Solomon Chamberlin, a preacher on his way to Canada, first heard about the “Gold Bible” from a family he lodged with near Palmyra. Like Thomas Marsh, he had moved from church to church throughout his life but felt dissatisfied with what he saw. Some churches preached gospel principles and believed in spiritual gifts, but they did not have God’s prophets or His priesthood. Solomon felt the time was coming when the Lord would bring forth His church.
As Solomon listened to the family talk about Joseph Smith and the gold plates, he felt electrified from head to toe, and he determined to find the Smiths and learn more about the book.
He set out for the Smith house and met Hyrum at the door. “Peace be to this house,” Solomon said.
“I hope it will be peace,” Hyrum replied.
“Is there anyone here,” asked Solomon, “that believes in visions or revelations?”
“Yes,” Hyrum said, “we are a visionary house.”
Solomon told Hyrum about a vision he had seen years before. In it, an angel had said that God had no church on the earth but would soon raise one up that had power like the apostles’ church of old. Hyrum and the others in the house understood what Solomon said and told him they shared his belief.
“I wish you would make known some of your discoveries,” Solomon said. “I think I can bear them.”
Hyrum invited him to stay at the Smith farm as a guest and showed him the Book of Mormon manuscript. Solomon studied it for two days and went with Hyrum to Grandin’s printing office, where a printer gave him sixty-four printed pages. With the unbound pages in hand, Solomon continued on to Canada, preaching everything he knew about the new faith along the way. Chamberlin, Autobiography, 4–11.
