerous and similar analogies made between the manners and customs of those people and those of the Jews."

The following is taken from Civero and Von Tscudi's "Peruvian Antiquities," translated from the original Spanish by Dr. Hawks, and published in New York in 1854.

"Like the Jews, the Indians offer their first fruits; they keep their new moons, and the feast of expiations at the end of September, or in the beginning of October; they divide the year into four seasons, corresponding with the Jewish festivals. According to Charlevoix and Long, the brother of a deceased husband receives his widow into his house as a guest, and after a suitable time considers her as a legitimate consort. In some parts of North America circumcision is practiced, and of this Acosta and Lopez de Gomara make mention. But that which most tends to fortify the opinion as to the Hebrew origin of the American tribes, is a species of ark, seemingly like that of the Old Testament; this the Indians take with them to war: it is never permitted to touch the ground, but rests upon stones or pieces of wood, it being deemed sacrilegious and unlawful to open it or look into it. The American priests scrupulously guard their sanctuary, and the high priest carries on his breast a white shell adorned with precious stones, which recalls the Urim of the Jewish high priest; of whom we are also reminded by a band of white plumes on his forehead."

INDIAN PRACTICE RESEMBLING THE PASSOVER.

"It is not generally known that there is a marvelous coincidence between the traditional stories of the North American Indians and the Bible story of the Israelites in Egypt. For instance, in the spring of each year, about the time of the Jewish Passover, a white dog—the animal must be without spot and blemish—is sacrificed by the Blood Indians of North-West Canada. The coincidence would be greater if a sheep were used; but there are no sheep in the territory, and hence a white dog is used. The blood of the animal is then sprinkled on the entrances to the Indian tepees or wigwams. The flesh, of the animal is afterwards roasted at midnight, and the whole camp partake of it, with loins girt, and in full marching order, just as the Israelites did in the time of Pharaoh. When the food has been eaten, the entire camp silently march into the woods, a distance of several miles. There the medicine-men go apart, and privately plant some tobacco-seed, the fruit of which, when ripe, is used for the same ceremony the following year. This is a marvelous coincidence, and the missionaries to that region say the custom has been handed down from times immemorial. This curious tradition is now published for the first time."—Sunday Companion, November 28, 1896.

TRADITION OF A SACRED BOOK.

A work on the origin of the American Indians, by C. Colton, (London, 1833), says respecting their traditional belief:

"They assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors, and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future events; that He controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominions; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe, by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which has been so long lost."

This tradition is a remarkable corroboration of the record contained in the Book of Mormon.

The testimony on record to prove that the Ancient Indians are of Israelitish origin is too voluminous to reproduce here. The above is sufficient and conclusive. Lord Kingsborough's great work on the "Antiquities of Mexico," published in 1830-37, was written especially to prove that the Indians were Israelites.

ACQUAINTED WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT RECORD.

That the ancient inhabitants of America were acquainted with the record of many events recorded in the Old Testament is amply shown by their traditions, their paintings, books and inscriptions.

Lord Kingsborough says concerning the Mexican Indians:

"I cannot fail to remark that one of the arguments which persuades me to believe that this nation descends from the Hebrews is to see the knowledge they have of the book of Genesis. . . . .

"It is impossible on reading what Mexican Mythology records of the war in heaven, and the fall of Zontemoque and other rebellious spirits; of the creation of light by the word of Toncatlecuti, and of the division of the waters; of the sin of Yzclacolinhqui, and his blindness and his nakedness; and of the temptation of Suchequecal and her disobedience in gathering roses from a tree, and the consequent misery and disgrace of herself and all her posterity, not to recognize scriptural analogies. But the Mexican tradition of the deluge is that which bears the most unequivocal marks of having been derived from a Hebrew source. This tradition records that a few persons escaped in the Ahuchueti, or ark of fir, when the earth was swallowed up by the deluge, the chief of whom was named Palecath of Cipaquetona: and he invented the art of making wine; that Xelua, one of his descendants, or at least one of those who escaped in the ark, was present at the building of a high tower, which the succeeding generation constructed with a view of escaping from the deluge, should it again occur: the Toncatlecutli, incensed at their presumption, destroyed the tower by lightning, confounded their language and dispersed them; and that Xelua led a colony to the new World."—Mexican Antiquities, Vol. VI, p. 401.

