The Mormon Pentecostal Revival
Many Evangelical, Fundamentalist and
Pentecostals will be amazed and horrified as was I concerning published facts
surrounding the birth of Mormonism and who the first followers of Joseph Smith
were. The Mormon Pentecostal Revival follows
in the footsteps of Matthew 24. Mormonism stands as great spiritual deception for
bible believing Christians, people that hunger and thirst for God, and people that
hunger and thirst for great signs and wonders. The Mormon Pentecostal revival
stands as the Mark and the Sign of what Jesus prophesied concerning that which
is to befall in large part the
Matthew 24:4-5 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; (Christ is actually an untranslated Greek word – many are familiar
that Christ means “Anointed” or “Anointed One”) and SHALL deceive many.
A better translation of
Matthew 24:5 is: For many shall come in My Name saying I am
anointed of God
and shall deceive many.
The notion that the anointing or presence of God in a church
or fellowship means all is right with a preacher or ministry has caused great
deception among believers in recent centuries. One seems to forget the lesson
of the pool at
Whether we like it
or not: The fact is that if a preacher, ministry, or church had to be perfect
for the manifestation of God to occur in their midst – nothing and we mean
nothing of the presence of God, miracles and people operating in gifts of the
Spirit would never happen.
1 Samuel 1:9-19 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in
John 11:49-52 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being
the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor
consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and
that the whole nation perish not. And this spake
he not of himself: (Consider that this man was a
false high priest and greatly corrupt) but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Realize and Fear
that all of those that would have become the disciples because of some gift or
operation of God in the ministries of Eli or Caiaphas would have been led to eternal
destruction. Yet God used them for the sake of his people. This explains much
that we see and hear from the ministries of many false teachers, false
evangelists, false prophets, false apostles, as God uses them from time to time
as the pool of Bethesda, or as in the case of certain people like Hannah; who
after she receives of God wisely departed from the ministry of Eli.
It has been suggested in some writings that I have recently read that Joseph
Smith, Olivery Cowdery and
Judge Solomon Spalding and those of early Mormonism had some connection with
the French prophets – that tenuous connection was in large part to manifestations of
prophesy, vision, people speaking in tongues, falling out, and even healings
all of which has been recorded in era newspapers.
Not to many years earlier John Wesley went to France out of genuine interest to
meet some of the so-called “French Prophets” I have published Wesley
observations of that meeting. I also remind our readers that at this same time
period The American Methodists were known for having their Methodist fits, and Shouting Methodists that
prophesied, saw visions, spoke in tongues, fell out, and had other
manifestations of the Holy Spirit as well.
We also need mention here that all of these things were concurrent with the Cainridge Revival that occurred between 1801–1860 with its marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere this same time period was also called the second awaking.
As you will see in the
selected articles of the time in upstate
Though the author of
the Mormon website where I gleaned these articles does not lay out a theory as
to how Joseph Smith came to found Mormonism – what these articles demonstrate
is that Joseph Smith a young thief
and con artist who was arrested for using a seeing stone to
falsely prophesy where treasures were located and thereby bilking a number
of people out of thousands in cash and goods As a young thief Joseph Smith buried
his plunder all over his father’s farm. His acts according to court records was to put the seeing
stone in his hat and literally pull the wool over his eyes and then claim to
see where treasures were buried. In court records his closest friend testified
that Joseph Smith told him that in the stone he saw nothing but said what he
said in order to earn a living. The
court found him guilty of a number of charges but because Joseph Smith was
under aged I think 15 they decided that at his tender age to send him to prison
would only make him a hardened criminal. (This not sending the young
Joseph Smith to jail as what was required by law – allowed Smith not only to
continue his false prophetic act, but under the careful guidance and training
by the crooked Judge Solomon Spalding and the Corrupt newspaper publicist, and
writer Oliver Cowdery – take his prophetic scam to heights
never seen before in one of the worst American cases of religious fraud in
history – now involving now tens of millions of people)
These articles also show that after the trial Joseph Smith continued to associate with a “Dangerous” treasure hunting gang, and other con men. One of Smith’s associates committed murder. One has to assume that after the court case his scam was locally known so no one would come to him to for treasure locations.
It is important to know
that several of Joseph smith’s relatives were newspapermen and the newspapers of
his youth that all came to his father’s farm free of charge were filled with
articles on treasure hunters, their discoveries, and archeological Indian digs. In His own mother’s biography she tells that as a child Joseph Smith would spend hours at a time speaking
of an imaginary Indian culture their clothes, how they lived, and all the
technology they had. (All
of which would later be incorporated into Mormonism and the rewritten novel
that became the Book or Mormon.)
One of the big finds by local treasure hunter that caught young
smith’s attention was the discovery of a 500 page book under a rock that had
secret writing that no one could read. (This
later turned out to be written in Latin short hand that was originally created
in the 11th century, resurfaced in the 1500-1600’s and was used by
monks and Jesuits to transfer secret information they did not want known)
Another
purported find published in local newspaper was an article about Golden Books
that had been dug up with ancient Indian hieroglyphics written on the solid
gold pages. (This sensationalized find never happened)
So what we have is a
young thief and con artist that is no longer able to openly ply his false prophetic trade,
he also is on record before the advent
of Mormonism to having a great interest in an imaginary
white Indian civilization. This also was based upon newspaper articles
of his day in his local papers -- that Indians were
originally white, that they were the lost tribes of Israel, and that an unknown dark skinned race of Indians later showed up and
killed them and left no trace of their civilization. (We
now begin to see a clear roadmap from Smith’s criminal past to becoming the
great prophet of Mormonism.)
We also have in recorded writings that Young Joseph Smith had some relations\relatives that were into not only the French prophets, and or with spoke in tongues and prophesied, (But were both Pentecostal Methodists and People from the Cainridge revival.) We are stating here that all of these pre-Mormon Pentecostal acquaintances of Joseph Smith, and also of Publicist Oliver Cowdery and in particular a Pentecostal group that called themselves The Pilgrims that were led by an elderly prophet. This group became the focus of Judge Solomon Spalding and Oliver Cowdery’s religious scam. At the time the Judge and Publicist had not yet found their young charismatic prophet to work their scheme.
We also believe that somewhere during this 4-5 year out of work period Jospeh Smith meets up with some tongue talking, prophesying believers and discovers that these people are incredibly gullible – or in more modern terms: a people moving in spiritual operations with no spiritual discernment (A statement that was frequently bandied about the charismatic revival when it began in the mid seventies.) that they believed at the drop of a hat (In this case Joseph Smith’s) That whatever is said in the name of the Lord has to be true. Among other things that Oliver Cowdery and Judge Solomon Spalding discovered about these Pentecostals is that these hungry believers were yearning for a true prophet to arise in their midst, they were yearning to see the new Jerusalem built, and the whole world brought back into that state of the garden of Eden.
Judge Spalding and Oliver Cowdery come to realize that they have discovered the con of cons, that they have been handed the opportunity of a lifetime. And this is where Joseph Smith entered the picture, as their young charismatic convincing con man Smith with his seeing stone routine in his hat would be the one to play the part of the prophet these Pentecostal people, in particular The Pilgrims needed after their prophet suddenly died with all the money from their sold houses and lands in hand.
However there was one big problem to doing this Joseph Smith’s poor education – in particular Joseph Smith could not read well and could hardly write (We have seen samples of his writing skills, first it incredibly sloppy and uneven. And then these writing samples were filled with many spelling errors that a first or second grader would not make) So that if this is scheme was to succeed Smith would have to be taught and memorize bible passages, and what to he was to say point by point, lest he be caught a lie again.
Judge Solomon Spalding and Cowdery we educated men who taught and prepped Smith for probably months before his public unveiling. (All of this took too long for them to cash in on The Pilgrims and all the money they had – by the time of Smith’s unveiling The Pilgrims had broken up and disbursed to each member what remained of their original money.) So Joseph Smith was placed into plan B speaking to Spiritual bible believing people with a hunger for spiritual things. The training Smith received and his preaching to their gullible targeted audience succeeded beyond Spalding and Cowdery’s wildest expectations.
