Behind the Spalding Controversy by David Merrill

1975, but Scales and some other evangelical version to Mormonism in 1830 and his sub- ne of the oldest charges against the Christians began arguing with him about the sequent meeting with are well 0Book of Mormon was recently 's validity. Cowdrey report- documented. And David Whitmer, a resurrected by three southern California edly went to Davis with his growing doubts frequent observer of the translation process, researchers, Howard Davis, Wayne Cowdrey and questions "because he had a doctor of left the Church permanently but never denied and Donald Scales. They have spent the last divinity degree." Scales. Cowdrey and Davis that Joseph Smith translated the Book of two years studying the relationship between began studying together, and Cowdrey soon Mormon nor hinted at any collusion between the Book of Mormon and a "Manuscript asked to be excommunicated. Smith and Rigdon. Story" written between 1809 and 1816 by Since then the three have "eaten, slept Congregationalist Minister Solomon and breathed Solomon Spalding," according Fifty Affidavits Spalding. to Davis. They wrote to libraries, historical After two years of assiduous digging, Davis says he became interested in the societies and religious groups asking for in- Cowdrey, Scales and Davis have amassed Spalding theory while reading a book by formation about Spalding, Joseph Smith and fifty "affidavits" claiming that (1) Spalding Walter Martin, director of the Christian the supposed like between them, Sidney actually wrote two novels, (2) the second was Research Institute, who was convinced "on Rigdon. in biblical style, (3) stole the circumstantial evidence" of the common Since Spalding died in 1816, advocates second manuscript from the printer, (4) authorship of the Book of Mormon and the of the common authorship theory must ex- Rigdon knew Smith long before 1830, and (5) Manuscript Story. Davis holds a doctor of plain how a decade-old unpublished Joseph Smith expanded the purloined fiction divinity degree from California Baptist manuscript fell into Joseph Smith's hands. into the Book of Mormon. College and considers himself primarily a According to the theory, Rigdon stole the In addition to the affidavits, their religious historian working on a variety of manuscript while working in the Patterson book, Who Really Wrote the Book of Mor- issues from science and religion to the Print Shop (Spalding's publisher) in Pitts- mon, will contain biographies of Rigdon, Spalding manuscript. burgh, Pennsylvania. During the next four Smith and Spalding, and a chronology and He met Scales and Cowdrey in 1974 years, the theory supposes, Rigdon traveled itinerary putting them in the same place at the while working as a lab technician at a Mc- 300 miles north to Palmyra, met Joseph right time. However, the whole edifice rests Donnel-Douglas plant. According to Gret- Smith, and the two rewrote Spalding's novel primarily on the affidavits. Davis says he chen Passantino, spokesman for the group to include Smith's religious views. "realizes" that the verity of many of these (also senior research consultant for the There is a superficial resemblance statements (gleaned from archives, old Christian Research Institute and personal between the Manuscript Story and the Book histories and magazines) is in doubt. secretary to Martin), Cowdrey "decided he of Mormon--the idea of a Hebraic origin of According to Passantino, the three ought to have some kind of religion, and he the Indians--but plot, characters, tone, and researchers only accidentally noticed that the went back to investigate his ancestor's writing style reveal few if any similarities handwriting in the unidentified scribe section religion first." (Cowdrey is descended from between the two books. Also, Dean Jessee, in of the Book of Mormon resembled Oliver Cowdery, the Book of Mormon wit- a recent Church News article, notes that Spalding's. They quickly hired three well- ness.) Rigdon didn't work for Patterson until 1822-- known, reputable handwriting analysts to Cowdrey was baptized in December six years after Spalding died. Rigdon's con- examine the two documents.

