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It appears that some of Spalding's material made its way even into Lucy Smith's family history. Lucy attributed five dreams to her husband, Joseph. The first of the visions of the elder Joseph runs thus:
"I seemed to be traveling in an open, barren field, and as I was traveling, I turned my eyes towards the east, the west, the north and the south, but could see nothing save dead, fallen timber. Not a vestige of life, either animal or vegetable, could be seen; besides, to render the scene still more dreary, the most death-like silence prevailed, no sound of anything animate could be heard in all the field. I was alone in this gloomy desert, with the exception of an attendant spirit, who kept constantly by my side. Of him I inquired the meaning of what I saw, and why I was thus traveling in such a dismal place. He answered thus: 'This field is the world, which now lieth inanimate and dumb, in regard to the true religion, or plan of salvation; but travel on, and by the wayside you will find on a certain log a box, the contents of which, if you eat thereof, will make you wise, and give unto you wisdom and understanding.' I carefully observed what was told me by my guide, and proceeding a short distance, I came to the box. I immediately took it up, and placed it under my left arm; then with eagerness I raised the lid, and began to taste of its contents; upon which all manner of beasts, horned cattle, and roaring animals, rose up on every side in the most threatening manner possible, tearing the earth, tossing their horns, and bellowing most terrifically all around me, and they finally came so close upon me, that I was compelled to drop the box and fly for my life." (Lucy Smith, 1880, 59-60)
The totally barren and lifeless landscape that is described in the vision recalls the desolation predicted by some of the prophets, for example, Ezekiel: "her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate" (Ezek. 12:19-20). The contents of the box, which conferred wisdom, also recalls Ezekiel's vision of a roll of a book: "Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. . . . cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness" (Ezek. 3:1-3). In Revelation, John also beholds a vision of an angel holding a book, who says, "Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey" (Rev. 10:9).
Lucy set this dream in 1811, when the Smiths were living in Sharon, Vermont. It was therefore nine years before the younger Joseph's first vision. But it clearly applies to the Book of Mormon, for the plates were found in a box, gave an account of the true religion, and produced wisdom and understanding, as well as severe opposition, symbolized by the animals.
Lucy said that her husband had a second dream, after they moved to Lebanon, New Hampshire, in 1811. This vision seems to be a continuation of the first dream; Joseph was again traveling through a desolate area and was accompanied by a guide.
"I thought," said he, "I was traveling in an open, desolate field, which appeared to be very barren. . . . My guide, who was by my side, as before, said, 'This is the desolate world; but travel on.' . . . Traveling a short distance farther, I came to a narrow path. This path I entered, and, when I had traveled a little way in it, I beheld a beautiful stream of water, which ran from the east to the west. . . . as far as my eyes could extend I could see a rope running along the bank of it, about as high as a man could reach, and beyond me was a low, but very pleasant valley, in which stood a tree such as I had never seen before. . . . it bore a kind of fruit, in shape much like a chestnut bur, and as white as snow, or, if possible, whiter. . . . I drew near and began to eat of it, and I found it delicious beyond description. . . . I went and brought my family, which consisted of a wife and seven children, and we all commenced eating, and praising God for his blessing. . . . While thus engaged, I beheld a spacious building standing opposite the valley which we were in, and it appeared to reach to the very heavens. It was full of doors and windows, and they were filled with people, who were very finely dressed. When these people observed us in the low valley, under the tree, they pointed the finger of scorn at us, and treated us with all manner of disrespect and contempt. But their contumely we utterly disregarded. I presently turned to my guide, and inquired of him the meaning of the fruit that was so delicious. He told me it was the pure love of God . . . . He then commanded me to go and bring the rest of my children. I told him that we were all there. 'No,' he replied, 'look yonder, you have two more, and you must bring them also.' Upon raising my eyes, I saw two small children, standing some distance off. I immediately went to them, and brought them to the tree, upon which they commenced eating with the rest, and we all rejoiced together. . . . I asked my guide what was the meaning of the spacious building which I saw. He replied, 'It is Babylon, it is Babylon, and it must fall. The people in the doors and windows are the inhabitants thereof, who scorn and despise the Saints of God because of their humility.'" (Lucy Smith 1880, 60-61)
Fawn Brodie long ago pointed out that Joseph's dream is almost identical to Lehi's vision of the tree of life. Lehi saw himself being led by a man in a white robe through a dark and dreary waste into a spacious field, where he beheld a tree with fruit that was white and sweet. He saw Sariah, Sam, and Nephi standing at the head of a river, which ran near the tree, and called them to come and eat of the fruit. He also saw Laman and Lemuel, but they would not come. Lehi then beheld a rod of iron and a narrow path, which both extended along the bank of the river. On the other side of the river, he saw a spacious building, which stood high in the air, filled with people, who mocked and pointed their fingers at him. Brodie believed that Joseph Smith had incorporated his father's dream into the Book of Mormon, but I have shown that the vision is actually a combination of elements from Bede's history and Gulliver's Travels. Therefore, the truth seems to be that Lucy Smith adapted the same material that is found in the Book of Mormon and attributed the vision to her husband. But Lucy must not have realized that Lehi had the same vision. This suggests that she found material among Joseph's papers, which she decided to use, without recognizing that it already formed a part of the Book of Mormon.
