Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon?: The Spalding Enigma
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Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon?: The Spalding Enigma

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  • EAN: 9780758605276
  • Manufacturer: Concordia Publishing House

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  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: revealing
  • Comment: This will be a short review but all my reviews are short. Basically, I was raised Mormon but as I got older I really stopped believing in the religion of my parents. However, a question still remained: If Mormonism was false where did the Book of Mormon come from? This book answered my question about the true origin of the Mormon religion and I highly recommend this book to everybody. Yes, I do mean everybody. Mormonism must be stopped and the only way is for people to get educated. Do your part.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: A Must Read in Mormon Studies
  • Comment: This book sets out to show that Joseph Smith, far from translating the Book of Mormon from mysterious golden plates revealed to him by the angel Moroni, actually plagiarized the book from a stolen manuscript. This has been a suspicion surrounding the Book of Mormon for almost as long as the Book of Mormon has come off the press. Yet it has never been shown how it was possible for Joseph Smith would have had access to Solomon Spalding's manuscript for "A Manuscript Found." Though, it has generally been accepted that the writing of the Book of Mormon, would have been miraculous in itself if Joseph Smith, whose education level was lacking, were to have written it himself.
    The theory that the book proposes is that Sidney Rigdon stole this manuscript from Patterson's Printing Office in Pittsburg Pennsylvania, where Solomon Spalding had tried to have it published as "A Manuscript Found." Later Sidney Rigdon gave the manuscript to Joseph Smith who plagiarized it, possibly changing some sections of it, and rewriting the first 116 pages of it after Mrs. Harris stole them after having devised a nice test to see if Joseph Smith really was translating golden plates. Her object was to have Joseph retranslate them, at which point she would compare the two copies. Joseph declined to retranslate, saying that God would not let him do it for anger that he had lost the original translation!
    The book shows that there was indeed a manuscript by Spalding entitled "Manuscript Found", whose story was well known to the inhabitants of Conneaut, and was remarkably similar to the story of the "Book of Mormon." Solomon Spalding was an ex Congregationalist minister, who had attended Dartmouth College. In other words he was a well educated man capable of writing. Evidently he wrote a lot, but spent most of his life in poverty and was never able to get anything published. He lived for a while in Pittsburg where he tried to get the book published but never succeeded. Patterson's Printing Office in Pittsburg, though, kept a copy of the manuscript awaiting a preface, and title page.
    The book then shows that Sidney Rigdon, though he didn't live in Pittsburg at this time, often frequented the city to obtain books, and befriended a kid by the name of Lambdin that worked for Patterson's Printing Office. Thereby, the book establishes the great possibility that Rigdon had opportunity to steal said manuscript from that office.
    But if the theory is to hold water, Sidney Rigdon had to have known Joseph Smith prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon. The book shows by citing signed affidavits and letters from the people of Palmyra, that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon did indeed know each other prior to the publication. They had become acquainted with each other during dubious treasure digging adventures years before, and were seen together at the Smith house in Palmyra by numerous people.
    All said, the book makes the case. And when all said is done, it is easier to believe that Joseph Smith plagiarized the book from Solomon Spalding's manuscript, than that he translated it from mysterious Golden Plates for which there is no evidence. The evidence for the "Spalding Enigma" far outweighs the evidence for golden plates. In fact the only "evidence" for the golden plates, is the dubious word of Joseph Smith, and some treasure digging friends with imaginations poised to con.
    That said, though the book has done the world a favor in compiling the evidence, it may have done better using footnotes rather than end notes. The notes are almost a book in themselves and filled with much amusing and insightful material, however trying to find them in the back of the book and follow along required the use of two bookmarks. It was very tedious. It also had the effect of obscuring the outline of the book. This book would be made better if its outline was made more prominent at the beginning. Often the details and evidence presented would weigh so much on the mind that a person would forget or get confused as to the point that was trying to be made. A chapter summarizing the basic argument of the book, and a preface to each chapter of the book summarizing the particular point of that chapter, or the objection being answered would have been immensely helpful.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: aside from differing reader styles - preferences...
  • Comment: this book is exceptionally well-researched & documented.
    Unfortunately, the LDS church has a PROVEN HISTORY of white-washing & revising their telling of history (even including internal events) to suit their preferred appearances. Also unfortunately, LDS leaders Don't think that the concept - principle of CREDIBILITY applies to themselves, but rather only to the LDS rank-and-file.
    WRWTBOM is an excellent source of well-documents TRUTH(s), something that LDS leaders strain to define & present ONLY as favorable to their PR oriented 'gospel'.

