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A PRE) , APProACH 'IO LINGUISTIC ASPEcrs OF

'!HE ANTHOO TRANSCRIPl'

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by David John Bl1e1"':;ler

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1eligion 523 Br igham Young University Winter Serrester--1978

Sezrester Project fo:: D::. Paul R. Cheeswan

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I 'IU I,D~t IIC K..FU:

by David John a z

AS I.'ltter-day Saints se'ilrC:h r la: "19 to

authentic) ty of th Bcok of 1oz)( ~_ , "-l.I int

as the "Anthon lXanSCr l.pttl as etle suc:h vidc-'n<.o. ·,.ih.ile few SOT ou:s

atb.,lpts have been nude to l.i.nk tho "C<'lr ctom" of .... - ' tl~->n Ult;.; hI'\ ru. Trans< "I ipt

, ' , with sUle ancHmt WZ'1.t 1 ng system, several strong o:ocl""'i ha' _. " '- ens .Ie lx>'B

voiced by sUle in the Church . Ariel L , Cro .... lc:I , an alhlteur

SIECia lizu19 in the Egyptian theory , wellt so far as to Fay in 19 '2 :

The things ollce deell'ed stran g:! and urged as evident es of the falsity of the Book of tolOtliOIl are neN! established a's, i n ....

f fth di " f" ,g ~:t proo s 0 e VllU. ty 0 1. ts =1.gin.," The AnthOI\ Trar.scr:i pt. in light of" ,archeaological finds " ,attests the accllracy ;;f ' the Book of Monron ao::ount of the brass plates. 1 '

The st rength of CL'-'A'ley I s PX:OClamatiOIl will be (X)J lSidered bel""I , '~"ne

pllIpose of this paper is to . e the var i0115 ) j nguistic claims , b:>t..'1.

apologetic and nat1lralistic, pertajnjng to the nat11re of the Anthon ':x:a.t,

script. No attel[pt wi 11 be rrade here to analyze the Transcript I 5 histor~-

ography.2

To begin, the theories of the sl,lppxtive or apologetic class; f i 03.tiOH

are endo1:Sed by those seeking to underwrite the prophetic-religions nature

of Joseph Smith, Jr. These theories pel I ain to a belief that the Tran­

script held in possession of the RLI:S clmrch is, in fact, the sarre one that

Martin Hazris carried to his New York interviews of 1828, or that it

a good fae-simile of the gold plate characters.3

AC<,Qrding to the Book of Mouton, the language which fumon •

tented as "Reformed Egyptian." Nephi opened his account in saying

yea, I make a record in the langmge of my father, whic.'1 con­sists of the learni ng of the Jews and the langua.ge of the Egyptians. (I Nephi 1:2. Emphasis mine)

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Nephi I S deGo:ndilnt HOlIIO .. stated that

~ have written this rec.. • .,rd according to O\lr in the characters which are caned the refoLltcd Egyptian '001 handed c3cMn and altered by \IS, according to our n~ of ng srcech• (l'b,IlI0n 9; 32 . Dlphasi.s mine)

'Itlis eJlphasis on Egyptian as a type of the Bcok of Hanton language has

led many to ex>nclLrle that the gold plate charact.ers were Egyptian , and

that a favorable parallel of the AnthOIl "caractors" with Egyptian ruero

glyphics would prove the divine origin of the Beck of I-ie! lIOII .

This was Ariel L . Cn:Jwley's appxoad1 thjrty-five years ago when he

proiflced hjs four part '" 01 the Transcript. 4 Cro.vley eJ<hibited 121 ,

parallels between the Anthon "caractors" and variofls dellotic and hie r atic

Egyptian hieroglyphics. Of these parallels, only 65 were striking to tills

author. 'r have illustrated 18 of parallels in Append; x II of this

paler; Crcwley's conclusion is stated aOOve.

While CrONley's viSHc'l1 evidence seems <"onciusive, several serious

cbject j ons should be raised. Hj rstly, several Egyptologists (note: CLO" .. ley

is not an Egyptologist) have declared that the Anthon "onactors" are not

Egyptian in nature. 5 Dr. Will; am F. Albright, a noted Biblical arc:heaolo-

gist, said in reference to "Refou lled Egyptian" that "there was no such

language. ,,6 Albright noted further that CrCM'ley "had to hunt arrong scripts

• separated from each other by a thousand years and in sore instanoes much

later than the F€I"iod from which the alleged 'Refm Ired Egyptian I is supposed

to date. ,,7 Wesley P. Walters pointed out that "Cl"o,.,rley sought oorrelations

with the Sinai proto-serretic script rendering the enti re attempt a lin­

guist inpossibility, a sort of alphetic srrorgasbord. "8 Let is be consid­

ered too, that no translation of the Anthon Transcript has ever been ac-

<ollplished9 by anyone I either in or out of the TJ IS church. These facts

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ti'tute a formidable =l.l;:J.pa;:.::;;:s:.::s=e which ought to be cOIlSi.lered m res'" ~~ .... aJllS - ~""

to CrOillley ' s research .

Another int e r estjng a l te ['uative , sti)] within the Egyptia., <.atego,..y, ,

is a corruption of Egyptian called Ber oi tic. l'leroitic is a se"arare l"'·~ .t - 'WoL'

guage using sore Egyptian synbology for i ts d>a r acters . A sLrr.i.lar lIo"'ern-

diy eJVmple would be the 1lse of shorthand for 10

professor of the Egyptology Deparblent at Bra-m Unive rsity in PhexE Island

felt that the Anthon "cal actors" might be linked with lIeroitic , lO as does

Dr. Daniel Ludlow of Brigham Young University . ll Llrllo.,,'s exa:.:>_e 0:: a -Memi tic text parallel may be found in dix II.

Being given that sorre pre-COlulbian peoples nay have been oJ.nec,pC

in Safe Vf3y with one of the three Book of fumon colonies, another h~l ~::XJ;:..>"psi s

has arisen maintaining that sorce cormecl ion may be seen beu...'eeIl tr:e A,thon

"caractors" and Mesoarrerican scripts. Arrong the first to suqgest t h is

theo.ry were Dr. Augustlls I.e Plongeon,12 Ariel L. CrCM'ley,13 and Carl E ::gh

JOlles .14 Jones I work constitutes one of the nost scholarly a Llempts to -find such a parallel. He has done ve research with the roller sta;l;'S -

found at La Venta and Tlatiloo in southern Mexiro, and ronciwes that t..'1ere

is a oofinite parallel between the Anthon "caractors" and the staHps. He

has even made a fascinating atterrpt to locate an alphebet errbedded within

the Anthon Transcript. Sate of his parallels may be found in

No attenpt at translation of the characters was made in Jones I researd l .

