1. This is where Joseph and Emma lived in a small log house in Harmony. Much of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place here.

2. The Cooper Shop

3. Etching located at the Smith Farm in Palmyra

4. The Smith Frame Home

5. Fireplace in the Smith’s Frame Home

6. The Kitchen in the Frame Home

7. The Smith’s Log Home

9. Chapter 4 – A Period of Preparation - 1823-29 Joseph, age 14-17 = High School Joseph, age 18-21=College There are 22 known appearances of Moroni to Joseph. There are eight different accounts of the visit of Moroni to Joseph Smith.

10. Concerning Joseph Smith’s life between the time of the First Vision and the appearance of the angel Moroni, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, wrote: “His manner of living was not greatly different from that of the ordinary farm boy of his day, except that he was often referred to as a dreamer and was made an object of ridicule. But he continued to work on his father’s farm, to work for others in the area, and to associate with companions of his own age. Those acquainted with him describe him as a strong, active boy of cheerful disposition, who enjoyed wrestling and other sports” (Truth Restored, 1947, 7).

11. A Comparison of Moroni’s Four Visits to Joseph Smith on 21-22, September 1823: First visit of the night: Called Joseph by Name. Introduced himself to Joseph. Told Joseph that God had a work for him to do. Told Joseph that his name would be known for good and evil among all people. Told Joseph about the Book of Mormon. Quoted Old and New Testament prophecies regarding the last days. Quoted many other passages of scripture. Offered many scriptural explanations. Warned Joseph not to show the plates to anyone unless commanded or he would be destroyed. Joseph saw in vision the place where the plates were deposited.

12. The prophecy given by the angel Moroni was that Joseph’s name “should be had for good and evil among all nations.” The adversary will be doing his relentless part with regard to the negative portion of that prophecy. By word and deed, faithful Church members must see to it that the positive portion is fulfilled (Neal A. Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, 133).

13. Second Visit: Repeated what he said during the first visit “without the least variation.” Added that great judgments were coming upon the earth, including desolations such as famine, sword, and pestilence. Third Visit: Repeated what he had said before. Added a caution concerning Satan’s temptation to use the gold plates to obtain wealth. Told Joseph that he must have no other motive than to glorify God and build the kingdom of God.

14. Mormon 8:14-15 This scripture states that no one (including Joseph) would be allowed to get the plates: 1. To “get gain.” 2. “If their eyes were not single to his glory.” Certainly Joseph was honored to be in Moroni’s presence. Moroni would have been honored to be in Joseph’s presence as well. Remember, Joseph is the head of the dispensation of the fullness of times!

15. Fourth Visit: Called Joseph by name. Related all that he had said the night before. Commanded him to tell his father of the vision and the commandments he had received.

16. Joseph told his father Lucy Mack Smith’s history of this event added the following information: “The messenger whom he saw the previous night, visited him again, and the first thing he said was, ‘why did you not tell your father that which I commanded you to tell him?’ Joseph replied, ‘I was afraid my father would not believe me.’ The angel rejoined, ‘He will believe every word you say to him’” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, ed. Preston Nibley (1958), 79).

17. Moroni informed Joseph that if he were not worthy to take the plates in 1827, then he would no longer have the opportunity. According to Joseph Knight, if Joseph had done “right according to the will of God,” Moroni would finally give him the plates in 1827. Borrowing Knight’s horse and wagon, Smith and his wife, Emma, slipped out of his parent’s house in the middle of the night to go to retrieve the plates from the hill after years of anticipation, as commanded by Moroni. Once they arrived at the hill, Emma apparently waited patiently at the bottom while Joseph marched to the top to remove the plates from their hiding place. Not having anything to store the plates in, he pulled them from the ground and stashed them in the woods, rather than taking them home without a covering or a safe place to store them. According to Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph brought the spectacles (including the two smooth stones) home instead of hiding them with the plates, explaining to his mom that “all is right.” Joseph selectively showed the spectacles to others within the next two years (From Darkness Unto Light, 7).

18. Joseph tried to keep the plates secret and though only a handful of his friends and family knew about Moroni’s visits and Joseph’s retrieval of the record, word about the plates slowly got out to local residents in Palmyra. Some of Joseph’s neighbors, in particular, felt they were entitled to both see the plates and share in the riches that Joseph could have garnered by their sale. Willard Chase, who knew Joseph personally and had worked with him on occasion, later claimed that the angel told Smith that he could not retrieve the plates until he brought his brother Alvin with him to the hill during one of his annual visits. After Alvin passed away, Chase claimed, the angel commanded Joseph to find another person to assist and that “Joseph believed that one Samuel T. Lawrence [a local resident and fellow money differ] was the man alluded to by the spirit.” Chase asserted that Lawrence went with Smith to the hill before 1827 and advised Joseph not to “let these plates be seen for about two years, as it would make a great disturbance in the neighborhood.” Chase explained that even though Joseph may have thought Lawrence was to help him retrieve the plates, Joseph instead took his wife, Emma, to the hill in 1827 to obtain them (From Darkness Unto Light, 8).

19. Lawrence may have become embittered after Joseph invited him to the hill to look for the plates, then proceeded to retrieve them without him. Though Chase may have made this connection with Lawrence to perpetuate their claim over the plates, this claim seems possible because the Smiths worried that Lawrence would want to take the plates from Joseph the night he retrieved them. In fact, Joseph Sr. went to Lawrence’s house that night in order to stop Lawrence from going to the hill and ambushing Joseph Jr. as he pulled the plates from their hiding place. Knight remembered Joseph directing his father to “stay till near dark and if he saw any signs of his [Lawrence’s] going you tell him if I find him there I will trash the stumps with him. Lawrence apparently never left his house that night, but these accounts offer the possibility that others knew about the plates and wanted to obtain them for their own profit---some of whom believed they were rightfully their own property, such as Chase and Lawrence (From Darkness Unto Light, 9).

