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How did Joseph Smith translate The Book of Mormon? by Jack Kettler 2012 A number of Joseph Smith's contemporaries said that he put his face into a hat that contained a magic rock or seer stone as a means of translating “The Book of Mormon.” This sounds shocking, but reader will see from the testimony of men who are listed as witnesses to the authenticity inside its front cover this how it was supposedly accomplished. To start, in the Comprehensive History of the Church, Mormon Apostle, Brigham H. Robert's citation of Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the authenticity to “The Book of Mormon” is most revealing. Martin Harris explains in his eye-witness account of how Smith performed this translation* process that: The seer stone Smith possessed was a “chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well in company with his brother Hyrum.” Harris went on to say it was by using this stone that “Joseph was able to translate the characters engraven on the plates.”1 Harris goes on and says: “By aid of the Seer Stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet and written by Martin, and when finished he would say 'written;' and if correctly written, the sentence would disappear and another appear in its place; but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used.”2 In his book, An Address to All Believers in Christ, David Whitmer, another witness to the authenticity of The Book of Mormon writes: “I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.”3 Emma Hale Smith, Joseph's wife, was the first person to serve as his scribe. In her testimony as told to her son Joseph Smith III, we read: “In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us.”4 Was Joseph Smith into Occultism? Consider Joseph Smith's History of Using a Magic Rock When Hunting for Buried Treasure: Again we learn from Martin Harris, when he described Smith’s involvement in this dishonorable occultic practice in an interview he gave to “Tiffany’s Monthly.” Harris says: “Joseph had had this stone for some time. There was a company there in that neighborhood, who were digging for money supposed to have been hidden by the ancients. Of this company were old Mr. Stowel--I think his name was Josiah--also old Mr. Beman, also Samuel Lawrence, George Proper, Joseph Smith, jr., and his father, and his brother Hiram Smith. They dug for money in Palmyra, Manchester, also in Pennsylvania, and other places.”5 Notes from the March 1826 court appearance in South Bainbridge, New York shed light on the Smith family's attitude towards treasure seeking before receiving the golden plates: Peter Bridgeman, nephew of Josiah Stowell, entered a complaint against Joseph Smith Jr. as a disorderly person in South Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York. New York law specified that anyone pretending to have skill in discovering lost goods should be judged a disorderly person. . . . Presumably, Bridgeman believed that Joseph was trying to cheat the old man by claiming magical powers. In the court record, Stowell said that he “had the most implicit faith in the Prisoners skill,” implying that was the reason for hiring Joseph.6 Joseph Smith's involvement in magic practices had always been denied by the LDS Church until 1971, when Presbyterian pastor, Wesley P. Walters discovered two original documents which proved that Joseph Smith was a “glass looker” and was arrested and examined before a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, N.Y. in 1826. One of the documents is Justice Albert Neeley's bill to the county showing the costs involved in several hearings held in 1826. The fifth item from the top of Neeley's bill mentions the examination of “Joseph Smith The Glass Looker.”7 More on Joseph Smith being Arrested as a Glass-Looker: A thoroughgoing account of this evidence is given by former Brigham Young University history professor D. Michael Quinn in his book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. “Indeed, in 1826, four years before the publication of the Book of Mormon, Joseph was arrested, jailed, and examined in court in Bainbridge, New York on the charge of being “a disorderly person and an impostor” in connection with his use of a peep stone to search for buried treasure. While the evidence indicates he was found guilty of this charge, the young Joseph was apparently released on the condition that he leave the area.”8 This court record discovered by pastor Walters, is incredibly damaging to the truthfulness of Mormonism. This discovery means that Joseph Smith was engaged in a glass-looking or a money-digging operation with the same magic seer stone in 1826 at the very time, in which, according to Joseph's “First Vision story” he was being given the golden plates by the angel. The reason this magic seer stone story is suppressed in Mormonism today, is that it would be a major hindrance for potential prospects in accepting truthfulness of “The Book of Mormon” as Scripture if it was known to have been “translated” using a magic rock placed in a hat. According to P. T. Barnum, “There's a sucker born every minute.” Today, even most suckers or gullible