The Founder of Mormonism/Chapter 3

The Book of Mormon is unique in Americana. John Eliot translated a bible for the Indians, Joseph Smith translated a bible of the Indians. In asserting their belief that this 'record of the forefathers of our western tribes'^[1] was 'filled with Egyptian characters and hieroglyphics,'^[2] the Mormons have offered a regular psychological puzzle in credulity. Yet the nut is not so hard to crack by literary methods, and the fiction is mixed with enough fact to warrant study.

The problem of the original materials of the Book of Mormon has two aspects: one theoretical, as to the 'gold plates,' the other practical, as to the state of the extant manuscripts. The Mormons still pro​fess belief in the actuality of the plates, written, as they say, by the hand of Mormon, about 300 A. D.; hid up in the hill Cumorah in New York State and found by Joseph Smith, junior, in these latter days.^[3] To account for the final disappearance of these 'engravings of old records which are ancient,' they have evolved a theory of levitation.^[4] The so-called transcription of the alleged gold plates is still in existence.^[5] It is proved the authentic document from a comparison with the characteristic signature of Joseph Smith, junior,^[6] and also from the directness of transmission. It was long in the possession of David Whitmer,^[7] the second of the three witnesses ​to the Book of Mormon, and from him passed to his grandson.^[8]

​On the opposite page there is given a photographic reproduction of the 'Caractors' as curiously written by young Smith. He says that, in December, 1827, he commenced copying the characters of the plates, and by means of the Urim and Thummin he translated some of them.^[9] Their genesis is thus given by the prophet's mother: 'After bringing home the plates . . . Joseph began to make arrangements to accomplish the translation of the Record. The first step that he was instructed to take in regard to this work, was to make a facsimile of some of the characters, which were called reformed Egyptian, and to send them to some of the most learned men of this generation and ask them for the translation thereof.'^[10] The 'facsimile' was first submitted to a local pundit, by Martin Harris, Joseph's financial backer; the former described it as 'a slip of paper which contained three or four lines of characters, as unlike letters or ​hieroglyphics of any sort as well could be produced were one to shut up his eyes and play off the most antic movements with his pen upon paper.'^[11] In February, 1828, Harris took a secondary copy of this document to Professor Anthon of New York city.^[12] He pronounced it 'a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of crooked characters, disposed in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters, inverted or placed sideways, were arranged and placed in perpendicular columns.'^[13]

​A garbled account of this interview was afterwards published by the prophet.^[14] In this the scholar is made to assert that the untranslated characters from the plates were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic, but that he could not read that part of ​the plates which was sealed, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, that the learned could not read the words of a book that was sealed.^[15]

At the time, young Smith doubtless believed in the supernatural origin of his transcript. The reason for this was that it was written under more or less unconscious conditions. The man who first saw it almost hit the nail on the head when he said such characters could be produced if one were to shut up his eyes. As will be seen, the paper bears marks of being written under the influence of veritable crystal gazing. In that self-induced, trance-like state Joseph's involuntary scratchings would appear to him occult, mysterious, true revelations from heaven. For a scientific explanation of the matter there is no need to call in the activities of a 'second personality,'^[16] but merely those of the subconscious self. The scrawl is analogous to the scribblings of the undeveloped automatically-writing hand,^[17] ​such as is found even among the uncivilized.^[18] If the ultimate solution of this document is a problem for abnormal psychology, its make up is no great mystery. As the contents of the Book of Mormon can be traced to indigenous sources—the ideas which Joseph picked up in the Indian country where he lived—so it is with these characters. The more elaborate resemble the picture writing of the aborigines, such as would interest a boy.^[19] It is going too far to hunt for Greek and Hebrew letters, for the tables of foreign alphabets had not yet appeared in current dictionaries.^[20] The job is home-made: if Joseph had not taken the matter so seriously, this might be considered an amusing burlesque on a fariner's almanac, for he has only half concealed the signs of the Zodiac and those cabalistic aspects and nodes which may go with the planting of potatoes.

That which betrays the puerility, and, at the same time, the genuineness of the document, is the curious fact that the youth's own name appears twice in a sort of cryptogram. His neighbors called him 'peep-stone Joe,' his mother said that he was given ​to deep meditation and study,' he himself described his 'Interpreters' as crystals,—all this, taken in connection with his manner of 'translating,' furnish the clue to this original autograph. As his scribe, Martin Harris, affirmed: 'Brother Joseph knew not the contents of the Book of Mormon until it was translated.'^[21] As is elsewhere shown, Joseph's condition, under the influence of his 'Urim and Thummim,' was semi-hypnotic.^[22] Now it is a commonplace of experiment that while in this state, which is hardly more than reverie, the subject often writes back-handed, or backwards, or even left-handed with the right hand.^[23] Now if the transcription be turned over and read through from the back there may be deciphered towards the right end of the third line, below 'Caractors,' first, the letters J O E, backhand and rather indistinct; and, second, the letters ​S O J, more upright and better formed.^[24] In other words, the youth, without knowing it, wrote his nickname entire and half of his given name in reverse.

