KnoWhy #777 | February 6, 2025
How Did Hyrum Smith Help Bring Forth the Book of Mormon?
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
“Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing to light those things of which has been spoken—yea, the translation of my work; be patient until you shall accomplish it.” Doctrine and Covenants 11:19
The Know
In late May or early June 1829, Hyrum Smith visited his brother Joseph in Harmony, Pennsylvania. At this time, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery were nearly finished translating the gold plates. More pertinent to Hyrum’s visit, however, was the news of the recent visitation of John the Baptist on May 15 to restore the Aaronic Priesthood.
Hyrum learned about the restoration of the priesthood a few days before his visit when his brother Samuel “returned to his father’s house [in Palmyra, New York] greatly glorifying and praising God, being filled with the Holy Spirit” after he and a few others had been baptized.1 About three months earlier, Joseph Smith Sr. had also received a revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 4, which may have also spurred Hyrum to seek to know how he could serve the Lord. The Lord’s answer, now Doctrine and Covenants 11, would provide the instructions Hyrum sought.2
Hyrum was told to “wait a little longer, until you shall have my word,” and to “seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed” (Doctrine and Covenants 11:16, 21). However, one important promise and commandment given to Hyrum would have been immediately applicable: “Cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing to light those things of which has been spoken—yea, the translation of my work”—that is, the Book of Mormon (Doctrine and Covenants 11:19; emphasis added). This promise would be fulfilled in some important ways in the following months.3
First, as many people are aware, Hyrum Smith would soon serve as one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon. His name has been printed in every edition of the Book of Mormon since its first publication, declaring that he and the other Witnesses saw “the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold” and that “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).4 This experience occurred at the end of June 1829, at most a month after Doctrine and Covenants 11 had been revealed.5 This alone could be recognized as a direct fulfilment of the Lord’s promise.6
Hyrum’s published testimony clearly assisted in bringing the Book of Mormon to light, not only during Hyrum’s lifetime but in subsequent years as well, blessing sincere readers of the Book of Mormon throughout the world. Hyrum Smith would continually and faithfully testify that he had indeed seen and hefted the plates, even when his life was frequently threatened for it.7 On one such occasion in December 1839, when Hyrum was in Liberty Jail with his brother Joseph, he wrote a letter to the Saints, powerfully testifying, “I thank God that I felt a determination to die, rather than deny the things which my eyes had seen, which my hands had handled, and which I had borne testimony to.”8
Second, Hyrum Smith also aided in the printing and publication of the Book of Mormon. One important aspect to this aid came through the preparation of the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon. While Oliver Cowdery prepared the vast majority of that manuscript, other scribes stepped in to help in a few instances.
As Royal Skousen has observed from his extensive study of the Book of Mormon manuscripts, “Hyrum Smith briefly took over . . . on five different occasions (from Mosiah 28 to Alma 5).”9 John Gilbert, the man who typeset the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, also recalled that once Hyrum Smith reviewed some of the proofs, as Grandin supposed “these men could read their own writing as well, if not better, than anyone else.”10 While this only accounts for a small portion of the text (approximately 0.5 percent), it nonetheless shows Hyrum’s willingness and readiness to help prepare the Book of Mormon manuscript for publication.
Third, Hyrum Smith was also one of those responsible for protecting the Book of Mormon manuscript while transporting portions of it to Grandin’s print shop each day. According to Gilbert, Hyrum took great precautions in preserving the manuscript: “Hyrum Smith brought the first installment of manuscript . . . under his vest, and vest and coat closely buttoned over it. At night Smith came and got the manuscript, and with the same precaution carried it away.”11
Fourth, once, on a Sunday afternoon, Lucy Mack Smith recalled that Hyrum “became very uneasy, as to the security of the work left at the printing office, and requested Oliver [Cowdery] to accompany him thither to see if all was right.”12 There, they discovered a man named Abner Cole was using Grandin’s press to print his own newspaper. Cole had access to unbound proofs of the Book of Mormon and began printing excerpts of the book alongside his own antagonistic commentary. Hyrum was able to confront Cole and informed Joseph Smith about the matter. Joseph was then able to get Cole to stop his unauthorized printing of the Book of Mormon. Regarding this matter, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll observed, “By quickly yielding to the impressions of the Spirit, Hyrum had protected the integrity of the yet-unpublished scripture.”13
The Why
Hyrum appears to have taken the charge to wait and study the scriptures seriously. The next year, when he was commissioned to preach through a revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 29, he had become more familiar with the teachings not only of the Bible but also of the Book of Mormon. Many early converts recalled being surprised at how fluent Hyrum was in explaining and using the scriptures.14 This allowed him to be a powerful witness for the truth and helped bring many people into the Church.
Hyrum likewise took the promise that he could aid in bringing the Book of Mormon to light seriously. After having been able to see and hold the Book of Mormon plates for himself in June 1829, he spent a considerable portion of his time and energy into helping in any way that he could to assist in publishing and defending the Book of Mormon, taking every caution to preserve the manuscript and ensure its safety. Because of his efforts, Hyrum was also able to receive spiritual promptings that helped him and Joseph defend the Book of Mormon from Abner Cole’s attempted copyright infringement.
