trtip J JOSEPH SMITH, Jr., THE "PROPHET. The True Origin The Book of Mormon * CHARLES A: SHOOK Author of CUMORAH REVISITED, THE TRUE ORIGIN OF MORMON POLYGAMY I TLc nature of tbe message in tne Book of Mormon is suck tnat, if true, no one can pos- sibly be saved and reject it; if false, no one can possibly be saved and receive it. Therefore every soul in all tne world is equally interested in ascertaining its truth or falsity. Orson Pratt, Cincinnati, O. The Standard Publishing Co. Copyright, 1914 THE STANDARD PUBLISHING CO. Illustrations PAGE JOSEPH SMITH, JR., THE PROPHET Frontispiece TITLE-PAGE OF PALMYRA EDITION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON . . 8 HYRUM SMITH 22 TITLE-PAGE OF COWDERY'S TRACT 50 SIDNEY RIGDON 119 PARLEY PARKER PRATT 127 "HILL CUMORAH" 135 Contents CHAPTER I. PACE The Rise of Mormonism The Historical Outline of the Book of Mormon The Proposition Stated I CHAPTER II. The Character of Joseph Smith The Affidavit of Peter In- gersoll The Affidavit of Willard Chase The Affidavit of William Stafford The Affidavit of Isaac Hale The Signed Statements of the Citizens of Palmyra and Man- chester, New York The Mormon Attempt to Exonerate Smith 16 CHAPTER III. The Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon David Whit- mer Martin Harris Oliver Cowdery 39 CHAPTER IV. The Life of Solomon Spaulding Spaulding's Roman Story The Fairchild-Rice-Smith Correspondence A Mormon Lie Nailed 62 CHAPTER V. Mrs. Davison's Boston Recorder Letter The Quincy Whig Reply Mrs. McKinstry's Affidavit 78 CHAPTER VI. The "Manuscript Found" Its Identity with the Book of Mormon Established The Testimony of John Spaulding, Martha Spaulding, Henry Lake, John N. Miller, Aaron Wright, Oliver Smith, Nahum Howard and Artemus Cunningham 94 vii viii CONTENTS CHAPTER VII. FAGS The Testimony of Other Witnesses Joseph Miller Ruddick McKee Abner Jackson The Mormon Admissions of Genuineness The Disclosures of J. C. Bennett 103 CHAPTER VIII. Rigdon's Connection with the Spaulding Romance His Re- lations with J. Harrison Lambdin Suspected of Stealing the Manuscript Exhibits the Manuscript Foretells the Coming Out of the Book of Mormon 116 CHAPTER IX. Rigdon's Connection with Smith The Pretended Conversion of Rigdon Rigdon's Previous Visits to Smith The Mormon Alibi Katherine Salisbury's Affidavit 126 CHAPTER X. Internal Proofs from Spaulding's First Manuscript that He Was the Author of the Book of Mormon Both Found under a Stone A Great Storm at Sea The Great Spirit The Revolution of the Earth The Use of the Horse The Manufacture of Iron High Priests The Seer- stone 155 CHAPTER XI. Mormon Objections Answered Size of the Book of Mormon Style of the Book of Mormon Character of the Book of Mormon Smith's Inability to Produce the Book of Mormon The Challenge to Produce the Original Man- uscript The Character of Hurlburt and Howe Sup- posed Contradictions in the "Manuscript Found" to the Book of Mormon Conclusion 167 Foreword From the year 1834 to the present, the majority of anti-Mormon polemics and writers have held to the view presented in these pages that the Book of Mormon is nothing more than Solomon Spaulding's "Manuscript Found," revamped. Now and then one has been found who has doubted or denied this theory, but, generally speaking, it is the impregnable rock upon which the anti- Mormon forces have taken their stand. Having been raised in the Reorganized Mormon Church, I was, from boyhood, taught that this claim is a myth ; that the "Manuscript Found" had come to light in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, in 1884, and that it bears no resemblance, whatever, to the Book of Mormon. The influence of this training followed me even after I had apostatized, and for some years, in papers read before ministerial associations and elsewhere, I denied the Spaulding theory and attributed the Book of Mormon to the joint work of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cow- dery. In this position I was, later, confirmed by read- ing the book, "Doctrines and Dogmas of Mormonism," by D. H. Bays (1897), whose views, I found, coincided exactly with my own. It was not until a copy of A. T. Schroeder's little booklet, "The Origin of the Book of Mormon, Re-examined in Its Relation to Spaulding's 'Manuscript Found/ " fell into my hands that I began to see the strong points in the Spaulding theory which I had overlooked. Becoming convinced from the reading of Schroeder's arguments that there was more to the Spaulding theory than I had supposed, I set myself to the task of collecting and analyzing the evidences with is. x FOREWORD the result that I am as satisfied to-day that the Book of Mormon originated in the brain of Solomon Spaulding, the dreamer of Conneaut, as I am that "Thanatopsis" originated in the brain of Bryant or "Evangeline" in the brain of Longfellow. The Mormons have not treated the position of their opponents fairly in this controversy. They have started out by assuming that the Honolulu manuscript is the "Manuscript Found," and then have asserted that those who oppose them claim that the Book of Mormon came from it. But this is not true. From 1834, every op- ponent of Mormonism, who has given due consideration to the evidences in the case, has differentiated between the manuscript discovered in Honolulu and the "Manu- script Found," denying that the Book of Mormon came from the former and claiming that it came from the latter. The effort of the Mormons to confuse the public mind on this point is strongly suggestive of the tactics of the ink-fish, which, finding itself pursued by the enemy and in sore straits, emits an inky fluid in order that it may escape under its cover. Already the claim has been made that my books have been written with the view to lining my pockets. In closing, I wish to brand this accusation as absolutely false. Not one cent of profit or royalty from the sale of this book will find its way into my wallet. The money and labor expended upon it have been expended wholly in the interests of truth and not with the thought of re- muneration. Having become convinced myself that the Book of Mormon is a monstrous fraud, I have felt it my duty to present to the world the evidences which con- vinced me of this fact. Hence this book. CHARLES A. SHOOK. EDDYVILLE, Neb., Jan. i, 1914. The True Origin of tke Book of Mormon CHAPTER I. The Rise of Mormonism The Historical Outline of the Book of Mormon The Proposition Stated. Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, was born in the village of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, December 23, 1805. He was the fourth of ten children and was reared in poverty, ignorance, bigotry and superstition. When he was ten years of age, his father took the family to western New York, where they settled at Palmyra, in Ontario (now Wayne) County, four years afterward removing to the village of Manchester, a few miles dis- tant. In the year 1820, Joseph became very much interested in religion through the revivals that were conducted in Manchester by the Methodists, Presbyterians and Bap- tists, and, being somewhat perplexed to know just which sect to join, he decided to petition the Lord for enlight- enment. So, retiring to the forest, he made the matter the subject of prayer. While he was praying, the Father and the Son appeared to him in vision, told him that he must join none of the existing sects, that their creeds were an abomination, and that their professors were all corrupt. When Joseph related this vision to one of the Methodist preachers in his neighborhood, the preacher told him that it was all of the devil and that there are 2 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF no such things nowadays, they having ceased with the apostles. Joseph received his second vision on the evening of September 21, 1823. According to his account, he had retired to bed and had betaken himself to prayer, when his room was lighted with a heavenly light and a person- age stood before him who gave his name as Moroni.* Moroni told Joseph that he had come from the presence of the Almighty ; that there was a work for him to do ; that his name should go out among the people for both good and evil, and that there was a set of gold plates deposited which contained an account of the former in- habitants of this continent, and with them two stones, called the Urim and Thummim, by means of which they were to be translated. The following day, Joseph re- paired to the spot, which he had seen in vision and which was on a hill near Manchester, where he found the plates as represented. His description of their depository, the manner of their burial and the events that occurred, is as follows: Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario County, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborood. On the v/ect side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner toward the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth. Having removed the earth and obtained a lever which I got fixed under the edge of the stone and with a little exertion raised it up, I looked in and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the Breast-plate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement ; in the bottom 1 In the first account of this angel visit, the angel's name was given Nephi. THE BOOK OF MORMON 5 of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and other things with them. I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger and was again informed that the time for bring- ing them forth had not yet arrived, neither would until four years from that time; but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates. Accordingly as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and received in- struction and intelligence from him at each of our interviews respecting what the Lord was going to do and how and in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days. Church History (Josephite), Vol. I., p. 16. In the month of October, 1825, Smith hired out to a Mr. Josiah Stoal, or Stowell, of Chenango County, New York, who took him to Harmony, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, and set him to work digging for a lost silver mine. During this time, he boarded with a man by the name of Isaac Hale, and became deeply in love with his daughter, Emma. The Hales were very much opposed to his suit on account of his habits, and so he finally eloped with Emma and was married to her at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York, January 18, 1827. On September 22, following, Smith received the plates from the hands of the angel, being told that he would be held responsible for their safe-keeping, and that if he let them go through carelessness or neglect he would be cut off. Joseph soon observed the need of caution, for no sooner did his neighbors hear of his pre- tensions than they began all manner of persecutions. This made it necessary for him to leave Manchester, where he had been living since his elopement, and he removed to the home of his wife's parents in Harmony, Pennsylvania, 4 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF being assisted in a financial way by Mr. Martin Harris, a wealthy farmer from near Palmyra, who gave him fifty dollars. Apostle Parley P. Pratt gives us the following de- scription of the plates and the Urim and Thummim by which they were translated: These records were engraved on plates, which had the ap- pearance of gold. Each plate was not far from seven by eight inches in width and length, being not quite as thick as common tin. They were filled on both sides with engravings, in Re- formed Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, and fastened at the edge with three rings running through the whole. This volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters or letters upon the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, as well as much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instru- ment, called by the ancients the Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones, clear as crystal, set in two rims of a bow. This was in use in ancient times by persons called seers. It was an instrument by the use of which they received revelation of things distant, or of things past or future. A Voice of Warning, p. 73. In the month of February, 1828, Martin Harris came to visit Smith at Harmony, and obtained from him a transcript of characters from the plates, which he took to New York and submitted to Dr. Mitchell and Pro- fessor Anthon, two learned linguists of that city, for their examination. Harris afterwards declared that An- thon pronounced the characters to be Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldaic and Arabic, and said that Smith's translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen from the Egyptian. 1 1 Anthon afterwards positively denied making any such statement, and raid: "This paper was, in fact, a singular scrawl. It consisted of all kinds THE BOOK OF MORMON 6 Harris returned to Palmyra, arranged his business and then came to Harmony, where he began to write for Joseph. Between April 12 and June 14, 1828, he suc- ceeded in writing 116 pages of foolscap, which, with Smith's permission, he carried home to Palmyra to read to his wife. This manuscript came up missing, and it afterwards leaked out that Mrs. Harris in a rage had burned it. For his carelessness, Harris lost his place as Smith's scribe and Joseph was told that he need not translate that portion of the record again. 