Reported Find of Letter by Book of Mormon Witness

By Jerald and Sandra Tanner

---

For a month or two there have been rumors circulating that an extremely important letter written by Book of Mormon witness Martin Harris has been discovered. Although there has been an attempt to keep the matter quiet until the document has been published, we have been able to piece together the story and to learn of the remarkable contents of this letter. The document was apparently purchased by Mark Hofmann, a Mormon scholar who has made a number of significant discoveries in the last few years. Mr. Hofmann in turn sold the document to Steven Christensen, who is planning to publish it in Sunstone magazine.

Is It Authentic?

At the outset we should state that we have some reservations concerning the authenticity of the letter, and at the present time we are not prepared to say that it was actually penned by Martin Harris. The serious implications of this whole matter, however, cry out for discussion. If the letter is authentic, it is one of the greatest evidences against the divine origin of the Book of Mormon. If, on the other hand, it is a forgery, it needs to be exposed as such so that millions of people will not be mislead. We will give the reasons for our skepticism as we proceed with this article.

Since Martin Harris was one of the three special witnesses to the gold plates of the Book of Mormon (see his testimony in the front of the book), he is held in high esteem by the Mormon people. Mormon writers have commended him for his honesty. Although many Mormon critics may disagree with this view, everyone agrees that Harris played such an important role in early Mormonism that anything coming from his pen is of great significance. In this letter, written just after the Book of Mormon was published, we find these revealing statements concerning how Joseph Smith obtained the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated:

. . . I found it 4 years ago with my stone but only got it because of the enchantment the old spirit come to me 3 times in the same dream & says dig up the gold but when I take it up the next morning the spirit transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole . . . (Letter purported to have been written by Martin Harris to W. W. Phelps, dated October 23, 1830, typed extract)

The letter goes on to state that the “old spirit” struck Joseph Smith three times. This story definitely links Joseph Smith to the magical practices attributed to him in the affidavits published in E. D. Howe’s book in 1834. For instance, Willard Chase testified:

In the month of June, 1827, Joseph Smith, Sen., related to me the following story: “That some years ago, a spirit had appeared to Joseph his son, in a vision, and informed him that in a certain place there was a record on plates of gold, . . . He repaired to the place of deposit and demanded the book, which was in a stone box, . . . He saw in the box something like a toad, which soon assumed the appearance of a man, and struck him on the side of his head. Not being discouraged at trifles, he again stooped down and strove to take the book, when the spirit struck him again, and knocked him three or four rods, and hurt him prodigiously. (Mormonism Unvailed, page 242)

The reader will notice that in the statements reported to have come from Joseph Smith’s father, the spirit which struck Joseph was transformed from “something like a toad.” The letter, of course, says that Joseph Smith identified the toad-like creature as a “white salamander.” Salamanders were important to those who practiced magic and dug for buried treasures in Joseph Smith’s time. Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged) gives this information about salamanders: “1. A mythological reptile resembling the lizard supposed to be able to endure or live in fire. 2. A spirit supposed to live in fire; an elemental spirit in Paracelsus’ theory of elementals.” In his book, The History of Magic, page 77, Kurt Seligmann reported:

Agrippa, basing his opinion on Aristotle, Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder, said that fire shelters salamanders and crickets. A simple experiment would have proven that salamanders and crickets die in fire, but Agrippa shared with the past an aversion to experimentation. From Pliny we learn that similar beliefs concerning the marvelous virtues of salamanders existed in Egypt and Babylon. . . . Thus did a superstitious belief perpetuate itself for about two thousand years.

Joseph Ennemoser said that “Paracelsus deserves one of the most eminent places in the history of magic.” Paracelsus, who was born in 1493, wrote a book entitled, A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits. Henry E. Sigerist wrote the following in an introduction to this book:

Such strange creatures are the mysterious beings— Paracelsus usually calls them ding, things—that inhabit the four elements, the nymphs, sylphs, pygmies and salamanders and, related to them, the sirens, giants and dwarfs. . . . water is chaos to the nymphs, earth to the pygmies, fire to the salamanders, while the sylphs have the same chaos as man. They are at home in their chaos and, therefore, nymphs do not drown in water, pygmies are not choked in earth and salamanders do not burn in fire. This seems incredible but God is almighty. Why should he not be able to create such beings? . . . God created them for a special purpose—and here Paracelsus is writing as a theologian and scientist. God created these elemental beings as makers and guardians of the treasures of the earth. There is an infinite wealth of minerals in the earth. They are made in the depths of mountains under the influence of fire, and this is where the salamanders come in. Once the mineral ores are made they are guarded, those in the earth by the pygmies, those on the surface by the sylphs, and those at the bottom of the waters by the nymphs. (Four Treatises of Theophrastus Von Hohenheim, Called Paracelsus, Baltimore, 1941, pages 216-220)

Since the gold plates of the Book of Mormon were considered to be a very valuable treasure, we can see why a believer in magic might choose to have a salamander guarding them.