Though nany critics of Book of MJwon archeaology poi nt out that vir-

tl1al Jy no evidence of e}.lensive writing

Central, or South AIrerica, stolre evidence of

Jo:ated. The question that the critic 1fQ1st •

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loca. ted in either North,

wri ting has in fact l::een

is: HeM' much evidence

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mus t be Presented be£ore I wi 11 adnit tile cxi.stcn ... of. writing (at t.-

ever)? ,Admittedly, if there were such a literate socia y anciently ex-

t ~ n "~rica as the Book of l-1or lion indicates , aI1lJlo Qvidcnre of s . tan ...... .no,=",

sholl ld be locatable . If there is none , where did it go if it existed at

all? Fur tlletll'Ore, what conclusions nuy we reach from our present posi­

tion in r e l ation to Nesoanerican l inguistics?

One sdlolarly attempt to prove the existe nce of Mcsoanerican wri\:iN;J

was made in 1972 at Brigham Young Universi ty . The r esearcher , Gla::le Lynn

B!H~on, in his doctoral disser lation made an analys i s of Aller ican L..J,. eo

inscriptions and shaved parallels beu..een scripts f ound at Cuenca and

T.aubeyegue , and Ranos , Hichigan , Kinderhook , Bat Creek , WOodst CHm ,

Q:ave Creek , and Classical Mayan , Egyptian , and Aegean codices . Burgan

also placed heavy errphasis upon the seals and stal(ps f ound at Tlatikt),

Ilati l eo , Las M9r cedes , VeraCl'llZ, and La Venta. He coIlcluded that the

"inter-relationship of signs in South America, , New Pe.xl.CO ,

the Great Lakes area, and easte111 United States would give support to the

theory that writing was known to exist in the New World . "15

An a<xHtional item should be lTentioned before we l eave the t opic of

1>'esoarrerican scripts. In the late 1950' s , in the state of Oa>:aca, t-le.xico,

12 mini ture gold plates were found by Dr . Jesus Padilla Orozco. 'lhese

plates have since care to be knavn as the Padilla plates, and are eUY rently

the subject of sane controversy arrong Book of ~nron archeao1CX]i sts . 16

One privately published report states that "the arL work of the plates

exhibits both Late l-layan and Aztec d)aracteristics. '!hough this mixture

of cultural hadi : A is strange, at the styles are appropriate t o •

the date of the other ardmological Post~assie , • •

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1000-1200 AD. ,,17 The authors of the above report went on to =iticize

several e1errents of the plates' Ilotifs. In addition, a d1ar acter analysis

to the Anthon Transcript was rrade by Dr. Ray T. Matheny of Brigham YQ\mg •

th1iversity.18 l':atheny found 66 parallels between the Padilla characters

and the Anthon "ca ractors." This cons ti tuted his rra.in cri tici SIn of the

padi lla plates: "It is inconceivable to us that genu; nely ancient gold •

plates could contain 53 percent (of characters) from ancient Mexico and

. ,,19 Central Anenca. I have included 39 Padilla parallels in Append; x II.

The similarities are rerrarkable, and if the Padilla plates are not forged

(see report above), they would seem to constitute strong evidence in favor

of the Anthon Transcript's authentici t¥ as synbols of sare ancient wri ting •

system.

Finally, in the apologetic category, we find a spattering of minor

theories s1X::h as the parallels with Gloria Farley's North All'erican inscrip­

tions (petroglyphs) 20 and Le Plongeon's theory of Phoenician affinity.2l

The Phoenician connection is currently being investigated by Ross T.

Christensen of the BYU .Departrrent of Anthropology and Archaeology. 22

The research here is still limited, thus allowing no present conclusions.

The other division of Anthcn linguistic theory deals with three basic

natmalistic interpretations. '!hose sllfporting these theories generally

tend to d?ny the religious mission of Josefh Smith, Jr. as a divinely

called profhet, and claim that the IllS church was based upon extant reli-

gious and occult node.ls in Smith I s tirre pericxi.

The fj rst of these natmalistic theories was suggested originally by

0lar1es A. Shcok ;in 1910. After the opinion of the Srni thsonian

viz-~ vi z the to Egyptian, •

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. ~~syrian, and Arabic (of which the reply "as Olaldil1 c, ,....

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inS tead of I ~fO!ji ed Egyptian I • rrany of the I Ca r~ctors I are defollied English, as any one w~ll cbscrve v.no w~ll """pare theIII wi ttl English lette r s, figures and signs .... The fact is that Joseph Smith, in dra-.... ing the transC'! ipt , employed dif­ferent kinds and styles of English letters , dlanging a few of them to make the iJtlf'osture less observable .... If similarity proves anything, it proves that the trans. T ipt j s a bold, bare forgery and one not aJove the abilic.l of a Smith or a Harris to execute. 23

I have incltlded Shcok I s parallel s in Appendix II. Others have read'1ed

simi lar o::>l1clusions; it is an interestj ng and elerrentary theory . The

validi t}' hCMever , of Shcok' s theory is another gtEStiOIl. At present it

mnst remain a Here opinion of a f€!V1 individuals for want of other viable

historical evidence.

T.aubert, a fODter dean and professor at Brigham

Young Uni versi t}', was cnnvinced of yet another origin for the Anthon

Transcript: derivation frem magical talismans and astwlogical syrtbols.24

His theory maintajns that Jose!il Smith's source of inspiration for the

Anthon Transcript was principally sare magical bcxJk or becks '-'Olltaining

iIrages of tal j smans and various astrological syrrbols of the zodiac. Dr.

Tauber t's research is emaustive and deeply implicative of occult origins

for Smith's work; his paxallels rontained in Appendix II are striking.

