| 582 debar God of the privilege of sending as many angels to visit men, or to give as many revelations as he pleases, or at any time he may think proper.-John certianly [certainly] alluded to no book other than his Revelations, which is obvious to every one who reads it. (See Rev. xxii, 18.) The "Book of Mormon," is no more an addition to the bible than our testimony to the truth of the gospel is an addition to the principles of the gospel.
The bible was written by a people upon the Eastern continent, but the Book of Mormon by a people upon this continent. The latter as respects doctrine agrees with the former precisely: but the historical part of it unfolds the history of the ancients of this land. Elder P. P. Pratt writes upon this subject thus:
"The 'Book of Mormon' coroborates [corroborates] and confirms the truth of the Scriptures, by showing that the same principles were revealed and enjoyed in a country and among a people far remote from the scenes where the Jewish bible was written.
Suppose a traveller [traveler] should find in China, in the East Indies, or in America, or New Holland, a historical record, handed down for thousands of years, or deposited in their sacred archives, or amongst their sepulchral ruins, or their monuments of antiquity-and in its record should be found the principles of eternal truth, revealed so that nation, and agreeing with the revelations and principles contained in the Jewish records. Or suppose, for instance, when the ten tribes of Israel are discovered, preparatory to their return to Palestine, a record should be found among them, giving their history from the time they were carried captive by Shalmanaser, King of Assyria, and this record should be interspersed with prophecies and doctrine, as revealed among them since their captivity. Would it be anything increditable or injurious in its nature, or anything against the truths revealed in the Jewish records? Certainly not. So far from this, it would be hailed by every lover of truth as a most interesting and important discovery, its light would be hailed as a new era in the history of the great events of modern times.
And similar in its nature is the Book of Mormon. It opens the events of ancient America. It pours a flood of light upon the world on subjects before concealed-upon the history of a nation whose remeants [remnants] have long since dwindled to insignificance in midnight darkness, and whose former greatness was lost in oblivion, or only known by the remains of cities, palaces, temples, aqueducts, monuments, towers, fortifications, unintelligible inscriptions, sepulchres [sepulchers], and bones. The slumber of ages has now been broken. The dark curtain of the past has been rolled up. The veil of obscurity has been removed as it regards the world called new. The ancient events of America now stand revealed in the broad light of history, as far back at least as the first peopling of the continent after the flood. This discovery will yet be hailed among all nations as among the most glorious events of the latter times, and as one of the principal means of overwhelming the earth with knowledge. But, why then, is it so much opposed and neglected at the present time? Why do prisoners groan in chains, and martyrs bleed in its promulgation to the world? Answer,-Upon the same principle that a Messiah was crucified, a Stephen stoned, a James slain, a Paul beheaded, a Peter crucified, a John banished, a Rogers burned, a Columbus neglected, ridiculed, and envied, a Newton counted mad, and a Fulton laughed to scorn. In short it is because they know not what it is."
But says the objector, it is because that this book is said to have been brought to light by the administration of angels, and revelation; that makes it so odious in the minds of the people.
We reply, that it was the new revelations that the ancient prophets received that caused them to be so odious in the minds of the people. Any thing new in religion or science has generally been treated with contempt by those who knew nothing about it.
The foregoing pages are an outline of the fundamental principles of our holy religion, and for the want of room, with a few exceptions, we have omitted scriptural investigation, and merely stated some principles without attempting to prove them. Those who wish to hear all the before mentioned points of doctrine investigated at length, and an abundance of scripture evidence adduced to establish them; particularly the second coming
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