Difference between revisions of "Mormonism and Wikipedia/Golden plates"

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[[Image:Joseph Smith receiving golden plates.jpg|225px|thumb|An 1893 engraving depicting [[Joseph Smith]]'s description of receiving artifacts from the [[angel Moroni]]. The artifacts include the golden plates and a set of spectacles made of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which Smith called the ''[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]''. The [[sword of Laban]] and an ancient breastplate are shown nearby.]]
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==={{WikipediaUpdate|9/21/2011}}===
  
According to the theology of [[Latter Day Saint movement]] churches, the '''golden plates''' (also called the '''''gold plates''''' or in some 19th century literature, the '''''golden Bible''''')<!--
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FOOTNOTE--><ref>Use of the terms ''golden bible'' and ''gold Bible'' by both believers and non-believers dates from the late 1820s. See, for instance, {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}} (use of the term ''gold Bible'' by [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] in 1827); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=102, 109, 113, 145}} (use of the term ''gold Bible'' in 1827–29 by believing Palmyra neighbors); {{Harvtxt|Grandin|1829}} (stating that by 1829 the plates were "generally known and spoken of as the 'Golden Bible'"). Use of these terms has been rare, especially by believers, since the 1830s.</ref><!--
 
  
--> are a book of bound and engraved metal plates that [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] said was his source for the [[Book of Mormon]]. [[Book of Mormon witnesses|Some followers]] and relatives of Smith testified that they saw the plates, and Smith said he returned them to an angel after translating them.  Therefore, if they existed, they are not available for researchers to examine. Although most outside of the Latter Day Saint movement dismiss Joseph Smith's story of the golden plates as "beyond belief,"<!--
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FOOTNOTE--><ref name="harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=58">{{harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=58}}.</ref><!--
 
  
--> to [[Latter Day Saints]] their existence is a matter of faith.
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{{Endnotes sources}}
 
 
Joseph Smith said he was guided to the plates on September 22, 1823 on [[Cumorah|Cumorah Hill]], [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester]], [[New York]], in a buried box. Smith said they had been protected there for centuries by the [[angel Moroni]], once a mortal prophet and the book's final author, and the one who guided him to the plates. According to Smith, the angel told him he could not take possession of the plates until he obeyed certain commandments, which included making four annual visits to the spot.
 
 
 
Smith's 1827 announcement that he had uncovered an ancient golden book brought him local notoriety.  The curious came to see the wooden chest where they were told the plates were stored; but Smith said that the angel had commanded him not to show the plates to anyone else until a later date.  After moving near his wife's parents in northern [[Pennsylvania]], Smith dictated to scribes what he said was an English translation of the inscribed characters on the plates, a language he described as [[reformed Egyptian]]. This reputed translating took place sporadically between 1827 and 1829 and consisted, according to most accounts, of Smith's looking into a hat containing a [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|"seer stone"]] in which he said he could see the translated words and characters.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Although Smith's use of a single stone is well documented {{Harv|Wagoner|1982|pp=59–62}}, one of his own accounts states that with the plates he found a set of stone spectacles called the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], which he used to make the translation {{Harv|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|1838a|p=5}}. He said the angel also commanded him not to show the Urim and Thummim to others (id.).  Other than Smith himself, [[Lucy Mack Smith|his mother]] was the sole known witness of the Urim and Thummim, which she said she had observed them when covered by a thin cloth {{harv|Smith|1853|p=101}}.</ref>
 
 
 
During this period, Smith also began dictating [[Doctrine and Covenants|written commandments]] in the voice of God, including a commandment to form a new church and to choose [[Book of Mormon witnesses|eleven men]] who would join Smith as witnesses. These men declared, in two statements attached to the 1830 published Book of Mormon, that they had seen the plates.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Two separate statements were later incorporated into printed editions of the Book of Mormon.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Some of these witnesses gave descriptions of the plates, not entirely consistent with one another. According to Smith, he then returned the plates to the angel Moroni. Many adherents of the faith believe that Moroni retains them or that they are hidden in the hill Cumorah.
 
 
 
The golden plates are the most significant of a number of metallic plates important in Latter Day Saint history and theology, many of which are mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Although the Book of Mormon is generally accepted by adherents as a sacred text, not all Latter Day Saints view the plates as an ancient, physical artifact engraved by ancient prophets.
 
