“Reconstructed Narrative” of our Church History

  “There have been some who have belittled him, but I would like to say that those who have done so will be forgotten and their remains will go back to mother earth, if they have not already gone, and the odor of their infamy will never die, while the glory and honor and majesty and courage and fidelity manifested by the Prophet Joseph Smith will attach to his name forever. So we have no apologies to make.” — President George Albert Smith

First Hand Quotes of Joseph & Oliver

Now I faithfully believe Oliver Cowdery’s statement which would be a firsthand account, when Oliver rejoined the Church in 1848 he reaffirmed his testimony about the Urim and Thummim as he spoke to an Iowa conference. “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.”

In the October 1834 Messenger and Advocate [the Church newspaper in Kirtland, Ohio], Oliver Cowdery wrote: “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 also called Letter I).

Joseph Smith said, “Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God. In this important and interesting book, the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Saviour made his appearance upon this continent after his resurrection, that he planted the gospel here in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists; the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessing, as was enjoyed on the eastern continent…” The Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith Jr.

In the Wentworth Letter, the Prophet wrote: “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).

From the book, Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim- Book of Mormon Translation on Trial, we read, “The proposed “reconstructed narrative” of our Church history, as well as the “reconstructed” life and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is admittedly a departure from the traditional or “dominant narrative” inherited from past Church leaders and historians including Willard Richards (who was present at the Carthage martyrdom), George A. Smith (a cousin to the Prophet Joseph Smith who knew him well), President Wilford Woodruff, President Joseph F. Smith (nephew of the Prophet through his closest brother, Hyrum), and President Joseph Fielding Smith. Bushman and other seer stone proponents claim the “dominant narrative” is “not true” and needs to be rewritten. Said another way, the history and the accounts of sacred events that we have been teaching Church membership for 200 years is suddenly false and misleading. Understandably, members who have been taught that this is the “true Church” begin to question their faith when progressive historians tell them that the Church isn’t so “true” after all.

It is a serious charge to suggest that Latter-day Saints have been betrayed by our dominant historical narrative given to us by our past leaders. Especially disconcerting is the suggestion that past Presidents of the Church lied to the members. The question is, does the “reconstructed narrative” promoted by Richard L. Bushman, Michael MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, Brant Gardner, and a growing number of others hold up when scrutinized against primary source credible history, and the scriptures?” Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim- Book of Mormon Translation on Trial

Editor’s Note: It is not necessarily the opinion of all those at Firm Foundation or Heartlander’s who agree with this opinion about some of the current Church historians. There is room for many opinions.

Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim- Book of Mormon Translation on Trial continues, “When it comes to the translation of the Book of Mormon, if one believes the testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, the answer is a resounding, no! Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon using a seer stone; his translation was genuine. He used ancient plates and the Nephite Urim and Thummim. He studied and exerted faith and his character was pure and honorable.

When it comes to the translation of the Book of Mormon, if one believes the testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, the answer is a resounding, no! Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon using a seer stone; his translation was genuine. He used ancient plates and the Nephite Urim and Thummim. He studied and exerted faith and his character was pure and honorable.

The battle in which we are currently engaged is a battle for the very heart of our faith. What was done to American history is now being done to the history of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The late 19th and 20th centuries saw progressive historians rewriting United States history and laudatory biographies of the early Founding Fathers (including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, etc.). The revisionists wrote a “new narrative” that included sordid accusations such as Thomas Jefferson having an affair with his black slave, Sally Hemings,11 or the allegation that George Washington was arrogant, vain, and ambitious,12 followed by other claims disparaging Benjamin Franklin as a womanizer 13 and Samuel Adams as a violent anarchist.14 The “new narrative” of the Founding Fathers asserts these men were atheists, agnostics, and deists. What has been the result? Today, our Constitution hangs by a thread.15 Our country is in severe decline, wracked with political division, and is collapsing from within. When progressive historians maligned the character of the Founding Fathers, they dishonestly eradicated our country’s righteousness and purity, degrading our heritage until there was nothing left to defend, nothing to stand for, nothing to be proud of. The foundation we abandoned has left our country crumbling. “Seer Stone v. Urim & Thummim- Book of Mormon Translation on Trial” by James and Hannah Stoddard, Page 219-220

