Unfortunately, Joseph left very little indication about how he translated. In each account he consistently gave God credit for the translation and never claimed that he produced the Book of Mormon from his own efforts or through independent volition.

He occasionally referenced his gift to translate throughout his life. Emma wrote that he “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictat a book like the Book of Mormon.” Joseph maintained that he did not possess the ability to write the Book of Mormon on his own. He later explained that he was taught to read and write, but that these skills “constuted my whole literary acquirements.” His wife, Emma, and others emphasized this point to make the production of the Book of Mormon appear even more astounding than it already was. His parents provided him with only a limited education and though he did have a bright mind, he did not have the education necessary to translate one language into another. Joseph Smith declared that he translated the Book of Mormon from an ancient language (Reformed Egyptian) into English, but he spoke only one language. Joseph’s Witness (By the Gift and Power of God) Unless he spoke about it, one can only guess or speculate. What Joseph was thinking or experiencing as he translated the book is essentially beyond the realm of historical inquiry. We will focus primarily upon the historical record and avoid theoretical models or approaches that attempt to identify Joseph’s cognition or state of mind during the translation. As valuable as witness statements are, they do not offer a perfect window into the consciousness of Joseph Smith.

This limits our ability to understand the translation beyond what witnesses saw and described. As with any miracle, it is difficult to reconstruct or even understand what happened without having experienced the event firsthand. One caveat: Latter-day Saints have always believed that the Book of Mormon came into the world as the result of a series of miraculous events, starting with the appearance of the angel Moroni and proceeding through the completion of a translation of an ancient record. The scribes explained a process that involved physical objects such as seer stones, a hat to block ambient light, and gold plates. Because they watched Joseph translate, their witness was primarily based upon what they saw or what Joseph explained to them about the process. By analyzing the statements of those who witnessed the translation (primarily his scribes), we address what they believe happened. We have gathered and evaluated these historical documents to help clarify how Joseph Smith and those close to him experienced the translation process. Both believers and nonbelievers asked Joseph and his associates to explain the process numerous times, and Joseph Smith and his scribes left records of their responses. This chapter will help satisfy the rising interest in the translation of the Book of Mormon by analyzing what witnesses and close associates of Joseph Smith said about the manner in which Joseph Smith translated the gold plates. These two publications mark a concerted effort by the Church to help members understand the details of the translation process. This volume analyzed the documentary record surrounding the translation process and explained what witnesses said about the translation. In 2014 the Church released a five-page statement on its website about the translation, one that reflected an understanding of the translation outlined in the introduction to The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents, Volume 1. Recently, however, references to the translation on national television and the Internet have piqued the curiosity of many, and a much broader interest in the translation process has been the result, despite the fact that scholars have been addressing many of these questions for decades. Dirkmaat were assistant professors of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University when this was written.įor decades, most Latter-day Saints have had little reason to examine the miraculous translation of the Book of Mormon beyond its most basic details.

Egyptian scribe tools