The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1916-10-26
THE BOOK OF MORMON

For many years a fierce controversy
has been waged about the authorship
of the Book of Mormon, which the
Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, hold
to be the word Of God, on an equality
with the Bible. The contention of many
Of the opponents of Mormorism has
been that the sacred work of Joseph
Smith and his disciples was derived
from a romance written by the Rev.
Solomon Spaulding.
Interest in the old controversy has
been revived by the fact that Oct. 20
marked the centenary of the death of
the clerical author. Solomon Spauld
ing was born in Ashford, Conn.,, in
1861, and after serving in the revolu
tionary war, graduated from Dart
mouth College. For many years he was
engaged in business in Cherry Valley
and Richfield, N. ", but in 1909 re-
moved to New Salem, now Conneaut,
Ohio. While living there he wrote
a romance entitled "The Manuscript
Found,' which was narrative CT the
customs and manners of the people
who were depicted as being the origi-
nal inhabitants of North America. This
romance was never published, but the
author read it to many of his friends.
Spaulding removed to Pennsylvania
and died at Amity on October 20,
1916.
The fact that Spaulding, in his ro-
nance, gave as the basis of his story
manuscript found in an ancient
mound, may have led to the allegation
that the Book of Mormon, said to have
been found by Joseph Smith in hill
near Manchester, N. Y, was based on
"The Manuscript Found.'' In any
event, when the Mormons began preach
ing in Ohio, some Of those who had
heard Spaulding read his romance in
sisted that the sacred book of the
new sect was derived from the novel.
From this it was but step to the
charge that Smith and Sidney Rigdon
had stolen Spaulding's manuscript, and
from it had made the Book of Mormon.
This allegation has been made thous-
ands of times, and is still believed by
many people, although it seems to be
without foundation. In 1884 DR.. James
H. Fairchild, president Of Oberlin Col
lege, compared Spaulding's manuscript
with the Book of Mormon and declared
that there was nothing more than
very general resemblance. The follow
ing year the Mormons published the
original manuscript of Sapulding's ro-
nance to show the falsity of the charge
that Smith had plagiarized from that
work.
The Book of Mormon, according to
the Mormon account, was translated
from golden plates found by Joseph
Smith near Manchester, N. Y. These
plates were inscribed with characters
in ''reformed Egyptian" and with them
was found an instrument called Trim
and Thummin, by which young Smith
was enabled to translate the hero
glyphics. The Book of Mormon, col
lection Of sixteen books in the literary
style of the English Bible, tells how
at the time Of the King Zebediah Of Je-
rusalem, a pious Israelite named Lehi,
with his family, migrated from Pales
tine to America. He had many adven.
lures and received frequent revela,
tons from Jehovah Many of his sons,
like Lamar, ventured forth into the
wilderness and became the ancestors
of the American Indians The de-
scendants of his son Nephi became good
Christians, centuries before Christ, and
among them were preserved the dig
nifty of the priesthood and their sa-
cred plates. To this family the Christ
appeared when he arose from the dead
and he chose from them twelve apos-
ties who converted the whole of Amer
lea to Christianity. In ,he Fourth cen
fury the church was disintegrated by
wars, but Mormon, a Christian, rose
in his wrath and drove out the Lamar
ties, who had become red and reverted
| to barbarism. The Lamanites return
ed little later and the Nephrites per-
| ished before them. MOrOni the son of
Mormon, finished the history of his
people in the year 420.