Get the old stories right

Walter Kirn@walterkirn Old news is more important than new news because new news is built on top of it. When you are renovating a structure you don't start with the roof but with the foundation. Let's go back and get the old stories right. Otherwise nothing will be right, from here on out.

The SITH problem: 1829-2024

From the outset of the Restoration, SITH was a problem. It started in 1829. Joseph and Oliver tried to refute it (by emphasizing that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates) in published accounts in 1830, 1834, 1835, 1838, 1841, 1842, and 1844. 

Nevertheless, SITH persisted.

Joseph's successors in Church leadership reiterated Joseph's teachings about the Urim and Thummim for over 150 years. The last General Conference address to specifically reaffirm what Joseph and Oliver taught was by Elder L. Tom Perry in April 2007.

The translation of the Book of Mormon is a miracle in itself and gives further proof of the book’s divine origin. When Oliver Cowdery arrived in Harmony, Pennsylvania, on April 5, 1829, to serve as the Prophet’s scribe, only a few pages of the final text had been translated. That evening Joseph and Oliver sat down together and discussed the Prophet’s experiences long into the night. Two days later, on April 7, they commenced the translation of the work. Over the next three months, Joseph translated at an amazing rate—approximately 500 printed pages in about 60 working days.

Oliver wrote of this remarkable experience: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim … the history, or record, called ‘The book of Mormon’” (Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1834, 14; see also Joseph Smith—History 1:71, note).

(2007, April, L. Tom Perry, ‘The Message of the Restoration,’ Ensign, May 2007, ¶ 27–28)

Since then, no one in General Conference has quoted or even reaffirmed what Joseph and Oliver taught about the translation of the Book of Mormon by the Urim and Thummim.

Let's look at the history. The historical record about the events of the Restoration prior to 1829 consists of retrospective accounts. The handful of contemporaneous accounts starting around 1829 can be understood in the context of the events related by the retrospective accounts, which may or may not have been influenced by the contemporaneous accounts, whether to corroborate or refute them.

For example, in his Preface to the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith sought to correct "many false reports [that] have been circulated." We look at the historical record to see what "false reports" were circulated prior to March 1830. 
_____

1828-1829. Lucy Mack Smith, whose account is considered reliable and accurate (quoted/cited over 100 times in the Saints book, volume 1) related her experiences with the Urim and Thummim in her 1844-5 and 1845 Histories. In some cases, she quoted Joseph Smith. In other cases, she related her recollections. 

1828 events:

Here she quoted Joseph: 

on the 22 of september I had the Joy and satisfaction of again receiving the record <​urim and Thummin​> into my possession and I have commenced translating and Emma writes for me now but the angel said that if I got the plates again that the Lord woul[d] send some one to write for me and I trust that if it will be so. he also said that the <​he​> angel seemed <​was​> rejoiced when he gave him <​me​> back the plates <​urim and Thummim​> and said that he <​God​> was pleased with his <​my​> faithfulness and humility also that the Lord was pleased with him and loved him <​me​> for his <​my​> penitence and dilligence in prayer in the which he <​I​> had performed his duty so well as to receive the record <​urim and Thummin​> and be <​was​> able to enter upon the work of translation again

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/91 

Her 1845 history is similar:

when I entered his house the first thing that attracted [p. 135] my attention was a red morocco trunk, that set on Emma’s bureau; which trunk Joseph shortly informed me, contained the Urim and Thummim and the plates.... as I had ventured to become responsible for his faithfulness, I would of necessity have to suffer the consequences of his indiscretion; and must now give up the Urim and Thummim into his (the angels) hands. This I did as I was directed. As I handed them to him, he said, ‘If you are very humble and penitent, it may be you will receive them again; if so, it will be on the 22d. of next September.’”

 I will now return to Joseph’s recital:“After the angel left me’, said he, “I continued my supplications to God without cessation; and, on the 22d of September, I had the joy and satisfaction of again receiving the Urim and Thummim; and have commenced translating again, and Emma writes for me; but the angel said that the Lord would send me a scribe, and <​I​> trust his promise will be verified. The angel He also seemed pleased with me, when he gave me back the Urim and Thummim; and he told me that the Lord loved me, for my faithfulness and humility. [next D&C 10 is inserted] “Soon after I received them I inquired of the Lord, and obtained the following revelation”: “Now, behold I say unto you, that, because <​you​> delivered up those writings, which you had power given you to translate, by the means of the Urim and Thummim into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them..."

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/145

1829 events.

Lucy related this account of Joseph and Oliver contacting David Whitmer in May 1829.

In the mean time Joseph was 150 miles distant and knew naught of the matter e[x]cept 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 

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

In her 1845 History, she related this version:

One morning they sat down to their work as usual, and the first thing which presented itself through the Urim and Thummim, was a commandment, for Joseph and Oliver to repair to the water, and attend to the ordinance of baptism....

Not far from this time, as Joseph was translating by means of the Urim and Thummim, he received instead of the words of the Book, a commandment to write a letter to a man by the name of David Whitmer, who lived in Waterloo; requesting him to come immediately with his team, and convey them [3 words illegible] (Joseph & Oliver) to Waterloo; as an evil designing people were seeking to take away his (Joseph’s life), in order to prevent the work of God from going forth to the world.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/156

1829. In 1829, even before the Book of Mormon was published, Jonathan Hadley wrote an antagonistic, derogatory article that was widely circulated, in which he claimed Joseph put "spectacles" in a hat and read words to his scribe. Some LDS scholars cite this article as evidence of SITH!

