Many scholars and intellectuals say Joseph used a stone he found in a well and put it in a hat in order to translate the Book of Mormon. Many of them also claim the gold plates were not even looked at by Joseph during his translation. That is silly to me. No where in the scriptures does it say that Joseph used a stone in a hat, but many times in scripture say Joseph used the spectacles attached to a breastplate to translate as in the picture below.
The word “interpreters” and “Urim and Thummim” mean plural stones, not a singular one. Many of these scholars equate a single stone as the Urim and Thummim, which to me is wrong. They also say that Joseph read the words that appeared in the single stone. That would mean someone was giving Joseph the words to write so it wouldn’t be a translation but more like a dictation. Why did Mormon and Nephi go through all the hard work of writing on gold plates, if the Lord was just going to give Joseph a stone to read from. It makes no sense to me.
Buried in the Stone box, the Interpreters, Spectacles & Breastplate, Not a Seer Stone and a Hat.
What 3 artifacts were found in the stone box of Hill Cumorah where Joseph Smith found the gold plates? The Gold Plates, the Breastplate and the Urim and Thummim. (That’s It) The Sword of Laban and the Liahona were found in the Cave of Records at Cumorah NY, with wagon loads of other Jaredite and Nephite plates, in a different location at Hill Cumorah NY.
Two Separate Repositories
As Orson Pratt says, “The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . . These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
What are the Urim and Thummim? (Bible)
Israel’s High Priest was commanded to carry two things called the Urim and Thummim. What are they and what do they symbolize? What is their purpose? When did they stop being used? The King James Old Testament refers to the Urim and Thummim in only seven passages.
The first place it is mentioned is in the book of Exodus in relation to the unique and special clothing worn by the High Priest of Israel. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim (Hebrew: uriym, Strong’s Concordance #H224 which literally means “lights”) and the Thummim (Hebrew: tummiym, Strong’s Concordance #H8550 which literally means “perfections” or emblem of truth).
And they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel . . . (Exodus 28:30, HBFV). The other places in the Bible the Urim and Thummim are directly referenced are Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.
This Old Testament Urim and Thummim are very diferent than the Interpreters or Urim and Thummim which was in possession of the Brother of Jared and handed down to Moroni who buried it in the Hill Cumorah NY. (Scripture below)
What are the Urim and Thummim? (Modern Scripture)
Here is the detailed explanation of Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith who actually help the Urim and Thummim in her hands, along with the separated breastplate, as each wes only wrapped in a thin linen cloth. Lucy Mack Smith said, “I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings Lucy. Joseph saw this and followed me. “Mother,” said he. “Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here,” said he, “I have got the key.” I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. He took them again and left me, but did not tell me anything of the record…. That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced, p. 139, 145)
Are the Words, Urim and Thummin Found in the Book of Mormon?
No. The words of urim and thummim are not found anywhere in the Book of Mormon. They are called “Interpreters”, or Nephite Interpreters. See Scriptures: Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25 The words urim and thummim are in the Pearl of Great Price here: JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; and in Abraham 3:1,4. These words are found in the Doctrine and Covenants here D&C 3; 6; 7; 11; 14; 15; 16; 17; D&C 10:1; D&C 17:1; D&C 130:8; D&C 130:9; D&C 130:10.
Did Brigham Young have the Urim & Thummim?
Yes. The Prophet Joseph Smith was not the only individual in this dispensation to use the Urim and Thummim and to receive revelations from God. Heber C. Kimball testified that Brigham Young also used these sacred instruments. “The question is asked many times, “Has brother Brigham got the Urim and Thummim?” Yes, he has got everything; everything that is necessary for him to receive the will and mind of God to this people. Do I know it? Yes, I know all about it; and what more do you want? That is true, gentlemen; I am one of his witnesses in the last days, and to bear testimony of the truth of “Mormonism.”” (Heber C. Kimball, J.D. 2:111)
Revelations by Joseph Smith while using the Urim and Thummim
Section 3- Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828, relating to the loss of 116 pages “In July 1828, the heavenly messenger returned the Urim and Thummim (which had been taken in consequence of Joseph “having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings”). Joseph then received the revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 3 through the Urim and Thummim.” Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed. Alexander L. Baugh (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 15–49.
Section 6- Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829, Oliver Cowdery began his labors as scribe
Section 7- Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829, The revelation is a translated version of the record made on parchment by John
Section 11- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to his brother Hyrum Smith, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, May 1829.
Section 14- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to David Whitmer, at Fayette, New York, June 1829.
Section 15- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to John Whitmer, at Fayette, New York, June 1829
Section 16- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Peter Whitmer Jr., at Fayette, New York, June 1829
Section 17- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, at Fayette, New York, June 1829.
Urim and Thummim used to Translate the Bible.
“In this respect the testimony of Lorenzo Brown about the preparation the Prophet made for his translation of the Bible may be instructive. He records the Prophet as saying: “After I got through translating the Book of Mormon, I took up the Bible to read with the Urim and Thummim. I read the first chapter of Genesis and I saw the things as they were done. I turned over the next and the next, and the whole passed before me like a grand panorama; and so on chapter after chapter until I read the whole of it. I saw it all!” (as cited in Matthews, Plainer Translation, 25).” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
Joseph Smith Translation (JST)
“A revision or translation of the King James Version of the Bible begun by the Prophet Joseph Smith in June 1830. He was divinely commissioned to make the translation and regarded it as “a branch of his calling” as a prophet. Although the major portion of the work was completed by July 1833, he continued to make modifications while preparing a manuscript for the press until his death in 1844, and it is possible that some additional modifications would have been made had he lived to publish the entire work. Some parts of the translation were published during his lifetime. “The translation process was a learning experience for the Prophet, and several sections of the Doctrine and Covenants (and also other revelations that are not published in the Doctrine and Covenants) were received in direct consequence of the work (D&C 76–77; 91). Also, specific instruction pertaining to the translation is given in D&C 37:1; 45:60–61; 76:15–18; 90:13; 94:10; 104:58; 124:89. The book of Moses and the 24th chapter of Matthew (JS—M), contained in the Pearl of Great Price, are actual excerpts from the JST. Many excerpts from the JST are also given in the appendix and footnotes in the edition of the KJV that accompanies this dictionary. The JST to some extent assists in restoring the plain and precious things that have been lost from the Bible (see 1 Ne. 13–14). Although not the official Bible of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the JST offers many interesting insights and is an invaluable aid to biblical interpretation and understanding. It is a most fruitful source of useful information for the student of the scriptures. It is likewise a witness for the divine calling and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/joseph-smith-translation?lang=eng
Apostle John’s Parchment
“While translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery found they held different views on the meaning of a passage in the Bible. They “mutually agreed to settle” the question “by the Urim and [Thummim].” As a result, Joseph received a revelation giving the translation of an account by the ancient disciple John, [D&C 7] written on parchment but lost to history. This early experience seeking revelation that illuminated the text of a Bible passage was an important precedent. About a year later, during the summer of 1830, Joseph and Oliver received by revelation an account of visions experienced by Moses but not found in the Bible. This revelation marked the beginning of Joseph Smith’s efforts to prepare an inspired revision or translation of the Bible. For the next three years, Joseph worked on his “new translation of the Bible” with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and other scribes, considering the project a “branch of [his] calling” as a prophet of God.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/joseph-smith-translation-of-the-bible?lang=eng
Translation of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
“While looking over our copy of a large English Book of Martyrs, he (Josoeph Smith) expressed sympathy for the Christian martyrs and a hope for their salvation. He asked to borrow the book, promising to return it when he should meet us again in Missouri.
On returning it he said, ‘I have, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, seen those martyrs. They were honest, devoted followers of Christ, according to the light they possessed. They will be saved.’” Hyrum L. Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, pg. 83
The Loss of the 116 Pages
The summer of 1828 had been a traumatic one for the Smith family. On June 15, Joseph and Emma, then living in Harmony, Pennsylvania, near Emma’s parents, lost their firstborn child, a son named Alvin, who died shortly after his birth. For two weeks, Joseph nursed Emma, who seemed “for some time,” wrote Lucy, “more like sinking with her infant into the mansion of the dead, than remaining with her husband among the living.” With Emma slowly recovering, Joseph traveled to the Smith farm in Manchester, New York, only to discover that Martin Harris had lost the 116 transcribed pages of the Book of Mormon. The entire family was plunged into despair, and when Joseph departed for Harmony, Lucy wrote, “We parted with heavy hearts, for it now appeared that all which we had so fondly anticipated, and which had been the source of so much secret gratification, had in a moment fled, and fled for ever.”[5] About two months later, apparently in late August or early September, Joseph Sr. and Lucy traveled to Harmony because they had heard nothing from Joseph and were worried about him. To their surprise, he met them “with a countenance blazing with delight.”[6] Although the plates and the Urim and Thummim had been taken from Joseph, they had now been restored because of his penitence. He had also received a revelation (now section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants) in which the Lord told Joseph that he was “still chosen” and “again called to the work” (v. 10). Furthermore, reported Joseph, “the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and I trust his promise will be verified.”[7] Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed.NOTES[5] Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, England: S. W. Richards, 1853), 122. [6] Lucy Mack Smith, Preliminary Manuscript [1844–45], Church History Library, in Anderson, Lucy’s Book, 424. [7] Smith, Biographical Sketches, 126. Reconstructing a precise chronology for this time period is problematic because of differences in Joseph Jr.’s and Lucy Mack Smith’s accounts. Joseph said that “immediately” after his return to Harmony, in July 1828, the heavenly messenger returned the Urim and Thummim (which had been taken in consequence of Joseph “having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings”). Joseph then received the revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 3 through the Urim and Thummim. “After I had obtained the above revelation,” recorded Joseph, “both the plates, and the Urim and Thummin were taken from me again, but in a few days they were returned to me” (Joseph Smith, Manuscript History of the Church, Book A-1, Joseph Smith Papers, Church History Library [hereafter “Manuscript History”], in Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996–2003], 1:73).
Urim and Thummim Returned to Joseph
“Lucy, on the other hand, said in one portion of her reminiscences that the Urim and Thummim was returned on September 22, 1828, and that sometime after that, she and her husband visited Joseph (see Smith, Biographical Sketches, 126). Complicating the matter even further, she said in another part of her history that “nearly two months” had passed when she and Joseph Sr. decided to go to Harmony. Since Joseph apparently returned to Pennsylvania the first week of July, such reckoning places Joseph Sr. and Lucy’s trip south around the beginning of September rather than at the end of the month. I believe Lucy was simply mistaken about the September 22 date and that the plates and Urim and Thummim were returned to Joseph in July and that his parents visited early in September, arriving back in Manchester on or before September 11, the date when Gain C. Robinson visited the Smith family and charged Joseph Sr. for medicine (see note 10). This is one of a number of instances where a third-party account confirms details of Lucy Mack Smith’s history—rather impressive considering the fact that she dictated it in 1844–45.” Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed. Alexander L. Baugh (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 15–49.See additional blog here:https://bookofmormonevidence.org/abinadi-foxes-book-of-martyrs/
Our great friend Jonathan Neville, shared a great blog below about the History of FAIRMormon and many of the good things they do, along with a few things we disqgree with them about.
For example we believe the Book of Mormon was translated using the method Joseph Smith spoke about.”Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” JSH 1:35. We don’t believe Joseph used the stone in a hat method as FAIR does. See FAIR articles here: https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Seer_stones/%22Rock_in_hat%22_used_for_Book_of_Mormon_translation
We also believe that Hill Cumorah was not only the Hill in NY that Joseph found the plates, but is was also the same hill near where the final battles of the Nephites happened. FAIR believes the final battles happened somewhere in Mexico. See FAIR articles here: https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Where_is_the_Hill_Cumorah%3F
I Quote many Prophets and Apostles below:
“The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012.
“I should like to say a few words about America…. No land is without its beauty, no people without their virtues, and I hope that you who come from elsewhere will pardon my saying a few words concerning my own native land, America. I know that she has problems. We have heard so much of them for so long. But surely this is a good land, a choice land, a chosen land. To me it is a miracle, a creation of the Almighty….” Gordon B. Hinckley, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled 1974.
“The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of…the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and…Bill of Rights, that by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr.” Teachings of Thomas S. Monson by Thomas S. Monson 2011.
Lastly, Joseph Smith said while on Zions Camp in 1834 in Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River, “The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity…” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56.
Now read Jonathan Nevilles views on these issues below.
“History of FAIR (now LDS, formerly Mormon)
In the ongoing pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding, with the objective of “no more contention” (Mosiah 1:1), I recently co-hosted a podcast about the history of FAIR, which you can see here:
Steve and I interviewed Kerry Shirts (the Backyard Professor) who was the original Director of Research for FAIR. He had fond memories of FAIR and the people he worked with there. He explains the editorial decisions that led him to leave, but that was not the focus of the interview.
The interview expanded on the brief history found on the FAIR website:
FAIR was formed in late 1997 by a group of LDS defenders of the faith who frequented the America Online Mormonism message boards. There, they defended the Church against detractors. This small group realized that they had no way of sharing their information with each other, much less the rest of the Church. As a result of this, FAIR was born. FAIR incorporated as a non-profit organization in the state of New York on December 19, 1997, as The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. The fledgling organization put up its first website in March 1998. In 2013, the group became known as FairMormon. In 2021 the name was changed back to FAIR, which now stands for Faithful Answers, Informed Response.
Whenever people get together voluntarily to pursue laudable objectives, good things can happen.
An interesting aspect of the interview is how FAIR evolved into a tool to promote the personal beliefs and theories of its management instead of offering resources to enable Latter-day Saints and other interested people to answer questions with all the relevant information.
I hope this interview and related commentary (such as this post) will prompt FAIR to apply the FAITH model of analysis by first laying out all the facts, then specifically identifying the various assumptions, inferences and theories about those facts in an organized, accurate comparison of different faithful approaches to Church history and doctrine.
That would enable Latter-day Saints to make fully informed decisions, which would greatly strengthen faith in the Restoration and thus in Jesus Christ.
Much of the content at FAIR is excellent. I’ve used it many times because the site is well organized and contains lots of useful links to original sources. I recommend it for many topics.
However, as we’ll see below, on some topics FAIR is unreliable and even misleading.
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Scott Gordon has been President for many years. He and his team are all awesome, faithful Latter-day Saints, with the best of intentions. Plus, they’re nice people. And they claim they want to use faithful scholarship in their work.
FAIR’s content is mostly anonymous (like the Gospel Topics Essays), but it parallels the content at Scripture Central and the Interpreter Foundation. The organizations have considerable overlap.
Thus FAIR, like the others, is inexplicably dedicated to impugning the integrity, credibility and reliability of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith regarding the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.
People are free to disagree about the reliability and credibility of Joseph and Oliver regarding the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. Many disagreements arise because people are simply uninformed about all the relevant facts. Or they are confused because the management of FAIR, Scripture Central, and the Interpreter Foundation conflate their respective assumptions, inferences and interpretations with the facts, to the detriment of all truth seekers.
That editorial position leads FAIR, like Scripture Central and the Interpreter Foundation, to some strange rhetorical machinations. It’s a real shame that such a potentially valuable and productive resource is being manipulated by FAIR management to mislead Latter-day Saints and other interested people.
Let’s look at three examples.
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FAIR is an adamant promoter of SITH (stone-in-the-hat theory of Book of Mormon translation). They have a webpage dedicated to persuade readers that:
Joseph Smith used the same “rock in hat” seer stone for translating that he used for “money digging”
The page is a series of assumptions, inferences and theories, misleadingly stated as facts. It’s impossible to have a rational, credible analysis and discussion when we don’t start with the facts and then clearly state our assumptions, inferences and theories that lead to our overall hypotheses (FAITH model).
Look at this series of assumptions, inferences and theories, all stated as facts:
After the loss of the 116 pages, contemporary accounts are very clear that Joseph continued the translation using his seer stone. In later years, the term “Urim and Thummim” was retroactively applied to both the Nephite interpreters and to Joseph’s seer stone. Thus the use of “Urim and Thummim” tends to obscure the fact that two different instruments were employed.
When FAIR refers to “contemporary accounts” here, they (i) completely omit what Joseph, Oliver and Lucy Mack Smith said and (ii) emphasize statements from critics, detractors, and decades-later accounts from David Whitmer and (allegedly) Martin Harris and Emma Smith.
But they don’t spell that out.
They don’t give us all the relevant facts.
Instead, the entire page omits what Joseph, Oliver and Lucy Mack Smith said about the translation because they know those three explicitly and repeatedly said Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.
This is significant because Joseph and Oliver were responding to critics (such as the 1834 Mormonism Unvailed) who were making exactly the same claims that FAIR is making today.
Look specifically at FAIR’s claim that “In later years, the term ‘Urim and Thummim’ was retroactively applied to both the Nephite interpreters and to Joseph’s seer stone.” What FAIR doesn’t tell you is that Mormonism Unvailed (Oct 1834) clearly distinguished between the “peep stone” and the “Urim and Thummim” as two separate, competing accounts of the translation. This confusion generated by critics explains why both Joseph and Oliver specifically taught that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim (aka the Nephite interpreters, aka the spectacles) that came with the plates.
But FAIR and other SITH sayers try to confuse Latter-day Saints with this modern theory of “retroactive” application of terms.
FAIR also doesn’t tell you that in the summer of 1832, missionaries were publicly teaching that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim.
There are lots of other problems with FAIR’s approach to SITH, but no legitimate, faithful academic resource would purport to discuss the translation of the Book of Mormon without at least including what Joseph and Oliver taught about the translation.
It’s fine that FAIR wants to persuade Latter-day Saints to agree with Royal Skousen:
“Joseph Smith’s claim that he used the Urim and Thummim is only partially true; and Oliver Cowdery’s statements that Joseph used the original instrument while he, Oliver, was the scribe appear to be intentionally misleading.”
This ongoing, determined effort to undermine the credibility and reliability of what Joseph and Oliver taught is all-too pervasive among modern LDS scholars. Obviously, that effort is unappealing to most Latter-day Saints.
And that probably explains why FAIR refuses to explicitly state their position by informing us of what Joseph, Oliver, and Lucy Mack Smith said, and then explaining clearly why they disagree.
But that editorial approach is a disservice to all Latter-day Saints, not to mention the disservice they are giving to Joseph and Oliver.
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FAIR is also an adamant promoter of M2C, again just like Scripture Central and the Interpreter Foundation.
M2C (the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory) is based on the assumption that Oliver Cowdery lied when he explicitly taught it is a fact that the hill Cumorah/Ramah is the same hill in New York where Joseph found the plates.
Readers of this blog are familiar with all the historical and extrinsic evidence that supports and corroborates what Oliver and Joseph said about the hill Cumorah.
But readers of FAIR are not so well informed.
FAIR purports to offer “Faithful Answers, Informed Response.”
Instead, FAIR offers up pages of distraction, obfuscation, misinformation and disinformation on this topic. Just look at the entries on this page, for example:
If FAIR actually sought to inform Latter-day Saints to help them make informed decisions instead of seeking to persuade them to accept M2C, FAIR would implement the FAITH model of analysis.
FAIR would start by providing all the facts from Church history.
Then FAIR would spell out the different assumptions, inferences and theories about those facts that lead people to the various hypotheses, the two major being Heartland and M2C. This would include interpretations of the text, the teachings of the prophets, and extrinsic evidence.
The clarity of such a comparison would enlighten Latter-day Saints.
Then people would be able to make informed decisions.
But FAIR continues to refuse to do this, which makes their website on this topic unreliable and misleading and, ultimately, unusable.
It’s a shame that this potentially awesome resource is employed in such a disreputable manner.
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The third example is more specific.
FAIR has a page that discusses the 1990 letter about Cumorah from the Office of the First Presidency.
Because confusion about that letter persists, Elder Watson issued a public statement in 2022 about the context. That letter was sent to FAIR, but FAIR has refused to post it on their website.
FAIR’s refusal is a fundamental violation of basic ethics of journalism and scholarship.
But it is consistent with FAIR’s editorial approach to other topics, such as the two we discussed above, where FAIR’s management (i) omits relevant facts and (ii) promotes their theories as facts.
Very strange.
Anyone interested can read Elder Watson’s statement here:
BTW, the Museum of the Book of Mormon (MOBOM.org) offers original sources along with diverse assumptions, inferences, etc. to enable readers to make informed decisions.
Ideally, FAIR and Scripture Central would do likewise and all Latter-day Saints would find “unity in diversity.”
But that apparently won’t happen until and unless current management of those organizations (Scott Gordon for FAIR and Jack Welch for Scripture Central) trust their readers enough to provide all the relevant facts, along with a comparison of the various assumptions, inferences and theories.
Instead, their divisive, dogmatic editorial approach of enforcing their personal opinions through the guise of “scholarship” continues to plague Latter-day Saints everywhere.
I feel it very interesting that I had never heard of any pillars or stones inside the Cumorah stone box, on which the gold plates rested. After much research I have found three different descriptions of what the gold plates sat on in the bottom of the stone box. I share this for your review and information as interesting information about the contents of the stone box. I would appreciate any information from anyone who may have seen or heard anything about this subject.
I have many other blogs that speak specifically to answer in detail these questions below, if you have any interest.
Questions and Online Answers
Oliver Cowdery- Said Three Pillars?
What was actually inside the Stone Box? Did you know about the Stone Pillars? Was there also a Cave of records on hill Cumorah? Did Joseph translate one or two sets of Plates? Were the final Battles of the Book of Mormon near the NY Hill Cumorah or in Mexico? Did Joseph translate using the Urim and Thummim or the Stone in a Hat
See Above the “two stones crossways”
“The manner in which the plates were deposited: First, a hole of sufficient depth, (how deep I know not) was dug. At the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth. At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were placed, erect, four others, their bottom edges resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four-last named, when placed erect, formed a box, the corners, or where the edges of the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that the inner surface of the four erect, or side stones was smoothe. This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph… I must not forget to say that this box, containing the record was covered with another stone, the bottom surface being flat and the upper, crowning. But those three pillarswere not so lengthy as to cause the plates and the crowning stone to come in contact. I have now given you, according to my promise, the manner in which this record was deposited; though when it was first visited by our brother, in 1823, a part of the crowning stone was visible above the surface while the edges were concealed by the soil and grass, from which circumstances you will see, that however deep this box might have been placed by Moroni at first, the time had been sufficient to wear the earth so that it was easily discovered when once directed, and yet not enough to make a perceivable difference to the passer-by.” Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” October 1835
See below three or four Small Pillars Composed of the Same Description of Cement Used on the Edges, with the Plates on Top of the Pillars.Oliver Cowdery said, “…from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph”
Lucy Mack Smith– Laying on Four Pillars?
Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, provided some very important references to Cumorah. The one that shows up in the search results says this: “up to the time when he took <it> out of the stone <cement> b0x in the hill of cumorah which took place the mor[n]ing that Mr Knight [Joseph Knight Sr.] missed his horse and waggon”
If you read just this one, it doesn’t specify when Cumorah was named. It could have been named later, as a false tradition, the way the M2C intellectuals want us to think.
But look at the other reference to Lucy Mack Smith’s book (which you have to click on the link below the first one to read). Lucy says Moroni said this to Joseph:
“you must tell your father of this for he will believe every word you say the record is on a side hill on the Hill of Cumorah 3 miles from this place remove the Grass and moss and you will find a large flat stone pry that up and you will find the record under it laying on 4 pillars <of cement>— then the angel left him”
Art by Clark Kelley Price
Testimony of JS-“Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.” JSH 1:52
Joseph Smith- Two Stones Crossways?
Plates Laid on Two Stones CrosswaysThis picture from the LDS Museum shows the Liahona and Sword at the stone box. I do not believe there was the Liahona nor Sword of Laban in the Stone Box. They were in the Cave at Cumorah at a different location in the hill Cumorah.
The reason the Mesoamericans say the Liahona and the Sword of Laban were in the stone box is so they can dispute the fact that there was a Cave at Hill Cumorah in NY as Orson Pratt said.
“The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . .
These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depositoryof the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
Mesoamericanists say the last battle of the Nephites and Lamanites happened in Mexico somewhere and we say it happened at the same Hill in New York.
Art by Jon McNaughton
“These treasures that are in the earth are carefully watched, they can be removed from place to place according to the good pleasure of Him who made them and owns them…. Orin P. Rockwell is an eye-witness to some powers of removing the treasures of the earth. He was with certain parties that lived nearby where the plates were found that contain the records of the Book of Mormon. There were a great many treasures hid up by the Nephites. Porter was with them one night where there were treasures, and they could find them easy enough, but they could not obtain them…. He said that on this night, … they dug around the end of a chest…. One man who was determined to have the contents of that chest, took his pick and struck into the lid of it, and split through into the chest. The blow took off a piece of the lid, which a certain lady kept in her possession until she died. That chest of money went into the bank. Porter describes it so [making a rumbling sound]; he says this is just as true as the heavens are … to those who understand these things, it is not marvelous…. I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance … Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates…. the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says … the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. … They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; … there is a seal upon the treasures of earth; men are allowed to go so far and no farther. I have known places where there were treasures in abundance; but could men get them? No” (Brigham Young Journal of Discourses, vol. 19, pp. 36-39).
Art By John McNaughton
“[Joseph] went [into] a Cave in the Hill Comoro with Oliver Cowdry & deposited those plates upon a table or shelf. In that room were deposited a large amount of gold plates containing sacred records… Joseph Smith said that cave contained tons of choice treasures & records.” Wilford Woodruff Journal, 11 December 1869
“Joseph and others… went into a cave in the hill Cumorah, and saw more records than ten men could carry… There were books piled up on tables, book upon book. Those records this people will yet have, if they accept of the Book of Mormon and observe its precepts, and keep the commandments.” Heber C. Kimball
Hill Cumorah
Were the final Battles of the Book of Mormon near the NY Hill Cumorah or in Mexico?
In 1873, apostles Brigham Young Jr. and George Q. Cannon visited the New York Hill Cumorah and wrote up an account of the same which was published. “Undoubtedly great changes had occurred in the appearance of the surrounding country[side] since the days when Mormon and [his son] Moroni had trod the spot where we stood. Still we could readily understand, even now, how admirable a position this would be [from the hilltop] for a general to occupy in watching and directing the movements of armies and in scrutinizing the position of an enemy.
Around Cumorah is yet a land of many waters, rivers and fountains [just] as Mormon said it was in his day. Our emotions on treading on this sacred hill were of the most peculiar character. They were indescribable. This was the hill Ramah of the Jaredites. In this vicinity, Coriantumr and Shiz, with the people whom they led, fought their last battle. For this great battle they were four years preparing, gathering the people together from all parts of the land, and arming men and women, and even children. The battle lasted eight days, and the result was the complete extermination of the Jaredite nation, none being left but the Prophet Ether and Coriantumr, who succeeded in slaying his mortal enemy Shiz. [Ether] and Coriantumr alone, of all that mighty race which had flourished upwards of fifteen hundred, were left. Who can imagine the feelings which he must have had on such an occasion?
From the summit of this hill, Mormon and his great son Moroni had also witnessed the gathering of hosts of the Nephites, and the dusky and myriad legions of their deadly enemies, the Lamanites. Around this hill they had marshaled their forces–their twenty-three divisions of ten thousand men each, commanded by the most skillful of their generals, all to be swept away except Moroni.
It was here that [Mormon] hid the abridgement which he made of the records [of his people], and which is know known by his name [Book of Mormon]. And it was here, thirty-six years after this tremendous battle, that his son Moroni also hid his abridgment of the book of Ether, and the record which he had made from which we learn the fate of his father, Mormon, and his other companions.
THE NAME MAHONRI MORIANCUMR “While residing in Kirtland, Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day when President Joseph Smith was passing his door, he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the boy the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child on the bed, and turning to Elder Cahoon he said, ‘The name I have given your son is the name of the brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown [or revealed] it to me.’ Elder William F. Cahoon … heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation” (George Reynolds, “The Jaredites,”Juvenile Instructor, 1 May 1892, 282).
We have all heard the story about the Brother of Jared building the eight barges to sail to the promised land. Because of the faith of the Brother of Jared he was able to see the Lord Jesus Christ as a pre-mortal being. The Brother of Jared asked the Lord to touch sixteen stones so they could have light in each end of the eight barges. That means the Brother of Jared had 16 total stones, correct? Well, yes and no!
THE LORD TOUCHES HOW MANY STONES? 16 for the Brother of Jared “…did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord… the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord…” Ether 3:1,6
Did you also know that the Brother of Jared touched an additional two stones to be used by Joseph Smith when Moroni appeared to him in 1827? By understanding this, you will realize how critical it was for Joseph Smith to use these two stones in the rims of a bow to translate the plates, and Joseph Smith did not use some old seer stone he found digging in some well. The Lord knew the beginning from the end.
TWO CLEAR STONES EXISTED FROM MAHONRI TO JOSEPH OVER 3,800 YEARS APX. 2,000 BC to 1827 AD
2 Stones for Joseph Smith
Brother of Jared
“And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two stones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of men.” Ether 3:23,28
Ether 3:21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.
22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.
23 And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
24 For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.
25 And when the Lord had said these words, he showed unto the brother of Jared all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.
26 For he had said unto him in times before, that if he would believe in him that he could show unto him all things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.
27 And the Lord said unto him: Write these things and seal them up; and I will show them in mine own due time unto the children of men.
28 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that he should seal up the two stones which he had received, and show them not, until the Lord should show them unto the children of men.
Two Stones of King Mosiah
“The Prophet Joseph Smith used the same Urim and Thummim that was “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (D&C 17:1). President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote a brief history regarding the Urim and Thummim:“King Mosiah possessed ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ called by the Nephites Interpreters, with which he translated the Jaredite record [Mosiah 28:11–14], and these were handed down from generation to generation for the purposes of interpreting languages. How Mosiah came into possession of these two stones or Urim and Thummim the record does not tell us, more than to say that it was a ‘gift from God’ [Mosiah 21:28]. Mosiah had this gift or Urim and Thummim before the people of Limhi discovered the record of Ether. They may have been received when the ‘large stone’ was brought to Mosiah with engravings upon it, which he interpreted by the ‘gift and power of God’ [Omni 1:20–21]. They may have been given to him, or to some other prophet before his day, just as the Brother of Jared received them—from the Lord. “That the Urim and Thummim, or two stones, given to the Brother of Jared were those in the possession of Mosiah appears evident from Book of Mormon teachings. The Brother of Jared was commanded to seal up his writings of the vision he had when Christ appeared to him, so that they could not be read by his people. … The Urim and Thummim were also sealed up so that they could not be used for the purpose of interpreting those sacred writings of this vision, until such time as the Lord should grant to man to interpret them. When they were to be revealed, they were to be interpreted by the aid of the same Urim and Thummim [Ether 3:21–28]. …“Joseph Smith received with the breastplate and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the Brother of Jared [D&C 17:1]” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:223–25). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-50-ether-1-5?lang=eng
THE LARGE JAREDITE BREASTPLATE AND GLASSES
See Painting Below: Lucy Mack Smith said, “…he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history. It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal, and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other, and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips… After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.” Joseph Smith, The Prophet And His Progenitors For Many Generations by Lucy Smith “This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate …The instrument was too large for Joseph’s eyes; they must have been used by larger men…”(Saints Herald, March 9, 1882, p. 258; Interview with William P. Smith).
Lucy Mack Smith sees the Glasses and Breastplate. by Anne Marie Oborn
Oliver’s Testimony
“Two Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” JSH 1:35
“I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, ‘holy interpreters.’ I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the ‘holy interpreters‘” (as cited in Smith, Restoration of All Things, 113).
William Smith’s Testimony
William Smith explained that the Prophet used the Urim and Thummim attached to the breastplate by a rod that held the seer stones set in the rims of a bow before his eyes. “The instrument caused a strain on Joseph’s eyes, and he sometimes resorted to covering his eyes with a hat to exclude the light in part” (Smith, Rod of Iron 1, 3 [February 1924]: 7).
Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU) said,
“The testimony of David Whitmer simply does not accord with the divine pattern. If Joseph Smith translated everything that is now in the Book of Mormon without using the gold plates, we are left to wonder why the plates were necessary in the first place. It will be remembered that possession of the plates placed the Smith family in considerable danger, causing them a host of difficulties. If the plates were not part of the translation process, this would not have been the case. It also leaves us wondering why the Lord directed the writers of the Book of Mormon to make a duplicate record of the plates of Lehi. This provision which compensated for the loss of the 116 pages would have served no purpose either. Further, we would be left to wonder why it was necessary for Moroni to instruct Joseph each year for four years before he was entrusted with the plates. We would also wonder why it was so important for Moroni to show the plates to the three witnesses, including David Whitmer. And why did the Lord have the Prophet show the plates to the eight witnesses? Why all this flap and fuss if the Prophet didn’t really have the plates and if they were not used in the process of translation? What David Whitmer is asking us to believe is that the Lord had Moroni seal up the plates and the means by which they were to be translated hundreds of years before they would come into Joseph Smith’s possession and then decided to have the Prophet use a seer stone found while digging a well so that none of these things would be necessary after all. Is this, we would ask, really a credible explanation of the way the heavens operate? When asked how the labor of translation was accomplished, the Prophet declined to answer, saying, “It was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon” (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 23). Surely we do not look to the world or the understanding of the world for an answer. We would expect to find that understanding only as we come to understand in greater measure the operations of the Spirit of revelation.” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon by Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
What was actually inside the Stone Box? Did you know about the THREE-Stone Pillars?
“This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph… I must not forget to say that this box, containing the record was covered with another stone, the bottom surface being flat and the upper, crowning. But those three pillars were not so lengthy as to cause the plates and the crowning stone to come in contact. I have now given you, according to my promise, the manner in which this record was deposited; though when it was first visited by our brother, in 1823, a part of the crowning stone was visible above the surface while the edges were concealed by the soil and grass, from which circumstances you will see, that however deep this box might have been placed by Moroni at first, the time had been sufficient to wear the earth so that it was easily discovered when once directed, and yet not enough to make a perceivable difference to the passer-by.” Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” October 1835
For many years I have been researching the method of Translation by Joseph Smith, and I have been studying the Joseph Smith Papers Project, [JSP] that I believe is the best source we have ever had on the words, papers, and documents to validate the truth of the History of the Restoration of The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful to the many editors and the extreme amount of time it took to publish such an amazing library of reference material. JSP has enhanced and added much value to the Church History information we had previously.
