In 1884, a man named L. L. Rice found the manuscript among some papers he had purchased, and he turned it over to Oberlin College in Ohio. Oberlin Spalding manuscript 1885 RLDS Church edition, Oberlin Spalding manuscript 1886 and 1910 LDS Church editions, Spalding biography in 1867 Dartmouth Alumni publication, The FARMS Review of "Wayne Cowdrey, Howard Davis, and Arthur Vanick (2005). Because of political intrigue, the elopement results in a great war between the two nations and the loss of much life but the ultimate vindication of the prince and his princess. Some critics of the Church have claimed that Joseph Smith used the manuscript to write the Book of Mormon. When Rice, Fairchild, and several others compared the Spaulding manuscript with the Book of Mormon they “could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail.” Fairchild concluded that “the theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon in the traditional manuscript of Solomon Spaulding will probably have to be relinquished.” 6 [4] It is a historical romance "purporting to have been translated from the Latin, found on 24 rolls of parchment in a cave, on the banks of the Conneaut Creek". Spaulding’s fiction is about a group of Romans blown off course on a journey to Britain who arrive instead in America. Howe, pp. From 1809 to 1812, Spalding worked on a historical fiction about a Roman discovery of the Americas.

(Myth of the Manuscript Found, 1883 edition, page 71) Mormonism states "It was through the use of the Urim and Thummim that Joseph Smith was able to translate into English, from the gold plates, the Book of Mormon, consisting of over five hundred printed pages." Whether these texts are distinct is disputed. Those who do not accept the Book of Mormon as scripture offer many theories about its origin. [5][6], Around 1812, Spalding allegedly completed a historical romance distinct from the Oberlin Manuscript which "purported to have been a record found buried in the earth". M. D. Bown, “One Hundred Similarities Between the Book of Mormon and the Spaulding Manuscript” (N.P., … Those who want to know if the Book of Mormon is true can seek such knowledge from the Holy Ghost, which is promised to all who sincerely ask. In 1795, Spalding married Matilda Sabin and opened a store with his brother Josiah in Cherry Valley, New York. The 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theory of Book of Mormon authorship is the theory that the Book of Mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by Solomon Spalding.

In 1799, they moved the store to Richfield, New York. Since neither Root nor anybody else had possession of Spalding's alleged second manuscript, he stated that The Oberlin Manuscript "does not seem to throw very much light" on the question of whether the second manuscript was used as a basis for the Book of Mormon. In 1782, he entered Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, graduating with the class of 1785. Several years later, Spalding's widow and daughter, other residents of Conneaut, and residents of Amity, Pennsylvania, also signed statements indicating that Spalding had authored a manuscript that was similar to the Book of Mormon. The faith of Latter-day Saints around the world rests on a foundation of modern scripture revealed through Joseph Smith. Spalding was born in Ashford, Connecticut. This claim has been discredited many times by people inside and outside of the Church. The Spalding Enigma: The Fallacy of Repetition Continued? [3] In October 1787, he became an ordained Congregationalist preacher in Windham, Connecticut. One of the earliest theories was that the Book of Mormon was based on a manuscript by Solomon Spaulding (also spelled “Spalding”), a fictional story about early inhabitants of America.
An unfinished manuscript copy of this work exists, called "The Oberlin Manuscript" or "Honolulu Manuscript".
As part of his task, Hurlbut spoke with several people from Ohio who claimed to have seen the Spaulding manuscript. This page from the original Book of Mormon manuscript contains the story of Nephi trying to obtain the brass plates from Laban, found today in 1 Nephi 4:2–24. Like other attempts to discredit the Book of Mormon, the theory of the Spaulding manuscript is based on the belief that an unlearned man such as Joseph Smith could not have created a book as detailed and rich as the Book of Mormon and that he, therefore, must have obtained the content from some other source. [6] Spalding moved to Pittsburgh and reportedly took this manuscript to the publisher Patterson & Lambdin, but Spalding died in 1816 before the manuscript could be published.[7]. In his later years, he wrote a novel, which he never published. In 1795, Spalding married Matilda Sabin and opened a store with his brother Josiah in Cherry Valley, New York.

[2] After Spalding's death, a number of individuals suggested that Spalding's work was used as a source by Joseph Smith for the Book of Mormon, a scripture in the Latter Day Saint movement. In fact, 11 witnesses testified that they saw the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. In 1832, Latter Day Saint missionaries Samuel H. Smith and Orson Hyde visited Conneaut, Ohio, and preached from the Book of Mormon. Five of the scribes—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, John Whitmer, Christian Whitmer, and Samuel Smith—also gave their testimonies as witnesses of the Book of Mormon. [9], Some modern scholars question the validity of the eyewitness accounts of this second manuscript. This page from the original Book of Mormon manuscript contains the story of Nephi trying to obtain the brass plates from Laban, found today in 1 Nephi 4:2–24. Neither man was a member of the Church, and both certified that the manuscript could not have been the source of the Book of Mormon. He was a member of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Around this tim… In 1833 a committee of Ohio residents hired Philastus Hurlbut, who had been excommunicated from the Church, to collect information about Joseph Smith and the origins of the Book of Mormon. Solomon Spalding[1] (February 20, 1761 – October 20, 1816) was the author of two related texts: an unfinished manuscript entitled Manuscript Story – Conneaut Creek, and an unpublished historical romance about the lost civilization of the mound builders of North America called Manuscript Found. In 1812, due to the disruptions of the War of 1812, Spalding moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It tells of a Roman ship which discovers America.

After this original manuscript was completed, a second copy was made for the printer’s use. It has no connection with the Spaulding manuscript.