According to the letter, Joseph Smith said he found the gold plates “4 years ago with my stone.” This statement seems to represent Martin Harris’ belief, for in an interview published in Tiffany’s Monthly about thirty years after the letter was supposed to have been written, Harris maintained that Joseph Smith found the plates by looking in a magical peep stone and that he also used the same stone to help a company of money-diggers search for buried treasure:

In this stone he could see many things to my certain knowledge. It was by means of this stone he first discovered these plates. . . .

Joseph had had this stone for some time. There was a company there in that neighborhood, who were digging for money supposed to have been hidden by the ancients. . . . They dug for money in Palmyra, Manchester, also in Pennsylvania and other places. When Joseph found this stone, there was a company digging in Harmony, Pa., and they took Joseph to look in the stone for them, and he did so for a while, and then he told them the enchantment was so strong that he could not see, and they gave it up. . . .

The money-diggers claimed that they had as much right to the plates as Joseph had, as they were in company together. They claimed that Joseph had been traitor, and had appropriated to himself that which belonged to them. . . . Joseph had before this described the manner of his finding the plates. He found them by looking in the stone found in the well of Mason Chase. (Interview with Martin Harris, published in Tiffany’s Monthly, 1859, pages 163, 164, 167 and 169)

In Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? pages 32-38, we show that Joseph Smith got in serious trouble because he used this stone to help the money-diggers. On page 33 of that book we have a photograph of a document written by Justice Albert Neely. This document proves that Smith was a “glass looker” and that he was arrested, tried and found guilty by Justice Neely in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826.

In an affidavit published on pages 237-239 of Howe’s book, William Stafford gives this information concerning the Smith family:

. . . I have heard them tell marvelous tales, respecting the discoveries they had made in their peculiar occupation of money digging. They would say, . . . in such a hill, on a certain man’s farm, there were deposited keys, barrels and hogsheads of coined silver and gold—bars of gold, golden images, brass kettles filled with gold and silver . . .

Joseph Smith, Sen., came to me one night, and told me, that Joseph Jr. had been looking in his glass, and had seen, not many rods from his house, two or three kegs of gold and silver, some feet under the surface of the earth; . . . After we had dug a trench about five feet in depth, . . . the old man . . . went to the house to inquire of young Joseph . . . Joseph had remained all this time in the house, looking in his stone and watching the motion of the evil spirit—that he saw the spirit come up . . . it caused the money to sink.

The letter which was supposed to have been written by Martin Harris also mentions the “kettles” containing treasures and the spirits who are in charge of the treasures: “. . . Joseph [Sr.?] often sees Spirits here with great kettles of coin money it was the Spirits who brough[t] up rock because Joseph made no attempt on their money . . .”

Just An Old Spirit

In Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? pages 136-137, we discussed the problem over the name of the angel who was supposed to have revealed the gold plates to Joseph Smith. In Joseph Smith’s History, first published in the Times and Seasons in 1842, Smith gave the name of the Angel as NEPHI. The 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price also used the name Nephi: “He called me by name and said . . . that his name was Nephi” (page 41). Modern editions of the Pearl of Great Price and other Church publications now give the name as MORONI. The letter attributed to Martin Harris not only fails to give the name of the Angel, but it also omits the word “Angel” altogether! The personage who takes the form of a “white salamander” is only referred to as an “old spirit.” The letter gives far more support to the views which appear in a series of articles published in the Palmyra Reflector in 1831 than it does to the story now published by the Mormon Church. The following appears in one of the articles:

. . . the elder Smith declared that his son Joe had seen the spirit, (which he then described as a little old man with a long beard,) and was informed that he (Jo) under certain circumstances, eventually should obtain great treasures, and that in due time he (the spirit) would furnish him (Jo) with a book, which would give an account of the ancient inhabitants . . . (Palmyra Reflector, as cited in A New Witness For Christ In America, vol. 1, page 289)

On page 291 of the same book, we find the following taken from the Reflector:

It is well known that Joe Smith never pretended to have any communion with angels, until a long period after the pretended finding of his book, and that the juggling of himself or father went no further than the pretended faculty of seeing wonders in a “peep stone,” and the occasional interview with the spirit, supposed to have the custody of hidden treasures . . .

Alvin’s Remains?

In his affidavit, Willard Chase gave this information concerning what occurred after the spirit struck Joseph Smith:

. . . he enquired why he could not obtain the plates; to which the spirit made reply, because you have not obeyed your orders. He then enquired when he could have them, and was answered thus: come one year from this day, and bring with you your oldest brother, and you shall have them. This spirit, he said was the spirit of the prophet who wrote this book, . . . Before the expiration of the year, his oldest brother died; which the old man said was an accidental providence!

Joseph went one year from that day, to demand the book, and the spirit enquired for his brother, and he said that he was dead. The spirit then commanded him to come again, in just one year . . . (Mormonism Unvailed, pages 242-243)

This account is very similar to an account written by a faithful Mormon named Joseph Knight:

Joseph says, “when can I have it?” The answer was the 22nt Day of September next if you Bring the right person with you. Joseph says, “who is the right Person?” The answer was “your oldest Brother.”