1 The work of translation was now interrupted until April 15, 1829, when Oliver Cowdery appeared on the scene. He had been a schoolteacher in the Smith neigh- borhood in New York, and, hearing of Joseph's claims from his parents, he had come down to Harmony to visit him. On the I7th of April, following, the work of trans- lation was resumed, and continued without further in- terruption until it was completed. David Whitmer gives the following description of the manner in which the plates were translated: I will now giye you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something of crooked characters disposed in columns, and had evidently been pre- pared by some person who had before him a book containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters inverted or placed sideways, were arranged in perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle divided into various compartments, decked with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican Calendar given by Humboldt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source whence it was derived." History of Mor- monism, p. 271. 1 "Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words, which have gone forth out of your hands; for, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words." Doctring and Covenants, 3: 6. THE TRUE ORIGIN OF resembling parchment would appear; and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man. Whitmer's Address, p. I2. 1 On the 1 5th of the following month, John the Bap- tist appeared and ordained Smith and Cowdery to the Aaronic priesthood, after which, by the Baptist's com- mand, they baptized and reordained each other. Soon after Smith's arrival in Harmony, he formed the acquaintance of Peter Whitmer, of Fayette, Seneca County, New York, and in the month of June following his ordination, Whitmer's son, David, came to visit him and urgently invited him to accompany him home and remain until the translation should be finished. Smith acceded, and from this time, until their apostasy in 1838, the Whitmers were among his staunchest friends and most devoted disciples. During the course of the translation, it was ascer- tained that the Lord intended to provide three special witnesses who were to have the privilege of viewing the plates. Almost immediately after this discovery, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris requested Joseph to inquire of the Lord if they might not be these special witnesses. Joseph did so, and through the Urim and Thummim received a favorable answer, upon which they all retired to the forest, where, after fervent and 1 If the characters were interpreted for Smith upon the seer-stone, upon what principle was he a translator? Would not this, also, make the Almighty responsible for every grammatical and rhetorical error in the book? If not, why not? THE BOOK OF MORMON 7 humble prayer, the plates were shown to them by the angel. Their testimony follows : Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been trans- lated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath de- clared it unto us: wherefore we know of a surety, that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the en- gravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear ^record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes, nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, an^ be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. OLIVER COWDERY, DAVID WHITMER, MARTIN HARRIS. Soon after this, the following testimony was obtained from eight other witnesses who had been permitted to view the plates : Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated, we did (2) 8 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF handle with our hands : and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of sober- ness, that the said Smith hath shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety, that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world to witness unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it. CHRISTIAN WHITMER. HIRAM PAGE. JACOB WHITMER. JOSEPH SMITH, Sen. PETER WHITMER, Jr. HYRUM SMITH. JOHN WHITMER. SAMUEL H. SMITH. When Smith and Cowdery had been ordained to the Aaronic priesthood, John the Baptist informed them that if they would continue faithful, they would also be ad- mitted into the Melchisedec, or higher, priesthood of which Peter, James and John held the keys. They now became anxious to have this promise fulfilled, and so made their desire the subject of fervent prayer. At length, while tarrying before the Lord in a chamber in Whitmer's house, the word of the Lord came to them commanding Joseph to ordain Oliver, and Oliver Joseph, to the eldership of the Church of Jesus Christ. When the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed, the copyright was secured, June n, 1829, by Joseph Smith, "Author and Proprietor." The work of publication, which occupied seven months, 1 was let out to Mr. Egbert Grandin, of Palmyra, New York, who agreed to print five thousand copies for the sum of three thou- sand dollars. Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses, furnished the means for the publication of this edition, and J. H. Gilbert, whose name will be frequently men- tioned in the pages of this book, set the type. 1 Letter of J. H. Gilbert to Th. Gregg, dated at Palmyra, New York, December 30, 1884. THE BOOK OF MORMON ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OP MOR- MON, UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPIfl. Wherefore it is *n abridgment of the Record of the People of Nepiu ; ad also .of the LarrtwMtes ; written to the Lamaitite*. 'which area remnant of the House of Israel ; and aiso to Jew iwtd tjenttie ; .written br way of commandment, and also by thf spirit >->f prajiliesy and of Revelation. Written, and aealedttp, and hid up unto the LORD, tnat they mi^ht naf be destroyed ; to ccaje forth by the gifi and power of Gof>. unto the interpretation thereof; sealed bv the hand of Moro- ni, aid hid u;> unto the LORD, to come forth ia doe tinse by the way of Gentile; i!>t- totfrpretatton thereof by the gift of Goo ; an abridgment taken from the Hook of Kther, Aiso, which i* a Recofd of the People of Jared, whieh were scattered ai the time t?m LOBD confounded the language of the jwofde when thy were buUdiojt * t,-#r to frt to Hearen : which is to shew unto the remnant of the House, of I-! how great things the LORD bath done for theii fathers; and thai they may k?ur,v tUV covenants of the LORB, that tfiey are not cast off forever ; and a!*o to tin' convin':m? of the /w and Genti? tha* JESPS ia the CHRIST, the ETKH.VAL (rfiD, ut'inissstifig Himself unto ail nations. Ami w if there be fault, it b the , thai ye mo y be found spotless ai the judgment seat of CHKUT. BY JOSEPH SMITH, .f U.