With that said, I have come across a few areas within this work of papers, a few errors that I wanted to discuss today. It is not unusual to have errors in such a large and and lengthy manuscript as the JSP. The errors I feel mostly stem from the JSP use of the word, Eyewitness.
Eyewitness, noun
A person who has seen someone or something and can bear witness to the fact.
One who testifies to something he has seen.
One who sees a thing done; one who has ocular view of anything.
Hearsay, n.
1) second-hand evidence in which the witness is not telling what he/she knows personally, but what others have said to him/her.
2) a common objection made by the opposing lawyer to testimony when it appears the witness has violated the hearsay rule.
3) scuttlebutt or gossip.
There are only three(3) eyewitnesses who saw and felt the three items found in the stone box at hill Cumorah in New York:
1- Joseph Smith
2- Oliver Cowdery
3- Lucy Mack Smith
There are only two eyewitnesses that saw the three items being used to translate the gold plates.
1- Joseph Smith
2- Oliver Cowdery.
Joseph Smith Eyewitnesses and Canonized Scripture
“Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. JSH 1:35
Oliver Cowdery Eyewitness and Canonized Scripture:
“Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” JSH 1:75*
Lucy Mack Smith Journals Quote
Lucy saw and felt the three items, the spectacles and breastplate were under a cloth or linen, but she saw and felt the gold plates.
“I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim.They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26)
[The Breastplate and Spectacles] “He kept these things constantly about his person”
“Joseph termed a key… nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim” Lucy Mack Smith
“That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in, vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.
“it [Key] consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made”
Joseph kept the urim and thumim constantly about his person and he could by this means ascertain at any moment if the plates were in danger having just looked into them before Emma got therehe perceived her coming and came up out of the well and met her.” Lucy Mack Smith Journal
JSP Account of Eyewitnesses
In the Joseph Smith Papers, [JSP] we read the following in the glossary about Seer Stones, with the appropriate note numbers attached as well. My comments are in purple after the quotes. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/topic/seer-stone under the title “Seer Stone”, it says,
Seer Stone
“A special stone used for seeing visions and aiding translation.(1
Correct, it is also a stone used by only those allowed by God to see into the future, find treasure, protect from danger and any other thing the Lord choses to reveal through his special instruments.
JSP Continued, “According to a European tradition of folk belief reaching back at least into the middle ages, quartz crystals or other stones could be used to find missing objects or to see other things not visible to the natural eye.(2
Is this statement preparing the readers to read about seer stones and relate them to folk belief or quartz crystals? Yes in my opinion.
JSP Continued, “This practice accompanied European immigrants to North America and was part of JS’s cultural environment in western New York in the 1820s, though by then the practice was waning.(3
Yes the idea of “scrying” or “peeping” was part of Joseph Smiths’ culture, just like Ouija boards and crystal balls were part of my early culture in the United States when I was young. That doesn’t mean Joseph ever used these items with any wrong intent, but only as the Lord instructed Joseph. Joseph was never part of the occult as some Church Historians suggest.
JSP Continued, “In his youth, JS occasionally used seer stones to help neighbors find missing objects or search for buried treasure.(4
Again Joseph was asked,“Was not Joseph Smith a money digger? Yes, but it was never a very profitable job for him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it.” —Joseph’s tongue-in-cheek response to one of a list of questions that were asked of him during a visit at Elder Cahoon’s home. (Elders’ Journal 1/3 (July 1838): 43) [1]
“Joseph Smith’s critics often tried to disparage him by calling him a money digger or a treasure seeker. Rather than deny the charge, Joseph acknowledged in his official history that Josiah Stowell had hired him in 1825 to assist in a treasure-seeking venture in northern Pennsylvania… Joseph Smith and his family, like many around them, accepted these familiar folk practices… Joseph Smith Sr. considered his son’s ability sacred and hoped he would cease using it to look for earthly treasures. As Joseph prepared to translate the Book of Mormon, he was commanded to have nothing further to do with those who sought treasure and instead use his gift to translate and seek revelation.” Church History Topics
JSP Continued, “By 1826, JS had at least two seer stones, and according to Brigham Young he eventually had five seer stones.(5
It is true that Joseph Smith is known to have a stone or two that he found early before he found the items in Hill Cumorah.
JSP Continued, According to JS, in 1823 an angelic messenger revealed to him the location of gold plates and an instrument with which to translate them.(6
This is very accurate as the JSP agreed the instrument, not a stone, would be used to translate the plates.
JSP Continued, This instrument consisted of “two stones in silver bows” that had been used by “seers in ancient times.”(7
True, see JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25
JSP Continued, “The Book of Mormon itself referred to “interpreters” that were to be kept with the plates.(8
True. As a matter of fact the word “Interpreters” was the only word used in the entire Book of Mormon text to describe the two stones in a silver bow. the words Urim and Thummim are never spoke of in the Book of Mormon.
JSP Continued, “JS explained that he used the pair of stones found with the plates in his translation of the Book of Mormon.(9
True
Eyewitnesses reported that he also translated using a dark brown seer stone placed in a hat to exclude exterior light and that he used a seer stone for many of his early revelations.(10
This is false in my opinion. There were no eyewitnesses [Remeber the definition of eyewitness at the beginning], who ever saw Joseph use a brown stone or any other colored stone placed in a hat to translate. It is not found in the scriptures.
JSP Continued, “JS referred to the pair of stones found with the plates as “spectacles,” and he later referred to these stones and his other seer stones with the term “Urim and Thummim,” the name of the instrument used by the high priest of Israel in the Bible.(11
Where did Joseph call the two stones in silver bows, either as spectacles, or as Urim and Thummim? Not in the Scriptures, only insecond hand phrases or wording written down by other people in the church or otherwise.
JSP Continued, “In 1830, JS apparently began dictating most of his revelations without the aid of a seer stone.(12
Notes 10, 11, and 12 from the JSP, I explain in more detail, how I feel the editors of the JSP either miss-quoted or didn’t explain properly, or may have mislead their readers when it speaks about eyewitnesses and other things in notes 10-12.
Note 10 from JSP glossary under Seer Stone
The following notes appear under note 10 that says,
10 Eyewitnesses reported that he [Joseph Smith] also translated using a dark brown seer stone placed in a hat to exclude exterior light and that he used a seer stone for many of his early revelations.
I ask who were these supposed eyewitnesses? Look at the list of quotes the JSP gives us below, highlighted in Green.
“Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, 1; “Testimony of David Whitmer,” Saints’ Herald, 15 Nov. 1879, 341; Emma Smith Bidamon, Nauvoo, IL, to Emma Pilgrim, 27 Mar. 1870, in John Clark, “Translation of Nephite Records,” The Return, 15 July 1895, 2; see also Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 71–72; and “Joseph Smith Documents Dating through June 1831,” in JSP, D1:xxx–xxxi.
The line above that says, Joseph Smith Documents Dating through June 1831, says the following under the title in the JSP.
“This volume contains the earliest surviving documents written, dictated, authorized, owned, or received by Joseph Smith. They originated from July 1828 to June 1831.1 Almost no original records remain of Smith’s life from 1805 to 1827. What is known of that earlier period is derived from reminiscent accounts, augmented by a few details from contemporaneous government documents.
Two of the most important reminiscent accounts are Joseph Smith’s 1832 and 1838 histories, both of which provide detailed descriptions of the angelic visits and manifestations he experienced in the 1820s.2 Although recorded later, these histories provide important context for the documents herein.”
None of the above mentions an Eyewitness so once again the JSP editors have it wrong.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Saints’ Herald.Independence, MO. 1860–.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Bushman, Richard Lyman.Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
JSP, D1 / MacKay, Michael Hubbard, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, Grant Underwood, Robert J. Woodford, and William G. Hartley, eds. Documents, Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831. Vol. 1 of the Document series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2013.
None of these “Eyewitnesses” mentioned in the JSP below, ever saw Joseph Smith Translate, so they couldn’t be Eyewitnesses!
Emma Smith
David Whitmer
Kansas Journal
MacKay, Michael Hubbard, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, Grant Underwood, Robert J. Woodford, William G. Hartley, Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, Richard Lyman Bushman.
There are no quotes above from Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery who are the ONLY TWO Eyewitness accounts! The JSP either is not telling the truth or they miss-quoted or they don’t really know what an eyewitness is!
Note 11 from JSP glossary under Seer Stone
JS referred to the pair of stones found with the plates as “spectacles,” and he later referred to these stones and his other seer stones with the term “Urim and Thummim,” the name of the instrument used by the high priest of Israel in the Bible. (11
Where in the quotes from note 11 below, did Joseph Smith himself refer to these (two stones with the plates) and his other stones with him, by the name of U&T and did Joseph ever associate these stones with the same ones in the OT?
Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 5; JS History, vol. A-1, 5; Woodruff, Journal, 27 Dec. 1841; compare “History of Brigham Young,” LDS Millennial Star, 20 Feb. 1864, 26:118–119; see also Van Wagoner and Walker, “Gift of Seeing,” 53.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832 / Smith, Joseph. “A History of the Life of Joseph Smith Jr,” ca. Summer 1832. In Joseph Smith, “Letter Book A,” 1832–1835, 1–[6] (earliest numbering). Joseph Smith Collection. CHL. MS 155, box 2, fd. 1.
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Van Wagoner, Richard S., and Steven Walker. “Joseph Smith: ‘The Gift of Seeing.’” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15 (Summer 1982): 49–68.
Note 12 from JSP glossary under Seer Stone
In 1830, JS apparently began dictating most of his revelations without the aid of a seer stone.12
What the editors seem to be saying here, is that Joseph Smith after the translation of the Book of Mormon, he didn’t use seer stones. What do they mean by not using seer stones?
1- Two stones in a silver bow, fastened to a breastplate?
2- One single seer stone?
3- Urim and Thummim?
4- Regular rocks?
5- Any stone?
6- Joseph used nothing at all, or just his mind?
7- Suing a Peep stone?
What do the editors say Joseph used to receive revelations or instructions such as the Doctrine and Covenants. We know Joseph definitely used the Urim and Thummim to translate some of the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
“Not only did Joseph Smith use the Urim and Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon, but he also used it to receive revelation from God. Specifically, Doctrine and Covenants sections 3, 6, 11, and 14 were all given through the Urim and Thummim.
We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that “the place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.” In addition, “this earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon.” And each person who receives the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17 will be able to use the Urim and Thummim (D&C 130:8–10).” http://www.ldsliving.com/10-Things-We-Know-About-the-Urim-and-Thummim/s/90115
Many Times the Urim and Thummim was Used to Translate
“In this respect the testimony of Lorenzo Brown about the preparation the Prophet made for his translation of the Bible may be instructive. He records the Prophet as saying: “After I got through translating the Book of Mormon, I took up the Bible to read with the Urim and Thummim. I read the first chapter of Genesis and I saw the things as they were done. I turned over the next and the next, and the whole passed before me like a grand panorama; and so on chapter after chapter until I read the whole of it. I saw it all!” (as cited in Matthews, Plainer Translation, 25).” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
Other ways Joseph Smith utilized the Urim and Thummin
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, is an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history from the first century through the early sixteenth centuries, emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the reign of Mary I. Commonly known as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, one fuller title of the work is Acts and Monuments of these Latter and Perilous Days, Touching Matters of the Church.
During the fall of 1834, the Prophet Joseph Smith paid a visit to the home of Edward Stevenson, a faithful member of the Church who would later become a prominent missionary and one of the seven presidents of the Seventy. While there he noticed a copy of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by the sixteenth-century English cleric John Foxe. Brother Stevenson recorded the Prophet’s remarks in reference to Christian martyrs massacred during the Dark Ages:
“While looking over our copy of a large English Book of Martyrs, he expressed sympathy for the Christian martyrs and a hope for their salvation. He asked to borrow the book, promising to return it when he should meet us again in Missouri.
On returning it he said, ‘I have, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, seen those martyrs. They were honest, devoted followers of Christ, according to the light they possessed. They will be saved.’” 1
Where did Joseph begin as the JSP says, “JS and other church members began referring to the instrument as the Urim and Thummim by 1832?” This doesn’t make sense if the JSP is trying to equate the Urim and Thummim, the Interpreters, the Seer Stones, and a Stone in a Hat, all to mean the same thing at ever time one of those items is mentioned.
“And then, behold, other records have I, that I will give unto you power that you may assist to translate.” (Doctrine and Covenants 9:2)
Introduction to Doctrine and Covenants Section 10.
REVELATION given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, likely around April 1829, though portions may have been received as early as the summer of 1828. Herein the Lord informs Joseph of alterations made by wicked men in the 116 manuscript pages from the translation of the Book of Lehi, in the Book of Mormon. These manuscript pages had been lost from the possession of Martin Harris, to whom the sheets had been temporarily entrusted. The evil design was to await the expected retranslation of the matter covered by the stolen pages and then to discredit the translator by showing discrepancies created by the alterations. That this wicked purpose had been conceived by the evil one and was known to the Lord even while Mormon, the ancient Nephite historian, was making his abridgment of the accumulated plates, is shown in the Book of Mormon.” (see Words of Mormon 1:3–7, and Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum p. 135).
“AND now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands [the 116 pages translated from the Plates of Mormon], is engraven upon the Plates of Nephi; Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings [the Book of Lehi abridged by Mormon on his Plates of Mormon] that a more particular account was given of these things upon the Plates of Nephi. “And now, because the account which is engraven upon the Plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in My wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account—therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the Plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin [the Book of Omni], or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;* And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi [1 Nephi through Omni]; and thus I will confound those who have altered My words [the stolen 116 pages; see Annotated Book of Mormon p. 136].
“I will not suffer that they [those who stole the 116 pages] shall destroy My work; yea, I will show unto them that My wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi [the 116 pages]. Behold, there are many things engraven upon the Plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon My gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in Me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work. “And, behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of My gospel which My holy prophets, yea, and also My disciples [the Nephite prophets], desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people. And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers; Yea, and this was their faith— that My gospel, which I gave unto them [the Nephites] that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions. “Now, this is not all—their faith in their prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land; And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life; yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be. And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I bring this part of My gospel to the knowledge of My people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:38-52; bracketed comments and emphasis added).
*Retained: Joseph apparently retained some of what he translated with Martin Harris; i.e., page 117. This may be Words of Mormon 1:12-18, which flow into Mosiah 1. The current Mosiah 1 was originally Mosiah 3; i.e., the first chapter and a half of Mosiah was included on the 116 pages that were stolen. (Also, see Annotated Book of Mormon, “Two Sets of Plates,” p. 559. and below)
Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum Page 559. Click to Enlarge
TWO SETS OF PLATES
“I [Mormon] made this record out of the Plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah
all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these
few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni” (Mormon 6:6).
“The depository in the Hill Cumorah in New York was the site of all the Nephite records. Mormon gave his abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi to Moroni, who added the abridgment of the Book of Ether along with his commentary and included his own record whereupon he “sealed” the record. Moroni put this set of plates into the stone box he constructed in a separate department of the Hill Cumorah, as Orson Pratt explained in 1882.** This was the “Original Book of Mormon” as Joseph Smith described it.
“Joseph translated all of these plates (except the sealed portion) in Harmony, PA with Oliver Cowdery as the scribe. He translated the title page there, which was on the last leaf of the plates. Then he and Oliver discussed going back to re-translate the Book of Lehi, the original translation of which Martin Harris had lost. Instead, the Lord told them they’d have to translate the plates of Nephi—except they didn’t have the plates of Nephi. (See p. xxxi, Doctrine and Covenants 10).
“Joseph gave the Harmony plates (the Plates of Mormon) to a divine messenger before leaving Harmony. After Joseph, Oliver, and David Whitmer arrived in Fayette, a messenger (probably the same one, see map at end of blog) brought the Small Plates of Nephi from the repository in the Hill Cumorah. Joseph, therefore, translated the Small Plates of Nephi in Fayette, NY” – Jonathan Neville, Whatever Happened to the Golden Plates?, Digital Legend [2016].
**“But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and its contents put under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion” – Orson Pratt, The Contributor, Salt Lake City, Vol. 03, No. 12 [Sep 1882], 357 Read the entire story with Jonathan Neville’s book below:
Whatever Happened to the Golden Plates? Jonathan Neville’s book above reflects one of the most basic questions people have when they first hear about the restoration.
Jonathan said, “People asked Joseph Smith and the other early saints this same question. How could anyone who hears the story not wonder what happened to the plates?
Although I do offer an answer to the question in this book, most of the book explains the new paradigm about the plates themselves.
Traditional Story
The traditional story is this: the angel Moroni showed Joseph a set of gold plates that he, Moroni, had placed in a stone box when he was still a mortal around 421 A.D. After 4 years, Joseph was allowed to remove the plates from the box. He took them to Harmony, PA, where he translated most of them (Book of Lehi through Book of Moroni). Then he went to Harmony and finished the translation from 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon. At that point, he returned the plates to the angel, who later showed them to the 3 witnesses. A few days later, Joseph showed the plates to the 8 witnesses near his parents’ home outside of Palmyra. Again, Joseph returned the plates to the angel and they haven’t been seen since.
The traditional story is fine as far as it goes, but when you think about it, it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t explain numerous historical events.
Here are some examples.
1. The Title Page, which Joseph said was a literal translation from the last leaf of the plates, describes the contents of the plates as two abridgments, plus Moroni’s sealing. It says nothing about the original plates of Nephi.
2. Joseph translated the Title Page before he left Harmony. If it was the last leaf, then why didn’t he translate 1 Nephi – Words of Mormon in Harmony?
3. Joseph said the title page was from the “original Book of Mormon.”
4. Witnesses described the plates as 4″ thick and 6″ thick.
5. No one can explain where the unabridged plates of Nephi fit into the record if it was included in the plates Moroni gave Joseph.
New Paradigm
After assessing all the evidence, I concluded that the plates Joseph originally obtained from Moroni didn’t include the plates of Nephi. You’ll see that the more you think about it, the more obvious it is. I thought I’d write an article, but there was so much evidence that it grew into an entire book.
Here’s an example.
D&C 9 promises Oliver there would be “other records” for which he would have power to assist to translate. D&C 10 explains what these “other records” are; i.e., the plates of Nephi. But Joseph didn’t have the plates of Nephi when he was in Harmony.
Before he left Harmony, Joseph gave the plates to a divine messenger who returned them to the repository in the Hill Cumorah. From there, the messenger got the plates of Nephi and took them to Fayette so Joseph could translate 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon.
Implications
Once we understand that there were two sets of plates, we can reconcile the different accounts and make sense of these details of Church history.
We also understand that the repository Mormon referred to in Mormon 6:6 was actually in the Hill Cumorah in New York, as explained by several of the men who knew Joseph Smith, including Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, and Orson Pratt.
Obviously, if the repository was in the New York Cumorah, the entire premise for the Mesoamerican theory collapses.
You can expect Mesoamerican advocates to insist on the traditional one set of plates theory, but they won’t be able to show you evidence to support their idea.
Just remember it this way. There is one Cumorah and two sets of plates. Not two Cumorah’s and one set of plates.” Jonathan Neville
I haven’t determine if these plates are authentic or a hoax. Because there are many scholars and historians who believe these plates to be a hoax, I tend to believe more readily, that the Kinderhook plates are very possibly authentic. I feel at times when there are new or old ideas or information that comes forward, many people want to dismiss it as it does not conform with their internal thinking so they dismiss it out of hand.
The Kinderhook plates have been controversial ever since 1843. Apologists and critics have debated the historical facts and extrinsic evidence for many years now.
Below is a quote from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s website, that the historians who likely wrote this article, believe the plates are not authentic. We do however know that Joseph Smith and other Saints visited the Kinderhook mound as it does exist as is recorded in Church History along with the Enon Mound and the Zelph Mound. Many historians don’t believe the Zelph Mound story either, so it is up to you to decide.
“In 1843, a group of men unearthed six bell-shaped brass plates about three inches in height from an American Indian burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois. The plates contained symbols resembling an ancient script, and one member of the group thought the artifacts appeared well suited for Joseph Smith to translate. Accounts suggest the discovery intrigued Joseph Smith and other Latter-day Saints in Illinois, but no translated text resulted from this short-lived excitement.
One of those present when the plates were unearthed later reported that he had learned the whole episode was a prank. Wilbur Fugate admitted that he, Robert Wiley, and a local blacksmith forged the plates and deposited them in the burial mound the night before the discovery. Chemical and metallurgical analysis of the one surviving plate confirms the artifact was not an ancient production. Moreover, the characters on the plates do not match any known language and were likely invented by Fugate and Wiley.
Contemporaneous sources say very little about Joseph Smith’s encounter with the Kinderhook plates, which occurred over a span of just a few days in 1843. Joseph apparently examined the plates and, according to his clerk William Clayton, remarked that they contained “the history of … a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Joseph evidently did not attempt a revelatory translation as he had done with the Book of Mormon plates, but rather appears to have compared the symbols on the Kinderhook plates with other ancient artifacts in his possession. One symbol on the plates closely matches a glyph on the Egyptian papyri Joseph translated in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph’s previous translation of this glyph mentions a descendant of Ham through the lineage of the pharaohs.
Whether Joseph suspected the forgery, thought of attempting a revelatory translation but experienced a “stupor of thought,” or merely took a scholarly interest in the purported ancient writings (like other amateur linguists of the time) remains unconfirmed by historical accounts. Whatever he thought of the plates, he quickly lost interest in them.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/kinderhook-plates?lang=eng
Of course this quote above is an opinion and not based on facts. However when the historians of this article say Joseph Smith “suspected the forgery” or “thought of attempting a revelatory translation” or “experienced a stupor of thought” or “merely took a scholarly interest in the purported ancient writings” and these historians emphasize that “like other amateur linguists of the time” Joseph’s findings are “unconfirmed by historical accounts” and they also say that, “Whatever he (Joseph) thought of the plates, he quickly lost interest in them.”
How about my conjecture here? I say, what if Joseph did translate a portion of the Kinderhook plates and what if they are correct? What if Joseph Smith has no responsibility to let others know of his Prophetic intensions or powers he possessed, and these historians only want to suggest the negative about our prophet Joseph Smith? I am biased towards my own opinion of course.
Kinderhook Mound Information
I quote “The Mormons and the Mounds by Jonathan Neville MHA Presentation June 2017 St. Louis, Missouri where Jonathan Neville said, “Three specific mounds figure prominently in LDS history: Zelph’s mound in Illinois, the Kinderhook mound, also in Illinois, from which the six brass plates were taken, and Enon mound in Ohio… and continues saying, “The Kinderhook mound probably dates to the Adena era, and it reportedly had a conical shape typical of Adena mounds, but there doesn’t appear to be any discussion in the literature about this mound ever being dated or studied.” Neville Page 6
On page 9 of the same Neville paper above he says, “J. Michael Hunter introduced his article about Mormon archaeological zeal by writing “In 1843, Robert Wiley unearthed a set of six brass plates in a burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois.” Hunter, J. Michael, “The Kinderhook Plates, the Tucson Artifacts, and Mormon Archaeological Zeal,” Journal of Mormon History, Vol. 31, No. 1
Neville then says, “Several authors have written and presented on the topic of the Kinderhook plates, including Mark Ashurst-McGee, Don Bradley, Brian M. Hauglid, and Jason Frederick Peters. In 1981, the Ensign published an article that took the positions that (i) the Kinderhook plates were a hoax and (ii) Joseph Smith never attempted to translate them.” Jonathan Neville with reference from him found inKimball, Stanley B.,“Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax,” Ensign, August 1981
Whether or not the plates were a hoax there is always the possibility they were genuine. You as a reader need to determine that yourself. I just share quotes from honest people, but through your personal study and prayer you may know the truth of all things. If true, the Kinderhook plates are another possible witness that Joseph Smith is and was a Prophet of God. That is something I ponder on.
As it says Joseph may have translated a portion of the Kinderhook Plates printed again in the Times and Seasons, “I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.”(Then followed a reprint of material from the Times and Seasons article.) Deseret News Sept 3, 1856
So Pharaoh, king of Egypt apparently received his Kingdom, but we know from the scriptures that Ham’s offspring with Egyptus could not hold the Priesthood as we read below.
About Patriarchal and Melchizedek Priesthoods
“In the Bible, Melchizedek, also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of El Elyon. He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abram and El Elyon. In Christianity, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus is identified as “High priest forever in the order of Melchizedek“, and so Jesus assumes the role of High Priest once and for all.” Wikipedia; (El Elyon is a name for God that means Most High, Creator of heaven and earth”, according to Bible Study Tools).
During the time of Adam it seems the Higher Priesthood of God was apparent in the Prophets and likely given to each worth som after that time. However, after the flood when Noah reigned, it seems the father to son Priesthood called the Patriarchal Priesthood was given by simply being a good father. The Highest Priesthood later called Melchisedek Priesthood after the righteous man named Melchisedek or Shem (Same Person), who was the King of Salem.
You will learn more as you contemplate the scripture about Ham and the Priesthood in Abraham 1:22-27 comparing scripture to the possible translation from Joseph Smith.
“Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth.
From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land.
The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden;
When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land.
Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal.
Noah had the High Priesthood from Adam, and also had the Patriarchal Priesthood from his father, Lamech. Ham had the High Priesthood from his father Noah, and also the Patriarchal Priesthood from Noah, yet Hams sons with Egyptus, had the only the Patriarchal Priesthood because of his father, but not likely the Highest or Melchizedek Priesthood, as the scriptures say the Son of Ham and Egyptus, could not hold thehighest Priesthood, but then his son tried to imitate the highest Priesthood as Satan does imitate it today.
Now let’s not get confused, as I also understand the Shem was likely the same person as Melchisedek, which adds further discussion into this Priesthood line of authority that we won’t address here.
It seems that all three of Noah’s sons had some type of priesthood which was likely the Patriarchal Priesthood, which comes simply by being the son of your father. Yet it seems Noah gave only Shem both the Patriarchal and the Melchisedek Priesthood, as the line of Shem is where the Melchisedek Priesthood comes from for us today.
For example my father ordained me to the Melchisedek Priesthood, but did my father have both Patriarchal and Melchisedek Priesthood to give me? (He only could give me the Patriarchal Priesthood as simply being my father), but he did not ordain me to have the Patriarchal Priesthood, but my father did ordain me to the Melchisedek Priesthood. But any worthy holder of the Melchisedek Priesthood could have ordained me, correct? In other words when did simple Patriarchal Priesthood end, and we now only have the Aaronic and Melchisedek Priesthood today?
I remember as a member of a Bishopric calling the LDS phone number we all should know for questions of any kind at, 801-240-1000, and they gave me a Priesthood leader who was authorized to speak to my question. He told me that we only have the two Priesthoods today the Aaronic and Melchisedek. I understood that to mean over 25 years ago, to mean that only the Melchisedek Priesthood is given by ordination. This has helped me answer the question I posed in Chapter 11E of this book, as to why there were 3 levels of Priesthood or 3 altars spoken of in this question and answer?
This makes sense. Both sons of Noah, Ham and Japeth had a Patriarchal Priesthood, but only Noah’s son Shem was given the Higher or Melchisedek Priesthood to carry on through the Savior time and through ordination today from a worthy Melchisedek Priesthood holder.
Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood.
Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, (He likely had Patriarchal Priesthood from his father Ham, but he could not be ordained to the Highest Priesthood of Melchisedek), notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry;” Abraham 1:21-27 (That may mean the Pharaohs could claim they can use the Patriarchal Priesthood and pretend it was the same as the Melchisedek Priesthood which they could not be ordained to).
Did the Brother of Jared Hold the Priesthood?
I share with you that I believe the Jaredites likely landed near Seattle Washington. I also share that I believe the Jaredites who were blessed with keeping the Adamic Language very likely had the correct Priesthood. Bruce R. McConkie said, “These promises of God to the Jaredites contain the essential elements of the everlasting covenant detailed later to Father Abraham and to every covenant people. These elements include priesthood, posterity, and a land of inheritance” Bruce McConkie, A New Witness 505
Yes! They Retained the Adamic Language, which relates to the Priesthood. Ether was their last Prophet and Mahonri Moriancumer would have the Priesthood or else why did Jared always ask him to talk with the Lord on behalf of the Jaredites? I realize you don’t have to have the Priesthood to see Christ, as we know Joseph Smith saw Christ without holding the Priesthood, but it makes sense that Prophets had the ordained Priesthood and especially those who were sent to the Promised land of North America, such as Lehi and Mahonri Moriancumer.
“The book of Moses described the language of Adam as “pure and undefiled”. It is intimately connected with the “Priesthood,which was in the beginning, [and] shall be in the end of the world also.” MOSES 6:5 Thomas R. Valletta, “Jared and His Brother,” in Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles Tate Jr. (BYU Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center
In a video I did online here: bookofmormonevidence.org/jaredites, I will share with you my details of why I believe the Jaredites Landed near Seattle and why I strongly believe the Jaredites had the Priesthood.
More Kinderhook Plates from Deseret News
On September 3 and 10, 1856, the following paragraphs appeared in the Deseret News as part of the serialized “History of Joseph Smith”:
“[May 1, 1843:] I insert facsimiles of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook, in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. R. Wiley and others, while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides with ancient characters.
“I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.” (Then followed a reprint of material from the Times and Seasons article.)
Although this account appears to be the writing of Joseph Smith, it is actually an excerpt from a journal of William Clayton. It has been well known that the serialized “History of Joseph Smith” consists largely of items from other persons’ personal journals and other sources, collected during Joseph Smith’s lifetime and continued after the Saints were in Utah, then edited and pieced together to form a history of the Prophet’s life “in his own words.” It was not uncommon in the nineteenth century for biographers to put the narrative in the first person when compiling a biographical work, even though the subject of the biography did not actually say or write all the words attributed to him; thus the narrative would represent a faithful report of what others felt would be helpful to print. The Clayton journal excerpt was one item used in this way. For example, the words “I have translated a portion” originally read “President J. has translated a portion. …”
Where the ideas written by William Clayton originated is unknown. However, as will be pointed out later, speculation about the plates and their possible content was apparently quite unrestrained in Nauvoo when the plates first appeared. In any case, this altered version of the extract from William Clayton’s journal was reprinted in the Millennial Star of 15 January 1859, and, unfortunately, was finally carried over into official Church history when the “History of Joseph Smith” was edited into book form as the History of the Church in 1909.
Front and back of four of the six Kinderhook plates are shown in these facsimiles (rough copies of even earlier published facsimiles), which appeared in 1909 in History of the Church, vol. 5, pp. 374–75.
By 1912, however, at least two items of evidence had come to light indicating that the Kinderhook plates were not authentic. One was a letter written in 1855 (but not published until 1912) by Dr. W. P. Harris—the same W. P. Harris who authored the statement that appeared in the Times and Seasons article. In this letter he wrote that in 1843 he had accepted the discovery of the plates as genuine. “I washed and cleaned the plates and subsequently made an honest affidavit to the same,” he said. “But since that time, Bridge Whitton [a blacksmith in Kinderhook, Illinois] said to me that he cut and prepared the plates and he (B. Whitton) and R. Wiley engraved them themselves, and that there was nitric acid put upon them the night before they were found to rust the iron ring and band. And that they were carried to the mound, rubbed in the dirt and carefully dropped into the pit where they were found.”
The other item was a letter written in 1879 by Wilbur Fugate (another of those present at the excavation of the plates) to an anti-Mormon in Salt Lake City. Fugate declared that the alleged discovery of the Kinderhook plates was “a HUMBUG, gotten up by Robert Wiley, Bridge Whitton and myself. … None of the nine persons who signed the certificate [a document included in the Times and Seasons article] knew the secret, except Wiley and I.
“We read in Pratt’s prophecy that ‘Truth is yet to spring out of the earth.’ [The quote is from Parley P. Pratt’s 1837 missionary tract Voice of Warning.] We concluded to prove the prophecy by way of a joke. We soon made our plans and executed them. Bridge Whitton cut them out of some pieces of copper; Wiley and I made the hieroglyphics by making impressions on beeswax and filling them with acid and putting it on the plates. When they were finished we put them together with rust made of nitric acid, old iron and lead, and bound them with a piece of hoop iron, covering them completely with the rust.”
Fugate then went on to tell how they secretly buried the plates and faked their discovery.
These accounts have generated much controversy for more than a hundred years since the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the question being twofold: (1) are the Kinderhook plates authentic? and (2) did Joseph Smith attempt to translate them? In general, Latter-day Saint scholars and laymen have sought to confirm the story of the Kinderhook plates, feeling that such authentication would both defend the Prophet and make more plausible the account of the Book of Mormon having been taken from plates of gold. Antagonists, on the other hand, have sought to demonstrate that Joseph Smith was a false prophet…
Since coming to public awareness in 1920, this plate has undergone a number of tests. For example, in 1953 it was examined by two engravers who made an affidavit stating that “to the best of our knowledge this Plate was engraved with a pointed instrument and not etched with acid”—a conclusion which contradicted the letters claiming the plates to be a hoax, and which therefore fueled the hopes of those who wanted the plates to be proven genuine.
A much more rigorous study of the Chicago plate was organized in 1969 by Dr. Paul Cheesman of Brigham Young University. He secured permission from the Chicago Historical Society to bring the plate to BYU for exhaustive non-destructive testing—that is, analytical tests not involving actual damage to the plate. The results of these tests were to be compared with previous tests performed in 1960 and 1966. The plate was examined by physicists, engravers, a jeweler, a metalworker, and several photographers, with mixed results. The physicists concluded that the plate was acid-etched and of non-ancient brass; the others could not agree whether it was etched, engraved, or both. Dr. Cheesman concluded: “It appears we need to have a destructive analysis for further confirmation. Much more testing needs to be done.”
