Joseph Smith: A Modern American Prophet

Joseph Smithed A Modern American Prophet NOT a great way from Man- chester, where Joseph Smith lives, is a place called Macedon. In order to get to this place from the Smith farm you must pass through Palmyra. Now, in Macedon there lives a woman, a widow, who wants a well dug. For some reason she wishes the job done by the young man who is so much talked of these days — Joseph Smith. No one else will do. So she sends word to him by a neighbor, a man whose name is Warner. And she says, very particularly, that she will pay him in cash. 'THIS work comes in the very ^ nick of time. For the young seer needs a box, specially made, in which to keep the ancient re- cord, and the Smiths have no ready money on hand. How Mother Smith ever expected to pay half-cash, as she promised, for that chest, goodness only knows. She had faith, no doubt, that the money would somehow be forth- coming, since it was the Lord's work after all. Joseph therefore jumps at this offer of a job as an opportunity to earn money enough to pay for the chest. And so we now find him en- gaged in the humble task of throw- ing earth out of a well and rock- ing it up after the manner of the times. "DOR Joseph Smith is not at all ■ afraid of work, no matter how hard or menial it is — so it is hon- orable. That we shall see as we go on with this story of his life. Already we have seen him at vari- ous kinds of manual labor — on his father's farm and the farms of the neighbors; in that old Span- ish mine of Josiah Stoal's, in Pennsylvania; and most probably in Joseph Knight's mill in Coles- ville, lifting sacks of wheat and flour. Presently we shall see him By JOHN HENRY EVANS V felling trees in his Ohio home. And now we observe him at work digging a well for this woman in Macedon. Folk who do not believe in Joseph Smith's religious claims, do not take kindly to the idea of a prophet doing manual work like that, and they ridicule him on that account. But they do not tell us just what they think a prophet should do for a living. Nor are they willing to say in what re- spect such work as he did is dis- honorable. VtTHILE Joseph is at Mrs. ** Wells' (that is the name of the woman for whom he is work- ing) , his wife Emma rides up to him one day on a horse with a willow withe round its neck. She has something very important on her mind. The ancient record is in grave danger. It seems that the very next day after Joseph received the plates of the Book of Mormon a neighbor of the Smiths sauntered on to the farm in that casual manner people have when there is some- thing in the back of their heads which they don't want to bring to the front where you can take a good look at it. This man be- gan a conversation with Father Smith. First he spoke of the weather, then of the prospect for farmers the coming year, together with the prices they might expect. From these topics he went to matters that touched more closely the in- terests of the Smiths — how the boys were getting along, their probable future, and so on. Final- ly he came to young Joseph. It was then that the cat came out of the bag, as we still say. He want- ed to know, this man did, just when "Joe expected to make use of the plates he had dug up out of the hill." XTOW, all this very much sur- *^ prised Father Smith. For, as a matter of fact, not only Joseph himself, but every member of the family, had taken pains not to reveal, except to some very confi- dential friends- — one of whom, by the way, was Martin Harris, — either the whereabouts of the plates or the time when it was expected they would be taken out of their hiding place. How did this man come by his information— if in- deed he had any? That is a ques- tion that has never been satis- factorily answered to this day. Thereupon Father Smith decid- ed to do a little detective work on his own account. He meandered round among the farm-houses in the ^neighborhood, visiting now this one and now that, and talk- ing and gossiping. And none too soon, either, as the event proved. For, at one place where he called, some men — ten or twelve of them in all — were engaged in what ap- peared to be a very interesting con- versation in the back yard. Willard Chase, a Methodist class-leader, was in the group. So also was a man who had the reputation of a conjuror. This man had come sixty miles at somebody's invita- tion to do something very partic- ular in this vicinity. That was very clear on its face. Y\7HEN Father Smith approach- vv ed, the conversation came to an abrupt and awkward pause, and the men's faces took on that queer look we all have seen under similar circumstances. Mr. Smith, of course, noticed this. It could not have been otherwise. And so, after greeting every one, including

16 The Improvement Era for November, 1930 the conjuror, he went into the house under the pretext of wanting to see the weekly newspaper. But he took particular pains to sit near the door, where he could pick up snatches of the talk, so as to gather its import. In the main the conversation was carried on in suppressed tones. But occasionally the voices rose on the air. Espe- cially was this the case with the diviner, who was all wrought up over the mat- ter. Father Smith gathered that a scheme was being hatched to find the plates. That was the story she told Joseph, when she reached the place where he was working. JOSEPH listens to it till it is J done. Then he takes out of his pocket that curious instrument which looks like a huge pair of A, ONCE during the talk, when it was getting too loud as she seemed to think, the woman of the house stepped out