By Jerald and Sandra Tanner
Astronomers tell us that sometimes a star will “collapse into itself and become a black hole and, in a sense, exit the universe” (National Geographic, June 1983, page 717). William Unruh, a physicist at the University of British Columbia, says that, “You can’t see a black hole. Just its effects” (Ibid., page 735). On page 736 of the same magazine, we read that
Since not even light can escape a black hole, one can never be seen directly.” It is explained that “black holes theoretically occur when matter collapses into an exquisitely compact state. Its gravity grows strong enough to trap everything, including light, within the horizon of its gravitational field. The earth, for instance, would become a black hole, if it could somehow be squeezed to the size of a marble . . . Medium-size black holes result from the collapse of giant stars too massive to stop at the neutron star stage. They just disappear into their dark prisons. (Ibid., pages 734-735)
While we know very little about astronomy or the theories concerning black holes in space, we have observed a somewhat similar phenomenon in Mormon history. Important documents which could throw a great deal of light on Mormon history, seem to mysteriously “disappear into their dark prisons.” The suppressive tendencies of the Mormon leaders with regard to documents might be compared to the gravitational pull of black holes in space. Just as black holes sweep “up stars and gas within their gravitational reach” (Ibid., page 735), the fear of new discoveries coming out which do not fit the traditional views held by the General Authorities of the Church prevents Mormon scholars from bringing important research and documents to public view.
The Secret Vault
In the last issue of the Messenger, we demonstrated the role that Mormon leaders have taken in suppressing important documents. For instance, in 1983, Gordon B. Hinckley, a member of the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, secretly acquired a letter which was later declared to be the “Earliest known surviving document written by Joseph Smith, Jr. . . .” Because the document linked Joseph Smith to money-digging and magic, the church leaders decided it would be best to suppress it. Unfortunately for the church, however, copies of the letter got out, and we published a typed copy in the September 1984 issue of the Messenger. Instead of admitting that it had the letter, the church decided to “stonewall.” On April 29, 1985, Dawn Tracy reported the following:
Research historian Brent Metcalfe said he knows from “very reliable, first-hand sources” the letter exists, and the Mormon Church has possession of it. Church spokesman Jerry Cahill denied the claim. “The church doesn’t have the letter,” said Mr. Cahill. “It’s not in the church archives or the First Presidency’s vault.” (Salt Lake Tribune, April 29, 1985)
Finally, when it became clear that some Mormon scholars had photocopies of the letter and were going to turn them over to the news media, the church backed down, and Jerry Cahill admitted his earlier statement was “in error”:
The purported letter was indeed acquired by the church. For the present it is stored in the First Presidency’s archives . . . (Salt Lake Tribune, May 7, 1985)
The First Presidency’s archive or vault, where the 1825 letter was concealed, is undoubtedly the ultimate “black hole.” Documents which are embarrassing to the Mormon Church disappear into this bottomless abyss and are seldom heard of again. The noted Mormon scholar James B. Allen testified in his deposition that the First Presidency’s vault was “very private” (The Tanners on Trial, page 132).
Cowdery’s History
Astronomers claim that if a black hole “lies between a distant star and a cosmic observer, the hole will act as a lens. As light rays from the star pass near the black hole, they will be bent by its intense gravity. The bending will create a mirage, and the observer will think he is seeing two stars. Actually, he is seeing what is not there—and not seeing what is” (National Geographic, June 1983, page 736).
The suppression of important documents has created many “black holes” which have seriously distorted our view of Mormon history. One of the most important documents which the Mormon leaders have hidden is the first history of the church by Book of Mormon witness Oliver Cowdery. In a revelation to Joseph Smith, he was commanded to keep this history (see Doctrine and Covenants 21:1). We have been aware of the suppression of this document for many years. Joseph Fielding Smith, who later became the tenth President of the church, had mentioned that the church had “the records written in the hand writing of Oliver Cowdery, the first historian, or recorder of the Church” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, page 201).
We tried to get the Mormon leaders to make this important history available in 1961, but our request was turned down. In Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, published in 1983, we related that we had heard that the Cowdery history was in the First Presidency’s vault and that it contained magic characters. The church made no response to this accusation. Finally, on May 15, 1985, the Salt Lake Tribune reported:
A little-known history written by an important early Mormon leader contains an account of Joseph Smith’s brother Alvin finding the gold plates, rather than the Mormon prophet himself, according to a research historian . . . Brent Metcalfe . . . said his source is a private eye-witness account of the Cowdery history. The document tells of Joseph Smith’s brother Alvin first finding the gold plates by means of a stone, according to Mr. Metcalfe.
Mr. Metcalfe quoted the document as saying: “A taunting Salamander appears to Alvin and prevents him and his companions from digging up the gold plates.”