There the matter rested until 1980, when I had the good fortune to secure permission from the Chicago Historical Society for the recommended destructive tests. These tests, involving some very sophisticated analytical techniques, were performed by Professor D. Lynn Johnson of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University…
Charlotte Haven, a somewhat antagonistic non-Mormon who was visiting her sister (a Mormon) in Nauvoo at the time, wrote a letter on May 2 that gives the following account:
“We hear very frequently from our Quincy friends through Mr. Joshua Moore, who passes through that place and this in his monthly zigzag tours through the State, traveling horseback. His last call on us was last Saturday [April 29] and he brought with him half a dozen thin pieces of brass, apparently very old, in the form of a bell about five or six inches long. They had on them scratches that looked like writing, and strange figures like symbolic characters. They were recently found, he said, in a mound a few miles below Quincy. When he showed them to Joseph, the latter said that the figures or writing on them was similar to that in which the Book of Mormon was written, and if Mr. Moore could leave them, he thought that by the help of revelation he would be able to translate them.”
It is possible, then, that Mr. Joshua Moore was the one who obtained the plates by pretense and brought them to Nauvoo. In any event, the plates had apparently arrived in Nauvoo by Saturday, April 29, and had been shown to Joseph Smith.
William Clayton evidently had access to the plates at some point, for in his journal entry of Monday, May 1, he included a tracing of one of the plates. (Whether or not he was present when Joseph Smith saw the plates is unknown.) Two days later, on Wednesday, Brigham Young also drew an outline of one of the Kinderhook plates in a small notebook/diary that he kept. Inside the drawing he wrote: “May 3—1843. I had this at Joseph Smith’s house. Found near Quincy.”
Very soon afterward the plates were removed from Nauvoo, for the Times and Seasons editorial, which was written perhaps on Wednesday or Thursday (May 3 or 4), said: “Mr. Smith has had those plates, what his opinion concerning them is, we have not yet ascertained. The gentleman that owns them has taken them away, or we should have given a fac simile of the plates and characters in this number. We are informed however, that he purposes returning with them for translation; if so, we may be able yet to furnish our readers with it.”
The plates were apparently in Nauvoo, then, from Saturday the 29th through Wednesday the 3rd—a period of five days—and were then taken away. Later, however, they were evidently returned to Nauvoo for a time, for by June 24 the Nauvoo Neighbor press had access to them and was thus able to produce facsimiles for the published broadside. A History of the Church entry for Sunday, May 7, says: “In the forenoon I [Joseph Smith] was visited by several gentlemen, concerning the plates that were dug out near Kinderhook.” Whether or not the plates were actually returned on that day—or indeed, whether Joseph Smith himself ever had the plates again—is uncertain.
In any case, the translation for which hope had been expressed in the Times and Seasons did not appear. In a letter dated April 8, 1878, Wilbur Fugate recalled: “We understood Jo Smith said [the plates] would make a book of 1200 pages but he would not agree to translate them until they were sent to the Antiquarian society at Philadelphia, France, and England.” Furthermore, a review of other entries in Joseph Smith’s history indicate that he was occupied during the following weeks with mayoral duties, Church business, the Nauvoo Legion, and four different trips to neighboring cities; there is no indication of translating activities. Then on June 23, just one day before publication of the broadside that repeated the Saints’ hopeful expectation of an eventual translation, the Prophet was abducted by Missourians who tried to get him to Missouri for prosecution on charges of “treason.” He made it back to Nauvoo on June 30, but the habeas corpus proceedings took up more than two weeks of his time.
Just when the plates were taken from Nauvoo for the second and perhaps final time is uncertain. But we know that by fall of that same year they were back in Robert Wiley’s possession, for on November 15 he wrote a letter to one J. J. Harding suggesting that he was interested in selling the plates to “the National Institute,” and that he was also interested in the “opinions of your different Entiquarian friends.” In reference to having the plates examined by “the Antiquarian society at Philadelphia, France, and England,” Wilbur Fugate went on to say: “They were sent and the answer was that there were no such Hyeroglyphics known, and if there ever had been, they had long since passed away. Then Smith began his translation.” (The reference to Joseph Smith having begun a “translation” of the plates is in error, since they were never returned to Nauvoo. The Prophet died a martyr the following year.)
However, the question of when the plates were taken from Nauvoo is not as important as the fact that they were taken away. In spite of the considerable excitement they generated in Nauvoo after their “discovery” the plates were allowed to leave the Saints, apparently without fanfare. No known record exists which intimates that Joseph Smith or those around him ever purchased or attempted to purchase the plates (as were the mummies associated with the Book of Abraham papyrus), even though their owner, Wiley, was prepared to sell them.
That the plates had aroused interest in Nauvoo is evident from two accounts that were not published until years later. In a letter written to a friend on Sunday, May 7, Parley P. Pratt said: “A large number of Citizens have seen them and compared the characters with those on the Egyptian papyrus which is now in this city.” A few lines previously, he had begun his comment on the plates as follows:
“Six plates having the appearance of Brass have lately been dug out of a mound by a gentleman in Pike Co. Illinois. They are small and filled with engravings in Egyptian language and contain the genealogy of one of the ancient Jaredites back to Ham the son of Noah. His bones were found in the same vase (made of Cement). Part of the bones were 15 ft. underground.”
This calls to mind the statement from the William Clayton journal referred to above:
“I have seen six brass plates which were found in Adams County by some persons who were digging in a mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from the surface of the earth which was nine feet high. … President J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found, and he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.”
It seems, then, that there was considerable talk about the plates in Nauvoo—and apparently as much misinformation and hearsay was current among people as there was fact. Pratt heard of a discovery in Pike County; Clayton said Adams County. Clayton said that the find was made six feet underground; Pratt, fifteen. Elder Pratt spoke of a cement vase—an item mentioned in no other account. Clayton mentioned a skeleton nine feet tall—also unmentioned in any other account. Clayton said that the plates gave a history of an Egyptian; Pratt mentioned a Jaredite.
The elements that these two accounts have in common suggest a basic jist to the hearsay stories circulating in Nauvoo and also that Joseph Smith with others saw and wondered about the nature of the material that had been brought to Nauvoo. But there is, obviously, leagues of difference between an actual translation of sacred records and a consideration of artifacts of uncertain origin—the former requiring study, prayer, and revelation; the latter characterized perhaps by an examination for points of similarity, etc., in a setting where various suggestions are likely aired by those present and elaborated on as discussion continued. And the actual presence of William Clayton or Parley P. Pratt in any discussion on the topic with Joseph Smith is simply unknown.
It is hard to imagine that the Prophet Joseph Smith wouldn’t have been intrigued by the plates. When they were first shown to him, he may well have noted certain correspondence between some characters on the plates and “reformed Egyptian” and contemplated the possibility of authenticity and translation, as the Charlotte Haven letter suggests. But how much of the conjecture that was current in Nauvoo at the time might be attributable to him would be a speculation in itself, impossible to verify from the available accounts. The one account that was published in the Times and Seasons, whose editors were equally as intimate with Joseph Smith as William Clayton and Parley P. Pratt, could only report that “Mr. Smith has had those plates, what his opinion concerning them is we have not yet ascertained.”
The central issue in the whole question of Joseph Smith’s involvement in the Kinderhook plate episode is that the expected “translation” did not appear. And this fact may well explain the characteristic that has made this hoax most interesting—that it was never carried to completion. That the Kinderhook plates were not authentic artifacts is no longer in doubt; but if the plates were faked, why wasn’t the hoax revealed right away?
It has been suggested that the whole Kinderhook plate incident was, as Wilbur Fugate said in his 1878 and 1879 letters, a heavy-handed, frontier-style “joke.” On the other hand, the conspirators’ objective might have been more pointed—to produce a bogus set of plates and then reveal the hoax in a shower of ridicule after the Prophet made a purported “translation.” In either case, they were frustrated in their scheme because no translation ever appeared. In fact, there is no evidence that Joseph Smith ever concluded the plates were genuine, other than conflicting statements from members who hoped that a translation would come forth—and in fact no evidence that the Prophet manifested real interest in the “discovery” after his initial viewing of the plates. The statement taken from William Clayton’s journal didn’t appear until September 1856 in Salt Lake City’s Deseret News. At that point, time itself had eroded away the opportunity for a hearty joke, if that were the hoaxers’ intent; and the absence of an actual translation in spite of the Clayton entry in the “History of Joseph Smith” could only have added to their frustrations—assuming that the hoaxers even knew of the Deseret News account, which appeared thirteen years later and a thousand miles away.
Another possible explanation for the hoax never having been carried through may lie in Robert Wiley’s desire to sell the plates as genuine artifacts. For him to have exposed the hoax before the attempted sale would, of course, have scuttled any negotiations; and to expose it afterward may have landed the sellers and conspirators in jail for attempted fraud—turning the tables and making them the object of ridicule instead of Joseph Smith.
Significantly, there is no evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith ever took up the matter with the Lord, as he did when working with the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham. And this brings us to the other side of the story, for those of us who believe that Joseph Smith was the Lord’s prophet: Isn’t it natural to expect that he would be guided to understand that these plates were not of value as far as his mission was concerned? That other members may have been less judicious and not guided in the same way cannot be laid at the Prophet’s feet. Many people, now as well as then, have an appetite for hearsay and a hope for “easy evidence” to bolster or even substitute for personal spirituality and hard-won faith that comes from close familiarity with truth and communion with God.
So it is that in the 100-year battle of straw men and straw arguments, Joseph Smith needs no defense—he simply did not fall for the scheme. And with that understood, it is perhaps time that the Kinderhook plates be retired to the limbo of other famous faked antiquities.
Enlargement of the front and back of the Kinderhook plate now owned by the Chicago Historical Society. Actual size of the bell-shaped plate is 2 7/8″ high by 2 1/4″ wide at the bottom, tapering to 1 3/16″ at the top; average thickness is 1/32″. The nickel-size splotch on the backside is likely due to corrosion since its 1843 “discovery.” Photographs courtesy Chicago Historical Society.”
Again I explain that I do not know if the Kinderhook plates are authentic or not. But I do believe Joseph Smiths words more that intellects. If Joseph Smith spoke the words he is said to have said below, I believe Joseph.
As it says Joseph may have translated a portion of the Kinderhook Plates printed again in the Times and Seasons, “I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.”(Then followed a reprint of material from the Times and Seasons article.) Deseret News Sept 3, 1856
If the words above is what Joseph really said, then I believe the Kinderhook Plates are very likely to be authentic. These words explain to me the difference between God giving Hams son the Priesthood of Melchisedek, and simply giving him “his Kingdom” which he had the right for from his father Ham as a Patriarchal Priesthood, through simply being a son, and it was not an ordained Melchizedek Priesthood unto the son of Ham.
Remember the Interpreters came from the Brother of Jared when the Lord touched those two additional stones, (Ether 3:23) and they were sealed up and later Mosiah received them and possibly Lehi before and finally sealed up by Moroni before shown to Joseph Smith.
A Passover Setting for Lehi’s Exodus
Don Bradley Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 34 (2020): 119-142
Abstract: Later in his life, former Palmyra resident Fayette Lapham recounted with sharp detail an 1830 interview he conducted with Joseph Smith Sr. about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Among the details he reports that Lehi’s exodus from Jerusalem occurred during a “great feast.” This detail, not found in the published Book of Mormon, may reveal some of what Joseph Sr. knew from the lost 116 pages. By examining the small plates account of this narrative in 1 Nephi 1−5, we see not only that such a feast was possible, but that Lehi’s exodus and Nephi’s quest for the brass plates occurred at Passover. This Passover setting helps explain why Nephi killed Laban and other distinctive features of Lehi’s exodus. Read in its Passover context, the story of Lehi is not just the story of one man’s deliverance, but of the deliverance of humankind by the Lamb of God. The Passover setting in which it begins illuminates the meaning of the Book of Mormon as a whole.”
[Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of the author’s book, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Lost Stories (Salt Lake City: Kofford Books, 2019).]
This chapter examines the narrative of 1 Nephi 1−5 as a series of events occurring at the Passover season, beginning with Lehi’s theophany (vision of God) at the start of the Passover month of Nisan and culminating with Nephi’s slaying of Laban on the final day of the Jewish Passover celebration.1 Although this text comprises five chapters in the current Latter-day Saint edition of the Book of Mormon, it [Page 120]constitutes just one chapter — the original 1 Nephi Chapter I — in the first edition of the Book of Mormon and presents a single overarching narrative of the escape of Lehi’s family from destruction in Jerusalem and the beginning of their exodus to a new promised land. Read against the backdrop of the Passover season, the narrative of Lehi’s exodus is not merely a narrative of one family’s deliverance from temporal destruction but also a typological narrative of the redemption of humanity by the divine Lamb of God.
Fayette Lapham’s Interview with Joseph Smith Sr.
Joseph Smith Sr.
In early 1830, shortly before the Book of Mormon came off the Grandin press, Palmyra businessman Fayette Lapham and his brother-in-law Jacob Ramsdell called at the Joseph Smith Sr. home in Manchester to get information on the forthcoming book.2 As Palmyra residents, Lapham and Ramsdell would have heard the considerable buzz in town about the Book of Mormon but were not yet able to satisfy their curiosity by reading its pages. Instead, the two young men enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing the Prophet’s father relate the story of the Book of Mormon’s emergence, and they were given an oral sneak preview of its contents. Four decades later, Lapham published an extensive account of this interview [Page 121]in an 1870 issue of The Historical Magazine.3 Despite the lapse of years and the account’s occasional garbling of fact, Lapham’s narration is filled with firsthand information that demonstrates his reliance on a primary source with knowledge of the actual information and events, indicating that he may have written his newspaper account from detailed notes of his interview with Joseph Sr.4 Whether Lapham’s source was interview notes or an extraordinary memory, his accuracy on many obscure but confirmable details, such as the order in which Joseph Smith translated Mormon’s abridgement and Nephi’s small plates after the manuscript loss, lends credence to additional, unique details he provides.5
In relating Nephite history, Lapham’s account largely retells familiar Book of Mormon stories. Yet at key points it also adds to the existing narrative some story elements not found in the published Book of Mormon. These additional pieces of Nephite narrative, though new or unknown, fit remarkably well into the familiar, known narrative, suggesting that they are not errors but echoes of narrative from the lost pages. Surprisingly, the interview account gives nearly five times as much [Page 122] space to the period of the narrative covered by the lost pages as it does to the period that follows the lost portion. One wonders if the Prophet’s father, realizing his interviewers would not be able to read the fuller Nephite narrative given in the lost manuscript, attempted to provide more of that early narrative than the published book would provide. This seems to be the most probable explanation for the additional Nephite narrative given in Lapham’s account.
Despite his intellectual interest, Lapham was never a believer in Joseph Jr. as a prophet and
appears to have never even read the Book of Mormon. In fact, Lapham came away from his interview with Joseph Sr. believing the Book of Mormon to be a hoax, which obviated his need to read it. Given this lack of familiarity with the book, and especially its missing pages, it is unlikely that Lapham could have identified what was missing from lost manuscript narrative and constructed elements that fill those gaps and fit the pattern of Book of Mormon narrative. Source
Historical Magazine (second series) Volume 7 May 1870 Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith
“Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, Forty Years Ago. His Account of the Finding of the Sacred Plates” (1870) [La]Fayette Lapham
Republished in Vogel, Dan (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol.1,Salt Lake City Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-072-8.
I think it was in the year 1830, I heard that some ancient records had been discovered that would throw some new light upon the subject of religion; being deeply interested in the matter, I concluded to go to the place and learn for myself the truth of the matter. Accompanied by a friend, Jacob Ramsdell, I set out to find the Smith family, then residing some three or four miles South of the village of Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, and near the line of the town of Manchester. Joseph, Junior, afterwards so well known, not being at home, we applied to his father for the information we wanted. This Joseph Smith, Senior, we soon learned, from his own lips, was a firm believer in witchcraft and other supernatural things; and had brought up his family in the same belief. He also believed that there was a vast amount of money buried somewhere in the country; that it would some day be found; that he himself had spent both time and money searching for it, with divining rods, but had not succeeded in finding any, though sure that he eventually would.” Lapham
Editors note: With the previous description coming from someone who did not know Joseph Smith or his father well at all, his description of “witchcraft”, “supernatural”, and “buried money”, was likely Mr. Laphams bias against such things. Since the story of Joseph Smith was hard for many to explain at that time, it makes sense that many people made up stories and words about the explanation they heard from the Smiths. In the editors opinion witchcraft good also be explaines as a miracle, or a spiritual manifestation. Finding buried artifacts or valuable items was not unheard of in Palmyra at this time. I believe Mr. Laphams descriptions could explain a very spiritual occurrance as well as a possilbe withchcraft situation.
Lapham continued. “In reply to our question, concerning the ancient records that had been found, he remarked that they had suffered a great deal of persecution on account of them; that many had been there for that purpose, and had made evil reports of them, intimating that perhaps we had come for a like purpose; but, becoming satisfied of our good intentions and that we only sought correct information, he gave us the following history, as near as I can repeat his words:
His son Joseph, whom he called the illiterate, when about fourteen years of age, happened to be where a man was looking into a dark stone and telling people, therefrom, where to dig for money and other things. Joseph requested the privilege of looking into the stone, which he did by putting his face into the hat where the stone was. It proved to be not the right stone for him; but he could see some things, and, among them, he saw the stone, and where it was, in which he could see whatever he wished to see.
Picture of Josephs Seer Stone from 2019 Ensign. Editor does not believe Josph used a stone in a hat to translate, he used the spectacles attached to a breastplaste. (JSH 1:35
Smith claims and believes that there is a stone of this quality, somewhere, for every one. The place where he saw the stone was not far from their house; and, under pretense of digging a well, they found water and the stone at a depth of twenty or twenty-two feet. After this, Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone, telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for money and other hidden treasure.”
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Lapham continues. “About this time he became concerned as to his future state of existence, and was baptized, becoming thus a member of the Baptist Church. Soon after joining the Church, he had a very singular dream; but he did not tell his father of his dream, until about a year afterwards. He then told his father that, in his dream, a very large and tall man appeared to him, dressed in an ancient suit of clothes, and the clothes were bloody. And the man said to him that there was a valuable treasure, buried many years since, and not far from that place; and that he had now arrived for it to be brought to light, for the benefit of the world at large; and, if he would strictly follow his directions, he would direct him to the place where it was deposited, in such a manner that he could obtain it.
He then said to him, that he would have to get a certain coverlid, which he described, and an old-fashioned suit of clothes, of the same color, and a napkin to put the treasure in; and go to a certain tree, not far distant, and when there, he would see other objects that he would take or keep in range and follow, until he was directed to stop, and there he would find the treasure that he was in pursuit of; and when he had obtained it, he must not lay it down until he placed it in the napkin. “And,” says Smith, “in the course of a year, I succeeded in finding all the articles, as directed; and one dark night Joseph mounted his horse, and, aided by some supernatural light, he succeeded in finding the starting point and the objects in range.” Following these, as far as he could with the horse without being directed to stop, he proceeded on foot, keeping the range in view, until he arrived at a large boulder, of several tons weight, when he was immediately impressed with the idea that the object of his pursuit was under that rock. Feeling around the edge, he found that the under side was fiat. Being a stout man, and aided by some super-natural power, he succeeded in turning the rock upon its edge, and under it he found a square block of masonry, in the centre of which were the articles referred to by the man seen in the dream. Taking up the first article, he saw others below; laying down the first, he endeavored to secure the others; but, before he could get hold of them, the one he had taken up slid back to the place he had taken it from, and, to his great surprise and terror, the rock immediately fell back to its former place, nearly crushing him in its descent. His first thought was that he had not properly secured the rock when it was turned up, and accordingly he again tried to lift it, but now in vain; he next tried with the aid of levers, but still without success. While thus engaged, he felt something strike him on the breast, which was repeated the third time, always with increased force, the last such as to lay him upon his back. As he lay there, he looked up and saw the same large man that had appeared in his dream, dressed in the same clothes. He said to him that, when the treasure was deposited there, he was sworn to take charge of and protect that property, until the time should arrive for it to be exhibited to the world of mankind; and, in order to prevent his making an improper disclosure, he was murdered or slain on the spot, and the treasure had been under his charge ever since.
He said to him that he had not followed his directions; and, in consequence of laying the article down before putting it in the napkin, he could not have the article now; but that if he would come again, one year from that time, he could then have them. The year passed over before Joseph was aware of it, so time passed by; but he went to the place of deposit, where the same man appeared again, and said he had not been punctual in following his directions, and, in consequence, he could not have the article yet. Joseph asked when he could have them; and the answer was, “Come in one year from this time, and bring your oldest brother with you; then you may have them.” During that year, it so happened that his oldest brother died; but, at the end of the year, Joseph repaired to the place again, and was told by the man who still guarded the treasure, that, inasmuch as he could not bring his oldest brother, he could not have the treasure yet; but there would be another person appointed to come with him in one year from that time, when he could have it. Joseph asked, “How shall I know the person?” and was told that the person would be known to him at sight.
Lost 116 Pages
During that year, Joseph went to the town of Harmony, in the State of Pennsylvania, at the request of some one who wanted the assistance of his divining rod and stone in finding hidden treasure, supposed to have been deposited there by the Indians or others. While there, he fell in company with a young woman; and, when he first saw her, he was satisfied that she was the person appointed to go with him to get the treasure he had so often failed to secure. To insure success, he courted and married her. When his work was ended at Harmony, he returned with her to his father’s, in Wayne county; and, at the expiration of the year, he procured a horse and light wagon, with a small chest and a pillow-case, and proceeded, punctually, with his wife, to find the hidden treasure. When they had gone as far as they could with the wagon, Joseph took the pillow-case and started for the rock.
Upon passing a fence, a host of devils began to screech and to scream, and made all sorts of hideous yells, for the purpose of terrifying him and preventing the attainment of his object; but Joseph was courageous, and pursued his way, in spite of them all. Arriving at the stone, he again lifted it, with the aid of superhuman power, as at first, and secured the first, or uppermost article, this time putting it carefully into the pillow-case, before laying it down. He now attempted to secure the remainder; but just then the same old man appeared, and said to him, that the time had not yet arrived for their exhibition to the world; but that when the proper time came he should have them, and exhibit them with the one he had now secured; until that time arrived, no one must be allowed to touch the one he had in his possession; for if they did, they would be knocked down by some superhuman power. Joseph ascertained that the remaining articles were a gold hilt and chain, and a gold ball with two pointers. The hilt and chain had once been part of a sword of unusual size; but the blade had rusted away and become useless. Joseph then turned the rock back, took the article in the pillow-case, and returned to the wagon; the devils, with more hideous yells than before, followed him to the fence; as he was getting over the fence, one of the devils struck him a blow on his side, where a black and blue spot remained three or four days; but Joseph persevered and brought the article safely home. “I weighed it,” said Mr. Smith, Senior, “and it weighed thirty pounds.“continued
No Sword of Laban or Liahona stored in the stone box at Cumorah. They were with all other records in the nearby Cave at Cumorah. See above.
Two Depositories in Hill Cumorah
“The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . .
These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
Continued, “In answer to our question, as to what it was that Joseph had thus obtained, he said it consisted of a set of gold plates, about six inches wide, and nine or ten inches long. They were in the form of a book, half an inch thick, but were not bound at the back, like our books, but were held together by several gold rings, in such a way that the plates could be opened similar to a book. Under the first plate, or lid, he found a pair of spectacles, about one and a half inches longer than those used at the present day, the eyes not of glass, but of diamond. On the next page were representations of all the masonic implements, as used by masons at the present day. The remaining pages were closely written over in characters of some unknown tongue, the last containing the alphabet of this unknown language. Joseph, not being able to read the characters, made a copy of some of them, which he showed to some of the most learned men of the vicinity. All the clue he could obtain was from George Crane, who said he had seen a Pass that had been given to Luther Bradish, when traveling through the Turkish dominions; and he thought the characters resembled those of that Pass.
Accordingly, Joseph went to Franklin-county, and saw Mr. Bradish, who could not read the strange characters, but advised him to return home and go into other business. But Joseph was not willing to give up the matter, without further trial; and from Franklin county he went to New York city, where the most learned man then in the city told him that, with few exceptions, the characters were Arabic, but not enough to make any thing out. Returning home, he one day tried the spectacles, and found that, by looking through them, he could see everything—past, present, and future—and could also read and understand the characters written on the plates. Before proceeding to translate the characters, Joseph was directed to choose twelve Apostles, who must be men who believed in the supernatural. He would not err in cho[o]sing them, as he would know the proper persons as soon as he saw them. One was to be a Scribe. After much opposition, Joseph succeeded in finding the requisite number of believers, among them Martin Harris, who was chosen Scribe. After having made these necessary arrangements, Joseph was directed not to make the translation where there was so much opposition; hence, after procuring the necessary materials, he and Martin went to Harmony, in Pennsylvania, where they would be less persecuted, and where Joseph, with spectacles on, translated the characters on the gold plates, and Harris recorded the result.
After thus translating a number of plates, Harris wanted to return to Palmyra, taking a part of the writings with him; but the Lord objected, for fear that Harris would show them to unbelievers, who would make sport and derision of them. But Harris finally obtained leave to take them, on condition that he should let no one see them, except those who believed in them; in this he was indiscreet, and showed them to some one that he ought not to. When he next went to his drawer to get them, behold! they were not there; the Lord had taken them away.
Interpreters
Joseph and Harris returned to Harmony, and found the plates missing—the Lord had taken them also. Then Joseph put on the spectacles, and saw where the Lord had hid them, among the rocks, in the mountains. Though not allowed to get them, he could, by the help of the spectacles, read them where they were, as well as if they were before him. They were directed not to re-translate the part already gone over, for fear the new work would not correspond, in every particular, with the old; their enemies might take advantage of that circumstance, and condemn the whole. But they could begin where they left off, and translate until they were directed to stop; for, in consequence of their indiscretion, they would not be allowed to translate the whole, at present. At some future time, they would be allowed to translate the whole; and then their translation, the gold plates, the gold hilt, ball and pointers could all be circulated together, each a witness of the others.
In answer to our question as to the subject of the translation, he said it was the record of a certain number of Jews, who, at the time of crossing the Red Sea, left the main body and went away by themselves; finally became a rich and prosperous nation; and, in the course of time, became so wicked that the Lord determined to destroy them from off the face of the earth. But there was one virtuous man among them, whom the Lord warned in a dream to take his family and depart, which he accordingly did; and, after traveling three days, he remembered that he had left some papers, in the office where he had been an officer, which he thought would be of use to him in his journeyings. He sent his son back to the city to get them; and when his son arrived in the city, it was night, and he found the citizens had been having a great feast, and were all drunk. When he went to the office to get his father’s papers he was told that the chief clerk was not in, and he must find [him] before he could have the papers. He then went into the street in search of him; but every body being drunk, he could get but little information of his whereabouts, but, after searching a long time, he found him lying in the street, dead drunk, clothed in his official habiliments, his sword having a gold hilt and chain, lying by his side—and this is the same that was found with the gold plates. Finding that he could do nothing with him in that situation, he drew the sword, cut off the officer’s head, cast off this own outer garments, and, assuming those of the officer, returned to the office where the papers were readily obtained, with which he returned to where his father was waiting for him.
The family then moved on, for several days, when they were directed to stop and get materials to make brass plates upon which to keep a record of their journey; also to erect a tabernacle, wherein they could go and inquire whenever they became bewildered or at a loss what to do. After all things were ready, they started on their journey, in earnest; a gold ball went before them, having two pointers, one pointing steadily the way they should go, the other the way to where they could get provisions and other necessaries. After traveling many days, they came to a mountain, from which they were directed to get gold plates to keep their records upon, and to transfer to them those already on the brass plates. Finishing these, they resumed their journey; and, after traveling many days, came to a wide water, where they were directed to build a vessel.When this was completed, they set sail, still directed by the gold ball. After sailing a long time, they came to land, went on shore, and thence they traveled through boundless forests, until, at length, they came to a country where there were a great many lakes; which country had once been settled by a very large race of men, who were very rich, having a great deal of money. From some unknown cause, this nation had become extinct; “but that money,” said Smith, “is here, now, every dollar of it.”When they, the Jews, first beheld this country, they sent out spies to see what manner of country it was, who reported that the country appeared to have been settled by a very large race of men,and had been, to all appearances, a very rich agricultural and manufacturing nation. They also found something of which they did not know the use, but when they went into the tabernacle, a voice said, “What have you got in your hand, there?” They replied that they did not know, but had come to inquire; when the voice said, “Put it on your face, and put your face in a skin, and you will see what it is.”They did so, and could see everything of the past, present, and future; and it was the same spectacles that Joseph found with the gold plates.
The gold ball stopped here and ceased to direct them any further; the family took possession of the country; their descendants became a great nation; among them were prophets who foretold the coming of Christ, and said that, as a sign of his coming, there would be three days in which there would be no night, for the light of day would continue during three days. In process of time the sign appeared as foretold by the prophets; and when Christ left Jerusalem he came to this nation; and, finding them much more perfect and harmonious in their religious views than the Jews were at Jerusalem, he was more particular in giving them instructions as to baptism, and said they must go down into the water, and be put under the water, and come up out of the water. But, after this, they became corrupt and wicked; enmity and discord prevailed among them, to such an extent, that they could no longer dwell together; hence they divided up into tribes, were scattered over the face of the earth, and their descendants are the American Indians.
Art by Clark Kelley Price
At this point, the interview came to an end; and my friend and myself returned home, fully convinced that we had smelt a large mice.” Historical Magazine (second series) Volume 7 May 1870 Interview with the Father of Joseph Smith by Lafayette Lapham
By Ken Corbett. Nephi’s Temple on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN
After praying about this story, I personally “didn’t smelt a large mice”, but I felt the story was very interesting. I believe the Story of Laban was probably during a festival in Jerusalem (Maybe Passover), and likely Lehi or Nephi had the Urim and Thummim, as you see in the painting left. Also to hear about Lehi erecting a temple in the wilderness is very interesting. Lapham also said Joseph Smith Sr. said, “Under the first plate, or lid, he found a pair of spectacles, about one and a half inches longer than those used at the present day, the eyes not of glass, but of diamond.” Possibly a storage compartment for the glasses was inside the first leaf of the plates possibly secured like the image left with the box being a lighter wood encasing.
Buried in the Stone box, the Interpreters, Spectacles & Breastplate, Not Brown Seer Stone and a Hat.
Study and prayer are very invigorating and enjoyable to me!
Translation Method, “not intended to tell the world“
The matter of how the Book of Mormon was translated has been of considerable interest and discussion virtually from the time the book became public. This is illustrated in an exchange that took place between the Prophet and his brother Hyrum in a conference of the Church held 25 October On that occasion Hyrum said “that he thought best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the Elders present that all might know for themselves.” In response, Joseph Smith said that “it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things &c” (Cannon and Cook, Far West Record, 23).
This blog is dedicated to Len and Kathryn Matthews who are some wonderful people
Inquire for Yourself of Truth
“Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Said Brigham Young: “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. … Let every man and woman know, by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” (JD, vol. 9, p. 150.)” Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve. Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints. Ensign, July 1972, 59.
Why are they called Interpreters and where did they come from?
The Interpreters are holy and came from God. How do we know this? Where did the Interpreters come from and why is it so important that the Prophet Joseph Smith used them to translate the plates? Remember one of the greatest stories about faith is when the Brother of Jared (Mahonri Moriancumer) saw the finger of the Lord and could not be kept outside of the veil. Jesus Christ showed himself unto Mahonri and told him to write the doings of his people and also the Lord touched two additional stones for Mahonri to seal up until after Christ would appear in the flesh. These two stones were also given to Mosiah with the same promise of being kept secret. Then these two stones were given back to Moroni who finally sealed up these Interpreters with the plates for the last time before Joseph Smith received them.
With this spiritual background of the Interpreters it is essential to understand the significance of Joseph using these “two stones” to translate the plates. In Ether we read, “And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.”Ether 3:23-24.
It was “these two stones”, not A seer stone, not A stone, not A stone found in a well, but “these TWO stones” that were sealed up to come forth to Joseph the Prophet to translate the plates. Remember the translation was done “by the Gift and Power of God”, not by any other means. Not with one stone for convenience, or because I left the Interpreters home, or I just can’t carry two stones, so I will only use one; these things did not matter because the Prophet was to do the translation “by the Gift and Power of God” only! Joseph’s single stone he found in a well was not THAT spiritual method that the Lord planned from the beginning. Man’s way is not the Lord’s way. Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Lord translated the records of the Nephites and Jaredites with the spiritual means the Lord intended with the Interpreters (two stones and a breastplate) that were provided inside that most sacred stone box on Cumorah’s hill. Joseph said, “there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34–35) The Urim and Thummim is the tool those in the Old Testament called it, and many of the saints in Joseph’s day spoke of, but the separate Urim and Thummim in the book of Mormon was only called “Interpreters” in the entire Book of Mormon. Hence the Urim and Thummim Old Testament) and the Interpreters (Ancient North America) are separate instruments, called by two various names for translation. Now where in the Book of Mormon do we hear about a single stone, or a stone I found somewhere. To equate the two is not “by the Gift and Power of God.
What lead up to the discussion between whether the Urim and Thummim or the Seer Stone were used for translation?
SITH below refers to “Stone in the Hat Theory” – M2C refers to the “Two Hill Cumorah’s theory.“
“For over 150 years, LDS Church leaders taught that Joseph Smith translated the Nephite plates with the Urim and Thummim. From the early 1830s, critics said that Joseph produced the Book of Mormon by either (i) reading words off a seer stone he put in a hat or (ii) reading a manuscript written by Solomon Spalding and edited by Sidney Rigdon.
All three alternatives were set out in the 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed (Left). When that book was released in October 1834, Oliver Cowdery responded by declaring unambiguously that Joseph translated the record with the Urim and Thummim. You can see Oliver’s declaration in the Pearl of Great Price, at the end of Joseph Smith-History, or in the Joseph Smith papers here:
You might think that Oliver’s declaration, which Joseph Smith helped write and specifically endorsed multiple times, would end the debate.
But no.
A few decades ago, some LDS historians decided it was time to deal with “all the evidence.” They started what has been called the “New Mormon History” to bring out some of the evidence that differed from, and contradicted, the traditional Church history narratives.
Among these was SITH.
Historians largely rejected the Spalding theory, so they focused on SITH vs U&T.
(Sending the Spalding theory into oblivion is one reason why everyone has overlooked the key role it played, as I’ve discussed before.)
Rough Stone Rolling (left) was a key part of the New Mormon History’s focus on SITH, but lots of people contributed. The historians in the Church History department largely embraced the New Mormon History (as well as M2C), and the result is the presentation of SITH in the Ensign (which I discussed here), the lesson manuals, the videos, etc.
