the spaulding theory - another myth exploded!

8/2/2019 The Spaulding Theory - Another Myth Exploded!

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE FOURTH THEORY OF ORIGIN

Of the Book of Mormon

It seemed that the next minute they would discover a solution.

Yet it was clear that the end was still far, far off,

...and that the hardest and most complicated part

was just beginning.

Anton Chekhov

The collapse of the third theory made the fourth theory necessary. At the same

time it added an unforeseen complication. The third theory has Rigdon as author and co-conspirator of a fraudulent literary work, whereas the fourth theory claims that Rigdon

stole Spaulding's work and then conspired with Smith to present it as the Book of

Mormon and rests on the view that Rigdon stole the manuscript of a novel written by one

Solomon Spaulding, which tells of a party of travellers from ancient Rome. The party, ledby a man called Fabius, was sailing from Rome to Britain when they were caught up in a

severe storm. As a consequence of which they arrived not at Britain, but at the American

continent which they found inhabited by two warring tribes. Melvin R Brooks writes:

The manuscript contains about

one-tenth the reading matter of the Book of Mormon, and is

anything but religious throughout. In many places the reader of the

Spaulding Manuscript may find obscenity. The main theme revolvesabout a romance between Elseon and Lamesa.i

The Spaulding Theory is the brain-child of former Mormon Philastus Hurlburt,

for inclusion in Eber D. Howe's Mormonism Unvailed. He alleged that Spaulding left hisManuscript Found in Lambdin and Patterson's print shop in Pittsburgh from whereRigdon stole it. Some accounts have Rigdon "regularly frequenting" the printers; others

have him working there as a compositor. After the alleged theft he is said to have added

some religious language to the text and then have Smith "discover" it with the aid of an"imaginary angel."


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Mormonism Unvailed published in 1834, was not Howe's first attack on Joseph

Smith and the Book of Mormon. He was the publisher of the Painesville Telegraph, of

Painesville, Ohio, and had published many articles hostile to the church. Although thebook was published naming Howe as the author, there are good reasons for believing that

it was the work of Hurlburt, written in a spirit of revenge after Hurlburt's lewd character

had been exposed in a church court for which he was excommunicated. He was laterbound over by a court for the attempted murder of Joseph Smith.

Hurlburt Manuscript Found from his Hurlburt's remarried widow, Mrs Davidson.

He claimed that it proved beyond doubt that it was the origin of the Book of Mormon, yet

in spite of this assertion he did not publish it. If it was the primary source of the Book ofMormon why did he fail to publish it? His failure to publish Manuscript Found was not

the only strange thing in the case of Hurlburt and the manuscript. He borrowed it from

Spaulding's widow promising to return it to her. It was a promise he did not keep. Had hepublished The Manuscript Story and proved that the Book of Mormon's dependence on it

it could have been the end of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and his thriving

community. Yet it was not published but merely referred to in the following terms:

We have shown that the Book of Mormon is the Jointproduction of Solomon Spaulding and some otherdesigning knave...nor will anyone disagree with us, whenwe shall have proven that the Book of Mormon was a jointspeculation between the "author and proprietor" and thewitnesses.ii

At one point it is admitted by Howe that as far as the conspiracy theory isconcerned,

...we have no positive proof; but many circumstanceshave carried a suspicious appearance; and furtherdevelopments may establish the fact.

In spite of the assurances given throughout the book that the Spauldingmanuscript was plagiarised in the production of the Book of Mormon, the final passage

of Howe's book sounds the death knell for the Spaulding theory, especially in light of themanuscript's discovery in 1885.

We, therefore, must hold out Sidney Rigdon to theworld as being the original "Author and Proprietor" of the


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whole Mormon conspiracy, until further light is elicitedupon the lost writings of Solomon Spaulding.iii

This statement is not that of one who has incontrovertible proof, rather it points toabsence of proof, Howe is content to impute not only the authorship of the Book of

Mormon to Rigdon but "the whole Mormon conspiracy." Generations of authors have

been content to let their opinions rest upon this ricketty foundation and to present thoseopinions in the guise of "scholarly research."

It is undisputed that Hurlburt obtained Manuscript Found and that he never dared

publish it. What is less certain is how writers hostile to the Book of Mormon take any

comfort from Hurlburt's failure to produce his evidence but continue to spread the storyin desperate attempts to prolong the falsehood that Hurlburt began. They fail to convince

because the evidence for the theory is non-existent.

Hurlburt did not shrink from dishonesty in seeking to injure his former friends

and elevate his own reputation. When it became evident that the manuscript haddisappeared rumours were circulated that the Mormons had either bought or stolen the

manuscript, and burned it to destroy evidence of their fraud. It would have made sense

for the Mormons to hide the manuscript if it proved them party to a fraud, but why didHurlburt and Howe hide it if it proved their proposition?

