If of these testimonies it shall be said they are borne by men who were Joseph Smith's friends and followers--interested parties, bent on perpetuating the frauds he inaugurated, I would reply by asking: Whose testimony do Christians accept as representing the true character of Jesus Christ? Certainly _not_ the testimony of the Sadducees and Pharisees; but the testimony of Matthew, of Mark, of Luke and John--"his friends and followers," the infidel exclaims--"_interested parties,_ bent on perpetuating the frauds he inaugurated!" Will the Christian world because of that preposterous claim that Christ's friends and followers are not proper witnesses of his life and character, give up the evidence supplied in the testimonies of his friends to the uprightness and purity of his life, and the divinity of himself and his mission? Ah, no! They will ask rather, "Who so competent to bear testimony of his life and the divinity of his character as those who intimately knew him, who lived with him, who shared his joys and his sorrows; who were in sympathy with his life's mission and could enter into its spirit?" I only ask that the same reasoning be applied to the testimony given by the friends of Joseph Smith.
One thing connected with the character of Joseph Smith, and one that distinguishes him from false prophets and mere enthusiasts is the unaffectedness of his conduct. It was the prevailing idea of his day and even now that the calling of a prophet is inseparably connected with a life of austerity--with inordinate fastings and midnight prayers; with the vows of monastic life, with gloom and self-mortifications; with hair shirts, long robes, and sandals; with long hair, beard unkempt and bodies filthy--as if prophets had no time to keep clean--with solemn, awful brows and measured tread--lives wherein there is nothing natural--no sunshine, nor smiles nor rose-lipped laughter--as if communing with God was such awful business that it chills the heart and drives all happiness out of the life of man! Joseph Smith was nothing of all this. There was no affectation about him. He complied with the customs of his time and nation in respect to his apparel--scrupulously neat and clean therein; face smooth shaven, and hair cut according to the prevailing fashion. While temperate in his habits and content with the humble fare which adverse circumstances during the most of his life forced upon him, he was not averse to good food and pleasant surroundings--he was not the prophet of sackcloth and ashes. While dignified in deportment and having a due comprehension of the magnitude of his calling and the work committed to his hands, there was nothing strained or unnatural in his demeanor--no striving after effect; and often he unbent, played ball, wrestled, or romped with children--with whom he was a general favorite--with all the joyousness and freedom of a boy. And what may be regarded as one of the true tests of his greatness is, that while here and there his happiness and freedom shocked some over-pious persons who looked on from without, and expected austerity and gloom in one claiming to be a prophet, he never lost caste with his friends for his unconventional conduct. He was the Prophet of a joyous countenance; of unconventional but upright deportment; the apostle of cleanliness and becoming apparel. He believed that serving God should make men happier and that the good things of the earth were made for the comfort and to increase the happiness of the righteous.