him, and vanish from his sight. This was the first miracle that was done in this Church, &c."
The scene changes, and Newell, overwhelmed with the good spirit, and joyous beyond expression, is lifted from the floor to the roof till "the beams would let him go no further." In subsequent gatherings of the Saints, Newell is particularly favoured, sees "the heavens opened," and "beholds the glory of God." He was among the faithful few who endured to the end, and then quietly" fell asleep in Jesus."
It is strangely argued that this first "miracle" in the Mormon Church was an evidence of the divine mission of Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Elder Orson Pratt reasons thus on the subject: —
"The great miracle that was wrought upon Newell Knight, and that, too, before he became a member of the Church, and in the presence of some eight or nine of his neighbours, must have given him the most perfect knowledge of the truth of the Book of Mormon; and it must also have been a convincing testimony to all who saw him." . . . "This great manifestation of the power of God, in contrast with the power of the evil one, must have given a knowledge to those who were present that Joseph Smith was a great prophet and seer, and that the Book of Mormon was a divine revelation."[1]
The Author, in searching an old file of papers, accidentally cast his eye upon a record of the experience of Judge John W. Edmonds, of New York, wherein that gentleman relates in the New York Tribune, some time in 1859, his experience in "casting out devils," which is so remarkably similar to the experience of Joseph Smith with Newell Knight, that it deserves the careful consideration of the Latter-Day Saints. The Judge says: —
"Casting out devils. — I take this phrase as I find it in the Scriptures, as indicating that the subject is possessed by an influence which produces violent throes, or, as it is said in Scripture, 'Straightway the spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming.'
"I have witnessed many instances of this when the subject was relieved simply by laying on of hands, and sometimes by a mere command to the spirit to depart.
"I was once at a circle in Troy, some twenty persons were present, when a strong man became unconscious and violently convulsed. He beat- ↑ "Evidences of the Book of Mormon and the Bible Compared," p. 63.