The reader will remember that just two weeks earlier Brent Metcalfe had charged that the church had the 1825 letter. While the church originally denied this accusation, it was later admitted that the letter was in the First Presidency’s vault. In the case of the Cowdery history, the church took a more cautious position:
LDS spokesman Jerry Cahill said the LDS Historical Department does not have the Cowdery history. He said he would not ask members of the church’s ruling First Presidency if the history is locked up in a special presidency’s vault. . . . “I don’t intend to respond to every report or rumor of documents in the First Presidency’s vault,” said Mr. Cahill. “I have no idea if the history is there, nor do I intend to ask. I can’t have my life ordered about by rumors. Where does it end?” (Salt Lake Tribune, May 15, 1985)
Church leaders seem to have taken a position of silence with regard to the Cowdery history. The Brigham Young University paper, The Daily Universe, May 16, 1985, reported:
LDS Church spokesman Jerry Cahill said he would not confirm or deny the contents of the history written by Oliver Cowdery. “Apparently the story says the history is in the First Presidency’s archives but they haven’t released any information about it and I don’t believe they intend to,” he said.
In an interview with Associated Press writer Michael White, Mr. Cahill admitted that the church has possession of the Cowdery history, but he still refused to give any details:
Church spokesman Jerry Cahill said that Cowdery’s history had been in the church’s possession since around 1900 and probably is locked away in the private vault of the governing First Presidency.
But Cahill said he did not know whether it contained the information described by Metcalfe, and he would not try to find out.
“Frankly, I don’t intend to raise the question. Obviously, it’s in the possession of the church, but what shelf it is on I don’t know,” he said. (The Oregonian, May 21, 1985)
There seems to be no excuse for the Mormon leaders withholding the Cowdery history. In the last issue of the Messenger we argued that in not making the Cowdery history available
. . . the Mormon Church finds itself in a cover-up situation. According to the Doctrine and Covenants, God Himself instructed Joseph Smith that “there shall be a record kept among you; . . .” it hardly makes any sense for the Mormon leaders to say that God commanded the history to be kept and then lock it up in a vault so that no one can read it. We have always suspected that this history provides no support for Joseph Smith’s First Vision of 1820, and it has recently been reported that it does not support the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood by Peter, James and John . . .
The “Salamandergate” cover-up even has its own “Deep Throat”—that mysterious and unidentified person who had access to Nixon’s secrets and leaked them to the press. Only a very limited number of people could have had access to the material in the vault of the First Presidency. It is reported that Brent Metcalfe will not name his source for fear that he will get the individual into trouble with the Church.
An Eyewitness
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1985, John Dart reported that the individual who had seen the Cowdery history allowed himself to be interviewed:
Now an allegation is being made that the church possesses a 150-year-old handwritten history that claims that it was the church prophet’s older brother, Alvin, who actually found the golden plates. . . .
Church officials here have been vague in their response to questions about whether they have the history, . . . A highly reliable source told the Times in an interview here, however, that he has viewed it in the church’s headquarters.
The source, who insisted on anonymity in order to preserve his standing in the church, said the Cowdery history and the role it gives Alvin Smith lend further credibility to the documents disclosed earlier, which portray Joseph Smith’s involvement in occult methods to find hidden treasures without any references to religious events so familiar to present-day Mormons. . . .
Church Spokesman Jerry Cahill acknowledged that Joseph Fielding Smith, a church apostle who was church president from 1970 to 1972, wrote 60 years ago, “We have on file in the Historian’s Office the records written in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery, the first historian or recorder of the Church.”
Cahill said, “I presume (they are) in the possession of the First Presidency” because they are not in the history department archives. He added that he would not ask the First Presidency if it has the purported history, saying he does not want to bother that office with questions about rumored or reported documents. A First Presidency staff member had no comment. . . .
The source interviewed by the Times described the Cowdery history as a book bound partly in leather, with marbled cardboard covers measuring about 8 inches by 10 inches in width and height and between half an inch and three-quarters of an inch thick. The pages are lined, he said.
The source said he decided to be interviewed about the history because the Cowdery documents provide corroboration for the salamander references in the Harris letter, which some Mormons are claiming is a forgery.
“I don’t remember the exact wording, but it said that Alvin located the buried gold with his seer stone,” he said. “I remember clearly that it was not a private venture. Alvin had other people with him, including Joseph.”
“There was no mention of a dream beforehand,” he said. The salamander appeared on three occasions, once to Alvin and twice to Joseph,” he added. . . .
. . . the church leadership’s unwillingness to speak further on the issue is being viewed by some as harmful to its public relations. “The church’s silence damages its credibility,” said George Smith . . . owner of the Mormon-oriented Signature Books publishing house.
Indeed, the church got caught with a credibility problem earlier, when it tried to deny that the earliest known letter written by Joseph Smith was in its possession.
“Conspiracy may be a bad word to use,” said the source who claims to have seen the Cowdery book, “but there must have been some sort of agreement that Joseph is the new seer now that Alvin is gone. Certainly the family and Oliver Cowdery knew. I can’t imagine that any more knew, because it’s an important aspect of the founding of the Church and it hasn’t come down in other histories that we know of.” . . . Mormon historian Ronald Walker of Salt Lake City said in an Interview, “If we found out that Alvin is involved, it would not be surprising. There is evidence that (Smith family members) were up on Hill Cumorah digging before 1823.”
