The Mary Whitmer problem

Long term, the biggest tragedy of Saints is the censorship of everything the early Church leaders said about the New York Cumorah.

But in the short term, the story of Mary Whitmer is an inexcusable error.

Volume 1 commits a considerable amount of words to relate this account, which is great because it's a fascinating account of a female witness of the plates. In the Ensign, the account is even accompanied by an illustration to draw attention to it.

The problem is, Saints relates a false version of the account.

Now, thanks to Saints, future generations will believe it was Moroni who showed Mary the plates, solely because of (i) a mistake made by her descendants and (ii) the M2C agenda. 

This has several repercussions.

- the inclusion of this false account undermines the credibility of Saints.
- people who read Saints and believe this account will be confused when they read the actual history.
- the false account in Saints will undermine belief in the reliability and credibility of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses.
- readers will wonder why Joseph and Oliver described Moroni so much differently than Mary Whitmer did.
- readers will miss the far more fascinating aspect of the account that links the Book of Mormon to Church history.
- the false account enables Saints to omit a key event in Church history that teaches us about the Hill Cumorah and the two sets of plates.
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Here is the passage in blue, with my comments in red:

Once Joseph, Emma, and Oliver moved to Fayette, David’s mother had her hands full. Mary Whitmer and her husband, Peter, already had eight children between the ages of 15 and 30, and the few who did not still live at home resided nearby. Tending to their needs filled Mary’s days with work, and the three houseguests added more labor. Mary had faith in Joseph’s calling and did not complain, but she was getting tired.17

Note 17 reads: 

Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, Interview with David Whitmer, Sept. 7-8, 1878, [10], in Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library.

image 44

If you click on the link, it takes you to the hand-written version of the account. This is image 44 in the series, as you see in the right column when you go to the link.

It's not easy to read, but it's a nice link because this relates David Whitmer's account of the messenger taking the plates to Cumorah. Saints did not include this account. 

There are printed versions of the account that are easier to read and translate.* I put the printed version at the end of this post.

The heat in Fayette that summer was sweltering. As Mary washed clothes and prepared meals, Joseph dictated the translation in an upstairs room. Oliver usually wrote for him, but occasionally Emma or one of the Whitmers took a turn with the pen.18 Sometimes, when Joseph and Oliver tired of the strain of translating, they would walk out to a nearby pond and skip stones across the surface of the water.

Mary had little time to relax herself, and the added work and the strain placed on her were hard to bear.

One day, while she was out by the barn where the cows were milked, she saw a gray-haired man with a knapsack slung across his shoulder. His sudden appearance frightened her, but as he approached, he spoke to her in a kind voice that set her at ease.

“My name is Moroni,” he said. “You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do.” He swung the knapsack off his shoulder, and Mary watched as he started to untie it.19

This is a phony quotation that doesn't belong in Saints.

 If you read the Skousen article in footnote 19, you will see this quotation was made up by Mary Whitmer's descendants (or by Andrew Jenson), decades after she passed away. 

The Skousen article refers to the Historical Record, compiled by Andrew Jenson. The relevant page is shown on the left here. Look at the passage in the middle of the left column. This is what it says:

"I have heard my grandmother (Mary M. Whitmer) say on several occasions that she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by an holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi. (She undoubtedly refers to Moroni, the angel who had the plates in charge.)"

Do you see that parenthetical? You can see what happened. Mary Whitmer always referred to the messenger as "Brother Nephi." This is consistent with what David Whitmer said about the messenger who took the Harmony plates to Cumorah; i.e., that he was one of the Nephites. 

The grandson (or Andrew Jenson) simply inferred Mary was wrong!

The grandson (or Andrew Jenson) didn't accept his grandmother's statement about the name of the messenger, but instead assumed she was wrong because it had to have been Moroni, according to his belief. True, we don't know the names of the Three Nephites (3 Ne. 28:25-32), but one of the disciples Christ called was named Nephi. (3 Ne. 19:4), so the chances are 3 in 12 that one of the Three Nephites was Nephi.  I think the grandmother was correct, but the grandson made a huge mistake when he misunderstood.

Subsequent descendants relied on this 1878 account and elaborated, inventing this quotation: "My name is Moroni. You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do," etc. 

Recall that this account describes the so-called "Moroni" as "a short, heavy-set, gray-haired man," which matches David Whitmer's description of the messenger taking the plates to Cumorah. Joseph and Oliver never described Moroni as anything of the sort. Instead, Joseph said that messenger was one of the Three Nephites.

It is disturbing and astonishing that Saints omits the important and oft-repeated direct testimony of David Whitmer about the messenger taking the plates to Cumorah and then inserts this phony quotation about Moroni. I suppose they think readers will like the idea of a female witness of the plates, which is definitely awesome, but why change Mary Whitmer's testimony with a phony quotation and then state it as a fact? It is much more interesting that she named one of the Three Nephites. 

This editorial treatment does not inspire confidence in the accuracy of Saints.

“You have been very faithful and diligent in your labors,” he continued. “It is proper, therefore, that you should receive a witness that your faith may be strengthened.”20

Moroni opened his knapsack and removed the gold plates. He held them in front of her and turned their pages so she could see the writings on them. After he turned the last page, he urged her to be patient and faithful as she carried the extra burden a little longer. He promised she would be blessed for it.21

The old man vanished a moment later, leaving Mary alone. She still had work to do, but that no longer troubled her.22

The Mary Whitmer account does belong in Saints, but not this false version.

It would be far better to relate the actual history instead of the invented quotations from people who were not there.
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David Whitmer related this account several times, as I've discussed before on another blog. On one occasion, he was interviewed by Edward Stevenson.

I obtained a copy of Stevenson's journal and here's what his entry says:

Page from Stevenson journal

"I wish to mention an Item of conversation with David Whitmer in regard to Seeing one of the Nephites, Zina Young, Desired me to ask about it. David Said, Oliver, & The Prophet, & I were riding in a wagon, & an aged man about 5 feet 10, heavey Set & on his back, an old fashioned Armey knapsack Straped over his Shoulders & Something Square in it, & he walked alongside of the Wagon & Wiped the Sweat off his face, Smileing very Pleasant David asked him to ride and he replied I am going across to the hill Cumorah. Soon after they Passed they felt Strangeley and Stoped, but could see nothing of him all around was clean and they asked the Lord about it. He Said that the Prophet Looked as White as a Sheet & Said that it was one of the Nephites & that he had the plates."**

________________________________

Edward Stevenson was a general authority (one of the seven presidents of the Seventy). He was a well-known missionary (one of the MTC buildings is named after him). There's no reason to doubt the credibility of his interview with David Whitmer.

