History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

80
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
The year 1831 opens with flattering prospects.
On the 2d of January a conference is held at Fayette,
attended by revelations and prophecy. James Colville,
a baptist minister, accepts the faith, but shortly
recants, being tempted of Satan, and in fear of persecution.
8 Smith and his wife go with Kigdon and
white appeal- Mack and black white as any other man; and at all times prepared
to establish, to the satisfaction of great numbers of people, the negative
or affirmative of any and every question from scripture, he was forthwith
appointed to promulgate all the absurdities and ridiculous pretensions of
Mormonism, and call on the holy prophets to prove all the words of Smith.
But the miraculous powers conferred upon him we do not learn have yet been
put in requisition. It seems that the spirit had not, before the arrival of
Rigdon, told Smith anything about the promised land, or his removal to Ohio.
It is therefore very questionable what manner of spirit it was which dictated
most of the after movements of the prophet. The spirit of Rigdon, it
must be presumed, however, generally held sway; for a revelation was soon
had that Kirtland, the residence of Rigdon and his brethren, was to be the
eastern border of the promised land, and from thence to the Pacific Ocean.
On this land the New Jerusalem, the city of refuge, was to be built. Upon
it all true Mormons were to assemble, to escape the destruction of the
world which was so soon to take place.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 109-10.
Tucker, Origin and Prog. Mor., 76-8, thus speaks of the first appearance of
this first regular Mormon preacher before a Palmyra congregation: 'Rigdon
introduced himself as the messenger of God, declaring that he was commanded
from above to proclaim the Mormon revelation. After going through with a
ceremonious form of prayer, in which he expressed his grateful sense of the
blessings of the glorious gospel dispensation now opening to the world, and
the miraculous light from heaven to be displayed through the instrumentality
of the chosen revelator, Joseph Smith Jr, . . .he announced his text as follows:
First book of Nephi, chapter iv.—"And the angel spake unto me, saying,
These last records which thou hast seen among the gentiles shall establish
the truth of the first, which is of the twelve apostles of the lamb, and
shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away
from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people that
the lamb of God is the son of the eternal father and saviour of the world; and
that all men must come unto him or they cannot be saved." The preacher
assumed to establish the theory that the book of Mormon and the old bible
were one in inspiration and importance, and that the precious things now revealed
had for wise purposes been withheld from the book first promulgated
to the world, and were necessary to establish its truth. In the course of his
argument he applied various quotations from the two books to prove his position.
Holding the book of Mormon in his right hand, and the bible in his
left hand, lie brought them together in a manner corresponding to the emphatic
declaration made by him, that they were both equally the word of God;
that neither was perfect without the other; and that they were inseparably
necessary to complete the everlasting gospel of the saviour Jesus Christ. ' It
is said that Rigdon, after his return to Kirtland from his visit to Smith, in
one of his eloquent discourses on the new faith, 'gave a challenge to the
world to disprove the new bible, and the pretensions of its authors.' Rigclon's
old friend, Thomas Campbell, hearing of it, wrote him from Mentor accepting,
at the same time enclosing an outline of what his line of argument would
be. There the matter dropped.
8 See Millennial Star, v. 33-5; Times and Seasons, iv. 352-4. Mather, iu
Lippincott's Mag., Aug. 18S0, states that to escape persecution sixty believ