Origin of the Book of Mormon
Encyclopedia
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The most common theory accepted by adherents is that promoted by Joseph Smith, Jr., who said he translated the work from an ancient set of golden plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
inscribed by prophets, which Smith discovered near his home in Palmyra, New York
Palmyra, New York
Palmyra, New York may refer to:*Palmyra , New York*Palmyra , New York...
in the 1820s after being told to go there by the angel Moroni, a character from the Book of Mormon. Besides Smith himself, there are more than 11 witnesses
Book of Mormon witnesses
The Book of Mormon witnesses are a group of contemporaries of Joseph Smith, Jr. who said they saw the golden plates from which Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon...
who said they saw the plates physically (three claiming to have been visited by an angel as well) in 1829. There are also many other witnesses, some of them friendly to Smith and some hostile, who observed him dictating the text that eventually became the Book of Mormon.
Nevertheless, critics have explored a number of issues, including (1) whether Joseph Smith actually had golden plates, or whether the text of the Book of Mormon originated in his mind or through inspiration; (2) whether it was Smith himself who composed the book's text, or whether an associate of Smith's such as Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
or Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
could have composed the text; and (3) whether the book was based on a prior work such as the View of the Hebrews, the Spalding Manuscript, or the Bible.
Summary of theories
There are differing views on the origin of the Book of Mormon.- Joseph Smith's own account that he translated an ancient record compiled and abridged by Mormon, a pre-ColumbianPre-ColumbianThe pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
resident of the Western Hemisphere who recorded the spiritual history of generations of his people, and the teachings of their ancestors, the Hebrews. - Joseph Smith as the sole author, without external assistance. These theories assume that Smith was educated and intelligent enough to have produced the work on his own, although, at the time, his education barely reached above the third-grade level. One line of thinking proposed by several authors is that the Book of Mormon is a "primary source" reflecting events in Smith's own life.
- Joseph Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries. There are two main theories representing this point-of-view: the View of the Hebrews theory, and the Spalding-RigdonSpalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorshipThe Spalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship is the theory that the Book of Mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by Solomon Spalding. This theory first appeared in print in the book Mormonism Unvailed, published in 1834 by E.D. Howe...
theory.
- One of Smith's associates as the author, who then allowed Smith to take the credit.
- The work is a divinely inspired narrative regardless of its historicity (i.e. "inspired fiction").
- The work is not a divinely inspired narrative. This view has been held by all non-Mormon Christian churches since the appearance of the Book of Mormon.
- The book was written by Joseph Smith through a process known as "automatic writingAutomatic writingAutomatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
."
Joseph Smith's own account of the authorship of the Book of Mormon
According to the accounts of Joseph Smith and his associates, the original record was engraved on thin, malleable sheets of metal with the appearance of goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and bound with three rings at one edge. The leaves were engraved on both sides with considerable skill. According to the account presented in the book, the prophet-historian named "Mormon" abridged the [mostly religious and non-secular] records of the local civilizations from the preceding thousand years. Mormon then delivered the account to his son, Moroni, who added a few words of his own and concealed the plates about AD 400
400
Year 400 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus...
. At the end of Moroni's ministry (approximately AD 421
421
Year 421 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius...
), he placed these plates along with several other items in a stone box in a hillside (now named the Hill Cumorah
Cumorah
Cumorah is a drumlin in Manchester, New York, where Joseph Smith, Jr...
) near Palmyra, New York
Palmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
.
On September 21, 1823, this same Moroni, then a resurrected being, appeared to Joseph Smith Jr. to instruct him about this ancient record and its destined translation into the English language. Smith was shown the location of the plates (including the other items in the box), but was not immediately allowed to take them. This is possibly because he may have had thoughts of using them to get gain for his financially struggling family. After four years of meeting with the angel and being instructed, he was finally entrusted with the plates. Through the power of God and the Urim and Thummim
Urim and Thummim
In ancient Israelite religion and culture, Urim and Thummim is a phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures or Torah associated with the Hoshen , divination in general, and cleromancy in particular...