20. Even Martin Harris remembered that he went to the hill looking for the stone box. Harris reported that he found the box and he “broke one corner off of the box. He apparently stated, “Some time this box will be found and you will see the corner broken off, then you will know I have told you the truth” (From Darkness Unto Light, 9). David Whitmer would later state, “I had conversations with several young men who said that Joseph Smith had certainly gold plates.” He supposedly asked, “How do you know that Joe Smith had the plates?” They replied, “We saw the place in the hill that he took them out of just as he described it to us before he obtained them (From Darkness Unto Light, 9). Local residents expressed confidence in their belief that Joseph had retrieved a set of plates from the hill because the stone box they were taken from was apparently left exposed for decades. Those who were most anxious to take the plates from Joseph were those who had previously worked with him to find buried treasure in the local area.

21. Historians have argued that Joseph’s association with treasure digging and the use of seer stones prepared him for his larger mission as a prophet and seer. Martin Harris later remembered Joseph’s transition away from treasure seeking when “the angel told him he must quit the company of money diggers, that there were wicked men among them. Even though Joseph removed himself from their company, people like Samuel Lawrence viewed their previous interaction with Joseph as a kind of claim for sharing in the gold plates with him. Lucy Mack Smith explained that Chase gathered up approximately a dozen men to find Joseph’s initial hiding place for the gold plates. The had sent for a conjuror to come 60 miles to divine the place where the record was deposited by magic art. This same story was told twenty-five years later by Brigham Young who added that this conjuror possessed as much talent as any man that walked on the American soil, and was one of the wickedest men he ever saw (From Darkness to Light, 11). The conjuror said that he was not afraid of any body and that they would have the plates in spite of Joseph Smith or all the devils in hell.

22. Joseph engaged in digging for buried treasure. Joseph’s father, who saw value in these practices, likely introduced Joseph to them, but his local peers, some of whom possessed their own stones, also searched for buried treasure in and around Palmyra with Joseph (From Darkness Unto Light, 3). Though these practices were common, the educated classes and polite society frowned upon them. Joseph’s participation in treasure seeking eventually led to him being charged with disorderly conduct. Though it is unknown whether he was specifically referring to his money-digging activities, Joseph remembered, “I was left to all kinds of temptations, and mingling with all kinds of society.” Whatever his errors or weaknesses may have been, it caused Joseph to seek after God’s forgiveness.

23. David Whitmer, who later saw the plates, explained that they appeared to be of gold, about six by nine inches in size, about as thick as parchment, a great many in number, and bound together like the leaves of a book by massive rings passed through the back edges. He said the plates weighed about fifty pounds. Days later after bringing the spectacles home with the seer stones Joseph returned to the hill and removed the plates from the log. Traveling home he was attacked by three different men that he was able to overcome. He passed the plates through the window of his house to Josiah Stowell who claimed he was the first person other than Joseph to feel and heft the plates. As Joseph passed them through the window, Stowell caught a glimpse of the plates as a portion of the linen was pulled back. Stowell gave the court the dimensions of the plates and explained that they consisted of gold leaves with characters written on the sheet. Stowell was in court as a witness in the summer of 1830 after Joseph was charred with disorderly conduct. He testified under oath that he saw the plates the day Joseph first brought them home. Joseph’s thumb was dislocated which his Dad reset for him.

24. Joseph Knight Sr. recalled that once Joseph had safely hidden the plates, Joseph was more interested in the “glasses” or the Urim and Thummim then he was the plates. He declared to Knight that he could see anything and that they were marvelous. Though he later used the stones for translating he used them for this period of time to protect the plates. Lucy wrote that Joseph could at any time ascertain the approach of danger either to himself or the record and for this cause he kept the stones with him. Through the spectacles, Moroni communicated to him that men were still plotting to find and abscond the plates. Several of his friends and family touched, hefted, and held the plates or the box where they were stored. Martin Harris later said he “hefted the plates many times, and should think they weighted forty or fifty pounds. Most of Joseph’s closest friends and family testified to touching, hefting, or seeing the plates (From Darkness Unto Light, 15).

25. Samuel Lawrence came to Joseph’s house demanding that the plates were at least partially his because he had gone to the hill in search of treasure with Joseph. Possibly knowing that Joseph would not negotiate, Lawrence brought with him a local rodsman, who attempted to use a divining rod to find the plates. Lawrence and the rodsman walked into the west room of the home, where the hearth was located. There the rodsman pointed his rod directly toward the plates and stated that they were “under the hearth.” After Lawrence and the rodsman left the house without the plates, Joseph decided that he needed to move the plates again to avoid their discovery if Lawrence and the rodsman returned (From Darkness Unto Light, 16).

26. “We live in one of the greatest dispensations of all times --- a time former prophets looked forward to, prophesied of, and, I believe, yearned for. However, with all the heavenly blessings bestowed upon us, Satan, ever so real, ever so active, and conflicting messages are continually bombarding all of us. The angel Moroni warned the young Prophet Joseph Smith that his name would be known for good and evil throughout the world (Joseph Smith History 1:33), and never has the fulfillment of a prophecy been more evident. The Prophet gave his life for his testimony, and the attacks continue today against the Church and even the Savior Himself. The reality of the Savior, His atoning sacrifice, and its universal application for all of us is challenged and often dismissed as a myth or the baseless hope of a weak and uneducated mind. Furthermore, the reality of the Restoration of the gospel in these latter days continues to be challenged. The continual bombardment of such messages may cause confusion, doubt, and pessimism, each attacking the fundamental truths we believe in, our faith in God, and our hope in the future” (Bishop Edgley, General Conference, “Faith --- The Choice is Yours,” Oct. 2010).

