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MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 35
That I make this statement , not on account of fear, favor,or hope of reward of any kind , but simply that the truth maybe known with reference to said matter, and that the foregoingstatements made by me are tru e, as I verily believe .
“KATHERINE SALISBURY.
Sworn before me , and subscribed in my presence , by thesaid Katherine Salisbury
, this 1 5 th day of April , A . D . 188 1 .
“J . H. JENK S , N ota ry Public .
Has it ever entered into the thoughts of our opponents thatif Sidney Rigdon was the author or adapter of the Book of
Mormon how vast and wide spread must have been the con
spiracy that foisted it upon the world Whole families musthave been engaged in it. Men of all ages and various conditions in life
,and living in widely separate portions of the coun
try must have been connected with it . First we must includein the catalogue of conspirators the whole of the Smith family,then the Whitmer
’
s,Martin Harris and O liver Cowdery ; fur
ther, to carry ou tthis absurd idea, Sidney Rigdon and Parley P.
Pratt must have been their active fellow- conspirators in arranging, carrying out and consummating their iniquitous fraud . Todo this they must have traveled thousands of miles and Spentmonths, perhaps years , to accomplish— what? That is theunsolved problem . Was it for the purpose of duping theworld ? They, at any rate the great majority of them ,
were ofall men most unlikely to be engaged in such a folly. Theirhabits, surroundings, station in life , youth and inexperience allforbid such a thought. What could they galm, In any lightthat could be then presented to their minds , by palming such adeception upon the world ? This is another unanswerablequestion . Then comes the stag gering fact, if the Book be afalsity, that all these fam ilies , all these diverse characters , in allthe trouble, perplexity, persecut ion and suffering through whichthey passed , never wavered in their testimony, never changedtheir statements, never
“went back” on their original declara
tions, but cont inued un to death ( and they have all passed awaysave a very few) , proclaiming that the Book of Mormon was adivine revelation , and that its record was true. Was thereever such an exhibition in the history of the world of suchcontinued , such unabating, such undeviating falsehood ? iffalsehood it was . We cannot find a place in the annals of their
THE MYTH OF THE
MAURPTFUDO R T H E
A B S U R D IT IE S O F T H E
SPAULD NG STORY.
ELEV ES TH BOOK OF
THE EEITH-PROMOTING at SERIES .
B Y E L D E R G E O R G E R E Y N O L D S
D e s i g n e d f o r t h e I n s t r u c t i o n a n d E n c o u r a g e m e n t
o f y o u n g L a t t e r - d a y S a i n t s .
JUV EN ILE IN STRUCTOR OF F ICE,
U t a h .
—
C O PY R IG H T A P PL I E D F O R .
PREFACE.
HE previou s numbers Of the FA ITH -PROMOTING SERIES
have consisted largely of the personal narratives 0 1 men of
God living in these days , in which it has been shown how the
Lord preserves , protects, guides, inspires and directs His ser
vants in this dispensation , and reveals His word and will to
them after the manner and by like methods to those by which
He manifested himself to the righteous in the ages of the past ,
demonstrat ing His unchangeableness and the validity of our
claim that we are His acknowledged people. With feelings of
intense joy,deep devotion and profound gratitude to Him , the
previous numbers of this Series have been read by thousands
of Latter day Saints . This little volume takes a somewhat
new departure. It treats of a book—a divine record , the t rue
story of its discovery and translat ion ,and of the falsehoods
that have been invented , nourished and sown broadcast through
ou t Christendom to blind men ’ s eyes to its real import. For
the Book of Mormon being true then Joseph Sm ith is a prophet
of God and “Mormonism is the everlasting gospel Of our
Lord Jesus Christ ; but if it were a forgery, as our enemies
assert, then would all our hopes be vain and our faith worthless.
The SO- called “Spaulding story has been for many years
past the last refuge of those who have undertaken to prove
that the Book Of Mormon is not what it claims to be . All
other hypothesis have long since been committed to limbo as
too silly, too outrageous or too inconsistent even for a gullable
PREFACE.
anti Mormon public In this short treatise we have endeav
ored to prove the utter untenability of this theory . We have
shown that the upholders of this myth are not only at variance
with each other, but that all their assertions are inconsistent
wi th the well-known facts associated with its discovery; and
when we proceed further to examine the internal evidence of
the b JOk we very soon discover that the conglomeration of
conjec tures, guesses, supposi tions , etc. , of which this Spauld
ing story is formed is as unstable as water and utterly
unworthy of belie f.
The individual testim onies of the three witnesses gathered
from many authentic sources are an importan t feature of this
little work. With true Latter-day Saints they must inevitably
be a source o f j oy and consolation , and none who are honest,
be they Mormons or not,can rise from the perusal of their
simple statements without realizing a marked eff ect there
from . They bear the impress of truth , sincerity and genuine
ness in every paragraph .
In conclusion we dedicate these pages to God , to His people
and to all who love the right , trusting that the ir mission will
not be without effect in the spread of His righteousness and
the disseminat ion of His truth .
Gr. R .
SALT LAKE CITY ,
August 7 th , 1883 .
CONTENTS.
The History of the Manuscript ,
The Originator of the Spaulding S tory ,
The Bogus Affidavit,
Mrs. Dickenson’ s Speculations ,
What the Book of Mormon Really is,
Utter Disagreemen t of the Two Histories ,
Joseph Smi th’
s'
Early Li fe ,
Joseph ’ s Account of the Discovery of the Plates ,
Time Occupied in Translating the Book of Mormon ,
The Three Witnesses ,
O liver Cowdery,
David Whitmer,
Martin Harris ,
Inte rnal Evidences of the Book of Mormon ,The Prophecies of the Book o f Mormon
,
Appendix ,
10 THE MYTH OF THE
essity a gross imposture, the cruelest of relig ious deception thatfor many centuries has misled humanity. All other theoriesadvanced to prove this record false having long since failed ,the
“Spaulding story” is the last and only resort of those whoOppose the divine mission of Joseph Smith , and though manya time refuted and proved an impossibli ty, yet, it is thator nothing ; and the malignant hatred of the wicked not permitting the Book of Mormon to stand on its own intrinsicmerits, or be judged by its own internal evidences, this storyhas to be again and again revamped as the last hope of a hopeless cause which perceives in the triumph of
“Mormonism”
the seal of its own destruction . To consider this story, itsorigination and history , its claims on the credulity of mankind ,and the weight of evidence for and against it, will be topic ofthe following pages .Attention has been drawn and interest created anew in Mr.Spaulding and his unpublished romance by the appearance inthe public prints of articles and affidavits by members of hisfamily, in which the story of the “Manuscript Found” isgiven
,and efforts made to connect it with the Book of Mor
mon . Among the most important of these papers is an aflidavit of Mrs. McKinstry the daughter of Mr. Spaulding, which
g ives a hi story of the manuscript from the time it was written
until it passed out of the hands of the family. We will firstdraw attention to the various points made by Mrs . McKinstryfrom her actual knowledge, leaving out those reflections , suppositions and vain imaginings in which she indulges when shewanders from the path of her actual knowledge ; but lest itshould be asserted that we have not fairly represented herstatements , we insert the affidavit in full as an appendix to thislittle volume .
According to Mrs . McKinstry’
s affidavit she resided withher father
,Mr. Solomon Spaulding, at Conneaut, Ohio, in 18 12 ,
she then being a child in her sixth year.About this time her father was very much interested in theantiquities of this continent , and wrote a romance on the sub
ject , which he called the“Manuscript Found,
” in which she
be lieves the names of Mormon, Moroni, Nephi and Lamaniteappear.
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 11
This was not the only work of Mr. Spaulding , he was aman of literary tastes and wrote a number of tales . etc. , whichhe was in the habit of reading to his family, to his littledaughter, now Mrs . McKinstry, among the rest.
From Conneaut the family removed to Pittsburg, Pennsyl
vania , where they had a friend named Patterson , a bookseller.To this gentleman , her mother states , the
“Manuscript Found”
was loaned and by him read , admired and returned to the
The stay of the family in Pittsburg was very brief, for they
shortly removed to Amity, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Spauldingdied in 18 16 . Immediately afterwards she and her widowedmother paid a visit to the latter
’ s brother Mr. William H .
Sabine, at Onondaga Valley, Onondaga Co. , New York . Atrunk containing all the writings of the deceased clergymanwas taken with them and in this trunk was the “ManuscriptFound .
” While here Mrs . McKinstry saw and handled themanuscript and describes it as closely written and about aninch thick .
Aft erwards her mother went to reside with her father (Mrs .
McKinstry’
s grandfather) at Pomfret, Connecticut, but she did
not take the trunk of manuscript with her. In 1 820 she againmarried and became the wife of a Mr. Davison , of Hardwicks
,near Coopertown ,
New York. After her marriage shesent for her things left at her brother ’ s , among the rest theold trunk of manuscript. These reached her in safety.
In 1828 , Mrs . McKinstry was herselfmarried , and residedin Monson
,Hampton Co . ,
Mass . Very soon after hermarriage her mother joined her there , and was wi th her mostof the time until the latter
’
s death , which took place in1844 .
Mrs . D avison when she went to reside with her daughterleft the trunk of manuscript at Hardwicks , in care Of MrJerome Clark .
In 1834 , one Hurlburt visited her. He bore a letter fromher brother, Mr. Sabine , and requested the loan of the
“Manuscript Found .
” She reluctantly gave him a letter addressedto Mr. Clark at Hardwi cks, to deliver him the manuscript ;Hurlburt having made repeated promises to return it.
12 THE MYTH OF THE
The family afterwards heard that Hurlburt received the
manuscript from Mr. Clark, but from that time the Spaulding family never again had it in their possession , though theyrepeatedly wrote to Hurlburt about the matter.In the above we have the history of the notorious manuscript from the time it was written until it fell into the handsof D . P . Hurlburt, who was the first man who endeavored toconnect it with the Book of Mormon . Its history may be
thus summed up :
Written in 1 8 12 at Conneaut, Ohio .
Taken to Pittsburg shortly after . ( 1 8 14 )Thence to Amity, where it was in the possession of itsauthor when he died in 1 8 16 .
In 18 16 taken to Onondaga Valley, New York.
In 1820 removed to Hardwicks , New York, where itremained until 1 8 34 , when it was handed to Hurlburt.
Here we have an unbroken history of its wanderings untilyears after the Book of Mormon was published .
How then is it presumed that Joseph Smith obtained possession of it? This is an unanswered question. Was Josephin any of those places at the time the manuscript was there ?N0 , there is not the least proof that he ever was, all the testimony and evidence is directly to the contrary. Was SidneyRigdon ever in these places ? Not at the same time as the“Manuscript Found ,
” as we shall presently show.
The Prophet Joseph Smith was born in Vermont, December 23rd , 1 805 , and was consequent ly in his sixth year when
the romance was written . He was only fifteen when it wastaken to Hardwicks . It would be preposterous to imaginethat before that age any such labor as the changing of the“Manuscript Found” into the Book of Mormon could beaccomplished by one so young, so inexperienced , and withalso ignorant. For all admit, both friend and foe, that hiseducation at that t ime was very lim ited . In 1820, he receivedhis first vision
,and began his prophetic work , being then a
resident of Manchester, New York .
In 1 823 he still resided with his parents at Manchester, andit was in that year that he first began bearing testimony with
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 1 3
regard to the coming forth of what we now call the Book of
Mormon,and that he had seen the plates from which it
would be translated . Manchester is from 80 to 100 m iles fromHardwicks in a direct line
,and in the last-named place the
“Manuscript” still remained hidden in an old trunk in a
garret,no one knowing or expecting that recourse would be
had to it for such a base purpose .
Joseph continued to live with hi s father’
s family . It is
not until 1 825 , that we have any account of his leaving home
for any length of time ; until then , when not employed on
the farm ,he hired ou t by the day to his neighbors in Man
chester and vicinity.
C HAPTER I I .
TH E OR IG IN A TOR O F TH E SPA U L D IN G
ST OR Y .
OCTOR PHILASTUS HURLBURT was the origina
tor or inventor of the Spau lding Story.
”
He was not a doctor by profession , but his mother gavehim that name because he was the seventh son , a very com
mon custom in some parts at the time he was born .
Those who adopt his fabrication with regard to the authorship of the Book of Mormon would have people be lieve thathe really was a doctor . It g ives an air of respectability totheir tale , and tends to make the public think that he musthave been a man Of good education , though he really wasnot .
We wi ll now give some statements with regard to his life ,and the cause s that led to the invention of the desperate lie ,regarding the Book of Mormon , which has tended to deceiveso many people . These statements are , for the most part ,abridged from the wr itings of one who was intimately
acquainted with him.
14 THE MYTH OF THE
Hurlburt embraced the gospel in 1832. Previous to this hehad been a local preacher in the Methodist church , but hadbeen expelled therefrom for unchaste conduct. Soon afterhis bapt ism he went to Kirtland , where he was ordained anElder. In the Spring of 18 33 , he labored and preached inPennsylvania. Here his self- importance
,pride and other
undesirable traits of conduct soon Shook the confidence of themembers of the Church in him as a man of God ; and beforelong his unvirtuous habits were so plainly manifested that hewas cast off from the Church , and his license taken from himby the conference .
Some may here ask , How is it that men who leave theChurch of Christ and come out in opposit ion to its truths areso Often proven to have previously been men of immorallives ?” The answer is plain and simple : pure , honest, virtuous men do not apostatize and turn against the princ iples ofthe gospel . They remain faithful . But men who have beenwicked , and who do not sincerely repent when they ente r theChurch , though they may profess to do so , are very apt toturn aside and fight against God ’ s cause . It is for this reasonthat so m any men of Hurlburt
’
s stamp have , unfortunate lyfor them , been proven to have led very wicked lives beforetheir baptism . Had their repentance been sincere , their afterlives would have been diff erent.Hurlburt went to Kirtland , the seat of the government of
the Church , and appealed to the general conference . Hiscase was there reconsidered , and because of his confession andapparent repentance his license was restored to him .
On his way back to Pennsylvania he stopped in Ohio .
There he attempted to seduce a young lady, but his designwas frustrated . For this crime he was expelled from theChurch . Finding he would be tolerated by the Saints no
longer, he determined to be revenged by injuring them to theutmost extent of his power. He went to Springfie ld , Pennsylvania
,and commenced to preach against “Mormonism .
”
Here he was received with open arms by those who were vainlyendeavoring to stay the progress of God
’ s work in that region,
and churches , chapels and meeting houses were crowded to
hear him.
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 1 5
He was now dubbed the Rev . Mr. Hurlburt, and waspetted and patronized by priest and people ; but for all thathe did very little in staying the progress of the truth . Asan anti-“Mormon” lecturer he was a failure .During his stay in Pennsylvania, Hurlburt formed manyacquaintances, and mingled with all sorts of people. Whilein a small settlement called Jackson , he became familiar witha family of the same name, (possibly the persons who had
g ivén the name to the settlement ) . Some of this family hadbeen acquainted with the now W idely-known Mr. SolomonSpaulding, and from them Hurlburt learned that that gentleman had once written a romance called the “ManuscriptFound
,
” which professed to recount the history of the ancientinhabitants of this continent.Hurlburt had now given himself up to the work of Opposing “Mormonism .
” He quickly perceived that this romancecould be used as a weapon to carry on the warfare. If hecould obtain possession of it and find any points in commonbetween it and the Book of Mormon he could exaggeratethose seeming resemblance s and falsify other statements . If
he found no agreement between the two he could contrive tohave the “Manus cript Found” accidentally destroyed andthen claim that its contents were almost identica l with therecord of Mormon. He found it necessary to pursue thelatter course.In carrying out his design he repaired to Kirt land , andthere made an appointment to deliver a lecture , calling uponall who were opposed to “Mormonism”
to attend . They didso in force . At this lecture Hurlburt told his audience thatin his trave ls in the State of Pennsylvania, lecturing against“Mormonism ,
” he had learned that one Mr. Spaulding hadwritten a romance , and the probability was that it had bysome means fallen in to the hands of Sidney Rigdon , and thathe had transformed it into the Book of Mormon. Hurlburtfurther stated that he intended to write a book , and call it“Mormonism Unveiled,
” in which he would reveal the whole
His anti Mormon hearers were delighted . One mobocrat , a Campbellite , advanced the sum of $300 towards
1 6 THE MYTH OF THE
the prosecution of the work . Others contributed for thesame purpose
,and Hurlburt, being thus provided with funds ,
at once proceeded to hunt up the manuscript.W i th this view h e journeyed to New Salem or Conneaut
Ohio,the place where Mr. Spaulding formerly resided .
There he called a meeting and made known his intentions.
His harangues created quite a stir. He told the same storyabout the manuscript and Sidney Rigdon that he had told inKirtland . The idea was new to his hearers , but as it wassomething which was to destroy “Mormonism ,
” they did notobject to it, and some helped him with more money. He washere advised to visit Mrs . Davison , formerly the wife of Mr.Spaulding, who now resided at Monson , Massachusetts . Thishe determined to do .
It should here be mentioned that the gospel had alreadybeen preached with considerable success in the neighborhoodof New Salem ; and though it was the place where the“Manuscript Found” was written , the Spaulding story wasnever dreamed of there until Hurlburt mentioned it. Butit was too good a thing for those who had rejected the truth
to let pass. It aff orded them some Slight excuse for notreceiving the doctrines of
“Mormonism.
” Such personsclutched at it eagerly, as drowning men are said to grasp atstraws. Nevertheless the work of the Lord did not stand still
in those parts . Numbers were afterwards baptized in thatvery section , so little effect had Hurlburt
’
s fabrication upon
the minds of the people .Hurlburt at once carried ou t the advice given to him byhis New Salem acquaintances . He proceeded to Monson ,called on Mrs . Davison, and by representing his wishes inhis own unscrupulous and untruthful manner obtained fromher the writings of her former husband. Further she toldhim that there was a trunk somewhere in the state of New
York that also contained papers which he might have , if theywere found to suit his purpo se, and according to the latestversion of the story it was from that trunk that Hurlburtobtained the “
Manuscript Found .
”
Mrs . Davison positively asserts that she gave Hurlburt
the original of the“Manuscript either directly, or
18 THE MYTH OF THE
Book Of Mormon than this . But Mrs. Davison says this wasthe original of the “Manuscript Found.
” We regard italtogether more probable that this was the plot of Mr. Spaulding ’ s romance than the ten tribe version
,which we consider
to be a later invention , manufactured by some ignorantanti who really imagined that the Book of Mormon conveyed that idea. We have nothing more than unauthenticated gossip for the assertion that Mr. Spaulding everbelieved that the American Indians were of Israelitishdescent. In fact, it is stated that during the later years
of that gentleman’ s life he was strongly inclined to infidel
ity.If the papers given to Hurlburt contained the Manuscript
Found ,” as stated by Mrs . Davison, we know what became
of it, if we can believe D . P. Hurlburt. It was burned sothat it might never be brought up to confront those whoclaim that in it is to be found the origin of the Book of Mormon . If Hurlburt did not receive it, Mrs . Davison must
have retained it. Then what became of it? SolomonSpaulding ’ s family could have no possible motive for notpublishing it. To them it would have been a mine of
wealth ; at least they thought so , as evidenced by the agreement between Mrs . Davison and Hurlburt, that she was tohave half of the profits accruing from its publication
,as
hereaft er shown in her int erview with Mr. Haven.
There is another fact that strongly bears out Mrs. Davison ’ sstatement. It is this , that it is highly improbable that Mr.Spau lding would write two entirely distinct and varyingromances on the ancient inhabitants of America. We neverhear of him writing more than one on this subject. If thenthe Roman story was not the “Manuscript, what was it?It certainly in many particulars agrees with the statements ofthose who profess to know something about Mr. Spaulding ’ swritings . Both ( if there were two ) are said to have beenwritten in the Latin language ; both were found, supposedly,in a cave near Conneaut, Ohio . This is altogether unlikely.The evidence , we believe, to be overwhelming that Hurlburt did rece ive the “Manuscript Found ,
” and not find
ing it what he wanted , he destroyed it or had it destroyed.
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 1 9
We have previously referred to the Jacksons of Jacksonsettlement
,Pennsylvania , from whom Hurlburt first heard of
Mr. Spaulding’ s writings. In justice to Mr. Jackson i t must
be stated that on one occasion Hurlburt called on him andasked him to Sign a document which testified to the probabil
ity of Mr. Spaulding’ s manuscript having been converted
into the Book of Mormon . This he indignantly refused todo . He had read both books and knew there was no likenessbetween them . He then and there stated that there was noagreement between the two ; adding that Mr. Spaulding
’ smanuscript was a very small work in the form of a novel ,which said not one word about the children of Israel , butprofessed to give an account of a race of people who originated from the Romans , which Mr. Spaulding said he hadtranslated from a Latin parchment that he had found. TheBook of Mormon , Mr. Jackson continued, purports to bewritten by a branch of the house of Israel ; it is wr itten in adiff erent style , and is altogether diff erent . F or this reason herefused to lend his name to the lie , and expressed his indignation and contempt at Hurlburt
’
s base and wicked project todeceive the public.
