Nrev solomon spaulding and the book of mormon

Soon after the publication of the book of mormon, critics believed that joseph must have plagiarized it from another source. However, another theory is that the book of mormon was taken from an unpublished 1812 novel written by a retired minister, solomon spalding or spaulding, who died in 1816 in ohio. The back cover of our 2005 book, who really wrote the book of mormon. That was the first time that it was suggested that the book of mormon had in part at least, some inspiration that originated from the. Is the book of mormon ancient history or a work of. The book of mormon has some serious grammatical errors. This theory claimed that sidney rigdon wrote the religious parts of the book of mormon while the historical parts were plagiarized from an unpublished manuscript written in 1812 by solomon spaulding rigdon having secretly acquired the spaulding document from a pittsburgh printer named jonathan h. Concerned reader, mormonism is not only foreign to the scriptures, it is diametrically opposed to gods word. The manuscript you apologists are referring to is not the one i am talking about. Looking at the spaulding manuscript mormon heretic. The theory of the origin of the book of mormon in the traditional manuscript of solomon spaulding will probably have to be relinquished. The spaulding fable by common consent, a mormon blog.

Behold, he was a man like unto ammon, the son of mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of mosiah alma 48. One item i wished to examine at princeton was a manuscript by one solomon spaulding entitled the manuscript found. Dec 29, 2010 the book of mormon is based on the king james version of the bible, a relatively recent translation. Spalding studies home page solomon spalding home page. The theory states that ridgon made extensive use of materials written by solomon spalding also spelled spaulding to fabricate what became the 1830 version of the book. The spalding enigma, provides this brief attribution. In 1834, relying on testimony gathered by one doctor philastus hurlbut a former mormon who had been excommunicated from the church for immoral behavior, e. It has long been contended that there is a connection between the book of mormon and one of solomon spauldings historical romances. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesspalding manuscript. Solomon spaulding before us italics ours, that we compared with the mormon bible.

Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon. One of the most prominent theories since the 1830s is the spaulding or spalding theory. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Joseph miller, of amity, pennsylvania, where spaulding died. During the early days of the mormon church, a number of individuals had claimed that the book of mormon was a revised plagiarism of a mockbiblical novel written by a dartmoutheducated former minister solomon spaulding. The book of mormon resembles the bible in its length and complexity and in its division into books named for individual prophets. Spaulding manuscript the encyclopedia of mormonism. But it will not take long for readers to see that it bears no resemblance to the book of mormon. The book of mormon is the word of god, like the bible. Solomon spaulding was born in 1761 in connecticut, and lived in new england and new york until he moved to conneaut, ohio, in 1809.

In the early 1800s, a man named solomon spaulding wrote a fictional story about ancient romans who came to north america. Elder benjamin winchesters 1840 tract offers a substantial, if not especially convincing, lds refutation of at least a portion of those claims as does that. Was the famous book of mormon written under another title by rev. However, almost none of these people have actually read manuscript story for themselves. Additional information from part 1 of joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon, pages 3738 in 2008 another computer study was done by matt jockers, craig criddle and daniela witten, comparing various authors word prints, including solomon spalding and sidney rigdon, with that of the book of mormon.

The evidence clearly shows that the book of mormon grew out of spaulding s story, but the defenders of mormonism lose their mental balance whenever this subject is mentioned, and they treat it dishonestly. When rice, fairchild, and several others compared the spaulding manuscript with the book of mormon they could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail. It is not sponsored or endorsed by either the maxwell institute or brigham young university, and. The most interesting literary controversy of the time, and the only one which has important practical bearing, is raging around the book of mormon, sometimes but incorrectly called the mormon. Jun 03, 2016 the book of mormon spooky mormon hell dream lyrics by azmad202. Levi shinn, founder of shinnstown, informs that rev spaulding told him that he had unearthed an ancient manuscript on the hoult property, just below the mouth of the tygart valley river, where the ancient people thousands of years. Solomon spauldings romance, entitled manuscript found. Nibleys commentary on the book of mormon is based on transcriptions from classes taught by hugh nibley, and is published with the permission of the neal a. This theory was presented in the 1834 book, mormonism unvailed, by e. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally imp. Full text of the manuscript story of reverend solomon spalding. The two other witnesses are the widow of solomon spaulding, and mr.

Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. It has no connection with the spaulding manuscript. Out of the top matches, we discovered a book called the late war between the united states and great britain, a scriptural. This extract from the book of mormon translated from golden plates in 1828 was in the handwriting of solomon spalding died 1816. The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Book of mormon by william a, white press staff writer. Who realy wrote the book of mormon solomon spalding. Patterson, the same workshop where solomon spaulding had taken his manuscript. Presented by robert hancock of the southern utah post mormon association, dec. What the young men had stumbled on was part of the longlost manuscript of spalding s second novelcrushing evidence of smiths plagiarism and deceit that had been preserved by the unsuspecting mormons.