    Yes, I agree, this book can be seen as tedious at times, but: This Isn't a Novel!
    The story of the 'coming forth' of the BOM is NOT straight-forward, linear series of events, and the LDS church has NOT always been truthful about the details!

    the Biggest Shame is to the LDS church for putting PR - appearances FIRST (as in their refusal to disclose finances, Hinckley's obfuscating statements , etc).The Facts regarding the BoM that the LDS church has hidden and/or white-washed receive attention in this book, I say: It's about time.

    Me to the LDS church: Your credibility is GONE, and I doubt you'll EVER get it back.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: Excellent research
  • Comment: I must say that it is the best researched book I have ever read. The authors' depth of research has given them a real feel for their subject and, more importantly, for the many very colorful personalities who were actually involved. The book is fair and honest in the points it makes, and pleasantly dispassionate, when it might easily have castigated the more roguish exploits it sometimes uncovered and reported.

    As I read, I kept thinking of the movie that could one day come from this research, to be centered, not on Joseph Smith but on the true mover of events, Mr. Sidney Rigdon. Doubtless if such a project were undertaken, this book would provide the basis for its historical content. I recommend this book for every serious student of Mormonism, whether pro or con.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
  • Summary: Recommended -- with Qualification
  • Comment: Recommended with Qualification

    I am not an expert in Mormon studies, but have an active "hobby interest" in the topic and over the last 2 years have probably read some 30 books on the subject--most of them exemplars of the "New Mormon History" which attempts to approach Mormon origins with the kind of rigorous historical scrutiny frequently absent from books of the "Faithful History" genre. I found this book to be a study definitely worth reading, but not always easy or enjoyable to read.

    The reader is forewarned: This book runs 558 pages, including 130 pages of footnotes in small type.

    The major flaw of this book is that it is attempting to do two things at once that are not fully compatible: (1) to narrate a sort of "detective story" in which multiple lines of evidence gradually converge in a provocative, almost compelling conclusion; and (2) to exhaustively document its assertions, justify its speculations, and provide additional "back story" for the narrative it weaves. The latter is done so exhaustively that it frequently interferes with the former, loading down the fundamental argument with details that will tax the good will of all but the most patient readers (or those who are already experts on the topic).

    In particular, readers can expect to be regaled with an overwhelming amount of detail regarding various branches of the Cowdery family tree--names, dates of birth, family migrations (both known and hypothesized)-- all with the frequent and necessary qualifications about the relative certainty or uncertainty of the data. This weighs down the narrative goal of the book considerably, and will likely tax the patience even of well-disposed readers. The authors would have done both scholarly and general readers a favor by narrating less and presenting more of the raw data in the form of charts, genealogies, and maps. There are a few timelines summarized in this fashion, but given the density of the data in this book, the general absence of such graphic reinforcements is unfortunate.

    With this significant criticism registered, the book does make an important contribution to the topic of the Spalding Enigma and will thus repay the efforts of readers sufficiently interested in the topic and sufficiently patient to read the whole book. Its major contributions can be summarized as follows:

    (1) Demonstrating, beyond reasonable doubt, that Solomon Spalding wrote multiple works of historical fiction, and that any honest discussion of the topic must deal with the evidence for the (non-extant) story Spalding titled "Manuscript Found"--not the earlier (extant) prototype titled "Manuscript Story--Conneaut Creek."

