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Mormonism and Wikipedia/Golden plates
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An analysis of Wikipedia article "Golden plates"
| Joseph Smith, Jr. | A FAIR Analysis of: "Golden plates", a work by author: Various
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Three Witnesses |
An analysis of claims made in Wikipedia article "Golden plates"
Jump to details:
- An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Introduction
- An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Origin and historicity
- An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Story
- An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Background
- An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Finding the plates
Updated 9/21/2011
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Introduction
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th century literature, the golden Bible)"
- Response to claim: "Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds"
- Response to claim: "bound with one or more rings"
- Response to claim: "Smith dictated a translation using a seer stone in the bottom of a hat, which he placed over his face to view the words written within the stone"
- Response to claim: "Smith published the translation in 1830 as the Book of Mormon"
- Response to claim: Harris "used to practice a good deal of his characteristic jargon and 'seeing with the spiritual eye,' and the like"
- Response to claim: "His remark that a plate was not quite as thick as common tin may have been meant to divert attention from the possibility that they were actually made from some material otherwise readily available to him"
- Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon witnesses based their testimony on visions rather than physical experience"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Origin and historicity
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: Richard Bushman: "For most modern readers, the plates are beyond belief, a phantasm, yet the Mormon sources accept them as fact"
- Response to claim: "Most Mormons believe in the golden plates as a matter of faith"
- Response to claim: "Only close associates of Joseph Smith were allowed to become official witnesses to the plates; he invited no strangers, or women, to view them"
- Response to claim: "Mormon apologists and Mormon critics can debate indirect evidence only"
- Response to claim: "Among these topics, the credibility of the plates has been, according to Bushman, a 'troublesome item'"
- Response to claim: "Their script, according to the book, was described as 'reformed Egyptian,' a language unknown to linguists or Egyptologists"
- Response to claim: "Historically, Latter Day Saint movement denominations have taught that the Book of Mormon's description of the plates' origin is accurate"
- Response to claim: "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"
- Response to claim: "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"
- Response to claim: "some liberal Mormons have advanced naturalistic explanations for the story of the plates"
- Response to claim: "that Joseph Smith had the ability to convince others of their existence through illusions or hypnosis"
- Response to claim: "the plates were mystical and should be understood in the context of Smith's historical era"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Story
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "The story of the golden plates consists of how, according to Joseph Smith, Jr. and his contemporaries, the plates were found"
- Response to claim: "The best known elements of the golden plates story are found in an account told by Smith in 1838"
- Response to claim: "The LDS Church has canonized part of this 1838 account"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Background
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "western New York became known as the 'burned-over district' because the fires of religious revivals had burned over it so often"
- Response to claim: "Western New York was also noted for its participation in a 'craze for treasure hunting'"
- Response to claim: "Smith was periodically hired, for about $14 per month, as a scryer, using what were termed'seer stones' in attempts to locate lost items and buried treasure"
- Response to claim: "Smith's contemporaries described his method for seeking treasure as putting the stone in a white stovepipe hat"
- Response to claim: "Smith did not consider himself to be a 'peeper' or 'glass-looker,' a practice he called 'nonsense'"
- Response to claim: "Smith and his family viewed their folk magical practices as spiritual gifts"
- Response to claim: "nor did he ever relinquish the magic culture in which he was raised"
- Response to claim: "He came to view seeing with a stone in religious terms as the work of a 'seer'"
- Response to claim: "and indeed, in his view a seer was even greater than a prophet"
- Response to claim: "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"
- Response to claim: "found in a deep well he helped dig for one of his neighbors"
- Response to claim: "The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the Manti Temple when that building was dedicated"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Finding the plates
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "According to Smith, he found the plates after he was directed to them by a heavenly messenger"
- Response to claim: "whom he later identified as the angel Moroni"
- Response to claim: "According to the story, the angel first visited Smith's bedroom late at night, on September 22"
- Response to claim: "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"