After the Smiths moved to Palmyra in 1816, Joseph allegedly had a third dream, which runs in the same vein as the first two.
"I dreamed," said he, "that I was traveling on foot, and I was very sick, and so lame I could hardly walk. My guide, as usual, attended me. . . . He told me to travel on till I came to a certain garden. . . . . I finally reached the gate; and, on entering it, I saw the before-mentioned garden, which was beautiful beyond description, being filled with the most delicate flowers of every kind and color. . . . One of the walks ran from the gate through the centre of the garden; and on each side of this was a very richly carved seat, and on each seat were placed six wooden images, each of which was the size of a very large man. When I came to the first image on the right side, it arose and bowed to me with much deference. I then turned to the one which sat opposite me, on the left side, and it arose and bowed to me in the same manner as the first. I continued turning, first to the right and then to the left, until the whole twelve had made their obeisance, after which I was entirely healed." (Lucy Smith 1880, 73-74)
This vision is similar to the two dreams of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Joseph gave this account of his first dream to his brothers: "we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf" (Gen. 37:7). Joseph said that in his second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars made obeisance to him.
In 1818, Joseph had a fourth dream:
"I thought I was walking alone; I was much fatigued, nevertheless I continued traveling. It seemed to me that I was going to meeting, that it was the day of judgment, and that I was going to be judged."When I came in sight of the meeting-house, I saw multitudes of people coming from every direction, and pressing with great anxiety towards the door of this great building; but I thought I should get there in time, hence there was no need of being in a hurry. But, on arriving at the door, I found it shut; I knocked for admission and was informed by the porter that I had come too late. I felt exceedingly troubled, and prayed earnestly for admittance. Presently I found that my flesh was perishing. I continued to pray, still my flesh withered upon my bones. . . .
"It then occurred to me to call upon God, in the name of his son Jesus . . . . After which I felt considerably strengthened, and I began to amend. . . . .
"I was now made quite whole, and the door was opened . . . ." (Lucy Smith 1880, 74-75)
This dream resembles an incident in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, when Christian comes to the house of the Interpreter:
I saw also that the Interpreter took him again by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was builded a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which Christian was greatly delighted; he saw also upon the top thereof certain persons walked, who were clothed all in gold. Then said Christian, "May we go in thither?" Then the Interpreter took him, and led him up toward the door of the palace; and behold, at the door, stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but durst not. There also sat a man, at a little distance from the door, at a table side with a book, and his inkhorn before him, to take the name of him that should enter therein. He saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour to keep it, being resolved to do to the man that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. . . ."Now," said Christian, "let me go hence." "Nay, stay," said the Interpreter, "till I have showed thee a little more . . . ." So he took him by the hand again and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage.
Now the man to look on seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his heart. (Bunyan 1981, 37-38)
The man in the cage had lost his right to enter the palace, because of his sins. The Interpreter then led Christian into another chamber, where he saw a man trembling. When asked why he was trembling, the man said that he had dreamed about judgment day and had seen many people carried away into the clouds, but he was left behind. Joseph's dream about being denied entrance to a great building on judgment day shares many of the same elements with Bunyan's story.
The Pilgrim's Progress was written in two parts. The first part, published in 1678, relates the journey of Christian to the Celestial City, after a man named Evangelist gave him a parchment roll, which instructed him to flee from the City of Destruction. His wife, Christiana, refused to accompany him, but in Part II, she regretted that she had hardened her heart and set out on a pilgrimage with her four sons -- Matthew, James, Samuel, and Joseph. Both parts of The Pilgrim's Progress were written "in the similitude of a dream." Joseph's four dreams are similar in tone and themselves constitute a sort of Pilgrim's Progress; in all probability, they are the visions of Lehi. Nephi stated that he was cutting short his account of Lehi's vision, and it may therefore have been much longer.