TRADITION OF MOSES.

The same writer also makes the following statement respecting the ancient Americans' knowledge of the story of Moses:

"A very remarkable representation of the ten plagues which God sent on Egypt, occurs in the eleventh and twelfth pages of the Borgian Ms. Moses is there painted, holding up in his left hand his rod, which became a serpent; and, with a furious gesture, calling down the plagues upon the Egyptians. These plagues were frogs, locusts, lice, flies, etc., all of which are represented in the pages referred to; but the last and most dreadful were the thick darkness which overspread Egypt for three days, and the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians.

"The curious symbol of one serpent swallowing up others, likewise occurs in the nineteenth page of the same Ms. It is not extraordinary that the Mexicans, who were acquainted with one portion of the exodus—that relating to the children of Israel journeying from Egypt—should also not have been ignorant of another."

TRADITION OF EVE.

Bernardino de Sahagun, a Franciscan missionary and historian of the sixteenth century, author of "Historia Universal de Nueva Españia, says concerning the Aztec tradition of Eve:

"This woman was the first who existed in the world, and the mother of the whole human race; who was tempted by the serpent who appeared to her in the terrestrial paradise, and discoursed with her, to persuade her to transgress the command of God, and that is likewise true, that after having committed sin, etc., she bore a son and a daughter at the same birth, and that the son was named Cain and the daughter Calmana; and that afterwards she brought forth a second birth, Abel, and his sister Delborah, so that she bore them by twin birth."

Prof. Short, in his "North Americans of Antiquity," page 238, quotes from the native writer, Intellxochitl, as follows:

TRADITION OF THE FLOOD.

"It is found in the histories of the Toltecs, that this age and first world, as they call it, lasted seventeen hundred and sixteen years; then men were destroyed by tremendous rains and lightnings from the sky, and even all the land, without exception of anything, and the highest mountains were covered up and submerged in water 'caxolmoletli' or fifteen cubits, and here they add other fables of how men came to multiply from the few who escaped from this destruction in a toptlipetlacali, this word signifies a close chest."

"No tradition has been more widely spread among nations than that of a Deluge. . . . It was the received notion under some form or other, of the most civilized people in the Old World, and of the barbarians of the New. The Aztecs combined with this some particular circumstances of a more arbitrary character, resembling the accounts of the east. They believed that two persons survived the Deluge, a man named Coxcox and his wife. Their heads are represented in ancient painting, together with a boat floating on the waters at the foot of a mountain. A dove is also depicted, with a hieroglyphical emblem of language in his mouth, which he is distributing to the children of Coxcox, who were born dumb. The neighboring people of Michoacan, inhabiting the same high plains of the Andes, had a still further tradition, that the boat in which Tegpi, their Noah, escaped, was filled with various kinds of animals and birds. After some time, a vulture was sent out from it, but remained feeding on the dead bodies of the giants which had been left on the earth, as the waters subsided. The little humming bird, huitzitzilin, was then set forth, and returned with a twig in his mouth. The coincidence of both these accounts with the Hebrew and Chaldean narratives is obvious."—"Conquest of Mexico," by W. H. Prescott, (pages 463-4).

LED BY YOUNGEST BROTHER.

Fernando Montesinos, the Spanish historian of Peru says of the Peruvians:

"That nation was originated by a people led by four brothers, the youngest of these brothers assumed supreme authority, and became the first of a long line of sovereigns." (See Book of Mormon, Book of Jacob, 1: 9-11).

ENGRAVED ON PLATES OF METAL.

