Background
on Martin Harris
1) Martin’s relationship with Joseph and the
Smith family.
Martin
Harris was born May 14, 1783 in Saratoga County, NY. At the age of eight, he moved with his family
to a new settlement called Palmyra. He
remained there until 1831 when he moved with the saints to Kirtland. Martin was a successful businessman and
farmer. Even before the first vision in
1820, Martin was familiar with the Smith family as he had employed some of the
Smith brothers to work on his farm. In
the late 1820's, Martin was a close associate of the Smiths and was keenly
interested in the recent events of young Joseph's life. Life by G. Stevenson (p. 164)
records a journal entry from Edward Stevenson in which he records Martin's
religious sentiment in this 1870 statement from Martin
Harris:
“In the year
1818, fifty-two years ago I was inspired of the Lord and taught of the spirit
that I should not join any church, although I was anxiously sought for by many
of the sectarians....
“...The
spirit told me to join none of the churches, for none had authority from the
Lord, for there will not be a true church on the earth until the words of Isaiah
shall be fulfilled. When interrogated closely, I told them, 'If any church [be]
the church of Christ, the Christians then claim me. But join and lectuien [?] as
much as any other. The time has not come for you to take that name. At Antioch
they were called Christians in derision. No thanks for your name', so I
remained, for there was no authority, for the spirit told me that I might just
as well plunge myself into the water as to have any one of the sects baptize
me.
“So I
remained until the Church was organized by Joseph Smith, the Prophet. Then I was
baptized by the hands of Oliver Cowdery, by Joseph Smith's command, being the
first after Joseph and Oliver Cowdery. And then the spirit bore testimony that
this was all right, and I rejoiced in the established
Church.”
2) Martin delivers the Book of Mormon characters
to Charles Anthon.
Martin’s
search for truth found its fruition in Joseph Smith and the record he had
obtained. Martin provided Joseph with
much needed money to pay off his debts and continue the work of the Lord. In 1827, Martin gave Joseph $50 for his move
to Harmony. Later that year, Martin
visited Joseph and received a copy of some of the ancient Book of Mormon
characters in order to show them to the leading linguists of the day.
마틴은 적어도
저명한 언어 학자로 평판이 있는 세 사람을 찾아갔다. 그는 뉴욕 알바니에서
외교관이며 정치가이자 세계 여행가이며 언어 학자인 루터 브라디쉬와 함께 이야기했다.
뉴욕 시에서 그는 룻저스 의과 대학 부학장인 사무엘 밋칠 박사를 찾아갔다.
그는 또한 히브리어와 바빌로니아어를 포함한 몇 개국 언어를 알고 있는 사람을
방문했다. 그 사람은 바로 뉴욕 시 소재 콜럼비아 대학의 찰스 안톤 교수였는데,
아마 조셉이 만난 사람 가운데 그 문서의 문자를 가장 잘 판별할 수 있는 사람이었을
것이다.그는 그 당시 가장 저명한 고전 학자 가운데 한 사람이었다.
“Martin
visited at least three men with reputations as able linguists. In Albany, New York, he talked with Luther
Bradish, a diplomat, statesman, world traveler, and student of languages. In New York City he visited Dr. Samuel
Mitchill, vice president of Rutgers Medical College. He also visited a man who knew four languages
including Hebrew and Babylonian. This
was Professor Charles Anthon of Columbia College in New York City, who was
perhaps the most qualified of Martin’s contacts to judge the characters on the
document. He was among the leading
classical scholars of his day...