For fifty years the Spaulding Theory reigned unchallenged, and was an

embarrassment to Latter-day Saints - nothing more. For fifty years Manuscript Foundwas held to be the source of the Book of Mormon and its non-appearance preventedcomparison. During this time no other theory of origin was produced because none was

necessary. The Spaulding theory was finally collapsed in 1883 when Manuscript Found

was discovered in Honolulu and placed in the library of Oberlin College, Columbus,Ohio, where it remains. Had it not been discovered it is certain that enemies of the

Church would have not have had to invent other explanations for the Book of Mormon.

With the manuscript available for comparison it was plainly evident that the Book

of Mormon was not derived from Spaulding's work. When this was recognized another

theory was hurriedly invented claiming that the Book of Mormon was based not onSpaulding's Manuscript Found, but on another of his works, Manuscript Lost, a work not

mentioned prior to the collapse of the Spaulding theory. In spite of the evidence ofManuscript Found and the non-appearance of Manuscript Lost, the theory of a Spaulding

origin remains current amongst of anti-Mormon writers lacking objectivity and honesty.

For the sake of their own prejudices and presuppositions they discount the crushingweight of evidence against a Spaulding contribution to the Book of Mormon.


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a novel was left by Solomon Spaulding in Patterson'sPrinting Office at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sidney Regdon[sic] found it and with Joseph's help, he invented a story

about gold plates and spectacles. Smith professed totranslate it and thus we have the Mormon Bible.iv

Baird claims an unreferenced source for an interesting piece of information, not

discoverable elsewhere. It concerns a note allegedly written by Spaulding's physician on

5th June 1831 on the flyleaf of a Book of Mormon.

This work, I am convinced by facts related to me bydeceased patient, Solomon Spaulding, has been made

from the writings of Spaulding, probably by Sidney Rigdon,who was suspicioned by Spaulding with purloining hismanuscript from the publishing-house to which he hadtaken it; and I am prepared to testify that Spaulding toldme that his work was entitled, "The Manuscript Found inthe Wilds of Mormon; or Unearthed Records of theNephites". From his description of its contents, I fullybelieve that this Book of Mormon is mainly and wickedlycopied from it. June, 5, 1831 Cephas Dodd.v

It is noteworthy that Dodd's testimony, which is probably spurious since it

contains too many essential elements of the Spaulding Theory at too early a date, referredto the Manuscript Found. No other Spaulding work had entered the picture, because until

the discovery of the manuscript, which immediately disqualified it, none other was

necessary. Baird cites another unique source, similarly unreferenced.

Rigdon told his friends of what he had done [stolenthe Spaulding manuscript and colluded with Smith tomanufacture the Book of Mormon from it] but did notdeclare it publicly for fear of Mormon reprisal.vi

He refers to Cowdery, Davis and Scales' book, Who Really Wrote the Book Of

Mormon? and to their claim that they have


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[Resurfaced] part of Spaulding's original manuscriptof his second novel. Twelve pages, word for word the "Bookof Mormon", have been examined by handwriting-analysis

experts who identified the handwriting as Solomon's [sic]Spaulding's. These pages have been preserved for yearsby the "Mormon" Church. They are known by the Church asthe "unidentified scribe" section of the original,handwritten Book of Mormon. The Church denies theSpaulding identification but, disappointingly, prohibitsfurther examination of the documents in question.vii

Another writer who will not relinquish the Spaulding Theory in spite of the

overwhelming evidence against it, is Linnegan who writes:

"[Smith] was joined by one Samuel [sic] Rigdon withwhose assistance it seems likely that Smith added furtherchapters [to the Book of Mormon]".viii

Brinkerhoff, in his disappointing and mean-spirited little book Mormonism - AnHistorical And Scriptural Analysis, is also convinced of a Spaulding origin.

Solomon Spaulding, wrote a fictional historical novelcalled "MANUSCRIPT LOST" [sic] about the inhabitants the[sic] Americas...it was evidently stolen by one SidneyRigdon, a fellow who used to loiter around the shop. Itsurfaced later, in a modified form under the title THE BOOKOF MORMON...it appears that Smith and Rigdon spentconsiderable time together two years before Rigdonsupposedly came into contact with Smith and Mormonismand was converted to it. The evidence is circumstantial,but it is so conclusive as to be irrefutable.ix

No evidence, irrefutable or otherwise, is produced by Brinkerhoff. Neither does

he offer his evidence for changing the name of the manuscript. In Some Modern Faiths itis claimed, without supporting evidence, that


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Evidence from Spaulding's widow establishes that she maintained possession of

the manuscript from prior to 1814 until she permitted Philastus Hurlburt to borrow it in

1834 (long after the Book of Mormon had been published). If Rigdon ever saw theSpaulding document it must have been prior to 1816. This date can be pushed back two

more years. A contemporary of Spaulding's made the statement that

Spaulding left here [Conneaut, Ohio] in 1812, and Ifurnished him the means to carry him to Pittsburgh, wherehe said he would get the book printed and pay me.xiv

Another interesting and significant statement by Lake reads:

A messenger was despatched to look up the widowof Spaulding, who was found residing in Massachusetts.

