To the Saints Among all Nations

According to a Revelation, received not long since, it appears to be the duty of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to bring to Nauvoo, their precious things, such as antiquities, and we may say, curiosities, whether animal, vegetable or metalic [metallic] : yea, petrifactions as well as inscriptions and hieroglyphics, for the purpose of establishing a Museum of the great things of God, and the inventions of man, at Nauvoo. We have just received the first donations at the office of President Joseph Smith. Who will come and do likewise?

We have just had the above handed to us, by one of President Smiths' clerks, and feel very much interested in the establishment of a Museum, which would be a receptacle of every thing new and old, ancient and modern, antique, fanciful and substantial-indeed any thing and every thing that has a tendency to throw light upon ancient nations, their manners, customs, implements of husbandry and of war, their costume, ancient records, manuscripts, paintings, hieroglyphics, models of any new invention in the arts and sciences, any thing that has a tendency to throw light upon Geology, Mineralogy, Anatomy, Philosophy, Mechanics or any thing that is calculated to enlighten the mind, enlarge the understanding, gratify the curiosity, and give general information.

Situated as we are, as a people, sending men of intelligence to every nation under Heaven, and to every clime, and having a society that will be composed of all nations, that will gather here from all parts of the world, there is no people that possess such facilities as the Latter Day Saints, for gathering together a collection of this kind.

We would recommend to the Elder that are travelling [traveling], either on this continent or any other, to pay especial attention to this subject. We have not conferred with President Smith on this subject, but would respectfully recommend to the Elders to forward every thing of that kind to Mr. Smith, that he may have the disposal of it.

For the purpose of throwing some light on this subject, we here append a very imperfect description of a collection of this kind which we saw when last in England during an exhibition of the Mechanics Institute in Liverpool.

The following are some notes that we took at the time, July 19th, 1840:

I visited the Mechanics Institute in Liverpool, and such a display of objects illustrative of the Fine Arts, Natural History, Philosophy, Machinery, Manufactures, Antiquities, and of every thing that is grand, noble, interesting, instructing and beautiful, I never before witnessed.

The building, which is large and commodous [commodious], and built at an enormous expense, is in the form of the letter L, and has a stone front Its size I have not ascertained, and can only give a description by saying that, there are seventeen rooms in all, five of which are seventy feet long. It is built on sloping ground, and is three stories high-owing to its location, hover, you go in at the second story, up a few steps. There is a large portico at the entrance, supported by large stone colums [columns]. There are six rooms in each story, beside a large lecture room that is on the second and third stories, with a gallery on three sides. This room is as large as a common sized church. On the top of most of the upper-most rooms in the Picture and Sculpture galleries are placed lantern lights, for a better display of the numerous pictures and sculpture, with which these rooms are studded.

As soon as you enter the door, you come into a spacious Hall, in which are stuffed animals, such as a Lioness and her Cubs, Paintings, specimens of Sculpture, and the Costume of Ancient Warriors, clad in armor; one in a suit of chain armor, another in plate, another armed cap-a-pie, and another in a suit of scale armor. Landscapes, Historical pieces, &c., &c. Two staircases prevent them both of which, as well ass ;the corridor, are studded with sculpture, paintings, statuary, &c., which present a beautiful appearace [appearance]. You ascend the left hand staircase and descend on the right; when you reach the top you turn to the left, on a lobby that extends the whole length of the building, with the exception of the rooms at each end; after going some distance you then turn to the left, on another lobby, which takes you into a large oblong room, at the back part of the building, in the picture gallery. There are above 250 pictures in these rooms, varying in size from 14 or 15 feet square to one foot, the works

of both ancient and modern artists; specimens of scripture pieces, natural history, buildings, view of cities, moonlight scenes, wars, misers, philanthropists, kings, angels with wings, dead and dying men, youth and buoyancy, and decripit [decrepit] old age; views of water spouts, castles, heathen gods, and other things too numerous to mention. On many of these pictures there are groups of full grown people, all as natural as life: others of horses, dogs, and men; one of this kind is beautiful beyond description, and as natural as life. There are also many beautiful specimens of pictorial needlework-one of which, a large ancient piece, about 8 or 9 feet square, is a representation of Belshazzar's feast, with the several personages present, full grown, a table of viands and fruits before thom [them], the hand and writing seen upon the wall, and consternation upon the face of the king and others. The letters in which it is written are Hebrew, but instead of going from right to left they go from the top to the bottom-every part but this is very natural. You then go into a Sculpture gallery which is filled with statues of every form, grade, shape, and age. There are upwards of one hundred and fifty figures, containing grace, beauty, symmetry, all but the life; by ancient and modern artists; in Parian, Pentelicum, and other marbles; alabaster, ivory, china, plaster of paris, wax, terra-cotta, bronze, bisque, and other compositions. Here are statues of warriors, heroes, poets, historians, farmers, kings, queens, lords, gentlemen, ladies, brigands, saints, contending parties, dying gladiators, Brahmin priests, in their costume, heathen gods, and a great variety of beasts, of various descriptions.

