Cumorah revisited

Front matter

or 1

"The Book of Mormon" and the Claims of the Mormons Re-examined from the Viewpoint of American Archaeology and Ethnology

By

Preface

Having been taught in childhood to believe that the antiquities of America are the work of those accomplished races described in the Book of Mormon, I early acquired an interest in the study of American archaeology and ethnology that has not abated, but has increased as the years have gone by.

It was while living at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the year 1900, that I conceived the idea of making a special study of the Book of Mormon from this viewpoint for the purpose of putting out a small pamphlet on the subject. As I entered deeper and deeper into the study, the work grew until it reached its present proportions, and as discrepancy after discrepancy between the claims of the Book of Mormon and the facts of science were discovered, I became more and more surprised that this ground had not been more thoroughly worked by the anti-Mormon polemic before, while I became more and more convinced that in the data acquired by archaeological and ethnological research the opponent of this system has a mass of evidence which, if rightly used, will completely demolish the claim of the historical credibility of the Book of Mormon.

For the last half century, at least, the Mormons have put out works on American archaeology, but most of these have been mere collations of passages from scientific writers, taken here and there without a consideration of the context and often so arranged as to give an entirely different impression to the reader than their authors sought to convey. My plan has been to state fairly the Book of Mormon, or the Mormon, position on a certain point, and then to refute it by bringing to bear against it the latest and best authority obtainable. As the reader will notice, the later writings of Nadaillac, Brinton, Powell, Moorehead, Dellenbaugh, Shaler, Thomas, Peet, Henshaw, Holmes and Russell have been given precedence over the earlier writings of Adair, Boudinot, Priest, Baldwin, Foster and others. American archaeology is a growing science, and many of the old opinions have had to be given up as research has progressed.

I wish here to acknowledge my indebtedness to the authors from whom I quote, and to disclaim any intention of posing as an authority on American anthropology. All that I have done, for which I can justly ask credit, is to marshal the facts of archaeology, already gathered, against the citadel of Mormon error. How well this has been done will be for the reader to decide.

I also wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Charles Gibson, Mr. Jeff. D. Ward and Mrs. A. E. W. Robertson, of Indian Territory, for Indian vocabularies ; to Rev. J. S. Howk, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, for lists of words in the Hebrew and Chaldee ; to Rev. S. D. Peet, of Chicago, Illinois, for valuable suggestions and for information touching certain points in which his work as an archaeologist has been involved ; and to R. B. Neal, of Pikeville, Kentucky, and Prof. R. C. Robbins, of Mendota, Illinois, besides a number of others who have rendered valuable help in various ways.

Charles A. Shook.

Buchanan, Michigan, August 19, 1908.

CHAPTER I. Page

The Rise of Mormonism. Is the Book of Mormon one of Solomon Spaulding's romances? — An outline of Book of Mormon history — The Book of Mormon and American archaeology 15

Chapter II

The Origin of Man in America. The antiquity of man in America — How man reached America — The native tribes and nations of America — The ruins of America — The traditional history of America — Archaeological knowledge in 1830 60

Chapter III

Were the Ancient Americans of the White Race? White Indians — Traditions of white and bearded men — Red-haired mummies — American craniology 139

Chapter IV

Are the American Indians of Jewish Descent? History of the theory — What the Book of Mormon teaches — Analogies : Division into tribes, worship of Jehovah, notions of a theocracy, belief in the administration of angels, languages and dialects, manner of reckoning time, prophets and priests, festivals, fasts and religious rites, ablutions and anointings, separation of women, abstinence from unclean things, marriage, divorce and punishment of adultery, cities of refuge, purifications and preparatory ceremonies, ornaments, burial of the dead — Madagascaran, Mongolian and Malayan analogies — Facts fatal to the theory 173

Chapter V

Were the Ancient Central Americans and Mexicans the Jaredites and Nephites ? What Mormons claim — The ancient Central Americans and Mexicans were not white — The first people of Central America were savages — The first civilized peoples came from the north — The contact of the ancient peoples — The first civilized people not exterminated — Extent of the ancient empires — Toltec history 216

