Pratt personally gave him one after 15 october 1830. The biostatistician didnt start out in book of mormon apologetics, but when a stanfordproduced article used a statisticalclassification method to conclude that sidney rigdon wrote the book of mormon, schaalje was irked. Sidney rigdon quotes regarding book of mormon and joseph. This is the video presentation delivered by bryce blankenagel at the seattle sunstone symposium 11192016 on the life of sidney rigdon and his influence on mormon history. Additionally rigdon, who was a preacher, weaved his own religious views into the story. Rigdon give this valuable statement as to his fathers position respecting the book of mormon, but he adds the following from his mother. In 1830, oliver passes through kirtland where sidney rigdon and followers are converted.
Howe attacked the authenticity of the book of mormon by adopting philastus hurlbuts argument that sidney rigdon purloined the manuscript story of solomon spaulding see spaulding manuscript, plagiarized it to compose the book of mormon, and gave it to joseph smith to publish under his name. Recent research demonstrates that its diversity of styles is unusually high, even greater than the combined. Pratt, a member of rigdons kirtland congregation, who had joined the church of christ in palmyra in september 1830. He hated contention and doctrinal disputes, and envisioned an idyllic society in which people lived together in peace and harmony. A new wordprint study on the book of mormon breathes new life to a longchallenged theory for book of mormon authorship, the theory that its real author was solomon spalding secretly assisted by sidney rigdon. Sidney rigdon, the real founder of mormonism 1885, pg 145. He was the youngest of four children of william and nancy rigdon.
Sidney rigdons final confession about joseph smith and the origin of the book of mormon. The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification. Joseph smith, emma smith, martin harris, sidney rigdon, oliver cowdery, etc. Richardson in april 1830, walter scott discusses how sidney rigdon would take the teachings of others and herald them everywhere p. It attempted to prove that natives had descended from the ancient israelites. Rigdon believed that anything that brought people to christ was good. The theory that sidney rigdon was the true author of the book of mormon first appeared in print in an august 31, 1831, article by james gordon bennett, who had visited palmyramanchester area and interviewed several residents. An american, james adair, wrote a book a history of the american indians in 1775. After my fathers death, my mother, who survived him several years, was in the enjoyment of good health up to the time of her last sickness, she being eightysix years old. Sidney rigdon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
The lords words will hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, 2 ne. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of the. In 1839, rigdon published a letter to the editor in which he denied that he had anything to do with the creation of the book of mormon. The next step is to study the background and motivations of those responsible for its production. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Jun 18, 2015 this theory says much of the story of the book of mormon was plagiarized from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. Craig criddle evidence of rigdons involvement with the book of mormon manuscript. The book of mormon gave rigdon answers to questions which he had been. In 1982, the focus was on solomon spalding and sidney rigdon. The traditions of mormon samesex marriage advocates encounter boyd k.
The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Sidney rigdon american religious leader britannica. Early american influences on the book of mormon author. For five years after publication of howes mormonism unvailed on nov 28, 1834, rigdon and smith provided no written rebuttal to that book s central thesis, i. Those making a case for rigdon often include a missing spalding manuscript. Sidney rigdon was born in saint clair township, allegheny county, pennsylvania, february 19, 1793, the youngest son of william and nancy rigdon. It depends on who you ask and who and what you believe, and whether or not your bosom burns. In creating his conjecture philastus hurlbut ignored the fact that sidney rigdon never even saw a copy of the book of mormon until parley p. Joseph smith, the book of mormon, and the american. The history of sidney rigdon the history of joseph smith.
Using computerized text and powerful statistical techniques, they were able to establish that the different sections of the book of mormon were authored by different people and that none was authored by joseph smith, sidney rigdon, oliver cowdery, or other 19thcentury candidates put forth by book of mormon critics. Rigdons role as author was also proposed in an august 1831 article by james gordon bennett, who had visited the palmyramanchester area and interviewed several residents. Some historians believe that rigdon, rather than smith, wrote the book of mormon. From cancer to the book of mormon and back byu magazine. The lord had said, in the book of mormon, that he would raise up to joseph smith a spokesman. The theory that sidney rigdon was the true author of the book of mormon first appeared in print. Reported that the book of mormon was produced there in a series of s ancelike sessions. The book shows by citing signed affidavits and letters from the people of palmyra, that joseph smith and sidney rigdon. The authors concluded that major portions of the book of mormon exhibited sidney rigdon and solomon spauldings writing style, thus creating a resurgence of interest in the spaulding theory. The lord covenanted with enos to bring forth the book of mormon to the lamanites, enos 1. In that essay, i explained my background and biases with respect to the book of mormon, and i explained how i came to the conclusion that sidney rigdon was its likely architect. Im not a mormon and i believe the bom sprang from the mind of joseph smith, but i have no sympathy for proponents of the spaldingrigdon theory because it is such a weak, poorlybuttressed alternative explanation.