 
 
==Origin and historicity==
 
{{seealso|Origin of the Book of Mormon|Historicity of the Book of Mormon}}
 
 
 
In the words of LDS historian [[Richard Bushman]], "For most modern readers, the [golden] plates are beyond belief, a phantasm, yet the Mormon sources accept them as fact."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref name="harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=58"/><!--
 
 
 
--> Because Joseph Smith said he returned the plates to [[angel Moroni|an angel]] after he finished translating them, their authenticity—if they ever existed—cannot be determined by direct physical examination.  Most believing Mormons believe in the golden plates as a matter of faith.
 
 
 
Nevertheless, the golden plates were allegedly shown to [[Book of Mormon witnesses|several close associates]] of Joseph Smith,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Only close associates of Joseph Smith were allowed to become official witnesses to the plates; he invited no strangers, or women, to view them. These witnesses, first a group of three, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, and then a group of eight—five members of the Whitmer family, Joseph Smith's father, and two of his brothers, Hyrum and Samuel—all said they "saw and hefted" the plates. See Jan Shipps, "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition," University of Illinois Press, pp. 23.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> and the [[Book of Mormon]] exists as its reputed translation.  Thus, Mormon apologists and Mormon critics can debate indirect evidence only: they may ask whether the [[Book of Mormon]] narrative is consistent with science and history and whether its witnesses are credible.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>See generally {{Harvtxt|Metcalfe|1993}}, which outlines the main arguments for and against Book of Mormon authenticity.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Although not the basis of their faith, many Mormons take this research seriously. Mormon scholars have formed collaborations such as [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies]] to provide [[apologetics|apologetic]] answers to critical research about the golden plates and topics in the field of Mormon studies.  Among these topics, the credibility of the plates has been, according to Bushman, a "troublesome item."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>"The Mormon sources constantly refer to the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smith's history, the gold plates on which the Book of Mormon was said to be written. For most modern readers, the plates are beyond belief, a phantasm, yet the Mormon sources accept them as fact." {{harvtxt|Bushman|2005}p=58}}. Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, ''Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999)'' begin a chapter called "The Gold Bible" (259-277) with a question posed by liberal Mormon Brigham D. Madsen, "'Were there really gold plates and ministering angels, or was there just Joseph Smith seated at a table with his face in a hat dictating to a scribe a fictional account of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas?' Resolving that problem haunts loyal Mormons." (259)</ref>
 
 
 
[[Image:caractors large.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A reputed transcript of [[reformed Egyptian]] characters, which Smith said were copied from the golden plates in 1828. The characters are not linked to any known language.]]
 
 
 
The [[Book of Mormon]] itself portrays the golden plates as a historical record, engraved by two [[pre-Columbian]] prophet-historians from around the year AD 400: [[Mormon (prophet)|Mormon]] and his son [[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]]. Mormon and Moroni, the book says, had abridged earlier historical records from other sets of metal plates. Their script, according to the book, was called "[[reformed Egyptian]]," a language unknown to linguists or Egyptologists.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|p=538}}. Standard language references such as {{Harvtxt|Daniels|Bright|1996}}; {{Harvtxt|Crystal|1997}}; and {{Harvtxt|Woodard|2004}} contain no reference to "reformed Egyptian". "Reformed Egyptian" is also not discussed in {{Harvtxt|Robinson|2002}}, although it is mentioned in {{harvtxt|Williams|1991}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> According to the book, the language began as [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]],<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=1 Nephi|chapter=1|verse=2}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> then was altered based on speech patterns.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Mormon|chapter=9|verse=32-34}} ("altered...according to our manner of speech").</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Historically, [[Latter Day Saint movement]] denominations have taught that the Book of Mormon's description of the plates' origin is accurate, and that the Book of Mormon is a translation of the plates.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Book of Mormon (LDS edition), Introduction (expressing the LDS view that the Book of Mormon "is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas", and that the book is a translation of the golden plates "into the English language".)</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> The [[Community of Christ]], however, while accepting the Book of Mormon as scripture, no longer takes an official position on the historicity of the golden plates.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>McMurray, W. Grant, "They "Shall Blossom as the Rose": Native Americans and the Dream of Zion," an address delivered February 17, 2001, accessed on Community of Christ website, September 1, 2006 at http://web.archive.org/web/20070817021355/http://cofchrist.org/docs/NativeAmericanConference/keynote.asp ("The proper use of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historicity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity."). At the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference, President Stephen M. Veazey ruled a resolution to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record" out of order. In so doing he stated that "while the Church affirms the Book of Mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree of belief or use. This position is in keeping with our longstanding tradition that belief in the Book of Mormon is not to be used as a test of fellowship or membership in the church." Andrew M. Shields, "Official Minutes of Business Session, Wednesday March 28, 2007," in 2007 World Conference Thursday Bulletin, March 29, 2007. Community of Christ, 2007.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Moreover, even in the more theologically conservative [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS Church]], some adherents who accept the Book of Mormon as inspired scripture do not believe it is a literal translation of a physical historical record.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>"In the early 20th century, [[B. H. Roberts]], historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), entertained the notion that Joseph Smith was capable of producing the Book of Mormon himself. In 1999, Richard N. Ostling, a religion journalist, wrote that within "the loyal Mormon community, there is a moderate intellectual group that believes the Book of Mormon does have ancient roots but, as part of the process of revelation properly understood, is expressed through nineteenth-century thought processes....an ancient text mediated through the mind of Joseph Smith" (Osling 1999, 264).</ref>
 