The next major hurdle
that this new denomination had to cross was for Spaulding and Cowdery to make for their junior partner in the scam indisputable
golden bible he had been speaking of as the source of much of his reveleation. (A book that no gullible
believer of Smith’s day could not believe.) We have also read mentions that the origin of The Book of
Mormon was a romantic novel – an adventure story written by a deceased preached
that had somehow come into the hands of Judge Solomon Spalding and Publicist
Oliver Cowdery’s hands. While Smith created a desire for his
faithful, and the newspapers to see this Golden Book he had found and
supposedly translated using his seeing stones this novel was edited and
rewritten until it fit the bill of The Book of Mormon that they needed.
Once Joseph Smith got started as this grand a prophet and The Book of Mormon under his arm he named his confederates Spalding and Cowdery as co-equal prophets in his movement. (This arrangement lasted only a few years until Smith wiggled out of their control and as a junior partner of their money making scan. To do this Smith needed only to prophesy that only Joseph Smith’s words could be written and that Spaulding and Cowdery could only speak. Thus limiting their ability to have any control over Joseph Smith and his faithful.)
Smith then named his
apostles and with his golden bible – (This is what he and his early followers
called The Book of Mormon) He began to go about
moving his flock to
Backing up a little we need to speak a bit
more of the creation of The Book of Mormon newspapers show that Spalding and Cowdery tried to go about getting their nonexistent golden
bible authenticated by the same man who authenticated the 500 page book written
in Latin short hand. Spaulding sends is a fragment of text from an crumbling antique book but when this man in
A few years later in court again we find one
of Joseph Smith’s top confederates sues Joseph Smith for fraud and reveals in court that that core of the book of Mormon
was an unpublished romance novel by late preacher, and that the names of the
Indians and some locations in the book are local tribes and places located in
upstate New York around the town in which Joseph Smith lived. It is in this same trial that Joseph Smith is shown letters from the Greek alphabet that he can not read
or identify, thereby quashing all claims that
Joseph Smith is able to read Greek and other biblical languages from which he
was able to have translated the book of Mormon.
The shame of all of this is that Smith and his associates understood their audience too well. And what they put this together was better than any of their religious contemporaries of his day.
So what we are stating
here is that Smith’s converts were not the duped and confused souls that were
of a fundamentalist and Pentecostal background. Mormons say of theses early
days in their books today that Joseph Smith’s early converts were people that
were grounded and rooted in the word (We vigorously dispute this claim, these
people were at best babes, and children in the flock of God). People
that were hungrily seeking the return of the full gospel, the five fold
ministry with its signs and wonders. (We sadly agree here) His
converts were Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists apparently some of the best and brightest of
His day. And to emphasize
that point he had a number of well known preachers of his day convert to
Mormonism as well. (To us this is one of the most shocking
points of the Mormon Revival)
When I first read these articles I was stunned at what I saw and to be honest it scared me and I had to lay aside these writings for several weeks and pray. Part of me wanted to sweep this under the rug and ignore it because I saw a lot of bad ramifications specifically that this was a great revival, a very successful revival where many true believers that were babes and children were sucked in by a false prophet and complete reprobate. I was faced with how to reconcile what I had read about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit within the framework of something that was so evil and perverted and corrupt from its inception.
As I read it seemed to me that this information about speaking in tongues, and the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit with people being slain in the spirit and even being healed would have more than played into the hands of fundamentalists who declare that all gifts and operations of the Spirit ended at the death of the apostles, and that all Pentecostal revivals though-out church history are false and of the devil.
We debated for a few
weeks whether to write or not to write about this. Our sense here was that this was truth as in
that these events really happened and that there were real Fundamentalists and
Pentecostals, “Saved” “Baptized in Water” and “Filled With the Holy Ghost”
taken from the Methodists, Pentecostals, and people from the Cainridge Revival that were all taken in by the con and act
by Joseph Smith so much so that they sold their houses and lands to follow
Smith to build the New Jerusalem. Regardless of what might be construed out of
this entire event by Fundamentalists and Pentecostals it needed to be brought
into the light and out on the open.
The next problem that posed itself was in what form was this to be written. If I posted only the articles even with comments people would read only little pieces. In reality what is written above took weeks of reading in order to grasp the full level of what happened at the advent of Mormonism. So that left us with writing an article on Mormonism, and the understanding that Mormonism and other cults actually had and have to this day some true believers among them that need light, love and help.
We see that essentially no believers today are willing to give this light love and help as Mormons and those in other similar cults are so hated and loathed by believers
At the start we made a few attempts to write this but was unable to write more than a few sentences so we put it aside, I wasn’t until my Pharisee of Pharisee called seeking what God had been speaking to me that all at once a things about this subject poured out of my mouth, things about it and reasoning that I had no idea. – My friend then excitedly chattered of how this had suddenly flipped his thoughts on what he had been studying about the great commission, the klesia and who we are called to preach to
I then ran my finds concerning Mormonism past my Fundamentalist Pharisee of Pharisees who is currently in his second year of a Baptist bible collage and he told me that Baptists are not fond of speaking of their failures but that the southern Baptist convention and the independent Baptist convention are terrified of Mormonism because still today 80% of Mormonism’s converts are church going bible reading Baptists and they have no idea why or how to combat the problem so he said their attitude is not to speak of it hoping that it will go away.
We have now posted for your reading and inspection a number of articles that attest to some of the things we have written above – and we would earnestly desire your patience and prayerful reading of the rest that has been posted in this article.
Otsego
Herald: Western Advertiser
Vol. I.
From the TIMES, a
We have already published several notices of a Mr. Brothers,
who is called in the
the following is a more particular account of him.
_______
The GREAT PROPHET of
NEPHEW OF
GOD.
Great political convulsions have always
been either preceded or accompanied by moral revolutions, of which the factions
of all countries avail themselves, to ingratiate their revolutionary systems
with those classes of society, that lay most open to
seduction and imposture.
Thus the French Revolution was preceded by a number of sects more or less
absurd, but all equally extravagant, which prepared the public mind for all
sorts of changes. -- Such were the Constitutionists,
who played off their tricks with great adroitness; the Martinists,
who pretended to penetrate into most hidden mysteries of the Divinity; the Mesmerists,
who invited all
Mr. Brothers introduces himself as a prophet, the friend of God, his own
nephew, the chosen Chief of the Jews, and the Sovereign of the Universe. His daily
and nightly apparitions amount to about 600, and in all and in every one of
them, God reveals to him. that within a fixed time,
which is to begin on the 1st of June 1795 and to end in 1798, all Sovereigns
shall be struck down and destroyed forever.
Mr. Brothers, born at
Brothers having heard that a friend of his had his ship
seized in the
Brothers having for some time been confined in Newgate,
complains "that a small penny loaf of bread was allowed him for the whole
day to live upon," and states that therefore God revealed to him that,
since prisoners were so very uncomfortably situated in Newgate,
London must be a Sodom and Babylon, and would be destroyed by fire and
sword."
All the extravagant visions were anterior to the present. Brothers mind being
revolutionary exalted, he found himself, of course, in 1792, at the height of
the French Revolution. For this reason he wrote several letters to the King,
the Queen and Mr. Pitt, with a view of dissuading them from war against
Mr. Brothers enjoys the greatest variety of visions and apparitions. In 1792,
he was transferred, to
At the same time the Empress of Russia would have been assassinated, but for
the Prophet having been allowed by God to acquaint her with it. Her death is
however only delayed; and Mr. Brothers relates all the circumstances under
which it is to happen, which no doubt will afford much pleasure to the Conductor
of one of our Jacobin prints, who lately assured the Public, that the death of
that Princess would be a most fortunate event for humanity.
We forbear to enlarge any further on the visions of the Prophet BROTHERS, and
beg only leave to add, that he is daily visited by ladies and gentlemen, who
want him to have their fortunes told; by indignant French Emigrants, to whom he
professes his protection through his interest with God; and by different
descriptions of people, who delight in hearing, even from the mouth of a
madman, invectives against the present administration.
Note: Solomon Spalding
was married to Matilda Sabin on February 21, 1795, probably in
Vol. I.
A most extraordinary change within two
or three weeks past, has taken place in regard to the religious state of this
village... [
Note: Dale Morgan, who first transcribed the above excerpt, says that the Western
Farmer "Reprints from the Lyons Republican of December 7 an account of
a Revival of Religion at
PLAIN
TRUTH.
No. 1.
Canandaigua, Friday,
March 8, 1822.
Vol. I.
"Let the best
course of life your choice invite,
For custom soon will turn it to delight."