A writer by the name of C. W. Wandell says:

"There can be no well-founded objection to the Nephite record, from the material on which it is engraved; for the gold plate worn on Aaron's head, on which was written 'Holiness to the Lord,' proves that the idea was known to them. Bishop Watson says: 'The Hebrews went so far as to write their sacred books in gold, as we may learn from Josephus compared with Pliny.' (Watson's Bib. and Theo. Dic. Art. Writings).

"Nor is the modern, book-like form of the volume any argument against its antiquity; for Bishop Watson in the same place says: 'Those books which were inscribed on tablets of wood, lead, brass or ivory were connected together by rings at the back, through which a rod was passed to carry them.'"

EGYPTIAN WRITINGS.

A writer in the Foreign Quarterly Review for October, 1836, says:

"Lastly, the eye of the antiquarian cannot fail to be both attracted and fixed by evidences of the existence of two great branches of the hieroglyphical language—both having striking affinities with the Egyptian, and yet distinguished from it by characteristics perfectly American. One is the picture-writing peculiar to the Mexicans, and which displays several striking traits of assimilation to the anaglyphs, and the historical tablets of the Egyptian temples. The second is a pure hieroglyphical language, to which little attention has hitherto been called, which appears to have been peculiar to the Tultecan or some still more ancient nation that preceded the Mexicans; which was as complete as the Egyptian in its double constituency of a symbolic and a phonetic alphabet, and which, as far as we can judge, appears to have rivalled the Egyptian in its completeness, while in some respects it excelled it in its regularity and beauty."

Dr. August Le Plongeon, the eminent archaeologist of New York, in the Review of Reviews for July, 1895, announces the discovery of the sacred alphabet of the Mayas (the Indian tribe of Central America) is practically identical with that of the Egyptians, and that the grammatical structure of the two tongues is strikingly similar, many words and characters having the same meaning in both. His conclusion is that both these people acquired the art of writing from a common source.

This is in strict harmony with the statements made in the Book of Mormon. Nephi states in the first chapter of his book (Book or Mormon, page 1) that he made his record, which was sacred, in "the language of the Egyptians." Mosiah confirms this statement (Mosiah 1: 4); and Mormon says that it was written in characters which his people called "reformed Egyptian," (Mormon 9: 32).

The Book of Mormon states that the descendants of the colonists from the Tower of Babel and of those from Jerusalem attained to a high degree of civilization, were acquainted with many arts; and also that they became very wicked, and destroyed each other in fiercely-fought battles. (See Mormon, chapter 6; also Ether, 15: 2). The record gives the information that the first nation cultivated all kinds of fruit and grain; that they manufactured silk and fine linen, and possessed gold, silver and other precious things; that they had domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, elephants and others. (See Book of Ether, 9: 17, 18, 19). The second nation found these same animals in the country (see I Nephi 18: 25). It is also recorded that the latter people built cities (Alma 21: 2) and temples (II Nephi 5: 16); that they had coins of gold and silver (Alma 9: 4-19), and used these and other metals in the arts, (Jarom 1: 8); and that many records were kept by the people, (Helaman 3: 13).

The evidences that the ancient peoples of America were highly civilized are numerous and undisputable. Only a very few of the many descriptions of ancient ruins discovered in various parts of America are given in the following extracts:

EVIDENCES OF ADVANCED CIVILIZATION—RUINS DISCOVERED.

"Much has been done in recent years to throw light upon the history of the ancient races of the east, but comparatively little interest has been taken, even by American archaeologists and scientists, in the ancient and marvelous civilization whose traces are to be found scattered over our continent, particularly in Central America and Mexico. That a civilization once flourished in these regions, much higher than any of the Spanish conquerors found upon their arrival, there can be no doubt. By far the most important work that has been done among the remains of the old Maya civilization has been carried on by the Peabody Museum of Harvard College, through a series of expeditions it has sent to the buried city now called Copan, in Spanish Honduras. In a beautiful valley near the borderland of Guatemala, surrounded by steep mountains and watered by a winding river, the hoary city lies wrapped in the sleep of ages. The ruins at Copan, although in a more advanced state of destruction than those of the Maya cities of Yucatan, have a general similarity to the latter in the design of the buildings and in the sculptures, while the characters in the inscriptions are essentially the same. It would seem, therefore, that Copan was a city of the Mayas; but if so it must have been one of their most ancient settlements, fallen into decay long before the cities in Yucatan reached their prime. The Maya civilization was totally distinct from the Aztec or Mexican; it was an older and also a much higher civilization.