Notes 11 See David Barton, The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012), 1-30. See Chapter 1, “Thomas Jefferson Fathered Sally Hemings’ Children.”. “So many things that we are told today about our Founding Fathers simply aren’t true – such as that Thomas Jefferson fathered the child of his slav girl, that he was an anti-Christian secularist who rewrote the Bible to his liking, and that he was just another racist, bigoted colonial. But historical fact proves otherwise – that Jefferson was a visionary, an innovator, a man who revered Jesus, and a man whose pioneering stand for liberty and God-given inalienable rights fostered a better world for this nation and its posterity.” (Description from WallBuilders.com) 12 See Jay A. Parry and Andrew M. Allison, The Real George Washington (National Center for Constitutional Studies, 1991), and Peter A. Lillback, George Washington’s Sacred Fire (Providence Forum Press, 2006). 13 Andrew M. Allison, W. Cleon Skousen, and M. Richard Maxfield, The Real Benjamin Franklin (Freemen Institute, 1982), 229-233. 14 Rod Gragg, Forged in Faith: How Faith Shaped the Birth of the Nation, 1607- 1776 (New York: Howard Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, 2011). 15 “31) HANG BY A THREAD: What Have Latter-day Prophets Taught concerning the Prophecy of Joseph Smith That the United States Constitution Would Hang by a Thread and Be Saved, If Saved at All, through the Efforts of the Elders of Israel?” Joseph Smith Foundation, accessed March 2019, https://josephsmithfoundation.org/faqs/government/31-hang-by-a-thread-what-have-latter-day-prophets-taught-concerning-the-prophecy-of-joseph-smith-that-the-united-states-constitution-would-hang-by-a-thread-and-be-saved-if-saved-at-all-through-the/

Jonathan Neville said, “The historical record shows that the peep stone-in-a-hat vs. the Urim and Thummim were two alternative narratives (the way “Mormonism Unveiled” {An anti-Mormon book] presented them in 1834). Church leadership, starting with Joseph and Oliver, have always taught the Urim and Thummim narrative. Even if only by implication, Joseph, Oliver and the others rejected the stone-in-a-hat narrative… Consequently, for 180+ years, no one who accepted Church leadership as honest, credible and reliable would depict the stone-in-a-hat narrative in a painting.

That deliberate choice between the two narratives leaves the stone-in-a-hat testimony hanging out there for critics to latch onto, just as Mormonism Unveiled did in 1834.

Some Church members apparently dismissed the stone-in-a-hat testimony as mere lies, but that strikes me as an unreasonable, nonhistorical position. That’s the type of explanation that non-Mormons would find not credible. It’s purely apologetic in nature, and it plays into the hands of the critics.

Apparently, Brother Sweat and other revisionist Church historians (such as the authors of From Darkness unto Light) also found that position untenable. Instead of choosing between the two narratives, they proposed a way to reconcile them. They came up with the idea that actually, there were not two different narratives.

They concluded that when Joseph, Oliver and their successors were teaching the Urim and Thummim narrative, they were also teaching the stone-in-a-hat narrative because they used the term Urim and Thummim to apply to both the Nephite interpreters and the seer stone.

This is a clever approach that has obvious appeal, but it relies on a false historical narrative present (meaning what people living in the 1830s and 1840s believed). Everyone can read Mormonism Unveiled and see that the two narratives were separate and distinct. As we’ve seen, Oliver Cowdery’s eight essays on Church history declared as a fact that Joseph translated with the Urim and Thummim that accompanied the plates; it was a deliberate affirmation of that narrative as opposed to the stone-in-a-hat.

Relying on a false historical narrative present to reconcile the accounts is problematic; it’s really no better, in terms of credibility, than claiming the stone-in-a-hat witnesses were all liars…

See Jonathan Neville’s  Full Blog here:

Quotes about the Urim and Thummim

“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).”10 Things We Know About the Urim and Thummim by Jay A. Parry and Larry E. Morris, adapted from “The Mormon Book of Lists” | Jan. 18, 2019 LDS Living

Joseph affirmed that he “translated from the plates,” and that he used the Urim and Thummim to do so. After the loss of the 116 pages by Martin Harris, both the plates and the Urim and Thummim were taken from him. Without the Urim and Thummim he could not translate.