Mr. Jackson’
s recollection of the plot of the ManuscriptFound tallies exactly with Hurlburt
’
s description of the contents of the manuscript he received from Mrs . Davison , andis confirmatory evidence of the truth of her statement, thatshe gave the work to Hurlburt . It is also the strongest kindof testimony in favor of the theory that Spaulding ’ s romancehad nothing Israelitish in its narrative
, but was Roman frombeginning to end , in detail , incident, language , writing , parchment and all .
To return to Hurlburt’
s work ; those who were anxious thatit should be published , discovered that it would be better thatit should not appear in his name, his reputation having growntoo bad. The manuscript was therefore sold to Mr . Howe ofPainesville , Ohio , for $500 and was pub lished by him . Itdid not prove a financial success, its circulation was but small .Mr. Howe eventually off ered the copies at half price
,but they
would not sell even at that reduction . Hurlburt rapidly spent
his ill-gotten g ains in drink, and for manyyears bore a most
20 THE MYTH OF THE
undesirable reputation . He is now an Old man , residing atGibsonburg , Ohio .
The following remarks regarding D . P. Hurlburt, arefrOm
‘the writings of the late Elder Joseph E . Johnson .
“In the year A . D . 18 33 , then living in Kirtland , Ohio , Ibecame acquainted with a man subsequently known as Dr.Hurlburt . He was a man of fine physique , very pompous,good looking and v eriy amb itou s, with some energy, thoughof poor education . Soon after his arrival he came to mymother’ s house to board , where he remained for nearly ayear. While there he made an eff ort to get into a good practiceof medicine , sought position in the Church , and was ever striv
ing to make marital connection with any of the
‘
first famiIes . ’
“Finally in 1 8 34 , he was charged with illicit intercourse withthe other sex ; was tried and cut off the Church . He denied ,expostulated , threatened , but of no use , the facts were tooapparent , and he at once vowed himself the enemy of theChurch— threatened to write a book that would annihilate‘Mormonism ,
’ and went to Painesville , ten miles , and alliedhimself to a publisher there , who agreed to print his book ifhe would furnish the matter. A fund was raised by the antiMormons” in the village around , and enough means raisedto send Hurlburt east to hunt up and obtain the writings ofSolomon Spaulding, called the
‘ManuscriptFound ’
, which hadalready become famous as the alleged matter from which theBook of Mormon was written .
“Hurlburt went east and was absent some two or threemonths— and on his return publicly declared that he could not
obta in i t, but instead brought several affidavits from personswho claimed to have heard Solomon Spaulding read his‘Manuscript Found ’ in 1 8 12 , and believed , as well as they couldremember, that the m atter and story were the same as printedin the Book of Mormon. And these were published in hisbook of ‘Mormonism Exposed ,
’ in that or the subsequentyear, but not a sentence from the
‘Manuscript Found ,’ which
it appears that he d id rea lly obta in , but finding no similaritybetween the two
,suppressed the Spaulding manuscript ,
while he publicly announced in his book that he had entirelyfailed to obtain it. Hurlburt proved himself to be a man ofgross immorality and was untruthful and unreliable .
”
MANUSCRIPT FOUND .
C H A P T ER I I I .
TH E B OG U S A F F I D A V IT .
HE next noteworthy person who entered upon the crusadeagainst the Book of Mormon was a Congregationalist
minister of Holliston , Massachusetts, named Storrs .This man was greatly annoyed at the loss of some of thebest members of his congregation through the preaching of
the everlasting gospel , and in his anger published to the worldwhat b e asserted was the affidavit of the widow of SolomonSpaulding, but which she afterwards repudiated , as shown fromthe following article published in the Quincy (Illinois ) Whigshortly afte r the appearance of the bogus afiidav it :
A CUNNING DEV ICE DETECTED .
It will be recollected that a few months since an articleappeared in several of the papers , purporting to give an accountOf the origin of the Book Of Mormon . How far the writer ofthat piece has eff ected his purposes , or what his purposes werein pursuing the course he has, I shall not attempt to say at thist ime, but shall call upon every candid man to judge in thismatter for himself, and shall content myself by presentingbefore the public the other side of the question in the form ofa le t ter, as follows :
“Copy of a letter wr itten by Mr. John Haven , of Holli ston ,Middlesey Co. , Massachusetts, to his daughter, ElizabethHaven
, of Quincy, Adams Co. , Illinois.“Your bro ther Jesse passed through Monson , where he saw
Mrs Davison and her daughter, Mrs. McKinstry, and alsoDr. Ely, and spent several hours with them , during which th e
he asked them the following questions, viz .Question.
— ‘Did you , Mrs. Davison , write a letter to JohnStorrs, giving an account of the origin of the Book of Mormon
22 THE MYTH OF THE
Answer.— ‘I did not. ’
Q .
— ‘Did you sign your name to it ?’
A .
— ‘I did not , nei ther did I ever see the letter until I saw
it in the B oston Recorder , the letter was never brought to me toSlgn .
Q .— ‘What agency had you in having this letter sent to Mr.
Storrs ? ’
A .
—‘D . R . Austin came to my house and asked me some
questions, took some minutes on paper, and from these minuteswrote that letter. ’
Q .
—‘Have you read the Book of Mormon ?’
A .
— ‘I have read some in it. ’
Q .
— ‘Does Mr. Spaulding’
s manuscript and the Book ofMormon agree ? ’
A .
— ‘I think some few of the names are alike. ’
Q .
— ‘Does the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a relig ious people ?Q .
— ‘An idolatrous people . ’
A .
— ‘Where is the manuscript ?A .
— ‘D . P . Hurlburt came here and took it, said he would
get it printed and let me have one half of the profits . ’
Q .
— ‘Has D . P. Hurlburt got the manuscript printed ?’
A .
—‘I rece ived a letter stating that it did not read as he
expected , and he should not print it.’
Q .
— ‘How large is‘
Mr. Spaulding ’ s manuscript ? ’
A .
— ‘About one- third as large as the Book of Mormon .
’
Q .
—TO Mrs . McKinstry :‘How old were you when your
father wrote the manuscript ?A .
—‘About five years of age . ’
Q .—‘Did you ever read the manuscript ?
A .
—‘When I was about twelve years old I used to read itfor diversion .
’
Q .
— ‘Did the manuscript describe an idolatrous or a relig ious people ?A .
—‘
An idolatrous people. ’
Q .
— ‘Does the manuscript and the Book Of Mormonagree ?A .
— ‘I think some of the names agree. ’
Q .
— ‘Are you certain that some of the names agree ?A .
— ‘
I am not. ’
Q .
— ‘Have you read any in the Book of Mormon ?A .
—‘I have not . ’
Q .
— ‘Was your name attached to that letter, which was sentto Mr. John Storrs, by your order ?
’
A .
-‘No, I never meant that my name should be there.
‘You see by the above questions and answers , that Mr.
Austin , in his great zeal to destroy the Latter-day Saints, hasasked Mrs. Davison a few ouestions, then wrote a letter to Mr .
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 23
Storrs in his own language. I do not say that the abovequestions and answers were given in the form that I havewritten them , bu t these questions were asked , and theseanswers given. Mrs . Davison is about seventy years of age,and somewhat broke. ’
This may certify that I am personally acquainted with Mr .Haven , his son and daughter, and am satisfied they are personsof truth. I have also read Mr. Haven ’ s letter to his daughter,which has induced me to copy it for ublication , and I furthersay, the above is a correct copy Of r. Haven ’ s letter.
A. BADLAM.
Notwithstanding the above refutation and exp ose the opponents of
“Mormonism” have continually from the time of itspublication , copied , re-published and harped upon this forgedaffidavit of Mrs . Davison . Their ears have been ever deaf andtheir eyes blind when the refutation of the slander has beenpresented to them . They did not then , and do not now wantit ; they prefer the lie which one of their number has concoctedand spread broad-cast through the world .
We must now turn to Sidney Rigdon who by many isregarded as the agent or gO-between by and through whomJoseph Smith came into possession of the “ManuscriptFound, and who was, in fact, the chief instrument in con
verting that romance into the Book of Mormon . It is urgedthat Joseph had neither the learning, ability nor industry toperform so arduous a literary work , but that Rigdon had theaudacity, cunning and education necessary to perpetrate such afraud, and that Joseph Smith was his willing tool, whom heused as a screen to protect himself from public observation andthrough whom he palmed his imposture on the world . Noneof those who accept this theory have yet been able to explainwhat poss ible motive Rigdon could have had in taking such acourse, were such an arrangement possible ; but we have mosttrustworthy and reliable testimony that it could not be so fortwo altogether sufficient reasons :
First : Sidney Rigdon never was at Pittsburg or any otherplace at the same time as Mr. Spaulding ’ s manuscript wasthere and therefore he could not have seen or read it
,it being
remembered that it never was out of the possession of the
24 THE MYTH OF THE
author’ s family only during the short time it is said to havebeen in the hands of Mr. Patterson.
Second : Sidney Rigdon never saw Joseph Smith until yearsafter the latter received the sacred plates, indeed , not untilafter the Book of Mormon had been“ printed and the Churchof Jesus Christ organized .
Let us consider the first of the above propositions. Mr.Spaulding resided in Pittsburg only for a short time between1 812 , when he lived at Conneaut, and 18 l6 when he died aAmity. The general Opinion is that he moved to the lastnamed place in 1 8 14 . It was then , between 18 12 and 1 8 14 ,that, if ever, the manuscript was in the hands of Mr. Patterson ; Sidney Rigdon was then a youth of not more than twentyyears Of age, residing on and working his deceased father
’ s farmat St. Clair, Pennsylvania . To make this point more clear,we will here give a short sketch of Rigdon ’ s early life :
Sidney Rigdon was born in St . Clair township , Alleghany
Co. ,Pa . , on the 19th of February, 1793 . In his twenty-fifth
year he connected himself with a society,which in that countrywas called Regular Baptists. In March , 1 8 19 , he received alicense to preach in that society, and in the following May heleft Pennsylvania and wen t to Trumbull Co . , Ohio, where hewas afterwards married . In 1 821 he was called to the pastoralcharge of the first Bapt ist church Of Pittsburg , which invitation he accepted early in the following year, and soon became apopular minister. After ministering in that position for twoand a half years he withdrew from that sect, because he considered its doctrines were not altogether in accord with the scriptures . With Mr. Alexander Campbell he founded the “Campbe llite
”or Disc iples” church ; but having retired from the
ministry he for two years worked as a day laborer in a tannery ;after which he removed to Bainbridge, Geauga Co. , Ohio ,where the people solicited him to preach . He complied withtheir request and soon grew quite popular . Headvocated the doctrines of repentance and baptism for theremission of sins, and baptized numbers from all the countryround. During this time he removed from Bainbridge toMentor, some thirty miles distant, and it was there that
'
ParleyP. Pratt and other Elders found him , in the Fall of 1 830.
26 THE MYTH or THE
there as a printer. I was introduced to Sidney Rigdon in 1843 ;he stated to me that he was a Mormon preacher or lecturer ; Iwas acquainted with him during 1843—45 ; never knew himbefore, and never knew him as a printer ; never saw him in thebook- store or printing-office ; your father
’
s office was in thecelebrated Molly Murphy ’ s Row.
”
4 . Rev. Robert P. D u Bois, of New London , Pa . , underdate of Jan . 9th, 1 8 79, writes :
‘I entered the book-store of
R . Patterson Lambdin in March,18 18 , when about twelve
years old , and remained there until the Summer of 1 820 . Thefirm had under its control a book -store on Fourth Street, abook-bindery, a printing -office (not newspaper, but job-office ,
under the name of But ler Lambdin ) , entrance on DiamondAlley, and a steam paper-mill on the Allegheny (under thename of R . J. Patterson ) . I knew nothing of Spaulding
( then dead ) or of his book , or of Sidney Rigdon .
”
5 . Mrs . R . W . Lambdin , of Irvington , N. Y. , widow ofthe late J. Harrison Lambdin , in response to some inquiries asto her recollection of Rigdon and others , writes under date of
Jan . 1 5 th, 1 882 :‘I am sorry to say I shall not be able to give
you any information relative to the persons you name . Theycertainly could not have been friends of Mr. Lambdin.
’ Mrs .
Lambdin resided in Pittsburg from her marriage in 18 19 , tothe death of her husband , Aug. ls t, 1825 . Mr. Lambdin wasborn Sep . lst ,
In addition to this we have the testimony of Sidney Rigdon'
smother. She informed one gent leman , who published herstatement years ago, long before the Spaulding story was con
cocted , and therefore with no design to mislead on that matter,that her son lived at home and worked on the farm until thetwenty -sixth year of his age ; and was never engaged in public lifeuntil after that period , either politically or religiously. Thus ,according to his mother’ s statement which is sustained by theseother testimonies, he did not leave home until 18 19 . He didnot go to Pittsburg until 1822 ; eight or nine years after themanuscript of Spaulding
’ s romance had been returned to itsauthor ( if, indeed , it had ever been out of his hands ) , and thatau thor had removed from Pittsburg and died .
MANUSCRIPT FOUND. 27
Again it is asserted that Sidney Rigdon was associated withthe printing-office of Patterson and Lambdin during his stayin Pittsburg . The testimony above g iv en is very strong evidenceto the contrary .
—In addition to which we have Rigdon’
s own
refutation of the falsehood , made at the time that Mrs . Davison ’ s bogus affidavit was first given to the world. He asserts
in effect,most positively
,that when he went toPittsburg he did
so as a minister of the gospel at the call of a religious congre
g ation , and was never in any way directly or indirectly connectedwith any printing Office during his stay there ; and if he hadbeen associated with a Pittsburg printing Ofiice nobody claim sthat the “Manuscript Found” was in that city at that late date
According to Mrs . McKinstry’
s already quoted afii
davit it was then hid up in an Old trunk at a small villagecalled Hardwicks, in the state of New York , hundreds of milesfrom Pittsburg. To tide over this difficulty some one has suggested that probably Spaulding made a copy of his romancefor the printer, and it was this copy that Rigdon afterwardsfound . But this is a baseless supposition ; un til lately such anidea was never thought of , and it loses all its force from thefact that those best acquainted with the history of that manuscript say that the cow Spaulding gave to Patterson wasreturned to him ; it was not left in the office to be found byRigdon , or any one else in after years.It may be asked , is there no conflicting testimony ? Do notsome persons assert that Rigdon was in P ittsburg andacquainted with Patterson and Lambdin years before 1 822 ?Yes , but their testimony is of little value for many reasons. Itis, in the first place, a lmost invariably second hand . They donot testify of what they themse lves actually knew on thesepoints , but of what somebody els e knew, or said , or told them .
In the second place , they are made , as a rule, by very aged persons, whose memory, when we consider the mass of trash thathas been published on this subject , cannot be trusted. They,where desiring to be truthful, have mixed up what they reallyknew and what they have since heard and read . A third classare “divines,
” men with “reverend” tacked on their names,whose testimony, it is a sad fact but it is a truth , can scarcelyever be trusted on anything pertaining to “Mormonism .
”One
28 THE MYTH OY THE
very aged lady, whose father and husband kept the post oflicefrom 1804 to 1833 , says that Rigdon and Lambdin used to cometogether to the post Office for mail matter as early as 18 15 , ifnot earlier, and that as youths they were very intimate. Butit must be remembered that there was a diff erence of six orseven years in the ages of these two young men, Rigdonbeing the elder, and Mr. Lambdin
’
s wife asserts of him andothers that they certainly could not have been friends of Mr.Lambdin .
” Again it is altogether inconsistent to believe that ayoung man of Rigdon ’ s ambition would associate with a boy somany years his junior; the supposition is altogether more consistent that this lady hasmixed her names and dates, and that youngLambdin having a companion who came with him for letters ,she has in the course of many years confused this companionwith Rigdon who doubtless Often visited the post office at alater period, and at a time when his name would be well knownthrough all Pittsburg.
But it is an open question whether Mr. Patterson ever hadthe “Manuscript Found” in his possession. The Spauldingfamily say that he had, he asserts that he had not. On beinginterrogated on the subject, soon after the publication ofMrs . Davison ’ s bogus affidav it, he said that he knew nothingof any such manuscript . $ Even Hurlburt states that “hecalled on Mr. Patterson who afii rmed his en tire ig norance ofthe whole ma tter .
” Here is evidently a grand mistake or agross falsehood . To us
,it seems from the evidence , that the
story of Mr. Patterson having rece ived the manuscript was firstinvented by Priest Storrs on purpose to connect Sidney Rigdonwith the “Manuscript Found” and the ladies of the Spauldingfamily have heard it so often reiterated that in their old age theyhave imagined that they have some recollect ion of such anincident, when , in truth. it is only the confused remembranceof what has been ding-donged into their ears by over-anxiousopponents of “Mormonism” for the last forty years. It is a
well-known fact that the human mind is so constituted thatafter brooding over imaginary circumstances for a lengthened
— The gentleman to whom he m ad e th is statem ent is und erstood to have been Mr . Ephraim S . G reen, of Ph ilad elph ia.
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 29
period it will fi equently grow to regard such fables as facts .This peculiarity of the human mind has often been commentedupon. A laughable incident in this connection is relatedregarding King George IV . , Of England . He got it into hishead that he was present at the battle of Waterloo, and was
especially fond of referring to the circumstance in the presenceof the Duke of Wellington , and then requiring the aged warrior to back up his statement. It is said that the duke, withthe true instinct of the courtier, would reply on such occasions ,“I have heard your maj esty mention that circumstancebefore . ” So Mrs . Davison and her daughter have so frequentlyheard the statement that the Book of Mormon was taken fromthe “Manuscript Found , that the
“Manuscript Found” relatedto the lost ten tribes, that Mr. Patterson borrowed it in Pittsburg, and that Sidney Rigdon had something inexplicable todo with it, that these ladies actually came to believe that theseassertions were al l truths , and in their old age were will ing tomake affidavit to their belief in many things about which inearlier days they were nothing like so sure .
With regard to the second point, as to when Joseph Smith firstsaw Sidney Rigdon , we draw attention to the two followingextracts from the writings of Elder Parley P. Pratt :
THE MORMONITES .
To the Edi tor of the N ew York Era
“Sir .
—In yours of the 2otb inst , there is an article copiedfrom the B oston Recorder , headed ,
‘Mormon Bible ,’ and
signed,
‘Matilda Davison ,’ which , justice to our society and to
the public requires me to answer, and I trust that a sense ofjustice will induce you, sir, to give your readers both sides Ofthe uestion .
am one of the society who believe the Book of Mormon,
and as such I am assailed in the statement professing to comefrom Matilda Davison .
“In the first place, there is no such thing in existence as the‘Mormon Bible. ’ The ‘Mormons ,
’ as they are vulgarly called,
believe in the same Bible that all Christendom profess to believein , v iz the common version of the O ld and New Testament.The Book of Mormon is not ent itled a Bible , except by thosewho misrepresent it. It is entitled the ‘Book of Mormon .
’
“The religious sect alluded to in your paper, are thereaccused of kn avery and superstition . Now we are not sensibleof being guilty of knavery, and we do not know wherein we
3 THE MYTH 0 13 m m
are superstitious, but very much desire to know in order thatwe may reform . If some good minister or editor will condescendto particulars and point out our superstitions, we will take it asa great kindness, for we are the declared enemies to knavery andsupersti t ion .
“If a firm believer in the gospel of a crucified and risen
Redeemer, as manifested to all nat ions, and as recorded in theirsacred books , amounts to superstition , then we are supersti
tious . If preaching that system to others and calling them to
repentance is superstition , then we are superst itious . If refusing to fellowship the modern systems of sectarianism whichare contrary to the pure doctrines of the Bible be superstition ,then we are superstitious, for we hereby declare our withdrawal from all the mysticism ,
priestcraft and superst it ions,and from all the creeds
,doctrines
,commandments
,tradit ions
and precepts of men , as far as they are contrary to the ancientfaith and doctrine of the Saints ; and we hereby bear our testimony against them .
“We do not believe that God ever instituted more than one
religious system under the same dispensation , therefore we donot adm it that two diff erent sects can possibly be right. TheChurches of Jesus Christ
,in any age or country, must be all
built upon the same faith , the same baptism, the same Lord ,the same Holy Spirit
,which would guide them into all truth ,
and consequently from all error and superstition . The Book ofMormon has never been placed by us in the place of the sacredscriptures, but, as before said , the sacred scriptures stand intheir own place, and the Book of Mormon abundantly corrobcrates and bears testimony of the truth of the Bible. Indeedthere is no society, within our knowledge , whose membersadhere more closely to the Bible than ours. For proof of thiswe appeal to the mult itudes who attend our religiousmeet ings in this city and in all other places.
“The piece in your paper states that
‘Sidney Rigdon wasconnected in the print ing office of Mr . Patterson
’
( in Pittsburg ) , and that
‘this is a fact well known in that region , andas Rigdon himsel f has frequent ly stated . Here he had ampleopportun ity to become acqainted with Mr . Spaulding ’ s manuscript (romance ) and to copy it if he chose .
’ This statement isu t terly and ent irely false . Mr . Rigdon was nev er connectedwith the said prin t ing es tablishment, either directly or
indirectly, and we defy the world to bring proof of any suchconnect ion . Now the person or persons who fabricated thatfalsehood would do well to repent and become persons o f truthand veracity before they express such acute sensibility concerning the re ligious pretensions of 6 thers. The statementthat Sidney
.