Chapter VI

Were the Mound Builders the Jaredites and Nephites? History of the discussion on the nationality of the Mound Builders — What Mormons believe — The Mound Builders one race — The Mound Builders not one nation, but many tribes — The- direction of Mound-builder migration — The antiquity of the Mound Builders — The culture of the Mound Builders — The nationality of the Mound Builders 256

Chapter VII

The Civilization of Ancient America. The origin of ancient American civilization — Did it come from the tower of Babel? — Ancient American civilization not derived from the Jews — Egyptian analogies examined — The antiquity of ancient American civilization — Certain features of American civilization which oppose the Book of Mormon — The ancient Americans did not manufacture iron and steel tools — The ancient Americans did not have the horse — The utter absence of wheat and other Oriental cereals 3 21

Chapter VIII

The Religions of the Americans. The native idea of Go — The Mayan trinity — Was Quetzalcoatl Jesus Christ? The Indian devil— The American cross — The American priesthoods — Rites and ceremonies — Cosmogony — Mythology — Eschatology — The ancient religions as revealed in the ruins and remains — The absence of Jewish and ii

Christian antiquities — The ancient temples like the modern — The presence of idols among the antiquities — The etchings and paintings — Altars — Effigy mounds 384

Chapter IX

The Native Languages of America. Their supposed resemblance to the Hebrew examined — Their similarity to the Chinese and other tongues — Not wrecks, but developments — The structure of the American languages — The diversity of the American languages — Supposed Book of Mormon words in American nomenclature 462

Chapter X

The Hieroglyphics of America. No uniform system of ancient writing — The character of the Maya hieroglyphics — The origin of the Maya writing — The antiquity of the Maya writing — The "Caractors" — The purported and genuine statements of Anthon — Are the "Caractors" Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyrian and Arabic? — Are the "Caractors" American? — The "Caractors" deformed English — Archaeological frauds — The Grave Creek tablet — The Kinderhook plates — The Newark tablet — The Davenport tablet — The Mendon plates — Conclusion 502

Appendix

The Bogus Relics from Michigan

ILLUSTRATIONS

"Hill Cumorah" Frontispiece

Map of Jaredite Lands 48

Map of Nephite Lands 53

Map of Linguistic Stocks of North America 79

Map of Linguistic Stocks of South America 83

Cavate Ruins. . 93

Cliff Dwellings 97

Map of Nations and Ruins of Central America and Mexico 101

Casa Colorado. . . •. 105

Monitor Pipes 312

Shell Gorget 313

Ground Plans Maya Temples 339

Quetzalcoatl Crucified, No. 1 407

Quetzalcoatl Crucified, No. 2 408

Mexican Pictographs 505

Indian Pictographs 510

Cut of "Caractors" 522

Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyrian and Arabic Characters 528

Mayan Characters from Palenque 536

Mayan Characters from Copan 537

Mayan Characters from Quirigua 538

Mormon "Caractors" and English Characters 539

The Grave Creek Tablet 541

The Kinderhook Plates 547

The Davenport Tablet 558

Characters on Bogus Antiquities from Michigan 570

Chapter I

The Rise of Mormonism — Is the Book of Mormon One of Spaulding's Romances? — Historical Outline of the Book of Mormon — The Book of Mormon and American Archaeology.

Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was born in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, December 23, 1805. His father's name was Joseph, and his mother's maiden name was Lucy Mack. Besides Joseph, there were eight other children, as follows: Alvin (who died in 1824), Hyrum, Samuel, William, Don Carlos, Sophronia, Catherine and Lucy. When Joseph was in his tenth year the family removed to Ontario (now Wayne) County, New York, and settled at Palmyra, four years afterwards removing to Manchester, in the same county, where he spent his young manhood and where the history of Mormonism properly begins.

