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By RMW © 2006 Joseph's skill of manipulation and influence was quite apparent in his treasure seeking activities. He had items of the occult that he used to call upon magical powers to assist in the discovery of valuable artifacts. The most well known item was a "seer stone" that he found while helping to dig a well. By placing the stone in a small enclosure, such as a hat, and then burying his face in the hat and staring into the stone, lighted images would appear which would tell Joseph of the treasure and where to search. People would pay money for Joseph to find treasure on their property. When the seer stone indicated the possibility of treasure, Joseph would then use other occult practices to try to bind the treasure in place so it could be uncovered. But this proved rather difficult. Even though Joseph drew magical circles and symbols on the ground above the suspected treasure and said magical prayers to force away the evil spirits which were conspiring to prevent the discovery, most attempts were unsuccessful. Martin Harris reported that Joseph's father encouraged young Joseph's treasure seeking activity. In an 1859 interview, Harris also reported what happened during some treasure seeking activities with Smith:
I have read several accounts where the treasures suddenly "moved" because the evil enchantments were too strong. The treasure was lost. But it was very close. This idea of "almost" getting the treasure only provided motivation for the seekers to keep paying Smith to find it again. Maybe next time they would succeed. This was akin to the psychological additions of gambling. It was during the treasure seeking frenzy that Smith reported a dream in 1823 where an angel appeared to him and told him where a gold treasure was buried in a hill. At this time, Joseph was working with a group of "diggers" trying to find treasure. Up until about 1830, this "experience" of Joseph's was described as a dream. Later, it was described as a physical visitation after praying for forgiveness. It was many years later that Smith decided to break this experience into two and formulate a "first vision" in 1820 and this angel experience in 1823 as two separate and distinct experiences. It is very obvious to me that these experiences "evolved" as Smith aged. The fact that this angel appeared in 1823 to Joseph three times in this dreams had "magical" implications. It was commonly believed that something that is seen three times is a an "omen" of something significant and true. A few years earlier a Vermont resident "dreamed three times in one night that he saw a pot of money deposited under a log." The Hill Cumorah was a well known treasure hill. In fact, Joseph Smith Sr. dug many holes in that hill looking for treasure previous to Joseph Jr's dream. This went along with the "mound treasure" frenzy that was common at that time in the area. Although Joseph's dream indicated a treasure in the hill, he still didn't know exactly where to dig. So....he whipped out his trusty seer stone to do the job. With his head buried in the hat with the stone, he saw the vision of where the "box" of treasure was hidden. In fact, Willard Chase stated that Joseph told him in 1827 that without the stone he found in the Chase well "he would not have obtained the book."(Joseph Smith's New York Reputation Reexamined, Rodger I. Anderson, Signature Books, 1990, p. 121.) Brigham Young told the saints in Utah something similar as did Martin Harris as follows:
Joseph reportedly went to the hill on September 23rd, 1823, but was told to return a year later with his brother, Alvin. However, his brother Alvin died before September of 1824. When Smith went back to the hill exactly one year later (1824) Alvin wasn't with him, but, according to Joseph's mother, Joseph was allowed to hold the plates. But when he put the plates down to look at what else was in the box, the plates disappeared within the earth just like other secret treasures that sunk away when they were sought. Smith was thrown back by some violent force. He was told by the angel that since he didn't bring his brother, Alvin, he could not have the plates that year and that he should bring the "right person" the next year. He was not told the identity of that "right" person. Joseph returned home weeping with grief and disappointment. It is reported that Joseph felt that Alvin was the right person to bring in 1825. But many people in Palmyra were upset over reports that he planned to exhume Alvin's corpse. The unique context of the quest for the plates allowed for substituting a talisman of body parts wretched from the corpse of a dead man as a stand in for the man himself. The rumors that Joseph exhumed Alvin's body for the purpose of retrieving the plates was so great that Joseph Smith Sr., had to take out an ad in the Wayne Sentinel to disprove the rumor as follows:
With Alvin still secure in the gave, the records are somewhat unclear
as to whom was brought to the hill in 1825. There is some evidence that
Joseph brought Samuel Lawrence, who was a neighborhood treasure hunting
friend. But the angel didn't even appear, so Smith must have figured
Lawrence was not the "right person." During all of this "plate" finding, Joseph was still engaged in treasure seeking on the side.He was working with Josiah Stowell. In association with this treasure seeking task, Joseph Smith met the daughter of a wealthy man named Isaac Hale. His daughter was Emma. Emma soon seemed flattered by Joseph's charming personality and they spent much time together. But problems also happened. Joseph was arrested for "glass looking" (fraud) and because of that eased back on this treasure seeking activities. When Joseph went back to the hill in 1826 without the "right person," he was denied the plates again and told bluntly that unless he brought the "right person," with him the next year he would never have the plates. So Smith had one more chance. What happened next was a very significant event that would have future
