(from post by Steve Benson, "Sidney Rigdon Knew Joseph Smith Before 1830 and Helped write the Book of Mormon," RfM, 22 September 2014)
It has been asserted on this board as supposedly "pretty well established that Joe and Sidney didn't meet until after the Book of Mormon was published. Why do people think he [Rigdon] helped write it? Surely a better case can be made for Joe and Joe Snr putting it together with the help of Cowdery? I'm skeptical of the Spaulding-Rigdon theory myself, but it's treated like doctrine around here for some reason."
Apparently, it's even worse than "doctrine"--at least as far as "archytas" is concerned. It's the result of a conniving plot of some sort:
"I find it ironic than an advocate of the Spaulding theory is criticizing other people over supposed errors in historical methodology. Do you believe in all conspiracy theories or just the Spaulding theory?"
("Re: Defend the Rigdon-Book of Mormon theory," posted by "archytas," on "Recovery from Mormonism" bulletin board, 8 March 2013; and "Re: Joseph Smith, a 'Pious Fraud'?-Fraud? Yes. Pious? Hell, No. (Part 1 of 3)." posted by "archytas," on "RfM" discussion board, 15 September 2014)
_________
Actually, "archytas," the reason why there's justifiable skepticism regarding your claim--namely, that "a better case can be made for Joe and Joe Sr putting it together with the help of Cowdery"--is because there are persuasive historical indicators that, in fact, Rigdon knew Smith before 1830 and participated in the concoction of the Book of Mormon.
**RfM poster "Makurosu' notes, for example, that "there is sufficient evidence to make the theory quite plausible," citing as a solid research source in that regard the book,"The Spalding Enigma: Who Really Wrote The Book Of Mormon?," by Wayne L. Cowdrey, Howard A. Davis and Arthur Vanick.
"Makurosu" also points out that "[t]here are a few eyewitness accounts placing Smith and Rigdon together before the Book of Mormon was published. Also, there is some evidence that Rigdon was working on a book similar to the Book of Mormon, and he can be placed at the print shop where the Spalding manuscript was last seen. Spalding's widow and his brother and other witnesses were familiar with his book and said they believed the Mormons had plagiarized it. It goes on and on. It's not iron clad, but it's a plausible theory. . . .
". . . 'The Spalding Enigma' is a tremendous book just for the research into the friends and family of the usual characters you read about in early Mormon history. It provides a context I haven't seen anywhere else in addition to the excellent introduction to the Spalding-Rigdon theory. Another good book is "Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess" by Richard S. Van Wagoner. That one follows Rigdon's life before Mormonism and long afterward into the 1870s. It gives you a sense of what he brought to Mormonism so that you can see it in the writing of the Book of Mormon."
"Finally, I recommend 'Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon,' by Robert D. Anderson. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a hypothetical diagnosis of Joseph Smith's mental illnesses by the author who is a psychiatrist, but the research into the Smith family and their possible influence on the Book of Mormon is also interesting. Lehi's family is very similar to Joseph Smith Sr.'s family, and the moves they made are similar to the moves made by the Smith family. [NOTE: I concur with "Makurosu's" recommendations in this regard, having in my personal library all three books for ready and reliable reference].
("Re: Defend the Rigdon-Book of MOrmon theory," posted by "Makurosu," on "RfM" discussion board, 8 March 2013)
**Also taking to task attacks on the "Rigdon-Book of Mormon theory is RfM poster "Uncle Dale," who writes:
"I'll restate a slightly exaggerated 'attack' that I made
upon this subject, tithe late Vernal Holley c. 1975:
"1. Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt and Oliver Cowdery all swore that Rigdon knew absolutely nothing about Joseph Smith, the golden plates, or Mormonism, before Cowdery and Pratt presented Sidney with the BoM late in 1830.
"2. Rigdon, Pratt and Cowdery were all honest, trustworthy men, whose testimonies are frequently cited by objective historians. There is no reason to doubt their testimony.
"3. From late 1824 until late 1830, when he met Cowdery and Pratt, Rigdon lived in a remote frontier town, farm from Joseph Smith. From 1824 to 1827 he was not even on a stage route, had few neighbors -- there is no way that he could have even known of an obscure farm boy in far off New York; much less have met him.
