Near what he thought was to be the close of the Record of his people, an abridgment of which his father had made from the Larger Plates of Nephi, and which Moroni himself had completed, together with the personal writings of his father, Mormon, and himself, Moroni informs us that they had written them according to their own knowledge and the knowledge they had gleaned from the study of their ancestors as it was written upon the Larger Plates.
Also, he tells us that the writings of both him and his father were made in certain characters known to them as the "reformed Egyptian." Moroni notes that in the thousand years which had elapsed between his own and the time of their fathers when they left Jerusalem for the Promised Land, many changes had been made in their manner of speech, therefore, they had altered the characters so that in them they better could express their thoughts.
Again, Moroni tells us that if they could have written in Hebrew they would have done so. But this they could not do because the plates upon which they engraved the Record were insufficiently large to contain the necessary Hebrew Characters. However, he says that the Hebrew also was modified, or made different without changing its meaning into something else. Moroni here expresses, we imagine, a regret that they had not written in Hebrew, because the imperfections in the Record for which he apologizes (See, v. 31) would then not have existed.
Questions concerning the writing upon the Plates, their number, and also the weight thereof, are repeatedly projected both by believers in the divine origin of the Sacred Record, and by unfriendly critics. There are, as far as we know, no data from which to calculate, with accuracy, any answers thereto.
That we may not be considered negligent in not discussing these questions in point, we hereby reproduce a portion of what we, after careful study, caused to be printed in the Second Volume of this work. (Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume II, p. 308ff)
The Reverend Mr. M. T. Lamb's Objections. The Reverend Mr. M. T. Lamb who, in 1886 or 1887, favored the Saints in Utah, with a series of lectures against the sacred volume, and was courteously tendered the use of ward houses for that purpose, told us that the 563 pages of the Liverpool text, would have required at least an equal number of plates. Consequently, he said there were on the most liberal estimate possible, enough plates only for from one-third to one-eighth of the text, as printed in the edition then in common use. He arrived at this conclusion by accepting the dimensions of the plates as 7 x 8 inches, and the thickness of the volume as four inches. But the Prophet, he said, did not translate more than one-third of the two hundred which he allowed for the plates at fifty per inch; that is to say, sixty-six or sixty-seven plates, and Joseph Smith could not have obtained the entire book as we have it from such a small number of plates.
Others have asserted that if the Prophet Joseph Smith had a sufficient number of gold plates to contain the entire text of the Book of Mormon, they would have been too heavy to handle as a book. They would have weighed 500 pounds or more.
By such statements the critics have hoped to break the "Mormon" pitcher at the threshold, as the Greek saying is. If they could make it appear that the Prophet could not have had a sufficient number of plates; or, if he had, that he could not have lifted them, they felt thereby they could remove the entire foundation of the Church, and have nothing more to discuss. It is therefore, interesting to consider just what data is available, and what conclusions may be drawn from them.
No Definite Data now on Hand. It should be noted, however, that the Prophet Joseph does not enlighten us on the number or weight of the plates, any more than Moses does on the size and avoirdupois of the tables on which the Lord engraved the Law. It should also be remembered that the particulars furnished by eyewitnesses were given many years after they had seen the plates, in answer to questions pressed upon them in the course of what amounted almost to cross examination. They gave, therefore, their individual estimates and nothing more.
Suppose, for the sake of illustration, that two or more men should be examined on the dimensions of a book-say Webster's Dictionary-twenty years after they had seen it. What would their answers be, provided there was no collusion between them? They would call up from the depths of their minds the images produced there many years ago and then each would give his own estimate, as best he could.
We remember an occasion on which some students were together, and the question of estimating dimensions came up. A "stovepipe hat" was placed in the middle of the floor, where there was no object close to it to compare it with, and the question was asked, "What is the height of the hat?" The estimates, quickly made, varied and ranged all the way from four to ten inches. The actual height, we believe, was five-and-a-half inches. We dare say a carpenters or any other mechanic, would have come closer to the right figure, when the object was before him, but what would be his estimate many years afterward? Probably it would have been more or less than the actual figure, but that would not affect his credibility as a witness to the fact that he had actually seen and handled the object in question. Size of the Plates. The Prophet Joseph Smith gave the size as six-by-eight inches. David Whitmer, in an interview in the Kansas City Journal, said of the plates, shortly before his death: "They appeared to be of gold, about six by nine inches in size, about as thick as parchment, a great many in number and bound together like the leaves of a book by massive rings passing through the edge."
Martin Harris, according to Myth of the Manuscript Found3 estimated the plates at eight-by-seven inches and the thickness of a volume of four inches, each plate being as thick as thick tin.
