The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-05
PLAGAIRIZED BOOK
REV. J. E. MAHAFFEY HAS
 MADE INVESTIGATIONS.
Claimed That the Work. Now the Foundation of the Mormon Faith Was that of Rev. Solomon
 Spalding.

| Columbia (S. O Letter.
 l The Rev. J. E. Mahaffey, one of the | most prominent members of the South | Carolina Methodist Conference, claims | positive, convincing proof of plagiarism in | the Book of Mormon. In his investiga- | ton MT. Mahaffey has spent much time | and money In an interview he says: When Mormonsil was first organized | and inc Book of Mormon circulated in | COnneaut O., many of the friends and | acquaintances of the Rev Solomon | Spaudng affirm that it was the writings of that gentleman who, had been dead about fourteen years. Attempts were made to secure his writings at that time and compare them with the Book of Mormon, but the attempt failed of its purpose and rather resulted in a victory for the Mornons.
 All of Spaldings writings mysterious ly disappeared, and over seventy years have passed away and nothing further of any consequence has been done in this direction. The Mormons have gone on deceiving and being deceived with Joseph smiths tale of angels and golden plates | and until today they have membership | of nearly 50O,000. During the past ten years they have gained 96,9S2 members. | During last year alone they gained 65GJ0 | members in the East. They now have | 1000 missionaries in the field and are fast | becoming the most formidable element in modern civilization. They hold the 1 baiance of power in seven of the United
 
 dozen others.
 "But truth IS coming to the front at l lest. The original Spalding manuscript | has been found. It was resurrected. in Honolulu, Hawaii, our new possession. and is now deposited in the library of Oberlin College, in Ohio, and through the kindness of the institution have had | the loan of it for the purpose of exami- nation and comparison with the Book of Mormon. A careful examination of the two documents shows more than twenty features of perfect identity. The follow ing example, briefly stated. will give an idea of how they stand. For example:
 Both stories pretend to be transla- tions of abridgements of older and more elaborate records found buried in the earth.
 Both stories trace the ancestry of the American Indian from the Old World, and give tragic accounts of their Providen- tial passage across the ocean to the American Continent; their settlements; the rise and fall of nations: their polit- ical divisions, terrible wars etc. Both stories cater to the use of the same little transparent stone through which sights could be seen. hidden treas ures discovered. and ancient mysterious writings and hier oglyphics translated, etc.
 Both stories contain the same account of an army contending in battle and painting their foreheads red in order to distinguish themselves from enemies Tn times of great excitement.
 "Both stories are characterized by the same tale of a Sacred Roll which was believed to have been of Divine origin, and which formed the basis of religious belief and teachings.
 ''Both stories contain accounts of tha discovery of other nations who had pre- ceded them to the American continent, | and that some of these other nations were Tn a savage state, but were soon l educated and restored to civilization. One more important feature is this: | The hieroglyphics of the plates de- scribed by Joseph Smith are identical | with the literary style of a people de- scribed in the Spalding romance. The 1 identity here is perfect in every respect | These are only few examples )f | the many features of identity. some of | which are threefold in detail and will
 bear even the closest analytical subd:- | vison--ail proving corclusively that eith. | CT the Book of Mormon is a plagiarism | of the Spalding manuscript, or the man | uScript a plagiarism of the Book oi | Mormon. It IS either the one or the oth | CT. But as q result Of eight years O.
 careful and painstaling work, have | collected abundant reliable proof thai | Spalding wrote and rewrote his romano
 on this subject several times between | the years 1Sl0 and 1876. Smith says ht | got in possession of his wonderful doc'.-
 ment in 1S27 and had known where Ii | was for four years previous to that time
 The evidence at hand indicates tha
 smith appropriated final revision O
 spaiding's romance from an old ha,c | covered, moth-eaten trunk which wal
 left at the residence of MT. Sabine du .
 ing Smiths employ at that place al
 team3ter. about the year 1920, and hat
 doubtless known where it was ever since
 that time.
 "The evidence also shows that Sydn2,
 Rigdon got in possession of another cop!
 which had been left in Patterson's print
 ing office in Pittsburg in 1915, and per
 tectly plain correction is established be l tween these two gentlemen through th'
 mediation of Farley Parker Pratt, show
 ing how they finally got together ant
 inaugurated their wonderful scheme O | deception which is undoubtedly tn
 greatest religious fraud that has eve | been perpetrated.
 T wish to say that I do not believ,
 the Mormons of today are aware of thei
 error. I believe they are ignorantly sin | cere in their beliefs and labors, and nota ing l have said or done is to be construa'
 as a reflection on the honesty or sin
 cerity of those who are living up to tn
 life they have But it is our solemn dut!
 to give them the true story of their de
 fusion and fortify others against beinl
 led astray."