Several justifications have been proposed.
Some have claimed that when Joseph and Oliver said or wrote “Urim and Thummim” they really meant the peep stone Joseph found in a well. That obviously contradicts both what they said and the historical record. Others claim Joseph used both, but that also contradicts both what Joseph and Oliver always said. Some say the “SITH sayers” were all liars who hated Joseph Smith, but that also contradicts the historical record. Besides, people on the other side just say Joseph and Oliver were liars. Stalemate.
In a recent presentation, I summarized it this way, leading to my own conclusions. (click to enlarge)
Now we will hear from the only First Hand Witnesses
5 Names of the same Instrument used to Translate the Book of Mormon
1- Interpreters (Word found in the Book of Mormon, PGP) 2- Urim and Thummim (Word found in the D&C, PGP, and the Old Testament, 4 times in THE TESTIMONY OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH in the preface of the BofM) 3- Directors (Alma37:21,24 “Interpreters” was changed to “Directors” in 1920 version of the BofM) 3- The Key 4- Two stones in silver bows, fastened to a breastplate 5-Two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow(Words found similar in many places)
Words that aren’t defined as the named instruments above:
1- Peep Stone 2- Seer Stone 3- Seer Stones 4- Seer’s Stone 5- Stone in the hat 6- Stone
7+ First hand witnesses who saw this Instrument.
1- Christ 2- Brother of Jared 3- Moroni 4- King Benjamin, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman and each following generational leader 5- Joseph Smith 6- Oliver Cowdrey 7- Lucy Mack Smith (Saw, felt, and described the breastplate and spectacles through a thin linen. Painting below) 8- William Smith?
Buried in the Stone box, the Interpreters, Spectacles & Breastplate. Not a Brown Seer Stone in a Hat.
Christ’s Words
Now behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them. And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened. Nevertheless, it is now restored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun.” D&C 10:1-3
“Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea.” D&C 17:1 Now here is the witness by the Lord of Joseph’s translation. “And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, andas your Lord and your God liveth it is true.” (D&C 17:6)
Brother of Jared
Do you realize the 16 stones touched by Christ for the Brother of Jared were for the 8 barges, but the Lord also touched two separate stones to be sealed up for the Prophet Joseph Joseph Smith later for translation?
1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying: Ether 3:1
6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. [16 stones] And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was with fear. Ether 3:6parenthesis and color added.
13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites. Ether 3:13,17
20 Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him.
21 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt not suffer these things which ye have seen and heard to go forth unto the world, until the time cometh that I shall glorify my name in the flesh; wherefore, ye shall treasure up the things which ye have seen and heard, and show it to no man.
22 And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.
23 And behold, these two stones[different than the previous 16 stones] will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.
24 For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones [2stones] shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.Ether 3:20-23parenthesis added
Moroni
4 Behold, I [Moroni] have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord. Ether 4:4-5parenthesis added
“Two Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” JSH 1:35 New Art at the 29th Expo
Joseph Smith
“34 He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
35 Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34–35)
“With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God” (History of the Church, 4:537).
Joseph Smith Again
“He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. …
Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it. Joseph Smith—History in the Pearl of Great Price or History of the Church, 1:2–79.
Oliver Cowdery A View of the Contents of the Stone Box
“The manner in which the plates were deposited: First, a hole of sufficient depth, (how deep I know not) was dug. At the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth. At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were placed, erect, four others, their bottom edges resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four last named, when placed erect, formed a box, the corners, or where the edges of the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that the inner surface of the four erect, or side stones was smoothe. This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph… I must not forget to say that this box, containing the record was covered with another stone, the bottom surface being flat and the upper, crowning. But those three pillars were not so lengthy as to cause the plates and the crowning stone to come in contact. I have now given you, according to my promise, the manner in which this record was deposited; though when it was first visited by our brother, in 1823, a part of the crowning stone was visible above the surface while the edges were concealed by the soil and grass, from which circumstances you will see, that however deep this box might have been placed by Moroni at first, the time had been sufficient to wear the earth so that it was easily discovered when once directed, and yet not enough to make a perceivable difference to the passer-by.” Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” October 1835
Joseph Smith said, “The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them” (Joseph Smith—History 1:52). This is why I show the picture above with two stones crossways as I feel joseph Smith is the most accurate of the witnesses. Lucy Mack Smith says 3 stone pillars here: and See my blog here about 4, 3, or two stones
Oliver Cowdery Canonized Scripture
Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ JSH 1:75*
The most factual statement we have is the scripture above. You can’t find any scripture that explains using a seer stone anywhere.
Oliver Cowdery’s Return
“This testimony written while Oliver Cowdery was out of the Church is now in my keeping. It is a letter in his own handwriting. In October, 1848, he made his way from Tiffin, Ohio, his residence, to Kanesville, Iowa, to take up again his association with the Latter-day Saints. At a conference held there, October 21st, 1848, presided over by elder Orson Hyde, Oliver Cowdery asked for the privilege of speaking, and he said:
Friends and Brethren: My name is Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church, I stood identified with her, and one in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; not because I was better than the rest of mankind was I called, to fulfill the purposes of God. He called me to a high and holy calling. I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, “holy interpreters.” I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated.I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the “holy interpreters.” The book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet. It contains the everlasting gospel, and came forth to the children of men in fulfillment of the revelations of John, where he says he saw an angel come with the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. It contains principles of salvation; and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey its precepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God on high. Brother Hyde has just said that it is very important that we keep and walk in the true channel, in order to avoid the sand-bars. The Holy Priesthood is here. I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us, or restored, the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high. This Priesthood we then conferred on each other, by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood, as was then declared, is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy Priesthood or authority, we then conferred upon many, and it is just as good and valid as though God had done it in person. I laid my hands upon that man, yes, I laid my right hand upon his head (pointing to Elder Hyde) and he holds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me, by the prayer of faith, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
One month later in November, 1848, at another meeting Oliver Cowdery said:
Brethren, for a number of years I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I wish to come humbly and to be one in your midst. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with you. I am out of the Church. I am not a member of the Church, but I wish to become a member of it. I wish to come in at the door. I know the door. I have not come here to seek precedence. I come humbly and throw myself upon the decisions of this body, knowing, as I do, that its decisions are right, and should be obeyed.
His request was granted and he was baptized and again was received in full fellowship in the Church, and in this fellowship, he continued to witness to the day of his death.” Restoration of All Things by Joseph Fielding Smith CHAPTER TWELVE, A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944
Oliver Under Oath
The principal scribe, Oliver Cowdery, testified under oath in 1831 that Joseph Smith “found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows. That by looking through these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraved on the plates.” In the fall of 1830, Cowdery visited Union Village, Ohio, and spoke about the translation of the Book of Mormon. Soon thereafter, a village resident reported that the translation was accomplished by means of “two transparent stones in the form of spectacles thro which the translator looked on the engraving.” Gospel Topic Essays.
William Smith
With these quotes below, I am assuming William Smith saw the Urim and Thummim and maybe even the translation process. He gives an amazing description of the entire process. I am also intrigued by William being quoted as saying, “[Joseph] always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.”
William Smith’s description: “A silver bow ran over one stone, under the other, around [sic] over that one and under the first in the shape of a horizontal figure 8…[T]hey were much too large for Joseph and he could only see through one at a time using sometimes one and sometimes the other.” These stones, he continued, “were attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shoulde[r] edge of the breastplate and to the edge of the silver bow.” (Tyrell Givens, By the Hand of Mormon, p.22)
Another account from William Smith: “Among other things we inquired minutely about the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate. We asked him what was meant by the expression “two rims of a bow,” which held the former. He said a double silver bow was twisted into the shape of the figure eight, and the two stones were placed literally between the two rims of a bow. At one end was attached a rod which was connected with the outer edge of the right shoulder of the breast-plate. By pressing the head a little forward, the rod held the Urim and Thummim before the eyes much like a pair of spectacles. A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications, and usually so when translating as it permitted him to have both hands free to hold the plates.” (J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924), 6—7.)
The earliest mention of the translation
“The earliest mention of the translation that we have is from August 11, 1829, just six weeks after the translation was completed. The Palmyra Freeman published an article that said this: By placing the spectacles in a hat, and looking into it, Smith could (he said so, at least,) interpret the characters.
This article was promptly republished in several newspapers, including the Painesville Telegraph on September 22, 1829. Another article published in Rochester on September 5, 1829, directly attributes the account to Martin Harris. “A man by the name of Martin Harris was in this village a few days since endeavoring to make a contract for printing a large quantity of a work called the Golden Bible. He gave something like the following account of it…. By placing the spectacles in a hat and looking into it, Smith interprets the characters into the English language.”
These accounts predated the publication of the Book of Mormon and the organization of the Church. Martin Harris was hardly an apostate at the time and he certainly was not trying to denigrate Joseph Smith. That’s the last thing he would do because he was mortgaging his farm to pay for the publication.
This is only one of the reasons why I disagree with those who insist the stone in the hat is a fabrication or lie. The error, IMO, is that people (including Martin Harris, David Whitmer, and Emma) who witnessed the demonstration in the Whitmer home inferred they were witnessing the actual translation instead of a demonstration. The demonstration downstairs was rapid and consisted of the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi (assuming that what Joseph dictated became part of the manuscript); the translation, which took place upstairs, was laborious and consisted of 1 Nephi and the non-Isaiah material from the small plates. We can see all of this in the original manuscript, as I showed in detail in A Man that Can Translate.
David Whitmer said, “In order to give privacy to the proceeding a blanket, which served as a portière, was stretched across the family living room to shelter the translators and the plates from the eyes of any who might call at the house while the work was in progress. This, Mr. Whitmer says, was the only use made of the blanket, and it was not for the purpose of concealing the plates or the translator from the eyes of the amanuensis. In fact, Smith was at no time hidden from his collaborators, and the translation was performed in the presence of not only the persons mentioned, but of the entire Whitmer household and several of Smith’s relatives besides.” David Whitmer, as interviewed by the Chicago Tribune (1885). “The Book of Mormon,” Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1885
In regards to the above quote, my good friend and associate Jonathan Neville believes it is possible that Joseph Smith showed many of the Whitmer’s a demonstration of the stone in the hat. It is a very interesting idea, but I don’t think it is correct. In my opinion I have a question about Joseph showing a demonstration to appease others curiosity and I don’t think that was necessary. I don’t think Joseph was obligated to show anyone a sneak preview so to speak. As you read my idea about the breastplate under Joseph’s shirt and the spectacles hidden with the hat as a prop only, I think it is a better possibility. As usual, you all can decide for yourself, and you can also contribute what you feel happened. None of us know for sure. Full Article Here:
Lucy Mack Smith The Key Joseph Kept Constantly About His Person
Joseph Kept the “Key” ‘Constantly about his person’. Little room and no need for seer stones. Joseph used the “Key” to translate the Book of Mormon, not the seer stones. I believe Lucy Mack and not Martin, David or Emma.
Lucy Mack Smith said, “I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings. Joseph saw this and followed me. “Mother,” said he. “Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here,” said he, “I have got the key.”
I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. He took them again and left me, but did not tell me anything of the record….
That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced, p. 139, 145)
Lucy Mack Smith About the Breastplate
“After bringing home the plates, Joseph now commenced work with his father on the farm in order to be as near as possible the treasure that was committed to his care.
“Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim constantly about his person” by Anne Marie Oborn
Soon after this, he came in from work one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his greatcoat and left the house. I was engaged at the time in an upper room in preparing some oilcloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history.
Editors Note: See Painting above titled, “Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim constantly about his person”by Anne Marie Oborn. Completed Sep. 2023 which is the 200 year anniversary of Sept 22, 1823 when Joseph first was shown the plates. The setting for this painting in Sept 22, 1827 when Joseph received the actual plates, Interpreters and Breastplate.
Lucy continues, “It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty.
It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening.
The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.”(History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced)
“I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.”Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26)Other source
Mosiah and Alma and Handed Down
11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi;
12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people who had been destroyed.
13 And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.
14 Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages;
15 And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people;
16 And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.
17 Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold, it gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam.
18 Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice.
19 And this account shall be written hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account.
20 And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.Mosiah 28:11-20
Mosiah Interprets the Jaredite Stone by Minerva Teichert.
“The Prophet Joseph Smith used the same Urim and Thummim that was “given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face” (D&C 17:1). President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote a brief history regarding the Urim and Thummim: “King Mosiah possessed ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ called by the Nephites Interpreters, with which he translated the Jaredite record [Mosiah 28:11–14], and these were handed down from generation to generation for the purposes of interpreting languages. How Mosiah came into possession of these two stones or Urim and Thummim the record does not tell us, more than to say that it was a ‘gift from God’ [Mosiah 21:28]. Mosiah had this gift or Urim and Thummim before the people of Limhi discovered the record of Ether. They may have been received when the ‘large stone’ was brought to Mosiah with engravings upon it, which he interpreted by the ‘gift and power of God’ [Omni 1:20–21]. They may have been given to him, or to some other prophet before his day, just as the Brother of Jared received them—from the Lord. “That the Urim and Thummim, or two stones, given to the Brother of Jared were those in the possession of Mosiah appears evident from Book of Mormon teachings. The Brother of Jared was commanded to seal up his writings of the vision he had when Christ appeared to him, so that they could not be read by his people. … The Urim and Thummim were also sealed up so that they could not be used for the purpose of interpreting those sacred writings of this vision, until such time as the Lord should grant to man to interpret them. When they were to be revealed, they were to be interpreted by the aid of the same Urim and Thummim [Ether 3:21–28]. …“Joseph Smith received with the breastplate and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the Brother of Jared [D&C 17:1]” (Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation, 3:223–25).The Prophet inquired of the Lord, and D&C Section 17 was given in answer through the Urim and Thummim.
Alma the Younger tells Helaman to Preserve Interpreters & Director
21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters. Alma 37:21
38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness. Alma 37:38-39
47 And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell. Alma 37:47
Lucy Mack says Joseph gets U&T back
[Note: The essay doesn’t explain what “lost the ability to translate” means, but Lucy Mack Smith explained that Joseph had to give up the Urim and Thummim after losing the 116 pages.
Later, Joseph told her that “on the 22d of September [1828], I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the Urim and Thummim; and have commenced translating again, and Emma writes for me; but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and I trust his promise will be verified. He also seemed pleased with me, when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim; and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility.
“Soon after I received them I inquired of the Lord, and obtained the following revelation”:
Lucy Mack Smith
“Now, behold I say unto you, that, because <you> delivered up those writings, which you had power given you to translate, by the means of the Urim and Thummim into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them; and you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened;”[11] [11] D&C 10:1-2; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, online at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/143
Lucy Mack Smith reported this:
“After the angel left me’, said he [Joseph], “I continued my supplications to God without cessation; and, on the 22d of September [1828], I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the Urim and Thummim; and have commenced translating again, and Emma writes for me; but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and <I> trust his promise will be verified. The angel He also seemed pleased with me, when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim; and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility…
4. This is consistent with Emma acting as scribe after the 116 pages were lost, but inconsistent with her claim that he did not use the Urim and Thummim.
Key point: If Emma started writing the translation in the fall of 1828, the common assumption that Joseph translated the plates in 90 days is wrong. Oliver arrived in Harmony in April 1829, seven months after Joseph received back the Urim and Thummim and began translating. http://www.moronisamerica.com/changing-church-history-and-emma-smith-2/
“on the 22 of September I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the record Urim and Thummin; and have commenced translating again, and Emma writes for me; but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and <I> trust his promise will be verified. The angel He also seemed pleased with me, when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim; and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility.” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/145 (emphasis added) Jonathan Neville Page 52-53 “A Man that can Translate”
2nd Hand Witness of Interpreters by Joseph Fielding Smith
“While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).
From here we discuss the testimonies of the three witnesses who saw the gold plates.
“Restoration of All Things” by Joseph Fielding Smith
CHAPTER TWELVE A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944
In the Mouth of Three Witnesses
When Moroni was about to seal up the record of his people that it might be preserved to be brought forth in the last days, he added these words of counsel for those who were to be privileged to bring it forth:
And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work;
And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true.
And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day.
And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God.
And now, if I have no authority for these things, judge ye; for ye shall know that I have authority when ye shall see me, and we shall stand before God at the last day. Amen.
Strength of the Testimony
What a bold, dangerous thing it would have been for Joseph Smith to have made such a statement as this to the world, if the Book of Mormon were a fraud. He would have taken a risk where the chances for success would have been all against him. The calling of three witnesses to testify with him to the fraud, and to declare that they would have the privilege of testifying by the “power of God,” which in this case meant in the presence of an angel sent from the Almighty, was so bold, so unlikely to succeed if not true, that even a fool would have hesitated to present such a thing. Joseph Smith was no fool, even his bitter enemies gave him credit for being not that.
Among the difficulties confronting him would be, first, that there would be so many errors open to detection in the scheme, that it could not have succeeded; second, he would never have dared to permit any one of these witnesses to become estranged from him and he would have been subject to their dictation; third, to hold them he never could have permitted any one of the three to be estranged from the others, and fourth, the conspirators never could have hung together in the face of the persecutions and hatred which followed them, for under the stress of such opposition as they received, the story would unquestionably have fallen apart and been exposed.
The Witnesses True to Testimony
We have considered the nature of the testimony these three men, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris gave to the world. How positively, frankly and without any coercion, they declared that in the presence of the angel they beheld the plates, examined the writing upon them, and heard the voice of God speaking to them from the heavens commanding them to bear record of what they had seen and heard. The question now is, were these three men true to that testimony under all circumstances and all the days of their lives? The answer to this question is one of the greatest weight, carrying a responsibility which cannot be easily ignored, and which leaves every soul unto whom their testimony comes, subject to the warning of Nephi: “Wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!” For if the testimony of these three is true, no man can reject it without rejecting the word of God.
The Witnesses Estranged
For a number of years, after the publication of the Book of Mormon, and the organization of the Church, these three men were faithful, earnest members of the Church, sustaining and fellowshipping with Joseph Smith. There came a time, however, because of persecution and misunderstanding when all three of these men were estranged from Joseph Smith. Two of them, Oliver Cowdery, who had been a witness with Joseph Smith on many occasions of the opening of the heavens, and David Whitmer, were severed from the Church. The third man, Martin Harris, just drifted away for a season from the body of the Church. Joseph Smith not only permitted these men to take this course, but sustained the councils of the Church when action was taken. For eleven years Oliver Cowdery was estranged from Joseph Smith and the Church and during that time he went into the practice of law, but always during those years he bore the same testimony in relation to his association with Joseph Smith and his heavenly manifestations. After the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery felt his way back to the Church. In March, 1846, while he was out of the Church, he wrote to his brother-in-law, Phineas Young, as follows:
I have cherished a hope, and that one of my fondest, that I might leave such a character as those who might believe in my testimony, after I should be called hence, might do so, not only for the sake of the truth, but might not blush for the private character of the man who bore that testimony. I have been sensitive on this subject, I admit, but I ought to be so, you would be, under the circumstances, had you stood in the presence of John with our departed brother, Joseph, to receive the Lesser Priesthood, and in the presence of Peter, to receive the greater, and looked down through time, and witnessed the effects these two must produce—you would feel what you have never felt, were wicked men conspiring to lessen the effects of your testimony to man, after you have gone to your long-sought rest.
This testimony written while Oliver Cowdery was out of the Church is now in my keeping. It is a letter in his own handwriting. In October, 1848, he made his way from Tiffin, Ohio, his residence, to Kanesville, Iowa, to take up again his association with the Latter-day Saints. At a conference held there, October 21st, 1848, presided over by elder Orson Hyde, Oliver Cowdery asked for the privilege of speaking, and he said:
Oliver Cowdery’s Return
“Friends and Brethren: My name is Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church, I stood identified with her, and one in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; not because I was better than the rest of mankind was I called, to fulfill the purposes of God. He called me to a high and holy calling. I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, “holy interpreters.” I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the “holy interpreters.” The book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet. It contains the everlasting gospel, and came forth to the children of men in fulfillment of the revelations of John, where he says he saw an angel come with the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. It contains principles of salvation; and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey its precepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God on high. Brother Hyde has just said that it is very important that we keep and walk in the true channel, in order to avoid the sand-bars. The Holy Priesthood is here. I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us, or restored, the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high. This Priesthood we then conferred on each other, by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood, as was then declared, is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy Priesthood or authority, we then conferred upon many, and it is just as good and valid as though God had done it in person. I laid my hands upon that man, yes, I laid my right hand upon his head (pointing to Elder Hyde) and he holds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me, by the prayer of faith, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
One month later in November, 1848, at another meeting Oliver Cowdery said:
Brethren, for a number of years I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I wish to come humbly and to be one in your midst. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with you. I am out of the Church. I am not a member of the Church, but I wish to become a member of it. I wish to come in at the door. I know the door. I have not come here to seek precedence. I come humbly and throw myself upon the decisions of this body, knowing, as I do, that its decisions are right, and should be obeyed.
His request was granted and he was baptized and again was received in full fellowship in the Church, and in this fellowship, he continued to witness to the day of his death.
It must be a strange being with a soul not susceptible to penetration by simple facts, who cannot see in the story of Oliver Cowdery the sincerity of his testimony. When we stop to think that while absent from his former associates and not fellowshipping with them, he still maintained and defended his testimony, and then in the darkest hour of the history of the Church, when all the world felt that the Mormon people had gone from Nauvoo to their destruction, for they could not exist under the circumstances in their drivings and poverty, it was at that very hour that Oliver Cowdery sought out these exiled refugees and asked if he could join them again. He was aware of the fact that in doing so he would have to share their distress and poverty. He knew that they had been driven from their homes for the sake of their religion. Such scenes were not new to him; in the early days he had passed through such scenes and he was now willing to endure such scenes again. That was not the action of a man guilty of perpetrating a fraud.
David Whitmer Maintains His Testimony
David Whitmer likewise retained the integrity of his story after he was excommunicated from the Church. Some years after the death of Joseph Smith, he gathered about him a group of followers and taught them, as he understood it, the gospel. He prepared an address which he dedicated to all believers in Christ. In this publication he maintained his story in the most emphatic manner. Thousands of persons out of curiosity and for information, interviewed him, and all received the same story—that the angel appeared to him and the others and revealed the plates of the ancient record. There are hundreds of people still living who heard his testimony and were convinced that he told them the truth. March 19, 1881, in the spirit of indignation, because his veracity had been questioned, David Whitmer published the following statement in the Richmond “Conservator,” the paper of his home town:
Unto all nations, kindred, tongues and people unto whom these presents shall come:
It having been represented by one John Murphy of Polo (Caldwell County), Missouri, that I had in a conversation with him last summer, denied my testimony as one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon….
To the end, therefore, that he may understand me now if he did not then, and that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public statement:
That I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that book, as one of the three witnesses.
Those who know me best, will know that I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do now again affirm the truth of all my statements as then made and published.
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear; it was no delusion. What is written is written and he that readeth let him understand. And if any man doubt, should he not carefully and honestly read and understand the same before presuming to sit in judgment, and condemning the light which shineth in darkness, and showeth the way of eternal life, as pointed out by the hand of God?
In the Spirit of Christ who hath said follow thou me, for I am the life, the light and the way, I submit this statement to the world, God in whom I trust being my Judge, as to the sincerity of my motives and the faith and hope that is in me of eternal life.
My sincere desire is that the world may be benefited by the plain and simple statement of the truth.
None of these 3 ever saw the Interpreters or the Two Stones attached in the two rims of a bow. And non of them saw Joseph’s Translation methods. Only Martin Harris had a curtain between him and Joseph as he was the scribe for Joseph for the lost 116 pages. These 3 were at best, 2nd or 3rd hand witness of something heard about the translation. The only 3 eyewitnesses of all three items was Joseph, Oliver and Lucy Mack Smith who touched and felt all articles under a linen cloth in 1827 according to her journal.
And all the honor be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
David Whitmer
Richmond, Missouri, March 19, A.D. 1881.
The original document which I have just read is now in my possession. I obtained it from the family of David Whitmer. This document bears the endorsements of leading citizens of Richmond, Ray County, Missouri, as follows:
We, the undersigned, citizens of Richmond, Ray County, Missouri, where David Whitmer, Sr., has resided since the year, A.D. 1838, certify that we have been long and intimately acquainted with him, and know him to be a man of the highest integrity, and of undoubted truth and veracity—Given at Richmond, Missouri, this March 19, A.D. 1881.
A. W. Doniphan George W. Dunn, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit T. D. Woodson, President, Ray County Savings Bank Jacob O. Child, Editor of “Conservator” H. C. Garner, Cashier Ray County Savings Bank W. A. Holman, County Treasurer J. S. Hughes, Banker, Richmond, Missouri James Hughes, Banker, Richmond, Missouri D. P. Whitmer, Attorney at Law James W. Black, Attorney at Law L. C. Cantwell, Postmaster, Richmond, Missouri George I. Wassen, Mayor James A. Davis, Probate Judge and Presiding Judge, Ray County Court George E. Trigg, County Clerk W. W. Mosby, M.D. Thomas McGinnis, Late Sheriff, Ray CountyW. R. Holman, Furniture Merchant J. P. Queensbury, Merchant Lewis Slaughter, Recorder of Deeds George W. Buchannan, M.D. A. K. Reyburn
The following comment was also published in the Richmond “Conservator”:
Elsewhere we publish a letter from David Whitmer, Sen., an old and well known citizen of Ray, as well as an endorsement of his standing as a man, signed by a number of the leading citizens of this community, in reply to some unwarranted aspersions made upon him.
There is no doubt that Mr. Whitmer, who was one of the Three Witnesses of the authenticity of the gold plates, from which he asserts that Joe Smith translated the Book of Mormon (a facsimile of the characters he now has in his possession with the original records) is firmly convinced of its divine origin, and while he makes no effort to obtrude his views or belief, he simply wants the world to know that so far as he is concerned there is no “variableness or shadow of turning.” Having resided here for a half of a century, it is with no little pride that he points to his past record, with the consciousness that he has done nothing derogatory to his character as a citizen and a believer in the Son of Mary to warrant such an attack on him, come from what source it may, and now, with the lilies of seventy-five winters crowning him like an aureole, and his pilgrimage on earth well nigh ended, he reiterates his former statement and will leave futurity to solve the problem that he was but a passing witness of its fulfillment.
Martin Harris
Martin Harris, the third witness, died a faithful member of the Church, at Clarkston, Cache County, July 10, 1875, nearly ninety-three years of age, firm in his testimony, which was borne for the last time on earth but a few hours before he passed away.
Martin may have used a curtain but I don;t believe any other scribe did. I believe Joseph had the breastplate under his shirt and the glasses were hidden by a farmers hat, as you see below.
These men were not deceivers; they were not deceived, and their united testimony will stand as a condemnation against an unbelieving world, at the last day.” Restoration of all things CHAPTER TWELVE A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944 by Joseph Fielding Smith
The Witnesses movie is generating a lot of discussion on social media because of SITH (the stone-in-the-hat). The movie adopts the approach taken by Mormonism Unvailed, the 1834 anti-Mormon book that claimed Joseph never even used the plates but produced the Book of Mormon by reading a “peep stone” he put in a hat. John Dehlin (picture right) of Mormon Stories is delighted. SITH is one of his key points, as he explains on TikTok (31.7k views in one day, 800 views on twitter) https://www.tiktok.com/@drjohndehlin/video/6973701578431778053?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Stone in a Hat Theory. (SITH) We don’t believe this SITH method ever happened for translation of the Book of Mormon.
There’s no pushback against SITH from any Church leaders or prominent scholars. Instead, Kawku promotes SITH as a feature, not a bug. Our scholars fall all over themselves trying to justify SITH (much as they did with the Hoffman documents decades ago). Like other intellectual trends, we can see the origins of SITH among LDS academics even before Rough Stone Rolling came out, but that book pushed it into the mainstream. I think Rough Stone Rolling is an exceptional, timely, and useful book, but it portrayed some interpretations as fact and overlooked other facts, as I indicated in Part 1 of my summary, here: http://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/rough-stone-rolling-analysis-part-1.html.
The words “cumorah” and “Lamanites” are not present in the book Saints! We find that shocking.
Saints and the Gospel Topics Essay on Book of Mormon Translation formalized SITH, mainly by ignoring historical sources that corroborate what Joseph and Oliver taught and instead relying on sources that, on a surface level, contradicted what Joseph and Oliver taught. The Essay never even quotes what Joseph and Oliver said about the translation with the Urim and Thummim. Instead, it focuses on the theories of various academics.
The Urim and Thummim is essentially de-correlated. No one is claiming any revelation about what happened in Church history to overturn what Joseph and Oliver taught. The new narrative is based purely on revisionist historical interpretation of the same facts everyone has known for over 150 years. People today, looking at some historical evidence while ignoring other evidence, thereby conclude Joseph’s contemporaries and successors were wrong. This is the same process by which Cumorah was de-correlated. Consequently, SITH has become the prevailing narrative in our day. And that’s great for those who believe it. If you think it’s awesome that the Book of Mormon is the product of words appearing on a stone in a hat, and not a translation of the ancient Nephite plates (as Joseph and Oliver claimed), good for you. I’m not going to say you’re wrong. People can and will believe whatever they want.
But it seems likely (and statistics indicate) that most people will not accept that narrative, whether they are inside or outside the Church. In 1834, Mormonism Unvailed promoted SITH because the author knew it undermined the credibility of Joseph and Oliver. Detractors today promote SITH for the same reason. _____There are alternative interpretations of the evidence.
For example, the Stoddards and others reject SITH by saying David Whitmer, Emma, Martin Harris etc. were liars. (Rian Nelson believes these three did possibly lie, or had a convenient fact left out). However, that plays into the critical narrative that the witnesses were dishonest. This is the mirror image of the SITH/M2C approach; i.e., we can believe some of what the witnesses said, but we have to reject other things they said, based on what we want to be true. Similarly, our M2C scholars (M2C=Mesoamerican/Two-Cumorahs theory) reject what the witnesses said about Cumorah because they want Cumorah to be in Mexico to fit their theories. But they still expect people to believe SITH based on what the witnesses said. It’s transparent cherry picking.
Now you see why I’ve been saying that: Interpreter=CESLetter=FAIRLDS=MormonStories=BookofMormonCentral=BYUStudies.
They’ve all reached a consensus that the prophets are wrong any time they disagree with the prophets.
If they disagree, they disagree only with regard to which things the prophets were wrong about–a distinction without a difference._____
I realize there are numerous interpretations of the evidence, ranging from Joseph seeing the words on a stone (or in vision) to Joseph composing, memorizing or reading the text. Some even say that when Joseph and Oliver testified about the Urim and Thummim, they deliberately misled people because they knew they were really referring to the stone Joseph found in a well; i.e., they used misleading terminology.
People can believe whatever they want, and that’s fine with me. But I’ve looked at all these explanations and none of them make sense to me. That’s why I looked at the evidence for myself. So far, the only explanation I’m aware of that reconciles Joseph and Oliver as credible, and David and Emma as credible, is the demonstration narrative I set out in A Man that Can Translate. (Rian Nelson does not believe in thedemonstration level of Jonathan Neville).
I’m completely open to any better explanations. (Here is the editors explanation. Joseph kept the Breastplate “upon his person constantly” Lucy Mack Smith. If you know of one, email me at lostzarahemla@gmail. (Jonathan and I have spoke about our difference). There are still some Latter-day Saints who believe what the prophets have taught about both the translation and the historicity of the Book of Mormon, including the New York Cumorah. This is not “blind faith” or “blind obedience.” This is recognizing that the people involved with the events are more credible than arm-chair commentators distant in time and space. It is also recognizing science- and fact-based, rational analysis supports and corroborates the teachings of the prophets.” Source: About Central America(Visited 20 times, 14 visits today) http://www.moronisamerica.com/witnesses-sith-and-the-tipping-point/
How the Book Saints frames the Translation
I first believe Personal Revelation. Then I trust Canonized Scripture, Then I trust the words of the Prophets. “Saints” is a feel good book, I enjoy it but don’t believe everything in it. Historians make mistakes.
With Emma’s father around, translating would not be easy, but Joseph tried his best. Assisted by Emma, he copied many of the strange characters from the plates to paper.10 Then, for several weeks, he tried to translate them with the Urim and Thummim. The process required him to do more than look into the interpreters. He had to be humble and exercise faith as he studied the characters.11
A few months later, Martin came to Harmony. He said he felt called by the Lord to travel as far as New York City to consult experts in ancient languages. He hoped they could translate the characters.12
Joseph copied several more characters from the plates, wrote down his translation, and handed the paper to Martin. He and Emma then watched as their friend headed east to consult with distinguished scholars.13
The historians claim that Joseph sent the copied characters to Anthon to get them translated because he was unable to translate them. He merely “tried” to do it. Of course, that directly contradicts JS-History 1:62.
62 By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following.
(Joseph Smith—History 1:62)
Read the first paragraph. Clearly states that Joseph “spent considerable time and effort becoming familiar with the language of the plates and learning how to translate.”
“I then continued <said> Joseph my suplications to God without cessation that his mercy might again be exercised towards me and on the 22 of september I had the Joy and satisfaction of again receiving the record Urim and Thummin into my possession and I have commenced translating and Emma writes for me now but the angel said that if I got the plates again that the Lord woul[d] send some one to write for me and I trust that if it will be so. he also said that the <he> angel seemed <was> rejoiced when he gave him <me> back the plates <urim and Thummim> and said that he <God> was pleased with his <my> faithfulness and humility also that the Lord was pleased with him and loved him <me> for his <my> penitence and dilligence in prayer in the which he <I> had performed his duty so well as to receive the record <urim and Thummin> and be <was> able to enter upon the work of translation again.” (emphasis added) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/91
Lucy’s History 1845 revised the passage but kept the essence of her original history on this point.
Seer Stone v. Urim and Thummim places the Book of Mormon translation on trial, presenting the latest research in one of the most comprehensive treatments of the translation process to date providing encouragement for Latter-day Saints who fear they have been “betrayed” by the translation history taught by the Church for over 190 years.
Did Joseph Smith study and master the Nephite language? Did the Prophet tutor some of the early Brethren in ancient Nephite characters?
Did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon using a dark seer stone in a hat?