Orson Pratt had not seen the plates, himself, but his intimacy with the Prophet and the eyewitnesses lend some weight to his words. He tells us that the plates were eight-by-seven inches, while each plate was about as thick as common tin, and also that the entire volume was about six inches thick. Orson Pratt also said that two-thirds of the volume was sealed.
Such are the statements made on the dimensions of the plates and all show really slight variations. David Whitmer's estimate of the size amounts to fifty-four square inches, but he says nothing of the thickness of the volume. Martin Harris gives us fifty-six square inches as the size of the plates and four inches as the thickness of the volume. Orson Pratt accepts the first figure of Martin Harris but gives six inches as the thickness, as does the Prophet Joseph Smith. According to the latter, each plate had a surface of forty-eight square inches.
The real question is: "Could one-third (two-thirds being sealed) of a volume of metal plates (leaves) 6 x 8 x 6 (the Prophet Joseph), or 8 x 7 x 4 (Martin Harris), or 8 x 7 x 6 (Orson Pratt), contain a sufficient number of plates, each as thick as parchment or tin, to yield the necessary space for the entire text of the Book of Mormon? If so, what about their immense weight?
Two remarkable Illustrations. The accompanying illustrations answer these questions.
The first is a facsimile of a sheet of paper, eight by seven inches, upon which a Hebrew translation of fourteen pages of the American text of the Book of Mormon have been written in the modern, square Hebrew letters in common use. The translation was made by our friend, Mr. Henry Miller, a Hebrew by birth, thoroughly versed in the Hebrew language, and a member of the Church. On this sheet it is demonstrated that the entire text of the Book of Mormon could have been written in Hebrew on 40-37 pages-twenty-one plates in all.
If it is thought that these characters are too small to be read with alacrity, it may be said that the illustrations, as Mr. Miller wrote them, were quite legible. But turn to the second illustration. This is a reproduction of a translation into Hebrew, also by Mr. Miller, and written in the old Phoenician or Israelitic characters which were known to Lehi and his contemporaries. It contains seven pages of the American text of the Book of Mormon. It proves that even if these larger characters are used, the entire book should be written or engraved on 80-67 pages-forty-one plates in all. Illustration No. 2 is also on seven by eight inch paper.
Hebrew translation of II Nephi, Chapters 5:20 to 11:3 inclusive, (about 14 34 pages of the English version)
In the Old World the ancient Semitic Alphabet was, in due time, superceded by the Aramean. This system of writing was adopted by the Hebrew after the Babylonian captivity, chiefly, as Jewish tradition avers, through the influence of Ezra. The square Hebrew letters now in use are the modern offspring of the Aramean ancestors.
In Egypt the Hieroglyphic letters gradually receded into oblivion, and the Demotic or Enchorian script became popular. At the time of Herodotus, about B.C. 450, only the Hieratic and the Damotic characters were known outside the small circle of scholars. It appears, therefore, that Nephi, in this part of the world, took the same course as regards the reformation of the alphabet as that followed by the scholars of the Old World, as their literary taste and requirements developed.
Hebrew translation of II Nephi, Chapter 11:4 to 16:9 inclusive (Phoenician or Old Israelitic characters. Seven English pages)
Some time in the dim past, perhaps two thousand years before our era, Semitic scholars, probably Phoenicians, feeling the need of simpler and more practical signs than those in use in Egypt, picked out twenty-one of the old Hieratic characters, modified them, and renamed them. This according to the famed French Egyptologist Emmanuel de Rouge, was the origin of the oldest Semitic alphabet. It has been called the Phoenician or Old Israelitic alphabet. As a matter of fact it was the Egyptian Reformed, and was adapted to Semitic speech. The Law, and most of the Prophets, were at one time written in these characters.
Lehi, the scholarly ancestor of the Nephites and the Lamanites, undoubtedly was familiar with it. It was the alphabet, we have no doubt, on the Brass Plates of Laban, referred to as "the language of the Egyptians," (1 Nephi 1:1) It would, therefore, be natural for him to make use of this Old Semitic alphabet as a foundation for the signs he needed for his record, modified so as to require but little space for the ponderous material on which they were engraved.
Here it should be recalled, perhaps, that we are not in possession of all that the Prophet translated from the record. Martin Harris lost, as is well known, one hundred-sixteen written pages of completed manuscript, which were not retranslated. Just how much printed space they would have occupied, we know not; but fifty pages we consider a very generous allowance for that space. Fifty printed pages would be equal to a little more than seven pages-four plates-if the Phoenician characters were used. Four plates, then, should be added to the forty-one already mentioned, making a total number of plates needed for the entire book that was translated, forty-five.
