2 sets of plates in BYU Studies

Latter-day Saints around the world are being introduced to the concept of two separate sets of plates, thanks to this article in the latest edition of BYU Studies.

https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/were-nephis-small-plates-contained-in-mormons-gold-plates

The author, Don Bradley, deserves praise for writing a thoughtful piece that may shape thinking about Church history forever.

This scenario adds credibility to Joseph's account of the plates, to the internal consistency in the text, and to the various statements by witnesses, some of whom disagreed about details such as weight, size, and contents.

It resolves the discrepancy between what Joseph Smith and Brigham Young said about the final disposition of the plates and much more.

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This is a useful case study in how historical narratives are created and shared.

There will likely be discussion about the article and its ramifications for a period of time, and then it will be considered obvious. 

It has been obvious to me for about ten years.

The academic process reminds us of the aphorism "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

And the corollary "If it's not getting ridiculed yet, maybe it's not disruptive enough!"

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Readers of my other blogs have long been familiar with the concept that Joseph Smith translated two separate sets of plates. 

I posted the graphic below on August 9, 2017. 

(click to enlarge)

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

Actually, I started that blog just over 10 years ago with this post:

https://www.lettervii.com/2015/12/head-of-sidon-in-church-history.html

In 2017 we published Whatever Happened to the Golden Plates? 

Now, in 2026 readers of BYU Studies can catch up.

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Here's an overview of the two sets of plates. While there are undoubtedly multiple working hypotheses about the historical events and their implications, here is the overview from my perspective.

Moroni's stone box contained the set of abridged plates, as indicated on the title page. Joseph took that set of plates to Harmony where he translated them (including the Title Page, which was the last leaf of the plates). 

When they finished the translation, Joseph and Oliver considered starting over at the beginning with the Book of Lehi, which was the part that Martin Harris had lost (the 116 pages), as Joseph explained in the Preface to the 1830 edition.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/preface-to-book-of-mormon-circa-august-1829/1

Instead, the Lord instructed Joseph not to re-translate that record, but instead 

"you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained; And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi."

(Doctrine and Covenants 10:41–42)

The key point is that Joseph did not have the plates of Nephi in Harmony. That's why they are not mentioned in the Title Page (even though it was the "last leaf" of the plates), and that's why the Lord had told Oliver, in the previous recorded revelation, that although Oliver was not able to translate,

"I would that ye should continue until you have finished this record, which I have entrusted unto him. And then, behold, other records have I, that I will give unto you power that you may assist to translate"

(Doctrine and Covenants 9:1–2)

These "other records" were the plates of Nephi, although Joseph and Oliver did not learn that until Joseph received D&C 10.

We'll discuss this more in coming posts.

Here is what I posted on the setting blog, which has a somewhat different readership than this blog.

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In coming posts, we'll discuss the article and its implications for M2C and SITH.

Excerpt:

Latter-day Saints have generally visualized the relationship of Mormon’s plates and Nephi’s small plates as two segments of a single record, bound together into one book by a shared set of rings. 

I will argue in this article that this visualization may also be faulty—that Mormon’s plates and Nephi’s small plates were not bound together into a single book but were utilized separately and sequentially by the Prophet Joseph Smith in translating the Book of Mormon. 

Evidence pointing to the model that the small plates and Mormon’s plates were separate records may be found in the Book of Mormon text and in sources from the early history of the Church.

Concluding note by Don:

Thank you so much to my dear sons Donnie and Nicholas Bradley for supporting and inspiring this work and for the love they have given across their lives. I also wish to acknowledge Jack Welch, John Thompson, Alex Criddle, and Jonathan Neville for their suggestions on this paper.