"4. Rigdon was a popular Cristian preacher by 1830. He was well respected and trusted by hundreds of devout Christians. None of his parishioners knew anything about Joseph Smith, or any gold bible. Had Rigdon been in contact with Smith, somebody would have noticed that and reported it. Nobody ever accused Rigdon of any such connection with Smith, until the Spalding lie was first published by E.D. Howe at the end of 1834.
"5. Considering points 1-4, we can safely assume that Rigdon was telling the truth, that he never knew nothing about the gold plates, Book of Mormon, Mormonism, or Joseph Smith until months after the book was published.
"Therefore, there is no reason to even begin investigating all the other claims of the Spalding-Rigdon lie.
"Needless to say, Vern had a compelling counter-argument."
" . . . [W]hat really surprised me was the material Vern had assembled, in order to show that Sidney Rigdon DID [original emphasis] know about the Gold Bible, prior to his famous meeting with Cowdery and Pratt late in 1830. . . . Vern convinced me that Rigdon MUST [original emphasis] have known about the Gold Bible well before he saw Cowdery and Pratt carrying the Book of Mormon. Years later, Rigdon's biographer came to the same conclusion. . . .
"Yes, Sidney Rigdon was accused of having a hand in writing the Book of Mormon, by people who knew him, years BEFORE [original emphasis] anything was ever published regarding Solomon Spalding.
"That came as an astounding revelation to this (then) young and observant Latter-day ay Saint."
("Re: Defend the Rigdon-Book of Mormon theory," posted by "Uncle Dale," on "RfM" discussion board, 8 March 2013)
**RfM poster Craig Criddle provides damning details pointing to Rigdon-Smith connection prior to 1830:
"Evidence implicating Rigdon as a major contributor to the Book of Mormon
"There is strong evidence for a collaborative authorship model for the Book of Mormon, starting with Solomon Spalding and gradually engaging Rigdon, Smith, and others, with Rigdon playing a major role from behind the scenes.
"Rigdon was highly motivated to produce a work of scripture as a response to Alexander Campbell (Rigdon's mentor/nemesis), and especially as a response to Campbell's 1825 plan to produce a revision of the Bible. There are many reasons why Rigdon would need to conceal his role in such a scheme if he hoped to attract away followers from Campbell (to "puke Campbellism" as he put it). And he clearly needed help in bringing the new scripture to light in a way that would seem miraculous. He was not a magician, but Smith was. This is documented in Episodes 3 and 4 at
http://mormonleaks.com.
"In 2008, Jockers et al. published a paper supporting the conclusion that Rigdon was a major contributor. The preprint is available here:
http://www.matthewjockers.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/LLCPreprintReassess1.pdf.
"The final published paper is available here:
http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/4/465.abstract?sid=9d31ab0c-5ea4-4409-98a6-d9daa858a33a"Here's a 2009 summary of the multiple lines of historical and textual evidence implicating Rigdon:
http://sidneyrigdon.com/criddle/rigdon1.htm"Since 2009, additional historical and textual evidence has been assembled. You can see it at Episode 3 at
http://mormonleaks.com. There is plenty of documentation in the footnotes.
"The following are some of the arguments that seem especially strong to me:
"--Rigdon was named as a likely author of the Book of Mormon before his connection to Solomon Spalding was known. Spalding was named as a contributor to the Book of Mormon before anyone knew about his connection to Rigdon. Separate groups of people independently made these allegations. We now have both historical and textual evidence linking Rigdon to Spalding.
"--Rigdon had motive, means and opportunity to modify the Spalding base text to create the Book of Mormon (Episode 3 at
http://mormonleaks.com) and to conceal his connections.
"--Computer text analyses attribute specific sections of the Book of Mormon to Rigdon based on his usage of frequently used words (Episode 3 at
http://mormonleaks.com). These attributions align well with usage of "Wherefore" and the phrase "children of men" in the front & back of Book of Mormon. They also align with an unusual Early Modern English usage of "that", and with content similar to "View of the Hebrews". Most of this evidence is presented in Episode 5 at
http://mormonleaks.com.
