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A Man that Can Translate: Joseph Smith and the Nephite Interpreters
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About A Man That Can Translate: Joseph Smith And The
NEW and EXPANDED from the original edition (July 2021) with a new Appendix reviewing Rough Stone Rolling and other new content. The book has over 400 footnotes and careful analysis of the historical evidence. This is the first book to explain the new "demonstration" narrative, which reconciles the stone-in-the-hat (SITH) testimony with the Urim and Thummim testimony. The evidence shows that while Joseph Smith translated the golden plates with the Urim and Thummim, he also conducted a demonstration for his supporters in the Whitmer home in Fayette. These separate activities led to the variety of witness statements that have caused so much confusion over the years. The demonstration narrative makes sense of all the available historical evidence in a way that corroborates the long-term teachings of the prophets about the translation. Each chapter begins with a summary for a quick overview. The chapters explain the main concepts and relationships. Details are set out in the Appendices for readers who enjoy details. Detailed explanation: Joseph Smith, Jr., and his principle scribe, Oliver Cowdery, claimed that Joseph translated the golden plates with an instrument the Nephites called "interpreters." Joseph and Oliver called them Urim and Thummim. Some of their contemporaries claimed instead that Joseph merely dictated words that appeared on a seer stone he placed in a hat. The dual narratives were well known in 1834. In response, Joseph and Oliver formally reaffirmed that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim. They reiterated that position for the rest of their lives. In recent years, historians have revived the seer stone narrative. Which version is correct? Urim and Thummim or seer stone? Can they both be correct, or is it an either/or situation? Some historians have reconciled the discrepancies by simply redefining the term "Urim and Thummim" to mean both the Nephite interpreters and the seer stones, but that revisionist approach contradicts the plain historical usage. This book explores the historical evidence, including details from the Original Manuscript, and proposes an explanation that vindicates the testimonies of Joseph and Oliver while also accepting the statements of the observers as to what they saw. Except what they actually saw was merely a demonstration, not the actual translation. And they had a surprising, but legitimate, reason for focusing on the stone-in-the-hat scenario. Summary: Joseph and Oliver told the truth about the translation, after all. Other topics covered, supported by detailed analysis of the evidence: Emma and other pre-Oliver scribes wrote most or all of Mosiah. Joseph recited several of the Isaiah chapters in Second Nephi from memory. Oliver made mistakes in the Printer's Manuscript because he couldn't decipher Emma's handwriting or thought she made mistakes. Joseph actually translated the engravings on the plates into his own language. He did not merely read English words, provided by a mysterious unknown supernatural translator, that appeared on a stone, or in a vision, when he looked into a hat. Critical claims that Joseph composed the Book of Mormon ironically rely on evidence that he actually translated the plates. And more...