See more ideas about book of mormon, scripture study and lds scriptures. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon. The slippery gold plates that have mysteriously disappeared. Spalding sometime between 1809 and 1812 about twenty years before the book of mormon came to press a reverend solomon spalding also spelled spaulding wrote a novel about a group of ancient roman sailors who were blown off course and landed in america. This claim has been discredited many times by people inside and outside of the church. I have read every word of both it and the book of mormon, and i compiled a list of. Another more recent theory, also open to criticism, suggests that joseph smith used ethan smiths no relation view of the hebrews, which was published during the 1820s, to help him write the book of mormon. That manuscript is doubtless now in the possession of mr. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. The book of mormon certainly has difficulty demonstrating that it is ancient history, so does most of the old testament, the conflicting narratives of the gospels, the bhagavad gita, the upanishads and a number of sacred texts. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Presentation about the spalding rigdon theory and the authorship of the book of mormon. Yea, verily, verily i say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever.

The book of mormon is an entirely different book of scripture. Many of the passages in the mormon book are verbatim from spaulding, and others in part. Between 1812 and 1814, the time spaulding lived in pittsburgh, he took his manuscript to the workshop and left it there, and then, leaving a copy of the. It should be noted that solomon spalding lived in pittsburgh. It is still being used by a few critics of the book of mormon today.

Did spalding write the book of mormon tanner, jerald. After spaldings death, a number of individuals suggested that spaldings work was used as a source by joseph smith for the book of mormon, a scripture in the latter day saint movement. An outline of the textual structure of the book of mormon. The spalding rigdon theory was first given wide publicity in 1834 with the publication of the book mormonism unvailed. One group, the lamanites, forgot their beliefs, became heathens, and were the ancestors. Solomon spalding wrote a document now called the spalding manuscript. In it, the author followed up on indications previously published in ohiobased newspapers that a man named solomon spalding was the real and unwitting originator of the book of mormon this is in contrast to some lds apologists who claim that the author simply. Andrew ainsworth did a post in february on the curious case of solomon spaulding, which talks more about the legal aspects of proving plagiarism.

Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon publications matthew b. Solomon spalding 17611816 was a lapsed calvinist evangelist, a failed new york businessman, and hopeful author of a prehistoric american epic story giving an account of the vanished mound builders of the ohio valley. Some critics of the church have claimed that joseph smith used the manuscript to write the book of mormon. Spauldings manuscript is considerably shorter than the book of mormon. Parallels between solomon spauldings manuscript found. Debunking the spaulding manuscript theory mormon heretic. Walter martins religious infonet kingdom of the cults.

Solomon spaulding, the b of mormon joseph smith was. After adding much religious matter to the story, rigdon determined to publish it as a newly discovered history of the american indian. Solomon spauldings manuscript found was clearly and undeniably established in my article published in the watchman, boston, sept. We believe that god has revealed his word to all people in all generations and the book of mormon is simply a record of his dealings with a different nation than that of the bible. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding.

Spaulding s novel provides an engaging view into one mans fanciful reconstruction of native american life. Davis, and arthur vanick have conducted extensive research into the origin of the book of mormon. Howe suggested that the book of mormon was based on an unpublished novel called manuscript found, written by a former minister named solomon spalding. For each lesson, weve listed articles from our journal and charts from charting the book of mormon for you to peruse. Native americans, dna, and the mormon church salt lake city, ut. Mormon classics a directory of texts and newspaper articles available on the internet.

The writings of the 18th19th century author solomon spaulding have often been suggested as a possible source of the book of mormon. This book critically examines key historical documents, personal testimonies, and records of 19thcentury mormon history concluding that the book of mormon is an adaptation of an obscure historical novel written by revolutionary war veteran solomon spalding during the war of 1812. Plus there are signed affidavits by people who saw spalding s manuscript and said it was identical to the book of mormon. Rice, of honolulu, hawaiian islands, formerly an antislavery editor. I know this has been refuted before, but can you help me understand this issue and get to the bottom of it. Manuscript of solomon spaulding and the book of mormon. Both books contain gods guidance as revealed to prophets, as well as religious histories of different civilizations. Eleven witnesses saw the plates from which the book of mormon was translated. The mormons and solomon spaulding 17611816 profdavidkatz. The writer of the above article seems to have made little effort to study the various mormon responses to proponents of the solomon spalding claims for book of mormon authorship. It relates the history of a group of hebrews who migrated from jerusalem to america about 600 bce, led by a prophet, lehi. Solomon spalding was the author of two related texts. These writers include sidney rigdon, solomon spalding, w. He is also titular head of the spalding research associates.

Search the book of mormon this site supports simple and proximity searches for words and phrases. One of the earliest theories of book of mormon authorship was that joseph plagiarized the unpublished manuscript of a novel written by the reverend solomon spalding. As a coauthor of the 1977 work who really wrote the book of mormon. In 1977 this theory was forcefully presented in the book who really wrote the book of mormon. Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of mormon. Those who do not accept the book of mormon as scripture offer many theories about its origin. Mormon response to spaulding authorship of the book of mormon. This timeline is a summary of all events that indicate that this theory may be true based on my notes collected over a sixyear period. The bible says jesus was born in bethlehem of judaea, the book of mormon says jesus was born in jerusalem matt. Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of.

Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of two related texts. Solomon spaldingbook of mormon parallels mormons often insist that there are no similarities. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. If 10% is good enough for jesus, it ought to be enough for uncle sam. According to the spalding rigdon theory, the book of mormon is the product of a pious fraud perpetrated by sidney rigdon, aided and abetted by joseph smith and oliver cowdery. While there, they preached from the book of mormon. An outline of the textual structure of the book of mormon by j. Spauldings manuscript found was joseph smiths inspiration for the book of mormon. However, after reading the book objectively, and comparing it to the book of mormon, i found almost no similarity at all, other than the setting of precolumbian north america. One of the earliest theories was that the book of mormon was based on a manuscript by solomon spaulding also spelled spalding, a fictional story about early inhabitants of america. In the early 1800s, a man named solomon spaulding wrote a fictional story about. I have heard that joseph smith plagiarized the writings of solomon spaulding to produce the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The solomon spalding manuscript 1812 by solomon spalding this unpublished manuscript was a work of fiction created by a retired minister, solomon spalding who died in 1816 before being able to publish his work.

The claim that joseph smith used spaulding s writings as the source for the book of mormon has come to be known as the spaulding theory. In the early 1830s he was identified by some witnesses and writers as the original author of part of the book of mormon. The king james translators added words italicised to help the readers, yet in some cases these are preserved in the book of mormon. It published materials gathered by philastus hurlbut which were intended to prove that the book of mormon came from a manuscript written by solomon spaulding sometimes also spelled spalding in 1812. Aug 04, 2008 when rice, fairchild, and several others compared the spaulding manuscript with the book of mormon they could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail. Smith and orson hyde, missionaries for the church of jesus christ, were in conneaut, ohio, where spaulding began writing his manuscript. The spalding theory then and now the dialogue journal. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Book of mormon research page full text of view of the hebrews, 1830 book of mormon, and book of commandments. It is claimed by some that joseph smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by solomon spaulding to write the book of mormon. When a distant cousin of one of the three founders of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints lds coauthors a book with two other prominent scholars proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that.

Were the mormon tablets actually found in a west virginia. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed, published in 1834 by e. Book of mormon lessons with an archive of 50 years of articles, byu studies is an excellent resource to assist you in your study of the book of mormon. Davis has made numerous public lecture and media appearances on the subject. At least three computer analyses have been completed to date in an effort to determine who wrote the book of mormon, and whether it was a single individual or a group. Maxwell institute for religious scholarship and nibley llc. Believing mormons often state that solomon spaldings manuscript story if you are unfamiliar with the spaldingrigdon theory, click here for a brief background has absolutely nothing in common with the book of mormon. Some other explana tion of the origin of the book of mormon must be found, if any. Mormons, isnt it true that the book of mormon is actually. The testimony of witnesses four neighbors, a business partner, and three family members. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths.

There is a small group who hold to the theory that the production of the book of mormon was a conspiracy involving sidney rigdon, joseph smith, oliver cowdery and others. But in his excellent volume the book of mormon, dr. Critics claim that joseph smith did not actually translate ancient plates into the book of mormon, but rather wrote the book. The presence of such ideas in the book of mormon and spaldings novel may have. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. The spalding rigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. In my previous post about unconventional book of mormon geography theories, doug g made a comment claiming that the book of mormon is related to the solomon spaulding manuscript, so i want to address this theory. Bales makes the following observation, which is of great importance and agrees in every detail with my research. A very plausible lost and missing novel by solomon spalding manuscript found, separate and distinct from the oberlin manuscript has not been ruled out by mormon apologists. Spaulding manuscript mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs.

Solomon spalding 17611816 was a lapsed calvinist evangelist, a failed new york. Prior to 2008, no published authorship study results linked sidney rigdon to writing of the book of mormon. There is a theory that sidney rigdon helped joseph smith create the book of mormon based on a manuscript written by a man named solomon spaulding. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon robert patterson home. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints published spaulding s manuscript in 1886 to prove to the world that it was not the origin of the book of mormon, and that the book of mormon was indeed translated from ancient records by the gift and power of god. The fact that the historical portion of the book of mormon was taken from the work of rev.

I have recently examined the book of mormon, and find in it the writings of solomon spaulding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with scripture and other religious matter, which i did not meet with in the manuscript found. Another testament of jesus christ presents itself as a translated record of ancient american peoples detailing their dealings with each other and with god. The book of mormon was a plagiarism of an old manuscript by one solomon spaulding, which sidney rigdon somehow secured from a printing house in pittsburgh. The conviction has become almost universal, except among mormons themselves, that the book of mormon was founded upon rev. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have. The only way you can be a mormon is by accepting the book of mormon. In october 20, the authors conducted a data analysis comparing the book of mormon to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. Nevertheless, this unique edition will be a useful reference for students of latterday saint history and nineteenthcentury american. Since the book of mormon was first published, many have been unwilling to accept joseph smiths account of how it was produced. They multiplied and eventually split into two groups.