 
 
Non-believers and some liberal Mormons have advanced naturalistic explanations for the story of the plates. For example, it has been theorized that the plates were fashioned by Joseph Smith or one of his associates,<!--
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=98, 600 note 65}} (suggesting the plates were made of common tin). To former Mormon Dan Vogel, "construction of such a book would have been relatively easy.  There were scraps of tin available on the Smith property and elsewhere in the vicinity, and during the several hours Joseph was separated from Emma the night they went to the hill and on other occasions, he could have easily set up shop in the cave on the other side of the hill or in some corner of the forest.  Using a pair of metal shears, it would have been easy to cut a number of 6 x 8 sheets....A book made of tin plates of the dimensions ( 6 x 8 x 6 inches) described by Smith would have weighed between fifty and sixty pounds, corresponding to the weight that was mentioned by eye-witness accounts."</ref><!--
 
 
--> that Joseph Smith had the ability to convince others of their existence through [[magic (illusion)|illusions]] or [[hypnosis]],<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Riley|1903|p=211}} (proposing the theory that Smith hypnotized his followers in a way that suggested to them that they had seen the plates).</ref><!--
 
 
--> or that the plates were [[mysticism|mystical]] and should be understood in the context of Smith's historical era, when [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] was an accepted part of reality.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Metcalfe|1993|p=178}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> These theories are explored in the article ''[[Origin of the Book of Mormon]]''. Scholarly examinations of the plates' historicity are discussed in the article ''[[Historicity of the Book of Mormon]]''.
 
 
 
==Story of the golden plates==
 
The story of the golden plates consists of how, according to [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] and his contemporaries, the plates were found, received from the [[angel Moroni]], translated, and returned to the angel prior to the publication of the [[Book of Mormon]].  Joseph Smith is the only source for a great deal of the story because much of it occurred at times when he was the only human witness.  Nevertheless, Smith told the story to his family, friends, and acquaintances; and many of these provided second-hand accounts.  Other parts of the story are derived from the statements of those who knew Smith, including [[Book of Mormon witnesses|several witnesses]] who said they saw the golden plates.
 
 
 
The best known elements of the golden plates story are found in a version told by Smith in 1838 and incorporated into the official church histories of some [[Latter Day Saint movement]] denominations.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a}};{{harvtxt|Roberts|1902|loc=ch.1-6}} (official history of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]); RLDS History of the Church, vol. 1, ch. 1-2 (official history of the [[Community of Christ]]).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The LDS Church]] has [[Biblical canon|canonized]] part of this 1838 account as part of its [[religious text|scripture]], [[Pearl of Great Price (Latter Day Saints)|The Pearl of Great Price]].
 
