Spalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship

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theory of Book of Mormon authorship is the theory that the "Book of Mormon" was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by Solomon Spalding. This theory first appeared in print in the book "Mormonism Unvailed", ["Sic."] published in 1834 by E.D. Howe. The theory claims that the Spalding manuscript was at some point acquired by Sidney Rigdon, who used it in collusion with Joseph Smith, Jr. to produce the "Book of Mormon".

palding manuscript and the "Book of Mormon"

While living in Conneaut, Ohio, in the early nineteenth century, Solomon Spalding (1761–1816) began writing a work of fiction about the lost civilization of the mound builders of North America. Spalding shared his story, entitled "Manuscript Story" [Also called "Manuscript Found".] with members of his family and some of his associates in Conneaut, as well as his friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Amity, Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he lived prior to his death. However, "Manuscript Story" was not published during his lifetime.

In 1832, Latter Day Saint missionaries Samuel H. Smith and Orson Hyde visited Conneaut, Ohio, and preached from the "Book of Mormon". 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. In 1833, at the urging of Doctor Philastus Hurlbut, King, Spalding's widow, his brother John, and a number of other residents of Conneaut signed affidavits stating that Spalding had written a manuscript, portions of which were identical to the "Book of Mormon".

Origins of the theory

The Spalding theory of authorship first appeared in print in Eber D. Howe's 1834 book "Mormonism Unvailed". Howe printed collection of affidavits collected by Hurlbut. Hurlbut had heard of an unpublished romance novel by Solomon Spalding as he was touring Pennsylvania giving lectures against the Latter Day Saint church. Hurlbut concluded that the description of the story in the manuscript bore some resemblance to that of the "Book of Mormon". [Harvnb|Spaulding|1996] A contemporary of Hurlbut's, Benjamin Winchester, states that Hurlbut "had learned that one Mr. Spaulding had written a romance, and the probability was, that it had, by some means, fallen into the hands of Sidney Rigdon, and that he had converted it into the Book of Mormon." Upon learning this, Hurlbut determined to obtain the manuscript. [Harvnb|Winchester|1840|p=9] Hurlbut learned that Sidney Rigdon had once resided in Pittsburgh and that the manuscript had once been there, and subsequently "endeavoured to make the finding of the manuscript take place at Pittsburgh, and then infer, that S.R. [Sidney Rigdon] had copied it there." [Harvnb|Winchester|1840|p=11]

Author Dan Vogel suggests that Hurlbut was not the originator of the Spalding-Rigdon theory, noting that Hurlbut pursued this in response to what he had heard about the manuscript and suggests that had Hurlbut been the inventor of the theory "he would not have made strenuous efforts to recover Spalding's manuscript." [Harvnb|Vogel|1998|p=15]

tatements from Spalding's neighbors and relatives

Eight of the affidavits acquired by Hurlbut from Solomon Spalding's family and associates stated that there were similarities between the story and the "Book of Mormon". [Harvnb|Roper|2005]

An example is the statement of Solomon Spalding's brother John, which declared that Spalding's manuscript "gave a detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till they arrived in America, under the command of NEPHI and LEHI. They afterwards had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct nations, one of which he denominated Nephites and the other Lamanites." Spalding's widow told a similar story, and stated that "the names of Nephi and Lehi are yet fresh in my memory, as being the principal heroes of his tale." [Harvnb|Howe|1834|p=279]

Author Fawn Brodie expressed suspicion regarding these statements, claiming that the style of the statements was too similar and displayed too much uniformity. Brodie suggests that Hurlbut did a "little judicious prompting." [Harvnb|Brodie|1971|pp=446-47]

Howe's response to the Spalding manuscript

Hurlbut obtained a manuscript through Spalding's widow, and showed it in public presentations in Kirtland, Ohio, in December 1833.Fact|date=October 2007 Hurlbut then became embroiled in a legal dispute with Joseph Smith. Subsequently, Hurlbut delivered the documents he had collected to Howe. Howe was unable to find the alleged similarities with the "Book of Mormon" that were described in the statements and instead argued in "Mormonism Unvailed" (1834) that there must exist a "second" Spalding manuscript which was now lost. Howe concluded that Joseph Smith and Sidney Ridgon used the Spalding manuscript to produce the "Book of Mormon" for the purpose of making money. [Harvnb|Roper|2005]

