All my studies suddenly made sense, all aspects of the book of mormon finally became clear. Who was rev solomon spalding born 1771 died in 1809 and. After spalding s death, a number of individuals suggested that manuscript story was identical or similar to portions of the book of mormon, a scripture in the latter day. Soon after the publication of the book of mormon, critics believed that joseph must have plagiarized it from another source. The complete original spaulding manuscript manuscript found. The book of mormon is replete with verses of this kind, but they are far more complex. Sidney rigdon true author of the book of mormon and. Common lds references to native americans as lamanites is certainly logical under the broad definition. This theory was presented in the 1834 book, mormonism unvailed, by e. Many books within the book of mormon are heavily laced with chiastic phrasing. I now know that the book of mormon happened in the usa in the historic heartland that is such a significant part of american and book of mormon history. Solomon spaulding was born in 1761 in connecticut, and lived in new england and new york until he moved to conneaut, ohio, in 1809. The book of mormon documentary accurately presents the consensus of the scientific community that northern asia not israel is the place of origin of the native american indians.
Concerning this record, the prophet joseph smith, who translated it by the gift and power of god, said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book see the introduction at the. Response to claims made in who really wrote the book of mormon. This makes it a must read book for every thinking person on the planet. One of the most prominent theories since the 1830s is the spaulding or spalding theory.
The most controversial view of book of mormon origins is the spalding theory, the hypothesis that the book of mormon was based in large measure on a novel by an early nineteenthcentury writer, solomon spalding also spelled spaulding. When the book of mormon appeared, all who heard him were satisfied that he referred to it. Since the book of mormon was first published, many have been unwilling to accept joseph smiths account of how it was produced. Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of two related texts. Who really wrote the book of mormon solomon spalding. New approaches to the book of mormon brent lee metcalfe, editor. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. Solomon spalding wrote a document now called the spalding manuscript.
Historians and scholars can no longer acquiesce in perpetuating the myth that the spalding theory has been refuted, repudiated, demolished, or disproved. To answer these questions, this book critically examines key historical documents, personal testimonies, and records of 19thcentury mormon history to examine this spalding enigma. Exactly how did joseph smith rip off reverend solomon. After spaldings death, a number of individuals suggested that spaldings work was used as a source by joseph smith for the book of mormon, a scripture in the latter day saint movement. 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. 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. In 1833, spalding s brother john and seven other residents of conneaut signed affidavits stating that spalding had written a manuscript, portions of which were identical to the book of mormon. Full text of the manuscript story of reverend solomon 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. I am thankful that book of mormon prophets saw our day and knew the troubling threat homosexuality would bring upon the eternal families of the world.
A challenge to origins of the book of mormon and joseph smith. 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. Oliver cowdery spent the two months of april and may, 1829, in harmony, pennsylvania, assisting the prophet joseph smith as scribe for most of the book of mormon translation. Full text of the manuscript story of reverend solomon. However, another theory is that the book of mormon was taken from an unpublished 1812 novel written by a retired minister, solomon spalding or spaulding, who died in 1816 in ohio. I have heard that joseph smith plagiarized the writings of solomon spaulding to produce the book of mormon. Book of mormon by william a, white press staff writer.
Was the famous book of mormon written under another title by rev. Young sidney rigdon seeking fame and fortune through religion. However, almost none of these people have actually read manuscript story for themselves. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. The spalding rigdon theory was first given wide publicity in 1834 with the publication of the book mormonism unvailed. Prejudice against the prophet made it difficult for him to find a willing printer for the controversial gold bible. The spalding enigma by wayne cowdery, howard davis, and donald scales summary. Solomon spalding 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of the supposed manuscript story, 1 a work of fiction about the lost civilization of the mound builders of north america. The spalding studies site solomon spalding home page. Dec 26, 2015 a very plausible lost and missing novel by solomon spalding manuscript found, separate and distinct from the oberlin manuscript has not been ruled out by mormon apologists. The solomon spalding theory utah lighthouse ministry. In his 1994 biography of sidney rigdon, richard van wagoner had an. Those who do not accept the book of mormon as scripture offer many theories about its origin.
Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. Feb 18, 20 do they discredit the book of mormon, or is there biological and other scientific evidence that supports the claims that it is indeed an ancient record of a people that once inhabited the americas. Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of two related t. For my analysis of the brodiebush argument, see book of mormon authorship. The book of mormon, published in 1830, is well known. Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of. The names of nephi, lehi, moroni, and in fact all the principal names, are brought fresh to my recollection by the golden bible. You have all these people saying, oh, i remember these words that are in the book of mormon.
Spaulding manuscript mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author at least two related texts. The spalding theory was the dominant view held by nonmormons for most of the nineteenth century and. Who realy wrote the book of mormon solomon spalding.
A challenge to origins of the book of mormon a group of researchers contend that joseph smiths 1830 translation is based less on writings he found on gold plates than on the king james version of the bible. In the early 1830s he was identified by some witnesses and writers as the original author of part of the book of mormon. 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. Briefly, the theory states that joseph smith plagiarized or at least used as a source an unpublished book written by. A very plausible lost and missing novel by solomon spalding manuscript found, separate and distinct from the oberlin manuscript has not been ruled out by mormon apologists.
Criticism of mormonismbookswho really wrote the book of. I have read every word of both it and the book of mormon, and i compiled a list of. The testimonies claimed that most of the main incidents in the book of mormon originated with solomon spaulding. 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. Dna and the book of mormon explained fulllength video youtube. Solomon spalding and revisionist history mormonthink. He wrote this novel and it talks about people coming from israel or from the middle east to come over to the united states. Looking at the spaulding manuscript mormon heretic. Although there have long been speculations about a. Solomon spauldings manuscript found was clearly and undeniably established in my article published in the watchman, boston, sept. Evidence of ancient egyptian and hebrew in the book of mormon.
The writings of the 18th19th century author solomon spaulding have often been suggested as a possible source of 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. Polycarp publishing house announces new book which. The history of sidney rigdon the history of joseph smith. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed, published in 1834 by e. Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of mormon. Be it remembered, that on the eeventh day of june, in the fiftythird year of the independence of the united states of america, a. Solomon is the name of a king of israel mentioned five times in the book of mormon but not mentioned as a separate pn or gn in the book of mormon. I offer, below, some notes about suggestions that joseph smith had help in the composition of a fraudulent nineteenthcentury book of mormon. This book critically examines key historical documents, personal testimonies, and records of 19thcentury mormon history concluding that the book of mormon is an adaptation of an obscure historical novel written by revolutionary war veteran solomon spalding during the war of 1812. Many of the passages in the mormon book are verbatim from spaulding, and others in part. This book attempted to revive the moribund spalding manuscript theory for the book of mormon. Presentation about the spalding rigdon theory and the authorship of the book of mormon. Critics claim that joseph smith did not actually translate ancient plates into the book of mormon, but rather wrote the book.
Believing mormons often state that solomon spalding s manuscript story if you are unfamiliar with the spalding rigdon theory, click here for a brief background has absolutely nothing in common with the book of mormon. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. Howes 1834 book mormonism unvailed, in which the theory was presented that the book of mormon was plagiarized. Clearly the book of mormon revises this passage, but it retains that part of the kjv which has been questioned by modern scholarship. Ive finally gotten around to researching this oftcited alternative theory about the true origins of the book of mormon, and i was both perplexed and amused by what i found. When rice, fairchild, and several others compared the spaulding manuscript with the book of mormon they could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail.
Look at how many parallels there are between spauldings manuscript story and the book of mormon. One of the earliest attempts to discredit the book of mormon was the argument that it was derived from a lengthy manuscript written by solomon spaulding sometimes spelled spalding in 1812. 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. I know this has been refuted before, but can you help me understand this issue and get to the bottom of it. Spalding s novella and the book of mormon were found to have as much in. I am grateful that they included these revelations in the book of mormon, the one book where every line and word is true unlike the bible. Who was solomon spalding and what connection did his manuscript have with joseph smith. The curious case of solomon spaulding mormon matters. Presented by robert hancock of the southern utah post mormon association, dec.
