4. Facts on the First Vision
October 5, 20243. Joseph Smith Treasure Digging Flowchart
October 6, 2024
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to find lost objects using his seer stone. Joseph was unable to recover the lost 116 pages.
Table of contents
- Joseph Smith claimed to be able to find lost objects using his seer stone. Joseph was unable to recover the lost 116 pages.
- A1) Joseph Smith gave a revelation justifying why he did not reproduce the 116 pages.
- A2) Martin Harris hand wrote on foolscap.
- A3) After the 116 pages were lost, Joseph cried “All is Lost!”
- A4) Joseph said an Angel removed the plates after he lost the 116 pages
- Questions these Facts Raise
A1) Joseph Smith gave a revelation justifying why he did not reproduce the 116 pages.
Supporting Sources and Quotes
From D&C 10:
“Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings... into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.... you also lost your gift at the same time; and your mind became darkened....
And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated...
Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words which have gone forth out of your hands;
For, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to translate, but that you have contradicted yourself.
And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people to stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my words.” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:1, 2,10,30-32)
This revelation is believed to have been written in April 1829, about ten months after the 116 pages were lost, and as Joseph is about to resume dictation with Oliver Cowdery. The current D&C 10 is slightly different, and again retrofits the term "Urim and Thummim" into the first verse, which was not in the original. Some argue that the term was later added to give Joseph's seer/peep stone a more biblical context (see later section on retrofitting past revelation).
A2) Martin Harris hand wrote on foolscap.
Supporting Sources and Quotes
The Prophet Joseph wrote “Mr. [Martin] Harris arranged his affairs . . . and commenced writing for me while I translated from the plates, which we continued until the 14th of June following, by which time he had written one hundred and sixteen pages of the manuscript on foolscap paper.”
- “History of Joseph Smith,” Millennial Star 3, no. 6 (October 1842), p. 102. Available here.
This is not like normal printer paper of today. See samples of Book of Mormon paper on Joseph Smith Papers project: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/bc-jsp/content/jsp/images/content/pdf/R5_sample_pages_spreads.pdf
“The 1st 116 pages of the original manuscript of Joseph smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon from the plates of Mormon are commonly known as “the 116 pages” or the “lost manuscript.” These foolscap-size pages were handwritten in Harmony, Pennsylvania, between April and June 14, 1828.”
- William J. Critchlow III, “Manuscript, Lost 116 Pages”, BYU Studies
A3) After the 116 pages were lost, Joseph cried “All is Lost!”
Supporting Sources and Quotes
After Martin took the manuscript back home, he lost the manuscript (which I think was most likely taken by his wife Lucy). Upon returning, Joseph exclaimed "Oh, my God! All is lost! all is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned." (Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, 1853)
A4) Joseph said an Angel removed the plates after he lost the 116 pages
Supporting Sources and Quotes
In 1838, Smith said, "Immediately after my return home [to Harmony, Pennsylvania, in about July,] I was walking out a little distance, when Behold the former heavenly messenger appeared and handed to me the Urim and Thummin." Smith said he used the interpreters to receive a revelation (today known as Section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants); then the angel again took away the plates and interpreters before returning them a few days later.”
- History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]," p. 11, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed January 7, 2020, https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-a-1-23-december-1805-30-august-1834/13
Questions these Facts Raise
Why does it make sense that the Lord is afraid that “evil men” will produce an altered text? How was someone going to make alterations to this document without it being very noticeable? (Note: Foolscap is not like today’s paper and would have been very difficult to change without it being noticeable).
Wouldn’t altering the 116 pages have still brought the same damage? If they brought in an altered 116 pages, changing names or places and then compared it to what was in 1 Nephi to show differences, this would have had the same effect. Why wasn’t Joseph Smith worried about this outcome?
If the thieves did produce an altered version after publication, wouldn’t the altered portions come under extra scrutiny? It would have to be spot on with Martin’s or Emma’s handwriting as well as somehow altered without any noticeable means on foolscap.
