Evidence #414 | July 27, 2023
Purpose of the Plates
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
It is sometimes claimed that because the plates of the Book of Mormon weren’t directly used in the process of their translation, then they served no meaningful purpose. To the contrary, in a variety of ways the plates played a valuable role in the unfolding drama of the Restoration.People are sometimes surprised to discover that, according to a number of historical accounts, the plates of the Book of Mormon were not regularly used during the process of its translation.1 While translating, Joseph Smith would typically place his face into a hat to block out ambient light.2 He would then, according to witnesses, read aloud the words which miraculously appeared in a seer stone, and a scribe would record them.3
As for the plates themselves, Emma Smith reported that they “often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth.”4 Other witnesses recalled that on a few occasions the plates were kept “in a nearby box under the bed or even hidden in the Whitmer’s barn during translation.”5
These accounts have caused some to wonder why the plates were necessary at all. In other words, why did Joseph Smith have to go through all the trouble to retrieve them, protect them, and keep them nearby during the translation process, if they simply sat there idle and unused? This article presents ten different ways in which the plates played a valuable role in the unfolding drama of the Restoration.
1. Evidence That the Plates Were Used to Translate
Accounts about the plates not being directly utilized in the translation are likely accurate but incomplete. Evidence suggests that during the early stages of Joseph’s translation efforts, a mode of translation was sometimes used which directly involved the plates.6 Shortly after interviewing Joseph Smith, a minister named Truman Coe wrote the following in 1836:
The manner of translation was as wonderful as the discovery. By putting his finger on one of the characters and imploring divine aid, then looking through the Urim and Thummim, [Joseph Smith] would see the import written in plain English on a screen placed before him. After delivering this to his emanuensi [scribe], he would again proceed in the same manner and obtain the meaning of the next character.7
If accurate, this method of translating may also help explain accounts of a blanket or screen being used to separate Joseph from his scribe.8 As concluded by Don Bradley, “translating through the interpreters [rather than the seer stone] required the plates to be physically present and uncovered. To prevent anyone from seeing the open plates, a veil was placed between Joseph and the scribe.”9
There are other indications that Joseph Smith was at least occasionally aware of the relationship between the characters on the plates and the words he was dictating. He once explained that “the Title Page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left-hand side of the collection or book of plates.”10 In addition, David Whitmer once stated that while looking into the seer stone, Joseph Smith saw a “parchment, on which would appear the characters of the plates in a line at the top, and immediately below would appear the translation in English.”11 This would have reinforced—at least to Joseph himself and perhaps to those, like Whitmer, whom he informed about the process—that even when using a seer stone Joseph’s dictation was indeed connected to the record in his possession.
2. Joseph Smith’s Spiritual Development
Joseph Smith didn’t just learn about the plates one day and obtain them the next. Instead, his receipt of the ancient artifact was a multi-year process. At least annually, he was tutored by an angel at the location where the plates were buried (JSH 1:53–54). As a physical object which he had seen and which he knew he could obtain if he was faithful, the plates no doubt served a vital motivating role in the young prophet’s spiritual growth and development.12 Throughout this process, he transformed from a youth who focused first on the material value of the plates (to help bring his family out of poverty) into a fledgling prophet intent on carrying out the purposes of God (JSH 1:46).13
3. A Divine Object Lesson
Not only did Joseph have to protect the plates from his own well-meaning desire for material wealth, but he also had to diligently preserve them from the “strenuous exertions” of others who greedily wanted the plates for themselves (JSH 1:59–60). “Ironically,” writes Anothony Sweat, “while much of Joseph’s later persecution may have arisen out of others doubting the existence and possession of golden plates, originally the difficulty was due to the exact opposite: certain persons were convinced he had actually retrieved the record.”14
Joseph’s physical efforts to protect the plates reinforced their sacredness and taught him vital lessons about heeding the warnings of the Lord. In short, for all who encounter it, the story of the plates offers a deeply insightful object lesson on prioritizing the things of God over the things of the world (Mormon 8:14).
4. Martin Harris and the Copied Characters
After Joseph Smith retrieved the plates, he copied down some of their engraved characters. Martin Harris then took them to several distinguished scholars back east to verify their authenticity.15 Martin, who eventually mortgaged his farm to fund the publication of the Book of Mormon, came away from this trip more convinced than ever that the plates were authentic.16 His support was crucial in the early days of the Restoration, and the characters from the plates played a significant role in the development of his faith.17
5. A Fulfilled Prophecy
The characters copied from the plates also helped fulfill a prophecy from the Book of Mormon itself, which predicted that learned men of the world would be given a sporting chance to decipher them (2 Nephi 27:15–20). Yet, as prophesied by Nephi, “The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work” (v. 20).