Why are progressive historians creating a new history using sources from a man who vowed to wash his hands in the blood of Joseph Smith, while boasting that he had deceived the Prophet and his God?
Has The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covered up its history for nearly 200 years? Length: 240 pages
“Traditionalists believe that progressives are destined to inherit ignorance because they reject revelation. Progressives believe that traditionalists are mired in ignorance because they do not fully accept and embrace the philosophies and teachings of the learned. Regardless of which position one takes, nearly all agree—an unbridgeable gulf separates the two.” FAITH CRISIS: Did the LDS Church Lie? (Part 1) We Were NOT Betrayed! By James and Hannah Stoddard
“In this respect the testimony of Lorenzo Brown about the preparation the Prophet made for his translation of the Bible may be instructive. He records the Prophet as saying: “After I got through translating the Book of Mormon, I took up the Bible to read with the Urim and Thummim. I read the first chapter of Genesis and I saw the things as they were done. I turned over the next and the next, and the whole passed before me like a grand panorama; and so on chapter after chapter until I read the whole of it. I saw it all!“ (as cited in Matthews, Plainer Translation, 25).” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
As the nay-sayers explain Joseph used the seer stone because the U&T was taken away, how would they explain Joseph using the U&T to translate the Bible and the other sections of the D&C?
“Not only did Joseph Smith use the Urim and Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon, but he also used it to receive revelation from God. Specifically, Doctrine and Covenants sections 3, 6, 11, and 14, 15,16, were all given through the Urim and Thummim. (See headings to these sections) We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that “the place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.” In addition, “this earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon.” And each person who receives the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17 will be able to use the Urim and Thummim (D&C 130:8–10).” by Jay A. Parry and Larry E. Morris, adapted from “The Mormon Book of Lists” | Jan. 18, 2019 LDS Living
The earliest known description of the process of translating the Book of Mormon is found in an article titled “History of the Mormonites,” published 9 June 1831, in Kirtland, Ohio. The writer, Josiah Jones, claims as his source the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to that territory Elders Cowdery, Pratt, Whitmer, and Peterson, from whom he learned that the book was translated by “looking into a stone or two stones, when put into a dark place, which stones he said were found in the box with the plates. They affirmed while [Joseph] looked through the stone spectacles another sat by and wrote what he told them, and thus the book was written. . . .
“A few days after these men appeared again, a few of us went to see them and Cowdery was requested to state how the plates were found, which he did. He stated that Smith looked onto or through the transparent stones to translate what was on the plates. I then asked him if he had ever looked through the stones to see what he could see in them; his reply was that he was not permitted to look into them. I asked him who debarred him from looking into them; he remained sometime in silence, then said that he had so much confidence in his friend Smith, who told him that he must not look into them, that he did not presume to do so lest he should tempt God and be struck dead” (Allen, “Historian’s Corner,” 308). As told in: The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
In describing the quote from Josiah Jones, Joseph looked through one or two stones, he didn’t mention a hat, the stones were found in the box with the plates, and he looked through stone spectacles, it is clear that while Mr. Jones had never seen the U&T he described the process as a U&T not as a single seer stone. See the incredible article below.
The Best Historical and Research Article about the Urim and Thummim vs. the Seer Stone
The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
Joseph Smith said, “I have, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, seen those martyrs. They were honest, devoted followers of Christ, according to the light they possessed. They will be saved.” Hyrum L. Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, pg. 83
“The Nephite prophet Abinadi holds a singular place in the Book of Mormon. He is the first Nephite of whom we have record to die as a martyr.”Robert J. Matthews
Additional Urim and Thummim Usage
1- How many revelations were given in the Doctrine and Covenants using a seer stone? Zero. How many revelations were given vusing the Urim and Thummim? At least 8 sections (Sections 3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17).
Dates of Revelations by Joseph Smith while using the Urim and Thummim
Section 3– Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828, relating to the loss of 116 pages “In July 1828, the heavenly messenger returned the Urim and Thummim (which had been taken in consequence of Joseph “having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings”). Joseph then received the revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 3 through the Urim and Thummim.” Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed. Alexander L. Baugh (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 15–49.
Section 6– Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829, Oliver Cowdery began his labors as scribe
Section 7- Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829, The revelation is a translated version of the record made on parchment by John.
Section 11– Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to his brother Hyrum Smith, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, May 1829.
Section 14– Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to David Whitmer, at Fayette, New York, June 1829.
Section 15- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to John Whitmer, at Fayette, New York, June 1829
Section 16- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Peter Whitmer Jr., at Fayette, New York, June 1829
Section 17- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, at Fayette, New York, June 1829.
2- “While translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery found they held different views on the meaning of a passage in the Bible. They “mutually agreed to settle” the question “by the Urim and [Thummim].” As a result, Joseph received a revelation giving the translation of an account by the ancient disciple John, [D&C 7] written on parchment but lost to history. This early experience seeking revelation that illuminated the text of a Bible passage was an important precedent. About a year later, during the summer of 1830, Joseph and Oliver received by revelation an account of visions experienced by Moses but not found in the Bible. This revelation marked the beginning of Joseph Smith’s efforts to prepare an inspired revision or translation of the Bible. For the next three years, Joseph worked on his “new translation of the Bible” with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and other scribes, considering the project a “branch of [his] calling” as a prophet of God.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/joseph-smith-translation-of-the-bible?lang=eng
3- Joseph Smith Translation (JST). “A revision or translation of the King James Version of the Bible begun by the Prophet Joseph Smith in June 1830. He was divinely commissioned to make the translation and regarded it as “a branch of his calling” as a prophet. Although the major portion of the work was completed by July 1833, he continued to make modifications while preparing a manuscript for the press until his death in 1844, and it is possible that some additional modifications would have been made had he lived to publish the entire work. Some parts of the translation were published during his lifetime.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/joseph-smith-translation?lang=eng
4- “Dec. 27, 1841: I met with the Twelve at Brother Joseph’s. He conversed with us in a familiar manner on a variety of subjects, and explained to us the Urim and Thummim which he found with the plates, called in the Book of Mormon the Interpreters. He said that every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, [Not a Urim and Thummim, editor’s note] and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness, and most of those who do find one make an evil use of it; he showed us his seer stone.”(Brigham Young, Mill. Star 26:118)
5- The Prophet Joseph Smith was not the only individual in this dispensation to use the Urim and Thummim and to receive revelations from God. Heber C. Kimball testified that Brigham Young also used these sacred instruments. “The question is asked many times, “Has brother Brigham got the Urim and Thummim?” Yes, he has got everything; everything that is necessary for him to receive the will and mind of God to this people. Do I know it? Yes, I know all about it; and what more do you want? That is true, gentlemen; I am one of his witnesses in the last days, and to bear testimony of the truth of “Mormonism.”” (Heber C. Kimball, J.D. 2:111 Quote from August 13, 1853)
5- Urim and Thummim used to Translate the Bible. “In this respect the testimony of Lorenzo Brown about the preparation the Prophet made for his translation of the Bible may be instructive. He records the Prophet as saying: “After I got through translating the Book of Mormon, I took up the Bible to read with the Urim and Thummim. I read the first chapter of Genesis and I saw the things as they were done. I turned over the next and the next, and the whole passed before me like a grand panorama; and so on chapter after chapter until I read the whole of it. I saw it all!” (as cited in Matthews, Plainer Translation, 25).” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
6- Translation of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. “While looking over our copy of a large English Book of Martyrs, he (Josoeph Smith) expressed sympathy for the Christian martyrs and a hope for their salvation. He asked to borrow the book, promising to return it when he should meet us again in Missouri.
On returning it he said, ‘I have, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, seen those martyrs. They were honest, devoted followers of Christ, according to the light they possessed. They will be saved.’” Hyrum L. Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, pg. 83
Abinadi: The Prophet and Martyr
Robert J. Matthews
“The Nephite prophet Abinadi holds a singular place in the Book of Mormon. He is the first Nephite of whom we have record to die as a martyr. His doctrinal teachings are some of the most valuable in the Book of Mormon, clarifying the purpose of the law of Moses, identifying who the Redeemer would be, and declaring some facts about the Resurrection not previously mentioned in the Book of Mormon. He was capable of exquisitely colorful language sparked with fiery metaphor, yet at times was plain-spoken to the point of bluntness.
Abinadi confronted the wicked establishment—in the person of king Noah and his priests—single-handedly. The record gives no hint of any other prophet being present with whom he could share the burden of his ministry. So far as we know, he converted but one man; yet that one man, Alma, became the progenitor of a posterity that kept the sacred records and served the Nephites as their ecclesiastical leaders (and sometimes their political leaders) for the remainder of their history, a period of well over 400 years. (This is seen in the lineage of Alma1, Alma2, Helaman2, Shiblon, Helaman3, Nephi2, Nephi3, Amos1, Amos2 and Ammoron. We do not know if Mormon was also a descendant of Alma, since the abridged record that we have does not give Mormon’s lineage, other than to say he was a descendant of Lehi [3 Nephi 5:20] and of Nephi [Mormon 1:5].) Abinadi’s history and teachings were preserved in the writings of his one convert, Alma, and Alma’s posterity kept the records down to the time of the prophet Mormon, thus making the remainder of the Book of Mormon possible. Abinadi’s ministry influenced the entire second half of Nephite history. Because Abinadi’s story is in the Book of Mormon, it has already influenced millions of readers in this dispensation and will yet influence billions more…
In this paper I will deal with two general subjects. First, I will discuss the historical and circumstantial record of the man Abinadi—his life, ministry, and death. Second, I will discuss his doctrinal teachings. As we review these things, I invite you to think of the prophet Mormon, at the end of his nation’s struggles in the fourth century AD, searching what must have been by that time a wagonload of the large plates of Nephi and selecting those things of greatest worth to include in his abridged and summarized record. Mormon was not a freelance writer, but was called of God to prepare a record of his people. He was divinely appointed to be the editor and compiler of a sacred record that would deliver a specific message. We can be grateful that he was inspired to include the story and the teachings of the prophet Abinadi. The Book of Mormon would lack continuity, and a major part of its message would be missing, without the Abinadi portion.
Abinadai
Several times in Mosiah 11 the point is made that the bad example of the leaders led the people into wrong-doing (vv 2, 6–7, 15, 19). Pointing out this cause-and-effect relationship is a major contribution of the story: people have a tendency to follow their leaders, and corrupt leaders corrupt the whole kingdom.” Abinadi: The Prophet and Martyr Robert J. Matthews
Editor’s Note: As you read the sins of the leaders below, think of the government today and its leaders. Think about the greedy business people and those who seek out riches daily and compare these sins in the Book of Mormon to those sins we see and hear about today. This sins of today seem even more horrific than those listed. I know the Lord is not pleased.
As defined in the record, the people’s catalog of sins included the following (Mosiah 11:1–19):
1. having many wives and concubines 2. doing all manner of wickedness 3. levying heavy taxes, with which they supported their opulence and luxury 4. consecrating priests who were lifted up in pride 5. being lazy 6. worshiping idols 7. enjoying whoredoms 8. speaking lying and vain words 9. placing their hearts upon riches 10. spending their time in riotous living 11. becoming winebibbers 12. boasting of their own strength 13. delighting in the shedding of blood
Interesting Note about BOMC (Why do they lookdown at Heartlanders?)
Little Barley in Iowa
Side note about Abinadi: Book of Mormon Central (BOMC) prides itself in highlighting evidence for the Book of Mormon found in both North America and Central America to show they are being neutral by including North American evidence. They do this by sharing an article about Abinadi and him being tortured using faggots. BOMC claims that the North American Indians used this method as well as the Mesoamericans. BOMC sites the following quote and reference for proof of this; “More recent work by Mark Wright and Kerry Hull, however, documents the practice among the ancient Maya in pre-Columbian times. Wright and Hull also show that the practice was widespread among Native American cultures in both Mesoamerica and throughout North America.6“ If you visit here reference 6 as noted it says, “Mark Wright and Kerry Hull, “Ethnohistorical Sources and the Death of Abinadi,” unpublished manuscript in our possession.” So BOMC’s proof of faggots used by North American Indians is in an UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT IN POSSESSION OF THEMSELVES? How convenient! I love much of the work from BOMC but their opinion on being neutral about geography is not correct. They only want to appear neutral because that is what the Church’s official position is.
The odd thing about this idea of using faggots, the only other thing BOMC says comes from North America information about Barley, which doesn’t come from Mesoamerica. In Book of Mormon Central’s own words they say “While the connection between Mesoamerica and Barley is not made, it would seem odd that trade of “principal crops” would take place without the trade of barley. Whether the trade came from Mesoamerica to Arizona, or the other way around, it would make sense that barley was part of the crop trade between the cultures. Why make a trade of major crops and not trade barley? They very well may have. But, because of the moisture content and acidity of the soil in Mesoamerica, it may be difficult to find “little barley” in archaeological digs in Central America.” Tyler Livingston “Barley and the Book of Mormon New Evidence” See my blog about Barley and how it comes from North America in many places here: https://www.bofm.blog/barley-in-iowa-not-in-mesoamerica/
Little Barley in Iowa
BOMC Continues, “Our policy is to utilize the most reliable academic scholarship on the Book of Mormon and follow the evidence wherever it might lead. Our process in selecting and highlighting Book of Mormon evidence is based on the following principles:
“In our hierarchy of evidence, the text itself is primary because it is closest to the divine.”
“If profound and compelling location-specific insights shed light on the text, we highlight these regardless of their geographic provenience.”
“We favor authors with credentials in their areas of interest.”
“We favor formally published works from reputable presses.”
As explained in BOMC’s statement on geographical neutrality, “We welcome good work from any geographic persuasion that is responsive to these principles.”BOMC
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, documents the persecution and suffering endured by faithful men and women from the 1st to early 16th centuries for their faith in Jesus Christ. Commonly known as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, one fuller title is Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church.
Teach your children the true history of the lives, sufferings, and triumphant deaths of the early Christian martyrs. May it never be said that the blood of the saints has been spilled in vain and their testimonies forgotten. “And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11). Thanks to Joseph Smith foundation for most of this information. See them here
Edward Stevenson
Taken from They Knew the Prophet
During the fall of 1834, the Prophet Joseph Smith paid a visit to the home of Edward Stevenson, a faithful member of the Church who would later become a prominent missionary and one of the seven presidents of the Seventy. While there he noticed a copy of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by the sixteenth-century English cleric John Foxe. Brother Stevenson recorded the Prophet’s remarks in reference to Christian martyrs massacred during the Dark Ages:
“While looking over our copy of a large English Book of Martyrs, he expressed sympathy for the Christian martyrs and a hope for their salvation. He asked to borrow the book, promising to return it when he should meet us again in Missouri.
On returning it he said, ‘I have, by the aid of the Urim and Thummim, seen those martyrs. They were honest, devoted followers of Christ, according to the light they possessed. They will be saved.’” Hyrum L. Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, pg. 83
What did Joseph Smith see? Who were these martyrs?
The Reformation was the fuel for the colonization of America and a study of this period brings a deeper appreciation for scripture. To understand this era of persecution, is to appreciate why the Lord established a government of liberty in America. To comprehend this era of “rebirth” in civilization through sacred scripture is to envision how Christians in the 21st century can rebuild a broken world and fragmented society. To remember the Reformation is to remember the captivity and deliverance of our fathers. (Alma 36:2, 29, 29:11-12, 60:20)
Teach your children the true history of the lives, sufferings, and triumphant deaths of the early Christian martyrs. May it never be said that the blood of the saints has been spilled in vain and their testimonies forgotten. “And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).
CHAPTER I
History of Christian Martyrs to the First General Persecutions
Under Nero
Christ our Savior, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, hearing the confession of Simon Peter, who, first of all other, openly acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, and perceiving the secret hand of His Father therein, called him (alluding to his name) a rock, upon which rock He would build His Church so strong that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. In which words three things are to be noted: First, that Christ will have a Church in this world. Secondly, that the same Church should mightily be impugned, not only by the world, but also by the uttermost strength and powers of all hell. And, thirdly, that the same Church, notwithstanding the uttermost of the devil and all his malice, should continue.
Which prophecy of Christ we see wonderfully to be verified, insomuch that the whole course of the Church to this day may seem nothing else but a verifying of the said prophecy. First, that Christ hath set up a Church, needeth no declaration. Secondly, what force of princes, kings, monarchs, governors, and rulers of this world, with their subjects, publicly and privately, with all their strength and cunning, have bent themselves against this Church! And, thirdly, how the said Church, all this notwithstanding, hath yet endured and holden its own! What storms and tempests it hath overpast, wondrous it is to behold: for the more evident declaration whereof, I have addressed this present history, to the end, first, that the wonderful works of God in His Church might appear to His glory; also that, the continuance and proceedings of the Church, from time to time, being set forth, more knowledge and experience may redound thereby, to the profit of the reader and edification of Christian faith.
As it is not our business to enlarge upon our Savior’s history, either before or after His crucifixion, we shall only find it necessary to remind our readers of the discomfiture of the Jews by His subsequent resurrection. Although one apostle had betrayed Him; although another had denied Him, under the solemn sanction of an oath; and although the rest had forsaken Him, unless we may except “the disciple who was known unto the high-priest”; the history of His resurrection gave a new direction to all their hearts, and, after the mission of the Holy Spirit, imparted new confidence to their minds. The powers with which they were endued emboldened them to proclaim His name, to the confusion of the Jewish rulers, and the astonishment of Gentile proselytes.
I. St. Stephen
Illustration from a 1583 edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, showing Papists torturing Protestants, in this case by scraping their bodies with shells.
St. Stephen suffered the next in order. His death was occasioned by the faithful manner in which he preached the Gospel to the betrayers and murderers of Christ. To such a degree of madness were they excited, that they cast him out of the city and stoned him to death. The time when he suffered is generally supposed to have been at the passover which succeeded to that of our Lord’s crucifixion, and to the era of his ascension, in the following spring. Upon this a great persecution was raised against all who professed their belief in Christ as the Messiah, or as a prophet. We are immediately told by St. Luke, that “there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem;” and that “they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
About two thousand Christians, with Nicanor, one of the seven deacons, suffered martyrdom during the “persecution that arose about Stephen.”
II. James the Great
The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apsotles’ Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-german to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea, than, with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle’s extraordinary courage and undauntedness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink. Timon and Parmenas suffered martyrdom about the same time; the one at Philippi, and the other in Macedonia. These events took place A.D. 44.
III. Philip
Was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee and was first called by the name of “disciple.” He labored diligently in Upper Asia, and suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified, A.D. 54. IV. Matthew
Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.
V. James the Less
Is supposed by some to have been the brother of our Lord, by a former wife of Joseph. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the Catholic superstition, that Mary never had any other children except our Savior. He was elected to the oversight of the churches of Jerusalem; and was the author of the Epistle ascribed to James in the sacred canon. At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.
VI. Matthias
Of whom less is known than of most of the other disciples, was elected to fill the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.
VII. Andrew
Was the brother of Peter. He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term, St. Andrew’s Cross.
VIII. St. Mark
Was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He is supposed to have been converted to Christianity by Peter, whom he served as an amanuensis, and under whose inspection he wrote his Gospel in the Greek language. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria, at the great solemnity of Serapis their idol, ending his life under their merciless hands.
IX. Peter
Among many other saints, the blessed apostle Peter was condemned to death, and crucified, as some do write, at Rome; albeit some others, and not without cause, do doubt thereof. Hegesippus saith that Nero sought matter against Peter to put him to death; which, when the people perceived, they entreated Peter with much ado that he would fly the city. Peter, through their importunity at length persuaded, prepared himself to avoid. But, coming to the gate, he saw the Lord Christ come to meet him, to whom he, worshipping, said, “Lord, whither dost Thou go?” To whom He answered and said, “I am come again to be crucified.” By this, Peter, perceiving his suffering to be understood, returned into the city. Jerome saith that he was crucified, his head being down and his feet upward, himself so requiring, because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was.
Illustration from a 1583 edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, showing Papists torturing Protestants, in this case by scraping their bodies with shells.
X. Paul
Paul, the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declareth that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptised at His sepulcher. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.
XI. Jude
The brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72.
XII. Bartholomew
Preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at length cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.
XIII. Thomas
Called Didymus, preached the Gospel in Parthia and India, where exciting the rage of the pagan priests, he was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.
XIV. Luke
The evangelist, was the author of the Gospel which goes under his name. He travelled with Paul through various countries, and is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree, by the idolatrous priests of Greece.
XV. Simon
Surnamed Zelotes, preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, A.D. 74.
XVI. John
The “beloved disciple,” was brother to James the Great. The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.
XVII. Barnabas
Was of Cyprus, but of Jewish descent, his death is supposed to have taken place about A.D. 73.
And yet, notwithstanding all these continual persecutions and horrible punishments, the Church daily increased, deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and of men apostolical, and watered plentously with the blood of saints.
CHAPTER II
The Ten Primitive Persecutions Continued at the Link Below
Book of Commandments 7:3 “the gift of working with the rod” D&C 8:6 changed to “the Gift of Aaron”
O remember, these words and keep my commandments. Remember this is your gift. Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands, for it is the work of God; and therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, that you shall know.
Among the instruments used by seers is found mention of a “rod.” The terms of a shepherd’s “rod and staff,” as mentioned in the 23rd Psalm, were synonymous with the great “Shepherd of Israel.”
The rod and staff being the ensigns of power and government, as well as instruments for punishing offenders. (Cruden’s Concordance, p. 497)
Instruments of Revelation
The Lord is to “rule with a rod of iron” (Rev. 2:27). Under Moses’ dispensation it was Aaron who used “the rod” to smite the waters of Egypt (Ex. 7:19), and to swallow up the “rods” of the Egyptians which were transformed into snakes (Ex. 7:12). Moses used the “rod” for a blessing to Israel by smiting the rock to obtain the much needed water (Ex. 17:6), and it was also used in determining the tithing of the Israelites (Lev. 27:32). Each tribe of Israel was to have a rod with their name upon it, and one of these rods was to “blossom” on the following morning. Aaron’s rod “brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms,” thus showing his rod to be “for the head of the house of their fathers” (Num. 17:5).
Oliver Cowdery lived in a culture steeped in biblical ideas, language and practices. The revelation’s reference to Moses likely resonated with him. The Old Testament account of Moses and his brother Aaron recounted several instances of using rods to manifest God’s will (see Ex. 7:9–12; Num. 17:8). Many Christians in Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery’s day similarly believed in divining rods as instruments for revelation. Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod.
Jeffery G. Cannon, “Oliver Cowdery’s Gift,” Revelations in Context (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 15 December 2012).
Oliver Cowdery’s Gift D&C 6, 7, 8, 9, 13 Jeffrey G. Cannon15 December 2012
Oliver Desires to Translate
As Joseph and Oliver continued their work, Oliver grew anxious to play a greater part in the translation. The Lord had promised him the opportunity to translate and he wanted to claim it. Joseph dictated another revelation. The word of the Lord assured Oliver he could have the gift he desired. The requirements: faith and an honest heart (see D&C 8:1). D&C 8 on JosephSmithPapers.org
The revelation continued, informing the would-be translator how the process was to work. The Lord would “tell you in your mind & in your heart by the Holy Ghost which Shall come upon you & which shall dwell in your heart.” Revelation had always come in this manner. The revelation declared this was the means, or “spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the red Sea on dry ground”7 (see D&C 8:2-3).
Oliver Cowdery lived in a culture steeped in biblical ideas, language and practices. The revelation’s reference to Moses likely resonated with him. The Old Testament account of Moses and his brother Aaron recounted several instances of using rods to manifest God’s will (see Ex. 7:9-12; Num. 17:8). Many Christians in Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery’s day similarly believed in divining rods as instruments for revelation. Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod.8 D&C 9 on JosephSmithPapers.org
The Lord recognized Oliver’s ability to use a rod: “thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the rod.”9 Confirming the divinity of this gift, the revelation stated: “Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this [Gift of Aaron in today’s D&C]thing of Nature to work in your hands for it is the work of God.” If Oliver desired, the revelation went on to say, the Lord would add the gift of translation to the revelatory gifts Oliver already possessed (D&C 8:8-11).
Though we know very few details about Oliver Cowdery’s attempt to translate, it apparently did not go well. His efforts quickly came to naught. In the wake of Oliver’s failure, Joseph Smith received another revelation, counseling Oliver, “Be patient my son, for it is wisdom in me, and it is not expedient that you should translate at this present time.” Oliver was further told he had not understood the process. He was first to “study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you”10 (see D&C 9:7-8).
What if the “rod of nature” was indeed a physical object? See FAIR Mormon below:
If we presume, for the sake of argument, that the Book of Commandments revelation of 1829 did refer to a physical rod, it is useful to consider just what Oliver was told:
Oliver Cowdery’s first revelation commanded him to lay aside the world and build the restored kingdom: “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich” (D&C 6:7). Whatever prior use Oliver made of his “gift of working with the rod,” this revelation directed him to heavenly treasure. Indeed, this first commandment names but one special power: “Thy gift” is “sacred and cometh from above.” It is defined as the ability to “inquire” and “know mysteries which are great and marvelous.” Thus Oliver is commanded to “exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways.” Thus his gift of knowledge of salvation will lead to the “greatest of all gifts,” the “gift of salvation” (D&C 6:10-13).
Oliver’s initial revelation closes with the command to seek heavenly “treasures” by assisting “in bringing to light, with your gift, those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden because of iniquity” (D&C 6:27). The revelation on the gift of the rod probably followed within a week. It continued the theme of learning ancient truth through translating: “Remember, this is your gift” (D&C 8:5). And it could be exercised by believing “you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records” (D&C 8:1). Then a second promise was made:
Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod. Behold, it has told you things. Behold, there is no other power save God that can cause this rod of nature to work in your hands, for it is the work of God. And therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, will I grant unto you, that you shall know.
But there were strict limits to this promise: “Trifle not with these things. Do not ask for that which you ought not. Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may translate all those ancient records.”
So the “rod of nature” in Cowdery’s “hands” would be a means of gaining revelation on doctrine.[4]
Thus, the alteration which describes the “rod” as “the gift of Aaron” clarifies the Lord’s intent, and explains how Oliver and Joseph understood the matter. Aaron’s rod was an instrument of power, but only insofar as God revealed and commanded its use. Such a perspective is a far cry from the “occult” links which the critics attempt to create:
Rod of Aaron Budded. Others did not. Moses’ and Aaron’s rods represented authority, as in Ex. 4:1–5; 7:9–12, 17.
D&C 8 approves a rod only for sacred information. It also suggests the rod that displayed God’s power in the Egyptian plagues, in striking the rock for life-giving water or in calling down strength on Israel’s warriors. That rod was a straight shaft, the shepherd’s staff possessed by Moses at his call (Ex. 4:2-4). Used by both Moses and Aaron, it was foremost the “rod of God,” also Moses’ rod, but formally called the “rod of Aaron.” It functioned as a visible sign of authority, just as Judah’s “scepter” was a sign of divine kingship in Jacob’s blessing or Elijah’s staff held by the servant who went in his name. Thus the rod of Aaron was a staff of delegated agency, and the 1835 revision to “The gift of Aaron” suggests Oliver’s spiritual power to assist Joseph Smith as Aaron assisted Moses.[5] FAIR Mormon here:
Proper Mode of Translation?
Below is a picture I had commissioned of the instruments from the stone box with which Joseph Smith translated the plates. This process was called, “by the gift and power of God.” Joseph and Oliver used the items found in the stone box, not a stone in a hat.
“These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” JSH 1:35 by Ann Marie Oborn
Joseph Smith said, “Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” JSH 1:35
Oliver saw the Plates, Breastplate and Interpreters
“When Cowdery returned to Church membership in 1848 he spoke to an Iowa conference. His words there were recorded by Reuben Miller: “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.”
The Miller journal can be tested by comparing it with official records of the Cowdery speeches, and it is clearly accurate. Thus the above words are likely to be Cowdery verbatim. This judgment is essential because in the report Oliver Cowdery says, “I … handled with my hands the gold plates.” Yet another Witness, David Whitmer, insisted that he had never handled the plates; he only watched as the angel in the vision displayed the plates and other sacred objects. Since Whitmer and Cowdery were together at this impressive vision, one must infer that Cowdery did not handle the plates at that time. Thus a distinction emerges between the key secretary and his witness brother-in-law: at some time during the translation process Oliver Cowdery evidently handled the plates.” By the Gift and Power of God By Richard Lloyd Anderson
“Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ D&C 1:75*More information here:
Below is from The Joseph Smith Papers- Revelation, April 1829–B [D&C 8]
6th. Commandment AD 1829
A Revelation to Oliver [Cowdery] he being desirous to know whether the Lord would grant him the gift of Revelation & th◊ Translation given in Harmony Susquehannah Pennsylvania8
Oliver Verily Verily I say unto you that as Shuredly as the Lord liveth which is your God & your Redeemer even so shure shall ye receive a knowledge of whatsoever things ye shall ask with an honest heart believeing that ye [p. 12] Shall receive, a knowledge concerning the engraveings of old Records which are ancient which contain those parts of my Scriptures of which hath been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit9 yea Behold I will tell you in your mind & in your heart by the Holy Ghost which Shall come upon you & which shall dwell in your heart now Behold this is the spirit of Revelation Behold this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the red Sea on dry ground therefore this is thy gift apply unto it10 & blessed art thou for [it] shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies when if it were not so they would sley thee11 & bring thy soul to distruction O remember these words & keep my commandments remember this is thy gift now this is not all for thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the sprout12 Behold it hath told you things Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature13to work in your hands for it is the work of God14 & therefore whatsoever ye shall ask to tell you by that means that will he grant unto you that ye shall know remember that without faith ye can do nothing trifle not with these things do not ask for that which ye had not ought ask that ye may know the mysteries of God & that ye may Translate all those ancient Records which have been hid up which are Sacred15 & according to your faith shall it be done unto you Behold it is I that have spoken it & I am the same which spake16unto you from the begining amen.
(12) In preparing the text of Revelation Book 1 for publication, Sidney Rigdon replaced “sprout” with “rod.” Green, flexible shoots or rods cut from hazel, peach, or cherry trees were sometimes used as divining rods. (Revelation Book 1, p. 13 [D&C 8:6]; see also Silliman, “Divining Rod,” 202; and “The Divining-Rod,” Milwaukie [Wisconsin Territory] Sentinel, 7 Sept. 1842, [1].)
As Dallin H. Oaks remarked:
Recent Events Involving Church History and Forged Documents,” Ensign (October 1987)
It should be recognized that such tools as the Urim and Thummim, the Liahona, seerstones, and other articles have been used appropriately in biblical, Book of Mormon, and modern times by those who have the gift and authority to obtain revelation from God in connection with their use. At the same time, scriptural accounts and personal experience show that unauthorized though perhaps well-meaning persons have made inappropriate use of tangible objects while seeking or claiming to receive spiritual guidance. Those who define folk magic to include any use of tangible objects to aid in obtaining spiritual guidance confound the real with the counterfeit. They mislead themselves and their readers.[6]
Conclusion
We know based upon the text of the revelation that Oliver possessed a gift of working with something alternately referred to as a “sprout,” “thing of nature,” or “rod of nature.” We also know that the Lord approved of Oliver’s use of this gift. The reference was later changed to the “gift of Aaron,” but we can only speculate as to the exact reason why. We do not know if the “rod” referred to by Sidney Rigdon when he edited the revelation was referring to a divining rod, since there is no other record beyond the revelation itself that indicates this.
We do know that Oliver’s gift had to do with receiving revelation, and that Oliver attempted to employ it during the period in which the Book of Mormon was being translated. We also know that Oliver’s experience in attempting to translate produced one of the lasting lessons which continues to be taught in Church even today—the knowledge that one must study things out in their mind in order to know the truth of something.
What Was Oliver Cowdery’s Gift Concerning Ancient Records?
D&C 8:1, 11. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that “the Lord seemed perfectly willing that Oliver Cowdery as well as Joseph Smith should engage in this labor of translating the plates, and he gave in some detail what qualifications are necessary for the reception of knowledge by revelation and also the procedure necessary in translating ancient records. Oliver was informed that this power could not be received except by the exercise of faith with an honest heart, and by this faith, knowledge of the ancient records and their engravings should be made known. …
Oliver Cowdery was a scribe to Joseph Smith.
“The Lord told him that he was to continue as scribe until the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed, and that there were other ancient records to come forth, and that he might have the privilege of translating these at some future day if he would remain faithful. We learn from the Book of Mormon that there are many records and that at some time, when the people are prepared by faith to receive them, that they shall also be translated and published for the knowledge and salvation of the faithful. (II Nephi 27:7–8;III Nephi 26:6–11; Ether 3:22–28; 4:5–7.)” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:50, 52.)
What Is the Spirit of Revelation?
D&C 8:1–3.
Elder George Q. Cannon taught that “the same spirit of revelation that Moses had … rests upon him who holds the presidency as senior apostle in the midst of the people of God. The apostles of this Church have all the authority, they have all the keys, … all the spirit of revelation necessary to lead this people into the presence of the Lamb in the celestial kingdom of our God. …
“… You will find it so to your entire satisfaction if you will listen to their counsels and be guided by them.” (In Journal of Discourses, 21:270–71.)
Enrichment C in the Appendix contains a more complete discussion of personal revelation and how it is received.
A Warning Given to Oliver Cowdery that Applies to Everyone
D&C 8:4. Oliver Cowdery was given the gift of understanding the voice of the Spirit. If he hearkened to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he could protect himself from those who would seek to bring about his physical death and also from those who would tempt him to sin and thus bring his soul “to destruction” (D&C 8:4).
Concerning the destruction of the soul, President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“A soul cannot be destroyed.
“Every soul born into this world shall receive the resurrection and immortality and shall endure forever. Destruction does not mean, then, annihilation. When the Lord says they shall be destroyed, he means that they shall be banished from his presence, that they shall be cut off from the presence of light and truth, and shall not have the privilege of gaining this exaltation; and that is destruction.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:227–28; see also Alma 12:16; Helaman 14:18.)
D&C 8:6–9.
“There was another gift bestowed upon Oliver Cowdery, and that was the gift of Aaron. Like Aaron with his rod in his hand going before Moses as a spokesman, so Oliver Cowdery was to go before Joseph Smith. Whatever he should ask the Lord by power of this gift should be granted if asked in faith and in wisdom. Oliver was blessed with the great honor of holding the keys of this dispensation with Joseph Smith, and, like Aaron, did become a spokesman on numerous occasions. It was Oliver who delivered the first public discourse in this dispensation.” (Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:52.)
