Have you ever read the Spalding Manuscript? It’s hilarious! I’m going to read passages and review the plot of the Spalding Manuscript. You tell me if you think it is simliar to the Book of Mormon.
Reading Spalding Manuscript
GT 00:20 Now, my belief is, if you want to believe the Spaulding manuscript, which I have a hard time with, just read the manuscript. Honestly, it felt to me like I was reading Gilligan’s Island. It’s that kind of humor. So, we’ll do that in just a minute. But E.D. Howe sold his newspaper for $600. But the newspaper folded later that year in January of 1835. A man by the name of L.L. Rice purchased the assets of the Painesville Telegraph in 1839 to 1840. Rice then moved to Hawaii and took all the documents with him. In the 1880s, James Fairchild, who was the president of Oberlin College in Ohio, suggested that Rice look through the documents and search of pre-Civil War slavery information. It was at that point that the Spalding document was discovered. L. L. Rice notes, “There is no identity of names of person or places and there is no similarity of style between them.” Rice continues. This is a letter to Joseph Smith, the third in 1885. Rice says, “I am of the opinion that no one who reads the manuscript will give credit to the story that Solomon Spalding was in any wise the author of the Book of Mormon. Finally, I am more than half convinced that this is his only writing of the sort, and that any pretense that Spalding was in any sense the author of the other, is a sheer fabrication. It is easy for anybody who may have seen this or heard anything of its contents to get up the story that they are identical.”
GT 02:11 So, I’ve got a link here.[1] You can actually view the manuscript. I’ve got a screenshot there. It was donated, originally, to the Community of Christ, and Joseph Smith, the third. Then, it was housed at Oberlin College. And if you go to archive.org, or you can click on this link, it will take you right to the Solomon Spalding manuscript, because it had no name. And you’ll even notice here, if you read it, there are some cross outs in there. It looks more almost like a rough draft. But I mean, it’s honestly hilarious. It’s really like reading Gilligan’s Island meets the Indians or something. So, it was first published in 1885 and Lamoni, Iowa. Jumping back to E.D. Howe, he “admitted that he had Spalding’s manuscript, and we’re going to prove that this is the manuscript that he had here in just a few minutes. “It was obvious that the former minister’s work, a secular text, was not the source of the Book of Mormon, ‘a lofty religious tome.’ Although the introduction, ethnological assumptions and mystical lore were undeniably similar, to explain the enigmatic gaps in genre and plot, Howe wrote that his witnesses claimed Spalding had, ‘altered his first plan of light writing, by going farther back with dates and writing the old scripture style, in order that it might appear more ancient.’”
GT 03:48 So, Howe further purported that through some unspecified means, and the details are always really fuzzy on this, I will say, people who still believe this, Rigdon must have secured this hypothetical second revised manuscript, while he was living in Pittsburgh. He concluded, “We, therefore, must hold out Sidney Rigdon to the world as being the original author and proprietor of the whole Mormon conspiracy, until further light is elicited upon the Lost writings of Solomon Spalding.”
GT 04:21 So even E.D. Howe knew and Philastus Hurlburt knew [that] this doesn’t—I mean, it just bears superficial resemblance to the Book of Mormon. And so, therefore, clear back in 1834, they’re already saying, “Well, there must be another manuscript. Clearly, it’s not this one.”
GT 04:43 But I just say read it. I’ve got a screenshot here of some of the introduction that you can see from that archive.org website. I will say this. The introduction bears some striking resemblance to Joseph Smith’s History. The introduction states that the author found “a flat stone and raised it with a lever,” which sounds very similar to Joseph Smith’s account. The stone was found near Conneaut River near a fort. And you could read that there, but I’m going to jump ahead. So, a lot of the stories of finding the manuscript, and it’s a manuscript, not gold plates. I’ll mention that. You can definitely see some similarities with Joseph Smith’s story. But that’s kind of where it ends.
GT 05:41 The stone leads to a cave with a door and I love how Solomon Spalding spelled door, D O A R. He had some atrocious spelling. Quoting from the manuscript story kind of sounds similar to Joseph Smith, “My mind filled with awful sensations, which crowded fast upon me, would hardly permit my hands to remove this venerable deposit.” He goes on to say that it contains 28 rolls of parchment. And this is where we start to diverge a little bit, “written in elegant,” and I love how he spelled elegant, E L I G A N T, “hand with Roman letters and in the Latin language.” So, [there was] no reformed Egyptian. We’re definitely Rome and Latin. Here we go. My favorite thing, he talks about “healthy bucksom lassies.” And so that’s why I titled this slide [“Healthy Bucksom Lassies.”] I’ve got some extremely poor spelling. he can’t spell Mississippi. He can’t spell Europeans extricated from the “Watry” tomb. The king stepped forward S T E P T. It talks about the Indians performing many odd gesticulations; the timber which we hewed, H U E D, on two sides. And then the healthy buxom lassies. That’s actually a pretty funny story. If you really want to enjoy some light reading, it really is like Gilligan’s Island, or The Monkeys or something like that.
