A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon 0190699094, 9780190699093

The story of the creation of the Book of Mormon has been told many times, and often ridiculed. A Documentary History of

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A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon
 0190699094, 9780190699093

Table of contents :
Cover
A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Editorial Method
List of Abbreviations
Chronology
Map
Introduction
1 “He Appeared unto Me Three Times in One Night”: Joseph and the Angel: September 1823–​September 1826
First-​Hand Reminiscences
1.1 Articles and Covenants, circa April 1830 [D&C 20], Extract
1.2 Joseph Smith, History, circa Summer 1832
1.3 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, February 1835, Extract
1.4 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, March 1835, Extract
1.5 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, April 1835, Extract
1.6 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, July 1835, Extract
1.7 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, October 1835, Extract
1.8 Joseph Smith, Journal, November 9, 1835, Extract
1.9 Elders’ Journal, July 1838, Extract
1.10 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
1.11 Joseph Smith, “Church History,” March 1, 1842, Extract
Accounts from Others
1.12 Eli Bruce’s Diary Entry, November 5, 1830
1.13 James Gordon Bennett’s Report on “The Mormonites,” 1831, Extract
1.14 Lucy Harris’s Testimony, November 29, 1833
1.15 Willard Chase’s Testimony, December 11, 1833
1.16 Henry Harris’s Testimony, circa 1833
1.17 Joseph Knight’s Recollection of Early Mormon History, 1833–​1847, Extract
1.18 Isaac Hale’s Testimony, March 20, 1834
1.19 Peter Bauder’s Report of His Interview with Joseph Smith, 1834
1.20 Truman Coe’s Description of Mormonism, 1836, Extract
1.21 Joseph Curtis’s Reminiscence, circa 1839, Extract
1.22 John A. Clark’s Letters, August 1840, Extracts
1.23 Orson Pratt’s Account of Joseph Smith’s Early Visions, 1840, Extract
1.24 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1844–​1845, 1853, Extract
1.25 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
1.26 Fayette Lapham’s Report of an Interview with Joseph Smith Sr., 1870
1.27 Statement of Joseph and Hiel Lewis, April 30, 1879
1.28 Frederick G. Mather’s Interviews, 1880, Extract
1.29 William H. Kelley’s Interviews, 1881
1.30 Kansas City Journal Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
1.31 Emily M. Coburn Austin’s Reminiscences, 1882, Extract
1.32 William Smith’s Reminiscence, 1883, Extract
2 “The Same Heavenly Messenger Delivered Them Up To Me”—​ Joseph and the Plates: September–​December 1827
First-​Hand Reminiscence
2.1 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
2.2 Letter of Nathaniel W. Howell and Others to Ancil Beach, January 1832
2.3 Barton Stafford’s Testimony, November 3, 1833
2.4 Joseph Capron’s Testimony, November 8, 1833
2.5 Abigail Harris’s Testimony, November 28, 1833
2.6 Peter Ingersoll’s Testimony, December 2, 1833, Extract
2.7 William Stafford’s Testimony, December 8, 1833
2.8 Jesse Townsend’s Letter to Phineas Stiles, December 24, 1833
2.9 Mary Beman Noble’s Reminiscence, circa 1836
2.10 Martha Campbell’s Letter to Joseph Smith, December 1843
2.11 Orsamus Turner, “GOLD BIBLE—​MORMONISM,” 1851, Extract
2.12 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extracts
2.13 Joel Tiffany’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1859
2.14 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
2.15 Frederick G. Mather’s Interviews, 1880, Extracts
2.16 William Smith’s Testimony, 1884, Extracts
2.17 William H. Kelley’s Interview with Lorenzo Saunders, 1884, Extract
2.18 William H. Kelley’s Interview with Benjamin Saunders, 1884, Extract
2.19 Lorenzo Saunders’s Letter to Thomas Gregg, January 28, 1885
2.20 Christopher M. Stafford’s Statement, March 23, 1885, Extract
2.21 Mrs. M. C. R. Smith’s Statement, March 25, 1885
2.22 Isaac Butts’s Statement, circa March 1885
2.23 W. R. Hine’s Statement, circa March 1885, Extract
2.24 Katharine Smith Salisbury’s Letter to “Dear Sisters,” March 10, 1886
2.25 Mrs. S. F. Anderick’s Statement, June 24, 1887
2.26 Rhamanthus M. Stocker’s Account, 1887, Extract
3 “I Cannot Read a Sealed Book”—​Martin Harris’s Venture to Eastern Scholars: February 1828
First-​Hand Reminiscences
3.1 Charles Anthon’s Letter to E. D. Howe, February 17, 1834
3.2 Charles Anthon’s Letter to Rev. T. W. Coit, April 3, 1841
