would grow up and perish without leaving a record to witness of them and to be of use to their seed and also to other nations who should possess their lands of course they would keep a record historical as well as religious and when these people were destroyed is it not reasonable to believe that this record would be preserved to come forth when god should see fit and when a place was vacant for it in the historical and scientific as well as in the religious world a place is indeed vacant for such a book to fill the same place on this continent as the bible does on the eastern and be a guide book to religion as well as to archaeology archasologists have surely felt the need of such a book they lament the fact that in trying to penetrate america's dim past they have nothing to g'uide them no book to go to when some important ruin has been discovered which could lead them to correct conclusions concerning it or the people who left it when anything of importance is found in the eastern continent the bible is at once consulted and its position found concerning it as now with the cities of babylon and ninevah which are being unearthed when they were found the bible was at once referred to for light on the subject some people even doubted the bible because no trace of these two cities could be found but now archjeologists have found what they are certain are the ruins of these two great cities and of course our faith in the bible will be strengthened when we see that it is proved by all the archaeology of the east ern continent did not god make of one blood all nations if so america too should have a guide book to throw lig"htupon the ruins of the grand civiliza tions which existed here and if a record come forth claiming to be such a book and to be of divine origin it should be allowed the same privilege as is given to the bible that of having its position proved either true or false by the religious as well as by the archaeological evidences and if the ar chaeology of the continent confirm its position and the vacancy in the re ligious world be filled and the book proved to be of divine origin why should it not be read and studied as a guide book — an interpreter of archaeological discovery we have just such a book in the book of mormon it comes forth claiming to be the record of the people who lived here in ancient times and therefore a true guide book to american archaeology a vigorous testa tor to the truth that god hath made of one blood all nations every position and statement in it concerning the archeology is corroborated by the evi dences and the traditions found amoni the natives and if all these statements are proved true is it not reasonable to believe that its position on the origin of these two grand civilizations is true mr short gives his conclusions bearing on this thought as follows the fact that civilizations having such analogies are developed in isolated ing cnaracier uiictu uut iiuiciwou l,vilj.^^-j iv . „„ old world leads us to the truth that god bath made of one blood all nations of men the book of mormon came forth about sixteen or seventeen years be fore prescott's works which were the first archaeological books published so joseph smith could not have copied these positions from antiquarians and in the schools of that time dr robertson's views of america's past were taught and these were opposite to those of the book of mormon if the book of mormon be read and studied it will be seen bow utterly impossible it would be for a young uneducated boy to write such a book which years afterwards would be corroborated in every statement made by scientific discovery the testimony it gives of the bible and the great moral and spiritual teachings of our savior and the glorious principles of his church in their simplest and best form prove it to be of divine origin as it hears testimony that god is indeed just and that of one blood he made all nations and gave to all the privilege to seek and find him