Sunstone. November-December 1977, page 28 Of the handwriting experts, Henry to Oberlin College to investigate the Spalding the LDS missionary program. Evangelicals Silver has had eight years of professional originals and then back to Salt Lake City to believe missionaries should only be sent to training and is nationally known for his high see several pages of handwriting by the scribe pagans or the unreligious, and they consider rate of accuracy in handwriting determina- of Section 56 of the Doctrine and Covenants. the program an attack tions. William Kaye is also well known and Meanwhile, Davis, Scales and Cowdrey went against Christian religions. The Christian sports a list of blue-chip clients-Bendix ahead with a September publication date for Research Institute is an organized response to Corp., MCA, and the Ford Foundation. He their book without the analysts' final reports. this "attack" by the Mormon church. It sup- also served as court witness for the Canadian Davis claims that if the final reports ports missionaries to the , publishes Supreme Court, and he claims a 90 percent deny common authorship, "it won't affect pamphlets like "How to Witness to Mor- accuracy rate. Silver and Kay practice the book at all. Even if they did change their mons," and engages in full time research to r graphology, a branch of handwriting analysis minds. I think it would be interesting that as expose "the error of Mormonism." The in- ! that the third expert, Howard Doulder, soon as this thing became controversial these stitute is entirely supported by donations dismisses as "fortune telling." guys suddenly turn on it." from evangelicals and by profits from Mar- I Doulder worked for the Milwaukee "It's impossible to believe," remarked tin's lectures, broadcast programs and Police Department as assistant document Kaye. "I don't know how they could take publications. examiner before becoming supervisor of the (the conclusions of the final report) for gran- Despite Passantino's statement to the Treasury Department's 38-state crime lab. In ted." He indicated that he would take "ap- contrary, Martin and his Christian Research 1973 he moved to southern California and propriate action" if the book presented his Institute have raised the money for the hand- began a freelance agency for examining I conclusions wrongly. Handwriting analysts writing experts, established the special fund, questioned documents. rarely commit themselves without an and supplied the institute's senior research Kaye and Doulder describe the initial exhaustive study of everything pertinent to consultant (Passantino) as ghost writer. writing samples supplied by the researchers as handwriting samples and consider (Passantino claims the researchers didn't less than perfect. Kaye says he examined preliminary reports meaningless unless sup- "know how to write" and enlisted her aid.) "one or two pages of the Book of Mormon ported by the final report. and about 12 pages of Spalding." Doulder Vision House Publishers did not The Verdict described the evidence as "photographs of a release Who Really Wrote the Book of Mor- On September 8 Kaye reported to the small section of the Book of Mormon and mon on September I as announced. Accord- researchers that further investigation "sub- some lousy photostats of Spalding's ing to their secretary, the publishers "had stantially confirmed" his initial opinion. writing." After what Doulder called "a the final manuscript in August, had it While not having submitted his last word, he somewhat cursory inspection" of the typeset, and were ready to print it when the gave the opinion that the unidentified scribe documents, the three analysts indicated there authors withdrew the last chapter." Ap- and Solomon Spalding were the same person. were "similarities." parently the researchers had decided to wait He then turned the materials over to Doulder. 'Armed -. with these preliminary for the final reports after all. Doulder returned a contradictory opinions, Davis and the other researchers Davis tends to downplay the impor- report. "I changed my initial opinion because called a Ipress conference-their "discovery" tance of the handwriting samples to the of the poor quality of the reproductions given soon hit all the wire services and became Spalding thesis. "The handwriting experts us by the three researchers," says Doulder. ..^':^..^I. 11 news. are just the icing on the cake," he said. Jane "Their blowups were out of proportion and Claiming he'd been misquoted by the Bergen, a local handwriting analyst, charges fuzzy, making it impossible to see the ter- researc hers' press releases, Silver soon with- $35 an hour for her services, and Kaye says he minal spurs, connecting strokes or line drew a n angry protest. In an interview with --.. charges "much more than that." So far his qualities. There are dissimilarities that are MelVln A. Jensen, Los Angeles public com- costs alone have included the preliminary unexplanable and are not attributable to in- munications coordinator for the Church, report, the trips to Salt Lake City and Oberlin dividual writing variations of the same Silver said, "My examination, witnessed by College, and his final report. Speaking for author." three Mormon Church officials and one of the three young researchers (two of which are After Doulder's final report, a Los the researchers from Los Angeles, resulted in unemployed), Davis said, "The handwriting Angeles TV station hosted the researchers I my opinion that the photocopies of the Book experts are paid out of a special fund for that and Doulder on a talk show. "They don't of Mormon manuscript I had seen in Los purpose established by Dr. Martin." Passan- seem to care that the two reports conflicted," Angeles were true copies of the original pages tino, however declared in a recent interview he said. "So we have two experts disagreeing. that were brought out from the Church vault. that the researchers "are not involved with So what?" Doulder would now like to con- This is the only opinion 1 have ever given in the Christian Research Institute." tinue his examination and compare the letters this whole matter." Silver said the newspaper Martin holds several degrees in com- written by the scribe that Church officials misquoted him by saying that his testimony parative religion, including two from New think is responsible for the twelve Book of substantiated the claims of the researchers. York University and California Western Mormon pages. "I would certainly love to "These misstatements make it appear that I University. He is the leading scholar for the continue this project," Doulder said, "and had corroborated the researchers' claims," evangelical churches on the various religions settle this thing once and for all." he said. "1 did not, and could not give an originating in the United States. His most opinion tbout the photocopy I saw as being a widely read book is Kingdom of the Cults, an copy of a certain Solomon Spalding hand- examination of the beliefs of Latter-day David Merrill graduated in American writing because I have never seen any Saints as well as Jehovah's Witnesses. Seventh Studies from the State University of New nrioinal .landwritingt by the said Spalding." Day Adventists and Christian Scientists. York at Binghamton. He now works for Ki aye and Doulder began preparing The animosity of Martin and other the Utah State Historical Society and Utah their fin: 11 reports without Silver. Kaye flew evangelicals toward Mormonism stems from Holiday magazine.

Volume Three, Number One, page 29