We present this morning for the especial benefit of the thousands in this Territory whose faith in the divine right business has been wavering and becoming weak, the larger portion of a chapter from T. B. H. Stenhouse's book, devoted to the annihilation of the celebrated "Book of Abraham," which Joseph Smith professed to translate from papyri found with Egyptian mummies, and which he purchased of a man by the name of Chandler, in 1833.

We are strong believers in the efficacy of disintegrating the Mormon faith in order to break up the power of the priesthood, and free the people from that mental slavery which still holds so many in bondage to the one man power. In the early days of the Church, and even at the present time, there are thousands who believe in the infallibility of Joseph Smith as a translator of the dead languages through divine agency, and the miraculous Urim and Thummim, by the aid of which it is alleged he translated the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham. In fact the whole superstructure of Mormonism rests upon this assumption. If, then, his translation of the papyri is proved by scientific men versed in the translation of hieroglyphics to be the veriest nonsense, then all faith based on this gift receives such a crushing blow that the founder of Mormonism falls from the lofty height and sacred niche which modern prophets and inspired translators always hew for themselves, to the humiliating level of men whose chief characteristics are ignorance and fanaticism.

Without further comment we give the chapter from Mr. Stenhouse's book:

[Reprint of T. B. H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints (New York: D. Appleton Company, 1873), 507–519.]