Rig don is one of the founders of the said religioussect is also 1ncorrect .
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 3 1
The sect was founded in the state of New York , whileMr. Rigdon resided in Ohio , several hundred m iles distant.Mr. Rigdon embraced the doctrine through my instrumentality. I first presented the Book of Mormon to him . I stoodupon the bank of the stream while he was baptized , andassisted to ofliciate in his ordination , and I myself was unacquainted with the system until som e months after its organization , which was on the 6 th of April, 1 8 30 , and I embracedit in September following .
The piece further states that ‘a woman preacher appointeda meeting at New Salem , Ohio , and in the meet ing read andrepeated copious extracts from the Book of Mormon .
’
Now ,
it is a fact well known,that we have not had a female preacher
in our connection , for we do not believe in a female priesthood .
It further says that the excitement in New Salem became sogreat that the inhabitan ts had a m eeting and deputed DoctorPhilastus Hurlburt, one of their members , to repair toSpaulding ’ s widow
,and obtain from her the original m anu
script of the romance , e tc . But the statement does not saywhether he obtained the manuscript , bu t still leaves theimpression that he did , and that it was compared with theBook of Mormon . Now who ever will read the work got upby said Hulburt, entitled :
‘Mormonism Unve iled ,’ will find
that he there states that the said manuscript of Spau lding’ s
romance was lost and could nowhere be found . But thewidow is here made to say that i t is carefully preserved . Hereseems to be some knavery or crooked work ; and no wonder ,for this said Hurlburt is one of the most notorious rascals inthe western country. He was first cu t off from our societyfor an attempt at seduction and crime , and secondly he waslaid under bond in Geaug a county, Ohio , for threatening tomurder Joseph Smith , Jr. , after which he laid a deep designof the Spaulding romance imposition , in which he has beenbacked by evil and designing men in diff erent parts of thecountry, and somet imes by those who do not wish to do wrong ,but who are ignorant on the subject . Now what but fa lsehood could be expected from such a pe rson ? Now if there issuch a m anuscript in existence
,let it come forward at once
and not be kept in the dark . Again , if the public wil l bepatient , they will doubtless find that the piece signed
‘MatildaDavison ’
(Spaulding’ s widow ) is a base fabrication by Priest
Storrs , of Holliston , Mass , in order to save his craft , afterlosing the deacon of his church , and several of i ts most piousand inte lligent members, who left his socie ty to embrace whatthey considered to be truth . At any rate
,a judge of
literary productions , who can swallow that piece of writ ing asthe product ion of a women in private life , can be made to
32 THE MYTH on THE
believe that the book of Mormon is a romance .
For the onei s as much like a romance as the other i s l ike a woman ’ scompos 1t ion .
“The production signed ‘Matilda Davison,
’ is evidentlythe work of a man accustomed to public address
,and the
Book of Mormon I know to be true,and the Spaulding story,
as far as the Book of Mormon is connec ted wi th it, I know to
be false .
“I now leave the subject with a candid public,with a sin
cere desire that those who have been deluded with such vainand foolish lies , may be undeceived.
Editors, who have given publicity to the Spaulding story,will do an act of just ice by giving publicity to the foregoing .
“P. P . PRATT.
New York, Nov . 27th, 1 839 .
T he following explicit statement is also copied from theearlier writings of Elder Parley P. Pratt :
“About A . D . 1 827 , Messrs . A . Campbell,W . Scott
,and
S . Rigdon , with some others , residing in Virginia, Ohio , etc . ,came off from the Baptist, and established a new order, underthe name of Reformed Baptist, or Disciples . And they weretermed by their enemies
,Campbellites , Rigdonites, etc . This
reformation as to its doctrine, consisted principally of the bapt ism of repentance , for t he rem ission of sins, etc . And Mr.Rigdon in particular held to a literal fulfillment
,and applica
tion of the written word , and by this means he was an instrument to turn many from the false notions of sectarianism
,to
an understanding of the prophecies , touching the great restoration o f Israel, and the m ighty revolutions of the last days .Many hundred disciples were gathered by his ministry
, throughout the lake country of Ohio , and many other preachers stoodin connection wi th him in these principles . I was then pursuing agricultural life, and mostly occupied in converting thewilderness into a fruitful field . But being a member of theBaptist church and a lover of truth , I became acquainted withMr. Rigdon, and a believer in , and teacher of the same doctrine . After proclaiming those principles in my own neighborhood , and the adjoining country, I at length took a journeyto the state of New York , partly on a v isit to Columbia county,N . Y.
, my native place , and partly for the purpose of ministerin the word . This journey was undertaken in August
,
1 830 ; had no sooner reached Ontario county, N . Y., than
I came in contact with the Book of Mormon , which had thenbeen published about six months, and had gathered about fiftydisciples , which were all who then constituted the church ofLatter-day Saints. I was greatly prejudiced against the book ,
34 THE MYTH OF THE
and impudent religious editors ofthis city,into something said to
be positively certain . and not to be d isputed . Now,I test ify that
the forgers of the Spaulding lie (concerning S . Rigdon andothers ) , are of the same descript ion as those who forged thelie against the disciples of old , accusing them of stealing thebody of Jesus, etc.
We also insert, at this point, the aflidav it of the only surviving sister of Joseph Smith
,which conclusively shows that
Sidney Rigdon had no communication with the Prophet or anyother of the family until months after the Book of Mormonwas published .
SrArE or ILLINOIS ,$Kendall county.
“I . Katherine Salisbury, being duly sworn, depose and say,that I am a resident of the state of Illinois, and have been forforty years last past ; that I will be sixty- eight years of age ,July 28 th , 1881 .
That I am a daughterof Joseph Smith , Senior, and sister toJoseph Smith, Jr. , the translator of the Book of Mormon .
That at the time the said book was published , I was seventeenyears of age ; that at the t ime of the publication of said book,my brother, Joseph Sm ith , Jr. , lived in the family of myfather , in the town of Manchester, Ontario county, New York,and that he had , all of his life to this time made his home withthe family.
“That at the time , and for years prior thereto , I lived in andwas a member of such family, and personally knowing to the
things transacted in said family, and those who v isited at myfather
’
s house,and the friends of the fam ily, and the friends
and acquaintances of my brother, Joseph Smith , Jr. , whovisited at or came to my father
’
s house .“That prior to the latter part of the year A. D . 1830 , there
was no person who visited with, or was an acquaintance of , or
called upon the said family, or any member thereof to myknowledge
,by the name of Sidney Rigdon ; nor was such per
son known to the fam ily, or any member thereof, to my knowledge , until the last part of the year A. D . 1 830, or
o
the firstpart of the year 18 3 1 , and some t ime af ter the organ ization ofthe Church o f Jesus Christ, by Joseph Smith , Jr. , and severalmonths after the publication of the Book of Mormon .
“That I remember the time when Sidney R igdon came tomy father ’ s place
,and that it was after the removal of my
fa ther from Waterloo , N . Y. , to Kirtland , Ohio . That th iswas in the year 183 1 , and some months after the publ ication ofthe Book of Mormon , and fully one year after the Church wasorganized , as before stated herein .
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 35
That I make this statement, not on account of fear, favor,or hope of reward of any kind ; but Simply that the truth maybe known with reference to said matter, and that the foregomgstatements made by me are true, as I verily believe .
“KATHERINE SALISBURY.
Sworn before me, and subscribed in my presence , by thesaid Katherine Salisbury
, this 1 5 th day of April , A . D . 188 1 .
“J . H. JENK S , iVota ry Public .
Has it ever entered into the thoughts“
of our opponents thatif Sidney Rigdon was the author or adapter of the Book of
Mormon how vast and wide spread must have been the con
spiracy that‘
foisted it upon the world $ Whole families musthave been engaged in it. Men of all ages and various conditions in life
,and living in widely separate portions of the conna
try must have been connected with it. First we must includein the catalogue of conspirators the whole of the Smith fam ily,then the Whitmer
’
s, Martin Harris and O liver Cowdery ; further, to carry on tthis absurd idea, Sidney Rigdon and Parley P .
Pratt must have been their active fellow- conspirators in arranging, carrying out and consummating their iniquitous fraud . To
do this they must have traveled thousands of miles and spentmonths , perhaps years, to accomplish— what ? That is theunsolved problem . W as it for the purpose of duping theworld ? They, at any rate the great majority of them ,
were ofall men most unlikely to be engaged in such a folly. Theirhabits, surroundings, station in life, youth and inexperience al lforbid such a thought . What could they ga in , i n any lightthat could be then presented to their m inds
,by palming such a
deception upon the world ? This is another unanswerablequestion . Then comes the stag gering fact, if the Book be afalsity, that all these families, all these diverse characters , in allthe trouble, perplexity, persecut ion and suffering through whichthey passed , never wavered in their testimony, never changedtheir statements , never
“went back” on their original declara
tions, but cont inued unto death ( and they have all passed awaysave a very few) , proclaiming that the Book of Mormon was adivine revelation , and that its record was true. Was thereever such an exhibition in the history of the world of suchcont inued , such unabating, such undeviating falsehood ? iffalsehood it was . We cannot find a place in the annals of their
36 THE MYTH or THE
lives where they wavered , and what makes the matter moreremarkable is that it can be said of most of them , as is elsewhere said of the three witnesses
,they became off ended with
the Prophet Joseph , and a number of them openly rebelledagainst him ; but they never ret racted one word with regard tothe genuineness of Mormon ’ s inspired record . Whether theywere friends or foeS to Joseph , whether they regarded him as
God ’ s continued mouthpiece or as a fallen Prophet,they still
persisted in their statements with regard to the book and theveracity of their earlier testimonies. How can we possiblywith our knowledge of human nature make this undeviating ,unchanging, unwavering course, continuing over fifty yearsconsistent with a deliberate , premeditated and cunningly-devisedand executed fraud$
C H A P T E R I V.
M R S . D ICK E N S ON ’ S SPE CU L A T ION S .
E next invite attention to one of the latest v ersfons of theSpaulding story .
” It appeared in S cribn er’
s rilag azine
for August, 1880 , and purports to be W ritten by Mrs . Ellen E .
Dickenson,a grand-niece of Mr. Spaulding . It is conspicuous
for its inexactness , but is valuable as containing the affidav it of
Mrs . M . S . McKinstry already considered .
Referring to the discovery by Mr. Spaulding of bows andother relics in a mound near his home at Conneaut, Mrs.Dickenson writes :
“This discovery suggested to him the subj ect for a newromance , which he called a translation from some hierog lyphica l wri ting exhumed from the mound. This romance purported to be a history of the peopling of America by the losttr ibes of Isra el
,the ytribes and their leaders ha v ingg rew
sing ula r n ames , among them Mormon , Moroni , Lamanite,Nephi . The romance the author called
‘Manuscript Found .
’
This all occurred i n 18 12 , when to write a book was a distinction ,and Mr. Spaulding read his manuscript from time to time to acircle of a dmiring fri .ends He determined finally to publish
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 37
it and for that purpose carried it to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ,to a prin ter by the name of Pat terson . After keeping it awhile,Mr
.Patterson returned it , declining to prin t it . The re was a t
this time in this p rin ting ofiiee a young ma n named S idneyR ig don , who twenty years later figured as a preacher amongthe Saints .In the above extract we have prin ted in italics those statements to which we wish to draw special attention .
Mrs.Dickenson says Mr. Spaulding called his romance a
translation from some hieroglyphical writing . This is anentirely new version of the old fiction . According to theoriginal story it was written in Latin , but now after fifty years
the writing is changed to hieroglyphics to make the theoryagree better with the Book of Mormon which was translatedfrom plates engraved in reformed Egyptian . We are told byearlier writers
,before the matter was so entirely befogged as it
is now by anti- “Mormon”speculations , assumptions and
hypothesis,that the author
’ s idea was to palm off his romance
as a reali ty, and when he wrote it he expected the masses wou ldbelieve it when published . Now it would be quite consistentfor a graduate of Dartmouth College (as was Mr. Spaulding ) totranslate a Latin parchment—that would appear to be anevery day matter for a recognized clergyman of an orthodoxsect
,but to translate hieroglyphics would be entirely another
thing ; for it must not be forgotten that it was not until nearlyth irty years after Mr. Spaulding wrote his “Manuscript Found”
that the first dictionary and first grammar of Egyptian hiero
glyphics were published .
$ Egyptiology being now a science,Mrs . Dickenson has outraged all consistency by claiming thatMr. Spaulding pretended to translate from hieroglyphics ofwhich none at that time had any definite understanding . Mr.Spaulding as an educated man who wished his work to receivecredence would know better than to start off with an evident
,
tel l -tale impossibility.
Mrs. Dickenson calls the names in the Book of Mormonvery singular. ” This is because she has not read the book .
A large number of the names in Mormon ’ s sacred record arealso found in the Holy Bible ; as examples : Jacob , Joseph ,Aaron , Noah , Jeremiah , Isaiah , Ishmael , Lemuel, Timothy,
—Those of M . Champolleon published between 1836 an d 1844
38 THE MYTH or THE
Shem , etc . Are these singular? Another large percentage finishwith the Hebrew termination : iah (Jah ) an abbreviation ofJehovah . One scribbler asserts that “the real author of theBook of Mormon was well acquainted with the classics ; thenames of most of his heroes have the Latin termination of i ,such as Nephi, Lehi , Moroni . This ignoramus was evidentlynot himself acquainted with the classics or he would haveknown that the most frequent termination of the masouline Singular in the Latin language is us not i ; and ofnames ending in us there are but very few in the Book ofMormon , probably half a dozen . Mrs. Dickenson gives anexample of some of these “singular names z
” “Mormon,
Moroni , Lamanite and Nephi.” Surely neither Laman or
Moroni are singular names. There are , at any rate, more than
one river of this name in South America running through theregion where , according to Book of Mormon history, theNephite general, Moroni, carried on his campaigns and heldmilitary control. Nephi is an ancient Egypt ian name, and atitle of Osiris, one of the gods of that people ; its meaning is“the benevolent one . That it was common among the Israelites of the age of Nephi (B . C . 600 ) is shown from the fac tthat the word Nephites in the original Hebrew plural formoccurs twice in
’
the Bible,in Ezra i i . , 50, and Nehemiah vii. , 52 .
Lehi is also a Bible proper name.Regarding the circle of “admiring friends who heard theManuscript Found” read by its author, is it not a little Singular that they so loudly praised it when the Book of Mormon ,
which is said to have been copied from it “word for word ,” is
berated as uninteresting, dull, dry, stupid and ev erything elsethat is not commended or admired in literary product ions ?
Neither is the style of the Book of Mormon that of a maneducated in modern English ; it is incomprehensible that aStudent in the literature of this age would express himself inthe phraseology and style of this record . And again it is not
written in the language of either Joseph Smith or SidneyRigdon . If we compare the revelations given through JosephSmith at the time the plates were being translated, we find analtogether diff erent diction ; or let us compare it with the
Lectures on Faith in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 39
then with the acknowledged writ ings of Sidney Rigdon , andwe shall find there is nothing common in any of these wi th the
peculiarities of grammat ical construction and verbal idiosyncra ‘
cies of the Book of Mormon . Judging then by the usualand accepted methods of criticism on which some rely sos trongly, and throwing out the d irect evidence as to its origin ,this book could not be the creation of either Solomon Spaulding
,Sidney Rigdon or Joseph Sm ith . Again , how is it that
when the manuscript of the Book of Mormon was presentedto the printer ( s ee Mr. Gilbert
’ s statement ) it was misspelledand without punctuation . Did neither the graduate of Dart
mouth College nor the minister of a flourishing religious con
g reg ation , who , by the way, according to some accounts , hadformerly worked in a printing ofii ce, know anything of punctuat ion ? This is the extreme of folly. B ut if they did , whatconceivable reason could there be for leaving the punctuationout of the copy taken to the printer. Mr . Gilbert ’ s statementof the great care shown by Hyrum Sm ith to have the bookprinted exactly as written , his extreme solicitude regardingthe manuscript, his ignorance of the use of commas, colons ,etc .
, and his one unwavering and unchanging testimony regarding the discovery and translation of the plates are all strongcorroborative evidence that no educated man had anyth ing todo with the production of the book ; and how inconsistent withthe stories of Joseph Smith ’ s confirmed laziness is the idea thathe would go to the trouble of copying out a manuscript whichmakes more than six hundred pages of closely printed matter$The promoters of the “Spaulding story” are terribly inconsistentin the various parts of their theory .
The statement that Mr. Spaulding took h is romance to Mr.Patterson may be true or it may not , individually we do notbelieve it, but the assertion that Sidney Rigdon worked in thatgentleman ’ s printing office we have elsewhere shown to beutterly false . We will let Mr. Howe , who purchased Hurlburt ’ s manus cript, give his version of this affair ; simplyreminding our readers that his book , Mormonism Unveiled,was published in 1 8 34 , when the exact facts would be muchfresher in the memory of the participants than in 1 880. Speaking of the Manuscript Found,
” he writes :
40 THE MYTH on THE
It was inferred at once that some light might be Shed uponthis subject and the mystery revealed by applying to Pattersonand Lambdin , in Pittsburg. But here again death had interposed a barrier. That establishment was dissolved and brokenup many years since , and Lambdin died about eight years ago .
Mr. Patterson says he has no recollect ion of any such manuscript being brought there for publication
,neither would he
have been likely to have seen it, as the business of printingwas conducted wholly by Lambdin at that time . He says,however, that many manuscript books and pamphlets werebrought to the office about that time, which remained uponthe shelves for years without being printed or even examined .
”
Mark how strangely this statement disagrees with the assertions of the ladies of the Spaulding family with regard to Mr.Patterson ’ s friendship and intimate acquaintance with Mr.Spaulding, and the latter
’
s admiration of the “ManuscriptFound .
”
Now notice the insincerity and actual dishonesty of the nextpassages , in view of the fact that Hurlburt had received theManuscript Found” from the Spaulding family, and according to his account had given the document that he had receivedto Howe, the publisher of the work from which we are quot
Now as Spaulding ’ s book can no where be found , or anything heard of it after being carried to this establishment,there is the strongest presumption that it remained there inseclusion till about the year 1823 or 1 824 , at which time SidneyRigdon located himself in that city . We have been crediblyinformed that he was on terms of intimacy with Lambdin ,being seen frequently at his shop .
”
Here is a desperate attempt to connect Rigdon with theaffair. Lambdin was dead so he could not contradict anystatement about his intimacy with Rigdon ; but the wholehypothesis amounts to nothing in view of the positive statements of the Spaulding family that the “Manuscript Found
”
was in their undisturbed possession , hundreds of miles fromPittsburg, from 18 14 to 18 34 . One thing , however, it showsthat in those days Sidney Rigdon ’ s life was too well known forHowe to write other than the truth regarding the time he firstvisited Pittsburg, for when Mrs. Dickenson wildly imaginesand falsely asserts he was working in the offi ce of Patterson
42 THE MYTH on THE
on this matter we extract a few lines from the already quotedaffidavit of his Sister, Mrs . Katherine Salisbury. When speaking of the publication of the Book of Mormon , She avers :
“Atthe time the said book was published , I was seventeen years ofage ; that a t the time of the publication of said book , my brother
,Joseph Sm ith, Jr. , lived in the family of my father, in
the town of Manchester, Ontario county, New York , and thathe had , all his life to this time made his home with the family. To which we may add during the latter years of thisperiod occasionally hiring ou t for Short intervals, but never at theearly age and for the lengthened period necessary to give con
sistency to Mrs . Dickenson’
s suppositions. We Shall pass byseveral other outrageous misstatements of this lady, andsimply refer to one which purports to be from the veteranjournalist, ThurlowWeed , S imply to Show how utterly unreliablemany persons memories become where Mormonism” is con
cerned .
Mr . Weed states that Joseph Smith ca lled on him in 1 825 ,desiring to get his manuscript printed , and spoke of findingthe plates (Joseph did not obtain the plates until September,1827 , and the translation was not finished until June or July,
That in a few days he brough t Martin Harris (Harriswas not associated with Joseph until after the plates were found ) .Seemed about thirty years of age (Joseph was not twentyuntil December 23rd of that year ) . Was about 5 feet 8 incheshigh (Joseph was fully 6 feet ) . Thus it appears in every deta ilMr. Weed ’ s memory was at fault ; dates, age, hight, etc. , areall wrong, very wrong, and his statement is untrustworthy frombeginning to end .
In passing we draw attention to the difference between theS ize of the “Manuscript Found” and the Book of Mormon .
The former, according to Mrs. McKinstry, was about one inchthick of wr itten , not printed , matter. According to Hurlburt ,the manuscript which he obtained from Mrs . Davison
’
s chest,which She states was the “Manuscript Found ,
” contained a bou tone qu ire of pap er. And this was the only manuscript book inthe trunk . Mrs . Davison stated in her interview with Mr.Haven that the manuscript was about one third the size of the
Book of Mormon ; while Mr. Jackson said the romance was a
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 43
very small work . All agree that it was much smaller than theBook of Mormon , while Hurlburt had ev idently a motive inmaking out that it was less than it really was. He desired tomake it appear that there must have been some other writingsthan the one he obtained . In any case it is a consis tent question
,who manufactured all the rest of the Book of Mormon ?