In presenting the first number of PLAIN
TRUTH
to the public, we will remark, that the work is undertaken merely to expose the
many errors now existing in the Christian world which are passed off on the
undiscerning, for "pure and undefiled religion."
No man, conversant with the under handed manaeuvres
used by many of the most zealous professors, can candidly discountenance so
desirable a work. We shall not presume to point out those impositions which are
placed to the credit of the Christian Religion, but our columns shall be ever
open to plain truth, let it hit whom it may. No Christian can deny that
the Gospel of our blessed Saviour, since the Apostolic days, has been clouded by Popish superstition,
even to the present time. In what manner are the clouds to be dispersed, that
we may behold the brightness of the "Son of Righteousness" -- that we
may behold the transcedent purity of the "Gospel
of peace?" --
There is no way to do this but by a public and fair investigation of what is
supposed to be anti-Christian. We are fully aware that we shall be eyed with
suspicion by the craftsmen, but trusting to the purity of our motives,
we shall not be awed into silence by this party or that,
We would, however, particularly caution the public
against the hue and cry too often raised in opposition to similar works.
The practice of hanging a man and then trying him is frequently resorted to, to
prejudice public opinion. Therefore, if those against whom we testify should
brand us with the name of Atheist, Deist, Arian, Socinian,
&c. &c. we believe them not, for we are not the least hampered by
the chains of sectarian bigotry.
Note: The above introductory remarks provides a fair specimen of the
anti-clerical tone of the bi-weekly religious journal, "Plain Truth,"
edited and published by Lyman A. Spalding and Thomas B. Barnum of Canandiagua, Ontario Co., New York. For more comments on
this unusual publication, see the notes accompanying the Feb. 12, 1823 issue of
the Wayne Sentinel.
By D. C. Miller.
A very extraordinary discovery was a
few years since made in
Note 1: The "extraordinary discovery" alluded to above, was not so
much any contemporary uncovering "of the ruins of an extensive city,"
as it was the propitious recovery of Captain Del Rio's 1787 report on the Mayan
ruins located near
Note 2: This same news item appeared in various American newspapers during the
summer of 1822, and was eventually picked up and reprinted by The Times
of
Note 3: While it is unlikely that copies of the 1822 Del Rio publication, with
its fascinating engravings of the Palenque ruins and ancient Mayan
inscriptions, circulated in such out of the way corners of civilization as
Manchester New York and the "Great Bend" region of the Susquehanna
River in Pennsylvania, copies of the widely distributed Philadelphia Saturday
Evening Post no doubt occasionally turned up in such places. During the
last half of the 1820s, probably the only description of the
This article and its engraved table were partly
reprinted in Josiah Priest's 1833-4 book, American
Antiquities, and from there frequently quoted or cited by
Mormon writers as a demonstration that Book of Mormon "characters" matched
the form of native American glyphs.
NEW-YORK
RELIGIOUS CHRONICLE.
Vol. II.
From the
Christian Secretary.
REVIVALS
Extract from a letter from Mr. Israel Douglass, of Leyden,
Lewis county, New-York, to Rev. Asahel Morse,
of Suffield, Conn. containing a short account
of a gracious Work of the Lord in that vicinity.
"In the month of February last [1824]. the Church generally arose, and made public confession of
their stupidity and coldness. From that time an unusual zeal and engagedness was manifest in some of our brethren. Soon
solemnity was depicted on the countenances of some of our youth.
Preachers and brethren began their labours, after the
Apostolick order, from house to house.
On the first of May, the revival was powerful. On the 5th of May, six were
baptized in the likeness of Christ's death. Meetings were frequent. Two or three at the same time in different parts of the town.
Since May commenced, to Sept. 15th, one hundred and thwelve
have been added to this church by baptism, and ten or twelve by letter....
In
this part of the country there is a very genral and
lamentable coldness which prevails, with few exceptions, if we mistake not, in
all our churches. This is a circumstance that cannot
be too deeply regretted; nor can the causes that have led to it, be too
speedily investigated, or the means of its removal be too soon, to earnestly,
or too prayerfully applied.
Note: By consulting various subsequent reports (in the NY Rel. Chrn. of Apr. 9, 1825 and various issues of the 1824-25
Western Recorder) the location of the "
THE
WESTERN NEW-YORK
Baptist Magazine.
Vol. IV.
Morrisville, Madison Co.,
REVIVALS.
... Considerable additions have been made to one of the
Baptist churches in
The town of
In the vicinity of Woodville, N. Y. there has been a
season of grace. -- Since May last, 106 have been baptized in one church, and 11 in
Note: See the Mar. 2, 1825
issue of the
Vol. II No. 23.
Religious.
-- An article in the Religious Advocate gives the pleasing
fact that a revival of religion had taken place in the towns of
More than two hundred souls have become the hopeful subjects of divine grace in
Note 1: This is apparently a further development the 1823-4 religious revival
spoken of by William Smith in his recollections
of 1883. Smith says: "In 1822 and 1823,
the people in our neighborhood were very much stirred up with regard to
religious matters by the preaching of a
Note 2: The revival spoken of in the Feb. 1825 Rochester Religious Advocate
seems have made its greatest gains during the summer and fall of 1824, when the
Baptists and Presbyterians of Palmyra each added nearly 100 new members to
their congregations, while the Methodist gained 200. The Religious Advocate
began publication in
Note 3: Mormon historical writer Willard Bean disagreed with the 1825 date for
the
Note 4: The fact that the Rochester paper published its revival report in 1825,
and not in 1820, is further substantiated by a reprint appearing in the March, 1825
issue of the Providence Hopkinsian Magazine.
For additional confirmation of the Feb. 1825 date on the Rochester Religious
Advocate item, see also the report of
CANANDAIGUA, PUBLISHED BY JAMES D. BEMIS & CO.
No. ? Vol. ?
Wednesday, April 20, 1825.
Whole No. ?
Miscellaneous.
[From the U. States Literary Gazette.]
THE RESTORATION
OF
Mountains of
Your summits crowned with verdure new,
And spread your branches to the sky,
Refulgent with celestial dew,
O'er Jordan's stream of gentle flow;
And Judah's peaceful vallies smile,
And far reflect the lovely glow
Where ocean's waves incessant toil.
See where the scattered tribes return ;
There slavery is burst at length,
And purer flames to Jesus burn,
And Zion girds on her new strength;
New cities bloom along the plain,
New temples to Jehovah rise,
The kindling voice of praise again
Pours its sweet anthems to the skies.
The fruitful fields again are blest,
And yellow harvests smile around:
Sweet scenes of heavenly joy and rest,
Where peace and innocence are found!
The bloody sacrifice no more
Shall smoke upon the alters high, --
But ardent hearts, from hill to shore
Send grateful incense to the sky!
The jubilee of man is near,
Where earth, as heaven, shall own His reign;
He comes, to wipe the mourner's tear,
And cleanse the heart from sin and pain.
Praise him, ye tribes of
The King that ransomed you from wo;
Nations! the hymn of triumph raise,
And bid the song of rapture flow!
Note: This poem typifies the Christian Zionism then current among
many American Evangelicals. See Elias Boudinot's 1815 book The Second
Advent and Ethan Smith's 1823 book View of the
Hebrews. The poem was written after the American Society for Meliorating
the Condition of the Jews failed to establish its intended refuge for
Christianized Jews in western New York in 1823,
but before that society's even more dismal attempts to plant such a colony in
the eastern part of the state, beginning in 1827. See the Dec. 2, 1825 issue of
the
"We Love Him Because He
First Loved Us."
Vol. III.
THE
MONITOR.
The following article we copy from the Religious
Inquirer of the 27th of August last. -- This paper is printed at
PIOUS
FRAUD.
In the early ages of the christian era, many deceptions were practiced on
pagans and christians by preachers of the gospel,
either to convert unbelievers to the right faith, or to silence their
antagonists in any controversy that was agitated. Fictitious miracles were
performed, the testimony of demoniacs produced, and the most artful stratagems
employed to settle disputes concerning the trinity, and to establish the orthodox
faith on a permanent foundation. For it was maintained that a doctrine must be
true, which God and demons had confirmed by visible interposition, and that
those must be heretics, who refused to assent to the combined
attestations of heaven and hell. Artifices of this kind were used on all
pressing occasions for many centuries, and no great accession to the christian cause was made without
prodigies in the air, the earth, or the ocean.