Walker has shown that the Smith family was among many Americans who had engaged in a “money-digging” craze during the early 19th Century. “I’m not sure the pieces fit together,” Walker said. “What we need is to get the church to release it, if the church has it.” (Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1985)
As far as we know, Brent Metcalfe and John Dart are the only ones who know who the individual is who saw the Cowdery history. Dart’s article makes it clear that we are dealing with a man, and The Universe for May 16, 1985, informs us that he is one of Brent Metcalfe’s friends. The Daily Universe reports that while Metcalfe was “going through several private collections, he found a firsthand account of someone who had seen this history written by Oliver Cowdery. A friend of Metcalfe, who had access to the church archives, wrote the account, Metcalfe said. He refused to release information about his friend or how the documents came into his friend’s hands.”
A number of Mr. Metcalfe’s friends have had special access to Church documents. For instance, both Dean Jessee and Ronald Walker worked for the Historical Department at one time. Dean Jessee, however, has publicly denied that he has seen the Cowdery history. According to the Phoenix Gazette, May 18, 1985, Jessee said:
. . . he was unaware of any writings that would indicate that Alvin Smith saw the golden plates, although he said he has not read the Cowdery history. He said he had been under the impression Cowdery’s work had been lost . . . “Metcalfe’s the world’s foremost authority on this,” Jessee said. “. . . there’s a lot that’s not available.”
We understand that Ronald Walker has also denied being the “Deep Throat” who exposed the Cowdery history. Brent Metcalfe was at one time a security guard for the Mormon Church and had a number of friends in the Church Office Building. Besides these contacts, it is reported that Metcalfe is well acquainted with Mark Hofmann. Hofmann, of course, was involved in the sale of the Salamander letter as well as the 1825 letter that links Joseph Smith to the occult. There is evidence that Mark Hofmann has had special access to the First Presidency’s vault. (As we pointed out earlier, only the most trusted individuals can see documents from that vault.) On September 28, 1982, the Seventh East Press reported that since the discovery of the Anthon transcript, Hofmann has “enjoyed privileged access to otherwise restricted Church archive material, including the First Presidency’s vault. One reason for this privileged access, Hofmann thinks, is the fact that ‘I am not a historian. I’m not going to write an expose of Mormonism.’” Through his discoveries and knowledge of documents, Mr. Hofmann has worked himself into the innermost circle of Mormon historians. He says that “The real reward in the whole business is being able to see things that no one else knows about. It gives me a kick to know that this is original stuff, that no one else on earth has pieced this together or knows what this says. So there’s the pleasure. It’s like being a detective.” (Sunstone Review, September 1982, page 17)
Since there are a number of people Mr. Metcalfe has had contact with who could be the source of the information concerning the Cowdery history, we are very reluctant about trying to make a positive identification of the individual. In any case, Metcalfe has revealed that the Cowdery history was actually dictated by Joseph Smith himself. This makes the document of even greater value for those who want to know the truth about Mormonism. It is reported that there is a letter containing information on the contents of the Cowdery history. In addition, it is claimed that there is also a smaller history by Cowdery which is stored in the church’s vault. The most sensational story, however, is that there may be a microfilm of the entire Cowdery history which has escaped the “black hole” of the First Presidency’s vault. If a microfilm does exist and a copy should arrive at Utah Lighthouse Ministry, we would waste no time in preparing it for publication.
Not Real Motive
The following is a copy of a letter written to us by George Smith on June 20, 1985:
To the Editors:
In your “Salamandergate” issue (No. 57, June 1985), you incorrectly attributed my motives for presenting Joseph Smith’s 1825 letter to Josiah Stowell before the Mormon History Association. Neither was I “very disturbed about the Church denying that it had possession of the letter” (p. 20), nor would such concern have seemed a pertinent reason to read this letter publicly. While I cannot endorse inaccurate denials of owning documents held in trust for the LDS membership at large, examination of this letter was important primarily for analytical reasons. The 1825 portrayal of Joseph Smith’s occult digging formulas in his own handwriting has singular relevance for Martin Harris’s 1830 “white salamander” letter, the main subject of discussion. The 1825 letter tends to validate Joseph Smith’s voice in Harris’s recital of Joseph’s “salamander” version of finding the gold plates. The letters together establish the use of seer stones, divining rods, and magical formulas to discern the presence of “clever spirits,” hidden treasure, and even the gold plates from which Joseph Smith claimed to translate the Book of Mormon. The 1825 letter is germane in demonstrating that occult practices were concurrent with Mormon origins.
Your article correctly noted that the LDS Church had acquired this earliest Joseph Smith holograph in 1983, following its authentication by Charles Hamilton Autographs, Inc., of New York. After two years of ownership, the last denial was printed in the Salt Lake Tribune on April 29, 1985. On May 2, the full text was read before the MHA. The following day, President Gordon B. Hinckley directed LDS spokesperson Jerry P. Cahill to acknowledge Church possession of the letter (Tribune 5/6/85), which he did in the May 5 Deseret News. The Church then released the text in the May 10 Deseret News, and on May 11, the Los Angeles Times published a photograph of the handwritten letter.
The yet-to-be-released “First Mormon History,” dictated by Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery in 1830, further corroborates Joseph’s “salamander” version of the gold plates story, once used to describe Mormon origins.
George Smith
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