C H A P T E R V
W H A T T H E B OOK O F M OR M ONR E A L L Y IS .
HE Book of Mormon is the record of God’ s dealings with
the people of ancient America from the era of the building of the Tower of Babel to four hundred and twenty- one yearsafter the birth of Christ. It is the S t ick of Ephraim spokenof by Ezekiel$ —the Bible of the western continent . Not thatit supersedes, or in any way interferes with the B ible , anymore than the history of Mexico supersedes or interferes withthe history of Rome ; but on the other hand , in many places
it confirms Bible history, demonstrates Bible truths, sustains Bible doctrine , and fulfils Bible prophecy.
The Book of Mormon contains the history of two dist inctraces. The first came from the Tower of Babe] and wasdestroyed a little less than six hundred years before Christ. Thestory of their nat iona l life is given very briefly, but sufficient issaid to prove that they were one of the m ight iest nat ions of
ant iquity, and in the days of their righteousness a peoplehighly blessed of the Lord . The ir fall and final destructionwere the result of their gross wickedness and rej ection of God
’
sprophets . These people were called the Jaredites, their history in the Book of Mormon is contained in “the Book ofEther. Ether was one of their last prophets who wrote hisaccount on twenty- four plates of gold . Moroni
,the last pro
phet of the Nephites, abridged Ether’ s history and it is his
44 THE MYTH on THE
abridgment that has been translated and published in thisgeneration
, andwhich forms a portion of the Book of Mormon.
The next race that inhabited this continent were of Israelitish origin , the descendants of Joseph and Judah . TheNephites , the ruling branch, were principally the descendants
of Manasseh . By divine guidance their first prophet andruler, Lehi , was brought out of Jerusalem with a small company of his relatives and friends , eleven years before theBabylonian cap t ivity (B . C . They sailed from southeastern Arabia across the Ind ian and Pacific oceans , andlanded on the American Shore not far from where the city ofValparaiso now stands. In the first year of the captivityanother small colony was led out from Jerusalem
, Mulek, one
of the sons of King Zedekiah , being the ir nominal leader.Th is party landed in North America some distance north ofthe Isthmus of Darien , and soon after migrated into thenorthern portion of the southern continent
,where for nearly
four centuries they grew in numbers , but not in true civilization .
In the meantime the descendants of the colonists underLehi had also grown numerous . Early in their history theyhad separated into two nationalit ies ; the first, called Nephites,observing the laws of Moses , the teachings of the prophets,and developing in the decencies and comforts of civilized life ;the others, called Lamanites (after the cruel, rebelliouselder brother of Nephi ) , sank into barbarism and idolatry.These latter gradually crowded the Nephites northward unt i lthe latter reached the land occupied by the descendants ofMulck
’
s colony , now called the people of Zarahemla, withwhom they coalesced and formed one nation . From theirnational birth to B . C . 91 , the Nephites had been ruled bykings, but at that time the form of government was changedand a republic founded .
’
The nation was then ruled by judgeselected by the people . This portion of the history of theNephites is a very varied one. One third of their time theywere engaged in actual war with the Lamanites , and at othertimes they were distracted with internal convulsions andrebellions . About A. D . 30 , the republic was overthrown andthe people split up into numerous independent tribes . At the
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 45
crucifixion of the Savior this continent was the scene of terrible natural convulsions , which resulted in a great change inthe face of nature and an immense loss of human life. Shortlyafter these days of terror the Redeemer appeared to the sury iying remnants, taught them His gospel and organized HisChurch . A lengthened period of blessed peace followed in whichall men served the Lord . Gradually, however, the old evils againcrept in, many returned to the sins of their forefathers , the
spirit ofdarkness and bloodshed again held sway, and finally thewhole Nephite race was overpowered and destroyed (A. D .
384 ) by the other faction who had assumed the old name of
Lamamites. The descendants of these Lamanites are foundin the American Indians , not of the United States alone , butas the aborigines of the whole continent from Pate t a ia tothe Arctic ocean.
The records of this people , engraved on various plates werehid by the last of the Nephite prophets , Mormon , and his sonMoroni . A portion thereof has
,by God ’ s grace
,been
restored to the knowledge of mankind in this age,and trans
lated into many languages, that the truths con tained the rein ,whether they be history, doctrine , or prophecy, may be knownby all men.
C H A P T E R V I .
UTT E R D ISA G R E E M E N T O F TH E TW O
H IS TOR IE S .
T is our purpose in this chapter to demonstrate , from the
Book of Mormon itself, the absurdity of the“Spaulding
Story,
” and the utter impossibility of the Prophet JosephSmith ever having used Mr. Spaulding ’ s reputed romance ,the
“Manuscript Found , as the groundwork for that divine
record .
At diff erent tim es since the publication of the Book of
Mormon various writers have undertaken to explain the plot
46 THE MYTH or THE
and contents of the Manuscript Found, and to Show howremarkable is the resemblance between it and the Book ofMormon .
We are told by one clerical author that when the Book o f
Mormon was read to Solomon Spaulding’ s widow, brother and
six other persons,all well acquainted with Mr. Spaulding ’ s
writings,they immediate ly recognized in the Book of Mormon
the same historical matter and names as composed theromance
,although this reading took place some years after
they had read the latter work . The writer further states thatthey aflirmed that the Book of Mormon was with the excep
tion of the religious matter, copied almost word f or word fromSpaulding ’
S manuscript.Another writer aflirms that the romance of Spaulding was
s im ila r in a ll i ts lea d ing fea tures to the historical portions ofthe Book of Mormon. A third writer maintains that the historical part of the Book of Mormon was immediately recogn ized by all the older inhabitants of New Salem , Ohio , as the
iden tica lwork of Mr. Spaulding , in which they had been so
interested twenty years before.Those who claim to have been acquainted with the writingsof Mr. Spaulding, difler m aterially as to the incidents and plot
of the “Manuscript Found . According to their widelyd iff erent statements, his romance was based upon one of two '
theories . The first on the idea of the landing of a Romancolony on the Atlantic seaboard shortly before the Christianera . The second (now the most generally known and accepted )on the supposition that the present American Indians are thedescendants of the ten tribes of Israel, who were led awaycaptive out of their own land into
’
Media, where historicallythe world loses Sight of them , but where Mr. Spaulding
’ sromance finds them and transports them to America . It isupon this idea of the transportation of this great and .
numerou s people from the land of their captivity to thewestern world that this gentleman ’ s novel is generally said tohave been founded .
We will examine this statement first, and strive to discoverhow nearly it agrees with the historical narrative of the
Book of Mormon , which we are told: was immediately recog-v
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 47
nized as being identica l and cop ied a lmost word f or word fromthe pages of the “Manuscript Found .
”
In the first place, it is well to remark that the Book of Mormon makes but very few references to the ten tribes, and inthose few, it directly, plainly and unequivocally states that theAmerican Indians are not the descendants of the ten tribes
,
and further,”
that the ten tribes never were in .America , or anypart of it, during any portion of their existence as a nation .
$
On the other hand,the Book of Mormon as directly informs us
from whom the aborigines, or natives, of this continent aredescended . This be ing the case, how is it poss ible for the twoworks to be identical ?But admitting
,for the sake of argument, that Joseph Smith
might have changed the statement of the author of the“Manuscript Found in this one particular, we will proceed toshow that such a supposition is utterly impossible ; for to haveretained the unities of the work and the consistencies of thestory (for the story of the Book of Mormon is consistent withitself ) , he must have altered not only the leading features butalso the minor details of the whole historical narrative . Hemust have altered the place of departure, the circumstances ofthe journey
,the route taken by the emigrants, the time of the
emigration and every other particular connected with such agreat movement. We must recollect that the Book of Mormon gives the account of a small colony (perhaps of about thirty
—Ou r crucified Redeemer , in H i s teaching s to th e N eph i tes, thu s refersto t h e t en t ribes o f t h e hou se o f Israe l :
“A n d beho ld this i s th e lan d o f you r in her itan ce , an d th e F ather hath
g iven i t un to you . A n d n ot at any t im e hath th e Fath er g iven me comm an dm en t that I shou ld te l l i t un to your bre th ren at J eru salem ; n e i ther at any
t im e hath th e Father g iven m e comm an dmen t , that I Shou ld t el l un to themcon cern in g th e other t r ibes o f t he hou se o f Israel , whom the Father hathled away o ut of th e lan d” (III . Nephi , xv . 1 3
That they” (th e J ews ) may rece ive a kn owled ge o f you b y the HolyGhost , an d also o f the other t ribes whom they know n ot o f ” (III . Nephi ,
xvi .
Th e other tr ibe s hath th e Father separa ted from them (II I . Nephi ,
an) .
“B ut n ow I go un to t h e Father , and also to Show myself un to th e lost t r ibesof Israe l
,for they are n o t lost un to th e Fa ther , for H e knoweth whither H e
hath taken them”(I II . Nephi , xvi i .
48 THE MYTH OF THE
or forty souls) being led by the Lord from the city Of Jerusa
lem through the wilderness south and east O f that city, to theborders Of the Red Sea, thence for some distance in the samedirection near its coast, and then across the Arabian peninsula tothe sea eastward. What insanity could have induced Mr.
Spaulding to propose such a route for the ten tribes ? For of
all out-of—the-waymethods of reaching the American continentfrom Media, this would be one of the most inaccessible , dith
cult, round-about and improbable, and would carry them alongthe two sides of an acute angle by the time they reached theshore where the ship was built. It would almost certainlyhave taken these tribes close to
,if not through a portion of
their own ancient homes,where it is reasonable to suppose
nearly all would have desired to tarry, when we consider howgreat was the love that ancient Israel bore for that rich landgiven to them by divine power.Mr. Spaulding , as a student Of the Bible, would have madeno such blunder. But even supposing that he was foolishenough in his romance to transport the hosts Of Israel fromthe south-western borders of the Caspian Sea (where historyloses them ) by the nearest route, most probably over the Armenian mountains , across the Syrian desert, and by way of
Damascus through the lands of Gilead , Moab and Edom intothe wilderness of the Red Sea, where, we ask , is there anaccount Of such a journey in any portion of the Book of Mor
mon ? There is none, for the Book of Mormon Opens withthe description of Lehi ’ s departure from J erusalem , with thecauses that led thereto
,he having been a resident of that city
all his days, and never a captive in Media . Therefore we are
justified in asking , at the very outset of this inquiry, where,from the Opening pages onward
,is there any identity between
the two books ?Then , aga in, i s it not Obvious to every thinking person thatthe moving of a nation
,such as the ten tribes were, must have
had associated with it events and circumstances entirely incon
sistent and at variance with the simple story Of the journey ofLehi and his family as given
,frequently with minute detail,
in the Book of Mormon ? How numerous were the host ofthe captive Israelites we have no means of definitly ascertain
50 THE MYTH OF THE
without divine interposition and the manifestation Of miraculone power ? B ut the Book Of Mormon hints a t no such cont ing ency.
Again, the story Of the building of the Ship by Nephi musthave been entirely altered , for no one ship, though it hadbeen twenty times as large as the Grea t Ea stern couldhave carried Mr . Spaulding
’ s imaginary company andtheir eff ects across the wide waters of the Indian and Pacificoceans.We must now draw attention to the time when the Book ofMormon state s Lehi and his company were led ou t of Jerusalem . There is no ambiguity on this point . It is repeatedlystated that this event took place six hundred years before theadvent of our Savior ; that is , it was previous to the Babylonish captivity. The ten t ribes were not lost sight of at thattime ; they were undoubtedly still in the land Of their captiv ity, and if Mr. Spaulding was foolish enough in his romance
to set a date to his exodus, he certa inly would not have placedit during the lifetime of Jerem iah , the prophet, and Of Nebuchadnezzar
,king Of Babylon ; for not only would such a date
have marred the consistency of the story, but it is also utterlyimpossible for us to conceive, as an historical probability , thatthe mighty king of Babylon would have permitted the tentribes to escape from their captivity at that time, and aboveall things to have taken such a route as would have broughtthem near the borders Of the Red Sea. If they escaped atall, it necessarily would have been to the uninhabited regionsnorthward . From a political standpoint it would have beensuicidal and utterly inconsistent with the polity of the king ofBabylon to allow the captive Israelites to march forth in thesupposed direction ; for it would have placed them in immediate contact with the kingdom of Judah and enabled them tohave formed an alliance with their former brethren antag o
n istic to his interest and policy.
To pursue the subject still further : when the colony reachedthe land Of promise , which we call America , the incidentsrelated in the Book of Mormon are entirely consistent withthe story Of the voyage and of the peopling Of the land by asmall colony and not by a vast host. If Joseph Smi th, as
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 5 1
some claim , had changed Mr. Spaulding’ s romance , he must
have still continued to alter the narrative throughout theentire volume , for the story still maintains its consistency,and through it from beginning to end there runs a thread,possible only on the theory that it was a single family withtheir immediate connections through marriage that first
founded the nations of the Nephites and Lamanite s. Theentire history hinges on the quarrels of the sons of Lehi and
the results growing therefrom ; for from the div ision of thisfamily into two separate and distinct peoples grew all thewars
,contentions
,bloodshed , troubles and disasters that fill
the pages of this sacred record ; while on the other hand , theblessings flowing to both nations almost always resulted fromthe reconciliation of the two Opposing peoples and the inauguration Of a united and am icable policy beneficial alike to both .
Had the American continent been peopled at the commencement by a vast host, the whole current of the story musthave been vastly diff erent, not only in the events that tookplace , but also in the motives that controlled the hearts of
the actors who took part in those events , and in the traditions of the masses . In the case of the Nephites andLamanites
,these traditions had an overwhelming influence
in the shaping of public aflairs , which shape they never couldhave received by any set Of traditions incidental to Mr.Spaulding ’ s story .
What, too , Shall we say Of the J aredites ? From whencedid Joseph Smith beg , borrow or steal their history ? DidMr. Spaulding bring his ten tribes from the tower Of Babel ,and give them an existence ages anterior to the lifetime oftheir great progenit or
,Jacob ? If not
,will somebody inform
us how th is portion Of the Book of Mormon was manufac
tured ?
From the above it is evident that if Mr. Spaulding ’ s storywas what its friends claim , then it never could have formedthe ground work of the Book of Mormon , for the whole historical narrative is d ifleren t from beginning to end. Andfurther, the story that certain Old inhabitants of New Salem ,
who , it is said , recognized the Book of Mormon , either nevermade such a statement, or they let their imagination run away
52 THE MYTH OF THE
with their memory into the endorsement of a falsehood andan impossibility. Either way there is a lie ; if they assertedthat the Book of Mormon is identical with the “Spauldingstory, then they are guilty of having violated the truth ; ifthey did not make this statement , then the falsehood is withthose who , in their hatred to modern revelation, haveinvented their testimony. The same statement applies to thosewho assert that the Book Of Mormon was cop ied almost wordfor word from the “Manuscript Found .
” A book that isentirely dissim ilar in its narrative cannot be exact in its wording. As well mig ht we say, and be just as consistent and everyway as truthful , that the history of England was copied fromthe adventures Of Robinson Crusoe . SO it is with the Bookof Mormon and the Spaulding romance .If then the resemblance is so small between the Book of
Mormen and the “Manuscript Found , when we consider theten tribe version of the latter work , where is it possible therecan be the shadow of similarity when we examine the Romancolony theory ? For instanceLehi lel t Jerusalem Spaulding ’ s heroes sailed fromRome.
Lehi started on his journey not knowing whither the Lordwould lead him the Romans were bound for Britain.
Lehi and his companions wandered for several years onland the Roman party made the entire journey by water.Lehi trave led by way Of the Arabian peninsula and theIndian and Pacific oceans ; Spaulding
’ s imaginary characterssailed by way Of the Mediterranean sea and the Atlanticocean .
The travels Of one party were considerably south of east ;the voyage of the others west or north-west.One party landed on the South Pacific Shore the other onthe North Atlantic.
sl‘ Reg ard ing th e rou te taken by L ehi and h is company, th e ProphetJ oseph Sm ith states :
“They t raveled n early a sou th,south-east d irect ion un til they came to th e
n in teen th deg ree o f n orth lat itude ; then ,n early east to th e sea o f A rabia
,
then sai led in a sou th -eas t di rection , an d landed o n the con t in en t O f Sou thAm e rica , in Chil i , thirty deg rees sou th lat i tude .
”
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 53
Mormon’ s record was written in reformed Egyptian ; theimaginary “Manuscript Found
” in Latin .
Mormon ’ s record was engraved on plates Of metal Spaulding ’ s pretended manuscript was written on parchm ent.The original of the Book of Mormon was hid in the hillCumorah
,state of New York ; Mr. Spaulding
’
s manuscriptis claimed to have been discovered in a cave near Conneaut,state of Ohio .
The Book of Mormon gives an account of a religiouspeople
,God ’ s dealings with whom is the central dom inant
idea ; Spaulding’ s romance tells the story of an idolatrous
people . Such is the positive statement of his widow anddaughter.
There is another point worthy Of our thought : If JosephSmith did make use of the “Manuscript Found , it musthave been for one of two reasons : Either because he wasnot able to write such a work him self, or that he might savehimself trouble and labor. In the first place he could nothave done this for the lack Of ability ; for any one who couldhave so adroitly altered a history of the ten tribes so that itnow reads as a distinct, detailed and consistent history of asmall company of the tribe Of Joseph , most assuredly couldhave written such a history for him self if he had felt SO disposed . Then again , he could not have done it to save himself work
,for to so change a long history fr om one end to the
other, until it contradicted all it had previously asserted , andbecame the harmonious history Of another people , would saveno man trouble . Then , again , in considering these points ,we must remem ber what an “ idle vagabond” Joseph was,according to some people ’ s stories. What could have possiblypossessed him to do such an enormous amount of copying ,when , as illiterate as he was, such an operation would havebeen imm ensely hard work ? Though it must be rememberedall this time he was loafing round the street corners, tellingfortunes and doing everything but honest toil— that is, if somepeople ’ s tales are to be believed .
And , again , to Show the weakness of our opponents’ arguments , supposing for a moment that Joseph was an impostor,then he ran the risk Of detect ion by coming another man
’ s
54 THE MYTH OF THE
work , he ran that risk without a single motive , except it wasthe privilege of toiling for nothing, or the pleasure of beingexposed , when by writing it himself he need have no riskat all.
C H A P T E R V I I .
JOSE PH SM ITH’S E A R L Y L I F E .
HE supposed bad character of Joseph Smith when ayouth has been made the text for many a tirade against
the gospel that he , by God’ s grace, restored to the earth . How
is it possible , it is asked , that we can believe that God wouldchoose such an instrument for His work ? We answer in thefirst place , God
’ s ways are not as man ’ s ways , and He has aperfect right to choose whomsoever He will. But further weassert, knowing we Speak the truth , that the stories aboutJoseph Smith ’ s bad character are false, and were neverwhispered until after God called him . and he had commencedthe work that heaven assigned him . Until that time he andhis parents with their entire family enj oyed a good reputationamong their neighbors.No sooner had Joseph borne his Simple testimony of
angelic visitations, than the evil one commenced to vilify hischaracter, to destroy the effect Of his testimony . Ev ilreports spread far and wide , growing as they went , as liesalways do, until the days of D. P. Hurlburt, who , whengoing east to obtain the “Manuscript Found, made it hisbusiness to v isit the neighborhood of Joseph
’
s early home,and gather for publication all the floating scandal that hadbeen in circulation from the beginning. He also procured anaflidav it , or affidavits , which he asserted numbers of the Old
neighbors of the Smith family signed . Some of the personswhose names were attached to those papers have since repudi
ated all knowledge thereof, and make statements with regardto Joseph Smith ’ s character entirely at :variance with the
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 55
tenor of the aflidavi ts . Others signed from hearsay and rumorand not from actual knowledge. Others are said to have beenthemselves men of such disreputable character that to betraduced by them was a compliment . The names of entirestrangers were also added to swell the list. These fradu
lent and untruthfu l aflidavi ts have been reprinted t ime andagain , and others have followed in Hurlburt
’
s footsteps,inventing other statements with regard to Joseph Smith , andattached the names of well-known residents of Palmyra ,Manchester
,etc . , thereto without their knowledge and con
sent,and putting into their mouths statements entirely
at variance with the ir sent iments and expressions. Weregret to have to say that this dirty work has generallybeen done by professed ministers of the gospel .The aflidav its gathered by Hurlburt make the signersthereto complain that the Smith family, especially Joseph , wasindolent
,intemperate , untruthful,
“entirely destitute of moralcharacter and addicted to vicious habits . ” These charges arenot only false, but they also manifest all the bitter hatred ofreligious bigotry and all the exaggerat ion of envy and revenge.