The above article is of little value but the
notes below have important insights
Note 1: The main point of the above communication (the alleged lies of of the Methodist advocate, Mr. Fillmore, to promote his
brand of religion) has been excised from the text, so that the writer's pointed
and occasionally sarcastic remarks on pious frauds might stand alone, as an
example of some people's feelings in western New York during the 1820s. While
numerous towns and rural areas saw revivals in religion and spurts of growth in
the established denominations of Christendom, during the 1820s, non-conformist
and unorthodox observers on the sidelines of the "Second Great
Awakening" viewed the phenomenon with mixed emotions. Quakers, Unitarians,
Universalists and other members of the smaller religious societies tended
towards anti-clerical reaction and suspicion of organized efforts to evangelize
Americans who were not members of the major religious denominations of the day.
While most Protestants were pleased to believe that pious frauds were only the
devious creations of pre-Reformation Catholics and fanatical sects, other
religionists, deists and agnostics professed that even the mainline
denominations were guilty of such patent priestcraft
-- and that the corruption of the Christian Church had progressed to the point
that none of its several denominations might lay claim to any major
participation in the expected millennial rule of Christ -- which many people
anticipated to be close at hand. See the letter of "Philotheos"
(possibly a pen-name of Sidney Rigdon) as reprinted
in the Nov.
15, 1826 issue of the
Note 2: In the case of those believers who contemplated joining the Mormons,
four or five years after the above opinions were published in the Gospel
Advocate, many of them were quick to believe that the priests and ministers
of the established denominations were little more than Satan's minions, in
clerical collars -- ready to lie, cheat and steal, in order to promote the
gain-getting objectives of the "Great and Abominable Church." To
readers holding such opinions, as far back as 1825, the 1829-30 Mormon claims
to a "restored priesthood" of divine light and truth, must have come
as a seeming answer to their heartfelt prayers.
Note 3: The modern student of American religious history can only wonder what a
maverick theologian like the Rev. Sidney Rigdon would
have made of the above remarks, prior to his 1830 conversion to Mormonism.
Certainly he felt that his religious superior during the late 1820s (the Rev.
Alexander Campbell) was less than a fully honest and honorable promoter of
"Christian unity" and of "the restoration of the ancient order
of things." It seems reasonable to suspect, that by 1827, at the
latest, Sidney Rigdon had come to believe that nearly
all promoters of organized religion were swindlers of one sort or
another. Given such an anti-clerical frame of mind, Rigdon's
thoughts may have turned to possible pious frauds of his own making
I firmly disagree. Sidney Rigdon
walked into this with his eyes fully open. No sooner had ne spoke a few words
with the kid then he would have known the kid was an utter fake. Not knowing
God or the Word of God. In full knowledge Rigdon sold
out the Baptist denomination for 30 pieces of silver. He sold out their weaknesses
to Smith, Spaulding, and Cowdery, as Balaam sold out
Or at least they would be no worse than what he
believed other ministers were then doing to gain converts and establish
comfortable situations for themselves. And these pervisions of religion were exactly the sort of charges
leveled at Rigdon himself, during his 1844
trail and excommunication (as conducted by the
And we see here that Rigdon was excommunicated some 14 years later. And so Rigdon ultimately earned nothing.
Extra -
REVIVAL
OF THE JEWISH
GOVERNMENT.
Appointment of a Judge of
It was known at the sale of that
beautiful and valuable tract called Grand Island, a few miles below this port,
in the Niagara River, that it was purchased in part by the friends of Major
Noah, of New-York, avowedly to offer it as an asylum for his brethren of the
Jewish persuasion, who in the other parts of the world are much oppressed; and
it was likewise known that it was intended to erect upon the Island a City
called Ararat. We are gratified to perceive, by the documents in this day's Extra,
that coupled with that colonization is a declaration of
Order of Celebration. -- Music, military, citizens, civil officers, state
officers in uniforms,
Principal Architect Globe ||
with square, level || Globe and plumb,
Bible, square and compass, borne by a
master mason, the Judge of Israel in black, wearing the judicial robes of
crimson silk, trimmed with ermine and a richly embossed golden medal suspended
from the neck; a master mason, royal arch mason, knight templars.
On arriving at the church door, the troops opened to the right and left, and
the procession entered the aisles, the band playing the grand march from Judas
Maccabeus. The full toned organ commenced its swelling notes, performing the
Jubilate. On the communion table lay the Corner Stone,
with the following inscription, in Hebrew.
"Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. -- The Lord is ONE." Ararat, the Hebrew refuge, founded by Mordecai Manuel Noah, in the
month of Tisri. 5585,
corresponding with September, 1825 and in the 50th year of American
Independence.
On the stone lay the silver cups with wine, corn and oil.
The ceremonies commenced by the morning service, read emphatically by the Rev.
Mr. Searl of the Episcopal Church. "Before
Jehovah's awful Throne," was sung by the choir to the tune of Old hundred.
Morning prayer. -- First lesson from Jeremiah, 31st. --
Second lesson, Zeph. iii, 3th verse, Psalms for the
occasion, 97, 98, 99, 100, 127th psalm in verse. Ante Communion Service --
Psalm in Hebrew -- Benediction.
Mr. Noah then rose and pronounced a discourse or rather delivered a speech,
announcing the reorganization of the Jewish government, and going through a
detail of many points of intense interest, to which a crowded auditory listened
with profound attention. On the conclusion of the ceremonies, the procession
returned to the Lodge, and the masonic brethren and
the military repaired to the Eagle Tavern and partook of refreshments. The
church was filled with ladies, and the whole ceremony was impressive and
unique. A grand salute of 24 guns was fired by the artillery, and the band
played a number of patriotic airs.
We learn that a vast concourse assembled at Tunawanda,
expecting the ceremonies would be at Grand Isle. Many of them came up in
carriages to hear the speech. The following is the proclamation.
PROCLAMATION
TO THE JEWS.
WHEREAS it has pleased Almighty God, to
manifest to his chosen people, the approach of that period, when in the
fulfillment of the promises made to the race of Jacob, and as a reward for
their pious constancy and triumphant fidelity, they are to be gathered from the
four corners of the Globe, and to resume their rank and character among the
governments of the Earth. And whereas, the peace which now prevails among
civilized nations; -- the progress of learning throughout the world, and the
general spirit of liberality and toleration which exists, together with other
changes, favourable to light and to liberty, mark in
an especial manner, the approach of that time, when "peace on earth and
good will to man," are to prevail with a benign and extended influence,
and the ancient people of God, the first to proclaim his unity and omnipotence,
are to be restored to their inheritance and enjoy the rights of a sovereign
independent people. Therefore I, Mordecai Manuel Noah, Citizen of the United
States of America, late Consul of said States for the city and kingdom of
Tunis, High Sheriff of New-York, Counsellor at Law,
and by the grace of God, Governor and Judge of Israel, have issued this my
proclamation, announcing to the Jews throughout the world that an asylum is
prepared and hereby offered to them, where they can enjoy that peace, comfort
and happiness, which have been denied them, through the intolerance and
misgovernment of former ages. An asylum in a free and powerful country, where
ample protection is secured to their persons, their property and religious
rights; an asylum in a country, remarkable fir its vast resources, the richness
of its soil, and the salubrity of its climate; where
industry is encouraged, education promoted, and good faith rewarded. "A
land of milk and honey," where Israel may repose in peace under his
"vine and fig tree," and where our people may so familiarize
themselves, with the science of government, and the lights of learning and
civilization, as may qualify them for that great and final restoration to their
ancient heritage, which the times so powerfully indicate.
The asylum referred to, is in the state of
The desired spot in the state of
Thus fortified to the right and left by the extensive commercial resources of
the Great Lakes, and their tributary streams -- within four miles of the
sublime Falls of Niagara, affording the greatest water power in the world for
manufacturing purposes, -- directly opposite the mouth of the Grand Canal of
Three Hundred and sixty miles inland navigation, to the Hudson River, and City
of New York, having the fur trade of Upper Canada to the west, and also of the
great territories towards the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean; likewise
the trade of the western states of America; Grand Island may be considered as
surrounded by every commercial, manufacturing and agricultural advantage, and
from its location is pre-eminently calculated to become in time the greatest
trading and commercial depot in the new and better world. To men of worth and
industry it has every substantial attraction, the capitalist will be enabled to
employ his resources with undoubted profit, and the merchant cannot fail to
reap the reward of enterprise in a great and growing republic, but to the
industrious mechanic, manufacturer and agriculturist, it holds forth great and
improving advantages.
