final visit to cumorah—delivery of the plates by the angel moroni— solemn caution to joseph—attacks by assassins and robbers—poverty and persecution—help from martin harris—removal to pennsylvania.
for the fifth time joseph stood by the place of deposit of the stone box and its precious contents, which for fourteen centuries had remained concealed from human vision and undisturbed by mortal hand. it was the morning of the twenty-second day of september, in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven. for the last time he removed the soil and lifted the stone cover, while he prayed that he might be as faithful to his trust as had been the inanimate hillside. the angel of the lord was at his side and bade him stretch forth his hands and take from their long hiding place the urim and thummim and the record.
joseph touched them and his being was thrilled with a divine joy. he lifted them to the surface and examined their beauty.
the urim and thummim was as the angel had described it—two precious stones set in an arch of silver which was fastened to an ancient breastplate of pure gold, curiously wrought. the breastplate was concave on one side and convex on the other, and seemed to have been made for a man of greater stature than is ordinary in modern days. four golden bands were fastened to it, for the purpose of attaching it to the person of its wearer—two of the bands being for the shoulders, the others for the waist or hips.
the plates, also of gold, were of uniform size; each was slightly less in thickness than a common sheet of tin and was about eight inches in width; and all were bound together by three rings, running through one edge of the plates. thus secured, they formed a book about six inches in thickness. a part of the volume, about one-third, was sealed; the other leaves joseph turned with his hand. they were covered on both sides with strange characters, small and beautifully engraved.
moroni instructed joseph that he must not attempt to open that part of the book which was sealed, for the hour had not come wherein it was destined to be made known; but in god's accepted time he would bring that portion of the record to the knowledge of his children. then the angel repeated all that he had formerly said in advice and blessing. joseph was told that the lord expected him to shield the record from profane touch and sight, even with his life, until his work of translation should be completed and the plates restored to the hands of moroni; that all the former guardians had relinquished their trust and he alone would be held accountable for their safety; that efforts would be made to rob him of the holy writings, but if he proved faithful the heavens would give their aid to his support and he would come off triumphant. and he was finally and solemnly warned that if he should betray his mission he must be cut off and destroyed.
with a crowning promise to joseph that he should not be left to grope in darkness, and that upon the conclusion of the labor of translation, the angel would visit him and again receive the plates, moroni disappeared, and the prophet of the last dispensation stood alone upon cumorah, clasping to his bosom the priceless trust.
joseph folded the golden record of past generations beneath his mantle and sped homeward. the words of moroni had been prophetic; three different times in the brief journey to his house, the chosen minister of salvation was assailed by unknown men—emissaries of the evil one, who sought to strike him to the earth and rob him of his precious charge. once they dealt him a terrific blow with a bludgeon, but he did not fall. he was a man of rare physical endowments, yet on this occasion his own strength and activity, without the help of the lord, would not have delivered him or been sufficient to cast his assailants one by one prone in the dust with the irresistible force which he used against them.
with the plates unharmed, but himself bruised, and panting from the contest, joseph reached his home.
after this important hour the powers of darkness arrayed all their subtle and murderous influences against him. abominable falsehoods were cunningly circulated against him and his father's family, the purpose being to excite the rage of the populace against them. constantly the prophet's life was beset by assassins; the sacred record was sought by robbers. each hour brought some new menace. men, lurking by his pathway, discharged deadly weapons at his person; and mobs attacked him and invaded his home. wherever the plates were supposed to be hidden, there were the despoilers breaking through bolts and walls. open force failing, subtle stratagems were devised for the destruction of the prophet's life and the abstraction of the plates.
these numerous efforts all failed to accomplish the ends at which they were aimed. but they prevented joseph from obtaining the safe leisure necessary for his labor of translation. anxious to pursue his heaven-appointed work without the interruption of these continued attacks, he was led to the idea of removing from manchester. personal fear was not an element of his nature, and no selfish motive prompted his resolve; but in no other visible manner could his sacred instructions be fulfilled. the home of emma's parents in susquehanna county, pennsylvania, was the place which he selected, and thither he determined to journey.
poverty seemed, however, to present an insurmountable barrier; but it was suddenly removed. martin harris, a prosperous and respected farmer of wayne county, new york, and who was destined in the providence of god to afterwards fill an important part in connection with the divine record, was inspired to come to joseph with a free offer of help. by the aid thus extended, the prophet was able to take his departure to manchester, carrying with him his wife and the sacred plates. as joseph and mary were warned to flee with the infant jesus into egypt to escape the destruction which herod had planned, so the prophet was led to seek another place of residence for the performance of his labor.
but satan was not idle. twice while on the journey was the servant of god stopped by officers, who, under a pretended warrant of law, searched his wagon for the plates. but the angel of the lord blinded the eyes of the wicked and they found not what they sought.
it was in the month of december, 1827, when joseph reached the house of isaac hale in pennsylvania; and without delay he began his inspired work of translation by the aid of the seer stones.
it may seem strange and unaccountable that such extraordinary efforts should be made to destroy this young man and to get possession of the plates with which he had been entrusted. but his whole life from this time forward until he sealed his testimony with his blood was filled with incidents of the most remarkable character. the words of the angel were that god had a work for joseph to do, and that his name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people; and they were fulfilled to the letter. no man of this generation was so passionately loved; no man was so cruelly hated. satan knew that if the work of which god had chosen him to be the founder on the earth should prevail, his power and dominion should be overthrown. against this prophet, therefore, the profoundest depths of hell were stirred up. while he lived he was the target at which the most deadly shafts of satan were directed. for the succeeding sixteen or seventeen years from the time of which we write his steps were beset by peril. violence and murder lurked in his pathway. he was never free from menace. through his life he enjoyed peace, but it was the peace that came from above and not that which arises from auspicious surroundings and undisturbed quiet. he was a happy man; but his happiness was never due to worldly favor or popularity. god had endowed him with a buoyancy of spirit and a strength of faith that the most deadly opposition and the most threatening difficulties could not repress; with a courage which, in the midst of brutal mobs howling for his blood, never faltered or was quenched. his was a stormy career; but he was amply qualified for it. as he himself said on one occasion:
and as for perils which i am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life, and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless i was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. judge ye for yourselves. god knoweth all these things whether it be good or bad. but nevertheless, deep water is what i am wont to swim in. it has all become a second nature to me, and i feel like paul, to glory in tribulation, for to this day has the god of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, i shall triumph over all my enemies, for the lord god hath spoken it.