마틴 해리스에
의하면, 안톤 교수는 그 문자와 그 번역을 살펴본 후, 기꺼이 그에게 팔마이라 시민에게
그 기록이 믿을 만하다는 사실을 증명하는 증명서를 발부해 주었다. 안톤은
또한 마틴에게 그 기록들은 이집트어, 갈대아어, 앗시리아어, 그리고 아랍어와 비슷하다고
말해 주고 그 번역이 정확하다는 자신의 의견을 말해 주었다. 마틴이 그 증명서를
호주머니 속에 넣고 막 떠나려고 하자, 안톤 교수는 그를 다시 불러 조셉 스미스가
그 언덕에서 판을 어떻게 발견했는지 물었다. 마틴은 하나님의 천사가 조셉에게
그 장소를 가르켜 주었다고 설명했다. 그때 찰스 안톤은 그 증명서를 다시
돌려달라고 했다. "그는 그것을 여러 조각으로 찢어 버리고 나서 말하기를
오늘날 천사가 도움과 은혜를 준다는 일이 어디 있는가, 내게 그 판을 가지고 오면
번역해 주겠다고 하였습니다. 그래서 나는 판의 일부는 봉하여져 있으며 그것을
가지고 오는 것이 금지되어 있다고 대답하자 그는 말하기를 '나는 봉한 책을 읽을
수 없다'고 하였습니다. (때가 찬 시대의 교회사, 46)
“According
to Martin Harris, Professor Anthon examined the characters and their translation
and willingly gave him a certificate stating to the citizens of Palmyra that the
writings were authentic. Anthon further
told Martin the characters resembled Egyptian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Arabic,
and expressed his opinion that the translation was correct. martin put the certificate in his pocket and
was about to leave when Anthon called him back and asked how Joseph Smith found
the gold plates in the hill. Martin
explained that an angel of God revealed the location to Joseph, whereupon
Charles Anthon asked for the certificate, which Martin gave to him. ‘He took it and tore it to pieces, saying
that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I
[Martin] would bring the plates to him, he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were
sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them.
He replied, ‘I cannot read a sealed book.’” (Church History in the
Fullness of Times, 46)
3) The lost 116 pages
In the
Spring of 1828, Martin had acted as a scribe for Joseph. Their industry had produced 116 pages
translated from Mormon’s abridgment of the large plates of Nephi containing the
story of the Nephites from prophet Lehi to the days of king Benjamin. His wife, Lucy, thought Martin was wasting
his time and money on Joseph Smith. She
accompanied Martin on one of his trips to Harmony with the intent to see the
plates for herself. Lucy Mack Smith
records in History of Joseph Smith (pp.119-123):
“As soon as
she arrived there, she informed him that her object in coming, was to see the
plates, and that she would never leave until she had accomplished it.
Accordingly, without delay, she commenced ransacking every nook and corner about
the house--chests, trunks, cupboards, etc.; consequently, Joseph was under the
necessity of removing both the breast-plate and the Record from the house, and
secreting them elsewhere. Not finding them in the house, she concluded that
Joseph had buried them, and the next day she commenced searching out of doors,
which she continued to do until about two o'clock p.m. She then came in rather
ill-natured...
“The woman
was so perplexed and disappointed in all her undertakings, that she left the
house and took lodgings during her stay in Pennsylvania with a near neighbor, to
whom she stated that the day previous she had been hunting for the plates, and
that, after a tedious search, she at length came to a spot where she judged,
from the appearance of things, they must be buried; but upon stooping down to
scrape away the snow and leaves, in order to ascertain the fact, she encountered
a horrible black snake which gave her a terrible fright, and she ran with all
possible speed to the house.”
After this
incident which did not satisfy his wife's curiosity at all, Martin requested
that he be permitted to take the 116 pages home. Joseph asked permission of the Lord but the
answer was "No." A Martin's continual
request, Joseph asked the Lord again for permission. Joseph records:
마틴
해리스씨가 나를 위하여 필기하는 일을 시작한 얼마 후에 그가 필기한 내용을 집으로
가지고 가도록 해달라고 끈질기게 조르기 시작했다. 그리고 그렇게 하면 어떨지
내가 우림과 둠밈을 통하여 주님께 여쭈어 보기를 원했다. 내가 주님께 여쭈어
보았을 때 그렇게 하면 안된다는 응답을 받았다. 그러나 그는 이 대답에 만족하지
않았으며 내가 다시 여쭈어 보기를 원하였다. 그래서 다시 여쭈어 보았으며
대답은 처음과 마찬가지였다. 그래도 그는 만족하지 못하고 내가 한 번 더
여쭈어 보도록 졸랐다. 나는 수없이 부탁을 받은 다음 다시 주님께 여쭈어
몇 가지 조건으로 그가 기록을 갖고 가는 것을 허락받았다. 그 조건은 그가
그것을 그의 형제, 프리저브드 해리스, 그의 아내, 아버지와 어머니, 처제인 코브
부인에게만 보여 주어야 한다는 것이었다. 나의 이 최종적인 대답에 따라 그가
매우 엄숙한 방법으로 그 지시받은 이외의 행동은 하지 않겠다고 나에게 서약을 맺었다.