Joseph was undoubtedly not pe rfect— none of us are— buthe was far superior in almost every respect to his neighborsand associates . In his own account of his youth , between thet ime of his first vision and the visit of the angel Moroni , he inthe humility Of his repentance fully confesses his youthfulfollies, and , as is natural with sensitive and consciencious
natures , such as his, evidently applies the strongest languageto his shortcomings, and exaggerates rather than extenuateshis youth ful misdeeds.He writes :“During the Space of time which inte rvened between the
t ime I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred andtwenty-three (having been forbidden to join any of thereligious sects of the day, and being of very tender years , andpersecuted by those who ought to have been my friends
,and to
have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deludedto have endeavored, in a proper and affectionate manner, tohave reclaimed me ) , I was left to all kinds of temptations , andmingled with all kinds Of society. I frequently fell into manyfoolish errors , and displayed the weakness of youth , and thecorruption Of human nature, whi ch , I am sorry to say, led me
56 THE MYTH OF THE
into divers temptations, to the gratification Of many appetitesOffensive in the Sight of God . In consequence of these thingsI often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections ;when on the evening Of the twenty-first of September, after Ihad ret ired to my bed for the night
,I betook myself to prayer
and supplication to Almighty God , for forgiveness of all mysins and follies , and also for a manifestation to me , that Imight know Of my state and standing before Him ; for I hadful l confidence in Obtaining a divine manifestation , as I hadpreviously done .
”
The above is a Simple , straightforward , artless statement Ofhis condition , in which he seeks to hide nothing, but at thesame tM e shows that the rebuff s he received
,the persecutions
he suffered from those who Should have been his guidesand friends had sufficient influence to cause him occasionallyto give way to the weakness Of youth incidental to associationwi th the rough and unrestrained society he from his lowlyposition in life was naturally compelled to m ingle with.
When comparing the before-mentioned v ile charges with the
testimony of those who knew the future Prophet’
s familybest, we learn that instead of being indolent, the family were“good workers ; instead of being untruthful and vicious, theywere honest, upright, religious and verac ious, good neighors,
kind in sickness , but very poor, and with but little Of theknowledge of this world . Their poverty, which some unchari
table souls have transformed into “shiftlessness,”or lack of
management, is one Of the heaviest charges brought againstthem .
The charge of intemperance can be simmered down to thefact that on one or two occasions, in the harvest field , Josephdrank rather more cider than did him good . All the witnessesdeclare that “everybody drank in those days . It was beforethe age of temperance societies, and all classes Of people con
sidered it perfectly right to take a little strong drink occasionally. Drunkenness was the besetting sin of that era amongthe English race . Joseph was not a “teetotaler,
”because
there were none . He was also very fond of wrestling, as manyof his friends of later years know
,and doubtless when stimu
lated with cider was on hand for a bout, or for any otherathletic game or trial of strength that m ight be suggested .
From this exuberance of animal spirits, the enemies of God’
s
58 THE MYTH OF THE
The business my father was engaged in , Often requiredhim to have hi red help, and among the many he from time totime, employed was a young man by the name Of Joseph Smith,Jnu .
, to whom I was particularly attached. His noble deportment , his faithfulness , and his kind address could not fail towin the esteem of those who had the pleasure Of his acquaintance . One thing I will mention which seemed to be a peculiarcharacteristic with him in all his boyish sports and amusements : I never knew anyone to gain advantage over him
,and
yet he was always kind and kept the good wil l of his playmates . ”
In March , 1 88 1 , two gentlemen , named Kelley, residing inMichigan , for their own satisfaction, visited the neighborhoodwhere Joseph spent his youth , and questioned the older residents who were acquainted with the Sm ith family as to theirknowledge of the character of Joseph, his parents and hisbrothers and sisters . Their interviews with numerous partieswho claim to have known Joseph were afterwards publishedAmong those visited were the families , and sometimes theidentical persons whose names had been appended , often without their knowledge, to former scurri lous afli dav its regardingthe reputation of the Smith family. In several cases theseparties stated that they did not SO much as know that anystatement of theirs had ever been published ; that they neveruttered the sentiments or made the assertions attributed tothem
,and in some instances that they had been abused because
they would not make the damaging statements regardingJoseph ’ s character that those who visited them required . Inmany cases where they Spoke disparagingly of the Prophet
’ sfamily to the Messrs . Kelley
,these gentlemen found that they
Spoke from hea rsay, and not from a ctua l knowledg e ; whilethose who knew Joseph best spoke of him the most highly.
We here append a few extracts from these interviews , at thesame time remarking ( to put the feeling in the mildestlanguage ) , that some of these gentlemen were no fri ends ofthe Smith family.
“What did you know about the Smiths, Mr . Gilbert?I knew nothing myself ; have seen Joseph Sm ith a few
times, but not acquainted with him . Saw Hyrum quite Often.
I am the party that set the type from the original manuscriptfor the Book of Mormon . They translated it in a cave. 1
would know that manuscript to—day if I should see it. The
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 59
most of it was in O liver Cowdery’
s handwriting. Some inJoseph ’ s wife ’ s ; a small part though . Hyrum Smith alwaysbrought the manuscript to the office ; he would have it underhis coat
,and all buttoned up as carefully as though it was so
much gold . He said at the tim e that it was translated fromplates by the power of God , and they were very particularabout it . We had a great deal of trouble with it . It was notpunctuated at all . They di d not know anything about punctuation , and we had to do that ourselves .
”
“Well ; did you change any part of it when you were sett ingthe type ?
“No , sir ; we never changed it at all .Why did you not change it and correct it ?Because they would not allow us to ; they were very par
t icular about that. We never changed it in the least. Oh ,well ; there might have been One or two words that I changedthe spelling of I believe I did change the Spelling Of one,and perhaps two, but no more .Did you set all the type, or did some one help you ?I did the whole of it myself, and helped to read the proof,
too ; there was no one who worked at that but myself . Didyou ever see one Of the first copies ? I have one here that wasnever bound . Mr. Grandin , the printer, gave it to me. Ifyou ever saw a Book of Mormon you will see that they changedit afterwards . ”
“They did $ Well,let us see your copy ; that is a good
point. How is it changed now ?”“I will Show you (bringing out his copy ) . Here on the
title page it says (reading ) ,‘Joseph Sm ith , J r. , author and
proprietor. ’ Afterwards , in gett ing out other editions theyleft that out
,and only claimed that Joseph Smith translated
i t .
Well,did they claim anything else than that he was the
translator when they brought the manuscript to you ?”
“Oh , no ; they claim ed that he was translating by means of
some instruments he g ot at the same time he did the plates ,and that the Lord helped him .
The Messrs . Kelley also called upon Dr. John Staff ord, atRochester, N . Y . He is now a retired physician , be ing tooaged and infirm to practice . An swering a question as to thecharacter Of Joseph Smith , he said :
“He was a real clever, jovial boy. What Tucker said aboutthem”
( the Smith family )“was false, absolutely. My father
,
William Stafford , was never connected with them in any way.
The Smiths, with others , were digging for money before J oegot the plates. My father had a stone, which some thoughtthey could look through , and Old Mrs . Smith came there for it
60 THE MYTH OF THE
one day, but never‘
got it. Saw them digg in one time formoney ; ( this was three or four years before theTook of Mormon was found ) the Smiths and others . The Old man andHyrum were there, I think. but Joseph was not there. Theneighbors u sed to claim Sally Chase could look at a stone Shehad, and see money. Willard Chase used to dig when shefound where the money was. Don ’ t know as anybody everfound any money.
”
“What was the character Of Smith , as to his drinking ?“It was common then for everybody to drink, and to have
drink in the field ; one t ime J oe , while working for some oneafter he was married , drank too much boiled cider . He camein with his Shirt torn ; his wife felt bad about it, and whenthey went home
,she put her shawl on him .
”
“Had he been fight ing and drunk ?
’
N0 ; he had been scuffling with some of the boys . Neversaw him fight ; hav e known him to scuffle ; would do a fairday ’ s work i f hired out to a man ; but were poor managers,
”
(the Smiths . )“What about that black sheep your father let them have ?I have heard that story, but don
’ t think my father wasthere at the time they say Smith got the Sheep . I don ’ tknow anything abou t it.
“You were living at home at the time , and it seems youOught to know if they got a sheep , or stole one, from yourfather ?”
“They never stole one , I am sure ; they may have got onesometime .
”
“Well, doctor, you know pretty well whether that story istrue or not, that Tucker tells . What do you think Of it ?
”
“I don ’ t think it is true . I would have heard more about
it, that is true . I lived a mile from Smith ’ s ; am seventy- sixyears Old . They were peaceable among themselves. The Oldwoman had a great deal of faith that their children were goingto do something great. J oe was quite illiterate. After theybegan to have school at their house, he improved greatly.
“Did they have school in their own house ?”
B'
blye’l’ S
ir ; they had school in their house, and studied thei e.Who was their teacher ?They did not have any teacher ; they taught themselves.
96 99 i t 96 96 'X'
If young Smith was illiterate as you say, doctor, how doyou account for the Book Of Mormon
“Well,I can ’ t ; except that S idney Rigdon was connected
with them .
“What makes you think he was connected with them ?Because I can ’ t account for the Book of Mormon any
other way.
”
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 61
Was Rigdon ever around there before the Book of Mor
mon was published ?”
‘No ; not as we could ever find out. Sidney Rigdon wasnever there
,that Hurlburt, or Howe , or Tucker could find
out .”
Well ; you have been looking out for the facts a long t imehave you not, doctor ?
$
“Yes ; I have been thinking and hearing about it for thelast fifty years , and lived righ t among all their Old neighborsthere most of the time .
”
“And no one has ever been able to trace the acquaintanceof Rigdon and Smith , until after the Book of Mormon waspublished , and Rigdon proselyted by Pratt, in Ohio ?
”
Not that I know of .
”
-X' it 96
d Were you acquainted with them ( the Smiths ) Mr. Saun
erS .
“Yes,sir, I knew all of the Smith family well ; there were
six boys : Alvin , Hyrum , Joseph , Harrison William and Carlos, and there were two girls ; the old man was a cooper ; theyhave all worked for m e many a day ; they were very goodpeople . Young J oe (as we called him then ) , has worked forme
,and he was a good worker they all were. I did not con
sider them good managers about business , but they were poorpeople ; the Old man had a large family .
”
“In what respect did they differ from other people , if at
I never noticed that they were diff erent from other neighbors ; they were the best fam ily in the n eighborhood in case ofSickness ; one was at my hou se nearly all the time when myfather died ; I always thoug ht them honest ; they were owingme some moneywhen they left here : that is , the Old man andHyrum did , and Martin Harris . One of them came back inabout a year and paid me .
“How were they as to habits Of drinking and gettingdrunk ?”
“Everybody drank a lit tle in those days,and the Smiths
with the rest ; they never got drunk to my knowledge .96 $6 96 T.“ 96 66 i t
How well d id you know young Joseph Smith ?Oh $ just as we ll as one could very well ; he has worked
for me many a time , and been abou t my place a great deal .He stopped with me many a t ime , when through here , afte rthey went west to Kirtland ; he was always a gentleman whenabout my place .
“What did you know about his finding that book , or theplates in the hill over here ?
”
62 THE MYTH OF THE
He always claimed that he saw the angel and received thebook ; but I don
’
t know anything about it. Have seen it,but
never read it as I know of; didn’ t care anything about it. ”
“Well ; you seem to differ a little from a good many of thestories told about these people. ”
“I have told you just what I know about them ,and you
will have to go somewhere else for a different story.
”
i t 96 56 96 -X'
To our inquiries if he , Mr. Thos. H . Taylor,was acquainted
with the Sm iths, and the early settlers throughout that part,som etimes called Mormons, he said
“Yes ; I knew them very well ; they were very nice men ,too ; the only trouble was they were ahead Of the people ; andthe people , as in every such case , turned out to abuse them ,
because they had the manhood to stand for their own conv ictions . I have seen such work all through life
,and when I
was working with John Brown for the freedom of my fellowman , I Often got in tight places ; and if it had not been forGerritt Smith , Wendell Phillips and some others , who gaveme their influence and money , I don
’ t know how I would everhave got through .
”
“What did the Smiths do that the people abused them so?”
They did not do anything . Why $ these rascals at onetime took Joseph Smith and ducked him in the pond that yousee over there , just because he preached what he believed ,and for nothing else . And if Jesus Christ had been there ,they would have done the same to Him . Now I don ’ t believelike he did but every man has a right to his religious opinions , and to advocate his views , too ; if people don
’ t like it,let them come ou t and meet him on the stand , and Show hiserror. Smith was always ready to exchange views with thebest men they had .
“Why didn’
t they like Sm ith ?To tell the truth , there was something about him they
could not understand some way he knew more than they did ,and it made them mad .
”
“But a good many tell terrible stories, about them beinglow cople
,rogues and liars , and such thin s . How is that ?
”
h $ they are a set Of d— d liars . have had a hom ehere , and been here, except when on business, all my lifeever since I came to this country, and I know these fellows,they make these lies on Smith, because they love a lie betterthan the truth . I can take you to a great many Old settlershere who will substantiate what I say, and if you want to g o,just come around to my place across the street here , and I
’
llgo with you .
”
“Well, that is very kind , Mr. Taylor, and fair ; and if wehave time we will call around and g ive you the chance ; but we
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 63
are first going to see these fellows who, SO rumor says , knowso much against them .
“All right ; b u t you will find they don’ t know anything
against those men when you pu t them down to it ; they couldnever sustain anything against Sm ith .
”
“D O you think Smith ever got any plates out Of the hill he
claimed to ?“Yes ; I rather thi nk he did. Why not he find something
as well as anybody else ? Right over here , in Illinois andOhio , in mounds there, they have discovered copper platesSince , with hieroglyphics all over them ; and quite a numberof the Old settlers around here testified that Smith showedthe plates to them - they were good , honest men , and what isthe sense in saying they lied ? Now, I never saw the Book ofMormon— don
'
t know anything about it , nor care ; and don’ t
know as it was ever translated from the plates . You haveheard about the Spaulding romance ; and some claim that it isnothing but the books of the Bible that were rej ected by thecompilers of the Bible ; but all this don
’
t prove that Smithnever got any plates .We close this chapter with an extract from the writings ofElder O liver Cowdery, published in a very early day Of theChurch ’ s history
“But in consequence of certain false. and slanderous reportswhich have been circulated
,justice would require me to say
somethi ng upon the private life of one whose character hasbeen so shamefu lly traduced . By some he is said to havebeen a lazy, idle, vicious, profli g ate fellow. These I am prepared to contradict, and that , too , by the testimony of manypersons with whom I have been intimately acquainted , andknow to be individuals Of the strictest verac ity and unquest ionable integrity . All these strict ly and virtually agree in saying,that he was an honest , upright , virtuous and faithfully industrions young man . And those who say to the contrary can beinfluenced by no other mot ive than to destroy the reputationof one who never injured any man i n either property orperson.
64 THE MYTH OF THE
C H A P T E R V I I I .
JOSE PH ’ S A CCOU N T O F T H E D ISCOV E R Y
O F TH E P L A T E S .
E will now give the Prophet Joseph’
s own narrative ofthe finding Of the plates from which he , by divine aid ,
translated the Book Of Mormon , with the causes that ledthereto . It is a simple
,unvarnished statement of facts that
bears on its face the evidence Of i ts truth .
On the evening of September 21st , 1823 , Joseph went tobed with a strong feeling of regret for his youthful follies , andwith a determination to seek the Lord for forgiveness and fora manifestation Of his standing before heaven . With thisdesire , in strong faith , he betook himself to prayer and supplication . He then says :
While I was thus in th e act of calling upon God , I discovered a light appearing in the room , which continued toincrease unt il the room was lighter than at noonday, whenimmediately a personage appeared at my bedside , standing inthe air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a looserobe of most exquisite whiteness . It was a whiteness beyondanything earthly I had ever seen ; nor do I believe that anyearthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly whiteand brilliant ; his hands were naked , and his arms also , a littleabove the wrist ; so , also , were his feet naked , as were hislegs , a little above the ankles . His head and neck were alsobare . I could discover that he had no other clothing on butthis robe, as it was open , SO that I could see into hisbosom .
“Not only was his robe exceedingly white , but his wholeperson was glorious beyond description , and his countenancetruly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but notso very bright as immediately around his person . When I firstlooked upon him I was afraid
,but the fear soon left me . He
called me by name and said unto me that he was a messengersent from the presence of God to me , and that his name wasMoroni . That God had a work for me to do , and that my
name should be had for good and evil among all nat ions ,
66 THE MYTH OF THE
my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again tome the same things as before , and added a caution to me ,te lling me that Satan would try to tempt me ( in consequenceof the indigent circumstances of my father
’ s family ) to get theplates for the purpose of getting rich . This he forbid me
,
saying that I must have no other object in view in getting theplates but to glorify God , and must not be influenced by anyother motive but that of building His kingdom
,otherwise I
could not get them . After this third visit, he again ascendedup into heaven as before , and I was again left to ponder on
the strangeness Of what I had just experienced,when almost
immediately after the heavenly messenger had ascended fromme the third t ime , the cock crew, and I found that day wasapproaching, so that our interviews must have occupied thewhole of that night. I Shortly after arose from my bed
,and
,
as usual , went to the necessary labors of the day, bu t , inattempting to labor as at other t imes , I found my strength SO
exhausted as rendered me entirely unable . My father, whowas laboring along with me , discovered something to be wrongwith me , and told me to g o home. I started wi th the intentionof going to the house , but, in attemp ting to cross the fenceou t of the field where we were , my strength entirely failedme
,and I fell helpless on the ground , and for a time was quite
unconscious of anything . The first thing that I can recollect,was
a voice Speaking unto me calling me by name ; I looked upand beheld the same messenger standing over my head
,sur
rounded by light, as before . He then again related unto meall that he had related to me the previous night
,and com
manded me to go to my father, and tell him of the vision andcommandments which I had received .
“I obeyed , I returned back to my father in the field andrehearsed the whole matter to him . He replied to me that itwas Of God , and to go and do as commanded by the messenger. I left the field and went to the place where the messenger had told me the plate s were deposited , and owing tothe distinctness of the vision which I had had concerning it
,
I knew the place the instant that I arrived there. Convenientto the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York,stands a hill of considerable Size, and the most elevated of anyin the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill , not farfrom the top , under a stone Of considerable size , lay the plates ,deposited in a stone box ; this stone was thick and roundingin the middle on the upper side , and thinner towards theedg es, so that the middle part of it was visible above theground , but the edge all round was covered with earth . Having removed the earth and obtained a lever which I got fixedunder the edge of the stone , and with a little exertion raisedit up ; I looked in , and there indeed did I behold the plates,
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 67
the Urim and Thumm im ,and the breastplate as stated by the
messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by layingstones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom ofthe box were laid two stones crossways of the box , and onthese stones lay the plates and the o ther things with them . Imade an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by them essenger, and was again informed that the time for bring ingthem forth had not yet arrived , neither would arrive until fouryears from that time ; but he told me that I should come tothat place precisely in one year from that time , and that hewould there meet with me , and that 1 should cont inue to doso until the t ime should come for obtaining the p lates .
“Accordingly as I had been commanded , I went at the endof each year, and at each time I found the same messengerthere , and received instruction and intelligence from him ateach of our interviews , respecting what the Lord was going todo , and how and in what manner His kingdom was to be con
ducted in the last days.“At length the tim e arrived for obtaining the plates , the
Urim and Thumm im , and the breastplate . On the 22nd dayof September, 1827 , having gone , as usual, at the end ofano ther year, to the place where they were deposi ted , thesame heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with thischarge , that I should be responsible for them ; that if I shouldle t them go carelessly or through any neglect of mine , Ishould be cut off ; but that if I would use all my endeavors topreserve them , until he , the messenger, should call for them ,
they should be protected .
“I soon found out the reason why I had received such strictcharges to keep them safe , and why it was the messenger hadsaid , that when I had done what was required at my hand , hewould call for them ; for no sooner was it known that I hadthem , than the most strenuous exertions were used to getthem from me ; every stratagem that could be invented wasresorted to for that purpose ; the persecution became morebitter and severe than before , and multitudes were on thealert continually to get them from me if possible ; but , by thewisdom of God , they remained safe in my hands , unt il I hadaccomplished by them what was required at my hand ; whenaccording to arrangements , the messenger called for them , Idelivered them up to him , and he has them in his chargeuntil th is day, being the 2nd day of May, 18 38 .
“The excitement , however, still continued , and rumor, withher thousand tongues , was all the time employed in circulat ingtales about my father ’ s family, and about myself. If I wereto relate a thousandth part of them , it would fill up volumes .The persecution
,however
,becam e so intolerable that I was
under the necessity of leaving Manchester , and going with
68 THE MYTH or THE
my wife to Susquehanna county, in the state of Pennsylvania.While preparing to start (being very poor, and the persecutionso heavy upon us , that there was no probability that we wouldever be otherwise) , in the midst of our afflictions we found afriend in a gentleman , by the name of Martin Harris, whocame to us and gave me fifty dollars to assist us in our afilietions. Mr . Harris was a resident of Palmyra township ,Wayne county, in the state of New York , and a farmer ofrespectabi lity. By this timely aid was I enabled to reach theplace of my destination in Pennsylvania, and immediately aftermy arrival there , I commenced copying the characters of theplates. I copied a considerable number of them , and bymeans of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them ,
which I did between the time I arrived at the house of mywife ’ s father in the month of December, and the Februaryfollowing.