The lectures on faith and two sections from the doctrine and. The spauldingridgon theory asserts that the primary author of the book of mormon was sidney rigdon as the result of a secret conspiracy with oliver cowdrey and joseph smith which began sometime in 1827. Joseph smith was to translate the book of mormon, and sidney rigdon was to take it, and gather israel. Sidney is also mentioned in book of mormon prophecy ill get to that one on p. What are the pros and cons of the spauldingrigdon theory. Those making a case for rigdon often include a missing spalding manuscript mormonleaks who really wrote the book of mormon.
July 8, 2012 by wvs in 1844, mormonism was in for its biggest historical moment so far. In this book i explore the real genesis of the book of mormon relying on family documents and published. The partridge sisters, lucy walker, fanny alger, the lawrence sisters. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon. The 19th century writers included sidney rigdon, solomon spaulding, joseph smith, w. Sidney rigdon after losing the power struggle with brigham young for control of the mormon lds church. Sidney rigdon, a portrait of religious excess, pg 35. Farnham, travels in the great western prairies, the anahuac and rocky mountains, and in the oregon territory, poughkeepsie, new york. Sidney rigdon true author of the book of mormon and. Sidney rigdon had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of the book of mormon and never claimed he did.
Rigdons powerful rhetoric helped bring thousands to mormonism. Sidney rigdon s final confession about joseph smith and the origin of the book of mormon. Previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself. The book of mormon was written for the intent that we may believe the bible, morm.
Rigdon, the son of sydney rigdon visited utah and spent the winter among the mormons. Sidney rigdons confession to his son about the book of mormon. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. Examining a misapplication of nearest shrunken centroid classification to investigate book of mormon authorship. Nancy, daughter of early church leader sidney rigdon is a prime example of. According to the spaldingrigdon theory, the book of mormon is the product of a pious fraud perpetrated by sidney rigdon, aided and abetted. Sidney rigdon, american churchman, an early convert to mormonism 1830. In 1888, walter sidney rigdon, sidney rigdons grandson, said that his grandfathers role. Introduction to the book of mormon and to the spalding authorship claims. This explanation, originating in 1834, has been repeated by many antimormon writers ever since. Jul 08, 2012 sidney rigdon, the manuscript history of the church and making sermons texts. Pratt, was a former member of his congregation who had returned to share the book of mormon and news of the restoration with his mentor.
What are the pros and cons of the spauldingrigdon theory of. During his lifetime rigdon and members of his family consistently denied any connection with spaulding, and after the discovery in 1885 of one of spauldings. Rigdon, sidney s son, asks his dad if he wrote the book of mormon or if josephs story about golden plates is true. These writers include sidney rigdon, solomon spalding, w. Accept joseph smith as a prophet and the book as the miraculously revealed and revered word of the lord or else consign both man and book to hades for the devastating deception of it all my name is john rigdon great nephew of sidney rigdon. Absence of joseph smith in the book of mormon religious. A portrait of religious excess is an outstanding study of one of the most significant early leaders of mormonism. How much was sidney rigdon involved with the creation of.
Sidney rigdon, the manuscript history of the church and. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of the book. Upon pratts return to ohio, rigdon reportedly learned of smith and the book of mormon and was baptized by pratt. Sidney rigdon was a christian minister, and one of the visitors, parley p. According to evidence presented by the authors, it was oliver cowdery, who eventually brought rigdon and smith together, and who later served as smiths personal scribe during the process of creating the book of mormon from spaldings manuscript. Jan 29, 2015 im not a mormon and i believe the bom sprang from the mind of joseph smith, but i have no sympathy for proponents of the spalding rigdon theory because it is such a weak, poorlybuttressed alternative explanation. Gregory although sidney rigdon was a prominent and wellknown figure in early mormon history, his life and thought after his excommunication from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints are almost completely unknown to latterday saints today. Spaldingbook of mormon textual parallels, plus an important study of unique word parallels. Rigdon, although initially resistant, eventually accepted the book of. Roberts, a president of the seventy and one of the foremost mormon scholars of the early twentieth century, elaborated.
Sidney rigdon, a portrait of religious excess, pgs 4041. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of the book of mormon. To build the population, he sent missionaries across north america and into. Meaning, if you could disprove that sidney rigdon used manuscript found authored by solomon spalding as the source of the book of mormon, then this proved that josephs claims of the book of mormon were correct. This hypothesis for the formulation of the book of mormon can best be summed up thus. The following article is part of a larger study on sidney rigdon soon to be published by. Today we share the story of nancy rigdon and the happiness letter. Having been an active mormon for 35 years, and semiactive for another seven, i feel i have a pretty good picture of the lds church, its history, and motives. Mar 01, 2012 the spaldingrigdon theory claims that sidney rigdon, an early leader of the latter day movement, met spaldings publisher in pittsburgh and obtained a manuscript originally written by spalding.