그는 내가 요구한 대로 서약하고 기록을 갖고 갔다. 그러나 그는 자신에게
부과된 커다란 금지에도 불구하고 그가 나와 맺은 그 엄중한 서약에도 불구하고 그것을
다른 사람들에게 보여 주었으며 그 사람들은 책략을 써서 그로부터 기록을 앗아가
버렸으며 그 기록은 오늘날까지 결코 다시 찾지 못했다.
“Some time
after Mr. Harris had begun to wrote for me, he began to importune me to give him
liberty to carry the writings home and show them; and desired of me that I would
inquire of the Lord, through the Urim and Thummim, if he might not do so. I did inquire, and the answer was that he
must not. However, he was not satisfied
with this answer, and desired that I should inquire again. I did so, and the answer was as before. Still he could not be contented, but insisted
that I should inquire once more. After
much solicitation I again inquired of the Lord, and permission was granted him
to have the writings on certain conditions; which were, that he show them only
to his brother, Preserved Harris, his own wife, his father and his mother, and a
Mrs. Cobb, a sister to his wife. In
accordance with this last answer, I
required of him that he should bind himself in a covenant to me in a most solemn
manner that he would not do otherwise than had been directed. He did so.
He bound himself as I required of him, took the writings, and went his
way. Notwithstanding, however, the great
restrictions which he had been laid under, and the solemnity of the covenant
which he had made with me, he did show them to others, and by stratagem they got
them away from him, and they never have been recovered unto this day.”
(History of the Church, 1:21)
Joseph
deferred to Martin because of his age (Joseph was 22, Martin was 45) and because
he was the key financier and scribe at the time. This deference to Martin is referred to by
the Lord in D&C 3:7, For, behold, you should not
have feared man more than God.
The subsequent weeks and months were a time of gloomy introspection and
repentance for the young prophet.
Many have
speculated about what happened to the 116 pages. Daniel H. Ludlow in Encyclopedia of
Mormonism, p.575, records, “It is reported that Lucy Harris said that she
burned them. Ill and suffering the insecurity of progressive deafness, she
reportedly feared that Palmyra's boycott of the Book of Mormon would lead to her
and her husband's financial ruin. After the loss of the manuscript, Harris
ceased his work as scribe.”
4) Joseph's remorse at losing the 116
pages
The prophet
began to worry about the fate of the 116 pages long before Martin gave him the
bad news. Not long after Martin had left
for Palmyra with the 116 pages, Emma gave birth to their firstborn child, a
son. The child soon died leaving both
parents devastated. Emma mourned as only
a mother can and Joseph couldn't sleep.
He was troubled over the loss of his son, Emma's ill and dejected state,
and Martin’s unusual delay. After about
three weeks, Emma requested that Joseph go to Palmyra to bring his mother to her
aid and to inquire about the record.
Joseph went at his wife's request.
