Examining the Gold Plates

by John P. Pratt
11 Jan 2020, 1 Witness (P), Trees (PH), End Tabernacles (UE)

©2020 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.

Index, Home

Contents

1. Credibility 2. Physical Examination 2.1 Golden Plates 2.2 Interpreter Stone 3. Conclusion Notes

Recently I was selected to become a witness of the Plates of Mormon in Brazil.

In March 2019 a book entitled The Sealed Book of Mormon was introduced by a group in Brazil which claimed that it was translated from part of the same Plates of Mormon from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Briefly, the story was that Angel Moroni delivered the plates to a man named Mauricio Berger, along with the interpreters, and announced that the time had come for him to translate the first part of the sealed plates. The main part of the sealed section was only to be unsealed by the Savior as is explained in the Book of Mormon itself.

Mauricio Berger (right) & me.

This claim caught my attention because I had known about the current seven-year period as being the sacred time on the Enoch Calendar to prepare for the Millennium. It is the counterpart of a corresponding period during which the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. I doubted that anyone in Brazil would know anything about that holy interval, much less believe it enough to base a hoax on my research. So that coincidence of timing helped convince me to read the book.

The book appeared genuine to me but I had no intention to share my conclusion with anyone because it had not come through what we LDS believers (Mormons) had been taught were the proper channels for new revelation.

In May I heard the Voice, which I call "the Spirit", tell me to publish a favorable review of the book on my (low-traffic) web site. I balked at the idea, complaining that no one would be convinced. The response to my complaint was to do it anyway because no one else would. So I published a book review. Just a few days after that article[1] was posted, I received a very enthusiastic response from the Brazilian group asking if they could post the article on their website, to which I agreed.

View from conference venue.

Probably because I was nearly the only person in Utah publicly supporting the book,[2] I was invited to speak at the first world conference of that group called "Project Zion". I accepted.

I went to Brazil for a week for the conference last November, expecting only to speak and return home. I was privileged to stay at the home of Mauricio for six days and found him to be very intelligent and straightforward, with no hint of deception. He clearly loves others and is interested in teaching others as much as possible.

To my astonishment, I was invited by Mauricio to become one of the few witnesses of the Plates of Mormon. I knew from reading the book that there had been three witnesses of Angel Moroni, the sword of Laban, and the interpreters. There were also eight other witnesses who had witnessed the plates, so the pattern was nearly identical to the witnesses at the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thus, I was surprised that a few more were being called to be witnesses from various countries around the world. I am the only witness from the state of Utah, U.S.A.

A witness in a court of law is often required to show credibility, so the next section attempts to establish my credibility, followed by a description of my examination of both the plates and the interpreter stones. Those not interested in the following description of my religiously skeptical youth and my scientific training can skip this first section.

On Tue 19 Nov 2019 at 9:00 am, Renee Whitefield and I were privileged to become official witnesses of a book composed of plates of metal and also of the two stones with which it was claimed these plates had been translated. Those present included not only Mauricio, but also all of the three main witnesses, who had also seen the angel, and two of the eight witnesses.[3] They could verify that these were the same plates which they had witnessed. We were allowed to examine the plates for ourselves carefully for over an hour.

2.1 Golden Plates

Fig. 1. Bars of raw (18K) gold.

Composition. I believe the plates appeared to be composed mostly of gold. I am familiar with how brass, bronze, and solid gold appear and the plates were unlike any of them. I had never looked at raw (unrefined) gold before, so I researched that subject afterwards. Figure 1 shows raw gold bars, which tend be 18 karat (18K, meaning 75% gold), mixed with silver, copper and lead.[4] The reader may compare for yourself the colors of the pictures of those bars compared to photographs of the plates included herein.

Mauricio gave us a very strong magnet and let us prove to ourselves that the plates were not at all magnetic. It was clear there was no appreciable content of iron, cobalt, or nickel. When the same magnet was put near the three rings which held the plates, it was attracted so strongly that I had trouble pulling it off. The magnet was very powerful!

Fig. 2. Measuring the weight of the plates.

Weight. I had read the estimates of the witnesses at the time of Joseph Smith who estimated the plates to weigh from 30 to 60 pounds.[5] It was reported that his wife Emma was able to lift the plates, covered with a cloth, and move them to another table. I had been doubtful as a youth when I learned that the plates were about 6 x 8" in size and perhaps 6" tall, because I had estimated that they should weigh close to 80 lbs (if made of pure gold). I thought that was too heavy for Joseph to carry while fighting off attackers. Thus, I have long been interested in the knowing their weight.

