holy apostleship, which included authority to organize the Church in its fullness and to open the door of the Gospel to all nations.

Passing over the many remarkable manifestations given to the Prophet and others, we will conclude this part of the subject by reference to the statements of the three witnesses respecting the Book of Mormon. Their testimony will be found in the title pages of every copy of that sacred volume, signed with their names—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. They assert that an angel appeared before them, held in his hands the metallic plates, giving an account of the ancient inhabitants of America; their origin, history and destiny; the dealings of God with them; and the fullness of the Gospel as taught by the Savior and ancient prophets on this land, from which sacred plates the Book of Mormon is translated into English. The witnesses saw and handled the plates, and gave their solemn testimony to the world. Under all circumstances the witnesses maintained their testimony to the end in private and public; to all who came to ask of them, they told the same unchanging story. Another feature of this evidence of these three witnesses is this: In the course of time they transgressed the rules and regulations of the Church, and of necessity had to be excommunicated. Having thus fallen away from their adherence to the Church, from their association and fellowship with the Prophet Joseph Smith, they were placed in a condition where every inducement was presented them to deny their testimony and in this way frustrate the scheme, if it had been false. If such a procedure had been possible they could thereby gain the fellowship and applause of the world for exposing to ridicule and shame the man who came to the world with a New Dispensation. But they did not do this. Being outside the pale of the Church, may they not be called truly disinterested witnesses, witnesses stronger in that sense than can be produced to substantiate the divinity of ancient Jewish Scriptures?

The writer once sat in the presence of David Whitmer and can testify from personal contact with him that he was firm and unshaken in the testimony which he bore to the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. In David Whitmer's dying hours, when enemies of this work may have had some hopes of his recanting, he asked the leading men of Richmond, Mo., if they could honestly give an affidavit before an officer that, from their acquaintance and dealings with him, he was a man of honesty and truth. This they did, and published it. They were men not of Mr. Whitmer's religious views. With that affidavit signed by about twelve leading business men of the town, and the testimony of his physician that his mind was perfectly sound, he published again to the world his testimony that he had seen the angel, had handled the plates, and that the Book of Mormon was the divinely translated record.

In connection with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, a remarkable prophecy of Isaiah has been strikingly verified: "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is seated which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." (Isaiah xxix:11, 12.) When Joseph obtained the plates he discovered that a portion of them were sealed and learned from the angel that the time had not come to publish that part of the volume, but from the unsealed plates he copied some characters and sent them by Martin Harris to a learned linguist in New York—Prof. Anthon. The learned man examined them and gave Mr. Harris a certificate testifying that they were true characters of Hebrew and reformed Egyptian. Before leaving, the learned man asked Mr. Harris to bring him the plates and he would translate them. Mr. Harris answered that he was forbidden to do that, and also that a portion of the plates were sealed. He replied, "I cannot read a sealed book," and asked where Joseph Smith obtained them. When answered that an angel revealed them, he asked to see the certificate he had given of their genuineness. It was handed him and he tore it up in a rage, saying, "Angels do not appear nowadays." The words of the book, not the book itself, were delivered to the learned man, as Isaiah said they would be. He said he could not read a sealed book, as Isaiah said he would say. The book itself was delivered to Joseph, the unlettered youth, and in his humility he said, I am not learned; but God gave the gift of translation, that it should be done; not by the wisdom and learning of men, but by the power of God.

Other Bible prophecies might be quoted referring to the Book of Mormon, but our purpose at present is not to treat upon that sacred record, but incidentally to show that its coming forth furnishes strong evidence that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. How it would be possible for an unsophisticated youth to devise a scheme that would answer in its workings so minutely the details of ancient prophecy, unless God inspired him, should require far more credulity to believe than it would that he was sent of God, and thus attribute to the Almighty the honor for the great work.

With this array of corroborating witnesses, and the practical character of Joseph Smith, we do not see the possibility of his being mistaken any more than were Paul, Stephen, Moses, Peter, James and John and all the ancient prophets. It should be remembered that God has His own way and does not show Himself openly to all the people, but to chosen witnesses. "Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before God." (Acts x:40, 41.)

We come now to another phase of evidence that the Gospel has been restored, namely, that the organization of the Church as established by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also the doctrines taught by him, are in perfect accord with the teachings of the Bible. The proof of this is given in other chapters of this volume. The evidence there given of the divine mission of Joseph Smith is all the stronger when we take into consideration the fact that for seventeen centuries learned men have been organizing churches and teaching what they esteemed to be the essentials of salvation, without being able from the fragmentary teachings of the apostles to organize a church with apostles, prophets, seventies, etc. The force of this condition is also enhanced when we recall that each generation of reformers has possessed the advantages arising from the experience and conclusions of each generation preceding them. Neither has been able to unite upon the principles essential for mankind to obey in order to secure salvation.

Joseph Smith presents to the world a system which is a monument of inspiration, both as to the scriptural evidence that the organization is divine and in the fact that the practical workings thereof are perfect. He does not stop at this. He says to his followers that on condition of their acceptance of faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, repentance from all sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands by Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they shall receive the Holy Ghost, and that the fruits thereof are the same as in olden times; they shall prophesy, speak in tongues, have dreams, visions, revelations, healings and miracles. There are in the Church today 310,000 souls. Of this number many are children, but the thousands who have arrived at the years of accountability have put the promise to the test, and the universal testimony of these people is that they have received knowledge of God for themselves. The tens of thousands, also, who have passed from life, since the date of the organization of the Church (1830), received the same testimony.

During the troubles of the Saints in Illinois, judge Stephen A. Douglas was an acquaintance of Joseph Smith and his people. He knew the injustice heaped upon them by his personal