What I find fascinating is that Zina Young asked Stevenson to ask David Whitmer about seeing one of the Nephites. That was the focus of the interview, not the Cumorah question.

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* You can google a phrase from the account and find lots of printed versions. One I like is here:
http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/ut/utahmisc.htm
Just go to the page and in your browser, search for "suddenly approached."

**You can find printed versions of this account in these references, although not transcribed exactly: "Edward Stevenson Interview (1) 22-23 December 1877, Richmond, Missouri Diary of Edward Stevenson," LDS Church Archives, Lyndon W. Cook, ed., David Whitmer Interviews, 1993, p. 13; also Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents, 2003, vol. v, p. 30.
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Transcript of the handwritten passage:

[Bottom of image #44]

When I was returning to Fayette with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the wagon, Oliver and I on an old fashioned 

[image #45]

wooden spring seat and Joseph behind us, we were suddenly approached by a very pleasant, nice looking old man in a clear open place, who saluted us with 'Good morning, it is very warm,' at the same instant wiping his face or forehead with his hand. We returned the salutation and by a sign from Joseph I invited him to ride if he was going our way, but he said very pleasantly, 'No, I am going to Cumorah.' This was something new to me, I did not know what Cumorah meant, and as I looked enquiringly at Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared so that I did not see him again." 

Joseph F. Smith: "Did you notice his appearance?" 

David Whitmer: "I should think I did. He was, I should think, about 5 feet 9 or 10 inches and heavy set, about such a man as James Vancleave, there, but heavier. His face was as large. He was dressed in a suit of brown, woolen clothes; his hair and beard were white, about like Brother Pratt's, but his beard was not so heavy. I also remember that he had a sort of knapsack on his back, and something was in it which was shaped like a book. It was the messenger who had the plates. 

"Soon after our arrival home, 

[image #46]

I saw something which led me to the belief that the plates were placed or concealed in my father's barn. I frankly asked Joseph if my supposition was right, and he told me it was. 

"Sometime after this my mother was going to milk the cows when she was met out near the barn by this same old man, (as I suppose from her description of him) who said to her `you have been very faithful and diligent in your labours but you are tried because of the increase of your toil, it is proper therefore that you should receive a witness, that your faith may be strengthened' and thereupon he showed her the plates. My Father and Mother had a large family of their own. The addition to it therefore of Joseph, Emma and Oliver very greatly increased the toil and anxiety of my mother and altho she had never complained she had sometimes felt that her labor was too much or at least she was beginning to feel so. This circumstance however completely removed all such feelings and nerved her up for her increased responsibilities." 

Orson Pratt: "Have you any idea when the records will be brought forth?" 

David Whitmer: "When we see things in the Spirit and by the power of God they seem to be right here present. The signs of the times indicate the near approach of the coming forth of the other plates, but when it will be, I cannot tell. 

The Three Nephites are at work among the lost tribes and elsewhere. John the Revelator is at work, and I believe the time will come suddenly, before we are prepared for it." 

Chapter 4 - Be Watchful

Chapter 4 of Saints, titled "Be Watchful," covers the events leading up to the time when Joseph obtained the plates. You can read Chapter 4 here: 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2018/06/chapter-4-be-watchful?lang=eng

At one point, the chapter relates an account of Joseph being chastised.

Here's the quotation:

One day, Joseph went to town on an errand. Expecting him back for dinner, his parents were alarmed when he did not return. They waited for hours, unable to sleep. At last Joseph opened the door and threw himself into a chair, exhausted.

Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844-5
the part quoted and cited in Saints is lined out

“Why are you so late?” his father asked.

“I have had the severest chastisement that I ever had in my life,” Joseph said.

“Who has been taking you to task?” demanded his father.

“It was the angel of the Lord,” Joseph replied. “He says I have been negligent.” The day of his next meeting with Moroni was coming soon. “I must be up and doing,” he said. “I must set myself about the things which God has commanded me to do.”19

Note 19 goes to this link: 
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/59

This is Lucy Mack Smith's history from 1844-5. If you go to the link, you'll see that the quoted section is lined out.

We wonder, why would Saints misquote and cite a source that was lined out in the original?

_____

Here is the later, corrected version from 1845:

Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845
The revision that quotes Joseph referring to
Cumorah before he even got the plates is not
mentioned, quoted or cited in Saints.

Presently he smiled, and said in a very calm tone, “I have taken the severest chastisement, that I have ever had in my life”. 

My husband, supposing it was from some of the neighbors, was quite angry; and observed, “I would would like to know what business any body has to find fault with you.”

“Stop, father, Stop.” said Joseph, “it was the angel of the Lord— as I passed by the hill of Cumorah, where the plates are, the angel of the Lord met me and said, that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord; that the time had come for the record to <​be​> brought forth; and, that I must be up and doing, and set myself about the things which God had commanded me to do: but, Father,’ continued he, ‘give yourself no uneasiness concerning the reprimand that I have received; for I now know the course that I am to pursue; so all will be well.”

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/111

This statement about Cumorah completely supports the teachings of the prophets that Cumorah is in New York. Here Lucy explains that Joseph knew the name Cumorah even before he got the plates. He could only have learned this from Moroni.

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Saints should have used Lucy's later version. In fact they cite the later version in note 22!.

Using the later one should be obvious. 

So why did Saints use the old version? 

I think the editors of Saints avoided the corrected version because they realize it refutes M2C.*

The editors will say that they are neutral on the question of Book of Mormon geography, including the New York Cumorah. 

But is that a reason to quote and cite a passage they know Lucy later corrected, especially without telling readers what they're doing?

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The M2C intellectuals always have a rationale for disbelieving early Church history accounts that contradict their theory. They have said we should disbelieve Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Lucy Smith, among others.