, which were ancient seeing stones hidden along with the plates, he was able to translate the characters (which, according to the Book of Mormon, were related to 600 BC Egyptian
Reformed Egyptian
According to the Book of Mormon, that scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement was originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as 2600 BC until as late as AD 421. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the...
with Hebrew influence) into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Joseph Smith was commanded to show the plates to several people and no one else. Accounts by these individuals are recorded in the front of the Book of Mormon as "The Testimony of the Three Witnesses
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
" and "The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who signed a statement stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith, Jr. said was his source material for the book...
."
Additionally, Joseph Smith taught, and most Mormons believe, that the provenance of the Book of Mormon was prophesied by Biblical scripture. These interpretations are largely disputed by adherents of other faiths.
The golden plates were commonly referred to as a "Golden Bible," particularly by non-Mormons, though a few church members also used the term in early descriptions. The label "Golden Bible" actually predates the Book of Mormon, as legends of such an artifact existed in Canada and upstate New York while Joseph Smith was growing up in Vermont.
Purported plagiarism
Critics claim that Joseph Smith fabricated the Book of Mormon, and that it was not divinely inspired. Critics specifically cite four books that Joseph Smith could have used to obtain verses for the Book of Mormon:- View of the Hebrews by Ethan Smith (first published 1823, seven years before the Book of Mormon)
- The Wonders of NatureThe Wonders of NatureThe Wonders of Nature is a book by Josiah Priest that was published in 1826.Some critics of Mormonism, such as Jerald and Sandra Tanner and Richard Arbanes, consider The Wonders of Nature to be a relevant work for its historical connection to Mormonism. David Persuitte concluded that there were a...
by Josiah Priest (published in 1826, five years before the Book of Mormon) - The Bible
- ApocryphaApocryphaThe term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
Plagiarism from View of the Hebrews
Critics claim that Smith based several passages and many thematic elements in The Book of Mormon on material he found in View of the Hebrews, published in 1823, with an expanded edition in 1825, by Ethan SmithEthan Smith
View of the Hebrews is an 1823 book written by Ethan Smith which argues that Native Americans were descended from the Hebrews. Numerous commentators on Mormon doctrine, from LDS Church general authority B. H. Roberts to biographer Fawn M...
. Examples of verses that critics claim are plagiarized include:
| View of the Hebrews by Ethan Smith (1825 edition) | Book of Mormon (1830) |
| "[T]hose far distant savages have (as have all other tribes) their Great Spirit, who made everything" (p. 103) | "Believest thou that this Great Spirit which is God, created all things ... And he saith, Yea, I believe that he created all things" (Alma 18:28-29) |
| "[T]he places ... are noted; among which are 'the isles of the sea'". (p. 232-233) | "[W]e have been led to a better land, ... [W]e are upon an isle of the sea" (2 Nephi 10:20) |
| " 'I will hiss for them' God is represented as hissing for a people. ... [To] behold the banner of salvation now erected for his ancient people.... This standard of salvation." (p. 235,241-242) | "[M]y words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the House of Israel." (2 Nephi 29:2) |
Plagiarism from The Wonders of Nature
Critics claim that Smith based several passages and thematic material in The Book of Mormon on material he found in The Wonders of NatureThe Wonders of Nature
The Wonders of Nature is a book by Josiah Priest that was published in 1826.Some critics of Mormonism, such as Jerald and Sandra Tanner and Richard Arbanes, consider The Wonders of Nature to be a relevant work for its historical connection to Mormonism. David Persuitte concluded that there were a...
