2025 improvements-The Come Follow Me manual

The Come Follow Me manual for 2025 focuses on the Doctrine and Covenants. In this post we'll consider some recommendations for improvements in the pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding. 

We all recognize there has been a big push toward promoting SITH (the stone-in-the-hat narrative). And that's fine if people want to believe that.

But the pursuit of clarity requires us to compare the authentic historical record with the SITH narrative to see how the SITH narrative is being promoted.

Here's one example.

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After the chapter for Feb 3-9, the Come Follow Me manual offers a short section titled "Voices of the Restoration: Translation of the Book of Mormon."

It's good to provide additional materials, of course, but why not provide what Joseph Smith said about the translation while he was alive instead of what Emma said decades later?

At a minimum, the manual should inform readers about everything Joseph said, including the Preface to the 1830 edition, the Elders' Journal, and the Wentworth letter. These are all available in the Joseph Smith Papers.

https://www.mobom.org/translation-references

Let's review the lesson manual. Original in blue, my comments in red, additional quotations in green.

Translation of the Book of Mormon

In April 1829, the month when sections 6–9 of the Doctrine and Covenants were received, Joseph Smith’s main work was the translation of the Book of Mormon. We don’t know many details about the miraculous translation process, but we do know that Joseph Smith was a seer, aided by instruments that God had prepared: two transparent stones called the Urim and Thummim and another stone called a seer stone. 1

Joseph never once said or implied that he used "a seer stone" to translate the Book of Mormon. To say that we "know" he did requires (i) rejecting what Joseph (and Oliver) explicitly stated and (ii) accepting what critics claimed.

There is also no historical record to support the idea that God prepared a seer stone for Joseph to use to produce the Book of Mormon. To the contrary, the SITH narrative contradicts everything Joseph (and Oliver) said about the translation and raises the question of why the plates and Nephite interpreters, aka the Urim and Thummim, were ever needed.

This is precisely the issue raised in the 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed, which ridiculed the idea that Joseph used a stone-in-a-hat to produce the Book of Mormon without even looking at the plates and asked what the value of the testimony of the witnesses was if Joseph didn't even use the plates in the first place.

Partly to refute Mormonism Unvailed, Joseph and Oliver several times reiterated that Joseph translated the plates using the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.

Nevertheless, the SITH narrative persisted among critics and now modern LDS historians have embraced SITH. Many Latter-day Saints are confused because they have long been taught what Joseph and Oliver taught, instead of what the critics (and modern scholars) claim.

Note 1 refers to these references: 

For more information, see Topics and Questions, “Book of Mormon Translation,” Gospel Library; Richard E. Turley Jr., Robin S. Jensen, and Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Joseph the Seer,” Ensign, Oct. 2015, 48–55).

Book of Mormon Translation

Topics and Questions

Introduction to Topics and Questions

Topics and Questions

Joseph the Seer

Ensign

I've discussed these elsewhere. See links below.

When asked later to relate how this record was translated, Joseph said “that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars.”2

Anyone who looks at the reference can see that Joseph was not asked "to relate how this record was translated."  

Note 2 cites “Minutes, 25–26 October 1831,” Minute Book 2, 13, josephsmithpapers.org.

Br. 

Hyrum Smith

 said that he thought best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the 

Elders

 present that all might know for themselves.

Br. Joseph Smith jr. said that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things &c.

Hyrum asked Joseph to relate "The coming forth of the book of Mormon," a topic that is far broader than the translation and may not have even included the translation anyway. Some of those present in the meeting did later discuss their own thoughts about the translation, which indicates they did not interpret Joseph's response to pertain to the translation per se.

The "coming forth" would include the visits of Moroni, Joseph's interaction with other divine messengers including the Three Nephites (one of whom introduced himself to Mary Whitmer as "Brother Nephi), the visits to the repository in Cumorah, the two sets of plates, and much more.

At any rate, Joseph (and Oliver) were specific about one thing. They claimed that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates, which refutes the claims that he used another "instrument."

He often stated simply that it was translated “by the gift, and power of God.” 3

The reference in Note 3 directly refutes this statement.

3. In “Church History,” Times and Seasons, Mar. 1, 1842, 707; see also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 441.

