The document discusses various linguistic theories regarding the nature of the "Anthon Transcript", which some believe is evidence supporting the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Theories discussed include: 1) The characters are Egyptian hieroglyphs or a related script like hieratic or Meroitic. However, Egyptologists have said the characters are not Egyptian. 2) The characters could be from a Mesoamerican writing system, though critics note little evidence of extensive writing has been found in the Americas. Some propose parallels between the characters and scripts from Mexico or the "Padilla plates". 3) The characters could be corrupted English letters, as proposed by Charles Sheook, who saw similarities to deformed

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A PRE) , APProACH 'IO LINGUISTIC ASPEcrs OF
'!HE ANTHOO TRANSCRIPl'
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by David John Bl1e1"':;ler
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1eligion 523 Br igham Young University
Winter Serrester--1978
Sezrester Project fo:: D::. Paul R. Cheeswan
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2. I 'IU I,D~t IIC K..FU:
by David John a z
AS I.'ltter-day Saints se'ilrC:h
r la: "19 to
authentic) ty of th Bcok of 1oz)( ~_
, "-l.I int
as the "Anthon lXanSCr l.pttl as etle suc:h vidc-'n<.o. ·,.ih.ile few SOT ou:s
atb.,lpts have been nude to l.i.nk tho "C<'lr ctom" of ....- hI' tl~->n Trans< "I ipt
Ult;.;
' ru.
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with sUle ancHmt WZ'1.t 1 ng system, several strong o:ocl""'i ha' _.
" '- ens .Ie lx>'B
voiced by sUle in the Church . Ariel L , Cro.... lc:I , an alhlteur
SIECi a l i zu 19 in the Egyptian theory , wellt so far as to Fay in 19 '2 :
The things ollce deell'ed stran g:! and urged as evident es of the
falsity of the Book of tolOtliOIl are neN! established a's, i n ....
,g ~:t
proo f s 0 f t h e diVllU. ty 0 f " ts =1.gin .," The AnthOI Trar.scr:i pt.
" 1.
in light of" ,archeaological finds " ,attests the accllracy ;;f '
the Book of Monron ao::ount of the brass plates. 1 '
The st rength of CL'-'A'ley I s PX:OClamatiOIl will be (X)J lSidered bel""I , '~"ne
pllIpose of this paper is to . e the var i0115 ) j nguistic claims , b:>t..'1.
apologetic and nat1lralistic, pertajnjng to the nat11re of the Anthon ':x:a.t,
script. No attel[pt wi 11 be rrade here to analyze the Transcript I 5 histor~-
ography.2
To begin, the theories of the sl,lppxtive or apologetic class; f i 03.tiOH
are endo1:Sed by those seeking to underwrite the prophetic-religions nature
of Joseph Smith, Jr. These theories pel I ain to a belief that the Tran-
script held in possession of the RLI:S clmrch is, in fact, the sarre one that
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Martin Hazris carried to his New York interviews of 1828, or that it ~s
a good fae-simile of the gold plate characters.3
AC<,Qrding to the Book of Mouton, the language which fumon
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tented as "Reformed Egyptian." Nephi opened his account in saying
yea, I make a record in the langmge of my father, whic.'1 con-
sists of the learni ng of the Jews and the langua.ge of the
Egyptians. (I Nephi 1:2. Emphasis mine)
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Nephi I S deGo:ndilnt HOlIIO .. stated that
~ have written this rec..•.,rd according to Olr in
the characters which are caned the refoLltcd Egyptian '001
handed c3cMn and altered by IS, according to our n~ of ng
sr cech • (l'b,IlI0n 9; 32 . Dlphasi.s mine)
'Itlis eJlphasis on Egyptian as a type of the Bcok of Hanton language has
led many to ex>nclLrle that the gold plate charact.ers were Egyptian , and
that a favorable parallel of the AnthOIl "caractors" with Egyptian ruero
glyphics would prove the divine origin of the Beck of I-ie! lIOII .
This was Ariel L . Cn:Jwley's appxoad1 thjrty-five years ago when he
proiflced hjs four part '" 01 the Transcript. 4
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Cro.vley eJ<hibited 121
parallels between the Anthon "caractors" and variofls dellotic and hie r atic
Egyptian hieroglyphics. Of these parallels, only 65 were striking to tills
author. 'r have illustrated 18 of parallels in Append; x I I of this
paler; Crcwley's conclusion is stated aOOve.