Hebrew Writing Requires Small Space. This may sound incredible, but it is easily explained. The Hebrews of old did not write vowels. They wrote only consonants, and they did not leave much space between words and lines as we do. Nor did they need so many small words as we do to complete a sentence. Frequently their auxiliary words consisted of a single letter attached to the main word, either as a prefix or suffix. And, finally, they used many abbreviations. All this meant a great saving of space.
The entire volume was four inches thick (Martin Harris), or about six inches (Orson Pratt). Let us take the smaller number as the most probable. Mr. Lamb has allowed fifty plates to an inch, or two hundred plates to the four inches. One-third only was translated; that is, sixty-six and a fraction plates. But we have demonstrated that the entire book including the lost pages, could have been written on forty-five plates. If we allow sixty-six, or even fifty, we have ample space for a text engraved in large, legible characters.
Regarding the Weight. Thirty-five twenty-dollar gold pieces would cover a surface of about seven by eight inches. To make a column four inches high, forty-eight such pieces would be needed. Consequently, thirty-five times forty-eight twenty dollar gold pieces, or 1,680 in all, would make up the dimensions of the plates, seven by eight by four inches. A twenty-dollar gold piece weighs twenty-one and one-half penny weights. That would make a total of 123 pounds.
From this estimate liberal deductions must be made. The Plates were not pure gold. The Plates of Nephi were made of ore, and Moroni also mentions ore as the material of which his plates were made. (Mormon 8:5) The ore, possibly a copper alloy, must have been considerably lighter in weight than the twenty-three karat gold of which a twenty-dollar piece is made. We cannot suppose that the plates fitted as closely together as gold coins do when stacked in a column. There must have been some space between each pair, especially if, as is probable, they were hammered. "And they did beat the gold into thin plates."9 and not cast. Then again, allowance must be made for the metal cut away by the engraver, from each plate. Everything considered, the volume must have weighed considerably less than a hundred pounds, even on the supposition that the dimensions given are strictly accurate and not mere approximations.
Another Calculation. The subject of weight may also be approached from another premise. Let us suppose that the entire text was engraved on forty-five plates, as has been shown to be possible. Forty-five would then be the number of the unsealed one-third and there would be ninety in the sealed two-thirds; that is a total of 135 plates. But if two hundred weigh 123 pounds, 135 would weigh a small fraction over eighty-three pounds. When the necessary deductions, pointed out in the previous paragraph, are made, the entire volume could not have weighed fifty pounds. The plates that the Prophet had in his possession were not heavier than that he, who was an unusually strong man, could lift them and handle them. That is the testimony of eyewitnesses, and that testimony stands.
Similar Objections to Bible Statements. Curiously enough, at one time certain critics of the Bible used to raise objections to the Old Testament description of the Tabernacle furniture on the ground that gold was too heavy to handle. We are told that Bezaleel made an ark or box of wood, in which the Law was deposited. It was overlaid with pure gold "within and without." The cover of this box was a lid made of pure gold (Exodus 25:17); two and one-half cubits long and one and one-half cubits wide. That is, it was an immense gold plaque four feet three inches by two feet seven inches, or about eleven square feet in size. On this lid two cherubs were placed, one at each end. These figures were hammered of pure gold. Their wings covered the lid, and they must have been of considerable size. This box, we are told, was carried by the priests before the Camp of Israel during the wanderings of the Children of Israel, but the critics referred to, used to tell us that was impossible. The box, with its solid gold lid, and immense solid gold statues, its stone tablets, its gold rings and staves, was too heavy to handle, except with machinery. But that kind of "criticism" is old and obsolete, whether applied to the Bible or Book of Mormon.
Metal Plates not Unknown. We have also been told the ancient scribes never used metal plates for their records, and that, therefore, Laban could not have had any brass plates.
Ivory tablets were used by the ancient Romans. They also used wooden tablets, beech and fir. Sometimes these were coated with wax, and the record was made with a stylus. Two or more of such tablets might be joined together by means of wire rings, similar to the Book of Mormon Plates. Parchment made of animal skins was a favorite material for important records, and vellum, or calf skin, was commonly used in early days for this purpose. But we also read that the High Priest wore a gold plate on his crown, on which words were engraved (Jeremiah 17:1) This proves beyond question that the Israelites were familiar with engraved tables, for otherwise the words of the prophets would have been unintelligible to them. (See, statement by Padre Gay, page XI, Volume I, Commentary on the Book of Mormon.)