BOOK OF MORMON, ETHER, CHAP. XIV. And it came to pass that Lib did pursue him until he came to the plains of Agosh. And Coriantumr had taken all the people with him, as he fled before Lib in that quarter of the land whither he fled. And when he had come to the plains of Agosh, he gave battle unto Lib, and he smote upon him until he died; nevertheless, the brother of Lib did come against Coriantumr in the stead thereof, and the battle became exceeding sore, in the which Coriantumr fled again before the army of the brother of Lib. Now the name of the brother of Lib was called Shiz. And it came to pass that Shiz pursued after Coriantumr, and he did overthrow many cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities thereof, And there went a fear of Shiz throughout all the land; yea, a cry went forth throughout the land, who can stand before the army of Shiz? Behold he sweepeth the earth before him! And it came to pass that the people began to flock together in armies, throughout all the face of the land. And they were divided, and a part of them fled to the army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr. And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead; And so swift and speedy was the war, that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children, strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh; And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof; MANUSCRIPT STORY, CHAPTER XIV. Determined to conquer or die, it was impossible to conjecture which Emperor would have gained the victory had the divisions or bands in the rear of each army remained inactive. But anxious to engage with the boldest warriors, the KentuckBands, led on by their heroic princes, rushed between the division of the grand army & made a most furious charge upon the Sciotans-They broke thro' their Ranks-peircing with deadly wounds their indignant foes-heroes fell before them-& many of the Sciotans being struck with surprise & terror began to retire back-But the bands in the rear of their army instantly rushed forward & met their furious combitants— The battle was now spread in every direction. Many valiant chiefs who commanded under their respective Kings were overthrown-& many thousand robost & brave warriors, whose names were not distinguished by office, were compeled to receive deadly wounds & to bite the dust. -It was Elseon fortune to attack the division led by the valiant Ramoff-He broke his ranks & killed many warriorswhile driving them furiously before himhe met Hamkol at the head of many thousand Sciotans-Hamkol beheld the young Prince & knew him & being fired with the greatest rage & thirst for revenge, he urged on the combat with the most daring violence Now he thot, was a favorable chance to gain immortal renown -Elseon says he shall feel the effects of my conquering sword-The warriors on both side charged each other with incredible fury -& Elseon & Hamkol met in the center of their divisions-I have found you says Hamkol perfiduous monster-I will teach you to rob our empire of its most valuable treasure-He spoke & Elseon replied-Art thou Hamkol the Counsellor of Rambock. Your advice has produced this blood and slaughter-Hamkol raised his sword & had not Elseon defended himself from the blow, he never would have spoken again-But BOOK OF MORMON. Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr, for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantur of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether, that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword. MANUSCRIPT STORY. quick as the lightning Elseon darted his sword thro' his heart-[Hamkol] knashed his teeth together & [with a groan] tumbling headlong with a groan expired.— A portion of Christ's prophecy to the Nephites, concerning the gathering of Israel and the destiny of the Lamanites in the last days, is also here given: BOOK OF MORMON, III. NEPHI, CHAP. XXI. And, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the, time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. Therefore when these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter, shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity; For thus it behoveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may shew forth his power unto the Gentiles, for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel; And when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel. And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and marvellous work among them; and there shall be among them who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Therefore it shall come to. pass, that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, whom the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said.) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the Covenant. And my people who are a remnant of Jacob, shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles, except they repent, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, * * * * And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. But if they will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem; And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst; And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name. In a little work called "The Myth of the Manuscript Found,"* by Elder George Reynolds of Salt Lake City, the arguments pro and con upon the question of the alleged identity of the Book of Mormon and the Spaulding romance, are clearly and intelligently set forth. Mr. Reynolds, being a believer in the Book of Mormon, devotes himself to the task of puncturing and shattering the Hurlburt-Howe hypothesis, but this does not prevent him from doing. justice to the other side in the controversy, by stating fully and fairly the position that he assails. *Manuscript Found" is the more generally known title of the Spaulding tale. President James H. Fairchild, in the New York Observer of February 5th, 1885, speaking of the discovery by Mr. Rice of the Spaulding romance, says: "The theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon in the traditional manuscript of Solomon Spaulding will probably have to be relinquished. Mr. Rice, myself and others compared it (the Spaulding manuscript) with the Book of Mormon, and could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail. There seems to be no name nor incident common to the two. The solemn style of the Book of Mormon, in imitation of the English Scriptures, does not appear in the manuscript. * Some other explanation of the origin of the Book of Mormon must be found, if any explanation is required." Here we take leave of the subject. Up to the present time1892-the Book of Mormon has passed through no less than thirty American and English editions, aggregating many tens of thousands of volumes, scattered broadcast upon both hemispheres. It has been translated and published in eleven foreign vernaculars, namely: English, Welsh, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Hawaiian and Maori,—including, as seen, all the leading languages of modern times. It has also been translated, but not published, in Hindoostanee and the Jewish. A Russian translation, unauthorized, is likewise reported to have passed through the press. |