CHAPTER I.

 JOSEPH'S HUMBLE¹ EXTRACTION—THE GODLINESS AND FAIR FAME OF HIS ANCESTRY—A PREMONITION OF HIS WORK.

 

Joseph Smith was of humble birth. His parents and their progenitors² were toilers; but their characters were godly and their names unstained.

 

In the year 1638, Robert Smith, a sturdy yeoman of England, emigrated to the New World, the land of promise. He settled in Essex County, Massachusetts, and afterwards married Mary French. The numerous descendants of these worthy³ people intermarried with many of the staunchest and most industrious⁴ families of New England. Samuel, the son of Robert and Mary, born January 26th, 1666, wedded⁵ Rebecca Curtis, January 25th, 1707. Their son, the second Samuel, was born January 26th, 1714; he married Priscilla Gould, and was the father of Asael, born March 7th, 1744. Asael Smith took to wife Mary Duty, and their son Joseph was born July 12th, 1771. On the 24th of January, 1796, Joseph married Lucy Mack, at Tunbridge, in the State of Vermont. She was born July 8th, 1776, and was the daughter of Solomon and Lydia Mack, and was the granddaughter of Ebenezer Mack.

 

The men of these two families, Smith and Mack, through several generations had been tillers of the soil. They were devout⁶ and generous, measurably prosperous in a worldly sense, and several of them were brave and steadfast⁷ soldiers through the early Colonial campaigns and the Revolutionary struggle.

 

After the marriage of Joseph Smith with Lucy Mack, they settled, respected and happy, upon their own farm at Tunbridge. Here they were successful, financially, for a few years, until the dishonesty of a trusted friend and agent robbed them of their surplus means and left them plunged⁸ in debt. They freely sacrificed all of money value which they possessed⁹, even homestead and Lucy's treasured marriage portion, and paid every just claim which was held against them. Left thus in absolute poverty, they sought to retrieve¹⁰ their loss of home; and Tunbridge, where they were known and respected, offered for a time a prospect¹¹ of success. Soon afterwards, however, they removed to Sharon, where Joseph rented a farm from his father-in-law. This field he diligently¹² tilled through the summer, and during the winter taught the village school. Comfort was restored to them; but they were destined¹³ to be still tried and sanctified by the tribulations¹⁴ of life. Honest and industrious, pious¹⁵ and benevolent¹⁶, yet Joseph and Lucy saw themselves and their children pursued by poverty, illness and the cold neglect of their fellow-mortals. They repined not at their chastenings, but they marveled.

 

God was teaching the parents the great lesson of personal humility¹⁷; and they and their children were learning how fleeting¹⁸ is earthly wealth and how fallible is mere¹⁹ human friendship. For the choice seed which is to bring forth²⁰ rich and perfect fruit, the Lord Almighty²¹ prepares the soil of His garden.

 

The paternal²² grandfather of the Prophet was Asael Smith, a man of the strongest religious convictions, and yet a man whose broad humanitarian²³ views were repugnant to many of the sectarians of the day. Upon one occasion, before the Prophet's birth, Asael Smith had a premonition that one of his descendants should be a great teacher and leader of men. To quote his words, as they are remembered and recorded by one who knew and heard him speak: "It has been borne in upon my soul that one of my descendants will promulgate²⁴ a work to revolutionize the world of religious faith."

 

It is not known if the young Joseph ever learned of this prophetic declaration, until after his own career had been made manifest. But Asael lived to see the dawn of the fulfillment of his words. Just before his death, the Book of Mormon, then recently printed, was presented to him. He accepted it, and with the light of inspiration which sometimes illumines the mind of man as the veil of eternity²⁵ opens to his gaze, Asael solemnly warned his attendants to give heed²⁶ to the Book, for it was true, and its coming forth heralded²⁷ a renewal²⁸ of the Gospel light.

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 progenitors   

n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本

参考例句：

• The researchers also showed that the progenitors mature into neurons in Petri dishes. 研究人员还表示，在佩特里培养皿中的脑细胞前体可以发育成神经元。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Though I am poor and wretched now, my progenitors were famously wealthy. 别看我现在穷困潦倒，我家上世可是有名的富翁。 来自互联网

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

5 wedded   

adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She's wedded to her job. 她专心致志于工作。
• I was invited over by the newly wedded couple for a meal. 我被那对新婚夫妇请去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

7 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

8 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

9 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

10 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

13 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

14 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

17 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

18 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

19 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

20 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

21 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

22 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

23 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

24 promulgate   

v.宣布；传播；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• The king promulgate a decree.国王颁布了一项命令。
• The shipping industry promulgated a voluntary code.航运业对自律守则进行了宣传。

25 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

26 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

27 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。