Anyone who looks up the reference can see that Joseph's statement in "Church History," aka the Wentworth Letter, is far more specific than the claim that he "often stated simply that it was translated "by the gift and power of God."

With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called ‘Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.

As with other statements by Joseph and Oliver, Joseph here excludes any possibility of misunderstanding. He translated the record with the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates, not with a seer stone in a hat.

Note. The link goes to the Joseph Smith Teachings manual which edits the Wentworth letter with the infamous ellipses that omit important information about the Book of Mormon.

See https://www.lettervii.com/2018/07/editing-wentworth-letter.html

Obviously this edit is contrary to Joseph's explicit request at the beginning of the letter that "all that I shall ask at his hands, is, that he publish the account entire, ungarnished, and without misrepresentation.”

The following statements, from eyewitnesses to the translation process, support Joseph’s witness.

Emma's statements partially corroborate what Joseph said and partly refute it. The strange thing, though, is this short article doesn't quote what Joseph said, apart from the truncated "gift and power of God" quotation.

 

Emma Smith

“When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.”4

This quotation purports to be from a visit by Edmund C. Briggs to Nauvoo in 1856, first published in 1916. Readers can decide how credible and accurate it may be, but we can all see that the Original Manuscript has a variety of spelling mistakes, usually with no corrections. Royal Skousen has done a phenomenal job documenting these. We don't have any manuscript pages that Emma wrote, so maybe she did make corrections on the manuscript. But here, as elsewhere, she doesn't tell us what parts of the text she wrote, apart from mentioning "Sarah," which presumably should be "Sariah" unless Emma was a scribe in Fayette for 2 Nephi 8:2.  

“The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen tablecloth, which I had given him to fold them in. I once felt of the plates, as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book. …

This part is fine, but it is often misused to support SITH by inferring that Emma meant the plates lay on the table wrapped in a cloth even while Joseph was translating them, which is not what Emma actually says here.

“My belief is that the Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity—I have not the slightest doubt of it. I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, [Joseph] would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him. 

This would naturally be the case if Joseph was translating the plates and ended each session at the bottom of a plate.

This was a usual thing for him to do. It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this; and, for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.”

This part of Emma's statement appears more apologetic than factual. We can all see that Joseph had excellent penmanship when he wrote the passage in Alma on the original manuscript. While he did not attend school much, and thus was "unlearned" in that sense, his 1832 history shows he was a diligent student of the Bible even at a young age, and had "an intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations." The text of the Book of Mormon demonstrates that his "intimate acquaintance" flowed through as he dictated the text. It only makes sense that God would prepare Joseph for his role as translator and prophet. As President Nelson has taught, "good inspiration is based upon good information."

Oliver Cowdery

“I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the prophet, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by the book, holy interpreters. I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated. I also beheld the interpreters.”

Here, finally, we read one of Oliver's accounts. Like Joseph, he emphasized that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim, which he linked to the Book of Mormon. And like Joseph, he never once stated, suggested, or implied that Joseph used a seer stone instead. 

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Comment on references:

Book of Mormon Translation essay:

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/gospel-topics-essay-on-translation.html

Gospel Topics Essays generally:

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/gospel-topics-essays-do-not-supersede.html

Joseph the Seer article:

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2021/01/20-years-ago-latter-day-saints-still.html

2025 improvements - JSP references in Saints

While the Joseph Smith Papers are separate from the Saints books, there are problems with the Saints books that the editors of the Joseph Smith Papers could surely help rectify. Given that there are millions of Latter-day Saints who read the Saints books, it's worthwhile to make these corrections.

References that don't go where they should.

Saints, Vol. 1, Chapter 3, has a footnote 13 that links not to the cited material, but to the cover page of the Messenger and Advocate in archive.org. This is problematic partly because archive.org could change or delete the link, partly because it is difficult to find the exact page that Saints cites, and partly because the same material is available in the Joseph Smith Papers, which is a better reference.

Link to Saints chapter 3:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/saints-v1/03-plates-of-gold?lang=eng

If you click on Note 13, it lists the references without hyperlinks. But if you copy the references to a website or Word document, the links become active. However, the link to "Letter VII" goes to the link for Letter IV.