During his stagecoach ride to Palmyra, Joseph neither ate nor slept. This became a concern for the only other
passenger, who took care to provide for Joseph and deliver him safely to his
parents' home. The Prophet’s mother records:
“When Joseph had taken a little nourishment, according to the directions of the stranger, he requested us to send immediately for Mr. Harris. This we did without delay. And when we had given the stranger his breakfast, we commenced preparing breakfast for the family; and we supposed that Mr. Harris would be there, as soon as it was ready, to eat with us, for he generally came in such haste when he was sent for. At eight o'clock we set the victuals on the table, as we were expecting him every moment. We waited till nine, and he came not--till ten, and he was not there--till eleven, still he did not make his appearance. But at half past twelve we saw him walking with a slow and measured tread towards the house, his eyes fixed thoughtfully upon the ground. On coming to the gate, he stopped, instead of passing through, and got upon the fence, and sat there some time with his hat drawn over his eyes. At length he entered the house. Soon after which we sat down to the table, Mr. Harris with the rest.
그는 나이프와
포크를 집어 들었다. 그러나 곧 그것들을 떨어뜨렸다. 이것을 지켜보고
있던 하이럼이 '마틴, 왜 드시지를 못하십니까? 어디 편찮으십니까?' 하고 물었다.
그러자 해리스 씨가 그의 관자놀이를 손가락으로 누르더니 깊은 고뇌에 찬
음성으로 소리쳤다. '오! 내가 미쳤나봐요! 미쳤나봐요!'
He took up his knife and fork
as if he were going to use them, but immediately dropped them. Hyrum, observing
this, said ‘Martin, why do you not eat; are you sick?’ Upon which Mr. Harris
pressed his hands upon his temples, and cried out in a tone of deep anguish,
‘Oh, I have lost my soul! I have lost my soul!’
그때까지
설마설마 하면서도 차마 말을 꺼내지 못하고 있던 조셉이 식탁에서 벌떡 일어나 이렇게
소리쳤다. '마틴, 그 원고를 잃었단 말씀입니까? 맹세를 깨뜨리고 형제님의 머리
뿐만 아니라 나의 머리 위에도 저주를 가져왔단 말입니까?'
“Joseph who
had not expressed his fears till now, sprang from the table, exclaiming,
‘Martin, have you lost that manuscript? Have you broken your oath, and brought
down condemnation upon my head as well as your own?’
'그래요,
그것이 없어졌어요, 어디 있는지 모르겠어요.'
“‘Yes; it is
gone,’ replied Martin, ‘and I know not where.’
'오 나의
하나님' 조셉이 말했다. 그의 손을 움켜쥐고 '모두 잃었구나! 모두 잃어 버렸어!
이제 어떻게 해야 한단 말인가? 내가 죄를 저질렀구나. 내가 하나님의
진노를 불러 일으켰어. 주님에게서 처음 응답을 받았을 때 그 말씀을 들었어야
했건만. 주님께서는 그 기록을 내 손에서 떠나게 하지 말라고 그렇게 이르셨건만.'
그는 흐느껴 울면서 계속 우왕좌왕하듯이 마루를 걸어다녔다.
“'Oh, my
God!' said Joseph, clinching his hands. 'All is lost! All is lost! What shall I
do? I have sinned--it is I who tempted the wrath of God. I should have been
satisfied with the first answer which I received from the Lord; for he told me
that it was not safe to let the writing go out of my possession.' He wept and
groaned, and walked the floor continually.
그러다가
조셉은 마틴에게 되돌아가서 다시 찾아보라고 했다.
“At length
he told Martin to go back and search again.
마틴은 '그래봐야
소용없습니다. 침대보와 베갯잇까지 벗겨내고 [원고를] 찾아봤지만 소용 없었습니다.'
라고 말했다.
“'No'; said
Martin, 'it is all in vain; for I have ripped open beds and pillows; and I know
it is not there.'
'그러면
저는 어떻게 하란 말씀입니까? 이런 이야기를 주님께 하라는 말씀입니까? 그럴
수는 없습니다. 어떻게 주님을 대할 수 있단 말입니까? 가장 높으신
분의 천사로부터 내가 합당하지 못하다는 질책을 받아야 합니까?' (루시 맥 스미스,
조셉 스미스의 역사, 128-129)
“'Then must
I,' said Joseph, 'return with such a tale as this? I dare not do it. And how
shall I appear before the Lord? Of what rebuke am I not worthy from the angel of
the Most High?'” (Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, pp.