During this period Joseph made a short visit to his parents in Manchester, New York, and then returned again to Pennsylvania. “Immediately after my return home,” he recounted, “I was walking out a little distance, when, behold, the former heavenly messenger appeared and handed to me the Urim and Thummim again for it had been taken from me in consequence of my having wearied the Lord in asking for the privilege of letting Martin Harris take the writings, which he lost by transgression and I inquired of the Lord through it, and obtained the following [section 3]” (Smith, History of the Church, 1:21-22).

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).

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.

Second, according to David Whitmer’s account of how the Book of Mormon was translated, Joseph Smith was the instrument of transmission, while translation rested solely with the Lord. This is simply a reflection of the notion of divine dictation, which holds that every word of scripture comes from God himself. If David Whitmer’s account is to be accepted, revelation also includes spelling and punctuation. This notion is at odds with the explanation found in Doctrine and Covenants 8 and 9, which details how revelation comes. In this respect, Richard Anderson observed that Whitmer “after decades of reflection outside of the Church, concluded that no modification could possibly be made in any revelation. This highly rigid view of these revelations matched his highly rigid view of the origin of the Book of Mormon” (“By the Gift and Power of God,” 84). By contrast Brigham Young observed, “Should the Lord Almighty send an angel to re-write the Bible, it would in many places be very different from what it now is. And I will even venture to say that if the Book of Mormon were now to be re-written, in many instances it would materially differ from the present translation” (Journal of Discourses, 9:311).

David Whitmer repeatedly said that if a word was misspelled, the translator would not be able to go on until it had been corrected. This hardly allows for the 3,913 changes that have been made between the first edition of the Book of Mormon and the edition presently in use.

Third, if the process of translation was simply a matter of reading from a seer stone in a hat, surely Oliver Cowdery could do that as well, if not better, than Joseph Smith. After all, Oliver was a schoolteacher. How then do we account for Oliver’s inability to translate? Further, regarding the use of a hat in translation, Joseph’s brother 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).

Fourth, Joseph Smith repeatedly testified to having both the plates and the Urim and Thummim returned to him. He further testified that he translated from the plates by the use of the Urim and Thummim.

Fifth, David Whitmer gave inconsistent accounts of the instrument used to translate. Thomas Wood Smith, in a published response about an interview he had with David Whitmer, who told him that Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim in translating the Book of Mormon, wrote, “When I first read Mr. Traughber’s paper in the Herald of November 15th, I thought that I would not notice his attack at all, as I supposed that I was believed by the Church to be fair and truthful in my statements of other men’s views, when I have occasion to use them, and I shall make this reply only: That unless my interview with David Whitmer in January, 1876, was only a dream, or that I failed to understand plain English, I believed then, and since, and now, that he said that Joseph possessed, and used the Urim and Thummim in the translation of the inscriptions referred to, and I remember of being much pleased with that statement, as I had heard of the ‘Seer stone’ being used. And unless I dreamed the interview, or very soon after failed to recollect the occasion, he described the form and size of the said Urim and Thummim. The nearest approach to a retraction of my testimony as given . . . publicly in many places from the stand from January, 1876, till now, is, that unless I altogether misunderstood ‘Father Whitmer’ on this point, he said the translation was done by the aid of the Urim and Thummim. If he says he did not intend to convey such an impression to my mind, then I say I regret that I misunderstood him, and unintentionally have misrepresented him. But that I understood him as represented by me frequently I still affirm” (as cited in Cook, David Whitmer Interviews, 56).

Outstanding Article Below

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) [From Revelations of the Restoration: A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2000), pp. 89-98]

http://emp.byui.edu/satterfieldb/Rel121/Process%20of%20Translating%20the%20BofM.pdf

“Joseph Smith relates that when Moroni first appeared to him, a description was given of the contents of the stone box that contained the metal plates and, “…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.” (JS-History-1:35). When the day arrived for Joseph to obtain the ancient record, he records that, “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.” (JS-History-1:52; see also pp. xv-xvi; emphasis added) (Artifacts:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_Plates_with_Urim_and_Thummim.jpg.)