In both Palmyra and Manchester the Smiths bore an unsavory reputation, and Joseph was reared in ignorance and poverty, and is reputed to have been indolent, loose in his habits and of questionable veracity. Dan ford Booth, a neighbor, says of him : "I knew Joe Smith personally to some extent, saw him frequently, knew well his reputation ; he was a lazy, drinking fellow, and lcose in his habits in every way." Orrin Reed, another neighbor, testifies : "Smith's reputation was bad." And William Bryant says of the family: "I knew the Smiths, i6 but did not associate with them, for they were too low to associate with. There was no truth in them. Their aim was to get in where they could get property. They broke up homes in that way. Smith had no regular business. He had frequent revelations." 1

Mormon writers try to make it appear that Smith has been grossly slandered, but it would seem from his own confessions that the charges of his neighbors were not far from the truth, for he admits that after receiving hii first revelation even he drifted away, "fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth and the corruption of human nature," which led him "into divers temptations, to the gratification of many appetites offensive in the sight of God." 2 It is only natural that a man should touch his own failings lightly, and it seems most likely that his "foolish errors" were his dissolute habits mentioned in the testimonies of his neighbors.

Soon after the Smiths removed to Manchester a revival commenced in that place, which, beginning with the Methodists, soon became general among the other sects of the community — the Baptists and the Presbyterians. As a result of strong sectarian prejudices, we are told, there was no little contention among the people, which considerably disturbed the mind of young Joseph ; he being partial to the Methodists, though his mother, his brothers, Hyrum and Samuel, and his sister, Sophronia, had been proselyted to the Presbyterians. While in this state of mind, he tells us, he one day read the words of James: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him." Taking the apostle's counsel, he sought the seclusion of the forest and laid his desires

1 "Braden and Kelley Debate," p. 119.

2 "Mr- Durant, of Salt Lake City," p. 71.

before the Lord in prayer. Scarcely had he begun to pray, he says, than he was seized by some unseen power which so bound his tongue that he could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around him, and it seemed for a time that he was doomed to destruction. Terrorstricken, he exerted all his powers to call upon the Lord, when, to his great joy, a pillar of light, brighter than the sun, descended upon him, dispelling the darkness, and his power of articulation was restored. At this juncture two personages stood before him with a brightness and glory beyond description. One of them, pointing to the other, said : "This is my beloved Son, hear him."

"My object in going to inquire of the Lord," says Joseph, "was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong), and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight ; that those professors were all corrupt."

Soon after seeing this vision Joseph related his experience to the Methodist preacher, who, he says, treated his story with contempt, saying that the whole thing was of the devil, and told him that there are no such things nowadays, they having ceased with the apostles.

On the night of the 21st of September, 1823, according to his story, he was favored with another vision. After retiring for the night, he betook himself to prayer and supplication, when his room was illuminated with a heavenly light and a personage appeared before him who i8 gave his name as Moroni. He said that he Lad come from the presence of God, and told Joseph that there was a great work for him to do, and that his name should go out among the people for both good and evil. He informed him that there was a set of plates deposited in a hill not far from his home, which contained a history of the ancient inhabitants of America, and with them the Urim and Thummim by which they were to be translated. He also quoted a number of passages from the Bible and revealed the depository of the plates "so clearly and distinctly," says Joseph, "that I knew the place again when I visited it."

The next day, Smith tells us, he repaired to the spot, which was on a hill near Manchester, where he found a rock of considerable size, thick in the middle, but thin at the edges, which were covered with turf. Removing the earth and procuring a lever, he, with some difficulty, raised the rock, and found underneath, so his story goes, a stone box formed of four flat stones placed upright upon another which served as a bottom. The edges of these stones, we are told, were firmly held together with a certain kind of cement, and the whole formed a box of convenient size and so tight as to exclude moisture. This box is said to have contained, besides the plates and the Urim and Thummim, which were two transparent stones set in bows, a breastplate and the sword of Laban, an ancient resident of Jerusalem. Joseph made an attempt to remove the plates, but was forbidden by the angel, who told him that four years must needs elapse before they were to be delivered into his hands.

In October, 1825, Smith hired out to Mr Josiah Stoal, a resident of Chenango County, New York, who sent him to Harmony, Susquehanna County. Pennsylvania, to dig for a lost silver mine. While engaged in this labor he boarded at the home of Mr. Isaac Hale, where he met his future wife, Mr. Hale's daughter, Emma. The Hales were not at all favorable to Joseph's suit, on account of his dissolute habits — Joseph says it was because he persisted in his claim to have had a vision — and he and Emma eloped and were married at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South Bambridge, Chenango County, New York, January 18, 1827.