Before relating her husband's dreams, Lucy Smith had been careful to reserve one for herself. She supposedly had this dream while the Smiths were still living in Tunbridge, Vermont.
"I thought that I stood in a large and beautiful meadow . . . . The first thing that attracted my special attention in this magnificent meadow, was a very pure and clear stream of water, which ran through the midst of it; and as I traced this stream, I discovered two trees standing upon its margin, both of which were on the same side of the stream. These trees were very beautiful, they were well proportioned, and towered with majestic beauty to a great height. . . . I gazed upon them with wonder and admiration; and after beholding them a short time, I saw one of them was surrounded with a bright belt, that shone like burnished gold, but far more brilliantly. Presently, a gentle breeze passed by, and the tree encircled with this golden zone, bent gracefully before the wind, and waved its beautiful branches in the light air. . . . and even the stream that rolled beneath it, shared, apparently, every sensation felt by the tree . . . . The belt also partook of the same influence, and as it moved in unison with the motion of the stream and of the tree, it increased continually in refulgence and magnitude, until it became exceedingly glorious."I turned my eyes upon its fellow, which stood opposite; but it was not surrounded with the belt of light as the former, and it stood erect and fixed as a pillar of marble. No matter how strong the wind blew over it, not a leaf was stirred, not a bough was bent; but obstinately stiff it stood . . . .
"I wondered at what I saw, and said in my heart, What can be the meaning of all this? And the interpretation given me was, that these personated my husband and his oldest brother, Jesse Smith; that the stubborn and unyielding tree was like Jesse; that the other, more pliant and flexible, was like Joseph, my husband; that the breath of heaven, which passed over them, was the pure and undefiled gospel of the Son of God, which gospel Jesse would always resist, but which Joseph, when he was more advanced in life, would hear and receive with his whole heart, and rejoice therein; and unto him would be added intelligence, happiness, glory, and everlasting life." (Lucy Smith 1880, 57-58)
This vision is similar to an Old English poem called the Dream of the Rood, which concerns the tree upon which Jesus was crucified: "Listen, I will speak of the best of dreams, of what I dreamed at midnight when men and their voices were at rest. It seemed to me that I saw a most rare tree reach high aloft, wound in light, brightest of beams. All that beacon was covered with gold; gems stood fair where it met the ground, five were above about the crosspiece. . . . I saw the tree of glory shine splendidly, adorned with garments, decked with gold; jewels had worthily covered the Lord's tree. Yet through that gold I might perceive ancient agony of wretches, for now it began to bleed on the right side" (Dream of the Rood 1986, 23). The tree began to speak. When Jesus was placed upon the cross, the tree states repeatedly: "I dared not bow or break . . . . I stood fast . . . . I dared not bow to earth, fall to the ground's surface; but I must stand fast . . . . I dared not bend." But when men came to take Jesus down from the cross, the tree says: "yet I bowed to the men's hands, meekly, eagerly." Thus this tree, wound with a brilliant beacon of light and adorned with gold, seems to be Lucy's tree, surrounded with a brilliant belt, which shone like burnished gold. The tree first refused to bend, but then bowed meekly and eagerly, just as one of Lucy's trees stood erect and fixed, but the other bent gracefully before the wind. It is said that the Dream of the Rood was a vision given to Helena, the mother of Constantine, which inspired her to find the true cross.
Lucy's dream came at a very peculiar time. She stated that even before she married Joseph, she had spent much time reading the Bible and praying, feeling that none of the churches was right. Then in Tunbridge, she had started attending Methodist meetings and had tried to get Joseph to go with her, but apparently due to Jesse's influence, Joseph had stopped attending the meetings. Lucy wrote: "I retired to a grove not far distant, where I prayed to the Lord in behalf of my husband -- that the true Gospel might be presented to him . . . . After praying some time in this manner, I returned to the house, much depressed in spirit, which state of feeling continued until I retired to my bed. I soon fell asleep and had the following dream" (Lucy Smith 1880, 57). The dream assured Lucy that when Joseph was more advanced in life, he would hear and accept the "pure and undefiled gospel," but at this time Lucy evidently thought that the true gospel was Methodism. She clearly could not have seen anything in the dream that referred to the restoration of the true religion, because even after her son had his first vision and had been instructed by Moroni, she started attending another church. Again she persuaded her husband to accompany her several times, and again he abruptly stopped going. Therefore, Lucy's dream has no real connection with the rest of her narrative. It should act as a sign of what is to come; it should herald her husband's enthusiastic acceptance of young Joseph's revelation, but in fact, it does not. The elder Joseph had received his own series of dreams, which should have prepared him for the coming of some momentous event, but according to Lucy's account, he did not understand his dreams any more than she understood her own. The dreams merely hang there and are never explained in connection with the younger Joseph's visions and the discovery of the plates. Furthermore, Lucy's description of her anxiety about which church to join and her decision to retire to a grove to pray, followed by her dream, is so similar to her son's experience that it lacks credibility.