3.3 Letter from Charles Anthon, August 12, 1844
3.4 Martin Harris’s Letter to H. B. Emerson, November 23, 1870
Accounts from Others
3.5 Article in Rochester Advertiser and Daily Telegraph, August 31, 1829
3.6 William W. Phelps’s Letter to E. D. Howe, January 15, 1831
3.7 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
3.8 David. B. Dille’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, September 15, 1853
3.9 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
3.10 Thomas Colburn’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, May 1855, Extract
3.11 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
3.12 Kansas City Journal Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
3.13 Edward Stevenson’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, December 13, 1881, Extract
3.14 Anthony Metcalf’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1888, Extract
4 “I Stood Alone, an Unlearned Youth”—​The Translation Begins: April–​June 1828
First-​Hand Reminiscences
4.1 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
4.2 Joseph Smith’s Letter to James Arlington Bennet, November 13, 1843, Extract
Accounts from Others
4.3 Letter to the Editor, Brattleboro Messenger, Vermont, November 20, 1830
4.4 Ezra Booth’s Letter to Ira Eddy, October 2, 1831, Extract
4.5 Nancy Towle’s Account of an Interview with Joseph Smith, October 16, 1831
4.6 Minutes of a Conference of the Church of Christ, October 25–​26, 1831, Extract
4.7 Nathaniel Lewis’s Testimony, March 20, 1834
4.8 Testimonies of Joshua McKune, Hezekiah McKune, Alva Hale, Levi Lewis, and Sophia Lewis, 1834
4.9 Mathew Livingston Davis’s Letter to His Wife, Mary, February 6, 1840, Extract
4.10 George Peck’s Account of the Origin of the Book of Mormon, 1843, Extract
4.11 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
4.12 Iowa State Register Interview with Martin Harris, August 16, 1870, Extract
4.13 Chenango Union Interview with Mrs. Doolittle, April 12, 1877
4.14 William W. Blair’s Interview with Michael Morse, May 1879
4.15 Edward Stevenson’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1881, Extract
5 “I Have Lost My Soul”—​Martin Harris and the Missing Manuscript: Summer 1828
First-​Hand Reminiscences
5.1 Joseph Smith, Preface to the Book of Mormon, circa August 1829
5.2 Joseph Smith, History, circa Summer 1832
5.3 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extracts
5.4 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1844–​1845, 1853, Extracts
Accounts from Others
5.5 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
5.6 James Harvey Reeves’s Account, 1872
5.7 Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
5.8 William W. Blair’s Account of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1880
Contemporaneous Documents
5.9 Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3]
6 “It Is Marvelous to Me”—​Interlude: Autumn 1828–​March 1829
First-​Hand Reminiscences
6.1 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
6.2 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extracts
6.3 Martin Harris’s Testimony, September 4, 1870
6.4 William S. Sayre’s Letter to James T. Cobb, August 31, 1878, Extract
6.5 Emma Smith Bidamon’s Account, February 1879, Extract
6.6 David Whitmer Interview, Kansas City Journal, June 5, 1881, Extract
Accounts from Others
6.7 Edmund C. Briggs’s Report of an Interview with Emma Smith Bidamon, 1856, Extract
Contemporaneous Documents
6.8 Revelation, February 1829 [D&C 4]
6.9 Revelation, March 1829 [D&C 5]
7 “Days Never To Be Forgotten”—​The Translation: April–​May 1829
First-​Hand Reminiscences
7.1 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to William W. Phelps, September 7, 1834, Extract
7.2 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extracts
Accounts from Others
7.3 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extracts
7.4 Joseph Knight Jr.’s Account, 1862, Extract
7.5 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
7.6 Kansas City Journal Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
7.7 Samuel W. Richards’s Report of an Interview with Oliver Cowdery, 1907, Extract
Contemporaneous Documents
7.8 Book of Mormon, Extract, circa April 1829
7.9 Revelation, April 1829 [D&C 6]
7.10 Revelation, July 1828/​Spring 1829 [D&C 10]
7.11 Revelation, April 1829 [D&C 7]
7.12 Revelation, April 1829 [D&C 8]
7.13 Revelation, April 1829 [D&C 9]
7.14 Book of Mormon, Extract, circa May 1829
7.15 Revelation, May 1829 [D&C 11]