GT 07:27 But let’s talk a little bit about some of the main characters. Fabius was the leader of the ship. The Emperor Constantine sent Fabius to go to Britain, which he misspells constantly [B R I T T I A N.] Some of the other characters are Lucien and Trojanus, Droll Tom. When he talks about the Indians, he refers to them as Deliwanucks, kind of sounds like Delaware. The Ohans, or Ohians. The Sciota and the Kentuck Indians. They’re all having very American sounding names. We’ll talk about the storm. I mean, this bears some really superficial resemblance to the storm that Nephi experienced. It says that “they arrived near the coast of Britain, when a tremendous storm arose and drove us into the midst of the boundless ocean. Soon the whole crew became lost and bewildered. They knew not the direction or to the rising sun or polar star, for the heavens were covered with clouds and darkness had spread her sable mantle over the face of the raging deep. Their minds were filled with constant consternation and despair.” And then crossed out is, “And unanimously agree that.” He crossed that out. “What could we do? How will be extricated from the insatiable jaws of a watry tomb? Then it was that we felt our absolute dependence on the Almighty and gracious being who holds the winds and floods in,” and then it’s, “illegible hands. On him alone could we expect deliverance?” So I mean, you can you can see some very superficial similarities, but I mean, when you read it, to me, it’s pretty clear that this is not the Book of Mormon. Let’s jump into chapter one. I think just reading the manuscript is the best evidence against the theory.
GT 09:38 “But when they landed in America on the fifth day, after we came in sight of sand, we entered a spacious river and continued sailing up the,” illegible, probably river, but I don’t know what it says there. “Many leagues until we came in view of a town. Immediately the natives ran with apparent signs and surprise and astonishment to the bank of the river. After viewing us for some time and receiving signs of friendship, they appeared to hold a council for a few minutes. Their king then stepped, S T E P T forward to the edge of the bank and proffered us a hand of friendship and by significant gestures invited us to land, promising us protection and hospitality. We now found ourselves once more on terra firma and were conducted by the king and four chiefs into a town, whilst the multitude followed after, shouting and performing many odd gesticulations.
GT 10:43 So it goes on to talk about sharing a meal. The Indians, “fell to dancing, shouting, whooping and screaming at intervals, then dancing, jumping and tumbling with many indescribable distortions in their countenance and indelicate gestures. In fact, they appear more like a company of devils than human beings.” I don’t know about you, but this does not sound like the Lamanites by any stretch. It sounds like the caricature of the Indians that I’m sure was common in the 1800s or even if you want to go back to 1799. I thought I would give you guys kind of a—I’m not going to read the whole thing to you. It’s 162 pages, but the contents of Manuscript Found, Chapter one talks about Fabius. He’s the hero of the thing. He was born in Rome, and he goes on a mission to Brittain, with two T’s. He discovered a new land inhabited by natives with many odd gesticulations, dancing and singing. Often these natives bark like dogs and sounded like bullfrogs. I don’t get any of that in the Book of Mormon.
GT 12:00 Chapter Two: “Fabius negotiates a treaty with the natives to obtain six wigwams.” I don’t think the word wigwam is even in the Book of Mormon. “In return, the natives received 50 knives and a scarlet cloth. Captain Lucian and Fabius become judges over their crew and built houses of worship.” So, we’ve got a little bit of religion in here, I guess, if you count that. “Fabius and crew were Christians, of course. Trojanus becomes their minister of choice. Since there were seven women on board, these women are allowed to make their choice of which man to marry,” because they’re clearly not getting back to Britain. “…leaving six men single.” Fabian notes that the natives were, “uncivilized, like an orangutan,” which is just a great spelling. {Orang outang] “They ate dinner, got drunk and retired two by two, hand in hand, ladies heads a little awry, blushing like the morn. They resolved to build a church.” It’s funny. It’s hilarious, I think.
GT 12:01 Chapter Three, the language of the natives was the Delawanucks. They were tall, wore loincloths and clothing was made of animal hair. The one half of the head of the man was shaved and painted with red, and one half of the face was painted black. Dogs were sacrificed to their God and Fabius tells of a strange mud wrestling ceremony.
GT 13:35 Chapter Four, Fabius begins a strange discussion about whether the sun or the Earth is the center of the universe. He decided to go up the river to find other civilization. Fabius, Crito and a Delawan interpreter meet the king and bring an animal called a mammoon. Maybe that’s a baboon. I don’t know what that is. A mammoon is bigger than an elephant, docile, provides milk and its fur is shaved to make clothing. I don’t know what that is. Credo notes that these people are also ignorant savages, but they are kind, like Christians. They go up the Suscowan river, to a city called Owkwahon and receive further gifts from the king there.
GT 14:28 Chapter Five: After further travels, Fabius and crew meet the new race of people. They meet a group of farmers with domesticated animals, such as elk, turkeys and gees or geese. (Chuckling) This group of people manufactures iron, lead and steel tools. They make beautiful pottery, but buildings are very simple.
