As was mentioned earlier, the principles of restorationism were not unique to Joseph Smith, Jr. but were widespread throughout both Europe and the United States (McMillon, 1983; Wharton, 1980; McAllister & Tucker, 1975). Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander were influenced by many different restorationist thinkers, and the particular religious climate of the United States in the early 1800s provided a fruitful field for the emergence of the Restoration movements. Allen and Hughes (1981, p.95) argue that

...given the pervasive appeal of the restoration idea in the early nineteenth century, it is likely that Mormonism would have adopted the restoration principles regardless of any influence from either Sidney Rigdon or Alexander Campbell...

Churches of Christ cannot take credit either for inventing or popularizing the restoration idea in those years. Mormons and churches of Christ both represent diverse expressions of a popular theme that had long existed independently of either group.

I certainly agree with Allen and Hughes, and others, that we cannot look to Sidney Rigdon as the source of restorationism in the Latter Day Saint movement. But we can probably ascribe to Sidney Rigdon's credit much of the doctrinal development along Campbell's lines, along with the insertion of some of Rigdon's own thinking, into the fledgling Latter Day Saint group under Joseph Smith's leadership. I suggest that we need to look to earlier events and personalities to discover the answers.

Although I must make references to certain elements of Campbellite history, I will not be providing even a comprehensive overview of that movement. It will be helpful to understand, though, that the Restoration movement is today represented by three main expressions. First is the denomination known as the Disciples of Christ. Their churches are labeled Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Their headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Second is the churches of Christ, whose buildings are labeled simply, Church of Christ. These churches are not to be confused with Latter Day Saint groups of the same name. The churches of Christ are independent congregations, with no true denominational structure, but a remarkable networking for pastoral support, leadership development, youth ministries, etc.. These churches are generally known for not using musical instruments in worship. The third expression are the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, which would be very difficult to distinguish from the others as far as the outsides of their buildings. The Independent Christian Churches, of course, would not use the parenthetical expression "Disciples of Christ", and in the idnependend churches of Christ, you would probably find the folks singing along with an organ or piano. Like the other churches of Christ, the Independent Christian Churches and churches of Christ have no formal denominational structure, but a fairly effective networking. The reasons for their divisions and history will not be considered here.

Thomas Campbell, Alexander's father, was, like Joseph Smith's maternal grandfather Solomon Mack, a Scottish dissenter. The dissenters had broken with the Church of Scotland, or Presbyterian church, and established free churches. Mack came from a long line of clergymen and himself was a visionary. One of Joseph Smith's uncles, Jason Mack, was a Seeker who established a semi-communistic group with himself as the leader (Hullinger, 1980, p.36).

In August 1809, Campbell and others formed the "Christian Association of Washington" and issued a declaration outlining their reasons and tenets. In this document, Campbell described the New Testament church as he understood it, and outlined the principles of the gospel, along with many other themes which will be considered later (Campbell, 1809/1924, p.3ff). Although response was not widespread in the founding associations to unite Christians, Campbell's son Alexander was convinced of his father's wisdom and joined him in the effort.

Sidney Rigdon was much more improtant to Alexander Campbell and the Restoration movement than writers on both sides have been willing to admit (McKiernan, 1979). Rigdon was a Baptist preacher who with his brother-in-law formed the Mahoning Baptist Association in August 1820 in Eastern Ohio. According to one source, Campbell used his influence to get Rigdon appointed as pastor of a Baptist church in Pittsburgh in 1822 (Jennings, 1919, p.157). Alexander Campbell, who had been affiliated with the Redstone Baptist Association in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, was under increasing opposition and efforts to remove him were underway in September of 1823. Campbell united with the Mahoning association after that time, and in essence, was given a licence to preach by Sidney Rigdon (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.131; Bushman, 1984, p.173).