through the back door into the yard and shouted in suppressed tones to her husband, "Sam, Sam! you're cutting your own throat!" Father Smith heard this, but pretended to be so absorbed in the paper as not to have heard it. So, too, did the conjuror hear it. But he was reckless. And so he shouted at the top of his voice, "I'm not afraid of anybody. We'll get them plates in spite of Joe Smith and all the devils in hell!" Pretty soon — as soon, that is, as he could do so gracefully — Father Smith laid aside the paper, saying to the woman that he would come back some other time to finish his reading, and went out at the front door. He hurried home and told Em- ma that she had better go to Joseph as soon as possible and tell him what was going on. At the same time he related to her the substance of the conversation he had heard. "C MMA did not seem to be alarmed in the least. She said, "I guess if Joe is to have the rec- ord, he'll have it, and no one can stop him." But Father Smith replied, "He will if he is watchful. Remember that for a small thing Esau lost his birthright and his blessing. It may be so with Joe." "Well, if I had a horse," said Emma, convinced by that way of putting it, "I would go and see him." A horse was accordingly pro- cured for her, a stray from the pasture (that was what the withe round its neck meant) , and she went off to Macedon. ND the vision of alt is become * * 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. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this peiople draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me * * : There- fore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, * * for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid — -Isaiah 29:11-14. spectacles and which is called the urim and thummim. He looks in- to it for some time, after which he says to Emma very positively, "The record is safe." Nevertheless, when he has ob- tained the reluctant consent of Mrs. Wells, he rides home with his wife. On reaching the farm-house, he finds his father pacing the yard in great perturbation of mind. "Father," Joseph says, going up to him, "there is no danger. Every- thing is all right. There is no cause whatever for alarm." At which the father is relieved, for his son speaks as one who knows what he is talking about. A FTER taking a bite to eat — it is after dark when he ar- rives— Joseph sends Carlos, who is now eleven years old, to their brother Hyrum to have him come immediately with the chest, which has been made and is waiting there at the house for its precious treas- ure. For by now Hyrum is mar- ried— has been for nearly a year. When Carlos reaches Hyrum's, the couple are at tea, with two of the wife's sisters. Just as Hy- rum is in the act of lifting the cup to his lips, Carlos enters, touches his brother on the arm, and whispers something into his ear. Whereupon Hyrum sets down the cup, springs up from the table, shoulders the chest, and rushes out of the house without saying a word — much to the bewilderment of the sisters-in-law, who think he has taken leave of his senses, till they are reassured by his wife. "VfEANTIME Joseph goes after -*- the ancient record, which, as we know already, is hidden in the hollow trunk of an old birch log in the woods, about three miles from the Smith home. Having taken the gold book out of its hiding place, he deems it advisable not to go home by the road, but rather to make his way through the woods. This, he thinks, will be safer. The record is covered by a heavy cloth, is carried un- der his strong left arm, and is hidden under the cape he wears over his shoulders. He has not gone very far, however, when, as he is in the act of jumping over a log, a man springs at him from behind a windfall. This man has a gun in his hands. Before Joseph can realize what is happening he is dealt a blow with the gun. But it does not knock him down. It is not severe enough for that. Nor does it hurt him very much. Quick as lightning, he wheels about and deals his as- sailant a blow in the face, bowling him over very prettily. For Joseph is a large, powerfully built man, used to wrestling and other athletic sports, as everybody in his neigh- borhood knows. As soon as he sees the miscreant on the ground, Joseph runs at top speed. ABOUT half a mile farther on ^^, he is assaulted a second time. It is not, of course, by the same man as before, for that fellow could not have recovered sufficient- ly to outrun Joseph and to plant himself in the way. The young athlete lays out this assailant, too, on the ground, just as he has done the other one, and races on as fast as he can towards the house. Before reaching home, however, he is assaulted a third time by still another man. And this one he disposes of in a similar manner. When he arrives at the house, he is out of breath. Also he is very much frightened, as well he might be, and very tired. He has had a narrow escape. So, too, have the plates he carried. Resting a few minutes, he relates what has taken place. Father Smith and two others go out to see if they can find the men, but return from the search without any clues to their identity. It is found that