Deprived as our people have been for centuries of a right in the soil, they
will learn with peculiar satisfaction, that here they can till the land, reap
the harvest, and raise the flocks which are unquestionable their own; and in
the full and unmolested enjoyment of their religious rights, and of every civil
immunity, together with peace and plenty, they can lift up their voice in
gratitude to Him who sustained our fathers in the wilderness and brought us in
triumph out of the land of Egypt; who assigned to us the safe keeping of his
oracles, who proclaimed us his people, and who has ever walked before us like a
"cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night."
In his name do I revive, renew and re-establish the Government of the Jewish
Nation, under the auspices and protection of the constitution and laws of the
United States of America, confirming and perpetuating all our rights and
privileges, our name, our rank, and our power among the nations of the earth as
they existed and were recognized under the government of the JUDGES, -- And I
hereby enjoin it upon all our pious and venerable Rabbis, our Presidents and
Elders of Synagogues, Chiefs of Colleges, and Brethren in authority throughout
the world to circulate and make known this my proclamation, and give it full
publicity, credence, and effect.
It is my will that a census of the Jews throughout the world be taken, and
returns of persons, together with their age and occupation, be registered in
the archives of the Synagogues where they are accustomed to worship,
designating such in particular, who have been and are distinguished in the
useful arts, in science, or in knowledge.
Those of our people who from age, local attachment, or from any other cause
prefer remaining in the several parts of the world which they now respectfully
inhabit, and who are treated with a liberality by the public authorities, are
permitted to do so, and are specially recommended to be faithful to the
governments which protect them. It is however expected, that they will aid and
encourage the emigration of the young and enterprising, and endeavor to send to
this country such, who will add to our national strength and character, by
their industry, honor and patriotism.
Those Jews who are in the military employment of the different sovereigns of
Europe are enjoined to keep in their ranks until further orders, and conduct
themselves with bravery and fidelity.
I command that a strict neutrality, be observed in the pending wars between the
Greeks and the Turks, enjoined by considerations of safety towards a numerous
population of Jews now under the oppressive dominion of the Ottoman Porte.
The annual gifts which for many centuries have been afforded to our pious
brethren in our Holy City of Jerusalem, to which may God speedily restore us,
are to continue with unabated liberality; our seminaries of learning and
institutions of charity in every part of the world, are to be increased, in
order that wisdom and virtue, may permanently prevail among the chosen people.
I abolish forever Polygamy among the Jews, which without religious warrant
still exists in Asia and
Prayers shall forever be said in the Hebrew Language, but it is recommended
that occasional discourses on the principles of the Jewish faith, and the
doctrines of morality generally, be delivered in the language of the country,
together with such reforms which without departing from the ancient faith, may
add greater solemnity to our worship.
The Caraite and Samaritan Jews, together with the
black Jews of India and Africa, and likewise those of Cochrin
China, and the sect on the coast of Malabar, are entitled to an equality of
rights and religious privileges, as are all who may partake of the great
covenant, and obey and respect the Mosaical Laws.
The Indians of the American continent in their admitted Asiatic origin, in
their worship of one God, in their dialect and language, in their sacrifices,
marriages, divorces, burials, fastings,
purifications, punishments, cities of refuge, division of tribes, in their High
Priests, and in their wars and in their victories, being
in all probability the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, which were
carried captive by the King of Assyria, measures will be adopted to make them
sensible of their origin, to cultivate their minds, soften their condition and
finally re-unite them with their brethren the chosen people.
A capitation tax of three shekels in silver per annum, or one Spanish dollar,
is hereby levied upon each Jew throughout the world, to be collected by the Treasurers
of the different congregations, for the purpose of defraying the various
expenses or re-organizing the government, of aiding emigrants in the purchase
of agricultural implements, providing for their immediate wants, and comforts,
and assisting their families in making their first settlements, together with
such free-will offerings as may be generously made in the furtherance of the laudaible objects connected with the restoration of the
people, and the glory of the Jewish nation. A Judge of
I do hereby name as Commissioners the most learned and pious Abraham de Cologna, Knight of the Iron Cross of Lombardy, Grand Rabbi
of the Jews, and President of the Consistory at Paris, and likewise the Grand
Rabbi Andrade of Bordeaux, and also our learned and estimable Grand Rabbis of
the German and Portugal Jews, in London, Rabbis Herschell,
and Mendola, together with the Honorable Aaron Nunez Cardoza, of Gibraltar, Abraham Busnac,
of Leghorn, Benjamin Bradis, of Bordeaux, Dr. E. Gans, and Professor Zunts, of
Berlin, and Dr. Leo Woolf of Hamburgh, to aid and
assist in carrying into effect the provisions of this my proclamation, with
powers to appoint the necessary agents in the several parts of the world and to
establish emigration societies in order that the Jews may be concentrated and
capacitated to act as a distinct body, having at the head of each Kingdom or
Republic such presiding officers as I shall upon their recommendation appoint.
Instructions to these commissioners shall be forthwith transmitted. And a more
enlarged and general view of plan, motives and objects
will be detailed in the address to the nation. The Consistory at
I do appoint Roshodes Adar, Feb. 7, 1826, to be
observed with suitable demonstrations, as a day of Thanksgiving to the Lord God
of Israel, for the manifold blessings and signed protection which he has
deigned to extend to his people, and in order that on that great occasion our
prayers may be offered for the continuance of his divine mercy, and the fulfilment of all the promises and pledges made to the race
of Jacob.
I recommend peace and union among us, charity and good will to all, toleration
and liberality to our brethren of every religious denomination, enjoined by the
mild and just precepts of our holy religion. Honor and good
faith in the fulfilment of all our contracts,
together with temperance, economy and industry in our habits.
I humbly intreat to be remembered in your prayers,
and lastly and most earnestly, I do enjoin you to "Keep the charge of the
Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes and his commandments
and his judgments and his testimonies as it is written in the Law of Moses,
that thou mayest prosper in all thou doest, and
whithersoever thou turnest thyself."
Given at
By the Judge,
A. B. Siexas, Sec'y
Pro Tem.
S
P E E C H.
Brothers, Countrymen and Friends,
Having
made known by proclamation the re-establishment of the Hebrew government,
having laid the foundation of a city of refuge, an asylum for the oppressed in
this free and happy republic, I avail myself of that portion of my beloved
brethren here assembled, together with this concourse of my fellow citizens, to
unfold the principles, explain the views, and detail the objects contemplated
in the great work of regeneration and independence to which it has pleased the
Almighty to direct my attention. Truth and justice demand that I should
candidly state the motives which have induced me to aim at higher objects than
mere colonization. The world has a right to know what inducements have led to
this declaration of
Two thousand years have nearly elapsed since the dissolution of the Jewish
government, and no period has presented itself more auspiciously than the
present for its reorganization. Peace exists among civilized powers, the march
of learning and science has been rapid and successful, and mankind are at this
day better qualified to estimate the blessings of toleration and liberal views,
and better disposed and capacitated to encourage and enforce them, than at any
former time. Religion generally, though divided and sub-divided into various
sects, assumes a milder aspect, and feelings of universal love and charity have
superceded the darkness and bigotry of former ages. The nations of the old and
new world including the children of
The Jews have been destined by
Looking forward to a period of regeneration and to the fulfillment of the
prophecies, the Jews have preserved within themselves the elements of
government in having carefully preserved the oracles of God assigned to their
safe keeping, and the time has arrived when their rights as a nation can be
recognized, when, in the enjoyment of independence, the lights of learning and
civilization, and the obligation of industry and mortality, they can cultivate
a friendly and affectionate understanding with the whole family of mankind and
have no longer enemies on earth.
In calling the Jews together under the American Constitution and laws, and
governed by our happy and salutary institutions, it is proper for me to state
that this asylum is temporary and provisionary. The Jews never should and never
will relinquish the just hope of regaining possession of their ancient
heritage, and events in the neighborhood of
The Greeks are almost independent of the Ottoman Porte. The Turkish sceptre becomes weaker daily.
Called together to the Holy Land by the slow but unerring finger of
Conforming therefore to the constitution and Laws of the
In selecting from the primitive, the judicial, the
regal and sacerdotal governments a form best adapted to the times, and also to
the condition of the Jewish people, I have deemed it expedient to re-organize
the nation under the direction of the judges.