"--Theology taught by Rigdon before 1830 appears in the Book of Mormon. In particular, a conversion sequence taught in 1828 by preacher Walter Scott (Rigdon's preaching partner) appears in the front & back of the Book of Mormon, parts of the Book of Mormon created after the lost pages incident - and the same sections where Rigdon's "word print" is strongest. Campbell considered the appearance of this conversion sequence in the Book of Mormon to be conclusive proof of Rigdon's involvement. This evidence is available in Episode 5 at
http://mormonleaks.com";;
{"Evidence implicating Rigdon as a major contributor to the Book of Mormon," posted by "Craig C," on "RfM" discussion board, 8 Mary 2013)
**Allow me to chime in with quoted reference to the following observations about a pre-1830 Rigdon/Smith/Spalding/Book of Mormon connection. For starters, the premise that Rigdon did not meet Smith before 1830 is an historically-contestable claim:
"Historical evidence connecting Rigdon to Smith before 1830'
"Prior to 1830, Rigdon reportedly made several statements in which he indicated his foreknowledge of the Book of Mormon and the impending rise of a new religion.
"At a Reformed Baptist convention in Aug 1830, Rigdon spoke of a fuller revelation about to come forth and the need for a complete restoration of the gospel.
"Rigdon denied meeting Smith before 1830, but several people reported seeing him at or near the Smith's prior to that date and Rigdon's calendar contains gaps at critical time periods when he would have had time to visit Smith.
"In 1868 Rigdon wrote a letter in which he claimed to know the contents of the sealed portion of The Book of Mormon.
"James Jeffery, a friend of Rigdon's, testified that in 1844 he heard Rigdon say that Smith used a Spalding manuscript to fabricate The Book of Mormon.'"
("Could Joseph Smith have written the Book of Mormon?," under, "Historical evidence connecting Rigdon to Smith before 1830," at:
http://www.mormonthink.com/josephweb.htm)
More connecting points between Rigdon and Spaulding (thank you Craig Criddle):
"Historical Evidence Connecting Rigdon to Spalding
"Rigdon Shared a Post Office with Solomon Spalding and Evidently Frequented a Print Shop Where Spalding Had Left a Manuscript Entitled 'Manuscript Found' for a Time. The Manuscript Disappeared. Spalding Reportedly Suspected Rigdon Had Taken It.
"John Winter Reported that Rigdon Kept a Copy of a Spalding Manuscript in His Study
"Witnesses Familiar with Spalding's 'Manuscript Found' testified that it was Similar to the Book of Mormon but Lacked the Religious Content
"Rigdon and Spalding were Independently Named as Authors Before Anyone was Aware of a Connection Between Them.
"In 1839, Rigdon Wrote a Letter Denying his Role in the Composition of The Book of Mormon. His Letter Contained Demonstrable Falsehoods.
"In 1888, Walter Sidney Rigdon, Sidney Rigdon's Grandson, Said that his Grandfather's Role in Fabrication of the Book of Mormon was a Family Secret."
("Sidney Rigdon: Creating the Book of Mormon," by Craig Criddle, at:
http://www.mormonthink.com/mormonstudiesrigdon.htm#20)
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**For a robust and persuasive debate about the Spalding Manuscript being the most likely source for the Book of fMormon, see the entire above-mentioned RfM thread (where, by the way, anti-Spalding scoffer "archytas" enters the debate but doesn't fare all that well):
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,819013,819013#msg-819013' see also, Vernal Holley's "Book of Mormon Authorship," at:
http://www.solomonspalding.com/docs2/2001vern.htm)
**Also, the following is a telling look at Rigdon's fingerprints, as they appeared all over the pre-published Book of Mormon, through the vehicle of Solomon Spalding's pre-1830 manuscript writings:
"Amazing Hidden Facts about the Book of Mormon's Origins . . .
"(Reference notes taken from 'Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon' by Cowdery & Scales, unless otherwise stated.)
"1. FACT: A Rev. Solomon Spalding (sometimes spelled Spaulding in records), a retired Congregational minister, wrote a fiction novel (then called a romance, though this did not indicate that it was a love-story). The novel was called Manuscript Found, but has since at times been referred to as Manuscript Story. The story was written around 1812 and was inspired by the excavation of a nearby Indian mound, and was about the migration of a group of Israelites to the new world.
"2. FACT: The manuscript was read to Spalding’s friends, relatives, neighbors, and parishioners between 1812 and 1815.
