JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4–5; JS History, vol. A-1, 4–8.
See Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Aug. 1890, 314–316.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
The original locations of some small fragments containing inscribed characters have not been identified; such fragments are not included in this volume but may be viewed at josephsmithpapers.org.
Much of this earlier work has been published as Royal Skousen, ed., The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon: Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001); Royal Skousen, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2004–2009); and Royal Skousen, ed., The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009). Between the publication of Skousen’s transcript in 2001 and the publication of this volume, Skousen made a number of corrections to the transcript. A list of those corrections can be found in Appendix 3: Transcript Updates since 2001.
For more information on the photographs in this volume, see “Note on Photographic Facsimiles.”
Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3]; Preface to Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829; Testimony of Three Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, pp. 463–464; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 538 [Mormon 9:32–34].
JS, Journal, 9–11 Nov. 1835. Joseph Smith consistently described the translation this way throughout his life. Three individuals who acted as witnesses to the plates described Smith’s work similarly. (See, for example, Preface to Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829; JS, Kirtland, OH, to Noah C. Saxton, Rochester, NY, 4 Jan. 1833; JS, “Church History,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:707; and Testimony of Three Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, pp. 463–464.)
See, for example, Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3]; and Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9].
JS History, vol. A-1, 9, 13–15, 22; Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289; JS History, ca. Summer 1832, [6]; Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14; James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2].
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Knight, Reminiscences, 3.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
JS History, vol. A-1, 7; C. M., “The Original Prophet,” 229; W. D. Purple, Reminiscence, 28 Apr. 1877, in “Joseph Smith, the Originator of Mormonism,” Chenango Union (Norwich, NY), 2 May 1877, [3]; see also Walker, “Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting,” 429–459; Ashurst-McGee, “Pathway to Prophethood,” 74–78, 194; and Taylor, “Rediscovering the Context of Joseph Smith’s Treasure Seeking,” 18–28.
“The Original Prophet. By a Visitor to Salt Lake City.” Fraser’s Magazine 7, no. 28 (Feb. 1873): 225–235.
Walker, Ronald W. “The Persisting Idea of American Treasure Hunting.” BYU Studies 24, no. 4 (Fall 1984): 429–459.
Ashurst-McGee, Mark. “A Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Junior as Rodsman, Village Seer, and Judeo-Christian Prophet.” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 2000.
Taylor, Alan. “Rediscovering the Context of Joseph Smith’s Treasure Seeking.” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 19, no. 4 (Winter 1986): 18–28.
See “Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon”; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 48–52, 61; and Ashurst-McGee, “Moroni: Angel or Treasure Guardian?,” 44.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.
Ashurst-McGee, Mark. “Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian.” FARMS Review 18, no. 1 (2006): 34–100.
See, for example, Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 5, [8]–[10]; and Knight, Reminiscences, 3.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
JS History, vol. A-1, 9. Some individuals who interacted with Harris in New York City made no mention of an English translation accompanying the copied characters that Harris showed to scholars. (Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Eber D. Howe, Painesville, OH, 17 Feb. 1834, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 270–272; Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Thomas Winthrop Coit, New Rochelle, NY, 3 Apr. 1841, in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233; Turner, History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve, 215; “Golden Bible,” Gem, of Literature and Science [Rochester, NY], 5 Sept. 1829, 70.)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Clark, John A. Gleanings by the Way. New York: Robert Carter, 1842.
Turner, Orsamus. History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve; Embracing the Counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, Most of Wayne and Allegany, and Parts of Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming. To Which Is Added, a Supplement, or Extension of the Pioneer History of Monroe County. . . . Rochester: William Alling, 1851.
Gem, of Literature and Science. Rochester, NY. 1829–1833.
Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Eber D. Howe, Painesville, OH, 17 Feb. 1834, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 270; Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Thomas Winthrop Coit, New Rochelle, NY, 3 Apr. 1841, in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233; MacKay, “Git Them Translated,” 95–98. Smith’s later history implies that Harris first visited Anthon and then Mitchill. (JS History, vol. A-1, 9.)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Clark, John A. Gleanings by the Way. New York: Robert Carter, 1842.
MacKay, Michael Hubbard. “‘Git Them Translated’: Translating the Characters on the Gold Plates.” In Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World, edited by Lincoln H. Blumell, Matthew J. Grey, and Andrew H. Hedges, 83–116. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.
Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Eber D. Howe, Painesville, OH, 17 Feb. 1834, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 270–272; Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Thomas Winthrop Coit, New Rochelle, NY, 3 Apr. 1841, in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233–238; Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to “Rev. and Deor Sir,” 12 Aug. 1844, in “A Fact in the Mormon Imposture,” New-York Observer (New York City), 3 May 1845, [1].
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Clark, John A. Gleanings by the Way. New York: Robert Carter, 1842.
New-York Observer. New York City. 1829–1912.
“Golden Bible,” Gem, of Literature and Science [Rochester, NY], 5 Sept. 1829, 70; [John A. Clark], “Gleanings by the Way. No. VI,” Episcopal Recorder, 5 Sept. 1840, 94; JS History, vol. A-1, 9.
Gem, of Literature and Science. Rochester, NY. 1829–1833.
Episcopal Recorder. Philadelphia. 1831–1919.
Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289–290; JS History, vol. A-1, 9; Hiel Lewis, “Prophet Smith’s Family Relations,” Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 17 Oct. 1879, [2].
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Salt Lake Daily Tribune. Salt Lake City. 1871–.
“A Witness to the Book of Mormon,” Daily Iowa State Register (Des Moines), 28 Aug. 1870, [4]; Briggs, “Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454; Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289–290. Emma Smith later recounted that while she acted as scribe, Joseph Smith questioned the existence of a wall around Jerusalem. Because the only extant portion of the Book of Mormon text that mentions a wall around Jerusalem (1 Nephi 4:4) is in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery, it seems clear that Emma acted as scribe for at least some of the lost portion of the manuscript. (Briggs, “Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454.)
Daily Iowa State Register. Des Moines. 1869–1872.
Journal of History. Lamoni, IA, 1908–1920; Independence, MO, 1921–1925.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289; “Golden Bible,” Gem, of Literature and Science [Rochester, NY], 5 Sept. 1829, 70.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Gem, of Literature and Science. Rochester, NY. 1829–1833.
Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 217, 328, 546 [Mosiah 28:20; Alma 37:21–24; Ether 4:5].
“Mormonism—No. II,” Tiffany’s Monthly, Aug. 1859, 165–166; see also [John A. Clark], “Gleanings by the Way. No. VI,” Episcopal Recorder, 5 Sept. 1840, 94.
“Mormonism,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (May 1859): 46–51; (July 1859): 119–121; (Aug. 1859): 163–170. Tiffany's Monthly. New York City. 1856–1859.
Episcopal Recorder. Philadelphia. 1831–1919.
JS, “Church History,” Times and Seasons, 1 Mar. 1842, 3:707.
See “Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon”; Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14; “Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; and Woodruff, Journal, 27 Dec. 1841. The earliest recorded use of the biblical term Urim and Thummim to describe the instrument Joseph Smith used for translation dates from 1832. (“Questions Proposed to the Mormonite Preachers and Their Answers Obtained before the Whole Assembly at Julien Hall, Sunday Evening, August 5, 1832,” Boston Investigator, 10 Aug. 1832, [2]; see also Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; [William W. Phelps], “The Book of Mormon,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [2]; Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim; and Ashurst-McGee, “Pathway to Prophethood,” 312–316, 325.)
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Boston Investigator. Boston. 1831–1904.
The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.
Van Dam, Cornelis. The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
Ashurst-McGee, Mark. “A Pathway to Prophethood: Joseph Smith Junior as Rodsman, Village Seer, and Judeo-Christian Prophet.” Master’s thesis, Utah State University, 2000.
Edward Stevenson, “One of the Three Witnesses,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 13 Dec. 1881, [4]; Emma Smith Bidamon, Nauvoo, IL, to Mrs. Pilgrim, 27 Mar. 1870, in John Clark, “Translation of Nephite Records,” Return, 15 July 1895, 2; see also David Whitmer, Interview, Chicago Inter-Ocean, 17 Oct. 1886, quoted in “David Whitmer Reviewed,” Saints’ Herald, 13 Nov. 1886, 707.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289, 290.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454. Though the original manuscript contains some spelling corrections, there are also many misspelled words throughout the manuscript.
Journal of History. Lamoni, IA, 1908–1920; Independence, MO, 1921–1925.