“Some time in this month of February , the afore-mentionedMr. Martin Harris came to our place , got the characters whichI had drawn off the plates , and started with them to the cityof New York . For what took place relative to him and thecharacters , I refer to his own account of the circumstancesas he related them to me after his return , which was asfollows :
‘I went to the city of New York , and presented the characters which had been translated , with the translation thereof,to Professor Anthon , a gent leman celebrated for his literaryattainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translat ionwas correct, more so than any he had be fore seen translatedfrom the Egypt ian . I then showed him those which were notyet t ranslated , and he said that they were Egyptian , Chaldaic ,As syraic, and Arabic , and he said that they were the truecharacters . He gave me a certificate, certifying to the peopleof Palmyra that they were true characters , and that the translat ion of such of them as had been translated was also correct .I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was justleaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back andasked me how the young man found out that there were goldplates in the place where he found them . I answered that anangel of God had revealed it unto him.
‘He then said unto me ,‘Let me see that cert ificate .
’ Iaccordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him , whenhe took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no suchthing now as ministering of angels , and that if 1 would bringthe plates to him , he would translate them . I informed himthat part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbiddento br ing them ; he replied ,
‘I cannot read a sealed book .
’ Ileft him and went to Dr Mitchell
,who sanctioned what Pro;
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 69
fessor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and thetranslat ion .
’
“On the 1 5 th [5 th] day o f April , 1829, O liver Cowdery cameto my house , until then I had never seen him . He stated to methat having been teaching school in the neighborhood wheremy father resided , and my father being one of those who sentto the school , he went to board for a season at his house , andwhile there , the family related to him the circumstance of myhaving the plates , and accordingly he had come to makeinquiries of me.
“ Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the 17th[7th] of April ) , I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon , and he commenced to wr i te for me .
The foregoing is the Prophet Joseph ’ s own account of thediscovery of the plates , wi th some details as to the manner oftheir translation . We will now insert the testimony of thewitnesses , who , by divine permission , saw,
handled and examined these sacred records, and afterwards draw attention to thevalue of this testimony , more especially to that of the threewitnesses, whose lives for so long a period were estrangedfrom the Church and people to whom their words are of mostvalue .
THE TESTIMONY OF THREE W ITNESSES .
B e it known un to all n a tion s, k in d red s, tong ues an d peopleunto whom th is work shall com e , tha t w e , th rough th e grace o f
G od the F ath er , an d ou r L ord Jesu s Christ, h av e seen th e plateswh ich c ontain t his record , wh ich is a record o f th e people o f
N eph i , an d a lso o f th e L aman i tes, their brethren , an d a lso o f
th e people o f Jared , w ho cam e f rom th e tow er o f wh ich ha th
been spoken ; an d we a lso know th at th ey h av e been translatedby th e gif t an d power o f G od
,for H is v o ice hath d ecla red it un to
us ; wherefore w e kn ow o f a sure ty th at th e work is tru e . A n d
w e a lso testify tha t w e hav e seen th e en g rav in g s wh ich are uponthe plates ; and th ey have been sh own un to us by the power o f
G od , an d n ot o f m an . A n d w e d ecla re with w ord s o f soberness ,that an an g el o f G od cam e d own f rom h eav en , an d He brough tan d laid be fore our eyes , that w e beh eld an d saw th e plates, an d
th e engrav in g s th ereon ; an d w e know tha t i t is by th e g race o f
G od th e F ather , an d our L ord Jesus Chr ist , that w e beh e ld an d
bear record th at th ese th in gs are true an d i t is m arvelous in o ureyes , n ever theless th e vo ic e o f th e L ord comm and ed us tha t we
70 THE MYTH OF THE
should bear record o f it ; wherefore, to b e obed ient unto the comm andmen ts o f God , we bear testim ony o f these things. A nd w e
kn ow that i f w e are faith ful in Christ,we shallr id our garments o f
th e blood O f all m en , an d b e found spot less before the j udgm entseat o f Christ , an d shall dwell with Him eternally in th eh eaven s. A n d th e honor b e to the F ather, an d to the Son
, an d
to the Holy Ghost, wh ich is on e God . Am en .
OL IV ER COW D ERY ,
D A V I D W H ITMER,
M A RTIN HA RRIS .
AND ALSO THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT W ITNES SES .
B e i t known unto all nations, kin d red s, tongues an d peopleunto wh om th is work shall com e , th at J oseph Sm ith , J un . , th e
tran slator o f th is work , has sh ewn unto us the plates o f wh ichhath been spoken , wh ich have the appearance o f go ld ; an d as
m any o f th e leaves as th e said Sm ith has tran slated , w e d idhan d le w ith ou r hand s ; an d w e also saw th e engravin gs thereon ,all o f wh ich has the app earan ce Of ancien t work , an d o f curiou sworkm ansh ip . A n d th is w e bear record w ith w ord s o f sober
ness, that the sa id Sm ith has sh ewn unto u s, for w e have seen
an d he f ted , an d kn ow o f a surety that the sa id Sm ith has g ot th e
plates o f wh ich w e have spoken . A n d we g ive our nam es untoth e wor ld , to witness unto th e world that wh ich w e have seen ;
and w e lie n ot , God bearin g w itness o f i t .
CHRISTIA N W H ITMER,
H IRAM PA GE ,
J A COB W H ITMER,
J OSEPH SMITH , S en .
PETER W H ITMER, J un . HYRUM SM ITH ,
JOH N W H ITMER, S AMUEL H . SMITH .
MANUSCRIPT FOUND .
C H A PTER Ix .
T IM E OCCU P IE D IN T R A N S L A T IN G TH E
B OOK O F M OR M ON .
EJECTION has been made to the divinity of the BOOkof Morm on on the ground that the account given in the
publications of the Church , of the time occupied in the workof translation is far too short for the accomp lishment of sucha labor, and consequently it must have been Copied or transcribed from some work written in the English language, mostprobably from Spaulding
’
s “Manuscript Found .
$ But at theoutset it must be recollected that the translation was aecom
plished by no common method , by no ordinary means . It wasdone by divine aid . There were no delays over Obscure passages, no difliculties over the choice of words, no stoppagesfrom the ignorance of the translator ; no time was wasted ininvestigation or argument over the value , intent or meaning ofcertain charact ers , and there were no references to authorities .
These difficulties to human work were removed . All was assimple as when a clerk writ es from dictation. The translationof the characters appeared on the Urim and Thummim , sentence by sentence , and as soon as one was correctly transcribedthe next would appear. So the enquiry narrows down to the
consideration Of this simple question , how much could OliverCowdery write in a day ? How many of the printed pages ofthe Book of Mormon could an ord inary clerk transcribe fromdictation in a day ? When that is determined , divide thetotal number of pages in the Book of Mormon by that number and you have the answer in days .It now becomes important to discover when the translation
was commenced and when it was finished . This cannot bedetermined to a day , but enough is known for our purpose .
When O liver first visited Joseph some little had been translated, exactly how much is not known. The next question is :
72 THE MYTH OF THE
When did that visit occur ? We will let O liver answer. He
Writes (Times a nd S easons Vol. p a g e“Near the
time of the set ting of the sun , Sabbath evening , Apri l sth ,1829 , my natural eyes, for the first time , beheld th is brother.
He then res ided in Harmony , Susquehanna county, Pennsyl
vania . On Monday, the 6th , I assisted him in arranging somebusiness of a temporal nature, and on Tuesday, the 7th , commenced to write the Book of Mormon .
”
In the history of Joseph Smith , we read : During themonth of April I continued to translate and he (Oliver) towrite with little cessation
,during which time we received
several revelations. ” And again :“We still cont inued the
work of translation , when , in the en suing month (May 1829 )we , on a certain day went into the woods to pray.
”Oliver
also states : “These were days never to be forgotten—to Sit
under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of
heaven awakened the utmost gratitude of th is bosom $ Dayafter day I continued
,uninterrupted
,to write from his mouth,
as b e translated with the Urim and Thumm im , or, as theNephites would have said ,
‘Interpreters,’ the history or record
called the Book of Mormon .
”
Thus we see these two young men bent the whole energy of
their souls towards the accomplishment of this most important work. They united their youthful zeal “day after day,uninterrupted” and “with little cessat ion” to the labor oftranslation . It requires very little imagination to understandhow d iligently and earnestly they toiled , how they permittednothing to interfere with their labor of love , how theydevoted every hour, until fatigue overcame them , to thedivinely imposed task (and young and vigorous as they were itwas not a litt le that would tire them out ) , while curiosity ando ther far worthier feelings would give zest and inspirat ion totheir labors ; as they progressed we can well imagine how theirinterest in the narrative increased until they could scarcely tear
themselves away from their inspired labors even when theirminds and bodies called for food and rest. The enthusiasmwith which O liver Speaks of those days Shows plainly thatthis was the case
,and we cannot reasonably think that Joseph
was any less interested than he .
74 THE MYTH OF THE
allow nothing for what was previously transcribed . A swiftwriter copying from dictation could write four such pag es inan hour, as we have demonstrated experimentally, an ordinarywriter about three . But allowing that Oliver Cowdery mightbe a very slow writer, and that he only copied at the rate of apage in half an hour, even then he would only have had towork six and one half hours each day to accomplish the task ;and if they rested entirely on Sundays about one hour more .So we see , making no allowance for the work already done ,allowing O liver Cowdery to be a slow penman for his profession—a schoolmaster— and admitting that they ceased fromtheir labor on the Sabbath , still it was only necessary for themto do a short day ’ s work , especially for two young men in theprime and vigor of life ; and yet allow ample time for thereception of revelations (which were given through the Urimand Thummim ) and the performance of other du ties thatpossibly occasionally called for their attention .
To Show how easy such an effort would be we will state thatPresident George Q . Cannon has informed us that whenhe translated the Book of Mormon into the language of theSandwich Islanders, he frequently translated as many as eightor ten pages a day. This was far heavier work to do alone ,and without the assistance of the Urim and Thummim
,than
it was for Joseph and O liver together to translate from twelveto fifteen pages with the all-important assistance of the“Interpreters. ”
After the date of their baptism , the brethren appear tohave worked more leisurely. Early in June they moved toMr. Peter Whitmer ’ s , at Fayette , Seneca county, New York ,who had kindly Off ered them a house . Here the work wascontinued
,John Whitmer
,one of the sons, assisting them
very much by writing. Joseph states : “Meanwhile ourtranslation was drawing to a close , we went to Palmyra ,Wayne county, New York , secured the copyright and agreedwith Mr. Egbert Grandin to print five thousand copies forthe sum of three thousand dollars. ” The copyright wassecured on June 1 1 th, so it appears that between May 1 5 th
and the last-named date , or twenty-six days, they had not
quite translated one hundred and twenty pages—not five
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 75
pages a day—or they would have finished their work . Theexact date the translation was entirely completed is not known ,at least we have not been able to discover it.Thus we see between the dates given , Joseph and O liverhad ample time to do the work claimed by and for themthe objection falls to the ground , and the truth is again vindi
cated .
C H A P T E R X .
TH E TH R E E W IT N E SSE S .
N the investigation o f the genuineness of the Book ofMormon we must consider the nature of the direct evidence
that we have with regard to its origin. And in this respectthe testimony is strong , clear, complete and unimpeachable.The existence of the plates is testified to in a most solemnand sacred manner by eleven witnesses in addition to JosephSmith . Eight of these witnesses actually handled , l ifted , andcarefully examined the plates , satisfying themselves in amanner beyond all dispute that the plates were real and tan
g ible . It is altogether unlikely that Joseph Smith could haveimposed upon these eight wi tnesses by giving into their handssomething diff erent from metallic plates . So , at any rate , wehave the evidence of eight men that they handled certainplates and that they had the appearance of very ancient workmanship . If these plate s were not the plate s from which theBook of Mormon was translated , what were they ? where didJoseph Smith get them ? and what did he do with them ? areall pertinent inquiries . That he had plates in his possessionof the kind and description from which he states he translatedthe Book of Mormon is strong pm
’
ma fade evidence in favorof his story. And the fact that he only showed them tocertain few individuals is another evidence of the truthfulnessof his statement ; for if he , as is claimed , was an ignorant
76 THE MYTH OF THE
impostor, he would have naturally argued that to the morepersons he showed his spurious plates , the wider would growhis influence and the greater would be the number Of believersin his story. To keep the plates hidden from the multitudewould naturally appear in the average mind to be the surestway of retard ing his success and blocking his own progress ;and assuredly if Joseph Smith had the cunning and dexterityto invent the story of the d iscovery of the plates and to manufacture a set of plates to agree with the story, he would havehad cunning enough to presen t them to the public , surroundedby so much mystery and glamour that wh ile they saw themthey would not be able to examine them critically.
But we have greater and stronger evidence than that ofthese eight witnes ses . We have the tes timony of three othermen that the plates from which the Book of Mormon wastranslated were shown to them by an angel o f the Lord , andnot t he plates only , but the engravings upon them ; and stillfurther they declare that they know that these plates weretranslated by the gif t and power of God , for His voice haddeclared it unto them . Here , then , we not on ly have testimony of the existence of the plates , but also to their genuinene s s and to the truthfulness of the translation , which translation we have in the shape of the Book of Mormon . And itmust be remembered that not one of these three witnesseshas ever denied his testimony
, or contradicted it in the leastparticular, but under all circumstances and upon every occa $
sion all have in the strongest and most decided languagedeclared that their testimony was true . Again , there is onevery note-worthy fact with regard to these three men . Theywere all severed from the communion of the Church duringthe life-time of the Prophet Joseph . If Joseph Smith hadbeen an impostor, he was in the power of each of these“three witnesses ; for any one of them , whenever he pleased ,could have exposed the conspiracy , if conspiracy there hadbeen , and Shown to the world how the testimony had beenmanufactured ; but none of them have ever done so. Al
though , at certain periods of their lives , they smarted underthe denunciations and reproofs they received from the Prophetand entertained towards him the most bitter feelings for the
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 7
course he took towards them,going so far as to denounce him
as a fallen prophet, yet with all their acrimony and hatredthey never once dev iated from the testimony that is printedabove their names at the commencement of the Book of Mormen . We appeal to all reasonable minds , and ask if it is possible to suppose that, if the Book of Mormon were a fraud ,Joseph Smith would have dared to have treated these men inthe resolute and uncompromising manner that he did . To usea common expression , he would have been under their thumband would have had to conciliate them and retain the ir silenceby concessions , by flattery and by trimm ing his course to theirrequirements . This the Prophet never d id ; he was as independent of them as of any other men . He rebuked unrighteou sness in them as strongly as he did in others ; and whentheir conduct could no longer be tolerated in the Church of
God , he and the Sa ints withdrew fe llowship from them . Thisis not the way of an impostor
,but of an honest, fearless man ,
who knows his cause is j ust and puts his trust in God .
Neither did any one o f the eight witnesses ever turn from hist estimony and deny its truthfulness . They ever maintainedthat their statement was the truth and nothing but the truth .
They have all gone beyond the vail now, to receive theirreward ; and all bu t one died faithful members of the Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter—day Saints.In considering the nature and value of the testimony of theProphet J oseph and the three witnesses , the followingremarks by Elder Orson Pratt are most pertinent : “Noreasonable person will say that these four persons were themselves deceived ; the nature of their test imony is such thatthey must either be bold , daring impostors , or else the Bookof Mormon is true . They testify that they saw the angeldescend , they heard his voice , they saw the plates in hishand , they saw the engravings upon them as the angel turnedthem over leaf after leaf, at the sam e time they heard thevoice of the Lord out of the heavens . What greater evidencecould they have ? They could have had nothing that would havegiven them greater assurance. If they were deceived thereis no certainty in anything . If these four men could bedeceived in seeing an angel descend from heaven
,on the same
78 THE MYTH OF THE
grounds the apostles may have been deceived in seeing theSavior ascend up to heaven.
”
Then in answer to the suggestion that it is probable thatthese four men had conspired together to deceive mankind,Brother Pratt asks :
“Is it probable that four men who were , for the most oftheir days, strangers to each other, residing in three or fourdiff erent counties , should combine together to testify thatthey had seen an angel and heard his voice, and also the voiceof God , bearing testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon , when no such thing had happened ? Three of thesewitnesses, namely, Joseph Smith , O liver Cowdery and DavidWhitmer, were young men from twenty to twenty-five years ofage ; they were men who had been accustomed from theirchildhood to the peaceful vocations of a farmer’ s life . Unac
quainted with the deceptions , which are more or less practicedin large towns and cities
,they possessed the open honesty and
simplicity so generally characteristic of country people . Is it,in the least degree
,probable that men so young and inexperi
enced , accustomed to a country life , and unacquainted withthe world at large , would be so utterly abandoned to everything that was good, so perfectly reckless as to their ownfuture welfare, so heaven-daring and blasphemous as to testifyto all nations that which
,if false
,would forever seal their
damnation ? We are not aware that thereever were three , or four, or five impostors who originated animposition , and succeeded in palming it upon the world as amessage from God. Such a thing might barely be possible ,but such a thing would be highly improbable . ”
a): From “Di vin e Authen t icity o f th e Book o f Mormon
MANUSCRIPT POUND‘
. 79
C H A P T E R X I .
OL IV E R COW D E R Y .
LIVER COWDERY is the first of the three witnesses.He was severed from the Church for immoral conduct
during the time that the Saints were in Missouri . O ften afterhis separation from the Church eff orts were made to prevailupon him to deny his testimony
,but always wi thout eff ect.
At all times , in all places, before all people he continuallybore record when the subject of the Book of Mormon wasintroduced ,
“Gentlemen , I saw an angel , and I know whothat angel was ”
NO amount of cross-questioning couldweaken his testimony or confuse his statements on this point .We now copy, from the D eseret N ews , a very interestingepisode that occurred during the last few months of his life :
At a Special conference at Council Bluffs , Iowa, held on
the 21st of October , in the year 1848 , Brother Oliver Cowdery, one of the three important witnesses to the truth of theBook of Mormon , and who had been absent from the Church ,through disaflection , for a number of years, and had beenengaged in the practice of law, was present and made theremarks here annexed . Brother Orson Hyde presided at thesaid conference . Brother Reuben Miller, now Bishop of MillCreek Ward [since deceased] was also present at the time andnoted what he said , and has furnished us , what he believes tobe a verbatim report of his remarks , which we take pleasurein laying before our readers :
‘Friends and brethren , my name is Cowdery—Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church I stood identifiedwith her, and one in her councils . True it is that the gif tsand callings of God are without repentance. Not because Iwas better than the rest of mankind was I called ; but , to fulfill the purposes of God , He called me to a high and holy calling . I wrote , with my own pen , the entire Book of Mormon( save a few pages ) , as it fell from the lips of the ProphetJoseph Smith , as he translated it by the gift and power ofGod , by the means of the Urim and Thummim , or, as itis called by that book
,
‘holy interpreters.’I beheld with my
80 THE MYTH or THE
eyes and handled wi th my hands the g old p la tes from which itwa s tra nsla ted . I also saw with my eyes and handled with myhands the ‘holy interpreters . ’ That book is true . SidneyRigdon did not write it . Mr. Spaulding did not write it .
I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet . Itcontains the everlasting gospel, and came forth to the childrenof men in fulfillment o f the revelat ion of John , where he sayshe saw an angel come with the everlasting gospel topreach to every nation
,kindred , and people . It contains
principles of salvation ; and if you , my hearers , will walk byits light and obey its precepts , you will be saved with an everlasting salvat ion in the kingdom of God on high . B rotherHyde has just said that it is very important that we keep andwalk in the true channel
,in order to avoid sand-bars . This is
true . The channel is here . The holy Priesthood is here . Iwas present with Joseph when an holy angel from God camedown from heaven and con ferred on us or restored the lesseror Aaronic Priesthood , and said to us , at the same time, thati t should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. Iwas also present with Joseph when the higher orMelchisedek
Priesthood was con ferred by the holy angel from on high .
This Priesthood was then conferred on each other, by the willand commandment o f God . This Priesthood , as was thendeclared , is also to remain upon the earth unt il the last remnant o f t ime . This holy Priesthood or authority we then con
ferred upon many, and is j ust as good and val id as thoughGod had done it in person . I laid my hands upon that m an
—yes , I laid my right hand upon his head ( point ing to BrotherHyde ) , and I conferred upon him this Priesthood , and heholds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me ,bv the prayer of faith , an Apostle of the Lord Jesus
82 THE MYTH OF THE
He that hath an ear.
to hear, let him hear ; It was nodelus ion ; what 18 wri tten , 18 wr i tten , and he that readeth , leth im understand .
”
The following are portions of a letterto the Chicago Times ,
detailing the visit of one of its correspondents to Mr. Whitm er , on October 14 th , 188 1 . The statements are g iven jasthose of David W hitmer , and though exceedingly correct asa whole, sometimes , owing to the correspondent
’ s want offamiliarity with the subject, they make the speaker fall intoslight blunders on historical and other points. He writes :
“The plates from which the book was translated , supposedto be gold , were found in the latter part of the year 1827 or
1 828 , prior to‘
the acquaintance on Mr . Whitmer’ s part, withJ oseph Sm i th , and he was loth to believe in their actuality
,
notwithstanding the commun ity in which he l ived (Ontariocounty, New York ) , was alive with excitement in regard toSmith ’ s finding a great treasure , and they informed him thatthey knew that Sm ith had the plates, as they had seen theplace that he had taken them from , on the hill Cumorah , abouttwo miles from Palmyra, N . Y. It was not until June
,1 828 ,
that he met the future Prophet, who visited at his father’ s
house,and while there completed the translation of the Book
o f Mormon , and thus he became conversant with its history,having witnessed Smith d ictate to O liver Cowdery the translation of the charac ters that were inscribed on the plate s, saidby Mr. Anthon , our Egypt ian scholar, to resemble the characters of that ancient people . Christian Whitmer, his brother,occasionally assisted Cowdery in writ ing, as did Mrs. JosephSmith , who was a Miss Hale before she was married .