Using a bathroom scale seemed so sacrilegious that I did not even want to suggest it. I exercise at home using dumbbells and am familiar with those of various weights, including 40, 45, and 50 pounds. During our investigation, I requested that a photo be taken of me holding the plates with one arm if possible. It was granted (see Figure 2), but the plates were so heavy that I had to brace them in the back with my other arm.

My best estimate of the weight is 45 lbs.

Dimensions. One of my goals in examining the plates was to get a good measurement of the size of each plate. I carry a 3" ruler in my wallet, marked in both inches and centimeters, so I was prepared. One reason I wanted to measure them was to detect whether or not the page length to width measurements formed a sacred ratio.

First, let it be noted that the pages are very nearly exactly the same size. Moreover, they have sharp edges. I nearly cut myself on one corner as I turned pages.

Ruler used to measure plates.

With that page uniformity in mind, I only measured the size of one plate. I measured in both inches and centimeters to get two independent assessments. Moreover, I had to move the ruler twice which added an error (uncertainty) of about .2 cm or ¹/₈". The result, to the nearest ¹/₁₆" and .1 cm, was that the plate measured 6" x 8 ⁵/₈" or 15.0 cm x 22.1 cm. That ratio does not correspond to any sacred ratio known to me.

Fig. 3. Mauricio shows engravings.

Engravings. The plates were engraved with well-spaced characters on both sides of the plates. Mauricio showed us many details about the engravings (see Figure 3), turning several pages for us in various sections of the unsealed plates, showing us how different writing styles indicated different authors. Two things surprised me about the engravings. First was their large size and wide spacing. They are definitely larger than the artists' conceptions which I have seen, which try to fit as many characters on a plate as possible. If the reader clicks on Figure 4 to enlarge it, the size of the characters and the space between them can be seen on the back side of the plate by my left hand side.

Secondly, the engravings were not as deep as expected. They hardly made any indentation at all, as if made with a special delicate tool, rather than a crude stylus. No attempt was made on my part to try to remember nor recognize any characters.

Rings. As can be seen in the photos, the plates are secured by three well-made "rings", each of which consist of two vertical posts with a curved top. They appear to be made of steel. The strong magnet showed the posts to be highly ferromagnetic. Mauricio showed us where the two ends of each ring meet near the center of the plates. The joint was not joined (as by welding), but the two ends met so closely that my fingernail was many times too thick to insert between them. The rings demonstrated advanced skills in metalwork.

Fig. 4. The sealed plates' cover page.
(Click to enlarge).

Sealed Portion. Eleven witnesses of these plates were with Mauricio in 2018 to observe the bands around the sealed portion being removed. It is my understanding that the top 42 plates were also sealed by pins near the edge of the plates opposite the rings. The first 19 of those plates were translated into The Sealed Book of Mormon. The remaining lower plates are still sealed by two long pins which traverse the entire stack on the edge away from the rings about two inches from the top and bottom edges of the plates. In Figure 4, the head of the pins, which appear to have been hammered flat to secure the plates tightly together, can easily be seen as a bright spot at those locations. The sealed portion is so tightly squeezed together that it does not appear possible to slide even a razor blade between them.

Looking at the still-sealed portion in that photograph shows that it is now only slightly higher than the unsealed plates on the other side of the rings. One must, however, make allowance for the lack of compression of the unsealed plates. For comparison, look at the thickness of the shinier portion of the lower plates in Figure 2. That is likely the original sealed portion. That photo is consistent with the report of the original witnesses in 1829 that at the time of Joseph Smith the sealed portion comprised about two thirds of the plates. It was the upper plates of the Plates of Mormon which were translated both into the Book of Lehi (116 pages) and also the Book of Mormon.

Thus, if these are indeed the Plates of Mormon, as they certainly appear to be, then there are still over half of them left to be opened at the coming of the Savior to those who believe in His word.

Page Weight. While growing up, I made a lot of inventions out of tin cans. There were no plastic bottles nor aluminum cans, but tin cans were plentiful. They are really not made of tin, but of steel with a thin tin coating. I have cut many pieces out of tin cans about the size of the plates being examined.

I was surprised when I turned a page of the book at how heavy a single page was. I would say one plate is thinner than a tin can plate and yet weighs more. Steel is 7.8 times as dense as water and 18 karat gold is about 16 times as heavy, so that page weight is a vote in favor of a high gold content. Copper is only slightly more dense than steel (8.9), tin (in bronze) is less (7.3), and zinc (in brass) is also less (7.0), so none of those metals would qualify.

Sealed Cover Page. One highlight of looking at the plates for me was to examine the cover page of the still-sealed portion. It has some exquisite, beautiful engraving on it. Clicking on the photo shows some of the detail on that page.

Fig. 5. The California Condor.