\IOK, AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR* PALMYRA: PRWTPD BY B. B,.GRANniN, FOR. THE AUTHOR, 1830. FACSIMILE <>r Tni.K-i'Ar.i. ii- FIKST KDITION oi : MUKM>-> . . TITLE-PAGE PALMYRA EDITION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. THE BOOK OF MORMON 9 On April 6, 1830, the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" was organized at Fayette, Seneca County, New York, with six members, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Samuel Smith, Hyrum Smith, David Whitmer and Peter Whitmer; Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery becoming elders of the same. This, in brief, is the history of the rise of Mormonism as given by the Mormons themselves. It is one of the strangest phenomena of human history that a story so absurd and foundationless, and one in which the repu- table citizens of Smith's own neighborhood placed not the least bit of credence, should be accepted as a truthful account of what actually happened, by hundreds of thou- sands of people. It must be because men love darkness rather than light and fiction rather than fact. THE HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. Turning our attention now to the Book of Mormon as a reputed sacred history of ancient America, we find that it is written on the plan of the Bible and is divided into fifteen different books, as follows : I Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, Nephi, Disciple of Nephi, Mormon, Ether and Moroni. Historically, these books cover a period of about twenty-six centuries and describe two distinct nations of people, the Jaredites and Nephites; the Book of Ether being an abridged history of the former, the other fourteen of the latter. The first people to inhabit America, according to the Book of Mormon, were the Jaredites, who came from the tower of Babel under Jared and his brother, the latter a prophet of the Lord. Leaving Babel, the Jared- ites are said to have journeyed northward into Armenia and from there westward over southern Europe to Spain, 10 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF the Book of Mormon land of Moriancumer. Here they dwelt on the seashore for four years, at the close of which time they put to sea in eight cigar-shaped barges," * and landed, after a voyage of 344 days, upon "the east coast of Central America, near the mouth of the river Motagua." Report of Committee on American Archaol- gy> p- 70.' Here they are said to have founded a government, to have built large cities (the ruins of which still remain), to have practiced the arts and customs of an advanced civilization, and to have settled the adjacent country. From Central America, the Jaredites are said to have spread their borders northward until, finally, they included within their boundaries all of the territory of the present United States. Many Mormon writers iden- tify them with the mythical "Mound Builders," and at- tribute the earthworks of the Mississippi and Ohio Val- leys to their construction, a theory that is nullified by the more recent archaeological researches, which make it necessary to identify the "Mound Builders" with oui Indian tribes. 8 After dwelling here for about sixteen hundred years, spreading over the extensive country mentioned and suf- 1 "And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water: and they were built after a manner that they were exceeding tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish." Ether, i : 5. a This committee was appointed at the General Conference of the Re- organized Church, held at Lamoni, Iowa, April 6-19, 1894, for the purpose of outlining and preparing a map of Book of Mormon history. See Chapter VI. of my "Cumorah Revisited; or, The Book of Mor- mon, and the Claims of the Mormons, Re-examined, from the Viewpoint of American Archaeology and Ethnology," for a full discussion of the ques- tion of the nationality of the Mound Builders. THE BOOK OF MORMON 11 faring from dissensions and revolts, the Jaredites came to an end in civil war in a battle fought about 600 B. C. at "Hill Ramah" in western New York, in which thou- sands were slain in a few days, only two escaping Coriantumr, one of the generals, and Ether, a prophet of the Lord. The former was afterward discovered by the people of Zarahemla and dwelt with them "nine moons ;" Ether wrote a history of his people on a set of plates and hid them in such a manner that they were afterwards discovered by their successors. This, in brief, is the history of the first colony of immigrants to reach our shores as given in the Book of Mormon. The book further claims that in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, there was dwelling at Jerusalem a prophet and righteous man by the name of Lehi. Lehi had four sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi, and, as the wickedness of the city was great, he was commanded to take them and his wife, Saraiah, and depart into the wilderness. After their departure, the sons returned to Jerusalem at two different times, first to obtain a set of brass plates which contained the gen- ealogy of their' fathers, and, second, to induce the family of Ishmael to join them. After eight years, by the command of God, this little company, now augmented by the addition of Ishmael's family, built a ship and launched out into the Indian Ocean, committing themselves to the care of God. The voyage was a stormy one, but, notwithstanding this, they successfully crossed the sea, and, in due time, landed "on the coast of Chili, not far from the thirtieth degree, south latitude." Report of Committee on American Archceol- ogy, p. 11. Here, they found all manner of beasts the cow, ox, ass, horse, goat and wild goat; also such ores as gold, 12 THE TRUE ORIGIN OP silver, iron and copper. Nephi began at once to keep a record of his people, and for this purpose he made a set of plates and began to engrave thereon their history in the "Reformed Egyptian" * language. In course of time, Lehi died and the company broke up into two contending factions, the Nephites and Lamanites, named from his two sons, Nephi and Laman. The Nephites were enlight- ened and civilized ; the Lamanites degenerated into com- mon savages they were the ancestors of our Indians. Sometime after the division, the Nephites moved northward into what is now Colombia and Venezuela, their land of Zarahemla, where they found a colony of people called the Mulekites or Zarahemlaites, who had come over from Jerusalem about the time of its destruc- tion by Nebuchadnezzar, under Mulek, one of the sons of Zedekiah. From this time onward, the Nephites and Zarahemlaites were one people. Being a prolific people, and having their numbers in- creased by the addition of the Zarahemlaites, the Nephites now sent out colonies into Central America and Mexico and, finally, into the United States, so that in the short space of one thousand years from the time of their land- ing upon American soil, and notwithstanding their wars with the Lamanites, they inhabited the whole of North America as far to the northward, at least, as the Great Lakes. But at last they met their downfall. Drunken with the pride of their wonderful