Is it possible that when Joseph Smith received the plates, he thought someone else would translate them? Joseph learned line upon line, and there is at least some evidence that he may not have understood that he would be the one to translate the plates.
Joseph did not have a formal education. How could he possibly translate writings from an ancient language? He asked Martin Harris for help, and perhaps Joseph thought that Martin would find someone to help translate the record.
Before leaving Palmyra, Joseph began to “make arrangements” for the translation
In a prior post, I wrote about the period between when Joseph obtained the plates and when he and Emma left for Harmony.1 While they were still in Palmyra, and just after Joseph had obtained the plates, Lucy writes that “Joseph began to make arrangements to accomplish the translation of the Record. The first step that he was instructed to take in regard to this work was to make a facsimile of some of the characters, which were called reformed Egyptian, and to send them to some of the most learned men of this generation and ask them for the translation thereof.”2
What does it mean “make arrangements?” And why would the “first step” to “arrange” for the translation be to make copies of some of the characters and send them to people and ask for the translation? Lucy notes that it was then, with the desire to make arrangements for the translation, that Joseph asked Lucy to seek help from their “confidential” friend, Martin Harris: “With the view of commencing the work of translation and carrying it forward as speedily as circumstances would permit, Joseph came to me one afternoon and requested me to go to this Mr. Harris and inform him that he had got the plates and that he desired to see Mr. Harris concerning the matter.”3
I previously wrote about Lucy’s invitation to Martin, his investigation of Joseph’s claims, and his prayer to know “concerning these things.”4 For the rest of his life, Martin would assert that he received an answer from God that this was His work, and Martin considered himself under a covenant to help bring the record forth.
But the persecution grew more intense, and before Joseph could make any “arrangements” regarding the translation, he and Emma left Palmyra and moved to Harmony.
Joseph transcribes the characters
Martin helped Joseph load the wagon for the move from Palmyra to Harmony, and there was some discussion about Martin possibly going with Joseph and Emma. Instead, Martin “was to give Joseph sufficient time to transcribe a few Egyptian characters from the plates. Martin was then to ‘take the characters to the East, and, on his way, he was to call on all the professed linguists, in order to give them an opportunity to display their talents in giving a translation of the characters.'”5
Once in Harmony, free from those who had tried to take the plates, Joseph “‘commenced copying the characters off the plates’ (JS–H 1:62) in anticipation of Martin’s arrival.”6 Joseph Knight Sr. wrote that Joseph “began to be anxious to git them translated” and “with hist wife Drew of[f] the Caricters exactly like the ancient and [later] sent Martin Harris to see if he Could git them Translated.”7
It is unknown exactly how Joseph made replicas of the characters from the plates. “Without showing the plates, Joseph had others help him duplicate some of the characters. Emma Smith, for instance, aided Joseph to make copies of the characters, but she never saw the plates herself. It is possible that Joseph was making copies of the characters by placing a paper over the plates and rubbing a piece of charcoal over the inscribed characters. Joseph may have created rubbings of dozens of the plates, then handed them over to Emma to trace or copy the characters onto another piece of paper. Emma would have done her best to replicate the rubbing (if that as how Joseph actually made the copies), but she did not copy characters directly from the plates.”8 There is evidence that Joseph received help transcribing the characters from not only Emma, but also from her brother, Reuben Hale, as well as Martin Harris.9
The Joseph Smith Papers has published three documents that claim to contain characters copied from the Book of Mormon.10 Perhaps the best known is the one owned by the Community of Christ, and so I am not able to post it, but it is available on the Joseph Smith Papers website.11 The following was printed by the Prophet, a Church-affiliated publication in New York, after Joseph Smith’s death:12
Martin travels to New York to find someone to translate the characters
In February, 1828, Martin Harris traveled from Palmyra to Harmony with Joseph’s brother, Hyrum.13 At this point, Joseph and Emma had been in Harmony for about two months, and Joseph had the plates in his possession for about five months. Sometime after his arrival in Harmony, Martin told Joseph that he had had a vision in which he saw the Lord, and was told that he “must go to New York City with some of the characters.”14
The story of Martin trying to find someone to translate the characters is not well known. The book “From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon,” by Michael MacKay, contains a significant amount of lesser-known details about this story. Here are a few highlights of Martin’s trip:
- In February, 1828 (the same month Martin arrived in Harmony), Martin left with copies of the characters.
