Appendix 2, Document 2a. Characters Copied by Oliver Cowdery, circa 1835–1836

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Appendix 2, Document 2a. Characters Copied by Oliver Cowdery, circa 1835–1836
Source Note

Characters, [
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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, OH?, between ca. 1835 and 1836]; two English phrases with ostensible Hebrew translations in handwriting of
Oliver Cowdery
3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...
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; characters presumably also in Cowdery’s handwriting; one page, CHL. Docket in unknown handwriting on verso: “questions | Answered in | Hebrew”.

Single leaf, measuring at its widest edges 4⅛ × 7⅜ inches (10 × 19 cm). The paper was folded multiple times, and the edges of the paper indicate that the document was cut and torn from a larger sheet. The entries on the page are separated by horizontal lines. The document was in the custody of the Church Historian’s Office by 1950.
1
Church Historian’s Office employee A. William Lund noted in 1950 that a portion of a document once owned by Frederick G. Williams “could be copied from writings of Oliver Cowdery which we have.” (A. William Lund, Salt Lake City, UT, to Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City, UT, 10 Jan. 1950, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Comprehensive Works Cited
Revelations Collection, 1831–ca. 1844, 1847, 1861, ca. 1876. CHL. MS 4583.
How it originally came into the church’s possession is unknown.
Footnotes
[1]
Church Historian’s Office employee A. William Lund noted in 1950 that a portion of a document once owned by Frederick G. Williams “could be copied from writings of Oliver Cowdery which we have.” (A. William Lund, Salt Lake City, UT, to Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City, UT, 10 Jan. 1950, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Historical Introduction
This document has two seemingly unrelated parts. The first part consists of two phrases from the Book of Mormon, each labeled “English” and accompanied by an indecipherable phrase labeled “Hebrew.” The second part of the document consists of two sets of two characters, each accompanied by a short phrase in English. While
Oliver Cowdery
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did not specify that the characters were derived from the
gold plates
A record engraved on gold plates, which JS translated and published as the Book of Mormon. The text explained that the plates were an abridgment of other ancient records and were written by an American prophet named Mormon and his son Moroni. The plates were...
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,
Frederick G. Williams
28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
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, who made a copy of the same characters, identified them as “characters on the book of Mormon.”
1
Frederick G. Williams, Characters, Revelations Collection, CHL. Williams’s copy included the first and second part of Cowdery’s document but split them in two, as if he copied each part from a different document. The Williams and Cowdery documents are the only known extant documents that present themselves as including characters from the gold plates along with their translation. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 9; and “Death of John Whitmer,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 14 Aug. 1878, 434.)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
The phrases labeled “Hebrew” are inscribed in the Roman alphabet, but the transliteration is not recognizable as Hebrew.

The dating of this document is uncertain, although it was likely created in 1835 or soon thereafter.
Cowdery
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had been promised in 1829 that he would assist JS in
translating
To produce a text from one written in another language; in JS’s usage, most often through divine means. JS considered the ability to translate to be a gift of the spirit, like the gift of interpreting tongues. He recounted that he translated “reformed Egyptian...
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,
2
See Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9:2].
so the document may have originated from that earlier period, but several events that could have prompted the writing of this document occurred during 1835. About the end of June,
Michael Chandler
Ca. 1798–21 Oct. 1866. Antiquities exhibitor, farmer. Born in Ireland. Married Frances F. Ludlow. Immigrated to U.S., ca. 1828. Moved to Ohio, by 1829. Moved to Philadelphia, 1833. Acquired eleven mummies, perhaps in association with others, in New York City...
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, an antiquities dealer, came to
Kirtland
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
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with several Egyptian papyri and four mummies, all of which were soon purchased for the church. During Chandler’s visit, JS showed him a document containing characters from the plates, which the Book of Mormon stated were written in “reformed Egyptian.”
3
William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835; Oliver Cowdery, “Egyptian Mummies,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:233–237; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 538 [Mormon 9:32].
Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
Using the Egyptian papyri, JS, Cowdery,
William W. Phelps
17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...
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, and possibly others soon began compiling an Egyptian alphabet.
4
See “Egyptian Alphabet,” ca. July–Oct. 1835; JS, Journal, 1 Oct. and 17, 19, 24, and 26 Nov. 1835; see alsoGee, “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence,” 196.
Gee, John. “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri.” In The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, edited by Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, and Andrew H. Hedges, 175–217. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000.
In November, Cowdery went to
New York City
Dutch founded New Netherland colony, 1625. Incorporated under British control and renamed New York, 1664. Harbor contributed to economic and population growth of city; became largest city in American colonies. British troops defeated Continental Army under...
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and purchased textbooks for the study of Hebrew, and JS’s
Hebrew School
Usually held in westernmost room on third floor of Kirtland temple. Joshua Seixas taught JS and others Hebrew here, 1836. Room also used by JS as ecclesiastical office space and was intended as translating room. See also glossary listing for “Hebrew School...
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opened in January 1836.
5
JS, Journal, 20 Nov. 1835; 4 and 26 Jan. 1836.