While CrONley's viSHc'l1 evidence seems <"onciusive, several serious
cbject j ons should be raised. Hj rstly, several Egyptologists (note: CLO".. ley
is not an Egyptologist) have declared that the Anthon "onactors" are not
Egyptian in nature. 5 Dr. Will; am F. Albright, a noted Biblical arc:heaolo-
gist, said in reference to "Refou lled Egyptian" that "there was no such
language. ,,6 Albright noted further that CrCM'ley "had to hunt arrong scripts
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separated from each other by a thousand years and in sore instanoes much
later than the F€I"iod from which the alleged 'Refm Ired Egyptian I is supposed
to date. ,,7 Wesley P. Walters pointed out that "Cl"o,.,rley sought oorrelations
with the Sinai proto-serretic script rendering the enti re attempt a lin-
guist inpossibility, a sort of alphetic srrorgasbord. "8 Let is be consid-
ered too, that no translation of the Anthon Transcript has ever been ac-
<ollplished9 by anyone I either in or out of the TJ IS church. These facts
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'tute a formidable =l.l;.pa;:.: s:.::s=e which ought to be cOIlSi.lered m res'" ~~
aJllS t i
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to Cr Oillley ' s research .
Another int e r es tjng a l te ['uative , sti)] within the Egyptia., <.atego,..y,
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is a corruption of Egyptian called Ber oi tic. l'leroitic is a se"arare
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'WoL'
guage using sore Egyptian synbology for i ts d>a r acters . A sLrr.i.lar lIo"'ern-
diy eJVmple would be the 1lse of shorthand for 10
professor of the Egyptology Deparblent at Bra-m Unive rsity in PhexE Island
felt that the Anthon "cal actors" might be linked with lIeroitic , lO as does
Dr. Daniel Ludlow of Brigham Young University . ll Llrllo.,,'s exa:.:>_e
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Memi tic text parallel may be found in dix II.
Being given that sorre pre-COlulbian peoples nay have been oJ.nec,pC
in Safe Vf3y with one of the three Book of fumon colonies, another h~l ~::XJ;:.. "psi
> s
has arisen maintaining that sorce cormecl ion may be seen beu...'eeIl tr:e A,thon
"caractors" and Mesoarrerican scripts. Arrong the first to suqgest t h is
theo.ry were Dr. Augustlls I.e Plongeon,12 Ariel L. CrCM'ley,13 and Carl E ::gh
JOlles .14 Jones I work constitutes one of the nost scholarly a Llempts to
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find such a parallel. He has done ve research with the roller sta;l;'S
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found at La Venta and Tlatiloo in southern Mexiro, and ronciwes that t..'1ere
is a oofinite parallel between the Anthon "caractors" and the staHps. He
has even made a fascinating atterrpt to locate an alphebet errbedded within
the Anthon Transcript. Sate of his parallels may be found in
No attenpt at translation of the characters was made in Jones I researd l .
Though nany critics of Book of MJwon archeaology poi nt out that vir-
tl1al Jy no evidence of e}.lensive writing loca. ted in either North,
Central, or South AIrerica, stolre evidence of wri ting has in fact l::een
Jo:ated. The question that the critic 1fQ1st is: HeM' much evidence
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resented be£ore I wi 11 adnit tile cxi.stcn ... of. writing (at t.-
mus t be P
ever)? ,Admittedly, if there were such a literate socia y anciently ex-
tan t ~ n .no,=",
...... "~rica as the Book of l-1or lion indicates , aI1lJlo Qvidcnre of s .
sholl ld be locatable . If there is none , where did it go i f it existed at
all? Fur tlletll'Ore, what con clusions nuy we reach from our present posi-
tion in r e l ation to Nesoanerican l inguistics?