Note 13:

Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 3, [10]–[11]; Oliver Cowdery, “Letter IV,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Feb. 1835, 1:79–80 (see also later version, in JSP, H1:60); Oliver Cowdery, “Letter VII,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 1:156–57 (see also later version, in JSP, H1:74); Joseph Smith—History 1:44–46; Joseph Smith History, 1838–56, volume A-1, 6–7, in JSP, H1:230–32 (draft 2); Joseph Smith, Journal, Nov. 9–11, 1835, in JSP, J1:88–89.

Below the list of references, the Saints website lists separate links for Lucy Mack Smith, Letter IV, and Letter VII. But the links for Letter IV and VII go to the cover of the Messenger and Advocate instead of to the specific page.

All of this makes it difficult for readers to find the original sources.

I recommend using clear links to the specific pages cited.

Letter IV: 

https://archive.org/details/latterdaysaintsm01unse/page/80/mode/2up?view=theater

Letter VII:

https://archive.org/details/latterdaysaintsm01unse/page/n163/mode/2up?view=theater

The list of references also refers to the "later version" of Letter IV and Letter VII with a citation to the printed volumes but no link. Giving readers a link to the JSP would be useful and even better than the link to archive.org.

Letter IV:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/69

Letter VII:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/90

2025 improvements - JSP on Cumorah

The Joseph Smith Papers (JSP) site inexplicably omits Cumorah from important resources and downplays it in others. In this post we'll propose improvements in the JSP regarding Cumorah.

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Places and Glossary

The JSP includes references for Places and a Glossary. These are awesome reference materials that provide lots of useful details and links. The Places page is so comprehensive that it includes such obscure sites as "Cook’s Mills tavern stand, Cookstown, New Jersey."

Inexplicably, neither Places nor Glossary mention "Cumorah," or "Hill Cumorah." 

Both should. 

After all, Cumorah played a critical role in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. There are numerous references to Cumorah throughout the JSP, as well as in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. 

To improve the JSP, readers need a Places reference for Cumorah, which I propose below. A similar reference should be included in the Glossary to explain what Cumorah refers to. 

Here is the JSP page for Places "C." Notice the "Cooks' Mills tavern stand," and then notice the omission of Cumorah.

(click to enlarge)

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/reference/places?filter=c

It's interesting also that if you click on the maps for the area around Cumorah, such as Manchester or Palmyra, you can scroll around and see that the JSP map doesn't even show Cumorah. But the default Google map does.

JSP map (scrolled up from Manchester), which omits Cumorah.

Basic Google map, which shows Cumorah.

We all realize there are different settings in Google, but the JSP inexplicably elected to omit Cumorah from the maps of early Church history it includes in its Places site.

Below I'll offer a proposed improvement for JSP in the form of an entry they can use for "Cumorah" on the Places site.

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If the JSP editors decline to include "Cumorah" among the "Places" in Church History, they should at least include "Cumorah" in the Glossary so readers can learn what the term means. Like David Whitmer, who didn't know what "Cumorah" meant when he heard the term from the messenger who was taking the abridged plates from Harmony to Cumorah, readers of the JSP will not know what Cumorah means unless someone tells them.

Actually, "Cumorah" should be on both the Places page and in the Glossary. JSP can use the same entry for both, except the Places page for Cumorah should include a map.

JSP page for Glossary "C" which omits Cumorah.

(click to enlarge)

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/reference/topics?filter=c

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Here's my proposed entry for Cumorah which should be in both Places and Glossary.

The Hill Cumorah

Insert the same Google map that is used as for other locations, except adding Cumorah to the map.

Summary

Located in western New York between Palmyra and Manchester, about 3 miles southeast of the Smith home. Mentioned in Mormon 6:2-6. Identified by Moroni during his first visit to Joseph Smith. "Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed. (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20) Moroni told JS "the record is on a side hill on the Hill of Cumorah 3 miles from this place remove the Grass and moss and you will find a large flat stone pry that up and you will find the record." 1 Moroni also "said this history was written and deposited not far from that place," referring to the Smith home. 2 During the first mission to the Lamanites, Oliver Cowdery related Moroni's identification of the hill. "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." 3 In early 1827 JS related an encounter with the angel: “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." 4 In June 1829, David Whitmer first heard the name Cumorah from the divine messenger who had taken the plates from JS in Harmony. When the messenger declined a ride, "he said very pleasantly, “No, I am going to Cumorah.’ This name was something new to me, I did not know what Cumorah meant." 5  As Assistant President of the Church, Oliver Cowdery described the hill as along "the mail road from Palmyra, Wayne Co. to Canandaigua, Ontario Co. N.Y. and also, as you pass from the former to the latter place, before arriving at the little village of Manchester, say from three to four, or about four miles from Palmyra, you pass a large hill on the east side of the road. Why I say large, is because it is as large perhaps, as any in that country. To a person acquainted with this road, a description would be unnecessary, as it is the largest and rises the highest of any on that rout.... At about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale between. The soil is of the first quality for the country, and under a state of cultivation, which gives a prospect at once imposing, when one reflects on the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed." 6 Cowdery also explained that "This hill, by the Jaredites, was called Ramah: by it, or around it pitched the famous army of Coriantumr their tents." 7  