- Martin understood that the purpose of this trip was to find scholars who could help translate the characters.
- He went to Palmyra on his way to New York, and spoke with a printer, Pomeroy Tucker, to get some ideas about scholars who could give an “interpretation and bibliological scrutiny” of the characters.
- Martin then went to Albany, where he met with Luther Bradish, a former resident of Palmyra before becoming a politician. Bradish had experience with languages and classical studies, and that, together with his career as a politician, likely gave him a familiarity with scholars who could possibly help Martin.
- After visiting with Bradish, Martin went to Philadelphia. While there he likely met with members of the American Philosophical Society, who referred him to Samuel L. Mitchill, one of the leading scholars on Native Americans in the New York area.
- Martin met with Samuel Mitchill, who “looked at his engravings . . . and set them down as a language of a people formerly in existence in the East, but now no more,” but he “confessed he had been unable to understand” them, and so sent Martin on to Charles Anthon with a note of introduction.15
What did Joseph know about the characters?
Before discussing the meeting between Martin and Professor Anthon, it is fascinating to think about what Joseph might have known about the characters.
In her history, Lucy (Joseph’s mother) states, “Joseph began to make arrangements to accomplish the translation of the Record. The first step that he was instructed to take in regard to this work was to make a facsimile of some of the characters, which were called reformed Egyptian, and to send them to some of the most learned men of this generation and ask them for the translation thereof.”16
Lucy’s statement requires a brief discussion of how we interpret or recollect past events. How did she know the characters were reformed Egyptian? Near the end of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni (the same person who later, as a resurrected being, visited Joseph Smith to tell him about the plates) said “we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.”17 So reformed Egyptian is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, but by February, 1828, when he was copying the characters, Joseph had not yet translated the Book of Mormon and so he could not have known of reformed Egyptian.
Joseph copied the characters and sent Martin with them in February, 1828. Lucy began writing her book in 1845.18 When we tell stories that happened years in the past, what facts do we remember? Do we sometimes take current knowledge and place that in a historical event, even when it might be out of place historically? As I have continually discussed, we have to place historical facts in their historical context to gain true understanding. But even as we search historical sources, we will nevertheless find subjective understanding of events: “To many students, history is seen as a series of facts, dates, and events usually packaged as a textbook. The use of primary sources can change this view. As students use primary sources they begin to view their textbook as only one historical interpretation and its author as an interpreter of evidence, not as a purveyor of truth. . . . Primary sources force students to realize that any account of an event, no matter how impartially presented it appears to be, is essentially subjective.”19 Lucy’s book is a primary source. She was there, she remembered the events. But even so, at the time Joseph copied the characters, he could not have known that the caracters were “reformed” Egyptian. Lucy was an eye-witness to those events. But we, living in Lucy’s future, have a broader view of the events. So as historicans search known sources, they can draw conclusions that might not have been hidden from those who were living the events in the moment.
Professor Samuel Mitchill, the first person who met with Martin about the characters, was an expert in Native American languages.20 Why would Martin meet with someone who was an expert in Native American langauges if he believed the characters were Egyptian? When Joseph Smith was first told about the plates by the angel Moroni, he was told, “there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.”21 It is reasonable, then, that Joseph and Martin would want to find someone who was expert in Native American languages.
So why would Lucy mention the characters being reformed Egyptian? By the time she wrote her book, she would have been familiar with the Book of Mormon and used her knowledge at the time to describe the characters. But reading her statement, we can tend to fall victim to “presentism,” which is the “tendency to interpret the past through the lens of the present.”22 This is similar to what I previously wrote about “historical empathy.”23 If we want to be fair to the people in the past, we have to analyze what they knew at that time. Certain ideas can become so compelling, and so certain in our understanding, that we superimpose those ideas over past events, even if it would have been impossible for the historical figures to know or understand our modern ideas at that time.
Despite the references to Joseph wanting to find someone to translate the “reformed Egyptian,” it is most likely that when Joseph copied the characters, and when Martin took those characteres to scholars for their interpretation, they believed the characters were an ancient Native American language.
Martin’s interaction with Charles Anthon
Martin’s meeting with Professor Charles Anthon has become famous among Church members as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy: “Can you find a fulfillment of that anywhere in this world like when Martin Harris took copies of the hieroglyphics from the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated to Professor Anthon in New York?”24 As with so many things, modern historical scholarship has discovered details that help us understand more about that interaction.
