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:
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:
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."
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 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."
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
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