In other words, the plates held a prophesied rhetorical function in the Restoration narrative, intended to show how the wisdom of God is greater than the wisdom of men.18 If there were no plates, then there would have been no characters to copy. And if there were no characters to copy, then Martin wouldn’t have been able to present them before learned men, as prophesied in the text itself.
6. Tangible Evidence of an Ancient Artifact
Another important consideration is that the existence of the plates helped confirm Joseph Smith’s revelatory claims. While the participants and observers involved in protecting and translating the plates weren’t initially allowed to view them directly (although many later did), these individuals sometimes encountered them through senses other than sight.
Drawing upon multiple historical accounts, Neal Rappleye explains that various witnesses “felt, lifted, and moved this object around (while covered). They could feel the weight, contours, and shape of the object well enough to discern that it was not blocks of wood or stones. They could lift the individual pages (or plates), hear them make a metallic rustling sound as they moved, and feel that they were bound by three rings.”19
Anthony Sweat has similarly pointed out that the “Book of Mormon text didn’t just pass through Joseph’s trance-induced revelatory mind; its palpable relics passed through a clothing frock, hollowed log, cooper’s shop, linen napkin, wooden chest, fireplace hearth and barrel of beans.”20 According to Michael MacKay and Gerrit Dirkmaat, the plates were “in essence the body for the spiritual words that fell from Joseph Smith’s lips as he translated,” and they helped instill “confidence in the minds of Joseph and his family and friends” that his words were derived from a genuine ancient record.21
7. Reinforcing the Book of Mormon’s Historical Authenticity
The fact that Joseph Smith claimed to possess physical plates leads almost inevitably to the conclusion that he was either telling the truth or blatantly lying about their miraculous discovery and divine origin. Any middle-ground option—in which Joseph was simply mistaken about his essential claims—is logically incoherent.22 As explained by Daniel C. Peterson,
A knowledgeable academic friend who does not believe in the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon once asked me, since it seems that the plates were not actually necessary to the translation process and were sometimes not even present in the room, what purpose they served. I responded that I did not know, exactly, except for one thing: They are an indigestible lump in the throats of people like him who contend that there were no Nephites but that Joseph Smith was nonetheless an inspired prophet. If the plates really existed, somebody made them. And if no Nephites existed to make them, then either Joseph Smith, or God, or somebody else seems to have been engaged in simple fraud. The testimony of the witnesses exists, I think, to force a dichotomous choice: true or false?23
In other words, the presence of the plates helps prevent the adoption of a watered-down version of the Restoration, in which the full weight of the Book of Mormon’s spiritual meaning and miraculous history (such as Jesus’ resurrected ministry among the Nephites) might be discounted or reinterpreted. If Joseph Smith were lying about the origin of the plates, then his prophetic claims should be rejected. On the other hand, if the plates were authentic and Joseph was telling the truth about their miraculous discovery, then they provide a compelling reason to believe not only in his prophetic calling but also that the Book of Mormon represents actual history. You don’t get tangible artifacts from so-called “inspired fiction.”24
8. A Deterrent to Naturalistic Explanations
As for the possibility of fraud, the supposition that Joseph Smith or one of his associates simply forged the plates runs into major roadblocks. For one thing, those who resort to this theory often fail to account for the metallurgical expertise required to create such an object.25 Whoever made the plates likely needed competence in smelting, hammering, gilding, annealing, and engraving metal.26 They would have needed familiarity with the properties of gold and likely of copper and silver.27 They would have needed a good deal of time to create the object, presumably in secret. And, most unlikely of all, they would have needed a large amount of gold!28
Yet, the historical record suggests that neither Joseph Smith nor any of his associates would have had the metallurgical skills or materials to pull off such a scheme. Nor is there any reliable historical evidence that any of these individuals were involved in such activities.29 One also has to consider the additional efforts that would have been needed to fabricate the associated Nephite artifacts that were observed by various witnesses.30 As Peterson humorously remarked,
But once we’ve posited a previously unnoticed Deseret Custom Design Metal Foundry operating under Joseph’s management on the outskirts of Palmyra, that industrial concern also needs to produce the breastplate seen by various witnesses, as well as the brass plates, the Urim and Thummim, the sword of Laban, and the Liahona. One wonders how many skilled metallurgists and craftsmen were available in the area at the time, what the local wage scale was, and why nobody ever seems to have reported the noise and the belching smoke of Joseph’s fraud-producing furnaces.31
Thus, the witnesses of the plates and other Nephite artifacts provide strong positive evidence of the Restoration. In order to explain away these historically attested items, skeptics have to resort to a series of unsubstantiated and, in many cases dubious, assumptions (necessary to account for the raw materials, financial resources, knowledge, skills, time, secrecy, subterfuge, and perhaps conspiracy involved in the creation of all these artifacts, as well as the enduring belief of so many witnesses in their reality and antiquity).
