FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

NEW SERIES.

VOL. VII.	B E T H A N Y,   V A. JANUARY, 1843.	NO. I.

      WE have already shown that it impiously institutes new conditions of forgiveness and salvation; and from the following it will be seen that there is no blasphemous assumption too horrible for this wretched delusion to impose upon its victims.

      From the testimony of Sampson Avard, and we have seen that no man among the Mormons could know, better than he, what it is:--

      "The Prophet, Joseph Smith, Jun., together with his two counsellors, Hiram Smith and Sidney Rigdon, were considered as the supreme head of the church; and the Danite Band feel themselves as much bound to obey them as to obey the Supreme God." Cong. Doc., No. 189, page 2. [23]

      Their book of Doctrines and Covenants asserts that "the saints [Mormons] shall be filled with the glory of Christ, and be equal with him."

      The following shows how they justify mob violence:--

      "We believe that all men are, justified in defending themselves, their friends and property, and the government, [!] from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigencies, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws." Doc. and Cov., p. 350.

          From the testimony of Reed Peck:--

      "I heard Joseph Smith, Jun., in a late address, say, that, he had a reverence for the Constitution of the United States, and of this State, but as for the laws of this State, he did not intend to regard them, nor care any thing about them, as they were made by lawyers and blacklegs." Cong. Doc., 189, page 20.

          Testimony of John Whitmar:--

      "Mr. Smith said he did not intend in future to have any process served on him, and the officer who attempted it should die; that any person who spoke or acted against the presidency or the church, should leave the country or die; that he would suffer no such to remain there; that they should lose their head. George W. Harris, who was there present, observed, "The head of their influence, I suppose." Smith replied, 'Yes, he would so modify it.' Mr. Rigdon then got up, and spoke in connexion with what Mr. Smith had been saying; and in speaking of the head of their influence, he said that he meant that ball on their shoulders, called the head, and that they should be followed to the ends of the earth. Mr. Rigdon further remarked, that he should suffer no process of law to be served on him hereafter.

      "Some time in June, after Mr. Rigdon had preached his 'salt sermon,' I held conversations with several Mormons on the subject of that sermon, and the excitement produced by the course and conduct of the presidency. Among others, I conversed with Alanson Ripley. I spoke of the supremacy of the laws of the land, and the necessity of, at all times, being governed by them. He replied, that as to the technical laws of the land, he did not intend to regard them; that the kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Daniel had been set up, and that it was necessary every kingdom should be governed by its own laws. I also conversed with George W. Robinson on the same subject, who answered, (when I spoke of being governed by the laws and their supremacy,) 'when God spoke he must be obeyed, whether his word came in contact with the laws of the land or not: and that, as the kingdom spoken of by Daniel had been set up, its laws must be obeyed.' I told him I thought it was contrary to the laws of the land to drive men from their homes; to which he replied, such things had been done of old, and that the ingathering of the saints must continue, and that dissenters could not live among them in peace." Ibid., page 33.

      "Timothy Lewis, a [Mormon] witness for the state, produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith:--

      "I was at Diahmon during the last expedition to Daviess county. [24] I remained in the place during the time the Mormon troops were there. I was on none of their scouting parties, but saw a great deal of property and plunder brought in, which was said to be consecrated property by those who brought it in, as well as by others. Those who were active in plundering said they intended to consecrate all the property in Daviess county, and take the county to themselves. They said there was no law in this state, but that a law was about to be established by a higher power, to be given by revelation." Ib. p. 38.

          Testimony of Sampson Avard:--

      "In the above referred to council, Mr. Smith spoke of the grievances we had suffered in Jackson, Clay, Kirtland, and other places; declared that we must, in future, stand up for our rights as citizens of the United States, and as saints of the most high God; and that it was the will of God we should do so; that we should be free and independent; and that, as the State of Missouri and the United States would not protect it, it was high time that we should be up, as the saints of the most high God, and protect ourselves, and take the kingdom. Lyman Wright observed, that before the winter was over he thought we would be in St. Louis, and take it. Smith charged them that they should be united in supporting each other.