“Oliver Cowdery also had the ‘gift of Aaron.’ Aaron was the elder brother of Moses. Being prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, he met his younger brother in the wilderness and accompanied him to Egypt. He introduced him to the children of Israel in the land of Goshen. He was his spokesman before Pharaoh, and he assisted him in opening up the dispensation which Moses was commissioned to proclaim (Exodus 4:27–31). This was the gift of Aaron. In some respects Oliver Cowdery was the Aaron of the new and last dispensation.” (Smith and Sjodahl, Commentary, p. 44.)
Question
What is “the gift of Aaron” referred to in D&C 8:6-8?
Answer
The revelations given to Joseph Smith were often edited prior to publication in order to clarify their application to the Church members who would read them. The original revelation to Oliver Cowdery referred to “the gift of working with the sprout”, later edited to “working with the rod”. Cowdery was apparently able to channel revelations through a divining rod earlier in his life.
One of the problems with these “folk-magical” means of revelation like divining rods and seer stones was that they could be easily co-opted in order to produce revelations that were not of divine origin– see, for example, D&C 28, which concerns revelations an early church member claimed to receive through a seer stone. As the Church moved away from these particular means of revelation and relied more on direct inspiration from the Lord, the phrase “gift of working with the rod” was eventually modified to “gift of Aaron”, in reference to the Biblical figure who had a rod through which God’s power was shown but was more popularly remembered as a spokesman for and ardent supporter of Jehovah’s appointed prophet Moses.” Ask Gramps
DIVINING ROD:
Book of Commandments 7:3 D&C 8:6 changed
O remember, these words and keep my commandments. Remember this is your gift. Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod: behold it has told you things: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature, to work in your hands, for it is the work of God; and therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, that you shall know.
Among the instruments used by seers is found mention of a “rod.” The terms of a shepherd’s “rod and staff,” as mentioned in the 23rd Psalm, were synonymous with the great “Shepherd of Israel.”
The rod and staff being the ensigns of power and government, as well as instruments for punishing offenders. (Cruden’s Concordance, p. 497)
The Lord is to “rule with a rod of iron” (Rev. 2:27). Under Moses’ dispensation it was Aaron who used “the rod” to smite the waters of Egypt (Ex. 7:19), and to swallow up the “rods” of the Egyptians which were transformed into snakes (Ex. 7:12). Moses used the “rod” for a blessing to Israel by smiting the rock to obtain the much needed water (Ex. 17:6), and it was also used in determining the tithing of the Israelites (Lev. 27:32). Each tribe of Israel was to have a rod with their name upon it, and one of these rods was to “blossom” on the following morning. Aaron’s rod “brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms,” thus showing his rod to be “for the head of the house of their fathers” (Num. 17:5)
Those who have not the gift of revelation and gift prophecy, and do not understand the “language of the fathers,” in translating scriptures, have a much different understanding and interpretation of the wording reviewed here, than those who do. So these things can only be fully understood by the Spirit, and naturally much of what is stated here is not to be taken as fully valid, but too much of the philosophies of man. Because of my extensive background and experience in translating the Hebrew Old Testament into English, I would give a much different approach. But the conclusion of Oliver’s gift of Aaron and the rod, would be more related to the Lord saying (in another context) that he would smite with the rod of his mouth (D&C 19:15), his word, revelation. In addition, there are too many assumptions made about Oliver having a diving rod, etc., which assumptions have contradictions.
Abstract: The First Presidency in 1923 of Heber J Grant, Charles W. Penrose and Anthony W. Ivins and again in 1950 The Publication Committee of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee and Marion G. Romney, assigned by Pres George Albert Smith, approved some historical information from Church History that has much to do with Book of Mormon Geography. The last edition of the commentary was also published in 1978 by Deseret Book and approved by Pres Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney. This is my opinion of course.
Summary of what the First Presidency Approved in Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants.
1- There were possibly two separate sets of plates that Joseph translated. 2- There existed in Hill Cumorah a Cave in a separate place other than the stone box where Joseph found the plates. This cave was in the same Hill Cumorah and contained the Sword of Laban, Liahona, and wagon loads of plates from previous generations. 3- A messenger named *Nephi and possibly one of the 3 Nephites took the plates from Joseph Smith in Harmony when he was finished with them. This same messenger refused a ride in Whitmer’s wagon as Nephi was going to Cumorah, while Whitmer, Cowdery and Smith were going to Fayette. *“I have heard my grandmother (Mary Musselman Whitmer) say on several occasions that she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by a holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi.” John C. Whitmer’s 1878 account, as recorded by Andrew Jenson [Page 37] (see his Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia 1:283, Salt Lake City, Utah: 1901): 4- This same messenger showed the second set of plates to Mary Whitmer, David’s mother in Fayette before Joseph began translating this possible second set of plates which would become 1 Nephi to Mosiah in our current Book of Mormon. They replaced the lost 116 pages. 5- You will see below that three different First Presidencies approved of the fact there was a Cave at Cumorah.
One quote below (In Green) is from Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young, about the Cave at Cumorah existing in upstate NY and wasn’t just a dream or vision somewhere in Mexico as some suggest. It was the place that all of the Nephite records and the Liahona, Sword of Laban and other artifacts were stored.
Here is what Orson Pratt taught about the two depositories in the Hill Cumorah. “These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
Two Sets of Plates by Jonathan Neville
A second bit of history (In Green Below)from David Whitmer about a messenger appearing to him and Oliver and Joseph on the way to Fayette who was carrying the plates Joseph just finished translating in Harmony. They were in a knapsack on his back. The messenger appeared to them riding in the wagon and was taking this first set of plates to the Cumorah Cave, where the messenger would deposit them. The messenger then retrieves the “Small Plates of Nephi” from the Cave at Cumorah, and later gives this second set of plates to Joseph to translate in Fayette. This set of plates replaced the lost 116 pages which was part of the first set of plates.
Editor’s Note: It has also become a problem as some scholars insist the Gold Plates were simply a prop and Joseph Smith never translated from them. There is also a rumor many scholars insist that most of the Book of Mormon was transcribed by Joseph Smith looking into a hat with a seer stone and repeating the words on the stone he saw, to Oliver Cowdery. I hope you as a concerned member to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be aware of these possible misconceptions and stick with what the scriptures say and with what the Prophets teach. Although I believe Joseph had such stones, it isn’t clear if any of the Book of Mormon was translated using a stone, but was translated by the gift and Power of God, using the Urim and Thummim, or Interpreters as called in the Book of Mormon, which consisted of a large breastplate and two clear stones in the rims of a bow like a pair of spectacles.
“Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God” Joseph Smith- HC4:537
Oliver Cowdery said, “I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by the book, Holy Interpreters. I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was transcribed. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the Holy Interpreters.”
Doctrine and Covenants Commentary Revision 1950
Between 1913 and 1916 Hyrum Smith of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles along with Elder Janne M. Sjodahl articulated a commentary of the Doctrine of Covenants which was approved by these two Presidencies as accurate and approved history as contained in the D&C Commentary of 1923 and 1950.
[The Doctrine and the Covenants Commentary] “A doctrinal and exegetical commentary on the book of scripture, known as the “Doctrine and Covenants” (the “D&C”), sacred to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” The Doctrine and the Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith (Picture left)
Exegetical Definition:
The message finds its sole source in Scripture. The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context. The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture. The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today.
The Doctrine and Covenants Containing Revelations Given To Joseph Smith, Jr., The Prophet, with an Introduction and Historical and Exegetical Notes By Hyrum M Smith, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. And Janne M. Sjodahl.
“Commentaries on the Doctrine and Covenants follow the pattern of many biblical commentaries, supplying the historical context, that is, the time, circumstances, and situation of the revelations. In the most recent (1981) edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, headnotes for each section have been added or enlarged, with a brief synopsis of the historical setting. Additional notes and explanations are provided by the various separately published commentaries discussed here. Commentaries written by members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are given special consideration. Others are recommended as helps to the membership of the Church to provide historical insight to their study of the scriptures.
An early (1916) and still useful one-volume commentary was written by Hyrum M. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Janne M. Sjodahl. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary contains the text of the Doctrine and Covenants and gives historical background and commentary for each section. It is extensively footnoted with exegetical notes. The volume was later supplemented and expanded under the direction of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, and Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1950.” Doctrine and Covenants Commentaries Author: Garrett, H. Dean
Preface To the Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary
In the preface to the 1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, we find the following:
“While laboring in the European Missions, Elder Hyrum M. Smith, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Janne M. Sjodahl, were impressed very fervently with the desire to prepare a commentary dealing with the revelations given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In their odd moments, when not otherwise engaged, during the years 1913-1916, these brethren carried on a careful research and study and prepared this volume which has met with popular favor.
For a number of years, the commentary has been out of circulation, and because of the increasing demand for it, the First Presidency instructed the Publication Committee to take the matter in hand and revise the volume ready for a re-printing. This the committee has done and after many months of labor has fulfilled the assignment given.
Since the time of the first publication many world-wide events of the greatest importance have occurred many of which have a bearing on the fulfillment of the prophecies found in the Doctrine and Covenants; these have been noted. The Doctrine and Covenants is a sacred volume of Scripture, and in the revision and preparation of the book, the members of the committee have felt their weakness in commenting on these sacred commandments and revelations coming from the Lord.”
THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 1950 (Note; Not the First Presidency) Joseph Fielding Smith
Harold B. Lee
Marion G. Romney
1950 First Presidency
(who assigned Publication Committee)
George Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark
David O McKay
Within this Commentary are two sections which contain comments pertinent to Book of Mormon geography.
(1.) The first has to do with Section 9. This section is a revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, to Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania in April, 1829. Oliver had attempted to translate without success. Verse 1-2 are as follows:
Behold, I say unto you, my son, that because you did not translate according to that which you desired of me, and did commence again to write for my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., even so I would that ye should continue until you have finished this record, which I have entrusted unto him.
And then, behold, other records have I, that I will give unto you power that you may assist to translate. . . .
In a verse note on the bottom of page 45 we find the following:
Other records] Other Nephite records. Oliver Cowdery, if he had remained faithful, would have had the privilege of assisting in their translation. He, however, was outside the Church, because of transgression, for eleven years, and although he was again received in full fellowship, some of the blessings he had lost could not be recovered.” 1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 45-46
Then in a related “General Notes” on a page which follows we find the following:
“Other records” are referred to in the 2nd paragraph of page 47 below. On that subject President Brigham Young makes the following statement: [The “Cave Story” is then recited as it appears in the 1877 notation– which is a discourse by Brigham Young delivered at a Special Conference held at Farmington, Utah on June 17,1877.]
Note*That such a story would be included in the 1923 edition is significant; that such a story would be upheld by Apostles in the publication committee of the Revised Edition is also significant.
“(2.) The second has to do with Section 84, a revelation on Priesthood. Verse 42 reads: ” . . . and even I [the Lord] have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.” In a comment on this verse we find the following:
I have given * ** * charge concerning you] Note that the Lord in conferring the Priesthood upon the Elders present when this Revelation was given, assured them that angels had been appointed to guard them. The first Christians believed in guardian angels. . . .
The following anecdote, which was told by David Whitmer to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith in 1878, may be retold here: [The David Whitmer story of meeting an angel “going to Cumorah” –see the 1878 notation– is then recited.]
Note*This story, like the Cave Story, reinforces the New York Hill Cumorah as a repository of the Nephite records. Since the last edition of the book would be published in 1978 by Deseret Book, these stories (reviewed by Apostles) would add authoritative weight to a New York Hill Cumorah viewpoint.
1978 First Presidency
Spencer W, Kimball
N. Eldon Tanner
Marion G. Romney
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 17 June 1877 below:
“You hear a great deal said about finding money. There is no difficulty at all in finding money, but there are a great many people who do not know what to do with it when they do find it. This is the great defect with the human family. I could relate many very singular circumstances. I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country. I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
General Notes Page 47
“When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: ‘This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.’ I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what is said, but remembering some things. So is it with other circumstances in life. I relate this to you, and I want you to understand it. I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost. Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.
Now, you may think I am unwise in publicly telling these things, thinking perhaps I should preserve them in my own breast; but such is not my mind. I would like the people called Latter-day Saints to understand some little things with regard to the workings and dealings of the Lord with his people here upon the earth. I could relate to you a great many more, all of which are familiar to many of our brethren and sisters.” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 1XIX., p. 38).”1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 47-48 The crossed out lines above are not seen in the Commentary, I included them so you could see what was left out.
“The following anecdote, which was told by David Whitmer to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith in 1878, may be retold here:
“When I was returning to Fayette, with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the wagon. Oliver and I on an old- fashioned wooden spring seat and Joseph behind us — while traveling along in a clear open space, a very pleasant, nice-looking old man suddenly appeared by the side of the wagon and saluted us with, ‘Good morning, it is very warm,’ at the same time wiping his face or forehead with his hand. We returned the salutation, and, by a sign from Joseph, I invited him to ride if he was going our way; but he said very pleasantly, ‘No, I am going to Cumorah.’ This name was something new to me; I did not know what Cumorah meant. We all gazed at him and at each other, and as I looked around inquiringly of Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared, so that I did not see him again.” Whitmer described his appearance and added, it was the messenger who had the plates [of the Book of Mormon], who had taken them from Joseph just prior to our starting from Harmony”(Andrew Jensen, Historical Record, p. 209)”.1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 508
Quotes from D&C Commentary 1950
D&C Sec 3:19 Page 22 Commentary
The First Presidency in 1923 of Heber J Grant, Charles W. Penrose and Anthony W. Ivins and again in 1950 The Publication Committee of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee and Marion G. Romney, assigned by Pres George Albert Smith, approved some historical information from Church History that has much to do with Book of Mormon Geography. The last edition of the commentary was also published in 1978 by Deseret Book and approved by Pres Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney.
Notice what D&C 3:19 says: “And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records—that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;”
Notice what the Commentary from these inspired Prophets says:
19. For this very purpose) The Book of Mormon plates were preserved and translated in order that all these should be brought to a knowledge of the Savior. It may be concluded, then, that among the American Indians and the Polynesians who are mostly the descendants of the Lamanites, is also a sprinkling of the descendants of the Nephites who may have escaped the general destruction. D&C Sec 3 page 22 Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Sjodahl and Smith
D&C Sec 5 Page 30
31. Except Thou do this] Unless the Prophet followed the instructions here given, the plates and the sacred instrument would be taken from him.
This is a remarkable Revelation. It furnishes an irrefutable proof that the Prophet Joseph actually had the plates. He promised that Martin Harris, on certain conditions, which he could easily comply with, should obtain a view of them. Such a promise, if the records had not been in existence, would have been impossible to redeem. It would have been mere buffoonery. The fraud would have been detected at once. The promise was repeated a few months later (Sec 17) to two more witnesses. Joseph had the plates and the Urim and Thummim, and this Revelation proves the truth of that assertion.
D&C 6 Page 32
According to his own statement at Council Bluffs on October 21st, 1848, Oliver Cowdery wrote the entire Book (save a few pages) as the words fell from the lips of the Prophet, “as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that Book, ’holy interpreters.’” So that the testimony of Oliver Cowdery was as firm in 1848, two years before his death as it was in 1829, when he first accepted the gospel, although he had been outside the Church for eleven years. When Joseph and Oliver had been engaged on the Book of Mormon a few days, this Revelation was received.
1923 First Presidency
Heber J Grant
Charles W. Penrose
Anthony W. Ivins
Source:MUCH OF THIS BLOG WAS USED FROM: A Chronology of LDS Thought on Book of Mormon Geography of the New World Statements by Church Authorities 1921 —–> 1980 Copyright 2003 by Alan C. Miner. All rights reserved
Janne M. Sjodahl Deseret News Press, 1923, 1932. Reprinted in 1950, 1951, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1971, 1978.
In the preface to the Original Edition, we find the following:
Before laying aside the pen, I may be permitted to express my grateful acknowledgment of the services rendered by Elder Orson F. Whitney and Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, of the Council of the Twelve, who, together with Elder Hyrum M. Smith, carefully read the manuscript of this Commentary before it was given to the printer; also to Elder George F. Richards, of the Council of the Twelve and President of the European mission, and to Elders John E. Cottam, George F. Richards, Jr., and Junius F. Wells, fellow-laborers int he British mission, for most valuable assistance.
Liverpool, May 1, 1919. J. M. Sjodahl.
Art by Val Chadwick Bagley showing these two historical narratives in pictures. Purchase his entire book here:
The contents of the stone box in Cumorah consisted of only the following:
1. The Gold Plates which a portion were sealed
2. The large Breastplate
3. The two stones in silver bows fastened to the breastplate
4. Two stones crossways. [Read Below]
“Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.” JSH 1:52
The Liahona and the Sword of Laban were in the cave of Cumorah in a separate place from the stone box.[Read Below]
“These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
Only 3 people see the Plates, the Breastplate, and the Spectacles
1. Joseph Smith
2. Oliver Cowdery
3. Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy sees the spectacles and the breastplate under a thin linen. Art by Anne Marie Oborn.
Lucy Mack Smith sees “The Key”
“I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings. Joseph saw this and followed me. “Mother,” said he. “Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here,” said he, “I have got the key.”
I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. He took them again and left me, but did not tell me anything of the record….
That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced, p. 139, 145)
Lucy Mack Smith sees the Breastplate
“After bringing home the plates, Joseph now commenced work with his father on the farm in order to be as near as possible the treasure that was committed to his care.
Buried in the Stone box, the Interpreters, Spectacles & Breastplate, Not Brown Seer Stone and a Hat.
Soon after this, he came in from work one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his greatcoat and left the house. I was engaged at the time in an upper room in preparing some oilcloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come downstairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history.
It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty.
It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers (for I measured them), and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening.
The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced)
Lucy sees the Gold Plates and other Items
I have myself seen and handled the golden plates; they are about eight inches long, and six wide; some of them are sealed together and are not to be opened, and some of them are loose. They are all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate, and are covered with letters beautifully engraved. I have seen and felt also the Urim and Thummim. They resemble two large bright diamonds set in a bow like a pair of spectacles. My son puts these over his eyes when he reads unknown languages, and they enable him to interpret them in English. I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” (Lucy Mack Smith in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed. revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26)
We are Entitled to a Seer Stone
Here are two quotes I think you will enjoy:
“Joseph Smith, Jr. said, every man who lived on the earth was entitled to a seer stone, and should have one, but they are kept from them in consequence of their wickedness.” – Prophet Brigham Young, “History of Brigham Young,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, v. 26, February 20, 1864
“The power of seership is one of the greatest gifts ever given to man; and the time is not far distant when every man who bears the Priesthood will be a seer. But it can only be when men have proved themselves able to withstand all of the false deceptions of the devil. Today the powers of crystal ball gazers, astrologers, ouija boards, etc., are abounding because men have forsaken or rejected the true seers of God. Thousands of people seek unto ‘wizards who peep and mutter’ etc., but they will not seek unto the living God. I can say to all the inhabitants of the earth that before what is called spiritualism was ever known in America, I told the people that if they would not believe the revelations that God had given, He would suffer the devil to give revelations that they–priests and people would follow after. . . I told the people that as true as God lived, if they would not have the truth they would have error sent to them, and they would believe it.” (Brigham Young, Des. News, June 18, 1871, p. 308) (See Revelation 2:17 and D&C 130:11)
“These Stones Fastened to a Breastplate JSH 1:35 by Anne Marie Oborn
There is not one scripture that says Joseph used a stone in a hat to translate. There are many scriptures that say he used the two stones fastened to a breastplate. [See Here: JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25]
May we seek for the true priesthood and further the truth as we understand, about the Prophet Joseph Smith. I Love Joseph and the Savior and I know they are leading us in the way of God. Search your own testimony and please share with me how you feel about these things. May the Lord bless you.
My Summary of the actual Translation process is submitted below. The details are in the 30 page PDF at the end.
1- The Plates, Breastplate and Interpreters not allowed to be seen by others, unless the Lord authorizes. DC 5:3 (Those known to see and feel all 3 articles are Joseph, Oliver, and Lucy Mack, but Lucy only saw them through the linen they were wrapped in.
2- Most reports say Joseph sat on one end of a table and the scribe on the other facing one another.
3- It is never mentioned in scripture that anything other than “The Interpreters” were used for translation.(The term Urim and Thummim is never used in the text of the Book of Mormon)
4- Joseph could not translate unless he was in tune with the Lord and had all the proper equipment about him.
5- There was not a curtain between Jospeh and the scribes according to Emma and Anne Cowdery. (Possibly a curtain between Martin Harris and Joseph for the 116 pages as Martin was aware if he ever saw the 3 items he would be destroyed)
6- Joseph likely hid the breastplate under his shirt as Lucy was quoted twice saying “He (Joseph) had these things (Spectacles and breastplate) constantly upon his person.”
7- Lucy also said of the breastplate, “It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith (in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons 8- There was a single rod connecting the spectacles to the breastplate. “These stones, he continued, “were attached to the breastplate by a rod which was fastened at the outer shoulder edge of the breastplate and to the edge of the silver bow.” William Smith
9- The Translation was accomplished only “By the Gift and Power of God” which none of us can fully understand.
10- The three witnesses saw the plates as Moroni turned the pages in front of them. (Spiritual Witnesss)
11- The eight witnesses saw Joseph hand the plates to each of them and each of the 8 handled and hefted the plates. (Physical Witness)
Detailed PDF Below of the Proper Method of Translation
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-Key-Short-Version.pdf” title=”The Key Short Version”]
Gazelem: Joseph Smith, A Title, A Nephite Prophet, A Stone?
“And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations. And now, my son these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light…” Alma 37:23-25
The above scripture as translated by Joseph Smith only seems confusing because someone other than Joseph added a comma between the word Gazelem[,] and a stone. As you will see below the word Gazelem in Alma 37 seems to be a title and refers to Joseph Smith as a Seer. In the 1835 Edition of D&C See Here, you can see that Joseph Smith was named Gazelam, Newel K. Whitney was called Ahashdah and Sidney Rigdon was called Pelagoram.
My Conclusion as I then Explain:
The quote from Alma 37 including the words Joseph Smith a Seer, without the comma between Gazelem[,] a stone, it would read that Joseph Smith was being called Gazelem as his personal name, or Gazelem as a title that is a seer, and the singular word “a stone” would mean in this case a single stone means Joseph Smith or Gazelem is “a seer”, not necessarily a singular stone. I explain below.
Gazelem may also be the name or Title of a Seer or the name Gazelem may be a title meaning “A Stone” like in the name for Peter in the Bible. We read in the Bible, “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 I believe like in Alma 37 a stone could mean, “Revelation”, or Seer, or Reveal, etc.
As Elder Hunter said, “This is a very significant statement. The Lord in effect said to Peter that this knowledge that Jesus was the Christ did not come to him from mortal men or from the reasoning or learning of men, but by revelation from on high, that is, direct, divine revelation of the divinity of the Master. In answer to the statement ‘Thou art the Christ’ Matt. 16:16 Jesus replied, ‘. . . thou art Peter’ Matt. 16:18 in friendly acknowledgment of his disciple. The Lord then added, ‘. . . and upon this rock I will build my church’ Matt. 16:18Upon what rock? Peter? Upon a man? No, not upon a man, upon the rock of revelation, the thing which they were talking about. He had just said, ‘. . . flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven’ Matt. 16:17 This revelation that Jesus is the Christ is the foundation upon which he would build his Church.” CONFERENCE REPORT, OCTOBER 1965, HOWARD W. HUNTER
JST, John 1:42.
Cephas means “seer” or “stone.”
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jona, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a seer, or a stone. And they were fishermen. And they straightway left all, and followed Jesus.” JST John 1:42
“And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” KJV John 1:42
So Gazelem in Alma 37 could read like this: “And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant [Joseph Smith a Seer], which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations. And now, my son these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light…” Alma 37:23-25
Notice that with the quote from Alma 37 including the words Joseph Smith a Seer, without the comma between Gazelem[,] and the extra word “and”, a stone it would read that Joseph Smith was being called Gazelem as his personal name, or Gazelem as a title that is a seer, and the singular word “a stone” would mean in this case a single stone means Joseph Smith or Gazelem is “a seer”, not necessarily a singular stone.
Also the Lord continues after calling Joseph Smith a Seer, he later in Alma 37 says “these interpreters”, not singular stone, but plural “these interpreters”. We also know through scripture that the plural “interpreters” refers to these two stones, fastened to a breastplate, as canonized scripture says, *”Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ JSH 1:75*
THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS MODERN DAY REVELATION
Code Names
Some revelations were altered to employ code names when they were included in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in order to protect the identity of people and places. These code names were used in sections 77, 81, 89, 93, 101, and 102.
While the code names may have been necessary at the time, they no longer are. At this point they are relics which make reading the sections a bit more difficult.
In light of this, I decided to revert the code names back to their original names in the text itself. This is the only change that I have made to the text.
I have catalogued all of the changes, linked to the verses they can be found at, and then linked to where they can be found in earliest extant copy of the revelation.
Ahashdah = Newel K. Whitney
Alam = Edward Partridge
Baneemy = mine elders
Baurak Ale = Joseph Smith Jr.
Cainhannoch = New York
Enoch = Joseph Smith Jr.
Gazelam = Joseph Smith Jr.
Horah = John Whitmer
Lane-shine-house = the printing office in Kirtland, Ohio
Mahalaleel = Sidney Gilbert
Mehemson / Mahemson = Martin Harris
Olihah = Oliver Cowdery
Ozondah = Newel K. Whitney’s white mercantile store in Kirtland, Ohio
Pelagoram = Sidney Rigdon
Proclaiming = Printing
Shalemanasseh = W. W. Phelps
Shederlaomach = Frederick G. Williams
Shinehah = Kirtland, Ohio
Shinelah = Print
Shinelane = Printing
Shule = Ashery
Tahhanes = The tannery
Talents = Dollars
Zombre = John Johnson
D&C 78:2 “And now, verily thus saith the Lord, it is expedient that all things be done unto my glory, that ye should, who are joined together in this order: or in other words, let my servant Ahas[h]dah [Newel K. Whitney], and my servant Gazelam [JS], or Enoch, and my servant Pelagoram [Sidney Rigdon], sit in council with the saints which are in Zion; otherwise satan seeketh to turn their hearts away from the truth, that they become blinded, and understand not the things which are prepared for them: wherefore a commandment I give unto you, to prepare and organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken.” [p. 204-205] JSP
Bruce R. McConkie (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
With reference to the name Gazelam, it is interesting to note that Alma in directing Helaman to preserve both the Urim and Thummim and the plates containing the Book of Ether, says that such record will be brought to light by the Lord’s servant Gazelem, who will use “a stone” in his translation work. (Alma 37:21-23.) It may be that Gazelem is a variant spelling of Gazelam and that Alma’s reference is to the Prophet Joseph Smith who did in fact bring forth part at least of the Ether record. Or it could be that the name Gazelem (Gazelam) is a title having to do with power to translate ancient records and that Alma’s reference was to some Nephite prophet who brought the Book of Ether to light in the golden era of Nephite history. (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed. [1966], p.307)
Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet (Professors of Religion, BYU)
I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone] This may well be a play on words. Is Gazelem the seer stone or the servant? It is difficult to tell from the passage and depends very much on the placement of a comma in the sentence. Perhaps it could refer to both. It is interesting to note that when Jesus called Simon Peter to the ministry he said: “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a seer, or a stone” (JST, John 1:42). Though this name or title of Gazelem may be used in regard to any seer who utilizes seer stones,it seems in this instance to be a direct reference to Joseph Smith the Prophet. (Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols.[1991], 3:.278)
In three different revelations, spanning a period of two years (1832-34), Joseph Smith was called “Gazelam” by the Lord (D&C 78:9; 82:11; 104:26, 43, 45, 46; pre-1981 edition). His name was disguised in order to prevent his enemies from discovering what plans the Lord had in mind at that particular time (HC 1:255). (Doctrine and Covenants Encyclopedia , p.204) D and C Encyclopedia Page -222- https://archive.org/details/doctrinecovenant0000brew/page/204/mode/2up?q=Gazelam
A servant of God, or stone directors/interpreters. (Alma 37:23).
Lehite prophetic name for a future “servant” of God (Gazelam = Joseph Smith in D&C 78:9, etc.), or of stone “directors” (Alma 37:21, 24, O P mss 1830-1911 eds > “interpreters” in 1920 1981 eds.), depending on whether the word within the phrase is read as an appositive to the preceding noun or as the noun of the following appositive (Alma 37:23).
An etymology based on North-west Semitic gzl, gṣl, ǵzl or ǵṣl would be the most likely, with a dual ending –êm.[1] The dual ending would tend to reinforce reading GAZELEM as the noun of the following appositive, because the “directors”/“interpreters” consisted of two (=dual) stones set in a silver bow.[2]
Because “r” and “l” are both “liquid” consonants, they often interchange from one language to another, such as between HEBREW and EGYPTIAN.[3] Therefore it would not be amiss to derive from Semitic gzr, yielding a very attractive etymology along the lines of biblical Aramaic gāzrîn, the “deciders/determiners (of fate),” used for the Babylonian magi (Daniel 2:27; 4:4; 5:7, 11). This root is represented in biblical HEBREW by gzr “cut, divide; decree (fate)” (Isaiah 9:19; 2 Nephi 19:10, Isaiah 53:8; Job 22:28)…
Less likely are readings from the Arabic root for “gazelle,” ģzl, the initial syllable as the root gzh or gzz, having to do with cutting and shearin (JH). Reynolds and Sjodahl[8] suggest possibly HEBREW*gāz-ʿālêm, or gazê-ʿalem (V???), “cut-stones of the Most High,” from gzh, “cut, hew” (cf. ’ăbnê-gāzît, “hewed stones, squared stones” in 1 Kings 5:17; 6:36; 7:9, 11, 12; Exodus 20:25; Isaiah 9:9, 10‖2 Nephi 19:10) + ‘alem (V???), “(he who is) on high”? Or *ga-ṣelem, “exalted image, magnificent likeness,” from gāʾā, “exalted, glorious, proud, magnificent” (Exodus 15:1, 21) + ṣelem, “image, likeness.”
Variants
There are no variations of this name in the Book of Mormon text, but there are other spellings outside the Book of Mormon: Gazelum Orson Pratt, JD, 16:156 (16 Aug 1873); Gazelam 1835 D&C (6xx), D. J. Whittaker, “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith,” BYU Studies, 23/1 (1983):103-112.
Jump up↑–êm is the early contracted form of the plene –ayim dual ending in Semitic languages. This is reflected in the English pronunciation (no doubt coming from the KJV, but which matched the early form of the GN) of JERUSALEM from the late plene writing and pronunciation of HEBREWyrwšlym.
Jump up↑This also happens in other language families. For example, see Spanish “playa” and Portuguese “praya,” both meaning beach; and Japanese where the difference between the two sounds is not phonemic.
Jump up↑George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. IV, P. C. Reynolds, ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1955-1961.), 162.Bibliography Daniel H.udlowA Companion to your Study of the Book of Mormon. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1969Source: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content//index.php/GAZELEMSo in conclusion I believe Gazelem in Alma 37 could read like this: “And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant [Joseph Smith a Seer], which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations. And now, my son these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light…” Alma 37:23-25
Notice again that with the quote from Alma 37 including the words Joseph Smith a Seer, without the comma between Gazelem[,] a stone it would read that Joseph Smith was being called Gazelem as his personal name, or Gazelem as a title that is a seer, and the singular word “a stone” would mean in this case a single stone means Joseph Smith or Gazelem is “a seer”, not necessarily a singular stone.
I would appreciate any feedback you have about this interpretation. Many of those who believe that Joseph used a stone in a hat to translate and that Joseph didn’t even look at the gold plates also try and convince me that the word “a stone” in Alma 37 may validate their error in thinking Joseph used an individual stone to translate. I just don’t believe it. I believe the following words as my personal interpretation of Alma 37:23.
Only Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw the three items in the stone box at Cumorah. The Gold Plates, The Breastplate and the Urim and Thummim, also called Interpreters, or “The Key”. Lucy Mack Smith saw the breastplate and the glasses at her home, as Joseph let her see and hold them both, as they were wrapped in a thin cloth where she describes them in detail below.NO ONE ELSE saw all three instruments!
What are the “two stones crossways?
“The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them” (Joseph Smith—History 1:52). See blog below, about either 2 stones crossways, or 3 three Pillars, or 4 Pillars, mentioned as what the gold plates rested on, while in the stone box. See three historical accounts of these pillars here; https://bookofmormonevidence.org/plates-laid-on-2, 3, or-4-pillars/
Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have received a spiritual witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it is a second witness with the Bible as a Testament of Jesus Christ.
There is a difference of opinion with some members of the Church however, about the method of translation of the Book of Mormon by the Prophet Joseph Smith, but all active members of the Church believe the Book of Mormon was translated by the “Gift and Power of God” as I do as well.
Scriptural Evidence vs Theorists New Narrative!
The Church and its Prophet and Apostles have not determined what the specific method of translation was, as just knowing the doctrine of the Church that the Book of Mormon is the word of God is most important, which I am in total agreement with. The Church is very supportive of anyone to have their own opinion about what instrument or method that Joseph Smith used. That is the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are blessed with knowing the Doctrine’s of the Lord’s Church through Prophets and Apostles, but on non-doctrinal issues, or our personal opinions we have our freedom to choose. Personal Revelation is critical.
No one except Joseph, Oliver and Lucy Mack Smith have ever seen the breastplate or the spectacles, so researchers could only share what their interpretation is of the information they have found. Many historians rarely look outside their bubble, and there is always a hat or a rock nearby, so that makes it easy to demonstrate. Many historians also like to come up with new theories. Our Prophet has re-shared many things which many historians have shared with him as what they believe to be true, although it is just their opinions. That’s why the Brethren don’t say exactly how the translation happened as it is not revelation, so it really doesn’t concern them. I suppose it shouldn’t matter to most of us, as the spiritual confirmation that Joseph used the gift and power of God is the best answer. However, I enjoy searching for additional answers as Moroni said, “ye may know the truth of all things.”