In this case, they claim we should disbelieve Lucy because she must have added this comment about Cumorah because she was confused; i.e., by the time she dictated this history in 1845, the New York Cumorah was well established by Letter VII, D&C 128, etc. Therefore, according to the M2C intellectuals, we can't believe what Lucy wrote here.

And, apparently, the editors of Saints agreed with their M2C friends.

But consider this.

Just because the original sources are not "neutral" on Book of Mormon geography, does that give the editors of Saints the right to revise Church history?

I think not. 

One of the tragedies of Saints is that it is teaching the world the revisionist Church history, not what the original documents actually say. 

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Here is one of the practical consequences of this revisionist history.

Had Saints explained what Lucy said--what she directly quoted Joseph Smith as saying--readers would understand that Joseph knew the name of the hill before he even translated the plates. 

Readers would realize that Joseph could have learned that only from Moroni.

And readers would realizes that all the prophets and apostles who have taught that Cumorah is in New York were correct, while the M2C scholars who have taught that Cumorah cannot be in New York were not correct. 

That would go a long way toward building unity in the Church.

Members everywhere would align themselves to what the prophets have taught instead of being misled by the teachings of the M2C intellectuals.

Now you see why the M2C intellectuals and their citation cartel don't want members of the Church to even know about this. 

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This may appear to be nit-picking, but I think this is a serious problem. 

Even people fairly familiar with Church history would have passed this by unawares. 

The millions of Church members around the world, in all languages, plus future generations, have no hope of learning the truth when Saints is deliberately suppressing and changing Church history this way. 
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BTW, the same M2C intellectuals who cite Lucy's account for other details--Lucy is the sole source for many important events in early Church history--insist she was wrong about this. She had a poor memory, they say, or she conflated this account with another account.

Those of us who accept Lucy's account point to two important indicia of credibility and reliability.

First, the earlier draft was lined out and replaced with more detail. Lucy directed the revisions, an indication that when she read the first draft, she realized it was not completely accurate. For example, the first account has the angel telling Joseph he was "negligent," but the revised account has the angel telling Joseph he "had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord." Which sounds more like the words of Moroni? 

Second, Lucy's account of Joseph learning the name Cumorah from Moroni has corroboration in other historical accounts. For example, the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, a source cited in Saints (note 4 to Chapter 4), includes this quotation from Oliver Cowdery's teachings to the Lamanites in Kansas: "This Book, which contained these things, was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him, Cumorah, which hill is now in the State of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario county." p. 57.

It's possible Lucy knew what Oliver was teaching, but she didn't get it from Pratt's autobiography because it was not published until many years after this 1845 version of Lucy's account was written. 

_____

To summarize: Saints presented an opportunity to inform Church members about the truth. 

The historians claim they are neutral on the New York Cumorah. That appears to be the reason they chose to mislead readers by not citing and quoting Lucy's corrected account.

What they're really saying is, the original sources are not neutral. They clearly taught that Cumorah is in New York. 

The problem is not limited to Saints. The M2C ideology has been inserted throughout the commentary to the Joseph Smith Papers.

As a result, future generations will have no chance to learn the actual history and what the prophets have taught.

Critics of the Church will continue to point out the disparity between what the prophets have taught and the revisionist Church history as a weapon to undermine faith.

I think it would be far better to report the truth in the first place. 

Of course, I also think it would be better to sustain the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah, but the exact opposite is going on at BYU/CES/COB.

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*M2C is the acronym for the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory. Here is some background on the M2C Academic Cycle.

Church leaders have consistently and persistently taught that the Hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is in New York. However, a few decades ago, certain LDS intellectuals decided the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah. According to these intellectuals, the following Church leaders were ignorantly speculating, expressing their personal opinions, and were wrong. This is a partial list:

Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, George A. Smith, James E. Talmage,

LeGrand Richards, Marion G. Romney, Mark E. Petersen, etc.

The academic cycle:
how students learn to repudiate the prophets

Instead, according to these intellectuals, the "real" Hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is somewhere in southern Mexico. They call this the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory, the idea being that the "hill in New York" is merely the place where Joseph obtained the plates and not the hill referred to in Mormon 6:6. This directly repudiates the teachings of the Church leaders listed above.

These intellectuals have been teaching at BYU and CES for decades now. They have trained thousands of students to accept M2C, including most of the employees in the Church Office Building, the Church History Department, etc.

As a result, for the last few decades, we have had a steady diet of M2C in art, media, lessons, and even visitors centers.

Mormon abridging a Mayan codex

M2C is explictly on display at the North Visitors Center on Temple Square, as I've pointed out several times, such as here:

http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/12/yes-they-do-teach-two-cumorahs-theory.html

The exhibit actually portrays Mormon abridging the Nephite records from a Mayan codex!

Meanwhile, Moroni is off in the distance in upstate New York, burying the plates (along with the sword of Laban and the Liahona, which contradicts all the historical accounts but is shown this way to promote M2C and to repudiate what Oliver Cowdery told Brigham Young and other Church leaders).

Theoretically, all of this could be attributed to a policy of "neutrality" about Book of Mormon geography, but we can all see there is nothing neutral about it. BYU/CES/COB have been steadfastly promoting M2C for decades, with no thought of even informing Church members what the prophets have actually taught, let alone portraying those teachings in artwork, media, visitors centers, etc.

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Dilbert - Sept 4, 2018

On the day Saints launched and people started reading this blog, Dilbert learned a new management technique:

http://dilbert.com/strip/2018-09-04

Chapter 7 - Fellow Servants

We are providing online commentary and correction for the mostly awesome new book series titled Saints. This post covers Chapter 7, which you can read in many forms, including here:

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2018/09/chapter-7-fellow-servants?lang=eng

General comments.
1. The storytelling and writing are outstanding.
2. The pattern of obscuring important events in Church history, including President Cowdery's eight letters,* continues in Chapter 7.
3. The problem of omissions and selective editing continue.


