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Stone box where the gold plates were deposited
Stone box where the gold plates were deposited
- "there, on the side of a hill, found in a stone box, or a square space enclosed by stone on every side, the plates on which the revelation was inscribed. The box in thickness was about 6 inches, and about 7 by 5 otherwise....well secured by silver rings or loops in the box as an effectual defence against all weather...." - “The Orators of Mormon,” Catholic Telegraph (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1 (14 April 1832): 204–5. Reprinted from Mercer Press (Pennsylvania), circa April 1832. off-site
- "A hole of sufficient depth had been dug, and a flat stone laid in the bottom; then there were four set erect at the outer edges of the bottom stone, joined together with some kind of cement, so as to form a Box. On the bottom stone was laid a Shield or Breastplate, from that arose three pillars made of cement. On the top of these pillars laid the Record, together with the “Urim and Thummim,” the whole not to extend quite even with the top of the side stones. Over the whole was placed a crowning stone, a small part of which was visible, when he first visited the spot." - W. I. Appleby, A Dissertation of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream... (Philadelphia: Brown, Bicking & Guilbert, 1844), 1–24. Full title
Question: What happened to the stone box in which gold plates were deposited?
David Whitmer reported seeing the stone box three times, but that it had broken apart and been destroyed
It was reported that David Whitmer had "seen the casket that contained the tablets and seerstone," and that over time "the casket has been washed down to the foot of the hill."[1]
Treasure seekers dug up the hill in an attempt to locate additional treasures
In the years after Joseph Smith reporting recovering the gold plates from "Mormon Hill," treasure seekers dug up the hill in an attempt to locate additional treasure.
There were many holes dug in the Hill Cumorah by treasure seekers after Joseph obtained the plates. Full size image may be viewed here: http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/GEA/id/11495/rv/singleitem
Chicago Times (1875): "Three times (David Whitmer) has been at the Hill Cumorah and seen the casket that contained the tablets and seerstone"
It was reported that David Whitmer had seen the stone box from which the plates were removed.
Three times [David Whitmer] has been at the Hill Cumorah and seen the casket that contained the tablets and seerstone. Eventually the casket has been washed down to the foot of the hill, but it was to be seen when he last visited the historic place.[2]
- ↑ Salt Lake Herald (12 August 1875); reprinting from Chicago Times (7 August 1875); cited in Ebbie L V Richardson, "David Whitmer: A Witness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," (M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, 1952), 156-58. Also in Lyndon Cook (editor), David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness (Orem, Utah: Grandin Books, 1991), 7.
- ↑ Salt Lake Herald (12 August 1875); reprinting from Chicago Times (7 August 1875); cited in Ebbie L V Richardson, "David Whitmer: A Witness to the Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," (M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, 1952), 156-58. Also in Lyndon Cook (editor), David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness (Orem, Utah: Grandin Books, 1991), 7.