TaUbert's research and that of others25 fairly well SUPPOLt.S the theory

that Josefh Smith did have sate ronnection with nagic during his early

New York years. Ha-veve.r, this theory is not conclusive nor atni-explana-

tiona] for rrost of it is deductive and rorres principally from serondary

sources. Srni th 's acti vi ties with the occul t apparently share sorre link

with the last of our naturalistic nodels: that of Freenasonry. •

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With the heavy ptblici ty of the \villiam !-'organ scandal , it is diffi­

cult to iJregine ha..' Jose,P1 Smith could not have heard or read sareUdng

relati ng to FreellBsonry . A la rge pero;>ntage of the Palmyra a rea ' s news-,

oovoted nsny head] i nes , editoria l s , and advertizellents relating to

ru.; , and ptblic opinion was hot cono2'n d ng this 'issue . 26 Even

closer to horre was Joseph 's CMIl1 brother,

l-lasonic frat e rnity at least frem 1823. 27

Hyrun, who was a rrerrber o f the ,

Those supp:>rti ng this theory

s uggest that the Royal Arch D=:gree of SCl)tti sh Rite Masonry cont a ining the

well l<n~n to1asonic cipher was JoseFh' s rrodel for the Anthon Transcript.

This ciJ±ler is one of the rrost elerentary of all simple p:>sitional cifhers.

Its syrrbology is as follows:

ABC D E F G H I J K L M N 0 P Q R STU V W X y Z ,

~ULJOClnrv><A~8~~8E~nr-~?<A Al so inportant to this theory are cer tain key nurbers of Masonry such as

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9. Other Ma sonic synbols to consider are (+ #- X

)0 G J B L V l1V ). Many of these syn:bols

bear sale serrblance to over 90 of the Anthon "caracLors. ,,28 In addition,

other possible parallels could be the (,II J\ lUll) character v.hich one ,

researd1er speculated to be a secret way to write "9." He al so p::>stulated

the "H" dlaracter to be another •

li~1l for Hyrum Abif. 29 The p::>ssibili-

ties are inreed nost intriguing.

In considering the Masonic theory, it is interesti ng to note that several

local newspaper articles (Palnrira region) rrentioned researdl in Egyptology

of ancient before the Beu of l-DlIIon was published.

in Jtme of 1827 • mg

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a Mexican JT\3.nuscript in hie~'oglyphics, frail which he infers, that the Mexicans and Egyp~an~ had intercourses with each other from the renutest antiqul. ty, and that they had the sarre system of nythology. 30

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When the Anthon TransCI;ipt and gold plates were first discussed by Jose];h

Smith and others, the language or syrrbology was tenred as "Feforrred Egypt­

ian." Later, in the "Official Version" of Smith's story written in 1838,

four separate languages were listed: Egyptian, O1aldai c, Assyriac, and

Arabic.31 Adherents of this theory believe that this evolution of the

story was due to Smith's growing invol verrent with Masonic rites, syrrbols,

etc. In the Mystical Lecture of the Fi rst O1ai r of "t:h: Royal Arch I£gree

of Srottish Rite Masonry we find:

The word on the triable is that Sacred and Hysterious Narre you have just solemnly engaged yourself never to pronounce, unless in the presence and wi th the assistance of UNo or m:)!"e Royal Arch Corrpanions, or in the body of a lawfully­o:llstituted Royal Arch d1apter, whilst acting as its First Principal. It is a <XXllpound word, and the cClubination fonns the word JAH-BUIrON. It is in four languages, d1aldee, Hebrew, Syriac, and Egyptian. 32

Accardi ng to this theory, this evolution in the story would be rrore iro-

pressive to 1-1asons' readjng it, thus seeing their oral baditions set

dcM1 in an unroHllpted fashion. Many rrore parallels exist, and of the

naturalistic theories, the Masonic explanation seems to be the nost advanced

and well grounded in historical evidence .

In sumation, we have examined nine theories oonsidering different

linguistic aspects of the Anthon Transcript. All of the theories are in-

teresting, and each one has its CM'l1 enthusiastic supporters. HOHever, the

usc of the Anthon Transcript as a P"lysical evidence for the Book of M:::mron

:. :.... .:... II ... to be negated by vi I"t .,e of the and diverse varience of the

relating the Iwm the here-ro-fore •

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od "theory of Egyptian origin has several "orth ox •

ser~ous dcficie.nci s. I

, ~ ..... ~t Crowley's vocife1011s conclusion quoted in my preface is not CXA lci t ;J..J.e u J.Q

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sl'pport;able. Indeed, if all one wishes to do is prove the verity of th •

Book of M::wlI::m, one is relegated to the following position described by ,

D J arres L. Barker: r.

In no ' case is any ] i nguistic diso::>very or any principle of the science of language 'daIraging I to the Book of M::)IJron. 'lne id a of ] inguistic change expressed in the Book of l'bnl'lon was held by a fe." a very fev scholars in Em"ope at the time the Book of /1:)ZIlOll was being written. This view is consistent with the truth. The very fact that in the book is consistent wi th known fact s is evidence of its divinity. I t is not 'proof.' Indeed we should not 8}(J?ect such 'proof.' 33

Ba rker went on to cite the well kncM>n d,a) lenge of Ivbroni 10: 4 at the

close of the Book of IvbDlon. Wis , for faithful. Latter-day Saints,

the ultimate test of truth. The Anthon Transcript, according to this

stOOy, must take second place.

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FQ> INO'lES

, verrent Era, Vol. 45, p. 183 (March 1942) • 1. Inpro , ,

A Cruwley Improvement Era, Vol. 45 (January, 1942), No.1, p14ff. 2. R' Hulling~r, "The Harris-Anthon Consul tatioll and Morrron Origins,"

. (unpublished paper in possession of the author) . S Kirrba 11, "rtJe Anthon Transcript: People, Prinary Sources, ard

. Problems," BYU Studies, Vol. X, No.3, p. 325ff. (Spr. 1970)

3.

B H Rri.>el'ts, History of the Church, Vol. I, pp. 19-20 . . , " , comprehensive History of the Church, Vol. I, pp. 99-109.

For information on Professor Charles Anthon, see: S. Kirrball, "Charles Anthon and the Egyptian 'Ianguage," Improverrent Era,

Vol. 53 (Ocbober, 1960), p. 708ff. R. Yarrington, "Who Was Professor Anthon?," Saints Herald, July 1, 1966,

pp. 10-11.