The authority of the Judges extended to all religious, military and civil
concerns -- they were absolute and independent like the Kings of
It is difficult at this period to decide with certainty on the manner and forms
adopted in choosing the Judges of Israel. Most of the distinguished men who had
filled that station were "raised up" by divine influence. Their skill in war, and wisdom in peace, their valour
and experience, their capacity to govern, and incidental and necessary
qualifications calculated to excite public confidence, were passports to
office.
Dispersed as the nation now is, and no possibility of concentrating
the general voice, there can be no just power to grant -- no right to withold -- the office must be assumed by divine
permission, and the power exercised by general consent and approbation. He who
assumes this power, who takes the lead in the great work of regeneration and
judges righteously, will always be sustained by public opinion. By this test I
wish to be judged.
Born in a free country, and educated with liberal principles, familiar with all
the duties of government, having enjoyed the confidence of my fellow-citizens
in various public trusts -- ardently attached to the principles of our holy
faith, and having devoted years of labor and study to ameliorate the condition
of the Jews, with an unsullied conscience and a firm reliance on Almighty God,
I offer myself as an humble instrument of his divine will and solicit the
confidence and protection of our beloved brethren throughout the world. If
there be any person possessing greater facilities and a more ardent zeal in
attempting to restore the Jews to their rights as a sovereign and independent
people, to such will I cheerfully surrender the trust.
I cannot be insensible to the many difficulties which may present themselves in
the successful progress of the great work of regeneration. The attempt may be
pronounced visionary and impracticable -- the reluctance of some to countenance
the effort -- the timidity of others, and the apprehensions of all may be
arrayed against an enterprize extraordinary and
interesting, but always feasible. -- I indulge in no chimerical views, I know
this country, its soil, climate and resources, and confidently embark in the
undertaking. Firm of purpose, when the object is public good, I allow no
difficulties to check my progress. Urged to its consideration by strong and
irresistible impulse, the project has always presented itself to me in the most
cheering light, in the most alluring colors; and if the attempt shall result in
ameliorating the condition of the Jews, and shall create a generous and liberal
feeling towards them and open to them the avenues of science, learning, fame,
honor and happiness, who shall say that I have failed? I ask the trial -- and
will abide the result.
The Hebrew nation, with its sublime Theocracy, its moral
laws, its warlike character and powerful government, originated in a family of
shepherds. From an ancestry not more illustrious, arose the heroes and
sages of
The time has emphatically arrived to do something calculated to benefit our own
condition, and excite the admiration of the world, and we must commence the
work in a country free from ignoble prejudices and legal disqualifications -- a
country, in which liberty can be ensured to the Jews without the loss of one
drop of blood.
The present condition of our people throughout the world is not without
interest and instruction. The rightful possessors of
From countries yet uncivilized, we turn to those, which still
withholding the rights of man from the descendants of the Patriarchs, are
nevertheless more mild and tolerant in their measures, more liberal and
generous to an afflicted people.
The settlement of the Jews in
The miseries inflicted upon our nation in
During the French Revolution the Jews claimed from the constituent Assembly,
the rights of citizens; many enlightened statesmen espoused their cause, and
the decree of 1790 gave them a legal existence. Among the philanthropists of
the age who raised his voice successfully in their behalf, was my venerable and
pious friends, the Bishop Gregoire, to whom the Jews
owe an incalculable debt of gratitude. The civil revolution in the condition of
our brethren in France, gave rise to the moral one, which resulted from the
proceedings of the Sanhedrin, convened at Paris, by the decree of 1806, and
which presented to the world a galaxy of talent and learning which would do
honor to any age or country. The Jews in
The history of our people in
The Jews first appeared in
After the expulsion of the Jews from
The revolutions in that country commencing in the eleventh century, eventuated
unfortunately for the Jews, and the war declared by Ferdinand against the
Saracens, was the commencement of their troubles and calamities. -- During the
eleventh and twelfth centuries many learned Rabbis appeared,
which did honor to the age and country. They were not only deeply versed in cabalistical, allegorical and mystical interpretations of
the laws, but distinguished mathematicians, astronomers, masters of the dead
and living languages, and natural philosophers. In
The Jews have resided in Rome since they were brought captive to that Capital,
by Titus Vespasianous, yet, while subjected to the
persecution of the Christian monarchs throughout Europe, it is pleasing to
recollect and grateful to acknowledge the kindness and protection afforded them
by several of the Roman Pontiffs, particularly Gregory the Great, Alexander 2d,
Gregory the 9th, Clement the 5th, Clement 6th, Boniface 9th, Nicholas 2d. Alexander 6th, Paul 3d, &c. Men who practiced the precepts
which they preached. In modern times the Jews have been tranquil
residents of that ancient City, yet at this day they are compelled to wear a
distinctive badge, to reside in a separate part of the town, and at periods to
attend mass under a certain penalty. In most of the cities in
Many of the emigrants from
Notwithstanding these prohibitory decrees and unfortunate internal divisions
existing among the nation,
In the Austrian and Russian dominions, in
It will thus be perceived that with all the toleration of the times, with all
the favorable condition of the Jews, they suffer much, and are deprived of many
valuable rights.
Our religion imbraces all that is pure and upright, and all that is just and generous. In temperance,
in industry, in patience and in all the duties of husband, father, friend and
citizen, the Jews may claim an equal rank with those of any other religious
denomination. If there are some who occasionally wander from the paths of
rectitude, let it be remembered that they are men, and subject to human
frailties. If in the narrow and crooked channels of traffic, in which
persecution has driven some of them, they have at times disregarded the high
injunctions of purity and good faith, let us call to mind that their virtues
have never been accredited, while their faults have been magnified. Shut out
from more noble pursuits, they have been left without that incentive to good
actions, that encouragement to upright conduct, that reward of merit which has
been afforded to others.
Why should Christians persecute Jews? Sprung from a common stock, and connected
by human ties which should be binding; if those ties are empty and evanescent,
where is the warrant for this intolerance? not in the
religion which they profess; that teaches mildness, charity and good will to
all. I judge religion from its effects, and when I look round and see the
seminaries of learning and institutions of charity; when I see temperance
united to industry; virtue and wisdom, benevolence and good faith, existing
among Christians; if this be the result of their religion, God forbid that it
should be destroyed. Let it flourish, I will sustain that faith in its purity;
but let us be equally charitable to all. The Jews and Christians are only known
by their hostility towards each other. This hostility neither religion
recognizes. We should no more censure the Christians at this day for the
cruelties practiced towards the Jews in the early ages, than the Jews should
now be made answerable for the facious policy of our
ancestors 500 years ago. Times have undergone an important change; we all begin
to feel that we are formed of the same materials, subject to the same
frailties, destined to the same death, and hoping for the same immortality.
Here, then, in this free and happy country, distinctions in religion, are
unknown; here we enjoy liberty without licentiousness, and land without
oppression.
Among the many advantages which an asylum in this country promises, the
pursuits of agriculture are the most prominent, and of all pursuits the most
noble.
The Jews were an agricultural people before they were a nation, the fruitful vallies of Canaan, the plains of
The state of New-York is far advanced in improvements of every kind. There are
upwards of six millions of acres of cultivated land, producing grain in
abundance, and every variety of fruit, and rich grazing meadows. A farm of one
hundred acres well cultivated, will, with industry, afford an ample livelihood
and corresponding happiness to a family, I again repeat, agriculture is the
natural and noble pursuit of man. Between the handles of the plough, in felling
the oak of the forest, in the harvest and in the season of fruits, the farmer
is still the same free and happy citizen, and has all the resources of life
within himself. His cattle are raised in his pastures,
his grain produce him bread, his sheep afford him wood, his trees sugar, his
fields flax, he is his own brewer and distiller, his forest affords him fuel,
he has all the comforts and frequently luxuries which wealth can give. He sees
the sun rise in glory and set in majesty. He who wishes to be truly religious
and surrounded with admonitions of piety, should be an agriculturalist. To the
man of capitol, the advantages held forth in this state, are numerous and
acknowledged. To the land proprietor there is plenty and happiness; to the
merchant and trader the most profitable facilities, and unceasing encouragement
as the manufacturer and mechanic.