One sdlolarly attempt to prove the existe nce of Mcsoanerican wri:iN;J
was made in 1972 at Brigham Young Universi ty . The r esearcher , Gla::le Lynn
B!H~on, in his doctoral disser lation made an analys i s of Aller ican L..J,. eo
inscriptions and shaved parallels beu..een scripts f ound at Cuenca and
T.aubeyegue , and Ranos , Hichigan , Kinderhook , Bat Creek , WOodst CHm ,
Q:ave Creek , and Classical Mayan , Egyptian , and Aege an codices . Burgan
also placed heavy errphasis upon the seals and stal(ps f ound at Tlatikt),
Ilati l eo , Las M9 r cedes , VeraCl'llZ, and La Venta. He coIlcluded that the
"inter-relationship of signs in South America, , New Pe.xl.CO ,
the Great Lakes area, and easte111 United States would give support to the
theory that writing was known to exist in the New World . "15
An a<xHtional item should be lTentioned before we l eave the t opic of
1>'e soarrerican scripts. In the late 1950' s , in the state of Oa>:aca, t-le.xico,
12 mini ture gold plates were found by Dr . Jesus Padilla Orozco. 'lhes e
plates have since care to be knavn as the Padilla plates, and are eUYrently
the subject of sane controversy arrong Book of ~nron archeao1CX]i sts . 16
One privately published report states that "the arL work of the plates
exhibits both Late l-layan and Aztec d)aracteristics. '!hough this mixture
of cultural hadi : A is strange, at the styles are appropriate t o
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the date of the other ardmological Post~assie ,
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1000-1200 AD. ,,17 The authors of the above report went on to =iticize
several e1errents of the plates' Ilotifs. In addition, a d1a r acter analysis
to the Anthon Transcript was rrade by Dr. Ray T. Matheny of Brigham YQmg
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th1ivers ity.18 l':atheny found 66 parallels between the Padilla characters
and the Anthon "ca ractors." This cons tituted his rra.in cri tici SIn of the
padi lla plates: "It is inconceivable to us that genu; nely ancient gold
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plates could contain 53 percent (of characters) from ancient Mexico and
. ,,19 I have included 39 Padilla parallels in Append; x II.
Central Anenca.
The similarities are rerrarkable, and if the Padilla plates are not forged
(see report above), they would seem to constitute strong evidence in favor
of the Anthon Transcript's authentici t¥ as synbols of sare ancient wri ting
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system.
Finally, in the apologetic category, we find a spattering of minor
theories s1X::h as the parallels with Gloria Farley's North All'erican inscrip-
tions (petroglyphs) 20 and Le Plongeon's theory of Phoenician affinity.2l
The Phoenician connection is currently being investigated by Ross T.
Christensen of the BYU .Departrrent of Anthropology and Archaeology. 22
The research here is still limited, thus allowing no present conclusions.
The other division of Anthcn linguistic theory deals with three basic
natmalistic interpretations. '!hose sllfporting these theories generally
tend to d?ny the religious mission of Josefh Smith, Jr. as a divinely
called profhet, and claim that the IllS church was based upon extant reli-
gious and occult node.ls in Smith I s tirre pericxi.
The fj rst of these natmalistic theories was suggested originally by
0lar1es A. Shcok ;in 1910. After the opinion of the Srni thsonian
viz-~ vi z the to Egyptian,•
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Olaldil1
. c, ,....
~~syrian, and Arabic (of which the reply "as , shco~
that
inS tead of ~fO!ji ed Egyptian rrany of the Ca r~ctors are
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defollied English, as any one w~ll cbscrve v.no w~ll """pare
theIII wi ttl English lette r s, figures and signs .... The fact is
that Joseph Smith, in dra-....ing the transC'! ipt , employed dif-
ferent kinds and styles of English letters , dlanging a few
of them to make the iJtlf'osture less observable .... If similarity
proves anything, it proves that the trans. T ipt j s a bold,
bare forgery and one not aJove the abilic.l of a Smith or a
Harris to execute. 23
I have incltlded Shcok s parallel s in Appendix II.
I Others have read'1ed
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simi lar o::>l1clusions; it is an interestj ng and elerrentary theory . The
validi t}' hCMever , of Shcok' s theory is another gtEStiOIl. At present it
mnst remain a Here opinion of a f€!V1 individuals for want of other viable
historical evidence.
T.aubert, a fODte r dean and professor at Brigham
Young Universi t}', was cnnvinced of yet another origin for the Anthon
Transcript: derivation frem magical talismans and astwlogical syrtbols.24
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His theory maintajns that Jose!il Smith's source of inspiration for the
Anthon Transcript was principally sare magical bcxJk or becks '-'Olltaining
iIrages of tal j smans and various astrological syrrbols of the zodiac. Dr.
Tauber t's research is emaustive and deeply implicative of occult origins
for Smith's work; his paxallels rontained in Appendix II are striking.
