The Kinderhook Kinder-Surprise

In Kinderhook, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Nauvoo, six bell-shaped brass plates were found when digging up a burial mound on a farmer’s land. He had allegedly dreamed about finding treasure in the mound and a dig was started. Some small plates with ancient-looking inscriptions were found and word spread quickly to the Mormons, a couple were even present when they were found in the dig. Soon the plates were presented to Joseph Smith who pronounced them genuinely ancient. He said they contained the writings of a descendant of Ham. He never fully translated them since he only had them for a few days, but the church stood by his story and hoped these and more records would be found and translated, giving the saints further light and knowledge and offering further proof of Joseph’s gifts.

William Clayton Journal

William Clayton, official scribe and acting secretary of Joseph Smith records the events of the day the Kinderhook plates were brought to Joseph for examination.

I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams County by some persons who were digging in a mound They found a skeleton about 6 feet from the surface of the earth which was 9 foot high [tracing of plate] The plates were on the breast of the skeleton. This diagram shows the size of the plates being drawn on the edge of one of them. They are covered with ancient characters of language containing from 30 to 40 on each side of the plates. Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found & he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven & earth.

William Clayton’s Journal, May 1, 1843
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderhook_plates#Smith’s_response
https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-03lrqP/william_clayton_journal_entry_describing_joseph_translating_kinderhook_plates

Parley P. Pratt

Six plates having the appearance of Brass have lately been dug out of the mound by a gentleman in Pike Co. Illinois. They are small and filled with engravings in Egyptian language and contain the genealogy of one of the ancient Jaredites back to Ham the son of Noah. His bones were found in the same vase (made of Cement). Part of the bones were 15 ft. underground.

A large number of Citizens have seen them and compared the characters with those on the Egyptian papyrus which is now in this city.

Parley P. Pratt letter of May 7, 1843
The Ensign, August 1981, page 73
https://archiveviewer.org/viewer/church-history-library/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0?position=67–75
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax

The plates were not available for him to translate and not much more was said about them at the time. Though it was published far and wide that the Mormon leader expected to translate some more ancient writing.

History of the Church

This William Clayton journal entry is found in the 7-volume official History of the Church. There are minimal changes to the text but the History does put it into Joseph’s voice and corrects some details like the county they were found and the individuals who found them. The History of the Church also includes full facsimiles of each of the plates (front and back) and full articles from the Times and Seasons, see pages 372-378.

I insert facsimiles of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook, in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. Robert Wiley and others, while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides with ancient characters.

I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth.

History of the Church, 5:372-378
https://archive.org/details/historyofchurcho05churrich/page/372/mode/2up

Over seven pages in the History of the Church are devoted to the Kinderhook plates. These pages not only contain the statement that Joseph Smith translated a portion of the plates but also drawings or fascimiles of each plate front and back.

The church supported the story published in the History of the Church that Joseph stated the Kinderhook Plates were authentic, and that he had performed enough translation to state they were writings of the man they were found with, “a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Times and Seasons

The church-run newspaper published an exciting article covering the news and expectations that these plates would be translated. The article was also published by a nearby paper called the Nauvoo Neighbor, an unofficial paper of the church run by Apostle John Taylor.

It will be seen by the annexed statement of the Quincy Whig, that there are more dreamers and money diggers, than Joseph Smith, in the world, and the worthy editor is obliged to acknowledge that this circumstance will go a good way to prove the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. He further states that, “if Joseph Smith can decypher the hieroglyphics on the platyes, he will do more towards throwing lights on the early history of this continent than any man living.” We think that he has done that already, in translating and publishing the Book of Mormon, and would advise the gentleman and all interested, to read for themselves, and understand. We have no doubt however, but Mr. Smith will be able to translate them…

A bundle was found that consisted of six plates of brass, of a bell shape, each having a hole near the small end, and a ring through them all, and clasped with two clasps, the ring and clasps appeared to be of iron very much oxidated, the plates appeared first to be copper, and had the appearance of being covered with characters. It was agreed by the company that I should cleanse the plates: accordingly I took them to my house, washed them with soap and water, and a woolen cloth; but finding them not yet cleansed I treated them with dilute sulphuric acid which made them perfectly clean, on which it appeared that they were completely covered with hieroglyphics that none as yet have been able to read… I am most respectfully a citizen of Kinderhook.

