Review of Anti-Mormon Literature and Book of Mormon Evidences

Conference was resumed at 2 p. m., in the Tabernacle. ¶

President Joseph F. Smith called the congregation to order, and announced the convening of an overflow meeting at this hour, in the Assembly Hall, and an outdoor meeting near the Bureau of Information building. ¶

The choir sang the anthem, "In our Redeemer's name." ¶

Prayer was offered by Elder William T. Jack. ¶

The choir sang the anthem, "Gog and Magog." ¶

Mr. Ferris' anti-Mormon book reviewed.— Glaring mis-statments refuted in relation to Book of Mormon.— Striking evidences that American Indians are Hebraic. — Irrefutable reasons for belief in Book of Mormon. ¶

My brethren and sisters : — I desire very greatly that your sympathy and faith may be exercised in my behalf, during the few moments I shall occupy this afternoon. ¶

In his remarks this morning, President Smith said, among other things of which we approve, that the principles of the Gospel of Christ were founded upon everlasting truth. While he was talking, I thought of an experience which recently came under my observation, in fact, one which I had personally while at the City of Mexico. ' In connection with this matter, I want to read from the Bible: "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are His delight." ¶

I went into a book store in the City of Mexico, a few weeks ago, and saw there upon the shelves a book entitled, "Utah and the Mormons." I bought the book and read it. It was written by a man who had been a resident of this state, a scholarly man, undoubtedly, and one who professed to have become intimately acquainted with his subject through association with the Latter-day Saints. The book contained some things which were complimentary to the people, but upon almost every page there were misrepresentations, falsehoods, and statements which could not be supported by facts. It seemed to me that nothing more outrageous, more abominable, or farther from the truth could possibly have been written than the things which were contained in that book; and yet a large edition of it, had been printed and circulated in the world. This man took particular pains to attack the doctrines of the Church. He misquoted the teachings of presiding officers in the Church. He misrepresented social conditions as they exist or ever have existed in the Church. He took particular delight in assailing the Book of Mormon, which he called a delusion, and claimed that Solomon Spaulding was its real author, notwithstanding the fact it is a well known truth that that story has long since been exploded. When I read it, I thought — how dangerous are lying lips, and what trouble, what misunderstanding may come to individuals or people through a lying pen. ¶

I shall not attempt, my brethren and sisters, to point out to you the many inaccuracies which were in this book; time would not permit. But, to illustrate the thought that I had as I read it, I am going to quote to you, this afternoon, a part of what this man said regarding the Book of Mormon. ¶

"There is probably no book in the world which contains within itself so many proofs of its real origin, and one is struck with wonder that the imposture should have fastened itself upon such numbers. A portion of the Israelites are alleged to have found their way to America, and they and their descendants wrote a long book in which there is not one word of the Hebrew language. In addition to this, not a single word of Hebrew, nor a Hebrew character can be found in the language of these descendants of Israel upon the American continent." ¶

We must assume that men who write books, men who make history, are familiar with the subjects which they treat. They at least ought to be, and when the facilities are at their command, so that by simply investigating they may know the truth, they certainly are left without excuse if they publish to the world that which is not true. ¶

In the first place, this man purported to be thoroughly acquainted with the Book of Mormon, to have read and studied it, and yet he tells us that it is a book written in Hebrew characters, by people who are supposed to have come from Jerusalem. Nephi, in the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, tells us he wrote that record according to his knowledge, in the learning of his fathers, which he says is the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. Moroni, the last writer in it, says: ¶

"Now behold, we have written this record in characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, and if our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew; and if we could have written in Hebrew, there would have been no error in our record." ¶

So the Book of Mormon was not written in the Hebrew language as this publisher tells us; but, according to the testimony of the men who made the record, it was written in characters which were called among them "reformed Egyptian." That people coming from Jerusalem should have been conversant with the Egyptian language, and familiar with the civilization of Egypt, is not at all strange. You all know that for four hundred years Israel was captive in Egypt, or they sojourned there for that period of time, during a part of which they were in captivity to the Egyptians. They were the makers of their bricks ; the builders of their temples, their pyramids, and other great edifices. They acquired the learning of the Egyptians, and when they went into the promised land, led by Joshua, the prophet of the Lord, they took with them the Egyptian language and civilization; and they tell us that they wrote this book in characters called among them the reformed Egyptian. So Mr. Ferris is in error in that regard. Suppose, however, that the book had been written in Hebrew characters — I want to show you how unjustified the statement of this man is, that not a trace of the Hebrew language could be found among the different dialects and tongues spoken by the Aimerican Indians. ¶

