"A biography of Joseph Smith during the years from his birth to 1831. Included are comparisons regarding how Smith wrote the Book of Mormon, along with maps of the area and other documentation and photos."
It was not uncommon for early Americans to report and interpret metaphysical experiences as direct communications from God. Joseph Smith's father had dreams that he considered to be divinely inspired. The difference with Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, is that his experiences involved elements from the tangible world: a stone box, gold plates, and silver spectacles. Even his detractors said they felt the metal plates through a cloth and sampled their weight. On the other hand, the plates were not present when Joseph translated them, and the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon saw the plates only in the hands of an angel. The question is: was Joseph transcribing a text that existed in a spiritual rather than a temporal realm or, stated otherwise, were the physical plates simply an aid to faith? These and other significant questions form the basis of this thoughtful, superbly documented biography of Smith's seminal years in New York and Pennsylvania and the impact of his early ministry.