Charles Anthon was an adjunct professor at Columbia College, but “had done no significant academic work on ancient America or Native American languages.”25 However, he was very interested in Native American stories, and he was working on “collecting and printing ‘specimens of Indian eloquence.'”26 When Martin Harris presented him with characters from an unknown language and stories about gold plates, “Anthon, of course, was eager to examine the paper for Harris, and he most likely had hopes that he had found another story for his publication.”27
Martin’s version of the story is famous among Church members, and can be read in Joseph Smith’s history, verses 64-65. After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Charles Anthon “felt that he needed to protect his reputation . . . [and] wrote a letter to E. D. Howe in 1834 as Howe prepared his book Mormonism Unvailed.”28 I find it fascinating to read Professor Anthon’s version of the meeting:
“The whole story about my having pronounced the Mormonite inscription to be “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics” is perfectly false. Some years ago, a plain, and apparently simple-hearted farmer, called upon me with a note from Dr. Mitchell of our city, now deceased, requesting me to decypher, if possible, a paper, which the farmer would hand me, and which Dr. M. confessed he had been unable to understand. Upon examining the paper in question, I soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick, perhaps a hoax. When I asked the person, who brought it, how he obtained the writing, he gave me, as far as I can now recollect, the following account: A “gold book,” consisting of a number of plates of gold, fastened together in the shape of a book by wires of the same metal, had been dug up in the northern part of the state of New York, and along with the book an enormous pair of “gold spectacles”! . . . Whoever examined the plates through the spectacles, was enabled not only to read them, but fully to understand their meaning. . . . The farmer added, that he had been requested to contribute a sum of money towards the publication of the “golden book,” the contents of which would, as he had been assured, produce an entire change in the world and save it from ruin. So urgent had been these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm and handing over the amount received to those who wished to publish the plates. As a last precautionary step, however, he had resolved to come to New York, and obtain the opinion of the learned about the meaning of the paper which he brought with him. . . . On hearing this odd story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and, instead of viewing it any longer as a hoax upon the learned, I began to regard it as part of a scheme to cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated my suspicions to him, warning him to beware of rogues. He requested an opinion from me in writing, which of course I declined giving, and he then took his leave carrying the paper with him. This paper was in fact a singular scrawl. It consisted of all kinds of crooked characters disposed in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters inverted or placed sideways, were arranged in perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle divided into various compartments, decked with various strange marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican Calender given by Humboldt. . . . I have frequently conversed with my friends on the subject, since the Mormonite excitement began, and well remember that the paper contained any thing else but “Egyptian Hieroglyphics.” Some time after, the same farmer paid me a second visit. He brought with him the golden book in print, and offered it to me for sale. I declined purchasing. He then asked permission to leave the book with me for examination. I declined receiving it, although his manner was strangely urgent.”29
What really happened? We have Martin’s version, and we have Professor Anthon’s version. Regardless of which version is more accurate, “Harris’s confidence in the veracity of gold plates grew dramatically during the exchange between the two men. If Anthon’s recollection of their visit is accurate, Martin likely would have been less inclined to pursue his relationship with Joseph Smith.”30
Why did Joseph want to transcribe the characters?
There had been many who wanted evidence of the existence of the plates. Lucy (Joseph’s mother) describes in detail the efforts of Lucy Harris (Martin’s wife) to see the plates.31 Although others, including Martin, were content to lift a box containing the plates,32 Emma’s father wanted to see the plates and was not satisfied with just lifting a heavy box. When they arrived in Harmony, Emma’s father, Isaac Hale, “was quickly disappointed to find that Joseph claimed he had brought with him from Palmyra a set of gold plates that had been buried in a hill. Hale receied these claims with doubt and derision. . . Attempting to convince Hale that the plates existed without showing him the actual plates, Joseph picked up the trunk in which he had deposited the plates and handed it to Hale. . . . Joseph used this approach to avoid the consequences of showing the plates to others while also offering at least some physical evidence that the plates existed. The experience, however, did not make a believer of Isaac Hale the way it had Martin Harris. . . . Infuriated with what he perceived as Joseph’s recalcitrance, Hale demanded that nothing be stored in his house if he could not see it.”33
Joseph was under a command from the angel Moroni to not show anyone the plates. There were many people who supported Joseph and it is only natural that he would want to give them some evidence that the plates were real, so many were allowed to lift the box holding the plates to feel their weight. There were also many who were allowed to touch the plates under a covering. For those who loved Joseph or who gained a testimony of his calling, feeling the weight of the plates or touching them as they were covered was enough. But this did not satisfy Isaac Hale. So “[p]erhaps is was in part to try to satisfy Hale’s doubts that Joseph soon produced paper copies of the characters on the plates.”34
Could it be that Joseph thought he would need to find someone to translate the plates? Could it be that Joseph continued to learn line upon line, and that he might not have realized that the role of a seer was to translate those plates? The First Vision occurred when he was 14, and his first visit from Moroni when he was 17. Doesn’t it seem likely that it took time, training, and continued instruction for him to begin to understand what the Lord wanted him to accomplish?