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2023/10/update-on-jonathan-hadley-and-sith.html

1830. Joseph Smith denounced the "false reports," which presumably included Hadley's SITH narrative, in the Preface to the 1830 Book of Mormon, explaining that "I translated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi." Nothing in the Preface suggests, implies, or even accommodates Hadley's claim that Joseph read words off a stone (or spectacles) in a hat. Instead Joseph claimed he took the translation from the Book of Lehi; i.e., the engravings on the plates.

1832. An article in the Boston Investigator 2 (August 10, 1832), reported on the missionary efforts of Orson Hyde and Samuel Smith (Joseph's younger brother). They had been called on a mission to the "eastern countries" in January 1832 (D&C 75:13). 

The article included this exchange:

Q.-In what manner was the interpretation, or translation made known, and by whom was it written?

A.-It was made known by the spirit of the Lord through the medium of the Urim and Thummim; and was written partly by Oliver Cowdery, and partly by Martin Harris.

Q.-What do you mean by Urim and Thummim?

A.-The same as were used by the prophets of old, which were two crystal stones, placed in bows something in the form of spectacles, which were found with the plates.

1834-5. In response to the persistent SITH allegations in the 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed, Joseph and Oliver twice explained the U&T in two of the eight essays on Church history published in the 1834-5 Messenger and Advocate, an account that Joseph had his scribes copy into his journal and that was republished in the Gospel Reflector, the Times and Seasons, the Millennial StarThe Prophet, and the Improvement Era. 

But their account was never published in the Ensign or the Liahona. It probably never will be.

Consequently, most Latter-day Saints will never know what they said.

He [Moroni] said this history was written and deposited not far from that place, and that it was our brother’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.


Fortunately, another excerpt from this account was added as a note to JS-H 1:71 so Latter-day Saints everywhere can read it. But we don't see this quoted in Saints or the Gospel Topics Essay. 

Actually, the Gospel Topics Essay edited the note in JS-H to omit the portion in bold below!

“These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites should have said, “Interpreters,” the history, or reccord, called “the book of Mormon."

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/50

1835. Because the SITH rumors persisted, for the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph edited what is now D&C 10:1 to clarify that he had the power to translate "by the means of the Urim and Thummim." He also added D&C 17 which explained that the witnesses would have a view of "the Urim and Thummim" along with other artifacts related to the Book of Mormon. No "seer stone" was included among the evidences of the Book of Mormon.

In 1838, Joseph set out several oft-asked questions in the Elders' Journal. Joseph answered the question about the Book of Mormon directly, clearly, and unambiguously. This should be the starting place for any discussion of the translation, but the SITH scholars never quote it.

Question 4th. How, and where did you obtain the Book of Mormon?

Answer. Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the Book of Mormon was translated, in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, being dead, and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me and told me where they were and gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them and the Urim and Thummim with them, by the means of which I translated the plates and thus came the Book of Mormon.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/elders-journal-july-1838/10 

The Gospel Topics Essay on Translation (GTE) actually includes a citation to the Elders' Journal in note 19, but only regarding Joseph's answer to whether he was a "money digger." The GTE completely ignores what Joseph said about the translation, even though Joseph's explanation quoted above is on the same page as the "money digger" answer! Here again, the historians deliberately omitted what Joseph said about the translation.

1841. In 1841, the Church history essays were republished in the Times and Seasons, the Millennial Star, and the Gospel Reflector. 

1842. Then, in the 1842 Wentworth letter, Joseph reiterated the point. This, too, is missing from the GTE.

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 breastplate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/church-history-1-march-1842/2 

Also in 1842, the Times and Seasons published part of History of Joseph Smith, including this passage:

He said there was a book deposited written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Saviour to the ancient inhabitants. Also that there were two stones in silver bows, and these stones fastened to a breastplate constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim, deposited with the plates, and the possession and use of these stones was what constituted seers in ancient or former times, and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book. ...

Again he told me that when I got those plates of which he had spoken (for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled) I should not show them to any person, neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them, if I did I should be destroyed. ...

immediately after my arrival there [in Harmony, PA] I commenced copying the characters of the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them,

(Times and Seasons III.12:753 ¶4-5, 7, now in Joseph Smith-History in the Pearl of Great Price)

1844. In 1844, Joseph's brother William Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, republished the Church history essays yet again, this time in the New York newspaper called The Prophet.

1848. Oliver Cowdery rejoined the Saints in 1848. Reuben Miller recorded Oliver's statement upon rejoining. As you read what he said, realize that Oliver had possession of the seer stone, possibly in his pocket, but didn't mention it as relevant to the Book of Mormon. 

Friends and Brethren, my name is Cowdery—Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church I stood identified with her, and one in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Not because I was better than the rest of mankind was I called; but, to fulfill the purposes of God, He called me to a high and holy calling. 

I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages), as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, ‘holy interpreters.’ 

I beheld with my eyes and handled with my hands the gold plates from which it was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the ‘holy interpreters.’ That book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it. Mr. Spaulding did not write it. I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet.

For over 150 years, Joseph's contemporaries and successors in church leadership reiterated what Joseph and Oliver taught about the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.

None of those accounts are included, except for one misleading excerpt, in the Gospel Topics Essay or the Saints book. See, e.g., https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/gospel-topics-essay-on-translation.html

Even in the March 2024 Liahona, an article that purports to relate what Joseph said about the translation omits these references (except for a brief misleadingly edited excerpt from the Wentworth letter). https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2024/02/march-2024-liahona-articles-on.html

Instead, our Church historians quote from Emma Smith's dubious "Last Testimony" and David Whitmer's antagonistic "Address to All Believers in Christ," both published 50 years after the events they purport to describe.

No wonder so many Latter-day Saints (and prospective Latter-day Saints) have problems SITH.

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