Editorial

A Visit to the Isle of Man.—On Friday the 28th of August, we, in company with Elders Ezra T. Benson and John Kay, embarked on board a steamer for Douglas, Isle of Man, where we landed about 6 o’clock, p.m. At this place, it was announced by placards, posted up through the town, that two Lectures would be delivered by us on the following Sabbath, at the usual place of the Saints’ meeting, commencing at 11 a.m., and 6 p.m.

In the forenoon, we selected for our text the following words:—

“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. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”—Isaiah, xxix. 18, 19.

From this text we spoke in substance as follows:—

Brethren, Friends, and Strangers—It is with a thankful heart that we now meet with you for the first time, to deliver a Lecture upon the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, and to inform you of some of the evidences on which the Latter-day Saints receive that book as a revelation from God.

If the Book of Mormon is a revelation from God, no individual or nation can be saved who rejects it. On the other hand, if it be an imposition, all are required to reject it. It professes to be a divine book, and if so, like all other divine books, it will be attended with sufficient evidence to condemn the world; for God never sent a revelation to the world without accompanying it with all the evidence necessary to convince the world, and leave them without the least excuse if they rejected it.

If there were any evidence that the day of revelation was past, and that the canon of Scripture was full, then all might know that the Book of Mormon was an imposi­tion without giving themselves the trouble of investigating its claims. But when there is not the least shadow of evidence to support the assertions of new revelation denyers; when the whole tenor of Scripture contradicts this wicked tradition of priestcraft, no one has the least excuse for rejecting, on such false premises, a look claiming to be a divine revelation.

It is evident from the words of our text,

First: That a “Book” was to be revealed:

Secondly: That the “Day" or age in which the “Book” should make its appearance, is specified in the context:

And lastly: That the most glorious results should attend the revelation of the “Book."

That a book was to be revealed, is not only clearly pointed out in the text, but also in the context.

In the 11th and 12th verses, Isaiah not only prophesies concerning “the Book,” but also concerning “the words of a Book,” saying:—

“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."

Here it is prophesied that the excuse rendered by the learned for not reading “the Words of a Book” delivered to him, should be a confession of inability, “I cannot; for it is sealed.” While the unlearned man, to whom, not only “the words,” but the Book itself should be delivered, would merely say “I am not learned.” It is also evident that “the Words” sent to the learned were to be in a language unknown or Sealed, otherwise he would not have confessed his incapability to read them. That the unlearned man should be inspired with wisdom to read the Book is evident from the answer of the Lord to him in the 13th and 14th verses.

“Wherefore, the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour 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 marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wis­dom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

It appears that the people among whom the unlearned man should live were to be a generation of hypocrites, pretending to worship God with their mouth and lips, while their hearts were far from Him; and that, instead of being taught by living Pro­phets and Seers, the fear of the Lord was to be “taught by the precept of men.” And the people being in such a hypocritical condition, and blinded by the learning of priest­craft, the Lord prophecies that He would “do a marvellous work, even a marvellous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish.” How could this be fulfilled in a more effectual way than by inspiring the unlearned man to read a Book, the words of which could not be read by the learned.

We learn from Isaiah, in the passages above quoted,

First: That the words of a sealed book should be delivered to a learned man, with a request for him to read them; and that he should emphatically reply, “I cannot;” thus virtually acknowledging that the language was unknown or sealed, and entirely beyond the reach of his learning to discover its meaning.

Secondly: That “the Book’’ itself should be delivered to a man not learned, with a similar request to “Read” it who replies, “l am not learned.”

Thirdly: That the Lord should inform the unlearned man of the hypocrisy of the generation to whom the Book should be revealed; and that He would bring to naught their wisdom by performing “a marvellous work.”

And fourthly: That “IN THAT DAY THE DEAF SHALL HEAR THE WORDS OF THE BOOK.”

We take great pleasure in announcing to this audience, that all these items of prophecy have been literally fulfilled in this the nineteenth century. In the year 1827, Joseph Smith, an unlearned man, who resided in the State of New York, was visited by a holy angel, and commanded to go to a hill, some three miles from his father’s house, and take from the place of its deposit a Book, written on gold plates. He was told that this book contained the sacred writings of ancient Prophets who once dwelt in America; and that the time had arrived for it to come forth. With the book was found a Urim and Thummim.