"So far the Peabody expeditions have confined their attention to the temples and palaces, and though for several seasons quite a little army of natives has been engaged in excavating, yet the work that has been accomplished amounts to little in comparison with that which remains to be done. To clear the main structure alone will be the work of years. Could the vast structures be restored, our greatest buildings would seem as pygmies in comparison; and certainly no city of the modern world could boast such a profuseness and richness of carved and sculptured ornamentations." —Henry C. Walsh, in Harper's Weekly, October, 1897.

INDIANS ALL OF ONE ORIGIN.

Mr. Bradford in his researches into the origin of the red race, adopts the following conclusions in regard to the ancient occupants of North America:

"That they were all of the same origin, branches of the same race and possessed of similar customs and institutions.

"That they were populous and occupied a great extent of territory.

"That they had arrived at a considerable degree of civilization, were associated in large communities and lived in extensive cities.

"That they possessed the use of many of the metals, such as lead, copper, gold, and silver, and probably the art of working in them.

"That they sculptured in stone and sometimes used that material in the construction of their edifices.

"That they had the knowledge of the arch of receding steps; of the art of pottery, producing urns and utensils formed with taste and constructed upon the principles of chemical composition; and the art of brick-making.

"That they worked the salt springs, and manufactured salt.

"That they were an agricultural people, living under the influence and protection of regular forms of governments.

"That they possessed a decided system of religion, and a mythology connected with astronomy, which, with its sister science, geometry, was in the hands of the priesthood.

"That they were skilled in the art of fortification.

"That the epoch of their original settlement in the United States is of great antiquity; and

"That the only indications of their origin to be gathered from the locality of their ruined monuments, point toward Mexico." —Baldwin's Ancient America.

RUINS IN YUCATAN.

"Yucatan is the grave of a great nation that has mysteriously passed away and left behind no history. Every forest embosoms the majestic remains of vast temples, sculptured over with symbols of a lost creed, and noble cities, whose stately palaces and causeways attest in their mournful abandonment the colossal grandeur of their builder. They are the gigantic tombs of an illustrious race, but they bear neither name nor epitaph. The conscience-stricken awe with which the Indian avoids them as he relates a confused tradition of a whole people extinguished in blood and fire by his forefathers—a ferocious and cannibal race delighting in human sacrifices—are all that even conjecture can say of the manner in which the ancient occupants of Yucatan were blotted, en masse, from the page of existence. The barbarous exterminators remained the masters of the country, and built them rude huts under the shadow of those immense edifices which are still the marvel and the mystery of Yucatan. On many of these singular edifices is stamped the blood-red impress of a human hand—a fit symbol of the rule of blood to which it has so constantly been the victim. This 'bloody hand' was imprinted with evident purpose on the still yielding stucco of the new-built walls, and presents every line and curve in life-like distinctness; but the explanation of the symbol is unknown."—New York Sun, June 8, 1848.

ANCIENT GLASS JAR.

"In the shaft of J. L. Duncan and Co., on the ridge between the Middle and South Yubas, in this county, at the distance of 176 feet below the surface of the ground, was found, on the 26th December, a curiously-fashioned glass bottle or jar, which was dug up in hard cement. After removing the reddish coating, an eight of an inch thick, which attached to the outside, and thoroughly washing it, it was found to be of a light color and perfectly transparent. It somewhat resembled a small-sized pickle-jar, but has a longer neck and a flat bottom. It must have been lying in the silent spot where it was found for many hundred years."—Nevada Journal.

