Mormon History
New Light on Mormonism - 1885
The Salt Lake Daily Tribune
May 24, 1885
NEW BOOKS.
________
This
book seems to have been written by a sincere and capable author. It
begins with a life of Solomon Spaulding, and his authorship of "The
Manuscript Found;" the fate of the book from 1816 to 1834 is followed;
a sketch of the life of Joseph Smith, and of the printing of the Book
of Mormon is given, and a sketch of Sidney Rigdon. There are
reminiscences of Solomon Spaulding, with Hurlburt and Howe; a
description of the Kirtland Temple; the history of the Mormons in
Missouri and Nauvoo, and a description of the Nauvoo Temple; the
election of Brigham Young as President, and the expulsion of the
Mormons from Illinois. The early political history of the Mormons in
Utah follows; the influences of the Mormons over the Indians; and an
account of the massacre at Mountain Meadows. There is a sketch of
Brigham Young; a dissertation on polygamy; the trial of Rudger Clawson;
a description of Salt Lake City, and an account of the Mormon
organization. The closing chapter is devoted to the Josephites. There
is not much in the book which is new to residents here, but it is
well-written and interesting.
Note: Mrs. Dickinson's New Light on Mormonism was published in the
spring of 1885 and apparently copies had reached Utah by mid-May.
Recalling how readily the Tribune had opened its columns to articles on
Solomon Spalding, Sidney Rigdon, etc. a few years before, it seems
strange that its editors in 1885 had essentially nothing to say about
Dickinson's book and the several key pieces of documentation it made
available to followers of the Spalding authorship claims for the Book
of Mormon. A review of the Dickinson book embodying considerably more
description and analysis of her work may be found in the June 27, 1885
issue of The Literary World.