Online Encyclopedia
Golden Plates
Golden Plates is the common name used to refer to the "gold plates" (Joseph Smith History 1:34, LDS) that Joseph Smith, Jr. said he received from Moroni (Joseph Smith History 1:34, LDS) as the ancient source for the English translation of The Book of Mormon.
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Story of the Plates
On September 23, 1827 (perhaps 36 hours after a reported solo late-night retrieval on September 21, 1827), 21-year-old Joseph Smith, Jr. brought from the woods near Palmyra, New York into his father's house a "60-lb." (various sources) object "wrapped up in a tow frock" (William Smith, Sermon in the Saints' Chapel," Deloit Iowa June 8, 1888, Saints Herald 31 (1884):643-44). Besides Joseph Jr., there were six children then living in the home with their mother and father. Joseph's father
- put them into a pillow case. Father said, "What, Joseph, can we not see them?" "No. I was disobedient the first time but I intend to be faithful this time. For I was forbidden to show them until they are translated, but you can feel them." We handled them and could tell what they were. They were not quite as large as this Bible. Could tell whether they were round or square. Could raise the leaves this way (raising a few leaves of the Bible before him). One could easily tell that they were not a stone hewn out to deceive or even a block of wood. Being a mixture of gold and copper, they were much heavier than stone, and very much heavier than wood. (William Smith, ibid.)
For more than a year and a half after that day, until Joseph Smith said "the messenger called for them" (Joseph Smith History 1:60, LDS), this 60-lb object was a part of the regular life of Joseph Smith and his close family and friends. According to Joseph Smith, the object was a set of gold plates delivered to him by an angel.
- Moroni, the person who deposited the plates from whence the Book of Mormon was translated, in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, being dead and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me and told me where they were and gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them and the Urim and Thummim with them, by the means of which I translated the plates. And thus came the Book of Mormon. (Elders' Journal, July, 1838, pp. 42-43)
The Book of Mormon itself speaks of four records engraved between the time of the Tower of Babel and A.D. 421 on metal plates. In or about the year A.D. 421, The Book of Mormon has a prophet named Moroni (Mormon's son) hiding some records on metal plates "unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed."
Smith said that on September 21 1823 the same Moroni, then a resurrected angel, visited him, told him about a book written on "gold plates", then showed him the plates at a hill near his home in Palmyra, New York, USA. He states that Moroni subsequently delivered the hidden plates to him on September 22 1827. Smith said he had custody of the plates until he finished the translation of The Book of Mormon in 1829, upon which he returned them to the angel Moroni.
All claims regarding the Golden Plates come either from The Book of Mormon or from Smith and his associates who said they handled or saw the plates during that period.
Physical description of the plates
Size and weight
Smith and other witnesses said the plates had the appearance of gold and were sheets of metal about 6 inches wide by 8 inches high and somewhat thinner than common tin. They were bound together with three rings, and made a book about 6 inches thick. Reports from Smith and others who hefted them (while wrapped in cloth) agree that they weighed about 60 pounds.
In the Wentworth Letter http://www.lds4u.com/History/Wentworth.htm Smith wrote:
- "These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches [150 mm] wide and eight inches [200 mm] long, and not quite so thick as common tin... The volume was something near six inches [150 mm] in thickness, a part of which was sealed." These plates are typically referred to as the "gold plates" or other similar phrases.
William Smith (Joseph's brother) wrote in an 1883 account http://mail.lds.net/pages/wwbrison/firstv83.htm :
- "I was permitted to lift them as they laid in a pillow-case; but not to see them, as it was contrary to the commands he had received. They weighed about sixty pounds [22 kg if troy pounds, 27 kg if avoirdupois] according to the best of my judgment."
Composition
Smith said Moroni used the term "gold plates". William Smith believed they were "a mixture of gold and copper." Martin Harris was reported to say when he hefted the object in a box, "I knew from the heft that they were lead or gold, and I knew that Joseph had not credit enough to buy so much lead" (Joel Tiffany, "Mormonism--No. II," Tiffany's Monthly 4 (1859):168-70). It was common for those who claimed to have seen the plates to say they had the appearance of gold.
Criticisms
Despite consistent statements from the purported witnesses describing the book as above, the common perception of the plates as a monolith of pure gold has persisted. Critics have compared the 60 lb (22 kg if troy pounds, 27 kg if avoirdupois) reported weight of the plates to the 200 lb (75 kg if troy pounds, 91 kg if avoirdupois) weight of a block of pure gold measuring 6 by 8 by 6 in (150 by 200 by 150 mm). [1] http://www.mrm.org/articles/how-heavy.html . Opponents of this criticism say it is akin to comparing a stack of aluminum foil with a block of solid steel.