9. Consecrating Effort
Another reason for the presence of the plates involves the general gospel principle that God allows his children to participate in his work. Gathering ore, fashioning plates, engraving upon them lengthy historical records, protecting them from enemies, and eventually sealing them in the earth would have been no easy task (Jacob 4:1). The role of the plates in the Restoration narrative thus aligns with God’s pattern of consecrating our efforts, which he often does by using or building upon the results of our actual labor and then making up the rest “after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).
Looked at another way, it would seem rather strange for God to go to all that effort to have the Nephites create these enduring documents and then, at the end, have nothing to show for it. The significance of the plates—as a testament to the faith-motivated labor of real Nephite scribes—transcends the specific manner in which they were translated.
10. The Plates as a Type of Christ
Finally, it should be recognized that when God intervenes in human affairs, he often does so in ways that symbolically teach or reinforce spiritual truths. Evidence for this pattern, where miracles are imbued with typological significance, is plentiful in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.32 That being the case, it may be fruitful to look for such symbolism in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as it “is the key founding narrative of the restored church, on par with, if not even more prominent than, the First Vision. The plates are the central and unavoidable artifact in the opening of a new revelation.”33
Readers may recall that in the Old Testament, Jehovah—the premortal Jesus—sometimes directly revealed himself to prophets, but then only indirectly revealed himself to the people. For instance, when communicating with Moses, the Lord spoke to him “face to face” (Exodus 33:11), yet when guiding the general population of the Israelites, the Lord covered himself “by day in a pillar of a cloud … and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21). Similarly, when the Jaredites journeyed toward their promised land, the “Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel” (Ether 2:5). Only the brother of Jared, their prophetic leader, was able to see beyond the veil and enter into the presence of the Lord (Ether 3:6–20).
This pattern resurfaces in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as only Joseph Smith—the Lord’s chosen prophet—was initially allowed to directly see and handle the plates. For everyone else, they were often present in the room but veiled by a cloth. This suggests that the plates functioned as a symbol of Jesus Christ, a constant reminder that he was an integral part of the translation process.
Similar imagery can be found in the ancient Israelite tabernacle and temple. Only the high priest on the Day of Atonement was allowed to go beyond the veil and enter into the Holy of Holies—the Lord’s symbolic dwelling place (see Leviticus 16:2). For everyone else, the holy of holies, like the plates of the Book of Mormon, was outwardly visible but inwardly inaccessible.34 The sacred space was strictly forbidden, and those who ventured there or engaged in unauthorized activities did so at their own peril.35
Interestingly, the Nephite artifacts—those which Joseph Smith found in a stone box and which were shown to the Three Witnesses—all have parallels to the relics contained in the Israelite Ark of the Covenant, which was located in the Holy of Holies.36 In particular, the Ark stored the Ten Commandments which contained God’s commandments inscribed into stone, much like the Book of Mormon contains Christ’s words engraved into metal.
Thus, the veiled presence of the plates during the translation may symbolize their status as a holy artifact, comparable to the sacred tablets which contained the word of God in the Old Testament.37 Recognizing these relationships, and also noticing that the timing of Joseph Smith’s discovery and retrieval of the plates coincided with relevant ancient Jewish festivals,38 Don Bradley has viewed Joseph as fulfilling a “role like that of the biblical high priest.”39
Perhaps most striking of all are the parallels between the plates and the physical body of Jesus, in connection with his death and resurrection. Both Jesus and the Book of Mormon were buried in the earth in resting places that were watched over by angelic beings. And both eventually came forth from their stone tombs through divine power.
After Judas’ betrayal, eleven apostles witnessed Jesus Christ’s resurrection (Matthew 28:16–17; Mark 16:14), a calling to which they were “ordained” (Acts 1:16). Not only did they see his resurrected body, but they physically felt the wounds in his hands, feet, and side (Luke 24:39; John 20:25–31). Eleven men were also chosen as special witnesses of the Book of Mormon.40 Several of them were allowed to feel and handle the plates and their engravings, just as the New Testament disciples felt and handled Christ’s resurrected body.41 Jesus eventually ascended into heaven, leaving the world to depend on the testimony of the witnesses of his resurrection (Act 1:9). Likewise, Moroni eventually retrieved the plates (JSH 1:59–60; 2 Nephi 27:22), ensuring that faith—rather than sight—would be required to accept their artifactual reality and spiritual significance.