I had felt impressed months ago to buy a head band with thunderbirds (condors) all around it. I also felt to wear it the whole time during my visit to Brazil. To my delight, the huge thunderbird on that cover page, to which I'm pointing in Figure 4, matches those on my headband, even to the detail of the very long wings, one of the identifying features. Condors have a 10-foot wingspan (see Figure 5).

Mauricio explained that the dominant image in the center, which I refer to as a thunderbird, symbolized the return of the heavenly city back to earth. He also explained other figures on that page. My description of it as a "thunderbird" is based on my recognition of the image; I don't believe anyone else has referred to it as such. It is definitely a Native American symbol, as shown on my headband and as is included as the step above Eagle on the 20-day veintena circle. From my research, the condor is an excellent choice to represent the heavenly city because its symbolism is that of the great bird that flies higher than an eagle and demonstrates that it can overcome death because it thrives on carrion.

2.2 Interpreter Stone

To my delight and awe we were also allowed to hold and examine the two interpreter stones used by Mauricio to translate the plates. I was totally unprepared for that because I only expected to witness the plates.

I was awestruck by the stone I was given to examine, so much so that I forgot to look at the other stone which was given to Renee. To me this was much more than seeing the plates because it is my understanding that it had been prepared by the Lord and given to the Brother of Jared to be sealed up with his record, later to be used by Moroni to translate the vision of Jared, and then again sealed up to be used by Joseph Smith, and then again to be used by Mauricio in the translation of the first part of the sealed portion of the plates (Ether 4:5).

Fig. 6. Double Refraction.

Thus, two things hindered my examination of the stone: (1) I had not prepared any tests or agenda to execute, and (2) I was so overwhelmed by its sacredness that any physical examination, such as measuring its size or taking a photo, seemed sacrilegious. In fact, no such ideas even entered my mind.

I've made a thorough study of seer stones in the past. I've held one in my hand that was in the possession of Wilford Wood of Bountiful, Utah. There are pictures of several seer stones readily available on line.

One confusing part of early LDS Church history is that sometimes the words "seer stone", "interpreters", and "urim and thummim" were used almost interchangeably. All of the several seer stones which I've seen personally, or pictures of, are opaque rocks which were apparently used mostly for focusing the mind and/or heart in a way to receive inspiration. Joseph was said to have received several revelations using a seer stone.

On the other hand, the interpreters (which I understand are identical in meaning with "urim and thummim") were said by earlier witnesses to be two stones held in silver rims, through which one looked, as through a pair of glasses. In the days of Joseph they were attached to a breastplate, apparently to hold them in place in front of the eyes while translating. Thus, the interpreters were apparently totally different from seer stones.

The interpreter stone did look like it had been made to be used like a lens in a pair of glasses, which is how Mauricio explained that it indeed is used. It was a flat piece of transparent crystal about an eighth of an inch thick. I had read in Mauricio's description of how the translation was done that when he looked through the two stones at a character that more than one translation appeared off to the sides. Moreover, to demonstrate this to other witnesses previously, it is my understanding that a beam of light had been passed through it, producing multiple images on a wall. All of those features were reminiscent of birefringence, or double refraction. That is the property of certain crystals which cause a double image as shown in Figure 6.

I was so awestruck at the sacredness of the occasion that I only looked at the crystal, not through it. Thus, I don't know if it exhibited double refraction.

Notes

1. Pratt, John P., "Is The Sealed Book of Mormon Genuine?" (26 May 2019).
2. The only other supporter of the book known to me is Russell Anderson who told me about it. His web page has excellent links to both pro and con arguments: salemthoughts.com/Topics/Plates.shtml at "Sealed Book of Mormon Plates". He includes many witnesses of others, his own observations after meeting several of the witnesses, and several of his own excellent responses to critics. It has a wealth of information which is "must" reading to learn about the background of this volume.
3. The other witnesses were the original three: Joni Batista, Valdeci Machado, and Wagner Zeppenfeld. The two of the eight witness present were the English language scribe Kelvin Henson and Melva Cackler, an Australian living in the U.S.
4. See "Selling Raw Gold" at http://portlandgoldbuyers.com/gold-raw-gold.
5. The approximate dimensions of the Plates of Mormon have been known to have been about 6 x 8" and perhaps 5" high and the weight from 30-60 pounds (see Kirk Henrichsen's article "What Did the Golden Plates Look Like?" New Era,July 2007, p. 31). It should also be noted that in footnote 18 of that article, Edward Stevenson's diary of 22 Dec 1877 is quoted as claiming that David Whitmer described the three binding rings as "D" shaped. When they are looked at from the side they do resemble a "D" more than an "O". See thesealedbookofficial.org/index.php/herald-of-the-second-invitation-vol-3-august-2019-2. All other known descriptions from the witnesses say only that the plates were held together by three rings.