Footnotes
Footnotes
Preface to Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829; JS History, vol. A-1, 11.
“Testamoney of Martin Harris,” 4 Sept. 1870, [4], Edward Stevenson, Collection, CHL.
Stevenson, Edward. Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [5].
Isaac Hale, Affidavit, Harmony, PA, 20 Mar. 1834, in “Mormonism,” Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian (Montrose, PA), 1 May 1834, [1]. Martin Harris later stated that a man named Rogers accompanied him on the journey to Harmony. Unknown to Harris at the time, Rogers had plotted with Martin’s wife, Lucy Harris, that he would cut off “the covering of the Plates” with his knife when JS displayed them. No other known source mentions this scheme or provides evidence that Rogers followed through with it. Rogers cannot be positively identified, though there was a Joseph Rogers living near Manchester in Phelpstown who later gave a negative account about the Smiths and claimed to have affidavits demonstrating that they were thieves. (“Testamoney of Martin Harris,” 4 Sept. 1870, [4], Edward Stevenson, Collection, CHL; “Joseph Rogers’ Statement,” in Naked Truths about Mormonism [Oakland, CA], Apr. 1888, 1.)
Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian. Montrose, PA. 1831–1836.
Stevenson, Edward. Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806.
Naked Truths about Mormonism: Also a Journal for Important, Newly Apprehended Truths, and Miscellany. Oakland, CA. Jan. and Apr. 1888.
William S. Sayre, Bainbridge, NY, to James T. Cobb, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 31 Aug. 1878, in Theodore Albert Schroeder Papers. Although Sayre called his fellow passenger “Richards,” he admitted uncertainty about the name, and the details of Sayre’s account—which describes the man as the Palmyra resident who later financed the Book of Mormon—leave little doubt it was Martin Harris. Sayre dated the incident to April 1829, and Harris was known to be traveling from Harmony to Palmyra in March. The claim that JS was incapable of composing anything and was being assisted by his father was echoed in Harris’s statement, quoted previously, that those involved in the lawsuit wanted to put both JS and his father in jail for deception.
Theodore Albert Schroeder Papers, 1845–1901. Microfilm. [Madison, WI]: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Division of Archives and Manuscripts, [ca. 1987]. Copy at CHL. MS 9391.
Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [7]. Lucy Mack Smith wrote that the first witness claimed the box in which JS kept the plates was filled with sand and that JS told him it was “to deceive the people,” the second witness claimed JS said the box was filled with lead, and the third witness declared the box was empty but was used to get Martin Harris’s money. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [6]–[7].)
Isaac Hale, Affidavit, Harmony, PA, 20 Mar. 1834, in “Mormonism,” Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian (Montrose, PA), 1 May 1834, [1].
Susquehanna Register, and Northern Pennsylvanian. Montrose, PA. 1831–1836.
Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3], by contrast, is the earliest JS revelation for which a text has survived.
Revelation Book 1, p. [207].
The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants has “plates.” (Doctrine and Covenants 32:1, 1835 ed. [D&C 5:1].)
On the “gift to translate,” see “Joseph Smith Documents Dating through June 1831.”
Three men—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—attested in June 1829 that an angel from heaven presented the plates for their inspection. Their testimony was published in the first edition of the Book of Mormon in 1830 and in all subsequent editions. In addition to affirming that they saw the plates, they stated, “We also know that they [the plates] have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us.” (Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829; see also Historical Introduction to Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17].)
Shortly after the experience of the Three Witnesses, eight others stated that they had seen and handled the plates. (Testimony of Eight Witnesses, Late June 1829.)
In the nineteenth century, “sorceries” referred to illicit magical practices usually wrought “by the assistance or supposed assistance of evil spirits.” (“Sorcery,” in American Dictionary.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.
Establishing a church was again referred to in a revelation not long after the reception of this revelation. (Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10:53].)