Joseph Smith dressed up like an angel to fool his followers

DAYTON JOURNAL & ADVERTISER.

Vol. ? Dayton, Ohio, July 7, 1835. No. ?

An Angel Caught.

The Magazine and Advocate says, that while the Mormon Prophet, Jo Smith, was in Ohio engaged in proselytizing people to the faith of the "Golden Bible," he sought to give additional solemnity to the baptismal rite, by affirming that on each occasion an angel would appear on the opposite side of the stream, and there remain till the conclusion of the ceremony. The rite was administered in the evening in Grand River, near Painesville, not by the prophet in person, but by his disciples. In agreement with the prediction of the prophet, on each occasion a figure in white was seen on the opposite bank, and the faith of the faithful was thereby greatly increased. Suspicions, as to the incorporeal nature of the repeated angel, at length induced a company of young men (unbelievers of course) to examine the quality of the ghost, and having secreted themselves they awaited its arrival. Their expectations were soon realized by its appearance in its customary position and rushing from their lair, they succeeded in forcing it into the stream, and although its efforts to escape were powerful, they succeeded in bringing it in triumph to the opposite side of the stream, when who should this supposed inhabitant of the upper world be but the Mormon prophet. - Winchester Republican.

Note: This Utica Evangelical Magazine and Advocate tall tale was reprinted in condensed form by the Rochester Republican on June, 15, 1835 and by the New-York Mercury on June, 25th. The fanciful tale can be well compared with the stories of Joseph Smith's "walking on the water," as told in the Apr. 19, 1834 issue of the Philadelphia Saturday Courier and Smith's trained dove mimicking the Holy Spirit, as told in the Feb. 14, 1843 issue of the Norwalk Huron Reflector.
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