GT 14:50 Chapter Six: Fabius reports that a group of people called the Ohons had an alphabet and wrote on parchment. Their constitution and laws are committed to writing. They love to write poetry. And then I don’t know what Relion 7 is. I was trying to decide if that was supposed to be religion. I think it’s chapter seven. They do discuss religion. These Native Americans believed in an omnipotent being who is self-existent and infinitely good and benevolent. This being formed seven sons that manage the affairs of his empire. There’s also another great intelligent being who is self-existent and possessed of great power, but not of omnipotence. He is filled with infinite malice against the good being and exerts all the subtlety and power to ruin his works.
GT 15:47 There’s two chapter eights. The first chapter eight is an account of Baska. A partial story of a man named Baska is told. He was celebrated as a man of the most brilliant and extraordinary talents. And then in the second chapter eight, Spalding takes a break from the story with a few sketches of biography and proceeds to tell of “of the great and illustrious Lobaska.” He is the man who first introduced their present method of writing. For instance, he is represented as forming a curious machine and having placed himself upon it. He mounted it into the atmosphere and ascended a great height, and having sailed a considerable distance through the air. He descended slowly and received no damage that multitudes of astonished spectators had a number of times seen him perform this miraculous exploit. All right, there’s only 14 chapters I’m just trying to give you a quick summary of every chapter.
GT 16:57 Chapter nine. The people lived on both sides of the Ohio River, excepting the cities of the Golanga and Gamba, whose kings claim jurisdiction over an extant of country of about 150 miles along the river Ohio. Lobaska devised a system of government with a design of establishing two great empires, one on each side of the river Ohio, the Scioton constitution. I think it’s great that these guys are practically democrats or are practicing democracy. He is described as the Emperor Labamack, the oldest son of Lobaska. The government will pass to his eldest son, and they must marry within the Scioton kingdom. Money shall not depreciate. I don’t know how that happens, but okay. Lambon, the third son of Lobaska, shall preside over them and shall have the title of high priest.
GT 17:59 Chapter 10 deals with the military arrangements, amusements, customs and the extent of the empires. The Sciota and Kentuck Indians believed that a strong military was the best deterrent. That sounds like modern beliefs here. Both groups held military drills for soldiers four times a year with a mock battle once per year. Then Spalding talks about courting rituals. Men and women wear different colors of feathers to show that they are available. Once a couple has decided they like each other, they meet the parents and arrange to date 10 times within 60 days. If all goes well, marriage follows.
GT 18:45 Chapter 11. The Sciota had a son named Elseon and the Kentucks had a daughter, Lamesa, of marrying age. Their constitutions said they were only to marry within the kingdom. This was kind of a Romeo and Juliet kind of a thing, you can tell. However, an exception was made to allow them to marry. Some were not happy and tried to disrupt the wedding. But finally, Elseon and Lamesa were married in a traditional wedding. It’s just hilarious to read this.
GT 19:21 Chapter 12. Following their marriage Elseon of the Kentucks and his bride, Lamesa of this Sciota, they surreptitiously leave for the land of the Kentucks. Apparently, this was not part of the bargain of the Sciota. They demanded that Lamesa return to Sciota and if she did not return, they would declare war on the Kentucks. It was their understanding that they would remain in Sciota. After much discussion, the Kentucks would not return Lamesa, but offered to give the Sciota something as reparations to avert war.
GT 19:58 Chapter 13. Almost done here. There are quite a few speeches from the leaders of the Sciota and the Kentucks about how to handle the situation. The Sciota considered reparations and asked for the death of Elseon. Of course, that was rejected. And so they made preparations for war. Lamesa and Elseon felt sad for starting the conflict but declare their love for each other.
GT 20:25 And then we’re on to Chapter 14. So, it’s the last chapter, although it doesn’t actually appear to be finished. The war grinds on. There’s a lot of deaths. At one point the two sides declare a two-day armistice so they can bury the dead. The leaders begin to work on different stratagems to win. They attack at night, assuming the other side is asleep. Once again, there’s a lot more deaths. They bury the dead and a giant mound of mass graves. That leads to the mound builder myth in the Ohio area, you can tell. King Sambul, the king of the Sciota attacks af fort and finds Lamesa. Cruelly, he kills a woman trying to protect Lamesa. Lamesa asks him to kill her, too, because she does not want to return. Then Elseon leads a counterattack on the fort and ends up fighting Sambul hand in hand combat. Elseon kills Samuel with the sword and frees everyone in the fort. The war appears to be winding down with the death of Sambul. But it is not clear how the story ends. It just ends very abruptly. There’s a little bit more of the manuscript, but it does not appear to be part of the story. To me, it appears to be Spalding talking in his own voice, not of the book. I’ll quote a little bit here.
{End of Part 2}
[1] See https://archive.org/details/themanuscriptsto00spauuoft
