In "Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon: The Spalding Enigma", our authors set out to accomplish a monumental task: to resurrect the Spalding theory from its premature grave. In 1834, E.D. Howe published the first "anti-Mormon" work: "Mormonism Unvailed." Howe suggested, basing himself on witnesses collected by Doctor Hurlbut, that the Book of Mormon was a revised form of a fictional work written by Solomon Spalding. This theory became the principal non-LDS theory for the origins of Mormonism's keystone, but since the publication of Fawn Brodie's famous "No Man Knows My History", it has fallen on hard times. Today, it is common to hear it argued that Joseph Smith created the Book of Mormon by dictating it off the top of his head. Even before I became convinced of the Spalding theory, I was incredulous at this idea. How could Joseph Smith have dictated a book which was substantially internally consistent, which contains innertextuality, and which contains hundreds of names with only a rare slip?
The Spalding theory instantly resolves this question. Essentially, the idea is that Solomon Spalding, being strapped for money, wrote an unpublished manuscript entitled "Manuscript Found." According to witnesses, Manuscript Found dealt with the origins of the American Indians, tracing them back to a Hebrew family headed by "Lehi" and "Nephi", who eventually separated into two nations and were destroyed. Sidney Rigdon acquired a copy of this manuscript while in Pittsburgh, spent years reworking it, and eventually had it published through Joseph Smith as a genuine translation of an ancient record inscribed on golden plates. The theory has its origins in Orson Pratt's preaching in Conneaut, Connecticut, where some of the late Spalding's family lived. As Pratt read from the Book of Mormon, many of those who had heard Spalding's manuscript were struck with the likenesses, and they claimed that this Book (with the exception of the religious matter) was simply a plagiarism of Spalding.
Doctor Hurlbut, a disaffected Mormon, went and interviewed a great number of these witnesses, collected their statements, and published them. The only surviving statements are those which were included by Howe in "Mormonism Unvailed." The great contribution of our authors is in sweeping away the shallow dismissals of these witnesses by Brodie and other authors. Brodie and others suggest that Hurlbut must have coached his witnesses. Yet, this doesn't explain why these witnesses themselves first came forward. Hurlbut only came to them once he heard what they had said circulating. Furthermore, the authors point to an 1833 unsigned statement written by one of these very witnesses saying substantially the same thing that Hurlbut reported- thereby demonstrating that Hurlbut did not distort what they had claimed.
The real strength of the book is in showing the pattern of independent convergences which point towards the Spalding theory. Perhaps, by chance, some witnesses misremembered the likenesses of the Spalding manuscript to the Book of Mormon. But there's independent evidence pointing in the same direction. The authors prove (contra decades of LDS apologetics) that Rigdon was in Pittsburgh at the same time Spalding was. Indeed, witnesses say that Rigdon hung around the publishing house where Spalding's manuscript was located. Spalding himself reportedly suspected that Rigdon had stolen his manuscript! What's truly striking is how the authors demonstrate that Rigdon's 1839 denial of any involvement in the origins of the Book of Mormon contains provable lies. Had Rigdon had nothing to hide, why would he lie so vigorously? There is similarly an abundance of independent eyewitness testimony that locates Sidney Rigdon with Joseph Smith during the three years preceding the publication of the Book of Mormon. Another coincidence? More accidental misremembrances? One of the most powerful arguments concerning Sidney Rigdon is the chronology created for his whereabouts in 1827-1830. The authors demonstrate that a detailed chronology can be created for his goings during this time- with a few conspicuous gaps. These gaps correspond quite exactly to the periods when witnesses locate Rigdon at the Smith household. As correlation after correlation mounts, it becomes more difficult to dismiss these things as coincidence.
Our authors also point out that Oliver Cowdery's life during the 1820s is almost entirely undocumented. Why? In two chapters of extraordinary detail, they reconstruct his activities during this period and demonstrate that he had been associated with the Smith family prior to his work as scribe for the Book of Mormon. Like Joseph, he was interested in money digging, divining rods, and other magical practices typical in the early nineteenth century. The authors conclude that Cowdery himself likely connected Joseph Smith with Sidney Rigdon, and that they, together, crafted what is today known as "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ."
The authors have an impressive command of their sources, and apart from the chapters on Cowdery, the book is far from tedious. It is an exciting detective story- a story that takes one directly to the source of what many have called the first major world religion to arise since Islam.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Reviews with images
Old Wine in A New Bottle?
This is a very interesting book -- but just because I find it so does not necessarily mean that other readers will come to the same conclusion. For persons holding the Book of Mormon to be a sacred message from a divine source (not to mention a true history of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas) "The Spalding Enigma" may prove to be a troubling read -- even an anger-inspiring read.For those who have little knowledge of things Mormon, it may be a difficult and perhaps not an especially rewarding read. Although the authors present their text as a sort of solution to an old historical mystery, its documentary format may be more than a little boring for the average reader.However, for those seekers of solutions to history's puzzles and lovers of "untold stories," this volume may be just the page-turner to carry along on the next extended business trip -- a great gift for Uncle Charley, that ex-professor down at the retirement home, or an eye-opener for the BYU graduate who was never all that happy "talking shop" with the "true-blues" in the dorms for the last four years.If but half of what the authors say in their "revelations" ends up being "faithful history," then the history previously taken at face value by the faithful may require a little adjustment.To a world in no way yet ready for an exposure of the Koran, the "Spalding Enigma" may be the next best thing in iconoclastic revisionism -- and I, for one, will be very interested to see how other dabblers in historical enigma-solving respond.Dale R. Broadhurst(who admittedly knows the authors)
Top reviews from other countries
Jean Jacques Valle
Livre commandé mais pas reçu
Reviewed in France on June 13, 2015