7.16 Revelation, May 1829 [D&C 12]
8 “I Often Sat By and Saw and Heard Them Translate and Write for Hours Together”—​The Translation: June 1829
First-​Hand Reminiscences
8.1 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extracts
8.2 Elizabeth Whitmer Cowdery’s Statement, February 15, 1870
8.3 Kansas City Journal Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
8.4 David Whitmer’s Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887, Extract
Accounts from Others
8.5 Abram W. Benton’s Report of a Statement by Oliver Cowdery, March 1831, Extract
8.6 Josiah Jones’s Report of an Interview with Oliver Cowdery, 1831
8.7 Reuben Miller’s Report of Oliver Cowdery’s Testimony, October 21, 1848
8.8 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
8.9 Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith’s Interview with David Whitmer, September 1878, Extract
Contemporaneous Documents
8.10 Revelation, June 1829 [D&C 14]
8.11 Revelation, June 1829 [D&C 15]
8.12 Revelation, June 1829 [D&C 16]
8.13 Revelation, June 1829 [D&C 18]
8.14 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to Hyrum Smith, June 14, 1829
8.15 Jesse Smith’s Letter to Hyrum Smith, June 17, 1829
8.16 Oliver Cowdery’s “Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829
9 “An Angel of God Came Down from Heaven”—​The Three Witnesses: Late June 1829
First-​Hand Contemporaneous Document
9.1 Testimony of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, circa June 1829
First-​Hand Reminiscences
9.2 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to Cornelius C. Blatchly, November 9, 1829
9.3 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extracts
9.4 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to Phineas Young, March 23, 1846, Extract
9.5 Oliver Cowdery’s Statement to Samuel W. Richards, January 13, 1849
9.6 Martin Harris’s First-​Hand Accounts of the Angel and the Plates, 1870
9.7 Kansas City Journal Interview with David Whitmer, June 1, 1881, Extract
9.8 David Whitmer’s Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887, Extract
Accounts from Others—​on the Three Witnesses
9.9 Lucius Fenn’s Letter to Birdseye Bronson, February 12, 1830, Extract
9.10 Observer and Telegraph Articles, November 18, 1830
9.11 Vermont Watchman and State Gazette Article, December 14, 1830
9.12 Ezra Booth’s Letter to Ira Eddy, October 24, 1831, Extract
9.13 John Whitmer, History, 1831–​circa 1847, Extract
9.14 John A. Clark’s Letter, August 31, 1840, Extract
9.15 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, 1844–​1845, Extracts
9.16 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
Accounts from Others—​on Oliver Cowdery
9.17 Painesville Telegraph Article, November 16, 1830
9.18 Ashbel Kitchell’s Account, 1831
9.19 Elizabeth Whitmer Cowdery’s Statement, March 8, 1887
Accounts from Others—​on Martin Harris
9.20 Painesville Telegraph Article, March 15, 1831
9.21 Stephen Burnett’s Letter to Lyman E. Johnson, April 15, 1838, Extract
9.22 Simon Smith’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, April 30, 1884
9.23 Anthony Metcalf’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1888, Extract
9.24 David H. Cannon’s Report of an Interview with Martin Harris, 1922
9.25 William Pilkington’s Account of an Interview with Martin Harris, April 3, 1934, Extract
Accounts from Others—​on David Whitmer
9.26 Diedrich Willers’s Letter to Rev. L. Mayer and D. Young, June 18, 1830, Extract
9.27 William E. McLellin’s Journal Entry, July 18, 1831
9.28 Thomas B. Marsh’s Report of an Interview with David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery, November 1857
9.29 William E. McLellin’s Report of an Interview with David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery, January 4, 1871
9.30 Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith’s Report of an Interview with David Whitmer, September 1878, Extract
9.31 William E. McLellin’s Letter to James T. Cobb, August 14, 1880
9.32 James H. Hart’s Report of an Interview with David Whitmer, August 21, 1883, Extract
Contemporaneous Document
9.33 Revelation, June 1829 [D&C 17]
10 “The Appearance of Ancient Work, and of Curious Workmanship”—​ The Eight Witnesses: Late June 1829
First-​Hand Contemporaneous Document
10.1 Testimony of Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith, circa June 1829
First-​Hand Reminiscences
10.2 Peter Whitmer Jr.’s Journal Entry, December 13, 1831, Extract
10.3 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