For years now ive heard people offhandedly dismiss the book of mormon as a known plagiarism of the solomon spaulding manuscript. The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native. Believing mormons often state that solomon spaldings manuscript story if you are unfamiliar with the spaldingrigdon theory, click here for a brief background has absolutely nothing in common with the book of mormon. Solomon spalding controversy the church of jesus christ.
Although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i. A lot of people were saying, oh, i remember solomon spalding, the manuscript. Prior to 2008, no published authorship study results linked sidney rigdon to writing of the book of mormon. The spaulding fable by common consent, a mormon blog. Debunking the spaulding manuscript theory mormon heretic. 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. See actions taken by the people who manage and post content. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths. 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. There is an excellent book on it called who really wrote the book of mormon the spalding enigma available at amazon and other fine book stores. Mormon was taken from an unpublished 1812 novel written by a retired minister, solomon spalding. Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland deseret. It may be possible for literary analysts to recreate portions of the nephite record attributable to.
That the book of mormon replaces the corresponding matthean passage is shown by the fact that the verses immediately before and after this section in the book of mormon correspond to the verses in the kjv before and after matthew 5. Hebrew selomo hisreplacement from hebrew sillem make compensastion, as in the pn shillem genesis 46. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon is based. Books published as early as 1834 discount the origins of the book of mormon and place solomon spalding as the true author. 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. For rarely does one find an alternative theory advanced to expose the true origins of a. Solomon spaulding, the b of mormon joseph smith was. Brown when the book of mormon was first published in march of. Solomon spalding 17611816 was a lapsed calvinist evangelist, a failed new york businessman, and hopeful author of a prehistoric american epic story giving an account of the vanished mound builders of the ohio valley. This book is great, but like i said, is the tip of the iceberg. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesspalding manuscript. Howes antimormon book mormonism unvailed, family members and other.
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 question of book of mormon authorship cannot be solved by dismissing or excising solomon spalding from mormon. Davis and arthur vanick in consultation with dale r. The book of mormon uses the term lamanite in several ways, including a genetic sense for those who are descended from laman and lemuel, but also in a cultural or sociopolitical sense to refer to those others who were not nephites. The good news is that this is a very readable book. The authors have spent decades collecting and analyzing evidence to conclude that the book of mormon is an adaptation of an obscure historical novel written by revolutionary war veteran solomon spalding during the war of 1812. The authors present a compelling narrative of the characters and events involved in the creation of book of mormon. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. 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. Fairchild concluded that the theory of the origin of the book of mormon in the traditional manuscript of solomon spaulding will probably have to be relinquished. History of mormonism, pp 28283 aaron wright, justice of the peace in conneaut. It occurs in a list with food items, namely, corn, wheat, barley, neas another book of mormon hapax legomenon, and fruit seeds.
Did spalding write the book of mormon tanner, jerald. The book that spaulding wrote which later became the book of mormon. They assert that mormon founders sidney rigdon, oliver cowdery, and joseph smith jr. This socalled solomon spalding forgery theory flourished for decades, but lost favor in 1884 when the original spalding manuscript said to have been forged was rediscovered. The fact that the historical portion of the book of mormon was taken from the work of rev. Joseph smith, the founding prophet of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and of the broader latterday saint movement, produced several volumes of scripture between 1827, when he began translating the book of mormon, and 1844, when he was murdered. After publication of the book of mormon in 1830, many of those familiar with spalding s unpublished work claimed that spalding s manuscript found was the source of distinctive names and the nontheological content and storyline of the book of mormon. 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.
I have recently examined the book of mormon, and find in it the writings of solomon spaulding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with scripture and other religious matter, which i did not meet with in the manuscript found. 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. 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. Similar analysis showed that the sound correspondences in the names sidney rigdon, parley pratt, oliver cowdery, ethan smith, and solomon spalding individuals proposed as book of mormon authors were different than correspondences with joseph smith in the unique names of the book of mormon, but not enough to identify any as a possible author. It is claimed by some that joseph smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by solomon spaulding to write 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. Miller, employee of solomon, 1811 many of the passages in the mormon book are verbatim from spalding, and others in part. A new wordprint study on the book of mormon breathes new life to a longchallenged theory for book of mormon authorship, the theory that its real author was solomon spalding secretly assisted by sidney rigdon. Mormons often insist that there are no similarities. 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.
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