From her we learned that Spaulding resided in Pittsburgh,about two years," etc.

This places Spaulding in Pittsburgh from 1812 to 1814. Therefore, if Rigdon had

opportunity to read or steal the manuscript it must have been before 1814. But there arecogent rebutting reasons against this solution. In the first place Rigdon, who was 21 in

1814, was to be found at home on his father's farm and did not arrive in Pittsburgh until

1822 when the manuscript had been gone for 8 years. Add to this the fact that no one hascome up with a single piece of evidence linking Rigdon with Joseph Smith until

December of 1830, or with the production of the Book of Mormon which was undergoingprinting from August 1829 until March 1830. Historical evidence for complicity in a

plagiarised or counterfeit production of a book by Smith and Rigdon does not exist.

Enemies of Mormonism have besmirched the names of Joseph Smith, Sidney

Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery and Parley P Pratt in this matter. Their inability to furnish

substantiation must persuade honest not to heed their slanders. It was in response to sucha slander that Sidney Rigdon wrote:

In your paper of the 18th instant, I see a letter signed by somebodycalling herself Matilda Davison, pretending to give the origin of

Mormonism, as she is pleased to call it, by relating moonshine story

about a certain Solomon Spaulding, a creature with the knowledge ofwhose earthly existence I am entirely indebted to this production; for


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surely, until Philastus Hurlburt informed me that such a being lived, at some former period, I had not the most distant knowledge of his

existence...it is only necessary to say, in relation to the whole story about

Spaulding's writings being in the hands of Mr. Patterson, who was in

Pittsburgh, and who is said to have kept a printing office, and my saying

that I was concerned in the said office, etc., etc., is the most base of lies without even the shadow of truth.xv

That was Rigdon's measured response to the calumny which Matilda Davison'sletter aimed at his character. There is a suspicion that Mrs Davison did not write the

letter, and comparisons of its syntax suggest that this may be the case. It has been

suggested that a Reverend Storrs forged it over her name, although he denied it. In hisresponse Rigdon denies any knowledge of Solomon Spaulding and his literary creations,

and any connection with the Patterson printing establishment in Pittsburgh. Oliver

Cowdery had a word to say to those who claiming that he was dishonestly involved in

any way.

I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon(save a few pages), as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power ofGod by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it iscalled by the book, Holy Interpreters. I beheld with myeyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from

which it was transcribed. I also saw with my eyes andhandled with my hands the Holy Interpreters. That book istrue. Sidney Rigdon did not write it. Mr. Spaulding did notwrite it. I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of theProphet. It contains the everlasting gospel, and came forthto the children of men in fulfilment of the revelations of John, where he says he saw an angel come with theeverlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred,tongue and people. It contains the principles of salvation;and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey itsprecepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in

the kingdom of God on high.xvi

Parley P. Pratt is another often cited as a conspirator with Smith in producing the

Book of Mormon. His response to those who insist that Rigdon wrote the Book of

Mormon was spirited:


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Mr. Rigdon embraced the doctrine [Mormonism] through my

instrumentality. I first presented the Book of Mormon to him. I stood

upon the bank of the stream while he was baptized, and assisted to

officiate in his ordination, and I myself was unacquainted with the systemuntil some months after its organization, which was on the 6th of April

1830.xvii

In the following chapters we take a closer look at conspiracy theories and

principal actors, particularly at the prime suspect - Sidney Rigdon. Familiarity with thisman's history removes any lingering doubts about his innocence.

Ronnie Bray 2012


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i Melvin R Brooks, LDS Reference Encyclopedia (Salt lake City: Bookcraft Inc., 1960) pp. 474-475.

ii Eber D Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville, Ohio: ED Howe, 1834) p. 96.

iii Ibidem p. 100.

iv Ibidem p. 100.

v David Baird, Mormonism - Of God Or Men? (Birmingham: Logos Publications, 1981) p. 14.

vi Ibidem p. 14.

vii Ibidem pp. 14-15.

viii John McCaughan Linnegan, Your Church And Mormonism (Omagh, Northern Ireland: no details, 1964)p. 9.

ix Forrest A Brinkerhoff, Mormonism - A Scriptural And Historical Analysis (Torrens Park, South Australia:Stallard and Potter, 1988) p. 29.

x Maurice C Burrell and J Stafford Wright, Some Modern Faiths (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983) p.

53.

xi Ibidem p. 53.

xii Ibidem p. 99.

xiii Ibidem p. 20.

xiv Eber D Howe, A History Of Mormonism (Painesville, Ohio: ED Howe, 1840) statement by Henry Lake.

xv Sidney Rigdon, "Letter written from Commerce, Illinois," The Boston Journal May 27, 1837: Pages.

xvi Oliver Cowdery, "Address," Special Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Kanesville [Council Bluffs] Ohio, October 21, 1848.

xvii Parley Parker Pratt, "Letter," New Era November 1839, New York ed.: Pages.

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