This series looks back at how early critics of the church reacted to the rise of Mormonism. Some mocked it, others warned against it, and a few tried to make sense of it. Each post features a historical excerpt and some quick context to show how critics viewed the new faith as it was unfolding.
Part 1 can be read here
In 1830 a man by the name of Abner Cole published a criticism of Joseph Smith called the Book of Pukei in the Palmyra Reflector, published under the name "Obadiah Dogberry Esquire".
Cole had access to Grandin’s print shop and saw early pages of the Book of Mormon before the public did. His reaction took the form of a mock scripture that rewrote Joseph Smith’s story into a joke. That choice wasn’t random. He was simply recounting the events surrounding Joseph smith in a pseudobiblical style, Cole shows us that he likely recognized the Book of Mormon as part of that same genre.
Events Parodied in The Book of Pukei
1. Angel Moroni – Cole rewrote the reported visitation as a comic scene. His “spirit” is exaggerated and theatrical, turning the basic claim of an angelic messenger into a parody.
2. Treasure Digging – The story places Joseph Smith in a world of magic circles, charms, and buried wealth. Cole’s version treats the origin of the Book of Mormon as a result of treasure-seeking practices.
3. Pseudobiblical Language – The parody relies on King James style wording. Cole repeats stock biblical phrases to underline how heavily the Book of Mormon leans on that scriptural cadence.
4. Witness Testimonies – Cole reduces the idea of witnesses to a simple literary device. In the Book of Pukei, followers commit themselves to Joseph without evidence, portraying their testimony as something produced by devotion to Joseph Smith
5. Joseph Smith as a Performed Role – In Cole’s telling, Joseph steps into the place previously occupied by “Walters the Magician.” The mantle passes from one figure to another, suggesting the prophetic identity is adopted rather than divinely assigned.
7. Implicit Accusation of Deception – The parody presents the entire foundation of the movement as unstable. Instead of arguing that the Book of Mormon is fraudulent, Cole builds scenes that make the claim of revelation look ridiculous.
What the Book of Pukei Shows Us
Cole’s parody demonstrates that Joseph Smith's story was being interpreted even before most people had access to the full text. The Book of Pukei presents the emerging narrative through satire, using elements like treasure seeking, angelic visitation, and biblical phrasing to create a comic version of the account. Rather than analyzing the claims directly, the piece reframes them in a way that highlights how unusual the developing story appeared to some observers in 1830.
Originally published by Abner Cole under the pseudonym O. Dogberry, Esq., in 1830
Minor spelling and formatting changes were made for readability here
(June 12, 1830)
1. And it came to pass in the latter days, that wickedness did much abound in the land, 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.
2. Now Walters, the Magician, was a man unseemly to look upon, and to profound ignorance added the most consummate impudence,—he obeyed the summons of the idle and slothful, and produced 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 the custody thereof.
3. And the Idle and Slothful paid tribute unto the Magician, and besought him saying, Oh! thou who art wise above all men, and can interpret the book that no man understandeth, and can discover hidden things by the power of thy enchantments, lead us, we pray thee to the place where the Nephites buried their treasure, and give us power over “the spirit,” and we will be thy servants forever.
4. And the Magician led the rabble into 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.
5. All things being ready, the Idle and Slothful fell to work with a zeal deserving a better cause, and many a live long night was spent in digging for “the root of all evil.”
6. Howbeit, owing to the wickedness and hardness of their hearts, these credulous and ignorant knaves, were always disappointed, till finally, their hopes, although frequently on the eve of consummation–like that of he hypocrite perished, and their hearts became faint within them.
7. And it came to pass, that when the Idle and Slothful became weary of their nightly labors, they said one to another, lo! this imp of the Devil, hath deceived us, let us no more of him, or peradventure, ourselves, our wives, and our little ones, will become chargeable on the town.
8. Now when Walters the Magician heard these things, he was sorely grieved, and said unto himself, lo! mine occupation is gone, even these ignorant vagabonds, the idl eand [idle and] slothful detect mine impostures. I will away and hide myself, lest the strong arm of the law should bring me to justice.
9. And he 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, where he holds communion with the Devil, even unto this day.
10. Now the rest of the acts of the magician, how his mantle fell upon the prophet Jo. Smith Jun. and how Jo. made a league with the spirit, who afterwards turned out to be an angel, and how he obtained the “Gold Bible,” Spectacles, and breast plate–will they not be faithfully recorded in the book of Pukei?”
(July 07, 1830)
1. 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; that the “idle and slothful” gathered themselves together, in the presence of Joseph, and said unto him, “lo! we will be thy servants forever, do with us, our wives, and our little ones as it may seem good in thine eyes.
2. And the prophet answered and said,–“Behold! hath not the mantle of Walters the Magician fallen upon me, and am I not able to do before you my people great wonders, and shew you, at a more proper season, where the Nephites hid their treasures?—for lo! yesternight stood before me in the wilderness of Manchester, the spirit, who, from the beginning, has had in keeping all the treasures, hidden in the bowels of the earth.
3. And he said unto me, Joseph thou son of Joseph, hold up thine head; do the crimes done in thy body fill thee with shame?—hold up thine face and let the light of mine countenance shine upon thee—thou, and all thy father's household, have served me faithfully, according to the best of their knowledge and abilities—I am the spirit that walketh in darkness, and will shew thee great signs and wonders.”
4. And 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.
5. And he again said unto me, “Joseph, thou who hast been surnamed the ignoramus, knowest thou not, that great signs and wonders are to be done by thine hands? knowest thou not, that I have been sent unto thee by MORMON, the great apostle to the Nephites—Mormon who was chief among the last ten tribes of Israel?
6. Knowest thou not that this same apostle to the nephites conducted that pious people, who could not abide the wickedness of their brethren, to these happy shores in bark canoes, where after fighting with their brethren the Lamanites, a few hundred years, became wicked themselves, when God sent the small pox among them, which killed two thirds of them, and turned the rest into Indians?
7. Knowest thou not, thou weak one of earth, that this same Mormon wrote a book on plates of gold, in the language I now speak, of and concerning the aforesaid Nephites and their brethren the Lamanites, and their treasures, (including a box of gold watches on which thou shalt hereafter raise money,) and knowest thou not, that thou art greater than all the “money-digging rabble,” and art chosen to interpret the book, which Mormon has written, to wit, the gold Bible?
8. “And lo! I answered the spirit of the money diggers saying, how can these things be, as I can neither read nor write? And he said unto me” ‘I will give thee a breast plate, to keep thee from evil, and I will send thee an assistant, even Oliver, the pedagogue.’
Check Your Understanding: The Book of Pukei
Test what you remember about Abner Cole’s early satire of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
1. What is the purpose of this article series?
2. Who published the satire called The Book of Pukei in 1830?
3. Under what name was the satire published?
4. Where was The Book of Pukei published?
5. How did Cole have early access to the Book of Mormon material he was parodying?
6. What writing style does Cole imitate in order to mock the Book of Mormon?
7. Which theme is emphasized as part of the parody’s explanation for the Book of Mormon’s origin?
8. In the parody, whose “mantle” is said to fall upon Joseph Smith Jr.?
9. How does the parody treat the idea of witnesses?
10. What does the article argue The Book of Pukei shows about reactions in 1830?
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