Evidence indicates that it is not the sarre one. See: P. Cheesman, "The Anthon Transcript," unpublished pa[>er in FOssession

of this author. R. Hullinger, ~. cit., pp . 3-8.

, 'In Defense of God: Why Joserh Smith Wrote the Book of ------ M:lDlon," unptblished ffi3J1uscript (1975) in this author's

possession, pp. 115-125. s. Kimball , BYU Studies , Vol. X, No. 3, pp. 347-350.

Another presently unanswerable question whim we should oonsider in respect to the Anthon Transcript is , Was the transcript a reliable copy of the original characl.ers? 'l11e pursuit of any pa'! I j cular Anthon ljnguistic theory may well hinge upon the answer to this question .

4. A. CrtMley, Improverrent ~ra, Vol. 45, Nos. 1,2, and 3 (January, February, and Mardl, 1942) i also IE , Vol. 47, No.9 (Decenber, 1944).

5. Saints Herald, CIII, 12, 1956, P l09R. •

6. W. Walters, "Joseph Smith AIrong the Egyptians," Jotnnal of Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. I, p. 26.

, personal o:>rrespondance with Walters, February-March, 1978. -----7. -----, ibid. As related by W. Walters; see personal correspondance.

8. , ibid.

9. See Appendjx I for u..o attei(ipLed parUal translations of the Anthon Transcript. Many Un researcher 5 prefer to ignore the prcblem of translation as being presently insurmountable. For example, C. Wilford Griggs, Asst. pzofessor of Ancient at Young UliveX'sity told this author in a on March 9, 1978, that he was "willing to let the Anth:Ul be the nlJl(ent."

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, was the SOIEMhat c::ontrov:-,'sial Professor Fred Parker. This ThiS t is described J.n a 'pr:-vate ,letter n;om an Irs , researci1er to a BYU professor. COpy ~s J.n this author s p::lssess~on.

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Llldllfo' prepared a handout entitled, "A Cblltparison of The Anthon ~~~scriPt With a Type of Refonned Egyptian." '!he text of his hand­out is as folllfo's:

In 661 B.C. the Egyptian 0)111 L fled from the Assyrian invaders far into the heart of Africa, to Napata in Nubia. By 560 B.C. the

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CO'" L was established at Me~ o=""pletely ~der the cbminatioll' of the tyrannical and cornpt pr~estly class. 'l'hese people never again returned to, Egyp~. In thei:- isolation, like Lehi' s J?8<?p~e, they tumed Egypt~an hieroglyphs J.nto a reformed style of wr~tlng which is cal led Merotic. It has never been deciFilered. This is a striking exa1 llple of hlfo' conterrporaries of Lehi, also far isolated from the cultural spheIe of old Egypt, qui~ly develop:d thei r o.vn Egyptian style, for which no better designation can be imagined than "PefoLlled Egyptian. " Note the interest; ng oveIall ressenblance

this writi ng and that of the Anthon Transcript.

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12. S. Kimball, Newsletter and Proceedings of the S.E.H.A., 126.0, p.2 (August, 1971).

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J.M. Sjodahl, "Book of Momon (jmractel's," I.!'proverrent Era, Vol. 27 (DeO?lTber,1923), No. 2, pp. 146-148.

• Dr. TePlogeon (1826-1908) was a rredical doctor and a personal friend of Lll3 president Jchn Taylor. In July, 1892, Le Plongeon tried to substantiate a connection between cex-Lai n Anthon "caractors" and several Mayan (;(Xli ces. In addition, he attempted a translation of six Anthon "caractors" using a Mayan base.

A L Cr 1 "The • • 011 ey, Era,

Anthon Transcript and the Maya Glyphs," Septel(oor, 1952, pp. 644-645.

Improverrent

Mr. Jones Society.

is curator of anthropology at the Nebraska State Historical See S.E.H.A. 122 . 0 and 126.0.

15. G. Burgan, An Analysis of Pmporled Ancient Arrerican Linear Inscriptions (Brigham Young University: 1972), p. 163.

16. This author has leamed from personal conversations at BYU that several professors in the D:parbrent of Religion believe that the plates are genuine. Professor Ray T. Matheny of the D:parbtent of Anthropology and Archeaology finnly believes that the plates are frauds. The research on the Padilla plates has not been developed at great length so these CQlclus i (U}s should sti 1] be tentative •

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Ch snan R Matheny, and B. Louthan , A ReporL on the Gold Plates P ee ,' . . - ---r 'Found in Ne.xico, pn.vate1y published, January, 1973 . lIn possession

of this author.)

see also:

See also:

J .GC.Bal'tan, A . -Ie · " In l' Xl.CO,

ion of this author. ) living in Bountiful, original 12 plates .

to "A Report on the'GOld Plates Found published, January , 1973 . (In possess­Mr. Barton is a private researcher

Utah. He =renLly possesses 5 of the

PhotOjraphs of the 7 plates session of this author .

sti 1 J owned by Padilla , in pos-•

18. R. Matheny, ~. cit., pp. 20- 24.

19. R. Matheny, ibid. , pp. 22-24. •

20 For descriptions of Mrs. Farley's work , see Barl¥ Fell , 1Inerica B. C., •

21. J.M. Sjodahl, gE. cit., p. 147.

22. See S.E.H . A. Newsletters 111.0; 115.2; 118 . 0; and 126.0.

23. C.A. Shook, cumorah Revisited, Cincinatti , 1910 , p . 527.

24.

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A.C. Lanbel'L, "Private Collection of the Papers of Asael Car lyl e Larrber L," Manuscript Collection (Ms. 35) , Special Collections Divis­ion, University of Utah Libraries .

Individual references in this collect ion to magic and J oseph Smith a !le : Bx. 16, Bk. 4. "Joseph Smith, Jr., A Magician in the Pattems of the

Magus" Bx. 31, Bk. 2. "On the Search for a Magician In Or Around Palmyr a ,

York, in the Tirre of Joseph Smith , J r." (Restricted) Bx. 50 , Bks. 1, 2, and 3. "The Joseph Smith Talisman" (3 volurre study) IX. OVERSIZED , fBk. 2 "Book of Monton" (illustrations of the

"caxactors" paralleled with magical syrrbol ogy)

This author also has other Larrbert notes and letters not held by the University of Utah pertaining to this subject.

