



Produced by Gutenberg@BYU and Philip MacCabe









The Wentworth Letter by Joseph Smith, Jun.

as published in the Times and Seasons Vol. 3 No. 9, 1 March 1842
available in the United States Library Of Congress
BX8605.1.T48 Vol. 3 pp 706-710




CHURCH HISTORY

At the request of Mr. John Wentworth, Editor, and Proprietor of
the "Chicago Democrat," I have written the following sketch of the
rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-Day Saints,
of which I have the honor, under God, of being the founder. Mr.
Wentworth says, that he wishes to furnish Mr. Bastow, a friend of
his, who is writing the history of New Hampshire, with this
document. As Mr. Bastow has taken the proper steps to obtain
correct information, all that I shall ask at his hands is that he
publish the account entire, ungarnished, and without
misrepresentation.

I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor co., Vermont, on the
23d of December, A.D. 1805. When ten years old my parents removed
to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from
thence we removed to the town of Manchester.

My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When
about fourteen years of age I began to reflect upon the importance
of being prepared for a future state, and upon enquiring [of] the
plan of salvation I found that there was a great clash in
religious sentiment; if I went to one society they referred me to
one plan, and another to another, each one pointing to his own
particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection: considering
that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author
of so much confusion I determined to investigate the subject more
fully, believing that if God had a church it would not be split up
into factions, and that if he taught one society to worship one
way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach
another, principles which were diametrically opposed. Believing
the word of God I had confidence in the declaration of James; "If
any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men
liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him," I retired
to a secret place in a grove and began to call upon the Lord,
while fervently engaged in supplication my mind was taken away
from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped
in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly
resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a
brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon-day. They told me
that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect
doctrines and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His
Church and kingdom. And I was expressly commanded to "go not after
them," at the same time receiving a promise that the fullness of
the gospel should at some future time be made known unto me.

On the evening of the 21st of September, A.D. 1823, while I was
praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the
precious promises of scripture on a sudden a light like that of
day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance, and
brightness burst into the room, indeed the first sight was as
though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appearance
produced a shock that affected the whole body; in a moment a
personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than
that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger
proclaimed himself to be an angel of God sent to bring the joyful
tidings, that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was
at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second
coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was
at hand for the gospel, in all its fulness to be preached in power,
unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the millennial
reign.

I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the
hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious
dispensation.

I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of
this country [America], and shown who they were, and from whence
they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization,
laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the
blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people was
made known unto me: I was also told where there was deposited some
plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the
ancient prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel
appeared to me three times the same night and unfolded the same
things. After having received many visits from the angels of God
unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should
transpire in the last days, on the morning of the 22d of September,
A.D. 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records into my
hands.

These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance
of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long and
not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings,
in Egyptian characters and bound together in a volume, as the leaves
of a book with three rings running through the whole. The volume was
something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed.
The characters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully
engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its
construction and much skill in the art of engraving. With the
records was found a curious instrument which the ancients called
"Urim and Thummim," which consisted of two transparent stones set in
the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate.

Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the
record by the gift, and power of God.

In this important and interesting book the history of ancient
America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came
from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the
beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed
by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by
two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and
came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly
from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ.
They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The
Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came
from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the
country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle
towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians
that now inhabit this country. This book