      "In connexion with the grand scheme of the Prophet, his Preachers and Apostles were instructed to preach and instruct their followers (who are estimated in Europe and America at about 40,000) that it was their duty to come up to the State called Far West, and to possess the kingdom; that it was the will of God they should do so, and that the Lord would give them power to possess the kingdom." Con. Doc., 189, p. 3, 6.

      "Wherefore the land of Zion shall not be obtained, but by purchase or by blood." Doc. and Cov., p. 143.

      It is added, in connexion with the above, "As ye are forbidden to shed blood." But how the Mormons are forbidden to shed blood, we shall see in the sequel.

      "For behold, verily I say unto you, the Lord willeth that the disciples and the children of men should open their hearts even to purchase this whole region of country, as soon as time will permit. Behold, here is wisdom: let them do this, lest they receive none inheritance, save it be the shedding of blood." Ib. p. 139.

      The following is designed to signify the utter destruction of this nation, except it submits to Mormonism. By the Gentiles, he means the people of these United States:--

      "A remnant of the house of Jacob [as he calls our American Indians] shall be among the Gentiles; yea, in the midst of them, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if be go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, woe be unto [25] the Gentiles, except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down thy strong holds," &c. Voice of War., p. 188.

      "And the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, [the Mormons,] neither give heed to the words of the Prophets and Apostles, [Mormons,] shall be cut off from among the people--for they have broken mine everlasting covenant." Doc. and Cov., page 76.

      "Everlasting covenant" broken!

      "Therefore, having so great witnesses [Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,] by them shall the world be judged, even as many as shall hereafter come to a knowledge of this work--but those who harden their hearts and reject it, shall turn to their own condemnation," &c. Ib., page 78.

      "Woe, I say again, unto that house, or that village, or city, that rejecteth you, [Mormons,] or your words, or your testimony of me." Ib., page 93.

      "Let the Bishop go unto the city of New York, and also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice, of the desolation and utter abolishment which awaits them if they do reject these things," [Mormonism.] Ib. page 95.

      "Verily I say unto you, [Mormons,] that in time, ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you; and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come." Ib., page 119.

      "Assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, which is now in the hand of your enemies." Ib., page 194.

      "Therefore, get ye straightway unto my land; break down the walls of mine enemies, throw down their tower, and scatter their watchmen; avenge me of mine enemies, that by and by I may come and possess the land." Ib., page 238.

      The above extracts are from the Mormon Creed. The following, from the evidence given in the Congressional Document, show what that creed is when carried out in practice.

      This John Corrill, whose testimony follows, is frequently mentioned in the Mormon book of Doctrines and Covenants, (see pages 136 and 193,) as a fellow-laborer with them:--

      "John Corrill, witness for the state, produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith--The Mormon church has been represented as being the little stone spoken of by Daniel, which should roll on and crush all opposition to it, and ultimately should be established as a temporal as well as a spiritual kingdom. These things were to be carried on through the instrumentality of the Danite Band, as far as force was necessary; [can any one who reads this believe that the Mormons merely acted in self-defence in the late civil war in Missouri?] if necessary, they being organized into bands of tens, fifties, &c., ready for war. The teachings of that society led them to prohibit the talkings of any persons against the presidency [Smith and others,] so much so that it was dangerous for any man to set up opposition to any thing [26] that might be set on foot, and I became afraid to speak my own mind. I objected to the course of Dr. Avard, in reference to the Danite Band. I rather thought Joseph Smith, Jun., upheld him, and would not allow any objections to him. They were greatly incensed against certain persons in Caldwell and Daviess, and said they intended to rid the counties of them and of the mob, in the course of that week."