27. September 21 st, 1823 During that four year period (college) George Q. Cannon and John Taylor testified that Joseph saw all of the Nephite Prophets (Journal of Discourses vol. 13:47; 17:374-5, 21:94). (Doctrine & Covenants 128:21). Joseph could not sleep that night. It was late in the night and he was meditating and pondering about his prayers. He was confident that he would receive another vision.

28. “When Moroni appeared to the Prophet, he said that the stature of his personage was a little above the common size of a man during his time period” (Remember that the Smith men were taller than the normal size). Moroni’s robe was open so that Joseph could see his chest. Cal Stevens thought that it was to teach Joseph Smith about the nature of resurrected beings.

29. Lorenzo Snow one time said that “There is nothing on this earth that is more beautiful to gaze upon than a Celestial, resurrected being.” He should know, he saw several on many different occasions. The prophet on one occasion said that Moroni died and was later resurrected. There is an account from George Laub in Saint George telling that he had heard Joseph Smith say that when Moroni was an old man, four Lamanites came upon him. They had been hunting him from one end of the country to the other. Moroni dispatched the first three, but was so weary that the fourth one killed him.

30. Death of Moroni At a meeting at Spanish Fork, Utah Co., in the winter of 1896, Brother Higginson stated in my presence that Thomas B. Marsh told him that the Prophet Joseph Smith told him (Thomas B. Marsh, he being then President of the Twelve), that he became very anxious to know something of the fate of Moroni, and in answer to prayer the Lord gave Joseph a vision, in which appeared a wild country and on the scene was Moroni after whom were six Indians in pursuit; he stopped and one of the Indians stepped forward and measured swords with him. Moroni smote him and he fell dead; another Indian advanced and contended with him; this Indian also fell by his sword; a third Indian then stepped forth and met the same fate; a fourth afterwards contended with him, but in the struggle with the fourth, Moroni, being exhausted, was killed. Thus ended the life of Moroni (The Fate of Moroni, 1897, Division Archives, Charles David).

31. Joseph Smith’s silent prayer for forgiveness in 1823 began like his First Vision. Yet as he conversed with the angel in his bedroom that night the message was a call to action rather than one of realization, as the First Vision had been.

32. Moroni in Manti Some members of the Church are aware that at the dedication of the site for the temple in Manti, Utah, the following incident took place. At a conference held in Ephraim, Sanpete County, June 25 th, 1875, nearly all the speakers expressed their feelings to have a temple built in Sanpete County, and gave their views as to what point and where to build it, and to show the union that existed, Elder Daniel H. Wells said “Manti,” George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., John Taylor, Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Lorenzo Young, and A.M. Musse said “Manti stone quarry,” I have given the names in the order in which they spoke.

33. At four p.m. that day President Brigham Young said: “The Temple should be built on the Manti stone quarry.” Early on the morning of April 25, 1877, President Brigham Young asked Brother Warren S. Snow to go with him to the Temple hill. Brother Snow said, “We two were alone: President Young took me to the spot where the Temple was to stand; we went to the southeast corner, and President Young said: “Here is the spot where the prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this piece of land for the Temple site, and that is the reason why the location is made here, and we can’t move it from this spot; and if you and I are the only persons that come here at high noon today, we will dedicate this ground” (Whitney, 436, Diary of Charles Lowell Walker).

34. That Moroni dedicated the Manti Temple site is one of the few statements the Brethren have made connecting a Book of Mormon figure with a specific current place and action. This aids us in documenting one of Moroni’s travels and priesthood assignments. Another reference happened when William McBride, patriarch from the Richfield Utah Stake, spoke at a prayer meeting in St. George in January 1881. After recalling many experiences from the Nauvoo period and quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith on many issues, Patriarch McBride referred to the route the old Nephites took traveling to Cumorah from the south and south-west of having to bury their treasures as they journeyed and finally burying the records and precious things in the Hill Cumorah; of Moroni dedicating the Temple site of what we now call St. George, Nauvoo, Jackson Co., Kirtland, and others we know not of as yet (Charles Lowell Walker 2:525-26, Diary of Charles Lowell Walker).

35. Celebration of the 4 th of July An Address by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 4, 1854. It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp at Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world.

36. This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World. Trammeled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet is persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in his way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him --- was with him on the stormy deep, calmed the troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven. Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water.

37. Had the United States been as faithful a guardian to the Latter-day Saints as the angel of God has been to them, she would never know dissolution, nor be humbled in dishonor by the decrees of any foreign powers. I ask no earthly being to endorse this my testimony, or to adopt it as his own sentiment. A little time will prove whether Orson Hyde alone has declared it, or whether the heavenly powers will back up this testimony in the faces of all the world. When Justice is satisfied, and the blood of martyrs atoned for, the guardian angel of America will return to his station, resume his charge, and restore the Constitution of our country to the respect and veneration of the people; for it was given by the inspiration of our God.

38. What is the significance of the Bible references Moroni quoted to the Prophet Joseph Smith? Malachi 3Isaiah 11Acts 3:22-23Joel 2:28-32 All of the passages Moroni quoted point to the same theme: The coming forth of the Book of Mormon would initiate a progression of events that would lead to the Second Coming, The wicked will be destroyed and the righteous will reign on the earth with Jesus Christ. In essence, Joseph Smith was being told that the work he was to do would help usher in Christ’s millennial reign and that the Savior’s coming would be “soon.”

39. Do we know what the “other Passages of scripture” were or what other explanations Moroni gave? We gain additional insights on this matter from a letter Oliver Cowdery wrote to William W. Phelps, which contained an account of Moroni’s visit to Joseph Smith: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen; yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things which are, that no flesh should glory in his presence” (I Corinthians 1:27-28) (Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1835, 79). In his account, Oliver Cowdery cited Moroni quoting (sometimes only phrases) from Isaiah 28:21; 29:11-14; and John 10:16 (Messenger and Advocate, 79-80).