A pari. ial list of other and his conneci i on with

references the occult

to the subj ect of J oseP'l Smith, Jr. • l.S :

. G. Bergera, "The Narre's the Garre Joseph Smith and Nutbers," privately published paper on JoseP'l Smith explai ned by nurrero l ogy , in possession of this author.

F. Brodie, private letter to Franc i s W. Kir kham , Apr i l 2, 1947, with attached article found in the Chena,'1go Union, t-lay 3, 1877, on the Bainbridge com L trial in 1826, by W.D. P llr ple . Found in the M. W. P01!lsen Collect ion, Archives & t-lanu­scripts, Harold B. lee Lihrary, Brigham Young Univers ity, Ms. 823, Bx. 9, file 14.

F. BroUe, No Man KnCMS ttl. Histmy, New York:1973, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., pp. 19, 31, 429-432.

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ham "Is There No He:"p For the WidON' s SOIl?~ privately pub-R. ~ , f th . . Ii shed Po.fx-r 0 e PresJ.dential A<1"'lress to the l>1oLltOl •

. History Association, Nauv=, Illinois, April 20, 1974. See pp. 10-14. Color photografhs of the Jupiter talis­man are in this author's possession.

O. Kraut, Seers .and Seer Stones, (Kraut: SLC), pp . 45-61. J. and S. Tanner, MonmnislII : ShadON or Reality?, Modeu. Microfilm,

SLC, 1972, pp. 32-49. W.P. Walters, "Frorrnn Cult to Occult With JoseJXl Sooth, Jr.," The

J01111lal of Pastoral Practice, Vol. 1, No.2 (Sulllter, 1977, pp. 121-131.

•

R Hull inger, "In Defense of God," g:. cit., p. 62. Hullinger notes • "after William Morgan was al:xlucted in 1826, the Wayne Sentinel has at least Olle item in nearly every iss11e (on Freerrasonry). By 1828, when the iss11e had becorre political, thele are usually tw::>, three or nore coltnlUls on the Masonic rontroversy."

For several of these ne<.vspaper excerpls, see Tanner, ~. cit., pp. 69-72.

27. TeleFhone cOllversation betwEX'n this author arrl R<X>e1 l Hull j nger, March 3, 1978 .

•

•

Many of the early brethren of the Church were Masons. For other narres see: S.H. Gcodi.,rin, ~brrronisltl and l'Ili3sonry , Grand Lodge R.& A.M. of Utah, SIC:

1972, p. 14. E.C. McGavin, Ho.tJ[onislIl and ~1asonry, Bookcraft, SLC:1956, p. 13. J. Widstoe, Evidences and ReCX)!1ciliations , Bookuaft, SLC:1976, p. 357.

For other doetntentation and critical studies on MOLIIOniSlll and Freerrasoney, see: J.M. AdamSon, TI1e Treasure of the WidON 's Son, n.d., SLC:U.of U., pub­

lished only in Horrron Hiscel1anrous , Vol. 1, No.1 (OctOOer, 1975), Nauvoo, Illinois, editor David Martin , The New Nauvoo Neighbor Press.

R. Dll1ilam, SE.. cit. S.H. Gc:Jcxt..rin, P.G.M., Addjtional Studies in MOTItOniSIn and Masonry, SLC:

19 32. . '.. ' M.B. Hogan, The Cryptic Cable TO-I Beuleen Mo:rnonisItl and Freerrasonry,

~ i - ,

PafeL Nt.l!Tber 22, Anzona Feseardl Lodge t~o. 1 F. & A. M., phoerux, Az., February 2 4 , 1970, unpublished. (in author's fOssession)

A. Ivans, fulltOJ ti SIn and Freemsonry, 19 34 , 254 pp. A.C. T.anbert, collection ~. cit. See:

Bx. 16, Bk. 7 and 8. Bx. 27, Bk. l-Bx. 28, Bks. 1, 2, and 3. Bx. 29, B~. 1, 2, and 3. Ex. 30, Bks. 1 arxi 2. Ex. 31, Bk. 1 Ix. 32, Bks. and 2.

•

J. S. Tanner, ~. cit., W. 69-72,

•

•

•

•

•

•

28.

29.

30.

-5-

See AppenadLi x II for the rest of the parallels .

onal letter of Robert N. Hullinger to Wesley P. Walters, See __ J~rsl 1975 in p$session of this author. Oc t ,-,-""r , ,

WayTle Sentinel , Jl..IT}e 1 ~ lS27.. . . 1 quoted in R. Hulhnger, 9£.. at., p . 113. Hull J nger CX:illlents In

~:o£cctnote to this quote that "Joseph Smith would have rea? thi~ . After he married EHatla Hale.on January IS, 1S2?, he carre.to l~ve Wl.th his parents and stayed unt~l he returned to h~s father -ln-1aw I s harre .in Decellber. me, I, 19."

•

31. R. Hul 1 j nger, ibid., pp. 125-127 and his fcotnotes. '!his seGtLS to be an inCOllgruoUS e1errent in the Anthon story, for Joseph Smith sllpr:osedly cla.i.Ired in lS43 that "I translated the Bcok of 1-Drrron from hiercg1yphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world." (Hullinger references this to H. caswa11, Arrerica, and the American Church, 2nd em tion, Lon­don: John and Charles 1-Dzley, Paternoster FoN, 1851, p. 358.) In spite of this esoteric context for the Bcok of MaDion characters (i.e. the Anthon "caractors"?), Smith endorsed Halris ' staterrent in the 1838 "Official version" that Anthon identified the characters to be "Egypt­ian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said that they were tnlP characters." (see He I, 20; P. of CLP., J.S. 2, 64.)

32. See Hullinger to Walters letter, 3E.. cit., and other Masonic exp::lses of Joseph Smith's tirre period.

33. J. Barker, "The Language of the Book of 1-Drrron," Improverrent Era June = ' 1960, p. 454. Dr. Barker (nON deceased) was Professor Erreri tus of

Modem Languages at the UtJiversity of Utah jU3t before this art i cle appeared in the Era.