Links

1. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/41

2. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/68

3. Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, 

https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofp00prat/page/58/mode/2up

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

5. REPORT OF ELDERS ORSON PRATT AND JOSEPH F. SMITH to President John Taylor and Council of the Twelve. https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/dca15baa-a0ac-4fc1-b2ec-7f3cd75e4906/0/44

6. http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/90 

7. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/91

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Another area for improvement is the search function.

Inexplicably, a search for "Cumorah" in the JSP search bar produces 26 results, but omits the one from Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845. This reference should be included in the results for a search for "Cumorah."

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

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The Events section includes following entry at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/event/jss-visit-to-hill-cumorah. However, neither the entry nor the footnote explains Cumorah. The footnote should include a reference to Cumorah.

JS’s Visit to Hill Cumorah

22 September 1823

JS visited hill and attempted to obtain plates three times, but failed, Manchester Township, New York. The angel instructed him to return the following year. 1

1 JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4–5; JS History, vol. A-1, 7.

Proposed revision of note 1:

1 JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, Page [11], bk. 3; History, 1834–1836, Page 93-9

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The Glossary includes an entry on "Gold Plates" that contains a misleading sentence and lack of explanation. The bolded sentence implies that the name Cumorah is a modern invention, contrary to the historical record that shows it was Moroni who identified the hill as Cumorah both anciently and in modern times when he first visited JS.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/topic/gold-plates

Gold plates

Summary

A record engraved on gold plates, which JS translated and published as the Book of Mormon. 1 The text explained that the plates were an abridgment of other ancient records and were written by an American prophet named Mormon and his son Moroni. 2 The plates were buried in present-day Manchester, Ontario County, New York, in what is now known as the Hill Cumorah. 3 JS’s history explained that JS received the plates in September 1827. 4 According to signed statements published in the Book of Mormon, in June 1829 three witnesses were shown the plates by an angel, and an additional eight witnesses were shown the plates by JS. 5

3 JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; “The Book of Mormon,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [1]–[3].

Proposed improvement: replace the bolded sentence and accompanying note with this:

Moroni explained that the record was written and deposited not far from JS home in the hill Moroni referred to as Cumorah. 

3 JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 4; Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, Page [11], bk. 3; History, 1834–1836, Page 65

 

2025 improvements - JSP on OC's letters

In 2025, Latter-day Saints are studying Church history in Come Follow Me curriculum.

This post is one of a series of suggestions for improvement in the Joseph Smith Papers (JSP). 

JSP provides an Editorial Note (an introduction) to Oliver Cowdery's eight essays on Church history, published as letters in the Messenger and Advocate. The current Note is mostly correct, but both incomplete and somewhat misleading. For example, the Note refers to the "vision he and JS had of John the Baptist," but Oliver describes it as a personal, physical visit ("the angel of God came down clothed with glory") which they saw and heard, and received the Priesthood "under his hand."  

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/48

Readers may wonder why the Note minimizes the significance of Cowdery's history. Perhaps this is because some Church historians minimize the significance of President Cowdery's formal, published history. I've heard some complain that Oliver didn't mention the First Vision, for example. But obviously that was a choice of Joseph Smith, not Oliver Cowdery. After all, Joseph helped Oliver with the letters. At some points Oliver explains that he used Joseph's own words, that Joseph wasn't able to provide more details, etc. For whatever reason, Joseph didn't want to include the First Vision, but that omission does not diminish the significance of this history and the details Oliver provided, some of which are found nowhere else, probably because they didn't need to be reiterated given the ubiquitous availability of Oliver's history during Joseph's lifetime.

