Letter from Isaac Galland, 24 July 1839

  • Source Note
  • Historical Introduction
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Chillicothe July 24th 1839
My very dear friends
After a journey of 9 days we reached this city in health and safety. No very remarkable incident occurred during our voyage excepting that we were very near being capsised on our passage from to Portsmouth by a tornado, which rendered the Boat unmanageable, And at the moment she was completely turned upon her beam ends And about to go over, bottom upwards, She struck the shore broadside, And soon afterwards began to right up again. Our voyage was rather pleasant than otherwise. I find the public mind awfully abused in relation both to the doctrines as well as manners and morals of the .
We had on board as far as , a gentleman from Delaware a Mr [Arnold] Naudain late a Senator in congress from that State, I had Some conversation with him, to whom also I sold one copy of The Book of Mormon He is a gentleman of very pleasant manners— And of good moral principles And I was much pleased with the uncompromising aversion which he manifested in his address on the 4th Inst towards all mobs, and lawless acts of violence, he expressed the most painful apprehensions for the fate of our present form of government, And entreated every individual who had the least love for his , or wish for its perpetuity; to rally round to the support of the majesty of its laws. And to use his influence in suppressing insubordination and lawlessness in whatever they may present themselves.
I heard of at , but do not know whether he was there at that time or not. I have not yet done anything, except to vindicate the truth wherever I have heard it assailed, And on suitable occasions to introduce the subject as a topic of conversation
I have had several very friendly tho’ rather argumentative interviews with a Dr [Benjamin] Carpenter of this City who seems entirely absorbed in the doctrines of Emanuel Swedenburg [Swedenborg]— I have conceded to him, that it is not impossible but that the Lord did reveal those spiritual interpretations of the scriptures to Swedenborg of which he asserts, but if so, it was certainly done to shame the metaphisical follies of the mother of harlots And her daughters who had as well in the age in which the Baron wrote his metaphisical theology, as in the present age, ran to the most extravagant lengths of philosophising religion and obscuring every truth in the gospel, and the axioms of common sense; hence that they should have those follies to their full, like the hebrews who murmured in the wilderness for flesh, that they might <​should​> be So gorged with it, And <​that they might,​> die with it between their teeth— their [p. 70]
Chillicothe July 24th 1839
My very dear friends
After a journey of 9 days we reached this city in health and safety. No very remarkable incident occurred during our voyage excepting that we were very near being capsised on our passage from to Portsmouth by a tornado, which rendered the Boat unmanageable, And at the moment she was completely turned upon her beam ends And about to go over, bottom upwards, She struck the shore broadside, And soon afterwards began to right up again. Our voyage was rather pleasant than otherwise. I find the public mind awfully abused in relation both to the doctrines as well as manners and morals of the .
We had on board as far as , a gentleman from Delaware a Mr Arnold Naudain late a Senator in congress from that State, I had Some conversation with him, to whom also I sold one copy of The Book of Mormon He is a gentleman of very pleasant manners— And of good moral principles And I was much pleased with the uncompromising aversion which he manifested in his address on the 4th Inst towards all mobs, and lawless acts of violence, he expressed the most painful apprehensions for the fate of our present form of government, And entreated every individual who had the least love for his , or wish for its perpetuity; to rally to the support of the majesty of its laws. And to use his influence in suppressing insubordination and lawlessness in whatever they may present themselves.
I heard of at , but do not know whether he was there at that time or not. I have not yet done anything, except to vindicate the truth wherever I have heard it assailed, And on suitable occasions to introduce the subject as a topic of conversation
I have had several very friendly tho’ rather argumentative interviews with a Dr Benjamin Carpenter of this City who seems entirely absorbed in the doctrines of Emanuel Swedenburg [Swedenborg]— I have conceded to him, that it is not impossible but that the Lord did reveal those spiritual interpretations of the scriptures to Swedenborg of which he asserts, but if so, it was certainly done to shame the metaphisical follies of the mother of harlots And her daughters who had as well in the age in which the Baron wrote his metaphisical theology, as in the present age, ran to the most extravagant lengths of philosophising religion and obscuring every truth in the gospel, and the axioms of common sense; hence that they should have those follies to their full, like the hebrews who murmured in the wilderness for flesh, that they should be gorged with it, that they might, die with it between their teeth— their [p. 70]
Page 70