The idea is that sidney rigdon got a hold of the manuscript and used it to author the book of mormon. The book of mormon and the bible will grow together, 2 ne. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. Criddles note on the wordprint analysis performed by. Van wagoner shows how rigdon contributed to church policy and was a lightning rod for backlash to it in. Jan 16, 2018 previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself. Clair township, allegheny county, pennsylvania, about 10 miles south of pittsburgh. Recent research demonstrates that its diversity of styles is unusually high, even greater than. Question about sidney rigdon and joseph smith bofm.
An analysis of wordprints, book of mormon authorship, 181. Traditionally, wordprint studies have used a statistical technique known as the delta method. 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. In 1888, walter sidney rigdon sidney rigdons grandson said that his grandfathers role in fabrication of the book of mormon was a family secret. Bruce schaaljes bs 77, ms 79 research is furthering cancertumor classificationand, at the same time, defending the book of mormon.
Sidney rigdon wrote the book with a little help from friends. How much was sidney rigdon involved with the creation of the. Pomeroy tuckers picture of sidney rigdon preaching in palmyra, new york, in 1830 episode 03. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormons different styles are in any way unique or impressive. Creating the book of mormon, epaper, originally published 8 october 2005. Sidney rigdon embraced mormonism without much investigation. The book of mormon is not an ancient document but a 19th century work of fiction. Campbellite doctrine in the book of mormon beggars bread. This is a followup to my article, joseph smith and the american renaissance, published in dialogue.
For five years after publication of howes mormonism unvailed on nov 28, 1834, rigdon and smith provided no written rebuttal to that books central thesis, i. Orson hyde who happened to be with rigdon in 1827 knew about the gold bible but the chance for rigdon to be in league with joseph smith during the creation of. Criddle does not present his conclusions as offering positive proof of the book s true origins, but instead attempts to track signs authorship through a chronological narrative of the old spalding rigdon explanation for the book of mormon. Jun 16, 2018 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. According to this theory, rigdon obtained from a pittsburgh publisher a manuscript for a historical novel written by solomon spalding, and by reworking it and adding a theological component, had created the book of mormon. Similar analysis showed that the sound correspondences in the names sidney rigdon, parley pratt, oliver cowdery, ethan smith, and solomon spalding individuals proposed as book of mormon authors were different than correspondences with joseph smith in the unique names of the book of mormon, but not enough to identify any as a possible author. 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. The book of mormon is the joint production of solomon spaulding and some other designing knave. Desnews did sidney rigdon write the book of mormon. Sidney rigdon true author of the book of mormon and founder. Young sidney rigdon seeking fame and fortune through religion. It was cowdery who eventually brought rigdon and smith together, and then later served as smiths personal scribe during the process of creating the book of mormon from spaldings manuscript.
A woman who lived with the rigdon family in bainbridge, ohio, in 1826 allegedly. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of. The person primarily responsible for the book of mormon was an evangelical preacher named sidney rigdon. There are multiple examples of joseph smiths manipulation of vulnerable women in order to pressure them into a polygamous relationships. Joseph smith didnt even write the book, which is what most liberal mormons assert when the historical claims are refuted via archaeological and other scientific evidence. Rigdon then allegedly added a theological component to the manuscript, thus creating the book of mormon. Rigdon resided in the pittsburgh area until 1818, and then spent the next dozen years in various locations around western pennsylvania and eastern ohio.
Reports that in bainbridge, ohio, sidney rigdon engaged in seancelike sessions with others in adjacent places to produce the book of mormon. Nov 22, 2016 this is the video presentation delivered by bryce blankenagel at the seattle sunstone symposium 11192016 on the life of sidney rigdon and his influence on mormon history. The theory that sidney rigdon was the true author of the book of mormon first appeared in print in a february 15, 1831 article. Rigdon acquires a copy of manuscript found soon after submission of manuscript found, spaldings manuscript came to the attention of sidney rigdon age 20 in 18, a farmhand and apprentice tanner who supplied the pittsburgh printing shop with leather book bindings. Creating the book of mormon at two locations on the internet. The historical case against sidney rigdon s authorship of the book of mormon. In late october of 1830, roughly six months after the publication of the book of mormon, four lds missionaries including parley pratt, who had known sidney rigdon previously came through kirtland, ohio, where sidney had built up a communal church, and introduced him to both the book of mormon and mormonism.
Rigdon, sidneys son, asks his dad if he wrote the book of mormon or if josephs story about golden plates is true. Rigdon s father was a farmer and a native of harford county, maryland. In the fall of 2005, i posted an essay sidney rigdon. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Criddle does not present his conclusions as offering positive proof of the books true origins, but instead attempts to track signs authorship through a chronological narrative of the old spaldingrigdon explanation for the book of mormon. Although criddles lecture is accompanied by numerous examples of relevent evidence, it is a. In this book i explore the real genesis of the book of mormon relying on family documents and published affidavits of people who witnessed firsthand the creation of the book of mormon men and women who knew joseph smith and sidney rigdon personally. His father died when he was but seventeen, and he continued on the home farm with his mother until he was twentysix years of age, when he went to reside with a baptist minister by the name of andrew.