Edward Stevenson, “One of the Three Witnesses,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 13 Dec. 1881, [4].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
“The Early Mormons,” Broome Republican (Binghamton, NY), 28 July 1880, [1].
Broome Republican. Binghamton, NY. 1822–1869.
“Gold Bible, No. 6,” Reflector (Palmyra, NY), 19 Mar. 1831, 126, italics in original; see also Charles Anthon, New York City, NY, to Thomas Winthrop Coit, New Rochelle, NY, 3 Apr. 1841, in Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 233.
Reflector. Palmyra, NY. 1821–1831.
Clark, John A. Gleanings by the Way. New York: Robert Carter, 1842.
MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 91.
MacKay, Michael Hubbard, and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat. From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.
Emma Smith recorded that she took dictation from her husband, “hour after hour with nothing between us.” David Whitmer, who observed the translation in Fayette, New York, stated that a curtain provided privacy from visitors but that it did not separate Smith from the scribe. (Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 289, italics added; “The Book of Mormon,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 17 Dec. 1885, 3; see also Emma Smith Bidamon, Nauvoo, IL, to Mrs. Pilgrim, 27 Mar. 1870, in John Clark, “Translation of Nephite Records,” Return, 15 July 1895, 2; and Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454.)
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago. 1872–1963.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Journal of History. Lamoni, IA, 1908–1920; Independence, MO, 1921–1925.
Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Oct. 1879, 290.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 7, [1]–[2]; Lucy Mack Smith History, 1845, 126–127; JS History, vol. A-1, 9.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 7, [5]–[8]. Martin Harris and several others believed that his wife, Lucy Harris Harris, had stolen the manuscript, but their accounts differ as to whether she burned it or gave it to others. (See, for example, Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 22; [John A. Clark], 31 Aug. 1840, “Gleanings by the Way. No. VII,” Episcopal Recorder, 12 Sept. 1840, 98; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 134; [James H. Reeves], “Old Newspapers—No. 24,” Palmyra [NY] Courier, 24 May 1872, 3; and “W. R. Hine’s Statement,” Naked Truths about Mormonism [Oakland, CA], Jan. 1888, 2.)
Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.
Episcopal Recorder. Philadelphia. 1831–1919.
Palmyra Courier. Palmyra, NY. 1845–1874.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3:9–10].
JS History, ca. Summer 1832, [6]. Smith’s later history states that he received the plates and interpreters again “a few days” after dictating the revelation in July 1828. (JS History, vol. A-1, 11.)
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 135; see also Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 7, [8]. Lucy Mack Smith later remembered that her son was to receive the plates “again on the 22 of september,” but records indicate he likely received them before that time. Lucy recalled her son having the plates in his possession when she and her husband visited Harmony in September 1828, and they had already returned to Palmyra by 11 September, when one of their children was treated by a local doctor there. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 7, [9]; Gain C. Robinson, Account Book, microfilm copy, CHL.)
Robinson, Gain C. Daybook C, Sept. 1827–Feb. 1830. Business Records from Palmyra, NY, 1801–1864. Microfilm. CHL.
JS History, vol. A-1, 11. In mid-August 1828, Smith purchased a penknife and a pocketbook on credit. It is possible that these purchases indicated Smith was preparing for some writing. (Staker and Jensen, “David Hale’s Store Ledger,” 100, 101.)
Staker, Mark L., and Robin Scott Jensen. “David Hale’s Store Ledger: New Details about Joseph and Emma Smith, the Hale Family, and the Book of Mormon.” BYU Studies 53, no. 3 (2014): 77–112.
Knight, Reminiscences, 5.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Staker and Jensen, “David Hale’s Store Ledger,” 101–105.
Staker, Mark L., and Robin Scott Jensen. “David Hale’s Store Ledger: New Details about Joseph and Emma Smith, the Hale Family, and the Book of Mormon.” BYU Studies 53, no. 3 (2014): 77–112.
Knight, Reminiscences, 5.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
JS History, ca. Summer 1832, [6]; Staker and Jensen, “David Hale’s Store Ledger,” 105.
Staker, Mark L., and Robin Scott Jensen. “David Hale’s Store Ledger: New Details about Joseph and Emma Smith, the Hale Family, and the Book of Mormon.” BYU Studies 53, no. 3 (2014): 77–112.
Knight, Reminiscences, 5.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:30].
