In Kirtland Ohio

CHAPTER IX.

On the return of Rigdon, many of his old friends called upon him to enquire about
the new faith. The particulars of one of these interviews, we have on record by
an eye-w itness, which we shall give in his own words, with his remarks thereon:
--
Feb. 1, 1831. -- Mr. Rigdon just returned from the state of New
York. His irascible temper only left him for a little season. Two
friends went from Mentor to see him -- required of him a reason for
his present hope, and for his belief in the Book of Mormon. He
declined; saying he was weary, having just come off his journey,
had lost much sleep, and the like. After a number of words had
passed, by way of solicitation on one side, and refusal on the
other, one of the friends from Mentor said he thought there was
no more evidence to confirm the Book of Mormon, than the Koran
of Mahomet. At this, Mr. R. seemed very angry, rose up and said,
"Sir, you have insulted me in my own
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house -- I command silence -- if people come to see us and
cannot treat us with civility, they may walk out of the door as
soon as they please." The person then made some apology. Mr. R.
said he had borne every thing; he had been insulted and trampled
upon by old and young, and he would hear it no longer. The two
friends then departed.
Two days after, I accompanied several friends to Mr. R.'s
residence, and found him in conversation with a Methodist elder.
That being soon broken off, one of my friends modestly
approached Mr. R. and solicited him to give some reason for his
present faith. Mr. R., with a hreat show of good nature,
commenced a long detail of his researches after the character of
Joseph Smith, he declared that even his enemies had nothing to
say against his character; he had brought a transcript from the
dockets of two magistrates, where Smith had been tried as a
disturber of the peace, which testified that he was honorably
acquited. But this was no evidence to us that the Book of Mormon
was divine. He then spoke of the supernatural gifts with which he
said Smith was endowed; he said he could translate scriptures
from any language in which they were now extant and could lay his
finger upon every interpolation in the sacred writings, adding that
he had proven him in all these things. But my friend, knowing that
Mr. Rigdon had no knowledge of any language but his own
vernacular, tongue, asked him how he knew these things, to which
Mr. R. made no direct reply.
Mr. Smith arrived at Kirtland the next day, and being examined
concerning his supernatural gifts, by a scholar, who was capable
of testing his knowledge, he confessed he knew nothing of any
language, save the king's English.
Mr. R. asserted that our revelation came to us upon testimony --
this we denied, and gave him reasons, which he himself formerly
urged against deists. He then said the
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old revelations were confirmed by miracles, but the Book of
Mormon would not be; it was not designed to be thus confirmed.
(And Mahomet said, nearly twelve centuries ago, "Moses and Jesus
were empowered to work miracles, yet the people did not receive
them, wherefore, God had sent him without that attestation, to be
the last and greatest prophet.") But in this Mr. R. contradicted his
book, for that declares it is to be thus established.
We then asked Mr. R. what object we could have, in receiving the
Book of Mormon -- whether it enjoyed a single virtue that the Bible
did not, or whether it mentioned or prohibited a single additional
vice, or whether it exhibited a new attribute of Deity?
He said it did not. "The Book of Mormon, (said he) is to form and
govern the Millennial Church; the old revelation was neve r
calculated for that, nor would it accomplish that object; and
without out receiving the Book of Mormon there is no salvation for
any one into whose hands it shall come." He said faith in the Book
of Mormon was only to be obtained by asking the Lord concerning
it. To this, scriptural objections were made. He then said, if we
have not familiarity enough with our Creator to ask of him a sign,
we were no Christians; and that if God would not condescend to
his creatures, in this way, he was no better than Jugernaut!!!
Thus I have given a simple statement of facts. They proclaim the
ancient gospel, putting their own appendages to it. When they
think it will best suit their purposes, they say nothing of the Book
of Mormon, and at other times make it their chief topic. Mr. R. said
it was no part of his religion to defend the Book of Mormon, he
merely wished the people to give heed to the old revelation. Again,
there is no salvation without believing the Book of Mormon. -- Mr.
R. blames Cowdery for attempting to work miracles, and said it was
not intended to be confirmed in that
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way. How then are we to obtain faith? Does the book offer any
internal evidence for its divinity: It contains nothing but what
might have been, and evidently was, borrowed from the sacred
writings and from the history of the world. Was it so with the
revelation that was from the beginning? Far otherwise. Respecting
Smith and his followers, do they give anty proof of their honesty?
They can give none but their own assertions. They have no
sacrifice to make -- no loss of fortune or reputation to sustain.