A RUINED CITY.

"I must not, however, forget to mention that there has lately been discovered, in the province of Vera Paz, 150 miles north-east of Guatemala, buried in a dense forest, and far from any settlements, a ruined city, surpassing Copan or Palenque in extent and magnificence, and displaying a degree of art to which none of the structures of Yucatan can lay claim."—From a letter by Mr. E. G. Squier, read before the American Ethnological Society, October 17, 1849.

ANCIENT COINS AND IMPLEMENTS.

"While some hands were digging out a cellar in Botetourt County, Va., they came upon a quantity of coin, consisting of some eight pieces, in an iron box about 14 inches square. The coin was larger than a dollar, and the inscription in a language wholly unknown to any person in the vicinity. Upon digging down some 16 inches lower, they came to a quantity of iron implements of singular and heretofore unseen shape. Several scientific gentlemen have examined into the matter, and have come to the conclusion that the coins, together with the other curiosities, must have been placed there at an extremely early date, and before the settlement of the country." —New York Despatch.

The Book of Mormon states that at the time of the Savior's crucifixion a great and terrible destruction took place upon the continent of America. It also contains a record of the Savior's appearance and ministry on that continent after His resurrection. (See III Nephi).

DESTRUCTION AT THE TIME OF THE CRUCIFIXION.

Concerning the destruction that occurred at the time of the crucifixion, the record says:

"And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, in the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land;

"And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch, that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder;

"And there were exceeding sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

"And the city of Zarahemla did take fire;

"And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned;

"And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city thereof, there became a great mountain;

"And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.

"But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest, and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the exceeding great quaking of the whole earth;

"And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough,

"And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shook till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate;

"And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceeding great, and there were many in them who were slain." (Ill Nephi 8: 5-15).

RUINS ON THE RIDGE OF A MOUNTAIN,

Mr. William Niven, a well-known American mineralogist of New York gives the following account of discoveries he made in the mountains of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. His exploring trip was taken in the year 1894:

"About noon we camped at a spring in a deep canyon. The guide promised to show us the first sign of ruins at a place called Yerba Buena. We soon saw the first evidences of pre-historic structures, which, however, were little more than foundations. But the surprise at the top of the hill removed all doubts of the Indian's veracity, for there before us was what was once evidently a great temple, occupying a space of 200x300 feet. Climbing to the top of one tower I found it covered with charcoal dust to the depth of eighteen inches. Then we mounted our horses and traveled till dusk, nearly ten miles, among the ruins of what was at one time a great city. The houses, substantially built of stone and lime, had been from fifty to eighty feet square. The ruins were found only on the ridges of the mountains, while on the sides near the summit were visible many foundations. After descending from the summit 400 or 500 feet there were no signs of ruins of any description. . . . The ruins which I was fortunate enough to discover in Guerrero are very extensive—much more so than I at first supposed. At a rather rough estimate I should say that territory of over 900 square miles was literally covered, foot by foot, with sections of ruins. Every ridge and hilltop bore the remains of ancient temples, some of them mammoth in proportions. . . . The ruins have the appearance of belonging to one vast city, and subsequent investigations bore out my first impressions on the matter. During the time I was occupied in excavating I visited the ruins of twenty-two temples, with altars in the centre of all of them from five to twenty feet high and from ten to fifteen feet square."

Mr. Niven, in giving his opinion about the destruction of the great city says:

"Who were these people and how came they to disappear I cannot answer. My impression is that once upon a time the country was one vast plain. It was probably submerged by a titanic convulsion of nature, and with it disappeared its people and their primitive civilization. Later the land was thrust up again, as we see it now, a barren, desolate waste. As the nearest water supply is several miles distant, and that only a small spring, it is evident that some great transformation in nature has taken place since the land was populated."

