Source analysis of MormonThink page "Translation of the Book of Mormon"
MormonThink's practice of copying blocks of text from a variety of websites produces a very confusing citation scheme. In many cases, citation links simply lead back to the main page of an anti-Mormon website without providing a path to the actual source document. This page lists the actual cited sources and provides links to them where possible. Since MormonThink does not provide a consistent citation list, we identify quotes using the first few words.
Primary sources
- "In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day..."
- Emma Smith Bidamon Interview with Joseph Smith III, February 1879, cited in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, Vol. 1. p. 541.
- The website does not provide this citation.
- "Smith's wife Emma supported Harris's and Whitmer's versions of the story..."
- Personal interview Emma Smith-Bidamon gave to a committee of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1879, cited in Robert N. Hullinger, Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism, pp. 9-10.
- "I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated..."
- David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ (Richmond, MO: n.p., 1887), 12.
- Misdirected link—The citation "4" does not link to the text of the actual source document, but instead links to the main page of the anti-Mormon countercult site "Mormons in Transition"
- The actual source document may be read on the neutral site Wikisource here: An Address to All Believers in Christ.
- "I, as well as all of my father's family, Smith's wife, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, were present during the translation..."
- Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, p. 12. Also, Interview given to Kansas City Journal, June 5, 1881, reprinted in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Journal of History, vol. 8, (1910), pp. 299-300.
- Misdirected link—The citation "5" does not link to the text of the actual source document, but instead links to the main page of the anti-Mormon countercult site "Mormons in Transition"
- "Martin Harris related an incident that occurred during the time..."
- Edward Stevenson, "One of the Three Witnesses," Millennial Star, Vol. 44:86-87.
- Misdirected link—The citation "7" does not link to the text of the actual source document, but instead links to the main page of the anti-Mormon countercult site "Mormons in Transition"
- "chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well..."
- B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:129.
- "By aid of the Seer Stone, sentences would appear..."
- B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:29.
- "The manner in which he pretended to read and interpret..."
- Hale, Isaac (1834), "Affidavit of Isaac Hale", in Howe, Eber Dudley, Mormonism Unvailed, Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press, pp. 262–66.
- Misdirected link—The citation "8" does not link to the text of the actual source document, but instead links to the main page of the anti-Mormon site "Mormons in Transition"
- "When Joseph was translating the Book of Mormon [I] had occasion more than once to go into his immediate presence..."
- The first-hand account of Michael Morse, Emma Smith's brother-in-law, was published in an 1879 article in the RLDS publication Saint's Herald.
- "Now the way he translated was he put the urim and thummim into his hat..."
- Joseph Knight, MANUSCRIPT OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
- The website does not provide this citation.
- The text of the entire source document may be read on the Maxwell Institute web site here: Dean C. Jessee, "Joseph Knight's Recollection of Early Mormon History".
- "These were days never to be forgotten..."
- Oliver Cowdery, Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 1, No. 1. p. 14.
- Misdirected link—The citation "6" does not link to the text of the actual source document, but instead links to the main page of the anti-Mormon countercult site "Mormons in Transition"
- The source text is available on the FAIR Wiki here: Oliver Cowdery, (October 1834) Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate 1:14.
- I have sometimes had seasons of skepticism..."
- Dialogue, Volume 15, No 2 summer 1982, pg 51
- "The manner in which this was done was by looking into the Urim and Thummim..."
- Francis Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in America 2:417
- "A fellow by the name of Joseph Smith, who resides in the upper part of Susquehanna county..."
- Cincinnati Advertiser, June 2, 1830
- ""through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles - (known perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)"
- "The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple..."
- Joseph Fielding Smith
- The website does not provide this citation.
- "he used a stone called a "Seers stone," the "Interpreters" having been taken away from him..."
- 1885 interview, Zenas H. Gurley, RLDS Saints' Herald
- "The Seer Stone referred to here was a chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone..."
- B.H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 1, page 129
- ""The sum of the whole matter, then..."
- B.H. Roberts, B.H. Roberts, The Seventy's Course in Theology, First Year, p.111
- "He said there was a book deposited..."
- History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, 2:34-35
Secondary sources
- "The article corroborates the 'stone in the hat' version of the translation..."
- "His reticence was probably well justified..."
- Stephen Ricks
- The website does not provide this citation.
- "Q: 'Was Joseph Smith not a money digger?'..."
- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.120
- "Mr. Stowel was at this time at old Mr. Smith's digging for money..."
- An interview with Martin Harris, published in Tiffany's Monthly, 1859, p.165
- "I will tell you a wonderful thing that happened after Joseph had found the plates...."
- Testimony of Mrs. Comfort Godfrey Flinders, Utah Pioneer Biographies, vol. 10, p.65, Genealogical Society of Utah, as cited in an unpublished manuscript by LaMar Petersen
- "Warrant issued upon written complaint upon oath of Peter G. Bridgeman..."
- Joseph Smith's 1826 court transcript; see Abanes, One Nation Under Gods, p. 501
- ""if this court record is authentic it is the most damning evidence..."
- Hugh Nibley, The Myth Makers
- ""the term Urim and Thummim (first used by W. W. Phelps in 1833), which is generally associated with the Nephite interpreters..."
- Stephen Ricks
- The website does not provide this citation.
Critical works
- Changing World of Mormonism
- Mormonism: Shadow or Reality by Jerald and Sandra Tanner. Chapter 4, page 77.
- Mormonism and the Magic World View, Michael Quinn
- An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, Chapter 1, Grant Palmer
- Joseph Smith's Bainbridge, N.Y., Court Trials, Wesley P. Walters, pp. 129-131
- Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record, Michael Marquardt
Positive works
- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 120
Neutral works
- Dialogue, Volume 15, No 2 summer 1982, pg 48-68
Critical links
Positive links
Broken links