ramifications, in my opinion. It a known fact that Joseph used manipulation
and deceit before, but this manipulation far exceeds anything he had
ever attempted. This "manipulation" was the riskiest one yet and would prove to be the beginnings of a life full of extreme deceit. Contrary to what some LDS apologists state, people really didn't marry at a young age back in the early to mid 1800's. In fact, if you look at Joseph Smith's own family, they all married much later. Joseph's father married at twenty-four. His uncles married at twenty-four, twenty-eight, and thirty-eight. His eldest brother died unmarried at twenty-five. His next older brother married at twenty-five. Here was Joseph at age twenty and it was "revealed" to him that he was to marry Emma Hale within the year or else he would never have the plates. When he went to Emma's father, Isaac with this proposition, he was flatly denied. Isaac Hale was not impressed with a criminal like Joseph Smith, who, just a short time earlier, was arrested for fraud. Joseph Smith and Josiah Stowell, who was very interested in the hill treasure, both convinced Emma that it was very important that she marry Joseph. Emma believed Joseph's claim of the plates and there was incredible pressure on her to submit to the marriage. She did love him, even though they were both young. They finally agreed to elope and risk the wrath of Isaac Hale when he later found out. Now married to Emma, Joseph was almost ready to receive the plates. Willard Chase recalls that Smith mentioned important details about the visit to the hill in 1827.
According to occult handbooks at the time, black was the preferred color to wear while attempting conversations with good spirits and guardian angels. At the hill, Emma had her back to Joseph as he dug for the plates. He then reportedly hid them in a hollow oak tree. Later he retrieved them and took them home. He reported to others that he had found "gold plates" in the hill. He then broke off his relationship with his fellow treasure hunters including Josiah Stowell which made them very upset. They were under the impression they were associates of his and the treasures they found belonged to all of them. Now married and in supposedly in possess of gold plates, Joseph made attempts to reconcile with Emma's father. He told Isaac Hale that he had abandoned treasure seeking which he admitted was fraudulent and that he had straightened out his life.
Issac Hale later wrote:
I'm sure Joseph was surprised to learn that people believed his stories about the ancient plates. However, the whole concept went right along with the "mound people" and treasures that were buried in the area. He had often made up stories about the ancient inhabitants of the land. Now he could put all those things together and make an amazing discovery. He learned that people were willing to lend or donate money to the cause. But, although Smith founded a new idea, problems also began to arise. Statements from Joseph Smith and many church leaders since indicate
that the "plates" were made of pure gold. This causes some
problems. A 6 x 6 x 8 block of gold is approximately 4720 square centimeters.
A square centimeter of gold weighs about 19.3 grams. This would equal
about 91,000 grams of weight or 201 pounds. Now obviously the plates
wouldn't be a solid block. There are imperfections and air pockets.
However, gold is a very soft metal and will collapse the gaps between
the plates. But even if we figure the weight to be only half of a solid
block, we are still around 100 pounds. The witnesses describe them as
weighing from forty to sixty pounds. Even Martin Harris' wife and daughter
lifted them. Some apologists claim the plates were a mixture of copper
and gold which the Spaniards termed Tumbaga. But that would mean the
statements of church leaders were wrong. Either way, it causes a problem
for me. An instrument included with the plates was an ancient seer device called the Urim and Thummim which was described as a set of spectacles attached to a breastplate. The breastplate would be worn and the spectacles would end up over the eyes. By looking through the glassy stones, one could obtain information. However, the Urim and Thummim as the described in the Old Testament was capable of only "yes" or "no" answers, not text. This was a significant change to the function of the devices. Joseph Smith never used the breastplate. From accounts that I read, it appears as if Smith thought the breastplate was too large and cumbersome. So he just took the whitish glass stones out and used them apart from the breastplate. How he used the stones was eerily similar to how he used his treasure seer stones for many years. In Joseph Smith's home in 1827, Joseph Knight wrote the following:
That description was very similar to how Joseph's brother, William, described the process as follows:
From my research it appears that Joseph Smith only used the two stones
from the original urim and thummim to translate the first 116 pages
of the Book of Mormon. After the pages were "lost" by Martin
Harris, Smith either decided not to use the original stones or they
were taken from him as punishment for being careless. Regardless, it
is quite clear that Smith no longer used the original stones from that
point on which means that the Book of Mormon we have today was not translated
with the original urim and thummim.
