Joseph Smith claimed that he translated the Book of Mormon from a set of golden plates,
That were given to him by an angel.
After the translation was complete,
Joseph said he returned the plates to the angel
making them unavailable today for examination.
This account may come across as a little too convenient
and lead you to wonder
is there any evidence that the plates existed at all
Introduced at the beginning of every copy of the Book of Mormon
are the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses.
These three witnesses
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris
wrote that they were shown the plates by an angel
who also attested to them
that Joseph Smith translated the book by the gift and power of God.
It would be easy to say that these three men conspired with Joseph Smith
only giving their testimony of the angel and the gold plates to perpetuate a scam
but that explanation loses a strength when we consider
that all three men eventually left the church
having at some point fallen out with Joseph Smith
Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris later rejoined the church after Smith's death
but David Whitmer would remain estranged for the rest of his life
despite their falling-out with Smith
all three maintained their testimony of having seen the angel and the gold plates
in fact
David Whitmer famously went out of his way
on numerous occasions
to give interviews and correct newspapers he felt had misrepresented his testimony
once he wrote
those who know me best
know that I have always adhered to that testimony
and that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regards to the same
I do again affirm the truth of my statements
the fact that these men never wavered in their testimony of the plates
dismantles the claim of collusion
after all
they had everything to lose
and nothing to gain by maintaining their testimonies
after falling away from the church
and yet
each independently of the others
insisted
that their published testimony was true
whatever their disagreements with Joseph Smith may have been
with collusion being highly unlikely
others have questioned whether the three witnesses could have been hallucinating
some sources quote the witnesses as saying
that they saw the plates with their spiritual eyes
or with the eye of faith
which some take to mean they only imagined the plates and the angel
but that sort of language is scriptural in nature
and doesn't automatically imply hallucination
rather
it means that the witnesses were prepared for a visionary experience
in the scriptural sense
David Whitmer made this clear in an interview published in 1888
of course we were in the spirit when we had a view of the plates
for no man can behold the face of an angel except in a spiritual view
but we were in the body also
and everything was as natural to us as it was at any time
Whitmer insisted that he was not under any hallucination during the vision
saying
I saw with these eyes
one might still not be convinced by the witness given by Cowdrey, Harris and Whitmer
thinking it sounds to ethereal with an angel showing them the plates
this is where the testimony of the eight witnesses comes in
as they were given the simple straightforward opportunity to handle the plates directly
no angel arrayed and glorious light is described by Oliver Cowdery
they simply wrote that
as many of the leaves as the set Smith has translated
we did handle with our hands
and we also saw the engravings thereon
all of which has the appearance of ancient work and of curious workmanship
once again collusion is unlikely
given that three of the eight witnesses were either excommunicated or left the church
and as with the three witnesses
they never recanted their testimony as published in the Book of Mormon
to explain the testimony of the eight witnesses
some think that Joseph Smith fabricated a set of tin or lead plates they use to trick them with
however
there is no credible historical evidence that Joseph Smith somehow faked a set of plates
let alone that he had the wherewithal to do so
Martin Harris before he became one of the three witnesses
held the plates while they were in a wooden chest
and knew that they must have been either lead or gold
but rightly added that Joseph
had not enough credit to buy so much lead
this theory also ignores the testimony of those who saw the angel
if we only had the testimony of the three witnesses
you might be able to dismiss their vision as a hallucination
and if we only had the testimony of the eight witnesses
you might be able to say that they were being tricked by bogus plates
but combined
their testimonies support the claim
the Joseph not only had plates with the appearance of gold
but also that those plates were divinely given
if the official testimonies of the three and eight witnesses are not enough
there are also the testimonies left by other secondary witnesses
who encountered the plates
for example
Josiah Stowell testified in 1830 that he was one of the first to handle the plates under a linen cloth
when Joseph returned from finally obtaining them in 1827
another witness was Mary Whitmer
according to sources close to her
Mary was shown the plates by the angel Moroni as she was milking cows
this happened completely independent of Joseph Smith
or the others involved in the translation of the plates
other women including Lucy Mac and Emma Smith
handled the plates and other artifacts Joseph brought home
Emma for example at one time related
I once felt of the plates
as they thus lay on the table
tracing their outline in shape
they seemed to be pliable like thick paper
and would Russell with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb
as one does sometimes thumbing through the edges of a book
the combined weight of these secondary witnesses
further complicates the arguments
that the plates were either imagined or fabricated
since these witnesses include those who,
independent of Joseph Smith
reported encounters with the plates and the angel
thanks to all of these different accounts
we have a pretty good idea of what the plates were like
the eyewitnesses described the plates as being gold or having the appearance of gold
but it's important to keep in mind
that the plates most likely were not pure 24-karat gold
not only would the plates have been too heavy if they were
but they also would have been too soft to write on
the witnesses reported
that the plates weighed approximately between 40 to 60 pounds
Josiah Stowell also added the intriguing detail
that he noticed a slight green hue on the corner of the plates
this reinforces the argument
that the plates were likely composed of a Mesoamerican copper and gold alloy called Tumbaga
which would account for the weight
and the green hue
which was likely the result of the oxidation of the copper
we also know that the dimensions of the plates were about 6 or 7 inches by 8 inches
and were about as thick as common tin or pliable paper
according to the witnesses
on both sides of the leaves of the book
were written engravings or characters
and 3, D shaped rings held the plates together
with a large portion of them being sealed physically in some manner
the reported composition and dimensions of the plates by the witnesses are all consistent with each other
and were given at different times and on different occasions
with just slight variation
this is further evidence against claims of collusion among the witnesses
and reinforces their credibility
from a historical perspective
it is difficult to disavow the reality of the gold plates
there is simply too much compelling documented evidence attesting to their existence
it's safe to say
that between the years 1827 to 1830
Joseph Smith had in his possession a set of plates
that were seen,
hefted, felt and examined by a number of witnesses
people today are free to disbelieve the witnesses if they like
but they cannot accuse them of fraud
or insincerity based on any credible historical evidence
this is why the respected historian of early Mormonism Richard Bushman once remarked
most of the detailed sources about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
were written by believers
and to follow them too closely infuses a narrative with their faith
secular historians are therefore
more inclined than Mormons to suppress source material from Joseph's closest associates
or in other words
people are free to disbelieve these witnesses
but they must still acknowledge the picture that we see from the historical evidence
there is nothing in these sources that compel an alternative view
so even if we don't have the plates available today
there is evidence attesting that Joseph Smith did in fact have them
and that he got them from an angel
just as he claimed
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