The Improvement Era for November f 1930 17 Joseph, in these encounters, has dislocated his thumb. It is soon put into position, though, by his father. r^\NE afternoon, not long after ^ this series of incidents, Joseph puts on his overcoat and leaves the house. He is now working again on the farm with his father and his brothers, so as to be as near as he can be to the sacred treasure which has been committed to his keeping. When he comes back, he calls to his mother, who is upstairs preparing some oil- cloths for painting, to come down, that he has some- thing to show her. And when she does so, he lays before her a breastplate, which he has taken from that stone box in the hill. This breastplate is concave on one side and convex on the other. It extends 'downward from the neck to the pit of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It has four straps of the same material to hold it on the body — two running back over the shoul- ders and two running down to the hips. These straps are exactly the width of two of Mrs. Smith's fingers, for she measures them. The breastplate having been ex- amined, Joseph places it in the chest with the book of gold plates. Bible." On seeing them, however, Joseph rushes out at the door, shouting and beckoning to those behind him, as if he had a great army at his call. The ruse serves its purpose well, for the men take to their heels into the surrounding woods. father-in-law to find out whether one of the boys could not come for him and Emma and take them to Harmony to live there for a time. In response to his letter Alva Hale, Emma's brother, comes to Manchester intending to move the pair to a more secure place. W, O unt\o all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them, saith the Lord of Hosts; a generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell. Behold, mine eyes see and know all their works, and I have in reserve a swift judgment in the season thereof, for them all; How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stpp the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up&tt\eam, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. ■ — Doc. and Cov. 121 :23, 24, 33. 0: COME time after this Joseph *^ comes rushing to the house, greatly upset. "Mother," he says, "has anyone been here — some men looking for the record?" "Not that I have seen, Joseph," she answers. "Why do you ask?" "Because," he replies, "if they haven't, they will be here pretty soon — a mob to search for the plates. They must be moved some- where else." Accordingly a part of the hearth is dug up and the plates and the breastplate buried under the brick. A man named Braman, an in- timate friend of the family, helps with the work. For Joseph has told him of his apprehensions con- cerning the ancient record. Others of the men folk come into the house about the same time and lend a hand. No sooner is the task accom- plished than a crowd of men, all armed with guns and pistols, come up to the house, determined to search the premises for the "Gold T2EFORE long Joseph receives another intimation that an- other attempt is in the making for finding the record. So he digs up the plates and the breastplate from the hearth, takes them in an armful of clothes over to the old cooper's shop across the road, and buries them in a quantity of flax in the loft. Then he tears up the floor downstairs, places the empty chest there, and renails the boards so as not to show that anything has been disturbed. That very night a gang of men, led by a girl named Chase, a sis- ter of Willard Chase, comes to the place, rummages the old shop, pulls up the floor, and smashes the chest till you cannot recognize it. This Chase girl had found some- where a "green glass," through which she is able to make "great discoveries," as she claims. But she does not suspect the present whereabouts of the "Gold Bible," although she comes within an ace of doing so. "VfORE and more, as time goes ■ ■■ on, it gets clearer to Joseph that if he is to have any peace to translate the engravings on the ancient plates, he must go some- where else for the purpose. His wife's home was Harmony, Penn- sylvania. So he decides to move there. At Joseph's request Mother Smith makes a call on Martin Har- ris— of whom we shall hear a great deal presently — to ask him to come to see her son on a matter of busi- ness. Meanwhile, he sends to his NE day, before the re- moval, Martin Harris meets Joseph, with Alva, in Palmyra. After the usual greetings, Mr. Harris says, "Mr. Smith, here is fifty dollars. I give you this to do the Lord's work with. No; I give it to the Lord for his own work." "I don't want it as a gift, Mr. Harris," says Joseph; "I will take it as a loan, and give you a note for it. Maybe Mr. Hale here will sign with me." Mr. Hale says he is willing to do so. But Martin is insistent. The money is a gift to the Lord, and he calls others who are present to witness that it is a gift. So Joseph takes the money. He is sorely in need of it. When the time comes to move to Pennsylvania, the gold book and the breastplate are boxed up and put in a barrel of beans, after which the head of the barrel is fastened securely. Thus Alva drives Joseph and Emma, with the sacred things, to his father's home. A S SOON, however, as it be- **■ comes generally known that Joseph has gone, a number of men collect, determined to follow him and get the "Gold Bible." About fifty of them go together to a Dr. Mclntyre, and ask 'him to lead them. But the Doctor has a quite different idea of things. "You're a pack of fools," he tells them. "Go home and mind your own business. If Joseph Smith has work to attend to, that is his affair, not yours. You ought to have work of your own to do." This blunt refusal does not dampen their ardor, though, for they immediately set to work try- ing to choose a leader from among themselves. But in this they can- not agree. Every one wants to be captain of the group. And so they break up in a great row. And Joseph, with the sacred treasure, goes on his way unmo- lested. (To be continued)