The stone in the hat is not a fact, but many historians and Church videos show it as the “New Narrative.”Nowhere in the scriptures does it even speak about it. Church Historians have developed consensus in their progressive thoughts, and they don’t like the traditionalist view. It’s just like the opinion that there is consensus that man causes global warming, so the intellectuals all agree on their non-provable THEORY.
The stone in a hat is a theory. Our scriptures tell us many times Joseph used “these two stones fastened to a breastplate” JSH 1:35.And Oliver Cowdery in scripture said, “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.” JSH 1:75n. Latter-day Saints who testify that the Scriptures are true, should be able to agree that Joseph used those items which were in the stone box at the Hill Cumorah. Plates, Breastplate, and Interpreters. Joseph’s witness is powerful. I don’t believe David Whitmer, Martin Harris or Emma Smith as they have been quoted below that Joseph used a stone in a hat. Not according to the scriptures.
Joseph Smith said again, “I obtained them [gold plates], and the Urim and Thummim with them, by the means of which I translated the plates; and thus came the Book of Mormon.” (History of the Church, 3:28)
Opinion of our Prophet, not Doctrine
Some members have a difficult time as the see the video of President Nelson showing a demonstration of using a hat. Speaking about the method of Translation President Russell M. Nelson said, in that video, at the 3:30 mark the following: “Quite miraculous really, we have through the gift and power of God, we have a lot of suggestions about how it was done…” President Nelson also in this video demonstrated with a hat in his hand and spoke about the possible use of, as he said, “Urim and Thummim Seer Stones” as he is quoted as saying in the video titled. “The Book of Mormon Is Tangible Evidence of the Restoration. (Link Here) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2020-05-0290-the-book-of-mormon-is-tangible-evidence-of-the-restoration?lang=eng&collectionId=9e790dc7ca744028bf6f1e1e4676fd60 The method of Translation is not a question about doctrine, but about belief or opinion, as our Prophet clearly said, “Quite miraculous really, we have through the gift and power of God, ‘we have a lot of suggestions’ about how it was done.” This means Pres Nelson was suggesting “one” way it may have happened, not “the” way it happened. He has obviously had historians tell him how it may have been done. You can’t find even one scripture that mentions a stone in a hat, but there are many that mention the two stones and a breastplate. I believe the scriptures. See, JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25
The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known
Art left by Anne Marie Oborn. She shows the proper method of translation.
Elder Russell M. Nelson said this. “As Oliver Cowdery testified a few years later: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated *… the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ (JS—H 1:75n. The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote” Quote from Elder Nelson.
[Elder Nelson then quotes David Whitmer, but why quote David? David was not present at the translation and neither was Martin and Emma never saw the method of translation.] They all just guessed because Joseph did have a type of stone, but Joseph did not use that single stone to translate. No where in the scriptures does it mention Joseph using a stone in a hat to translate. See JSH 1:35 for scriptural confirmation that Joseph used “these stones fastened to a breastplate” to translate.
First Anti-Mormon Book Lies about the Translation
On page 18, which you can read here,Mormonism Unvailed acknowledges two alternative explanations of the translation. The first involved the seer stone (which the book calls a “peep stone”) that Joseph put in a hat to read off the words that appeared. Setting aside the sarcasm of this passage, we can see that the first paragraph below is what our revisionist Church historians are teaching today (although they claim Joseph saw a group of words instead of a single word at a time).
“The translation finally commenced. They were found to contain a language not now known upon the earth, which they termed “reformed Egyptian characters.” The plates, therefore, which had been so much talked of, were found to be of no manner of use. After all, the Lord showed and communicated to him [Joseph] every word and letter of the Book. Instead of looking at the characters inscribed upon the plates, the prophet was obliged to resort to the old ”peep stone,” which he formerly used in money-digging. This he placed in a hat, or box, into which he also thrust his face. Through the stone he could then discover a single word at a time, which he repeated aloud to his amanuensis, who committed it to paper, when another word would immediately appear, and thus the performance continued to the end of the book.” Mormonism Unveiled page 18
Here is the truth about the translation from the article, The Process of Translating the Book of Mormonby Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
“The testimony of David Whitmer, which is laid forth below, clearly contradicts the principles established by the Lord in this revelation. It is also at odds with the testimonies of both Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. In our judgment, Mr. Whitmer is not a reliable source on this matter. We are entirely respectful of and grateful for the testimony to which he appended his name as one of the three witnesses of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and its divine origin. That, however, does not make him a competent witness to the process of translation. We too, like countless others, are competent witnesses of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Our knowledge of how it was translated, however, is limited to that which has come through the channels ordained by the Lord for that purpose.
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Joseph Fielding McConkie, and Craig J. Ostler continue, “As to David Whitmer’s explanation, it should be remembered that he never looked into the Urim and Thummim nor translated anything. His testimony of how the Book of Mormon was translated is hearsay. Spanning a period of twenty years (1869-1888), some seventy recorded testimonies about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon claim David Whitmer as their source. Though there are a number of inconsistencies in these accounts, David Whitmer was repeatedly reported to have said that after the loss of the 116 pages, the Lord took both the plates and the Urim and Thummim from the Prophet, never to be returned. In their stead, David Whitmer maintained, the Prophet used an oval-shaped, chocolate-colored seer stone slightly larger than an egg. Thus, everything we have in the Book of Mormon, according to Mr. Whitmer, was translated by placing the chocolate-colored stone in a hat into which Joseph would bury his head so as to close out the light. While doing so he could see “an oblong piece of parchment, on which the hieroglyphics would appear,” and below the ancient writing, the translation would be given in English. Joseph would then read this to Oliver Cowdery, who in turn would write it. If he did so correctly, the characters and the interpretation would disappear and be replaced by other characters with their interpretation (Cook, David Whitmer Interviews, 115, 157-58).
Seer Stone depicted in 2015 Ensign
Such an explanation is, in our judgment, simply fiction created for the purpose of demeaning Joseph Smith and to undermine the validity of the revelations he received after translating the Book of Mormon. We invite the reader to consider the following: First, for more than fifty years David Whitmer forthrightly rejected Joseph Smith, declaring him to be a fallen prophet. Though he never denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon, he rejected virtually everything else associated with the ministry of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel. His rejection included both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, which were restored during the time the Book of Mormon was being translated and, of course, the revelations which would eventually constitute the Doctrine and Covenants… Finally, the testimony of David Whitmer simply does not accord with the divine pattern. If Joseph Smith translated everything that is now in the Book of Mormon without using the gold plates, we are left to wonder why the plates were necessary in the first place. The Process of Translating the Book of Mormonby Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU)
Seer Stone V. Urim and Thummim: Book of Mormon Translation on Trial! by Hannah Stoddard said, “Joseph definitely had and was using the Urim & Thummim in Fayette. One example is the revelation calling the Three Witnesses. According to Joseph’s account, that revelation was given through the Urim and Thummim.
See the Joseph Smith Papers below about the proper translation and other Revelations Joseph used the Urim and Thummin.
1 Behold I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the brother of Jared on the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the red sea; and it is by <your> faith that you shall obtain a view of them; even by that faith which was had by the prophets of old.
2 And after that you have obtained faith and have seen them with your eyes, you shall testify of them by the power of God; and this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith jr, may not be destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men in this work. And ye shall testify that you have seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith Jr has seen them, for it is by my power that he has seen them, and it is because he had faith: and he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true. 3 Wherefore you have received the same power, and the same faith, and the same gift like unto him; and if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is sufficient for you: and you shall be lifted up at the last day.— And I, Jesus Christ, your Lord and your God, have spoken it unto you, that I might bring my righteous purposes unto the children of men. A[men. ] [HC 1:53]39
Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in this revelation; that they should have a view of the pl[ates] &c[.]40 we accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr Whitmer’s [house],41 to which we retired, and having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith, to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of those promises. According to previous arrangement, I commenced by vocal prayer to our Heavenly Father and was followed by each of the rest in succession; we did not yet however obtain any answer or manifestation of the divine favour in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation; but with the same result as before. Upon this our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he would withdraw himself from us, believing as he expressed himself that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for: He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been [p. 24]
Other headings in the D&C also claim they were given through the Urim & Thummim.
History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]
In the meantime, David, John, and Peter Whitmer Jr became our zealous friends and assistants in the work; And being anxious to know their respective duties, and having desired with much earnestness that I should enquire of the Lord concerning them, I did so, through the means of the Urim and Thummim and obtained for them in succession the folowing Revelations.
1 A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men: behold I am God, and give heed to my word, which is quick [HC 1:49] and powerful, sharper than a two edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow: therefore give heed unto my word. 2 Behold the field is white already to harvest, therefore whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God: yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God: therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.
David Whitmer
3 Seek to establish bring forth and establish my Zion. Keep my commandments in all things, and if you keep my commandments, and endure to the end, you shall have eternal life; which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
4 And it shall come to pass, that if you shall ask the father in my name, in faith believing, you shall receive the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance, that you may stand as a witness of the things of which you shall both hear and see; and also, that you may declare repentance unto this generation. 5 Behold I am Jesus Christ the son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth, a light which cannot be hid in darkness: wherefore, I must bring forth the fulness of my gospel from the Gentiles unto the house of Israel. And behold thou art David, and thou art called to assist: which thing if ye do, and are faithful ye shall be blessed both spiritually and temporally, and great shall be your reward. Amen.
1 Hearken my servant John, and listen to the words of Jesus Christ, your Lord and your Redeemer, for behold I speak unto you with sharpness and with power, for mine arm is over all the earth, and I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone: for many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of most worth unto you.
2 Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my words which I have given [p. 22]
As Emma is writing, she cannot see the plates, spectacles nor the breastplate which were, as Lucy Mack Smith said, “constantly upon his person.” Joseph’s view. As you can see Emma’s view of the plates, spectacles and breastplate [under Joseph’s shirt] would be hidden.
Moroni, who deposited the plates in a hill in Manchester, Ontario county, New York, being dead and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were, and gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them, and the Urim and Thummim with them, by the means of which I translated the plates; and thus came the Book of Mormon. (History of the Church, 3:28)
These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God. (“The Wentworth Letter,” History of the Church, 4:536-541)
[T]he fact is, that by the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world, in which wonderful event I stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries, with a new revelation, which (if they would receive the everlasting Gospel,) would open the eyes of more than eight hundred millions of people, and make “plain the old paths,” wherein if a man walk in all the ordinances of God blameless, he shall inherit eternal life. (History of the Church, 6:74-77)
Oliver Cowdery (Eyewitness to the Events)
These were days never to be forgotten to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, “Interpreters,” the history or record called “The book of Mormon.” (Messenger and Advocate, 1:14)
I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, “holy interpreters.” I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the “holy interpreters.” (as cited in Joseph Fielding Smith, Restoration of All Things, 113)
[2nd-hand account]. Oliver Cowdery, one of the three witnesses to the book, testified under oath [during the June 1830 Colesville trials], that said Smith found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows. That by looking through these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraved on the plates. (Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, 9 April 1831; see online account. Note: that this is quoted by an unbeliever, in an antagonistic magazine, in a spirit of incredulity adds to the force of Oliver’s statement)
The Three Witnesses (Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, & David Whitmer)
[We], through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. (“Testimony of the Three Witnesses”)
“I attended sessions of meetings for the institute teachers, held in the assembly room on the fourth floor of the Church Office Building. I cannot say that I was very greatly edified. Too much philosophy of a worldly nature does not seem to mix well with the fundamentals of the gospel. In my opinion many of our teachers employed in the church school system have absorbed too much of the paganism of the world, and have accepted too readily the views of uninspired educators without regard for the revealed word of the Lord.
What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years [since his father’s death]. What the future will bring I do not know. But if we drift as far afield from fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road? The more I see of educated men—I mean those who are trained in the doctrines and philosophies now taught in the world, the less regard I have for them. Modern theories which are so popular today just do not harmonize with the gospel as revealed to the prophets, and it would be amusing if it were not a tragedy to see how some of our educated brethren attempt to harmonize the theories of men with the revealed word of the Lord. Thank the Lord, there is still some faith left and some members who still cherish the word of the Lord and accept the prophets. Surely the world is ripening rapidly for the destruction, and Satan has power and dominion over his own. If any are saved surely the Lord must soon come and have power over his Saints and reign in their midst, and execute ‘judgment upon Idumea, or the world.’”
(Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., and John J. Stewart, The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 210 – 211. Bold and color added)
Joseph Fielding Smith was correct 68 years ago, just as he is today.
“Satan has control now. No matter where you look, he is in control, even in our own land. He is guiding the governments as far as the Lord will permit him. That is why there is so much strife, turmoil, and confusion all over the earth. One master mind is governing the nations. It is not the president of the United States; it is not Hitler; it is not Mussolini; it is not the king or government of England or any other land; it is Satan himself.” ― Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation Vol I 1954
The world today is mostly controlled by a Deep State, led by evil. They are the same dark force today called Satan. This is a war between Good and Evil. We know the Lord will win, so the question is, who are we following?
Knowing truth about anything related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will assist us in our faith. Yes, even knowing what the proper instrument for translation was, and knowing where the Book of Mormon events occurred, can assist us in knowing more truth. The more truth you know, the less swayed you are when the evil winds of lies beseech you.
The Lord said, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” D&C 93:36 He also said, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” D&C 130:18 And Moroni said, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” Moroni 10:5
That sums it up for me. In addition to the absolute spiritual witness I have, that the Book of Mormon is true, I have received as a special part of my testimony, the realization of the proper instruments used for translation and the place where the Lehites began their journey in America.
I Believe Joseph Fielding Smith, Not Intellectuals
I believe Joseph Fielding Smith is one of the brightest, most spiritual, knowledgeable and loving church leaders in the entire Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why do many of the scholars and intellectuals in the church today, not believe the words of this great man, and give more accord to their own group think? I believe it is because he was so conservative, and principled and didn’t care what the world thought, but only what the Lord knew and thought.
What specifically do I mean? Read just two amazing quotes of Joseph Fielding Smith which should assist these intellectuals in believing truth from his very soul. Quote one, about the proper instruments used for translation of the gold plates, and Quote two, about the geography of the Book of Mormon!
1- “I don’t not believe the stone was used for this purpose [Translation].”
Why do so many members of the Church believe an occultic or strange method of translation [Stone in a hat], was more feasible than following the scriptures?
Below are all the scriptures that say the breastplate and spectacles were used for translation. You will not find even one scripture to speak about the stone in a hat. JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25
[JFS Full Quote Here] “While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation.The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).
The Book of Mormon was translated using the spectacles and breastplate that was found by Joseph in the stone box at Cumorah in NY.
2- “Because of this theory [Mesoamerica] some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.”
How is your faith in the Book of Mormon? Joseph Fielding Smith was concerned about the faith of those who believed in Mesoamerica as the beginning place of the Book of Mormon.
Why don’t we believe Joseph Smith who said to Emma, “The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity… During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country-Nephites, Lamanites, etc.” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56
[JFS Full Quote Here] “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all…
It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
Joseph Fielding Smith was correct 68 years ago, just as he is today.
“Satan has control now. No matter where you look, he is in control, even in our own land. He is guiding the governments as far as the Lord will permit him. That is why there is so much strife, turmoil, and confusion all over the earth. One master mind is governing the nations. It is not the president of the United States; it is not Hitler; it is not Mussolini; it is not the king or government of England or any other land; it is Satan himself.” ― Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation Vol I 1954
The world today is mostly controlled by a Deep State, led by evil. They are all the same dark force today called Satan. This is a war between Good and Evil. We know the Lord will win, so the question is, who are we following?
Knowing truth about anything related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will assist us in our faith. Yes, even knowing what the proper instrument for translation was, and knowing where the Book of Mormon events occurred, assist us in knowing more truth. The more truth you know, the less swayed you are when the evil winds of lies beseech you.
The Lord said, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” D&C 93:36 He also said, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” D&C 130:18 And Moroni said, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” Moroni 10:5
That sums it up for me. I have received as a special part of my testimony, the realization of the proper instruments used for translation and the place where the Lehites began their journey in America.
I Believe Joseph Fielding Smith, Not Intellectuals
I believe Joseph Fielding Smith is one of the brightest, most spiritual, knowledgeable and loving church leaders in the entire Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why do many of the scholars and intellectuals in the church today, not believe the words of this great man, and give more accord to their own group think? I believe it is because he was so conservative, and principled and didn’t care what the world thought, but only what the Lord knew and thought.
What specifically do I mean? Read just two amazing quotes of Joseph Fielding Smith which should assist these intellectuals in believing truth from his very soul. Quote one, about the proper instruments used for translation of the gold plates, and Quote two, about the geography of the Book of Mormon!
1- “I don’t not believe the stone was used for this purpose [Translation].”
Why do so many members of the Church believe an occultic or strange method of translation [Stone in a hat], was more feasible than following the scriptures?
Below are all the scriptures that say the breastplate and spectacles were used for translation. You will not find even one scripture to speak about the stone in a hat. JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25
[JFS Full Quote Here] “While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation.The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).
The Book of Mormon was translated using the spectacles and breastplate that was found by Joseph in the stone box at Cumorah in NY.
2- “Because of this theory [Mesoamerica] some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.”
How is your faith in the Book of Mormon? Joseph Fielding Smith was concerned about the faith of those who believed in Mesoamerica as the beginning place of the Book of Mormon.
Why don’t we believe Joseph Smith who said to Emma, “The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity… During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country-Nephites, Lamanites, etc.” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56
[JFS Full Quote Here] “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all…
It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
I have come to realize that the words uttered by Prophets and many others, “by the gift and power of God“, is such an overwhelming, and powerful definition of how the Book of Mormon came forth into the world. It’s meaning is extraordinary!
By the Gift and Power of God
“I translated the record by the gift and power of God” Joseph Smith Wentworth Letter
“As he [Joseph Smith] translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim.” Oliver Cowdery JSH 1:75
I call the Interpreters or Urim and Thummim, or “these stones fastened to a breastplate” JSH 1:35 the same incredible resource. I call them “The Lord’s Instruments.” These instruments have to be “THEM” [Plural], in my opinion.
Interpreters has a plural “s”, the Urim and Thummim constitute several items, and the these stones with an “s” means plural. A single seer stone is not the Lord’s Instrument of translation according to the scriptures. Now I will agree with you that “a stone” may be an instrument of the Lord, i.e., Brother of Jared, 18 individual stones, but a single stone by itself is not an instrument that was used to translate records. (See Scriptures, JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25)
In Alma 37:23 “a stone” in my opinion means, “a seer.” This is the only place in the scriptures speaking about a single stone in anything close to acting in a type of translation, and I think I have proven the editors added a comma where they shouldn’t have.See my blog here:
The Lord’s Instrument
“We are awed by the perspicacity and discernment of the scientists, whose accumulated knowledge is great, but there is still greater knowledge; there are more perfect instruments; there is much more to learn. Most of us can but imagine how the great truths have been transmitted through the ages. Exactly how this precious instrument, the Urim and Thummim, operates we can only surmise, but it seems to be infinitely superior to any mechanism ever dreamed of yet by researchers. It would seem to be a receiving set, or instrument. For a set to receive pictures and programs, there must be a broadcasting set. The scripture above quoted indicates that the abode of God is a master Urim and Thummim, and the synchronization of transmitting and receiving apparatus of this kind can have no limitation.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Pg.52 – Pg.53)
“These Stones Fastened to a Breastplate” JSH 1:35
“In a short period man has so improved his communication techniques as to hear voices around the world. A few years ago, even with earphones, we could decode only part of the static over the newborn radio. Our first television pictures were very local and very amateurish. Today, we see in our homes a fight in Madison Square Garden, a football game in the Cotton Bowl, the Tabernacle Choir in Chicago, an astronaut on his way to the moon. Is it hard to believe that with such accomplishments by puny man Omnipotent God has precision instruments with which to enlarge the knowledge of those who have the skill to use them? Is it difficult to believe that the Urim and Thummim could be such a precision instrument to transmit messages from God to his supreme creation — man? Can God have limitations? Can atmosphere or distance or space hold back his pictures? Would it be so difficult for Moses or Enoch or Abraham or Joseph to see a colorful, accurate, moving picture of all things past and present, and even future? The Creator said to Moses, “ . . . look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end.” (Moses 1:4.) (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Pg.53)
With an instrument or the power of the Lord as described above, I think these are a few great descriptions of what Joseph’s or Moses’ or Lehi, or the Brother of Jared’s countenance must have looked like.
1- “And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. Exodus 34:35
Moses Face Shone
2- “They [Joseph Smith & Oliver Cowdery] looked so exceedingly white and strange…The power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it; at times angels were in the room in their glory, which nearly consumed them.” Oliver B. Huntington, History of the Life of Oliver B. Huntington, p. 49-50
3- “And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil.” Ether 12:21
Brother of Jared
4- “And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.” 1 Nephi 8:11
“Generally, when we think of witnesses of the Book of Mormon, we think of the Three Witnesses or the Eight Witnesses. However, there were many other indirect witnesses of the Book of Mormon. These incidental witnesses may have seen part of the plates, like Josiah Stowell did. Others may have handled the plates, like Emma Smith did. One witness was converted to the church simply by witnessing the effect that the translation process had on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Her name was Sally Heller Conrad.(Note 3 Below)
In June of 1829, Mary Whitmer was hard at work taking care of her own family, but she also faced the added burden of taking care of Joseph and Oliver, who were translating the Book of Mormon in her home. Exhausted and overworked, Mary hired Sally to help her around the house. Eighteen-year-old Sally likely thought this would be a job like any other, but she soon noticed something unusual. She later told a friend that she saw Joseph and Oliver “come down from the translating room several times when they looked so exceedingly white and strange” that she asked Mary Whitmer what was going on.
Because of the sacred nature of the work and fear of persecution, the Whitmer’s did not tell Sally what was happening. But finally, after seeing this happen multiple times, Sally said she would leave if Mary did not tell her what was going on. Mary finally explained that Joseph and Oliver were translating a sacred record from golden plates, “and that the power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it: at times angels were in the room in their glory, which nearly consumed them.”
Mary’s explanation satisfied Sally, who not only stayed to help the Whitmer’s, but eventually joined the church because of her experiences. She would eventually marry in the church, come west with the Saints, and die in Provo, Utah at the age of 92.
(Note 3) Her actual name was Sarah, but she went by Sally (sometimes spelled Sallie). See 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), 109, primary document no. 114 (available on p. 185). See also Glenn Rawson, “Sallie Heller Conrad” in Signs, Wonders, and Miracles: Extraordinary Stories from Early Latter-day Saints, ed. Glenn Rawson and Dennis Lyman (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2015), 199.” Book of Mormon Central Know Why #385
Here is the story about Sally Conrad in Oliver Huntington’s journal.
Exceedingly White
Sarah Heller Conrad By Oliver B. Huntington
“Sunday, June 13, 1897- I conversed with one old lady eighty-eight years old who lived with David Whitmer when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon in the upper room of the house, and she, only a girl, saw them come down from [the] translating room several times when they looked so exceedingly white and strange that she inquired of Mrs. Whitmer the cause of their unusual appearance, but Mrs. Whitmer was unwilling to tell the hired girl the true cause, as it was a sacred, holy event connected with a holy, sacred work which was opposed and persecuted by nearly everyone who heard of it.
The girl felt so strangely at seeing so strange and unusual appearance, she finally told Mrs. Whitmer that she would not stay with her until she knew the cause of the strange looks of these men.
Sister Whitmer then told her what the men were doing in the room above and that the power of God was so great in the room that they could hardly endure it; at times angels were in the room in their glory, which nearly consumed them. This satisfied the girl.” (Oliver B. Huntington, History of the Life of Oliver B. Huntington, p. 49-50)
Transfigured, Exceedingly White, Strange
After listening to the various examples of descriptions pertaining to the “gift and power of God”, or being in the presence of God, or seeing the countenance of a person who has been in the presence of God, do these descriptions make sense? What a glorious sight that must be. Now we know what it means in the Book of Moses, “But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.” Moses 1:11
In my opinion this description of Sally Conrad, that “they [Joseph & Oliver], were “exceedingly white and strange”makes complete sense. I can imagine after Joseph and Oliver sat together in a room with the Interpreters as you see in the painting below, the glory and radiance of God would shine all over their persons. I feel if Joseph had simply translated by putting his head in a hat to see a stone, would not only be blinding but would block all that radiance from the room and the face of Oliver as well.
This may seem like a simple statement, but I think the brilliance of light from the Lord as Sally described it, is “another witness” to me that Joseph used “these stones fastened to a breastplate” (JSH 1:35), not a silly stone in a hat.
“Oliver Sat Beside Him”
“When Brother Samuel W. Richards was eighty-two, (1906) he dictated a statement reporting Oliver Cowdery’s recollections of Book of Mormon translation:
Art by Anne Marie Oborn. This painting is an excellent representation of the quote by Samuel Richards below.
“He represented Joseph as sitting at a table with the plates before him, translating them by means of the Urim and Thummim, while he (Oliver) sat beside him writing every word as Joseph spoke them to him.This was done by holding the ‘translators’ over the hieroglyphics, the translation appearing distinctly on the instrument, which had been touched by the finger of Godand dedicated and consecrated for the express purpose of translating languages. Every word was distinctly visible even to every letter; and if Oliver omitted a word or failed to spell a word correctly, the translation remained on the ‘interpreter’ until it was copied correctly.” Richard Lloyd Anderson https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1977/09/by-the-gift-and-power-of-god?lang=eng
Oliver was a Special Witness
It seems that Oliver Cowdery was the second special witness as described in the Bible that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” 2 Corinthians 13:1
Just think of how many important things during the Restoration were done by Joseph when Oliver was the second witness.
First and Second Baptism
Receiving both Priesthoods JSH 1:68-72
Translation of the Book of Mormon
Given Keys of the Dispensation
Joseph’s journal entry for April 3, 1836, says that they [Jooseph & Olicer] “saw the Lord standing upon the . . . pulpit before them.” He was followed in succession by Moses, Elias, and Elijah, each authorizing some aspect of the gospel, the gathering of Israel, or the preparation of the world for the impending millennium. “The keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands,” the messenger told Joseph and Oliver (D&C 110:16).
Oliver saw the Gold Plates, the Interpreters and the Breastplate.
Only Joseph and Oliver could say they saw all three of the Lord’s Instruments, probably in the same room often and without a blanket between them. However Lucy Mack Smith did see the spectacles and breastplate under a thin handkerchief and she also beheld the plates according to her journal.
“When Cowdery returned to Church membership in 1848 he spoke to an Iowa conference. His words there were recorded by Reuben Miller: “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of Godby means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.”
The Miller journal can be tested by comparing it with official records of the Cowdery speeches, and it is clearly accurate. Thus the above words are likely to be Cowdery verbatim. This judgment is essential because in the report Oliver Cowdery says, “I … handled with my hands the gold plates.” Yet another Witness, David Whitmer, insisted that he had never handled the plates; he only watched as the angel in the vision displayed the plates and other sacred objects. Since Whitmer and Cowdery were together at this impressive vision, one must infer that Cowdery did not handle the plates at that time. Thus a distinction emerges between the key secretary and his witness brother-in-law:at some time during the translation process Oliver Cowdery evidently handled the plates.” By the Gift and Power of God By Richard Lloyd Anderson
The Lord’s Instrumentswere seen by the same two eyewitnesses that also received the priesthood, were baptized, and saw the Son of Man and other messengers. These two, Oliver and Joseph, witnessed all key and important moments of the restoration. Joseph did not use a rock in a hat to translate. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say this. But you can read all these scriptures below, that say the spectacles and the breastplate were used. I believe the scripture.( JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25)
One Question, Three Opinions:
Is there a Cave in Hill Cumorah in upstate New York, containing all the
Nephite & Jaredite Records?
Absolutely, Yes says FIRM
Absolutely Not, says FAIR
Absolutely, Yes says Orson Pratt
“The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . .
These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
I believe Orson Pratt and many other leaders. How can I dismiss their words simply because FAIR wants to not have a cave in Cumorah, because if there was, it would not support their theory that the final battles happened somewhere in Mexico. It would not support their idea that the sword and Liahona were in the one stone box with the plates.
Defining Apologetics
Apologetics cannot prove that the Church is true, but it can show you answers that may help you in knowing the Church is true, especially through personal revelation.
FIRM and FAIR are both similar organizations as both are made up of great spiritual people who love the Lord and the Book of Mormon. Both claim to have answers to many challenging or even difficult gospel questions that may encourage or assist people to better understand the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Neither organization speak in behalf of, or for the Church. Doctrine in the Church only comes from the Prophet and Apostles who both organizations support. Some have called these organizations, Apologists for the Church. (Others include, Book of Mormon Central, and The Interpreter).
The purpose of LDS Apologetics is to provide solid or well reasoned information that makes sense in answering supposed church related difficult questions, so that a conclusive decision of the truth of the Gospel and Church can be determined by study and prayer through the Spirit. Austin Farrer, an English Anglican philosopher, theologian, and biblical scholar wrote, in the mid-19th century, “Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.”
Truth and Spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. A personal witness from the Holy Ghost must be the primary evidence for the reality of God, the divinity of Christ and the authority of the scriptures. “No man can say that the Jesus is the Lord,” wrote Paul, (I Corinthians 12:3) “but by the Holy Ghost.” Faithful, reasoned and rational argument, however, can open hearts and minds to the witness of the Spirit. Apologetics cannot prove that the Church is true, but it can show you answers that may help you in knowing the Church is true, especially through personal revelation.
Personal Revelation
Art by Ken Corbett
As our dear Prophet said, “Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust.Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.
I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual abilityto receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives by President Russell M. Nelson
Question: Is there a cave in the Hill Cumorah containing the Nephite records?
We quote FAIR here:
“Brigham Young related a story about how the plates were returned to Moroni in a cave in the Hill Cumorah
On June 17, 1877, Brigham Young related the following at a conference:
I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” [1]
Art by Jon McNaughton
Editors Note by FIRM: Left off of the Brigham Young quote above is the final sentence by Brigham saying, “I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting. . . . [Don] Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.” This adds additional witnesses to Brigham’s own words.
FAIR Continues, “The geologic unlikelihood of a cave existing within the drumlin in New York called “Hill Cumorah” suggests that the experience related by the various witnesses was most likely a vision.
There are at least ten second hand accounts describing the story of the cave in Cumorah, however, Joseph Smith himself did not record the incident. [2] As mentioned previously, the Hill Cumorah located in New York state is a drumlin: this means it is a pile of gravel scraped together by an ancient glacier. The geologic unlikelihood of a cave existing within the hill such as the one described suggests that the experience related by the various witnesses was most likely a vision, or a divine transportation to another locale (as with Nephi’s experience in 1 Nephi 11:1). John Tvedtnes supports this view:
“The story of the cave full of plates inside the Hill Cumorah in New York is often given as evidence that it is, indeed, the hill where Mormon hid the plates. Yorgason quotes one version of the story from Brigham Young and alludes to six others collected by Paul T. Smith. Unfortunately, none of the accounts is firsthand. The New York Hill Cumorah is a [drumlin] laid down anciently by a glacier in motion. It is comprised of gravel and earth. Geologically, it is impossible for the hill to have a cave, and all those who have gone in search of the cave have come back empty-handed. If, therefore, the story attributed to Oliver Cowdery (by others) is true, then the visits to the cave perhaps represent visions, perhaps of some far distant hill, not physical events.[3]”
Given that the angel Moroni had retrieved the plates from Joseph several times previously, it is not unreasonable to assume that he was capable of transporting them to a different location than the hill in New York. As Tvedtnes asks, “If they could truly be moved about, why not from Mexico, for example?”[3] Written by FAIRMORMON
Jump up↑Cameron J. Packer, “Cumorah’s Cave,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13/1 (2004): 50–57. off-sitewiki
↑ Jump up to:3.03.1John A. Tvedtnes, “Review of Little Known Evidences of the Book of Mormon by Brenton G. Yorgason,” FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): 258–259. off-site
As you read our answer about the truth as we understand it coming from Brigham Young, in regard to him saying there was a cave at Cumorah, understand the basic differences between our two apologetic opinions below.
FIRM Says:
We believe Brigham Young, Oliver Cowdery, Samuel Smith, Don Carlos Smith, and Hyrum Smith wouldn’t have made these stories up about the cave at Cumorah, and they are true based on information. FAIR says:
“There are at least ten second hand accounts describing the story of the cave in Cumorah”, so they insinuate you should believe none of them for the only reason that they are second hand.
Art by Val Bagley
FIRM Says:
We don’t believe these stories were simply dreams or visions, but are the witnessed words as best written down by others about a literal cave in New York. FAIR Says:
“The experience related by the various witnesses was most likely a vision.” Since they have not found such a cave they are dismissing it. FIRM Says:
How do you know a drumlin could not have a natural or a man made cave in it? FAIR Says:
“Geologic unlikelihood of a cave existing within the drumlin in New York called “Hill Cumorah” FIRM Says:
Hill Cumorah is in New York where all the records of both Jaredites and Nephites were buried. This is the same hill where both final battles occurred. (Many quotes here) FAIR Says:
The final battles of Cumorah and Ramah occurred somewhere in a hill in Mexico. There was not room on hill Cumorah in New York for millions of people.” FIRM Says:
There is no need to have millions of people “on” Hill Cumorah as that speaks against the scripture saying, “we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents “around about” the hill Cumorah; Mormon 6:4. [Not “on” the Hill, around about].
FAIR Says:
The Sword of Laban and Liahona were buried in the hill in New York with the plates, breastplate and spectacles.
FIRM SAYS: Buried in the stone box of hill Cumorah in New York were the following. Gold Plates, Breastplate, Two clear stones fastened to a silver bow like a pair of spectacles. (JSH 1:35) There was no sword or Liahona, as they were in the Cave at Cumorah.