As published, the Book of Mormon begins with the books of 1 Nephi through the Words of Mormon and then proceeds from the book of Mosiah through the end of the volume. But it is clear that 1 Nephi was not translated first because part of 1 Nephi is in the handwriting of John Whitmer, who could not have served as scribe until late May or June 1829.
James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14; Agreement with Isaac Hale, 6 Apr. 1829; JS History, vol. A-1, 13.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14, italics in original.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Revelation, Apr. 1829–B [D&C 8:11].
Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9:1, 7–8].
Oliver Cowdery, Norton, OH, to William W. Phelps, 7 Sept. 1834, Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15; JS History, vol. A-1, 17–18.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
“Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; JS History, ca. June–Oct. 1839, [3]; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [8], [10]; James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2].
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
JS History, vol. A-1, 22; James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
John C. Whitmer, Statement, in [Andrew Jenson], “The Eight Witnesses,” Historical Record, Oct. 1888, 621.
The Historical Record, a Monthly Periodical, Devoted Exclusively to Historical, Biographical, Chronological and Statistical Matters. Salt Lake City. 1882–1890.
Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL; Stevenson, Diary, 23 Dec. 1877; 9 Feb. 1886; 2 Jan. 1887.
Smith, Joseph F. Papers, 1854–1918. CHL. MS 1325.
Stevenson, Edward. Journals, 1852–1896. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, boxes 1–4.
John C. Whitmer, Statement, in [Andrew Jenson], “The Eight Witnesses,” Historical Record, Oct. 1888, 621; Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL; Stevenson, Diary, 23 Dec. 1877; 9 Feb. 1886; 2 Jan. 1887.
The Historical Record, a Monthly Periodical, Devoted Exclusively to Historical, Biographical, Chronological and Statistical Matters. Salt Lake City. 1882–1890.
Smith, Joseph F. Papers, 1854–1918. CHL. MS 1325.
Stevenson, Edward. Journals, 1852–1896. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, boxes 1–4.
Elizabeth Whitmer Cowdery, Statement, 15 Feb. 1870, in William McLellin, Independence, MO, to “My Dear Friends,” Feb. 1870, CCLA. The last part of this statement is cut off because a portion of the page on which it was written is missing. Only the top half of the next line is visible. There is no evidence that a curtain was in use to separate Smith from his scribe during the later portion of the translation.
McLellin, William E. Letter, Independence, MO, to “My Dear Friends,” Feb. 1870. CCLA.
Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 12.
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
J. L. Traughber Jr., “Testimony of David Whitmer,” Saints’ Herald, 15 Nov. 1879, 341.
Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.
Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 12; see also “Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; and James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2]. Whitmer is the only witness who mentions a parchment and one of the few witnesses or early associates of Joseph Smith who gave a detailed description of what Smith saw in the seer stone. Martin Harris was reported to have said that “by aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet.” (Edward Stevenson, “One of the Three Witnesses,” Deseret Evening News [Salt Lake City], 13 Dec. 1881, [4].)
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 12.
Whitmer, David. An Address to All Believers in Christ. Richmond, MO: By the author, 1887.
Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829; News Item, Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, NY), 26 June 1829, [3].
Wayne Sentinel. Palmyra, NY. 1823–1852, 1860–1861.
Testimony of Three Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, pp. 463–464; Appendix 4: Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829.
Testimony of Eight Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, p. 464; Appendix 5: Testimony of Eight Witnesses, Late June 1829.
Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., [589], [590]. David Whitmer recalled that he, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris signed the statement recording their experience. The statements of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses as found in the printer’s manuscript contain signatures copied by Cowdery. (Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL; Testimony of Three Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, pp. 463–464; Testimony of Eight Witnesses, in Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830, p. 464.)
Smith, Joseph F. Papers, 1854–1918. CHL. MS 1325.
See “Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon”; “Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1]; and Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 158.
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Textual evidence indicates that the original manuscript was used to set type for the portion of the book from chapter 13 of Helaman through chapter 9 of Mormon. (Skousen, “Why Was One Sixth of the 1830 Book of Mormon Set from the Original Manuscript?,” 93–103.)
Skousen, Royal. “Why Was One Sixth of the 1830 Book of Mormon Set from the Original Manuscript?” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 2 (2012): 93–103.