40. Everyone knows about the “caractors” copied from the plates for the inspection of the East Coast scholars Samuel Mitchill and Charles Anthon. MacKay and Dirkmaat have found evidence of many such copies circulating among the Church members in the early years. They were used to arouse interest and to substantiate the reality of the translation. The characters were copied onto paper used to wrap the text of the Book of Mormon as it went off to the press. They remind us of the fact that Martin Harris and Joseph Smith did not know the characters were Egyptian until after Harris’s New York expedition in February 1828. The language of the plates could not have come to light until after translation began in March 1828.

41. Martin Harris and Joseph Smith were more likely to think the characters were ancient American, some variety of an Indian language. They went to Mitchill because he was the country’s expert on Indian dialects and likely to Charles Anthon, best known as a classicist, because he also collected Indian oratory. The authors further suggest that Joseph was not sure at first if he was the one to translate the plates at all. He told Joseph Knight he wanted the plates translated, but at first he may have assumed a learned person would do it. The passage from Isaiah 29 struck him with such force because it declared that an unlearned person was to translate (From Darkness to Light, viii).

42. Harris’s Trip to the East In February 1828, Martin Harris hurried from Palmyra, New York to Harmony, Pennsylvania, to tell Joseph Smith that he had seen the Lord in a vision and had been told “that he must go to New York City with some of the characters” (History, circa summer 1832, in JSP, H1:6). A handful of letters written by Charles Anthon have recently been uncovered from the archives of Columbia University. Although Joseph and Martin had not spoken with each other for more than three months, by February 1828 this vision brought the men together once again and initiated this foundational event. Though they did not know at the time, the Book of Mormon would reveal that this event had been the fulfillment of a prophecy found in the Isaiah 29.

43. Luther Bradish: He had lived in Palmyra and was an understandable contact for Harris to approach first. Martin may have been hoping Bradish could identify the characters. He likely saw him as friend rather than a specialist, believing Bradish could help him find scholars to translate the characters. Bradish was a well known politician in the State of New York. He was not a linguist or a scholar, but he had enthusiasm for antiquities and archeological discoveries. All university graduates studied languages, focusing primarily on Greek and Latin. Martin did not know what language was inscribed upon the plates. In the process of translating the plates, Joseph Smith later discovered that the language inscribed upon the gold plates was “reformed Egyptian.”

44. Joseph had not yet translated those words from the plates; therefore, neither of them knew the language that the unfamiliar characters represented. At least one scholar suggested to Harris, after he visited New York City and elsewhere, that the characters he presented to him were possible Egyptian. None of the records describing visits from Moroni claimed that he told Joseph about the language. In February 1828 they had yet to find out about the language. Instead, Joseph sent Harris to New York with the characters with very little information other than the knowledge that the characters were taken from an ancient American source. It seems unlikely that Harris was looking for an Egyptian scholar. Even if he had, there were none in the United States. Although European scholars had begun to use the Rosetta Stone a few years earlier to better understand Egyptian, none of them were in America. It is highly unlikely that Bradish would have sent Harris to an Egyptian scholar. Bradish sent Harris to New York City to have the characters assessed by scholars of ancient American history.

45. Professor Samuel Mitchill, Rutgers College: He was one of the leading scholars on Native Americans in the New York area. Bradish may have sent Harris to Philadelphia and then New York city to Samuel Mitchill in particular. Martin had been convinced that he had better go the celebrated Dr. Mitchill (Bennett, “Mormonites”). Mitchill carefully examined the characters and made a learned dissertation on them -- - compared the with the hieroglyphics discovered by Champollion in Europe, and set them down as a language of a people formerly in existence in the East, but no more (Bennett, “Mormonites”). Yet, regardless of his efforts, Mitchill was unable to determine with certainty the linguistic origin of the characters. Instead, he “confessed he had been unable to understand” them and sent Harris with a note “requesting (Charles Anthon) to decipher, if possible, the characters (E.D. Howe, Mormonism Unveiled, 270).

46. Charles Anthon, Adjunct Professor, Columbia College: Anthon was educated as a lawyer but began teaching Greek and Latin at Columbia College in 1820. He was still an adjunct professor in 1828. Unlike Samuel Mitchill, Anthon had done no significant academic work on ancient America or Native American languages. Anthon was eager to examine the paper for Harris, and he most likely had hopes that he had found another story for his publication. Harris’s visit fit right within Barker and Anthon’s plan to collect essays about Native Americans. Barker and Anthon had a business agreement to print materials of specimens of Indian eloquence for profit. Years later, Anthon concealed his own financial interest in examining the characters and instead claimed that the paper was a hoax and that someone had combined characters from different languages to deceive him. He again downplayed his involvement by writing two pastors in 1841 and 1844 to explain what happened when Harris visited him. He also wrote a letter to E.D. Howe in 1834 as Howe prepared his book Mormonism Unveiled.

47. Martin Harris’s version of the same events: He explained that after Anthon examined the characters, Anthon told him “they were Egyptian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Arabic, and he said that they were true characters. Harris wanted a scholar’s witness that the characters were legitimate and asked Anthon for a certificate of authenticity. Anthon gave him one certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters. Harris explained that as he was leaving Anthon’s office, Anthon called him back and asked him how Joseph Smith found the gold plates. Martin told him of Moroni. Anthon asked for the certificate back and then tore it to pieces saying there was no such thing as ministering of angels and if Martin would bring the plates back to him he would translate them. Martin informed him that part of the plates were sealed and that he could not bring them to him. Anthon replied, “I cannot read a sealed book.”