• •

• •

•

-•

•

•

•

•

•

• • •

-,

,

•

•

I

•

• ,

•

• •

• •

•

•

APPENDIX II

•

• •

•

•

•

,

ID TIlE AN'IHOO TRANSCRIPf

•

•

•

• •

• •

• •

• •

• • • •

APPENDIX I

TRANSlATIONS OF TIlE l\N'IHCN TRANSCRIPT

kn<»,ledge , only two attelilpts have been made to tl'anslate the

TOI1!z'

Anthon Transcrip~. These we r e both attempted in 19 73 . The fi r st was by

paul R. Jesclard, a graduate s tudent at Brigham Young Univer sity at the

• t' lie. The second was by John A. Tvedtnes who was a doctoral candidate at

Hebrew tmiversity in Israel when he attelllpted his· translation . Both as­

sured the Transcript to be Egyptian in nature. Thei r "translations" were

both of the first line of the Anthon Transcript, and seerred to be sorre­

what perfunctory in nature, although both clairred the great di fficulty o f

the task. Of the u..o, Tvedtnes' paper seerred to be thought through better

Ulan Jesclard's. Their translations were as follows:

TVEmNES: •

tJi.f sc3 • r rntItu ~w ky "t:frn rn

•

"To MJ.nron his nOl l titude ~ (an) first of narre (for) (aut\y) (was) other

hri p3 ¥ri ? • pr n.sw.t •

masculine • supen.or the son palace."

Or: "f.brnon had his at It!}' • . " pn.nce •••

Another carre, a man nore • llOtOr ! ant than the

Or: "To (for) /1)LI(on (and) his at I(!}' caIre another •.. etc ...

•

• •

,

. .,.

APPENDIX 1 Con b m cd

•

•

•

------ .--- -_._- - -----

•

" ( d Zara)hemla (said to him:) thou belongest to (e:n though) I bel<;:mg to ~e kings and the crown 0

as one mighty of VOl.ceo 0 0 0

, •

•

•

•

---_.

the rank. of IXMer So thou wilt Shine

Each included a brief ~]anation of the; r translation prOCFSSo

Sollcces:

•

1. "A Preliminary Survey of the Anthon Transcript" by John Ao Tvedtnes. 2. "A Translation of a Portion of the An thon Transcript" by Paul R. Jesclard.

(Both are unptblished papers in p::lssession of this author.)

•

• •

•

• •

• •

•

28.

93.

36.

•

• ,

•

•

d ~ thon Characters KEY: Ie et:,llle .~

•

17.

82.

I 166. 2-

76.

14.

112 •

Righ t/Green=Egyptian Characters

•

/ o 96-95. 0

•

25. ,

90.

: 'j' 13.

•

22 .

151.

•

The above 18 isons were traced fran Ar.iie1 erONley I s arb cle, "The I Anthcn Transcript," The Imp:wvernent Era, February, 1942, pp. 79, 80, 124, and 125. Mr. Cl:t::Wley presented a total of 121 ccnparisons in his article. The nUllbers used correspond with those used by CrONley, The Improverrent Era, Septeuber 1944:542.

•

•

•

•

• •

•

•

r-t::P01'lC QWV'Cll::R PJ\lU\LU :LS '1'0 '11£l.. J\!-I'll l(!J 'l'PJI: SCRipi'

• , •

..- .. --- - -.- . - ----~,"

•

. - --_ ...... - , --..., . . "'= .... ---: . .. " - "o' - '" • ,', ..,.

fO"'--- .. ".,. . « . ... - }" '.~.·.7. i'·.,.-· "',::y," flr.: .' -...t:".-"::"",.- .:::; '. Q • ..,:.' .. "': - " " . -: . ... - -. .... ' -. -.• -. _ . -,-- • - - ... .. ," '- .. . - . ... - - .... ,: ...... - . .... ..-. --.. -.-._,,----.- ........... -'-.:v ~./ .. _,.l-- ", ,.'\,'O; ":"' ) ' - -' '' ' ••• ~. ( . ... ...... . f " .••• .. ~ .•• - •• ' --", . •. . .. _ . _' ., /. . ..... ..... • .. ' - 1 .. . ' ... . ~ .. _ ,'ri' . I .··f . . '.' . .-"\

.-1." •. " ... ~ '. ... , ... ..... .... ,' - y o ••. • -~ •• ""' , ' 0 .' . .... .' '- .. .. -: . ' V ". _ .... ...... . ...... ' ~ ,.) ...... , '- . -', \ , . • • .. _ • • • ••• " ._ ~ "" 01' 1_ ' ..... ". • - : • • ' . ~c. . '. . , ~l . .... . . . . - .. .. ,.

• . . ' .. _. _ . " .. . -J~"" • "' _.. • • , •• _ of . ...... " ' . . . .. . ... . .,

,-- ,- . -•

/,_ .. .. . - ,,0,' ' . . •• .: . ,.' .• -.;1' )

( .,. . . . .' ?':;.:..,r. : '. ,:- .. , :'.' • , ..• . . '. ,.. ,. " . ," ." . . " •.. . . .' . '.' •. ' • .· ~.'l';· t r'):. .' (."~ /. h7~ ~.'. , '-

FV'7' . .' . . ~ . G4 ,.,L~ .. ~ . ... . :J '.-," ' , ' " ..... . ... . .. - ~. -. ,.", .. ' -. " ,

• . • • • _. ' ." I , I I '. • - ,,; . '. , " " • • - " ~ • • .. ,' -

l ". . ... . . \1" " .' ~ •... ' ... . ". • • . .... oO

) , 0 I )",. . . , " . " . . t " . '-,,' . • • ' • • - ' . . .. ' . . '

~ . /7 ........... '. 1111" .. ' . .. " , .'" ' .",. # , • , (/.. I ......... r Vi V ., ' .