The
Frederick G. Williams
28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
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document including the characters was apparently inscribed by 27 March 1836, when the
Kirtland temple
JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...
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was dedicated.
6
On the back of the Williams manuscript is a notation, likely written by Williams’s son, stating that the document was inscribed during the dedicatory service. (Frederick G. Williams, Characters, Revelations Collection, CHL; see also A. William Lund, Salt Lake City, UT, to Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City, UT, 10 Jan. 1950, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Based on the apparent connection between
Cowdery
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’s copy and the events that occurred in 1835, it is likely that Cowdery’s document predated Williams’s. The majority of the content of the Cowdery document is identical to material in the Williams document, suggesting that one was copied from the other or that both were copied from the same source text. Cowdery gave no indication of the source for the characters he inscribed, and it is unknown how this document may relate to other documents containing characters from the gold plates.

See also Appendix 2: Copies of Book of Mormon Characters, Introduction.
Footnotes
[1]
Frederick G. Williams, Characters, Revelations Collection, CHL. Williams’s copy included the first and second part of Cowdery’s document but split them in two, as if he copied each part from a different document. The Williams and Cowdery documents are the only known extant documents that present themselves as including characters from the gold plates along with their translation. (See JS History, vol. A-1, 9; and “Death of John Whitmer,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 14 Aug. 1878, 434.)
Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.
[2]
See Revelation, Apr. 1829–D [D&C 9:2].
[3]
William W. Phelps, Kirtland, OH, to Sally Waterman Phelps, Liberty, MO, 20 July 1835, in Historical Department, Journal History of the Church, 20 July 1835; Oliver Cowdery, “Egyptian Mummies,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:233–237; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 538 [Mormon 9:32].
Historical Department. Journal History of the Church, 1896–. CHL. CR 100 137.
Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.
[4]
See “Egyptian Alphabet,” ca. July–Oct. 1835; JS, Journal, 1 Oct. and 17, 19, 24, and 26 Nov. 1835; see alsoGee, “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence,” 196.
Gee, John. “Eyewitness, Hearsay, and Physical Evidence of the Joseph Smith Papyri.” In The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, edited by Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, and Andrew H. Hedges, 175–217. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2000.
[5]
JS, Journal, 20 Nov. 1835; 4 and 26 Jan. 1836.
[6]
On the back of the Williams manuscript is a notation, likely written by Williams’s son, stating that the document was inscribed during the dedicatory service. (Frederick G. Williams, Characters, Revelations Collection, CHL; see also A. William Lund, Salt Lake City, UT, to Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City, UT, 10 Jan. 1950, Revelations Collection, CHL.)
Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Appendix 2, Document 1. Characters Copied by John Whitmer, circa 1829–1831 *Appendix 2, Document 2a. Characters Copied by Oliver Cowdery, circa 1835–1836 *Appendix 2, Document 3. Stick of Joseph, 1844
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English {for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree & the fruit thereof

Hebrew {fin Zemim ezmon E. Zer Oms. ifs
1
TEXT: Or “iss”.
veris exzer ens. vonis vinesis
2
TEXT: Or “vineris” or “ninesis” or “nineris”.

English brethren I bid you adieu

Hebrew {ifs
3
TEXT: Or “iss”.
E. Zamtri
4
TEXT: Or “Zarntri”.

(“The Book of Mormon) (the interpreters of languages)

([2 characters]) ([2 characters])

Written & kept for profit & learning— By
Oliver [Cowdery]
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