people will find this magic rock in a hat used to translate a supposedly historical book from golden plates a little hard to swallow. Again, it should be noted that, Joseph Smith also used a Magic "Seer Stone" for some Years Prior to Publication of the Book of Mormon: It has been well documented by Mormon historians that for a number of years before he produced the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith was heavily involved in various magic-occultic practices, including the use of a magic “seer stone” or “peep stone.”9 Click to see the picture of Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman which appears in professor D. Michael Quinn's book titled “Early Mormonism and the Magic World View.” This book by professor Quinn details the extensive occultic involvement that the Smith family was into. Also click to see the actual copy of the misdemeanor court record of Joseph Smith the glass-Looker. Click here to see an artist drawing of Joseph Smith with his face in a hat containing his magic seer stone. In addition it will be well worth your time to consult: “The Locations of Joseph Smith's Early Treasure Quests” by Dan Vogel. The reader should also consult “The Method of Translation of the Book of Mormon” by James E. Lancaster Notes:
In the narrow sense, Bible translation is the actual process of drafting, checking, polishing and producing a final version of vernacular Scriptures for publication. It is a specialized, step-by-step effort with technical terminology. First draft A preliminary, tentative translation, for testing and improving. Several successive drafts are produced as improvements and revisions are made. Checking the drafts Reviewer Check a read-through of the translation by other speakers of the indigenous language to get their corrections and suggested improvements. Consultant Check an advisor with special skills, such as expertise in the original Hebrew or Greek, and/or broader background and experience, reviews the draft. The consultant discusses the translation verse-by-verse with the translators, shares how problem passages have been handled by others, and advises on general aspects of the text. Exegetical Check compares the indigenous language translation draft with the original Greek or Hebrew text. This ensures accuracy and faithfulness in the translation. NOTE: “Exegesis” is the explanation or critical interpretation of the text. Consistency Check reviews the translation of key biblical terms, important theological concepts, Bible names, and parallel passages throughout the entire text and evaluates rationale for any variations. Format and Style Check reviews the preface, introductions to the books, glossary and footnotes. Spelling, punctuation, verse and chapter numbers, paragraphing, maps, pictures and captions are also checked. Proofreading checking of the entire manuscript, including all the details listed under format and style, above, is a long, intense and tedious job. Oral read-through reading of the entire manuscript to determine whether anything sounds wrong or is missing. This is often done by a group of native speakers. People Involved in the Process Translators are those who participate in the work of Bible translation. This includes the following activities: preparing the first draft of the translation reviewing the work of others on the team testing the translation with other speakers of the language receiving, studying and assessing their comments making a revised draft checking the final manuscript for publication Review committee is a group of native speakers and other workers (expatriates and/or nationals) who do the revision steps referred to above. Two more critical concepts in the process Revisions are changes made in the translation to make it more faithful to the original meaning, more natural in expression, more accurate and readable. Every translation goes through many revisions. Back-translation is translating a Scripture text back into a language of wider communication, from the indigenous language, word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase. It reflects as closely as possible the meaning and grammatical structure of the indigenous language text, so that consultants who do not know the indigenous language can evaluate how accurate and adequate the translation is. Moreover, let it be widely proclaimed to the followers of Joseph Smith, in light of this brief study dealing with the occultic practices that resulted in The Book of Mormon being published: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31 Mr. Kettler is an ordained Presbyterian Elder and the owner of http://www.Undergroundnotes.com where his theological, philosophical and political articles can be read. He has worked in corporate America for over 30 years and is now realizing his dreams as a successful home business entrepreneur. Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article as long as my web site is retained in the biographical information. Jack Kettler Presidential Director and Top 20 Global Business Builder Award Winner! Curious, for an automatic e-mail reply go to: Jack@KettlerWellness.com
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