- Response to claim: "Moroni told Smith that the plates could be found buried in a prominent hill near his home, later called 'Cumorah'"
- Response to claim: "Before dawn, Moroni reappeared two more times and repeated the information"
- Response to claim: "But the angel would not allow Smith to take the plates until he obeyed certain 'commandments'"
- Response to claim: "Smith recorded some of these commandments, and contemporaries to whom he told the story said there were others"
- Response to claim: "that he have no thought of using the plates for monetary gain"
- Response to claim: "that he never show the plates to any unauthorized person"
- Response to claim: "Smith's contemporaries who heard the story—both sympathetic and unsympathetic—generally agreed that Smith mentioned the following additional commandments"
- Response to claim: "that the plates never directly touch the ground until safe at home in a locked chest"
- Response to claim: "Some unsympathetic listeners who heard the story from Smith or his father recalled that Smith had said the angel required him...to wear "black clothes" to the place where the plates were buried"
- Response to claim: "to ride a 'black horse with a switchtail'"
- Response to claim: "to call for the plates by a certain name"
- Response to claim: "to 'give thanks to God'"
- Response to claim: "In the morning, Smith began work as usual and did not mention the visions to his father"
- Response to claim: "because, he said, he did not think his father would believe him"
- Response to claim: "Smith said he then fainted because he had been awake all night"
- Response to claim: "When Smith then told all to his father, he believed his son and encouraged him to obey the angel's commands"
- Response to claim: "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"
- Response to claim: Joseph "knew the place the instant that" he arrived there
- Response to claim: "Smith said he saw a large stone covering a box made of stone"
- Response to claim: "Using a stick to remove dirt from the edges of the stone cover, and prying it up with a lever"
- Response to claim: "Smith saw the plates inside the box, together with other artifacts"
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
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "According to Joseph Smith and others, the book of Golden Plates contained a 'sealed" portion'"
- Response to claim: "containing 'a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof'"
- Response to claim: "the language of the Book of Mormon may be interpreted to describe a sealing that was spiritual, metaphorical"
- Response to claim: "physical, or a combination of these elements"
- Response to claim: "The Book of Mormon refers to other documents and plates as being 'sealed'"
- Response to claim: "separate records of John the Apostle were 'sealed up'"
- Response to claim: "One set of plates to which the Book of Mormon refers was 'sealed up'"
- Response to claim: "Smith may have understood the sealing to be a supernatural or spiritual sealing"
- Response to claim: "the 'interpreters' (Urim and Thummim) with which Smith said they were buried or 'sealed'"
- Response to claim: "when Smith visited the hill, he was stricken by a supernatural force because the plates were 'sealed by the prayer of faith'"
- Response to claim: "Several witnesses described a physical sealing placed on part of the plates"
- Response to claim: "the "sealed" part of the plates were held together as a solid mass"
- Response to claim: "'as solid to my view as wood'"
- Response to claim: "there were 'perceptible marks where the plates appeared to be sealed'"
- Response to claim: "with leaves "so securely bound that it was impossible to separate them"
- Response to claim: "Lucy Mack Smith said that some of the plates were 'sealed together'"
- Response to claim: "The account of the Eight Witnesses says they saw the plates in 1829...implying that they did not examine untranslated parts, such as the sealed portion"
- Response to claim: "In one interview, David Whitmer said that "about half" the book was unsealed; in 1881, he said "about one-third" was unsealed"
- Response to claim: "Whitmer's 1881 statement is consistent with an 1856 statement by Orson Pratt"
- Response to claim: "Orson Pratt said:, 'about two-thirds were sealed up, and Joseph was commanded not to break the seal'"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Claimed engravings
Jump to details:
- Response to claim: "Golden Plates were said to contain engravings in an ancient language that the Book of Mormon describes as Reformed Egyptian"
- Response to claim: "Smith described the writing as 'Egyptian characters...small, and beautifully engraved'"
- Response to claim: "John Whitmer, one of the Eight Witnesses, said the plates had 'fine engravings on both sides'"
- Response to claim: "there were engravings on both sides of the plates"
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Significance
Further reading
Mormonism and Wikipedia
FairMormon's approach to Wikipedia articles
FairMormon regularly receives queries about specific LDS-themed Wikipedia articles with requests that we somehow "fix" them. Although some individual members of FAIR may choose to edit Wikipedia articles, FairMormon as an organization does not. Controversial Wikipedia articles require constant maintenance and a significant amount of time. We prefer instead to respond to claims in the FAIR Wiki rather than fight the ongoing battle that LDS Wikipedia articles sometimes invite. From FAIR’s perspective, assertions made in LDS-themed Wikipedia articles are therefore treated just like any other critical (or, if one prefers, "anti-Mormon") work. As those articles are revised and updated, we will periodically update our reviews to match.