 
 
===Background===
 
{{Main|Early life of Joseph Smith, Jr.}}
 
 
 
During the [[Second Great Awakening]], [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] lived on his parents' farm near [[Palmyra (village), New York|Palmyra, New York]]. At the time churches in the region contended so vigorously for souls that western New York became known as the "[[burned-over district]]" because the fires of religious revivals had burned over it so often.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Jan Shipps, "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition," University of Illinois Press, pp. 7</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Western New York was also noted for its participation in a "craze for treasure hunting."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Bennett|1893}}. The treasure-seeking culture in early 19th century [[New England]] is described in {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=25–26}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Beginning as a youth in the early 1820s, Smith was periodically hired, for about $14 per month, as a [[scrying|scryer]], using what were termed [[Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|"seer stones"]] in attempts to locate lost items and buried treasure.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}} (stating that he was what he called a "money digger", but saying that it "was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it").</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith's contemporaries described his method for seeking treasure as putting the stone in a white [[stovepipe hat]], putting his face over the hat to block the light, and then "seeing" the information in the reflections of the stone.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1833|pp=253-54}}; {{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=265}}; {{Harvtxt|Clark|1842|p=225}}; {{Harvtxt|Turner|1851|p=216}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}}; {{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|pp=20–21}}; {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=305}}; {{Harvtxt|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}; {{Harvtxt|Mather|1880|p=199}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51, 54–55}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
-->
 
 
 
Smith did not consider himself to be a common "peeper" or [[crystal gazing|"glass-looker,"]] a practice he called "nonsense."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51,</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Rather, Smith and his family viewed their folk magical practices as [[spiritual gift]]s.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51. [[Lucy Mack Smith]] later remembered that the family did abandon its labor "to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or sooth saying to the neglect of all kinds of business.  We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation but whilst we worked with our hands we endeavored to remember the service of & the welfare of our souls."</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Later, Smith would view the power of [[Seer stones (Latter Day Saints)|"seeing"]] as the greatest of all divine gifts, greater even than that of a [[prophet]].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Book of Mormon, Mosiah 8:15-17.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Although Smith later rejected his youthful treasure-hunting activities as frivolous and immaterial, he never repudiated the stones themselves nor denied their presumed power to find treasure; nor did he ever relinquish the magic culture in which he was raised.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51}} Smith "never repudiated the stones or denied their power to find treasure. Remnants of the magical culture stayed with him to the end."; Jan Shipps, ''Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition,'' University of Illinois Press, 11.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Joseph Smith's first stone, apparently the same one he used at least part of the time to translate the golden plates, was chocolate-colored and about the size of an egg,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1930|p=129}}. Roberts was at the time the official historian of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], and his opinion has considerable weight, given that the LDS Church attempted to downplay any influence of magic in early Latter Day Saint history.<{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> found in a deep well he helped dig for one of his neighbors.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=163}}; {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|pp=305–306}}. The stone was found in either 1819 ({{Harvnb|Tucker|1867|pp=19–20}} {{Harvnb|Bennett|1893}}) or 1822 {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=240}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> This stone may still be in the possession of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>[[Joseph Fielding Smith]] (a former president of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]): "The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the [[Manti Utah Temple|Manti Temple]] when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is currently in the possession of the Church." ''Doctrines of Salvation'' 3: 225.</ref>
 
 
 