For example, here is Footnote 1: 1. Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7 , 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14;

If you click on the hyperlink in the footnote, it takes you to page 14 in the Messenger and Advocate, which is accurate. But it's an obscure reference and leads unsuspecting readers to think this was a one-off, isolated statement by Oliver Cowdery. For that reason, as well as for readability, a better link would be to the corresponding page of Letter I in the Joseph Smith Papers:

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/49

Because there are so many formats, digital and print, it is impossible to reference specific passages. Below, the original content is in blue, my comments in red.
_____

Chapter 7 - Fellow Servants

The spring of 1829 was cold and wet well into May. While farmers around Harmony stayed indoors, putting off their spring planting until the weather improved, Joseph and Oliver translated as much of the record as they could.1 (see comment above)

They had come to an account of what happened among the Nephites and Lamanites when Jesus died in Jerusalem. It told of massive earthquakes and storms that devastated the people and altered the shape of the land. [The word shape doesn't appear in the Book of Mormon. Instead, the text says "the whole face of the land was changed" and "deformed," 3 Ne. 8. Changing the face of the land is different from changing its shape. Everything described in the text has actually happened within recorded history in the Mississippi River valleys, where the face of the land is changed by floods and earthquakes. Perhaps the editors changed the scriptural language because some commentators think the shape of the land was changed. That's their explanation for why (as they suppose) no current geography fits the text. Hence the fantasy maps being taught by BYU and CES. Others (such as me) think the text describes North America quite well, with Cumorah in New York and this destruction happening mainly in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.]  

Some cities sank into the ground, while others caught fire and burned. Lightning split the sky for hours and the sun disappeared, shrouding the survivors in thick darkness. [The sun didn't disappear; it was obscured by a "vapor of darkness." This sentence makes it sound like night fell.]

For three days people cried out, mourning for their dead.2

Finally, the voice of Jesus Christ pierced the gloom. “Will ye not now return unto me,” He asked, “and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?”3 He lifted the darkness, and the people repented. Soon, Soon is misleading, based on the text. 

Nephites near Chichen Itza

Soon is what people think when they see the equally misleading yet ubiquitous painting of Christ visiting the Nephites near Chichen Itza, where the people are standing in the midst of rubble, or the famous Friberg painting the Ensign chose to illustrate this chapter (see below). It is understandable that people assume Christ came "soon" after the destruction because these images have been imprinted on our minds for decades, but they contradict the text. 

I would have put "Months later" here because the destruction happened on the fourth day of the first month of the thirty and fourth year (3 Ne. 8:5). Christ appeared to the people at the temple in Bountiful "in the ending of the thirty and fourth year (3 Ne. 10:18). Some think this means nearly an entire year elapsed, but others (with whom I agree) think they were gathered for the feast of tabernacles, "which is in the end of the year" (Exodus 23:16) after the fall harvest, or about six months after the beginning of the Jewish year. That explains why they would be gathering at the temple.]   many of them gathered to a temple in a place called Bountiful, where they spoke of the incredible changes to the land.4

Christ Appears in Ancient America, by Arnold Friberg, courtesy of Museum of Church History and Art [This artwork, published as a full page in the Ensign to illustrate Chapter 7, depicts a Mesoamerican setting, but at least it's not M2C. The prophets have explained that Cumorah is in New York, but we don't know where the rest of the events took place. Both of these are clear teachings, repeated often. Friberg's painting is conceptual, not specific, so it's not necessarily inconsistent with the New York Cumorah. However, it does suggest Christ came "soon" after the destruction, which contradicts the text. 

Friberg also painted Mormon and Moroni together at the Hill Cumorah in New York; i.e., one Cumorah in New York. We'll see if the Ensign uses that illustration. Because of M2C, this New York Cumorah painting has been deleted from the missionary editions of the Book of Mormon and all Church manuals, illustrations, etc., but it is still available in the Gospel Art collection: 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/category/book-of-mormon-all-gospel-art?lang=eng ]

While the people talked with one another, they saw the Son of God descend out of heaven. “I am Jesus Christ,” He said, “whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.”5 He stayed among them for a time, taught His gospel, and commanded them to be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins.

“Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved,” He declared. “They are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.”6Before ascending to heaven, He gave righteous men authority to baptize those who believed in Him.7

As they translated, Joseph and Oliver were struck by these teachings. Like his brother Alvin, Joseph had never been baptized, and he wanted to know more about the ordinance and the authority necessary to perform it.8

On May 15, 1829, the rains cleared and Joseph and Oliver walked into the woods near the Susquehanna River. Kneeling, they asked God about baptism and the remission of sins. As they prayed, the voice of the Redeemer spoke peace to them, and an angel appeared in a cloud of light. He introduced himself as John the Baptist and placed his hands on their heads. Joy filled their hearts as God’s love surrounded them.

Illustrations by Ben Sowards [Wonderful illustrations here. I've never seen a depiction of this event that shows Oliver receiving the Priesthood, though.]

“Upon you my fellow servants,” John declared, “in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.”9

[This is a good example of why I prefer the JSP citation instead of the Messenger and Advocate. The JSP includes an important note on the difference between President Cowdery's version of what John the Baptist said and what Joseph later recorded in his history. See note 38 here:

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/51] 

The angel’s voice was mild, but it seemed to pierce Joseph and Oliver to the core.10 He explained that the Aaronic Priesthood authorized them to perform baptisms, and he commanded them to baptize each other after he departed. He also said they would receive additional priesthood power later, which would give them authority to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost on each other and on those they baptized. [I'd like a citation here.]

After John the Baptist left, Joseph and Oliver walked to the river and waded in. Joseph baptized Oliver first, and as soon as he came out of the water, Oliver began to prophesy about things that would soon happen. Oliver then baptized Joseph, who rose from the river prophesying about the rise of Christ’s Church, which the Lord had promised to establish among them.11

Following John the Baptist’s instructions, they returned to the woods and ordained each other to the Aaronic Priesthood. In their study of the Bible, as well as their translation of the ancient record, Joseph and Oliver had often read about the authority to act in God’s name. Now they carried that authority themselves.

After their baptism, Joseph and Oliver found that scriptures that once seemed dense and mysterious suddenly became clearer. Truth and understanding flooded their minds.12

[This is a powerful statement of what these two prophets, the founding prophets of the Restoration, learned by revelation. Nevertheless, some LDS intellectuals teach that Joseph and Oliver didn't know much and merely speculated about things they stated were facts, such as the New York Cumorah,]

Back in New York, Oliver’s friend David Whitmer was eager to learn more about Joseph’s work. Though David lived in Fayette, about 30 miles (48 km) from Manchester, he and Oliver had become friends while Oliver was teaching school and living with the Smiths. They often talked about the gold plates, and when Oliver moved to Harmony, he promised to write David about the translation.

