The Greeley tribune., 1908-03-19
M0RM0NISM
Continued from page i D

ter named Spaulding, whose heaItl
had failed, brought it to printer ''
see il 1t would not pay TO publish IT,
Said Rigdon, 1t is a romance Oh
the Bible Here, certainly tht
manuscript is found in Ridgon pos
session and he attributes 1t &c
Spauldiny. A daughter of l)r. VIE
ter, of Sharon, Pa. said in lssl'
have frequently heard nv fathei
speak of Rigdon having Spauldins
manuscript, and that he had gotten
it from the printers to read III as d
curiosity" 1t has been freely al
legged that Ridgon stole 1t III "oulo
he more courteous to say that ne
simply borrowed it, and forgot to re-
turn it.
The Find" Evidenced.
Mrs. Amos Dunlap, a ne'ce OF
Mrs. Rigdon, tells of visit to the
Rigdon home in Bainbridge. ONO
probably in the year 1926. MI Rig
don went to his bedroom and TOOK
from his trunk which he kept locked
a certain manuscript. his VIE
coming into the room, exclaimed
What you reading that thing
again? | mean TO TO burn that
paper. He replied No. indeed
you will not this will be great
thing some day.
Rev. Adamsou Bently and Sidney
Ridgon were brothers-in.la~. In
January, ls+l, Bently writes Il
know that Sidney Rigdon told me
that there was a book coming out,
the manuscript o. which had been
found engraved on gold plates, as
much as two years before the Nor |
mon book made its appearance or
had been heard Of by me.
Or. S. Rosa, at Painesyille, Ohio,
under date of June ,, lS4l, among
other things, writes: Il was in
company with Sidney Rigdon, and
rode with him on horseback a few
miles. He remarked that it was
time for a new religion to spring up;
that mankind were all rife and ready
for it. 1t will not be long before
some thing will make its appear
ance." This was early in 1880.
Moreover, it is fact that for
some years previous to 1880, Rigdon
preached new matters of doctrine
that we're afterwards found to be in-
culcated In the Mormon Bible.
Riedon's Idiosyncrasies.
But Rigdon has made heated de-
NAL Of all knowledge OF Patterson,
OF any connection with the Patter-
son office, of any knowledge Of the
Spauldng manuscript, and Of several
other we'll evidenced things incrimi-
natingly germane to the present con-
teption. Let US still be courteous
and say that probably he forgot, "
That he had some oblique, idiosyn-
cratic mental traits, would seem to
be inferable from an incident at the
time of his trial for heresy. Hol-
land Sumner, who conducted the
prosecution, said to him Brother
Rigdon, YOU never got into a Baptist
church without relating your Chris
tian experiences. - Rigdon replied:
When | joined the church at Peters
Creek, knew | could not be ad-
mitted without au experience, so |
made up one to suit the purpose
but it was all made up and was of
no use, nor true" He seems to
have been fitted for getting, as we'll
as for forgetting,
Enter Parley Parker Pratt
P. p. Pratt was born In Burling-
ton. Otsego county, n Y, April u,
1907. Ia 1926 he spent several
months with ar uncle In Wayne
county, N, Y, the home county of
Joe Smith.
The wife of the PALMYRA clergy
man, quoted in the preceding paper,
states that Joe's favorite literature
consisted of two books-the life OF
oSSPhSh Il lLOSl
clerical scoundrel, and the life OF
Captain Kidd, the pirate. His first
preferred song was:
my name was Robert Kidd.
AS | sailed, as | sailed,
And most wickedly / did
And Gods laws did forbid,
Az | sailed, as l sailed"
In 1926 Joe had become noted fol
his peep-stone visions OF buried
treasures, and for his prophet pre-
tensions, he insisting that he was
the anointed of God and His special
prophet To this day there are
many up-thrown earthly evidences ol
his money digging schemes-all fruit.
less, however. Now. to suppose that
Pratt did not know OF Joe S prophetic
fame is tn impose an entirely un.
necessary burden on ones creduIity.