It seems it would be incredibly obvious if someone tried to alter Joseph's original 116 pages since people did not have the resources to recreate an entire page of manuscript with altered words in the handwriting of Emma Smith (or any other scribe he used during this time such as Martin Harris). And even if Lucy Harris (if I can assume she’s the one who took it) did find a "master forger" to reproduce the handwriting of Emma and Martin in a way that could hold up under scrutiny, she could have just as easily done it for any other part of the Book of Mormon anyway if Joseph's revelation was correct. Put another way, if people were going to say that Joseph Smith contradicted himself with the new beginning to the Book of Mormon, they could have done it anyway. Joseph’s argument seems illogical.
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to find objects with his seer/peep stone including the plates, yet when the 116 pages went missing, Joseph Smith never attempted to locate the lost pages and certainly never did discern what happened to them. Why not? It’s not like Joseph Smith stopped using his seer stone. The one time that it was vital for him to use his gift of finding lost things he doesn’t attempt it. Why isn’t this more important than finding treasure? Is this a red flag that when Joseph has control of the situation (e.g. any time the treasure diggers get down to where he said Joseph can just say “Oh no! It slipped back further into the earth!”), but at the point where there is a tangible, known object to find Joseph suddenly doesn’t even try? Wouldn’t this have been a massive opportunity for Joseph Smith to prove he was not only a prophet, but that his abilities as a seer were real?
Joseph Smith claimed that Moroni led him to where the Gold Plates were buried, but God can’t just lead Joseph Smith to the lost 116 page?
Moroni is popping in an out giving and receiving items (gold plates, Urim and Thummin), but Moroni does not just pop into where the 116 pages are hidden and grab them back?
The lost 116 pages could have been another great chance for Joseph Smith to prove himself a prophet. If he re-translated them and they were the same (which would have been the case with the seer stone in a hat since history would indicate a tight translation), he's a true prophet. The fact that he didn’t attempt it seems like it should go toward the negative side of believing his abilities.
Does Joseph’s version seem more likely than Lucy Harris just being angry that Martin was bankrolling Joseph and putting the farm mortgage on the line and just wanted to be done with the whole thing?
Why is Joseph crying out “all is lost”? Sure, it’s a setback, but it’s not like he couldn’t just go back and redo the work. He still had the plates (and his seer stone).
God is all-powerful and knows ahead of time that Joseph would lose the pages and never retranslate those portions. But in his infinite wisdom he has the plates still produced, lugged around for a thousand years, buried in the ground, and then never once used while Joseph read off the translation on the seer stone. God just watched as the prophet (ancient and modern) just wasted their time with this portion of the manuscript?
God can make text appear on a seer stone, make angels appear, lead Joseph to a buried golden book, etc. But God refuses to help Joseph to either retranslate or find the missing pages or tell him who stole the pages or tell Joseph that the pages have been magically destroyed. God doesn’t even warn Joseph not to give the 116 pages to Martin (he just says no two times, withholding any justification). Does that say anything about God? Personally, if I was an ancient prophet I’d be a little bit miffed that all my efforts were wasted and God did nothing to honor my sacrifices. Why does God seem impotent or bullish to help when his help in desperately needed?
If Joseph tried to retranslate the lost 116 pages, but couldn’t do it the same, Martin Harris would have been bound to notice. This would have been a major blow as Martin was financially backing Joseph and he would have been a damning witness against Joseph right at the beginning. Wouldn’t Joseph been better to prove things to Martin by reproducing and having not only the reproduced document as evidence, but also by having a second witness from Martin that he could reproduce the manuscript?
Why would the thieves want to alter the lost 116 pages? Wouldn’t they think that Joseph was false and hence want to NOT alter it so they could later show that Joseph had altered it? If the thieves believed Joseph was divinely inspired then that must mean that they were fine going up against God himself. If the thieves believed that Joseph had a master copy where he could reproduce the lost 116 pages easily, then what was the point in stealing the pages in the first place?
If God is so worried about Joseph Smith being exposed for false material, why did God allow Joseph to translate the Book of Abraham? (See later discussion on Book of Abraham) or seem to take ideas from the Adam-Clarke bible commentary for the Joseph Smith Translation? (See later discussion on JST)