Letters started arriving a short time later. Oliver wrote that Joseph knew details about his life that no one could have known except by revelation from God. He described the Lord’s words to Joseph and the translation of the record. In one letter, Oliver shared a few lines of the translation, testifying of its truthfulness. [Oliver kept a notebook in which he wrote everything Joseph told him, but we don't know what happened to it. I infer that Oliver used the notebook when he wrote the eight historical letters because of the detail they contained about these early events, especially Moroni's visits to Joseph Smith.]

Another letter informed David that it was God’s will for him to bring his team and wagon to Harmony to help Joseph, Emma, and Oliver move to the Whitmer home in Fayette, where they would finish the translation.13 

[This passage omits a key fact that is not even referenced in the footnote. Joseph's mother Lucy explained how Joseph knew it was God's will. I don't know why this is omitted, but maybe it's because her explanation contradicts the now-popular idea that Joseph didn't use the Nephite interpreters or the plates. 

Here's what she wrote: "an intimation that was given through the urim and thumim for as he one morning applied the<​m​> latter to his eyes to look upon the record instead of the words of the book being given him he was commanded to write a letter to one David Whitmore [Whitmer] this man Joseph had never seen but he was instructed to say him that he must come with his team immediately in order to convey Joseph and his family <​Oliver [Cowdery]​> back to his house which was 135 miles that they might remain with him there untill the translation should be completed for that an evil designing people were seeking to take away Joseph’s life in order to prevent the work of God from going forth among the world." 

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/100

This passage is actually on the same page referenced in footnote 16, so its omission here was intentional. Maybe the editors thought it was too much detail, and we can't second-guess editorial decisions on that basis. However, this is part of a pattern of editorial decisions that support the revisionist Church history narrative. 

Compare the original sentence to the following ones and see which is more interesting and informative. 

Original: Another letter informed David that it was God’s will for him to bring his team and wagon to Harmony to help Joseph, Emma, and Oliver move to the Whitmer home in Fayette, where they would finish the translation.

Proposed: One day, after Joseph applied the Urim and Thummim to his eyes to look upon the plates, instead of seeing the English translation he was commanded to write to David Whitmer. Oliver wrote the letter asking David to help Joseph and Oliver move to the Whitmer home in Fayette to finish the translation. 

My proposal added a line, but it also is historically accurate and gives a fascinating insight into the translation process, as well as affirming what Joseph and Oliver taught about the Urim and Thummim. I realize it's pointless to re-write or edit someone else's book. The point I'm making here is the editorial decisions consistently support the revisionist history, at the expense of the actual history.

People in Harmony had become less welcoming to the Smiths. Some men had even threatened to attack them, and had it not been for the influence of Emma’s family, they might have been seriously hurt.14

This is fine, but it obscures the real reason why Joseph wrote to David, a man he hadn't ever met; i.e., the Lord commanded him to do so, through the Urim and Thummim. But there are Church historians who claim Joseph didn't have the Urim and Thummim when he worked with Oliver Cowdery. Others claim that even if he did have it, he didn't use it because he just put a stone in a hat. Lucy's account contradicts the revisionist history. That explains why readers of Saints won't ever read what Lucy said.

David shared Oliver’s letters with his parents and siblings, who agreed to welcome Joseph, Emma, and Oliver into their home. The Whitmers were descendants of German-speaking settlers in the area and had a reputation for hard work and piety. Their farm was close enough to the Smith home for a visit but far enough away to keep thieves from disturbing them.15

This last sentence seems gratuitous and not credible, because adventurers from Rochester were going to Cumorah to look for the plates, and that's about the same distance from Cumorah as Fayette. More important, if you go to the reference in note 15, on the next page you'll read this:

"being anxious to know their respective duties, and having desired with much earnestness that I should enquire of the Lord concerning them, I did so, through the means of the Urim and Thummin and obtained for them in succession the folowing Revelations."

That's another confirmation of Joseph's use of the Urim and Thummim the way his mother described it, which is all the more reason to include Lucy's account.

David wanted to go to Harmony immediately, but his father reminded him that he had two days of heavy work to do before he could leave. It was planting season, and David needed to plow 20 acres and enrich the soil with plaster of paris to help their wheat grow. His father said he ought to pray first to learn if it was absolutely necessary to leave now.

David took his father’s advice, and as he prayed, he felt the Spirit tell him to finish his work at home before going to Harmony.

The next morning, David walked out to the fields and saw rows of dark furrows in ground that had been unplowed the evening before. Exploring the fields further, he saw that about six acres had been plowed overnight, and the plow was waiting for him in the last furrow, ready for him to finish the job.

David’s father was astonished when he learned what had happened. “There must be an overruling hand in this,” he said, “and I think you had better go down to Pennsylvania as soon as your plaster of paris is sown.”

David worked hard to plow the remaining fields and prepare the soil for a successful planting. When he finished, he hitched his wagon to a strong team of horses and set out for Harmony earlier than expected.16

This retelling of the story is more confusing than Lucy's or David's original account, but that's a minor quibble. My problem here is that this passage completely censors an important event, the encounter with the old man who was carrying the plates to Cumorah. Hardly anyone in the Church knows about this any more because it has been systematically censored.

You can read about the event in the citation in footnote 16 to the report of Joseph F. Smith to the Twelve, but it is handwritten and not easy to read. David described encountering "the messenger who had the plates" who was taking them to Cumorah. Joseph had given the plates to the messenger before leaving Harmony (JS-H 1:60). Of course, this event is another confirmation of the New York Cumorah, which explains why it is omitted in Saints. 

It was also omitted in the Church films about Harmony and Fayette. 

It has been omitted in other recent works on Church history as well. For example, Opening the Heavens, a book published by BYU and Deseret Book, edited by John W. Welch, editor of BYU Studies and Founder of Book of Mormon Central, omits David's account and instead says "The plates were carried to Fayette by Moroni in a bundle on his back." 2nd Ed., p. 108). Except it wasn't Moroni, and the messenger went to the Hill Cumorah on the way. 

Why would the intellectuals censor this event?