Signed Statement by W. P. Harris, M.D., of Barry, Pike County, included in “Ancient Records,” Times and Seasons, 1 May 1843, pp. 185–87
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/682447f1-a28f-4177-9daa-c0ab0cc8c272/0/8

New York Herald

News spread of this discovery of new plates. The church membership assumed that they would be translated leading to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon being vindicated and proven.

Another set of plates have been found in Pike county, in this State; they were dug out of a large mound, fifteen feet from the summit, by a company of persons, fifteen in number, who all affirm to the fact of their situation when found. There were six in number, about three inches in length, and two and a half broad at one end, and one inch broad at the other, being something of the form of a bell, about the sixteenth of an inch thick, with a hole in the small end of each, fastened together with a ring, apparantly of iron or steel, but which was so oxidised as to crumble to pieces when handled. The plates are evidently brass, and are covered on both sides with hyerogliphics. They were brought up and shown to Joseph Smith. He compared them in my presence with his Egyptian alphabet, which he took from the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and they are characters. He therefore will evidently the same be able to decipher them. There can be no doubt but they are a record of some kind, buried with an individual, centuries ago; a skeleton was found with them-some of the bones in such a state of preservation as to show the size of the individual, whose height must have been eight and a half teet. You may expect something very remarkably pretty soon.

Late and Interesting from the Mormon Empire on the Upper Mississippi, Letter from “A Gentile” (Sylvester Emmons) published in New York Herald, Tuesday, May 30, 1843. Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1843-05-30/ed-1/seq-2/

The Improvement Era Article 1962

Later the kinderhook plates found in the mount were admitted to be faked, but the church doubled down on their defense of Joseph Smith. The plates were studied and confirmed to be a fraud multiple times, and then finally the church changed the story to align with an attempted trick on Joseph.

In 1962 the church published an article continuing to claim that the Kinderhook translation “reaffirms [Joseph’s] prophetic calling.” They repeat the official history that he “pronounced them genuine and translated part of them.”

A recent rediscovery of one of the Kinderhook plates which was examined by Joseph Smith, Jun., reaffirms his prophetic calling…

Joseph Smith, Jun., pronounced them genuine and translated a part of them. He said, as found in his diary dated Monday, May 1, 1843: “I have translated a portion of them and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth…

This much remains, Joseph Smith, Jun., stands as a true prophet and translator of ancient records by divine means and all the world is invited to investigate the truth which has sprung out of the earth not only of the Kinderhook plates, but of the Book of Mormon as well.

The Improvement Era, September 1962. The Kinderhook Plates, Welby W. Ricks, President, University Archeological Society, BYU. Pages 636-637, 656, 658, 660.
https://archive.org/details/improvementera6509unse/page/636/mode/2up

Ensign Article 1981

19 years later, the church published another article confirming the Kinderhook plates were a hoax. They state these Kinderhook plates are “a previously unanswered question in Church history.” It admits this time they state that “Joseph Smith did not make the hoped-for translation.”

A recent electronic and chemical analysis of a metal plate (one of six original plates) brought in 1843 to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois, appears to solve a previously unanswered question in Church history, helping to further evidence that the plate is what its producers later said it was—a nineteenth-century attempt to lure Joseph Smith into making a translation of ancient-looking characters that had been etched into the plates.

Joseph Smith did not make the hoped-for translation. In fact, no evidence exists that he manifested any further interest in the plates after early examination of them, although some members of the Church hoped that they would prove to be significant. But the plates never did.

Ensign, August 1981. Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax, Stanley B. Kimball, professor of history at Southern Illinois University, is a high councilor in the St. Louis Missouri Stake.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0/67

This church article cites evidence available since 1912 which showed that the plates were not authentic. They don’t mention the church article from 1962 which ignores that evidence and doubles down on the authenticity of the plates, of Joseph’s translation, and his prophetic calling being all but proven by these facts.

First, the Harris letter on 1855 is referenced, which states a blacksmith in Kinderhook claimed to have fashioned these plates and the process they used to rust them and hide them in the mound the night before finding them.