Those interested in Church history realize that it is impossible to understand the early members of the Church, both in the United States and in England, without being familiar with the Cowdery history, which was republished in the major Church publications so everyone could have them. 

For these and other reasons, I suggest that JSP improve the Editorial Note as indicated below.

Original in left column, my comments in red in the right column

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/48
Editorial Note The following section includes transcripts of eight letters Oliver Cowdery wrote in 1834 and 1835 regarding JS’s visions of an angel and his discovery of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon.	Editorial Note The following section includes transcripts of eight letters Oliver Cowdery wrote in 1834 and 1835 regarding the “rise of this church, in this last time,” including the translation of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, the visit of Moroni and the discovery of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon in the hill Cumorah. He assured readers “that it shall be founded upon facts.”
	On 29 October 1835 JS described the letters as part of “a history of my life” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-1835-1836/12
	JS approved the later republication of the letters in Benjamin Winchester’s Gospel Reflector (1841) and the Times and Seasons (1842). The letters were republished in the Millennial Star (1841) and The Prophet (1844), as well as the Improvement Era (1899). They were also compiled in a booklet in England that sold thousands of copies (1842).
Cowdery addressed the letters to William W. Phelps and published them as a series in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate between October 1834 and October 1835. The titles and formatting employed in this history are similar to those in the published series of articles, indicating that the Cowdery letters were copied into the history from the Messenger and Advocate, not from a manuscript version of the letters. Frederick G. Williams could have begun the transcription in JS’s history as early as 6 December 1834, the date of Cowdery’s last historical entry in the preceding section of the history. However, Cowdery probably gave the history to Williams around 2 October 1835, when he gave Williams JS’s journal. On 29 October 1835, JS retrieved the history from Williams and delivered it to Warren Parrish, who continued copying the Cowdery letters. It is likely that Parrish finished copying the letters by early April 1836, when he gave JS’s journal (and presumably the 1834–1836 history along with it) to Warren Cowdery.25	Cowdery addressed the letters to William W. Phelps and published them as a series in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate between October 1834 and October 1835. The titles and formatting employed in this history are similar to those in the published series of articles, indicating that the Cowdery letters were copied into the history from the Messenger and Advocate, not from a manuscript version of the letters. Frederick G. Williams could have begun the transcription in JS’s history as early as 6 December 1834, the date of Cowdery’s last historical entry in the preceding section of the history. However, Cowdery probably gave the history to Williams around 2 October 1835, when he gave Williams JS’s journal. On 29 October 1835, JS retrieved the history from Williams and delivered it to Warren Parrish, who continued copying the Cowdery letters. It is likely that Parrish finished copying the letters by early April 1836, when he gave JS’s journal (and presumably the 1834–1836 history along with it) to Warren Cowdery.25
In the first letter, Oliver Cowdery recounted his experiences with JS beginning when the two first met in April 1829. The letter includes an account of the vision he and JS had of John the Baptist, who gave them the authority to baptize.	In the first letter, Oliver Cowdery recounted his experiences with JS beginning when the two first met in April 1829. It includes Cowdery’s account of the translation of the Book of Mormon with the Urim and Thummim that is a note to JS-History 1:71. The letter includes an account of the visit of John the Baptist, who gave them the authority to baptize.
After composing this letter, but before its publication, Cowdery developed a new history-writing plan: he decided that in subsequent letters he would relate the “full history of the rise of the church,” beginning with JS’s early life and visions. As editor of the Messenger and Advocate, Cowdery prefaced the published version of the first letter with an explanation (also transcribed into the history) of the new plan. Although he had no firsthand knowledge of church history prior to April 1829, Cowdery assured his readers that “our brother J. Smith Jr. has offered to assist us. Indeed, there are many items connected with the fore part of this subject that render his labor indispensible.” Some passages in the ensuing narrative seem to have been related to Cowdery by JS, since Cowdery recounts events in which only JS participated.	After composing this letter, but before its publication, Cowdery developed a new history-writing plan: he decided that in subsequent letters he would relate the “full history of the rise of the church,” beginning with JS’s early life and visions. As editor of the Messenger and Advocate, Cowdery prefaced the published version of the first letter with an explanation (also transcribed into the history) of the new plan. Although he had no firsthand knowledge of church history prior to April 1829, Cowdery assured his readers that “our brother J. Smith Jr. has offered to assist us. Indeed, there are many items connected with the fore part of this subject that render his labor indispensible.” Some passages in the ensuing narrative seem to have been related to Cowdery by JS, since Cowdery recounts events in which only JS participated. For example, when describing Moroni’s visit, Cowdery writes that Joseph prayed and “hours passed unnumbered—how many or how few I know not, neither is he able to inform me; but supposes it must have been eleven or twelve, and perhaps later…” When Joseph went to the hill Cumorah, Cowdery writes “And to use his own words it seemed as though two invisible powers were influencing or striving to influence his mind…”