That unconscious cerebration played a large part in the evolving of the gold plate scheme is not improbable. The youthful prophet's self-obfustication is likely from an antecedent heritage of credulity. There may not have been continuous faith in his continuous revelations, but there was, throughout his life, a naïve confidence in his own learning. As Voltaire said of Habbakuk, he was ​capable de tout. In April, 1829, he translated a 'parchment written and hid up by John the beloved disciple.'^[25] As soon as the Book of Mormon was on the market, he started on the Visions of Moses; six months later there were revealed the Writings of Moses.^[26] In March, 1833, the prophet was told not to translate the Apocrypha, for it was 'mostly translated correctly.'^[27] In July, 1834, he ​had completed a 'Revised Translation of the Old and New Testaments'; as he said: 'it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.'^[28] In 1842, as editor of the notable third volume of the Times and Seasons, he published a 'Translation of some Ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the Catacombs ​of Egypt, the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon Papyrus.'^[29] Six months before his death the prophet said: 'I combat the error of ages and solve mathematical problems of universities with truth, diamond truth.'^[30] On August 20th, 1843, he told a visitor at Nauvoo that, relying on the 'gift of tongues,' he could 'read Greek as fast as a horse can run.'^[31] Finally he promulgated his famous refutation of the statement, that the word Mormon is borrowed from the Greek word, signifying a bugbear or hobgoblin:—

I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation. Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means 'good,' for the Saviour says, according to the Gospel of St. John, 'I am the good shepherd,' and it will not be beyond the common use of terms to say that good is amongst the most important in use and, though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to bad. We say from the Saxon, Good; the Dane, God; the Goth, Goda; the German, Gut; the Dutch, Goed; ​the Latin, Bonus; the Greek, Kalos, the Hebrew, Tob; the Egyptian, Mon; hence with the addition of more, or the contraction, mor, we have the word Mormon, which means literally, more good.'

To the followers of the prophet, all this was very wonderful; it satisfied their greed for the unknowable, and was proof of the supernaturalness of his wisdom. To clinch the matter, the apologists for the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, lay stress on the author's early lack of education. One gives him but a limited understanding of the three rudiments;^[32] another calls attention to the misspelling of the word 'Caractors.'^[33] Where then did he get his esoteric linguistics? To the faithful it is a mystery: the stream rises higher than its sources. It is here that extremes meet; the devout exaggerate their founder's ignorance to heighten the wonder of his writings, the profane to prove that his works were another's. Neither considers the possibilities of his ​mentality, that along with what he called a 'fearful imagination,'^[34] he had an adhesive memory, and that whatever fell in his way stuck fast. It is true that he had little use for books,^[35] but he utilized men. The learning of his contemporaries was poor but he made it his own. His absorptive acts were many and various. He was directed by revelation to 'study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people.' So the Visions and Writings of Moses came out with the appearance on the scene of Sidney Rigdon the peripatetic prodigy of the Western Reserve.^[36] Again Joseph began publicly to interpret the Hebrew Scriptures, some time after 'Messrs. Peixotto and Noah' had been impressed into the 'department of Hebrew in the University of Nauvoo.'^[37] But in the biblical tongues he apparently ​got no further than this: 'I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible, Berosheit.' Finally before his polyglot audiences^[38] he flourished a polyglot Bible, and 'preached a little Latin, a little Hebrew, Greek and German.'^[39]

All this the Saints believed came as the result of a revelation to Joseph to study the languages. But Smith's linguistic masterpiece was the Book of Abraham. Joseph announced this to be 'a translation of Some Ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt';^[40] an Egyptologist pronounced it to be an account of the Resurrection of Osiris.^[41] But the Frenchman took the Yankee Tartuffe more seriously than he took himself. Josiah Quincy said there was an unmistakable wink in Smith's eye after showing off 'the Egyptian Mummies, and the autograph of Moses.'^[42] ​It is a relief to find this single gleam of humor in the dreary sketch of seriousness. But that the prophet anticipated Artemus Ward in the show business would hardly be allowed by the Saints. Of the evolution of the Book of Abraham,^[43] the official Mormon account is as follows:—'July 3d, 1835, Michael H. Chandler came to Kirtland to exhibit four Egyptian mummies and two or more rolls of papyrus, covered with hieroglyphic figures and devices. They were afterwards purchased by some ​of the Saints, and Joseph Smith, junior, translated some of the characters on the rolls. One was found to contain the writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph in Egypt.'^[44]

To return to the writings of the latter day Joseph in America, and to take up the practical question of the state of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. The printed editions furnish no exact information: they only serve to give a hazy idea of the immense number of successive corrections. The Mormon preaching of continuous revelation is like the Mormon practice of continuous emendation. Comparing a late with the earliest edition, two thousand changes have been counted.^[45] But the publishers themselves admit editorial corrections. While the title page of the third edition^[46] reads,—'Carefully revised by the translator,' the preface of the second edition^[47] is more frank as to the possibility of variations:—

There is further, definite, first-hand information and from Mormon sources. The typesetter of the first edition said that he supplied all the punctuation, but did not change the spelling of more than one or two words.^[49] In fine, from extant testimony,^[50] it is hard to show that the changes in the ​Book of Mormon are of more than secondary importance.