Responses to the theory

In 1840, Benjamin Winchester, a Mormon defender who had been "deputed ... to hunt up the Hurlbut case," [Testimony of Benjamin Winchester, Nov. 27, 1900; accessed at http://www.solomonspalding.com/docs/1900winc.htm] published a book rejecting the Spalding theory as "a sheer fabrication." Winchester attributed the creation of the entire story to Hurlbut. [Harvnb|Winchester|1840|p=Title page]

Regarding Sidney Rigdon's alleged involvement, Rigdon's son John recounted an interview with his father in 1865:

My father, after I had finished saying what I have repeated above, looked at me a moment, raised his hand above his head and slowly said, with tears glistening in his eyes: "My son, I can swear before high heaven that what I have told you about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] is true. Your mother and sister, Mrs. Athalia Robinson, were present when that book was handed to me in Mentor, Ohio, and all I ever knew about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] was what Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith and the witnesses who claimed they saw the plates have told me, and in all of my intimacy with Joseph Smith he never told me but one story." [Harvnb|Reeve|1996]

In 1884, a Spalding manuscript known as "Manuscript Story" was discovered and published, and the manuscript now resides at Oberlin College in Ohio. [Harvnb|Reeve|1996] . This manuscript appears to bear little resemblance to the Book of Mormon story, but some critics claim it contains parallels in theme and narrative.Fact|date=July 2008 The second "lost" manuscript purported to exist by Howe has never been discovered.

Notes

References

*Harvard reference
last=Brodie
first=Fawn M
authorlink=Fawn Brodie
title=No Man Knows My History
publisher=Knopf
location=New York
year=1971
id=ISBN 0679730540 .
*cite book | last = Cowdrey | first = Wayne | title = Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? | publisher = Concordia Publishing House | location = St. Louis | year = 2005 | isbn = 0758605277 .
*Harvard reference
last=Howe
first=Eber D
authorlink=Eber Dudley Howe
year=1834
title=Mormonism Unvailed
place=Painesville, Ohio
publisher=Telegraph Press
publication-year=1834
url=http://www.solomonspalding.com/docs/1834howb.htm .
*Harvard reference
last=Reeve
first=Rex C
title=Manuscript Found: The Complete Original "Spaulding" Manuscript
year=1996
publisher=Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University
location=Provo, Utah .
*Harvard reference
last=Roper
first=Matthew
title=The Mythical "Manuscript Found"
journal=FARMS Review
volume=17
issue=2
publisher=Maxwell Institute
location=Provo, Utah
year=2005
pages=7-140
url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=584
accessdate=2007-01-31 .
*Harvard reference
last=Spaulding
first=Solomon
title=Manuscript Found: The Complete Original "Spaulding" Manuscript
editor-last=Reeve
editor-first=Rex C
year=1996
publisher=Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University
location=Provo, Utah .
*Harvard reference
last=Winchester
first=Benjamin
year=1840
title=The origin of the Spalding story, concerning the Manuscript Found; with a short biography of Dr. P. Hulbert, the originator of the same; and some testimony adduced, showing it to be a sheer fabrication, so far as in connection with the Book of Mormon is concerned. By B. Winchester, minister of the gospel
place=Philadelphia
publisher=Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, Printers
publication-year=1834
url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=2811 .
*Harvard reference
last=Vogel
first=Dan
title=Early Mormon Documents (Vol. 2)
year=1998
publisher=Signature Books
location=Salt Lake City, Utah
id=ISBN 1560850930 .

External links

* [http://solomonspalding.com/index3.htm Spalding Studies]
* [http://www.mormonstudies.com/criddle/rigdon.htm Craig Criddle's analysis of Spalding-Rigdon connections]
* [http://www.mormonstudies.com/spaldg1.htm Spalding's "Manuscript Story" and parallels]
* [http://www.mormonstudies.com/fragment.htm A fragment comparing Sidney Rigdon's biography with a known passage from Solomon Spalding]
* [http://http://www.lightplanet.com/response/spalding.htm An article criticizing the Spalding-Rigdon theory]
* [http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=8044fd758096b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 LDS Church historian Bruce D. Blumell response to Spalding-Rigdon theory]