TaUbert's research and that of others 25 fairly well SUPPOLt. S the theory
that Josefh Smith did have sate ronnection with nagic during his early
New York years. Ha-veve.r, this theory is not conclusive nor atni-explana-
tiona] for rrost of i t is deductive and rorres principally from serondary
sources. Srni th 's acti vi ties with the occul t apparently share sorre link
with the last of our naturalistic nodels: that of Freenasonry. •
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With the heavy ptblici ty of the villiam !-'organ scandal , i t is diffi-
cult to iJregine ha..' Jose,P1 Smith could not have heard or read sareUdng
rela ti ng to FreellBsonry . A la rge pero;>ntage of the Palmyra a rea ' s news-
,
oovoted nsny head] i nes , editoria l s , and advertizellents relating to
ru.; , and ptblic opinion was hot cono2'n d ng this 'issue . 26 Even
closer to horre was Joseph 's CMIl1 brothe r, Hyrun, who was a rrerrber o f the
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l-lasonic frat e rnity at least frem 1823. 27 Those supp:>rti ng this theory
s uggest that the Royal Arch D=:gree of SCl)tti sh Rite Masonry cont a ining the
well l<n~n to1asonic cipher was JoseFh' s rrodel for the Anthon Transcript.
This ciJ±ler is one of the rrost elerentary of all simple p:>sitional cifher s.
Its syrrbology is as follows:
ABC D E F ,
G H I J K L M N 0 P Q R STU V W X y Z
~ULJOClnrv><A~8~~8E~nr-~?<A
Al so inportant to this theory are cer tain key nurbers of Masonry such as
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9. Other Ma s onic synbols to consider are (+ #- X
)0 G J B L V l1V ). Many of these syn:bols
bear sale serrblance to over 90 of the Anthon "caracLors. ,,28 In addition,
other possible parallels could be the (,II J lUll)
, character v.hich one
researd1er speculated to be a secret way to write "9." He al so p::>stulated
the "H" dlaracter to be another
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li~1l for Hyrum Abif. 29 The p::>ssibili-
ties are inreed nost intriguing.
In considering the Masonic theory, it is interesti ng to note that several
local newspaper articles (Palnrira region) rrentioned researdl in Egyptology
of ancient before the Beu of l-DlIIon was published.
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in Jtme of 1827 mg
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of • " In it author lIenticmed
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a Mexican JT3.nuscript in hie~'oglyphics, frail which he infers,
that the Mexicans and Egyp~an~ had intercourses with each
other from the renutest antiqul. ty, and that they had the
sarre system of nythology. 30
When the Anthon TransCI;ipt and gold plates were first discussed by Jose];h
Smith and others, the language or syrrbology was tenred as "Feforrred Egypt-
ian." Later, in the "Official Version" of Smith's story written in 1838,
four separate languages were listed: Egyptian, O1aldai c, Assyriac, and
Arabic.31 Adherents of this theory believe that this evolution of the
story was due to Smith's growing involverrent with Masonic rites, syrrbols,
etc. In the Mystical Lecture of the Fi rst O1ai r of "t:h: Royal Arch I£gree
of Srottish Rite Masonry we find :
The word on the triable is that Sacred and Hysterious Narre
you have just solemnly engaged yourself never to pronounce,
unless in the presence and wi th the assistance of UNo or
m:)!"e Royal Arch Corrpanions, or in the body of a lawfully-
o:llstituted Royal Arch d1apter, whilst acting as its First
Principal. It is a <XXllpound word, and the cClubination fonns
the word JAH-BUIrON. It is in four languages, d1aldee, Hebrew,
Syriac, and Egyptian. 32
Accardi ng to this theory, this evolution in the story would be rrore iro-
pressive to 1-1asons' readjng it, thus seeing their oral baditions set
dcM1 in an unroHllpted fashion. Many rrore parallels exist, and of the
naturalistic theories, the Masonic explanation seems to be the nost advanced
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and well grounded in historical evidence .
In sumation, we have examined nine theories oonsidering different
linguistic aspects of the Anthon Transcript. All of the theories are in-
teresting, and each one has its CM'l1 enthusiastic supporters. HOHever, the
usc of the Anthon Transcript as a P"lysical evidence for the Book of M:::mron
:. :.... .:... II ...
to be negated by vi I"t .,e of the and diverse varience of the
the relating Iwm the here-ro-fore•
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"orthodox "theory of Egyptian origin has several ser~ous dcficie.nci s. I
CXA ,lci t ;J..J.e ..... ~t
~ u J.Q Crowley's vocife1011s conclusion quoted in my preface is not
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sl'pport;able. Indeed, if all one wishes to do is prove the verity of th
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Book of M::wlI::m, one is relegated to the following position described by
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Dr. J arres L. Barker:
In no ' case is any ] i nguistic diso::>very or any principle of the
• science of language 'daIraging I to the Book of M::)IJron. 'lne id a
of ] inguistic change expressed in the Book of l'bnl'lon was held
by a fe." a very fev scholars in Em"ope at the time the Book of
/1:)ZIlOll was being written. This view is consistent with the
truth. The very fact that in the book is consistent
wi th known fact s is evidence of its divinity. I t is not 'proof.'