48. Anthon’s final words to Martin Harris as he sent him on his way, demanding to have the book brought to him, later made Anthon the most relevant person whom Harris had visited in the minds of early Mormons. Only a short time after Smith translated this passage from the Book of Mormon, early believers began explaining that the prophecy in Isaiah 29 had been fulfilled through Harris’s experience with Anthon. Early Mormons say Anthon as the “learned” who declared that the could not read a sealed book. Martin Harris traveling to Philadelphia and his interaction with Samuel Mitchell faded over time as they became more and more irrelevant in comparison to his visit with Anthon. According to our earliest sources, the primary reason for his journey to the East with the characters was to “get them translated” (2013 BYU Church History Symposium by Michael MacKay titled “Git Them Translated”).

49. Learning to Translate: Joseph received the interpreters on September 1827, but there was a steep learning curve until he began translating “by the gift and power of God” in the winter of 1828. Nothing was done towards the translating the record in 1827. Martin Harris’s failure was a step forward in their progress toward translating the plates. Once Joseph understood that scholars could not translate the characters, he realized that with the aid of the Nephite interpreters, he would translate the plates. The Lord had prepared spectacles for Joseph to read the book.

50. The Spectacles: The frame was not meant to sit on a person’s nose or wrap around their ears; in fact, the seer stones in the place of the lenses did not even improve one’s vision in the way glasses were intended. They were about on half inches longer than those used at the present day, the lenses not of glass, but of diamonds. Lucy Smith and others called the spectacles “diamonds” to emphasize that they were more than just rocks --- they were seer stones. Orson Pratt called them crystals, and they were often described as transparent or clear. Martin Harris said that they looked like polished marble, with a few gray streaks and David Whitmer said they were whitish stones (Tiffany, Mormonism, August 1859, 165-66).

51. Martin Harris observed that “the two stones set in a bow of silver were about two inches in diameter, perfectly round, and about five-eighths of an inch thick in the center.” The frame for the spectacles were connected to the breastplate with a single metal rod. They held conveniently in front of the face of the individual wearing the breastplate, and the person could freely use his or her hands to do other things while looking into the spectacles. Joseph Smith later learned that the spectacles had been used by ancient seers. By at least 1833, Joseph Smith and members of the Church began using the biblical term “Urim and Thummim to refer to any seer stone, including seer stones Joseph found before 1827.

52. Learning to Use the Spectacles: Four years earlier, Moroni explained to Joseph that the spectacles were “what constituted seers in ancient or former times and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. Joseph did not seem to understand. He originally used the spectacles to help protect the plates. It was not until February of 1828 that Joseph fully realized how spectacles were supposed to be used. Joseph Smith told Joseph Knight about the spectacles and related to him that he could see anything in them, yet he still emphasized his need to find someone else to translate the plates.

53. The Book of Mormon Seer Stone: Joseph seemed to be initially unaware that he had within his possession a device that could enable him to translate the characters himself. Joseph’s use of seer stones before 1827 helps us understand why he only used the Nephite interpreters to protect the plates. He used the spectacles to identify or find lost items. Joseph Smith did not just use the spectacles, he had at least one seer stone he used as well. In Alma 37:23 the Lord said I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light.

54. That seer stone was prepared for Joseph Smith and was apparently delivered to him in 1822, five years before he was given the spectacles. Wilford Woodruff stated that it was “the seer stone known as Gazelem which was shown by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith to be some thirty feet under the ground which he obtained by digging a well for Willard Chase. Wilford Woodruff valued the stone deeply, recording in his journal on 18 May 1888, which the Manti Utah Temple was dedicated, that he “consecrated upon the altar the seer stone that Joseph found by revelation some 30 feet under the earth (Kenney, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 2:144; 8:500). William W. Phelps taught that Joseph’s original name in the premortal realm was Gazelem.

55. Joseph never used that stone in a way that could have helped him understand how to translate the plates with the spectacles. Instead, he used it to see visions of people, places, and lost items. Using the Spectacles: Lucy Smith recalled that Joseph could see where the plates were located at any time by looking into the spectacles. Lucy called the spectacles a key. For this reason, Joseph kept the spectacles with him at all times. He once saw Emma coming in the spectacles and went out to greet her at the well in Macedon (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, book 5). Apparently, Joseph learned to see translated text in the spectacles. He noticed this ability before Martin Harris left on his journey and began translating the plates in February of 1828. At first, he did not know what to make of the text that appeared in the stones.

56. It was not until Martin Harris returned from New York City that he began translating the plates in earnest. Assuming that what he saw in the spectacles was the translation of the gold plates, he apparently sent Harris with a sample of what appeared in the seer stones, hoping the scholars would verify the translation. The months between September 1827 and early 1828, when Joseph copied characters from the plates and had scholars examine them, served as a time of preparation for Joseph Smith to learn to translate the plates. This might be why Oliver Cowdery discovered that it was not as simple as having possession of the record and a device for translating. After a few months of preparation and study in 1827, Joseph apparently fulfilled that requirement and learned to translate.

57. Alvin Smith “Alvin was a faithful and serious young man, and Joseph idolized him. Joseph saw in him a guileless person who lived an upright life. Alvin loved Joseph, too, and was greatly interested in the sacred record. As death neared he counseled Joseph: ‘I want you to be a good boy, and do everything that lies in your power to obtain the record. Be faithful in receiving instruction, and keeping every commandment that is given you’ (Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 87). They all wondered if Joseph would ever be obedient enough to get the plates.

58. At Alvin’s funeral, Reverend Stockton while preaching the sermon said that Alvin was lost because he had never been baptized. Alvin was buried in the John Swift cemetery (the old cemetery in Palmyra). A year later, rumors circulated that his body had been dug up and mutilated. This rumor bothered Joseph Smith Sr. so much that he took a few men, went to the grave and dug Alvin up to see if anyone had tampered with his body. They found the body in tact and made sure that no one would be able to dig up the body in the future.

