JOSEPH SMITH — BOOK OF MORMON. 135 



ment, (which is a theocracy,) and in the nature especially of their 

 domestic relations. 



With regard to the first of these, it is not my design to give 

 more than a brief outline, referring the theological student to a 

 treatise on this subject, about, as I understand, to be published by 

 Lieutenant Gunnison, who was attached to the party, and who has 

 paid especial attention to this subject. 



The claim of the Mormons is, that they constitute the only true 

 church now upon the earth, that all other denominations of Chris- 

 tians, so called, are out of the true path to heaven, which can only be 

 attained through the administration of the ordinances of their 

 church, by the " Melchisedec priesthood." This, they assert, was re- 

 moved from the earth some eighteen hundred years ago, since which 

 period, as they insist, no true church has existed, until, in 1826, their 

 founder, Joseph Smith, was visited by an angel from heaven. This 

 favoured man was instructed by the heavenly messenger in the way 

 of truth, and led to a spot where, concealed in a stone box buried in 

 the earth, were a number of records, written upon golden plates, and 

 in a language called by him the "reformed Egyptian." From this 

 box a portion of the records were taken by the angel and given to 

 Joseph, upon whom was also conferred the "power and gift of re- 

 velation," by which he was enabled to translate the writing graven 

 upon the plates. This he did, and gave the result to the world, as the 

 "Booh of Mormon.'' Joseph, they say, was also ordained to the 

 '•Melchisedec priesthood," with the power of knowledge in all lan- 

 guages, the gifts of the Spirit, and the authority of "binding and 

 loosing." He and an associate were constituted apostles to preach 

 the "gospel," and to establish among the nations the "church of 

 Jesus Christ of the latter-day saints." In 1830, a church was 

 organized, consisting of six members only, which has since grown 

 so as to count its disciples by hundreds of thousands. 



The Bible used by the Protestant Christian world is acknow- 

 ledged by them to be of Divine origin and authority, but they as- 

 sert that it has been much corrupted and interpolated, so much so 

 as to require in part a new translation, which has been accordingly 

 completed by their prophet Joseph, directly inspired for the pur- 

 pose, and the book is soon to bp published. They claim for the 

 "Book of Mormon" the same Divine origin, and hold it to be equally 

 authoritative with our Scriptures as a rule of faith and practice. 

 In addition, they have the direct revelations which have heretofore 

 been made to the seer, and which are recorded in the "Book of 