As such, one can view the physical plates of the Book of Mormon as a typological embodiment of Christ himself. According to George Mitton, the Book of Mormon can be seen “as a resurrected book, witnessing Christ’s resurrection in a special way.”42 This symbolic imagery is reinforced by several Book of Mormon prophets. As Nephi declared, “if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 33:10).43 For further parallels, see the Appendix.
Conclusion
In recent years, it has become quite fashionable among critics of the Book of Mormon to emphasize the apparent uselessness of the plates. To many, the fact that they weren’t more directly implemented in the typically reported translation process is seen as suspicious, incoherent, or persuasive evidence of fraud. Yet, as the foregoing analysis demonstrates, the physical plates functioned in a variety of meaningful ways:
1. Evidence suggests that on some occasions during early stages of the translation, Joseph directly utilized the plates in the dictation process.
2. As a physical object which Joseph Smith had personally seen and knew that he could obtain if he was faithful, the plates no doubt helped motivate him to be worthy of his impending prophetic calling.
3. The plates serve, even today, as an object lesson about prioritizing sacred things over worldly temptations.
4. Characters copied from the plates helped convince Martin Harris of their authenticity.
5. The copied characters also facilitated the fulfillment of a significant Book of Mormon prophecy.
6. The physical presence of the plates helped strengthen the faith of Joseph and his associates that his translation was tied to a genuine ancient artifact created by real ancient prophets.
7. The presence of the plates all but eliminates the possibility that Joseph Smith was merely mistaken about his revelatory claims, thereby impelling a choice between truth or fraud, while also leaving no rational grounds for interpreting the Book of Mormon as “inspired fiction.”
8. The plates function as meaningful evidence of the Restoration, not only because their existence and apparent antiquity are directly affirmed by numerous historical statements, but also because alternative explanations must be strung together by historically unsupported assumptions.
9. The plates are a testament to God’s willingness to honor, utilize, and consecrate the spiritually motivated efforts of his children, building on and enhancing the effects of their real labor.
10. In multiple ways, the plates typologically represent Jesus Christ himself, signaling his veiled—yet ever-present—role in the translation process and that the words which Joseph Smith dictated are ultimately the words of Christ.
Thus, rather than being useless, the plates can be seen as possessing multi-faceted value. One might even conclude that their role in the Restoration narrative is nothing short of brilliant, as they accomplish diverse purposes at each stage of the Book of Mormon’s coming forth and translation.
Concerning the preservation of “all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ,” Alma declared, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise” (Alma 37:5–6). This prophetic declaration aptly describes reactions to the plates of the Book of Mormon. To many critical observers, the story of the plates has indeed seemed foolish. Yet because of their preservation, “many great things” have been brought to pass which “confound the wise.”44
George L. Mitton, “The Book of Mormon as a Resurrected Book and a Type of Christ,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 42 (2021): 371–396.
Neal Rappleye, “‘Idle and Slothful Strange Stories’: Book of Mormon Origins and the Historical Record,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 20 (2016): 21–37.
Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2015), 86–89.
Anthony Sweat, “Hefted and Handled: Tangible Interactions with Book of Mormon Objects,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, ed. Dennis L. Largey, Andrew H. Hedges, John Hilton III, and Kerry Hull (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2015), 43–59.
Daniel C. Peterson, “Tangible Restoration: The Witnesses and What They Experienced,” Fair Conference, 2006, online at fairlatterdaysaints.org.