FIRM SAYS FINALLY:
At some point you must trust the combined words of prophets and leaders when they speak themselves, and you must also believe the scriptures, and most of all you should pray about what you find, as Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things”. This is also why FIRM believes there is only one Hill Cumorah in New York and the Book of Mormon was not translated ever using a stone in a hat. No scripture says that, but here are many scriptures that say Joseph used the Interpreters and Urim and Thummim, (JSH 1:35,52,62,75*; Mosiah 28:13, 20; Ether 3:22-23; 4:5; Alma 37:21, 24-25) As you see in the painting below it is shown as the most likely way the various translations were done. (With Emma and with Oliver)
“Mother I have got the Key” by Anne Marie Oborn- The plates, and spectacles were hidden by the linen and the hat, the breastplate is under Joseph shirt. Joseph was commanded to not show those items unless told. No Curtain was used. (See blog here)
“These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” by Anne Marie Oborn- None of the three items are hidden, as we know through scripture that Oliver described the method of translation saying, “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” JSH 1:75*
FIRM believes the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary below. A most reliable source about the Cave in Cumorah.
1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, a most amazing book that speaks a lot about North American verification of Book of Mormon geography. Three First Presidencies and other General Authorities, share their witnesses!
The First Presidency in 1923 of Heber J Grant, Charles W. Penrose and Anthony W. Ivins and again in 1950 The Publication Committee of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee and Marion G. Romney, assigned by Pres George Albert Smith, approved some historical information from Church History that has much to do with Book of Mormon Geography. The last edition of the commentary was also published in 1978 by Deseret Book and approved by Pres Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney. What great strength this gives us about the truth of the existence of this Cave at Cumorahand there being 2 sets of plates as the Doctrine and Covenants says in D&C 10.
Two Discussions- Two Sets of Plates, and a Cave at Cumorah
Summary of what the First Presidency Approved in Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants.
1- There existed two separate sets of plates that Joseph translated. The original plates found in the Stone Box at Cumorah which included the lost 116 pages and the Small Plates of Nephi that were in the Cave at Cumorah. D&C 10 says, “And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi; Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi. And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account—Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, [2nd set of plates] down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained; And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.” D&C 10:38-42
2- There existed in Hill Cumorah a Cave in a separate place other than the stone box where Joseph found the plates. This cave was in the same Hill Cumorah and contained the Sword of Laban, Liahona, and wagon loads of plates from previous generations. [See quotes below]
3- A messenger named *Nephi, one of the 3 Nephites, took the plates from Joseph Smith in Harmony when he was finished with them. This same messenger refused a ride in David Whitmer’s wagon as Nephi was going to Cumorah, while Whitmer, Cowdery and Smith were going to Fayette. *“I have heard my grandmother (Mary Musselman Whitmer) say on several occasions that she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by a holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi.” John C. Whitmer’s 1878 account, as recorded by Andrew Jenson [Page 37] (see his Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia 1:283, Salt Lake City, Utah: 1901):
4- This same messenger [Nephi] showed the second set of plates to Mary Whitmer, David’s mother in Fayette before Joseph began translating this second set of plates, which would become 1 Nephi to Mosiah in our current Book of Mormon. This replaced the Book of Lehi which was the Lost 116 pages.
5- You will see below that three different First Presidencies approved of the fact there was a Cave at Cumorah and that fact is found in Doctrine and Covenants Commentary 1923.
One quote below (In Green) is from Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young, about the Cave at Cumorah existing in upstate NY and wasn’t just a dream or vision somewhere in Mexico as some suggest. It was the place that all of the Nephite and Jaredite records and the Liahona, Sword of Laban and other artifacts were stored.
Here is what Orson Pratt taught about the two depositories in the Hill Cumorah. “These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)
A second bit of history (In Green Below)from David Whitmer about a messenger appearing to him and Oliver and Joseph on the way to Fayette who was carrying the plates Joseph just finished translating in Harmony. They were in a knapsack on his back. The messenger appeared to them riding in the wagon and was taking this first set of plates to the Cumorah Cave, where the messenger would deposit them. The messenger then retrieves the “Small Plates of Nephi” [D&C 10:38] from the Cave at Cumorah, and later shows this second set of plates to Mary Whitmer and then to Joseph to translate in Fayette. This set of plates replaced the Book of Lehi or the lost 116 pages which was part of the first set of plates.
Editor’s Note: It has also become a problem as some scholars insist the Gold Plates were simply a prop and Joseph Smith never translated from them. There is also a rumor many scholars insist that most of the Book of Mormon was transcribed by Joseph Smith looking into a hat with a seer stone and repeating the words on the stone he saw, to Oliver Cowdery. I hope you as a concerned member to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be aware of these possible misconceptions and stick with what the scriptures say and with what the Prophets teach. Although I believe Joseph had such seer stones, I don’t believe any of the Book of Mormon was translated using a seer stone in a hat, but was translated by the gift and Power of God, using the Urim and Thummim, or Interpreters as called in the Book of Mormon, which consisted of a large breastplate and two clear stones in the rims of a bow like a pair of spectacles. The breastplate was hidden under Joseph’s shirt and this farmers hat was used as a prop to block the sight of the spectacles from Emma Smith.
Oliver Cowdery said, “I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by the book, Holy Interpreters. I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was transcribed. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the Holy Interpreters.”
Presidencies Speak of True Geography
Between 1913 and 1916 Hyrum Smith of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles along with Elder Janne M. Sjodahl articulated a commentary of the Doctrine of Covenants which was approved by these two Presidencies as accurate and approved history as contained in the D&C Commentary of 1923 and 1950.
[The Doctrine and the Covenants Commentary] “A doctrinal and exegetical commentary on the book of scripture, known as the “Doctrine and Covenants” (the “D&C”), sacred to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” The Doctrine and the Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith (Picture left)
Exegetical Definition:
The message finds its sole source in Scripture. The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context. The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture. The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today.
The Doctrine and Covenants Containing Revelations Given To Joseph Smith, Jr., The Prophet, with an Introduction and Historical and Exegetical Notes By Hyrum M Smith, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. And Janne M. Sjodahl.
“Commentaries on the Doctrine and Covenants follow the pattern of many biblical commentaries, supplying the historical context, that is, the time, circumstances, and situation of the revelations. In the most recent (1981) edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, headnotes for each section have been added or enlarged, with a brief synopsis of the historical setting. Additional notes and explanations are provided by the various separately published commentaries discussed here. Commentaries written by members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are given special consideration. Others are recommended as helps to the membership of the Church to provide historical insight to their study of the scriptures.
An early (1916) and still useful one-volume commentary was written by Hyrum M. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Janne M. Sjodahl. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary contains the text of the Doctrine and Covenants and gives historical background and commentary for each section. It is extensively footnoted with exegetical notes. The volume was later supplemented and expanded under the direction of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, and Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1950.” Doctrine and Covenants Commentaries Author: Garrett, H. Dean
Preface To the Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary
In the preface to the 1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, we find the following:
“While laboring in the European Missions, Elder Hyrum M. Smith, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Janne M. Sjodahl, were impressed very fervently with the desire to prepare a commentary dealing with the revelations given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In their odd moments, when not otherwise engaged, during the years 1913-1916, these brethren carried on a careful research and study and prepared this volume which has met with popular favor.
For a number of years, the commentary has been out of circulation, and because of the increasing demand for it, the First Presidency instructed the Publication Committee to take the matter in hand and revise the volume ready for a re-printing. This the committee has done and after many months of labor has fulfilled the assignment given.
Since the time of the first publication many world-wide events of the greatest importance have occurred many of which have a bearing on the fulfillment of the prophecies found in the Doctrine and Covenants; these have been noted. The Doctrine and Covenants is a sacred volume of Scripture, and in the revision and preparation of the book, the members of the committee have felt their weakness in commenting on these sacred commandments and revelations coming from the Lord.”
THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 1950
(Note; Not the First Presidency) Joseph Fielding Smith
Harold B. Lee
Marion G. Romney
1950 First Presidency
(Who assigned Publication Committee)
George Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark
David O McKay
Within this Commentary are two sections which contain comments pertinent to Book of Mormon geography.
1.The first has to do with Section 9. This section is a revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, to Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania in April, 1829. Oliver had attempted to translate without success. Verse 1-2 are as follows:
“Behold, I say unto you, my son, that because you did not translate according to that which you desired of me, and did commence again to write for my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., even so I would that ye should continue until you have finished this record, which I have entrusted unto him. And then, behold, other records have I, that I will give unto you power that you may assist to translate. . . .”
In a verse note on the bottom of page 45 we find the following:
Otherrecords] Other Nephite records. Oliver Cowdery, if he had remained faithful, would have had the privilege of assisting in their translation. He, however, was outside the Church, because of transgression, for eleven years, and although he was again received in full fellowship, some of the blessings he had lost could not be recovered.” 1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 45-46
Then in a related “General Notes” on a page which follows we find the following:
“Other records” are referred to in the 2nd paragraph of page 47 below. On that subject President Brigham Young makes the following statement: [The “Cave Story” is then recited as it appears in the 1877 notation– which is a discourse by Brigham Young delivered at a Special Conference held at Farmington, Utah on June 17,1877.]
Note*That such a story would be included in the 1923 edition is significant; that such a story would be upheld by Apostles in the publication committee of the Revised Edition is also significant.
2. The second has to do with Section 84, a revelation on Priesthood. Verse 42 reads: ” . . . and even I [the Lord] have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.” In a comment on this verse we find the following:
“I have given * ** * charge concerning you] Note that the Lord in conferring the Priesthood upon the Elders present when this Revelation was given, assured them that angels had been appointed to guard them. The first Christians believed in guardian angels. . . .”
The following anecdote, which was told by David Whitmer to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith in 1878, may be retold here: [The David Whitmer story of meeting an angel “going to Cumorah” –see the 1878 notation– is then recited.]
Note*This story, like the Cave Story, reinforces the New York Hill Cumorah as a repository of the Nephite records. Since the last edition of the book would be published in 1978 by Deseret Book, these stories (reviewed by Apostles) would add authoritative weight to a New York Hill Cumorah viewpoint.
1978 First Presidency
Spencer W, Kimball
N. Eldon Tanner
Marion G. Romney
Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 17 June 1877 below:
“You hear a great deal said about finding money. There is no difficulty at all in finding money, but there are a great many people who do not know what to do with it when they do find it. This is the great defect with the human family. I could relate many very singular circumstances. I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country. I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
General Notes Page 47
“When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: ‘This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.’ I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what is said, but remembering some things. So is it with other circumstances in life. I relate this to you, and I want you to understand it. I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost. Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader.
Now, you may think I am unwise in publicly telling these things, thinking perhaps I should preserve them in my own breast; but such is not my mind. I would like the people called Latter-day Saints to understand some little things with regard to the workings and dealings of the Lord with his people here upon the earth. I could relate to you a great many more, all of which are familiar to many of our brethren and sisters.” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 1XIX., p. 38).”1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 47-48 The crossed out lines above are not seen in the Commentary, I included them so you could see what was left out.
“The following anecdote, which was told by David Whitmer to Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith in 1878, may be retold here:
“When I was returning to Fayette, with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the wagon. Oliver and I on an old- fashioned wooden spring seat and Joseph behind us — while traveling along in a clear open space, a very pleasant, nice-looking old man suddenly appeared by the side of the wagon and saluted us with, ‘Good morning, it is very warm,’ at the same time wiping his face or forehead with his hand. We returned the salutation, and, by a sign from Joseph, I invited him to ride if he was going our way; but he said very pleasantly, ‘No, I am going to Cumorah.’ This name was something new to me; I did not know what Cumorah meant. We all gazed at him and at each other, and as I looked around inquiringly of Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared, so that I did not see him again.” Whitmer described his appearance and added, it was the messenger who had the plates [of the Book of Mormon], who had taken them from Joseph just prior to our starting from Harmony”(Andrew Jensen, Historical Record, p. 209)”.1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary page 508
Quotes from D&C Commentary 1950
D&C Sec 3:19 Page 22 Commentary
The First Presidency in 1923 of Heber J Grant, Charles W. Penrose and Anthony W. Ivins and again in 1950 The Publication Committee of Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee and Marion G. Romney, assigned by Pres George Albert Smith, approved some historical information from Church History that has much to do with Book of Mormon Geography. The last edition of the commentary was also published in 1978 by Deseret Book and approved by Pres Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney.
Notice what D&C 3:19 says: “And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records—that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;”
Notice what the Commentary from these inspired Prophets says:
19. For this very purpose) The Book of Mormon plates were preserved and translated in order that all these should be brought to a knowledge of the Savior. It may be concluded, then, that among the American Indians and the Polynesians who are mostly the descendants of the Lamanites, is also a sprinkling of the descendants of the Nephites who may have escaped the general destruction. D&C Sec 3 page 22 Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Sjodahl and Smith
D&C Sec 5 Page 30
31. Except Thou do this] Unless the Prophet followed the instructions here given, the plates and the sacred instrument would be taken from him.
This is a remarkable Revelation. It furnishes an irrefutable proof that the Prophet Joseph actually had the plates. He promised that Martin Harris, on certain conditions, which he could easily comply with, should obtain a view of them. Such a promise, if the records had not been in existence, would have been impossible to redeem. It would have been mere buffoonery. The fraud would have been detected at once. The promise was repeated a few months later (Sec 17) to two more witnesses. Joseph had the plates and the Urim and Thummim, and this Revelation proves the truth of that assertion.
D&C 6 Page 32
According to his own statement at Council Bluffs on October 21st, 1848, Oliver Cowdery wrote the entire Book (save a few pages) as the words fell from the lips of the Prophet, “as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that Book, ’holy interpreters.’” So that the testimony of Oliver Cowdery was as firm in 1848, two years before his death as it was in 1829, when he first accepted the gospel, although he had been outside the Church for eleven years. When Joseph and Oliver had been engaged on the Book of Mormon a few days, this Revelation was received.
1923 First Presidency
Heber J Grant
Charles W. Penrose
Anthony W. Ivins
Source:MUCH OF THIS BLOG WAS USED FROM: A Chronology of LDS Thought on Book of Mormon Geography of the New World Statements by Church Authorities 1921 —–> 1980 Copyright 2003 by Alan C. Miner. All rights reserved
Janne M. Sjodahl Deseret News Press, 1923, 1932. Reprinted in 1950, 1951, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1971, 1978.
In the preface to the Original Edition, we find the following:
Before laying aside the pen, I may be permitted to express my grateful acknowledgment of the services rendered by Elder Orson F. Whitney and Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, of the Council of the Twelve, who, together with Elder Hyrum M. Smith, carefully read the manuscript of this Commentary before it was given to the printer; also to Elder George F. Richards, of the Council of the Twelve and President of the European mission, and to Elders John E. Cottam, George F. Richards, Jr., and Junius F. Wells, fellow-laborers int he British mission, for most valuable assistance.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Book-of-Mormon-Hard-Evidence-Proper-Translation.pdf” title=”Book of Mormon Hard Evidence Proper Translation”]
Spectacles stored inside a pocket on the back of the breastplate
The words about translation, “By the Gift and Power of God”, are, in my opinion scripturally proven below, to mean Joseph Smith used the spectacles fastened to a breastplate that were found in Cumorah in 1827, to aid Joseph in translation. The Lord calls them “these stones.” Where did the two stones come from? Moroni? Brother of Jared? Christ Himself? The Lord speaking to the Brother of Jared said, “these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:23. Yes “these stones” came from the Lord, and a single stone found by Joseph in a well, was not used in a hat to translate! Before you judge, study, read, and pray about this information.
A stone in a hat is not anywhere found in scripture, just in second-hand witnesses who never saw the translation instruments. Why would historians and intellectuals disagree? They haven’t studied the scriptures, or it is pride in group think, and those are the only reasons I can think of. I am not any smarter and I don’t have a higher educational degree, but I have common sense, and the Lord’s witness in Scripture. Read and pray for your own answer as President Nelson said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” Russell M. Nelson Hope of Israel.
Scriptural Confirmation of Using the Interpreters or Urim and Thummim
1- ” He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34–35)
2- I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.: JSH 1:52
3- “With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called “Urim and Thummim,” which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.” (Joseph Smith quote, Wentworth Letter).
4- “I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following.” JSH 1:62
5- “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ JSH 1:75*
“Two Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” JSH 1:35
6- “And now he translated them by the means of those two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow…” Mosiah 28:13 “And whosoever has these things is called seer, after the manner of old times.” Mosiah 28:16. “And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of brass, and all the things which he had kept, and conferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the interpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.” Mosiah 28:20
7- “And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plundering’s, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters…“And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying: I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they repent I will destroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land.” Alma 37:21, 24-25 (The word “Directors” was changed to “Interpreters” in the 1920 version & forward of the Book of Mormon)
8- “He [Moroni] then proceeded and gave a general account of the promises made to the fathers, and also gave a history of the aborigenes of this country, and said they were literal descendants of Abraham. He represented them as once being an enlightened and intelligent people, possessing a correct knowledge of the gospel, and the plan of restoration and redemption. He said this history was written and deposited not far from that place, and that it was our brother’s privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record.” Letter IV Oliver Cowdery
“These Stones, Fastened to a Breastplate” by Anne Marie Oborn. This is how the Heartland Model describes the plausible translation with Oliver present.
9- “And behold, these two stones [different than the previous 16 stones] will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write. For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones [2 stones] shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:23:24 (Parenthesis Added)
10- Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.” Ether 4:5
11 “I wrote with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, “holy interpreters.” I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the “holy interpreters.” The book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.” Restoration of All Things by Joseph Fielding Smith CHAPTER TWELVE, A TESTIMONY AGAINST THE WORLD Address delivered Sunday, August 20, 1944
Emma, Martin and David did not Witness the Translation.
Did Joseph find a hat and a seer stone in the hill Cumorah? No! He found plates and two items to assist him in the translation. Breastplate and Spectacles that attached to that breastplate.
Only Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw the three instruments that were found by Joseph in Cumorah, and all three artifacts were used for the miraculous translation by the “Gift and Power of God.” Lucy Mack Smith saw, held, and handled the Spectacles and Breastplate under a thin linen that Joseph showed her. That is only 3 people that saw all three items at Cumorah. The Plates, The Breastplate and the Two Stones in the rims of a bow. (3 people, that is it). Many people claim to have seen a seer stone in a hat during translation, but I don’t believe that. They either misunderstood, lied or repeated hearsay from others.
There is no scriptural quote that Joseph translated using a seer stone in a hat. Joseph may have owned a few seer stones, but he only used the two stones in a silver bow like spectacles to translate, according to scripture. Anything else that Emma, David Whitmer or Martin Harris said about the stone in the hat is conjecture and second-hand, as they never saw Joseph translate as Oliver Cowdery said, “I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet as he translated it by the gift and power of God by means of the Urim and Thummim, or as it is called by that book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the Interpreters. That book is true. … I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.” Oliver Cowdery
Lucy Mack Smith said, “The thing which spoke of it had that Joseph termed a Key was indeed nothing more nor less than the Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision, by the which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger either to himself or the record and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.”
It is reasonable that Joseph wore the breastplate under his shirt [constantly] and the spectacles were stored in a pocket on the inner side of the breastplate as William Smith said. “A pocket was prepared in the breastplate on the left side, immediately over the heart. When not in use the Urim and Thummim was placed in this pocket, the rod being of just the right length to allow it to be so deposited. This instrument could, however, be detached from the breastplate and his brother said Joseph often wore it detached when away from home, but always used it in connection with the breastplate when receiving official communications.” J. W. Peterson in The Rod of Iron I:3 (February 1924)
“Mother I have got the Key” by Anne Marie Oborn. This is how the Heartland Model describes the plausible translation with Emma present.
Also, Lucy said, “he [Joseph Smith] seemed to think more of the glasses or the Urim and Thummim than he did of the plates, for, says he, “I can see anything; they are marvelous.” Lucy also said, “I have likewise carried in my hands the sacred breastplate. It is composed of pure gold and is made to fit the breast very exactly.” Lucy Mack Smith
I personally believe Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as eye witnesses to the translation, and I believe Lucy Mack Smith as an eyewitness of the three items, and I don’t believe the conjecture of David Whitmer, Martin Harris or Emma Smith, who are all loved by me, but none of them saw the “interpreters”, and only David and Martin saw the plates after the translation. Further blogs here and here!
Why is this important to me? All truth is important as Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things.” This knowledge won’t get me into the Temple, but scripture says, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. D&C 130:8-9
Send this blog to a friend and share what you believe. Be bold and courageous if you believe things that are not necessarily doctrine. This is how you grow and learn by utilizing your personal revelation from the Lord Himself. Be willing to stand up for something. Of course sharing your witness of the Savior and the truth of the Book of Mormon are more important, but why not practice sharing other truths you may gain by personal revelation if the spirit indicates?
Remember what Pres Nelson said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” “Hope of Israel. Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that” Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,
The King James Old Testament refers to the Urim and Thummim in only seven passages. 
Lucy Mack Smith said, “I trembled so much with fear lest all might be lost again by some small failure in keeping the commandments, that I was under the necessity of leaving the room to conceal my feelings Lucy. Joseph saw this and followed me. “Mother,” said he. “Do not be uneasy. All is right. See here,” said he, “I have got the key.” I knew not what he meant, but took the article in my hands and, examining it with no covering but a silk handkerchief, found that it consisted of two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows connected with each other in much the same way that old-fashioned spectacles are made. He took them again and left me, but did not tell me anything of the record…. That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in vision; by which also he could at any time ascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced, p. 139, 145)
“A revision or translation of the King James Version of the Bible begun by the Prophet Joseph Smith in June 1830. He was divinely commissioned to make the translation and regarded it as “a branch of his calling” as a prophet. Although the major portion of the work was completed by July 1833, he continued to make modifications while preparing a manuscript for the press until his death in 1844, and it is possible that some additional modifications would have been made had he lived to publish the entire work. Some parts of the translation were published during his lifetime. “The translation process was a learning experience for the Prophet, and several sections of the Doctrine and Covenants (and also other revelations that are not published in the Doctrine and Covenants) were received in direct consequence of the work (D&C 76–77; 91). Also, specific instruction pertaining to the translation is given in D&C 37:1; 45:60–61; 76:15–18; 90:13; 94:10; 104:58; 124:89. The book of Moses and the 24th chapter of Matthew (JS—M), contained in the Pearl of Great Price, are actual excerpts from the JST. Many excerpts from the JST are also given in the appendix and footnotes in the edition of the KJV that accompanies this dictionary. The JST to some extent assists in restoring the plain and precious things that have been lost from the Bible (see 1 Ne. 13–14). Although not the official Bible of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the JST offers many interesting insights and is an invaluable aid to biblical interpretation and understanding. It is a most fruitful source of useful information for the student of the scriptures. It is likewise a witness for the divine calling and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/joseph-smith-translation?lang=eng
“While looking over our copy of a large English Book of Martyrs, he (Josoeph Smith) expressed sympathy for the Christian martyrs and a hope for their salvation. He asked to borrow the book, promising to return it when he should meet us again in Missouri.
The summer of 1828 had been a traumatic one for the Smith family. On June 15, Joseph and Emma, then living in Harmony, Pennsylvania, near Emma’s parents, lost their firstborn child, a son named Alvin, who died shortly after his birth. For two weeks, Joseph nursed Emma, who seemed “for some time,” wrote Lucy, “more like sinking with her infant into the mansion of the dead, than remaining with her husband among the living.” With Emma slowly recovering, Joseph traveled to the Smith farm in Manchester, New York, only to discover that Martin Harris had lost the 116 transcribed pages of the Book of Mormon. The entire family was plunged into despair, and when Joseph departed for Harmony, Lucy wrote, “We parted with heavy hearts, for it now appeared that all which we had so fondly anticipated, and which had been the source of so much secret gratification, had in a moment fled, and fled for ever.”[5] About two months later, apparently in late August or early September, Joseph Sr. and Lucy traveled to Harmony because they had heard nothing from Joseph and were worried about him. To their surprise, he met them “with a countenance blazing with delight.”[6] Although the plates and the Urim and Thummim had been taken from Joseph, they had now been restored because of his penitence. He had also received a revelation (now section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants) in which the Lord told Joseph that he was “still chosen” and “again called to the work” (v. 10). Furthermore, reported Joseph, “the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and I trust his promise will be verified.”[7] Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed. NOTES [5] Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, England: S. W. Richards, 1853), 122. [6] Lucy Mack Smith, Preliminary Manuscript [1844–45], Church History Library, in Anderson, Lucy’s Book, 424. [7] Smith, Biographical Sketches, 126. Reconstructing a precise chronology for this time period is problematic because of differences in Joseph Jr.’s and Lucy Mack Smith’s accounts. Joseph said that “immediately” after his return to Harmony, in July 1828, the heavenly messenger returned the Urim and Thummim (which had been taken in consequence of Joseph “having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings”). Joseph then received the revelation now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 3 through the Urim and Thummim. “After I had obtained the above revelation,” recorded Joseph, “both the plates, and the Urim and Thummin were taken from me again, but in a few days they were returned to me” (Joseph Smith, Manuscript History of the Church, Book A-1, Joseph Smith Papers, Church History Library [hereafter “Manuscript History”], in Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996–2003], 1:73).
“Lucy, on the other hand, said in one portion of her reminiscences that the Urim and Thummim was returned on September 22, 1828, and that sometime after that, she and her husband visited Joseph (see Smith, Biographical Sketches, 126). Complicating the matter even further, she said in another part of her history that “nearly two months” had passed when she and Joseph Sr. decided to go to Harmony. Since Joseph apparently returned to Pennsylvania the first week of July, such reckoning places Joseph Sr. and Lucy’s trip south around the beginning of September rather than at the end of the month. I believe Lucy was simply mistaken about the September 22 date and that the plates and Urim and Thummim were returned to Joseph in July and that his parents visited early in September, arriving back in Manchester on or before September 11, the date when Gain C. Robinson visited the Smith family and charged Joseph Sr. for medicine (see note 10). This is one of a number of instances where a third-party account confirms details of Lucy Mack Smith’s history—rather impressive considering the fact that she dictated it in 1844–45.” Larry E. Morris, “The Conversion of Oliver Cowdery,” in Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, ed. Alexander L. Baugh (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 15–49. See additional blog here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/abinadi-foxes-book-of-martyrs/
Plates 
See Painting Below:
“This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph… I must not forget to say that this box, containing the record was covered with another stone, the bottom surface being flat and the upper, crowning. But those three pillars were not so lengthy as to cause the plates and the crowning stone to come in contact. I have now given you, according to my promise, the manner in which this record was deposited; though when it was first visited by our brother, in 1823, a part of the crowning stone was visible above the surface while the edges were concealed by the soil and grass, from which circumstances you will see, that however deep this box might have been placed by Moroni at first, the time had been sufficient to wear the earth so that it was easily discovered when once directed, and yet not enough to make a perceivable difference to the passer-by.” Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VIII,” October 1835
The traditional story is this: the angel Moroni showed Joseph a set of gold plates that he, Moroni, had placed in a stone box when he was still a mortal around 421 A.D. After 4 years, Joseph was allowed to remove the plates from the box. He took them to Harmony, PA, where he translated most of them (Book of Lehi through Book of Moroni). Then he went to Harmony and finished the translation from 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon. At that point, he returned the plates to the angel, who later showed them to the 3 witnesses. A few days later, Joseph showed the plates to the 8 witnesses near his parents’ home outside of Palmyra. Again, Joseph returned the plates to the angel and they haven’t been seen since.
Below is a quote from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s website, that the historians who likely wrote this article, believe the plates are not authentic. We do however know that Joseph Smith and other Saints visited the Kinderhook mound as it does exist as is recorded in Church History along with the Enon Mound and the Zelph Mound. Many historians don’t believe the Zelph Mound story either, so it is up to you to decide.
I quote “The Mormons and the Mounds by Jonathan Neville MHA Presentation June 2017 St. Louis, Missouri where Jonathan Neville said, “Three specific mounds figure prominently in LDS history: Zelph’s mound in Illinois, the 
Neville then says, “Several authors have written and presented on the topic of the 
I share with you that I believe the Jaredites likely landed near Seattle Washington. I also share that I believe the Jaredites who were blessed with keeping the Adamic Language very likely had the correct Priesthood. Bruce R. McConkie said, “These promises of God to the Jaredites contain the essential elements of the everlasting covenant detailed later to Father Abraham and to every covenant people. These elements include priesthood, posterity, and a land of inheritance” Bruce McConkie, A New Witness 505
Although this account appears to be the writing of Joseph Smith, it is actually an excerpt from a journal of William Clayton. It has been well known that the serialized “History of Joseph Smith” consists largely of items from other persons’ personal journals and other sources, collected during Joseph Smith’s lifetime and continued after the Saints were in Utah, then edited and pieced together to form a history of the Prophet’s life “in his own words.” It was not uncommon in the nineteenth century for biographers to put the narrative in the first person when compiling a biographical work, even though the subject of the biography did not actually say or write all the words attributed to him; thus the narrative would represent a faithful report of what others felt would be helpful to print. The Clayton journal excerpt was one item used in this way. For example, the words “I have translated a portion” originally read “President J. has translated a portion. …”
The other item was a letter written in 1879 by Wilbur Fugate (another of those present at the excavation of the plates) to an anti-Mormon in Salt Lake City. Fugate declared that the alleged discovery of the Kinderhook plates was “a HUMBUG, gotten up by Robert Wiley, Bridge Whitton and myself. … None of the nine persons who signed the certificate [a document included in the Times and Seasons article] knew the secret, except Wiley and I.
Significantly, there is no evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith ever took up the matter with the Lord, as he did when working with the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham. And this brings us to the other side of the story, for those of us who believe that Joseph Smith was the Lord’s prophet: Isn’t it natural to expect that he would be guided to understand that these plates were not of value as far as his mission was concerned? That other members may have been less judicious and not guided in the same way cannot be laid at the Prophet’s feet. Many people, now as well as then, have an appetite for hearsay and a hope for “easy evidence” to bolster or even substitute for personal spirituality and hard-won faith that comes from close familiarity with truth and communion with God.
This chapter examines the narrative of 1 Nephi 1−5 as a series of events occurring at the Passover season, beginning with Lehi’s theophany (vision of God) at the start of the Passover month of Nisan and culminating with Nephi’s slaying of Laban on the final day of the Jewish Passover celebration.
Words that aren’t defined as the named instruments above:
Lucy Mack Smith
Mosiah Interprets the Jaredite Stone by 
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Abinadi confronted the wicked establishment—in the person of king Noah and his priests—single-handedly. The record gives no hint of any other prophet being present with whom he could share the burden of his ministry. 
In this paper I will deal with two general subjects. First, I will discuss the historical and circumstantial record of the man Abinadi—his life, ministry, and death. Second, I will discuss his doctrinal teachings. As we review these things, I invite you to think of the prophet Mormon, at the end of his nation’s struggles in the fourth century AD, searching what must have been by that time a wagonload of the large plates of Nephi and selecting those things of greatest worth to include in his abridged and summarized record. Mormon was not a freelance writer, but was called of God to prepare a record of his people. He was divinely appointed to be the editor and compiler of a sacred record that would deliver a specific message. We can be grateful that he was inspired to include the story and the teachings of the prophet Abinadi. The Book of Mormon would lack continuity, and a major part of its message would be missing, without the Abinadi portion.
The odd thing about this idea of using faggots, the only other thing BOMC says comes from North America information about Barley, which doesn’t come from Mesoamerica. In Book of Mormon Central’s own words they say “While the connection between Mesoamerica and Barley is not made, it would seem odd that trade of “principal crops” would take place without the trade of barley. Whether the trade came from Mesoamerica to Arizona, or the other way around, it would make sense that barley was part of the crop trade between the cultures. Why make a trade of major crops and not trade barley? They very well may have. But, because of the moisture content and acidity of the soil in Mesoamerica, it may be difficult to find “little barley” in archaeological digs in Central America.” 
Whose occupation was that of a toll-gatherer, was born at Nazareth. He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.
VIII. St. Mark
Illustration from a 1583 edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, showing Papists torturing Protestants, in this case by scraping their bodies with shells.
XII. Bartholomew
XIV. Luke
The “beloved disciple,” was brother to James the Great. The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.
XVII. Barnabas
O remember, these words and keep my commandments. Remember this is your gift. Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is 
As Joseph and Oliver continued their work, 
The Lord recognized Oliver’s ability to use a rod: “thou hast another 
Though we know very few details about Oliver Cowdery’s attempt to translate, it apparently did not go well. His efforts quickly came to naught. In the wake of Oliver’s failure, Joseph Smith received another revelation, counseling Oliver, “Be patient my son, for it is wisdom in me, and 
If we presume, for the sake of argument, that the Book of Commandments revelation of 1829 did refer to a physical rod, it is useful to consider just what Oliver was told:
Now this is not all, 
1- There were possibly two separate sets of plates that Joseph translated.
THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 1950
“
Notice what the Commentary from these inspired Prophets says:
1923 First Presidency
In the 2015 Ensign
What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years [since his father’s death]. What the future will bring I do not know. But if we drift as far afield from fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road? The more I see of educated men—I mean those who are trained in the doctrines and philosophies now taught in the world, the less regard I have for them. Modern theories which are so popular today just do not harmonize with the gospel as revealed to the prophets, and it would be amusing if it were not a tragedy to see how 
As you read our answer about the truth as we understand it coming from Brigham Young, in regard to him saying there was a cave at Cumorah, understand the basic differences between our two apologetic opinions below.
1950 Revised Edition of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary
A stone in a hat is not anywhere found in scripture, just in second-hand witnesses who never saw the translation instruments. Why would historians and intellectuals disagree? They haven’t studied the scriptures, or it is pride in group think, and those are the only reasons I can think of. I am not any smarter and I don’t have a higher educational degree, but I have common sense, and the Lord’s witness in Scripture. Read and pray for your own answer as President Nelson said, “Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” Russell M. Nelson Hope of Israel.
“Rods, Staffs & Sticks”
Those who have not the gift of revelation and gift prophecy, and do not understand the “language of the fathers,” in translating scriptures, have a much different understanding and interpretation of the wording reviewed here, than those who do. So these things can only be fully understood by the Spirit, and naturally much of what is stated here is not to be taken as fully valid, but too much of the philosophies of man. Because of my extensive background and experience in translating the Hebrew Old Testament into English, I would give a much different approach. But the conclusion of Oliver’s gift of Aaron and the rod, would be more related to the Lord saying (in another context) that he would smite with the rod of his mouth (D&C 19:15), his word, revelation. In addition, there are too many assumptions made about Oliver having a diving rod, etc., which assumptions have contradictions.