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The Book of Mormon plates and playing Whac-a-Mole with critics

The Book of Mormon plates and playing Whac-a-Mole with critics

Last updated on: September 5, 2023 at 1:32 am by Dan Peterson

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The Book of Mormon plates and playing Whac-a-Mole with critics 2023-09-05T01:32:59-06:00 Dan Peterson

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A NASA public domain photo of the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece
The very straight line visible across the Isthmus is the Διώρυγα της Κορίνθου or Corinth Canal, proposed in antiquity but not finally constructed until the late nineteenth century.

An interview that I recently did with Hank Smith and John Bytheway on 1 Corinthians 14-16 has begun to go up, in two parts, on their “Follow Him” podcast, under the title “God is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace”:

1 Corinthians 14-16 Part 1 • Dr. Daniel C. Peterson • Sept 4 – Sept 10

I’m not sure that the second part has actually been posted yet. Happily, whether or not to listen to either of the two parts (or to watch either of them) is a free and voluntary decision.

(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

This is Berlin at the end of the Second World War. I’ll be more careful with my own neighborhood should I win the private tank. I promise.

For some reason, I received an ad in the mail yesterday from an outfit calling itself “My Patriot Supply” (“Trusted Self-Reliance”). It’s an emergency food-storage company based in Sandpoint, Idaho. (It may have a Latter-day Saint connection, or it may not; there’s certainly no shortage of survivalist or pepper types in northern Idaho. But what really caught my attention was the chance to win a personal armored tank, valued at $440,000. I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want a personal “street-legal survival tank”? Scroll on down, and you’ll find it. I may sign up. “Bulletproof. EMP and Explosives Protection. Smoke Screen and Pepper Spray. + Much More!” Maybe then I’ll finally get some respect from my neighbors!

But I probably shouldn’t have told you about it. The fewer people who sign up for the raffle, the better chance that I’ll have of winning my personal tank. So please forget about it. Waving hand mystically in front of your face: “This is not the tank you’re looking for.” If I win, I promise that I’ll let you come and watch as I maraud around my ward and stake.

“Joseph Smith,” running through the woods and carrying the golden plates of the Book of Mormon under his arm, while trying to evade local money diggers who want to wrestle the plates from him.
(Still photograph from the set of the Interpreter Foundation’s “Witnesses” film project, courtesy of James Jordan)

Over the past couple of days, I’ve noticed a recrudescence of a claim that part of Joseph Smith’s story of the golden plates is flatly and demonstrably false. Here’s how the argument goes:

Later estimates of the weight of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon (by those who had briefly held them, such as the official witness Martin Harris and the unofficial witness William Smith) put that weight at somewhere in the range of forty to sixty pounds. Some critics, accordingly, have contended that Joseph Smith could not have carried them for any significant distance, let alone run with them through the woods. The plates — if they actually existed and weighed as much as the witnesses say they did — were simply too heavy. Thus, these critics argue, at least that portion of his story must be fraudulent.

With that argument in mind, I call your attention to a scene from the opening moments of the Interpreter Foundation’s Witnesses film project that depicts Joseph Smith, played by Paul Wuthrich, being chased by money diggers while he’s carrying the plates.

I was not present on the outdoor “set” for that day’s filming, but here’s some background on the scene that is directly relevant to the critics’ argument. It’s based on communication with Russell Richins and James G. Jordan, who were, respectively, the producer and associate producer of Witnesses:

Filming “Joseph Smith” with the plates, and running from and interacting with the attackers, took a considerable amount of time.

Knowing that filming the scene of Joseph running with the plates would require several hours, Paul Wuthrich was presented with the option of going with something lighter as a prop. He opted to use the two prop sets of plates that metallurgist Dave Baird had created, based on Baird’s careful research. Somewhat amusingly, one set came to be called the “non-hero set.” They weighed somewhere between thirty (30) and thirty-five (35) pounds. We’re more certain of the weight of the other set — unsurprisingly labeled the “hero set” — because Russell Richins weighed them himself. They came in at forty-five (45) pounds. In other words, well within the range of weights attested to by witnesses for the historical plates themselves.

