1840-08-Western Messenger-The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon

Western Messenger, v. 8 n. 4, August 1840, p. 189

THE BOOK OF MORMON.


We republished in the Messenger, a year since, a letter 
purporting to be from Mrs. 
Spaulding, tending to show 
the Mormon Bible (as it is 
called) to be a forgery. We 
now, in justice to the Mor
mons, republish the following 
papers tending to show that 
letter to have been a forgery:

To the Editors of the New Era:

Sir:—In your paper of the 25th inst. 
there is an article copied from the Bos
ton Recorder, headed "Mormon Bible," 
and signed "Matilda Davidson," which, 
justice to our society and to the public 
requires me to answer, and I trust that a 
sense of justice will induce you sir, to 
give your readers both sides of the question.

I am one of the society who believe 
the "Book of Mormon," and as such I 
am assailed in the statement professing 
to come from Matilda Davidson.

The piece in your paper states that 
"Sidney Rigdon was connected in the 
printing office of Mr. Patterson," (in 
Pittsburgh) and that "this is a fact well 
known in that region, and as Rigdon 
himself has frequently stated. Here he 
had an ample opportunity to become acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript (Romance) and to copy it if he 
chose." This statement is utterly and 
entirely false. Mr. Rigdon was never 
connected with the said printing establishment, either directly, or indirectly, and we defy the world to bring proof of any such connection. Now the person 
or persons who fabricated that falsehood, 
would do well to repent, and become per
sons of truth and veracity before they 
express such acute sensibility concerning 
the religious pretensions of others. The 
statement that Mr. Rigdon is one of the 
founders of the said religious sect is also 
incorrect.

The sect was founded in the state of 
New York while Mr. Rigdon resided in 
Ohio, several hundred miles distant. Mr. 
Rigdon embraced the doctrine through 
my instrumentality. I first presented the 
Book of Mormon to him. I stood upon 
the bank of the stream while he was baptized, and assisted to officiate in his ordination, and I myself was unacquainted 
with the system until some months after 
its organization, which was on the sixth 
of April, 1830, and I embraced it in 
September following.

The piece further states that "a woman preacher appointed a meeting at 
New Salem, Ohio, and in the meeting 
read and repeated copious extracts from 
the Book of Mormon. Now it is a fact 
well known, that we have not had a female preacher in our connection, for we 
do not believe in a female priesthood. It 
further says that the excitement in New 
Salem became so great that the inhabitants had a meeting and deputed Doctor 
Philaster Hulburt, one of their members, 
to repair to Spaulding's widow, and obtain from her the original manuscript of 
the Romance, &c. But the statement 
does not say whether he obtained tho 
manuscript, but still leaves the impression that he did, and that it was compared with the Book of Mormon. Now 
whoever will read the work got up by said Hulburt entitled 'Mormonism Unveiled,' 
will find that he there slates that the said 
manuscript of Spaulding's romance was 
lost and could no where be found. But 
the widow is here made to say that it is 
carefully preserved. Here seems to be 
some knavery or crooked work; and no 
wonder, for this said Hulburt is one of 
the most notorious rascals in tho western 
country. He was first cut off from our 
society for an attempt at seduction and 
crime, and secondly he was laid under 
bonds in Geauga county, Ohio, for 
threatening to murder Joseph Smith, Jr., 
after which he laid a deep design of the 
Spaulding romance imposition, in which 
he has been backed by evil and designing 
men in different parts of the country, and 
sometimes by those who do not wish to 
do wrong, but who are ignornnt on the 
subject. Now what but falsehood could be expected from such a person? Now 
if there is such a manuscript in existence, 
let it come forward at once, and not be 
kept in the dark. Again, if the public 
will be patient, they will doubtless find 
that the piece signed "Matilda Davidson" [Spaulding's widow] is a base fabrication by priest Storrs of Holliston, 
Mass., in order to save his craft, after 
losing the deacon of his church, and several of its most pious and intelligent 
members, who left his society to embrace 
what they considered to be truth. At 
any rate, a judge of literary productions, 
who can swallow that piece of writing as 
the production of a woman in private 
life, can be made to believe that the 
Book of Mormon is a romance. For the 
one is as much like a romance as the 
other is like a woman's composition.

The production, signed Matilda Davidson, is evidently the work of a man 
accumstomed to public address, and the 
Book of Mormon I know to be true, and 
the Spaulding story, as far as the origin 
of the Book of Mormon is connected 
with it, I know to be false.

I now leave the subject with a candid 
public, with a sincere desire, that those 
who have been deluded with such vain 
and foolish lies, may be undeceived.

Editors, who have given publicity to 
the Spaulding story, will do an act of 
justice by giving publicity to the foregoing.           P. P. PRATT.

N. Y. Nov. 27th, 1839.