After obtaining this sacred treasure, he transcribed upon paper some of the engra­vings and sent them to a learned man in New York, requesting him to translate it: but the reply of the learned was, “I carrot read it.” After which the unlearned Mr. Smith, though but a youth, was commanded of the Lord to read it by the Urim and Thummim. He did so; and the Book of Mormon was thus translated. Thus “a marvellous work” was accomplished, and the wisdom of the learned perished. And during the last twenty seven years, “the deaf have been hearing the Words of the Book,” while “the eyes of the blind” have been seeing “out of obscurity and out of darkness.”

We now come to the second part of our subject, namely, that the “Day” or age in which the “Book,” mentioned in our text, should make its appearance, is indicated in the context. In the 7th and 8th verses, we read as follows:—

"And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision,. It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.”

This prophecy evidently points to that great day when all the wicked nations of the earth are to be destroyed, which every one knows has not yet been fulfilled. The darkness that should reign over all these nations, prior to their destruction, is plainly foretold in the 9th and 10th verses:—

“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunker, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.’’

Immediately after the description of this spiritual drunkenness, in which “the multitude of all the nations” who were enemies to Zion should be overwhelmed, Isaiah prophesies that a book should be revealed and read, not by the learned, but by one not learned, wherein a marvellous work and a wonder would be accomplished, and the wisdom of the wise perish. All these nations who were to perish as a dream of a night vision, were to be in a deep sleep—asleep compared to drunkenness —Propjets and Seers were to be covered or withheld from them, while the fear of the Lord should be taught to them by the precept of men; they were to draw near to the Lord with their mouth and lips, in a hypocritical manner, while their hearts were to be far from Him. Such was to be the deplorable condition of the multitude of these nations among whom the Book was to be revealed, immediately preceding their utter overthrow and final destruction from the earth. It is through these plain predictions that we get a clue to the day or age in which God would reveal the won­derful Book mentioned in our text. It was not to be revealed until the eleventh hour—the hour of God’s judgment upon the nations of the wicked—when they were in the midst of a deep sleep; when the voice of Prophets and Seers were no longer heard in their midst; when drunken with all manner of wickedness and abomina­tions; when staggering to and fro under the intoxicating cup of Babylon’s filth; then, and not till then, an unlearned man should read the Book? in that day “a marvellous work, even a marvellous work and a wonder, should be accomplished And in that day,” says our text, “shall the deaf hear the words of the Book.”

The first two verses, following the text, also show plainly, that the day when the Book should be manifest was to be a period immediately preceding the cutting off of the wicked.

“For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off; that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.”

Thus it will, at once, be perceived, that before the wicked are cut off from the earth, God will favour them with a wonderful Book, brought forth in a most marvellous manner, that the deaf may hear it, the blind see it, and the meek and poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel: while all that reject it may perish out of the earth, and become like the dream of a night vision.

And lastly, we are informed that the most glorious results were to follow the reve­lation of this Book. Not only our text has described the benefits to be derived from the Book, but also the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th verses.

“Therefore, thus saith the Lord who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.”

These results are, indeed, glorious. We can now see that Israel’s only hope of restoration and redemption from captivity in the latter times, is founded on the reve­lation of this wonderful Book. Until it comes, Israel may look in vain for their restoration. When it does come, Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, neither will his face any longer wax pale, as has been the case during the long period of their dis­persion. The Book comes for their deliverance, after it shall have accomplished its purpose in warning the Gentile nations preparatory to their destruction.

Another most glorious result, Isaiah says, shall be accomplished; those who have erred and murmured, are to come to understanding and learn doctrine, through the simplicity of the doctrines in the forthcoming Book. Marvellous and wonderful, indeed, must be the contents of the Book, to accomplish such important results!

Jesus said, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be estab­lished. Before the Lord would permit Joseph the Prophet, to organize the Latter-day Kingdom by declaring to the world this infinitely important revelation, He raised up three other witnesses to bear testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. By the mouth of four witnesses who beheld an angel, heard the voice of the Lord, and saw the plates, were the glorious contents of this new revelation first introduced to the world. The Book was not offered to the world on the testimony of one witness, but its very first introduction was accompanied by four witnesses who had received the most infallible testimony from the heavens that could be given —a testimony prefixed to the Book to be sent forth to all nations, leaving the whole world without the least excuse for their unbelief. Besides these chosen witnesses, eight others have solemnly testified that they saw and handled the plates; their tes­timony also is prefixed to the Book.