A letter written in 1855 (but not published until 1912) by Dr. W. P. Harris—the same W. P. Harris who authored the statement that appeared in the Times and Seasons article. In this letter he wrote that in 1843 he had accepted the discovery of the plates as genuine. “I washed and cleaned the plates and subsequently made an honest affidavit to the same,” he said. “But since that time, Bridge Whitton [a blacksmith in Kinderhook, Illinois] said to me that he cut and prepared the plates and he (B. Whitton) and R. Wiley engraved them themselves, and that there was nitric acid put upon them the night before they were found to rust the iron ring and band. And that they were carried to the mound, rubbed in the dirt and carefully dropped into the pit where they were found.”

Ensign, August 1981. Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax, Stanley B. Kimball, professor of history at Southern Illinois University, is a high councilor in the St. Louis Missouri Stake.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0/67

Next, they quote a letter from 1879 from Wilbur Fugate, one of the conspirators who called the Kinderhook plates a humbug, and was only known by Wiley and Fugate.

A letter written in 1879 by Wilbur Fugate (another of those present at the excavation of the plates) to an anti-Mormon in Salt Lake City. Fugate declared that the alleged discovery of the Kinderhook plates was “a HUMBUG, gotten up by Robert Wiley, Bridge Whitton and myself. … None of the nine persons who signed the certificate [a document included in the Times and Seasons article] knew the secret, except Wiley and I.

“We read in Pratt’s prophecy that ‘Truth is yet to spring out of the earth.’ [The quote is from Parley P. Pratt’s 1837 missionary tract Voice of Warning.] We concluded to prove the prophecy by way of a joke. We soon made our plans and executed them. Bridge Whitton cut them out of some pieces of copper; Wiley and I made the hieroglyphics by making impressions on beeswax and filling them with acid and putting it on the plates. When they were finished we put them together with rust made of nitric acid, old iron and lead, and bound them with a piece of hoop iron, covering them completely with the rust.”

Fugate then went on to tell how they secretly buried the plates and faked their discovery.

Ensign, August 1981. Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax, Stanley B. Kimball, professor of history at Southern Illinois University, is a high councilor in the St. Louis Missouri Stake.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0/67

So since 1981, the church has included these letters as evidence, along with the multiple scientific examinations of the remaining plate, that the Kinderhook plates are a fraud. The article dismisses the fact that Joseph thought they were authentic and claimed to have translated these fake symbols though. They throw William Clayton under the bus wondering where he could have gotten these obvious erroneous ideas.

Did Joseph Translate the Fake Kinderhook Plates?

There are multiple quotes that state Joseph had translated some of these plates and many were published by official church publications of the day. It’s hard to think that Joseph would let these continue if they were not true and misrepresented him.

Although this account appears to be the writing of Joseph Smith, it is actually an excerpt from a journal of William Clayton… Where the ideas written by William Clayton originated is unknown…

Ensign, August 1981. Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax, Stanley B. Kimball, professor of history at Southern Illinois University, is a high councilor in the St. Louis Missouri Stake.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax
https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0/67

William Clayton was the scribe of Joseph Smith. So asking “where the ideas written by William Clayton originated is unknown” is misleading and disingenuous. The ideas came from Joseph Smith obviously, Clayton wrote what he was told to write and what he witnessed as Joseph’s secretary of the day. He wasn’t making up entries. If we say the ideas written by scribes and secretaries are only their own crazy ideas or their origination is unknown, we would throw out the majority of church history. We would disregard the full Book of Mormon since it was written by scribes. Joseph rarely wrote for himself and used scribes. We would jettison the canonized version of the first vision since it was written by a scribe and not by Joseph, and we must embrace the earlier version of the first vision which Joseph wrote, which doesn’t include two personages, and clearly states that Joseph has already concluded that no church was true.

There is no evidence that Joseph Smith ever concluded the plates were genuine, other than conflicting statements from members who hoped that a translation would come forth—and in fact no evidence that the Prophet manifested real interest in the “discovery” after his initial viewing of the plates.