Indeed we should not 8}(J?ect such 'proof.' 33
Ba rker went on to cite the well kncM>n d,a) lenge of Ivbroni 10: 4 at the
close of the Book of IvbDlon. Wis , for faithful. Latter-day Saints,
the ultimate test of truth. The Anthon Transcript, according to this
stOOy, must take second place.
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, verrent Era, Vol. 45, p. 183 (March 1942) •
1. Inpro
, ,
A Cruwley Improvement Era, Vol. 45 (January, 1942), No.1, p14ff.
2. R' Hulling~r, "The Harris-Anthon Consul tatioll and Morrron Origins,"
. (unpublished paper in possession of the author) .
S Kirrba 11, "rtJe Anthon Transcript: People, Prinary Sources, ard
. Problems," BYU Studies, Vol. X, No.3, p. 325ff. (Spr. 1970)
B H Rri.>el'ts, History of the Church, Vol. I, pp. 19-20 .
. , " , comprehensive History of the Church, Vol. I, pp. 99-109. ,
For information on Professor Charles Anthon, see:
S. Kirrball, "Charles Anthon and the Egyptian 'Ianguage," Improverrent Era,
Vol. 53 (Ocbober, 1960), p. 708ff.
R. Yarrington, "Who Was Professor Anthon?," Saints Herald, July 1, 1966,
pp. 10-11.
3. Evidence indicates that it is not the sarre one. See:
P. Cheesman, "The Anthon Transcript," unpublished pa[>er in FOssession
of this author.
R. Hullinger, ~. cit., pp . 3-8.
, 'In Defense of God: Why Joserh Smith Wrote the Book of
- - - - - - M:lDlon," unptblished ffi3J1uscript (1975) in this author's
possession, pp. 115-125.
s. Kimball , BYU Studies , Vol. X, No. 3, pp. 347-350.
Another presently unanswerable question whim we should oonsider in
respect to the Anthon Transcript is , Was the transcript a reliable
copy of the original characl. ers? 'l11e pursuit of any pa'! I j cular Anthon
ljnguistic theory may well hinge upon the answer to this question .
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4. A. CrtMley, Improverrent ~ra, Vol. 45, Nos. 1,2, and 3 (January, February,
and Mardl, 1942) i also IE , Vol. 47, No.9 (Decenber, 1944).
5. Saints Herald, CIII, 12, 1956, P l09R.
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6. W. Walters, "Joseph Smith AIrong the Egyptians," Jotnnal of Evangelical
Theological Society, Vol. I, p. 26.
, personal o:>rrespondance with Walters, February-March, 1978.
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7. , ibid. As related by W. Walters; see personal correspondance.
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8. , ibid.
9. See Appendjx I for u..o attei(ipLed parUal translations of the Anthon
Transcript.
Many Un researcher 5 prefer to ignore the prcblem of translation as
being presently insurmountable. For example, C. Wilford Griggs, Asst.
pzofessor of Ancient at Young UliveX'sity told this
author in a on March 9, 1978, that he was "willing
to let the Anth:Ul be the nlJl(ent."
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, was the SOIEMhat c::ontrov:-,'sial Professor Fred Parker. This
10. ThiS t is described J.n a 'pr:-vate ,letter n;om an Irs , researci1er •
to a BYU professor. COpy ~s J.n this author s p::lssess~on.