The laws and customs in
The rising importance and value of our manufactories,
should attract the attention of Jewish capitalists. The Congress of the
The organization of a system of Finance for the promotion of emigration,
affording aid to settlers, erecting and supporting institutions of charity,
establishing seminaries of learning, and for all the purposes of an efficient
and economical government, is not without some difficulty. Our means are ample,
but they are defused, spread over the globe, and not readily concentrated.
A suitable person will be appointed to direct the finance department, and
likewise such other officers as are usually named in all well organized
governments. The Jewish capital throughout the world,
may be estimated at a vast amount. Since the termination of the wars on the
Continent, a great portion of the capital has returned to the coffers of its
proprietors. A few millions of dollars judiciously invested and thrown into the
western district of this state, would realize a reasonable profit, and be of
immense benefit to this thriving and populous section of our country.
During the European wars, many Jews joined the different armies, and I learn
have distinguished themselves in sundry campaigns; several have been honored
with important commissions, and given proof of valor and fidelity. Such, who
prefer a military life, and who at the present period have arms in their hands,
may continue in their ranks; their arms must never be turned against the
country they serve; but we have lost our ancient military character, and the
discipline, courage and constancy, of those who have in modern times seen
service, may be necessary to constitute the materials from which future armies may
be organized.
Wars are necessary in defense of national rights, when unjustly assailed. So
God has thought, and fought with us. So man now thinks. We may not have again
such generals as Joshua, David and Maccabees; but in
blending our people with the great American family, I wish to see them able and
willing to sustain its honor with their lives and fortunes. Time which matures
and brings forth many surprising events, may give to us a territory beyond the
lakes, great in extent and resources; we may occupy a position of importance on
the Pacific, and wherever providence may lead the nations, I wish to have its
rights manifestly sustained.
I have enjoined a strict neutrality between the Greeks
and Ottoman Porte. While it would afford me great happiness to aid any
oppressed nation in a contest for liberty, we must not jeopardize the safety of
millions living under the Mussulman Government, and
who would be instantly sacrificed by their relentless rulers, upon the least succour being afforded to the revolutionists. While
prudence, and a due regard to the safety of innocent people enjoin us not to
mingle in this contest, it is due to the cause of freedom, not to throw
obstacles in the way of its advancement.
The discovery of the lost tribes of
Those who are most conversant with the public and private economy of the
Indians, are strongly of opinion that they are the lineal descendants of the
Israelites, and my own researches go far to confirm me in the same belief.
The Indians worship one Supreme Being as the fountain of life, and the author
of all creation. -- Like the Israelites of old, they are divided into tribes
having their Chief, and distinctive Symbol to each. Some of their tribes it is
said are named after the Cherubinical figures that
were carried on the four principal standards of
If the tribes could be brought together, could be made sensible of their
origin, could be civilized, and restored to their long lost brethren, what joy
to our people, what glory to our God; how certain our dispersion, how miraculous
our preservation, how providential our deliverance.
It shall be my duty to pursue the subject by every means in my power.
I recommend the establishment of emigration societies throughout all Europe, in
order that proper aid may be afforded to those who are disposed to visit this
country, and also to ascertain the character and occupation of each emigrant,
and supplying them with passports and information. Passage in all cases should
be taken for New-York. It should be distinctly understood by emigrants of
limited means, that it will be necessary to have at least, sufficient to
support their families for six months, as in that time they may be enabled to
realize the fruits of enterprize and industry, and a
sufficient sum may at that period be paid into the general Coffers, to aid them
in their purchase of land. No mistaken impression should exist, that the Jews
must not labor in the country; we are all compelled to work. but
with the same portion of industry exercised in other parts of the world, we
realize a greater portion of happiness, tranquillity,
and personal rights. We shall not be prepared to receive emigrants on
Our law prohibited the Kings of Israel from "multiplying to themselves
silver and gold." This prohibition was intended to preserve the people
from ruinous and oppressive taxation, and therefore limited the Sovereign to
the moderate exigencies of his Court: but it appears from our prophet Samuel,
and indeed from the ancient laws of
Taxes should be equalized and always levied in correspondence with the wants of
the nation. In organizing the Jewish Government, the poorest should be enabled
to participate in the great and glorious act; and with this view I have imposed
a capitation tax of three Shekels of silver, which is equal to one Spanish
dollar, to be paid annually, a sum within the means of the poorest, and if paid
and collected will be amply sufficient to defray the expenses of the government
in its incipient organization. This small tax, however, does not prevent free
will offerings in our Synagogues, which the liberal and wealthy may make in the
furtherance of the great objects in view.
It is very desirable that education should be more generally diffused among the
Jews, it is the staff of their existence -- the star
of their future happiness. -- There is no part of our religion which should be
altered, nothing should be taken from the law, for if the power of innovation
existed, there would be no end to the pruning knife.
Our religious demands from us many temporal sacrifices, which should be
cheerfully yielded, as a slight acknowledgment for the protecting favors of the
Almighty.
Although no law permits polygamy among the Jews, there is no religious statute
which prohibits it, and from this omission, an indulgence is claimed in the
eastern countries incompatible with morality. Having personally witnessed the
observance of this custom among the Jews in
I have made it imperative on parties contracting matrimony, to read, write and
comprehend the language of the country, which they respectively inhabit. Early
marriages among our people are enjoined by the strongest principles of
religion, and many of those important alliances are formed even in infancy, and
before the responsibility of the obligations can be duly estimated. It is thus,
that ignorance may become hereditary, and a just policy calls for the adoption
of measures, which may secure to children at least that portion of intelligence
and education, which the times demand, and a future generation will by such
means be progressively improved and enlightened.
There are many subjects of great interest, which I reserve for future
communications.
Thus commences auspiciously, I hope, the attempt to revive the Government of
the oldest of nations, and lead them, if not to the promised, still to the
happy land.
The effort may be successful, but otherwise never can be injurious. It directs
public attention to the claims of an oppressed people -- it will admonish
Sovereigns to be just and generous to them -- it may produce a better state of toleration
and religious feelings -- it may place our people in the road to honor and fame
-- it opens to them the avenues of industry and competence, in short it makes
men and citizens of them, gives them a name, a rank, an interest and a voice
among the nations of the earth -- thus, in fact, fulfilling the promises made
to the descendants of the Patriarchs -- that the Lord God, may say to an
admiring and astonished world, "Behold my people Israel -- here is the
nation, that I have sworn to protect -- I was their Shepherd -- their Sun --
their Shade -- their Light and their right hand. In the days of prosperity,
they forgot me not, and in the hour of tribulation I have not forgotten
them." "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."
To Him who shelters and protects the whole family of mankind, the great
omnipotent God, do I commit the destinies of
Note 1: Major Mordecai M. Noah's Sept. 15, 1825 "Proclamation to the
Jews" was first published that same day as an "Extra" of the
Note 2: It is significant that Noah begins his proclamation with this remark:
"the approach of that period, when in the fulfillment of the promises made
to the race of Jacob... they are to be gathered from the four corners of the
Globe." His announcement was made at the very time that the American
Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews was initiating its efforts to
establish a colony in
Vol. III No. 1.
REVIVAL
OF THE JEWISH
GOVERNMENT.
(We gather from the
same
text as in Sep. 15, 1825
Buffalo Patriot.
(==> We
shall endeavor to lay before our readers next week, Mr. Noah's Speech, which
occupies nearly neven columns in small type in the
Notes: (forthcoming)
CANANDAIGUA, PUBLISHED BY BEMIS, MORSE
& WARD.
No. 26 Vol. XXIII.
Wed., September 28, 1825.
Whole No. 1170.
(From the
Buffalo Patriot, Extra, Sept. 15, 1825.)
Revival of Jewish
Government -- appointment of a Judge of
same
text as in Sep. 15, 1825
Buffalo Patriot.
Notes: (forthcoming)
Vol. XVII.
From the
REVIVAL OF
THE JEWISH GOVERNMENT.
same text as in Sep. 15, 1825 Buffalo
Patriot.
Notes: (forthcoming)
CANANDAIGUA, PUBLISHED BY BEMIS, MORSE
& WARD.
No. 29 Vol. XXIII.
Wednesday, October 19, 1825.
Whole No. 1173.
Extract of a letter
from a correspondent of the New-York Spectator, dated "
After
visiting the Falls, I made an excursion to the head of lake Ontario, passing
Burlington Heights, and proceeded to York, via Dundas,
Nelson, St. Anns, Trafalgar and Etaboco.