59. In October 1825, a man by the name of Josiah Stoal hired the prophet Joseph Smith. Josiah was already acquainted with the Smith family. He was a wealthy man who owned over 600 acres of land. Josiah had a business partner by the name of William Hale. While working for Josiah, Joseph would later meet Emma. This was the period of time when Joseph received the nick-name of being a “money-digger.” Josiah came to Joseph on account of having heard that he possessed certain means by which he could discern things invisible to the natural eye.

60. It was Joseph Smith Jr. who warned Josiah that his digging for treasure would be in vain. Joseph was confident that there wasn’t any treasure to be found. However, Josiah was inflexible in his purpose and offered high wages to those who would dig for him in search of the said mine. Joseph and several others returned with him and commenced digging. After laboring for the older gentleman (Josiah) about a month without success, Joseph prevailed upon him to cease his operations, which Josiah did. Josiah was so impressed with the Smith’s and their work ethic that he later listened to their message about the restored gospel and joined the Church.

61. Emma Smith Emma was born on July 10 th, 1804. She was one of nine children with six brothers and two sisters. Emma was about a year and a half older than Joseph. She was five feet nine inches tall. She had a beautiful form, long dark hair, brown eyes (hazel in other records), a dark complexion (olive).

62. She was meticulous and careful about how she looked. Joseph said that she had “splendid physical development.” She was a school teacher and a hard-line Methodist. She had a beautiful voice and sang in the local choir. A lot of men were interested in her!

63. “Emma was born in Harmony on July 10, 1804. She was reported to have been a beautiful woman, above average in size, dignified in body, with ‘bewitching dark eyes’ and raven hair. She had an attractive personality, intelligent and capable. For one year she attended an academy for girls, where she received training in social behavior. It was said of her that she ‘never used slang and was very particular about her grammar and choice of words.’ She had the reputation of being a meticulous housekeeper and an excellent cook. She, like her mother, was a member of the Methodist Church, had a good singing voice, and sang in the village choir” (Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph Smith and the Restoration).

64. Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, wrote: “While Joseph was in the employ of Mr. Stoal, he boarded a short time with one Isaac Hale, and it was during this interval that Joseph became acquainted with his daughter, Miss Emma Hale, to whom he immediately commenced paying his addresses, and was subsequently married….”

65. Joseph called my husband and myself aside and said, “I have been very lonely ever since Alvin died and I have concluded to get married. If you have no objections to my uniting myself in marriage with Miss Emma Hale, she would be my choice in preference to any other woman I have ever seen.” We were pleased with his choice and not only consented to his marrying her, but requested him to bring her home with him and live with us (History of Joseph Smith, 92-93).

66. Emma said, “I preferred him (Joseph) to any other man I knew.” They eloped against the wishes of her parents. She was the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale. Her family had above average wealth for the time period. Two reasons why Emma’s parents did not care for Joseph: 1. His reputation as a money digger 2. His lack of education

67. Chastised One time coming back from the hill, Joseph was late for supper and his father asked him where he had been and Joseph said that he had just been chastised. Joseph Smith Sr. was outraged and wanted to know who had done such a thing to him. Joseph said “It’s alright father, it was Moroni. “Oh” was the response of his Father.

68. As Joseph was correcting his history he talked about the different visits from heavenly beings in 1823. He referred to Moroni and Nephi and sometimes he could not remember which one had appeared to him. If you or I saw an angel, we most certainly would remember who it was. Joseph was in such constant communion with the people on the other side, that he at times had trouble remembering which one it was that came to him.

69. How long before he would get the plates? Joseph had no idea! We sometimes teach this wrong!

70. As Joseph approached Hill Cumorah, he had thoughts about the poverty of his family and the possibility that the plates or the popularity of the translation would produce enough wealth to ‘raise him above a level with the common earthly fortunes of his fellow men, and relieve his family from want’ (Oliver Cowdery, Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 198).

71. He saw the plates, the breastplate and the Urim and Thummim in the cement box. Oliver Cowdery later mentioned that with a few more years of erosion to the Hill Cumorah a person would have been able to see the cement box under the rock. Joseph was shocked three times and wondered why he couldn’t get the plates. He was told by Moroni that it was not enough to be willing to keep the commandments, he must demonstrate that he could keep the commandments (Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 81).

72. The four Visits to Cumorah (College) Visit #1September 21st, 1823 He saw two visions: The “vision of the damned” and “the vision of heaven.” Twenty years later he told his mother in Nauvoo that the vision of the damned was horrible beyond words. He said he saw those who had been overcome by the evil one and turned over to him.

73. Joseph Knight Sr. reported that after this failure to obtain the Nephite record, Joseph asked the angel, “’When can I have it?’ The answer was the 22 nd day of September next (year) if you bring the right person with you. Joseph (asked), ‘Who is the right person?’ The answer was, ‘Your oldest brother,’” meaning Alvin (Dean C. Jessee, “Joseph Knights' Recollection of Early Mormon History,” BYU Studies 17, no. 1 (fall 1976): 31). Katherine Smith reports the same instruction, but she says the Prophet asked the angel “What shall I do?” The angel replied, “Come here the next year at this time and bring your oldest brother with you, and you can receive the records” (Kansas City Times, 11 April 1895).

74. Visit #2 September 22, 1824 When Joseph arrived at the Hill Cumorah, Moroni was not there. He removed the stone, took the plates out of the cement box and placed them by his side. He then took his eyes off of the plates and looked back down into the cement box. He looked back at his side for the plates and discovered they were gone, he couldn’t find them anywhere (heart attack!). He looked back at the depository to find that the rock had been placed back over the cement box. He removed the rock again and looked in the cement box and there were the plates. He reached in to pick the plates up and was hurled violently back on to the ground. What an education!

