All concur that the Book of Mormon is probably an expansion upon the writings of one Solomon Spaulding, a retired minister who was known to have authored a number of “romances” with Biblical backgrounds similar in construction to the Book of Mormon. The Mormons delight to point out that one of Spaulding's manuscripts, entitled “Manuscript Story” was discovered in Hawaii some seventy-seven years ago, and it differed in many respects from the Book of Mormon.

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It is then fairly well established, historically, that the Mormons have attempted to use a manuscript admittedly not the one from which Smith later copied and amplified the text of what is now known as the Book of Mormon as the basis for denying what eye witnesses have affirmed, namely that it was another Spaulding Manuscript (Manuscript Found) which Smith drew upon to fabricate the Mormon Bible.

Dr. Bales is right when he states:

There are too many points of similarity for them to be without significance. Thus, the internal evidence, combined with the testimony of witnesses, as presented in Howe’s book and reproduced in Shook’s, show that Spaulding revised the Manuscript Story. The revision was known as the Manuscript Found, and it became the basis of the Book of Mormon in at least its historical parts. Also its religious references furnished in part the germs of the religious portions of the Book of Mormon.

However, in ordinary conversation, and in public debate, on the Book of Mormon, it is unnecessary to go into question of who wrote the Book of Mormon. The really important issue is whether or not the Book of Mormon is of divine origin. There are some Mormons who seem to think that if they can prove that Spaulding’s manuscript had nothing to do with the Book of Mormon, they have made great progress toward proving its divine origin. Such, however, is not the case. And one should show, from an appeal to the Bible, and to the Book of Mormon itself, that the Book of Mormon is not of divine origin.

Let us not forget that the “Manuscript Story” itself contains at least 75 similarities to what is now the Book of Mormon and this is not to be easily explained away.