    (2) Demonstrating, beyond reasonable doubt, that Sidney Rigdon can be placed in Pittsburgh and/or Amity, PA at the same time as Solomon Spalding, was, in fact, acquainted with him, and had opportunity to obtain the manuscript in question.

    (3) Documenting the presence of Oliver Cowdery in New York, and in occasional proximity to the Smith family, as early as 1822.

    (4) Documenting the presence in Ohio of a significant number of Oliver Cowdery's extended family, in proximity to the known movements and/or residence of Sidney Rigdon.

    (5) By extension, demonstrating the inherent plausibility of Oliver Cowdery's own periodic presence among relatives in Ohio.

    (6) Documenting the significant extent of eyewitness testimony placing Sidney Rigdon not only in Palmyra NY, but in contact with the Smith family, prior to 1830.

    In short, the book weaves a speculative but plausible tale of conspiracy between Rigdon, Cowdery, and Smith--who were originally brought together by a combination of fortuitous crossing of paths (Rigdon and Cowdery) and common interests (money-digging, American Indian lore, and the popular religious ferment of the time).

    What I found most thought provoking about the book was the argument that the lack of detail in early LDS history and biography about the early lives of Cowdery, Rigdon, and (to a lesser extent) Smith amount to a "deafening silence" suggestive of an attempt to suppress any evidence that would "connect the dots" between these three men prior to Smith's supposed first acquaintance with Cowdery (in 1829) and later, Rigdon (1830). Though I am not an expert, the authors persuaded me that Smith's prior acquaintance with Cowdery is demonstrable, Smith's prior acquaintance with Rigdon is probable, and Cowdery's acquaintance with Rigdon--the plausible (if speculative) catalyst.

    By reason of its original research and substantial recourse to primary sources (census, newspaper, and cemetery records, signed affadavits, etc), this book makes a substantial contribution to the topic and deserves a place in college and university libraries. As other reviewers have observed, its overall usefulness is somewhat diminished by the lack of a comprehensive bibliography and indexes.

    As a college professor, however, I would have difficulty recommending this book to any but the most gifted and ardent of undergraduate readers due to readability issues. Even then, I suspect that the book would be met with some frustration, as it is too easy to get lost in some of the massive background data and background narrative, not all of which seemed fully necessary. In my opinion, there are almost two books here: (1) A carefully researched and reconstructed biography of the early years of Oliver Cowdery; and (2) A more focused treatment of the Spalding Enigma. It is perhaps unfortunate that these were not conceived and executed as separate works, since the first would have been a worthy contribution in its own right, and the second would have been relieved of some of the excessive narrative weight that burdens the text in its current form.

    Though the authors clearly have a point of view that will not ingratiate them to faithful Latter-day Saints, for the most part I found the book to be governed by proper historical goals and not merely an anti-Mormon diatribe of the "cult-research" variety. However, I did, on occasion feel that some of the "reading between the lines" stretched the evidence beyond what I, as a non-expert, regarded as obvious or necessary.

    Two additional observations leave me with some lingering doubts. First, the Foreword written by Rev. George Mather is a theological piece with a clear anti-Mormon perspective. Its presence struck this reviewer as somewhat out of character with the rest of the volume. Second, the book is dedicated in part to the memory of the famed anti-cult researcher Walter Martin, "whose work has been painstakingly continued in this volume." This also struck the reviewer as somewhat out of character with the supposedly more objective historiographical goals of the volume.

    I do not doubt the sincerity of the authors and I was, in the main, impressed with the quantity of documentary evidence they were able to provide. Nevertheless, in the end, the observations noted above left me with the suspicion that, on some level, the project was also motivated by a need to exorcise some of the Cowdrey / Cowdery family demons.


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