Transcriber's Comments
Arthur S. Anderson's 1999 book
Mr. Anderson's book is entertaining in some places, but it is obviously not the sort of novel to catch the fancy of the general reading public. The primary story element -- a couple's discovery of some old Solomon Spalding manuscripts -- is perhaps too arcane a subject to support the writer's "third person omniscient" narrative. This tale is not "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" by any measure.
Had the author woven the manuscript discovery events, as a secondary sequence, into an otherwise well written novel, this "holy grail" aspect of his story might have supplied a readable sub-plot. To a certain extent Mr. Anderson has attempted to do this, but without the central, manuscript recovery theme, the remainder of his tale comes across as rather facile storytelling. Few of the book's readers will care much who Roy Cargill and Julie Morgan are -- or how and why their less than scintillating relationship flowers in the course of Anderson's story.
Getting Back to Basics
By making Roy and Julie's discovery of Spalding's "Manuscript Found" the book's central plot element, Mr. Anderson sets before himself the daunting task of convincingly portraying the whole "Spalding theory's" effect upon the LDS Church, from the early years of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth. The task would be a difficult one, even for an accomplished historian and a talented fiction writer, so it comes as no surprise that Mr. Anderson falters in this enterprise before he lays even half a dozen chapters before his readers. The necessary convincing portrayal of the "Spalding theory" calls for the writer to accurately and succinctly summarize numerous historical events, while at the same time not boring the average reader with the trivia of the Mormon past. First and foremost the storyteller needs to construct a believable scenario as to how Spalding's writings formed the basis for Mormonism's first scriptures and how and why it was that the first Mormons (Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, etc.) built Mormonism upon that literary base.
Beyond all of this, the book's writer should have attempted to create a compelling connection between some of these historical Mormon characters and his story's modern protagonists. This, Mr. Anderson has not accomplished. Nor has he presented a credible explanation of how those first Mormon leaders connect, through the passage of time time and extension of their common cause, to the men who now operate the LDS Church, seventeen decades after (in Anderson's mid-1990s setting) that church's founding. Assuming that the Spalding writings did form the core of the first Mormon scriptures, some of those "first Mormons" knew that fact and maintained a cover-up of the embarrassing truth for many years -- well into the modern era. Whether the more recent heirs to the LDS high command have been knowing sustainers of the deception, or merely the unaware perpetuators of the shadowy legacy, their prominent, active participation in Dark Mormon Beginnings might have given Anderson's novel some much needed "plot grit."
Enter the Danites -- Stage Right
Not wishing to involve potentially litigatious latter day "prophets, seers, revelators and translators" in his anti-Mormon tale, Anderson provides cardboardy surrogates, in the characters of some sub-apostolic LDS functionaries and an extracurricular band of contemporary "Danites." To make a long story short, the LDS officials work through what appear to be fundamentalist RLDS destroying angels to try and suppress the publicization (and publication) of Spalding's manuscript. This unlikely contrivance leaves the top Salt Lake City leadership entirely out of the picture and fosters a series of unbelievable scenarios in which the "Danites" chase, capture, lose, and attempt to murder Roy and Julie. While such a "car chase" sequence is perhaps inevitable in this sort of fictional melodrama, Anderson allows his already weak storyline to fall apart in farfetched performances, which neither effectively further the plot nor develop the drab interaction between Roy and Julie.
Had Mr. Anderson been slightly more imaginative in his writing, he might have summoned forth a super-secret remnant of James J. Strang's Mormon Order of the Illuminati, coupled with a mentally unstable octogenarian "Council of the Fifty" LDS Apostle, and a rogue Chief of Church Security, to play the roles of latter day "Danites." At least these sorts of imaginary characters might have supplied plausible motives (and some interesting "black programs" technical resources) for their pursuit of Roy and Julie across the country, in sundry attempts at destroying the damning manuscript.