10.4 John Whitmer, History, 1831–​circa 1847, Extract
10.5 Editorial by John Whitmer, March 1836, Extract
10.6 Hyrum Smith’s Letter to the Saints, December 1839, Extract
10.7 Hiram Page’s Letter to William E. McLellin, May 30, 1847, Extract
10.8 John Whitmer’s Letter to Heman C. Smith, December 11, 1876
Accounts from Others—​on the Eight Witnesses
10.9 Letter to the Free Enquirer, September 3, 1831, Extract
10.10 David Marks’s Report of a Visit to the Peter Whitmer Home, 1831
10.11 Stephen Burnett’s Letter to Lyman E. Johnson, April 15, 1838, Extract
10.12 John Corrill’s History, 1839, Extract
10.13 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
10.14 Thomas Ford’s Account, 1854
10.15 Luke Johnson’s History, 1864
10.16 Diedrich Willers’s Letter to Mrs. Ellen E. Dickinson, January 19, 1882, Extract
Accounts from Others—​on Joseph Smith Sr. (1771–​1840)
10.17 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
10.18 Fayette Lapham’s Report of an Interview with Joseph Smith Sr., 1870
Accounts from Others—​on Samuel H. Smith (1808–​1844)
10.19 William E. McLellin’s Journal Entry, December 11, 1831
10.20 Phineas H. Young’s History, 1858
10.21 Daniel Tyler’s “Incidents of Experience,” 1883
Accounts from Others—​on Hyrum Smith (1800–​1844)
10.22 William E. McLellin’s Journal Entries, August 19 and September 10, 1831
10.23 Sally Bradford Parker’s Letter to John Kempton, August 26, 1838, Extract
10.24 Joseph Fielding’s Letter to Parley P. Pratt, June 20, 1841
10.25 Salem Advertiser and Argus Article, April 12, 1843
Accounts from Others—​on Hiram Page (1800–​1852)
10.26 William E. McLellin’s Report of Missouri Persecutions, January 4, 1871
10.27 Jenson, Stevenson, and Black’s Report of an Interview with John C. Whitmer, September 12, 1888, Extract
10.28 Andrew Jenson’s Report of an Interview with Philander Page, September 1888
Accounts from Others—​on Christian Whitmer (1798–​1835)
10.29 Editorial by Oliver Cowdery, December 1836
Accounts from Others—​on Jacob Whitmer (1800–​1856)
10.30 Jenson, Stevenson, and Black’s Report of an Interview with John C. Whitmer, September 12, 1888, Extract
10.31 Andrew Jenson’s Report of an Interview with Philander Page, September 1888
Accounts from Others—​on Peter Whitmer Jr. (1809–​1836)
10.32 Lyman Wight’s Account, May 16, 1882
Accounts from Others—​on John Whitmer (1802–​1878)
10.33 John Whitmer’s Conference Address, June 7, 1835
10.34 Thomas Bullock’s Account, circa 1845
10.35 E. C. Brand’s Report of an Interview with John Whitmer, circa 1876
10.36 P. Wilhelm Poulson’s Account of an Interview with John Whitmer, July 31, 1878
10.37 Jenson, Stevenson, and Black’s Account of an Interview with John C. Whitmer, September 12, 1888, Extract
11 “Written by the Hand of Mormon”—​Publication of the Book of Mormon: June 1829–​March 1830
First-​Hand Contemporaneous Documents
11.1 Joseph Smith’s Letter to Oliver Cowdery, October 22, 1829
11.2 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to Joseph Smith, November 6, 1829
11.3 Oliver Cowdery’s Letter to Joseph Smith, December 28, 1829
First-​Hand Reminicenses
11.4 Joseph Smith, History Draft, ca. June 1839–​ca. 1841, Extract
11.5 Pomeroy Tucker’s Account, 1867, Extract
11.6 Thurlow Weed’s Letter to Mrs. Ellen E. Dickinson, April 12, 1880
11.7 John H. Gilbert’s Account, 1892
11.8 Albert Chandler’s Letter to William Linn, December 22, 1898
Accounts from Others
11.9 Lucy Mack Smith’s Reminiscences, 1853, Extract
11.10 Thomas B. Marsh’s Account, November 1857
11.11 Solomon Chamberlain’s Account, circa 1858
11.12 Stephen S. Harding’s Letter to Thomas Gregg, February 1882, Extract
Contemporaneous Documents
11.13 The First Known Published Article Mentioning the Book of Mormon, June 26, 1829
11.14 Revelation, circa Summer 1829 [D&C 19]
11.15 Article in Paul Pry’s Weekly Bulletin, July 25, 1829
11.16 Notice in The Reflector, September 2, 1829
11.17 Article in The Gem, September 5, 1829
11.18 Articles in The Reflector, September 16–​December 9, 1829
11.19 Cornelius C. Blatchly’s Article in Gospel Luminary, December 10, 1829
11.20 Agreement with Martin Harris, January 16, 1830
11.21 Revelation, circa Early 1830
11.22 Cornelius C. Blatchly’s Article in the New-​York Telescope, February 20, 1830
11.23 Notice in the Wayne Sentinel, March 19, 1830
11.24 Wayne Sentinel Announcement of the Publication of the Book of Mormon, March 26, 1830
Notes
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Index

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