· ... ~ : . " . ''' ' .,I t' .. 'J

J . .. . • • - ••••• \' '_. ' . :!' ..' •• • • . , , .. . ..... ' , ":r :i. ., . . . , . . -... . '

.. !,Y .. 'j i.> ( q', } {of :~: 'j.' '!ld:!;' 11 t ~ . -::;. ~--:' f ~ ~ -5 '! {'>;' ~ !---- -f I- A ~ ~ ;.;> 'jl ~;.' :.~ :,,,,:{ , . ' " ... . . . . . , , .. , . .... .' . , " ~ ., .. . .. :: f?- J) !Ie ~'" { [ 1':" f A, .I: <V' .~ .. <!iff: . ~ ..rz. ' . < . : •

•• (-IHI ....•• ·.:.<::).J..·. ~4~.: .. ~ (.(.//('5?:li.Jj-.· ~ ' v... l/._,~_,'r,~1 :.., ."..1 :.u. '../1'.2(:" .=: ..... : .. :,: •. .. . ~.{ ",';", •. .L .,1 'oO ' •• J . ... '... .."": ( ... .. or ~ n- .... ;,. ...... t...Il-., h:.7..~ //f~ t' , • ""',. oO . . . • .• ' .. oJ .. •

• , _ .. ... , ....... 'f. ' ~. ~ .... . , " '. ·L···· · .. - . '. . .' "'--"\- .. ' -< , .. . ' 0' . .... ,_ • _.L,,',_ · .... . .. ',.., . • -- . ". . ,,":-'.. • ..... ~" •. ~ • • , •. t:'i .. • .It • • , • • • .- .. ... • ~ ..... .. .. , ~ , -I '. ' ' .. ,. :. . ..... • • • '''''''' ' ~ ' ' ' .J' ' ' ' ' ,t" " ' . ." ... •• ~.-• . .' W .. Co' ; .... ~ I • . • . ~ , " ,.,. - = " • _ ' . _ _61. , ..... __ ~ :;, ".. . 7 _. ... .. • I •• • .___ _..... . " ___ .. .,,_ 7 _____ __...:... __ .. _ ' , . _.1-

• •

• • • ... • • _ ... -- .

•

• ,

•

• •

•

•

....... T~ If,

, •

I " '

1

• • •

•

•

I .. 7

-

.

/. (11 LtlUl1 Tr"fI~H· rlr'L. Ef\0i,vnlun '-

1.inc 6 Cli.22

cod~ 1'1

code 7

code 1

codeD

Code 17

Code 7

Code 1

T

/

•

•

I .

• • Code 17 •

• Li ne U Cli. 13

Code 3:

I ,

~ UI •

II •

• •

I

J

J I •

~1.d ti lo fr\ f" J,fS Tl:tt.11co ~ ... l

' n\.-ton Tr . :r1"

• ::l

•

.

I •

-

•

•

LiM j Ch. 12

Cod~ 1

Code 7

C<xle 1

Cods 7

Cod9 1

C<><.Ie 7

Code 17

lJlV .. t ~

•

u ••

J "

J .

3 2

/ • . ,

I 0:­'--'

•

Code 0 or

Line 1 Ch·n ph:s Code : ~

• " .

Line S Ch. HI

) :ine 7 Ch. )0

\ 1 I Code 7

• )

•

I "-_. Code 17 plus •

Coc e 23 c • • • Code 33

plus c ode 1 7 • • •

• r Ie • . • • ·,' .;.t.i • • •

• • • ,

.

, . . . , •

.. ,.. :: \ ~

•

•

l'ig . . /. C~rI lIugh Jones' compall '<lIn of m~rkillg~ on the inse ribcu roll er 't~mp (" q lindr r sel''') founu It Tlalileo in the Valley of Mc:-.ico (bottom) anu Anthon Transcript equivalents. (I ' rom ~c\\slcttc (. I : ~ .O, FIg. 8 .

p. 5.)

• This material is taken fran the Newsletter of the S.E.H.A., Nurber 126 . The analysis was by Hugh

at the Nebrasl\.a

_.State . Histo~~cal Sf",;; eLy:. 0&.:;..,_ -

•

-,

,

•

pADH,TA pARALIJ :I..5 TO 'lliE NID{O. TlW:SCP.IP't

f~ /Qpc'!=Anthon Characters Right;! lreen=PadiJ J a Characters KEY: r.e '-'''

3.

5.

6.

12.

14.

15.

20-l9.

23.

32.

40.

45.

46.

47.

48.

59.

66 •

68.

69.

71.

.1 ..' '

u »)

t A

f..L >:tJ

11111\\\1

,

"

J

,

-

V n •

t

,

!\ LL

•

Lfj

1D &)~

1\ 'l

)JIIIII\\,

,

•

I

72 .

73.

82.

85.

90.

91.

92.

93.

96.

102.

111-110.

114.

125.

137-136.

167.

193.

197.

206.

209.

?

. /"

• • •••

o

A J(

"3

~ .. ...

a /,,'

II

2 w

The above Padilla character parallels were drawn by Paul R. , Ray Matheny, and Bruce Louthan. '!he nurrbers used correspord with those used by Ariel L. Ctu.;V'ley, The IIlIgrovenent Era, , 1944 :542.

,

•

• •

•

• •

•

•

•

•

COLI Q-lARACl'EH PI\lWJErS TO 'lHE lINllICt-l TRANSCRlPr r:£FO~1ED ENGT.I.,.

,?, ,

,,, ~

" 7 ~ ~ o

2()6

~ • )

, •

-I-1\ A

""8 f

D r '1 7 j{ J 1.

o ~

1/

x ( --

by Charle s A. Shook

•

•

•

•

•

NORMAL ENGLISH

•

I ~ 3

4 S

" 7 g

't 0

;V 6 y. L

• )

? •

+ /\ A B C o e s J

1-(

d L o t d U 11 X (

=

•

•

•

-

•

• oU\AAC1'l::R PNlI\Ll US '1'0 'lUE lIN'l\lOO 'l'HlINSCIUPJ.'

Ml\GICJ\,L

, ,

f" MOR MON C HARAC1ER A 800K 0 - .--

SECRET BOOKS A CHARACTER IN . - ---.--

7/-

A BOOK OF MORMON CHARACTER

c-- C"o:--_ F ...

A CHARACTER /N SECRET BOOKS

A BOOt<- OF MQf!MON Q:tAFlAC T£FI

J/ !.', ,~! !"!; -.5 J.!.! J J /1/1.- i-f-l-tl I (I 1. I

,

"" w-t'~ A CHARAC TE:R IN SECI1f. l BOOKS

'J...d)

1("'~?-

~

LINES OF CI-IARAC TERS FROM SECRET BOOKS

. fJ 2 33 0 :z:-;: -x, 7J 1,- i ~CSl

~J..,.j ~ /1- ~cA:- ~ r. ~ ! -G.c) ~II-'"

'7ilJJ'~"R-~ &l'y.~ ~ II-'!\'! :03:) fJJcl

t0Y' ~ f!.:.. OW' J J ~C> en 0-- 0 ::c:,:) /7-" 2.