"3. FACT: Spalding died in 1816. The manuscript had previously been taken to a print shop for possible publication. The shop was in Pittsburgh and was owned by Mr. R & Mr. J Patterson. Their printer, a Mr. J.H. Lambdin was often seen by townsfolk with Sidney Rigdon.(pg. 95-96)
"4. FACT: Spalding before his death told a minister friend named Joseph Miller (see page 100) that "Rigdon had taken it, or was suspected of taking it." Spalding’s widow also (see page 94) stated as early as 1820 that she believed Sidney Rigdon had copied the manuscript (remember, this was years before the Book of Mormon was published).
"5. FACT: Oliver Cowdery’s law partner (Cowdery was one of the original three witnesses to the Book of Mormon) in Tiffin Ohio, Judge W. Lang, stated, 'Rigdon got the original (Manuscript Found) at the job printing office in Pittsburgh.'
"6. FACT: A Dr. J. Winter testified that he saw Rigdon with the manuscript, and Rigdon told him that a Presbyterian minister had brought 'this' to the printers to see if it would pay to publish it. (p. 105)
"7. Mrs. Amos Dunlap was the niece of Rigdon’s wife. She stated that as a child she visited the Rigdon family (around 1826-27). 'During my visit Mr. Rigdon went to his bedroom and took from a trunk which he kept locked a certain manuscript. He came out into the other room and seated himself by the fireplace and commenced reading it. His wife at that moment came into the room and exclaimed, "What! you’re studying that thing again?" Or something to that effect. She then added, "I mean to burn that paper." He said, "No, indeed, you will not. This will be a great thing someday.' (p, 107)
"8. Harvey Baldwin tells that his father heard Rigdon preach in the church in Bainbridge and visited Rigdon’s home several times. When he would arrive at the Rigdon home, he would often find Rigdon in a room by himself, and each time Rigdon would hurriedly put away books and papers he was examining, as if he did not wish them to be seen. (p. 108)
"9. FACT: Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, was snowbound in a hotel in Mentor Ohio, with a man named R.W. Alderman. Alderman states that he learned from Harris then that 'Rigdon had stolen a manuscript from a printing office in Pittsburgh, Pa., which Spalding....had left to be printed. . . . . Joe (Smith) and Rigdon did (print it), as the Book of Mormon." (p. 145)
"10. FACT: Sidney Rigdon, during the 4-year period between 1823 and 1827, was a minister who kept an official itinerary record, and in it were many gaps. He apparently made numerous trips from his home in Bainbridge, Ohio, to Palmyra NY (250 miles) where Joseph Smith lived, being gone for weeks at a time. (Ref. pp. 118-120)
"11. FACT: Although Rigdon denied having known Smith before the Book of Mormon was introduced (around 1829) he was seen at Joseph Smith’s home and reported to be with Smith by all of the following according to their testimony: (see pp. 125-on)
"Able Chase, an acquaintance, a teenager at the time--'I saw a stranger there who they said was Mr. Rigdon. He was at Smith’s several times, and it was in the year of 1827 when I first saw him there, as near as I can recollect.'
"Mr. Gilbert, proofreader for the Book of Mormon--he states that in a conversation with a Mr. Lorenzo Saunders, who knew the Smiths well, Saunders said 'he knows that Rigdon was hanging around Smith’s for 18 months prior to the publishing of the Mormon Bible.'
"Mrs. S.F. Anderick, a neighbor stated (p. 134) 'Several times while I was visiting Sophronia Smith at old Jo’s house, she told me that a stranger who I saw there several times in warm weather and several months apart, was Mr. Rigdon.'
"Daniel Hendrix, acquaintance of Joseph Smith and Rigdon: he related hearing Joseph Smith tell people in 1828 about the 'bonanza he had found. . . . golden tablets.' 'For the first month or two at least Joe Smith did not say himself that the plates were any new revelation or that they had any religious significance, but simply said that he had found a valuable treasure in the shape of a record of some ancient people. . . . He (Rigdon) and Joseph Smith fell in with each other and were cronies for several months. It was after Rigdon and Smith were so intimate that the divine part of the finding of the golden plates began to be spread abroad.... Smith and Rigdon had hard work to get funds together for the new Bible.'
"Mr. Pearne, former neighbor of Smiths told others he saw Smith and Rigdon together before the Book of Mormon was published (p. 143).