But before September Came his oldest Brother Died . . . he went to the place and the personage appeard and told him he Could not have it now. But the 22nt Day of September nex . . . if he Brot with him the right person. Joseph says, “who is the right Person?” The answer was you will know. Then he looked in his glass and found it was Emma Hale, . . . (Brigham Young University Studies, Autumn 1976, page 31)

In the letter purported to have been written by Martin Harris we find the same story. The letter has an additional element, however. After Joseph Smith tells the “old spirit” that his brother Alvin has died, there is a comment made about bringing what remains. If this refers to Alvin’s corpse, then it adds a very spooky element to the story. Graves and human remains are, of course, very important to some of those who use seer stones and practice magic. In this regard, it is interesting to note that there was a rumor that Alvin’s body had been disintered. On September 29, 1824, just one week after Joseph Smith was supposed to have been visited by the Angel at the Hill Cumorah, his father printed the following in the Wayne Sentinel, the local newspaper:

WHEREAS reports have been industriously put in circulation that my son Alvin had been removed from the place of his interment and dissected, which reports, . . . are peculiarly calculated to harrow up the mind of a parent and deeply wound the feelings of relations— therefore, for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of such reports, I, with some of my neighbors, this morning [September 25] repaired to the grave, and removing the earth, found the body which had not been disturbed. (Wayne Sentinel, September 29, 1824)

A Puzzling Find

Since we have been deeply involved in research having to do with the relationship of Mormonism to magic and have written a book entitled, Mormonism, Magic and Masonry, we were delighted to get the report that Martin Harris had written a letter relating to the subject. As we learned of the contents, we felt that it would provide additional evidence to support our thesis. Some time later, we were told of another letter, written by W. W. Phelps, which seemed to prove the authenticity of the letter attributed to Harris. This letter is printed in Howe’s book, pages 273-274. In the letter, Phelps tells of Martin Harris’ statements concerning the Book of Mormon.

There are some remarkable parallels between the two letters. Both letters refer to the Urim and Thummim as “silver spectacles.” Both accounts tell of Martin Harris taking a copy of the Book of Mormon characters to “Utica, Albany and New York,” and both talk of the Book of Mormon language as “shorthand Egyptian.” Since Phelps’ letter is dated January 15, 1831, (less than three months after the letter which was reported to have been written by Harris), it seemed safe to conclude that Phelps used the Harris letter in preparing his own.

In all fairness, however, we made another discovery which we feel we must report. Just two pages after Phelps letter, we found a statement written by E. D. Howe which is strangely similar to the “Harris” letter. The reader will remember that the letter said, “the spirit transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole.” E. D. Howe’s statement reads as follows “. . . looked into the hole, where he saw a toad, which immediately transformed itself into a spirit, . . .” Notice that both accounts use the words “the hole” as well as “spirit,” and the words “transfigured himself” resemble “transformed itself.” Howe’s statement appears to be his own summary of the Willard Chase affidavit which we have already cited: “He saw in the box something like a toad, which soon assumed the appearance of a man, . . .”

That Howe’s statement (Mormonism Unvailed, page 276) is so much like the one in the “Harris” letter is a little disturbing. Even more disconcerting, however, is the fact that it appears just two pages from a letter by W. W. Phelps which also bears remarkable parallels. This, of course, might all be a coincidence, and if it can be established that the letter was actually penned before Howe’s book was published in 1834, it will probably be accepted as a genuine letter.

As we understand it, the Church’s handwriting expert, Dean Jessee, feels that the signature was penned by Martin Harris, but so far no tests on the paper have been completed. We feel that the letter should be made available to other handwriting experts, and that the public should be informed where the letter was originally obtained. We have heard that there is a red postal mark on the original letter and that the amount of postage is correct for a letter from Palmyra to Canandaigua. Although the average person would have a difficult time forging these things, there are probably a number of people who could do the job. In an interview with Sunstone Review, September 1982, page 16, Mark Hofmann made these comments concerning forgeries:

There have been all kinds of Lincoln forgeries . . . To date that hasn’t been a real problem with Mormon documents. Now, however, with the publicity that’s been given the tremendous amount of money to be realized (for example, the Trib mentioned a $30,000 figure for the Lucy Mack Smith letter), there may be some temptation to forge.

Although a great deal of the contents of the “Harris” letter can also be found in Howe’s book, there are some portions that resemble other writings. For instance, the letter relates a conversation Joseph had with the “old spirit”: “. . . Joseph says when can I have it . . .” This is identical to Joseph Knight’s statement published in BYU Studies, Autumn 1976, page 31: “Joseph says, ‘when can I have it?’”

While we would really like to believe that the letter attributed to Harris is authentic, we do not feel that we can endorse it until further evidence comes forth. If any of our readers have any information about the matter we would appreciate hearing about it. We understand that an article concerning the subject will be published in Time magazine.

---

---