We have seen that the dreams related by Lucy Smith draw upon the Bible, including Genesis, Ezekiel, and Revelation, and upon such works as The Pilgrim's Progress and the Dream of the Rood. Furthermore, the second of Joseph's dreams is nearly identical to Lehi's vision, which incorporates elements of Bede's history and Gulliver's Travels. These facts indicate clearly that the dreams were part of the Spalding material.
Roger Anderson has provided further information to support the statements published by E. D. Howe:
Besides these considerations, there is another which suggests that Hurlbut was not the unprincipled purveyor of false information . . . . Hurlbut was embroiled in legal difficulties with Joseph Smith which made Howe suspect Hurlbut's motives. The Mormons were also denouncing Hurlbut's statements as fabrications, a charge which Howe had no way of controverting without independently verifying Hurlbut's statements. Accordingly Howe decided upon a "spot check" of Hurlbut's affidavits, hoping thereby to determine their authenticity without having to reinterview every witness. He first wrote to Isaac Hale and received in reply a long notarized statement and an affidavit from Hale's son Alva testifying that the notarized statement was "correct and true." Howe then traveled to Conneaut, Ohio, to see if the statements Hurlbut had collected there accusing Smith of plagiarism in writing the Book of Mormon were authenic. While there he "saw most of the witnesses . . . and was satisfied they were not . . . mistaken in their statements." Apparently this was enough to satisfy Howe of the integrity of Hurlbut's reports. (Anderson 1990, 30)The case against the Spalding theory is riddled with bias and faulty scholarship. Fawn Brodie's argument was based upon a number of errors: she stated that the Fabius story took place before the Christian era, contained no religious matter whatever, was written primarily in a florid, gothic style, and resembled the Book of Mormon in only a few general features. In fact Brodie made so many mistakes that we must seriously question whether she actually read Spalding's manuscript, or if she depended upon other people's accounts. Brodie rejected the testimony of James Jeffries, when, in fact, church documents support Jeffries statement. Brodie even undermined her own conspiracy theory, when she argued for accepting the affidavits which Hurlbut collected from neighbors of the Smiths in New York: "Hurlbut's affidavits can hardly be dismissed by the objective student" (Brodie 1971, 432). Lester Bush's review of the evidence is no more penetrating than that of Brodie, and he concludes his twenty-nine page article by admitting that he has not achieved very much: "However high the possibilities, no one has ever been able to 'prove' in any absolute sense that the Hurlbut affidavits were erroneous recollections, deliberate or otherwise" (Bush 1977, 62).
The argument of the critics involves a basic contradiction. They claim that the Book of Mormon differs so markedly in style and content from the Fabius story that Spalding could not have been its author. But their own theory of memory substitution claims that there are a sufficient number of similarities to account for the witnesses' assertions that the Book of Mormon contains Spalding's material. Then, of course, they refuse to acknowledge more than one or two of those similarities. In addition, scholars continue to demonstrate their ignorance of Spalding's manuscript. For example, Susan Curtis states: "Solomon Spaulding authored a 'Manuscript Story,' in which massive and destructive wars between his characters -- Indians and Romans -- helped explain to readers the vast number of dead found in the mounds of the Ohio River Valley" (Curtis 1990, 83). Spalding's "Manuscript Story" does not describe a single battle between Indians and Romans; in fact, there are only a handful of Romans in the tale, and they were treated well by the Indians. This statement appeared in both article and book form, apparently without anyone pointing out the error.
The critics have tried to settle the question of authorship without examining the Book of Mormon. The one question which they do not ask is: What can the Book of Mormon tell us about its author? What evidence does it provide for or against the Spalding theory? Failure to answer these questions would not be acceptable in any other field of scholarly research. Why then is it accepted in Book of Mormon studies? The Book of Mormon is surely one of the best witnesses in the Spalding debate, and the question of authorship cannot be decided without a meticulous analysis of the text.