Ensign, August 1981. Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax, Stanley B. Kimball, professor of history at Southern Illinois University, is a high councilor in the St. Louis Missouri Stake.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1981/08/kinderhook-plates-brought-to-joseph-smith-appear-to-be-a-nineteenth-century-hoax

The only play the church apologists can make is to throw the scribe under the bus. They blame the note about the Kinderhook plates being authentic on William Clayton, not Joseph Smith. They must resort to dismissing the “conflicting statements” as a mystery with no answer, but when Joseph authors similarly conflicting statements of his first vision, the church is quick to dismiss the differences in the Gospel Topic Essay where they state that the accounts all together tell a cohesive story, “the various accounts of the First Vision tell a consistent story, though naturally they differ in emphasis and detail.”

Did William Clayton Make It Up?

When differences are found in accounts favoring the church they dismiss the differences, but when the accounts are not flattering the church dismisses the accounts because of the differences. As pointed out in the excellent write-up at wherewillyougo.life/kinderhook-plates, which examines the misleading apologetic video from Scripture Central:

Apologists used to argue that that statement might not be accurate since it wasn’t written by Joseph Smith, but by his scribe, William Clayton. (As far as I can tell, Mormon apologists now concede that Joseph made the “translation”, but they used to make arguments like this one: “…Clayton did not quote Joseph directly—he only reported what he thought was happening. Whether Joseph actually told Clayton that he had translated the plates, or whether Clayton was simply reporting what he heard from a variety of sources, is not clear.” The LDS official response from 1981 echoes this theory. Of course this argument ignores the fact that William Clayton was assigned to be Joseph’s scribe. As such, he recorded Joseph’s words and actions. It also ignores the fact that others recorded the same event, that it was published in a number of newspapers, and recorded in the official History of the Church.) However, that theory is really weak, so most avoid it today. (As far as I can tell, Mormon apologists now concede that Joseph made the “translation”, but they used to make arguments like this one: “…Clayton did not quote Joseph directly—he only reported what he thought was happening. Whether Joseph actually told Clayton that he had translated the plates, or whether Clayton was simply reporting what he heard from a variety of sources, is not clear.”. The LDS official response from 1981 echoes this theory. Of course this argument ignores the fact that William Clayton was assigned to be Joseph’s scribe. As such, he recorded Joseph’s words and actions. It also ignores the fact that others recorded the same event, that it was published in a number of newspapers, and recorded in the official History of the Church.)

Where Will You Go – Kinderhook Plates
https://www.wherewillyougo.life/kinderhook-plates/

Lately, church apologists admit that William Clayton was likely correct in his official entry in the journal of the day as the personal secretary of Joseph. This reverses the previous (1981) claims the church published that “where the ideas written by William Clayton originated is unknown.”

Mark Ashurst-McGee: Some apologists have argued against this, but there is every indication that he did. Clayton’s journal entry for this day—including his tracing of one of the plates—shows that he was with Joseph Smith on 1 May in the Prophet’s home, personally saw all of the Kinderhook plates there, handled at least one of the plates, and had his pocket-sized journal with him at the time.

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Don Bradley: Clayton spent much of that day with Joseph Smith and continued updating his journal entry throughout day as the two of them interacted. So, when Clayton records that “Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain” certain ideas, he is reporting what he had heard from Joseph Smith himself.

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Mark Ashurst-McGee: Furthermore, given Clayton’s meticulous and matter-of-fact clerical habits, the things he wrote about Smith’s translation and what Smith said are likely accurate.

Did the Kinderhook Plates Really Fool Joseph Smith? Kurt Manwaring, January 10, 2022
https://www.fromthedesk.org/kinderhook-plates/

Modern apologists want to say that Joseph saw the fraud and avoided the trap. Richard Bushman among them, states that Joseph may have tried to translate them but his translation efforts didn’t work as they did when he was using authentic ancient records, and even in the Book of Abraham, referencing the catalyst theory, the artifact inspired Joseph with revelation. In contrast, the Kinderhook plates didn’t give him inspiration, so he essentially experienced a “stupor of thought” and wasn’t duped by the fraud.

What was the purpose of the plates if they lay covered on the table while the translation commenced and proceeded?

Richard Bushman: It’s hard to answer. We don’t really have an answer. But they are important. They’re not just left under the bed. They sit on the table wrapped. So their presence is significant. And the problem is we don’t know the technology of translation, revealed translation here. So just how it works, but it’s like the book of Abraham manuscripts. That scholarship seem to show that what was on the scrolls we actually have is not what’s in the book of Abraham. And so the scrolls are like the plates. They’re present, but they are not really containing the message. So there’s some kind of stimulus or provocation or something that starts the revelatory process.