They are in a land of liberty -- very different were the
circumstances of those who first promulgated the faith "once
delivered to the saints." They had to forsake their friends and
relations -- leave their possessions, and forfeit their reputation.
Twelve apostles sealed their testimony with their blood. So,
whether their religion was true or false, they proved their honesty.
But Mormonism is to be proved, from beginning to end, by
assertions, and this we have in whole numbers. But we know that
they cannot more roundly and positively asse rt, than hundreds of
impostures who have gone before them."
From this point in the history of this delusion, it began to spread with
considerable rapidity. Nearly all of their male converts, however ignorant and
worthless, were forthwith transformed into "Elders," and sent forth to proclaim,
with all their wild enthusiasm, the wonders and mysteries of Mormonism. All those
having a taste for the marvelous, and delighting in novelties, flocked to hear
them. -- Many traveled fifty and an hundred miles to the throne of the prophet,
in Kirtland, to hear from his own mouth the certainty of his excavating a bible and
spectacles. -- Many, even in the New England States, after hearing the frantic
story of some of these "elders," would forthwith place their all into a waggon, and
wend their way to the "promised land," in order, as they supposed, to escape the
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judgements of Heaven, which were soon to be poured out upon the land. The
State of New York, they were privately told, would most probably be sunk, unless
the people thereof believed in the pretensions of Smith.
On the arrival of Smith in Kirtland, he appeared astonished at the wild enthusiasm
and scalping performances, of his proselytes there, as heretofore related. He told
them that he had enquired of the Lord concerning the matter, and had been
informed that it was all the work of the Devil. The disturbances, therefore,
ceased. Thus we see that the devil, for the time being, held full sway in making
converts to Mormonism.
We must here stop to introduce another document, which belongs to this history.
Soon after the return of Rigdon to Kirtland, in some of his eloquent harangues on
the subject of his new faith, he gave a challenge to the world to disprove the
new Bible, and the pretensions of its authors. Elder THOMAS CAMPBELL, of Va.
being in the neighborhood, addressed him the following Letter: --
MENTOR, February 4, 1831.
Mr. Sidney Rigdon:
Dear Sir -- It may seem strange, that instead of a confidential and
friendly visit, after so long an absence, I should thus address, by
letter, one of whom, for many years, I have considered not only as
a courteous and benevolent friend, but as a beloved brother and
fellow laborer in the gospel -- but alas! how changed, how fallen!
Nevertheless, I should now have visited you as formerly, could I
conceive that my so doing would answer the important purpose
both to ourselves, and to the public, to which we both stand
pledged, from the conspicuous and important stations we occupy:
-- you, as a professed disciple and public teacher of the infernal
book of Mormon; and I, as a professed disciple and public teacher
of the supernal book of the Old
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and New Testaments of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- which
you now say is superceded by the book of Mormon -- is become
a dead letter -- so dead, that the belief and obedience of, without
the reception of the latter, is no longer available to salvation; to
the disproof of this assertion, I understand you defy the world. I
here use the epithets infernal and supernal in their primary and
literal meaning, the former signifying from beneath, the latter from
above, both of which are truly applied, if the respective authors
may be accredited; of the latter of which, however, I have no
doubt. But, my dear sir, supposing you as sincere in your present,
as in your former profession, (of the truth and sufficiency of which
you have frequently boasted with equal confidence,) neither
yourself, your friends, nor the world, are therefore bound to
consider you as more infallible in your latter than in your former
confidence, any further than you can render good and intelligible
reasons for your present certainty. This, I understand from your
declaration on last Lord's day, you are abundantly prepared and
ready to do. I, therefore, as in duty bound, accept the challenge,
and shall hold myself in readiness, if the Lord permit, to meet you
publicly, in any place, either in Mentor or Kirtland, or in any of the
adjoining towns, that may appear most eligible for the
accommodation of the public.