Philosophical Issues
Anderson ventures out gingerly, here and there, to address some philosophical issues associated with his presumed non-divine origin of the Book of Mormon. He curiously advances the notion that, "If man is to learn from the past, he must know the truth, for distorted history tells us nothing." Unfortunately most reconstructions of the past are "distorted," to some extent, and when "truth prevails" it still may not affect what most people believe to be reliable history.
Anderson correctly concludes that the modern discovery of any relevant Solomon Spalding writings would not have much impact upon LDS Church membership -- at least not in the short term. The average Mormon wants scriptures he can place his trust in, without a very complicated account of where they came from and why he should accept them in good faith. The typical parishioner's basic desire for "pat answers" in the realm of religion will dissuade most members from listening to unorthodox and alarming explanations, no matter how strong the evidence (or the media message) for a non-divine Book of Mormon may ever be. Also, while some LDS leaders and functionaries might experience a knee-jerk reaction to such evidence, compelling them to procure, suppress or destroy any "white salamander" historical documents within their reach, true religious faith and natural human curiosity will probably serve to mitigate those kinds of pernicious reactions. It is unlikely that a latter day suppression of such "manuscripts found" would be entirely successful. And, were these things "found," their long term effect upon Latter Day Saintism would hardly be catastrophic.
On the other hand, any official LDS admission that parts of the Book of Mormon rely upon the fictional productions of Solomon Spalding would be problematic indeed. Such an admission undercuts the professed historicity and reliability of the "Nephite Record," and that, in turn, undermines the Mormon doctrine of the literal gathering of Israel upon the American continent. Anderson suggests that "Theologians in the church would find some way to deal with the problem," but such a reliance upon the "precepts of men" would create as many new problems for Mormonism, as it solved old ones. Despite the rise of an occasional Orson Pratt or James Talmadge among the LDS leadership, its claim to prophetic authority does not rest upon the ruminations of seminary-trained intellectuals. When theologians "spiritualize" the overtly literal message of the Book of Mormon, that effort tends to weaken the book's pronouncements for America being the "land of promise," where latter day Israel will gather, under the restored priesthood, in the "one true church." Ultimately, any official LDS admission that the Book of Mormon is not what it says it is, will be an admission of a disintegration of authority at the topmost levels of the Church. It is very doubtful that the LDS hierarchy would thus patronize its own disestablishment, in any event.
A Ticklish Uncertainty
One philosopical topic missing from Arthur S. Anderson's novel is any speculation, on his part, as to what effect a well publicized discovery of documents disproving the divinity of the Book of Mormon might have upon the LDS missionary outreach. While the faithful Latter Day Saint would not leave the Church nor quit paying his tithing, just because tabloid newspaper headlines at the local supermarket check-out stand blared forth: "Book of Mormon a Fake!," such media publicity could have a dampening effect upon prospective conversions to the LDS and RLDS causes. Anderson might easily have capitalized upon this ticklish uncertainty, by introducing a character into Dark Mormon Beginnings who had been on the verge of becoming a Mormon, but who cast aside that weighty determination after encountering Roy and Julie, and hearing about their alarming discovery. This sort of counter-convert might even have been put to use as a helpmeet for the endangered couple in their flights from the "Danites," etc.
The final paragraph of Mr. Anderson's book begins with these words: "The experts never fully agreed on the
manuscript's authenticity..." And, of course, the findings of such experts rarely change the course of history --
unless those findings can be made to serve the purposes of popular persuasion and partisan politics. It is barely
conceivable that a contemporary Amasa M. Lyman or a Richard R. Lyman might one day pick up and use the "findings of
the experts" as a tool for furthering his influence amidst internecine apostolic rivalries. Probably only in such
an unlikely event would the "Spalding claims" or the "Ethan Smith claims" or any other similar set of expert
conclusions be brought to bear directly upon the LDS establishment. If this farfetched novel ever requires an
equally farfetched sequel, a passable story might be conjured up from these cabalistic cogitations. Then again --
perhaps it would be best to forget the whole idea.
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