"Mrs. Eaton, interviewed Smith’s neighbors regarding Rigdon, and concluded that a stranger came to the Smith’s home in the summer of 1827, whose name was Sidney Rigdon. (p. 145)
"12. FACT: Rigdon was a Campbellite Minister in 1827-29, who had been excommunicated from being a Baptist minister because of teaching heretical beliefs. During this time period before the Book of Mormon came out, his congregation heard him often preach about a coming new revelation (page 108) that would make the Bible outmoded, and he even seemed to know it would speak of America’s ancient inhabitants, solve the mystery of the mounds, there would be the return of miracles, and a new system of sharing all things in common, and more. (pp. 108-116) Some state this information was given as early as 1827, and was detailed enough that they concluded that he must have known all about the Book of Mormon when he preached these things.
"13. FACT: Rigdon himself told a man named James Jeffries the following information, according to Jeffries: 'He and Joe Smith used to look over the M.S. and read it on Sundays. Rigdon said Smith took the MS. and said, "I’ll print it," and went off to Palmyra, New York.' (p. 104)
"14. FACT: An acquaintance of both Rigdon and Smith named Dr. J.C. Bennett stated the following in 1842:
"'I will remark here...that the Book of Mormon was originally written by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, A.M., as a romance, and entitled the "Manuscript Found," and placed by him in the printing-office of Patterson and Lambdin, in the city of Pittsburgh, from whence it was taken by a conspicuous Mormon divine, and re-modeled, by adding the religious portion, placed by him in Smith’s possession, and then published to the world as the testimony exemplifies. This I have from the Confederation, and of its perfect correctness there is not a shadow of doubt.' (the Confederation refers to the inner circle of Smith’s friends).
"15. FACT: Sarah Pratt, the wife of an early Mormon leader, read this view of Dr. Bennett’s in a book he wrote, and said the following:
"'This certifies that I was well acquainted with the Mormon Leaders and Church in general, and know that the principle statements of John C. Bennett’s book on Mormonism are true."
"16. FACT: (While the above could be referred to as a hostile witness, consider the following:) Isaac Butts who knew Rigdon from 1820 on, stated that when he came back to Ohio after Mormonism had made converts there, people he had known earlier in New York WHO WERE CONVERTS to the church told him that they had seen Sidney Rigdon much with Joseph Smith BEFORE THEY WERE CONVERTED. (Rigdon supposedly was converted about the same time as they were). (pp. 142-43)
"17. FACT: David Whitmer, the third witness to the Book of Mormon did not believe the 'Spalding theory,' but stated in his booklet, 'An Address to All Believers in Christ,' that the story had been printed in the Encyclopedia Britannica and the American Cyclopaedia.
"He believed Rigdon and Smith first met in the winter of 1830. But he also states that Rigdon and Smith immediately became intimate, and Rigdon was given the position of first counselor and vice president of the church by the end of 1830. . . .
"Whitmer states that the whole idea of the Priesthood was not a part of the original church nor in the original revelations (compare early sections of the 1830 Book of Mormon with their counterparts in the Book of Commandments to see this is true), but it 'all originated in the mind of Sidney Rigdon.' (Who is in control here?) Elder was the highest office of the church originally, and about two thousand had been baptized into the church by men who held only that office. Whitmer outlines other doctrinal problems in his booklet, and states 'If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; . . . then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to "separate myself from among the Latter Day Saints."'
"18. FACT: The manuscript of 'Manuscript Found' was FOUND in Hawaii in 1884, and is now at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.
"19. FACT: The manuscript body is handwritten by Spaulding, and is 116 pages long (does that number ring a bell?). The Book of Mormon is about 538 pages long. ( There would have been over two years of time that Rigdon and Smith had to collaborate on and expand the manuscript, according to the above-mentioned records and testimony).
"20. FACT: There are many parallels between the two documents:
"Both have the same content or story line. The Book of Mormon has much more religious or doctrinal content. Both documents purport to give a condensed history of the extinct inhabitants of ancient America.
"Both manuscripts describe in similar terms how the author came by the ancient records upon which the story is based. Spaulding says the records are found in an artificial cave on the top of a mound near his home. A lever is used to lift the heavy stone which covers the entrance to the cave. The Book of Mormon says the records were in a stone box buried in the ground near the top of a hill not far from his home. He, too, uses a lever to lift a large stone that serves as a cover to the box.
