A “MANUSCRIPT RECORD” DISCOVERED

We will say for the purpose of this writing that the previous papers I have written are judged by you to be inadequate to their purpose—your conversion to the belief that Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the requirements of the prophecies of your Scriptures. So let it stand for the present. But I have another Witness for my truth; and Rasha, the Jew, hearken to this Witness, I pray you.

For the sake of effectual presentation I will ask you to suppose something. I will ask you to suppose that within the ruins of an ancient temple in Central America—of which there are many in that land, bearing witness to the existence of a high state of civilization in ancient times in America—long before the discovery of the continent by Europeans. There was found in this temple a “Manuscript Record” written in strange characters, and yet by some means at last it was translated into understandable language—into the English language. We will suppose that the find was indubitably genuine, the characters of the “Record” real, and the translation is attested as true.

The contents of this “Record” disclose the fact that early in the reign of King Zedekiah, King of Judah, and about eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of her people and her King in Babylon, a prophet contemporary with Jeremiah, evidently acquainted with him, and familiar with the Messianic hopes of that prophet, and of the hopes of the whole Hebrew race—under Divine guidance led a colony from Jerusalem to America, and there the colony grew into a great people. These colonists were descendants of Joseph through both his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. A second colony, about ten or twelve years after the departure of the first, also left Jerusalem. This after the fall of Jerusalem; and they were also led to America and ultimately the descendants of these two colonies met sometime in the third century B.C. and formed one people, occupying large areas of the continents of America; dividing and sub-dividing into various political and ecclesiastical divisions, and experiencing the varied fortunes which wait upon all human affairs.

The second colony coming from Jerusalem were Jews and brought with them one of the sons of Zedekiah, this may be of interest to modern Judah. What is of more interest than anything else, however, is the fact that according to the "Manuscript Record" the first Hebrew colony brought with them to the western world copies of the Hebrew scriptures extant in Palestine 600 years B. C The Five Books of Moses are mentioned, and also "a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah;" the prophecies also of Jeremiah and of Isaiah. The latter being quoted more frequently and more extensively than any of the other Prophets, or parts of the Hebrew writings, especially those parts that relate to the covenants, hopes and future glories of Israel.

These colonies then, be it remembered, were in possession of the Hebrew Scripture literature, and with the Messianic predictions of Israel's prophets.

. . .

FROM SUPPOSITION TO FACT

And now Rasha, comes the serious part of my message to you, and to all my brethren of Judah, The thing I have been “supposing” respecting the “Manuscript Record”, and its testimony here considered is reality, though under slightly different conditions than those named under the supposition case. Instead of a “Manuscript Record” the Record was, and is engraved on metallic plates—gold plates. Instead of being discovered in a Temple in a Central American State, it was revealed by the coming of an angel from God, who made known his existence to be in a prominent hill, in Western New York State, called by the ancient people of America “Cumorah”; and those gold plates were given into the temporary possession of one Joseph Smith, to be translated not by the learned lore of men, but by the power of God, by means of Urim and Thummim—being a divine instrument, a means of revelation Rasha, for making known the power of God, not unknown among the prophets and seers of our ancient Israel. This revelation of the American Witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, He being the Holy One of the Israel, the Messiah of the Old Testament. Jehovah incarnate—through whom is to come, nay, through whom has come—resurrection from the dead, forgiveness of sin and redemption of the world—, this record was given to Joseph Smith of Palmyra, New York, in the third decade of the 19th century; and he translated this ancient American Scripture and published it under the title of “The Book of Mormon,” because it is a compilation of abridged documents made by an ancient prophet of the Western Continent by the name of Mormon—about 400 – 420 AD.

Of the origin and character of this book, and how he became possessed of it, Joseph Smith gives the following account:

[Quotation of the Wentworth Letter]

IS THE NEW WITNESS A TRUE WITNESS?

In my “supposed case” of the “Manuscript Record”, I confined myself to the “Nephite” part of it because this had to do with the distinctly Israelitish part of the Book of Mormon, the Hebrew colonies brought to the Western World, and is the part of the book which, both prophetically and historically, deals more especially with the Christ, and the intent of the book, which is to “convince both the Jew and the Gentile, that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”

This Book of Mormon, then, this new volume of scripture, revealed of God, in the manner above detailed, is God’s New Witness to the world of the truth that Jesus is both Lord and Christ,—Jehovah incarnate, God manifested in the flesh. He came to the earth in order to redeem men from sin, and to bring to pass man’s spiritual re-birth into fellowship with God; and also to bring to pass man’s resurrection from the dead—the reuniting of spirit and body into an immortal, physical life, in which life man will be capable of receiving a fulness of joy, and without such immortal life—the union of spirit and element into one sole being: a personal Entity—men can not receive a fulness of joy.

The only thing that now remains to be considered is the truth of this revelation, for the glory and importance of such a book—of this book, IF TRUE, will be conceded.

The truth of Joseph Smith's statement is confirmed by the testimony of Three Special Witnesses. These Witnesses testify to the fact of seeing these ancient records—the gold plates filled with engravings; they were revealed to these Witnesses by the power of God, and not by the power of man. Their solemn testimony appeared in the first edition of the book, and in all the authorized subsequent editions, and stands as follows:

[Quotation of Three Witnesses statement]

To this testimony these Three Witnesses remained constant. While they had their trials in the midst of persecution and sore afflictions which befell them, and even periods of separation from their brethren in the Church, yet to their Testimony they remained true. The gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, existed; they saw them and the engravings upon them. An angel of God appeared before them, and laid the records before their eyes. The record was translated by the gift and power of God; for His voice had declared it unto them, hence they knew it. They never attempted to resolve the appearance of the angel, the exhibition of the plates, or hearing the voice of God into hallucination of the mind; nor did they ever attempt to refer this really great event to some jugglery on the part of Joseph Smith. They never allowed even the possibility of their being mistaken in the matter. They saw; they heard; the splendor of God shone about them; and they heard His voice. Joseph Smith could never have produced such a scene as that which they beheld. They were not deluded. The several incidents making up this great revelation were too palpable to the strongest senses of the mind to admit of any doubt as to their reality. The great revelation was not given in a dream or vision of the night. There was no mysticism about it. Nothing unseemly or occult. It was a simple, straight-forward series of facts that had taken place before their eyes. The visitation of the angel was in broad daylight; Moreover it occurred after such religious exercises as were worthy to attend upon such an event, viz., after morning devotional period involving their common, all attending religious families of that period—the reading of a scripture lesson, singing a hymn, and prayer; and after the deviant the scene of the angel appearing and the revelation by the Prophet and each of the then-to-be Witnesses. The revelation then followed. There exists no possibility of resolving these testimony into delusion or materialization.

In addition to the Three Witnesses, Eight other Witnesses, who saw and handled the plates, not in connection with any supernatural display, but in plain, matter of fact way, as will be seen in their Testimony, published in the first and all subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon: It here follows:

[Quotation of Eight Witnesses statement]

. . .

The fact that Joseph Smith had the ancient American record is established by these Witnesses. Nothing beyond this for my present purposes is necessary. The value of the testimony of these two groups of witnesses—and the manner in which their Testimonies interlock and mutually supplement each other, and make the evidence for the existence of these plates containing the record translated by Joseph Smith impregnable, is considered in detail in this writer's “New Witnesses for God”. (Vol. II, chapters XV-XXI inclusive, pp 237-311).