I think it's because of M2C. Obviously, if a divine messenger said he was taking the Harmony plates to Cumorah, he was not taking them to southern Mexico. Especially when shortly thereafter, he showed plates to Mary Whitmer before giving them to Joseph Smith.

Most Church historians will tell you they think David Whitmer was wrong because they can't explain why the messenger would be taking the plates to Cumorah. 

I think the explanation is simple. The messenger went to Cumorah first to store the Harmony plates in the depository because Joseph had translated all of them, including the Title Page that was the last leaf of those plates. From the depository the messenger picked up the plates of Nephi (D&C 10) to take them to Fayette, where he gave them to Joseph. That's why Joseph translated 1 Nephi through Words of Mormon in Fayette. 

M2C intellectuals such as Brother Welch don't accept the New York Cumorah, so he omitted the story (Actually, he changed it). The people who made the Church movies avoided it for the same reason. I think the same motivation caused the story to be omitted in Saints.]

Once Joseph, Emma, and Oliver moved to Fayette, David’s mother had her hands full. Mary Whitmer and her husband, Peter, already had eight children between the ages of 15 and 30, and the few who did not still live at home resided nearby. Tending to their needs filled Mary’s days with work, and the three houseguests added more labor. Mary had faith in Joseph’s calling and did not complain, but she was getting tired.17

The heat in Fayette that summer was sweltering. As Mary washed clothes and prepared meals, Joseph dictated the translation in an upstairs room. Oliver usually wrote for him, but occasionally Emma or one of the Whitmers took a turn with the pen.18 Sometimes, when Joseph and Oliver tired of the strain of translating, they would walk out to a nearby pond and skip stones across the surface of the water.

Mary had little time to relax herself, and the added work and the strain placed on her were hard to bear.

One day, while she was out by the barn where the cows were milked, she saw a gray-haired man with a knapsack slung across his shoulder. His sudden appearance frightened her, but as he approached, he spoke to her in a kind voice that set her at ease.

“My name is Moroni,” he said. “You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do.” He swung the knapsack off his shoulder, and Mary watched as he started to untie it.19

[This is a phony quotation that doesn't belong in Saints. I don't believe this was Moroni and if you read the Skousen article in the footnote, I don't think you will be convinced either. David Whitmer said that Joseph said the messenger going to Cumorah was one of the Three Nephites. That makes sense, based on the description.

Mary Whitmer's grandson, who provided an account in 1878, said "she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by a holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi. (She undoubtedly refers to Moroni, the angel who had the plates in charge.)" 

Did you catch that? The grandson didn't accept his grandmother's statement about the name of the messenger, but instead assumed she was wrong because it had to have been Moroni, according to his belief. True, we don't know the names of the Three Nephites (3 Ne. 28:25-32), but one of the disciples Christ called was named Nephi. (3 Ne. 19:4), so the chances are 3 in 12 that one of the Three Nephites was Nephi.  I think the grandmother was correct, but the grandson made a huge mistake when he misunderstood.

Subsequent descendants relied on this 1878 account and elaborated, inventing this quotation: "My name is Moroni. You have become pretty tired with all the extra work you have to do," etc. 

Recall that this account describes the so-called "Moroni" as "a short, heavy-set, gray-haired man," which matches David Whitmer's description of the messenger taking the plates to Cumorah. Joseph and Oliver never described Moroni as anything of the sort. Instead, Joseph said that messenger was one of the Three Nephites.

I find it astonishing that Saints omits the important and oft-repeated direct testimony of David Whitmer about the messenger taking the plates to Cumorah and then inserts this phony quotation about Moroni. I suppose they think readers will like the idea of a female witness of the plates, which is definitely awesome, but why elaborate with a phony quotation and then state it as a fact? It is much more interesting that she named one of the Three Nephites. 

This editorial treatment does not inspire confidence in the accuracy of Saints.]

“You have been very faithful and diligent in your labors,” he continued. “It is proper, therefore, that you should receive a witness that your faith may be strengthened.”20

Moroni opened his knapsack and removed the gold plates. He held them in front of her and turned their pages so she could see the writings on them. After he turned the last page, he urged her to be patient and faithful as she carried the extra burden a little longer. He promised she would be blessed for it.21

The old man vanished a moment later, leaving Mary alone. She still had work to do, but that no longer troubled her.22

At the Whitmer farm, Joseph translated rapidly, but some days were challenging. His mind would wander to other matters, and he could not focus on spiritual things.23 

[Based on the historical record, I think one thing pressing on his mind was his realization that Mormon's depository of all the Nephite records (and artifacts) was in the same hill from which he obtained the plates. David Whitmer made special note that when the messenger said he was going to Cumorah, Joseph turned pale and white; i.e., Joseph was shocked. 

Even before he got the plates, Moroni had told Joseph the hill was named Cumorah anciently, but we don't know whether Moroni told him about the depository. Joseph knew about it from Mormon 6:6 that he had recently translated, but he apparently did not put two and two together until the messenger told them he was taking the Harmony plates to Cumorah. All this is another reason why Saints should not have omitted David's account.]

The Whitmers’ small house was always busy and full of distractions. Moving there had meant giving up the relative privacy he and Emma had enjoyed in Harmony.

One morning, as he was getting ready to translate, Joseph became upset with Emma. Later, when he joined Oliver and David in the upstairs room where they worked, he could not translate a syllable.

He left the room and walked outside to the orchard. He stayed away for about an hour, praying. When he came back, he apologized to Emma and asked for forgiveness. He then went back to translating as usual.24

FWIW, I would have preferred the account of the girl staying with the Whitmers who asked why the men were glowing when they came downstairs, but the Emma conflict story has more pedagogical value, I suppose. I don't think it's unusual for someone to be distracted at work because of a domestic disagreement. 

He was now translating the last part of the record, known as the small plates of Nephi, which would actually serve as the beginning of the book. 

[This is misleading. The plates of Nephi were separate from the abridged record he originally obtained from Moroni. We know this from the title page, which was on the last leaf of the plates Joseph translated in Harmony (I call these the Harmony plates). Had the plates of Nephi been included in the plates he got from Moroni's stone box, he would have translated them before he reached the Title Page, not afterward.

Plus, the Title Page says nothing about any original plates. The plates of Nephi were not part of the "Original Book of Mormon" as Joseph described it, so they were not "the last part of the record."