The capital of the
Note: According to newspaper editors James St. James and Orsamus
Turner, 1824-25 was approximately the time period during which the
"journeyman printer," Oliver Cowdery,
worked as a "pedestrian peddler," carrying various printed materials
into Ontario, Canada and adjacent regions. At the time the Book of Mormon was
being printed, according to David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page made a special trip to York (Later
Toronto) for the purpose of raising money for the book's publication. Cowdery may have been selected for this lengthy hike
because he was familiar with the roads and inexpensive accommodations between
western
Vol. III No. 35.]
__________________________________
printed
and published every Friday
AT PALMYRA, WAYNE CO., N. Y. BY
TUCKER & GILBERT.
__________________________________
From the Western Balance.
WONDERFUL INFATUATION.
Modern Pilgrims.
-- In the Summer of 1818, a company
of people, calling themselves Pilgrims, appeared descending the
Their leader, a Canadian, by the name of Bullard, (called also by his
followers, the Prophet Elijah,) was of a diminutive stature, with a club foot.
Before he began his mission, he had a severe spell of sickness, when he fasted
40 days, (as he said, and his disciples believed;) after which he recovered
very suddenly, by the special interposition of the Divine Spirit, and being
filled with enthusiasm, he declared that he was commanded to plant the church
of the Redeemer in the wilderness, and among the heathen. -- From these
notions, thus imbibed, and which he instilled into his followers, they believed
themselves capable of fasting 40 days; accordingly when they committed themselves
to the current, the Prophet enjoined a 40 days' fast. The people becoming sick
and in great distress from hunger, this severe commander found it necessary to
remit, in some degree, the rigor of his injunction, and he permitted the taking
of flour broth through a quill, because he received his food in this way after
his long sickness and fast, when he could not open his jaws; and which had the
vivifying effect taken by him for supernatural power or inspiration. But as the
gruel allowed was very meagre, being simply flour and
cold water, debility, misery, and death attended the experiment. Yet with faith
and hope they persisted.
In this wretched situation, they arrived at Pilgrim's island; which derives its
name from this fact; at which place they were fallen in with by a barge
belonging to Nashville, whose crew, detesting the conduct of the prophet and
his seconds, who watched and governed the timorous multitude, gave two or three
of the leaders a sound drubbing with the pliant cotton wood switch.
They next landed at the Little Prairie. The prophet's staff, which by the
direction of its fall had hitherto pointed out the way, now stood still; and he
declared that here he was commanded to settle and build a church; but Mr.
Walker, who owned the soil, and resided in this solitary spot, forbid the
undertaking. This was accounted persecution -- yet they continued seven days,
during which, several died, among whom were children, which were placed on the
beach by their parents, at the command of Elijah, when, exposed to the
scorching sun, they wallowed holes in the sand while they struggled away the
agonies of death. While here laboring under sickness and persecution, it seems
they began to suspect that they were forsaken by the divine spirit, and that no
more miracles could be wrought for them. Hence they commenced the cry of
"Oh, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!" when, by assisting each
other, the vociferating cry was not intermitted for three days and nights.
They stopped further down at a desert place, when six or eight more died, whose
bones still lie on the shore uncovered; and all who remained, when they arrived
at Helana, were objects of terror and compassion. The
hospitable inhabitants furnished them a plentiful supply of milk and more
nourishing gruel, for taking which every one was provided with a piece of reed
cane.
Their boat next struck upon a sand-bar near the mouth of the
From the time the party entered the
This fete of folly and delusion, is perhaps worthy of notice, as furnishing a
striking instance of the blindness of credulity -- the wilderness of
fanaticism, and the miserable propensity of the mind, to believe itself
possessed of powers which do not belong to humanity.
Note 1: The above article must have originally appeared in the Western
Balance (of
Note 2: For contemporary accounts about Isaac Bullard's "Pilgrims,"
see the Salem Register of Sept. 15, 1817,
the
This is a second article about the pilgrims though it
predates the first – it has important information and comments about the
relation of this Cult with the Cult of Joseph Smith, Solomon Spaulding and
Oliver Cowdery . And demonstrates here Means Motive and
Vol. I.
For the
Saturday Evening Post.
_________
THE PILGRIMS.
In 1817, a group of singular people,
called Pilgrims, passed through
The following extract of a letter written by a friend at Waynesville, dated 3d
mo. 9, 1818, furnishes some interesting particulars, concerning these curious
mortals.
"A
company of strange people called Pilgrims, came into
Waynesville [
A gentleman who saw the Pilgrims at
This system of religion, as far as we are acquainetd
with it, exhibits various traits of singularity, and yet perhaps not more than
might be found in some other eccentricities of the human mind on the same
subject. He dates his revelation, like some other founders of religious sects,
to a spell of bodily indisposition. And how often do we see that fevers and
other disorders produce a partial delirium in the mind, and it appears probable
that from such a disorganization, may arise many strange ideas, which being
mixed and blended by a considerable share of rational understanding yet
remaining, result in practices different from those of mankind in general.
These people, like Nebuchadnezzar's image are partly sound and partly broken --
where the former quality seems to have the preponderance, it exhibits many
excellent and incontestible truths, how liable are
weak minds to be dazzled with these, and instead of making a discrimination
between the truth at one time and error at another, the whole is swallowed
without hestitation. Hence it is, that every system
of religion, however strange, has its followers, and when we consider that many
strange doctrines and tenets, are the result of minds that are partially
deranged, and of ignorance in those who become converts to such doctrines and
tenets, we think ourselves justified in extending over them the mantle of
charity, so long as they behave with civility and do not encroach upon the
harmony pf civil society and the good of the commonwealth. LUCAS.
Note 1: See the New Jerusalem Repository of Oct., 1817 for an
earlier telling of a part of the above story.
Note 2: By October 5, 1822, the Rev. Sidney Rigdon
was well ensconced in the First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, as its new pastor
-- a position he moved from
Note 3: It was obviously not by sheer accident, that two or more of Bullard's
Pilgrim bands met at Lebanon, Warren Co.,
This is the connection with Joseph Smith – these are the people he was acquainted with and these followers scattered all over the countryside were his ready made audience – but what happened after that was something that he never would have dreamed – that Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians came to his movement by the droves
Note 3: The story of Bullard and his followers' 1817 stop-over at
Note 4: In a
1997 article entitled "Joseph Smith's Testimony: The First Vision and
Book of Mormon Evidence," Mark Stepherson has
this to say about the cult and its possible influence on early Mormonism:
"Isaac Bullard was noticed and had the public mind excited against him. He
wore nothing but a bearskin girdle and a beard. He
gathered his "pilgrims" into a community near the Smith's old home in
These are some notes after an article about
captain Morgan’s abduction
we see here that Oliver Cowdery was
Morgan’s scribe for a novel
In 1881 William
Bryant, a former neighbor of Oliver Cowdery, told two
high-ranking RLDS officials that Cowdery had once
served as William Morgan's scribe -- or, that Cowdery
had at least "helped to write Morgan's book."
Note 2: Support for Mr. Bryant's vague assertion -- that Cowdery
worked with Morgan -- is to be had only in a few insubstantial bits and pieces
of evidence. Oliver Cowdery's brother Warren had
lived near Batavia
during the early 1820s and Oliver himself may have frequented the Le
Roy-Batavia area, c.1825-26. Lucinda Morgan (Captain Morgan’s wife) later
became one of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s secret concubines
or "spiritual wives" and her second husband, George W. Harris, seems
to have personally known Oliver Cowdery (who was a
visitor in Mr. and Mrs. Harris' house at
Harris was the high level
Mormon official who shepherded Cowdery's Oct. 1848
application for re-admission to the
CHRISTIAN
ADVOCATE AND JOURNAL.
Vol. II.
N. Y. C., September 14, 1827.
No. 2.
AUXILIARY
TRACT SOCIETIES.
A society auxiliary to the Tract
Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church has recently been organized in
Kirtland, Geauga co.,
Note: Soon after this, Kirtland merchants Gilbert and Whitney left the
Methodists to join the local Baptists -- who were, of course, Alexander
Campbell's "reformed Baptists." Gilbert and Whitney's new pastor (and
prominent promoter of the 1827 "revival") was none other than the
Rev. Sidney Rigdon. Such religious revivals were a
frequent occurance in those days, and especially so
among the displaced Yankees living in western