Posted by:
anybody
(
)
Date: July 20, 2023 03:23PM
Yes, I think they were.
And Mormon grifting goes back to the beginning.
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36486/pg36486.txtHaving listened with due attention to the instructions of my host, I
walked over to the store, where the storekeeper expressed his readiness
to show me the mummies. Accordingly he led the way to a small house, the
residence of the prophet's mother. On entering the dwelling, I was
introduced to this eminent personage as a traveller from England,
desirous of seeing the wonders of Nauvoo. She welcomed me to the holy
city, and told me that here I might see what great things the Lord had
done for his people. "I am old," she said, "and I shall soon stand
before the judgment-seat of Christ; but what I say to you now, I would
say on my death-bed. My son Joseph has had revelations from God since he
was a boy, and he is indeed a true prophet of Jehovah. The angel of the
Lord appeared to him fifteen years since, and shewed him the cave where
the original golden plates of the book of Mormon were deposited. He
shewed him also the Urim and Thummim, by which he might understand the
meaning of the inscriptions on the plates, and he shewed him the golden
breastplate of the high priesthood. My son received these precious
gifts, he interpreted the holy record, and now the believers in that
revelation are more than a hundred thousand in number. I have myself
seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long,
and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened,
and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which
passes through a hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with
letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and
Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a
pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads
unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I
have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed
of pure gold, and is made to fit the breast very exactly."
While the old woman was thus delivering herself, I fixed my eyes
steadily upon her. She faltered, and seemed unwilling to meet my glance;
but gradually recovered her self-possession. The melancholy thought
entered my mind, that this poor old creature was not simply a dupe of
her son's knavery; but that she had taken an active part in the
deception. Several English and American women were in the room, and
seemed to treat her with profound veneration.
-- Henry Caswall, "Three Days At Nauvoo" (1842)