75. Visits three and four, September 22 nd, 1825-26 There is no information on the 1825-26 visits. We don’t know what happened. We do know that Joseph spent many hours with his family talking about the things he had learned from Moroni and other heavenly messengers relative to the people of the Americas. We do know that Joseph was told to bring the right person to the hill on visit #4. Joseph Knight said that Joseph looked into the seer stone and discovered that the right person was Emma (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 18 th May, 1888). By the way, the right person is always your “spouse.” One evening Alvin said, “Now let’s all go to bed because Joseph is tired. Let’s get up a little earlier tomorrow and work a little harder, then Joseph will have more time after supper to tell us about these things.

76. “Long before sunrise on 22 September 1827, Joseph and his wife hitched Joseph Knight’s horse to Josiah Stowell’s spring wagon and traveled the three miles to Hill Cumorah. Leaving Emma at the base, Joseph climbed the hill for his final interview with Moroni. Moroni gave him the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the Breastplate. It seemed that Joseph was not to receive the plates until he was married.

77. President John Taylor said: “When Joseph Smith was raised up as a Prophet of God, Mormon, Moroni, Nephi and others of the ancient Prophets who formerly lived on this Continent, and Peter and John and others who lived on the Asiatic Continent, came to him and communicated to him certain principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God” (Journal of Discourses, 17:374).

78. Lucy Mack Smith wrote: “During our evening conversations, Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of traveling, and the animals upon which they rode; their cities, their buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them” (History of Joseph Smith, 83).

79. More facts about getting the plates! Joseph Smith Jr. showed his mother the two smooth three-cornered diamonds set in glass, which were set in silver bows connected to each other like old-fashioned spectacles. Joseph said that it seemed that Satan had stirred up the hearts of those who had in any way gotten a hint of the matter, to search into it and make every possible move towards preventing the work.

80. In 1841 Wilford Woodruff and others were shown the very seer stone that Joseph had used to translate much of the Book of Mormon, and Woodruff exulted, “I had the privilege of seeing for the first time in my day the Urim and Thummim.” Woodruff never got to heft, feel, or examine the plates to know that they were real (Woodruff, Journal, 27 December 1841, MS 1352, box 1, folder 2, Church History Library).

81. Joseph Smith explained that “through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God,” (Times and Seasons 3, no. 9 (1 March 1842). Those witnesses make the use of the stones the central part of the translation. They give an account of Joseph Smith placing various seer stones into a hat in order to block out the external light. Then God cause words to appear on the shining stones that translated the reformed Egyptian text into English (From Darkness Unto Light, xiv).

82. Joseph kept the Urim and Thummim constantly with him, by which he could in a moment tell whether the plates were in danger. When Hyrum came, Joseph requested him to get a chest that had a good lock and key, and to have it at their house when he got home later that night. Willard Chase, a neighboring farmer, along with other treasure seekers, sent for a sorcerer to come and find the place where the plates were hidden.

83. The actual box that the plates were locked in the first night Joseph received them.

84. 14 inches by 16 inches

85. On September 22 nd, 1827 Joseph hid the plates in a log and later brought them to his home to be locked in this box. The pictures of the box are from the Religious Education Archives at BYU.

86. Hyrum delivered the chest and lock that night. When Joseph first took the plates into his hands,the angel of the Lord stood by and said: “Now you have got the record in your own hands, and you are but a man, therefore you will have to be watchful and faithful to your trust, or you will be overpowered by wicked men, for they will lay every plan and scheme that is possible to get them away from you. And if you do not take heed continually, they will succeed. That while they were in my hands I could keep them, and no man had power to take them away. Beware, and look well to your ways, and you shall have power to retain them until the time for them to be translated.”

87. The night Joseph got the plates he fought off three different men during the three mile journey. During the scuffle with the last man he dislocated his thumb which his dad set for him later that evening. Some records indicate that this happened after he had received the plates and while he was working in Macedon. Emma heard of the plot to get the plates and went to Macedon and warned him (History of Joseph Smith, 108). Joseph arrived home speechless, frightened and exhausted.

88. What were the different places the plates were hid? A hollow birch log A chest in his Father’s home Beneath the hearthstone of the family living room A pile of flax in the cooper’s loft A barrel of beans Father Beman’s Ontario glass box Emma’s red Morocco trunk (History of Joseph Smith, 112-13)

89. Heber C. Kimball, who at this time lived just eighteen miles from the Smiths and was yet unaware of the Restoration, later recorded: “I had retired to bed, when John P. Greene, who was living within a hundred steps of my house, came and woke me up, calling upon me to come out and behold the scenery of the heavens. I called my wife Vilate and Sister Fanny Young (sister to Brigham), who was living with us, and we went out of doors. It was one of the most beautiful starlight nights, so clear that we could see to pick up a pin. We looked to the eastern horizon, and beheld a white smoke arise toward the heavens; as it ascended it formed itself into a belt, and made a noise like the sound of a mighty wind, and contained southwest, forming a regular bow dipping in the western horizon. After the bow had formed, it began to widen out and grow clear of transparent, of a bluish cast; it grew wide enough to contain twelve men abreast.

90. “In this bow an army moved, commencing from the east and marching to the west; they continued marching until they reached the western horizon. They moved in platoons, and walked so close that the rear ranks trod in the step of their file leaders, until the whole bow was literally crowded with soldiers. We could distinctly see the muskets, bayonets and knapsacks of the men, who wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; and also their officers with their swords and equipage, and the clashing and jingling of their implements of war, and could discover the forms and features of the men. The most profound order existed throughout the entire army; when the foremost men stepped, every man stepped at the same time; I could hear the steps. When the front rank reached the western horizon a battle ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of the arms and the rush. “No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men as plainly as ever I saw armies of men in the flesh; it seemed as though every hair of my head was alive. This scenery we gazed upon for hours, until it began to disappear.