Joseph didn't get the plates of Nephi until he arrived in Fayette. That's why the plates of Nephi were the last plates Joseph translated. This sentence should say, "He was now translating the plates of Nephi. Although they were the last plates he translated, they would serve as the beginning of the book."] 

Revealing a history similar to the one he and Martin had translated and lost, the small plates told of a young man named Nephi, whose family God had guided from Jerusalem to a new promised land. It explained the origins of the record and the early struggles between the Nephite and Lamanite peoples. More important, it bore a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

When Joseph translated the writing on the final plate, he found that it explained the record’s purpose and gave it a title, The Book of Mormon, after the ancient prophet-historian who had compiled the book.25

[This is very misleading, so much so I rate it false. Because of its wording and placement after the discussion of the plates of Nephi, the sentence implies that the "final plate" that contained the Title Page was at the end of the plates of Nephi. However, Joseph translated the Title Page before he left Harmony. He had to get it printed (I think in Binghamton) and sent to the federal district court as part of his copyright application, which the court clerk dated June 11. Joseph translated the Title Page in Harmony before he translated the plates of Nephi in Fayette.]

Since he started translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph had learned much about his future role in God’s work. In its pages, he recognized basic teachings he had learned from the Bible as well as new truths and insights about Jesus Christ and His gospel. He also uncovered passages about the latter days that prophesied of a chosen seer named Joseph, who would bring forth the Lord’s word and restore lost knowledge and covenants.26

In the record, he learned that Nephi expanded on Isaiah’s prophecy about a sealed book that learned men could not read. As Joseph read the prophecy, he thought of Martin Harris’s interview with Professor Anthon. It affirmed that only God could bring forth the book out of the earth and establish the Church of Christ in the last days.27

[This contradicts President Cowdery's detailed account of Moroni's first visit, during which Moroni told Joseph about this prophecy. Martin Harris' visit to Anthon was the fulfillment of the prophecy, but Joseph had anticipated the event for years.]

As Joseph and his friends finished the translation, their minds turned to a promise the Lord had given in the Book of Mormon and in His revelations—to show the plates to three witnesses. Joseph’s parents and Martin Harris were visiting the Whitmer farm at the time, and one morning Martin, Oliver, and David pleaded with Joseph to let them be the witnesses. Joseph prayed and the Lord answered, saying that if they relied on Him wholeheartedly and committed to testify of the truth, they could see the plates.28

“You have got to humble yourself before your God this day,” Joseph told Martin specifically, “and obtain if possible a forgiveness of your sins.”29

Later that day, Joseph led the three men into the woods near the Whitmer home. They knelt, and each took a turn praying to be shown the plates, but nothing happened. They tried a second time, but still nothing happened. Finally, Martin rose and walked away, saying he was the reason the heavens remained closed.

Joseph, Oliver, and David returned to prayer, and soon an angel appeared in a brilliant light above them.30 He had the plates in his hands and turned them over one by one, showing the men the symbols engraved on each page. 

[Notice, they didn't handle the plates on this occasion, but each of them later said they did handle the plates. That's a separate confirmation of Brigham Young's description of them going into the depository at the Hill Cumorah.]

A table appeared beside him, and on it were ancient artifacts described in the Book of Mormon: the interpreters, the breastplate, a sword, and the miraculous compass that guided Nephi’s family from Jerusalem to the promised land.

[This is problematic for several reasons. The account comes from a late account by David Whitmer; neither Martin nor Oliver ever mentioned it. Of course, it's not included in the official declaration of the Three Witnesses. But it does correspond to the description given by Brigham Young about what Joseph and Oliver and others saw when they went into the depository in the Hill Cumorah. 

Brigham Young pointed out that Oliver never spoke about the depository "in meeting." It was not supposed to become public knowledge. David Whitmer referred to the adventurers from Rochester who would never find the plates because they were no longer in the Hill Cumorah, but they were not far from there; i.e., he knew where they were. My explanation is that David did tell about the table and artifacts, perhaps inadvertently at first. But knew he was not supposed to do so publicly, so he deliberately conflated it with the 3 Witness event back near Fayette so as to not encourage the treasure hunters to look in Cumorah. I can think of other possibilities, but that one makes the most sense to me. And it's consistent with D&C 18, as I've explained elsewhere.] 

The men heard the voice of God declare, “These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them, which you have seen, is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.”31

When the angel departed, Joseph walked deeper into the woods and found Martin on his knees. Martin told him he had not yet received a witness from the Lord, but he still wanted to see the plates. He asked Joseph to pray with him. Joseph knelt beside him, and before their words were half-uttered, they saw the same angel displaying the plates and the other ancient objects. [There is no record that Martin saw anything other than the plates, so this claim is simply made up.]

“’Tis enough! ’Tis enough!” Martin cried. “Mine eyes have beheld! Mine eyes have beheld!”32

Joseph and the Three Witnesses returned to the Whitmer house later that afternoon. Mary Whitmer was chatting with Joseph’s parents when Joseph rushed into the room. “Father! Mother!” he said. “You do not know how happy I am!”

He flung himself down beside his mother. “The Lord has caused the plates to be shown to three more besides me,” he said. “They know for themselves that I do not go about to deceive the people.”

[This is another indication that all they saw on this occasion was the plates.]

He felt as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. “They will now have to bear a part,” he said. “I am not any longer to be entirely alone in the world.”

Martin came into the room next, almost bursting with joy. “I have now seen an angel from heaven!” he cried. “I bless God in the sincerity of my soul that he has condescended to make me—even me—a witness of the greatness of His work!”33

A few days later, the Whitmers joined the Smith family at their farm in Manchester. Knowing the Lord had promised to establish His words “in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good,” Joseph went into the woods with his father, Hyrum, and Samuel, as well as four of David Whitmer’s brothers—Christian, Jacob, Peter Jr., and John—and their brother-in-law Hiram Page.34

The eight men gathered at a spot where the Smith family often went to pray privately. With the Lord’s permission, Joseph uncovered the plates and showed them to the group. They did not see an angel as the Three Witnesses had, but Joseph let them hold the record in their hands, turn its pages, and inspect its ancient writing. Handling the plates affirmed their faith that Joseph’s testimony about the angel and the ancient record was true.35

[Two points here. Lucy said Joseph got these plates from one of the Three Nephites, which is consistent with the scenario that the messenger was not Moroni but the old man who took the Harmony plates to Cumorah, where he picked up the plates of Nephi to take to Fayette. "They all that is the male part of the company repaired to a little grove where it was customary for the family to offer up their secret prayers— as Joseph had been instructed that the plates would be carried there by one of the ancient Nephites."

