Oberlin Spalding MS
The Spalding Studies Site
Dedicated to Exploring the Solomon Spalding Authorship Claims
for the true origin of The Book of Mormon
Solomon Spalding (1761-1816) was a lapsed Calvinist evangelist, a failed New York
businessman, and hopeful author of a prehistoric American epic story giving an account
of the vanished Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley. In the early 1830s he was identified
In the one surviving example of his reported voluminous fictional writings, Mr. Spalding
demonstrated a unique interest in fabricating ancient scriptures and religious innovations
for governing the morality of a nation's citizens. In later life he became an atheist (or perhaps a deist) who privately criticized and satirized the religious practices and beliefs
of the day -- however his awkward attempts at literary humor were never profitable.
Solomon Spalding obviously could not have composed the entire Book of Mormon --
The Modern Spalding-Rigdon Theory examines his likely posthumous influences.
last updated:
April 2015
A great deal of material relating to Mr. Spalding and his writings is available in the form
of internet resouces. This site does not attempt to monitor or comment upon anything
more than a mere sampling of what is available for the interested investigator.
Selections from the old Book of Mormon Studies Homepage provide unique information and intriguing possibilities; among which is the seminal article by Craig Criddle: "Sidney Rigdon: Creating the Book of Mormon." Dr. Criddle's investigations contributed to a 2008 word-print study of the Spalding-Rigdon claims -- the results of which were reviewed in his 2009 lecture -- his more recent presentations will be reviewed at PreMormon.com.
In 2005 the California-based Spalding Research Associates released Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon: The Spalding Enigma (see their Mormon Studies Homepage)
An ongoing study of shared language in Spalding's manuscript pages and the Book of Mormon demonstrates that certain sections of the Book of Mormon overlap the known Spalding writings to a greater degree than do other sections of that book. It may be possible for literary analysts to re-create portions of the "Nephite Record" attributable to Spalding's pen. A CD-ROM book on this topic is forthcoming from Ron Dawbarn and Margie Miller in the near future: an "Ether" excerpt is available at PreMormon.com.
Additional Associated Sites:
|
Jos. Smith History Vault
(Vintage Mormon texts) |
Old Mormon News Articles
(19th Century Newspapers) |
Before Mormonism Library
(Books from Spalding's era) |