The Kinderhook Plates: Another Testimony of Smith's Deceptio
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:35 am
Mormon apologists like to claim that Joseph Smith took little to no interest in the forged Kinderhook plates but the historical record puts the lie to their desperate claims:
1 May 1843, Monday
Nauvoo 2
May 1st. A.M at the Temple. at 10. m J to L.W. P.M at prest. Josephs
... I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams County ...
Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of
the person with whom they were found & he was a descendant of Ham
through the loins of Pharoah king of Egypt, and that he received his
kingdom from the ruler of heaven & earth
Allen 2, p. 117
``I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams County by some
persons who were digging in a mound. They found a skeleton about 6
feet from the surface of the earth which was 9 foot high. [At this
point there is a tracing of a plate in the journal.] The plates were
on the breast of the skeleton. This diagram shows the size of the
plates being drawn on the edge of one of them. They are covered with
ancient characters of language containing from 30 to 40 on each side
of the plates. Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain
the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a
descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharoah [sic] king of Egypt, and that
he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.''
Allen 1, p.44
William Clayton's Journal, May 1, 1843
I insert fac-similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook,
in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. Robert Wiley and others,
while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from
the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates
were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides
with ancient characters.
I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the
history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of
Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his
kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.
History of the LDS Church, vol. 5
We hear very frequently from our Quincy friends through Mr. Joshua Moore, who passes through that place and this in his monthly zigzag tours through the State, traveling horseback. His last call on us was last Saturday and he brought with him half a dozen thin pieces of brass, apparently very old, in the form of a bell about five or six inches long. They had on them scratches that looked like writing, and strange figures like symbolic characters. They were recently found, he said, in a mound a few miles below Quincy. When he showed them to Joseph, the latter said that the figures or writing on them was similar to that in which the Book of Mormon was written, and if Mr. Moore could leave them, he thought that by the help of revelation he would be able to translate them. So a sequel to that holy book may soon be expected.
Charlotte Haven, A Girl's Letters from Nauvoo
1 May 1843, Monday
Nauvoo 2
May 1st. A.M at the Temple. at 10. m J to L.W. P.M at prest. Josephs
... I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams County ...
Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of
the person with whom they were found & he was a descendant of Ham
through the loins of Pharoah king of Egypt, and that he received his
kingdom from the ruler of heaven & earth
Allen 2, p. 117
``I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams County by some
persons who were digging in a mound. They found a skeleton about 6
feet from the surface of the earth which was 9 foot high. [At this
point there is a tracing of a plate in the journal.] The plates were
on the breast of the skeleton. This diagram shows the size of the
plates being drawn on the edge of one of them. They are covered with
ancient characters of language containing from 30 to 40 on each side
of the plates. Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain
the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a
descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharoah [sic] king of Egypt, and that
he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.''
Allen 1, p.44
William Clayton's Journal, May 1, 1843
I insert fac-similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook,
in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. Robert Wiley and others,
while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from
the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates
were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides
with ancient characters.
I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the
history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of
Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his
kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.
History of the LDS Church, vol. 5
We hear very frequently from our Quincy friends through Mr. Joshua Moore, who passes through that place and this in his monthly zigzag tours through the State, traveling horseback. His last call on us was last Saturday and he brought with him half a dozen thin pieces of brass, apparently very old, in the form of a bell about five or six inches long. They had on them scratches that looked like writing, and strange figures like symbolic characters. They were recently found, he said, in a mound a few miles below Quincy. When he showed them to Joseph, the latter said that the figures or writing on them was similar to that in which the Book of Mormon was written, and if Mr. Moore could leave them, he thought that by the help of revelation he would be able to translate them. So a sequel to that holy book may soon be expected.
Charlotte Haven, A Girl's Letters from Nauvoo