Spalding book of mormon

The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. The authors present a compelling narrative of the characters and events involved in the creation of book of mormon. Interestingly enough, theres also a statement from a neighbor who was not interviewed by hurlbut that said spalding had nothing to do with the book of mormon. Cowdrey is an exmormon whose interest in the origins of the book of mormon derives from his familys tradition that they are relatives of the oliver cowdery who figures so prominently in the spalding enigma. Lest anyone be misled, this is a scholarly undertaking, not a religious work. Josephs environment and the book of mormon book of mormon.

I know this has been refuted before, but can you help me understand this issue and get to the bottom of it. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have. The handwriting purported to be spaldings, in the dictated book of mormon manuscript, bears a superficial resemblance to his penmanship but it bears an even closer resemblance to the writing on a c. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. One source that supposedly supports the arguments of critics that the book of mormon is not authentic is a 175page manuscript known as the manuscript story also entitled manuscript found in some editions which was written by solomon spaulding sometimes spelled spalding in the early 1800s. When the book of mormon appeared, all who heard him were satisfied that he referred to it. Original 1830 book of mormon page numbers with corresponding 1981 verses. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed, published in 1834 by e. Investigating the mysterious origin of the book of mormon kindle edition by cowdrey, wayne l, vanick, arthur, davis, howard a. As noted repeatedly in various sections of this book, josephlike all prophets was, in part, a product of his milieu. Smith and orson hyde visited conneaut, ohio, and preached from the book of mormon. But cowdrey, davis, and scales pieced together a long chain of.

Mar 16, 2010 noel, who posts on this board, has made me aware of a recent byu masters thesis that will interest those who like to delve into or discuss the spalding rigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. One of the earliest theories was that the book of mormon was based on a manuscript by solomon spaulding also spelled spalding, a fictional story about early inhabitants of america. The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. Briefly, the theory states that joseph smith plagiarized or at least used as a source an unpublished book written by. Look at how many parallels there are between spauldings manuscript story and the book of mormon.

It is as certainly smiths fabrication as satan is the father of lies or darkness is the offspring of night. Additional information from part 1 of joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon, pages 3738 in 2008 another computer study was done by matt jockers, craig criddle and daniela witten, comparing various authors word prints, including solomon spalding and sidney rigdon, with that of the book of mormon. Explorations in critical methodology, edited by brent lee metcalf. Spaulding manuscript the encyclopedia of mormonism. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths. Investigating the mysterious origin of the book of mormon. I have heard that joseph smith plagiarized the writings of solomon spaulding to produce the book of mormon. However, another theory is that the book of mormon was taken from an unpublished 1812 novel written by a retired minister, solomon spalding.

It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The spalding rigdon theory was first given wide publicity in 1834 with the publication of the book mormonism unvailed. Apr 27, 2010 the handwriting purported to be spalding s, in the dictated book of mormon manuscript, bears a superficial resemblance to his penmanship but it bears an even closer resemblance to the writing on a c. An american, james adair, wrote a book a history of the american indians in 1775.

Be it remembered, that on the eeventh day of june, in the fiftythird year of the independence of the united states of america, a. In 1833, spalding s brother john and seven other residents of conneaut signed affidavits stating that. Does byu masters thesis support spaldingrigdon theory. One of the earliest theories of book of mormon authorship was that joseph plagiarized the unpublished manuscript of a novel written by the reverend solomon spalding. Spaldingrigdon theory proves the book of mormon is false. The spalding studies site solomon spalding home page. Or was the book really derived from solomon spaldings romantic fantasy novel called manuscript found. With the decline of the spaldingrigdon theory arose alternative theories to take its place.