,
Llldllfo' prepared a handout entitled, "A Cblltparison of The Anthon
ll. ~~~scriPt With a Type of Refonned Egyptian." '!he text of his hand-
out is as folllfo's:
In 661 B.C. the Egyptian 0)111 L fled from the Assyrian invaders far •
into the heart of Africa, to Napata in Nubia. By 560 B.C. the
CO'" L was established at Me~ o=""pletely ~der the cbminatioll' of
the tyrannical and cornpt pr~estly class. 'l'hese people never
again returned to, Egyp~. In thei:- isolation, like Lehi' s J?8<?p~e,
they tumed Egypt~an hieroglyphs J.nto a reformed style of wr~tlng
which is cal led Merotic. It has never been deciFilered. This is a
striking exa1 llple of hlfo' conterrporaries of Lehi, also far isolated
from the cultural spheIe of old Egypt, qui~ly develop:d thei r o.vn
Egyptian style, for which no better designation can be imagined
than "PefoLlled Egyptian. " Note the interest; ng oveIall ressenblance
this writi ng and that of the Anthon Transcript.
12. S. Kimball, Newsletter and Proceedings of the S.E.H.A., 126.0, p.2
(Aug ust, 1971).
J.M. Sjodahl, "Book of Momon (jmractel's," I.!'proverrent Era, Vol. 27
(DeO?lTber,192 3), No. 2, pp. 146-148.
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Dr. TePlogeon (1826-1908) was a rredical doctor and a personal friend
of Lll3 president Jchn Taylor. In July, 1892, Le Plongeon tried to
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substantiate a connection between cex-Lai n Anthon "caractors" and several
Mayan (;(Xli ces. In a ddition, he attempted a translation of six Anthon
"caractors" using a Mayan base.
13. A • L • Cr0111ey, "The Anthon Transcript and the Maya Glyphs," Improverrent
Era, Septel(oor, 1952, pp. 644-645.
14. Mr. Jones is curator of anthropology at the Nebraska State Historical
Society. See S.E. H. A. 122 . 0 and 126.0.
15. G. Burgan, An Analysis of Pmporled Ancient Arrerican Linear Inscriptions
(Brigham Young University: 1972), p. 163.
16. This author has leamed from personal conversations at BYU that several
professors in the D:parbrent of Religion believe that the plates are
genuine. Professor Ray T. Matheny of the D:parbtent of Anthropology
and Archeaology finnly believes that the plates are frauds. The research
on the Padilla plates has not been developed at great length so these
CQlclus i (U}s should sti 1] be tentative •
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P Cheesnan, '
R Matheny, and B. Louthan , A ReporL on ---r Gold Plates
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17. 'Found in Ne.xico, pn.vate1y published, January, 1973 . lIn possession
of this author.)
see also: .
J .GC.Bal'tan, A-
In l'IeXl.CO, "
·
to "A Report on the'GOld Plates Found
published, January , 1973 . (In possess-
ion of this author. ) Mr. Barton is a private researcher
living in Bountiful, Utah. He =renLly possesses 5 of the
original 12 plates . •
See also: PhotOjraphs of the 7 plates sti 1J owned by Padilla , in pos-
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session of this author .
18. R. Matheny, ~. cit., pp. 20- 24. •
19. R. Matheny, ibid . , pp. 22-24.
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20 • For descriptions of Mrs. Farley's work , see Barl¥ Fell , 1Inerica B. C.,
21. J.M. Sjodahl, gE. cit., p. 147.
22. See S.E.H . A. Newsletters 111.0; 115.2; 118 . 0; and 126.0.
23. C.A. Shook, cumorah Revisited, Cincinatti , 1910 , p . 527.
24. A.C. Lanbel'L, "Private Collection of the Papers of Asael Car lyl e Larrber L,"
Manuscript Collection (Ms. 35) , Special Collections Divis-
ion, University of Utah Libraries .
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Individual references in this collect ion to magic and J oseph Smith a !le :
Bx. 16, Bk. 4. "Joseph Smith, Jr., A Magician in the Patte ms of the
Magus"
Bx. 31, Bk. 2. "On the Search for a Magician In Or Around Palmyr a ,
York, in the Tirre of Joseph Smith , J r." (Restricted)
Bx. 50 , Bks. 1, 2, and 3. "The Joseph Smith Talisman" (3 volurre study)
IX. OVERSIZED , fBk. 2 "Book of Monton" (illustra tions of the
"caxactors" paralleled with magical syrrbol ogy)
This author also has other Larrbert notes and letters n ot held b y the
University of Utah pertaining to this subject.
25. A pa ri. ial list of other references to the subj ect of J o seP'l Smith, Jr.
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and his conneci i on with the occult l.S :
. G. Bergera, "The Narre's the Garre Joseph Smith and Nut bers," priv ately
published paper on JoseP'l Smith explai ned by nurrero l ogy ,
in possession of this author.