===Finding the plates===
 
According to Smith, he found the plates after he was directed to them by a heavenly messenger<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Smith referred to the visitor as an "angel of the Lord" at least as early as 1832 {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=4}}, and possibly as early as 1829 (''Early Mormon Documents'' 1:151-152). Some early accounts related by non-Mormons described this angel as a "spirit" ({{Harvnb|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvnb|Harris|1833|p=253}}; {{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=242}}) or a "ghost" {{Harv|Burnett|1831}}; see also {{Harvtxt|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}} (a later-published account using the "ghost" terminology). In 1838, however, Smith later said that the "angel" was a man who had been "dead, and raised again therefrom" {{Harv|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> whom he later identified as the [[angel Moroni]].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|1835|p=180}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}}. In distinction from his other accounts, Smith's 1838 autobiography said that the angel's name was Nephi {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=4}}; nevertheless, modern historians and Latter Day Saints generally refer to the angel as Moroni.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> According to the story, the angel first visited Smith's bedroom late at night<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>According to Joseph's sister, Smith was lying in bed thinking about his [[First Vision]] {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=11}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> on [[September 22]]<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>[[September 22]] was listed in a local [[almanac]] as the [[autumn equinox|autumnal equinox]], which has led D. Michael Quinn to argue that the date had astrological significance in Smith's worldview ({{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=144}}; however, this ostensible astrological significance is never mentioned by Smith or his contemporaries.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> in 1822 or 1823.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Smith's first mention of the angel in later histories is an appearance on the eve of September 22, 1823 {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=4}}; however, other accounts say or imply that the angel may have appeared a year earlier in 1822. Smith's first history in 1832 said the angel's first visit was on September 22, 1822, although he also said he was "seventeen years of age" {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=3}}, which would have made the year 1823 (he turned 17 in December 1822). In 1835, after [[Oliver Cowdery]] initially dated the angel's visit to the "15th year of our brother J. Smith Jr's, age", Cowdery changed the statement to read the 17th year of his age (16 years old, or 1822)—but he said this visit in Smith's "17th year" occurred in 1823 {{Harv|Cowdery|1835a|p=78}}. Smith's father is quoted by an inquirer who visited his house in 1830 as saying that the first visit by the angel took place in 1822 but that he did not learn about it until 1823 {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}. A Smith neighbor who said Smith told him the story in 1823 said the angel appeared "a year or two before" the death of Joseph's brother Alvin in November 1823.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Moroni told Smith that the plates could be found buried in a prominent hill near his home, later called ''[[Cumorah]]'', a name taken from the [[Book of Mormon]].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=4}} (identifying the hill, but not referring to it by a name); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}} (referring to the hill as ''[[Cumorah]]'').</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Before dawn, Moroni reappeared two more times and repeated the information.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=7}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707}}.</ref>
 
 
 
But the angel would not allow Smith to take the plates until he obeyed certain "commandments".<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}} (saying the angel told him to obey his charge concerning the plates, "otherwise I could not get them"); {{Harvtxt|Clark|1842|pp=225–26}} (the angel "told him that he must follow implicitly the divine direction, or he would draw down upon him the wrath of heaven"); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=83}} (characterizing the angel's requirements as "commandments of God", and saying Smith could receive the plates "not only until he was willing, but able" to keep those commandments).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith recorded some of these commandments, and contemporaries to whom he told the story said there were others, all of which are relevant to the modern debate about whether, or how closely, events of early Mormonism were related to the practice of contemporary [[folk magic]].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>See, e.g., {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith's writings say that the angel required at least the following: (1) that he have no thought of using the plates for monetary gain,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=5}} (saying he was commanded to "have an eye single to the glory of God"); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}} (saying the angel commanded him to "have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God".)</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> (2) that he tell his father about the vision,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Smith's mother [[Lucy Mack Smith]] said he was commanded to tell his father during the third vision {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=81}}, but he disobeyed because he didn't think his father would believe him, and the angel appeared a fourth time to rebuke him and reiterate the commandment (82). Joseph Smith and his sister Katharine said the angel gave him the commandment in his fourth visit, but did not say whether he had received the commandment earlier that night ({{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=12}}). Smith's father is quoted by a skeptical interviewer to say that in 1830, Smith delayed telling his father about the vision for about a year {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}. Smith's brother William, who was 11 at the time, said the angel commanded him to tell his entire family {{Harv|Smith|1883|p=9}}, although he may have been remembering Smith tell the story that night ''after'' he visited the hill, according to their mother's recollection {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=83}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> and (3) that he never show the plates to any unauthorized person.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvtxt|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith's contemporaries who heard the story—both sympathetic and unsympathetic—generally agreed that Smith mentioned the following additional commandments: (4) that Smith take the plates and leave the site where they had been buried without looking back,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>This commandment is described in the account of [[Joseph Knight, Sr.]], a loyal Latter Day Saint friend of Smith's {{Harv|Knight|1833|p=2}}, and Willard Chase, an associate of Smith's in Palmyra during the 1820s {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=242}}. Both Knight and Chase were treasure seekers, but while Knight remained a loyal follower until his death, Chase was a critic of Smith's by the early 1830s.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> and (5) that the plates never directly touch the ground until safe at home in a locked chest.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>There is agreement on this commandment by Smith's mother {{Harv|Smith|1853|pp=85–86}} and sister {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} and by two non-Mormons ({{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=242}}; {{Harvnb|Lapham|1870|p=305}}).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Some unsympathetic listeners who heard the story from Smith or his father recalled that Smith had said the angel required him (6) to wear "black clothes" to the place where the plates were buried,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref> {{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (an affidavit of Willard Chase, a non-Latter Day Saint treasure seeker who believed Smith wrongly appropriated his seer stone). Chase said he heard the story from Smith's father in 1827. Fayette Lapham, who traveled to Palmyra in 1830 to inquire about the Latter Day Saint movement and heard the story from Joseph Smith, Sr., said Smith was told to wear an "old-fashioned suit of clothes, of the same color as those worn by the angel", but Lapham did not specify what color of clothing the angel was wearing {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> (7) to ride a "black horse with a switchtail",<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (affidavit of Willard Chase, relating story heard from Smith's father in 1827). A friendly but non-believing Palmyra neighbor, Lorenzo Saunders, heard the story in 1823 from Joseph Smith, Jr., and also said Smith was to required to ride a black horse to the hill {{Harv|Saunders|1884b}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> (8) to call for the plates by a certain name,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (affidavit of the skeptical Willard Chase).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> and (9) to "give thanks to God."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (statement of Orson Saunders of Palmyra, who heard the story from Benjamin Saunders, who heard the story from Joseph Smith).</ref>
 