Garcia, the Spanish historian and ethnologist, one who studied the archaeology of America probably as thoroughly as any of the writers, says in referring to this question: "Similarity in character, dress, religion physical peculiarities, conditions, and customs convince me that the Americans are of Jewish origin. There do actually exist many Hebraic traces in the American languages." ¶

So this man finds that in the languages of the natives of this continent there are many traces of the Hebrew. Lord Kingsborough, who probably wrote more exhaustively on this subject than did any other historian, says, "The Indian dialects have much in common with the Hebrew," and Adair says : ¶

"The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, emphatic, sonorous and bold; and often, both in letters and in signification, are synonymous with the Hebrew language." ¶

My brethren and sisters, I call attention to these facts, not being able, because of lack of time, to go into detail as one might in a thorough investigation of this question, to show you how unjustified a man is who publishes to the world the statement that this Book of Mormon contains no internal evidence of its divine authenticity, to show you that men who have investigated this question, almost without exception, reach the conclusion that there is a very strong affinity and similarity, which leads investigators to the conclusion — many of them to the definite conclusion— that the present inhabitants of the American continent, that is the natives of the country, were of Jewish origin. ¶

Hubert Howe Bancroft, the great historian, tells us that he himself saw a tablet of stone taken from a mound which was opened in the State of Ohio. Under this mound, imbeded in a clay having the characteristics of cement, a coffin was found, containing the skeleton of a man; and underneath the coffin, hermetically sealed, in a box made of stone and fastened together with cement, there was a small tablet of stone, upon which the figure of a man was engraven. Over his head, and on the sides of the tablet there were peculiar hieroglyphics. The historian tells us that these hieroglyphics, were pronounced by one of professed learning to be the Ten Commandments, written in Hebrew characters. This is very conclusive evidence that the ancient inhabitants of this continent knew something of the Hebrew. That they understood something of the civilization of Egypt there can be no doubt. Any person who has traveled in the southern part of North America, who has visited those ruined cities, great temples, and tremendous works of masonry which exist there today can bear witness. Only a few days ago, I stood upon the top of a pyramid, out a few miles from the City of Mexico, the base of which occupies a space larger than this entire city block, more than ten acres square, solid masonry, more than three hundred feet high, built square with the world. All around it as far as the eye can reach, are mounds of the remains of ruined homes. A great city once existed there. Who were the builders of the pyramid There were none in ancient Chaldea. No pyramids were built by the Assyrians. Whatever civilization there was among the Jaredites was the civilization of Chaldea and Assyria, those early races which settled in the valley of Mesopotamia, along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates. But later, Israel went into Egypt. There they learned something of pyramid building. There are pyramids standing today in the valley of the Nile, almost as perfect as the day of their construction. I thought of them, the other day, as I stood on the top of this great pyramid down in the interior of Mexico. ¶

Jones, the historian, who has studied exhaustively the ruins of Central America and Yucatan, says : ¶

"The general character of the American architecture is undoubtedly Egyptian." — Now listen to what he says further — "but the resemblance is not close enough in detail to allow of its being actually the work of Egyptian hands." He concludes that it could not have been built by Egyptians themselves. "The ancient cities of America were, therefore, built by a people who had a knowledge of Egyptian architecture." ¶

How beautifully this harmonizes with the truths set forth in this holy book, that these cities were the work of descendants of the house of Israel, the same people who had been the builders, to a very large extent, of the cities and monuments which exist today in the valley of the Nile. ¶

Further in justification of this, Professor Le Plongeon, who has recently died, in New York, spent fifteen years of his life in Yucatan exploring ruined cities, studying the language of the people, attempting to decipher the inscriptions which abound upon the walls of those great temples. He tells us, after these years of exploration, study and investigation: ¶

"The ancient Maya hieratic alphabet discovered by me, is as near like to the ancient hieratic alphabet of the Egyptians as two alphabets can possibly be; forcing upon us the conclusion that the Mayas and Egyptians either learned the art of writing from the same masters, or that the Egyptians learned it from the Mayas." ¶

Professor Le Plongeon rejects the story told in the Book of Mormon. He does not acknowledge the fact that the builders of these great monuments were descendants of Lehi or other remnants of the house of Israel who came from Jerusalem, bringing with them as they did the learning of the Jews and the civilization of the Egyptians ; but, nevertheless, he states facts which convincingly substantiate and corroborate the truths contained in the Book of Mormon. There are so many things which might be said upon this subject. The book itself stands before the world, and has been subject to its criticism from the time of its publication. The Spaulding story has been exploded, and so with other theories that have been advanced against it. At the time this book was published, it was not known that there was any conclusive proof indicating the Hebraic origin of the Indians of America. The declarations made in this book, that great cities were built, that temples were erected, that a great civilization existed here — which was comparatively unknown at the time the book was published — are corroborative of its truth. ¶