Walter Scott is another improtant personality in this exploration. He was an immigrant, and a Presbyterian-turned-Reformer. He moved to Ohio in 1826 and was accepted into the Mahoning Association and ministered to one of the congregations. It was Walter Scott who had enumerated the basics of the gospel as faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit, etc. (Jennings, 1919, p.163). Latter Day saint writers have made reference to this "remarkable" similarity between Scott's principles and stated order ot the gospel and that enumerated later by Joseph Smith. Inez Smith Davis (1981, p.29) includes a paragraph about Scott and acknowledges that Scott felt his understanding of these five points was "like revelation" but Davis carries the connection no further. Scott was later appointed as a traveling evangelist, and in his 1828 report to the association he acknowledged the help he had received from other ministers in the group, namely Sidney Rigdon as one of these people (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.133). Scott's report for 1829 tells of his success in Palmyra and the area and of the establishment of several new churches (Jennings, 1919, p.107). Could it be that one of these was left under the leadership of Joseph Smith, Jr. and his associates, but all historical records have been expunged because of the terrible animosity that later developed between the Mormons and Campbell? David Whitmer (1887) makes it clear that a church was functioning in June 1829 under the name "Church of Christ".

Rigdon and Campbell parted company in the late summer/early fall of 1830, over issues dealing with the place of the charismata in the church and the establishing of a communal society, and the Mahoning Association disbanded. This marks the establishment of the Disciples of Christ as a separate and independent fellowship of churches (Grafton, 1897, p.127).

One of the most important documents from which to glean Campbellite thought is the 1809 Declaration which was referred to earlier. Here are some of the ideas that are considered by Thomas Campbell (1809/1924) which are strikingly similar to Latter Day Saint ideas. All churches are wrong (p.46); if the scriptures do not provide information on something, a "thus saith the Lord" is required to do it (pp.48, 78); the ancient apostles did nothing except with an express revelation (p.66); authority comes from God, not man (p.23); Christ is the head of the church (p.17); preaching the everlasting gospel and administering the ordinances (p.7-8); the building of Zion in troubled times (p.12). From this can be distilled several basic premises of the Campbells which relate directly to Joseph Smith:

...they regarded the denominations around them as having the substance of Christianity, but not its original nature; therefore the chief object of the proposed reformation was to restore the primitive church, ...and they considered "lay preaching" as authorized and denied any distinction between clergy and laity, ...they looked om infant baptism as without scriptural authority... (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.117).

Campbell's followers placed a great importance on the name of the church, they shared the Lord's supper weekly (which some Latter Day Saints still observe), membership came through a confession of faith and then baptism, baptism was for the remission of sins, all believers could administer baptism and the Lord's Supper, and Campbell made a distinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament and the authority of each (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.140).

The last two items require further comment. First, the expression of ministry to all believers was slightly modified in the Latter Day Saint movement. Administration of the ordinances and sacraments did require proper ordination, but not in the same sense of the prevailing customs, which implied some sort of education, preparation and a special call which one sensed for himself. (This was in the time when women were not being ordained). Campbell, and indeed the Latter Day Saints, did not expect to receive a special call for themselves. So while there is some difference between Campbell and the Latter Day Saints, the concept of lay ministry was similar.

Second, the early Latter Day Saint church seems to have relied on the Book of Mormon and the New Testament as the main scriptural support for its polity and doctrine (Whitmer, 1887). The Old Testament came to be more important as the Latter Day Saint movement developed into a "people" (Shipps, 1985).

Secret societies were distrusted by the Disciples, and many other groups in the United States. But anti-masonry was no longer an issue by the mid-1870s and many church members were Masons (Harrell, 1973, pp.287-289). America was seen as a promised land which had a chosen status and divine destiny. One writer stated, "The government of the United States is the richest gift of Protestantism to the world". ...God had carefully selected this nation as the place for the rebirth of true "restored religion". "It was not chance," concluded the [writer], "that brought the Campbells to America. Here only in the wide world was the freedom of mind and conscience, to which their appeal must be made". There were even attempts to establish communal colonies, such as the attempt in 1897 in southern Missouri, of all places! (Harrel, 1973, pp.23-25, 140-141).

The Disciples, like Latter Day Saints, were and continue to be persecuted from some quarters because of their advocating a restoration of the ancient order of things. Early in the split between Rigdon and Campbell, and continuing for many years, was a vitriolic fervor advocating both groups against each other (McKiernan, 1979, p.70). This persecution, which sees Campbell as a threat, much as Smith is seen as a threat, is perhaps brought on by a traditional view that Campbell

...was a true prophet of his time. It is the privilege of some men to perceive the greatest needs of the Church of Christ in their day, to give happy and forceful expression to the thoughts that are lying unexpressed in the minds of many around them, and by vigorous advocacy call the attention of scattered sections of the church to the truth they have discerned. This is the function of a true prophet of Christianity (Grafton, 1897, pp.ix-x).