The first mention of the Urim and Thummim is recorded in Exodus 28:30: “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” (See also Deut. 33:8; Ezra 2:63; emphasis added.) Urim ( םיִרּוא ) traditionally has been taken to derive from a root meaning lights; these derivations are reflected in the Neqqudot of the Masoretic Text. (George Foote Moore, “Urim and Thummim”, Encyclopedia Biblica, ed. Cheyne & Black, vol. IV (Q−Z), cols. 5235–5237, [1903]). In consequence, “Urim and Thummim” has traditionally been translated as “Lights and Perfections” (by Theodotion, for example), or, by taking the phrase allegorically, as meaning “Revelation and Truth”, or “Doctrine and Truth” (it appears in this form in the Vulgate, in the writing of St. Jerome, and in the Hexapla). (Hirsch, Emil G.; Muss-Arnolt, William; Bacher, Wilhelm; Blau, Ludwig (1906). “Urim and Thummim”. In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. 12. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 384–385.) These alternate meanings may have been the reason why Joseph Smith described the Book of Mormon as the “most correct book of any book on earth,” (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4:461.), as the book contains the fulness of the Gospel (“Doctrine and Truth”, e.g. “correct”) having been translated using these sacred instruments or “interpreters.” The “interpreters”, or instruments, were prepared specifically for translation of the ancient language of the Jaredites into the Book of Ether. After their use, Moroni was commanded to seal them up: “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; emphasis added.) The “interpreters” were composed of two stones: “And behold, 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) In the Wentworth Letter, the Prophet wrote: “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; emphasis added; see p. 551.) Oliver Cowdery was Joseph Smith’s scribe for most of the translation of the Book of Mormon. He described his feelings in the October 1834 Messenger and Advocate [the Church newspaper in Kirtland, Ohio], by writing: “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). When Oliver Cowdery rejoined the Church in 1848, he reaffirmed his testimony about the Urim and Thummim as he spoke to an Iowa conference. “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.” (Smith, Joseph Fielding, “The Restoration of All Things.” Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, [1973], 113; emphasis added.) Before Oliver Cowdery acted as Joseph’s scribe, it was Martin Harris who assisted Joseph in acting as his scribe while translating the book of Lehi. Martin lost those 116 pages, and as a result, the Lord told Joseph in a revelation given April, 1829, informing him of the alteration of the Manuscript of the fore part of the Book of Mormon: “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…” (“Doctrine and Covenants 36:1, [D&C 10:1-3; p. xxxi], 1844,” p. 240, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2019, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844/242; emphasis added.) The Lord revealed through Joseph Smith that Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris (the three witnesses) were to be privileged to view these scared instruments: “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..” (D&C 1717:1, given June 1829, Fayette, New York; emphasis added.) Shortly after the Book of Mormon was published, detractors of the Church published Mormonism Unvailed, a scathing attack on Joseph and his method of translation where it stated: 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 [scribe], who committed it to paper, when another word would immediately appear, and thus the performance continued to the end of the book. (Emphasis added; https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe/page/18.)

It should be noted that those opposed to Joseph Smith used these false statements to justify their disaffection and apostasy from the Church. This is reinforced by this observation: “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… If the process of translation was simply a matter of reading from a seer stone in a hat, surely Oliver Cowdery could do that as well, if not better, than Joseph Smith. After all, Oliver was a schoolteacher. How then do we account for Oliver’s inability to translate? Further, regarding the use of a hat in translation, Joseph’s brother 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), “The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon,” from Revelations of the Restoration: A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants and Other Modern Revelations (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2000), pp. 89-98; https://emp.byui.edu/SatterfieldB/Rel121/Process%20of%20Translating%20the%20BofM.pdf.) Those advocating that Joseph used an old “peep stone in a hat”, where transmitted English words were formed on them, seem to question the statements of the Prophet, his scribe and the Lord in the manner ancient Nephite characters on the metal plates were actually translated into Joseph Smith’s mental bank of the English language he drew upon during the translation. The plates were therefore necessary in the translation and both the Three and Eight Witnesses testified they saw and handled them, bearing their testimonies to the world to that truth.” Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 546-6