How the ruined city visited by Mr. Niven came to be located upon mountain ridges can be understood from what is recorded in the Book of Mormon. The city of Moronihah is mentioned as one which was destroyed by being covered with earth and a mountain being raised in place of it. It is quite probable that this pre-historic city situated in the interior of Mexico met a similar fate to that of Moronihah, and was thrown up into its present position by some mighty upheaval of the earth's crust, for it is not at all likely that the city was originally built upon a mountain. Mr. Niven's impression that the country was once a vast plain is consistent with what may be inferred from the account given in the Book of Mormon; and his belief that the remarkable transformation of the country was caused by some great convulsion of nature is also in harmony with the statements made in the sacred book, and goes to confirm the truth of it.

DESTROYED BY THE ACTION OF HEAT.

Another testimony to the destruction that took place, evidences of which still remain, is given in the following extract from the San Francisco Herald:

"Captain Walker assures us that the country from the Colorado to the Rio Grande, between the Gila and San Juan, is full of ruined habitations and cities, most of which are on the table-land. . . . On that occasion he had penetrated about midway from the Colorado into the wilderness, and had encamped near the Little Red River, with the Sierra Blanca looming up to the south, when he noticed at a little distance, an object that induced him to examine further. As he approached, he found it to be a kind of citadel, around which lay the ruins of a city more than a mile in length. It was located on a gentle declivity that sloped towards Red River, and the lines of the streets could be distinctly traced, running regularly at right angles with each other. The houses had all been built of stone, but all had been reduced to ruins by the action of some great heat, which had evidently passed over the whole country. It was not an ordinary conflagration, but must have been some fierce, furnace-like blast of fire, similar to that issuing from a volcano, as the stones were all burnt—some of them almost cindered, others glazed as if melted. This appearance was visible in every ruin he met with. A storm of fire seemed to have swept over the whole face of the country, and the inhabitants must have fallen before it. In the centre of this city we refer to rose abruptly a rock of 20 or 30 feet high, upon the top of which stood a portion of the walls of what had once been an immense building. The outline of the building was still distinct. . . . All the south end of the building seemed to have been burnt to cinders and to have sunk to a mere pile of rubbish. Even the rock on which it was built appeared to have been partially fused by the heat."

REMAINS FOUND UNDER LAVA BEDS.

In an article which appeared in the San Francisco Bulletin several years ago, Dr. D. L. Yates, says:

"It was said that California possesses some of the oldest known relics on the continent. The first authenticated record of the original occupants was found on the Table Mountain region in Tuolumne County, and is of an age prior to the great volcanic outburst. Fossil remains of the rhinoceros and an extinct horse are found under the lava layers forming the Table Mountains, which are 1,400 feet thick, 1,700 feet wide and many hundreds of feet high, where the river beds have been washed out and have been covered again to the depth of from three thousand to four thousand feet more since the flow of the lava. This lava rests on a bed of detritus, which is often entered by running tunnels. The human relics and stone implements found in these formations give evidence of human habitants differing from any known since. There have been found spear heads, a pipe of polished stone, two scoops of steleitic rock (resembling the grocer's scoop), an implement of aragonite, resembling an unbent bow, but the use of which is unknown and cannot be conjectured, a stone needle, with notches at the larger end, and the finest charmstones that have ever been found.

"There have been brought to light the fossils of nine mastodons, twenty elephants, various pachyderms in the Table Mountains, numerous evidences of animal life in the calcareous formations in the Texas flats, obsidian spear heads, fossils of the elephant, horse and camel about Hornites, bones and evidences of pre-historic human industry in Tulare, and in Trinity and Siskiyou many proofs of the contemporaneous existence of man and extinct mammals."

DISCOVERY OF A HIDDEN CITY.

The Philadelphia Record, z, few years ago published the following despatch from Fort Davis, Texas:

"A strange discovery has been lately made by a surveying party of the Kansas City, El Paso and Mexico Railroad, at a point in Southern Mexico, not very far from Las Cruces. Here, amid a tremendous lava flow, a veritable sea of obsidian or black glass, a hidden city has been discovered. . . .