You next are shown every variety of antiquities and curiosities-Indian dresses, from India, as well as North America, and New Zealand. There is also, Chinese tress boxes, tables, turned work, painting, carving, books, &c., &c.-I must say that these specimens show the greatest ingenuity, and represent anything but ignorance, awkwardness, and barbarism, with which they are generally charged. Coins, both ancient and modern, of all nations; American shin-plasters, gold and silver ore, antique carvings, deities, from Hindoostan and other places, ancient armour [armor] of all kinds, and missiles of every description, and from all parts: specimens of ancient newspapers, boxes, watches, match-lock, and other ancient guns-pistols, swords, scimeters [scimitars], bows and arrows of different kinds, shoes, slippers, Gods and Goddesses, tables, chairs, needlework, petrefaction [petrifaction] of fishes, snakes, shells, &c., some of them divided and polished with the bones, and inside as natural as life. Skins, feathers, caps, &c. &c., manuscripts of different kinds, and ancient books of every description-two MSS, in Hebrew, one rolled after the form of Jeremiah's or Ezekiel's roll, or two sticks-MSS of the Koran in Arabic. Egyptian, with hieroglyphics that resembles very much the "Egyptian record," they were taken from a stone engraving-records and books, in Sancrit [Sanskrit?], Hindoo [Hindu]; Samaritan, Persians, Chinese, Gavanese, Taetian, Burmese, Telenga, written the talipot polmina leaf, in India; and old Bible written in Latin, on parchment, specimens of ancient Bibles, and other MSS; and every thing that is curious, beautiful, antique, and interesting.

You are next shown all kinds of birds of every species, beasts and fishes of every kind and size, and of every tint and hue, stuffed as natural as life, from all parts of the earth; there are thousands of the feathered tribe, of all kinds, from the eagle and ostrich, down to the smallest humming bird. Snakes from the great boa, to the least of the reptile kind, crocodiles, alligators, &c. &c. Some thousands of shells, of every shape, shade and tint, one I should think would weigh two hundred pounds-Then there is every genus of the butterfly, caterpillar, beetle, and every kind of insect; you are shown every variety of minerals, from every mine in the earth, and from every cave of the sea; you are then shown every kind of anatomy, bones and fossils, two skeletons of the human system, and representations of the different parts of the human body, laid open, as natural as life; with the bones, ligaments, arteries, veins, muscles, nerves, brain, &c., laid open; the hands, the head, the neck, the legs, the ear and eye unfolded, and their mysteries and secret operations made manifest; and all their connecting parts developed. There is a specimen of a mummie [mummy], but not so perfect as we have; it has the linen around it, and is enclosed in a box which is covered with hieroglyphics, and Egyptian characters; another standing up, not to be opened, enclosed in a case which rudely represents a human being, there is also a great many hieroglyphics on this. There are busts, and heads of every shape, which would be very interesting no doubt to phrenologists; there are bones and fossils, part of the head bone of the mammoth, two feet wide, I should think or upwards; two and a half feet high, solid where it seems to be broken; the teeth that are in it, are grinders, and are about eight inches apart, and will measure two inches through. I think it must have had outer teeth, besides those, as these are so close to each other and so differently situated in the head, to any that I have seen before. I should think that with those, it would have power to bite iron in

two. There are also bones of elephants, and other animals, from different places. Another room is full of speciments [specimens] of autography of all kinds, and of every data; the writings of princes, potentates, statesmen, sages, the ambitious and powerful philanthrophist [philanthropists], tyrants, historians, kings, queens, concubines, poets, divines, of wise men and fools. You go into a room again, where different speciments [specimens] of work are going on, such as paper staining, glass blowing &c. Many philosophical experiments were exhibited in the last named science. Common printing, lithograph and other printing presses were at work.

