Publisher's Synopsis
I am the author of an elaborate work (completed in 1885) in the manuscript, entitled: The Life of Sidney Rigdon, the Real Founder of Mormonism, which is an effort to demonstrate with original documents and history that Mormon theology and church constitution were conceived and produced by Rigdon and not by Joseph Smith . . .
Yours very truly,
William H. Whitsitt
The key word being the adjective "elaborate," which means "involving many carefully arranged parts or details (theory, policy, system); complicated in design and planning." Its synonyms are "complicated," "complex," "intricate," and "involved."
To its credit, the Library of Congress accepted the offer to preserve the manuscript, and to the chagrin of more than a few so-called Mormon history scholars since then (showing Whitsitt's scholarship to be much too commanding for them to superintend), the "elaborate work" has been, ostensibly with perceptible envy, almost entirely disregarded.
