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Source:Martin Harris:Painesville Telegraph:1831:He had seen and handled them all
The Painseville Telegraph in 1831: "[Martin Harris] had seen and handled them all"
Parent page: Martin Harris/Witness to the Book of Mormon
Martin Harris said that "He had seen and handled them all"
An early hostile account of Martin Harris' testimony in 1831 makes it clear that Harris' listeners got the message that the experience was literal, though done by God's power. The Painseville Telegraph published the following on 15 March 1831:
Martin Harris, another chief of Mormon imposters, arrived here last Saturday from the bible quarry in New-York. He immediately planted himself in the bar-room of the hotel, where he soon commenced reading and explaining the Mormon hoax, and all the dark passages from Genesis to Revelations. He told all about the gold plates, Angels, Spirits, and Jo Smith.—He had seen and handled them all, by the power of God![1]