Page:History of Utah.djvu/113

 Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? is the title of a 4to pamphlet of 16 pages by Robert Patterson of Pittsburgh. Reprinted from the illustrated history of Washington county, Philadelphia, 1882. This Patterson is the son of printer Patterson, to whose office the Spaulding MS. is said to have been sent. Little new information is brought out by this inquisition. First he extracts passages from Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, quoting at secondhand from Kidder's Mormonism and the Mormons, in the absence of the original, stating erroneously that Howe's book was first printed in 1835. I give elsewhere an epitome of the contents of Howe's work. Ballantyne in his Reply to a Tract, by T. Richards, What is Mormonism? wherein is advanced the Spaulding theory, asserts in answer that Spaulding's manuscript was not known to Smith or Rigdon until after the publication of the Book of Mormon, and that the two were not the same, the latter being about three times larger than the former. ‘Dr Hurlburt,’ he says, ‘and certain other noted enemies of this cause, having heard that such a manuscript existed, determined to publish it to the world in order to destroy the book of Mormon, but after examining it found that it did not read as they expected, consequently declined its publication.’ The Spaulding theory is advanced and supported by the following, in addition to the eight witnesses whose testimony was given by Howe in his Mormonism Unveiled. Mrs Matilda Spaulding Davidson, once wife of Solomon Spaulding, said to Rev. D. R. Austin, who had the statement printed in the Boston Recorder, May 1839, that Spaulding was in the habit of reading portions of his romance to his friends and neighbors. When John Spaulding heard read for the first time passages from the book of Mormon he ‘recognized perfectly the work of his brother. He was amazed and afflicted that it should have been perverted to so wicked a purpose. His grief found vent in a flood of tears, and he arose on the spot and expressed to the meeting his sorrow and regret that the writings of his deceased brother should be used for a purpose so vile and shocking.’ Statements to the same effect are given as coming from Mrs McKinstry, daughter of Spaulding, printed in Scribner's Monthly, August 1880; W. H. Sabine, brother of Mrs Spaulding; Joseph Miller, whose statements were printed in the Pittsburgh Telegraph, Feb. 6, 1879; Redick McKee in the Washington Reporter, April 21, 1869; Rev. Abner Jackson in a communication to the Washington County Historical Society, printed in the Washington Reporter, Jan. 7, 1881, and others. See also Kidder's Mormonism, 37–49; California—Its Past History, 198–9; Ferris' Utah and Mormons, 50–1; Gunnison's Mormons, 93–7; Bertrand's Mémoires d'un Mormon, 33–44; ''Hist. of Mormons, 41–50; Bennett's Mormonism, 115–24; Howe's Mormonism'', 289–90.

Robert Patterson, in his pamphlet entitled Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? thus discusses the case of Sidney Rigdon: ‘It was satisfactorily proven that Spaulding was the author of the book of Mormon; but how did Joseph Smith obtain a copy of it? The theory hitherto most widely published,’ says Patterson, ‘and perhaps generally accepted, has been that Rigdon was a printer in Patterson's printing-office when the Spaulding manuscript was brought there in 1812–14, and that he either copied or purloined it. Having it thus in his possession, the use made of it was an after thought suggested by circumstances many years later. More recently another theory has been advanced, that Rigdon obtained possession of the Spaulding manuscript during his pastorate of the first baptist church or soon thereafter, 1822–4, without any necessary impropriety on his part, but rather through the courtesy of some friend, in whose possession it remained unclaimed, and who regarded it as a literary curiosity. The friends of Rigdon, in response to the first charge, deny that he ever resided in Pittsburgh previous to 1822, or that he ever was a printer, and in general answer to both charges affirm that he never at any time had access to Spaulding's manuscript.’ Rigdon denies emphatically that he ever worked in Patterson's printing-office or knew of such an establishment; and the testimony, produced by Patterson, of Carvil Rigdon, Sidney's brother, Peter Boyer, his brother-in-law, Isaac King, Samuel Cooper, Robert Dubois, and Mrs Lambdin points in the same direction. On