Well, I am a conspiracy theorist. I think it makes a tremendous lot of sense.
If you choose to follow in Dan Vogel’s footsteps, I refuse to criticize that.
If it didn’t make some sense, it wouldn’t have stayed around all of these years. As Criddle said in his paper, it has predictive power. I think it is significant that Rigdon lied to cover up as shown in this excerpt from Criddle’s work:
"For five years after publication of Howe’s Mormonism Unvailed on Nov 28, 1834, Rigdon and Smith provided no written rebuttal to that book’s central thesis, i.e. that Rigdon had modified Spalding’s work to create The Book of Mormon, On May 27, 1839, however, Rigdon finally wrote a denial, accompanied by a vicious attack upon Matilda Spalding Davison (Solomon Spalding’s widow) after she had provided a statement to the Boston Recorder (April 19, 1839) implicating Rigdon in the fabrication of The Book of Mormon. A portion of her letter read as follows:
Code:
Here [in Pittsburgh] Mr. Spaulding found a friend and acquaintance in the person of Mr. Patterson, who was very much pleased with it, and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it for a long time, and informed Mr. Spaulding that, if he would make out a title-page and preface, he would publish it, as it might be a source of profit. This Mr. Spaulding refused to do. Sidney Rigdon, who has figured so largely in the history of the Mormons, was at that time connected with the printing office of Mr. Patterson, as is well known in that region, and, as Rigdon himself has frequently stated, became acquainted with Mr. Spaulding's manuscript and copied it. It was a matter of notoriety and interest to all connected with the printing establishment. At length the manuscript was returned to its author, and soon after we removed to Amity where Mr. Spaulding deceased in 1816. The manuscript then fell into my hands, and was carefully preserved. (See: [home1.gte.net/dbroadhu/RESTOR/Lib/New1839a.htm](http://home1.gte.net/dbroadhu/RESTOR/Lib/New1839a.htm))
Rigdon’s denial letter is available at:
solomonspalding.com/docs2/Rob1905a.htm
Cowdrey et al. (2005) have demonstrated that Rigdon’s letter contained various deceptions. These are summarized in the following paragraphs.
In his letter, Rigdon claimed no prior knowledge of Spalding (“I had not the most distant knowledge of his existence”), or of Spalding’s work (“lying scribblings”, “a bundle of lies for the righteous purpose of getting money”), and disparaged Spalding while attacking Matilda (“I of necessity have a very light opinion of him as a gentleman, a scholar, or a man of piety; for had he been either, he certainly would have taught his pious wife not to lie, nor unite herself with adulterers, liars, and the basest of mankind.”). His claim to have never known Spalding and his work is refuted by the testimony of Rebecca Eichbaum who worked in the Pittsburgh post office during the time Rigdon and Spalding both lived there. See:
solomonspalding.com/docs/Eich1879.htm#1879a
As evidence that he had not acquired a copy of Spalding’s work at the Patterson print shop in Pittsburgh, Rigdon claimed “There was no man by the name of Patterson during my residence in Pittsburgh who had a print shop”. It is now known that Rev. Robert Patterson had control of a print shop owned by his cousin, Silas Engles and connected with the Patterson book shop, and that he lived in Pittsburgh for a time period overlapping the time of Rigdon’s residence in Pittsburgh (1821 - Feb, 1823)). It is also known that Patterson operated as a news agent and bookseller until nearly fifteen years after the death of his Junior partner (J. H. Lambdin) in Aug 1825 (Cowdrey et al., 2005).
Regarding the print shop, Rigdon claimed “what might have been there before I lived there I know not.” It is now known that (1) Rigdon visited Pittsburgh before the time he lived there to collect his mail; (2) Rigdon had an extensive personal library, and Pittsburgh was the most likely place for him to have obtained his books, (3) Rigdon had a personal association with J. H. Lambdin, the clerk, and Silas Engles, the printer for the Patterson publishing house from 1812 to 1816, (4) Rigdon manufactured leather book bindings for Engles.
See:
solomonspalding.com/docs/Eich1879.htm See:
lavazone2.com/dbroadhu/PA/penn1860.htm#021779
The only story that holds up is that the Vikings were here, and there are parallels in the BOM.