 
 
[[Image:Mormon Hill engraving (1841).gif|right|300px|thumb|An 1841 engraving of "[[Cumorah|Mormon Hill]]" (looking south), where Smith said he found the Golden Plates on the west side, near the peak.]]
 
 
 
In the morning, Smith began work as usual and did not mention the visions to his father<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> because, he said, he did not think his father would believe him.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=12}} (stating that Smith told the angel during the fourth visit that he was afraid his Father would not believe him).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith said he then fainted because he had been awake all night, and while unconscious, the angel appeared a fourth time and chastised him for failing to tell the visions to his father.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> When Smith then told all to his father, he believed his son and encouraged him to obey the angel's commands.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}. Smith's brother William, who was 11 at the time, said he also told the rest of his family that day prior to visiting the hill {{Harv|Smith:1883|pp=9–10}}, although he may have been remembering Smith tell the story the night ''after'' he visited the hill, according to their mother's recollection {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=83}}. Smith's sister Katharine said that Joseph told his father and the two oldest brothers Alvin and [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] the morning prior to visiting the hill, but Katharine was too young (10 years old) to understand what they were talking about {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith then set off to visit the hill, later stating that he used his seer stone to locate the place where the plates were buried<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1833|p=252}} (statement by Henry Harris, a non-Mormon Palmyra resident); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=163}} (statement by Martin Harris, a Latter Day Saint who became one of the Three Witnesses of the Golden Plates). According to one hearer of the account, Smith used the seer stone to follow a sequence of landmarks by horse and on foot until he arrived at the place the plates were buried.{{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=305}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> but that he "knew the place the instant that [he] arrived there."<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|pp=6–7}}.</ref>
 
 
 
Smith said he saw a large stone covering a box made of stone (or possibly iron).<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Most accounts, including those written by Smith, say the plates were found in a stone box ({{Harvnb|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|pp=15–16}}; {{Harvnb|Whitmer|1875}}, calling it a "stone casket", and stating that Smith had to dig down for the box "two and a half or three feet"); according to two non-believing witnesses, however, Smith said they were buried in an iron box ({{Harvnb|Bennett|1831|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Using a stick to remove dirt from the edges of the stone cover, and prying it up with a lever,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith saw the plates inside the box, together with other artifacts.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|pp=15–16}}. According to various accounts, these artifacts may have included a breastplate ({{Harvnb|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=16}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}, saying it was the "breast-plate of Laban"), a set of large spectacles made of seer stones ({{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=243}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=16}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}), the Liahona, the sword of Laban ({{Harvnb|Lapham|1870|pp=306, 308}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}), the brass plates of Laban {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}, the vessel in which the gold was melted, a rolling machine for gold plates, and three balls of gold as large as a fist {{Harv|Harris|1833|p=253}}.</ref>
 