The sooner the investigation takes place the better for all
concerned; therefore, it is hoped you will not protract the time
beyond what may justly be deemed necessary for giving sufficient
publicity to the proposed discussion -- say one week after your
reception of this proposal to accept the challenge you have
publicly given, for the vindication and eviction of the divine
authorship of Mormonism, which, if your assertion be true, that
there is no salvation for any that do not embrace it; and not only
so, but I am credibly informed
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you have asserted, that even those who have lived and died in the
faith and obedience of the old book, in the triumphant assurance
of a glorious resurrection and a blissful immortality, may be in hell
for aught you know; therefore, I say again, the sooner this matter
is publicly settled, the better. For my part, I do cordially assure
you, sir, that if I were in the possession of a nostrum, upon the
knowledge and belief of which, the salvation of every soul of man
depended, I should consider myself responsible to the whole world
for the speedy and effectual confirmation and publication of it; and
if it be at all a revelation from God for the salvation Of man, he
must be wonderful changed since he gave the former revelation of
his will, for that important purpose, if he do not require you so to
do, for he was then willing that all men should come to a
knowledge of his will and truth and be saved; and therefore, he
not only charged all to whom he made it known, by special
revelation, to go into all the world and declare it to every creature,
but also furnished them with such potent and evincive arguments,
both prophetic and miraculous, as no candid inquirer could mistake,
without abandoning both his senses and his reason.
If then, the Book of Mormon, which you assume to vindicate as a
divine revelation, upon the belief and obedience of which the
salvation of all men stands suspended, be such, then surely the
unchanged and unchangeable author, who, it seems, has
communicated it to you and others, by special revelations, has,
doubtless, furnished you with such special, intelligible, and
convincing arguments, as are abundantly sufficient to convince
every candid inquirer, as he did the heralds of the former
dispensations. -- Therefore, woe is unto you if you preach not
your gospel. But why should I seem to doubt the philanthropy of
my former friend and brother, more than I do my own, or that of
the apostle Paul, that I should thus appear to urge his performance
of
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a challenge, which, no doubt, the purest and most benevolent
motives excited him to propose, for the purpose of promoting, as
fast as possible, the benign intentions of his mission? Taking this
for granted, I shall further add, in relation to the manner of
conducting this all-important investigation, that, seeing it is purely
for the discovery and confirmation of the truth, upon the belief and
obedience of which, depends the salvation of the world, the
parties realizing the deep and awful responsibility of the
undertaking, and having no private and personal interest at stake,
separate from the rest of mankind, will not only afford each other
every facility of investigating and exhibiting the truth by all manner
of fairness, both of argume nt and concession, but also by the
mutual allowance of any assistance that can be contributed by the
friends on each side, either suggesting matter to the speakers, or
by correcting any mistakes that may occur in quotations,
references, &c, in an amicable and an obliging manner, without
giving or taking offence on these accounts; that for these
purposes, each party shall be at liberty to select as many of his
intelligent friends as he pleases to assist him as prompters; and if
any difficulty occur, respecting time, order, &c, it shall be refered
to a competent board of moderators, equally chosen by the
parties, that the whole investigation may be conducted without
the least shadow of disorder or partiality.
According to the spirit and tenor of the above proposals on my
part, for the speedy and effectual determination of the momentous
question at issue, I shall candidly inform you of the course I intend
to take, for the confirmation and defence of my side of the
question, that you may be the better prepared to meet my
arguments with a solid and unanswerable refutation, if possible; as
I can have no wish, nor can any man in his common senses, where
the salvation of the soul is at stake, but to know and embrace the
saving
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truth. The proposition that I have assumed, and which I mean to
assume and defend against Mormonism and every other ism that
has been assumed since the Christian era, is -- The all-sufficiency
and the alone-sufficiency of the holy scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments, vulgarly called the Bible, to make every intelligent
believer wise to salvation, thoroughly furnished for any good work.
This proposition, clearly and fully established, as I believe it most
certainly can be, we have no more need for Quakerism, Shakerism,
Wilkinsonianism, Buchanism, Mormonism, or any other ism, than we
have for three eyes, three ears, three hands, or three feet, in
order to see, hear, work, or walk. This proposition, I will illustrate
and confirm by showing --
1st, That the declarations, invitations, and promises of the gospel,
go to confer upon the obedient believer the greatest possible
privileges, both here and hereafter, that our nature is capable of
enjoying.
2nd, That there is not a virtue which can happify or adorn the
human character, nor a vice that can abase or dishappify, which
human heart can conceive, or human language can express, that
is not most clearly commanded or forbidden in the holy scriptures.
3rd, That there are no greater motives, that can possibly be
expressed or conceived, to enforce obedience or discourage and
prevent disobedience, than the scriptures most clearly and
unequivocally exhibit.
These propositions being proved, every thing is proved that can
affect our happiness, either here or hereafter.
We shall, however, if deemed necessary, next proceed to expose
the blasphemous pretensions of Mormonism, by examining both its
external and internal evidences.