Historical plausibility
Other cultures have kept records on metal plates, and those found to date have been extremely thin, so as to facilitate their being engraven into with a pointed utensil. For utilitarian reasons alone, to make it both easier and feasible, the plates would need to be thin enough to allow depressions to be made into them simply by applying pressure, rather than having to scratch and dig as thicker plates would necessitate. Michael R. Ash points to the discovery of objects made from tumbaga, a gold-copper alloy in South America. He writes that using this alloy would make the plates more rigid, as well as lighter. [2] http://www.mormonfortress.com/gweight.html .
Reports of the Plates
Smith's family and friends said he kept the plates nearly always wrapped in a cloth like a cloak or pillow case at the least and sometimes in a box. Twelve individuals said they saw the plates uncovered, eight of those said they handled them uncovered, and at least five others said they saw and handled them while wrapped.
Critics in the Anti-Mormonism movement believe that Smith's family and associates were mistaken, and/or have shown inconsistencies in their reports or later claims. They also point out the unstable aspects of the character of Martin Harris and other purported witnesses, as reported by Jerald and Sandra Tanner in their book, The Changing World of Mormonism. http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech5a.htm#The%20Witnesses
Non-witness accounts
Smith's parents, brothers and sisters, wife, and others reported seeing and handling some object approximately matching the description of the plates when Joseph Smith had them with him or lying idle in the course of transporting them or translating them. For example, Smith's wife, Emma Smith, reported lifting the "very heavy" plates while dusting. And Martin Harris, after hearing his wife and daughter tell of lifting them and that they were "about as much as [his daughter] could lift", went to the Smith house himself when Joseph was away and "while at Mr. Smith’s I hefted the plates, and I knew from the heft that they were lead or gold, and I knew that Joseph had not credit enough to buy so much lead” (Joel Tiffany, “Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly 4 (1859): 168–69. cited in William J. Hamblin, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, p.512).
Emma Smith
After talking with his mother, Emma Smith, Smith's son Joseph Smith III reported in a letter that "she often wrote for Joseph Smith during the work of translation...." (Joseph Smith III to James T. Cobb, Feb. 14, 1879, Letterbook 2, pp. 85-88, RLDS Archives, courteously shared with Richard Lloyd Anderson by Smith family scholar Buddy Youngreen). "The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth, which I had given him to fold them in. I once felt of the plates as they thus lay on the table tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book." (Saints' Herald 26 (1879):290) "I moved them from place to place on the table, as it was necessary in doing my work." (ibid.)
Joseph Smith Sr. family
Martin Harris family
Spiritual Witnesses
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris claimed to have seen an angel descend from heaven and present the plates. They claimed to have seen the plates but not touch them. They claimed to have heard a voice from heaven declaring that the book was translated by the power of God, and that they should bear record of it. (See The Testimony of Three Witnesses http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/thrwtnss .) All three witnesses were later excommunicated from the church, and claims have been made by the Anti-Mormonism movement that there is evidence these witnesses later had doubts regarding their previous claims. Just prior to each of their death (and in most cases on their deathbeds), individually they re-affirmed their witness that their statement as found in the introduction of the Book of Mormon was accurate and true.
Martin Harris
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
David Whitmer left Joseph Smith and the church and never returned, but continued to claim that he had received a vision of the Golden Plates. At one point he published a public confirmation of this testimony in An Address to All Believers in Christ http://utlm.org/onlinebooks/address1.htm , in which he also claimed revelation that he should separate himself from the Latter Day Saints due Joseph Smith 'drifting into errors' and misleading the church.
Whitmer also testified under oath during a trial that he had never recanted his testimony of the plates (this was partly due to several claims that he had changed or recanted his testimony in early anti-Mormon literature).
Mary Whitmer
Mary "Mother" Whitmer, the wife of Peter Whitmer, Sr., reported seeing the plates in supernatural or visionary experiences (see 'Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses' by Richard Lloyd Anderson).
She said she saw the angel Moroni, conversed with him, and was shown the gold plates as a comfort and testimony to her while she kept house for a large party during the translation work (Peterson, H. Donl. Moroni: Ancient Prophet, Modern Messenger. Bountiful, Utah, 1983. pp. 114, 116).
Eyewitnesses
Eight witnesses claim to have been shown the plates by Joseph Smith and allowed to handle them. They described the book as 'having the appearance of gold', and said that the writing was of a 'curious workmanship'. These witnesses were Christian Whitmer , Jacob Whitmer , Peter Whitmer, Sr. , John Whitmer, Hiram Page , Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith . (See Testimony of Eight Witnesses http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/eghtwtns .)
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith is the first witness of the plates. He claims to have been visited several times by the angel Moroni and taught the location of the plates. Smith claims to have translated directly from the plates.
Men of Peter Whitmer Sr. family
Christian Whitmer , Jacob Whitmer , Peter Whitmer, Sr. , John Whitmer, and Hiram Page (a son-in-law) were members of the Peter Whitmer, Sr. family.
Men of Joseph Smith Sr. family
Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith were members of the Joseph Smith, Sr. family