On the other hand, you take the the Kinderhook plates, these little brass like tablets that had writing on them, and Joseph Smith looks at them for a while, maybe tries to translate them, and then gives up on it. They don’t perform that function. They don’t work. So there’s some difference in what will start this process going and what not.

But I think it’s, An error for us to try to figure out how that really works. It’s a couple of centuries ahead of us in engineering knowledge.

CES Letters Podcast Episode: Translation with Richard Lyman Bushman
https://youtu.be/OAAKV1JDBHk?si=ulOCyHaI1t-OCP5F&t=1309

Current Church Position

It is hard to follow the official church position on the Kinderhook plates since it completely changes every few decades. Today they have a page on the official website dedicated to the Kinderhook plates. They state erroneously that “contemporaneous sources say very little about Joseph Smith’s encounter with the Kinderhook plates.” Remember the official History of the Church has multiple pages about them, including the article the church published in the Times and Seasons newspaper. They still want to pin the remarks in the official history on William Clayton, and not Joseph Smith. They do note that he was Joseph’s clerk, but not that he was acting in his duty as official secretary and scribe at the time.

Contemporaneous sources say very little about Joseph Smith’s encounter with the Kinderhook plates, which occurred over a span of just a few days in 1843. Joseph apparently examined the plates and, according to his clerk William Clayton, remarked that they contained “the history of … a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Joseph evidently did not attempt a revelatory translation as he had done with the Book of Mormon plates, but rather appears to have compared the symbols on the Kinderhook plates with other ancient artifacts in his possession. One symbol on the plates closely matches a glyph on the Egyptian papyri Joseph translated in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph’s previous translation of this glyph mentions a descendant of Ham through the lineage of the pharaohs.

LDS Website, Church History Topics: Kinderhook Plates
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/kinderhook-plates

They stipulate that Joseph “evidently did not attempt a revelatory translation as he had done with the Book of Mormon plates.” They want to distinguish that his attempted translation was purely academic, and he compared the Kinderhook symbols to other ancient artifacts in his possession. They omit the fact that these other ancient artifacts are the papyri which Joseph claimed to translate into the Book of Abraham and have been proven today to be common funerary texts and have nothing to do with Abraham. So the symbols he is comparing the Kinderhook plates to are the symbols and interpretations he himself made during his study of the artifacts which led to the Book of Abraham. They explain away his assumption by referring to the Book of Abraham, which we know today was also not at all a true translation, so it also points to his fraudulent translation of ancient and fake texts.

They must assume that Joseph compared the fraudulent Kinderhook plate symbols to the symbols on the papyri which he did translate as the Book of Abraham. But we know his translation of the Book of Abraham is not accurate or remotely what was written on the papyri. So, if the goal of these Kinderhook plates was to catch Joseph Smith in the act of fraudulent translation, it still succeeded, even if he didn’t directly translate the Kinderhook plates.

With the church changing its stance over the years, many believers have struggled to change their beliefs along with the official narrative. So, not surprisingly, there are still holdouts who believe the Kinderhook plates were authentic and bemoan the fact that Joseph was killed before he had the chance to fully translate them! These believers must assume the science detecting the hoax of the Kinderhook plates is fake news. They postulate that the acid remains found in the engravings are due to how the plates were cleaned.

Due to time and handling, acid reaction could have made this plate to appear to have been worked with acid…

The fact remains that six small brass plates were unearthed from an ancient burial mound in Illinois in 1843. The inscription upon them is key to unlocking a lost chapter of history. Pending thorough linguistic analysis and translation, we may yet unravel the message and the mystery of the plates of Kinderhook…

Faithful Saints stand by the Prophet Joseph and know that truth will always vindicate him.

The Kinderhook Plates Aren’t A Fraud?
https://faithfulsaints.com/kinderhook-plates-arent-a-fraud/

Other faithful members consider the remaining plate to be a forgery and that all the original plates have been lost. This being a modern forgery of authentic plates would easily explain why it did not pass the scientific tests performed on it.

Where are the Kinderhook Plates Now?