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/105

Second, I haven't found a single account by any of the eight witnesses that any portion of the plates they handled was sealed. That omission strikes me as evidence that these were not the same plates that contained the sealed portion; i.e., the plates he originally obtained from Moroni.]

Now that the translation was over and he had witnesses to support his miraculous testimony, Joseph no longer needed the plates. After the men left the woods and went back to the house, the angel appeared and Joseph returned the sacred record to his care.36

[Lucy doesn't say anything about where the angel appeared. Brigham Young said Joseph returned the plates to the depository, which is consistent with what Lucy said if they met the angel there and gave him the plates in the depository.]

Notes

1. 1. 
   Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7 , 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:14; Staker, “Where Was the Aaronic Priesthood Restored?” 158, note 49.
2. 2. 
   3 Nephi 8; Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7, 1834,LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15–16; see also Kowallis, “In the Thirty and Fourth Year,” 136–90.
3. 3. 
   3 Nephi 9:13.
4. 4. 
   3 Nephi 10:9; 11:1.
5. 5. 
   3 Nephi 11:10; 15:21–24; see also John 10:16.
6. 6. 
   3 Nephi 11:33.
7. 7. 
   3 Nephi 11:23–33.
8. 8. 
   Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7, 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:13–16.
9. 9. 
   Doctrine and Covenants 13:1 (Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 17–18, in JSP, H1:292–94 [draft 2]); Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7, 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate,Oct. 1834, 1:15; Staker, “Where Was the Aaronic Priesthood Restored?,” 142–59. Topic: Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood
10. 10. 
    Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, Sept. 7, 1834, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 1:15.
11. 11. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 17–18, in JSP,H1:292–94 (draft 2); “Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829, in JSP, D1:371.
12. 12. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 18, in JSP,H1:294–96 (draft 2).
13. 13. 
    “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, June 5, 1881, 1; James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News, Mar. 25, 1884, [2]; Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library; Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 21, in JSP, H1:306 (draft 2).
14. 14. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 18, in JSP,H1:296 (draft 2).
15. 15. 
    “Mormonism,” Kansas City Daily Journal, June 5, 1881, 1; Dickinson, New Light on Mormonism, 250; “The Book of Mormon,” Chicago Tribune, Dec. 17, 1885, 3; Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 21, in JSP, H1:306 (draft 2).
16. 16. 
    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 8, [8]; Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, Interview with David Whitmer, Sept. 7–8, 1878, [10], in Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library; Cook, David Whitmer Interviews, 26–27.
17. 17. 
    Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, Interview with David Whitmer, Sept. 7–8, 1878, [10], in Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library.
18. 18. 
    James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News, Mar. 25, 1884, [2].
19. 19. 
    Skousen, “Another Account of Mary Whitmer’s Viewing of the Golden Plates,” 40; [Andrew Jenson], “Eight Witnesses,”Historical Record, Oct. 1888, 621.
20. 20. 
    Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, Interview with David Whitmer, Sept. 7–8, 1878, [10], in Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library.
21. 21. 
    Skousen, “Another Account of Mary Whitmer’s Viewing of the Golden Plates,” 40; [Andrew Jenson], “Eight Witnesses,”Historical Record, Oct. 1888, 621.
22. 22. 
    [Andrew Jenson], “Eight Witnesses,” Historical Record,Oct. 1888, 621; Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, Interview with David Whitmer, Sept. 7–8, 1878, [10], in Joseph F. Smith to John Taylor and Council of the Twelve, Sept. 17, 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, Church History Library; Stevenson, Journal, Dec. 23, 1877.
23. 23. 
    Whitmer, Address to All Believers in Christ, 30.
24. 24. 
    “Letter from Elder W. H. Kelley,” Saints’ Herald, Mar. 1, 1882, 68; see also Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 77.
25. 25. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 34, in JSP,H1:352–54 (draft 2). Topics: Book of Mormon Translation; Gold Plates
26. 26. 
    2 Nephi 3:7–19.
27. 27. 
    Joseph Smith History, circa Summer 1832, [5], in JSP, H1:15;2 Nephi 26:16; 27:15–21.
28. 28. 
    Doctrine and Covenants 17 (Revelation, June 1829–E, at josephsmithpapers.org); Doctrine and Covenants 5:11–18(Revelation, Mar. 1829, at josephsmithpapers.org); Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 23, in JSP, H1:314–17 (draft 2).
29. 29. 
    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 8, [11].
30. 30. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 24–25, in JSP,H1:316–18 (draft 2).
31. 31. 
    “Letter from Elder W. H. Kelley,” Saints’ Herald, Mar. 1, 1882, 68; Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 24–25, inJSP, H1:316–20 (draft 2); “Testimony of Three Witnesses,” in Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, [589]. Topic: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon
32. 32. 
    Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 25, in JSP,H1:320 (draft 2).
33. 33. 
    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 8, [11]; book 9, [1].
34. 34. 
    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 9, [1]; 2 Nephi 27:14.
35. 35. 
    “Testimony of Eight Witnesses,” in Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, [590]. Topic: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon
36. 36. 
    Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 9, [2].
37. _____
38. * Many of the footnotes reference a series of eight letters (designated with Roman numerals) written by Oliver Cowdery with the assistance of Joseph Smith. Letter III through VIII were published while Cowdery was the Assistant President of the Church. Some LDS historians cast doubt on President Cowdery's reliability and credibility, but these letters are our best sources for many of the details about the Restoration. Saints seems to accommodate both concerns by referencing the letters, but making them difficult to access.  
39. Even if they were correct, these links to the Messenger and Advocate are obscure and don't tell the whole story of President Cowdery's letters. Joseph Smith had his scribes copy these letters into his journal as part of his life story, so you can read them right in the Joseph Smith Papers. Plus, he had them republished in every Church newspaper during his lifetime. President Joseph F. Smith republished them again in the Improvement Era in Salt Lake City.