~ \7~~.r.\I<.J:t:'';::D

,

,

- 8JJJ*nx;C)0-7* JuLil-:t.-J~\JJJJ

A BOOK OF MORMON CHARACTER

'\i'> V' ,....) 1.J vr y ";'0 ~ Y -v-V'rA;\J' 1j A ~ A CHARACTER IN SECRE T BOQKS

3 "3 0 X '0 G 'U' Y' G ~ ICPZ, o 3 }JJ(

-+2 -7

The above illustrations were taken fran A.Eo Waite, The Book of Cererronial Nagic .•. Illustrated. 336 p. University Books. 1962. References are to pages 118, 119, 121-U9, 162, 185, 195, 226, 269, 274. The parallels

. dcawn by A.C. be fOU'\d in the Marxiot J,jbrary of the Uti. of :' Cblled ia'lS Di Jef ,IX. 2 Bk. of !!formon. See a] SO Waite t s Boult Of adt :1 !-

3. )

6. U (i' 7.

8. J;

13.

$-/ /

14. t

15.

16.

18.

19. L 23.

24.

27.

29. eZ f 30.

31.

40.

Ill.

112. ~

1111. t 115. A

•

M,I\SCl'IIC QUillJ'nER PAHAU u.s ro TI lE AN'Illa~ TIWiSCRUT

46.

47. .

48.

51.

56.

59.

62.

66.

70.

71.

72.

74 •

76.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

87.

88.

89.

90.

7 II/III/II

.

.. 7 t '

f: 0-

L J­If

/ r ,

•

96.

101.

105.

106.

107.

109.

114.

UO.

Ul.

U2.

us.

U7.

131.

135 •

141.

142.

143.

144.

148.

156.

161.

162.

o

+

{,

4 -/.

•

•

163 .

165.

168.

169.

170.

176.

188 ..

193.

194.

195.

200.

202.

204.

207.

209.

213.

214.

215.

216.

219.

220.

,

f ;

L

1\

#­-tf-L

r i 11 7 "3

":s I..

6 L t j

'!be above Masonic characl.er parallels were drawn by David John Buerger. The used correspond with those used by Ariel L. Crowley, The

SepteliJer, 1944:542. 'rhese : 5 repre-in parallel with the hvlicated

•

RIEL l CR OWLEY, LL.B. By A .

•

)

N previous articles in this series (See The Improvement Era. January. Feb­ruary, March, 1942) the Anthon

Transcript was examined historically' as [0 document, and comparatively·' as to the Egyptian characteristics of the s)'mools appearing in it. (Fig. 1. )

The immediately ensuing problem of translation is one of peculiar difficulty. Its complicating factors include the known unfamiliarity of the Prophet J 0-

seph Smith with Egyptian script in 1827, and many othel s. Among these may be especially noted the unusual left to right method adopted in making tWs copy, a reversal of the normal Egyptian method. as noted by Webb.' The Book of Mor­mon itself gives warning that the script used was progressively altered' in the course of transmission from the times of Lehi the learned.'

. Distortions chargeable to the Proph­et s unfamiliarity with the characters he copied and his unskilled hands are sometimes easily cognizable' but in other instances less apparent ~onstitute ---

a se rious obstruction to identification' Commencing in a bold hand in the top

left-hand corner, the transcript proceeds in a progressively diminishing mannCr to the minute, somewhat cramped end of the seventh line in the lower right­hand corner of the small slip on wWch it is written. With declension in size ap­pears a proportionate indistinctness of shape leading to easy confusion o f nea r­ly similar cha racters.

T o these .lactors must be added the not inconsiderable peril of misreading . with ,:onsequent inaccuracy in rep­resentation. a hazard which besets all copyists.

A peculiar instance o f misreading and resultant erro r, or mere miscopying. made its appearance in preparation of this study. C haracter No. 15, Fig. I. which has the form of an inverted letter "V" with a dot inside it, appears pre­cisely reproduced in W. Erichsen's Demotische Lesestiicke.' one of the latest and best compilations of demoUc texts. In the exercise of due cauUon.

:!P~bo,.t"'" ' B ... ' anuory 19i2. p . Ii request was made to Dr. George R. 'R J uQtv. p. 76: Mlrch . p. ISO . Hughes. demotist in the Oriental In-

P 23' t H. C.St Agai,,,t Mounon/sm. NY .• 1915. .. stitute, University of Chicago, to check :Mofaaou 9:12

. ~ N. phl I ,2. MOlle I i this finding, with 0thers. With char-l'WUffJ 5 '!I,d 6 I • I . Dr H h

·S .. lar .. . lla PIg .. ('oCh·· .. ··' B ... P.b. 19i1. p. 78 actenst c gracIOusness . ug es 20t .. ~ lOS '. "l(t"l 138. 139 190 191 --542 .1. ... " , . 1939 Vol. II . H.1t J • 10 I. •• )

Part IV

THE ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT PH01OG,." The copy of c.haract er s mod~ by lo~~ s­

',am t he engtC1YN p'ot~ Hoo. p'f', . ... '" r Independence, Missollr;

,ought out Griffith·s photograph ,, ' lands Geldbezahlungsschrift p~; No. 12, from which E richsen mae copy, and reported, "Erichsen s ( i false." No dot appeared in the 0 ' •

Even this discovery. however militates against the existence : character in some papyri, , clearly occurs also in one of the ta'

works' described by Dr. Budge' ... taining "a valuable and well-aa..: collection of all the most 1011"" groups of euchorial characters t · t

deciphered." He. adds that Yo... ., lectcd these" from enchorial texts " • had been publJshed by himself. a:! ~ Champollion and Kosegarten, ane: ~. • let ters which he had rcceivt~ : • C hampollion describing the conttr "

unpublished papyri at Paris." If Erichsen erred. Dnd Your. ,:'

In this Identical matte[, it is of ( , possible that Joseph Smith cntd • .,. thus placing interpretation of the c' ing of this particular character , . the bound. of possibility Slenli.

--- " ." ' .10 • . Y.a' " RudlalUIU '. p 39 '" /)"',,,,,.,,. 1 v-.Sir E A. W Bud.:" n '.' l lto ,. ,y . . I ..... 1120

THfMPROVt M' ..