"The obsidian, molten or black glass at the moment of cooling evidently became agitated, for it now lies in ragged waves and billows of fantastic shape, some of the ridges from twelve to fourteen feet high and capped like the sea waves with a combing crest of greenish white. The action of the winds and elements have literally burned some parts of this region into powdered dust.

"At the northern extremity, where the unknown city lies partly uncovered, the ruins of gigantic stone buildings peer forth into the light of day. Some of these buildings are simply tremendous. . . .

"The whirlwind and sand augers have scooped out the dust, and thus exposed the city. No legend or story exists to show how or when it was founded, or whether it was abandoned or destroyed. The latter seems most likely, and probably, too by an earthquake, at some remote period which threw the lava and fire up. No volcano is known to exist in the neighborhood."

EVIDENCES OF GREAT ERUPTIONS.

Many discoveries have been made that give evidence of great eruptions in America. The San Francisco Herald stated some years ago that Mr. Butterfield, in running a tunnel in Table Mountain, near Sonora, California, found a trunk of a large pine tree, one hundred and ten feet from the surface of the ground.

Morse's Universal Geography states that in Cincinnati the stump of a tree was found ninety-nine feet below the surface of the ground, and another stump containing marks of an axe and iron rust was found ninety-four feet deep in the earth. Ancient implements have been found at various depths in the earth, and in widely separated parts of the country, which all go to confirm the account given in the Book of Mormon concerning what happened upon the American continent at the time of the crucifixion.

THE MESSIAH KNOWN TO THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF AMERICA.

James Wells, D.D., in the Sunday Magazine, says:

"A Savior, at once human and divine, has a supreme place in the creed of the Red-man. The thoughtful Indians also felt the pressure of the solemn facts and needs of life. They groped in the darkness, and stretched forth hands of entreaty to God. In their deep need, they yearned for a teacher and helper; and somehow or other, they believed that he had come, or would yet come to them. They had dim, confused suggestions and cravings that could find their realization only in Christ. Their traditions are rich in myths and legends which cluster round Hiawatha, the messenger and representative of God. They regard Hiawatha as the relative of the Great Spirit and they call him 'uncle,' that is, kinsman. Schoolcraft has collected the Hiawatha legend in a very interesting book.

"Hiawatha was a sort of Red Indian Messias. Though a heavenly being he was born a child on earth, and his birth was wondrous. He came into the world long ago and instituted 'the Grand Medicine.' He had super-human powers, and used them all to bless men. In sending him, the Creator smiled upon His helpless children. All the evil spirits strove against him, but he conquered them and gained strength from the struggle. He used to spend days in fasting and prayer, and he went about continually doing good. He prophesied that, after he had left them, they would take to quarreling and fighting, and that they would be driven from their hunting-grounds far westward. He told them of the isles of the blest and the land of the hereafter. They also believe that he conducts souls to the other world; and they expect him to come again to the earth."

THE CROSS AS AN EMBLEM.

Prescott, in his "Conquest of Mexico," page 465, speaks of the astonishment of the Catholic priests, who accompanied the expedition of Cortez, and found Christian rites practiced by Indians. He says:

"They could not suppress their wonder, as they beheld the cross, the sacred emblem of their own faith, raised as an object of worship in the temples of Anahuac. They met with it in various places; and an image of a cross may be seen at this day, sculptured in bas-relief on the walls of one of the buildings of Palenque, while a figure bearing some resemblance to that of a child is held up to it, as if in adoration. Their surprise was heightened, when they witnessed a religious rite which reminded them of the Christian communion. On these occasions, an image of the tutelary deity of the Aztecs was made of flour of maize mixed with blood, and, after consecration by the priests, was distributed among the people, who, as they ate it, 'showed signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh of the Deity.' How could the Roman Catholic fail to recognize the awful ceremony of the eucharist? . . . . . With the same feeling they witnessed another ceremony, that of the Aztec baptism. . . . The Jewish and Christian schemes were strangely mingled together, and the brains of the good fathers were still further bewildered by the mixture of heathenish abominations, which were so closely intertwined with the most orthodox observances. In their perplexity they looked on the whole as the delusion of the devil, who counterfeited the rites of Christianity and the traditions of the chosen people, that he might allure his wretched victims for their own destruction."

