"And it came to pass that I Nephi did make _bellowses_ wherewith to blow the fire."
"And it came to pass that Limhi and many of his people _was_ desirous to be baptized."
The Mormon preachers claim for themselves and the members of their church the power of working miracles, and of speaking with new tongues. They jabber with some strange sounds, and call this the speaking with tongues. They assert it as a fact, that among them the dead have been raised, and the sick healed, as in the days of Christ and his apostles. From these _facts_, as they call them, they draw the conclusion that _they_ are the members of the true church of Christ. The doctrine increases among men; and well it may, for there are circumstances in the condition and views of those who embrace it which are calculated to secure its success. In a large portion of the community there is a great degree of ignorance in regard to the geography of the sacred Scriptures, the manners and customs of the Jews, and the natural history of the Bible. There are many who read their Bibles daily, and with true devotional feelings, it may be, who have no idea that the places mentioned in sacred history, like those mentioned in any other history, can be traced on the map, can be found and visited at the present day, although disguised under modern names. It makes no part of their study of the Bible to ascertain where the places mentioned are to be found, and what they are now called. They have no idea that the allusions to manners and customs, found in the Bible, can be understood, through an acquaintance with the practices and habits of the people described; and, consequently, the study of Jewish manners and customs makes no part of their preparation for understanding the Scriptures. They have no idea that the allusion in Scripture to facts in natural history can be verified by an acquaintance with that science, and therefore they make no exertions to understand the natural history of the Bible. They do not take up the Bible and read it with the expectation of being able to understand it, in regard to these particulars, as they would understand any other book. All such are prepared, by their ignorance on these subjects, to become the dupes of the Mormon delusion; or, at least, they are not prepared to withstand this delusion. They open the Book of Mormon, claiming to be a kind of appendix to the Bible. The paragraphs begin with the phrase, "And behold it came to pass." They read of the cities of Zarahemla, Gid, Mulek, Corianton, and a multitude of others. They read of prophets and preachers, of faith, repentance, and obedience; and having been accustomed, in reading the Scriptures, to take all such things just as they are presented, without careful examination, they can see no reason why all this is not as much entitled to belief as are the records of the Old and New Testaments. But if, on the contrary, they were acquainted with the geography and the natural history of the Bible, and with the manners and customs of the nations there mentioned, and especially if, in their reading of the Scriptures, they were accustomed to examine carefully into these points, they would at once perceive the utter impossibility of identifying the cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon with any geographical traces which they can now make. They would thus perceive the deception, and be put on their guard. And then, too, upon further examination, they would discover that the manners and customs of the people, the sentiments and disputes, are not such as belong to the period of the world in which the people are represented to have lived; that they take their coloring from modern customs, from modern opinions and controversies; and, upon these discoveries, they would be led to reject the whole as a fabrication.