DAN VOGEL/SPALDING-RIGDON THREAD OPEN IN THE CELESTIAL FORUM

[_Jersey Girl]

Hello Dale,

Before I leave the computer, I wanted to let you know that when I contacted Craig Criddle about the discussion here, he stated that he did not have time to participate. I wanted to say for the record for those who are reading this board, that Craig Criddle is someone I hold in the highest regard on account of his integrity, character, abilities and motivations. That he holds you in that same level of regard and honors you and your work, speaks volumes to me about who you are. I believe in what you all are doing regarding Spalding/Rigdon and cheer you on from afar. I believe that when we hear from Craig Criddle again on the topic of Spalding/Rigdon, we will see a complete, thorough and sound work. Someone on the thread wondered what drives people like you and Craig. While I cannot speak to what drives you, I can say without question that what drives Craig Criddle, is a strong desire for truth.

As to who will "win", at the end of the day, Dale....everyone will.

Jersey Girl

[_Uncle Dale]

I cannot speak to what drives you...

Mostly my underappreciated, overworked wife, I'm afraid. Lost my ability to pilot an auto some years back.

At the risk of hearing a few hisses and boos from the disembodied digital disagreers, I'll say that what drives me
is my love and appreciation for religious restorationism and for Latter Day Saintism. ("Scratching" yer heads, eh?)

I keep having this strange dream that "Mormons" can actually make a better place for themselves in the
world, if they only get to know their own historical and scriptural roots. (Strange idea, no?)


Uncle "but, I guess orphanages have a strict policy of not telling their young wards about their true parents" Dale

[_Bond...James Bond]

I know the thread is still in progress, but I would like to nominate it for saving whenever it comes to some type of closure. It's very fascinating to read. Thanks for the input guys and gals!!!

Bond...James Bond

[_Jersey Girl]

I know the thread is still in progress, but I would like to nominate it for saving whenever it comes to some type of closure. It's very fascinating to read. Thanks for the input guys and gals!!!

Bond...James Bond

I'd like to second that, Bond. I need more time to study it.

Jersey Girl

[_Uncle Dale]

I know the thread is still in progress, but I would like to nominate it for saving whenever it comes to some type of closure. It's very fascinating to read. Thanks for the input guys and gals!!!

Bond...James Bond

I'd like to second that, Bond. I need more time to study it.

Jersey Girl

One of the sad things about all of my postings on Spalding-Rigdon at the old FAIR Message Board, it that they
appear to have been deleted or discarded. I never got around to making copies for myself. Perhaps a few can
still be accessed via archive.org, but it just goes to show how quickly this sort of stuff disappears from our
daily lives. It is amazing that even the small amount of evidence we can now access was ever preserved.

Uncle Dale

[_Mary]

Dale, just another thankyou for the thread.
I am learning a lot. Of course I have my own bias and belief, but
there was so much source evidence that I was absolutely unaware of.

I truly was a Mormon who knew very little of my own religion's history.
(and I think I knew more than most in my ward!!)

Mary

[_Uncle Dale]

Dale, just another thankyou for the thread.
I am learning a lot. Of course I have my own bias and belief, but
there was so much source evidence that I was absolutely unaware of.

I truly was a Mormon who knew very little of my own religion's history.
(and I think I knew more than most in my ward!!)

Mary

I'm glad to be of help. In 1979-1981 the United Methodist Church essentially bankrolled two years of graduate
school for me -- and paid for a great deal of photocopying and inter-library loan services. I don't think I
have yet placed on the web even 1/4 of the source material I gathered together during those years.

When people say that they cannot possibly believe the Spalding-Rigdon-Smith explanation for the origin of the
Book of Mormon, what most of them are really confessing, is that they have taken a very superficial glance at
a few easily obtained reference books (generally written by Latter Day Saints defending the standard works,
etc.) and that from this slight exposure to the subject, it sounds unreasonable to them.

A few more folks have actually read the one preserved Spalding manuscript and decided that its writer could
not have composed so much as a single sentence of the Book of Mormon.

It is difficult for a researcher like myself to get past those initial mental barriers that uninformed people put
up, to guard themselves from being "bothered" by what they think is a load of rubbish.

But the origins of Mormonism are complex and much hidden -- it takes quite a bit of dedication to ferret them
out and make sense of process by which an entire religious movement was created.

Dan Vogel is doing his best to discount most of what I have to say about this subject. That's OK -- he may be
right about a few things. But I may also be right about other things.

We shall see...

Dale