During the relevant filming day, the two sets were switched out at various times. Sometimes the secondary or “non-hero” prop was used, and sometimes the “hero set.” “At all times,” comments Witnesses producer Russell Richins,

when you see Paul Wuthrich running or using the plates in the scenes, he is using one of these two sets. Bottom line, Paul was in very similar circumstances that Joseph Smith faced except for this one exception – – Paul Wuthrich did it over and over and over again throughout the day. Yes, he was exhausted, but he did it. A whole crew witnessed it.

Those who have not been involved with filming of this sort would, I think, be astonished at how many takes and re-takes need to be done for even relatively simple indoor scenes.

Paul Wuthrich ran down the hill repeatedly, carrying the plates, jumping over rocks and logs, trying to avoid low branches. He did it many times, for different takes, so that filming could be done from a variety of angles. He had to run down the hill with the plates, then climb up the hill once more with the plates, then run down the hill, then climb up the hill again. And he couldn’t shift arms when the cameras were running; for the sake of continuity — something that Joseph wasn’t worried about — he was obliged to carry the plates with the same arm each time he was being filmed.

A fit young man who works out at the gym, he commented later that, initially, the filming team sprayed him with water to make him look as if he was actually perspiring. They soon realized, though, that there was no need to spray him. He really was sweating.

I like Russell Richins’s summary statement:

Whether they want to accept it or not, people are going to have to face the fact that Joseph Smith, used to day labor and a very fit individual known for his strength, was fighting for his and the plates’ safety, perhaps even his life. Additionally, this claim would have been quite achievable for many young men of his time.

Even Martin Harris lifted the plates, as did eight other rural Americans. People must remember that Martin Harris was older, but a farmer used to working physically. This was very common.

Another interesting tidbit is that Annie Passman, about 16 years of age and playing Joseph Smith’s sister Katherine, lifted the hero, 45 pound, set of plates from the floor to the

table throughout the entire day as we ran that scene many, many times while filming. Was it tiring? Yes. Was it doable? I think we have proven that clearly, in both cases.

And we’re not even invoking supernatural or divine aid. So, in Witnesses, you have filmed proof that the claim that Joseph Smith could not have run with the plates is false. (Happy to have helped!)

Looking northward over the Joseph F. Smith Building at BYU. My office was located toward the southwest corner, out of the picture to the lower left, with a view over Provo and Utah Lake. Chris Crowe’s office is also in the building, as I recall.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

This article, which appeared in the New York Times, is something of a mixed bag as far as the Church is concerned. But I think that some of you will find it of interest: “An Unexpected Hotbed of Y.A. Authors: Utah: A tight-knit community of young-adult writers who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has yielded smashes like “Twilight.” But religious doctrine can clash with creative freedoms.”

If religion and religious believers would just, well, go away, the whole WORLD could look like this! Imagine!

Finally, I return to the inexhaustible Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™ for some gratifyingly horrific specimens guaranteed to fuel your sense of perpetual outrage against theism and theists:

“Latter-day Saint Volunteers Aid in Florida Hurricane Cleanup”

“Latter-day Saint volunteers lend a hand after Hurricane Idalia: Hurricane Idalia has caused more than $12 billion in damages”

“Latter-day Saint Volunteers Help With Hurricane Idalia Relief in Florida: Church sets up several command centers to respond to local needs”

“A 3-year college degree? BYU-Pathway Worldwide wins approval to launch revolution in higher education: Beginning in April 2024, BYU-Idaho and Ensign College will offer seven online degrees through BYU-Pathway Worldwide. The degrees require 90 credit hours instead of 120.”

“Go Forth to Serve: BYU Engineers Design Low-Cost Prosthetics for Ecuador”

“Water Conservation, Recycling Among Church’s Sustainability Endeavors: Being a good steward and caretaker of the earth is closely tied to caring for those in need”

“‘Now We Just Open the Tap’ — Bolivian Community Finally Gets Water Through Church’s Help: A tiny community in Bolivia now has a water source through the help of the Church, Water for People and one determined man”

“Maui shelters list: Maui High School, War Memorial among sites housing people threatened by fires”

“A look at what’s changed — and what hasn’t — as Deseret Industries turns 85: Now with 46 stores in eight states, the mission of Deseret Industries remains to help people”

“Church training in Nigeria aims to curb infant mortality: State governor commends the Church for Helping Babies Breathe program”

“BYU researchers help lead biggest DNA and protein cancer study to date”

Posted from Scottsdale, Arizona