Cowdery composed the letters to inform the Latter-day Saints of the history of their church, but he also wrote for the non-Mormon public. Employing florid romantic language, frequent scriptural allusions, and much dramatic detail, he clearly intended to present a rhetorically impressive account of early Mormon history. He placed the rise of the church in a dispensational framework, characterizing the time between the end of the New Testament and JS’s early visions as a period of universal apostasy. He included the revivalism of various denominations during the Second Great Awakening, which JS experienced in his youth, as an example of the doctrinal confusion and social disharmony present in Christendom. Throughout the series of letters, he defended JS’s character and that of the Smith family, and his explicitly apologetic statements include apparent allusions to both Alexander Campbell’s Delusions (1832) and Eber Howe’s Mormonism Unvailed (1834).	Cowdery composed the letters to inform the Latter-day Saints of the history of their church, but he also wrote for the non-Mormon public. Employing florid romantic language, frequent scriptural allusions, and much dramatic detail, he clearly intended to present a rhetorically impressive account of early Mormon history. He placed the rise of the church in a dispensational framework, characterizing the time between the end of the New Testament and JS’s early visions as a period of universal apostasy. He included the revivalism of various denominations during the Second Great Awakening, which JS experienced in his youth, as an example of the doctrinal confusion and social disharmony present in Christendom. Throughout the series of letters, he defended JS’s character and that of the Smith family, and his explicitly apologetic statements include apparent allusions to both Alexander Campbell’s Delusions (1832) and Eber Howe’s Mormonism Unvailed (1834). Apparently to rebut Howe’s claim that the Book of Mormon was a retelling of Solomon Spalding’s fictional Lost Manuscript, Cowdery described the hill in New York where Joseph found the plates and another ridge a mile west, declaring “the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.” Cowdery also described in detail the “manner in which the plates were deposited.”
Beginning in the third letter, Cowdery provided the most extensive account of the origins of the Book of Mormon published up to that time. He related JS’s initial visions of the angel Moroni and, using biblical prophecies, elaborated on the angel’s message concerning the gathering of Israel in the last days in preparation for the Millennium. Cowdery continued his narrative up to, but did not include, JS’s receiving the gold plates in September 1827.	Beginning in the third letter, Cowdery provided the most extensive account of the origins of the Book of Mormon published up to that time. He related JS’s initial visions of the angel Moroni and, using biblical prophecies, elaborated on the angel’s message concerning the gathering of Israel in the last days in preparation for the Millennium. He related Moroni’s instruction that “the record was written and deposited not far from” JS’s home and that it was JS’s “privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record.” Cowdery continued his narrative up to, but did not include, JS’s receiving the gold plates in September 1827.
The transcription of the Oliver Cowdery letters into JS’s history was evidently conceived in terms of the entire series, not as a piecemeal copying of the individual letters. As noted above, Cowdery probably gave the “large journal” containing the history begun in 1834 to Williams in October 1835, the month of the Messenger and Advocate issue in which his final installment was published.26 By the time Williams received the history, Cowdery may have already written the final letter; he had at least conceived of it as the final installment in his series. With the serialized Cowdery letters complete or nearing completion, the new history kept in the “large journal” could serve as a repository—more permanent than unbound newspapers—for a copied compilation of the entire series.	The transcription of the Oliver Cowdery letters into JS’s history was evidently conceived in terms of the entire series, not as a piecemeal copying of the individual letters. As noted above, Cowdery probably gave the “large journal” containing the history begun in 1834 to Williams in October 1835, the month of the Messenger and Advocate issue in which his final installment was published.26 By the time Williams received the history, Cowdery may have already written the final letter; he had at least conceived of it as the final installment in his series. With the serialized Cowdery letters complete or nearing completion, the new history kept in the “large journal” could serve as a repository—more permanent than unbound newspapers—for a copied compilation of the entire series.

