Book of Pukei

Last updated

The "Book of Pukei" is the earliest satire of the Book of Mormon. [1] It was published in June and July 1830 by Abner Cole (under the pseudonym Obadiah Dogberry Esq.) in the Palmyra, New York newspaper The Reflector. [2]

Contents

Synopsis

The first of two chapters deals with a character named "Walters the Magician", historically identified as Luman Walters, a treasure seeker and early convert to Smith's church.

Chapter 1 begins:

And it came to pass in the latter days, that wickedness did much abound, and the "Idle and slothful said one to another, let us send for Walters the Magician, who has strange books, and deals with familiar spirits; peradventure he will inform us where the Nephites, hid their treasure, so be it, that we and our vagabond van, do not perish for lack of sustenance".

Walters is described as "producing an old book in an unknown tongue, (Cicero's Orations in Latin,) from whence he read in the presence of the Idle and Slothful strange stories of hidden treasures and of the spirit who had custody thereof. " The text describes Walters as leading treasure seeking adventures:

The Magician led the rabble unto a dark grove, in a place called Manchester, where after drawing a Magic circle, with a rusty sword, and collecting his motley crew of latter-demallions, within the centre, he sacrificed a Cock (a bird sacred to Minerva) for the purpose of propiciating the prince of spirits.

The treasure-seekers grow disillusioned, upon which "Walters the Magician [...] was sorely grieved, and said unto himself, lo! mine occupation is gone, even these ignorant vagabonds, the idle and slothful detect mine impostures. I will away and hide myself, lest the strong arm of the law should bring me to justice." Walters thus "took his book, and his rusty sword, and his magic stone, and his stuffed Toad, and all his implements of witchcraft and retired to the mountains near Great Sodus Bay".

Chapter 2 begins: "And it came to pass, that when the mantle of Walters the Magician had fallen upon Joseph, sirnamed the prophet, who was the son of Joseph;". The story of the guardian spirit is satirically described:

I looked, and behold a little old man stood before me, clad, as I supposed, in Egyptian raiment, except his Indian blanket, and moccasins—his beard of silver white, hung far below his knees. On his head was an old fashioned military half cocked hat, such as was worn in the days of the patriarch Moses—his speech was sweeter than molasses, and his words were the reformed Egyptian.

The "spirit" tells Joseph that "thou art chosen to interpret the book, which Mormon has written, to wit, the gold Bible". The spirit promises to give Joseph a breast plate and "an assistant, even Oliver, the pedagogue", a reference to Book of Mormon scribe Oliver Cowdery.

Notes

  1. ↑ Cannon, M. Hamlin (September 1944), "Contemporary Views of Mormon Origins (1830)", The Mississippi Valley Historical Review , 31 (2): 261–266, doi:10.2307/1893428, JSTOR   1893428
  2. ↑ Bushman (1984 , p. 120).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormons</span> Religious group part of the Latter Day Saint movement

Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Most of these smaller groups eventually merged into the Community of Christ, and the term Mormon typically refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as today, this branch is far larger than all the others combined. People who identify as Mormons may also be independently religious, secular, and non-practicing or belong to other denominations. Since 2018, the LDS Church has requested that its members be referred to as "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," or more simply as "Latter-day Saints".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism</span> Religious tradition and theology founded by Joseph Smith

Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, although there has been a recent push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distance themselves from this label. A historian, Sydney E. Ahlstrom, wrote in 1982, "One cannot even be sure, whether [Mormonism] is a sect, a mystery cult, a new religion, a church, a people, a nation, or an American subculture; indeed, at different times and places it is all of these." However, scholars and theologians within the Latter Day Saint movement, including Smith, have often used "Mormonism" to describe the unique teachings and doctrines of the movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Rigdon</span> American Mormon leader (1793–1876)

Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden plates</span> Metallic plates from which Joseph Smith allegedly translated the Book of Mormon

According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some accounts from people who reported handling the plates describe the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds, gold in color, and composed of thin metallic pages engraved with hieroglyphics on both sides and bound with three D-shaped rings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Cowdery</span> American Mormon leader (1806–1850)

Oliver H. P. Cowdery was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized Latter Day Saint, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of the church.