128-129)
조셉은
왜 116페이지를 다시 번역하지 않았는가?
5) Why didn’t Joseph just retranslate the 116
pages?
The first
edition of the Book of Mormon contains Joseph Smith’s explanation of what
happened with the 116 pages and why they couldn’t be retranslated (the same
explanation can be found in DC 10). As
the Preface to that edition, he wrote:
독자에게
[몰몬경]에 관한 많은 거짓 소문과, 또한 나와 이 사업을
파멸시키기 위해 악한 의도를 지닌 사람들이 취한 불법적인 의도가 널리 유포되어
있으므로, 나는 하나님의 은사와 권능으로 리하이서에서 취한 116쪽을 번역했으며,
받아 적게 했다는 것을 여러분에게 알려드리고자 합니다. 리하이서는 몰몬이
리하이의 판에서 요약한 기록이며, 분실된 기록은 누군가 내게서 훔쳐 보관하고 있으므로
내가 그것을 다시 찾으려고 최선의 노력을 다했음에도 불구하고 다시는 같은 내용을
번역하지 말라는 명을 주님으로부터 받았습니다. 이는 그들이 내용을 변경하여
내가 번역한 것과 다르게 기록하게 함으로써 사탄이 그들의 마음에 주 하나님을 시험할
마음을 갖게 하고, 내가 다시 번역할 경우, 즉 같은 내용을 다시 번역할 경우, 그들은
훔친 원고를 출판하여 사탄이 이 세대 사람들의 마음을 동요케 함으로써 이 사업을
받아들이지 않게 하려 했습니다. 그러나 주님께서는 내게 이렇게 말씀하셨습니다.
나는 사탄이 이 일에 자신의 사악한 계획을 이루는 것을 용납하지 아니하리라.
그러므로 너는 니파이 판에 있는 새겨진 글을 번역하되, 네가 간직해 둔 바 네가
번역한 데에 이르기까지 번역할지니라. 그리고 보라, 너는 그것을 니파이의
기록으로 출판하라. 그리하여 이같이 나는 나의 말을 변경시킨 자들을 좌절시키리라.
나는 그들이 나의 일을 멸할 것을 용납하지 아니하리니, 그러하도다, 나는 나의 지혜가 악마의 간교함보다 더 위대함을 그들에게 보이리라.
그러므로 나는 하나님의 계명에 순종하기 위해 그분의 자비와 은혜를 통해
이 일에 대해 그분이 내게 명하신 것을 성취했습니다. 나는 또한 언급된 그
판은 뉴욕 주 온타리오 군 맨체스터 읍에서 발견되었음을 여러분께 알려드립니다.
[또한 교성10:10-45 참조]
저자
TO THE
READER---
As many false reports have been
circulated respecting the following work, and also many unlawful measures taken
by evil designing persons to destroy me, and also the work, I would inform you
that I translated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one
hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the book of Lehi, which was an
account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said
account, some person or persons have stolen and kept from me, notwithstanding my
utmost exertions to recover it again—and being commanded of the Lord that I
should not translate the same over again, for Satan had put it into their hearts
to tempt the Lord their God, by altering the words, that they did read contrary
from that which I translated and caused to be written; and if I should bring
forth the same words again, or in other words, if I should translate the same
over again, they would publish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir
up the hearts of this generation, that they might not receive this work: but
behold, the Lord said unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his
evil design in this thing; therefore thou shalt translate from the plates of
Nephi, until ye come to that which he have translated, which ye have retained;
and behold ye shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and this I will confound
those who have altered by words. I will
not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my
wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Wherefore to be obedient unto the
commandments of God, I have through His grace and mercy, accomplished that which
He hath commanded me, respecting this thing.
I would also inform you that the plates of which hath been spoken, were
found in the township of Manchester, Ontario county, New York. [see also DC
10:10-45]
THE AUTHOR