The Testimony of Three WitnessesThe Testimony of Eight WitnessesThe Testimony of Three Witnesses
The Testimony of Eight Witnesses
Topic | Book of Mormon | Jesus/Jehovah |
Angelic Announcement | During the night, an angel appeared to a young farmer named Joseph Smith, showing him where the plates of the Book of Mormon could be found (JSH 1:29). | An angel appeared to shepherds at night to tell them where the baby Jesus could be found (Luke 2:8–12). An angel also appeared to the first disciples at Christ’s tomb, declaring “Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6). |
Countenance Like Lightening | Concerning his angelic visitor, Joseph Smith reported, “Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person” (JSH 1:32). | Similar descriptions are given in the New Testament concerning the angels who heralded Christ’s birth and resurrection: “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them” (Luke 2:9); “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). |
Sealed in Stone | The Book of Mormon was buried in a stone box or receptacle which was “sealed” or covered by a “stone of considerable size” (JSH 1:51; Moroni 10:2). | Jesus was buried in a stone sepulcher which was “sealed” or covered by a “great stone” (Matthew 27:60, 66). |
Angelic Custodian | The angel Moroni was there to oversee the coming forth of the Book of Mormon at the location of its discovery (JSH 1:53). | Angelic messengers were there to oversee the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb (Matthew 28:1–6). |
Forbidden Touch | Joseph, the first to see the plates, was forbidden to touch them when he first encountered them (JSH 1:53).45 | Mary, the first to see Jesus, was forbidden to touch him during their first encounter after he came forth from the tomb (John 20:17). |
Beyond the Veil | At first, only Joseph Smith himself was allowed to see the plates once he obtained them (JSH 1:42). For everyone else, the plates were always covered in some way. Even during the process of the translation, the pl ates often lay on the table yet veiled by some type of fabric. | The symbolism of the Lord hiding himself behind some type of covering or veil is prominent in ancient scripture.46 Just as Joseph Smith’s had exclusive direct access to the plates, only chosen prophets or high priests were allowed to pass beyond the veil and fully enter into the Lord’s presence, whether literally or symbolically.47 |
Eleven Witnesses | Eleven men—the Three and Eight Witnesses—bore special testimony of the reality and divinity of the Book of Mormon. | After Judas’ betrayal, eleven apostles witnessed Jesus Christ’s resurrection (Matthew 28:16–17; Mark 16:14), a calling to which they were “ordained” (Acts 1:16). |
Transfiguration and the Three Witnesses | The Three Witnesses had a revelatory experience which seemed to involve the transfiguration of their bodies.48 Not only did they see the plates and other Nephite artifacts, but they also witnessed an angel and heard a voice from heaven declaring the truthfulness of the translation. | Jesus chose three special witnesses to accompany him for a revelation in which he became “transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:2). Not only did they witness angelic beings, but they heard God’s voice from heaven testifying, “This is my beloved Son … hear ye him” (v. 5). |
Eight Witnesses Handle the Plates | The Eight Witnesses testified that they not only saw the plates, but were allowed to “handle” them, “for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken” (Testimony of the Eight Witnesses). | In both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, emphasis is given on witnesses physically handling the resurrected Christ, touching the wounds in his hands, feet, and side.49 |
An Engraved Record | The Book of Mormon is an engraved record, which means that portions of its metal plates were pierced by a sharp tool. | Christ’s physical body was pierced by nails in his hands and feet. Engraving imagery involving Christ can be seen in several scriptural passages (Isaiah 49:16; Alma 5:19). |
Mary as First Witness | Perhaps the first individual, other than Joseph Smith, to obtain a full unobstructed view of the plates was Mary Whitmer.50 | The gospel of Mark indicates that Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection (Mark 16:9). |
An Ordinary-Looking Man | Mary Whitmer’s witness of the plates was facilitated by a heavenly messenger who appeared to her as an ordinary man in an ordinary setting (as she was on her way to milk the cows).51 | In one of his post-resurrection visitations, Jesus appeared as an ordinary man in an ordinary setting to two disciples as they traveled on the road to Emmaus (Luke 23:13–35). |
“My Lord and My God” | Because of doubts and pride, Martin Harris was not initially able to see the vision of the plates and the angel with the other witnesses. According to one source, when Martin finally saw the plates for himself, he exclaimed, “It is enough, my Lord and my God.”52 | Thomas initially didn’t witness the risen Lord with the other disciples and doubted their claims. When Jesus finally appeared to him, he declared, “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28). |
The Divine Presence | Martin Harris was afraid that if he sought to obtain an unauthorized witness of the plates he would be destroyed.53 | Unauthorized persons who ventured into sacred space where God dwelled in the Old Testament were in mortal danger. |
A Wealthy Benefactor | Martin Harris, a wealthy and prominent man, provided the funds for the printing of the Book of Mormon. | Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and prominent man, was instrumental in providing a proper burial for Jesus. |
Necessity for Faith | Moroni eventually retrieved the plates, leavening the world to depend on the testimony of witnesses to their reality and antiquity (JSH 1:59–60). | Jesus eventually ascended into heaven, leaving the world to depend on the testimony of the witnesses of his resurrection (Act 1:9). |
Words of Christ | Several passages in the Book of Mormon indicate that it contains the words of Christ and that the world will be judged by those words (2 Nephi 29:11; 33:10; Ether 4:12; Moroni 10:27). | The Book of Mormon and the New Testament emphasizes that the world will be judged by the words of Jesus (John 5:22; John 12:48; 3 Nephi 27:14). |
- 1 See Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Religious Studies Center, 2015), 86–87; John W. Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844, ed. John W. Welch, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Press, 2017), 135, 161, 172.