"Both tell that the author encounters supernatural difficulties in removing the records from their hiding place.
"Both relate that the author made a 'translation' of the Old World language used in the records and that this translation is a condensation of earlier civil and sacred records.
"Both state that the condensed version thus produced will be reburied along with the original so that it will remain preserved to come forth in the future when the Gentiles (Europeans) inhabit America.
"Both describe a sea voyage with a great storm which causes them to pray for deliverance; both describe light and dark-skinned people, the same arts and sciences being known to the ancient people, a God-person who is white, the use of seer stones, a war to the death between two nations who were once brothers, and a final battle fought on a hill.
"Even in some details we see resemblance: Both Spalding and Smith have the group of travelers of about the same number; both find America teeming with wild beasts; both groups appoint judges, have all things in common, and urge each other not to intermarry with the natives. In both accounts, the native Americans wear animal skins about their loins, shave their heads and paint them red, and carry slings, bows and arrows as weapons.
"Both writers make the same mistake of stating that the planets revolve about the sun, long before such knowledge would have been known by humans. Both stories describe modern horses, domesticated mammoths or elephants, the use of steel, and the cultivation of wheat in ancient America, even though there is no archaeological evidence of any of this.
"Theological concepts that are similar are presented in the same order.
"The first quarter of Spalding’s manuscript is written in the first person, and the rest in the third person. The Book of Mormon follows that pattern, and the change occurs at the same place in both stories.
"To quote Vernal Holley, who wrote 'Book of Mormon Authorship: A Closer Look,' p. 38:
"Identical or similar word combinations, redundant sentences, parallelisms, contradictory thoughts in sentence structure, indecision in the use of words, poor sentence composition, the use of lengthy runs, biblical-like metaphors, and the use of King James Bible English by both Spaulding and the Book of Mormon author are all further arguments that Spaulding may have been the author of the Book of Mormon."
"21. FACT: In 1839, Spaulding’s widow, Matilda Spaulding Davison, made this statement:
"'After the "Book of Mormon" came out, a copy of it was taken to New Salem, the place of Mr. Spaulding’s former residence, and the very place where the "Manuscript Found" was written. A Mormon preacher appointed a meeting there and in the meeting read and repeated copious extracts from the "Book of Mormon." The historical part was immediately recognized by all the older inhabitants, as the identical work of Mr. Spaulding in which they had been so deeply interested years before." (New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette, Concord, N.H., May 6, 1839)
"22. FACT: 11 of Spaulding’s relatives and friends, a former employee and landlord, and others all gave signed statements of their belief that Spaulding’s writings were connected with Smith’s Book of Mormon (E.D. Howe, 'Mormonism Unveiled,' Painesville, Ohio, 1834).
"23. FACT: Many of Smith’s neighbors, in their testimony about him, also stated that he was lazy, was a liar, and in the mid 1820’s often engaged in digging at nighttime for buried treasures, using a seer stone or peep-stone. Court records show he was convicted of being a 'glass-looker' (he was charging for fortune-telling about treasures that did not materialize when dug for) in 1826. It is also a fact that as soon as he had a good number of converts, he led them to sell their homes and farms and give the money to the church (him) and go to Ohio. (OPINION: It would appear that Smith found the treasure that enabled him to live the rest of his life without having to do any manual labor.)
"24. Before his death, Rigdon’s final words on this subject were, 'My lips are forever sealed.' (Think, dear reader: Innocent people have nothing to hide!)
"While I understand the Mormon person’s NEED to discredit all of the above, I would suggest that it is simply unreasonable to suggest that EVERY ONE of the above people whose testimony is mentioned above conspired against Joseph Smith in an ORGANIZED way to create such a dovetailed story of fraud, and he ALONE is to be believed. May I suggest that God has not asked us to make a PERSON the object of our faith.
"While there are many differences between Spalding's book and the Book of Mormon, it is also true that Sidney Rigdon's pastor wrote a book called 'View of Hebrews,' and it presented the same ideas regarding the Indians being Jews, and the idea of a 'restored' church was being taught in Smith's day as well. . . . "
("Amazing Hidden Facts about the Book of Mormon's Origins," original emphasis, at:
http://www.mormonsinshock.com/Origins.htm)