Mormon History
Evidence for Solomon Spaulding Authorship - 1872
The Chicago Tribune – February 4, 1872
The MORMON CHURCH.
________
To the Editor of the
Detroit Tribune:
Noticing in your yesterday's edition, a paragraph referring to a Mr. Spaulding,
the originator of the Mormon Bible, or the Book of Mormon, I have thought a few
facts relating to the early history of the "Church of Latter Day Saints" might
be interesting to your readers. The paragraph referred to states that Mr.
Spaulding, at his leisure, and simply for amusement, wrote the fictitious
narrative, which, after having been shown to a "Mr. Redon," was ultimately
altered and changed into the book of faith, under which teaching the Mormon
Church was founded. The writer of this was present, and attended the celebrated
discussion on Mormonism in the city of New York, in 1836 or 1837, between Origen
Bachelor and Parley P. Pratt, then one of the Elders of the Mormon Church. In
that discussion, which excited much interest, Mr. Bachelor proved the following
facts:
First -- That a Mr. Solomon Spaulding, an unsuccessful; merchant, but a
man of refinement and literary abilities, with the view of retrieving his losses
in trade, conceived the idea of writing a historical novel, and entitled the
same the "Aborigines of America, or the Lost Manuscript Found." It was also
shown that Mr. Spaulding had taken much interest in reading and investigating
the discoveries made by Stephens and others in Central America, and that the
remains of ancient cities there discovered, led him to select the subject of the
ancient inhabitants of America as the foundation of his novel.
Secondly -- The fact was established, beyond a doubt, in the minds of all
rational hearers, that Mr. Spaulding, being poor, and unable to publish his
novel when finished, applied to one Sydney Rigdon (afterwards a prominent elder
in the church), who was a friend of Spaulding's and a printer in Pennsylvania,
to assist him in the publication of his work. Rigdon examined the manuscript and
consented, having discovered in it great literary merit and an interesting theme
calculated to make the copyright, in which he was to share, very valuable.
Thirdly -- Just at this period Spaulding died, and Rigdon, who was a
friend and acquaintance of Joseph Smith, the juggler, and a "Micawber" who was
"waiting for something to turn up," showed it to Smith. Smith being an
unscrupulous genius, having read the manuscript, declared it to be the greatest
production of the age, and immediately communicated to Rigdon the idea of
converting Spaulding's novel into a bible or book of faith for a new church.
Both being of an adventurous turn of mind, Rigdon consented, and immediately the
two commenced the preparation of the stone plates, which were buried and
afterward discovered and disinterred at Mt. Moriah, in the State of New York, by
Joseph Smith. Before the discovery of said plates Smith began to claim certain
mysterious powers of prophecy, that he had been directed in a vision to Mt.
Moriah, where the plates were deposited, and which, when discovered, were to be
shed upon the world, a new light, and bring man to a true knowledge of the past
and his future destiny.
Fourthly -- That on a certain day appointed, as in his vision directed,
Smith, accompanied by certain witnesses, proceeded to Mt. Moriah, and
disinterred the plates; but according to his story, just as he was about to
raise them from the ground, Satan appeared, and violently hurled Smith from the
spot. Undaunted, however, he returned, and brought them to the light. When this
was done, the witnesses were astonished at beholding mysterious and unknown
characters engraven upon the plates. The mysterious record, Smith declared he
had been told in a vision how to reveal to them; that he had been directed to a
neighboring brook, where he would find an all-seeing stone, through which, if he
looked, the mysterious characters upon the plates would appear as plain and as
easily understood as the letters of the alphabet.
This curious stone, having been discovered by Smith, he declared that the book
was to be revealed to him by chapters, and that Sidney Rigdon had been
designated as his scribe. Smith then, under directions in his vision, retired
for stated periods, and when he had committed the first chapter of Spaulding's
novel (which had been altered to suit his purpose) to memory, he looked through
the stone in the presence of witnesses, and interpreted the first chapter, while
Rigdon wrote the same down.
This process was continued until the book of Mormon and the book of Moroni were
completed. These facts, by much labor and investigation, Mr. Bachelor
established, and he also showed that, when the Mormon Bible appeared and was
shown to Mrs. Spaulding, the wife of the author, she immediately recognized in
its pages the novel of her husband, which he had submitted to her while
composing, and to prove the identity Mr. Bachelor established the fact, in a
pamphlet published by him at the time, (and which I cannot now find, though I
kept it for many years), that Mrs. Spaulding, in the presence of witnesses, had
repeated from memory whole chapters of the Mormon Bible without looking upon its
pages.
Mr. Bachelor also referred to the fact that Professor Anthon, of Columbia
College, to whom the Mormon plates were submitted for an opinion as to the
characters thereon, had declared the same to be composed of Greek, Hebrew,
Persian, and other characters, engraved upside down, and so interwoven with each
other as to mean nothing, and to convey no intelligible thought, evidently
having been so arranged and engraved for the purpose of deception and confusion.
To these various facts and charges, poor Parley P. Pratt made a feeble reply,
and utterly failed to controvert the proofs produced by Mr. Bachelor; to which
facts the witnesses were then nearly all living.
Note: See the original publication of this letter, in the
Feb. 1, 1872 issue of the Detroit Tribune, for further information
and comments.