It attempted to prove that natives had descended from the ancient israelites. Howard davis and arthur vanick, recently published by concordia, the highly respected publishing arm of the lutheran church missouri synod. Solomon spalding and revisionist history mormonthink. In 1977 wayne cowdrey, howard davis, and donald scales published who really wrote the book of mormon. This list is in no way meant to prove or disprove the spalding rigdon theory, nor should it be considered exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination. A photomechanical reprint of solomon spalding \s manuscript story, 1910 edition part 3. Howe suggested, basing himself on witnesses collected by doctor hurlbut, that the book of. Proponents think that perhaps smith and rigdon burned the manuscript after completing the book of mormon. Im not a mormon and i believe the bom sprang from the mind of joseph smith, but i have no sympathy for proponents of the spaldingrigdon theory because it is such a weak, poorlybuttressed alternative explanation. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. A photomechanical reprint of solomon spalding\s manuscript story, 1910 edition part 3. Although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesspalding manuscript. Books published as early as 1834 discount the origins of the book of mormon and place solomon spalding as the true author.

An ongoing study of shared language in spaldings manuscript pages and the book of mormon demonstrates that certain sections of the book of mormon overlap the known spalding writings to a greater degree than do other sections of that book. Is the book of mormon like any other nineteenth century. The work in question is who really wrote the book of mormon. Does the book of mormon teach the doctrines of mormonism. One of the most prominent theories since the 1830s is the spaulding or spalding theory. Now cowdrey and davis have teamed with hugh oneal and arthur vanick to produce the spalding enigma. What are the pros and cons of the spauldingrigdon theory. After publication of the book of mormon in 1830, many of those familiar with spaldings unpublished work claimed that spaldings manuscript found was the source of distinctive names and the nontheological content and storyline of the book of mormon.

The presence of such ideas in the book of mormon and spaldings novel may have led the spalding family to assume a greater connection than. Preface to book of mormon, circa august 1829, page iii. In his 1994 biography of sidney rigdon, richard van wagoner had an. While there, they preached from the book of mormon. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Joseph smith was to translate the book of mormon, and sidney rigdon was to take it, and gather israel.

May 04, 2009 but of the authorship of the book of mormon he wrote bluntly. This makes it a must read book for every thinking person on the planet. Does the spaulding theory explain where the book of mormon. The first gathering of the book of mormon, including this preface, was likely printed by mid. It may be possible for literary analysts to recreate portions of the nephite record attributable to. In my previous post about unconventional book of mormon geography theories, doug g made a comment claiming that the book of mormon is related to the solomon spaulding manuscript, so i want to address this theory. Nehemiah king, a resident of conneaut who knew spalding when he lived there, felt that the mormon text resembled the story written by spalding years before. Davis, and arthur vinick, is a stunning indictment of the founders of the lds, and thoroughly destroys the entire foundation of the mormon faith itself. There has long been a theory that book of mormon was plagiarized from a manuscript originally written by solomon spaulding or spalding. For two years before the book of mormon appeared rigdons sermons were full of declarations and prophecies that the age of miracles would be restored, and more complete revelations, than those in the bible, would be given. The spaulding manuscript is a fictional story about a group of.

For almost 200 years now, critics have been scrambling to prove that the book of mormon is nothing but a work of fiction. Anyway, the affidavits are obviously suspicious and obtained by a guy hellbent on destroying joseph smith. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The spaulding fable by common consent, a mormon blog. Who really wrote the book of mormon solomon spalding. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have come. The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon. According to socalled witnesses who had read the manuscript, spalding had written about nephi, lehi, the lamanites, and nephites nearly. Your point on the many internal evidences that connect the book of mormon to joseph smith, as either revelator or author depending on the two perspectives you mention, is very well taken. Presented by robert hancock of the southern utah post mormon association, dec. Introduction to spaldings manuscript found part 1 mormon. How philosopher emanuel swedenborg, reverend alexander campbell, professor john smith of dartmouth, solomon spalding, and ethan smith influenced sidney rigdon and joseph smith to plagurize the book of mormon from manusript found, view of the.