achievements, they had for- gotten God, and with this forget fulness came national deterioration, so that they fell an easy prey to their in- veterate foes, the Lamanites. Near "Hill Cumorah" 1 This has been verbally objected to, it being claimed that the "Re- formed Egyptian" was not invented until later, but see "Joseph the Seer," p. 145, where Elder Blair coincides with my statement. THE BOOK OF MORMON 13 (the same as the Jaredite "Ramah") in western New York, the decisive battle was fought about 400 A. D., and the Nephite people were nearly all exterminated. Most of those who escaped, "dissented" to the Lamanites, and from them, it is thought, have come the tribes of "white Indians." * Moroni, a prince of royal blood who did not "dissent," hid himself from his enemies, and, in the year 420 A. D., finished the record of his people upon the plates and deposited them in "Hill Cumorah," where they were discovered by Joseph Smith on the twenty-second day of September, 1823. This is, substantially, the historical account of the Book of Mormon. Wild and weird as it is, it has ap- pealed to those of a dreamy, visionary nature with mar- velous effectiveness. And the Mormon churches are largely made up of the dreamy, visionary class. If you take the dream and vision out of Mormonism, you will have but very little left. 8 THE PROPOSITION STATED. Since about the year 1832, it has been asserted by the opponents of, Mormonism that, instead of being a true and authentic history of the ancient inhabitants of Amer- ica, the Book of Mormon is, in fact, a story written by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, a Congregational 8 clergy- man, for the purpose of whiling away the hours of his poor health and providing him the means of paying his debts. Although all anti-Mormon writers and polemics 1 "White Indians" is a misnomer. No such Indians, strictly speaking, ever existed. The term is applied to the lighter tribes of the American race. 2 This is more apparent to one who has been in the faith than to an outsider. The child that is raised a strict Mormon is taught to carefully regard his dreams. Visions that, to ordinary people, are the effects of a disordered stomach or overworked nerves, are to the good Mormon the voice of the Lord. 8 Or Presbyterian. 14 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF have not adopted this view, 1 it is the one most usually relied upon to account for the origin of the book, and, when understood, is one of the most effective arguments that can be brought to bear against the delusion. The Spaulding theory is, briefly, this: About 1809, Solomon Spaulding, who was then living at Conneaut, or New Salem, Ohio, became very much interested in the aboriginal works of the country and began to write romances based upon them. One of these, which de- scribed a colony of Jews who came over from Jerusalem under the leadership of Lehi and Nephi, he entitled "The Manuscript Found." In 1812, Spaulding removed from Conneaut to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and put this man- uscript in the hands of one Robert Patterson, for publica- tion. Patterson had an employe by the name of J. Har- rison Lambdin, who, in turn, had a friend by the name of Sidney Rigdon, who frequently lounged around the printing-office. The manuscript, at length, came up miss- ing, and Rigdon was suspected of the theft. This sus- picion was afterwards confirmed by the fact that he ex- hibited such a manuscript which he said had been written by a preacher by the name of Spaulding. This manu- script, it is claimed, Rigdon worked over, and, through the assistance of Smith and Cowdery, palmed off upon the religious world as a new revelation from God, the Book of Mormon. Of course the Mormons strenuously deny any con- nection whatever between the Book of Mormon and "The Manuscript Found," declaring that the latter was dis- covered in the possession of Mr. L. L. Rice, of Honolulu, 1 Chief of these is the Rev. D. H. Bays, now deceased, who, after serving as a missionary in the Reorganized Church for twenty-seven years, apostatized and wrote his "Doctrines and Dogmas of Mormonism," in which he denies the above position. THE BOOK OF MORMON 15 Sandwich Islands, in 1884, and that, upon comparison, it is shown to be entirely different from the former. The Brighamite paper, the Deseret News, for July 19, 1900, says: The discovery of the manuscript written by Mr. Spaulding and its depoeit in the Library at Oberlin College, Ohio, . . . has so completely demolished the theory once relied upon by superficial minds that the Book of Mormon was concocted from that manuscript, that it has been entirely abandoned by all opponents of Mormonism, except the densely ignorant or un- scrupulously dishonest. I deny the charge. The opponent of Mormonism, who holds to the theory that the Book of Mormon orig- inated in Spaulding's "The Manuscript Found," is neither "densely ignorant" nor "unscrupulously dishonest." The Honolulu manuscript is not now, and never has been, "The Manuscript Found," but another manuscript, upon an entirely different subject, which was written before Spaulding began his Jewish story. It never was claimed that the Book of Mormon originated in the manuscript found in the Sandwich Islands. That manuscript was known of and was described by the opponents of Mor- monism as earty as 1834, but it was expressly denied that it had any connection, whatever, with the Book of Mor- mon. The "densely ignorant" and "unscrupulously dis- honest" are the Mormons who purposely confuse the public mind by confounding these manuscripts and speak- ing of them as one and the same. 16 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF CHAPTER II. The Character of Joseph Smith The Affidavit of Peter Inger- soll The Affidavit of Willard Chase The Affidavit of William Stafford The Affidavit of Isaac Hale The Signed Statements of the Citizens of Palmyra and Manchester, New York The Mormon Attempt to Exonerate Smith. The early life of Joseph Smith was spent in an en- vironment of superstition and deception that peculiarly fitted him for the part that he was afterwards to play as the prophet of "the new dispensation." His father before him was a man of questionable veracity and indo- lent habits, who spent a considerable part of his time in "witching" with a hazel rod, 1 or practicing other cere- monies of a like mysterious nature, in order that he might discover lost mines and buried treasures; while his mother was a common fortune-teller, who turned many a penny by tracing in the lines of the open palm the fortune 1 The "rod" was almost as much of an essential part of the para- phernalia of early Mormonism as the seer-stone. In a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829, I find the follow- ing: "O, remember these words and keep my commandments. Remember this is your gift. Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold, it has told you things: behold, there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature to work in your hands, for it is the work of God; and therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, that you shall know." This appears in the "Book of Commandments" 7:3, but, as it smacked too much of superstition and dark practices, it was subsequently disguised in the "Doc. and Cov." 8:3, to read: "O, remem- ber these words, and keep my commandments! Remember this is your gift. Now, this is not all thy gift, for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things; behold, there is no other power save the power of God that can cause this gift of Aaron to be with you; therefore doubt not, for it is the gift of God, and you shall hold it in your hands and do marvellous works; and no power shall bo able to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God." THE BOOK OF MORMON 17 of the inquirer. 1 With these examples before him, there is little wonder that, in the earlier years of his life, Joseph easily fell into questionable habits and engaged in dark practices, or that later he became one of the prime deceivers in the fraud of Mormonism. As the foregoing characteristics of the Smith family were well known throughout their immediate neighbor- hood, and even in that vicinity for miles around, they were not very successful in obtaining, among their ac- quaintances, adherents to their peculiar religious claims and beliefs. Not a single man of wealth or influence, from either Palmyra or Manchester, excepting Martin Harris, ever joined their standard. The few from that locality, outside of Harris, who followed the Smiths into the Mormon delusion, were all of the lower strata and were largely pals of their midnight mysteries. At first, Joseph began his deceptions on a small scale and contented himself with simply "peeping" for hidden treasures, but, being phenomenally successful in this small way, he conceived the idea of launching out in a more colossal deception, and, through the assistance of Rigdon, Cowdsry, Pratt and others, Mormonism was the result. And, as he found a few who bit at the bait of the "money-digger," he has also found many who have bitten at the bait of the "prophet." When Smith first promulgated the claim that he had found and deciphered the golden plates, his story was treated with silent contempt by the majority of his ac- quaintances. Knowing his poor reputation for veracity at home, they supposed that his tale would find few believers abroad. But, when the Mormons had left New York and had become settled at Kirtland, Ohio, and hun- *Mrs. Dr. Horace Eaton in "Hand-book on Mormonism," p. i. 18 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF dreds had begun to flock to their standard, they saw the necessity of doing something to counteract the influence of the delusion, and so gave to the world, in the form of affidavits and signed statements, what they knew of the eccentricities and poor practices of the Smith family. A number of these affidavits and statements were pub- lished in Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," of 1834, and are copied here for the purpose of giving the reader a true history of the early operations of the Smiths and also showing that Joseph was not above being a party to the transformation of one of Spaulding's novels into a "truthful" and "divine" history of the ancient inhab- itants of America. THE AFFIDAVIT OF PETER INGERSOLL. PALMYRA, Wayne County, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1833. I, Peter Ingersoll, first became acquainted with the family of Joseph Smith, Sen., in the year of our Lord, 1822. I lived in the neighborhood of said family, until about 1830; during which time the following facts came under my observation. The general employment of the family, was digging for money. I had frequent invitations to join the company, but always declined being one of their number. They used various arguments to induce me to accept of their invitations. I was once ploughing near the house of Joseph Smith, Sen., about noon, he requested me to walk with him a short distance from his house, for the purpose of seeing whether a mineral rod would work in my hand, saying, at the same time, he was confident it would. As my oxen were eating, and being myself at leisure, I accepted the invitation. When we arrived near the place at which he thought there was money, he cut a small witch-hazel bush, and gave me direction how to hold it. He then went off some rods, and told me to say to the rod, "Work to the money," which I did in an audible voice. He rebuked me severely for speaking it loud, and said it must be spoken in a whisper. This was rare sport for me. While the old man was standing off some rods, throwing himself into various shapes, I told him the rod did not work. He seemed much surprised at THE BOOK OF MORMON 19 this, and said he thought he saw it move in my hand. It was now time for me to return to my labor. On my return, I picked up a small stone and was carelessly tossing it from one hand to the other. Said he, (looking very earnestly,) "What are you going to do with that stone?" "Throw it at the birds," I replied. "No," said the old man. "it is of great worth;" and upon this I gave it to him. "Now," says he, "if you only knew the value there is back of my house," and pointing to a place near, "there," exclaimed he, "is one chest of gold and another of silver." He then put the stone which I had given him into his hat, and stooping forward, he bowed and made sundry ma- noeuvres, quite similar to those of a stool-pigeon. At length, he took down his hat, and, being very much exhausted, said, in a faint voice, "If you knew what I had seen, you would be- lieve." To see the old man thus try to impose upon me, I confess, rather had a tendency to excite contempt than pity. Yet I thought it best to conceal my feelings, preferring to appear the dupe of my credulity, than to expose myself to his resent- ment. His son Alvin then went through with the same per- formance, which was equally disgusting. Another time, the said Joseph, Sen., told me that the best time for digging money, was in the hsat of summer, when the heat of the sun caused the chests of money to rise near the top of the ground. "You notice," said he, "the large stones on the top of the ground we call them rocks, and they truly appear so, but they are, in fact, most of them chests of money raised by the heat of the sun." At another time, he told me that the ancient inhabitants of this country used camels instead of horses. For proof of this fact, he stated that in a certain hill, on the farm of Mr. Cuyler, there was a cave containing an immense value of gold and sil- ver, stands of arms, also, a saddle for a camel, hanging on a peg, at one side of the cave. I asked him of what kind of wood