Joseph Running with the Plates
The Weight of the Gold Plates
Critics
of the church often use the weight of the plates as evidence that the Book of
Mormon story is not true. They go
through complex calculations to show how gold plates with the dimensions described
by the witnesses must have weighed some 200 pounds. At the Tanner’s bookstore in
In this instance we disagree with the
critics premise. We don’t feel that the
plates had to be made of solid gold. Although
the plates are often referred to as ‘gold plates’ they didn’t necessary have to
be made of pure gold. The witnesses
described them as having the ‘appearance of gold’. Although Joseph originally said “there was a
book deposited, written upon gold plates” (History
of the Church, vol. 1, by Joseph Smith, pp. 11-12), Joseph later wrote
to John Wentworth that the plates had "the appearance of gold": “These records were engraven on plates which
had the appearance of gold…(History of
the Church, vol. 4, p. 537).
Many
things could account for this such as an alloy of gold and another metal or even
polished copper plates. A gold alloy or
polished copper or even painted tin would have the appearance of gold yet weigh
much less.
Using
calculations to arrive at the plates is unnecessary as many of the witnesses
have given their estimates as to the weight of the plates by lifting the container
that held the plates which several people claim to have done.
Here
are all the statements we could find that indicate the weight of the plates
from those that claimed to have lifted the container that reportedly contained
the plates:
William
Smith, a brother of the Prophet
·
William
Smith, a brother of the Prophet who had handled and hefted the plates in a
pillow-case, claimed on several occasions that the set of plates weighed about
sixty pounds. (Robert F. Smith, The ‘Golden’
Plates, pp 276 Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed., John W. Welch (
http://www.mormonfortress.com/gweight.html
Martin
Harris
Joseph's
sister Catherine
Willard
Chase
Willard
Chase reportedly also said the plates weighed 50 or 60 pounds but we haven’t
yet been able to locate the exact quote.
Robert F. Smith, “The ‘Golden’ Plates,” Reexploring
the Book of Mormon, ed., John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and
FARMS, 1992).
CONCLUSION: So using the statements of the witnesses it seems
logical that the plates weighed about 50 pounds give or take 10 pounds. We summarily reject the critic’s arguments
that the plates must have weighed 200 pounds.
Joseph’s Running Ability
From
the 2007 Sunday School Manual:
Evidence of the Prophet’s extraordinary character emerged
early in his life. The Smiths were living in
“The Life and Ministry of Joseph Smith,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Joseph Smith, (2007), p xxii
Comment: This explains why in many paintings of Joseph
he is shown with a cane. One of Joseph's
canes is on display at the Community of Christ Museum in the
Joseph Saves the Plates from Three Assailants
When the townspeople where Joseph lived found out he had golden plates, they reportedly tried to steal them from Joseph as gold plates would of course be worth a lot of money. The following account is sometimes told in church of one of these attempts:
After removing the
plates from the stone box, Joseph hid them in a birch log until preparations
could be made at home for the plates. then he went to retrieve them.
"The plates
were secreted about three miles from home...Joseph, on coming to them, took
them from their secret place, and wrapping them in his linen frock, placed them
under his arm and started for home."
After proceeding a
short distance, he thought it would be more safe to leave the road and go
through the woods. Traveling some distance after he left the road, he came to a
large windfall, and as he was jumping
over a log, a man sprang up from behind it, and gave him a heavy blow with
a gun. Joseph turned around and knocked him down, then ran at the top of his
speed. About half a mile further he was attacked again in the same manner as
before; he knocked this man down in like manner as the former, and ran on
again; and before he reached home he was assaulted the third time. In striking
the last one he dislocated his thumb, which, however, he did not notice until
he came within sight of the house, when he threw himself down in the corner of
the fence in order to recover his breath. As soon as he was able, he arose and
came to the house." (Lucy Mack Smith, mother of Joseph Smith, in
Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, 1853, pp. 104-105; Comp.
reprinted edition by Bookcraft Publishers in 1956 under the title History of Joseph Smith by His Mother,
pp. 107- 108) Emphasis added.
http://www.hismin.com/gold_plates.htm
The Problem
How could any man, especially a man that had a slight limp run with a 50 pound weight and avoid capture by three assailants? The journey through the woods was about 3 miles as Joseph indicated above. It’s inconceivable that anybody could run carrying a 50 lb. set of metal plates, jumping over logs and such and be able to outrun three men for some 1 to 2 miles that were bent on taking the plates from Joseph. And all this from a young man that had a slight limp and would have difficulty running at a high speed for a long distance –especially carrying a 50 lb. weight.
We’ve heard where a football coach tried this experiment to prove that it could be done, however he only used a 20 lb weight and was only marginally successful for a limited distance. There’s a big difference between a 20 lb. weight and a 50 lb. weight. We can guarantee that if you got any normal, healthy, even stronger than average young man as Joseph reportedly was (and even one with healthy legs where there was no limp at all) and had him carry a 50 lb. dumbbell, even just one mile, that virtually any three men pursuing him could catch him almost immediately.
Joseph did not claim any superhuman strength divinely bestowed upon him for the occasion nor any angelic help, so how could this have happened? It seems obvious that Joseph made up this story. Although this story isn’t that significant to Mormon history, there’s an old saying “if you can’t believe someone about the little things, how can you believe the big ones?”
http://www.hismin.com/gold_plates.htm
http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no105.htm
http://www.salamandersociety.com/mormonmath/
http://www.mrm.org/topics/book-mormon/how-heavy-were-those-gold-plates
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/book_of_mormon/plates.html
http://en.fairmormon.org/index.php/Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Gold_plates#ref_fn3
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/book_of_mormon/plates.html
http://www.mormonfortress.com/gweight.html