The Church History Department held an outstanding 2-day conference titled "I Am in Your Midst" Jesus Christ at the center of Church history.
https://churchhistory.cventevents.com/event/2025conference/speakers
An excellent summary by Jacob Hess was published in the Deseret News:
https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/09/07/jesus-christ-at-the-center-of-church-history/
The byline:
An exclusive focus on human struggle in the past misses the most important action taking place, say historians with the Church of Jesus Christ
I completely agree with that byline and the theme of the conference. I'm incorporating that theme into my presentations and publications going forward, and I hope everyone else does as well.
Here are the passages that use that phrase.
Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom. (Doctrine and Covenants 29:5)
But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me; (Doctrine and Covenants 38:7)
Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded. (Doctrine and Covenants 49:27)
Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall. (Doctrine and Covenants 50:44)
And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you; (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36)
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1. Sources. One speaker emphasized the importance of primary vs secondary sources and referred to the Joseph Smith Papers. I fully agree with that principle, and I wish the Church History Department consistently did as well.
If they did, we wouldn't have the ongoing confusion about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.
Hopefully the historians will re-examine their priorities and start to focus on what Joseph and Oliver taught. Then they could seek to corroborate and support what they taught instead of ignoring what they taught in favor of the theories of certain scholars. That would be a major improvement over their current approach.
2. Hiding things. One speaker joked about the Church hiding things. But the joke was not funny because he then referred to the Church's online resources (Saints, Gospel Topics Essays, historic sites pages, etc.) that actually do hide Church history by omitting what Joseph and Oliver taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.
Instead of joking about hiding things, historians could significantly improve these sites by re-correlating what Joseph and Oliver taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. Then Latter-day Saints can make informed decisions about these topics. That would be a major improvement over the current content of these resources.
3. Plates of Nephi narratives. Elder Kyle McKay's plenary address was wonderful, explaining how Christ is "the central figure in this story." As I mentioned above, I hope everyone involved with Church history adopts that as the lens through which we view and present Church history.
I know I will.
It is a powerful message that resonates.
To illustrate his point, Elder McKay related the narrative of the lost 116 pages, which is a good example. We can see that the Lord had a backup plan for any contingency. Whether Martin lost the 116 pages or some other critical manuscript, the original materials were readily available to replace what was lost. We can all relate to that in our own lives, as we have confidence that the Lord can compensate for our weaknesses and failures. Indeed, we could say the lost 116 pages is an application of the principle from Ether 12, that the Lord will make weak things become strong.
But he paraphrased the scriptures and related a version of the story that deserves some discussion.
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He said that Mormon added the small plates of Nephi to his abridgment before he gave it to Moroni. Then Moroni added his own material (Books of Ether and Moroni).
That has been a traditional narrative, but it contradicts the scriptures and common sense.
-- Moroni added the last two chapters to his father's Book of Mormon. If Mormon had attached the plates of Nephi, Mormon would have had to attach those final two chapters after the plates of Nephi. That would mean Joseph Smith somehow passed over the plates of Nephi to translate Moroni's addition to his father's record. There is no evidence of that in the text or in historical accounts.
-- Those who advocate the SITH narrative (stone-in-the-hat), which includes the claim that Joseph did not actually use the plates, may argue that the stone itself skipped over the plates of Nephi until Joseph got to Fayette. But in D&C 9, the Lord promised Oliver Cowdery that he could assist to translate "other records." In D&C 10, the Lord explained that Joseph needed to translate the plates of Nephi instead of retranslating the Book of Lehi (which was lost with the 116 pages). Neither D&C 9 or 10 makes sense if Joseph was not actually translating the plates. If he was merely reading words off a stone, there were no "other records" to translate and it would be superfluous for the Lord to instruct him to translate the plates of Nephi.
-- The Title Page, which was on the last leaf of the set of plates Joseph obtained from Moroni's stone box, identifies the contents of the set of plates as (i) an abridgment of the record of the Nephites, (ii) an abridgment of the record of Ether (Jaredites), and (iii) Moroni's sealing of the record (his own book). The Title Page never mentions or alludes to any original plates, as it would have if the plates of Nephi were actually bound together with the abridged plates.
The various scriptural and historical accounts can be reconciled by understanding that there were two separate sets of plates:
(i) the abridged plates from Moroni's stone box that Joseph translated in Harmony and then gave to the messenger who went to Cumorah
and
(ii) the original small plates of Nephi that Joseph translated in Fayette after the messenger brought them from Cumorah.
I suggest improvement here in the sense of quoting the actual scriptures and offering a narrative that is both consistent with the scriptures and that makes common sense.
Or at least relate the two alternative working hypotheses instead of relating one theory as fact.
That would be a major improvement.
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For those not familiar with the two sets of plates narrative, here is a short explanation.
Joseph translated the abridged plates in Harmony, PA. When he and Oliver finished these, they considered re-translating the abridgement of the plates of Lehi (the lost 116 pages). Instead, in D&C 10 the Lord told them to translate the engravings on the plates of Nephi (the small plates). But they didn't have those plates yet. The small plates were the "other records" that the Lord promised Oliver he would assist to translate (D&C 9).
Before leaving Harmony, Joseph gave the abridged plates to a messenger he later identified as one of the Three Nephites. This messenger explained to David Whitmer that he was going to Cumorah before coming to Fayette. The messenger went to the repository in Cumorah to get the small plates, which he then took to Fayette, where Joseph translated them.
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| Traditional narrative that contradicts scriptures and historical accounts |
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| Two sets of plates narrative that reconciles scriptures and historical accounts |
Conclusion. The primary impetus for the traditional narrative seems to be refusal to accept the historical sources that explain that the repository of Nephite records was in the hill Cumorah in New York. Thus the traditional narrative seen as supporting the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory.
For articles on this topic, see
https://www.lettervii.com/2019/02/martin-harris-no-on-else-saw-plates.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2025/02/another-account-of-two-sets-of-plates.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2024/02/two-sets-of-plates-book-of-which-i-have.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2024/11/ether-5-answers-questions.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2017/05/from-hill-in-manchester-township.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2019/04/cumora-and-feynman-learning-strategy.html
https://www.lettervii.com/2025/01/d-5-only-3-witnesses-saw-abridged-plates.html
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