Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-07-21
Origin of the Mormon Bible.

Iho real author OF the Book of Nor
mon was Rev. Solomon Spaulding. q
graduate of yarmouth College IN 1885
His health failing he engaged in bust
ness, and in 1909 was living at Conneaut,
Ohio, where there are numerous Indian
mounds. He then wrote romance.
setting forth the not new theory that the
North American Indians were repre-
sentatives of the lost tribes of Israel.
Mr.. Spaulding took advantage of his sur
roundings, and connected his story with
the relics which were found in the
mounds. In fictitious introduction to
his novel which he entitled "The Manu-
script Found" he speaks of the book as
one of the exhumed relics Of past age.
He makes use of the Scripture stvle of
expression. He tells of the departure
from Palestine of q jewish father. Lehi.
and his four sons, Lamar, Samuel, Lem
uel and Nephi, of the various iournies
and their voyage to this Western CONT
nent. Dissension and division are fire.
quent. The descendants of the brothers
develop into hostile tribes. Then came
! q1arrels and wars, and finally decisive
battle, and in short, the substance of all
that is found in the Golden Bible" OF
Joseph Smith. Indeed the Book of
Mormon seems to be only modified
but mutilated edition of Rev. Mr.. Spaul-
dings Manuscript Found" There is
abundant internal evidence that the
later is a reproduction of the earlier
| work.
Spaulding used to read the chapters
of his story to his neighbors, who were
deeply interested in it's progress, and
were greatly entertained by the ingenu-
ity of the author. He worked upon it
three years, or until 1912, when he moved
to Pittsburg, Pa. There he put his man.
uscript into the hands of printer by
the name of Patterson. He expected to
publish the book, and it was announced
in the papers in 1918 as forthcoming. 1t
never was published, however, probably
because Spaulding had not the money to
pay the bills. Spaulding died in 1916.
The original copy was returned to his
widow, who kept it until the Book of
Mormon was published, and then she
produced it in proof of her assertion that
Joseph's pretended revolution was
fraud. In the Boston Journal, of May
Is, 1889, she told the story of the Manu-
script.
The evidence is complete that Smith
discovered only what he and some asso-
ciate had hiddenin a box of their own
making, in a hole of their own digging
Smith came into possession of q copy Of
the work of Spaulding, by Sydney Rig
don, a workingman in Patterson's print
ing office. Rigdon confessed the fact
afterward when he was cut off from the
Mormon Church by Brigham Young.
The three witnesses also quarrelet with
Joseph and Rlgdon, and confessed to
having sworn falsely. Rigdon on leav-
ing the work of printing, became a
preacher of peculiar doctrines. Smith
had quite a large following in certain
views peculiarly his, and these two re-
ligious Ishm@lites coming together, set
20 work to give the world q new Bible.
Smith, adding what was suited to his
purpose, dictated Spaulding's story to
Oliver Gowdrey from behind screen,
and the work was done, "and palmed off
upon company of poor deluded fanatics
as divine"
The new prophet seems to have had
but vague notions of what doctrines the
new church should hold Rigdon held
to some doctrines which Smith did not
But they both agreed on the question of
e.Second Advent, then exciting their
section of country. They made that
doctrine prominent in their Bible. The
idea was "the end is at hand the In
dams are to be speedily converted;
America is tie final gathering place of
the saints, who were to assemble as near
the center of the continent as possible"
This was doctrine, and this they
preached, and this chiefly at first. It
may be said in brief, that the religious
teachings of the Book of Mormon relate
to very modern questions. The discus
sions of 1880 and Whereabouts, seem to
furnish the new leaders with themes.
Millinarianism is the main question.
Infant Baptism, however, quite an an
cient institution, is denounced and
wonderful to relate, polygamy, a much
more ancient and for this country very
modern institution, is emphatically and
repeatedly condemned. Polygamy as
duty, was proclaimed by a revelation
much later in the prophets life.-Sam-
day Afternoon.