 

Reframing traditional historical narratives

New information often leads to new insights, interpretations, understandings, etc., which we can call "reframes."

For Come Follow Me 2025, which focuses on Church history and the Doctrine and Covenants, there are several reframes of traditional narratives for people to consider.

Some important examples follow.

_____

1. When did the Restoration begin?

The Restoration started with Joseph's leg surgery, which made him an intense religious seeker starting from a young age (around 6). When he wrote in 1832 that he had "an intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations," he expressed his familiarity with Christian literature generally, as well as the Bible. The Lord used the leg surgery and years of recuperation to prepare Joseph for his future role as translator and prophet. Although Joseph was "unlearned" in the sense of having spent a lot of time in formal school, he was far from ignorant or illiterate.

2. What influences did God use to prepare Joseph?

Influences such as James Hervey and Jonathan Edwards are evident in the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Joseph's personal writings, just as we would expect because the Lord explained that "these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding."

(Doctrine and Covenants 1:24)

See sample annotations at https://www.mobom.org/jonathan-edwards

3. What did Joseph learn from Moroni?

The first time Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, he "gave a general account of the promises made to the fathers, and also gave a history of the aborigenes of this country, and said they were literal descendants of Abraham..... He said this history was written and deposited not far from" Joseph's home near Palmyra, New York, and that it was Joseph's "privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record."

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/68

Also that first night, Moroni told Joseph that "the record is on a side hill on the Hill of Cumorah 3 miles from this place remove the Grass and moss and you will find a large flat stone pry that up and you will find the record under it laying on 4 pillars <​of cement​>"

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/41

4. How did Joseph translate the plates?

Joseph and Oliver always explained that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates. Neither of them ever said or implied that Joseph produced the text by reading words off a stone he put in a hat (the "stone-in-the-hat" theory, aka SITH). John Whitmer corroborated their testimony. Others contradicted what Joseph and Oliver said, some even saying Joseph didn't even have the Urim and Thummim and/or that Joseph didn't even look at the plates. 

The discrepancy has been explained in various ways. Some modern LDS scholars, such as Royal Skousen and others who promote SITH, claim that Joseph and Oliver intentionally misled everyone about the translation. Some try to persuade people that when Joseph and Oliver used the term "Urim and Thummim" they actually meant the seer stone, contrary to their explicit claims and the historical record. Others suggest that Joseph used the seer stone only to "satisfy the awful curiosity" of Joseph's followers, to whom he was forbidden to show the plates or Urim and Thummim, such as by doing a demonstration to explain the process, which they later described as an apologetic response to the Spalding theory.

Many Latter-day Saints still believe what Joseph and Oliver claimed; i.e., that, pursuant to Moroni's instructions, Joseph translated the engravings on the plates through the means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.

See the references here: https://www.mobom.org/church-history-issues

5. Why does the Title Page refer only to abridged records?

Joseph Smith explained that the Title Page was the last leaf of the plates, but everyone can see that the Title Page refers only to abridged records (plus Moroni's final writings to "seal" the record). We can also see that in D&C 9, the Lord promised Oliver that there were "other records" he could assist Joseph to translate, and that in D&C 10, the Lord commanded Joseph to translate the engravings on the plates of Nephi. 

Except Joseph didn't have the plates of Nephi in Harmony, PA. He did not receive those until after he arrived in Fayette, NY. 

David Whitmer explained that after he picked up Joseph and Oliver in Harmony to take them to his father's home in Fayette, he encountered an old man on the side of the road and offered him a ride. The man declined, saying he was "going to Cumorah." Joseph explained that the man was the messenger who had the plates, and he was one of the Three Nephites. Apparently the messenger took the abridged plates back to the repository in Cumorah, picked up the "small plates of Nephi" and took them to Fayette, which is why Joseph translated them there. 

See: https://www.lettervii.com/p/the-two-sets-of-plates-schematic.html

(click to enlarge)