• F. Brodie, private letter to Franc i s W. Kir kham , Apr i l 2, 1947, with
attached ar ticle found in the Chena,'1go Union, t-lay 3, 1877,
on the Bainbridge com L trial in 1826, by W.D. P llr ple .
Found in the M. W. P01!lsen Collect ion, Archives & t-lanu-
scripts, Harold B. lee Lihrary, Brigham Young Univers ity,
Ms. 823, Bx. 9, file 14.
F. BroUe, No Man KnCMS ttl.
Histmy, New York:1973, Alfred A. Knopf
Inc., pp. 19, 31, 429-432.
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14. • -4-
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R. ~ h am , "Is There No He:"p For the WidON' s SOIl?~ privately pub-
f th . .
Ii shed Po.fx-r 0 e PresJ.dential A<1"'lress to the l>1oLltOl •
. History Association, Nauv=, Illinois, April 20, 1974.
See pp. 10-14. Color photografhs of the Jupiter talis-
man are in this author's possession.
O. Kraut, Seers .and Seer Stones, (Kraut: SLC), pp . 45-61.
J. and S. Tanner, MonmnislII : ShadON or Reality?, Modeu. Microfilm,
SLC, 1972, pp. 32-49.
W.P. Walters, "Frorrnn Cult to Occult With JoseJXl Sooth, Jr.," The
J01111lal of Pastoral Practice, Vol. 1, No.2 (Sulllter,
1977, pp. 121-131. •
26 • R Hull inger, "In Defense of God," g:. cit., p. 62. Hullinger notes
• "after William Morgan was al:xlucted in 1826, the Wayne Sentinel has
at least Olle item in nearly every iss11e (on Freerrasonry). By 1828,
when the iss11e had becorre political, thele are usually tw::>, three
or nore coltnlUls on the Masonic rontroversy."
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For several of these ne<.vspaper excerpls, see Tanner, ~. cit., pp. 69-72.
27. TeleFhone cOllversation betwEX'n this author arrl R<X>e1 l Hull j nger, March
3, 1978 .
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Many of the early brethren of the Church were Masons. For other narres see:
S.H. Gcodi.,rin, ~brrronisltl and l'Ili3sonry , Grand Lodge R.& A.M. of Utah, SIC:
1972, p. 14.
E.C. McGavin, Ho.tJ[onislIl and ~1asonry, Bookcraft, SLC:1956, p. 13.
J. Widstoe, Evidences and ReCX)!1ciliations , Bookuaft, SLC:1976, p. 357.
For other doetntentation and critical studies on MOLIIOniSlll and Freerrasoney,
see:
J.M. AdamSon, TI1e Treasure of the WidON 's Son, n.d., SLC:U.of U., pub-
lished only in Horrron Hiscel1anrous , Vol. 1, No.1 (OctOOer, 1975),
Nauvoo, Illinois, editor David Martin , The New Nauvoo Neighbor Press.
R. Dll1ilam, SE.. cit.
S.H. Gc:Jcxt..rin, P.G.M., Addjtional Studies in MOTItOniSIn and Masonry, SLC:
19 32. . '.. '
M.B. Hogan, The Cryptic Cable TO-I Beuleen Mo:rnonisItl and Freerrasonry,
~ i - ,
PafeL Nt.l!Tber 22, Anzona Feseardl Lodge t~o. 1 F. & A. M., phoerux, Az.,
February 2 4 , 1970, unpublished. (in author's fOssession)
A. Ivans, fulltOJ ti SIn and Freemsonry, 19 34 , 254 pp. •
A.C. T.anbert, collection ~. cit. See:
Bx. 16, Bk. 7 and 8.
Bx. 27, Bk. l-
Bx. 28, Bks. 1, 2, and 3.
Bx. 29, B~. 1, 2, and 3. •
Ex. 30, Bks. 1 arxi 2.
Ex. 31, Bk. 1 •
Ix. 32, Bks. and 2.
J. S. Tanner, ~. cit., W. 69-72,
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See AppenadLix I I for the rest of the parallels .
28.
onal letter of Robert N. Hullinger to Wesley P. Walters,
29. __J~rsl
See,-,-""r , 1975 , in p$session of this author.
Oc t
WayTle Sentinel , Jl..IT}e 1 ~ l S 2 7 . . . .
