Footnotes

1. [1]

   JS History, vol. A-1, 25.  

2. [2]

   See Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:11–13, 15]; Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17:1–5]; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 110, 548 [2 Nephi 27:12–13; Ether 5:2–4].  

3. [3]

   Cowdery’s Articles of the Church of Christ also borrowed phrases from the Book of Mormon. Cowdery had served as scribe in the translation of the Book of Mormon, and of the three witnesses he was the most likely to have had access to the Book of Mormon manuscript. (“Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829; see also Skousen, “Who Authored the Three-Witness Statement?”)  

   Skousen, Royal. “Who Authored the Three-Witness Statement?” Times and Seasons (blog), 1 June 2012, http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2012/06/who-authored-the-three-witness-statement/ (accessed 12 June 2012).

4. [4]

   Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17:2–3].  

5. [5]

   JS History, vol. A-1, 24.  

6. [6]

   Lucy Mack Smith later related that after the translation was finished, JS “dispatched a messenger to Mr. Smith [Joseph Smith Sr.] . . . request[ing] that Mr. Smith and myself should come immediately.” She then went on to explain that she was at the Whitmer house when the witnesses saw the plates, implying that JS had already finished the translation. However, JS’s history and a recollection by David Whitmer stated that the translation was completed after the Three Witnesses viewed the plates. Whitmer said that “it was about. 11. A. M.” on a Sunday when the witnesses viewed the plates, possibly indicating the date was 28 June, the last Sunday of June 1829. (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845, 152; JS History, vol. A-1, 26; Cannon, Journal, 27 Feb. 1884; Stevenson, Journal, 22 Dec. 1877.)  

   Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

   Stevenson, Edward. Journals, 1852–1896. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, boxes 1–4.

7. [7]

   Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:24].  

8. [8]

   Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845, bk. 8, [11].  

9. [9]

   JS History, vol. A-1, 25.  

10. [10]

    Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL; Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17:1]. In later recollections, Whitmer repeatedly made reference to seeing these objects. (See, for example, Stevenson, Journal, 22 Dec. 1877; “Letter from Elder W. H. Kelley,” Saints’ Herald, 1 Mar. 1882, 66–69; and E. C. Briggs, Chicago, IL, to Joseph Smith III, 4 June 1884, Saints’ Herald, 21 June 1884, 396–397.)  

    Smith, Joseph F. Papers, 1854–1918. CHL. MS 1325.

    Stevenson, Edward. Journals, 1852–1896. Edward Stevenson, Collection, 1849–1922. CHL. MS 4806, boxes 1–4.

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

11. [11]

    JS History, vol. A-1, 25.  

12. [12]

    Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, 463.  

    Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, 1829–1830. CHL.

13. [13]

    In the 1870s, when asked if Whitmer “and the other witnesses did or did not sign the testimonies themselves,” David Whitmer replied that “each signed his own name,” confirming that an original document did exist. (Joseph F. Smith, New York City, NY, to John Taylor et al., [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 17 Sept. 1878, draft, Joseph F. Smith, Papers, CHL.)  

    Smith, Joseph F. Papers, 1854–1918. CHL. MS 1325.

14. [14]

    Revelation, Mar. 1829 [D&C 5:15–18].  

15. [15]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 548 [Ether 5:3].  

16. [16]

    Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17:5]. Oliver Cowdery preached about this experience in his evangelizing en route to the Indian territory west of Missouri. (Richard W. Cummins, Delaware and Shawnee Agency, to William Clark, [St. Louis, MO], 15 Feb. 1831, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency, Records, vol. 6, p. 114; “The Golden Bible,” Painesville [OH] Telegraph, 16 Nov. 1830, [3]; McLellin, Journal, 1; C. C. Blatchly, “Caution against the Gold Bible,” New-York Telescope, 20 Feb. 1830, 150.)  

    U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency. Records, 1807–1855. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Also available at kansasmemory.org.

    Painesville Telegraph. Painesville, OH. 1822–1986.

    McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).

    New-York Telescope. New York City. 1824–1831.