Emma acted as scribe for Joseph for a short time before Martin Harris became scribe and also immediately after Harris was rejected by Smith for losing the pages. In another journal entry, Emma in 1829 stated the following:
David Whitmer explained that as a punishment, Moroni never returned to Smith the original Urim and Thummim found with the plates. Instead the angel allowed him to translate with the brown stone he already possessed. Whitmer was unaware, however, that Smith had been using this brown stone for years to discover hidden treasures. Whitmer wrote the following:
It is rather interesting that Smith translated the Book of Mormon using the very same techniques that he and other treasure seekers used via the occult. He had been placing magical stones in hats for years up to that point. Some further comments from David Whitmer journal:
Another observer related what Martin Harris told him about the translation:
David Whitmer also affirmed that "the revelations in the Book of Commandments up to June 1829, were given through the stone." (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Missouri, n.p., 1887). Because Joseph Smith's brown seer stone was used to take the place of the two white stones from the original Urim and Thummim and because it was used to receive revelations, Smith and other referred to it as a "Urim and Thummim" shortly after 1828. This has caused some confusion within the church membership. When the term "Urim and Thummim" is used, most members think it is referring to the original stones in the box with the plates. But, for most of Smith's history, it is actually referring to the magical brown seer stone that Smith found while digging a well and which was used for other activities including treasure hunting. Bruce R. McConkie recognized this when he wrote the following:
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an address to mission presidents in 1992 titled A Treasured Testament. He stated:
So it appears that leaders of the church are fully aware of the true way the Book of Mormon was translated. Yet, when hearing and reading accounts of the translation in official publications, the depictions are completely different and misleading. Most members of the LDS church have never heard of the "stone in the hat" account. Few members also realize that the plates were covered and not used during the translation. In fact many accounts indicate that the plates were hidden during the translation. From the descriptions, it also appears that the word "translation" is not very accurate. Smith never really translated; rather, he read from the spiritual words that appears in his hat. There are some serious problems, however, with "translation in the hat" method of writing the Book of Mormon. Supposedly the Lord caused the precise translated words to appears before Joseph's eyes buried in the hat. Because it was translated by the "power of God" it is said to be the most correct book ever to be written (or translated). In fact, if written incorrectly, the words were said to remain in place until the exact translation was recorded and read back. The first transcript of the Book of Mormon had many errors. Some would argue that the errors were errors of man, not God. For some errors of punctuation and spelling this may be true. However, if spelling were in question, it was supposedly spelled out letter by letter until correctly written. The more difficult errors to explain were the hundreds of embarrassing
errors of grammar and usage and some errors of content. Certainly if
this "translation" was a self-correcting revelatory process,
they should have been corrected immediately. Instead, they had to be
correct over the course of several succeeding editions. In all, over
4,000 errors of punctuation, grammar, usage, spelling and content were
corrected. On another occasion Joseph Smith stated that he "told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth ..." (vol. 4, p.461). And of course there are the changes made to doctrinal information in the Book of Mormon as well including changes to the plurality of God, and name changes and, of course, the recent change from "white" to "pure." Few LDS members of the church realize that the Book of Mormon they read today is different than the Book of Mormon written by Joseph Smith and his scribes over almost 200 years ago. The way the Book of Mormon was translated and the way the LDS depicts it is, at best, very deceptive. But hidden and sanitized translation facts are just one area of concern regarding the Book of Mormon. There are very serious content problems which undermine the Devine nature of the work.
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The
"translation" of the plates is a huge problem for the LDS
claim of authenticity. The way the Mormon church depicts the translation
process is in direct conflict with historical journals and documents.
Even in the most recent (2004) depictions on DVD, Smith is shown pointing
to the characters of the plates with one hand while writing the translation
with his other hand. That is not how it occurred at all.