- 2 See Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, “Firsthand Witness Accounts of the Translation Process,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, ed. Dennis L. Largey, Andrew H. Hedges, John Hilton III, and Kerry Hull (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Religious Studies Center, 2015), 68–70.
- 3 See MacKay and Dirkmaat, “Firsthand Witness Accounts,” 65–68, 70–71.
- 4 “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” The Saint’s Herald 26, no. 19 (October 1, 1879): 290. For historical accounts that agree with Emma’s description, see Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation,” 145, 153, 166, 184, primary documents nos. 43, 59, 86, 110, 111.
- 5 MacKay and Dirkmaat, “Firsthand Witness Accounts,” 71.
- 6 Note that God operates using a diversity of spiritual gifts and modes of accomplishing his will. As explained by Moroni, “And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all” (Moroni 10:8; cf. D&C 46:10–26.).
- 7 Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” 135 (doc. 23); also quoted and commented upon in Don Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 54.
- 8 See Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” 146 (doc. 45), 199 (doc. 140), 207 (doc. 158), 215 (doc. 174), 226 (doc. 203).
- 9 Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 47.
- 10 History, 1838–1856, volume A-1, p. 34, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 21, 2017, online at josephsmithpapers.org. Although modern readers may find it strange to place a title page on the last leaf of a document, such practices are well-attested in antiquity. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Subscriptio,” Evidence# 0075, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org; Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Colophons (Antiquity),” Evidence# 0245, September 27, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 11 This report comes from an interview with the Kansas City Journal in 1881, as cited in Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation,” 166.
- 12 See Saints Unscripted, “What Purpose Did the Plates Serve if not needed for Translating?” online at saintsunscripted.com.
- 13 See “History, 1834–1836, p. 94,” online at josephsmithpapers.org.
- 14 Anthony Sweat, “Hefted and Handled: Tangible Interactions with Book of Mormon Objects,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 45.
- 15 See Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 26–35; Richard E. Bennett, “Martin Harris’s 1828 Visit to Luther Bradish, Charles Anthon, and Samuel Mitchill,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 103–115; Richard E. Bennett, “Martin Harris and Three Wise Men,” BYU Speeches, June 29, 2010, online at speeches.byu.org; Richard E. Bennett, “‘Read This I Pray Thee’: Martin Harris and the Three Wise Men of the East,” Journal of Mormon History 36, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 178–216; Richard E. Bennett, “‘A Nation Now Extinct,’ American Indian Origin Theories as of 1820: Samuel L. Mitchill, Martin Harris, and the New York Theory,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies and Other Restoration Scripture 20, no. 2 (2011): 30–51; Richard E. Bennett, “‘A Very Particular Friend’: Luther Bradish,” in Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World, ed. Lincoln Blumell, Matthew J. Grey, and Andrew H. Hedges (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Religious Studies Center, 2015), 63–82; Michael Hubbard MacKay, “‘Git Them Translated’: Translating the Characters on the Gold Plates,” in Approaching Antiquity, 83–116; MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 39–59.
- 16 See Bennett, “Martin Harris’s 1828 Visit,” 105. See also Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, “‘For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars’,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 4–11, 66–67; Book of Mormon Central, “How Did Martin Harris Help Bring Forth the Book of Mormon? (2 Nephi 27:15),” KnoWhy 291 (March 24, 2017).
- 17 There are reasons to believe that Martin Harris was telling the truth about the scholarly evaluations that convinced him that the characters from the plates were authentic. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: The Anthon Account,” Evidence# 0219, July 31, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org. There are also reasons to doubt Anthon’s account. See Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 26.
- 18 See Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 26–35.
- 19 Neal Rappleye, “‘Idle and Slothful Strange Stories’: Book of Mormon Origins and the Historical Record,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 20 (2016): 26.
- 20 Sweat, “Hefted and Handled,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 44.
- 21 MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 87.
- 22 One might understandably make a mistake interpreting the meaning of a symbol in a vision, or the precise meaning of a prophecy spoken by a divine being, or a number of other matters of revelation. But it more than strains credulity to believe that Joseph Smith could have been merely mistaken about miraculously discovering and then physically obtaining, transporting, and hiding a tangible record like the Book of Mormon, which was in his custody for many months. It is simply not the type of experience that any rationale and sane individual could misunderstand, misinterpret, confuse, or likely ever forget.
- 23 Daniel C. Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction—Not So Easily Dismissed: Some Facts for Which Counterexplanations of the Book of Mormon Will Need to Account,” FARMS Review 17, no. 2 (2005): xxiv. See also, Daniel C. Peterson, “The Sibling Scandals of the Resurrection,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 11 (2014): xx-xxix. See also, Larry E. Morris, ed., A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), 422.