 
 
===Unsuccessful retrieval attempts===
 
According to Smith's followers, Smith said he took the plates from the box, put them on the ground, and covered the box with the stone to protect the other treasures it contained.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account by Joseph Knight, Sr., a loyal life-long follower who had worked with Smith in treasure expeditions); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account by Smith's mother, saying this occurred on Smith's ''second'' visit to the hill); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister, saying this occurred on Smith's ''third'' visit to the hill, but that it happened prior to their brother Alvin's death, which was in November 1823); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=197}} (account by Smith's second-in-command Oliver Cowdery, stating that when Smith was looking in the box for other artifacts, he hadn't yet removed the plates).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Nevertheless, the accounts say, when Smith looked back at the ground after closing the box, the plates had once again disappeared into it.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account by Smith's mother); {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account by Smith's life-long friend Joseph Knight, Sr.); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> According to two non-believing Palmyra residents, when Smith once again raised the stone and attempted to retrieve the plates, Smith saw something in the box like a toad that grew larger and struck him to the ground.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (account of Palmyra resident Willard Chase, who heard the story from Smith's father in 1827 and was a non-believer); {{Harvtxt|Saunders|1884a}} (account of Benjamin Saunders, a sympathetic non-believer who heard the story from Joseph Smith in 1827); {{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (account of Orson Saunders, a non-believer who heard it from Benjamin Saunders).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Although Smith's followers do not mention a toad-like creature, they agree with several non-believers that Smith said he was stricken by a supernatural force that hurled him to the ground as many as three times.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Writing with Smith's assistance for a church periodical, Oliver Cowdery said that Smith was stricken three times with an ever increasing force, persisting after the second blow because he thought the plates were held by the power of an "enchantment" (like hidden-treasure stories he had heard) that could be overcome by physical exertion {{Harv|Cowdery|1835b|pp=197–98}}. Smith's mother said he was stricken by a force but did not say how many times {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=86}}. Willard Chase said Smith was stricken at least twice {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=242}}. Fayette Lapham, who said he heard the story in about 1830 from Smith's father, said Smith was stricken three times with ever-increasing force {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=306}}. Two neighbors who heard the story from Smith in Harmony in the late 1820s said Smith was knocked down three times {{Harv|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}. Smith himself said he made three unsuccessful attempts to take the plates that day, but he did not mention his being stricken {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=3}}. Smith's sister Katharine stated that three times, "he felt a pressure pushing hom [him] away" {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}. [[David Whitmer]] said that the angel struck Smith three times with such force that he was knocked off the hill onto the surrounding plain and had to reascend it {{Harv|Whitmer|1875}}.</ref>
 
 
 
Disconcerted by his inability to obtain the plates, Smith said he briefly wondered whether his experience had been a "dreem of Vision" [sic].<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Concluding that it was not, he said he prayed asking why he had been barred from taking the plates.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (saying Smith exclaimed, "why Cant I stur this Book?"); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=198}} (saying that Smith exclaimed, without premeditation, "Why can I not obtain this book?"); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (saying Smith asked, "Lord, what have I done, that I can not get these records?")</ref>
 
 
 
In response to his question, Smith said the angel appeared and told him he could not receive the plates because he "had been tempted of the advisary (sic) and saught (sic) the Plates to obtain riches and kept not the commandments that I should have".<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (saying the angel said "you cant have it now", to which Smith responded, "when can I have it?" and the angel said "the 22nt Day of September next if you Bring the right person with you".); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|pp=197–98}} (stating that although Smith "supposed his success certain", his failure to keep the "commandments" led to his inability to obtain them). In Smith's 1838 account he said the angel had already told him he would not receive the plates for another four years {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=7}}. Smith's brother, who was 11 at the time, said "upon his return [he] told us that in consequence of his not obeying strictly the commandments which the angel had given him, he could not obtain the record until four years from that time" {{Harv|Smith|1883|p=10}}. Smith's sister Katharine (who was 10 at the time) said that Moroni told Smith, "You have not obeyed the commandments as you were commanded to; you must obey His commandments in every particular. You were not to lay them out of your hands until you had them in safe keeping" {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> According to Smith's followers, Smith had also broken the angel's commandment "not to lay the plates down, or put them for a moment out of his hands",<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> and according to a non-believer, Smith said "I had forgotten to give thanks to God" as required by the angel.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (statement of Orson Saunders, who heard the account from his uncle Benjamin Saunders, who heard it from Smith in 1827).</ref>
 