Who can edit Wikipedia articles?
Editors who wish to participate in editing LDS-themed Wikipedia articles can access the project page here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Latter Day Saint movement. You are not required to be LDS in order to participate—there are a number of good non-LDS editors who have made valuable contributions to these articles.
Recommendations when editing Wikipedia articles
FAIR does not advocate removing any references from Wikipedia articles. The best approach to editing Wikipedia is to locate solid references to back up your position and add them rather than attempting to remove information. Individuals who intend to edit should be aware that posting information related to the real-world identities of Wikipedia editors will result in their being banned from editing Wikipedia. Attacking editors and attempting to "out" them on Wikipedia is considered very bad form. The best approach is to treat all Wikipedia editors, whether or not you agree or disagree with their approach, with respect and civility. An argumentative approach is not constructive to achieving a positive result, and will simply result in what is called an "edit war." Unfortunately, not all Wikipedia editors exhibit good faith toward other editors (see, for example, the comment above from "Duke53" or comments within these reviews made by John Foxe's sockpuppet "Hi540," both of whom repeatedly mocked LDS beliefs and LDS editors prior to their being banned.)
Do LDS editors control Wikipedia?
Although there exist editors on Wikipedia who openly declare their affiliation with the Church, they do not control Wikipedia. Ironically, some critics of the Church periodically falsely accuse Wikipedia editors of being LDS simply because they do not accept the critics' desired spin on a particular article.
Do "anti-Mormons" control Wikipedia?
Again, the answer is no. The truth is that Wikipedia is generally self-policing. Highly contentious articles do tend to draw the most passionate supporters and critics.
Why do certain LDS articles seem to be so negative?
Although some LDS-related Wikipedia articles may appear to have a negative tone, they are in reality quite a bit more balanced than certain critical works such as One Nation Under Gods. Although many critical editors often accuse LDS-related Wikipedia articles of being "faith promoting" or claim that they are just an extension of the Sunday School manual, this is rarely the case. Few, if any, Latter-day Saints would find Wikipedia articles to be "faith promoting." Generally, the believers think that the articles are too negative and the critics believe that the articles are too positive. LDS Wikipedia articles should be informative without being overtly faith promoting. However, most of the primary sources, including the words of Joseph Smith himself, are "faith promoting." This presents a dilemma for Wikipedia editors who want to remain neutral. The unfortunate consequence is that Joseph's words are rewritten and intermixed with contradictory sources, resulting in boring and confusing prose.
We examine selected Wikipedia articles and examine them on a "claim-by-claim" basis, with links to responses in the FairMormon Answers Wiki. Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving. As a result, the analysis of each article will be updated periodically in order to bring it more into line with the current version of the article. The latest revision date may be viewed at the top of each individual section. The process by which Wikipedia articles are reviewed is the following:
- Update each Wikipedia passage and its associated footnotes.
- Examine the use of sources and determine whether or not the passage accurately represents the source used.
- Provide links to response articles within the FairMormon Answers Wiki.
- If violation of Wikipedia rules is discovered, identify which Wikipedia editor (by pseudonym) made the edit, provide a description of the rule violated and a link to the Wikipedia "diff" showing the actual edit.
- If a violated rule is later corrected in a subsequent revision, the violation is removed and a notation is added that the passage is correct per cited sources. This doesn't mean that FAIR necessarily agrees with the passage—only that it is correct based upon the source used.
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, "Mormonism and Wikipedia: The Church History That “Anyone Can Edit”"
Roger Nicholson, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, (2012)The ability to quickly and easily access literature critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been made significantly easier through the advent of the Internet. One of the primary sites that dominates search engine results is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that “anyone can edit.” Wikipedia contains a large number of articles related to Mormonism that are edited by believers, critics, and neutral parties. The reliability of information regarding the Church and its history is subject to the biases of the editors who choose to modify those articles. Even if a wiki article is thoroughly sourced, editors sometimes employ source material in a manner that supports their bias. This essay explores the dynamics behind the creation of Wikipedia articles about the Church, the role that believers and critics play in that process, and the reliability of the information produced in the resulting wiki articles.
Click here to view the complete article
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