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In 1843, six men claimed to have unearthed ancient metal plates from a burial mound. They were eventually brought to Joseph Smith. Critics have claimed Joseph was fooled by what was eventually revealed to be a fraud. What is the truth of this claim?
This is Episode 10 of a series compiled from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. In this video, Gerrit Dirkmaat, Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University is featured.
David A CookJanuary 27, 2025
Joseph's initial belief that the Kinderhook plates may be genuine ancient records is indirect evidence in favor of the reality of the gold plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. If the gold plates had been a fabrication by Joseph, he would naturally have been immediately suspicious of anyone else claiming to have discovered ancient plates. The fact that he was personally familiar with ancient plates predisposed him to acceptance that there may be others. Contrary to critics claims that the Kinderhook plates episode is evidence against Joseph's prophethood, it is in fact evidence in favor of his actually having discovered and translated an ancient record written on metal plates, else he would not have been so open to the possibility.