“In regard to finding the plates , he was told by Smith thatthey were in a stone casket, and the place where it was depesi ted , in the hill Cumorah , was pointed ou t to him by a celest ial personage , clad in a dazzling white robe , and hewas in formedby it that it was the history of the Nephites, a nation thathad pas sed away, whose founders belonged to the days of thetower of Babel . The plates which Mr. Whitmer saw were inthe shape of a tablet, fastened with three rings, about onethird of which appeared to be loose , in plates , the other sol id ,bu t with percept ible marks where the plates seemed to besealed
,and the guide that pointed it out to Smith very impres
sively rem inded h im that the loose plates alone were to beused , the sealed portion was not to be tampered with .
“After the plates had been translated , which processrequired about Sixmonths, the same heavenly visitant appearedand reclaim ed the gold tablets of the ancient people informing Smith that he would replace them with other records of
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 8 3
the lost tribes that had been brought with them during the irwanderings from Asia , which would be forthcoming when theworld was ready to receive them . At that t ime Mr.Whitmer saw the tablets, gazed with awe on the ce lest ialmessenger, heard him speak and say :
“Blessed is the Lordand he that keeps His commandments ; and then , as he heldthe plates and turned them over with his hands, so that theycould be plainly visible , a voice that seemed to fill all space ,musical as the sighing of a wind throug h the forest, washeard , saying :
“What you see is true ; testify to the same .
”
And Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, standing there , felt,as the white garments of the ange l faded from their vision andthe heavenly voice still rang in their ears, that i t was no delusion— that it was a fact, and they so recorded it. In a day or
two after, the same spirit appeared to Martin Harris while hewas in company with Sm ith , and told him also to bear witnessto its truth , which he did , as can be seen in the book . Harrisdescribed t h e visitant to Whitmer, who recognized it as thesame that he and Cowdery had seen .
“The tablets or plates were translated by Smith , who useda small oval or kidney- shaped stone , called Urim and Thummim , that seemed endowed with the marvelous power of converting the characters on the plates , when used bySmith , intoEnglish , who would then d ictate to Cowdery what to write .Frequently one character would make two lines of manuscriptwhile others made but a word or two words . Mr. Whitmeremphatically asserts, as did Harris and Cowdery, that whileSm ith was dictat ing the translation he had n o manuscrip t
notes or other m ean s of knowledg e, save the Seer stone andthe characters as shown on the plates ,
“he being present andcognizant how it was done .
“In regard to the statement that Sidney Rigdon had purloined the work of one Spaulding, a Presby terian preacher,who had written a romance entitled the ‘Manuscript Found ,
’
Mr . W hitmer says there is no foundat ion for such an asser tion .
The ‘Book of Mormon ’ was translated in the Summer of
1 829, and printed that Winter at Palmyra , New York, andwas in circulat ion before S idney Rigdon knew anything con
cerning the Church of Chris t , as it was known then . Hisattention was specially brought to it by the appearance at hischurch , near Kirtland , Ohio , in the Fall of 1830 , of ParleyPratt and O liver Cowdery, he be ing at that time a Reformedor Christ ian preacher, they having been sent west by theChurch in New York during that Summer as evangelists, andthey carried with them the printed book , the first time thathe knew such a thing was in existence.
96 96 96 96
Mr,Whitmer emphatically
o
asserts that he has heard Rigdon, ln the pulpi t, and In pr ivate conversation, declare that
84 THE MYTH OF THE
the ‘Spaulding story,
’ that he had used a book called the‘Manuscript Found ’ for the purpose of preparing the ‘Bookof Mormon ,
’ was as false as were many other charges thatwere then being made against the infant Church , and heassures me that the story is as untruthful as it is ridiculous.
“ In his youth Joseph Smith w as quite illiterate , knewnothing of grammar or composition , but Obtained quite a goodeducation after he came west ; was a man of great magnetism ,
made friends easily, was liberal and noble in his impulses, tall ,finely-formed and full of animal life , but sprang from themost humble circumstances . The first good suit of clothes hehad ever worn was presented to him“ by Christian Whitmer,brother of David .
96
Mr. Whitmer’
s belie fs have undergone no change s ince hisearly manhood ; he has refused to afli liate with any of thevarious branches that have sprung up through false teachings,and rests his hopes of the future ‘in the teachings of Christ ,the apostles and the prophets , and the morals and principlesenunciated in the scriptures ; that the Book o f Mormon is butthe tes timony of another nat ion concerning the truth and divinityof Christ and the B ible , and that is his rock, his gospel andhis salvation.
’ Seeing, with him , is believ ing. He is now asfirm in the faith of the divinity of the book that he saw t ranslated as he was when the glory of the celes tial vis itan t almostblinded him with the gleam of his glowing presence
,fresh from
the Godhead ; and the voice , majest ic, ring ing ou t from theearth to the mighty dome of space , still lingers in his carslike a chime of silver bells. ”
The D eseret Even ing N ews at the time of the publicat ion ofh is letter corrected some of the errors of this correspondent.We cannot do better than use its language
The first [error] is that the founders of the Nephites‘belonged to the tower of Babel . ’ The Nephites sprang fromNephi, the son of Lehi , who came to th is land from Judea,in the re ign of King Z edekiah . The Jaredites , whose historyis briefly given in the Book Of Mormon , were a dist inct andpreceding race ; they descended from a colony that peopledthis country after the dispersion from Babel . The term ‘losttribes ’ is also incorrect, as the Nephites had no ident ity withthe lost tribes of Israel , being descendants of Joseph , the sonof Jacob .
“The next mistake is that ‘In a day or two after DavidW hitmer and O liver Cowdery saw the angel and the plates ,the same spirit appeared to Martin Harris. ’ The truth isthat it was shortly after, on the same day. Martin Harris was
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 85
with Joseph , Oliver and Dav id , but there was no answer totheir prayers , unti l Martin , who felt that his lack of faith wasa hindrance
,withdrew. Then the angel appeared , and after
the vision closed , Joseph Smith went to the place where MartinHarris was
,a little distance OE, and joined with him in prayer,
when the angel again appeared , and Martin rejoicingly boretestimony that he had seen and heard as the others .
“The next error is that the seer stone which Joseph usedin the translation ‘was called Urim and Thummim .
’ Theinstrument thus denom inated was composed of two crystalstones ‘
Set in the two rims of a bow .
’ The seer stone was separateand distinct from the Urim and Thumm im . The latter wasdelivered to the angel as well as the plates after the translationwas completed the former remained with the Church and isnow in the possession of the President . ”
A still later interviewer gives the following as David Whitmer’ s testimony to the party of visitors of which the writer
was one :“We asked him if his testimony was the same now as it wasat the time the Book of Mormon was published regardingseeing the plates and the angel . He rose to his feet , stretchedou t his hands and said : ‘These hands handled the plates ,these eyes saw the angel , and these cars heard His voice ; andI know it was of God .
’
Our concluding extract is a statement made by DavidWhitmer to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith , whenthese brethren visited him at his home in September
, 1 878 .
In answer to Elder Pratt ’ s question , if he remembered thedate he saw the plates , he answered :
“It was in June , 1 829— the latter part of the month , andthe eight witnesses saw them , I think , the next day or theday after. Joseph showed them the plates himself, bu t theangel showed us [the three witnesses] the plates , as I supposeto fulfill the words of the book itse lf. Martin Harris was notwith us at this time he Ob tained a view of them afterwards[the same day] . Joseph , O liver, and myself were togetherwhen I saw them . We not only saw the plates of the Bookof Mormon but also the brass plates , the plates o f the Bookof Ether, the plates containing the records of the wickedness andsecret combinations of the people of theworld down to the time oftheir being engraved and many other plates . The fact is , i t wasjust as though Joseph , O liver and I were sitting just here ona log when we were overshadowed by a light . It was not likethe light of the sun nor like that of a fire , but more gloriousand beautiful . It extended awayaround us, I cannot te ll how
86 THE MYTH OF THE
far, but in the midst of this light about as far off as he sits(pointing to John C . Whitmer, sitt ing a lew f eet from him ) ,there appeared , as it were , a table with many records or p latesupon it besides the plates of the Book Of Mormon ; also thesword of Laban , the directors— i . e . the ball which Lehi had ,and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see thisbed ( striking the bed beside him wt h his hand ) , and I heardthe voice of
gthe Lord as d ist inctly as I ever heard anyth ing in
my life , declaring that the records of the plates of the Bookof Mormon weregtranslated by the gift and power of God .
’
“EP
lder Pratt then asked,‘Did you see the angel at this
t ime“David Whitmer answered ,
‘Yes ; he stood before us. Ourtest imony as recorded in the Book of Mormon is strictly andabsolutely true, just as it is there written.
’
C H A P T ER X I I I .
M A R T IN H A R R IS
IT is probable that many of our readers have seen MartinHarris. $ It is but a few years since he died in our midst.
Though his name is signed last to the testimony of the threewitnesses he was considerable older than the other two.Martin Harris was the instrument used by the Lord to enableJoseph to print the Book of Mormon . He supplied the fundsnecessary to pay the printer. All of this was repaid to him ,
by Joseph,and as he said , more too.
” We mention thisbecause it has been falsely asserted that Joseph made Mart inHarris his dupe and never paid back the money he borrowedof him .
Brother Harris was a well-to-do farmer at the time hebecame acquainted with the Prophet Joseph. He wasrespected and esteemed by his neighbors , but like all the otherswho had anything to do with the publication of the Book of
Ogden on th e 29 th o f A ug ust , 1870; h e afterwards res ided un ti l h is death atthe home of h is son in Smi thfield , Cache coun ty.
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 87
Mormon , he was assailed with savage bitterness , and accused ofnumerous sins as soon as it was known that he was a be lieverin that holy book . He was charged with being visionary,cruel and untruthful, and with hav ing beaten his wife andturned her ou t of doors .We will now refer to the testimony of the Kelley brothers ,which we quoted when we considered the character of Josephthe Prophet. We found they asked the Old res idents of Manchester some questions wi t-h regard to the reputation of Martin Harris . Those who knew him , invariably spoke well ofhim . One said ,
“He was an honorable farmer ; he was notvery religious before the Book of Mormon was published .
”
Another stated “Harris was an industrious , honest man .
” Athird affirmed He was an honorable man . He was one ofthe first men of the town . And so on , one afte r anotherdenied the calumnies that had been heaped upon the head ofthis inoff ensive , though somewhat peculiar gentleman , whoseworst act in the eyes of these neighbors was that he helpedJoseph Smith to give the Book of Mormon to the world .
It will be remembered that the te stimony Of the three witnesses, with regard to the plates from which the Book of Mormen was translated, is to the eff ect that
“We also know thatthey have been translated by the gift and power of God, forHis voice hath declared it unto us ; wherefore we know of asurety that the work is true . And we also testify that we haveseen the engravings which are upon the plates ; and they havebeen shown unto us by the power of God and not of man .
And we declare with words of soberness , that an angel of Godcam e down from heaven , and He brought and laid before oureyes
,that we beheld and saw the plates and the engravings
thereon .
” But it must be remembered that this was not theonly t ime that Martin Harris saw the plates. He states that
on one occasion he held them on his knee for an hour and ahalf
,and also affirms that “
as many of the plates as JosephSm ith translated I handled with my hands, plate after plate .
This testimony was given when Harris was not a member ofthe Church.
Early in the history of the Latter-day Saints Martin Harrisbecame disafl
'
ected . He committed grave errors and gave way
8 8 THE MYTH on THE
to a very unchristian- like spirit. The communion of the Saintswas withdrawn from him and he became an outcast to thebless ings of the gospel. Thus he remained many years , or
more than a third of a century, but in his old age he returnedas a wandering Sheep to the true fold , and again became a
p artaker of the gifts and blessings of the everlasting gospel .We will now insert an interview had with him when he wasnot a member of the Church ( in and two letters writtenby him nearly twenty years afterwards, after he had renewedhis covenant with the Lord at the waters of baptism .
September 1 5th , 185 3 .
Be it known to all whom this may concern that I, DavidB . Dille
,of Og den City, Weber county, Salt Lake , en route
to Great Bri tain , hav ing business with one Martin Harris ,formerly of the Church of Latter-day Saints , and residing atKirtland , Lake county, Ohio , did personally wait upon him athis residence , and found him sick in bed ; and was informedby the said Martin Harris that he had not been able to takeany nourishment for the space of three days . This , togetherw ith his advanced age, had completely prostrated him . Aftermaking my business known to Mr. Harris, and some littleconversation with him , the said Martin Harris started up inbed , and , after particularly inquiring concerning the prosperityof the Church
,made the following declaration :
‘I feel that a spirit has come across me- the old spirit ofMormonism ; and I begin to feel as I used to feel ; and I wi llnot say
— ‘
I won ’ t go to the v alley.
’ Then addressing himselfto his wife, he said—
‘I don
’
t know but that, if you will getme some breakfast, I will get up and eat it.
’
“I then addressed Mr. Harris relative to his once high andexalted station in the Church , and his then fallen and affl ictedcond it ion . I afterwards put the following questions to Mr.Harris , to which he severally replied with the greatest cheerfulness : ‘What do you think of the Book of Mormon ? Isit a divine record ? ’
“Mr. Harris replied ‘I was the right handman of JosephSmith , and I know that he was a prophet of God . I knowthe Book of Mormon is true—and you kn ow tha t I know tha ti t is true. I know that the plates have been translated by thegift and power of God , for His voice declared it unto us ;therefore I know of a surety that the work is true ; f or d id In ot a t one time hold the p la tes on my kn ee an hour a nd a ha lf ,while in conversation with Joseph , when we wen t to bury themin the woods, that the enemy might not Obtain them ? Yes, Idid. And as ma ny of thep la tes as J oseph Sm ith transla ted ,
90 THE MYTH OF THE
to the best of my knowledge, if you can rely on my testimonyof the same . In conclusion , I can say that I arrived in Utahsafe , in g ood health and spirits, considering the long journeyI
.
amqu ite well at present, and have been, generally speaking,
smce arrived . With many respects,
“I remain your humble friend,
“MARTIN HARRIS.
SMITHFIELD , CACHE Co . , UTAH .
“January, 1871 .
To H Emerson ,
DEAR SIR z—Your second letter, dated December,1 870 , came duly to hand . I am truly glad to see a Spirit ofinquiry manifested therein . I reply by a borrowed hand , asmy sight has failed me too much to write myself. Yourquestions :
“Question 1 .
‘Did you go to England to lecture againstMormon ism
“Answer. I answer emphatically, No, I did not . N0 manever heard me in any way deny the truth of the Book of Mor
mon ,the administration of the angel that showed me the
plates ; nor the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints, under the administration of Joseph Smith ,Jun .
,the prophet whom the Lord raised up for that purpose
in these latter days, that He may show forth His power andglory. The Lord has shown me these things by His Spirit, bythe administration of holy angels, and confirmed the samewith signs following, step by step , as the work has progressed,for the space of fif ty- three years .The Lord showed me there was no true church upon theface of the earth , none built upon the foundation designed bythe Savior, the rock of revelation , as declared to Peter. ( S eeMa tt , xv i , 1 6 He also showed me that an angel shouldcome and restore the holy Priesthood again to the earth , andcommission His servants again with the holy gospel to preachto them that dwell on the earth. ( S ee R evela tion , win , 6 ,He further showed me that the time was n igh when He would‘set His hand again the second time to restore the king dom of
Israel , when He would gather the outcasts of Israel and thedispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth,
’ whenHe wou ld bring the record of Joseph which was in the hand ofEphraim . and join with the record of Judah, when the tworecords should become one in the hand of the Lord to aecomplish His great work of the last days. ( S ee M id , m oi ,amazon ; a lso Tsa iah, ma in , a lso Isa iah, lm
'
ii . to the end ofthe hook a lso Psa lms . )
“Question 2 .
‘What became of the plates from wh
Book of Mormon was translated ?’
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 91
Answer. They were returned to the angel , Moroni , fromwhom they were received, to be brought forth again in thedue time of the Lord ; for they contain many things pert ainingto the gathering of Israe l , which gathering will take place inthis generation , and Shall be testified of among all nat ions ,according to the old prophets ; as the Lord will set His ensig nto
.
t)he people, and gather the outcasts of Israel . ( S ee Isa iah,
am.
Now , dear Sir, examine these scriptures carefully ; andshould there still be any ambiguity relat ive to this great workof the last days, write again and we will endeavor to enlightenyou on any poin t relative to this doctrine.
“I am , very respectfully,“MARTIN HARRIS, SEN .
The following interesting statement is an extract“
from aletter written to the D es eret N ews , by Elder Edward Steven
son :
Martin Harris related an instance that occurred durin thetime that he wrote that port ion of the t ranslat ion of the ook
of Mormon , which he was favored to write direct fiom the
mou th of the Prophet Joseph Smith . He said that theProphet possessed a seer stone, by which he was enabled totranslate as well as from the Urim and Thummim , and forconvenience he then used the seer stone . Martin explainedthe translation as follows : By aid of the seer stone , sentenceswould appear and were read by the prophet and written byMartin, and when finished he would say,
‘Written ,’
and ifcorrectly written , that sentence would disappear and anotherappe ar in its place, but if not written correctly it remainedunt il corrected . so that the translati on was just as it wasengraven on the plates , precisely in the language then u sed .
Martin said,after continued translation they would become
weary and would go down to the river and exercise by throwingstones out on the river, etc. While so doing on one occasion ,Martin found a stone very much resembling the one used fortranslating
,and on resuming their labor of translation , Mart in
put in place the stone that he had found . He said that theProphet remained silent unusually and intently gazing in darkness , no traces of the u sual sentences appearing . Much surprised
,Joseph exclaimed ,
‘Mart in $ What is the matter ? Allis as dark as Egypt . ’ Mart in ’ s countenance betrayed him ,
and the prophet asked Martin why he had done so . Mart insaid , to st0 p the mouths of fools, who had to ld him that theProphet had learned those sentences and was merely repeatingthem , etc.Martin said further that the seer stone diff ered in appear
ance entirely from the Urim and Thummim that was obtained
92 THE MYTH or THE
with the plates, which were two clear stones set in two rims,very much resembled spectacles , only they were larger. Mar
t in said there were not many pag es translated while he wroteafter which Oliver Cowdery did the writ ing .
In concluding this portion of our subject we desire to drawatten tion to the entire agreement between the witnesses as tothe manner in which the plates were translated . If any fraudhad been practiced , or there had been a conspiracy to deceive ,these witnesses in the lapse of so many years would doubtlesshave told conflicting stories , especially in regard to minorde tails . Bu t as it is their statements are harmonious one wi ththe other, their testimony unchangeable and the whole consistent with the narrative of the Prophet Joseph and the condition of things by which they were then surrounded .
C H A P T E R X IV .
IN T E R N A L E V I D E N CE S O F TH E B O O K
O F M OR M ON .
E will now consider for a short time a few of the internalevidences of the genuineness of the Book of Mormon , or
the proofs in itself that it is what it claims to be, a record ofGod
’
s dealings with the former inhabitants of this continent.Among the more prominent internal evidences of its gen
u ineness may be mentioned :l st. Its historical consistency.
2md . The entire absence of all anachronisms , or confusionin its chronology , and of conflicting statements with regard to
history, doctrine or prophecy.
3rd . The purity of its doctrines, and their entire harmonywith the teachings of our Savior and His inspired servants as
recorded in the Bible .4 th . Its already fulfi lled prophecies .5th. Its harmony with the tradit ions of the Indian ra ces.
94 THE MYTH or THE
But in this they have utterly failed . Not one of all theirpretended discoveries of errors has stood the test of investi
g ation . It has been found , without exception, that in suchcases the objector has either dishonestly garbled the text, putan impossible construction on good , plain English , or presentedhis own private interpretation of the words of the bookinstead of the words themselves . The writer of this havingperused the Book of Mormon many times, confidently assertsthat there is no conflict of dates , no contradiction of details,no discordant doctrine, no historical inconsistency, from thecommencement of the first Book of Nephi to the end of
Moroni . All is a plain, Simple narrative, occasionally somewhat unpolished in its style, and here and there at variancewith the strict rules of grammar, but throughout maintainingits unities and harmonies , and bearing upon its face indelible
marks of its div ine origin .
We now come to the doctrinal portions of the work :It is readily admitted on all hands that no sectarian preacherlike Mr. Spaulding would write doctrines , such as the Book ofMormon contains , these doctrines being at variance with thecreed that he professed ; and , indeed , in many respects differentto those of every creed then extant upon the face of the earth.
The Book of Mormon , be it human or divine , is a new revela$
tion on religious matters to this generation , and its entireaccord with the revelations of the Almighty contained in theBible is a proof so strong of its divinity that none have beenable to gainsay it. It is utterly ridiculous to imagine thatJoseph Smith , unlettered as he was, could have written a workin such entire harmony with the holy scriptures and enteringinto many new particulars, as it frequently does, with regardto doctrines only slightly touched upon in the O ld or NewTestaments : it not only harmonizes with the scriptures, but itexplains them, makes clear the meaning of many an obscurepassage
,and whi le it never conflicts with, it often develops,
truths of the utmost importance to humanity.
