CHAPTER IV.
On Tuesday, April 6th, 1830, the "Church of Christ" was organized in the house of Peter Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, New York, an event which, according to the ingenious calculation of Orson Pratt, transpired exactly 1800 years to a day from the resurrection of Christ. The ten years which had elapsed from Joseph's first vision had been strictly a period of preparatory work, and there were at this date but few converts to his mission ready for organization. At the appointed time these assembled, and are thus embalmed in Mormon history:
- Joseph Smith [the prophet.]
- Oliver Cowdery [his scribe].
- Hyrum Smith [an elder brother of Joseph].
- Peter Whitmer, Junr.
- Samuel H. Smith [a younger brother of Joseph], and
- David Whitmer.
Alternating the Smiths and the Whitmers gives a better appearance to the list than if the two families were separated. Martin Harris, though so important a personage in the preliminary work, is supposed to have been denied the honour of belonging to the first organization, in consequence of the trouble which he caused about the lost manuscript.
The chosen six "entered into covenant to serve the Lord," partook of the sacrament of the Supper, and Joseph and Oliver ordained each other as spiritual teachers to the Church. This met the unanimous approval of the two Smiths and the two 
ORGANIZATION OF THE MORMON CHURCH.
On the Sunday succeeding the organization, Oliver Cowdery preached the first public discourse on "this dispensation" and the principles of "the Gospel as revealed to Joseph" and from that day the "testimony" of the Mormon elders has been carried to every civilized nation.
For a time, conversions were but slowly made, but the "gifts" began to manifest themselves, and the few Saints "rejoiced with exceeding great joy;" the wicked raged, the devil attacked "the Kingdom," and a "miracle" was performed.
Notwithstanding so much of interest has to be but briefly stated, it seems necessary to give in detail the relation of this first miracle in the Latter-Day kingdom, and the more so from the fact of its similarity to the manifestations of modern Spiritualism. Joseph relates, in his autobiography, that a young man named Newell Knight was greatly exercised on "the work" that he had announced to him, and attempted to pray in the woods for some enlightenment. He became unwell mentally and physically, and caused some alarm to his wife. Joseph was sent for, and thus reports what took place:—
"I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner, his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine, and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully. His situation was soon made known to the neighbours and relatives, and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with very great earnestness required of me that I should cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew that he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out. I replied, 'If you know that I can, it shall be done,' and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him, when immediately Newell spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him, and vanish from his sight. This was the first miracle that was done in this Church, &c."
The scene changes, and Newell, overwhelmed with the good spirit, and joyous beyond expression, is lifted from the floor to the roof till "the beams would let him go no further." In subsequent gatherings of the Saints, Newell is particularly favoured, sees "the heavens opened," and "beholds the glory of God." He was among the faithful few who endured to the end, and then quietly" fell asleep in Jesus."
It is strangely argued that this first "miracle" in the Mormon Church was an evidence of the divine mission of Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Elder Orson Pratt reasons thus on the subject: —
"The great miracle that was wrought upon Newell Knight, and that, too, before he became a member of the Church, and in the presence of some eight or nine of his neighbours, must have given him the most perfect knowledge of the truth of the Book of Mormon; and it must also have been a convincing testimony to all who saw him." . . . "This great manifestation of the power of God, in contrast with the power of the evil one, must have given a knowledge to those who were present that Joseph Smith was a great prophet and seer, and that the Book of Mormon was a divine revelation."[1]
The Author, in searching an old file of papers, accidentally cast his eye upon a record of the experience of Judge John W. Edmonds, of New York, wherein that gentleman relates in the New York Tribune, some time in 1859, his experience in "casting out devils," which is so remarkably similar to the experience of Joseph Smith with Newell Knight, that it deserves the careful consideration of the Latter-Day Saints. The Judge says: —
"Casting out devils. — I take this phrase as I find it in the Scriptures, as indicating that the subject is possessed by an influence which produces violent throes, or, as it is said in Scripture, 'Straightway the spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming.'
"I have witnessed many instances of this when the subject was relieved simply by laying on of hands, and sometimes by a mere command to the spirit to depart.
"I was once at a circle in Troy, some twenty persons were present, when a strong man became unconscious and violently convulsed. He beat the table with great force with both fists. I put my hand on his head against vehement struggles on his part to prevent it, and in a few moments he was restored to quiet and consciousness. I once had a man similarly affected in my own room, who beat his head violently on a marble-top table, and fell to the floor in convulsions. He was recovered by the same means, though more slowly. A man from Chicago called on me afflicted with convulsions of his arms and legs. He was restored by the mere exercise of will. Last year, at my own house, I found a man lying on the floor, distorted and convulsed. I lifted him up, and compelled him to sit in a chair, and then, with a few words, addressed not to him, but to the spirit who was influencing him, he was at once restored to composure."
Had Judge Edmonds known less and believed more, with such an experience, he, too, might have been presented to the world as a "prophet, seer, and revelator," and some enthusiastic Pratt might have proved that his writings were divinely inspired. Fortunately for the world, the Judge, instead of delivering a new Gospel, followed the profession of the law.
- ↑ "Evidences of the Book of Mormon and the Bible Compared," p. 63.