, published in 1825 by Josiah Priest. Examples of verses that critics claim are plagiarized include:
| The Wonders of Nature by Josiah Priest (1825) | Book of Mormon (1830) |
| "a narrow neck of land is interposed betwixt two vast oceans" (p. 598) | "the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land" (Ether 10:20) |
| "From whence no traveller returns" (p. 469) | "from whence no traveller can return" (2 Nephi 1:14) |
| "Darkness which may be felt.... vapours ... so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating an extraordinary thick mist. ... no artificial light could be procured ... vapours would prevent lamps, etc. from burning. ... [T]he darkness lasted for three days." (p. 524) | "[They] could feel the vapour of darkness, and there could be no light ... neither candles, neither torches, ... neither the sun ... for so great were the mists of darkness ... [I]t did last for the space of three days." (3 Nephi 8:20-23) |
Plagiarism from the Apocrypha
Critics claim that Smith based several passages in The Book of Mormon on material he found in the books of the ApocryphaApocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
, including the important name "Nephi". Examples of verses that critics claim are plagiarized include:
| Apocrypha | Book of Mormon (1830) |
| "We will assay to abridge in one volume.... labouring to follow the rules of an abridgment.... But to use brevity ... is to be granted to him that will make an abridgement." (2 Maccabees 2:25-31) | "I make an abridgement of the record ... after I have abridged the record.... I had made an abridgement from the plates of Nephi.... I write a small abridgement." (1 Nephi 1:17, Words of Mormon 3, 5:9) |
| "They commanded that this writing should be put in tables of brass, and that they should be set ... in a conspicuous place; Also that the copies thereof should be laid up in the treasury" (1 Maccabees 14:48-49) | "And I commanded him ... that he should go with me into the treasury ... I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass" (1 Nephi 4:20,24) |
| "Then the king, in closing the place, made it holy ... many men call it Nephi". (2 Maccabees 1:34,36) | "And my people would that we should call the name of the place Nephi; wherefore we did call it Nephi". (2 Nephi 5:8) |
| "And it came to pass ... I dreamed a dream by night" (2 Esdras 15:1) | "And it came to pass ... Behold, I have dreamed a dream" (1 Nephi 8:2) |
Plagiarism from the King James Bible
Critics claim that Smith copied several verses in The Book of Mormon from the King James Bible. Examples of verses that critics claim are plagiarized include:| King James Bible | Book of Mormon (1830) |
| "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up" (Malachi 4:1) | "For behold, saith the prophet, ... the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned" (1 Nephi 22:15) |
| "[T]he axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Matthew 3:10) | "[T]he ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire" (Alma 5:52) |
| "[B]e steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works" (1 Corinthians 15:58) | "[B]e ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (Mosiah 5:15) |
Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries: the View of the Hebrews theory
Some have speculated that Smith wrote the Book of Mormon, but plagiarizedPlagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
heavily from any of a number of sources. One such claim revolves around a book written by Ethan Smith (pastor of a church in Poultney, Vermont
Poultney, Vermont
Poultney is a village in Rutland County of the U.S. state of Vermont. The village is entirely within the town of Poultney. The population was 1,612 at the 2010 census...
, no relation to Joseph Smith) called View of the Hebrews published in 1825, five years before the publication of the Book of Mormon.
In the early 20th century LDS general authority B.H. Roberts authored a manuscript titled Studies of the Book of Mormon
Studies of the Book of Mormon
Studies of the Book of Mormon, Brigham D. Madsen, ed. is a collection of previously unpublished manuscripts, written by LDS General Authority B.H...
, in which he critically examined the claims and origins of the Book of Mormon. In his manuscript, Roberts compared the content of the Book of Mormon with View of the Hebrews. Roberts' conclusion was that, assuming a hemispheric geography theory for the Book of Mormon, sufficient parallels existed that future critics could claim that View of the Hebrews could have provided a structural foundation for the Book of Mormon story. The manuscript was private and shared only with church leadership at the time he did the analysis. Publicly, Roberts continued to support the Book of Mormon.
David Persuitte, in his book, Joseph Smith and the Origins of The Book of Mormon, presents a large number of parallels between passages in View of the Hebrews and in the Book of Mormon, but notes no instances of direct copying. However, the parallels between the two books that Persuitte presents cover a broad range of topics, including religious ideas about the responsibility of the American people in convincing the Indians of their "Israelite" origins and converting them to Christianity. Moreover, Persuitte quotes from View of the Hebrews Ethan Smith's theory about what happened to the ancient Israelites after they arrived in America. That theory is also essentially a summary of the basic story line of the Book of Mormon, including the idea that the ancient Israelite immigrants to America split into two factions: a civilized group and a savage group that subsequently exterminated the civilized group. Persuitte also quotes from the two books several similar descriptions of structures built by the civilized faction and wars that were fought between the two factions, as well as numerous other similarities. According to Persuitte, the ideas that can be found in View of the Hebrews are sufficient to have "inspired" Joseph Smith to have written the Book of Mormon had he read it. Joseph Smith himself mentioned Ethan Smith and cited passages from View of the Hebrews in an article published in the Times and Seasons in June 1842.
Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith were distantly related through their mothers (3rd cousins, 1 time removed). Cowdery was educated and trained as a typesetter/printers assistant in the 1800s and worked at the Poultney Gazette in the summer of 1823 (the paper became known as the Northern Spectator in December 1823), the year that Ethan Smith published the first edition of View of the Hebrews. Cowdery's family, including father William and stepmother Keziah, were noted as being longstanding members of Ethan Smith's congregation in Poultney when he arrived and assumed leadership in November 1821. Even prior to his book's publication, Ethan Smith advocated his views regarding the origins of Native Americans in sermons to his congregations. In 1825, Ethan Smith published the much-enlarged second edition of View of the Hebrews, the same year that Cowdery left Poultney for New York State.
Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries: the Spaulding-Rigdon theory
In 1834, E.D. HoweEber Dudley Howe
Eber Dudley Howe was the founder and editor of the Painesville Telegraph, a newspaper that published in Painesville, Ohio from 1822 to 1835. Howe was the author of one of the first books that was critical of the spiritual claims of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement...
in his book Mormonism Unvailed
Mormonism Unvailed
Mormonism Unvailed is an anti-Mormon book published in 1834 by Eber D. Howe. The title page proclaims the book to be a contemporary exposé of Mormonism, and makes the claim that the historical portion of the Book of Mormon text was based upon a manuscript written by Solomon Spalding.The...
(sic) introduced a theory which claimed Smith plagiarized material from the manuscript for an unpublished novel by Solomon Spaulding. Howe had the manuscript in his possession at the time of publication. Spaulding's story, called Manuscript Found, revolves around a group of seafaring Romans who sail to the New World around two millennia ago. Critics long speculated that Joseph Smith had access to the original script, which was lost soon after the Mormonism Unvailed was published, and that he plagiarized heavily from it in writing the Book of Mormon. The only known manuscript was discovered in 1884 and now resides at Oberlin College in Ohio. Once the manuscript was available for study, most critics discarded this theory because the "extensive parallels" previously thought to exist consisted only of a few details: intercontinental seafaring, the existence (and use) of a seer stone, and the discovery of records under a stone (Latin parchments in the Spaulding manuscript, golden plates with "reformed Egyptian
Reformed Egyptian
According to the Book of Mormon, that scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement was originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as 2600 BC until as late as AD 421. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the...
" writing according to Smith). Most of the other purported similarities, attested to by various witnesses in affidavits gathered by Doctor Philastus Hurlbut
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut
Doctor Philastus Hurlbut was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint dissenter. Hurlbut is best known for his collection of affidavits which in 1834 were published in Eber D. Howe’s anti-Mormon book Mormonism Unvailed...
, were demonstrated to be false. Author Fawn Brodie expressed suspicion regarding these statements, claiming that the style of the statements was too similar and displayed too much uniformity. Brodie suggests that Hurlbut did a "little judicious prompting."
Much confusion and premature dismissal of the theory has resulted from the 1884 manuscript, entitled "Manuscript Story." The original, entitled "Manuscript Found", which was presumably a prior draft of "Manuscript Story", has ironically still not been found.