We so often make assumptions about what Joseph knew or understood, but it seems to me that he had to grow into his knowledge and role as a prophet. I love seeing Joseph’s humanity, his uncertainty, his need for help, and sometimes even his anxiety at trying to accomplish the tasks the Lord gave him. Joseph wasn’t perfect, and yet through him, the Lord was able to work wonders. Seeing that example makes me wonder if the Lord can take my small and simple efforts, and make great things come to pass.35
References
- “Joseph Smith Had the Plates, and He Had to Protect Them,” https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/joseph-smith-had-the-plates/. ↩︎
- Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,” Zions Camp Books, Kindle Edition, Chapter 23. ↩︎
- Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,” Chapter 23. ↩︎
- “Joseph Smith Had the Plates, and He Had to Protect Them,” https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/joseph-smith-had-the-plates/. ↩︎
- Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, “Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon,” 2018, BYU Studies, Provo, Utah, Kindle edition, 116. ↩︎
- Black, “Martin Harris,” 116. ↩︎
- Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmatt, “From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon,” The Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 2015, 33-34, https://rsc.byu.edu/book/darkness-unto-light. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 35. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 35. ↩︎
- Appendix 2: Copies of Book of Mormon Characters, Introduction, p. , The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 8, 2023, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-2-copies-of-book-of-mormon-characters-introduction/1?highlight=book%20of%20mormon%20characters. ↩︎
- Appendix 2, Document 1. Characters Copied by John Whitmer, circa 1829–1831, p. 1, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 8, 2023, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-2-document-1-characters-copied-by-john-whitmer-circa-1829-1831/1. ↩︎
- Appendix 2, Document 3. Stick of Joseph, 1844, p. 1, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed October 8, 2023, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-2-document-3-stick-of-joseph-1844/1#historical-intro. ↩︎
- Black, “Martin Harris,” 117. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 39. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 39-49. ↩︎
- Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,” Chapter 23. ↩︎
- Mormon 9:32. ↩︎
- “Lucy Mack Smith History (1845),” https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/library/lucy-mack-smith?lang=eng. ↩︎
- “History in the Raw,” National Archives Website, https://www.archives.gov/education/history-in-the-raw.html. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 47. ↩︎
- Joseph Smith-History 1:34. ↩︎
- Natalie Wexler, “‘Presentism’ May Be Stoking Doubts About Schools’ Ability To Teach History,” Forbes Website, September 1, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2022/09/01/presentism-may-be-stoking-doubts-about-schools-ability-to-teach-history/?sh=22a83a3b3160. ↩︎
- “Did the Church Lie to Me?” https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/did-the-church-lie-to-me/. ↩︎
- Elder LeGrand Richards, “Value of the Holy Scriptures,” Ensign, May 1976, 83, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/05/value-of-the-holy-scriptures?lang=eng. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 49. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 50. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 50. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 51. ↩︎
- Black, “Martin Harris,” 122-125. ↩︎
- Black, “Martin Harris,” 126. ↩︎
- Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,” Chapter 23. ↩︎
- See “Joseph Smith Had the Plates, and He Had to Protect Them,” https://discoverfaithinchrist.com/joseph-smith-had-the-plates/ (Martin lifted the box in which the plates were kept, and he concluded that it contained some sort of metal, either lead or gold, and he knew that Joseph didn’t have money to buy even that much lead.) ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 34. ↩︎
- MacKay, “From Darkness Unto Light,” 34. ↩︎
- Alma 37:6. ↩︎