For example, around the time the translation of the Book of Mormon was complete, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation that instructed Oliver Cowdery to “rely upon the things which are written.” In response to that directive, Cowdery created the “Articles of the Church of Christ.” This document, which quotes extensively from the recently finished Book of Mormon, instructed believers on ways to “build up” the church. (Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:3–5]; “Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829.)
“Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1].
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 37; see also Stephen S. Harding, Milan, IN, to Thomas Gregg, Feb. 1882, in Gregg, Prophet of Palmyra, 40.
Tucker, Pomeroy. Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism: Biography of Its Founders and History of Its Church. New York: D. Appleton, 1867.
Gregg, Thomas. The Prophet of Palmyra: Mormonism Reviewed and Examined in the Life, Character, and Career of its Founder, from “Cumorah Hill” to Carthage Jail and the Desert, Together with a Complete History of the Mormon Era in Illinois, and an Exhaustive Investigation of the “Spalding Manuscript” Theory of the Origin of the Book of Mormon. New York: John B. Alden, 1890.
Chamberlin, Autobiography, 8–10. Chamberlin eventually collected the first sixty-four pages that had been printed, or the first four gatherings, and “preached all that [he] knew concerning Mormonism.”
Chamberlin, Solomon. Autobiography, 1858. CHL.
Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18:2–4].
Foote, Autobiography, 2 Oct. 1841; see also JS, Journal, 29 Dec. 1841; and Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Aug. 1890, 315.
Foote, Warren. Autobiography, not before 1903. Warren Foote, Papers, 1837–1941. CHL. MS 1123, fd. 1.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Aug. 1890, 315.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
See also, for example, Sarah M. Kimball, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George Reynolds, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 19 July 1884, in George Reynolds, “History of the Book of Mormon,” Contributor, July 1884, 5:366.
Contributor. Salt Lake City. 1879–1896.
Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, Aug. 1890, 316.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
See Source Note to Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon, ca. 12 Apr. 1828–ca. 1 July 1829.
James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 25 Mar. 1884, [2]; Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Journal of History. Lamoni, IA, 1908–1920; Independence, MO, 1921–1925.
“Mormonism,” Kansas City (MO) Daily Journal, 5 June 1881, [1].
Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 1878–1891.
See Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon, ca. 12 Apr. 1828–ca. 1 July 1829, p. [288].
Skousen, “Translating and Printing the Book of Mormon,” 91. The first two instances were spelled “Amelechiah”, and Cowdery corrected the next two instances to read “Amalickiah”; thereafter, the spelling varied.
Skousen, Royal. “Translating and Printing the Book of Mormon.” In Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, edited by John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris, 75–76. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2006.
Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations in the Book of Mormon,” 377–378.
Skousen, Royal. “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations in the Book of Mormon.” In Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, 369–390. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998.
Cowdery relayed to a gathering of Latter-day Saints in 1848 his role in the Book of Mormon: “I wrote with my own pen the intire book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the prophet.” (Miller, Journal, 21 Oct. 1848.)
Miller, Reuben. Journals, 1848–1849. CHL. MS 1392.
P. Wilhelm Poulson, “Interview with David Whitmer,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 16 Aug. 1878, [2].
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
Knight, Reminiscences, 5, 6.
Knight, Joseph, Sr. Reminiscences, no date. CHL. MS 3470.
Cowdery made roughly three mistakes per manuscript page while copying text from the original manuscript to the printer’s manuscript. (Skousen, “Oliver Cowdery as Book of Mormon Scribe,” 54–56.)
Skousen, Royal. “Oliver Cowdery as Book of Mormon Scribe.” In Days Never to Be Forgotten: Oliver Cowdery, edited by Alexander L. Baugh, 51–72. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.
See Source Note and Historical Introduction to Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830.
Skousen, “Why Was One Sixth of the 1830 Book of Mormon Set from the Original Manuscript?,” 93–103. Because more of the printer’s manuscript survives, the volume of The Joseph Smith Papers that presents that manuscript traces the significant differences between the manuscripts and the Joseph Smith–era printed editions of the Book of Mormon. (See Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829–ca. Jan. 1830; for a more complete presentation of the differences, see Skousen, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon.)
Skousen, Royal. “Why Was One Sixth of the 1830 Book of Mormon Set from the Original Manuscript?” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 2 (2012): 93–103.
Skousen, Royal. Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. 6 vols. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2004–2009.
Woodruff, Journal, 28 Nov. 1841.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.