KNOWLEDGE OF THE GODHEAD.

"Las Casas, bishop of Chiapa, relates in his apology, which is in Ms., in the convent of St. Dominic, that when he passed through the kingdom of Yucatan, he found there a respectable ecclesiastic, of mature age; he charged him to proceed into the interior of their country, giving him a certain plan of instruction, in order to preach to them: at the end of a year, thus he wrote to the bishop—he had met with a principal lord, who informed him that they believed in God, who resided in heaven, even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father was named Yeona, the Son Bahab, who was born of a virgin, named Chibirias, and that of the Holy Spirit was called Euach. Bahab, the Son, they said, was put to death by Euporo, who scourged Him, and put on His head a crown of thorns, and placed Him with His arms stretched upon a beam of wood, and that on the third day He came to life, and ascended into heaven, where He is with the Father; that immediately after the Euach came in His place as a merchant, bringing precious merchandise, filling those who would with gifts and graces, abundant and divine."—Antiquities of Mexico.

"The virgin is represented by the Indian paintings, of whom the great Prophet should be born, and that His own people would reject and meditate evil against Him, and would put Him to death; accordingly He is represented in the paintings with His hands and feet tied to the tree."—Monarquia Indiana.

TRADITION OF CHRIST.

Rosales in the "History of Chili," says,

"The inhabitants of this extreme southern portion of America, situated at the distance of so many thousand miles from New Spain, and who did not employ paintings to record events, accounted for their knowledge of some doctrines of Christianity by saying, that in former times they had heard their fathers say, a wonderful man had come to that country, wearing a long beard, with shoes and a mantle such as the Mexicans carry on their shoulders, who performed many miracles, cured the sick with water, caused it to rain that their crops of grain might grow, kindled fire at a breath, healing the sick, and giving sight to the blind, and that he spoke with as much propriety and elegance in the language of their country, as if he had always resided in it, addressing them in words very sweet and new to them, telling them that the Creator of the universe resided in the highest place of heaven, and that many men and women resplendent as the sun dwelt with Him."

BAPTISM KNOWN.

Herrera, a Spanish historian of the sixteenth century, in his history of America, volume 4, page 172, says, "Baptism was known in Yucatan; the name they gave it signified to be born again."

STRONG PROOFS OF THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

The foregoing testimony taken from the works of secular writers confirms in a remarkable manner the historical part of the Book of Mormon, and is a strong proof that that record is authentic. Much more evidence of a similar character is to be had, but space will not admit of it here. The proof adduced in support of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon by the discoveries and observations of modern explorers is made the more forcible by the fact that they who have furnished it were not believers in the divinity of the book. Many, if not all of them, published to the world the results of their researches, and their conclusions respecting them, without knowing anything about the contents of the book, and therefore they had no predilection for it. It might be truthfully added that among all the discoveries made that furnish any information respecting the ancient Americans nothing has been found to conflict with or disprove any assertion contained in that most remarkable volume, the Book of Mormon.

CONCLUSION.

No attempt has been made herein to present an exhaustive treatise on Joseph Smith's divine mission. The evidences of his inspiration have been referred to very briefly; and hundreds of other proofs equally strong, and which are well known, have not even been mentioned.

The Latter-day Saints do not, however, depend upon outward evidences for their knowledge that Joseph Smith was a prophet. They have placed their trust in the promise of the Savior, as recorded by John:

"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

They have also accepted the admonition of the Apostle James:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

They have sought to do the will of the Lord, and have prayed to Him for wisdom and their prayers have been answered. They have received a testimony from above that the Gospel as revealed anew through the Prophet Joseph Smith is true. This same source of divine information is open to every one who will humble himself, and will obey the Gospel, with an honest desire to serve the Lord.