We have traced the sources of the Book of Mormon, demonstrating that the author was intelligent, educated, imaginative, and well-versed in the Bible, the classics, Roman and Jewish history, and various myths and legends. Joseph Smith was poorly educated, could not even pronounce difficult words, and was ignorant of some basic biblical facts. Other evidence has been presented to prove that the Book of Mormon was written by someone other than Joseph Smith:
Joseph Smith could not have written the Book of Mormon in only three months; it would have required at least that many years to consult so many different sources, to skillfully blend material from various books, and to imaginatively construct the geography, history, and culture of several thousand years of ancient American civilization. The Ethan Smith hypothesis has never really had any evidence to support it. It is based upon the unsupported assertion that Joseph Smith had the ability to write the Book of Mormon, despite testimony to the contrary by people who knew Joseph best. Scholars embraced the hypothesis, because it conveniently relieved them of the necessity of having to defend what were perceived as the weaknesses of the Spalding theory. Best of all, the Ethan Smith explanation was itself proposed by B. H. Roberts, a Mormon official, and the church could not rebut the theory without embarrassing itself. By disposing of Solomon Spalding, scholars greatly crippled research into the Book of Mormon. If Joseph Smith wrote the book, there was no need to search for its sources; everything was ascribed to Joseph's imagination, with the help of Ethan Smith's book.
Joseph Smith did not have the education or ability to write the Book of Mormon. Solomon Spalding not only had the education and ability, but he had actually already begun writing a book dealing with the ancestors of the Indians. Furthermore, we have the testimony of many witnesses who recognized similarities between Spalding's second manuscript and the Book of Mormon. Scholars have merely swept aside this body of testimony, without performing the research necessary to prove its truth or falsity, and have replaced it with an hypothesis, which has no testimony to support it.
In recent years some Mormon scholars have shown an increased willingness to criticise the Book of Mormon. They seem to realize that there is no point in trying to defend the Book of Mormon as historically true in the face of mounting evidence against it. But there is reason to believe that they will never accept the Spalding theory. They want to say that the Book of Mormon is not literally true, but that it is true in some nebulous, mythological sense. This view is most clearly stated by Anthony Hutchinson, who has gone so far as to claim that "ultimately whether the Book of Mormon is ancient really does not matter" (Hutchinson 1993, 16). If Joseph Smith is responsible for the mythology of the Book of Mormon, he can still be called an inspired prophet. The Ethan Smith theory allows Joseph Smith a fair amount of creativity, but the Spalding theory denies him even this. If Joseph Smith merely appropriated Solomon Spalding's manuscript and passed it off as his own work, he can no longer be called a prophet in any sense of the term.
Mormon officials have always treated the memory of Solomon Spalding with contempt. The Messenger and Advocate referred to Spalding as an eccentric: "The Pioneer's 'friend of truth' has certainly got ahead of Mr. Campbell: He says that the 'true origin' of the writing composing the book of Mormon, is from the pen of an eccentric Spaulding, who carried the same to Pittsburgh, but died soon, and that since they have been altered a little, and now appear as the book of Mormon" (Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, April 1835). In 1839 Sidney Rigdon wrote an attack on the proponents of the Spalding theory, accusing Philastus Hurlbut and E. D. Howe of scandalous behavior and of manipulating Spalding's widow. With great sarcasm, Rigdon declared, "Hence their lies came signed by the pious wife of a pious deceased priest" (Davis, Scales, and Cowdrey 1977, 50). In their commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, Hyrum Smith and Janne Sjodahl inexplicably felt compelled to brand Spalding as mentally feeble: "Sidney Rigdon, it has been said, was the real inspirer, if not author, of the Book of Mormon. The story is that a mentally feeble clergyman, named Spaulding, wrote a book which he called the Manuscript Found, and which was left with a printer in Pittsburgh, Mr. Patterson, who did not print it because he failed in business. Then, it is alleged, it fell into the hands of Sidney Rigdon, and he induced the Prophet to publish it as the Book of Mormon" (Smith and Sjodahl 1972, 188). During a symposium in November 1984, Bruce McConkie stated: "There is not much the world can do about the Book of Mormon. It is here and it is what it is. It cannot be modified or changed. Men have no choice but to believe or disbelieve it. If they disbelieve they can talk about Solomon Spaulding or any other figments of their imaginations that suits their fancies of the moment" (Nyman and Millet 1985, 12).
The Book of Mormon is what it is, and it provides many clues about the sources that were used in its composition and about the identity of its author. It is the fact that the book cannot be changed which makes it such a valuable witness. The Mormon church has tried to dismiss Solomon Spalding as a feeble-minded eccentric, while proclaiming an uneducated boy as a prophet and translator. But Spalding was not feeble-minded, and he was not the figment of anyone's imagination. He was the author of the original manuscript, which Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery reworked and published as the Book of Mormon.
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