Today the Chicago History Museum has the remaining plate. This is the one that was determined to be a fake in multiple scientific tests.

One of the six original Kinderhook Plates created by counterfeiters in southwestern Illinois who hoped to discredit Latter Day Saints leader Joseph Smith in 1843. The plates were manufactured bearing a fabricated ancient language and buried near the town of Kinderhook, Illinois. The hucksters hoped Smith would translate the gibberish and reveal himself as a fake.

Chicago History Museum, Kinderhook plate
https://images.chicagohistory.org/asset/7464/

Hoax or Prophetic Proof

Was Joseph given a taste of his own medicine? His own hoax of ancient writing on gold plates would be strengthened by finding more plates, especially if he could translate these plates too. The genius setup was too enticing for him to refuse. Either he was unable to secure the plates for long enough to perform a full translation. Or perhaps he saw the ruse or opted to avoid a potential entrapment as with the 116 lost pages since he didn’t control the full story. Easy to expect that Joseph would want to control the story of these plates, and from the beginning they were found by someone else and brought to him. Translating them would have made he a renowned translator if he could pull it off. The translation is more difficult when the artifact has already been analyzed, perhaps the size of this task was too great and he felt inadequate to provide a key to unlocking a whole new language. However that didn’t stop him from translating the papyri, so perhaps we’ll never know why Joseph didn’t focus more on the Kinderhook plates. Perhaps Joseph saw that the prank was on him and after claiming to be interested in the translation, so he never proceeded and hoped the whole episode would just go away.

We are just left with questions. What are your thoughts on the Kinderhook plates? Were they authentic? Were they fake? Did Joseph think they were authentic? Did he translate some? Did he attempt to translate them? Can we believe William Clayton? Can you follow the narrative from the church and apologists about the Kinderhook Plates? Does the story strengthen or weaken Joseph’s prophetic claims as translator and seer?

The story of the Kinderhook Plates serves as a cautionary tale about the prophetic claims of Joseph Smith. Presented as ancient artifacts, these plates were later revealed to be a deliberate hoax, yet Joseph reportedly attempted to translate them and declared them authentic. This incident raises significant questions about the reliability of his ability to discern truth and his prophetic mantle.

For those who have experienced a faith crisis or who have wrestled with the implications of historical events like this, the Kinderhook Plates highlight the importance of transparency and critical examination in understanding one’s beliefs. It is through such exploration that individuals can seek truth and find their own path, whether within or beyond the framework of Mormonism. We invite anyone who has navigated their faith journey, whether prompted by the Kinderhook Plates or other challenging aspects of LDS history, to share their story at wasmormon.org. By sharing our experiences, we can help others better understand the complexities of faith and the pursuit of truth.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderhook_plates
• https://images.chicagohistory.org/asset/7464/
• https://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/kinderhookplates.htm
• http://www.mormonthink.com/kinderhookweb.htm
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/kinderhook-plates?lang=eng
• https://www.wherewillyougo.life/kinderhook-plates/
• https://www.fromthedesk.org/kinderhook-plates/
• https://www.mrm.org/kinderhook-plates
• https://interpreterfoundation.org/ldsp-the-kinderhook-plates-with-mark-ashurst-mcgee/
• https://mormonr.org/qnas/a9l1T/the_kinderhook_plates
• https://rsc.byu.edu/no-weapon-shall-prosper/did-joseph-smith-translate-kinderhook-plates
• https://www.mormonstories.org/home/truth-claims/the-book-of-mormon/kinderhook-plates/
• https://www.ldsdiscussions.com/kinderhook-plates
• https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Kinderhook_Plates
• https://read.cesletter.org/kinderhook/
• https://www.mormoninfographics.com/2012/09/kinderhook-plates-hoax-or-history.html
• https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2019/06/history-of-the-kinderhook-plates.html
• https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/3w6yuk/hd_version_of_the_kinderhook_plates/
• https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/pub_content/pdf/Joseph_Smith_and_the_Kinderhook_Plates.pdf
• https://rsc.byu.edu/preserving-history-latter-day-saints/william-clayton-records-church-history#_noteref-12
• https://cesletter.org/debunking-fairmormon/kinderhook-plates.html
• https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/f40c7117-b870-47d9-8116-147083f4a5d4/0/67