Those who do not accept the book of mormon as scripture offer many theories about its origin. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Who really wrote the book of mormon the spalding enigma. Soon after the publication of the book of mormon, critics believed that joseph must have plagiarized it from another source. Cowdrey is an ex mormon whose interest in the origins of the book of mormon derives from his familys tradition that they are relatives of the oliver cowdery who figures so prominently in the spalding enigma. Howe, in turn, published an antimormon book claiming that the book of mormon plagiarized spaldings novel. Spalding sometime between 1809 and 1812 about twenty years before the book of mormon came to press a reverend solomon spalding also spelled spaulding wrote a novel about a group of ancient roman sailors who were blown off course and landed in america. Jan 29, 2015 im not a mormon and i believe the bom sprang from the mind of joseph smith, but i have no sympathy for proponents of the spalding rigdon theory because it is such a weak, poorlybuttressed alternative explanation. Like other attempts to discredit the book of mormon, the theory of the spaulding manuscript is based on the belief that an unlearned man such as joseph smith. Joseph smith\s strange account of the first vision. For my analysis of the brodiebush argument, see book of mormon authorship.

Presentation about the spaldingrigdon theory and the authorship of the book of mormon. The solomon spalding manuscript 1812 by solomon spalding this unpublished manuscript was a work of fiction created by a retired minister, solomon spalding who died in 1816 before being able to publish his work. However, i believe the spaulding theory has been thoroughly discredited by these two authors. An ongoing study of shared language in spalding s manuscript pages and the book of mormon demonstrates that certain sections of the book of mormon overlap the known spalding writings to a greater degree than do other sections of that book. In it, the author followed up on indications previously published in ohiobased newspapers that a man named solomon spalding was the real and unwitting originator of the book of mormon this is in contrast to some lds apologists who claim that the author simply. The spalding rigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. Although some of the documentary evidence from the 1977 book is reproduced, this is not a revision of the earlier work, but.

Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of mormon. Eventually, most antimormon writers stopped appealing to the spalding theory as an explanation for the book of mormon because the available evidence seemed incapable of being substantiated. Who really wrote the book of mormon the spalding enigma by. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. Noel, who posts on this board, has made me aware of a recent byu masters thesis that will interest those who like to delve into or discuss the spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. The spalding enigma, our authors set out to accomplish a monumental task. Feb 23, 2009 presentation about the spalding rigdon theory and the authorship of the book of mormon. Since the book of mormon was first published, many have been unwilling to accept joseph smiths account of how it was produced. In 1902, the american psychology and religion scholar isaac woodbridge riley suggested that joseph smith derived the content of the book of mormon, in part, from the book view of the hebrews by ethan smith no relation to the prophet. This would seem to indicate that someone, perhaps joseph smith, copied parts of adairs book verbatim into the book of mormon. Josephs environment and the book of mormon book of. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. This socalled solomon spaldingforgery theory flourished for decades, but lost favor in 1884 when the original spalding manuscript said to have been forged was rediscovered.

Smith and orson hyde, missionaries for the church of jesus christ, were in conneaut, ohio, where spaulding began writing his manuscript. I have read every word of both it and the book of mormon, and i compiled a list of what i thought were the most noteworthy similarities between the two books. Spaulding manuscript mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Brown when the book of mormon was first published in march of. The few who buy into the thesis that the ultimate source of the book of mormon was a historical romance written by solomon spalding love it. Spauldings novel provides an engaging view into one mans fanciful. Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of two related texts. Solomon spaulding, the b of mormon joseph smith was. The book of alma is one part of the book of mormon. Andrew ainsworth did a post in february on the curious case of solomon spaulding, which talks more about the legal aspects of proving plagiarism. Some researchers believe that the book of mormon was partly based on an earlier book view of the hebrews or the tribes of israel in america by ethan smith no.

The good news is that this is a very readable book. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. So, im sure there are people out there who believe the book of mormon is fiction. Spaldings novella and the book of mormon were found to have as much in. As it turns out, olivers grandfather william cowdery, sr. What are the pros and cons of the spauldingrigdon theory of. The lord had said, in the book of mormon, that he would raise up to joseph smith a spokesman. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the spalding enigma. The most interesting literary controversy of the time, and the only one which has important practical bearing, is raging around the book of mormon, sometimes but incorrectly called the mormon bible. May 30, 2012 the spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Despite the attempts to suppress it, the book, who really wrote the book of mormon. The complete original spaulding manuscript manuscript found. Who realy wrote the book of mormon solomon spalding.