We are familiar with One Body, and its exaltation of Alexander Campbell as "Restoration's High Priest" and of Walter Scott as the supposed "restorer" of the "Ancient Gospel." ...The movement began as "ego-centred", fostered division by its exclusivity, and crystallized into cultism by its "patternism".

Lay ministry was an early hallmark of the Campbellite movement. Congregations relied on their local elders for leadership, and traveling evangelists served several congregations in an area on a part-time basis (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.242). Authority was implicit, and it was the congregation which granted that authority to its ordained ministry.

In the early Latter Day Saints we see an identical pattern. The priesthood system grew and developed over a number of years as the church responded to its needs. Stories of angelic ordinations, which were completely absent in the early records of the church, emerged later ane became increasingly elaborate as time went on (Prince, 1993). In fact, Prince demonstrates that the early church had a structure virtually identical with that structure followed by Campbell (Vogel, 1988, pp.101, 105-106; Whitmer, 1887; Howard, 1992, pp.127-131). The Book of Mormon also clearly demonstrates a very simple structure of ministry, which included only elders, priests and teachers (Moroni 2-6, all editions).

A final issue for consideration in this part of the discussion is the revision of the Bible undertaken by both Alexander Campbell and Joseph Smith, Jr..

Most Latter Day Saints should be familiar with what is known as the [RLDS] "Inspired Version" of the Bible [LDS, Joseph Smith Translation], and how Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon, and others worked diligently in the early 1830s to produce a corrected version of the Bible. Changes were made throughout, most especially in Genesis, Isaiah and the Gospels. Another notable change includes the dropping entirely of the Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs, labeling it uninspired. And Joseph Smith, Jr. resurrected the arguments over the Apocrypha which had been widelt debated in the mid-1820s, and reported in the Wayne Sentinel, the newspaper published in the Palmyra, New York area (Hullinger, 1980, p.162). Smith declared the Apocrypha to be left out of the Bible with a revelation issued March 9, 1833 (Doctrine & Covenants, RLDS 88; LDS 91). The "New Translation" was never published during Joseph Smith's lifetime, but was eventually issued by the RLDS Church in December 1867 (Edwards, 1991, pp.66-67, 151).

Alexander Campbell published a modern language version of the New Testament in the spring of 1826, several years prior to Joseph Smith's work on revising the text of the Bible. In addition to the modern language revisions, Campbell also made a number of emendations, most notably to write the word "immerse" everywhere the word "baptize" appeared. John the Baptist, then, became John the Immerser (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.128).

Campbellite writer Isaac Errett (1883, p.167) told of the problem of infallibility in the scriptures, and ascribed errors to the fallibility of human communication.

Admitting the fact of inspiration, have we in the inspired Scriptures an infallible guide? Are they absolutely free from error? That all truth is infallible needs no proof. But, is the communication of truth, in the inspired Scriptures, absolutely free from error? I do not see how we can answer this question affirmatively, unless we can prove that human language firnishes an absolutely certain method of communication between mind and mind, Nor do I see how this can be proved.

Since Campbell's New Testament had wide circulation (McAllister & Tucker, 1975, p.128) Joseph Smith may have been familiar with it long before the winter of 1830 when Sidney Rigdon united with the Latter Day Saints. Certainly, through Rigdon's influence and documented efforts in revising the Bible, Campbell's influence can be seen. Furthermore, Kormelis Compier (n.d.), in a study of the Gospel of Mark, considered the issue. He has documented numerous corrections made by Smith which are identical with Campbell's corrections. Compier writes,

From my comparison with the Greek text, it is clear that Joseph's changes are not confirmed by the best Greek text bow available. And since Joseph's time, many more manuscripts have become available to us to establish a better Greek text. It was also interesting to see that a number of times where Joseph had made correct changes, these were the same as those found in Alexander Campbell's New Testament.

References to Series #2 Articles by Steven L. Shields