How wonderful a miracle l—much greater than the discoveryof the records in the hi ll Cumorah— that an uneducated youth ,( and neither fri end nor foe claims he was educated ) , couldproduce a work pregnant with principles connected with the
MANUSCRIPT FOUND . 95
most vita l interests of the human family, and treating on sub
j ects that concern man’ s temporal and eternal welfare , which
cannot be refuted by all the learned of the world. Would not
this be much more wonderful, calling for a much greater strainon our credulity than to believe that God had again spokenand brought to light this long-hidden treasure ? And if it beinconsistent to believe that neither Joseph Smith nor SolomonSpaulding was the author of the religious port ions of theBook of Mormon , wherein is it more consistent to ascribe theauthorship to Sidney Rigdon ? He was as utterly ignorant ofmany of the doctrines and principles made plain in the Bookof Mormon as was Solomon Spaulding or any other uninspiredpriest of fifty or more years ago . There was no system of
philosophy, ethics or religion then known to mankind fromwhich he could have drawn the inspiration to write many ofthe doctrinal precepts in the Book of Mormon .
To tide over this difficulty, persons unacquainted with thecontents of the Book of Mormon (which unfortunately the
greater portion of mankind are ) have suggested that SolomonSpaulding wrote the his torical portion (an impossibility, as wehave heretofore Shown ) and that Joseph Sm ith or somebodyelse added the religious portion . To those who have read theBook of Mormon, this hypothesis is supremely ridiculous .An objector to the Bible might, with equal consistency,assert that somebody wrote the historical portion of the O ldand New Testaments , and somebody else , after the historicalportion was all written, introduced the religious teachings .One is as impossible as the other . Every one who knowsanything of the Book of Mormon knows that the narrative
of events grows ou t of and is inseparably connected with thereligious idea. The book opens with the statement that Lehiwas a prophet, bearing Jehovah
’ s unwelcome message ofdestruction to the inhabitants of the sin- seared city of Jerusalem . They rejected and persecuted him . By divine command he fled wi th his family into the wilderness and was ledby that same inspirat ian to the American continent. The reasonwhy the Lord thus delivered him was , that he might raise upto Himself a people that would serve Him . He covenantedto give Lehi and his posterity this most precious land as their
96 THE MYTH OF THE
inheritance if they kept His commandments . How they fulfilled His law, how they prospered when obedient, how theysuffered when disobed ient , is the burden of the story of thewriters of the Book of Mormon . It is the main idea to whichall others are incidental
, the controlling thought around whichall others concentrate ; it is the life of the whole record , thegolden thread running through all its pages , which gives consistency to all its parts . A man might just as well attempt towrite the gospel of St . Matthew and leave out all references tothe Lord Jesus Christ, as write the Book of Mormon withoutits religious theory and teachings .
The creature who invented the idea of the dual authorshipof this book must have imagined that the doctrinal portionwas dropped in by lumps or clumsily inserted between diff erenthistorical epochs . It is true there are places where liberalextracts from the Bible are quoted , and if these were all, theremight be some semblance of consistency in the supposition .
But it is not so , the doctrinal and historica l portions are, as ageneral thing, so intermingled and blended that neither couldbe withdrawn without destroying the sense of the other. If itwere possible to conceive of the amalgamation of two separatedocuments—one religious and the other historical—it would bemuch easier to believe that the doctrinal portions were writtenfirst and that the historical ideas were afterwards filled in ; for,as before mentioned, the historical narrat ive is but secondaryand tributary to the religious idea. But th is would not support the theory of the Spauld ing ites ; it would , in fact, entirelyupset all their arguments for the reason that they claim thatthe “Manuscript Found ,
” a historical romance of an idolatrouspeople , be it remembered , was written by Spaulding not laterthan 1 8 12 , while the Book of Mormon was not published byJoseph Smith until 18 30 , consequently such an arrangementwould be fatal to their hypothesis.We next glance at the prophecies of the Book of Mormon
,
a number of which are already fulfilled. These are among themost irrefutable evidences of the divinity of the work ; thefacts are patent to all the world, they are within the reach ofall mankind . Ever Since the year 1 830, men have had theopportunity of testing the contents of the Book of Mormon,
98 THE MYTH OF THE
much a romance as the celebrated work of Dean Swift, andone is as worthy of credence as the other.
C H A P T E R X V .
T H E PR OPH E C IE S O F T H E B OOK O F
M OR M ON .
ET us now consider a few of the fulfilled prophecies of theBook of Mormon . On page 5 8 1 it is stated “And
behold ye [the translator] may be privileged that ye may shewthe plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work ;and u n to three sha ll they be shewn by the p ower of God where
fore they shall know of a surety that these things are true .And in the mouth of three witnesses Shall these things beestablished ; and the testimony of three and this workshall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day
(Ether 2
In the above we have the statement that three witnesses areto be raised up by the power of God to testify to the truth andgenuineness of the book . At the comm encement of the Bookof Mormon we have the testimony of these three witnessesO liver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris— to thefulfillment of the above prophecy . They declare that an angelof God came down from heaven , who brought the plates andlaid them before their eyes . “Ah , but,
” says our opponent,
“what an easy matter it would be lor an impostor like JosephSmith to conspire with three other men to fulfill the pro
phecy? Such a thing is quite supposable to ign orant persons unacquainted with the matter, but very improbable underthe circumstances as already shown . Or Joseph Smith mighteven have deceived three men had he shown them the plateshimself ; but not all the impostors in the world could bring anangel down from heaven , or cause the Lord to declare with Hisown voice that the plates were translated by His gift andpower. In this is the utter impossibility. As we have before
MANUSCRIPT FOUND. 99
shown these three men under all circumstances have borne onecontinuous , undeviating testimony that they saw the angel andheard the voice , and that their testimony in the Book of Mormonis true. N0 amount of sophistry can persuade the sincere investig ator into these matters that Joseph Smith had sufficient cunning and dexterity, even if he had appliances , to deceive thesethree men into the belief that they had actually seen an angeldescend from heaven and present them the plates for their exami
nat ion . This is altogether too great a stretch for the imaginat ion of an ordinarily sane person .
It is more difficult to select isolated passages from the pro
phecies of the Book of Mormon than from those of the Bible ;for as a general thing they are so intimate ly associated withthe context that their force
,power and meaning are surprisingly
weakened when quoted alone . Among the prophecies of Mor
mon’
s record that are partially fulfilled or are now in process of
fulfillment may be mentioned those relating toThe carrying of the Book itself to the Indians, and theiracceptance of its truths .The beginning of the gatheri ng of the Jews to their ancienthome in Canaan .
The establishment of Christ’ s Church,and the spilling of
the blood of the Saints by the wicked .
The great increase of corruption among those who rej ect thegospel message .
The formation of numerous powerful secret societies for thepurpose of murder, plunder and gain, and for the overthrowalof g overnments and nations .We append a few of these prophecies :“And now behold, I say unto you, that when the Lord shall
see fit , in His wisdom , that these saying s Shall come forth untothe Gentiles , according to His word then ye may know thatthe covenant which the Father hath made with the children ofIsrael, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inherItance ,
1is already beginning to be fulfilled” (III . N ephi
“And then shall the work of the Father commence at that
day, even when this gospel Shall be preached among the remnant o f this people [the Indians] . Verily I say unto you , at
that day shall the work of the Father commence among all thed ispersed of my people ; yea , even the tribes which have been
100 THE MYTH OF THE
lost,which the Father hath led away ou t of Jerusalem . Yea ,
the work shall commence among all the dispersed of mypeople, with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they maycome unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.Yea , and then Shall the work commence , with the Fatheramong all nat ions , in preparing the way whereby His peoplemay be gathered home to the land of their inheritance . Andthey shall g o out from all nat ions ; and they shal l not go ou t inhaste , nor go by flight for I will go before them ,
saith theFather, and I will be their rearward
$
( III . Nephi axi . 26“And there are also secret combinations , even as in t imes ofold ,according to the combina tions of the devil , for he is the foundation of all these things ; yea , the foundation of murder, andworks of darkness , yea, and he leadeth them by the neck witha flaxen cord. un til he bindeth them with his strong cords forever” (II . Nephi xazvi .
“And whatsoever nation Shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain , until they shall spread over thenat ion , behold , they shall be destroyed , for the Lord will notsuff er that the blood of His Saints, wh ich shall be Shed bythem , shall always cry unto Him from the ground for vengeanceupon them
,and yet He avenge them not ;
“Wherefore. O ye Gentiles , it is wisdom in God that thesethings should be shewn unto you , that thereby ye m ay repentof your sins , and su ff er not that these murderous combinat ionsshall get above you , which are built up to g et power and gain ,and the work, yea , even the work of destruct ion come uponyou , yea, even the sword of the justice of the ete rnal God shallfall upon you. to your overthrow and destruction, if ye Shallsuffer these things to be ;$ Wherefore theLord commandethyou,wh -n ye shall see thesethings come among you
,that ye shall awake to a sense of your
awful situation, because of this secret combination which shallbe among you , or wo be unto i t , because of the blood of themwho have been S lain ; for they cry from the dust for vengeanceupon it. and also upon those who built it up .
“For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up , seeketh tooverthrow the freedom of all lands , nat ions, and countries ; andit bringeth to pass the destruction of all people , for it isbuilt up by the dev il , who is the father of all lies ; even thatsame l iar who beguiled our first parents ; yea , even that sameliar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning ; who hath hardened the hearts of men , that they havemurdered the prophets . and stoned them , and cast them out
from the beginning” (Ether v iii . 22“And no one need say, They shall not come , for they surely
shall,for the Lord hath spoken it ; for out of the earth shall
they come,by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it ; and
102 APPENDIX .
defini te in the Book of Mormon than in the Bible, and manythi ngs revealed in relation to doctrine that never could be fullylearned from the Bible, yet there are not any items of doctrinein the two sacred books that contradict each other or clash inthe least.
“If the various books which enter into the collection , calledthe Book of Mormon , be carefully compared with each other,there will be found no thing contradicting in history, in prophecy, or in doctrine .
“If the miracles of the Book of Mormon be compared withthe miracles of the Bible, there cannot be found in the formerany thing that would be more di fficult to believe, than what wefind in the latter.If we compare the historical. prophetical and doctrinal
parts of the Book of Mormon with the great t ruths of scienceand nature. we find no contradictions, no absurdities. nothingunreasonable . The most perfect harmony thei‘efore existsbetween the great truths revealed in the Book of Mormon andall known truths , whether religious , historial , or scientific .
”
A PPE N D IX .
MRS . MATIL D A SPAUL D ING MCKINSTRY’S STATEMENT REGAR D ING THE
“MANU
S CR IPT F OUN D z”
W ASHIN GTON ,D . 0 . Apr il 3rd . 1 880 .
So much h as been publ ished that i s erron eou s con cern in g th e “ManuscriptFoun d
,
” writ ten bymy father , the Rev . Solomon Spaulding , an d i ts suppo sedconn ect ion with th e book called th e Mormon B ib le , I have wi l l ing lycon sen tedto m ake th e fol lowin g statem en t reg ardin g i t , repeat in g all that I rem emberperson al ly o f this m an uscript , an d all that i s of importan ce which mymotherre lated to m e in conn ect ion with i t , at th e sam e t ime affirm in g that I am in
tolerable health an d vig or , an d that my m emory, in common w ith elderlypeople, is cleare r in regard to th e even ts o f my earl ier years, rather than thoseo f mym aturer l i fe .
Durin g th e w ar of 1 812, I was residing with my paren ts in a l ittle town in
Oh io cal led Con n eau t . I w as then i n my s ixth year . My father was i n busin ess there , an d I remembe r h is iron foundry an d th e m en h e h ad at work ,b u t that h e rem ained at hom e m ost o f th e t im e
,an d w as read in g and writ ing
a g reat deal . H e frequen t ly wrote lit t le stories, which h e read to me . Therewere som e roun d m ounds o f earth n ear ou r hou se which g reat ly in terestedh im
,an d h e said a t ree on th e top o f on e of them was a thou san d years old .
H e set some o f h is m en to work d iggi n g in to on e o f these m ounds , and Iv ivid ly rem ember how excited he became when h e heard that they hadexhumed some human bon es ,port ions of g igan t ic Skeletons, and various rel ics .
APPENDIX . 103
He talked w ith mymother o f these d iscoveries in the mound, and was writi ng every d ay as th e work prog ressed . A fterward h e read th e m an uscriptwhich I had seen him wr it in g , to th e n e ighbors, an d to a c lergym an ,
a friendo f h is wh o came to see h im . Some o f th e n ames that h e m en t ion ed wh ileread ing to these people I have n ever forgot ten . They are as fresh to me
to-d ay as thoug h I heard them yesterday. Theywere Mormon ,Maron i , L amen
i te, Nephi .
W e removed from Conn eaut to Pittsburg while I was st il l very youn g , b u tevery c ircum st an ce o f this removal i s d ist in ct i n my m emory. In that citymy father h ad an in timate frien d n am ed Patterson ,
and I frequen t ly visitedMr . Patterson
’s li brary w ith h im , an d heard my father ta lk abou t
books with h im . In 1 816 my father d ied at Am ity, Pen n sylvan ia ,an d direct ly after h i s death my mother and myse lf wen t to v isit at th eresiden ce of my m other ’
s brothe r, W il l iam H . Sab in e , at On ondag a V al ley,On ondaga coun ty, New York. M r . Sabin e was a lawyer o f dist in c t ion an d
wealth , an d g reatly respected . W e carr ied all our person al e ffects w ith u s,
an d on e o f these was an old t runk,in which my m ot her h ad placed all my
father ’s writ in g s which h ad been preserved . I perfect ly remember th e appear
ance of th is t run k , and o f look in g at i ts con ten ts . There were sermon s and
o ther papers, and I saw a m an uscr ipt abou t an in ch thick, closely written ,
t ied with som e o f the stor ies my father h ad written for me,on e of which h e
cal led “The Frog s of Wyndham .
” On th e ou t side o f this manuscript werewrit ten th e words, “Man uscript Found .
” I d id n ot read i t,b ut looked through
i t an d h ad i t in my hands m any t imes, an d saw th e n am es I had heard at
Con n eau t, when my father read i t to hi s fr iends . I was about e leven years ofag e at this t ime .
A fter we h ad been at my un cle ’s for some t ime
,my m other left me there
and wen t to h er father ’s hou se at Pom fret , Con n ect icut , b u t did n ot take h er
furn iture n or th e old t run k o f m an uscript with h er . In 1820 sh e m arriedM r . Dav ison
,o f Hartwicks
,a villag e n ear Cooperstown , N ew York , an d sen t
for th e t hin g s sh e h ad left at On ondag a V alley, an d I rem embe r that th e old
t runk , with i ts con ten ts , reach h er i n sa fe ty. In 1 828,I was married to D r.
A . M cKi n stry, of Hampden coun ty, Massachuset ts , an d wen t there to res ide .
V ery soon after mymother j oin ed m e there,an d was with m e m ost of th e
t ime un til her death i n 1 844 . Weheard, n ot lon g after sh e came to l ive withm e—I d o n o t remember j u st how lon g— som ething o f Morm on ism ,
and the
report that i t h ad been taken from my father ’s
“Man uscript Foun d ; ” and
the n came to u s d irect an accoun t o f th e Mormon m ee t in g at Con n eaut , Ohio ,an d that , on on e occasion ,
when th e Morm on Bible w as read the re i n publ ic ,my father ’
s brother, J ohn Spau ld in g , M r . L ake an d m any other person s wh o
we re presen t , at on ce recogn ized i ts s im ilarity to the “Manu sc ript Fou nd ,”which they h ad h eard read years before by my father in th e same town .
$
’
1 here w as a g reat deal o f talk and a g reat deal published at this t ime abou tMormon ism all over th e coun try. I be l ieve i t was in 1834 that a m an n amedHu r lburt cam e to my house at Mon son to see my m other, wh o told us that h eh ad been sen t by a comm ittee to procure th e
“Man uscript Foun d ”writ ten byt h e Rev . Solomon Spau ld in g , so as to compare i t w ith th e Mormon B ible . He
— A gen t lem an wh o resided n ear Con n eau t at that t ime stated , soon afterthe fi rst pub h cation o f this story regardi ng Mr . J ohn Spau ldin g , that h e(J . S .) n ever l ived i n Con n eaut to the writer’
s most posit ive kn owledge .
104 APPENDIX .
presen ted a letter to mymother from my u n cle, Wm . H . Sab in e
,of On ondaga
V al ley, i n which h e requested h er to loan this m an uscript toHurlburt , as h e (myu n cle ) w as de sirou s to uproot
”(as he expressed i t ) “thisMormon fraud .” H url
bu rt represen t ed that h e had been a con vert to Mormon ism,b u t had g iven i t
up,an d th rough th e
“Man u script Foun d” w ished to expo se i ts wickedn ess .
Mym other w as carefu l to have m e with h e r i n all th e con versat ion s she h ad
w ith H urlbu rt , who Spen t a d ay at my house . Sh e d id n ot l ike h is appear
an ce , an d m ist rusted h i s m ot ives,b u t hav in g g reat respect for h e r brother ’
s
w ishes an d opin ion s, sh e reluctan t ly con sen ted to h i s request . Th e old trun k ,con t a in in g t h e desired “Man u script Found ,” sh e h ad placed i n the care o f
M r . J erom e Clark , o f H artwicks,when sh e cam e to Mon son ,
in tending tosen d for i t . On th e repeated prom ise o f Hu rlburt to re turn th e m anuscriptto us , sh e g ave h im a le tter to M r . Clark to Open th e t run k an d del iver i t toh im . W e afte rward heard that h e h ad rece ived i t from M r . Clark
,at Hart
wicks,b ut from that t im e we have n eve r h ad i t i n ou r possess ion ,
an d I haven o presen t kn owledg e o f i ts existen ce
,Hu rlburt n ever return in g it or
an swerin g letters requ est in g h im to d o so . Two years ag o I hea rd he was
st il l l iv in g i n Ohio , an d with my con sen t h e was asked for th e“Man uscr ipt
Foun d .
” H e m ad e n o respon se ,a lthough we have ev id en ce that he rece ived
th e l et ter con tain in g th e request . So far I have stated facts with in my
kn owledge . Mym o ther m en t ion ed m any o the r c ircum stan ces to m e i n con
n ect ion with this subj ect wh ich are in terest in g , o f my father’s l ite rary t as tes ,
h is fin e educat ion an d pecu l iar t emperam en t . Sh e stated to m e that sh e h adheard th e m an uscript a lluded to read b ymy fath e r, was fam i l iar wi th i ts cont en ts , an d she deeply reg ret ted that h e r hu sband , as she be l i eved , h ad in nocen tly been th e m ean s o f furn ishin g m at ter for a re l ig iou s d e lus ion . She
said that m y father loan ed this “Man u script Found” to Mr . Pat terson ,o f
Pit tsbu rg , and that when h e retu rn ed i t to my father , h e said : “Po lish i t up,
fin ish i t,an d you w i l l m ake m on ey ou t o f i t .
” My m o ther con firm ed myremembran ces o f my fa the r’ s fon dn ess for h istory, an d told m e o f h is f re
quen t con ve rsat ion s reg ardin g a theory wh ich h e h ad o f a prehistoric race
which h ad inhabi ted this con t in en t , e tc .,all showing tha t h i s m in d dwe lt on
this subj ect . The “Man usc ript F ou nd ,” she sa id,was a roman ce writ te n i n
B ibl ica l style , a nd that wh i le sh e heard i t re ad she h ad n o spec ial ad m i rat ionfo r i t m ore th an o the r rom an ces h e wro te and read to h e r . W e n eve r, e i the ro f us
,eve r sa w
,or i n any w ay commun icated w i th t h e Morm on s
,save H ur l
burt,as above descr ibed ; an d while w e have n o pe rson a l kn owledg e that t h e
Mo rmon Bible w as t ake n from th e“Man uscript Fo und ,” there a re m any e v i
deuces t o u s tha t i t w as an d tha t H u r l b urt an d o the rs a t t he t ime thought s o ,
A con vin c in g proof to u s o f th i s be l ie f w as that my u n c le,W i l li am H Sabin e
,
had u ndoubt ed ly read th e m an uscr ipt wh i le i t w as i n h i s house,an d h is fa i th
that i t s produc t ion W o u ld show to th e wo rld tha t th eMo rmon Bi ble h ad bee ntaken from i t
,o r w as the same w ith s l ig h t al te ra t io n s . I h ave frequen t ly
an swe red quest ion s that have be en a sked by d iffe ren t pe rso n s reg ard ing t h e
Man u scr ipt F ound .
” b u t un t i l n ow have n ever m ade a statem en t at
len g th fo r publ icat ion .
(Sig n ed ) M . S . McKrNs rRY.
Sworn an d subscri bed to before m e this 3 rd d ay o f Apr i l , A . D . 1 880,at th e
c ity o f W ash in g to n ,D . C .
CHAR LES W ALTER ,N otary Pub l ic.
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