The Story of Mormonism and The Philosophy of Mormonism | Page 4

The unprejudiced student sees in the
discoveries of the ancient and now forest-covered cities of Mexico,
Central America, Yucatan, and the northern regions of South America,
collateral testimony having a bearing upon this history.
Before their more powerful foes, the Nephites dwindled and fled; until
about the year 400 A.D. they were entirely annihilated after a series of
decisive battles, the last of which was fought near the very hill, called
Cumorah, in the State of New York, where the hidden record was
subsequently revealed to Joseph Smith.
The Lamanites led a roving, aggressive life; kept few or no records, and
soon lost the art of history writing. They lived on the results of the
chase and by plunder, degenerating in habit until they became typical
progenitors of the dark-skinned race, afterward discovered by
Columbus and named American Indians.
The last writer in the ancient record, and the one who hid away the
plates in the hill Cumorah, was Moroni--the same personage who
appeared as a resurrected being in the nineteenth century, a divinely
appointed messenger sent to reveal the depository of the sacred
documents; but the greater part of the plates since translated had been
engraved by the father of Moroni, the Nephite prophet Mormon. This
man, at once warrior, prophet and historian, had made a transcript and
compilation of the heterogeneous records that had accumulated during
the troubled history of the Nephite nation; this compilation was named

on the plates "The Book of Mormon," which name has been given to
the modern translation--a work that has already made its way over most
of the civilized world. The translation and publication of the Book of
Mormon were marked by many scenes of trouble and contention, but
success attended the undertaking, and the first edition of the work
appeared in print in 1830.
The question, "What is the Book of Mormon?"--a very pertinent one on
the part of every earnest student and investigator of this phase of
American history--has been partly answered already. The work has
been derisively called the "Mormon Bible," a name that carries with it
the misrepresentation that in the faith of this people the book takes the
place of the scriptural volume which is universally accepted by
Christian sects. No designation could be more misleading, and in every
way more untruthful. The Latter-day Saints have but one "Bible" and
that the Holy Bible of Christendom. They place it foremost amongst the
standard works of the Church; they accept its admonitions and its
doctrines, and accord thereto a literal significance; it is to them, and
ever has been, the word of God, a compilation made by human agency
of works by various inspired writers; they accept its teachings in
fulness, modifying the meaning in no wise, except in the rare cases of
undoubted mistranslation, concerning which Biblical scholars of all
faiths differ and criticize; and even in such cases their reverence for the
sacred letter renders them even more conservative than the majority of
Bible commentators and critics in placing free construction upon the
text. The historical part of the Jewish scriptures tells of the divine
dealings with the people of the eastern hemisphere; the Book of
Mormon recounts the mercies and judgments of God, the inspired
teachings of His prophets, the rise and fall of His people as organized
communities on the western continent.
The Latter-day Saints believe the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
to have been foretold in the Bible, as its destiny is prophesied of within
its own lids; it is to the people the true "stick of Ephraim" which
Ezekiel declared should become one with the "stick of Judah"--or the
Bible. The people challenge the most critical comparison between this
record of the west and the Holy Scriptures of the east, feeling confident

that no discrepancy exists in letter or spirit. As to the original
characters in which the record was engraved, copies were shown to
learned linguists of the day and pronounced by them as closely
resembling the Reformed Egyptian writing.
Let us revert, however, to the facts of history concerning this new
scripture, and the reception accorded the printed volume.
The Book of Mormon was before the world; the Church circulated the
work as freely as possible. The true account of its origin was rejected
by the general public, who thus, assumed the responsibility of
explaining in some plausible way the source of the record. Among the
many false theories propounded, perhaps the most famous is the
so-called Spaulding story. Solomon Spaulding, a clergyman of Amity,
Pennsylvania, died in 1816. He wrote a romance to which no name
other than "Manuscript Story" was given, and which, but for the
unauthorized use of the writer's name and the misrepresentation of his
motives, would never have been published. Twenty years after the
author's