- 24 See Stephen O. Smoot, “Et Incarnatus Est: The Imperative for a Historical Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 30 (2018): 125–162; Kent P. Jackson, “Joseph Smith and the Historicity of the Book of Mormon,” in Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2001), 123–40; Louis Midgley, “No Middle Ground: The Debate over the Authenticity of the Book of Mormon,” in Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures, 149–70.
- 25 See Scripture Central, “How Were the Book of Mormon Gold Plates Made, with Brian Patch,” online at youtube.com; Shanna Butler, “A Golden Opportunity,” New Era (February 2006): 34–37; “A Model of the Plates,” made by Steven Pratt, online at churchofjesuschrist.org.
- 26 See Read H. Putnam, “Were the Golden Plates made of Tumbaga?” The Improvement Era 69, no. 9 (1966): 788.
- 27 Silver was sometimes, although not always, added to gold and copper in the tumbaga alloy, of which the plates were likely composed. See Putnam, “Were the Golden Plates made of Tumbaga?” 789. Also, Martin Harris remarked that the rings which bound the plates were made of silver. See Henrichsen, “How Witnesses Described the ‘Gold Plates’,” 19. Some have supposed that Joseph Smith simply used tin plates to fool his associates. Although this could possibly have worked while the plates were covered, this theory can’t account for witnesses’ descriptions of the gold appearance of the plates, their seeming antiquity, or their fine engravings (much less the angel and the other Nephite artifacts seen by the Three Witnesses). There is also a report from Josiah Stowell who inadvertently witnessed a small corner of the plates. He stated that they had a “greenish caste.” Morning Star 7, no. 20 (Limerick, Maine; November 16, 1832). This description doesn’t make sense for manufactured tin, but it could be explained if the plates were made from tumbaga, which has been proposed by several Latter-day Saint scholars. If the gold gilding on the edges of the plates had worn off over time, the higher-concentrated copper underneath may have corroded and thus turned a greenish caste, as described by Stowell. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Composition of the Plates,” Evidence# 0076, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 28 In an interview with Joel Tiffany, Martin Harris reportedly claimed, “While at Mr. Smith’s I hefted the plates, and I knew from the heft that they were lead or gold, and I knew that Joseph had not credit enough to buy so much lead.” Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1996–2003), 2:309. Note that Martin apparently didn’t feel a need to state the obvious: that it was virtual impossible for Joseph to possess so much gold unless he discovered it, as he claimed.
- 29 See William J. Hamblin, “An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe’s Assumptions and Methodologies,” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6, no. 1 (1994): 462–470; Daniel C. Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction: ‘In the Hope That Something Will Stick’: Changing Explanations for the Book of Mormon,” FARMS Review 16, no. 2 (2004): xxviii; Peterson, “Tangible Restoration,” 32–33; Rappleye, “‘Idle and Slothful Strange Stories’,” 33–34.
- 30 See D&C 17:1. In his dying testimony, Martin Harris declared, “Just as sure as you see the sun shining, just as sure am I that I stood in the presence of an angel of God with Joseph Smith, and saw him hold the gold plates in his hands. I also saw the Urim and Thummim, the breastplate, and the sword of Laban.” William Pilkington to Vern C. Poulter, 28 February 1930, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (emphasis added); as cited in Brett L. Holbrook, “The Sword of Laban as a Symbol of Divine Authority and Kingship,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2, no. 1 (1993): 62. David Whitmer similarly said that a “glorious personage appeared unto them and exhibited to them the plates, the sword of Laban, the Directors which were given to Lehi (called Liahona), the Urim and Thummim, and other records.” George Q. Cannon, “Church History,” The Juvenile Instructor 19 (1 April 1884): 107 (emphasis added); as cited in Holbrook, “The Sword of Laban as a Symbol of Divine Authority and Kingship,” 62–63. See also, Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: The Nephite Ark,” Evidence# 0113, November 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 31 Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction: ‘In the Hope That Something Will Stick’,” xxviii. For descriptions of the brass plates and “other records” being included in the accounts of the witnesses, see Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5:32, 43, 48, 50, 91.
- 32 See, for instance, Richard Dilworth Rust, “‘All Things Which Have Been Given of God … Are the Typifying of Him”: Typology in the Book of Mormon ,” in Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1981), 233–244.
- 33 Richard Bushman, “Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates,” The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 39, no. 1 (2019): 28.
- 34 See, for instance, Isaac Kalimi, “The Day of Atonement in the Late Second Temple Period. Sadducees’ High Priests, Pharisees’ Norms, and Qumranites’ Calendar(s),” in The Day of Atonement: It’s Interpretation in Early Jewish and Christian Traditions, ed. Thomas Hieke and Tobias Nicklas (Boston, MA: Brill, 2012), 76–77.