If the testimony of these twelve men, in relation to the Book of Mormon, be com­pared with the external testimony in favour of the Bible, we shall find an over­whelming amount of evidence in favour of the former, contrasted with that of the latter. None of the original manuscripts of the Bible have been seen by the world for upwards of fifteen centuries. According to Bishop Marsh’s History of the translations of the Bible, the oldest manuscript of the Old Testament dates from the twelfth cen­tury of the Christian era; and the oldest manuscript of the New Testament dates from the sixth century. The original manuscripts of each of the sixty-six books of the Bible have not been seen by any witness of whom we have any knowledge, for ­ages past. Indeed, all the old manuscripts, now known, differ from each other in almost every verse. In the Encyclopedia Britannica, eighth edition, vol. iv. p. 698, we are told that one hundred thousand different readings are found in the New Tes­tament alone. These various readings cannot be corrected, because there is no ori­ginal manuscript to be found as a standard of correction. What a deplorable state the Bible is now in! The learned are continually trying to better it, by giving new translations. But the great difficulty is, that they have no originals from which to make their translations; and are, therefore, compelled to translate from a vast col­lection of comparatively modern manuscripts, containing a hundred thousand different readings. Not so with the Book of Mormon, the original plates have been seen and handled; while an angel from heaven has testified to the correctness of its transla­tion, and twelve eye-witnesses of the original have prefixed their testimony to this sacred book. Since which thousands of witnesses have been raised up to whom God has revealed by infallible testimony the divinity of the Book. Thus the world have, in confirmation of this latter-day Book, the testimony of ancient Jewish Prophets, the testimony of witnesses in the nineteenth century who have seen the original, and the testimony of thousands who have received infallible evidence of its truth. Therefore, having so great a cloud of witnesses, how great will be their condemnation if they reject it! The evidence in favour of the Book of Mormon being far superior to that which the world have in favour of any of the sixty-six Books of the Bible, it will, therefore, bring far greater condemnation if rejected. These are only some few of the external evidences which God has vouchsafed to give in confirmation of the divine authenticity of the Book mentioned in our text, and which is now being sent as the great and last warning to all nations. Time will not permit at present, a further development of the evidence in favour of the Book. May God direct the honest in heart in the paths of truth, is my humble prayer. Amen.

After having dismissed our meeting, we left the hall to return to our lodgings. Immediately upon coming into the street, a herd of several hundred animals rushed upon us, following us to our boarding house, foaming, raging, and bellowing, as though they were labouring under some great mental agony. It would have puzzled the Zoologist to have determined to what particular species they belonged. The deep, Iong-toned, guttural sounds which issued from their mouths, very much resembled the braying of Jacks; and we were about to classify them with that species of animal; but upon a closer examination and inquiry, we found that they were actually a degenerate mongrel species of human being, under the name of civilized man, who had been reduced by priestcraft to their present degraded state.

Feeling a curiosity to re-examine more minutely those pitiful specimens of our fallen race, we attended our evening appointment; the hall was crowded with many gentlemen and ladies of the first respectability, who listened attentively to a lecture from Elder Benson, followed by ourself. During the time of our services, several hundreds of these semi-human beings congregated on the outside, and kept up a continued uproar until the meeting was dismissed, when we were again escorted by thousands to our lodgings. The unearthly bellowings upon this occasion far exceeded the former demonstrations; and upon making inquiry, we found that these were the usual methods of argument against the Bible doctrines taught by the Latter-day Saints.

Returning to Liverpool the next day, we found, to our astonishment, quite a number of these civilized animals on board, who exhibited themselves for several hours in the most obscene, low, vulgar language and epithets towards us. This gave us a good opportunity to leisurely contemplate the nature of their civilization, and were it not that we found them actually resembling the human form, we should have congratulated ourselves upon having discovered a new species of animals, occupying an intermediate link between the Baboon and Jack-ass.