On the 22d of September following, Joseph went, he says, for the last time to "Hill Cumorah," where the angel delivered the plates into his hands, telling him that he would be held responsible for their safekeeping, and that if he let them go through carelessness or neglect he would be cut off.

Apostle Parley P. Pratt gives the following description of the plates and the Urim and Thummim : "These records were engraved on plates, which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was not far from seven by eight inches in width and length, being not quite as thick as common tin. They were filled on both sides with engravings, in Reformed Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, and fastened at the edge with three rings running through the whole. This volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters or letters upon the unsealed part were small and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, as well as much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, called by the ancients the Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent stones, clear as crystal, set in two rims of a bow. This was in use in ancient times by persons called seers. It was an instrument by the use of which they received revelation of things distant, or of things past or future.'' — A Voice of Warning, p. 73.

In December, 1827, Smith removed from Manchester, where he had been living since his elopement, to the home of his father-in-law in Harmony, Pennsylvania, to escape, he says, from persecution. It is very possible that the citizens of Manchester could have given a better reason for his flight. On the way, he declares he was detained at two different times by an officer with a search-warrant who was looking for the plates.

In the month of February, 1828, Martin Harris, a credulous farmer, who had been a friend to Smith and a believer in his story in Palmyra, came to Harmony, obtained a transcript of the characters which were on the plates, and took them to Xew York and presented them to Dr. Mitchell and Professor Anthon, two learned linguists of that city, for their examination. Harris gives the following account of what happened at Xew York:

"I went to the city of Xew York and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian. Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic, and he said that they were the true characters. He gave me a certificate certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him. He then said unto me, 'Let me see that certificate.' I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as the ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I can not read a sealed book.' I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation."

Upon returning from New York, Harris became Smith's scribe, and, after copying 116 pages, the Book of Lehi, he secured Smith's permission to carry the manuscript home with him to read to his wife, who did not prove as credulous as Martin. One evening, after reading the story to Mrs. Harris and some "pious friends," he locked the manuscript in a bureau drawer and also locked the door of the room. But, notwithstanding these precautions, on the morrow it was gone. It seems that Mrs. Harris did not approve of her husband's course, and, obtaining the manuscript, consigned it to the flames. Great was Smith's consternation when he learned of the misfortune. He, supposing that the manuscript had been preserved, was fearful lest, if he should write another Book of Lehi. the first would be produced, compared with the second, and the fraud be detected. On the other hand, if this part of the book were not reproduced, it would be a tacit confession of the imposture. At this critical time Joseph received another revelation in which he was told that the words of the manuscript had been altered so that they would read contrary to what had been written, for which cause he was commanded not to translate that portion of the plates again so that his enemies might "not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words." For his carelessness Harris lost his place as Smith's scribe, and was severely reprimanded by the Lord in a revelation to Joseph.

For several months the work of translating was interrupted, until the 17th of April, 1829, when Oliver Cowdery, who had been a schoolteacher in the Smith district in Xew York, and who had heard of Joseph's claims from his father, and who had arrived two days before, began his services as Smith's scribe.

The manner of translating was unique. Smith, so David Whitmer says, sat at one end of a table and Cowdery at the other. The plates were not directly before Joseph, but. with the Urim and Thummim in his hat and his hat over his face, he read off the stones the translation of the original characters to Cowdery, who wrote it down as it fell from his lips. And, we are informed, neither the characters nor the translation, both of which appeared on the Urim and Thummim, disappeared until after Cowdery had written the translation down correctly. 1

On May 15, 1829, John the Baptist appeared and ordained Smith and Cowdery, so they claim, to the Aaronic priesthood ; following which Joseph baptized Oliver, then Oliver Joseph, upon which they reordained each other to the same office to which they had been set apart by the spirit hands of the Baptist.

The Book of Mormon was finally translated, copyrighted June 11, 1829, and issued in book form early in 1830. With it appeared the testimony of three witnesses,

1 "Prophet of Palmyra," p. 26.

Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris ; and also the testimony of eight witnesses, Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith and Samuel H. Smith.

THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us ; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates ; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon ; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bare record that these things are true ; and it is marvelous in our eyes ; nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it ; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the

Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. Oliver Cowdery,

David Whitmer, Martin Harris.

the testimony of eight witnesses.

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold ; and as many of the leaves as said Smith has translated, we did handle with our hands ; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety, that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world to witness unto the world that which we have seen ; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.

Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer,

Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith.

On April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized at Fayette, Seneca County, New York, with six members : Joseph Smith, Aliver Cowdery, Samuel Smith, Hyrum Smith, David Whitmer and Peter Whitmer. Of these, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were called and ordained elders. This, in brief, is the history of the rise of Mormonism, chiefly from the Mormon viewpoint.

IS THE BOOK OF MORMON ONE OF SPAULDING's ROMANCES?

Gentiles, with few exceptions, 1 believe that the Book of Mormon is one of Solomon Spaulding's romances, which somehow fell into Smith's hands and was altered to suit his purpose. No matter what others may think, I agree with those who are of this opinion, although I have not always done so. 2

Solomon Spaulding was born at Ashford, Connecticut, in 1 76 1 ; graduated from Dartmouth College in 1785, and completed his course in theology in 1787. After this he preached for a time, but finally became an infidel, quit preaching and engaged in merchandizing in Cherry Valley, New York, where he failed financially in 1807. In 1809, with a business partner, Henry Lake, he built a forge at Conneaut, Ohio, where he again failed in 18 12. The same year he removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in which city he lived for two years, removing then to the town of Amity, in the same State, where he died in 1816.

It was while living at Conneaut that he became interested in the aboriginal works of the country, and began his career as a writer of romances based upon them.

His first story proves to be a fictitious history of a company of Romans who, in a voyage to Britain in the time of Constantine, were driven from their course by contrary winds and were carried to our shores. They

1 D. H. Bays, for years a prominent minister in the Josephite Church, says, in his "Doctrines and Dogmas of Mormonism," p. 25: "The entire theory connecting Sidney Rigdon and the Spaulding romance with Joseph Smith in originating the Book of Mormon must be abandoned." He connects Oliver Cowdery with Joseph in the fraud.

2 I refer the reader to the excellent little work, "The Origin of the 'Book of Mormon,' Re-examined in Its Relation to Spaulding's 'Manuscript Found'," by A. T. Schroeder, for sale at the Utah Gospel Mission, 739 Republic St., Cleveland, O., for a thorough discussion of this question from the anti-Mormon viewpoint.

found their way inland, and one of them wrote a history of two Indian tribes, the Sciotans and Kentucks, who were said to have lived on the Ohio River. Spaulding pretended to have found this history, written in the Latin language on twenty-eight rolls of parchment, in a stone box in a cave on Conneaut Creek. It is evident that this story was never finished, for it ends abruptly. Spaulding gave as his reason for throwing it aside that he wished to go further back in his dates and write in the old Scriptural style, that his story might appear more ancient. In 1834 this manuscript was loaned by Spaulding's widow to one Dr. D. P. Hurlburt, who was then gathering evidence against the Mormons, and was turned over by him to a Mr. E. D. Howe, editor of the Painesville (O.) Telegraph, who was writing a book, "Mormonism Unveiled." Howe subsequently sold out to one L. L. Rice, who started an antislavery newspaper, and among other things transferred to him this manuscript of Spaulding's. The Spaulding family, losing track of the manuscript, charged Hurlburt with having sold it to the Mormons, but this was subsequently proved untrue, for Mr. Rice, who in the meantime had removed to Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, discovered it among old papers in his possession in 1884, and afterwards deposited it in the library of Oberlin College, where it still remains. Both of the Mormon churches have published copies of this manuscript, and insist that it forever settles the question of the Book of Mormon originating in the writings of Solomon Spaulding. 1

1 Mormon writers and speakers try to make it appear that this is the only manuscript that Spaulding ever wrote. The Deseret News for July 19, 1900, says: "The discovery of the manuscript written by Mr. Spaulding, and its deposit in the library at Oberlin College, O., . . . has so completely demolished the theory once relied upon by superficial minds that the 'Book of Mormon' was concocted from that manuscript, that it has