- 35 Several historical accounts mention that Martin Harris was not only forbidden to directly view the plates, but that he was afraid to do so. See Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” 146 (doc. 45), 199 (doc. 140), 207 (doc. 158), 215 (doc. 174). This correlates well with the ancient Israelite beliefs related to the Holy of Holies. As explained by Michael B Hundley, the Ark of the Covenant, which was situated “beyond the veil in the inner sanctuary, cannot be seen on penalty of death, even by the high priest (Lev 16:2, 13), and may be approached and touched only under extreme circumstances, on the annual Day of Atonement.” Michael B Hundley, “Sacred Spaces, Object, Offerings, and People in the Priestly Texts: A Reappraisal,” Journal of Biblical Literature 132, no. 4 (2013), 756. See also, Kalimi, “The Day of Atonement in the Late Second Temple Period,” 81.
- 36 See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: The Nephite Ark,” Evidence# 0113, November 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 37 See Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 12: “Ancient Israel’s Ark of the Covenant and associated holy things were draped with a veil or wrapped when removed from the temple sanctuary, especially then the Tabernacle (the temple’s portable counterpart) was moved from place to place (Numbers 2:4–20). Similarly, the sacred things Joseph retrieved from the stone ark were to be kept covered in public.” Bradley also points to this imagery being present in the early mode of translation when Joseph was separated from his scribe by a blanket: “To prevent anyone from seeing the open plates, a veil was placed between Joseph and the scribe so that these sacred things, like the holy things of the biblical temple, could be shielded from common gaze” (p. 47).
- 38 See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Timing of the Discovery and Receipt of the Plates,” Evidence# 0406, May 30, 2023, online at evidencecentral.org; Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 18–19.
- 39 Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 12. Part of Bradley’s rationale also comes from the parallels between the biblical Urim and Thummim and the Nephite breastplate and interpreters. When using these Nephite artifacts, Bradley concluded that “Joseph was, in effect, putting on the high priestly garments and acting in the place of the biblical high priest” (p. 51). See also, Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Similarities between the Nephite Interpreters and the Urim and Thummim,” Evidence# 0005, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 40 If Joseph Smith is counted among the witnesses to the plates, then the total official witnesses would come to an even twelve, the number of Christ’s original apostles and also a significant symbolic number in both the Bible and Book of Mormon. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Symbolism of the Numbers 12 and 24,” Evidence# 0011, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 41 See “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” and “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.”
- 42 George L. Mitton, “The Book of Mormon as a Resurrected Book and a Type of Christ,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 42 (2021): 372.
- 43 To Moroni, the Lord similarly declared, “I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am” (Ether 4:12).
- 44 See also, Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages, 29–35.
- 45 According to Oliver Cowdery, “On attempting to take possession of the records a shock was produced upon [Joseph’s] system, by an invisible power, which deprived him in a measure, of his natural strength.” History, 1834–1836, p. 94, online at josephsmithpapers.org.
- 46 See, for example, Exodus 13:21; Exodus 26:31–33; Ether 2:5; Matthew 27:50–51.
- 47 See, for example, Exodus 33:11; Leviticus 16:2; Ether 3:6–20.
- 48 See Book of Mormon Central, “Did the Book of Mormon Witnesses Really See What They Claimed? (3 Nephi 28:15),” KnoWhy 521 (June 20, 2019).
- 49 See Luke 24:39; John 20:25–31; 3 Nephi 11:14–15.
- 50 See Royal Skousen, “Another Account of Mary Whitmer’s Viewing of the Golden Plates,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 10 (2014): 35–44.
- 51 See Skousen, “Another Account of Mary Whitmer’s Viewing of the Golden Plates,” 35–44.
- 52 Martin Harris Interview with Ole A. Jensen, July 1875 in Ole A. Jensen, “Testimony of Martin Harris (One of the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon),” undated (c. 1918), original in private possession, photocopies at Utah State Historical Society, LDS Church Archives, and Special Collections of BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library; cited in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1996–2003), 2:375. Note that Joseph Smith’s more contemporaneous account record’s Harris as making a similar statement with different wording: “Tis enough, ’tis enough; mine eyes have beheld, mine eyes have beheld.” History, circa June 1839–circa 1841 [Draft 2], p. 25, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed July 20, 2023, online at josephsmithpapers.org.
- 53 See Welch, “The Miraculous Timing of the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” 146 (doc. 45), 199 (doc. 140), 207 (doc. 158), 215 (doc. 174).
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