30. 1 quoted in R. Hulhnger, 9£.. a t., p . 113. Hull J nge r CX:illlents In
~:o£cctnote to this quote that "Joseph Smith would have rea? thi~ .
After he married EHatla Hale.on January IS, 1S2?, he carre.to l~ve Wl.th
his parents and stayed unt~l he returned to h~s fathe r -ln-1aw s harre I
.in Decellber. me, I, 19."
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R. Hul 1 j nger, ibid., pp. 125-127 and his fcotnotes. '!his seGtLS to be
31.
an inCOllgruoUS e1errent in the Anthon story, for Joseph Smith sllpr:osedly
cla.i.Ired in lS43 that "I translated the Bcok of 1-Drrron from hiercg1yphics,
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the knowledge of which was lost to the world." (Hullinger references
this to H. caswa11, Arrerica, and the American Church, 2nd em tion, Lon-
don: John and Charles 1-Dzley, Paternoster FoN, 1851, p. 358.) In spite
of this esoteric context for the Bcok of MaDion characters (i.e. the
Anthon "caractors"?), Smith endorsed Halris ' staterrent in the 1838
"Official version" that Anthon identified the characters to be "Egypt-
ian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said that they were tnlP
characters." (see He I, 20; P. of CLP., J.S. 2, 64.)
32. See Hullinger to Walters letter, 3E.. cit., and other Masonic exp::lses
of Joseph Smith's tirre period.
33. J. Barker, "The Language of the Book of 1-Drrron," Improverrent Era June
= '
1960, p. 454. Dr. Barker (nON deceased) was Professor Erreri tus of
Modem Languages at the UtJiversity of Utah jU3t before this art i cle
appeared in the Era.
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16. ,
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APPENDIX II
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ID TIlE AN'IHOO TRANSCRIPf
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17. APPENDIX I
TRANSlATIONS OF TIlE lN'IHCN TRANSCRIPT
<»,ledge , only two attelilpts have been made to tl'anslate the
TOI1!z' kn
These we r e both attempted in 19 73 . The fi r st was by
Anthon Transcrip~.
paul R. Jesclard, a graduate s tudent a t Brigham Young Univer sity a t the
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The second was by John A. Tvedtne s who was a docto ral candidate at
t' lie.
Hebrew tmiversity in Israel when he attelllpted his· translation . Both as-
sured the Transcript to be Egyptian in nature. Thei r "translations " were
both of the first line of the Anthon Transcript, and seerred to be sorre-
what perfunctory in nature, although both clairred the great di fficulty o f
the task. Of the u..o, Tvedtnes' paper seerred to be thought through better
Ulan Jesclard's. Their translations were as follows:
TVEmNES:
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r rntItu tJi.f sc3 ~w ky "t:frn rn
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"To MJ.nron his nOl l titude ~ (an) first of narre
(for) ( auty) (was) other ,
hri p3 ¥ri ?
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masculine supen.or the son palace."
Or: "f.brnon had his at It!}' • Another carre, a man nore •
llOt Or ! ant than the
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pn.nce ••• "
Or: "To (for) /1)LI(on (and) his at I(!}' caIre another •.. etc ...
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18. ..,.
APPENDIX 1 Con b m cd
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--- .- -- -_._- - -- - -- --- - - -_.
" ( d Zara)hemla (said to him:) thou belongest to the rank. of IXMer
(e:n though) I bel<;:mg to ~e kings and the crown So thou wilt Shine 0
as one mighty of VOl.ceo 0 0 0
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Each included a brief ~]anation of the; r translation prOCFSS o
Sollcces:
1. "A Preliminary Survey of the Anthon Transcript" by John Ao Tvedtnes.
2. "A Translation of a Portion of the An thon Transcript" by Paul R. Jesclard.
(Both are unptblished papers in p::lssession of this author.)
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19. •
d ~ thon Characters Righ t/Green=Egyptian Characters
KEY: Ie et:,llle .~
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96-95. 0 o
17.
28.
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82.
93.
25. ,
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166.
2- 90.
36.
: 'j'
76. 13.
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22 .
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112 •
151.
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The above 18 isons were traced fran Ar.iie1 erONley I s arb cle, "The
I Anthcn Transcript," The Imp:wvernent Era, February, 1942, pp. 79, 80, 124,
and 125. Mr. Cl:t::Wley presented a total of 121 ccnparisons in his article.
The nUllbers used correspond with those used by CrONley, The Improverrent
Era, Septeuber 1944:542.
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