 
 
Smith said the angel instructed him to return the next year, on September 22, 1824, with the "right person": his older brother Alvin.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account of Joseph Knight, Sr., a life-long follower of Smith); {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=307}} (account of Fayette Lapham, who became a skeptic after hearing the story from Smith's father in 1830); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister Katharine).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Alvin died in November 1823, and Smith returned to the hill in 1824 to ask what he should do.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}. {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account of Smith's mother). About the time of the scheduled September 22, 1824 meeting with the angel that Alvin was to attend, there were rumors in Palmyra that Alvin's body had been dug up and dissected. To quell these rumors, Joseph's father brought witnesses to exhume the body three days after Joseph's reported meeting with the angel ([[September 25]]) and then ran a notice in a local newspaper stating that the body remained undisturbed—except, of course, by Smith, Sr. and the witnesses. {{Harv|Smith|1824}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> Smith said he was told to return the following year (1825) with the "right person"—although the angel did not tell Smith who that person might be.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (saying the angel said, "You will know her when you see her.").</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> For the visit on September 22, 1825, Smith may have attempted to bring his treasure-hunting associate Samuel T. Lawrence,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=243}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}} (saying Lawrence was a seer and had been to the hill and knew what was there); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}} (identifying Samuel T. Lawrence as a practitioner of [[crystal gazing]]).</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> but eventually, Smith determined after looking into his seer stone that the "right person" was Emma Hale, his future wife.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (saying that Smith "knew when he saw her that she was the one to go with him to get the records").</ref>
 
 
 
Smith said that he visited the hill "at the end of each year" for four years after the first visit in 1823,<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> but there is no record of him being in the vicinity of Palmyra between January 1826 and January 1827 when he returned to New York from Pennsylvania with his new wife.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=99–100}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> In January 1827, Smith visited the hill and then told his parents that the angel had severely chastised him for not being "engaged enough in the work of the Lord",<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=99}}.</ref><!--
 
 
 
--> which may have meant that he had missed his annual visit to the hill in 1826.<!--
 
 
 
FOOTNOTE--><ref>Smith's father is cited as stating Smith was late one year and missed the date for visiting the hill, and therefore was chastised by the angel {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=307}}.</ref>
 
 
 
*[[/Receiving|Receiving the plates]]
 
*[[/Translating|Translating the plates]]
 
*[[/Location|Reputed location of the plates during translation]]
 
*[[/Returning the plates|Returning the plates]]
 
 
 
==Descriptions of the plates==
 
*[[/Witness accounts|Witness accounts]]
 
*[[/Format|Described format, binding, and dimensions]]
 
*[[/Composition and weight|Described composition and weight]]
 
*[[/Sealed portion|"Sealed portion"]]
 
*[[/Claimed engravings|Claimed engravings]]
 
*[[/Significance|The significance of the golden plates in the Latter Day Saint tradition]]
 
 
 
==Notes==
 
{{Reflist|3}}
 
 
 
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</div>
 

Latest revision as of 06:18, 15 May 2024

Contents

An analysis of Wikipedia article "Golden plates"



A FAIR Analysis of: "Golden plates", a work by author: Various

An analysis of claims made in Wikipedia article "Golden plates"


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 Updated 9/21/2011

An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Introduction


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Origin and historicity


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Story


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Background


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Finding the plates


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Unsuccessful retrieval attempts




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Receiving the plates




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Translating the plates




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Reputed location of the plates during translation




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Returning the plates




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Witness accounts




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Described format, binding, and dimensions




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Described composition and weight




An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - "Sealed" portion


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Claimed engravings


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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Significance




Wikipedia and anti-Mormon literature
Key sources
  • Roger Nicholson, "Mormonism and Wikipedia: The Church History That 'Anyone Can Edit'," Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 1/8 (14 September 2012). [151–190] link
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