the peg was. He could not tell, but said it had become similar to stone or iron. The old man, at last, laid a plan which he thought would accomplish his design. His cows and mine had been gone for sometime, and were not to be found, notwithstanding our dili- gent search for them. Day after day was spent in fruitless search, until, at length, he proposed to find them by his art 20 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF of divination. So he took his stand near the corner of his house, with a small stick in his hand, and made several strange and peculiar motions, and then said he could go directly to the cows. So he started off, and went into the woods, about one hundred rods distant, and found the lost cows. But, on finding out the secret of the mystery, Harrison had found the cows, and drove them to the above-named place, and milked them. So that his stratagem turned out rather more to his profit than it did to my edification. The old man, finding that all his efforts to make me a money-digger had proved abortive, at length ceased his importunities. One circumstance, however, I will mention, before leaving him. Sometime before young Joseph found, or pretended to find, the gold plates, the old man told me that in Canada, there had been a book found, in a hollow tree, that gave an account of the first settlment of this country, before it was discovered by Columbus. In the month of August, 1827, I was hired by Joseph Smith, Jr., to go to Pennsylvania, to move his wife's household furni- ture up to Manchester, where his wife then was. When we ar- rived at Mr. Male's in Harmony, Pa., from which place he had taken his wife, a scene presented itself truly affecting. His father-in-law (Mr. Hale) addressed Joseph, in a flood of tears: "You have stolen my daughter, and married her. I had much rather have followed her to her grave. You spend your time in digging for money pretend to see in a stone and thus try to deceive people." Joseph wept, and acknowledged he could not see in a stone now, nor never could; and that his former* pretensions in that respect, were all false. He then promised to give up his old habits of digging for money and looking into stones. Mr. Hale told Joseph, if he would move to Penn- sylvania and work for a living, he would assist him in getting into business. Joseph acceded to this proposition. I then returned with Joseph and his wife to Manchester. One cir- cumstance occurred, on the road, worthy of notice, and I be- lieve this is the only instance where Joe ever exhibited true Yankee wit. On our journey to Pennsylvania, we could not make the exact change at the toll gate near Ithaca. Joseph told the gate tender that he would "hand" him the toll on his return, as he was coming back in a few days. On our return, Joseph tendered to him 25c, the toll being i2 l / 2 . He did not THE BOOK OF MORMON 21 recognize Smith, so he accordingly gave him back I2 l /c, After we had passed the gate, I asked him if he did not agree to pay double gateage on our return? "No," said he, "I agreed to hand it to him, and I did, but he handed it back again." Joseph told me, on his return, that he intended to keep the promise which he had made to his father-in-law; "but," said he, "it will be hard for me, for they will all oppose, as they want me to look in the stone for them to dig money." And, in fact, it was as he predicted. They urged him, day after day, to resume his old practice of looking in the stone. He seemed much perplexed as to the course he should pursue. In this dilemma, he made me his confident, and told me what daily transpired in the family of Smiths. One day he came and greeted me, with a joyful countenance. Upon asking the cause of his unusual happiness, he replied in the following lan- guage: "As I was passing, yesterday, across the woods, after a heavy shower of rain, I found, in a hollow, some beautiful white sand, that had been washed up by the water. I took off my frock, and tied up several quarts of it and then went home. On my entering the house, I found the family at the table, eating dinner. They were all anxious to know the contents of my frock. At that moment, I happened to think of what I had heard about a history found in Canada, called the golden Bible; so I very gravely told them it was the golden Bible. To my surprise, they were credulous enough to believe what I said. Accordingly I told them that I had received a com- mandment to let no one see it; for, says I, no man can see it with the naked eye and live. However, I offered to take out the book and show it to them, but they refused to see it, and left the room. Now," said Joe, "I have got the d d fools fixed, and will carry out the fun." Notwithstanding, he told me he had no such book, and believed there never was any such book, yet, he told me that he actually went to Willard Chase, to get him to make a chest, in which he might deposit his golden Bible. But, as Chase would not do it, he made a box himself, of clapboards, and put it into a pillow-case, and allowed people only to lift it, and feel of it through the case. In the fall of 1827, Joseph wanted to go to Pennsylvania. His brother-in-law had come to assist him in moving, but he himself was out of money. He wished to borrow the money 22 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF of me, and he presented Mr. Hale as security. I told him in case he could obtain assistance from no other source, I would let him have some money. Joseph then went to Palmyra; and, said he, "I there met that d - n fool Martin Harris, and told him that I had a command to ask the first honest man I met with for fifty dollars in money, and he would let me have it. I saw at once," said Joe, "that it took his notion, for he promptly gave me the fifty." Joseph thought this sum was sufficient to bear his expenses to Pennsylvania; so he immediately started off, and since that time I have not been, much in his society. While the Smiths were living at Waterloo, William visited my neighborhood; and, upon my inquiry how they came on, he replied, "We do better there than here; we were too well known here to do much." PETER INGERSOLL. STATE OF NEW YORK, Wayne County. SS ' I certify, that on this gth day of December, 1833, personally appeared before me the above-named Peter Ingersoll, to me known, and made oath, according to law, to the truth of the above statement. TH. P. BALDWIN, Judge of Wayne County Court THE AFFIDAVIT OF WILLARD CHASE. MANCHESTER, Ontario County, New York, 1833. I became acquainted with the Smith family, known as the authors of the Mormon Bible, in the year 1820. At that time, they were engaged in the money-digging business, which they followed until the latter part of the season of 1827. In the year 1822 I was engaged in digging a well. I employed Alvin and Joseph Smith to assist me; the latter of whom is now known as the Mormon Prophet. After