91. “After I became acquainted with Mormonism, I learned that this took place the same evening that Joseph Smith received the records of the Book of Mormon from the angel Moroni” Quoted in Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, Collector’s Edition (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992, 15-17). Joseph Knight recorded that Joseph Smith told him that the plates were ten times better than he expected. Joseph described to him the length, width and thickness of the plates. Joseph Knight mentioned that Joseph Smith seemed to be more impressed with the Urim and Thummim than he was of the plates, for he said, “I can see anything; they are marvelous” (Backman, Eyewitness Accounts, 72).

92. Because of Joseph’s involvement with the Josiah Stowell affair near Harmony (in digging for buried treasure, silver mine), it appeared that those who worked with Joseph may have felt that any of the group who found buried treasure (including Joseph) would share it equally with the others. Martin Harris stated: “The money-diggers claimed that they had as much right to the plates as Joseph did, as they were in company together. They claimed that Joseph Smith had been a traitor, and had appropriated to himself that which belonged to them. For this reason Joseph was afraid of them, and continued to conceal the plates” (Porter, “Origins,” 81-82). Martin Harris estimated the weight of the plates at between forty and fifty pounds. William Smith, who was once allowed to lift the plates while they were covered by a pillowcase, estimated the weight at sixty pounds (Backman, Eyewitness Accounts, 70). Remember, Joseph ran for three miles with the plates under his arm.

93. Hill Cumorah An interesting event related in a sermon delivered by the late President Brigham Young at Farmington, Utah, 17 June 1877: “I believe I will take the liberty to tell you another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in a meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry; them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited the plates.

94. Joseph did not translate all of the plates, there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the Hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He said he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall;

95. but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: ‘This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and His Christ.’ I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what was said, but remembering some things. So it is with other circumstances in life. I relate this to you, and I want you to understand it. I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost” (Journal of Discourses, 19:38).

96. The Family of Joseph and Emma Smith 1. Alvin: A boy, born and died on 15 th of June 1828 at Harmony. 2. Louisa: A girl, one of the twins, lived about three hours, born on April 30 th, 1831 at Kirtland, Ohio. 3. Thaddeus:A boy, one of the twins, lived about three hours on April 30 th, 1831 at Kirtland, Ohio.

97. 4. Joseph Smith III: Boy, born on the 6 th of December, 1832 in Kirtland. Died December 1914 in Independence Missouri. Joseph Smith III had three wives and 17 children. On April 6 th, 1860 he became the Prophet of the Re-organized Church and retained that office until 1914. His third son Frederick with Mertha Madison succeeded him as president of the Church.

98. 5. Frederick Granger Williams: Boy, born on 20 th of June, 1836 in Kirtland Ohio. Died in 1862 at Nauvoo when he was 26. He was a farmer and a merchant. 6. Alexander Hale: A boy, born in 1838 at Far West and died August of 1909 in Nauvoo. 7. Don Carlos: A boy, born 13 th of June 1840, Nauvoo. Died 15 th of August 1841 at the age of 14 months, also in Nauvoo. 8. A boy: Born 26 th of December 1842 in Nauvoo who did not survive his birth.

99. 9. David Hyrum: Born 17 th of November 1844 in Nauvoo just five months after the martyrdom. He died on the 29 th of August 1904 at the age of 60 at Elgin Illinois. Adopted Children; 10. Joseph Smith Murdock: A twin, born 30 th April, 1831 at Kirtland Ohio, died 29 th of March 1832. 11. Julia Murdock: A twin, born 30 th April 1831 at Kirtland Ohio, died in 1880 from breast cancer near Nauvoo.

100. The Breastplate, Lucy Harris’s Dream, &Trickery (1827-1828) Lucy said that Joseph asked her to come downstairs to see the breastplate. It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that she could see the glistening metal and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty. It was concave on one side and convex on the other, and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of her fingers for she measured them, and they had holes in the end of them to be convenient in fastening. Lucy said the whole plate was worth at least 500 dollars. After Lucy examined it, Joseph put it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.

101. Shortly after the circumstance, Joseph came to the house in great haste and inquired if there had been a company of men there. Lucy said no, and Joseph said they would be there by night, which came to pass. It was later learned that the cause of mobs coming to steal the plates was the result of a young woman who was a sister to Willard Chase. She supposedly had a green glass through which she could see many wonderful things, including the exact place where the gold bible was hidden.

102. Lucy Harris’s dream actually took place after Lucy Mack Smith had told her of the plates and Joseph Smith needing money and help to translate them. Lucy Smith went to her first before approaching Martin with Joseph’s permission because she did not want to go behind Lucy Harris’s back. A few days later Lucy Harris visited with Joseph Smith and asked to see the plates and that she would be willing to help with money contributions. Joseph told her that she could not see them and he was not permitted to show them to anyone except those whom the Lord told him he could.

103. Lucy Harris actually spent the night at the Smith house and the next morning shared the following dream: She said that a personage had appeared to her the night before and told her that insomuch as she had disputed the servant of the Lord, that his word was not to be believed, and asked many improper questions, that she had done that which was not right in the sight of God. Then he said, “Behold, here are the plates, look upon them and believe.”

104. Lucy Harris thought that she was superior to Martin Harris and Joseph Smith. She coined the name “the Grand Imposter” for Joseph Smith. A young man by the name of Dikes had been paying attention to Lucy’s daughter, also named Lucy. Dike was very fond of Lucy and Lucy Harris used this to her advantage. She promised Dike that he could marry her daughter if he would scheme and get a copy of the Egyptian characters out of her husbands possession (the characters he took to New York City). Mr. Dikes did and Lucy Harris received a copy of the characters.

105. Lucy Harris often showed the copy of the Egyptian characters and informed others that Joseph Smith was not the only one in possession of this great curiosity. She told others that Joseph Smith had deceived her husband with his specious (deceptively attractive) pretensions and was exerting all his powers in order to induce Martin.