This same historian, Jones, in examining the ruins of the city of Palenque, compares the architecture of one of these great buildings to the architecture of Solomon's temple. Nephi tells us that they built a temple similar to the temple of Solomon, in all things except that it was not so richly adorned. They had not the gold and silver and the precious stones, but they did have the plan ; they did have the idea. This historian tells us that in the basement of one of these great buildings he found a reservoir which was undoubtedly designed to catch and hold water. Knowing nothing of the purpose for which water might be used in the basement of a temple, and knowing nothing of the ordinance of baptism, or the conveniences which are provided for its administration, he nevertheless corroborates the faith and knowledge of the Saints, by these modern discoveries. ¶

The book itself and the internal evidences which it contains are sufficient to establish its truth. I am not referring to these facts so much to strengthen your faith and mine, as I am to bring into question the right of any man, to discuss things which he does not understand, to publish untruths. He can not excuse himself because of lack of knowledge. Men are not expected to discuss things of which they are ignorant, when the facts are easily obtainable. So, I believe that the Lord will hold us responsible, I believe that He will hold all men responsible for the things they say that are untrue. One thought that came to me, as I read this book, was that I myself ought to be very careful how I judge the faith, how I judge the doctrine, how I judge the lives of other people until I become thoroughly acquainted with them. I believe this man thought the Book of Mormon was a delusion, just as he said it was. I believe he thought it was, but I do not believe that he ever took the pains to find out whether it was a delusion or whether it was true; this he might have done. ¶

You know that if the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon can be successfully attacked, it strikes at one of the very foundation stones of the Church — not that the Book of Mormon was absolutely essential, not that the delivery of these plates to the Prophet Joseph, and their translation into the English language and publication to the world, were sufficient authority for him to have established the Church of Christ upon the earth. We could have done without that. The first glorious visions which the Lord gave him were not authority sufficient for the establishment of Christ's church in the earth ; that authority came later with the restoration of the priesthood ; but they were all preliminary and preparatory moves which were necessary in the great plan of human redemption which the Lord was about to establish in this dispensation. So He gave us the Book of Mormon, containing the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, in its plainness, simplicity and truth. The Prophet Joseph Smith did not undertake to establish the divine authenticity of this book by reference to the evidences which exist in this continent, by which it may be corroborated — not at all. He gave; us the book as a truth ; it was a truth that God revealed these things to him ; it was a truth that Moroni delivered the plates into his hands ; it was a truth that this book was translated by the gift and power of God, through the medium of the Urim and Thummim. Now, we spend a good deal of time trying to determine how that was brought about. What does it matter how it was brought about? It was done by the gift and power of God, that is sufficient for me. It was done by means of the Urim and Thummim — not a new method either of learning the will of the Lord, for the ancients had it. The High Priests in Israel had it, and with it they ascertained the mind and will of the Lord for the guidance of the people ; just as with it the Prophet Joseph was able to translate this record, and to receive the mind and will of the Lord, the covenants, doctrines and commandments, by which the Church was to be guided, as they are contained here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. It is the truth, the everlasting truth. Nothing in the world will ever prove it to be false. Men may try to prove it false, but they never will succeed. ¶

Brethren and sisters, I bear this witness to you : There is a world of corroborative evidence of the divine authenticity of this Book of Mormon — read it ; study it ; be governed by the doctrines that are taught in it. Have faith in it; believe in the promises that are contained in it, and you will find inspiration and hope, faith and charity, and everything that is good in human life. It stands for that which is good, for that which is true, for that which is just, for that which is merciful, for that which uplifts, and places before us higher ideals to which we constantly aspire. May we always appreciate the word of truth. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that the law of God is truth. The Church of Christ is established upon the principles of truth and righteousness, and therefore truth and righteousness should be constantly cultivated and encouraged in the Church and out of it. We need to be taught the principle of truth, because we are not always, perhaps, truthful. A man may be untruthful in other things than what he says ; he may be untruthful in what he does; he may be untruthful in the impressions which he seeks to make. Every misrepresentation of a fact is an untruth. ¶

I rejoice in the Gospel, and I pray our Eternal Father that He may continue to magnify the Church as He has done, that He will open the way for the accomplishment of His purposes, to bring about the redemption of His covenant people, and the day when His kingdom shall come and His will be done upon earth as it is in heaven. I pray for these blessings — I desire them for my self, for you, and for all the world, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