Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-04-05
BEHIND THEIR TIMES.

The Louisville Courler.Jounal en-
dorses a statement by Harrisburg,
Pa, minister. that the Book OF Nor.
mon is but an ampllGed copy Of the So
called spaulding manuscript. for which
Sidney Rigdon was responsible. The
journal says In part:
After the Book of Mormon
was published by Smith she.
tMrs. Spaulding) published a state
ment OF the facts, and claimed that
Rigdon had copied her husbands man
uscrlpt, II has been shown that after
Rlgdon got the copy OF Spaulding's
book, he quilted the printing office and
began to preach the doctrines OF the
book. In 1929 he became associated
with Smith, and the contention IL that
he gave him the manuscript from which
he read off the pretended translation Of
the inscription on the gold plates, with
such changes and additions as suited
his purposes The SpauldIng manu-
script and the printed Book OF Mormon
Were compared and their substantial
identity established. though Il is not
denied that there are discrepancies. All
this was fully threshed out by public
discussion sixty-ive years ago, odd
copies Of newspapers and magazines Of
that period and some years later con-
tain excellent accounts OF the testimony
given"
II will be seen by this extract that
the minister and the Journal are
behind their times, They rely on the
old straw "threshed out by public dis
cusslon sixty years ago" IN utter
oblivion Of more recently discovered
facts. They are backnumbers on this
question, just as mossgrown as the old
preacher who to tho last insisted that
the sun do move"
The Spaudlng manuscript theory has
been abandoned by all whose opinion
Is entitled to consideration, for the sim
pie reason that the manuscript as Is
now well known, has been found and
published, and that IL completely upset
that absurd theory. The document was
discovered by MIR. Fairchllds. president
Of the Oherin college, Ohio, On the
authority Of the fables that were cir
culated S. years ago, and sworn TO by
false witnesses, the Journal says that
"the Spaulding manuscript and the
printed Book Of Mormon were compared
and their substantial Identity establish
ed" The manuscript was lost BY
whom was then the comparison made,
and when? The fact Is that when the
document finally was found. II was
seen to be In every essential and In ev-
cry detail too, different from the Book
Of Mormon,
Those who endeavor to trace this sa-
cred volume TO the SpauIding manu-
script, are 65 years behind their time.
Modern skeptics vary the fable and say
that the original Of the Book Of Nor
mon was not that Spauding story, but
another spauldIng story, which no one
however, has ever seen, and that II was
doctorcd mp by Sidney Rlgdon This
guess has been ventured, since the
old spaudIng myth was proved false
Doubters must. of course, account,
the best way they can, FOR facts which
they refuse to believe. II Ia not 50 long
since they accounted for the New Ties.
lament by supposlng It to be the work
Of crafty priests for selfish ad.
vantage or for state purposes That
old notion is not more false than the
other, that Spaulding was the author of
the Book of Mormon, All the world
admits that the Prophet Joseph could
not have written that book, at the time
1t appeared. History proves that nei-
ther Spaulding nor Rigdon had any.
thing to do with the authorship.
Whence came the volume2 No wonder
the world is disturbed at IT, 1t appears
like the letters on the wall Of the pal
ace Of Belshaszar with solemn warn
Ing In the midst OF reyery. No wonder
50 many try not to see It,