1st. By examining the character of its author and his accomplices,
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as far as documents for that purpose may have come to hand.
2d. Their feigned pretensions to miraculous gifts, the gift of
tongues, &c.; a specimen of the latter we shall afford them an
opportunity of exhibiting in three or four foreign languages.
3d. We shall next proceed to expose the anti-scriptural assertions,
that there has been none duly authorized to administer baptism,
for the space of fourteen hundred years up to the present time, by
showing that the church or the kingdom of Christ, must have been
totally extinct during that period, provided its visible administration
had actually ceased during that time, is an express contradiction
of the testimony of Jesus, Mat. xvi. 18.
4th. We are prepared to show that the pretended duty of common
property among Christians is anti-scriptural, being subversive of
the law of Christ, and inimical to the just rights of society.
5th. We shall next proceed to show, that re-baptizing believers is
making void the law of Christ; and that the imposition of hands for
communicating the Holy Spirit, is an unscriptural intrusion upon the
exclusive prerogative the primary apostles.
6th. We shall also show that the pretensions of Mormonism, as far
as it has yet been developed, are in no wise superior to the
pretensions of the first quakers, of the French Prophets, of the
Shakers, of Jemima Wilkinson, &c. That all these pretended to as
high degrees of inspiration, to prophocyings, to visions, to as great
humility, self-denial, devotion to God, moral purity, and spiritual
perfection; declaimed as much against sin, denounced as heavy
judgments against their neighbors, and against the professing
world at large, for their corruptions of Christianity, &c. &c. as the
Mormonites have done or can do; the two latter have
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also insisted as much upon the supposed duty of common
property, and have spoken as certainly of the near approach of
the millenium, and of their relation to that happy state, as any of
the Mormonite Prophets, especially the Shakers, who pretend to
be living subjects of that happy period, and and who have also
given us an attested record of their miraculous operations.
The obvious conclusion of this sixth argument is evident, that if
the Mormonite prophets and teachers can show no better
authority for their pretended mission and revelations than these
impostors have done, we have no better authority to believe them
than we have to believe their predecessors in imposition. But the
dilemma is, we can't believe all, for each was exclusively right in
his day, and those of them that remain, are still exclusively right
to this day; and if the Shakers be right, the whole world, the
Mormonites themselves not excepted, are in the gall of bitterness
and bonds of iniquity -- quite as far from salvation as you yourself
have pronounced all the sectarians on earth to be, namely, in a
state of absolute damnation.
In the last place, we shall examine the internal evidence of the
Book of Mormon itself, pointing out its evident contradictions,
foolish absurdities, shameless pretensions to antiquity, restore it
to the rightful claimant, as a production beneath contempt, and
utterly unworthy the reception of a schoolboy.
Thus, my dear sir, I have given you a fair and full statement of my
intended method of defence and attack, of the principal topics of
argument pro and con, which I shall use, provided you stand to
your proposed challenge. I have also used great plainness of
speech, and spoken of things just as I believe they deserve, as
you yourself are in the habit of doing; and who can do otherwise
upon a subject of such vast importance if he duly realize them?
Nevertheless
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I would not have you think, although I consider things just as I
have spoken, that I suppose myself more infallible than you do
yourself; but I should blush to fall short of any one, of any sect
whatever, in my expressions of confident certainty of the truth of
my profession, which has stood the test of mos t rigorous
investigation for nearly eighteen hundred years, and which I have
scrupulously examined, for upwards of forty, especially when the
investigation is with sectarians of little more than three months
standing.
But though I have spoken as positively as you have done, and we
have I both spoken positive enough, I will yet venture to assure
you that you will find me, as changeable as yourself, provided you
afford me evidence paramount to the evidence which I have
proposed to produce for the ground which I at present occupy, for
it has ever been with me a fixed principle, that the less should give
way to the greater. But in case I should fail to convince you, or
that you should fail to convince me, others may be benefitted; and
we shall have the consolation of having discharged our duty, both
to each other and the public, for no man liveth to himself.
In the mean time I wait for your reply, which you will please to
forward per bearer. I hope you will be as candid and plain with me
as I have been with you. My best respects to Mrs. Rigdon, and
sincerest wish for the happiness of your family.
I remain, with grateful remembrances of the past, and best wishes
for the future, your sincere friend and humble servant,
THOMAS CAMPBELL.
It is only necessary to say, that after Rigdon had read a few lines of the above,
he hastily committed it to the flames.