In orthodox Mormonism, the term God generally refers to the biblical God the Father, whom Latter Day Saints refer to as Elohim, and the term Godhead refers to a council of three distinct divine persons consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. However, in Latter Day Saint theology the term God may also refer to, in some contexts, the Godhead as a whole or to each member individually. Latter Day Saints believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings, and that the Father and Jesus have perfected, glorified, physical bodies, while the Holy Ghost is a spirit without a physical body. Latter Day Saints also believe that there are other gods and goddesses outside the Godhead, such as a Heavenly Mother—who is the wife of God the Father—and that faithful Latter-day Saints may attain godhood in the afterlife. The term Heavenly Parents is used to refer collectively to the divine partnership of Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother. Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man on another planet before being exalted to Godhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)</span> Religious objects of the early Latter Day Saint movement

According to Latter Day Saint theology, seer stones were used by Joseph Smith, as well as ancient prophets, to receive revelations from God. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Smith used seer stones to translate the Book of Mormon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumorah</span> Drumlin associated with the Latter Day Saint movement

Cumorah is a drumlin in Palmyra, New York, United States, where Joseph Smith said he found a set of golden plates which he translated into English and published as the Book of Mormon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Whitmer</span> Book of Mormon witness (1805–1888)

David Whitmer was a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Witnesses</span> Early members of the Latter Day Saint movement

The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon; they also stated that they had heard God's voice, informing them that the book had been translated by divine power. The Three are part of twelve Book of Mormon witnesses, who also include Smith and the Eight Witnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eight Witnesses</span> Early members of the Latter Day Saint movement

The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who made statements stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith said was his source material for the Book of Mormon. An earlier group of witnesses who said they had seen the plates were called the Three Witnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. W. Phelps (Mormon)</span> American Mormon leader (1792–1872)

William Wines Phelps was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He printed the first edition of the Book of Commandments that became a standard work of the church and wrote numerous hymns, some of which are included in the current version of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' hymnal. He was at times both close to and at odds with church leadership. He testified against Joseph Smith, providing evidence that helped persuade authorities to arrest Smith. He was excommunicated three times and rejoined the church each time. He was a ghostwriter for Smith. Phelps was called by Smith to serve as assistant president of the church in Missouri and as a member of the Council of Fifty. After Smith's death, Phelps supported Brigham Young, who was the church's new president.

<i>Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling</i> Book by Richard Bushman

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling: A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder is a biography of Joseph Smith, founder and prophet of the Latter Day Saint movement, by historian Richard Bushman. Bushman is both a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. Rough Stone Rolling received the 2005 Best Book Award from the Mormon History Association and the 2005 Evans Biography Award from the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism Unvailed</span> 1834 book by Eber D. Howe

Mormonism Unvailed [sic] is a book published in 1834 by Eber D. Howe. The title page proclaims the book to be a contemporary exposé of Mormonism, and makes the claim that the historical portion of the Book of Mormon text was based upon a manuscript written by Solomon Spalding.

Luman Walters is known for his connection with the family of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Abner Cole, also known by his pen name Obadiah Dogberry, Esq., was a 19th-century American newspaper editor. He was one of the earliest critics of the spiritual claims of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, having commented on the "Golden Bible" before it was even published as the Book of Mormon. Cole's publishing philosophy was one of freethought, which flourished in periodicals in the northeastern United States between 1825 and 1850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism and Nicene Christianity</span> Comparison of Mormonism and Nicene Christianity

Mormonism and Nicene Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express their doctrines using biblical terminology. They have similar views about the nature of Jesus Christ's atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as mainstream Christians. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity as codified in the Nicene Creed of 325 and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. Although Mormons consider the Protestant Bible to be holy scripture, they do not believe in biblical inerrancy. They have also adopted additional scriptures that they believe to have been divinely revealed to Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons practice baptism and celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, but they also participate in other religious rituals. Mormons self-identify as Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormonism in the 19th century</span>

This is a chronology of Mormonism. In the late 1820s, Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, announced that an angel had given him a set of golden plates engraved with a chronicle of ancient American peoples, which he had a unique gift to translate. In 1830, he published the resulting narratives as the Book of Mormon and founded the Church of Christ in western New York, claiming it to be a restoration of early Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Smith</span> Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844)

Joseph Smith Jr. was an American religious leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. At the age of 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon and by the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers. The religion he founded continues to the present day, with millions of global adherents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universalism and the Latter Day Saint movement</span> Universalism and the Latter Day Saint Movement

Christian universalism was a theology prevalent in the early United States coinciding with the founding of the Latter Day Saint movement in 1830. Universalists believed that God would save all of humanity. Universalism peaked in popularity during the 1820s and 1830s, and the idea of universal salvation for all humanity was hotly debated. Several revelations of the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, dealt with issues regarding Universalism, and it was a prominent heresy in the Book of Mormon. Smith's father was a Universalist, while his mother was a traditional Calvinist, creating strain in the Smith family home.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.