You then see every kind of Philosophical Apparatus; all sorts of models, complete, of steam engines, of every description, some of them at work; mills, and machines, of all kinds; railway carriages, going, and others still; cabinet ware, from Germany, Spain, China France, Italy, &c.; screws, levers, pulleys; ox-hydrogen and compound microscopes, kallaiedescopes [kaleidoscopes], magic lanterns, camera obscura, clock, watches, quadrants, circumferentors, zinc reflectors, thermometers, barometers, magnetic interrupters, electrical batteries, telescopes, windmill, pedomatic chondrometer, models of water wheels, lathes, electrifying machines, of all kinds, galvanic batteries, air pumps, and a thousand other things. I think if Solomon had been here he would have thought there was something new under the sun.

You are then introduced into a room where a man is cutting likenesses with scissors. He does them very quick and perfect. You are next shewn [shown] a Medal Press, with which they strike Medals of every kind. : It is a large machine from Birmingham, and the Medals are neatly executed. You see Fringe and Tassel making, and every kind of Carpets exhibited, different kinds of Tapestry, and Lace weaving, Pot making, and in short, you have the privilege of hearing a Lecture on some department of Science by gentlemen of talent, in the Lecture Room.-In fact, such a collection of every thing rare, ancient, useful instructive, beautiful and interesting, I never before saw. I cannot described the whole, but shall have to say, as the Queen of Sheba, the half has not been told. I would observe that those things are not all owned by the Institution, but that many of; them have been deposited there during the mid-summer hollidays [holidays], (for there are schools taught in many of the rooms at other times;) by noblemen and gentlemen, captains, antiquarians, connoisseurs, linguists, philosophers, anatomists, ladies, mechanics, tradesmen, &c. They admit visitors from ten o'clock in the forenoon to four in the afternoon, and from four in afternoon till ten at night. In the morning the charge is 1s, and the evening 6d. I am told they have taken upwards of [pounds] 700 a day during the exhibition.

When I saw some of those heroes, and specimens of antiquity, it reminded me of the rise and fall of nations. I was led to reflect on the glory of Babylon, the Medo-Persian, the Greek, the Roman and other mighty powers, who in their turn have risen to glory, and mouldered to decay-whose fame was once known to the ends of the earth-who laid desolate kingdoms, and caused nations to tremble-whose cities and walls, and towers, and fortifications, and armies defied the powers of earth; but who in turn have mouldered to decay, have died, and nothing is now left of them but a name and a few broken pillars, and scattered fragments of ancient greatness, to tell to this and other generations, the folly of human wisdom, and the imbecility and weakness of human power; and to point us to the fulfilment [fulfillment] of those prophesies where nations shall again crumble, and empires again be shaken; when thrones shall be cast down, and kingdoms again be destroyed; when that which has visited ancient nations; shall sweep like a torrent over all nations; when there shall be a crash of nations and a wreck of matter; when God's work shall be accomplished, the wicked be burned up, and nothing left to represent their former dignity or ancient glory.

We have mentioned these things for the purpose of shewing [showing] what it is our privilege to aspire to; and as we expect that ere long Nauvoo will be the great emporium of the west, and take the lead in the arts, sciences, and literature, as well as in religion, it would be well for us to keep our eye upon this in our various journeyings, and our intercourse with mankind; and possessing the facilities that we do, it only requires a little exertion on our part, to make a museum or repository of this kind, to exceed any thing on the western continent, and in the world: and while nations are tottering, and kingdoms crumbling to pieces, it is for the Saints to snatch from the ruins of ancient greatness every thing that is interesting, great, valuable and good-whether in religion, morality, arts and sciences, and bring them to the city of the Saints, that intelligence may dwell in our midst, that we may have a knowledge of the policy, the strength and weakness of empires and nations, of their wisdom and folly, their virtues and vices-that we may have a knowledge of the world, and all things in it, comely, great and good. That our old men may be honored and revered for their wisdom, and our young men sit at their feet and learn knowledge-that intelligence may flow from our lips, and "all nations call us blessed;"-that we may indeed be the "blessed of the Lord,"-"The Zion of the Holy one of Israel."

The following is part of a discourse, delivered by Elder Orson Pratt, at the conference:-