[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-114319-en":3,"doc-seo-114319-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},114319,4398048950312,"Violet","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/400002538284de19e3c?_k=1778320343897328908",9,"Religion & Spirituality","Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates - A Cultural History - Preface","A cultural history of Joseph Smith’s claimed gold plates traces how Latter-day Saint belief formed, spread, and shaped public understanding from the early nineteenth century onward. It examines the plates as a physical object and as a narrative device linking scripture translation, divine intervention, and modern skepticism. The book outlines evolving approaches—translation, rationalism, psychology, art, instruction, and scientific and global perspectives—while grounding discussion in the persistent fascination surrounding the plates and their influence on literature and media.","Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nA model of the gold plates created by Gordon Andrus for “The Heavens Are Opened” exhibit in the Church History Museum in 2014. Courtesy the Church History Museum and Gordon Andrus.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nJoseph Smith’s Gold Plates A Cultural History  \nRICHARD LYMAN BUSHMAN  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nOxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.  \nPublished in the United States of America by Oxford University Press  \n198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.© Oxford University Press 2023First edition published in 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford  \nUniversity Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.  \nYou must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any  \nacquirer.  \nCIP data is on file at the Library of Congress  \nISBN 978-0-19-767652-3  \neISBN 978-0-19-767654-7  \nDOI: 10. 1093/oso/9780197676523 .001.0001  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nFor  \nPetra Javadi-Evans and Jed Woodworth  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nContents  \nPreface  \nAcknowledgments  \n1. The Gold Plates Imaginary  \n2. Translator: Joseph Smith, 1823–1829  \n3. Making Scripture: The Book of Mormon, 1830  \n4. Presence: Family and Friends, 1827–1830  \n5. Rationalism: Apologists, Critics, and Imitators, 1832–1860  \n6. Fascination: Fiction, Lore, and Psychology, 1860–1910  \n7. Art: 1833–2023  \n8. Instruction: 1893–2023  \n9. Scientific Approaches: 1900–2023  \n10. Global Perspectives  \nAppendix A. The Composition of the Plates  \nAppendix B. The Translation Debates  \nSource Abbreviations  \nNotes  \nIndex  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nPreface  \nGrowing up Latter-day Saint, I learned about Joseph Smith’s gold plates very early in life. We heard stories of Smith retrieving the plates from the Hill Cumorah under the direction of an angel, and then “translating” the strange characters engraved on their surfaces into the Book of Mormon. Besides the stories, we saw pictures of the plates based on the descriptions of those who said they had seen them. The plates, we were told, were a stack of thin metal sheets about six inches wide, eight inches long, piled six or so inches high, bound together by three large rings, and covered with ancient writing. I believed in the gold plates as Christians believe in the Resurrection and Jews in the parting of the Red Sea. They were part of history.  \nAs I grew older, I learned that most people were skeptical, especially since Smith refused to show the plates to inquirers, and instead of keeping them, said that he returned them to the angel a little less than two years after he supposedly got them. Like most Mormons, I argued that the statements of the eleven men who were shown the plates as witnesses were sufficient to prove their reality. Critics responded that the report of a few of Joseph Smith’s friends and family members was scarcely enough to support such a fantastic proposition as Smith’s possession of gold plates.  \nA logical path for a Latter-day Saint growing up in the modern world, especially one who became a historian, would be to grow out of my childhood beliefs. The plates would be spiritualized and their meaning made allegorical. But my life did not follow that course. The plates have continued to have a hold on me, and the ","cbCaim2YzOWBpinA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim2YzOWBpinA","pdf",8721221,1,280,"English","en",105,"# Preface\n# Contents Overview\n## The Gold Plates Imaginary\n## Translator: Joseph Smith, 1823–1829\n## Making Scripture: The Book of Mormon, 1830\n## Presence: Family and Friends, 1827–1830\n## Rationalism: Apologists, Critics, and Imitators, 1832–1860\n## Fascination: Fiction, Lore, and Psychology, 1860–1910\n## Art: 1833–2023\n## Instruction: 1893–2023\n## Scientific Approaches: 1900–2023\n## Global Perspectives\n## Appendices and Back Matter","[{\"question\":\"What role do Joseph Smith’s gold plates play in the book’s cultural perspective?\",\"answer\":\"The plates function as both a claimed historical artifact and a powerful idea shaping religious belief, public discussion, and later cultural representation.\"},{\"question\":\"How does belief in the gold plates affect how the Book of Mormon is viewed?\",\"answer\":\"Belief in the plates reinforces belief in the Book of Mormon as a literal, historical account, influencing readers’ outlook and the wider reception of Mormonism.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the book say about why the plates were not easily understood?\",\"answer\":\"Despite widespread interest, the plates were difficult to comprehend because they involved unfamiliar claims—ancient writing on thin engraved gold sheets—without clear cultural or historical 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