Similarities of some segments to the King James Version
The book claims that Nephi quoted the prophet Isaiah from the "Brass Plates" which were brought with them out of Jerusalem. Additionally, the footnotes and chapter headings of modern editions of the book acknowledge this and encourage readers to compare Isaiah and 2 Nephi. Segments of the Book of Mormon, for example 1 Nephi chapters 20-21 and 2 Nephi chapters 7, 8, and 12-24, match nearly word-for-word the chapters 48-49, 50, 51-52:1-2, and 2-14 (respectively) of the King James TranslationKing James Version of the Bible
The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
(1611) of the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
. In addition, 58 quotes from Isaiah found in the Book of Mormon are paraphrased versions of those found in the King James Bible. Also, Mosiah chapter 14 matches KJV Isaiah 53, 3 Nephi chapter 22 matches KJV Isaiah 54, 3 Nephi chapters 24-25 match KJV Malachi 3-4, and 3 Nephi chapters 12-14 match KJV Matthew 5-7. In total, there exist 478 verses in the Book of Mormon which are quoted in some form or other from the book of Isaiah. Of these verses, one Mormon scholar notes that 201 of them match the King James version of the quote and another 207 show variations.
The majority of modern scholars have accepted that the sources used for the King James translation are no longer the earliest or most reliable sources (e.g. see Alexandrian text-type
Alexandrian text-type
The Alexandrian text-type , associated with Alexandria, is one of several text-types used in New Testament textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of biblical manuscripts...
and Dead Sea scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
). The Book of Mormon claims to have been written over 1100 years prior to the King James version of the Bible, but it contains some of the same errors. One example is which is quoted nearly word-for-word in . The passage concerns believers holding snakes and drinking poison; however it does not appear in many early manuscripts and is widely believed to be composed in the 2nd century. Additionally, the book reflects KJV literary and linguistic style. The KJV was the most commonly used translation of the Bible when the Book of Mormon was produced.
Church views of purported plagiarism
Apologists of the Book of Mormon do not find the instances of purported plagiarism troubling; to the contrary, they feel that the repetition further proves the authenticity of the Book of Mormon—that God reveals similar, if not the same teachings, to all people since, as the Bible states, He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” and that the repetition fulfills prophecy that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established”.LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball further stated, "Prophets say the same things because we face basically the same problems.""[For example,]...warnings must be repeated. Just because a truth is repeated does not make that truth any less important or true. Indeed, the opposite is true."
One of Smith's colleagues as author
According to this family of theories, someone else wrote the book and allowed Smith to take credit for it. Sidney RigdonSidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
have been posited as possible authors or co-authors. Both Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
had more formal education and either could have helped Smith author the book. In this case, the Book of Mormon would be considered a collaboration between Smith and his scribes, primarily Oliver Cowdery.
Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery both denied having written the book, and in fact Cowdery was one of the Three Witnesses
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
to the Golden Plates. He became disaffected with Joseph Smith's leadership and with the church and was excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
in 1838 on a variety of charges but even so, stayed true to his original claim to have seen the Golden Plates.
There is little extant evidence that Joseph Smith knew of or was in contact with Sidney Rigdon until after the Book of Mormon was published, although many witness accounts place Rigdon in upstate New York in 1825 and 1826; roughly the time that Cowdery became close friends with Smith. Most histories state that Parley P. Pratt
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt...
, a member of Rigdon's congregation near Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, was baptized around September 1830 in Palmyra
Palmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
. Soon after, Pratt returned to Ohio, which is when Rigdon reportedly learned of Smith and the Book of Mormon and was baptized. According to these accounts, Rigdon first met Smith in December 1830, nine months after the Book of Mormon's publication. Rigdon's son John, discussing an interview with his father in 1865, states:
My father, after I had finished saying what I have repeated above, looked at me a moment, raised his hand above his head and slowly said, with tears glistening in his eyes: "My son, I can swear before high heaven that what I have told you about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] is true. Your mother and sister, Mrs. Athalia Robinson, were present when that book was handed to me in Mentor, Ohio, and all I ever knew about the origin of [the Book of Mormon] was what Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith and the witnesses who claimed they saw the plates have told me, and in all of my intimacy with Joseph Smith he never told me but one story."
This account, however, sharply contrasts Rigdon's later claim that he knew the contents of the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon, which he only could have accessed during the years leading up to the Book of Mormon publishing. Mormons would respond by saying that he could easily have ascertained the contents of the sealed portion through a description by Joseph Smith or a divine experience.