To take up the more important question of origins and the vicissitudes of the original document, in the handwriting of Joseph's scribes. Its fate has been compared to that of young McPherson's Ossianic documents, which were never forthcoming.^[51] The case is hardly analogous: so late as 1887, David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses, claimed to have in his possession the very original, in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery and others.^[52] This Cowdery manuscript is now in New York City, having been transmitted to the present possessor,^[53] through Whitmer's grandson.^[54] That this is close to the original, is to be surmised from the interest taken in it by the Utah Mormons. It is contended that Whitmer did not sell it, fearing interpolation in the pages containing the condemna​tion of polygamy.^[55] There is some ground for believing that Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith. considered the manuscript genuine. In view of the Mormon's handling of the alleged Spaulding prototype of the Book of Mormon, their critical opinion is worthless.

To examine the document in question. There are three bits of external evidence, which imply the existence of a number of first hand copies. The second edition uses the plural,—'original manuscripts'; Whitmer himself mentions another partial transcription^[56] while at the same time, he asserts ​that his copy is the original. But the promoters themselves furnish considerable information. The most definite statement is that regarding a commandment, received by Joseph soon after June 11, 1829, when the book was copyrighted. It was to the effect that Oliver Cowdery should transcribe the whole manuscript and that he should take but one copy at a time to the office, so that if one copy should get destroyed, there would still be a copy remaining.^[57]

That the original has disappeared, and that the manuscript in hand is the secondary Cowdery copy, remains to be proved. Negatively, the state of the manuscript does not agree with the statements of the author. Joseph employed three scribes in dictating the translation of the Record. These were, in order, his wife, Emma Hale; a schoolmaster, Oliver Cowdery; and a farmer, Christian Whitmer.^[58] ​Now the three amanuenses would eventuate in three distinct styles of handwriting, but here the script is throughout the characteristic and authenticated hand of Cowdery. More positively the uniform quality of the paper, the continuation of the water marks and like signs^[59] go to show that this ​manuscript is not the piecemeal original, but the work of one person.

Leaving these material signs, there remain verbal and literal tests^[60] for determining the further question of date, for finding out how early this document really was. From a comparison of several passages with the first three editions of the Book of ​Mormon, from a close scrutiny of spelling, punctuation, capitalizing and phrasing, it is fair to conclude that this is a complete contemporary copy transcribed from the original. There may be taken in evidence of this the famous anti-polygamy passage reproduced on the opposite page.^[61]

​But to return to the original proposition,^[62] these characteristic textual erasures and scribal repetitions lead one to the conclusion that this is the veritable duplicate copy hurriedly transcribed by Oliver Cowdery, between the copyright in June, 1829, and the completion of the printing early in 1830.^[63] In final proof of this is the noteworthy circumstance that the author's impossible preface, suppressed after the first edition, is here presented with all its blemishes and blunders. For literary purposes, then, this Cowdery copy is of extreme importance. In all probability, this is a literal transcript of the only part of the Book of Mormon where Joseph Smith set his pen to paper. Cowdery was a district schoolmaster,^[64] and his spelling and spacing ​only occasionally suffer a relapse, but this preface^[65] agrees with the prophet's confession of youthful illiteracy.^[66]

PREFACE.^[67]

To the Reader—

As many fals reports have been sirculated respecting this the following work & also many unla | wful measures taken by evil desineing persons to destroy me & also the work I would | inform you that I translated by the gift & power of God & caused to be written one | hundred and sixteen pages the which I took from the Book of Lehi which was an ac | count abridged from the plates of Lehi by the hand of Mormon which said account | ​some person or persons have stolen & kept from me not withstanding my utmost exer | sion to recover it again & being commanded of the Lord that I should not translate | the same over again for Satan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord their God | by altering the words that they did not read conterary from that which I translated & | caused to be written & if I should bring forth the same words again or in other words if I | should translate the same over again they would publish that which they had stolen & | Satan would stir up the hearts of this generation that they might not receive this work | but behold the Lord said unto me I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish | his evil design in this thing therefore thou shalt translate from the plates of Nephi | untill you ye come to that which ye have translated which ye have retained & | behold ye shall publish it as the record of Nephi & thus I will confound those which | have altered my words I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work yea I | will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater then the cunning of the Devil | wherefore to be obediant unto the commandments of God I have through his grace | and mercy accomplished that which he hath commanded me respecting this thing | I would also inform you that the plates of which hath been spoken were was found in | the township of Manchester Ontario County New York

The Author.