Because Hyrum had already demonstrated his faithfulness to his brother Joseph, the Lord gave His specific promises to Hyrum knowing how needed he would be in assisting with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. In the end, Hyrum remained faithful to his testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith’s role as a prophet. Because he refused to deny what he knew to be true, he faced a martyr’s death alongside his brother Joseph. Even in their final hours, the two brothers testified powerfully of the Book of Mormon.15
Hyrum Smith is a prime example for modern readers to emulate as they strive to follow the Lord and His commandments in their own lives and keep the Spirit of God with them at all times. When modern readers better understand the devoted role Hyrum Smith played in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, they can better appreciate the touching tribute that the Lord Himself gave to this brother of Joseph: “Blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:15).
Ronald K. Esplin, “Hyrum Smith,” in United by Faith: The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family, ed. Kyle R. Walker (BYU Press; Covenant Communications, 2005), 125–29.
Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity (Deseret Book, 2003), 19–36.
Royal Skousen, “Worthy of Another Look: John Gilbert’s 1892 Account of the 1830 Printing of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 21, no. 2 (2012): 58–72.
Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Deseret Book, 1989), 137–49.
- 1. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 19, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- 2. For more discussion regarding the background of Doctrine and Covenants 11, see Steven C. Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations (Deseret Book, 2008), 51–53; Steven C. Harper, Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Scripture Central, 2021), 23–24; Casey Paul Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Cedar Fort, 2024), 1:139–40. Hyrum Smith would be baptized at Seneca Lake in New York in June 1829, shortly after this revelation was received. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 23, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- 3. Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garret, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Deseret Book, 2000), 1:83; and Monte S. Nyman, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, vol. 1, “More Precious than Gold” (Granite Publishing, 2008), 92, have speculated that the promise Hyrum would “assist in bringing to light” the Book of Mormon entailed staying in Harmony to do temporal chores, allowing Joseph and Oliver to focus on the translation. It is also possible, given how Joseph and Oliver soon moved to the Whitmer farm in Fayette, New York, to continue translating the Book of Mormon, that Hyrum helped them pack for their journey while he was in Harmony. However, there is no indication from Joseph’s history that Hyrum stayed for a few weeks as these commentators suggest, and these possibilities remain only speculation.
- 4. For a discussion of Hyrum Smith’s continued testimony as one of the Eight Witnesses, see Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Deseret Book, 1989), 137–49.
- 5. See “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 26, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- 6. Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute (Scripture Central, 2021), Doctrine and Covenants 11:15–22; Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 1:142–43.
- 7. For a discussion of Hyrum’s experiences and hardships during his time in Liberty Jail, see Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity (Deseret Book, 2003), 187–204. For a discussion on the letters Hyrum sent while in Liberty Jail, see Kenneth L. Alford and Craig K. Manscill, “Hyrum Smith’s Liberty Jail Letters,” in Foundations of the Restoration: The 45th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, ed. Craig James Ostler, Michael Hubbard MacKay, and Barbara Morgan Gardner (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Deseret Book, 2017), 189–206. For more on how Hyrum Smith was faithful to his witness of the Book of Mormon, see Scripture Central, “Why Was Hyrum Faithful to His Witness of the Book of Mormon? (Doctrine and Covenants 135:4),” KnoWhy 614 (August 24, 2021).
- 8. See Hyrum Smith, “To the Saints Scattered Abroad,” Times and Seasons 1, no. 2 (December 1839), as cited in Larry E. Morris, ed., A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon (Oxford University Press, 2019), 427.
- 9. Royal Skousen, “Worthy of Another Look: John Gilbert’s 1892 Account of the 1830 Printing of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 21, no. 2 (2012): 65.
- 10. John Hulburd Gilbert, Memorandum, September 8, 1892, MS 9223, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, 7.
- 11. Eventually, only after Gilbert promised to return the manuscript, he was allowed to take it home to punctuate it at night to speed up the printing process; Gilbert, Memorandum, 3, 5. Gilbert also recalled Hyrum Smith and Martin Harris instructed him to leave the grammar of the Book of Mormon as it was, showing they were responsible for certain administrative decisions regarding the printing to ensure its accuracy to the manuscript. For additional discussion on Hyrum’s role in the printing of the Book of Mormon, see O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith, 30–31.
- 12. “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845,” p. 165, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- 13. O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith, 31. For a legal analysis of Abner Cole’s infringement of the Book of Mormon copyright, see Nathaniel Hinckley Wadsworth, “Securing the Book of Mormon Copyright in 1829,” in Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith’s Legal Encounters, ed. Gordon A. Madsen, Jeffrey N. Walker, and John W. Welch (BYU Studies, 2014), 106–12.
- 14. For some reports of Hyrum’s missionary service, see Ronald K. Esplin, “Hyrum Smith,” in United by Faith: The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family, ed. Kyle R. Walker (BYU Press; Covenant Communications, 2005), 127–29; O’Driscoll, Hyrum Smith, 31–33, 37–44.
- 15. In to the brothers’ final days and hours, Joseph testified of the Book of Mormon to the guards and prisoners the evening they were killed, and Hyrum read Ether 12:36–38 to his brother on the way to Carthage, which comforted them in what they were sure would be their last journey together. See Doctrine and Covenants 135:4–5.