      "After the [Mormon] troops got to Diahmon, in all about four or five hundred men, I heard Lyman Wright addressing a portion of the men who were there, (perhaps eight or ten,) that the earth was the Lord's and the fulness thereof, with the cattle upon a thousand hills, &c.; that the saints of the Lord [Mormons] had the same privilege or rights. After that, or perhaps the next day, I saw a drove of some four or five cattle pass along, and asked what cattle these were, and was answered that they were a drove of buffalo; others observed they were cattle a Methodist priest had consecrated. Joseph Smith, Jun., Hiram Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman Wright, George W. Robertson, Caleb Baldwin, Alanson Ripley, George W. Harris, George Grant, Darwin Chase, Alexander McRay, Edward Partridge, J. W. Younger, and probably James W. Rowlins, were in the expedition that went to Daviess county, at the time that Gallatin was burnt." Cong. Doc. 189, p. 2, 14.

          The testimony of Burr Riggs:--

      "Two or three days before the surrender of the Mormons to the the militia at Far West, I heard Joseph Smith, Jun., say, that the sword was now unsheathed, and should not be again sheathed until he could go through the United States, and live in any county he pleased, peaceably." Ib., page 29.

      "Wyatt Cravens, a [Mormon] witness for the state, produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith:--In the last, or in some public meeting, Joseph Smith, Jun., said, 'If the people would let us alone, we would preach the gospel to them, in peace, but if they came to molest us, we would establish our religion by the sword; and that he would become to this generation a second Mahomet.'" Ib., p. 12.

      "George M. Hinkle, a [Mormon] witness for the state, produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith:--I have heard Joseph Smith, Jun., say, that he believed Mahomet was a good man; that the Koran was not a true thing, but that the world belied Mahomet as they had belied him, and that Mahomet was a true Prophet. [A good man writing a book which is full of falsehood!]

      "The general teachings of the presidency were, that the kingdom they were setting up [] was a temporal as well as a spiritual kingdom; that it was the little stone spoken of by Daniel. Until lately the teachings of the church appeared to be peaceable, and that the kingdom was to be set up peaceably; but lately a different idea has been advanced,--that the time had come when this kingdom was to be set up by forcible means, if necessary. It was taught that the time had come when the riches of the Gentiles [people of the United States and the world] were to be consecrated to the true Israel [Mormons.] This thing of taking property was considered a fulfilment of the above prophecy. The preachers who were sent out to preach their doctrines, were instructed to direct their converts to come up to Zion--meaning this upper part of Missouri. [27]

      "I heard Lyman Wright say, that the sword had now been drawn, and should not be sheathed until he had marched to De Witt, in Carroll county, into Jackson county, and into many other places in the state, and swore that he was able to accomplish it.

      "At the time Joseph Smith, Jun., and myself were under guard at Far West, he manifested a great disposition to converse about our difficulties, and said he had heard I had turned against him; and proposed to me the idea of hanging together, and not testifying against each other; and if we suffer, all suffer together." Ib., p. 21-24.

          Testimony of James C. Owens:--

      "He [Joseph Smith, Jun.] further stated that they pretended to come out as militia; but that they were all a d--d set of mobs. He stated at that, or some other time, that, as they had commenced consecrating in Daviess county, he intended to have the surrounding counties consecrated to him; that the time had come when the riches of the Gentiles should be consecrated to the saints," [Mormons.] Ib. page 14.

      "Jesse Kelly, a witness produced, sworn, and examined, deposeth and saith:--The [Mormon] Captain asked us if we belonged to the mob; and we replied not; he then said that we had better join them, [the Mormons,] and come into Diahmon for protection; I replied that I would consider of that; the Captain then said, if we did not wish to fight them, [the Mormons,] we must leave the state; 'for we intend,' said he, 'after we get possession of Daviess, to take Livingston, and after that keep on till we take possession of the whole state.'" Ib. p. 31.

      Let the reader ponder the foregoing testimonies, and then ask himself what religious fanaticism may not do to accomplish its designs? What has it not done for Mahometanism?

[The Millennial Harbinger, New Series, 7 (January 1843): 23-28.]