digging about twenty feet below the surface of the earth, we discovered a singularly appearing stone, which excited my curiosity. I brought it to the top of the well, and as we were examining it, Joseph put it into his hat, and then his face into the top of his hat. It has been said by Smith, that he brought the stone from the well; but this is false. There was no one in the well but myself. The next morning he came to me and wished to obtain the stcne, alleging that he could see in it; but I told HYRUM SMITH. THE BOOK OP MORMON 23 him I did not wish to part with it, on account of its being a curiosity, but would lend it. After obtaining the stone, he began to publish abroad what wonders he could discover by looking in it, and made so much disturbance among the credu- lous part of the community, that I ordered the stone to be re- turned to me again. He had it in his possession about two years. I believe, some time in 1825, Hiram Smith (brother of Joseph Smith) came to me, and wished to borrow the same stone, alleging that they wanted to accomplish some business of importance, which could not very well be done without the aid of the stone. I told him it was of no particular worth to me, but merely wished to keep it as a curiosity, and if he would pledge me his word and honor that I should have it when called for, he might take it; which he did, and took the stone. I thought I could rely on his word at this time, as he had made a profession of religion. But in this I was disappointed, for he disregarded both his word and honor. In the fall of 1826, a friend called upon me, and wished to see that stone, about which so much had been said; and I told him, if he would go with me to Smith's, (a distance of about half a mile,) he might see it. But, to my surprise, on going to Smith's, and asking him for the stone, he said, "You cannot have it;" I told him it belonged to me, repeated to him the promise he made me, at the time of obtaining the stone: upon which he faced me with a malignant look, and said, "I don't care who in the devil it belongs to, you shall not have it." In the month of June, 1827, Joseph Smith, Sen., related to me the following story: "That some years ago, a spirit had ap- peared to Joseph his son, in a vision, and informed him that in a certain place there was a record on plates of gold, and that he was the person that must obtain them, arid this he must do in the following manner: On the 22d of September, he must re- pair to the place where was deposited this manuscript, dressed in black clothes, and riding a black horse with a switch tail, and demand the book in a certain name, and after obtaining it he must go directly away, and neither lay it down nor look behind him. They accordingly fitted out Joseph with a suit of black clothes and borrowed a black horse. He repaired to the place of deposit and demanded the book which was in a stone box, unsealed, and so near the top of the ground that he could (3) 24 THE TRUE ORIGIN OF see one end of it, and raising it up, took out the book of gold; but fearing some one might discover where he got it, he laid it down to place back the top stone as he found it; and turning round, to his surprise there was no book in sight. He again opened the box, and in it saw the book, and attempted to take it out, but was hindered. He saw in the box something like a toad which soon assumed the appearance of a man, and struck him on the side of his head. Not being discouraged at trifles, he again stooped down and strove to take the book, when the spirit struck him again, and knocked him three or four rods and hurt him prodigiously. After recovering from his fright, he inquired why he could not obtain the plates; to which the spirit made reply, "Because you have not obeyed your orders." He then inquired when he could have them, and was answered thus i Come one year from this day, and bring with you your oldest brother, and you shall have them. This spirit, he said, was the spirit of the prophet who wrote this book, and who was sent to Joseph Smith, to make known these things to him. Before the expiration of the year, his oldest brother died; which the old man said was an accidental providence! Joseph went one year from that day, to demand the book, and the spirit inquired for his brother, and he said that he was dead. The spirit then commanded him to come again, in just one year, and bring a man with him. On asking who might be the man, he was answered that he would know him when he saw him. Joseph believed that one Samuel T. Lawrence was the man alluded to by the spirit, and went with him to a singular look- ing hill, in Manchester, and showed him where the treasure was. Lawrence asked him if he had ever discovered anything with the plates of gold; he said no; he then asked him to look in his stone, to see if there was anything with them. He looked, and said there was nothing; he told him to look again, and see if there was not a large pair of specs with the plates; he looked and soon saw a pair of spectacles, the same with which Joseph says he translated the Book of Mormon. Law- rence told him it would not be prudent to let these plates be seen for about two years, as it would make a great disturbance in the neighborhood. Not long after this Joseph altered his mind, and said L. was not the right man, nor had he told him THE BOOK OF MORMON 25 the right place. About this time he went to Harmony in Penn- sylvania, and formed an acquaintance with a young lady by the name of Emma Hale, whom he wished to marry. -In the fall of 1826 he wanted to go to Pennsylvania to be married; but being destitute of means, he now set his wits to work how he should raise money, and get recommendations, to procure the fair one of his choice. He went to Lawrence with the following story, as related to me by Lawrence himself. That he had discovered in Pennsylvania, on the bank of the Susquehanna River, a very rich mine of silver, and if he would go there with him, he might have a share in the profits ; that it was near high-water mark, and that they could load it into boats and take it down the river to Philadelphia, to market. Lawrence then asked Joseph if he was not deceiving him; no, said he, for I have been there and seen it with mine own eyes, and if you do not find it so when we get there, I will bind myself to be your servant for three years. By these grave and fair promises Lawrence was induced to believe something in it, and agreed to go with him. L. soon found that Joseph was out of money, and had to bear his expenses on the way. When they got to Pennsylvania, Joseph wanted L. to recommend him to Miss H., which he did, although he was asked to do it ; but could not well get rid of it as he was in his company. L. then wished to see the silver mine, and he and Joseph went to the river, and made search, but found nothing. Thus Lawrence had his trouble for his pains an